UNCOUPLING

Midnight In the Garden. But I think of it as Letting Go

On her melancholy Blue album, in a song about the aftermath of a painful break-up, Joni Mitchell sings, "The bed's too big/The frying pan's too wide."

Here's what I would add to that checklist:

It takes twice as long in the morning to make half the breakfast. There is less to prepare (yogurt, fruit, toast, tea for one), but also less time, since I have to do all James' morning chores as well — feed the kitty, bring in the paper, open the shades, turn on the tea kettle, haul the bucket out of the shower to water the plants outside.

When I get out of the shower, I have to remind myself to take the plug back out of the drain and hang the wet bath mat back on its rack; nobody is coming in after me to use them.

A single crossword puzzle might last me weeks! Some couples might come to blows if one found the other trying to horn in on his or her puzzle, but crossword puzzles are one other thing that James and I always did together. Each of us had different bits of arcane information to contribute — although my main job was to spellcheck his answers!

Family and Friends

 

 

We used to work on crosswords at meal times, as a way to eat more slowly, and also savor a few laughs before heading into the business of the day — or, later in the evening, confronting the (dreaded) news hour. Little victories, like finally figuring out a particularly knotty clue, or getting irate over a particulaly "specious" answer, aren't as much fun on my own.

Until I started walking around our life in his shoes, I had no idea how time- consuming his half of our couplehood could be. I'm getting a whole new appreciation for the hard work he did evey day just to keep our life going — and for the unfailing good cheer with which he approached every task.

Now, without him, I have to line up movie dates, yoga buddies, people who do yard work and home repair, as well as indulgent friends willing to take me on errands. It takes a village of wonderful friends and neighbors to replace one Art Boy!

And then there's housecleaning. Either one of us might have occasionally picked up the vacuum, or a broom, or a dustrag in random moments, but neither one of us was ever obsessed with keeping things spic-and-span. So, a little benign neglect around here will be considered okay — at first. (We're "creatives;" nobody expects spotless.) But I have to monitor the situation, now that I'm on my own. Navigating some charming artistic clutter around the house is one thing — as long as I don't degenerate into Miss Havisham!

James loved every nanosecond of this life we worked so hard to build together. His enthusiasm for life was enormous. And so, now, even though I'm stuck in a kind of half-life without him, I can't let my own enthusiasm for life diminish by half. That wouldn't be fair to James.

According to an old Wiccan proverb I read recently, "They are dead, so we must live."

That's the spirit!


(Paintings by James Aschbacher. But you knew that!)

PRESENT TENSE

If a designated "thriller" doesn't have E-ticket action, it had better come up with some other way to keep its audience riveted. The dark, edgy drama, Beast, manages this, big time; it has thrills to spare, not from violent action, but from the deft accumulation of detail.

For his impressive debut feature, writer-director Michael Pearce crafts an eerie mood of unspecified menace, in which anything might happen — and anyone might be capable of the most heinous actions. Trying to figure out whodunit — that weary cliché — is a puzzle that keeps us on the edge of our seats in Pearce's capable hands.

The tale is set in a contemporary village community on the isle of Jersey, off the southern coast of England. The town is on edge over a series of murders of young women. The serial-killer-on-the-loose motif is standard for the genre, but Pearce uses it as a launching pad to examine the tensions (emotional, psychological, cultural) already at work beneath the placid surface of this middle-class community.

At the heart of the story (and Pearce's nesting-doll design of inner tensions wrapped around each other) is young, twenty-something Moll, skillfully played with both presence and vulnerability by Irish singer and actress Jessie Buckley. She is ably partnered by Johnny Flynn — unsettling, and dynamic — as Pascal Renouf, a reclusive young handyman living in a stone cottage inherited from his parents far out on the edge of town.

Not every question is neatly wrapped up, but the stylish look of the movie, its dark heart, and the fascinating complexity of leads Buckley and Flynn, make for a highly provocative thriller.

(Read more in next week's Good Times)

MORE ART BOY LOVE

Just found this tribute from the newsletter for Pajaro Valley Arts (PVA), where James Aschbacher, (aka Art Boy) served as a board member for the last two and a half years.

(He also applied his business skills and artistic eye to running the Gallery Store at their Watsonville gallery!)


It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear friend James, who left this earth with a suddenness that created a huge hole in our community.

Board President Adrienne Momi wrote "James was a very important part of our PVA family, not only a Board member, but the guy who didn't hesitate to roll up his sleeves to get the rocks shoveled into the hole in the garden and to put the railing up so we complied with the (ADA) rules.

