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On Broadway, a terrific revival, with
an all-star cast, directed expertly, by Jack
O'Brien, of The
Front Page, by Ben
Hecht and Charles
MacArthur, at the Broadhurst Theatre, delighted
the audience. It is an old-fashioned play from
1928 with three acts about the newspaper business in
Chicago, and the journalists, in the press room at
Criminal Courts Building, who are awaiting a hanging
of a prisoner. The playwrights were former newspaper
men, and captured the life of the reporters
perfectly. The play is very, very funny, and each
actor gives a wonderful performance. Outstanding in
an enormous cast was Nathan
Lane as
the owner and editor of one of the newspapers. He is
a theatre treasure. Jefferson Mays as
a reporter, who fears germs, was hilarious. And it
was a joy to see the return on Broadway of veteran
actor Robert
Morse, in a small, but crucial comic role, as a
messenger from the governor. The set design by Douglas
W. Schmidt and
the costumes design by Ann
Roth caught
the style and atmosphere of the twenties. I enjoyed
every minute of this entertaining play, and the cast
deserved the thunderous standing ovation
they received.
Off-Broadway, a revival of Plenty, by David
Hare, at the Public Theater, with a cast headed
by Oscar winner Rachel
Weisz, directed by David
Leveaux, The play has a convoluted plot about a
young girl acting as a spy in France during World
War II and her discontent with her life
afterwards. It was a success initially on Broadway,
thanks to an amazing performance by Kate
Nelligan and
was followed by an unsuccessful film adaptation with Meryl
Streep. Weisz appears quite attractive on stage,
and her performance compares well with her
predecessors in the role.
Vietgone,
by Qui
Nguyen, is a Manhattan Theatre Club production.
It is play about the war in Vietnam, and the
Vietnamese immigrants who experience life in the
United States afterwards. A five member cast, with
limited acting ability, echo the vulgar language and
repetitive hip-hop rhymes loudly. It is a
dispiriting theatrical evening.
A wonderful concert Nothing
Like a Dame, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre,
celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the Phyllis
Newman Women's Health Initiative, which has
raised enormous funds to assist women. On this
occasion Marin
Mazzie received
the Inaugural
Phyllis Newman DAME Award for
her battle with ovarian cancer. Among the performers
on stage, were a very funny Julie
Halston, plus Bebe
Neuwirth, LaChanze, Donna Murphy,Karen Ziemba,
and many more talented Broadway singers. We all went
to the after party at John's of Times Square, 260
West 44th St, to drink at the open bar and indulge
on pizzas and other Italian pastas. It was a lovely
event.
The Town Hall 95th Gala Benefit at The
Princeton Club of New York, 15 West 43rd St, was a
splendid affair. It began with a cocktail reception,
and a concert by jazz singer Catherine
Russell, a superb singer. A delicious dinner
followed, where Garrison
Keillor and Jennifer
J. Raab, President of Hunter College were
honored with the Town
Hall Friend
of the Arts Award, The New York Post columnist Michael
Goodwin is
married to Jennifer, and I photographed the proud
couple.
I attended a lovely cocktail
reception at the elegant Bernardin Prive, 153 West
51st St, where Copland
House held
its Harmonie du Soir:
a culinary and musical gala,
I met the charming artistic and executive director Michael
Boriskin, and photographed him with actor,
director and teacher James
Kiberd. It is always one of the finest events of
the season.
I attended a another lovely reception
at the Lotos Club, where two playwrights, Jordan
Harrison and Zayd
Dohm received
the 2016
Horton Foote Prizes. Among the many guests were Stockard
Channing, Lois Smith and Lisa
Emery, as well as members of the Horton
Foote family.
Adult film (porno) superstar Savanna
Samson received
the First
Vivid Entertainment Hall of Fame Award (VEHOF) at
Vivid Cabaret, 61 West 37th St. She is also a
producer of fine Italian wine, and we sampled
her latest wine, Sogno
Vero. She is a charming lady, and is studying
acting.
