Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
Dancers in Spite of Themselves
Interesting pre show phenomenon at performances of A Doctor in Spite of Himself, which closed last week at Yale rep. Rallied by some animated young ushers, audiences were urged to get up and shake their booties, dancing in the aisles and in their seats. The activity put the crowd in an appropriate mood for the … Continue reading
Alviiiiinnnnnn!
Saw the new Alvin & The Chipmunks movie, Chipwrecked with my daughters yesterday. We’d already read the novelization, so we were prepared. Except the novelization doesn’t include any incidents of singing, dancing or sight gags, so it’s rather more existential about the whole trapped-on-a-desert-island thing. You’d think there’d be little of interest in Chipwrecked for … Continue reading
The It’s a Wonderful Life Review
It’s a Wonderful Life—A Live Radio Play Through Dec. 31 at the Long Wharf Theatre, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. (203) 787-4282, longwharf.org. By Joe Landry. Directed by Eric Ting. Set Design: Mikiko Macadams. Costume Design: Jessica Ford. Lighting Design: Stephen Strawbridge. Sound Design: John Gromada. Stage Manager: Lori Lundquist. Performed by Alex Moggridge (George … Continue reading
Alt Arch Auditions
Twenty years before Disney’s High School Musical, high school students were already trying to find ways to find a way around the tyranny of tightly-scheduled auditions. From Everything’s Archie #132, November 1987. Script bny Jim Ruth, pencilling by Bob Bolling, inking by Chic Stone.
“Words are all we have.”
Couple of recent regular-news references to Samuel Beckett in (where else?) The Irish Times. Both come from the Dec. 10 edition. [Irish history professor Roy] Foster cites Samuel Beckett as an example of how some literary figures can contribute to their own myth-making. “I’m reading the wonderful second volume of Beckett’s letters, and Beckett gave … Continue reading
Playwright Dies—Also Led Czech Republic
It’s hard to describe what it was like in the late 1980s and early 1990s, to see plays by Vaclav Havel produced at the Yale Rep and at college theaters throughout the country, while their author in the midst of transforming a communist country into a democratic republic and EU member now known as one … Continue reading
The Yale Cabaret Springs Forward
The Yale Cabaret has announced its offerings for the Spring semester. You could say it’s a slight more mainstream selection than the nine autumn shows were, because a couple of titles are very familiar (even if the contents of the shows themselves are not) and a couple of others are well-known in college theater circles. … Continue reading
It’s Several Wonderful Lives
Not only is It’s a Wonderful Life playing at Long Wharf Theatre, a different production based on the same Joe Landry live-radio-style adaptation has returned to Rhode Island’s Trinity Rep. Long Wharf is hopeful that It’s a Wonderful Life will become an annual holiday tradition, a la A Christmas Carol at Hartford Stage. Or A … Continue reading
“Though he took up my legs sometime, yet I made a shift to cast him”
Hot on the snowy heels of Eric Ting’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life, which opened this week, The Long Wharf Theatre has announced the cast for Ting’s impending production of Macbeth 1969, Jan. 18- Feb. 12 on the selfsame mainstage. Several familiar faces may catch your eye. Ting has reconceived Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a … Continue reading
Teen Santa Takes Flight Tonight Through Dec. 18, With a Live Punk Soundtrack: An Interview with Kid-Theater Creator Bert Bernardi
“The initial idea,” Bert Bernardi banters, “was that Santa has a superhero that’s there all day long to save the day. “The next step was adding the word ‘Teen’ to Santa. It’s just so incongruous. The common image of teens is sullen, disobedient. What if this kid has all this other spirit? “He’s a 16-year-old … Continue reading