How many times can you see Cabaret and still enjoy it? DBH and I still trying to find that out. Whether the movie version, or live, it is one of the great musicals of the 20th century. Last Sunday we fell in love all over again with the Chicago Light Opera Works production, starring their Artistic Director, Rudy Hogamiller as the Emcee. He was more than significantly malicious and a great singer and dancer. Rudy danced in the chorus of Cabaret on Broadway. The version of the show we saw was the original, with the secondary romance built around the older owner of the boarding house, Fraulein Schneider and the Jewish fruit shop owner, Herr Schultz.

I don't mean to slight Jenny Lamb who was a great Sally Bowles. And, without seeming like a fashionista, we wore the magnificent costumes designed by Jesus Perez with aplomb. Lots of mid 30's style flowing chiffon and bias cut dresses.

Manys the night we reach into our video collection (yes we keep a video player because we have so many) and pull out Cabaret with Joel Gray and Lisa Minnelli. It never grows old. Who could forget the gorgeous Marisa Berenson as Natalia Landauer and Michael York as Brian Roberts. In the movie, the secondary romance is changed to a German/Jewish conflict featuring a young couple, Natalia and Fritz Wandel, which is resolved with Fritz discovers he is Jewish - and they flee Germany together with her Daddy's millions. They are so beautiful to watch, but the romance of the older couple, which ends with them separating, is much more poignant and true to the Jewish/Nazi strife.

Where the movie triumphs over the stage is the rendering of Nazi anthem, Tomorrow Belongs to Me. In the CLOW version we saw, the song is first introduced by waiters at the Kit Kat Club. Then at the end of the first act, it is reprised with all the singers and dancers at the engagement party of Frau Kost and Herr Schultz, turning a happy time into tragedy. In the movie, a very blonde Hitler Youth member stands in bier garten and sings the anthem in a clear boy tenor voice, solo at first, but then with all the customers joining and tilting the emotional movement towards the coming tragedy, both for Sally and Brian and for Germany.

While enjoying Cabaret, thoughts flooded over me of how the current situation in Egypt is reflective of German history. How could the Egyptians elect ultra-conservative Muslims who then elected a member of the Muslim Brotherhood as president, and not expect that they would attempt to establish Sharia law? And how could they expect that people who give not a whit for the trials and tribulations of anyone except their conservative Muslim allies is going to pull Egypt out of its economic downward spiral? The fall-off in tourism alone has a domino effect throughout their fragile economy. And the Copts? It won't be long before this prosperous segment of the population has fled the country entirely, if they can get out. Like the Jews, they are a handy whipping-boy for whatever ails the Muslims. I've advocated before that the US should just open its borders to all Christians in the Middle East. They surely pass the persecution criteria we set for political asylum.

So, the next time you want to see a great movie/play about the decline and fall of a country while the citizens dance and sing it up, see Cabaret. You will leave the theater full of music and thoughtful sadness.

Santa Fe Daze

August 3, 2013 Ann Boland

Three operas in three nights for 2013. DBH drove over from Tucson and picked me at the Albuquerque airport on Monday. We've done Santa Fe and the opera three year running, so we know this drill. And because we're only here four nights and three days, it's the cheap and cheerful motel for us, not a lovely rented home like 2012. Actually though our room is small, there is a nice, tiny but deep pool where I can exercise alone at 7 am and a comfy lobby with cushy chairs where we go to read and chill.

First opera, operetta really, was The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein by Offenbach. Glad we saw it, would not pay to see it again. Like other Offenbach operettas, it's played broadly for comic effect. In the first act, since this is about the Duchess' regiment, the word "privates" is bantered about. Susan Graham, mezzo, is the Duchess. For such a star, the only reason you would give her an extra ovation is for the way she wore the gorgeous costumes. Not her fault, but there just wasn't music for her to sing. The stars was the chorus.

But like a good production of The Mikado , it was fun to laugh along. All the leads had good comic instincts and were not afraid to take it over the top. How can you not love a tap-dancing regiment and camp-followers who are can-can dancers?

It's Wednesday night, and this is Oscar. Oscar Wilde, that is. A world premier that focuses on the several years of Wilde's trial, imprisonment and release - all rather grim. But the first act, which begins with the criminal case against Wilde for indecent acts and ends with his sentence to two years in Reading Goal, is good opera. The second act, Wilde in prison and then released after two years, is strong in the first half and weak in the second. And the act ends with the apotheosis of Wilde to his place among the literary Immortals. All told, not bad for a premier. It remains to be seen if they will rework the second act.

