Columns & Essays | Mark Sardella

Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category

‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ sizzles at The Umbrella

25Jan18

By MARK SARDELLA CONCORD — If, like me, you enjoy stories in which everyone is despicable, David Mamet’s testosterone-fueled Glengarry Glen Ross is hard to beat. And under the direction of Wakefield native Nancy Curran Willis, these dishonorable characters are brought to vivid life by a strong cast at The Umbrella in Concord. Set mainly […]

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Tags: Adam Heroux, Bill Stambaugh, Brian Boruta, Chicago, Concord MA, Craig Ciampa, Dan Kelly, David Mamet, Eric Lamarche, Glengarry Glen Ross, Gordon Ellis, Jason Myatt, Mark Sardella, Nancy Curran Willis, real estate, The Umbrella, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA

Remembering Phyllis Hull

17Jan18

It’s my favorite photo of Phyllis Hull. It’s Veterans Day, 2011, and she’s standing at the podium on Veterans Memorial Common, about to make her dedication speech in front of the just unveiled, brand new World War II Monument. She’s beaming, and she had every right to be proud. She was the first to say […]

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Tags: Betsy Sheeran, Board of Selectmen, election, fiscal conservative, Italian, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Phyllis J. Hull, Politics, selectman, selectmen. taxes, senior citizens, Somerville, taxpayers, The Savings Bank, veterans, Veterans' Day, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, World War II Memorial

Snowbound snowflakes

04Jan18

They don’t make snow days like they used to. I don’t know when everything changed. Maybe it was the Blizzard of ’78 that traumatized us to the point where we no longer take any chances. Way back in the 20th century, when I was a youth, we never had the luxury of knowing 24 hours […]

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Tags: blizzard, bus stop, Climate Change, driveway, Internet, Lake Quannapowitt, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, radio, school, school bus, shoveling, sled, snow, snow blower, snow day, snowboard, snowflake, storm, technology, Television, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Public Schools, winter

Santa’s List 2017

22Dec17

It’s late December in Wakefield, and you know what that means. Santa has made his list and checked it twice. But it no longer matters if you’ve been naughty or nice, because it’s 2017 and Santa doesn’t make moral judgments. Who is Santa to determine bad or good for anyone else? That being said, and […]

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Tags: Betsy Sheeran, Board of Selectmen, Brian Falvey, Brian Fox, Caryn's Sports Bar, Christmas, EMF, gifts, Green Street, holidays, Human Rights Commission, Israel Horovitz, Jack Roberto, Jim Lapery, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Moby Dick, National Grid, Paul Brodeur, Paul DiNocco, pink hat, presents, private jet, Richard Smith, Robert McLaughlin, rodeo, Route 129, safety pin, Santa Claus, School Committee, snow man, Street List, Thomas Mullen, transmission line, Wakefield Civic League, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Police Department, Wakefield Public Schools, whale oil lamp

Israel Horovitz accused of sexual assault

02Dec17

By MARK SARDELLA The wave of sexual misconduct allegations that has been toppling prominent men in politics and the entertainment industry has reached Wakefield. The Board of Directors of the Gloucester Stage Company and its founder, world renowned playwright and Wakefield native Israel Horovitz, have permanently severed ties amid new allegations of sexual assault made […]

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Tags: Ad Rock, Adam Horovitz, Al Pacino, Beastie Boys, Elizabeth Dann, Gloucester Stage Company, Harvey Weinstein, Israel Horovitz, Jeff Zinn, Jill Clayburgh, Jocelyn Meinhardt, John Cazale, Kevin Kline, Liz Neumeier, Louis C.K., Maggie Smith, Maia Ermansons, Mark Sardella, My Old Lady, New York Times, plays, playwright, sexual assault, theater, theatre, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, Widow's Blind Date

QP scores with ‘Suburban Holidays Six’

29Nov17

By MARK SARDELLA Supporting the arts and local artists would be a good enough reason to attend Quannapowitt Players’ “Suburban Holidays Six,” especially since at least three Wakefield residents are involved with the current show as actors, directors, producers and playwrights. But you don’t need an altruistic reason to go see this year’s festival of […]

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Tags: Al Pirnie, Andrew Quinney, Anne Louise Breslin, arts, Barbara Bourgeois, Blair Howell, Brian Sensale, Cary Pepper, Casey Stephenson, Chris Rose, Christmas, Donna Corbett, Estella Dattoli Matthew Garlin, Estella Orfanos, Evelyn Howell, Frank Drebin, Glenn Wakeley, holidays, Jackson Hughes-Page, Jaime Hennessy, Jenny Hughes, Joan Luz-Holt, Jodie Putnnam, John Pease, Kathy Bedard and Melissa Reda, Kerry Moe, Leonard Chasse, Leslie Nielsen, Lisa Burdick, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Matt Garlin, Patrick Cleary, Quannapowitt Players, Reading MA, review, Robin Doupe, Ron Wackowski, stage, Steven D. Miller, Suburban Holidays Six, theater, theatre, Valerie Whiteneck, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA

Where’s the outrage?

17Nov17

One thing that there’s no shortage of on social media is outrage. Democrats are outraged about Trump. Republicans are outraged about Hillary (and Trump). And apparently everybody’s outraged about underground power lines. Whether on social media or real life, sometimes it seems that there isn’t enough outrage where it’s truly warranted. That’s why it was […]

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Tags: Board of Selectmen, Brian Falvey, Catherine Dhingra, drugs, Ed Dombroski, Facebook, Humor, legalization, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Opinion, outrage, parents, Politics, pot, power lines, social media, teachers, teens, Tony Longo, WAKE UP, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield High School, Wakefield MA, weed, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, youth teenagers

Resist the bag-banning revisionists

02Nov17

By about 11 p.m. Monday night, we should have a pretty good idea what Wakefield’s future will look like. Will the town retain a semblance of the working-class normalcy that has been its hallmark for generations? Or will it veer off in the direction of more genteel communities fond of banning everyday useful items like […]

Filed under: Columns & Essays, Feature stories, History, Humor, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 6 Comments
Tags: ban, Board of Selectmen, Dunkin' Donuts, gender studies, Hiker statue, Honey Dew Donuts, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, name change, New England, Opinion, plastic bags, plastic bottles, Politics, selectman, Styrofoam cups, Town Meeting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Warriors, wroking class

Town Meeting alibis

27Oct17

It’s almost time for that biannual funfest known as Town Meeting, so start dusting off your excuses now. “Nobody told me about it.” “I have to work that day.” “I have kids.” Wow, with extenuating circumstances like those, it’s a wonder anyone ever shows up. All kidding aside, nobody gives a rodent’s hindquarters whether you […]

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Tags: attendance, Betsy Sheeran, electronic voting, Facebook, Humor, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, municipal government, newspaper, Opinion, Politics, Town Clerk, Town Meeting, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, web site

Happy traditional Columbus Day!

12Oct17

As every kid in America used to know, it was on Oct. 12, 1492 that Columbus discovered America. Most kids also learned the little poem that began, “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” I learned it in kindergarten at Miss Hope’s progressive Studio School on Montrose Avenue. Do schools still teach that […]