Give and take
When government tightens the Rochester Public Library’s belt, full-time staff tends not to get cut, unlike books and hours. But in the 2004-05 budget, four full-time children’s librarians will become part-timers. What makes this year especially difficult for library administrators is that the RPL now falls below or barely meets certain state requirements. And…
Family valued
“Mother Rising” The transition to parenthood is one of life’s biggest milestones. Through one route or another parents find themselves living with and caring for children. In our culture, this transition is rarely celebrated. It might be marked with a baby shower, an occasion to gift parents with useful material things, but the emotional transition…
Sweetmeats on the stage
Gregg Coffin’s previous, much-admired musical developed at Geva was Convenience, a funny, touching drama with some memorable truths to tell. His new musical, Five-Course Love — again a compositional tour-de-force of clever writing and appealing music entirely created by Coffin — is much lighter fare but even more entertaining — and showy. Coffin creates book,…
A visit to Eugene O’Neill’s ideal childhood
Another two delightful openings show the Shaw Festival on a roll with five winners out of five thus far. The musical may be imperfect, but it’s a treasure. And the festival’s first production by Eugene O’Neill is a pleasure indeed. Alisa Palmer’s direction of the musical Pal Joey is perhaps a tad too wholesome,…
The dead are ever with us
Most of the time, the living leave the dead alone. We might take a walk in a beautiful cemetery such as Mt. Hope. Or we might wave a little flag on Memorial Day. Elvis imitators resurrect The King for fun and profit. At a Spiritualist church you might find the dead speaking through a glassy…
Kids these days
Fifteen-year-old Major League Soccer Savior Freddy Adu came to Rochester last Wednesday night as part of a friendly match that pitted his team, DC United, against the Rhinos. United won, 2-0, and Adu scored a fine mid-range goal set up by former Greece Arcadia star and United teammate Dema Kovalenko. Adu’s got that Bill…
The great, necessary Bush hunt
Despite all the pompous commentary and the predictable outrage of the conservative crybabies, Michael Moore’s controversial new documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, suggests much more beyond its avowed intention to rid the nation of George W. Bush. The writer-director certainly succeeds in showing the incompetence, corruption, and mendacity of the Bush administration. More important, though, he…
Also playing: not on video, TV movies
A leader keeps people subjugated by fear and emotion, pursuing a religion-based agenda while letting the top official in charge of justice pervert the law to his own ends. Fahrenheit 9/11? Nay, Cobra Woman! This delicious nugget from 1944 kicks off the Not on Video series at the Dryden. Maria Montez plays the evil…
Wrong is the new right
The Aerosmith-Cheap Trick bill at Darien Lake three weeks ago drew one of the ugliest crowds I’ve seen in a while. Apparently, all the good-looking folks couldn’t afford the $40 to $85 tickets. Cheap Trick’s all right, they just seem a little weird. They are true pop-rock masters, but definitely their own biggest fans.…
Pre-emptive petitioning
Pre-emptive petitioning David Day of the Azalea Neighborhood Association isn’t sure who his future neighbors on Elmwood Avenue will be. He knows, however, who he doesn’t want: Wegmans or any other large-scale commercial operation. New York State owns the land now occupied by the Terrance Building of the Rochester Psychiatric Center. Soon, the state…
Reader feedback 6.30.04
Buddhism’s variety, a school-budget challenge, seeking ‘Democracy Now!’
Body count
To honor the war dead and fill an information gap in US mass media, City Newspaper will run weekly lists of American soldiers killed during the occupation of Iraq. The totals: 855 American soldiers and 118 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq from the beginning of the war and occupation to June 28. More…
What marriage means to New York
Several issues were left hanging when the state legislature adjourned last week. But there is probably one bill you won’t see on the lists of things yet to be decided: the Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA is a bill, not yet voted on, to outlaw the marriage of gay or lesbian couples in New…
