Archives for January 2016

Carl Perkins sings “Blue Suede Shoes” on The Perry Como Show in 1956:

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

“The worker puts his life into the object; but now it no longer belongs to him, it belongs to the object.”

Karl Marx, “Alienated Labor”

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:
• An American in Paris (musical, G, too complex for small children, reviewed here)
• The Color Purple (musical, PG-13, nearly all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Fun Home (serious musical, PG-13, virtually all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Hamilton (musical, PG-13, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• The King and I (musical, G, perfect for children with well-developed attention spans, some performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Matilda (musical, G, reviewed here)
• Les Misérables (musical, G, too long and complicated for young children, closes Sept. 4, reviewed here)
• Noises Off (farce, PG-13, virtually all performances sold out last week, extended through March 13, reviewed here)
• On Your Feet! (jukebox musical, G, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
• The Flick (serious comedy, PG-13, too long for young people with limited attention spans, reviewed here)

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:
• Sweat (drama, PG-13, remounting of Oregon Shakespeare Festival production, closing Feb. 21, original production reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN FORT MYERS, FLA:
• The Cocktail Hour (serious comedy, PG-13, extended through Jan. 31, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK ON BROADWAY:
• China Doll (drama, PG-13, closes Jan. 31, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY ON BROADWAY:
• Spring Awakening (musical, PG-13/R, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

“Whoever does not have two-thirds of his day for himself, is a slave, whatever he may be: a statesman, a businessman, an official, or a scholar.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human

John Douglas Thompson and I will be talking about American Conservatory Theater’s production of Satchmo at the Waldorf (which opens tonight) on KQED’s Forum. The program will be broadcast live at ten a.m. today.

If you live in the San Francisco area, you can listen to Forum via terrestrial radio by tuning to 88.5 on your FM dial. Alternatively, go here to listen on your computer via streaming audio.

You can also download Forum later in the day by going here.

Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Howard Morris, and Carl Reiner perform “Gallipacci,” a parody of I Pagliacci, on Caesar’s Hour, originally telecast by NBC on October 10, 1955:

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

“Unless one is already smitten with the author, one reads diaries, journals and collections of letters in search of small dazzlements or points of irritation.”

Patrick Kurp, “‘I Would Rattle His Pedestal’” (Anecdotal Evidence, November 25, 2015)

From 2006:

I woke up this morning at nine-thirty, an hour later than my normal get-up-and-go time. As I descended from the loft in which I spend my nights, it struck me that I had nothing whatsoever to do today: no deadlines, no shows to see, no meals with friends, no plans of any kind. For a moment I felt myself revving up, trying to think of culture-related activities with which to fill all those empty hours. Then a new, unfamiliar reflex kicked in. Why not do nothing? I asked myself, and a smile flickered across my face….

Read the whole thing here.