Playwright is somewhat depressed but "Chicago" was a spirit-lifter.

At this point in time with less than a week to go, my "Old Soldiers" may get a year older. In spite of an intensive thrust or effort to finish the BBC Radio International Playwriting competition entry, there is still some i.e. about 12 pages, work to be done.

"For heaven's sake, Eleanor...this is not the first time you've delayed entering the competition!" my inner playwright/muse is telling me.

Unfortunately very true. One of my main problems is having to add sound effects. It means, at least in my mind, that there has to be a lot going on and Old Soldiers is dialogue-heavy. When re-reading newly added dialogue, there doesn't seem to be a reason or place for a sound.

In any case, let's say...the play was completed at this point. It would not be edited yet and to enter a competition for the sake of entering is not a good idea. All that work and believe me there was a lot of work and focus on writing the play, would be for nothing.

So once again, I'm farklempt, at least at this point, having not reached my goal of entering a play. Perhaps taking a story and converting it into a radio play wasn't a realistic option. Really - I don't know. Unless there is an extension, I'm out of it for this year. Again.

"CHICAGO" - THE MUSICAL IS A FUN EXPERIENCE

On a more upbeat note and while visiting NYC, we caught the musical, "Chicago", which never fails to please and entertain. Although it was a minimalist production in that there were no costume or set changes, the music and choreography more than made up for this aspect of the show. Another interesting facet was to have the orchestra on stage with the conductor contributing some lines of dialogue. We had booked to see a revival of "Anything Goes",  which unexpectedly ended its run. Too bad because we had been looking forward to this show. Given the uncertain economy, seems that Broadway is going with the safe-and-sure audience favorites, although Anything Goes has gone.

ANNA NICOLE SMITH: the opera(?)

by Eleanor Tylbor

It was Andy Warhol who said in the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes. If that's the case then ex-Playboy centrefold, Anna Nicole Smith, will have had her share of being a celebrity, and then some.

Her life will soon be the focus of an opera by the co-creator of the cult musical, "Jerry Spring: The Opera" if all goes as planned.

Composer Richard Thomas is writing the libretto for a contemporary piece, to be staged at the Royal Opera House no less, in 2010. He said the tragic life story of Ms Smith, a former stripper who died from an overdose of prescription drugs a year ago, was "a classic American tale about celebrity" which was "intrinsically operatic".

Perhaps he meant soap opera-ish.

The production, still in the early stages of development, is intended to be shown on the main stage at the Royal Opera House, accompanied by a 90-piece orchestra. Mr Thomas admitted that he was fascinated by stories which might seem "trashy".

He told The Independent newspaper: "It's an incredible story. It's very operatic and sad.
She was quite a smart lady with the tragic flaw that she could not seem to get through life without a vat of prescription painkillers."

However, his choice of subject, a woman labelled "the queen of trailer trash" by American tabloids, is unlikely to appeal to diehard fans of classical opera, some of whom have accused the Royal Opera House of dumbing down.

Read the backgrounder about the soon-to-be-(soap)opera here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/04/nsmith404.xml


Personally, I wouldn't waste my money on this show and why anyone would want to do a show based on the life of Anna Nicole Smith is beyond stupid or inane.

Yawn... Pass... Not for nothing...