Luxurious extavagance drew a capacity audience to the Embassy Series concert by Turkish pianist Emre Elivar at the residence of the Turkish ambassador.  The residence is one of Washington's legendary ambassadorial settings, with a white stone facade, that stretches across an entire city block near Embassy Row along Massachusetts Avenue and a suite of interconnecting gold-leafed upper rooms that overlook the leafy landscapes of Rock Creek Park.  Designed by an architect who had spent tme in Istanbul and built early in the 20th century by a man known in his generation as the "bottle cap king, the residence suggest that whatever might be said in favor of architectural minimalism that certin levels of Washington society are hardly aware that such an option even exists when white marble and mosaics offer such tempting possibilities.  The musical program was heavy.  A "serious" set of variations by Mendelssohn, a Beethoven piano sonata, a major "Scherzo" and "Sonata" by Chopin, and a delightful "Arabesque" by Schumann were only the entrees.  Elivar, who wished to share his talents in abundance, rewarded his audience with a very long and exciting first encore...Lizst's "Mephisto Waltz No. 1" and two more brief Schumann pieces. Elivar is clearly not part of the traditon that reveres the image of Chopin as the neurasthenic poet of the piano as he presented instead a composer of powerful , moody chromaticism and wildly shifting emotions. Elivar plays boldly though often without subtlety.  This is piano playing designed to conquer the piano and impress an audience. It is also piano playing that demonstrates a quite extensive memory and a determination to master the "romantic" piano repertoire of the 19th century.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****

It is an evening of wonderful surprises at the K/C Terrace theater in listening to the tv iconic Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter (To 6/13),  warble her way through blues, "get down" blues, jazz, country and western, Motown and rap-like prattle.   Dressed in a black leotard with silverish top shawl, she nicely added some sexual flavored movements to match the words much to the pleasure of the many invited armed force guys in the audience...and she retains a succulent physique that won her the Miss World years ago which was much to the envy of the middle aged women present.   She was accompanied by six top rated instrumentalists (Paul Liem, Tony Harrell, Dave Hongate, Shane Keister, Lou Marini and Kerry Marx) and three backup women singers (Vicki L. Hampton, Tania Hancheroff and Cindy Richardson Walker) who helped provide the audience with the finest 90 minute entertainment session outside of Las Vegas.   The show was for all ages as she moved through the Supremes to Patsy Cline to Peggy Lee and most all American styles.  Particularly impressive was her jazz numbers in which she finessed chord progression perfectly.  Her clear and finely ranged voice never tired during a most memorable intermissionless performance.   Occasionally one wished that the drummer might mute his overplaying a mite.    Overall, the show confirmed that there's a whole lot of talent left in this singing sensation.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

*****

 The Strathmore audience had assembled to hear piano legend, Yefim Bronfman, and his performance of Rachmaninoff's "Piano Concerto No. 3" was mercurial and personal, visually impressive as the pianist's hands moved rapidly over the keyboard but it was aurally disappointing as large portions of the concerto simply disappeared under the weight of the orchestra or turned into muddy obscurity from too much pedaling.  The piece opened with moments of genuinely heart-stopping beauty from the piano but quickly subsided into a carelessness that mostly disdained Rachmaninoff's expected crashing chords and decisive complexities.  A slightly less brisk tempo could have permitted the piano part to shine more brightly but would have forced the pianist to move deeper into the music.  Bronfman certainly knew the notes and was a delight to watch but somehow the music had mostly disappeared until he reached the third movement.  A pianist who could certainly play with impressive force when he choose to , he mostly chose not to.  But this is not a piece for sly sublety.  It is a piece that needs absolute clarity in the piano part and a total dedication to the production of an impressive sound.  Someone like like the young Van Cliburn might have tossed the concerto off with great bravado and, certainly, Bronfman has this capacity had he bothered.   After the intermission, the BSO returned for an Alsop selection of "great"moments from the four Ring Operas (Wagner) which meant the moments with the loudest periods of brass intesity was to showcase a very large BSO brass section.  It was certainly impressive like a slide show of a European trip that showed the hero posed in front of a series of great monuments but never reflecting quiety on what he had seen. Alsop, who occasionally showed the side of her face to the audience, clearly loved the almost uncontrolled forces she has set into motion and the density of sound her musicians were capable of producing.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****    

