MARK KAPPEL                      

NEWSNOTES DANCE BLOG

MARK KAPPEL

EDITOR

252 WEST 76TH STREET

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TELEPHONE: 212-724-3889

FAX: 212-874-5039

E-MAIL: MARKKAPL1@aol.com

WEB SITE: http://www.markkappeldance.com

MISSION STATEMENT

 FROM THE EDITOR

Recognizing the need to promote the personal accomplishments of creative artists and to inform dance audiences, dance professionals, dance supporters, and the general public about news in the dance world, I have established the NewsNotes Dance Blog. It is my goal to collaborate with the dance community in this effort. Please direct announcements and press releases for inclusion and coverage to Editor/NewsNotes Dance Blog at MARKKAPL1@aol.com

NEWS IN THE DANCE WORLD

1-5-18 - James Sofranko has been appointed the new artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet in Grand Rapids, Michigan beginning with the 2018-19 season.

12-1-17 - The Royal Danish Ballet has announced the promotion of Caroline Baldwin from soloist to principal dancer.

10-12-17 - The New York City Ballet has announced the promotion of Zachary Catazaro to principal dancer.

10-5-17- Roy Kaiser has been appointed the new artistic director of Nevada Ballet Theater.

9-29-17 - Madeleine Onne has been appointed the new artistic director of the Finnish Ballet beginning in August 2018.

9-24-17 - Pacific Northwest Ballet has announced the promotion of Sarah Ricard Orza to principal dancer, and Ezra Thomson to the rank of soloist.

9-8-17 - Daniil Simkin will join the Staats Ballett Berlin as a principal dancer at the beginning of the 2018-19 season.

7-21-17 - The Colorado Ballet has announced the promotion of Asuka Sasaki to the rank of principal dancer, and Tracy Jones and Christopher Moulton to the rank of soloist.

7-14-17 - The English National Ballet has announced the promotion of Cesar Corrales to the rank of principal dancer.

7-11-17 - The Sacramento Ballet has announced that Amy Seiwert will be the company's new artistic director beginning with the 2018-19 season.

7-10-17 - The Royal Ballet has announced the promotion of Yasmine Naghdi to the rank of principal dancer.

7-7-17 - American Ballet Theatre has announced the promotions of Sarah Lane, Christine Shevchenko, and Devon Teuscher to principal dancers, and Calvin Royal III to soloist.

7-3-17 - Nicolas LeRiche has been appointed the new artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet.

7-3-17 - Joseph Caley will be joining English National Ballet as a principal dancer beginning with the 2017-18 season.

7-3-17 - Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced the promotions of Tzu-Chao Chou and Delia Matthews from First Soloists to principal dancers.

6-23-17 - Jurgita Dronina joins English National Ballet as a Lead Principal Dancer for the 2017-18 season and will also remain with the National Ballet of Canada as a principal dancer.

6-11-17 - Andy Blankenbuehler won the Tony Award for Choreography for Bandstand.

6-7-17 - Patricia Barker has been appointed the new artistic director of the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

6-6-17 - Septime Webre has been appointed the new artistic director of the Hong Kong Ballet.

6-5-17 - Ulrik Birkkjaer and Anna Sophia Scheller will be joining the San Francisco Ballet beginning with the 2017-18 season.

6-5-17 - Aaron Robison will be joining English National Ballet as a lead principal dancer.

5-16-17 - The Pennsylvania Ballet has announced the promotion of Dayesi Torriente to principal dancer, and Alexandra Hughes has been promoted to soloist.

5-5-17- Frederic Olivieri has been named as the next artistic director of the La Scala Ballet.

5-2-17 - The American Theatre Wing announced Tony Award nominations for choreographers of musicals for the 2016-17 season which include Andy Blankenbuehler (Bandstand), Peter Darling & Ellen Kane (Groundhog Day The Musical), Kelly Devine (Come From Away), Denis Jones (Holiday Inn, The New Irving Berlin Musical), and Sam Pinkleton (Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812).

4-6-17 - The Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre announced the promotion of Diana Yohe to soloist.

3-31-17 - The Houston Ballet has announced the promotion of Jessica Collado to principal dancer.

3-29-17 - Lucien Postlewaite will rejoin Pacific Northwest Ballet as a principal dancer beginning with the 2017-18 season.

3-22-17 - The San Francisco Ballet has announced the promotions of Jennifer Stahl to principal dancer, and Esteban Hernandez and Steven Morse to soloist.

3-17-17 - The San Francisco Ballet has announced the promotions of Isabella DeVivo and Jahna Frantziskonis to soloist.

3-13-17 - The San Francisco Ballet has announced the promotion of Max Cauthorn to soloist.

2-23-17 - The Boston Ballet has announced the promotions of Patrick Yocum, Paul Craig, and Junxiong Zhao to principal dancer, and Roddy Doble so soloist.

