MoMA is presenting Claes Oldenburg: The Street and The Store and Claes Oldenburg: Mouse Museum/Ray Gun Wing April 14-August 5. It is a colorful display of his artwork. In The Street his sculptures were made from the trash he found in his neighborhood, including cardboard, newspapers, etc. In The Store, every day objects from clothing to food, were colorfully decorated. Be sure to go from the 6th floor to the 2nd floor for Mouse Museum. The small objects are fun. It is an unusual exhibition, that simulates the mind's eyes.
 

The We Are Family Foundation (WAFF) honored Sting and Trudie Styler with the Humanitarian Award at the Manhattan Center's Grand Ballroom. Sting, Nile Rodgers, Russell Peters and Sam Moore performed at this festive event.

 

MoMA is presenting The Weimar Touch April 3-May 6. The Black Cat, by Edgar G. Ulmer, USA, 1934, is a horror film starring Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. It deals with a satanic cult, dead bodies, and was very popular when it first appeared. Today, it is an historical oddity, memorable for introducing the the two stars to the screen, and the fact that classical music in the background is heard almost throughout the film. The Wave/Nets, by Fred Zimmeman, Mexico, 1935, is also an historical oddity about poor fishermen being exploited by their bosses. They decide to strike. Again, it is also notable for the background music, composed by a famous Mexican composer, Silvestre Revueltas. Peter, by Henry Koster, Austria/Hungary, 1934, is a pleasant musical, in which the leading lady (an adorable Francisca Gaal) has to pretend to be a man. The silly story, a fairy tale, is highly amusing, and a delight to watch. Het Mysterie van de Mondscheinsonate, by Kurt Gerron, Netherlands, 1935, is a murder mystery, that takes place in a wealthy mansion, where the stepmother is killed. It is a convoluted story, that maintains the viewer's interest.

 

MoMA also presented Never on Sunday, by Jules Dassin, Greece, 1960, starring the wonderful Melina Mercouri as a free-spirited prostitute. She won the Cannes Film Festival as Best Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award. The title song won the Academy Award. The film is fun from beginning to end, as an American (Dassin) tries to change Mercouri from her immoral ways. Fortunately, he fails, and the delightful Mercouri continues living her happy life.

 

Ballet in Cinema from Emerging Pictures presented La Fille Mal Gardee, choreography by Frederick Ashton, music by Ferdinand Herold, adapted and arranged by John Lanchbery, from a live performance by the Royal Ballet in May, 2012. It was one of the most enchanting films of this marvelous series. Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez danced magnificently as the young lovers, and Philip Mosley was a delight as Widow Simone, especially in the clog dance. Ludovic Ondiviela was quite amusing as the simpleton, who expects to marry the heroine. The corps de ballet, performing traditional English country dances, were superb. Barry Wordsworth conducted the pleasant music to one of Ashton's finest masterpieces.