Jims of Wyzdom for June 14, 2019

We’re just one short week away from the official beginning of summer on June 21. That’s when we drive up to Chautauqua for our ten-day sojourn, so my next issue will come to you from Chautauqua with adventures included.

Every time I think that I’m getting old and gradually going to the grave, something else happens. [Mother of President Jimmy Carter, Lillian Carter]

There is still time this weekend to see the WVPT production of “Storming Heaven.” We’ll be there on Sunday with the OLLI group. I told Jerry McGonigle, the director that if this as being staged at Chautauqua, they would have copies of the book for sale in the lobby—he threw a book at me…

…and, direct from WVPT’s website, their other show: “The 39 Steps,” June 26-30, Gladys G. Davis Theatre, Morgantown, WV. “The 39 Steps,” a Tony Award-winning stage adaptation of the Alfred Hitchcock film, is a fast-paced, laugh-a-minute whodunit with a virtuosic cast of four playing nearly 50 characters. Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python, a few secret agents (and double agents), handcuffs, ham sandwiches, and some good old-fashioned romance, and you have an unforgettable night at the theatre!

The older you get, the stronger the wind gets—and it’s always in your face. [Golfer Jack Nicklaus]

By now you have your summer OLLI catalog in hand. I have been asked how I make choices for Film Forum musicals. First, I like a balance of styles, then I like to include an old classic or two, then, if there are significant stars that have died (Carol Channing) or hundred year anniversaries (WWI-“Oh, What a Lovely War”)…that sort of thing. And no, I wouldn’t do an entire series of Rogers & Hammerstein, as much as I love their work. All I can guarantee is that each one of this summer’s musicals are excellent films with lots of terrific music.

Everyone has a gift for something, even if it is the gift of being a good friend. [Singer Marian Anderson]

Opera Encores: First up for the Met in HD Summer Encores is “Romeo et Juliette” by Gounod, starring Vittorio Grigolo and Diana Damrau. This was a terrific production with a fairly perfect cast. June 19 at 7:05 PM only. Then on June 26 at 7:05 PM you can see “La Boheme” in Franco Zeffirelli’s heart-felt production (isn’t it time for a new one?). The stars are Kristine Opalais and Vittorio Grigolo (again). In July, we’ll have Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia,” and Verdi’s “Aida.” Dates TBA in my next column. These are, of course, shown at the Regal Hollywood Cinema, shown straight through with no intermissions.

And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret: Concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged. Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in I, adopt every improvement, have the best machinery, and know the most about it. [Industrialist Andrew Carnegie]

That’s all, folks!

Jim