[ThisWeek] A Walk in the Woods and Best of Youth, Part II at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

[thisweek at kenworthy.org]

This week at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre...


Sirius Idaho Theatre presents
A Walk in the Woods
By Lee Blessing

Thursday, April 6
All seats for opening night only $5 each

Also showing-
Friday & Saturday, April 7 & 8
7:30 PM
Saturday, April 8
2:00 PM
Tickets available at BookPeople of Moscow
 or at the Kenworthy box office an hour before each performance
$15/Adult, $10/Senior, $5/Student

Directed by Luis Guerrero

Cast:
Andrey Botvinnik - John Dickinson
John Honeyman - Gregory Newell Smith

Sign up to usher and see a performance for free. Call Pam Palmer at
208-596-2270.

Sirius Idaho Theatre celebrates Two Seasons
Two Men, Two Women, Two Shows in Two Weeks

To celebrate the end of their second season of theatre, Sirius Idaho Theatre
is bringing two shows to the stage, a two-man play followed by a two-woman
play. The final two shows of their 2005-06 season include A Walk in the
Woods, by Lee Blessing and Collected Stories by Donald Margulies. All
performances will be at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, Moscow, Idaho.

A Walk in the Woods, nominated for both the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize in
1988, takes place in a ³pleasant woods on the outskirts of Geneva.² The
story follows the differences dividing two arms negotiators, one Soviet and
one American. It is a refreshing and humorous look at the frustrations
inherent in the negotiating process and allows us to understand the humanity
of these wise and decent men. Directed by Luis Guerrero, the cast consists
of two men: Andrey Botvinnik, a 57 year old career Soviet diplomat, played
by John Dickinson and John Honeyman, a 45 year old American negotiator,
played by Gregory Newell Smith.

Collected Stories, directed by Forrest Sears, follows the interconnected
lives of two women. An accomplished and respected short-story writer and
teacher, Ruth Steiner, played by Valerie McIlroy, has carved out a
comfortable life for herself in a Greenwich Village apartment she has
occupied for decades. Lisa Morrison, a child of suburban privilege, played
by Isabella Whitfield, is a callow yet talented graduate student and
aspiring writer when she meets Ruth and offers to become her assistant. Over
six years, in as many scenes, Collected Stories eavesdrops on Ruth and Lisa
as their relationship evolves (from mentor/protégée to loving friends to
adversaries) and ultimately disintegrates -- touching on issues of age,
artistic license, and betrayal.

The two plays will be staged at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in
consecutive weeks. A Walk in the Woods opens Thursday, April 6 at 7: 30 pm,
with additional evening performances  on April 7 & 8 and a Saturday matinee
April 8 at 2:00 pm.  Collected Stories opens Thursday, April 13 at 7:30 pm,
with additional evening performances on April 14 & 15, and a Saturday
matinee April 15 at 2:00 pm. Tickets for the opening night of each play will
be only $5 for all seats. For the other performances, ticket prices will be
$15 Adults, $10 Seniors, and $5 Students. Tickets are available at
BookPeople of Moscow and at the Kenworthy box office an hour before each
performance.

For more information about the plays or to volunteer with Sirius Idaho
Theatre, contact Pam Palmer, Managing Artistic Director, at 208-596-2270
siriusidahotheatre at gmail.com or visit the web site of Sirius Idaho Theatre
http://www.siriusidahotheatre.com/

Contact information:
Sirius Idaho Theatre, P.O. Box 8762, Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 596-2270
* * *

Kenworthy Film Society presents
Best of Youth, part 2 (R)
Sunday, April 9
3:10 & 7:00 PM
$5/adult

If you missed Part 1 last week, don¹t be shy about coming to see Part 2.

-from Alice Swan, KPAC House Manager: I loved part 1, and can't wait for
part 2 next week--I think it'll be worth seeing even if you didn't see the
first part. It is long, but it's a wonderful story.
(See Review below)
* * *

Next week at the Kenworthy-

Sneak Preview
The Celestine Prophecy Movie
Monday, April 10
7 PM
Tickets: $10
Funds go toward supporting Moscow Friends of the Library.

