Drama and Dance
Actor Craig Wallace is performing the best acting of his local career in "PERMANENT COLLECTION" (To 2/21) at Round House Theatre and it is a shame that the play is such a didactic and philosophical dud. Playwright Thomas Gibbons took so much dramatic license trying to impose racial bias on an institution like the Barnes Collection outside of Philadelphia that it is an insult to any student of the visual arts. Yes, he tries to disguise the place as the "Morris Foundation" yet uses all of the historical facts about the Barnes and its current controversies that it is pitiable playwrighting...almost unethical. Yes, Barnes did have a Black American as its chief executive but the biases against him did not involve hanging African Art but the attempt to raise needed money by traveling a part of the collection which was prohibited by the founder's will. Other stipulations of the will were that no picture was to be moved (his was lacking themes) and that the collection never be moved to another location. And, the donation of a collection to a Black University was involved with a part of Georgia O'Keefe's collection...not his. And why wasn't it mentioned that lots of the works of Matisse and other French artists often carried African and jazz themes and iconic figures. The concern about moving the collection to downtown Philly was due to the stressful demands placed on the number of visitors by the neighboring estates. So this script gave us nothing but specious argumentation and didactic misinformation. A second disappointment of the evening that saw the most tepid applause ever heard at curtain call was the lack of enunciation of lines. I was sitting in the "g" row and lost so much dialogue as only Mr. Wallace could be totally understood. Even Susan Lynskey and Jewell Robinson seemed soto voce. As for Paul Barrow he dropped so many words and phrase endings that he needed surtitles. And one wonders if he or costume designer determined his dress...it was totally too casual and inappropriate for a museum official. Kanika Weaver played an o.k. "gofer" but Lawrence Redmond had a useless role as a spectre walking on and off the bare stage and giving wise saws. Really the play is a loser except for the fine performance of Craig Wallace. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Folger Theater has opened a world premiere of "ORESTES: A TRAGIC ROMP" (To 3/7) that tells of the agony and the attempted justification of murder by two Greek adults...Orestes and Electra... in the death of the mother and father...Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. It is a modern update by Anne Washburn not unlike so many Shakespearean play nowadays but it doesn't work as well since the gutsy style and woeful proclamations of Greek drama aren't captured on the stage of the Folger. And, just when this critic was about to proclaim Holly Twyford's excellent portrayal of the sister Electra, she comes on stage as an old man Tyndareus and falls into a lesser than high school performance of that role. Why was she so double cast when there are dozens of old male actors that would easily have fulfilled and loved doing that role. Jay Sullivan as Orestes ranted and raved constantly...has he never had experience with psychos and murderers who are quiet in agony...particularly since both Orestes and his sister claim to be justifying the murder. The only actor who adapted well to this modernization was Chris Genebach who played four male and female roles to perfection keeping up the required passion of Greek drama with honest modernity. The chorus of Lauren Culpepper, Rebecca Hart, Marissa Molnar, Rachel Zampelli and Margo Seibert (also daughter Hermione) did fine recitative although the humming and abstract noisemaking didn't seem to fit into the choral work. So blame the casting director for poor selections and/or play director Aaron Posner who forced too much creativity and parody into a simpler tale of murder and mayham. I guess this is another case of "don't mess with Father Thespis". Technicals were all fine especially the lighting by Tyler Micoleau and the movement direction by Patty Gallagher. The use of a female voice (Lynn Redgrave) as the "deus ex machina" at the end did not fit in well... again. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
COMMENTARY: The nominations for the 26th Annual Helen Hayes Awards to be presented at the Warner Theater on April 5 were announced. Just google the Helen Hayes Awards website to get the list which is too long to put on this webpage. Most of the attendees at the National Theater were pleased that nominations included some new or long forgotten theater groups: Solas Nua, Gala, Keegan, Forum and even Washington Savoyards. Yet, what happened to Teatro de la Luna and Olney...particularly when Teatro de la Luna brings in companies from the Hispanic world during their international festivals. And the judging still allows for the same actor, director or technician to appear more than once in a category. Why not just select a single top performance or staging respectively! After 25 years one would think that consultants would be called in to develop a more effective voting system. The new category for "children's theater" doesn't make much sense since the actors are almost all Equity and stage union adults performing and doing the technical work. (Comments by Bob Anthony)
*****
Synetic Theater with "ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA" comes through with the most fantastically invigorating dramatic theater that outshines their great previous stage productions. With sparks flying off of their swords, the fighting armies clash with such violence one just hopes that there is company insurance available should something go wrong in the scenes. The story if one of the triumvirate that existed in the Rome of Julius Caesar, Antony and Octavian and their battle to the death. We know of the murder of Caesar so this play focuses on the battle between Octavian and Antony who just happens to be in Egypt in another fierce sexual battle of his own with Cleopatra. So-be-it reported that there is battle and sexual violence abounding throughout the 90 minutes so fantastically directed by Paata Tsikurishvili. Irina Tsikurishvili will, no doubt, continue to get HH awards for her choreography as well as her superior acting in this one. Although Ben Cunis is wonderful as Antony, he is edged out in talent by Philip Fletcher as Octavian who does a violent sexual scene on a life sized Cleopatra doll that had heads turning to avoid visual contact. The amazing thing about this company is how they can coordinate their pantomime to the excellent music and sound of I. Kavsadze and K. Lortkipanidze. The pyramidal set by is simply perfect and allows for lots of jumping around and grand entrances. Anastasia Rurikov Simes did the set as well as the rich costuming that establishes wonderful time and place. Other major characters who all did an outstanding job are: Scott Brown, Chris Galindo, Irakli Kavsadze, Alex Mills, Peter Pereyra, Ben Russo, Ryan Sellers, Vato Tsikurishvili and Mary Werntz. This is a highly recommended show that has the edge over the many Cirque du Soleil shows in the past. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
After a run of some well directed and acted stage plays, Constellation Theatre is failing its dedicated audience with a mediocre 'THREE SISTERS" (To 2/21) at the Source Theater. First off, the play does not fit comfortably into an in-the-round format especially when the usually genius director, Allison Arkell Stockman, doesn't fulfill the need for constantly moving actors so that the whole audience can fully appreciate dramatic interaction. So we are left with one side of the audience having to listen to unseen actors for long periods on a swing, etc. She also allowed interpretations that lacked the necessary "soul" (dusha) of Chekhov's character. The only two actors who managed this quality were Michael John Casey as the lieutenant colonel and Amy Quiggins as the younger sister Irina. The biggest fault was not seeing the three sisters as three aspects of the same "Russian heroine"...sturdy intellectual, driven romantic and impulsive youth. So Ms. Quiggins just went it alone beautifully and created the triage herself. The most disappointing were usually talented Nana Ingvarsson who used a master gesture of hands on mouth and bringing forth tears so unlike an Olga. And Brian Hemmingsen who was superb in the first act with delightful warmth but who did a switch to an impulsive and repulsive doctor in the second act (doesn't he know that all the doctors in Chekhov's plays are Chekhov himself?). There should be no bombast but introspection even though he is drunk. The finest Russian quality actually come through with the secondary characters: the Nanny of Annie Houston and the Courier of Lewis Freeman. Ivana Stack did masterful costuming and A.J. Guban gave superior lighting throughout on his two perfectly designed sets. Others in the cast are Joe Brack, Katy Carkuff, Catherine Deadman, Ashley Ivey, Billy Finn, Mark Krawczyk, Scott Zeigler, and Carl Brandt Long. The production is worth the price to appreciate the two top performances by Mr. Casey and Ms. Quiggins. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"THE RIVALRY", Norman Corwin's 1958 play about the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, is built on much of he actual language of the 1858 Lincoln -Douglas debates. The play focuses on enduring themes in American political history, some of which were even in 1858 at least 25 years old, dating to the time of the Nullification controversy of the early 1830's and the events of the middle 1830's which had culminated in the Cherokee Removal of 1838. The question was even then what the ideal relationship should be between individual states and a national government, when a state might choose to go its own distinct and independent way in defiance of the greater national will. Although the issue of slavery was eventually resolved during the long and bloody Civil War, other great political and cultural differences continue today to divide partisans along difficult fault lines. "The Rivalry" is thus a profound exposure to important themes in American history, a play whose significance will perhaps only deepen over time. The play depends for much of its impact on the acting skills of only three actors, those playing Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, and Adele Douglas. The actor who presents Lincoln must succeed in representing a person already pregnant with an unrecognized greatness only two years before his election to the presidency in 1860. Robert Parsons delivered an inspired performance, a performance of great dignity and simple heartfelt eloquence which remained consistently in character. Rick Foucheux presented Douglas as a man hopelessly gripped by a popular passion whose moment was already waning, a determination to maintain slavery in any state which might choose to permit it whether that state was a "new" state or one in which slavery had long been permitted. By the end of the evening, Douglas had recognized that both he and Lincoln shared an overriding commitment to the maintenance of the federal union at all costs. Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas was at times a "'chorus", commenting on and almost interpreting the drama between the two men but also humanizing both men in her quiet moments with each. This may unfortunately be a performance that can never have the strong impact away from Ford's Theatre that is inevitable in this Washington space...now both a playhouse and a historical shrine. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
Theater J has opened "THE FOUR OF US" (To 2/21) which is a two man comedy with a play-within-a-play format. There is no doubt that Dan Crane and Karl Miller are superior actors with fine comedic skills as they handle the script with improvisational finesse but this play by Itamar Moses lacks theaticality and is too repetitive in sexual innuendos and blatancy that one soon gets tired of the script. The younger members of the audience laughed heartily as if it were a farce but the older members found it difficult to accept such a possible interchange by two adult males. But, then, times really are a-changing and it might be culturally beneficial for men to be involved with such intimate interchanges! The kama sutra techniques using a huge teddy bear, however, was particularly "gross" as a comedic ploy. Tony Cisek gets kudos for a set made up of sliding panels to demarcate different stage settings and Colin K. Bills provides excellent lighting throughout. The acting is highly recommended...the script not particularly. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Director Alan Paul wisely turned the production into a "memory" play with a simple set rather than an elaborately filled antique museum collection seen in previous productions in the area of "I AM MY OWN WIFE" (To 3/7) by Doug Wright ...now playing at the Signature Theater. It allows marvelous actor, Andrew Long, lots of liberty to build up suspense while going through an epiphany of a dead man. Finally one doesn't need to accept the suggested stupidity of a dreaded secret police (Stasi of East Germany) since we now live in the underworld of double and triple spies which may have been present back then in East Berlin before the wall came down. For one who had travel West Berlin at the time which was filled with gay and transvestite clubs...it is apparent that this was the methological route of underground spy activities throughout a divided Germany and Berlin. Andrew Long reaches the apex of his career with his brilliant portrayal of over 35 well delineated characters to tell the story of Charlotte von Mahsdorf who ran a antique/gay bar in East Berlin. As the main character he gives Ms. Charlotte a sly, Cheshire-cat mien which captivates his audience. Yet, on the other extreme, he easily frightens with violent reactions of the other characters...like the boy who murders his father. This is a highly recommended showcase for appreciating the superior talents of Mr. Long. The story was "long in tooth" and sometimes gratuitous but, even if one saw previous productions of the show, one leaves the Signature with high regard for this wonderful portrayal by Andrew Long. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It was in the 50's and Hollywood found serious competition with television and its freedom from the overcorrupt"studio" system that playwright George Axelrod took advantage of the situation and wrote a superb satirical satire about a New York writer who sells his soul to a Tinseltown agent...for a additive percentage...to correct storytelling failures...and to bond with the current Hollywood bombshell. Thus "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter" was born for a successful run on Broadway. Now the comedy is being restaged by most competent director, Ellen Dempsey, at the American Century Theater (To 2/6). And it is a "laugh a minute" production led by the wacky "Woody Allen/Gomer Pyle" performance by Donald Osborne. It is a small cast but excellent over-the-top performances by Kari Ginsburg in her Marilyn Monroe get-up; John Tweel as the one stage hit "has been"; Steven Lebens as the conniving devil in business attire; Craig Miller as the studio "force"; Leigh Anna Fry as the seductive "star driven" studio secretary; and James Finley as the fervent ex-husband "hunk". Bob Lavery also nicely manages the bit role of the Masseur. The whole cast is perfect in form and functioning to make this a most enjoyable stage production. The sets by Anndi Daleske were minimal but acceptable and the costumes by Rip Claassen were perfect. Kudos also goes to Steve Lada/Chuck Norris (?) for the superb fight choreography. Again, the script is clean and well suited for all family audiences. It is a highly recommended two hours of fun. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's a newer theater in town but Madcap Players is presenting a laugh riot comedy "CONSTANT STATE OF PANIC" (To 1/31) by Patrick Gabridge which is a don't miss in these times of earthquakes, severe weather and other theatrical mishaps. It is a story of a paranoic man who sees threats even from germs on water coolers in the office...the part is masterfully played by Paul McLane who has amazing comedy timing on stage. Equally adept at comedy is Tori Miller who plays a screamingly funny bible pusher as we only see her eyes through the letter drop slot and a tv newswoman whose life is spent in accusatory mania. The two actors engage in a all-hell's-loose roll around the floor combat that is screamingly a riot. Carleen R.Troy plays the confused wife and Aidan Hughes plays a government agent who too often swallow the end of their sentences or use the wrong word stress so they lose a lot of potential humor...but they do have dollops of "funniness" along the way. The story line is totally family clean and it reminds one of older comedies like "Seven Year Itch" or "The Tender Trap" that current audiences keep pleading for to get away from stage perversity. There is no doubt that director Gary Raymond Fry, Jr. is a magnificent director of comedy with so many funny details in turns of action or of script. Probably the award winner however are the set designers Beth Baldwin and Jon Boags who had to have characters appear on stage from unlikely places throughout the show. This is a highly recommended evening of fun in the theater...so often sorely missed on our stages. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"STICK FLY" (To 2/7) by Lydia R. Diamond, currently playing at the Arena Stage at Crystal City, is an enigma that left me more befuddled than entertained. The title gives no indication of the play's subject matter, the set designed by David Gallo tries to accomplish too much in too little space, and some very baffling directorial choices by Kenny Leon give this piece an ambivalent quality. The cast of Nikkole Salter, Amber Iman, Rosie Benton, Jason Dirden, Billy Eugene Jones and Wendell W. Wright perservere, but "Stick Fly" resembles a soap opera minus the steamy sex. The numerous revelations in Act One and the big news in Act Two are not satisfactorily resolved. "Stick Fly" just seems to run out of steam. It might have been interesting to see the two mothers who supplied the impetus for the play rather than being told about them. Costumes by Reggie Ray are spot on, Allen Lee Hughes successfully and seamlessly lights the various areas of the set, and the striking sound design by Timothy J. Thompson is most effective. Even so this play didn't work me. Ironically, what this play lacks is color. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
