The Playgoer: Quote Whores from the Grave

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Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Quote Whores from the Grave

Talk about contextomy...

Have you seen thuis ad? For the off-broadway commercial venture "Duse's Fever":

"Duse...was the finest thing I have seen on stage"
-Charlie Chaplin

"Duse produces the illusion of being infinite in variety of pose and motion...She is ambidexturous and supple, like a Gymnist or a Panther."
-George Bernard Shaw

"The first time I saw Duse, I knew I was in the presence of a master who had achieved absolute perfection."
-Eva Le Gallienne

Uh, aren't these folks...dead?

I guess I can't say it insults our intellgence, since obviously they're talking about the real Duse (who died in 1924). Obviously, right? But why the format? Is it a joke? And Duse may have been "supple and ambdexturous"... but who's to say this actress is!

Anyway, whoever this Shaw guy is, he's got to learn how to write more bite-sized Gene Shalit-esque copy if he wants a future as a quote whore. Let alone make a living off of 200-word reviews....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"Let alone make a living off of 200-word reviews...."

Uh, don't quit your day job.