A tale of two reactions

Politics: Dickens and Palin don't go over well at the Times | Marvin Olasky

AP Photo by Carol Rosegg/the Jacksina Company

Not only Sarah Palin is running against The New York Times. So is a new musical that opened on Broadway last month, A Tale of Two Cities.

The Times sneered at the production based on Charles Dickens' novel, particularly its "blasting ballads that let singers prove that they coulda been contenders on American Idol.' Another reviewer, from Toronto, complained about the reaction of apparently ignorant theater-goers: "The audience stood and cheered . . . some even wept."

That's what happened the night I attended. The singing and staging were excellent, and the colorful Dickensian plot moved along and moved attendees. Afterwards, I wasn't surprised to find that most of the 85 online responses to the Times review gave the musical five stars (out of five) and included comments like "the best of times despite The New York Times."