On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
August 3, 2013
08-01-13 Karen Ziemba (L) and cast member Jeanette Bayardelle at the
opening night party for "Shida" at Characters NYC. 243 West 54th St.
Wednesday night 07-31-13
When I arrived from Manchester,
England, July 29, 1947, I wanted to see Broadway. From
American films, I knew that is where I wanted to be, and for
the following 66 years, it has been my home. The day I
stepped off the ship, I was amazed at all the theaters and
cinemas on those few streets from 42nd St. to 54th St. In
those wonderful days, cinemas had stage shows with their
films, and my favorite film comedians, Abbot
and Costello, were
appearing live on stage at the Roxy, with the film I
Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now, starringJune
Haver, whom I loved, and years later, I met and
photographed her. I was in heaven. In the theaters, two
American musicals, that were major hits in England, were
still playing on Broadway, Annie
Get Your Gun, with the magnificent Ethel
Merman, and Oklahoma.
Also, stars like Bert
Lahr, Helen Hayes, James Stewart, Ralph Bellamy, Kay
Francis and Bobby
Clark were
appearing in other shows. I knew then that there was no
place in the world for me other than New York City.
.
.
|
Off-Broadway, Shida,
written and performed by Jeanette
Bayardelle, is an 70-minute one woman show, in which Bayardelle
plays multiple characters, describing the tough life of a young
black girl wanting to grow up to be a writer. On the way, she is
sexually abused, becomes addicted to drugs and almost dies. That she
succeeds in achieving her goal is the affirmation of her strong
desire to overcome the obstacles in her life. It is a superb
performance by a wonderful singer and actress. The opening night
party took place at Characters NYC.
The 10th anniversary celebration of Avenue
Q took place at
Hudson Terrace with the current cast and former cast members of the
successful show. It was a festive occasion.
Mostly Mozart opened
its four week season with a splendid concert of five works, three by Beethoven and
two by Mozart. Louis
Langree led the
orchestra in the three Beethoven works, beginning with Overture
to Coriolan, and finished the program with a rousing
interpretation of the Symphony
No. 7 in A major. Before the intermission. thePiano Concerto
No, 4 in G major was
performed by a brilliant soloist, Jean-Efflam
Bavouzet. It was the highlight of the evening, and received a
tremendous, well deserved ovation for the skill and dexterity
revealed by this remarkable artist. The concerto never sounded
better. Mezzo-soprano Alice
Coote performed two
vocal selections by Mozart competently, accompanied by the
orchestra.
Forever Tango held
a press meet & greet for the "Prince of Salsa" Luis
Enrique. He performed a number with the company, posed for
photos followed by a Q & A.
MoMA presented A
Woman is a Woman, by Jean-Luc
Godard, France 1961, which features Anna
Karina as a singer in
a sleazy strip joint in Paris, who wants to have a baby. Her
boyfriend Jean-Claude
Brialy is reluctant,
and she turns to his friend Jean-Paul
Belmondo. Unfortunately, the three popular French actors play
characters, who are silly and irritating. The film is supposed to be
a comedy, but it is not funny, and the long, drawn out scenes are
quite unbelievable.
Ballet in Cinema from Emerging
Pictures presented
again the 1862 ballet Pharaoh's
Daughter, choreography by Pierre
Lacotte after Marius
Petipa, music by Cesare
Pugni, by the Bolshoi Ballet in a live performance on November
25, 2012. It starred a stunning Svetlana
Zakharova in the
title role and Ruslan
Skvortsov as the
English lord. Both danced magnificently, as did the rest of the
company in this elegant and sumptuous production with gorgeous
costumes and sets. The orchestra played the score wonderfully, under
the baton of Pavel
Klinichev. It was a joy to watch from beginning to end.
07-31-13 Cast member Luis Enrique of
"Forever Tango" at a Press Meet and Greet at the Walter Kerr Theatre. 219
West 48th St. Tuesday afternoon
07-30-13
|