An Arts Angle

"Episodes": TV's Funniest Show?

2012-07-12T15:17:00.001-04:00

Tasmin Greig and Stephen Mangan (tv equals)

I flat out forgot how darn funny Showtime's "Episodes" was until it resumed last week with its second season.

Season one was technically a mini-season, as the show ran a teasingly brief seven episodes. Season two has been mercifully extended to nine half-hours of acutely observed, tartly clever satire. It's target? The cultural Anglo-American gulf as experienced by a pair of screenwriters lured out to Hollywood to adapt their hit British TV series for the US market.

One the sharpest, most incisive comedies currently on telly, it is hugely funny, yet not necessarily for those American patriots too thin-skinned to appreciate the immensely focused, trenchant observations of the often shallow, narcissistic tendencies of the network television industry.

The Brits, played with incisive finesse by Stephen Mangan and the show's centerpiece, Tasmin Greig, are evidently talented writers who are thus most interested in overseeing the successful adaptation of their series for an American audience. To say the couple get more than they bargained for is the devastating understatement that fuels much of the show's fish-out-of-water humor.

In addition to the British leads is the quiet revelation of a newly mature Matt LeBlanc, late of that network juggernaut "Friends". Not only does he play himself with a healthy dose of levity, but he is the butt of an ongoing series of mishaps that posit him as the personification of the vain Hollywood star too self-absorbed to be either a good friend or, for that matter, a decent actor, purportedly the reason for his wealth and fame.

The show is so unflinching in its unflattering observations that one is grateful that the writing is so nuanced and able to skirt either caricature or unlikable character portrayals. The one character who skirts annoyance is John Pankow's Merc Lapidus, the studio exec whose inane approximations of a British accent and overall lack of sensitivity or insight make him the jester in this tale. Not only is his long-suffering wife blind and ardently philanthropic, but he is humping his pretty, young assistant, a sight the audience must witness at least once a season. Suffice to say these scenes are suitably unsexy.

I am curious to see where this season will take us, as the main couple have separated since last season's love triangle with LeBlanc. I look forward to more satire, snark, and refreshing humor on what may be the funniest show on telly.

The Intellectual Showmanship of Soderbergh

2012-07-03T02:19:00.000-04:00

Channing Tatum and Cody Horn (MTV)

Steven Soderbergh's film "Magic Mike" is as shamelessly appealing as the male strippers it portrays. Being a Soderbergh film, it sports an Altmanesque bevy of characters effortlessly juggled until the film seems to grow vague and uncertain, a la even his best films, like "Traffic".

Channing Tatum has much at stake here, given that the film is based on his own experiences as a stripper in Tampa and that he is a producer and star. While he is never less than engaging, he lacks the acting chops of George Clooney or Matt Damon, Soderbergh's leading men of choice for several fruitful years. Tatum nonetheless has his ample charms, which happen to include a buff physique that he is as eager to show off as his audience is to eyeball it.

Given much of the film's setting in the Xquisite strip club, there are a number of scenes of the dancers' routines, which inevitably include flashes of all-but-the Full Monty. With actors as game and entertaining as Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer involved, these scenes are more than your typical beefcake bonanza. While Matthew McConaughey's outsized performance is just shy of camp, it is indeed a breakout role, and is perhaps the best example of the director's knack for showcasing actors with leading man looks (Clooney) and character actor aspirations.

On that account, McConaughey is one of the chief strengths of the film. Whether you find him overbearing or delightful depends on your appetite for showmanship, but having shed the square peg that was his cross to bear as a bland leading man for years, a sort of male Kate Hudson, he has taken a gamble. Lucky for him, he is not only in good hands with Soderbergh, but he just might earn his first Oscar nod for Supporting Actor, come next winter.

The rest of the cast is generally inspired, including relative newcomer Cody Horn, whose pragmatic, natural beauty is a welcome counterpoint to the abundance of muscle and testosterone on display. Hers is a subtle, intriguing performance that helps anchor her scenes with Tatum, scenes that might otherwise lapse from familiar tropes to shopworn cliches. Soderbergh seems at once enamored of Tatum and aware of his limitations as an actor, hence the abundance of shirtless shots and emphasis on an entertaining supporting cast.

As for Alex Pettyfer, the ostensible center of the story, he is like a personification of the Velvet Underground song "I'll Be Your Mirror", indelibly about and sung by chanteuse Nico. Not unlike the rather more ambitious, Oscar-winning turn by Benicio Del Toro in "Traffic", Pettyfer seems to gradually refract our attention after commanding it for much of the film. Pettyfer deserves credit for underplaying his role, and it is this subtlety that draws us in, not to mention his supple-yet-not-overly- ripe body, which is on ample display. While McConaughey laps up much of the ink for this film, it is likely that Pettyfer will surprise us in the future with work that will build on his subdued work in MM.

A not-so-quietly subversive mainstream film that cleverly puts the men on revealing display while the women remain relatively cloaked, it reveals the intellectual showman that Soderbergh has become. Once the indie upstart of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", he rebounded from an early commercial slump to create such clever entertainments as "Out of Sight" and "The Limey", before juggling the slick "Ocean's" series with arcane works like "The Girlfriend Experience". In less assured hands, MM may have been the cheesefest its misleading previews threatened.

While this film may mark a step towards marrying his arty instincts with his commercial aspirations, it is unclear whether Soderbergh will continue to work to narrow the gulf between his dual cinematic personas. It will be interesting to see if he can achieve a level of commercial success for his artier fare, a feat that the less prolific but unusually successful artist Todd Haynes has accomplished.

"Death of a Salesman", the Tonys, and Broadway

2012-06-26T00:30:00.000-04:00

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield (showbiz411)

I know not only that the Broadway season has ended, the Tony Awards dispensed with, and that Death of a Salesman has closed, but the memory of that production lingers.

If history serves, the "Death" in question is likely to be the sole production of Arthur Miller's greatest achievement this young decade. The show's remarkably successful, sold-out run was unsurprising, given the involvement of director Mike Nichols and actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. The reviews were likewise filled with praise and platitudes, yet it was PSH's performance as Willy Loman that generated somewhat of a mixed reaction from critics.

Given the bounty of seven noms for the show, I anticipated that the production would earn at least one of the three acting Tonys it was up for, including PSH, Andrew Garfield, and Linda Emond, the latter giving more universally praised performances as Biff and Linda, respectively. I managed to see the show days before the Tonys and was hoping one would walk away a winner.

Considering PSH's dedication to the stage and his selective approach to film work, it is likely we will see him on the Great White Way in the coming years in yet another iconic stage role. I for one would gladly queue to see him play James Tyrone in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Garfield is about to grace movie screens the world over as the new Spiderman, and is thus poised to become one of the great movie star hopes of the future. That is, being half-British, it is likely he will manage to return to the stage every few years for a limited run of a modern classic.

Garfield's work was so captivating in "Death" that it is altogether possible he will find the stage the only outlet for certain acting muscles Hollywood is less likely to allow him to exercise. How he will shoulder his newfound celebrity will be interesting to observe, but it is possible that he will take the fame and riches in stride.

