"Flux" Capacity

 I am now officially tired of the alleged Doctor Who fans who have been bitching about "Flux," the six-episode story that is tying up much of what show-runner Chris Chibnall has done in his previous two seasons of the show.

Episode 5, "Survivors of the Flux," did, I think, a masterful job of pulling together the various plot strains of this tale and of giving us greater insight to the Timeless Child, Division, and Chibnall's overall plan. Yet still I read complaints. If those complaints are about the very existence of the Timeless Child plot, I can almost understand--some people simply do not like to have long-standing canon toyed with. (And still, DW has done just that numerous times in its nearly six-decade history. For one thing, until the current version, with the glow and the blasts of light from the extremities, every regeneration was depicted differently--from the simple camera dissolves of One to Two, and Three to Four, to the mysterious figure merge of Four to Five).

And if "Flux" is confusing, why did so many of these same fans embrace Game of Thrones--which had enough plot lines and twists to fill four or five six-episode stories...and then clumsily tied them all up in one eight-episode final season?

I have never been confused by anything in "Flux"...perhaps because I've been paying attention and not just looking for things to carp about.

In Memoriam: Stephen Sondheim

 By now, you all know Stephen Sondheim died on Friday. In my amateur theatrical career, I have only been involved with his work a few times: I played Cinderella's Father in a production of Into the Woods, I helped build sets for a production of West Side Story, and I sort of played the man himself in a production of Forbidden Broadway in the number called "Into the Words," which satirizes the sheer wordiness of Sondheim's lyrics. 

But there are a number of his songs I would love to have the chance to perform: "Being Alive," of course; "You Must Meet My Wife," one of the funniest duets ever written; "Something's Coming", among them.

I am not a fan of all his work: Sweeney Todd seems a bit too grisly for my tastes, Pacific Overtures a little depressing, Sunday in the Park with George perhaps a touch obscure and vague in getting its point across. But Company, A Little Night Music, and Into the Woods are genius...and his collaborations--West Side Story and Gypsy--are theatrical masterpieces.

He was 91 and working professionally since he was 21. Seventy years of theater wonderfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving

 I won't be posting for the rest of this week, so I'll wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving today and see you again probably on Sunday.

Rittenhouse Reaction

 I debated posting about this for two days, in part because I wanted to be sure I understood all the legal stuff involved. Now, after reading and seeing analysis from several sources, I'm ready to say my piece.

First, while the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse was, in no way, the correct moral outcome, it seems to have been the correct legal one--and it is important to note that legality and morality do not always go hand in hand. Apparently, self-defense under Wisconsin law, is a comparatively low bar to make. Let me explain: In any jurisdiction, self-defense is what's called an affirmative defense. That means that the defendant doesn't have to prove he was acting in self-defense, the prosecution has to prove he wasn't. Based on what I've found out, the standard in Wisconsin is "did the defendant reasonably believe his life was in danger?" That's a tough position for a prosecutor to fight against--it basically asks the jury to read the defendant's mind. 

The prosecution can try to argue that no reasonable person would fear for his life in the same circumstances or, as they did in the Rittenhouse trial, that he put himself in the dangerous position. Trouble is, the law--at least in Wisconsin--considers only the imminent danger, that is, the situation at the moments just before the decision to use deadly force. That Kyle Rittenhouse should have reasoned that just by going into a volatile situation he was putting himself at risk is, it seems, immaterial. All that matters is his state of mind as his attackers acted against him.

And the attackers' intentions are equally immaterial. Was their only intention to disarm Rittenhouse? Doesn't matter. If Rittenhouse thought they intended to cause him bodily harm, that's all that's required to successfully argue self-defense.

So, there's the legal side of it. Now for the moral side of it.

That requires us to ask the question that the legal standard ignores: Why in hell did Kyle Rittenhouse travel 20 miles to a city where he didn't live to confront a mob with a military-style rifle? Even if we accept his testimony that he was there to protect property, we have to ask, why did he feel that was his job, his responsibility? Had it been his property, his neighbors' property, his city, we might be able to agree--he had a right and a duty to defend it. But what made it urgent for him to go to Kenosha that night?

I'm afraid that, morally, I can see no justification for him to even be there--let alone armed as he was. To my mind, he just felt the need to be on the scene, to take the opportunity to do something "heroic" in the eyes of the right-wing crowd he admired. "I will stand up against the mob," he seems to have been thinking--even though, by the time he got there, the "mob" was largely dispersed, those who were left were mostly peaceful, and there was no substantial property damage or human damage that night. (Only three shots were fired that night--all by Rittenhouse--and the only deaths were the ones Rittenhouse caused.)

So, there's my stance: I hate that he got off, but I think the jury had no choice.

Return to Directing

 On Wednesday morning, I said I had no news to report. By 5 that afternoon, I did.

I will be assistant director on Spotlight Theatre's production of Sylvia (follow the link for more info). Performances are March 18-20, 25-27. Come out and see this romantic comedy about a man, a woman and their dog.

No Thoughts

 I have been trying to keep up an every-other-day posting schedule here, but some days it's a struggle. This is one of those days. Nothing new to report in my life, no cultural or political events on which to comment. 

Come back on Friday.

Future Theater

 As I noted on Saturday, my current stage production has closed....and I am now left with little to fill my free time, unless one of two (or possibly both) things happens: I am cast in the production of The Three Musketeers I auditioned for last week (hoping for Richelieu or Captain Treville) or the production I have submitted to another theater is picked up for this season or early next.