Now released for the first time since the book was written in 1993.
For more information call The Healing Center (208) 882-3993 or go to
www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com
Dr. Denice Moffat
PO Box 9151  Moscow, ID 83843
(208) 882-3993 9am-6pm M-F
www.NaturalHealthTechniques.com
drmoffat at NaturalHealthTechniques.com

* * *
Next week at the Kenworthy-

Sirius Idaho Theatre presents
Collected Stories
By Donald Margulies

Thursday, Friday & Saturday, April 13, 14, & 15
7:30 PM
Saturday, April 15
2:00 PM
$15/Adult, $10/Senior, $5/Student
All seats for opening night only $5 each
Tickets available at BookPeople of Moscow

Directed by Forrest Sears

Cast-
Ruth Steiner - Valerie McIlroy
Lisa Morrison - Isabella Whitfield

Sign up to usher and see a performance for free. Call Pam Palmer at
208-596-2270.
* * *

Also in April at the Kenworthy-

Caché (R)
April 21, 7:00 PM
April 22 & 23, 4:10 & 7:00 PM

Why We Fight (PG-13)
April 28, 7:00 PM
April 29 & 30, 4:30 & 7:00 PM

Coming in May: Brokeback Mountain, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story,
Match Point, Rendezvous Showcase

Regular movie prices:  $5/adult, $2/child 12 or younger
KFS series pass prices:  $30/10 films, $75/30 films. KFS pass good only for
Sunday movies.

For more information on movies, events, rental rates, and/or to download a
schedule, visit our website at www.kenworthy.org
* *  *

This week¹s movie review-

The Best of Youth

Miramax presents a film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana
Written by Sandro Petragia and Stefano Rulli
In Italian, with English subtitles

Running time: 6 hours, 6 minutes ­ Presented in 2 Parts
Rated R (for language and brief nudity)


As reviewed by Roger Ebert writing for the Chicago Sun-Times

Every review of "The Best of Youth" begins with the information that it is
six hours long. No good movie is too long, just as no bad movie is short
enough. I dropped outside of time and was carried along by the narrative
flow; when the film was over, I had no particular desire to leave the
theater, and would happily have stayed another three hours. The two-hour
limit on most films makes them essentially short stories. "The Best of
Youth" is a novel. 

The film is ambitious. It wants no less than to follow two brothers and the
people in their lives from 1963 to 2000, following them from Rome to Norway
to Turin to Florence to Palermo and back to Rome again. The lives intersect
with the politics and history of Italy during the period: the hippies, the
ruinous flood in Florence, the Red Brigades, kidnappings, hard times and
layoffs at Fiat, and finally a certain peace for some of the characters and
for their nation. 

The brothers are Nicola and Matteo Carati (Luigi Lo Cascio and Alessio
Boni). We meet their parents, Angelo (Andrea Tidona) and Adriana (Adriana
Asti), their older sister Giovanna (Lidia Vitale), and their kid sister
Francesca. And we meet their friends, their lovers, and others who drift
through, including a mental patient whose life seems to follow in parallel.

As the film opens, Nicola has qualified as a doctor and Matteo is still
taking literature classes. Matteo, looking for a job, has been hired as a
"logotherapist" -- literally, a person who takes mental patients for walks.
One of the women he walks with is Giorgia (Jasmine Trinca), who is
beautiful, deeply wounded by electroshock therapy, and afraid of the world.
On the spur of the moment, Matteo decides to spring her from the institution
and take her along when he and Nicola take a summer trip to the "end of the
world," the tip of Norway.

Because of the length of the film, the director Marco Tullio Giordana has
time and space to work with, and we get a tangible sense of the characters
growing older, learning about themselves, dealing with hardship. The journey
of Giulia, the radical, is the most difficult and in some ways the most
touching. The way Nicola finally finds happiness is particularly satisfying
because it takes him so long to realize that it is right there before him
for the taking. 

