Thursday, November 30, 2006
In comes Company…
New York Times: A Revival Whose Surface of Tundra Conceals a Volcano
Fire flickers, dangerous and beckoning, beneath the frost of John Doyle’s elegant, unexpectedly stirring revival of “Company,” which opened last night at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. This visually severe, aurally lush reinvention of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s era-defining musical of marriage and its discontents from 1970 is the chicest-looking production on Broadway.
Newsday: Bobby and company were never so together
[Raul] Esparza, looking relaxed yet detached in a charcoal suit and tie, turns his seductively sleepy eyelids into virtuoso instruments. Although he has played plenty of flashy roles, Esparza cleverly builds tension by holding back until he breaks loose at the piano for Bobby's ultimate (if psychologically dubious) acceptance of "Being Alive." ... [He] finds all the bitterness, hope, bemusement and sullen charm in the colors of his voice.
Variety: Broadway: Company
As Robert, the central figure marking his 35th birthday by pondering why he's the only one of his circle not married, Raul Esparza strikes just the right balance of easy charm and circumspect distance, alone even in a crowd of friends. He's a deeply ambiguous mass of swirling contradictions -- confused but self-knowing, seductive but standoffish, vulnerable but heavily armored, open to love but ambivalent. And Bobby's sexual identity is called more directly into question here than perhaps ever before.
USA Today: Revival of 'Company' works, most of the time
Barbara Walsh's dry, haunted Joanne is a standout, bringing an extra layer of rage to Sondheim's brilliant barbfest "The Ladies Who Lunch". Heather Laws and Elizabeth Stanley amuse as neurotic Amy and dizzy April.
Associated Press: A Chilly, High-Concept Company
By the time Bobby gets to his revelatory moment — "Being Alive" — and sits down at the piano, we are more than ready for his enlightenment. Esparza, who has a powerful voice, gives it his all. The man finally surrenders to his feelings, and for the first time during the evening, we are touched.
And, well,
you already know what I think. After an early preview performance in New York a few weeks ago, my opinion stands: this is the best damn
Company I've seen—and I've seen quite a few.
Don't miss it.
November 30, 2006 at 12:19 AM
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Theatre
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
links for 2006-11-28
November 28, 2006 at 5:18 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Monday, November 27, 2006
links for 2006-11-27
November 27, 2006 at 5:20 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Saturday, November 25, 2006
38
I thought I might have something more profound to say today but, as I continue to slouch toward 40, the most apt thing I can report is that the ride never fails to get better with each passing year and, this year as last and the one before, I've never felt better or happier or more fulfilled than I do today.
Here's hoping that in another year, I can still say the same. I have a hunch that'll be so.
Today, my birthday, of course, marks the beginning of
Bradvent, the 10-day celebration of my birthday filled with glass-liftings, pageants and other assorted folderol and, of course, concludes with the merry Feast of Bradvent where, surrounded by the most wonderful friends in the world, I'll toast the first few days of my 39th year on this earth.
How do I feel at 38? Better than yesterday and not as good as tomorrow. Onward!
November 25, 2006 at 3:27 AM
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Me
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
links for 2006-11-22
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Hmm...this might be the perfect setup for a new project I'm contemplating. Mac Mini + TVMax. Worth a look.
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Tips for surviving the holiday in a foreign land, by which Ze means "your family". I think.
November 22, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
links for 2006-11-21
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You know, it's not half-bad.
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Good news and bad news. The former is that Flickr now offers "guest passes" for private sets. The latter is that the new mobile site only works with Yahoo! IDs. Bummer, that.
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"As a former 'the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it' kind of guy, I am sympathetic with any Christian who accepts the Bible at face value. But here's the catch." Thoughtful piece, despite the absurdity of the idea mythology should dictate law.
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Battlestar Galactica will move to Sundays at 9 pm Central for the back end of the season. Hrm...
November 21, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Monday, November 20, 2006
links for 2006-11-20
November 20, 2006 at 5:20 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Sunday, November 19, 2006
links for 2006-11-19
November 19, 2006 at 5:18 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Saturday, November 18, 2006
links for 2006-11-18
November 18, 2006 at 5:18 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Friday, November 17, 2006
links for 2006-11-17
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Oh thank dog! Finally a working mobile edition of the Internet Movie Database. This will be very, very useful. [via that hottie
Matt]
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Huzzah! This extension adds Safari-like bookmark shortcut keys to Firefox,
just like I wanted! [props to
Neil for the heads-up]
November 17, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
links for 2006-11-14
November 14, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Monday, November 13, 2006
Connections!
Oh, this is simply marvelous! The wonderful 1970s-era BBC documentary series,
Connections, created by science historian James Burke, is
available for download.
Connections explores an "Alternative View of Change" (the subtitle of the series) that rejects the conventional linear and teleological view of historical progress. Burke contends that one cannot consider the development of any particular piece of the modern world in isolation. Rather, the entire gestalt of the modern world is the result of a web of interconnected events, each one consisting of a person or group acting in rational self-interest with no concept of the final, modern result of what either their or their contemporaries' actions finally lead to. The interplay of the results of these isolated events is what drives history and innovation...
There were two sequel series to the original. Here's hoping they'll be made available too!
November 13, 2006 at 11:23 PM
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A/V Club
Friday, November 10, 2006
links for 2006-11-10
November 10, 2006 at 5:20 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
links for 2006-11-07
November 7, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Sunday, November 5, 2006
links for 2006-11-05
November 5, 2006 at 5:18 PM
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Clearing the Cache
I am…
![I am [metaphor]](http://static.flickr.com/115/288253611_0ec863900e.jpg)
Broadway at Surf, Chicago, Illinois
November 3, 2006
No idea what this is about. Anyone?
November 5, 2006 at 5:07 PM
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Roam
Friday, November 3, 2006
links for 2006-11-03
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Little things standing in for big things.
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Ze explains the upcoming elections.
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Representatives for Mr. Crack declined to comment on the nature of the relationship, although speculation that Mr. Crack has long pursued an affair with arch-nemesis Louie the Leak is rampant.
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Easy install of Apache, PHP and MySQL for Mac OS X. Sweet!
November 3, 2006 at 5:19 PM
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Clearing the Cache
Thursday, November 2, 2006
links for 2006-11-02
November 2, 2006 at 5:18 PM
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Clearing the Cache
O high oh! Chicag-oh!
I'm taking a couple of quick trips this week, off this afternoon for a night in Cincinnati to check in on our production of the new musical
Ace (about which we'll be announcing some exciting news in a day or two) and then to Chicago for meetings and a couple of other shows.
It's just an overnight in Ohio, but I'll be in Chicago until Tuesday, so luncheon invitations and tips for glass-liftings will be cheerfully entertained.
November 2, 2006 at 10:42 AM
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Roam
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Brad L. Graham is a writer, editor, riverboat gambler, fashion consultant, softshoe dancer, professional assassin, freelance factotum and singer of sentimental ballads.The BradLands is his home on the web. 
Find Brad elsewhere on the web.