One person staged performances based on “the lives of famous people” tend to fall into two categories: the hopeless – fawning, reverential hero worship, or the excruciating – tedious, linear depiction focused on minutiae, ignoring universal relevance. Lucinda McDermott’s one woman show “O’Keeffe!”, featuring Carolyn Wickwire, escapes both pitfalls. Surprisingly fresh and dynamic, the play … Continue reading
Posted in April 2012 …
Where Her Spirit Walks On: O’Keeffe! at Theatre Too
“When I think of death, I only regret that I will not be able to see this beautiful country anymore…unless the Indians are right and my spirit will walk here after I’m gone.” Speak the name “Georgia O’Keeffe” aloud, quietly, distinctly. Do you feel the mystery it evokes? Do you smell the New Mexico desert … Continue reading
Originally posted on Also Sprach FraKathustra:
Q: Save the arts? Really? Why do so many people think the arts need saving? Do we need to save the arts, and if so, what does saving them mean?* Why do so many people think the arts need saving? Well, first of all, the arts bubble from the…
A Splendid Misbehavin’: NTLive’s “She Stoops to Conquer”
What precisely does an Etiquette Consultant do? Given how splendidly every character misbehaves in the National Theatre production of Oliver Goldsmith’s “She Stoops to Conquer” and with glorious abandon, some intentionally, some by “accident of station”, I’d guess the old EC spends most of his/her time sipping tea at the craft table. Unless the delectable … Continue reading
An August, Osage State of Mind: Letts Ride at WaterTower
The Big Apple’s critical embrace: Charles Isherwood from his 12/5/2007 Broadway review in the NY Times: “A fraught, densely plotted saga of an Oklahoma clan in a state of near-apocalyptic meltdown, “August” is probably the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years. Oh, forget probably: It is, flat-out, no asterisks and without … Continue reading
Originally posted on Also Sprach FraKathustra:
Q: Many countries have ministries of culture. Does America need a Secretary of Culture or Secretary of the Arts? Why or why not? This question gets us into an area we haven’t specifically dealt with yet in the contest, namely politics. The broader issue here revolves around government funding of…
Regrets from the Tejas Boonies: Sorry, y’all!
Thanks to those artists, arts advocates and friends of the arts (and my blog) who voted for me in the second round of the “Great Arts Blogger Challenge“. My blog did not advance to Round 3, as it did not get enough community support (votes) to do so. At least I won’t need to keep … Continue reading
Moses Gone Down: Circle Theatre’s “The Whipping Man”
Circle Theatre presents Matthew Lopez’s first play, the critical triumph The Whipping Man, about two former slaves and their former master’s son observing a most unusual Passover at the conclusion of the American Civil War. Seriously? Jewish African-American slaves during the Civil War? Scholars verify that about 50,000 Jews lived in the South as the … Continue reading
Arts Blogger Challenge: Any Logic in Numbers?
Please vote in the 2012 Great Arts Blogger Challenge! 2nd Round Voting closes Thursday April 5. Critical Rant needs your vote to help promote North Texas performance art at a national level. Below is a summation of the 16 finalist challengers, listed by number of votes accrued. Why do some blog contestant entries have 500+ … Continue reading
Straight from Cupid’s Bow: The Real Thing @ Stage West
Please vote today for Critical Rant in the “Great Arts Blogger Challenge 2012“ The thing is very real at Stage West. Stoppard is the divine wordsmith; music works as cosmic intensifier. If music be the food of love…. So, what is it we want so desperately from love? The real thing. The real thing. In … Continue reading
