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Off-Broadway, The Liar,
by David
Ives, adapted from the play Le
Menteur by Pierre
Corneille, at the Classic
Stage Company, is, as the title indicates, about a young
man, who is a habitual liar. It takes place in Paris in
1643, and his lies cause many complications. One must
admire the playwright, who wrote the play in verse, but
lie after lie becomes far-fetched, and it is tedious for
the audience. The eight member cast directed by Michael
Kahn struggle
to make it entertaining.
Yours Unfaithfully,
by Miles
Malleson, is a production of the Mint Theater
Company. Although the play takes place in 1933, it is as
modern as today. A married couple (Max
von Essen and Elisabeth
Gray) decide to engage in an open marriage. As
usual, when the man gets involved with his wife's
friend, the result is not as ideal in practice as in
theory. The five member cast, especially Elisabeth Gray,
is superb, directed by Jonathan
Bank. It is an intelligent, perceptive view of a
modern marriage. The opening night party at the West
Bank Cafe, 407 West 42nd St, was a lovely affair, where
I was able to photograph the excellent cast, and
congratulate Maya
Cantu, who wrote a splendid article about the
playwright in the program
Incident at Hidden Temple,
by Damon
Chua, is a production of the Pan Asian Repertory. It
takes place in 1943, when the American Flying Tigers
were battling the Japanese in World War II. A seven
member cast, some playing double roles, directed by Kaipo
Schwab, produce a strange, atmospheric play noir,
with scenes of murder, fist fights, and a supernatural
temple. The acting is excellent, and the set design by Sheryl Liu and
lighting design by Pamela
Kupper create
wondrous effects on a small stage. We celebrated opening
night at Ollie's Sichuan, 411 West 42nd St, which was a
delightful way to celebrate the company's 40th
anniversary and the Chinese Lunar New Year. I sat next
to cast member Dinh
James Doan, who plays two roles, a Blind Man and Chiang
Kai-Shek, brilliantly.
The
Bolshoi presented The
Sleeping Beauty, music by Pytor
Ilyich Tchaikovsky, choreography by Marius
Petipa with
new choreography by Yuri
Grigorovich, from Moscow on HD Transmission. I have
seen many productions of this ballet, but this one is
the most perfect. The dancing by the entire company was
sublime. Olga
Smirnova as
Aurora was simply phenomenal. Her leg extensions were
incredible. They were breathtaking, and her speed in her
turns was amazing. She is one of the finest ballerinas
today. Semyon
Chudin was
also superb. Again his speed was amazing, and his
aristocratic presence was impressive. He was the perfect
prince and partner for
Smirnova. Two more individual dancers must be mentioned. Yulia Stepanova as the
Lilac Fairy was enchanting, and Artemy
Belyakov as
the Bluebird in the final scene was
magnificent with his
high jumps and floating presence. It is a glorious
production, with sumptuous scenery and costumes, a
pleasure for the eyes. The orchestra played the
marvelous music excellently.
The New York City Ballet presented five
ballets with music by Igor
Stravinsky. Scenes
de Ballet, choreography by Christopher
Wheeldon, was charming, with a multitude of young
dancers from the School of American
Ballet practicing their steps in their classroom. The
Cage, choreography by Jerome
Robbins, is a fascinating ballet, which featured the
brilliant Sterling Hyltin as
the Novice. Eight
Easy Pieces, choreography by Peter
Martins and Scherzo
Fantastique, choreography by Justin
Peck are pleasant short works. The program concluded
with Stravinsky
Violin Concerto, choreography by George
Balanchine, a perfect way to end a fine evening of
dance.
The New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC)
held a press conference to change its name to Womankind to
mark its 35th anniversary of providing life-saving
services to survivors of violence at Kirkland & Ellis,
601 Lexington Avenue. |
Board member Karen
Elizaga spoke eloquently,
as did Executive Director Larry
Lee, to explain their mission.
A clip from a short film Rise
Above, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival the weekend before, focused on Brittany,
a South Asian survivor of sexual violence. Queen
V then
performed a song. Photos were taken, and a delicious
lunch was served. It was an important event for a very
worthy cause.
I attended a photo op for Sunset
Boulevard, by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, which opens at The Palace Theatre
on Thursday February 9. The director Lonny
Price spoke
about the new production, and I photographed one of my
favorite Broadway stars Glenn
Close, plus three other cast members Michael
Xavier, Fred Johanson and
a pretty Siobhan
Dillon. I eagerly await the opening night.
The new issue of Metropolitan
Magazine features Cindy
Guyer and Dale
Noelle on
the cover as entrepreneurial women. A party was held at
Guyer's, 268 Columbus Avenue, where delicious wines and
scrumptious flatbread pizzas were served. Cindy, of
course, is the lovely owner of this wonderful wine bar
and restaurant. Dale is the President and Founder of
True Model Management. She is a charming and beautiful
lady. Many models attended the party. Among them were
pretty Janel Koloski, model and
Travel Channel Star, and handsome Rob
Morean, model and also a singer, actor and
dancer from Venezuela. I met three members of Anne
Fontaine, 837 Madison Avenue, Samantha
Giunta, the Store Manager, Mariana
Mahoney and Ivana from
Ecuador. They were delightful company, and they laughed
at all my jokes! The three were wearing Anne Fontaine
clothes, and they looked fabulous. It was a magnificent
evening.
The 53rd Street Library presented Camelot,
by Joshua
Logan, USA, 1967, based on the Broadway musical by Alan
Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
It is a tale of a love triangle with King Arthur (Richard
Harris), his wife Guenevere (Vanessa
Redgrave) and her lover Lancelot (Franco
Nero). The film features most of the lovely music
and intelligent lyrics of the composer and lyricist, and
the three leading actors are a pleasure to look at. It
is almost three hours long, but it is time worth
spending.
The Riverside Branch Library presented The
Talk of the Town, by George
Stevens, USA, 1942, a
fascinating serious/comic film, with three wonderful
stars, Cary
Grant, Ronald Colman and
the adorable Jean
Arthur. Grant escapes from
prison, where he has been wrongly arrested. He seeks
shelter in his old friend Arthur 's house, who has just
rented it to Colman, a famous law professor. There are
lots of funny, slapstick scenes, but it is also an
indictment on the miscarriage of justice. It is a fine
film.
The Columbus Branch Library, 742 Tenth
Avenue presented The
Man Who Knew Too Much, by Alfred
Hitchcock, USA, 1956, a wonderful suspense thriller,
starring James Stewart and Doris
Day. They are an American couple visiting Morocco,
when they get caught up with spies, murder and
an assassination plot. When their young boy is
kidnapped, they pursue the abductors to London. There is
a fabulous scene at a concert in the Royal Albert Hall
(where, incidentally, Liza
Minnelli gave
a concert in 1992, at which I met Princess Diana).
The film is beautifully photographed, and the acting by
the entire cast is marvelous.
Woody
Allen has
written and directed many wonderful films. Cafe
Society, USA, 2016, at the 58th Street
Library, unfortunately, is not one of them. The leading
actor and leading actress are dull, boring, and lacking
in chemistry. A young man goes to Hollywood, where is
his uncle is a powerful man in the film industry. He
meets his uncle's secretary/lover. They fall in love. He
returns to New York, and opens up a swanky nightclub.
She stays behind and marries his uncle. There are many,
too many, unattractive, unpleasant minor characters, who
populate the screen, and add nothing to the plot. They
are also unfunny. Woody, better luck next time!
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