There's a moment in Artists' Repertory Theatre's compelling production of "Arcadia" when the brisk and precocious Thomasina Coverly (played by the vibrant Lisi Drioane), a blue-blood 19th century English lass who may be a mathematical genius, reminisces about the Great Library of Alexandria. This famed institution housed thousands of irreplacable books from the classical era that were lost forever when it burned to the ground.

To think of all that human knowledge and insight going up in flames tears at Thomasina'a heart. "Can you sleep for grief?" she asks her tutor, Septimus Hodge (played by a fine M. Justin Red).

"Arcadia," a whopper of a work by Tom Stoppard, is a play about many things: philosophy, fractal geometry, lust, possible murder, landscape architecture, entropy, petty jealousies, determinism vs. free will, the clash between romanticism and science, the nature of time.

But most important, it's about the human impulse to live, love and make a difference. (The play continues through Sunday.)

Last-minute reminder for dance fans in the Valley: The Lively Arts Foundation brings the touring show "Forever Tango" to the Saroyan for one performance tonight. Check out my advance article in last Friday's issue of 7. This Broadway production (just dancing, no narrative) recently played a four-week run in San Francisco. Everyone knows how red-hot tango can be, and from what I've read already about the show, this one promises a lot of sizzle.

Yes, more "Pirate" blather, but this time I'm back with an important tip. I was remiss last week. I forgot to encourage people to stay through to the VERY end of the film -- all the way past the credits for second assistant caterer and the apprentice CGI grunt who animated Johnny Depp Clone Number 15 -- for a sweet little scene. It isn't a blooper reel -- it's more like a plot clarifier. Anyway, I figured that everyone in the country would already have heard about it through the grapevine and that I didn't need to throw in a mention in my review, but I was talking to someone today who saw the movie this weekend who bolted out the minute the credits started. (Not that I find that a surprise or anything. But, if you've hit the three-hour mark already, what's another couple of minutes?)

Tuesday update: I don't know about you, but I DIDN'T see the latest "Pirates" movie this weekend. What, you say, you did? Well, when I was relaxing in a blissfully Johnny Depp-free zone, you were absorbing 168 minutes of bloated-sequel overkill. Here are some additions to my list of reader comments to my review of "Pirates of the Caribbean." Wendy says:

I strongly disagree with you. There are quite a few people who disagree with you. I loved the movie. I so strongly disagree with you that I had to call and tell you how wonderful I thought the movie was. I've already seen it two times, and I can't wait to go back a third time. You must not be a fan of the movie.

I think Wendy disagrees with me, eh?

The Anatevka Chamber of Commerce no doubt has listings for a variety of occupations: blacksmith, milkman, tailor, rabbi, constable. But here's one you won't find:

Chiropractor.

Dan Pessano plays the iconic role of Tevye in the new Good Company Players production of "Fiddler on the Roof" like a man with an aching back. Literally. This is no liquid-limbed town patriarch eager to dance a jolly jig on a moment's notice. Rather than a buoyant, good-natured, effervescent good citizen -- a Tevye characterization I've seen played in the past, sort of a combination between Santa and an ever-friendly reference librarian -- Pessano's memorable interpretation of the role paints him a more pained, reflective mode. (At times, during his on-again, off-again conversation with God, he sounds more like an Upper East Side deli owner grousing about a midtown Manhattan traffic jam than a Russian peasant trying to marry off five daughters.)

Well, they sure don't include "Pirates of the Caribbean 3." Not everyone agrees with me, of course: I'll share some of the bad reviews from readers for my "Pirates" review a little later. Until then, some picks for the Memorial Day holiday weekend:

1. It's a Tradition. It's opening weekend for Good Company Players' "Fiddler on the Roof" at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater. As the run for this always popular show progresses, it will likely get harder and harder to get a ticket, so this might be the weekend to slip it in. This crowd-pleaser is a great way to entertain out-of-town relatives, especially if they're of the more, um, traditional theater bent. (The plaintive song "Sunrise, Sunset" will get 'em every time, and "If I Were a Rich Man" will have you humming on the way out of the theater.) And how can you not love the famous "Dream" sequence featuring Grandma Tzeitel and Fruma-Sarah? Dan Pessano stars as Tevye in a big, lovingly crafted production directed by Denise Graziani.

