The premise of the play is that Carmichael (Christopher Walken) has been searching for his missing left hand for almost half a century. The curtain opens to Walken sitting on the bed in a seedy hotel room, wearing a long black coat and holding a gun. Before long, he has shot at someone in the closet (Anthony Mackie from Hurt Locker), a very odd desk clerk (Sam Rockwell) who has heard the gun shot shows up, and a young girl (Zoe Kazan) barges in, throwing a severed hand on the bed. At this point, we each decided to just embrace the wierdness and sit back and enjoy the ride as it got more and more bizarre. Although Rockwell was great as the desk clerk with a strange sort of death-wish, Kazan and Mackie became a little annoying after awhile in the roles of a young (rather stupid) couple trying to pull a scam and ending up in the middle of craziness. When Walken was on the stage, however, everything fell oddly into place. It was definitely an experience to see him perform!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Our Last Day :(
Sunday morning we had a yummy breakfast with our pals Casey and Ben at Pigalli's before checking out of our hotel and heading out to see Martin McDonagh's new play A Behanding in Spokane. It is an incredibly wierd and bizarre play full of black, irreverant humor. McDonagh is certainly a very unusual Irish playright with a wonderfully warped and creative mind!
The premise of the play is that Carmichael (Christopher Walken) has been searching for his missing left hand for almost half a century. The curtain opens to Walken sitting on the bed in a seedy hotel room, wearing a long black coat and holding a gun. Before long, he has shot at someone in the closet (Anthony Mackie from Hurt Locker), a very odd desk clerk (Sam Rockwell) who has heard the gun shot shows up, and a young girl (Zoe Kazan) barges in, throwing a severed hand on the bed. At this point, we each decided to just embrace the wierdness and sit back and enjoy the ride as it got more and more bizarre. Although Rockwell was great as the desk clerk with a strange sort of death-wish, Kazan and Mackie became a little annoying after awhile in the roles of a young (rather stupid) couple trying to pull a scam and ending up in the middle of craziness. When Walken was on the stage, however, everything fell oddly into place. It was definitely an experience to see him perform!
The premise of the play is that Carmichael (Christopher Walken) has been searching for his missing left hand for almost half a century. The curtain opens to Walken sitting on the bed in a seedy hotel room, wearing a long black coat and holding a gun. Before long, he has shot at someone in the closet (Anthony Mackie from Hurt Locker), a very odd desk clerk (Sam Rockwell) who has heard the gun shot shows up, and a young girl (Zoe Kazan) barges in, throwing a severed hand on the bed. At this point, we each decided to just embrace the wierdness and sit back and enjoy the ride as it got more and more bizarre. Although Rockwell was great as the desk clerk with a strange sort of death-wish, Kazan and Mackie became a little annoying after awhile in the roles of a young (rather stupid) couple trying to pull a scam and ending up in the middle of craziness. When Walken was on the stage, however, everything fell oddly into place. It was definitely an experience to see him perform!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday in the City
Saturday afternoon I went to see Sondheim on Sondheim (which Leslie had already seen on Monday), and Leslie headed over to The City Center to see a production of Hard Times, based on the book by Charles Dickens.
I really enjoyed the Sondheim show. Barbara Cook is such an icon of musical theater that it was wonderful to see and hear her in person. Vanessa Williams makes singing Sondheim's lyrics seem like the easiest thing in the world. She is a wonderful performer. I was surprised with the voice of Tom Wopat of Dukes of Hazzard fame, Since we have seen several of Sondheim shows in the last couple of year, it made the show even more enjoyable. On my way out
of the theatre, I walked for several blocks with a musician from the show who told me that the show will be undergoing lots of changes in the upcoming week of previews with several songs cut and new ones added. He said the show is getting tweaked constantly at this point. I asked him if Vanessa was really as beautiful in person as she looked from the mezzanine and he said she looks even better! Sondheim is a national treasure and it is really wonderful to see him honored with a show during his lifetime. It was also very enlightening to learn more about this amazing man during the show which included wonderful photos and interview clips.
