Rick Sincere News and Thoughts

When Squirt Guns Are Outlawed ...

2013-04-25T12:44:00.000-04:00

You know our society's threshold for panic has sunk to new low levels when a local police department sends out a warning to citizens about teenagers playing with squirt guns.

This sort of warning was, in fact, distributed by Montgomery Township (New Jersey) police in an email dated April 23. The web version of the email says, in part (telephone number redacted to reduce the number of justifiable crank calls):

A portion of Montgomery High School seniors are participating in a Township wide game known as "senior assassin." The game is not supported nor condoned by the School District. The game involves teams of students seeking out each other and squirting them with water guns. The activity causes both residents and law enforcement alarm due to the devices and methods used by the participants. Citizens may notice an increase in both vehicular and pedestrian traffic involving groups of high school youths. Motorists are asked to use extra caution especially during evening and early morning hours. Parents of participating students are asked to caution their children on the dangers of possessing realistic looking weapons, careless driving, and overall risky behavior. Residents should not attribute suspicious activity to the game and contact Montgomery Police at (908)xxx-xxxx or 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.

The game in question -- here called "senior assassin" but which goes by other names such as "Gotcha, Assassins, KAOS (Killing as organized sport), Juggernaut, Battle Royal, Paranoia, Killer, Elimination, or Circle of Death" -- is not a new phenomenon. I remember playing a version of it in my college dorm in 1980 (I was eliminated in the first round) and the game is a principal plot element in the 1985 Cold War comedy thriller, Gotcha!, starring Anthony Edwards when he still had a full head of hair.

It has been years since commercially-available squirt guns have borne any resemblance to actual firearms, so the police department's stated caution about "possessing realistic looking weapons" is a bit disingenuous.

Maybe New Jerseyans have a different temperament than Virginians, but what really disturbs me is how this innocent game "causes both residents and law enforcement alarm."

As I recall from The Sopranos, therapists are available in New Jersey. Anyone who is "alarmed" by squirt gun fights among teenagers really needs to be under the care of a licensed psychologist.

The last sentence of the missive offers me some comfort, however, and a suspicion that even the communications staff at police HQ in Belle Mead, New Jersey, are rolling their eyes in disbelief at what they are compelled to do. If you read it grammatically, the last sentence says: "Residents should not ... contact Montgomery Police..."

(Cross-posted from Bearing Drift.)

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner Has Exciting Silent Auction Items Ready for Bid

2013-04-04T02:27:00.000-04:00

Only a few days remain until the 2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner sponsored by the Charlottesville Republican Committee. The dinner will take place the evening of Sunday, April 7, at the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville. (Last-minute tickets are still available for purchase at www.CharlottesvilleGOP.com -- just follow the links to the secure payment page.)

In addition to speeches by former U.S. Secretary of Transportation James Burnley and former White House advisor Karl Rove, this year's dinner offers a range of interesting and intriguing personalized items donated by conservative celebrities and Republican VIPs.

For instance, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is offering a Kansas state flag, flown over the capitol building in Topeka, with the winning bidder choosing the date for the flag to fly.

Similarly, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has contributed a commemorative state coin and Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has sent a coffee-table book about his state, with his autograph attached, called Iowa: Simply Beautiful II.

Former President George H.W. Bush has sent us a limited-edition lithograph portraying his presidential library in Texas, signed and numbered by the artist and autographed by the President himself.

Here are some of the other items that will be available for bidding during the cocktail reception at the Omni, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Be sure to bring a checkbook to pay for your purchase, or you'll risk losing it to the second-place bidder! (All of these items have been autographed or otherwise personalized by the donor.)

From former Georgia Congressman Bob Barr

The Meaning of Is: The Squandered Impeachment and Wasted Legacy of William Jefferson Clinton

From former UN Ambassador John Bolton

Surrender is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations an Abroad

From former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and coauthor Clint Bolick

Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution

From House Majority Leader Eric Cantor

The Congressional Club Cookbook (inscribed)

From Lynne V. Cheney

Blue Skies, No Fences: A Memoir of Childhood and Family

From former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani

Leadership

From Fox News host Sean Hannity

Conservative Victory: Defeating Obama’s Radical Agenda, plus an autographed photo

From 1994 U.S. Senate candidate Oliver North

Heroes Proved

From Karl Rove

Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight

From House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan

An autographed 2012 Christmas card

From CSI:NY actor Gary Sinise

Signed photo and autographed DVD, High Flight: A Voyage to the Edge of Infinity

From Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman

The Congressional Club Cookbook (inscribed)

In addition to featured speakers Burnley and Rove, the dinner program will include remarks by Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member Ken Boyd and Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors Chairman Shaun Kenney, as well as a special presentation by the GOP candidates for Attorney General of Virginia, Delegate Rob Bell and state Senator Mark Obenshain.