OK, I sort of promised yesterday -- or at least implied -- that I'd be spouting no more "American Idol" gibberish, at least until next January, when we can only hope that Simon Cowell has upgraded his weekly wardrobe to collared shirts. But, after last night's finale, I can't help but grousing about a couple of things:

The so-called "awards" given during the show to several of the early-round screechers, misfits and generally unattractive contestants weren't just tacky -- they were offensive. I have mixed feelings in general about the "Idol" practice of allowing not-so-talented people through the gates just so the judges can mock them (and provide footage for the inevitable "Worst of Idol" DVD special). But dragging them onto national television and doing an awards-podium thing -- on the same stage that the Oscars are given, no less -- is sad. The nadir of the show came when a clip showed Simon Cowell comparing contestant Kenneth Briggs to a "bush baby." (Check out the contestant recap on TVsquad.com.) What is this, a talent contest or a 19th century throwback to a traveling freak show? All for a chance to mock fat, ugly people? Way tacky.

For those following "American Idol," today sort of feels like the culmination of a too-long presidential campaign. Two major realizations: It's all going to be over tonight, and can you believe we've invested so much time and energy getting to this point? At the risk of overloading your already saturated brains with more "Idol" dreck, I wanted to share with you some responses from readers to my Sunday column lamenting the fact that Melinda Doolittle got booted off the show.

Laura Willems took exception to my growling anti-Blakeisms:

I for one am glad that Lakisha did not make it to the final two. No chills for me, SORRY. And what if Blake's voice isn't all power-house-y or always on key. Remember when THAT was the complaint about Madonna? These days it's ALL about collaboration. With Blake's musicality and style, he fits right in with that environment. And Jordin will be fine because she got the whole "package" as it were. I do agree that Idol should be spaced out better. What happened to Taylor Hicks? Didn't he JUST win? At least we know that Sanjya will be replaced soon; unfortunately most likely by a MORE ANNOYING someone else.

Yeah, um, let's have a nationwide singing competition with a finalist who doesn't always sing on key. Now there's a talent show for you.

So I pop up to San Francisco Monday morning to see the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie -- alas, Disney decided not to screen the film in Fresno -- and what happened? The hard drive crashed 90 minutes into the movie. Or some such computer mumbo jumbo. We've all been hearing about the imminent arrival of digital movies and how great they'll be in terms of picture and sound quality, cutting down on expenses for studios, etc. All I can say is: Yep, but the computer can crash. The Metreon's tech team tried valiantly to reboot the film for half an hour, and occasionally the now surly press-screening audience would be treated to little flashes of images and sounds from parts of the movie we hadn't yet seen, but in the end, no luck. The end result: I'm stuck here in San Francisco Monday night so I can see the last hour of the movie at a rescheduled screening at noon Tuesday.

How was the first half of the movie? Let's put it this way: I'm arriving an hour and a half late tomorrow for the rescheduled screening so I don't have to sit through the part I already saw again.

At least I saw a full movie before the "Pirates" fiasco: I caught a press screening of the new Ashley Judd movie "Bug," which is one of the trippiest things I've seen in a long time.

1. Thoroughly delightful. There are only three performances left of the Good Company Players production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater. How much did I like this show? I pretty much raved when I saw it opening weekend. And for the first time in what I think is forever, I saw a Roger Rocka's show TWICE during an eight-week run. Part of the reason was because I was curious to see how a show like this ages -- it is still as fresh two months later? Have the actors grown in their roles -- or gotten stale?

In this case, the show is even brighter and more vibrant. Emily Pessano, as the headstrong Millie, was pitch perfect Thursday night, belting out a performance that is in every measure of the word professional. When she sings the personal anthem "Jimmy," which starts softly and then turns into sort of a battle cry for the character, I was reminded of performances of leading ladies I've seen in national touring performances at the Saroyan -- and in San Francisco and on Broadway as well.

In today's issue of 7 I talk with Michael Peterson about his new production of Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" presented by Artists' Repertory Theatre. Here's a continuation of the interview:

What drew you to this play?

I loved the play from the first time I read it. At that time the only Stoppard work which I was familiar with was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which had been produced at the college I attended (Occidental). When I came across a copy of Arcadia upstairs at Theatre3, I read it, and its amazing juxtapostioning of poetry and math fascinated me immediately. Also, the fact that one of the characters is supposed to have attended the same English university (Sussex) where I did a junior year exchange, was personally engaging as well. I urged Gordon Goede to produce the play at Theatre3, but he was never interested in it. Now, since the formation of Artists' Repertory Theatre, I've gotten the exciting opportunity to direct it myself.

