The first time I walked into Players of Utica was May, 1994. The group performed in a former church on Oxford Rd. in New Hartford, NY, where they’d been located since 1962. I remember a ramshackle building, peeling blue paint on the outside, entering through the downstairs and going up to get to the theater. The floors groaned, the stairs creaked, it smelled like a hundred years of must. I found it absolutely charming.
Ciara Wiggins played an incredible AIDA, princess-turned-slave. I had no difficulty believing Casey Rice’s Radames would fall head over heels for her – her regal bearing was projected in every (seemingly) effortless note. Rice channeled Elton John – his voice was well suited to the pop/rock style of his songs, which he embellished with occasional growls and fillips.
I considered, “What am I trying to accomplish?” As a performer, director, producer or technical theater craftsman, my goal is to surprise and delight an audience, to make people feel and/or think. Any of those. As a writer, my goal is to surprise and delight an audience, to make people feel and/or think. The intention is the same, whether I make the show or write about it.
And, at the end of the day… Thanks to my cast and crew for taking the journey with me. I’m going to drink some Scotch, sleep late a few mornings, then do it all again. Let’s do it together.
47 would be an incredible, pricey age for a Scotch. Like that Scotch, Susan is more valuable and fascinating every year.
There’s exactly one reason to watch the movie, which is Anna Kendrick’s luminous performance as Cathy. Jeremy Jordan’s Jamie is weak tea; it doesn’t help that the authors’ conception of the character is beyond insipid (what idiot would whine about being married to Anna Kendrick?)
I regard Community as a work of genius, one of the greatest sitcoms ever. Creator and writer Dan Harmon is an asshole auteur – difficult and eminently worth the difficulty.
Criticism is my favorite kind of writing. Somebody wrote that criticism is taste + experience. I have both of those, so of course I’m going to contribute to the form. Stick with me, fasten your seatbelts, or at least cover the next round. I’m not quitting.
Schumer’s comedy series Inside Any Schumer (the title works in a number of ways) just finished its third season. In my opinion, it’s the most consistently funny sketch series since The Carol Burnett Show. I compiled the following list of my favorite sketches.
If Harper Lee didn’t want to publish this novel, and is now in a state where she can’t object, does the audience have a right to it?
mossislandsounds.com 