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On Broadway, School
of Rock, book by Julian
Fellowes, lyrics by Glenn
Slater, music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, at the Winter Garden, opens on
December 6. My comments will appear in next
week's column.
Off- Broadway, Invisible Thread, by Matt
Gould & Griffin
Matthews, at 2econdStage Theatre, is about a
young Black American (Griffin Matthews), who
goes Uganda for a Charity Organization, hoping
to do good for the people. As he is gay, and
Uganda is anti-gay, it is a bit of a problem.
The choreography (supposedly African type) is
routine and dull. The story (supposedly true)
does not impress. The dialogue is puerile.
However, the singing is fine, and the cast is
well directed by Diane
Paulus.
Rose, by Laurence
Leamer, at the Clurman Theatre at Theatre
Row, directed by Caroline
Reddick Lawson, is a one woman play, with Kathleen
Chalfant giving
an amazing performance as Rose Kennedy, the
matriarch of the Kennedy family. It takes place
in her home in Hyannis Port, Mass, in late July,
1969, after the Chappaquiddick tragedy, where
her son Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove his car
into the water, and his passenger, Mary Jo
Kopechne, drowns. Chalfant, in 90 minutes, tells
the story of this strong willed lady, who
survives the deaths of her famous sons. The
playwright had access to 40 hours of tapes, and
most of the play is based on her own words. Rose
Kennedy would be proud of Chalfant's superb
performance. The opening night party took place
in the Lounge at Theatre Row with the star and
the creative team.
A Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan
Thomas, adapted & directed by Charlotte
Moore, at the DR2 Theatre, will now open on
December 6. My comments will appear in next
week's column.
I went to BB Kings, 237 West 42nd St, for the
pre-opening night party for Gigantic,
because it actually opened the following night.
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The cast and creative team enjoyed desserts and
a bar, featuring rum cocktails. Among the
talented cast were Leslie
Kritzer, Burke Moses and Taylor
Louderman, whose charming mother from
Missouri was present to applaud her beautiful
daughter.
I dropped by for a quick photo of New York Giant Rashad
Jennings and Dr.
Oz at
the Rashad
Jennings Foundation 1st Annual GIANT Night of
Comedy Team Fundraiser & Show presented
by Rocky Mountain High Brands, at the Gotham
Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd St. It seemed like a
fun evening, but I had to attend another
reception at the same time.
Denise Rich & Gabrielle's
Angel Foundation for Cancer Research
#AngelBall2015 held a reception at
Tao Downtown, 92 Ninth Avenue, with cocktails
provided by Manhattan Moonshine, 50 Bleu Vodka
and Forever Young Wine, plus delicious hors
d'oeuvres. I met William
Kehler, the CEO & Founder of Manhattan
Moonshine, which I tasted and enjoyed. Denise
Rich addressed the crowd, speaking of the
wonderful work done by her foundation in memory
of her dear daughter. They have raised enormous
sums of money over the past 20 years. Denise can
be proud.
Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) held its annual
New York Dinner at The Pierre Hotel. The
celebrity hosts were Whoopi
Goldberg and John
O'Hurley, with Baseball Hall of Fame
Managers Joe
Torre and Tommy
Lasorda. It was a lovely event
A commercial
film Every
Thing Will Be Fine, by Win
Wenders, Germany/USA, 2014, is in 3D. As such,
it is photographed beautifully with gorgeous
landscape scenes. As a drama, it is difficult to
appreciate. James
Franco is
a frustrated writer. Rachel
McAdams is
his unhappy girlfriend, and Charlotte
Gainsbourg is
a grieving mother. The writer has an accident with
his car, resulting in his meeting Gainsbourg. The
film is painfully slow, with excruciating scenes of
sad faces. There is not a light moment in this
ponderous film. All three leading actors are boring
company. |