"American Hustle" - Don't be Conned, Don't Go

The film "American Hustle" is directed by David Russell (Silver Lining Playbook.)  Russell  reassembled his Oscar nom. "Lining" cast:  Bradley Cooper (FBI Agent Richie DiMaso) Jennifer Lawrence (Rosalyn Rosenfeld) Robert DeNiro along with Oscar nom. actors:  Christian Bale (Irving Rosenfeld) Amy Adams (Sydney Prosser) and Jeremy Renner (Mayor Carmine Polilo.)  Sounds like a sure thing for a winning picture.   But, there is no sure thing and this film is assuredly no winner winner chicken dinner.  Irving is a two bit con man from L.I.  I can't buy how Irving (Bale)  a grossly over weight schlub with a bad come over could be married to Rosalyn (Lawrence) and have Sydney (Adams) as his mistress & accomplice.  Bale gained a ton of weight in real life to play the role of this repulsive giffter convincingly.  But, it's incredulous the gorgeous Rosalyn or the sexy vixen, Sydney, would even look his way.  Sydney shows all cleavage all the time. I'm just perplexed by the mucky script.  DiMaso ensnares Sydney for fraud.  Then he pits Irving & Sydney against one another.  Next thing you know, they're all cohorts and out to fry bigger fish.  They succeed in bribing Mayor Polilo to grease the way for gambling casinos along the Jersey Shore.  Soon the Mafia wants in on the action.  Who is exploiting who becomes a colossal, convoluted jumble.  The movie is set in NYC during the drug infused disco craze.  This movie should go the way of disco.  The house wins if you put your $ down expecting a good time.

Anchor Man 2-Double Your Fun

Anchor Man II is the type of absurd & silly comedy that you can't help but love even as you cringe or puzzle over the humor.    Cut yourself slack & allow your self to laugh till you cry.  Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrel) &Veronica Corningstone (Christine Applegate) reprise their roles as newscasters now married with and parents to an adorable & precocious boy.  Life is bliss until Vernoica is offered the 1st female anchor spot on the news & Ron gets fired.   Having given Veronica an ultimatum to choose between her job or marriage, Ron finds himself out of both his job & their home.  Ron's dismal future gets boosted when he get's offered an anchor job in NYC with a news network, GNN, that will be the first to broadcast 24 hours of news.  Ron gets to hire reporters for his segment (2:00-5:00AM) and  assembles his old crew of friends: Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell and David Koechuer; today's answer to the Marks Brothers.  Let the good times roll & the zaniness begin.  Set in the early 80's, the clothes, music and fads are revisited with a warm-hearted wink to the decade.   A love story of odd-balls perfect for each other, Carrell & Kristin Wig is hilarious.  Mix in a cornucopia of today's most talented comedians & actors and the laughs just keep on coming.  Anchor Man 2 is a comedy that doubles your pleasure, doubles your fun.

Alvin Ailey @ City Center - AMAZING as ALWAYS

 The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre presents the best in modern dance from exceptionally talented dancers & choreographers.  Astoundingly, Alvin Ailey Dance continues to exceed its own excellence in dance contemporary works.  Last night's program began with Chroma, a work of great intensity & pleasure.  The dazzling choreography by Wayne McGregor spotlights the artistry of the gifted dancers.  Alicia Graf Mack utilizes her regal limbs to accentuate every musical pulse.  Linda Celeste Sims brings an athletic sensuality that is captivating.  Bill T. Jones' "D-MAN IN THE WATERS (Part I) marked it's Ailey premiere.  "D-MAN" has a lot of acrobatic movements with a militaristic theme.  The gymnastic aesthetic does a disservice to its fluidity.  The final piece, "LIFT" is choreographed by Aszure Barton and adds to Ailey's foremost repertoire.  Here the power belonged to the men.  Their mounting frenzy was tangible.  Matthew Rushing continues to amaze with his versatility and magnetism.  Both Curtis Macdonald's music and the tribal costumes by Fritz Masten enhanced the pulsating, primal movements.   The energy emanating from Ailey dancers makes it virtually impossible to remain seated.  The curtain fell to uproarious applause.

