Civilization Springs to Life
Cultural pessimists can wring their hands all they like about how America has gone to the dogs and that all anyone cares about are airhead celebrities. Meanwhile, the hottest ticket in New York at the moment is not to one of the (airhead-filled) runway shows at Fashion Week or to the finals at the U.S. Open (Federer, Henin: yawn) but to a Shakespeare play: “King Lear,” starring Ian McKellen (pictured here). Tickets to this three-and-a-half hour production are being scalped for up to $400 apiece on Craigslist, and the last-minute business in front of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where the play is being performed through September 30, is insane. I’ll have more to report after I see this Royal Shakespeare Company staging next week.
