Music Review:The Merry Widow, 1964 Lincoln Center Cast Recording

Article first published as Music Review: The Merry Widow, 1964 Lincoln Center Cast Recording on Blogcritics.

If Franz Lehar's 1905 operetta The Merry Widow seemed dated and old fashioned to critics when it was revived as the second offering of the new Music Theatre of the Lincoln Center in 1964 under the guidance of Richard Rogers, today, listening to the newly released cast recording of that Lincoln Center production from Masterworks Broadway, nostalgic even classic seem more appropriate descriptions. Lehar's music is rich in color with melodies that echo fondly still a century later. It is music that has stood the test of time. In the hands of the right musicians it remains vibrant and enchanting, and the Lincoln Center cast headed by Metropolitan Opera star, Patrice Munsel captures its bubbling spirit with joyful brio.

As Munsel sings, not only is her voice a powerful instrument, but you can imagine the twinkle in her eye. She play Sonia, Hanna is some translations, a Marsovian widow with a fortune in mortgaged property and jewels who, for her country's sake, needs to keep her fortune in the country by marrying a Marsovian prince. At the Marsovian embassy in France, character actor Mischa Auer playing the Marsonvian ambassador makes a bumbling attempt to arrange a marriage for her. Prince Danilo, played by baritone Bob Wright, a Broadway veteran, son of the Marsovian king is an obvious choice, but he is jealous of the many other suitors pursuing the rich widow. Sonia, on the other hand, has problems with his flirtations with French show girls. There is as you would expect the traditional happy ending with love conquering all. This is a frothy piece, and both Wright and Munsel excel with the material.

The most famous pieces from the show are the glorious Merry Widow waltz, "I Love You So" and the haunting "Vilia" which opens the second act. But the rest of the score if not quite as well known is a happy excursion into turn of the century Viennese romance. Munsel and Wright have a tuneful duet in "Riding on a Carousel," and "Maxim's" is a catchy romp for Wright as "Girls at Maxim's" is for Munsel. "Women" is a dynamic ensemble piece featuring Auer, Sig Arno and others. Frank Poretta and Joan Weldon have some nice moments in "Romance" and "A Respectable Wife." Poretta's tenor soars with power and passion. This is a cast that understands what operetta is all about and knows how to perform it. They have the light touch the form demands.

In many respects it is the waltz with its sweeping dramatic rhythms that defines the Viennese operetta and Lehar is as much a master of the form as any of the Strausses. There is a pomp and pageantry associated with the dance—one thinks of Die Fledermaus, for example—that is the essence of operetta. At its best it is light and airy like champagne. It is not to be taken too seriously. This recording conducted by the Tony-winning maestro and operetta specialist, Franz Allers captures that playful spirit.

Masterworks Broadway will be making the recording available digitally and as a disc-on-demand along with a number of other original cast albums. These include lesser known shows like Mr. President and The Happiest Girl in the World. Previous releases include The Chocolate Soldier reviewed at http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-the-chocolate-soldier-studio/.

Book Review:Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua

Article first published as Book Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua on Blogcritics.

Whether you agree with Amy Chua's controversial ideas about parenting as outlined in her best selling apologia, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, two things seem incontrovertible. Either because of or in spite of those ideas, she and her husband managed to raise two exceptional children: number one. Number two: she has written one fascinating account of growing up Chua. Certainly there will be those who are unable to get beyond the image of the tiger mother and her methods. There will be those who object to the stereotyping of Oriental and Western parents. There will be those that feel compelled to defend play dates, sleepovers and school dramas, and they may well have some points to make. Still when all the points have been made, all the objections noted, readers will be left with perhaps the most stimulating book on the subject of child rearing since Dr. Spock.

The tiger mother, as embodied in Chua based on her understanding of Chinese parenting, demands superlatives and nothing less from her children. She assumes they are capable of excellence in all things, and it is her duty to make sure that excellence is realized. They must devote themselves to their studies and engage only in other activities approved by the parents. Whatever they do, they must be the best and the only way to be best is to work hard. First in everything is the expectation; anything less is unacceptable. To accept less than the best is demeaning to the child. In school, A-'s are poor grades, B's, I assume are failures. In other activities, the child must work to be the finest and the parent must provide whatever is necessary to make that happen. As far as Chua is concerned, the pudding proves she is right. One only has to look at all the Orientals in top ten universities and Ivy League schools, the dominating performance of Orientals in math and science, the proliferation of Oriental virtuosos in music. Parents who push their children are only doing what they should. Parents who expect the best and refuse to settle for anything less get the best.

