Commentary

Book Review: Elizabeth Warren and Alexander S. Vindman — Gifted with a Moral Compass

September 5, 2021
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The idea of America is elusive and sometimes, like right now, in danger of disappearing. That is why I have found myself turning for comfort to two books that can give us some perspective as to how to move forward.

Author Appreciation: Historian Stephen B. Oates

August 31, 2021
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No writer, historian, or filmmaker ever took me nearly as close to Abraham Lincoln the man as did Stephen B. Oates. I have always been indebted to him for that.

Music Remembrance: Gospel singer Lee Williams

August 31, 2021
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A household name in Black America, Lee Williams had little need for the kind of crossover project that can earn a gospel act attention from the secular music media.

Book Review: “Was It Yesterday?: Nostalgia in Contemporary Film and Television” — Looking at the Past, Fearlessly

August 31, 2021
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The essays in this excellent volume consistently show that nostalgia is about something, and it matters.

Music Remembrance: Don Everly (1937-2021)

August 29, 2021
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The Everly Brothers’ close harmony work was so sinuous it sometimes seemed close to witchcraft.

Music Remembrance: Charlie Watts (1941-2021)

August 25, 2021
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Watts’ relentlessly unembellished drive on dozens of classic songs, from “Satisfaction” and “Shattered” to “Connection,” is what makes them so danceable.

Theater Commentary: Is It the Right Time for “Our Town”?

August 6, 2021
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These days, I’m not in a mood to be comforted in the theater by either toasting or roasting chestnuts.

Film Feature: Best of American Film Noir, 1940-1959 — An International Poll

August 4, 2021
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The results of a Facebook contest for the Best of American Film Noir, 1940-1959

Theater Commentary: Healers, Cool Your Heels

July 27, 2021
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Throughout history, theater has been a place where the community has looked honestly at what is killing it.

Author Interview: “Of Thee I Sing” — Ben Railton on the Cycles of American Patriotism

July 27, 2021
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“If you are more critical or try to highlight some of the worst things that happen in America, then you are un-American or anti-American.”

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