Category Archives: Men and Women

THE COURT THEATRE’S THE MOUSETRAP: NEAR PERFECTION

In the late 1920s, mystery writer Ronald Knox published  “Ten Commandments for Writing Detective Fiction.” With her monumental play The Mousetrap, Agatha Christie violated the central commandment. (to reveal that commandment would be the ultimate spoiler.) Dame Christie’s flaunting of the detective mystery norms may account for the play’s record setting run. The mystery has […]

February 9, 2020 – 4:12 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in from Paul, History, Men and Women, Movies, Quotations, radio, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

THE MET’S PORGY AND BESS: It’s Got Plenty of Vigor and Talent

The distinguished opera historian and critic Charles Osborne considers George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess to be “the most successful American contribution to twentieth century opera.”[i] Like all works for the stage, the final product is the result of a collaboration among many creative artists working to transform the play Porgy into a musical work. The […]

February 2, 2020 – 6:03 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

LYRIC OPERA CHICAGO : THE OLD BARBER HAS STILL GOT IT

The history of what is popularly called Italian opera began in the United States with a performance of Rossini’s lyrical comedy “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, The Barber of Seville. The place was the Park Theatre, then situated in Chambers Street, east of Broadway, and the date November 29, 1825.[i] It was Manuel Garcia’s troupe that […]

October 28, 2019 – 1:45 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater | Comments (0)

THE MET’S MANON: THE “ETERNAL WOMAN” RETURNS

Jules Massenet (1842-1912) premiered  his new opera,  Manon,  on 19 January 1884 at Paris’ Opera Comique, the home to the city’s middle-class audience, an audience accustomed to the spoken dialogue featured in Massenet’s work. It was a hit. “Those who do not object on principle to being entertained in the opera house, rather than hectored, […]

October 28, 2019 – 11:20 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, Books, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, Theater | Comments (0)

KENNEDY CENTER’S HELLO DOLLY – LOOK AT THE OLD GIRL NOW!

A great performance always seems fresh-minted. That certainly is the case with Ms. Betty Buckley at the Kennedy Center. In fact, her character,  Dolly Gallagher Levi, first appeared during playwright Thornton Wilder’s 1935 trip to Europe. As he considered the comedies of Austria’s popular 19th century playwright Johann Nestroy, he wondered if an American version […]

June 16, 2019 – 11:39 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, Dance, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Theater | Comments (4)