Category Archives: Books

Remy Bumppo’s Pirandello’s HENRY IV: A Modern Masterpiece Given Life

Though considered a major modern playwright, the plays of Luigi Pirandello are rarely produced. The reasons are numerous. First, the large casts require large budgets. Second, the plays’ philosophical facades are difficult to crack. And third, directors struggle to find a production style which makes the plays both clear and exciting to an audience. Consequently, […]

October 18, 2016 – 7:57 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Art, Books, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on Remy Bumppo’s Pirandello’s HENRY IV: A Modern Masterpiece Given Life

CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE’S TUG OF WAR: CIVIL STRIKE- Suffering Outside of Divine Providence

From his earliest plays to his final works, William Shakespeare confirmed his world’s confidence in Divine Providence. Divine Providence is the means by which God leads his creatures to their destined end. To thwart or reject this movement, is to risk the attainment of one’s destiny. Man is assured of Providential guidance, if, in conformity […]

September 22, 2016 – 1:01 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Poetry, Politics, Theater | Comments Off on CHICAGO SHAKESPEARE’S TUG OF WAR: CIVIL STRIKE- Suffering Outside of Divine Providence

The Goodman Theatre’s Wonderful Town: A Wonderful Show

Occasionally a production arrives with such startling imagination, and with performances overflowing with such zest and talent, that a viewer is at a loss for words. The production I am referring to is Mary Zimmerman’s Wonderful Town at the Goodman Theatre. The 1950s musical is based on the post-World War II play My Sister Eileen […]

September 20, 2016 – 11:54 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Art, Books, Current Events, Dance, from Paul, History, Music, Newspapers, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on The Goodman Theatre’s Wonderful Town: A Wonderful Show

THE LION IN WINTER: Promethean Excellence at the Athenaeum

Winning fifteen awards out of eighteen nominations in 1968, did more than revive the fortunes of James Goldman’s 1966 play, The Lion in Winter. The play had closed after 92 performances, even though it boasted of a cast which included Robert Preston, Rosemary Harris, Christopher Walken, and James Rado, whose book for the historic musical […]

May 10, 2016 – 8:25 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Art, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Quotations, Theater | Comments Off on THE LION IN WINTER: Promethean Excellence at the Athenaeum

SHAW’S YOU NEVER CAN TELL: Is a Father Necessary?

In an issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family, Judith Stacey, a professor of sociology at New York University, and Timothy Biblarz, a demographer from the University of Southern California, consolidated the available data on the role of gender in child rearing and concluded “based strictly on the published science, one could argue that […]

March 7, 2016 – 6:26 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Quotations, Science, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on SHAW’S YOU NEVER CAN TELL: Is a Father Necessary?