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I hope to review her when she appears
on stage. She posed for photos with her award and
with her wine. Two Vivid Cabaret dancers posed with
her. It was a lovely occasion
Every lover of Broadway must visit the new
exhibition Curtain
Up: Celebrating the Last 40 Years of Theatre in New
York & London, October 31-June 30, 2017 at
the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
at Lincoln Center. It is one of the finest
exhibitions presented at my favorite library. It is
a collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum
of London. At the press review, I met the two
ladies, the charming co-curator Anna
Landreth-Strong, V&A, and the equally charming Nora
Lyons, the NYPL Press Agent, and expressed my
delight at seeing all the costumes, programs, videos
and much more of the cherished memories of my
wonderful years as a theatre critic. Do not miss it!
Off-Broadway, the York Theatre
Company held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new
renovation of its theater at Saint Peters, Lexington
Ave and 54th St. I have been attending their
productions since its inception, and have always
enjoyed their magnificent work. The Producing
Artistic Director James
Morgan is
to be congratulated for his achievements. Many of
the artists who have performed there were present,
as well as patrons of the company. It was a
splendid occasion.
Unfortunately, I was delayed at the
York Theatre Company event on the same evening,
and I arrived too late to photograph the two French
Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) honorees, Jeff
Koons, Visual Artist and Jean-Paul
Agon, Chairman & CEO of L'Oreal, who received
the FIAF Trophee
des Arts 2016 Awards at the Plaza Hotel. La
Creme de la Creme of the French community in New
York were present at the elegant Gala, including the
French Ambassador and Consul General.
A sad event was the memorial mass at
the Church of Our Savior on Park Avenue at 38th St,
for John
Wegorzewski, a
good friend, sweet and charming, and a fine
publicist. His many friends gathered after the
service at the Park Avenue Tavern to drink and eat
and speak of the joy of knowing this truly wonderful
gentleman. He will be deeply missed.
The Met Breur, 945 Madison
Avenue at 75th St, presented a press preview of an
exhibition of Kerry
James Marshall: Mastry, October, 25-January 29, 2017.
His works are devoted to showing black people, who
he felt deserved to be recognized in his paintings.
It is an impressive, heartfelt exhibition.
The Frick Museum,
at 1 East 70th St, is, without doubt, one of the
finest museums in New York, and it was a delight to
attend the press preview of Guido
Cagnacci's Repentant Magdalene,
where she sheds her clothing and scatters her jewels
on the floor. It is an Italian Baroque masterpiece
on loan from the Norton
Simon Museum. It will be on display from October
25-January 22, 2017. I urge every lover of
magnificent paintings to see this remarkable example
of brilliant, masterly technique by a superb artist.
It is a luminous work of art.
We attended a delicious tasting at Bocaditos
Bistro, 4863 Broadway at 204th St. It is a new
opened restaurant, that features a superb menu of
inventive, imaginative dishes that are exquisitely
presented to delight the eye. The charming General
Manager Ricky
Monegro explained
each dish. We sampled small bites of Almond &
Goat Cheese Croquettes with Black
Peppercorn & Honey Glaze, and Eggplant
Croquettes with Smoked
Mozzarella and Plum
Tomato Crudo. Bites followed with Ahi
Tuna and Salmon
Tartar Cones with Siraca,
Sun Dries Tomato, Crispy Rice Paper and Salmon
Roe, and Modern Pulpo Gallego with Grilled
Spanish Octopus, Molecular Paprika Potato Sauce,
and Dehydrated Olive
Oil. Then came Bigger Bites with 5-Spice
Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly with Cucumber-Mint
Relish and Sweet
Chili Sauce, and Mustard
Seed & Cilantro Seared Filet Mignon with Coucous and Chanterelle
Stew, and Pesto
Risotto with Heirloom
Tomato, Speck and Buratta.
The desserts included Red
Velvet Tres Leche with Lychee
Cream and
Strawberry Spheres, and White Chocolate and Brioche
Bread Pudding with French Vanilla Ice Cream with
Capuccinos. To drink, we indulged in Prosecco and
white wine Sangria,
and I tasted three different beers. It was a
memorable evening of fine dining, |