March 29, 2025 | 63 words | Films
Are you in the mood for a well-crafted meditation on terminal illness, abiding friendship, the restorative beauty of nature, and the highly controversial subject of how to live and die with dignity? Well, then, The Room Next Door, written and directed by Pedro Almodovar, starring Tilda Swindon and Julianne Moore, is a quiet, little fable of a film that might resonate with you.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com
Jan 5, 2025 | 113 words | Theater
This alternate-universe take on Mary Todd Lincoln has conquered Broadway and received rave reviews. We attended just the other night, as part of a sold-out house. The energy and intelligence of the production are undeniable. The individual who wrote and stars in this show is a marvel, and goes all out in bringing the unconventional (to say the least) title character to life.
While I usually enjoy farce and am a big fan of sarcasm, somehow much of this show’s humor came off as a bit too mean-spirited to be funny. And yes, I admit it, the coarseness and frequency of the sexual references are just not my cup of tea.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com
Jan 2, 2025 | 617 words | Shows
Let me start by saying there are not a lot of current Broadway musicals I am dying to see. Maybe this is a shortcoming of mine, but the music, lyrics and ‘book’ (story line) of many popular musicals often strike me as a little cheesy and a bit thin. So, when my wife and I visited the Big Apple this week and took in the musical Suffs right before it’s nearly year-long run came to an end, I was approaching the show with a sense of obligation.
I knew the subject matter of voting rights for women was serious and worthy, and I had a reasonable knowledge of the struggles’ history. I guess I just didn’t think it would make for a particularly enjoyable night out.
Since this big, expensive Broadway production is closing after less than a year, probably before it could turn much of a profit for its investors, or maybe even earn back their initial investment, the critical mass of theater-goers who can keep successful shows running for years chose not to embrace Suffs, much like I hadn’t.
Given my lack of enthusiasm going in, it was a big surprise to find myself utterly smitten from the opening cords of the overture. And I must say the entire show start-to-finish is a nothing short of a complete triumph. The music has that special something, that bounce. As do the lyrics. The plot – the ‘book’ – does an excellent job of condensing what could have been a meandering story while doing justice to the major points and the overarching theme.
One of the shows many charms is that every part is played by a woman, and each of the handful of male characters are brought off very well. The actress who plays Woodrow Wilson over the course of a decade is especially effective. That role as written manages to be comical and satirical and even farcical at times, making a serious point while avoiding bitter resentment at President Wilson’s ultimate failure to come through for the cause.
Credit the author of the ‘book’ for this and every other deft characterization that gets presented over the course of the evening, and credit all the actresses for bringing this wonderful writing to life.
At dinner before the show, my wife and I were comparing notes on what we knew of the suffragette movement. (Spoiler Alert: She knew more than me.) We were wondering at what point in history the show would start, and what characters from that history would be featured. At one point my wife referenced Swarthmore College graduate Alice Paul (1885-1977), but that name was completely unfamiliar to me.
Once in the theater, as I was reading the program while waiting for the lights to dim, I noticed the very last character listed in the program, at the bottom of a long list of maybe twenty other characters, was the aforementioned Alice Paul. Well, I thought to myself, at least the show would make some small reference to this person with a local-to-us, Philadelphia connection.
Here is another spoiler alert: It turns out Alice Paul is the star of the show, and her character is the through-line of the entire story. Shaina Taub is the actress who plays Paul so endearingly. And hold onto to your hat – she also is responsible for show’s book, music, and lyrics! I’m not the only one who thinks highly of her work, as Taub took home a Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score, and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music.
This is a really moving piece of theatrical entertainment. Run, don’t walk, if a production of Suffs ever comes to a city near you.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com
Dec 30, 2024 | 436 words | General Interest
There is nothing better in this world than encountering someone who has embraced their role in life, is at peace with who they are, and is good at what they do.
Examples abound. Like the young high school student who sometimes works behind the pharmacy counter at the local drugstore where we get our prescriptions filled. He is so calm and assured and even-keeled, with both the pharmacists he assists and the customers he waits on. He is far too young to know what his role will eventually become, but you wish the best for him and are sure he will excel at whatever he chooses to do in life.
