"Tru" at the Pittsburgh Public Theater

The fifth offering of the Pittsburgh Public Theater season is Jay Presson Allen's "Tru", a one man play about author and society gadabout Truman Capote.  Broadway actor Eddie Korbich plays Capote with great gusto, and his performance is fine.  As for the play, meh.

It takes place over two days right before Christmas in 1975, shortly after a magazine article presenting a couple of chapters of Capote's upcoming novel was published.  The novel, which never was published, named names and dished dirt about many of Capote's society friends and turned him into a pariah among the High Society in which he reveled.  The play was pretty much Capote telling us to feel sorry for him.  The first act was entertaining, and set us up, I thought, for some sort of climax that never really came in Act Two.

After what has been a dynamic and entertaining season, this play was bit of a letdown.  Korbich was great, but his material just never seemed to go anywhere.

Can't win 'em all, PPT.

Two stars for this one from The Grandstander.

Two Book Reviews for You

When we left Lucas Davenport in 2015 in the book "Gathering Prey", after having had enough of bureaucratic b.s., he had resigned from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation with a classic two sentence letter of resignation.  (In the second sentence, he told his boss to "go _____ himself", and who among us hasn't dreamed of doing that?)  Anyway, who knew where John Sandford was going to take his creation in this latest book.

Turns out, Elmer Henderson, the Governor of Minnesota, is still a fan of Lucas, and he calls upon the now retired detective to help him out with a problem that he, the Governor, thinks he may have discovered as he runs for President in the run up to the Iowa Caucuses.  Governor Henderson, who we met in a previous book, is a colorful character (think Roger Sterling from "Mad Men"), and what he is really hoping is that the front running character Michaela Bowden (think "Hillary Clinton") will choose him to be her Vice President, has encountered a couple of odd characters who may be out to kill his rival, Bowden.  So Henderson reaches out to Davenport, who is busy remodeling his fishing cabin in the Minnesota woods, to investigate the matter.

We then watch Lucas work with the security forces of Bowden's campaign and the Iowa police, as they investigate some fringe political action groups in Iowa to see if, indeed, there really is a serious threat against candidate Bowden.  We also see the actions of the plotters themselves.  This, by the way, is not to be considered a spoiler.  There is such a plot, and we learn about it and meet the plotters themselves in the very first chapter.  The fun and excitement of the story is watching Lucas and the cops investigate the plan, learn who the bad guys are, and their efforts to stop the assassination attempt.  In the course of his investigation, Lucas also uncovers the solution to a long ago crime that has haunted and frustrated Iowa law enforcement for close to three decades.

This is the twenty-sixth Lucas Davenport novel from Sandford.  It isn't easy to sustain a series over that many years and that many books, and not all of the Prey novels are home runs, but I have to say that with "Extreme Prey", both Sandford and Davenport are both at the very top of their games.  And to make us all want for more, Sandford has given us a hint as to what awaits the still retired Lucas in future stories.  Can't wait 'til next Spring for the next one.

Four stars all the way for "Extreme Prey".

********

I heard "American Pharoah" author Joe Drape interviewed on the radio about this book a few weeks ago, and it prompted me to immediately order it.

The book opens with a rather detailed description of the encounter in a Kentucky horse farm breeding shed between a stallion named Pioneer of the Nile and a mare named Littleprincessemma in March 2011.  The result of that encounter was the birth of a colt on February 2, 2012.  The people who surrounded that colt saw, almost from the very beginning, that this horse was something special, and they were right, for that horse, American Pharoah became in 2015, the twelfth thoroughbred race horse, and the first one in thirty-seven years to win the Triple Crown of racing.

This book is not only the story of the horse, but also the story of owner Ahmed Zayat, trainer Bob Baffert, jockey Victor Espinoza, and the story of the various and sundry characters that populate the world of thoroughbred racing.  It is a strange world where everyone in it is fabulously wealthy, but where nobody seems to  make any money, and where wealthy owners always seem to miss making payments to the trainers to whom they entrust their valuable pieces of horseflesh.

Ultimately, though, it is the story of an amazing horse, American Pharoah.  When I read this week that during this Kentucky Derby Week of 2016, Baffert was looking forward to visiting the stud farm were American Pharoah, whom he has not seen since last October, I could understand how emotional he was in the reunion.

I am not a follower of the Sport of Kings, save for the five weeks every Spring when the Triple Crown is contested, so I found this book to be a fascinating look at a pretty much unknown world to me.  It was not a well written as Laura Hillenbrand's "Seabiscuit" of a few years back, but still, a pretty good read.

