Kavya's Climb to the Top

Here's a good AP write-up on last week's spelling bee.

Continuing the coverage here at Blog About Town, I thought it might be interesting to see how top bee finisher Kavya Shivashankar's winning words stack up against those of her two closest competitors this year.

KAVYA SHIVASHANKAR
disciples
mesophilic
ergasia
kurta
escritoire
hydrargyrum
blancmange
baignoire
huisache
ecossaise
diacoele
bouquiniste
isagoge
phoresy
Laodicean

TIM RUITER
giddily
echard
radiomimetic
clogwyn
Alastor
psittacosis
passacaglia
byssinosis
cretonne
jacqueminot
reredos
oriflamme
sophrosyne
Maecenas (misspelled)

AISHWARYA PASTAPUR
horrific
bodegon
diluvium
echinocystis
foudroyant
deipnosophist
tagliatelle
goombay
xebec
Caerphilly
wisent
antonomasia
guayabera
menhir (mispelled)

Not sure I could draw any conclusions from that, but feel free to draw your own.

I do note (again) that the TV definition of tagliatelle was something along the lines of "Pasta in the shape of noodles." Obviously that should have been "Pasta in the shape of ribbon-shaped (or shredded-paper-shaped) pasta noodles."

If you're unfamiliar with menhir, check out how I know it, from the Asterix comics I devoured as a pre-teen. (Asterix and Cleopatra is a must-read! So is Asterix the Legionary!)

As for the Mickey Mouse ears mentioned previously, you can sort of see them in this competition footage of Kennyi Aouad. What I realize about this is that the broadcast was on ABC, which is owned by Disney!



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BONUS Here's an essay from 2007-2008 competitor Cat "Can You Give Me Another Word?" Cojocaru.

The Investigator Turns 55

Fifty-five years ago the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) broadcast the controversial radio play The Investigator.`

Written by suspected Canadian communist Reuben Ship after the Immigration and Naturalization Service threw him out of the United States in 1953, this satire on McCarthyism sent shockwaves south of the border, where recordings gained an "underground" following and the admiration of Dwight Eisenhower and The New York Times in addition to the condemnation of Ed Sullivan.

John Drainie, a radio actor greatly admired by Orson Welles, is perfect in the title role. Star Trek's James Doohan and The Fugitive's Barry Morse are also in the cast.

I encourage you to listen to (and read about) The Investigator via The Journal for MultiMedia History. Stick with it—I think it gets better as it goes along.

Please spread the word about this Internet treasure! I am grateful to a wonderful Long Islander named Connie for bringing the recording to my attention.

Loser's Lounge: The Eagles vs. Neil Young

Um, no contest? (Actually I'm surprised it isn't Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Neil Young, or Young vs. Crosby, Stills, and/or Nash.) Anyway, see and hear for yourself at Joe's Pub:

Thu 7:00 pm June 25, 2009
Fri 7:00 pm June 26, 2009
Fri 9:30 pm June 26, 2009
Sat 7:00 pm June 27, 2009
Sat 9:30 pm June 27, 2009

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National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 15 and Finish!

Aishwarya Pastapur gets menhir—a word I've known since reading Asterix comics as a kid! She doesn't get it, but she still has hope if the other spellers don't come through. But that's unlikely, IMHO. She's between a rock and a hard place.

In an almost ironic occurrence considering that Aishwarya is an old friend, Kavya Shivashankar succeeds with phoresy.

Tim Ruiter gets an arguably easy word: Maecenas. But wait! He spells it with a y instead of the initial a.

So now it's Kavya's chance. She gets Laodicean and seems to know it. And she does. She wins!!! And her friend Aishwarya ties with Tim Ruiter for second. Sweet!!

What a great run for Kavya, who's crying with happiness! Great showing, everyone!

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 14

Aishwarya Pastapur wears guayabera with pride.

Kavya Shivashankar finishes off isagoge.

Tim Ruiter shows remarkable control on sophrosyne.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 13

Ashwarya Pastapur owns antonomasia.

Kavya Shivashankar follows up on her escritoire with bouquiniste.

Tim Ruiter holds his oriflamme aloft.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 12

Kyle Mou spells schizaffin with an o instead of an a—ding!—and earns a standing O in the process. He could make a comeback if the other spellers fall as well.

But no. His teammate Aishwarya Pastapur charges through wisent.

This ensures Kavya Shivashankar her best showing ever. And she spells diacoele correctly.

Tim Ruiter trimphs over reredos.

Now we are three. Time for championship words as the bee goes past 10:00pm.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 11

Newbie Ramya Auroprem sadly spells amarevole with an i instead of an o. Ding! Well-done, of course.

Kyle Mou offers a glowing performance of becquerel. Aishwarya Pastapur gets a cheesy word—Caerphilly—and refuses to crumble. Illinois remains strong!

