Thursday, February 27, 2020

Immersing Myself

Hello, friends!  I've been lax in my theater-going lately, work has been very busy.  Well, that's not exactly true.  I went to a very early preview of a new play and a concert of a musical I've already posted about, so I didn't think a new report was necessary about either of them.  I have some shows coming up and a trip to Minneapolis that includes two productions that I'm very excited about, so keep your eyes open for more posts in the next few weeks.  Fingers crossed, of course.

I did want to do a little post about Jerry Herman - he passed away while I was home for the holidays, so I didn't do a post at the time.  After seeing Mack and Mabel last week, I've rather been on a Jerry Herman playlist listening binge.  Which has put a smile on my face.  His musicals' subject matters were disparate, though most dealt with plucky individualists overcoming obstacles to succeed.  But all of them feature toe-tapping music that just puts a big old smile on my face and I notice that "...somehow the ceiling seems a little higher...", to loosely quote one of his songs.  

When I'm in a bad mood, I either put on Barber's "Adagio for Strings" (if I want to weep), or Alanis Morissette's "Jagged Little Pill" (if I want to dive into feeling pissed off), or Herman's La Cage aux Folles (if I want to start smiling).  But, really, all of his musicals make me smile, then cry, then smile some more.  It's sort of a visceral response.  If you want to read an interesting interview about Jerry Herman's process, you should check out this piece from the archives of The Dramatist magazine (I mean, you really should subscribe; there are amazing articles like this every month!): In Conversation with Jerry Herman.  I love when writers interview other writers - they just know how to guide the conversation to get the most interesting, revealing answers.

I'll just link to some of my past thoughts on musicals by Jerry Herman (some of those links are above, if you're interested).  I mentioned in my review of the recent Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly that it was one of the first musicals I can remember seeing.  One of the first professional productions I ever saw was Mame at a local dinner theater.  I remember adoring it and over the years, I've listened to the cast album probably thousands of times.  Ever since my nephew was born, I've had even more affection for it, especially the song "If He Walked Into My Life," which makes me cry every time I try to sing along.  I'm a basket case, I admit it.  And, hello, who doesn't have "We Need a Little Christmas" on their holiday playlist?!  "Bosom Buddies" is also a classic in musical theater songwriting - have you ever seen the clip of Betty White and Carol Channing sing it on an episode of Love Boat?  Get to YouTube and check it out.  But I digress.  Anyway, Mame is another show that I'd love to see in revival, though I admit a bit of it is problematic in this day and age.  Maybe it's best for an Encores! retelling...

I admit I don't know Dear World as well as I should - when the York did a brief run of it, I jumped at the chance to see it.  I also admit that I seriously considered buying a ticket to London when Betty Buckley was performing it there.  Cooler heads (and empty wallets) prevailed there.  Again, I hope to see it have another life sometime soon.  I know that Jerry Herman was hopeful that this show would get another look, so maybe there's an intrepid producer out there who wants to commemorate the loss of a man who loved the theater and what he did.  I know he brought a lot of joy to my life and I'm grateful.  He'll be missed.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Review - Mack and Mabel

photo credit: Douglas Gorenstein
I'm trying to remember the first time I heard the Mack and Mabel cast album - was it in high school?  At my college boyfriend's apartment?  I'm not sure, but I know I've been listening to that glorious Jerry Herman score for over 30 years.  I never thought I'd see a production, so I was excited to see a couple of numbers excerpted last year in an Encores! revue called Hey, Look Me OverDouglas Sills, as expected, was perfection as Mack and I hoped hoped hoped that a more-full production would be announced after the acclaim for the excerpts.  So I was thrilled when City Center announced it would be doing Mack and Mabel in the current Encores! season.  It's bittersweet to finally get to see it so soon after dear Jerry Herman passed away - I was fortunate to meet him a number of years ago and I wonder what he would've thought of this production.  I'm going to imagine that he loved it.  Please excuse my name-dropping-via-photo at left...


photo credit: Joan Marcus
And so, after over 30 years, I finally got to see Mack and Mabel.  And...I loved it!  Truly!  Though I can also see why it's a problematic show to produce.  But I'm ever so grateful to have seen it and I had a wonderful time.  As Mack Sennett, Douglas Sills is the quintessential leading man - he has elan in spades and a voice that thrills.  He's larger than life, yet oh so human.  I think he's an absolute STAR and I wish people would write shows just for him.  I guess I should also mention here that I've been a huge fan of his for over 30 years - I saw him in the national tour of Into the Woods when I was in grad school and have been enraptured ever since.  Moving on (he WAS great, though).