Patti Smith & Lenny Kaye Suprise MoMA Patrons with Concert

A serendipitous concert & poetry reading was given @ the MoMA yesterday by Patti Smith & Lenny Kaye.  Smith said the concert was to honor the birthday of Jean Genet (b. France 12-19-1910) a reknowned writer, poet, playwright & political activist.  Smith dedicated their performance i/m/o Lou Reed, Peter O'Toole & Joan Fontaine.  Genet's life sentence in prison following his 10th conviction of theft, & other offenses was commuted as a result of petitions to the courts made on his behalf by Sarte Cocteau & Picasso.  Smith began with a peom "Prisoner of Love," followed by a lullaby i/h/o Genet's birth mother, Camille, who gave him up for adoption at 6 months.  The "theme for the day is son, with a little bit of swagger & a little bit of sorrow," said Smith.  She recited poetry with reading glasses in her clear & raspy voice.  She disarmed the audience saying that she never performs perfectly, if she did, it would be an impostor.  Her singing an acapella "Holy Night" which she found nerve wracking was perfectly imperfect.  She & Kaye also gave a rendition of "The Night Belongs to Lovers."  I love NY with its plethora of surprises.

Ileanna Sonnanbend Art Patron & Promoter @ MoMA

Ileanna Sonnabend:  Ambassador for the New is a new concept for an exhibition.  Sonnanbend (b. Romania 1914-2007) was a driving force behind new artists & art forms.  Her keen eye & support for artists was influential in bringing postwar art in N. Amer. & Europe to the forefront.  Sonnanbend is also credited with presenting Amer. Pop art & Minimalism to Euorpe and Italian Arte Povera to Amer.  This astonishing body of works from an int'l group of  30+ artists in multitudinous mediums, showcase numerous artists who first received exposure on both continents by Sonnanbend.  In addition,  Sonnanbend was an early pioneer who promulgated noncommercial works & performance based installations during the 70's. Early on she collected works by numerous artists such as Dines, Johns, Warhol, Merz & Baldessari.  Her ingenious eye filled her galleries in Paris & NYC with works by groundbreaking artists.  Rauschenberg's large Combine painting "Canyon" at the entrance to the gallery was a recent donation to the MoMA.  He was quoted "I never finished a painting without wondering what Ileanna would think of it." I was drawn to Morris' large felt melding sculpture & Merz's rigid metal dome.  And, I was deeply moved by the large scale photo display by Boltanski that suspends his family & friends in mundane poses prior to their demise in WWII.  It is the art of discovery that is being honored through the incredibly perceptive maverick art patron, Sonnanbend.  It is a skill that enhances wonder.  Yesterday we were given a surprise concert/poetry reading by Patti Smith.

The GLASS MENAGERIE, Needs Dusting

Tennessee Williams is one of America's most important playwrights of the 20thC.  Williams has won 2 Pulitzers for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof & for A Streetcar Named Desire."  The Glass Menagerie is also a brilliant play but that does not necessarily equate with being great on B'way.  The talented cast included Tony winning actress Cherry Jones & Zachary Quinto of "Star Trek" fame.  This play received a great deal of befuddled laughter throughout but this production did not resonate with the pathos of a life unfulfilled and diminished dreams.  Amanda (Cherry Jones) is the mother whose husband abandoned her, their son Tom (Zachary Quinto) and daughter Laura, their physically disabled & socially dysfunctional daughter.  Amanda plays a mother so deranged & manipulative she fails to evoke sympathy for her plight.  Instead, Amanda over plays the role like Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard;" totally immersed in her glory days & oblivious to realities' hardships.  Furthermore, Jones dialogue is difficult to decipher.  She sounded as if she had marbles in her mouth.  It didn't help that none of the actors maintained a similar or convincing southern accent.  The one redeeming actor was Jim, the gentleman caller (Brian Smith) who plays the role of a benign but misguided counselor with assertiveness.  The pantomines & dark set only belabored the drama.  Sorely missing from the play is the flirtatiousness between Amanda and Jim and the  emotional solitude of Laura.  Tom's torment in abandoning his sister does not registar as it was apparent he needed to escape from the clutches of his overbearing mother.  The GLAS MENAGERIE will sustain its significance amongst great literary works.  However, the sparkle reflecting off this GLASS was dim.