The Studio Theatre has opened one of Tarell Alvin McCraney's trilogy plays..."IN THE RED AND BROWN WATER" (To 2/14). There is an overriding theme of desperation throughout the play centered mostly on the main character's desire to have a baby regardless of total emotional costs. There are so many disparate overloadings of themes and frustrations from "winning races" to "winning against odds" that one simply concentrates on the lovely poetic writing which, of course, seems unsuited for the plotting for a low caste group. One sees aspects of Shakespeare, Greek tragedy and Saroyanism that hardly flow as a unified thread. The major weakness is the actors give stage directions out of character which hurts the legato of their speeches and emotions. Fortunately Deidra LaWan Starnes again gives an award winning performance as Aunt Elegua with her sexual innuendos deftly described and her flashy dance number that wowed the audience. Raushanah Simmons as the lead, Oya, just wasn't able to tie together all of her character's "strings" but then only a Eugene O'Neill trained actress could. Others in the cast that gave adequate renderings were Mark Hairston, Jahi A.Kearse, Yaegel T. Welch, Denise Diggs, Shaunte Corrina Tabb, Shannon Alexandria, Michael Harris, and Ricardo Frederick Evans. Director Serge Seiden managed finely balanced scenes in the round but a few speeches were not delivered by circular moving actors...a necessity. Shango's long description of the church meeting was totally lost to one side of the audience and the ending scene left most of the audience wondering what act of revenge did Oya perform. Reggie Ray reached a nadir with the costuming for this show. Any rewrite should consider dropping the idea of a stutterer becoming immediately fluent with an expression of love. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The most exciting thing about Classika's "THE SNOW QUEEN" (To 1/10) is that the director, Lilia Slavova, incorported some typical creativeness found in Synetic theater's fantastic stage story telling...the prancing horse with carriage, some superb dance routines by Irakli Kavsadze and stunning music design by Konstantine Lortkipanidze. The script deviates too much so it is extremely difficult to assess why things are happening to the boy and girl as they seek something (?) in their journey. The use of the puppets...other than the wonderful crow...is bothersome and cuts out some of the necessary reality of the script as well. Yet, June Schreiner performs beautifully with full emotional involvement as the young girl. The rest of the cast just present lines and Sean Pedersen particularly has too many pregnant pauses in his dialogues. The set by Phil Charlwood is wonderfully "fairy tale" and the costumes...particularly the Snow Queen's...is first rate in design with stunning details. The rest of the cast include Morgaine Gooding, Petko Kolev, Sarah Thomas and Alex Vernon. Again, the Classika shows are the best bargains in town. (Review by Bob Anthony)
*****
Join what many have made an annual tradition by seeing the "DISNEY ON ICE:LET'S CELEBRATE". You will find all of your favorite princesses and villains, and, of course, Mickey Mouse and his whole gang. Adults and children alike will find their favorite Disney stories ranging from Pinocchio, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, 101 Dalmatians...and many more, including the newest Disney favorite, The Princess and the Frog. To get a three dollar discount of your ticket purchase for 12/28 to 12/30 at the Wachovia Center in Philly, use the promotional code "Blog". (Reviewed by Stefi Rosinsky)
*****
Landless Theater is presenting the funniest parody yet of the classic "A Christmas Carol" with its riotous "A CHRISTMAS TWIST" at the DC/AC. (1/2). Combining characters from "Little Orphan Annie" and "Oliver Twist" with puppets and charades, this very funny cast gives one laugh after another until the tummy hurts. No doubt that the most talented comedian in the group is Matt Baughman as the crippled Tiny Twist who does so many pratfalls one is concerned about his safety. Additional suspense is offered in this variation as the workhouse owners are out to "wipe out" the conniving Twist for being such a sympathetic young boy...age 20! Other skilled actors include Amy Baughman, Omar LaTira, Lisa Burl, Stephen A. Grainger, Ally Jenkins and, of course, most reliable Matt Baughman as Scrooge. You will not see a funnier show until they produce this show again next Christmas time...hopefully with a longer run. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
One of my lifelong dreams has been to make the trek to NYC to see the RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL CHRISTMAS SHOW with the Rockettes, but, alas, I never have. However, thanks to the traveling show which more than adquately replicates the NYC version I can now say I have seen it. The Rockettes were nothing less than precision in motion. A favorite was the toy soldier dance that ends with the entire line falling in slow motion. How do they do that? Their bus trip around NYC was amazing and nostalgic. This was a perfect holiday show for young and old which included Santa and Mrs. Claus, elves, the conversion of a disbelieving child, the Nativity story, the Nutcracker, singers, and the fabulous Rockettes. What more could you ask for? This was the most enjoyable production and lets me check another item off my "bucket list". (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
Very funny comedienne Judy Gold is back in town and Theater J has got her! She is performing a somewhat-sequel of her previous show with "MOMMY QUEEREST- IT'S JEWDY'S SHOW!" (To 1/3) and a somewhat select audience was constantly in "stitches" as she punned and joked her way through pithy biographical comments on her early life as she towered over her shorter friends and her current life as a lesbian mother and stand-up comic. During the 90 minute show one only wished she would turn down the vocal volume which occasionally jarred. The slim script line was her attempt to develop and sell a "gay" tv comedy series and the best part of the show was her reviewing and commenting on some of the old comedies from "All in the Family" to "Welcome Back Kotter". Director Amanda Charlton provided excellent stage business for such a stand up routine and presented many back scrim pictures that added immensely in clarifying the script and contributing to the comedy. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"SANTALAND DIARIES"...the David Sedaris recreation of a holiday story...starred Robert Dorfman at Center Stage. (Run is over) He did an amazing job with a less than perfect satire about the nasty side of the Christmas spirit. The work, adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello, tells the tale of an elf working at Macy's in New York City. The Santas are not the Santas of one's dreams...or are they? Irene Lewis directed the production and the stage manager was Captain Kate Murphy. Robert Dorfman made this entire experience worthwhile...he is fantastic. It is only an hour long. Yes, you just may love it but you are certain to love Mr. Dorfman! (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
Lisner Auditorium at GWU was again the center of holiday joy as the huge troupe of "revelers" danced and pranced and sang about the "shortest day of the sun year" which just coincides with celebrations of the religions and non-religions of the world. Of course, we all know that the reason they all chose the solstice...it was to encourage one another group to join in the religious celebrations and then become membes of the respective faiths. So it was that the REVELS program always goes from adoration of the planetary systems to the manger in Bethlehem. This year the featured characters were Da Vinci and his Italian Renaissance friends. The staff and performers number over 200 in these productions so the top ones to thank for a very "tight" show this year were the artistic director, Roberta Gasbarre; the music director, Elizabeth Fulford Miller; the dance director and the wonderful actors, Oran Sandel, Morgan Duncan and Emma Jaster who kept the energy at full force to inspire the seasoned amateur company. Again Rosemary Pardee wins the technical trophy for the superb costumes that carried the audience into the middle of the 15th century. The music played with period instruments (Piffaro)was also a delight. Overall it was an awesome musical and dance production and one truly is proud of the multitude of performers and volunteers who yearly produce this spectacle as a work of holiday love. Yes, be assured that they will be around next December but realize that this is a full year task in producing the show so volunteers are always appreciated...men, women and children included. A good example in this 2009 production was the delightful Da Vinci "mechanical drum" that was built by the volunteer engineering student Albert Wavering of the University of Maryland. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The cover for The Washington Ballet's performance of "THE NUTCRACKER" (To 12/27) accurately calls it "Septime Webre's The Nutcracker". About all that is left of Tchaikovsky is the music, and that is canned and fairly uninteresting in texture and presentation. Instead, Webre has "reinvented" a classic Russian ballet to fit his own preoccupations. Tchaikovsky's original ballet was probably the most culturally diverse of the great 19th century ballet scores. The music has not been altered, but the choreography and costumes have been "corrected" to include abundant references to American Indians, and a few African-American faces appear among the dancers, though the Georgetown party scene set in 1882 includes no black servants. This is pandering of the most elegant and inoffensive variety, a litle safe jiggering of ballet history to push as many child dancers as possible onto the stage. This seems to be a production which grows steadily more and more elaborate, especially in its references to American history. The Georgetown party scene remains a constant, but what grows out of it has expanded. More and more animal costumes and animal heads have been added, and anyone who has seen the immensely charming film of the Royal Ballet version of "The Tales of Beatrix Potter" with Sir Frederick Ashton's choreography will realize immediately how lackluster most of the animal dancers are in Webre's "the Nutcracker". For Webre, mere rushing around on stage is often sufficient. There were certainly moments when the Washington Ballet's finest dancers shone, especially Jonathan Jordan, Jared Nelson or Maiki Onuki in tonight's performance. The sets were quite splendid in their opulence, and the costumes were equally elaborate, though more closely tied to various periods of American history except when virtually nude Anacostia Indians appeared to dance their doubtless "traditional" movements. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
There have been many all-girl productions of "THE ODD COUPLE" that seem to capture the humor of the piece, however Zemfira Stage's production of "A Tuna Christmas" (To 12/19) at the Lyceum in Alexandria falls too often to the "dud" level. It may have been that there were too many pauses as the actresses...without dressers...couldn't make the many character changes along with the male and female attire changes even though their female characters did manage to be stronger than the male characters throughout. Yes, there were a few spurts of funny business and delivery but they were too few and far between. And some scenes...like the waitress scene was so overspoken and screamed that the dialogue was totally incomprehensible....slow down, please!!! So be warned theater companies...only let Joe Sears and Jaston Williams ever perform this riotous look at Christmas in small town Texas. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Musical Program
Opera Lafayette presented one of the most surprising and dramatically overwhelming programs of the year with its sterling concert production of "ARMIDE" by Gluck. The story was almost a morality play about war and love played out by god-like sorcerers around the plight of the crusades. The concert hall at the Kennedy Center was SRO..thanks to Opera Lafayette's low prices...so thunderous applause came at curtain call and one can be certain that everyone opera lover there will mark this down as a top-of-the-list production. The singers were all divine...no pun intended. Dramatic soprano Dominique Labelle was outstanding in voice and dramatic emphases as Armide...she used every muscle in her body as she pushed forth amazing legato and the colorations of war and peace in her soul. Tenor William Burden was her foe and hypnotized lover and he portrayed a most sensitive matinee idol type. His voice was silky smooth except in the final scene where he had some unfortunate vocal gargling. Soprano Judith van Warnroij and mezzo Nathalie Paulin were matchless players relating the conflicts. Bass baritone William Sharp continued his beautiful operatic presentations as the demanding father. Lyric baritone Darren Perry and baritone Robert Getchell gave beautiful phasing and sounds in Act IV which they truly owned as their part of the opera. But it was the shocking "bulldozer" voice of Stephanie Hountzeel as Hate that stunned the audience with her glorious mezzo and in such dramatic fashion that hasn't been seen in opera since Maria Callas. Wow! Soprano Adria McCulloch added her lovely operatic range as the Naiad. There was much court dancing during the musical interludes by six dancers of the New York Baroque Dance Company that brought forth "oh's" and "ah's"...their period costumes and dancing were stunning. The Opera Lafayette chorus was well balanced in range and style throughout. A great joy came from the baton of conductor Ryan Brown who always kept the mostly string instruments in the time and place of France during Louis XVI's reign. The music by Gluck was most interesting as there was always a military beat underlying even the most romantic sections of the score. Yes, it was a perfect night of voice, music and dance. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Strathmore concert was advertised as a "Russian Evening with Leon Fleisher". In truth it was PIANIST LEON FLEISHER who drew the audience. At 78, Fleisher has become a legend in the Washington/Baltimore area. Compelled to learn the left-hand repertoire thoroughly when his right hand was disabled for many years, Fleisher gave a dazzling performance of the Prokofiev "Concerto for Piano (left hand) and Orchestra". Typically percussive but also with occasional deeply melodic passages, this is music which is "Russian" in a very 20th century manner though it does nothing to celebrate the strength of the Soviet people. After performing the Prokofiev concert, Fleisher graciously returned to the concert stage to play one encore...a very moving rendition of Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze". The entire concert hall became intensely still as the audience realized how rare it is for a guest soloist to offer an encore after a concerto. Although the Prokofiev piece had been slightly unfamiliar to many in the audience, the Bach brought an intense and immediate reaction. The concert had opened with a standard "short" piece, Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain" as re-orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov. This is a relatively early piece of Russian "classical" music completed originally in 1867. The National Philharmonic's performance of Tchaikovsky's "Symphony No. 6 in b minor" ("Pathetique") was one in which the extemes of the music were repeatedly exaggerated. Dimuendos from the strings were several times so intense the strings virtually disappeared. But the brass instruments blared forth with great strength whenever given an opportunity. For each set of intruments, it was as if there were only "on and off" buttons. Though this is very emotional music, it can also be music that often builds in a subtler manner to various peaks and climaxes. Perhaps conductor Piotr Gajewski intended his audience to remember that Tchaikovsky died nine days after the work's premiered in St. Petersburg on Octobe 28, 1893 and wanted a memorial atmophere. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
