CB Update

Nothing makes the CB's feel more cutting edge than waking up to a front page Art Section review in the NYT about a play we have tickets for! This morning it was The Seagull which Ben Brantley dubbed "the finest and most fully involving production of Chekhov that I have ever known." Not bad! Last week it was a review of Equuis which was a bit mixed, but, in it, Brantley praised "Mr. Radcliffe’s compact, centered presence (which he retains even stark, raving naked). . . . it’s the look of someone who sees and feels more deeply than ordinary folk" (yes, we are going to see Harry Potter naked--as my daughter says, "Shocking!"). We can't wait until October 15th when we finally get back to NYC.

What else have we been doing? We went to a movie theatre in Lowell with another buddy last weekend to catch a showing of Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway, a film of the live show which closed on Broadway last month after 12 years. This film is so much more than just the taping of one performance. Cameras were allowed into the theater to record two special performances (one at the end of August and the final night), and the result is an up-close and personal experience that is quite amazing. When it is eventually (hopefully) released on DVD, this is a must have for any fan of the theatre!

Our first Sunday Key Cinema Club (West Newton, MA) viewing a couple weeks ago was Humbolt County, a so-so movie about a commune-like community of marajuanna growers in CA who are trying to live peacefully outside of the law and grow just enough pot to sustain their lifestyle (and provide for their recreational use). When an uptight medical student is dropped into the mix, you can imagine what transpires . . . The good points were the filming of the beautiful, untouched landscape and some strong performances by the blissed out older hippie couple that the central character ends up staying with, and their seven year old grandaughter (an amazing performance by this young girl). Overall--a good movie to put on your Netflix list when it is released.

Speaking of Netflix, Ann passed her copy of Starting Out in the Evening to me a couple weeks ago, and I finally got around to watching it yesterday. Frank Langella gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Leonard Schiller, a retired teacher and all-but-forgotten novelist. His four completed novels are long out of print, and, in his 70s, he is toiling away at a fifth.
His routine is interrupted by an ambitious young graduate student, played by the amazing Lauren Ambrose, who wants to write a master’s thesis on Leonard and reintroduce him to the reading public. He is both flattered and a little befuddled by the attention — which is more than simply scholarly. Lili Taylor has a great role as Leonard's daughter; I always find her a compelling actor to watch on screen. Overall, definately worth watching.

That's it for now . . .