University of California Press Blog

Is He Dead? Broadway Opening (I Was There)

On Sunday, December 9 I had the great fortune of attending the opening of IS HE DEAD? at the generous invitation of Shelley Fisher Fishkin, who plucked the play out of the files of the Mark Twain Papers and steered it into our hands for publication and then into the hands of producer Bob Boyett for eventual production on Broadway.

I was part of an entourage that included many of those involved a the early stages with both the book publication and the play, including Shelley's agent, Sam Stoloff, the head of the Mark Twain Foundation, Rick Watson, and members of Shelley's family. We were sorry that Robert Hirst, General Director of The Mark Twain Papers wasn't there to join us. The Broadway strike, which pushed the opening date from November 29 to December 9 required last-minute rescheduling that didn't work for everyone who was coming from the West Coast.

Our afternoon began with brunch and tour at the Players Club in Gramercy Park. Paintings and photographs of famous members of the club decorate the walls floor to ceiling (including one room of paintings by John Singer Sargent). In the card rooms and billiard rooms, I could easily imagine Samuel Clemens enjoying gentlemen's games and a cigar with the club founder, the brilliant stage actor and brother of John Wilkes Booth, Edwin Booth.

Then it was on to the theater, where Shelley introduced me to the publicity staff, which has been a terrific collaborator over the next few months, supplying us with posters, bookmarks, and tickets to give away at some of our conferences. I was very happy to see that they were selling a number of copies of our book in the lobby.

In fact, I couldn't wait to re-read several of the funniest scenes. We've posted a link to two of these on our website.. As many reviewers have noted, David Ives cut back most of Act I, as Mark Twain doesn't really catch his stride until Act II and III. However, from the moment the curtain opens on Act II, Mark Twain's scenes just burst onto the stage as pure fun.

I happened to be sitting next to the proud sister and mother of Bridget Regan, who made her Broadway debut in this play as Cecile Leroux. Her faux-french pronunciation of the word "fraud" in the second act was delicious farce.

Our evening ended at Tavern on the Green, where Shelley introduced me to many of the hard-working actors who brought the play to energetic life onto the stage. It's a physical production-evident in Norber Leo Butz's swishing skirts, in David Pittu's expressive eyebrows, and in the evil grace of Byron Jennings.  They were all rather nervous about the reviews; turns out, they had little to worry about. Here's hoping for a long run!

Gastronomica Wins Utne Press Award

Gastronomica has received a 2007 Independent Press Award from Utne Reader, in the category of "Social/Culture Coverage." The awards honor the very best in independent media from the pool of more than 1,300 sources Utne uses to cull its content. "In a word: sumptuous," says Utne.  Read their review here.

Gastronomica Editor Launches New Web Site

Darra Goldstein, editor of Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture, has launched a new web site: http://www.darragoldstein.com. The sharply-designed site features information about Darra, including a publication list and a selection of favorite recipes. Try the pink potato salad!

Is He Dead? by Mark Twain a Hit on Broadway

Is He Dead? by Mark Twain, adapted by David Ives, and directed by Michael Blakemore opened to critical acclaim from several major media outlets, including the New York Times, on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, in Manhattan on December 9th.  For news, reviews, tickets, other information about the play, visit the Is He Dead? website. 

Planet Earth on New York Times Bestseller List

Alastair Fothergill's Planet Earth ranked #33 on the New York Times Bestseller List this week. This splendid collection of facts and photographs is the result of the authors' 5-year odyssey to over 200 countries, including some of the most remote locations in the world.  The book's surge in sales coincides with the Discovery Channel's encore presentation of the Emmy award-winning Planet Earth miniseries. Oprah Winfrey also included the Planet Earth DVDs on her 2007 "Favorite Things" list, and has called it "my favorite gift to give".  Readers have described Planet Earth as  'breathtaking' and 'a treasure'.

Read the entire bestseller list here.

New York Times Book Review Praises Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World and Artichoke to Za'atar

Lilia Zaouali's Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World and Greg and Lucy Malouf's Artichoke to Za'atar were reviewed in the NYTBR's December 2 Holiday Cookbook Guide.
Reviewer Dwight Garner was captivated by Zaouali's culinary journey through time: "Fascinating selection of recipes taken from ancient cookbooks (which also includes 31 contemporary recipes "that evoke the flavors of the Middle Ages"). There are amazements on nearly every page."
Garner also commented on the creativity and variety of Malouf's recipes in Artichoke to Za'atar: "Greg Malouf is an Australian chef who has an easy mastery of Middle Eastern ingredients, from coriander to yogurt to mint. His recipe for Southern fried chicken with Eastern spices, to give just one example, brilliantly reanimates an old favorite."
Read the entire Holiday Cookbook Guide here.

When Does History Begin? by Daniel Lord Smail

Daniel Lord Smail, the author of the recent UC Press book, On Deep History and the Brain, recently wrote an original essay for Powells.com that introduces the subject of his book.  He begins:

Back when I was in grade school — I was born in 1961 — it was pretty clear that history began in 1492. We did cover the Native American peoples in our social studies classes, and since I grew up in Wisconsin this meant the Chippewa. But the Chippewa nation didn't exactly have a history. All they had was a collection of timeless customs, encapsulated in the frozen dioramas we went to see in the State Historical Society Museum in Madison. We never had to memorize any dates associated with the Chippewa. In this sense, Wisconsin came into the stream of history only when the first French traders arrived and set things on the move, in the same way that Christopher Columbus magically brought history to North America as a whole. A thick curtain shrouded all that lay before. There was something back there, but it wasn't connected to the time stream of what we called "history." It never would have occurred to any of us to ask what the Chippewa were doing in Wisconsin at the same time that the Romans were doing things in Rome.

He then poses the question:

So when does history begin?

To find out Smail's take, read the full article at the Powells.com website.