All tagged L. Frank Baum

Nine Reasons Why We Love The Wizard of Oz from an Early Age

Nine Reasons Why We Love The Wizard of Oz from an Early Age

Mark Robinson
Cinematters

A few nights ago, I had the pleasure of seeing the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz on the big screen. Even more thrilling was having my two nephews in tow. The younger one is only a few months old, but sat quietly for the duration. The older one is two-years-old and this was this was his first time seeing this beloved film. Sitting with him, I watched it through new eyes, witnessing his rapt attention and his visible excitement. It suddenly occurred to me that there is a reason why this movie musical sucks us in at an early age and remains ensconced in our hearts for a lifetime. Through my older nephew’s responses, I saw exactly which ingredients facilitate this life-long love affair with The Wizard of Oz.

The Woodsman: When Theatre Leaves You Breathless

The Woodsman: When Theatre Leaves You Breathless

Mark Robinson
Music That Makes Me Dance

Typically, my blog is devoted to musical theatre since that is the genre I am most interested in writing about. It doesn’t mean that I don’t attend plays as well. In fact, I enjoy a good play as much as I enjoy a good musical. I choose, however, to focus my writing on musicals in order to set myself boundaries so that I don’t go off on tangents on every topic that inspires an opinion in me. Every once and a while, however, I see a play that is so stirring and evocative that I have to set aside my rules and go on a tangent anyway. The Woodsman, conceived and written by James Ortiz and executed to haunting perfection by the Strangeman & Co. ensemble, is a show that simply grabbed a hold of me and refuses to let go and I have to write about it.