Off-Broadway, Every Brilliant Thing, by Duncan Macmillan, is a one man show, starring the British comedian Jonny Donahue, at Barrow Street Theatre. It runs for just one hour, in which Donahue interacts with the audience, while telling the autobiographical tale of his mother, who attempted suicide when he was seven. He maintains that there are many good things for a person to continue living, for example, ice cream. It has received excellent reviews. The opening night party took place at Caliente Cab Co, 61 7th Avenue South, where guests enjoyed unlimited margaritas and delicious hors d'oeuvres.
Pocatello, by Samuel D. Hunter, directed by Davis McCallum, with a large cast, headed by T.R. Knight, celebrated its opening night party at Heartland Brewery, at 41st Street and Eighth Avenue. Among the guests, was Shuler Hensley, who is currently starring as the Grinch at Madison Square Garden. Shuler starred in Hunter's first play at Playwrights Horizons The Whale.
Cafe Society Swing, by Alex Webb, directed by Simon Green, at 59E59 theater, is a two hour trip down memory lane. It tells the story of Barney Josephson, when he created his club in the late 30s. He integrated black and white singers and musicians. Four excellent singers and eight musicians perform songs of that period, while a narrator tells the trials and tribulations that Josephson suffered in his desire to create "the wrong place for the Right people". Jazz and swing fans will enjoy this show.
Thirty five years ago, I was one of the six founders of The Manhattan Association of Cabarets (MAC). We created it to revive cabaret in NYC. Unfortunately, many of our great cabaret rooms have disappeared like Rainbow & Stars, Feinstein's at the Regency and the Oak Room at the Algonquin. But, thank goodness, we still have the Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 West 42nd St. I saw Dirty Little Songs, and it it is a terrific show. It is hilarious, and you will be delighted with the four fabulous performers, Eric Michael Gillett, Sidney Myer, Jay Rogers and Carolyn Montgomery-Forant, and the musical director Dan Furman. For one of the most delightful evenings on the town, go enjoy this wonderfully, entertaining show.
Susan L. Schulman held her annual holiday party, featuring her famous chopped chicken liver. Her friends and famous clients, like Karen Ziemba, attended. Karen just starred in Little Dancer in Washington D.C. It hopes to come to Broadway. It was, as always, a lovely affair.
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Susan L. Schulman held her annual holiday party, featuring her famous chopped chicken liver. Her friends and famous clients, like Karen Ziemba, attended. Karen just starred in Little Dancer in Washington D.C. It hopes to come to Broadway. It was, as always, a lovely affair.
Film Society of Lincoln Center presented screenings for The Last Laugh: An Alternate History of Spanish Comedy December 12-18. Justino: A Senior Ciizen Killer/Justino, un asesino de la tercera edad, by La Cuadrilla, Spain, 1994, is about a puntillero (a man who works in the bullring giving the bull a death blow on the back of the neck with his dagger). When he is forced to retire after thirty years, he begins practicing his trade on people, killing them and robbing them of their money. His desire is to spend his remaining years in Benidorm, a popular seaside resort on the east coast of Spain, where he will lie on the sand, enjoy the warm weather and admire the beautiful, female foreign tourists. The lead actor is a morose, dull individual, with little personality. If this is your idea of a comedy, you may enjoy the black and white film. I did not, nor did I laugh once.
For one week only, the Film Society of Lincoln Center is showing two films about the Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi beginning December 19. Antonio Gaudi, by Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japan, 1984, is virtually a silent film, a travelogue, showing the buildings and the influence of the city of Barcelona on its favorite son, the architect Antonio Gaudi. His most famous building is the Sagrada Familia Church. The film is an ode to this architect, whose buildings are unique. It is a poetic, remarkable film. Sagrada:The Mystery of Creation, by Stefan Haupt, Switzerland, 2012, is the history of the church, which focuses on where the construction of the church is at this point in time. It is is still undergoing construction 130 years after it was begun. It is fascinating story.
Fans of Robert Altman should rush to MoMA, where a retrospective of 50 programs of Robert Altman is being offered from December 3, 2014-January 17, 2015. I saw The Long Goodbye, USA, 1973. It is a wonderful film, with Elliott Gould giving one of his best performances as a private detective. The acting is first rate, the dialogue is funny, and although, it has a convoluted plot, it is always engrossing.
A Wedding, USA, 1978, is one day at a wedding with, at least, forty star performers, that the brilliant Robert Altman can make them perform as an ensemble performance. Just to see Lillian Gish, Carol Burnett, Mia Farrow, Dina Merrill, Geraldine Chaplin, Howard Duff and Vittorio Gassman work together to turn the wedding into a hilarious vision of chaos, is a delightful cinematic experience. It is one of Altman's most entertaining films.
Film Forum is offering The Shop Around the Corner, by Ernst Lubitsch, USA, 1940, from December 25-December 31. This is a marvelous holiday gift to New Yorkers. It is a romantic, sentimental, intelligent, funny, serious film, that leaves the audience enchanted. The cast could not be better. James Stewart as the head salesman, Margaret Sullavan as the new saleslady and Frank Morgan as the owner of the leather goods shop are simply perfect. The film is a classic. You will enjoy every minute of it.
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