The film “All About Eve” skews our perception Of understudies, shown as base connivers- This melodrama is a misconception, For understudies truly are survivors; Eight shows a week they stand able and willing To fill their usual role or jump into The shoes of big names who receive top billing, And will be met with … Continue reading November 29: Under Cover
theatre
November 21: No Problem
No Shakespeare text is wholly problem free, For even Hamlet must be saved at sea By too-convenient pirates at their pleasure- A text is not a play by any measure. A play's comprised of choices beyond number To smooth the moments that the words encumber, Defining character, gestures explaining In ways both truthful and yet … Continue reading November 21: No Problem
November 15: God Head
It's thanks to John and John I know the word That's used when martyrs are in art depicted With their own severed heads in hand: absurd, Yet somehow dignified are the afflicted. It's thanks to Schwartz and Menken I possess A favorite cephalophore at all. My past pet peeves they handily redress, While cleverness and … Continue reading November 15: God Head
November 14: Clique Claque
When one knows members of the audience, The show will inexplicably feel fraught, And one feels one can tell the difference Between an friendly crowd and one that's not. Your ears are tuned to laughter and your eyes Are drawn to those with hands against their faces Contorted with despair or with surprise, As they're … Continue reading November 14: Clique Claque
November 13: Reviewing
When one performs a musical's premiere The wait for feedback seems well nigh eternal Will critics rave? Will audiences cheer? Will chipper chatter spread or rants infernal? Will people sense the spilled ink, sweat, and tears That brought the show so suddenly to life, Comprised of Broadway vets and volunteers All balanced on a sharpened … Continue reading November 13: Reviewing
October 14: Tech Week, Pt. 1
To be involved in building a new show Even, as I am, quite peripherally, Is like a foxtrot: slow, slow, quick-quick, slow- A slog until it runs, not magically Because you saw each portion of the trick Rehearsed, repeated, every cue perfected, Until at last each tiny cog will click Into its proper place, interconnected, … Continue reading October 14: Tech Week, Pt. 1
September 27: Headcanon
When reading Chekhov with an actor's eye And finding written: “Traraboomdeyay,” I wondered what Chebutykin meant thereby, And what, if anything, he wished to say. And just what Ronald Hingley heard him sing When he transcribed the singing from the Russian. Was he deliberately altering The onomatopoeia for discussion To draw a parallel between the … Continue reading September 27: Headcanon
August 20: A Sort of Runic Rhyme
For three long nights refurbished bells have rung, To gather in the teeming congregation. Enchanting melodies the choir has sung Above the thrilling tintinnabulation. In ninteen ninety-six these bells first tolled, And then again in ninteen ninety-nine, Having been cast from a Parisian mold, They spent a dozen years in redesign. We postulants shall toil … Continue reading August 20: A Sort of Runic Rhyme
August 15: Thine Own Self
Immortal love to stand the test of time, A noble heart enslaved by jealousy, A shining soul draws villains to a crime- Cathartic Tragedy is just not me.Usurpers, bastards, questions of succession, Assassinations, infidelity, Great speeches, battles, learning painful lessons- A History? Definitely not me.Pageants of gods, foul acts demand redemption, Pastoral themes without mud, … Continue reading August 15: Thine Own Self
August 8: Watching the Watchers
With house lights up, arena stages let The audience, once settled and in place, See not just every facet of the set, But also every audience member's face. And with a mustache or a lock of hair, The seemingly familiar will beguile And lead one to consider and to stare- Is that someone I know? … Continue reading August 8: Watching the Watchers
Libby Weber 