Dulce et Decorum; The Great War, Hotel Modern, Wexner Center, 01/21/10

“Someday they’ll probably Make a movie out of all of this There won’t even have to be a murder Just a slow, dissolving kiss…” -Elvis Costello, “Poor Napoleon” No way I could literally describe this would make it sound as incredibly touching or awesome as it was, but I have to try or I’m going to hate myself.  Dutch theater troupe Hotel Modern do a WWI movie in real time with scale sets and toy soldiers, including live music and classic Foley sound effects.  It opens with a map being unfolded and iconic steam engines...

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So much to see and think and feel; Pride and Prejudice, Available Light Theater, 01/14/10

Playwright Daniel Elihu Kramer and director Eleni Papaleonardos do the damn near impossible with Available Light’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, they take it apart, put the pieces back together leaving some gaps so you lose your familiar footing only to find it again, while referencing the acclaimed movie adaptations and pointing out their slightly different takes which also sheds light on the play’s different take.  And in doing all of this, they fit in everything the audience loves about the book and they do it in less than two hours. The...

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Truth behind authenticity, heat behind metaphor, love behind motion; H3 by Grupo de Rua, Drake Union, 01/10/10

  “You’ve faked so many feelings in your time you wonder if it could have been the ghost of faked feelings offering you an authentic sadness, a gift.” -Stephen Dunn, “The Song” Before seeing this – and all thanks go to a friend for passing off the tickets she was too busy to use – I was only vaguely aware of choreographer Bruno Beltran and his Brazilian group Grupo de Rua.  And this show, on a miserable, bitterly cold Sunday affirmed so much of what I love about dance while still ducking the grasp of my conceptions,...

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The Inbetweens – Quantum Cowboy; Scrambler Seequil – Secret Passageways

Going to try doing a couple of CD reviews at least once a month, and as Scott Miller sang, "We'll see how long I last."  Starting with a couple of CDs that showed up in my mailbox from Mike Gamble, who's been getting a lot of love lately and from the evidence of these it's easy to see w...

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