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India was the Jewel in the Crown for
Great Britain in the nineteenth and the first half of
the twentieth century. Well, the Metropolitan Opera
Company is the Jewel in the Crown for the United States. Fidelio,
by Ludwig
van Beethoven,
received a magnificent performance by a stellar cast.
The orchestra began the opera with a brilliant rendition
of the overture, conducted by Sebastian
Weigle. Adrianne
Pieczonka was
outstanding in the title role. Her powerful voice was
strong in all registers, reaching her high notes with
ease. Her acting was equally good. Together with Klaus
Florian Vogt as
Florestan they made the perfect faithful husband and
wife. Together they sang beautifully, and alone they
were superb. For her Abscheulicher in
the first act, and for him his opening aria in the
second, both arias were rendered magnificently. Hanna-Elisabeth
Muller is
making her debut this season, and is a wonderful
addition to the company. Her lovely soprano soared in
the first act. David
Portillo (Jaquino), Falk
Struckmann (Rocco), Greer
Grimsley (Don
Pizarro) and Gunther
Groissbock (Don
Fernando) contributed to the success of the evening,
and were marvelous with sonorous voices. The chorus,
under Donald
Palumbo, were, as always, a pleasure to hear. The
audience was impressed. The performance was, for me, one
of the highlights of this memorable season. I repeat the
Metropolitan Opera Company is the Jewel in our Crown!
On Broadway, Sweat, by Lynn
Nottage, at Studio 54, is a play that takes place in
Reading, Pennsylvania, where a group of factory workers
spend most of their leisure time in 2000 in a
neighborhood bar drinking, using vulgar language and
engaging in aimless behavior. When layoffs at work
begins, the friends become violent. What ever happened
to brilliant dialogue in plays? I am tired of being
bombarded in the theatre with the f... word, and seeing
violence, no matter how realistically it is portrayed.
In this case, a bar owner in the second act is struck in
the stomach with a baseball bat, and in the next scene,
we see the result, as he is permanently disabled. If it
is important in the play, let us hear about it. We do
not have to see it. That said, the acting by
the nine member cast is, as always on Broadway, fine,
and, of course, realistic. The production is directed
by Kate Whoriskey. I
read three items in the newspaper on the front page on
Friday, March 24, that tells us "All the News That's Fit
to Print". One was the terrorist attack, that killed
four people in London. Two was the white man from
Baltimore, who came to New York and killed a black man.
Three was the teenager arrested in Israel for using his
computer to send bomb threats to Jewish centers, schools
and museums in the United States. Every day the world is
full of vicious happenings. We do not have to see it on
a Broadway stage.
The Transport Group Theatre Company is
one of Off-Broadway's most esteemed companies. Certainly
one of the highlights of this theatre season was their
production of two plays by William
Inge. Picnic & Come
Back, Little Sheba:
William Inge in Repopened together at The Gym at
Judson, 243 Thompson Street. Both plays were directed
expertly by Jack
Cummings III. Both casts gave outstanding
performances. Every member deserves a standing ovation.
In Picnic, Michele
Pawk as a
worried mother and Emily
Skinner as
a frustrated, unmarried teacher gave memorable
performances, and in Sheba, Heather
Mac Rae as
a lonely, married woman, with a husband (Joseph
Kolinski) who
sinks into alcoholism, gave one of the finest
performances of the season. It was a splendid theatrical
experience, and we congratulated the superb cast
and director at the opening night party at Denino's
Pizzeria & Tavern, 93 MacDougal Street. The owner, Joseph
Castellano, told me it is one of the oldest
pizzerias in New York, and, of course, the pizzas were
delicious..
If you like watching simulated
sexual orgies and seeing the back of a naked actress,
then see How
to transcend a happy marriage, by Sarah
Ruhl, at Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E.
Newhouse. It is a play about two couples who get
involved with a threesome (a strange young lady and
her two male live in friends). The eight member cast,
starring Marisa Tomei, act
well in this disappointing play, directed by Rebecca
Taichman.
I returned to see The
Imbible: A Spited History of Drinking,
book and lyrics by Anthony
Caporale,
at the Bar at New World Stages, which is a delightful
show, in which one receives a thorough education about
drinking intoxicating drinks, and in which three drinks
are served to members of the audience with popcorn. They
are a Shandy, which is beer with ginger ale, a cocktail
of American rye whisky with orange bitters, and a gin
and tonic. |
Anthony Caporale gives the history with
great humor, with three back-up singers/actors who sing
various drinking songs acapella, plus acting out
characters mentioned from cavemen to medieval monks,
expertly directed by Nicole
DiMattei. It
is a very entertaining show, and you will not leave the
Bar thirsty.
