Chekhov
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Thoughts on “Aristocrats” and “Appropriate”
Brian Friel’s Aristocrats is set in Ireland and Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’s Appropriate is set in the American South, but they have similar things in mind. Aristocrats takes place in and near a crumbling Irish manor house. Appropriate takes place in a crumbling Southern mansion. The two are crumbling because of a lack of money and will Continue reading
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Jamie Lloyd Reminds Us of Some Essentials
A New York Post writer named John Oleksinski recently wrote an article in which he chided Broadway producers for productions that charge big money but offer skimpy production values. Oleksinski claims that chintziness in scenery is based in a desire to cut budgets. If you go to Broadway (or any theater) for the fun of Continue reading
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Shakespeare as Springboard
“Shakespeare lied.When Juliet died,Romeo didn’t take poison just because he’d lost his bride.What did he do?He got over it.He went back to junior high, and he got over it.And so will you.You’ll get over it.” A lyric by Carolyn Leigh from the musical How Now Dow Jones (with music by Elmer Bernstein) suggesting a different Continue reading
AR Gurney, Bedlam Theater, Chimes at Midnight, Eric Tucker, Falstaff, Fat Ham, Hamlet, Henry IV, How Now Dow Jones, James Ijames, Jay O. Sanders, Keith Baxter, King Lear, Lanford Wilson, Love and Let Love, Margaret Thatcher, Merchant of Venice, Moira Buffini, Orson welles, Peter Ustinov, Queen Elizabeth II, Saint Flashlight, Shakespeare, The Will of the City, Theatre for a New Audience, Tom Stoppard, Twelfth Night, Your Own Thing -
AUTUMN SONATA (2 Bergmans)
Just watched Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata again (with Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullmann) for the first time in decades. There are things in it that drive me crazy. The characters explain stuff endlessly in the past tense, and that’s usually enough to send me over the edge. But Bergman and Ullman are extraordinary, particularly in Continue reading
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Life Sucks
Once upon a time, when a musical opened on Broadway, it was common for a combo to release an LP (everybody remember what an LP is?) of jazz impressions of the score. Shelley Manne released Jazz Performances of Songs from Li’l Abner. Bobby Hackett released The Swingin’est Gals in Town featuring his takes on songs Continue reading
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Ramblings about “The Sea Gull” (or “The Seagull”)
I finally got around to seeing Michael Mayer’s film adaptation of The Seagull. The best reason to catch it is for Annette Bening’s performance as Arkadina. Arkadina is an actress who can’t stop performing when she’s offstage, and Bening nails this aspect with a wit I’ve rarely seen in a performance of this part. (“What Continue reading
Jeffrey Sweet--Making the Scene 