Before the show, we met with Val and two of her old friends, Ted and James, who we hadn’t seen in years. It was nice to see them as successful grown-ups. When last we saw them, they were new college graduates.
When you walk into the theatre, the smell of fresh carpentry is unmistakable. The whole room is newly covered in raw plywood and the seating newly constructed of unfinished lumber.
The star-studded cast, there were a number of other actors we recognized from TV or the movies, had huge presence. James said that when Daniel Craig stood next to his seat, he, Craig, exuded ‘animal musk’.
Less is more in terms of minimal staging, the modern setting neither added nor detracted from the play, but the lack of elaborate sets allows the words to be the focus of your attention.
The play resonates today, echoing down 500 or so years, on racial, religious and gender interactions. I was always bothered by how easily Othello, a supposedly brilliant commander, was duped and betrayed by the duplicitous Iago.
Saturday night we went to the new incarnation of Prairie Home Companion. Garrison Keillor has retired and the new guy, Chris Thile, is a remarkable musician, mandolin, and does the show with more music and less skits. Lake Wobegon and Garrison’s cast of characters are gone, presumably forever—RIP, Guy Noir. Some of the old cast members and musicians are still there, but the PHC name should probably be retired also. Trevor Noah was on in the second hour. He and Chris discussed how to try to follow a retiring icon.
Before PHC, Judy and I walked up to Rock Center to see the tree and all. Other people had the same idea as it turned out. There are Xmas lights and imagery everywhere, but the crowds were overwhelming. We couldn’t get to 5th Ave. at all.
Sometimes you could see a gap in the crowd, but when you got there, it turned out to be a stroller. The passenger in that stroller saw nothing but parts of people.
Rock Center xmas tree with lights, silver flags, wooden soldiers and CROWDS.
Before the show at New York Theatre Workshop's 'Othello'. Raw wood seating and set of military barracks. Ang Lee was in the audience.
Crowds rushing by at rock Center.
Rock Center looking toward 5th Ave. and invading hordes.
Prairie Home Companion during warm up.
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