Trinity Rep In Providence Announces Cancellation of A Tale of Two Cities
Due to the state of emergency declared today in Providence by Mayor Jorge Elorza, all remaining performances of A Tale of Two Cities at Trinity Rep are cancelled. The Mayor has revoked all entertainment licenses until further notice.
The box office will be reaching out to all affected patrons. We ask patrons to await contact from the box office so that they can contact people for this weekend’s performances first. Tickets may be exchanged into a future performance of Sweat or Sweeney Todd, donated to Trinity Rep, or refunded to a gift card.
As a non-profit organization which employs many staff members and artists living paycheck to paycheck, we ask that you support Trinity Rep in any way you can at this time, including with your patience and generous spirit
Trinity Repertory Company | (401) 351-4242 | TrinityRep.com
Hartford Stage Cancels All Remaining Performances Of Jane Eyre and Run Of The King’s Speech In Response To COVID-19
Based on recommendations from state and local government in response to the ongoing challenges posed by COVID-19, Hartford Stage is canceling all remaining performances of Jane Eyre (March 12-14) and the run of The King’s Speech, scheduled for March 19 through April 19.
“The safety and health of our community, visiting artists, staff and volunteers always remains our first priority at Hartford Stage,” Managing Director Cynthia Rider said. “We know that communities are in need of our solidarity and support in these times and want to encourage neighbors and patrons to meet this crisis with compassion and care rather than fear and division.”
Rider added that the theatre will continue to closely monitor all updates and changing circumstances provided by the Connecticut Department of Public Health. Should additional changes be made to upcoming performance schedules, visiting artists, ticket holders, staff, and volunteers will be notified as quickly as possible.
Tickets for Jane Eyre and The King’s Speech can be exchanged into performances of Ah, Wilderness! (May 7 – 31) or The Complete History of Comedy (Abridged) (June 11 – 21). All exchange fees will be waived. Alternatively, tickets can be donated back to Hartford Stage, a 501(c)(3) organization, as a tax-deductible contribution at a time of increased financial challenges for the performing arts industry.
Patience is asked for in anticipation of high call volume as the Hartford Stage Box Office staff works to reach out directly to all ticket holders. For quick access to information on ticket exchanges, visit http://hartfordstage.formstack.com/forms/cancellation.
HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY
CANCELS ALL PUBLIC PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS
AT THE HUNTINGTON AVENUE THEATRE
AND CALDERWOOD PAVILION AT THE BCA
Huntington Theatre Company Managing Director Michael Maso announced today after much careful consideration that due to the evolving circumstances surrounding COVID-19, effective immediately, the Huntington Theatre Company will suspend all public performances and events at both the Huntington Avenue Theatre and the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA until further notice.
The Huntington Theatre Company ticketing staff will be reaching out to ticket holders of Our Daughters, Like Pillars (scheduled for Mar 20 – April 19) to inform them of the cancellation of all public performances of the world premiere comedy by Kirsten Greenidge. The Huntington hopes to create a digital recording of this play to be made available to ticketed patrons. Huntington ticket holders will also have the option of donating their tickets, exchanging them for a future Huntington production, or refunds. All proceeds from donated tickets will go towards supporting artists and other contracted employees who will be affected by cancellations of Huntington programming.
In keeping with our commitment to customer service and our flexible exchange policies, we are happy to work with any patrons who feel uncomfortable attending their designated performance when our venues reopen. The Huntington would like to thank its patrons for their patience, understanding and support at this time. The artists and staff of the Huntington look forward to reuniting with audiences together in their venues when it is safe to do so.
For more information on the Huntington Theatre Company’s response to COVID-19 click HERE
For more information on ticketing donations, exchanges and refunds please call 617 266 0800.
