Front Row

England has never quite figured out its relationship with post-colonial Africa. “Child” Africa grew up and left home but instead of becoming a well-behaved, younger version of its “parent,” it rebelled and built empires of its own. Those are the consequences personified by the characters in Lee Blessing’s Going to St. Ives, an acutely drawn […]

The stage is a place for playwrights to explore and express the foibles and fables of the world at large. However, they are just as likely to turn the lens inward and write about the theater itself. Actors become characters who are actors playing characters and the audience is taken down a rabbit hole of […]

Happiness — that elusive, ephemeral state so often framed like a place to arrive at rather than a way of traveling. In its pursuit we are sold every variety of magic beans and, while it is clear that no one can be happy all the time, we still often feel like we’re doing something wrong […]

Beloved classics tend to share common ingredients: relatable stories, charming characters, catchy music — and in this case, a spoonful of sugar. First introduced in 1934 through the books of P.L. Travers and made ever more famous in the 1964 Disney musical when played by Julie Andrews, nanny Mary Poppins has had generations of children […]

Dogs have no respect for social norms. Sure, they can be trained to obey, but they can’t deny their true nature and they don’t pass up an opportunity to do something disgusting or awkwardly hilarious, no matter how embarrassing it may be for their human companions. While dogs are naturally occurring sources of comic relief, […]

Childhood is an odd time. So much of the world is new; there are so many large, sincere questions. Adults seem to move in their own universe — one that’s simultaneously enchanting and frightening. For teens, this conflicting desire and fear seems to increase exponentially. In some moments, nothing feels greater than to inhabit that […]