Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
Monkees as Actors: A Quiz
What do you know about the stage (and quasi-stage) work of The Pre-Fab Four? 1. Davy Jones was in the original Broadway cast of this Dickens-based musical. (The cast appeared on the same Feb. 9, 1964 telecast of the Ed Sullivan show as the Beatles.) 2. David Jones and Micky Dolenz co-starred in the London … Continue reading
Lax on Lux
I plowed through Scott Eyman’s massive Empire of Dream: The Epic Life of Cecil B. DeMille (Simon & Schuster 2010) not because I’m a fan of color-saturated epic biblical photoplays—that Technicolor overkill leaves me cold—or even because of DeMille’s appearance in Sunset Boulevard. (Buster Keaton’s cameo is so much cooler.) No, I’m just a fan … Continue reading
“Come hither, crack-hemp!”
Given the spacy nature and streetclothes aesthetic of the Yale summer cabaret’s production of The Tempest, I was well disposed toward this alternative fabric shop in Burlington, Vermont which bears a bad Shakespeare pun for a name. Not enough to jump out of the car, however, hence this sucky photo. The store’s called The Hempest, … Continue reading
Ain’t Broadway Grand?
Today’s installment of the gag strip Grand Avenue by Steve Breen and Mike Thompson, found on that exemplary aggregator of sequential art GoComics.com. Interesting iconography. What’s the last Broadway show to involve a toga? The Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum revival of 15 years ago? Nathan Lane’s The Frogs seven years … Continue reading
“Some delightful ostentation, or show, or pageant or antic or firework”
An Elizabethan theatrical manifestation of American Independence day. (This explosive device doesn’t need to fully title itself A Midsummer Night’s Dream; you wouldn’t set off fireworks except at night. If Eugene O’Neill plays were fireworks, they’d be called just Long Journey, or Becomes Electra). Here’s what Midsummer’s Dream looks like exploding. The frolicking figure at … Continue reading
Lou Harry’s Theater Trivia Pub Quiz: The Answers!
The questions are here. These are the answers. At least two more rounds of questions coming later this week. ROUND ONE: WARM-UPS 1. Puckering musicals: Anyone Can Whistle and Whistle Down the Wind. 2. In the order in which they were produced: Oklahoma, Carousel, The King & I, Me & Juliet, The Sound of Music … Continue reading
15 Theater-related “New Arrivals” on Netflix
A random survey. All these “New” or “Recent” titles at www.netflix.com are in the “Watch Instantly” mode, so you don’t have to wait for days by the mailbox to find out that I’ve recommended sheer crap. Almighty Thor: A Norse-god-in-the-modern-world superhero epic released in 2011, yet it’s NOT the Kenneth Branagh Thor. This one is … Continue reading