Archives for November 19, 2018

The twenty-second episode of Three on the Aisle, the twice-monthly podcast in which Peter Marks, Elisabeth Vincentelli, and I talk about theater in America, is now available on line for listening or downloading.

Here’s an excerpt from American Theatre’s “official” summary of the proceedings:

This episode, the critics talk about the musical spectacle King Kong: what it means for Broadway going forward, how long it might last, and whether it will one day earn a place on Joe Allen’s infamous wall of flops.

Then the critics speak with Academy Award-winning screenwriter, director, and playwright Kenneth Lonergan about the Broadway production of his play The Waverly Gallery, as well as the different skill sets required in writing for the stage and screen, not to mention his method for getting into the minds of the characters he creates.

To close the show, the critics recall times their critical quotes were taken out of context in the advertising for shows, and discuss their feelings on Beetlejuice at the National Theater in D.C., American Son Broadway, and Melissa Errico’s new album Sondheim Sublime.

To listen, download the latest episode, read more about it, or subscribe to Three on the Aisle, go here.

In case you missed any previous episodes, you’ll find them all here.

Titus Techera, who hosts a podcast for the American Cinema Foundation on which he and his guests discuss important films of the past and present, invited me back to talk about Billy Wilder’s Double Indemnity on his latest episode. Our hour-long chat is now available on line.

Here’s Titus’ summary of our conversation:

Titus and Terry Teachout talk about the pluperfect noir: Double Indemnity, written by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Every element of the all-American tragedy is present here, for the first time. We talk about the conflict between love and law, the different claims of eroticism and friendship, and also where insurance stands to the all-American future.

To listen to or download this episode, go here.

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The original theatrical trailer for Double Indemnity:

A scene from the film:

“One of the essential features of madness is psychic exposure. A mad person sheds the thin layer that ordinarily masks the chaos of inner life from the outside observer. He walks in the world stripped of the psychological skin with which the ‘sane’ shield themselves.”

Moshe Halbertal and Stephen Holmes, The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel (courtesy of Jess Epstein)