Articles
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Whatever happened to symphonies? (1st comment)
Another victim of our times: Whatever happened to the symphony?
The symphony— for more than 200 years the defining form of Western music— has all but vanished in the past 40. Concert audiences remain as addicted as ever to their Beethoven and Brahms, not to mention their Sibelius and Shostakovich. So why don't contemporary composers try to oblige them?
Articles
7 minute read
John Smitherman's "All Aboard... And Then Some!' (1st review)
The essence of farce
The Philadelphia playwright John Smitherman has written a half-dozen farces but had to form his own company to produce one in his hometown. Somebody give him a break: This guy grasps nonstop hilarity.
All Aboard”¦And Then Some! Written and directed by John Smitherman. Laugh Out Loud Theatre Company production through December 5, 2010 at the Adrienne Theatre, 2030 Sansom St. (941) 544-0164 or jdsentertainments.com.
Articles
3 minute read
Garwood's "Scarlet Letter,' by AVA (2nd review)
Give her an A
Margaret Garwood has found in The Scarlet Letter a strong piece of musical theater. In some places she has actually improved Hawthorne's story telling. Whether the music will survive is another question.
Articles
5 minute read
Mark Garvey's "Stylized': Admiration or adoration?
An obsessed writer is not a pretty sight
How many grammarians can dance on the head of a pin? The number pales beside the admirers and detractors of The Elements of Style, Strunk and White's classic guide to basic writing principles. And don't get me started about the proper usage of hopefully.
Articles
4 minute read
Dirk Brossé's Chamber Orchestra debuts
Debut of a ‘deepie'
Can nice guys create art? Beneath his amiable surface, the Chamber Orchestra's new conductor reveals himself as a deadly serious musician.
Articles
5 minute read
“South Pacific” revival on tour (2nd comment)
Not your father's opera (or is it?)
Has opera been replaced by the Broadway musical? If so, is that good or bad? The recent revival of South Pacific demonstrated the pros as well as the cons of this brave new musical world.
Articles
3 minute read
Hans Hartung rediscovered in New York
What Hilton Kramer missed
Hans Hartung, a modern German master, disappeared from view in America for three and a half decades after being savaged in a review by Hilton Kramer. His reappearance, in a small but powerful show of work from the last year of his life, is a major event of the New York art season.
Articles
5 minute read
"South Pacific' revival on tour (1st review)
Deeper into South Pacific: What 60 years have (and haven't) taught us
When I was a teenager I thought that South Pacific was mostly about finding love at first sight on “Some Enchanted Evening.” Now I see that it's mostly about the ways in which our human prejudices isolate us from each other.
South Pacific. Music by Richard Rodgers; book by Joshua Logan and Oscar Hammerstein II; lyrics by Hammerstein; Bartlett Sher directed; Lawrence Goldberg, conductor. November 23-28, 2010 at Academy of Music, Broad and Locust Sts. November 30-December 5, 2010 at Hershey Theatre, Hershey, Pa. www.hersheytheatre.com.
Articles
5 minute read
"Molumby's Million' by Iron Age Theatre
If you stage it, they won't necessarily come
Molumby's Million, in its world premiere, recreates the true story of a misbegotten attempt to stage a Jack Dempsey boxing match in a remote Montana town. It has the virtue of presenting all of its flawed characters sympathetically.
Articles
3 minute read
Neil LaBute's "Break of Noon' in New York
Is Neil LaBute beyond redemption?
The protagonist of The Break of Noon is another in Neil LaBute's self-absorbed fraternity of creeps. In this new drama, the creep finds God. And if God can forgive him, why can't we?
Articles
2 minute read