"He was a 'doer.' James' commitment to PVA included the annual Membership drive - and although he didn't want to take credit, his efforts produced more than 15% of our annual budget." 

James managed our gallery store, and filled in with whatever tasks at hand needed to be done. He worked with humor and directed focus. Judy Stabile, Board Member wrote. "Saying goodbye is so difficult, especially to someone so vibrant and joyful. James, you made PVA a better place to create, and a happier place to be."

The tribute concludes: "During our members' show, What Nourishes Us, you will find the Gallery Store filled with James' work from our private collections, as a dedication to his life, so well lived."

Hear, hear!

Thanks, PVA!

STARRED REVIEW!

Great news, faithful readers! 

The folks at Publishers Weekly just awarded a STARRED review to Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge!

The review says, in part;

In this compelling reimagining of “Beauty and the Beast,” Jensen integrates a new plot thread in the form of a third protagonist into the familiar fairy tale. Jensen includes all of the tale’s most significant elements, while still adding new twists and depths. Haunting language and lush descriptions (“the petals are long-dead; they have lost their bright color and velvety texture and curled into crisp, dry cinders...”) engage the senses, making this a memorable, worthy addition to the canon of “Beauty and the Beast” retellings.

This is my first ever starred review from PW, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Beast unleashes (at last!) on July 10! Meanwhile, read the full review.

Thanks, PW!

CITIZEN RUTH

Superhero Ginsburg fights for justice for all in smart doc RBG

Forget The Avengers Infinity War. Here's a movie that's really worth cheering about, entering the marketplace with the same quiet, unassuming, yet  determined demeanor as its subject — legendary Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

As cunning as Loki, as grounded as Black Panther, she wields her opinion with the impact and precision of Thor's hammer, and achieves actual change, fighting for gender equality under the law as she has for five decades of groundbreaking decisions.

And nary a special effect in sight — unless you count her incredible stamina to keep fighting the good fight at age 84.

According to Gloria Steinem, Ginsburg is "the closest thing to a superhero I know." An opinion shared by many in this smart, sly, and heartfelt documentary, RBG, by directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West.

The title references the recent biographical book, Notorious RBG (inspired by the moniker of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G), a nod to the younger generations of fans who have discovered RBG on social media and weren't even alive when she was fighting for things like equal pay and equal social security benefits in the workplace.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: pop culture heroine

"Whenever she writes a dissent," notes one of the younger observers in the film, "the Internet explodes!" It's sad that in these troubled political times, the actions that have recently made RBG such an unexpected social media icon are the clear and vigorous dissenting opinions she's written in opposition to recent Supreme Court rulings.

The Court has been shifting gradually to the right since RBG (nominated by Bill Clinton) was confirmed in 1993. In the current so-called administration, RBG is one of the few voices of sanity left on the bench.

But what a lot of people don't know about RBG (particularly her younger fans) is the hard work and determination with which she chose a legal career, and how the obstacles she faced shaped her views on society and the law. This is the story told most persuasively by filmmakers Cohen and West.
(Read more in this week's Good Times)

ART BOY LIVES!

Friends, if you'e missing James Aschbacher as much as I am, here are a couple more tributes that might ease the sadness a bit.

First is from his longtime friend and business partner, Joe Ferrara, co-owner of Atlantis Fantasyworld.

It's a lovely, heartfelt memoir of how they launched the store, way (WAY) back in the day, November, 1975.

But get a load of these vintage pics of the two of them as eager young entrepreneurs! Guaranteed to make you smile!

And here's one written by the mighty Michelle Williams, intrepid head of the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County, in appreciation of all James did for the arts community.

It's kind of hard to imagine how the Santa Cruz arts community is going to forge ahead without James cheering them on.

But from the outpouring of love and support (and great stories!) that has been coming my way, I am comforted to think that my Art Boy continues to live on in the hearts of all who knew him!

ONE MONTH CLOSER!

Hey, there, readers!


Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge is only two more months away!


Publication day is July 10, 2018.


To celebrate, here's my Beast of the Month for May, another evocative Beauty and the Beast illustration hand-picked (by me) from the wilds of the Internet.


The artist is contemporary French illustrator Julie Rouviere.


I love the candelabra poking out of the shrubbery lighting Beauty's escape! This haunting image is sort of a mash-up of Jean Cocteau and the Disney version.


