Paris 1890 Unlaced! at Ventfort Hall, Lenox, MA

Paris 1890 Unlaced!
Kevin Sprague photos.
There was a full house for the Opening Night performance and Reception for Paris, 1890, Unlaced at Ventfrot Hall Mansion and Museum of the Gilded Age. The play was commissioned by Ventfort Hall from playwright and author Juliane Hiam and features the marvelous Anne Undeland in multiple roles. Sarah Taylor, formerly of Shakespeare & Company, directed. For more information please go to http://www.gildedage.org. Most of the wonderful photos are by Kevin Sprague, who seems to have become the documentarian for theatrical history in the Berkshires.

Juliane Hiam who wrote the play was able to travel back in time and conjures up the memories of a young courtesan from the era when the Eiffel Tower was built. It was the period in which Monet, Renoir, Degas and Toulouse-Latrec walked the streets of Paris and frequented the nightclubs. 1890 was the year that Debussy composed Claire de Lune. It was a very different time, one of sexual repression but in Paris, things were already becoming more modern. The 1890's are also when the first playwrights began writing realistic theatre, the plays of Ibsen, Shaw, and yes, even Feydeau that are the foundation of modern theatre.

Undeland in performance.
Anne Undeland captures the Belle Époque in her characterizations of the four or five women we meet in the play. They were known as The Grand Horizontals. I can not help but wonder if the customers were called The Grand Verticals. Or possible the Petite Perpendiculars.

In mid-nineteenth-century France, frigid and frail was fashionable. The perfect woman was timid, submissive, and lacked "sexual feeling of any kind." Just when it seemed that it was possible to keep women quiet and under control, the Grand Horizontals appeared. These famous courtesans wreaked havoc in Paris for almost twenty years. They were relentless hedonists in the true sense of the word: they loved pleasure, money, and mastered the art of seduction.

Each afternoon at 5pm they rolled through town in custom carriages while mobs of flustered onlookers watched from the sidelines. The tabloids recorded their adventures in details: "masked balls, dinners of peacock galantine, and preposterous stunts." From The Fact Box Blog

The lacing and unlacing was a turn-on.
At the performance I attended, there were five women for every man there, perhaps to learn a few tricks, or for pure historical background. It did seem to me that in delivering her performance, Anne Undeland engaged her audience directly, fixing her gaze on each and every person seated there, drawing them in - seducing them, even - into her world of pleasure. Many members of the audience had smiles on their faces throughout the show. As much as it is a testament to the power of a good performance, it also speaks volumes about seduction and sexual attraction.

The play keeps moving thanks to the swift pacing of director Sarah Taylor, and brings to light an intriguing mystery featuring five women – all performed by Ms. Undeland: “Juliette,” a contemporary Gilded Age Museum director, “La Crème,” an infamous Parisian courtesan; “Hettie,” the wife of La Crème’s benefactor; “La Chapellier,” a very talkative milliner; “Gertrude,” an American innocent abroad; and finally, “The Virgin,” a flash-in-the-pan celebrity in the Montmarte nightclub scene – singer, dancer, aspiring courtesan. In Citizen Kane style, as we hear from each successive character, we come a little closer to solving the mystery around which the entire play is constructed.

Ventfort Hall is one of 75 Gilded Age mansions built in Lenox.
My friend and colleague Gail Burns has written a marvelous review and overview of this play at Gail Sez. It's a historic and fun look at this from the woman's perspective. Paris 1890 Unlaced plays until September 6, 2009 and if you are the least bit interested in this period of history, or in how incredibly magnetic these courtesans were, you should not miss this play. It runs just over an hour without any intermission, and tickets are $22.00. Yes, it is slightly risqué.

Nicole Kidman played a courtesin in Moulin Rouge.
You can reserve tickets by calling 413.637.3206 or visiting http://www.gildedage.org Ventfort Hall is located at 104 Walker Street, Lenox, MA 01240 but keep alert, they are set back in the woods, and their street entrance sign is tiny.

The playing space is intimate.

The Iran Test: Ex-Advisor to Lady Thatcher Questions Apologist Speeches at Prague and Cairo

See the above video of C-Span. Senator John McCain gives a tributary speech to Neda Agha-Soltan who was brutally shot by Iranian police when she attended a democracy movement on the street in Tehran. Despite mounting pressure across the United States and overseas, President Barack Obama is still obsessed with the past CIA coup d’état to topple Mohammed Mossadegh and too hesitant to assume leadership to act against Iran. Supposed to be Kantian leaders of Europe, such as President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, are more active to support Iranian resistance.