Leslie really enjoyed Hard Times at the 100-seat Pearl Theatre at the City Center and
was impressed by the six member cast who played all of the twenty plus roles in under three hours . This show closes on Sunday, so she was glad to have a chance to see it--we're both looking forward to (re)reading the book . . Our Saturday night play was Next Fall, new to Broadway after a successful Off-Broadway run. We both felt that this play was rather weak. The plot revolves around a 20-something gay man who has yet to come out to his ultra-Christian parents. At the start of the play, he has lapsed into a coma in a New York City hospital due to a car accident. In flashbacks, we see his relationship with a somewhat older man, who happens to be an atheist, develop into a four year relationship. Although there were some moments that were moving and funny, the play was flat and rather predictable. We wouldn't recommend this one . . .
I really enjoyed the Sondheim show. Barbara Cook is such an icon of musical theater that it was wonderful to see and hear her in person. Vanessa Williams makes singing Sondheim's lyrics seem like the easiest thing in the world. She is a wonderful performer. I was surprised with the voice of Tom Wopat of Dukes of Hazzard fame, Since we have seen several of Sondheim shows in the last couple of year, it made the show even more enjoyable. On my way out
of the theatre, I walked for several blocks with a musician from the show who told me that the show will be undergoing lots of changes in the upcoming week of previews with several songs cut and new ones added. He said the show is getting tweaked constantly at this point. I asked him if Vanessa was really as beautiful in person as she looked from the mezzanine and he said she looks even better! Sondheim is a national treasure and it is really wonderful to see him honored with a show during his lifetime. It was also very enlightening to learn more about this amazing man during the show which included wonderful photos and interview clips.Leslie really enjoyed Hard Times at the 100-seat Pearl Theatre at the City Center and
was impressed by the six member cast who played all of the twenty plus roles in under three hours . This show closes on Sunday, so she was glad to have a chance to see it--we're both looking forward to (re)reading the book . . Our Saturday night play was Next Fall, new to Broadway after a successful Off-Broadway run. We both felt that this play was rather weak. The plot revolves around a 20-something gay man who has yet to come out to his ultra-Christian parents. At the start of the play, he has lapsed into a coma in a New York City hospital due to a car accident. In flashbacks, we see his relationship with a somewhat older man, who happens to be an atheist, develop into a four year relationship. Although there were some moments that were moving and funny, the play was flat and rather predictable. We wouldn't recommend this one . . .
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday in the City
Kind of a gray day in the city, so after a yummy breakfast at our favorite restaurant (where we are greated like old friends), we headed up to the Lincoln Center Cinema to see a restored version of Fellini's classic film, 8 1/2 . It was cool to see it on the big screen and it seemed like a very New York thing to do on a Friday afternoon.
Our play last night was a new production of Lend Me a Tenor at the Music Box Theatre. Stanley Tucci is directing, and he has cast his buddies Tony Shalhob and Anthony LaPaglia as well as Justin Bartha (Hangover) in his Broadway debut. The play is a silly farce complete with two identically costumed, black-faced Othellos, lots of physical humor, and funny sight gags. Bartha is simply terrific as the young assistant who ends up impersonating the great Italian opera star the Cleveland Opera House has hired for a huge gala event. It was a fun night, and great to see Shalob (as the producer having a slow break down) and LaPaglia (as the Italian tenor) on stage.
Our play last night was a new production of Lend Me a Tenor at the Music Box Theatre. Stanley Tucci is directing, and he has cast his buddies Tony Shalhob and Anthony LaPaglia as well as Justin Bartha (Hangover) in his Broadway debut. The play is a silly farce complete with two identically costumed, black-faced Othellos, lots of physical humor, and funny sight gags. Bartha is simply terrific as the young assistant who ends up impersonating the great Italian opera star the Cleveland Opera House has hired for a huge gala event. It was a fun night, and great to see Shalob (as the producer having a slow break down) and LaPaglia (as the Italian tenor) on stage.
Friday, March 26, 2010
NYC Cont.
The theme that seems to be emerging for this trip is enjoying well-written,powerful dramas. On Tuesday night, I went to a small theatre in Greenwich Village to see The Pride, starring British actors Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw. Dancy and Whishaw play two different sets of lovers, one in 1958 and the other at present time. In the earlier story (1958), Oliver is a repressed homosexual trying to pass as a happily married man. He falls in love with his wife's colleague, Phillip, but does not have the courage to be open about his homosexuality. In the present, Philip has just left Oliver because he can't deal with the latter's addiction to anonymous sex. The play is pitch-perfect, the dialogue is funny and heartbreaking at the same time, and Andrea Risenborough is excellent as Sylvia, Oliver's wife in the 1958 story line and Phillip's best friend in the modern story line. I came away emotionally exhausted and with a great deal of respect for Dancy and Whishaw for having the courage to dive into their demanding roles and giving incredibly honest and raw performances.
