I was born in Manchester,
England. This week, a suicide bomber detonated
an explosive device killing 21 innocent people
and injuring many more. I am in mourning for the
victims. I love Manchester. I spent fifteen
happy years there. Manchester will recover from
this horrible tragedy.
The 67th Annual Awards Dinner for
the Outer Critics Circle 2016-17 Season took
place at Sardi's. As the winners are announced
beforehand, many of the honorees attend the
dinner. Among those present on this occasion, I
photographed Bette
Midler, Laura Linney and Cynthia
Nixon. The three presenters were Danny
Burstein, Katie Finneran and Christopher
Fitzgerald. As always, it is a pleasant
affair.
Awards season never ends, so I
attended Broadway.com
Audience Choice Awards at
48 Lounge, which featured an open bar and
delicious hors d'oeuvres. Among the honorees, I
photographed Andrew
Rannells, Mike
Faist, whom
I like, because he laughed at everyone of my
jokes, and Barry
Weissler.
It was a lovely event.
The New Group presented Whirligig,
by Hamish
Linklater, at the Pershing Square Signature
Center. It is a strange play, about a young girl
(Grace Van
Patten) dying in a hospital bed, apparently
on an overdose of drugs. Her mother (Dolly
Wells) arrives, and the history of the
family is recalled. The mother and the angry
alcoholic father (Norbert
Leo Butz photo below) divorced many years
ago. It is a very dysfunctional family, and
their friends are worse. The excellent eight
member cast is directed by Scott
Elliott. The opening night party took place
at the Green Fig's Social Drink and Food
Terrace, 570 Tenth Avenue, where guests
like Lois
Smith, Zachary
Quinto, David Rabe and John
Epperson congratulated
the cast.
One of my favorite actresses,
honoree Judith
Light (photo below), received
the 17th
Annual Monte Cristo Award from
the Eugene O'Neill Center, at 583 Park
Avenue. Executive Director Preston
Whiteway posed
for photographs with presenter Thomas
Kail and
the Honoree. Many celebrities attended the
lovely affair.
Monday, May 22, was a very busy
day. I covered five events. It began with a Meet
& Greet for the Off-Broadway musical Attack
of the Elvis Impersonators, composed by Lory
Lazarus, which opens at the Lion Theatre, on
Thursday June 15. I photographed the cast and
creative team, and saw two selections by the
talented cast. I eagerly await the opening
night.
I rushed to the Eighth
Annual Lilly Awards at
Playwrights Horizons for photographs of the
wonderful honorees like Denee
Benton, Beanie Feldstein and Madison
Ferris, with presenters like Daryl
Roth, David Henry Hwang and Ruben
Santiago-Hudson. As I tasted three types of
Rose wines, I greeted Amanda
Green, Stephen Schwartz and Estelle
Parsons, before attending my third event.
At the NYU Skirball Center, I
photographed two of my favorite ladies, hosts Kelli
O'Hara and
Dame Helen
Mirren, for The
Stuttering Association for The Young (SAY) 15th
Anniversary Gala.
I tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, while talking with
film director, Taylor
Hackford, who is married to Helen. I wanted
to stay, but had to go to my fourth event.
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The 62nd Annual Obie Awards at
Webster Hall awarded prizes to some my favorite
actors and shows of the season. A special award went
to a special playwright, Paula
Vogel, and among the plays honored were The
Band's Visit, and Oslo.
Among the guests, I chatted with the magnificent
costume designer William
Ivey Long, while sipping a Stella Artois beer.
Unfortunately, I had to leave for my fifth and final
event for the night.
I have known Michael
Musto for
many, many years, and he was the subject of a Roast,
produced by Daniel
Demello, at the Actors Temple. I arrived just in
time for a reception before the show. As I sipped
Tito vodka, I greeted some of the performers, who
were to appear on stage like Michael
Riedel, Orfeh and Randy
Jones. Michael arrived, dressed flamboyantly as
always, and I was able to give him an envelope of
contact sheets and negatives, that I had taken of
him over 20 years ago, with many names from various
scandals of the past. It was the end of a very
busy day.
We went to Fat
Pig, 120 Dyckman Street, for a food tasting. Jairo
de la Paz is
the charming owner of this restaurant, that serves
delicious food. He presented us with a tray of
brisket, sausages, and other meats. My wife drank a
wonderful Mexican beer, Estrella Jalisco, and I
drank my usual rum. It was a splendid evening of
wonderful food and drink. I recommend Fat Pig
highly. You will leave well satisfied.
Every year Joseph
Sirola holds
his annual Champagne
& Roses party
in his penthouse. As always, the food is delicious,
and the champagne and red and white wines are
superb. That plus the many guests makes for a
delightful evening. I discovered a contact sheet and
negatives from a party 20 years ago, which I gave to
Joe. At that party Joe was holding on his lap the
lovely Sally Kirkland. Robert
Merrill was
kissing Rita
Gam, and everyone was having fun. It is, without
doubt, one of the finest parties of the year.
American Ballet theatre (ABT)
presented Whipped
Cream,
choreography by Alexei
Ratmansky,
music and libretto by Richard
Strauss,
set and costume design by Mark
Ryden, which
was first produced in 1924, without much success and
disappeared. In this version, Princess Tea Flower
was danced by Devon
Teuscher, substituting
for an injured Gillian
Murphy.
It is basically a fairy tale for children. The Boy (Jeffrey
Cirio)
overdoses on sweets in a confectioner's shop, and is
rushed to the hospital. He is rescued from the
hospital by Princess Praline (Skylar
Brandt),
who takes him to her kingdom for a happy ending.
Their dancing in the second act is one of the
highlights of this pleasant ballet. Another
highlight is the ending of the first act, where the
ensemble of whipped cream dancers, all in white,
perform memorably. The music is typical of Strauss,
and the set and costumes are pleasing to the eye. David
LaMarche conducted
the orchestra.
The New York City Ballet presented A
Midsummer Night's Dream, music by Felix
Mendelssohn, choreography by George
Balanchine. It is one of the finest ballets in
the company's repertoire. The entire company danced
brilliantly, especially Miriam
Miller (Titania), Daniel
Ulbricht (Oberon)
and Emily
Kikta (Hippolyta,
Queen of the Amazons) in the first act, and Tyler
Peck and Tyler
Angle (Divertissement)
in the second act. They
all received tumultuous applause. The
orchestra played the beautiful music excellently,
under the baton of Andrew
Litton. The Butterflies and Fairies are
children/students of The School of American Ballet,
and were adorable. This was magnificent performance,
that was memorable, a delight to the eyes and the
ears. |