Do all, who have experienced war first-hand respond differently, perhaps more knowingly to images, reports and articles, now inundating the air waves about current wars, notably in Syria and Iraq? So very timely is the poetry and picture book by Erika Marquardt, which I received recently. And what a book it is! Her WW II childhood memories have haunted her all her life and she has written poems and painted pictures and collages for decades. Marquardt now collected those memories eloquently in her 2015 published book, which deserves a wide reception and circulation. Will there ever be PEACE?!

The old south lives in the quaint seaside charm of Beaufort, South Carolina just 70 miles from Charleston. It indeed deserves her status as “Queen of the Carolina Sea island.”

Moby Dick, the opera by Jake Heggie is inspired by Melville, but not the tale as we know it. As the librettist points out, since most people who think they have read Moby Dick haven't, the audience is not left wondering, for instance, where is "Call me Ishmael." Instead the extraordinary music conducted by James Conlon and the video projections which are the heart of the set sweep you up and carry you off on the obsessive chase for revenge.

Between the matinee and evening performances of the smash Broadway musical, Hamilton, we met backstage with Leslie Odom who plays Aaron Burr. The meeting was arranged by Jack Lyons, a California critic and friend of the actor's family. In a cramped dressing room we were joined by Florida based critic William Hirschman. This resulted in a lively, insightful discussion of the show and its unique casting which is causing a paradigm shift for Broadway musicals.

In an Ivy League mashup, Yale grad, our man Martin Mugar, takes a go at Princeton alumnus Frank Stella. More on Zombie Formalism. Let the games begin.

David Lefkowitz, a member of American Theatre Critics, as is his colleague Ed Rubin, moonlights as a stand up, sit down or whatever. This is a performance not to be taken lightly but those of us who give a shit about theatre.

Waving her cane earned Sandy Katz and her husband Gerry some nice perks to Broadway shows. This included an autographed Playbill from ninty-year-old Cicely Tyson starring in The Gin Game. In addition to shows they offer tips on accommodations, tours and dining.

When Frank Gehry was asked to design Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, he made one condition: that Yasuhita Toyota be hired as the acoustician. He was not going to build a hall for musical performance that did not have fabulous acoustics. Disney Hall is an acoustical dream and its warm, intimate seating encircling the musicians and performers is mirrored perfectly by real surround sound. Under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil shines.

Belgium offers much to see in historical art and architecture. There are also delights to taste from the world's best beer to those paradigmatic waffles. Those familiar thick waffles were introduced to America at New York’s 1964 World’s Fair.

Treasures of their generation the 90-year-old Cicely Tyson and James Earl Jones, now 84, are appearing in a heart warming production of that theatrical old chestnut, D. L. Coburn's "The Gin Game." The energy, wit, charm and humor they convey is inspirational and truly astonishing. This is a play for everyone who appreciates theatre at its very best.

Now 67, Charles Prince of Wales has a death wish. The feisty British import 'Charles III' suggests what happens when the now 89-year-old Queen Elizabeth finally vacates the throne. This speculative but well reasoned dark fantasy posits that the death of his mother is just the beginning of more trouble for the royals.

Lynne Taylor-Corbett’s direction allows JoAnna Rush to be unhindered in her mannerisms and movements. The various topics were heartbreaking; a woman’s struggle with trying to be on par with her male colleagues.

As the closeted father Bruce, Michael Cerveris won a Tony as the lead in the compelling musical Fun House. The story of his suicide and his coming out in small town Pennsylvania is narrated his his forty something lesbian daughter Alison. She is portrayed at thre age levels by Beth Malone, Emily Skeggs and as young Alison the simply adorable Gabriella Pizzolo.

Sandy and Gerry Katz joined a group of educators touring the death camps of Poland. The teachers were engaging in field research as a part of developing their curriculum for teaching WWII history.