Of course, the scene plays out a little differently in my telling of the tale!


Click here to see more of Julie Rouviere's work.

CHEERS FOR ART BOY

John Lennon once said, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." As it turns out, so is death.

The man behind the woman! Photo by Jana Marcus.

My life was knocked sideways last month by the sudden loss of my own, beloved Art Boy, James Aschbacher — husband, sweetie, soulmate, yoga partner, companion in so many adventures, and my absolute best friend for 40 years. "And not a night apart!" as he used to boast.

That was true until two weeks ago, when I spent my first two nights alone without him since we first moved in together way back in the Dark Ages of 1978. He spent those two nights in the ICU at Stanford after a stroke felled him early on a Monday morning. By Wednesday, we had to let him go.

It's inconceivable how my life is supposed to work without him. He was (and is) in every part of it. Famously joined at the hip, we went everywhere together — movies, art shows, theater. I co-hosted his Open Studios at our home for 27 years. When he got his first public mural commission (Plaza Lane, downtown), I helped him paint it.

Comic Book Boy, ca 1977

When I was invited to co-host the film review program, "Talking Movies," with former Sentinel film critic Rick Chatenever, on local TV, James drove me up to the taping in Scotts Valley every other week, and hung around to heckle — er, I mean, cheer us on from the sidelines.

When I did a book reading somewhere, or participated on a book panel, or in a film discussion group, he was always in the front row.

I can't tell you how many terrible movies he sat through with me. (Especially since a film critic doesn't have the option of walking out!) But we saw some great ones too, more shared experiences to rack up over our time together.

It all began one day, a few millenia ago, when I walked into the comic book shop, Atlantis Fantasyworld, on lower Paific, with a friend who collected comics.

Little did I know I was about to meet my future.

Meet the Future: Wedding Day, 1978

A transplant from the Midwest, James had opened the store a year earlier with his partner, Joe Ferrara. By that time, James had already established a mail-order business with book collectors from all over the country in search of vintage sci-fi paperbacks (the more lurid the cover, the better).

We would spend many Sundays at the flea market, James groveling around on the asphalt pawing through boxes of forgotten books in search of that one item he knew some collector somewhere desperately wanted. Matching up people with their dreams — that's what he loved to do all his life.

He was a man of many diverse passions, one following another in orderly sequence (Libra that he was). As a teenager, he'd performed a magic act at kids' parties. He loved cheesy '50s monster movies and collected vintage posters from his favorites.

Loony 'toonists (with one of our jokes on the wall), 1991

Soon after we moved in together, we launched a joint career as single-panel cartoonists (pen name: "Bonet," after the cheap bubbly we were drinking in those days.)

Believe it or not, I drew the cartoons and he wrote the jokes. (Even after he became known as an artist, James claimed he never knew how to draw.)

He amassed a vast library of his favorite horror/sci-fi movies and vintage TV shows on videotape. Whenever anyone was coming to dinner, he first asked what their favorite TV show had been as a kid, and then had that tape cued up and ready for a blast to the past.

And then, on the brink of turning 40, after total immersion in pop culture for so long, he decided to become an artist. No one knows why.

From Comic Book Guy to Art Boy — 1991

He'd never taken a single art class in his life, but was suddenly in the grip of a very demanding muse. Because (as he always said), he didn't know how to draw or even hold a paintbrush, he started out wielding cans of spray paint and cutting out cardboard stencils to shape the image.

Ultimately, this would lead to the distinctive technique that he made up: fanciful images (birds, fish, animals, dancing figures) painted in acrylics on spray-painted cardboard, then nailed onto a piece of wood with a hand-carved border of magical symbols.

After the quake of '89, when Atlantis had been relocated into a tent in a parking lot, James decided to pursue art full-time. He and Joe cooked up a 5-year plan for Joe to buy his half of the business; if he couldn't make a decent living after five years, James thought, he could always go get a job. But he didn't have to — he's been selling his artwork ever since.

If the frame fits: this piece became a mirror!

James became a popular stop on the Open Studios Art Tour, and an inspiration and mentor within the thriving Santa Cruz arts community. For several years he was also Chairman of the Open Studios Committee for the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County.

He left his mark — literally — on buildings countywide as a muralist, including 10 years painting murals at local elementary schools with 4th and 5th-graders — who were always encouraged to create and paint their own creatures.

OS visitors loved his work, but they especially loved to hear his story about his DIY art career. His path had been so strange, so unexpected, and so self-motivated, he was always encouraging others (artists and normal people) to pursue their dreams, no matter what anyone else told them.

