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

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!



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Breaking: Caroline Kennedy Withdraws from Consideration for NY Senate Seat

A statement is expected soon, according to The New York Times.

ADDENDUM Despite conflicting reports, it seems that the statement came out just after midnight on Thursday, January 22.

Bad Jewish Charity Allegations "Unfit to Print"?

The New York Times article "But Is Madoff Not So Good for the Jews? Discuss Among Yourselves" (January 16, 2009) starts promisingly, with a kind of joke:

Among some Orthodox Jews, one response to a member of the faith who egregiously violates their religion’s fundamental values and beliefs is to rend clothes and treat the transgressor as if he were dead — sitting shiva, or mourning, for him.

For the more secular there is a different response: convene a panel discussion.

But about halfway through the story about such a panel discussion at the 92nd Street Y, the reporting takes a turn for the worse:

The one good that may come out of this, Mr. [Michael] Steinhardt continued, is that it might prompt Jews to re-evaluate their charitable giving in these leaner times. Naming names, he called a handful of Jewish agencies "lousy, miserable, corrupt organizations”; he said contributors were "just plain stupid," for giving them money. "They spend $150 million for about 18 anti-Semitic incidents per year," he said.

Even though the Times reporter (along with a full house at the 92nd Street Y) heard the names of a handful of "corrupt" charities, the paper didn't report any of them.

Bad form, to say the least.

Today in The New York Times

This John Leland article about men caring for the parents rings true.

Happy 100th Birthday, Claude Lévi-Strauss!

CARE FOR DEMENTIA PATIENTS

The title of Laurie Tarkan's worthwhile June 24, 2008 New York Times article "Doctors Say Medication Is Overused in Dementia," might lead you to think it's fairly narrow in focus (on the overprescription of anti-psychotic drugs), but the report actually surveys a number of ways that "Our health care system isn’t set up to address the mental, emotional and behavioral problems of the elderly," to use the words of Dr. Gary S. Moak, president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry (AAGP).

It takes a village to raise a child, and it also takes a village to care for most people with dementia. A patient and compassionate village at that. And a "village" composed of family members and pills and other medications can only do so much. This should be obvious to anyone experienced in such ongoing care, and it should be understood by many who hear about it second-hand. Yet one still sees unsupervised dementia patients disrupting hospital wings, one still sees how much red tape and paperwork are involved in getting care for the patients (who can't possibly negotiate those bureaucratic hurdles on their own), and one also sees how much red tape and paperwork must be negotiated to protect dementia patients from losing their estates when they are most vulnerable.

A responsible society would address these issues and improve the system immediately. Come to think of it, so would a selfish society. But a stupid society, or a willfully ignorant society, would probably just ignore the problems and let the situation get worse and worse while the number of dementia patients continues to increase. And that seems to be the case at present—despite the many warning signs.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

Deborah recently asked about the play August: Osage County, so now that I've finally written up some productions that are on the verge of closing I suppose it's a perfect time to turn to this much-lauded play by Tracy Letts, which promises to run for a decent stretch past Tony season.

August: Osage County, a three-act play that basically portrays a dysfunctional family, received some extremely positive reviews, including raves from Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, who called it "the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years." Then came the cavalcade of awards, including the Pulitzer and many Tony honors. But if you listen closely enough, you might hear some less enthusiastic appraisals amidst the chorus of praise. Friends of BAT have left the theater wondering "What's the big deal?" or gasping, "We couldn't believe how hammy it was!"

My feelings: The play is good and substantial, though not nearly as swell as you might think from all those honors. As has been noted in the Times and elsewhere, the family drama is rich with strains of Eugene O'Neill and Sam Shepard, among others. These are so apparent that one might suspect that the playwright said things like, "Okay, this is my O'Neill section" when working on the script. Even the play's characters recognize when they're playing out a truth-telling or secret-revealing scene.

I don't really have complaints about this type of grafting—and it was great to hear virtually the entire audience gasping together at the appropriate moments—but based on my one viewing of the play my main concern is that Letts just seems to stop at the hommagelevel. He doesn't seem to add much more, which leaves me feeling that the play, while accomplished, doesn't go far enough beyond evocation of the masters to announce the playwright as a master in his own right. So I'm actually less enthusiastic thinking about what Letts has accomplished with August: Osage County than I am about what he might do next. (And I do wonder whether this play is just one in a planned series of play, perhaps arranged by months.)