There may be additional surprises in store, but people will have to wait until April 7 to find out what they are.

(Cross-posted from the Charlottesville Republicans Blog.)

It's Human Achievement Hour!

2013-03-23T20:31:00.000-04:00

Turn on the lights. Vacuum your carpets. Wash and dry your clothes in a washer and dryer, and clean your kitchen utensils in a dishwasher.

Celebrate the ingenuity that brought you the conveniences of modern life. It's Human Achievement Hour!

As explained by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which launched Human Achievement Hour as an alternative to the pessimistic and -- literally -- dark Earth Hour,

Human Achievement Hour (HAH) is a celebration of individual freedom and appreciation of the achievements and innovations that people have used to improve their lives throughout history. To celebrate Human Achievement Hour, participants need only to spend the hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm on March 23 enjoying the benefits of capitalism and human innovation: Gather with friends in the warmth of a heated home, watch television, take a hot shower, drink a beer, call a loved one on the phone, or listen to music.

Take time this evening to go on Twitter and Facebook to offer words of gratitude to Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Isaac Singer, Christopher Latham Sholes, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs.

Human achievement is something to appreciate, not condemn.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

March 23, 1983 - Ronald Reagan Launches the Strategic Defense Initiative

2013-03-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

It is hard to believe it has been three decades since President Ronald Reagan introduced the Strategic Defense Initiative, which quickly earned the dismissive sobriquet "Star Wars" (after the George Lucas films of the same name).

Reagan's introduction was modest and unexpected, coming at the end of a televised address to the nation on the general theme of national security and the defense budget then being considered by Congress.

The Strategic Defense Initiative (or SDI) was not without precedent, however. Winston Churchill had called for defensive weapons systems as early as the 1930s, in the run-up to World War II. One result of the strategic defense debate and subsequent research in that era was radar, which probably saved Britain from total destruction by the Luftwaffe.

There had also been talk about strategic defense from the beginning of the Atomic Age, with pro- and anti- sides alternating pre-eminence from time to time.

In the 1960s, defensive strategic systems were debated and set aside as destabilizing to the doctrine of Mutuall Assured Destruction (MAD). As I wrote in the 1986 book, Promise or Peril: The Strategic Defense Initiative (coedited with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Marin Strmecki, and Peter Wehner) U.S. Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara

also rejected a U.S. strategic defense system because it would be easily countered by Moscow. The Soviet Union would be forced to respond with an offensive buildup, which would mean that "the risk of a Soviet nuclear attack would not be further decreased" and, if deterrence failed, "the damage to the United States from a Soviet nuclear attack would not be reduced in any meaningful sense."

To those following strategic issues in the early 1980s, the substance of Reagan's "Star Wars speech" was not so surprising, even if the timing of it was. Reagan himself was urged by Edward Teller, known as the "father of the hydrogen bomb," to promote and initiate defensive systems as part of the overall U.S. national security strategy. Retired General Daniel O. Graham had been pushing a concept he called "High Frontier," which used off-the-shelf, kinetic technology to knock incoming missiles out of the sky.

In summarizing and introducing an excerpt from Reagan's SDI speech in Promise or Peril, I wrote:

With President Reagan's address to the nation on March 23, 1983, the Strategic Defense Initiative became the focus of the U.S. debate over strategic policy. Although much of the speech was devoted to resisting uts in his defense budget, in his conclusion the President offered an alternative to traditional U.S. nuclear strategy. "Wouldn't it be better to save lives than to avenge them?" he asked. Although "deterrence of aggression through the promise of retaliation" had worked well, Reagan rejected the idea of indefinitely basing U.S. policy on the doctrine of Mutual Assured Destruction.

In calling for this shift, he advocated, not simply a limited defense of U.S. strategic forces, but a total population defense so that "free people could live secure in the knowledge that ... we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil or that of our allies." The President challenged the scientific community, "those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents now to the cause of mankind and world peace, to give the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete."

