Rhody Culture

Just spent five minutes how to render 'culture' in the fabulous local accent. Colchah? Culshah? I gave up. Anyway, the accent is a bit overplayed, don't you think? You have to venture well into the Warwick/Cranston miasma to really get it full on. But when you do, it is every bit as glorious as it is said to be. (If you want to hear the mating call of the Rhode Island teenager, fully accented, spend a Friday evening at Garden City.)

Anyway, to deflect the charge that this blog is too wrapped up in the bar scene, here are some tips for high-brow entertainment happening now.

Two plays are getting a lot of buzz: The Elephant Man at the Gamm and All the King's Men at Trinity Rep. Of the two, I'd choose the Elephant Man if I have to. I bet All the King's Men is quite good (I'm going to check it out in the next week or so), but am betting they're using the occassion to draw "bold" comparisons to the Bush administration. At this point, we all get it, his Presidency is a wreck. So the parallels are likely to annoy rather than gratify. Still, the script is so powerful, it can't really be that bad.

Meanwhile, PPAC continues its run of, well, interesting shows with Pilobolus. This is one of those things you'll either like or hate. I'd hate it, but I bring it to your attention. In early October, they'll have the East Village Opera Company, which might be more my speed. But until I find some clips online, I'm withholding judgement. The lesson, as always, is that the PPAC is not the first place you turn for the most bang for your entertainment dollar.

In a bit less than a month, my droogies, you'll have a chance to hear the wonderful Ludwig Van. The Rhode Island Philharmonic will be doing Beethoven's 5th, as well as some Prokofiev and Strauss. It's opening night for their season on October 13th. The Philharmonic here is great. The tickets are pricey, but well-worth it. And with the new bar in the Masonic Temple hotel now open, I can incorporate a bit of my baser pursuits into the evening, as well.