God: That Peculiarly American Obsession

“If anyone still requires proof of the gulf of difference between the US and everywhere else, look no further than the current storm-in-a-cappuccino about The Chronicles of Narnia. For weeks, it seems, there have been spats in the papers about C.S. Lewis’ classic children’s fantasy series, the first instalment of which has just been adapted as a lush blockbuster by Andrew Adamson, who directed the Shrek films, for Disney. The storm is over religion. C.S. Lewis had it; the Americans have a lot of it; the rest of us don’t, supposedly, or at least we don’t like to put a hat on it and give it a ticker-tape parade.”

Do They Sell Tickets And Paint Scenery, Too?

The revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd currently playing on Broadway is making headlines for its embrace of what could be called the ultimate in multitasking. Where most shows employ actors who traverse the stage and musicians who stay hidden in the pit, this Sweeney Todd asks everyone onstage to play their parts (and sing their songs) while simultaneously playing important instrumental parts along with the main orchestra.

Finessing A Turnaround

Two and a half years ago, news stories about the Minnesota Orchestra told a distressing tale of internal power struggles, musician dissatisfaction, board dysfunction, and seemingly endless red ink. Today, the deficits are in rapid decline, the organization seems to be healing, the orchestra is garnering rave reviews, and much of the credit for the turnaround is being given to Ronald Lund, who just stepped aside as the orchestra’s board chair. Lund’s success in a post which is frequently a magnet for criticism from all sides may be due in part to his emphasis on improving communication within the organization before trying to heal its external problems.

The Producers’ Producer

Mel Brooks is one of the enduring comedic icons of his generation, and with the wild success of the stage version of The Producers, his politically incorrect zaniness has been embraced by a new generation of fans. Still, “there are some who think that Brooks’s humour is too one-dimensional, too vulgar, to be as enduring as, say, that of Woody Allen.” But contradictions are what Brooks has always been about, and he doesn’t seem terribly troubled by the concept of his legacy.

Chasing Beethoven’s Head

When scientists announced recently that Ludwig van Beethoven died as a definitive result of lead poisoning, a number of gaps in the composer’s biography – his gradual descent into deafness, his erratic behavior and violent temper – began to be filled in. But someone had to do the legwork for the lead poisoning theory to be proven, and that someone was author Russell Martin, whose quest for the skull fragments that would yield the truth could be alternately described as obsessive, gruesome, and fascinating.