Okee dokee folks… You may already know that I am a HUGE animal person. A couple of years ago I wrote about the fledgling that I found and had to babysit through the night to keep it alive. The happy ending of that story is it survived the night and in the morning I turned that […]
Democracy is not about freedom, but accountability. We elect individuals we trust to hear our collective concerns and address matters with thoughtful deliberation and sound judgement. When those for whom we cast our ballots stray from the better angels of our greater society or fail to perform their duties with competence, we the […]
Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Kevin Devine is never afraid to speak his mind through his music. Whether it’s something personal, political or even from social observation, he has a knack for getting a point across with a song. His ninth studio album, Instigator, is due out on October 21 and it examines the world in 2016 on […]
Over the past 20 years, chances are that Chicago musician Steve Albini has produced one of your favorite albums at his recording studio Electrical Audio. There’s also a chance that one of your favorite bands has been influenced by Albini’s work in either the ‘80s punk act Big Black or the current noise rock band […]
The word “appropriate” can be pronounced (according to the American Heritage dictionary) either as an adjective “(ə-prō′prē-ĭt)” meaning “suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place; fitting” or as a verb “(ə-prō′prē-āt′)” meaning “to take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission.” The ambiguity is deliberate in the title […]
You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a musical version of the beloved Peanuts, the long-running comic strip. Creator Charles Schulz depicted human frailty in the ongoing saga of Charlie Brown, the endearing sad sack who faces endless heartbreak and disappointments. You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown features all the famous characters: There’s Charlie’s […]
Time Stands Still is a powerful drama that depicts the sacrifices some people are willing to make in the service of a greater good. Playwright Donald Margulies has created some vivid three-dimensional individuals who are torn between their own desires. Sarah (Kathleen Povar) is a photojournalist who has been severely injured while covering a conflict in […]
The mark of a classic show is one that has received multiple revivals around the world and across the decades. Such shows are brought back again and again, not for nostalgia’s sake as a piece of history, but rather because of their timelessness. Perhaps it says more about humanity than the quality of a production […]
I am waking up on the second day after seeing Trinity’s Appropriate, by Brandon Jacob Jenkins, directed by Brian Mertes. After viewing, it took me about this long to digest and come up with a coherent way to express not only what this play says to me, but how this play says something I […]
Michael is a troubled artist whose fragile psyche begins to crack after a chance run-in with the priest who abused him as a child. What follows is a walking dream state in which Michael attempts to rationalize and cope with his trauma, his emotions and his actions. Skip Shea’s Trinity is a powerful drama with […]