On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
May 4, 2013
04-30-13 Performers Laura Osnes (L) and
Stephanie J. Block at the The New York Pops 30th Birthday Gala
at the Plaza Hotel. Fifth Ave. & Central Park South.
Monday night. 04-29-13
Off- Broadway,
I'm A Stranger Here Myself,
written and performed by Mark Nadler, is
basically a cabaret performance, with two other
musicians. He sings songs from the Weimar Republic
in English and German, and shows projections of the
various composers, photos of the period and clips
from some films.
We photographed most of the Tony Nominees at a Press
Junket at the Millennium Hotel. There were many
worthy nominees and I look forward to the Tony
Awards on
June 9.
Sutton Foster
and Jesse Tyler
Ferguson
announced the 67th Annual Tony Nominations at the
New York Public Library for Performing Arts.
Vanya and Sonia and Marsha and Spike
was one of the four best plays nominated,
Kinky Boots
among the Best Musicals, Nathan Lane Best
Actor and Cicely Tyson Best Actress. All
deserve to win.
The New York City Ballet began its Spring season with an
all Balanchine four ballet program. Three of them were
popular crowd pleasers. Who Cares? features the
glorious music of George Gershwin and the equally
glorious dancing of Tiler Peck and Robert
Fairhild. Tarantella, music by Louis
Moreau Gottschalk, was danced by the adorable
Megan Fairchild and Joaquin De Luz, which
received a well deserved tumultuous ovation. Stars
and Stripes, music by John Philip Sousa, is a
delight, with a brilliant Third Campaign led by
Daniel Ulbricht, and a charming Fourth Campaign by a
stunning Ashley Bouder and Andrew Veyette.
Ivesiana, music by Charles Ives, a dark
ballet, in more ways than one, was the fourth ballet.
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Katie Finneran and Kathleen Marshall
were honored at the 2013 Creatve Alternatives
of New York (CANY)
The Pearl Gala Celebrating 30 Years
at the Edison Ballroom. The host was Ann Hampton
Callaway and among the guests were Dick
Latessa, Victor Garber, Cady Huffman and
Judith Light.
Daniel Lawson received the TDF/Irene Sharaff Young
Master Award from Julianna Margulies at a
ceremony at the Hudson Theatre. Among the other
presenters were Charlotte Moore and Santo
Loquasto.
The New York Pops 30th Birthday Gala
celebrated with a dinner dance following the concert
honoring Frank Loesser, Jule Styne and
Danny Kaye. Among the performers, who attended the
dance, were Laura Benanti, Laura Osnes, Stephanie J.
Block, Will Chase and Leslie Uggams.
Casablanca,
by Michael Curtiz,
USA, 1942, is a classic. The story of refugees during
World War II in Morocco has an all star cast, that makes
this one of the most memorable films ever made. Humphrey
Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains,
Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre and Sydney
Greenstreet all give outstanding performances. As
Time Goes By is the song that no one can forget, as
is this wonderful film.
The Lodger, by John Brahm, USA, 1944, is a
mystery story about Jack the Ripper (Laird Cregar).
It stars the beautiful Merle Oberon as a music
hall artist, and features her in two songs on stage. She
is delightful. George Sanders, Cedric
Hardwicke and Sara Allgood star in this
entertaining thriller.
Roman Holiday, by William Wyler, USA,
1953, is a charming film about a runaway princess (the
first leading role for Audrey Hepburn, for which
she won the Academy Award as Best Actress) in Rome. She
is found asleep by a journalist (Gregory Peck)
and a series of delightful adventures follow. It is a
wonderful film from beginning to end, and is filmed
entirely in Rome.
Berlin Express, by Jacques Tourneur, USA,
1948, is the usual mystery on a train, when a person is
killed. What makes this film interesting is the actual
film footage of destroyed Frankfurt and Berlin after
World War II. A fine cast, starring Robert Ryan,
Merle Oberon and Paul Lukas, make this
unbelievable plot bearable to watch.
Letter from an Unknown Woman, by Max Ophuls,
USA, 1948, is a weepy melodrama about the obsessive love
of a young girl (a glorious Joan Fontaine) for an
older musician (a handsome Louis Jourdan). She
bears him a son, but marries another man. Their reunion
later in life, when he does not remember her, results in
her humiliation. This is a film romantics will enjoy.
The Stranger, by Orson Welles, USA, 1946, is a
far-fetched story of an ex-Nazi (Orson Welles) living in a
small town in Connecticut. An investigator, played by
Edward G. Robinson, tracks him down. It is mainly
remarkable for showing footage of film shot in German
concentration camps, when they were liberated during World
War II. Loretta Young was the third lead actor in the
movie, and it is a pleasure to see all three fine stars on
film.
Highway, by Deepak Rauniyar, Nepal, 2012, is a
film about passengers on a bus trip to to Katmandu. With
flashbacks, we learn why they are traveling and the problems
they have. One has a pregnant wife from another man. A young
woman is facing an unwanted marriage. The driver of the bus
is seeing an exotic dancer, who no longer wants him. A
transvestite is beaten in a discoteque. They are an unhappy
bunch of people. A film from Nepal is rare, but this film
will not attract many viewers to the country.
Opera in Cinema from Emerging Pictures presented a
magnificently sung Il Trovatore, by Verdi,
from a performance from the Gran Teatre del Liceu,
Barcelona, which was performed on December 22, 2009. Four
wonderful singers, Marco Berti, Fiorenza Cedolins,
Luciana d'Intino and Vittorio Vitelli, sang
powerfully and beautifully, and the orchestra played the
score splendidly, under the baton of Marco Armiliato.
The set was bare, with curtains at the back. The two female
singers leads wore the same unattractive dress throughout
the opera. The set and costume designer will not be
mentioned. This grand opera was missing the adjective. It
could have been staged as a concert version. That said, it
was a joy to listen to one of the superb operas in the
repertoire.
05-04-13
Daniel
Lawson
receives
the
TDF/Irene
Sharaff
Lifetime
Achievement
Award
from
Julianna
Margulies
at
the
Hudson
Theatre.
145
West
44th
St.
Friday
night.
05-03-13 |