Jane Fonda returns to Broadway Nov 4, 2008
Kaufman, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, is best known for his plays "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" and "The Laramie Project," which he wrote with members of Tectonic about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming a decade ago. He also directed the Tony-winning play "I Am My Own Wife.". (MSNBC -- Politics)
Jane Fonda returns to B'way in '33 Variations' Nov 4, 2008
Kaufman, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, is best known for his plays "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde" and "The Laramie Project," which he wrote with members of Tectonic about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming a decade ago ... Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde. (Yahoo News)
The new romantic Nov 1, 2008
This is a man influenced both by Sid Vicious and Oscar Wilde, with a Guy Ritchie reference thrown in: It's a sharp suit with a rough leather jacket. Or work clothes worn with a luxurious shaggy coat. (Globe and Mail)
The world's most famous cemeteries Oct 31, 2008
Most travelers put this 118-acre graveyard on their must see itinerary because of its famous inhabitants: Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Honor de Balzac, Marcel Proust, Alice B. Toklas, Richard Wright, and, of course, Jim Morrison. But for Marilyn Yalom, author of the recently published book The American Resting Place: 400 Years of History Through Our Cemeteries and Burial Grounds, the significance of Paris landmark graveyard is that it became the 19th-century archetype. (MSNBC -- Travel)
Election 2008: The Media Is The Message Oct 31, 2008
In the New Yorker piece, Huffington defines the sainted Bob Woodward as "the dumb blonde of American journalism"; hangs with and then is dropped by Barbara Walters; defies Maureen Orth and Vanity Fair; draws comment from Bill Kristol, consultant Ed Rollins and James Carville; rips Judith Miller of The New York Times with snide references to Oscar Wilde in "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"; impudently urges Obama to "get more sleep"; elicits harsh words from a McCain aide, "a flake ... poser ...... (Forbes -- Business)
Want a creepy kick? Check into a deadly hotel Oct 30, 2008
Not so, however, when Oscar Wilde lay in his death throes, which ended on November 30, 1900. One of his last quips, "I am dying beyond my means," referred not to the hotel's elegance, but to his own total insolvency (there is an unpaid bill of 26,000 francs still outstanding). (MSNBC -- Politics)
Ghoulish Gold Oct 28, 2008
re Lachaise in Paris, home to luminaries ranging from Oscar Wilde to Jim Morrison. Admittedly, you really have to have the stomach for this sort of memorabilia trading. (Forbes -- Business)
Simply ridiculous fun Oct 25, 2008
Laughter, sweat and chaos make for a memorable rendition of an Oscar Wilde favourite ... OF THE many countries, theatres and festivals where Jon Haynes and David Woods have performed their irreverent two-man version of Oscar Wilde's The Importance Of Being Earnest, a small village hall in Dorset must rate as one of the toughest. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Just Wilde about the lush style Oct 20, 2008
The Importance of Being Earnest By Oscar Wilde. Queensland Theatre Company, Brisbane,October 16. (The Australian)
A grand night at the opera -- on the big screen Oct 19, 2008
"Salome" -- the tale from the Gospels of a girl who dances dirty for Daddy and wants her boyfriend beheaded, decadently retold by Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss -- runs about 90 teeth-clinching minutes, during which one scarcely has the chance to breathe. The most famous excerpt is "The Dance of the Seven Veils," though I'm particularly fond of the amusing argument by assorted theologians tossed into the middle of things as a little comic relief. (Anchorage Daily News)
New on DVD: 'Indiana Jones' still in fighting form Oct 17, 2008
Back story: MGM's fantasy favorite is, of course, based on the famed Oscar Wilde story about a British dandy whose face remains eternally youthful while his visage on a hidden-away portrait ages grotesquely because of his evil deeds. Hurd Hatfield, who, to his chagrin, never escaped this role, is glacial as Dorian, which works intellectually but slows down the movie. (USA Today -- Life)
True confessions Oct 14, 2008
It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution -- Oscar Wilde. Frank Warren collects secrets. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Enjoy the best of Paris Oct 14, 2008
Buy a map from a vendor outside the cemetery and track down the graves of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein and Maria Callas. Admission:13. (iAfrica.com)
Religion vs. spirituality in Indonesian literature Oct 11, 2008