Threaded throughout the opera is a solo ballet performer, Bosie, Wilde's lover. He never sings because he fled to France to escape the wrath of his father, the Marquis of Queensbury (yes, that Marquis of Queensbury) when Wilde was tried. When a fellow opera tourist, who had already seen Oscar, described this ethereal sprite to me, I steeled myself not to like it. Think same use of ethereal muse in Benjamin Britten's Death in Venice, which leaves you wanting to strangle the little twerp to get him off stage. But Bosie works and illustrates how consumed Wilde was with this homosexual relationship. And Reed Luplau danced his heart out. The hints of Stravinsky's Afternoon of a Faun, were in keeping with the late 19th century period of the opera.

Wilde is sung by countertenor, David Daniels. Not much is written for this high, high tenor voice, so we felt privileged to experience the vocal and dramatic talents of this endowed artist. My one criticism is that the role is written in the bel canto style, with lots of flourishes on a single syllable. None of the other roles were written with this affected manor. Yes, it showed off Daniels' vocal chops, but it interfered with the telling of the story.

Rossini's La Donna Del Lago, a co-production with the Met, completed our trio. This is bel canto to the max - tough roles for all the stars. Joyce DiDonato owned the starring role of Elena. We will likely not hear again soprano pyrotechnics like hers that climaxed the second act. Elena has three "lovers"; King Giocomo, who falls madly in love with her (even tries to molest her) under the assumed name Umberto; Rodrigo, Chief of the Highlanders, who is mercifully killed in battle, and her true love, Malcom, a Highland warrior, who wins Elena in the end. So, Elena is a soprano, Umberto a tenor, Rodrigo a tenor and Malcom a mezzo (trouser role). Throw in Elena's father, Duglas, a bass, and you have beautiful music - even if the story is preposterous.

For me, opera is all about duets, trios, quartets and excellent choral music. Rossini provided them all. The duets between Malcom and Elena were heavenly, even though Malcom looked remarkably like Momma Cass in a kilt.

In between operas, Ed and I wandered up and down Canyon Road, visiting art galleries. Though there were some magnificent pieces, nothing we wanted to take home with us. We ate at our Santa Fe favorite, the Bumble Bee Baja Grill and discovered a new vegan restaurant, Body, which was delicious and will be visited again in the future. We're already planning next year. Possibly three or four operas in a row and maybe back to the big house if my southern cousins join us.

Here's the address so you can visit the Bumble Bee

Three princes, an unfulfilled promise and an unexpected pleasure

July 20, 2013 Ann Boland

DBH and I have been hanging around theaters in Chicago again. Even in the summer, there is much to be seen and admired. Now that we have senior CTA passes (1/2 fare) and the street parking fees have doubled ($4 an hour in the "off-loop" area where theaters would be and a 2 hour maximum), we CTA to just about venues.

First the princes. Blood and Gifts by J. T. Rogers presented by TimeLine Theater Company focuses on US, Afghan and British political scheming between 1981 and 1991. It's the story of "blowback" or the law of unintended consequences. All the good intentions of the US and cynical facilitating of the British left the Afghans well armed militant Islamists. The script is tight and TimeLine delivered a flawless performance.

Dennis-Watkins-and-Carolyn-Defrin-in-Death-and-Houdini.jpg

Death and Harry Houdini, written by Nathan Allan and presented by the House Theater of Chicago, leaves you breathless. OK, it's a magic show. But the theater seats about 100 people, so you are literally on top of the performers. And, they do all the big Houdini stunts. Ensemble member Dennis Watkins has been performing as Houdini since 2001, so this production has had plenty of time to mature. Watkins saws a man in half, eats and disgorges razor blades, performs card tricks, magic hat slight of hand and even the famous water torture cell. What a show for children - they can even learn a bit about immigrant German Jews.

Belleville, written by Amy Hertzog and produced by Steppenwolf, fits the full Steppenwolf criteria - screams, blood, nudity and good drama. Amy was crafty in constructing this play; four actors, a white couple and a black couple, and one set, so fairly inexpensive to produce. Best of all, the good guys are the blacks and the baddies (or saddies) are the whites. What more could American theater goers ask for? It's also one act which is appealing now that getting eight hours horizontal is important. It's no August, Osage County, but good theater.

The unfulfilled promise is The Jungle Book, written and directed by Mary Zimmerman and produced at The Goodman Theater. This play is funded by Disney. They are looking for another hit for their Broadway theater. Last February, I applauded and cried at the end of Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, one of my most memorable theater experiences. Jungle Book just leaves you wanting a story to wrap around the music, most of which comes from the Disney animated movie. The song and dance numbers are fun and pulsating, colorful and entrancing. The costumes are splendid; the character actors (snake, tiger, bear) are perfect. There is just no heart. Even the boy playing Mowgli was well cast, naive and believable. I've just downloaded the two books of The Jungle Book and plan to read them in Peru. I hope Mary Zimmerman is doing the same. The play goes from here to Boston and supposedly there will be considerable rework before opening there.

