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This review by longtime Charlotte arts critic Lawrence Toppman was published by The Charlotte Ledger on November 5, 2023. You can find out more about The Charlotte Ledger’s commitment to smart local news and information and sign up for our newsletter for free here. Actor Kevin Shimko portrays Henry Lehman, a German immigrant who arrives in the U.S. practically penniless and, with his brothers, rises to the heights of American capitalism. (Photo courtesy of Three Bone Theatre) by Lawrence Toppman

(Saturday, March 30, 2024) HUDSON, N.Y. – The most urgent novel I have read so far this year is a ninety-plus-years-old newly reissued translation of a German-language book first published in Amsterdam in 1933. Share Lion Feuchtwanger’s The Oppermanns is many books at once: a family epic, a breathless suspense thriller, and a first-hand account of how a civilized democracy turns into a ruthless authoritarian state in the course of a single year.

Taylor Swift’s 11th original studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was released last week into a world feverishly gripped by anticipation for a Taylor Swift album. Some were primed to adore her latest work, which Swifties broadly expected to be a thorough excavation of her relationship with her ex-partner of six years, actor Joe Alwyn; others were primed to mock and flame it. We, two rather casual Swift fans, were drawn in by the sheer intensity of the gathering discourse — not to mention our own anticipation of another album.

The 1999 Open at Carnoustie. Final day. 18th hole. A Frenchman named Jean Van de Velde was carrying a three-shot lead over the nearest contender, and needed only a double-bogey to win the tournament. For a professional golfer with that big a lead, the final hole is usually ceremonial, a chance to soak in the approbation of the gallery as he strolls his way to victory against the majestic backdrop of a Major course around magic hour.

Universal and DreamWorks’ Trolls Band Together was the top movie on Vudu (which ranks by revenue) for the second week in a row, with Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Oppenheimer again holding the fort in second and third place. The robust performance of the third Anna Kendrick/Justin Timerblake-led Trolls feature, currently tops on YouTube and near the top over at Amazon and iTunes, follows the film’s $100 million domestic and $202 million global theatrical run.

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.

Two years ago, on December 10, 2019, I attended the first preview of Ivo Van Hove’s challenging and radical reimagining of the Broadway classic “West Side Story.” Our son, Ben, was making his principal debut as Riff in the splashy revival, which featured video cameras, new choreography, and rain on stage. Less than a month later, just weeks before the show formally opened, Ben fell in that rain and dislocated his shoulder.

From the time I was 10, I’ve been obsessed with what it means to grow older. I’m curious about what it means to others, of all ages, and so I invite them to take “The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.”Here, author and producer Mark Kamine responds. -Sari BottonGet 10% off forever Mark Kamine's memoir On Locations, about his early years in the film business, with a focus on The Sopranos, was published by Steerforth Press in February 2024.

A note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: I created Fight Freaks Unite in January 2021 and eight months later it also became available for paid subscriptions for additional content — and as a way to help keep this newsletter going and for readers to support independent journalism. If you haven’t upgraded to a paid subscription please consider it. If you have already, I truly appreciate it! Also, consider a gift subscription for the Fight Freak in your life.