Kennyi Aouad spells palatschinken with a double l and falls flat as a pancake—but only in the figurative sense. He had a great run. Ding!

Kavya Shivashankar gets a fairly common musical term: ecossaise. This should be no problem for her given her interest in classical music. And it isn't.

Newbie Anamika Veermani seems unsure about fackeltanz—another music/dance term, and she trips up. Ding! Great work.

Tim Ruiter shrugs off jacqueminot.

Down to four finalists: two male, two female, two from Illinois!

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 10

Get ready for some impossible words—if not in this round, then very soon.

Ramya Auroprem muscles through iliopsoas—excellent!

Kyle Mou spells oeillade in the wink of an eye.

Aishwarya Pastapur seems to run into trouble with xebec but sails away with it and advances Scrabble in the process.

Kennyi Aoaud spells relief g-r-i-s-a-i-l-l-e.

Kavya Shivashankar continued to blossom with huisache. I almost spelled it correctly myself!

Anamika Veeramani is super-smooth with Neufchâtel.

Tim Ruiter cottoned to cretonne—at least his second "cotton" word.

Might as well take note here that the sample sentences are funnier than usual. Broadway influence.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 9

Julio Cortázar fans rejoice: Ramya Auroprem cold-bloodedly stomps out axolotl.

Note that the top two Illinois spellers remain in this round. Kyle "Laid Back" Mou makes a persuasive case for plaidoyer. Aishwarya Pastapur dances off with goombay

Kennyi Aouad lives up to his build-up by spelling hypallage.

Look for the way the backdrop bee's eyes line up behind Kennyi's head (and possibly the heads of other contestants: Mickey Mouse ears!

Kavya Shavishankar gets baignoire—a bete noire for me but not for her!

Anamika Veeramani prevails over arrhostia and saves herself from extinction.

Tim Ruiter byssinosis, which has an unending definition and doesn't put an end to him.

All seven spellers survive this round.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 8

I don't know what Shawn Johnson is doing on this show, but perhaps she can provide insight into what it's like for young people to be so intensely involved in this kind of thing. Nah. She's got some kind of a connection to a bee official.

Ramya Auroprem spits out geusioleptic.

Conchyliated conquers Serena Skye Laine-Lobsinger. And that's it for Florida. Good going, Serena!

Kyle Mou gets lucky, I think, by drawing avoirdupois—and he takes full advantage of the situation.

Aishwarya Pashtapur also draws a fairly common word: tagliatelle. but the definition? "Pasta in the shape of noodles"? Please. Anyway, she slurps it up.

We now pause for the great song "I Put a Spell on You."

Kennyi Aoaud gets teased before tangling with gyascutus—another fabulous creature. Kennyi is sniffling, but the word is certainly nothing to sneeze at. He kind of stumbled through it, but made it.

Kavya "Licorice" Shivashankar is a huge Nupur Lala fan. She gets a huge Monty Python word: blancmange and swallows it whole.

A shocker: apodyterium strips Sidharth "Super Side" Chand of his chances. Super sad, but he's still a great speller.

Neetu Chandak is back with derriengue, which sounds like a fever that affects the butt. She spells it fast, leaves out an r, and it bites her in the ass. You did the Empire State proud, Neetu!

Anamika Veermani gobbles up simnel.

And here's Tim Ruiter, dancing off with passacaglia—another word I know.

As Tom Bergeron points out, seven spellers remain: four female, three male. Not that it matters.

For blancmange:



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National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 7

National coverage begins with another ski word: avalement. How does Ramya Auroprem handle it? In a word: swoosh!

Next up: Serena "Ms. Effervescent" Laine-Lobsinger. She gets a word I know—omphaloskepsis—and nails it on the button.

A commentator [Paul Loeffler of ESPN] names Sidharth Chand and Kavya Shivashankar as the favorites.

Here comes Kyle Mou, who ices pogonip.

Dr. Jill Biden (Mrs. VP) is in the audience.

Aishwarya Patapur dispatches deipnosophist.

Please keep track of things here, but don't fail to check out the live chat at A List of Things Thrown Away Five Minutes Ago!

Kennyi "Mr. Jollity" Aouad gets the fairly common scilicet, scilicet namely.

Kavya Shavishankar shows her mettle on hydrargyrum.

Sidharth Chand—a chess player—checkmates Reykjavik (where Bobby Fischer faced Boris Spassky).

Tussah Heera is here—and she seems nervous. She has herniorrhaphy—and I think it's going to be tough for her. Ding—after a significant pause, she left out the second r.

New York's Neetu Chandak gets ophelimity and streaks through it to her great satisfaction!

We now pause for an interview with Kennyi, who really has a great sense of humor.