The groundbreaking musical, "Spring Awakening" (To 6/21) is playing at the Baltimore Hippodrome.  It won eight Tony awards and it is an unusual,  gritty,  and edgy work based on the 1891  play by Frank Wedekind. This is a tale of a repressed society and the teens that try to find themselves within the rigid context.  Though the setting is late 19th century Germany, it could very well occur in modern day America within our own repressed families that exist here.  So the setting is old but the music and choreography are very modern.  The books and lyrics are by Steven Sater with music by Duncan Sheik.  Michael Mayer directs this vibrant and talented cast as they struggle out of the confines of their lives to learn love and freedom and heartbreak.  Bill T. Jones choreographed this cast and Kimberly Grigsby supervised the music.  This creative work will be appreciated mostly by young adults. There are some pretty explicit scenes.  This is not a family friendly work so keep the kiddies and older set at home.  It is, however, fascinating and worth one's time.  This story will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions.   It is sponsored by Broadway Across America.  (Reviewed by Nancy McCord)

*****

The Gala is presenting the world premiere of "The Return of Eva Peron"...a musical by Mariano Vales, Gustavo Ott with lyrics by the same two artists.  It may well have the qualified title of "Eva Peron...Part II" as it opens with the white dressed angelic Eva on her balcony (here a clever high rise stepladder) while being derided in death by anti-Peronists.   What follows is a fascinating, and often humorous, look at the secretive movement of her body through graveyards, cities and countries so this political icon cannot be emotionally resurrected by the Peronists.   The guardians of her body...mostly military...commit all sorts of offences against the corpse even as her body and her white dress deteriorates.   Most of the music is merengue which was quite clever as that dance followed the movements of "a certain el presidente who had to move in that fashion because of wounds suffered while on military duty".    But there is only one Argentinian "tango" with the dead Eva and her Peron which is most poignant.   The chorus of males and one female play many roles with vivacity and verve quite effectively.    The chorus offstage were definitely the charmers of the evening as they narrated in song and their lyrics seemed  most fluid.   That was not true of the on-stage singers as there seemed to be some mismatch between the words and the fluidity of the meanings...however this could be the failure of the translation in the surtitles.    Mariano Caligaris gave perfect direction with lots of movement to carry the musical forward...it seemed to be an accomplishment in his love for this historical and poignant period and Eva.   Laura Conforte was a perfect Eva but one wished she would use her lower register to put more demanding drama in her performance as her higher register was too often strident and unbecoming.   Antonio Soto was a look-alike for Peron as well but his legato was broken through all of his solos although he nicely established a necessary and sympathetic figure.  Others in the cast which at times looked like ten times the crowd size were: Sebastian Vitale, John  Hager Flores, Gerald Montoya, Michael Vitaly Sazonov, Martin Ruiz, Diego Mariani and Belen Oyola-Rebaza.    As a continuing project, there are some suggested changes for the future of this musical:  there should be more tangoes so one gets a better flavor of Argentina; the opening should show more adulation for Evita before the crowd of anti-Peronists spew forth their demands for her death and praise of the cancer that ended her life;  word selection in the lyrics need better matching with the emotional content...or better translation; and there should be more definition of characters in the first act.  The seven musicians were superb and the lighting by Ayun Fedorcha was totally sensitive in the telling of this tale.  Overall there are more high spots than low spots in this production and, no doubt, the audience on opening night was extremely moved and satisfied with this startling death of a famous world icon.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

