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I've seen many revivals on Broadway, and most have been mediocre. The two previous revivals of On The Town were not successful. However the new one with music by Leonard Bernstein, book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, based on an idea by Jerome Robbins, at the Lyric Theatre, is a production from the Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield, Ma, in 2013, and is directed by John Rando, with new choreography by Joshua Bergasse, and is, in some ways, much better. Megan Fairchild is a ballerina from the New York City Ballet, and is easily the outstanding performer on stage. She is a wonderful dancer. pretty and charming, and steals every scene in which she appears. The three sailors (Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson and Clyde Alves), who have twenty four hours to enjoy New York, are very good. Full of energy, they sing and dance magnificently. They each find a girlfriend, so there is a happy ending. The book is ridiculous, and has not improved with age. But the music, dancing, and the lyrics, are a joy, and worth the price of admission.
Off-Broadway, While I Yet Live, by Billy Porter, at the Duke Theatre, opened, but I was unable to see it. I was able, however, to attend the opening night party at Casa Nonna, 310 West 38th St, and congratulate two of my favorite actresses, S. Epatha Merkerson and Lillias White, who star among the seven member cast. It was a lovely party.
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We were invited to see a press preview of the Broadway musical Side Show, which opens on November 17, at the St. James Theatre. We saw one selection,which showed the freaks, who appear in this revival, about the true story of the Hilton twins, Daisy (Emily Padgett) and Violet (Erin Davie), who were joined at the hip, and were a sensation on the vaudeville circuit. The makeup, costumes and appearance of the freaks was quite amazing. I look forward eagerly to opening night.
Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, by Alejandro G. Inarritu, USA, 2014 was the final press screening for the 52nd New York Film Festival September 26-October 12, 2014. The film is about a one time action film star (a fineMichael Keaton), who adapts a short story by Raymond Carver as a play on Broadway, in which he is directing and starring. His cast consists of a nervous leading lady (Naomi Watts), a neurotic girlfriend (Andrea Riseborough) and an egomaniac (Edward Norton), who tries to steal Keaton's scenes in the play. Also, backstage is his daughter (Emma Stone), just out of rehab. There are other unbelievable characters in this fantasy about theatrical life on Broadway. However, it is entertaining, and occasionally funny, with a little added magic realism of scenes when Keaton was a Birdman on screen. Keaton gives a magnificent performance.
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