EXTRA CRITICUM

Gay Man Comes Out: Why I Love THE BOYS IN THE BAND

I'll admit it. When I first saw the film adaptation of The Boys in the Band, I loved it. I knew I wasn't supposed to, of course. I was in college at the time. My first boyfriend had instructed me that the politics of Mart Crowley's play (and subsequent screenplay) were all wrong. "Self-loathing" and "Internalized Homophobia" were the buzzwords at get-togethers of the Lesbian, Gay and Transgendered Student Association on campus.

So I did what any self-respecting newly-liberated young homo would do. I kept my feelings to myself.

The Beethoven Pitfall

I was at a concert the other night where music was performed by an orchestra and choir and most of it was stuff recently written by the conductor himself. It all sounded pretty bland, like watered-down Richard Strauss. For those of you unfamiliar with Strauss operas, just think of the harmonic progressions of John Williams' Star Wars score on overdrive. Lots of rambling chord progressions with no clear sense of a tonic, or home. When you listen to Mozart or Bach or 99% of music written before WWII, there's a clear sense of where harmonic home base lies. The audience can feel when the piece has come to its final chord. Not so with Richard Strauss.

Anyway, the guy conducting who had programmed a lot (and I mean, A LOT) of his own rambling noodling muzak throughout the evening made one fatal mistake.

We like the look of our venue...

A picture of the theatre in El Cid, venue for Feb. 4th Brevity Fest.

"Late Night" Thermometer

With Conan's last Tonight Show now a memory, I thought I'd do a quick run down of the winners and losers in the latest edition of the late night wars.

2nd Look: The Comeback. Valerie Cherish is Gorgeous

  

Full disclosure: a friend of mine was in this series and another friend of a friend wrote it. So, naturally, I was curious to take a 2nd look at a show that I'd seen only a few episodes of when it first aired on HBO. When my b.f. gave me the DVD as a gift, we seized the opportunity to watch the entire series -- the lone single season -- start to finish.

Frequent readers of this blog may recall my waxing hyperbolic about the unparalleled level of subtlety in the writing for Matthew Weiner's Mad Men on AMC. So, it came as a wonderful surprise to encounter equally subtle directing and acting on the short-lived Lisa Kudrow vehicle, The Comeback.

Two Cool Events!

Hi all!  Please check out these two exciting events.  (And tickets WILL sell out, especially for Puppet Playlist. So please get your tickets early!)

If you're around, please join me in person:
I'll be in Boston to see "The Crocodile Boy Project" on Saturday and Sunday, Jan 30-31... 

Then I'll be performing in NYC's Puppet Playlist alongside some of the finest puppeteers I know: Feb 5 and Feb 7.  Details follow!

Any doubt that she (Lady Gaga) is a serious songwriter ends here

Speechless, by Lady Gaga. Listen here, kids!

04 Speechless

Moon – A haiku review

Moon, you’re luminous.

I wish there were more of you.

Moon, can we clone you? 

Pulled from the Archives

Is Theatre Worth Saving? A Uniquely American Question

Simple Excercise for a Complicated Dramaturgical Problem

"Bye!" Some Thoughts on Parenting and Playwriting

A cool way to promote a brand new musical online

Prospect Theatre has a teaser video on their website for their new musical, The Hidden Sky. In it, we see only screen pans across drawings but we hear some of Peter Foley's arresting score underneath a narration which, given the sci-fi content of the piece, provides us with the background. It's an innovative approach worth examining.

Dazzling lineup for 1st Ever Brevity Fest - Feb. 4

Check out the bios for our singer/songwriters and writer/readers. It's a great lineup. To join us, Feb. 4th at El Cid (4212 West Sunset in Silverlake), email your NAME and the NUMBER in your party. There's no cover charge but reservations are strongly recommended as space is limited. Showtime: 7:30PM. Email us at: [email protected]

Twelve things I'm left with, three days after the Golden Globes

I’ve had a few days to digest the Golden Globes and these are the things that have stayed with me (even though I tried intense therapy to remove them from my consciousness)

Invasion

My philosophy professor once told me about an essay he had to write in grad school. He was asked to ponder the question, “If you are continually darning a sock, at what point does it become a new sock?”

The question is about essence. What makes each individual thing unique? Is the sock new after a single patch? After 51% of it is patched? Or is it still the same sock as long as a single thread remains from the original?

The same question can be asked of people. What gives each person their own identity? Is it their body? Their memories? If a person has their memory wiped clean, as happens more and more now as we live longer, are they still the same person?

Put another way, what constitutes a human soul?

Reserve your tickets today - Brevity Fest, Feb. 4 at El Cid

Reservations for Extra Criticum Brevity Fest can be made by emailing your FULL NAME and the NUMBER OF GUESTS in your party to: [email protected]. There is no cover charge but reservations are strongly encouraged as seating is limited at El Cid, 4212 Sunset Boulevard in Silverlake. Show starts promptly at 7:30PM. (doors open at 7)

This just always makes me smile. (Why is that?)