Your account does not include highlighter on images.
Searches Highlighted on Image
| May 19, 2006 Barnstable Patriot |  |
|
©
Publisher. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 23 (23 of 36 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
May 19, 2006 |
|
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader 
|
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmwMimmmmmmmmmmmmemi gmm
entrpt@aol.com
THE WRITE STUFF
Pleasurable Kingdom: Ani-
malsand the Natureof Feeling
Good (Macmillan , $24.95)
Ever rub a clog's belly? Purr
alongside apussy asshe basks
in the sun? Welcome to the
world of animal pleasures.
Jonathan Balcombe's highly
readable book takes a fasci-
nating look at evidence that
animals -like humans -enjoy
themselves. Take touch. Hip-
pos, for instance, mimic spa
clientele by relaxing in water
and splaying their legs and
toes to help the fish nibbling
at their sloughing skin. Take joy. Let out in fields after a long
winter's confinement, cattle will tear about a field, kicking their
legs in the hill. Take the munchies. Rats will brave a deadly cold
room to grab their favorite food (even if food is readily available
in their nests) -sort of the way you and I run out for New York
Super Fudge Chunk at midnight. And for what's it's worth, Bal-
combe has discovered that the smell of Calvin Klein's Obsession
for Men does indeed bring out the beast -the scent is strongly
seductive to female cheetahs! Now if we can only convince Fluffy
that cleaning her own Litter box is a good thing...
Just Outside the Spotlight (Back
Stage Books , $24.95)
Celebrity biographies are very tricky.
Such works by the children of celebri-
ties can also be exceedingly painful
-think of the less than stellar talents
as Christina Crawford, B.D. Hyman and
Charles Chaplin, Jr. Now think of Luke
Yankee. He has written a biography of
his mother, Eileen Heckart, the extraor-
dinary woman and actress who was re-
spected by everyone, a diva who did not
suffer fools well, a passionate artist and
a passionate human being. She was at
home and in complete command on the stage, in motion pictures
and on television; now her son gives us a riveting picture of his
mother in the living room, kitchen and assorted other (and more
picturesque) locations. The title isincredibly apt for this is exactly
where Luke grew up; Marilyn Monroe babysitting for his older
brothers, Paul Newman giving him acting lessons, Ethel Merman
teaching him the tricks for a perfect martini, reading scripts with
Eva Le Gallienne. Yet, the best actor, the biggest diva and the
most profound influence and greatest love of his young life was .
.. well, a boy's best friend is his mother. It also must be said that
it's refreshing to read a book written with no ax to grind and no
agenda other than love - and a wish to share this love. She may
not have been a household name, but Heckart's legacy is a rich
and varied one, and here, the reader is aided immeasurably by the
immediacy of the author's connection. This book is not simply a
menu of an actress's accomplishments, but the story of a young
man growing up to a happy, healthy maturity in the shadow of a
mother who was, by profession , larger than life. The writing is so
good and effortless; there are abundant laugh-out-loud moments
and the remembrancesof the painful lossof hismother (and father)
completely lack anything that could be called either maudlin or
morbid. That is quite extraordinary.
For the Record '
S u r p r i s e ( War-
ner B r o t h e r s )
Paul Simon's first album
(funny that we refuse to let
that word go) in sixyearsis
much more a soundscape
-acompact (11-tune) disc
that soundly explores the
musicallandscapeinwhich
Art's former partner has
sometimes dabbled. The
three collaborations with
electronic music pioneer
Brian Eno are quite good, and guests Steve Gadd, Herbie Han-
cock and Bill Frisell jazz things up nicely. But the stellar tracks
here are those that showcase Simon's genius at songwriting.
This is straightforward Simon -pure, unadulterated pop tunes
that underscore his evolution - and his brilliance - as a premier
signer/songwriter.The tracks are hardly sounds of silence, but of
lyrical beauty. Surprised? Neither were we.
The Boys Fro m Syracuse (DRG Records )
Undiscovered classics usually should remain undiscovered - if
you've never heard of them,there'sprobably a good reason. DRG,
on the other hand, continues to discover and dust off and reissue
oldies but goodies. Case in point: This 43-year-old off-Broadway
recording of Rodgers and Hart's The Boysfrom Syracuse , aclassic
inevery sense.The production was directed by a (then) young and
svelte ChristopherHewitt, fiveyearsbefore donning adress to play
the worst director ever in the original Mel Brooks' The Producers ,
and decades before gracing the small-screen as the epicurean Mr.
Belvedere. The cast, headed by Ellen Hanley and Karen Morrow,
is not particularly well known, but spectacularly talented. The
book was adapted by George Abbott from Shakespeare's The
Comedy of Errors; and the music and lyrics are simply so wonder-
ful,sounforgettable that the some smart producers should revive
these Boys annually."Falling in Love with Love" - about painful,
unrequited love and emotional pain — is balanced by the lilting,
happy-go-lovely "This Can't Be Love." Add to this melange the
plaintive ballad "YouHave Cast YourShadow on the Sea"and the
rousing "Sing for your Supper" and you have a theatre piece with
wit, charm, elegance, and an extraordinary sense of style. Larry
Hart,the lyricist here,may have been a tormented gay man,but he
is -and remains -the one true poet of love in American musicals
during the first part of the twentieth century. This is one of the
great recordings of Hart's material, sung with verve and gusto. It
belongs on everyone's shelf.
K UIirf iikk'
wdfy p or tcl
Mid ^Lmm BuAtoW.