The rhetoric of Reagan's speech echoes that of Winston Churchill ... during the British air defense debate of the 1930s.

Thirty years on, for both his domestic and foreign policies, Ronald Reagan is remembered by local Republican parties through annual celebratory dinners. The next one coming up in Virginia is in Charlottesville on April 7, just two weeks after the anniversary of what is known not just derisively but also affectionately as the "Star Wars speech."

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

Karl Rove and James Burnley Will Speak in Charlottesville

2013-02-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

*** Annual Ronald Reagan Dinner Returns to Charlottesville

*** Bush White House Advisor Karl Rove and Reagan Cabinet Secretary James Burnley Will Headline Event

(CHARLOTTESVILLE, February 21, 2013) --- Fox News contributor Karl Rove and former U.S Secretary of Transportation James H. Burnley IV will be the featured speakers at the 2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner sponsored by the Charlottesville Republican Committee.

The Reagan Dinner will be held on Sunday, April 7, at the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville.

“A longtime Charlottesville tradition, the Reagan Dinner has been 'on hiatus' since 2003,” said Charlottesville Republican Committee chairman Charles “Buddy” Weber. “That year's dinner speaker was former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh, and it took place on the same night that the Iraq War began. With that kind of 'shock and awe,' we needed a break, but now we're back.”

Karl Rove, who served as Deputy White House Chief of Staff and as a Senior Advisor to President George W. Bush, is well-known as columnist for the Wall Street Journal and as a political strategist.

“I am looking forward to speaking in Charlottesville, a region that offers opportunities for growth and revitalization for the local Republican Party. It will be my pleasure to meet party activists and offer my thoughts on the future of the conservative movement," Mr. Rove said.

James H. Burnley IV

James Burnley was President Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Transportation, serving from 1987 through 1989. He is currently an attorney with the Washington law firm, Venable LLP, sits on the board of FreedomWorks, and is a past chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

“It will be a great pleasure to return to Charlottesville” said Burnley. “My family has deep roots in the community – Burnley-Moran School is named for my great-great aunt, and I spent summers in the area as a child when my great-uncle owned the Hardware Store on the downtown mall. I look forward to reminiscing about my years in President Reagan's cabinet and discussing the transportation issues we face in the 21st century.”

Weber added: “The Ronald Reagan Dinner is our local committee's primary fundraising event of the year. It not only provides an opportunity for Charlottesville Republicans to come together for an evening of fun and conviviality, it raises the seed money for our candidates for City Council, the General Assembly, and other local offices. We welcome the participation of Karl Rove and James Burnley in this year's festivities.”

The 2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner will include a cocktail reception, a VIP reception for major sponsors, and a silent auction featuring items donated by Republican leaders and celebrities from across the United States. So far House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, Fox News host Sean Hannity, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, and former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton have contributed autographed items for the silent auction.

Tickets for the Charlottesville Republican Party's 2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner are $75 each, with discounts for packages of two and tables of eight. Seating is limited but requests for invitations may be sent by email to rsvp.2013ReaganDinner@gmail.com or by postal mail to P.O. Box 6936, Charlottesville, VA 22906.

Contributions to the Charlottesville Republican Party are not tax-deductible.

(Crossposted from the Charlottesville Republicans Blog.)

Panel Discussions at the 2012 Virginia Film Festival

2012-11-16T23:59:00.001-05:00

Carl Bernstein

Although a presidential election has intervened, absorbing much of our attention, since the last popcorn was popped and the last screening went dark, I think it's worthwhile to visit the 2012 Virginia Film Festival and look at a few of the stimulating panel discussions that followed some of the features.

The headliners on Friday night were former Virginia Governor Gerald Baliles, who was one of the founders of the Virginia Film Festival, along with authors Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Baliles led a conversation with Woodward and Bernstein about the 1976 movie based on their book, All the President's Men, which chronicled their investigation of the Watergate break-in and cover-up as young reporters with the Washington Post.

Bob Woodward

All the President's Men won four Academy Awards (supporting actor, sound, art direction-set decoration, and adapted screenplay) and was nominated for four others, including Best Picture. (By odd coincidence for me, the screenplay was by William Goldman, who also wrote The Lion in Winter, a play I saw last night at the American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton last night.)

