Three actors are in an
Incomprehensible play for 65
minutes. They are a husband (Clive
Owen), a wife (Kelly
Reilly) and her friend (Eve
Best), who sit on armchairs,
couches and divans, sipping tea,
pouring brandy and smoking
cigarettes. The
two women had lived together
before, and Best comes to visit
the married couple. Although,
they are not known for their
singing ability, they sing lines
from popular songs badly. A
revival of the Off-Broadway play
seen in 1983 is now given a
production on Broadway. Old
Times, byHarold
Pinter, at
the American Airlines Theatre,
is a bizarre play, which does
not improve the reputation of
three fine actors, directed by Douglas
Hodge. The dialogue is
unintelligible and excruciating,
and to charge Broadway prices
for this nonsense is appalling.
Clive Own is best known as a
film star in his debut on
Broadway, and I am sure he will
attract his fans to see this
play.
When the curtain rises, the
scene is a sleazy motel in the
Mojave Desert. May (Nina
Arianda) is sitting on a
bed. Eddie (Sam
Rockwell) is standing center
stage, and The Old Man, who
comments on the scene
occasionally, (Gordon
Joseph Weiss) is sitting on
an armchair. Eddie has driven
thousands of miles to get May,
his former lover, back. Thus
begins Fool
For Love, by Sam
Shepard, at the Samuel J.
Friedman, on Broadway. In 1983,
it appeared Off-Broadway. May
and Eddie kiss passionately, and
then she hits him in the groin,
where he falls to the floor. He
falls to the floor again, when a
young man Martin (Tom
Pelphrey) knocks him down,
when he arrives for a date with
May. Eddie remains lying on the
floor. It is a convoluted story,
which is ridiculous and
unbelievable. It also has a plot
of Eddie's unseen recent
lover following him to burn his
car. By the way, it must be
mentioned that Rockwell shows
tremendous skill with a lasso.
In 75 minutes, the play is
insufferable, and four fine
actors are wasted under Daniel
Aukin's direction.
Off-Broadway, Daddy
Long Legs, music and lyrics
by Paul
Gordon, book by John
Caird, at the Davenport
Theatre, is a modest, two
character musical, about a man (Paul
Alexander Nolan), who
sponsors the college education
of an orphan (Megan
McGinnis). The only
requirement is that she writes
to him each month, and not
enquire who he is. The two
singers have excellent voices,
and the music and lyrics are
pleasant.
Clever Little Lies, by Joe
DiPietro, at the Westside
Theatre, opens on Monday,
October 12. My comments will
appear in my next week's column.
The press preview of Andrea
del Sarto : The Renaissance
Workshop in Action, October
7-January 10, 2016 at
the Frick Collection, 1East 70th
St, is a superb exhibition. The
drawings display a wonderful
technique and craftsmanship. Andrea
del Sarto (1486-1530)
used drawings in red and black
chalk as part of his creative
process, leading to magnificent
paintings. The Frick Collection,
in this marvelous exhibition,
proves his genius. Do not miss
it.
We were invited to an exhibition Color
Thru My Lens, by Marge
Neu, at Swifty's, 1007
Lexington Ave. The color
photographs were displayed in
the small, back room of the
restaurant. The photographs were
colorful and impressive.
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Rick's Cabaret, 50 West 33rd St,
celebrated 20 years on Nasdaq, with a VIP
reception, with cocktails and delicious
hors d'oeuvres. The cabaret girls also posed
for photographs and performed. President/CEO
of RCI Hospitality Holdings, Inc. Eric
Langan arrived
from Texas to cut the cake. It was a
delightful event
The 53rd New York Film Festival September
25-October 14 continued its press
screenings with Steve
Jobs, by Danny
Boyle, USA, 2015. It is in three parts,
showing the launch of three different
computers, of which two were failures and
the last one was a success. The film also
focuses on his relationship with the mother
(Katherine
Waterston) of his daughter (played at
different ages by three separate actresses).
He was a driven personality, unlikable and
arrogant, but played brilliantly by Michael
Fassbender. Kate
Winslet. Seth Rogen. Jeff Daniels and Michael
Stuhlbarg have
supporting roles, and all give excellent
performances. It is certainly one of the
best films in the festival. A Q & A with the
cast and creative team followed the press
screening.
Bridge of Spies, by Steven
Spielberg, USA, 2015, is a terrific film
about the 1962 prisoner exchange of Russian
spy Rudolph
Abel (Mark
Rylance) for two Americans, one of whom
was Francis
Gary Powers, who was shot down in his
U-2 reconnaissance plane. The Abel's lawyer James
B. Donovan (Tom
Hanks) arranged the swap. The film is a
wonderful recreation of the fascinating
story, that holds the viewer's attention
from beginning to end. Hanks and Rylance
give splendid performances. It is one of the
highlights of the festival.
Brooklyn, by John
Crowley, UK/Ireland/Canada, 2015, is a
lovely, sentimental film, about a young
Irish girl, Eilis (a luminous Saoirse
Ronan), emigrating to the United States
from Ireland. All the loneliness of an
immigrant is shown in her face; but also her
determination to succeed, working
in a department store by day and studying
bookkeeping at night at Brooklyn College. It
is a superb performance. When her sister
dies, she returns home, and meets a wealthy
man (Domhnall
Gleeson), who wants to marry her.
However, she has already secretly married a
sweet, kind, young man of Italian descent (Emory
Cohen), and we have a romantic, happy
ending. It is one of the best films of the
festival, a pure delight. A
Q & A with the cast and creative team
followed the press screening.
A commercial film 45
Years, by Andrew
Haigh, UK. 2015, is a marvelous portrait
of a married couple (Charlotte
Rampling and Tom
Courtenay), living in retirement in a
small village in Norfolk, waiting to
celebrate their 45 years of marriage.
Suddenly, the husband receives a letter
telling him the frozen body of a former
girlfriend has been discovered on a Swiss
mountain, where she disappeared 50 years
ago, while they were on a holiday trip. This
awakens tensions in the couple's marriage.
The two actors give brilliant performances,
and the film leaves a profound impression on
the viewer. Every gesture, every movement,
and every frustration between the married
couple is expressed wonderfully. It is a
magnificent film.
Another commercial film Trash,
by Stephen
Daldry, UK/Brazil/Germany, 2015, is a
remarkable film, about three youngsters (Rickson
Tevis, Eduardo Luis and Gabriel
Weinstein), working in a trash heap in
Rio de Janeiro. When one finds a wallet,
containing incriminating evidence against a
corrupt politcian. they are pursued by
brutal policemen. It is a riveting, exciting
tale, and an indictment against political
corruption, police brutality, horrible
poverty and injustice. The three child
actors scramble up walls, climb through
windows, run on narrow ledges, and do a
phenomenal job as actors. It is a marvelous
film
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