Word: tragically
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...their Little Shop out of an inestimable number of dramatic, social, cinematic and musical commonplaces. Superficially, it followed the plot of the Corman picture, but it also obeyed dramatic rules enforced through the millenia: the Ashman/Menken Little Shop was a carefully structured Greek tragedy, replete with chorus, hero, dilemma, tragic flaw, catastrophic misstep and ultimate retribution. Snappy Chiffons-type songs and bouffant hairdos notwithstanding, the resolution of Little Shop was closer to that of Agamemnon than Animal House...
...HAVE REAGAN attempt to reprise Nixon's role, therefore, is like asking Morgan Fairchild to undertake Lady Macbeth. The goal of any serious dramatic production--and for the first time, Reagan's audience is forced to be serious--is to achieve some kind of emotional catharsis. In witnessing the tragic fall of the protagonist, the audience can hope to achieve not only an understanding of the ephemeral nature of man's fortune, but also a sense of well-being based on the fact that, whatever their problems, they are not suffering like the poor schmuck on the screen...
Watching Reagan's tragic descent, however, inspires only one thought in the audience: that fool has done it again. It is a feeling of pathos, not of real tragedy. Consequently, this new production fails to evoke a true feeling of suspense; the audience knows full well how the plot will end. All that remains to be seen is how the action will resolve itself in getting to an all-too-predictable destination...
...Well, if a bunch of undergraduates decide to put on a show and fail to achieve a Hamlet or King Lear of truly tragic proportions, probably not. At least they tried. If the same people decide to produce a script as superficial and mediocre as, say, Fifth of July and charge admission, such a criticism is just...
...tragic story might be called "The Great Boesky." No amount of money seemed to convince him that he had finally arrived, even when his fortune reached $200 million or more. "He wanted so much to be accepted," says a friend, "and he thought money was the only way." Observes another: "He never realized that really making it means being at peace with yourself." Boesky has now suffered what he probably feared more than anything else: being portrayed as a fraudulent genius. "I always thought he was a rat," declares one investment banker. The disgrace kept welling up for Boesky last...