Recently, a fellow DH-er/colleague from the Graduate Center and a mind-blowing meta-theoretical talk on the alphabet given by DH scholar Joanna Drucker at the Remarque Institute of NYU with commentary by Lisa Gitelman, NYU Media Studies scholar, greatly inspired me. So, rather than write/post an analytical commentary on this heady evening, I’d like the materiality of my handwritten notes from the talk to serve as an alphabet at work. While we wait/hope for a Zoom recording to be sent to the event’s registrants, Tulay, I hope you enjoy the read…
Who are David Mamet’s John & Carol and what happens between them? Find out this weekend as Carolyn A. McDonough narrates OLEANNA Directed by Frank S. Petrilli
In the past week, I had the pleasure of seeing two quite divergent theatrical productions: My Life on a Diet, Renée Taylor’s one-woman show, and The Waves, adapted from Virginia Woolf’s novel as a chamber musical for the Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College.
Renée Taylor (aka Sylvia Fine of The Nanny sitcom) and her autobiographical romp (co-written with her husband, the late, great Joe Bologna) are comic gold, a delicious summer time treat (all pun). A stellar career trajectory as told through the many diets RT has attempted in a constant struggle to be thin for show biz, makes for a good dramatic device and a very fun time. The anecdotes from her family life, the roster of diets and the performers she’s met and worked with that emerge along the way are all gems in their own right. The audience, as guests in her leopard bedecked stage set, was roaring. If you’re reading this and you don’t know who Hedy Lamarr or Rita Hayworth or Elaine May were/are, go see this show asap. If you’re reading this and you do know who they were/are, go see this show asap.
I attended through a NOIAW special event, which included a Meet/Greet + dinner with Ms. Taylor, a very generous gesture on her part. I stopped by the restaurant and she couldn’t have been lovelier, which comes through in our photo together.
The Waves could not have been a more different kind of theatrical excursion. A cast of six accomplished and electrifying actors portray six siblings over the course of many years and rites of passage (boarding school, college – that is, Cambridge). The music, musical direction and the pianist are quite extraordinary. I felt the music and the actors’ phenomenal vocal delivery washing over me, literally, as waves. In the score, I heard hints of phrases from Les Misérables and reminiscences of the masterful, constant jazz piano background music of Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. I truly liked the less-is-more use of projection — a simple beach/water horizon which illuminated and changed color and form very subtly, but absolutely created the work’s title in setting and ambiance.
MLOAD and The Waves were apropos to see in summer, I highly recommend them both.
photos in order of appearance by Powerhouse Theater at Vassar College; A. McDonough
I had the great pleasure of seeing the one-woman showcase Italian Bred by Candice Guardino recently and meeting her afterward. Amusing cameos by people “in the biz” such as comedian Mario Cantone who pop in to Candice’s various vignettes, made for some funny stuff. My favorite through line in the show, however, is Candice’s running impersonation of her family members, especially her grandmother, who was moxy personified, as only women of her time and place were and could be.
I had a similarly strong “force” of a grandmother on my paternal side, who was a pioneer indie retailer of the hot item of the 1950’s: appliances. Panasonic and Zenith were the brands that lined the walls of her store, and General Electric featured my Nonna, Lena, in their promotional materials to their sales force. She was quite cute and personified not only the moxy of the roaring 20’s generation women, but also ideal look of her era: five foot two, eyes of blue. Yep! She was a well-off retailer who designed, built and paid for her own home in cash, and a stage mother to my father to rival the likes of Gypsy Rose Lee.
She would commute in to the City with my father when he was just three years old (and BEFORE the NJ Turnpike was even built!) for his voice lessons at the Royal Associated Studios on 52nd Street and his weekly radio appearances on NBC Radio Children’s Hour with emcee Ed Herlihy, sponsored by the great but gone Horn & Hardart automat.
I don’t want to give anything away about Italian Bred so in the meantime, I’ll share an anecdote about Italian mothers. Recently, I was having lunch with mine at Cafe123 before seeing Farinelli and the King (for the second time!) We were never weight obsessed being naturally thin with fast metabolisms and we always ate well, so were talking about nutrition, etc., over our crêpes. I remarked that I didn’t think I was eating very well lately due to a hectic schedule and that maybe I was eating too much fat in my meals. I continued that maybe I should scale back on fats a little, to which my mother leaned over the table and asked me in a hushed tone, “But you’re not going to give up olive oil, right?!” As if it’s a sin! Well, to Italians, Greeks, Spaniards and probably many more Mediterranean cultures, it probably is! My reply was of course, “No, of course not, Mom!” to which she sighed a breath of relief and proceeded to further enjoy her crêpe.
And that’s my “Italian Bred” in a nutshell! (all pun because Italians—at least my Italians–are nuts for nuts, also–there was a perennially full nut bowl on our teakwood table my entire childhood, like something out of Harry Potter–but that’s a WHOLE other story for another day!)
Like many of my formative experiences, my first International Women’s Day took place in Italy through the celebration day of the Festa della Donna.