Anybody can be taught to copy some style or other, he often told his mural kids or other artists who sought him out for advice, but only you can create your vision.

Gail Rich Award, 2005

Unlike the popular image of the flaky artist, James had a strong business sense and a practical streak. Having worked with his father, a general contractor, he also knew how to do stuff. Among friends and colleagues, if you needed a shower door set in, or bookshelves built, James was your go-to guy.

Working at home all day led James to new passions. One was cooking, which he embraced with the same glee with which he'd devoted himself to art. He became famous for his pasta, but his pizza was legendary! (He baked it on a screen set on the floor of the oven for seven minutes — a process for which he gave many tutorials among our friends.)

When our Sorrento lemon tree had a bumper crop one, year, he did some online research and taught himself to make limoncello.

But his drug of choice was always Champagne, either the authentic French kind (Moet was a favorite), or one of the crisp Spanish cavas we'd discovered over the last few years. He'd had some youthful fantasy about some day being successful enough to drink Champagne every night, but in truth, he just loved the sparkle.

It matched his effervescent personality.

On a shopping run, inevitably, the person checking him out with a case (or two) of bubbly would ask, "What's the occasion?" "Just celebrating life," James would say, with a smile.

After he left the store, we started taking daily afternoon walks around the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, to clear our heads of any lingering debris from whatever various projects we'd been working on all morning. More recently, as mobility became an issue for me (due to an unexpected diagnosis of MS), I couldn't walk as far or for as long at a stretch.

Chair Boy, 2017

His solution was to start driving us down to park in the upper harbor, where I could go from bench to bench whenever I needed a time-out. Meanwhile, he would walk from the car all the way down to Aldo's and all the way back to get in as much of his regular walk as possible, back and forth, like a duck in a shooting gallery.

Later, he bought a folding patio chair to stash in the car trunk, in case I needed to rest between benches. That man would cheerfully walk beside me, schlepping the chair like a Sherpa guide until I needed it!

As opposed to me, the reclusive writer, he was the most social man in the universe. He planned all our dinner parties, arranged dates, did all the shopping AND all the cooking! All I had to do was make dessert (my favorite part!) and show up. He ran errands and even fielded robocalls in the mornings when I was writing.

He was so tickled when I finally got a book contract after so many years of toil. The contract was for Young Adult (YA) fiction, and he embraced the book biz with the same enthusiasm he devoted to his other passions — doing research and urging me along. He even started reading YA!

60s-Themed Hearts for the Arts event

In addition to his other talents, he was a hell of a lot of fun to be around, with an upbeat sense of humor, and the twinkle in his eye. We got our first phone answering machine one February when the Winter Olympics were on TV. James recorded the message, "Lisa and I are waxing our luge and can't come to the phone right now."

When we were planning a Will and Trust a couple of years ago, the subject or organ donations came up. James laughed. "Nobody wants my liver!"

The Master of Malapropism, James was also famous for the odd combinations of words and ideas — often seemingly unrelated to each other — that would pop out of his mouth unexpectedly. Once when we were discussing travel plans (he was a notorious homebody), I pointed out that some people actually liked to travel. "Well, some people eat fur for breakfast!" he sputtered. That stopped the conversation cold. As soon as we both realized what he'd said, we laughed until we cried.

Many Faces of Art Boy: birthday altar, 2011

That's the kind of intimacy I'm going to miss, more than any other kind. The kind that can only be brewed from 40 years of shared jokes that nobody else gets, and the helpless laughter that comes with them.

There will be a huge hole in the heart of the Santa Cruz arts community without him, and an even more enormous hole in my heart. I am lucky to have had 40 wonderful years with him. Please remember him as he was — cracking jokes, making fabulous art (and pizza!), and toasting Life with Champagne! Every day should be a celebration.

It certainly was for James.

Right now, it seems like people need permission to start feeling more happy that they had him in their lives than sorrow that he's gone. Permission granted — from both of us.

I know James would not want to make everybody sad and miserable — he'd be the first one out there making jokes and popping corks — so I am adopting his upbeat spirit and positive outlook as I plunge ahead into the next chapter.

Our last photo together: at the Gailies, 2018

Things he will miss:
The final season of Game of Thrones.
The demise of the Trump administration.
The complete first draft of my next novel he was so eager to beta-read.
Our 40th wedding anniversary (although we got to celebrate 40 full years together!)