As for Emond, she is a revered stage actor and will hopefully score another plum role in the near future. In the end, "Death" managed to win two Tonys, for Best Play Revival and Best Director of a Play for Nichols, who practically has enough of the statues to comprise a chess set.

With A Streetcar Named Desire still running on Broadway, a revival of Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf? planned for fall, and Glengarry Glen Ross also on the horizon, it seems the straight play is enjoying a bit of a resurgence in popularity. What is less clear is which American plays will join the concise list of the modern Broadway repertory that includes the above plays, as well as The Glass Menagerie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Iceman Cometh, and A View from the Bridge. Sam Shepard has seen both True West and Buried Child revived in the past 15 years or so, but isn't it time to begin to add plays of a more recent vintage to the mix, say those written in the past 25 years?

"Nurse Jackie" Keeps Getting Better

2012-06-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

Eve Best, Peter Facinelli and Bobby Cannavale (showtime)

After just completing its fourth season, "Nurse Jackie" asserts itself anew as the strongest of Showtime's wave of femme-centric series, a movement that began with the whimsical but trivial Mary Louise Parker-led "Weeds" and most recently includes the Laura Linney vehicle "The Big C" which just concluded a discouraging third season and has yet to be renewed.

At first it seemed unlikely that Emmy winner Edie Falco would be able to shed her indelible role as Carmela Soprano and emerge as a wholly fresh character. After only a few episodes, it became clear that Falco's range had only been hinted at on a show that in retrospect underutilized her talents and thus unwittingly set her up for a chance to shine at the center of a new ensemble series.

The show's creators wisely set up the initial premise that Falco's Jackie Peyton is a drug addict and thus her narcissistic, destructive behavior is framed at the start. That her arc has been remarkably consistent is testament not only to solid writing and directing, but the consistently powerful work of an ensemble that has gradually evolved over the years to include mainstays Peter Facinelli and Anna Deveare Smith as well as Brit Eve Best and season-long guest star Bobby Cannavale in a compelling but disciplined role.

This season not only saw Cannavale's officious administrator threaten to upend the endearingly eccentric work culture of the show, but also saw Peyton's marriage to the handsome, stoic Dominic Fumusa unravel. Did I mention Peyton finally made it to rehab, where she befriended a teenager named Charlie, astutely played by Cannavale's real life son Jake? Through all the events of the series, Falco holds the center with her arsenal of quips, denials, and steely determination.

Folding in guest stars is not always an easy task for an established series, as evidenced by the amusing but thankfully concise arc of Susan Sarandon on "The Big C". When it was announced that Rosie Perez would be joining "Jackie" this season, I feared her unsubtle persona would threaten the delicate balance of this remarkably consistent show. Relieved was I, then, when Perez was here and gone long before the season's potent climactic finale.

Whether Deavere Smith, Paul Shulze's Eddie and Dominic Fumusa will return is unclear, but what is likely is that whomever is added to the cast will be an astute ensemble player who is likely to augment the series, not detract from the work of Falco and her wonderful team.

"Mad Men" is the Definitive TV Drama of our Time

2012-06-11T13:47:00.000-04:00

Jessica Pare and Jon Hamm (wetpaint)

Cable upstart AMC's crown jewel "Mad Men" has just concluded yet another quietly astonishing fifth season.

It is no surprise that the show has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Drama Series for each of the four seasons it has been broadcast.

Despite the stylistic discrepancies, MM is occasionally compared to that other cable favorite, HBO's "The Sopranos", whose conclusion dovetailed nicely with the introduction of MM. While both are well-written ensemble dramas set in the workplace, that is where the similarities end. "The Sopranos" was often inspired and consistently well-acted, if somewhat less reliably insightful. At times the metaphor of the New Jersey mafia milieu as a microcosm of contemporary society was lost amidst the show's troublingly offensive portrayal of suburban Italian-American life, not to mention its distractingly pointless, gratuitously homophobic trajectory.

The offense quotient did nothing but detract from the otherwise fine work of the writers, actors, and directors of the celebrated series. Where MM can similarly be charged with sexism, the subservient portrayal of women both in and our of the office is both plausible and unobtrusive, as it serves the story, and the verisimilitude of the 60s setting of the show would otherwise be in jeopardy. It's no surprise then that the prominent female characters, particularly the compelling Elisabeth Moss and the fascinating Christina Hendricks, are such rich, complex creations.

After five consistently acclaimed seasons, it is clear that MM is well on its way to becoming the definitive TV drama of its era. It's hard to recall a series that has generated so much influence, from its stunning period costumes (Banana Republic, anyone?) to the dissection of its corporate philosophy to its spot-on sociological observations that just seem to increasingly resonate in our turbulent times, 50 years after the setting of the show.

Other actors deserve notice for their reliably compelling work, particularly protagonist Jon Hamm and wonderful character actor Jared Harris. Even the predictably irksome character played by Vincent Kartheiser is fine, as is newcomer Ben Feldman, as the token Jewish employee at SCDP. While it is true that minorities are otherwise in short supply, that is probably closer to historical accuracy than a political statement or a deliberate slight. After all, is not the sin of omission committed by MM somewhat less offensive than the denigration of Italian-Americans and gays in "The Sopranos"?

The Joan Miro Show Comes to DC

2012-06-05T17:56:00.001-04:00

(feet up hostels blog)

Washington, DC's National Gallery is currently featuring a masterful exhibit of the works of Spain's modern master Joan Miro.
The exhibit features 120 works, including paintings, prints, and drawings, and runs through August 12.

Located in the gallery's ample, starkly modern East Wing, "Joan Miro: The Ladder of Escape" is an expertly mounted show which is billed as organized by London's Tate Modern Gallery, in collaboration with Barcelona's Fundacio National de Joan Miro, and in association with DC's National Gallery. Clearly in good hands, the exhibit features concise, informative wall text, with well spaced, organized works in sufficiently well-lighted galleries to render the viewing experience and inobtrusive, immersive experience.

In addition to the artist's works is a video biography shown in a cozy auditorium in the midst of the upper level of the exhibit. The overall experience of the Joan Miro Show is one of rediscovering a gentle master one thought one was familiar with. Unlike his brasher countryman Pablo Picasso, Miro has a subtle, thoughtful touch that doesn't so much grab you by the throat as seduce you with its wit, warmth, and imagination. In that sense, Miro is surely Spain's most accomplished surrealist painter.

A rare treat of the exhibit is the opportunity to experience the artist's trajectory, including his more overtly political work during the grueling Spanish Civil War, and later his experiments with setting his canvases on fire and then walking on them. The arc of his career is both fascinating and enlightening, as it reveals a truly restless artistic spirit whose work only incidentally was fashionable due to the inevitability that much great art, by its very nature, is impossible to ignore.

Not only is the National Gallery one of many free museums in the nation's capital, but there is a seasonal Garden Cafe Catalonia menu on offer and the museum's massive gift shop. Did I mention I found a book on Miro on sale?

