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On Broadway, The
Play That Goes Wrong, by Henry
Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry
Shields, at the Lyceum Theatre, is a silly,
slapstick comedy about a dramatic production by a
university of a murder mystery entitled The
Murder at Haversham Manor, in which everything goes
wrong as the title indicates. The two acts features an
energetic cast, in which every comic moment is repeated
ad nauseam. We watch for two hours things fall down from
the walls, furniture collapse, the floor on the second
floor falls like a slide when a pole supporting it is
knocked down, characters are hit by a door being opened,
and so much more nonsense. If this is your cup of tea
(this English production and cast was a hit in London),
then go and enjoy this mindless entertainment. By the
end the complete set collapses. For me, it was
excruciating. Mark
Bell directed
the cast. It took three writers to write this play. It
took only Michael
Frayn to
write Noises
Off, a
play that goes wrong, which was funnier and better.
Amelie, book
by Craig
Lucas, music by Daniel
Messe, lyrics by Nathan
Tysen and Daniel
Messe, based on the motion picture by Jean-Pierre
Jeunet and Guillaume
Laurant, at the Walter Kerr Theatre, is a pleasant
musical, about a young waitress (an excellent Phlippa
Soo) in Paris, who wants to do good things for
people, while living a lonely life. As in all romantic
stories, she finds love with a young man (Adam
Chanler-Berat), whose scrapbook she finds and
returns to him. It's a whimsical tale, but the music is
soft and sweet, and the lyrics are intelligent. The two
leads are fine singers, and are quite charming. The rest
of the cast sing and perform well, under the direction
of Pam
MacKinnon. The opening night party took place at the
Concourse at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with many guests like Steven
Pasquale, the fiance of Phillipa Soo (photo below), Sheldon
Harnick and
his wife Margery and
his sister-in-law Barrie
Barrie. As Cole
Porter used
to say, it was a swell party!
A revival of Present
Laughter,
by Noel
Coward,
at the St.James Theatre, stars Kevin
Kline.
It is a delight to see him back on the Broadway stage.
He plays a vain actor to perfection. His every
gesture made the audience roar with laughter. I am
confident he will pick up a Tony nomination. The set by David
Zinn is
stunning, a magnificent London
apartment with a spare room for Kevin's one night
stands, that includes, Tedra
Millan and Cobie
Smulders (photo
below) in their Broadway debuts. Both deserve a Theatre
World Award. Kate
Burton as
his wife, Kristine
Nielsen as
his secretary, Reg
Rogers and Peter
Francis James as
his theatre friends all contribute to an evening of
great hilarity. A special word for the gown by Susan
Hilferty that Cobie
wears in her first appearance on stage. It is gorgeous
and my wife wants it! It is a most entertaining evening.
The opening night party was held at Gotham Hall with Daryl
Roth, Liz
Larsen and Charlotte
d'Amboise among
many other guests.
Gently Down The Stream,
by Martin
Sherman,
at the Public Theater, brings back Harvey
Fierstein,
directed by Sean
Mathias, to the stage. For that, we should be
grateful. However, with the play itself, we have many
problems. Fierstein plays Beau, a gay American living in
London, when homosexual love was in the closet. He is a
pianist, who accompanied the late, great Mabel
Mercer.
We hear her performing three songs, the highlight of
this show. The purported play is a history lesson on gay
rights. When Beau meets Rufus (Gabriel
Ebert),
a happy, young gay lawyer, eager to learn about Beau's
history, we are forced to hear three monologues. But
worse, is the appearance of Harry (Christopher
Sears),
who breaks up the cosy relationship to marry Rufus.
He performs a song, which is probably the most appalling
moment of the evening. Let me just conclude by saying
Harvey deserved better.
