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The Frick Museum, 1 East 70th St,
presented a press preview of Zurbaran's Jacob and
His Twelve Sons: Painting from Auckland Castle,
January 31-April 22, 2018. It is, without doubt,
one of the finest exhibitions shown at this
magnificent museum. Twelve of the paintings hang at
Auckland Castle, England, bought by the Bishop of
Durham, Richard
Trevor in 1756. The 13th painting of Benjamin,
Jacob's youngest son, is at Grimsthorpe Castle,
England. All were reunited for this exhibition.
Zurbaran, one of Spain's outstanding painters,
produced this series of Baroque paintings between
1640 and 1645. They have been carefully examined for
authenticity. Each painting of the father Jacob, and
his twelve sons are painted in exotic costumes, and
are one of the most marvelous collections ever
produced by a painter, based on Genesis in the Old
Testament of the Bible. One learns the most
fascinating history of this remarkable family. Every
viewer will be delighted, and enriched by visiting
this exhibition.
The Morgan Library & Museum, 225
Madison Avenue, presented a wonderful exhibition
that theatre lovers will enjoy. Tennessee
Williams: No Refuge but Writing: February 2-May 13,
2018.
We see his original drafts, diaries, letters,
paintings and photographs from his first produced
play Battle
of Angels to
his successful The
Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Rose
Tattoo, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Orpheus
Descending.
If you love theatre, do not miss this exhibition! We
also visited three other exhibitions. Two were
marvelous. Power
and Grace: Drawings by Rubens, Van Dyck and Jordaens:
January 19-April 29, 2018 and Now
and Forever:
The Art of Medieval Time: January 26-April 29,
2018. The third one was disappointing. Peter Hujar:
Speed of Life: January 26-May 20, 2018, is
a series of photographs by Hujar, (1934-1987), when
he died of AIDS. Unfortunately, many are distasteful
Party Face,
by Isobel Mahon,
directed by Amanda Bearse,
at the New York City Center Stage II, takes place in
a kitchen of a house in a suburb of Dublin Ireland.
It is a play about an overbearing mother and her two
daughters with marital problems. One daughter, the
owner of the house, has mental problems. Two other
weird characters are a woman who was in a
psychiatric hospital with the daughter, and the
other is a supercilious neighbor with many problems
of her own. It is a convoluted story with unpleasant
characters.
The Homecoming Queen,
by Ngozi
Anyanwu, is a production
of the Atlantic Theater Company at Atlantic Stage 2.
It tell the story of a writer, who returns home to
visit her native village in Nigeria after living 15
years in the United States. Her father is dying.
Unfortunately, she has a very unpleasant
personality. She is rude, angry, insults everyone,
vulgar, and violent. Fortunately, the other seven
members of the cast are likable, directed by Awoye
Timpo. It has an
unbelievable happy ending. It is one hour and forty
five minutes without an intermission, and is
insufferable.
The Thing With Feathers,
by Scott
Organ,
is a production of the Barrow Group. A superb four
member cast is directed by Seth
Barrish.
It tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl (a
remarkable Alexa
Shae Niziak) (photo
below), whose mother (DeAnna
Lenhart) is unaware that she is on the internet
with a peculiar young stranger. When he shows up at
her door, strange things occur. It is a well acted,
intelligent play, which reveals the horrors which
can take place on surfing the internet, without
knowing with whom you are becoming involved with. We
toasted the cast at the opening night party with
champagne at the theater.
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Fire and Air, by Terrence
McNally, directed and designed by John
Doyle, is a production of the Classic Stage Company.
It is the story of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Douglas
Hodge). who for 20 years, 1909-1929, founded and ran
the Ballet Russe. He had a tremendous influence on
modern Ballet, creating works by the composers like Stravinsky,
set design by artists like Picasso, choreographers
like Balanchine and
dancers like Vaslav Nijinsky, his lover, (James
Cusati-Moyer), who spent his later
years in psychiatric institutions. His influence exists
to this day, and many of his ballets are performed by
leading dance companies around the world. The six member
cast is fine. That said, the play itself is more a
dull documentary lecture than a dramatic play. McNally
has written many fine plays, but this is not one of
them.
I always read the Who's Who in the cast
in the Playbill program before the show begins. In 40
years as an OCC Nominator, 39 years as a Drama Desk
voter and 3 years on the Tony Nominating Committee, I
have never read a more peculiar bio of a playwright than
the one I read about Greg
Pierce, whose play Cardinal, at 2ndStage, I
had to review. It begins with he grew up in Shelburne,
Vermont. And I quote, its main attraction is the
Shelburne Museum, a phenomenal collection of Americana
housed in 25 historic, relocated buildings, plus one of
two original side-paddle- wheel steamboats, the Ticonderoga. Now,
if I want to visit Shelburne, I will read the travel
section in the newspapers. In a bio, I only want to know
what plays he has written. This play tells the story of
a young woman, (Anna
Chlumsky) who returns to the small town, where she
was born in upstate New York, to propose that to
resurrect the dying town, the walls in the center should
be painted red. What follows is a ridiculous plot that
includes the young mayor, who has never recovered
emotionally from being dumped by the woman's older
sister. The other members of the six member cast,
directed by Kate
Whoriskey, include a pastry shop owner (the
wonderful Becky Ann
Baker) and her weird son, and two Chinese business
men, a father and son. At 90 minutes, it will probably
rank as one of the worst plays of the season, and its
use of a derogatory word that is never used in polite
company to refer to Chinese people is offensive and
insulting.
The York Theatre Company presented Musicals
in Mufti. Hallelujah, Baby!, book by Arthur
Laurents, lyrics by Betty
Comden and Adolph
Green, music by Julie
Styne. A nine member cast was directed by Gerry
McIntyre, with David
Hancock Turner at the piano and Richie
Goods on bass. The musical won the Tony Award in
1968, and made the leading lady, Leslie
Uggams, a star. In this revised version from 2004, Stephanie
Umoh is outstanding and deserved the magnificent
ovation she received. The opening night party took place
in the Music Room with special guests, Amanda
Green, who contributed additional lyrics, her
mother Phyllis Newman,
and Margaret Styne, Julie
Styne's widow.
Jimmy Titanic, by Bernard
McMullan,
is a one man-show, staring Colin
Hamell (photo
below), directed
by Carmel
O'Reilly,
at the Irish Repertory Theatre. He plays a member of the
crew, who dies in the tragedy, and finds himself in
heaven with God and the angels. In the 75-minute show,
he plays an assortment of characters from passengers on
the ship to people who died many years ago. He is a very
talented performer, who is quite funny. We congratulated
him and the playwright at the opening night party in the
gallery with guests Tony and Gen
Walton and David
Staller.
Artistic Director Charlotte
Moore and
Producing Director Ciaran
O'Reilly always
give the most enjoyable parties.
I attended the launch of the fifth 2018 Socially
Relevant Film Festival at the invitation of Nora
Armani, Founder Artistic Director, at Doux Supper
Club. The festival will take place at Cinema Village
from March 16-22 with 70 films from 22 countries They
include feature films, documentaries and shorts. |