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That man can play, alchemizing melody into a presence that brings together tribes from across time and space.

With some distance from Saturn’s crucible, there’s the hope of alchemizing our discoveries into a more congruent self.

Watching Dafoe alchemize an otherwise tedious subplot through sheer commitment to camp holds a specific, probably esoteric beauty that justifies his place in the film.

That painful history can be alchemized into thrilling entertainment is both the central idea and the takeaway experience of “Jelly’s Last Jam,” the jaw-dropping Encores! revival that opened on Wednesday at City Center.

Ultimately, though, the author torques her contrarianism past trolling, past knee-jerk philosophizing and past satire, alchemizing a critique of literary culture in all its ideological waywardness.