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ABOUT "ABOUT LAST NIGHT" AND ITS AUTHORS 
This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout, Laura Demanski (otherwise known as Our Girl in Chicago, or "OGIC" for short), and Carrie Frye (who signs her postings "CAAF"). Terry, who lives in New York, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the music critic of Commentary. more

ABOUT TERRY'S BOOKS 
Terry recently wrote the introductions to William Bailey on Canvas and the paperback edition of Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado. His latest book is All in the Dances: A Brief Life of George Balanchine, published by Harcourt. more

ABOUT TERRY'S OPERA 
Lend me your ears (and eyes)
Men at work
Men at work (II)
Men at work (III)
Men at work (IV)
For better and worse

SEE TERRY TALK 
To view Terry's December videoblog, go here.

Archive  4743 entries and counting

CONTACT
tteachout@artsjournal.com
ogic@artsjournal.com
caaf@artsjournal.com

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TOP FIVE

A list of new things we've liked (subject to unexpected and wildly capricious updating).

PLAY 
The Devil's Disciple (Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 W. 22, extended through Feb. 10). My favorite off-Broadway company has just extended the run of its incisive small-scale production of George Bernard Shaw's 1897 play, a sneaky piece of theatrical prestidigitation in which the shell of an old-fashioned Victorian melodrama is stuffed with decidedly un-Victorian notions about morality. Tony Walton's staging is brisk and unpreachy, and the cast responds to his lightness of touch with acting to match (TT).

GALLERY 
Jane Freilicher: Recent Paintings (Tibor de Nagy, 724 Fifth Ave., opens Saturday, up through Feb. 23). New work by an underrated artist whose deceptively quiet landscapes and still lifes reflect the influence of Bonnard and the cubists yet remain utterly American in tone and tint. (One of them is in the Teachout Museum.) Don't be deceived by Freilicher's soft, even-toned palette and seemingly conventional subject matter--her art is life-enhancing (TT).

CD 
The Complete Louis Armstrong and the Dukes of Dixieland (Essential Jazz Classics, three CDs). The greatest jazz musician of the twentieth century teamed up with a banjo-and-tuba Dixieland septet in 1959 to knock off an early-stereo LP of very standard New Orleans standards. It should have been an infallible recipe for ennui, but Armstrong caught fire, and the result was one of the liveliest and most exciting albums of his middle age, followed a year later by a similarly satisfying sequel. Both albums have now been reissued in their entirety on this three-CD set, augmented by twenty alternate takes. Take a taste of "Bourbon Street Parade" and see if it doesn't make you feel like cooking up some of that good ol' red beans and rice (TT).

FILM 
Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton's two-hour-long film version of Stephen Sondheim's greatest musical is a devastatingly concise, horrifically bloody exercise in neo-Gothic naturalism from which all the stage-specific presentational elements of the original production have been trimmed away. The results are effective in the extreme, not least because of Johnny Depp's cold, hard, unrelenting performance of the title role. No, the singing isn't great, but it's still the best film of a Broadway musical ever made, Cabaret included (TT).

PLAY 
The Seafarer (Booth, 222 W. 45). What's the Broadway show to see if you're only seeing one? I strongly recommend Conor McPherson's uncommonly powerful fantasy about an unhappy Irishman (David Morse) who swears off the booze and finds himself standing face to face with the Divvil Himself. "The stuff of greatness," say the posters. "Do not miss this play!" Yes, that's what I wrote in The Wall Street Journal, except for the gratuitous exclamation point, and I meant every word (TT).

Out of the Past

Not new, but still worth a look or listen (and no less subject to change without notice).

CD 
The Mills Brothers: The 1930s Recordings. Long before the Mills Brothers were a middle-of-the-road quartet known for their close-harmony ballads, they were a smooth-toned, hipper-than-hip vocal group billed as "four boys and a guitar" that Lester Young once wittily described as "the best saxophone section I ever heard." Their first 116 recordings, pristinely remastered by John R.T. Davies, have been collected in this low-priced five-CD set that abounds with musical riches, including guest appearances by Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby. The listening is easy, but the swinging is hard (TT).

FILM 
The Trip to Bountiful. Peter Masterson's 1985 film of Horton Foote's 1953 TV play isn't quite as good as the stage version--Geraldine Page's Oscar-winning star turn is a bit too fluttery and flirtatious--but it still captures the essence of Foote's deeply moving tale of an old woman trapped in a Houston apartment who longs to see her home town once more before she dies. If you're anywhere near Chicago when the Goodman Theatre's revival opens in March, make every effort to see it. Otherwise, you won't go far wrong by renting this DVD (TT).

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