Off-Broadway, Edith,
is a concert by Jil
Aigrot, who was the voice of Edith
Piaf in the film La
Vie en Rose. With four wonderful musicians accompanying her, she sings
the songs made famous by Piaf. Aigrot illustrates the life of the singer
with projections of photos of scenes of Paris, magazine covers and Piaf with
lovers at glamorous parties. Her voice is so like the the legendary singer,
that it is remarkable. It is a wonderful presentation.
Disaster!, by Seth
Rudetsky and Jack
Plotnick, is a hilarious musical about a disaster on a casino ship
in the Hudson River. A talented cast, which includes Mary Testa,
John Treacy Egan and a
scene stealing Jennifer
Simard as a nun with
problems, create the funniest show and the most entertaining night in
theatre this season. The opening night party at Southern Hospitality
attracted more stars than we ever see at an Off-Off-Broadway event,
including Charlotte
d'Amboise, Brenda Braxton, Christine Ebersole, Jan Maxwell, Priscilla
Lopez and more.
The Jacksonian, by Beth
Henley, features four
superb actors who we rarely see on stage in New York. Ed
Harris is an ex-dentist
living in a sleazy motel. Amy
Madigan is his wife who
kicked him out of their home. Glenne
Headly is the sexy
barmaid and Bill
Pullman is a weird
bartender. It is a combustible evening in the theatre. The opening night
party took place at KTCHN in THE OUT NYC with guests Holly
Hunter, Daniel Gerroll and Patricia
Kalember.
I attended a
program of three ballets by American Ballet Theatre (ABT) in the first
week of their fall season. Les
Sylphides, choreography by Michel
Fokine, music by Chopin,
is the typical classical ballet with three leading ballerinas, a corps
de ballet and one male dancer. All excelled in their individual
variations, especially Polina
Semionova, Veronica Part andCory
Stearns. The second ballet, Clear,
choreography by Stanton
Welch, music by Bach,
is a modern ballet, featuring seven bare chested male dancers, headed by Marcelo
Gomes, and a ballerina, Julie
Kent. It features sexy male virility. The program concluded with Themes
and Variations, choreography by Balanchine,
music by Tchaikovsky,
withIsabella Boylston and Danil
Simkin in the leads. The
two danced brilliantly in this crowd pleasing ballet. It was a
delightful, varied program.
A
memorial celebration was held for Shirley
Herz, one of the finest, sweetest press agents in the theatre. Among
the many speakers and performers were Charlotte
Moore, Liz Smith, Tyne Daly and Angela
Lansbury. I loved her and she will be missed.
11-08-13 Cast members (L-R) Director
Robert Falls. Glenne Headly. Juliet Brett. Bill Pullman. playwright Beth
Henley. Amy Madigan. Ed Harris at the opening night party for "The
Jacksonian" at KTCHN in THE OUT NYC. 510 West 42nd St. Thursday night
11-07-13