Dawn & Co.

I've been meaning to write about a couple of things that have been put on the back burner - until today. One is that I just finished Tim Page's biography of the writer Dawn Powell and loved it (unfortunately the book's already out of print). I especially related to the part where she's in her mid-30s and deeply in doubt about herself and her gifts. Ms. Powell lived in Greenwich Village most of her life and her novels are a reflection of gritty, jazzy mid-20th century New York in all its complexity. She also wrote (semi-autobiographically) about Ohio and the midwest with the same combination of keen observation and deep bitterness. A real cynic's cynic - it's no surprise that her work didn't find a real appreciative audience until the '90s. The Library of America has a terrific site about Dawn's life and work. Also check out this 1999 Salon.com article, where I first heard about her.

The other thing is that Christopher bought the Company: Original Cast Recording DVD recently. It's a documentary following the torturous, all night recording session for soundtrack to Stephen Sondheim's landmark Broadway musical, Company. Now, I don't know about you, but by and large I hate Broadway cast recordings. They're too shrill and brassy. Not so with Company. Sondheim's music and lyrics are a marvel of puzzle-like complexity. You could listen to it dozens of times and never get tired. The production is very organic; the singing and backup music mesh beautifully. It also helps that the arrangements are charmingly dated in that early '70s, "variety show a-go-go" kinda way. If you don't have the soundtrack CD, buy it. Anyway, about the DVD - it's excellent. One highlight is a commentary track with Elaine Stritch, Hal Prince, and D. A. Pennebaker reminiscing of events from 30-plus years ago - it's fascinating, and so is the film itself.
Posted by mhinrichs at February 20, 2004 11:23 AM