The death, commentary, and funeral of Pope Francis last week showed that television still has the mettle to present news with some objectivity and neutrality.
Yes, the controversy some of the late pontiff’s decisions evoked and his style of contemplating and acting independently rather than consulting senior church office holders, was part of the analysis, but that was a legitimate part of Francis’ story and was rarely spoken of with rancor or disdain.
It was as if respect for Francis and the Roman Catholic Church he helmed kept commentators on an even keel.
You might say they “got religion.”
Or it might mean that Francis and his policies were not the material that makes firebrands and partisans of news folks, the way the slightest movement of President Donald Trump does.
Or it could be that commentators are not versed enough in Vatican doings to express their outrage about them — or affection for them — or that headline writers and reporters weren’t seeking to plant stealth bombs in their copy that signal a telltale point of view.
Later in the week between passing and final rites, there were tinges of commentators wanting to stir a pot or two by fretting about whether the College of Cardinals will elect a Pope that continues Francis’ liberality of welcome and support of individual choices among church members, but even those moments were relatively free of the venom, cynicism, hypocrisy, smugness, insistence, and side-taking that mar most of television news.
Except for some wags being unable to resist bad taste regarding the proximity of Vice President JD Vance’s Easter meeting with the pope and him dying on Easter Monday, there was little smarmy about coverage.
In general, it was straightforward and informative. If it erred in any direction, it was the sweet one of reverence and sentimentality.
And repetitiveness. I almost forgot repetitiveness.
Because anchors and site reporters often had to punt, chatter among themselves while waiting for the next significant event tohappen or important personage to appear, there was a lot of saying the same thing in pretty much the same way.
The need to patter at times threatened to make proceedings boring, especially during coverage of the funeral.
I remember when Father Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope in 2013 how stultifying reporters’ commentary was between the appearance of white smoke above the Sistine Chapel and the announcement that Bergoglio was chosen to be the pope.
Among the more interesting aspects of the coverage were the explanation of church ritual following the death of a Pope and the selection of his successor.
Francis’ personal requests within that ritual were particularly fascinating and revealing.
Because of these explanations we now know we are in the second of nine days of prayer and mourning set aside following the burial of a pope.
We also know the College of Cardinals, composed of all Cardinals younger than age 80, will gather to select the nextpPope after those nine days have passed.
That election process and the occasion and results of ballots will assuredly be an integral part of next week’s news cycle.
Of course, the main news event will come when white smoke is once more seen emanating from the Sister Chapel chimney.
I have a preference among the stated front-runners, but in the context of this column I’ll keep it to myself.
Local news stations were in league with their national brethren in presenting last week’s stories with even-handed grace, and a touch of repetitiveness.
All the stations did well, but one, Channel 3, had an advantage by being able to summon alumna Pat Ciarrocchi, an expert in Vatican doings and rituals, to the side of anchor Jim Donovan and others for special insight and the clearest of any explanations anywhere.
‘Conclave’ gets a boost
One beneficiary of Pope Francis’ passing, and the subsequent convening of the College of Cardinals to elect his successor, is the 2024 Oscar-nominated movie, “Conclave,” currently streaming on many platforms.
“Conclave,” based on a novel by Robert Harris, depicts the politics, personalities, and perspectives of a group of cardinals tasked with choosing their next leader, perhaps and most likely from among their number.
Director Edward Berger and scenarist Peter Staughan create genuine intrigue while a dean of cardinals, played by the infallible Ralph Fiennes, goes about vetting candidates, advancing favorites, and going through processes of examination and elimination to arrive at the right choice.
The ending might be an eye-roller. It smacks of self-conscious 21st century goodness and somewhat taints what might be the conclave’s best choice, but its surprise continues the movie’s drama and doesn’t spoil its suspense.
Berger’s picture did well in theaters, on streamers, and during award season, but this week it received a major boost in viewership.
According to Variety, the movie’s audience jumped by 287 percent last week and enjoyed almost 7 million hours of streaming time. Imagine what might happen next week as an actual Papal election takes place!
Emily Skeggs nearby in ‘The Apple Boys’
Emily Skeggs has many interests. There are times she thinks she should aim to be a scientist with a special interest in plants.
Indeed, she has studied horticulture.
She is also a potter who offers her work on Etsy.
Skeggs says she would have no problem making a living in either of those fields, but she is drawn back when given the opportunity, the frequent opportunity, to do the job she began as a child: performing.
Skeggs earned a Tony nomination for her 2015 turn in that year’s recipient for Best Musical, “Fun Home.”
She was given acclaim for playing the younger Rosa Guy — who morphs into Mary-Louise Parker — in 2017 ABC television series, “When We Rise.”