Alexandra Socha was a terrific Mabel - spunky, lovestruck, ambitious yet complacent, and easily influenced.  She also has an amazing voice and put over the big solos for Mabel beautifully, especially "Wherever He Ain't," which was a real highlight of the evening.  She also handled the comedy and pathos well.

The entire score was terrifically delivered - those bouncy Jerry Herman tunes were sparkling and those delightful lyrics were clear and crisp (I had some issues understanding Sills at the top of the show, then his mic was fixed and all was well the rest of the night).  The ensemble was diverse and wonderfully multitalented.  Everyone was in great voice and in sync with the stylistic choices of the music and story.  I will say that I thought the director/choreographer missed the mark a few times; I think this kind of pastiche show needs to be really crisply directed and there was a little looseness here and there, especially in the spatial relationships, that I noticed.  Of course, with such a short run, they also have a limited rehearsal period, so maybe a full production would snap together more strongly.

photo credit: Joan Marcus
As I said, I can see why the show is tough - it's got two vaguely morally ambiguous lead characters, who need to walk a tightrope between their unpleasant qualities and their star qualities.  They're people who can't be together yet can't be apart and that's tough to dramatize.  Plus, the second act can be a real downer, as Mabel slides into disrepute and Mack is unable to reach her.  After listening to "Tap Your Troubles Away" for so long, I had no idea it was juxtaposing a real life tragedy at the same time, so the diverting of focus was complicated (I love tap dancing and wanted to revel in it, but couldn't because of the other necessary storytelling).  The show has an unhappy ending and even though "I Promised You a Happy Ending" is a gorgeous song, the musical just kind of...ends.  Though, in the right hands (like Sills and Socha), hearing terrific singers/actors take on these roles and sing these iconic numbers is a real thrill, so...

Oh, I do have another quibble: in the original production, what we think of now as the Overture was actually the Entr'acte (before the second act).  So this production kept that convention; after intermission, we were treated to the spectacular Encores! orchestra playing that fantastic bit of music.  However, at the end, banners of dear Jerry Herman flew down for people to applaud.  Except, from my seat in the balcony, I couldn't see them.  I only knew they were Jerry Herman from reading the reviews this morning.  I never approve of something happening on stage that everyone in the audience can't see, so that irked me to no end.

Seat neighbor-wise, it was a pretty respectful bunch.  I was in the balcony, so I was surrounded by other diehard fans who were excited to see the show (I was also thrilled to run into so many handsome friends before and after the show!).  Although, there was one yutz.  Actually, three.  The first yutz came in late, after the overture was over, during the first scene.  He walked into the middle of the front row in the balcony, sloooooooowly, then he slooooooooowly took off his coat by leaning forward first to the left, then to the right.  THEN he stood up to arrange his coat on the back of his seat.  This had to have lasted two or three minutes (which can seem like forever when you can't see Douglas Sills!), then finally the woman sitting behind him leaned forward and said SIT DOWN.  She was my hero.  The other two yutzes kept putting their coats on the railing in front of them, which meant their coats were hitting the backs of the people in the row in front of them.  They just couldn't understand why someone wouldn't want another person's down jacket getting in their way of sitting back in their seat.  I tell you, people are NUTS.  

All in all, I had a fantastic time seeing a show I've long wanted to see and hearing that beautiful score played by amazing musicians.  Jerry Herman's scores make me love life a little more, even when the ending isn't happy.  Last night also made me greedy to see Mack and Mabel again and try to figure out how I could fix it (as if I could).  It's also made me greedy to want to see Douglas Sills in all the shows.  Please and thank you.

