Archives for 2017

Bobby Fischer appears on I’ve Got a Secret. This telecast, hosted by Garry Moore, was originally broadcast by CBS on March 26, 1958. Fischer, who was then fifteen years old, had recently become the United States chess champion, the youngest one ever. He competed for the world championship for the first time later that year:

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

“Nostalgia is a powerful feeling; it can drown out anything.”

Terrence Malick (quoted in Beverly Walker, “Malick on Badlands”, Sight and Sound, Spring 1973, courtesy of Ellen Fraher)

In his epilogue to Civilisation, telecast by the BBC in 1969, Kenneth Clark talks about his “biases” and “beliefs” about Western civilization, and discusses its fragility and future prospects:

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

“Men and women in this country confront suffering with great courage, and often a strange Stoic resignation. In emergencies they manifest admirable endurance. But they are not patient with life.”

Jacques Maritain, Reflections on America

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:
• Dear Evan Hansen (musical, PG-13, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• Hamilton (musical, PG-13, Broadway transfer of off-Broadway production, all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• On Your Feet! (jukebox musical, G, some shows sold out last week, reviewed here)

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

IN PRINCETON, N.J.:
• Hamlet/Saint Joan (Shakespeare and Shaw, PG-13, remounting in rotating repertory of 2012 and 2013 off-Broadway productions, closes Feb. 12, original productions reviewed here and here)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:
• Finian’s Rainbow (small-scale musical revival, G, closes Jan. 29, reviewed here)

CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN FORT MYERS, FLA.:
• The House of Blue Leaves (very black comedy, R, closes Jan. 25, reviewed here)

“Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.”

C.S. Lewis, letter to Joan Lancaster, June 26, 1956

The Byrds perform Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” and “This Wheel’s on Fire” on Playboy After Dark, hosted by Hugh Hefner. Roger McGuinn is the lead singer, accompanied by Clarence White on lead guitar, John York on bass, and Gene Parsons on drums. The band is introduced by Hugh Hefner. This performance was originally telecast on September 28, 1968:

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

“Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views, beyond the comprehension of the weak.”

John Adams, letter to Thomas Jefferson, February 2, 1816