Something that did impress me about this production was how well it played to the rafters. When The Other Dave and I came to our half-price seats, located three rows from the back of the theater and quite far from the stage, we were downcast at the prospect of spending a few hours straining to hear what the actors were saying. But we were pleasantly surprised to find that nearly every word was intelligible where we were perched. And though I can understand why some attendees felt that the widely lauded star Deanna Dunagan did go over-the-top in imbuing her character with the characteristics of a venomous snake, I can attest that the characterization, while less than subtle, came through clearly in the nosebleed section. That is a sign of a top-notch and considerate technical production—and it's the kind of thing that helps many audience members leave the theater feeling that they've gotten their money's worth. In contrast, I can think of at least two recent productions that fell short of that level. As mentioned previously, the sound produced by the musicians in Sunday in the Park with George was too strong for many audience members in the upper level. And in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Top Girls, many lines were hard to discern in the upper level. (And I'm not just talking about the overlapping dialogue.) Critics including Ben Brantley of The New York Times liked Top Girls, but I think audience reaction would have been much more favorable if the words had been easier to follow.

SPIDERMAN 2 (NEW YORK TIMES VERSION)

Within the past 24 hours, New Yorkers had two new people to look up to: Crazy guys who scaled the facade of the new New York Times building. Exciting times, these!

I happened to be nearby, at 42nd and 8th, when the second Spiderman (or extremely desperate Peeping Tom?) completed his ascent while helicopters hovered and gawkers gaped and pointed and snapped pictures from street level. I didn't see any point in trying to photograph the little splinter of the man on the giant facade as he made his way to the top, but I did snap a few crowd photos. As you can see, you can grab the attention of some of the people some of the time, but you can't grab the attention of some of the people all of the time.

And uh, yeah: We should do something about global warming. Preferably before this weekend. And malaria, too!








































































Photos: David Marc Fischer

GOVERNOR-9

It's been very hard not to think about the newly resigned Governor-9 all the time this week! At least that's how it's been for me and just about everyone I've been talking with on Long Island since his shit hit the fan on Monday afternoon! Still, I have a feeling that Spitzermania doesn't go very far beyond New York Staters past and present. Like, does anyone without a NY connection care in Austin?

I think I'd feel more sympathetic to Governor-9 if he'd been a better governor. After cruising into office with a record-setting margin of victory, all he had to do to leave behind a great legacy was build momentum for those positive changes he still yammers about. Instead he took a stupendous nose-dive largely brought on by his own behavior. I just don't know what made him act like such a maniac, though I have some suspicions.

Incidentally, The New York Times broke the news of this Democratic scandal not long after airing rumors about John McCain's close relationship with a lobbyist.

There's been a mini-industry of commentary about Mrs. Governor-9, but I wonder how much of it is informed. She and Mr. Governor-9 seem to be keeping to themselves a lot lately. I mention this because I don't think I've heard much acknowledging what "we" don't know about her (and the marriage), which I think is plenty.

Charlie Rose hosted a very interesting and fairly comprehensive (albeit all-male) pre-resignation discussion that's available here. Here are late night videos, courtesy of Gothamist.

And then there's "Kristen," an aspiring singer who claims to have lived in Austin for a time (so there's a connection!) and whose MySpace page includes this worrisome autobiographical nugget—

When I was 17, I left home. It was my decision and I’ve never looked back. Left my hometown. Left a broken family. Left abuse. Left an older brother who had already split. Left and learned what it was like to have everything, and lose it, again and again. Learned what it was like to wake up one day and have the people you care about most gone. I have been alone. I have abused drugs. I have been broke and homeless. But, I survived, on my own.

—and whose mother has been quoted as calling her daughter "a very bright girl who can handle someone like the governor." For the money he paid, I would hope so!

Anyway, I understand that "Kristen" (advertised here?) grew up in New Jersey, where she was carefully trained to engineer the complete and utter collapse of rival state New York. She's also a singer with a single—"What We Want"—that is a lot like "I Know What Boys Like" by The Waitresses mashed up with...Britney Spears?

Here's "I Know What Boys Like."



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THE MISANTHROPE

I've been a fan of director Ivo van Hove ever since I was enthralled by his controversial production of More Stately Mansions at the New York Theatre Workshop. I haven't managed to see everything he's done there since then, though I caught his Streetcar Named Desire some years ago and just saw The Misanthrope earlier this month.

