Archive for the ‘Columns & Essays’ Category
War is hell, and in Bill Cain’s “9 Circles,” Iraq War veteran Private Daniel Reeves must descend through his own inferno in order to arrive at his only shot at redemption. But are all of the demons he encounters in this hell of his own making? That’s the question that he – and the audience […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Reviews, theater | 1 Comment
Tags: 9 Circles, Amanda Collins, atrocities, atrocity, Bill Cain, drama, Eric C. Engel, Gloucester Stage Company, Iraq War, Jimi Stanton, Mark Sardella, play, review, soldier, theater, theatre, war, Will McGarrahan
As you read this, I’m hoppin’ a freight train box car and heading out to Britt, Iowa for the National Hobo Convention. It’s no joke. There really is a National Hobo Convention. It’s been held in Britt, Iowa on the second weekend in August since 1900. “The National Hobo Convention,” the description goes, “celebrates current […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Humor, Opinion | 1 Comment
Tags: Britt IA, Britt Iowa, Daily Item, hobo, Hobo Convention, hoboes, Mark Sardella, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item
Through August 12, 2012 On those occasions when great writing, stunning performances and superb direction collide on stage, the result can be a theatrical experience from which it can take a while to come down – for the audience as well as the actors. The current Gloucester Stage Company production of Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold”… […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Reviews, theater | 2 Comments
Tags: "Master Harold"...and the Boys, Anthony Wills Jr, apartheid, Athol Fugard, Benny Sato Ambush, drama, Gloucester Stage Company, Johnny Lee Davenport, Mark Sardella, Peter Mark Kendall, play, South Africa, stage, theater, theatre
Marching Orders
I love a parade. I’m especially fond of the Wakefield, MA Independence Day Parade, having attended most of them since the Eisenhower Administration. Over the years, I became less interested in the clowns and more interested in the politicians. In other words, my tastes haven’t changed very much. The 2012 Wakefield Independence Day Parade featured […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 2 Comments
Tags: Daily Item, Donald Wong, Elizabeth Warren, Fourth of July, holiday, John Tierney, July 4, Mark Sardella, Parade, parades, Peter Koutoujian, politicians, Richard Tisei, Sen. Scott Brown, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Independence Day Parade, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
The New Drug Culture
Full disclosure: this column was written under the influence of performance enhancing drugs: the caffeine from two cups of Stop & Shop brand coffee. Especially when it comes to caffeine, the drug culture has come out of the closet. Just look at the advertising campaigns for caffeine containing products. They are now promoted far more […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion | Leave a Comment
Keep Neighborhood Polling Places
Largely ignored in all the excitement over the margin of victory in the June 9 Special Election was the fact that the decision to build a new Galvin Middle School was made by a minority of the town’s voters. Less than one-third of those eligible weighed in with a vote. If you count only the […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Community, News, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | Leave a Comment
Tags: Daily Item, election, elections, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, Mark Sardella, polling places, Proposition 2 1/2, school, schools, tax, taxes, vote, voters, votes, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
One Issue Wonders
Every time a special interest group manages to pack Town Meeting to ram their pet measure through, local government geeks find themselves wondering if there will be some long-term residual benefit, some lasting silver lining to this cynical exercise. Surely, they imagine, out of this great mass of people here to vote on their one […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: ballot, ballot question, debt exclusion, election, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, June 9, Mark Sardella, new Galvin Middle School, property tax, Proposition 2 1/2, rebuild, school, school building project, school construction, schools, taxes, Town Meeting, vote, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Mark Sardella 