Category Archives: Uncategorized

IN THE SEASON OF PARSIFAL

The coincidence of a world-wide pandemic and the liturgical season of Lent may prompt some people, stuck at home, to consider Richard Wagner’s masterpiece, PARSIFAL. Set in a mythological world in which the land is suffering because the king is dying, a young Holy Fool, so naive that he doesn’t even know his name, arrives […]

March 31, 2020 – 12:24 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Current Events, from Paul, History, Music, Opera, Quotations, The Gospel of the Kingdom, Theater, Theology, Uncategorized | Comments Off on IN THE SEASON OF PARSIFAL

WHY YOU SHOULD SEE SHAW’S MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION: PATERNITY

Despite the existence of DNA testing, and sites like Ancestry.com, genealogy can still offer major surprises and uproars in a person’s life. Just ask Oedipus Rex. Or Captain Adolph in Strindberg’s The Father. Or ask Bernard Shaw. The question of paternity tormented George Bernard Shaw all his life. His mother lived in a ménage a […]

March 13, 2020 – 1:31 pm | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Acting, Books, Current Events, from Paul, History, Men and Women, Quotations, Television, Theater, Uncategorized | Comments Off on WHY YOU SHOULD SEE SHAW’S MRS. WARREN’S PROFESSION: PATERNITY

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 Off on THE COURT THEATRE’S THE MOUSETRAP: NEAR PERFECTION

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

C.S. LEWIS DEFENDS THE LORD OF THE RING

CS Lewis’ Response to Critics of The Lord of the Rings: The Dethronement of Power Posted on January 6, 2018by Earthoak C. S. Lewis’ defence of Tolkien’s work gives insight into the types of criticism it elicited. Chief among those criticisms were its supposed lack of realism, and lack of character development or moral complexity. Lewis robustly argues […]

December 2, 2019 – 11:31 am | By Paul Kuritz | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on C.S. LEWIS DEFENDS THE LORD OF THE RING