Dear "Theater" Talk,

I don't know if this has ever been previously addressed, but I cannot look at your website or watch your series without my eyes immediately going to the shameless misspelling of the word "Theatre". While there is no dictionary defined difference, it has been a long held tradition that when referring to the art form, the word is to be spelled ending with RE, when referring to a building (such as a movie house), it is spelled ER. This is something held up by several academic institutions and in my experience, while seeming to be a small issue, it does reflect upon the competence and legitimacy of those discussing it. It is very hard for some people to take your program seriously because of this beaming grammatical oversight. I realize that a change would impact a lot of things for you especially because you have so many online connections, but it would certainly count towards your credibility. Please take this into consideration.

PS. You have permission to post this on your sight.

-Don Jackson
Lighting and Scenic Designer
Graduate Student, UCLA

Dear Don:
My Googling tells me that this is an long obsolete distinction. The New York Times, for example, uses theater throughout its "Theater", "Movies", and "Arts & Leisure" sections. We do too, because this "er" spelling is more progressive in both its look and definition, inclusive of all aspects of this ever-changing art form and term.

Also, as Patrick R. Dorn writes on BroadwayWorld.com:
"When Daniel Webster codified American English into his now-famous dictionary, he decided to un-anglicize many words. “Honour” became “honor,” “grey” became “gray,” and “theatre” became “theater.”

That's good enough for us.

Thanks for writing.
Best,
Susan

"KINNEY's Voicemail RANT against Riedel"

Kudos to Terry Kinney for his voicemail to Michael Riedel. I am stunned that "Theater Talk" had the courage to address it.

I completely agree with Kinney's cri de coeur: He said it perfectly: "We're just working on our play, man..It's ridiculous and it's corrosive and it's misleading for a little play and an unknown cast, for you to try to kill it in this way, so quickly..."

I saw reasons to be pretty in preview; many of my friends have seen it since it opened; several of us (but not all) are current or have been theatre professionals. There is consensus that reasons to be pretty is not to be missed. The script is rich with insight into the expectations that 21st-century men and women have of each other, and how those frustrated or misunderstood expectations cause pain. And the performances are extraordinary--we as an audience seem to be watching not performances, but behavior--each moment is fresh, grounded, and real. I'll take this show over Priscilla, Queen of the Desert any day.

Interesting that an alleged theatre professional like Mr. Riedel apparently so completely missed the emotional truth so clearly on display in reasons to be pretty.

Judi Polson

Angela Lansbury Interview

Dear Susan,

I don't really feel qualified to suggest any nominations. However, I must comment on how wonderful the interview w/ Angela Lansbury was!!! It was a conversation and a terrific one. I think this season has been one of the best that TT has ever had. You continue to be my link to what is going on in NY theatre and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the work that you do. (Oh yes, and Micheal isn't so bad either, but he looks better with glasses.) ;-)

warmest regards,

Joan Vogelle

Question

From: ba2000@yahoo.com
To: theatertlk@aol.com
Sent: Sun, 10 May 2009 10:26 pm
Subject: theater talk

Are Haskins and Riedel married?

From: theatertlk@aol.com
To: ba2000@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, 11 May 2009 11:00 pm
Subject: Re: theater talk

No.