Saturday, June 18, 2011
I can't believe Clarence Clemons has passed away, at age 69.I didn't really get into music until college but it was a great time to become a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, w…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:12PMThursday, June 16, 2011
I saw Stephen Sondheim's Company with the New York Philharmonic last night and unlike my two previous theatre at the movies outings, this one went off without a hitch. The screening started …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:30AMMonday, June 13, 2011
I haven't seen The Book of Mormon, Broadway's newest Tony winner for Best Musical, but Amazon had the cast recording on sale for $1.99 as an MP3 download. With the way tickets are selling, t…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 05:25PMFriday, June 3, 2011
If you're like me and you can't hop on a plane or train to London or New York whenever you want, then seeing some Broadway or British theatre filmed onstage and shown at the movies is a te…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMTuesday, May 31, 2011
War Horse, at Broadway's Vivian Beaumont TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****I've been looking forward to War Horse for about two years, ever since I saw a video of the origi…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:30AMFriday, May 27, 2011
Today marks the centennial of Hubert Humphrey's birth and I can't let it pass without mentioning my brief but memorable meeting with him.It was in 1976, when I was in high school and visitin…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:30PMTuesday, May 24, 2011
Dylan is 70!Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing, Minn., on May 24, 1941, is celebrating his 70th birthday today. His songs are among the first I remember listening to - and lov…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMMonday, May 23, 2011
I wasn't going to write about Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah - another pampered, overpaid athlete shows his bigotry in public. But when I saw a video of the antigay slur he uttered during …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:30PMSunday, May 22, 2011
WAR IS PEACEFREEDOM IS SLAVERYIGNORANCE IS STRENGTHThose quotes are from George Orwell's 1984 and apparently, they're a source of inspiration for a Minnesota state representative.The Minneso…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:00PMTuesday, May 17, 2011
Catch Me If You Can, at Broadway's Neil Simon TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: **1/2 out of ****I had such high hopes for Catch Me If You Can. I adore Hairspray and I was excited to hear a …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:45AMTuesday, May 10, 2011
Jerusalem, at Broadway's Music Box TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: ** out of ****As much as it pains me to say this, Jez Butterworth's Jerusalem made me want to turn in my Anglophile card.…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:45AMSunday, May 8, 2011
As someone who feels a connection to Israel and admires playwright Tony Kushner, I think it's shameful that the City University of New York's Board of Trustees vetoed a proposal by John Jay …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:45AMTuesday, May 3, 2011
Some thoughts on the 2011 Tony nominations, announced this morning:I was shocked (but in a good way) by 12 nominations, including Best Musical, for The Scottsboro Boys, which closed in Decem…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:15PMMonday, May 2, 2011
Priscilla Queen of the Desert, at Broadway's Palace TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****I like to think of Priscilla Queen of the Desert as a palate-cleanser: it was the first s…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:35PMThursday, April 28, 2011
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, at Broadway's Hirschfeld Theatre Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****The Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Reall…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:45PMTuesday, April 26, 2011
The House of Blue Leaves, at Broadway's Walter Kerr TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: *** 1/2 out of ****How fitting that Ben Stiller's character in the Broadway revival of The House of Blue…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:45AMFriday, April 22, 2011
Angels in America, at the Signature Theatre CompanyGratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****I've read Tony Kushner's prize-winning Angels in America and I've seen the 2003 HBO miniseries, …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:55AMFriday, April 15, 2011
I know it's called acting and it's wrong of me to prejudge but I'm having a hard time imagining Samuel L. Jackson, who's nearly 63, portraying 39-year-old Martin Luther King on Broadway in T…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMFriday, April 8, 2011
I went to a play at the movies yesterday - Frankenstein from England's National Theatre - and it was terrific, despite a technical glitch that delayed the start for 45 minutes!Two actors - B…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:30PMFriday, January 28, 2011
Man plans, God laughs.Change the gender and that Yiddish proverb sums up my life. I've always had the worst timing.I've been a regular theatergoer since 2007 and it's been a wonderful experi…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 05:45PMTuesday, January 11, 2011
Since I started going to Broadway shows, in April 2007, most of my experiences have been great. But I've also learned a lot about what can go wrong. So here's my suggestion for a ticket-buy…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:15AM 
