Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
Show Boating
My review of the pizzazzy Show Boat at Goodspeed Opera House will be posted any day now, but let’s get the sideshow out of the way first. For atmospheric accoutrements, no theater in the state beats the Goodspeed. This current show is Show Boat, so already the elegant old Opera House ties-in aesthetically without even … Continue reading
Lenny Lives
Two Quotes About Lenny Bruce… plus recently rediscovered photos of Gary Cavello as Lenny Bruce in a production of Julian Barry’s play Lenny that I directed for New Haven Theatre Co. in February of 2000. (Other actors in the photos: Kim Mikenis in red, Rob Rocke in purple and Craig Gilbert in yellow.) Photos by … Continue reading
Water Cooler Theater #2
A: I’m sorry, but the other side is being more stubborn than ever. B: so is the other other side. A: I’m afraid this stalemate may go on until the last minute. B: The very last last minute. A: darn this broken- down partisan government system. B [cliffhanger voice]: Tune in tomorrow to see if … Continue reading
The Late Nite Catechism 2 Review
Sister Strikes Again! Late Nite Catechism 2 By Maripat Donovan. Through Aug, 21 at Long Wharf Theatre Stage II, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. (203) 787-4282. Nun but the brave. It was a slow, sultry Wednesday—a lowkey night both at theaters and churches. But at Sister Strikes Again! Late Nite Catechism 2, The Late Nite … Continue reading
Little Theater for Little Women
I’ve had kids’ theater on my mind these days, and want now to acknowledge my awe for one of the best anthologies of theater BY children that’s ever existed. Comic Tragedies was copywritten 1893 by Anna B. Pratt but the title page says “Written by ‘Jo’ and ‘Meg’ and acted by the ‘Little Women’.” A … Continue reading
The Never Ending Orchard
OK, here, for what it’s worth (and I fully acknowledge the ridiculous elements of the concept) is the kid version of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard I devised (in a single three-hour session) with a bunch of kids at the Never Ending Bookstore in February. What’s missing from this excerpt is an opening burst of pageantry … Continue reading
Play in a Day—My Julian Marsh Moment
I’m gearing up for another round of my patented “Play in a Day” events, where I, and a bunch of kids of all ages, prepare and perform a theater classic in the space of three hours. This is an impromptu mid-rehearsal pep talk from my very first attempt at such a thing, a pint-sized variation … Continue reading
Lady Zeppo
Lady Blue Eyes: My Life With Frank By Barbara Sinatra with Wendy Holden (Crown Archetype, 2011) Not that I care nothing about Frank Sinatra, but the reason I got Lady Blues: My Life With Frank out of the library was that, before Barbara Ann Blakeley became Mrs. Frank Sinatra, she was Mrs. Zeppo Marx. Few … Continue reading
Long Day’s Journey Into Nightclubs
The phenomenon of a reunited band performing one of their old studio albums live in its entirety is not a new one. It goes back years or decades depending on how you define the craft. But now the practice has become not only ubiquitous but creatively stifling. Bands which, often for good reason, split up … Continue reading
Sci-Fi Shakespeare: Four novels
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: The Graphic Novel Illustrated by Tony Leonard Tamai with Alex Nino. Script by Arthur Byron Cover. (Puffin Books 2005) Most graphic novels based on classic lit, whether the original source is play or book, are content to let the medium be the message. They refrain from adding new interpretive spins on the … Continue reading