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Preview Thoughts on Cambodian Rock Band

I am a big fan of playwright Lauren Yee (I know her a bit and like her a lot) and I have been looking forward to seeing her play Cambodian Rock Band for seemingly forever.  It has played in regional theaters around the country, to much acclaim, and it has finally landed in New York, at my favorite spot, Signature Theatre.  Of course, all signs pointing to my having a grand theatrical experience, and I did.  OH, I DID.  So as to not bury the lede, I say to you: GET YOUR TICKETS NOW.  This is a play you do not want to miss - its storytelling is unique and the story itself is heartbreaking and hopeful.  That kind of play doesn't come along every day.


photo credit: Joan Marcus
Since the play is still in previews, I'll only offer a few thoughts (other than GET YOUR TICKETS NOW).  Cambodian Rock Band takes place in 2008, but flashes back to 1975/1978, during the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime.  We meet a woman working on the war crimes trials and her efforts to bring perpetrators to justice, and we meet her father, who was in Cambodia during the war and is desperately trying to bring his daughter home, for reasons of his own.  The story is about fathers and daughters, about the hard choices we are sometimes forced to make, and about the power and redemptive quality of music (and art/artists).  The story is also told through music, mainly the songs of the band Dengue Fever, an L.A.-based band of Cambodian-American musicians doing covers of Cambodian music in a blend of sixties Cambodian pop and psychedelic rock.  The rock concert atmosphere is an exciting way to both celebrate the power of music and a tragic way of reminding us that so many artists were lost during the genocide in Cambodia.

photo credit: Joan Marcus
Throughout Cambodian Rock Band, Lauren Yee blends the funny, sad, powerful, moving, and horrifying into a thrilling theatrical experience that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.  This cast is simply incredible - they not only handle the complex emotions of the scenework, but they also play the fictional band Cyclos; the band figures in the story itself and they also present the Dengue Fever/Khmer music to fantastic effect.  Everyone is wonderful, most especially Francis Jue, long one of my favorite actors, who plays our narrator, of sorts, and he has a moment where he becomes part of the story and you just...gasp.  He's fabulous, as always.  As is Joe Ngo, who helped craft the play a bit and shared with Lauren some stories from his life as the child of Cambodian work camp survivors - he has such range and empathy.  Oh, well, the whole cast is great.  I don't want to say much more, since part of the joy of Cambodian Rock Band is the element of surprise; you think you're in for one kind of performance and then it becomes something totally different.  I laughed a lot, I cried A LOT and I got up to dance during the curtain call.  It was truly thrilling; I simply adored it and can't wait to go back with a co-worker later in the run.  If you want to read more about the play and background, there's a terrific piece online about Lauren, written by the wonderful Diep Tran (you can read that piece on Broadway.Com).  I highly recommend you check out that article and Cambodian Rock Band.  Tickets are going fast and it's a show you should not miss. 


Seat neighbor-wise: ugh.  The people behind me were simply hateful.  Please, please don't let me become like them when I become an old NY theatergoer.  They criticized the storytelling, they criticized the acting, they criticized the AUTHENTICITY, which just made my blood boil.  All because, I think, they took a bus tour once through Cambodia, which made them experts.  Not because they were actually Cambodian, mind you.  It was just the supercilious, condescending, crazy-privilege nonsense that I despise.  I almost yelled at them about the five-block rule, but instead I just slouched in my seat and covered my ears.  They never did get the hint.  There was one leader, who made most of the heinous remarks, and there was one follower, who kept saying "Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah" like the seagulls in Finding Nemo (in case you were wondering about the photo at left).  Unfun people.  And the ladies beside me, god love them, were also annoying as all get out.  One of them kept asking everyone in the row if the show had an intermission, even though the ushers told us and it was in the program.  I guess she just couldn't be bothered.  The other had a bad hip, which I understand can be extremely unpleasant, but you should buy yourself an aisle seat if you think you're going to have a problem sitting through a show (I was on the aisle, because I bought it for myself to stretch my bad foot).  At an important point during the first act, she got up to leave because she needed to stand up, so I missed some dialogue, which annoyed me, but I figured it wasn't her fault.  At the end of intermission, her friend apologized and said it might happen again in the second act, at which time I was assured it wouldn't and that the bad hip lady would stand the entire second act.  Well, yeah, until she decided it was time to go home, so she came over, leaned over me, to talk to her friend and say goodnight it was time to leave!  During a CRUCIAL moment in the show!  I was so mad!  There was a talkback after the performance (and it was fantastic - Francis Jue was also incredibly amazing just talking about the play as himself), and I was thisclose to asking them to please just run through their lines from that scene!  Oh my god, ordinarily, the audience at the Signature is well-behaved, but these people were off the charts.  Good thing I found the show to be completely amazing, or they might've absolutely ruined my evening.  Thankfully, once again, great theater saved me from making a bad situation worse.  Though, if I run into them again, I might not be so forgiving...






