Cruel, Cruel World

I strongly disagree with Jana J. Monji’s assessment of the songs of Bacharach & David in her review of the new revue of their music at the Cinegrill (Theater Beat, Sept. 11).

This dynamic duo did not write “melodies and lyrics, fluffy as marshmallows, insulated from the historical turbulence of their times.” Any singer or songwriter knows that their amazing output is among the most challenging and sophisticated of the ‘60s. Burt Bacharach’s melodies are full of changing time signatures, leaping intervals and the love of the offbeat phrase. And I find Hal David’s superb lyrics to “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “The Windows of the World” as quite relevant to the ‘60s and the Vietnam War.

MARK WINKLER, Los Angeles

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It is difficult to imagine the motivation for the unjustifiably cruel, inconsistent and callous review of “Twelfth Night” at the Hudson Guild published in Theater Beat on Sept. 4.

It is shameful that The Times finds it so difficult to editorially support, with equity, the vast landscape that comprises theater in L.A. and gives such dismissive attention to local companies that operate on the will and passion of dedicated artists who sacrifice on a daily basis in order to ply their respective crafts.

LINDA ABELSON, Los Angeles