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Reviews
Off-Broadway Review—“Morning’s at Seven”
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 22 November 2021 21:52
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Morning’s at Seven
Written by Paul Osborn
Directed by Dan Wackerman
Performances through January 9, 2022
Theatre at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, NYC
morningsat7.com
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| Alley Mills, Lindsay Crouse, Patty McCormack and Alma Cuervo in Morning's at Seven (photo: Maria Baranova) |
Despite a 1939 Broadway premiere that was not very well received, Paul Osborn’s comedy Morning’s at Seven has had a lengthy afterlife: along with countless regional stagings over the decades, there have been Broadway revivals in 1980 and 2002. The latest off-Broadway incarnation underlines its strengths and weaknesses: this rickety boulevard play avoids taking chances or taking sides but contains nine juicy parts, another obvious reason why it keeps reappearing on stages throughout the country.
Morning’s at Seven concerns four sisters, Cora, Arry, Ida and Esther, who live in a small American town in 1922. Cora lives with her husband Thor in one house, along with Arry, while Ida lives with her husband Carl and son Homer in the other. The play takes place in the backyards of both houses, which is where the soap operaish relationships—Arry and Thor might have had an affair; Cora covets the house Homer and his fiancée Myrtle are planning to move into; Carl’s uncertain mental state worries Ida; Esther spends too much time with her sisters, upsetting her husband David; along with other family secrets and lies—play themselves out, predictably if not unsatisfactorily.
No one sees Morning’s at Seven for any stunning insights into the human condition but to be entertained by a harmless, humane comedy. And, as this staging demonstrates, it’s not that the jokes and repartee are especially funny or clever but that the nine members of the cast do their best to make everything land. Indeed, there’s not a weak link in the ensemble, including the charming Ally Mills, who only recently joined as Arry after Judith Ivey withdrew with an injury; Mills fits right in, bantering easily with the others.
It’s that homespun, believable chemistry among these performers that makes it so enjoyable: you really do believe that Mills’ Arry, Lindsay Crouse’s Cora, Alma Cuervo’s Ida and Patty McCormack’s Esther are loving but bickering sisters. Dan Lauria’s Thor, John Rubenstein’s Carl and Tony Roberts’ David are not far behind as the three husbands, and rounding out the cast are Jonathan Spivey’s Homer and Keri Safran’s Myrtle, who do nicely as the next generation.
Director Dan Wackerman puts this nonet through its paces quite capably on Harry Feiner’s realistic set, which looks artfully artificial and lived-in simultaneously. The production has been lit beautifully by James E. Lawlor III and costumed spiffily by Barbara A. Bell. It’s been a long time since there’s been live theater to attend, and Morning’s at Seven will do very well for those wanting light entertainment.
Off-Broadway Review—New Musical “The Visitor” with David Hyde Pierce
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 15 November 2021 23:17
- Written by Kevin Filipski
The Visitor
Music by Tom Kitt
Book by Kwami Kwei-Armah and Brian Yorkey; lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Performances through December 5, 2021
Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, NY
publictheater.org
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| David Hyde Pierce and Ahmed Maksoud in The Visitor |
Based on Tom McCarthy’s 2007 film—a nicely observed character study about a widower whose personal and professional malaise is partly mitigated by an unlikely friendship with an undocumented couple—the new musical The Visitor doesn’t find enough compelling reasons to embellish its characters and their stories with songs.
The Visitor follows Walter who, bored of the dull class in economics he’s teaching, returns to his long-vacant New York apartment to prepare to present a colleague’s paper at a conference. He finds Zainab, a young Senegalese woman, and Tarek, her Syrian boyfriend, living there. Taking pity on them since they don’t have another place to go to, he lets them stay, and after Tarek is arrested and thrown into a detention center after jumping the subway turnstile, Walter finds his power of purpose by advocating for his friends while meeting Tarek’s widowed mother, who arrives from Michigan to be closer to her son.
