Author Archives: Christopher Arnott
A Pained Pause
YOUR HUMBLE REPORTER IN EDVARD MUNCH MODE, REACTING TO THE PROSPECT OF THE RETURN OF MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL TO THE LONG WHARF MAINSTAGE THIS SUMMER. For a body (like the Long Wharf Theatre) to grow and mature and challenge itself, there need to be adjustment periods which unfortunately may sometimes bring extraordinary discomfort, awkwardness, confusion … Continue reading
The Long Wharf 2011-2012 Season Announcement, annotated with awe
GABRIEL KAHANE PERFORMING AT THE LONG WHARF THEATRE’S 2011-12 SEASON ANNOUNCEMENT. PHOTO COURTESY OF LONG WHARF THEATRE. The Long Wharf Theater’s 2011-12 season looks pretty good on paper—two musicals, a Shakespeare, a Christmas show, a supernatural comedy set in the 1950s and a dark human drama set in the ’40, plus one show still to … Continue reading
Five Trashy Theater Novels
From the vast Christopher Arnott Collection of Trashy Theater Literature Dream Street (1946, Avon) by Robert Sylvester, the theater gossip columnist for the New York Daily News. From the back cover: Jake picked himself one luscious ingénue, Penny Farmer, from the thousand pretty faces on Broadway and set out to send her skyrocketing to fame … Continue reading
The Italian-American Reconciliation Review
Italian-American Reconciliation By John Patrick Shanley. Directed by Eric Ting. Set design by Scott Bradley. Costume design by Lindo Cho. Lighting design by Russell Champa. Sound design by Sarah Pickett. Stage manager: Megan Scwarz Dickert. Performed by John Procaccino (Aldo), Lisa Birnbaum (Janice), Mike Crane (Huey), Stephanie DiMaggio (Teresa) and Socorro Santiago (Aunt May). Through … Continue reading
Coffee with the Carlotta Playwrights: Christina Anderson, Dipika Guha and Meg Miroshnik
Tonight marks the start of the sixth annual Carlotta Festival of New Plays at the Yale School of Drama. I had coffee this morning at Willoughby’s on York Street with the three playwrights for whom the festival marks the end of their three years in the School of Drama program. No tech-week anxiety or opening-night … Continue reading
R.I.P. Arthur Laurents
I spent an hour and a half on the ‘phone yesterday with Stephen DeRosa, an actor I’ve long admired. DeRosa’s coming to Hartford later this month. DeRosa and I talked for an hour and a half, about many many things. But mostly he gushed and gushed about the greatness of Arthur Laurents. I shared his … Continue reading
Favoritism Thing
Otherwise Known as the Human Condition—Selected Essays and Reviews by Geoff Dyer (Graywolf Press, 2011). This 421-page collection of his essays shows Geoff Dyer to be a critic of varied tastes and exceptional range. (He’s equally renowned as a novelist.) The theater doesn’t seem to be one of his areas of expertise, however. Judging by … Continue reading
Theater Brett
Simon Brett is beloved of theater geeks of all stripes for his inspired series of mystery novels starring the so-so professional actor, accomplished amateur crimesolver and prodigious drinker Charles Paris. The Charles Paris books have satirized every aspect of acting, from West End to sitcoms to one-man shows to community theater to books-on-tape recordings (though … Continue reading
Art You on the Bus?
Spring is really sneaking up on me. Like a bus. Honking. Hard to believe it’s time for the 14th annual Westville Village ArtWalk. Befitting an area of town once renowned for carriage-building and buggy races, this year the ArtWalk has evolved beyond walking, moving into the world of wheels and mass transit by linking up … Continue reading
The Jafferis juggernaut
Thanks to the industrious and radical Aaron Jafferis for making sure that the blogging these days isn’t all about those tyrannic Tonys. Aarron’s theater has always been street, even when it’s Shakespeare (he did a solo rap routine based on the bard) or trapped in an elevator. His most recent musical, Stuck Elevator, got a … Continue reading