On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
July 27, 2013
07-24-13 (L-R) Music and lyrics Mildred Kayden, orchestrations Danny
Holgate, Charles Strouse at the opening night of "Storyville" at the
York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church at Citicorp. East 54th St. and
Lexington Ave. Tuesday night 07-23-13
Off-Broadway, Nobody
Loves You, book and lyrics by Itamar
Moses, music and lyrics by Gaby
Alter, is a musical about a television reality show. When an
undistinguished show can inspire a musical, one realizes the
pernicious influence that television can have on theatre. The
music is forgettable, the lyrics banal and the humor infantile.
The cast portrays characters that are silly and irritating.
Storyville, book by Ed
Bullins, music and lyrics by Mildred
Kayden, is a wonderful musical about the beginning of
jazz music in the New Orleans district of the title in 1917,
which was razed to the ground to eliminate its brothels and
other criminal activities. A large talented cast, expertly
directed by Bill
Castellino, sing and dance to the music of seven
excellent musicians, which brings to life the atmosphere of
the period. It is thoroughly enjoyable.
Film Society of Lincoln Center is presenting Cracked
Actor: David Bowie, Movie Star, August 2-8. I attended
two press screenings. Baal, by Alan
Clarke, U. K. 1982, is an adaption of a Bertoldt
Brecht play,
about a worthless artist/poet, a womanizer, who eventually
commits a murder. David Bowie in
the title role looks and acts sleazy in this grim,
depressing film.
Cracked Actor, by Alan
Yentob, U.K. 1975, is a documentary about David Bowie's
1974 Diamond Dogs tour, with archival footage and interviews
with an inarticulate Bowie. Fans of Bowie may enjoy these
two films. I definitely did not.
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MoMA is presenting A
View from the Vaults: Warner Bros, Today. July 9-August 14. Good
Night, and Good Luck, by George
Clooney, USA, 2005, is a rarity, an intelligent film about the
television journalist Edward
R. Murrow and his
programs on CBS attacking Senator Joseph
McCarthy in the 1950s.
The black and white film plays almost like a documentary, using live
footage of the Senator, and features a superb performance by David
Strathairn as Murrow. It
is one of the best films in this series.
MoMA also presented Shoot
the Piano Player, by Francois
Truffaut, France, 1960,
is a crime story about a pianist (Charles
Aznavour) who gets
involved with gangsters, due to his two brothers, who are criminals. It
is the usual view of the underworld with sexy ladies, tough guys and
dark scenes of chases, shootings and violent death. Although always
interesting, it really is a cult movie for Truffaut fans.
Cutie and the Boxer, by Zachary
Heinzerling, USA, 2013, is a remarkable documentary about a Japanese
couple preparing for their joint art exhibition in New York. 80-year-old Ushio
Shinohara came to New
York as a famous avant-garde artist in 1969, but did not achieve
success. His wife Noriko arrived
40 years ago as a 19-year-old art student and married him. Married life
was difficult for her, but finally she has achieved success with her
comic book style paintings depicting their life together, she as Cutie
and he as the Boxer. It is a story filled with love, dedication to their
art and their 40 year struggle through poverty and misery. It is an
impressive film, and 59-yeat-old Noriko is adorable.
Ballet in Cinema from Emerging Pictures
presented La Sylphide,
choreography by August
Bournonville, music by Herman
Severin Lovenskiod, from
the Bolshoi Ballet, filmed on September 30, 2012. It is a charming
ballet, with an outstanding cast. Ekaterina
Krysanova is an exquisite
Sylph, who seems to float throughout her performance. Vyacheslav
Lopatin dances
brilliantly as the groom, who leaves his bride on his wedding day for
the Sylph. The beautiful Anna
Rebetskaya is the
abandoned bride, who performs magnificently in the first act. The
highlight of the ballet occurs in the first act, when the entire cast
perform a wonderful
inspired Scottish dance. The orchestra accompanied the dancers very
well, under the baton of Pavel
Klinichev.
07-24-13 Curtain call with composer
Mildred Kayden in a white suit at the right at the opening night of "Storyville"
at the York Theatre at Saint Peter's Church at Citicorp. East 54th St. and
Lexington Ave. Tuesday night 07-23-13
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