Off-Broadway, Old Jews Telling
Jokes, created by Peter Gethers and Daniel Okrent, has
a fine five member cast telling jokes on Jewish subjects for eighty
minutes. The jokes are old; but if you haven't heard them before, they
will entertain you. We celebrated the opening party at Ben's Deli with
delicious corn beef, turkey, roast beef, egg salad sandwiches, with
guests like Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman enjoyed.
Title and Dead, by Will Eno, is
a one man show, featuring Conor Lovett, as a stranger in a
foreign land, talking for seventy minutes. It is supposed to be a
deep existential monologue, but iI was unimpressed.
She's Of A Certain Age, by Susan
Charlotte, features a fine four member cast, in a four scene one
act play about a mother and daughter and their relationships with
the men in their lives. The opening night party took place in the
lounge of Theatre Row with guests like Louise Lasser,
Fritz Weaver and Diahnne Abbott, proud mother of cast
member Drena De Niro.
February House, music and lyrics by
Gabriel Kahane, book by Seth Bockley, is a musical about
a number of artists who live together in Brooklyn during 1940-1941.
Some became quite famous like Gypsy Rose Lee, Carson
McCullers, W. H. Auden and Benjamin Britten. The concept
is interesting, and the cast is quite good. The opening night party
took place at Five Points restaurant with the cast and Alan Alda.
The revival My Children! My Africa! by
Athol Fugard, takes place in a school room with a
schoolmaster and two students, one white and one black, and is
essentially a debate about apartheid and the future of South African
identity. The three actors are excellent, but the play could be
shortened for stronger effect..
The revival The Common Pursuit, by
Simon Gray, is about six English university students, who decide
to publish a literary magazine. We follow their professional and
personal lives over twenty years. Unfortunately, the characters are
not very interesting.
The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
presented a magnificent production of Iolanthe. The cast was
excellent. The orchestra, under the direction of Albert Bergeret,
played the score wonderfully. The audience enjoyed a delightful
afternoon, and responded with enthusiastic applause. Thank goodness,
New York has this company. It keeps the brilliant works of
Gilbert & Sullivan alive. Every fan should support them.
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I returned to see The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and End of the Rainbow. I recommend both highly.
The Actors Fund Gala honored Harry Belafonte, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara and David Steiner. Among the guests at the Marriott Marquis were Bebe Neuwirth, Tyne Daly, Angela Lansbury and Christopher Plummer.
The 57th Annual Obie Awards took place at Webster Hall. Among the winners were Linda Lavin, Susan Pourfar and Santino Fontana. Among the presenters were Lily Rabe, Jonathan Pryce and Michael McKean.
New Dramatists honored Bernadette Peters at its 63rd Annual Spring Luncheon at the Marriott Marquis. Elaine Stritch , Joel Grey and John Dossett performed and Jim Dale introduced the guests, among whom were David Hyde Pierce, Judith Light, Chuck Cooper and Patrick Page.
Outer Critics Circle Theatre Awards were presented at a dinner at Sard's. Among the winners were Tracie Bennett, Audra McDonald, James Earl Jones, James Corden and Denis O'Hare, and among the presenters were Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Josh Gad and Montegp Glover.
A press conference was held for the 12th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) at Misha Nicole Boutique, where I met many of the film directors, including Junaid Ahmed More Than Just a Game, Vikram Gandhi Kumare, Kabir Chopra Strangers and Suneil Anand, son of the late famed director Dev Anand. Aroon Shivdasani is the director of this magnificent showcase of fine Indian films.
The
Film
Society
of
Lincoln
Center
held
press
screenings
of
Open
Roads:
New
Italian
Cinema
June
8-14.
I
saw
Terraferma,
by
Emanuele
Crialese,
Italy/France,
2011,
a
terrific
film
that
takes
place
on
an
island
near
Sicily.
A
poor
family
of
fishermen
rescues
an
illegal
African
pregnant
woman
and
her
son
in
the
sea,
and
shelters
them
in
their
home,
which
is
against
the
law.
How
they
resolve
this
conflict
is
the
main
theme
of
this
beautiful
film.
This
tremendous
problem
of
illegal
aliens
wanting
to
achieve
a
better
life
in
Europe
is
portrayed
exquisitely
in
this
marvelous
film.
I
recommend
it
highly.
Seven
Acts
of
Mercy,
by
Gianluca
and
Massimiliano
De
Serio,
Italy/Romania,2011,
is
an
ambitious
work,
inspired
by
the
painting
by
Caravaggio,
featuring
the
seven
Christian
acts
of
mercy.
Updated
to
the
present,
we
follow
a
young
homeless
woman
and
an
old
man
suffering
with
cancer
through
scenes
illustrating
acts
such
as
feeding
the
hungry
and
clothing
the
naked.
The
scenes
are
sad
and
depressing.
The
two
actors,
Robert
Herlizka
and
Olimpia
Melinte,
give
powerful
performances.
The
Legend
of
Kaspar
Hauser,
by
Davide
Manuli,
Italy,
2012,
is a
weird
film,
based
on
the
legend
of a
"wild
boy",
appearing
on
the
streets
of
Nuremberg
in
1828.
In
this
film,
a
strange
young
man
is
swept
ashore
on
an
almost
deserted
Italian
island
in
modern
times,
and,
at
first,
he
is
welcomed,
but
afterwards
killed.
The
film
is
in
black
and
white.
All
the
characters
on
the
island
are
strange,
and
it
is
hard
to
understand
what
the
point
of
the
film
is.
05-25-12
Judy
Kaye
and
Michael
McGrath
at
the
Outer
Critics
Circle
62nd
Annual
Awards
Party
at
Sardi's
.234
West
44th
St.
Thursday
afternoon
05-24-12 |