The 25th annual sweat seasons

Sweat at Cap Rep and more

My wife and I saw a play, a musical, and a concert in eight days.

March 9: The drama Sweat at Capital Rep in Albany. ” This stunning Pulitzer Prize-winning play exposes the devastating impact of the loss of work in America’s Rust Belt circa 2000. Based on interviews with residents of Reading, Pennsylvania, Lynn Nottage brings her breathtaking storytelling to characters and situations that have become far too recognizable in the heart of de-industrialized America. “

From Nottage’s page: “Her play moved to Broadway [in 2017] after a sold-out run at The Public Theater… Inspired by her research on Sweat, Nottage developed This is Reading, a performance installation based on two years of interviews at the Franklin Street, Reading Railroad Station in Reading, PA, in July 2017.”

The Times Union’s Steve Barnes loved it.  “The nine-member cast, under the accomplished direction of Margaret E. Hall, connects so intimately with their characters and the audience that we’re ground down alongside them, albeit with the remove of fiction, as financial turmoil ruins life, family bonds, and decades-long friendships in Rust Belt America while the Bush-Gore 2000 election unfolds.”

Sweat is about labor and the threat of exported jobs, ethnic bias, and the good old days. It’s playing through March 31 and is well worth your while.

Can you spell…

March 10: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee was performed at Albany High School. The musical has been around for almost two decades, yet I had never seen it in any iteration.

As the Wikipedia page notes, “An unusual aspect of the show is that four real audience members are invited on stage to compete in the spelling bee alongside the six young characters.” 

It was hilarious but also touching, especially as the number of spellers was winnowed down and the kids acknowledged the stress of the bee. There were only three performances, and we caught the final performance.

The Albany school district page noted that “some of the show’s content may not be suitable for young children.” Probably true.

We had to go because one of our church attendees was a speller, and also Jesus. Albany High often has high-quality productions, and this continued the trend.

Here’s the Broadway cast album of the musical

Bermel

March 16: That day, my wife and I picked up our daughter from college for spring break, then promptly abandoned her so that we could attend the Albany Symphony Orchestra under the direction of conductor David Alan Miller. It took place at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall.

We got the tickets from a woman at church and her husband who had another engagement. The first surprise: they have box seats! They’re kind of neat. Among other things, I can see that the music for the strings stage right of the conductor was mostly traditional, but two of them used electronic devices.

 The first piece was  Murmurations by Derek Bermel. The composer explained that a murmuration is a noun plural for a flock of starlings, which sometimes fly in unison and at other times move independent of the group. And the music does the same. Here’s the Gathering at Gretna Gardens and Gliding Over Algiers and Swarming Rome, recorded six years ago. 

Esmail

The second piece is The History of Red by Reena Esmail. She says: “The first time I heard Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, it changed my life. I was fourteen years old, and as I sat under the stars at the beautiful Ford Theater on a summer night in in Los Angeles with my parents, I completely identified with the voice of the child who narrates the text of the piece – so aware of the huge, complex world that I was seeing, even through young eyes. Just trying to parse it all. I can pinpoint that one performance as a pivotal moment in my decision to be a musician. I just wanted be someone who could create that kind of beauty.

“The History of Red is borne from the same bones as Knoxville: it is also a large-scale work for soprano and chamber orchestra (intentionally written for the same instrumentation), where the singer grapples with the world around her. And yet it is different — Linda Hogan’s beautiful text is clearly the voice of an adult woman, aware not only of her own current world, but of the entire, complex history of her ancestors. Perhaps that is why her words instantly grabbed me — at this time in the world, when we are each grappling with our own complicated, intertwined histories, her journey felt so resonant to me.”

The soprano at ASO was Molly Netter. Here’s Kathryn Mueller singing from 2021. It may take another listen for me to really warm up to it.

Vivaldi

In the pre-concert talk, David Alan Miller made an interesting parallel. He and the orchestra work closely with so many living composers, working through the best way to actualize the intent of composer and musicians. But, he claims, it happens with dead musicians as well. It’s almost like seance.

It helped that they were able to access older bows and traditional strings. Four young violinists  each played a season of  Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons:  Ravenna Lipchuk, Amelia Sie, Shelby Yamin, and Edson Scheid. The musical dialogue between solo violins and cellist were wonderful; at least one fiddler turned to face the cellist, like I’ve seen a couple rock guitarists do.  It may an old chestnut, but it was a good one, and it’s better live.

Antonio Vivaldi: The Four Seasons. Voices of Music, Freivogel, Moore, Youssefian. 

Baseball season starts… today?

In South Korea

By Philkon Phil Konstantin – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7584768 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Baseball season starts when? “The 2024 MLB (Major League Baseball) season will begin in Korea when the Dodgers and Padres face off in the Seoul Series from March 20-21.” What? I missed this because I don’t pay that much attention to baseball until the last week in March.

“A week later, all 30 clubs are slated to play on Opening Day (Thursday, March 28), and the regular season will wrap up on Sunday, Sept. 29, with the 94th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard set for July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington.” I hate sponsored plugs, but what can you do?

