Editorials
537 results
Page 49
Campaign slogans for Arlen Specter
The old man and the puddle: Campaign slogans for Arlen Specter
In the evening of his life, Arlen Specter has boldly cut himself adrift from his moorings. Is this not a parable worthy of Hemingway or Shakespeare? Who will provide Specter with the rhetorical ballast he'll surely need when he seeks re-election next year? I volunteer.
Editorials
3 minute read
Further thoughts on "American Buffalo'
In search of Mamet's meaning (continued)
Some critics contend that David Mamet's American Buffalo is above all a play about friendship and community. But what sort of community, exactly, are we talking about?
Editorials
3 minute read
Leadership, Papadakis-style
A lesson from Papadakis: How a leader makes a difference
Drexel University's late president Constantine Papadakis was walking evidence that a single determined individual can still make a big difference— as I discovered during my very first meeting with him.
Editorials
4 minute read
Itamar Moses on Dan Rottenberg's smokescreens
Free speech, or a disingenuous editor? A colloquy with playwright Itamar Moses
In the latest round of BSR's Hundred Years' War between playwrights and critics, editor Dan Rottenberg engages in an e-mail colloquy with playwright Itamar Moses, who charges him with hiding behind rhetorical smokescreens.
Editorials
8 minute read
When a communicator blames his audience
When a playwright blames his critics: An open letter to Itamar Moses
Not many playwrights have the guts to declare, as Itamar Moses recently did, that critics are “fragile and infantile.” Unfortunately, in the process Moses also violated one of the first laws of professional communicators: “Never blame your audience.”
Editorials
5 minute read
A colloquy: Playwrights and their critics
Playwrights, critics and the Internet— and where does Broad Street Review fit in?
In an exchange of e-mails, director/designer David O'Connor chastises Dan Rottenberg for heavy-handed editing and for his critics' “unprofessional and inappropriate” behavior. Dan Rottenberg responds: Why should theater people monopolize the right to free expression and the right to be different?
Editorials
9 minute read
Are theatrical readings necessary?
The Hairy Ape as a work in progress: Why do theater companies hold advance readings?
Behind BSR's recent controversy over critics who review theater readings lurks a more fundamental question: Why do theater companies hold readings and previews of unfinished works in the first place? And why haven't other artists— like, say, Beethoven and Picasso— followed suit?
Editorials
5 minute read
Blinking at Malcolm Gladwell's tipping point
When outliers blink at the tipping point: Malcolm Gladwell discovers the obvious
What do Jesus, Lenin, Osama bin Laden and Martin Van Buren have in common? All somehow escaped the notice of the facile pop sociologist Malcolm Gladwell.
Editorials
5 minute read
Momentous local events since 1908
Momentous local events since 1908: A few that Philadelphia Magazine overlooked
Philadelphia Magazine celebrated its 100th birthday in December by picking the region's 100 most momentous events since 1908. Who could argue with the magazine's #1 choice: the invention of the cheese steak sandwich in 1930 (three places ahead of Penn's invention of the computer in 1946)? But grouches may quibble with some other selections. Browse the magazine's full list and then consult my list of crucial moments Philadelphia overlooked.
Editorials
5 minute read
Chris Satullo at WHYY: Solution or problem?
The journalist as social worker: My problem with Chris Satullo
After 11 years at the helm of WHYY, Bill Marrazzo has finally hired someone to oversee the public broadcaster's radio, TV and Internet news operations. Now for the bad news: The new position will be filled by the Inquirer's former editorial page editor and columnist, Chris Satullo. What do Marrazzo and Satullo have in common? Both men think like social workers instead of broadcasters.
Editorials
6 minute read