Long-awaited Mitchell Johnson film arrives at Modern
World without Waves, J. Mitchell Johnson’s fascinating and enigmatic film about a wanderer’s quest to settle down, will reach a hometown audience at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The 2001–04 production awaits formal release — a genuinely maverick effort, offsetting a down-home rustic tone with Kafkaesque intellectualism — but already has connected with audiences and judges at the Santa Fe Film Festival and the Moscow International Festival.
The admission-free showing may prove as intriguing for JohnsonÂ’s introductory remarks as for the film itself.
Johnson, best known as a documentarian, has produced Yanks for Stalin for cable televisionÂ’s History Channel and the Red Files miniseries for PBS in addition to a filmed account of the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His Web-based RussianArchives.com has provided unprecedented access to the Russian State Film & Photo Archives.
Johnson also can be expected to discuss his development of a streaming-media system known as Snapsï (www.snapse.com); the Web site combines the tools of an editing station, the content of a media repository, the playback of archived work and the collaborative platform of a weblog.
World without Waves tells of a high-strung New Yorker (Will Foster Stuart) who escapes to rural Texas after developing an allergy to electricity. His attempts to rid his new environment of power lines sit none too well, of course, with the locals, what with their instinctive distrust of strangers and a prevailing suspicion that this particular stranger may be responsible for a sudden blackout. The ensemble cast also includes Tara Bast, Jeff Kober and Fort WorthÂ’s Stephen Bruton.
Reserved seating through the Lone Star Film Society is recommended: 817-735-1117.
Kristofferson at Bass
Kris Kristofferson, whose Texas origins have remained prominent throughout an international career as a singer-songwriter and movie star, will grace the stage at Bass Hall at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13.
Kristofferson’s backlog of since-historic compositions (the likes of “Me and Bobby McGee” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down”) would be sufficient to pack the house, but the artist at 70 has developed a fresh following in light of a recent tribute recording called The Pilgrim: A Celebration of Kris Kristofferson, featuring any number of marquee-name entertainers. This effort and the March release of a solo album called This Old Road have reaffirmed Kristofferson’s relevance as a standard-bearer of the roots-music movement.
Reservations: www.basshall.com
Scrooge redux
The Company Theatre of San Antonio will bring a Bah! Humbug! to the Fort Worth Community Arts Center at 8 p.m. Nov. 18. Damian Gillen’s solo showcase performance finds the actor re-interpreting Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” in a seamless round of costume-changing and character transitions. The tone recalls Lionel Barrymore’s famous presentation of the tale for Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre. The musical accompaniment leans toward Celtic traditionalism.
The show’s reputation precedes it, of course. Gillen originated the adaptation in 2002 and has delivered more than 120 performances — escalating its exposure during the past three years and reaching tens of thousands of show-goers in the process. Gillen nailed 28 stagings in 30 days last year and intends to double that number with the present tour of cities within Texas.
On the Web: www.thecompanytheatre.org
Casa for Christmas
Casa Mañana will jump-start its 2007 Broadway at the Bass season in 2006 (Dec. 19-23) with the return of Joe Sears and Jaston Williams in A Tuna Christmas. The season from there will encompass a Show Boat revival (Feb. 28-March 4); Broadway touring production of Rent (March 27-April 1); Legends! with Joan Collins and Linda Evans; a Broadway national tour of the Elvis Presley homage All Shook Up (May 1-6); hometowner Lou Diamond Phillips’ appearance in A Few Good Men (June 5-10); and the Broadway national tour of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (July 24-29).
On the Web: www.casamanana.org
Contact Price at mprice@bizpress.net