Woodward and Bernstein discussed many aspects of their investigative work, the making of the movie, and the legacy of the Watergate scandal. One nugget that I excerpted from the longer discussion focused on President Gerald Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon just one month after Nixon resigned the presidency.

Woodward explained that he interviewed Ford about the pardon some 25 years after it occurred, and that Ford said he did it to spare the country of further pain over Watergate. Although he and Bernstein had been appalled by the pardon at the time it happened, they now agree that Ford "did the right thing."

Here's the clip:

The longer, more wide-ranging, conversation is also worth a look. Considering that Watergate happened 40 years ago, it is fascinating to hear the stories directly from some of the principal players in the investigation that brought down a president and proved that our Constitution can endure even the worst crisis that threatens its integrity.

Here's the complete panel discussion with Baliles, Bernstein, and Woodward:

For the record, here is Governor Baliles' introduction of the film and the participants:

Another political movie was also featured at this month's film festival. A screening of John Frankenheimer's 1962 psycho-political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate (starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Angela Lansbury, and a cast of distinguished character actors of the 1950s and 1960s), was followed by a discussion among the hosts of the public radio program, BackStory with the American History Guys.

The American History Guys are two University of Virginia historians, Brian Balogh (20th century history) and Peter Onuf (18th century), and the president of the University of Richmond, Ed Ayers (19th century).

The screening and panelists were introduced by Jody Kielbasa, director of the Virginia Film Festival, who notes that The Manchurian Candidate has been added to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry.

Here's the full discussion, including questions and comments from the audience:

In a non-political category, on Saturday afternoon, actor and Oscar-winning songwriter Keith Carradine discussed his role in Ridley Scott's 1978 film, The Duellists (costarring Harvey Keitel). The conversation was moderated by New York University film scholar Harry Chotiner and included questions from the audience about Carradine's career and the art/craft of acting.

Here's the post-screening discussion, which lasts just over one-half hour:

Finally, a new movie, based on a popular young adult (YA) novel, from a first-time director was one of the closing-night screenings in a newly refurbished Newcomb Hall Theatre on the grounds of the University of Virginia.

Director Matthew Lillard (better known as an actor for such films as Scream and Scooby-Doo) discussed his new film, Fat Kid Rules the World, along with actor Billy Campbell, who has a major role in it. The conversation was moderated by Sandy Hausman of WVTF-FM.

Fat Kid Rules the World is based on the novel of the same name by K.L. Going and stars Jacob Wysocki, Matt O'Leary, and Dylan Arnold, as well as Campbell (who attended Western Albemarle High School).

The conversation took some interesting turns. As Lisa Provence reported in The Hook, for instance,

Billy Campbell's shocking confession about what really went on at Fork Union Military Academy: The star of The Killing says his six years at FUMA provided the military experience for playing a former-Marine dad in Fat Kid. "What were you doing there?" asks Hausman. "A lot of masturbating," replies Campbell.

Here's the whole rollicking thing:

For more of my coverage of this year's Virginia Film Festival, see this Examiner.com article about Woodward & Bernstein and this pre-festival interview with Jody Kielbasa.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

Big Bird Leads Romney and Obama in Latest Poll

2012-10-08T14:26:00.000-04:00

According to a poll published today by Public Policy Polling (PPP), a North Carolina-based Democratic public opinion firm, Sesame Street's Big Bird is more popular among Virginia voters than either President Barack Obama or GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

The tenth question in the 16-question survey asks: "Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of Big Bird?" The answers were "Favorable 56%," "Unfavorable 10%," and "Not Sure 34%"

The same question was asked about Mitt Romney, with these answers: "Favorable 52%," "Unfavorable 44%," and "Not sure 4%."

A similar but not identical question was asked about President Obama.

"Do you approve or disapprove of President Barack Obama’s job performance?," with Virginia voters answering: "Approve 50%," "Disapprove 48%," and "Not sure 2%."

Although many voters are uncertain about their opinion regarding Big Bird, the numbers plainly show that he polls four points ahead of Mitt Romney in terms of favorability, and arguably six points ahead of President Obama.

The same poll shows measurable support for two third-party candidates competing for President in Virginia. Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party candidate, has 4 percent, while former Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode, the Constitution Party candidate, has 1 percent. Green Party candidate Jill Stein registers with less than 1 percent.

