Octoberfest Ends!

On Sunday we saw the new production of David Mamet’s Speed the Plow. It is the 20th anniversary of this show which is a tour de force of quick, witty repartee said at such a fast pace that it leaves the audience breathless. The story is about two power brokers in the movie business (played by Jeremy Piven from Entourage and Raul Esparza from the Broadway show Company) who have scored a big star to play in a tacky prison break movie. They are scheming and plotting their strategy for a presentation to the Studio Head when a temporary secretary (played by Elisabeth Moss) comes onto the scene playing a role somewhat similar to her role in Mad Men. To say she upsets the apple cart is an understatement. The show is three quick acts and is over in about 90 minutes. The acting is great and it’s a whirlwind of a show.

Before the show we had a drink at Trattoria Trecolori on 47th Street where we met a most intriguing bartender named Bill . Bill told us a most amazing story about his Mongolian father who was imprisoned in the 1940’s for studying English which was considered a treasonous act. I have no idea how we got on the topic of his father but he is an amazing guy, so if you are in the neighborhood of 47th between Broadway and 8th, stop in and tell Bill that the CultureBuddies sent you!

Day Four - A Day of Contrasts

Saturday afternoon the CB's saw Chekhov's The Seagull. It was an afternoon of three hours of great play writing, wonderful direction, and breathtaking performances. This is a definite must see for any serious theatre lover. It is a new translation of the famous play and a very riveting production. The play begins with a bleak, sparse stage, and, once again, no curtain--just a few birch trees and some tree stumps which become the stage for the son's production of his first attempt at play writing. In this one scene we see the family dynamics in all their cruelty. Kristen Scott Thomas plays the aging actress, Arkadina, who is the mother from hell--unable to provide the love, support and attention that her son desperately needs--but instead makes herself the constant center of attention. She is just wonderful as this selfish, narcisistic woman. But the standout performance for the CBs was the young actress Carey Mulligan's portrayal of Nina, the son's true love who starts as an innocent, fresh young girl and ends up as a broken women who has been rejected by her lover (who is also Arkadina's love) and banned from her family home. We recognized her from Bleak House and other PBS productions, and she is a wonder to watch on stage.

Later we saw the opposite extreme of the Broadway spectrum- Billy Elliot. What a show! It is as over the top as Elton John's persona is!! The choreography was some of the best we have ever seen. The numbers with the Union workers and the young ballet dancers are magical and so creative. The young boy who played Billy- David Alvarez- is an amazing talent. We left the theatre feeling exhausted from this over the top experience only to find that my beloved Red Sox were ahead 4-2 and going to play Game 7 of the ALCS tonight! Today we are seeing the matinee of David Mamet's Speed the Plow and then taking the bus home. We are tired but happy CB's.

Brushes with Masterpiece Theatre

A small theme seems to be emerging on this trip, and it centers on Masterpiece Theatre, a show I've watched for as long as I remember. My mom is a big fan, and we spent many hours watching all the series while I was growing up: Upstairs, Downstairs, Poldark, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Poldark, Brideshead Revisited, Jewel in the Crown, The Forsyte Saga, etc. I still faithfully watch the show. Last night at All My Sons, Dereck Jacobi (I, Claudius, Cadfael, Hamlet) was in the audience, and he looks great. As we were chatting with our seat neighbors about him, the man told us that he had a great Masterpiece Theatre story. Long story short--he introduced his wife to Robin Ellis (the hunky guy who played the role of Poldark in the 70's) at a PBS fundraising dinner, and she ended up marrying him after they were divorced! She's still married to him and living in London. Then today at The Seagull (more on this later), who should be in the cast but two Masterpiece Theatre veterans--Art Malik (Jewel in the Crown, Far Pavillions) and Carey Mulligan (Northanger Abbey, Bleak House, The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard). Both were terrific in this perfectly cast Chekhov classic. Who knows, maybe this theme will continue!

Day Three - The Best Yet

Sometimes you think you have had the best day of your life only to find that the next day is even better. I fell asleep Thursday night astounded by the great day we had and how much fun we had at Tale of Two Cities only to wake up and have another over the top day.

Let me begin by telling you about an encounter I witnessed early Friday between CB Leslie and a couple of people from Florida. In the hotel computer room, we ran into a couple who were interested in seeing a show Friday night and had just been quoted (by the hotel concierge) a price of $169 per ticket to see Avenue Q. Leslie told them that there was no need to pay that price, she gave them a little tutorial on getting cheaper tickets and they ended up paying $65 each for third row center seats to Avenue Q for that night! They practically fell on their knees in worship of the skills of this talented CB. She saved this couple $200 and got them better seats than the concierge had offered them. While I watched Leslie in action I thought- I am witnessing exactly what this CB was meant to do for her life's work!!

