Oscar Wilde's horror story is a thin guise to bunch up and release his wry, cynical takes on life and love.
With little explanation or backstory, he tells a story of a man driven to insanity through vanity as a portrait shows his age and world-wariness as his own faith retains its youthful innocence and symmetry.
Symbolism abounds, but Wilde is more interested in flooding the zone with his sneaky little observations, which are rich with stinging truth.
The Audible version, narrated with sneaky verve by Russell Tovey, emphasizes Wilde's irreverence.
An immensely funny book, it lacks dramatic impact but that doesn't much matter. The book flows well and always maintains its sense of mysterious intrigue. This is a fun book, and is filled with more one-liners than a vaudeville routine. A definite must-read.
"My Fair Lady" set the template for the makeover rom-com. In the cynical and cleverly-penned tale, social powerbrokers take a woman off the streets and teach her to fit into high society.
The musical has been sparking smiles and belly laughs from audiences since Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison dazzled audiences in the 1950s. The touring production stays true to the show's roots, resisting the urge to modernize the well-honed beats and one-liners.
The dedication to tradition will likely please musical die-hards, who have likely seen the show and the film it inspired several times, and want things just they way they've always been. On the downside, the lack of evolution exposes some of the story's threadbare faults.
Rampant sexism and stereotypes inherent in the script haven't aged well, even when spun for comedic effect. Some of the particularly wince-inducing moments occur in the first act, when Henry buttonholes Eliza into a measure of indentured servitude.
The upshot is that Henry -- played with masterful precision by Laird Mackintosh -- is the buffoon who is sure he's the genius, and the unwitting butt of the social experiment he's conducting.
The show picks up steam after a bit of a stumbling, low-energy start, when the throwaway jokes fade into the background as the stakes rise and the nuances in the characters' conflicts deepen.
Fueled by a powerhouse lead performance by Shereen Ahmed, the production comes into its own in the second act as it continues to pick up momentum toward its emotionally-charged climax. She's got a powerful voice and uses it to cast an enchanting spell. Ahmed's show-stopping singing ability brings her solos to life in concert-style crescendos that echo through the audience.
Mackintosh's workmanlike showing paces the show, thanks to captivating chemistry with Kevin Pariseau as Col. Pickering. Scene-swiping Adam Grupper, swooping in as Alfred Doolittle, is always good for a smile.
The most awe-inspiring facet of the show is the production design. Thanks to clockwork-like orchestration from behind-the-scenes prop masters and smooth blocking by cast members, the set transforms massively from scene to scene, with towering backdrops and set pieces emerging and disappearing to fulfill the needs of the moment.
The makeup team, working in concert with Ahmed's acting, also deserves credit for the impressive transformation of Eliza from street urchin to society princess.
The melancholy conclusion speaks to female and low economic class empowerment, sending off the audience on a note of watershed social justice epiphany. This is a comedy with something to say, and its messages haven't faded since the 1950s. There's little doubt Julie Andrews would smile if she saw her show in this cast's able hands.
"My Fair Lady" plays at Centennial Hall through Jan. 9. Click here to buy tickets.
Setting out to encapsulate thousands of years of foggy, fuzzy human history into a relatable, relevant and cohesive narrative is no simple task.
Susan Wise Bauer accomplishes her goal with ease and simplicity, parsing mythology, conflicting records into a rough stab at what actually happened is a juggling act, and the author is up to the challenge.
I learned a lot from the book, which provided some illuminating insights about human nature and its tendency to organize, unite and divide over the eons. Bauer also lends a feminist perspective to many well-worn stories, offering insight that sheds new interpretations on the boy's club of history.
John Lee's narration in the Audible edition lends a sense of importance and authority to the prose, granting it something of a real-life "Game of Thrones" feel.
A couple significant flaws stifle Bauer's work. Her attention to the Chinese empires seems uninspired and obligatory, and there is no mention whatsoever of what was going on in Africa or the Americas during the rise and falls of the Western empires on which she spends most of her focus. "The ancient world" didn't only exist in Eurasia. A simple retitling to something like "The History of the Western World" would have fixed the issue.
As a whole, the book thrives. The writing is solid and lively, the sourcing is commendable and the momentum rarely wanes. Bauer's book is an empiric conquest worthy of Alexander.
If "New Year, New Phone, Who Dis?" is your 2022 game plan, Android aficionados will be hard-pressed to find much more attractive or durable options than the Google Pixel 6 Pro.
As 5G capabilities and technology continues to come into its own, with app developers scurrying to keep pace while maintaining fidelity with 4G devices, it becomes increasingly crucial to latch onto a reliable network.
T-Mobile's infrastructure is up to the task, pumping in the gigabytes without any noticable interruption in an impressive array of circumstances. I found the network holding up just as well on rural highway slogs as it did in congested urban environments. Google's slick, slender tech works as a silk-smooth conduit to keep your video and downloads flowing at scorching speeds no matter where you find yourself.
The Google Pixel 6 Pro flies on the network as though it were a magic carpet.
The 6.7-inch device boasts a camera system that can hang with the likes of the latest high-end smartphones, a sharp glass-and-metal form factor and a smooth, easy-to-grasp interface geared to streamline your workflow. It may take some practice to get used to swipe commands rather than traditional back and forward button taps, but the Android 12 interface feels more natural the more time you spend with it. It all hums along on a Tensor processor geared to highlight the phone's strengths while minimizing its weaknesses.
At the top of the list of the phone's features is its gorgeous screen, which displays video, pictures and games with stunning clarity that can rival the iPhones and Galaxies of the world.