She made and had significant input in a movie, “Dinner in America,” that looked like it might be stymied by the pandemic but, once viewed by the brass at Sundance and others turned out to be sought after by film festivals. You can stream it on Hulu.
Now she’s in New Hope doing one of the things she likes best, being part of a new musical, “The Apple Boys” which begins performances Friday at the Bucks County Playhouse and stays until Sunday, May 25.
“Gardening and pottery are my hobbies,” Skeggs says during a telephone conversation from New York where she was rehearsing for “The Apple Boys.”
“Acting is my favorite job. It’s my passion. One reason is it’s collaborative. Your working with a cast and a director and a whole group of creative people. Gardening and pottery are good for doing when you’re alone. You can do them by yourself.
“Acting lets you gather with others to tell stories. It’s wonderful to see a show come into fruition. That’s why I like doing new pieceslike ‘The Apple Boys.’ I’m fortunate to see it develop and to be part of its development.
“I also enjoy being the first to do a role. It makes you feel so much a part of bringing the show together.”
Skeggs has part of “The Apple’s Boys’” maturation for what she says is “seven-ish years.”
“That’s how long it takes to craft a show, take it through the workshop process, find a theater that is willing to give it a chance, and see it grow. Watching this show go through all of its growing stages and being part of most of them has been one of those wonderful experiences I referred to while taking about collaboration and feeling like an integral part of something new.
“ ‘The Apple Boys,’ ” Skeggs says, “is a beautiful show. It’s set in New York at the turn of the last century and gives you a look at Coney Island in 1900.
“It has characters you’ll recognize, but it’s totally fictional. It comes from (writer) Jonothon Lyons’ imagination. He asks what if Johnny Appleseed had a grandson who had a dream to build an orchard.
“All of the sudden you meet characters who think about achieving that dream among others together. All of those characters are played by four actors. In the musical, what begins as an idea becomes more.
“I’m really excited about singing the score by Ben Bonnema. It’s so much fun because its a close four-part harmony.”
“So the four Apple Boys were a barbershop quartet?” I ask.
“We prefer to say ‘close chord four-part harmony,’ so I’m going to leave it at that.”
Which means I’m right, but I’ll play ball with Skeggs, Lyons, Bonnema and the Playhouse and figure there will be some fun listening to Skeggs and her casemates croon those harmonies.
“I came to the show for a workshop in 2017. I was brought in to perform that one time, but somehow I got attached to the show.”
It seems as if Skeggs has luck with chance meetings. She landed her role as Young Alison after auditioning for a part in “Hair” at the Public Theatre.
“I didn’t book ‘Hair,’ but a casting director saw my picture in a file and thought I looked right for ‘Fun Home.’ That kind of kismet can’t happen that much any more. The digital age of online resumes means there are fewer head shots and almost no files a casting director can rummage through.”
Skeggs says she was always drawn to the theater.
“I grew up in New York. I consider that being in the right time at the right place. I was born in the place I wanted to work.
“My mother took me to shows, and from first sight, I wanted to sing and act. I attended La Guardia High School in Manhattan — known to most by its former name, the High School of the Performing Arts — and began auditioning. I got a part in ‘Take Me Along’ a classic musical from the ’60s, at Irish Rep.
“I went on to study acting and writing, something else you can do alone, at Emerson in Boston. Now I live in LA where I can do some serious gardening between shows.
“I enjoy doing new pieces, but all of that theatergoing when I was a child and my experience in ‘Take Me Along’ and other classic works attracts me to more established parts in more established musicals.
“I have a list of those parts.”
Kristin Chenoweth at the Kimmel
About 23 years ago, I saw a production of a never-done musical called “Billion Dollar Baby” at the York Theatre on Manhattan’s East Side.
York is known for reviving gems no one does any more. “Billion Dollar Baby” was a special experience because its star was so dynamic, one of those performers who want to see over and over again even while they’re unknown.
Two weeks later, I was at Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, and I saw that performer in the audience. I actually heard her before seeing her. She was sitting right in front of me.
That performer was Kristin Chenoweth, now so many “fames,” they are too numerous to mention.
We had a long conversation before the Paper Mill show and at intermission.
It turned out she was due to come to Philadelphia for a scholarship as an opera singer at AVA, Academy of Vocal Arts, but gave it up when she began making headway in the legitimate theater.
Right after that, I interviewed the entire cast of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” Kristin’s breakthrough show, before it had a tryout in Wilmington.
Coincidental meetings were ongoing. I enjoyed talking to Kristin. She’s as smart and funny offstage as she is on.
Time passed. I haven’t seen Kristin except on stage in a while.
I doubt she’d remember me. Well, maybe she’ll remember some advice I gave her.
But she will be in concert in Marian Anderson Hall at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, courtesy of Ensemble Arts Philly.
She’s as good as she was and better than ever. See her!