We had tickets for All My Sons Friday night and were excited to see the revival of this play with a star-studded cast which includes John Lithgow as the father, Joe, Diane Wiest as the grieving mother, Patrick Wilson as the surviving son, and Katie Holmes as the girl next door. Before the show, I was doing one of my favorite things- chatting up the ushers and theatre employees - and the woman selling the t-shirts and magnets told me all about the previous night when the show officially opened and then she whispered to me that "a big, big female star will be at tonight's show". Hmmmmmmmm.... She wouldn't tell me the name, so I was thinking maybe it would be Meryl or Julia but in fact it was Oprah!! She came in right before the show began with Tom Cruise and an entourage which included a huge, fierce body guard. The theatre was abuzz! Oprah's buddy Gail came in LATE- sorry to tell you, Gail BUT coming in late is in very bad form. Very bad form indeed. The entire entourage came back late from intermission causing an unnecessary hubbub. Another instance of bad theatre manners.

The show was absolutely riveting. Directed by Simon McBurney, there was an amazingly feeling that the story was an epic tale, not just the tale of one family. There is no curtain and the cast is all on stage before the lights go down and John Lithgow actually tells everyone to turn off their cellphones. The acting is superb--we were mesmerized for every second of the show. I loved the images cast on the screen behind the actors and the use of the other cast members as a sort of Greek chorus makes the play even more relevant to our time. Lithgow and Wiest are truly stage royalty, and Patrick Wilson is wonderful as the second son who is forced to deal with the unraveling of his family. Katie Holmes has my eternal admiration for choosing this role for her Broadway debut. Stars who come to Broadway and do eight shows a week when they have huge movie careers display a love for the art and the stage that I admire. Broadway is grueling, and she did just fine as the former girl next door. It's a wonderful production, and the CB's highly recommend it. The director, Simon McBurney, gives us a very innovative take on a American classic and is someone that the CBs will keep their eyes on.

After the show, we met our two favorite boys- Casey and Ben- and had a laugh filled late evening. We adore these two wonderful boys. They are both finishing up their senior years at Marymount/Manhattan and are doing fascinating internships. Ben at Vogue and Casey at an amazing ad agency. Their parents should be very proud of these wonderful boys who the CBs just love to pieces.

Today .... The Seagull, Billy Elliot and the Red Sox game 6.... life is good!

A Great Night!

The CB's saw a new musical based on A Tale of Two Cities last night and thoroughly enjoyed a great night of theatre, the likes of which you can only see on Broadway--a big cast, great costumes, clever set, terrific talent, full orchestra, and music that soars. The pace of the story line is brisk, and there is a good amount of lightness added to the serious themes of class struggle, revolution, sacrifice, and redemption. The most enjoyable aspect of the production is the talent that has been assembled for this large cast. The voices, down to the most minor character, are crystal clear and lovely to listen to. When the lead, James Barbour, opens his mouth to sing, you know you will be in good hands for the night (it's hard not to swoon, to be truthful).

We had several classic CB moments after the performance. Somehow I sensed that a woman who came down to talk with some people sitting in front of us might be Jill Santoriellio, who wrote the book, music, and lyrics. I touched her on her shoulder and asked her if she happened to be the one responsible for the show. She said she was, and I told her how much we loved it despite the sometimes cranky NY critics who gave the show a bad review. She immeditately gave me a big hug and was very sweet to us. I told her I had listened to her extended interview on Playbill Radio.com and admired her fortitude in getting the play produced. We even gave her a CultureBuddy card! Very cool moment.

We went to the stage door afterwards and hung around for awhile, decided to leave, then at the corner, Ann convinced me to turn around and we went back to wait for the more major stars to come out. Broadway regular, Greg Edelman, who plays Dr. Manette couldn't have been nicer, and the young lady who is making her Broadway debut in the lead female role (Brandi Burkhardt) is really beautiful and very gracious. Of course, we were waiting for James Barbour, and by the time he came out there were three people waiting at the stage door--a cute young girl and the two CBs. What losers! Anyways, we chatted with him, got his autograph on the program (and on his CD that I bought), took the picture here, and Ann and he had the following exchange: Ann: I wish you would sing to me all night. James: I just did for 2 1/2 hours, Honey. Ann: But you made me swoon! At this point, I grabbed her and we made a hasty retreat . . .

We met Ann's son and his girlfriend, Sara, at The House of Brews nearby after all this excitement and were able to see the Red Sox come back to win Game 5 of the ALCS--the biggest post-season comeback in 79 years! The perfect end to a great day . . .

Update--New York City

The CB's arrived in NYC yesterday afternoon after a pleasant bus ride on Megabus from Boston. Nice new bus line, good prices, and we left and arrived right on schedule. After a slight readjustment period, we had a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Pigalli, and were joined for a drink by our buddy Casey who filled us in on the theatre world from his perspective as an intern for a PR firm that manages many of the big theatre groups in the city.