Thursday, February 13, 2020

Review - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, parts one and two

Back story time - your favorite!  I didn't know anything about the Harry Potter series of books before the first movie came out in 2001.  I don't remember why, but for some reason I saw a screening of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at the old Virgin Megastore basement movie theater and was hooked.  I just found the film absolutely charming and so I quickly caught up on the books.  I gobbled the later books up as they were released and I eagerly awaited all of the films.  I never did the 'line up the night before' thing, but I did partake of everything in a timely fashion (unlike now, where I wait too long to see or read anything, but I digress) and always enjoyed myself thoroughly.

When the new script/book was released, I purposely did not buy it because I thought I wanted to maintain the purity of the original series.  When the production finally made it to New York, I was quickly priced out.  I tried, nearly every Friday, for lottery tickets, and I hopped on to the internet whenever a new batch of tickets was released.  I finally finally got one ticket, next-to-last row of the balcony, for both parts of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on a Saturday!  It would be a long, exciting, super-fun day.


I purposefully had not read reviews of the production, because I wanted to experience it with no expectations.  All I've heard from my very kind friends who didn't want to spoil things for me was that the shows were super-magical - which they are!  I should warn you all, however, that there may be spoilers in my post below.  So if you haven't seen the show, I'd close this window now.  I tried to obey the "don't look at the program if you don't want to see spoilers" notice, but at intermission of the first part, I took a look at the program insert, just to see who was playing Harry Potter.  I then saw another actor's name that made me go WHEEEEEE, and then I saw what characters that actor was playing.  SUPER SPOILER.  So that was a bit of a bummer, though, I guess, I should've known/figured things about those characters if I truly thought ahead about the plot points introduced...

...ugh, ok, if I talk about the show, there could very well be spoilers.  I will do my best not to, but sometimes I just won't be able to help it!  So please leave now if you haven't seen the show and if you plan to.  Which you absolutely should.  I had the best day ever and you will, too.  Then you can come back after you see the shows.


All right then, here we go.  Actually, first I'm going to share my posts about the show, that I made during the show, on social media, because suddenly I'm unable to find my words.  Then I'll fill in some blanks...


Part 1 Intermission report:
1. Wow;
2. Young gentleman sitting next to me may have a granny fetish because he keeps chatting me up about my favorite Potter things;
3. Should not have taken a look at that cast list insert;
4. The guy in front of me thinks he’s Chris Evans;
5. He is not;
6. Wow.


Break before Part 2 report:
1. OH.MY.GOD;
2. The young gentleman next to me consumed two bottles of wine during Part 1 (he's with two chums, but still). I just can't imagine their response to Part 2 (if they're even awake, they invited me to join them at a bar, but I declined);
3.. I wish I had extra money for some swag, it's really cool-looking;
4. I'm grateful the theater is across the street from my office, so I could just pick up a snack and sit in comfort during the break;
5. I wish I didn't have to wait over two hours for the rest!
6. Wow.

Part 2 Intermission Report:
1. Well, that was unexpected;
2. Young gentleman (and his two friends) brought ANOTHER bottle of Prosecco to this act, I don’t know how they’re even still standing;
3. The stagecraft is...off-the-charts;
4: I’ve missed magic;
5: I didn’t know one of my favorite stage actors was in this - I may not recover;
6: Squeeeeeee - what is going to happen?!?!?!