*****

Violinist Hilary Hahn has achieved a worldwise reputation for her impressive performances of the violin works of J.S. Bach and later classical composers.  Loyal to a fault to her Curtis Institute teacher Jennifer Higdon, Hahn asked Higdon to compose a "new" violin concerto for her.  Co-commissioned by three symphony orchestras (Indianapolis, Baltimore and Toronto) as well as the Curtis Institute, this concerto was bound to become an "event" when first played in the Baltimore area and it was inevitable that Hahn should be the soloist.  Sadly, the BSO concert at the Strathmore showed the concerto to be a curiosity pretending to be a serious piece of music. The first movement should be rewritten or thrown aside and replaced.  It wanders (not even enigmatically) across a minefield of themes that have little propulsive force behind them.  They are not interesting musically and they do not showcase the soloist well enough to make the piece an attractive opportunity for other violinists wishing to impress with their abilities. The movement opens with rather wispy playing by the soloist alone as if the soloist were tuning up for an actual performance.  Gradually, other instruments emerge into their own separate experiments. The first movement is far too long and puzzling in its lack of an inner structural core. The second movement contains much melodic value and could almost stand alone as an interesting new piece of American music. The third movement which climaxes in a sort of sexual frisson is impressive only because of the energy it requires from a soloist.   This concert opened with Beethoven's "Overture to Egmont" played with maximum tension and drama.  After intermission, the BSO musicians performed Dvorak's "Symphony No. 5 in F Major" of 1875.  The first movement was steeped in Central European melodies which seemed to arise from a ceaseless musical Spring.  The dance-like third movement was delightful although it hinted that it might be followed by a superabundant climax of great volume and intensity.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****

Washington's community of opera fans was challenged and delighted on several levels at Washington Concert Opera's magnificent presentation of Saverio Mercandante's 1837 opera "Il Giuranmento".   How could they have overlooked such splended glorious music from a forgotten Italian composer?  And how could WCO have recognized perhaps two years ago the sensational voice of James Valenti well before Valenti soared into current world fame with recent performances in Europe and Japan and an upcoming appearance at the Met next season in a major role in "La Traviata"?  WCO's ardent subscribers have a determined look to them and seemed well aware that Antony Walker has brought the group to a national prominence that can attract singers of spectacular talent such as Elizabeth Futral and Donnie Ray Albert.  These are known talents but far more radical is the intelligence that reaches out to locate new talent such as Valenti to give it exposure and publicity. Two of the singers in particular, Futral and Valenti, brought to their roles an intensity of passion and character that were defining.  Futral's reliance on expressive eyes and a mobile head suggested how much grander a performance she could provide in a fully staged work with costumes and sets.  Valenti's affecting voice showed that he will become a singer able to project emotional complexities with a voice of great beauty and assurance.  "Il Giuramento" has a plot so essentially silly that, even by grand opera standards, it is ridiculous.  But this hardly mattered as the loosest possible recognition of the character relationships was sufficient to ground the music in a sort of reality.  It was the singing that mattered and the singing was often breathtaking.  From the strongly flavored opening chords of the short overture to the lusty comments from a well-trained chorus that participated at many levels during the evening, this was a performance that delighted all of its parties.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****

Carl Banner and the Washington Musica Viva like nothing better than the opportunity to rescue from oblivion a forgotten 20th century composer.  The Washigton Musica Viva and the Austrian Cultural Forum presented music written by an obscure composer, who had co-edited the complete works of Brahms, and had his music banned in Germany because of his Jewish heritage and and so became an "enemy alien" in Britain during the World War II.  A sizeable audience turned out to see what the music of Hans Gal might actually sound like and to "see" or "hear" the US premiere of "What a Life" which is a bilingual internment camp revue for which Gal wrote the music in 1940.  Although Banner introduced the evening by stating that Gal's music is "complex without being obscure" and suggested strong overtones of Brahms and Schubert within the music, what the audience discoverd was that Gal was the Scottish Poulenc. Gal wrote delightful music...a little campy in flavor...certainly containing ample "popular" approaches to the blending of instrumental sounds. This may not be jazz but the saucy intensity, the arch development of themes, and the sudden interruptions of contrasting sensations had more to say about Paris or New York than about a Viennese chocolate-box operetta or the gloom of Gal's adopted Edinburgh.   The program broke easily into two parts beginning with two substantial compositions written after WWII.  The various musicians played both the "Suite for Alto Saxophone and Piano" and the "Trio for Violin, Clarinet and Piano".  Here the flavor of Poulenc was palpable.  After the intermission, Bret Werb of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum introduced two works written by Gal during his four month internment in 1940.  Werb read appropriate passages from Gal's diary of the period.  Gal's "Huyton Suite" for flute and two violins was written soon after Gal had been interned and was constrained by the instruments available to the musicians interned with him. This is a slight work but not a work to be disdained.  Mezzo Karyn Friedman, tightly gowned as a torchsinger in red spangles, was the sparkle for "What a Life" as she sang all of the songs. The lyrics are eminently forgettable...cute but also a bit trite.  Only the music raises this work above the mediocrity of a summer camp effort.  Except for Gal's score, nothing else has survived from this revue.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****

