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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for February 2, 2010

OGIC: The illustrious Edward

February 2, 2010 by cfrye

I’m about to write way too much about something whose chief virtue is its unlabored concision. Forgive me. I am really excited.
The wonderful Kate Beaton has posted a great set of comic strips suggested by some of Edward Gorey’s well-known pocket book cover illustrations. I recommend to you Beaton’s entire body of work (fully archived on her Web site), but none of it more than these inspired little vignettes.
By now some of the drawings Gorey made for Anchor and Vintage in the 1950s have achieved iconic status themselves. Beaton’s spontaneous but thoughtful spinoffs inventively pay homage while illuminating the choices Gorey made, which turn out to be so interesting. She reminds one that–far more so than almost any cover on a work of classic literature one sees today–his drawings were a pretty high form of interpretation.

TT: Something old under the sun

February 2, 2010 by Terry Teachout

When Mrs. T and I visited the China Pavilion at Disney World’s Epcot Center, we were transfixed by the music of Ann Yao, who plays an ancient zither-like instrument called the zheng with supreme virtuosity. She is a truly remarkable artist, and the zheng is worthy of her sensitive musicianship.
No sooner did we get home from the park than I booted up my MacBook and embarked on a search for information about Yao and her instrument. Among other things, I found several videos of her playing on YouTube, two of which I want to share with you:


Isn’t she amazing? And isn’t the zheng a gorgeous-sounding instrument?

TT: Almanac

February 2, 2010 by Terry Teachout

“As Judeo-Christians we must avow that the critic is the equal of the artist in the sight of God–as, indeed, he is–if God can’t read.”
David Mamet (quoted in Chris Jones, Theater Loop, Jan. 27, 2010)

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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