Post-show report
1.  GOBSMACKED! My blog post will be EPIC, I’m thinking. 
2.  Seat neighbors update: they had a fourth bottle of Prosecco in the second act. The gent next to me accidentally clinked his glass on the bottle and they all giggled (or drunkenly tried to stifle giggles) for the last 30 minutes of the show. After curtain call, they staggered out of their seats and into the balcony lobby. I asked an usher to keep an eye on them but made sure to get down the stairs ahead of them. My balance is not what it was, you know. Oh my. I hope they’re not driving anywhere...

photo credit: Matthew Murphy
Clearly, I had so many other thoughts when I was watching the show!  But my main feeling was one of delight.  I was delighted that the production lived up to my memories of the first series of books/movies; I was delighted there was so much magical magic; I was delighted with the story (for the most part; of course, being me, I had quibbles; more on them later).  I felt like I spent an entire day filled with delight, even when I was scared/horrified/moved by the story and the production.

photo credit: Sara Krulwich
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child starts almost where the final film lets out, at Kings Cross Station, with Harry and Ginny's kids going to Hogwarts.  The play is mainly a depiction of the struggle of fathers/sons, past/present, good/evil, love/duty.  There are fierce friendships, sacrifices, traumas, and guilts.  The script did a good job, I think, of telling a mature story, but maintaining the youthful energy of the original stories.  I thought the new characters added were mainly terrific (the young man playing the son of Draco Malfoy was fantastic, as was the character himself) and the different shadings of the characters we watched grow up were also fascinating.  

I gasped along with the rest of the audience at the end of the first part (ok, seriously, this was one of the most incredible [and unexpected] act breaks I've ever seen!) and was teary at the final confrontations.  Though, to be honest, I thought the script put way too much on Harry at the end; I'm not sure we needed to see that much more trauma heaped on this man/kid who already survived the worst over and over again.  There was a youngster in the balcony who was quite disturbed; I don't blame him.  At times, though I understood the struggle between fathers and sons, the gulf seemed needlessly cruel.  Quibbling on details, I also wondered why we never saw Harry's older children after a certain point in the story - once he and Ginny start back fighting evil, they never even need to say goodbye or have a conversation with them?  That was odd to me.

I loved how a time-turner became a focal point of the storytelling, though it did seem an easy way to bring back characters from the earlier books (Stephen Spinella, who is a treasure of the American theater, in my opinion, is the only actor who could play one of the characters brought back; he was magnificent).  I adored how love and friendship was again the basis of all the light in the world.  I cheered that book learning was celebrated and appreciated. I really loved the set effects when the time-turner was used; in fact, all of the stage effects and magic effects were out of this world.  From the very first transformation when students were suddenly wearing their Hogwarts robes out of thin air (and the first time characters used polyjuice potion to become other characters), I was completely enchanted.  There were high-tech magical effects and low-tech magical effects and the combination of the two worked brilliantly.  The physical production was marvelous, the choreography was inspired, and the acting company was amazing.  Even with my story quibbles, I had the most marvelous time at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  If a ticket finally lands in your lap, I highly recommend checking it out.

It suddenly occurs to me that I've recently seen two plays that were done in two parts, where I had a wonderful all-day theatrical experience.  I'm now thinking of the other writers who I want to write multiple-part-plays - I'm dying to see an all-day Martyna Majok event, or two plays by Rajiv Joseph, or two plays by Stephen Adly Guirgis, or two musicals by Michael R Jackson, or two plays by Chisa Hutchinson, or two plays by Mike Lew.  Almost anyone, really.  Seriously, the bigger the better.  I obviously need to win the lottery so I can be the benefactor, the impresario who can make these things happen.  Excuse me while I head off to the nearest lottery ticket machine and hope for a little magic of my own...


Monday, February 10, 2020

Restaurant Week lunch #2: Khe-Yo

This year, I could only afford two Restaurant Week lunches, but that's ok.  I enjoyed them both quite a bit.  I've already reported on Park Avenue Winter, now I'll tell you about my lunch at Tribeca's Khe-Yo.