“The Seoul Series is just one of a number of exciting international contests slated for this year… The Mexico City Series (Astros vs. Rockies, April 27-28) and the London Series (Mets vs. Phillies, June 8-9) also will return from 2023.” The NFL has also been playing games internationally.

So, I decided to do something silly that I saw on Facebook. One is supposed to pick the best MLB player with their initials. This is tricky for me because the player I’d pick would be Robert Gibson. Unfortunately, he played as Bob Gibson (1959-1975), a fiery Hall of Famer pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals I remember quite well. He had a WAR of 89.1.

What’s THAT? WAR Wins Above Replacement “measures a player’s value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he’s worth than a replacement-level player at his same position (e.g., a Minor League replacement or a readily available fill-in free agent).

Bobby, not Robert

There are about 30 players named Bob or Bobby. The next best player on that list is Bobby Grich (1970-1986, 71.1), also a Robert. The first year he was eligible, he got 2.6% of the Hall of Votes, below the 5% minimum to remain on the ballot.

An interesting name I found was Leslie Green (1939-1946, 2.2). That is the name of my father and one of my sisters.

Here are the RG folks who made it to MLB. If there is no WAR, it’s because it wasn’t calculated.

Ralph Gagliano (1965-1965)

Rich Gale (1978-1984, 1.7) – I vaguely remember

Rocky Gale (2015-2019)

Ron Gant (1987-2003, 34.1)—I remember him. Early in his career, he played for the Atlanta Braves, but he was injured so badly that he missed the entire 1994 season. Then he bounced around. He got zero votes when he was eligible for the Hall of Fame.

Rich Garcés (1990-2002)

Ralph Garcia (1972-1974)

Ramon Garcia (1948-1948)

Ramón García (1991-1997)

Reynaldo Garcia (2002-2003)

Rico Garcia (2019-2023)

Robel García (2019-2021)

Robert Garcia (2023-2023, 0.4)

Rony García (2020-2022)

Rosman García (2003-2004)

Ron Gardenhire (1981-1985). He played for the Mets, so I recall him.

Nick Gardewine (2017-2018)

Ray Gardner (1929-1930)

Rob Gardner (1965-1973)

Ryan Garko (2005-2010)

Ralph Garr (1968-1980)

Ralph Garza (2021-2022)

Robert Gaston (1932-1948) Negro Leagues player

GE

Rich Gedman (1980-1992). A Red Sox catcher in the 1980s, so I recall him.

Rich Gee (1923-1929)

Rube Geyer (1910-1913)

Ray Giannelli (1991-1995)

Russ Gibson (1967-1972)

Rod Gilbreath (1972-1978)

Roland Gladu (1944-1944)

Ralph Glaze (1906-1908)

Roy Gleason (1963-1963)

Ross Gload (2000-2011)

Ryan Goins (2013-2020)

Roy Golden (1910-1911)

Randy Gomez (1984-1984)

Roberto Gómez (2017-2018)

Rubén Gómez (1953-1967)

Rene Gonzales (1984-1997)

Raúl González (2000-2004)

Romy Gonzalez (2021-2023, -0.8)

Ralph Good (1910-1910)

Ray Goolsby (1946-1946)

Ray Gordinier (1921-1922)

Reid Gorecki (2009-2009)

Rick Gorecki (1997-1998)

Rich Gossage+ (1972-1994, pictured) – Though he played for nine teams, I remember Goose Gossage as a Yankee from 1978 to 1983.

Rúben Gotay (2004-2008)

GR

Reggie Grabowski (1932-1934)

Roy Graham (1922-1923)

Rick Grapenthin (1983-1985)

Rick Greene (1999-1999)

Riley Greene (2022-2023, 3.3)

Rusty Greer (1994-2002)

Reddy Grey (1903-1903)

Randal Grichuk (2014-2023) – one of four players, along with Gant,  Gossage, and Guidry, listed as “best known.” 

Robert Griffin (1931-1931)

Ray Grimes (1920-1926)

Roy Grimes (1920-1920)

Ross Grimsley (1951-1951)

Ross Grimsley (1971-1982)

Robert Gsellman (2016-2022, -0.3). A former Met.

Ron Guidry (1975-1988). Louisiana Lightning was a Yankee for his whole MLB career. I liked him a lot. He never received more than 7.9% of the Hall of Fame balloting votes.

Ricky Gutiérrez (1993-2004)

José Guzmán (1985-1994)

The best MLB dude with my initials played for the New York Yankees. That would be Rich “Goose” Gossage with Ron Guidry next in line.

The spring equinox is March 19?

Ask Roger Anything

To my surprise, this year in the Northern Hemisphere,  the spring equinox is March 19 at 11:06 p.m. EDT. “If you thought that the spring equinox only ever occurred on March 21, you may be dating yourself. The civil calendar date of the equinox continues to shift every year.”

The wonderful website Time and Date notes: “The March equinox can happen on March 19, 20, or 21. The last time the March equinox was on March 21 (in UTC) was in 2007. It will happen again in 2101.” That last point also surprised me. 

