“Wallace Stegner thought the ‘Great Mormon Novel’ would be written by someone who grew up in the church, left, then made it ‘part way’ back to the fold. What’s more, the very fact of a great Mormon writer might make plain to those who doubt it that one can be intellectually serious and Mormon at the same time.”
Author: Laura Collins Hughes
Double Falsehood A Shakespeare Play? Don’t Be Absurd.
Ron Rosenbaum: “You have to read the whole play to understand how truly, madly, deeply bad it is, but let me exhibit some snippets of evidence. The play’s flaws lie not just in the language but in the laughable plotting.”
CBGB’s Bathroom To Be Reborn In Connecticut
At Hartford’s venerable Wadsworth Atheneum museum, artist Justin Lowe “plans to recreate the graffiti-covered restroom of the defunct CBGB punk rock club,” the Manhattan mainstay that closed in 2006.
Post-Flood, Surveying The Nashville Symphony’s Basement
“More than 20 feet of water covered the heart of operations of the Schermerhorn [Symphony Center]. No room was spared in the damage, and the pianos in the storage room were barely recognizable.” Said the symphony’s president and CEO: “One thing we know for certain is [the cost of repairs will] be more than we have insurance for.” (With video.)
Outer Critics Circle Lauds Memphis, La Cage
Each musical won “four kudos apiece including top new musical (for ‘Memphis’) and top revival (for ‘La Cage’). ‘Fences’ nabbed three trophies: one for play revival and acting awards for topliners Denzel Washington and Viola Davis.” Meanwhile, “Red” won outstanding Broadway play.
Reasons To Think Twice Before Moving To Oberammergau
“Tradition dictates that about half the village must take part in the passion play. Oberammergau’s foresters, mechanics, innkeepers, dentists and carpenters have been growing their beards and learning their lines for the past year. This year, 2,400 villagers were involved, including 650 children.”
Critic Benedict Nightingale Bids Adieu
“I think I’ve had one of the best possible jobs in what has been the best period for the theatre since Shakespeare signed off with The Tempest in 1611. … [T]he sheer quality of theatre writing and acting in Britain since 1956 has only sporadically been matched in what, sorry, I would call the almost endless bread-and-butter pudding of the previous 399 years.”
Why Big Cuts To The UK Arts Budget Would Be Insane
Michael Billington: “You don’t have to be an economic wizard to work out that subsidy is one of the best investments any government can make in British life. From an initially small outlay, we reap huge rewards. So why put down what is, to put it at its basest, a hugely productive cash-cow?”
In India, Trying To Win Fans Of Western Classical Music
“Despite India’s colonial past, and many attempts to establish classical roots by prominent musical figures from the Parsi community (such as the conductor Zubin Mehta), India has never taken the bait. Its own embarrassment of musical riches probably has something to do with this. … But the [London Philharmonic] is always up for a challenge.”
An Architecture Question For The Supreme Court Nominee
“So, my question to you Gen. Kagan is this: Do you support reopening the front doors of the United States Supreme Court to the people?”