Dear Elizabeth, a dramatization of the letters of two pre-eminent American poets, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell, is being staged with different couples taking the lead roles as the run passes. Cherry Jones, one of our great American actors, was well-matched with David Aaron Baker.

In the centennial year of the birth of Arthur Miller the Olivier winning production of A View from the Bridge, directed by Ivo van Hove, has transferred from London's West End to Broadway. Evoking a classical Greek tragedy the director has stripped down the play to its bare essentials. In one, two hour act it is a test of physical and emotion endurance for the actors and their audience. The edgy production pushes the envelope for new ways to approach the canon of contemporary theatre.

Spring Awakening closed its initial Broadway run in 2009. Since then there have been many regional productions of the musical with a great score and compelling story of coming of age during the brutal and repressive zeitgeist of late 19th century Germany. Perversions and lustmord were endemic themes of the Weimar Republic. Nobody excelled at this quite like the banned and convicted Frank Wedekind.

During a luxury tour of the Mediterranean we were wined and dined with an array of themed restaurants aboard the Silversea Spirit. After days of exploring on land it was a pleasure to return to the ship for relaxation and entertainment.

Chris Weatherhead directed a memorable and riveting play"A Radical Son" diligently maximizing the use of the intimate black-box stage at Threshold Repertory Theatre in Charleston by using on-screen images to coordinate with the minimalist on-stage props. The play is having its world premiere.

While in Cienfuegos, we had some interesting musical entertainment. After walking around the square, we climbed several flights of stairs to hear a special concert by the Choir of Cienfuegos, a chorus of about 24 local men and women, who performed a concert of Cuban and international songs and show tunes. One of them, incongruously, was the American folk song, “Shenandoah.”

Hamilton, the hip-hop opera by Lin-Manuel Miranda is the most refreshing, titubating, brilliant and exciting musical to grace Broadway in decades. It follows his earlier, award winning "In the Heights." Now in his mid thirties Miranda is an immense talent to be reckoned with for years to come. He is a force for change in American culture. This hit show is sure to run for years on Broadway followed by a national tour and tons of regional productions. Hamilton is the greatest invention since sliced bread.

Four dance pieces set to the music of Thomas Adès were performed as the finale to a magnificent White Light Festival presented by Lincoln Center. Adès is a provocative yet pleasing composer whose seeming idiosyncracies suit choreography. The Sadler's Wells ballet company, clearly rooted in classical techniques, springs out organically to suggest additional layers of meaning.

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by John Kennedy Toole by Jeffrey Hatcher, A Confederacy of Dunces tells the episodic tale of Ignatius Reilly, a snobslob, of the most eccentric kind. Set in New Orleans in the early 1960s, there are many outstanding performances and fine stagecraft. But the novel seems to overwhelm the theatrical production. Worth seeing for the performances, but it is a work in progress.

A feature of the New York conferences of the American Theatre Critics Association is a lunch with Broadway stars at Sardi's. It was my pleasure to introduce Marlee Matlin. Other guests were Tony winner, Michael Cerveris, actress Kathleen Chalfant, creator of legendary musicals (Fiorello!, Fiddler on the Roof, She Love Me) Sheldon Harnick, actor Brian D'Arcy James, Tony winner Judith Light, director Bartlett Sher, four time Emmy winner, Marlo Thomas, Tony winner Doug Wright and playwright Arthur Kopit.

Highlights of the 2016 Tanglewood season include BSO Music Director Andris Nelsons leading Boston Symphony Orchestra in Acts 1 & 2 of Verdi’s Aida with Kristine Opolais in the title role (8/20); Mahler’s Ninth Symphony (7/29); Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony (7/30); and music from Prokofiev’s Romeo And Juliet (8/21), plus music of Berlioz, Corigliano, Mozart, Saint-Saëns, Sibelius, and Tsontakis, as well as the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra’s annual Leonard Bernstein Memorial Concert (7/31), an All-Brahms Program pairing the Symphony No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 1 with Paul Lewis as soloist.