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Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for March 22, 2018

Go small or go home

March 22, 2018 by Terry Teachout

The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the bimonthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading.

In this episode, Peter, Elisabeth, and I lead off by talking at length about what we call “small-show syndrome: the intimate, petite-scale productions that are so popular on American stages these days.” Says the Three on the Aisle web page:

New plays with sprawling casts and multi-hour running times such as Bruce Norris’s The Low Road and David Rabe’s Good for Otto stand out amidst a preponderance of two- or three-handers unfurling over 90 minutes. Yes, there are budgetary constraints, but does this scaling-down affect how playwrights work and which topics they choose to cover? Family is American drama’s favorite topic, but are we doomed to a generation of intimate “couch plays”?…

Yet Teachout argues that a small scale can be seen as a creative challenge rather than a limitation….

We wrap up the episode by talking about shows that we’ve seen lately, as well as others that we’ll be seeing soon.

To listen, download the eighth episode, or subscribe to Three on the Aisle, go here.

In case you missed any of the first eight episodes, you’ll find them all here.

So you want to see a show?

March 22, 2018 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:
• The Band’s Visit (musical, PG-13, nearly all shows sold out last week, reviewed here)
• 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)

OFF BROADWAY:
• Good for Otto (drama, PG-13/R, newly extended through April 15, reviewed here)

CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY:
• At Home at the Zoo (drama, PG-13/R, reviewed here)
• Hangmen (black comedy, PG-13/R, reviewed here)

Almanac: Winston Churchill on the virtues of inaction

March 22, 2018 by Terry Teachout

INK BOTTLE“There is always a strong case for doing nothing, especially for doing nothing yourself.”

Winston Churchill, The World Crisis, 1911–1914

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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