Off-Broadway, Slowgirl, by Greg Pierce,
is a well-acted two character play, about a 17-year old girl (Sarah
Steele) in trouble from the result of a tragedy that took place at a
teenage party, who is sent to spend a week with her reclusive uncle (Zeljko
Ivanek), whom she has not seen since she was 8-year old, and who
lives alone in a dry forest in Costa Rica. They bond together as the
days progress. It's an impressive play.
7th Monarch, by Jim Henry, features
two splendid actresses, Gretchen Hall and Leslie Hendrix,
in a convoluted, flawed play, about a brilliant young girl, whose
parents have disappeared, and who is charged with their murder. The
opening night party at Angus McIndoe was a lively affair.
The
Sensational Josephine Baker, written and performed by Cheryl
Howard, is a one woman show about the life of the legendary
entertainer. Howard does a splendid impersonation. We celebrated its
opening night at, appropriately, Chez Josephine. It was a lovely party
with fine wines and delicious hors d'oeuvres.
American
Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented a program of two ballets. Dream,
choreography by Frederick Ashton, is a one act version of
A Midsummer Night's Dream, with a fine Xiomara Reyes and
Corey Stearns as Tatiana and Oberon, but Hernan Cornejo
steals the show as Puck with his astounding speed, jumps and turns.
He received a thunderous, well-deserved ovation. Firebird,
choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, is longer than most other
versions, and this new version features exotic scenery, by Simon
Pastukh, and flashy costumes by Galina Solovyeva.
Natalia
Osipova is outstanding as the Firebird, and David Hallberg
is fun as the evil sorcerer. Marcelo Gomes and Simone
Messmer contribute to the success of this unusual production.
Swan Lake, choreography by Kevin McKenzie, is possibly
the most popular ballet in the repertoire, and the Metropolitan
Opera House was packed with an enthusiastic audience which applauded
the dancers wildly.
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Polina Semionova as Odette-Odile gave a brilliant performance. Warm and gentle as a frightened swan in Act II and strong and technically superb in Act III as the black swan, she was the highlight of very enjoyable night at the ballet. David Hallberg was a supportive Prince Siegfried and Alexandre Hammoudi as von Rothbart was appropriately evil in Act III.
I attended a Meet & Greet for a new comedy Bullet for Adolf, written by Woody Harrelson (who also directs) and Frankie Hyman, and its eight member cast. I look forward to its opening night on August 8 at New World Stages.
Another Meet & Greet was held for A Grand Night for Singing, which will open the newly restored Bucks County Playhouse, opening on July 2.
There was a portrait unveiling at Tony's di Napoli for some members of the cast of Nice Work If You Can Get It. Among the cast who attended the delicious buffet supper were Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara. Valerie Smaldone was the hostess on this festive occasion and general manager Bruce Dimpflimaier presented the cast with the portrait which will hang in the restaurant's Broadway Wall of Fame.
At a press conference at Gallagher's Steak House for Don Larsen, who pitched the only perfect game in the World Series in 1956, his uniform was displayed, that will go on the auction block on Steiner Legends Auction.
Alighiero Boetti: Game Plan is a new exhibition of this wonderful artist, which will be at MoMA from July 1-October 1. It is a fascinating show which covers almost 100 works of this intriguing artist, mostly on the sixth floor., which include his obsession with maps of the world. However, on the second floor, there are wonderful weavings from the time he spent in Afghanistan, plus his project to classify the 1000 longest rivers. It is a fine exhibition to memorialize a talented artist, who died in 1994 at 54-years of age.
Rineke Dijkstra: A Retrospective June 29-October 8 is at the Guggenheim Museum. It is a splendid exhibition of many of her photos and some of her videos. There are portraits of soldiers, bullfighters, and young adolescents, and many of the subjects are photographed many times over the years. The photographs are beautiful, truly works of art, and it is lovely to see them displayed effectively. I urge you to see this exhibition. You will be well rewarded.
Alps, by Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece, 2011, is an unusual, fascinating film, about a strange group of individuals named Alps, who specialize in playing roles of dead people, a daughter or a husband, for relatives who will pay for their services to help them with their grief. The leader controls his members like a leader of a cult, and we see what happens to a nurse (a superb Aggeliki Papoulia), who does not follow his strict rules. It is an imaginative, inventive tale, totally absorbing, and many of the powerful scenes will remain with the viewer long after leaving the theatre. I recommend it highly for moviegoers looking for an original experience.
06-29-12
(L-R)
Valerie
Smaldone.
Matthew
Broderick.
Kelli
O'Hara.
Bruce
Dimpflimaier
at
the
unnveiling
of
the
portrait
of
some
members
of
the
cast
of
"Nice
Work
If
You
Can
Get
It"
at
Tony's
di
Napoli.
147
West
43rd
St.
Thursday
night
06-27-12 |