Shorts #7

Shorts or 5 Things to Know This Week is a weekly posting that features short blurbs on interesting topics related to film and theatre studies, research and resources, theatre goings on in New York City, lots of library-related news and other stuff.

1. Beginning in September, Yahoo! will be the exclusive online home for the massive archive of Saturday Night Live. Clips, comedy scenes and musical performances from the show will be available from the first season in 1975 through the current season. 

2. Lil Bub & Friendz wins Best Feature Film at online Tribeca Film Festival. She is a superstar and an inspiration!

3.  "The Lunatics are on the Loose : European Fluxus Festivals 1962 - 1977"  -- exhibition catalog edited by Petra Stegmann and published by Down with Art!

4.  The London stage adaptation of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time won seven Olivier Awards. Hope this follows Matilda to Broadway.

5. NEW YORK THEATRE GOINGS ON -- Pippin is brilliant - loved everything about this production. Giulio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera is a knockout. And, Bull at 59E59 takes a daring look into office politics and bullying.

Shorts #6

Shorts or 5 Things to Know This Week is a weekly posting that features short blurbs on interesting topics related to film and theatre studies, research and resources, theatre goings on in New York City, lots of library-related news and other stuff.


1.  In honor of the runners in yesterday's Boston Marathon -- peace be with you. In the spirit of all marathon runners -- a few recommended films: Chariots of Fire (1981), Gallipoli (1981), Run Lola Run (1998), and Without Limits (1998).

2.  To Boston with love -- Good Will Hunting (1997).

3.  I recently acquired an interesting work published by McFarland -- better than their typical thematic filmographies -- Tudors on Film and Television (2013).

4.  Thank you Yoko Ono for "Imagine No Fracking" -- a poster art installation in the windows of ABC Carpet and Home.

5.  NEW YORK THEATRE GOINGS ON -- Always a treat to see Austin Pendleton -- he is currently starring in Robert Brustein's The Last Will at the Abingdon Theatre Company. The play is the last installment in Brustein's trilogy examining the life of Shakespeare. Also on stage -- Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Do yourself a favor -- stay home and read the novella.

Shorts #5

Shorts or 5 Things to Know This Week is a weekly posting that features short blurbs on interesting topics related to film and theatre studies, research and resources, theatre goings on in New York City, lots of library-related news and other stuff.

 1.  Acclaimed documentary maker Les Blank dies at 77.  Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers -- Blank was a true original.

2.  Elaine Stritch left New York City! Doesn't that sound like a bad dream? If you are already missing her -- check out the new documentary Elaine Stritch: So Shoot Me at the Tribeca Film Festival on Monday, April 22.

3.  A Late Quartet available on DVD -- members of a world-renowned string quartet learn that the cellist may soon have to retire -- news that challenges the group to get past their egos and work through long-held resentments.

4.  Journal of American Folklore is the official journal of the American Folklore Society. In publication since 1888, this quarterly journal publishes significant research findings on folklore, U.S. and the world, and related fields. In the "Notes and Queries" section from Volume 1, Issue 1 -- "the credit of originating the term 'folk-lore' belongs to a  correspondent of  'the Athenaeum,' London, 22d August, 1846, who signed his article Ambrose Merton. The object of the communication was to urge the collection, to quote the writer's words, 'of what we in England designate as Popular Antiquities, or Popular Literature (though by-the-bye, it is more a lore than a literature, and would be most aptly designated by a good Saxon compound, 'Folk-Lore,' the lore of the people)." The journal is available online through JSTOR.  For more on the man who invented the word "folklore" -- see OUPblog.

5.  NEW YORK THEATRE GOINGS ON --  Shaheed: The Dream and Death of Benazir Bhutto onstage at Culture Project. Written and performed by Anna Khaja, this one-woman play recreates the world surrounding Benazir Bhutto just minutes before her death. The play has been extended through April 21. 

Shorts #4

Shorts or 5 Things to Know This Week is a weekly posting that features short blurbs on interesting topics related to film and theatre studies, research and resources, theatre goings on in New York City, lots of library-related news and other stuff.


1.  NEW YORK THEATRE GOINGS ON  --  The Testament of Mary is indeed a daring play. I think seeing it during this past Easter weekend truly intensified the drama. The play was written by Colm Tóibín and stars Fiona Shaw as Mary. Her performance is riveting. 

2. Happy 50th Anniversary to General Hospital.

3. Less than one week until Mad Men returns on April 7th!

4. Check out the new DVD -- Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.

5. The New York Times reports that the Oregon State Hospital in Salem is now the Museum of Mental Health. The movie, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, was filmed there. Click here for the article.