Charlotte, North Carolina 29.3.1996: Much Ado about Nudity and Self-Conscious Sophistication

A day of inverted syntax, after a late night at “Angels in America.” Ludicrous, the way the Charlotte crowd sat through the play in reverent silence (at the wrong points) and self-conscious twitters (at the wrong lines). The brief nude scene, which has been the ostensible reason for fierce controversy here, was like the consecration at Mass: we held our breath—see how nonplussed we Charlotteans are! This is art, for godsake, and we durned well know how to appreciate it . . . .