Martin Pease

I once asked a young friend of mine if she enjoyed musicals. "I saw Wicked and I really liked it," she exclaimed. This took me aback, for a moment. To me, musicals are the classic American works like Guys and Dolls , Oklahoma! , and Singin' In The Rain . But of course, to most people today, musicals are those mega-productions like Wicked or Hamilton . If anyone is to take credit- or blame- for the modern musical, it must be Andrew Lloyd Webber. Composer and creator of hit shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar , Cats and Phantom of the Opera , Lloyd Webber is inarguably the most successful musical creator of all time. Unmasked: A Memoir is Andrew Lloyd Webber's account of his childhood and the beginnings of his career, up until the mid-1980s and the release of Phantom of the Opera . This book was a surprising gift from my wife, who knows I am no fan of Lloyd Webber's musicals. Reading reviews of the book, however, she thought I might find the behind-the-scenes s...

I've been on a Classics kick lately. After working through the magnificent Landmark Julius Caesar , I read Emily Wilson's newest translation of the Odyssey (also highly recommended). My wonderful wife, always attentive to my bibliotic needs (not a real word, until now ) purchased me a copy of Sarah Ruden's translation of Apuleius' The Golden Ass . Since the latter is by far the dirtiest major work from this time period I've read, this is the one I will review! Every day (I say this for effect only), someone says to me, "Those old books are too daunting to me. I don't think I'd understand them. I know nothing about ancient Greece or Rome." To these people I always (again for effect) say, "You don't know what you're missing, but probably you don't care." Because we (not you and I, dear reader, but other people) are so glutted with young adult fiction and newspapers written for a 3rd grade reading level, that seriously enga...