January 2012 – Page 3 – Observations Along the Road

Belated Entertaining News Chum

Posted onThursday, January 19, 2012Authorcahwyguy

I normally don’t post in the morning on work days, but I’ll be in meetings over lunch and I wanted to show the strike was over. Here are a few items to start your day:

Discount Opera. Now, I’m not an opera going person, but I do like cheap tickets to live entertainment. As of next season, the LA Opera is starting a dynamic pricing model, just like the Center Theatre Group and Broadway/LA. What this means is that prices change based on audience demand, with popular shows and seats commanding a premium and less popular shows seeing discounts. What caught my eye was that, as part of the model, L.A. Opera will offer lower-price tickets in every section of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with $18 tickets the new lowest price. The least expensive tickets currently are $20 for obstructed-view seats and as low as $32 for seats in the rear balcony B section. Subscription pricing will be offered at 5% off the base ticket price and remain constant throughout the season, even if a production proves to be a hit and individual prices increase. L.A. Opera also is launching a new initiative that will provide 250 seats at minimal cost, or free in certain cases, to select community members. The seats will be made available at every performance, regardless of demand. The company will also introduce family ticket packages designed to encourage children to attend performances. Sounds good.
Did Facebook Invent Sharing? Sometimes, to hear them talk, you think they did. Facebook is rolling out 60 new apps for Timeline to allow us to share more and more. What caught my eye, however, was a statement from the CEO of Ticketfly:

“For the first time on the Internet, consumers can share with others what acts they are planning to see,” says Andrew Dreskin, CEO of Ticketfly. “For example, on Timeline, you can say you plan to see Radiohead in San Jose in April.”

I call BS on that statement! If you look at the bottom of any of my theatre reviews, I’m telling you what I’ve been planning to see. People have been doing that for years. We don’t need any particular app to do it, and it leaves it up to us what we want to share.
Logos as Art. Perhaps I’m stretching to include this with the entertainment theme of this post, but that’s my perogative. The Atlantic has an interesting article on great and not-so-great subway logos. BART made the “great” list. LA Metro made neither.

Music: More of the Monkees (The Monkees): Sometime in the Morning

Standing in Solidarity

Posted onWednesday, January 18, 2012Wednesday, January 18, 2012Authorcahwyguy

This site supports the 18 January 2012 protests against the Stop Online Piracy and Protect IP Acts (SOPA, PIPA).

Please visit SOPAStrike.com to join the protest and
to make your opposition known to the US Congress and US Senate.

ETA: There’s a good cartoon explaining the issue here. Mental Floss also has a nice explanation of the issue.

Music: Pins and Needles (1962 Studio Cast) (Rose Marie Jun): Sing Me a Song with Social Significance

History in the News

Posted onTuesday, January 17, 2012Authorcahwyguy

Today’s lunchtime news chum focuses on history, and some historical items in the news:

Connie Flies Again. The VC Star has an interesting article on a “Connie” Spy Plane (specifically, a a retired Lockheed EC-121T Warning Star Super Constellation that has completed refurbishment, and is being returned to the Yanks Air Museum in Chino. The Connie was originally designed to be a commercial aircraft. It was later retrofitted with high-tech surveillance equipment for use in the cold war, Korean war, and Vietnam wars, staying in the air for 23 hours at a time. The radar and surveillance equipment monitored telemetry for satellites, missiles and space shots. They also gathered data on weather, communications and radar signals. At 113.5 feet long, the craft could fit 31 people, two bunks, tables and booths, a kitchenette, a bathroom, seats and lots of technology. The refurbishment overhaulled every system, and included removal of remove extensive corrosion on the wings and installation of new skins on the rudders.
Centaurs in a Museum. USA has an interesting article on the skeletons of mythological creatures being displayed in a museum (including a photo of a centaur skeleton). This is a display at Tucson’s International Wildlife Museum called “Mythological Wildlife” that aims to make folks think about how we know what is real and what is not. It looks at the potential scientific origins of legendary creatures.
Hello, Guv’nor. Today’s Mental Floss addresses the question: “When did Americans lose their British accent?”. The answer may surprise you.