Anamika Veeramani gets Anasazi and spells it with native intelligence (if you pardon the expression).

Tim Ruiter flies with psittacosis.

It's down to ten, with considerably tougher words probably lurking around the corner.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Finalists

Here they are—seven female, four male!

Californian Ramya Auroprem is a teacher of Tamil.

Returnee Serena Laine-Lobsinger of Florida says her favorite author is Jane Austen.

Third-time returnee Kyle Mou, of Illinois, tied for tenth place last year; he's blogged about his involvement this year.

Third-time returnee Aishwarya Pastapur, also of Illinois, is a math whiz.

Third-time returnee Kennyi Aouad of Indiana is a crowd favorite who describes himself as "jolly."

Fourth-time returnee Kavya Shivashankar of Kansas has finished 10th, 8th, and 4th in the years leading up to this year's contest.

Returnee Sidharth Chand of Michigan finished second last year.

Tussah Heera of Nevada is an outstanding pianist who blogs and tweets.

Third-time returnee Neetu Chandak of New York speaks Hindi and wears charms.

Anamika Veeramani of Ohio hopes to become a heart surgeon.

Tim Ruiter of Virginia is said to do a killer Gollum impression.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 6

Yes, there is a Round 6 this afternoon. So far Illinois retains its twosome.

UPDATE Serena Laine-Lobsinger remained a leader with imprimis.

And third-time returnee Neetu Chandak of Seneca Falls has emerged as New York's last hope in this race, persevering with dauerlauf.

UPDATE Ohio lost a speller, ceding the game of the states to Illinois.

UPDATE Among those still in the bee are Kennyi "Mr. Joviality" Aouad (who could not be replaced by austausch), Kavya Shivashankar (surely no stranger to escritoire), and Sidharth "Mr. Busy Bee" Chand (who rocked unakite).

UPDATE Four down in Round 6 leaves 11 finalists. I must've made a math mistake earlier when coming up with my totals. But 11 it is for tonight's climax. [Ah—there were actually five down in Round 6. Aditya Chemudupaty's mispelling of grenache seems to have been omitted from the web page showing the results.]

UPDATE Here's to Neetu Chandak!

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 5 Massacre!

Sigh. Tough times. Once again, the Canadians didn't make it past Round 5.

I am, however, hopeful for the Florida delegation.

UPDATE Flashback to last year's Round 5

UPDATE Serena Laine-Lobsinger kept this a contest and extended the Florida delegation's stay with the fabulous hircocervus.

UPDATE Kennyi "Mr. Joviality" Aouad found the key to voussoir, Kavya Shivashankar got comfortable with kurta, and Sidharth "Mr. Busy Bee" Chand muscled his way through machtpolitik, but Zachary Zagorski got carried away by strepitoso.

UPDATE It's now past 1:00 pm, beyond the scheduled end time.

UPDATE Round 5 is over. 20 down, 16 remain. In the game of the states, Illinois and Ohio are the only ones with more than one speller. (Each has two.)

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 4

So far the spellers in this round are doing very well. Oceanside's Zachary Zagorski fabricated another win with toile while Kavya Shavishankar and Sidharth "Mr. Busy Bee" Chand pulled themselves together to spell ergasia and sobornost, respectively. And Kennyi "Mr. Joviality" Aouad continued to charm even as he refused to be bloodied by thyrocervical.

But Michael Sun of Paramus mispelled coaming—which means he's going. And youngest speller Sriram Hathwar didn't dig himself out of the hole that fodient put him in. He should have more chances in the years to coam.

UPDATE There were only five eliminations in Round 4, leaving 36 for Round 5. Let's see if the Canadians can make it to Round 6 this year!

National Spelling Bee 2009: Semifinalists

Only 41 spellers survived the first three rounds to duke it out on Thursday.

Neither of the Big Apple spellers made it, but Zachary Zagorski of Oceanside is in, as is Michael Sun of Paramus.

Their formidable opponents include Kavya Shivashankar and Sidharth Chand as well as Kennyi "The Giggler" Aouad, Keiko Bridwell, Neetu Chandak, third-grader Sriram Hathwar, Josephine Kao, Kyle Mou, Mouctika Paluri, Aishwarya Pastapur, Avvinash Radakrishnan, and Vaibhav Vavilala.

Here's Kennyi from 2007.



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National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 3

The difficulty level went up noticeably in this round, which can be viewed as the filter that separates the studiers from the others.

Locally, Thomas Harkins chalked up another win with misogynist but Talia Weisberg was nipped in the bud by glomerulate. Zachary Zagorski did fantastically by urisk while Joshua Casquejo took Pelham for a rebound from his Round 2 setback.

Kavya Shivanshankar continued to show her growth with mesophilic. And Sidharth Chand enjoyed a sweet victory with springerle.

