Tuesday, January 31, 2006

But We Wouldn't Want to Give It Away

The New Sweeney

It isn’t giving anything away to tell you that the current production of Sweeney Todd is a radical departure from the original – and a significant improvement.. It won’t hurt for you to know that, without altering the script or the score, the director has elevated Tobias, a minor character, into a major one, making him the focal point of the show. Certainly, his is the sensibility through which the audience witnesses the horror of Sweeney Todd. He is played magnetically by Manoel Felicino.

What is so interesting is that all of the raw material was there to begin with. It’s a credit to John Doyle the director for conceiving this production. But what is more fascinating is that it makes one think about the missed opportunities of the original. ST was played on a large proscenium stage. Scaffolding reflected the levels of a classed society; the social (dis)order. At the center of this large stage was a revolving set representing Sweeney’s Tonsorial Parlor, Mrs. Lovett’s Pie Shop and the god-awful oven. The problem was that it did not truly play as a study of social disorder. Sweeney played Grand Guignol; Mrs. Lovett vaudeville – it was charming, well-played, but a disconnection. This version substitutes an intimate atmosphere for the large scale, reduces the players – cast is also orchestra – to ten altogether, and makes the point that really everyone, regardless of social station, goes down well with beer. This is not to be missed.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Ad In - Woody Allen's Matchpoint

Isn't it time people stopped punishing Woody Allen for being Woody Allen (being him seems to be enough suffering in itself) and stopped expecting him to re-make Annie Hall? His new film, Match Point, is a wonderful character study, written with mastery, and directed with an attention to detail that shows that Woody is not bored with the film process. The comments I’ve heard about Match Point seem strange to me. "Nasty characters." "Wickedly funny." The characters are flawed, evil at times, but studiously human. The laughs, and there are a few, are more titters than roars. There’s nothing silly or goofy about the film. The laughs are nervous ones. Match Point has the feel of homage to Hitchcock – a suspense piece, set in Britain, McGuffins galore. Match Point moves the pieces around the chessboard, all right, but with searing commentary on the characters. It’s supposed to be about luck – things that happen or don’t for no particular reason. What is more interesting is that people create impossible situations, and different people handle them in different ways. See it but don’t expect the Groucho mask.

Old News

As an introduction, you should know that the source of most of my information comes from the New York Times. It's the local paper - not the paper of record - and it's awful. Putting aside its scandals and humiliations, it's just lousy at reporting. It is satisified to be the trailing edge of journalism and of information. There is no trend or matter of interest that the Times reports on while it is still fresh and newsworthy. Seems like the editors have to be satisfied that the subject is official before they'll touch it. The stampede on Red Hook, a Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood, has been running for at least five years but the Times has just officially recognized it. New York's a place where the real estate business is bigger than King Cotton in Ole Miss. You'd think that it wouldhave top real estate writers, cutting edge reporting, great stories about deals. No. Just the usual fumbling to front for tons of ads.

And that's just the start of the failing. The magazine, once highly regarded, has joined the Parade as a run of the mill platform for expensive full-page color ads. An automobile section with Zero Content. Complacency, no ambition beyond mediocrity in the service of business. By a publisher's measure, the Times may be successful but it's not going back into the newspaper.

Maybe it's not worth pouring money into editorial, given the shallowness of readership. But, people, have some self-respect. The Times is a great vehicle. Hire a great driver.