M. Butterfly, by David
Henry Hwang,
at the Cort Theatre, is new version of the play.
Director Julie
Taymor pulls
out a new bag of tricks with taped music from Madama
Butterfly, a scene from the Peking Opera, a Chinese
revolutionary ballet, a torture scene and
rehabilitation of a Chinese spy, and a totally nude
actor parading his versatility in the final scene.
It begins with a French married diplomat, Rene
Gallimard, (Clive
Owen) sitting
in his prison cell in Paris in 1986. He recalls
seeing the Puccini's opera Madama
Butterfly as
a child, and becoming obsessed with the idea of
falling in love with a submissive Asian woman.
Fantasy becomes reality when he is posted to China,
where he meets Song Liling (Jin
Ha),
an artist with the Peking opera. She is a he and a
Chinese spy. The tale ends tragically. Elliot
Goldenthal is
responsible for the original music and Ma
Chong for
the choreography. The four dancers are the highlight
of the show. The scenic design by Paul
Steinberg is
also very good. With all the additions to the
original play, the end result is overlong and dull.
This One's For The Girls,
by Dorothy
Marcic, directed by Tamara
Kangas Erickson, at St. Lukes Theatre, has a
cast of four females, Traci
Blair, Aneesa Folds, Jana Robbins and Haley Swindal, singing
popular songs of the period, for 100 minutes,
about changes in American women's lives from the
turn of the twentieth century until today. From
wives and mothers, they change to liberated,
independent women. It's an enjoyable production.
It is not necessary to go to
Flushing to watch tennis. Instead see The
Last Match, by Anna
Ziegler, a production of the Roundabout
Theatre Company, a play about a tennis match at
the U.S. Open between an American tennis
champion (Wilson
Bethel) and his Russian challenger (Alex
Mickiewicz). The two actors are quite
good. As the game proceeds, the scenes go back
and forth to show us their lives. The American
is married, and his wife wants a baby. The
Russian has a strong willed Russian fiancee, who
wants him to become a champion. The 90 minutes
play is interesting, the plot is inventive and
the dialogue is realistic.
A new West Side Comedy
Club at Playa Betty's, 320
Amsterdam Avenue, is a lovely large room in
the basement of the wonderful California
style restaurant. Nina
Ashe is the charming owner/manager of
the wonderful space. I was invited to a
delicious lunch to hear three marvelous
female comedians perform Laughercise. The
host was Felicia
Madison, founder of Laughing Affairs,
who performed last, after presenting Liz
Miele and Carmen
Lynch. The three were hilarious, and a
packed house roared with laughter. I was the
only man present. The next time that I
attend, I will bring a bodyguard to protect
me. You know how I choose my bodyguards.
They are all beautiful ladies with great
bodies!
MoMA is presenting Strange
Illusions: Poverty Row Classics
Preserved by UCLA, Oct 19-28. Ruthless,
by Edgar
G. Ulmer, USA, 1948, features an all
star cast. Zachary
Scott is the ruthless wall street
mogul of the title. Along the way to the
top, he deceives his first love (Dana
Lynn), betrays his best friend (Louis
Haywood) and ruins a Wall
street rival (Sydney
Greenstreet). He is gets his
comeuppance. It is a good old fashioned
melodrama with fine acting by the entire
cast.
Mamba,
by Albert
S. Rogell, USA, 1930, also at MoMA, is
in technicolor, and takes place in
German East Africa in 1913. A brutal,
wealthy plantation owner (Jean
Hersholt) goes back to Germany to
marry a lovely young bride (Eleanor
Boardman).
|
She suffers through the marriage, and
falls in love with a German officer (Ralph
Forbes). Through war and an uprising by the
African natives, her husband is killed, and they
survive to live happily ever after. It is a silly
tale, but interesting historically to see the
development of technicolor, plus a look at the
overbearing attitude of Germans and British in their
conquered African colonies..
Two more films in the series at MoMA were False
Faces, by Lowell
Sherman, USA, 1932, about an unethical doctor
(Lowell Sherman), who is fired from a New York
hospital and relocates to Chicago to practice as a
plastic surgeon, with unpleasant results. It is one
of the more interesting films in the series, with
serious matters concerning malpractice by
unscrupulous surgeons. It also contains humorous,
sophisticated dialogue, and the acting by the entire
cast is first rate. I enjoyed every minute of this
film.
The other film, The Sin of Nora Moran, by Phil
Goldstone, USA, 1933, which has a twisted
complicated plot about a young girl, who is
convicted of murder for a crime she did not commit.
It involves a politician, with whom she is having an
affair. It is an engrossing film. All four films are
worth seeing, and compared to many of the films
being made today, a delight for dialogue without
vulgar words or profanity..
American Ballet Theatre (ABT)
presented four ballets at the David H, Koch Theater.
Three were very modern, with one classic Symphonic
Variations,
choreography by Frederick
Ashton,
music by Cesar
Franck.
It was one of the two highlights of the evening. All
six dancers were superb, as they enjoyed the lovely
music, with Barbara
Bilach at
the piano and David
LaMarch conducting
the orchestra. The second highlight was a duet by
two brilliant soloists, Hee
Seo and Roman
Zhurbin, Elegy
Pas de Deux,
choreography Liam
Scarlett, who
was also responsible for the costumes, and music by Sergei
Rachmaninoff, with
piano soloist Emily
Wong.
The program began with Her
Notes,
choreography by Jessica
Lang,
who was also responsible for the scenery, and music
by Fanny
Mendelssohn Hensel,
played by piano soloist Emily Wong. The program
concluded with Thirteen
Diversions, choreography
by Christopher
Wheeldon,
music by Benjamin
Britten,
with piano soloist Barbara Bilach, and the orchestra
conducted by Ormsby
Wilkins.
It was an interesting combination of modern ballets.
Bebe Neuwirth (photo below) was
honored at the Abington
Theatre Gala 25th Anniversary Gala at
Edison Ballroom, 240 West 47th St. A large
group of artists performed, including two of
my favorite performers, Cady Huffman, who
won a Tony for her role in The
Producers, and Angie
L. Schworer,
who will be in the new musical Prom.
And I will be there to give her a standing
ovation. It was a lovely event.
The Annual Parity
Productions Gala took
place at The Cutting Room, 44 East 32nd St.
It was splendid affair, with a reception,
followed by a musical performance by Eli
Denby Wood and Nandi
Kavvy, a theatrical performance of
selections from four plays, and
the presentation of two awards to Corbin
Went and Melissa
Annis, by MJ
Kaufman and Cusi
Cram. Bottles of Prosecco were placed on
the tables to toast the occasion.
Then dancing took place, during dessert,
to music by The
Snowy Mountain Sisters. Founder and
President of Parity Productions Ludovica
Villar-Hauser (photo
below) welcomed the guests and
introduced the performers. She is to be
congratulated for a magnificent event.
|