|
The Show-Off,
by George
Kelly, is
a production of The Peccadillo Theater Company, at
the Theatre at St. Clement's. It is a delightful,
old-fashioned play about a liar named Aubrey Piper (Ian
Gould),
who intrudes on a family in Philadelphia and marries
the younger daughter (Emma
Orelove).
It causes many complications, but fortunately ends
happily, Among the nine member cast, who all perform
wonderfully, is the mother (an outstanding Annette
O'Toole)
(photo below).
They are directed expertly by Dan
Wackerman.
It is a joy to see a play with a clever plot and
snappy dialogue without vulgar language. I
congratulated the cast and creative team at the
opening night party with guests like Michael
McKean (Annette's proud husband) and Joan
Copeland at Sardi's.
I attended The Dinner Detective,
an interactive and immersive murder mystery dinner
show, that has played around the country, and now is
at the Bugis Street Brasserie and Gotham Room in the
Millennium Broadway Hotel, 145 West 44th Street. One
begins with a buffet meal of Singaporean/Asian food
on the first floor, and then one goes to the second
floor to watch two policemen solve a murder. To
solve the crime of a man, who appears, stabbed to
death, they interview the audience members, who are
seated at various tables. The audience member, who
correctly identifies the murderer, is rewarded with
a prize. At the tables are various cast members, who
are interviewed, and in many ways behave badly. It
is all a lot of fun, and the audience enjoys being
involved, with phony names to hide their real
identity. For your information, I used the name
of an actor, who resembles me ...Brad
Pitt!
The Metropolitan Opera presented Norma,
by Vincenzo
Bellini, on
a screen in Times Square on its opening night of the
2017-18 season. This is a new production by Sir
David McVicar.
I have never attended an outdoor production in Times
Square before, but I was curious to see this opera
again as it featured two of the leading singers at
the Met, Sondra
Radvanovsky,
in the title, and Joyce
DiDonato,
as Aldagisa. I was not disappointed. Both sang
magnificently, with powerful voices, strong in all
registers, and when they combined in duets, it was
glorious singing. Seen on film, one gains by seeing
them in close ups, which in the opera house, even
with high powered glasses, one cannot duplicate the
experience.
|
The two principal male singers also rose
to the occasion. Joseph
Calleja as
Pollione, a Roman Proconsul. and a sonorous Matthew
Rose as
the father of Norma. The orchestra played the
melodious music brilliantly, under the baton of Carlo
Rizzi,
and the chorus, under Donald
Palumbo,
gave its usual high level performance. The production
itself is dark and gloomy, and the costumes are
dreadful, but they do not distract from the marvelous
singing and music. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
The
Hooters 2018 Swimsuit Calendar Launch benefitting
Breast Cancer Awareness Month took place at Hooters NYC,
155 West 33rd Street. I have attended this lovely event
every year for the past eighteen years. I always
photograph all the beautiful girls (photo
below).
This year Hika came
from Hooters in Tokyo, Japan, where they have opened six
restaurants. Chelsea is
the cover girl from Hollywood, California, and she would
like to be a film star. With her beauty and personality,
I am sure she will become one. The Hooters calendar
event is a marvelous affair, but do not mention this to
my wife. I told her I was going to the library!
Another fabulous event is MvVO ART's Call
for Artists from Advertising,
featuring a new generation of contemporary artists from
advertising. It will open in 2018. A reception was held
to launch the program at Y & R at 3 Columbus Circle on
the 18th floor, with a breathtaking view of Central
Park. Various speakers spoke about the Ad Art show,
which will be fascinating. I wanted to stay until the
end, but I had to leave early to attend an opening night
for an Off-Broadway play, The Show-Off, featuring
the leading character named Aubrey. How
could I miss a play which names a character after me!
53rd Street Library presented Chinatown,
by Roman Polanski,
USA, 1974, starring Jack
Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John
Huston. It is a convoluted story about political
skullduggery involving water rights in Los Angeles. It
is full of violence, which is not pleasant to watch,
including a repulsive scene where Polanski cuts
Nicholson' nose. It is considered a film masterpiece of
its genre, and I admit the acting by the entire cast is
superb; but it is lacking in humor and overlong. I think
showing brutal scenes is not very educational, and it
leads to encouraging some people to imitate the violence
shown on the screen. |