The Music Center at Strathmore was the site of an extravaganza that completely captivated everyone in the hall. The "Soulful Symphony" is FANTASTIC!  The musicianship of the group, instrumentalists and vocalists, is commendable and their exuberance is contagious. The program featured the music of Motown and was under the direction of Darin Atwater  and we were taken on a wonderful trip down memory lane. All of the soloists were top-notch with many outstanding performances but the outright stars of the evening was the group, The Returns.  This cover band has been around for 18 years and wowed the crowd with their fancy footwork as well as their tight harmonies.  This wasn't just a concert... it was a happening.  The audience was invited to clap, sing along, and dance.  Everyone heeded the call.  And on the last tune, Stevie Wonders' "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", the dancing reached a fever pitch as the string section joined in.  One of the violinists proved to be an expert popper.  This was yet another joyous and exhilarating experience provided by the Soulful Symphony and I await their next performance with great anticipation.  If you haven't heard this amazingly talented group of musicians then count yourself amongst the deprived and make plans to rectify that oversight.  (Reviewed by Beverly Cosham)

*****

One of Bellini's lesser-known operas is "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" (The Capulets and the Montagues) of 1830.  Bel Cantanti Opera's current production of this opera at the Montgomery College Recital Hall is one of the best musical bargains in the Washington area for the weekend of 5/29-5/31.   These Friday to Sunday performances will offer the opera again at $35 dollars a ticket.  Three of Bel Cantanti Opera's most familiar talents appear in this production ...bass Kwang Kyu Lee as Capellio, the father of Guilietta; soprano Meghan McCall as Giulietta; and mezzo Jessica Renfro as Romeo. Consistently Jessica Renfro was the "Ferrari" on stage as she was lavishly costumed in one of the few believable costumes for this production.  She was quick in her acting and superb as a singer in a role Bellini draped with opportunities for solo excellence.  At times Refro left her audience almost breathless with admiration as she breathed life into her character and spun melodies into charismatic suggestions.  Meghan McCall was only slightly less effect as Giulietta.  McCall's excellence in Mozart's comic roles might suggest that she is still developing an approach to more "tragic" operatic roles.  But Romeo has far more to do and sing in this opera that celebrates the deceitful manner in which love must sometimes be accomplished when the lover brings few social advantages.  Tenor Patrick Layton was a somewhat wooden Tebaldo...the intended husband for Giulietta.  Layton has an excellent voice but he had no chance on several levels against the superior Romeo.  The greatest weakness in this production was not the cramped stage or the inadequate set but rather the weak chorus.  Only in the aria for the funeral procession for Giulietta did the chorus suggest an understanding of the music they were singing.  Earlier, when they needed to be triumphantly lusty or vigorous in their underscoring  of the action, they were simply lackluster.  (Reviewed by Stephen Neal Dennis)

*****

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)