As it turns out her own two girls, despite what a tiger mother might consider at least one failure, are themselves a testament to the success of her theories as one could want. They are academically successful. They are industrious and articulate. They are talented and willing to work hard to develop their talents. And if in the case of one of her daughters there is a rebelliousness that eventually asserts itself, well by some standards that is probably more a sign of success than blind obedience. After all, the author herself, raised by her own tiger mother, admits to her own eventual assertion of her own independence. To raise a child confident enough in her own judgment to defy authority if need be is not necessarily a failure. Lulu, her younger daughter, is miserably unhappy about being forced into the kind of fanatical practice of the violin her mother demands despite her talent on the instrument. Eventually, the tiger mother is forced to concede defeat and allow the child to go her own way. In doing so, she discovers that while the violin may have lost a potential prodigy, the lessons of hard work and perseverance have not gone unlearned.

Chua's picture of herself is not always flattering. She is both demanding and stubborn. Many of the incidents she describes might well cross the line into child abuse for some of the more squeamish readers, but that would seem to be pushing it. Some of her behavior seems mean spirited, but since she is reporting it about herself, it is clear it was always well intentioned. She is obviously a loving mother and this is a loving family. She wants what is best for her children, and she believes that she is the best judge of what is best. If her ideas have caused controversy among some, there is at least one important voice in her defense. Sophia, her oldest daughter, ends an article in the New York Post last January by thanking her "Tiger Mom" for having taught her the value of striving to do your best. "If I died tomorrow," she says. "I would die feeling I've lived my whole life at 110 percent."

Music Review: They Might Be Giants-Join Us

Article first published as Music Review: They Might Be Giants - Join Us (Four Advance Tracks) on Blogcritics.

Giants? They may be, but if the four advance tracks from their new album, Join Us currently available from iTunes are any indication—giants? They sure as hell are. While the complete album is scheduled for release later this summer, this first taste is well calculated to whet the appetite of all those fans of the band who have been waiting patiently for a return to the quirky joy of the "Birdhouse in Your Soul" and "Particle Man" era after the Giants' recent forays into children's music and family programming (not that there's anything wrong with that, in the words of some other pop heroes). Here are four songs that capture the free spirited absurdist world critique that colored the band's journey from cult status to tops on the alternative charts.

You've got the clever esoteric lyrics which cry out for explication. Where else are you going to get a refrain that uses a kind of enamel work as a simile, Quonset hutting used as a gerund? You've got the infectious syncopating rhythms. You've got their characteristic harmonies and instrumental gamesmanship. You've got the joyful echoes of musical styles long gone. This is deceptively simple music that can bite. Everything that makes They Might Be Giants unique is on display.

"Can't Keep Johnny Down" is as catchy a melodic pop romp as you're likely to hear this summer. In an interview with Spinner, John Flansburgh says it’s a song about defiance, "a very nice bittersweet concoction of a very bitchy lyric with an incredibly sunny arrangement." Cloissone" is a Salvatore Dali painting in music with the kind of lyrics that play with your head. "Never Knew Love" is a sweet ballad with a driving beat, although the title suggests at least some ambiguity. Flansburgh says the full title should be "Never Knew Love Like This Before," which would certainly get rid of the ambiguity. "Old Pine Box," a song with something of a folk quality, he says is a song about burnout. The whole interview which includes Flansburgh's explanation for why the band decided to produce an adult album at this time, is available at the Spinner website.

DVD Review: Genius of Britain: The Scientists Who Changed the World

Article first published as DVD Review: Genius of Britain: The Scientists Who Changed the World on Blogcritics.

While there will certainly be those who object to a survey of scientists "who changed the world" that limited its scope to only those citizens of one country as nothing short of self aggrandizing parochial nationalism, Genius of Britain, the five part series produced for British television's Channel 4 makes one very good case for it. Britain clearly has produced its share of innovative scientific minds, maybe more than its share. Besides, any history of science intended for the popular audience must limit its scope in some way, and focusing on the contributions of one country, so long as that country's contributions are significant, makes as much sense as any other. It is not as though the series is claiming any sort of special greatness for their home grown scientists; it does acknowledge the work of others. What it does claim is that perhaps the contributions of the Brits haven't gotten quite the attention they deserve, and here is a historical survey that redresses the problem.

