Category: Theater

Manhattan: Stage, Screen & Page

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STAGE:  OKLAHOMA

Through the years, I’ve seen several productions of the American musical, Oklahoma.  This new production directed by Daniel Fish, is a dark one.  The staging is amazing—open and creative.  It’s theater in the round, really more of a horseshoe, with theatergoers seated on one side of some of the tables used by the actors.  At intermission, the red pots on the tables reveal chili, and cups of chili and cornbread are served to anyone who wants to line up. 

The cast is stripped down, the music is backed by a small combo, not an orchestra, and Curly strums his guitar for the opening, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’.”  All the songs are here, but overall the play is edgy.  The taunting conversation between Curly and Jud about Jud becoming more loved in death is played out in a darkened theater using video projections on a far wall.  Go expecting the unexpected along with a revised ending.  This is an Oklahoma for our time. 

SCREEN:  Official Secrets

I would wager that most Americans have never heard of Katharine Gun, but she was a courageous, albeit naïve, whistleblower, working in British intelligence in 2003.  When Katharine reads a secret memo that the United States is pressuring allies, including Britain, to support a war against Iraq, she is disturbed enough to want to share it.  How her actions play out, what impact they have on her Kurdish Turkish husband, and what the British government does to make an example of her make for a fascinating film for political junkies.  

It is not fast paced, nor full of tension, but it does shine a light on how and when governments deceive the people they represent.  There’s an all star cast with Keira Knightley as Gun and recognizable favorites from Downton Abbey and The Crown such as Matthew Goode and Matt Smith along with Ralph Fiennes as a shrewd defense lawyer.  The Chief Penguin especially loved it! (~JWFarrington)

Seasonal display in Rockefeller Plaza, real style!

PAGE:  STYLE ICON

Bunny Mellon:  The Life of an American Style Legend by Meryl Gordon

Bunny Melon was a product of wealth who married wealth and lived a life of style and glamour. Shy by nature, she mostly avoided the spotlight, but sought and gained recognition for her gardens and her personal taste in décor and decoration.  She married one wealthy man, Stacy Lloyd, then divorced him after WWII to marry the even richer Paul Mellon.   

A man of his time and class, Mellon had affairs and mistresses, something Bunny knew and was unhappy about, but became resigned to.  When he wanted a divorce, she refused, preferring to remain Mrs. Paul Mellon despite everything.  She, in turn, had warm friendships with a number of dashing younger men, florists, hair stylists, and others, mostly gay.  As a close personal friend of Jackie Kennedy, she had a front row seat at some of the most dramatic and tragic moments in the 20th century. 

Gordon’s biography is engaging, breezy, accessible, and, at times, a catalog of celebrities, events and stuff: glittering galas, stunning jewelry, haute couture, and houses upon houses from Manhattan to Virginia horse country to Antigua and Paris.  Bunny Melon was the designer of the White House Rose Garden and of a second garden there named for Jackie Kennedy.  She could be warm and whimsical or brusque and fickle; but, throughout her long life (103 years), she always had Style!  (~JWFarrington) 

Whimsical “Hare on Bell” by Barry Flanagan, 1983

Note: All photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is the Oklahoma set at Circle in the Square Theatre.

Manhattan Finale: Frick & More

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FASCINATING FRICK
We made two visits to the Frick Collection and highly recommend two current exhibits. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed. On our first visit, we discovered that Wednesday afternoons beginning at 2:00 pm, it’s pay what you wish, and the museum was packed. We took a brief tour around some of the Moroni exhibit and decided to return the next day in the morning.
Giovanni Battista Moroni is a lesser known Renaissance painter noted for his portraits of mostly wealthy and high-placed individuals. This is the first major exhibit of his work in the U.S. These people of means have great facial expressions, and he made wonderful use of shades of red and pink in their clothing with very finely detailed jewelry and ornamentation. There is one portrait of a tailor.

Elective Affinities: Edmund de Waal at the Frick Collection.
 Mr de Waal is a ceramist whose favorite medium is porcelain, but he is also attracted to working with steel and gold for his art. A longtime lover of the Frick, he has created a series of small sculptures in vitrines that are placed in front of specific paintings. Some of the works are white porcelain while others incorporate several shapes and thicknesses of black or gray steel. There is a short film showing the artist in his London studio and talking about what he’s trying to achieve in terms of light and form. I found it instructive to see the film before touring his work in the galleries. This exhibit runs into November, the first one closes soon.

What made our visit even more interesting was that a breakfast for press had just ended and I chatted very briefly with two of these individuals about the exhibit. It turns out we were present on opening day for de Waal. For those who don’t know it, you might want to check out his fascinating memoir cum history entitled, The Hare with Amber Eyes. I found it fascinating.

