The documentary Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel is now at The Esquire Theatre. Diana Vreeland was a famous and extremely influential fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar from 1937 to 1962 and editor-of-chief  at Vogue from 1963 to 1971. I attended this documentary about a woman who acted as a guru in the women’s fashion world even though I rarely give much thought to women’s clothes, or for that matter men’s clothes, even though I wear them. When it comes to matters of style, I appreciate well-designed cocktail glasses and elaborate swizzle sticks; sleek blonde furniture, the more modular the better; old stereo components; and 1950s album covers with photographs of jungle imagery, spaceships, or people enjoying cocktails. Where men’s clothes are concerned, I like vintage skinny ties and porkpie hats. That’s a short and unimpressive list, but nonetheless I enjoyed Diana Vreeland.

Partly that’s because I’m a sucker for documentaries, and this was a well-made one that fully revealed Vreeland’s vibrant personality. During the 1960s, when other editors debated whether to connect with the youth culture, Vreeland plunged headfirst into what was happening. Here she comes across not as opportunist but as someone who truly embraced the wild energy of that period. And while there were people around her who made a lot more money, on her modest salary and her so-so looks she became a sort of rock star whose “work” was extremely creative. Her discoveries included Edie Sedgwick and Lauren Bacall; Jackie O was a fashion advisee; and her friends included, well, rock stars, among them Mick Jagger.

What set Vreeland apart from other people was her extreme openness. In her mind everything overlapped; somehow she connected to fashion things like surfing, horses, and planes that did or didn’t fly right above her when she was a child. At the beginning of the movie I thought we were worlds apart, but by the end I felt differently. Like many people I’m a fan of sixties pop culture, including pop music, and this movie showed me how the fashion world intertwined with that, especially in Diana Vreeland’s head.

If you’re curious what else is showing at the Esquire, here’s their website: www.esquiretheatre.com. Also, be aware that Gaslight Property has several properties within walking distance of the Esquire, including Tudor Court Apartments; 3405 Telford, which is above Graeter’s; and the Jonathan Apartments at 451 Ludlow. You can call 513.861.6000 today to set up an appointment to look at these spaces or any of the other apartments Gaslight Property has in greater Cincinnati.

At the Clifton Plaza today (September 29), the Four-Bit Fancy Band will be playing Americana with bluegrass influences from 11 am to 1 pm as part of Cliftonfest. Banjo, dobro, upright bass, mandolin and twelve-string guitar are among the instruments this all-acoustic unit uses in performance. Along with playing music together for a long time, two of the band members – guitarist Rob Taylor and bassist Pete Brown – are veteran Gaslight Property employees.  Unless you’ve been hiding in some dark hollow, they’ll do songs y0u’ll remember from the Great Americana Songbook. Here’s a video of the Four-Bit Fancy Band performing the classics “I Know You Rider” and “Sitting on Top of The World:”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EagPNdIoMA

And here’s a lineup for the music for the rest of the weekend:

Saturday September 29

Clifton Plaza: The Four-Bit Fancy Band 11am-1pm
Middelton Stage: Robin Lacy & DeZydeco 2pm-4pm
Clifton Plaza: Hinkley Technologies 4pm-6pm

On 7 pm Saturday, August 11 Cincinnati Shakespeare will present a free performance of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest outdoors at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center at 3711 Clifton Avenue. Not that it needs more publicity, but the Shakespeare play is about to get more publicity, for Bob Dylan recently chose to name his new release  Tempest. When asked if a nod to Shakespeare was involved, Dylan insisted that was not the case, for after all his title lacked the word “The.” Methinks that won’t be the end of the discussion, however–and among other things if you attend this event you’ll have a refresher course on Shakespeare so you can barrel ahead into whether or not you think the new Dylan title owes something to the bard.

More motivation: free ice cream will served that was provided by UDF. The event is in celebration of Community Arts Centers Day, and this is a great opportunity to catch up on what Clifton Cultural Arts Center is up to.

Even if you’ve seen the signs out front, you may wonder what goes on at the downstairs space behind the canopy at Tudor Court Apartments near the corner of Ludlow and Middleton. When I lived in the Tudor Court the basement dwelling was a bar where grumpy old men complained about life and drank, not necessarily in that order. Then it was a coffeehouse that went by the name The Cove Cafe, which then moved and changed names to Sitwells. Now it’s home to Clifton Performance Theatre, a performance space that’s been around since 2010 and by now is on the radar in both Clifton and the theater scene for Cincinnati in general. More on that later, as it also has other functions when plays aren’t being performed, and there’s an event coming up on Monday April 2 to Monday April 9 that’s worth checking out. Tom Lohre is an artist who lives in Clifton and has a long history as a portrait artist. His abstract reality show combines a level of abstraction with identifiable and sometimes even iconic images. For example, take a look at the image to the right. Do you recognize it? If you can’t make it out right away, here’s a hint: it appeared during the opening credits for WKRP in Cincinnati.

Here’s the when and where for Tom Lohre’s show:  Read More »