The print reviews for "Shrek the Third" break Friday morning, but a lot of them on Thursday were bouncing around the Internet . My colleague Rick Bentley does the honors with the official review in tomorrow's Bee, but I can offer a preview of my own reaction: This "Shrek" is dreck.

Actually, I just wanted to use that line before I actually see it in print somewhere else and then feel guilty about plagiarism.

By the way, there's a huge quote running at the top of the "Shrek the Third" print ads that says: "The best Shrek yet!" DO NOT BELIEVE IT. The quote is from Pat Collins of WWOR-TV. Is he/she serious? Under what circumstances did this critic watch the first wonderful film: while stretched out on a rack while little devils poked and prodded bare flesh?

I mean, I could see giving this third film in the trilogy lukewarm praise -- there are some amusing moments -- but the BEST "Shrek"? Ever? It doesn't even come close to the spark and originality of the first. I still remember walking out of the first "Shrek" filled with that giddy feeling you get when you know you've just witnessed something remarkable. The second film was pretty darn good, too. Compared to Nos. 1 and 2, this third installment is so creaky with the dread Hollywood disease of sequelitis that it's a wonder it even manages to churn through to the end.

Peter Gelb, the new general manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, has been working hard to make a splash with a lineup of sexy new singers, non-traditional programming and innovative promotions. Turns out he's making an impact. (Much to the annoyance of his detractors, I'm sure.) Bloomberg reports that ticket sales rose 7.1%:

It was the opera house's first ticket-sale increase by season in six years, with 810,225 sold, compared with 755,255 in 2005-06, Gelb said today in an interview. In all, the Met sold 83.9 percent of tickets offered this season for its 3,800-seat opera house at Manhattan's Lincoln Center, compared with 76.8 percent last year.

One factor in the increase, Gelb said: the Met's new high-definition live broadcasts to movie theaters around the world. (Fresno's Edwards theater drew large crowds for the broadcasts.) OperaSuite.com reports that the Met will increase the number of operas in next season's HD lineup from six to eight.

In fact, the New York Times reports, Gelb says that he "expects the series to make a profit, a word not often heard in the opera world."

Fresno's favorite Broadway star certainly has that opportunity. Audra McDonald on Tuesday picked up a Tony nomination for best actress in a musical for "110 in the Shade" at Studio 54. Considering that she's won four Tonys already and isn't yet 40, it'll probably be pretty tough for McDonald to win No. 5. (Christine Ebersole, nominated for an acclaimed performance in the musical "Grey Gardens," is an early favorite to win the category, The New York Times reports.) Others nominated in the category are Laura Bell Bundy for "Legally Blonde the Musical," Debra Monk for "Curtains" and Donna Murphy for "LoveMusik."

Tough category.

But ... Some of Audra's reviews have been superlative for "110 in the Shade," even for her. Ben Brantley of the New York Times gushed so much he almost short-circuited his laptop. And Terry Teachout of the Wall Street Journal called Audra's role "the performance of a lifetime." With notices like that, who knows?

Check out the official Tony Awards site with all the nominees. In the next few days, I'll scope around to try to find the best Tony-prediction blogs so we can keep on top of things. Awards are June 10.

Here are two very different reactions to my review of "American Pastime," a film that opened Friday about Japanese internment camps. It's a project close to the heart of a local filmmaker, Kerry Yo Nakagawa, who spent five years getting the film made and has an associate producer credit. I wrote: "While historically sensitive and thought-provoking, the story line is scattered and the direction uneven. The film dawdles far too long in its set-up, then relies on a cliche-ridden sports finale." I went on to write that the film's strengths include its production values and several acting performances, but that the film's uneven storytelling meant I couldn't recommend it enthusiastically.

One reader called and expressed the following:

Kerry Yo Nakagawa happens to be a friend of mine, and he's put five years into this movie. I've seen the movie down in Hollywood and I thought it was very well done, and I'm sorry you had to have such a dark view on it. I believe your review didn't do any justice to the movie, and it doesn't help the local artists in our Valley. It doesn't give them any boost whatsoever. I believe you didn't give "American Pastime" its due. You just closed the doors on it.