When I'm choosing RW meals, I try to choose restaurants I've never been to, or cuisines I rarely eat (it's not often I go to Italian restaurants for RW, since I try those all the time anyway).  When I was doing a search on the website this year, I was intrigued by a spot serving food from Laos.  Clearly, I have never eaten a Laotian meal before, and when I looked at their menu, my interest was piqued.  And when I was talking it up to a co-worker chum, she thought it sounded fun, too, so we took a long lunch last week and gave Khe-Yo a try.



Conveniently located from my office, Khe-Yo is a quick subway ride away and in a very cute little spot.  It's mainly wood and teak, with lots of brick and plants around.  The staff is very pleasant and the ambiance is kind of funky.  There weren't a lot of people in the space having lunch, so it was pretty quiet, as well.  They have a very nice drink menu, as well as their RW menu, with lots of non-alcoholic options.  My co-worker chum and I both got the house-made tamarind ginger soda, which was DELICIOUS.  I could drink that smokey-sweet-sour-fizzy beverage at every meal from now on.

I kept going back and forth over what I wanted to order - I try not to have similar flavors in my meal.  I asked our server which first course she would recommend and, naturally, she said she likes them all, which was kind of no help.  I finally decided to get the crispy pig face buns; my other thought was getting the pork belly wonton soup, but since I'd had pork belly guacamole at a cool Mexican place recently, I opted for the bao.  I'm ever so glad I did.  It was so good!  The buns were pillowy soft, the pork cheek was flavorful, the pickled cucumber (but isn't that just a pickle?!) was yummy and that sauce was delicious.  It was a tamarind-based sauce, I think, and it tasted great with the pork and the bun.  I may have been dunking things in the sauce whether or not I was supposed to.

Since I had pork in my first course, I decided to get the glass noodles and crab for my second course (I want to go back and try the oxtail coconut curry soup, which was my other top choice).  This was also soooooo good.  And very filling - I didn't even finish it, so that means I got two meals out of one RW outing!  Bonus!  Anyway, the glass noodles were wok-fried, so they had even more of a chew than usual.  The crab was very lightly dressed in a vinegary sauce and there were also bean sprouts and baby bok choy pieces to enjoy.  I will admit to removing the pieces of jalapeno from my plate - I don't mind the flavor of it, but I don't like to eat them.  They blow out my taste buds (even though I try new foods, my palate is still basically from Ohio).  The mixtures of textures and temperatures was grand and this was a terrific choice.  Plus, it tasted good reheated!

My co-worker chum and I decided not to pay extra for dessert, since we had to get back to the office.  But we had a delightful lunch at Khe-Yo and I'm looking forward to going back and trying other dishes now that I know how yummy the food is.  Their cocktail menu is also calling my name, so thumbs up for Khe-Yo.  Now that I feel so adventurous, having tried food from Laos, I'm trying to figure out other unknown (to me) cuisines that I can try during the summer version of RW...


Thursday, February 6, 2020

What a Weekend!

I really need to remember to NOT get tickets for things on the weekends; my apartment is a disaster area and I'm really tired.  So if I'm not home on the weekends, I feel as if I don't have time to reset.  But then I think back at the amazing stuff I saw over last weekend (and Monday night) and I remember that I'm fortunate to be living in a city where I can see all this wonderful, thought-provoking art any time I want.  Well, when I can afford it...

Saturday night, I went to a benefit performance at TOSOS, which is one of my very favorite theater companies, as you may remember.  Take a look at their website - they need and deserve your support!  Their current production, now at The Flea, is Leaving the Blues, by Jewelle Gomez.  TOSOS produced the first play in a proposed trilogy about African-American artists in the 20th century, Waiting for Giovanni, about two years ago (you can read my thoughts on a preview performance HERE).  Both of these plays are about fascinating artists who had fascinating stories about which I knew nothing.  Shame on me.  The first play was about James Baldwin and Leaving the Blues is about the great blues singer/songwriter Alberta Hunter.  