In Virginia, it appears that, if the election were held today and his name were on the ballot, Big Bird would win the presidential vote in a landslide.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

Recent Articles on Examiner.com: Politics 2012

2012-09-29T17:33:00.000-04:00

Recent articles I've written as the Charlottesville Libertarian Examiner include Labor Day interviews with Constitution Party presidential candidate Virgil Goode; U.S. Senate candidates from Virginia Tim Kaine and George Allen; U.S. Senator Mark Warner; Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte; and Goodlatte's Democratic opponent, Andy Schmookler.

Two-part interviews were necessary for Libertarian vice presidential candidate Jim Gray ("Libertarian VP candidate Jim Gray warns of ‘obese federal government’" and "Libertarian VP nominee Jim Gray reflects on electing judges, Gary Johnson") and for George Mason University economist Peter Boettke ("GMU economist Peter Boettke asserts the ‘dismal science’ can be 'entertaining'" and "Economist Peter Boettke deflates candidates’ concept of ‘energy independence’").

Charlottesville-based historian and prolific author Arthur Herman merited an interview divided into three parts: "Historian Arthur Herman explores America’s World War II industrial effort," "On D-Day anniversary, historian Arthur Herman recalls WWII industrial effort," and "World War II industry effort led by Ayn Rand-type characters, says historian." The Herman interview is also available as a Bearing Drift podcast and in consolidated form on Book Reviews by Rick Sincere.

Intermixed with all this are interviews with Virginia Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling,Governor Bob McDonnell, Northern Virginia businessman Tim Donner (on his remarkable recollections of the events of September 11, 2001), and Delegate David Toscano.

Other authors who have spoken into my microphone include Jonah Goldberg (who talked about his fascination with witch hunts). political commentator Michael Barone, pollster Scott Rasmussen, and David Lampo (on his book, A Fundamental Freedom: Why Republicans, Conservatives, and Libertarians Should Support Gay Rights).

There were several articles on reactions to the Supreme Court's Obamacare ruling ("Conservatives decry Supreme Court’s health-care ruling," "Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli says Obamacare decision is 'a win for liberty,'" "More Virginia politicians react to Supreme Court’s Obamacare ruling," and "Gay and libertarian GOP groups critique SCOTUS Obamacare ruling").

Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA5) reflected on the meaning of the Fourth of July and reacted negatively to calls to impeach Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts. And Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, reacted positively to the idea of marriage equality for gay men and lesbians.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

Finding the Praiseworthy in Warren Harding

2012-09-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

In last Saturday's print edition of the Washington Post, an op-ed column by conservative commentator Michael Gerson offered a critique of President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention.

One paragraph, in particular, caught my eye:

Washington Post, print edition, September 12, 2012

Obama made almost no mention of the continuing jobs crisis. He offered nothing new or creative on a fiscal and debt crisis that undermines economic confidence. Much of Obama’s agenda — lowering tuition costs, recruiting math and science teachers, “long-lasting batteries” — sounded like a seventh-year State of the Union address, a collection of policy leavings and leftovers. One of Obama’s more ardent defenders called this a “return to normalcy after a long period of emergency.” And so Obama has gone in four years from being compared to Abraham Lincoln to carrying forward the legacy of Warren Harding.

It was the dig at President Harding that ruffled my feathers a bit, because I have over the last few months become familiar with the work of historians and economists who have been trying to rehabilitate Harding's reputation.

I specifically remembered an article from The Freeman by Burton W. Folsom with the title, "The Strange Presidency of Warren G. Harding," which begins:

Who is the worst president in U.S. history? The answer is Warren G. Harding if you believe most presidential polls. For example, in the prestigious Arthur Schlesinger poll, conducted in 1948, 1962, and 1996, the participating historians ranked Harding each time as the worst U.S. president ever.

Should we trust the judgment of these historians? No, we should not. Actually, Harding was often a successful president, and his actions helped trigger a decade of prosperity for America.

I also recalled seeing an opinion column by Amity Schlaes (which I can't seem to dig up today), similar to one she co-wrote with Ryan Cole for National Review called "Reassessing Warren G. Harding."

With a few statistics in mind, I left the newspaper lying on the floor and rushed to my keyboard to write a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, which the editors accepted and published on line earlier this evening, intended for tomorrow's print editions.

The Post headlined the letter "Mr. Obama could do worse than follow Warren Harding’s lead" and it reads in part:

Harding was elected during the “panic” (depression) of 1920, when unemployment grew from 4 percent to 11.7 percent, the gross domestic product fell by 24 percent, and the production of goods and services dropped by 21 percent...