1. Something wicked. There are only two chances left to see Ed EmanuEl's searing production of "Macbeth" at Fresno State: 8 p.m. tonight and Saturday. Check out my review. It's nice to see a university production take chances and have a wickedly strong viewpoint, and even though I don't agree with all of EmanuEl's directorial choices, the play positively seethes because of him.

2. Last-minute Friday movie. Fresno Filmworks has a really fine offering tonight: "La Ultima Mirada," or "The Last Look," a Mexican film that surprises as it floats artistically along. Here's my review. It's the story of an artist whose life becomes intertwined with a woman who works as a maid in a brothel. (You'll spend the whole film trying to figure out how their paths will converge.) A bonus: If you go to the 8 p.m. show, you can see the Tower Theatre with all its fancy new lights when the movie is over.

Ben Brantley has spoken. (Or written, as it were.) The all-powerful New York Times critic's review of Audra McDonald in "110 in the Shade," her first Broadway musical in years, is alternately wildly enthusiastic about her performance and mildly disparaging of the play. He writes:

She so blurs the lines between spoken and musical expression that one seems like a natural extension of the other. Singing for Ms. McDonald is just a more emphatic and articulate way of talking, one that's needed when emotions are so intense they can't be captured without the texture and shading of melody. When you listen to Ms. McDonald's Lizzie sing about the ache of loneliness or her disgust for the words "old maid," you don't know how she feels; you feel how she feels. You're likely to find tears in your eyes by the end of even comic songs.

In Sunday's paper I wrote a column beating up on "Spider-Man 3." (I spelled out S is for Stupid, P is for Pul-ease, I is for Icky, etc.) So I walked into the office Monday morning fully expecting to receive assorted vicious missives from affronted fans. But nada. Instead, I heard from a reader named Rob who picked up on my theme by using my initials:

D is for Dollars and M is for Money, which is what the Hollywood summer blockbusters are all about!

I checked with my colleague, Rick Bentley, who wrote The Bee's review of the film (he gave it a C+), and he's had pretty much the same experience: No vitriolic calls, no rabid fans spouting unpleasantries. Or at the very least people saying, "Hey, it's just silly entertainment. Lighten up." I can only assume that the passion level on this film is lower than Kirsten Dunst's scores on a real-life Broadway musical audition card.

Down on one knee, submissive subjects. You're in the presence of the king. He might not wear glorious robes or have central heating. He probably hasn't bathed in a couple of weeks. But King Duncan is powerful. When his thanes show their respect, with heads bowed low and blood-spattered legs scraping the ground, they almost tremble.

In Ed EmanuEl's new production of "Macbeth," which continues Tuesday-Saturday at Fresno State, this all-consuming fealty to the king isn't because of niceties or tradition. It's about survival. In a violent and turbulent time, when lives are short and the social order unsteady, paying respect to the king is less along the lines of high tea at Buckingham Palace and more akin to a frightened dog flopping over and demonstrating submission to the leader of the pack. You need a strong leader or the world crumbles in chaos. In the dark and gritty setting of this excellent production, fear is a driving force.

EmanuEl said before the show opened that this "Macbeth" wouldn't be subtle. He's right. It's a brawny, swaggering and bruising version of the famous tale. Bloody and brutal, it lands punch after punch. I found it tremendously entertaining and occasionally exhilarating, and if at times it swaggers a little too much -- thus threatening some of Shakespeare's more nuanced reflections on human behavior -- methinks the sin of excess is far from the worst qualities you can attach to "Macbeth."

This isn't a weekend thing, but you might want to consider it for a Monday evening outing. Fresno State's music department is resurrecting its symphony orchestra. Music professor Larry Sutherland writes:

I'm writing you because of a column you wrote several months ago about what CSUF could do with the money spent on athletics. One of your suggestions was to have a "World Class" university orchestra. You should know that the music department faculty has given the formation of a symphony orchestra their highest priority. I was asked to conduct the orchestra this semester and, for the first time in 8 years, we will present a concert using a full symphony orchestra. The concert is on Monday, May 7th at 8PM in the Concert Hall on campus. It will feature our violin and piano professors Thi Nguyen and Andreas Wertz as soloists in the Mozart Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra. The full symphony orchestra will perform the Symphony #1 of Beethoven, the Ibert Divertissement, and the first movement of the Dvorak 8th Symphony---music from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

Sounds promising, and I hope I can make it. If any classical-music fans out there are able to attend, take a moment and let us know what you think.

