There’s a terrific story in today’s NY Times that looks at ‘Nutcracker Nation’ and asks why “The Nutcracker” “proliferate(s) across the States more than anywhere else on the planet? What’s American here? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/arts/dance/09nutcracker.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a28If you missed it last week, the NY Times looked at Mark Morris’ take on the classic, “The Hard Nut”: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/arts/dance/03hardnut.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a28&pagewanted=print  

By David Swanson The latest hardcopy newsletter from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities opens with an article about poetry about war, which opens with this line: “Many of my favorite poets are soldiers.” The author begins with a poet who “has served in the current war in Iraq.” Served what we are not told. [...]

The Second City, Chicago’s famed comedy/improv company,will spend the holidays in Cincy with a brand new revue for Playhouse in the Park — “The Second City Does Cincinnati: Pride and Porkopolis.” (Playing Nov. 6 – Dec. 23.) The thing is — they know zippity about out town. All that’s going to change next month, when the Second City crew [...]

Throughout most of American history region has been a better predictor of political position than party.  That aspect of our reality has been neglected and suppressed in recent times  as the rest of the country has conspired or acquiesced in transforming the South into a replica of Ohio. Yet the notorious squeak [...]

So many, many, many years ago when what is now Ohio Light Opera was attached to Kent State University, primarily Gilbert & Sullivan and even did a dinner theater stint in Cleveland, I was so there. (My friends will beg you NOT to ask me for a patter song.) Ohio Light Opera has been summer [...]