Saturday, November 24, 2007

Bye Bye, Bialystock!

The Las Vegas production of The Producers will close February 9 of '08, which is one year after it opened and probably way sooner than its backers expected. It would be nice if the lesson learned from this was that if you're going to do a hit Broadway show, do the show that was a hit on Broadway, not a 90-minute cutdown version. But that's not what the folks who mount Vegas shows will think. They'll say it proves there's no market for theater in their city.

• Posted at 8:30 PM · LINK

Mid-Ohio Con Report

A good time is being had by, it would seem, all at the Mid-Ohio Con here in chilly (but not unpleasant) Columbus, Ohio. Roger Price, who operates this annual post-Thanksgiving feast, really knows how to put on a friendly convention. There's plenty to do and plenty to buy but it never feels cramped or hectic. I'm especially impressed with the vast number of small-press and self-publishers displaying their wares. There are some very fine comics on display from such folks.

I've decided to start paring down my convention reports here since all they ever seem to say is that I'm enjoying myself and my panels went well, and then I list folks with whom I chatted. This is a waste of my time and yours, so just assume all is well and then guess who I saw.

I will say it's nice to be able to put faces to a lot of e-mail addresses. Years ago before the Internet, I would often meet at cons, people I only knew from correspondence and/or mimeographed fanzines. Once I did, I would no longer think of them as an elite typeface or a bizarre array of indents and margins. Now when I meet in person someone I met over the Internet, they stop looking like their AOL address or their weblog.

Three panels tomorrow and on one, I get to interview the Once and Future Lois Lane...the actress who played her on the 50's Superman series, Noel Neill. Should be fun.

• Posted at 8:00 PM · LINK

Recommended Reading

Michael Kinsley on what it takes to be president. I think I agree with the line about how the unpopularity of George W. Bush is hurting Hillary Clinton in a way. As Kinsley notes, a lot of people are saying, "Enough with relatives, already."

• Posted at 7:40 PM · LINK