1. Big sound. If you're one of those tactile folks that love to feel a wallop of sound when you're at a live performance, you won't want to miss the final Fresno Philharmonic concert of the season. Maestro Theodore Kuchar has assembled a whopping number of musicians -- nearly 100 -- to beef up Mahler's Symphony No. 6. Also on the program: Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries," otherwise known as the "Platoon" music, and Bruckener's "Te Deum" featuring the Fresno Community Chorus. If you've never heard the 100-plus chorus join the Phil, you're in for a treat. Concerts are 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

2. Something wicked. Edward EmanuEl says that you might think you know "Macbeth" -- but you haven't seen his version. The director promises a show at Fresno State that will pop visually and thematically: "There won't be anything subtle about either the production or its design," he says. One great thing about shows at Fresno State is that directors can rely on a team of professional designers -- lighting, sound, sets, costumes -- for a really rich look. I think that will be the case with "Macbeth." The show opens 8 p.m. Friday and continues through May 12.

If you read the front page of Friday's Bee, you're already familiar with the truly trippy story of Sierra Randolph, a 12-year-old Robinson Elementary School student who faces possible expulsion for writing a line from the 2002 horror flick "The Ring" in a notebook that she gave to a classmate.

She wrote: "Have a great summer. You will die in seven days." The line refers to the film's premise: Anyone who watches a mysterious videotape will die a week later.

OK, so it probably wasn't the smartest thing for Sierra to write. But she's 12. Last time I checked, 12-year-olds aren't known for their wisdom and maturity. It was a joke.

Yet the school district is seriously considering expelling the straight-A student.

In today's issue of 7 I talk with "Macbeth" director Edward EmanuEl about his new production. Here's the continuation of the interview:

Do you consider this a traditional production in terms of setting, costumes, etc.?

Shakespeare produced his plays in modern dress. Productions that stage his plays in tights are re-creating Elizabethan and Jacobean museum pieces. Our play is set in the dark ages and the dress will reflect that age.

There are so many themes that people choose to highlight in "Macbeth": ambition, guilt, betrayal, illness, blood. How as a director do you shape a production with so many choices?

All of those themes are interwoven into the production. We highlight them all as well as revenge, the power of the dark side and the ultimate confrontation between Christianity and dark magic. There is no problem in shaping the production because Shakespeare has done a magnificent job of doing that all ready. All we do is follow his story, plot and character portrayals.

Before I sat down to watch the national tour perform Monday night at the Saroyan, a fellow "Rent" enthusiast pointed out to me a lyric in the show that I hadn't really thought about before.

"Everything IS rent," the company sings. It's a moment that could be considered downright philosophical. Is the line talking about the show itself? Is the song musing on the impermanence of the characters' tumultuous mid-20s lives, and that someday they'll settle down to a mortgage and a subscription to a daily newspaper? (Hopefully.) Or is it a nod to the idea that life itself is impermanent, that it's silly to think that any mortal being could truly "own" anything, that we're all biding our time until we hand over the keys to the landlord for the final time?

Whatever your interpretation, one thing at least was clear from the enthusiastic audience at the Saroyan: "Rent" is a known quantity, and it is beloved.

My thoughts are with four-time Tony winner and beloved Fresno-raised Broadway star Audra McDonald and her family. Audra will miss two performances of her new show on Broadway, "110 in the Shade," to attend the Thursday memorial service of her father, Stanley McDonald Jr. He died in a plane crash Sunday near Sacramento. Playbill Online reports:

McDonald will miss the May 2-3 performances of Broadway's 110 in the Shade due to the sudden death of her father, a spokesman for Roundabout Theatre Company confirmed. She will perform in the musical May 1 at Studio 54 and resume performances May 4.

Audra is a pro through and through, but it still must be so incredibly difficult to go on stage Tuesday night and play such a demanding role while in a time of shock and grief. It's a crucial time for her show as well: "110 in the Shade" is in previews on Broadway. It's scheduled to open May 9.

The service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at Family Community Church, 2434 E. Nees Ave., Fresno. The McDonald family will no doubt be joined by many who knew Stanley McDonald in his years of service as an administrator for Fresno Unified and principal of Edison, Bullard and Hoover high schools.