Under Harding’s leadership, federal spending was cut in half by 1922 and, unlike Herbert Hoover and Barack Obama, he did not seek nor implement a stimulus policy. With these policies in place, the post-World War I depression ended by the summer of 1921. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7 percent in 1922 and then to an astonishing 2.4 percent in 1923...

Consider this as a small contribution to the effort to renew interest in the presidents of the 1920s, including my previous column on Calvin Coolidge.

Update: The Post published a letter in response to mine under the headline, "Giving Warren Harding undue credit." It was written by Richard S. Smith of Triangle, Virginia, who is otherwise unidentified, although a little digging came up with FEC documents showing that someone with that name in that town gave $2,500 to the Democratic National Committee in 2010. The response was published on September 18, 2012.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!
See my articles on Examiner.com!

Review of Ash Lawn Opera's 'The Music Man'

2012-08-03T02:34:00.001-04:00

If you fear that Ash Lawn Opera’s summer production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man will offer surprises or innovations, be not afraid. This is just about as conventional a version of the classic 1957 musical comedy that you’re likely to see in this or any other season.

Having just reread Willson’s own account of the trials and tribulations that resulted in the original production (‘But He Doesn’t Know the Territory,’ published in 1959), I understand how his book (co-authored with Franklin Lacey) became ironclad. Only complete incompetency could breach that armor. That would explain, in part, why The Music Man is such a favorite of community and high school theatre troupes with limited resources.

Director Cate Caplin’s mounting at the Paramount Theatre in Charlottesville is more than competent despite some static and clunky blocking (due, perhaps, to the Paramount’s shallow stage area crowded with a large cast of 50 players) and a low energy level – neither of which seem to have bothered the near sell-out crowd in the audience, which thoroughly enjoyed the performance from start to finish.

Helping keep the balls in the air was conductor Jon Kalbfleisch, visiting from Signature Theatre in Arlington, who had the pleasure of directing a musical ensemble collected from around the country, including representatives from the Miami Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Florida Grand Opera, and Sarasota Orchestra. (Don’t they do music in Florida in the summer?) Sad to say, it was a nearly unique pleasure to hear a pit orchestra that was on pitch from the very first note of the overture to the last note of the bows. “Sad to say” because such discipline is all too rare in productions like this, and a greater pleasure on account of that.

It was a bit jarring, at first, to hear the principals’ operatic voices singing songs intended for musical-comedy actors. One could detect baritone Trevor Scheunemann (as Professor Harold Hill) fighting the urge to put full voice behind the patter songs that Willson so conscientiously wrote for the character (and not, as some might imagine, for the vocally-limited Robert Preston, who first played the role on Broadway).

Emily Albrink’s soprano is heavier than one might imagine Marion Paroo’s voice, suggesting a greater maturity than the 26-year-old character should possess. Still, her renditions of “Good Night, My Someone,” “Till There Was You,” “My White Knight,” and “Will I Ever Tell You” are lovely throughout.

(The maturity question comes into play in a couple of dubious casting choices. Sarah Kraus, who plays Marian’s mother, is about Albrink’s age and is simply unconvincing as an Irish immigrant in her mid- to late 40s. And baritone Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek is way too old to be playing teenager Tommy Djilas. Since that is largely a non-singing role, director Caplin could easily have given it to an additional young local actor, such as an older brother of those who fill out the hefty ensemble.)

Local actor Pat Owen – not an opera singer, but with a number of musical plays under his belt – is a blustery, curmudgeonly, grumpy, spooneristic Mayor Shinn. Paul Ford and David Burns would be proud to have him follow in their footsteps.

If any of the principals stood out, it had to be Meredith Arwady as Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn, the mayor’s wife. Chewing scenery shamelessly, Arwady had the audience eating it up with her and licking their fingers so as not to miss a bit. Every time she walked – or waltzed – on stage, the energy level in the theatre rose by several degrees. Obviously happy to have a role she could have fun with, Arwady played with it to the limit.

Speaking of limits, Ash Lawn Opera has long been known as short on dance and long on music, which makes sense given its mission. Consequently, the choreography in this production was simple – staged movement in most cases, some marching here and there. The dance break in “Marian the Librarian” was cut substantially, and the footbridge ballet was also circumscribed. (Why the soft-shoe encore of “Gary, Indiana,” a guaranteed applause getter, was also cut mystifies me.)

