Writer
Richard S. Beck
Latest Content
'Space Between' Is Visual Success
Here is what J. Robert Oppenheimer (Simon J. Williams ’09) says when he hears the death toll at Hiroshima: “Some
'Assassins' Rocks the Relevance
A few Tuesdays ago, a little after 11 at night, a bottle of champagne was making the rounds. Everyone was
By Its Cover
THE WAY OF THE WORLD: A STORY OF TRUTH AND HOPE IN AN AGE OF EXTREMISM by Ron Suskind New
‘Sweeney Todd’ A Sadistic Pleasure
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”—Stephen Sondheim’s big, bloody masterpiece of a musical—thrashes around on the stage with
Putting MTV in the MFA
When I was in middle school, there was a television station called “The Box.” A kind of mass-scale precursor to
‘Shahrazad’ Worth More Than a Thousand Words
It’s usually a good rule of thumb that multi-part stories should get out while the getting’s good. Consider the ugly
FOR THE RECORD: The Dismemberment Plan
“Emergency & I,” the fourth album by Washington, D.C., quartet the Dismemberment Plan, is my favorite high school record. I
Torpor Clouds a Strong ‘Tempest’
Shakespeare is so pervasive, so entrenched in Western cultural life, that his plays can sometimes be overzealously adopted by directors
‘Metamorphoses’ Makes a Splash
“You see this pool? It cost a pretty penny, I can tell you.” Yes indeed, King Midas. I do see
POPSCREEN GOES TO WAR
So much crazy beef, you guys! The recent sales war between oft-whiny pop star Kanye West and frowny-faced 50 Cent
ARTSMONDAY: ‘Ask Me Anything’ a Fun, Lighthearted Frosh Musical
In Annenberg, there’s always the one guy who eats well. While the rest of the freshman class cowers before the
ARTSMONDAY: ‘Utopia’ Is a Near-Perfect Production
Some plays are obscure for obvious reasons; with others, the fact that they’re not more well-known seems outrageously unfair once
ARTSMONDAY: 'Bright Lights' Ultimately Heartwarming
About a third of the way into “Bright Lights, Big City,” a musical based on the 1984 era-defining novel by
Trio Talk Sudanese Voices
Hearing Valentino Achak Deng speak at Memorial Church on Monday night would have been an uncanny experience for those who
'Commandments' An Uneasy Success
The members of the Hasty Pudding Theatrical Society are bullies. They want your laughs. They want your money. They want