Britten filled his score with hymns, dances, and delicious little throwaway tunes, which create a rich illusion of daily bustle; without a façade of ordinary life onstage, the explosions of violence lose their shock value.
It was predicted here that his status would affect this season and, indeed, as reports of his demise dominate the news cycle, Mattingly has quickly gone from "lame duck" to just "duck!" In the end, saddled with a team that has been just one rich illusion, it seems as if only a Donnie Miracle can save the Dodgers' manager.
The show, which is billed as rich with illusion, is his first theatrical production and the award-winning Shellard is selling tickets by performing magic at restaurant tables throughout the capital.
Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits.
But this is not a poetic play in the sense that you can say A Midsummer Night's Dream is a poetic play, rich in illusions and deep metaphors.
*On the young Jack Nicklaus: "Of all the rich, old malevolent illusions assaulted by Jack Nicklaus in his first 20 months as a professional golfer, the one that old-timers on the circuit were most disturbed to see shattered -- or at least cracked -- was the notion that golf is an impossibly difficult game to master".
Casselman, like an architect, plans well ahead to construct a strong, painterly foundation, which allows him to explore an adventuresome journey that ultimately provides structure, density, layering, fluidity, harmonic movement, spatial illusion and rich texture with a propensity for producing truly powerful works of art.
The literalness which lies behind such a materialistic conception of theatre is at odds with Shakespeare's poetic drama that created most of its illusion with words, rich costumes, and a few props.
Basically, the cuddly illusion of how rich people thought they were in 2008 will have completely fallen away by 2015.
Possibility was that year's richest legacy, beyond every utopian illusion.
Longing has always been one of Ms. McLachlan's richest subjects, and "Laws of Illusion" includes affectionate thoughts like the single "Loving You Is Easy".
