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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for October 5, 2006

TT: So you want to see a show?

October 5, 2006 by Terry Teachout

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway and off-Broadway shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows strongly favorable reviews in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.


Warning: Broadway shows marked with an asterisk were sold out, or nearly so, last week.


BROADWAY:

– Avenue Q* (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)

– The Drowsy Chaperone* (musical, G/PG-13, mild sexual content and a profusion of double entendres, reviewed here)

– Jay Johnson: The Two and Only* (one-ventriloquist show, G/PG-13, a bit of strong language but otherwise family-friendly, reviewed here)

– The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (musical, PG-13, mostly family-friendly but contains a smattering of strong language and a production number about an unwanted erection, reviewed here)

– The Wedding Singer (musical, PG-13, some sexual content, reviewed here)


OFF BROADWAY:

– The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children old enough to enjoy a love story, reviewed here)

– Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris (musical revue, R, adult subject matter and sexual content, reviewed here)

– Slava’s Snowshow (performance art, G, child-friendly, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON:

– Seven Guitars (drama, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here, extended through Oct. 15)

TT: Almanac

October 5, 2006 by Terry Teachout

“Wanda, do you have any idea what it’s like being English? Being so correct all the time, being so stifled by this dread of, of doing the wrong thing, of saying to someone

TT: Up to the nanosecond

October 5, 2006 by Terry Teachout

I got tagged with this meme on Tuesday. Turns out that I already answered it two months ago, and so did OGIC!


Never let it be said that we’re not on our toes around here….

TT: Uncommonly hopeful

October 5, 2006 by Terry Teachout

I’m getting a lot of e-mail about this posting. So far, this is is the letter I’ve liked best:

I’m always a little amused when I catch someone–including myself–lamenting
the supposed demise of “common culture.” I think we all feel a sense of loss
when younger generations don’t recognize things we thought were important
and lasting when we were their age. But we tend to take for granted the
amazing amount that does get passed on. I’d bet, for instance, that a higher
percentage of college kids recognize “West End Blues” today than in
1978…or 1938.


I’d also bet that a very high percentage of contemporary high school kids
could recognize over half of Levitin’s list–probably way more than half if
even a little prompting was provided.


This is just anecdotal evidence, but about five years ago on a trip to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I heard a class of black second graders on a
field trip provide perfect, spontaneous accompaniment for the Isley Brothers
“Who’s That Lady” when it came over the loudspeakers. Later the same day I
saw two twelve-year-old white girls walking along singing “Stop In The Name
of Love” and doing those old Supremes’ hand motions while they walked.
Granted those kids were in a museum, which implies that somebody cared about
passing this stuff on, but then again, most kids have SOMEBODY in their life
who fills that function. In the case of pop music, the general culture helps
out more than usual, but even in areas like literature, painting, etc. it
happens a lot more than we think.


On the other hand, if somebody actually could kill off common culture, it
would be the sort of person who is asked to explain rock and roll with six
records and uses one of his picks on “Wonderful Tonight.”


(…Though I would love to know which record or six “explained” Elvis to the
octogenarian scientist and therefore placed him well beyond the level of
collective understanding thus far obtained by three generations of rock
critics.)


Anyway, long time reader who’s never e-mailed before. It’s a fun topic so I
hope you get lots of feedback.

How nice to find a ray of hope in my mailbox!

Terry Teachout

Terry Teachout, who writes this blog, is the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal and the critic-at-large of Commentary. In addition to his Wall Street Journal drama column and his monthly essays … [Read More...]

About

About “About Last Night”

This is a blog about the arts in New York City and the rest of America, written by Terry Teachout. Terry is a critic, biographer, playwright, director, librettist, recovering musician, and inveterate blogger. In addition to theater, he writes here and elsewhere about all of the other arts--books, … [Read More...]

About My Plays and Opera Libretti

Billy and Me, my second play, received its world premiere on December 8, 2017, at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, Fla. Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play, closed off Broadway at the Westside Theatre on June 29, 2014, after 18 previews and 136 performances. That production was directed … [Read More...]

About My Podcast

Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I are the panelists on “Three on the Aisle,” a bimonthly podcast from New York about theater in America. … [Read More...]

About My Books

My latest book is Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, published in 2013 by Gotham Books in the U.S. and the Robson Press in England and now available in paperback. I have also written biographies of Louis Armstrong, George Balanchine, and H.L. Mencken, as well as a volume of my collected essays called A … [Read More...]

The Long Goodbye

To read all three installments of "The Long Goodbye," a multi-part posting about the experience of watching a parent die, go here. … [Read More...]

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