Another aspect of The Jungle Book that left me perturbed is the use of African-American jazz and swing music. It's all from the Disney movie and beautifully performed, but this is the Indian jungle, not African. So when Andre DeShields' showstopping King Louie, the head of the monkey pack, singsI Want to Be Like You, meaning like a man, I wondered, "Will someone play the race card over this?". But I didn't really feel the same way about Kevin Carolan who played a overweight, intellectually challenged Baloo the Bear, though some doughy white men might. I'd like to see some African-American theater goers weight in on this.

Finally, an unexpected pleasure. DBH and I are author Salman Rushdie fans. We plow through the good, bad and in-between because he is so imaginative and we always learn about more about Indian culture. Midnight's Children is Rushdie's seminal work about the independence of India, the separation of India from Pakistan and Pakistan from Bangladesh. Magical realism is not my favorite genre, but it serves the plot well. And, the history of India's birth and development is hardly realistic anyway. Well, they made a movie of it! And it isn't awful. The first half swept me back to the book and the great story of children born at the stroke of midnight when India was granted independence from Great Britain - all of whom can magically communicate with one another. The balance of the movie deals mostly with the devastation of the subsequent wars - not an easy history lesson to condense into less than an hour.

If you really want to dip into Rushdie, try The Satanic Verses, the book for which the Ayatollah of Iran put a fatwa on Rushdie and forced him into hiding for many years.

Toad kissing in Chicago theaters...

July 2, 2013 Ann Boland

DBH and I are back in Chicago and hitting the theater circuit again. Not that we don't do theater in Tucson - that has become a joy for us. But here there are so many theater groups that our Wednesday - Sunday calendars are frequently booked up. And then there is HotTix - 50% off most tickets + a service charge. It's run by the League of Chicago Theaters and the box office is just down Michigan Avenue in the Water Works building. So here's our rundown since May 11th. For those of you new to toad kissing, that's what you have to do to see really great theater. You kiss a lot of toads until you find a prince...

The Creditors, written in 1889 by Strindberg produced by Remy Bumpo - about an ex-husband, a current husband and the wife. Excellent production with all the dark, cruel scheming you might expect from turn-of-the-century Scandinavian author.

Smokey Joe's Cafe: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller - produced by Theo Ubique Cabaret. Just music and all the greats from the 50's and 60's. Charlie Brown, Up on the Roof, Poison Ivy, etc, etc. This is the same group that did the full production of Cats on a 10 x 30 foot stage in a room seating less than 100 people. Fantastic.

Spoon River Anthology - Edgar Lee Masters' stirring 1915 poem cycle transformed into an emotional theatrical experience, as the deceased citizens of one small American town tell their stories from their home on cemetery hill - it's a musical! The Provision Theater Company hit this one out of the park.

Barnum - The life of P.T. Barnum with songs by Cy Coleman, produced by The Mercury Theater Group. Excellent. A tiny stage filled with circus performers, high wire acts, singers and dancers. I loved it.

This House - UK's National Theater live telecast to the Music Box Theater. Shows the action in the Whips' offices of Parliament in the years leading up to the change in government from Labor to Tory with the election of Margaret Thatcher. Excellent. Aided greatly by watching several months ago the original BBC production of House of Cards.

The Emigrants by Slawomir Mrozek, produced by The Organic Theater Company. Excellent acting - almost three hours on stage by two actors. But what a boring script. James Joyce would be stimulating after Morzek. Next time, we'll look at who is the playwright as well as what the reviews say about the acting.

The Audience - Written by Peter Morgan and starring Helen Mirren. Another National Theater Live performance - 110,000 watching around the globe, largest audience ever. Stunning, as Queen Elizabeth trots through her 11 PMs and their weekly 20 minute update. All as imagined by Peter Morgan. I laughed, I cried, it's so much better than Cats.

