READ ‘EM AND WEEP: A study was released yesterday that ranks the most literate cities in America. The study, produced by Central Connecticut State University, ranked cities based on six categories: bookstores, educational attainment, internet resources, library resources, newspaper circulation and periodical publication. Topping the list is Washington D.C. Dallas (44), Fort Worth (50) and Plano (54) were all bunched together, though North Texas gets left in the dust by Austin, which ranked 21st. Being beaten by Austin I can take. But ranking below Tulsa (24) AND Oklahoma City (36) is hard to swallow.

MONDAY, BLOODY MONDAY: WaterTower Theatre opened The Lieutenant of Inishmore on Monday. The play is written by Martin McDonagh, the same guy who wrote In Bruges, and the blood and shock value of that movie makes its way into the play. “The acting area fills up with dead bodies, human and feline, and the living characters roll around in their gore,” Lawson Taitte writes on dallasnews.com. “It’s no worse than lots of the movies out there – but seeing a character get shot realistically has more emotional impact live than on screen.” But all that gore actually supports something worth watching. “Mr. McDonagh’s play itself, which won the Olivier Award (the British equivalent of the Tony) is taut with clever wordplay, rock-solid plot machinations, dramatic tension drenched in black comedy gore, and a doozy of a twist ending,” M. Lance Lusk writes in his Front Row review. Meanwhile, Kris Noteboom was hot and cold on the whole affair. “McDonagh’s darkly comic material is notoriously difficult to perform. In this instance, Terry Martin’s cast struggles to live up to the quality of the script, yet ultimately still delivers a solidly entertaining and appropriately unnerving performance,” he writes on theaterjones.com. Judge for yourself through Feb. 6.

QUOTABLE: “We make a lot of art; look, it’s everywhere. But we make it not so kids know how to paint, but so kids know how to think.”

– Big Thought president and CEO Gigi Antoni, in a dallasnews.com feature on the program.