The three-camera sytem, too, is devastatingly edgy, able to snag immaculate detail from distance with a 48-megapixel telelphoto lens and a 1.3-inch sensor that sucks in ambient light to produce stunning imagery in less-than-ideal circumstances. Also aiding the photographically-challenged: a Magic Eraser that wipes out photobombers with precision,
The battery life is a drawback, wilting a little in comparison against the likes of the OnePlus 8T+5G. Somewhat slow to charge and quick to deplete its battery -- especially while multitasking -- the device still easily lasts through an intensive work day, but don't expect it to carry you for long into the night without a little boost.
A case with grip is a must, because the phone is too slick for its own good, with a camera bar that makes for an awkward grip unless counteracted with a cover.
On balance, Google's Pixel line of devices continues to swing a heavy axe in the smartphone arms race. Phones are finally catching up to 5G networks, rather than struggling to catch up. The Pixel 6 Pro is geared to lead the charge instead of following along.
T-Mobile and Hasbro have teamed up to release an odd and retro-savvy gift idea -- A Lite-Brite consisting of magenta pieces.
The toy, available at this site, is $19.99, with free shipping through Cyber Monday.
Four of the boxes will include a Willy Wonka-style Magenta Ticket, which will give the winner two smartphones, a year of T-Mobile Magenta Max phone service -- which includes a Netfix subscription -- a flatscreen TV and a year of T-Mobile Home Internet service.
As Lite Brites go, the magenta pegs certainly pop. So if your child is into crafting pictures promoting T-Mobile's network, this is just the right gift.
But let's face it: The only reason to buy this thing is to stash it away in hopes that it becomes a collector's item, or to angle for one of those Magenta Tickets.
If there is a better musical than "Hamilton," I haven't seen it. The sheer energy that pulses through a venue as the incredibly energetic spectacle delivers one crushingly brilliant song after another is unmatchable. To attend is to feel as though you are part of something resonant and unique.
I first saw the show in Tempe in 2018, and it changed the way I thought about musicals. Heartbreaking, inspirational, incredibly catchy and noble for the strides it makes in musical theater diversity, the experience sticks with you with the impact of a first kiss.
One of the multitude of heartaches brought on by the pandemic was the cancellation of the planned 2020 tour stop in Tucson. The release of the Disney+ version with the original cast only partially sated the disappointment.
Now that vaccines and the subtle waning of the pandemic have allowed live performances to return, the production is back on tour again. As I watched with my wife, the show washed over me with cleansing properties that signified life is getting closer to what we once knew.
"Hamilton" is far more than a standard show. It's a sign of where we have been and where we are going. And it seemed that just about everyone in the audience realized that.
It helps that the And Peggy company is absolutely crammed with talent.
Julius Thomas III and Donald Webber, Jr. thrive in the lead roles of Hamilton and Burr, studied enough to pay tribute to the legacies of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. while confident enough to branch out the characters with their own distinct choices. Thomas underlines his complex figure's tenacity, while Webber leans hard into Burr's cool confidence ever-fractured by his insecurities.
Other standouts include Paris Nix in a dynamic double performance as Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. His Jefferson, in particular, channels the sass of Dave Chappelle. Brandon Louis Armstrong is a chronic scene-stealer as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison.
Victoria Ann Scovens, with her impromptu beat-boxing, and Marja Harmon are ethereal as Eliza and Angelia Schuyler, and together with Milika Cheree form a tangible chemistry as the trio of sisters who would shape history.
"Hamilton" is an absolute treat, and while still spectacular on TV, encounters new dimensions of resonance and triumph in person. If you care at all about musical theater, find a way to get to the show. You never know when you'll get your next shot.
"Hamilton" plays through Dec. 5 at Centennial Hall. Buy tickets here.
"Jurassic World Evolution 2" feels like the stage performance of the dress rehearsal that was the first game.
Building upon the solid foundation of the 2018 original, the park-building strategy game tasks you to craft enclosures that keep your creatures and patrons safe, healthy and happy.
If you don't have a taste for order and harmony, you can choose to lean into the chaotic aspect of the park, letting dinos run amok, letting natural enemies migrate into the same habitat and recreating wild scenarios from the movies.
At the heart of the operation, the game is all about resource management. A structured virtual sandbox with some of the same satisfaction aspects of a train set, the game hurls administrative challenges at you, putting you on the spot to decide the lesser oftwo evils.
Much of the game is dry and pragmatic, but there are moments of action that shake things up. Chasing down a stray dinosaur with a chopper and taking it down with tranquilizers is a rush.
The sequel makes more of an effort to round up characters from the films, even if the presentation is on the chintzy side, steering toward still images rather than animation.
More fluid menus and a livelier interface might have spiced things up. A wider creature selection wouldn't have hurt either. But the game has come a significant way from its first iteration, and has evolved into a fuller, more intuitive experience for fans of virtual dino displays to sink their teeth and claws into.
"Angry Alligator" imagines a swampland in which gators aren't content to skulk in the background, waiting for prey to emerge.
Instead, your gator is an agile and incredibly hungry predator, dashing along and chomping everything it can. All the while, your life force is connected to a draining timer that requires you to keep eating or face starvation.
A game with more than a touch of shovelware features -- including slapdash visuals and a borderline cruel autosave system that has you backtracking after deaths far more often than is reasonable -- the game is often more fun than it has a right to be.
Think "Maneater" or "Hungry Shark World."
There is a simple satisfaction in rampaging through and munching largely defenseless creatures. While you do occasionally run into enemies that can ably defend themselves, you are usually the apex predator, and your deaths are often tied to meandering rather than annihilation.
The dev squad at GS2 Games clearly had deadlines to stick to, and prioritized moment-to-moment gameplay over the larger objectives, which are generally scavenger hunts or fetch quests.
"Angry Alligator" won't be anyone's Game of the Year, but it may just be the game they play while they're waiting for their GOTY cut scenes to pass. Like its antihero, the game ably takes a chomp out of your free time.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
