Choir Boy, by Tarell Alvin McCraney, at the
Manhattan Theatre Club at Samuel J. Friedman Theatre,
was seen Off-Broadway, and now appears on Broadway. It
is a play about a gay young student ( Jeremy Pope)
in a mainly black prestigious private high school. He is
bullied by some of his fellow students for being
effeminate, but earns their respect when he sings, as
leader of the school gospel choir. The plot is wishful
thinking with an unbelievable happy ending that pleases
the audience. The acting by the entire cast is superb,
directed by Trip Cullman, and their singing and
movements are excellent. It is one of the better plays
on Broadway this season.
Ensemble for the Romantic Century presented Maestro ,
written by Eve
Wolf, starring John
Noble (photo
below) as Arturo
Toscanini, at
the Duke on 42nd Street. It begins in 1938 when the
famous opera conductor is rehearsing the NBC Symphony
Orchestra in Aida. Two
of the cast members were Richard
Tucker and Giuseppe
Valdengo ;
in fact, I was on stage as a super with the latter at
Indiana University with the Metropolitan Opera in Lucia
de Lammermoor in
1949 when they used to tour. The play covers the life of
the great conductor in Italy and the after World War 11
in the United States, With four excellent musicians as a
chamber ensemble, and a brilliant pianist, Zhenni
Li ,
a trumpeter, and recorded music of Aida, the musical
selections enhance the performance. The projections by David
Bengali show
newsreels of the period, and we see Hitler , Mussolini and Roosevelt .
Noble is superb as Toscanini, directed by Donald
T. Sanders .
We congratulated the cast at the opening night party at
the West Bank Cafe.
I attended the rehearsal of My
Very Own British Invasion, book Rick
Elice, director/choreographer Jerry
Mitchell, at Church of Saint Paul the Apostle, 405
West 59th St. It will be presented at the Paper Mill
Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey on Thursday January 31
to Sunday March 3. The opening night is Sunday evening
February 10 at 7pm. We watched three selections from
the musical, featuring Jonny
Amies, in his debut an The United States, as Peter
Noone of Herman's
Hermits. It is a story of Peter coming to America to
rescue his girlfriend, the love of his life. It features
all the songs of of the 60s. Peter, was present for the
rehearsal, and I was raised in Manchester, England,
where I was born 14 years before him.
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We chatted and recalled our mutual friend, Selwyn
Demmy, one of the wealthiest bookmakers in England and
owner of Blinkers the top night club in Manchester. I took
my first wife to Manchester and we danced at Blinkers, and
my second wife to Manchester on a pre-honeymoon trip.
Selwyn met us at the airport in his Rolls-Royce, and put a
Bentley and a driver at our disposal. My wife's feet never
touched the ground. She loves Selwyn and my home town.
Selwyn, six months younger than me, grew up on the same
street, and we have become the greatest friends for the past
86 years. Peter at 73 told me he is now living in California
and does 118 concerts a year with his rock group, that was
formed the same time as The Beatles.
I met Peter years ago when he was living in Connecticut and
appearing on Broadway in The
Pirates of Penzance. He is, without doubt, the most
charming singer/musician you will ever meet.
Artistic Director Susan
Charlotte produced
another wonderful Cause
Celebre, Musical Brunch Series ,
entitled 29
Songs from 192 9,
performed by KT
Sullivan ,
accompanied by Jon
Weber at
the piano. As usual, it took place at the wonderful
restaurant Chez Josephine, 414 West 42nd St, where the
food is the finest in midtown Manhattan. It is the most
delightful brunch in town.
Birds of Passage, directed by Cristina
Gallego and Ciro Guerra,
Colombia/Denmark/Mexico, 2018, is a beautifully
photographed film. It opens at Film Forum on February 13
for an ongoing engagement. It is almost a sociological
essay about drug trade by narcotic-harvesting tribes in
the Columbian Guajira desert. In five segments, 125
minutes, we see how the various tribal families follow
their ancient traditions, speaking their native Indian
languages, marry, interpret dreams and live simple
lives. When the demand for marijuana grows, we see the
horrors that arrive. Violence, killing, fights between
families destroy their peaceful lives.It is a
fascinating film and leaves a memorable impression on
the audience.
I joined Aldon James for lunch at Le Colonial,
249 East 57th St, a popular Vietnamese restaurant. Aldon
was the former president of the National . Arts Club,
and it was, under his regime, the finest club in New
York. He honored every famous person and I met and
photographed every one of them. They included too many
to name, but to give you some examples, Leonard
Bernstein, Martin Scorsese, Ang Lee, John F. Kennedy, Jr,
Peter Ustinov and I could go on and on. Those were
glorious nights. At lunch, we recalled those pleasant,
memorable nights.
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