Delegation-wise, the Florida spellers seem pretty strong....

For more coverage, check out A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 1 Test Revealed

Here are the words, from thorough to onychorrhexis. All the contestants had a shot at spelling these before entering Round 2.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Round 2

Our local talent did pretty well in Round 2, which is still ongoing.

Thomas Harkins vulcanized illogical, Talia Weisberg built up prefabricate, and Zachary Zagorski dug indignant. But Joshua Casquejo was floored by parquet, so he could be in trouble.

Also of note in this round: Multiple returnee Kavya Shivashankar retained her following with disciples and returnee Sidharth Chand took control of chaotic.

For more commentary, there's always A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago.

National Spelling Bee 2009: Local Heroes

Welcome to coverage of this year's National Spelling Bee!

Representing the Big Apple are Brooklyn's Thomas J. Harkins...




















...and Manhattan's Talia Weisberg.




















Other area notables are West New York's Joshua Casquejo...




















...and returnee Zachary Zagorski of Oceanside!

It Pays to Advertise

I tend to identify screwball comedies with movies of the 1930s and 1940s, but a recent return to the Metropolitan Playhouse made me realize that the roots of the genre extend at least as far back as the 1914 play It Pays to Advertise by Roi Cooper Megrue and Walter Hackett.

The comedy, which follows a slacker soap heir who builds up a fake company through advertising, was a hit on Broadway that turned up in Hollywood versions in 1919 and 1931. It also seems to have worked its way into the creative consciousness of Preston Sturges and other movie directors and screenwriters who spun out screwballs filled with satire and scheming.

Following on the heels of the sparkling Metropolitan Playhouse revival of Power, this production of It Pays to Advertise is entertaining enough to give audiences a sense of what made it such a hot commodity for stage and screen. But because the performers seemed under-rehearsed at the preview performance that I attended, it might be a good idea to attend near the end of the run, which comes to a halt on May 31, 2009. Another good idea would be to dress lightly and bring a hand fan—the small playhouse was very hot and stuffy on the night I attended. Considering the heat, I don't understand why the company chose to observe one intermission instead of the two promised in the printed program. And it's a shame that one of the two ceiling fans didn't seem operable. (But just so you know: The one that did work was over the seats that are to the left of audience members as they enter.) Let's hope that the Metropolitan Playhouse can solve its ventilation issues fast. That would be immense—to use a slang expression used in the play!

Breaking: Sonia Sotomayor to be Nominated for Supreme Court

NBC is reporting that Bronx-born federal justice Sonia Sotomayor will be President Barack Obama's first nominee for the Supreme Court.

Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Continues!

The winner of Caption Contest 191 (Farley Katz's cat and some other critters jumping off a cliff) is

"I'm just curious—what's your excuse?"
Pinghan Chua (Alexandria, VA)

The nominees in Caption Contest 193 (Victoria Roberts's man and woman rigged like marionnettes) are:

"Free will is overrated."
Nahomi Harkavy (Greensboro, NC)

"This was so much more awkward before Craigslist."
Julie Gautreau (Knoxville, TN)

"This is why I suggested a threesome."
Martina O'Boyle (Atlanta, GA)

My loser:

"Who needs these when we have the media?"

The winner of Anti-Caption Contest 194 (Leo Cullum's briefcase man with parched man in desert) had not appeared at the time of this post.

Caption Contest 195 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 195 should turn up here eventually.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all (almost) mapped out here.

32 California

31 New York (27 from the Big Apple)

14 New Jersey

12 Virginia (six from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke, one from Stanardsville)

9 Illinois (seven from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
9 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
6 Pennsylvania
6 Texas (three from Houston, one from Austin)

5 Maryland (none named Mary)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio
4 Washington

3 Michigan
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Rhode Island

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 Nevada (Las Vegas 1, Zephyr Cove 1)
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Maine
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Parodic The Gothamer illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

FINALE



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART VII



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART VI



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART V



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART IV



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART III



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Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART II



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Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Continues!

The winner of Caption Contest 190 (Robert Leighton's head-in-the-sand ostrich statue on Wall Street) is

"I think the head's in the wrong place."
Steve Punch (Danville, CA)

So California regains the lead!


The nominees in Caption Contest 192 (Jack Ziegler's celebrity interview on set behind bars) are:

"Both the movie and I will be released this summer."
Lawrence Wood (Chicago, IL)

"This is fancy role-playing for a conjugal visit."
Benjamin New (Plantation, FL)

"It's my first time on 'Celebrity Parole Hearing.'"
Al Miro (Astoria, NY)

Yes, two-time winner Lawrence Wood is in the running again. And me? I'm still a total loser:

"Enough about my movie. Let's talk about ischemia, atherosclerotic narrowings, saphenous vein autografts, and the myocardium!"

