From the title of this posting, you can see that I’ve attended quite a few things over the past few weeks, and I’ve been too busy to write about them individually, so herewith a summing up.
On March 8 I was at the New York Philharmonic to hear Masaaki Suzuki, making his debut conducting the orchestra, in works by Mendelssohn and Johann Sebastian Bach. The program had a nice symmetry, beginning with Bach’s motet “Singet … <Read More>
The tiny Fault Line Theatre company is finishing up a run of a new play directed and co-written by Michael Perlman, “From White Plains,” at the Signature Theatre’s new performance space in West 42nd Street. I saw it last night and thought it was stunning. I think the run lasts through this Saturday, and I encourage people to see it.
The cast – Craig Wesley Divino, Karl Gregory, Jimmy King and Aaron Rossini – are … <Read More>
I caught the Saturday matinee performance of the 1959 Pulitzer-Prize-winning musical “Fiorello!” presented by the New York City Center Encores! series on February 2. I was familiar with some of the music and lyrics by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick from the original Broadway cast recording, but this was the first time I’ve been at a live performance, having not been present twenty years ago when this Encores series began with a performance of this … <Read More>
Tonight’s performance of David T. Little’s one-act opera-song-cycle Soldier Songs at the Prototype Festival (presented at Schimmel Center at Pace University) was stunning! Little and director Yuval Sharon have created a high impact examination of the mind of a combat soldier, aptly portrayed by Christopher Burchett with the assistance of Zac Ballard, a child actor, as “The Boy.”
This is overwhelmingly powerful stuff – so powerful, in its combination of music, light, projections, interview snippets, … <Read More>
Blogging about my cultural activities lapsed during the fall 2012 semester, due to a combination of being too busy on my part and the transitioning of my blog from typepad to wordpress. This posting is a sort of “catch-up” on the events I’ve attended during the last quarter of 2012 about which I haven’t had a chance to blog. I’ll list them in chronological order with brief comments.
October began with the Metropolitan Opera’s new … <Read More>
Last week I attended two off-Broadway plans, "Serious Money" by Caryl Churchill, and "Warrier Class" by Kenneth Lin. I enjoyed both of them, although I think I got rather more out of "Warrier Class."
"Serious Money" is the second summer offering by Potomac Theatre Project/NYC. It is not a new play, evidently, but seems very timely in its witty observation of the world of financiers in London in the 1980s, in the heady days of … <Read More>
For the past few summers, I've enjoyed attending Potomac Theatre Project/NYC presentations at Atlantic Theatre Company's Stage 2 in Chelsea (W. 16 St.). Middlebury College's Theater Department seems to play a large part in funding this project, and recent grads and current students take several of the roles, mixed in with other actors from the NYC community. The productions are minimalist, in the sense that there are rarely sets or numerous props, but the combination … <Read More>
Last week I attended a performance of the new Broadway hit, "One Man, Two Guvnors" by Richard Bean. James Corden stars as the servant of two masters in this modern-day adaptation of Carlo Goldoni's old farce, "The Servant of Two Masters." Nicholas Hytner directs this British import, which strives to present the feeling of attending an old-fashioned vaudeville. The action is set in the 1960s, and so there are interpolated musical numbers by a 1960s … <Read More>
Here's a contrast. A few days ago I went to see Woody Allen's new film, "To Rome With Love," and yesterday evening I saw Rick Elice's play, "Peter and the Starcatcher." Both comedies, but of a very different sort.
In "To Rome With Love," Woody Allen continues his progression through various European locales (he has in recent years shot films in England, France and Spain), now focusing on Rome – both the Rome of the … <Read More>
Here's a contrast. A few days ago I went to see Woody Allen's new film, "To Rome With Love," and yesterday evening I saw Rick Elice's play, "Peter and the Starcatcher." Both comedies, but of a very different sort.
In "To Rome With Love," Woody Allen continues his progression through various European locales (he has in recent years shot films in England, France and Spain), now focusing on Rome – both the Rome of the … <Read More>