Irish author Oscar Wilde once said that "all art is quite useless", believing in the idea of "art for art's sake". But in Indonesia today, art is expected not only to entertain but also to enlighten its beholders. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Features)
Late-night TV just rubbish? Stiff! Oct 10, 2008
But, no matter how well-intentioned, a tutorial from the ABC will not turn this hack into Oscar Wilde. As people increasingly download their favourite TV programs to their computers and TV eventually comes through the internet, a free-to-air television licence will become as valuable as a share portfolio consisting of AIG, Allco, ABC Learning, Babcock & Brown, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch, as well as some Icelandic treasury bonds. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
MCHS Vocal Department to present concert Tuesday Oct 10, 2008
The Varsity Choir, an ensemble of sophomores, juniors and seniors, will continue with Sing For Joy by G.F. Handel, a setting of two Oscar Wilde poems by Emma Lou Diemer, For The Beauty of the Earth by John Rutter, and Come On Children Let s Sing, a gospel tune arranged by Linda Twine. Additionally, a Chamber Choir will sing El Grito and Malague;a from a Spanish Suite set for women by Einojuhani Rautavaara, along with Rainbow Round My Shoulder set for men by Robert DeCormier. (Mason City Globe-Gazette, IO)
Richard E. Grant shows he can sing in My Fair Lady Oct 8, 2008
"Professor Higgins is one of the best-written roles for a male actor that isn't Shakespeare or Oscar Wilde or Sheridan," Grant said. "I think Lerner and Loewe expanded and exposed the hidden emotional part that is embedded in Pygmalion and brought it out, and all the songs advance the story and embellish and reveal things about the characters. "It's probably done more for Shaw than anything else. (The Australian)
A gallery of faces Oct 8, 2008
The theme of the exhibit was based on a quote from Oscar Wilde, Give a man a mask and he will tell you the truth. Loading commenting interface. (Billerica Minuteman, MA)
Fun ghost story is Wilde at heart Oct 4, 2008
Irina Brook, who has just moved from Paris to Great Barrington to become Shakespeare & Company's first director in residence, adapted the piece from a short story by Oscar Wilde ... No, Oscar Wilde might not recognize that one ... Play adapted by Irina Brook and Anna Brownsted with the ensemble from the story by Oscar Wilde. (Boston Globe)
Shakespeare & Co. does Wilde Oct 4, 2008
Entertainment Shakespeare oes Wilde By CHARLES KONDEK 10/03/2008 IN THE NEW Elayne P. Bernstein Theater on Kimble Street in Lenox, Shakespeare ny has mounted a boisterous adaptation of The Canterville Ghost, freely based on a short story by Oscar Wilde. With more screams than any three horror movies put together, the production is a loud uninterrupted 90 minutes of supposed entertainment. (Hillsdale Independent, NY)
Weekend calendar Oct 3, 2008
MIDDLETOWN - In its 28th year, the Connecticut Gilbert van Society will revive "Patience," a satire on the aesthetic movement which flourished in Britain between 1870 and 1885, chief proponents of which were Oscar Wilde, Algernon Swinburne and James Whistler. Shows are Oct. 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. and 26 at 2 p.m. in the "old Middletown High School," how Woodrow Wilson Middle School) on Hunting Hill Avenue. (Middletown Press, CT)
Theater review: 'Vera Wilde' Sep 25, 2008
The worst scene Oscar Wilde ever wrote is the hilarious highlight of Chris Jeffries' "Vera Wilde," the enticing little musical that opened Friday at the Shotgun Players' Ashby Stage. It helps that the 19th century playwright is present to share in the agony. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Pulitzer Prize winner to open Latino Heritage Month events Sep 24, 2008
Diaz's main character, Oscar Wao - a Spanish pronunciation of Oscar Wilde - is a 300-pound Dominican-American teenage nerd who is obsessed with science fiction and women. Oscar dreams of being the J.R.R. Tolkien of the Dominican Republic and of finding love, but an ancient Dominican curse, known as the "fuku," has plagued Oscar's family for generations, and he is its next victim, according to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology News Web site. (Daily Orange, NY)
* The party system in Japan fails to deliver stability Sep 21, 2008
That paraphrase of Oscar Wilde aptly sums up the current state of Japanese politics, given the serial resignations of prime ministers Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda. Japan is once again saddled with a caretaker government as the ruling Liberal Democrat Party (LDP) scrambles for a new leader with an election to the lower house of the Diet looming. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
'Ghost' director's tried-and-true method is to improvise Sep 20, 2008
