Category Archives: Review

Zach Braff Takes the Stage

By Roger Catlin | Published: April 14, 2012
Having finally shaken off his popular character “Scrubs” and lost whatever indie movie cred he scored with the solid “Garden State,” Zach Braff seems to be at sea a bit these days. He’s on the stage these days, starring for the first time in a play he wrote himself that means to talk about life [...]
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In Premiere, Dancing Trumps Stars

By Roger Catlin | Published: March 20, 2012
“Dancing with the Stars” seems more and more old fashioned every time it comes on. A ballroom competition! Before an audience required to dress up! Featuring “stars” so obscure, a few of them have never rang a bell. For its 14th season premiere Monday, the top scores were already 26 out of 30 – two [...]
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Everybody Sings Dylan

By Roger Catlin | Published: January 29, 2012
How many Bob Dylan tribute albums have there been – just in the last decade or so? There was the international cast on the soundtrack to his “Masked and Anonymous”; the terrific covers on the soundtrack to “I’m Not There”; the gospel, blues and reggae salutes to his songbook, the live covers on the “30th [...]
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Alec Baldwin, Without Apologies, on ‘SNL’

By Roger Catlin | Published: December 11, 2011
When it came time to tell his side of the most overblown story of the week — being kicked off a flight for playing Words with Friends before takeoff, Alec Baldwin first took to Twitter and then deleted his account. His new forum would be a bit more familiar: “Saturday Night Live.” Baldwin is already [...]
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The Victoria’s Secret Underwear Show

By Roger Catlin | Published: November 30, 2011
“The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show” is as much a tradition of the holiday season as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” that preceded it by a couple of hours. But it’s more in the tradition of those lingerie shows for horndog shoppers than anything vaguely Christmasey. It would play like a big glossy hour long commercial [...]
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Dave Alvin, Back at the Birchmere

By Roger Catlin | Published: November 17, 2011
Deep-voiced Dave Alvin, 56, dresses like a full-on cowboy in his shows, with a big hat, bandana and windswept song powered by a strong and tight band. For a show at the Birchmere in Alexandria Wednesday, his second there in five months, he relished the space he’s played in so many times by adding dynamics [...]
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Ray Davies: Getting the Kinks Out in Silver Spring

By Roger Catlin | Published: November 16, 2011
Ray Davies so unlikes saying the word Kinks in his solo shows, he kids on stage that he fines himself $5 each time he utters it, giving the money the charity. That only amounted to $20 Tuesday at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. But had he counted all the Kinks songs he played, it would [...]
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‘Barney Miller’ in a Box

By Roger Catlin | Published: October 25, 2011
Amid the hundreds of police shows on TV over the years, “Barney Miller” stood out for having the perfect mix of humor and seriousness. Considered a comedy – it was a half hour and had a laugh track  — the run from 1975-82 worked chiefly because of its well drawn characters, solidly acted. Beloved in [...]
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Anna Faris Returns to ‘SNL’: Review

By Roger Catlin | Published: October 16, 2011
When you’ve got a four day workweek, it can sure cut into productivity. Denied an extra day of writing or rehearsal, “Saturday Night Live” this week seemed rushed, thin and a little under-practiced. More than one cast member flubbed lines; more seemed to be looking skance for  cue cards. A couple of sketches got in [...]
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The Quiet Beatle

By Roger Catlin | Published: October 5, 2011
Overlooked somewhat in the praise for Lenno/McCartney compositions for the Beatles, George Harrison had a tough time placing strong songs on their final recordings.  And yet his work stands with the great duo compositions from the band. Harrison from a couple of different era discusses those days with the kind of detail he may have [...]
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