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Off-Broadway, Smart
People, by Lydia
R. Diamond, at 2econdStage Theatre, features
four fine actors, directed by Kenny
Leon, playing four educated. obnoxious
characters. The overlong play proves that four
highly educated people can be annoying and
irritating when they talk nonsense about racial
relations and engage in meaningless sex.
A revival of Buried
Child, by Sam
Shepard, a production of the New Group,
directed by Scott
Elliott, at the Pershing Square Signature
Center, opens on February 17. My comments will
appear in next week's column.
The New York City Ballet presented a
program of three Balanchine ballets.
It began with Ballo
della Regina, music by Verdi,
with Megan
Fairchild replacing Tiler
Peck as
the principal dancer with Gonzalo
Garcia. They both danced splendidly, as did
the four soloists and ensemble. The third ballet
was Tschaikovsky
Suite No. 3,
in which in the fourth section Tema
con variazoni, Tiler
Peck replaced Megan Fairchild and Andrew
Veyette replaced
Joaquin de Luz.
They both danced brilliantly, as did all the
principal dancers and ensembles in all four
sections. The two ballets were a joy to watch and
reflected the genius of the grand choreographer. The
second ballet was Kammermusik
No. 2. The composer was Paul
Hindemith, whose music is an acquired taste.
Unfortunately, I have not acquired it. The dancers,
both the two principal couples and the eight member
male ensemble, have to perform awkward steps, and
their arms and hands are placed in strange shapes.
It is not my favorite ballet.
The New York City Ballet presented La
Sylphide, music by Herman
Severin Lovenskjold, choreography by August
Bournonville, staged by Peter
Martins. it is one of the highlights of the
ballet's repertoire. it is a production of the
Pennsylvania Ballet. It takes place in Scotland,
where James (Joaquin
de Luz) is awakened by a sylph (Sterling
Hyltin), and is captivated by her on his
wedding day to his fiancee (Brittany
Pollack). He pursues the sylph into the
forest. The ballet ends on a tragic note, when an
evil, old crone (Georgina
Pazcoquin) has her revenge, after James had
insulted her in the first act. The dancing was
impeccable by all the principal dancers. The program
concluded with Tschaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 2, choreography by George
Balanchine. It is a plotless ballet, beautifully
danced by principal dancers Teresa
Reichlen and Tyler
Angle, with soloist Ana Sophia
Scheller. The skillful piano soloist was Susan
Walters, and Andrew
Litton conducted
the orchestra, which played the score wonderfully.
It was an impressive night at the ballet.
Jessica Hecht and David
Hyde Pierce were
the host of the Williamstown
Theatre Festival's 2016 Annual Benefit at
City Winery, 155 Varick St. Among the guests were Jo
Bonney, Stafford Arima, Dylan Baker and
many more.
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I attended a Meet
& Greet for The
Effect at
the Barrow Street Theatre. The playwright Lucy
Prebble, the director David
Cromer, and a consultant Paul
Browde M.D.
who is a psychiatrist spoke about the play which
deals with a clinical trial of a new antidepressant
pill. The four member cast and the producers were
all present. It sounds interesting and I look
forward to opening night.
I photographed the producers,
creative team and the cast of Eclipsed at
the Golden Theatre. One of the producers Alani
"LaLa" Anthony announced
that they will launch 10,00
Girls Campaign to
bring 10,000 girls to see the show. Opening night
is March 6, and I plan to be there.
I attended a champagne and chocolates
reception at the boutique of celebrity jewelry
designer Margo
Manhattan, 1202 Madison Avenue. It was a Passion
& Desire Secret Valentine’s Event & To Celebrate the
Launch of www.margomanhattan.com I
enjoyed being with the charming host, guests and
drinking delicious champagne.
Film Society of Lincoln Center held
press screenings for Manoel
de Oliveira's Tetralogy of Frustrated Love: February
25-28. Benilde,
or the Virgin Mother/Benilde ou a Virgem Mae,
Portugal, 1975, is based on a play,and is filmed
like a play with three acts. A young girl, obsessed
with religion, finds herself pregnan,t and believes
she is impregnated by an angel and is still a
virgin. It is a slow moving, tedious film, almost
claustrophobic, confined to small dark rooms, with
repetitious dialogue.
Past
and Present/O Passado e o Presente, Portugal,
1972, is also based on a a play, but is a revealing
picture of attractive, well-to-do, middle class
people, discontented with married life. The heroine,
married twice, falls in love with her husbands after
they died. It is a highly amusing film and is a
wonderful dissection of marriage. It is clever,
intelligent and realistic. It is photographed
beautifully.
Doomed Love/Amor de Perdicao,
Portugal, 1979, is based on an 1862 popular novel
about two lovers, whose marriage was opposed by
their families.. It is an almost four-and-a half-
hour film, and is a typical melodrama of that period
about unrequited love. It requires the patience of a
saint to watch this tale for such a long time, even
with a short intermission.
Francisca, Portugal,1981,
is also based on a nineteenth century novel, about a
terrible marriage between a nobleman, who has a
mistress, and an innocent young girl, whom he
marries reluctantly. His brutal treatment of his
wife is repugnant. An actor plays the novelist Camilo
Castelo Branco as
a character in the film, and reflects cynically on
the behavior of the callous husband. Again, the film
is slow moving, and the characters are
unsympathetic. However, the filmmaker in the three
films, that take place in the nineteenth century,
captures the atmosphere of the period perfectly, and
the photography of all four films is a delight. One
feels that one has lived the nineteenth century
life, and one should be grateful for living in the
twenty-first century.
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