ALLEGIANCE with Lea Salonga and George Takei

The new Broadway musical ALLEGIANCE is an overly ambitious play about our shameful, immoral treatment of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the outbreak of WWII.  The disgraceful treatment of more than 100,000 American citizens of Japanese heritage has not received adequate acknowledgement nor have the families received appropriate compensation.  To criticize this production for being melodramatic or for its unforgettable musical numbers does not do justice to the historic signifigance of these events.  ALLEGIANCE does have a first rate cast starring Lea Salonga, Telley Leung and George Takei (yes, Mr. Sulu.)  Yes, Takei and his family were disgracefully interned during WWII.  His personal accounts inspired the collaborative writers and comoposer who have created a palatable platform for recounting an ugly segment of history that has been suppressed.  Broadway is becoming the medium for educating the public of its history.  ALLEGIANCE serves as historical storytelling of importance and to subjugate the play to theatrical shortcomings is disloyal.

Aishah Rahman's "The Mojo and the Sayso" at Fordham Theater

The Fordham theater students selected a very prescient, tour-de-force play "The Mojo and the Sayso" by African Amer playwright, Aishah Rahman (b. Harlem 1936-2014.)  Although I'd prefer not to use any label outside of nationality, it's imperative to denote Ms. Rahman as an African Amer writer.  Born in Harlem in 1936, Rahman was raised as a foster child.  She graduated from Howard & Goddard Univ and was a Prof. of Literary Arts at Brown University.  During the 1960's, Rahman wa active in the Black Arts Movement.  Her writing content blazens with corrosive social commentary.  Her writing style infuses a "jazz aesthetic" that penetrates the listener and maintains its hold.  Written in 1988, "The Mojo and the Sayso" is prescient of today's racial upheaval.  An African Amer couple has just received a large payout for the "wrongful death" of their 10 yr. old son Linus on the 3rd anniv. of his passing.  Linus was shot in the back as he & his father (both unarmed) were fleeing from officers.  The wife has turned for solace to the church and the husband puts all his energy into building a car.  Their older son, Blood, is a deeply troubled & volatile.   His parents fear for their safety around Blood as well as for his  welfare.  Police shootings of men of color and their vindications is at the wrenching heart of this play along with the collateral fallout to victim's families.  "How much money is a boy's life worth?" asks his griefing mother.  Religious fanaticisim & fraudulent church leaders are also lambasted in this tour-de-force play.  The student's production is remarkable.  The acting and staging was superb.  I was  transfixed and deeply stirred by "The Mojo and the Sayso."  I chuckled at actor Josh Fulton's program shout out "to the splendiferous cast & anybody else that had anything to do with the making of this production. No thanks to Elizabeth Kline."      

MTA Poetry: "What Do You Belive a Poem Shd Do?" REALLY?

MTA Poetry in Motion has always been cause for reflection.  However, Ntozake Shange (b. Amer 1969) poem "What Do You Believe a Poem Shd Do?" made me ask, Really - is this for real?  Here's the deal, if you have to explain the joke it's not funny.  If you have to explain how to respond to a poetry, what's the point?  Shange is a highly regarded poet, playwright & author.  She's a self-proclaimed black, feminist and this is all well & good.  Except, I'd like to note my own responses to poetry thank you and not have them spoonfed in didactic prose.  

       What do You Believe a Poem Shd Do?

quite simply a poem shd fill you up with something/
cd make you swoon, stop in yr tracks, change yr mind, or make it up.
a poem shd happen to you like cold water or a kiss.

This feels like a glass of cold water tossed in my face.

MTA Poetry "Lady Liberty" by Palestinian Poet, Playwright Nathalie Handal

MTA's Poetry in Motion which serendipitously appear on subway posters.  I just spotted a very lovely poem "Lady Liberty" written by Nathalie Handal (b. Haiti 1969.)  Handal's parents are Palestenian, born in Bethlehem.  Handal describes herself as Palestinian and also, French, American & Latino.  She's has lived in the U.S., France, Latin America and the Carribean.  It's fair to describe her as a woman of the world who traverses boundaries and radiates light.  With her sparse and luminescent  poem, "Lady Liberty," Handal reigns grace upon our city and more importantly, on acceptance and belonging.  Ms. Handals' words could not be more gracious & timely.

