Archives for 2018

“Virtues are dispositions not only to act in particular ways, but also to feel in particular ways.”

Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue

Carlos Kleiber and the Bavarian State Orchestra perform the first movment of Brahms’ Fourth Symphony at an undated concert:

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

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”

Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan

Vladimir Horowitz plays Chopin’s G Minor Ballade at Carnegie Hall in 1968. This performance was originally telecast in prime time on CBS:

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

Men tighten the knot of confusion
Into perfect misunderstanding.

T.S. Eliot, The Family Reunion

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)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:
• At Home at the Zoo (drama, PG-13/R, extended through March 18, reviewed here)
• Hangmen (black comedy, PG-13/R, newly extended to March 25, reviewed here)

“It is precisely because an ideal is necessary to man that the man without ideals is in permanent danger of fanaticism.”

G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

The Alley Theatre’s production of Satchmo at the Waldorf, my first play and second professional directing assignment, opens tonight in Houston. We’ve had four gratifyingly smooth previews in a row, the last of which went so well that I canceled this afternoon’s final rehearsal and told everybody to stay home and sleep late. Nobody complained, either, least of all me.

Incredible as it may sound, this will be my second opening night in two months. That’s a sentence I never imagined I’d have occasion to write! It certainly didn’t occur to me when Paul Moravec and I took our bows after the premiere of The Letter in 2009 that I was taking my first step down the surprisingly short road that would lead me to a parallel career as an opera librettist and playwright—and, now, a stage director. These past nine years have been a hell of a ride, and I’ve loved every minute of it. My only regret is that my beloved Mrs. T couldn’t come to Texas to share in the fun. She’ll be here in spirit, though, and in my heart.

In preparation for the big night, I present—as I always do before my first nights—the following clip, which I first saw on TV as a child and which in recent years has become increasingly and improbably relevant to my life.

Break a leg, everybody:

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UPDATE: This is my favorite moment in the production, exquisitely lit by Kevin Adams. I only wish you could hear John Gromada’s music for this scene!