It is almost six month since the inauguration. I mark the famous words by Vice President Joseph Biden, and I regard this crisis as the most critical test for President Obama. The media across the world bowed down and praised President Obama’s speeches at Prague and Cairo to repent for arrogant global strategies of past presidents. Current crises cannot be managed through such apologist appeals of populism, and the world needs a strong superpower to defeat threats to our liberal world order. North Korea is just a test for a crisis management skill, but Iran is beyond this. It is a real test for Barack Obama’s moral leadership on the global stage and his loyalty to American values. Conservatives have been questioning them ever since his wife Michelle’s extremely well known remark of For the first time, I feel proud of my country.

The Washington Post discussed Obama’s leadership credential over the Iranian Crisis, and quoted pro-con commentaries by experts (“Iran Unrest Reveals Split in U.S. on Its Role Abroad”; Washington Post; June 23, 2009). Among them, I am impressed with one by Nile Gardiner, Former Foreign Policy Researcher for ex-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Gardiner says "It's almost as if the president lacks confidence in the greatness of his own nation. He seems unwilling to aggressively project American global power, as if it were something to be ashamed of." This is what I have been feeling exactly since the Prague and the Cairo speeches.

Currently, Nile Gardiner is the Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. Gardiner criticizes President Obama’s apologism in his articles. He points out “The world today is considerably more dangerous than it was in the days of the Bush Administration, and the Obama White House has nothing to show for its weak-kneed efforts. The brutal truth is that the United States is increasingly viewed as a soft touch by its enemies, increasingly jeered rather than feared.” However, Gardiner insists that it is not too late for Obama to change Carter-styled diplomacy (“Barack Obama should stop apologising for America”; Daily Telegraph; 3 June 2009). In another article, Gardiner lists problematic apologies, and said “American leadership is not a popularity contest, nor should it be an exercise in self-loathing. Rather, it is about taking tough positions that will be met with hostility in many parts of the globe. Above all, it demands the assertive projection of American power, both to secure the homeland and to protect America's allies” (“Barack Obama's Top 10 Apologies: How the President Has Humiliated a Superpower”; Heritage Memo; June 2, 200).

Mark Hyman, Commentator of Sinclair Broadcasting Group, comments much more bitterly, and he says that Obama’s foreign policy comes from spiritual influence of his childhood mentor, Pastor Wright, notorious anti-white agitator (“Jeremiah Wright Foreign Policy”; American Spectator; June 26, 2009).

The global public has marked the words by Joseph Biden. Now, it is time to mark the words by Nile Gardiner. The media and global liberals love to see President Obama apologize for and humiliate America. The Iran crisis tells us how dangerous that sort of populism is. Will the President transform himself from Barack Carter Obama into Barack Truman Obama?



See the following video comments by Nile Gardiner.

Fox New 5; June 16, 2009
Fox Business; June 17, 2009

On Cellphones, Blackberries, Theatre Etiquette

Patti LuPone recently reprimanded yet another inconsiderate audience member publicly, and the discussion has raged on. But this is the best summary of the issue that I have seen.


If the President of the United States can manage to make it through a 2-hour theatre-going experience without disturbing his fellow theatregoers with his much-beloved Blackberry, then *anyone* should be able to do the same.

That said, it should have been the house management enforcing the ban. That same blue light that annoys nearby patrons should be readily visible to any relatively attentive ushers.

In the Berkshires, this is not much of a problem since people seem to be a bit more civilized, and the volunteer ushers are sitting right there, with the audience.

Great Ticket Deal from Williamstown Theatre Festival

Judith Light and James Waterston in Children.
Photo by T. Charles Erickson
For five days only, today until June 30, you can buy TWO tickets to the Williamstown Theatre Festival for just $55.00, that's an amazing $27.50 each for what is arguably the best live theatre outside of Broadway. This offer is being made to the Berkshire Community to help us share in their Fifty Fifth Anniversary Season. Regular ticket prices are $50-59 for Children on the Main Stage and $30-35 for Knickerbocker at the Nikos.

The offer is only valid for performances of Children and Knickerbocker both of which open soon.

CHILDREN
by A.R. Gurney
directed by John Tillinger
July 1-12
Tony-nominee John Tillinger directs this timeless Gurney classic set in a large summer home on an island off the coast of Massachusetts. When an estranged brother’s return and a mother’s impending marriage recall painful memories of their father’s death, seething arguments reignite one family’s struggle with its tragic past and uncertain future.

With Mary Bacon, Katie Finneran, Judith Light, James Waterston

KNICKERBOCKER
by Jonathan Marc Sherman
directed by Nicholas Martin
July 8-19
Are you ready? The question looms over Jerry as the months tick by and his unborn son grows from the size of a peach to the size of, well, a baby. As the birth date creeps ever nearer, will the advice, encouragement and warnings of friends and family make Jerry more or less ready? The awe and terror of becoming a new parent shines through Sherman’s newest play as he examines whether one can ever truly be ready for parenthood. Artistic Director Nicholas Martin directs this world premiere.

