West and Clear’s Monday round-up has a Theater Jones

by Steve Smith of West and Clear

I hate to say it. It’s ain’t right. Please disagree with me if you want — and I hope you do. But Fort Worth isn’t a live theater town.

Don’t get me wrong — I personally enjoy a blatant display of thespianism, and Fort Worth certainly has plenty of good live theater, from Circle Theatre to Stage West and Jubilee Theatre and more. But live theater, regrettably, isn’t regarded by many as an essential part of the cultural fabric of the city in the same way that the visual arts are. When was the last time that someone said to you, “Did you see (insert name of play here)?” Many more people are apt to say “never” than they would about an exhibit at any of our museums or anything staged at Bass Hall.

Fort Worth, I would like to encourage you to try harder. You’l have a chance later this week with The Seafarer at Stage West and The Bluest Eye at Jubilee Theatre. And now you can read well-crafted theater criticism at Theater Jones, a new website devoted to local theater. Founded in part by former Startlegrammer and FWWeekly-er Mark Lowry, Theater Jones steps in to offer theater news, reviews, video stories, columns and listings for live performances all over North Texas.

* Nine Words Women Use: Over at Food and Fort Worth, Francis decodes the nuanced language of the human female. My two cents: my wife would never say “whatever,” but “nothing” is the most dangerous word in the entire repertoire. Or, as Homer Simpson once put it, “When a woman says nothing’s wrong that means everything’s wrong. And when a woman says everything’s wrong that means EVERYTHING’s wrong. And when a woman says something’s not funny, you better not laugh your ass off!” True dat.

* Meanwhile at Fort Worthology: Kevin mentions that a co-op could be in the works for Gallery Art Cafe and it turns out that Fort Worth is just as cool as we thought it was.

* Gratuitous Arlington Bashing: This by way of Unfair Park, the Wall Street Journal weighs in on corporate welfare Tin-Cup Urbanism.

* Yoga, anyone? Fort Worth Feminism has the link for you.

* >Safe Passing Bill Returns: And Bernie Scheffler has the details at February Legs.

* The Eternal Debate: It’s not Fred’s vs. Kincaid’s. It’s not big Christmas lights vs. small Christmas lights. It’s dog people or cat people. Check FW Renaissance.