Heck, I didn't even "get" the bars on the set!


The winner of Anti-Caption Contest 193 (Victoria Roberts's marionette people) is

"I have to go to the bathroom."
Rob

My losers:

"Actually, I'd prefer to be a finger puppet. Let me show you how that would work."

"Now that we've done away with Mother and Father, I realize how they manipulated us for all these years. Let us celebrate our freedom with another wild killing spree!"

Caption Contest 194 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 194 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all (almost) mapped out here.

32 California

31 New York (27 from the Big Apple)

14 New Jersey

11 Virginia (five from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke, one from Stanardsville)

9 Illinois (seven from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
9 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
6 Pennsylvania
6 Texas (three from Houston, one from Austin)

5 Maryland (none named Mary)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio
4 Washington

3 Michigan
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Rhode Island

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 Nevada (Las Vegas 1, Zephyr Cove 1)
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Maine
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Parodic The Gothamer illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

Special BAT Event: The Phantom of the Open Hearth

PART I

Jean Shepherd is surely best known today as the creator of A Christmas Story. But to me he's the storyteller behind The Phantom of the Open Hearth, which aired on the PBS series Visions in 1976 and told the story of Ralphie at the time of his high school prom.

Come join me now as we travel back in time to see Jean Shepherd's The Phantom of the Open Hearth, brought to you courtesy of YouTube. Over the coming days, I'll post one after another in this space. (Part I has some kooky distortion (that looks pretty cool in the diner scene), but I understand that the quality improves after that.)

Keep an eye out for James Broderick—Matthew's Dad! And check out the time-tripping fashions, too. Perhaps not until Twin Peaks did styles from different periods again mix in such a fascinating way....



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And Now for a Word from Ed Sullivan

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Recommended: Ruddigore

Gilbert and Sullivan put a smile on the horror genre in Ruddigore, which receives a resourceful revival with skillful singing at Theater Ten Ten on the Upper East Side through May 24. 2009. The production can also be seen at 8 pm on May 30 at the Doctorow Center for the Arts in Hunter, New York.

The production's big challenge is overcoming its church basement performance space, which has the ambience of an elementary school cafeteria that doubles as an auditorium. Director David Fuller addresses the institutional ambience by creating a framing device that sets the production at a sanitarium. As for the devilish acoustics, you can address the hyper-resonance by arriving early and choosing a front seat, where the intelligibility of Gilbert's lyrics seems to be clearest.

Jason Wynn does a very good job playing the score on keyboard and directing the talented singers.

Here's a glimpse of another production of Ruddigore.



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And Now for a Word from Rivers Cuomo

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Distracted? Recommended!

After making many efforts, I finally saw the play Distracted this week, days before its scheduled closing on May 17, 2009. If you haven't seen it yet, it's worth considering.

Written by Lisa Loomer, Distracted is a "fast-paced and disarmingly funny look at parenting in the age of the Internet and Ritalin," as producer Roundabout puts it. The story revolves around parents (Cynthia Nixon and Rick Holmes) whose concern about their son's behavior grows after a succession of complaints from his teacher and examinations and referrals from mental health professionals. Does her son have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder? How can he be helped? Would medication be appropriate? Can this marriage be saved? The parents explore those questions over the course of the play.

But the play's vision extends beyond one family. Nearly everyone in the community seems to buy into psychopharmacology and the conformity that they hope it will produce. Through prophecy and allegory, science fiction and horror stories used to warn about the downsides of this type of future, which is now part of the real present. So it is fitting that the set design includes projections representing the once-futuristic media saturation that many of us might almost take for granted these days.

In many ways Distracted is not alone in the city's theater scene this season; the Broadway musical Next to Normal deals with a different mental health issue but treats similar concerns about family and treatments with a multi-level house set (but with music!). Even the long-closed Looking for the Pony offered very similar medical consultation scenes.

Along with Peter Benson in multiple medical roles, Cynthia Nixon does an outstanding job in this production—and I note that she does a tiny bit of physical comedy that works much better than similar moments on ...the City (the censored version of Sex and the City that I get to see in syndication). The company also puts some interesting twists on the device of addressing the audience.

If you are looking for "bargain" seats during these last days in the run, I think you can feel confident that the ones on the upper level are fine.

And Now for a Word from Greg Kennedy and Michael Williams

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And Now for a Word from Rod Stewart

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And Now for a Word from Ric Ocasek

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Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Continues!

The winner of Caption Contest 189 (Drew Dernavich's punctured acupuncturist) is

"Gesundheit."
Bob Vogel (Portland, ME)

This first win for Maine keeps New York from taking the first-place position and prevents Simon Fraser from tallying up a second win.


