It is true that those who despise Mark Morris’ dancemaking do so for the same reasons many of us find him the most innovative choreographer of his generation. In some eyes, Morris has brought a fine-tuned and sensitive musicality formerly missing from postmodern dance, while his gender-bending style helped liberate…
AUSTIN–Early into Before Sunrise, as Jesse (the traveling American played by Ethan Hawke) and Celine (the French student, portrayed by Julie Delpy) share their first moments on Eurail bound for Vienna, Hawke’s character explains an idea for a cable access program that would run 24 hours a day for an…
All movie fans have a filmmaker they latch onto, take to heart, and enthusiastically root for. Their triumphs make you euphoric and their failures make you surly and sad, and once you’re plugged into the thrill of following their careers, the emergence of each new work is simultaneously thrilling and…
thursday january 26 Friends of the Major: Major Theatre co-owners Rob Clements and Bryce Gonzalez present the debut screening and reception for what they plan to be a regular series of special events. Friends of the Major is what they call it, and it’s a combination fund-raiser and meeting-of-the-minds. For…
It was three NFC championship games ago. I was standing in the driveway of the Cowboys’ San Francisco hotel–one day before Dallas beat the 49ers. Charles Haley was standing nearby, waiting for cough medicine. None that tastes bad, he told his wife, in a fine rendition of the man-who-has-a-cold whine…
When the curtain first lifted on the antimusical Avenue X, my first thought was, this is just another musical. That’s not a bad thing normally, but I expected a different, scrappy kind of beginning rather than the entire ensemble gently singing a lovely opening number amidst a muted set. The…
Paul Newman is our most complex living movie icon. The man and his image are loaded with contradictions–he is an actor of fairly limited abilities, but at least a dozen of his performances from a 41-year career have been burned into our consciousness with the force of genius. Newman’s appearances…
For several years now, I’ve wondered if I simply didn’t get the movies of Krzysztof Kieslowski, the Polish filmmaker who specializes in fare so abstract, obtuse, and overtly symbolic that it’s nearly impossible to read it fully and accurately in one sitting. The first film of his that I sat…
It’s not at all surprising that when Susan Sarandon finally edged away from earthy sexpot roles and began embracing characters with maternal streaks, she’d do it with the same warmth, clearheadedness, and street-smart charm she’s displayed throughout her long and fruitful career. In the past six months, she’s played three…
After several years of talking about it, the Inwood Theater’s parent company, Landmark, has finally decided to sink money into restoring the 48-year-old building. The three-phase renovation process is already under way, with workers busily cleaning and repairing various murals and other artwork. The theater was designed with an aquatic…
thursday january 19 Women’s Voices: Kitchen Dog Theatre delivers a calmer though no less cerebral follow-up to its physically draining Zastrossi. Women’s Voices is an evening of one-acts described by the company as “feminist”–not a very popular adjective these days. Still, both pieces strive to present a dramatic situation in…
In case you haven’t noticed yet, it’s Valentine’s Day in the seasonal aisle at Kroger. That means it’s about the day big-league pitchers and catchers normally report to camp in Florida and Arizona. But, of course, it isn’t going to happen. The only baseball players doing any showing up anytime…
Writer-director John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood was a triumph of intimate storytelling–an African-American melodrama set in a bullet-riddled South Central Los Angeles populated by believable characters who possessed strong, simple emotions. While watching it, you knew (except during a couple of “message” scenes) that you were in confident directorial…
Though 1994 was an interesting year for local imagesmiths, I bet it won’t hold a candle to 1995. Nearly three dozen independent theatrical features either were shot or commenced shooting in the Dallas-Fort Worth area last year; still more are planned. So consider the following list of faves as the…
Matt Zoller Seitz When H.L. Mencken wrote that criticism is prejudice made plausible, he was onto something. Like music, movies are more often fueled by passion than intellect. They invite, even demand, borderline-irrational gut responses. As a result, it’s always difficult to come up with year-end “Best” lists–especially when you…
You ever know a woman who says, “It’s so nice to meet a guy who’s not a JERK”? Is this supposed to be a compliment? Isn’t this about like saying, “Your intelligence appears to be higher than a sea otter. That’s great.” When did being a non-jerk become a sign…
thursday january 12 Sincerity Forever and The A Merkin Dream: Naked Mirror Productions presents two one-act plays together, the first a Southwest premiere by one of the country’s leading dramatic innovators and the second a world premiere by a young pup in the theatre world. Dallas theater-goers are most familiar…
Michael Irvin sat in the middle of the Dallas Cowboys’ locker room signing footballs and glossies hours after practice. They were for unknown people on the outside somewhere. He was the last Cowboy around. A shoe guy was holding out the ’95 Nike with two hands for Irvin’s perusal, like…
Have you noticed how many things can cause fistfights these days? I mean, things that used to be considered normal, and even polite, but now they’re grounds for fights, lawsuits and general ugliness. For example, the words “Excuse me.” “Excuse me” used to be what you would say if you…
In the middle of the public premiere of Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “Ode to Joy,” the elderly, decrepit, bitter composer leaves his seat in the audience and wanders onstage as if drawn by a supernatural beacon. He’s remembering an incident of childhood abuse at the hands of his drunken…
thursday january 5 Elvis Presley’s 60th Birthday: If you really want to rile die-hard Elvis fans, pop the subject of the King’s new son-in-law and watch their ears burn. Last October’s planned tribute to Elvis at Graceland was supposed to feature Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley performing duet versions…
John Jiler seems the least likely candidate to write a musical. A 48-year-old free spirit who doesn’t remember the ’60s–and therefore must have been there–Jiler says his only ambition through much of adulthood “was to have as many strange experiences as possible.” The playwright, who is half Irish-American and half…