I was in the thick of my Fellowship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy, doing a shift in the gift shop that day, when fellow intern (later to become hub as he’s known to readers of this blog) surprised me with a nosegay of mimosa blossoms, as I was busily transacting de Chirico and Magritte poster sales. Awww…
Many moons later metaphorically speaking, as it’s in keeping with the universal yin energy of today, we named our daughter Acacia. WHO knew the derived-from-Latin species name for mimosa blossoms is Acacia Dealbata?!
We had taken our time in naming her and considered many names while consulting different naming oracles (as new parents of a first-born often do) but I never came across this reference until researching for this entry. Awww…
In light of this day, and Women’s History Month, I recently had the pleasure of hearing author Karin Tanabe speak on her book The Gilded Years soon to be a major motion picture starring and produced by Zendaya in collaboration with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine. Anything Neo-Victorian and gilded is HOT at the moment. So if this film is as engaging as The Greatest Showman (for which Zendaya–who’s career is on fire right now–received a lot of buzz as a stunningly beautiful, racially blended trapeze artist) and I have a feeling it may very well be, albeit in a different way, it has the potential to be a winner. The film’s working title alone is a winner: A White Lie. Quite a compelling concept in our current cultural climate, n’est-ce pas?
photo of Carolyn and Karin Tanabe by Acacia V. McDonough
I won’t give away the story, Karin’s a great storyteller and historical fiction genre writer, so please read the book:
I’m also blogging today’s Int’l Women’s Day post as a new member of the National Organization of Italian American Women and I appear on the #NewMemberMonday March 2018 Edition. Mille Grazie NOIAW!
(you GOTTA love NOIAW’s yellow blossoms new members Welcome + Lady Liberty logo!)
AND finally I will be dining with one of the most empowered women I know, Rev. Dr. Tami Coyne whose recent 1-Woman Show Singing For My Life: One Woman’s Journey, with hilarious opening act by her stand-up sister, Teri Coyne, was fantastic! Here’s a clip:
To all the women of the world today, be the WONDER WOMAN you already are, turn something upside down, don’t forget to brush your teeth and…
I had the rare social pleasure of being photographed by the great Bill Cunningham, Mr. Cunningham, that is.
Such moments are the thrill of a lifetime and also the kind of fun anecdotal encounter which define CultureArtMedia.com. You cannot plan or arrange such experiences, they just happen. To think that the captured image is contained in Mr. Cunningham’s revered and treasured file cabinets is heady stuff.
I wrote this post a few years ago after embarking upon a quest to obtain a copy of the photo. I had a delightful conversation with his editor, who was extremely kind and much to his credit, did research and send me an image. I had to sincerely laugh when I opened the image–a very lovely couple but not my hub and I. Psych! I replied and we shared the laugh. I was giddy just wrapping my head around being in such hallowed file cabinets. Running with the society set is heady stuff indeed.
Originally titled, “I’m in Bill Cunningham’s File Cabinets” this title feels irreverent now.
I do still hold out hope that the image will appear in my inbox someday, while saddened that a force such as Mr. Cunningham who celebrated the “happening” has passed.
It has come to my attention that today is National Selfie Day.
I thought every day was National Selfie Day from our global device-as-appendage behavior.
Hmmm…
The last selfies I took were on May 7 and on April 11 before the Friendgrass photo (please see Selfie-Ready Always for the reasons why I’m not in the habit of documenting every moment–but I’m trying!!)
My research in to this new national celebration yielded a wealth of sub-selfie days. My fave is Museum Selfie Day. Now we’re cookin’ with gas! That’s right in my multidisciplinary wheelhouse!
So take some bursts today BUT mark your calendars and reminder apps for January 18, 2017 and say “cheese!”
Facebook’s Chief Product Officer appearing on Charlie Rose plans to harvest your “friendgrass”.
According to FB’s CPO, “friendgrass” is social media speak for what was formerly referred to as community, network, connections, “friends”, followers, etc.
AND, FB wants YOURS.
So a backdrop of Astroturf seemed a good visual toward this concept.
If anyone had told me that I’d have the honor to joins hands with Sir James Galway, the great flutist, I wouldn’t have believed them.
Nor would I have believed that my ace photog hub would capture the moment.
Such is the nature of the CultureArtMedia.com blog.
After returning from the Renaissance Society of America annual meeting in Boston, and realizing I had tickets to see/hear him in concert, meeting him was the proverbial icing on the cake of hearing him play an all Bach program in the company of supremely gifted musicians, among them his wife, Lady Jeanne Galway, a great flutist in her own right. We happened to get seats very close to the stage, and as it turned out, near the backstage door through which he and they entered and passed many times within our arm’s reach making the whole experience that much more special.
Billed as “Sir James Galway and Friends” by Parlance Chamber Concerts under the aegis of Michael Parloff, Artistic Director, the joyful and soulful all Bach program was a sublime delight.
AND NOT ONE MOBILE DEVICE RANG THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE CONCERT—BRAVO!!!
Sir James Galway and Friends Post-Concert
(Musicians in alphabetical order: Benjamin Beilman, Violin; Paolo Bordignon, Harpsichord/Continuo; Nicholas Canellakis, Cello; Timothy Cobb, Bass; Ying Fang, Soprano; Sir James Galway, Flute; Lady Jeanne Galway, Flute; Mark Holloway, Viola; Sean Lee, Violin; Danbi Um, Violin)
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