Leisure

Reviews and think pieces on music, movies, art, and theater.

Leisure

Versatile acting shines in Studio play

Has American society has reached a stage where superficial appearances are valued above all else? We are constantly bombarded with images of “beautiful” people and find ourselves trying to conform to these stereotypes. Are we motivated to change to improve ourselves, or simply to impress others? The Studio Theatre’s production of Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things raises pointed moral questions about the nature of change and the extremes one is willing to go to for art and love.

By the November 14, 2002

Leisure

Liquid Lunchables

If the D.C. bar scene was a collection of packable lunch items, The Tombs would be the peanut butter sandwich?reliable and tasty. But the same lunch everyday gets boring. Sometimes you need to throw in a Lunchable or a Snack Pak. If the Tombs has been the center of your diet, it’s time to mix in some new ingredients.

By the November 14, 2002

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Falsettos delivers false promises

Just where did the lesbians next door come from and why should we care about them? It’s a question you will end up pondering towards the end of the ponderous Mask & Bauble production of Falsettos, an overlong musical whose size couldn’t be overcome, even with some good performances.

By the November 14, 2002

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Frida keeps its plot in the gutter

Frida Kahlo was a lover, not an artist. On occasion, between bisexual liaisons and frequent battles with her unfaithful husband, she painted. This is what Julie Taymor leads audiences to believe in her new film Frida. The long-awaited biopic is a kitchen sink of non-discrimination, focusing on everything except that which is most important—the paintings.

By the November 7, 2002

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With New Day, Gray’s soul tires out

The year 2000 was replete with heartwarming success stories of musical perseverance: Eminem, the Faint and Radiohead all broke big after long paying their dues outside of the top 40. The real winners of that year, however, were Moby and David Gray. Both stories had a touch of romance, desperation and American (er, Irish) spirit to them, as each artist broke through, neither relying on the strength of an edgy new sound nor the wake of industry buzz and beginners luck.

By the November 7, 2002

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‘Cope’-ing with success

Whether or not you’ve heard of Clarence Greenwood, a.k.a. Citizen Cope, it’s likely that you will hear a lot of him in the coming months. The D.C. native’s new self-titled album has been acclaimed by the Washington Post, Rolling Stone and many others. Cope’s video for the song “If There’s Love” off his album has been in heavy rotation on M2 and is featured on the network’s new compilation.

By the November 7, 2002

Leisure

Comic relief

Calvin & Hobbes is lost in comic rerun without any chance of revival. Peanuts died with creator Charles Schultz. It’s doubtful that anyone really even reads Family Circus anymore, or if anyone ever did. The state of current comic syndication is pretty stagnant, save for a few Mutts ‘toons every now and then.

By the November 7, 2002

Leisure

I (heart) D.C.

Every year at this time in New York City, thousands of musicians and indie rock fans gather together for the College Music Journal Music Marathon. The event’s bands all play in separate venues and it’s a great way to check out all the different clubs in New York, while hearing everything from Chemical Brothers to Ugly Casanova, to anything put out by Saddle Creek.

By the October 31, 2002

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… but Theatrical Shorts falls short

Nomadic Theater’s Theatrical Shorts present six plays written by a variety of playwrights?August Strindberg, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter?and is directed by Professor Baker-White, a professor in the Department of Art, Music and Theater. The actors make an admirable effort, but they frequently demonstrate an inability to subsist on the mere scraps and bare bones with which they are provided.

By the October 31, 2002

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This Del’s for you

The best thing about West Coast underground hip-hop acts is that they aren’t trying to sell you an image. They just try to write engaging or, at the very least, amusing rhymes. Often, a self-aware sense of humor lies behind the lyrics, allowing these artists to avoid the trap of boasting and marketing one’s own ego at the expense of the music.

By the October 31, 2002

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Nomadic stands tall with Laramie …

All societies would like to believe that theirs is perfect, immune from instances of intolerance, prejudice and senseless violence. Nomadic Theatre’s new production of The Laramie Project is an intense look at one community’s crisis following a hate-driven murder that shattered this illusion.

By the October 31, 2002

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Politics, biology collide at Corcoran

Molecular Invasion, a new exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery, is possibly one of the more bizarre art attractions currently showing in the D.C. area. Presented by the Critical Art Ensemble, the project is a loud, brazen criticism of the environmental effects of advances in biotechnology.

By the October 31, 2002

Leisure

Ring around the remake

This is what you see before you die: The ocean surf lapping against the waterlogged carcass of a horse. A chair spinning upside down. A woman in black jumping off a windswept cliff. A glowing ring. These images, couched in the blue-gray hues of the video age, feature on a tape that kills its viewers in Gore Verbinski’s The Ring.

By the October 24, 2002

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Eggers, Giants bring quirks to GW

Like many smart, original shows before it, McSweeney’s vs. They Might Be Giants opted to skip Georgetown University on its national tour, and instead head straight to The George Washington University. Yet this might be the only way it has followed in the footsteps of others.

By the October 24, 2002

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‘Ultimate aphrodisiac’ has a price

“War criminal,” says writer Christopher Hitchens in a brief shot in the opening minutes of The Trials of Henry Kissinger, “isn’t a piece of rhetoric, it isn’t a metaphor, it’s a job description.” For several years now, this mercurial, chain-smoking Englishman has been trying to attach that “job description” to larger-than-life diplomat Kissinger.

By the October 24, 2002

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Faith for evermore

Former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton started his own record label, Ipecac Recordings, intending to purge the music industry of its banal artistic talent and provide an antidote. Take a quick look, and you’ll find out there isn’t a better man to do it.

By the October 24, 2002

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Looking for the lighter side of racism

If there’s one thing your coffee table needs this season, it’s a big book with the word “racism” on the cover. Ego Trip’s Big Book of Racism should fit the bill nicely. The book assembles a field of startlingly honest voices for a selection of lists and essays that seem to agree on at least one thing: Letting taste and political correctness reign in the discourse on race is pointless.

By the October 24, 2002

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Arena hits with Misanthrope

Picture it: An obsequious throng seeks to curry favor from the higher-ups. The ambitious and the career-obsessed unflinchingly spout false compliments in order to get ahead. And anyone who rejects this system of self-serving superficiality and farce, but instead feels compelled to always speak the truth, is reviled as an aberration.

By the October 17, 2002

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Sandler takes serious turn

“I don’t like myself sometimes. Can you help me?” It’s jarring to hear this statement from the mouth of Adam Sandler. It indicates a self-awareness hardly characteristic of the clown prince of the stupid male comedy. Audiences have come to expect violence and profanity but not sensitive pleading.

By the October 17, 2002

Leisure

Wilco reaps fruits of success, yuppies

Like conquering heroes surveying their newly-won realm, Wilco came to the 9:30 Club earlier this week for a pair of sold-out dates. After the impressive critical and commercial success of the band’s latest album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, as well as a well-received film documenting its making and the band’s most extensive mainstream press coverage to date, Wilco has reached a decidedly new audience since its swing through D.

By the October 17, 2002