The Week in Entertainment

Live: The Wizard of Oz, which was a delightful experience. Of course, no Broadway (on touring) cast could match Haley, Bolger and Lahr, but they did a really good job, especially the Winkies after the Wicked Witch of the West died. I do have a few quibbles with it - first, they did not have "all the original" songs; the Lion's "If I Were King of the Forest" (one of my favorites) was inexplicably cut. Second, they also cut the important scene where Miss Gulch actually carries Toto off; Dorothy's running away from home is less well motivated here. The new songs were eminently forgettable, not a patch on the originals, even if the show does rather need a few more songs in the second act. I admit to laughing a lot at the stupid Scarecrow, but it did undercut the "you had brains all along!" message. I also am not fond of the mild homophobia injected into the book - why did the Tin Man have to pull away from the Lion? Nor do I quite understand the decision to put Auntie Em and Uncle Henry into Oz - and then provide Dorothy with the red shoes. On the other hand, they managed to provide a reassurance for all the kids who worried that Miss Gulch would just come back and take Toto again, even if it was a bit facile. But quibbles aside, the show was delightful.

DVD: Wilby Wonderful, a lovely Canadian film about second chances, with a remarkable cast. The Agatha Christie Hour, an anthology of various shorts. Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, season two, some of the episodes. It stays stylish and fun, though deviating from the books in significant character ways (not as much as the lovely Dalziel & Pascoe tv series did though - having Peter divorce Ellie!).

TV: The Mentalist - hey, Lisbon! There ARE sailboats in DC. There might even be pelicans in the summer. And surely somebody rolls the stairs away from the plane after the door is locked. I guess I have the summer to think about whether this development will hurt the show. I suppose it's a big step for Jane, though.

Read:The Possibilities, by Kaui Hart Hemmings - extremely enjoyable. For Want of a Nail by Mary Robinette Kowal, engrossing. Parker Pyne Investigates - a reread because the Agatha Christie Hour included a couple of them. And began The Hidden Child by Camilla Läckberg, which is quite good so far.