The current DVD release features the five episodes of the series on two discs including biographies of the various scientific talking heads presenting the material, a time line of British scientific accomplishments and an article on the lesser known Rosalind Franklin. A third DVD with the two episodes of Stephen Hawking and The Theory of Everything which was seen on the Science Channel as Master of the Universe completes the set. It also includes a nine page viewer's guide which adds a good bit of material not covered in the episodes. Taken altogether the set provides a comprehensive overview of the subject with plenty of information entertainingly enough presented to keep the attention of even the most moderately scientifically literate viewer.

Genius of Britain is organized by centuries and focused on individual scientists and their contribution. Episode 1,"The First Five," for example looks at the 17^th century through what they call five "polymaths," men with wide ranging interests in a variety of areas: Christopher Wren, certainly most famous as an architect, Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle, Edmund Halley, and, of course, Isaac Newton. Each individual is discussed by a presenter who specializes in the scientist's specific area of expertise. They include some biographical information and then go on to explain the importance of the scientist's contributions in layman's terms. The second episode moves into the 18^th century and so on. The 20^th century is split into two episodes, the first looks at the first half, and the second concentrates on the scientist's efforts during the World Wars.

Among the many scientists discussed in the series are some of the most controversial like Charles Darwin, some of the lesser known like James Clark Maxwell, theoreticians like Hawking, and practical innovators like Isambard Brunel. Whenever possible they are sure to include any significant elements of human interest like controversies about the suicide of Alan Turing or the effect of Alfred Russell Wallace's independently developed ideas on natural selection and the origin of species had on Darwin. Unlike many talking heads, the presenters—including David Attenborough, James Dyson and Kathy Sykes--are lively and dynamic; they are animated and their enthusiasm for their subject is obvious.

The Stephen Hawking DVD which attempts to explain Hawking's search for a theory of everything is quite a bit more complex than the material from the other series. Valiant attempts are made to explain things like black holes and string theory, but I must admit, that they soared over the head of this viewer. More often than not I found myself more concerned with the mechanics of the man's life than his ideas. Watching young scientists fill chalk boards with equations that have absolutely no meaning for one, can certainly take one down a peg. Still, there is something to be gained in getting a handle on your own lacunae. It's time to get a hold of a copy of A Brief History of Time and see what I have been missing.

Indeed, this may be the best thing about the series in general. It is a testament to both man's curiosity and man's willingness to keep plugging away until that curiosity is satisfied. It is the kind of documentary that may well create an itch to investigate further even amongst the scientifically challenged. Genius of Britain is an impressive documentary well worth the time of anyone interested in learning something about some of the greatest scientific contributions, not only of the British, but of mankind, as well.

Book Review:The Fourth Hand, by John Irving

This article was first published at The Compulsive Reader some years ago.

Reviews of John Irving's The Fourth Hand have been neither excessively enthusiastic, nor particularly hostile. Reviewers seem to feel that reading this book is like déjà vu all over again. The details may be different, but in essence Irving is once again doing the kind of thing he has done before, and though he does it well, perhaps it would be a good idea to expand horizons. Now while there is some truth to this, it is also true that once an artist finds his voice, his world, his corner of the universe, there is some virtue in continuing to explore it. The problem with the novel is less with universe Irving chooses to explore, than it is with the conclusion that exploration leads to.

What is best about The Fourth Hand is that it once again delivers what reader's of Irving's previous nine novels have come to expect from this chronicler of weird and the grotesque. Irving has never been one to concern himself with "normal" people in normal situations preferring instead sexually modified football players, dwarfish instruments of God and philandering writers of children's books. Middle aged women have affairs with sixteen year olds. Accidental castrations punish illicit sexual acts. Women are constantly looking to males as nothing more than breeding studs. What his work may lack in conventional realism it makes up for in imagination. While some might argue that Irving's appeal is the appeal of the side show freak, Irving would disagree.