2-19-17 - The New York City Ballet has announced the promotions of Russell Janzen to principal dancer, and Sara Adams, Harrison Ball, Emilie Gerrity, Joseph Gordon, Unity Phelan, Troy Schumacher, and Indiana Woodward to soloist.

1-4-17 - Sasha Mukhamedov and Qian Liu have been promoted to principal dancers, and Michaela DePrince has been promoted to soloist of the Dutch National Ballet.

1-4-17 - Ellen Overstreet and Edward Gonzalez have been promoted to principal dancers of the Sarasota Ballet.

DIARY

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents The Sting

Paper Mill Playhouse

April 14, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The Paper Mill Playhouse, in Milburn, New Jersey, is presenting its second world premiere musical of the season, The Sting, from March 29 through April 29, 2018, which is reported to be Broadway-bound. This musical based on the Universal Pictures’ Academy Award-winning film, which had an original screenplay by David S. Ward, starred the legendary film actors Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

The Sting tells the tale of a pair of con men – a small town grifter, Johnny Hooker (played by J.  Harrison Ghee) and a major league hustler Henry Gondorff (Harry Connick, Jr.) who join forces along with other criminal elements to plot the downfall of Chicago’s corrupt racketeer, Doyle Lonnegan (Tom Hewitt).  The trail of the con artists drifts from Joliet, Illinois taking them to Chicago in 1936, where Hooker and Gondorff come up with a con where con men and con women are putting on a play for the benefit of their mark. All to wreak revenge on Lonnegan who has killed Luther, an “associate” of Hooker’s.

From the first musical moments in The Sting with onstage trombone player  (Lucien Barbarin, who makes his trombone talk), and Kevyn Morrow as the con artist Luther, the audience is transported to Chicago when gangsters dominated the scene – and the intricate con is woven like a tapestry and unravels like an Agatha Christie mystery. 

The story is told with the aid of the clever score with music composed by Mark Hollmann and lyrics by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis with Harry Connick Jr. also contributing four songs. From “You Can’t Trust Nobody” to “The Thrill of the Con”, this story of two con artists getting back at a gangster who killed a fellow con artist in Joliet moves at a brisk pace. The songs are integrated well into the narrative and Bob Martin’s book adaptation provides smart dialogue with Warren Carlyle providing the crisp choreography, and John Rando the free–flowing but detailed direction. 

The Scott Joplin signature music from the film – particularly “The Entertainer” is not forgotten – and there are ten Joplin tunes integrated into the score in bits and pieces.

There is never a dull moment in this stage musical of The Sting as there are enough musical numbers and dance numbers to enhance the story-telling and showcase the talented cast members.

Also spicing up the proceedings are Beowulf Boritt’s clever scenery designs which provide a detailed atmosphere for the con.

Both Harry Connick Jr. and J. Harrison Ghee give star performances as they sing, dance and play instruments in The Sting. But The Sting’s cast is an embarrassment of riches featuring the aforementioned Tom Hewitt as Doyle Lonnegan, Peter Benson as The Erie Kid, Janet Dacal as Loretta, Christopher Gurr as J.J. Singleton, Richard Kline as Kid Twist, Kevyn Morrow as Luther, Kate Shindle as Billie, and Robert Wuhl as Snyder. They all contribute towards telling this droll, humorous, and entertaining story.

If The Sting is Broadway-bound the sooner the better as the efforts of this excellent creative team and cast will be seen by even more enthusiastic audiences. 

American Repertory Ballet – New and Old

The Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College

April 7, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The American Repertory Ballet, based in Princeton and New Brunswick, New Jersey, made its second appearance in New York this season at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College on April 7, 2018. Themed as “Generations: Influences from the Modern Age”, the company presented a triple bill of works which included those of master choreographers, and a new slant on a ballet chestnut.

Two works on the program  had commonality, Jose Limon’s There is a Time, and Douglas Martins’ reinterpretation of The Rite of Spring – both ritualistic – one spiritual and the other a new vision of what had originally been conceived as a pagan ritual.

Representative of works by a master choreographer was Jose Limon’s There is a Time, based on the Bible’s Ecclesiastes 3, and choreographed to the music of Norman Dello Joio. There is a Time was given its world premiere in 1956, and was staged for the American Repertory Ballet by Sarah Stackhouse in 2015.

There is a Time, for the most part, is an ensemble work and reflects a feeling of community with a light touch through most of the work and grounded in spirituality. For ballet dancers, Limon’s choreography seems to be the most accessible and compatible which was exemplified in this performance by American Repertory Ballet.

