tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59451488400805166752024-02-19T01:00:04.845-08:00T and B on the Aisle-- A Theater DiaryThere is that moment, when the house is dark and just before the curtain rises, that sends a small shiver down your spine. Let's capture that moment together!
Lights dim, the curtain goes up. Suddenly, we are transported into the imagination of a playwright and actors we do not know! The stage is set for magic and fireworks.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger251125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-91121595599063910852015-07-06T08:37:00.000-07:002015-07-06T08:37:02.445-07:00Let's get the party started<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6GZ3n9M_rZg/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6GZ3n9M_rZg?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">There are many types of couples. Among these are those who swing and those who don't. Those who don't are generally censurious of those who do.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">Bruce Norris'<strong style="font-style: italic;"> The Qualms, </strong>at </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">Playwrights Horizons</span><em style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"> through July 12th</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">, analyzes the relationships </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">of couples who swap.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">What brings newly weds, Chris (Jeremy Shamos) and Kristy (Sarah Goldberg), to the party seems to be a a kink in their marriage. Not the usual kink which might lead readily to swinging, but more like a rift. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">Chris, it seems, is</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">reluctant to join Gary (John Procaccino) and Teri (Kate Arrington) in their fun. This of course, despite the good will of the other participants, ultimately puts a damper on the proceedings.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">While Deb (Donna Lynne Champlin), Ken (Andy Lucien), and Regine (Chinasa Oginbuagu) are all welcoming, Chris and super macho Roger </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">(Noah Emmerich) bump heads from the minute they meet.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">Kristy is happy to play along and enjoy herself.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">Pam MacKinnon directs this excellent ensemble who take us on an unexpected and entertaining jaunt. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333a42; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px;">For tickets and information, please visit </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/qualms/" href="http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/qualms/" style="background-color: white; color: #426f86; font-family: 'Noto Serif', Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.9280004501343px; line-height: 26.8704013824463px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/qualms/ </a><br />
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See also <a href="http://wp.me/p5jq0w-us">http://wp.me/p5jq0w-us</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-26599652112246318792014-11-08T15:23:00.000-08:002016-09-12T11:09:32.114-07:00T and B is taking aisle seats at a new blog "theater"We are changing our seats. Come sit beside us at this new address:<br />
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<a href="http://tandbontheaisle.wordpress.com/">http://tandbontheaisle.wordpress.com/</a><br />
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Follow us there, please.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEUIQpv3V3lNb2oEnoA7_wsy9gshoSdl0o1G6hoG8-X1D0D9p8bsGuMCZIb_fLdmRvuE7r5d8sMZWSjFIO4zm85fIFk8xW0GyAZHQBPgKJ0DRGf8rU04zz7wf2CHeYhsLPx4bfxjxL_Y/s1600/bb_tb_dressed_up.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEUIQpv3V3lNb2oEnoA7_wsy9gshoSdl0o1G6hoG8-X1D0D9p8bsGuMCZIb_fLdmRvuE7r5d8sMZWSjFIO4zm85fIFk8xW0GyAZHQBPgKJ0DRGf8rU04zz7wf2CHeYhsLPx4bfxjxL_Y/s1600/bb_tb_dressed_up.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-70803312238438392402014-11-02T08:55:00.004-08:002014-11-02T16:54:01.652-08:00Shipbuilding in Wallsend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/VOmUw6Y_z6I/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VOmUw6Y_z6I&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/VOmUw6Y_z6I&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Don't expect to see Sting on stage at the Neil Simon Theatre!</span></div>
Is there a genre we could call "the working man's musical?"<br />
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<b><i>The Full Monty</i></b> would fall into this category. <b><i><a href="http://www.vevlynspen.com/2011/07/in-billy-elliot-literally-leaping-for.html" target="_blank">Billy Elliot</a> </i></b>also wore its working class roots with distinction. <b><i><a href="http://tbontheaisleatheaterdiary.blogspot.com/2014/04/if-then-tonys.html" target="_blank">Kinky Boots</a></i></b> is an exuberant example of this presumptive classification.<br />
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<b><i>The Last Ship</i></b>, with music and lyrics by Sting and story by Brian Yorkey and John Logan, at the Neil Simon Theatre in an open run, is an illustration of the style gone sadly awry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmMXV3IM00K1GLeI1FCWRb00c601P4FOl3fMmfmNkL6FgA81W1NUruQPexrWpiC9iuc0w-Y79zoDw-_3O20RWid519lLjsPlQYucqhvCSyVo8DFW2P7q8SeWcl0JNRVB1cw6nhcM-uxE/s1600/JM+0260r+Fred+Applegate+Jimmy+Nail+and+the+cast+of+The+JMLast+Ship+Photo+by+Joan+Marcus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmMXV3IM00K1GLeI1FCWRb00c601P4FOl3fMmfmNkL6FgA81W1NUruQPexrWpiC9iuc0w-Y79zoDw-_3O20RWid519lLjsPlQYucqhvCSyVo8DFW2P7q8SeWcl0JNRVB1cw6nhcM-uxE/s1600/JM+0260r+Fred+Applegate+Jimmy+Nail+and+the+cast+of+The+JMLast+Ship+Photo+by+Joan+Marcus.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fred Applegate and Jimmy Nail with the cast of <b><i>The Last Ship</i></b>.<br />
Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
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With a who-cares plot, choreography (by Steven Hoggett) replaced mostly by stomping, and songs that generally misfire, and seem to be there mostly just for the exposition, <b><i>The Last Ship</i></b> is anything but the pride of Wallsend.<br />
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Young Gideon (Collin Kelly-Sordelet) sails away from home after his father is injured and before taking on as an apprentice in the shipyards. He wanders on the seas for fifteen years and comes back (played on his return by Michael Esper) too late for his father's funeral.<br />
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He has left behind a girl (young Meg played by Dawn Cantwell) to whom he made promises and whom he still seems to love. Meg Dawson (Rachel Tucker playing the adult woman), has a son, Tom (Kelly-Sordelet again), and a new beau, Arthur Millburn (Aaron Lazar). Arthur has run afoul of the townfolks. He is working with the fellow who is taking over the shipyard and transforming it into a new industrial site.<br />
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Lead by Jackie White (Jimmy Nail), a foreman at the works before they closed, the weilders refuse to sign on for new jobs and plan to occupy the yards and yes, build <b><i>The Last Ship.</i></b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtZDbobCFHaergLPIXBFdXCr3i__ZrT4Du2pDwotM6e46Rv2so34znzBggJ1j3WpUdrehAX4Nv-TjSRfQ6t5BvDylWp5IR_ZsjtxFawnDRYWrfcybTAF3ydhX31uorx5fmQf_-E1wy3k/s1600/MM+Collin+Kelly-Sordelett+Photo+by+Matthew+Murphy+0837.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGtZDbobCFHaergLPIXBFdXCr3i__ZrT4Du2pDwotM6e46Rv2so34znzBggJ1j3WpUdrehAX4Nv-TjSRfQ6t5BvDylWp5IR_ZsjtxFawnDRYWrfcybTAF3ydhX31uorx5fmQf_-E1wy3k/s1600/MM+Collin+Kelly-Sordelett+Photo+by+Matthew+Murphy+0837.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collin Kelly-Sordelet as Tom Dawson in a scene from <b><i>The Last Ship</i></b>.<br />
Photo by Matthew Murphy.</td></tr>
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In the interests of being completely honest with our readers, from the first tune "Island of Souls," I yearned for intermission. By "We've Got Now't Else," the third song from the end of Act I, my passion for escape rivalled young Gideon's. As a born romantic, "What Say You Meg," a quasi-lovesong before the break, was moderately effective.<br />
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The minimalist sets by David Zinn are like so much else on the stage of <b><i>The Last Ship</i></b>, generically workmanlike. Among the cast, Fred Applegate as Father O'Brien, generic Irish priest with the soul of a rebel, and Collin Kelly-Sordelet as the wise fifteen year old Tom Dawson are standouts. Aaron Lazar is a likeable hero although my suspicion is I was routing for the wrong lover.<br />
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For more information about The Last Ship, or to purchase tickets, please visit <a href="http://www.thelastship.com/?gclid=CjwKEAjwrNeiBRD3goG_1s-0_XMSJADuGQQcjrX-VOqynA8o5kMJJvUH5c71esn_f344IP3RCTyCOBoCTOrw_wcB" target="_blank"><b><i>The Last Ship</i></b></a>,Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-31625598301868895742014-10-27T11:03:00.002-07:002014-11-23T08:51:29.318-08:00The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl1ifw8mfgCd0nRVjDK2RCKDeVcfdlGqz9HQdyJWAuJAhvD9gU6yzfA0bOrzl1bFVFSMIZNJcZNPsvVtgWx3KUuhzTHdWFpMNsZXlSfpT_GCtuhrsZrn5zigUM3v6jmuB-yO77Ut6abE/s1600/The+Flames+of+Paris__.+Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIl1ifw8mfgCd0nRVjDK2RCKDeVcfdlGqz9HQdyJWAuJAhvD9gU6yzfA0bOrzl1bFVFSMIZNJcZNPsvVtgWx3KUuhzTHdWFpMNsZXlSfpT_GCtuhrsZrn5zigUM3v6jmuB-yO77Ut6abE/s1600/The+Flames+of+Paris__.+Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.JPG" height="123" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Flames of Paris. </i></b><br />
Photo by Stas Levshin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLw3VwspilYvYI6yVOLWMsVVrOORU4JVJKPYAuFhyByM2HoHRo1i3FOZV_xePxxBCIGIPIKDqWjEuf6pOR6u0YC9gMYxvGuwAyS-d0_3gKhSayH8MuXP6jnbWWOmkvJaWuhoNATOkrIY/s1600/The+Flames+of+Paris___.+Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiLw3VwspilYvYI6yVOLWMsVVrOORU4JVJKPYAuFhyByM2HoHRo1i3FOZV_xePxxBCIGIPIKDqWjEuf6pOR6u0YC9gMYxvGuwAyS-d0_3gKhSayH8MuXP6jnbWWOmkvJaWuhoNATOkrIY/s1600/The+Flames+of+Paris___.+Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.JPG" height="130" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>The Flames of Paris. </i></b><br />
Photo by Stas Levshin</td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;"><i>Not just any Russians, of course, but the Mikhailovsky Ballet Company is visiting us from St. Petersburg.</i></span></h4>
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There was a time when a visit from a Russian ballet company and the subsequent defections of its dancers to the West was viewed as a Cold War triumph. These days a touring Russian troupe simply offers the chance to witness part of a grand tradition of superlative dance.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDNb1P5r1ofEWoQ-goYix7Z4nLlMBGvlOYVd80yw6-Rwx_SU_VKVy209a_zquwLjqPnD6KN43jkolL7f3ClhW1Fzy7ikofUO3wYuxe-wnBExK1KbTmcQbNtg7LylOvyv57l8O14g4oa8/s1600/Don+Quixote.+Natalia+Osipova+and+Ivan+Vasiliev__Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDNb1P5r1ofEWoQ-goYix7Z4nLlMBGvlOYVd80yw6-Rwx_SU_VKVy209a_zquwLjqPnD6KN43jkolL7f3ClhW1Fzy7ikofUO3wYuxe-wnBExK1KbTmcQbNtg7LylOvyv57l8O14g4oa8/s1600/Don+Quixote.+Natalia+Osipova+and+Ivan+Vasiliev__Photo+by+Stas+Levshin.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don Quixote. Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev. Photo by Stas Levshin</td></tr>