For more information on the Huntington Theatre Company’s 2020-2021 season please click HERE
25th Anniversary of Riverdance Opens March 31 At The Wang Center
See RIVERDANCE as you’ve never seen or heard it before in the new 25th Anniversary production! For over 25 years, nothing has carried the energy, the sensuality and the spectacle of RIVERDANCE. In a powerful and stirring re-invention of this beloved favorite, renowned composer Bill Whelan brings this mesmerizing, Grammy Award®-winning soundtrack back to life, completely revitalized for the first time since those original orchestral recordings. Producer Moya Doherty and Director John McColgan have produced an amazing new 25th Anniversary production with innovative and spectacular lighting, projection, staging and costume design, and an all-new finale number which will blow audiences away
Tony-winners Jason Alexander and BD Wong to Premiere New Shows at
Ogunquit Playhouse as Part of its 2020 Season
Jason Alexander
The legendary Ogunquit Playhouse is thrilled to announce an exciting lineup of shows for its 88th season that includes the Northeast regional premiere of the hilarious dark comedy The War of the Roses, a new play based on the novel by Warren Adler and helmed by Tony Award-winner Jason Alexander, and the world premiere of the funny and heartwarming musical adaptation of Mr. Holland’s Opus, helmed by Tony Award-winner BD Wong. The season opens with the high-energy musical sensation Dirty Dancing –The Classic Story on Stage based on the smash-hit film, then continues with a stunning revival of the Tony Award-winning, all-Gershwin, tap dancing extravaganza Crazy for You, and the exhilarating Broadway hit musical based on the lives of Grammy Award-winning husband-and-wife team Gloria and Emilio Estefan, On Your Feet!. The season will stretch to the holidays once again with the return of the hit show White Christmas in collaboration with The Music Hall in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
BD Wong
“We are honored and thrilled to be collaborating with an incredible team of industry leaders on a number of premieres as part of our 88th season in 2020,” stated Bradford Kenney, Ogunquit Playhouse Executive Artistic Director. “It’s been a great honor to be able to collaborate with Eleanor Bergstein to bring to the stage her iconic film Dirty Dancing. We have been working closely with Tony-winner BD Wong and Tony-nominee Wayne Barker over the last several years on the development of the new musical adaptation of Mr. Holland’s Opus, and we are thrilled to produce its world premiere for Playhouse audiences this year. We have also been working alongside Tony-winner Jason Alexander and the Broadway team on the development of the hilarious new play The War of the Roses, which makes one of its premieres on our stage in late summer. The cultivation of new works is now part of our mission as we produce world-class performances, tell the most compelling stories, and challenge and inspire our audiences in new ways. We are honored that these wonderful new shows will be seen alongside the entire season this year at Ogunquit Playhouse.”
Five-show season ticket subscriptions are on sale now and the only way to guarantee the best seats for the best price to these exciting shows! Three and four-show subscriptions are on sale beginning Tuesday, February 18. Prices start at only $250 for a five-show subscription and $150 for a three-show subscription. Individual tickets are on sale exclusively for Ogunquit Playhouse Members starting March 11. Individual public ticket sales begin Wednesday, March 18 with prices starting at $53. Gift certificates are also on sale online and through the Box Office. To learn more about becoming a Member, season subscriber, or to purchase tickets and gift certificates, visit www.ogunquitplayhouse.org or call the Box Office at 207-646-5511.
In 1960 Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn recomposed selections from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker for jazz big band. After discovering this work, composer Steve Bass was inspired to recompose his own jazz ballet and chose Tchaikovsky’s other masterpiece Swan Lake. The result is Swan Lake: A Jazz Ballet now playing at the Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham.
The music is original with three themes taken from Swan Lake. The story has been moved to 1940’s New York where producer Florenz Siegfried (Andy McLeavey) is auditioning dancers for a musical. Odette (Sara Coombs), the swan here portrayed as a burlesque dancer, walks into the auditions and Siegfried is immediately taken with her. However, she quickly retreats to the Swan Club where she works for the possessive Von Rothbart, a shady gangster.
The adaptation works wonderfully. The score is solid and if you have ever caught yourself saying “Why don’t they write music like that anymore?”, you will be pleasantly surprised by what you will hear in this work.
Andy McLeavey
The stage is set with a full big band/jazz orchestra directed by Steve Bass that transports the audience back to that golden musical age. The overture sets things in motion and the stage is then energized with non stop dancing. Ilyse Robbins has choreographed stunning and powerful numbers. With 21 pieces of choreography this had to be a daunting task, but Ms Robbins has scored a knockout. There isn’t a dull spot in the entire production.