More information on the National Theater Live events. Check them out in your city. http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=813677

©annboland.com 2013

San Antonio Diary: Texas Book Festival San Antonio Edition, Saturday, April 13, 2013

April 20, 2013 Ann Boland

DBH overlooking the Guadalupe River at 1011 Bistro

When you drive from Tucson to San Antonio, it takes two days over and two days back - and then some as you will see at the end of this post. DBH and I left Tucson on Thursday morning, heading for glorious Ft. Stockton - eight hours later for most drivers; nine to ten hours later for us as DBH never met a Diet Coke he didn't like nor a rest stop he shouldn't visit. Nothing lurks in Ft. Stockton except low and middle market motels and fast food. So we packed our cooler and ate dinner sitting in bed, watching trash TV. On to San Antonio on Friday. Since I'm eating vegan, I now Google cities along the way for vegan cuisine. And we have found some really good restaurants as a result. First is 1011 Bistro on the Guadalope River in Kerrville. Sort of a "ladies who lunch" place, but what a location and excellent crab cakes. I know, not really vegan, but I forgave myself.

In San Antonio, we stayed with DBH's cousin who lives in a spectacular retimement community, The Towers, directly across from the entrace to Ft. Sam Houston. They have lovely rooms for visitors and we get lots of time for family catch up. Twice while in San Antonio, we ate at our fav restaurant, Cappy's in Alamo Heights. No River Walk tourist trade, this is just a lovely local eatery.

The purpose of our trip was to participate in the Texas Book Festival, San Antonio Edition. One of my authors, Sarah Cortez, was featured for both her spiritual memoir, Walking Home: Growing Up Hispanic in Houston and her just-released book, co-edited with Sergio Troncoso, Our Lost Border: Essays on Life amid the Narco-Violence.

What a great day we had to share with you! This was the first Texas Book Festival held outside of Austin, where it originated in 1994, under the leadership of Laura Bush. The weather was cloudy and a bit breezy, and it felt good to be indoors and outdoors as long as you had a jacket. The San Antonio Central Library hosted the day. It was a maze of streets and alleys with meeting rooms spread among various buildings in the complex. But signage was good and lots of volunteers pointed the way.

Kudos to the Library Foundation and the Texas Book Festival with the elegant and unflappable Clay Smith at the helm.

DBH and I were free to attend one of the early presentations featuring two Texas political authors: Erica Greider and James L. Haley. We learned a lot of relevant info about Texas history in 45 minutes. Erica's new book, Big, Hot, Cheap and Right: What America Can Learn from the Strange Genius of Texas is almost to the top of my reading list.

Sarah's first appearance was in the Storyteller Booth signing her YA anthology, You Don’t Have a Clue.

Walking Home: Growing Up Hispanic in Houston was featured in a joint presentation with Beatrix de la Garza, who wrote of her family’s cross-border history in From the Republic of the Rio Grande: A Personal History of the Place and the People. Many people in the audience were interested in writing a memoir to honor family histories.

Sarah's last presentation was with co-editor, Sergio Troncoso, as we launched Our Lost Border: Essays on Life amid the Narco-Violence (Arte Público Press 2013). Cecilia Balli moderated and shared her own family’s loss of cross-border experience.

sarah sergio poli standing at signing.jpg

As Sergio and Sarah signed copies of the new book, we were joined by retired US Border Agent Hipolito Acosta, author of The Shadow Catcher: A U.S. Agent Infiltrates Mexico’s Deadly Crime Cartels. His years of police activity on the border are yet another aspect of the U.S.-Mexico border. The day was crowned by an energetic reception on the terrace of the library.

Sarah and I fit in many business meetings throughout the day and she excelled at "selling" me to all of her author friends. It appears a good deal of work will result from it. Thank you, Sarah! DBH and I had a few minutes at the reception to chat with my new client, Chitra Divakaruni and her husband. Chitra's newest book, Oleander Girl, received sterling reviews when it was released last month.

Monday and Tuesday, DBH and I visited some real estate of which we are part-owners. In Austin, we had a lovely visit with our friends, Judy and Werner Kozian, who now live in Sun City, TX, just north of Austin. Ate at an amazing restaurant, Trulucks. They specialize in seafood, seafood, seafood.

Tuesday afternoon we began our return voyage - made it into lovely Ft. Stockton with no trouble - dined on leftovers from Trulucks sitting on the bed watching trash TV. Up and out Wednesday morning for the long haul to Tucson. Googled vegan for El Paso and up popped on the the best restaurants ever: Tom's Cafe. Just a tiny adobe cottage, so crowded we ate on the side porch, commenting on the high winds.

DBH enjoys mac and cheese and crayfish tails at Tom's

We left about 2 pm and as we got on I10 saw a flashing sign that I10 was closed due to high winds and low visibility. We tried to skirt the problem by driving north to Hatch, but when we regained I10, it was really closed, all the way through AZ. So we camped in a cheap and cheerless motel, ate leftovers from Tom's sitting on the bed watching trash TV . Up at three am and into Tucson by nine am. Overall, a great trip.

