Category Archives: The Gospel of the Kingdom

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY – A THIN PLACE FOLK OPERA

Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan asked Conor McPherson, the world’s greatest English-language playwright, if he would be interested in using his songs in a theater piece. The result is the magnificent folk-opera Girl from the North Country. Critics of the work ignore the key to understanding the work’s deep center: Conor McPherson was most interested […]

October 14, 2018 – 11:23 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Dance, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Poetry, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY – A THIN PLACE FOLK OPERA

NT’S CHICHESTER KING LEAR: A FATHER ABUSED, A FATHER RESCUED

  The recent discovery by University of Roehampton Shakespeare historian Glyn Parry that Shakespeare’s father, John, was driven into debt through betrayal by secret informers, may give insight into the playwright’s depiction of fathers in his plays. John Shakespeare, like Timon of Athens, had large debts and writs against him, including ones authorizing sheriffs to arrest […]

September 28, 2018 – 9:56 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Movies, Poetry, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on NT’S CHICHESTER KING LEAR: A FATHER ABUSED, A FATHER RESCUED

LITTLE THEATRE of VIRGINIA BEACH: YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU – THE HOSPITALITY OF GRANDPA

  “Foxy Grandpa”, “Money in the Bank”, “They Loved Each Other”, “The King is Naked”, and “Grandpa’s Other Snake” were all rejected as titles by playwrights George S. Kaufman and his young collaborator Moss Hart.[i] They finally settled on “You Can’t Take It with You.” The expression is very old, possibly dating from St. Paul’s […]

September 24, 2018 – 9:37 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in from Paul, History, Men and Women, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on LITTLE THEATRE of VIRGINIA BEACH: YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU – THE HOSPITALITY OF GRANDPA

TOI’s HANSEL AND GRETEL: BEAUTIFUL AND FUN AND UNIVERSALLY TRUE

Why a fairy tale? A fairy tale explains the world to both youngsters and to adults, who may have forgotten important truths. As the fairy tale master Bruno Bettelheim explains, the fairy tale expresses in words and actions the things which go on in the child’s, or childlike adult, mind. Or as G.K. Chesterton rightly […]

August 4, 2018 – 9:26 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Music, Opera, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on TOI’s HANSEL AND GRETEL: BEAUTIFUL AND FUN AND UNIVERSALLY TRUE

LA SCALA’S GIOVANNA D’ARCO: When an Opera is a Lie

As of 2009, ten percent of Americans thought Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.[i] Since then most people probably won’t even guess as to her identity. And where could they learn of Joan of Arc? Schools, where any hint of Christianity is outlawed? In mainline churches, where scientific rationalism filters the majesty and mystery of […]

July 11, 2018 – 1:36 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Art, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Poetry, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology | Comments Off on LA SCALA’S GIOVANNA D’ARCO: When an Opera is a Lie