Being a ballet there is no dialog, at least no spoken dialog, but the expressive dance speaks clearly and the story is told beautifully. Bringing Swan Lake into the 20th Century works and works very well. The stage full of talented dancers never leave the audience wondering what is happening. Sara Coombs and Andy McLeavey as the leads Odette and Siegfried are a joy to watch. Briana Fallon and Gillian Mariner Gordon as Little Swans join Ms Coombs for a burlesque number that uses swan feather fans to create a Sally Rand type piece that is sultry and sexy.
David Visini is dark and menacing as Von Rothbart. He is downright scary and his presence further conveys the ability for words and mood to be expressed through dance.
H.C. Lee, Jackson Jirard, Michael Skrzek, and Mike Herring
Jackson Jirard, Mike Herring, H.C. Lee, Erica Lundin, and Michael Skrzek make up the ensemble, giving a master class in tap. All are superb with Mr. Jirard adding an exclamation mark to the numbers they do together. If you can sit still during these performances you would have to be heavilysedated.
There is also a teen ensemble that is made up of Lily Lawrence, Claire Lawrence, and Maya McClain. These young people are real pros and all have great futures in theatre. Maya McClain moved like a veteran professional in her numbers with Jackson Jirard. It’s nice to know there will be no dearth of talent in the years to come.
Costume Designer Kevin Hutchins does a beautiful job with the outfits the cast wears. The flavor of backstage musical theatre of the 1940s is captured in the clothing that is reminiscent of Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor. The soft hat worn by Von Rothbart is put to great use in expressing his gangster persona, while the dance numbers in the Swan Club capture the Age of Burlesque. Combined with the lighting designed by Chris Fournier, the atmospherics are sublime.
Maya McClain, Jackson Jirard, Erica Lundin and Cast
Steve Bass and Ilyse Robbins have created an original work that is being seen for the first time on the stage in Stoneham, but I believe this is something that will move on to other venues. This is no commodity musical. It is a marvelous piece that is destined to become part of musical theatre history. From top to bottom this is a first rate production, and you don’t want to miss it. Someday you’ll get to say you saw it when it premiered. You’ll also be saying “They really do write music and choreograph dancing the way they used to”.
What: Swan Lake In Blue: A Jazz Ballet
Where: The Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham, MA
When: Through March 1
Tickets: Phone: 781.279.2200, Box Office: 395 Main Street, Stoneham
From February 28 to March 28, SpeakEasy Stage Company will proudly present the Boston premiere of the acclaimed drama THE CHILDRENby British playwright Lucy Kirkwood.
A 2018 Tony Award Nominee for Best Play, THE CHILDRENis a taut and timely new play that questions the responsibility each generation has for the way it leaves the world. One summer evening, in an isolated cottage on the British coast, Hazel and Robin, a long-married pair of retired physicists, are surprised by a visit from Rose, a former colleague whom they haven’t seen in 38 years. As the friends reminisce, long-held secrets come to light, leading to the real reason behind Rose’s return.
A native of East London,Lucy Kirkwood is currently represented on London’s stages by The Welkin.Her other works include It Felt Empty When the Heart Went at First but It Is Alright Now (2009 Evening Standard Award and 2010 John Whiting Award); NSFW (2012); Chimerica (2014 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best New Play, plus a Critic’s Circle Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Award); The Children (2016) and The Mosquitoes (2017). Her screen credits include Skins (Company Pictures), The Smoke (Kudos / Sky 1), and the short film The Briny, which she also directed.Ms. Kirkwood adapted her play Chimerica into a four-part miniseries for Channel 4 in 2019, and has written a new four-part series Adult Material, following a woman’s life in the adult film industry, due to be shown in 2020.
Elliot Norton Award-winning director Bryn Boice will direct the SpeakEasy production of THE CHILDREN. Her recent credits include Universe Rushing Apart: Blue Kettle & Here We Go, two Caryl Churchill one-acts (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Admissions (The Gamm Theatre); Last Night at Bowl-mor Lanes (Greater Boston Stage); and an all-female production of Julius Caesar (Actors’ Shakespeare Project). Bryn is the newly appointed Associate Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and is the founding Artistic Director of fringe ensemble Anthem Theatre.
