Breaking Bad, Not Breaking Character

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(Warning, if you haven’t seen Season 5, Episode 14, Ozymandias, read no further. It’s spoilers all the way down.)

In drama, as in fiction character is everything. Once you know who your characters are, what happens happens. That’s how tragedy works. The circumstances might change. That’s chemistry – the interaction of the different elements, elements in the form of other characters, and it always leads to an inevitable result.

We knew that Gomez and Hank were most likely dead men when we left them last week. We also knew that the writers and actors wouldn’t let us down, but would surprise us once again. After the beautiful flashback to pre-Heisenberg Walter, or maybe the beginning of Heisenberg’s emergence, we see Gomez’s body. It’s a tease in a way. We knew he was the redshirt, the one most likely to die. The writers are saying, “You were right. We can’t fool you.”

Then they show us a wounded Hank. Shot once more in the leg. We see the blood. He knows he’s a goner, even if we don’t yet. He’s going for Gomez’ gun because he wants to take a few of the nazis with him.

Is Walt’s giving up his money to barter for Hank generous? Is it a sign of his humanity? Maybe we want it to be. That’s a subjective read. What it was objectively was Walt trying again to control the Continue reading Breaking Bad, Not Breaking Character →

Your Saturday Book Review: A Naked Singularity

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Yeah, I’m writing my Saturday book review on a Sunday. And yeah I haven’t written a book review in weeks. But A Naked Singularity is a freaking 700 page novel, and not an easy read.

I’ve never gotten through Moby Dick, or Ulysses, and must confess that although I have referenced him shamelessly, I’ve got a problem with Faulkner. David Foster Wallace has too many footnotes. As for Pynchon, only The Crying of Lot 49. So I am proud that I least got through this massive piece of work.

For those unaware, Sergio de la Pava’s debut novel started out in the world in 2008 as self-published fiction. It gained a following, and some VIP raves and wound up being published by the University of Chicago Press. 2012. In August of 2013, it was awarded the PEN/Robert W.Bingham Prize given to a promising first published novel or story collection.

I probably shouldn’t review it or should as WW (not Walt Whitman) might say “tread lightly,” lest I be accused of venting my extreme envy of the writer’s success. You have no idea what the depth of my schadenfreude would be should it be discovered that de la Pava actually plagiarized the unpublished work of a dying colleague or put it together by cutting and pasting from different classics. While some self-published authors may dream of the commercial success of Amanda Hawking, Colleen Hoover, Hugh Howey etc, – I’d sell my immortal soul for the critical acclaim of those important enough to convince others of their importance.

But as no one outside of a small circle of friends will ever read this post, I’m free to review, however biased my conclusions.

A Naked Singularity is not a great novel, but it has greatness in it. The flaws are in its reach and exuberance. It reads like it was written by someone who read and absorbed everything, but never had the opportunity to sit in a writing workshop and watch his darlings get slaughtered by his peers.

In a dazzling first chapter, we meet our protagonist, Casi, a brilliant young public defender in the City of New York. His pre-court conversations with his clients in which they recount the circumstances that brought them to One Centre Street are at times as laugh-out-loud funny as they are Continue reading Your Saturday Book Review: A Naked Singularity →

Please Don’t Make Me Burn My Tickets, Mr. Gelb

Idiots at the Opera, Politics and Culture, , , ,

I’m old enough to remember when people used to talk about Soviet Jewry. Religion, all religions were suppressed in the old Soviet Union. The Soviet Union while fervently anti-zionist, recognized Jews as a nationality – that is they weren’t Russians; Ukrainians, Kazakhs, or anything else no matter where they lived or how they long they lived there. They were Jews, but they weren’t really allowed to express any kind of Jewish identity. In addition to historic anti-semitism, there was institutional anti-semitism and discrimination throughout the Soviet era. I’m sure it’s still no picnic for Jews in Russia now. But back in the 1970’s when Jews were desperately trying to leave but weren’t allowed to, it was a really big deal. There were massive demonstrations in the United States in support of Soviet Jewry, primarily with the message of allowing immigration, as well as ending the policies that led so many Jews to seek it.