    All stars lead to this city,
She's an angle unfolding midnight
     a river of invisible trumpets
       and sidewalks of moons.
                           she's the blues
                      drunk on the light
                 commuting with love
                                on a salboat
    that's found the perfect island.

Rangers Over Maple Leafs with Zuccers, Bloopers and Seconds to Go

Last night's NY Rangers win over the Toronto Maple Leafs did not come without a lot of oofs & goofs & flying pucks into the stands.   Derek Stepan made a goal from mid-ice.  It was more of a give-me from the Leaf's goalie (oops!)  Uh, where did it go?  It slid through the goalie who was as surprised but not as pleased as the Rangers fans & Stepan (who was seen laughing on the jumbotron).  Lundquist had the night off and goalie Anti Raanta also had a key stone flop allowing a Leafs' goal to eek on by.  While it would be hard pressed to see Lundquist let one slide by, Raanta did a "Lundguist" save by head-butting a Maple Leaf shot.  Raanta has 4 wins & no losses on the season.  The biggest Hey Hey goes to Zuccarello - ZUUUUUC - with 2 assists & the winning goal with less than a minute on the clock for a 4-3 victory.  The Rangers now have 9 straight wins.  Their longest winning streak since the 72-73 season.  Go Rangers!

Chinese Artists Zeng Fanzhi at Gagosian-Got to Go See this Show

I was extremely taken by the paintings and works by Zeng Fanzhi (b. China 1964.)  Fanzhi is an integral artist amongst the generation following on the heels of the Cultural Revolution of the 1970's.  The large oil paintings appear to sprout from the walls.  They are incredibly powerful with ominous undertones.  The paintings feature large, bare black branches in the foreground.  These interlocking limbs seem to ward the viewer away and simultaneously harken you forward by the colorful lights and mystifying landscapes in the background.  I felt a sense of vertigo similar to viewing NYC from an elevated vantage.  There is a push/pull effect that is both eerie and breathtaking.  Most of the figures in the paintings are facing away giving a dreamlike aura.  The only figure directly facing outward appears   childlike in a red robe, seemingly floating on water.  The back gallery is dimmly lit with grey drawings that shimmer.  These drawings on handmade paper resemble slabs of stone inlaid with crystals.  There are 2 elongated branch sculptures. One sculpture as you enter & the other as you exit.  Both these are serene & graceful forms cast in silver.  It was betwixt I became bewitched; not unlike sprinting through the poppies to reach the emerald city.  Run towards this mesmerizing exhibit.  While in Chelsea, there is a doppelganger show at Lehmann Maupin gallery.  There are 2 large scale landscapes by Teresita Fernandez (b. Amer. 1968) made of stained glass & porcelain fragments.  It's interesting to compare & contrast the artists' works.  However unfair, the caliber of Fernandez's work does not compare to Fanzhi's.

The Film SPOTLIGHT-Shines the Shame on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church

SPOTLIGHT is a compellling journalistic/detective drama uncovering the Hellish, systemic sexual abuse of priests in Boston who preyed upon children and the complicit coverup by the Archdiocese.  Spotlight refers to a group of investigative reporters at the Boston Globe. Their relentless & dogmatic pursuit led to factual support to victims' claims of sexual abuse by their parish priests.  Furthermore, they uncovered the church's complicit, clandestine disavowal of any culpability.  Does this movie lambast the Catholic Church?  Yes, and righteously so.  There is no longer any DOUBT that sexual molestation by priests, religious pillars in their communities was rampant and deliberately swept under the radar. Still, there is unwavering shock at the celestial scope of its perniciousness & known perpetration.  The film written & directed by Acad. Award winning screenwriter Thomas McCarthy does a superb job of following a team of relentless reporters pursuing their leads. Having a cast of headline actors corroborated the intense drama.  Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton are dynamic as dogged journalists.  Liev Schreiber as the editor of the paper and Stanley Tucci as a attorney for several of the plaintiffs are exceptional in their roles.  (The entire ensemble deserve Oscar nominations.)  Tucci tells Ruffalo, "It takes an outsider" to get things changed.  Tucci is eferring to himself as an Armenian atty. & Schreiber as the Jewish editor in a predominately devout, Catholic community.  Tucci, the fearless crusader also said "It takes a village to raise a child and a village to abuse one."  The perfidy does not fall on the church alone.  The servitude of silence and self-serving interests are multilayered.  Noteworthy are the failings of reporters.  SPOTLIGHT is an engrossing film. It exposes the evils within the priesthood and the plights of their victims.  As entertaining as this film is, it's essential to maintain transparency to prevent this travesty.        

