On Broadway, a revival of Harvey, by Mary Chase, opens on June 14. I saw it last night and I will write about it in the June 16 column.
Off-Broadway, Chimichangas and Zoloft, by Fernanda Coppel, is about a mother, who leaves her homosexual husband and her teenage lesbian daughter. Two other characters are the pregnant teenage friend of the daughter, whose father is the lover of the other father. It is an intermissionless eighty minute play, but seems longer.
Medieval Play, by Kenneth Lonergan, is a silly, vulgar play about knights in the fourteenth century. The cast deserve better.
Murder in the First, by Dan Gordon, is a splendid play, based on a true story about a prisoner (an excellent Chad Kimball) who murders a fellow inmate, and whose trial produced the closing of the infamous jail, Alcatraz. A large cast, including the fine Guy Burnet as the defense lawyer, is expertly directed by Michael Parva. The opening night party took place at Volstead with the cast and guests like Laila Robins and Robert Cuccioli
Food and Fadwa, by Lameece Issaq and Jacob Kader, is a well acted play about a Palestinian family in the Israeli occupied West Bank, preparing for a wedding, with one of the daughters marrying a Palestinian living in America. It is a lovely, sentimental play, in which the preparing of food plays an integral part. The opening night party at Phebe's Bar and Grill included guests Tovah Feldshuh and Heather Randall.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented The Bright Stream, choreography by Alexei Ratmansky, music by Dmitri Shostakovich. It is a fun-filled ballet about a Russian collective farm, which receives a visit of two ballet dancers. Xiomara Reyes, Herman Cornejo, and Danil Simkin are magnificent in the lead roles, but the fourth star Natalia Osipova is simply breathtaking. She literally floats on the stage. It is a brilliant performance. Onegin, choreography by John Cranko. is based on the poem by Alexander Pushkin. The ballet follows the plot of the opera, but Tchaikovsky's music is different. David Hallberg in the title role, Joseph Gorak and Yuriko Kajiya danced beautifully, and Hee Seo gave a touching performance as the frustrated Tatiana.
Drama Desk presented their awards at The Town Hall. The winners were almost the same as Outer Critics Circle; Once, Tribes (different), Follies and Death of a Salesman. Outstanding Actors Tracie Bennett, James Corden, Audra McDonald and Danny Burstein. Featured actors Judy Kaye, Michael McGrath and (different) Tom Edden and Judith Light. Brooke Shields and Brian d'Arcy James hosted the evening.
Christie Brinkley and Nick Jonas were honored at the Inside Broadway's 2012 Broadway Beacon Awards at the Hudson Theatre. Julie Chang was the host, and Inside Broadway's Executive Producer Michael Presser, Constantine Maroulis and Elizabeth Stanley were present at this festive occasion.
The 30th Annual Fred and Adele Astaire Awards were presented at the Skirball Center, and Liza Minnelli received the Douglas Watt Lifetime Achievement Award and Kathleen Raitt was honored for starting the awards thirty years ago. Susan Stroman, Karen Ziemba, Tony Danza, Lee Roy Reams and Joe Morton were among the many guests and presenters at this wonderful event.
The League of Professional Theatre Women 30th Anniversary June Awards Luncheon at Sardi's honored Ann Roth and Rachel Reiner. It always a pleasant occasion, and guests included Debra Monk, Angelica Page and Barbara Ligeti.
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Film Society of Lincoln Center Open Roads: New Italian Cinema June 8-13 opened with Magnificent Presence, by Fernan Ozpetek, Italy, 2012, is a comedy about an actor, who rents an apartment in Rome, only to find that he shares it with ghostly inhabitants. It is an entertaining film. The director and many other directors, whose films will be shown. attended the screening and reception afterwards, including Francesco Bruni, Marina Spada , Andrea Segre and actress Francesca Cuttica.
The 68th Annual Theatre World Awards is a lovely event, and this year, among the worthy winners were Jennifer Lim, Hettianne Park, Phillip Boykin and Jeremy Jordan. Among the presenters were David Alan Grier, Stacy Keach, Tony Sheldon and Leslie Uggams. We celebrated the occasion at an after-party at Bowlmor Lanes. It is always one of my favorite awards ceremonies, hosted by Peter Filichia.
Film Society at Lincoln Center presents The 2012 Human Rights Watch Film Festival June 14-28. Brother Number One, by Annie Goldson, New Zealand, 2011, is the heartbreaking story of a New Zealander, who was tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. His brother Rob Hamill appears thirty years later to testify at the Cambodia War Crimes Tribunal against Comrade Duch, who was in charge of the S-21 prison. It is a horrific story, in which not only the brother, but millions of Cambodians suffered at the hands of the ruthless Khmer Rouge. It is a powerful documentary. Reportero, by Bernardo Ruiz, Mexico/US, 2011, shows the danger of being a journalist in Tijuana, if one is investigating the illegal narcotic industry. The gangs murder writers and editors with impunity, and in this splendid documentary, we follow the brave Sergio Haro and his colleagues at the weekly newspaper Zeta. It is a shocking film, which reveals the corruption of the Mexican police, politicians and the judicial system. Escape Fire: The Fight to Save American Healthcare, by Matthew Heineman and Susan Froemke, US, 2012, is an exposure of the effect of politicians, lobbyists and corporations, which make healthcare in America, unnecessarily, the most expensive in the world. The greed of the pharmaceutical companies and others is appalling. This film must be seen by all Americans. It will move you to action.
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, by Matthew Akers, US, 2012, follows the life of a remarkable performance artist, whose professional life culminates at the age of 63 at an exhibition at MoMA in 2010, in which she sits for seven and one half hours face to face with individual museum visitors without eating, drinking or moving for three months. Other parts of the exhibit, which I attended, included many naked models and photographs and videos of her work over forty years. It is an engrossing film, and Marina is fearless in exposing her life to the public. It will open June 13 at Film Forum.
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05-12 Honorees Christie Brinkley and Nick Jonas at the
Inside Broadway's 2012 Broadway Beacon Awards. at the
Hudson Theatre. 145 West 44th St. Monday night 06-04-12 |