Marina Nebro: Arts and Culture

“I fled before it was over but if you want witnesses then I am one and I can tell you now, when you say that he redeemed the world, I will say that it was not worth it. It was not worth it.”

The Testament of Mary, written by Colm Tóibín and directed by Deborah Warner, is not a religious play. Outside the Walter Kerr Theatre on the first night, there were protests against its “anti-Christian” messages. I also am pretty sure that during the show, a woman walked out – now, was it because of the sacrilegiousness of it? I’m not sure, but I decided to put that story on the exiting woman.

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In the words of Aziz Ansari, stand up is a form of art. I agree, ’cause I sure as hell couldn’t do it! That being said, it’s a very different art than I’ve been exposed to. Sure, I’ve watched Larry the Cable Guy on Comedy Central, or Joan Rivers in her documentary, but I’ve never actually gone to see a comedian live. To be honest, I was a bit nervous. What if I didn’t find the jokes funny? I mean, it’s very often that I select Comedy Central Stand Up on demand and am quite disappointed with my choice. I’m glad to say, sitting in ROW C at Colden Auditorium, I really did enjoy the show. (more…)

I had no idea that the song Comedy Tonight was from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum! All I remember about this Stephen Sondheim musical is that it was once performed at Great Neck North High School, and being young, my impression of my future high school was that it was not best known for its theatrical talents – at least it couldn’t compare to “Theatre South” on the opposite end of town. But enough reminiscing! I am much older now and can appreciate a performance for what it is, and I must say, I really enjoyed Queens College’s production.

The time is two hundred years before the Christian era, a day in spring. The place is a street in Rome in front of the houses of Lycus, Erronius, and Senex. (more…)

There is no lack of fascinating, moving, and awe-inspiring Holocaust survival stories. But when one watches a documentary film based on the survival of one’s extended family, the story is all the more touching. No Place on Earth is based on the story of the Stermer family survival in the Ukraine during World War II. A cave explorer, Chris Nicola, went to the Ukraine in order to uncover his own family history. Instead, he stumbled upon a cave that had relics of past human dwelling. These humans were not “cavemen” or Neanderthals, but people in the last century! Nicola went on a quest to figure out who these people were, but believed the trail would run dry.

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If only this was the last blog post of the semester, I would have come full circle as my second post this year was about the Queens College Drama Department’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. But alas, this is not my last blog for you all to read before May 25th (when I move out of my dorm). That being said, seeing Macbeth yet again has made me realize that it has been the only Shakespeare production I’ve ever seen, and THREE TIMES at that!

I thought that since I’ve already written about the basic plot of “The Scottish Play,” and because it’s easy enough to google “Synopsis of Macbeth,” I’d focus more on this specific National Theatre of Scotland’s production featuring the talent of Alan Cumming. (more…)

The following is a formal analysis paper I wrote for my Introduction to Western Art II course at Queens College. The assignment was to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and pick a work of art to describe visually using terms we learned in class. The art piece I decided to focus on was the Chitarrino (titled Mandora on the Met Museum website), a 15^th century stringed instrument that was made in Italy, perhaps specifically in Milan. This instrument is made from boxwood and rosewood and is located in Gallery 684 of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (more…)

Happy Passover, Easter, and vacation to all! It has not been much of a break for me, though, as I have been working really hard on various aspects of my blog, particularly my theatre vault page. One thing I have not done, however, is posted in a while! This break has found me at home rather than on campus, and because of this, I haven’t been exposed to as many events as usual – not to mention I doubt there was anything happening in Queens this past week anyhow! But, yesterday I was fortunate enough to venture into the city with my mother to see a lovely play called The Trip to Bountiful, starring Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Vanessa Williams. (more…)