Sheila Hicks Woven Works Exhibition in Chelsea

The forms, colors and skillful craftsmanship of Sheila Hicks' works are overwhelmingly stunning and quietly stirring.  As a student at Yale, Hicks studied under Josef Albers, renowned geometric colorists whose work influenced many other artists of the mid 20th C.  It appears a "stretch" to weave a connection between her prestigious professor & her own works, but Hicks' interplay of color and intricate, woven geometric patterns are radiant.  The most arresting piece is the floor to ceiling woven "ropes" in muted tones of pale yellows & whites which unfurl & foam as if a waterfall.  The back gallery has a sculpture with bounds of yarns & silken threads of a similar, shimmering color pallet.  These graceful forms render changing hues as in sunrises over fields of tethered straw.  In vivid & dynamic contrast are the totemic wool sculptures in a multitude of bright colors, bound together but offset to give a rippled, kinetic  structure.  The individual shapes are also wound in golden threads.  These pieces are inspired by her time spent in Chile where Hicks photographed weavers and archeological sites.  The Sikkema & Jenkins Gallery exhibiting Hicks' works is well worth visiting.  The woven works have a very sensual, tactile attraction and colorful intensity that render her works appealing.    

The doc. PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT

The tape recordings of legendary art patron Peggy Guggenheim (PG) by biographer Jacqueline B Weld  are being publicly heard for the 1st time. They were used in her bio "Peggy:  The Wayward Guggenheim" published in 1986.  We hear a very direct and candid PG in conversation with Weld.  Weld asks unabashed and interesting questions to PG regarding her life, relationships, and perceptions.  PG in her forthright and candid answers provide a vivid portrait of a woman, despite any formal art training, amassed the most impressive collection of the most highly regarded artists of the mid 20th C.  It's astounding PG's innate eye for discerning talented artists.  Her eccentric & bourgeois upbringing is both fascinating & tragic.  Her father died on the Titanic, one sister died in childbirth,  the other purportedly killed her 2 children, and her daughter died of a drug overdose at 41. The enigma of her abilities to recognize geniuses is incredible and her patronage admirable. Although, perhaps her patronage served her like a casting couch. The astounding list of artists with whom she had affairs is impressive albeit brief.  She credits receiving sound advice, mostly from Duchamp. And, she attributes her own intuition and relentless pursuits.  During WWII PG went into Paris and shipped all the contemporary works the Louvre did not regard worth protecting to the U.S.  When asked if she was afraid of being captured and sent to the camps she replied "No, it's not in my nature to be afraid."  The film presents an impressive list of artists: painters, sculptors, writers & critics she knew, supported and a scintilating kiss & tell.  Her 2 most important accomplishments were 1)  Pollack and her amassed collection. This 90 minute doc. is an ardent portrait of a maverick at the vortex of an volatile epoch in modern art.  "I am not an art collector.  I am a museum."  

Keira Knightley in THERESE RAQUIN with Judith Light

THERESE RAQUIN is a play by Emile Zola (b. France 1840.)  The plot is reminiscient of Flaubert's "Madame Bovary;" an adulterous woman from a loveless marriage and Dreiser's "An American Tragedy;" a murderous drowning roused out of lust.   Therese (Keira Knightley) is the poor relation relegated to subservience by her aunt and her insuffereable, coddled son Camille.  Camille & Therese are 1st cousins raised together by Camille's mother.  Knightley does an admirable job of evoking sympathy for her indentured life, trapped in a loveless marriage to Camille despite first seeming catatonic. Camille announces plans to move from their provincial town to Paris.  "Change must come sometimes."  The move leads to a sexual awakening in Therese.  She and Camille's artist friend, Laurent, carry on a torrid, insatiable affair which can only be satiated by murdering Camille.  Madame Raquin is played by Judith Light.  Light's acting is suffocating in Act I.  Although it serves her role well in Act II when rendered speechless & immobile from a stroke.   Act I floats along as Theres unleashes her feral character.  Act II permits the illicit lovers to live openly in society.  Except, murder is frowned upon in civilized society and the couple cannot escape justice or the piercing gaze of the ghostlike portrait hanging over them.  The play is dated, overrated and a lugubrious bore.    

