On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
June 14, 2014
06-11-14 Mare Winningham and Peter Maloney receive the Richard Seff
Awards at Actors' Equity Office. 165 West 46th St. Tuesday
afternoon.
06-10-14
The 2014 68th Annual
Tony Awards were
the highlight of the
season. Hosted by the
always charming Hugh
Jackman, the list of
presenters and guests
included Carole
King, Daniel Radcliffe,
Clint Eastwood and
many others too numerous
to name. Among the
worthy winners were
Best Musical A
Gentleman's Guide to
Love & Murder and
Play All
the Way, Best Actor
in a Musical Neil
Patrick Harris and
Play Bryan
Cranston and Best
Actress in a Musical
Jessie Mueller and Play
Audra McDonald. There
could not be better
choices.
Off-Broadway, The
Village Bike, by Penelope
Skinner, features a
fearless performance by Greta
Gerwig, who is quite
impressive in her
theatre debut as a
frustrated, pregnant
wife, whose husband is
reluctant to have sex
with her. It is an
absorbing play, with
many twists and turns.
The six member cast is
splendid, under the fine
direction of Sam
Gold. The opening
night party took place
at 49 Grove with Diane Lane,
Katharine Waterson,
Judith Light and Jessica
Love.
The New York City Ballet
presented A
Midsummer Night's Dream,
music by Felix
Mendelssohn,
choreography by Balanchine.
It is, without doubt,
one of great
choreographer's finest
creations. It is
enjoyable from beginning
to end, and this
performance was
splendid. Every dancer
was outstanding,
especially Maria
Kowroski, Joaquin de Luz and Daniel
Ulbricht. It is a
pure delight, and every
member of the audience
leaves knowing that they
have witnessed one of
the most glorious nights
of ballet.
American Ballet Theatre
(ABT) presented Cinderella,
music of Sergei
Prokofiev,
choreography by Frederick
Ashton. Gillian
Murphy was
splendid in the title,
especially in the
ballroom scene in Act
II. She is a treasure. David
Hallberg was
her ardent Prince and
offered fine support. Luis
Ribagorda was
the Jester, and merited
the thunderous applause
in Act II. Cinderella's
Step-Sisters, played by
two male dancers, Craig
Saltein and Roman
Zhurbin, were
entertaining, and
pleased the many
children in the
audience.
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The Irish Repertory Theatre 2014 Gala was
simply terrific. The performance of The
Spectacular Songs of Lerner & Loewe was
one of the best evening spent in the theatre
this season. The cast, chorus and orchestra
could not be better. Singing these glorious
songs, among eleven superb soloists, were John
Cullum, Melissa Errico, Max von Essen and Nathan
Gunn, directed expertly by Charlotte
Moore. Afterwards, the celebration
continued at Sardi's, with a delicious
dinner, accompanied by exquisite Jameson
whisky. A perfect ending to a perfect
evening.
Peter
Maloney and Mare
Winningham received
the Richard
Seff Awards and Whitney
Bashor and Steven
Boyer received
the Clarence Derwent
Award at
Actors' Equity. It was a wonderful ceremony,
and the awards were well deserved.
A press preview
of the new Off-Broadway musical Piece
of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story was
held at The Rehearsal Studio of the Pershing
Square Signature Center. Four selections
were performed by a talented cast, that
includes Leslie
Kritzer, de'Adre Aziza and Linda
Hart. It will open on July 21 and I hope
to be there.
Producer Hal
Luftig received
his caricature at Sardi's, and the room was
packed with his friends, including Orfeh,
Billy Porter, Roger Rees and
the cast of Kinky
Boots. It was a festive occasion.
The Film
Society of Lincoln Center is presenting Norte,
The End of History, by Lav
Diaz, Philippines, 2013, at the Elinor
Bunin Monroe Film Center opening June 20. I
reviewed the film at the 51st
New York Film Festival, and I attended
the press screening to alter or confirm my
first opinion. I wrote originally that it is
an overlong film (more than four hours),
supposedly inspired by Crime
and Punishment, by Dostoyevsky.
An amoral, dropout law student believes he
can lead an irresponsible life ignoring all
rules of civilized society. He murders a
moneylender and her daughter, and an
innocent man is charged with the crime.
There are horrendous, brutal episodes of the
man in jail, and relentless scenes of his
suffering wife and two small children trying
to survive. It is a powerful, depressing
film.
Film Society of Lincoln Center
presented press screenings of
two films of Joanna
Hogg, which will be shown
for one week beginning June 27. Unrelated,
UK, 2007, is about a
discontented, middle-aged woman,
who leaves her partner in London
to spend a holiday alone. She
visits a friend and her family,
who are renting a villa in
Siena, Italy. Although she tries
to be unintrusive, she becomes
an unwelcome guest. The
filmmaker shows the unhappiness
of the heroine quite well, but,
unfortunately, she is a dull and
uninteresting character, and,
ultimately, bores the viewer.
Archipelago,
UK, 2010, is about a family vacation on the
isles of Scilly. The mother, daughter and
son are an unhappy bunch, and whine and moan
throughout the film. They are unpleasant
company to spend precious time with. Also it
is filmed in dark rooms, which is hard on
the viewer's eyesight. This is the third
film that I have seen by this filmmaker,
(Exhibition, 2013, that I reviewed at the 51st
New York Film Festival). She seems to
be an acquired taste. Unfortunately, I have
not acquired it.
Film Forum is
presenting Yves
Saint Laurent, by Jalil
Lespert, France, 2014, June 25-July 8. I
attended a press screening, and I recommend
it for all lovers of fashion, and fans of an
unusual love story.The two lead actors, Pierre
Niney (Yves
Saint Laurent) and his business
partner/lover Guillaume
Gallienne (Pierre
Berge) give splendid performances, depicting
twenty years of their life together
beginning in 1958. Fans will delight in the
fashions seen during that period, as the
designer became the sensation of the fashion
world. The dark side is also revealed, as he
was a manic-depressive, promiscuous and
addicted to drugs and alcohol. It is a
powerful film.
06-11-14 Cast members (L-R) Cara Seymour.
Scott Shepherd. Jason Butler Harner. Greta Gerwig. Lucy Owen. Max Baker at
the opening night party for "The Village Bike" at 49 Grove. 49 Grove St.
Tuesday night 06-10-14
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