Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Will winter demand a rematch now that its spring?

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I cannot believe I skipped mentioning a play I thought one of the best I’ve seen in years. It was on Theater Row,
Poetic License
by Jack Canfora– four characters, with old Greek unities, brilliant dialogue, scintillating performances, a fine set, very good direction by Evan Bergmann – should have gone to Broadway but the Times did not agree so probably it will languish until some wise producer finds it eventually. This talented playwright deserves a Broadway run soon.

A talented playwright who had his share of Broadway runs, the great Eugene O’Neill, was being well served at the Irish Rep Theater with a production of
Beyond the Horizon
that flowed as smoothly and inevitably as a river rushing to the ocean. I loved the expressionistic set by Hugh Landwehr and offer kudos to old pal Ciarán O’Reilly for his naturalistic direction.

On the dance front, enjoyed the 2012 Inaugural Performance of Kymera Dance in the spacious LaGuardia High School. More about this and New York Theatre Ballet’s 33rd Season
Signatures 12
celebration of legends and visionaries on line in April at www.arttimesjournal.com.

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Rules for judges reading in the Global Ebook Awards have changed, and we are urged NOT to post opinions about books we have judged until winners are announced, so I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed several books in the historical fiction and mystery categories.

In paper books. Enjoyed Robert Barnard’s “Death of a Literary Widow” But then, I haee enjoyed most of his mysteries.

Admit I was not much taken with Gustave Flaubert’s “Sentimental Education.” Charles Finch’s “A Stranger in Mayfair” held my interest throughout even though I figured out the murderer too soon and the motive as soon as a certain fact unknown earlier was revealed. Well plotted, well written and well worth reading.

Am currently preparing a new kids book written by Melissa DiGenova for publication this Fall. It is her second book for TnT Classics, which published her first book. The book she wrote in between, “Jake is not Stupid” was published elsewhere. It was the first in a series this special ed teacher projects about children with physical, emotional or mental challenges.
Her new book, “Dan is Not Scary” is being illustrated by Maggie Cousins, who illustrated all four fo my read-to-me fantasy story books.

The great niece of the co-founder of TnT Classic Books, visited here this past week. We reminisced about her Great Aunt and all the books in the Happy Task series from TnT, which was named for Maggie Task upon her demise.

Will be at the Rainbow Book Fair on West 13th St Saturday, March 24 at the GNYIPA table on the first floor. If you get to read this in time and can make it, stop by. We are there from 10AM until early eve.
I’ll be reading a 4 minute selection from Jane Chambers’ spoof of evangelists, “Chasin’ Jason”, sometime between 3:30 and 4:00. This novel never got all the attention it deserved but seems especially appropriate in today’s religious climate. In it, a four year old declares himself the second coming – and his followers just about take over the world!
I finished the rewrite of my play about a musician who died too young, am back working on the second half of my memoir about childhood during the Great Depression and World War II. Life keeps getting in the way of my writing time – so will steal a few hours from this day and go back to work.

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