What follows are paeans to lively performers and great theater (Born Yesterday and The Originalist) along with comments on two challenging films.
MUSICAL RICHES
I swear you’d think we live in a big city given all the musical offerings we have! In the last two weeks, we had the return of handsome baritone John Brancy (this time with pianist Peter Dugan); an exceptional orchestra concert, Estonian Voices, with the award-winning Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir performing the Mozart Requiem; and then a Monday morning brightened by New York based organist and conductor, Kent Tritle. On the faculty of both the Manhattan School of Music and Juillard, Mr. Tritle is also organist and director of cathedral music at Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He was bubbly and delightful in conversation and bounced from his seat down to play the impressive digital organ (we learned a lot about the latest digital organs and how the stops operate) at the Church of the Palms in Sarasota. Demonstrating his musicality, he played works by J. S. Bach, Franck, and a very familiar sanctuary-filling postlude by Widor It was a most memorable morning!
SUPERB THEATER
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we are blessed with fabulous live theater locally. Recently, we saw the 1946 play, Born Yesterday, presented by the Asolo Repertory Theatre. Set in Washington, D.C. it’s about politics and wheeler-dealing, but more significantly about the transformation of junk dealer Harry Brock’s mistress Billie from a so-called dumb blonde to a self-confident assertive young woman. It starts out a bit slow, but then catches fire and Billie (Christina DeCicco) is wonderful and her evolution both hilarious and poignant to watch. Beautiful set, great cast—everyone from the leads to those playing maids and doormen was top notch—with a story line that faintly echoes some of the political concerns of today.
Next up was the third of the political plays this season, The Originalist, a three-character drama focusing on Antonin Scalia and two of his law clerks. Scalia engages in an ongoing sparring match with one of them, Cat, a liberal black lesbian, which is occasionally enlivened by a competitive card game. Edward Gero has the look and walk of Scalia and when he first takes the stage I felt for sure we were seeing Scalia himself. This is great drama that is even more relevant as we await the hearings on Judge Gorsuch.
THOUGHT-PROVOKING FILMS
We didn’t see them in the theater so we watched two notable films at home on our biggish small screen. One was Jackie. Natalie Portman (nominated for best actress) is most convincing as Jackie Kennedy, but for those who idolized the woman, this film will not necessarily endear her to you. Contained, reserved, and always smoking, this Jackie is unto herself ever mindful of her image and that of her now late husband. The film focuses on the short period of time right after Kennedy’s assassination when Jackie gives a key interview and re-lives the events of that horrible day. If you accept, as I do, writer Barbara Leaming’s theory that Jackie was suffering from PTSD (something not yet identified in 1963), then her behavior is more understandable. Not an easy film to watch. 
Moonlight won best picture—much to the surprise of everyone, especially the creators of La La Land who were winners for an instant—and we felt we ought to see it. It is a raw and powerful film that I think I kept on appreciating after it was over. Chiron’s story is the maturing of a poor black boy wondering about his sexuality. It unfolds in three chapters from his grade school years as he is bullied for his difference, to his teen years and his fragile friendship with Kevin, to his adult life alone working the mean streets of Atlanta.
His mother is a drug user and mostly unavailable to him. As a kid, Chiron is rescued by Juan, a drug dealer. Juan and his partner, Theresa, offer Chiron warmth and stability and regular meals. The interactions between these three individuals are some of the brightest spots in the film. Years later, Kevin surfaces and prods Chiron into a bit of reflective conversation. For more on what this intimate film achieves, I highly recommend this review in The New Yorker by Hilton Als.
Notes: Header photo from Asolo Repertory Theatre; Moonlight image from www.indiewire.com
