Famous but dead Kansas City native gets bad review

Poor Virgil Thomson. The famous, award-winning composer — he lived from 1896 to 1989 — from midtown Kansas City hardly gets any respect in his home town and to add insult to injury, a new musical play about him in New York City just got a bad review in the New York Times.

It’s not Virgil’s fault that the show got panned — it’s the show! Virgil Thomson, who was as respected for his “incisive wit” and writing talents as

his musical compositions, is apparently not well-served by “Oh Virgil!

A Theatrical Portrait” by the creators of the show. The Times

reviewer, Neil Genzlinger, writes that although the play bills itself

as a “snapshot of one of the most remarkable, influential and

controversial artists,” there’s a problem in translation: “But that guy

never shows up. Instead some sour, self-absorbed old dude plants

himself on the stage: you’re tempted to go up there and heave him into

the wings to make way for that erudite, multi-talented fellow you’ve

heard so much about.”

(Image via Flickr: Painting by Alice Neel)