A revival of Shadowlands, by William
Nicholson, at Acorn Theatre Theatre Row,
is a Fellowship for Performing Arts
production. A splendid cast, headed by a
magnificent Daniel
Gerroll (photo below) as C.S. Lewis, a
professor at Oxford University, a confirmed
bachelor, who suddenly falls in love with a
New York divorced lady. The play is superb,
as is the ten member cast, directed expertly
by Christa
Scott-Reed. The scenic design by Kelly James
Tighe deserves an ovation itself. The
dialogue is a pleasure to listen to,
clever, intelligent, and witty at times. I
enjoyed every minute of this wonderful
play..The opening night party took place at
Yotel Hotel-Green Fig Room, 570 Tenth
Avenue, where we congratulated the excellent
cast, creative team and the playwright, who
arrived that day from London. Daniel
Gerroll's son Tobias,
and wife Patricia
Kalember were present to enjoy his
outstanding performance.
Rejoice! The Big Apple Circus is
alive and well at Lincoln Center Damrosch
Park. It celebrated its 40th Anniversary
Season with Manhattan Borough President Gale
Brewer raising the curtain opening
night. It is a delight for children of all
ages. The jugglers, acrobats, high wire and
trapeze performers, clowns, including Grandma
the Clown, who returned from retirement,
and the adorable dogs and horses, both large
and small, all are
included in this fabulous show. Do not miss
it!
For television fans, they will
love Friends!
The Musical Parody,
book and lyrics by Bob and Tobly
McSmith,
music by Assaf
Gleizner,
at St. Luke's Theatre. An enthusiastic,
energetic six member cast, directed by Paul
Stancato,
delighted the audience. The music is pleasant,
and the audience recalled all their favorite
moments from the sitcom. We congratulated the
cast at the opening night party at The Brazen
Tavern, 356 West 44th St. It was a very
entertaining evening.
Three more films from MoMA, which
is presenting Strange Illusions: Poverty Row
Classics Preserved by UCLA, Oct 19-28. The
Vampire Bat, by Frank
R. Strayer, USA, 1933, with Lionel
Atwill, Melvyn
Douglas, and Fay
Wray. A mad doctor (Atwill) is killing
people in a village to drain their blood to
create new life. Douglas is the detective who
solve the crimes, and rescues his sweetheart Fay
Wray. I met and photographed Fay on many
occasions. She was, always, sweet, gracious and
charming. Her face lit up the screen. The
plot is nonsense, but very entertaining, and the
actors are a pleasure to watch.
The Crime of Doctor Crespi,
by John H.
Auer, USA, 1935, stars Erich
von Stroheim as an obsessed surgeon, who
wants to seek revenge on his colleague who stole
his sweetheart. The bizarre plot, based
loosely on Edgar
Alan Poe's Premature Burial, is
ridiculous, but like most of the films in this
series, it is entertaining. What is enjoyable
about them is there are moments of humor, which
lessens the horror aspects of the film.
White Zombie,
by Victor
Halperin, USA, 1932, features Bela
Lugosi of Dracula fame. This one
takes place in Haiti, where dead men's bodies
are returned to the earth as zombies and
controlled by Lugosi. Again the plot is totally
absurd, but audiences love it. When a lovely,
American young lady marries there, she dies, and
is turned into the white zombie of the title.
Not to worry, as in all these films, the heroine
returns to life, and the romantic couple live
happily ever after.
I have never entered the
elegant building Down
Town Association,
60 Pine Street, before, but I was very
impressed when I attended a This
is Italy, Parts Unknown, Workshop
on Food, followed by a Gustoso Sicilian
Food tasting. We sampled two delicious
pastas, tasty breads, olives, cakes and
two fine Sicilian wines. It was a
wonderful introduction to the
magnificent food of Sicily. Among the
guests were my old friend Tony
May,
his daughter Marisa and
her husband Leonardo
Metalli.
Tony was the leading Italian restauranteur
of New York. I visited all his fine
restaurants that he created in New
York. He is now teaching culinary
skills in five cities in Italy.
