United States
Exuberant voice of Bay Area theater reviews.
Snarky recapper of television shows.
Not afraid to make filmmakers cry.
Obsessive researcher of informative articles.
Vulnerable author of Pischina.diaryland.com, Winner of Diaryland Survivor 2, Gifted with the Legacy Award by Diarist.net.
Fearless. Empathetic. Awesome.
This portfolio contains just samples of different types of writing I’ve done.
Last weekend I was lucky enough to see Opera San Jose 's tremendously entertaining production of Puccini's , starring one of opera's most dastardly villains: Lt. BF Pinkerton. When you have two strong, educated, feminist women in the audience of Madama Butterfly for the first time, you can expect a lot of crossed arms, raised eyebrows, and smirks.
Let's do full disclosure first, shall we? 1) My interest in baseball on a scale of 1-10 is 0. 2) My knowledge of baseball is maybe a 6. 3) My interest and knowledge in fantasy leagues is 0. Please don't run me out of town or take away my citizenship.
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE is not the best film of the year and it certainly isn’t going to win any awards, but after a rocky start it is definitely an enjoyable film made all the better by some great references to (and reverence for) the pop culture of the 80s. Four men are accidentally sent back to 1986 when a Russian...
We aren't doing full time recaps of AHS this season, but Cyn couldn't help but check in on the season opener! We open on an Election Night Party in Brookfield Heights, Michigan. November 8, 2016, was also my birthday, so thanks for bringing back all those traumatic memories.
"One word, Benjamin. PLASTICS." Palo Alto Players is currently presenting The Graduate , one of my favorite novellas by Charles Webb. Even for those who have never read the 1963 book by Charles Webb, or seen the film starring Dustin Hoffman, Mrs. Robinson's stocking-ed leg is still an iconic image.
I saw a show at Theatreworks last night that not only had me laughing, but completely kept my mind off politics for two and a half hours. The show is worth the price of admission just for that. But aside from that.
So can we just all agree that we've crossed that line in the season where this show now sucks? Did anyone seriously enjoy this episode? I was BORED. Wes Bentley drives me up the fucking wall. All the stupid exposition drives me up the fucking wall.
I've been so excited to return to Opera San Jose and see their opening show, ! And what a wonderful time we had! Remember, I am the Opera Novice, and even after several years of attending Opera SJ I still have no technical knowledge, but guess what?
Well, I was at the afternoon matinee, but still. It was one of the best times I've had at the opera, and I'm so happy that there is still time for you to see it. The Magic Flute is a show for adults and children, oldies and newbies, opera and theatre lovers.
Opera San Jose has really been outdoing itself this year, as it does every year. February's Carmen was outstanding, and now they have taken a dip in the theatre-pond, bringing us Mr. Tennessee Williams. Did you know A Streetcar Named Desire was also an opera by André Previn?