Here it is.
You've read or skimmed or even raced past the articles I posted live from the Consumer Electronics Show. Now is the time for the Big Kahuna. This is my bizarrely-long, annual article that wraps up the full show and provides a general overview of it all. And it is long. Very long. Not cute-long, but...it's long. It's also much too convoluted to re-code for these pages, so you can find the thing here on the Writers Guild Online website.
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A little over two years ago, I wrote here about a tremendous production at the Writers Theatre in Glencoe, Illinois, of a new play, The Old Man and the Old Moon, put on by the PigPen Theatre Company. The Writers Theatre almost never puts on outside productions, but they made an exception in the case of this, and it was well-justified. The PigPen group of seven who act, write, and compose and perform their songs is wildly inventive and ethereally creative, using stagecraft to its fullest. It encompassed Celtic-style songs, shadow puppetry, strobe lights, homemade props, hand puppets, and all the actors playing multiple roles, performing the songs, and handling most of the special effect props and puppets themselves, largely in sight of the audience. (Check out the link above for a couple videos of the show, including a behind-the-scenes look.) If you have seen either War Horse or (even more closely) Peter and the Starcatcher, PigPen Theatre Company's sense of theatricality is in the same tradition. The troupe has a new production, a world premiere, in fact, which the Writers Theatre has again brought them in for, and the group agreed to despite interest from others in going directly to Broadway. This time around it's called The Hunter and the Bear. Once again, they've done a vibrant, magical, wonderful job. I preferred their first show, but still loved the new one which is a bit darker, with a bit less whimsy -- but there's still a whole lot of whimsy. The ghost story follows a group of explorers who've made their way into the woods of the Pacific Northwest to build a new community before bringing out their families and others. It's a folktale of sorts, filled with old-timey folk songs and all sorts of theatrical magic. As before, the show begins quietly, with one company members noodling around on his guitar, joined soon by another musician, then another, and before you know it, if you weren't paying attention, they're in the midst of a rousing, pounding song that grips the audience. (The Writers Theatre "large" stage is a perfect environment for this. Only a couple hundred seats or so, three-quarters of it surrounding the action in an intimate environment.) The show proper opens with a lovely bit of PigPen stagecraft, a lone man in a dark stage, lighting a campfire of wet branches, while explaining that he's going to tell a ghost story. But it's the lighting of the fire that's a joy. He holds a small flashlight while waving his fingers above it to create a sense of flickering -- as the other troupe members stand above crinkling paper and snapping their fingers to give the sound of the fire popping. It's so simple and so effecting, and after the rousing song, the audience is thoroughly involved. The story is a bit disjointed, but fits the folktale sensibility well enough, having to do with the effort to build the settlement, as a stranger enters their midst, someone goes missing amid reports of smoke-ghosts, marauding giant bears and past demons. The performers are all wonderful (not just their acting, but roaming the stage playing instruments and singing)...and one would be remiss for not mentioning an eighth "member," a lovely portrayal by a very cleverly-performed little boy puppet. The response from the sold-out crowd was enthusiastic, and the run was extended -- and probably would have been extended even longer if the PigPen Theatre Company didn't have to move on, and the Writers Theatre had other obligications. No good videos of the show exist yet, but here's a trailer of the show, that doesn't come even close to doing it justice. Though at the 44-second mark you can at least get a glimpse of the campfire scene I was referring to. Here's a bonus video. It's not of the production per se, but one of the show's songs. My guess is that in promoting it, the group went to classical radio station WFMT in Chicago and as part of their appearance sang a few of the numbers. Though there are quite a few songs in The Hunter and the Bear, it really isn't a traditional musical. The songs don't especially stand out, but a significant part of the atmosphere. They're very good, just not songs you tend to leave the theater singing. This is "One of a Kind." “We have so many people that want to go in so we’ll have to just have to pick the people to go into the room..."
-- Donald Trump [R-Trump Towers] on choosing what journalists he'll allow into press conferences On the one hand, it's so nice to follow the bouncing Trump as he heads down the Yellow Brick Road towards fascism. He's not there yet, only making it thus far to the level of autocrat. On the other hand, this isn't as big a threat as it seems, given that it presupposes that Trump will be holding press conferences. (The next step as we move past mere autocracy...) Yes, it's a pretty hellacious position to take for a president. Egomaniacal as it is, though, it misses a larger point that differentiates the United States from, say, Russia, to pick a random role model. It's that we actually do have a press, not just a state-run press, and there remain many outlets for covering not only press conferences, but the news. And we also, almost more importantly, have a two-party system where opponents are more than thrilled to tell "banned" reporters their side of the news. And since these reporters aren't allowed in the press conference (whenever it may occur or not), that's the only side that will be presented. Moreover, we know from long history that people in the White House and anywhere in power just looooove to show their importance, which is how leaks occur. And finally, there are plenty of reporters who are friends with one another who will likely be happy to be dogged and ask the questions that their friends aren't being let in to ask. Not that Trump will answer pretty much anything honestly. Or at all. It's also not likely that Trump will "ban" any reporters from the White House, most especially substantive, national publications or broadcast outlets. He may, but it not only won't likely last even if he does, and if for some reason he does try it and does try to make it stick, I do think this is one more thing that will help keep push his plummeting approval rating down even lower, currently at 37% down from a bit over 50% right after the election. Yes, there are diehard Trump Supporters who will love it. But that core number is low -- hence the 37% approval rating during his Honeymoon Period. Most people in the U.S., who actually do love and fully support and wave the flag for freedom, and do support freedom of the press, even if they don't always like the press, and do fully support the First Amendment, and do love to see their politicians grilled and held to accountability because they dislike politicians even more than the press, will be outraged by any effort to make this sort of repressive action a Trump policy. It's just one more hateful, galling, pathetic, frightened, petulant, egomaniacal, insecure, autocratic thing that is just So Trump. The man is at 37% approval in his honeymoon period, for goodness sake. And he hasn't even started yet. Nothing he's said or done has had any real, actual impact. He's just a public citizen. And that changes on Friday. That's when the Pottery Barn Rule kicks in. You break it, you own it. And he starts at 37% approval. I spent the afternoon at the Art Institute of Chicago, which is really quite remarkable. Not just for the collection they have (most notably Impressionist paintings, but a massively wide range), but how it's laid out and presented. The interior design of the place is as nurturing as the art.