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The 80 year old Mikhailovsky Ballet Company has never been state-side before. When it aarives on November 11th for its stay at the David H. Koch Theater on Lincoln Center's campus through November 23rd, consider this your opportunity to enjoy great dance programs from its varied repertoire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEJ8LKzAM-ipWd3ZHUmX9TnfpK6USy4D9IOSJWlI3Xhp5fHdD9tSc7uCMMcGG6PCZ3_Bwyu06CkNWV39UVhPYxyhJV45FXgKNUdQ3TVSi64OfthYWsjpPPbYFEKh0Z_ahuPDuDOo7K0U/s1600/Don+Quixote.+Photo+by+Nikolay+Krusser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEJ8LKzAM-ipWd3ZHUmX9TnfpK6USy4D9IOSJWlI3Xhp5fHdD9tSc7uCMMcGG6PCZ3_Bwyu06CkNWV39UVhPYxyhJV45FXgKNUdQ3TVSi64OfthYWsjpPPbYFEKh0Z_ahuPDuDOo7K0U/s1600/Don+Quixote.+Photo+by+Nikolay+Krusser.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don Quixote. Photo by Nikolay Krusser</td></tr>
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The Company will play to a live orchestra for its 15 performances in New York. From there it goes to the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California from November 28th through the 30th.<br />
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The Mikhailovsky Theatre, where Fyodor Lopukhov founded the Ballet Company in 1933, had hosted many an opera and ballet in the 100 years it had already been in existence. Its long and storied history included the George Balanchine choreography of a Rimsky-Korsikov opera in 1923. Since its official founding as a Ballet Company at the Mikhailovsky Theatre by Lopukhov, the Company has had an outstanding number of top Ballet Masters at its helm. The Ballet Company staged the premiere of Lopukhov's production of Dmitry Shostakovich’s <b><i>T</i></b><b style="font-style: italic;">he Bright Stream </b>in 1935 <br />
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Today, the Ballet Company is home to world class Principal Dancers and is headed by Ballet Master in Chief Mikhail Messerer. It blends tradition with modernity in its productions and will bring a sampling to its US tour, including <b><i>"Three Centuries of Russian Ballet" </i></b>which will feature choreography from Petipa, Asaf Messerer, and Nacho Duato among others.<br />
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November 15th matinee commentary: <a href="http://wp.me/p5jq0w-F">at Tand B On The Aisle on wordpress</a><br />
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For more information about The Mikhailovsky Theatre and its Ballet Company, visit <a href="http://www.mikhailovsky.ru/en/afisha/tours/the_mikhailovsky_theatre_on_tour_in_usa/" target="_blank">The Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet</a><br />
For tickets and programs, please visit <a href="http://www.davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoMB.html">http://www.davidhkochtheater.com/moreinfoMB.html</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-67864252544162761212014-10-20T11:14:00.003-07:002014-11-02T17:05:38.027-08:00Doggone<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0siiOlGNHDT0S7fCm-adaL0laTMSMrIKdUoE_Demf9kfNoGC7sJFDkJfYnXYBVHmGWOKQP18H5EHhKnFb6roNcJyrEUZWtSMyAeGRchY3cnshDeGvxOonYYXISOWUoeZOcCftIEq0oI/s1600/143px-Dog_Silhouette_01.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB0siiOlGNHDT0S7fCm-adaL0laTMSMrIKdUoE_Demf9kfNoGC7sJFDkJfYnXYBVHmGWOKQP18H5EHhKnFb6roNcJyrEUZWtSMyAeGRchY3cnshDeGvxOonYYXISOWUoeZOcCftIEq0oI/s1600/143px-Dog_Silhouette_01.svg.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">"Dog Silhouette 01" by Amada44 - Own work. Licensed under <br />Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - <br />http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/<br />File:Dog_Silhouette_01.svg#mediaviewer/File:Dog_Silhouette_01.svg</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The theater has gone to the dogs!</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Emotional support animals (ESAs) and service dogs (let Patricia Marx define the difference in her excellent New Yorker article, <a href="http://t.co/M1wMRtlSoi" target="_blank">Pig On A Plane</a>) occupy the best seats in the house. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not content with being upfront, some of them distract by barking at the actors, as they did at the Women's Project for a show called "Row After Row." (More on this performance here on this blog at <a href="http://tbontheaisleatheaterdiary.blogspot.com/2014/01/row-after-row-is-billed-as-dark-comedy.html">http://tbontheaisleatheaterdiary.blogspot.com/2014/01/row-after-row-is-billed-as-dark-comedy.html</a>.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some "trauma dogs" scratch themselves during a performance, or demand petting from their disinterested (in the play at any rate) owners.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Their presence in the audience is mostly to satisfy some perverse demands of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and may be utterly spurious. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It is most definitely annoying to this theater-goer and her spouse. How do you feel about sharing the theater with four-footed critters?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGm9N5t1SMT05FC9ofvDM40kP9LBCXU6HI1CWBktUx9vvu9KpXOoR_frhC_cGrk4GLtEscIo0xqS2UmuFxrt0CwlesXkp08oplfUsAN5elezZXf-mLjq4KwjbNt9HA4WM_0_tSEetBHIA/s1600/Tan_ferret_named_cincin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGm9N5t1SMT05FC9ofvDM40kP9LBCXU6HI1CWBktUx9vvu9KpXOoR_frhC_cGrk4GLtEscIo0xqS2UmuFxrt0CwlesXkp08oplfUsAN5elezZXf-mLjq4KwjbNt9HA4WM_0_tSEetBHIA/s1600/Tan_ferret_named_cincin.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Tan ferret named cincin" by Kerri Love - Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tan_ferret_named_cincin.JPG#mediaviewer/File:Tan_ferret_named_cincin.JPG</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Before you answer, note that the ferret pictured above may also qualify for categorization as a "trauma" or emotional support pet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If the pet owners are in need of emotional support, perhaps they should bring their psychiatrists to the show. The interval would be a perfect time to hold a mini-therapy session.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-7773441544239482092014-10-16T05:44:00.003-07:002014-11-02T17:08:55.857-08:00Too modest by half: McNally's "It's Only A Play"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4J7CSCRpizYOS9N_qIlAIdFvx2M79n842h63FPm4lThyNl5z-qROIZo-hiHguUtPHUk9Tc55f8ZHgt3eqXChskF9clXAnpCZz5vqyC_t4tvPl-_opf7Ox1KXqZdGLJU3MA3Z0_WOaGk/s1600/A_scene_from_Broadways_ITS_ONLY_A_PLAY_Photo_by_Joan_Marcus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR4J7CSCRpizYOS9N_qIlAIdFvx2M79n842h63FPm4lThyNl5z-qROIZo-hiHguUtPHUk9Tc55f8ZHgt3eqXChskF9clXAnpCZz5vqyC_t4tvPl-_opf7Ox1KXqZdGLJU3MA3Z0_WOaGk/s1600/A_scene_from_Broadways_ITS_ONLY_A_PLAY_Photo_by_Joan_Marcus.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rupert Grint, Megan Mullally, Matthew Broderick, Nathan<br />
Lane, and Stockard Channing in a scene from Terrence<br />
McNally's <b><i>It's Only A Play</i></b>, directed by Jack O'Brien, at the <br />
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
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Matthew Broderick's inflections suggest a deeply wounded soul. As Peter Austin, a playwright awaiting opening night notices, in Terrence McNally's <b><i>It's Only A Play</i></b> at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in a limited 18 week run through January 4, 2015, he delivers his lines with an aggressive hesitance, that seems perfectly suited to his character. Each sentence is punctuated through the middle, which adds a certain piquancy to the play.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZOsz94072OWsfkhbQ-QIVU3m2PZFiz-bgfmt38DW6y-8Z_ABBwhwOszoaRohysNssT8bOlrEWjREM9IquN59k_0r5LBvcKxOTMMQrnZX0GVd0PzPyelhKp0gMIq93EL-YLD1vEJWUAk/s1600/Megan_Mullally_and_Nathan_Lane_in_a_scene_from_Broadways_ITS_ONLY_A_PLAY_(Photo_by_Joan_Marcus).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqZOsz94072OWsfkhbQ-QIVU3m2PZFiz-bgfmt38DW6y-8Z_ABBwhwOszoaRohysNssT8bOlrEWjREM9IquN59k_0r5LBvcKxOTMMQrnZX0GVd0PzPyelhKp0gMIq93EL-YLD1vEJWUAk/s1600/Megan_Mullally_and_Nathan_Lane_in_a_scene_from_Broadways_ITS_ONLY_A_PLAY_(Photo_by_Joan_Marcus).jpg" height="219" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan Mullally and Nathan Lane in a scene from<b><i> It's Only<br />A Play.</i></b> Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
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Peter's best friend, James Wicker (Nathan Lane) is also jittery. He expects bad press, but he is actually more distressed over the fate of the sitcom that kept him from being in Peter's Broadway debut.<br />
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Lane, by the way, is on stage and either delivering or reacting to the funny zingers for the entirety of this comedy. He is in every sense of the word "on!" Lane's performance is wonderful.<br />
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<b><i>It's Only A Play</i></b> mocks everyone involved in the theater. Critics are skewered, of course, and embodied as Ira Drew (F. Murray Abraham,) a particularly nasty specimen. Actors are self-absorbed, and playwrights are needy. Hotshot British directors, in this case an eccentric Frank Finger (Rupert Grint, ) are made fun of for their ubiquitous successes. Sir Frank yearns for a failure.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSYsPfaqB5vtEGx1Meejg_k3UX5wO8OHe_Vym9HEdMfLEv3-_NNeiRzZTggbENWLnrKSrLxxbBDs2iapWOr9fzY25hlTR20EyuiLyPMHCsPX1EWM7O9d6ER7KS-y8tCtinwuCwto8euk/s1600/Stock-Mullally-Grint-Lane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSYsPfaqB5vtEGx1Meejg_k3UX5wO8OHe_Vym9HEdMfLEv3-_NNeiRzZTggbENWLnrKSrLxxbBDs2iapWOr9fzY25hlTR20EyuiLyPMHCsPX1EWM7O9d6ER7KS-y8tCtinwuCwto8euk/s1600/Stock-Mullally-Grint-Lane.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Micah Stock, Megan Mullally, Rupert Grint and Nathan Lane<br />
in a scene from<span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span style="text-align: start;"><i style="font-weight: bold;">It's Only A Play. </i>Photo by Joan Marcus.</span></span></td></tr>
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Even matinee audiences are not safe. Virginia Noyes (Stockard Channing) really sticks it to the seniors in their headsets. The producer, Julia Budder (Megan Mullally,) whose gorgeous bedroom (designed by Scott Pask) is the setting for the post-opening soiree, drops misquotes and malapropisms at fever pitch. Not to dwell too much on voices, but Mullally's squeaky delivery is delightfully antic. Rounding out the cast is the hat-check boy, Gus P. Head (Micah Stock, who has some shticks of his own to add.)<br />
<br />
The pace of<b style="font-style: italic;"> It's Only A Play </b>is kept moving at a steady and uproarious clip under Jack O'Brien's able direction. In an excellent cast, standing out along with Lane is Stockard Channing who gives a grand and understated performance in a role that could go way over the top, and goes just right.<br />
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Unlike poor Peter Austin, playwright Terrence McNally will be able to add this hit to his slew of award-winning Broadway productions. Be warned that your fifteen year old from Atlanta might not be as happy at <b><i>It's Only A Play</i></b> as we were.<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<b><i>It's Only A Play</i></b> is a theater-crowd pleasing satiric comedy, with great sets and lovely elegant costumes (by Ann Roth), a star-studded cast, and very witty name-dropping dialog.<br />
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Additional commentary from Tamara Beck can be found at <a href="http://www.vevlynspen.com/2014/11/sparing-no-one-from-sharp-tongue-and.html">VevlynsPen.com</a>.<br />
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For more information about <b><i>It's Only A Play,</i></b> please visit <a href="http://itsonlyaplay.com/">http://itsonlyaplay.com/</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-89790953984685255472014-10-14T12:49:00.000-07:002014-10-14T12:49:02.581-07:00Too close: Billy Porter's "While Yet I Live"Sometimes we are just to close to our own lives to properly document them.<br />
