Here’s what’s making us happy this week.
This week, your friendly neighborhood Lit Hub staff is feasting on a narrative diet—but not in the stacks you’d expect. October brings fresh appreciation for the time-bound object. I’m talking about the kind of art you can imbibe on your own couch, or in a warm, cozy theatre.
James Folta has been enjoying the live latter. Last night he caught ANON: A Tempest at Our Kitchen Table, a new joint from Anne Washburn—one of our wisest, weirdest dramatists writing today.
This new play follows two Texas households that find themselves on opposite sides of a culture war. But I note the logline doesn’t capture the brilliant dialogue and uncanny spectacle that Washburn is known for.
“I was skeptical of something so ripped from the recent headlines,” said James. “But it was excellent, and a very interesting dramatization of the moment.” Special shout-outs to the staging (care of director Anne Kauffman) and the performances—Crystal Finn and Izabel Mar in particular.
ANON is running off-Broadway at MCC from now until November 1.
Dan Sheehan is also headed to the theatre this weekend. He and his father will be celebrating the Dublin Theatre Festival at a production of Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten.
O’Neill’s classic following an immigrant Irish family trying to abide in rural Connecticut is ringing in at three hours plus. So our under-slept editor is slightly worried about “disgracing” himself with a snore.
I’m betting that the apparently “unmissable” direction from Garry Hynes will keep things lively. But send stay-awake prayers, just in case.
Molly Odintz has no such sleepy trouble. Inspired by the upcoming high holiday, Simchat Torah, Molly’s “been jamming out to a certain Klezmatics song. And “Simkhes-Toyre” is apparently just as much of a banger as the teenage self remembered.
And speaking of celebrations. I, Brittany Allen, have been riding a member friend’s coattails to a number of New York Film Festival screenings this week.
The energy at the annual Lincoln Center spree is a high in itself, given that any given attendee among hundreds of assembled film nerds will have a strong opinion on Richard Brody, the Criterion Closet, or Korean New Wave. (I mean, the eavesdropping alone!)
My favorite films in the fest so far can all be read as warm-hearted odes to human intimacy, intelligence, and grace. The documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem plops viewers into the middle of a salon full of luminaries.
Mike Leigh’s Tender Loving Care centers quiet acts of care in families, friendships, and institutions. And Lee Chang-Dong’s Possible Love anchors a bracing social critique with two electrically human lead performances.
Please look for all of these movies in wider release later this year.
Podcasts editor Drew Broussard squeaks in under the wire to return this crew to form. Like our columnist Maris Kreizman, he’s excited about this year’s crop of literary prize lists—despite the usual grumbling from media people.
The Cercador Prize list and the Booker Prize shortlist in particular are giving Drew “SO much joy.” He’s especially delighted to see favorites like Mike Harrison’s The End of Everything and Rebecca Perry’s May We Feed the King getting props.
“I just feel like it’s a fun time to be reading, ya know?” says Drew.
If it’s a good time for theatre, film, music, and literature—could it be that it’s just a good time? May your weekend be wide awake to every kind of art.
Brittany Allen
Brittany K. Allen is a writer and actor living in Brooklyn.