That production is The Lion in Winter by James Goldman. You're probably familiar with the film version, starring Katharine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, and a couple of very young actors in their earliest roles--Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton. The script for the film is a virtual copy of the stage version, with the exception of "opening up" the action to outside the walls of Chinon Castle and adding a lot of extras in the background.

The play is quite simple in its staging and very "theatrical", leaving much of the setting to the imaginations of the audience. It also has only seven characters--Henry II, Eleanor of Acquitaine (his wife), his three sons (Richard, Geoffrey, and John), his mistress, Alais (princess of France and, by treaty, betrothed to Henry's successor), and King Philip of France, Alais's younger brother.

I've wanted to direct it for many years.  I hope I finally get the chance.

Closing Night

 Tonight is the final performance of A Few Good Men at Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to get there tonight. (Follow the link for more info.)

Following the performance, as is traditional, we will have a cast party, the first gathering of this kind and this size I have attended in nearly two years. All the participants are fully vaccinated, so I have no qualms regarding this.

Veterans Day

 Just as I came up to my desk, I heard the tail-end of what I can only call a "rant" by a "spokesperson" for veterans--and no, I didn't get his name--on MSNBC, decrying the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August.

He made several claims--without offering proof--that the Taliban are hunting down and executing Afghans who worked with the US and allied forces. He said veterans were ashamed of the way these allies were "abandoned" by our government--again, without offering any examples of this attitude being expressed, except by himself. 

He concluded that "veterans are not celebrating today," because of this decision by the Biden adminstration. I would bet a lot of veterans are celebrating--celebrating that no more American lives will be lost in an unwinnable conflict, celebrating that so many of their brothers and sisters came home alive and will not have to go back, celebrating that our government at last came to its senses about the appropriate way to combat terrorism.

Boosted

 I got my Moderna covid booster yesterday. So far (almost 24 hours later) no ill effects other than the usual sore shoulder.

Candidates and Public Spaces

 Yesterday morning, a Republican gubernatorial candidate launched his campaign from my neighborhood--unfortunately, with a rally held on the grounds of my township's municipal complex. Here's a letter I wrote to the local paper today:

To the editor:

What gave gubernatorial candidate Dave White the right to hold a rally on what ought to be the politically neutral grounds of the Ridley Township Municipal complex? What allowed him to use township police to block access to those grounds for anyone except his supporters for two hours, so that tax-paying residents (of whatever political stripe) could not get to the library, for instance?

If a candidate wishes to announce his candidacy, let him rent a private space in which to do so, not commandeer a public space for his partisan purposes. If this was something the Ridley commissioners agreed to (even if there was a fee involved), I have to ask if the all-GOP members of that body would have been so accommodating to a Democratic candidate. (On the other hand, I suspect no Democratic candidate would think using public space in this way was proper.)

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

Return to Theatre

 The production I am currently involved in as stage manager, A Few Good Men, opens tonight at the Spotlight Theatre in Swarthmore, PA.

Here's a review.

Part of the power of the play is that the audience and protagonist Daniel Kaffee take the journey together. Ryan Mattox is charming and irreverent in the Tom Cruise role. Kaffee evolves over the length of the trial and Mattox is very convincing as he takes the character from casual involvement to a deeper understanding of his own responsibility to others. His counterpart, Joanne Galloway (Ally Batot) evolves in another direction, moving from nitpicky and intrusive to empowered. A takes a few good women too! Recasting the judge (Shanna Massad) as a woman was a nice touch.

“A Few Good Men” has a large cast with many interesting characters and it would be easy to point out outstanding moments from all of them. Nods to the coldly righteous Kendrick (Sean McDermott) and endearingly dim Downey (Brendon Thomas). And watching Randino Rosario present two memorable characters with hardly a breath between them was a real treat.

 And a brief quote from a different review:

 From the first marching roll calls that boom out from off stage, A FEW GOOD MEN drops the audience into the midst of the marines. Although they are military personnel, Kaffee and Galloway are outsiders, like us. The audience is drawn into the action through their eyes and the view is mesmerizing. Clean, well-paced staging keeps the Spotlight production running smoothly and the outcome is highly satisfying whether one is a long time fan of A FEW GOOD MEN, or a first time visitor to Guantanamo.

If you're in the area, come out and see the show: It runs this weekend, Friday and Saturday at 7 PM, matinee on Sunday at 2; and next Friday and Saturday, again at 7.

 

 

 

Jack Frost

 For the first time since, I think, March, there is frost on the car windows this morning. I guess the seasons have finally changed around here. Leaves have been falling for about two weeks, but without much visible color change--mostly they have gone straight to brown this year.

I wonder what this bodes for winter.

"Tech Hell"

 Last night, for the first time in nearly two years, I participated in the first technical rehearsal for a community theater production. For those who have never done anything like this, it means the first time the cast has rehearsed with all the lighting and sound effects. It is often chaotic, leading to the common term for this day as "tech hell".

It's a long day--we started at 1 PM and did not finish until 8 (with a 40 minute break for pizza). It begins with "cue-to-cue," as the lighting and sound operators check that they know when each effect comes in and when it's over. Then comes a run-through without the effects, to be sure the cast are full ready. Then dinner and a full dress rehearsal with lights and sounds--and more chaos, as the actors are faced with things like "No, Chuck, you can't move that far left on that line, you're moving out of your light" or "Sue, you'll have to speak a bit louder; I've got the sound as low as I can go and I can't hear you over the background noise."

Tonight, we'll do it again, hopefully with all the glitches worked out (although new ones will undoubtedly crop up; they always do). By opening Friday night, all will be well...or as well as live theater ever is.