What lies ahead of you and what lies behind you is nothing compared to what lies within you. -Mohandas K. Gandhi
This has been perhaps the most exhausting December I’ve ever had with certainly many wonderful bonding moments with friends and family but with many more hours scrambling to finish things or get places. The day or two that life came to a near dead stop thanks to the snow storm were the only brief respite I found. My number 1 resolution going into this new year is to stop rushing around so much and calm the frak down. My yoga class starts next week. The irony may lie in how much energy I expend rushing to get to yoga class in time…
Anyway, it’s nice to see Mr. Miller back in the blogging saddle over at the Barksdale Buzz. I echo Bruce’s hopes that next year be the best ever for local theater. Along those lines, at some point Barksdale announced their Hanover season for 2010. Quite an interesting line-up that I’ll have to ruminate over a bit before I offer any commentary.
December was full of announcements of additional movie/TV stars coming to Broadway. I was a little surprised about the Valerie Harper announcement – maybe just because in my mind she’s still “Rhoda” and I don’t imagine her as an aging screen star. But then again, in my mind I’m still in my mid-20s. The Megan Mullally/Patton Oswalt announcement was noteworthy to me more for the announcement of a revival of “Lips Together, Teeth Apart.”
The site Popeater weighs in on the whole celebrity-on-Broadway phenomenon in an article that is an interesting read (and that includes an embedded link to a roundup of reviews of significant star turns of recent years). Of course, it may be more fun to respond to the Entertainment Weekly question as to who would make the best “Santaland Diaries” Crumpet, a rare engagement on that site with theater as a noteworthy medium.
I’ve started to hear the PSAs about the “Acts of Faith” festival on WRIR which is great. It’s hard to believe that whole calvalcade of shows will be kicking off in just a few weeks. Mark your calendar for the opening event – it’s free!
There are still a number of great shows leftover from the holiday season that are worth catching. There are just two more chances to see "Black Nativity," now at the Empire. I'll of course be seeing "Greetings" this weekend but will also carve out a couple of nights in the coming weeks for "Spelling Bee" and "Bus Stop." I was wavering a little on "Bus Stop" but a hot-as-a-volcano shot of Alia Bisharat on Facebook has convinced me that it's a must see (yes, I'm just that shallow).
There are all sorts of "Best of 2009" stories out there right now. I've done stories like that about Richmond theater in the past but am pretty much done with offering opinions for the year. Mostly, I hope you and your loved ones have a happy and safe New Year and I thank you for your participation, whatever it has been or continues to be, in helping to keep theater the lively and thriving art form that it is. Take care.
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