Ann Lemons Pollack
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Sleuth
There’s a venerable theater critic’s line about musicals that are so indescribably awful that the writer will compliment the set and add, “but you can’t hum the scenery while you’re driving home.” Well, maybe you can’t really hum the scenery for “Sleuth,” a terrific production that opened last night at the Repertory Theatre of St.
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Unbeatable
Cancer isn't funny. It kills people, and continues to do so while scientists do research, patients suffer through clinical trials, the religious pray. More people are cured these days, but many still die. "Unbeatable," a musical that opened at the Westport Playhouse last night, takes a different tack, not yet approved by the Food
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Stops Off I-55 Heading South
Memphis is one of those places that claims – early and often – that its barbecue is superior to all others. So why are we heralding Pollard's, a tiny and relatively obscure takeout spot in its southern suburbs? Because the meal was excellent enough to make the claim seem reasonable, and the experience was improved
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Paris
For many years, Paris has been known as the City of Light, and its beauty is almost constantly visible as the city stars in a downer of a movie. "Paris," the movie, which opens today, is largely a love poem to itself, a travelogue from the top of Montmarte to the gorgeous fruits and vegetables
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Somers Town
Not much happens in "Somers Town," a picaresque tale of two lonely adolescents-one English, one Polish-and their friendship, and their attraction to a French waitress, and their lives in a poor, industrial section of London. And yet it's a film with affection, and loyalty, and with making the best of a bad situation. It opens
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Trattoria Branica
As we write this, you don't have to check a calendar to realize that autumn has arrived, bringing chilly, often damp weather. Recently, however, we found a warm summer-like evening when we visited Trattoria Branica in Kirkwood and enjoyed a meal outdoors. We like the cool modern interior a lot, but this was a night
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Proposals
Only three years before he entered the White House, George W. Bush was invented by Neil Simon and played on Broadway by Peter Rini as Vinnie Bavasi, probably named in honor of the long-time general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now the long-lost descendant of Mrs. Malaprop has come to St. Louis, played in
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Love Kills
It was a killing spree that shocked the nation in 1958. Charles Starkweather, a 19-year-old garbage truck driver in Lincoln, Neb., and his 14-year-old girl friend, Caril Ann Fugate, went off on a killing spree, starting with her family and continuing until 11 bodies were found here and there in a number of midwestern states.
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This Week’s Wine, October 4, 2009
I'm now 21st-century-qualified in terms of wine writers. I took part in a webinar last week, didn't spill any wine, followed directions and instructions, tasted six wines, asked a question and received an answer. I didn't see the pictures that came as a visual aid, but later discovered that the problem was in the transmission
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Activity On Laclede Avenue
Chez Leon has shuttered – but it appears to be only a short-term thing. Leon Bierbaum, in a recorded message, says he will reopen “on Forsyth Avenue” before Thanksgiving. Dinner at first, but then lunch as well on weekdays. The phone number, 314-361-1589, is to remain the same. And as many of you may have