CLASSY DINER
 We had lunch at Three Guys on Madison, and we quickly decided it was the most pleasant, brightest and cleanest diner we’d eaten at. It’s a welcoming space with a mix of booths and tables and can easily accommodate groups. Several families with small children were in evidence and it’s obviously family friendly. Their menu is extensive with lots of breakfast fare, but also plenty of sandwiches, salads, and burgers.

We opted for a Reuben with fries and the tuna salad platter which came with a mound of cole slaw and some sliced tomatoes and cucumber and a hard boiled egg. The platter was a large portion (I didn’t finish it), but very good. The diner is located across the street from Met Breuer so would be a good destination after visiting their exhibits.

FABULOUS THEATER

We were able to squeeze in seeing Kiss Me Kate and are so glad we did.  What a fun, lively, energetic, performance it was!  Even with the understudy playing the lead role of Fred Graham/Petruchio, it was superb. Growing up, I was exposed to the LP record version of a much earlier performance which my folks had seen on Broadway in the 1940’s.  They played this record often, and consequently, I was familiar with the songs and knew most of the words.  The level of fitness and acrobatic skill required for the dancing, especially by Lois Lane and Bill Calhoun, was awe-inspiring.  There was some additional stage business and asides which made this a more contemporary “Kate.”  The song, “Tom, Dick or Harry” will never again be the same.  (~JWFarrington)

PRE-THEATER DINING

Nocello on W. 55, a block from the Roundabout Theatre, was an ideal place for an early dinner.  It appeared to have a regular clientele, even one family group, and not just tourists.  We had the nicest corner table on the lower level and were especially pleased with the fried artichokes and the chicken cutlet encrusted with Parmesan in a bit of lemon white wine broth.  

Artichokes

The Caesar salad was an acceptable rendition and the veal saltimbocca provided a slightly different variation on that classic.  The Chief Penguin sampled the nocello liqueur (made from walnuts and hazelnuts) and it was lovely, deeply smooth with a hint of sweetness.  The small plate of mini biscotti was just right.   We will remember this restaurant for another pre-theater meal.

Note: All contents and photos ©JWFarrington.

Manhattan Moments: Stage, Page & Plate

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Gripping Theater

King Lear with Glenda Jackson and Ruth Wilson

(independent.co.uk)

We saw Glenda Jackson last spring in Three Tall Women and were keen to see her again, this time as the irascible domineering king.  Sam Gold’s production is not a traditional one and there is nothing staid about it.  With modern day costumes and guns instead of swords, it plays with time and makes graphic, couplings and other stage business that are more implied than acted out in other versions.  From beginning to end, it is gripping and at points even glorious.  

First off, Jackson is superb; androgynous in appearance, she is the king:  entitled, dictatorial, and expecting obedience. Ruth Wilson is the gentle, but rebellious Cordelia, who also excels as the Fool. With a Cockney accent and the right combo of jokes and wisdom, the Fool flatters, cajoles and soothes Lear.  Another noteworthy performance is Jayne Houdyshell’s Earl of Gloucester, the loyal retainer who is yet duped by one of his sons.  I also particularly enjoyed the warmth and dedication of the Earl of Kent, as played by John Douglas Thompson.

This is a very busy stage, and some reviewers found it a bit much.  I have to agree that the string quartet sometimes masked the dialogue in a way that was distracting.  The very diverse cast also included one deaf actor, Russell Harvard as the Duke of Cornwall, who was signed to by an aide throughout the entire play.  Apparently, having a diverse cast (this one had racial and gender diversity for sure) is one of Gold’s hallmarks.  My quibbles are minor ones and this, for me, was a wonderful experience and a most memorable Lear! (~JWFarrington)

Engrossing Mystery

The American Agent by Jacqueline Winspear

Author Winspear turns out one Maisie Dobbs a year and this is her latest.  Set in London during the Blitz (late 1940 into 1941), it’s engrossing and I read it in little more than a day.  The murder here, and there is generally only one, is that of a talented young news reporter, Catherine Saxon, who’s been noticed by Edward R. Murrow and hopeful of the chance to join his team.  

(amazon com)

Catherine lives in a rooming house run by an older widow and, while extremely dedicated to her work, is attractive and attractive to a variety of young men.  Maisie is assigned to the case, but requested to work along with Mark Scott, an American diplomat, whose involvement is ostensibly because Saxon’s father is a U.S. senator.  