This is, after all, a stage adaptation of an Oscar Wilde short story originally set in 19th-century England, on a haunted estate bought by an American family. "That's all true,'' agrees director Irina Brook, the daughter of legendary stage director Peter Brook and an award-winning director in her own right. "But for the stage, we have to find the theatricality of the story. (Boston Globe)
On the Shelves -- Banned Books Week is back Sep 18, 2008
As Oscar Wilde notes in the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray, There is no such thing as a moral book or an immoral book. Books are well written or badly written. (Scituate Mariner, MA)
Matthew Shepard and Laramie: A crime that lingers Sep 17, 2008
"We've had some degree of apprehension about coming back to Laramie," said Kaufman, who is also the author of the 1997 off-Broadway hit "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde." "There had been such fervor about how Matthew Shepard's death would make a difference. There are hundreds of hate crimes each year, but Matthew is the one that resonated nationally. But what if nothing has really changed?". Kaufman does not hide his feelings easily. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Higher (Priced) Education Sep 15, 2008
Oscar Wilde once described a cynic as a man who knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. It makes me wonder, were he alive today, if he would characterize us as a country of cynics or merely dismiss us as a nation of fools. (Townhall.com)
I have to admit it: I was wrong about Hirst Sep 14, 2008
The cynic, as Oscar Wilde put it, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. For critics, that switches into reverse: indifferent to price, we are expected to deliberate about value. (guardian.co.uk)
Find old Paris charm in Edith Piaf's Belleville Sep 13, 2008
Yet few tourists stray farther than Pere Lachaise cemetery, burial place for celebrities including Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and Piaf herself. Even the success of "La Vie en Rose," which won actress Marion Cotillard a best-actress Academy Award and rekindled interest in Piaf's life, isn't drawing the masses to the neighborhood. (CNN -- Travel)
Bright season lights it up on stage Sep 12, 2008
A few seasons back, Prince broke hearts (as she did last year in Broadway's "A Catered Affair") in a musical that featured a script by McNally and a score by the talents Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, "A Man of No Importance." Based on the film in which Albert Finney plays an Irish bus driver who leads a community theater in the plays of Oscar Wilde, the musical is a touching portrait of a man who seeks but cannot always find understanding in a parochial community in which he is popular but... (The Delaware County Times, PA)
Am I the only one who Sep 8, 2008
Perhaps Oscar Wilde said it best; "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about". Posted by Adam Turner September 8, 2008 9:38 AM. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Technology)
Griffin: Registering dismay with drivers license photo Sep 6, 2008
In Oscar Wilde s 1890 novel, Gray s face is depicted in a painting that shows him growing old and corrupted by his evil deeds, while he himself stays young and handsome. But, at the tragic climax of the novel, Gray is stabbed to death and his body then reveals the face of a hideous old man. (Needham Tab, MA)
X marks the spot in chiasmus Sep 3, 2008
Oscar Wilde was a master at this type of transposition. Some of his classics: "Work is the curse of the drinking class," "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life," and "The English have a miraculous power of turning wine into water.". (Globe and Mail -- Business)
Celebrating new Irish voices in New York Sep 2, 2008
He did include a new adaptation of an Oscar Wilde children's story, and one Conor McPherson piece (unseen here for six years), but most of the productions are New York premieres. Heslin, who came to New York from Limerick in 1994, said he hoped that eventually presenters at the festival would begin taking their work to the Dublin Theater Festival, which takes place in late September and early October. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Zoren: Former child star takes on serious drama Sep 1, 2008
" As Channel 3 Turns What one must hope will be the last chapter of the federal prosecution of former Channel 3 anchor Larry Mendte will be written in November when Mendte appears before a federal judge to be sentenced for gaining access to former co-anchor Alycia Lane's personal e-mails and disseminating some of them to members of the press. Mendte pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 22. Federal sentencing guidelines give the judge leeway to send Mendte to jail for up to six months, impose... (The Delaware County Times, PA)