Things I will miss:
Everything about him

I love you, Art Boy!

MIGHTY APHRODITE

Isn't there enough hate in the world today?

Santa Cruz Shakespeare strikes back this season with a 2018 program entirely devoted to love and all its complications — romantic, comic, and carnal.


Taking centerstage in this season-long homage to Aphrodite is the enduring combination of youthful roistering and tragic romance that is Romeo and Juliet.


The second Shakespearean production is Love's Labour's Lost, the comic misadventures of four young scholars foolishly trying to live without love — until four beauteous young women invade their studies.

Venus In Fur, by contemporary playwright David Ives (The Liar), is a sly debate on sex and sexism between a touchy director and a provocative young actress coming late to an audition.

This year's Fringe production is a play based on Dorothy Parker's droll prose piece, Men I Am Not Married To, adapted and directed by Kayla Minton Kaufman.

Celebrating its fifth season as an independent company, and its third year in the Audrey Stanley Grove at Delaveaga Park, the SCS presents its 2018 season from July 10 through September 2.

SCS Member discount tickets go on pre-sale next week, starting May 1st, at noon, available online or by calling 831 460-6399. (Tues-Fri 12 noon - 5 pm.) Have your member code number handy to get a $5 discount. (Look for your member code number on your membership thank-you card receipt.) Tickets go on sale to the general public starting May 15.

Meanwhile, there's still time to join the SCS team and become a member, or renew your current membership, and get your discount!

July is just around the corner. I'll see you in the Grove!

(That's Romeo and Juliet, by Bulgarian illustrator Svetlin Vassilev. Watercolor, 2003. See more of his gorgeous work here!)

WILD RIDE

Fasten your gauntlets for this wild ride! In The Master of Verona, actor-author David Blixt  merges the historical realities of life in the Renaissance Italian city-states with what you might call the origin stories of some of Shakespeare's most famous plays.

The plot begins when the infamous poet Dante Alighieri (long exiled, and now a caustic celebrity) joins the court of his new patron, Francesco della Scala, called Cangrande, the cunning, charismatic, ruthless, and dazzling Lord of Verona.

Over the template of Cangrande's raucous real-life exploits, Blixt sows the seeds of themes, plots, and characters that will evolve into some of Shakespeare's most famous plays, to be further developed in the next three books (and counting) in the series.

Despite teasing hints, few of Shakespeare's actual characters appear in this book, but the devilish glee with which Blixt foreshadows conflicts and stories to come keeps us turning the pages.

The story is so dense with historical action and intrigue, I meant to skim an early, detailed battle scene, but the character-building was so excellent, I didn't want to miss a word. (Also, the busy plot demands you pay attention!)

Statue of Cangrande, Verona

It may take Blixt 100 pages to describe the events of a single day, but he knows his Shakespeare, his Dante, and his Renaissance Italian history. And there's literally never a dull moment!

It's fascinating to watch protagonist Pietro Alighieri evolve from studious youth longing for the approval of his famous father, accidental war hero, and confidant of Cangrande, into a man for whom honor and justice are so ingrained, he doesn't even realize how extraordinary his values are.

Full disclosure: I started reading this book for practical (or possibly piratical) reasons. Working on my own Italian Renaissance project, I was hoping to steal, er, sample some of the period color.

Evidently, flamboyant Cangrande laughed at danger!

In a sudden fit of de-cluttering (the kind I only seem to do when I'm supposed to be writing), I found a postcard for this book and another novel with a similar historical setting in an old file of tchotchkes from a long-ago book conference.

So, I found both books online. The first one was a little too YA for me. Then I picked up this daunting volume: it weighed a ton, the pages were numerous, and the print was tiny.

Well, I thought, I'll just skim through it and hopefully pick up a little of the flavor of the era through osmosis.

Hah! Flavor? This book is a fourteen-course meal! No point standing on ceremony; better just dive in, for all the reasons mentioned above!

CRAFTY BEAST

The countdown continues for Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge (coming July 10)!

So my Beast of the Month for April is this ceramic art tile depicting scenes from Beauty and the Beast, ca. 1867. Tile from Morris (as in William), Marshall, Faulkner & Co. Painted by Edward Burne-Jones and Edward Coley.

Okay, this Beast is basically just a bear, but I love the decorative quality of this Pre-Raphaelite tile. In design terms (very loosely speaking), the mid-Victorian Pre-Raphaelites led to Art Nouveau led to the Craftsman style around the turn of the 20th Century.