The cast consists of three Norton Award-winners:Tyrees Allen, Karen MacDonald, and Paula Plum.
The design team is Cristina Todesco (scenic); Rachel Padula-Shufelt (costumes); Jeff Adelberg (lighting); and David Remedios (sound). Rachel Sturm is the Production Stage Manager.
THE CHILDREN will run for five weeks, from February 28 through March 28, 2020, in the Roberts Studio Theatre in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street in Boston’s South End.
For tickets or more information, the public is invited to call BostonTheatreScene Ticketing Services at 617.933.8600 or visit www.speakeasystage.com
Cast
TYREES ALLEN* (Robin) is thrilled to be back at SpeakEasy Stage, after having played Pops in last season’s Between Riverside and Crazy [IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards — Outstanding Actor]. Broadway credits include Aida (OBC) and the renowned revival of Henry IV at Lincoln Center. Notable regional credits include playing Colin Powell in the American Premiere of Stuff Happens at The Mark Taper Forum, the title role of Othello at The Old Globe, Christian in Ruined at Echo Theater, and Northumberland in Richard ll at The Goodman Theatre. At the Dallas Theater Center, he has played Elder Jay in The Christians, Evan in Sweat, James Bevel in The Great Society, and Aegisthus in Electra. Tyrees was a series regular on the TV show Women’s Murder Club, has had recurring roles on several shows, and has guest-starred on over fifty shows.
KAREN MACDONALD* (Rose).SpeakEasy: Polly, Other Desert Cities; TheDrowsy Chaperone, The Drowsy Chaperone. Broadway: Amanda Wingfield [u/s, performed], The Glass Menagerie. Off-Broadway: Oliver Twist (TFANA).National: The Audience (Maltz Jupiter Theatre); No Exit (Hartford Stage); Faithful Cheaters (Trinity Rep); Escaped Alone (Gamm Theatre). Boston-Area:The Cake, Red Hot Patriot (Lyric Stage); America Plays (Plays in Place); Calendar Girls (Greater Boston Stage Company); Finish Line (Boston Theater Company); The Apple Family Plays (Greater Boston Stage Company, Gloucester Stage, New Rep); 73 productions including Arkadina, The Seagull, Mother Courage and her Children (American Repertory Theatre – Founding Company Member); All My Sons, Good People (Huntington Theatre); Long Day’s Journey into Night (New Rep); Universe Rushing Apart, Coriolanus, All’s Well That Ends Well, Hamlet (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); Home of the Brave,The Blonde, The Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead (Merrimack Rep). Ms. MacDonald has worked nationally from The Wilma Theater to Berkeley Rep. She has been awarded several IRNE and Elliot Norton Awards, and has received the Robert Brustein Prize for Sustained Achievement in the Theatre and the Elliot Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence.
PAULA PLUM* (Hazel). SpeakEasy credits include The History Boys, Reckless, The New Century, The Savannah Disputation, and The Divine Sister. She is therecipient of seven IRNE Awards; the 1995, 2007, and 2017 Elliot Norton Awards forOutstanding Actress; the 2004 Elliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence,and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University. In 2009, inassociation with SpeakEasy Stage, Paulawas one of five actors nationwide to receive the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowship. As a founding member of Actors’Shakespeare Project, she has played Cleopatra, Beatrice, Lady Macbeth, andPhèdre. Paula has also appeared regionally at the Lyric Stage, the AmericanRepertory Theatre, New Rep, Merrimack Rep, Huntington Theatre, Gloucester Stage, and Elm Shakespeare. Filmcredits include Mermaids, Malice, Next Stop Wonderland, and Woody Allen’s Irrational Man. Television: Science Court (three seasons – ABC) and The Dick & Paula Celebrity Special (co-creator and star –FX). Ms. Plum isa cum laude graduate of Boston University and has studied at the LondonAcademy of Music and Dramatic Art, the Dell’Arte Institute, and École PhillipeGaulier in Paris. She has been published in American Theatre magazine, ismarried to actor Richard Snee, and is a professional acting coach.www.paulaplum.com
Director Information
BRYN BOICE (Director) is thrilled to make her SpeakEasy debut. She is an award-winning director, educator, actor, and producer. Recent credits include Universe Rushing Apart: Blue Kettle & Here We Go, two Caryl Churchill one-acts for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Elliot Norton Award–Outstanding Director, Large Theatre); Admissions (The Gamm Theatre); Last Night at Bowl-mor Lanes with Paula Plum and Nancy E. Carroll (Greater Boston Stage); and an all-female production of Julius Caesar for Actors’ Shakespeare Project. Upcoming: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CSC2/Comm Shakes). NYC and regional credits as an actor and/or director include work with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Caroline’s on Broadway, and Manhattan Theatre Club. Bryn is the newly appointed Associate Artistic Director of Commonwealth Shakespeare Company and is the founding Artistic Director of fringe ensemble Anthem Theatre Company. She teaches acting, voice, applied movement, and dialects, among others, at Salem State. She holds an MFA in Directing from Boston University and an MFA in Acting from the Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training (FSU). More information at www.brynboice.com
Performance Schedule: February 28 – March 28, 2020
Wed. & Thurs. at 7:30PM; Fri. at 8PM; Sat. at 4 & 8PM;
Sun. at 3PM.Additional performance Thursday, Mar. 26 at 2PM.
