Some times one needs a good
laugh. After sitting through
so many turgid plays, one is
delighted when one can enjoy
a pleasant two hours in the
theater watching an amusing
play like Sylvia,
by A.R.
Gurney, at the Cort
Theatre. A wonderful four
member cast,
Matthew Broderick, Julie
White, Robert Sella and Annaleigh
Ashford, directed by Daniel
Sullivan, tell the story
of a middle age man
(Broderick), who picks up a
stray dog (an adorable
Ashford) in the park, and
brings her home, to the
dismay of his wife (White).
Sella plays three roles, and
steals the scene in the
first act, when (as a female
friend of the wife) she
encounters the dog, and
promptly gets drunk. But the
entire play, about man's
best friend, is a laugh
filled riot, and the cast is
magnificent. What a pleasure
to leave the theater
laughing! We celebrated the
opening with a glorious
party at Bryant Park Grill
with guests like Sarah
Jessica Parker, Tommy Tune,
Jerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Ashley and
many more stars.
Beowulf Boritt deserves
a standing ovation for his
scenic design, which covers
a multitude of scenes,
including a rowboat on a
river. Other than that, Therese
Raquin, by Helen
Edmundson, based on the
novel by Emile
Zola, at Studio 54, a
production of the Roundabout
Theatre Company, is a
tedious play. Although the
cast is quite good, headed
by a movie star Keira
Knightley in
her Broadway debut in the
title role, and directed by Evan
Cabnet, the play itself
is overlong, and extremely
dark in lighting as in plot.
It is a story of a young
woman (Keighley) from a
small village, married
unhappily to a spoilt man (Gabriel
Ebert), who decides to
move his mother (Judith
Light) and wife to
Paris. There, she meets a
painter (Matt
Ryan) from the same
village, and proceeds to
have an adulterous affair.
It ends badly. It is a shame
that a group of fine actors
are forced to perform in
this slow moving, gloomy,
acting exercise. Some novels
should be read and not seen.
There is a saying Misery
Loves Company.
Off-Broadway, The
Humans, by Stephen
Karam, at the Laura Pels
Theatre, is about a
miserable family of losers
at a Thanksgiving dinner in
a dilapidated daughter's
apartment in Manhattan. The
parents (Reed
Birney andJayne
Houdyshell) and an
incapacitated grandmother
arrive from Pennsylvania,
with the other unhealthy
daughter. Everyone,
including the daughter's
live in boyfriend, have
financial and health, (both
mental and physical),
problems. They are not
pleasant company in this
unbelievable play. Again, a
group of fine actors,
directed by Joe
Mantello, are the only
reason to tolerate this 90
minute insufferable play.
Kick, written and
performed by Joanna
Rush, directed by Lynne
Taylor-Corbett, at the
St. Luke's Theatre, is a one
woman show, about a young
Catholic girl, who is raped
on her way to an audition as
a dancer. Rush, a young
grandmother, shows lots of
energy, as she moves, dances
and kicks on the small
stage, going from a Rockette
to The
Chorus Line on
Broadway, It is story of
survival after a horrible,
brutal event.
Songbird, book
by Michael
Kimmel, music & lyrics by Lauren
Pritchard, directed by JV
Mercanti, at 59E59 Theaters,
is a musical about a fading
country star (an outstanding Kate
Baldwin) returning to her
hometown, Nashville, and causing
trouble. Ten terrific performers
act, sing and play musical
instruments throughout the show.
I enjoyed every moment of this
wonderful musical. The opening
night party took place at Johnny
Utah's, 25 West 51st St., with
wine or beer and scrumptious
food.
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A spectacular program was presented
at Carnegie Hall. The Hungarian
pianist/composer Havasi made
his HAVASI
Symphonic debut.
The stage was filled with an
enormous Dohnanyi Orchestra Budafok,
with a choir, and a multitude of
guest stars, including Golden Globe
Winning Lisa
Gerrard. Gigi
Radics brought
down the house with her version of Amazing
Grace with
another twelve member choir, as did Endi,
a Rock star drummer in his solos. It
was entitled A Celebration
of Hungarian Culture: When
Innovation meets Tradition,
where Havasi combined traditional
Hungarian music and instruments,
with modern and rock style music. It
was a sensational program, and a
memorable evening. We attended a VIP
Post-Concert Party in the lovely
Weill Terrace Room, where delicious
hors d'oeuvres, and Hungarian
pastries, plus excellent Hungarian
wines were served. Among the guests
were the Ambassador, Consul General
of Hungary Ferenc
Kumin and
his charming wife Viktoria.
I attended a press conference at
Southern Hospitality, 615 Ninth
Avenue, for Kid's
Night On Broadway, which will
take place on Tuesday, February 9,
2016. Kids' Night On Broadway
Ambassadors Kelli
O'Hara and Marlee
Matlin announced
the program.Andrew
Flatt announced
that a new website BwayZone.com was
beginning the same day, and a lucky
family of four would win a trip to
London to see a couple of shows.
Child actors from eight Broadway
shows posed for photos with Matlin
and O'Hara.
A commercial film, Burnt, by John
Wells, USA, 2015, is about a
master chef (Bradley
Cooper), who has a serious
problem with illegal drugs. He hopes
to achieve a three star rating from
Michelin for his new, swanky London
restaurant. With the assistance of
his sous chef (Sienna
Miller), he manages to succeed,
despite the many trials and
tribulations he encounters on the
way. Food lovers will relish the
many scenes in the kitchen of the
restaurant, that are beautifully
photographed, in this realistic look
at how a modern restaurant is run.
The cast is first rate, and includes Uma
Thurman, Daniel Bruhl, Matthew Rhys and Tom Kelley,
among others. It is, without doubt,
one of the finest films about the
way an elegant restaurant operates.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable film.
I missed seeing the film Miss
You Already, but I arrived on
time to photograph two of my
favorite actresses, Jacqueline
Bisset and Toni
Collette at A MAMARAZZI
Breakfast and Talk Back at
the Park Avenue Screening Room, 500
Park Avenue. The producer of the
film, Christopher
Simon, was also present, and two
actresses, and Denise
Albert and Melissa
Musen Gerstein spoke
about the film and answered
questions from the audience. The
film, about two close friends
(Collette and Drew
Barrymore), one of whom is
diagnosed with breast cancer, is
important and should be seen by
everyone, women most of all. Cold-EEZE
sponsored the screening, and the
breakfast catered by Mark
Anthony Bailey was
delicious
The Mid-Manhattan Library showed a
screening of Arsenic
and Old Lace, by Frank
Capra, USA, 1944. It was a
delightful, funny film, starring Cary
Grant as
a drama critic, who discovers that
his two charming aunts, living in
Brooklyn, have poisoned twelve
lonely old men, and buried them in
the cellar of their home. It is,
despite the theme, a hilarious
comedy, and Grant has never been
funnier on screen. I enjoyed the
film from beginning to end.
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