The Big Knife, by Clifford Odets, is a 1949 clunky melodrama,
about an unhappy movie star. It was flop the first time on Broadway.
Time has not improved it. Richard Kind steals every scene in
which he appears as the brutal studio chief, and the set design of
John Lee Beatty and the costume design of Catherine Zuber
are a joy to behold.
The Assembled Parties, by Richard Greenberg, is a story of
a West Side Jewish family celebrating a Christmas dinner in 1980 and
again in 2000. The talents of two fine actresses, Jessica Hecht
and Judith Light, are squandered in this unconvincing and
unsatisfying play. Again, the scenic design of Santo Loquasto and
the costume design of Jane Greenwood are the highlights of this
depressing play.
Orphans, by Lyle Kessler, is a revival of a three
character Off-Broadway play, that for some reason has had success over
the years. The three male characters are repulsive, but in this version
they appear to be funny to the audience. A mugger, his mentally slow
brother (who flies around the dilapidated house like a monkey) and a
gangster, who is kidnapped by them, are all orphans. The gangster
becomes a father figure to the two brothers. It's a ridiculous,
unbelievable play.
Jekyll & Hyde, book and Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse, music
by Frank Wildhorn, had a cult success, when it first appeared on
Broadway in 1997. This revival has two superb singers, Constantine
Maroulis in the title role and Deborah Cox as the prostitute
Lucy. Their singing of the popular songs made famous by the show are the
highlight in the famous tale of a split personality.
Off-Broadway, The Call, by Tanya Barfield, is a serious play about a
white woman who cannot have children, who decides to adopt a black child
from Africa. Complications follow.
Christopher Plummer received the Eugene O'Neill Theater
Center's 13th Annual Monte Cristo Award at the Edison Ballroom.
Kevin Spacey presented the award, and guests included Zoe
Caldwell, Ted Hartley, Penny Fuller, Nikki James and many others.
MoMA presented Exodus, by Otto Preminger, USA, 1960, tells
the true story of the ship of the title name filled with Jewish refugees
that lands in Palestine from Cyprus in 1947. It also shows the founding
of the State of Israel in 1948. It features an all star cast, headed by
Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint as lovers, Ralph
Richardson, Peter Lawford, Sal Mineo and Lee J. Cobb. It is
an impressive achievement and the viewer is immersed in the Jewish
State's struggle to survive.
MoMA is also presenting Kino!, 2013, New Films from Germany, April
18-24. Silvi, by Nico Sommer, 2013, is a film about a
47-year-old woman, whose husband leaves her after years of marriage.
Alone, she pursues the quest for a new man, placing ads in the paper,
going on the internet and meeting one man accidentally in a park. All
result in failure. The men are married, liars, immature, involved in
kinky sex and generally worthless. It's a realistic view of the problems
faced by a middle aged woman alone in the modern world.
Opera in Cinema from Emerging Pictures presented Eugene Onegin,
by Tchaikovsky, from the Royal Opera, performed live on February
20, 2013. It was an imaginative production told in flashback, directed
by Kasper Holten. The cast was outstanding, not only in singing,
but also in acting. Simon Keenlyside in the title role was
brilliant, and Krassimira Stoyanova was a persuasive Tatyana. The
entire cast and chorus was superb, and the orchestra played the score
expertly under the a baton of Robin Ticciati