It's embarrassing to admit that I didn't know anything about Alberta Hunter before seeing the show and now I'm dying to know more.  Hunter was immensely popular in the U.S. and Europe before WWII, then fell out of favor when the music industry changed.  She actually became a nurse, then after she was forced to retire from nursing, she went back to performing.  IN HER 80s.  I can barely get out of bed some days and this amazing woman was performing well into her ninth decade.  The majority of the play, however, deals with Alberta Hunter's desire to keep her lesbian life a secret, much to the extreme unhappiness of her longtime partner, Lettie.  

photo credit: mikiodo
There is terrific singing and dancing in Leaving the Blues, along with scenes of brutal drama and sadness.  The production is expertly acted, designed, and directed and is a wonderful reminder of Alberta Hunter's great talent.  If I occasionally wished that the play stopped 'telling' me things and maybe 'showed' me some of the conflicts discussed, I might've enjoyed that, too.  But it's a quibble about storytelling, not story.  The story is one that needs to be shared, so I highly recommend your seeing Leaving the Blues.  It closes this weekend and is most likely sold out, but if you're interested, go to the Flea and get on the wait list.  You won't regret it.  You'll learn something new, I'm sure, just like I did.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, I was at a benefit performance to kick off Black History Month and was treated to a wonderful panel discussion and special performances by members of the cast.  These are the kinds of amazing things TOSOS does, so please check them out.

After that terrific Saturday night, I was happy to head out again Sunday afternoon to catch a matinee performance (with my IHBB) of Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.  We had seen it together maybe 20 years ago and were so excited when City Center announced it would be returning.  It was SO worth the wait.

The way Matthew Bourne has adapted the story is simply genius.  The prince is now a love-starved young man, denied by his mother and hardly noticed in his kingdom, when one night, he thinks about suicide by a dark lake, and suddenly swans appear.  Played by men.  Instead of ballerinas in white tutus, we see strong, beautiful male dancers wearing white feathers.  So the sad love story inherent in Swan Lake also has a rather tortured quality to it now, and a tragedy even larger than in a traditional telling.  The prince reaches for love everywhere and is never allowed to have it; it's heartbreaking.

photo credit: Craig Schwartz
There are so many wonderful touches to this production, from all the comic business to the expert synchronization of the swans (even their breathing is synchronized and it becomes another part of characterization after a while), to the ingenious choreography.  I just loved loved loved seeing the show again.  It's thrilling, it's funny, it's sad, it's fantastic.  There's fear, there's joy, there's abandon, there's regret; I could just wax rhapsodic all night.  I will admit I didn't remember the vehemence in the last scene, so I was taken aback all over again.  I had a wonderful time (and the special cocktail served at City Center was also delightful!) seeing this version of Swan Lake and hope I can see it again soon.

Monday night, I was thrilled to travel to Brooklyn to catch a reading of a play from the 1960s, Wedding Band, by the great Alice Childress.  Alice Childress is a playwright everyone should know - her plays were ahead of their time and dealt with subject matter that producers were afraid of.  She was set to be the first African-American woman playwright produced on Broadway, but the producers demanded so many changes, she withdrew her play, Trouble in Mind.  That takes some serious guts.  As a writer's advocate, I also know of her because she actually went to court to protect her copyright; you can read more about her HERE on the Dramatists Guild's website.  

Childress' plays aren't done that often, which is crazy, but when I got an email inviting me to a reading of her play Wedding Band, I jumped at the chance, as did my handsome co-worker.  Childress wrote this play in 1962 from her female black protagonist's perspective, and again, when producers asked her to make the play's center the white male character, she withdrew the production from an anticipated Broadway run.  It was finally produced Off-Broadway ten years later.

Wedding Band takes place in South Carolina in 1918, but is scarily relevant to today.  Julia, a young African-American seamstress, has moved from a remote rural community into a housing development.  She says she has come for quiet, but she has really come for community.  The houses surround a common yard where many of the occupants are found throughout the play.  We come to discover that Julia's been in a relationship for ten years with a white man, a baker, and their relationship and its ramifications on her new community and his family is what drives the play.  It's illegal for them to have a relationship in South Carolina in 1918, and so there's danger at nearly every turn for everyone on stage.  There's also rage and pain and love.  Even some forgiveness.

