Culture Watch

A Play About Senior Citizens Coming to Terms with Their Pasts

by Bruce Chadwick

"Good Morning After Grace," by Carey Crim, is one of the funniest and most charming plays our reviewer says he's seen in years. 

A New Macbeth Stumbles to the Top

by Bruce Chadwick

This play's Lady Macbeth looks and acts more like June Cleaver from the old "Leave It to Beaver" television series. She is not plotting treason and murder, but Tuesday’s Tupperware party.

Christmas 1956: Who’ll Stop Elvis?

by Bruce Chadwick

Review of  "Coming Back Like a Song: A Play About Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and Jimmy Van Heusen."

Why the Wartime TV Series “A French Village” Is Important

by Walter G. Moss

The series explores what happens when a fictional French village during World War 2 is occupied by Nazis. Some people resist. Others collaborate.

You Think Your Boss Is Bad?

by Bruce Chadwick

A review of the play, “The Servant of Two Masters,” a giddy, hilarious romp through 18th century Italy.

Looking Back at the Making of a Legendary Play, "Rent"

by Bruce Chadwick

There are many plays about entertainment history, but this is one of the best because it is very small and narrow in its scope.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t – A Summer of Magic

by Bruce Chadwick

How did they do that? Visitors to the New-York Historical Society this summer can find out how they do it (a little bit).

Review of "Ocean's 8" – And Yes, There's a Reason to Review It on HNN

by Bruce Chadwick

"Ocean’s 8" is a good film but leaves out the history behind a central event:  the Met's Gala ball.

When We Murdered Birds to Make Hats

by Bruce Chadwick

You can find out about this travesty from the New-York Historical Society's new exhibit, “Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife.” 

Mom, Dad and the Rogue Boyfriend in 1660s France

by Bruce Chadwick

"Tartuffe" is a delightful romp through the castles and the rich of 17th century France with a lot thievery, deceit, debauchery, misplaced love, loud shouting matches and high-end misconduct. How could you not love it?

Was the “Wizard of Oz” a Feminist Tract?

by David B. Parker

A new way of looking at Frank Baum’s classic story.

What Happens When You Discover that Your Father Lynched Someone?

by Bruce Chadwick

That's the premise behind a play being staged around the country.

Tabloid Photographers Are Hounding the Royals, but They Have a History of Using Each Other

by Jennifer Tucker

The modern monarchy’s power depends after all on its public image.

Who Really Wrote Shakespeare’s Plays?

by Bruce Chadwick

You can answer Shakespeare.  But a new play in New York swears it's Marlowe.

British 1642 Civil War Play Implodes

by Bruce Chadwick

Cromwell must be turning over in his grave.

It’s Steamy Hot in the Mississippi Delta

by Bruce Chadwick

A new production of Tennessee Williams’s “Summer and Smoke.”

Eugene O’Neill's "Ice Man Cometh" Is as Relevant as Ever (Alas)

by Bruce Chadwick

Denzel Washington's performance in the latest staging of this expose of the effects of alcoholism is electric (once he makes his appearance).

George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan Fights for God and France

by Bruce Chadwick

The triumphant tale of the maid of Orleans opened this week in New York City, bringing the bold French warrior back to life in a stirring drama.

The Awful War to End All Wars: Now on Display

by Bruce Chadwick

The Minnesota exhibit is touring various large museums across the country. Go see it!

What’s Wrong with “Chappaquiddick,” the Movie

by Mel Ayton

It passes off as fact the myth that Ted Kennedy allowed Mary Jo Kopechne to suffocate.