"I LOVE YOU, YOU'RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE" a musical tribute to love in celebration of this month's Valentine's Day is a great pick-me-up during these cold snowy winter evenings. The book and lyrics are by Jo DiPietro. Shawn Kettering directs this quartet of performers who describe the lifespan of love and then marriage relationships. Man meets woman, man dates woman, man marries woman, man grows old with woman. But what makes it all fun and interesting is the drama in-between. The music by Jimmy Roberts enchants with the jazzy, country, latin and popular songs that keep the show moving smoothly across the boards. Douglas Lawler is the musical director. Janine Sunday, Shawn Kettering, David James and Debra Buonaccorsi display their many talents as they perform the various roles from young to old age. This is a great show to enjoy with friends. This would be rated PG or R but it is still recommended as a fun evening out. So grab your date and call Toby's for tickets at this dinner theater in Columbia. Happy Valentine's Day to all. (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
LINDA EDER joined the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Jack Everly at the Strathmore Center for the Arts in a program billed as a tribute to Judy Garland. The BSO started the evening with overtures from three broadway shows directed/choreographed by Bob Fosse..."Sweet Charity", "Damn Yankees", and "Little Me" and ended with a medley of songs associated with Judy Garland. Ms. Eder appeared along with her trio featuring John Oddo on piano. Mr. Oddo was a long time accompanist for Rosie Clooney and is an absolute genius. Watching him made me wonder why there is no formal recognitions for the "unsung" accompanists. Ms. Eder sang some songs from Judy Garland's repertoire, a song written for but never performed by Ms. Garland: "Someone Like You" from "Jekyll and Hyde"; her hit "In Vienna" and "Over the Rainbow". Ms. Eder's voice is still probably one of the most beautiful voices around but she doesn't move me. Judy Garland made you believe because she sang the truth in the text and not just the notes. None of the arrangements or Ms. Eder's performance evoked Judy Garland for me. Even"Rainbow" replaced Yip Harburg's beautiful opening verse with "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows". This is a clever pairing for a cabaret act but not for a tribute to Judy Garland. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
"MAHALIA" (To 3/14) has returned to the MetroStage in Alexandria. Bernardine Mitchell portrays Mahalia Jackson while S. Renee Clark and William F. Hubbard are the other characters in her life. What is there to say about a piece that made such an impression on its initial run in 2004 since the production is basically the same. If you liked it then, you should like it now. If you ever saw Mahalia Jackson perform, this piece does little to evoke her majestic power or the sense that she was singing from her soul every time she opened her mouth. Some of the characters as played here come across more as cariacatures than real people. S. Renee Clark is a standout in acting and her piano playing. There are no real quibbles with this piece except that I didn't really learn anything substantive about Mahalia the woman and I wanted to be moved by the music and I was not. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
The BACH SINFONIA with Daniel Abraham as Music and Artistic Director in its 15th season presented its ninth annual Early Music Chamber Concert. "The Circa 1800"... Colin St. Martin (flute), Meg Owens (oboe), Richard Spece (clarinet), Anna March (Bassoon) and Paul Hopkins (horn) performed a program consisting of "Quintet in E flat Major" by Francesco Antonio Rosetti (1746-1792), "Quintet No.2 in d minor" by Guiseppe Maria Gioacchino Cambini (1746-1825) and "Quintet in E flat Major, Op. 88, No.2) by Antoine-Joseph Reicha (1770-1836). The music was all new to this reviewer but was a feast for the ear. After intermission, each musician gave a history of his/her instrument. This was fascinating to learn the evolution of these instruments. Bach Sinfonia does such a fantastic job with their programming that not only entertains but educates. I am a veritable cheerleader for this group and wonder why every seat at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College isn't filled for every presentation. I am doing everything I can to spread the word about this most deserving group. The next presentation is "Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Motets" (March 6) (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
It was a snowy evening in Washington and everyone patiently waited for the Kennedy Center to cancel its programs...but it didn't...so the Terrace Theater saw lots of empty seats for the Vocal Arts Society's program featuring lyric soprano MS. ANNA SCHWANEWILMS presenting her liederabend of Strauss and Mahler for which she has world acclaim. But that program could have been canceled as well as this soprano opened the evening with a comment that she was suffering from a cold and spent every break to sip water and violently clear her throat. The first half of the evening saw very poor vocal control with breaks in phrasing and legato and sharp shifts from the mezzo to the lyric and back down. She lacked any resonance even though the upper range was golden pure. German language sophisticates in the audience commented they had difficulty in following the German script as she dropped words and did substitutions the whole evening. It wasn't until after intermission that she had control of her material with the three songs of Ophelia from "Hamlet" which show dramatic intensity and more wholesome singing. Her projection was still inadequate but it was fine for those seated in the front of the house. One wonders how she manages her acclaimed Wagner since hers is not a powerfully projected voice. Perhaps she will some day perform in an opera in DC so one can judge her intensity and endurance. Needless to say, the audience wildly applauded her at the end of the concert so one wonders if it was her insistence on performing while under vocal duress and/or her "the show must go on" attitude. Throughout the recital Malcolm Martineau was a masterful accompanist with a great touch on the keys. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The EMBASSY SERIES presented a young Austrian pianist who now styles himself simply MATTHEUS (but was previously Matthias Soucek) in an all-Schubert concert two days before the actual birthday of Franz Schubert. There is absolutely no question that Soucek knows his Schubert well and performs it with attractive fire and dash even when pauses within a movement seem unnecessary and strong chords become excessive punctuation marks. Like his Austrian colleague Margarete Babinsky, Soucek likes his Schubert hearty rather than damaged. The advantage of Soucek's approach is that Schubert sounds more and more like the inevitable and fated intensely chromatic predecessor to Brahms (and even at times Chopin). The profound emotional depths which Sviatoslav Richter invariabley found in his Schubert rest quietly under the surface of Soucek's interpretations in which disturbing juxtapositions take the place of destiny gliding toward oblivion. Listening to Soucek perform Schubert is more like gliding along a very artfully designed country parkway with delightful vistas around every curve, tranquilizing pleasures eliminating any regret that a destination is sometimes not clearly known or a final unhappiness remains unanalyzed. Soucek opened his concert with the "Three Impromptus (D 946): and closed with the "Sonatas in A (D959)". These were played with Soucek's characteristic admirable technique. In between was sandwiched the most intriguing part of the program, "Homage to Franz Schubert", one of the series of improvisions that Soucek has been devising in recent years from the most famous melodies of several important composers. Although modern concert audiences are likely to have forgotten the Bach-Busoni compositions (Bach on steroids) that once dazzled concert audiences, or the 19th century affection for series of variations built atop simple melodies of other composers, the ability to "compose" rather than merely perform suggests that Soucek's innate musical talents are so considerable he has not yet entirely matured into the impressive pianist he will finally become. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
It was a full house at the GMU Center for the Arts for the musical program "HANDS ACROSS THE SEA" and its subtitle tells it all: "Band of Irish Guards and the Pipes, Drum and Highland Dancers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland". And, looking at the audience, there was no doubt that most ancestries of the British Isles were represented. The pre-concert lecture was most interesting as one discovered how much the brass buttons indicated different groups and the lecturers told the story of the "bearskin" hats which are so heavy that necks suffer if pageants and parades are too long in time. It was also noted that young teenaged males may enter the army to enter the musical programs. The presentation at GMU was adapted for the stage (usually open fields are the venue) and it was amazingly effective as the bands did intricate marching while playing. Of course, the bagpipes offered the most charm playing representational British melodies but it was the drummers that offered the excitement as they twirled their sticks in intricate patterns in their solo passages. It was a rousing two hours that left everyone in joyful mood. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The In-Series comes through with a most delightful program at the Atlas Theater ("WAM"...Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (To 1/30) with a superb opera/dance combination performed to the music and operas of the musical genius. The dancing was provided by the Washington Ballet Studio Company which proved that a fine group of young dancers is being prepared for futures in ballet. One was amazed at the precision dancing and emotional involvement these young dancers showed during the two hour program. The evening started and ended with a solo by Jong-Suk that was absolutely thrilling and predictive of major roles for this young man. Throughout the evening the dancing got better and better as the young ladies showed sustained arabesques and fouettes indispersed with amazingly lyrical movements that brought forth hearty audience applause. The six singers accomplished fine singing of Mozartian opera snippets although mezzo Anamer Castrello again outshone the others as she started and ended solidly especially in her arias. The others had some weak phrasing and weak legato although they all seemed improved in the second act. The show was perfectly staged by Septime Webre and David Palmer with additional choreography by Jared Nelson especially the latter's "London Hats". The house was nearly full and one wondered where everyone parked along H Street, N.E. which is in need of a city parking garage. But this is a solid two hours of dance and opera that is highly recommended. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Conductor Gunther Herbig, originally from East Germany before he come to the United States in 1984, oversaw a defiant and tightly-strung rendition of Beethoven's "Coriolan Overture". Obviously for Herbig, Beethoven is simply mother's milk...a tradition in which he has been steeped from birth. Pianist Garrick Ohlsson performed the solo part for Bethoven's "Piano Concerto No. 3 in c minor". Here perhaps doubts began to creep in as, despite Ohlsson's obvious technical ability, there were moments when the music appeared to dissolve into incoherent pyrotechnics. If one were to attempt to assemble a list of the twenty five living concert pianists, it is doubtful that Ohlsson's name would appear on the list. And herein must lie a story as the crowding talents of other younger pianists now dazzle in concert halls around the world. In Washington where the steady talents of Till Felner have now impressed Beethoven audiences at both the National Gallery of Art and the Austrian Embassy, Beethoven with a defined message and clear emotional development impresses more than the Beethoven of various magnificent passages. The showpiece of the evening was the Schumann symphony. A large orchestra performed a piece which puzzled its earliest audiences because it did not follow "strict" protocol for the development and recapitulations of themes. But after the massive subsequent symphonies of Mahler and other composers, Schumann appears almost restrained. Tonight the brass section especially was impressive...not because it dominated the concert hall but because it was perfectly blended so that individual musicians did not stand out. There was at times an autumnal eloquence which, of course, suggested Brahams not surprising given the strong ties between Brahms and both Schumanns. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
Debby Boone proved to be a solid all around entertainer and not just a one-hit wonder with her "REFLECTIONS OF ROSEMARY" at the Strathmore to an undeserved small audience as she presented a major talent of singing and repartee to most appreciative lovers of jazz, country, crooned, and word-scat music. Her backup quintet, led by musical director John Oddo who arranged for her mother-in-law Rosemary Clooney, was exceptional especially the sax and trumpet players. Therefore when she sang parsing Rosemary's smooth quality and perfect phrasing one could close one's eyes and remember the lady's greatness. But she also included songs bringing forth the likenesses of friends Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, grandfather Red Foley et al. In fact, her top song was the country spiritual "Peace in the Valley" done with a vocal wonderment. Of course, her encore was the expected "You light up my life" that ended the evening with a stand up, deserved ovation. Physically she appeared years younger in appearance that denied her middle age and she was wearing a gorgeous black Edith Head full length sequined dress given to her by Rosemary that made women jealous and men ogle throughout the 80 minute show. Definitely put her on your calendar for any future shows in the area. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Sometimes one finds the greatest musical talents in "off major concert hall" venues. So, it was true at the AUSTRIAN EMBASSY with the outstanding presentation of classical music by violinist Tibor Kovac, pianist Lambert Orkis and cellist David Hardy. It was sponsored by the American-Austrian Cultural Society in cooperation with the Embassy of Austria. So, it was not unusual to highlight the outstanding violinist, Tibor Kovac, a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. His most outstanding playing came with his fantastic combined bowing and plucking during the "Carmen Fantasy" by Pablo de Sarasate. He used controlled violence to his bowing which brought forth every ounce of passion to the music. His was genius playing! The program opened with Mozart's "Piano Trio in B Flat Major" which was typically delightful Mozartian but with a amazingly romantic second movement played with tenderness by Mr. Kovac as well as Mr. Orkis and David Hardy. Brahms followed with his "Sonata for Piano and Violin in A Major" which again had a most sensuous second movement with brushes of lullabies. The second part of the program was the "Carmen" followed by Mendelssohn's "Piano Trio in d minor" which highlighted the fine piano playing of Mr. Orkis and cello playing by David Hardy...especially the violent fourth movement with their hand movements in such speed mode that they defined innervation. The encore was a short but wonderful Haydn. It was truly a memorable evening of fine playing. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
