Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
Jerry Meandering
I did a pre-show lament about the MDA no-longer-Jerry-Lewis Telethon yesterday on my other page, www.scribblers.us. Having watched as much as I could stand of last night’s Lewis-starved broadcast, I realized that an even greater loss can be registered. The Jerry Lewis Telethon was the last bastion of a certain type of TV variety show … Continue reading
The Alternative Music Man
Considering how The Beatles pointed a lot of people towards this particular show, I’ve always been surprised at how few pop-music acts have exploited The Music Man. The relatively few contemporary acts who’ve dipped into The Music Man’s score have done so far too timidly. This is a show that mocks parents’ consternation at the … Continue reading
Plays to Anticipate Hurricane Irene By
So how come nobody’s ever made Stormy Weather into a stage musical? No matter; here are ten stormy stage events for those in the path of the hurricane. Sturm und Drang by Friedrich Maximilian Klinger. It’s the work that coined that phrase, in 1776. The play’s actually about the American Revolution. Dynamo by Eugene O’Neill. … Continue reading
Pardon, my lord; I will not show my face until my husband bid me
I hope that Elm Shakespeare Company’s extraordinary set survives Hurrican Irene. You can help out the company by bidding on items in its online auction fundraiser, here. The auction closes at 11 a.m. Monday morning, Aug. 29. Something to do while you’re sitting around the house Sunday wishing you could be in Edgerton Park watching … Continue reading
Hello! My Baby to be born at the Goodspeed
The final show of Goodspeed Musicals’ 2011 season will be Hello! My Baby, which constructs a fresh “all-American musical valentine” (to quote the press release) out of such hallowed hits of the early 20th century as “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “and “Stairway to Paradise.” The book’s by Cheri Steinkellner, author of the recent Goodspeed offering … Continue reading
Coup de Krapp at Long Wharf: Dennehy Does Beckett This Fall
Brian Dennehy’s coming back to Long Wharf Nov. 29-Dec. 18 to finish what he started a few years ago. In 2008, Dennehy and Joe Grifasi brought their bravura version of Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie to Long Wharf Stage II. It’s an established production which they’d brought to several other theaters before Long Wharf (which, coincidentally, had … Continue reading
Fringeing from Afar
I’ve never been to Edinburgh. Been to big arts festivals in Europe, but never been to THE big arts festival. Don’t really enjoy being overwhelmed, but of course wish I could be there, and can’t resist slavishly reading the news coverage and reviews. In a future post I hope to list some of the more … Continue reading
The Threads of a Spider Web Review
Threads of a Spider Web Written by Annie DiMartino. Music written by Carol Taubl, Jack Taubl, Sam Taubl James Taubl, Jeremiah Taubl and Emily Taubl. Performed by Sam Taubl, Anthony Rockford, Danielle Bonanno, Chelsea Dacey, Jeremiah Taubl, James Taubl, Dawn Williams, Jessica Coppola, Jane Logan, Nina Dicker, Gabriel DiMartino, Marisa Sullivan, Kira Topalian, Bowen Kirwood, … Continue reading
The Elm Shakespeare Measure for Measure Review
Measure for Measure Continues Aug. 23-28 and Aug. 30-Sept. 4, 8 p.m. outdoors in Edgerton Park, New Haven. (the big park on the New Haven/Hamden line, bordered by Cliff Street between Whitney Ave. and Edgehill Rd.). By William Shakespeare. Directed by James Andreassi. Set design by Vladimir Shpitalnik. Costume design by Elizabeth Bolster. Lighting Designer/Master … Continue reading