On Broadway, I
will attend the opening night of
Chinglish tomorrow and will tell you
about it in my next column.
Off Broadway,
Asuncion, by Jesse Eisenberg,
is a play about two college roommates
who allow the new Filipino sister-in-law
of one of them to spend a few nights
with them. The play is unconvincing,
vulgar and sophomoric.
The Abingdon
Theatre Company 19th Annual Gala honored
Charles Busch, Julie Halston and
Timothy P. Speiss at Espace. It
was a lovely affair with guests like
Beth Leavel, Alison Fraser and
Andrew Rannells and many more
celebrities.
Jason Graae
performed his Jerry Herman Show
Perfect Hermany at the Laurie
Beechman Theatre at the West Bank cafe.
Jason is a delightful entertainer and
his humor and his selection of songs
were received with great applause. In
the audience were Dee Hoty, Elaine
Page and Ron Raines among
others.
Broadway Salutes,
Arts Horizons Annual Gala attracted many
celebrities at the Edison Ballroom. I
greeted Bonnie Comley, Stewart F.
Lane and Celeste Holm among
the many guests. It was a splendid
evening.
NY Jets
LaDainian Tomlinson was present at
the unveiling of a painting of his
jersey by Pop Artist Bermano at
the POP! International Galleries at the
opening night reception. Among the many
guests was the lovely Miss New York
Amber Collins. It was another
wonderful evening in the Big Apple.
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New York's Documentary Festival
DocNYC will run from November 2-10
at the IFC Center and NYU. I
attended two press screenings.
Perdida, by Viviana Garcia
Besne, is about her family, the
Calderons, who built
magnificent cinemas at the beginning
of the movie industry in Mexico and
produced many films, some quite
scandalous at the time. It brought
back many personal memories for me,
as I was at the National Autonomous
University of Mexico on a grant in
1956, and went to see many of their
films to practice my Spanish. After
my marriage to my late wife, my
classmate at the university, we
spent many summers in Mexico and
enjoyed watching many of the artists
featured in this splendid
documentary. The second film was
First Position, by Bess
Kargman, a brilliant documentary
about the world of ballet. It
follows six young ballet students
(ages 9-19) preparing for the Youth
America Ballet Competition final at
City Center in New York. Among them
are dancers from Israel, Colombia
and Sierra Leone. They compete in
regional competitions around the
country and in Italy reaching their
final moment in New York, which is
actually just the beginning of
hopefully a professional career. We
see their families supporting their
dreams, their teachers inflicting
strict discipline, and by the end of
the film, we feel we know each one
completely. It is a remarkable film,
one of the best about ballet. I
recommend both films highly.
10-26-11 (L-R) NY Jets LaDainian Tomlinson. Miss New
York Amber Collins. Pop Artist Bermano at the unveiling
of a painting by Bermano of the jersey worn by NY Jets
LaDainian Tomlinson with his handprints at the opening
reception for artist Bermano at POP! International
Galleries. 4
73 West Broadway. Tuesday night 10-25-11 |