Archive for March, 2009

Before All The Torture

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

I really liked Christopher Durang’s Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love Them, which had its first preview at The Public tonight. The cast was strong; my favorite was Amir Arison as Zamir. His character is a slightly more evolved version of Buck from Betty’s Summer Vacation. Durang is really good at writing horny young straight dudes!

Since I’m a jerk, I will spoil everything: the final scene brings its characters back to a time before all the torture began.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the audience could get the same thing?

Update 4/1/09: I suppose I shouldn’t worry about spoilers if Durang says more than I do in interviews with The Village Voice and Playbill.

Olympia Dukakis’s Head

Saturday, March 21st, 2009

Ahhh! Giant floating Olympia Dukakis head!

A poster for The Singing Forest featuring Olympia Dukakis’s head.

Note: this isn’t the first time the Public has used completely inappropriate web advertising.

The image is bad enough, but the advertising copy for Craig Lucas’s play The Singing Forest is even worse. It uses phrases that activate my “this play will be awful and derivative” warning alarm, whether or not the play actually deserves it. Observe:

…deeply buried secrets from the Holocaust…

…today’s world of Starbucks, celebrity and therapy…

…one family’s journey to reconcile their past.

Performance contains nudity.

OK; that last one’s not a deterrent.

How To Tell If You’re Watching The Right Crash

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

My local library is showing the movie Crash. I thought, “Wow, my library is awesome!” Then I remembered—they may be thinking of a different film.

Here’s how to tell if you’re watching the right Crash:

  1. Fast-forward to any scene in the movie.
  2. Wait 45 seconds.
  3. Is James Spader banging somebody?
    • Yes: Good.
    • No: You are not watching the right Crash.