A Dangerous Method (David Cronenberg)

A Dangerous Method has all sorts of promise--the early years of psycho-analysis, the birth and dissolution of Freud and Jung's friendship, David Cronenberg--but none of that promise survives the drab script or Keira Knightley's atrocious acting.

Recommend with great reservation.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (David Fincher)

I so much liked the Swedish Girl (2009), that I fully expected to be disappointed by the American remake.  Not at all.  The novel is rich enough that Fincher was able to pull different narrative strands and create an equally entertaining and engrossing film.

Recommend.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (Guy Ritchie)

As long as you don't care to catch all the details--and the ride is so much fun that I don't mind--then the latest film capturing the investigations Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson is a great evening.  Both Robert Downey, Jr., and Jude Law are terrific, and there's not a second of downtime.

Recommend.

Krapp's Last Tape (Beckett)

Not many people get the chance (or dare take the chance) of seeing two productions of the same Beckett play on the same weekend. We did. After seeing John Hurt's performance on Friday, we saw Brian Dennehy's performance in a Sunday matinee. In light of the tight control the Beckett estate exerts over productions of his plays, I was surprised by the substantial differences between the two productions. (Note: I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company's production in 1998 at BAM; I remember little about it beyond the interminable silences and the way it looked. I do not remember being able to understand the tape recordings very well.) There was no comedy in Dennehy's performance. Here, Krapp is clearly a pitiful alcoholic whose pratfalls would be comical if not so pathetic. There was nothing tedious and unclear about the performance. And as he had done for all the previous performances at Long Wharf, he returned to the theatre for an extensive talk-back (really a mini-lecture explicating the play followed by an opportunity for the audience to ask questions): worth the price of the ticket alone.

Recommend highly.

The Quodlibet Ensemble

 This ensemble includes one of Mike's former students, Mihai Marica, a celloist. They opened the evening with Arcangelo Corelli's Concerto Grosso in D major, op. 6, no 4 and G. F. Handel's Concerto Gross in G major, op. 6, no. 1. In the second half they broke the by pattern by including Robert Honstein's *Night Scenes from the Ospedale," 3 companion pieces intersperced among five concerti from Vivaldi's *L'Estro Armonico" The performances were excellent.

Recommend highly.

Krapp's Last Tape (Beckett)

John Hurt provided an engaging (that is, clear) performance of Beckett's quintessential curmudgeon overwhelmed by remorse and denial of that remorse. Excellent sound design aided the performance immensely. Recommend highly.

A Doctor in Spite of Himself (Moliere, adapated by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp)

Silly, silly waste of time.

The Nutcracker (Eastern Connecticut Ballet)

We go to this production of the Nutcracker for only one reason: to watch Sarah M perform. This year, she had the role of the Doll, and her performance was excellent.

Recommend

Venus in Fur (David Ives)

2nd time around (and still with Nina Arianda in the lead) and the play still charms! We were only able to get one ticket, so Mike waited outside while I saw it by myself. Greater love....

I cannot recommend this production highly enough.  It's terrific.

Collaborators (John Hodge)

A National Theatre Live broadcast. Set in 1938 Moscow, the play imagines the circumstances in which Mikhail Bulgakov wrote his play celebrating Stalin's sixtieth birthday. Great play. Excellent production.

Highly Recommended