Short Takes
April 7, 2011
Sure to be a magic night: Please join me….
Kate McGarrigle, just 63, died of cancer in January. If you knew the music she made with her sister Anna, you probably felt the sadness I did, for Kate was not just a exemplary singer, the way she sang and what she sang told you she was an extraordinary person. (Her children, Rufus and Martha Wainwright, and her sister share some memories here.) At New York’s Town Hall, on Thursday, May 12, and Friday, May 13, there will be a celebration of her life — and what a celebration it will be: Martha and Rufus and Anna, Jimmy Fallon, Emmylou Harris, Antony (of Antony and the Johnsons), Teddy Thompson. All profits from these shows will go toward the creation of the Kate McGarrigle Sarcoma Research Fund in association with the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA). I would suggest that, if you can be there, the greater profits will be recorded on your soul. Need convincing? Here are Kate and Anna, with Linda Ronstadt, so long ago.
April 4, 2011
Am I the only one….
….who started to watch the HBO "Mildred Pierce" mini-series and found it so painful that I had to bail after five minutes? Granted, I tasted only a sliver, but what I saw was so obvious, such a dumbed-down version of the original book and movie, that I machine-gunned the remote to the first thing that resembled a movie with genuine entertainment value. Which turned out to be "Scary Movie," as filthy and funny as I remembered it. You want "Mildred Pierce?" There’s only one. Come and get it.
April 4, 2011
Birthday ‘Girls’ — One to Have, One to Give
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — and the Journey of a Generation celebrates its third birthday this week, and Sheila Weller’s page-turner has just passed its 110,000 retail sales mark. Ms. Weller is celebrating with a 2-for-1 offer: “Buy it on Amazon, then ‘Message’ me on Facebook with your receipt and your name/address, and I’ll send you a second copy, signed.” My first thought: how nice to come upon a savvy marketing idea in the mostly unimaginative book biz. My second thought was better, and all about you: what a smart, easy gift for birthdays, graduations and "just because."
March 21, 2011
‘Win Win’ is the movie of the week — no, the month.
Funny, real, compelling and funny again, “Win Win” is worth every effort you may need to make to find it. In the theater where I saw it, there was cheering along the way, and more at the end. In New York. Cheers. The less you know about the movie, the more you’ll love it, but, okay, here’s the preview. If you go and hate it, write me — I’ll buy your ticket. [Viewer’s aid: The conversation that starts the preview, with Mom and Daughter in bed. Daughter: ‘Where’s Dad?’ Mom: ‘Running.’ Daughter: ‘From what?’]
March 17, 2011
How hard is it to get a ticket for “Book of Mormon?”
Roger Friedman reports: A week before the opening of “The Book of Mormon,” the show is playing at 101% in previews. And opening night is the hottest ticket in town. And when did HeadButler.com encourage you to buy tickets? JANUARY 17.
