John Williams’ inaugural chamber piece, “Air and Simple Gifts,” “was functional, representational music, and it actually did serve a function: It allowed everyone some downtime before the main event of the oath and the new president’s speech,” Anne Midgette writes. “Williams, in the music, was falling over himself to convey messages about patriotism and solemnity and austerity and profundity.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Alexander’s Poem Already An Amazon Best Seller
The reviews of Elizabeth Alexander’s inaugural poem have been poor, but her publisher “is rushing out an $8 paperback of the poem on 6 February nonetheless, with a 100,000 first print run. With over two weeks to go before publication, the book is already the bestselling poetry book on Amazon.com; Alexander’s new-found celebrity has also sent another of her titles, the 2005 Pulitzer prize finalist American Sublime, into the third spot.”
A Prosaic Poem For An Occasion That Was Anything But
Elizabeth Alexander’s inaugural poem, “Praise Song for the Day,” “didn’t measure up,” David Ulin writes. “The intention, clearly, was to present a chorus of American voices, an expression of the way ‘[w]e encounter each other in words.’ Yet, except for a stanza evoking the struggles of black Americans, Alexander’s ‘Praise Song’ simply didn’t sing.”
With Zipper’s Closure, Latino Company’s Season In Peril
“Manhattan’s Latino theatre company, INTAR, which was set to premiere Eduardo Machado’s In Paradise and Nick Norman’s She Plundered Him, may have to postpone its season after the sudden closure of the Zipper Factory.”
Revivals Cast Spotlight On Forgotten 18th-Century Star
“You may not have heard of Hester Santlow; she is mentioned in few histories of dance or theater. Yet for 27 years in the early 18th century she outshone all other female dancers on the London stage and sparkled beside numerous visiting French male stars.”
Colo. Court Transfers Bergman Rights To Aspen Unknowns
“As plot twists go, this one is a doozy: after an eight-year legal battle over the lease of a movie theater, the former owners of a multiplex in Aspen, Colo., now own the rights to Ingmar Bergman’s entire film library. Or do they?”
With New President, Daily Show Needs New Narrative
“With George Bush back in Crawford, Texas, and Barack Obama in the White House trying to deal with the nation’s woes, will ‘The Daily Show With Jon Stewart’ still have enough satirical fodder for its four-nights-per week/161-episodes-per-year broadcast?” After all, the new guy in the White House has been a guest on the show four times — and, complicating matters, is smart.
Weapons Expert’s Suicide Is The Subject Of A Short Opera
“[A]lthough grand opera frequently deals with death, it’s unusual to deal with as recent a death as that of Dr David Kelly. The government scientist died in 2003 amid a furore that the government had exaggerated the weapons threat from Iraq. … A play, at London’s Tricyle Theatre, later re-enacted the Hutton inquiry but this is the first time the story has been the subject of an opera.”
Beyond Williams: In An Arts President, Only Daring Will Do
“We have reason to believe we have an arts president. … Frankly, the Williams quartet [at the inauguration] was a bit hokey. For Obama to be an arts president he will have to think higher and even further out of the box. If he really wants change, he will have to have the courage to listen to artists who can’t be controlled, whose vision is greater than his and his handlers.” So here’s a list of some.
Yes, They Can: Obama Musical Will Premiere In London
“A new musical entitled Obama On My Mind — featuring book, music and lyrics by American crime writer and filmmaker Teddy Hayes, who has been resident in the UK for the last 13 years — will make its world premiere in March.” The show was workshopped last year.