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"We do not rest satisfied with the present. We anticipate the future as too slow in coming, as if in order to hasten its course; or we recall the past, to stop its too rapid flight."
Blaise Pascal, Pensées
Posted October 25, 2012 12:00 AM
ABOUT "ABOUT LAST NIGHT" AND ITS AUTHORS ABOUT TERRY'S BOOKS ABOUT TERRY'S PLAY AND OPERA LIBRETTI The production will then transfer directly to Philadelphia's Wilma Theater, where it will run Nov. 16-Dec. 2. For more information, go here. To read the New York Times review, go here. To read the Boston Globe review, go here. To see John Douglas Thompson on stage in Satchmo at the Waldorf, go here. To listen to a radio interview with Terry and John, go here. To read a New York Times feature about the play, go here. To read a Hartford Courant feature about the play, go here. To see a video of excerpts from the 2011 Orlando production of Satchmo at the Waldorf, starring Dennis Neal, go here. • Terry collaborated with Paul Moravec on Danse Russe, a backstage comedy about the making of The Rite of Spring that was premiered by Philadelphia's Center City Opera Theater on April 28, 2011. To read more about Danse Russe, go here and here. To view excerpts from the opera and see Paul and Terry talk about its creation, go here. Terry previously collaborated with Paul on The Letter, an operatic version of Somerset Maugham's 1927 play that was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera in 2006 and opened there on July 25, 2009. To see excerpts from the opera, go here. Dicapo Opera Theatre will give The Letter its New York premiere on February 7, 2013. For more details, go here. To read Terry's reports on the writing, staging, premiere, and reception of the original production of The Letter, click on the link.
THE LONG GOODBYE MORE ABOUT "POPS"
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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 critic-at-large of Commentary. His Wikipedia entry is here.
Terry's latest book is Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in the U.S., JR Books in England, Larousse in Brazil, and United Press/Alpina in Russia. He is currently at work on Mood Indigo: A Life of Duke Ellington. He wrote the introductions to William Bailey on Canvas and the paperback editions of Richard Stark's Flashfire and Firebreak and Elaine Dundy's The Dud Avocado. One of his essays is included in Robert Gottlieb's Reading Dance, and he contributed notes on recordings by Louis Armstrong, Gene Krupa, and Oscar Peterson to Jazz: The Smithsonian Anthology.
Terry's first play, Satchmo at the Waldorf, has extended its run at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., where it will be seen through Nov. 11. The production is directed by Gordon Edelstein, with John Douglas Thompson appearing in the triple role of Louis Armstrong, Joe Glaser, and Miles Davis. To order tickets, go here. To read Terry's program note, go here.
To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here.
To read reviews of Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong, watch TV interviews and listen to radio interviews and podcasts about the book, and find out the answers to frequently asked questions about Armstrong and Pops, click on the link.
tteachout@artsjournal.com
ogic@artsjournal.com
caaf@artsjournal.com Search
TOP FIVE
The Story-Teller...A Session With Charles Laughton. Long unavailable in any format, this double album of one of Charles Laughton's celebrated public readings, originally recorded by Capitol in 1961 and released after his death, can now be downloaded as a set of mp3 files. The thirteen tracks range from Psalm 104 to Plato's Phaedrus to Jack Kerouac's "The Dharma Bums," all read with profound comprehension and immense panache by one of the great stage artists of the twentieth century (TT).
The Richard Burton Diaries (Yale, $35). Most of the entries were made between 1965 and 1972, and they reveal Burton to have been an acerbic, formidably well-read man with strong opinions about literature--and everything else. Yes, there's plenty of gossip, especially about Elizabeth Taylor, but eggheads will also find much to like and ponder (TT).
Marry Me a Little (Keen Company, Clurman, 410 W. 42, closes Oct. 27). A 70-minute jukebox musical--one set, two actors and a pianist--about two young apartment dwellers who live on adjacent floors of the same building and dream of finding romantic partners. The score consists of little-known songs by Stephen Sondheim, most of which were cut from his shows prior to their New York openings. Short, smart, and sweet, and Lauren Molina, who plays "Her," is extraordinarily good (TT).
Damsels in Distress (Sony). Now out on DVD, Whit Stillman's poignant little low-budget romcom about college life whose protagonists, a band of invincibly innocent young women led by Greta Gerwig, endeavor to socialize and redeem the young men they love by starting an international dance craze. (Well, sort of.) Fey, whimsical, talky, and quintessentially Stillmanesque (TT).
Duke Ellington at the Cotton Club (Storyville, two CDs). This hugely important release contains cleaned-up transfers of all surviving radio broadcasts made by Ellington between 1937 and 1939. Most of them have circulated for years, but this is the first time that they've ever been made available in a single package. Listening to these performances is like spending a blissful evening in the Wayback Machine. First-class liner notes by Andrew Homzy (TT).
Out of the Past
Rosemary's Baby. Roman Polanski made his Hollywood debut with this 1968 screen version of Ira Levin's horror novel about an innocent young couple (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes) who fall victim to a coven of devil-worshippers led by their nosy neighbor (Ruth Gordon). The book, though cleverly conceived, is devoid of literary distinction, but Polanski, who also wrote the screenplay, succeeded in transforming Levin's shabby little shocker (thank you, Joe Kerman) into a film of great tautness and elegance--without deviating so much as a millimeter from Levin's ingenious plot. Marvelous supporting performances by Ralph Bellamy, Elisha Cook, and the gorgeously well-spoken Maurice Evans. Kudos to the Criterion Collection for recognizing its lasting excellence with a newly remastered, carefully restored DVD edition (TT).
The Little House Books: The Library of America Collection. The Library of America has just reissued Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical novels of frontier life on the American prairie, originally published between 1932 and 1943, in a two-volume slipcovered set edited and annotated by Caroline Fraser. These "children's novels" are permanent classics of American literature. If, like me, you first encountered them when young but didn't read them again until middle age, you'll be astonished by how good they are--and how poetic. I miss Garth Williams' lovely illustrations, but you don't need them to appreciate Wilder's gifts (TT).
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