To the editors:
In some ways, Tom Boeker’s review of The Knee Plays [May 27] is as tantalizing as the performance he attended. In the context of his tone, his motives are surprisingly–even astonishingly–paradoxical. The Regular Guy of WXRT would hardly have endured two minutes of avant-garde anything, yet Mr. Boeker lasted the two hours of a “pain in the ass.” Despite the “appalling disappointment of the overall production,” he liked the lighting, one of the nine dancers, one musical number, one scene, and one prop. Sounds to me like a good night at the Smart Bar. Clearly, Mr. Boeker might have spent his ticket money (“more important than being in the theater”) and his powers of perception elsewhere. It was polite of him, therefore, not to demand a refund. Then again, what have I, or you, paid for this letter or his review, monetarily or intellectually?
Ned Markey
Chicago