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Billy Porter's <b><i>While Yet I Live</i></b>, at Primary Stages at The Duke on 42nd Street through October 31st, is a case in point.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ8-YTQGD1ZE3ihMwmhm_T65iirReUdRkabWG3mT93hhRNy_PrmD94QKSggCkgixlcytRrTzHr1L5eMKAvjzF6Qt7YXUWsASP_82ajdIyHnJy6uZmf3Pc7dLXmSROdL2pFv8pAsJb2dc/s1600/092214_YetLive_019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZ8-YTQGD1ZE3ihMwmhm_T65iirReUdRkabWG3mT93hhRNy_PrmD94QKSggCkgixlcytRrTzHr1L5eMKAvjzF6Qt7YXUWsASP_82ajdIyHnJy6uZmf3Pc7dLXmSROdL2pFv8pAsJb2dc/s1600/092214_YetLive_019.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;">S. Epatha Merkerson and Sharon Washington in <b><i>While I Yet Live.</i></b> <br />(c) 2014 James Leynse.<br />Primary Stages production of <b><i>While I Yet Live</i></b> by Billy Porter, <br />directed by Sheryl Kaller at Primary Stages at The Duke on 42nd Street.</span></td><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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The cliche- (and on occasion, stereotype-) laden script does not let the characters fully develop, despite a mostly stellar cast.<br />
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<b><i>While Yet I Live</i></b> tells the story of Calvin (Larry Powell), a stand-in for the author, or rather of his family.<br />
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Living in "The Big House" in Pittsburgh, PA, are his mother, Maxine (S. Epatha Merkerson), his grandmother, Gertrude (Lilias White), his great aunt Delores, aka Aunt D (Elain Graham), and his little sister Tonya (Sheria Irving in a standout performance.) Also living with them is the shut-in Arthur, whom we never see, but to whom Tonya brings trays of food, and Maxine's best friend, Miss Eva (Sharon Washington)<br />
<br />
Calvin leaves home for complicated reasons which involve his stepdad Vernon (Kevyn Morrow) to return at the end of Act I after success on Broadway.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xcRDI7SDfXFCFbqqA_j9CfQfTeYr2gV7xjhF1aCjAdEEcDRvQBFOxBJoUsCrt6P2_4JS11e_xGQpdmBm0KIZ_R3aGp4LJpJ1uCLzNO7eTgX5k2vrNZXXF4GNz0TF0JBpiK6bIXsXBPk/s1600/092214_YetLive_057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7xcRDI7SDfXFCFbqqA_j9CfQfTeYr2gV7xjhF1aCjAdEEcDRvQBFOxBJoUsCrt6P2_4JS11e_xGQpdmBm0KIZ_R3aGp4LJpJ1uCLzNO7eTgX5k2vrNZXXF4GNz0TF0JBpiK6bIXsXBPk/s1600/092214_YetLive_057.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elain Graham, Lilias White and Larry Powell <span style="font-size: x-small;">in </span><b style="font-size: small;"><i>While I Yet Live.</i></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br style="font-size: small;" /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(c) 2014 James Leynse. </span></td></tr>
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S. Epatha Merkerson is completely at ease in her role as a troubled, handicapped woman who is taking care of everyone around her. Sharon Washington makes you want a friend like that. It's Sheria Irving's Tonya, narrating and moving the drama along, who steals the show.<br />
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<b><i>While Yet I Live</i></b> is too loose and gangly. A few too many "Name it and claim its" and "You are not brokens" keep it from being taut. In fact, <i style="font-weight: bold;">While Yet I Live, </i>could easily be trimmed to bring the play to a more desireable intermissionless hour and fifteen. It could shed some ghosts to let the narrative move more smoothly and dramatically.<br />
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To learn more about Primary Stages and get tickets for <b style="font-style: italic;">While Yet I Live, </b>please visit <a href="http://www.primarystages.org/">http://www.primarystages.org/</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-54133410978239760612014-10-09T14:58:00.000-07:002014-10-09T14:58:17.545-07:00"The Killing of Sister George" Revives at TACTWhen <i><b>The Killing of Sister George</b></i> played rural England in the mid-1960s, it met with opprobium. Its ascent to the London stage, however, brought it considerable acclaim. In fact, Frank Marcus' comedy was so well-received that it was turned into a movie, with an X-rating. Despite its fame, and a transfer to Broadway, where its star won the Tony, <b><i>The Killing of Sister George</i></b> has not been produced in New York in 30 years. Marcus, whose subsequent plays did not fare as well, was forced to turn from playwrighting to criticism.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKz2woqQb9A0jVP4XyZOOjzRx5nn8SUTyEFIEKOY0gkGCUBXvxiTghFxBB7FYY4HnKAZKan8mFzqe8W_biR37qZttvDnQursQ4JtNKVTyXoKmVGj6MxUR9pZqU4i0iV4VrX8Z15zcw_mo/s1600/TKOSG+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKz2woqQb9A0jVP4XyZOOjzRx5nn8SUTyEFIEKOY0gkGCUBXvxiTghFxBB7FYY4HnKAZKan8mFzqe8W_biR37qZttvDnQursQ4JtNKVTyXoKmVGj6MxUR9pZqU4i0iV4VrX8Z15zcw_mo/s1600/TKOSG+7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margot White and Caitlin O'Connell in <b><i>The Killing of<br />Sister George</i></b> in a revival by The Actor's Company<br />Theatre through November 1 at The Beckett.<br />Photo by Marielle Solan Photography.</td></tr>
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TACT (The Actors Company Theatre, under the artistic lead of Scott Alan Evans and Jenn Thompson) has undertaken a revival of the once ever so controversial satirical piece, which runs through November 1 at the Beckett Theatre.<br />
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Ill-tempered and decidely domineering, June Buckridge (Caitlin O'Connell) voices the character of Sister George on a much loved BBC radio drama called Applehurst. She comes home to Alice "Childie" McNaught (Margot White,) the "Martha" to her "Arthur," with a premonition that she will be cut from the program. Her mood, fouler than usual, invites humbling attentions from the generally submissive Childie.<br />
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In the midst of all this domestic turmoil, Mrs. Mercy Croft (Cynthia Harris,) a producer on the show, calls with her intention to pop by. The visit is cruelly civil. Sister George is more than a persona June adopts. She has come to identify with the character, and to be identified as the popular nurse from the small town in radio-land. Alice calls her George.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKYjersKL885JC3E_trfoBqp7vDCecC7hSwtWEUVT6VQSYHShbaorT-mrg2GY0K5P9pRceM3-9eQ2A0-gLWXcjBgXCEb4f1TqJ6kJ2lwhBXs95Jrs67-KqdAEg_5J4UzCjDVJcAQln7o/s1600/TKOSG+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKYjersKL885JC3E_trfoBqp7vDCecC7hSwtWEUVT6VQSYHShbaorT-mrg2GY0K5P9pRceM3-9eQ2A0-gLWXcjBgXCEb4f1TqJ6kJ2lwhBXs95Jrs67-KqdAEg_5J4UzCjDVJcAQln7o/s1600/TKOSG+8.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caitlin O'Connell and Cynthia Harris.<br />Photo by Marielle Solan Photography.</td></tr>
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Rounding out the cast is the downstairs neighbor, a soothsayer named Madame Xenia (Dana Smith-Croll) whom George calls upon in her moment of doubt.<br />
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Under the direction of Drew Barr, the cast recreates the times and atmosphere in which <b><i>The Killing of Sister George</i></b> first found its way. Questions of sexual identity and personal identity are broached in <b><i>The Killing of Sister George</i></b>. Childie's behavior suggests that George may have reason for her jealousies.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7YzPL5YkjFg36KAGxVaEQGLd7Eth6DGodraBQ5p85q57UkuLaaTY7rIh5mpkYTLl_tHEcP-sKuZcFmwZ3rmqnlPBY42xTHRzbMmWuva_P3iYJ7DLxITxO5Y0DBUQDIiqyJAwjattU4s/s1600/TKOSG+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil7YzPL5YkjFg36KAGxVaEQGLd7Eth6DGodraBQ5p85q57UkuLaaTY7rIh5mpkYTLl_tHEcP-sKuZcFmwZ3rmqnlPBY42xTHRzbMmWuva_P3iYJ7DLxITxO5Y0DBUQDIiqyJAwjattU4s/s1600/TKOSG+5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dana Smith-Croll, Caitlin O'Connell and Margot White.<br />Photo by Marielle Solan Photography.</td></tr>
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The play's title is still powerful, of course. Despite the success of this production, what was once a sensation is now only a curiousity. In its time, <b><i>The Killing of Sister George</i></b> had the power to shock with its testosterone laden script. --- played out by a woman-only cast. <br />
<br />
For more information about TACT and <b><i>The Killing of Sister George</i></b>, please visit <a href="http://tactnyc.org/">http://tactnyc.org/</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-29334720909889245312014-10-03T05:07:00.003-07:002014-11-24T15:11:42.745-08:00You know, you really can't<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: purple;"><b>Extended through February 22n</b></span>d<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVdHhAtUeEly7TEBV3fsTI2I6xkU_MtXS43FGkaC-3skuyvlhW1gMYcZL8_iakbcwnE3nepkPqrb0xhFjwCHpeV5B2eYDDQfiq4SqzJU2FzKsf8S_fmgJWOLyJ_kpg51ntcJdJCYmfZQ/s1600/YCTIWY3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGVdHhAtUeEly7TEBV3fsTI2I6xkU_MtXS43FGkaC-3skuyvlhW1gMYcZL8_iakbcwnE3nepkPqrb0xhFjwCHpeV5B2eYDDQfiq4SqzJU2FzKsf8S_fmgJWOLyJ_kpg51ntcJdJCYmfZQ/s1600/YCTIWY3.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose Byrne as Alice Sycamore and James Earl Jones asMartin Vanderhof in George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's<br />
<b>"You Can't Take It With You"</b> at the Longacre. Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
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In the zany Sycamore clan, Alice (Rose Byrne) seems to have fallen farthest from the tree. She's a level-headed girl who holds a conventional job as a secretary in a Wall Street firm. In a pleasing turn of events, she and the boss's son, Anthony Kirby, Jr. (Fran Kranz) have fallen madly in love.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ0lOoT0oxIF4JbWXAuHvcANyweKZ552e6ij8Cuyy0PXUM-9QoIT0XTOKxFD-2iTREJnzAwjTgnv6nPITaIuBt6J6GNDEwglWRW2dbsEcLeuDQYRpZJEQ1AvmGA9jTv3XC-wH6Xonpw0/s1600/YCTIWY4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ0lOoT0oxIF4JbWXAuHvcANyweKZ552e6ij8Cuyy0PXUM-9QoIT0XTOKxFD-2iTREJnzAwjTgnv6nPITaIuBt6J6GNDEwglWRW2dbsEcLeuDQYRpZJEQ1AvmGA9jTv3XC-wH6Xonpw0/s1600/YCTIWY4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> James Earl Jones, Kristine Nielsen, Fran Kranz, Reg Rogers, <br />
Annaleigh Ashford,Patrick Kerr and Mark Linn-Baker. <br />
Photo by Joan Marcus</td></tr>
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Will the antics of her charmingly eccentric family spoil her engagement?<br />
<br />
Kaufman and Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning "<b>You Can't Take It With You,"</b> at the Longacre Theatre, is a very American comedy. It's about freedom and the pursuit of happiness.<br />
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Alice's father, Paul (Mark Linn-Baker) constructs elaborate fireworks in the basement with the aid of Mr. DePinna (Patrick Kerr), who has taken up residence in grandpa's home with them. Grandfather Martin Vanderhof (James Earl Jones) walked away from his office one day years ago, and spends his days at Columbia commencements and his evenings with the neighborhood cop on the corner.<br />
<br />
Alice's mother, Penny (Kristine Nielsen) is a serial artist currently writing steamy plays.<br />
Essie, Alice's sister, (Annaleigh Ashford) breaks into dance while her husband Ed Carmichael (Will Brill) plays Beethoven --with a little more he's composed-- on the xylophone. Her tutor, the boisterous Boris Kolenkhov (Reg Rogers, who seems to have been born for this role), indulges her despite her deficiences as a dancer. Rheba (Crystal Dickinson), the family's maid who lives in with her beau Donald (Marc Damon Johnson) takes a keen interest in the household's businesses, which include Essie's candy-making enterprise.<br />
<br />