In those days, Soviet artists and performers no matter what their nationality were not allowed to freely travel. It was huge when they managed to escape their handlers and “defect” to the West. Imagine that. Leaving your country was “defecting,” proof positive of dissidence. It was historic when dancers like Nureyev or Baryshnikov sought refuge in the West. Sometimes defectors left behind their spouses, even children when they “escaped.” When Soviet performers form official companies made sanctioned visits to the United States, sometimes they were met with protests. But generally when visiting cultural ambassadors were performing in the US, we didn’t expect these captive artists to speak out against any of the heinous policies of their government. We didn’t hold it against them if they seemed to at least tacitly support the regime. What choice did they have?

However, let’s stretch our imagination for a moment. What if if back then, the Soviet Union had allowed some conductor and singer to travel freely, to even reside in another country without losing the right to return to Mother Russia? And what if those “free artists” had made statements in the past supporting their leaders? Now imagine a new “crackdown” on the Jews, new laws being passed that make it a crime to even speak about a Jewish identity, new semi-sanctioned pogroms. What if these artists didn’t even speak against that? Didn’t announce that they could not support those policies? What if one of them made a statement saying she did not personally discriminate against anyone including Jews, a statement in which she didn’t directly reference the crackdown or the specific Continue reading Please Don’t Make Me Burn My Tickets, Mr. Gelb →

The Lady On the Line (And Some Hot Tips About the TKTS Booth)

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It was late July, after the heat wave had broken, and I was on a mission – to obtain half-price tickets to The Explorer’s Club. The show would be closing soon, and the better-half – who wanted to see it – was about to take off on one of his work-related do-gooding missions.

I got on the Play Express line at 2:00, an hour before it opened. The Play Express line, for those unfamiliar with the Times Square discount tickets booth, sells tickets only to non-musical plays. It’s located on the west side of the kiosks. Not only is this line much shorter than the two other general lines on either side of the kiosks, but the odds of getting to see the show you want to see are high, as most people who come to TKTS want musicals. I knew arriving early would get me one of the first spots.I’d be out quickly once the booths opened.

(Hot Tip #1 – Always check online for what time they open as it’s different on different days.)

I was the fourth person on the Play Express line, and was having a lovely chat with the woman in front of me. She was from South Carolina by way of Ohio, had retired there with her husband to be near her daughter and the grandkids. Wasn’t sure she particularly liked it, missed her friends and the feeling of being in a real city. It was her first time in New York City, a big anniversary trip, and she and her better half were having a ball. She’d seen Motown – The Musical the night before, paying full price. She was hoping  to score tickets to The Trip to Bountiful. We talked about the awesomeness of Cicely Tyson. She asked me what she thought her chances were of getting that show. I told her given where she was, the chances were excellent. We discussed many things including where to find the best Ethiopian food in New York. (She was planning a trip to Awash. I mentioned that Massawa was my favorite.)

She was afraid she might not have enough cash and she’d read somewhere that some shows didn’t take credit cards. I told her not to worry about it. All the Broadway shows Continue reading The Lady On the Line (And Some Hot Tips About the TKTS Booth) →

At the Theater — The Golem of Havana

Idiots at the Opera, Politics and Culture, Theater, Movie, Event, Misci Reviews, ,

They had me at the title, The Golem of Havana. They had my better-half as well. His father’s family briefly sojourned to Cuba on their way to America.

Tickets were cheap, and it was at La Mama in the East Village, a theater I probably hadn’t set foot in in twenty years or so though I once wrote a book set in the neighborhood.

As the band began to play, the BH realized with a little trepidation that it was a musical. He doesn’t like musicals — with a few exceptions. Fortunately, this turned out to be exceptional – one of those musicals where the music and story are integrated, where there is a serious theme and the music adds to the emotional impact. At intermission he paid the show the ultimate compliment. “It’s like opera,” he said.

The mostly equity-cast all acquitted themselves so well it’s hard to find standouts, though I especially enjoyed Felipe Gorostiza as Batista. He managed to make the dictator comically sleazy while also suggesting his dangerousness and superficial charm. Liba Vaynberg in the leading role was powerful, and if the world is just, she won’t need a day job for long.

The story is the tale of a tailor’s family – Hungarian Jewish immigrants, Holocaust survivors – struggling in Havana on the brink of revolution. The golem at first exists as a Continue reading At the Theater — The Golem of Havana →