With Brooks Ashmanskas, Peter Dinklage, Bob Dishy, Rightor Doyle, Annie Parisse, Susan Pourfar, Reg Rogers.

WTF Artistic Director Nicholas Martin.
There is a new and exclusive interview of Nicholas Martin in Berkshire Fine Arts which reveals that his directorial and artistic magic touch is still a much sought after commodity on Broadway, despite the stroke he suffered last fall. Theatre people never slow down, they just soldier on.

The Williamstown Theatre Festival box office is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sundays 11 to 4, and closed on Mondays. Offer valid through June 30, 2009 only for any performance of CHILDREN or KNICKERBOCKER. Tickets must be purchased either by phone at 413.597.3400 or in person at the box office using the code “55–2009.” This offer cannot be combined with any other discount and is not applicable to previously purchased tickets. Tickets and seating subject to availability. Standard box office policies apply. All sales are final. No refunds or exchanges.

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The Yekaterinburg Summit and the Failure of the Clintonian Attempt to Tame Russia and China

Watch the above video broadcasted by a new TV network founded in Russia in the post Soviet era (Mega-deals and security to link China and Russia”; Russia Today; June 17, 2009). This company, named Russia Today, provides Russian viewpoints in English for the global public, just as Al Jazeera presents Arab standpoints.

At the BRICs Summit at Yekaterinburg, Russia and China praised unprecedentedly good bilateral relations these days, and signed trade deals to expand economic cooperation. Quite importantly, they insisted that their dependence on the dollar be lowered, and more national currencies be used in international business. Clearly, Russia and China expressed their solid determination to confront the West in the economy.

The joint press conference by President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia and President Hu Jing Tao of China illustrates that Clintonian attempt to incorporate both new capitalist nations has ended in failure. Instead of becoming good citizens of Western-led liberal framework of global political economy, Russia and China decided to challenge us and establish their own order in their economic zone.

The dollar standard is founded on the trust to political and military power of the United States, and this is beyond economic rationalism. Both Russia and China are building up their armed forces rapidly to rival against the West, and expand their influence in their neighborhood. Such dangerous opponents are posing another challenge to us. What’s next?

At this stage, Russia and China cannot afford to make their currencies alternatives to US dollar. According to US Department of Treasury, both giants are dependent on the fortunes of US dollar debt (“Alternatives to the Dollar? Not So Fast”; Reuters Blog Commentaries; June 15, 2009).

Also, BRICs nations have mutual disagreements from the economy to security (“BRIC plotters stage a farce”; Asia Times; June 20, 2009). Apparently, Brazil and India are not interested in defying our regime, and they do not build up their military power so rapidly as Russia and China do.

Powerful enough or not, Russia and China declared their desire to dissemble an Anglo-American liberal order of the Bretton Woods System, and transform the global economy into a regime that reflects their authoritarian statist ideology. Economists are liable to talk of their emergence solely in terms of the market economy, and dismiss political threats posed by their ambition. But any economic policy is politically designed. Therefore, I regard their will to challenge us critical to global security.

The Yekaterinburg Summit is a landmark to show that the Clintonian attempt to incorporate Russia and China into our global economy was shattered. How can we deal with their ambition to challenge our preeminence in the world? What happens if we appease them? They may not be strong enough at this stage, but it is their will to overturn our preeminence that matters.　History has not ended, but it has started again.

CAROUSEL - A Review in Photos and Words

The Company. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Looking through the photographs Kevin Sprague took of Carousel, now at Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, you are immediately drawn to the story behind them. Sprague, perhaps the most gifted of the Berkshire's many fine photographers has outdone himself on this show, masterfully bringing the art and craft of photography together in a series of unforgettable images. We are pleased to present them here, and you can click on those you like to get a larger, more detailed image.

Aaron Ramey and Christopher Innvar as Billy and Jigger, up to no good. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Carousel opens the 15th Anniversary Season of Barrington Stage Company, and artistic director Julianne Boyd has developed a well deserved reputation as the master of the musical. This time out, however, there are several masters at work since musicals are always a collaborative effort. The other key artists are of course, Richard Rodgers who wrote the music, and Oscar Hammerstein Ii who wrote both the lyrics and the book of the show. Carousel was first presented in 1945 and has been performed countless times since. It is a classic. It followed their first venture, Oklahoma! which was born in 1943.

Kristen Paulicelli and Al Blackstone, Principal Dancers. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Both Carousel and Oklahoma included ballet sequences, a stunning innovation in their day, created by the legendary Agnes De Mille. Boyd retains this wonderful element which successfully integrated dance into the musical's plot. Instead of functioning as an interlude or divertissement, the ballet provided key insights into the heroine's emotional state. The Barrington version is not an exact duplicate of the De Mille, but close, and is staged by Joshua Bergasse. Working with principal dancers Kristen Paulicelli and Al Blackstone, the dance sequences steal the show, creating moments of both rare beauty and deep emotion. Bravi.

