Elaine Richardson

Dancing With Death: The Green Table
An intriguing Friday night offering from WTTW's Network Chicago brand -- it's a look at an amazing ballet by Kurt Jooss, "The Green Table." Examining the basic truth that with war comes death and taking a bit of a poke at those who would scheme to war, in this case the old men around the green table, "The Green Table" offers a fairly amazing pre-World War II cautionary tale (it was written as Hitler was coming to power in 1932). The documentary portion bios Jooss (a German who fled his country after he refused to part from his Jewish collaborators and friends) as well as Joffrey Ballet founder Robert Joffrey, who first saw the ballet at age 14 and never forgot its impact. His company would be the first to bring the ballet to America. The second half of the program presents a special Joffrey Ballet of Chicago performance of "The Green Table," in its entirety. Still contemporary in many ways, it's worth tuning in to see such a unique and, in many ways, unsettling performance.

"Dancing With Death: The Green Table" airs March 30, 9pm on WTTW-TV Channel 11 (PBS). (2001-03-29)

Also by Elaine Richardson

SUFFERING GRACEFULLY
Two hours of watching an exceptional Emma Thompson, mostly sans hair, suffer the humiliations of being a research subject as she slowly succumbs to cancer may not be your idea of entertainment, but it's a fascinating story.
(2001-03-22)

REEL DEAL
What goes up must come down, they say, and in the movie theater business, which had, since 1995, been enjoying an unprecedented boom, the last year has been all about down.
(2001-03-22)

BAD BAD THINGS
The bottom line is I don't really care about what his life is like, who's in his band or what they do with their time. And if I did, it wouldn't be for a show that runs an hour (that's a cable hour, so no commercials) every week.
(2001-03-15)

GHOST TOWN
Never a bastion of decorating excellence, the confines of the once-great cheapo bookseller, Crown Books, were, at one time anyway, at least welcoming. But you've never seen a going-out-of-business sale look so threatening.
(2001-03-15)

MIDSEASON SHUFFLE
(2001-03-08)

HARSH REALM
(2001-03-01)

THE HORROR
(2001-02-01)

WINTER WONDERS
(2001-02-01)

SPIKED
(2001-01-11)

FLAKING OUT
(2000-12-28)

IRRESOLUTIONS
(2000-12-21)

VIDEO ZONE
(2000-12-21)

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