FEBRUARY 01 – 16, 2020 EMERSON PARAMOUNT CENTER ROBERT J. ORCHARD STAGE
Will Power Photo Credit: Adam A. Anderson
ArtsEmerson is thrilled to announce the World Premiere of Detroit Red by internationally renowned playwright Will Power. This theatrical exploration of the life of Malcolm X as he dwelled and came of age in the Roxbury section of Boston, plays the Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage February 01 – 16, 2020.
The world forever knows him as Malcolm X, but when he lived in Roxbury, he was dubbed “Detroit Red.” Will Power, along with director Lee Sunday Evans, shine a light on a pivotal coming-of-age moment in the celebrated, controversial civil rights leader’s life in this world premiere piece. Boxed in by race and class in 1940’s Boston, “Detroit Red” (Eric Berryman) transformed from a rowdy teenager into a street hustler. Detroit Redvividly brings this world to life, depicting a brutally honest, human portrayal of the future activist as he navigates the criminal underworld, taking the first steps in his quest to define the type of man he would eventually become.
A potent, heart-wrenching deconstruction of a future American hero in turmoil, Detroit Redfeatures three shape-shifting actors who create a deeply dramatic and surprisingly funny theatrical experience. The production offers a radical take on traditional theater, illuminating an iconic African-American figure and the community and circumstances that helped form him.
“It’s been a joy working with Will Power, Lee Sunday Evans, Eric Berryman and the community of Roxbury dramaturgs on the development of Detroit Red,” says ArtsEmerson Artistic Director David Dower. “When Will first described what he was aiming to do in this play we were immediately hooked. I loved that he wasn’t setting out to stage Malcom X’s biography. That story is told. I admired that he wanted to create this play in a deep collaboration with Roxbury itself.”
“Will has found a surprising and explosive point of entry through the story of teenage Malcolm Little’s days in our city,” continues Dower. “The entire play is set in a single moment of epiphany trapped in a moment of reckoning — the sudden, impulsive moment of letting go of one story to make the space for the new story to unfold. The media is filled with stories of people who confronted this type of moment of reckoning, gun in hand. This play is about the moment Malcolm Little put his gun down, and let drop the story of Detroit Red. He changed his own narrative and, as a result, changed the world. Will and his team have zoomed in on that split- second decision, unpacking it for us on stage. And so we get to sit inside Malcolm’s head as he stood inside that Roxbury jewelry store at a life and death crossroads.”
“I am fascinated by Malcolm’s time in Boston,” says Detroit Redplaywright Will Power. “It is an unexplored period in the trajectory of a future world leader, a period that, when you include both his time as “Detroit Red” and his time incarcerated, adds up to almost a dozen years in which he lived in the state of Massachusetts. Malcolm X came to Boston as a skinny, countrified teenager (a “hick” as Malcolm describes it), and left Boston as the man known to the world as Malcolm X. In some ways, like Malcom, the city of Boston is iconic onto itself-it represents both the achievements and the complexities that exist in America. I can conceive of no other place that this play could’ve originated in other than right here in Boston.”
