Criticultura em Portugal

Mother of the Maid Written by Jane Anderson Directed by Matthew Penn Starring Glenn Close The Public Theater, Manhattan September 30, 2018 Mother of the Maid had the feeling of a star vehicle written for Glenn Close. It is basically a “what if” play, in which we are asked to see a condensed history of Joan of Arc through the eyes of a pretty normal mother. I suppose one intent is to de-mythologize the famous, a pretty typical theme these days. Another is a more familiar attempt to show the power of family bonds, no matter what the situation. For me the best scene occurred in the dungeon where Joan was chained by the English, minutes before her burning at the stake. Mom (Glenn Close) was in there with her, comforting her, attending to her creature comforts, trying to provide solace. This was where the play was at its best, as Joan became a vulnerable girl about to endure an unspeakable torture, and her mother resolved to do whatever it took to make her experience less e...

Scraps Written by Geraldine Inoa Directed by Niegel Smith The Flea Theater, Manhattan September 13, 2018 Things Fall Apart Written by Chinua Achebe Beloved Written by Toni Morrison Homegoing Written by Yaa Guyasi The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates By Wes Moore We live in an era of unprecedented awareness and discussion of the tragic residua of black slavery in the United States. The upcoming NY theater season seems to be dominated by plays by people of color, especially black authors. Most modern art galleries are following the same trend. It’s interesting that these welcome corrections to non-inclusion are not following massive social upheavals as see in the 1950s and 1960s (Rosa Parks, Selma, the Mississippi civil rights murders, George Wallace on the university steps), but instead follow a series of actions against blacks (e.g. Ferguson Missouri) that in the old days would hardly have registered in the press or public consciousness (black ...

Uncle Vanya By Anton  Chekhov Directed by Richard Nelson Hunter Theater Project Manhattan, NYC September 26, 2018 Chekhov’s plays create a world of boredom and unfulfilled hopes and dreams. The mystery and wonder of the plays is that we can sit and listen to people complaining for 2-3 hours without leaving the theater. His dialogue is so revealing, and the characters so subtle and parsimonious in revealing their true identities, that one must concentrate steadily in order to truly enter  Chekhov ’s world. Some modern directors overcompensate for this demand by making the characters too overt and emotive, not repressed enough. The excellent debut production of Uncle Vanya at the new Hunter Theater Project does just the opposite. It doubles down on introversion, making the extremes of the play even more intense, and immerses you in  Chekhov ’s universe of stasis and disappointment unlike other productions I have seen. This immersion seems to be part of the ...

Symphonie Fantastique Music by Hector Berlioz Christopher O’Reilly pianist Puppetry by Basil Twist HERE Theater, Manhattan August 31, 2018 Hector Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique ( Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts) was composed in 1830, and is one of those iconic pieces that defines an era. Romanticism in music has certain harmonic and musicological characteristics, but also some extra-musical ones that also present themselves the visual arts: exotica, dreams, terror, overt (often over-the-top) emotion. This was the first symphony that exhibited all of those things. In addition, it was one of the first explicitly programmatic symphonic works, where there were not just multiple movements, but each had program or literary description attached. Berlioz insisted that the piece was not wedded to this program to succeed, but I cannot think of a piece which more evokes specific images. The symphony tells the story of a frustrated love—the hero meets his love (mov...

Call Me by Your Name Directed by Luca Guadagnino Written by James Ivory Starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer Love, Simon Directed by Greg Berlanti Written by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker Starring Nick Robinson and Jennifer Garner Young gay man coming-of-age movies are a tried and true commodity in European film, and some American low budget indies, but are not so mainstream in Hollywood (young lesbians even show up even less, perhaps because of the relative paucity of woman directors). Recently two such films have cracked a mainstream US audience, likely reflecting the inclusiveness of today’s young people. For them, gay movies need not show marginalized, ostracized, or unhappy victims. Nor must they cater to a niche minority audience simply wanting affirmation and titillation. Both movies are well done, entertaining, and remarkable for their matter-of- fact approach to the subject. That said, they strikingly reflect the differing mainstream US ( Love...