The nominees in Caption Contest 191 (Farley Katz's cat with other critters plunging off cliff) are:

"Just to confirm—I get seventy-two lemmings, right?"
Chris Norborg (Chicago, IL)

"Table for eleven? Right this way."
Simon Narode (Portland, OR)

"I'm just curious—what's your excuse?"
Pinghan Chua (Alexandria, VA)

My loser:

"I don't recommend doing this more than about seven or eight times."

Dan Radosh picked the winner of Anti-Caption Contest 192 (Jack Ziegler's talk show scene) before I made my submission, so of course it was a damn lucky week for all of the contestants. The winner?

"I'm sorry. I ran out of 'funny stories from the set' days ago, and yet, I remain trapped in this talk-show set/dungeon, as you stare at me with that creepy intensity, and I hope you'll understand that I'm beginning to wonder whether I'll ever see my family agai-- oh, we have to go to commercial? No, that's fine. I'll finish the story when we get back."
Tim C.

Caption Contest 193 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 193 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all (almost) mapped out here.

31 California

31 New York (27 from the Big Apple)

14 New Jersey

11 Virginia (five from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke, one from Stanardsville)

9 Illinois (seven from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
9 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
6 Pennsylvania
6 Texas (three from Houston, one from Austin)

5 Maryland (none named Mary)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio
4 Washington

3 Michigan
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Rhode Island

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 Nevada (Las Vegas 1, Zephyr Cove 1)
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 Maine
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Parodic The Gothamer illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer

And Now for a Word from George Young and Harry Vanda

Source (2:31)

And Now for a Word from Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns

Source (4:06)

And Now for a Word from Hank Williams

Source (3:27)

ABCs of Breakfast Cereals

Friend of BAT Deborah Grumet, finessing her ABCs of Breakfast Cereals, has melded her ABCs and their YouTube counterparts!

Enjoy the melding—and congrats to Deborah!

Whodunnit

Among the respondents to the New York Times article "Interrogation Memos: Inquiry Suggests No Charges" (May 6, 2009) and editorial "The Torture Debate: The Lawyers" (May 7, 2009) is my friend Sasha Nyary of Heading Home Again with these thoughtful remarks:

With all this talk about what defines torture, I’d like to know what kind of person does this to another person. That is, what kind of person strips someone, hoods him, slaps him, slams him against a wall, places him in “stress positions” or isolation for prolonged periods of time, intimidates him with a dog, and yes, straps him onto a board and pours water down his throat in order to make him think he is about to die. And does this repeatedly, for weeks and months at a time.

I would be mortified if my child grew up to think these actions aren’t torture. But I would find it unspeakable to know that I had raised a child capable of inflicting this behavior on another human being, no matter how despicable that person’s presumed crime.

Related: Ghosts of Abu Ghraib

TKTS

May 7, 2009


















Photo: David Marc Fischer

Defending The Philanthropist

I don't know what's up with me, The New York Times, and plays at the American Airlines Theatre. I saw 2009 Tony non-nominee Hedda Gabler when it was at the theater and felt that it didn't deserve the harshness in Ben Brantley's review. I mean, it wasn't the greatest Hedda Gabler imaginable, but it was all right.

And now I have similar feelings about Sara Krulwich's review of 2009 non-nominee The Philanthropist Hedda Gabler's successor. If you read her review, you'll see that while she had understandable praise for the costuming and the performances of Jonathan Cake, Anna Madeley, and Steven Weber, she ultimately laid into the production for its "sheer dullness" and Matthew Broderick's turn in the title role.

My feelings about the production are similar to the ones I have about Hedda Gabler. I'd agree that Broderick's interpretation is problematic but I still enjoyed the play, including the performances of the aforementioned thespians as well as Jennifer Mudge and Tate Ellington, who round out the cast along with Samantha Soule, who does fine subtle work being reached over by Cake. (See it and you'll see what I mean.) I was intrigued by the play's quirky structure as it unfolded and I enjoyed the surprises and the humor, which includes some clever punning. There were some dull moments, but overall I found it worthwhile. I was also intrigued by similarities between characters in The Philanthropist and Hedda Gabler as well as similarities between The Philanthropist and the 2009 Tony-nominated production The Norman Conquests. Plus I love what the play has to say about...cigarettes!



Source (5:03)

Marquee Marketing

One day after the announcement of the 2009 Tony Award nominations, I noticed new Tony-related signs outside Broadway theaters.

Here's a "6 TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS" sign for hot play God of Carnage!





















Here's a "11 TONY NOMINATIONS!" sign for hot musical Next to Normal.





















But what of Impressionism, the un-nominated play situated between God of Carnage and Next to Normal, starring Jeremy "The Real Thing" Irons and Joan "Burn This" Allen? Not to worry: It boasts "TWO TONY AWARD-WINNING STARS"!





