Two and on-half stars for "American Pharoah".

Pirates Thoughts

Well, there sure isn't a whole hell of a lot that can be said of the beat down that the Cubs laid on the Pirates over these last three days.  It was Ugly with a capital U.  To be sure, the Cubs are a good team, very good, although let's not make them the '27 Yankees just yet, please, no matter how brilliant Joe Maddon (just ask him and the media who fawns over him) may be.  Let them play 162 games first, AND get through the post-season before we  canonize them.

So, rather than slice-and-dice that horrendous three game series, let's talk about what may be the biggest concern for the '16 Bucs, the starting pitching, by looking a little spread sheet I put together this morning:

	GS	IP	W-L	ERA	K	BB	WHIP	BA Against
Jon Niese	6	33.1	3-1	5.94	25	14	1.68	0.309
Jeff Locke	5	26.2	1-2	4.73	21	17	1.84	0.341
Juan Nicasio	6	31.1	3-3	3.16	32	15	1.34	0.231
Tyler Glasnow	5	26.0	2-1	2.08	30	9	1.12	n/a
Jameson Taillon	5	30.1	2-0	1.19	26	3	0.76	n/a

DISCLAIMER:  The numbers for Niese, Locke, and Nicasio are against Major League hitters, while Glasnow and Taillon are still facing Triple-A teams, and that thought must always be kept in mind. (Also, "n/a" means "Not Available".)

So what are we to make of this?  Here are my own opinions.

• Since Jon Niese came here in the trade that sent the Pittsburgh Kid packing, he's not going to be going away any time soon, so no use even considering that option.
• Despite the hand wringing over Juan Nicasio's lack of a "third pitch", he has clearly been the most effective of these three starters.  Whether that continues or not is a big question.
• While Locke has been surprisingly effective in his last two starts - and what does that say about his first three starts? - there isn't much good that can be said about him.  I mean, just look at those numbers!  They stink, and except for a good half of a season that got him on the All-Star Team a couple of years ago, they are representative of his career.  He is not going to wake up tomorrow and turn into Babe Adams or Bob Friend.  He is what he is, and that ain't good
• We all know that Jameson Taillon has missed the last two years due to injuries, but really, what has he left to prove in Triple-A?  He is totally and completely dominating down there.  Two or three more starts in Indy, and if those numbers continue, it's time to get him to Pittsburgh.  He's 24 years old, and it's time.

• What I just said about Taillon, is probably applicable to Glasnow, too.  Although he is two years younger than Taillon, so a case could probably be made to keep in in Indy longer, but as the Pirates starters keep getting bombed, it will be harder and harder to make that case as the season progresses.

The Pirates now stand at 8-7 within the Central Division, and the next nine games are all on the road with Central teams, three each with the Cardinals, Reds, and Cubs.  A 6-3 record over those games would sure be nice.

Welcome, Artie Burns

You will get no in depth analysis of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2016 draft picks from me other than this.

• I like it that their first round selection has a name that sounds like the name of a character in a Neil Simon play....Artie Burns.
• I thought it was interesting that they took defensive backs with their first two choices.
• I thought it interesting that they selected only one offensive "skill position" player, a wide receiver in the seventh round.

As for how they, the Steelers, "did in the draft", let's wait until at least next January, after we've seen these guys actually play, or attempt to play, football in the NFL.  Then we'll know how well the talent evaluators did.

As for Burns, the Steelers no doubt needed a corner back, or, as we like to say, a "shut down corner", so let us all hope that he has the goods to start and play well for Rooney U.  Personally, I am rooting for the kid for more than football reasons.  Burns' back story regarding the death of his mother, his incarcerated father who has played no role in his life, and his taking responsibility for raising his two younger brothers, as well as child of his own, is one where you really hope that he can make it and become successful.

Plus, after seeing some of the outlandish outfits worn by those players about to be drafted on Thursday night, I love it that Burns showed up in Pittsburgh on Friday wearing a blue business suit, white shirt, and rep tie.   Now that's making a statement!

Here we go, Steelers, here we go!

To Absent Friends - Fr. Daniel Berrigan

Fr. Daniel Berrigan

1921-2016

One by one, the seminal figures of the 1960's are leaving us.  Yesterday, Jesuit priest and anti-war and peace activist Daniel Berrigan died at the age of 94.  As my friend Fred Egler put it on Facebook yesterday, "few figures personify the turbulent 60's as well as Father Daniel Berrigan."

