Ragtime

The revival of the musical Ragtime opened in previews yesterday. Usually the CBs wait to see a show until it's been playing for a while but we took a gamble and saw the show at today's matinée. It is really a lovely show with some wonderful performances. The actor who played Coalhouse- Quentin Earl Darrington- was wonderful and so was the actress who played the mother- Christiane Noll. We were happy to see Bobby Steggert again. We loved him in 110 in the Shade and he is equally terrific in the musical. We only wish he sang more because he has a wonderful voice. If you like a big musical, in the style of Les Miz, make sure to catch this revival of Ragtime.

Hamlet

It's my turn to post (Leslie here) about seeing Hamlet last night. I'm going to keep it short, but sweet. I've studied Hamlet in college and graduate school, I've seen three productions on stage, and I've watched all the movie versions of the play. Watching the play last night was like seeing it for the first time--Jude Law is by far the best Hamlet I can ever hope to see. He inhabits the role and gives it a freshness and life that is completely illuminating. He puts everything he has into this production, and I feel privileged to have experienced it.

A Steady Rain

Thursday night we saw A Steady Rain with Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig. The CultureBuddies were full of anticipation about seeing these mega-stars in the flesh but - within minutes of the curtain opening - they became just two Chicago cops with a story to tell. Their story is riveting with many twists and turns. Both of us barely took a breath during this highly intense acting master class.

The play takes place on a stage with two chairs under two interrogation type lights. There are some subtly shifting buildings in the background but all the action takes place in those two chairs.The play consists totally of dialogues and monologues by these amazing actors who convincingly play imperfect cops complete with perfect Chicago accents. They work together as a team incredibly well. Hugh plays a corrupt cop and Daniel is his alcoholic best friend and partner. As the story unfolds we see just how corrupt the one cop is and how the other cop- played by Daniel- has been tormented and belittled throughout his life by his partner. There are many twists and turns in this 90 minute, one act play but the actors deserve all the hype that this play has received. They both get a big 'CB Thank You' for coming to Broadway! It is the hardest ticket to get in town right now but we think this is a must see.

John Douglas Thompson - Remember that Name!!

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may remember Leslie's rave reviews of the actor John Douglas Thompson's performances in Othello and A Dreamer Examines His Pillow which she saw in Lenox this summer. When we saw that Thompson would be appearing in The Emperor Jones at the Irish Repertory Theatre in Chelsea, we rushed to get tickets. We were lucky to get seats because the show- and especially Thompson's performance- received a rave review in the New York Times on Monday and many of the performances have already sold out.

When we went to get our tickets at the box office yesterday, we saw Douglas sitting in the theatre lobby eating his lunch. With a little coaxing, Leslie told him we came from NH to see his performance because of how great he was in the shows she saw in Lenox. He couldn't have been more gracious and encouraged us to stay after the show to speak to him again.

We were both totally entranced by this amazing show. The Emperor Jones was written in 1920 by Eugene O'Neill and this short, brutal play has rarely been performed. For years it was considering 'politically incorrect' because of its use of the 'N word" and the fact that Brutus Jones is a black convict who has ruled cruelly and stolen from his subjects on a small Caribbean island. Today this story of corruption and demented leadership is one we have seen over and over again in the news.

Jones breakdown while escaping with no food and only a few vestiges of power- his uniform, his pistol and a silver bullet is amazingly told. When Emperor Jones is racing through the jungle to avoid capture, he is forced to face his inner demons represented by a series of amazing puppets and masks. It is truly terrifying to watch the Emperor face his primal fears and slowly divests all remnants of his power. This is an incredible performance by an actor who we believe is on the precipice of stardom.

After the show, he greeted us as old friends. It was a truly amazing night for two theater lovers.

Bye Bye Birdie

Saw a matinee of the new production of Bye, Bye Birdie in the newly renovated Henry Miller's Theatre yesterday.

Highlights:

• The numbers that feature the young members of the cast: especially "A Lot of Livin' to Do," "Telephone Hour," and the lovely blend of voices in "One Boy"
• Nolan Funk in the role as Conrad Birdie
• The colorful, over the top 60's pop decor, costumes, and set
• John Stamos' charming and light-footed stage presence
• Full orchestra playing great classic, musical theatre standards
• The incredible physique of Gina Gershon, emphasized by a stunning wardrobe
• A very cute curtain-call number

Problems:

• Gina Gershon was off-key for the whole show
• The casting of the adult roles--No one stands out except Bill Irwin (who the CB's normally love!) and it wasn't in a good way. He had a very strange take on the role of Kim's father that was funny at first, but quickly became annoying.
• No chemistry between Stamos and Gershon
• Nothing, except the amount of money they put into it, that made lifted it beyond the level of a good community theater production

Superior Donuts

When I was in New York with Matt, I went to see Tracy Lett's new play, Superior Donuts, with my buddies Ben and Casey. Ann and her son, Adam, went to see it last night. Collectively, we all really enjoyed it . . .