Of course, the movie also contains music, in the form of Walter’s late wife, a concert pianist whose CD is played, along with Tarek, who plays the African drum that he teaches Walter to play. For the musical, composer Tom Kitt embraces the drum, mirroring the movie’s scenes of Walter starting to get his groove back, literally and figuratively, through his playing, starting when he joins in on a joyful drum circle in the park.
The musical follows the movie fairly closely yet lacks the internal logic of McCarthy’s sharply drawn characters who try to overcome their racial and cultural differences and find a way to mutual understanding. Instead, the book by Kwami Kwei-Armah and Brian Yorkey shaves off the film’s rough edges to concentrate on Tarek and others’ detention to make obvious points about our country’s current immigration mess.
To be sure, the musical’s least effective scene—Walter self-righteously berating the guards after discovering that Tarek has been permanently deported—is also in the film, where it glaringly sticks out. Notwithstanding a couple of rousing ensemble numbers (notably the exuberant drum circle of Tarek and his cohorts, who play for, then with, Walter), Kitt’s music—as well as Yorkey’s lyrics—rarely furthers the characterizations or plot. A striking exception is Zaniab’s harrowing description of her journey, “Bound for America.”
Daniel Sullivan directs adroitly, the lyrical movements (or lack of such) of the various characters saying a lot more than the songs themselves do; ace choreographer Lorin Latarro deserves praise for that. David Zinn’s simple but effective scenic designs are set off by Japhy Weideman’s lighting, which performs sundry visual wonders, particularly in “Lady Liberty,” a quiet moment of solidarity—which is not in the movie—between Zainab and Mouna.
Keeping The Visitor from becoming too pedantic are Ahmad Maksoud’s charming Tarek, Alysha Deslorieux’s appealing Zainab and Jacqueline Antaramian’s tender Mouna. And, as Walter, David Hyde Pierce performs with his usual wry understatement, which fits as snugly as Richard Jenkins’ Oscar-nominated performance in the movie.
Philadelphia Orchestra Performs Classics & Contemporary at Carnegie
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 11 November 2021 15:33
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, photo by Pete Checchia
On the evening of Tuesday, November 9th at Carnegie Hall, I had the great privilege to again hear the superb Philadelphia Orchestra, under the sterling direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, in the latest, exciting installment of their impressive cycle this season of the complete symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven.
The program began beautifully with a marvelous account of the undervalued Eighth Symphony. The opening Allegro vivace was brisk, ebullient and sometimes suspenseful. More irrepressible was the Haydnesque wit of the second movement, while the third was lilting in its dance-like rhythms, leading into a spirited, indeed exuberant, finale.
The excellent Fate Now Conquers by contemporary composer Carlos Simon—which cites Beethoven’s Fourth and Seventh Symphonies and is notable for its accomplished orchestration—served as a compelling interlude between the two major works of the concert, the second of which was that extraordinary Seventh Symphony, splendidly realized here. Nézet-Séguin and the musicians effectively struck a note of grandeur the introduction preceding the exultant, Vivace main body of the opening movement. The justly celebrated Allegretto that followed was magisterial succeeded by a Scherzo with arresting Presto sections alternating with enchanting Trio passages, concluding with a triumphant Allegro con brio finale. I eagerly look forward to the next program in the series on December 7th.
November '21 Digital Week II
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 10 November 2021 21:06
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-ray Releases of the Week
The Last of Sheila
(Warner Archive)
One of the most entertaining murder mystery-puzzles this side of Agatha Christie, Herbert Ross’ hilariously cynical 1973 comic thriller casts a jaundiced eye on the slickness and cynicism of Hollywood courtesy of Stephen Sondheim and Anthony Perkins’ diabolically clever script, which keeps pulling the rug out from under its nasty characters—and viewers. (Admittedly, it cheats: the pivotal Polaroid we are shown is not the same photo that we actually see taken.)
Dyan Cannon is outstanding as a bitchy agent, James Coburn terrifically nasty as the widow who sets the murderous games in motion, Richard Benjamin (never a favorite of mine) perfect as a second-rate writer, James Mason a suavely has-been director, and the late, lamented Joan Hackett as a sympathetically pathetic writer’s wife. Oh yes: and Raquel Welch has never looked better. The hi-def transfer is terrific; lone extra is a Cannon, Benjamin and Welch commentary.