Kristen Pauliceli captured the spirit of Louise perfectly, as did photographer Kevin Sprague.
Patricia Noonan as Julie Jordan and Aaron Ramey as Billy Bigelow are the innocent girl and carnival barker whose tentative relationship is the hinge upon which their fortunes swing. Their passionate, ill-fated love affair – set against a backdrop of such glorious songs as “If I Loved You,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and “June is Bustin’ Out All Over” is the heart of this masterwork, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s personal favorite. Contrasting the two lovers, R & H created the roles of Carrie Pipperidge and Enoch Snow to be the more "normal" couple, leading happy, productive lives with a gaggle of children in contrast to the frustrating relationship of Julie and Billie and their unplanned daughter.

Sara Jean Ford and Patricia Noonan. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Carousel is based on Liliom by Ferenc Molnar, though transferred to the New England seacoast. The musical is considered the first to have blended the dialog and music into a seamless whole, the classic example being the song, "If I Loved You." It was also an early example of how R & H were able to get people who just met to sing love songs to each other through the use of the conditional tense, as in "IF I loved you" .

Five of the Snow Drop Kids line up for papa. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Like its original story, Carousel is written with imaginative daring, an uncanny blending of naturalism and fantasy, humor and pathos, tenderness and tragedy into a single dramatic structure. Every dramatic turn is as closely matched to the next as pearls on a string.

Aaron Ramey and Patricia Noonan play the ill fated lovers. Kevin Sprague photo.
The tragic lives of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan should be some sort of lesson in the values of good and evil, but in the end Billy ends up in an act two Heaven that his own imagination dreamed up in act one. The only difference between a bully, one who would hit his own greatest love, and the saint, the one who would allow his children to pick on other innocent children, is the supposed moral superiority society gives the lesser transgressor.

Naughty, naughty. Christopher Innvar tricks Sara Jean Ford into knoodling. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Patricia Noonan and Aaron Ramey had strong pleasing voices (if annoyingly over-amplified, a Barrington tradition) but the surprise singers of the evening were Sara Jean Ford and Todd Buonopane who were simply stunning. Another superb standout was Teri Ralston as Nettie Flowler, owner of the Clam Shack whose authoritative voice dominated the proceedings whenever she was on stage.

Teri Ralston and Patricia Noonan as Nettie and Julie during a difficult moment. Kevin Sprague Photo.
The direction by Julianne Boyd kept things moving at a fast clip, with scene changes that were close to seamless. The crew on the rigging, however, needs a little more practice to make the rise and fall of drops more organic and less herky-jerky.

Frisky boys. Al Blackstone, Neil O'Brien, Ronnie Nelson, and Daniel Kermidas. Kevin Sprague Photo.
The music was provided by twin pianos, under music director Darren Cohen. This cut in the pit band was necessitated by budget considerations - 8-12 musicians in the pit can be a very large expense. I am sure this pained Julianne Boyd more than us. Yet with a score as luscious as this one, it was very sorely missed. Maybe it was the constant rain and shifting weather but the two instruments were ever so slightly out of tune with each other. And I mean beyond the usual tinny upper two octaves which are notoriously shrill on upright/spinet pianos. Will some music loving member of the audience please find this wonderful company decent pianos, maybe a baby grand or two?

Edmund Bagnell, whose violin playing was the surprise of the evening.
But wait. There's good news here, too. The austerity of the music budget was ameliorated to some degree by the presence of Edmund Bagnell who played Enoch Snow, Jr, and doubled on the violin. For one scene his addition of the live violin raised the music from earth to heaven, and simply delighted many in the audience. During the applause following that scene I heard my neighbors happily commenting on the unexpected addition, and in another we were treated, briefly, to the addition of a couple of rhythm instruments. Very clever. Who knows, if Julianne keeps this up, we may end up with a one of those avant garde musicals in which the actors play all the instruments next season. It's already been done elsewhere with Sweeney Todd and Company.

The Company. Kevin Sprague Photo.
One final note. Perhaps, for one performance of these musicals, an unamplified performance could be scheduled so that those of us brought up on acoustic theatre, not amplified, can return to the golden days of the pre-1960's when technique was replaced by technology. It would reveal who the good singers really are, and aren't.

Still, my personal preferences aside, this show gets my recommendation. It is a beautiful production that is well sung, nicely acted, and offers a ballet sequence that will melt even the iciest hearts. The set and costumes are pretty nifty too. Go and enjoy. This is a rare treat.