This is certainly a kinder, gentler play than Lett's Pulitzer and Tony winning, August: Osage County, but it is no less powerful. The dialogue is crisp (nobody writes banter better than Letts), the cast (intact from a critically-acclaimed run at Steppenwolf in Chicago) is excellent, and the play somehow combines humor, conflict, hope, and violence. The main focus is the friendship that develops between Arthur (the great Michael McKean), an aging hippie who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War, and his new 21-year-old African-American employee, Franco Wicks (star-in-the-making Jon Michael Hill), who blows into Arthur's struggling Donut shop in Southside Chicago one morning and talks his way into a job. Hill is an amazing young performer--his Franco is busting with energy, ideas, quick-witted humor, and a vibrancy that contrasts with Arthur's emotional distance and McKean's understated, but nuanced, performance. McKean and Hill's have an easy presence together on stage and many of their exchanges are laugh out loud funny. As we slowly realize that Franco's bravado is hiding serious problems, however, the tone turns darker and there are several moments in the play that you can't help but gasp.

There are a few drawbacks to this production, including unecessary extended monologues and a badly choreographed on-stage fight scene, but overall the Culture Buddies highly recommend Superior Donuts!

More News From New York

Thanks to CB pal, Casey, Matt and I had a wonderful evening at the Metropolitan Opera House on Saturday night. Casey is working at the Met, and he was able to get us great orchestra center seats to see Bartlett Sher’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Neither of us had ever been to the Met, and it is a truly spectacular venue in which to see an opera (or anything else for that matter!). The performance was wonderful--what a pleasure to see the best of the best in such an amazing setting. The performers were perfectly cast; not only did they have beautiful voices, but they also had great physicality and comic timing that brought out the light, fun tone of this opera perfectly. It was a great night!

Last night, after the weird events of the afternoon, I took in an Off-Broadway musical that has been getting a lot of buzz called The Toxic Avenger starring Diana DeGarmo of American Idol fame. It was campy, and silly, and a lot of fun . . . quite a contrast from the Met, but that's one of the great things about New York City!

The Royal Family Matinee Cancelled . . .

I'm in New York with my husband who is here for a business trade show, and we went to see The Royal Family yesterday afternoon. About 15 minutes into the play, Tony Roberts made his entrance looking absolutely fine, but speaking in a garbled voice. It was so perfectly timed that it seemed like an intentional gag . . . The rest of the cast on stage seemed bemused, like he was playing a joke, but Danny Glover suddenly dashed off stage and the curtain came down. There was an announcement that the show would resume in a couple of minutes, but it was clear that something was seriously wrong, and that most likely he had had a stroke.

About five minutes later, the house manager says, "Is there a doctor in the house? Actually, is there a neurologist in the house?" It was a sureal experience. The timing of his entrance and the stroke seems unbelievable. It became clear that the show was going to be cancelled, so we went to the box office to get a refund. As we were waiting, we actually saw the EMT's bringing Mr. Roberts out on a stretcher to the ambulance. He seemed conscious--at least his eyes were open. It was quite awful to see.

We went to get something to eat, and when we were walking back by the theatre I spotted Larry Pine, also from the play. In a truly Culture Buddy kind of way, my husband went up to him and said, "Excuse me, do you have any update on Tony's condition?" He said he didn't and told us it was a terrible moment when they realized what was going on. He hadn't made his entrance yet and was watching from backstage. He seemed pretty shook up--it must have been very difficult for the cast to perform the scheduled 7:00 performance that night with the understudy going on for Mr. Roberts. As of this morning, he is reported to be in stable condition.

This is the kind of theater first that I wish I hadn't experienced. More on my short trip to the city with my husband to come . . .

Sunday Cinema Club

Our Cinema Club started last week--we go to West Newton, MA on Sunday morning every couple of weeks throughout the fall to see movies that have not been released yet. The films are followed by a brief talk by one of two Boston film professors and open discussion. Last week we saw The Boys are Back, a movie based loosely on British political reporter Simon Carr's memoir recounting his attempts to rebuild his family after the death of his wife and directed by Scott Hick (Shine). Clive Owen's does a great job in the lead role--his performance is understated, but powerful as he stumbles through his first year of solo parenting. He adopts an attitude of "Just say yes" which drives all the women around him crazy, but seems to work for all male household. Owen's scenes with the two boys who play his sons are, I think, the strongest parts of the movie. The actor who plays the youngest son, Artie, is terrific. The CBs recommend give this film 4* (out of five).

Of course, one movie was not enough for the CB's. We grabbed some refreshments and headed into see Jane Campion's new film, Bright Star, a fictionalized version of the intensely romantic (yet chaste) love affair of Fannie Brawne, a woman of prospects and “good family,” and the poor, struggling poet John Keats. Fannie falls in love with Keats and with the beauty of his poetry, and she becomes determined that they will be together . . . unfortunately Keats has no money and few prospects. The Australian actress Abbie Cornish really shines as Fanny, an independent-minded woman weighed down by the conventions of proper Victorian society. The attention to period detail (especially the costumes) is great, and the setting is beautiful English countryside. The child actor who plays Fanny's young red-headed sister, like the young actor in The Boys are Back, is perfect for the part. The CB's also gave this movie 4*.