London "Cock" at the Duke

2012-05-27T15:20:00.000-04:00

(times union)

"Cock" is the naughty title of a play by Mike Bartlett that's just opened Off-Broadway at the Duke on 42nd Street.
First staged at London's Royal Court Theatre in a much-lauded 2009 production, the play arrives with original director James MacDonald happily intact.

The tense, occasionally humorous 90 minute play has been recast with talented American actors with varying degrees of success. The intriguing premise is that of a bloke in a same-sex relationship who falls for a woman and thus mucks up his seemingly happy home to suitably dramatic effect. The title is a springboard for the metaphor for a cockfight, from the sound of a bell to delineate beats to the high-concept plywood arena seating that is the sum of the otherwise visually threadbare production.

The evening's chief strengths, besides the taut direction, include a compelling central performance by the utterly decent if befuddled Cory Michael Smith, and a refreshingly nuanced turn by Amanda Quaid. The production's other performances fare somewhat less successfully, at least partly due to the characters' sense of emotional stagnation. Jason Butler Harner is engaged and impassioned, yet his character can't seem to escape a sense of being villainized in the end. The result is that the play risks tilting towards agitprop when naturalistic drama is what the story seems to be building towards.

While the seating is eye-catching, it seems to have depleted the design budget, as there is not so much as a table or chair to be viewed all evening. While the straight sex scene is the chief benefit of this absence of scenery, the in-the-round staging can't help but prove dramatically distracting, as it inevitably does.

Given the Duke's status as a rental theater, I initially wondered why a hit play from such a respected theater as the Royal Court was not chosen for presentation by a top resident company such as Second Stage or Manhattan Theatre Club. Upon seeing Cock, it is likely its bracing, provocative, and utterly English milieu rendered it a hot potato prospect for New York's relatively more conservative producing theater troupes. That said, the play has what to recommend it, particularly for the Anglophilically inclined.

Beach House's "Bloom" is Music to Daydream to

2012-05-13T20:15:00.002-04:00

Beach House (the next great generation)

Beach House is an impossibly gorgeous-sounding duo from Baltimore, whose new album Bloom is quite simply the sound of spring.

The fourth release by Balto native Alex Scally and French-born Victoria Legrand is blissed out music that fits in with the dream pop genre. The band's sound, a mixture of Scally's guitars and keyboards and Legrand's vocals and keys, readily evokes the post punk Cocteau Twins as well as the Beach Boys, while Legrand's phrasing occasionally recalls the softer, more psychedelic side of Siouxsie Sioux.

Whatever their provenance, their impressive record collections have proved fertile foundation for the House's atmospheric, melodic songs that would indeed fit in perfectly wafting through the salt water air of a sultry summer afternoon on any number of holidaymaker towns like those found on Cape Cod. Legrand's casually authoritative contralto is mixed seamlessly into the blend of ringing high notes of Scally's guitar, subtle percussion, and wash of gorgeous, wave-like keyboard flourishes.

In addition to a rising critical profile is the fact of their previous album Teen Dream cracking the US Top 40 album charts and a UK Top 100 showing. Among the new album's numerous memorable tracks are "Troublemaker" and "New Year" which both showcase the band's signature blend of understated vocals and almost more-felt-than-heard keyboard waves that compel attention while simultaneously encouraging a bout of daydreaming. With their quietly insistent rhythms, the House also evoke the loveliness of Saint Etienne, a UK act that was sadly overlooked in the US.

The respect of noted fellow musicians is evidenced in the fact of Animal Collective selecting them to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in 2011 and Portishead inviting them to perform at ATP's I'll Be Your Mirror fest later that year in London. Clearly, Beach House is on the upswing, and Bloom is nothing so much as the sound of a band on the precipice of expanding to a wider audience. I have heard little thus far this year that I want to listen to more than Bloom.

The Utterly Modern Photography of Weegee

2012-05-07T01:40:00.000-04:00

Photo by Weegee (american suburbx)

The inviting International Center of Photography (ICP) has a thrilling exhibit on the works of Weegee, titled "Murder is My Business".
The exhibit, which runs through September 2, is a fascinating opportunity to both become acquainted with the murder beat photographer, and simultaneously pore over a treasure trove of photos of New York City from 1935-46, an era when the city looked quite different than it does now.

Born Usher Fellig in 1899 in present day Ukraine, his name was changed to Arthur when he emigrated with his family to New York 10 years later. He held a variety of jobs early in his career, including as a photographer's assistant. He began working as a freelance photographer in 1935, focusing on often graphic imagery of crime scenes. He would devote much of his time and energy to arriving first on the scene of any number of lurid crimes, selling his photos to tabloids and various photo agencies.

Following contributions to newspapers such as The Daily News and The Herald Tribune, Weegee published a series of books of photography, most notably Naked City in 1945. He also had a number of assignments for editorial and advertising work from Vogue and Life magazines. The ICP's comprehensive exhibit features framed, wall-mounted photos, as well as displays of magazines and newspapers. There is even a short film and an evocative, installation/recreation of the charismatic photog's apartment, complete with bed and desk.

The ICP draws on its impressive collection of Weegee's catalogue and dedicates much of its immersive lower level to this engaging exhibit. Some of the photos, like a series of a claustrophobically overcrowded Coney Island, will be familiar to viewers, yet many are fresh and seem to predict our present day fascination with the sensationalistic and profane. While Weegee's work may be both, it is also accomplished, evocative, amusing, and like its extroverted creator, winning.

Danger Mouse Helms Gorgeous "Hearts" for Norah Jones

2012-05-01T00:14:00.000-04:00

(mp34fun)

Norah Jones has rebooted the folk-jazz sound she sported on four hit albums with the inventive and fresh new Little Broken Hearts.
The atmospheric, rhythmic new sound on the album is an extension of her collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, who first recorded together as part of last year's Rome album.

That album, the soundtrack to an imaginary film, also featured the work of Italian composer Daniel Lippi and rocker Jack White. Only intermittently engaging, Rome nonetheless proved a chance encounter that has resulted in an astute blend of Jones' sultry voice and love of melodic balladry with Mouse's agility with expansive soundscapes and funky rhythmic underpinnings.

Wisely, Mouse has kept the emphasis on Jones's gorgeous voice, doing little more than adding a bit of echo. The musical arrangements are otherwise spare but effectively integrate guitar and drums as well as organs and bass that are felt as much as heard. All this sonic splendor would be but gravy were the songs not solid and alluring.

Like the sturdy collection of pop songs that it is, Little Broken Hearts succeeds as both a beautiful set of sad love songs and a song cycle about the end of a relationship. From the opener, "Good Morning", where Jones seems to be waking up for the first time alone, to closer "All a Dream", which finds her ready to put another failed romance behind her, there is a sense of a story building up to an inevitable, unhappy ending that can't help but repeatedly draw the listener in.

