First things first!

A quick note to all whom it may concern:

If you saw my facebook post last month, you'll know that I hated the Jane Austen series on Masterpiece Theater this season. It's campy, corny, the opposite of taste when it comes to good literature and a genre that belongs only to those that can truly appreciate a long-gone innocence that is preserved with such detail in the Austen novels. It takes something sacred and vandalizes it for the sake of an idiotic mass - that is, the general American viewer(s). That is my opinion.

Anyway! They scored a hit with tonight Sense and Sensibility. Why? I will sheepishly admit the obvious: if you saw 1995's S&S with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, this is pretty much a variant on that film. The same Devonshire coast setting, same Barton Cottage, almost the exact same blocking from scene to scene. More of the novel is introduced than is apparent in the film (for instance, Mrs. Middleton appears here, we see the excursion to Allenham with Willoughby -which provides a little more for the imagination - and Col. Brandon is far less taciturn, dare I say, less saturnine than Alan Rickman's broody Brandon. This one actor looks like Liam Neeson on a good day.).

Most importantly, this is the first new Austen adaptation that is actually split into two whole parts! Persuasion and Mansfield Park were both crammed quickly into a neat 2 hour time span. You can't do that. Not with Masterpiece Theater productions, you can't. They never turn out the same. It's not Hollywood. It's not a summer blockbuster. Treat it like good literature, as MP always does, and that's what you'll get.

The one word I have for this? Respectful. Without respect, not a lot gets done. This applies to life in general, as well as TV adaptations of great literature. ;-)

I will say, however, that while I worship screenwriter Andrew Davies (no, really...I worship the man. If it wasn't for him, I might be a Francophile - ask me and I'll explain), he's going off the deep end, borrowing from other film productions. That's all he's doing. He's sticking with the familiar that all Austenites know because I believe that he's afraid we'll be disappointed otherwise. That's babbling madness, but I'll forgive him.

The crowning moment: Elinor opens up the small book of botanical drawings Edward has given her and we see that he's inscribed: "Your Affectionate Friend, E. Ferrars." That did it for me. The longing on her face is unmistakable.

In other news, I went to the opera today - Don Giovanni. The first opera I've seen in a long while that I actually enjoyed from Opera Carolina. More on this next post, which shall be soon.

A few things to touch upon, Charlotte-style

• I know most people reading my blog (I said most), who are my age anyhow, listen to KISS 95.1 or 96.1, The Beat more than they do WDAV 89.9. Yes, I listen to those too now and again. But I mostly listen to the only classical radio station listed for miles around. It's based at Davidson College and they're having their beg-a-thon (whoops! That's Annual Spring Fund Drive to you) right now. Apparently, as I heard this morning, they're going to do some collaboration this coming fall with Opera Carolina. They said they couldn't give too many details, but I have a feeling it's going to be a radio broadcast of a live opera. Should be interesting.

I have two things to complain about:

1. Everyone who pays attention to uptown Charlotte development knows that we are awaiting the imminent arrival of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. This will no doubt be crammed neatly into the 1 inch space that is left over betwixt Founders Hall and the conveniently-accessible-to-urban-dwellers-but-traffic-jamming Bobcats Arena. Have any one of you gone anywhere near College or Brevard streets on game/theater nights? It doesn't work. Parking is a joke. 6pm : BofA drones driving their "hard earned" BMW's and Lexus' out of the parking decks at the end of the day, while the arts crowd and the basketball crowd merge in together at the same time, trying to snag a spot before the show/game. There has been speculation that this issue has caused diminishing attendance for uptown events and I wouldn't blame them. Me? Sorry, not even traffic annoyances can keep me from uptown. I live for those nights.
2. Will someone please pump more money into the Mint Museum of Art so their exhibitions can be more exciting? I have no desire to look at non-descript color concoctions for 6 months straight. And I'm not putting blame on the MMofA themselves, certainly not. It's called funding, kids! Fine arts and culture is not a concept reserved only for +50 senior citizens with wealth to spare. You, too, can enjoy nice things! But you have to show interest and there seems to have been little interest in the past 2 years. I use to work at the Mint and I've been a member for some time, now. I remember exhibitions of European art, exquisite furniture and rare Asian artifacts. I remember promotional "Family Days" for a collection of 19th century British paintings, complete with a catered English High Tea and chamber music. I remember the Russian exhibit of 2000 that was so elaborate and careful in its presentation that you needed a ticket just to get into the main gallery to see Catherine The Great's hand gloves (and once you got in, you couldn't leave again). I remember swarms of people coming to see Renaissance-era masterpieces that belonged in the Lourve or 1940's era photographs by Margaret Bourke-White or Ansel Adams. /sigh...I wish those days were back again, but I also know that slumps come and go. So go to the museum (or the equally impressive Craft and Design uptown) and show your patronage! :)