These eras were all about fine craftsmanship and beautiful decoration. And just look at that lower right image!

I love how Beauty is having a romantic dream of Beast back in his rose garden, as her conniving sisters slumber on obliviously. Yes, according to the story, this is probably the dream that tells Beauty to hurry back to the cattle because Beast is dying without her.

But there's so much tenderness in that image! That's why I love it.

MR. NATURAL

Filmmaker, Goldsworthy, reunite for new art doc, Leaning Into the Wind

Whenever I'm asked what my favorite movies are, I usually babble out three or four titles that pop into my head right that minute — Chinatown, I might say. Or Annie Hall, or Memento, or Grand Illusion. The selection usually varies, according to my mood in the moment.

But one title I always include on the list is Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working With Time, German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer's stirring 2001 documentary about the life and extraordinary work of "environmental artist" Andy Goldsworthy.

Not a conventional biographical doc, it says little about Scotsman Goldswothy's personal life. Instead, it's a vibrant joyride through themes of art, time and nature, expressed through the artist's powerful, yet often intentionally impermanent constructions — required viewing for anyone looking to jumpstart your own creative energy.

Artists and movie lovers who made Rivers and Tides such a long-running hit in Santa Cruz will be thrilled that filmmaker Riedelsheimer once again teams up with Goldsworthy for a new doc, Leaning Into The Wind.

Nature at work: mesmerizing

It's an invigorating portrait of the artist 16 years later: older, mellower (perhaps) but no less questing, as he travels the globe revisiting old work (or what's left of it), setting himself new challenges, and always seeking new ways to look at art, his work, and life.

Goldsworthy works with natural materials (leaves, twigs) meant to altered or destroyed by the caprices of nature, or mammoth stone constructions. One wall of clay develops a mesmerizing network of cracks and fissures as the clay dries.

Most haunting is a sculpted portal through which moonlight alone projects a glowing image of breathtaking beauty and no substance at all, into the darkness.

Like its predecessor, this move is a feast. Peel your orbs and dig in!
(Read more)

PROWLING TOWARD PUB DAY

More exciting news as my Beast prowls toward publication!

The folks at Audible are busy putting together the Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge audiobook as we speak. They even sent me sample audition tapes, so I could vote on which narrator I liked best!

No details yet, but release date should be the same as publication day, July 10, 2018.

I'm so looking forward to hearing what they do with my Beast!

Meanwhile, my PR diva at Candlewick Press, is lining up guest blog posts and Q&As for me in the weeks running up to publication day. (Including more giveaways!)

Got a book blog? I'd be thrilled to drop by and answer questions, reveal little known facts about Beast, or otherwise hang out, so please do let me know!

I can't wait to share my Beast with the world!

Stay tuned . . .

(Above: Concept sketch by Francois Baranger for 2014 French film La Belle et la Bete.)

GROWTH SPURT

Loss, redemption, maturity fuel family healing in witty Coming of Age

Patrons of the Jewel Theatre Company may fondly recall its production of a play by Santa Cruz author Kate Hawley back in 2015. That excellent play, Complications From A Fall, is a kind of companion piece to Hawley' newest work, Coming Of Age, "a serious comedy" now having its world premiere at JTC.

Both plays deal with the theme of aging parents and their effect on the lives of their middle-aged children.

Hawley is particularly incisive in exploring the radical idea that parents may have once had —or continue to have — separate, and interesting lives outside the box into which their children have always confined them.

Coming Of Age is less overtly comic than its predecessor, although it still has plenty of witty dialogue. Protagonist, Ian (the entertaining Mike Ryan), author of literary novels, drops in to the family home in upstate New York to visit his father, John (J. Michael Flynn), an acclaimed university professor, now retired, and recently widowed.

They've been setting up this visit for weeks, but John is surprised to see him, and doesn't seem too eager to have his son stick around. Ian finds out why with the arrival of Deirdre (Martha Brigham). Once a bedazzled student of John's, nearly 40 years younger than he is, Deirdre has become a fixture in the household.

As discreet as she is in person, her presence chips new fissures into the already tense father-son relationship.

Flynn, Brigham, Ryan: Menage a trois

Director Paul Whitworth keeps the action unobtrusively fluid — especially in the dynamic second half when Hawley's focus becomes sharper; all of the characters get a chance to express their own feelings and motivations in Hawley's simple, eloquent dialogue.

Flynn's portrait of John as a cranky oldster betrayed by time is tempered by flashes of the magnificent lion he must have once been.