©annboland.com 2013

Hustling up the Hancock - Feb 24, 2013

February 25, 2013 Ann Boland

Most years, members of my family join me to Hustle up the Hancock. Yup, it’s the Hancock building, all 94 stories and 1638 stairs, just six blocks south of our Chicago condo. It’s a mass of 4,000 climbers, well managed by the Respiratory Association of Chicago. Pros take off first and the winner this year made the climb in 9min 23sec.

Our family climbers and their results:

John Morris, age 10 – 15:47

Kate Morris, age 13 – 19:00

Ann Boland, age 69 – 47:56

Tracy Boland, Maggie Johnson, Megan Morris – various ages – 1:16:00

From left: Tracy, Deb, Ann, Maggie, Mary K, Bob, John, Megan, Kate

This was Maggie’s first year and she completed the climb with encouragement and coaching from her two older sisters, who accompanied her every step of the way.

Our Sherpas this year were: Deb Quentel, Tracy’s partner, Mary K Boland, mother and grandmother to most and Bob Morris, father of John and Kate and husband of Megan. We love our Sherpas who elevator large bags of climber coats and dry clothes to the 94th floor and wait for us to ascend.

Best part of the climb is our rendezvous at Mike Ditka’s restaurant directly across Michigan Avenue from the Hancock. The reward of a “Bloody Mike” keeps me going those last 20 stories.

The Bloody Mike complete with beer chaser
- Picture of Mike Ditka's Restaurant, Chicago

This photo of Mike Ditka's Restaurant is courtesy of TripAdvisor

©annboland.com 2013

A Good Dose of Chicago Theater

February 23, 2013 Ann Boland

DBH and I are in Chicago for several weeks. I’m doing the Hancock Hustle with my family on the 24th of Feb. Coming in early gives me a chance to practice in our 24 story building. I’ve climbed the equivalent of the Hancock twice this week – the first time a breeze, the second a real test of character. And in between we did two theater matinees, with the other gray hairs. Our theater pair was not the sort you would associate with matinee goers: The Motherf**cker with the Hat (TMWH) and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (BTBZ).

TMWH was staged at Steppenwolf. Not an ensemble piece, but directed by Steppenwolf ensemble member Anna Shapiro, who directed August: Osage County on Broadway and in London. BTBZ was at Lookingglass, lately one of our favorite Chicago venues and only six blocks from home in the old Water Tower.

If they were competing plays, BTBZ wins hands down. Compelling drama about the war in Iraq from the pov of good and evil Iraqis, crazed Marines and dead zoo animals. My only hesitation about awarding further kudos to the play is that the tiger cursed. He cursed man, god, zoos, his appetite – using human swear words. Tigers would not stoop so low. It demeaned the character. Most people swear because they cannot formulate more appropriate words to express their frustration. A tiger would be more thoughtful and deliberate.

TMWH is about low-life, recovering and non-recovering addicts. Yes, it’s full of foul language, but consider the source. These characters are frustrated all the time. And in the morass of addiction and the fragility of recovery, they sling foul language like laser lights – lots of display, but no one hears or reacts to the hurt. It’s just the way they talk. Sad. The play was well acted (remember its Steppenwolf, so it’s scream theater), but not really memorable. Just sad.

©annboland.com 2013

August: Osage County by Tracy Letts

February 3, 2013 Ann Boland

You don’t go to Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago looking for comedy, romance or musicals. You go to find intense theater, radiating dysfunctional families, friends and strangers in conflict. DBH and I call it “scream theater” because there was hardly a Steppenwolf production where the cast did not end up screaming, hitting, shooting and shouting. And we loved them all.

My history with Steppenwolf goes back to 1982 when I moved solo to downtown Chicago and could walk to the ensemble’s home at Hull House on Broadway. I saw just about every production, climaxed by Laurie Metcalf’s stellar performance in Balm in Gilead in 1982. In Balm, written by Lanford Wilson, I imagine that the script is a symphonic score. Twelve denizens of a shabby café (think Broadway and Lawrence in Chicago) all in dialogue at once – some talking to others, others talking to themselves. Out of this cacophony, a spotlight moves from table to table, and the lighted characters speak crescendo and the rest of the diners speak decrescendo. Then the spotlight finds Darlene (Laurie Metcalf) and for the next 15 minutes she speaks to the audience, wins and breaks their hearts. You can see a few minutes of this in a tribute to Lanford Wilson where Laurie Metcalf reads part of this soliloquy.

