THE CRADLE WILL ROCK—80 YEARS LATER PART 2
MARC BLITZSTEIN’S The Cradle Will Rock was inspired by U.S. labor unrest of the 1930s. However, its story and the tale of its 1937 production are timely today. Blitzstein’s The … Continue reading
THE CRADLE WILL ROCK—80 YEARS LATER PART 1
AMERICAN COMPOSER Marc Blitzstein’s 1937 The Cradle Will Rock was a product of the Depression and yet it resonates with today’s less than tranquil times. Originally part of the government’s … Continue reading
(GARDEN) PARTY POLITICS, RHINOS ON STAGE
THEATRE OF THE ABSURD, yesterday’s topic here at SimanaitisSays, is an excellent metaphor for the current political scene. There’s unreality, cliché, tragicomedy, and a person here and there striving to … Continue reading
THE MOOR OF THE MET
GIUSEPPE VERDI’S Otello opens the Metropolitan Opera’s 2015-2016 season with a break in tradition. Hitherto, its Moor of Venice has appeared in black makeup, but not this time. Tenor Aleksandrs … Continue reading
ORSON WELLES AND THE FEDERAL THEATRE PROJECT
THIS YEAR is the 100th anniversary of the birth of theatrical great Orson Welles. Likely, he’s best remembered for his 1941 movie Citizen Kane, consistently ranked among the all-time greatest … Continue reading
ORSON’S WAR AND WORLD
THIS IS the 75th anniversary of The Mercury Theater on the Air October 30, 1938, broadcast of H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds. A tale oft told, Orson Welles’ radio … Continue reading
MRS. THORNE AND ORSON WELLES
AN ODD synergy exists between a wealthy Chicago woman, Mrs. James Ward Thorne, and the theater/film/radio great, Orson Welles. It’s all the more curious in that Welles has been called … Continue reading
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