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When I came to New York on July 29,
1947, I went for five months to a high school in the
Bronx. I thought about that when I saw the Broadway
musical, A
Bronx Tale, book by Chazz
Palminteri, music
by Alan
Menken, lyrics by Glenn
Slater, at the Longacre Theatre, a musical about
a young boy, a remarkable Hudson
Loverro in 1960, and Bobby
Conte Thorton, equally fine, as a young
man in 1968 growing up in the Bronx. Robert
De Niro and Jerry
Zaks co-directed
it, and Sergio
Trujillo was
responsible for the choreography. Both years were
tough years for Italian and Black families. full of
prejudice and violence. Nick
Cordero dominates
the stage as a gangster, who rules Belmont Avenue,
and Richard
H. Blake shines
as a father/bus driver, who wants to save his young
son from the evil influences in his neighborhood. It
is a thoughtful, intelligent musical, well acted by
everyone in the cast. The costumes of William
Ivey Long and
the dances and movements of Sergio Trujillo reflect
the period perfectly. The music and the lyrics
are easy to listen to, and the singing and dancing
is excellent.
The Pigeon in The Taj Mahal, by Laoisa
Sexton, at the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre
of the Irish Repertory Theatre, is a play about a
lonely young man (John
Keating) (photo below)who lives in a caravan at
The Taj Mahal Trailer Park in the West of Ireland.
One night, he discovers an unconscious young lady (Laiosa
Sexton) lying outside his home, and brings her
inside to revive her. What follows is an unusual
tale, well acted by a four member cast, directed by Alan
Cox. We celebrated with an opening night party
in the gallery of the theater, with delicious hors
d'oeuvres (especially my favorite, shepherd's pie),
and two fine wines.
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Ride the Cyclone, by Brooke
Maxwell and Jacob
Richmond, at the Lucille Lortel theatre, is
a production of the MCC Theater. A group of
teenagers in a high school choir are tragically
killed in a roller coaster accident. One is
allowed to return to life. The talented seven
member cast is choreographed and directed
expertly by Rachel
Rockwell. It is an unusual, imaginative
musical, and the cast sing excellently. We
celebrated the success of the show at Sushi
Samba, 87 7th Ave. South.
Film Forum presented a press
preview of The Lion in Winter, by Anthony
Harvey, USA, 1968. It stars Peter
O' Toole and Katharine
Hepburn in
a historical drama, based on a successful
Broadway play. The film is beautifully
photographed and it captures the 12th century,
medieval life perfectly. The acting is fine, and
Hepburn won an Oscar for her performance,
However, it is a talky movie about a king with
three unpleasant sons. Dysfunctional families
have always existed!
A lovely event took place at
SIDECAR at PJ Clarkes. 205 East 55th St. It was
the Bachelors'
Brunch for the
62nd International Debutante Ball. Among the
charming and beautiful debutantes present, I met Camila
Mendoza Echavarria, Dwight
D. Eisenhower's great-great-granddaughter, Oleg
Cassini's twin nieces, Connor and Diana
Castellano, with their mother and aunt, and Megan
Liu Treacy, the daughter of Evelyn
Tracey. Among the handsome bachelors
present, I met the three Huffinesbrothers, David,
Russell and Terence. That,
plus a delicious brunch, made the afternoon
memorable.
MoMA held a press preview of a
fascinating exhibition A
Revolutionary Impulse: The Rise of the Russian
Avant-Garde. December 3-March 12, 2017.
It features books, paintings and film clips from
the Russian Revolution. I especially enjoyed
seeing the film clips from the 1920s by famous
filmmakers like Sergei
Eisenstein, whose Potemkin is
a masterpiece. Three other interesting film
clips by three different directors are shown in
the special screening room. As you enter, there
is a film clip of The
Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, which
sets the theme of what follows. It is a
wonderful exhibition and I recommend it highly. |