"<b>You Can't Take It With You" </b>is both profoundly subversive and sweetly innocent. Charming, well-acted, beautifully constructed, and fabulously staged with Scott Ellis at the helm and David Rockwell (sets) and Jane Greenwood (costumes) designing. "<b>You Can't Take It With You"</b> is as irrestible as Olga's (Elizabeth Ashley) blintzes, but that comes later.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1RjNBY8yKvjBuFuQbcb1hEJj7_rRekQdzR8Rt-lW15syFjXdnUh9nirfbh-o_6Oz0A8i04_nuTTChRtg8x_T-GT_y8CgtHTTiixLhedE4M3ESHdeSnNMkwAx6eLSDZmmD2hnXKc7LY0/s1600/YCTIWY18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1RjNBY8yKvjBuFuQbcb1hEJj7_rRekQdzR8Rt-lW15syFjXdnUh9nirfbh-o_6Oz0A8i04_nuTTChRtg8x_T-GT_y8CgtHTTiixLhedE4M3ESHdeSnNMkwAx6eLSDZmmD2hnXKc7LY0/s1600/YCTIWY18.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth Ashley as Olga. Photo by<br />
Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
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Rounding out the cast are Byron Jennings as Tony's father, Anthony Sr., and Johanna Day as his wife and Tony's mother, Miriam. Also stopping by the Vanderhof-Sycamore home are Henderson, an IRS agent (Karl Kenzler) and some Justice Department fellows (Nick Corley, Austin Durant and Joe Tapper.) Gay Wellington (Julie Halston) spends her time there mostly in a madcap drunk.<br />
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"<b>You Can't Take It With You"</b> is a romantic comedy. Expect to see the triumph of good sense.<br />
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Every performance, in minutest detail, is perfect in "<b>You Can't Take It With You."</b> In fact the cast are all entirely impressive. James Earl Jones subdues that big voice to play an amicable, wise and peaceable Martin Vanderhof . Rose Byrne is delightful. Elizabeth Ashley makes the most of her Olga, as Reg Rogers does with his Kalenkhov. Kristine Nielsen, Annaleigh Ashford, Patrick Kerr, Marc Damon Johnson and Mark Linn-Baker are understatedly screwball.<br />
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To learn more about "<b>You Can't Take It With You," </b>please visit <a href="http://youcanttakeitwithyoubroadway.com/">http://youcanttakeitwithyoubroadway.com/</a>. Hurry, tickets should be hard to get.<br />
For additional commentary, <span class="commentary" id="control_gen_65" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><a href="http://lnkd.in/d7rJpzy">http://lnkd.in/d7rJpzy</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-49237246771371922302014-09-29T10:49:00.001-07:002014-09-30T07:39:24.578-07:00Peace in our timePeace is elusive. Not the concept of peace. Everyone buys into that. The actual absence of war or threats of war is difficult to find. In part, it's hard to come by because war and peace are so much about posturing: "How dare they!" "We have to defend our values." <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bVCJNaWzpGwMlaINJrSnhCW_ZUJY-xnD6JgWau3w3rI9j6FA9vrU2urc8tlxjZYYj8V-sQUS8zeEupdWa1nYrBMOIhmsUSP1fdLBRPG3kEH19J7QRi4b7PzYUe95aL3s_-PcSzLjdNI/s1600/1aWalkintheWoods026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3bVCJNaWzpGwMlaINJrSnhCW_ZUJY-xnD6JgWau3w3rI9j6FA9vrU2urc8tlxjZYYj8V-sQUS8zeEupdWa1nYrBMOIhmsUSP1fdLBRPG3kEH19J7QRi4b7PzYUe95aL3s_-PcSzLjdNI/s1600/1aWalkintheWoods026.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Niebanck as John Honeywell and <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.1200008392334px; text-align: left;">Kathleen Chalfant </span> as Irina Botvinnick in <b>"A Walk in the Woods"</b><br />
by Lee Blessing. At the Keen in a production directed by Jonathan Silverman. Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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<br />
In Lee Blessing's vision in <b>"A Walk in the Woods," </b>at the Keen through October 18th, arms negotiations are a game leading to "Nyet" on one side, and "No" on the other.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KogiZN-SmJAxk0QhTpEd0D0T519tBVDTnrhKzTrCD5rGVYOvwUIiLm1qidOpVY6Ii4wSfpVsGMBEXzF35x-cqQlPzQLR713F7Bf2e-tUQgcRDJ-aIsSYb1qQoFT9EhEdqMkyftFKfVY/s1600/1.WalkintheWoods016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-KogiZN-SmJAxk0QhTpEd0D0T519tBVDTnrhKzTrCD5rGVYOvwUIiLm1qidOpVY6Ii4wSfpVsGMBEXzF35x-cqQlPzQLR713F7Bf2e-tUQgcRDJ-aIsSYb1qQoFT9EhEdqMkyftFKfVY/s1600/1.WalkintheWoods016.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Niebanck as John Honeywell and <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.1200008392334px; text-align: left;">Kathleen Chalfant </span> as Irina Botvinnick in <b>"A Walk in the Woods"</b><br />
by Lee Blessing. At the Keen in a production directed by Jonathan Silverman. Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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Irina Botvinnick (Kathleen Chalfant) understands this. John Honeyman (Paul Niebanck), her naive counterpart from the USA, expects to save the world from itself.<br />
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Detente is an old-fashioned word. It melted with the ice of the Cold War. Blessing's play, ably directed by Keen's Artistic Director, Jonathon Silverstein, is about people--specifically about two people whose business is politics and whose mission is useless. The two are negotiators for the great and well-armed superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States of America.<br />
<br />
Chalfant's Irina is charming as she eggs Honeyman into trivial conversations as they walk and talk in a Geneva park. The play, which was nominated for both a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, echoes he futility and frustration of arms-race peace talks. It also drags to a point where it loses focus and our interest.<br />
<br />
Is<b> "A Walk in the Woods"</b> dated in the post-Cold War era? Much of what it has to say about the unwillingness to scale down and give up weapons rings true. The opponents have changed shape and geography, perhaps. Despite its real-politik plot, however, the play lags. The leads are never anything but compelling to watch, but the outcome is evident and protracted.<br />
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The costumes by Amanda Jenks and Jennifer Paar are lively, and provide a nice rhythm to the seasons of the plot.</div>
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For more information on <b>"A Walk in the Woods,"</b> and the Keen Company, please visit <a href="http://www.keencompany.org/">http://www.keencompany.org/</a>.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-31383983313108988672014-09-20T11:25:00.000-07:002014-09-20T11:26:20.491-07:00An excuse to raise a glass<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As if you needed a reason to drink, the Bard's 450th birthday is being toasted all around town.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9A9GHq1BTpF8o1F7kkFTEAPneXKQYFrjDe5o4DcFvqsXKOovma2p2IbfK1iKB1NksSaHwpd3Y_xN-qgh-8NVhlOlSd4X3htupooFyGgAOajxGcNGRm32cMu54czDr2Sbwq9THUpQdZc/s1600/SBeer_Postcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9A9GHq1BTpF8o1F7kkFTEAPneXKQYFrjDe5o4DcFvqsXKOovma2p2IbfK1iKB1NksSaHwpd3Y_xN-qgh-8NVhlOlSd4X3htupooFyGgAOajxGcNGRm32cMu54czDr2Sbwq9THUpQdZc/s1600/SBeer_Postcard.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The New York Shakespeare Exchange (NYSX) originated the beer and performance festivities, aka ShakesBEER, along with The Sonnet Project, as a way to infuse our culture with the classical. They want to bring Shakespeare alive to a modern audience. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ShakesBEER is a three hour pub crawl, with scenes from the Shakespearean repertoire breaking out at each location. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">October's ShakesBEER features scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream; Henry IV, Part 2; Romeo & Juliet; and Twelfth Night. The featured actors, who will be cheek by jowl with you, include Harry Barandes, Chris Corporandy, Phil Mutz, Sarah Nedwek, Katherine Puma, Colin Ryan, and Katelin Wilcox.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are so many things you could debate after enjoying your ShakesBEER outing: Was William Shakespeare the Neil Simon, Arthur Kopit, Arthur Laurents, Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller rolled into one of his generation? Has any contemporary playwright come along to rival his efficacy in conveying the human condition? Did Marlowe write Shakespeare? Why isn't Tamberlaine performed more often? Is Lear or Hamlet WS's most iconic hero? Are his comedies funnier than The Big Bang Theory?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Book in advance for ShakesBEER. A schedule of the October outings can be found here: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://shakespeareexchange.org/content/shakesbeer-2014">http://shakespeareexchange.org/content/shakesbeer-2014</a>. </span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-27559021693600855822014-09-15T23:30:00.000-07:002014-09-20T10:53:29.013-07:00"The Fatal Weakness" afflicts us allAs human beings, we are all to a greater or lesser degree, sentimental creatures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the curtain rises on <b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>by George Kelly.<br />
Set design for The Mint Theater production by Vicki R. Davis.<br />
Photo by Richard Termine.</td></tr>
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<b>"The Fatal Weakness," </b>written by George Kelly in 1946, in revival<b> </b>at The Mint Theater through October 26th, is man's (and woman's) essential romanticism.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcdLrPV-Q96hHsSTiUIUkoQi9Fel1WDWVua1PHEDHHKm_5uZCv2IkUhd5aYxm8BP1UZwu-a23Xrwb7Egz9BFU_64UBk9JCeF_b904Qgk6YNRmhXXefVWCGW5DVuW-b-wwQZuGbwRky8k/s1600/kgriffith_photobyRichardTermine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDcdLrPV-Q96hHsSTiUIUkoQi9Fel1WDWVua1PHEDHHKm_5uZCv2IkUhd5aYxm8BP1UZwu-a23Xrwb7Egz9BFU_64UBk9JCeF_b904Qgk6YNRmhXXefVWCGW5DVuW-b-wwQZuGbwRky8k/s1600/kgriffith_photobyRichardTermine.jpg" height="259" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristin Griffith as Mrs. Ollie Espenshade in <b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>by George Kelly.Photo by Richard Termine.<br />
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It leads Mrs. Ollie Espenshade (Kristin Griffith) to attend random weddings and her husband Paul (Cliff Bemis) to find a little extra kick in his step.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm13FznHYLyAeEiBNh_VQfiyHam2niM8kNZH-rrGAVhlJdVO0FRo8qNdEAaUSZGnTkCeHoQ70Q_CjEMeRhsNBR6HS_y_VO2_bZNSLWuGCQrdVFmu16dlR3E1SjnFPyhi3ZhJ-Yq3OO94/s1600/cliffbemis+victoriamack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOm13FznHYLyAeEiBNh_VQfiyHam2niM8kNZH-rrGAVhlJdVO0FRo8qNdEAaUSZGnTkCeHoQ70Q_CjEMeRhsNBR6HS_y_VO2_bZNSLWuGCQrdVFmu16dlR3E1SjnFPyhi3ZhJ-Yq3OO94/s1600/cliffbemis+victoriamack.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cliff Bemis as Mr. Paul Espenshade and Victoria Mack as Penny Hassett<br />
in George Kelly's <b>"The Fatal Weakness,"</b> at the Mint. Photo by<br />
Richard Termine.</td></tr>
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On the other hand, their daughter, Penny Hassett (Victoria Mack) wears a veneer of cynical bravado. Can her free-thinking views on marriage be upended by her husband Vernon's (Sean Patrick Hopkins) staunch fidelity?<br />
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<b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>is a top-shelf drawing room comedy.Under Jesse Marchese's direction, George Kelly's upper crust comedy is perfectly paced. The actors, all outstanding, bring this charming play to life. Kristin Griffith, as Ollie, is centerstage, and gives a wonderfully nuanced performance. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuB4UToO5eFXlS8FZhAqM9rhT2iCtJA_mbm-JUwfRcHPF29FrYwaztpbBnM1OhvQtWIXRHO-aRSozCoD6OBw0nAiT2uVnzhs5H4O32pWQcEuXQTLXEHzSF8wF43WqezeUPO4zF63pyjac/s1600/kg+cb_cynthiadarlow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuB4UToO5eFXlS8FZhAqM9rhT2iCtJA_mbm-JUwfRcHPF29FrYwaztpbBnM1OhvQtWIXRHO-aRSozCoD6OBw0nAiT2uVnzhs5H4O32pWQcEuXQTLXEHzSF8wF43WqezeUPO4zF63pyjac/s1600/kg+cb_cynthiadarlow.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kristin Griffith as Ollie, Cliff Bemis as Paul, and Cynthis Darlow<br />
as Mrs. Mabel Wentz in <b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>by George Kelly.Photo by Richard Termine.<br />