As presented by the Folger Consort at Washington National Cathedral, the "MONTEVERDI VESPERS" became an intense experience, particularly for those fortunate members of the audience sitting near the musicians and singers. The lengthy program notes explained a number of important "editorial" choices made by Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall. First, the 14 musicians were using "early" instruments which gave a sound quality that was distinctive. The cornettos, in particular, like tiny trumpets gave a high-pitched brass sound. Second, the ten singers were a much smaller chorus than many performances of this work employ. For instance, when Robert Shafer presented the "Vespers" at Strathmore in April 2008, four separate choral groups were massed to make an impression. The Folger Consort's concept was entirely different and, as a result, the musical parts were essentially wrapped around each other. Third, Eisenstein and Kendall rearranged slightly the sequence of pieces to be performed using the "Psalms of Monteverdi", but interspersing among them various "Sacred Songs" that were published with the "Vespers" themselves. Fourth, an impressive "Canzona" of Giovanni Gabrieli was inserted before the concluding "Magnificat". This worked very well as the piece overall was swelling towards the ultimate ardent words of Mary. The work was performed without an intermission which added to its intensity. It became less a concert and more a religious experience which was certainly the original intention of its composer. Visually, Eisenstein and Kendall used different numbers of musician or singers at times and a precise choreography had been developed to let performers move forward and backward. Several times, singers or musicians turned around to mute their sounds slightly or performed from new locations. This amount of movement helped to keep the audience alert. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The Choral Arts Society under the direction of Norman Scribner presented the 22nd ANNUAL CHORAL TRIBUTE TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. at the Kennedy Center in a program that included some glorious singing and a presentation to Charlayne Hunter-Gault of the 2010 Humanitarian Award. The Choral Arts was joined in the opening processional, "We Are Marching to Zion", by the Heritage Signature Chorale (Stanley J. Thurston, Music Director), the Suitland High School for the Visual and Performing Arts Chamber Choir (Kenneth Boucher, Music Director), and Ralph Alan Herndon and Friends. The first half of the program included performances by each of the groups. The standout was a colorful rendition of "Kalinda" sung by the Chamber Choir complete with colorful scarves. After intermission, John Seigenthaler made the presentation to Ms. Hunter-Gault who was gracious and eloquent in her acceptance. Also, in the second half of the program the choirs combined creating a beautiful tableau of the manifestation of Dr. King's Dream. the evening ended with the choirs and audience singing "If I Can Help Sombody" and we exited feeling inspired and hopeful. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
"YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN", the Mel Brooks musical is in town at the Hippodrome in Baltimore. (To 1/24). This old fashioned song and dance musical keeps you laughing while your feet are tap tap tapping. Susan Stroman directed and choreographed this wonderful production that lightens us during this frigid winter. Roger Bart leads an outstanding cast that plays to the audience with eyes rolling and humps moving as the actors frolic across the boards. Transylvania comes alive after Dr. Frankenstein dies. His nephew, young Dr. Frankenstein, returns to the family home to settle his uncle's estate and is soon intrigued by the work left behind. The original Mel Brooks film is reincarnated by some comical performances especially those by Cory English who plays Igor and Joanna Glushak who plays Frau Blucher. Beth Curry plays the rich and nasty fiance of the young Dr. Frankenstein. Anna Horack plays the beautiful and naive Inga. Shuler Hensley is the monster. He is scary at first but soon adorable and quite lovable at the end. This is a DO NOT MISS! Call the Hippodrome for tickets today. (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
The special programming at the Strathmore mansion of rising young artists had a powerhouse performer with jazz singer LENA SEIKALY who sang well beyond the scheduled one hour but no one cared as she was so divine. She has a self assured personality that adds to her complex jazz singing and she probably has the best "scatting" since Sarah Vaughn. Her soft numbers were closer to Shirley Horn and her spicy-hot numbers closer to Tania Maria. Her trio for the evening was exceptional in following her vocal improvisations. It included Nathan Lincoln-Decusatis on piano and Tom Baldwin on bass...both were expert in their solo rifts. And Dominic Smith on drums was consistent in his percussive support. It was a sold out music room at the Strathmore and Ms. Seikaly will be singing at brunch there on 1/24 and she will give another full performance on 1/27. Her upcoming programs are highly recommended and we hope that all readers who love solid jazz can get tickets! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
A major star was born in the person of mezzo Kendall Gladen as Carmen in the National Philharmonic's concert version of the very popular French opera. She used every muscle in her body and voice for an outstanding performance of this Spanish cigarette factory girl. Her mezzo was bold with wonderful smoky sounds in the lower register that gave sexual "goosebumps" to listeners at the totally filled Strathmore. (Nicely children are admitted free with adults thanks to The Gazette). The orchestra was superbly conducted by Piotr Gajewski with a wonderful balance of each section and the harpist was outstanding. The other singers all had slight faults. Theresa Santiago (Micaela) has a lovely lyrical voice but it was difficult to find any emotional content. Tenor Daniel Snyder (Don Jose) was too emotionally involved particularly in the last scene so he lost control of his hearty tenor too often with gurgles and inconsistent tessitora. Bass Dean Elzinga (Escamilo) scraped bottom too often and he had vocalic tremors...one wonders why he doesn't shift to a baritone range. James Shaffran (Zuniga) did well in a small role. The substantial male and female choruses did extremely well with vocal support. It was a surprising (I thought it would only be selections from the opera) evening but extremely well delivered...the National Philharmonic should have more such concert operas. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
If you never see another show again, make "Wicked" the last one you see...you won't regret it. Now playing at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia (To 1/24) it is the phenomenal Broadway show. Not a moment goes by that leaves the viewer wondering how and when it will end but only questions of "what will happen next:" Come view this story of the two witches from "The Wizard of Oz"...Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. The music is sensational, the costumes and set are genuine works of art and the plot unpredictable yet satisfying. This show is definitely worth seeing again and again! (Reviewed by Stephanie Rosinsky)
*****
The Armonia Nova's yearly "Twelfth Night" program is probably the most relaxing and meaningful musical program during the Christmastide as, with quiet music and old instruments, the group tells the no-frills story of the Christmas story of the birth of the Babe and its constrastive religious implications. This year at the historic Christ Church in Old Town Alexandria, two musicians and two singers inspired with 13th and 14th Century songs in olde English, French and German and especially impressive was the quiet lullabye of "Lullay, lullay: Als I lay on Yoolis night." It was the selection that the clear alto of Majorie Bunday and "smoky" mezzo of Allison Mandel blended to perfection to tell the story of the angel Gabriel's exclamation of the birth of the Christ child. The earlier century's musical instruments played by Contance Whiteside and Douglas Walters gave gentle string support that chilled. Forget the venality of stressed shopping and unrewarding gift giving next Christmas season and just wait for the Armonia Nova's "Twelfth Night" to fulfill the appropriate joyous and all encompassing celebration of the nativity. This Armonia Nova group also has other programs scheduled during the year that features classic and historical music from the music pages of previous centuries. Check them out! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It was such a wonderful experience to finally review a production of "Rent" (I tried four times) (To 1/17) in which all of the lyrics and recitative could be clearly articulated probably because wonderful musical director Aaron Broderick didn't try to outdrown the singers and was place upstage. This production is spectacular and a real coup for directors Mark Rhea and Susan Marie Rhea who prove that a large cast can be moved around with continuing focus on the story line. All of the cast members could also be credited with fantastic voices and the only errors noted were some entrance slips in the intervocal chorale sections. Parker Drown as transvestite Angel garnered the greatest audience applause for his show stopping numbers...and he deserved it. Juan Carlos Sanchez truly impressed with his wonderfully balanced baritone and his subtextual acting. Emily Levey probably had the finest voice of the evening which was bell-like throughout with wonderfully smooth chord shifts. Katie McManus as JoAnne and Weslie Woodley as Maureen had great wonderful comic interplay underlying their fine singing. And John Loughney as Mark the narrator easily controlled the stage and story line in near perfection. His voice was sometimes hypernasal so one hopes he works on it as his better sound placement was more sonorous. Even though this is a "must see" production of this Jonathan Larson first and greatest hit musical, I still object to its being compared to "La Boheme". Granted it is done in fine recitative operatic style with arias but the story line begs in its comparison to the great opera. Only two melodies and an occasional libretto tidbit can be discerned. And the rhymes are fit for derision...e.g. "who do you think you are...leaving me with only my guitar" at the death of Mimi. Others in this fine cast are MaryLee Adams, Shayna Blass, Mickey Daguiso, Edward Daniels, Julia Fanning, Nick Lehan, Christopher Mueller, Carolyn Myers, Michael Robinson, Christina Sanchez, and Dan Van Why. The Sunday night show was a s.r.o. so get your tickets immediately for this hopefully award winning production for Keegan theater. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"Black Nativity" (To 1/3) is an incomparably wonderful experience filled with sterling gospel music by a mixed vocal group of 13 singing actors...and a real baby (Jesus) makes it a cast of 14. The first act of the show is a recreation of the birth of the babe in a manger followed by a second act of more familiar gospel songs with heartfelt belting in solos and groups with imitated Mahalia to the Blind Boys of Alabama. Sometimes the full choral numbers hit some off-key phrases as some of the singers, mostly the women, jumped chords with their zestful singing. And the senior "reverend" turned raspy too often...but it simply allowed the uncontrolled but wonderful emotion to come through. This group is so dramatically unified that they should consider group tours around the USA and the world. They would be wonderful good will ambassadors! The group consisted of Avalon Bobb-Brown, Betty A. Carter, Korey Dean, Angel DeJesus, Lulu Fall, Buttercup Johnson, Jasmin Johnson, Don Jones, Charles I. McCollough, David North, Darci Michele Perkins-Peterson, Robert E. Person and Rodni Williams. The show was beautifully directed by Stephawn Stephens with music by Derrick Anderson (keyboard), Jerry Phillips (bass) and Timothy Jones (drums). Only one more week to enjoy this wonderful joy of the holiday season! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Even though it took an exta 45 minutes to navigate home through a driving snowstorm, NATALIE MACMASTER delivered a concert at the GMU Center for the Arts that made it worth the trip. Giving us a taste of Christmas in Cape Breton, MacMaster and her four-piece ensemble treated us to stories, songs and dances learned in her childhood. There were stories of her early years recorded by her mother and it was evident that her young daughter has inherited the gift when she was carried onstage to briefly shake a very rhythmic rattle. The dancing by MacMaster and her piano player, MacMorin "was the best part of her show; I wonder who thought of that". (She told the audience to put this on her website because the dance was her mother's idea). Impeccable fiddling and dancing are the highlights of MacMaster's concerts but her down-to-earth manner is endearing. John Chiasson, bass, has a beautiful voice and gave a moving rendition of "The Christmas Song". Cathy Porter, percussionist, added to the fun and relaxed nature of the performance. Sorry to say that I don't have the name of the cellist who was amazing. He is from Branson, the only non-Canadian in the group. It was a fantastic concert and we were loath to leave even after the fabulous encore. If you missed this concert, MacMaster will be back at GMU on February 27th with her husband, Donnell Leahy, another fabulous fiddler. (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)
*****
METROPOLITAN SIMULCASTS 2009-2010
I can honestly say that this current Met-simulcast production of "Carmen"has been the most exciting and passionate one I have ever seen in a lifetime of opera going. The singing...as well as the acting...was faultless and the first time that the tragic flaws in both Carmen and Don Jose were balanced. Elena Garanca had a perfect mezzo throughout and her body writhed in sensuality with piercing eyes (thanks to simulcast close-ups) that foreshadowed all of the growing tragic elements in the storyline. Tenor Roberto Alagna never held back on his emotions and his switching to vocal pianissimo was chilling. His range seems to grow with every performance...or perhaps he had previously just held back. Teddy Tahu Rhodes replaced an ailing baritone and he had wonderful body posture and prancing and gave a wondrous voice to the bullfighter. He occasionally scrapped the bottom of his range but it only caused a slight roughness only evident by close listening. Bravo for his stepping into the role with only a four hour notice. Barbara Frittoli was a little too old for the young Micaela but her voice had the vibrancy of youth yet. The second most amazing performance after the leads was the superior conducting by Yannick Nezet-Seguin (thanks again to close up of the orchestra with simulcast). His emotional approach to the libretto exceeded even that for the orchestration. He seemed to have them both completely memorized and one was never aware of any attempt to drown out the singers...so often the fault of most conductors. Stage director Richard Eyre proves himself most creative in opera productions as in the past. This time he added some storyline ballets for the entrances into the four acts that were stunning. And his crowd scenes were superb although one questions the children's chorus in the tavern scene...it took away the "seediness" that usually added to that atmosphere. By the way, Ms. Garanca proved to be an excellent flamenco dancer in that scene... with full force...but it didn't seem to affect her breathing for singing...a most unusual participation for mezzos doing the role. Again, the audience response confirmed that this was the operatic performance of the current century. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Richard Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" completely captivated the simulcast audience with its wonderful waltz-like phrases throughout. The story line was very weak and it was difficult to "suspend disbelief" particularly in the opening bedroom scene with Renee Fleming as the Marschallin and Susan Graham in the trouser role of Octavian. The two singers are long time personal friends and they took too much pleasure in the interplay...so one wondered when they would foreshadow conflicts that were to come...and they never did. It should be stated that all of the voices were excellent for the whole cast...not a single complaint along those lines. Kristinn Sigmundsson wins the prize for the best acting...particularly the comic acting...as his plotting was foiled and he ended up an outcast. The set and, especially, the costumes were perfectly extravagant so that one easily slipped into time and place of Vienna during the reign of Empress Maria Teresa. The final scene of the opera as the three leading ladies resolve their love affairs is definitely the most romantic and poignant scene in any opera...and perfectly sung in this production. