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About Last Night

Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for July 11, 2013

TT: Seven words

July 11, 2013 by Terry Teachout

my_life_in_a_nutshell.jpgThe indispensable Maria Popova recently pointed to a cache of “seven-word autobiographies of famous writers, artists, musicians, and philosophers.” Some are clever, some coy, some smug. (Joan Didion: “Seven words do not yet define me.”)
I decided to play and came up with the following:
In flux. Musician, critic, biographer, librettist, playwright….
Not especially clever–except, perhaps, for the ellipsis–but at least it’s accurate. So far.

TT: The bookbag

July 11, 2013 by Terry Teachout

Here are the books I brought with me to read (or reread) on my trip to California and Oregon:
Charlie-Parker-001.jpg• Three sets of bound galleys: Stanley Crouch’s Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker, Chuck Haddix’ Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker, and Alisa Solomon’s Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof
• Larry Birnbaum’s Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock ‘n’ Roll
• Jack O’Brien’s Jack Be Nimble: The Accidental Education of an Unintentional Director
• Brian Priestley’s Chasin’ the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker
• Tom Wolfe’s Back to Blood

TT: So you want to see a show?

July 11, 2013 by Terry Teachout

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:

• Annie (musical, G, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Matilda (musical, G, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Once (musical, G/PG-13, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• The Trip to Bountiful (drama, G, extended through Oct. 9, reviewed here)

• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (comedy, PG-13, remounting of off-Broadway production, closes Aug. 25, most performances sold out last week, original production reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• 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)

CLOSING SOON ON BROADWAY:

• The Nance (play with music, PG-13, closes Aug. 11, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:

• A Picture of Autumn (drama, G, too serious for children, closes July 27, reviewed here)

• The Weir (drama, PG-13, closes Aug. 4, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON IN GLENCOE, ILL.:

• The Liar (comedy, PG-13, extended through Aug. 11, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN CHICAGO:

• Tartuffe (comedy, PG-13, closes July 21, reviewed here)

CLOSING SATURDAY IN PITTSFIELD, MASS.:

• On the Town (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)

TT: Almanac

July 11, 2013 by Terry Teachout

“O for a life of Sensations rather than of Thoughts!”
John Keats, letter to Benjamin Bailey, Nov. 22, 1817

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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