As his hero, Patrick Wallingford, a reporter for a sensationalistic all news TV network, the hero of The Fourth Hand discovers after his left hand has been bitten off by a lion: "He'd once been a faintly mocking commentator on the kind of calamity that had befallen him; he'd heretofore behaved as if there was less sympathy for the bizarre death, the bizarre loss, the bizarre grief, simply because they were bizarre. He knew now that the bizarre was commonplace, hence not bizarre at all. It was all death, all loss all grief - no matter how stupid." For Irving the grotesque is the norm, and when he is at his best, he manages to convince us that he's right.

We are willing to suspend disbelief and run along with a compulsively thin marathoning hand doctor as he plays dog turd lacrosse. We are willing to accept a married woman who, unable to conceive, convinces her husband to donate his hand for a transplant in the hopes that the recipient will prove more fertile. We are willing to buy into a whole supporting cast of oddities: a doorman named Vlad or Vlade or Lewis who insists that Patrick is the right fielder for the New York Yankees, an aging feminist grandmother that jumps into Patrick's bed, a lovable gum chewing make up girl who leaves phone numbers for her family to reach her during a night of passion, not to mention the dog named Medea.

It is this ability to portray the normality of the weird that is the hallmark of Irving's work. His novels transport the reader to an alien world where people's behavior is somewhat askew, yet when all is said and done their fears and desires are not much different from our own. Irving's characters may go about getting what they want in strange ways, but what they want is the same thing we all want.

But in this case that virtue may well be the source of the novel's less than stellar reception. Because in The Fourth hand, what the characters want, what they look to as the solution to the quirks and tics of their existences, what the world needs now is. . . .you guessed it. It is too easy to confuse the normal and the trite.

Given the bizarre relationship between the characters such a patently formulaic insight may seem at best a disappointment, at worst a cop out. Even if true, it smacks too much of popular music. You can hear John and Paul, George and Ringo humming in the background. We've heard it too many times before. Even the ending-- "Outside their warm hotel, the cold wind was a harbinger of the coming winter, but they heard only their own harsh breathing. Like other lovers, they were oblivious to the swirling wind, which blew on and on in the wild, uncaring Wisconsin night." seems familiar. Compare it with Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach":

Ah, love let us be true To one another! For the world, which seems To lie before us like a land of dreams, So various, so beautiful, so new, Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain. . . .

Now while the relationship pictured at the end of Irving's novel is literally not without its element of grotesquerie, there is still the feeling that we've heard it before.

There is some attempt at satire in the book. The Fourth Hand pokes fun at "all news, all day television" and its lack of interest in anything but the disaster du jour. It slaps out at medical ethicists and transplant politics. It even points a finger at the American passion for football, face painting and cheeseheads. But in the end these things seem tacked on and are not really central to the novel. The book is not social satire.

In the end despite its flaws, perhaps even because of them, the book reads like an express. It is hard to put it down. In truth, if you like John Irving's work, you'll like this book. If you haven't liked John Irving's work, The Fourth Hand won't covert you. If you';ve never read John Irving, start with Garp.

Music Review: Aaron Comess-Beautiful Mistake

Article first published as Music Review: Aaron Comess - Beautiful Mistake on Blogcritics.

In an interview with Modern Drummer in support of their 2005 album, Nice Talking to Me, Spin Doctor founding member, Aaron Comess describing his different personalities as a drummer says: "I’ve always felt like your first thing as a drummer is to serve the music, whatever the style or song or group of people you’re playing with. You really have to adapt. Unfortunately there are a lot of musicians who just show up and say, 'This is the way I am, this is what I do, and you better adapt to me.' I think the best music happens when everybody is listening to each other and making the proper adjustments to make the whole group sound good. That’s what music is all about."

An eclectic sessions performer, his diverse discography includes albums with Marc Cohn, Joan Osborne, Rachel Yamagata, James Maddock and New York Electric Piano among many others. While he acknowledges that he might be best known for his work with the Spin Doctors that is really only one side of his musical personality. He is more than comfortable with everything from rock to jazz. Beautiful Mistake, a new instrumental album, following the 2006 Catskill Cry, to be released in June is testimony to just a few of the drummer's many sides. The album's fourteen songs, all written by Comess, build multiple variations on a basic rock foundation. There is low down blues in "Bubble Blues." There is an almost Middle Eastern vibe in parts of the title song, "Beautiful Mistake." There are Latin rhythms in "Past, Present and Future." There are experimental riffs in "Limbo." This may be instrumental rock at its base, but if it is, it clearly demonstrates the creative variety skilled musicians can build on that base.

"I try to make music that speaks like a song even without words," Comess says, "where the melody plays like a voice, but with plenty of room for improvisation." Listen to the lush melodic lines in "Kumpelicious" and "Morning Beach" or the quirky "Catskills Last Waltz" and the darker version in "Dirt" (on which Comess also plays guitar) and you can hear what he's talking about. Melody dominates in much the way a vocal would, but the guitar is always given the opportunity to stretch that melody's nuances. Rhythmic changes in songs like "Unleash the Beast" which moves towards a cacophonous climax reminiscent of Ravel's "Bolero" add an exciting level of complexity to the music which contrast vividly with the album's softer moments. Whether it’s the funky "High Five" or the sweetly melodic "I Love You," Comess writes songs that linger in your ear long after the iPod is turned off.

Joining Comess is Teddy Kumpel on guitar and "things with strings" according to the album jacket. Richard Hammond plays bass. Besides the compelling percussion that distinguishes the album, Comess also plays guitar, not only on "Dirt," but also on "Limbo" and "High Five." Tracks from Beautiful Mistake can be sampled Comess' website: http://www.aaroncomess.com/index.htm.

The Motherf**ker With the Hat:Some Thoughts on Play Titles

Article first published as From the Green Room: A Play by Any Other Name on Blogcritics.

Leave it to Chris Rock to make his Broadway debut in a play more controversial for its title than for its content. I would imagine that The Motherf**ker With the Hat may well mark the first time that particular epithet has graced the marquee of any Broadway theatre, or any other theatre marquee for that matter. Motherf**ker would seem to be a term of art unlikely to attract the audience in search of The Lion King and Wicked. Off Broadway, maybe; Off, Off Broadway, perhaps even more likely, but "the Great White Way?" What could they have been thinking?

There is of course shock value. There are those who will put down their $131.50 (which according to Variety is the top ticket) simply for the title and the cocktail party conversation it could provide. It is a title you could dine out on. It reminds me of an earlier example of the same kind of thing. Back in 1996 the British playwright, Mark Ravenhill wrote one of those gritty sex and drugs dramas the British were fond of at the time called Shopping and F**cking. It was a play that met with mixed reviews when it opened in London, but as it happened, it was then taken on tour.

One of the stops that summer was at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a festival that I happened to be attending. Now the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is the kind of extravaganza that runs theatrical performances of all kinds from early in the morning to late in the evenings in any nook or cranny where you can fit a stage and a dozen or so chairs. The program of festival events was as thick as a small town phone book. While the town was filled with theatre goers—the Edinburgh Festival was going on at the same time, as was the Royal Tattoo and a number of other events as well—many of the Fringe events had limited audiences. There was so much going on it was difficult to attract an audience. Difficult, that is, unless your name was Shopping and F**king.

No less sensation hungry than any of the other theatre mavens I managed to score a couple of tickets for one of the performances. At Edinburgh theatres are booked all day long. When one show ends, the audience clears out and the next audience, often for a different show, already lined up and waiting marches in. The line for the Ravenhill play, which was using one of the larger theatres, stretched two and three wide around the block. It was by far the largest audience for any of the shows I saw that summer. I don't know that the play was either particularly interesting or well done. Its subject matter was somewhat controversial, but not more so than any of the others in the genre. Had it been called "Shopping and Sex," I somehow doubt it would have been doing as well. Indeed, after the title, the show itself seemed kind of tame. From the reviews of The Motherf**ker With the Hat, while it would seem to be a much more exciting theatrical experience, it would seem that it too is not quite as wild as its title would indicate.

Later when I returned to the States, I decided that despite Shopping and F**king's mediocre dramatic impact, it was the kind of play I wanted to have in my library. Living in Western Pennsylvania, I didn't have any local access to a book store devoted to the theatre. Of course the best source for books on things theatrical then and probably still now was The Drama Book Shop in Manhattan. So I called to see if they had a copy. A young lady answered the phone.

"Do you have a copy of Shopping and--. . . .

"Don't say it," she said.

It turns out that whatever Motherf**ker With a Hat needed it wasn't notoriety. Tony nominations are out and the play is nominated in just about every category for which it was eligible: Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Best Direction of a Play, and of course Best Play, to name only some. Imagine some presenter on the 65th annual Tony Awards Show on CBS announcing the winner for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Bobby Cannavale for Motherf--.

"Don't say it."