tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post8085917033930088928..comments2024-02-22T01:36:48.427-08:00Comments on On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman: Arthur and Daniel MillerFreemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01183078884824734105noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-88653949135558127572007-09-04T11:55:00.000-07:002007-09-04T11:55:00.000-07:00I concur completely, Matt. And I'm glad somebody'...I concur completely, Matt. And I'm glad somebody's said it, so I don't have to. I was sent the Vanity Fair piece a while ago, before the Times article, and struggled with whether to even link to it. On the one hand it was clearly news out there in the major media about a major theatre person. And it's certainly of necessary interest to anyone who's a big Miller scholar, devotee, or just fan... But it's very difficult to handle this kind of story in a context that doesn't seem violating.--AND irrelevant to the work, regardless of the VF' writer's pretentious lame attempt to connect it. (You're right on, Matt, about the painful reach of that "Miller's greatest unwritten play" line.)<BR/><BR/>Now I'm realistic enough to know that such news about celebrities can probably never be kept quiet forever. And also, as a scholar, I can't deny I'm grateful for the embarassing autobiographical tidbits that emerge about writers in the past long after they're gone.<BR/><BR/>So my final feeling about all this is it would be invaluable biographical info for researchers at least 30-40 years hence. But right now, so soon after his death, it really doesn't transcend gossip, albeit true gossip.<BR/><BR/>Does it complicate Miller's stance as a moralist? Sure. But anyone who still valued Miller only on simple idealistic grounds is way out of date anyway. He himself already made much hay of his personal infidelities in his writing (where his leaving his first wife for Marilyn Monroe became his "original sin.")<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I'm hardly against someone writing and publishing such stuff. And I'm not above being interested. But something about the hyped up tone of the Vanity Fair piece--which had to convince us his would totally reevaluate his status as a dramatist--was more than a bit icky.<BR/><BR/>Especially given the clear reluctance of family members--like Rebecca Miller--to comment.Playgoerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02994724588504353485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-46742023871445975062007-08-30T13:49:00.000-07:002007-08-30T13:49:00.000-07:00Hear hear!Hear hear!Scott Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06465161646609405658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-43435679011800772782007-08-30T13:38:00.000-07:002007-08-30T13:38:00.000-07:00Thanks for posting about this Matt. I read the ar...Thanks for posting about this Matt. I read the article and found it very disturbing on many levels.Arthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04845394320537913576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-43743362565690809622007-08-30T12:51:00.000-07:002007-08-30T12:51:00.000-07:00I agree. For the same reasons, I have always foun...I agree. For the same reasons, I have always found it distasteful that any letter written by a literary great- no matter how personal or private the matter- is somehow automatically deemed open for study or publication after their death as part of their legacy. While I can understand that there are those that want to scrutinize every detail of this now dead, famous brain and therefore would like to read their every written word, I do think that writers and others, no matter how famous or influential, should be allowed the same boundary between their work life and personal life as anyone else. They should be allowed to have some control over what of theirs was meant for public consumption and what was not. <BR/><BR/>Or, to put it another way, I may love an actor's every performance amd would be first in line to see them interpret any role, but that doesn't mean I should get to peek through their living room window and watch them play with their kids.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com