Are you religious?” alcoholic rich kid Jay asks high-achieving Ellie. “Spiritual,” she replies. JAY: So you go to yoga twice a week—? ELLIE: Essentially. JAY: Yeah see that’s garbage. ELLIE: It’s better than nothing. JAY: No, it is nothing. ELLIE: Probably. Matthew Gasda, in whose . . . . Continue Reading »
Events happening over the coming days that may interest our readers. Continue Reading »
Art gives us structure and clarity; it helps us make sense of the disorder of life. Will Arbery’s Corsicana is a weird play, but you will feel warmer for having seen it—and maybe a little wiser, too. Continue Reading »
The Norwegian master Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) is and will remain the most important modern playwright—which is not to say there are no flaws in his work. Of all artists, playwrights are the most beholden to the moralism of their time; they must love and hate what their audiences love and . . . . Continue Reading »
The sole remaining source of authority, in the world of the new future history play Charles III, is vulnerability. Continue Reading »
Roe tells the stories of women who wanted an abortion and found it hard to get. The play never imagines what it’s like to believe abortion is wrong when all the authorities and powers in your life are lined up to pressure you to violate your conscience. Continue Reading »
Looking back on her life, Patty Duke emphasized the importance of her faith, long-time husband, and reconciled family, saying that despite everything that had befallen her—abuse, several broken marriages, and a severe emotional illness—“I’ve been richly blessed. When I pray, I never ask for material things. I offer only prayers of gratitude.” Continue Reading »
Last week I had the honor and pleasure of seeing my production of The Jeweler's Shop by Karol Wojtyla performed at the First Things office. Continue Reading »
Franz Jägerstätter, born in 1907, led a wild youth in Austria, turned to God after fearing he had killed another man in a fight, and settled down with a wife to run a farm and father children. In 1943, he refused the draft out of a conviction that a Catholic could not fight for Nazism. Defying the entreaties of mother, neighbors, priest, and bishop, he went to the guillotine. Even after the war, Jägerstätter’s countrymen called him a traitor and denied his widow, Franziska, and their three daughters any aid. Only in 2007 was Jägerstätter beatified by Benedict XVI. . . . Continue Reading »
Near the beginning of The Jeweler's Shop, by Karol Wotjyla (the future John Paul II), one of the characters, a young woman, recalls a hiking trip she took with friends. At night, in the mountains, a mysterious cry sounded, and everyone became quiet to listen for the call to sound again. Was it a . . . . Continue Reading »
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