Big Eyes

I can't stop thinking about this movie, 

but for all the wrong reasons

      I've been infatuated with Keane's paintings since they first appeared to me in the '70s.  I did a lot of pebble art in the early '60s and big eyed elves were a common subject matter for 

Pebble Art Elf

them.  I can't help but wonder if Margaret Keane wasn't influenced by them. Later on, the Keane paintings became a running gag on SNL. I don't recall any of the controversy over the paintings so when I saw the story on CBS This Morning, I was immediately sold on seeing the movie.  Unfortunately, the report focused on the movie's entire story and the film didn't bother to expound much beyond that. 

Margaret's Studio

      The best part of the movie for me was the flawless art direction by Chris August.  Candy coated pastels appeared throughout to emphasize the time period and innocence of the

Is the Movie Musical Back?

Annie and Into the Woods

are the tent poles for this Holiday Season

     TV ads have trumpeted Annie and Into the Woods and it’s a watershed moment when two big musicals are opening this close together.  The movie musical was declared dead back in the early ‘70s when a number of the monstrously expensive stage generated properties failed to perform and broke the 

Opening Scene of The Sound of Music

old time studios.  The three that work are The Sound of Music (1965) because of Julie Andrews, West Side Story (1961) because of the dancing and arguably the greatest Broadway

Sleeping Beauty at Ensemble Theatre

Thanks for an original version of a classic tale

     Sleeping Beauty by Joseph McDonough and David Kisor has been remounted by Lynn Meyers at Ensemble and it’s charming.  We saw it five years ago and it’s been modified in