Duets is
the program that we attended in the Cause
Celebre Musical Brunch Series at
Chez Josephine, 414 West 42nd St. As always, it is a
lovely event. The delicious brunch, consists of a choice
of a cocktail or wine, followed by two choices for an
appetizer of Maine
Lobster Bisque or Smoked
Salmon, followed
by a choice from three entrees of French
Toast, Classic Eggs Benedict or Spaghetti
Bolognese, and concludes with a dessert of Profiterole au
Chocolat with
tea or coffee. The program, created by Founding/Artistic
Director Susan
Charlotte, combined short plays starring Carole
Shelley and Dan
Grimaldi, directed by Antony
Marsellis, with Cole
Porter songs
performed by KT
Sullivan and Roscoe
Boyd II,
accompanied by Jon
Weber. An added surprise was a
poem composed and read by Elizabeth
Sullivan, KT's mother, who
sang it as a song while accompanying herself at the
piano. It was a delightful program. Chez Josephine is
the finest restaurant in the theater district serving
lunch Daily Noon - 3pm, Dinner Monday - Saturday 4pm -
Midnight, Sunday 4pm - 11pm. Live piano nightly and at
Sunday Brunch. I recommend it highly.
The National Meningitis Association Kick-Off Cocktail
Party was
held in a spectacular new rooftop space at Lovage, 350
West 40th St. The Gala will take place on May 8 at
ESPACE, 635 West 42nd St, and will honor New York Ranger
ice hockey legend Rod
Gilbert. At the party were his wife Judy
Gilbert, Gary Springer, Richard Thomas, Joe Sirola, Gary
Swanson and Kim
Alexis among
many others. It was a lovely event.
Having to attend three splendid events in
one evening is tough, but someone has to do it! For that
reason, I arrived a little late for the second one the
Annual WP Women's Achievement Awards Gala at the Edison
Ballroom 240 West 47th St honoring Debra Messing. I did
get to photograph one of my favorite ladies, Annette
Green, who wore a beautiful, colorful jacket from
India. After attending my second cocktail party, I
rushed to The Palm Restaurant, 250 West 50th St, for the
final event of the evening.
The Off-Broadway play Church & State,
by Jason
Odell Williams, at New World Stages, held the
opening night party at The Palm Restaurant. I
photographed members of the cast, and guests like Loretta
Swit, Stephanie Cozart and Heather
Allyn, who is the charming wife of Rob
Nagle, who stars in the play. The food was
delicious, accompanied by wine and beer, and the party
was great fun.
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
presented Modern
Matinees: Hollywood and the Great Depression, 1933
through March 31. Golddiggers
of 1933, by Mervyn
Leroy, USA, 1933, is a delightful film, with snappy
dialogue, wonderful choreography byBusby
Berkeley, beautiful showgirls, like Joan
Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Ginger
Rogers, pleasant songs and humorous
situations. The plot is entertaining, about chorus girls
looking to take advantage of wealthy men. The audience
leaves happy.
Flying Down to Rio,
by Thorton
Freeland, USA,
1933, is another delightful film about a romance between Dolores
del Rio and Gene
Raymond, with Fred
Astaire and Ginger
Rogers as
members of Gene's band. The highlights of the film are
two magnificent dance numbers. The Carioca with
very sexy dancers, and Flying
Down to Rio, with chorus girls strapped to the wings
of the planes, are spectacular. In 1933, filmmakers knew
how to make inventive, pleasant films, that entertained
the public.
I photographed Peanut,
the baby African elephant puppet, Ringmaster Willy
Whipsnade, The
Great Gaston, juggler extraordinaire and The
Cycling Cyclone for CIRCUS
1903-The Golden Age of Circus at
Madison Square Garden. It opens on April 5-16
I photographed the cast and the two
principal singers, Samarie
Alicea and Jose
Adan Perez, and watched them rehearse a couple of
scenes of Figaro!
(90210), directed by Melissa
Crespo, at the Duke on 42nd Street, where they will
perform on April 7-25.They have fine voices and it
should be very successful. |