humor/genius

[Artists Unite]

I had an interesting experience watching the work in progress of a choreographer the other day. It raised an interesting question or perhaps artistic quandry as the choreographer was trying in the work to integrate her strength as a comedic presence with her other interest in classical dance. The piece put both together in an almost satisfying way, but there was a clear sense of two pieces in one. I left the performance and thought later about Woody Allen -- not the Bananas era, but the Hanah and Her Sisters or Manhattan era in which he played straight issues with hilarious characters.

Coincidentally, I got Hannah and Her Sisters in the mail from Netflix. It's always weird these days to watch Allen's movies given the recent history with Mia Farrow and their adopted daughter, but the man can play serious subjects with such comic genius, that I just leave the rest to his next karmic incarnation. His character Fredriech, played gorgeously by Max von Sidow, has one of my favorite lines of all times:
"if Jesus came back and saw all the things being done in his name, he would never stop throwing up."