Starman, Interview, Sleeping Alone

Three peeks from the week

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Starman

The neighborhood has an old single-screen movie theater that’s no longer operating as such. Instead it’s a blown glass studio and gallery, which is a shame because blown glass as a medium is so uninteresting. The nicest thing I can say is all art is valid. My friends and I complain about this all the time: if you’re going to rob us of a historic film venue, please at least have some perspective. But now the building is up for sale, and I wonder if it could become something cool. On Halloween night at Laura’s house I mused with Claire and Joe about it. We’re the new owners and we show small independent Japanese films from the 70s and 80s on Friday nights. We have traditional concessions, but also well curated charcuterie plates and a stunning selection of natural wines. There’s a stage, too, for live performances—short original plays, small music acts, a mid-week open mic standup show. We’re talking about all this when the kids run into the kitchen, summoning us upstairs for a performance that Joe’s kid, dressed as David Bowie, has choreographed. He does a brilliant rendition of “Starman” standing on a pullout mattress and not missing a single word. Now that’s an artist.

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Interview