" Lennon " , Lennon and Yoko
Jeez, the reviewers have been merciless to " Lennon ", the new Broadway play.
The play itself is supposed to be pretty lame. If you have any interest, better see it soon.
But why in the world is there a play about John Lennon in the first place? He was a genius in the context of the Beatles, where his hard / ironic / political edge, played beatifully against the sunny, softer McCartney and the spiritual Harrison.
While the Beatles made a vast list of great songs, Lennon had about an album's worth of good, workmanlike songs. A lot of the rest of Lennon's work was political screeds that are now embarrassing to hear ( " Woman is the Nigger of the World ", songs about Angela Davis ) or just plain junk ( " Dear Yoko ", " Oh, Yoko " )
As was the case with McCartney, Lennon's best work was done within the Beatles, a band impossibly better than the sum of its parts.
Lennon was a man of his times. He died a tragic death. But the subject of an entire play? Other than the fact that he used to be a Beatle, what is so interesting about him?
Lennon was a vibrant and exciting man before he fell under the spell of Yoko Ono, a decent woman but a catostrophically bad musician. She's thought by many to be the catalyst for the breakup of the Beatles.
Aside from the fact that the play is badly done, and that Lennon is not much of a solo subject, the fact that the dead hand of Yoko Ono is behind this play does not exactly bode well for its play's future.
The play itself is supposed to be pretty lame. If you have any interest, better see it soon.
But why in the world is there a play about John Lennon in the first place? He was a genius in the context of the Beatles, where his hard / ironic / political edge, played beatifully against the sunny, softer McCartney and the spiritual Harrison.
While the Beatles made a vast list of great songs, Lennon had about an album's worth of good, workmanlike songs. A lot of the rest of Lennon's work was political screeds that are now embarrassing to hear ( " Woman is the Nigger of the World ", songs about Angela Davis ) or just plain junk ( " Dear Yoko ", " Oh, Yoko " )
As was the case with McCartney, Lennon's best work was done within the Beatles, a band impossibly better than the sum of its parts.
Lennon was a man of his times. He died a tragic death. But the subject of an entire play? Other than the fact that he used to be a Beatle, what is so interesting about him?
Lennon was a vibrant and exciting man before he fell under the spell of Yoko Ono, a decent woman but a catostrophically bad musician. She's thought by many to be the catalyst for the breakup of the Beatles.
Aside from the fact that the play is badly done, and that Lennon is not much of a solo subject, the fact that the dead hand of Yoko Ono is behind this play does not exactly bode well for its play's future.
