On Broadway, Godspell, music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, is a hyperactive production with ten energetic and enthusiastic performers. The audience greeted them with strong applause. Many celebrities attended opening night, including Kevin Jonas, Andre de Shields and Judith Light. A fun party was held at Planet Hollywood.
Off Broadway, the musical Queen of the Mist, words and music by Michael John LaChiusa, starring Mary Testa, is based on a true story about a woman who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel at the turn of the twentieth century. The cast is terrific, and the music is wonderful. The opening night party took place in the Gym at Judson Memorial Church where the show is performed. Another musical The Blue Flower, by Jim Bauer and Ruth Bauer, follows the lives of three artists and one scientist over fifty years, from 1905-1955, mainly in Berlin. The cast is fine, headed by Marc Kudisch, but the production is hampered by Kudisch singing in nonsense language, a narrator who describes each scene repeatedly and the overuse of film, which adds little to the musical. King Lear, starring Sam Waterston and a superb cast, is a long night, over three and one half hours, and unfortunately, this production does not enhance the play. We celebrated the opening night at Chinatown Brasserie with guests Matthew Broderick, Raul Esparza, and two of Sam's children Katherine and Graham. Nina Conti: Talk to the Hand is a one woman show. Daughter of esteemed British actor, Tom Conti, Nina is an award winning comedienne/ventriloquist, and is extremely funny. Her ability is remarkable with different puppets and a multitude of accents. She is unique, and her performance was one of the highlights of the theatre season.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) presented a program of five modern ballets at City Center. Private Light, a premiere by Demis Volpi, was a disappointment. It was mainly performed on a darkened stage, with many couples kissing repeatedly, female dancers being dragged across the stage by their necks, and male dancers moving often as if working out in a gym. The only thing missing was dance steps. Christian Kiss, a magnificent guitarist, accompanied the dancers. The final Company B, by Paul Taylor, was the highlight of the evening. With recorded songs sung by The Andrew Sisters, the marvelous dancers evoked the atmosphere at home during World War II. It was a nostalgic delight.
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The New York Music Theatre Festival Eighth Season Awards Gala was a festive occasion at the Hudson Theatre, with an after-party at the Paramount Hotel. A host of celebrities were present and Neil Meron and Craig Zadan were honored. Among the guests were Anjelica Houston, Debra Messing, Andrea McArdle, Michael Mayer and Joe DiPietro.
The Carter Burden Center for the Aging's 40th Anniversary Gala at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel honored three magnificent stars of the theatre world, Stephen Sondheim, John Kander and Frank D. Gilroy.
The Kickoff Reception for the 30th Fred & Adele Astaire Awards took place at Remi Restaurant, and among the guests were Lee Roy Reams, Susan Stroman and Sondra Lee.
Primary Stages held a Gala for 20 Pulitzer Prize Playwrights at the Edison Ballroom. It was a wonderful event with all my favorite playwrights attending, including Edward Albee, Tracy Letts, Lynn Nottage and Doug Wright.
I received the novel Little Did I Know, by Mitchell Maxwell, a tale about a young college graduate, who opens a summer stock theatre in Massachusetts. Regional theatre fans will enjoy the trials and tribulations he suffers while producing five musicals during the summer. It also has intrigue, violence and sexy women, who want to take him to bed. Mitchell is a Broadway producer, so he knows what he writes about from experience.
A Brighter Summer Day, by Edward Yang, 1991, Taiwan/Japan, opens a week-long tribute to the late filmmaker on Friday, November 25 at the Elinor Bunin Monroe Center at the Film Society at Lincoln Center. The film, which takes place in 1960, is about the first juvenile homicide in Taiwan. It shows the rebellious teenagers of the period forming violent youth gangs, their misbehavior in school, and the lack of control by their parents. Although it is four hours long, it provides a penetrating look at the dysfunctional lives lived by adolescents lacking appropriate adult role models, which can be applied not only in Taiwan, but all around the world. It is considered Yang's masterpiece.
11-13-11
Tom
Conti
ans
daughter
Nina
Conti
after
Nina's
performance
in "NIna
Conti:
Talk
to
the
Hand"
at
59E59
Theatre.
59
East
59th
St.
Saturday
afternoon
11-09-11 |