“Now, the really important question. Q: Does Spring Begin on March 1 or on the Equinox? A: Well, both. The answer depends on your definition of ‘spring.’ Both dates are accurate; they’re just from different perspectives. We’ll explain …

“Astronomically speaking, the first day of spring is marked by the spring equinox, which falls on March 19, 20, or 21 every year. The equinox happens at the exact moment worldwide, although our clock times reflect a different time zone. And, as mentioned above, this date only signals spring’s beginning in the Northern Hemisphere; it announces fall’s arrival in the Southern Hemisphere…

“Meteorologically speaking, the official first day of spring is March 1 (and the last is May 31). Weather scientists divide the year into quarters to make it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics from one year to the next. The meteorological seasons are based on annual temperature cycles rather than on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun, and they more closely follow the Gregorian calendar. Using the dates of the astronomical equinoxes and solstices for the seasons would present a statistical problem, as these dates can vary slightly each year.”

So the Meteorological version is march time, while the Astronomical version is more like jazz.

Ask Roger Anything

So now that I’ve shared with you the vagueries of the vernal equinox, I was hoping you would share with me some questions that you have always wanted to know. This is the exercise in which you ask me… the technical term is stuff. I will find some retired librarian to answer them.

You may ask anything your heart wants to know. I am required, per the retired librarians’ creed, to reply as well as I can in the next month or so. 

You may make your requests in the comments section of this post, email me at rogerogreen (AT) Gmail (DOT) com, or contact me on Facebook. Always look for the duck. Yes, THAT duck.

One last thing: I’ve never dated myself. I believe that others are more interested to me.

Finding the correct word

“His name”

Finding the correct word can be a challenge. I was saying grace, a blessing, whatever, before breakfast. “God is great, God is good, God, we thank you for our food.” There are two things about that: I rhyme food with good because, of course. The other is that I was singing it to the tune of the chorus of Rock The Casbah by the Clash. Or maybe Mustapha Dance by the Clash.

I flashed back to how we said grace when I was growing up. “Heavenly parent, thank you for this food we are about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies. In Christ’s name, Amen.” Then, one day, when I was about 16, our dad said we should change “Christ’s name” to “His name.”

His thinking was that not everyone we knew was a Christian. It was true that we had many Jewish friends, acquaintances, and relatives. I had not thought about that fact before then, but instantly, the change made a lot of sense to me. (No, we’re not going to discuss even more inclusive terms for the deity here; this was c 1970, after all.)

Pronouns

This is why I embraced using the pronouns people choose to be called. This is not to say, however, that this is always easy. I know of at least two young people who I’ve known practically since they were born. I seem to be better at speaking to them using their preferred pronouns. But talking about them, I’m more likely to mess up.

And if it’s tricky for me, it is far more difficult for their parents. But kudos to the parents, who are trying very hard to get the terms correct, even when their child is not present, on the theory that practicing the pronouns makes, if not perfect, a decent approximation.

I asked someone identifying as they/them, “How do you ask someone their pronouns?” They did not know. That was an oddly comforting answer. These are interesting times, and finding the correct word is not always easy. All one can do is try to listen.

Green beer and other traditions

Long Black Veil

Even though I don’t drink green beer, or indeed ANY beer, I find it necessary to note St. Patrick’s Day. As I’ve mentioned, I’m at least a quarter Irish. As Ancestry refines its processes, I become MORE Irish, 28%, in fact, as opposed to 19% Nigerian. 

This means, of course, that my mother’s father’s mother, Margaret Collins Williams (1865-1931), and her still unidentified parents, even if they were wholly Irish, are not my only ancestors from the Emerald Isle. I must have OTHER ancestors to find, including on my father’s side. Parent 1 is my mom, and Parent 2 is my dad. 

The Census Bureau is always useful in noting holidays, and this one is no exception. “Originally a religious holiday to honor St. Patrick, who introduced Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, St. Patrick’s Day has evolved into a celebration of all things Irish.” 

Six years ago, I noted a group called The Burns Sisters out of Ithaca, NY. I was fascinated by them because their late father, John, was the mayor of Binghamton when I was growing up. He and his wife had twelve kids. Here are Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral and Prayer Of St. Francis.

Chieftains

I was very fond of the group The Chieftains. Kelly wrote about them a few times, including this farewell to Paddy Moloney. He links to other videos as well.

 But I decided to get really lazy and found something called Best of The Chieftains 2017, which has a YouTube chain of several videos. It includes most of the tracks from a 1995 album called Long Black Veil, which I love, and several from Irish Heartbeat, an album with Van Morrison that someone used to play in my office back in the day.  And there are a bunch of other songs. Did I mention that there were 250 videos?

Finally, I found this loud, raucous cut called Irish Blessing by a group called JOETOWN. 

Professional Irishman

Malachy McCourt, “who fled a melancholic childhood in Ireland for America, where he applied his blarney and brogue to become something of a professional Irishman as a thespian, a barkeep and a best-selling memoirist, died… in Manhattan. He was 92…

“In 1952, when he was 20, the Brooklyn-born Mr. McCourt reunited with New York.

“He embarked from Ireland with a ticket paid for with $200 in savings sent by his older brother, Frank McCourt, who had emigrated earlier and was working as a public school English teacher.” 

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