Archive: Arts & Entertainment

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Thoroughly Modern Millie is the zany new 1920's musical that took Broadway by storm and it’s coming to The State Theatre by way of Running to Places Theatre Company. A high-spirited musical romp that takes place in New York City in 1922, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of young Millie Dillmount, who has just moved to the city in search of a new life for herself.

It's a New York full of intrigue and jazz - a time when women were entering the workforce and the rules of love and social behavior were changing forever.  Based on the popular movie, the stage version of Thoroughly Modern Millie includes a full score of new songs and bright dance numbers.

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SMART TALK

by Dr. Shirley Glibb


DOOR NUMBER ONE: Los Libidos TV station KBUL, The Voice of Bedspring Tech, produces a campus quiz show that still uses this phrase.  A winning contestant must choose door number one or door number two to get a prize, hoping for something good and not the gag gift, such as a poster of various cuts of beef.

Sometimes, saying "number" before a number can help clarify, but writing it is usually just redundant.  A really smart emcee would simply say door one or door two.  Our President saying that something is his number one priority, then, is a double redundancy:  One is already a number, and a priority is that which is first.  Therefore, it's already at the top of his list.

Letter A, letter B, and so on, are usually verbiage, too.  And don't say excess verbiage. It's also redundant, and could be the number one way to be fatuous.



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SMART TALK

by Dr. Verbos Metikulos


NOON AND MIDNIGHT: Recently, I had to go to New York City on business for the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired.  A restaurant advertised its Monday through Thursday hours as 11 AM - 12 AM.  I thought to myself, "My, that's a short day."

Friday and Saturday, they're open 11 AM - 12:30 AM.  And on Sunday, their hours are 12 noon - 11:30 PM.

Of course, 12 noon and 12 midnight are redundant.  All anyone ever needs to say or print are noon and midnight. 

Saying 12 AM and 12 PM reveal an embarrassing development.  We used to say, logically, 10 PM, 11 PM, and then 12 PM, which is followed a minute later by 12:01 AM.  Midnight was 12 PM.  Using the same thinking, we said 11 AM, 12 AM, and then 12:01 PM. 

But along came digital clocks, which, like computers, just do what they're told, without thinking.  Since it becomes afternoon after noon, the clock dumbly shows 12 PM at noon.  We ovine consumers got used to seeing digital displays and assumed they were always right.  So now a restaurant displays its hours in a confusing way.

This becomes important in court, where cases have been thrown out because a No Parking sign shows 12 AM as a time limit.  If the sign had said noon or midnight, it wouldn't have caused confusion.

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This month's forgotten gem is I Mother Earth's debut release 'Dig.' This is arguably the best hard rock fusion album released in the past 20 years and was wildly popular in Canada, but, despite critical acclaim, it did not achieve real recognition in the United States until years later. Well - let's not pull punches - this WAS the best hard rock album of the last 20 years, period. This first release went platinum early in Canada, but did not go platinum in the US until after IME released its second album. I Mother Earth (IME) was a band with a very 'modern' sound that blended the art and sounds of diverse groups into one seemingly incongruous package. Influences ranged from Santana to Rush; from King Crimson to Jane's Addiction; from Roxy Music to the Smashing Pumpkins and Primus. IME was a Canadian alternative rock band with strong ties, musically and personally, to a far more famous Canadian band - 'Rush.'

The Kitchen Theatre Company concludes its 20th Anniversary Season with a world premiere comedy, 'At A Loss' by Jason Odell Williams.  The comedy of errors begins when Israeli grandmother Edna insists that her granddaughter Ayelet join her on a trip to the U.S; Edna is on a mission. Circumstances change radically, and Ayelet has to get help, but the two Americans available on a snowy Christmas Eve may not be up to the job. Can love blossom when language barriers are high, timetables inflexible and a delivery van with extremely valuable property has been hijacked?  The answers will keep you laughing this summer in this wonderful new romantic comedy.

"I am looking forward to digging into comedy! This is a terrific cast and Jason has been a delight to work with as we prepare to do the play.  A wonderful finish to the first season in our new theater," says Artistic Director, Rachel Lampert.

The beloved, award-winning musical Ragtime is the highly-anticipated next offering at the Hangar Theatre.  With its passionate, sweeping score, peppered with unforgettable songs, Ragtime delivers a thrilling and memorable night in the theatre.  Performances begin June 23rd, running through July 10th.

One of the most acclaimed musicals of the past 25 years, Time Magazine called Ragtime “A triumph for the stage”.  Ragtime is based on the landmark E. L. Doctorow novel and features a Tony winning score by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Once on this Island, Seussical) and a book by Terrence McNally (Master Class, Love! Valour! Compassion!).

The Concert in the Courtyard was held at Lansing High School on June 10th. Here are some clips in case you missed it, or want to see it again.

SMART TALK

by Dr. Viva Palaver  

MS: Over half of the staff at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired is women.  Whether we like to be addressed in person or by mail as Miss, Mrs., or Ms depends upon the person.  But don't use Pn., that abbreviation for Person from the hyper-P.C. eighties.  It's redundant, anyway.

As staff psychologist at the institute, I see nothing wrong with a very simple solution:  Use names.  That's what we do here.  We say or write Viva or Dear Viva Palaver, respectively.  If the person being addressed insists upon an honorific, often because of insecurity issues, then we'll use whatever they like, as in Dr. Lawrence Blithermore.  Local speech teacher Sally Poke prefers Miss Poke.  Fine.

We extend our style of address to anonymous business mail, because Dear sirs is usually comically wrong.  We simply address mail to a company with the company name, as in Dear Tektonix.

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