Scene4 Magazine | letters to the editor

I'm one of the "shame on you's" I'm afraid. I've heard a little of Woody Guthrie from others in the past, but really know nothing of him or Phil Ochs. Thank you once again for bringing such interesting people to my attention. I will dig deeper.
Thanks Les.
Michelle
read Les Marcott's article

You have found the Grace I have come to know. I have followed her career for a long time and she never ceases to suprise me with her wit and honesty.
KC
read Kathi Wolfe's article

American Globe Theater presents wonderful classical and American plays with excellent acting and productions. Thank you for giving his views on having a small theater company in NYC.
Shela Xoregos
read Michael Bettencourt's article

What a dynamic woman Linda Yudin is and what a tribute to Brazilian dance and dance everywhere in her work. I wish she toured and could be seen on PBS or even HBO. Viva Viver Brasil!
Portman
read Lia Beachy's article

That was some seance you held and Joan was in top form. Is Oh! What A Lovely War still right on, or what? Thanks for sharing.
Tom Burndees
read Andrea Kapsaski's article

Karren Alenier's interview with Charles Downey in the January issue is a fascinating and panoramic delineation of the current opera scene. Most readers--even some sophisticated ones--make the assumption that opera today is the 118,242nd revival of "Madama Butterfly," performed in exactly the same way that Puccini did in 1900. In this and in so many other articles, Karren shows us that opera is as vital, fresh and exciting today as it ever was. She fights the good fight for opera, both as creator and as journalist.
Miles David Moore
read Karren Alenier's article

I enjoyed reading your article on Cavalieri. You portrayed her with such enthusiasm that I got caught up in her energy myself. Talk about perseverance in one's art! She is triumphant in her conduit of communication. I completely agree with you when you said one can “fall under Cavalieri's spell. She is a Renaissance woman with the
warmth of the sun.”
Sa Flynn
read Kathi Wolfe's article

Edifying interview of Grace Cavalieri, CURRENCY OF THE HEART! It was good to learn more about the life of this treasure of American poetry. I was happy to be the judge in 2005 when Ms. Cavalieri won the anonymously judged Bordighera Poetry Prize for her current, good book, WATER ON THE SUN, Bordighera Press, now available at Amazon.com. I highly recommend Cavalieri's latest book also available at Small Press Distribution.
Daniela Gioseffi
read Kathi Wolfe's article

I agree with many of Downey's opinions. But what I miss in so much of contemporary opera is "music", lyrical, melodic, music. Exciting ideas, exciting staging, wonderful voices, bland, uninspiring music, a blog of music that is blah. Where are the composers who can write like Puccini and Gershwin and Mozart?
JC
read Karren Alenier's article

My memory was jolted by Andrea Kapaski's "conversation" wtih Joan Littlewood. I was immediately reminded of a 1968 production of "Oh What A Lovely War" that I staged as a visiting guest director at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. Both professionals and students were involved. What I remember most, aside from the excitement and impact of the production, was the Marine Colonel who showed up at the ticket window. A student refused to sell him a ticket. When I heard about it, I offered the Colonel a freebee on the house; my seat, to be exact. During the break, and after the production, we had a straight forward discussion without rancor. He was understanding about the anti-war message of the play, its bitter irony and humor, and in many ways felt challenged by it. But he took his responsibilities for the men under his command at heart, and felt an allegiance to the ostensible purpose of the war (to free the Vietnamese people from "Communism"). An allegiance that compelled him to go back for a second tour. I disagreed strongly with him, yet admired the fact that he walked into the charged atmosphere of the theatre in full military dress, and that he was steadfast in his responsibilities. I invited him backstage to talk to the performers. That was done out of respect, not as a setup. The performers were stunned. Some treated him with curiosity and good will, others refused to talk to him at all; as if he was the enemy. I reminded the cast that "Oh What a Lovely War" was about the waste of the lives of the soldiers who died on all sides of the First World War, because of the pride, stupidity, arrogance, vicious territorial ambitions, and blind nationalism of the leaders and generals who sent them there. People who had no regrets about what they were doing, no matter how many soldiers or innocents were killed. I also said that the Colonel was not one of them. When the Marine colonel spoke to the performers without apology, and once again emphasized his allegiance to the men under his command, some performers booed, others quietly talked to him, or shook his hand, and a few were in tears. When the Colonel and I parted we shook hands - as friends; distant friends, but friends nontheless. Today some of our military leaders are openly against the War in Iraq. And that amounts to a major change in military thinking and behavior. It is something that needs to be encouraged in order to make those who started the war accountable. There is no such thing as a “decent” hanging, or a “good” war. Killing produces more killing and murder is the name of the game, no matter how well taken the justifications and rationalizations for revenge. In the long run, to fight a holy war for democracy in the name of Oil, Money and Consumerism, is no different from fighting the Holy War for Allah. It amounts to the same thing: death and blood shed for all concerned whatever cloak you use to cover it up. The last resort for war is Peace. The peace of the dead and the restless peace of those who suffer through it.
Ned Bobkoff
read Andrea Kapsaski's article

Whatever happened to Herbie Howell? Any more news since this article came out regarding him and the Nashville DVD?
Ernie Jones
read Les Marcott's article