Detroit Redplays for two weeks, February 1 – 16, 2020, at the Emerson Paramount Center Robert J. Orchard Stage. Tickets may be purchased at ArtsEmerson.org, by phone at 617.824.8400 or at the box office.
It Has Been Sixty-Four Years Since Rocky’s Last Fight
His Battle Against Archie Moore May Have Influenced His Decision To Hang Up The Gloves
By Bobby Franklin
This past September 21st marked the 64th anniversary of Rocky Marciano’s last fight, his winning defense of the title against Light Heavyweight Champion Archie Moore. The following April at the age of 32 Marciano announced his retirement from the ring stating: “I am retiring because of my wife and baby. No man can say what he will do in the future, but barring poverty, the ring has seen the last of me. I am comfortably fixed, and I am not afraid of the future.”
At the time of his retirement Rocky had a perfect record of 49 and 0 and would be the only heavyweight champion to retire with an undefeated record, a feat that still stands to this day.
Most boxing fans expected the champion to go for the 50th win and were surprised when he didn’t. So, is it true he retired to spend more time with his family, or was there more to it?
The Marciano vs Moore fight drew a crowd 61,574 to Yankee stadium with a gate grossing $948,117.95. Rocky’s share was $482,374.00. That is the equivalent of $4,289,456.00 in today’s dollars. Even deducting for his manager Al Weill taking a huge cut, that was still a very healthy sum of money. Combine it with the Rock’s previous earnings and it would appear he was very comfortable financially.
It has been said that Marciano no longer wanted to fight because he believed Al Weill was taking too much of his money. While that is most likely true, it seems that some other financial arrangement could have been worked out.
As far as spending time with his family, after retirement Rocky continued to travel, mostly without his wife, and enjoyed being on his own. I don’t buy the retirement was for family reasons.
Moore vs Marciano
I think the key to figuring out why Marciano stopped at 49 is to look at the Moore fight. While Rocky stopped the Old Mongoose in the 9th round, it was a grueling fight in which the champion took some terrible shots. Could it be that he felt he was starting to decline and did what hardly any fighter does, get out while on top?
I asked noted boxing historian Mike Silver, the author of The Arc of Boxing what he thought. Mike replied:
“Next to his title winning effort against Walcott this was Marciano’s toughest contest. Moore landed some humongous punches to Rocky’s chin. During the course of the fight Marciano absorbed some of the hardest punches he had ever taken. He had to throw more punches per round than in any other fight in order to overwhelm Moore’s superior skill and experience. In a great fight it was Rocky’s chin, conditioning, relentless punching and almost superhuman durability that won it for him, but I wonder if the punishment he took in that fight helped convince him to retire while he still had his health?”
Archie Moore vs Rocky Marciano
After hearing what Mike had to say I watched a tape of the fight and it was indeed a very tough fight for Rocky. After a somewhat tame first round Moore came out and dropped Marciano at the beginning of the second with a right hand flush on the chin. Rocky was up at the count of four but was dazed. He took a lot of punishment for the rest of the round. Moore was using shoulder feints and landing very well with his left jab. It looked like Marciano was in serious danger of losing the title. By the end of the round the champion was bleeding from the nose and was cut and puffy under his left eye.
In round three Marciano came out very aggressively throwing a lot of punches. Moore, ever the master boxer, was avoiding most of them by blocking, slipping, and rolling with the shots.
In the third round Moore fought mostly off the ropes. Mike Silver points out that this was no Rope-a-Dope strategy. Instead, Archie was slipping and countering Rocky’s shots. Marciano threw a much larger number of punches but Moore had the more effective shots. Rocky won the round with his aggression but he paid a high price for it.
The fifth round was Moore’s best. He was very accurate with his jab and landed a number of solid rights while taking short steps to the side. Marciano appeared to be slowing down and was missing a lot. It now appeared the tide was turning in Moore’s favor.
Marciano must have been sensing the same thing as he came out on fire in the sixth round. He dropped Moore for a count of four at the beginning of the round and then pursued him relentlessly. Rocky was still missing with many of his punches, but the pressure and huge number of punches he was throwing was wearing Archie down. Rocky was like a freight train as he dropped Moore once again, this time for a nine count.
