Jeri Smith-Ready

New Tom Stoppard play

The idea of rock 'n' roll is absolutely at the center of it...there is a form of expression which has beat, which has rhythm, which, when you begin to play it, has human beings moving instinctively, responding, letting go, becoming free, becoming wild.
--director Trevor Nunn

My favorite playwright Tom Stoppard has a new one opening on Broadway this week called Rock 'n' Roll. It's not just about the music genre, but also "everything from the lives of Czech dissidents and British Marxists to conflicting theories of consciousness to the Greek poetry of Sappho," according to this NPR piece, which features scenes of the play you can watch on your very own Home Personal Computer, which I hear a lot of the kids have these days.

If you have the means, I highly recommend checking it out.

Labels: music, theatre

• posted by Jeri @ 12:27 PM
• 1 comments

400 Years in Manhattan

One of my old bloggy friends, Noah Diamond of Nero Fiddled, has a new play coming out in New York next week.

• What: 400 Years in Manhattan is a "comedic journey through time, for anyone who loves New York."
• Where: The HERE Arts Center (145 Sixth Ave., between Spring and Broome; enter on Dominick)
• When: October 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th at 7PM

Here's his description:

As you may know, I spent seven years working as a New York City tour guide. On double decker buses, on boats, and on foot, I've told the amazing story of this beautiful town to about a million people. Now, having hung up the microphone, I'm telling the story one last time -- in a nice comfortable theatre.

I wrote 400 Years in Manhattan, and designed its accompanying slideshow, from the perspective of a tour guide unconstrained by time or place. We'll visit places in New York which no longer exist, and compare the past and the present side by side. Most of the stories I tell in the show come directly from my tours, but the view is different. Instead of starting on Eighth Avenue, we start in 1609.

Noah is a fantastic writer, one of the funniest and most eloquent people I've seen online. So this should be good. I wish I were going to be in town when it's playing, instead of all the surrounding days when it's not playing. Grrr....

To order tickets, get information, or read more about the show and how it came to be, visit noahdiamond.com/manhattan. Or if you don't feel like reading, watch the promo video!

Labels: theatre

• posted by Jeri @ 12:33 AM
• 0 comments