(Side note digression: Terrific as the Art Institute was, mostly the the day was so wonderful because of getting to wear my Cubs cap officially in Chicago – and see Wrigley Field as I passed by on the El.( One of the (many) things I like about the museum when wandering is when you come across work by an artist that is so out of they different from paintings he or she is best known for. I posted a lovely, seaside work here last year by Vincent Van Gogh, for example, that looked like it could be a New England view by Andrew Wyeth. Another one caught my eye then, as well, and I tracked it down again. It's "The Girl by the Window," painted by Edward Munch, best know for the hugely-well-known, "The Scream" (also known as Chris Dunn's Favorite Painting). As horrifyingly angst-ridden and vibrant as that one is, this is just as equally genteel, though I do think you can see his style and coloring in it, if you know it's by Munch. But I don't think you'd guess it without knowing first. Okay, I made it to Chicago yesterday. I'd been anticipating normal mid-January Chicago weather of around 10 degrees or so with biting wind-chill factor and was prepared to bring my fave big down jacket, which I don't get much (any) chance to use in Los Angeles. But I checked the advance forecast before packing...and alas, it's supposed to be in the 40s the whole time, with perhaps some rain, no snow. Actually on Saturday it's supposed to jump all the way to the upper 50s! (In January in Chicago??? Yes, climate change is all a Chinese hoax...)
The flight on United was fine. I consider any flight that lands safely and reasonably close to the scheduled time (this was a few minutes early) to be fine and a complete success. That's the point, and all I require. That said, all airlines tell us, "We know you have a choice of many airlines, so we appreciate you flying us," because it's all those little things that most-separate one airline from another. And on that end, I was underwhelmed by United. Partly it's their odd line-up setup at the terminal gate -- it's very smart in theory but seemed to leave most people a bit bewildered. Mostly though it's their odd entertainment center on board, something even the flight attendant shrugged and said he wished it were otherwise. Again, in theory it's pretty good. They have a sort of DirectTV lineup available with a great many choices, including on-air broadcasts and channels, like ESPN, MSNBC, Turner Classic Movies and more. The problem is that to get that, they charge you. Not much, but enough that at least 90% of the plane didn't appear to be choosing it. They also provide free entertainment and movies online -- on your laptop and through a mobile app -- using a sort of in-flight free, limited WiFi. The problem is that it's not available on all airplanes...including mine. And you only know that if you a) check the fine-print in the in-flight magazine, and b) know the type of plane you're on. And there's no audio channels for music, at least on most planes. Two aircraft do have it. And no, not on mine. It's an odd decision on United's part, given how few passengers take advantage of paying for the service. However little much money they make from it, they could probably break that down to about $1 a person on the flight and raise the fare by that buck. And then they'd have 100% of their customers pleased by the service they're being offered, rather than 90% of those customers being annoyed and getting no extra service that separates one airline from another. Instead, you get...a flight with bored customers, as opposed to the competition with provides a flight and entertainment. (Fortunately, I had a book and music on my mobile phone.) One related oddity about the entertainment center. In their description of the channels that their DirectTV service provides, one of the is "Family and Kids." It sounds lovely. And then you click on it to see the line-up. And there you get -- Doc McStuffins, Gilmore Girls, Bonanza, Drake and Josh -- and...Booze Traveler, Death Row, Pit Bulls and Haunted Case Files. Heart-warming. But the flight landed safely and eight minutes early. And that's what counts most. By far. We made it in. And just in time to wish Happy birthday, Benjamin Franklin. On January 17, 1706, the good fellow was born 311 years ago today. And he might be one of the least-likely historical people to be depicted in two Broadway musicals. You well-know the second show he was featured in, the Tony-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winning 1776. But the first musical is far-lesser known, Ben Franklin in Paris, which opened in 1964. The show followed Franklin's efforts to raise money in France for the American Revolution, and it certainly had a major star in the role, none other than Robert Preston. And though it wasn't successful, it nonetheless ran for a moderately respectable 215 performances. I'm not crazy about the by Sidney Michaels, though it had a few very nice songs. And one of them, happily is actually available on video. Not great quality but very watchable. It is likely from a performance on The Ed Sullivan Show (to bring Ed up again...) and includes the scene that leads into the song -- "Half the Battle." The other song from the show that I like a lot is "Look for Small Pleasures." It's audio only from the original cast only, but well-worth including here. Here is Robert Preston and the female lead Ulla Sallert |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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