Arts And Entertainment

THURSDAY, JULY 31 -more-

A prosperous—and obstreperous—dry goods merchant in Belle Epoque suburban Yonkers forbids his daughter to marry a young artist, all the while planning a marriage himself, bride-to-be as yet unknown. Having engaged a matchmaker of great certitude and byzantine machinations, the shopkeeper prepares to descend on Manhattan with his counselor to visit his apparently intended, a millineress. -more-

Above a leaf-pattern carpet, the narrow eyes and wry smile of a strange man look out through foliage, a funny portrait above the mantel. Or are the leaves growing from his face? (The painting is King of the Green Men, by Brian Froud.) -more-

Alabama churchgoers sway in their pews, back and forth between testifying with a sanctimonious air and buzzing with gossip. “Lord, it’s hot! Hot as Hades ... in a gut-bucket town, a hundred degrees ... nowhere to go, too hot to drive around, too hot to leave the house!” Some suddenly freeze in attitudes of suspicion as the ensemble builds to a crescendo, writhing, rubbing their hands and exclaiming in unison: “We’re hot—because our church is on fire—and we’re trapped!” -more-

Bookstore shelves groan with volumes on how the world is out to get us. Authors tell us that what we eat, drink and breathe are just a slow way to commit suicide. The media is full of crime stories, drug busts and murders. It’s a wonder people get out of bed in the morning. -more-