Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 09:12:04 -0800
To: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Subject: Re: [Puptcrit] Jay Johnson- The 2 & Only


	x-avg-checked=avg-ok-26E1469B

Oh that's so irritating.  Thanks Alan for a great
review of McNutty's bad review.  This is really
the first one I've read that has been
negative...way out of whack. It's as if he set
out to kill the enthusiasm of a great show.   I
sent your post on to Jay who I'm sure will appreciate it.

I second Bob's motion that this belongs in a
letter to the editor.   I'll be seeing the show
on Feb 4th, hopefully many from the LA area will attend.

Ax


At 02:04 AM 1/26/2006, you wrote:

>I have known Jay for many years, and was a big
>fan of his work on the 1970s TV success, SOAP,
>but I have never had the chance to see him work
>live until Wednesday night in West Los Angeles.
>
>The Los Angeles Times review of the show
>appeared Wednesday morning. The damn review
>starts with an unoriginal variation on the old
>joke about the puppeteer's hand up (implied) the
>puppet's butt. Methinks Charles McNulty protests
>too much. I can't help wondering what physical
>problem is bothering him. And he needs fresh
>material to engage the discerning reader. I
>might add that it took a puppeteer to tell that
>joke with greater skill. I think anyone who ever
>saw Wayland Flowers would agree.
>
>McNulty calls the show "unremarkable" though
>"genial", as if a genial show today is somehow not remarkable. I disagree.
>
>The show is kind of a biography of a
>ventriloqist, and yes, the ventriloquist beares
>the curse, God forbid, of being naturally genial as well as gifted.
>
>McNulty, the wannabe shrink conjects the
>"loneliness that must have been the driving
>force" which directed Jay into vent puppetry. Oh
>puhleeeese! No wonder Sigmund Freud has fallen into disfavor.
>
>As a kid I provided other voices at home, when
>playmates weren't available. My mom often
>thought we had guests. Well, chalk it up to an
>artistic gift called IMAGINATION which can be
>shared with AUDIENCES, which is exactly what Jay
>is doing at the Brentwood Theatre.
>
>Which is one reason I recommend that puppeteers
>in Los Angeles and New York GO and SEE!
>
>Our commercial culture is so sated with
>Hollywood & celebrity gossip, that we seem
>unaware of the mess much of the world is in. And
>few of us are nudging our senators and
>representatives to change course. A bit of
>talented geniality offers a welcome respite.
>
>But McNulty wants the lowdown on what went wrong
>when SOAP ended. He just may have missed the
>point---the show is about why Jay IS a
>ventriloquist, NOT about backstage bitch-fests.
>
>All is not lost in the L.A. Times review: he
>somehow manages to mention the importance of
>vaudeville ventriloquist Arthur Sieving, Jay's
>mentor and carver of Jay's first professional
>figure and the connection which existed between
>generations--the 17 year-old Jay and an old guy
>in his 70's who shared a great love of
>ventriloquism. Well, that is what brought tears
>to my eyes. I can't guess how many of the
>non-puppet world will "get" the import of this
>but having asked many puppeteers who were their
>mentors and their inspiration, I know there will
>be tears similar to mine  among the puppeteers
>who see "The Two and Only", and judging from the
>audience around me, that resonse will not be limited to puppeteers and vents.
>
>What is disturbing about many theatre reviews is
>that the reviewer missed the point of the
>evening. So something in the review was missing,
>resulting in disappointment in this newspaper reader.
>
>ALAN COOK
>
>_______________________________________________
>List address: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
>Admin interface:
>http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/puptcrit-driftline.org
>Archives: http://www.driftline.org

Steve Axtell
Axtell Expressions, Inc.
****************************************
<http://www.axtell.com>Amazing Puppet Characters Web Site
New show "<http://www.axtelevision.com>AxTelevision" on DVD
International <http://www.axtell.com/performers.html>Performer's Directory
The original content of this email or attachments is =A9 Axtell Expressions, Inc.


_______________________________________________
List address: puptcrit-AT-lists.driftline.org
Admin interface: http://lists.driftline.org/listinfo.cgi/puptcrit-driftline.org
Archives: http://www.driftline.org