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"TURANDOT" by the Met is an outstanding production. It is first class "grand" opera and Franco Zeffirelli's production totally thrills although it is so huge that the love stories in the plot often are given minor consideration with the grandeur of the piece...thank heavens he doesn't produce an opera with less characters on stage. So most of the singers were overwhelmed by the large production and only Marina Poplavskaya managed to modulate the intensity of her singing for true emotional effect. She is certainly a newcomer who should reach the top very quickly with her felt emotion and her superb range that is always used most effectively. Otherwise Pang (singer not named in the program) had the best legato with a wonderful tonal quality that thrilled. Of the other leads, Marcello Giordani seemed nervous so that he had too many hesitancies especially as he entered "Nessum dorma" although he very nicely finished the aria and show complete power until the final curtain. Samuel Ramey should really quit singing as his is a constant tremolo that disturbs one listening to it. Maria Guleghina had a wonderfully strong voice but she lacked nuance and her epiphany in the third act was too strongly acted and sung...please give us some softer submissive tones. She also had trouble with her lower range throughout with noticeable garbled phrases. Again, even though each Met simulcast is a sell out right now, beg ...borrow...or steal to catch one of the forthcoming simulcasts. Some of the technicals...like shooting scenes from the light grid gives one thrills from above that are not available to the Met seated audience. These are bargain prices and one enjoys the excitement of being seated in the New York Met venue. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Met came through with a powerfully effective grand opera 'AIDA' as appreciated roundly by the audience at the simulcast. It is recommended that all lovers of opera try to catch the re-broadcast. The settings were powerful; the voices were powerful; the direction was powerful; and the music under conductor Daniele Gatti was totally captivating. This most popular opera with Verdi's music nicely carried the listeners back to ancient Egypt with its romantic and political messages of the day. Mezzo Dolora Zajick as Amneris easily topped the other leads with her powerful singing as the Pharoah's daughter who must bear an unrequited love. Watching her breathing technique was a gem in her performance...which should be noted by all aspiring singers. She also managed to move from a conniver into a most empathic character by the end of the opera with her excellent dramatic flair. Usually a mezzo, Violeta Urmana tried a lyric soprano but she retained the beautiful coloration of a mezzo when she used the bottom of her range so that one would encourage her to consider continuing with mezzo roles. Her covered sounds which gave dramatic quality to the role were outstandingly pure and velvety. Johan Botha as Radames started off with some temolo but then moved into wonderful bel canto for the rest of his stirring performance. Carlo Guelfi was disappointing as the king/father with choppy voicing at first but he did come through with smoother voicing and finer acting later in the opera. There was one negative in the production...the choreography by Alexei Ratmansky was totally out of place as it was reflective of no Egyptian qualities but was more attuned to "Swan Lake" balletic movements with its jetes and turns. This is one of the finest grand opera productions ever seen by this critic. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The visible flaws of Luc Bondy's Met Opera's production of Puccini's "TOSCA" were amply outweighed by the emotional strength and vocal firepower of the three lead singers. Karita Mattila was an "ultimate" Tosca, Marcelo Alvarez was equally an "ultimate" Cavadarossi, and George Gagnidze was surely the "ultimate" Scarpia. With singing like this, the rather lackluster sets and vulgar touches which Bondy apparently cannot resist could not be overlooked. When Alvarez began "Recondita Armonia", the audience could settle back knowing that an afternoon of world-class singing lay ahead. Puccini's music is Wagnerian in its use of themes for the lead personalities, especially the evil Scarpia. Gagnidze dropped into his part like a statanic angel lapsing from grace with twisting eyes and a mouth that anticipated lurid inducements to lust or the satisfaction of dense sado-masochistic impulses. The three prostitutes in Scarpia's suite at the begining of Act II were unnecessary exaggerations of ideas already firmly planted at the end of Act I during the "Te Deum" scene. Subtlety, though, is not a strength of Bondy's directing sensibilities. "Tosca" is an opera of such extravagantly appropriate music that the background sets are like an additional layer of costumes. But the concept behind the sets for this production was invariably confused. For an opera set during the Napoleonic period, a cheap wooden American rocking chair from the 1930's was out of place in Scarpia's office. The totalitarian sensibilities of Scarpia hardly needed to be developed inside the rather fascist overblown architecture of Act II...one enormous room with two plush sofas for Scarpia's compliant maidens and a padded door hiding the bloodstained cell in which Scarpia's torturers could prepare prisoners for certain execution. The set for Act I was a curiosity...immensely high walls of Roman brickwork with not a single bit of marble in evidence. The large painting of a bare-breasted Mary Magdalene which Cavararossi was working on looked suspiciously like a portrait by the Russian painter, Nicolai Fechin, from the 1920-30's. Though sets and costumes underlined the themes Bondy wished to pull to the surface, Puccini's music does far more to stage and develop those themes. Directors like Bondy need to be restained lest they put their fingerprints all over core works in the theatrical or operatic repertoire. This said, the "Ted Deum" scene was breathtaking...one lavish moment in darkness. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
Reviews Done Out of Town
It was a comfortable balmy time in Houston to review some arts while the Northeast was being covered with snow and ice. The best art show in town was at the Houston Museum of Natural Science with the "Faberge: Imperial Jeweler to the Tsars" (To 4/4) Having seen the many imperial collections in European capitals, one has never encountered the shattering glory of light being reflected out from the Empress Josephine Tiara! But also in this exhibit is the Nobel Ice Egg made in shimmering shades of white as requested by the Swedish industrialist. The usual inside "surprise" was a rock crystal and diamond pendant watch. And there were dozens of earrings and cigarette cases, etc. with small diamonds and rubies that seemed impossible to grind down to be so perfectly matched. The Menil Colllection had two fine shows. "Body in Fragments" (To 2/28) is a small but well curated show with the top piece being Magritte's "The Eternally Obvious" which had a divided body (head to foot) in typically surrealistic manner. Also there is early 20th century's Joaquin Torres-Garcia with wonderful "Abstractions with Wood" which also includes samples of manufactured wooden toys for children during the artist's lifetime. The Alley Theater again comes through with a most delightful "A Christmas Carol- A Ghost Story of Christmas" which is a lot more spookier than usual productions of this classic but well balanced by a wonderful comic portrayal of Scrooge by Jeffrey Bean. Through all of his haranguing about the holiday, there is always a "pussycat" undertone that is a sheer delight. This year is the "end of career" for Bettye Fitzpatrick whose "Christmas Past" can never be replaced as it has been a most unique portrayal for this retiring actress after 50 years with the Alley. "The Christmas Revels" this year did the medieval celebration with its delightful costumes and presentation that was full of time and place for the audience. The highlights of this year's production was the Anglian Minstrels with Abby Green (voice/percussion), Brady Lanier (viola de Gamba), Nikola Radan (recorders), and Slobodan Vujisic (lutes). Mr. Radan got most positive response to his solos with his fine fingering...at one point he played the small recorder through his nostril which delighted the crowd. Larry Pisoni again proves to be the best American fool (clown) performing on our stages...he had the audience "eating out of his hands" throughout. And, overall, the city of Houston is well lighted with holiday cheer abounding. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Six rainy days did not stop this critic from reviewing seven museums and the Whirling Dervishes in ISTANBUL. The finest newer museums are the Museum of Modern Art and the Sakip Sabanci Museum. The MOMA is situated in an old warehouse near the wharf where one can see the large cruise ships. The interior is a perfect venue for abstract and minimalist art as it has steel frames abounding and a metal staircase. Currently it has a Sarkis:"Site" exhibit(To 1/10) which shows the artist's work over a 50 year period. The artist presents poster-like full wall scenes which the artist calls a "rendezvous exhibit" for his installations. The permanent collection is composed of mostly 20th century Turkish artists whose work is surprisingly derivative of art trends in Europe and the West. The SAKIP SABANCI MUSEUM is a strikingly beautiful modern museum attached to the Victorian home of Sakip Sabanci on a lovely terrace near the university. The museum currently has the work of Joseph Beuys and his students. There are photographics as well as paintings which are primarily minimalist...yes, some look like the artists may have still had a kindergarden innocence. Some of the permanent collection show color blocks like Modrian. The residence is also open for visitors and it has art objects from Sevre pieces to antique Japanese and Chinese pieces...it is totally breathtaking. And the photos suggest that it was always the place in Turkey for heads of state. The ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM is not to be missed...particularly if one is interested in Roman and Greek antiquity...there is a wonderful collection of sarcophagi from early times...the most impressive is the Alexander and the Crying women sarcophagi. In one gallery there is the recreation of the Trojan horse which is outstanding. Also there is a separate museum of Oriental art as well as a fine collection of Turkish tiles in a separate home which is the oldest home to be found in the Old City. In the same area is the Topkapi museum which defies one's previous concept of extravagance...gold and jewels cover everything from swords to whole rooms. Also Mohammed's beard and one tooth are encased in gold cases. But the most spectacular is the Circumcision room that is awesome with some of the most beautiful tile work ever imagined. (This one is not to be missed). Around the corner is the St. Sophia huge cathedral. It still has remnants of the Ottomans' taste but the building has gone through Christian then Moslem design and now it is being renovated as a Christian museum piece. At the base of the hillside is the famous CISTERN that held the water for the city as it flowed from Bulgaria. It is an architectual wonder in a underground caves but Roman and Greek arches make it most fascinating. In the same area on No.4 and No. 28 along the hillside wall are father and daughter art galleries with fantastic Turkish paintings...the most impressive being of the dervishes. The WHIRLING DERVISH show is somewhat suspect as it takes place in a round cave like structure....so is it show biz? The dancing men don't really seem to be in a hypnotic state as expected but the audience gave no applause at the end of the show so almost all of the audience apparently accepted it as a religious Sufi rite. One last word...the Turkish people are the most pleasant people in the world who greet visitors with excitement and always have the tea pot ready to share their drinks...mostly apple tea which is very, very tasty. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The art scene in Miami gets better and better with each passing year. On this short holiday weekend trip, one stage show and two museums were reviewed and all three get top ratings. The Actors' Playhouse in Coral Gables has a totally delightful show to please the pre-baby boomers as four very talented actresses, "THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES"(To 11/1) , donned appropriate dress and vocal power to present those old favorite songs of the 50's and 60's. The stage was set like a prom night with balloons with a "queen of the prom" to be elected by the audience. Amy Miller Brennan, Tiana Checchia, Julie Kleiner and Lisa Manuli cajoled with one another in high school fashion and all managed to belt out the oldies but goodies from the singing stars of the era from The Maguire Sisters to Patti Page and songs from "Mr Sandman" to "It's My Party". Oh, my, the memories that it brought back to the mostly senior audience!...a wonderful remembrance of budding lovers past! Director David Arisco gave plenty of playful business to keep the evening bouncing along. The musical has had a long run off Broadway and this Miracle Theater is the first regional theater to be given the rights to the show. So take your present lover (wife or husband) to see this supreme show as you both can dream of past lovers and confirm that maybe you made the "right choice" for life partner. The LOWE MUSEUM at the University of Miami has over 17,500 pieces of art of which 4,000 are prints...using the techniques of engraving, drypoint and mezzotint. Currently they had a group of art students at the university select a dozen plus of these works showing "Trends and Techniques". Some of the more famous ones are by Dali and Picasso but the most startling one is a portrait by Thomas Frye (18th century) who managed to give three dimensional effects using mezzotint. This museum is small but it has a wonderful varied collection from the old masters to current minimalist. It also has an outstanding contemporary glass collection in its Palley Pavilion. The FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S FROST ART MUSEUM is surrounded by dozens of lawn sculptures and is a gorgeous inside museum with large galleries with lots of natural light with so many wall windows. Currently they have a most impressive collection "The Missing Piece: Artists Consider Dalai Lama" from huge buddhas to audio visuals regarding yoga and other "contentment" monologues...one by the Dalai Lama. It is all so effective as it primes one when leaving the exhibit to appreciate "love and peace" that should exist in all of humanity. So it completes it message for the viewer. The museum's permanent collection is mostly abstract and minimalist with few figuratives. But this Dalai Lama is explosively effective in covering its theme. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Arrivaderci Roma! And a permanent goodbye to this graffiti capital of the world! I can't believe the city fathers cannot get the citizens to clean up their city...it is most disgusting tourist city in the world. And the transportation through the city is totally complicated regarding the metro and the bus system. And taxis...even though one insists on their turning on their meters...the drivers manage some excuse to double the fares. So it is recommended that one take organized tours since the private buses will make the rounds most effective and relaxing. However, there are still some great museums throughout the city expecially the Vatican and don't forget to see the art museum under the Sistine Chapel where artists from around the world have sent contributions to the Church of Rome. On this trip, I only managed to catch the Capitolini which is a fantastic archeological museum with art objects mostly contributed by Pope Innocent X...famous statues of Roman gods and goddesses in dress and undress. One gets the feeling that lots of hanky panky went on at the Papal residence which resulted in his being removed as pope...his reign started the word "nepotism" as he appointed so many members of his family to official positions. Currently there is a fantastic modern jewelry collection on display, "Oro di Roma" (To 10/11) , that is simply stunning. A second museum visited was the Galleria Doria Pamphilj ...a mansion of which half is still the home of the relatives of Pope Innocent X. The place is spectacular in design with every wall in every room filled with masterpiece paintings from Italian masters to Dutch masters. The most famous piece is the portrait of Innocent X by Velasquez. But there are also scenes by Guercino (means the squinter since he had eye problems) , Caracci, the Brueghels...and in the chapel one can find the mummified body of St. Theodora under glass ( a typical relic found in many major mansions). It was interesting to see children and dogs playing in the living quarters of this galleria. Of course, churches and cathedrals throughout Rome have wall paintings by famous old Italian masters. The one operatic evening attended was the I Solisti del Opera at the All Saints Episcopal Church in the area of the popolo. Soprano Marina Di Marco, tenor Marco Bianchi, baritone Clemente Frangiosi and mezzo Caterina Novak sang arias from most major Italian and French operas. Ms. Di Marco presented the finest La Traviata I have ever heard....her voice was liquid honey and her coloratura frills were divine. Mr. Frangiosi suggested the best future with his handsome looks and stunning baritone. Mr. Bianchi pushed his voice too hard so sometimes slid off key but he had a magnificent range. Miss Caterina Novak gave the best stage appearance but had ordinary voice with weakened end phrases. The string ensemble was superb throughout.