Music: Genius + Soul = Jazz (Ray Charles): Birth of the Blues

Adapting to Changing Times

Posted onMonday, January 16, 2012Authorcahwyguy

As Bob Dylan sang, “the times they are a’changin'”. Today’s lunchtime stories are all examples of that. To start us off, transit agencies are having to adapt for the growing posteriors of Americans. The NY Times has an interesting article on that, looking at how transit agencies cope with the need for wider seats. Most of those riders are going to or from work, and they do it at all times of day, not just between 9-5. This, in turn, has lead to more and more day care centers broadening their hours, even going to round-the-clock childcare. By the way, speaking of doing it, desparate times call for desparate measures… but selling your body for chicken nuggets is pushing it.

Changes have also hit membership organizations. The LA Times has a nice article on the Ebell of Los Angeles, a turn-of-the-last-century (1894) club for women. The club is having to adapt from an era where women didn’t go to college (and thus the club provided educational speakers) to our modern era, while remaining true to its mission. A fascinating read, especially on the architecture and furnishings of the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Wilshire Blvd.

Lastly, speaking of historical times… you listen to political pundits, and you hear that our taxes are incredibly high. Guess what? They should check the facts. Even if Gov. Brown’s new budget with higher taxes passes, the taxing and spending burden will be about the same as it was when Ronald Reagan was governor.

Music: The Best of Chet Atkins (Chet Atkins): Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)

Revisiting Oz

Posted onSunday, January 15, 2012Monday, January 30, 2012Authorcahwyguy

Mention “Wicked” to most people, and they will think of the musical. But “Wicked” is actually the first book in an excellent series (called “The Wicked Year”) written by Gregory Maguire. I just finished reading the series again, and I’d like to recommend it. “The Wicked Years” is really the story of Oz and the Thropp family: Nessarose, Shell, Elphaba, Elphaba’s son Liir, and Elphaba’s granddaughter, Rain. Maguire has taken the foundation created by L. Frank Baum in the first four Oz books, and used that as a framework to tell an excellent political story, interwoven with magic and adventure. This isn’t just Elphaba and Galinda as portrayed in the musical. The musical focuses on the friendship, and this story is much much more. Beginning with Elphaba’s birth, the series looks at Elphaba’s rebellion against the Wizard, and how things as the Wizard cracked down politically against his enemies whilst searching for the Grimmarie, the big book of magic. It is a story of the effect of repressive governments, of theocracies, and of political power abused. It is also the story of how to fight that political power.

The Wicked Years actually consists of four books: Wicked, Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz. Of the four, Out of Oz is my favorite, because by the fourth book, Maguire has become so comfortable with the environment that he can joke a little. There are numerous contempory Oz references, such as to the book Gone With the Wind, the quality of Judy Garland’s singing, as well as good reuse notions introduced by Baum, such as Mombey, General Jinjur, and the Queen of Ev. He makes this all work in an excellent fashion.

I encourage you, if you only know Wicked, to read the entire series. I think you’ll enjoy it and it will move Oz from being a childrens story to a wonderful fantasy universe.

Music: The Producers (2001 Original Broadway Cast) (Matthew Broderick And Ensemble): I Wanna Be A Producer

We Had Been Warned … and We Didn’t Listen

Posted onSaturday, January 14, 2012Sunday, January 3, 2016Authorcahwyguy1 Comment

Back in 2003, Molly Ivens wrote “Okay, we cut taxes for the rich and so we have to cut services for the poor. Presumably there is some right-wing justification along the lines that helping poor people just makes them more dependent or something. If there were a rationale Bush could express, it would be one thing, but to watch him not see, not make the connection, is another thing entirely. Welfare, Medicare, Social Security, food stamps–horrors, they breed dependency. Whereas inheriting millions of dollars and having your whole life handed to you on a platter is good for the grit in your immortal soul? What we’re dealing with here is a man in such serious denial it would be pathetic if it weren’t damaging so many lives.”

