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Kinan Azmeh and CityBand Bring the Soul of Syria to Joe’s Pub
Cabaret
Victoria L. Dammer

Kinan Azmeh and CityBand Bring the Soul of Syria to Joe’s Pub

Azmeh acknowledged that the horrors in Syria had inspired much of his music. He then added, “The dictator is gone, and the melody survived,” referencing the recent news that Assad had fled the country. His words were met with resounding applause.

The Diary of Anne Frank at the Algonquin Arts Theatre
Off Broadway
Victoria L. Dammer

The Diary of Anne Frank at the Algonquin Arts Theatre

After coming to power, the Nazi Germany forced Anne Frank, a teenage girl from Frankfurt, and her family to flee to Amsterdam. With the eventual occupation of the city, the family went into hiding along with several others in a tiny apartment above a warehouse. The 13-year-old wrote in several journals that revealed a teenage girl’s horrors, dismay, and everyday emotions as she was stuck in captivity.

My First Ex-Husband at the MMAC Theater
Off Broadway
Tulis McCall

My First Ex-Husband at the MMAC Theater

I remember the stories in her one-person show Me, My Mouth & I over 10 years ago—especially that one-liner of appreciation from Steve Allen. Good writing lasts. Behar opens this Readers Theatre event by telling us that she interviewed women who were divorced, separated, or widowed and compiled their stories into a show. Works for me. Many shows have been created using this method—The Vagina Monologues for one.

Bill Chats: Bill T.Jones in Conversation with Judith Butler
Off Broadway
Holli Harms

Bill Chats: Bill T.Jones in Conversation with Judith Butler

Jones and Butler shared the stage for one night only to discuss the insanity they see around them and what must be done. They spoke of a divisiveness that our nation has not only embraced with the vote of 47 but is pushing further and further into all aspects of our daily lives. The discussion touched upon the separation and segregation of the haves and have-nots, pillaging institutions of education, health, home care, elder care, the military, and government departments. This destruction, they warned, will deepen poverty and hardship for all except the billionaire class.

So Like You Know Whatever
Behind the Scenes
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

So Like You Know Whatever

Words like “so, like, you know, whatever” often make it challenging to decipher true intent beneath the verbal padding. I can’t help but wonder: do they speak this way in the boardroom, the classroom, at life’s pivotal moments? But honestly, I’m not critiquing—just smiling at the evolution of language, the playful rhythm of how we connect. It’s their time, their voice. And in that, I find a kind of poetry. Still, I can’t help but drift back to my own coming-of-age, when words carried different weight. Back in the days when the Vietnam War raged, my peers h

D.H. Lawrence: The Rainbow and Censorship
Behind the Scenes
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

D.H. Lawrence: The Rainbow and Censorship

Its bold themes, vibrant characters, and poetic prose make it one of the most significant works of modernist literature. Yet, this groundbreaking novel faced severe literary censorship due to its unflinching portrayal of sexuality and individual freedom. Today, it stands as a beacon of artistic defiance and social progress.

Antiquities at Playwrights Horizons
Theater
Tulis McCall

Antiquities at Playwrights Horizons

The play takes us through several centuries of human development. At each of these stops along the way, the humans consider themselves more or less on top of it. Even in the face of death, there is no fear that we are all going to hell in a handbasket. Harrison sprinkles hopelessness like the scent of poppies in The Wizard of Oz.  We are the observers and the observed.   I am reminded of the Hans Christian Anderson movie musical when Danny Kaye sang “… here’s a tale of a simple fool: just glance at a page or two.”

Transcription as Translation by The Orchestra Now
Music
Edward A Kliszus, Editor-in-Chief / Music and Arts Critic

Transcription as Translation by The Orchestra Now

There are moments in music when the familiar is made fresh, and the well-trodden illuminate anew. Such was the case when The Orchestra Now took the stage at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Leon Botstein, a conductor whose boundless energy and intellectual curiosity have long fueled concert programs of unparalleled originality.

STILL at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture’s Loreto Theater
Off Broadway
Tulis McCall

STILL at The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture’s Loreto Theater

Mark (Mark Moses) is a successful and, more importantly, DIVORCED lawyer living in Colorado. The kids are grown, and he is looking for a new chapter that may be sitting right in front of him. Helen (Melissa Gilbert) is a successful author with no children and no romantic relationship anywhere. The flame is rekindled, and the game is afoot. We see this coming from the opening moments. There is nothing new or intriguing here. There is quite a bit of cutesy that feels appliquéd. Neither of these characters is cutesy.

Kinan Azmeh and CityBand Bring the Soul of Syria to Joe’s Pub

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