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Alex Brightman as Dewey, gives an amazing,
and what could be, a Tony winning performance,
as an impoverished, wannabe Rock Star, falsely
posing as a substitute teacher in a private
school in School
of Rock, book by Julian
Fellowes, lyrics by Glenn
Slater, music by Andrew
Lloyd Webber, at the Winter Garden Theatre. Sierra
Boggess is the uptight principal of the
school, with a magnificent voice, especially
when she sings a Mozart aria, full of dazzling
high notes. But, outstanding are thirteen
wonderful 10-11-year-old young boys and girls,
who play the students in Dewey's class. They are
simply brilliant. They are, without doubt, the
most talented young actors to be seen on
Broadway this season. Everyone of them is a
star. The cast has been directed expertly byLaurence
Conner. The music is melodious and the Rock
songs are pleasant to the ear, the dialogue is
funny and intelligent, the choreography by JoAnn
M. Hunter is
superb, and the entire musical is a pure
delight. The set design by Anna
Louizos (she
also did the costumes) is a joy to behold,
changing rapidly from one scene to another. I
enjoyed every minute of the finest musical I
have seen this season. The audience rises at the
conclusion of the show to give the cast a well
deserved standing ovation. You leave the show
smiling and happy. There were two pre-opening
night parties. One was at The
Palm, 250 West 50th St, by the producers
for the cast from the film. The second was given
by Julian
Fellowes for
the cast of Downton
Abbey at
O'Lunney's, 210 West 50th St. Among those
present were his charming wife Emma, and Hugh
Bonneville and Elizabeth
McGovern. The opening night party was held,
appropriately, at Hard Rock Cafe, 1501 Broadway.
Among the opening night guests were Sting,
happy because his home team Newcastle United
beat Liverpool 2-0 that day, Helen
Mirren, Joan Collins and Liev Schreiber and Naomi
Watts with
their two beautiful children.
Cynthia Erivo arrived from London to play
the starring role of Celie. She won the Olivier
Award. In New York, she just might win a Tony
Award. A revival of The
Color Purple, book by Marsha Norman,
music and lyrics by Brenda
Russell, Allee Eillis, Stephen Bray, based
upon the novel written by Alice
Walker and the film, at the Bernard B.
Jacobs Theatre, is a revised version of the
original. A minimal set design with only chairs
as furniture makes you focus on the actors, and
splendid actors they are. The tale takes place
over 40 years in Georgia from 1909 to 1949.
Celie is 14-years-old, and has just given birth
to her second child. Both are taken from her by
her brutal father, for whom she is a virtual
slave. She is given as a wife to another brute,
who carries a whip. Her life is miserable. Under
the direction of John
Doyle, the actresses shine, and they
include Joaquina
Kulukango as her sister, Danielle
Brooks as the wife of the only kind male on
stage and Jennifer
Hudson in her stage debut as a sexy lady.
All four leading actresses have strong voices,
that fill the large theater easily. The music is
mainly gospel, the lyrics are apt for semi
educated women, and the story is engrossing. It
is mainly, however, a grim and depressing story,
with an uplifting ending.
Off-Broadway, A
Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan
Thomas, adapted & directed by Charlotte
Moore, at the DR2 Theatre, is the perfect
show for the holiday season. John
Cullum, and four others in the cast, plus a
pianist, recite the remembrances of the great
Welsh poet and sing songs of the season, two of
them in Welsh. This
delightful production by the Irish Repertory
Company lasts 70 minutes without an
intermission. We celebrated the opening night
party in the basement lounge of the theatre with
delicious food and an open bar, with guests Tony
Walton, his wife Gen LeRoy and John McEnroe the
father of the two famous tennis sons.
Lazarus, by David
Bowie and Enda
Walsh, inspired by the novel The
Man Who Fell to Earth, by Walter
Tevis, is a second play this season directed
by Ivo
van Hove, who in his vision likes his actors
barefoot, crawling on the stage with liquid
covering their clothes, with a minimal set.
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This incomprehensible production lasts two
hours without an intermission. Eleven actors
sing the monotonous songs by David Bowie,
while one of them stabs some of them with a
knife, and
staining their clothes with their red blood
filling up an enormous television screen.
Everyone on the stage acts like a severe
mental case.
Plaid Tidings, A
Special Holiday Edition of Forever
Plaid, by Stuart
Ross, at the York Theatre, is a pleasant
way to enjoy the holiday season. Four
talented singers render their amusing
versions of typical songs associated with
this time of the year to the delight of the
audience. You are guaranteed a fun evening.
The Holiday season has definitely arrived when
the New York City Ballet presents its beloved
version of George
Balanchine's The Nutcracker, music of Peter
Ilyitch Tschaikovsky. It is a splendid
production enjoyed by adults and children alike.
The three principal dancers, Megan
Fairchild (The
Sugarplum Fairy), Adrian
Danchig-Waring (Her
Cavalier) and Sterling Hyltin (Dewdrop), in the
second act, were superb, as was Savannah
Lowery as
Coffee, and Daniel
Ulbricht leading
his Candy Canes. Avery
Linas Marie and Emil
Jose Kelso as
Herr Drosselmeier's nephew were charming, but
all the children in the first act, as Mice and
Soldiers, and in Act II as Angels, Candy Canes,
and Polchinelles were adorable. The entire
ballet is magical, and a tribute to the genius
of the brilliant choreographer.
The 27 Annual Gypsy of the Year is
one of the highlights of the Broadway season.
Beginning with a delightful Opening Number,
directed and choreographed by ,,
many of the shows on Broadway and Off-Broadway
presented entertaining performances, and, in
some cases, a brilliant one such as Unplug
& Connect, by The
Lion King. It was a magnificent selection
which won second prize. Many presenters starring
on Broadway included George
Takei, Michael Cerveris, Julie Wilson and Judith
Light. Incidentally, not in the program was Andrea
Burns, who stole the show when she performed
her Googie
Gomez Broadway Medley from The
Ritz. It was a pleasant afternoon, which
raises enormous amounts of money for a worthy
cause, Broadway
Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
The 48th Gala Concert of the George
Frideric Handel Messiah Sing-In by
the National Chorale, at David Geffen Hall at
Lincoln Center, was a delightful event. The four
soloists and the organist were terrific. The 17
guest conductors for individual sections were
very, very funny. The audience enjoyed the
performance and had the great pleasure singing
the chorus selections. A good time was had by
everyone. Artistic Director, Dr. Everett
McCorvey of the National Chorale deserves a
special ovation for his entertaining evening.
Film Society of Lincoln Center is presenting Imitations
of Life: The Films of Douglas Sirk December
23-January 6. I
attended two press screenings. La
Habanera, Germany, 1937, is tale about a
young, naive Swedish tourist (Zarah
Leander), who falls in love with Puerto
Rico, after seeing flamenco dancing, listening
to Spanish tropical music, watching a bull fight
and enjoying nature on the island. Instead of
returning home, she marries a wealthy man, a
tyrant, and suffers for the next 10 years. A
former sweetheart arrives from Sweden to study
why a deadly fever is ravishing the island, and
rescues her. It is a silly melodrama, but it is
entertaining.
Hitler's Madman, USA, 1943, is a World
War II propaganda film, showing how rotten the
Nazis are. John
Carradine portrays
the ruthless Reinhard Heydrich known as the Butcher
of Prague, and
we see scene after scene of German brutality in
Czechoslovakia. Growing up in England during
World War II, I have vivid memories of the
fight to destroy Hitler. This brought back many
angry emotions of six years of bombings and
hardships suffered by my countrymen. Thank
goodness, we survived the nightmare.
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