2005 January

A man and a woman emerge from isolated cocoons of light and meet center stage. After a brief confrontational "monologue," the woman folds to the floor in supplication, vulnerable on her back, legs bent skyward, arms...

Small presses still have a function. In a time of creeping homogeneity, perhaps they have even a greater function than ever before. They look farther and deeper into our culture to find new writers doing interesting things that...

These days, the best conductors are not German, not French, not Russian, and not even English. These days, the best conductors are Finnish. It's true. Think of Esa-Pekka Salonen in Los Angeles, creating an orchestra equally...

A weird political kitchen colander, an elaborate silver tea set from the late Ann Arbor philanthropist Philip Bach (right), and an elegant wooden mini-sleigh resembling a baby carriage on runners, once used to whiz local...

The parking lot at Leslie Science Center has overflowed, and cars are lining the driveway. My boy Gabriel, age three, runs immediately to a scarecrow planted firmly in the Project Grow garden. "Who's that?" he...

I'm not a seasoned listener to Cuban jazz. I have to say that up front, because my brother-in-law, Marc Taras, is the host of Cuban Fantasy on WEMU and writes about Cuban music with the skill of a devotee. In comparison, I...

It's only in the last twenty-five years that klezmer music has moved into concert halls. Before that it was always dance music, played at weddings, bar mitzvahs, and parties. Occasionally it was the vehicle of Jewish comedy....