And, as usual with JTC, tech work is first-class, especially Kent Dorsey's outstanding Craftsman-style set. You will want to live here!
(Read more)

HAPPY NEWS

Say what you will about the Ides of March, but I received some happy news today from Kirkus Review!

My editor, Kaylan Adair, at Candlewick, sent me a pre-publication sneak peek at the Kirkus review of Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge, will be published online next week. (May 1st, in print.) They say, in part:

A fresh retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" with an interesting and meaningful plot twist. Vividly enchanting descriptions transport the reader to the beautiful surroundings. Lucie is a brave and sympathetic heroine who ultimately writes her own happy ending. For readers who love reimagined fairy tales and strong female characters. (Fiction. 13-adult)

The readers at Kirkus are a tough crowd. They weren't so crazy about Alias Hook, so this review is a big thrill for me!

Also pleased that they rate the prospective age group as 13 to adult. Just a reminder that this is not exactly the Disney version!

Thanks, Kirkus!

THE JOURNEY CONTUNUES

Fans of Dana Chamblee Carpenter's compelling debut novel, The Bohemian Gospel, will find this second installment of the trilogy, The Devil's Bible, something of a hybrid.


The first half alternates chapters between the extraordinary life of heroine, Mouse, in 13th C Prague (picking up exactly where the previous book left off) and a contemporary, globe-spanning chase thriller involving missing medieval manuscript pages, secret societies, sinister priests, and an epic battle between Good and Evil.


But Carpenter amps up the intrigue with the fact that the contemporary heroine is the same Mouse as the outcast healer, manuscript illuminator and purveyor of dark terrifying powers from the first book.


700 years later, she's perpetually on the move; she shuns personal relationships and never stays in one job long enough for anyone to notice that she never ages.


The first book is all about establishing Mouse's character as she comes to grips with her powers and — finally — discovers their source. This backstory is invaluable as Mouse's personal journey continues here, so read the first book first.

In this one, her fractious relationship with her parent, her determination not to give into the dark side of her powers, and her quest for redemption — she even dares to fall in love —  fuel the heart of story.


That said, when the second half of the book goes into full-on Da Vinci Code mode, I wasn't quite as interested. Carpenter writes with urgency, but the demonic assaults and near-death resurrections start to feel a little repetitive.

Page from the real Codex: illuminating

But I found the parent-child debates about the nature of evil fascinating. (And not only because they remind me so much of James Hook's struggle to outgrow the role of villain thrust upon him in Alias Hook!)


Btw, the so-named Devil's Bible is an actual book, The Codex Gigas ("giant book" in Latin), a mysterious 13th C manuscript of mammoth size and unknown origin, with glorious illuminations.


Including the disturbing image of the Devil (above) that Carpenter appropriates for her cover. (Feast your orbs here!)


Carpenter's tale-spinning about the origin and creation of this masterpiece is audacious and satisfying.


Sign me up for the final book in the trilogy, The Book of the Just due out in October!

WILD THING

It's the tenth of the month, and you know what that means?


Four more months until the release of Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge! (July 10, 2018!)


In the meantime, behold my Beast of the Month, by contemporary artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins.


Is this a Beast with art-i-tude, or what?


Hicks-Jenkins is a theatrical designer, painter, printmaker and book illustrator in Wales.

 
This sketch is a design for a pair of Beauty and Beast puppets he began in 2014. It doesn't look like Hicks-Jenkins ever completed the pair. But I was able to track down this image of his final version of Beast!


Here's the fascinating backstory of how Hicks-Jenkins was inspired by Jean Marais and Josette Day in the classic Beaty and the Beast film by Jean Cocteau. After making this colorful drawing, he opted to ditch its refinement and instead do a much wilder, rougher version for the actual puppet.


Its papier-mâché head is texturized with plenty of gesso (unsanded), and painted black-and-while (to reference the film), with the focus on it head, paws, and claws.


I love this wild-looking puppet to pieces! (It must be the doll-maker in me.) But I also adore the original sketch!


Here's some more of the artist's insights into his puppet-making process!

FEMALE TROUBLES

Trans heroine triumphs over adversity in A Fantastic Woman


Transgender actress Daniela Vega makes a triumphant debut in A Fantastic Woman (La Mujer Fantastico), playing the role of a transgender woman fighting for respect in modern-day Chile. But this is way more than one-issue movie.