These mysteries are largely procedurals with lots of interviews and following up on leads, but this one weaves in accounts of the devastation of the nighttime bombing (Maisie and her friend Pris are volunteer ambulance drivers); Maisie’s progress toward adopting Anna, her child evacuee; and also Maisie’s developing relationship with Mr. Scott who appeared in an earlier novel. Lots of richness of character here and a mystery with some suitable twists and surprises.  It’s one of my favorites among the most recent entries in this ongoing series!  (~JWFarrington) 

Turkish Fare: Beyoglu

Beyoglu (pinterest.com)

This Upper East Side restaurant was a perfect venue for a family lunch that included our granddaughters.  We had a large table in a corner and our meze platter was quickly ordered and promptly delivered. The combination of yogurt, hummus, sautéed spinach, and other spreads was great with the puffy bread rounds and kept the two little girls occupied until the rest of the meal arrived.  We sampled the shrimp appetizer, tomato and cucumber salad, sausages and potatoes, grilled chicken over shredded carrots and other veggies, and the very tender doner lamb.  All scrumptious and something for everyone’s taste!

Note: Header photo of Manhattan architecture by JWFarrington. Credits noted for all other photos.

Tidy Tidbits: Stage & Page

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LIVE THEATER—FARCE VS. FUN

This week we attended the last two performances of our Asolo subscription series.   Noises Off at the Wednesday matinee and The Cake the next evening.  I am not a particular fan of farce, but went to Noises Off with an open mind.  I thought it started out slowly, but then picked up and became funnier.  As usual, the set, the technical direction, and the timing were all impeccable.  This is a play that can only be pulled off successfully by accomplished actors and these actors were.  Nonetheless, it was not my cup of tea.

Bekah Brunstetter (breaking character.com)

Much more enjoyable was the performance of The Cake by Bekah Brunstetter. Set in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, it brings together Della, the owner of a cake shop, with Jen, the daughter of her late best friend, and with Macy, Jen’s fiancée.  Della is religiously conservative and married to the owner of a small plumbing business while Jen and Macy live in Brooklyn.  Macy is an ultra liberal black woman, and Jen is a conflicted transplant whose head and heart are divided between her new life in New York and her rooted upbringing in the South. How a request for a wedding cake, preparing to be a contestant on the Great American Baking Show, and a marriage that has gone stale, all collide is the stuff of humor and poignance.  Cindy Gold as Della (shown in the header photo) is fabulous, and Brunstetter’s characters are sympathetic even if you don’t agree with their views.  Provocative and definitely worth seeing!  The Cake runs through April 28.

RECENT READING

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

A Canadian novelist whose parents were immigrants from Ghana, Esi Edugyan has written an exceptional novel about slavery and freedom.   The title character and narrator, Washington Black, known as just “Wash,” is a slave and field hand on a plantation in Barbados when the story opens.  He has no known relatives, and treatment there is harsh as fellow slaves are routinely tortured and put to death.  

Esi Edugyan (ideasfestival.co.uk)

In a stroke of luck, Wash is taken under the wing of the plantation owner’s brother, Christopher Wilde, to assist in his creation of a hot air balloon. Christopher, called ”Titch,” is more humane than his brother and treats Wash kindly.  He believes in human rights and freedom, but has chosen the child Wash solely for his small size and his potential usefulness on the balloon.  Little does he know, initially, that Wash is not only smart with numbers, but has a rare talent for sketching.  When Wash is the only one present at a notable death and a price is put on his head, Titch takes it upon himself to whisk Wash away in the dead of night.  Wash is now both free and a fugitive.  

The novel traces the journey these men, one still a young lad, the other a committed naturalist, take to America and then to the Arctic. When Titch abandons Wash there, Wash travels to Nova Scotia where he works part-time. He takes up drawing again, meets a young woman and her famous marine scientist father, and becomes involved in the founding of an aquarium in London.  Through all these amazing adventures, he notes that to others he is a always first a black man and a disfigured one at that. And he wrestles with how free he really is and puzzles over Titch’s disappearance.

Wash and Titch are vivid characters set against the backdrop of the mid 19thcentury. I found this highly praised novel both thoughtful and gripping. For more about what prompted Edugyan to write this novel, I recommend this interview on Fresh Air.   (~JWFarrington)

BOOK CLUB NOTES

In March, our book club read and discussed Transcription.  Opinions were mixed and a number of members found it slight or didn’t like it much. I personally found it clever and thought the characterization of Juliet, all of eighteen, an apt mix of smarts and naivete.

This month, Tara Westover’s memoir, Educated, was the chosen title, and we had one of the liveliest and best discussions ever.  While a few people didn’t care for it:  too painful to read, was it really all true, why did she stay with her family as long as she did, others found it very powerful.  There was some agreement that, like an abused spouse who stays with her abuser, these were still her parents and she was dependent upon them emotionally and had been made to feel she was worthless.  It wasn’t until her older brother who had left and gone to college, strongly suggested she could do likewise, that she made that a goal.  We also wondered what career path Westover will follow now that she has a PhD.