"Harbor" Lights

My review of A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop is here.

Hard-Sell "Brel"

My review of Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is here.

Rereading Ray

My piece on Fahrenheit 451, with a new interview with Ray Bradbury, is here.

Moving Day

Today I move to Greenpoint, a very Polish neighborhood in Brooklyn, adjacent to hipster Williamsburg. Wish me luck!

I should also note two new additions to my blogroll: Garrett Eisler, who has the most thorough and up-to-date coverage of the New York Theatre Workshop/Rachel Corrie debacle, and Don Shirley, formerly of the LA Times, now strutting his stuff with a weekly column at LA City Beat. I know I haven't provided much in the way of actual blogging—lately this blog has been little more than a billboard for my criticism—so please enjoy the links whenever you tire of my "careerist self-promotion."

A Spot of Sherry

I liked Sherry Glaser's Family Secrets.

Cash Out

Well, the reviews are in on the Johnny Cash musical Ring of Fire. Brantley invokes Lawrence Welk, Barnes is left cold (though what, pray tell, does he mean by "the slightly fluttery tone of Cash"?), Rooney tries to appreciate the show's red state bankability. For my part, I found it slick and shiny and generic. (Fact check for Brantley: the "Courteney Cox lookalike" who sings "I Still Miss Someone" isn't Lari White, it's Beth Malone.)

Calling "Bluff"

I enjoyed Jeffrey Sweet's play, a success in Chicago, making a quietly auspicious New York debut. Review here.

Sex and Opera

I was surprised I liked Bernarda Alba, given what I thought of Michael John LaChiusa's last show. Not surprised that Brantley is 180 degrees away from me, since that seems to be the norm lately. (Though finally Linda Winer disagrees with me.) I was saddened to witness The Music Teacher, since Wallace Shawn is one of my favorite living playwrights. Better luck next time, I guess.

Copy Call-Out

In the Sunday LA Times, this generally well-done if overly gushy piece on major choreographer/directors has this headline: "Who rules the musical? Broadway musicals seldom rise past kitschy spectacle. But a new class of writers are changing that perception." I hate to nitpick, but nearly every word after the question mark is just dead wrong in some way (including grammatically). UPDATE: The subhead has changed a bit online. It now reads: "Daring storytelling that integrates song and dance is rare. But a new class of writers are striving for the elusive formula." Hmm. Tune, Bourne, Daniele, Stroman, and Marshall are writers? Alert the guilds. A new class are striving, indeed.

Hedda Steam

Though we didn't entirely agree, at least it seems like Brantley and I saw the same show. UPDATE: Whaddaya know, The LA Times was there, too.