There are so many lovely, memorable tracks on the album, it seems almost churlish to complain. However, it is worth mentioning "Miriam", the one track I fear may draw more attention that it merits. On this sparely arranged track, Jones confronts the other woman in an icy tone that would be more effective if the death threat was implied instead of verbalized. The result is a jarring moment that is more distracting that it should be. Not as painful as hearing Madonna hector "Die, bitch!" on her new album, it nonetheless strikes as a calculated move to appear edgy, something Jones is unlikely to achieve. Instead, the subtle, dynamic work she has done with Danger Mouse on her wonderful new album says far more about giving her an edge, as in advantage, in her effort to revive her sound and in the process, her image. Those who are truly tough need not raise their voice nor issue threats to be convincing.

The Systematic Squalor of Cindy Sherman

2012-04-24T12:11:00.000-04:00

(zimbio.com)

Photographer Cindy Sherman is enjoying a major retrospective at MoMA, her first solo exhibition in New York in 15 years.
A darling of the art world, Sherman currently holds the record for the most expensive photo sale, close to $4 million for Untitled #96 in 2011. The occasion of such an extensive career overview offers a rare opportunity for reappraisal of an artist who has enjoyed a largely unchallenged position as a photographic star. It is thus surprising to note the overall anticlimactic effect of the current exhibit. Covering a range of series, from early compact black and white stills to recent massive color photos, the one commonality is the fact of Sherman appearing as her camera's sole subject. That rare exception, the Disasters series from the mid-80s, is by far the least successful gallery in the MoMA show.

Despite the inherent limitation of artifice, it is precisely the most stylized photos of the Black and White Film Still series that are most effective, for it is formalism that is her most distinctive quality. The Centerfold series is most effective when she, the model, is most engaged. The series is devoid of eroticism, despite the title, and actually works best as an approximation of vintage Hollywood stills. The History Portraits are successful at least partly because their resemblance to (or aping of) famous portraits adds a sense of significance to an artist whose work is not always imbued with apparent meaning without the benefit of gallery text.

The Headshot series both shores up her strengths as a master makeup artist and costumer, and reveals the hollowness of her message. These women are either smeared with excessive foundation, or are made to appear to have some sort of skin disease. Whether they are society matrons, farmers, or party girls, the overriding message seems to be the same sense of systematic squalor. Despite her technical skills as a photographer, the contrived self-limitation (not to mention glaring narcissism) of casting only herself in her photos, and the exclusive format of her work as portraiture, means the work largely rises or falls on the strength of her subjects. Alas, as an actor/model, her skills are finite.

Along with the black and white film stills series, the society portraits from 2008 are the most compelling works in the exhibit. The evident singularity of focus inherent in the topic helps convey a sense of emptiness that finally renders the bulk of vulgarity that Sherman has previously championed as thoughtful, intelligible, focused, and unexpectedly affecting. There is a maturity and compassion to both the compositions and her modeling that lends this series a profundity that too much of the exhibit lacks. In sum, her work is simultaneously fascinating and limited.

Madge is the Face of the Aging Pop Starlet

2012-04-18T13:31:00.001-04:00

(Chicago Now)

Madonna’s career approaches no one so much as Barbra Streisand in her feat of remaining an immensely popular female recording artist with unrivaled longevity. Among the obvious differences is that Streisand sprang full formed as an immensely gifted musical theater star; that is, she was not only a tremendous singer, but she could act. Cut to 20 years later, when Madonna parlayed a similarly protean ambition and a background as a trained dancer into a recording career of phenomenal commercial success.

What Madonna faces as her recording career enters its third decade is the innate challenge of maturing as a recording artist in a genre, dance pop, that is as youth driven as any in music. Her first decade came to a close with the triumphant Like a Prayer album. That record laid the gauntlet down that she was to be taken seriously as a recording artist. The ensuing decade saw her cleverly subvert her artistic ambitions with first the naughty Erotica album and photo book, and then the prim Bedtime Stories. It wasn’t until the end of the ‘90s that she made another major artistic proclamation, Ray of Light.

Her career peaked with the release of the even stronger follow up, Music. Since then, she has released what is probably her least acclaimed album, American Lif,e and more recently, the likewise unloved Hard Candy, with its would-be MILF crotch shot. Looking back, her most successful album of the decade is clearly Confessions on a Dance Floor, an astute return to her dance-oriented roots that put her melodies over any overt message.

Thus, it is discouraging to listen to her new album, MDNA, a collection that is not likely to be remembered as one of her best. While some have dubbed this her “divorce” album, even that potentially ripe topic is rendered in a bitter petulance over the insight introspective maturity would likely offer.

After only a couple of spins, I found only eight of the 12 songs worthy of repeat listening. Among the lesser offerings is “Gang Bang”, which does feature an interesting, catchy techno arrangement, but is saddled with one of her weakest lyrics. To whit: “Drive, bitch, and while you’re at it die, bitch!” Shockingly funny once, but her ill-advised voiceover only underscores the song’s funless snark.

On the other end of the spectrum is the wonderfully melodic “Beautiful Killer” (on the deluxe version), which also features one of her most appealing vocals. “Masterpiece” is likewise pretty, but loses marks for trite lyrics. “Turn Up the Radio” is also listenable, yet the overall sense is that Madonna is neither making strides lyrically nor musically. “Some Girls” is a rare example of a track that features hypnotic synthesizers that not only nicely overshadow her voice, but provide a rare moment of transcendence. Too often, the clunky rhythms are neither fresh nor appealing, and this album’s over reliance on her voice as its virtuoso instrument is ill-advised, given all the glorious synths she’s surrounded herself with in the past.

If pop music is never more youth obsessed than the present, it’s clear that treading water and guesting younger rivals like Nicki Minaj is an express train to irrelevance. Madonna would be wise to view her platform as a mature artist as an opportunity to discover collaborators like Mirwais who will augment her music and encourage her to blaze new trails instead of speed dialing the flavor of the month, if she is to remain vital. How exciting it would be to hear Madonna return to making music that bolstered her credibility first, and seemed designed to shift units second.

"The Ungovernables" Survey at the New Museum

2012-04-10T14:04:00.004-04:00

The New Museum of Contemporary Art's second Triennial is called "The Ungovernables" and while the nature of contemporary art is often evanescent, this exhibit is relatively successful at presenting a snapshot of the state of the art scene, circa 2012.

As with any comprehensive survey, "The Ungovernables" is only as good as the work represented. To that end, there is a mixture of off-site works, sculpture, painting, and found objects. Given the zeal with which much contemporary art has embraced the theoretical as an essential component in both design and appreciation, the show works more effectively as an experience than it does when one sifts through photos of the works off-site. One could argue that works of substance should be able to stand on their own, not unlike other art forms like music and literature, yet those standards would inevitably render much current art inadequate.

Such is the challenge of the viewer who chooses to breeze by the wall literature at the New Museum and instead chooses to take the bulk of the found and assembled objects at face value. Call me a classicist, but while some of the environments are intriguing, it's challenging not to think about the logistics of moving them from museum to private collector's home, not to mention the matter of maintenance. Much of the so-called sculpture in this exhibit is precisely of this dubious nature and seems designed to not withstand the sort of scrutiny that being built to last demands. But then, perhaps that is a theoretical imperative of the Triennial.