Between rounds the doctor checked on Moore and it appeared the fight was close to being stopped. But the old warrior was not through yet.
Moore actually looked refreshed as he came out for the seventh round and won the round with a strong jab. Perhaps Rocky had punched himself out in the previous round and the tide was again shifting.
In the eighth round Moore’s legs were tiring. He spent most of the round fighting off of the ropes and was still very effective in making the champion miss. Watching Moore in this fight is like seeing a master class on how to roll with punches and pick spots for counters. Moore was definitely starting to fade by the end of the round. It was Rocky’s relentless pressure that was taking the toll. A Marciano right at the end of the round dropped Moore and he was up at the count of six as the bell rang. Moore’s right eye was now closing and he looked like a beaten man. Could he summon up another rally?
Marciano vs Moore
In the fatal ninth round Moore once again came out strong, but the end was near. Rocky attacked with a fury. Moore still got in a few good shots, but nothing was going to stop Rocky now. He pummeled Moore to the canvas where Archie took the ten count at 1:19 of the round.
Moore did everything right in this fight. He boxed and punched beautifully. He seemed the superior fighter in so many ways, but Marciano would not be stopped. His incredible conditioning, heart, and brutal punching were all too much for Archie. Marciano defined what the heart of a champion is in this fight.
Mike Silver asks if it was the punishment Rocky took in this fight that convinced him to retire? I believe that was a major reason for his hanging up the gloves, and I do not mean this as a knock on Marciano. Quite the contrary, I believe it shows how smart he was.
Marciano was a tremendously physical fighter. While his boxing abilities are often underrated, he was also almost superhuman when in the ring. The Moore fight is an example of how he would actually get stronger as a fight progressed. It seemed as though the rougher things got the more strength he would gain. Rocky trained very hard for each fight. The training grind and the brutality of the fights he was in would eventually take a toll. At this point in his career he was also experiencing back pain.
It is not unusual for an athlete that continually pushes himself to the brink to eventually start to break down physically. It is very possible the Moore fight was Rocky’s last great fight. If he had continued, his body may have begun to fail him. I think he may have sensed that, perhaps subconsciously. Moore hurt him. Moore extended him. Moore did everything possible to beat him, but Rocky was relentless. He broke Archie down that night.
Rocky Hangs Up The Gloves
Marciano had been fighting professionally since 1947. He was now 32 years old, not terribly old for a fighter. But when you consider how many tough fights he had and how many times he had tortured his body in training camp you have to wonder if at some point he would start to break down.
In the Moore fight he pushed himself unbelievably. I don’t think Archie could have stopped him if he had a bazooka in his arsenal. Rocky fought many very tough fights. His two goes against Ezzard Charles and he first fight with Walcott were both brutal affairs. It’s very possible he still had a couple more great fights in him, but at some point he would have broken down; all great athletes do.
Rocky Marciano had an amazing career, made a lot of money, and now was walking away with his brains still in tact. He will always be remembered as one of the greatest Heavyweight Champions of all time. Knowing when to retire is a lesson that too few fighters have learned. Rocky was wise enough to get out in time, and that adds to his greatness.
https://youtu.be/kK0YRFu_tE8
I almost declined the invitation to review The Cake, now playing at the Lyric stage in Boston. Many works today are taking on societal issues, and getting people to think about what is going on around them while being more open to listening to the views of others is a good thing. It is healthy when we challenge ourselves and our, very often, deeply held views. It doesn’t mean we will necessarily change them, but understanding where others are coming from and why they feel the way they do helps to prevent us from putting up walls between one another and feeling anger. As hard as it is to believe, we can actually get along with people with whom we disagree.
The problem with much theatre that I attend today is that it is self righteous. Instead of posing questions that will make us consider other views, many of the works I see tend to preach, and worse, demand that the audience members fall in line with a particular view point. I have received press packages that are filled with materials that all but tell me what I am supposed to feel about the play and about myself. Frankly, I find this insulting and disrespectful. It is also counterproductive.
Kris Sidberry and Chelsea Diehl Photo: Mark S. Howard
This used to be rare, but it is becoming too common today probably due to the polarizing times we live in. One exception to this is Ayad Akhtar’s The Who & The What that played at The Huntington Theatre in 2017 and dealt with the issues facing a Muslim family living in America. It was thought provoking but not preachy. Mr. Akhtar has said “Advocacy is not art, it’s advertising”. I couldn’t agree more.