Melinda's Top Ten Theatre Wish List for 2014

The New Year brings new opportunities to take advantage of more wonderful theatre, art, music & events.  I have compiled a wish (to do) list of the top 10 plays on or off B'wy I'm hoping to see in the New Year.   In alphabetical order:

A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder - Musical - B'wy
Beautiful - Musical - B'wy
Dinner with Friends - Drama - B'wy
First Date - Musical - B'wy
Intimacy - Drama - Off B'wy
King Richard the III - Drama - B'wy
Machinal - Drama - B'wy
No Man's Land -  Drama - B'wy
The Night Alive - Drama - Off B'wy
Twelfth Night - Drama - B'wy
What's it All About? Bacharach Reimbered - Off B'wy - Musical

I'm always wanting to put 26 hours in a 24 hours day & turn top 10 lists into 11.  I'll be overjoyed to receive tickets for any (or all of the above.)  Happy New Year!

Melinda's Top Ten Theatre Picks for 2013

The NYC theatre brings us the best there is in musicals & dramas.   Exceptional shows can be found off Broadway as well as on the Great White Way.  My list will combine & denote on/off Broadway as well as musical or drama in alphabetical order.  Hopefully there is still an opportunity for you to enjoy some of these remarkable shows.


After Midnight - Musical - B'wy
Forbidden B'wy - Musical - Off B'wy
I'll Eat You Last - 1 woman show about  talent agent Sue Mengers starring Bette Midler - B'wy
Love's Labours Lost - at the Shakespeare Theatre in Central Park
The Assembled Parties - Drama - B'wy
Motown - Musical - B'wy
The Last 5 Years - Musical - 2nd Stage
The Other Place - Drama - B'wy
Topdog/Underdog - Drama - Julliard School
Vanya, Sonia, Masha & Spike - Comedy - Lincoln Center
Water by the Spoonful - Drama - MTC

(ten or eleven or whatever)

Melinda's Top Movie Picks from 2013

There were a lot of great movies last year.  The good news with movies is that if you missed them in the theatre you can probably see them on video.  The year brought a lot of great films & documentaries.   The  top picks are separated into feature films and documentaries.

 10 Favorite Feature Films (in alphabetical order):

Blue is the Warmest Color - French Film
In a World
Fill the Void - Israeli Film
Fruitvale Station - based on the life of Oscar Grand (killed by an officer on the SF Bart)
It's About Time  - British Film
Short Term 12
The Angel's Share - Irish Film
The Highjacking - Norweigan Film
The Hunt - Danish Film
12 Years a Slave - British Director
Wadja - Saudi Arabian Film
(Did you count 11?)

Documentary Films (in alphabetical order):

American Promise
Black Fish
First Cousin Once Removed
Gideon's Army
Lenny Cooke
Marvin Hamlisch - What I Did for Love
Koch
The Crash Reel
The Summit - German Director
20 Feet from Stardom

PIPPIN Revival on Broadway Doesn't Rival the Original

The original broadway musical PIPPIN was created & directed by Bob Fosse with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.  The story is based on the Medieval King Charlamagne & his son Pippin with little credence to its historic value.  Pippin is on a quest for the meaning of life and sojourns "free to ramble" and "to live a little."  The Tony winning lead Patina Miller was played by her understudy which tarnished the show's luster.   A travelling troupe of entertainers move the storyline.  This Broadway musical was an electric combination of  Cirque de Soleil & "magic just for you."  However, the extraordinary circus performances deterred from the original  Schwartz/Fosse vision for a dramatic surreal show that was darkly disturbing.  The spectacular display of circus feats of awe prevailed but marred the integrity at its center.  Pippin's composer's & lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) has earned 6 Tony nominations, 3 Grammy Awards & 3 Acad. Awards.  Bob Fosse, the legendary dancer, choreographer & director earned an unprecedented 8 Tonys for choreography & 1 for directing.  Not to say the combined genius of Schwartz/Fosse is sacrosanct, but sometimes, less is more.  PIPPIN is sure to please the vast theatre crowd for its bonanza of entertainment.  I too enjoyed the show but I was searching for the show's true artistic importance.  "Dance expresses joy better than anything else." (Fosse)  Maximizing the possibilities minimized the musical's impact.