From Pine View Farm

Political Theatre category archive

A Tune for the Times 0

From the Youtube page:

“Agony” is one of the many extraordinary and hilarious songs from Stephen Sondheim’s magnificent “Into the Woods” (1986) which has long been a family favourite. The original involves two fairytale princes reflecting on their painful pursuit of maidens within the intertwined plots of Brothers Grimm tales. Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen did a great job in the 2014 movie but we think the most perfect take was sung by Robert Westenburg and Chuck Wagner in the original Broadway production.

It would naturally have been better to cast Alfie as the Second Prince … but needs must with topical parodies, and he was off playing cricket for Faversham today. So this is Ben and Tom (with help and some giggling behind the scenes from Danielle and Tess) using the song to reflect on the unamicable breakup – playing out on all our social media feeds around the world – between the two powerful but petulant men at the centre of the American government, Elon Musk and Donald Trump. It’s hard not to get the popcorn out and wait for the next move in their toddler antics, especially if you are not a fan of the administration and its manic instability. It was tempting to try to shoehorn more references in (to bills, lawns, karma, tariffs, and pork), but we mostly gravitated to Sondheim’s original framework because it’s so strong. Plus, there’s a reprise of “Agony” in Act II so this may end up as a Suella Braverman-style refrain.

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The Ruler of Lawless 0

David analyzes the aspiring authoritarian’s actions. I cannot take issue with his analysis. (Warning: Short promo at the end.)

At AK,com, Roy S. Johnson has more.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

Steve M. hears a rhyme echoing all the way from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

_______________

*Mark Twain.

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The Birthday Wish 0

Trump watching tanks go by during his birthday parade says,

Click for the original image.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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The Status Report 0

Frame One:  Picture of Donald Trump surrounded by flames captioned,

Click to view the original image.

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“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes”* 0

Now, I’m starting to hear a rhyme, and it sounds something sort of like, I can’t quite make it out, it’s a little distorted, maybe “Tempt Fate“?

___________________

*Mark Twain.

Read more »

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All the News that Fits 0

John Amato reports on a Trumpled truth-teller.

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A Tune for the Times 0

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Devolution 0

Frame One:  Man and woman look at early car.  Man says,

Click to view the original image.

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This New Gilded Age 0

Thom wonders, “How did the land of Lincoln and Roosevelt, of Eisenhower and Kennedy, become a playground for billionaire sociopaths?”

Listen for his answer.

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Vaccine Nation 0

At the Sacramento Bee, Richard Pan looks at RFK Jr.’s record at HHS and concludes that it–er–does not inspire confidence.

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If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0

At the Tampa Bay Times, Daniel Ruth finds a slight whiff of a double standard in the current who-shot-john stirred up by Jake Tapper’s recent book alleging that Joe Biden is getting old. A snippet:

Did Biden not remember the name of actor George Clooney? Yes. Not good. Trump can’t remember the emoluments clause.

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That Was the Week that Was Very Very Weird 0

Seth takes a closer look at some of the events of the past week.

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The Rule of Lawless 0

At the Idaho State Journal, Kim Shinkoskey states that Donald Trump is

offending specific provisions in the Constitution

and goes on to offer a bill of particulars.

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The Breakup 0

More in the monologue from last night’s show.

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The Disinformation Superhighway 0

At Psychology Today Blogs, Rebecca Dolgin outlines several ways in which “social” media isn’t. Here’s one; follow the link for the others.

Social media gives the illusion of a public square, but it actually doesn’t accurately reflect offline reality because a small percentage of users generate the majority of posts, and those voices are often the loudest, most polarized, or most extreme.

Given how many persons think that “social” media is a reliable source for news, I find this a timely and disquieting read.

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“The Trump Doctrine” 0

Jackie Calmes sums up Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy in four words:

A Trump Doctrine is easily discernible in the president’s foreign policy record: It’s “Me, Myself and I.”

Follow the link the evidence.

(Broken link fixed.)

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Republican Family Values 0

GOP Elephant floating in swimming pool holding a drink says,

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A Tune for the Times 0

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