Why is this important to August: Osage County? Because there is so much theatrical history and baggage behind this play, written by Tracy Letts, a Steppenwolf Ensemble Member since 2002, and first performed at Steppenwolf in 2007. August: Osage County tears the guts out of 13 characters who figure in a family trauma featuring a meanest of mean mommas manipulating her family following the suicide of the husband/father. We loved it! Scream theater at its best. Steppenwolf comes to Tucson. And under the stewardship of Winding Road Theater Company, who produce plays by living American playwrights. It’s our first time at a Winding Road production – and we will be returning. They stage the plays at Beowulf Alley Theater – so intimate with its 65 seats.

No theater company could attempt August: Osage County without strong actors. The scenes are dialogue and tension laden. One even harks back to Balm in Gilead when the actors grouped into four separate areas on the stage, all engaged in simultaneous conversations for a minute and then one scenario erupts bringing the action into its milieu. The role of Violet the Mother is vicious, funny, awesome in its intensity. Toni Press-Cauffman, a WRTC founder, lives the role. Violet’s daughter, Barbara, requires an equally strong actress and Maria Caprille is up for it in both talent and physical presence. Evidently the Weinstein brothers are making a film, with Letts writing the screenplay. Meryl Streep will be Violet and Julia Roberts, Barbara.

August: Osage County won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 and picked up 5 Tonys for its Broadway production in 2008. WRTC’s production is the first in Arizona, and a significant coup for such a small ensemble to successfully stage such a big play.

For a more in-depth review of this production from the Tucson Weekly, click here.

©annboland.com 2013

Mother Courage and Her Children by Berthold Brecht

February 2, 2013 Ann Boland

In 1990 I was privileged to experience Glenda Jackson as Courage at the National Theatre in London. I remember it being rough, with Jackson shouting, cannons bombing and flashing and pots, pans and drums creating cacophony. So much for my Berthold Brecht education.

Flash ahead 30+ years to Tucson and The Rogue Theater which embraces a genre of theater not often found here, e.g. Brecht, Faulkner, Beckett, Pinter, Albee… The Rogue’s production of Mother Courage brought the 30 Years’ War between Sweden and Germany in the 1600’s alive on a 30 x 30 stage, complete with a manually rotated platform on which Courage’s wagon moved through the scenes. When Brecht wrote the play, most scenes included lyrics for songs, but they were not scored. Tim Blevins of The Rogue wrote original scores and voila, you have a war musical – and a cynical comedy as groaning one-liners pierce the dialogue – a bit of 17th century vaudeville.

I could not begin to compare the two productions, but Cynthia Meier’s Courage was a gruesome testament both to how to survive a war and how to rationalize the death of your children. More than the horrors of war, Mother Courage is about the horror of the business of war and how it profits the very rich, feeds off the poor and provides employment for the industrious.

Unopened Books - musings on current reads in progress

January 31, 2013 Ann Boland

Originally published April 30, 2012

Am I the only one who approaches a new book with mixed feelings? What if it disappoints? What if I don’t care about the characters? What if there are no good maps? Sometimes I will let a book “ripen” in the stack by my bed, whiling away evenings reading the newspaper or a magazine, until I guiltily pick the book up, review the jacket, read “About the author”, take a deep breath and plunge in.

Two nights ago, I did that with The Lost City of Z by David Grann. DBH and I are great readers of adventure/explorer non-fiction. Z is “a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon”. And, after two evenings, I’m hooked. Even the maps are good. The explorers are suitable megalomaniacs and the Amazon jungle is deathly and uninviting.

At the same time, I’m listening to The Tiger, A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant. This is about the Amur tiger in the easternmost province of Russia, nestled just above China on the Sea of Hotsk. No maps in CD book unfortunately, so I had to pull out the atlas. Though the stars are the tigers, Vaillant craftily weaves stories around the incredible Russians, some from the West, most indigenous people, and how they survive in this completely hostile environment. Vaillant’s photo on the website reveals an extraordinary amount of chest hair for a blue-eyed blonde. Hmmmmmm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvIVQFw_444

Beginning a book that I listen to either from my MP3 player or in the car, does not share the risk of the unopened book. Recorded books are to keep my mind occupied while my hands are doing other work: driving a car, sewing, gardening, cleaning. They make the time fly. I still fondly remember listening to Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (all 63 hours or it) while gardening in the intense Indiana heat and humidity at our home in Beverly Shores. Yes, I did fast forward through the endless repetition of John Galt’s philosophy.

