Words words words words words.
I realize I didn't write at all about August: Osage County. Jesse and I went last weekend as part of our newly minted tradition of taking ourselves to Broadway for our anniversary. I hit up the new TKTS booth in Downtown Brooklyn for the first time. There was still a line, and it runs oddly perpendicular to a line of people waiting to pay their Con-Ed bills in person. It was a strange juxtaposition. Jesse and I were debating between seeing August: Osage County and [Title of Show]. Both shows had pros and cons, but they can be summarized by saying the first seemed too long and the second seemed too short. In the end, we decided we'd rather have too much play than not enough, and I got us tickets for August: Osage County.
I'm satisfied with our choice. I had vowed to see more straight plays, and this one didn't make me rue those words. The staging was the coolest. The set looked like a gigantic dollhouse, a cross-section of a house where you can see three different floors. Even when the main action of a scene was taking place in one room, you can see some of the other characters wandering through the other rooms. It was just a small detail, but it added a lot of authenticity.
Obviously, the set isn't the only reason why the play was so good. The writing was pretty spectacular. (Maybe I should move Bug up on the ol' Netflix, since it has the same writer.) Even though the show was about, paraphrasing the immortal words of The Simpsons, people coming to terms with things-and I found it hard to believe that every single character would have something so heavy to come to terms with-I went with it because I wanted to hear more from the characters. They were all smart (for a change), and though the subject matter was depressing, they came out with the best one-liners. My favorite was when one character said: "The Greatest Generation? Did they really consider all the generations?"
The whole thing just reminded me that, when something is well written, it can really be a joy to listen to.
Which brings me to the Democratic National Convention. I watched Kennedy (tear), Craig Robinson, and Michelle Obama speak yesterday. I don't think I'm going to watch again until Thursday, but the whole thing got me thinking that if Obama gets elected-[*cross fingers, spits, and does other gestures to warn off jinxes*]-in addition to all of the other good things he brings to the table, it'd be so refreshing to have a president and first lady who have a clear affinity for language. Obama writes his own speeches, doesn't use ghostwriters for his books, and is basically here because of something he wrote four years ago. Contrast that to the assault on English that's been perpetrated for the past eight years. Doesn't it seem like every sentence is a struggle for Bush? Like he's fighting with every word? Not that I'm getting my hopes up, but it'd be so nice to finally listen to someone who not only knows how to speak in English, but is actually good at it.
I'm satisfied with our choice. I had vowed to see more straight plays, and this one didn't make me rue those words. The staging was the coolest. The set looked like a gigantic dollhouse, a cross-section of a house where you can see three different floors. Even when the main action of a scene was taking place in one room, you can see some of the other characters wandering through the other rooms. It was just a small detail, but it added a lot of authenticity.
Obviously, the set isn't the only reason why the play was so good. The writing was pretty spectacular. (Maybe I should move Bug up on the ol' Netflix, since it has the same writer.) Even though the show was about, paraphrasing the immortal words of The Simpsons, people coming to terms with things-and I found it hard to believe that every single character would have something so heavy to come to terms with-I went with it because I wanted to hear more from the characters. They were all smart (for a change), and though the subject matter was depressing, they came out with the best one-liners. My favorite was when one character said: "The Greatest Generation? Did they really consider all the generations?"
The whole thing just reminded me that, when something is well written, it can really be a joy to listen to.
Which brings me to the Democratic National Convention. I watched Kennedy (tear), Craig Robinson, and Michelle Obama speak yesterday. I don't think I'm going to watch again until Thursday, but the whole thing got me thinking that if Obama gets elected-[*cross fingers, spits, and does other gestures to warn off jinxes*]-in addition to all of the other good things he brings to the table, it'd be so refreshing to have a president and first lady who have a clear affinity for language. Obama writes his own speeches, doesn't use ghostwriters for his books, and is basically here because of something he wrote four years ago. Contrast that to the assault on English that's been perpetrated for the past eight years. Doesn't it seem like every sentence is a struggle for Bush? Like he's fighting with every word? Not that I'm getting my hopes up, but it'd be so nice to finally listen to someone who not only knows how to speak in English, but is actually good at it.