Photos: David Marc Fischer

2009 Tony Nominees Announced

That's the Year 2009, Not the Number of Nominees

It's been a relatively busy year on Broadway, especially in terms of plays (perhaps due to budgeting concerns). But I'm not sure the quantity and quality come across fully in the nominations, which went to, I think, 27 productions out of a possible 43.

Lifetime Achievement goes to Jerry Herman, whose musicals include Milk and Honey, Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. The first Isabelle Stevenson Award (for humanitarian work) goes to Phyllis Newman, founder of The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative of The Actors' Fund of America. Honors for Excellence in Theatre go to publicist Shirley Herz. Virginia's Signature Theatre gets the Regional Theatre Award.

Among the top nominees, there's a big British presence. Billy Elliot, The Musical leads with a stupendous 15, including the three-for-one nomination of David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, who alternate in the title role (Billy Elliot, not The Musical). That apparently ties the show with The Producers for most nominations in a season. Play-wise, Mary Stuart and the three-for-one comedy of manners The Norman Conquests are tied for most nominations, with 7 each.

Originating on this side of the Atlantic, Next to Normal is the second-most-nominated musical (11) while Joe Turner's Come and Gone boasts 6 nominations. (Originally produced in Switzerland and then in England, God of Carnage also tallied 6 noms.)

I haven't seen many of the nominees yet, so I don't have all that much to say about them. But I was glad to see Alice Ripley and songwriters Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey nominated for Next to Normal and Matthew Warchus nominated for directing The Norman Conquests, and I was also glad to see four of the Norman actors nominated, though it's too bad there was no room for Amelia Bullmore as Ruth. Another noteworthy omission was Aaron Tveit in Next to Normal. And somehow it would've been nice to give some recognition to the kids of 13, a show with a lot of heart and spunk.

Michael Musto points out that The Seagull and [title of show] were pretty much screwed. (Note that [title of show] did not get one of the four Best Musical nominations.) He also questions the absence of Aaron Tveit as well as a set design nom for nom-less Desire Under the Elms and recognition for some guys named Bill Irwin and Nathan Lane for their performances in something called Waiting for Godot. David Cote at the fittingly named Time Out New York (you know, TONY) misses All My Sons.

Want more carping about omissions? Matt Wolf misses All My Sons, Norman's Ben Miles and Amelia Bullmore (as well as a Best Ensemble category), Kristin Scott Thomas for The Seagull, and Carla Gugino for Desire Under the Elms....

Perhaps, one way or another, I can coax Musical Maven Myra to offer her perspective on all this. In the meantime, consider the following nominees.

BEST PLAY
Dividing the Estate (Horton Foote)
God of Carnage (Yasmina Reza)
Reasons to Be Pretty (Neil LaBute)
33 Variations (Moisés Kaufman)

BEST MUSICAL
Billy Elliot, The Musical
Next to Normal
Rock of Ages
Shrek The Musical

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Billy Elliot, The Musical (Lee Hall)
Next to Normal (Brian Yorkey)
Shrek The Musical (David Lindsay-Abaire)
[Title of Show] (Hunter Bell)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Billy Elliot, The Musical (Elton John/Lee Hall)
Next to Normal (Tom Kitt/Brian Yorkey)
9 to 5: The Musical (Dolly Parton)
Shrek The Musical (Jeanine Tesori/David Lindsay-Abaire)

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Mary Stuart
The Norman Conquests
Waiting for Godot

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Guys and Dolls
Hair
Pal Joey
West Side Story

BEST SPECIAL THEATRICAL EVENT
Liza's at The Palace
Slava's Snowshow
Soul of Shaolin
You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jeff Daniels, God of Carnage
Raúl Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
James Gandolfini, God of Carnage
Geoffrey Rush, Exit the King
Thomas Sadoski, Reasons to Be Pretty

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hope Davis, God of Carnage
Jane Fonda, 33 Variations
Marcia Gay Harden, God of Carnage
Janet McTeer, Mary Stuart
Harriet Walter, Mary Stuart

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Alvarez/Trent Kowalik/Kiril Kulish, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gavin Creel, Hair
Brian d’Arcy James, Shrek The Musical
Constantine Maroulis, Rock of Ages
J. Robert Spencer, Next to Normal

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Stockard Channing, Pal Joey
Sutton Foster, Shrek The Musical
Allison Janney, 9 to 5: The Musical
Alice Ripley, Next to Normal
Josefina Scaglione, West Side Story

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
John Glover, Waiting for Godot
Zach Grenier, 33 Variations
Stephen Mangan, The Norman Conquests
Paul Ritter, The Norman Conquests
Roger Robinson, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate
Jessica Hynes, The Norman Conquests
Marin Ireland, Reasons to Be Pretty
Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit
Amanda Root, The Norman Conquests