Each character is beautifully drawn and wonderfully specific; you get a real sense of the connection these people feel to one another.  Except for Herman's family, who are horrifyingly racist.  Some of the dialogue is terrifyingly ugly, both in its context in the scene and its broader implication of the world we live in today.  I can imagine hearing people across the country (especially people who currently live in the White House) saying these horrible things and it just breaks my heart and terrifies me all at the same time.  The actors are to be commended for going full out, because this play can't be done in a tepid manner.  Now is the time for a revival of this show - point out white supremacy, point out we're all in this together, point out that art can save us.  I know I sound like a broken record, but I truly believe it.  Please put out energy into the world that we can hear more voices like Alice Childress' be raised up now, when we need it most.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Other Movies You Should Check Out

Tired of me yet?  I'm just trying to get into a groove for 2020.  Anyway, I had mentioned in my first post of the new year that I watched two documentaries when I was home with my family.  I think both of them are worth your time and attention (one more than the other), so I'll just briefly chat about them.  

When I'm home, I take over the tv remote, much to my mother's chagrin (though I do try to give it back to her and she says she wants me to choose, so...).  On New Year's Eve, before we started waiting for the ball to drop, I found a documentary on HBO about the celebrated tenor Luciano Pavarotti.  Pavarotti, made by Ron Howard, is a recent film about the life and art of a great opera singer, but legend has it he was not a great man, especially as his voice began to decline.  I don't think the film is quite successful in telling us much about him that we don't already know, because you don't hear about the hard work he might've once put into his career, nor about his decline.  We're briefly informed about his divorce towards the end of the movie, but there was no sign of it earlier on.  I just think Howard wanted to make a celebratory film, so there are amazing home movies and some grainy footage from early recitals, but I could watch those on YouTube.  I didn't really get any new insights into his life or work, but I did get to revel in the sound of his voice.  It truly was from the gods.  I came to opera late - I think my first recording was the first Three Tenors CD (shameful, I know).  I went to see them at Giants Stadium (ugh, that's a story) and it was fantastic.  Then I went with a handsome friend to see Pavarotti in Central Park (well, 'see' is a relative term; we were WAY far away).  Oh, and I also saw him perform at the Met once, in Andrea Chenier.  He could barely move, but oh my god, that voice.  I'm very grateful to have seen him in person at all.  I enjoyed seeing the old clips and hearing that glorious voice, but the movie could maybe have been a little more daring in its storytelling.  It's still worth seeing, though.

That reminds me: I didn't watch this one during the holiday, but early last year I saw Maria By Callas: In Her Own Words, which was AMAZING.  I highly recommend that one, it's no holds barred and unvarnished.  And god, that voice.  Check it out.

Another night during my break, I was flipping through the channels and landed on an airing of Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice.  This documentary was incredible; I had recently seen Linda Ronstadt on the Kennedy Center Honors and remembered how much I used to love her music.  We had a 8-track (ha!) of her Greatest Hits album that we wore out in my parents' Chevy, and I remember going to a college boyfriend's dorm to listen to The Pirates of Penzance on repeat.  So I've always been in love with her voice, but I didn't really know her story.  She narrates a lot of the film, in her matter-of-fact way; she was a trailblazer for women in music and a no-nonsense artist.  She didn't write her own songs, but she picked her music well and made it her own.  She was also so musically curious - she talks a lot about wanting to try everything while she could, as long as she could serve the musical style and respect it, too.  The documentary is simply fantastic and really tells her story beautifully; it shares a lot of tidbits I didn't know and there are some rare interviews and clips of her onstage magic, plus current insights about what it was like to be her.  It was enlightening, moving, nostalgic, and ultimately uplifting.  She talks about not being able to sing anymore because of her Parkinson's, which is heartbreaking, but the end shows how she can still, in a way, make music now and you see how someone just has music in their soul.  You really should take a look at this film - it will remind you that you love her music and, if you're like me, you'll make a new playlist to hear her tackle all those wonderful songs again.