The Company. Kevin Sprague Photo.
Carousel is at Barrington Stage, 30 Union Street, Pittsfield. Showtimes are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday and Friday matinees at 2pm, and Sunday at 5pm. As part of its 15th Anniversary Season, BSC makes 15 tickets available for every performance at $15. Tickets can be purchased ahead at the box office, by calling 413-236-8888 or visiting www.barringtonstageco.org.

Senator McCain Delivers an IRON CURTAIN SPEECH on Iran

In view of President Barack Cater Obama’s inaction against bloody turmoil in Iran, Senator Sir John Winston McCain has given an Iron Curtain Speech to deal with the repressive clerical regime. Even though EU leaders and the US Congress condemned Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President Obama is still reluctant to pressure the notorious regime in Tehran.

Just as Sir Winston Churchill urged reluctant Americans to stand firmly against Soviet expansionism after World War Ⅱ in the famous Iron Curtain Speech, Senator McCain criticized the President, I do not believe that the president is taking the leadership that is incumbent upon an American president, which we have throughout modern history, and that is to advocate for human rights and freedom, and free elections are one of those fundamentals (“John McCain: President Obama not showing 'leadership'”; Politico; June 17, 2009 and the video).

As I mentioned in the previous post, Barack Obama’s dull response to current violence in Iran reminds me of that of Jimmy Cater in 1979. I have argued again and again that the loss of Iran has imposed a tremendous cost to US foreign policy. Had Iran been a friendly and reliable ally to the West, 9-11 would not have happened and Saddam Hussein could not have pursued a stupidly megalomaniac dream of becoming a Gamal Abdel Nasser. Ever since the United States and Britain demanded Stalin to withdraw the Read Army from northern Iran when World War Ⅱ ended, Iran had been a buffer against Soviet expansionism to the Gulf. Historically and geopolitically, Iran has been such an important strategic keystone in the Middle East.

This is why I argue John McCain’s Churchillian comment vital to prevail our freedom, and to help fellow Iranians. As far as this issue is concerned, There is no liberal America, or conservative America. There is no white America, or black America, but there is the United States of America. Yes, that’s right Mr. President, but are you really loyal to what you said in public?

Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfovitz says that both Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush stayed neutral at first, when anti-government riots broke out in the Philippines in 1986 and in the Soviet Union in 1991. However, both presidents decided to endorse the civic power for democracy in the end (“'No Comment' Is Not an Option”; Washington Post; June 19, 2009). As Wolfovitz argues in this column, those interventions were of considerable help to strengthen America’s soft power.

Remember that Harry Truman had become a real global statesman only when he accepted the Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill. It seems to me that Barack Carter Obama is not interested in becoming none of leaders like Truman, Reagan, and Bush Sr. Our fellows in the Middle East, don’t expect so much to current US President. Maybe General David Petraeus is a real savior for you. Don’t give up your Hope for the Change.

Unenthusiastic to Real Democracy in Iran: Exploring the Stupidity of the Cairo Speech

Iran is in messy turmoil after the presidential election on June 12. This indicates that things have not improved since the revolution. Iran has been a bête noire in the global community as a terrorist sponsor and a nuclear megalomania. Apparently, Iran has been more poorly governed under corrupt current theocracy than it had been under the shah. Despite this, President Barack Obama apologized for CIA intervention to topple Prime Minister-then Mohammed Mosaddeq in the world famous Cairo Speech.

Strangely enough, while President Obama denounce legitimate sponsorship for anti-communist coup d’état, he shows no enthusiasm to endorse current democratic rally against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Let me review the history of Iran. During the Anglo Iranian Oil Dispute from 1952 to 1953, Mosaddeq tried to associate Iran with the Soviet Union. In Cold War power politics, what he did was unacceptable. Once Iran had fallen into communists’ hand, security the whole area around the Persian Gulf would have been extremely fragile. The United States was right to endorse Britain to block red expansionism. Remember that America always represented conscience of global citizens when aligned itself with Sir Winston Churchill who was the Prime Minister then for the second time. A provincial lawyer from the Mid West, Harry Truman had become a global statesman when he accepted the Iron Curtain Speech by Churchill (Can Obama the Savior deliver such a great speech?). Also, nationalism uproar in the Middle East needed to be curtailed. Saddam Hussein was inspired by Gamar Abdel Nasser in the Suez Crisis. When Saddam invaded Kuwait, he identified himself with Nasser who nationalized British controlled Suez Canal. Mosaddeq could have provoked dangerous nationalism as Nasser did.

Until the economic crisis in the late 1970s, Iran had been enjoying modernization under the shah. It is utterly wrong to say that the coup d’état has led Iran to anti-Western. During the Pahlavi era, numerous Iranians gladly enrolled colleges in the United States. Those who were educated in the United States and other Western nations occupied top positions in the government, the military, and the business. Contrary to what Obama said in the Cairo Speech, this is a proof of widespread pro-Americanism in Iran in those days.

