Matthew Quick has just written his first memoir--and it's notable. Sometimes a memoir can seem guarded or self-serving, but Quick lets it all hang out. Having written "Silver Linings Playbook," Quick anticipates a Hollywood career. He writes some screenplays. Nothing goes anywhere. He finds himself blocked. This coincides with a period of bad eating and excessive drinking--until Quick no longer recognizes himself. He begins to consider suicide. As Quick struggles to pull himself together, he considers the life of a compelling secondary character, his own father. Quick Senior has severe panic attacks. He disrupts a theatrical performance because he believes he has dropped his wallet; he begins shouting at the ushers. Once the wallet is retrieved, he cannot offer thanks. Having started to succumb to senility, Senior begins ranting about his wife. If she visits the grandkids for one night, it must mean that she has opted for a divorce. Senior also shuts down in terror when...
Thinking about "Hadestown," I feel it's hard not to see a debt to "Cabaret." (In fact, the leading lady of "Hadestown" went on to become the leading lady in the recent revival of "Cabaret.") Kander and Ebb took the Rodgers and Hammerstein template--two braided stories of romance--and did something disturbing. In an R&H show, we expect at least one romantic storyline (Maria/Georg, Forbush/Emile) to work out. Kander and Ebb asked, What if *both* storylines are just brutally sad? It's a grand tradition to let the supporting players upstage the leads. Persephone is more interesting than Eurydice. We fall for Ado Annie; we are less captivated by Laurey. For me, the heart of "Cabaret" is Fraulein Schneider. She is more moving than Sally Bowles. This is because--for Fraulein Schneider--love is more of a surprise. Her plainspoken words are impressive: The old despair that was often there-- Suddenly ceases to be. For you wake--one ...