(Warner Bros)
Wherein this band of superheroes not ready for big-screen spinoffs continue their fantastical adventures this season, contending with one of their own being abducted by aliens alongside run-ins with historical characters from David Bowie and Amelia Earhart to JFK and Spartacus.
That tells you all you need to know about a show that doesn’t take itself seriously, and its fans will watch and enjoy without any qualms. The season’s 15 episodes look superb in hi-def; extras include featurettes, deleted scenes and a gag reel.
Fury
(Warner Archive)
Even though it now seems too simplistic, Fritz Lang’s 1936 study of an unruly mob’s attempt to lynch an innocent man (Spencer Tracy) for a crime for which he’s being held in a local jail is still an effective piece of agit-prop, notwithstanding the obviousness and—pardon the pun—black and white point of view.
Tracy rages brilliantly, Sylvia Sidney is his empathetic girlfriend, and Lang’s solid direction makes points a more subtle approach would have missed. There’s an excellent hi-def transfer; lone extra is a Peter Bogdanovich commentrary with Lang comments strewn about.
(Warner Bros)
In this clever reboot of the classic ‘70s network TV series starring David Carradine, Nicky returns home to her San Francisco neighborhood after three years in a monastery in a remote area of China, only to find her parents and many others frightened of the mobster who runs things his way—soon she is doling out punishment, aided by friends and family members.
Led by the charming Olivia Liang as Nicky—and with noteworthy support from Shannon Dang as her sister Althea and Tan Kheng Hua as their mother—the series has a momentum that doesn’t let up for its debut season’s 13 episodes. It looks fantastic on Blu; extras are a making-of featurette and deleted scenes.
Ladies They Talk About
(Warner Archive)
In this singleminded 1933 crime drama, Barbara Stanwyck plays an accomplice to a bank robbery thrown in prison where she blends in with the hardened criminals while finding that a loud-mouthed preacher loves her.
Blunt and unsentimental in its depiction of jailed women, Howard Bretherton and William Keighley’s film nevertheless leans toward melodramatics, especially in its cringy “happy” ending. There’s a first-rate hi-def transfer; lone extra is a vintage cartoon, I Like Mountain Music.
(PBS)
Ken Burns, along with his daughter Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon, has created another thorough documentary, this one about boxer Muhammad Ali, who as Cassius Clay became a great boxer then, after his infamous name change, became one of the most famous celebrities of the 20th century.
Burns and company show, however, that he was so much more: an icon of race, of culture, of sports, of politics, of religion, and of boxing. But he was also more than the sum of those parts, which the most vivid image of the entire four hours of new/archival interviews and classic boxing footage painfully and sadly shows: made wobbly by Parkinson’s, Ali proudly holds the torch at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. The Blu-ray image is quite good; surprisingly, there aren’t any director interviews.
Reminiscence
(Warner Bros)
With this unsuccessful cross between Waterworld and Westworld set in water-logged Miami and New Orleans in the near-future, writer-director Lisa Joy certainly doesn’t lack ambition telling the story of Nick (Hugh Jackman) and his partner Watts (Thandiwe Newton) helping clients “find” their lost memories—but when attractive client Mae, whom Nick began a relationship with, disappears, he dangerously relives his memories of their time together.
Too bad that the emotions Joy wants to highlight are swallowed up by the oppressive visuals depicting a climate-changed future and unsettling memories of Mae, which point toward a murder. The film looks fine on Blu; extras comprise several making-of featurettes.
(Cohen Media)
French director Anne Fontaine’s fiendish and witty update of Snow White reveals its intentions slowly but memorably as what starts as a fairy tale but soon traverses territory that keeps redefining itself—as well as its heroine, a young woman whose beauty and apparent innocence has seven (of course) men after her.
