Day Two--NYC!

Highlight of the Day: Ann and I took in The Jewish Museum's exhibition of artwork created for Russian Jewish theater productions in the 1920s and 1930s. The exhibition captures a period in the early years of the Soviet Union when visual artists, including Marc Chagall, Natan Altman, and Robert Falk, joined forces with avant-garde playwrights, actors, and theatrical producers to create a theater experience for the masses. The exhibit includes paintings, costume and set designs, posters, photographs, and film clips.

In 1920, Marc Chagall was creative director for the company. The exhibit shows his his sketches for stage sets, costumes and make-up; these are amazing enough. More amazing, however, is a whole room devoted to a set of murals Chagall created to be hung in the Moscow State Yiddish Theater. Incredibly, these murals had been rolled up in storage since 1950 in a gallery in Moscow. Chagall himself was not even sure they had survived until, in 1973, he returned to the Soviet Union for the first time since 1922 and signed the murals at the museum. In 1989 they were restored, and The Jewish Museum has them all on display. On one wall, four murals depict Dance, Drama, Literature, Music, The Banquet, and Love on the Stage. Along the top, a long mural captures Chagall's version of a wedding banquet feast. A fifth mural covers the entire opposite wall--this mural is a carnival-like explosion of color, humor, and composition. I could not get enough of sitting in this room and soaking it all in. What a rare privilege it was to be able to see such masterpieces up close.

Another Highlight: Drinks with the boyz (Casey and Ben) after our Thursday night show. Silly fun and laughter as usual. Ann and I are older, but often less mature, than the boyz. We presented them each with their $20 cash prize for tying as winners of our Satellite Oscar pool, and they were thrilled.

Low Point of the Day: The Roundabout Theatre's production of Hedda Gabler. The only good point was that it had a magnet we could add to our collections.

Day One--NYC!

The CultureBuddies left Nashua at the crack of dawn on Wednesday and made it to the city in time for a matinee of Blithe Spirit, a new revival of the Noel Coward play. We were looking forward to seeing that handsome devil Rupert Everett, and we both wanted to see Angela Lansbury on stage. Unfortunately, the play was a disappointment: it seemed so dated and the chemistry just wasn't there. The jokes were tired and lame and the play just seemed to drag on and on. Rupert was the only bright light (and was a handsome drink of water) coming down a staircase in a tux as the play opened, and even he seemed bored.

After a quick nap, we felt recharged and set off to see a new play, God Of Carnage. In short, it was fantastic! James Gandolfini, Marcia Gay Harden, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels play two couples whose sons have been in a playground fight; the play takes place during an afternoon gathering in one of their homes to talk about the incident in a "civilized" way. By the end of the ninety minute play, their meeting has become a free for all with all the politeness thrown aside. It is hilarious; the laughs come from the increasingly dark truths that emerge about marriage, parenting, moral responsibility, and human relationships as "civilized" behavior deteriorates. The actors are wonderful; it's unusual to see a play with four actors playing equal roles, and this one is perfectly cast. Marcia Gay Harden was a standout as the mother who is trying to mediate the meeting and does "passive aggressive" like no one else!

We crashed early after two very different plays in one day. Although we don't predict good reviews of Blithe Spirit, we agree that God of Carnage is sure to be a huge hit this Broadway season.