Two of my favorite
dancers were honored at The Actors
Fund's Career Transition For Dancers
Jubilee Gala, Catherine
Zeta -Jones (photo
below) and Robert
Fairchild at the Marriott Marquis,
1535 Broadway. Among the guests at this
wonderful event were Michael
Douglas, the proud husband of
Catherine and Sarah
Estey, who is starring with Robert
in Brigadoon. Bebe
Neuwirth was the host, and other
guests included Brian
Stokes Mitchell, Allyson Tucker
Mitchell, Bonnie Comley, Stewart F. Lane and Rob
Marshall. The head of the Actors
Fund, Joseph
Benincasa always presents the most
marvelous evenings.
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I attended a photo op for Bulldozer: The
Ballard of Robert Moses at Nola Studios. The
five member cast is headed by Constantine
Maroulis. I look forward to its opening
night on December 7 at the Theatre at St.
Clements.
A wonderful third annual Voices
for the Voiceless: Stars For Foster Kids, a
benefit for You Gotta Believe!, took
place at Town Hall with wonderful performers
like Stephanie
Mills, Jonathan Groff, Sierra
Boggess with many others, and speakers like Melissa
Gilbert, Jeffrey Sellers and Charlene
Tilton, who related their histories as
foster children. Seth
Rudetsky and James
Wesley founded this organization, and they
are to be congratulated for this glorious
charity. A lovely after-party took place at Blue
Fin.
The 24 Hour Plays 2017 took
place at the American Airlines Theatre, with an
after-party in the penthouse of the theatre. A
large number of actors and playwrights took part
in the program, and it was a delight to greet
playwrights like Marsha
Norman, who was honored, directors like Kate
Whoriskey, actors like Raul
Castillo and Bret
Gelman, and guests like Amanda
Green and Julie
Jordan. As always, it is a lovely event.
Two magnificent exhibitions inhabit the Frick
Museum, 1 East 70th. Murillo: The Self-Portraits,
November 7, 2017-February 4, 2018 and Veronese
in Murano: Two Venetian Renaissance Masterpieces
Restored, October 24, 2017-March 11, 2018. Bartolome
Esteban Murillo was the superb Spanish painter
of the seventeenth century. To celebrate the
400th anniversary of his birth, there are the only
two portraits of him were ever painted by him, one
as a young man and the second, twenty years later,
as a mature artist. Many other paintings are
included, and one in particular is outstanding Two
Women in the Window. Pablo Veronese was
the great Italian painter of the sixteenth century.
His St. Jerome in the Wilderness and St.
Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter are
marvelous examples of his brilliance. I could look
at them forever. His mastery of his art is evident
in these two remarkable paintings. The Frick is the
jewel of all museums in New York, and I urge every
art lover to visit these two exhibitions.
The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue, presented a
press preview for Veiled Meanings: Fashioning
Jewish Dress from the Collection of The Israel
Museum, Jerusalem, November 3, 2017-March 18, 2018.
For those who are captivated by fashion, this is
fascinating exhibition. The emphasis is on women's
clothes, but there are also clothing for men, boys
and girls. Most garments are from the nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, an have disappeared
from modern use. They are from over twenty countries
from four continents and represent their culture.
The wedding dresses, in particular, will delight
brides to be. The craftsmanship and skill of these
dressmakers will astonish the viewers. Do not miss
this wonderful exhibition. There is also Math
Bass: Crowd Rehearsal on view in the museum's
Skirball Lobby from November 2, 2017-March 18,
2018. Her unusual sculpture is worth seeing.
It is frustrating when two of my
favorite museums have a press preview on the same
morning. I managed to attend both, even though they
were miles away from each other. My late first
wife, Maria Elena
Aragon de Reuben, was Mexican and an expert on
ancient Mexican history, and had visited every
archeological sites of the country and Guatemala.
She would have loved this press preview. Guggenheim
Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue, presented a press preview
of Josef Albers in Mexico, November 3,
2017-February 18, 2018. It is an impressive
display of interesting works, based on his numerous
visits to Mexico. And again do not miss this
wonderful exhibition.
The Morgan Library & Museum, 225
Madison Avenue, presented a press preview of Charles
Dickens and the Spirit of Christmas, November 3,
2017-January 14, 2018. I was born and educated
in Manchester, England, and read every book that the
great novelist wrote. The exhibition is about The
Christmas Carol and four other books that he
wrote about Christmas. It is the first time all the
manuscripts have been presented together. It details
his reading of his works around England and on his
two visits to the United States after the American
Civil War. He was the celebrity of his time. It is a
fascinating look at a remarkable man. And again and
again do not miss this wonderful exhibition.
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