Thursday, March 17, 2022

I Love this Love Letter


A love letter from playwright Arthur Laurents to dancer Robert Pagent in the 1950s. 

Aah, to be so enamored that you drop everything, pour your delirious heart out into a flipping type-written love letter, and long for "the peaceful excitement that comes from being with someone you love." 

On view at The Morgan Library & Museum 

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Dominique Morisseau - Playwright's Rules of Engagement - Confederates

PLAYWRIGHT'S

Permissions for Engagement

Consider this an invitation to be your full and unrestricted selves. But I also want you to know that the theatre normative will be disrupted in this space for the duration of this show. And that means some thangs.

It means you are allowed to laugh audibly and give all the "um hmmms" and "uhn hnnns" you feel inspired to give

The subject matter might make you think that there is no room for humor. That is a lie. The humanity of both the folk in the present and in the past during times of enslavement mean that they are full and complex. They are not simply downtrodden or in a perpetual state of abuse.

Just like in the present, the enslaved are multi-faceted. We all carry snark and sarcasm. We are all expert navigators of the systemic fuckeries. And sometimes, navigating that shit is painful. And sometimes, navigating that shit is funny.

As always, the theatre can be church for some of us, and testifying is allowed.

Please be an audience member that joins with the village, either silently or vocally, in support of the journey we will take collectively. Exhale together. Laugh together. Say "oh hell no" or "amen" should you need to.

This is community. Let's dismantle and let's go.

peaceandlovedominique:)




Saturday, March 5, 2022

I Saw the Northern Lights in NYC

Okay, so I haven’t really seen aurora borealis. There haven’t been any recent trips (unfortunately!) to any of the best destinations to take in the northern lights. 

But this experience still rests firmly on my bucket list. 

In the meantime, I take what I can get and headed over to The Edge at Hudson Yards this week to gaze at a special sky-high light show taking place only for a few days -- March 3rd through 7th (7 to 10pm each night). 



It wasn't the real thing. But New York City on a clear night from the edge of a precipice is always beautiful.

Friday, March 4, 2022

Cécile McLorin Salvant’s "Ghost Song" - Drops Today

 One of my absolute favorite artists:


Wall Street Journal ~ Larry Blumenfeld: 

“Ghost Song” is her bold­est act yet. Here, Ms. Sal­vant dis­plays yet more sonic range and nu­ance—soar­ing through in­ter­vals, mov­ing nim­bly through tricky rhythms, and rev­el­ing in pithy turns of phrase. Her voice is sin­gu­larly ar­rest­ing, yet it is never a sin­gle sound. It’s play­ful, nearly giddy, on “Op­ti­mistic Voices” (from “The Wiz­ard of Oz”), and then sul­try when that song segues into Gre­gory Porter’s “No Love Dy­ing.” It’s a blues holler to start the ti­tle track, one of seven orig­i­nal com­po­si­tions, and nearly soft as a whis­per to be­gin Sting’s “Un­til.”

Ms. Cécile McLorin Salvant plays the Rose Theater in May 2022. 


Friday, November 26, 2021

In Memoriam

 Love Note to a Playwright by Phyllis McGinley


Perhaps the literary man
I most admire among my betters
Is Richard Brinsley Sheridan,
Who, viewing life as more than letters,
Persisted, like a stubborn Gael,
In not acknowledging his mail.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Broadwayworld Jukebox: 30 Songs for Your 2020/21 Tony Party

 I may have missed the Tony Awards but I sure am enjoying the Broadway World playlist. 

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Schomburg Performing Arts Talk: Fire Shut Up In My Bones

 A talk with members of the creative team behind the history making operaFire Shut Up in My Bones: 


Fire Shut Up in My Bones premiered in New York on Monday and plays at the Metropolitan Opera through October 23rd. 

Monday, September 20, 2021

Sun & Sea : My Return to the Theater

 After vacation | Your hair shines | Your eyes glitter | Everything is fine 

Sun & Sea is an Lithuanian opera by Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (direction and set design), Vaiva Grainytė (libretto) and Lina Lapelytė (music). 

For this piece, tons of sand have been hauled in from the shores of Jersey to a Brooklyn theater. Theatergoers stand above the stage and roam around and watch (almost voyeuristically) while a varied cast of about thirty or so relax on a beach, play games, eat lunch and disappear for the occasional dip in the water. A subset croons melodies — melodies about exhaustion from being overworked, melodies about privilege, melodies about love, melodies about complaints about untidy beachgoers, and melodies about mortality — while the theme of climate change flows like an undercurrent through the piece. Together, the evening adds up to a very unique and worthwhile theatrical experience and a wonderful, comfortable return to the New York City stage!

Sun & Sea is a perfect return to the theater after eighteen months. I didn't have to jump right back in a packed theater. I could easily move about BAM Fisher and had the option to leave at any time The full opera lasts about an hour but performs on rotation for about five hours. Theatergoers can leave after one rotation or stay for the remaining rotations. I stayed two hours. They first hour I hugged the rail and just observed, taking in all the activity on the beach below me — trying to identify the performers singing, wondering how easy it is for them to sing supine, marveling at the kids playing, and thinking how well-behaved the sole dog in the cast is. For the second hour, I stood back from the rail and allowed newcomers to get a good view of the performance as I simply listened closer to and enjoyed the music and read through the libretto in greater detail, grateful to be able to finally return to the theater once again.     

Sun & Sea plays at BAM Fisher through September 26th. Ticket holders are required to show proof of vaccination and must wear a mask during the performance. After BAM, it moves on to Philadelphia. See schedule at https://sunandsea.lt/en

The libretto may be found at http://bambillss2021.tilda.ws/

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

The Whitby Theatre

I am a regular theatergoer, but I could probably go out every day of the year and still not hit up all the nooks and crannies where I can experience the performing arts in some form in this area. 

My latest discovery? The beautiful Whitby Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Bear right as you enter the hotel, trot down the staircase and discover a quaint, intimate screening room

Recently, I attended a The American Associates of the National Theatre (AANT) screening of Arthur Miller's All My Sons with a FABULOUS performance by Sally Fields. What a treat the screening was - a glass a wine, a little popcorn, and amazing theater. 


Shakespeare fans can enjoy a Royal Shakespeare Company’s screening of Romeo & Juliet later this month.