Gabriel Byrne and Will Rogers: Artist to Artist Conversation at Linc Ctr Atrium

The David Rubenstein Atrium at Linc Ctr is a fabulous public space.  They also provide a plethora of FREE programs.  Last night had a double bill:  Gabriel Byrne & Will Rogers in a discussion about the craft of acting.  And, a special late night performance & discussion with Conductor Alan Gilbert of the NYPhil.   A line usually forms early outside the atrium for most programs.  The space is limited & fills  quickly.  I was able to gain admittance just as the program began at 7:30PM and found good seating. On stage was Gabriel Byrne, a Golden Globe winner for his brilliant work as a therapist in the series "In Treatment."  Byrne is also a veteran of film & stage (Tony nominee.)  Seated next to Byrne was Will Rogers, a young actor with a bit part in Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies,"  If you blink, you miss it. Rogers performed in a Lanford Wilson's play at MTC.  As moderator, Rogers acted poorly.  Rogers asked Byrne questions regarding their shared craft.  Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the role.  He didn't pose perceptive questions and failed to listen to Byrne's loquacious and candid remarks.  Although Byrne did say that was the most important thing he learned about acting; listening.  Rogers failed to follow-up on Byrne's comments.  Their pairing felt awry.  Byrne, a veteran Irish actor regaled us with his gift for gab and was entertaining.  However, he was left doing the heavy lifting in the conversation.  The free talk was a paradigm of "The Actor's Studio."  It had a distinguished guest artist (Byrne) but lacked the skills of host James Lipton to elicit a fascinating discussion.  The idea of an artist to artist discussion was great but this was a somewhat of a missed opportunity.  Perhaps, had this event been more engaging, I would have remained for the FREE 10:30PM discussion & musical peroformance with Conductor Alan Gilbert.

Italian Film THE WONDERS-Shrug It Off

THE WONDERS is a family drama/coming of age story set in the rural countryside which feels more like real life than a movie.  Unfortunately, it also feels more like purgatory and had me making a beeline for the exit an hour into the movie, already 1/2 hour too long.  Dir Alice Rohrwacher (b. Italy 1980) has a fine eye for the arduous grind for family farmers & apiarists who toil to sustain a living and a way of life.  The grind & monotony of their routines is felt early.  Yet there is respite & enjoyment in their togetherness & playfulness in the lake.  It's their boisterous frolicking that causes a film crew member to come over to ask them to be quiet.  The family's curiosity brings them over to see the filming of a promo for a contest for local farmers.  The beautiful, celestial woman featured in the film awakens in the eldest daughter a yearning for more than her provincial life.  Our sympathies lie with the dutiful daughter.  Her pleas to her father to take part go unheeded.  Although, I'm not sure what happens, I didn't remain seated.  Being stung by a bee would haven been less painful.  

NYPHIL rehearses an All Mozart Prog. Conducted by Alan Gilbert

This may have been my last opportunity to hear the NYPhil perform this year.  Fortunately, it was an exceptionally beautiful all Mozart program conducted byAlan Gilbert. The program contained Divertimento in D major, Horn Concerto #2 in E-flat major and Serenade #10 in B-flat major.  We were forewarned The Serenade was not going to be performed in full at the rehearsal.  This was hardly a setback.  The music lifts one's spirit and transports you with it's magic.  Gilbert is a friendly but demanding conductor.  There were frequent stops with the Divertimento.  While I couldn't hear his instructions to the musicians, I tried to compare the rephrasings.  It was interesting to be able to discern a change in tempo or gusto.  Still, everything sounded like perfection.  The Horn Concerto with soloist Philip Myers was performed brightly with only short conferrals between Myers & Gilbert.  The Serenade was intermittently stopped and performed in brevity - but I was entirely grateful.