Van Hove is an aggressively artistic director who has a knack for tapping into the richness written into theater works while simultaneously making them "his own" with a variety of flourishes, some of them very physical. If memory serves, he had characters wrestle naked (or nearly naked) while delivering their lines in More Stately Mansions. It was a fascinating ploy, and one could see that it was literally bruising, too. In Streetcar there was the big bathtub...and lots and lots of splashing water.

With The Misanthrope there's some physicality, but it seemed constrained compared to what I saw in More Stately Mansions. Food and "trash" wind up all over the stage and the actors, but what made the biggest impression on me was its use of technology—especially video. Van Hove uses handheld cameras to enhance the stage experience, enabling a character to speak with his back to the audience and yet still have his face be seen on a large screen. Ultimately, though, Van Hove seems to making thought-provoking associations with sensational TV talk shows, reality programming such as Big Brother, and, perhaps, a general intrusion of communications media throughout many ordinary lives.

The production was the least impressive of the three van Hove pieces I've seen so far but it was still worthwhile, with some jaw-dropping moments. It's especially worthwhile with $20 Sunday night tickets, which might still be available. Try to get a seat in the back half of the audience, away from any fidgety and talkative kids.

Here's an interview/slideshow from The New York Times.

EVERYONE SHITS

The New York Times said "shit."

Heh.

SHAMELESS SELF/CROSS-PROMOTION

Today's New York Times offers an article by Jennifer Romolini about dining gluten-free in the Big Apple. It's currently the #1 e-mailed article...and it happens to refer to a bunch of blogs and websites including my own Gluten-Free NYC.

ENCORES: GYPSY

The Encores! series extends its winning streak with its summer production of Gypsy, which runs through July 29. Could it be more finely tuned, as suggested in Ben Brantley's dour-toned New York Times review? Sure, I think it could...but it's still very good in many ways. And I think Brantley is unfair to Patti Lupone's intriguing and intelligent take on the character of domineering Momma Rose.

One of the show's highlights comes in a kind of throwaway transitional scene that shows Momma Rose adding young boys to her troupe while traipsing over to California. Her pouncing posture is funny, a little scary, and very representative of her character. Later in the first act Lupone and Boyd Gaines (as Herbie) offer a great little duet that climaxes with the two singing as they practically tumble to the floor. It's a great routine for the two stage veterans.

In the second act there are at least three big numbers. The reliable routine in which strippers teach the basics to the future Gypsy Rose Lee is entertaining, but there's magic in the sequence showing her blossom in the trade. On the surface it might not come across as very demanding for an actor, but Benanti's performance is so polished (and her makeup and costuming so flattering) that it suddenly made the vast City Center seem very, very intimate and offered a strong case that the kind of "striptease" touted by Gypsy Rose Lee can still be erotic even in today's more jaded and openly sexualized world. (I think an adult actually escorted a child out of the theater during the episode.) And then there's the big—really big—number, "Rose's Turn," which Lupone performs with high drama without turning it into a maudlin, cringe-inducing psychodrama.

Once again Encores! offers a full orchestra with a rich and lively sound that (even with problematic violin intonation in early passages) cannot be equaled by today's small, electronically enhanced pit ensembles. And the reliably hardcore Encores! theater crowd is an attraction in itself, delighted to be entertained and very demonstrative to boot.

I do have a complaint about the venue. Due to budgetary concerns, I've been getting nosebleed seats for a while, but for Gypsy I accidentally wound up with tickets in the center of the rear mezzanine, which has to rank as one of the worst seating sections in all of New York City. The rake is too flat, which means that many heads can block views of the action. A friend and I craned this way and that to get good vantage points, but before the second act he migrated to seats in a less crowded section to one side of the rear mezzanine. I joined him there after the woman behind me pleaded for me to stop my swaying. I am pretty sure that the rake can be improved, so I think that City Center should fix it promptly and, in the meantime, find a way to label and price the seats as "obstructed" or something like that.

Here's Gypsy Rose Lee in Stage Door Canteen (which also featured original Momma Rose Ethel Merman). And is that William Burroughs at the very end?



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And here's writer Arthur Laurents on the musical and the "real" Gypsy Rose Lee.



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THE NEW YORK TIMES REVIEWS THE NEW POTTER BOOK

The date for Michiko Kakutani's review is July 19, but it's already online around 9 pm on July 18.