Word: abstract
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...most people know it? His beloved mother died when he was a child, and for decades he has lived in withdrawn bachelorhood. Snuggled up in a charming book-lined cottage with his brother Warnie (the excellent Edward Hardwicke), he is sage but distant with his students, witty but somewhat abstract with his colleagues at the high table...
...emphasis on angels as divine intermediaries, theologians worry, just creates a greater distance from an ever more abstract God. And to the extent that angels are always benign spirits, it evades any reckoning with the struggle between good and evil. "I'm certain that if we are to solve the problems on earth, we will have to do it ourselves," says playwright Tony Kushner. The angel in his play in no way is meant to absolve humans of tough choices and hard spiritual work. "New Age theology says we live in a benign universe where all you have...
Director George Reyes has woven together some lovely contrasts: in one scene, the cacophonic screaming of 20 maniacs ceases in a split second, and a timid flute melody drifts up into the air like Bambi frightening away Godzilla. The choreography achieves an apt explication of abstract concepts when the three singers illustrate de Sade's case against equality. The "General Copulation" number, however, is a bit too fervent...
Perhaps more important, the more vague and abstract such a story is, the more vague and abstract is the impact of the story on the reader. If a story is put in a real context that the reader cares about, the reader will connect to the story. I hope those who picked up the paper yesterday and read the lead story made that connection...
...play's inner life is the growing bond between the captive, Keely, and her grandmotherly keeper, Du. Part of the closeness is their natural sympathy as women beleaguered by men. Part is a shared, stereotypically feminine impulse to focus on an individual situation more than an abstract principle. Part, too, is the "Stockholm syndrome" of intimacy between hostage and hostage taker as a way of enduring forced togetherness. The effect is especially strong in this situation because, unlike most hostages, the young woman has no fear of being murdered -- her captors are desperate to keep her alive, if only...