What dance there was, was executed mostly competently and effectively, although a few missteps could be detected -- not, as one might expect, from the youngest and most amateur members of the cast, but rather by the young opera artists, who seemed outside their element.

To be fair, The Music Man has never been a demanding dance show. The original production’s producers were confident enough to entrust the choreography to a first-timer, Onna White, in recognition of this fact. (White was rewarded with a Tony nomination, as it happens.)

The set design by Evan A. Bartoletti and Lisa D. Lechuga (billed together as Lechetti Design) evoked a 1912-ish Fourth of July in small-town Iowa without being too naturalistic. The dark tones might have been more at home on a Ragtime stage, but that did not detract too much from the atmosphere.

For his part, Stevie Agnew’s lighting design made ample use of a favorite technique of Morton Da Costa, the director of the original stage production and 1962 film of The Music Man – a tightly focused iris effect, isolating one or two actors at a critical moment of the play. Da Costa used it in Auntie Mame, as well, but the two plays had different lighting designers (Howard Bay on The Music Man, Peggy Clark on Auntie Mame), so the conceit seems to belong to the director. Bay, as it happens, was the first member of the creative team to sign up for The Music Man once Kermit Bloomgarden agreed to produce it; Da Costa joined up shortly afterward.

Special praise is due to costume designer Shon LeBlanc, if nothing else than for sheer output. There have to be 100 or more costumes in this show, and each one is true to the era and to the character it represents.

People today sometimes react with bewilderment when they learn that The Music Man beat out West Side Story for the best new musical Tony Award in 1958. They think that West Side Story, after all, was the edgier show and the one with a collaborative team of Revered Giants Of The Theatre – Bernstein, Laurents, Robbins, and Sondheim – plus it was “socially relevant.”

Yet even 55 years later, it’s clear that The Music Man is the better musical play: a more solid book, a more innovative score, more colorful characters, better-constructed and -integrated. West Side Story remains flawed at several levels (some flaws tracing back to Shakespeare) while The Music Man is still more fully formed, even in a strictly conventional production like the one Ash Lawn Opera is presenting in Charlottesville.

Note: The Music Man holds a special place in my heart. It was the first show I appeared in (post-high school), at St. Bernard's Studio Theatre in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. That show was 35 years ago this summer -- a 20th anniversary production of The Music Man that will always be remembered.

Ash Lawn Opera’s The Music Man has three more performances at the Paramount: August 4 at 7:30 p.m.; August 5 at 2:00 p.m.; and August 7 at 7:30 p.m. Each performance is preceded by a lecture that begins 45 minutes before curtain time. For ticket information, consult www.theparamount.net.

Be sure to visit my CafePress store for gifts and novelty items!
Read my blog on Kindle!
Follow my tweets on Twitter!

Rick Sincere News and Thoughts

When Squirt Guns Are Outlawed ...

2013 Ronald Reagan Dinner Has Exciting Silent Auction Items Ready for Bid

It's Human Achievement Hour!

March 23, 1983 - Ronald Reagan Launches the Strategic Defense Initiative

Karl Rove and James Burnley Will Speak in Charlottesville

Panel Discussions at the 2012 Virginia Film Festival

Big Bird Leads Romney and Obama in Latest Poll

Recent Articles on Examiner.com: Politics 2012

Finding the Praiseworthy in Warren Harding

Review of Ash Lawn Opera's 'The Music Man'

Frank Kameny: Not a Star but an Asteroid

Marking Independence Day with John Quincy Adams and Ronald Reagan

Mini-Review: 'Snoopy!!! The Musical'

Pollster Scott Rasmussen Addresses RightOnline Conference: Video

S.E. Cupp and Jonah Goldberg at RightOnline 2012: Videos

Lars Larson and Rusty Humphries at RightOnline: Video

Sarah Palin and Joe Heck at RightOnline 2012: Video

Interview Series on Ron Paul with Author Brian Doherty

Senate Candidate E.W. Jackson Contradicts Himself

Virginia Senate Candidates Talk About Gay Marriage

How Squirrels Potty-Train

FDR Visits Charlottesville, April 1942

Why Can't I Stop Laughing?

Ambiguity Reigns in Signature Theatre’s New Play, 'Really Really'

Interview with Actress Bethany Anne Lind