14 December 2015: THE MERRY WIDOW(er)

Although I had seen the Metropolitan Opera’s energetic new production of Franz Lehar’s THE MERRY WIDOW in its Live-in-HD series in movie theaters last year, I could not bypass the chance to see the same production live onstage this past weekend at the Lyric in Chicago. Instead of Renee Fleming and Nathan Gunn, this time…

13 December 2015: No Bel In My Canto

I read Ann Patchett’s BEL CANTO shortly after it came out in 2001.  The diva in the novel was said to have been inspired by opera star Renee Fleming.  So when Fleming announced nearly five years ago that she had optioned the novel for a new opera to premiere at the Lyric in Chicago (music…

11 December 2015: The Ladies and the Trump

Donald Trump’s mother was a Scottish immigrant. To date, he has been married to three lovely ladies, two of whom are East European immigrants.  First there was Ivana Zelnickova from Czechoslovakia, who gifted him with three children, one girl and two boys.  Then came Marla Maples from Georgia (in the United States, not the one…

9 December 2015: “I am Spartacus!”

When I was applying for a visa to visit the United States in the late 1960s, the many forms I had to fill out were full of questions like, “Are you a communist?”  “Have you ever been a communist?”  “Are you a homosexual?”  “Do you intend to become a homosexual?” Then, in the early 1980s,…

4 December 2015: Sweet Smell of Success!

Somewhat optimistically, we set up 50 seats for the December 3rd staged reading of Flesh, Flash and Frank Harris at the Lawrence Public Library.  To my astonishment, as the crowds poured in, we had to add another ten chairs to accommodate everyone.  I was thrilled, not for myself, but for the actors, whose wonderful work after…

3 December 2015: The New Lord’s Prayer

Our NRA Father, which art in America, Hallowed be thy Second Amendment. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in schoolyards and college campuses, As it is in movie theaters and convention centers. Give us this day our daily massacre. And forgive us our assault weapons, As we slaughter them that trespass against us. And…

30 November 2015: Spawns of Ron Willis…

There’s a wonderful profile piece in the Lawrence Journal-World this morning about the indefatigable Ric Averill, founder of the pioneering local theater group called the Seem-To-Be-Players from the 1970s, and current director of performing arts at the Lawrence Arts Center. In the article, Mary Doveton says this about Ric:  “He’s like any of us that…