Personally, I *go* to the theatre to be entertained -- I just bought the script for the first of Stoppard's trilogy at the Lincoln Center, and hope I can get a ticket for a matinee next week. It will be interesting to juxtapose the new contemporarily set (and very political) David Hare play I've seen twice and am now writing about with the new Tom Stoppard piece set in 19th-century Russia. When Hare is good, he's very, very good, and when he's bad, he's boring (to me)--and invariably it's because he's too topical and too political. On the other hand, I have seen Tom Stoppard plays that just thrilled me and kept me thinking for weeks: "Arcadia" and "The Invention of Love" are two of those.
As for this link, ever since A.O. Scott skewered Dana Gioia's _Disappearing Ink_, I've doubted his skill as a reviewer. The hell with his snobbiness, I wanna see a show!
Personally, I *go* to the theatre to be entertained -- I just bought the script for the first of Stoppard's trilogy at the Lincoln Center, and hope I can get a ticket for a matinee next week. It will be interesting to juxtapose the new contemporarily set (and very political) David Hare play I've seen twice and am now writing about with the new Tom Stoppard piece set in 19th-century Russia. When Hare is good, he's very, very good, and when he's bad, he's boring (to me)--and invariably it's because he's too topical and too political. On the other hand, I have seen Tom Stoppard plays that just thrilled me and kept me thinking for weeks: "Arcadia" and "The Invention of Love" are two of those.
ReplyDeleteAs for this link, ever since A.O. Scott skewered Dana Gioia's _Disappearing Ink_, I've doubted his skill as a reviewer. The hell with his snobbiness, I wanna see a show!