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Ollie's friend Mrs. Mabel Wentz (Cynthia Darlow) delights in carrying tales. She has no illusions about why Paul has begun whistling and paying such careful attention to his wardrobe. Hers is a kind of inverse of romanticism. Unlike Penny or Ollie, Anna (Patricia Kilgarriff), the household maid, may be the only one completely clear-eyed about how relationships prosper or end.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdK01_a0CE1271r54bNTfsokKZ-a9sdHSGgfowbd8Bjg4Q191KvX4xjbJ855mHrLedB3J9ENsEPMDsPP4slxGhAjpZGJX5uTvLnYqaUZAzzMSb-llnZrHBZio8JzoiZGqEFKXn02NShA/s1600/pkilgariff+kgriffith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdK01_a0CE1271r54bNTfsokKZ-a9sdHSGgfowbd8Bjg4Q191KvX4xjbJ855mHrLedB3J9ENsEPMDsPP4slxGhAjpZGJX5uTvLnYqaUZAzzMSb-llnZrHBZio8JzoiZGqEFKXn02NShA/s1600/pkilgariff+kgriffith.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patricia Kilgarriff as Anna with Kristin Griffith as Ollie in<br />
<b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>by George Kelly. Costumes by<br />
Andrea Varga. Photo by Richard Termine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As <b>"The Fatal Weakness" </b>opens, a lace curtain rises to reveal a stunningly opulent room, designd by Vicki R. Davis, with mirrored walls and plush furniture.<br />
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The Mint Theater has once again rediscovered a lively and enjoyable jewel of a "forgotten" play.<br />
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For more information about <b>"The Fatal Weakness," </b>please visit <a href="http://www.minttheater.org/">www.minttheater.org</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-25715842112735308892014-09-14T09:45:00.001-07:002014-09-15T12:36:49.416-07:00The intoxicating mix of "Bootycandy"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXnrCL8JTm1CHk2TcKG48_EPRjpV4ZOwmhioSvvWnbQMiyu2NvZXOWlvurw1kOkQxFKv0fzUcJPz8ACXUykl_HXqamSgry4CbKIlbREwQpLkwLKSgFJ9MnHnkFXk6IVcDlCWqTbC0icM/s1600/Bootycandy0015rSc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXnrCL8JTm1CHk2TcKG48_EPRjpV4ZOwmhioSvvWnbQMiyu2NvZXOWlvurw1kOkQxFKv0fzUcJPz8ACXUykl_HXqamSgry4CbKIlbREwQpLkwLKSgFJ9MnHnkFXk6IVcDlCWqTbC0icM/s1600/Bootycandy0015rSc.jpg" height="320" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phillip James Brannon and Jessica Frances Dukes <br />
in the openiing scene in Robert O'Hara's<br />
<b>"Bootycandy"</b> at Playwrights Horizons<br />
through October 12th. Photo (c) Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
To say<b> "Bootycandy," </b>written and directed by Robert O'Hara, at Playwrights Horizons through October 12th, is brilliant is an enormous understatement.<br />
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It's hard to say which episode of the seven vignettes O'Hara created was funnier, brighter, crisper as <b>"Bootycandy"</b> unrolled. Suffice it to say that each segment, standing alone, had its own kind of sparkle.<br />
<br />
If there are not enough roles (and you know there are not) for black actors to display their talents, Robert O'Hara has tried to remedy the deficit, providing ample opportunity for this wonderful group of players to shine. In a phenomenally talented cast, with Phillip James Brannon taking the lead as Sutter, it is hard to pick a stand out. All these men and women put themselves whole-heartedly before us. In one uprroariously funny and incisive scene, Jessica Frances Dukes and Benja Kay Thomas dazzle as they play four disparate characters. The one white performer, (Jesse Pennington) in the ensemble of five gets to strut his stuff too, playing a range of parts.<br />
<br />
<b>"Bootycandy" </b>exposes both its process and artifice as the chapters of Sutter's life emerge and merge as one. Sutter's progress from boy to man in a homophobic world is about sense and sensuality. "Have you lost your mind in the real world?," is a phrase his mother inherits from his grandmother, and uses to answer many of his life questions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjW7nPe3V2-ZxP0sDWHA7g8-bZLzaZWyGujG26tvBXY3OVWhlCRtOD_1vJ_Lhj_OBQVxqzI4etJsBNqhZA-_aoYwNV2tAOp2_N38_AeadIPNCNXw_0CfbuCmqcQcPHVvDLtz6vL5U0w8/s1600/Bootycandy0187rSc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNjW7nPe3V2-ZxP0sDWHA7g8-bZLzaZWyGujG26tvBXY3OVWhlCRtOD_1vJ_Lhj_OBQVxqzI4etJsBNqhZA-_aoYwNV2tAOp2_N38_AeadIPNCNXw_0CfbuCmqcQcPHVvDLtz6vL5U0w8/s1600/Bootycandy0187rSc.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sutter (Phillip James Brannon) with his granny (Lance Coadie Williams) in a scene from<br />
Robert O'Hara's <b>"Bootycandy."</b> Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
'I don't write about white people," Sutter says definitively in the "Writers Conference" sketch that closes out Act I. Sutter, the stand in for the author, is a mixture of innocence and understanding. O'Hara, too, writes about all people. His central character happens to be a young gay black man, finding his way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA3kbbpsQT9zRxvixG5yCZAMO5mVwl40MzzQvo_k1Iv0JCKfNw9D-pwa-jls1-ZnoZmWtg5MrBkN8qEvl1cijY0T-N9OqxKtk0e6x32yhjdn7dJ8ZTNeFSSD_8w8EIAeQK83XmJS1CYU/s1600/Bootycandy0143rSc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyA3kbbpsQT9zRxvixG5yCZAMO5mVwl40MzzQvo_k1Iv0JCKfNw9D-pwa-jls1-ZnoZmWtg5MrBkN8qEvl1cijY0T-N9OqxKtk0e6x32yhjdn7dJ8ZTNeFSSD_8w8EIAeQK83XmJS1CYU/s1600/Bootycandy0143rSc.jpg" height="216" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sutter (Phillip James Brannon) with his sister (Benja Kay Thomas), mother (Jessica Frances Dukes) and stepfather (Lance Coadie Williams) in a scene from Robert O'Hara's <b>"Bootycandy."</b> Photo by Joan Marcus.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b>"Bootycandy"</b> is a heady cocktail of styles and wisely observed details. The fact that its humor is gently satirical does not mean that it lacks bite and insight. Did we mention that Robert O'Hara's play is brilliant? It truly is.<br />
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For more information on <b>"Bootycandy,"</b> please visit <a href="http://www.phnyc.org/">www.PHnyc.org</a>.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-17181682508649412722014-09-08T11:31:00.000-07:002014-09-08T11:43:10.112-07:00Who was Rudolf Bauer? and "Boys and Girls"Why would a prolific modernist painter suddenly stop making art?<br />
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"Bauer," Lauren Gunderson's drama at 59E59 Theaters through October 12th, is based on a true art mystery: what made Rudolph Bauer (Howard Sherman,) the leading modernist of his generation, quit? He abandoned his legacy to Kandinsky, who is better known today as a master of modern art.<br />
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Did Hilla Rebay (Stacy Ross,) once the love of Bauer's life, betray him when she made him sign over all his work and his future artworks to Solomon Guggenheim?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfNs_u5XIUCP82_bDNVx83GXsyizh9MII3VGiOVX3jvUyHMPn2F-DpAEimdunCtQbIL1aTMGgIS29VMHmART_7nFCYt3J1If0LjcDMysmf9Rn0E29btb9bV7p6o5g8wZwCmDaXHgnK8c/s1600/Bauer5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfNs_u5XIUCP82_bDNVx83GXsyizh9MII3VGiOVX3jvUyHMPn2F-DpAEimdunCtQbIL1aTMGgIS29VMHmART_7nFCYt3J1If0LjcDMysmf9Rn0E29btb9bV7p6o5g8wZwCmDaXHgnK8c/s1600/Bauer5.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Howard Sherman and Stacy Ross in Lauren Gunderson's "Bauer" at 59E59 <br />Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg</td></tr>
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The play begins thirteen years after Bauer began his self-imposed exile in New Jersey. His wife, Louise (Susi Damiliano) has engineered a meeting between the former lovers who have not spoken in all those years.Modern art was in defiance to the Nazis, who abhorred it. Bauer seemed to like to defy. Guggenheim was his patron, who not only rescued him from the Nazis but also gave him a house, a Dusenberg, and a stipend, none of which satisfied Bauer.<br />
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It seems like there should be drama in the anticipation of this meeting. Will they resolve their difference? Can Bauer return to his easel and create new masterworks? Despite decent performances, it's hard to get engaged in Bauer's ruined career or his motives. <br />
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As Louise, Susi Damiliano gives a resilient performance. Howard Sherman is convincing as the stubborn and perhaps broken artist. However, as the story unwinds, it barely keeps our interest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JTPHOR2LZ49MF8xw7U9fEipQn1US06Gr8elTzqFBSOsGGB7meVNe8B5eD6jO1s9Eqdviexic-L_cjTIk-qhsTZgUX2R_-g12KcaKKxkG-nTXmrzXahy-vCa_xV1P7C5SLPrJvrhs7bs/s1600/Bauer4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3JTPHOR2LZ49MF8xw7U9fEipQn1US06Gr8elTzqFBSOsGGB7meVNe8B5eD6jO1s9Eqdviexic-L_cjTIk-qhsTZgUX2R_-g12KcaKKxkG-nTXmrzXahy-vCa_xV1P7C5SLPrJvrhs7bs/s1600/Bauer4.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Rudolf Bauer (Howard Sherman) welcomes Hilla von Rebay (Stacy Ross)<br />
as his wife Louise (Susi Damiliano) stands by in Lauren Gunderson's "Bauer" at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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"Bauer," originally produced at the San Francisco Plyhouse, is mostly talk, although the staging attempts to enliven. There are some nice projections (design by Micah J. Stieglitz, with scenic design by Ewa Muszynska), showing the artist's work and setting recollections.<br />
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The Weinstein Galleries are showing of Bauer's art to coincide with the New York production of the play. <a href="http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2014/rudolf-bauer-tomorrow-today-n09200.html">Sotheby's </a>is auctioning off works by Bauer from September 22nd to October 10th.<br />
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Also at 59E59 Theaters: "Boys and Girls," written and directed by Dylan Coburn Gray, is part of Origin's 1st Irish 2014. Confessedly, it was the promise of the risqué that brought me to the theater, and the failure to fulfill it that had us take an early departure, not awaiting the climax as it were.<br />
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"Boys and Girls" is billed as being "naughty" -- if having a young and pretty girl utter the dreaded "c" word can be considered ribald, then "Boys and Girls" is that.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XKwk6A3xwJc97so8KVPR2nsHFWOC9FfKyrvN_KCUWCcKaiP2QuSgpueri8NUMhSIr_KKEc2S3Rx-lNtsdCa0rsF_xBbMVSx5uM2LWVstlgvROVbKmrz422bepXiBffDrzx3t8EqnUyE/s1600/Boys&Girls5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_XKwk6A3xwJc97so8KVPR2nsHFWOC9FfKyrvN_KCUWCcKaiP2QuSgpueri8NUMhSIr_KKEc2S3Rx-lNtsdCa0rsF_xBbMVSx5uM2LWVstlgvROVbKmrz422bepXiBffDrzx3t8EqnUyE/s1600/Boys&Girls5.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seán Doyle, Maeve O’Mahony, Claire O’Reilly, and Ronan Carey Seán Doyle in "Boys and Girls"written and directed by<br />
Dylan Coburn Gray, part of 1st Irish at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg</td></tr>
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The format of the play is a series of monologues in which the eponymous quartet take turns telling their love stories. Sweet young foul-mouthed things they are, too.<br />
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For more information on "Bauer" and "Boys and Girls," please visit <a href="http://59e59.org/">59e59.org</a><br />