In The Cake, author Bekah Brunstetter takes a similar approach. The play is about a gay couple living in New York, Jen (Chelsea Diehl) and Macy (Kris Sidberry), who have traveled to Jen’s original home in North Carolina where they plan to get married. Jen wants the ceremony to take place in the same venue where her parents were wed. Her mother has passed on but it is apparent she is looking for acceptance as she can not know, but does suspect, how her mother would feel about this.
The play opens at Della’s Sweets, a bakery run by Della (Karen MacDonald) who was close to Jen’s mother and has known Jen since she was little. Della is very excited about having become a contestant on The Great American Bake Off, and is describing what it takes to make a good cake. Jen wants Della to bake the wedding cake for her and Macy. Macy arrives at the shop ahead of her and engages Della in conversation.
At this point it all seems to be very predictable; the dumb and bigoted hick will respond with hate and disgust at the request while the enlightened couple will be both victim and moral superiors to the backward folks living down south. That is not at all how this plays.
Karen MacDonald and Chelsea Diehl Photo: Mark S. Howard
Ms Brunstetter shows empathy for all of the characters and allows that many issues are not that cut and dried. In a twist, Macy turns out to be the self righteous one who has no room for differing views, while Della is willing to face the conflicts she faces with her beliefs. It is refreshing to see a Southern Evangelical treated with respect. And while Della is willing to question herself, Macy is very judgmental and believes “If you don’t want to be a bigot you have to think like me”.
Jen is the most conflicted as she had been close to Della and was brought up in the same cultural environment. It is clear that Della is a mother figure to her. Having Della bake the cake for the wedding is important to her, but Jen is also understanding, while hurt, when Della makes excuses for not doing so. Della is also feeling pain as she loves Jen. There is a lot of emotional conflict here that spills over into the relationship between Macy, who grew up in New York, and Jen.
Fred Sullivan,Jr. and Karen MacDonald Photo: Mark S. Howard
Karen MacDonald is perfect as Della, a woman without an inch of hate in her heart but views that are considered backwards, and even hateful, by big city liberals. Tim (Fred Sullivan, Jr)., Della’s husband, is a plumber. This is where I felt things could fall apart as the stereotype so often portrayed of white working class men is not usually flattering. While Tim is set in his ways, he is also a decent man who deeply loves Della. He also enjoys mashed potatoes which makes for a very funny scene, but you will have to see the play to find out what that is all about.
The interactions between Macy and Jen as well as between Della and Tim are both insightful into why they believe the things they do and what they believe about others. It is this hard facts back and forth that occurs between Della and Jen that really digs into the conflicted feelings they both are dealing with as well as a way to start understanding each other.
Chelsea Diehl digs deep down into Jen emotions, those of a woman with a foot in two cultures. Jen does not agree with Della, but she understands her, while Della’s moral code precludes her from baking the cake, her heart tells her it is good that the little girl she has always loved has found someone she is in love with. They truly care for each other.
Chelsea Diehl and Kris Sidberry Photo: Mark S. Howard
The one fault I found with the play is in the character of Macy. Kris Sidberry gives us a character that is so certain of her beliefs that she has an almost religious fervor about them, and many of us will recognize that person; the take no prisoner true believer. However, by the time the play moves to where the characters are beginning to find common ground it is too little too late for Macy. She has done something particularly cruel that gets brushed off and shouldn’t. And though she finds some common ground toward the play’s end, her journey there is not fully developed.
The Cake may involve a baker and the choice not to bake a cake for the wedding of a gay couple, but it is not about the right or wrong of making that choice. This is a play about how listening, and more importantly, treating one another with respect is the way to finding a way to understand one another. A way not to react with hate at that with which we do not agree. That goes for all people.
This is a sweet play baked with warmth and humor about people being, for the most part, kind and understanding of one another without having to compromise their beliefs. This is not a dig in your heels political diatribe, but rather a thoughtful look at how we are all human, and of how we really can get along. The Cake is refreshing and delicious and is certainly worthy of being tasted.
