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Opinion Letters and Comments for March 14, 2009
Letters and Comments for March 14, 2009
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Letters and Comments for March 14, 2009
Play teaches, entertains To the Editor: Hoping to contribute constructively to this community’s discussion of whether a certain play should be performed at La Grande High School, I offer my thoughts as a former English teacher at elementary, secondary and university levels and an avid lifelong reader of all kinds of fiction and nonfiction. I have read several other of Steve Martin’s writings but not “Picasso at the Lapin Agile.” The title tipped me off about what to expect: lapin is French for rabbit; agile in French and English means nimble, frisky or quick. What might the artist Picasso say on a visit with a frisky rabbit? This is going to be a funny play, I thought, though probably with serious elements — maybe intended to make audiences think in ways they may not have done previously. My reading took less than an hour; my expectation was confirmed. This is indeed a play about ideas that relate to Einstein’s work in theoretical physics and to Picasso’s decidedly innovative art. And, sure enough, Martin, the former stand-up comedian, sprinkles in several of the naughty words that everyone knows but may hesitate to use in polite company. But they can hardly be considered offensive if interpreted within the free-form structure of this one-act play and the character types who inhabit it. The play is “sophisticated” and “adult” in the sense that it stretches the imagination, invites readers/viewers to entertain new ideas and question familiar ones, perhaps even awaken their curiosity about seeing deeper meanings in everyday life. These are exactly the kinds of insights that literature can suggest. Good teachers always look for literary works that can both entertain and instruct their young students. I suggest that Mr. Cahill was paying high compliments to students, high school faculty and the community at large when he chose to direct this play. Eugene Smith La Grande
To the Editor: La Grande has been treated to a lot of theater lately, mostly the absurd variety. Every person, business or organization draws the line somewhere at what they support or tolerate. Even The Observer does. If you think this is not so, try submitting a letter to the editor critical of a local business. Or spice up your response to a teacher’s question with a few f-bombs. Or talk about Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, in the hallways. Our community would benefit from a little more study of and reflection on the First Amendment and the limits to free speech. No doubt the play will be performed, but it will be a Pyrrhic victory. LHS students have thumbed their noses at many community members who support them through taxes, voluntary donations, attendance at activities and myriad other ways. They cause us to wonder what they are being taught in class about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Depleting your capital of goodwill for Steve Martin? I think even he might chuckle at that. Stephen Boe La Grande |
