Category: Rewind
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Best of the Decade: Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Black Swan’ (2010)
What gave Black Swan its most enduring legacy (aside from the seemingly endless font of memes it inspired that year) was its unique twist on the psychological thriller. A nod to the Michael Powell-Emeric Pressburger classic, The Red Shoes, Darren Aronofsky’s film tells the story of Nina Sayres, a corps dancer who dreams of becoming…
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Best of the Decade: Mark Romanek’s ‘Never Let Me Go’ (2010)
In great contrast to fellow best-of entrant Inception and others of its ilk released the same year, Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, his adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s eponymous novel, subverts the usual expectations of a science-fiction narrative, taking the dystopian plot from its usual dreamscape futurama and placing it into a time more familiar…
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Best of the Decade: David Fincher’s ‘The Social Network’ (2010)
“Creation myths need a devil.” At the risk of subsequently praising nearly every film released that year (and sounding like a cheap imitation of a sommelier), it must be said that, yes, 2010 was a very good year for film. Kicking off the decade in a major way was none other than David Fincher’s The…
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The Great Eleven O’Clock Number
As I previously wrote: “..none [of the songs] get us there quite like its eleven o’clock number, “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” does. It is La La Land’s most character-driven piece and undeniably its best song (despite being passed over by “City of Stars” for Best Song nominee at that year’s Oscars).” Featuring wonderfully-penned lyrics…
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Music to Move the Stars: Damien Chazelle’s ‘La La Land’ is a Dizzying Confection of Dreamy Nostalgia
For nearly the past twenty years or so, movie-musicals have seen a resurgence in the public consciousness. One such film that has done so, and with as much fanfare (or perhaps even more so), is none other than Damien Chazelle’s own ambitious take, La La Land (2016). Chazelle’s second attempt at a musical (after his…
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The Pulchritude of Fosse, Revisited: A Look at Those Famous Jazz Hands—Step-by-Step, Inch-by-Inch, Frame-by-Intoxicating-Frame
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, the word pulchritude (one of my personal favorites) is defined simply as ‘physical comeliness’ — and if there is anything that fits that description, it’s director-choreographer-auteur Bob Fosse and his distinctive choreography. Known now for its emphasis on rounded shoulders and isolated movements, Fosse’s choreography was inspired by what he…
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Marina & the Diamonds, Revisited: Sampling the ‘Froots’ of Her Ouvre
Longtime followers of mine will know how long I’ve been a fan of Marina & the Diamonds, and perhaps it’s no wonder. Like the neon garden world of her last outing, fittingly titled Froot, Diamandis has managed to grow into her own as an artist. As a fellow fan phrased it: “You’re lucky to be…
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Stranger Than Fiction: Director-Auteurs Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal Pay Tribute to the Written Word by Weaving Their Own Tale of Intrigue and Ambition
One of the many reasons I write about drama — or write at all, period — is not just because of the films and Broadway shows that I was lucky enough to be exposed to as a young girl living in New York. Yes, I live for costume dramas and shows with spectacle, but it’s…
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A Mad World: The United States Theatre Project’s ‘columbinus’ Goes Inside the Typical All-American High School — And Tears it Apart
This past weekend’s viewing of A Shot Away had me reminiscing about other docudramas I’ve enjoyed over the years. Jonathan Mandell noted how Red Fern’s production had reminded him of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s The Exonerated, and I definitely agree; it had a lot of the same elements, including a lot of quote-worthy dialogue.…
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The Death (and Life) of American Theatre Criticism
In continuation of many retrospective blogposts (which include this one), I want to start off my saying that lately, I have been re-assessing my love (and place) in the theatre — mainly, where criticism is concerned. This past year has given me both positives, as well as negatives, and it was those negative times that…
Resident Artist Productions 