Regarding Obama's remark on Iran in the worldwide-praised Cairo Speech, Charles Krauthammer, a columnist of the Washington Post, criticizes that the President blames the US side unfairly (“Obama Hovers From on High”; Washington Post; June 12, 2009). Barack Obama may be a Wilsonian idealist as Robert Kagan says (“Woodrow Wilson's Heir”; Washington Post; June 7, 2009), but his idealism undermines US diplomacy if he has no confidence in Americaness. Krauthammer argues that American involvement in the coup d’état to overthrow democratically elected Mosaddeq gives no excuse for Iran to take hostage at the US embassy in 1979 and sponsor terrorists. I agree with him. In the column, Krauthammer points out that President Obama is extremely biased to favor Islamic radicals on the Islam-Western clash in the Cairo Speech. This is a vital point to understand the speech that the media bow down and praise.

Prior to the presidential election, Foreign Policy published a special edition on the web, and foretold corruption and confusion associated with it. Karim Sadjapour, Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said this election was a rivalry between Tehran and the rest. Without credible polls, it was difficult predict the result, and global media tended to dismiss rural opinions. In the end, Sadjapour said that unelected mullahs decide the winner, which would make the result controversial as it happened in 2000 US election over Florida votes (“Why Iran '09 Could Be Like Florida '00”; Foreign Policy, June 2009). Cameron Abadi, Writer for German journals Die Zeit and Spiegel International, compares current election with the revolution to oust the shah in 1979. Whether Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Mir Hossein Mousavi, the winner would face tremendous opposition resistance, because this election reflects clashes between conservatives and reformists ("Iran's New Revolution"; Foreign Policy June 2009).

If this is a prelude to another revolution in Iran, should the United States intervene? Remember that President-then Jimmy Carter did nothing to stop radical mullahs during the revolution in 1979, and America has lost Iran since then. William Kristol wonders why President Obama is so reluctant to use America’s soft power if he is truly loyal to his conviction for democracy (“Kristol: Where's the Soft Power?”; Weekly Standard Blog; June 14, 2009). Jimmy Carter failed to endorse well-educated and pro-Western generals to stand against mad and anti-Western mullahs. People know the outcome of it. Will Barack Carter Obama fail to endorse democratic Iranians and allow mad mullahs to rule this country continually?

Senator John McCain urges President Obama to speak out corrupt and fraud election (“Obama refuses to 'meddle' in Iran”; BBC News; 17 June 2009). Yes, this is how American soft power should be used.

Those who were moved to listen to oracles of the Cairo Speech by the Savior must think again, and the Iranian Crisis is a real opportunity to judge the young and brilliant president. He is tested now. Will Barack Carter Obama repeat the same error committed by James Earl Carter?

Playwrights say the darndest things - Quotable Kushner

Tony Kushner, the playwright.
Tony Kushner, who wrote Angels in America, is one of our most fascinating playwrights and totally fearless in what he says.

"For all the hyperbole that greeted President Obama’s nomination of Broadway impresario Rocco Landesman to chair the endowment — “potentially the best news the arts community in the United States has had since the birth of Walt Whitman,” playwright Tony Kushner said — neither the appointment nor the $50 million in stimulus money the president is steering the endowment’s way is likely to bring about a change in its culture."

Quoted in the The National Review

"I was excited to see a bus go by a couple of months ago when I first got to Minneapolis and the only words you could make out as the bus went by were 'homosexual' and 'socialism,'" Kushner says, adding that the first thing he did when he saw it was call his husband back home in New York City."

Quoted by CNN

"When Tony Kushner agreed to premiere a new play at the Guthrie Theater, the artistic director wanted to know what it would be called. Kushner responded with a mouthful of a title that had been knocking around in his head for more than a decade: "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures." Kushner explained: "Joe Dowling needed a title, and I figured well, I can make this play about absolutely anything and somehow or another, that title will carry it,"

Reported in Broadway World

"It's becoming harder and harder for people to make a living if they try to make it purely from writing plays," he says. "Most playwrights do what I do - screenplays, lectures, teach - to supplement their income."

Greensboro, NC News Record

Harper Pitt: In my church we don't believe in homosexuals.
Prior: In my church we don't believe in Mormons. (From Angels in America)

“America Has Chosen a Misfortune: the Tragedy of the Obama World” by a Japanese De Tocqueville

A Japanese journalist Yoshiki Hidaka, who is a senior advisor to the Chairman of the American Chambers of Commerce and a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute, has published a book on the dark side of the Obama administration. This book is written in Japanese, but I believe it is worthy of introducing it to worldwide.

