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Director Bartlett
Sher has
won rave reviews for two revivals on Broadway.
With Fiddler
on the Roof, book
by Joseph
Stein, music by Jerry
Bock, lyrics by Sheldon
Harnick, at The Broadway Theatre, he has
completed a hat trick. His third revival is
simply wonderful. Danny
Burstein is
superb as Tevye, a poor dairyman with five
daughters living in the Russian village of
Anatevka. His problems begin with the older ones
wanting to marry for love, instead of accepting
the tradition of arranged marriages. The cast is
excellent, with outstanding performances by Jessica
Hecht (Golde,
Tevye's wife), Alexandra
Silber (Tzeitel,
his oldest daughter) and Adam
Kantor (Motel,
her husband, a tailor). The music is lovely with
each song a gem with intelligent, funny lyrics.
The choreography by Hofesh
Shechter is
lively and exciting, especially by the men who
perform a dance with bottles on their heads at
Tzeitel's wedding. The beloved musical has been
given a marvelous production which warms the
hearts of the audience. The opening night party
took place at Gotham Hall with a huge number of
celebrities, like Bob
Saget and
his daughter Jennifer.
He has three daughters, and his eldest is named Aubrey.
I guess he wanted a boy! Also present was my
favorite English musical comedy star Elaine
Paige, whom, when she was on Broadway in Sunset
Boulevard, I invited to Rainbow & Stars to
see Karen
Akers. Others were Sarah
Paulson, Holland Taylor, Elizabeth Ashley, Victoria
Clark, Tovah Feldshuh, Bernadette Peters, David
Hyde Pierce, Tony Roberts, who promised to
send me his new book about his life in the
theater, and, of course, Sheldon Harnick and his
beautiful wife Margery.
It was a very happy occasion especially when the
rave review from the New York Times arrived.
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The opening night of American
Dance Machine for the 21st Century was a
spectacular event. Twenty two talented
dancers, directed expertly by Wayne
Cilento, gave a memorable performance of
selections from various Broadway shows, plus
some from film and television. The program
began with a tribute to stage and film
choreographer Jack
Cole entitled
a Jack
Cole Medley, with dance numbers from a
variety of his shows and films. Among the
Broadway shows represented, were selections
from Grand
Hotel, Oklahoma, Crazy For You, West Side
Story, The Who's Tommy and
the final selection was A
Chorus Line Medley. It was a magnificent
evening of dance, that delighted the
audience. Among the highlights were Gotta
Dance from Singin'
in the Rain with
a sexy duet by Paloma
Garcia-Lee and Rick
Faugno, a terrific We'll
Take a Glass Together from Grand
Hotel led
by Tyler
Hanes and Mikey
Winslow and
a superb Our
Favorite Son from The
Will Rogers Follies. Among the twenty
brilliant dancers, it might seem unfair to
mention one in particular, but Georgina
Pazcoguin, who is a soloist with the New
York City Ballet, was simply breathtaking in
the opening number and in Mr. Monotony from Jerome
Robbins' Broadway, and again in The
White Cat Solo from Cats.
I enjoyed every minute of this fabulous
show. Afterwards we celebrated at Dream
Hotel, 355 West 16th St. with the cast and
the stagers, who included Gemze
de Lappe, Donna McKechnie and Robert
La Fosse. A special thanks must be given
to Nikki
Feirt Atkins, the founder of American
Dance Machine for the 21st Century in
2012, dedicated to preserve musical theater
choreography.
I WISH EVERYONE A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND
PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!
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