Extra Criticum

E.S.T. Auctioning off entire contents of its upstate retreat

As a sad symptom of the financial health of our overall economy, not to mention the state of the arts in this country, Ensemble Studio Theatre is selling its upstate property, as well as all its contents. The property had long served as an upstate summer retreat for artists affiliated with the theatre. But times are tough. And I suppose holding on to the property has become more of a fiscal burden than a benefit. Here's the info, if anyone's planning a trip up north during foliage season.

Could you ask for a cuter drinking buddy?

Just when you thought it wasn't possible for Marylouise Burke to be more adorable, David Clement gives us this song. Video direction by: Kaz Phillips Safer. Enjoy!

Does A Good Play Matter?

Recently, I saw a couple of plays that made me wonder: does a good play matter? Does it matter if a play is well written? Does it matter if a play is well acted? Are these TRULY important to a good theater going experience?

I’m beginning to think, no. They aren’t as important for most of the theater going audience.

The first play… (and I want to say I’m not going to mention names, as I didn’t really like the plays)… was a realistic comedy, set in an apartment, about a widow rediscovering life. Well, that’s what eventually it was about, the first 30 minutes are about something else. In fact, that was one of my major complaints about the play. It wasn’t sure what it was about sometimes. It wasn’t sure of it’s tone. It wasn’t sure of itself. And then wrapped the story up in two scenes… and the stuff of those two scenes could’ve been a whole act. Personally, it SHOULD have been a whole act, the time required to really unpack the story and to earn the ending.

The David Licata Film School

Facebook told me Werner Herzog is someone I might know so naturally I clicked on Herr Herzog's link. It brought me to his page. Click on the image to read the text.

Cartoon: The New New

"I wanted you to be the first to know." Seriously? That the best you could come up with?

An email solicitation from BAM came into my INBox today with the following subject hedder:

I wanted you to be the first to know...

What did you love most about Freddie Mercury?

Google is celebrating what would have been the 65th birthday of Freddie Mercury (Sept 5, 2011) with a fabulous tribute googlevideo. Seems everyone I know adores Freddie Mercury. But everyone has their own unique take on what it was that made him so intoxicating. What did you love most about him? Video below:

David Merrick: From Cauldron to Stage

I recently read The Abominable Showman (by Howard Kissel, 1993), a biography of legendary Broadway producer, David Merrick (1911-2000).  Merrick was Broadway’s foremost producer in the thirty odd years of roughly 1955-1985.

The stereotype I held was that he was a difficult producer who put drek on stage, pushed people around and made lots of money.  This biography reveals that “difficult” doesn’t begin to describe the man.  Merrick was a cauldron of neuroses who easily could have kept a cast of psychiatrists working overtime.  He ruled by bullying, intimidation, bluster, withholding payment and filing lawsuits.  The writer Tom Jones said, “We had the feeling we were working with a deranged person, but also someone who could use derangement for his own amusement and his own purposes.”  Jones attributed Merrick’s eagerness to upset his creative team to a “basic theory that creative people were too often too easy on themselves.”  A longtime employee remarked that Merrick was “incapable of a non-volatile relationship.”