Hidaka is an ultimate insider of political corridors in Washington. Having graduated from Tokyo University with a bachelor’s degree in American literature, he joined NHK (Nihon Hoso Kyokai, or Japan Broadcasting Cooperation) to report inside stories of the US government, armed forces, and business. He has been a good friend to eminent American leaders from Republican Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger to Democrat Jimmy Carter.

On the other hand, he is an outsider, because he is not an American. But this is an advantage to tell American politics objectively, and even boldly. Remember, British writers John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge have won enormous reputation with their book “The Right Nation”. Actually, Hidaka worries that it is quite likely that Obama will be assassinated if he continues the Wall Street bashing. Due to close ties among financial, industrial, and military élites, Obama’s populism could provoke anger of the establishment. Hidaka warns that far right racists may align themselves with establishments to assassinate Barack Obama. Since this book is written in Japanese language for Japanese readers, Hidaka speaks such a taboo so boldly.

At the beginning of the book, Yoshiki Hidaka questions whether President Obama will become a Franklin Roosevelt or not. His conclusion is “No”. Whether in national security, the economy, or whatever, Hidaka criticizes that Obama has no grand design. In addition, since Obama had no experience to train himself as the leader, he is incapable of dealing with more experienced and skilled his cabinet members.

Pro-Obama Americans say that they trust him because he is a genius. Certainly, Barack Obama is extremely gifted to capture the heart of innumerable people, as seen in the Prague speech on nuclear weapons and the Cairo speech on the Middle East. But as Hidaka comments, being gifted is not sufficient to assume presidency of the sole superpower in the world. Despite favorable media response, I am critically concerned with his sweet speeches at Prague and Cairo, because Obama is in self-denial of America’s hegemonic role in the liberal world order. Such dangerous populism without solid vision can undermine US foreign policy and global security.

Let me review the book from the following points: background of the Obama presidency, foreign and security policy, economic policy, and US-Japanese relations and East Asian security.

Hidaka argues that the vital reason for Obama’s victory in the election is widespread distrust the state among voters. American people are fed up with anti-terrorist surveillance under the Bush administration such as wire tapping. In such an atmosphere, Obama succeeded in agitating the peril of economic crisis, which led American voters to turn their policy focus away from national security. Through consummate election tactics, Hope of the Change Barack Obama defeated Country First John McCain. However, Hidaka points out that Obama distracts public attention to his dubious personal contacts with far left activists and local mafias in his constituent Chicago area. Hidaka wonders why American media are so generous for Obama as to avoid charging dirty personal contacts which makes his leadership qualification questionable.

In foreign and security policy, President Obama is so naïve as to believe that talking with any actors will bring peaceful relations around the world. Hidaka criticizes that Obama’s law-oriented approach in a Hobbesian savanna of international politics. More importantly, most of the members in Obama’s foreign policy team are amateurs, and they do not know about the war, he says. While the Bush administration succeeded in screening terrorists out of US territory, Hidaka warns that looser surveillance to dangerous radicals under the Obama administration will undermine American security.

In the economy, Obama has no grand design other than Keynesian public investment. However, it is heavily dependent on financial inflow from China. As China is moving toward increasingly nationalist and more domestic demand oriented economy, financial inflow from China to the United States will decrease, which will be a critical hurdle to pursue a big spending policy.

Hidaka is critically concerned with Obama’s lukewarm attitude to China. While the Bush administration strengthened economic ties with China, they curtailed Chinese expansionism in global and regional security. President Obama has no clear vision to deal with China. Hidaka warns poorly designed Asia Pacific policy under the Obama administration will damage US-Japanese relations substantially.

Strangely enough, both global and American public opinions are infatuated with empty sweetness of words and phrases by the Savior, Barack Obama. It is necessary to wake them up to see Obama as he really is. Even you do not understand Japanese to read this book, it is invaluable to know that a Japanese De Tocqueville presents such a bitterly critical and eloquent analysis on the Obama administration. Therefore, I introduce this book to understand Barack Carter Obama.

Berkshire Theatre Openings for Summer 2009

It's going to be another whirlwind summer for those of us who love the theatre and cabaret, and here's a list of the significant openings that are on our calendar. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are the ones we plan to attend and either review or do a special preview in Berkshire Fine Arts or here. Also included are several quasi-theatrical events that may also be of interest to you.

