Archives for 2011

“It is a grotesque misapprehension which sees in art no more than a craft comprehensible perfectly only to the craftsman; art is a manifestation of emotion, and emotion speaks a language that all may understand. But I will allow that the critic who has not a practical knowledge of technique is seldom able to say anything on the subject of real value.”
W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence

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

BROADWAY:

• Anything Goes (musical, G/PG-13, mildly adult subject matter that will be unintelligible to children, closes Apr. 29, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Chinglish (comedy, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Apr. 29, reviewed here)

• Follies (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Jan. 22, reviewed here)

• Godspell (musical, G, suitable for children, reviewed here)

• How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (musical, G/PG-13, perfectly fine for children whose parents aren’t actively prudish, reviewed here)

• Other Desert Cities (drama, PG-13, adult subject matter, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Seminar (serious comedy, PG-13, closes Mar. 4, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• Dancing at Lughnasa (drama, G/PG-13, closes Jan. 15, reviewed here)

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

• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)

• Million Dollar Quartet (jukebox musical, G, off-Broadway remounting of Broadway production, original run reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON ON BROADWAY:

• Venus in Fur (serious comedy, R, adult subject matter, closes Dec. 18, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY:

• The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (monologue, PG-13, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY IN GLENCOE, ILLINOIS:

• The Real Thing (serious comedy, PG-13, reviewed here)

“The quality of the artist depends on the quality of the man and no one can excel in the arts who has not, besides his special gifts, moral rectitude; I would not deny, however, that this may exhibit itself in a form that is surprising and fantastic.”
W. Somerset Maugham, preface to Theatre

Truman Capote appears on The Dean Martin Comedy Hour in 1974:

(This is the latest in a series of arts-related videos that appear in this space each Monday and Wednesday.)

“It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.”
W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence

“I was suffering from that mysterious self-consciousness which often attacks the adolescent, a malady as agonising and overwhelming as seasickness or stage fright.”
Francis Wyndham, “Obsessions”

National Review asked me (among others) to make some Christmas gift recommendations. To find out what I suggested, go here and scroll down.

To go to a basement nightclub in Manhattan and sit ten feet away from a big band in full cry is one of the most exhilarating experiences known to man. Once upon a time I did so fairly often, but nowadays I rarely manage to do it more than once a year, when Mrs. T and I head down to the Jazz Standard on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to hear Maria Schneider‘s band.
Each year we do our best not to miss the last night of Maria’s annual week-long residency at the Jazz Standard, but this time around I felt more strongly than ever before the absolute need to flee from life and immerse myself in the world of art. Too much work, too much stress, too much everything…so we walked away from our worries, lined up at the door, and within minutes found ourselves sitting two tables away from the musicians, the very place where we most wanted to be.
The sound of a big band in a small room hits you like a benign tornado, filling the air with glowing clouds of harmony. It is, I suppose, possible to think of other things in the midst of such a maelstrom, but I didn’t: I let the outside world go and was content.
Eventually the music stopped, as it always does, and we said our farewells to Maria and caught a cab outside the club.
“Why don’t we do that more often?” asked Mrs. T as we pulled away.
“Beats me,” I replied.
* * *
The Maria Schneider Orchestra plays “Journey Home”: