Dispatches from Home – Not Reality But Magic.

     I’ve learned from experience that it takes me a week or so to recuperate from the draining, emotional high that a play–especially a musical–conjures within me. During that time, the haunting words of Blanche DuBois, from Tennessee Williams’ classic play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” echo through my mind like a soothing elixir: “I don’t want realism. I want magic!” And what better way to escape from the caustic, trying realism of this world than by immersing oneself in the magic of escapism created by Hollywood, and in my case, the shimmering movies of Keira Knightley: “Atonement,” “Anna Karenina,” or “The Duchess.”

     I’ve binge-watched these evocative movies twice, watching just the movie the first time and then watching it again with the director’s commentary on how the movie was made. I love the “making of” just as much as the movie! Sets, costumes, locales, dialogue, and accents are all background players that lure me into their world, like the mythical sirens of old. Their magic is only enhanced by the luminous quality of Miss Knightley’s natural beauty, which is augmented by her chestnut-colored eyes and those incredible Joan Crawford eyebrows. She can also perfectly fill a period, haute couture evening gown or a billowing confection of crinoline, satin, and lace. To me, she is a modern-day Garbo, who, like Knightley, looked best in period pieces.

     Well, so much for the late-night ramblings of an old fool who loves escaping from this world into a magical one. A kingdom comprised of luscious beauties and dashingly handsome gentlemen callers. A make-believe world of smoldering love that lurks in the darkened corners of grand old houses and evokes a way of life and a misty, water-colored universe that was and can never be again. (Originally published December 21, 2018, after closing of “Scrooge The Musical.)