In the car, I’m listening to T.C. Boyle’s When the Killing’s Done. Not my favorite T.C. book, but he usually takes you to a new place and perhaps a new point of view. This one is about the battle on the California Channel Islands between the US Park Service, who want to return the islands to their original condition by eliminating all the non-native species introduced over the past 500 years by humans, and the PETA-type who are against killing any living thing, non-native or not. As with most T.C. books, there are no real winners, a just lot of losers trying to do what they think is right.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe resides on my Kindle. He’s been there for about a year, as I only use the Kindle when I fly and I try to only download books in the public domain, which are free. Last year was the 100th anniversary of the publication of UTC, so it received a bit of press and even a book written about the book. I’d never read it. The book is largely written in slave dialogue which makes it a bit of a struggle. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker, used that same technique and was offputting to many readers.

Hilary Mantel just wrote a small article in the Review section of the Saturday WSJ about the language challenge of writing books set in the 16th century. Her books (Wolf Hall, winner of the Booker Prize) cover the royalty, the serfs, the servants, Brits and foreigners. In the 16th century, written English was emerging. Educated men and women wrote and spoke Latin. Her challenge is to create a language understandable to the modern reader that still feels somewhat evocative of the age depicted. Evan Connell does an excellent job of crafting 13th century “speak” in his book, Deus Lo Volt, the memoire of a Crusader. It’s just strange enough that the reader has to “work” at rhythm and pace of the words, but not so challenging that you are put off by the effort.

So many books…so little time.

Sins of the Mother

January 31, 2013 Ann Boland

Originally posted May 5, 2012

Little ol’ Tucson is finally getting big time theater – and it isn’t coming from Broadway in Tucson with their road shows. For years, DBH (Dearly Beloved Husband) and I have been avid theater goers. Not the several times a year variety, but several times a month. We call it “toad kissing”. We are happy to see the no-name performers and writers to find the prince that sometimes lurks in a theater with no curtain, folding chairs and “Pay what you can Thursdays”.

Beowulf Alley Theatre has had a rough season. Play selection has been spotty, acting inconsistent within a production, direction and timing off in plays that require spot-on action. But we have stayed with it – mostly because we sometimes find princes.

Sins of the Mother by Israel Horovitz is a prince. The production features four talented performers – one of them wickedly so, Ken Beider. His role is twin brothers, cast asunder by the sins of their brawling parents. No, he does not play them simultaneously through the miracle of digital imaging. One brother, central to the first act, is murdered. The other brother carries the second and third acts, resolving and dissolving the family feud.

The situation, pacing and dialogue reminded me of Arthur Miller, though Horovitz says he is strongly influenced by Samuel Beckett (remind me to see more Beckett). There is a lot of drama, humor, violence, a few strong words, but mostly an engrossing unfolding of tragedy – and mysteries that are not all neatly tied up by the end of the evening.

We also enjoyed returning to a favorite downtown eatery, The Hub. Great food, excellent service, very reasonable prices and two blocks from the theater. There were four in our party and we fell upon the “French fries (cooked in lard, of course) topped with blue cheese, served au jus” for our appetizer. $7. Magnificent. I always get their souped-up hot dog, served with home-made sauerkraut and lean pastrami. DBH chose to dine solely on mac and cheese with bacon. There are no “cheap and cheerful” beers at The Hub (like a Bud Lite), only brew-pub styles. I’m not too fond of most of these, as I enjoy lagers. Our waiter recommended (and brought me a taste of) Scrimshaw, a pilsner on draft from North Coast Brewing in CA. Delicious. The Hub also make over 30 flavors of ice cream. We ended our meal with a taste of Bourbon Brickle.

A Night at the Opera - five of them, actually

January 31, 2013 Ann Boland

I’m writing this from Champaign, IL where our flight from Santa Fe is taking on more gas and waiting for a huge storm front to pass through Chicago. Though, after looking at Weather.com, I’m not sure we will be getting out of here any time soon. I’m in no rush, but pity the many passengers who are (or were) making overseas connections out of O’Hare. Pass the time by reading Salamon Rushdie’s The Enchantress of Florence and working on cross-stitch and writing a blog entry.

Five operas in five nights…too good an opportunity to miss. In 2011, Ed and I made our first visit to the Santa Fe Opera. I fell head over heels in love with the quality of the productions, the facility and Santa Fe is a city we both enjoy. Two weeks during their month and a half season, they run all five opera in their repertoire on consecutive nights – so you can do it all in a week. My cousins, Mervin and Reade White-Spunner from Mobile, AL are also opera fans, so we rented a house together. They took a more conservative route with three operas during the week.