*****

Christmas snows delayed my trip to the weather cold city of Houston which limited my reviewing to only two museums and three stage shows.  The two most stunning shows this Yuletide were the Divine Performing Arts at the Jones Theater and the Funeral Museum in the northern part of the city.  The "Divine" show was more than divine in its wonderful Chinese costuming and stunning synchronized dancing.   The works were all ethereal except for two selections...the "Persecuted on a Sacred Path" which showed oppression by the political and military systems but fortunately ended on a positive note as the dead father was rewarded in heaven, and the "Dance of the Snow-Capped Mountain" with it militaristic thrusts which seemed imposed from without and denied the romanticism of the Tibetan peoples.    The back of the large stage showed startling pictures of Chinese landscapes...including the Eternal City... in wonderful color on which moving figures were seen flying around from gods to scenic items.  The show should be in DC in February and it is a must-see as it is not only beautiful but it shows the loveliness of China throughout...one reacts comparatively to the fantastic show that preceded the recent Olympics.  The Funeral Museum has a huge display space which is necessary to show the excellent hearses and ambulances from present day to the wheeled ones of previous centuries.  One hearse is totally carved out of wood but with an intact motor so it was driveable.   There were many highly decorated coffins and the most interesting one had a place for a mother, father and dead baby betwixt.  The parents were so distraught at the baby's death that they planned to commit suicide and be placed in the coffin  with the offspring.   Yes, they changed their mind but couldn't get their money back.    Otherwise the exhibits included burial processes throughout the world and a present exhibit is complete involving the death of Pope John Paul II which is very inspirational.   The Houston Museum of Natural Science impresses with two current shows of "The Birth of Christianity" and "Body Worlds 2".  The "Birth of Christianity" show has artifacts mostly from the city of Jerusalem and the two temples.  The most intesting part of the exhibit is the second section in which remnants of gospels and the Dead Sea Scrolls are shown.  And the wall description are superb in pointing out the inconsistencies as well as consistencies surrounding the early development of christianity.  One is impressed with so many false notions that current peoples have regarding the biblical times.   "Body Worlds 2" is similar to a recent show at the Spectrum in Rosslyn but the plastinated bodies are all volunteers of which there are 9 thousand still signed on.  The bodies are postured in different sports and artistic positions so that so much more information of muscular movement can be appreciated.  Some visitors were turned off by the one specimen of a mother who died in childbirth with the baby coming through the uterine passage.  It is an amazing show and not only for medical students as it pinpoints parts of the body that can disturbed by different illnesses.  The Houston Christmas Revels this year took place in the Lowe Theater at St. John's School instead of the much larger symphony hall.  As a result the show of the Elizabeth age seemed so much more intimate.  The costuming of Claremarie Verbheyen was absolutely perfect especially the two flamboyant costumes of Queen Elizabeth I.    Barbara Lasater perfectly portrayed the Virgin Queen with commanding presence and voice.   The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance got the largest applause although the whole show was roundly applauded at the end.    The children's group was again finely and creatively directed by Beth Sanford...and she did well throughout the show.   It is an annual Yule joy!   The Alley Theater presented the Christmas Carol but subtitled it "A Ghost Story of Christmas" as Michael Wilson's adaptation starts with white robed and hand chained ghosts roaming around the stage so the whole story is much more "ghostly".  Jeffrey Bean played the lead and his Ebenezer is firm at the start and almost giddy at the end...a superior transition that got many extraordinary laughs.   Spencer Plachy came off second best with his playing nephew with his gentle teasing of his uncle.  Bettye Fitzpatrick again topped the others secondary actors in  her two roles. But the whole play came off very professionally with no errors noted in the stage work or technicals.  The audience showed outstanding responses to this oft told tale.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

*****

Have you ever been on a trip where you don't even want to steal the hotel towels...enough said about San Jose, Costa Rica.   After being most excited by reports about the beauty of Costa Rica...it was hard to find in its capital city of San Jose.  Even in the downtown area one found razor wire on balconies and around businesses.  And the lower class that roamed the streets rarely seemed to be buying in any of the stores which were all in Christmas decor with continuous carols being played.  The only classical respite could be found in the gloriously beautiful Opera house which is done in baroque style with gold leaf throughout.    The program there was for two nights of choral groups (27th Festival de la Musica Coral) in country wide competition.    The first evening had primary school singers who were mostly off key although cute and an older group with "pipes and whistles" in their tones.    The most effectively pleasing the first night was the Coro Del Liceo Samuel Saenz who did wonderful call and response from William Boyce's "Alleluia" to the negro spiritual  "I'm Gonna Sing".  The second evening found the Grupo Musical Experimenta Universitario de las Universidad de Costa Rica who wowed with excellent classical hispanic music and lots of instruments to guide the singers.   However the best of the evening was the Coro de la Escuela de Artes Musicales with a stunning "Salve Regina" and a most exciting song and movement of "Dos Cantos Africanos".   The finest art museum is the Costa Rican Art Museum which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.   It had work of the most celebrated artists...named Group of 8 (Herman Gonzalez, Luis Daeli, Cruz Gonzalez, Cesar Valverde, Guillermo Jimenez, Rafael Angel Garcia, Harold Fonseca and Nestor Zeledon)...who all had out of country art experiences.  One of the most beautiful pieces was Juan Manuel Sanchez's "Lovers"...a wood sculpture.    One of the most fascinating was Fernando Calvo's "Hope" which was again a wooden sculpture of a decrepit woman seated in a rocking chair...the facial lines were totally  stunning not unlike a Michaelangelo.   Of the paintings, Luis Doeli 's huge "Pieta" was again full of character lines throughout.  The National Museum  was in a former military barracks and every visitor should see the collection as it primarily describes the history of the country especially the 1948 revolution which was mesmerizing. The National Center of Art and Culture was a disappointment with only 8 art pieces which were all minimalistic.    The jade and the gold museums have superb collections of their named items.   The Gold museum's entrance are bank vault doors which show how huge the gold collection is.    Jade preceded gold to show social status of the wearers. Currently the Museum of Calderon Guardia has the Marc Chagall touring show which contains his work concerning Greek mythic characters.  It is a delicious show and one hopes it may make it to Washington DC.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

