Independence Day: Let America be America again
In a time when demagogues try to convince us that America needs to be "great again," Hughes reminds us of the dream of what America could be.
“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”: Outlandish outlaws in New Zealand’s Maori bush
This is a banner week for South Seas Cinema, the film genre set and shot in the Pacific Islands.
Coal and silk: Two impressive new documentaries
As one historian puts it, "Labor relations in America have never been gentle."
Black comedy “Armadillo Necktie” exposes open wound of U.S. in Iraq
A new self-described "jet-black comedy" takes on the national American character at the apogee of its foreign "nation building" enterprise.
Anti-slavery classic revived for the stage as “Tom”
A nineteenth-century American classic, re-imagined for the stage as a tale of racial injustice.
A Dutch composer dissects American media in "The News" opera
One of the most wildly inventive productions this reviewer has experienced in any medium for years.
Romeo and Juliet jinxed in East Jerusalem
Emotions run high in this version of Shakespeare's classic tale of star-crossed lovers, set in one of today's flashpoints of international strife.
“Home/Sick” stages the 1970s Weathermen movement with explosive impact
In the waning days of the Vietnam War, democracy itself seemed to have ground to a halt. A newly re-staged play delves into that period.
Staceyann Chin takes Chicago by storm in one-woman show: “MotherStruck!”
The Chicago-based one-woman show brings audiences to tears of laughter and pain.
“The Americans”: Who thrives, survives
On this series, many of our questions to be answered next year and many new ones to be posed.