As negative as Rome was for this traveler, the Chieti region of Italy offers superb wines, excellent cuisine (too much at times) and delightful and helpful people who love tourists. The top sites visited were religious. The Holy Face Sanctuary in Manoppello had a cloth with Christ's face imprinted on it. It apparently wiped the face of Jesus after he was taken down from the cross and presented to his mother. The face shows a broken nose and bloody spots from cuts. It has been studied and it was determined that no paints were used on the cloth. In Loreto is the Nazareth home of the Blessed Virgin placed within a huge cathedral, "Our Lady of Loreto". The story is that the home was carried from Nazareth to Turkey to Croatia as Christians had to move out of the Holy Land. When Asiatic hordes invaded Turkey, angels carried the home to Loreto where a cathedral was built around it. And a magnificent cathedral it is...the ceiling is filled with iconic images and decorated with gold leaf throughout. Throngs of people are constantly in the church and the churchyard. I have never seen such a "piece of art" like this cathedral and I have seen legions in my travels. In Chieti ("la Civitella")and Pescara ("Museum of the People") there are many archeological museums that are simply fascinating as they show both Greek and Roman influences in the area. The one museum in Chieti also had some Egyptian art pieces. And the National Museum in Chieti had one of the finest coin collections pre and post the Christian era ever to be displayed. And, of course, the wine is the finest in the world. It was pointed out that the USA has only 15 varieties of grapes for wine...Italy has over 2500. Each town loves to compete with wine tastings. This Adriatic area has wonderful hilltop towns with the cathedral the central and highest point. And the mountains are filled with olive trees and grape vineyards that are finely manicured to present lovely scenic pictures. Do try this area for a quiet and relaxing vacation and to really enjoy the Italian experience. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The weekend of art shows in Prescott, Arizona started when one arrives at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport which claims to have the finest collection of native art and crafts in any airport in the world...and it is true as each terminal has a glass enclosed display case of superb works of art. Prescott was celebrating its annual Cowboy Poetry Reading weekend as people gathered at the Yavapai College with a legion of ten-gallon hats for the men and buckskin skirts for the ladies. The daytime shows gave a mixture of poetry reading (this year nicely with some free verse which avoided the predicted rhymes) and great guitar playing, singing and yodeling. The evening show started with the request to turn off the cell phones... and the ten-gallon hats! The top talent for the first evening was Don Edwards ...a wonderfully accomplished singer and probably the best guitar player ever. He is noted for his wonderful repertoire of the old cowboy songs but he also has appeared with symphony orchestras to show off his sterling cowboy talents. Prescott is the cowboy capital of the USA so it is highly recommended for those who fondly remember the old cowboy movie stars...actually the area north of this city is Sedona with its red hills that was background for many of the old westerns. The greatest display of western art is at the Phippen Museum with its collection of close to a thousand paintings and bronzes with about a hundred in its current display (To 9/20). It is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary and the current show is outstanding. Most of the works are by George Phippen and his paintings and bronzes are equal to Remingtons with action abounding throughout his works. There are 38 artists presented in this show from Joe Beeler to Robert "Woody" Woodcock. The finest is the delightful metaphoric huge bronze by Maher Nabuib Morcos...yes he is an Egyptian...titled "The only Indian is a good _____" which depicts an Indian on horseback offering water to a cowboy exhausted on the ground. This piece was part of the White House collection of Ronald Reagan. The most impressive paintings were the works of Ray Swanson which resembled ranch works similar to Andrew Wyeth New England scenes. This is a superior museum of western art that shouldn't be missed if one is in the Arizona area...hopefully they will soon realize a larger museum space to exhibit more of their permanent collection. Also impressive in the town of Prescott is the Mountain Artist Gallery with a fine collection of western and non-western art. Currently the work of Thomas Restifo from sailing ships to desert canyons is most impressive for their detail. Also Judd Lotts is presenting his jewelry boxes with parquet of woods from around the world. A couple of hours were spent watching the clay boxes being made by verbally delightful Karen van Barneveld-Price. Craft shows by artists are scheduled each Saturday and are free. Right outside of town is the amazing city construction by Italian architect Paolo Soleri called Arcosanti. This 90 year oldster has been directing his efforts to produce a high rise city in the middle of desert ravines. It is to be the future of current cities as everyone lives in this "city" without cars or a need to ever leave the compound. It is currently about 10 percent complete and one suspects that the idea may die with the passing of Paolo Soleri. Currently the only financial success is the making of wonderful brass bells and it is wonderful to walk down a path of bells and hear individual sounds from each bell. Nevertheless, one should take a tour of this complex to appreciate what a great mind Mr. Soleri has. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Even with the temperatures hovering in the 100-110 range, the museums in Dallas/Fort Worth are well air conditioned to enjoy the summer exhibits. The finest show currently is at the Meadows Museum on the campus of SMU. Mr. Meadows and wife provided the start of the hispanic collection which they accumulated during their trips to Madrid and they range through all of the famous Spanish artists of renown. Currently they have the cubist paintings of Diego Rivera (To 9/20) which he painted during the heyday of Picasso and Braque in Paris during 1913-1917. Rivera's paintings are interesting since he shows a love for his subjects as opposed to chopping them up to show distorted inner lives. The favorite here is "Angelina and Baby Diego". The other galleries have paintings by other Mexican artists who were developing special figurative styles during the same time period...Orozco, etc. This is a highly recommended show as it shows a different aspect of Rivera that is rarely appreciated. The Nasher Museum of Sculpture is across the street from the Dallas Museum of Art and it has a wonderfully designed inner and outer art space. The inner space is loaded down with a superb collection of works by Calder, de Kooning, Giacometti, Miro, Matisse, Moore, Rodin et al. The most exciting piece is outside. It is by Jonathan Borofsky and titled "Walking to the Sky". It is a 100 foot flagpole with seven figures walking up to the top along its 75 degree angle. It represents the power of aspiration. It is truly awe inspiring. The Dallas Museum of Art has a collection of over 23 thousand art pieces which covers the visual arts spanning five thousand years from ancient America to current American and international contemporary pieces. The finest is the early American which also has wonderful early American artifacts and furniture from colonial times. The favorite here is the small but superior impressionist painting collection and "The Icebergs" by Frederic Edwin Church which is especially fine to stand in front of during the summer heat as it drops the body temperature. This museum is the largest in the Southwest and is consider one of the top six in the nation. The Amon Carter Museum not only has the finest Remington collection of paintings and sculpture but it has the prize collection currently of the Harmon and Harriet Kelley "Collection of African American Art". (To 8/23) It covers the works of Black artists from the 19th and 20th century from Catlett to Johnson to Alison Saar. The favorites are William H. Johnson's "Jitterbugs" and Alison Saar's "Black Snake Blues" which replicates the suicide death of Cleopatra as the reclining depressed woman waits for the foreground snake to deliver the final blow. The museum also displays its Black art in an adjoining gallery. This is a highly recommended show as it is historically interesting as well as culturally impressive. The final show was the performance of the cowboy gospel show at the Opry house in Grapevine Texas. This showcase was cheered on by most church groups in the audience as it started with an invocation. It was programmed by the Southern Spirit quartet with a wonderful wailing counter tenor. A stunning singer, Cathy Lake, took up most of the second act with her Anne Murray look-alike and voice. Gary Frye probably had the best western attitude with his fully voiced baritone. Blonde and statuesque Ginny Lyon seemed to get the greatest applause. But the whole show was inspirational and full of talent. The city of Grapevine is "up the road" from Dallas and is full of Texan flavors. There is a huge Great Wolf Lodge and Gaylord Spa Lodge for visitors at the entrance of the town. The Gaylord is impressive as it has a glass covered atrium with gardens, toy train exhibits and inside fireworks at night. One wonders about the cost of keeping that huge atrium air conditioned. Anyway Grapevine seems to be a great place for a weekend with the kids. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The most dramatic part of the trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg was the disappointment with the changes in Russian society. It is almost completely Americanized with MacDonald's every other block. Young girls in blue jeans show their belly buttons and buttock tattoos as they laugh their way down the streets smoking cigarettes. Almost 70 percent of the people...young and old...wear jeans. So the wonderful exotic and ethnic colorations of the society are apparently lost forever. And the living standards go from the few rich billionaires to the poor seniors who get only 125 rubles a month to live on (30 rubles equal one American dollar). So many of them can be seen going into bakeries to order one slice of bread. Yet, they love Putin since at least they get their monthly checks on time and he appears to be attacking the rich barons to get more money into the hands of the middle and lower classes. They also love Obama even though most are unaware that the father of their Russian language was Pushkin who was also biracial as his great grandfather was an African Moor who served the czars. The museums are superb throughout the cities visited and the Amber room of the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg offers the greatest thrill of any room on the planet. Plus the whole palace is outsanding in gold leaf and male caryatids that hold up each floor of the buildings. It is the one place to visit on a side trip. It is a photographer's dream land! As for the entertainment in both cities...it is outstanding. In Moscow, the opera "Iolanta" by Tchaikovsky was reviewed. (It played at the New Bolshoi as the classic Bolshoi next door is being remodeled). It is the story of a blind girl who eventually finds love and her sight even with the threat of death on her lover. So this lyric opera has a happy ending. The finest voice in this production was Mikhail Diyakov who played the second lover lead. His baritone was superior...very sonorous with fantastic overtones and he seemed to be the only one where emotional display was paramount. The other singers just seemed to want to face the audience and burst out with sounds...most satisfactory in voice...but not emotionally inspiring. The set was tremendous with Turkish embellishments around the stage that was another "actor" in the opera. The high spot was the "La Sylphide" at the New Bolshoi in Moscow. Artem Ovcharenko danced James superbly and for the first time the whole audience repeated "wow" as he did triple turn leaps into the air. The finest of the female dancers was Anna Antropova as his girl friend with her most assured turns and leaps. The amazing thing is that the Bolshoi was always known for its strong dance movements and stage action but the performers here were totally lyrical in their approaches with the exception of the lack of undulating arms by the corps dancers. In St. Petersburg at the Maryinsky (Kirov) the stunning "Prince Igor" by Borodin was on tap. The scenery was totally stunning with each change of five sets and the cast seemed to swell to over 150 people on stage at times...even a horse carried Prince Igor off to battle in a Cecil B. DeMille fashion. But the highlight was the terrific and lengthy powerful ballet to the Borodin music which was recognized as the melodies from the musical "Kismet". The choreography was a repeat of the original Michel Fokine work. The most stunning arias were sung by Sergei Semishkur as the son with his outstanding tenor range that only slightly failed him in the lower range. The conductor was Pavel Smelkov who at times didn't seem to get a balance from the left side of the orchestra especially at moments with huge rises in the music. But, overall, the Bolshoi and the Maryinsky companies raise the bars for any other companies in the world. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Certainly April is the perfect visit to Las Vegas...very warm during the day and comfortable at night. There was the average amount of tourists crowding the streets but playing in the casinos was decreased in most of the casinos visited. The statistic is that there has been a decrease in profits of almost 25% most likely due to the financial crisis. Yet the prices seemed to have doubled...ten dollars to ride a cab for less than a mile distance and $19 dollars for a glass of house wine. Fortunately there are a number of Denny's with menu prices at this national chains' meal prices. The shows again show minimal talent unless one considers "body beautiful" as a DNA talent. The exceptions were Danny Gans at the Encore Hotel Casino. He is a consummate performer as he effectively imitates the talents of singers and actors. His greatest bit was doing "Twelve Months of Christmas" and each month is a vocal imitation of a movie star. How he manages this is just amazing as he must imitate 12 actors as he runs the gamut of the months. He adds lots of current political and social comments and does a Johnny Carson threat if the audience doesn't laugh. The Criss Angel "Believe" again shows a major talent in this multi-talented acrobat/magician/telepathist now performing at the Luxor Hotel Casino. His show was added immeasurably by the show's sponsor Cirque du Soleil which provided exciting costuming and dancing for which they are incomparable. Mr. Angel does some amazing disappearances on stage and in mid-air. His only weakness is that he is a total egotist and demands constant adulation of the audience which took away some of the mysteries of the magic acts. He apparently has a tv series and nicely invited the audience to participate in the filming the following day. Four fine clowns warm up the audience with pass-throughs distributing of popcorn. The "Russian Ice Show" at the Riviera was slightly disappointing as it was pure slide skating with minimal leaps...maybe limited by the procedium stage. There was a runway into the audience which showed some thrilling pass throughs. Most of the acts included juggling while on ice skates or ladder building by the skaters. One male skater was upright as he moved around the stage on elevated stick ice skates. The costuming was again extremely well presented. MGM Grand's "Crazy Horse" was the most disappointing show. Most of it was film as the girls got dressed while nude backstage before they put on their half dollar coin g-strings. It would have been nice to be a "fly on the wall" of the dressing rooms. For a show replicating a famous Paris haunt, there was minimal French flavor except for two numbers sung in French. Most of the action on stage was posturing the body into sexual positions and/or having the derrieres lighted with hearts. The girls in the audience gave more responses than the men for some unknown reason. Most of the museums are closed due to the financial crisis. Bellagio still has one and it is currently showing "Lichtenstein, Warhol and Friends". It is a small show of a dozen or so well recognized paintings by these abstract, minimalist and pop art artists from the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego which provided lots of visual and synesthesia reactions. The finest thing was the wall charts which gave a didactic on the whole modern art movement...a great learning experience so it is highly recommended. The surprise museum...like the Funeral Museum in Houston, Texas...is the Erotic Heritage Museum which seems to contain all of the erotic art ever created...a lot from the Orientals. But there are samples of soft porn movies and books as well as all of the copies of Playboy and Playgirl magazines. It was interesting to view some of the early porn movies which are totally tame from the more recent ones...or so I am told. The piece de resistance was a scupture of a male genitalia constructed from 100,000 copper pennies. Double-dare you not to get sexually excited on the tour. Certainly this museum is perfect to represent the sin city of Nevada. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The 20th annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration this year presented "Southern Women Writers: Saluting the Eudora Welty Centennial". This celebration of this noted Mississippi writer drew together her friends and her readers in Natchez...a city that blends New Orleans charm with a small town "Mayberry". This community boasts 500 antebellum buildings showing differing architectual styles from the French to Spanish to British to Southern planters. Each home has envious details and trivia. No celebratioin would be complete without lunch at King's Tavern with 18th century foods. Gracious peple, beautiful homes and gardens and an inner charm that harkens back to a simpler time all combine to draw tourists to Natchez where garden clubs open their doors. It doesn't take long to see why Southern states and old southern mansions have developed so many prize winning authors and artists with such inspirations. (Reviewed by Celia Sharpe)
