Category Archives: Television

TIDEWATER STAGE’S DIAL M FOR MURDER: FABULOUS THEATER

“Smell-o-vision” “Illusion-o” “Percepto” “Sensurround” “3D” The history of film can be seen as an ongoing attempt to use technology to reproduce and distribute the power of live stage performance inexpensively to a wide audience. Before considering the work at Tidewater Stage, let’s look at the journey Frederick’s Knott’s tale took to get to Virginia Beach. […]

June 18, 2018 – 9:37 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Movies, Music, Quotations, Television, Theater | Comments (0)

LYRIC OPERA’S MAGIC FLUTE: A Metatheatrical Spectacular

Reviewing an 1879 production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, the anonymous Chicago Tribune critic noted, “it would be absurd to try to explain the plot…. All sorts of explanations have been attempted but, if anyone ever really knew what it meant, he died before he said anything about it. It is a hodge-podge, nonsense, and […]

December 15, 2016 – 10:04 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Art, Current Events, from Paul, History, Media, Men and Women, Movies, Music, Opera, Quotations, Television, Theater | Comments (0)

ASSASSINATION THEATER: The Most Important and Exciting Theater You Will See

The first great work of theater, Oedipus Rex, is a whodunit. Ever since, solving mysteries seems part and parcel of what audiences expect of the theatrical experience. I was a high school student beginning a lifelong study of theater when the shots rang out in Dallas. Being sent home from school due to an assassination […]

August 18, 2015 – 12:09 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Current Events, from Paul, History, Media, Newspapers, Politics, radio, Television, Theater, Videos, World Affairs | Comments (0)

SFO’s SHOWBOAT: New Excellence in Live Performance Recording

The recently released two disc DVD of the San Francisco Opera’s 2014 production of Hammerstein and Kern’s pioneer opera Showboat is a treat for many reasons. First, rarely has the art of live performance recording been practiced to such great effect than by screen director Frank Zamacona and his EuroArts team. The shots are beautifully […]

July 21, 2015 – 1:55 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in from Paul, Media, Movies, Opera, Television, Theater, Videos | Comments (0)

ROB ASHFORD’S CAROUSEL: An Historic Reinterpretation

Throughout theater history a director’s re-imaging of a stage classic changes forever how a play is considered. In mid twentieth century Peter Brook’s productions of Shakespeare changed King Lear and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Rob Ashford’s Lyric Opera production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s Carousel will change that post World War Two musical forever as well. […]

April 17, 2015 – 1:18 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in from Paul, Music, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theology | Comments (0)

A NOTE FROM SISTER VASSA

  To my great surprise and delight, I received a note from my favorite podcaster, Sister Dr. Vassa Larin, host of the wildly popular video series Coffee with Sister Vassa. Sr. Dr. Vassa is a Russian Orthodox ryassofor nun, author of many scholarly articles and a monograph on Byzantine liturgy and theology, and outspoken public […]

September 28, 2014 – 1:37 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Blog Groups, Books, from Paul, Media, Movies, Quotations, Talks, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments (0)

BILLY GRAHAM ON 9/11

President and Mrs. Bush, I want to say a personal word on behalf of many people. Thank you, Mr. President, for calling this Day of Prayer and Remembrance. We needed it at this time. We come together today to affirm our conviction that God cares for us, whatever our ethnic, religious or political background may […]

September 11, 2012 – 4:17 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Art, Current Events, History, Politics, Quotations, Talks, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theology, World Affairs | Comments (0)

Life or Death in Black and White

Debates between the Christian worldview and the secular world view seem very popular at the moment. Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens frequented the debate circuit. Currently on stage, Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis square off in Mark St. Germain’s  Freud’s Last Session. Recently cable television weighed in with HBO’s abbreviated  film version […]

June 2, 2012 – 11:12 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in from Paul, Movies, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology, Videos | Comments (0)

Batman, Hancock, and Bishop Sheen

Many years ago Bishop Fulton J. Sheen delivered a television Christmas message entitled “Superman and Christmas” on his Life is Worth Living television program. With the enormous popularity of the movies Hancock and Batman, some of his ideas are worth re-examining.

August 3, 2008 – 12:52 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Movies, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theology | Comments (0)

GRACE (Not Eight) IS ENOUGH

He knows what it profits to gain the world but lose his soul; Willie Aames  was  on the top of the Hollywood world as teen star. Maylo Upton-Aames absorbed the pains and pleasures of this Present Evil Age; then she learned that the Greek word for “saved” is the same as the word for “healed” […]

April 13, 2008 – 11:32 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Books, Men and Women, Television, The Gospel of the Kingdom | Comments (0)