“Politics has been very, very good to late-night television in 2008. During what turned out to be the most closely followed election since at least 1968, nothing was more appealing to late-night viewers than watching regular helpings of ridicule being dumped on the candidates – unless it was guest appearances by those same candidates.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Isherwood: These Are The Good Old Days
“The New York theater, like virtually every other enterprise in America, appears to be heading for some lean times… At least this bygone era of amplitude is ending on a note of unusual aesthetic strength. Many of the marquee events of the last year on Broadway were superb examples of high-end stagecraft at its most rewarding.”
Brantley: The ‘Special Relationship’ Thrives On Broadway
“This was the year of trans-Atlantic theater in New York, when Anglo-American cooperation (a subject wittily excoriated this season in Caryl Churchill’s Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? at the Public Theater) produced a hearty crop of expertly mounted – and in some cases transcendent – productions.”
Mamma Mia! Surpasses Titanic In UK Grosses
“The critics might have hoped it would meet its Waterloo after just a few weeks, but four months after it opened the Abba-themed musical Mamma Mia! has become the highest grossing movie ever to be released in the UK, usurping Titanic‘s decade-long hold on the record.”
Charles Dickens, Rescuing Fallen Women
The Victorian novelist is certainly remembered as a social reformer, but relatively few people know that one of his dearest projects was a home for young rescued prostitutes – but a humane place where they would be treated with kindness as well as discipline, and made ready to build a new life in the colonies.
Rowling’s Beedle Flies Out Of Bookstores
“JK Rowling’s The Tales of Beedle the Bard has been selling at a rate of two copies a second around the world, according to the first international sales figures for the book… [the title] has sold 2.6m copies worldwide since it was published on 4 December.”
Turning An Idea Into A Theatre Work
“When it comes to ideas, nurture is as important as nature… If you have the opportunity to develop a show in a small black-box theatre, then it is likely the idea will spread out to fill that space. Similarly, if someone asks you to submit a series of drafts to a literary editor, a predominantly text-based piece of theatre is likely to be the result.”
Poet-Playwright Adrian Mitchell, 76
“In his many public performances in this country and around the world, he shifted English poetry from correctness and formality towards inclusiveness and political passion.” In the foreword to his first book, he wrote, “Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.”
The View From LA: 2008’s Best And Worst in Classical Music
Mark Swed agrees with Steve Smith that Elliott Carter’s 100th and Satyagraha at the Met were highlights of the year. But Swed also cites Gustavo Dudamel, Andriessen’s opera La Commedia, Woody Allen’s staging of Gianni Schicchi and Terry Riley’s piece for the Disney Hall organ. (The Fly joins l’affaire Mortier on the fiasco list.)
O Come, All Ye Jacobites
A Durham University professor claims that the Christmas carol “Adeste Fideles” (“O Come, All Ye Faithful”) was originally written as “a coded rallying call for Catholic supporters of Bonnie Prince Charlie,” with the “faithful” being those who remained loyal to the Stuart dynasty.