Julliard Jazz Ensembles Play The Music of Ornette Coleman and Horace Silver

Last night's Julliard School's Jazz Ensembles A performed music by Ornette Coleman and Ensemble E performed the music of Horace Silver.  Both legendary jazz musicians and composers passed away in in 2015 & 2014, respectively.  Their innovative music and imipact on jazz won Coleman a Pulitz Prize in 2007 for his music.  Silver's Obit. in The Daily Telegraph claimed Silver as "1 of the most exhilarating & influential forces in jazz over the last 65 yrs.  The student's themselves played with virtuoso and syncopation.  Ensemble A included a vibraphone played by Jacob Chapman that added electricity and bounce to the music.  It was thrilling to watch his mallets bounce off the keys.  Ensemble E featured Kanoa Mendenhall on Bass who plucked and strummed her instrument with bluesy and classical intonation.  Two alternating pianists Mathis Picard & Paul Bloom shared duty on the piano with verve.  It's entertaining to hear the various students speak of the piece about to be performed; their  interpretation, its history and quotes by Coleman or Silver.   The compositions were arranged by the students; an impressive skill.  I loved the free jazz sound coined by Coleman and jazzy fusion sound of Silver on the program.  In particular, I enjoyed  "Silver's Serenade & "Peace" and Coleman's "Blues Connotation."  Coleman's piece "Sadness" sounded like what hopelessness feels.  The evening however, was nothing short of exubertaing.  I have the highest esteem for the talented students and a slight feeling of envy for their camaraderie, passion and sheer joy of performing.

Author Jon Meacham in Conversation with David Rubenstein on "George H.W. Bush"

John Meacham, Pulitz Prize winning biographer (Andrew Jackson '09) has written a new biography "George H.W. Bush - Destiny & Power."  Monday night, financier & philanthropist David Rubenstein engaged Meacham in a rapid fire, fascinating and intelligent discussion on the life & legacy of our 43rd President; the last living Pres of the greatest generation.  Meacham is a prolific biographer, author & political commentator.  His biography of Pres Bush is the first bio he's written on a living individual.  Meacham replied promptly when queried whether this made the process easier or more difficult, "much more difficult."  However, Meacham was able to interview his subject and was made privy to the many audio tapes that Pres Bush recorded immediately following meetings of utmost importance regarding our nation's foreign & domestic policies & his own reflections on the determining factors leading to his decisions.  Pres Bush, Sr. is our last living president that served in WWII.  He enlisted as a US Navy Pilot prior to his 19th birthday, making him the youngest aviator in WWII.  Meacham discussed the harrowing escape from his nval plane during the war that claimed the lives of 2 of his crewmen.  The tragic & painful loss of their young daughter was discussed. In the hour long discussion, which flew by, Mr Rubenstein did a masterful job of illiciting absorbing information about the Pres, events of the time and defining moments from a razor sharp and intriguing Mr Meacham.  Neither man resorted to notes or fell short of riveting in their conversation.  I was captivated by the lively discussion.  I felt a sense for a man with wisdom and integrity & whose life is endlessly fascinating.  I was thrilled to be present & anticipate reading Bush's biography with avid interest.  It's set for release Nov 10th.  Copies were not made available. That was the only disappointment to a stirring event.  

Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting at the Guggenheim

The 1st major retrospective of Alberto's innovative & exhilirating work (which he refers to as paintings) at the Guggenheim spans 4 decades of his work from the mid 40's - 80's.  The trauma in the title may reference the devastation and horrors of WWII.  Fighting with the Fascist forces, Burri was captured by the British and sent to a P.O.W. camp in TX.  Before the war, he was a trained physician.  During his captivity, he made drawings of his experiences and began forming work from found materials.  Upon returning to Italy after the war, Burri left his medicine and focused on an art career. The show is laid out chronologically.  It helps to identify & group the 10 series of his work and follow their transitions.  There is an uncontrolled formation of destruction found in the burnings he made into plastic, revealing apertures & underlying layers.  The 1st gallery has 3 large scale hanging works from the 40's which are exceedingly beautiful & haunting.  I thought of enlarged microscope slides of blood or microbes.  Burlap was an early material he used early on suggests bandages and exposed wounds of vibrant reds.  The burlap & tar express an austere and devastating post war period.  Throughout, Burri focused on tactile surfaces.  The black fractured vinyl "paintings" made me think of the remaining beauty in charred wood.  the white vinyl works have a serene, abandon aesthetic, as if walking on the moon or an unihabited terrain.  The materials & techniques he employed were constantly shifting.  The early stitched materials lead to sodering of heavy metals and molding of plastics.  The "Hunchback" series are interesting protuding pieces, certainly multi-dimensional, also in hues of red.  Other post war artists that came to mind are Fontana, Castellani and Klein for their techniques of taking away, the focus on texture and structure and a monochromatic use of color.  Rashid Johnson's (b. 1977) series of tar paintings reflect Burri's early work.  There is a Phoenix rising from the ruins aesthetic to his work.  I restrained myself from reaching out and touching his paintings, but I was aching to put my hands on them.  