Or the unassuming counter guy at the local deli where I sometimes treat myself to lunch during the work week. Mid-forties, wearing a well-worn t-shirt and a turned-around-backwards baseball cap. Was maybe a schoolyard basketball player in his younger days. Pretty much indistinguishable from a million other friends you yourself went to school with from the old neighborhood, once upon a time. And maybe someone who would be judged at first glance as not having gotten very far in life.
But our smooth operator has this small establishment running like a top. Everything about how he takes your order is what you would expect, sort of standard-issue efficient. The surprise comes when your food is ready to be picked up. He ends the transaction with a gentle flourish that is almost courtly. It feels like you are receiving a benediction in the most unexpected circumstance, in the unlikeliest of places.
Then there is the 65-year-old priest who is the current paster at the Catholic parish where we attend Mass on the weekends, most of the time. Instead of being a little tired of the grind and starting to look around for a soft landing, this cleric is positively on fire with a love for the Gospel, and his enthusiasm in this department is contagious.
There is no question the sex abuse crisis has cast a pall over the Catholic priesthood in recent decades, making it almost synonymous with pedophilia for some. While I am mindful of that tragic reality, and the devasting effect it has had on many lives, I have only good things to report when it comes to those priests who have impacted my life over the years, or even crossed my path in the most tangential way. I have benefited from the vocation of many dedicated men of faith who each reflected the love of Christ in their own unique way. And nobody in my experience did/does it better than our current pastor.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com
Nov 11, 2024 | 297 words | General Interest
Last night my dream had an unusual quality that will be difficult to describe. Whenever anyone said or did something in this dream it would register with me in the usual way, but then it would reverberate, for lack of a better way of saying it. I literally felt the ramification of the behavior or the comment just made. The sensation was that of fully understanding the other person: what they really meant, and why they did or said what they did. I had a deep visceral sense of understanding the full context of everything around me.
I cannot stress enough that this was a visceral experience. It unfolded rather slowly. I was conscious of what was happening and remember wanting to continue, anticipating the next exchange or encounter. I felt no ill will, felt no frustration with anyone or anything. There was a sense of perfect resolution at every turn. The empathy with my surroundings was overwhelming. I remember thinking this might be a form of epiphany or enlightenment. Or maybe what might be described as a visitation, or perhaps even an hallucination.
Along those lines I remember thinking during the dream if this affect is a by-product of psychotropic drugs, I see the appeal. Whatever subject my mind turned to, apart from any sort of encounter with another person, I remember feeling a rush of insight. I remember not wanting to wake up, wanting to keep dreaming, to keep feeling ideas in this special, sort of 3-D way.
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This description is not doing my dream justice. I am having trouble capturing the experience in words. In the end it is not naming the thing that matters, only being able to feel ideas in this unique way. Even if I was asleep when it happened.
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr.
bobcavjr@gmail.com
January 1, 2022 (218 words)
“A wonderful New Year’s resolution for the men who run the world: Get to know the people who only live in it.”
This tidbit comes to us courtesy of Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998), and American novelist, travel writer, and journalist who is considered one of the great war correspondents of the 20th century. She reported on virtually every major world conflict that took place during her 60-year career.
Ms. Gellhorn and her 1959 collection of essays, The Face of War, was recently described by contemporary writer Judith Mackrell this way:
“Gellhorn was a pioneer, a woman who challenged the prejudices of a misogynist military (as well as the ego of her husband, Ernest Hemingway) to claim her position as a frontline journalist. But Gellhorn was also a supremely humane writer. In her coverage of World War II, no less than in her reports from Spain and Vietnam, she wrote with heart-wrenching directness about the courage of individual soldiers and the catastrophic suffering of civilians.
“A fierce, fastidious stylist, Gellhorn still has the power to shock, not least in the unflinching account she gives of the sights, smells, and sensations of war. An even fiercer moralist, her work continues to drive home the message that wars are far less often fought on grounds of ideology than on cynicism and greed.”
Robert J. Cavanaugh, Jr
January 1, 2022