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.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-51100440846002051462014-09-03T13:15:00.001-07:002014-09-09T10:30:57.839-07:00Vahr ist Godot?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_knWChc1v2M2jR8KOUX7xFvgMPNVxB7vkDTQ4GIlZ0GQdprikrwnfd_bFrpAohTYwA32h-PYu15b4uG1Fs3G4-L0AjZ3wotiPi2cvkUS_OANyGICZO1VUf6ymIsqAtHvzhAbc6wNcIo8/s1600/2014Godot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_knWChc1v2M2jR8KOUX7xFvgMPNVxB7vkDTQ4GIlZ0GQdprikrwnfd_bFrpAohTYwA32h-PYu15b4uG1Fs3G4-L0AjZ3wotiPi2cvkUS_OANyGICZO1VUf6ymIsqAtHvzhAbc6wNcIo8/s1600/2014Godot.jpg" height="320" width="289" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster from <a href="http://1stirish.org/?post_type=show&p=1055" target="_blank">1st Irish website</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Samuel Beckett gets a fresh start as New Yiddish Rep renders his seminal absurdist masterwork <b>“Waiting for Godot”</b> in Yiddish for the first time, at the Barrow Street Theatre beginning tomorrow, Thursday, September 4th. The play is translated by Shane Baker, and returns to New York for 12 performances only through September 21.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>“Vartn Auf Godo”</b> is presented in New York on the heels of its European premiere in Northern Ireland where it opened the 3rd annual Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, which ran from July 31 to August 10. Beckett wrote the play in ’48-’49 although its world premiere at the Théatre de Babylone in Paris did not occur until 1953. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This production of this Irish born playwright's work is presented as part of Origin's 1st Irish Festival.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not part of the 1st Irish, but an Irishman nonetheless, and an oft-quoted playwright, George Bernard Shaw is the Gingold Theatrical Group's "project" on Mondays at Symphony Space. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">GBSwas never shy about the breadth and places in which his ideas played out. His <b>"Village Wooing,"</b> written in 1933,is a romance set on the high seas. See the seldom-seen play for two voices at GTG at Symphony Space on Monday, Sep 29th. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For more on </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Vartn Auf Godo”</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and the Origin's 1st Irish Festival, please visit </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://1stirish.org/">http://1stirish.org/</a>. To find out about GTG's Shaw Project and </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"Village Wooing,"</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> please visit </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.symphonyspace.org/event/8272/Theatre/project-shaw-village-wooing">http://www.symphonyspace.org/</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-51143321950259340862014-08-18T05:01:00.000-07:002014-08-18T05:01:02.049-07:00"Poor Behavior" --it's very good!<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Marriage can be a very fragile alliance.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOndngDf88T5KJkB8GnYsACYUx0fKlCY1uXV1GlGUcGRQ88xmtcHiVsgi2jJwzD7YtNMC8Ea7nFQ9UvOoFxr1RJ41zVtreWoI_gJJp2NfgItTW3R8GeRztAy0OZz2oqDiXuQuApT56gI/s1600/KATIE+KREISLER+and+BRIAN+AVERS+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKOndngDf88T5KJkB8GnYsACYUx0fKlCY1uXV1GlGUcGRQ88xmtcHiVsgi2jJwzD7YtNMC8Ea7nFQ9UvOoFxr1RJ41zVtreWoI_gJJp2NfgItTW3R8GeRztAy0OZz2oqDiXuQuApT56gI/s1600/KATIE+KREISLER+and+BRIAN+AVERS+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie Kreisler and Brian Avers in Theresa Rebeck's "Poor Behavior" <br />
at Primary Stages through Sep 7. Photo (c) 2014 James Leynse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In <b>"Poor Behavior,"</b> at Primary Stages at The Duke through Sept 7th, Theresa Rebeck explores/exposes two couples at the most tenuous point in their clearly wobbly relationships. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkZP_26GTxFYmnkqeIRLlBWJu3UqhlKKkYP7Oc4yQWnhgMP2TymrgBrZqWdq1Bp1mVAzcL3E8cE3IdLVz6OhgjcIOQbUKiUgwrGtaYiH_c2tHRknsQ4hzli0l6z5iBbZqJU6J3YQTLn8/s1600/HEIDI+ARMBRUSTER+and+BRIAN+AVERS+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirkZP_26GTxFYmnkqeIRLlBWJu3UqhlKKkYP7Oc4yQWnhgMP2TymrgBrZqWdq1Bp1mVAzcL3E8cE3IdLVz6OhgjcIOQbUKiUgwrGtaYiH_c2tHRknsQ4hzli0l6z5iBbZqJU6J3YQTLn8/s1600/HEIDI+ARMBRUSTER+and+BRIAN+AVERS+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heidi Armbruster and Brian Avers in<br />
<b>"Poor Behavior."</b> Photo<br />
(c) 2014 James Leynse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ian (Brian Avers) and Maureen (Heidi Armbruster) are spending an ill-advised country weekend with their friends, Peter (Jeff Biehl) and Ella (Katie Kreisler). The first evening begins with a drunken argument between Ella and Ian over morality. His Irish sensibility is aroused by even the suggestion that things can be deemed good or bad, but it is evident that only he and Ella relish the fight. As their respective spouses head off to bed, Ian and Ella share an innocent tender moment, caught by the ever-hysterical Maureen.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAhje-tqXYEjAllRNA3CR68qDxXtyYAsCAeAzzCqIp64Bi_VpGx_2Ib5b_jiEj03-s8nRV81pDrj6uh0HUQPr1rONA4J46ketCCYqrPzAtrGSEPMw7L5Zt9d3bygYWcee7SGnS2NYb48/s1600/JEFF+BIEHL+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWAhje-tqXYEjAllRNA3CR68qDxXtyYAsCAeAzzCqIp64Bi_VpGx_2Ib5b_jiEj03-s8nRV81pDrj6uh0HUQPr1rONA4J46ketCCYqrPzAtrGSEPMw7L5Zt9d3bygYWcee7SGnS2NYb48/s1600/JEFF+BIEHL+in+POOR+BEHAVIOR.jpg" height="320" width="204" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff Biehl in <b>"Poor Behavior."</b> Photo (c) 2014 James Leynse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The actors, guided by Evan Cabnet's excellent direction, are wonderful. The play, a brilliant work in the Rebeck oeuvre, is at once funny and distressing. Watching things devolve is agonizing and delightful. The dialogue in <b>"Poor Behavior"</b> is sharp, quick and witty. Lauren Halpern has designed an admirable country house, just cramped and uncomfortable enough to echo the proceedings of the script.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>"Poor Behavior" </b>is an entirely satisfying experience.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To learn more about Theresa Rebeck's <b>"Poor Behavior"</b> and Primary Stages, visit <a href="http://www.primarystages.org/">www.PrimaryStages.org</a>. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-25652251547044532202014-08-15T14:23:00.001-07:002014-08-15T14:23:43.751-07:00Premieres and more at MDC's Debut New York Season<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSp6IbREJ8lZyauYdFVzsuW96EXCAa6z_A2j1dChj3f-2zuIuUIlpUjKUd_NYAwu7_sW1vcmCjtJaxioTF27q8DSnSaTelKRUq0r0YsjEupkC8a3uQKDYWhCj9jHWX0MeEVZVlmIN1jQ/s1600/jaqlinmedlockdrawn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioSp6IbREJ8lZyauYdFVzsuW96EXCAa6z_A2j1dChj3f-2zuIuUIlpUjKUd_NYAwu7_sW1vcmCjtJaxioTF27q8DSnSaTelKRUq0r0YsjEupkC8a3uQKDYWhCj9jHWX0MeEVZVlmIN1jQ/s1600/jaqlinmedlockdrawn.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a>Often it seems that defying gravity is how we define dance. Hold your breath as dancers twirl in impossible contortions before you. Catch your breath as they move gracefully and effortlessly through air and space, sometimes telling a story, sometimes just rejoicing in movement.<br />
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Annmaria Mazzini, a former Paul Taylor Dance Company dancer, and Artistic Director of The Mazzini Dance Collective rejoices in dancemmaking as story telling. <br />
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The Mazzini Dance Collective (MDC) holds its two-day only debut New York season on September 6th and 7th at The Ailey Citigroup Theater in The Joan Weill Center for Dance.<br />
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MDC was formed to be a collaborative between artists across visual and performing arts media. MDC is an inter- disciplinary, multi-generational troupe, integrating the arts of film, music and design. At MDC, young dancers are inspired by veterans to reach new levels of excellence in technique, performance and choreography.<br />
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On the bill in this inaugural season are the work of MDC Composer-in-Residence Robert Paterson, members of the American Modern Ensemble, Orion Duckstein, and Francisco Graciano, appearing courtesy of the Paul Taylor Dance Company.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSuQt9OW60jLLy0UB1Kz6n_PF5__LKw_skoEQ1JZe63tMDY81zqwJd0ZIX3TXlYBPaFPFNzSXwigR7TTB-J1BE-LQ7Wu0rQ1VvKJjJB-oPst9SmIkZCQpTM98Qw_Lgd7FHUp2T_w6UFk/s1600/NYC_popup.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSuQt9OW60jLLy0UB1Kz6n_PF5__LKw_skoEQ1JZe63tMDY81zqwJd0ZIX3TXlYBPaFPFNzSXwigR7TTB-J1BE-LQ7Wu0rQ1VvKJjJB-oPst9SmIkZCQpTM98Qw_Lgd7FHUp2T_w6UFk/s1600/NYC_popup.png" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
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Several premieres will be presented during the two days of programming. They include<i><b> "Playing with Angels,"</b></i> a reflection on the relationship between mothers and sons, choreographed by Annmaria Mazzini with music by Robert Paterson, with the score performed live by members of American Modern Ensemble: Billy Hestand on bassoon, Billy Short on bassoon, and Bryan Wagorn on piano. <b><i>"When We Rise"</i></b> is a premiere of a piece choreographed by longtime MDC collaborator Orion Duckstein with music by Zoe Keating and performed by Mr. Duckstein and Annmaria Mazzini. Another new Mazzini creation,<b><i> "Criminal Commoners,"</i></b> set to music by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, St. Vincent, Phantogram, Cold War Kids, Pulp, and Goldfrapp, and an original piece by Damian Eckstein, features guest artist Francisco Graciano.<br />
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For additional information, and a full list of programming, please visit <a href="http://www.mazzinidancecollective.org/">http://www.mazzinidancecollective.org</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-85151915004968992612014-08-15T13:08:00.001-07:002014-08-15T13:08:08.860-07:00Short, poignant and sweet: "Summer Shorts" Series A<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5-0ZW4deINtuauIoMqbcju0TC1a6DCm-7gNf7v-IaDEW_toYYqNYlIW7Z9eI46lusB2WNrZvOQnyMsZI7YPy8g5_7X2H50OfPDPli233l3rjkZKgo87S5ofqNMILgBBM2qdmfWYyHtw/s1600/Summer+Shorts+2014A-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5-0ZW4deINtuauIoMqbcju0TC1a6DCm-7gNf7v-IaDEW_toYYqNYlIW7Z9eI46lusB2WNrZvOQnyMsZI7YPy8g5_7X2H50OfPDPli233l3rjkZKgo87S5ofqNMILgBBM2qdmfWYyHtw/s1600/Summer+Shorts+2014A-6.jpg" height="242" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6,"</b> Warren Leight's crowd-<br />
pleasing one-acter in "Summer Shorts Series A" at<br />
59E59 Theaters. Pictured Peter Jacobson and Geoffrey Cantor<br />
in a photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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If brevity is the soul of wit, the short short play should prove the embodiment of that spirit.<br />
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Some do so with heart, some with humor, but all three of the "Summer Shorts: Series A," at 59E59 Theaters through August 30th, are entertaining and interesting. Each in its own unique way.<br />
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The most pleasing of the lot is <b>"Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6,"</b> Warren Leight's ode to men and sportsfans. Three season ticket holders in Madison Square Garden nosebleed seats share the agonies of being Knick fans as their lives unfold over some twenty years. It's a funny and well-played little drama. Geoffrey Cantor, Peter Jacobson, and Cezar Williams give nicely tuned performances under Fred Berner's direction.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alex Breaux and Shane Patrick Kearns in <b>"The Sky and The Limit"</b> by<br />Roger Hedden at "Summer Shorts Series A." Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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Did spirtuality or too much weed drive George (Shane Patrick Kearns) to jump off a cliff? This mesa was where he wanted to celebrate his marriage. Aldie (Alex Breaux) lives with the regret of cracking wise when he should have been attentive to his friend. Allison Daugherty rounds out the cast in Roger Hedden's<b> "The Sky and the Limit."</b> Under Billy Hopkins' direction, this simple story simply told has depth and humanity.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miriam Silverman and Adam Green in a scene from Eric Lane's <b>"The Riverbed."</b><br />Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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Filling the spaces of loss with a calm that belies their emotions, Adam (Adam Green) and Megan (Miriam Silverman) take turns retelling the story of the death of their daughter Lucy. Eric Lane's <b>"Riverbed"</b> is about the consequences of one moment of inattention. Megan and Adam are nice people struggling to reconnect after their younger child drowns. It's the unexpected in their story that makes this monologue come powerfully together.<br />