Pef irbelli
W'- '
: 11
T
H
r
r
A
R
T
r*
Folk icon to perform
Saturday at college
By Kathleen Szmit Manwaring
kmanwaring@barnstablepatriot.com
HERE COMES 'GRACE OF THE SUN' - Richie Havens, who has a new album out,
will be gracing the Cape Cod Community College stage tomorrow.
George Harrison may have
penned the ballad "Here
Comes the Sun," but the
song belongs to soulful folk artist
Richie Havens.
Havens will be bringing the
long-missing sun to an apprecia-
tive audience tomorrow evening at
Cape Cod Community College in
a benefit for Housing Assistance
Corp.
As part of what he refers to as his
ongoing tour -he never really stops
playing -Havens will perform well-
known songs such as the afore-
mentioned "Sun" as well as "Just
Like a Woman," and the Woodstock
anthem, "Freedom."
Havens developed a love for mu-
sic as a child growing up in Brook-
lyn where he organized friends into
doo-wop groups and sang with the
McCrea Gospel Singers when he
was 16.
At the age of 20 Havens was
wooed by the artistic stimulation of
Greenwich Village, where he quietly
embarked on his solo music career.
It didn't take long before Havens'
poignant, stirring voice became
known past the borders of the
Village. By 1967 he had landed a
record deal, turning out the album
Mixed Bag on which he sang a song
co-written by Academy Award win-
ning actor Louis Gossett, Jr.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Music is Richie's haven
Growing and dying
entwine in a mix of
past and present
By Bethany Gibbons
arts@barnstablepatriot.com
ROBERT TUCKERrTOCALPOINT STUDIOS PHOTO
EMBRACING THE PAST - McNeely
Myers and David C. Wallace share a
warm embrace as they portray Nathan
and Emma Suslack in Art Devine's play
Winter Wheat now showing at the Cape
Rep in Brewster.
In arid Nebraska seeds of winter
wheat are scattered in the fall, des-
tined to lay dormant in the ground
through the winter. Spring rain
brings the crop to life, so that it may
grow to fruition and be harvested
in the summer.
Art Devine's world premier play
at Cape Rep in Brewster, Winter
Wheat , is much like the crop whose
name it shares. Characters are
sprinkledonthe stage and the story
of their parched , dysfunctional
lives develops slowly, seemingly
with little hope for catharsis. By
some stroke of magic or downpour
a bountiful harvest is reached ,
touching, poignant , and stirring.It
isn't often that a play strikes such
a chord that its audience is moved
to tears. This is such a play.
The structure of the show takes
alittle getting used to. The story of
farmersNathan and Emma Suslack
and their family is told in the "pres-
ent" 1974 Nebraska and flashbacks
to the family'sbeginnings. Lending
confusion to the scene is Nathan's
present-day dementia, the most
obvious symptom of which is his
belief that the past is now occur-
ring.His children and grandchildren
take on the care of the farm and of
him with little finesse. Their lives
are fraught with difficulty. From
one-armed Billyto alcoholicKorean
War vet Hiram to hard-drinking,
over-sexed stepdaughter Selina,the
family struggles to hold it together.
Ever-present amidst the disorder
is the memory of now-deceased
Emma Suslack, who once was the
strong, gentle force that made the
family work.
Nathan decided after his wife's
long battle with cancer to create a
living will that requested he be al-
lowed to starve to death if he were
to become a burden to his family.
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
Cape Rep's Winter What
a strong, special show
Marine artist 's work
expresses power of
the oceans
By Brad Lynch
arts@barnstablepatriot.com
JUDITH SELLECK PHOTO
WELCOME ABOARD - Guest curator Robert Webb poses for a portrait with exhibits
director Paula Mailloux and executive director Scott T.Swank at Heritage Museums
& Gardens for the opening of "Saving Our Ships: The Sea-Paintings of Charles
Robert Patterson."
If you care a lot about ships, the
Heritage Museum & Gardens has
just the art show for you. "Saving
Our Ships: the Sea Paintings of
Charles Robert Patterson,"contin-
ues through late October.
It's a classic collection of sailing
vessels as painted on large canvases
by Charles Robert Patterson (1878-
1958), amostly self-taught artist who.
before he took up brush and palette
in earnest,was a merchant sailor. He
shipped out from hisnative England
to Calcutta at the age of 13.
Patterson spent seven years as
a seaman, crossing the oceans and
traversing Cape Horn and the Cape
of Good Hope. He lef t the sailor's
life in 1899 and lived successively
in Victoria, British Columbia and
Chicago and Philadelphia , working
as a newspaper artist , commercial
artist and cover art director for
Country Gentleman Magazine.
Patterson's ships are far from
tranquil. They do more than look
like "Idle ships upon a painted
ocean." This was a man who loved
the sea witha passion that matched
his affection and knowledge of the
great wood and iron top-masted
ships that were being replaced on
the sea lanes of the world by steam-
powered freighters , passenger lin-
ers and navaldreadnaughts. The old
ships, many of great beauty, were
being torn up for scrap, and there
was danger they'd be forgotten by
history as well as transport.
His years at sea uniquely trained
Patterson to be a marine painter
of distinction. The oceans that his
ships cross are obviously those
favored for long-distance runs over
deep seas through rough weather.
With the passing of great sailing
ships there arose a national move-
ment after World War I to preserve
whatever could be saved of the ves-
sels themselves, wharfs and other
shore buildings, marine artifacts,
CONTINUED ON PAGE C:2
A man of the sea paints what he knows