Last night, Ann (yea! she finally made it to NYC!) saw Time Stands Still starring Laura Linney, Brian d'Arcy James, Alicia Silverstone, and Eric Bogosian. Again, it was an intelligently written play and perfectly cast. Linney and d'Arcy James play a couple who have lived together for six years; Linney is a photographer and d'Arcy James is a writer. Both are drawn to war zones and documenting horrific events in violent hot spots all over the world. Linney's character has been seriously injured by a road-side bomb and has come home to heal, D'Arcy's character is also recovering--from a nervous breakdown caused by seeing a young family blown up right in front of him. He's ready to call it quits; she is not. Bogosian plays Linney's editor, and Silverstone is his young, rather naive lover who becomes his wife by the end of the play. All are excellent, especially Linney who captures her character's toughness, her underlying vulnerability, and her addiction to the adrenaline rush she gets from her work. Her character put us in mind of the character in Hurt Locker who finds it tougher to be at home than diffusing bombs in Iraq. It was a great night of theatre.
On a rather different note, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came into the city to see a matinee of Twyla Tharpe's new show, Come Fly With Me, a celebration of the music of Frank Sinatra. Of course, the music was great--how can you go wrong with Sinatra?--but it was made even better by a kick-ass big band and an amazing ensemble of talented dancers. It was a very enjoyable afternoon, and a nice treat to see some of my favorite family members!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
NYC Trip--March
I've been in New York since Sunday with my husband and have already seen lots of great plays!Ann is joining me on Thursday, and we'll stay until Sunday. On Sunday night we saw Claybourne Park at the Playwrights Horizon . . . it builds off of Lorraine Hansberry's classic play, Raisin in the Sun, and focuses on the middle-aged couple preparing to move out of the house in the all white neighborhood that the Younger family from RITS has just bought. When Mr. Linder (the only character to carry over from 
RITS) arrives and lets them know that, unbeknowst to them, they have sold their house to a black family, all hell breaks loose. The second act takes place in the same house, but it is now 2009 and a young yuppie white couple has moved in. The neighborhood has become a black neighborhood, and the second act centers around a meeting between a black couple and their lawyer from the Claybourne Park community group that is fighting an extensive renovation the couple plans . . . The writing is terrific, and the cast was, across the board, great.
RITS) arrives and lets them know that, unbeknowst to them, they have sold their house to a black family, all hell breaks loose. The second act takes place in the same house, but it is now 2009 and a young yuppie white couple has moved in. The neighborhood has become a black neighborhood, and the second act centers around a meeting between a black couple and their lawyer from the Claybourne Park community group that is fighting an extensive renovation the couple plans . . . The writing is terrific, and the cast was, across the board, great.On Monday, I scored a ticket to a 80th birthday gala performance of Sondheim on Sondheim, a retrospectiv
e review of Sondheim's amazing career in theatre. I discretly parked myself next to the photographers set up in the entrance and saw all the celebs coming in--Alex Baldwin, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Walters, Jane Krakowski, Angela Lansberry, and a score of Broadway stars. The show starring Barbara Cook, Vaness Williams, and Tom Wopat, was really well done--ofcourse you can't go wrong with Sondheim music . . . At the end, Sondheim came up on stageandthe audience sang Happy Brithday to him. The Roundabout Theatre producer announced that the newly renovated Henry Miller Theatre was being renamed the Stephen Sondheim theatre, and he was visably moved and surprised. It was a very cool evening for this Culture Buddy!!! Check out the pictures.
e review of Sondheim's amazing career in theatre. I discretly parked myself next to the photographers set up in the entrance and saw all the celebs coming in--Alex Baldwin, Lauren Bacall, Barbara Walters, Jane Krakowski, Angela Lansberry, and a score of Broadway stars. The show starring Barbara Cook, Vaness Williams, and Tom Wopat, was really well done--ofcourse you can't go wrong with Sondheim music . . . At the end, Sondheim came up on stageandthe audience sang Happy Brithday to him. The Roundabout Theatre producer announced that the newly renovated Henry Miller Theatre was being renamed the Stephen Sondheim theatre, and he was visably moved and surprised. It was a very cool evening for this Culture Buddy!!! Check out the pictures.
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