The film must have deep resonances for Italians, where it was made for
national television; because of its politics, sexuality and grown-up
characters, it would be impossible on American networks. It is not easy on
Italy. As he is graduating from medical school, Nicola is advised by his
professor: "Do you have any ambition? Then leave Italy. Go to London, Paris,
America, if you can. Italy is a beautiful country. But it is a place to die,
run by dinosaurs." Nicola asks the professor why he stays. "I'm one of the
dinosaurs." 

When you hear that this film is six hours long, reflect that it is therefore
also six hours deep.

As reviewed by A. O. Scott writing for the New York Times

The Best of Youth" was shown as part of the 2003 New York Film Festival. One
subject of "The Best of Youth," is the transformation of Italy into a modern
consumer society. In the montage of newspaper images that introduces Part 1,
the major symbol of this change is television, and one of the first things
we see is a boxy old set being hauled up the stairs of a Rome apartment
building. 

This is only fitting, since "The Best of Youth" was originally made as a
mini-series for Italian television and was broadcast in several other
European countries after being released theatrically in Italy. Its genesis
as a multi-episode small-screen epic accounts for its length, but also makes
it easier to take. The director, Marco Tullio Giordana, is motivated by
generosity - toward both his characters and his audience - rather than by
self-indulgence. 

The story he has to tell, written by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, is
full of nuance and complexity, but it is also as accessible and engrossing
as a grand 19th-century novel. Yes, "The Best of Youth" is long. But "War
and Peace" is long. "Middlemarch" is long. Life is also long, and there is
so much life in these six hours - 37 years, to the extent that you can
quantify it - that you may marvel at Mr. Giordana's economy.

Despite its unblinking attention to the destructive forces at large in
Italian society - from the Red Brigades terror and the political scandals of
the 1970's to the anti-Mafia campaigns (and further political scandals) of
more recent years - the spirit of "The Best of Youth" is quietly, wryly
optimistic. Its political point of view turns out to be precisely the
tolerant, middle-class humanism, with its belief in human goodness and the
possibility of social progress, that the postwar generation claimed to rebel
against. 

As reviewed by Sean Axmaker writing for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Originally made as a television miniseries but released directly to
theaters, this compelling and compassionate six-hour experience was both a
critical and popular hit in Italy. The rich tapestry of history is enlivened
with characters that weave in and out of their lives, who touch and
transform the brothers as much as the events around them. Giordana's
redemptive vision provides a sense of discovery and a well of hope in the
most devastating of troubles, and beautiful surprises in love, friendship
and family.

Marco Tullio Giordana drifts through 40 years of Italian political and
social history via the experiences of brothers Nicola (Luigi Lo Cascio) and
Matteo (Alessio Boni).

Idealistic university students in 1966 Italy, their lives undergo a seismic
shock when their rescue of a tormented young woman from a barbaric asylum
collapses. While Nicola undergoes an odyssey of self discovery and dedicates
himself to reform, Matteo shuts himself off emotionally from the world and
retreats into the structure and regimented authority of the army. Nicola's
professional life, which occasionally drifts into the foreground of the
story, involves him in efforts to improve the treatment of the mentally ill,
and this rather specialized cause is the clearest statement of the film's
central idea, which is that a commitment to human dignity is ideology
enough. Maya Sansa joins the cast as a sensitive photographer who touches
the lives of both brothers.


Film reviews researched and edited by Peter A. Haggart
* * *

Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre
508 S. Main Street, Moscow, Idaho
208-882-4127
Sign up for this weekly email on events and movies at the Kenworthy by
logging onto our website
http://www.kenworthy.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PAMELA PALMER, Volunteer
Mailto:ppalmer at moscow.com
Film and Events Committee
Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre

http://www.kenworthy.org
To speak with a KPAC staff member,
call (208) 882-4127
Mailto:kpac at moscow.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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