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Terry Teachout on the arts in New York City

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Archives for October 19, 2018

True, false, or “It’s complicated”?

October 19, 2018 by Terry Teachout

In today’s Wall Street Journal I review the Broadway premiere of The Lifespan of a Fact and a Connecticut revival of The Drowsy Chaperone. Here’s an excerpt.

* * *

Whatever happened to the smart, well-wrought stage comedies of yesteryear? They’re not dead yet—in fact, a new one just opened on Broadway. “The Lifespan of a Fact,” written by Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell and Gordon Farrell, is the sort-of-trueish story of Jim Fingal (Daniel Radcliffe), a mild-mannered obsessive-compulsive intern-turned-fact-checker for a New Yorker-type magazine. Jim’s hard-nosed editor (Cherry Jones) assigns him to disentangle truth from untruth in an essay by John D’Agata (Bobby Cannavale), a writer whose self-acknowledged practice is to “take liberties with things that deepen the central truth of the piece.” In other words, John makes stuff up—lots and lots and lots of stuff, as the hapless Jim discovers to his horror and our delight.

For most of its length, this admirably compact play is a rib-bustingly funny farce in which things go from very bad to far worse in nothing flat. Towards the end, though, Messrs. Kareken, Murrell and Farrell skillfully modulate into a darker key as Jim and his colleagues grapple with what it means for journalists to make stuff up…

Mr. Radcliffe’s post-“Harry Potter” career is a vanishingly rare testament to how serious a grown-up child star can become if he has sufficient talent—and resolve. In addition to choosing offbeat, consistently interesting film roles, he’s also turned himself into a stage actor of exceptional quality, one who is more than good enough to go up against Mr. Cannavale and Ms. Jones…

“The Drowsy Chaperone,” one of the 21st century’s best and funniest musicals to date, had a solid Broadway run (674 performances) but hasn’t been seen there since it closed in 2007. Regional productions aren’t as common as you’d expect, either: Goodspeed Musicals’ new revival, directed by Hunter Foster, is the first time I’ve had a chance to see the show since I reviewed it more than a decade ago. Not only does it hold up, but Mr. Foster’s marvelous staging adds further luster to his fast-growing reputation as a musical-comedy director whose work needs to be seen in New York….

Even for Goodspeed, which has an immaculate track record of artistic quality, “The Drowsy Chaperone” is noteworthy: The cast is unimprovable, the costumes gorgeous, and Chris Bailey’s dances gleam with zip and zest….

* * *

To read my review of The Lifespan of a Fact, go here.

To read my review of The Drowsy Chaperone, go here.

The trailer for The Lifespan of a Fact:

The trailer for Goodspeed Musicals’ revival of The Drowsy Chaperone:

A number from the original Broadway production of The Drowsy Chaperone, as performed by Bob Martin and Sutton Foster on the 2006 Tony Awards telecast:

Replay: James Brown sings “Georgia on My Mind”

October 19, 2018 by Terry Teachout

TV CAMERAJames Brown sings Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia on My Mind” and his own “World” and is interviewed on The Mike Douglas Show. This episode was originally taped for syndication on December 30, 1969:

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

Almanac: G.K. Chesterton on language and thinking

October 19, 2018 by Terry Teachout

INK BOTTLE“If I were Grand Inquisitor, I would try to burn out of the world not so much certain beliefs as certain phrases. I would argue with people about creeds; but I would kill them for catchwords.”

G.K. Chesterton, “Our Notebook” (Illustrated London News, June 15, 1915)

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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