When reviewing photos from the exhibit, I realized how many works I had forgotten shortly after my visit. I suspect many visitors will experience the same sensation. After numerous visits to the New Museum over the past few years, I have concluded that, given their dedication to contemporary strictures, it is questionable whether an exhibit will be able to match the majesty and singular achievement of this wonderful example of inspired contemporary architecture.

"Typewriter" is Enchanting Beat History

2012-04-04T13:44:00.008-04:00

(citylimits.com)

On my recent visit to Miami, I stumbled upon The Typewriter is Holy, a fascinating history of the Beat Generation.

I attended an alternative college in the Midwest, where Jack Kerouac's On the Road was widely considered essential reading, if not a blueprint for the sort of Bohemian lifestyle many of my classmates espoused. Still, my knowledge of the Beats was largely acquired through reading select works by Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs, and by visiting City Lights bookstore in San Francisco's North Beach, the unofficial home of the ramshackle group of writers who came to be known as the Beats.

I confess to a bit of hesitation as I perused the sale table at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida recently, one of the nation's outstanding indie bookshops. I was fascinated by the legend that hung over this distinctly American literary movement, yet knew little of the factual details until I read Bill Morgan's engrossing, comprehensive tome. Not only is his book thorough and informative, but it is great fun to read.

One of "Typewriter"s chief accomplishments is its ability to fold the renegade antics of such Beat luminaries as Neal Cassady into a cultural historical framework. Cassady is legendary for his mack daddy reputation for bedding numerous women, but his lengthy romantic relationship with Ginsburg and his literary aspirations are also illustrated, offering a portrait of a famous literary figure who was as much muse to his prolific peers like Kerouac and Ginsburg as he was frustrated artist.

In this sense of portraying the less famous figures in a key artistic movement like folk, Morgan's book is reminiscent of David Hajdu's marvelous Positively 4th Street, a cultural biography of the early 60s folk music scene as refracted in the relationships between Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, and Joan's sister Mimi and her husband Richard Farina. While Baez and Dylan in particular are clearly the more famous figures in Hajdu's book, the reader learns that Richard's fatal motorcycle accident cut short the promising career of his wife and he, and that Dylan's early career was very much influenced by the at-the-time more famous Baez.

Morgan evokes the chaotic, vagabond existence of his main characters, revealing how figures like Burroughs spent years overseas, at least partly motivated by the relatively lax drug laws that allowed him to indulge his drug habit. He also details how jazz music not only inspired many Beats, but was often used as a backdrop to early Beat readings. Ginsburg emerges as the key figure of the movement whose academic achievements as well as astute career ambitions helped secure his literary legacy. Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti is also revealed to be a benevolent publisher/owner of the bookstore/press that is City Lights.

While "Typewriter" does trade in a bit of the details of the writers' love lives that may only be of passing interest to scrupulous academics, his book has sufficient merit as both a scholarly study and a cultural biography to appeal to a wide swath of readers. His apparent insider status as an associate of many of the key Beat characters lends a sense of authenticity to the book that helps make reading it an evocative experience.

Don Cheadle Heads Biting "House of Lies"

2012-03-29T13:01:00.010-04:00

Don Cheadle in "House of Lies" (eurweb)

Don Cheadle is currently heading the cast of one of television's funniest shows, "House of Lies" on Showtime.

Cheadle, so memorable in such films as "Boogie Nights" and "Hotel Rwanda" (the latter earning him an Oscar nomination), has joined the likes of such talents as Laura Linney and signed on to a brilliant showcase of a show, and television viewers are all the more fortunate for these film stars turning their attentions to the small screen.

In Cheadle's case, he has enjoyed an association with filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, who has cast him in more acclaimed films like "Out of Sight", as well as popcorn fare like the "Ocean's" series. Wisely, Cheadle has seized the opportunity to create and embody a rich character like Marty Kaan on "House of Lies", the story of a team of management consultants with comically underdeveloped moral codes. That the show arrived in the midst of a massive recession only underscores the timeliness of "Lies".

The show's satirical tone is somewhat reminiscent of "Ally McBeal", yet "Lies" has the advantage of being on cable and thus has both the tendency and opportunity to indulge in occasionally raunchy humor and antics, often including sexually compromising situations. What grounds this frenetic show is the solid cast, led by Cheadle, but also featuring a raft of less familiar faces. One of the most promising actors on the show is Donis Leonard, Jr., as Roscoe, Cheadle's transgendered son. His astute underplaying helps underscore the importance of Cheadle's home life, a home that includes his father but not his ex-wife (and Roscoe's mom), the game Dawn Olivieri.

While the darkly humorous, satirical tone may diminish the sympathy quotient viewers may feel towards characters they choose to visit weekly, the writing and acting are strong enough to make "Lies" compelling viewing. Showtime scores yet another hit with "Lies", which has been renewed for another season. Until then, we have Linney's "The Big C" and Edie Falco's "Nurse Jackie" to look forward to.

David Lynch's Magic at Tilton Gallery

2012-03-23T10:00:00.008-04:00

David Lynch is enjoying his first solo art exhibit in New York since 1989 at the Tilton Gallery. Best known for surrealistic films such as "Blue Velvet" and "Mulholland Drive", both of which earned him Best Director Oscar nods, Lynch originally trained as a painter at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.

Given his notable filmmaking career, it is no surprise that his work on display at the Tilton Gallery's Upper East Side townhouse location incorporates a number of distorted photographic images, as well as a showcase short video, "Mystery of the Seeing Hand and Sphere" from 2009.

The work on display is an intriguing mix of oil and mixed media images, as well as digital prints, with a few charcoal drawings added to the mix. While the range of media may sound diffuse, the overall sense of distorted visual imagery is of a piece and in line with the artist's overarching focus on the bizarre lurking beyond the surface of the mundane.

What's so fascinating about Lynch's work is his ability to delve into various media, including film, video, painting, photography, and recently music, while sustaining a distinctive, gradually evolving vision. What distinguishes his work from that of fellow outre filmmaker Tim Burton, for example, is that Lynch eschewed for-hire feature film directing projects early in his career (the unsuccessful "Dune") to pursue his own singular muse in a series of acclaimed films such as the aforementioned films, as well as "Wild at Heart" and "Lost Highway".

Burton has been unusually successful honing his distinctively quirky, macabre vision in a series of Hollywood films, inevitably starring the iconoclastic film star Johnny Depp. One difference is that Burton has largely remained focused on pop cultural references presented in a linear cinematic style, whether it be "Batman", "Sleepy Hollow", or "Sweeney Todd". That his is a distinctive vision is undeniable, yet his intent is clearly as a filmmaker subverting the medium, like John Waters, versus a visual artist who happens to make films, like Lynch and fellow hyphenate David Byrne, an accomplished visual artist as well as famous musician.

All are important artists, yet it is the work of the singularly ambitious Lynch that is likely as any to endure in the cultural discourse of our time, as he has done as much as any contemporary filmmaker to expand the boundaries of popular culture to include the sort of art historical references, like surrealism, that are destined to elevate cinema, the art form to which he has devoted his primary energies, into the realm of high art.

"Nocturnes" is Diverting Holiday Reading

2012-03-18T17:17:00.011-04:00

(examiner.com)

I recently returned from a visit to Miami, where I scored two books from the sale table at Books & Books in Coral Gables, one of my favorite indie booksellers in the U.S.

Given my habit of reading lightly on holiday, I packed but one when I left for another journey, this time to the Bahamas. That book, Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall is by Man Booker Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, the Japanese-born, British author of such acclaimed novels as The Remains of the Day and Never Let Me Go. Both those novels were adapted into feature films, the former by the late, lamented James Ivory, of "A Room with a View" fame.

I was an Ishiguro virgin before I picked up Nocturnes and decided to give it a whirl. The book, Ishiguro's first collection of short stories, comprises five related tales involving music and night time. Given the thematic unity suggested by the book's description, I anticipated a serene collection that might bear a resemblance to the austere, haunting tale of the repressed butler in Remains of the Day. What I discovered instead is a collection that is both intriguing and quirky, but not the pensive meditation on life and art the book's title might indicate.

The stories are involving and all sport protagonists with interesting back stories, yet at least a couple seem to grapple with unusual plots that seem intent on elevating the sense of significance of each story. In particular, the story about a musician who undergoes cosmetic surgery to ostensibly augment his career begins as an intriguing psychological study that evolves into a tale of a chance encounter with an aging movie star and the theft of an award. The talent and skill involved with this collection is obvious, yet I couldn't help but feel like I had stumbled upon a writer's less distinguished work. If Nocturnes is more than the literary equivalent of an album of previously unreleased tracks like Odds & Sods by the Who, it nonetheless is likely to leave the reader with a sense that there is greater work to be discovered elsewhere.

The most memorable story is that of an itinerant musician who plays in a combo in Venice while befriending an elderly American woman who is apparently a cello virtuoso. What makes the story so successful is the plausible central relationship that is both wistful and tender, and as such is unlike most of the other stories. This is the final story in the collection, and it is a suitable ending to a collection that works best as a sampler for those eager to dive in and read one of Ishiguro's six acclaimed novels, which include four Man Booker Prize finalists. I for one am eager to read his recent Never Let Me Go, and curious to know where this gifted storyteller leads us next.

"The Sense of an Ending" is a Masterful Novel

2012-03-10T12:24:00.010-05:00

(randomhouse.co.nz)

The 2011 winner of Britain's Man Booker Prize, Julian Barnes' The Sense of an Ending is a wonderfully rich, lyrical novel that is a meditation on memory and aging which nonetheless offers up an unexpected ending that has stirred up its share of controversy.

I confess to being delightfully lulled into a literary reverie at the writer's insights as they are framed by a story of a group four schoolboys whose lives are touched by tragedy whilst still in secondary school. The impression that one death is the catalyst for much of the trajectory of the story is what is immediately reminiscent of another contemporary British novel, Ian McEwan's remarkable Atonement. Where "Ending" differs is the incident of another tragedy that hits even closer to home than that initial death.

The story absorbs this second incident and then continues on its rhapsodic path until the narrator, later in life, is reunited with a character from his past who manages to introduce him, and by extension the reader, to characters that can't help but prove bewildering as they proceed to dominate the book to its controversial conclusion. I confess to being confused at the end of "Ending", experiencing a sense of dislocation I can't recall upon closing a book in ages.

After rereading the final section of the book, it became clearer to me what that mysterious ending was indeed about. A few days on, I still question the extent with which Barnes throws this unexpected ending to his readers, given the overall elegiac and pensive tone of the bulk of this wonderful novel. I have since concluded that the ending does indeed work as a piece of the overall whole and may just prove to be its most memorable element.

While the book does not scream "film adaptation" as evidently as Atonement did when I read it years ago, there are sufficiently compelling characters and richly detailed sequences that would surely render a screen version quite intriguing. What is clear is that Britain seems to be enjoying a robust period of fiction writing, with veteran author Barnes offering perhaps his most widely acclaimed novel to date. It will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

Travel Memo: Miami Art Museum

2012-03-06T13:31:00.008-05:00

Miami Art Museum

I was out of town last week, and as such neglected my blog. Specifically, I was visiting Miami, and have chosen to share a few highlights from my travels.

While Miami's cultural offerings are notable, the city very much values its outdoor space and with it, the attendant outdoor activities. In the art department, there are at least four notable institutions: the Miami Art Museum, the Bass Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Wolfsonian. I have visited all but the Bass, and this visit it was the Miami Art Museum that I finally discovered.

MAM is located in an elevated plaza just steps from the Government Center stop on the city's sleek Metrorail elevated subway system. Miami has been a latecomer to the concept of mass transit, possibly due to the fact that trains most likely need to run above ground, due to the ever-present Atlantic Ocean. There is also an extensive Metrobus system, as well as talks to extend the rail system across Biscayne Bay to Miami Beach.

I rode the Metrorail from Coral Gables to Government Center and almost wish the ride had been longer, such was the appealing vista, looking north towards the Civic Center and beyond. The station stop was large and open, clean and appealing. I enjoyed the novelty of an alfresco escalator ride from the elevated station down to street level, then a staircase back up again to the plaza housing MAM, as well as the Main Library and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida. Did I mention outdoor sculptures both in this plaza, as well as down at street level? The weekly farmer's market helps round out the picture of a vibrant, dynamic urban center.

MAM is in the process of moving to larger quarters and as such, only the second floor was open during my visit. Still, it was a worthy take in, as a concise but thoughtful exhibit on Marcel Duchamp attests. Alas, the museum was sparsely populated, and one only hopes it will become more popular when it moves to its new home on Biscayne Bay in the newly designated Museum Park. What is planned for the current home of MAM is unclear, but for the sake of tourist traffic, it might be wise to install another cultural draw. For now, Miami's Civic Center is an appealing vista and well worth a visit.

"Kevin" Needs to be Talked About

2012-02-25T23:13:00.009-05:00

Tilda Swinton (bookorbigscreen)

Tilda Swinton is one of the most captivating screen actors of our time. Luckily, she has decided to pursue a most adventurous career, with recent roles in the Italian "I am Love" and the US/UK co-production "We Need to Talk About Kevin". Her films are as often art house fare as her Hollywood forays, including her Oscar winning role in "Michael Clayton" and the "Chronicles of Narnia" series.

It's worth noting the mixed blessing of an Oscar win for any number of female actors, particularly in the supporting category. Some, like Cate Blanchett, Marcia Gay Harden, and Rachel Weisz, juggle stage work to impressive results, while others like Mira Sorvino dwindle into minor turns in forgettable films. Thus it is all the more notable that Swinton has carved out an impressive, acclaimed career in a range of films that have met with accolades and consistently solid reviews for her work.