*****

On an annual visit to Miami, Bob Anthony this year found an explosion of art venues...mostly in the dozens of new galleries.  Although most of them show hispanic-tinted art appropriate for the area,  the University of Miami  has a larder of great classical art with only 1/10th of its treasures on display.  One finds all of the major artists from El Greco to Frank Stella to Duane Hanson.    They recently added "Taking Form in Glass" in a new gallery with the art pieces from the Palley Collection.   They include works from Chuhuly to Picasso in a glorious display of most enticing and enrapturing glass works.   They currently also have a traveling show "Excavating Egypt" (To 11/2) that brings back fond memories of Egyptian traveling that almost favorably competes with any King Tut exhibit.   But then, there is also art from Africa, Polynesia, Asia and Ancient America that is startling in the well curated displays.   This is definitely the one museum to see in Miami.    Regarding the galleries, the most impressive ones are the Entra Fine Art with its two large canvases by Ricardo Pelaez...the one being a reproduction ("Fritza") of a Klimt with a long robe extending to the bottom right of the picture and flowing onto a side chair covered with the same material;  the Fusion V which is showing Allashka with typical Russian wood chip constructions of realistics scenes and faces...a most endearing technique for russophiles;  and the Britto Gallery in South Beach with wonderfully cheerful  and stark colorations as only this master can create...he is best know for the pyramid construction in Hyde Park in London.   Plus there seem to be a zillion smaller galleries throughout the city from Coconut Grove to 31st Street in upper Miami.   The Actors' Playhouse on the Miracle Mile in Coral Gables is showing a wonderful production of "1776" (To 11/8).   It is so much fun to see how our founding fathers went through so much verbal and physical pain to write the Declaration of Independence when they could suffer hangings for their behavior.  The cast was perfectly selected for this production with the award going to Shane R. Tanner who wowed the audience with his ""Molasses to Rum".   But all of the actors were in good acting style and voice for this drama with music.  The costumes  by Ellis Tillman were excellent but the wigs were quite inadequate.  But the audience was always revited on the stage action.  And here is a recommendation for the most fantastic cruise ship on the seas...the Liberty of the Seas is a newer ship of Royal Caribbean that boasts it is the largest such ship afloat by two inches.   The fifth deck is a ship long Promenade where buying and social activities flourish.   Their newest stage show is "In the Air" which is a smaller version of Cirque du Soleil with the dancers constantly moving around in the air with nary a foot on the stage for the one hour show.  And it is a technical marvel with lights and sounds.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