This is someone whose wit and insight we need today. Someone who has the ability to cut through the bullshit of political rhetoric, who is proudly liberal (just like Jesus would be, as she noted in another essay), and is willing to call people on their idiocy. One could just imagine what she would make of the current Tea Party efforts and the crop of Republican candidates. One could imagine what she would say about the Occupy movement and the importance of their message about inequality of wealth (as she has written about it before). Alas, we don’t have this wit and insight, as she died in 2007. However, “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivens“, which we saw this afternoon at the Geffen Playhouse, provides a great reminder and a great facsimile.

“Red Hot Patriot” is basically a one-woman show of Molly Ivens (portrayed by Kathleen Turner). It starts out with Ivens attempting to write a column about her father, “General Jim” and getting stuck. This turns her into reminiscing about her life and the political characters therein, moving through all the newspapers she worked at. This provides the opportunity to work in a lot of the classic Ivens lines, such as Jim Hightower’s line when he was informed that Governor Bill Clements was studying Spanish: “Oh, good. Now he’s be bi-ignorant.” Special attention is paid, however, to Shrub (her name for George W. Bush) and the Texas State House, which gave her ample ammunition. The telling closes with some stories about her battle with breast cancer, which ultimately took her life.

Turner’s portrayal of Ivens is pretty spot-on. At our performance, Turner’s already husky voice sounded hoarse–I don’t know if this is part of the character, but Ivens evidently did have a husky voice. Turner is relaxed on stage, costumed in red boots, jeans, an a jeans-shirt, with red hair. You can see an image of her in character here. It was a very good and entertaining performance. Turner is supported by Matthew Van Oss as the silent copyboy.
[All actors are members of Actors Equity ]

Turning to the technical side. The set (designed by John Arnone) was simple: a desk for Ivens, a teletype machine, and a collection of old metal desks and chairs stacked in the back. This design was augmented by projections by Maya Ciarrocchi; the two combined very effectively. Lighting was by Daniel Ionazzi and was simple but good. Costumes (already described) were by Elizabeth Hope Clancy, with wig design by Paul Huntley. Original music and sound design was by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. The music was good, but the sound could have been more effective–but this may be a problem with the facility.

“Red Hot Patriot” was written by Allison Engel and Margaret Engel, and directed by David Esbjornson. Mary Michele Miner was the Production Stage Manager, and Susie Walsh was the Assistant Stage Manager.

A note about the theatre. The Geffen Playhouse is what used to be the Westwood Playhouse. It’s pretty, but I wasn’t that impressed with the facility. The hard brick walls inside lead to a lot of sound bouncing. We also had an older crowd at this show (common for matinees), meaning that (a) they couldn’t figure out how to turn off their cellphones; (b) couldn’t figure out how to turn them off once they started ringing during the show (sigh), and (c) had their amplification headsets turned up on high so that everyone could hear the feedback and an echo of the performance.

“Red Hot Patriot” continues at the Geffen until February 12, 2012. Tickets are available through the Geffen Box Office; you may be able to get a discount code through Theatremania.

As we’re speaking of theatre… today I got our renewal notice for the upcoming 2012-2013 Colony Theatre season, so let me share it with you: (1) “The Savannah Disputation” by Evan Smith, West Coast Premiere, June 13-July 8, 2012; (2) “Blame It on Beckett” by John Morogiello, West Coast Premiere, August 8-September 2, 2012; (3) “American Fiesta” by Stephen Tomlinson, Los Angeles Premiere, September 26-October 21, 2012; (4) “The Morini Strad” by WIlly Holtzman, West Coast Premiere, November 14-December 16, 2012; (5) “I’ll Be Back Before Midnight” by Peter Colley, Los Angeles Premiere, February 6-March 3, 2013; and “Falling for Make Believe“, World Premiere, Book by Mark Saltzman, Lyrics by Lorenz Hart and Music by Richard Rodgers (a new musical developed by the Colony that looks to be a jukebox musical). Subscription rates are reasonable–between $222 and $132 for Saturday evenings (non-opening night). They don’t yet have up the subscription page.

