Charles McNulty: “No matter how conniving, gossiping or suspicious those denizens of Harrison, Texas – the name he bestowed on his hometown of Wharton to protect the privacy of friends, family and neighbors – may have been, they were never insentient to the poetry of loneliness and loss, which were Foote’s twin themes and the ground that made him an American Chekhov.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Horton Foote As America’s Chekhov? Maybe Not
Ben Brantley: “Chekhov’s characters are endowed, for better or worse, with a painful awareness of their existential lot. They whine and moan and soliloquize about it, as figures in classic Russian literature are wont to do. Mr. Foote’s characters, being thoroughly American, aren’t big on self-analysis. They know on some level just how lonely life really is, but they tend to avoid the subject as if it were indecorous, like talking about bathroom or sexual habits.”
Covent Garden Says Visa Procedures Could Force Cancellation Of Performances
“Officials from the Royal Opera House told MPs that performances in Covent Garden might be cancelled because of problems getting border clearance for famous stars who are drafted in from overseas at short notice.”
The Localized, Non-Profit Online Newspaper – Is It Working?
When MinnPost.com launched in 2007, the questions were: “Could this business model – one dependent almost entirely on the goodwill of foundations and the charity of its readers – be sustainable? How to translate web traffic into enough cash flow to ensure financial independence?” Sixteen months on, the evidence so far leans toward yes, maybe…
Robin Williams Calls Off Tour, Schedules Heart Surgery
“Actor Robin Williams will undergo heart surgery for an aortic valve replacement, forcing him to cut short his stand-up comedy tour, his representative said on Thursday.” The 57-year-old, who first found fame as a comedian, had cancelled several performances of his Weapons of Self-Destruction show in Florida this week, complaining of shortness of breath.
The Beatles Can Reunite At Last – On Your Computer
“The Beatles will live anew in videogame glory beginning in September with the release of an exclusive Rock Band title that lets people pretend to be the legendary Fab Four.”
Jane Alexander Schools Bobby Jindal Over Arts Stimulus
Said the actress (and former NEA chair) of the Louisiana governor (and Republican spokesmodel): “Well what he doesn’t understand is that $50 million goes directly … as a grant to organizations which employ people. It’s quick and it’s a system that works beautifully and it’s done within a year.”
Blues Guitarist John ‘Bowling Green’ Cephas, 78
“Cephas was a big deal in the blues world – one of the very last exponents of true, traditional acoustic blues. In 1987, he and harp player Phil Wiggins won the Handy Award for blues entertainer of the year – an unheard-of honor for a traditional blues act. Two years later, Cephas received an NEA National Heritage Fellowship, a sort of living treasure award for American folk artists.”
In Washington, A New Orchestra For A New Market
The D.C. Philharmonic will make its debut in April with a substantial program of Torke, Barber and Mahler. “And according to [founding conductor] John Baltimore… the ensemble will represent a new model for orchestras, funding itself by turning to a market he describes as ‘untapped.’ – ‘You just don’t find this level of educated upper-middle-class African American income anywhere else in the United States.'”
The Inverse Of Dead Man Walking?
“[The] compelling new documentary Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead, … which follows the relationship between Robert Blecker, a vociferous, hyperactive proponent of the death penalty, and Daryl Holton, a death row inmate in Tennessee, attempts to isolate capital punishment’s ethical core from the mille feuille layers of nuance that surround the practice.”