The 9/11 Museum – Fifteen Years After
Considered “a place of solemn reflection,” the 911 Museum which lies in the footprints of the North and South towers, underneath the reflecting pools, is a sobering and exhilarating experience. Sobering because as you enter the building, head down the stairs to the lower exhibition level, the knot in your stomach tightens. Exhilarating because of […]
Visiting the Mighty Tower that is One World Observatory
It’s magnificent. If the original Twin Towers signaled a shining hour of building greatness, the new Freedom Tower at 102 floors is a new marvel of the modern age. While the 9/11 Museum is a slow-paced time to reflect, the tower is like a ride at a theme-park. With scheduled times to enter, the place […]
The Whitney – Go Ahead and Take the Tour
After about the 30th painting, my eyes were going cross-eyed, and any comprehension was questionable. Reading the artists’ notes, peering into the artwork, contemplating the exhibits, one gets a bit weary. And, I’d only gone through two of the Whitney’s massive seven floor art collection. What was I to do, especially since every art piece […]
Rob Thomas and Counting Crows – Ten Years Later, Bethel Woods Keeps Doing It Right
Despite that it’s going to be 50 years since the infamous ’69 concert took place on the great meadow that is now Bethel Woods, the spirit of the place still has a free-spirited, friendly, Woodstocky feel. As K. Phillips, the folksy opener for Rob Thomas and Counting Crows, played his set on this perfect summer […]
Comedian Jim Gaffigan Takes the Stage as Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary
Bethel Woods celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and the place looks damn good. The lawns continue to be meticulously maintained, the grounds are still immaculate, the museum still draws thousands from all over the world. Even the comedian Jim Gaffigan was singing its praises last Saturday at his first time gig at the Sullivan […]
Macbeth Performed Entirely by Women at the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
An extraordinary production of Macbeth is playing out this summer under the big tent at the Boscobel estate overlooking the Hudson River. Director Lee Sunday Evans has elected to have the entire cast portrayed by three women, in this case, the talented Maria-Christina Oliveras, Nance Williamson, and Stacey Yen. As the three approach center stage, […]
As You Like It and Measure for Measure at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
There’s always excitement in the air before one of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival plays take the stage. Every director over the course of the festival’s 30 years, has made a little tweak here, a twist there, changed the time period, or inserted a trendy bit of dialogue to remind the audience that though it’s […]
On July 4th, See How Liberty Came to Our Shores
The story of how the Statue of Liberty came to New York, and the debate of the country’s immigration policies of the late 1880’s is playing out on the delightfully intimate theatre stage of 42West. It’s a perfectly timed production that opens on our country’s birthday, July 4th, but also during the height of the […]