In "Kevin", she is never less than engrossing as a married writer with a son whose anti-social behavior troubles her from the start. John C. Reilly is well cast as her kindly but ineffectual husband who refuses to consider the implications of his son's destructive behavior on his family, particularly his wife. What elevates the film from realistic psychological drama is the dazzling visual imagery of director Lynne Ramsay. She takes what could have been a horror film and turned it into a psychological study with experimental motifs, including elliptical editing, abstract images, and an otherwise non-linear narrative.

With a combination of powerful story and remarkable acting, Ramsay only bolsters the impact of her disturbing film with her experimental visual style. Were these acting and writing components lacking, the film would likely come off as an arty horror film, but in Ramsay's assured hands, "Kevin" is both visually arresting and emotionally captivating. As engrossing as Swinton is as the heart of the story, the discovery of the film is Ezra Miller as the titular character. His notable physical resemblance helps tether him to Swinton, and his similarly intense demeanor only seals the deal.

Were "Kevin" a more accessible film, it is likely the critical accolades Swinton has received for her visceral work would have likely translated into an Oscar nomination. What distinguishes the British Swinton from some of her American peers is the sense that the awards and frequently lucrative US film roles may be appealing, but are merely one piece of her distinctive career puzzle. Her unpredictability is but one facet of her considerable appeal, not to mention an original approach to a professional trajectory that seems designed to help her build a sturdy, enviable career.

Goldfrapp's Radiant "Melancholy Sky"

2012-02-21T19:19:00.007-05:00

Alison Goldfrapp (am1700radio)

Greatest Hits collections are a curious creation. Ostensibly a gateway drug for the cautious fairweather fan, they have become seductive additions to the devotee's collection merely by dint of including the requisite two previously unreleased, evidently newly recorded tracks.

Such is the case with Goldfrapp's first career retrospective collection, prosaically titled "The Singles". The standard version sports a dozen hit songs, plus the new "Yello Halo" and "Melancholy Sky", the latter the first single from the collection and the more memorable of the two.

The plebian title and perfunctory cover aside, "The Singles" makes a persuasive case for the 'frapp as one of the most imaginative pop groups of the past decade. Decidedly non-chronological, the collection naturally emphasizes the biggest chart hits ("Ooh La La" and "Number 1" lead off the album) with a smattering of more atmospheric tracks ("Lovely Head" and "Black Cherry") folded in for good measure. The result is an unusually satisfying collection that manages to both showcase the hits and play to the group's strengths as eccentric tunesmiths with visionary arrangements and a startlingly original sound.

Being a fan means your favorite tracks are seldom the big hits, making a collection a mixed bag at best. Where this fact is most evident is on "Supernature" and "Seventh Tree", Goldfrapp's third and fourth albums. "Ooh La La" did help them find a wider audience, but it remains one of their least pensive moments, a blast of pure pop adrenalin bereft of the usual thoughtfulness and imagery of most of their songs. Likewise "Happiness", a pretty song that lacks the eccentricity and transporting quality of other "Seventh Tree" tracks like "Little Bird" and "Monster Love".

What makes "Melancholy Sky" so exciting is how it alternately evokes their more atmospheric, midtempo songs like "A&E" and "Paper Bag" while also pointing towards yet another new sound, this one a more expansive, orchestral arrangement with the rhythm playing a decidedly secondary role. "Sky" is very much about Alison's vocal mastery and lyrical imagery, like most of the group's best songs. In that sense, it probably most resembles "A&E" in its accessibility and adherence to standard song structure.

"Yello Halo" is a grower but is more dependent on the group's ever-present synthesizers for atmosphere and dynamics, as the song is undeniably lovely, yet wispy and melodically sketchy. Both songs are worth owning, but it is "Melancholy Sky" which more obviously offers the promise of continual discovery upon repeated listens. Happily, Goldfrapp are reportedly at work on what will be their sixth studio album. Until that release, we can savor the two new tracks off "The Singles".

"How I Learned to Drive" is a Triumphant Revival

2012-02-14T13:51:00.008-05:00

Elizabeth Reaser and Norbert Leo Butz in "How I Learned to Drive" (abc)

When Paula Vogel's play "How I Learned to Drive" won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1997, it was both on the wave of consensus acclaim for the play, as well as one of a minority of plays to do so without the benefit of a Broadway production.

Much has changed since that first New York production with David Morse and Mary Louise Parker at the Vineyard Theater. For one, it is now common for plays to win a Pulitzer without a Broadway production, particularly as the Great White Way has become ever more daunting a hill climb for the new playwright and the serious play.

For "Drive" is nothing if not serious, despite its expert balance of drama and humor, not to mention its implementation of theatrical conceits like the Greek chorus and direct address. Ostensibly the story of a young woman nicknamed Lil' Bit and her incestuous relationship with her Uncle Peck, in Vogel's astute hands, the play is about much more. For starters, there is a bracing examination of the nature of familiar love in its many forms, the role of women in 1960's suburban America, and the role of memory in shaping experience.

What makes "Drive" such compelling theater is not only Vogel's artful craft, but the spare, arresting staging by Kate Whoriskey at the enchanting Second Stage Theatre. The leads are played by two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz, fresh off his win for "Catch Me if You Can", and "Twilight" star Elizabeth Reaser. Three gifted actors round out the cast playing multiple roles, including the aforementioned Greek choruses. For those concerned that Reaser is a relatively unproven stage commodity, it's worth noting she is a Juilliard grad.

Happily, both leads bring their all to two complex, challenging roles. If Reaser does seem a bit uncertain during the opening monologue, it's only because that is the character speaking, and the play soon takes over and the captivating relationship at the center of the story soon takes off. The pair spend much of their time together simply seated in adjacent chairs head on, downstage center. The play jumps back and forth in time in decidedly cinematic fashion, and the group scenes likewise manage to enliven the proceedings and seamlessly flesh out the central relationship with family dynamics. Jennifer Regan deserves special mention for a compelling monologue revealing her knowledge of the nature of her husband's relationship with their niece.

This is the sort of play that used to be a sure bet for Broadway back when, before the musical began eating up an increasingly larger slice of the commercial theater pie. Recent studies indicate the average Broadway season is comprised of over 75% musical v drama. While Vogel certainly deserves a Broadway credit for this modern American drama classic, it's exciting to discover a major Broadway star like Butz in a Pulitzer winner at first rate Off-Broadway theater. Here's hoping the show requires an extension to its limited run.

"The Fall to Earth" is Potent Drama

2012-02-07T09:47:00.011-05:00

Jolie Curtsinger, Deborah Hedwall, and Amelia Campbell (showbusinessweekly)

Joel Drake Johnson is a Chicago-based writer whose potent play The Fall to Earth just completed a limited run at 59E59, a dazzling three-stage complex on 59th Street between Madison and Park Avenue.