Although Isabelle Huppert gets top billing and is her usual amusing self as the wicked stepmother, Lou de Laâge steals this satisfying feminist take on self-empowerment as a smart, sassy Snow White—and Fontaine’s camera loves her, especially in this marvelous-looking hi-def transfer.
Who You Think I Am
(Cohen Media)
Juliette Binoche stars in director-writer Safy Nebbou’s banal twist on the rom-com, which does little with its intriguing premise of ghosting (in the 21st century tech sense).
Unfortunately, despite her usual elegance, Binoche can’t enliven Claire, a middle-aged professor who—after being unceremoniously dumped by her younger boyfriend—makes a fake Facebook account to spy on him and in the process destroys his innocent roommate’s life. An occasional scene works handily enough to suggest what might have been, but the film remains a torpid study of uninteresting people. It looks luminous on Blu; lone extra is a 36-minute making-of.
Sunken Roads—Three Generations After D-Day
(First Run)
Charlotte Juergens’s emotional documentary depicts her own journey to follow her late grandfather’s footsteps when he went ashore on D-Day in June 1944; while in France, she befriends other veterans who make European pilgrimages every five years and tells their tear-jerking stories.
There’s one, in which Don, an American vet in his 90s, has a lovely platonic relationship with Suzette, a French woman who may have met him in Normandy during the war while she was a child. Juergens creates an easy intimacy among these men and women, herself and the viewer, which keeps this humane exploration from turning maudlin.
Uppercase Print
(Big World Pictures)
As his other films—including his recent New York Film Festival entry, Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn—have demonstrated, Romanian director Radu Jude mercilessly critiques the hypocrisy of government control, particularly the Romanian dictatorship of Ceaușescu, which ended with his death in 1989.
Here, Jude juxtaposes segments from a play about a teen whose 1981 anti-authoritarian graffiti was deemed so dangerous that the secret police mercilessly hounded him with archival segments displaying the crushing banality of life in a surveillance state—the result is vividly realized and thought-provoking.
Curiosa
(Film Movement)
After Portrait of a Lady on Fire and this, French actress Noemie Merlant may be typecast in erotic period pieces, but if she doesn’t mind, we shouldn’t either: she gives a complex portrayal of Marie de Heredia, who in late 19th century France engaged in a torrid and quite open affair with poet Pierre Louys under her husband Henri de Regnier’s nose.
Director-writer Lou Jeunet has created a multilayered drama about consenting adults who adhere to the principle that art is the highest calling and can excuse abominable personal behavior. Niels Schneider as Pierre and Benjamin Lavernhe as Henri also contribute handsomely to this cinematic menage a trois, but at its center is the riveting Merlant.
CD Releases of the Week
Steven Isserlis—Solo British Cello Works
(Hyperion)
British cellist Steven Isserlis is not only one of the most adventurous musicians around, he’s also a must-follow on Twitter (his tweets about his continued travails flying around the world with his trusty—but large—instrument are priceless). His musicmaking, however, is what concerns us here, and his latest recording is typically wide-ranging and superbly programmed.
Traversing the solo cello repertoire of his home country from the past century, Isserlis performs two major works, well-known (the third of Benjamin Britten’s astounding and intricate cello suites) and obscure (the vigorous and charming Suite in the eighteenth-century style by Frank Merrick), with shorter pieces by Britten, William Walton, John Gardner and—the lone 21st-century work—Thomas Adès making up the rest of the disc. Isserlis plays with authority and finesse throughout, making the solo cello sound as vast and varied as a symphony.
(ECM New Series)
Pairing the modern musical miniatures of Hungarian composer György Kurtág with Czech master Antonín Dvořák’s romantic-era Op. 97 string quintet, the Parker Quartet—with eminent violist Kim Kashkashian joining for the Dvořák—makes it sound like the most natural thing in the world.
The Kurtág pieces, Officium breve and Six moments musicaux, comprise several curt, short movements; Dvořák’s quintet, written while he was living in Iowa, of all places, in 1893, is drenched in elements of American musical rhythms and melodies. The formidable performances also generously allow space to breathe between the notes, especially those found in Kurtág’s uniquely spare style.
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