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My wife and I were invited to the Paley
Center to see a television version of George M!,
starring Joel
Grey, directed by Martin
Charnin and Walter
C. Miller, taped
in 1970. It was a wonderful production in color, with
Joel magnificent as George
M. Cohan. His acting, singing and dancing was
superb. He starred on Broadway in the role in 1968, and
toured for two years afterwards. Many theatre stars
appeared in the production, like Nanette
Fabray as
his mother, Jack
Cassidy (father), Bernadette
Peters (sister), Anita
Gillette and Blythe
Danner (his
two wives), and Red
Buttons (Sam
Harris). An ensemble of marvelous dancers contributed to
the success of the show. Joel was interviewed before the
screening by Playbill editor Mark
Peikart,and watched the show. Afterwards, he
received a standing ovation and chatted with members of
the audience, who congratulated him. It was a delightful
afternoon.
Chita
Rivera is
a brilliant dancer, an excellent singer and a marvelous
actress. I have known her for many years, and I was
delighted to know that The 2017 Chita Rivera Awards
bears her name. I attended the 2017
Chita Rivera Awards Nominees Reception at
The Lambs Club, where I greeted many of my friends, like
Chita, Bebe
Neuwirth, Michael Riedel and Patricia
Watt, all of whom spoke at the reception. I
photographed them, as well as Lee
Roy Reams, nominee Sergio
Trujillo, and many of the other nominees like Lyrica
Woodruff and Merete
Muenter. I also congratulated other nominees, like John
Bolton and Joshua
Bergasse. Hors d'oeuvres were served, with an open
bar. I gave Chita an 8 by 10 color photo of her with Lena
Horne that
I took many years ago. She was thrilled. I also had the
pleasure of reuniting with members of her family. It was
a splendid afternoon.
The Red Bull Theater presented the
funniest play this season Off-Broadway. The
Government Inspector, adapted by Jeffrey
Hatcher, from REVIZOR,
by Nikolai
Gogol, at The Duke on 42nd Street. It has a cast of
fourteen magnificent, actors, directed brilliantly by Jesse
Berger. Outstanding
among such an excellent cast is Michael
Urie. His performance deserves every theatre award.
His drunken scene ranks with the best of the 21st
century. There are no words to describe how great he is.
Rush to see him. You will have the time of your life. Michael
McGrath, as
a corrupt mayor of a small provincial town in Russia in
1836, is also superb, as is Mary
Testa as
his wife, and Arnie
Burton, in two wonderful roles as a postmaster and
Urie's servant. I should mention everyone on the
splendid two level stage, designed by Alexis
Distler, with the gorgeous costumes by Tilly
Grimes, plus the hair and wigs by Dave
Bova, but I have no more space. We celebrated the
marvelous opening night of theatrical magic at the West
Bank Cafe afterwards.
We dropped by the opening night party
for Sweetee, A New Musical, book, music and
lyrics by Gail
Kriegel, directed by Patricia
Birch, for a few minutes at the Pershing Square
Signature Center across from the West Bank Cafe, but had
to return to the cafe to photograph Michael Urie and the
cast. I look forward to seeing Sweetee soon.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented Giselle,
choreography after Jean
Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius
Petipa, staged by Kevin
McKenzie, music by Adolpe
Adam, was first performed in 1841, and since then,
it has influenced ballet for nearly 200 years.
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It has been continuously performed
by all the major ballet companies in the world. It is a
glorious ballet about unrequited love. Gillian
Murphy (Giselle) is almost seduced by David
Hallberg (Count Albrecht), pretending to be a
peasant. When he is exposed as a nobleman engaged to
another, she dies. In the second act, she arises as a
future Wili, maidens who died of unrequited love. The
music is beautiful, played exquisitely by the orchestra,
conducted by Ormsby
Wilkins. The dancing was superb. Gillian Murphy is
magnificent in the title role, supported admirably by
David Hallberg. Also, in the first act, Luciana
Paris and Joseph
Gorak are perfect in the Peasant Pas de
Deux. In the second act, Stella
Abrera shines as Myrta, Queen of the Wilis, and the
entire ensemble of Wilis danced marvelously. It is a
memorable evening of splendid ballet.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented The
Golden Cockerel, choreography by Alexei
Ratmansky, music by Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov. Ballet consists of mime and dance.
When mime dominates a ballet, to the detriment of dance,
it does not succeed. Unfortunately, that is what happens
in this production. The music is repetitious, but quite
pleasant, and the orchestra played the score
wonderfully, under the baton of David
LaMarche. Skylar
Brandt (Golden
Cockerel) steals the ballet, unfortunately, mainly
appearing in the first act. She is a magnificent dancer,
and her imitation of a rooster is amazing. I could watch
her forever. Aaron
Scott and Alexandre
Hammoudi as
two sons of the Tsar Dodon (Gary
Chryst), are fine dancers, but again only appear in
the first act. They are found dead on the battlefield in
the second act. Misty
Copeland (Queen
of Shemakhan) and Devon
Teuscher (Persian
Woman) are attractive, and dance beautifully in the
second act. The ensembles have minimal steps to
perform. The sets and costumes by Richard
Hudson are
a delight to the eye.
The Morgan Library & Museum has two
magnificent exhibitions. This
Ever New Self: Thoreau and His Journal, June 2-September
10, 2017, on
the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, has a
collection of his journals, manuscripts, letters and
books, and even his desk, from the Concord Museum. This
remarkable writer, thinker and observer of Nature left a
profound mark on his fellow Americans, which is as
important today as in his own time. I urge everyone to
visit this exhibition. A second exhibition is Noah's
Beasts: Sculpted Animals from Ancient Mesopotamia, May
26-August 27, 2017. They are impressive artworks
from 3300-2250 B.C. The animal sculptures will impress
every art lover.
When one receives a book, and begins to
read the first few pages, and finds it is impossible to
put it down until one reaches the last page, one knows
that one is enjoying a fine reading experience. That is
what happened to me, when I received With
Ballet in My Soul: Adventures of a Globetrotting
Impresario,
by Eva
Maze,
Moonstone Press LLC, 2017. The author was born in
Romania in 1922, arrived in the United States before
World War II broke out, and married an airman, who went
to work for Pan American Airline, and was stationed in
various countries. She lived in Germany, India and
Japan, and became involved in bringing dance and theatre
companies to those countries. She became friends with
many talented performers, as well as political figures.
Her memoir is a fascinating look at her adventures
around the world. It is like a photo album with hundreds
of photos of the places, people and posters of the
companies she managed. It is almost a travelogue, as
well as a history of the major events of the twentieth
century. Now in her mid-nineties she is residing in
Sarasota, Florida, recalling her life, and dedicating
her book to her two daughters. She is a fine writer, and
her stories will delight anyone, who loves dance,
especially ballet, and travel. I enjoyed every minute of
this wonderful book, and I assure you that every reader
will find pleasure reading it. |