Archives for April 24, 2018

The latest episode of Three on the Aisle, the twice-monthly 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 chat together about a wide-ranging assortment of topics:

This week starts with the subject of whether some shows are too hopelessly dated to be brought back. What prompted this? The Broadway revival of Children of a Lesser God, which they agree is not very good, as director Kenny Leon seemed unsure of how to handle Mark Medoff’s now-period piece about the conflict between the Deaf and hearing communities. Ironically, they point out that Angels in America, which ostensibly treats more topical issues, actually fares better as a timeless work….

Next is a (too-brief) overview of their picks for summer events all around the country. Terry chooses American Players Theatre in Wisconsin for its exquisite setting and on-point curating…

Then the critics host their first ever mailbag segment! Elisabeth goes through recent questions from listeners….

We wrap up the episode by discussing other shows that we’ve seen lately.

To listen, download the episode, read more about it, or subscribe to Three on the Aisle, go here.

In case you missed any previous episodes, you’ll find them all here.

From 2008:

Few of us are destined to be remembered very clearly or very often, save by our nearest and dearest. We know this in our bones, which is why some monied folk seek to elude the anonymity of the ever-beckoning grave by pasting their names on concert halls or museum wings. For those of us who have done less well in life’s lottery, there is always the elaborately planned funeral….

Read the whole thing here.

“Looking back, I see that only a very little time ago I was greatly concerned about my memory of H. and how false it might become. For some reason—the merciful good sense of God is the only one I can think of—I have stopped bothering about that. And the remarkable thing is that since I stopped bothering about it, she seems to meet me everywhere. Meet is far too strong a word. I don’t mean anything remotely like an apparition or a voice. I don’t mean even any strikingly emotional experience at any particular moment. Rather, a sort of unobtrusive but massive sense that she is, just as much as ever, a fact to be taken into account.

“‘To be taken into account’ is perhaps an unfortunate way of putting it. It sounds as if she were rather a battle-axe. How can I put it better? Would ‘momentously real’ or ‘obstinately real’ do? It is as if the experience said to me, ‘You are, as it happens, extremely glad that H. is still a fact. But remember she would be equally a fact whether you liked it or not. Your preferences have not been considered.’”

C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed