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Off-Broadway, The
End of Longing, by Matthew
Perry, at the Lucille
Lortel Theatre, is an MCC production. Four cast
members, directed by Lindsay
Posner, play irritating,
unbelievable characters. One, the playwright, acting
as a photographer, is an alcoholic, who cannot utter
a sentence without the f... word. What ever happened
to sparkling, witty dialogue, like that of Oscar Wilde or Noel
Coward? An attractive blonde is an escort, who
gives him free sex. The other two characters are
their friends. It is a 100-minutes,
intermission-less ordeal, of multiple short scenes,
each introduced by loud music, hard on one's
hearing. The revolving stage is dizzying. This play
could drive one to drink!
The 62nd Drama Desk Awards offered
few surprises. Laura
Linney, Kevin Kline, Bette Midler and Andy
Karl all
won awards as Outstanding Actors in a Play and
Musical. Come
From Away, Oslo, Hello,
Dolly! and Jitney won
Outstanding Musicals and Plays. Jenn
Colella and Gavin
Creel (photo
below) won Featured Actors in a Musical. Bette
Midler did
not show up, and Kevin Kline and Danny
DeVito did
not pose for photos with their awards. However, the
after party at the New York Marriott Marquis was
wonderful, and we were able to congratulate Laura
and Andy, and other winners, presenters and
performers like Michael
Urie the
host, Cynthia Nixon, Danny
Burstein, Katrina Lenk and Jane
Greenwood. It was the end of a splendid night.
The 73rd Annual Theatre World
Awards was
held this year at the Imperial Theatre. It honors
twelve debut performances on Broadway and
Off-Broadway. Most honorees show up for the
occasion, but Josh Groban,
Lucas Hedges and Jeremy
Secomb were
unable to attend. Among the honorees, who did thank
the audience, were Denee
Benton, Eva Noblezada, Cobie Smulders and Christy
Altomare. Among the presenters were Brian
Stokes Mitchell, John Rubinstein and Tony
Sheldon.
Katrina Lenk received
the Dorothy
Loudon Award from Lionel
Larner, and Glenn
Close received
her Lifetime Achievement Award from Len
Cariou, who also performed. |
Peter Filichia was the
witty host, and the President of the Theatre World
Awards Dale
Badway thanked
the audience for attending. The after party took
place at the Copacabana.
Film Forum presented Moka, by Frederic
Mermoud, France/Switzerland, 2016, starring Emmauelle
Devos and Nathalie
Baye, two magnificent French actresses. Devos
seeks revenge for the death of her teenage son,
killed by a car. She goes across Lake Geneva from
the Swiss city Lausanne to the French town of Evian
to find the lady who was driving the car. Devos is
in every frame of the film, driving her car,
sleeping in her car, stalking Baye, who she believes
was responsible for her son's death, meeting a
hustler from whom she buys a gun, making friends
with Baye, her lover and her daughter, ad infinitum.
It is a slow moving, dull, boring film, with a twist
at the end, and with splendid acting by the two
stars. The photography is lovely, and Switzerland
and France are picturesque.
Woody Sez: The Life & Music of Woody
Guthrie,
devised by David
M. Lutken and Nick
Corley,
at the Irish Repertory Theatre, is a wonderful show.
Four splendid musicians, David M. Lutken, Andy
Tierstein, Megan Loomis and Helen
Jean Russell, who
play many instruments, recall the life of the great
folk singer. Nick Corley directed these marvelous
performers. It was one of the best evenings that I
have spent in the theater this season. The songs are
a joy to listen to, sung by four magnificent
singers. In the gallery upstairs there is an
exhibition of Woody's life. Do not miss it! We
congratulated the cast at the opening night party at
Jake's Saloon, 202 9th Avenue.
American ballet Theatre (ABT) presented Le
Corsaire, staged by Anna-Marie
Holmes, at the Metropolitan Opera House. Five
composers contributed to the score, providing lovely
music throughout
the three act ballet,
with the orchestra conducted by David
LaMarche. Christine
Shevchenko (Medora)
replaced the injured Gillian
Murphy, and achieved an outstanding success. She
danced brilliantly, and earned tumultuous applause.
She seemed to float on stage, and her turns, jumps
and overall performance was a joy to watch. Daniil
Simkin (Ali,
the slave) stole the second act with his
magnificent jumps and turns. Alban
Lendorf (Conrad,
a pirate), Aaron
Scott (Birbanto,
a friend) and Stella
Abrera (Gulnare,
Medora's friend) were all equally good, and Melanie
Hamrick, Lauren Post and April
Giangeruso as
Odalisques in the first act were just superb. It was
another wonderful night at the ballet. |