*****

Bob Anthony found that St. Louis was certainly a total delight regarding the arts venues.   First off, the St. Louis Symphony was presenting "The Lord of the Rings" composed by Howard Shore and it was beautifully conducted by Ludwig Wicki with a stage full of orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Chorus and the St. Louis Children's Choirs.   Although each musical portion was exciting, there was a disconnect between portions so there was an uneasy flow to the music.  Soprano Kaitlyn Lusk had to use a mike to ride over the choral groups even though it seemed inadequately rehearsed since lyrics were not understandable...perhaps surtitles should have been used.  There were nice visuals presented on a large screen upstage but there was no description as to what they represented.    The Orange Girls at the COCA black box theater presented "Scorched" by Lebanese playwright, Wajdi Mouawad that was confusing as actors and actresses played many roles and a few played the same roles at different ages.  The basic Greek-theater plot was predictable although shocking to many in the audience who were less sophisticated in theatricals.  The cast was excellent especially Bruce Longworth and Michelle Hand as Jihane but the story line seemed fractured and would have been helped if the playwright had named the characters more often in the script. The St. Louis Rep did an outstanding performance with Martin McDonagh's "The Lieutenant of Inishmore"...about a terrorist who cared more for his cat than about his committing mayhem and murder. The play has a riotous blood bath in the second act that kept the laughs rollicking throughout the theater.   All the cast was perfect regarding type and talent.  Special kudos go to the tech people especially to Steve Tolin in special effects.   The play has wonderful social and moral messages that one carries away from the theater.   The top museum current show is "Persuasive Politics: Presidential Campaign Memorabilia" at the St. Louis University Museum which can only be exhibited during campaign years as agreed to with the donor.  It is a fabulous collection of buttons, banners and memorabilia going back to Washington's time and up to the present with Obama and McCain materials.  If you have trouble remembering the vice presidential running mates...it is all there for you.  It is a must-see show for all socially and politically minded.  This same museum has one of the finest oriental collection on the top floor with superb jade and ivory carvings...and including a jade burial suit.   Plus the other floors hold excellent paintings and statues including a somewhat shocking nude Black Jesus contemplating his cross.   Also associated with the museum is the Samuel Cupples House which has the finest collection of glass and crystal ware ever seen.    The Washington University has outstanding buildings which reminds one of a British university...and the Kemper Art Museum there has the delightful "Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design and Culture at Midcentury".  The best part of the show is the wonderful "jazz" lounge which has pictures and portraits of jazz artists with background jazz music and also individual headphones to listen to specific jazz artists.  The rest of the show has jazzy types of furniture and abstract paintings.  It is interesting since many painters state that they listen to jazz music as they create their works of arts.  The top floor of the museum has a fine collection of classic and modern paintings and the bottom floor has a "money" museum with a talking mannequin of Ben Franklin talking about money concerns.   The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts has a Flavin show with his neons neatly filling the long hallways.   One is concerned about the construction of this museum as it only has two large galleries to present paintings although the structure is an award winner regarding startling construction.   The Saint Louis Art Museum is preparing to add an addition but it still shows a healthy permanent collection.  It has  a solid American collection from Colonial times up to George Caleb Bingham...and it continues with recent and current painters. It has fine Asian, African, Islamic, Pre-Columbian, Decorative Arts, and European galleries.  Of course, the most exciting is the comprehensive impressionists and post impressionists presentations.   The Contemporary Art Museum is rather small...three exhibitions areas at present.  The current show is Aida Ruilova "The Singles 1999-Now." and Lutz Bacher "Spill"...both shows are only for the lovers of extreme contemporary video and minimalist art and one stand-up piece is just piled up cases of beer a la Andy Warhol.  The Missouri Historical Museum has two delightful shows ...."Lindbergh" and the "1904 World's Fair"...they are both most exciting in living the past glories of our developing nation.    The Missouri Botanical Gardens is a plant lovers' dream walk-through. Throughout the gardens are the delightful sculptures of Niki (de Saint Phalle) that range from highly painted dogs and cats to clowns and totems.  This is a must-see for families.   The Laumeier Sculpture Park is outside the city limits but worth a visit to walk through verdant lawns and hiking paths to locate exciting modern sculptures all described on a map.   The St. Louis Mercantile Library was donated to the University of Missouri  of Saint Louis and it contains wonderful memorabilia of early Americana.  The largest collection is stacks of railroad routes and maps that describe the birth of railroads until the present.  Additionally at present there is a show provided by the German Republic of the Berlin Air Lift which shows the city in similar total destruction not unlike Dresden.   But it shows the bravery of American fliers to get supplies through to the West Berliners.  Finally, for lovers of church art , there is the magnificent Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis the is stunningly covered by mosaica.  In the basement is a display of the art of composing mosaics that is also fascinating.  And the St. Stanislaus Church is almost the only building standing in the now-slums Polish area of the city.  But upon entering the church one feels a bit of paradise was dropped on earth.   There is renovation going on in that part of the city so it may return to its glory days.  (Reviewed by Bob Anthony)

***** 

Celia Sharpe covers the following New York City's 2008 Fringe Shows:

     "Johnny Law Courtroom Crusader" is on the crossroads where our legal inconsistencies meets expected edginess of the NY International Fringe Festival. Tim Ryan Meinischmidt (playing Johnny) and Tom L. Fox (a true private practice lawyer) wrote this mini-masterpiece.  The main character (Johnny)  acts out his resume from law school to the Department of Justice and on to Public Defender then on to criminal work as private practicioner and finally into entertainment law.  All of these professional elements are provide compilations in his handling a teen age drug case.   Throughout his comments on our legal system are incisive as he works through the "dead end alleys" in this typical courtroom case.   It would be a spoiler to say what happens but all who caught this show participated in a spirited piece of intelligent entertainment.  Kudos to the director, Christopher Fessenden, and this company for an excellent production.

