Word: bard
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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SAMMY DAVIS JR.'S SINGSONG CANDY MAN was a genial guy. The '90s version, from the fetid, fertile brain of horror bard Clive Barker, is a malefic beastie who preys on those foolhardy enough to say his name five times. Now he's lusting to make a curious grad student (Virginia Madsen) his charnel bride. Borrowing from Stephen King and Freddy Krueger (while paving the way for a batch of Candyman sequels), director Bernard Rose deftly juggles sense and slaughter. This is clever, spooky stuff, with a lingering autumn chill...
...flesh is always so weak when the spirit is willing. My cerebral loins were girded into play mode--I thought I knew them all, that Miller, this Bard, Mr. Pinter--but my big toe clamored for a rewarding scratch. My bladder squealed with the agony of Colombian coffee, and the buttocks murmured about the iniquity of the sitting posture. Stomach wanted popcorn, hair demanded combing, and the mind wandered into esoterica. Fight it Gubba, said I, and I did. All resources were summoned onto the stage and bodily rebellion was quashed...
...dollar vehicle. The machine, being commercial, has that tendency to veer toward the ditch, seeking the least common denominator. The medium's technological prowess -- and its relentless, pervasive presence in the society -- imposes a responsibility that its writers and producers and directors probably should not have to bear. National Bard . . . and banality. Television does its work. But there are better ways to tell a story...
Audiences flock to the Bard when he plays outdoors...
...about 100 outdoor Shakespeare festivals. Some have grown, like Ashland's, into major institutions offering varied repertoires. Others operate just a few weeks a year. Nearly all rely on a lot of novice, non-Equity players. But almost all are thriving. Americans seemingly cannot get enough of the Bard in open air in summer -- though they are conspicuously less eager to see his work indoors at other times of the year...