Word: humors
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...worst part. The climax takes place at least 15 minutes before the end, and by now the audience knows exactly what will happen, so there is no suspense. Playwright James Kirkwood takes out the humor, so the audience is no longer interested. He leaves us inwardly saying, "End, end, end..." I hate that feeling, but leaving early would have been rude...
...magic, and Millie blossoms, while Stan falters in his search. The warden is killed by poachers, but then a beautiful lion begins haunting the safari camp. The plot takes incredible turns, but Fabulist Ingalls (Mrs. Caliban), an American who has lived in London for 24 years, glides, with sly humor, into the fantastic so deftly that she makes events seem not only plausible but inevitable...
...guilt or political harangues. The son of a largely absent white father and a devoted, enterprising black mother whom he revered, Wilson keeps his white characters at the periphery, yet emphasizes the humanity that binds Americans together. Although his vision is steeped in sadness, it is equally rich in humor and wonder at the everyday joys of living, from the umpteenth retelling of a beloved family anecdote to a mock- scandalized peek through the window at the neighbors, from the swing of a baseball bat to the cradling of a newborn child. Like the blues music he threads through them...
...sacred to be parodied. Schickele--er, P.D.Q. Bach--pokes fun at operatic, symphonic and vocal as well as lesser known musical forms, such as the art of performing on dried manicotti ("Four Folksong Upsettings"). Yet he counters that he is "not into a Lenny Bruce kind of humor." He claims he is not out "merely to shock or offend." Says Schickele, "I want my concerts to be friendly and melodious affairs...
...shared first prize in the 1982 Tchaikovsky Competition with Viktoria Mullova. Sergei Slonimsky's sprightly two-minute Novgorod Dance -- hellzapoppin', cossack- style, ending with the clarinetist, trombonist, cellist, pianist and conductor all merrily hoofing it around the stage -- bespeaks a composer with both an ear and a sense of humor. Best of all is Schnittke's silvery Three Scenes for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble (1981), a theater piece for percussionists, soprano and conductor that apes a funeral procession, ending with a solemn cortege in which the vibraphone is held aloft like a coffin...