Opera I – Tosca. Magnificent! Huge voices for Scarpia and Tosca, and Cavaradossa was a great tenor. Interesting staging, with the main stage as the huge unfinished painting, so everyone was walking over it throughout Act I. While others were outraged at the untraditional staging, it did not detract from a sterling performance.

Opera 2 – The Pearl Fishers - George Bizet. Not Bizet’s best, but a lovely opera, even though no one dies.

Opera 3 - Rossini - Maometto II. Excellent, rarely produced opera. Scenes of war enhanced by live thunder storm. Most everybody dies at the end of this one.

Opera 4 - King Roger - Szymanowski. Rarely performed and who knows why? Etherial combination of choral, orchestra and individual performers. Surely should be on more opera calendars as it represents a “modern” opera that is inoffensive to traditional ears.

Opera 5 - Arabella - R. Strauss – All costumes and settings in tones of gray and beige. And the opera itself was gray and beige – beautiful music, but a snoozer. Again, no one dies.

Radium Girls by D. W. Gregory

January 31, 2013 Ann Boland

Originally published April 23, 2012 Beowulf Theater, Tucson

How many times have we moistened a small print brush by wetting it in our mouths? Maybe not so many times as an adult, but likely often as a child. Shortly after the turn of the 19th century, radium, a key component of a “glow in the dark” paint called Undark, was used to illuminate watches and controls on machines used in WWI. Employees of US Radium, mostly women war-workers, were encouraged by their employer to moisten their paint brushes in their mouths to obtain the very fine point needed for the numbers and letters they were painting. Most of these women later developed radium poisoning, suffering terrible disfigurement of the mouth and jaw and eventually dying.

US Radium hid the poisonous nature of radium from their employees, even though they were so aware of its devastating effects that management used lead shields when handling the paint. Radium Girls is a sad and effective play about several of these women who filed a class action suit against US Radium, eventually getting a small settlement to offset medical bills, but virtually nothing was paid to them. This proved to be one of landmark cases that eventually led to worker protection on the job. Read more about it at http://www.damninteresting.com/undark-and-the-radium-girls/

This is an important play for young people to see who were born in the OSHA world and don’t know about the workers who gave their lives and the employers who took their lives seeking the almighty dollar. It is one thing to knowingly take a risk in personal or work endeavors. It’s another when your employer egregiously deceives you regarding the risk of your job.

Beowulf did a nice job with the play. I admire their productions, as all on stage and behind stage are volunteers. It takes a lot of dedication and energy.

War Horse: the movie, the book, the play

January 31, 2013 Ann Boland

I love horse stories. There wasn’t a Marguerite Henry book in the 50’s that I did not read many, many times over. King of the Wind was my favorite, closely followed by Misty of Chincoteaque. Michael Morpurgo’s War Horse was originally published in the UK in the 80’s and I did not hear of it until it was adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, featuring the Handspring Puppet Company as the horses. And now adapted to a movie from Steven Spielberg. I have now read the book and seen both productions.

I loved War Horse the movie. It is memorable and remarkable. Young people need to learn about war and death and horror and we adults need to be reminded of it. The most popular vehicle for those images today is video games – what do you imagine our young people are learning from those? This story of a horse, trained, loved and lost by a boy who becomes a soldier and the horse that also becomes a soldier in WWI, teaches all of us. The book is better than the movie, though both are schmaltzy and predictable. Most great stories are. I plan to discuss it with my great nieces and nephews - the war, the cruelty to animals, to humans and how it continues to this day. Well done, Spielberg. You have made a great vehicle for learning.

But the play – with the huge puppet-horses, attacked all senses. There was no question that the puppets were real horses – they were “more real” that horses, jerking at tufts of grass, flicking their tails, snorting, and galloping right off the stage. The production was alive with puppeteers, never concealed, but visibly manipulating their puppets until you realized there were not two entities involved, but one – the goose, the bird. And the horses with six and sometimes eight puppeteers who became the one horse.

The play is more horrifying than the movie – when the animal dies, the puppeteers die as well. And, to fit the abbreviated stage length, large bits of the story are left behind. But these were parts that more humanized War Horse, and we are left with a more visceral taste of the horrors of war.

Other memorable books about The Great War came rushing to mind as I reflected on this trio:

Johnny Got His Gun – a didactic, horrifying novel by anti-war activist and black-listed author Dalton Trumbo

Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, The Ghost Road – a trilogy by Pat Barker about the psychological effects of war. The Ghost Road won the Booker in ’95.

Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks haunting novel about sappers – the men, mostly British coal miners, who tunneled under the trenches in WWI.

Goodbye To All That – Robert Graves autobiographical recollections of WWI, some of which is reflected in the Pat Barker trilogy.

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