Christopher Plummer generates star power in Caesar and Cleopatra Aug 31, 2008
Shaw, with malicious glee, takes aim at every English stereotype, and Sutcliffe (loved his carefully coifed, Oscar Wilde hairdo) encompasses them with unerring and hilarious accuracy. One of the problems with Caesar and Cleopatra is that its best scene -- the first meeting of the title characters before a moonlit Sphinx -- comes right at the top of the play. (Brantford Expositor)
Burn after watching Aug 30, 2008
"Whenever people agree with me, I feel that I must be wrong," said Oscar Wilde. As I feel the same way, I was pleased that when I came out of , the Coen brothers' feeble comedy-thriller which opened this year's , I was surrounded by a number of critics and lesser mortals who expressed their liking for the film. (guardian.co.uk)
Editor's Mailbag (Aug. 27) Aug 30, 2008
Really, Oscar Wilde (Burroughs, Alexander the Great, Ginsburg, Shakespeare etc. are still being read and understood even though they are dead. (Albany Democrat-Herald, OR)
The Sceptical Chymist Aug 29, 2008
Having dinner with Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain would be wonderful because I am sure the evening would be filled with great stories and laughter. 5. (Nature News Service)
A panoply of people in the Master's class Aug 27, 2008
Known as "the Master" because of his sweeping accomplishments - playwright, actor (stage and screen), songwriter, singer, director, comedian and more - he was a sort of Oscar Wilde Lite, displaying no end of cleverness but no hint of genius. Barry Day devised The Noel Coward Letters from his book of that name. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
September's offerings Aug 24, 2008
Vera Wilde: Radical lives collide as playwright-composer Chris Jeffries concocts a meeting between the young Oscar Wilde and the real-life subject of his first play, the nihilist turned attempted assassin Vera Zasulich. Innovative director Maya Gurantz stages the Shotgun Players' local premiere as an exuberant vaudeville. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
A heart divided finds a new path to peace Aug 23, 2008
"As Oscar Wilde said, it's the love that dare not speak its name," she says. "That's how you feel, especially in the church. I felt all right with myself all of my life. Then I started to hear this message that perhaps everything wasn't so right after all.". (Sydney Morning Herald -- Australia)
Brilliant acting rescues dated themes in Noël Coward Aug 23, 2008
He created plays saturated with satiric humor and containing the snappiest dialogue heard on any stage since Oscar Wilde was titillating London at the turn of the last century. Coward died in 1973; he is currently being represented by No. (Hillsdale Independent, NY)
Moving portrait Aug 22, 2008
Based on the novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, it is a dark tale of obsession, most definitely for grown-ups ... John Gray was an aspiring poet and a member of Oscar Wilde's inner circle. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Dublin's fair city Aug 21, 2008
How else would you explain a city that can boast of Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce, WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and a Jonathan Swift. Nearly all the deities of the literary pantheon had Dublin for a home. (India Times)
Kafka himself gets a Metamorphosis Aug 19, 2008
Oscar Wilde, best known for being a wit in his own time, would become a gay icon in ours. Long after his death, the Romantic poet Lord Byron would receive the diagnosis of manic-depression. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Stratford to build on dream projects Aug 19, 2008
- The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. - Phedre by Jean Racine, in a new translation by Timberlake Wertenbaker. (London Free Press)
Our ugly bigots are the true blot on Merdeka Aug 17, 2008
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, an artistic work is either good or bad, but never indecent. And since Lavigne who has never been charged for indecency has yet to perform here, to prejudge her performance as indecent is truly being indecently prejudiced. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
LETTERS: NCT, August 13, 2008 Aug 14, 2008
"Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong. ~James BryceHeroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them! ~Albert EinsteinPatriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons. ~Bertrand RussellDo not... regard... (North County Times)
Chrysler Turning Japanese Aug 7, 2008
But with the company still "churning" hundreds of thousands of customers to rivals AT&T and Verizon, and needing to raise $3 billion to cover its debts, losing any more customers might be considered careless, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde. As Fortune. (Slate)