Then we headed over a few blocks to see Equus, starring Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Richard Griffiths. We were not bowled over--mostly because the play itself is rather dated, and the "phychiatrist heal thyself" theme feels a bit cliche. Radcliffe was good in his role (we were surprised by how small he is--5' 5") and you certainly live through his emotional turmoil. The scenes between him and his psychiatrist were the strongest part of the play. I also found the set and staging to be powerful, although Ann didn't agree with me. Lots of young girls mobbed the back stage door, and Radcliffe was very generous about signing autographs and people taking pictures.

We called it an early night--we were planning on watching the rerun of the Project Runway finale in our room, but we didn't get the Bravo channel on our TV. Bummer!

Today, we decided to head in different directions. I walked up to the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and enjoyed the Van Gogh exhibit and a special installation called Dreamland: Architectural Experiments since the 1970s that was really terrific. From there I went to the Morgan Museum to see an exhibit called Drawing Babar. The Morgan recently acquired the working drafts and printer-ready watercolors for Histoire de Babar (1931), the first book by Jean de Brunhoff, and Babar et ce Coquin d'Arthur (1946), the first book by his son, Laurent de Brunhoff (b. 1925). As a long time Babar fan, I really enjoyed seeing the exhibit and all the first edition Babar books in their collection.

Ann headed up towards Lincoln Center to check out the new Museum of Art and Design. More about that from her later!

Movie Recommendation

The CB's went to see Rachel Gets Married yesterday, and we both highly recommend it. It's difficult to watch at times as the family dynamics are pretty raw, but it's also incredibly honest, moving, and even humorous at times. Anne Hathaway disappears into her role as Kym, the younger sister who has just been released from a nine-month stint in rehab only to be thrown into the midst of her sister's wedding weekend. Kym finds her family home buzzing with strangers and wedding activities, meets her sister's fiance for the first time, discovers that she is not her sister's maid-of-honor, and feels smothered by her father who just keeps trying to feed her. The film slowly reveals the depth of the emotional dynamics within the family and the tragedy that causes Kym to keep going in and out of rehab. The great thing about the characters is that you sympathize with each of them, even though they are often pitted against each other. There has been a lot of Oscar buzz for Hathaway, and it's easy to see why. All the other roles are perfectly cast as well, and Rosemarie DeWitt is wonderful in the role of Rachel.

CB Update

Nothing makes the CB's feel more cutting edge than waking up to a front page Art Section review in the NYT about a play we have tickets for! This morning it was The Seagull which Ben Brantley dubbed "the finest and most fully involving production of Chekhov that I have ever known." Not bad! Last week it was a review of Equuis which was a bit mixed, but, in it, Brantley praised "Mr. Radcliffe’s compact, centered presence (which he retains even stark, raving naked). . . . it’s the look of someone who sees and feels more deeply than ordinary folk" (yes, we are going to see Harry Potter naked--as my daughter says, "Shocking!"). We can't wait until October 15th when we finally get back to NYC.

What else have we been doing? We went to a movie theatre in Lowell with another buddy last weekend to catch a showing of Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway, a film of the live show which closed on Broadway last month after 12 years. This film is so much more than just the taping of one performance. Cameras were allowed into the theater to record two special performances (one at the end of August and the final night), and the result is an up-close and personal experience that is quite amazing. When it is eventually (hopefully) released on DVD, this is a must have for any fan of the theatre!

Our first Sunday Key Cinema Club (West Newton, MA) viewing a couple weeks ago was Humbolt County, a so-so movie about a commune-like community of marajuanna growers in CA who are trying to live peacefully outside of the law and grow just enough pot to sustain their lifestyle (and provide for their recreational use). When an uptight medical student is dropped into the mix, you can imagine what transpires . . . The good points were the filming of the beautiful, untouched landscape and some strong performances by the blissed out older hippie couple that the central character ends up staying with, and their seven year old grandaughter (an amazing performance by this young girl). Overall--a good movie to put on your Netflix list when it is released.

Speaking of Netflix, Ann passed her copy of Starting Out in the Evening to me a couple weeks ago, and I finally got around to watching it yesterday. Frank Langella gives an incredibly nuanced performance as Leonard Schiller, a retired teacher and all-but-forgotten novelist. His four completed novels are long out of print, and, in his 70s, he is toiling away at a fifth.
His routine is interrupted by an ambitious young graduate student, played by the amazing Lauren Ambrose, who wants to write a master’s thesis on Leonard and reintroduce him to the reading public. He is both flattered and a little befuddled by the attention — which is more than simply scholarly. Lili Taylor has a great role as Leonard's daughter; I always find her a compelling actor to watch on screen. Overall, definately worth watching.

That's it for now . . .