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The New York City Ballet presented The
Sleeping Beauty ,
music by Peter
Ilyitch Tschaikovsky ,
choreography by Peter
Martins .
It is one of the most sumptuous ballets ever presented by
the company. Balanchine had
only created the Garland
Dance ,
which was included in the program. The composer wrote three
ballets, all with glorious music. The company rose to the
occasion with a magnificent performance. Every dancer was
marvelous. Tiler Peck (Aurora)
was, as always, outstanding, as was Tyler
Angle (Prince
Desire). Their Grand
Pas de Deux at
the end of Act II was the highlight of the afternoon. Among
other dancers, one must mention Ashley
Laracey (The
Lilac Fairy), Brittany
Pollack and Troy
Schumacher as
Princess Florine and The Bluebird, and the adorable Charlotte
Nebres as
Little Red Riding Hood. The orchestra was conducted by Daniel
Capps .
It was a delightful afternoon of ballet for all the members
of the audience, which included many children.
The Price of Thomas Scott,
by Elizabeth
Baker, is
a production of the Mint Theater Company. This company
revives forgotten plays, that deserve to be remembered.
This female playwright is one of them. It was first
presented in Manchester, England, my hometown, in 1913.
The plot concerns a businessman, who owns a hat shop,
and receives an offer to sell it to be converted to a
dance hall, which he finds immoral. The excellent eleven
member cast, is directed expertly by Jonathan
Bank. One
cast member, Josh
Goulding (photo
below with the director) is actually from
Manchester. The other photo below is of two cast
members Nick LaMedica and Emma Geer. It is
a lovely play, and we congratulated the cast at the
opening night party at the West Bank Cafe.
I was invited to the home of Margarita
Anthoine to
hear a piano recital by Juana
Zayas .
The all F-minor program featured works by Haydn,
Beethoven and Chopin. The pianist gave an outstanding
performance. It was joy to listen to her. Her proud
husband was present, as well as her friend, who prepared
a delicious flan for the occasion. Both ladies were born
in Cuba.
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The hostess offered food and fine wines after the
recital. It was a delightful afternoon.
A press
preview Moroni:The Riches of Renaissance Portraiture,
February 21-June 2, 2019 at the Frick Collection, 1
East 70th Street is a magnificent exhibition. Giovanni
Battista Moroni captures each person naturally. This
is the first exhibition in the United States of his
paintings. There are nearly two dozen portraits, plus
Renaissance jewelry, textiles, arms and armor and other
luxury items on display. It is a superb exhibition that
all art lovers will enjoy in one of my favorite
buildings. We are so fortunate to have the Morgan
Library and Museum and the Frick Collection in New York
City.
I attended a press screening of The
Hours and Times,
by Christopher
Munch,
United States, 1991, at the Quad Cinema, 34 West
13th St. It is a black and white film about a four
day holiday, that John Lennon (Ian
Hart)
and his manager Brian Epstein (David
Angus)
took to Barcelona, Spain, in 1963. The two actors do
a terrific job imitating the two famous people, but
as the film describes it, it is a fictitious
account. Epstein is gay, and Lennon likes to explore
his sexuality. It is an interesting film, that holds
one's attention. Lennon constantly smokes, drinks
Scotch with Coca Cola, plays the harmonica and is
generally unpleasant, revealing his nasty
personality. Epstein is a gentleman, but with
psychological problems. The dialogue is vulgar and
crude at times. However, one sees that celebrities,
or so-called famous people, have problems like all
human animals. It opens on March 1.
Room at the Top, by Jack
Clayton, United Kingdom, 1959, at the Film
Forum, will be screened March 8-March 14. Do not
miss it! It is one of the first, and finest, kitchen
sink drama films that England produced. It was
nominated for six Academy Awards, and won two
Oscars, one for Simone
Signoret as Best Actress, and one for Neil
Paterson for Adapted Screenplay, from the novel
by John
Braine. The story is about an ambitious young working
class man (Laurence
Harvey), who meets the daughter (Heather
Sears) of the wealthiest man in this grimy
industrial town in Yorkshire, and pursues her in
order to raise to the top. Unfortunately for him, he
becomes involved with an unhappily married woman, a
mature older lady (Simone Signoret), and discovers
the power of true love. The acting by every member
of the large cast is superb, and the screenplay is
so realistic that you feel you know all the members
of the town intimately. I enjoyed every minute of
this magnificent film.
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