Stoppard Roundelay

The Baltimore Sun's critic thought the unconventional casting of the Centerstage's production of "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern..." gave the "old play new relevance." Broadwayworld.com begged to differ, saying that the production "has set the new standard for bad theatre." Ouch.

Stoppard weighs in on the debate about whether Dmitri Nabokov should, per his father's wishes, destroy the final manuscript by the author of "Pale Fire" and "Lolita." Stoppard comes down on the side of "Burn it!"

John Madden, director of "Shakespeare in Love," writes about working with Stoppard on that breakthrough film. Then Stoppard himself gets a chance to discuss the production. (And, holy crap, has it really been 10 years since its release?)

In an interview on the Guardian Unlimited, Stoppard discusses his support of the Belarus Free Theatre.

And everybody covets Stoppard's book-bag.

Striking a Balance

I haven't yet found the perfect balance between my old and new blogs. Two-Fisted Freelancing Tales gets more attention from me, largely because I'm really trying to learn how to build traffic on it. But I know that Cheaper Ironies has its regulars, including some who might be wondering about my latest reviews.

So, check out my recent Chronicle reviews of "Runemarks," a children's fantasy by Joanne Harris, and of Stephen King's "Duma Key," "Hunter's Run" by George R.R. Martin, Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham, and "The Dragons of Babel" by Michael Swanwick.

Also, if you're a fan of King, I recommend to you Bev Vincent's "Tales from the Dead Zone" and Lilja's Library.