*****
The immediate contrast found in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic is the people's dislike of Americans (for the military invasion of their country by the USA) and their idolation of "Obama"....if one just mentions that one is an American they go "ga ga" over our new president. Santo Domingo itself is probably the finest metropolitan area of all of the Carib nations except for the wild taxi drivers who feel no compunction about going the wrong way down one-way streets. And don't take taxis from one's hotel as it is 10 American dollars flat fee if one is going ten blocks or ten miles. And, one is cautioned about taking street taxis but they don't seem city controlled and none appear to carry any cab registration signs. The city is weak in the arts especially the National Theater/Opera House that has no bookings for weeks at a time even though this is carnival season. The finest museum is the Museum of Modern Art which is a well planned out museum with an excellent permanent collection and traveling shows thanks to Maria Elena Ditren who is in charge. Most of the modern art is abstract with minimalist works abounding. The best figurative art was Luis Desangles "Birth of Venus" with flying angels surrounding the Venus. Currently there is a fine mixed media show by Antonio Miro (not related) who is a well established regional artist. Raquel Paiewonsky has a delightful show of silk stockings filled with sand and posed as bat-like hangings from the ceiling and a huge canvas of birds with human faces flying into the future. The wonderful press person at the museum, Margarita Grullion Perera, deserves high praise for her handling of this critic. She arranged for a tour around the Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte and the Museum of Man had lots of pre-Columbian works all the way back to the original Indians as well as a huge display of objects used in carnivals throughout the Caribbean with fantastic masks. She also recommended the Museo Bellapart which amazingly was in a full floor suite on the 5th floor of the huge Honda Auto Sales Park. Wow! The current show was a huge collection of the works of Jaime Colson. Most were self portraits and nudes with more sex organs presented than at a nudist colony...even his nude angels had sex organs attached. He went through most of the art phases from classical through impressionist through abstraction. It was truly a most impressive gallery and gets a high recommendation for any trip to Santo Domingo. A city tour was taken since the price of taxis would far exceed the tour costs. A visit to the old city was very impressive with its cathedrals (the Jesuit one now used for crypts since the Jesuits were expelled from the country...it had a wondrous paradise/hell mural by Rafael Pellicer that compared quite well with a Michelangelo) and tourist shops and a huge pigeoned square. Two outside the city proper visits were to the underground cavern of three lakes that was housing for the Indians...with too many steps down toward China to dissuade the unhealthy and the aged. And there was a new behemoth building to hold the remains of Christopher Columbus...they still deny his remains are in the cathedral in Seville, Spain. All places related to the voyager contributed to the huge structure about the size of the Capitol building in DC. An unexpected find was at the Secretaria de Estado de Cultura which had artists from around the country present works of the Blessed Virgin and the Child...the results ranged from classical works to abstract blotches. It was truly a fascinating look at how different artists project their own creative ideas. And, don't forget, the Amber Museum is absolutely divine as they present the story of amber and point out the value of the different pieces. It is the finest semiprecious stone museum in the world. They also now cover the story of larimar the exciting sea blue stone that receives so many compliments. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Disney Crusie Line performances are not to be missed if you have the opportunity to engage in an adventure at sea. This critic and her family did the Eastern Carib trip which included the ship shows "Twice Charmed", "The Golden Mickeys", "Disney Dreams" and comedy and ventriloquism by "America's Got Talent" Michael Harrison. Shows would impress any theater goer and will amaze everyone from age 3 to 103 with the dazzling costumes, elaborate sets (despite having up to six different sets on one stage), and acting/singing of Broadway caliber. Shows involved standard Disney characters with original story lines and lasted less than an hour which easily maintains the attention of the young and the tired. (Reviewed by Stefanie Rosinsky)
*****
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Movie
The script of an alcoholic "has been" country western singer could be considered tacky but the very natural acting of Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenbaal makes this movie, "CRAZY HEART" at the E Street Cinema one of the most riveting life stories not often seen in the cinema. Yes, the rise to the top can exhilarate but the drop downward until Bad Blake must compete with the noise of a bowling alley is very poignant indeed. The lifestyle of this ex-cowboy singing star takes on deeper meaningfulness about life's choices and disappointments. Plus one feels sorry for the rising star, played by Colin Farrell, who will face his own epiphany in the future. This film really is universal in theme for most people following any career. Robert Duvall, really looking very old physically, does an effective job as the owner of a country western bar who helps his entertainment-friend in dire need. Another big surprise in this film is the wonderfully themed music by T Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton which adds immeasurably to the effectiveness of this lovely, romantic story. This film is the most recommended one on current cinema screens. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's titled meaninglessly "44 INCH CHEST" and it truly is a script for a theater stage as five men huddle in a seedy waterfront-type hovel to seek revenge for their friend whose wife (Joanne Whalley) has fallen in love with a toy boy and intends to leave her husband played very emotionally by Ray Winstone. Think Sam Shepard! The friends in heavey Brit accent and all encompassing locker-room language encourage vengeance on a bloodied, blindfolded young man who transgressed...played effectively with no words by Mevil Poupaud. The friends Ian McShane, John Hurt, Tom Wilkenson and Stephen Dillane all have their sexual and social hangups yet they glory in detailed ways of punishing the young lad. John Hurt is the most effective particularly as he relates the similar story of "Samson and Delilah" as snippets of the movie with Victor Mature and Hedy Lamarr are shown. Again this is story that would best be played on the stage as, as a movie, it sometimes loses credibility. On the stage dramatic license would make it more suspenseful. Director Malcom Venville, however, got excellent acting from every one of these screen actors. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
It's the movie of the year at the E Street Cinema that is basically the biography of Orson Welles and his famous stage production of "Julius Caesar" at the Mercury Theater in New York City. It is called "Me and Orson Welles" and theater lovers will go ga-ga over it as it brings back fond memories of treading the boards with a genius director. And casual movie lovers will delight in the wonderful direction which delivers some wonderful tidbits about the contrast between stage work and film work. Young star, Zac Efron, gives a magical performance and is definitely headed for the big time as he is arresting in all of his scenes with perfect acting style with great dramatic depth...his final song in the stage performance of the show with a ukelele is riveting. Christian McKay plays Orson Welles and his also is an award winning performance with his commanding temperament that produces the classic production of this Shakespearean play on Broadway. Claire Danes plays the go-getter for the company and the romantic and sexual interest and, although she acts well, she is somewhat miscast against Zac and Christian. This is my most highly recommended movie for 2009. (Reviwed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The E Street Cinema also has "Young Queen Victoria" and the script is full of faults...poor dialogue that confuses with unfinished action shots and a most contrived plot about the young queen trying to take on royal duties. Screen writer Julian Fellowes even tries some violent scenes between the Queen and Prince Albert to falsely give some action to the film. The movie's only saving graces were the elegant dances and coronation with fantastic costuming and superb sound effects. Emily Blunt as the queen is an elegant beauty but she lacks full dramatic range and Rupert Friend as Albert manages to get by with his handsomeness. Paul Betany as Lord Melbourne offer the only successful acting presence. The only thing we learn from this movie is that Victoria and Albert lived some great romantic moments in bed...which is obvious historically as they had nine children. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The National Gallery of Art does film retrospectives which are free to the public. Currently they are showing Alain Resnais films starting with his 1968 "Je t'aime, je t'aime". This is a film about a recovering suicide victim selected by a group of scientific experimenters to sit inside a large machine shaped like an oversized clove of garlic beside a little pierced globe containing a lively white mouse and , like the mouse, travel backward in time for a moment. The experiment is initially only partially successful. Though the patient does travel backward in time, his arrival"destination" is quite unstable and the screen shows the patient erupting into several moments of his past...out of sequence...and sometimes repeatedly. Then the experiment deviates into unexpected territory as the movements backward achieve longer arrival times and whole episodes of the patient's previous life can be relived. Eventually, the predictable outcome is achieved and the patient not only re-enters his previous life but begins to relive and reshape it. A successul suicide effort during one the the longer backward moments is a disappointing conclusion for the scientists and leaves a dying body on their neat lawn though the white mouse, perhaps a less complex creature appears to have survived unchanged. The Resnais' legendary "Last Year at Marienbad" (1961) followed which was a film that became for a generation of college students the ultimate enigmatic foreign film. The film is dominated by the presence, both interior and exterior, of an immense European luxury hotel surrounded by a vast formal garden in the 18th century French manner. If there is a plot it hardly matters as the visual splendor and tantalizing "social " relationships among the characters are only explored on the surface but the surfaces are of such splendor that human emotional truth is entirely secondary in this profound search for artistic stimulation. The conundrums of memory, imagination and perception reverberate through the space of the film and repeat themselves in the mirrors of a world that will be hermetic or claustrophobic according to the viewers' sensibilities. The "time" of the film is only hinted at by several references to 1929 but surely it is the late 1930's before the intricate inherited world of the haute bougeoisie exploded into the turmoils of World War II. Do go to the NGA site for announcements of their film showings. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
"Captain Abu Raed" at the E Street Cinema is a fine movie for its wonderful scenes of Amman, Jordan. The movie is plodding as the director, Amin Matalqa, just spends too much time on facial reactions and movements up and down stairs. The story is about an older man, nicely played by Nadim Sawalha, who finds an air captain's hat while on a janitor's job at the airport which convinces the youngsters in the neighborhood that he is the "real" thing so he tells tall tales of his supposed travels around the world. He then tries to better the lives of the youngsters that he has befriended. One Udey Al-Qiddissi wishes to leave his home and away from his violent, drunken father. A female air pilot, Rana Sultan, gets involved in the solution of the problem although the rest of her appearances center around her father's trying to marry her off. Yes, connections in the story line are far fetched. A fine movie if one doesn't doze off. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Also at the E Street Cinema is "Cold Souls" which serves its purpose if one is interested in brushing up on one's Russian language. Half of the movie is filmed in a transplant center in Russia where souls are kept for implantation for people who want to donate and/or get another "soul". Paul Giamatti runs out of facial and body expressions which diminishes his acting skills. Emily Watson as the wife delivers the best performance in the movie. The story is not unlike Gogol's farce,"The Nose", but truly lacks much humor. Blame Sophia Barthes who simply slows the action to "stop and go" throughout the two hours. Some scenes add nothing to the story line although they provide fine cinematography. So "some scenes" and the "Russian Language" are this film's selling points...otherwise the movie lacks "soul". (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"Humpday" tells the story of two college rascals who went different ways during a ten year separation. The one continued to be a lovable societal reject (Joshua Leonard) who traveled the globe and the other a settled down young man (Mark Dupliss) with wife and home and expecting to grow a family. A midnight knock on the door brings them together. Then, the family man is drawn into a wild party with sexual by-play and innuendos and these friends agree to participate in "humpday"...a festival of artistic porn...by doing a two male sex movie. The beauty of the movie is the fine directing by Lynn Shelton who managed to allow the two to engage in amazing ad lib throughout so the naturalness of their actions seems totally acceptable. There is some sexual pairing and vulgar language which will limit this movie for youngsters. Adults will admire the positive communications of the two friends and the wife. (At the E Street Cinema) (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"In the Loop" is a laugh-out-loud British comedy in which diplomats, secretaries of state, country leaders and the military argue about going to war along the corridors of power from London to Washington,DC to the United Nations (sound familiar?). Brit actor,Tom Hollander, makes a convoluted statement favoring going to war and he is never able to "stop the verbal ball rolling" all the way to the United Nations. The funniest character in the move is the General played by James Gandolfini who "kicks ass" and destroys furniture on any whim. But the whole cast are tops in their differing comedic styles. There is excessive vulgar language (it seems unbelievable that such language is accepted at the highest levels of government but this critic has never been there) and some potty references. Again it is not a movie for youngsters. The audience at this showing were totally enthralled and filled the theater with repeating laughter. (At the E Street Cinema) (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"The Stoning of Soraya M" at the E Street Cinema is the most gripping movie of the year. It tells the story of a wife who is falsely accused of adultery by her husband because she simply touched the hand of her employer and was seen smiling at him. She was working as a housemaid for the husband and son of a recently deceased friend. The situation was contrived by the husband who wanted to divorce her to marry a young beauty. It is a true story reported by top notch actress, Shahrah Aghdashloo, to a French Iranian reporter, Freidoune Sahebjam. The final scene is the bloodiest ever that even tops the death of the Christus in "The Passion of the Christ"...it is gruesome enough to keep eyes averted for long periods of time as black dressed women groaned in the background. Moshan Marno plays the lead with agonized yet benevolent passion, and Navid Negahban plays the cruel and villainous husband. There are pangs of pain to see him encourage the two young sons to throw stones at their mother in the gravel pit. Overall one wonders why American women's groups don't protest such vicious behavior in some Moslem countries as well as the current throwing of acid into the faces of women who simply look at men on the street. So this film is highly recommended for all women but husbands should attend also to get reinforcement for their more humane approach to our women...with few exceptions. The only problem with the script is that the Moslem husband contrives to have the wife killed in order to marry a young beauty when, in fact, Moslems are allowed up to four wives if they can treat all four equally in regards to attention and financial needs. It is interesting also that this film is an Israeli production when one considers that such murder was approved in the Old Testament. ( Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The title of "Little Ashes" does not seem to relate to the plotting of this movie at the E Street Cinema. But it is a wonderfully directed and photographed movie about the romantic and sexual relationship of three icons of Madrid Spain in the 1920's...playwright Lorca, artist Salvador Dali, and film maker Bunuel. The amazing thing about this film is that the camera seems to be in love with the three main characters and their friend Margarita. Generally the movie is a "sexual tease" regarding the relationships between Lorca (Javier Beltran) and Dali (Robert Pattinson). Finally the sexual burst forth with a menage de trois of three characters. Of course, the whole relationships were described by Dali when he neared death and he was such a wild artist that there may have been exaggerations. Nevertheless it is a beautifully orchestrated romantic film with lovely outside scenes especially the first sexual contact of Lorca and Dali as they swam underneath the waters of a Spanish lagoon. Lots of nudity particularly in the Parisian scenes and much sexual activity which excludes youngsters. But it is a highly recommended film for its historical and biographical coverage and the wonderful cinematology. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The winners for the motion picture "Tulpan" at the E Street Cinema is the director Sergei Dvortsevoy and his cinematographer who managed the most fantastic scenes around the Kazahk Steppe area and combined it to show the struggles of families and sheep to survive in the former province of the USSR...so it is in Russian with fine subtitles. Some of the scenes are so powerful that one has to look away from the screen...for instance the pulling out a sheep from a ewe who can't manage the task....and the blowing in the mouth of mother and baby sheep to get their breathing back in order. One swears that these cannot be "just" actors who are accomplishing these tasks. The story is typical of these types of land and family struggles as the husband and brother-in-law are constantly conflicting while the wife must remain patient as a subservient in such primal lands. The final scenes of the tearing down of the yurt and movement on through dust storms is emotionally wrenching. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
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Visual Arts
The Phillips Collection has become the second of three sponsoring museums for "GEORGIA O'KEEFE: ABSTRACTION" (To 5/9) to show the works in exhibition. Many of the works are by a comparatively young artist still exploring her own sensibilities and forging an artistic personality. The intriguing personal life of O'Keefe and her complicated relationship with Alfred Steiglitz began in 1916 at the time of the earliest works in this exhibition. Some artists are so startlingly, even radically, innovative that it is difficult to know where to place them in art history. William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Alexander Scriabin and Oliver Messaien are merely four exaamples, but four to keep firmly in mind when looking at O'Keefe's works where strong emotions are so visibly-perhaps messily-but mysteriously displayed. Blake developed a personal mythology but the generations of admirers have found ways to ignore the mythology and still appreciate Blake's fascinating deviations from the calmness of the late Georgian period in Britain. Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan" remains one of the most tantalizing poems in the English language and, despite scholarly efforts to explore the literary precedents which became intermingled in Coleridge's fertile imagination, the magic of this incomplete and rather dreamlike poem has never become dissipated. Scriabin explored the possibilities of synthesia..."seeing" colors in music and his strongly perfumed music had moved well beyond the tradition of Russian salon music toward a far more personal utterance. Messaien, a self taught expert on bird calls, wrote music of progressively greater and more abstact intensity. Both of these composers "heard" things in their music that the average listener would miss. What these four writers and composers highlight is the risk of looking too intensely at the early work of a genius, as that work may ultimately prove less revealing than the fully realized later works. The constant tension in American art between realism and abstraction is largely ignored by the new O'Keefe exhibition which thus simplifies an important issue in American art. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