JUNE 2009

13 Pinters Mirror at Shakespeare and Company
13 Mandy Patinkin at the Colonial Theatre*
14 Freud's Last Session at Barrington Stage Company*
17 Golda's Balcony at Shakespeare & Company
20 Toad of Toad Hall at Shakespeare & Company
20 Broadway by the Year at Berkshire Theatre Festival*
21 Carousel at Barrington Stage Company*
27 Hamlet at Shakespeare & Company
30 PDQ Bach at the Colonial Theatre* (Preview-Interview with Prof. Peter Schickele)

JULY 2009

1 Dov and Ali at Chester Theatre Company
2 Children at Williamstown Theatre Festival
2 Amanda McBroom at Barrington Stage Company
4 The Einstein Project at Berkshire Theatre Festival*
5 Othello at Shakespeare & Company
6 Shirley Jones at Barrington Stage Company
9 Knickerbocker at Williamstown Theatre Festival
11 Candide at Berkshire Theatre Festival*
11 Bebe Neuwirth at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
12 Under the Lintel Tree at Barrington Stage Company*
15 Love Song at Chester Theatre Company
16 True West at Williamstown Theatre Festival
16 Berkshire Fringe opens at Simon's Rock
18 Measure for Measure at Shakespeare & Company*
19 Sleuth at Barrington Stage Company
23 What is the Cause of Thunder at Williamstown Theatre Festival
25 The Prisoner of Second Avenue at Berkshire Theatre Festival*
29 Railroad Bill at Chester Theatre Company
30 Torch Bearers at Wiliamstown Theatre Festival
31 Twelfth Night at Shakespeare & Company*
31 Bill Nelson's All Male Review at Barrington Stage Company

AUGUST 2009

1 Devil's Advocate at Shakespeare & Company
4 Steve Ross - "Live at the Algonquin" at the Colonial Theatre
5 Camelot at Goodspeed Opera (Connecticut)* (Preview-Interview with Rob Ruggiero, director)
6 Caroline in Jersey at Williamstown Theatre Festival
7 The Longing and The Short of It - Daniel Mate Songs
8 A Dreamer Examines His Pillow at Shakespeare & Company*
9 A Streetcar Named Desire at Barrington Stage Company*
12 A Body of Water at Chester Theatre Company
13 Quartermaine's Terms at Williamstown Theatre Festival
14 Ghosts at Berkshire Theatre Festival *(Preview-Interview with Randy Harrison)
17 Andrea Marcovicci at the Colonial Theatre*
20 I'll be Damned at Barrington Stage Company*
22 Sick at Berkshire Theatre Festival*
23 White People at Shakespeare & Comapny

The dates above are the official opening hight dates, and in most cases there are additional performances before and after the one given. Contact the theatre for specific information.

Barrington Stage Company
(Berkshire Fringe Site not yet updated)
Berkshire Theatre Festival
Chester Theatre Company
The Colonial Theatre (turn your sound down first)
Goodspeed Musicals
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Shakespeare & Company
Williamstown Theatre Festival

For details on what is playing right now, always check the current preview/guide story on the home page of Berkshire Fine Arts. For information on other theatres not listed here, including many well beyond the Berkshires, you will find that Gail Sez is an invaluable resource, too.

Thank you. Anthony Amato, for Introducing me to Opera

The crowd arrives for the final performance.
After 61 years of making opera available and affordable to all the people, Anthony Amato, now 88, presided over the last performance of his company, Amato Opera, in his little building in the Bowery of lower Manhattan. His lifelong quest to showcase rising opera singers and present Grand Opera in a miniscule 130 seat space has come to its end. He deserves my applause, and tears of sadness that such a simple operation has reached its conclusion. Without Amato, I would have never found the joys of opera.

The final curtain call.
While I was still attending High School, I used to sneak out of the house and venture into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad for long weekend days and nights of Radio City Music Hall, the old Roxy Theatre, half price tickets to Broadway shows via the Stubs promotion, and standing room at the Met when it was on 39th Street. Most tickets were a buck or so, though even standing room at the old Met was more than my meager lawn-mowing and caddying money could support. When I discovered Amato, back when he was in even smaller quarters on Bleecker Street, it was a voluntary contribution that got me in, and some kid throwing two bits into the basket didn't bother them in the least. That is why they were there.

Amato with his beloved Sally he loved dearly.
And, oh, the operas I heard! Mostly Verdi and Mozart, but once in a while some of the others like Bizet's Carmen, simply produced and gloriously sung. I can still close my eyes and see Amato waggling his baton at the twin pianos that were his orchestra for many years. In recent years, this has been supplanted by synthesizers and woodwinds and whatever other players he could recruit.

Amato's La Boheme with supertitles.
There is a collection of wonderful, evocative photographs on photographer and fellow blogger Stefan Falke's Eye site which I urge you to view. If you ever dropped by their building at 319 Bowery, his images will bring back that experience. And they are wonderful images as well.

But don't think we have heard the last of Amato. Following the final performance on May 31, he promised that we would be hearing from him again. He has plans to establish a scholarship program for opera singers, conductors and directors. His life's work continues.

Thank you, Anthony. Mille grazie.