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Thursday, January 14, 2010

Artsy This Week's Mercury Arts Section

Posted by Alison Hallett on Thu, Jan 14, 2010 at 12:39 PM

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For your enjoyment and edification.

BOOKS:

The Value of Nothing: Raj Patel's new book argues that a fundamental problem with our economic system is a disconnect between prices and value, particularly as low-priced goods often inflict hidden costs on the public. He also says this: "There are two novels that can transform a bookish fourteen-year-old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish daydream that can lead to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood in which large chunks of the day are spent inventing ways to make real life more like a fantasy novel. The other is a book about orcs." Which is pretty funny.

The Privileges: Complementing The Value of Nothing, albeit unintentionally so, is Jonathan Dee's great fictional account of one New York family's rise to stratospheric wealth— sex, drugs, and insider trading.

THEATER:

boom—Theatre Vertigo recently added five new members to their ensemble, and two of them star in Vertigo's current show, Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's boom. boom's a strange little script, a sort of apocalyptic Odd Couple, with a clever metatheatrical framework and a very contemporary sense of humor. Verdict? The noobs aren't quite up to the ensemble's usual polished standards, and it takes a while for the show to hit its stride, but a fantastically offbeat performance from longtime company member Heather Rose Walters pulls things together quite well in the second half.

Design for Living—While I was watching the brisk, funny boom, which clocked in at 90 minutes with no intermission, Intern Jane was patiently enduring a three-and-a-half hour production at Artists Rep. Some day, she's going to kill me and steal my job.

PLUS!:

Fontanelle Gallery announced this morning that they're shutting down, with a closing party scheduled for Friday, Jan 22 at 7 pm. We should have more on that soon.

 

Comments (4) RSS

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1
Are you aware that J.R. Wickman has been a member of the ensemble for two years?
Posted by TK on January 14, 2010 at 1:48 PM · Report
2
Nope! Thought he was new, based on his website bio—"JR Wickman is very happy to be joining the Vertigo ranks"—and I guess I haven't seen him in anything there recently (I did miss the first show of the season, which it looks like he was in).
Posted by Alison Hallett on January 14, 2010 at 2:14 PM · Report
3
Alison is correct. J.R. is a newer member of Theatre Vertigo (as of May-ish, I believe). I know this because I left Vertigo in September to pursue a bachelors degree.

Also, I believe Theatre Vertigo is holding a Monday showing of boom for those of us who cannot attend Thursday, Friday, or Saturday evening performances. Feb. 1, perhaps?

And I think they replaced their old seats.

But, seriously, not a member of the company anymore...
Posted by NathanGale on January 14, 2010 at 4:08 PM · Report
4
Nathan, will you fact check all of my blog posts?

I can confirm that the old seats have in fact been repalced; and there is indeed a show on Monday, Feb 1.
Posted by Alison Hallett on January 15, 2010 at 11:13 AM · Report

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