"The Fall" began life at Chicago's esteemed Steppenwolf Theater before its 59E59 engagement. Presented here by a local troupe named InProximity Theatre Company, the play is a compelling three-character play about a mother and her adult daughter who travel to an undisclosed location to identify the remains of their late son/brother.

The cast features stage vet Deborah Hedwall and InProximity member Jolie Curtsinger as the survivors, while Tony nominee Amelia Campbell rounds out the cast as a local police officer familiar with Kenny, the dearly departed. Joe Brancato directs with an able hand and this little play that could has just announced a production in Los Angeles.

While I enjoyed the final performance on Sunday, I was not sniffling like a number of audience members were. A few moments seemed a bit forced, and thus pulled me out of the play when I wanted to be drawn in. The story is intriguing for what is evident, as well as for what is revealed in the course of the play. The scenic design is clever, as it features a seamless transition from hotel room to police precinct with aplomb.

The elements were largely in place for a cathartic experience, yet I found a bit of murkiness somewhere between the exposition, direction, and acting. In particular, Hedwall's narcissistic mother's trajectory from bumpkin to abuser is not altogether organic. An undeniably powerful actor, she seemed a bit forced as the unsympathetic details of her relationship with her late son emerge late in the play. More consistent is the work of Curstinger, who captures the veiled air of tolerance many adult children feel towards their flawed parents.

As for Campbell's police officer, her work is likewise potent, and her character's limitations are both captivating to watch, and pivotal in the development of the plot. There are a few awkward moments in the play that seemed to come across as confusing, moreso than the playwright seemed to intend. In particular, there is a scene where Campbell unexpectedly visits Hedwall's hotel room with groceries, and is lured into staying for dinner. It's hard not to imagine how this scene could have played out had the actors been directed to play awkward instead of seeming confused.

In all, a very sturdy play given a belated, worthy production here in New York. I suspect that had the characters been more readily identifiable New York types, the play might have enjoyed an extended run. Joel Drake Johnson is certainly a playwright to watch. Let's hope his next local production enjoys a lengthier run.

Nothing Shabby About This "Abbey"

2012-02-02T11:12:00.006-05:00

Maggie Smith in "Downton Abbey" (thedelightedobservationist)

The great Maggie Smith is back in my living room, where she belongs. More specifically, the glorious historical drama "Downton Abbey" from Masterpiece Classic is back for season two. Created by Julian Fellowes, an Oscar winner for penning Robert Altman's final film "Gosford Park", the series is a similarly witty, astute study of aristocrats and their underlings in early 20th century England.

Wisely, Fellowes was able to lure Dame Maggie into duty as a similarly tart-tongued dowager as she played so memorably in "Gosford Park" in his latest project. A justly lauded acting legend, Smith is furnished with the bulk of the most memorable lines in the series, and her unrivaled comic genius guarantees peals of laughter. But "Abbey" has layers of intrigue and plot complications that render the series far more than a wry romp.

The matter of the Grantham family, led by Hugh Bonneville's stately patriarch, and their involvement in the first World War makes for fascinating character studies of both the aristocratic Granthams, and the servants living and working downstairs. Lord Grantham's marriage to an American, wonderfully underplayed by Elizabeth McGovern, only creates a forum for a certain brand of knee jerk British antipathy towards all matters American that Smith, as Bonneville's dowager mother, revels in.

The cast is both consistently inspired, and relatively unknown to American audiences. This in contrast to the all-star cast of "Gosford Park", which showcased Helen Mirren, Alan Bates, Eileen Atkins, and Michael Gambon among others. While this second season does differ in its more elaborate locations and wider angle shots, it remains an intimate, fascinating character study with a requisite sense of claustrophobia. That said, it is the scenes set inside the titular estate that prove the most memorable. The inevitable complications and tensions between the various inhabitants are the bread and butter of a costumed period drama such as "Abbey", and the creators wisely stick mostly close to home.

The series has proved a massive commercial and critical success, and it is thrilling to consider the prospect of returning to visit "Downton Abbey" for a few more years to come.

Why "Are You There", Chelsea?

2012-01-26T00:23:00.010-05:00

Laura Prepon and Chelsea Handler (NBC)

It is telling that Chelsea Handler does not play the lead character on "Are You There, Chelsea?", the new network sitcom based on her best selling book Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.

I first encountered Chelsea Handler, author, during a Christmas hols visit to Florida. As a delayed departing flight hit the amorphous 30 minute mark, I got restless and decided to wander the terminal shops. Happily finding a bookshop, I soon discovered the selection extended only as far as the usual New York Times bestseller suspects. "Vodka" had recently been issued in paperback, and I decided to take the plunge. The book was not only funnier than I expected, but I was done reading before our two-hour-plus-delayed flight alighted.

Cut to the current television season, and the belated arrival of this largely conventional series. One of the first questions that comes to mind upon initial viewing is, "Why did this show not go to cable, a venue innately better suited to the ribald Handler?" After all, the source material includes amusingly recounted antics of inebriated altercations with law enforcement officials, squeamishly detailed sexual encounters, and embarrassing secrets about her family, including her hapless sister, Sloane. Perhaps the wryest irony is that Handler is cast not as herself, but as said sister.

Like the decision to cast her in the show but not as herself, the show itself can't help but feel a bit off-center. It's as if her supporting role in a show based on her life was a metaphor for the network shoehorning her decidedly R-rated exploits to the sidelines, the better to downplay her naughtiness for the masses. That, in a nutshell, is at the heart of the ill-conception that is "Chelsea" the series. Did the producers think that fitting her with a brown wig and shoving her off to a supporting role would trick the audience into forgetting they were watching the real Chelsea? Did Handler propose the idea as a form of meta-performance to the network? Did the network concede to letting her co-star in the show, knowing that a gifted comedienne she is, a skillful actor she's not?

Whatever the deal-striking, this conventional show may be somewhat risque in content, but its looks are decidedly recycled formalism. The bar where Laura "Chelsea" Prepon works is reminiscent of Central Perk from "Friends", which was a throwback to the bar in "Cheers", which reminds of the bar in the current "How I Met Your Mother." There is a sameness to the look of the show that does nothing so much as evoke boredom, not the sense of familiarity the designers were likely after.

Prepon and bartender Jake McDorman are game, but the Ted (see HIMYM for details) of this show is Natasha Leggero, a petite brunette staffer with evidently augmented breasts that are both the source of uninspired jokes, and seemingly her sustaining character trait. She is neither particularly gifted comically, nor particularly likable. As for Handler, she occasionally hits her comic mark, but she clearly lacks the technique of a formally trained actor. Her character is a mouthy prude whose louche demeanor suggests the party girl sister who is playing her.

Handler's chat show is one of late night's guiltiest pleasures, with the hostess mouthing off on any number of topical issues, including her sustained disdain for the Kardashians. Funny then that she seems to be similarly attempting to dominate the media with her pair of network series, her series of bestselling books, and the occasional film role, including an upcoming role in the new Reese Witherspoon movie. Would that her Oscar-winning friend could impart acting advice to the game but untrained actor Chelsea Handler.