A visit to the Katzen Gallery at American U. is highly recommended as their new show (To 3/14) is absolutely stunning in creativity and intent. The finest figurative work is found in the work of Alan Feltus and Lani Irwin which is entitled "Personal Interiors" and definitely "interiors" since there is some stunning nude works as couples have breakfast, read letters and do other daily chores even though some suggest lack of communication as the characters live in their own real or imagined world. The works are oil on linen which gives a wonderful richness to the paints. Ms. Irwin suggests she gets some ideas looking at the stain glass windows in the nearby cathedral in Assissi, Italy. The WPA group is called "Cream" and it is a mixed bag from figurative to abstract with only one horrible one of a steel wool chimney atop a garbage can which is aerated by a fan for movement. All of these works of art will be put up for auction which is a yearly event for this home-grown group of artists. Robert Devers has some wonderful circular drawings and enamelware (maiolica) that is totally gorgeous in colorations. Titles like "mandala" and "abrahadabra" suggest his spiritual intent for the viewer. Also, there are lots of religious and cultural themes of both Italy and Mexico where he did most of his work and teaching. Well known local artist, Tom Green, presents mostly abstract and iconic picturizations with lots of "stick figures" abounding. They are joyful to look at not unlike the works of Klee except some are wood block and mixed media on paper. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is going through a physical plant renovation but has room for a fine traveling show from the National Museum of Wales (To 4/25). It is part of the collection of two Welsh sisters, Gwendoline and Margaret, who had keen eyes for art colorations and compositions from "Turner to Cezanne". They contributed 280 paintings and sketches to the Welsh museum and 50 plus are in the present Corcoran show...most of which have never been on view in the United States. These two socially shy sisters managed to collect during the period when there was a crucial movement in the visual arts during which time there was a revolution in style, theme and technique. The recognized hands of the artists is still seen in most of the paintings from Corot to Renoir to Turner...the only strange deviation seemed to be a very abstract work by Manet whose style and content was difficult to discern. But the show is an award winner and should encourage a large number of museum goers. Just to view Renoir's "La Parisienne" is an unmatched afternoon treat. And combined with the Chester Dale show at the NGA, one can spend a day in artistic 7th heaven. Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Some paintings become so famous that their images are literally seared into the minds of a generation of museum goers. In Washington where the magnificent Chester Dale Collection is normally spread across many galleries at the National Gallery of Art and interspersed with paintings from other generous sources, a group of paintings whch by the terms of their bequest cannot be loaned to other museums can easily be overlooked as a grouping. Now that 83 of the Dale paintings have been rehung together in the lower galleries of the Mellon Building of the NGA, the rooms in which the paintings appear are like a progressive fireworks display, building to the culmination of the astonishing juxtaposition of Picasso's noble "Family of Saltimbanques" of 1905 with Manet's elegantly melancholy "The Old Musicians" of 1862. These are surely two of the greatest paintings in Washington from the 50 years that span their creation. The NGA has cleverly "excavated" from its immense collections a blockbuster exhibition that was literally hiding in plain view. Only the Barnes Collection and the Cone Collection in Baltimore might rival the Dale Collection for importance for the period "From Impressionism to Modernism". Washington hotels and restaurants should brace now for an invasion of art-lovers who will be crowding each other in galleries likely to become rather cramped once word gets out. Chester Dale was an immensely successful Wall Street financier whose name has been largely forgotten outside of Washington for three reasons: Dale had no children, he was not a member of a "great" American family, and his unlendable largese was concentrated on the fortunate NGA for which Dale was president for several years from 1955 onward and which he often advised on financial matters. Dale bought great paintings in the same way that some collectors might buy boxes of chocolates. Substantial means were joined to an informed taste but always there was desire joined to the sheer passion of acquisition. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
It's the Reginald F. Lewis Museum on Pratt Street in Baltimore and it is the most structurally beautiful newer building that totally invites you to enter it. It is as gorgeous inside as outside with nice open galleries, a fine gift shop and a little cafe to chat with friends. The chat for the next two months will center around it current show, "GRAPHIC WORKS OF ROMARE BEARDEN" (To 3/28), that gives an outstanding look at the wonderful works of this jazzy artist. What is new in this show about Bearden are the frontespieces that he created for books and theater programs over the years. And there is a supreme group of religious paintings with a most inspirational "Mother and Child"...also a group of classical Greek and Roman stories with the "Invasion of Troy". Most of these works are family owned so it is the first time that gallery goers have seen them. The only thing missing is a collection of his jazz groups with we are so familiar. So this is a quieter show but so much more introspective and emotionally fulfilling. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
All russophiles and art lovers definitely should see the "THE TIMKOV COLLECTION" (To 2/20) at the Strathmore Mansion. Not only are the paintings breathtaking but the curators, Dr. Alison Hilton and Dr. Curtis Sandberg, give outstanding gallery essay plaques throughout describing the political, social and artistic happenings during the years that Nicolai Timkov lived and painted (1912 to 1993). How he managed to paint impressionistic and surrealistic art works when confronted by the dogmatic Communist government's demands for portraiture and revolutionary themed artwork is a most dynamic story. Most of his works are of the countryside and some glorious snow scenes. When they say that Eskimos have 50 words to describe snow...Mr. Timkov manages to texture his "snow" most dynamically. The collection is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Wyman who should be very proud of their collecting his works and should be congratulated for sharing them with the public at this time. Mr. Timkov is bull faced like a "Brezhnev" so was is amazed at the sensitivity of his brush work. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The DC/AC has a most fascinating show "Black" sponsored by the Black Artists of DC (To 1/10) that has an admixture of painting and art styles but all themed around "blackness". The artists were instructed to use as much "black" as possible in their works but to splash them with racially colored passions. The consummate artist is Arcmanoro Niles' "David with the Head of Goliath"...an absolutely fascinating work that crowns the show. There is an artist talk and reception on the closing day of 1/10...should be most inspirational. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
You, readers, and your holiday guests will just love to see the Strathmore mansion decked out with holiday decorations although the greater reason to visit are the two superb art shows there presently. "Near and Far: Paintings by the Washington Society of Landscape Painters" is sponsored by one of the oldest active art organizations in the greater Washington area. And this year's paintings take you through the seasons with landscapes from snowy fields to rippling brooks. A few of the favorites for this critic are Edward Ahlstrom's "Rapidan River near Wolftown Va."; Daniel Wise's "The Falls"; and Barbara Nuss's "Days End". And tops was Lani Browning's "Nanticoke River" which shows a bayou ready for canoes to take off on soft glides. But, the greater art show is the "76th Annual International Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature" which is a judged show of works by artists from around the world. The winner of top prize in realism went to MacArgel Gail's "Serenity" which shows two swans in a floating scene which is just simply awesome. These little works of art sell from $150 to the thousands of dollars but the work done with one or two hair brushes is just amazing regarding details. It is a must see show! (Both shows until 1/2) Also there are legions of holiday gifts at the mansion gift shop which is one of the finest in the area. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The National Geographic opened its blockbuster show with the dazzling "Terra Cotta Warriors" (To 3/30/10) that may well be the best curated show ever. Even the little school kids seemed to be in ecstacy as they wrote copious notes about the items being displayed. The over 1000 soldiers of China's first emporer, Qin Shihuangdi, conquered all of the territories for the emperor and he in return had them caste in terra cotta in order to protect him as he entered eternity. (There may be up to 7,000 items still to be unearthed at the burial site which is the top archeological find of the 20th century.) But the last gallery with well diorama-ized soldiers with horses and carriages made of bronze, silver and gold leaves one breathless with awe. On a Monday morning at 10 a.m. the day's tickets were totally sold out...so rush to your computer or telephone if you want to take family and friends for a holiday treat. The gift show is amass with beautiful Chinese pieces for holiday gifts. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Austrian Embassy is showing the work of Soshana (nee Susane Schuller) who escaped from Austria with her family and settled in New York. Her first work was figurative and included many portraits of famous political, social and artistic persons. She then studied in Paris and turned to abstractions which are the most interesting. Most of the work suggest depression no doubt due to her hectic life style of escapement. Her two finest pieces are "Alone in N.Y. I" and "Alone in N.Y. II" which show a shadowy figure walking down a deserted street with the huge towering skyscrapers ready to collapse on the figure. Her "Gaza" is jagged color lines full of violence and desperation. Certainly each picture brings forth an emotional response from the viewer. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
Wow! the Newseum get bigger and better all of the time. Currently they are opening "Inside Tim Russert's Office: If It's Sunday, It's Meet the Press" that nicely covers the intimacy of "the man" who never had any affectations and was so loved by all TV viewers. The simplicity of his Catholic/catholic life made him a fine model for his family and other males throughout the world. Significant was his love for his home town of Buffalo and his love for baseball...there is a box full of autographed baseballs in the exhibit. There is a picture board of all of the world leaders who were interviewed by this man who everyone admitted that he was always fair minded. It is a lovely tribute to this announcer. Also the Newseum has a number of current exhibits: ""FBI Exhibit: G-Men and Journalists", "Athlete", "Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln's Killer" that are chilling in the depth of portrayals. But the most outstanding is the huge block of the Berlin Wall and the pen which Gorbochov used to reunite the East and West Germany. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
"FALNAMA: THE BOOK OF OMENS" (To 1/24) at the Sackler Gallery is a fantastic show not only for the "drop dead" gorgeous paintings but for the chronological story line that shows the similarities between the Koran and the Old Testament of the Bible as well as the Shiite/Sunni contentious relationship over the centuries. Although the names are different in Arabic we see the historical figures (Solomon, Joseph, Adam and Eve) amidst different interpretations of the same story lines. And who would have imagined that Alexander the Great was a descendent of the King of Persia (Barab) as he sent the pregnant mother, the daughter of Philip of Greece, back to her homeland because she "had such bad breath"! Yes, there a lot of charming anecdotes reflected within these paintings. Particularly interesting was the last gallery which told of the end of the world, the anti-Christ, and the judgement in heaven where the dead held their "life" books that were then weighed to determine exit to heaven or hell depending on the weight of the listed "good" deeds. The Sackler staff is to be highly congratulated for managing to put this collection together from galleries around the world. It is a wonderful show for the whole family as it looks at life and death from the get-go in the glamorous Garden of Eden. Just what are your beliefs? Bet you can match them as reflected on these grand canvases. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
For the next two months, the most interesting museum exhibition in the Washington area may well be the Baltimore Museum of Art's "MATISSE AS PRINTMAKER". This free exhibition of 170 works by Matisse began with a traveling exhibition circulated by the American Federation of Arts to show 63 prints owned by the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. The BMA has supplemented the AFA exhibition with an additional 107 works drawn from it incomparable holdings of Matisse works (mostly from the world famous Cone collection)...the most important grouping of this artist's work now owned by any museum inthe United States. The curator for the current exhibition is Jay Fisher, the BMA Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs. The catalog for the exhibition which covers only 63 works in the original AFA exhibition is available at the BMA shop. Many of the wall labels are hung relatively low which will make the exhibition easily accessible to visitors in wheelchairs. Doodlings of genius might be one description of the exhibition as it is hung to show often several interpretations of the same situation...perhaps a single model in various poses as preparatory studies for later paintings. When possible, the BMA has hung major paintings from its collection amidst related prints. Whether Matisse was studying problems of line or problems of light and shade, the exhibition is full of suggestions about how the mind of a great artist developed over time as he continued to study the female form or the human face. The exhibition opens with two states of wonderful drypoint self-portraints by Matisse that shows the artist drawing. In his essay in the printed catalogue, Jay Fisher calls the prints of Matisse "an enormous visual library". Fisher also comments that "what made Matisse so devoted to the illustrated book format was that it enabled the artist to publish images in sequence". The exhibition is so dense that at points it appears more in the nature of a slide show than an exploration of one artist's working processes. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
Quelle Triumphe! Liana Paredes, senior curator of western art at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, was beaming as she took two groups of press representatives through her superlative "retrospective" of Sevres porcelain from the period 1750-2000..."SEVRES THEN AND NOW" (To 5/30/10). This exhibition, several years in the making and extraordinarily involved on the diplomatic, curatorial and financial fronts, came together at the last minute as couriers, the 86 ojects or groups of objects, cases, labels, insurance policies and donors assembled for the press opening and a grand celebratory dinner! Each viewer is likely to select a few favorite pieces to examine closely. Unfortunately, there is no check-list of the exhibition except in the fairly expensive full catalog which will be on sale at the Hillwood gift shop. The exhbition is full of surprises...historical surprises as well as artistic surprises. A plate designed by sculptor Alexander Calder , two egg-shaped vases almost certainly purchased on behalf of the "Compte du Nor" (Grand Duke Paul of Russia traveling "incognito") in 1782, portions of the enigmatic 1979 "Ruins of Egypt" centerpiece (so important that only curators from the Sevres museum are allowed to move them), and three figures from the legendary scarf dance centerpiece first made in 1900 are only a handful of the treasures in this exhibition. Forms, colors, painted decorations...this is decorative art of the very highest possible achievement and often with a provenance that is royal or imperial. The condition of the pieces, even when history suggests that adversity has overtaken most of the service as in the case of the "Service des Liliacees" made for use at the Tuileries Palace, is outstanding. The rather ugly "Madame de Pompadour" tureen and platter of 1990 were made by Limoges in four 18th century colors in editions of 25 for each color. The pink color is luridly vivid and the panels containing female portraits are too photographic in nature to be impressive. Wisely, Ms. Parades does not discuss this startling object in her catalog. (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)
*****
The Austrian Embassy has two very interesting gallery shows. The flower works by NINA MUYS turns the concert hall into a field of fiery colored nature...an Elysian field with its wild as well as cultured flowers to gaze on. The favorite were the dazzling "Stain Glass Tulip", "Bearded Isis" and "Persephone's Wild Embrace". They a full canvas flowers...not unlike Georgia O'Keefe...but lacking the sexual themes...thank heavens! Also there is a gallery for "1989 AUSTRIAN AND THE END OF THE COLD WAR-2009" It is a poster presentation that is great for history fans as it gives detailed facts about all of the occurrences taking place in Western and Eastern area during the frightful isolation but eventual freedom in all social and political systems. (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is the outstanding Black American museum in the area...in Baltimore. It is architectually outstanding and the gallery spaces easily flow into one another so that complete stories can be told. Currently, they are showing "381 DAYS" (To 1/31) which tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It is amazing how well the events were covered by the print media during those hectic times before the computer and cable access came along to give minute by minute ongoing coverage of such events. All hail to the fine photographers of the day! There are so many facts disclosed in this exhibit that surprised even this critic. There were so many young ladies...and not just Rosa Parks...that refused to give up their front-of-the-bus seats with nasty consequences. And one never realized how many anti-Black signs filled the streets of the major Southern cities. It should be every citizen's duty to go through this exhibit...particularly the young who were not around in those tragic times...perhaps it would engender respect for their elders...a lost art currently. Also the museum has a concurrent "MOVEMENT" which shows a number of paintings of the turbulent times. The museum is planning a "get on the bus" tour from cities around Baltimore...including Washington...to take people to this exhibit. If interested go to www.AfricanAmericanCulture.org (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
There is a great new tourist spot (Madame Tussauds) in the nation's capital! It is the all-family-and-friends place to view some of the wax replicas of famous Americans with a few foreigners thrown in who were involved in United States history. Madame Tussauds and her family started with the French writer, Voltaire, and, today, her artists continue using her well-known skills for capturing the spirit of each model. Even today, the sculpting artists in London insist on personal interviews so as to measure the body, the hair, the eyes and the attitudes of the models. This DC unit is the newest of the Madame Tussauds' so they are still limited in space and wax figures presented but they do manage to present celebrities from film, tv, music, politics, history and sports. The audio-visual of the sculptors at work is excellent as well. AND ONE CAN TAKE AS MANY PICTURES AS ONE LIKES WITH THE WAX FIGURES! There is a promise of additions being made in the near future. Presently, the coverage is enough to justify the entrance price. It should definitely be a venue stop for all of those school outings in the nation's capital. Just make sure to bring your cameras along! (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)
*****
The Spy Museum keeps the young and the old entertained and informed. The exhibits include information on artifacts used in tradecraft, interactive exhibits on audio surveillance, threat analysis, and how to maintain one's cover. There is a good mix of media and activities and plenty of opportunity to imagine working in the strange circumstances of the spy world while one appreciates activities that were done during various periods of time from the biblical era to the present. There is a current exhibit about "Hollywood and Spies" that displays various posters and even an Oscar won for a spy film that was awarded during the cold war. The complete tour takes approximately 2 hours. A great place for adults and children, and youngsters under the age of 5 are admitted free. (Permanent) (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)
*****
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