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For more information about <b>"Summer Shorts,</b>" please visit <a href="http://www.59e59.org/">www.59e59.org</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-12880995134882961352014-08-10T07:19:00.005-07:002014-08-12T14:33:38.787-07:00Putting on our "Summer Shorts" Series B<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are many iterations of the short story. Probably that look your mama gave you is the shortest. The tales Lydia Davis tells are almost haiku like. For most playwrights, the short form is aka the one-act. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Traditionally, "Summer Shorts," a Throughline Artists production in repertory at 59E59 Theaters through August 30th, have upped the ante on short by curtailing the action to a mere fifteen or 20 minutes. Developing a storyline from top to bottom in that time is a challenge. This year's offerings are a bit longer, running into regular one-act territory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Some of these succeed better than others.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henny Russell and Will Dagger in<br /><b>"Napoleon in Exile,"</b> from Series B,<br />"Summer Shorts". <br />Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One that does so </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">brilliantly is <b>"The Mulberry Bush." </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">With every chatty line of dialog, Neil LaBute builds tension, so that you wonder where his story is going and how or if it will resolve. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What seems casual is deliberate and taut.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The poignancy in Daniel Rietz' <b>"Napoleon in Exile" </b>burns beneath genuine humor. Henny Russell and Will Dagger are natural and charming as mother and son.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Albert Innaurato disappoints with a ranting sketch comedy-- of excessive length at 40 minutes--that aims to offend. Innaurato's liner notes on the trajectory of his career are the best part of his contribution. The piece, entitled <b>"Doubtless," </b>no doubt as a not so subtle pun on John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," gets a little help from Jack Hofsiss' lively direction and a fearless cast.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victor Slezak and JJ Kandel in Neil LaBute's <b>"The Mulberry Bush,"</b> Part of "Summer Shorts Series B." <br />
Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The acting in "Summer Shorts 2014, Series B" is universally excellent with stand-out performances by Victor Slezak and JJ Kandel in </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">"The Mulberry Bush."</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For more information on "Summer Shorts 2014," visit <a href="http://www.59e59.org/" target="_blank">www.59e59.org </a>or </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://summershortsfestival.com/">http://summershortsfestival.com/</a>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-42681576083431254452014-08-06T06:18:00.000-07:002014-09-09T10:29:33.613-07:00Looking forward; dP dances R&J<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To be young and in love against the wishes of family and friends is a timeless and eminently romantic tale. Long before William Shakespeare turned Juliet and Romeo into household names, stories of the star-crossed pair were lore. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-xTikArrxEdiAqEZu_WpbEv-HfSJQmUTZ4FpvxadwdR8ZEsmM2xTUMPaAruUo2RxjY_cqYlO-TFWdFAJ4TM0ocackFsa6eNFvRlKiQtm2IKdyskz9eFP6teYAeLkV0oyLPRj18xpsgQ/s1600/Patrelle_R&J.1+-+Photo+by+Eduardo+PATINO,+NYC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-xTikArrxEdiAqEZu_WpbEv-HfSJQmUTZ4FpvxadwdR8ZEsmM2xTUMPaAruUo2RxjY_cqYlO-TFWdFAJ4TM0ocackFsa6eNFvRlKiQtm2IKdyskz9eFP6teYAeLkV0oyLPRj18xpsgQ/s1600/Patrelle_R&J.1+-+Photo+by+Eduardo+PATINO,+NYC.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photo by Eduardo Patino.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In celebration of Shakespeare's 450th birthday and for its 25th anniversary, Dances Patrelle (dP) performs "Romeo & Juliet," featuring Francis Patrelle's choreography, based on Shakespeare's play and Prokofiev's score. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Each year, dP presents two seasons in New York City-- the holiday production of FP's "The Yorkville Nutcracker," and a spring repertory season featuring world premieres and favorites from FP's body of danceworks. For this year's offering, dP will be at Hunter College's Kaye Playhouse from September 11-14. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The roles of Romeo and Juliet will be played by Alexander Castillo, a Bayside, NY native, who at 13 performed in Patrelle's "The Yorkville Nutcracker," now dancing on the West Coast, and Chloé Sherman, also originally a New Yorker featured in the "The Yorkville Nutcracker," as a student, who is now in the Los Angeles Ballet company. FP has wrought a wide range of styles in his repertory, from the strictly classical to the contemporary with stops at the American Songbook along the way, always finding the drama in the dance. His "Romeo & Juliet" celebrates the soulful tragedy in the best classicist form.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 2013, dP was named the resident ballet company of the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, NY. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">For more information, visit </span><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017knjY19UwTogveTF5CxwoV8MLwr_njAOCqHaKp3TjlVdA5OLzDqgZWjSSPDaK63JrU589Z7aX84xv2p__w3wuCDAgQ9ATqwNfejXK4VavyuTbGpWCkT1Z9DrTnE7LVyS8cqbIdswJ6DMMjvJ3o-JYl9U0M9tlxks-BO-P8ZOq4j_olk7_jq3Wg==&c=m3N1AtiUq2cm4JakiLvwzzH6NtOEOUHMzGhq4md5dmB8De7urnVSmg==&ch=1UIcYq8Xzj-KZM1My8DV0a209DxlsQ3ZXGnJ_BWEexJ7s3IMY3WkFg==" shape="rect" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-size: 16px;" target="_blank">www.dancespatrelle.org</a><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-67749376216600420302014-07-21T12:44:00.000-07:002014-07-22T16:12:04.623-07:00In Loving Memory: "The Pianist Of Willesden Lane"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAtaWhkDk48A3fzi9l0Cfu56eoeiePaDFPxSP6U6J6h5WZ_u1JAwaxK15-QSZ7VWXM2ySNrqvUY1QYrb9rvBx0ppyA_EBObdouyS5ZvwEJ4xyNVBnMnJbfCgwLtTkWzTeqwbAuNO76io/s1600/1.Pianist2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAAtaWhkDk48A3fzi9l0Cfu56eoeiePaDFPxSP6U6J6h5WZ_u1JAwaxK15-QSZ7VWXM2ySNrqvUY1QYrb9rvBx0ppyA_EBObdouyS5ZvwEJ4xyNVBnMnJbfCgwLtTkWzTeqwbAuNO76io/s1600/1.Pianist2.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mona Golabek stars in <b>"The Pianist Of Willesden Lane," </b>adapted (from the book <i>The Children of Willesden Lane</i>) and directed by Hershey Felder, which launches the inaugural 5A Season at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">There are those memories which stir the heart and inspire. Mona Golabek shares some of hers with us in<b> "The Pianist of Willesden Lane,"</b> a lovely tribute to her mother, playing at 59E59 Theaters through August 24th, Lisa Jura, who survived the ravages of WWII to achieve the success she dreamt of as a young girl in Vienna. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Mona Golabek stars in <b>"The Pianist Of Willesden Lane,"</b> adapted (from the book <i>The Children of Willesden Lane</i>) and directed by Hershey Felder, which launches the inaugural 5A Season at 59E59 Theaters. Photo by Carol Rosegg.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Like her mother, Mona Golabek is a musician with world-renown, whose memory play is accompanied by her performance at the piano. </span><b style="font-size: medium;"> "The Pianist of Willesden Lane"</b><span style="font-size: small;"> is told in words and music, beginning with Lisa's first encounter with the Nazis that make Vienna unsafe for her, and continuing to her concert debut in London some years later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">"I had always known they were there, but I hadn't really seen them before-- ugly men with rifles, armbands-- they were everywhere...," Lisa says. She is just fourteen and her parents are able to send her to England on the Kinder</span><span style="font-size: small;">transport</span><span style="font-size: small;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lisa Jura finds her way in England, with the help of friends she makes along the way, and ends up at the London Royal Academy of Music.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Mona Golabek speaks mostly as Lisa Jura and narrates in other voices, as well as, </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">in telling Lisa's story. Golabek deftly plays the piano pieces that weaves the backdrop to Lisa's life. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> "The Pianist of Willesden Lane"</b> is a charming, moving and inspiring tale, beautifully-wrought and elegantly presented, based on Mona Golabek's memoir, written with Lee Cohen, and adapted for the stage by Hershey Felder, who also directs. The staging, with scenic design by Trevor Hay and Hershey Felder, is very affecting as well. The production originated at Los Angeles' Geffen Playhouse, and is the first play staged as part of 59E59's new Series 5A.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">To learn more about </span><span style="font-size: small;"><b> "The Pianist of Willesden Lane,"</b> please visit <a href="http://www.59e59.org/">www.59e59.org</a>.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-30487364224848144842014-07-08T17:41:00.000-07:002014-08-04T06:17:05.456-07:00It's that sweet time: Summer Shorts is here again<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love the short-form play. Like condensed milk, it's made a little richer and sweeter for the concentration.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Its flavor is similar to but different from the original, of course, but more potent and easier to whip into a frenzy of thoughts and ideas.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The challenge for the playwrights is, as always, to make their point fresh and cogent in a brief time. These are mini one acts!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The schedule for this year's Summer Shorts is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Series A-- <b style="font-size: 13px;"><i>The Sky and the Limit </i></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">by </span><b style="font-size: 13px;">Roger Hedden, </b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">directed by </span><b style="font-size: 13px;">Billy Hopkins</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Much to the amusement of his best friend, a young man dives into one of America's mesa strewn deserts in search of the perfect site for a wedding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Riverbed </i></b>by <b>Eric Lane, </b>directed by <b>Matthew Rauch</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lyrical drama about a married couple that experiences an intense loss and their struggle to find their way back to each other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Sec. 310, Row D, Seats 5 and 6 </i></b>by <b>Warren Leight, </b>director TBA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three guys share two season tickets as they watch the Knicks, and their lives, pass before their eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Series B--<b style="font-size: 13px;"><i>Doubtless </i></b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">by </span><b style="font-size: 13px;">Albert Innaurato, </b><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">directed by Jack Hofsiss</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With such formidable opponents as hypocrisy, government, hysteria, neurosis, family, religion and pop culture – can we ever really know and accept who we are? Well, these two brave nuns are going to give it a go! <b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>The Mulberry Bush </i></b>by <b>Neil Labute, </b>directed by <b>Maria Mileaf</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two men meet up on a bench in the park. One of them is meant to be there. The other is not. What follows is a domestic thriller played out in the harsh sunlight of a weekday afternoon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><i>Napoleon in Exile </i></b>by <b>Daniel Reitz, </b>directed by <b>Paul Schnee </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Corey is 25, living at home, can’t hold a job, and is obsessed with Minecraft. His mother has other ideas for him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Catch them at <a href="http://59e59.org/" target="_blank">59E59 Theaters</a> now. And come back to this space for our commentary.