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On Broadway, a revival of Sunset
Boulevard, music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, book
& lyrics by Don
Black & Christopher
Hampton, based on the Billy
Wilder film,
at the Palace Theatre, starring Glenn
Close, made a triumphant return to Broadway. A
superb cast supported the wonderful star. Michael
Xavier, Siobhan Dillon and Fred
Johanson in
major roles added to the success of the evening. Lonny
Price expertly
directed the brilliant cast.. The evening began with a
black tie private reception for Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber
at the Lambs Club, followed by the opening night party
after the show at Cipriani 42nd Street. Needless o say
everyone was in fine spirits.
Off-Broadway, Jonah
and Otto, by Robert
Holman, at Theatre Row, is about two men, an older
man Otto (Sean
Gormley) and a younger man Jonah (Rupert
Simonian), who meet one night in a mysterious walled
garden on the South-East coast of England, and engage in
conversation about their lives. It is a strange
short play of about 85-minutes, in which the two weird
men tell us about their fears and anxieties. The cast is
fine, under the direction of Geraldine
Hughes. A reception was held in the Theater Row
Lounge,
Fade, by Tanya
Saracho, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, is a production
of Primary Stages. The two character play is directed by Jerry
Ruiz. It takes place in a film studio, where a
writer (Annie Dow) appears to be an emotional
unstable person and uses the F... word a lot, and a
janitor (Eddie Martinez) who uses a vacuum cleaner and
empties the trash can. In a multitude of short scenes,
where very little of importance happens, they exchange
confidences, drink beer, and she even kisses him. The
opening night party took place at Mr. Dennehy's, 63
Carmine Street, where everyone could enjoy a fine beer,
or wine.
Crackskull Row,
by Honor
Molloy, at the Irish Repertory Theatre, is a
powerful play, which mixes reality with phantasy. Four
magnificent actors, Gina
Costigan, Terry Donnelly, Colin Lane and John
Charles McLaughlin, are expertly directed by
Kira Simring. A mother and son live in a dreadful,
dirty apartment in Dublin. Their relationship is full of
violence and sexual perversity. The opening night party
took place in the lobby where we congratulated the cast
and creative team and their families with fine
wine, Jameson Whiskey and delicious hors d'oeuvres. It
was a wonderful party.
The Bolshoi Theatre presented Swan
Lake, music by Pyotr
Ilyich Tchaikovsky, choreography by Yuri
Grigorovich, by HD transmission from Moscow,
starring Svetlana
Zakharova and Denis
Rodkin.
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Their dancing was spectacular. Zakharova as Odette-Odile is,
perhaps, the finest ballerina in the world today. Her
technique, her speed, her turns, her fouttes
are incomparable. Every minute is a pleasure to watch
her perform. What brilliance!. Rodkin is her perfect
partner, an aristocratic Prince Siegfried.
Artem Balyakov (The
Evil Genius) and Igor
Tsvirko (The
Fool) were marvelous. Their speed and high jumps were
magnificent. The corps de ballet were wonderful, as
always, and the glorious music never sounded better. The
set was bland, and many costumes were overdone, but the
expansive space allowed the corps de ballet to shine and
their costumes, and those of the leading dancers
were appropriate. it was another exciting performance.
The 27th
Annual Kleban Prize for
Musical Theatre took place at ASCAP. The winners Daniel
Zaitchik (the
most promising musical theater lyricist) and Lisa
Kron (the
most promising musical theater librettist) received
$100,000 each. Among the attendees were Sheldon
Harnick, Richard Maltby, Jr. Maury Yeston and Seth
Saltzman. Among the performers were Judy
Kuhn, Emily Skeggs and Rick
Hip Flores. There
was a lovely reception to honor the winners.
The Transport Group Theatre Company presented A
Toast to the Artist: An evening with Mary-Mitchell
Campbell & Friends, at The Times Center, 242 West
41st St. Mary received the Transporting American Theatre
Award 2017. Among the many artists who performed were Debra
Monk, Titus Burgess and Raul
Esparza. A reception, followed by the performance,
followed by an after party made the evening memorable.
Artistic Director Jack
Cummings III and
Executive Director Lori
Fineman are
to be congratulated for a fine affair.
Resident
Magazine placed NFL wide receiver Brandon
Marshall and
his wife Michi on
its February cover. We celebrated the occasion at a
private gallery on 23rd Street with cocktails and
delicious hors d'oeuvres. I tasted a Scotch WhiskyUsquaebach,
which was smooth and powerful. I was also offered two
more whiskies, a Camus cognac,
and Danska,
a Polish vodka, along with caviar. It was a terrific
party.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the re-opening of
the Hudson Theatre with Jake
Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh
Ashford, who are starring in Sunday
in the Park With George. Also present were
Commissioner Julie
Menin, Chairman Kwek
Leng Beng and
general manager Eric
Paris. Inside the theatre, director Sarna
Lapine, producers Jeanine
Tesori, Adam Speers and Riva
Marker posed
for photos with the two stars.
The Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth
Avenue, presented High
Noon, by Fred
Zinnemann, USA, 1952, starring Gary
Cooper. It was one of the finest Westerns produced
by Hollywood, with Cooper as the marshall of a small
town, who retires after marrying a Quaker (Grace
Kelly). Four bandits arrive on the same day to
seek revenge for one of them being finally released from
jail, and bent on killing the marshall. It is a taut,
tense, intelligent film, with splendid acting by a great
list of character actors, who had successful
film careers. To mention a few, Lloyd
Bridges, Katy Jurado, Thomas Mitchell and Otto
Kruger give
superb performances.
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