This year's Foreign Language Oscar winner, Sebastián Lelio's engrossing film is a resonant and stylishly-told story about the basic human right to live with dignity and carve out one's identity in the world.

Chilean filmmaker Lelio (along with his co-screenwriter, Gonzalo Maza) made the zesty woman-over-50 movie, Gloria, a few years back.

They continue to delve into the psyche of interesting females here with protagonist Marina Vidal (Vega), a cafe waitress by day who croons sultry ballads in a bar at night.

Reyes and Vega; frisky and tender

She shares an apartment in Santiago with her partner of several years, frisky, tender Orlando (Francisco Reyes), a divorced businessman a few decades older than she is.

But one night, in bed, Orlando becomes disoriented. Marina rushes him to the hospital — where, soon after, he dies.

But the devastating shock of her loss is just the beginning of her troubles.

That not all of the issues she faces are gender identity-based broadens the film's scope. Marina's plight as an outsider forbidden the rights of the legal kinship group is universal.

Lelio makes adroit use of visual metaphor (like mirrors, inviting us to ponder the true nature of identity), as the emotional story draws us in. And in Vega's fearless performance, we get a strong-willed heroine to root for.

Not "tough" in any clichéd way, she's determined to pursue her rights and stay true to her selfhood.

Performer and trans activist Vega was Lelio's consultant on the film, introducing him to contemporary trans culture. But it wasn't until the very end of the process, when the script was completed and the cameras were ready to roll, that it occurred to Lelio that Vega would be perfect to play Marina.

So the role was not exactly written for Vega, but thank heavens for serendipity — her performance is outstanding.
(Read more)

THEY'RE B-A-A-CK AGAIN!

Well, friends, the Academy Awards will be handed out tonight.


And you know what that means:


 Oh no! Oh yes! It's the Return of the Oscar Barbies!


There are no Best Actress nominees from historical films this year — unless you count movies set in the '60s, '70s, and '80s.

No Judi Dench flouncing around in crinolines as Queen Victoria; no new Jane Austen adaptations. Those are always the most fun to do.

Still, there's room for creativity in this year's nominees.



First up: Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya.

Okay, yes, she's got roller skates, but I grew up in SoCal so I didn't have Barbie's ice-skating outfit! I made this outfit from bits and pieces — just like Tonya had to do — and the doll's exaggerated hair and makeup are (for once) perfect!


Next up, Saorise Ronan in Lady Bird! Nothing too distinctive, costume-wise — except the slightly pink hair.


I really had a hard time coming up with props for this one.

So I finally resorted to a prom dress from Barbie's closet to reference the scene when Lady Bird and her mom go shopping, and quit their petty bickering the instant they both fall in love with the same dress!


Our third nominee is Meryl Streep, playing publisher Katherine Graham in The Post.

 

Fortunately, I have a tweed suit, string of pearls, and a vintage short-haired Barbie for — well, basically, any time Meryl Streep gets nominated. (Which is every year.)

All I needed to do this year was Google The Washington Post and print out a mini version of the front page.


Next up, my favorite challenge of the year, for my favorite movie — Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water!


There's not much to her outfit‚ a blue dress and a blue sweater, like all the cleaning staff wear at the secret government lab in the movie. (Also, those shiny black shoes.)

Of course, I had to make the mop, not an item typically fond in Barbie's wardrobe.


But the main event here is her "prop" — the Amphibian Man himself! Yes, it's The Creature From the Black Lagoon, from the classic 1950s sci-fi movie that director Guillermo del Toro cheerfully admits inspired his own character.


This image is on the lid of the box containing the Creature model kit. (Art Boy never built the model, so I had to use the lid.) I found the perfect industrial-green construction paper to frame it in, and Art Boy cleverly constructed the rest of the "tank" around it.


But, as much fun as they were to make, these nominees are the also-rans this year.

And the winner is: Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri!
 

Definitely the toughest challenge of the year. She spends the entire movie in the same blue-denim jumpsuit, most of which I had to make — the top half, anyway. She has basically no hair, what there is of it wrapped in a bandana. (I had to use a twisty piece of wire ribbon.)


And while I was able to paint out some of her eye makeup, I couldn't do anything about her girly grin.


Still, it all came together when, searching for some kind of prop, we found a Barbie-sized Coke bottle squirreled away somewhere. Art Boy made it into the Molotov cocktail McDormand's character throws in a key scene in the movie — one way for this doll to express McDormand's rage, despite that wimpy grin!


That's it for this year. Click here for a peek at Oscar Barbies Past!