Month: February 2008

  • The Joy of Insignificance

    Poor Eran Kolirin. When I spoke with the director of The Band’s Visit a few weeks ago, he had been traveling so much that his jet lag kept him from even an hour’s sleep. Then, just minutes before this interview, he managed to whack his head against the door frame of the car that brought…

  • A Dearth of Hookers and Blow

    It has become quite obvious in recent days that loyal service just isn’t rewarded within the legislature anymore. As recently as a handful of years ago, long-tenured legislators and officials would be shown the public’s appreciation through pompous public ceremonies and the occasional backroom smorgasbord of hookers and blow. But Lindsey Lohan’s rates have gone…

  • All Truth Passes through Three Stages

    THEATER & PERFORMANCEThe Language of Love After weeks of rehearsals and rewrites — and even blogging for us in our Just Passing Through blog — local playwright Aditi Kapil is finally debuting two of her works this evening. The first, Love Person, directed by Risa Brainin, isn’t your ordinary love story — about physical attraction,…

  • Open Thread: Back In the Bucket vs. Toronto

    Game #56, Road Game #26: Minnesota 85, Toronto 107 Season Record: 12-44 Well the Foo Fighters were great until they strung a trio of their pop hits together at the encore–the hard rockers were their metier, and the acoustic set, while solid, simply disrupted their stride and made it difficult to settle back into that raging…

  • The Band’s Visit

    "My inspiration can from an image I had in my head," said director Eran Kolirin. "I pictured a tough Arab man—a man in uniform—singing a song that had been trapped inside of him." There is no better way, really, to describe The Band’s Visit. It is a starkly beautiful work that carries all the tension…

  • Hot Stupid Foreign Nannies

    It started like this: My 13-year-old daughter walked into a room where I was reading and my husband was opening a bottle of wine (which she would tell you is what we’re always doing, except when we’re working or yelling at her) and said, "You remember when I went to Karl and Julia’s when I…