Upcoming Theatre, Concerts, and Dance: January theatre continues in two weeks with “Art” at the Pasadena Playhouse on January 28. February is busier. It begins at Van Nuys High School, with the Senior and Alumni Dance performances on February 2-3. “God of Carnage” at ICT Long Beach follows on February 5. The next weekend sees us in Thousand Oaks for “Ring of Fire” at Cabrillo Music Theatre on February 11. The third weekend takes us to Saugus for “Jewtopia” at REP East. February concludes with “Old Wicked Songs” at the Colony Theatre. March is equally busy, beginning with “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” at Van Nuys High School (March 2-3 and 8-10; we’re likely going on 3/2), and Bernadette Peters in concert at the Valley Performing Arts Center on March 3. March should also bring “American Idiot” at the Ahmanson, and “Journey’s End” at REP East. March will conclude with Tom Paxton in concert at McCabe on 3/31. Continuing the look ahead, April will bring “Billy Elliot” at the Pantages, the Southern California Renaissance Faire, “Once Upon a Mattress” at Cabrillo, and “Dames at Sea” at the Colony. As always, open dates are subject to be filled in with productions that have yet to appear on the RADAR of Goldstar or LA Stage Alliance.

Music: McKinney’s Cotton Pickers (1928-1930): The Band Don Redman Built (McKinney’s Cotton Pickers): It’s Tight Like That

Friday Link Stew: Tax Changes, Health Concerns, a Bookstore Lost, and Responses to Things

Posted onFriday, January 13, 2012Friday, January 13, 2012Authorcahwyguy

It’s Friday. Time to clear out the miscellaneous stuff from the links over lunch:

Taxing Items. A few items that may affect you with respect to taxes and law changes. First, if you have a business with over 200-plus credit or debit card transactions totaling $20,000 or more in 2011, there’s a new form you have to file. It is a 1099-K, “Merchant Card and Third Party Network Payment”, and needs to be sent by people who sell on eBay, Etsy and Amazon Marketplace as well as brick-and-mortar retailers that accept credit card and debit card payments. Second, if you live in California, the deductibility of property tax payments is changing: starting in 2013, you can no longer deduct Mello-Roos feels or any other special assessments like vector control or mosquito abatement. Lastly, the rules for all those power adapters you have are changing: new energy efficiency standards will come into play in 2013 to reduce “vampire” power use.
Health Concerns. Two health concern articles of interest. The WSJ is reporting on the health risks of being left-handed. This is of interest to me, as I’m a naturally sinister person. Another article looks at the stress risks of lots and lots of AP courses, and proposes a cap on the number that can be taken. As the parent of a teen who has taken lots of AP classes each year, they forgot the stress on the parent of the teen becoming even crazier.
Closing the Book. Alas, I must report another bookstore closure. Samuel French, a theatre bookstore is the Valley, is consolidating operations with its Hollywood store. I can’t say I’ve ever been there, but it sounds like an interesting place.
Laws We Don’t Need. I always find it amazing that as much as people want fewer laws and fewer government intrusions, when they don’t like something, they want the government to stop it. Case in point: A lawmaker in Shreveport LA wants a law to make wearing pajama pants in public illegal. This is the same thing as legislating morality–it’s not the government’s place. Another example: Obama is proposing to streamline government by consolidating agencies and making things more efficient with respect to trade and commerce. In general, I think this is a good idea, but I’m wary of anything that threatens the Commerce Department, as it is home to one of my favorite agencies (which does great stuff): NIST (and in particular, the Computer Security Division). Yet to read the comments on the posts (1, 2) reporting on the proposal, you would come to the conclusion that such consolidation is a bad thing (at least when proposed by Obama).

Music: Fairport Chronicles (Fairport Convention): Bridge Over the River Ash