Eric George Tauber is an actor as well as a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — In the Book of Samuel, the prophet pours olive oil onto the head of the shepherd boy David, declaring him the next King of Israel. (I Sam 16) This anointing ceremony inspired the concept of monarchs ruling by “divine right.” King James loved the idea and commissioned frescos […]
Lessons for our time in Richard II Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Middle East, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — If laughter is the best medicine, then the Fiasco’s Theatre’s Imaginary Invalid is therapeutic. The house resounded with bursts and howls throughout the show. I remember the Fiasco when they brought Into the Woods to the Old Globe in 2014. Their name comes from a convention in Commedia
‘The Imaginary Invalid’ is therapeutic Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — Childhood can be a dark and scary time. There are monsters under the bed and ghosts in the closet. And the most important lesson we learn is that life is not fair. “The wise man sees the error of his ways. The fool passes on and is punished.” In
‘Shockheaded Peter’: dark, brilliant, and creepy Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — One of my favorite sketches from The Muppets features Miss Piggy dressed as Marie-Antoinette. The pigs are arrayed in French Rococo finery singing “Stayin’ Alive.” But then, the guillotine looms ominously behind a window. (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX284L12Rg0) As Americans, we embrace the French Revolution’s ideals of liberté, égalite and fraternité.
Sharp wit for heavy subjects in ‘The Revolutionists’ Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — The Pigpen Theatre Co. has come to the Old Globe with their epic sea shanty, The Old Man and the Old Moon. They hoisted the sails with some bluegrass, complete with a banjo, fiddle, accordion and an electric bass, setting our toes tapping, hands clapping and faces grinning
Whoop and Howl at ‘The Old Man and the Old Moon’ Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastBy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — In 2005, I was part of a theatre troupe touring high schools in South Bay. During the Q&A, one girl asked if nudity was necessary to be “a complete actor.” When it was my turn to respond, I said, “Ain’t nobody gonna pay good money to see me
Go ‘The Full Monty’ at SDSU Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & BroadcastWe need a real strong man to take over this town…which means, we need a woman. By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — With all the talk of immigration and of “those people taking our jobs” it’s easy to forget the other side of the coin: emigration. There are pueblos in Mexico virtually devoid
Go on a campy odyssey ‘Into the Beautiful North’ Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
“Theatre is a political act, a debate of our times.” By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — In Theatre History class, I had read about Ira Aldridge, the first African-American to earn fame as a Shakespearean actor. On a tour of Europe, Aldridge made such an impression on Georg II, the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, that he
Savour the rich texture of Red Velvet Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & BroadcastOh, let your dead revive! Let corpses arise! Awake and sing for joy, You who dwell in the dust… (Isa. 26:19, JPS Tanakh) By Eric George Tauber CARLSBAD, California — When I first read the press release for Awake and Sing! it rang a bell, something from a college textbook about its significance in the history
“Awake and Sing!” is like life… only more so Read More »
Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast“Every time I read this play, I feel less alone.” –GT Upchurch (Performances Magazine, p.11) By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — Meet the Garcia family. They don’t discuss things in the Garcia house. They yell. And the exclamation points are followed by tense, pregnant silences. Today, Mama is fit to be tied. Her daughter Theresa
Hearts break together for ‘The Blameless’ Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Theatre, Film & Broadcast“There’s no bum like a ‘pretty good artist’ and I think you’re ‘pretty good.’” –Johnny Green’s father By Eric George Tauber LA JOLLA, California –The 2017 San Diego Jewish Film Festival has come and gone. With eighty different screenings at five venues –with filmmakers traveling from as far as Hungary and Israel- and selling more
The ‘Body and Soul’ of American jazz Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, USABy Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — Just the other day, I was explaining the term “spoiler” to my ESL students. If you wrote a who-done-it called “The Butler did it,” no one would read it because it’s the mental gymnastics it takes to untangle a web of intrigue that makes it worthwhile. Now at
World of mystery at Fleet Science Center Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Eric George Tauber, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education
‘Bad Jews’ will start conversations By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO — What is precious to us? What little keepsakes do we hang onto that may hold little monetary value to others but are priceless to us? Such an item was Poppy’s chai, a little trinket of the Hebrew letters chet and yud that
‘Bad Jews’: A fight for ‘life’ after a death Read More »
Eric George Tauber, USA“Nothing is perfect in Nature. Nature is perfect imperfection.” -PI Tchaikovsky By Eric George Tauber SAN DIEGO–When Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky listened to birdsong, he noticed that they were just a little less than perfect, but these imperfections made them more beautiful. And so he threw some “wrong” notes into his arpeggios, making them more natural
Closeted composer suffered in Czarist Russia Read More »
Eric George Tauber, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Theatre, Film & Broadcast