On the Town With Aubrey Reuben
Where All the Stars Shine Brightly!
October 4, 2014
09-30-14 Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei. Founder of FOCOS. was honored at
the Seventh Annual FOCOS Gala at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. 80
Columbus Circle. Monday night. 09-29-14
Finally, one can attend a play on Broadway, and laugh from beginning to end. The revival of the 1936 play You Can't Take It With You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, at the Longacre Theatre, is a fun filled evening, with an all-star cast, expertly directed by Scott Ellis. The scenic design by David Rockwell deserves a special mention for its turntable, revealing the exterior and interior of the Martin Vanderhof home. The humor from 1936 is as fresh today as it was almost 80 years ago. The eccentric family lives to enjoy the moment. The grandfather James Earl Jones does not pay his income tax. The father Mark Linn-Baker makes fireworks in the basement. The mother Kristine Nielsen is writing a play, because a typewriter was delivered to the house by mistake. A daughter Annaleigh Ashford wants to be a ballerina and dances around the house on point. Another daughter Rose Byrne is the only normal one and wants to marry the son of her wealthy boss. Every actor is perfectly cast, and almost all of the above are scene stealers, including Julie Halston as a drunken actress in the second act. Enjoy a hilarious night on Broadway. The opening night party took place at Brasserie 8 1/2 with many celebrities like Boyd Gaines, Glenn Close, Tommy Tune and John Lithgow.
On Broadway, if you want to listen to cliches about theatre people, go see The Country House, by Donald Margulies, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, a thoroughly boring play, lacking in imagination, and embarrassing for a fine six member cast, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Blythe Danner is an aging actress performing in summer theatre inWillamstown. She invites a TV star Daniel Sunjata to stay in her country house, which is populated with four other superficial characters, her frustrated, neurotic son, her granddaughter, and her former son-in-law, with his new young fiancee. Nothing happens in this dull play, that is realistic. It is just a lot of talk, with, occasionally, a few witty lines. Danner, as always, is a delight to see on stage.
Off-Broadway, Indian Ink, by Tom Stoppard, is an overlong play about India in 1930. A pretty young poet (a very good Romola Garai) comes to India for her health, and meets an Indian painter (Firdous Bamji), who paints her portrait. 50 years later in England, her widowed sister (the magnificent Rosemary Harris) meets with the Indian painter's son, and an English professor, who wants to write a biography about the poet. Stoppard is a very intelligent playwright, and some of his plays are very good. But this one is not. He overloads his play with lots of Indian history, as well as creating characters with little charisma. The length of the play is interminable and boring. One can only watch with delight the two leading actresses.
I attended a wonderful Seventh Annual FOCOS Gala at the Mandarin Oriental honoring the founder Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjeu and Dikembe Motombo, the NBA legend. The mission of FOCOS is to provide optimum orthopedic care and improve the quality of life in Ghana, Ethiopia and other West African countries . It is very worthy cause.
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I attended a cocktail reception
for The Geffen Playhouse at the
Lambs Club in the Chatwal Hotel.
The playhouse produced three
plays in New York last season,
and this week The
Country House opened
on Broadway. it was a pleasant
event with many of the theatre
community present.
The press screenings for the 52nd
New York Film Festival September
26-October 12, 2014 continue. Saint
Laurent, by Bertand
Bonello, France, 2014, is the
second film this year that I have
seen this year about the famous
French fashion designer Yves
Saint Laurent. The other was
directed by Jalil
Lespert. Both cover the the
sensation that Saint Laurent became
in Paris, and both cover his dark
side as a manic-depressive,
promiscuous, and addicted to drugs
and acohol. The acting is first
rate, and lovers of fashion will
enjoy the scenes of his costumes
worn by lovely models. It is a
powerful film.
The Blue Room/La chambre bleue,
by Mathieu
Amalric, France 2014, stars the
director as a married man in the
first scene committing adultery in
the blue room with a married woman (Stephanie
Cleau) in a provincial French
town. It is quite a graphic sexual
encounter. When their respective
wife and husband are found dead, the
two lovers are investigated, and the
tragedy begins. it is an intriguing
mystery, and the two stars are
terrific. A Q & A followed the
screening with Amalric, who is
charming.
National Gallery, by Frederick
Wiseman, USA/France, 20014, is a
documentary about London's National
Gallery. We see many paintings, and
the art historians explain many
aspects of their creation. We see
paintings being restored, and many
exhibits, including one by Titian and
another by Turner.
It is a very educational film, and
after three hours, one feels that
one knows the gallery intimately.
Art lovers will be delighted
watching this film.
Timbuktu, by Abderrahmane
Sissako, France/Mauritania,
2014, is a film about the takeover
of the city in Mali by religious
fanatics, the jihadists, and their
imposition of the Sharia law. It is
a depressing look at the pain and
misery, that people suffer under
these fanatics, who ban smoking,
music, and force women to wear socks
and gloves. There is a horrible
scene where a man and a woman are
buried in the ground and stoned. It
is a powerful indictment about what
is happening in many parts of the
world, especially in the Middle East
and Africa.
Iris, by Albert
Maysles. USA, 2014, is a
documentary about Iris
Apfel, a 93-year-old lady, who
became a star in the fashion world,
with her outrageous sense of style.
She is a delight to watch as she
appears in stores, showing off her
collections, including one at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, being
interviewed, giving a course at the
University of Texas and celebrating
her husband's 100th birthday. They
have been married for 66 years. She
is bright, alert, witty, and
charming. She is an inspiration for
the joy of living. I enjoyed every
minute of this splendid documentary.
Red Army, by Gabe
Polsky. USA, 2014, is a
documentary about the history of the
Red Army Soviet ice hockey,
beginning with Stalin.
It features historical footage as
they build their team to be the most
successful in the world. It is also
the story of one of their most
famous players Slava
Fetisov, the captain of their
team, who was idolized in the Soviet
Union. When he decided to play in
the United States, he was vilified
in both countries. Fortunately, his
skill was recognized in the United
States, and Russia welcomed him
back, and appointed him the Minister
of Sport. It is a fascinating
documentary. The Q &A with the
director and Fetisov, revealed the
charm of the Russian legend.
Mr. Turner, by Mike
Leigh, UK, 2014, is a
beautifully photographed film about
the English painter J.M.W.
Turner (a
brilliant performance by Timothy
Spall), which captures the
eighteenth century life in England
perfectly. It is certainly one of
the highlights of the festival, and
art lovers will enjoy it immensely.
The entire cast is marvelous, with
outstanding performances by Marion
Bailey and Dorothy
Atkinson as two of the women in
his life, who supported and
comforted him. He was a difficult
man to live with with his obsession
to capture a luminous light on his
canvas. The director and three
actors were present at the Q & A
following the screening.
09-29-14 Cast member Rose Byrne at the opening night party for "You Can't
Take It With You" at Brasserie 8 1/2. 9 West 57th St. Sunday night.
09-28-14
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