Archibald Motley: Jazz Age Modernist at the Whitney

Archibald Motley (b. Amer 1891-1981) is an African Amer. painter during the Harlem Renaissance whose paintings & portraits transcends race by painting whites/blacks in harmonious social settings, until the end of his painting career.  The self-portrait that confronts you as you enter his retrospective depicts an artist of ambigious race.  There is a portrait of his black father, mixed race mother and white wife in the same room.  The rubesque nude of his wife is direct & unabashed.  There are several other portraits of women, both black & white in the same gallery.  Note a regal, black woman in purple dress with the title "A Woman of Culture."  The portraits in the following gallery show social settings of people of mixed races enjoying themselves.  His maternal grandmother was born a slave and Archibald listened to her talk about her life.  He was raised in an affluent middle class white suburb of Chicago.  He married his high school girlfriend, a woman of German heritage whose parents disavowed the couple.  Motley was the 1st African Amer to have a 1 man exhibit in NYC in 1928.  He commented on race as to its influence on an artist "I say that racism is the 1st thing that they have to get out of their heads.  Forget about this damned racism.  That means nothing to an artist."  There are colorful, exciting jazz scenes that are vibrant and celebretory.  Motley experienced racism later in life while traveling by train in the south.  His experience was reflected in subject matter.  He painted the handling of slaves landing from British East Africa.  The final painting in the gallery "The First 100 Years" (1972) clearly depicts hateful racial persecution and hatred.  This retrospective of Motley's paintings are noteworthy for his skill as an artist and for his focus on skin tones rather race.

FRANK STELLA Retrospective at the Whitney is Stellular

A retrospective of Frank Stella's work spans 6 decades and comprises the entire 5th floor of the Whitney.  It shatters the narrow projection of his work limited to bold, colorful geometric shaped paintings.  There are impressive protractor & lined paintings that will feel familiar. These are reminiscent of other artists' works such as Loving, Martin, Albers & Kelly. The exhibit opens onto an explosive & expansive, 40' painting:  "Das Erdbeben in Chili."  It's a cataclymic clash of color and construction.  Turning the corner, you're confronted by his disturbing black paintings "Die Fahne Hoch," the hanging flag.  This gallery has other paintings from the 60's, or structure paintings or paintings configured into structures with double entendres; open to various interpretations. The hanging "sculptures" called to mind other prominent painters & sculptors: Pollack, Johns, DeKoonig, Chamberlain, Di Suvero, and Smith.  Some forms made me think of playgrounds, amusement parks & speedways. The many layered forms are all uniquely painted.  There is a plethora of materials and plenty of glitter & color. The precise, geometric forms have transitioned into free flowing, traversing forms.  A large assembled screen print from the Moby Dick series is astonishing. The renderings on the left as you enter provide a glimpse into his painstaking, mathematical process. Works by Charles Gaines came to mind.  This exhibit of Stella's work caused me to reflect on other artists.  My favorite piece is "Kamionka Strumilow IV" ('72.)  It's comprised of variegated shapes & multiple surfaces but maintains a definitive shape of depth with harmonious form & colors. "You can only take advantage of those gifts you really have that are part of your character and your luck to be born with those gifts.  I have a gift for structure and strength." (Stella)  Take advantage of this spectacular Stella show and see where your mind takes you.  Take a look at the 2 "star" shaped sculptures on the lower terrace, too.