Alls well that ends well: Tippetts in the Hall Aug 6, 2008
Further, Tippett didn t blow his own horn, perhaps his one failing, and certainly not in tune with pundit Oscar Wilde s If a man wishes for fame and success in this life, he is right to take every opportunity to advertise himself. I was with the Patriots when Andre, a second round pick in 1982's draft, arrived at the Bryant College training camp. (Weymouth News, MA)
Buzz Briefs: Colin Firth, Mrs. Hilton Aug 5, 2008
Colin Firth has signed on to star opposite Ben Barnes in "Dorian Gray," the retelling of the Oscar Wilde classic being directed by Oliver Parker. Based on "The Picture of Dorian Gray," the story centers on Gray (Barnes), a young man who becomes the subject of a painting. (CBS News)
Lohan Chastises LA's Top Cop For "Gay" Remark Aug 5, 2008
Colin Firth to star in adaptation of Oscar Wilde classic. The Jackson Five will be honored as BMI Icons at the annual Urban Awards. (KWTX.com, TX)
The mellowing of Tim Freedman Aug 2, 2008
Freedman is beaming, excited: "It's great! She'll be showing it to someone in, like, 2080 and it'll be like someone now showing you a shot of them with Oscar Wilde or Proust or the like.". Truth, Beauty And A Picture of You The Best Of The Whitlams is out today. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Artful investing Aug 1, 2008
"I now realise that art for art's sake was actually a cry for help from Oscar Wilde and his friends against the reality which is art for money's sake. "It may be a long time before we see prices as good as these again, but it may just be that we are at the start of a boom which could last as long as the one in the 19th Century: mainly 32 years between 1863 and 1895. " A thriving market When the stock market falls, other investments come in to fill the void. That may be what is happening in the... (BBC News -- Business)
Randy Pausch: The lecture of a lifetime Jul 28, 2008
He gave the impression of a guy who would go out on his deathbed like Oscar Wilde. Shortly before he died, it is said, Wilde looked around his room and said: "My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go.". (SouthCoastToday.com)
BAM AND CAM: Private Obama Chat with Tory Leader Caught on Mic...'You should be on the beach... You need a break' Jul 27, 2008
I think it was Oscar Wilde who said, no matter who you vote for- the government always wins ... I think it was Oscar Wilde who said, no matter who you vote for- the government always wins. (The Drudge Report)
To all of those artists I shamefacedly adore Jul 24, 2008
Every Goth I know would love this stuff: It's the kind of art you like if you read a lot of Oscar Wilde and have turned your dining room into a Cabinet of Curiosities. And yes, it's true: I like the Pre-Raphaelites too. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Patricia Zander, pianist, mentor who 'lived and breathed' music Jul 23, 2008
She was always surrounded by interesting people and enjoyed setting them on unusual tasks, like singing through neglected gems from the great American songbook or reading through a Shakespeare play or an Oscar Wilde comedy. "Her focus was both wide and intense," Ma said. (Boston Globe)
Beckham on target in year one for Major League Soccer Jul 23, 2008
By Beau Dure, USA TODAY NEW YORK Oscar Wilde said the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. By that measure, David Beckham's first year in Major League Soccer has helped the league. (USA Today -- Sports)
Linguistic somersaults through Beckettian pastures Jul 22, 2008
Oscar Wilde, you might guess. But no, the author is a celebrated Irish writer of a later era, one known for a gloomier aspect. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
A dream come true Jul 21, 2008
Is no one checking these posts from idiots such as damian - a really mature contribution - a real sproting Oscar Wilde. It's funny how one can look at a post the wrong way. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Sport)
The best city walks Jul 19, 2008
In Dublins historic district south of the Liffey River, we strolled through Trinity College, where Jonathan Swift, W.B. Yeats, Oscar Wilde, and many other notables studied, then to nearby St. Stephens Green, where a chamber quartet was performing on the lawn, and on to the winding street of pubs in Temple Bar ... When we arrived at the Georgian Merrion Square, with its rows of identical houses, each with four stories of dark red brick, black shutters, and gas lights, our guide pointed out the... (MSNBC -- Travel)
Love in the age of the slutbot Jul 19, 2008
Oscar Wilde once lamented the difficulties of "the love that dare not speak its name". Little did he know that a century later it would be more of a concern trying to find a love that would, even for the barest of moments, keep its mouth shut. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