Church & State,
by Jason
Odell Williams, at New World Stages, is the best
play I have seen this season. A Republican U. S. Senator
(a brilliant Rob
Nagle) from North Carolina is running for
reelection. He speaks with a reporter (Jonathan
Louis Dent) at a funeral of a child murdered in his
elementary school classroom by a lunatic with an
automatic rifle. |
He mentions that it is hard to believe in
a Supreme Being that could allow such a senseless
murder. This statement causes him much trouble. His wife
(Nadia Bowers)
and his campaign manager (Christa
Scott-Reed) try to apply damage control. The four
member cast give splendid performances, directed by Markus
Potter. It touches on a very important topic, the
question of gun control in the United States. It also
speaks eloquently on faith and politics. I enjoyed every
minute of this serious, intelligent, and occasionally
funny, play.
Daniel's Husband,
by Michael
McKeever, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, is a
production of Primary Stages, one of the finest
Off-Broadway companies. The excellent five member cast,
is directed by Joe
Brancato. To marry or not to marry, that is the
question, which confronts two gay men, and it is
interesting to see how the plot develops.The opening
night party was held at Sushi Samba, 87 Seventh Ave. S.
with guests Michael
Urie and Michael
Musto,
and we all drank delicious Caparinhas, Brazil's
national drink. It was a lovely event.
Welcome back to New York the Joffrey
Ballet! When it moved to Chicago many years ago, I was
saddened. It was one of my favorite companies. I was
delighted to see the wonderful company again at the
David H. Koch Theatre with their superb production of Romeo
& Juliet, music by Sergei
Prokofiev, choreography by Krzysztof
Pastor, in an updated version,
with set and costume design by Tatyana
van Walsum. It now takes place
in an unnamed city in Italy over many years beginning in
the 30s and ending in the 90s. The entire company dance
marvelously, but the leads were spectacular. Alberto
Velazquez (Romeo)
and Amanda
Assucena (Juliet)
were a lovely couple and dance brilliantly. It was one
of the best performances that I have ever seen of this
magnificent ballet.
I went to a photo op for Can
You Forgive Her?, by Gina
Gionfriddo, which opens on May 23 at the Vineyard
Theatre. I photographed the five member cast, directed
by Peter
DuBois. Amber
Tamblyn will
make her Off-Broadway debut, along with cast members Frank
Wood, Eshan Bay Darren Pettie and Ella
Deshowitz. I look forward to opening night.
I attended the opening night party for The
Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical at
Houston Hall, 222 W. Houston St. Although I arrived late
from the Sushi Samba opening night party, I was able to
photograph one of the cast members, Kristin
Stokes, and have a beer. The venue has an enormous
bar, that specializes in beer.
I was invited to attend a
fascinating event at 41 Madison Avenue, 23rd floor, the
launch of Wedgewood Wonderlust and Tea
Cocktails in
their beautiful showroom. We enjoyed delicious hors
d'oeuvres and cocktails, some mixed with tea, while
admiring the magnificent collections of tea service from
every company that produces the wondrous lovely cups,
saucers and glassware. It was something special.
We arrived at Mozzarella
& Vino, 33 West 54th St, at noon, and within fifteen
minutes, the restaurant was packed to capacity with
happy, contented customers. I think that is proof how
wonderful it is. We began our lunch, sampling two superb
white wines, as the manager George
Coteanu presented
us with a delicious appetizer, a plate of fried
zucchini. My wife ordered a soup of garbanzos, Cacciucco
di ceci alla Toscana before eating the Lasagna of
the day, and I ordered the Ravioli of
the day. Each day the pasta is different. My wife's
lasagna was filled with pork sausage and truffles, and
my ravioli was filled with ricotta cheese in a tomato
sauce. Needless to say, they were two magnificent
dishes. Our waiter Josue brought
us two more wines, a white Chardonnay and a surprise, an
Italian rose, Cerasuolo
d'Abruzzo 2014 Marramiero. I have tasted many rose
wines in Provence, but this was their equal, if not
superior. We finished our lunch with a Torta
Di Mascarpone "Tiramisu" Style and
a Dark
Chocolate and Almond
Cake. And Josue served me grappa. This completed one
of the best lunches I have ever eaten. Take my advice
and visit this charming restaurant open daily 11:30
am-10:00pm.
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