He was a thorn in the side of both the American government and the establishment of the Catholic Church, who, along with his priest brother Phillip, actually served time in Federal prison for their actions.  He was such a prominent figure in the counter culture that he was, in fact, the "radical priest" mentioned in Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" (the things you learn in obituaries!).  His legacy is far greater than that reference, however.

RIP Fr. Dan Berrigan.  "Blessed are the peacemakers....."

A Couple of Movies.....

I hit the Redbox a couple of times this week and caught up on with two flicks that I missed when they were in the theaters last year....

The first was "Trumbo", directed by Jay Roach and staring Bryan Cranston as screenwriter Dalton Trumbo.  Trumbo, if you don't know the story, was one of the more prominent Hollywood luminaries who was targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950's and was blacklisted by mainstream Hollywood studios in one of the more shameful periods of American history in the 20th century.  Cranston received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this movie and he was terrific in it.  Also starring and performing well were Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg, Elle Fanning, and John Goodman.

The story of Dalton Trumbo (and others victimized by the blacklisting) is one worth seeing and learning about, because, I fear, there is an element about in the country today that would like to bring back those days.  We need to learn from our history. 

Plus, it's a good movie to boot.

Three and a half stars from The Grandstander.

The other movie was "Irrational Man", written and directed by Woody Allen.  Regular readers know that I am a huge fan of Woody Allen, but I can't say that this was one of Woody's best efforts.  Part of this may be traced to the fact that I'm just not a big fan of Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the "Woody-surrogate" role in this one.  The first half of the movie is pretty talk-y and slow moving until it gets to the plot point that is the key to the movie.  At that point it picks up a bit, but I think that it would have been a better movie with someone other than Phoenix.  

The movie takes place on a fictional college campus in a coastal town in Rhode Island, and it is beautiful to look at, as have been many of Allen's recent movies.  Female star Emma Stone is just as cute and charming as can be, and Parker Posey does a great turn as an older amorous pursuer of college professor Phoenix.  So the movie has that going for it, but it suffers in comparison with the Woodman's greater body of work.

Two stars from The Grandstander.

"Miller's Valley" by Anna Quindlen

"Miller's Valley"  is not my usual fare when it comes to reading.  Marilyn read it and loved it, and a positive review in the Post-Gazette a few weeks back, plus the fact that I have always been a fan of Ann Quindlen's essays and non-fiction, prompted me to give it a shot, and I am glad that I did.  

The story is narrated by Mary Margaret  "Mimi" Miller, as she tells the story of her growing up in the central Pennsylvania town of Miller's Valley, a farming community in a low lying area that is prone to flooding when the rains become especially heavy.  It is the state's plan to buy all of the property in the valley, or seize it via eminent domain, flood the area and create a reservoir, that will control floods, create a new community that would be centered around the recreational opportunities that will be created by the reservoir.

The story begins in the mid-1960's and follows the story of how Mimi and her family deal with the travails that life randomly throws at people as they journey through life.  Her brother goes to Viet Nam and comes back changed, her father encounters health issues that causes Mimi to change her college plans, she has an aunt that live on their property, but never leaves her house, her mother is the connective tissue that somehow holds the family together, Mimi falls in love, deals with snobby friends, and falls in love again.  Mimi starts as an awkward, unsure adolescent, and becomes, well, you need to read the book to see how she grows and develops into the person who ends up telling the story of Miller's Valley and its inhabitants.

Sounds like a pure "chick-lit" book that my wife thought I wouldn't like, but I did, mainly because Quindlen is such a terrific writer.  About halfway through, I started highlighting passages throughout the book because they just struck such a chord with me.  For example:

I looked around and it was like I was seeing everything frozen into a still photograph, like I was seeing my whole life but in one of those shots you look at later and think, Yeah, that's what it was like, once upon a time. Once upon a long tome ago.

Or this one...

When I got older I realized that the majority of people in Miller's Valley were the most discontented kind of Americans, working people whose situations hadn't risen or fallen over generations, but who still carried a little bit of those streets-paved-with-gold illusions and so were always annoyed that the streets were paved with tar, if they were paved at all.

I could go on, but you get the idea.  There is just nothing like damned good writing, and this is what Anna Quindlen delivers in this really, really good story.

Four stars from The Grandstander for "Miller's Valley".

Anna Quindlen