     "Ripcords" is a dramatic musical about the silent generation of 1923-33 which proves that the group was not "withdrawn, cautious, unimaginative, indifferent, unadventurous or silent" as commonly believed.  The lead Susan (Emily Skaggs) works at a wartime profiteering company making faulty "ripcords" and she suspects that one was responsible for her brother's death so she symbolically breaks loose of her own ripcord and tries to make a difference and is challenged by friends, employers and politicians.   The musical is a gem with superb jazz music by Andy Cohen and lyrics by Anne Berlin. Ms. Skaggs has a bright future with her charm and talent and that "Jimmy Stewart" spunk.   She will definitely be a top star on the musical stage.

     Chip Deffaa has five plays being produced and luckily the N.Y. Fringe has "The Seven Little Foys".    The legendary showman Eddie Foy was a character both on and off the stage.  This gentle story with dozens of early 20th century songs begins with the death of his wife and ends with the death of Eddie after all of his grown children singly leave the act.   It is not only good family entertainment but also family love and cohesion resonates throughout.

       Movin' Melvin Brown is a one-man entertainment in his internationally acclaimed production of "A Man, A Magic, A Music".  A singer and dancer as well as a comic Mr. Brown brings back the memories of the last 60 years of music.   But mostly Mr. Brown is an inspiration to the spirit of music and humor which never fails as he gets everyone clapping hands and tapping feet.   He brings forth one treasure after another from the bygone golden days of music.  Bottom Line: Great songs, great show, great time for all.

     This "China:The Whole Enchilada" is an irreverent survey of five thousand years of Chinese history running coincidentally with the Chinese Olympics.   It features the Peking man, Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Mao, Fu Manchu and they even consider Ricardo Montalban (?).   This is a true vaudeville show where anything goes. Song and dance is interspersed with puns, off stage disaster sounds and sommersaults.  It is cleverly done by actors from the Orlando Shakespeare Festival.   It is one of the nuttiest fringe shows even as it is politically correct.

     "Tiny Feats of Cowardice" is a one woman show by Susan Bernfield.  This actress, with bravery and mucho talent,  shows how cowardice is real and too often ignored as if it were and unspeakable disease.   She provides not platitudes but warms the subject with quaint humor  and sings some great songs along the way.   It makes one "feel good".

     "The Deciders" covers the Cindy Sheehan conflict with President Bush after she lost her son in the war.   It is a rock musical that takes its title from Bush's statement that "...I decide what's best".   With rousing music this musical  fantasizes putting Saddamn back on the Iraqi throne in order to stabilize the country.  It ended with a rousing ovation so the audience truly "decided" what is "best".

     "Revolution on the Roof...a 60's Anti-war Musical" is a true story set to the music of the time.   This wonderful show reminds us that passion and truth do not have to scream to be heard, especially if they are backed up with commitments.   The musical moves from the Vietnam war to the feminist movement being defined as bras are eventually thrown away.

     "The Johnny" might invite comparison with a host of high school musicals.  It has the high school jock who falls for the quiet self-assured girl.    Of course the school nerd beats out the jock in a sports event.  Kudos to the composer, the choreographer, the orchestrator and the whole technical crew.

     "Down Around Brown Town" speaks clearly the bio of James Brown...the great showman.  The show's only fault is that it is too short at 60 minutes even though it is an intense and engerized show.   The audience is left with a "please, please" don't stop feeling.

     "Usher"...as expected...is a musical based on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher.  This effectively staged production features lush music composed by Sarah Hirsh.   So the Poe's talent at describing a "doomed woman" again comes to the fore.   And this was a new interpretation of the classic with music a la Sondheim that intertwines with the poignancy of Phantom of the Opera.  This is a very original and careful re-creation and it is done with great respect for the original detective story writer.

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