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On June 7, the 69th Annual Tony Awards were
presented at Radio City Music Hall. Tommy
Tune received a Special Tony for Lifetime
Achievement in the Theatre, and The Best Musical
was Fun
Home, Best Play was The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,
Best Revival Musical The
King and I, Best Revival Play Skylight,
Best Actor Musical Michael
Cerveris, Best Actress Musical Kelli
O'Hara, Best Actor Play Alex
Sharp, Best Actress Play Helen
Mirren. Bryan Cranston, Kelsey Grammer, Matthew
Morrison, Jim Parsons, and Bernadette
Peters were some off the presenters, and Alan
Cumming and Kristin
Chenoweth were
the hosts. It was a glorious night, with an
entertaining show, and all the winners deserved
their awards.
Off-Broadway, The
Way We Get By, by Neil
LaBute, at 2econd Stage Theatre, is a two
character play, starring Thomas
Sadoski and Amanda
Seyfried, directed by Leigh
Silverman. It is unbelievable, like two
other two character plays. They talk
relentlessly, after a one night stand. The only
reason to see this play is the chance to see a
fine actor and a movie star. Seyfried is pretty,
and this is her debut on stage. It is more like
an acting exercise than a play, which seems to
be a recent development in the three two
character plays I have seen recently. The other
plays with two fine actors were Contellations and Heisenberg.
Significant Other, by Joshua
Harmon, opens on June 18. My comments
will be in the next column.
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The Irish Repertory Company presented a
magnificent Gala
Yeats: A Celebration on
the 150th Anniversary of the great poet's birth
at Town Hall. Matthew
Broderick and Sarah
Jessica Parker were
the hosts of the evening, and the granddaughter Caitriona
Yeats was
present. Many famous actors read selections of
his poetry, including Peter
Gallagher, Swoosie Kurtz, John Slattery, Brian
Murray, J. Smith Cameron and Olympia
Dukakis, plus Melissa
Errico, who sang two songs. There was also a
marvelous choir, splendid musicians and two
glorious dance selections by delightful children
of The School of American Ballet and a brilliant
tap dancer. After a wonderful program, Artistic
DirectorCharlotte
Moore and
Producing Director Ciaran
O'Reilly held
a scrumptious dinner part at Bryant Park Grill.
A perfect ending to a perfect evening.
Brad Oscar and Julie
Halston received
the Annual
Richard Seff Awards, and Josh
Grisetti and Philipa
Soo received
the Actors'
Equity Foundation's 2015 Clarence Derwent Awards at
the Actors' Equity Office, 165 West 46th St, on
Tuesday afternoon, June 9. Susan Stroman presented
the award to Brad Oscar. Scott
Ellis presented
the award to Julie Halston, and David
Hyde Pierce presented
the award to Josh Grisetti. Philipa Soo did not
attend. They were all well deserved.
Film Society Lincoln Center and Subway Cinema
presented the press screenings for the 16th
New York Asian Film Festival June 26-July 11.
It began with Port
of Call, by Philip
Yung, Hong Kong, 2015, about a police
detective (Aaron
Kwok) trying to solve a murder of a young
prostitute. It jumps back and forth from 1998 to
2010 to tell a convoluted story. The photography
is dark and gloomy, and the views of Hong Kong
are depressing. The story itself is repetitious,
and the sex scenes are not erotic, with many
unattractive actors populating the film. It is
an overlong and disappointing film.
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