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-86123979942557291362014-06-30T05:02:00.000-07:002014-06-30T05:04:48.036-07:00Thank you, Boston Ballet for Visiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Boston Ballet brought their 50th year party to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater with two alternating programs of varied masterworks. The oldest choreography was from the Vaslav Nijinsky oeuvre, and the newest from<b> </b><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">José</span> Martinez which had its world premiere at their home in February of this year.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuQwFCSj_Lbt97hwVGuwqTvpkcTeSFQi49LW_utrWS4gYbhlSAyhLZF4Vm7BGi6gNEYyZrpWpkiPDa0M9aRbCMll1c_24s0P4HWKcHuQiVg-nJKLHjRc9hOF5MEyZcza-1m-Xo-nRbFw/s1600/main_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuQwFCSj_Lbt97hwVGuwqTvpkcTeSFQi49LW_utrWS4gYbhlSAyhLZF4Vm7BGi6gNEYyZrpWpkiPDa0M9aRbCMll1c_24s0P4HWKcHuQiVg-nJKLHjRc9hOF5MEyZcza-1m-Xo-nRbFw/s1600/main_logo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Boston Ballet's rendering of George Balanchine's "Symphony in Three Movements" is as perky and fresh of face as the expert youngsters in the company. The dancers are skilled; their presentation is precise and fluid. In a beautifully executed version of the Balanchine classic, John Lam is a standout.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also commendable are the orchestra, under the leadership of conductor Jonathan McPhee, whose vigorous performance of the Igor Stravinsky score contributed to a magnificent production.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The wildly theatrical Nijinsky "Afternoon of a Faun" is brought to life by Altan Dugaraa's marvellous titular beast. The costumes and sets by Leon Bakst hearken to the lavish original. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Resident choreographer, Jorma Elo fashioned "Plan to B" for the Boston Ballet in 2004 (a year before he took up his residency.) It is a powerful and exciting work set to the music of Heinrich von Biber.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Second Detail," set to the electronic pulses of Thom Willems, has a rehearsal atmosphere at once casual and formalistic. The troupe, as always, gives a superb performance of the complicated movements.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">José</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Martinez contributes a very classic and classy piece, set to Liszt and played by solo pianos (Alex Foaksman and Frieda Locker) with the music coming from both sides of the stage. "Resonance" is simply gorgeous to hear and watch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Boston? Visit the Boston Ballet website, </span><a href="http://www.bostonballet.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.bostonballet.org/</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for tickets. For more about the history of the company, see their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Ballet" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> listing. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-78521302498674567372014-06-24T10:12:00.002-07:002014-06-24T10:30:40.604-07:00The Mistaken CountryThere is something about the lure of the unknown that will turn men into adventurers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Riordan in <b>"Donogoo" </b>by Jules Romains. Directed <br />
by Gus Kaikkonen <br />
at The Mint. Photo: Richard Termine<br />
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<b>"Donogoo,"</b> at the Mint Theater through July 27th, is a tale of greed, mistaken geography, and the triumph of the imagination. Jules Romains' delightful play originally opened in 1930 to great acclaim, saving the floundering<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Century Gothic', 'Gill Sans', 'Lucida Sans', 'Lucida Grande', 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Théâtre Pigalle from dissolution. </span></span></span><br />
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Land speculation, gold fever, all roads lead to Donogoo Tonka, an error that turns into a scam. Benin (the superb Mitch Greenberg) plucks a suicidal Lamendin (James Riordan, who is fantastic) back to life. At the direction of the quack psychologist Miguel Rufesque (George Morfogen) to whom Benin sends him, Lamendin seeks out a stranger, Le Trouhadec (the ever versatile Morfogen again), a disgraced geographer, to assist.<br />
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Le Trouhadec's discovery, the lost city of Donogoo Tonka may not exist. Lamendin sees an opportunity.With the help of a questionably honest banker, Margajat (Ross Bickell in top form), Lamendin forms a stock company to develop the mineral-rich city and its environs. Shareholders (Megan Robinson, playing all the women in the play, and Kraig Swartz, among them) begin to question the existence of Donogoo, but prospectors have already begun to turn the fiction into a reality.Le Trouhadec is vindicated.<br />
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The translation by Gus Kaikkonen, who also directs with a deft delicacy, is impeccable and elegant. The applause the sets, by Roger Hanna, and special effects, by Hanna with Price Johnston, elicit are well-merited. The <a href="http://minttheater.org/currentproduction.php?tab=tab-4" target="_blank">exceptional ensemble</a> are all in perfect step, doing justice to the material's subtle and satiric humor. Among these standouts, Scott Thomas as Joseph, the sensible pioneer, catches the eye.<br />
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<b>"Donogoo"</b> is seriously funny, with a sharp and sincere wit. And this production is terrific.<br />
The Mint Theater doesn't just "find lost plays," it uncovers their relevance.<br />
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For tickets and to learn more about <b>"Donogoo,"</b> visit <a href="http://minttheater.org/currentproduction.php?tab=tab-1" target="_blank">The Mint's website</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5945148840080516675.post-78413772205528804402014-06-17T10:02:00.004-07:002014-06-18T07:49:10.975-07:00What does June 16th mean to you?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are just 198 days that follow to the end of the year. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span class="mw-mmv-author" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; line-height: 24px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;">Thorsten Pohl <a class="new" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Thpohl&action=edit&redlink=1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #a55858; text-decoration: none;" title="User:Thpohl (page does not exist)">Thpohl</a></span><span style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; line-height: 24px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> - </span><span class="mw-mmv-source" style="background-color: #fbfbfb; color: #333333; line-height: 24px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="int-own-work">Own work</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />But, the significance of June 16th to the lit. crowd is that in 1924 James Joyce declared it to be Bloomsday. June 16, 1904 is the date of the events in his very long novel "Ulysses" and the day is named for its protagonist Leopold Bloom. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShQ1RYxjdSOla0FvgrZBx2EPjjAGNrqBZoxhZjLanDS6UflHhCiGMsvbDkUvKsfNtUYKwPNL8CO8lqlzYEdS2_eg-zoi8EdJis4qLeZPCY1uEy8__UtfdKY3_0OjZ6bi1I-8zUVyGSNM/s1600/Bloomsday_2014_4710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShQ1RYxjdSOla0FvgrZBx2EPjjAGNrqBZoxhZjLanDS6UflHhCiGMsvbDkUvKsfNtUYKwPNL8CO8lqlzYEdS2_eg-zoi8EdJis4qLeZPCY1uEy8__UtfdKY3_0OjZ6bi1I-8zUVyGSNM/s1600/Bloomsday_2014_4710.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">June 16, 2014 Origin's First Bloom at Bloom's Taven of course.<br />Photo by Jimmy Higgins.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bloomsday, or for the Irish purists, <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Lá Bloom, is most often commemmorated with readings from the novel. In the interest of full disclosure and total honesty, I will admit that what I know of the work is from NPR's presentation of the annual Symphony Space event. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKIjuUWh7TxqyAwZtYdSycM9_tTFM4IT2aB0bOmlF42Y7Kc2b9dFgwyGvHNFyY9xv2myJIDTgNSV6IA6hedDd1qY5zawXmh2ldnMJ6VVJ_s8VNk5u9p8kcC-LNrctnM_rp-9F9EO-4FI/s1600/UlyssesCover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWKIjuUWh7TxqyAwZtYdSycM9_tTFM4IT2aB0bOmlF42Y7Kc2b9dFgwyGvHNFyY9xv2myJIDTgNSV6IA6hedDd1qY5zawXmh2ldnMJ6VVJ_s8VNk5u9p8kcC-LNrctnM_rp-9F9EO-4FI/s1600/UlyssesCover.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ori</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">gin Theatre Company, a New York City "gateway for European playwrights," hosted its first ever</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Lá Bloom</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> at the new midtown tavern aptly named Bloom's. The bar provided an excellent full Irish breakfast and 7:30am mimosas served by a friendly staff; costumed actors greeted arrivals with flowers and flower petals. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Malachy McCourt, gracious and charming, was on hand to kick off the readings. He chose a passage about Hell from Joyce's "The Governors" but tweaking tradition is a lovely thing to do. Ireland's soon to be ex-Consul General, </span><span style="background-color: white;">Noel Kilkenny told of his role in interpreting "Ulysses" for a Chinese translation long ago. Actors</span><span style="background-color: white;"> including </span><span style="background-color: white;">Conor MacNeill</span><span style="background-color: white;"> (currently on Broadway in the “The Cripple of Inishmaan”), Sean Mahon</span><span style="background-color: white;"> (who starred on Broadway in “The Seafarer” and “The 39 Steps” and is featured in the film "Philomena"), Jo Kinsella</span><span style="background-color: white;"> (“For Love,” and the Irish </span><span style="background-color: white;">Rep’s “Dancing at Lughnasa”) performed their Joycean catechisms with the joy befitting the day.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Here's to the second annual Origin Bloomsday! A resounding chorus of what was dubbed "Origin's First Bloom, at Bloom's Tavern, of course" rang out at the festivities.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Learn more about the Origin Theatre Company by going to their website, </span><a href="http://origintheatre.org/">http://origintheatre.org/</a>. Bloom's Tavern is located at 208 East 58th Street, and on the web at <a href="http://www.bloomsnyc.com/">www.bloomsnyc.com</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0