Other books that might interest you

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  Blithe Spirit

  Noel Coward

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  This classic comedy is set in the charming country home of Charles Condomine, a re-married widower. A witty and convivial evening party among friends is transformed when a séance conjures the ghost of Elvira, Charles’ first wife, who delights in wreaking havoc among the living. An enchanting Coward comedy!An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Rosalind Ayres, Alexandra Boyd, Judy Geeson, Shirley Knight, Lynne Marta, Christopher Neame and Ian Ogilvy.

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  Dürer

  Klaus Carl

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  Dürer is the greatest of German artists and most representative of the German mind. He, like Leonardo, was a man of striking physical attractiveness, great charm of manner and conversation, and mental accomplishment, being well grounded in the sciences and mathematics of the day. His skill in draughtsmanship was extraordinary; Dürer is even more celebrated for his engravings on wood and copper than for his paintings. With both, the skill of his hand was at the service of the most minute observation and analytical research into the character and structure of form. Dürer, however, had not the feeling for abstract beauty and ideal grace that Leonardo possessed; but instead, a profound earnestness, a closer interest in humanity, and a more dramatic invention. Dürer was a great admirer of Luther; and in his own work is the equivalent of what was mighty in the Reformer. It is very serious and sincere; very human, and addressed the hearts and understanding of the masses. Nuremberg, his hometown, had become a great centre of printing and the chief distributor of books throughout Europe. Consequently, the art of engraving upon wood and copper, which may be called the pictorial branch of printing, was much encouraged. Of this opportunity Dürer took full advantage. The Renaissance in Germany was more a moral and intellectual than an artistic movement, partly due to northern conditions. The feeling for ideal grace and beauty is fostered by the study of the human form, and this had been flourishing predominantly in southern Europe. But Albrecht Dürer had a genius too powerful to be conquered. He remained profoundly Germanic in his stormy penchant for drama, as was his contemporary Mathias Grünewald, a fantastic visionary and rebel against all Italian seductions. Dürer, in spite of all his tense energy, dominated conflicting passions by a sovereign and speculative intelligence comparable with that of Leonardo. He, too, was on the border of two worlds, that of the Gothic age and that of the modern age, and on the border of two arts, being an engraver and draughtsman rather than a painter.

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  Lucas Cranach the elder

  Alexander Stepanov

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  Lucas Cranach (1472-1553) was one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance, as shown by the diversity of his artistic interests as well as his awareness of the social and political events of this time. He developed a number of painting techniques which were afterwards used by several generations of artists. His somewhat mannered style and spending palette are easily recognized in numerous portraits of monarchs, cardinals, courtiers and their ladies, religious reformers, humanists and philosophers. A part of the Great Painters Collection, translated from the Russian by Paul Williams. 109 full color plates and numerous black and white and two-color illustrations interspersed by text. Includes a chronological table of the work of Cranach and his notable contemporaries.

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  David Sedaris' Diaries Paint a...

  David Sedaris

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  Who was humorist David Sedaris before he had sold millions of books and made countless live appearances before adoring audiences? In a new book, Theft By Finding, Sedaris offers a portrait of himself as a younger artist through his personal diaries. Jeffrey Brown sits down with the author to discuss his compulsion to observe, write and perform.

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  America's Most Famous Catholic...

  Stephanie N. Brehm

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  A case study of the intersection of humor and American Catholicism in contemporary society. 
   
  For nine years, Stephen Colbert’s persona “Colbert”?a Republican superhero and parody of conservative political pundits?informed audiences on current events, politics, social issues, and religion while lampooning conservative political policy, biblical literalism, and religious hypocrisy. To devout, vocal, and authoritative lay Catholics, religion is central to both the actor and his most famous character. Yet many viewers wonder, “Is Colbert a practicing Catholic in real life or is this part of his act?” This bookexamines the ways in which Colbert challenges perceptions of Catholicism and Catholic mores through his faith and comedy. 
   
  Religion and the foibles of religious institutions have served as fodder for scores of comedians over the years. What set “Colbert” apart on his show, The Colbert Report, was that his critical observations were made more powerful and harder to ignore because he approached religious material not from the predictable stance of the irreverent secular comedian but from his position as one of the faithful. He is a Catholic celebrity who can bridge critical outsider and participating insider, neither fully reverent nor fully irreverent. 
   
  Providing a digital media ethnography and rhetorical analysis of Stephen Colbert and his character from 2005 to 2014, author Stephanie N. Brehm examines the intersection between lived religion and mass media, moving from an exploration of how Catholicism shapes Colbert’s life and world towards a conversation about how “Colbert” shapes Catholicism. Brehm provides historical context by discovering how “Colbert” compares to other Catholic figures, such Don Novello, George Carlin, Louis C.K., and Jim Gaffigan, who have each presented their views of Catholicism to Americans through radio, film, and television. The last chapter provides a current glimpse of Colbert on The Late Show, where he continues to be voice for Catholicism on late night, now to an even broader audience. 
   
  America’s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself) also explores how Colbert carved space for Americans who currently define their religious lives through absence, ambivalence, and alternatives. Brehm reflects on the complexity of contemporary American Catholicism as it is lived today in the often-ignored form of Catholic multiplicity: thinking Catholics, cultural Catholics, cafeteria Catholics, and lukewarm Catholics, or what others have called Colbert Catholicism, an emphasis on the joy of religion in concert with the suffering. By examining the humor in religion, Brehm allows us to clearly see the religious elements in the work and life of comedian Stephen Colbert. 
   
  Praise for America’s Most Famous Catholic (According to Himself) 
   
  “Combining the interpretative skills of an academic with a natural appreciation for pop culture, Brehm offers a lively look at why the 'new evangelization' may be just as much the responsibility of comics as of clerics.” —James Martin, SJ, Jesuit priest and author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage and The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything: A Spirituality for Real Life 
   
  “Anyone interested in religious comedy's recent history in America will enjoy Stephanie Brehm's book . . .  If you want to study how humor, social media and entertainment inform and mold our church and public opinion today, this book will be a good choice for you.”?Catholic Philly

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  The History of the Musical

  Richard Fawkes

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  A major production for Naxos AudioBooks and a unique Audiobook, this bold and entertaining undertaking traces the musical from its origins in classical music (Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, Offenbach’s operettas and Gilbert and Sullivan) through to its flowering in America; Showboat, Anything Goes, High Society, Guys and Dolls, Oklahoma, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Oliver, Cabaret, A Little Night Music, The Rocky Horror Show, The Phantom of the Opera – the list is endless. So are the stars who made the musicals live the composers, Kern, Porter, Gershwin, Bernstein, Lloyd Webber; the famous partnerships such as Rogers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe; the performers Ethel Merman, Mary Martin, Howard Keel, Julie Andrews… and the tempestuous creative background to the productions themselves. With over 120 musical examples illustrating this remarkable story, the history of the musical in all its glory comes alive. Features over 100 musical examples.

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