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
David Bologna, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Marc Kudisch, 9 to 5: The Musical
Christopher Sieber, Shrek The Musical
Will Swenson, Hair

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal
Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Karen Olivo, West Side Story
Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Carole Shelley, Billy Elliot, The Musical

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Phyllida Lloyd, Mary Stuart
Bartlett Sher, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Matthew Warchus, God of Carnage
Matthew Warchus, The Norman Conquests

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Greif, Next to Normal
Kristin Hanggi, Rock of Ages
Diane Paulus, Hair

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Karole Armitage, Hair
Andy Blankenbuehler, 9 to 5: The Musical
Peter Darling, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Randy Skinner, Irving Berlin's White Christmas

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Martin Koch, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt, Next to Normal
Danny Troob and John Clancy, Shrek The Musical

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Rob Howell, The Norman Conquests
Derek McLane, 33 Variations
Michael Yeargan, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Robert Brill, Guys and Dolls
Ian MacNeil, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Scott Pask, Pal Joey
Mark Wendland, Next to Normal

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Dale Ferguson, Exit the King
Jane Greenwood, Waiting for Godot
Martin Pakledinaz, Blithe Spirit
Anthony Ward, Mary Stuart

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Gregory Gale, Rock of Ages
Nicky Gillibrand, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Tim Hatley, Shrek The Musical
Michael McDonald, Hair

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
David Hersey, Equus
David Lander, 33 Variations
Brian MacDevitt, Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Hugh Vanstone, Mary Stuart

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kevin Adams, Hair
Kevin Adams, Next to Normal
Howell Binkley, West Side Story
Rick Fisher, Billy Elliot, The Musical

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Paul Arditti, Mary Stuart
Gregory Clarke, Equus
Russell Goldsmith, Exit the King
Scott Lehrer and Leon Rothenberg, Joe Turner's Come and Gone

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Acme Sound Partners, Hair
Paul Arditti, Billy Elliot, The Musical
Peter Hylenski, Rock of Ages
Brian Ronan, Next to Normal

Cartoon Caption/Anti-Caption Contest Continues!

The winner of Caption Contest 188 (P.C. Vey's man at a piano filled with fish) is

"This song goes out to the one that got away."
Elisa Narsu (Basking Ridge, NJ)

So Narsu outplays (Brian) Shuman in a piano contest!


The nominees in Caption Contest 190 (Robert Leighton's Wall Street statue of ostrich burying its head on Wall Street) are:

"If we just ignore it, maybe it'll go away."
Lance Massey (Bowling Green, OH)

"The statue of the lemmings was just too depressing."
Andrew Mann (San Francisco, CA)

"I think the head's in the wrong place."
Steve Punch (Danville, CA)

My loser was the suggestion that there be no caption, as the illustration was funny in itself.

Oh well, I tried.


Dan Radosh has returned to picking winners in Anti-Caption Contest 191 (Farley Katz's cats flying off a cliff). His winner:

"Hmm, tough question. If I could have any super power in the world... probably super-strength, I guess. That or laser vision. You?"
Vlad

My loser:

"See what I mean? Even pussies can be part of a suicide cult!"

Caption Contest 192 is here. Anti-Caption Contest 192 is here.


THE STANDINGS

Here is the current New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest breakdown by state. You can find it all (almost) mapped out here.

31 California

31 New York (27 from the Big Apple)

14 New Jersey

11 Virginia (five from NOVA, two from Richmond, one from Charlottesville, one from Newport News, one from Roanoke, one from Stanardsville)

9 Illinois (seven from Chicago, two captions by Lawrence Wood, two drawings by Leo Cullum)
9 Massachusetts

6 Connecticut (two from New Haven, four not)
6 North Carolina (two from Charlotte)
6 Pennsylvania
6 Texas (three from Houston, one from Austin)

5 Maryland (none named Mary)

4 Arizona (two from Tucson)
4 Georgia (includes two-time winner Carl Gables)
4 Ohio
4 Washington

3 Michigan
3 Minnesota (Minneapolis 2, St. Paul 1)
3 Rhode Island

2 Alaska
2 District of Columbia
2 Florida
2 Mississippi
2 Missouri
2 Nevada (Las Vegas 1, Zephyr Cove 1)
2 New Hampshire
2 Oregon (both named Eric, both from Portland)
2 Utah
2 Vermont

1 Alabama
1 Arkansas
1 Delaware
1 Iowa
1 Kentucky
1 Louisiana (New Orleans)
1 New Mexico
1 Oklahoma
1 Wisconsin

Map Introduction

Thanks to Andriy Bidochko for Map Builder.

Parodic The Gothamer illustration realized by Deborah Grumet from concept by David Marc Fischer