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Gerald Arpino’s passing and the 30th anniversary of Robert Joffrey’s passing, presented was Gerald Arpino’s Sea Shadow not seen in New York since the days when the Joffrey Ballet was resident in New York City. Created in 1962, and choreographed to music by Maurice Ravel, in this duet Arpino made references to the tale of Ondine. Exhibited was a simple, and natural melding of ballet and contemporary dance – creating an atmosphere of quiet tension.

Douglas Martin, American Repertory Ballet’s artistic director, offered a different slant in his concept of and  choreography for The Rite of Spring. Although he generally kept the original libretto, he has transferred the story to 1961 corporate America which depicted the rituals of office relations, and relationships that are relevant even today.

An ambitious female office worker becomes the Chosen One making known her ambitious as the steals a business man’s suit jacket in an attempt to crash through the glass ceiling – not succeeding and being ostracized by both the men and the women working for this mythical corporation.

There are choreographic references to Vaslav Nijinsky’s version of The Rite of Spring as well as references to every day work chores – including the women sitting at their desks typing as if their lives depended upon it. Office intrigue and office politics are also represented – and the office workers seem to be crusading against the system of pigeon-holing men and women in defined roles as men are presented as decision-makers and ripe for promotion and success.

Because we rarely see the Joffrey Ballet here in New York these days, it is assuring that Robert Joffrey’s legacy and spirit is remembered with this genre of programming by a ballet company in the New York metropolitan area.—and also that the company is finding the financial wherewithal to appear in New York City on a regular basis.

Dance Theatre of Harlem at the City Center

City Center

April 6, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The Dance Theatre of Harlem’s City Center engagement from April 4-7, 2018 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The impact of that tragic event inspired Arthur Mitchell and Karl Shook to found the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969.

The program presented for this auspicious occasion referenced the past, as well as performing company premieres, and a New York premiere.

The first of the two company premieres was George Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie which Balanchine choreographed to Mikhail Glinka’s music. In this instance dancing a version of Valse Fantaisie which dates back to 1953. The choreography is pristine and musical, and deceptive in its simplicity – filled with elegance and no pretense. It is a superb learning experience for the Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers as it would be for any company. This particular work is pure neo-classicism with five women and only one man in its cast which was led by Alison Stroming and Da’Von Doane successfully making their way through this challenging choreography.

The second company premiere was Christopher Wheeldon’s pas de deux, This Bitter Earth, choreographed to a music alchemy of Max Richter’s string-dominated piece, On The Nature of Daylight, and Dinah Washington’s distinguished version of Clyde Otis’ This Bitter Earth, which Wheeldon created for the New York City Ballet in 2012. Influenced by Balanchine neo-classic choreography is inherent in the style of this piece which was wonderfully danced here by Crystal Serrano and Jorge Andres Villarini.

The New York premiere was Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Harlem On My Mind, Moultrie’s third work for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, choreographed to music by Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and others. Moultrie’s choreography was a pastiche of classical ballet and jazz dance forms and Moultrie choreographed to songs from the Great American Songbook. He managed to meld the dance and music together but he was most interesting and inventive in doing so in solos danced by Anthony Santos and Ingrid Silva.

Returning to the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s repertoire is Geoffrey Holder’s iconic, Dougla, a dance piece that presented the marriage ceremony as a pageant and drawn from his own cultural experience in Trinidad. Dougla is a spectacle for the eyes and ears, colorful in its choreography, the music and costume designs – and stylized in its own individual manner. Here you have the nobility of goddesses and warriors being portrayed in what had been – and I hope will be – one of the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s signature works. Dougla’s wedding couple was Ingrid Silva and Anthony Santos. Dance Theatre of Harlem’s ranks were enlarged by additional dancers from College Dance Collective.  As one of the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s past successes, it was encouraging to see Holder’s Dougla being performed by the company once again.

After the performance the audience was treated to a talk by Carmen de Lavallade, who provided essential information in regard to this re-staging of her husband’s work, as well as Leo Holder who supervised this magnificent staging of Dougla.

This program was seeing Dance Theatre in all its glory!

Something Wonderful – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Something Wonderful – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution by Todd Purdum and published by Henry Holt and Company, examines the lives and work of the composer/lyricist team that was for the ages – and that much more intriguing because Purdum is much better known as a writer who specializes in politics.

This is a well-researched and descriptive monograph about these giants in their fields. Creators of such classic musicals as Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I,  Flower Drum  Song, The Sound of Music, and the television version of Cinderella, Rodgers and Hammerstein became a phenomenon whose musicals are still enjoyed to this day and will probably be enjoyed by audiences into the distant future. They joined forces after working with other collaborators, self-producing their musicals and took control over the film treatments of their musicals – and also produced musicals by other composers. They were truly men of the theatre – and devoting as much of their time to creation as they did to the business aspects of show business.

They began working together in 1943 with Oklahoma! and created a new show every other year for 14 years. Rodgers and Hammerstein in integrating narrative, song and dance transformed the American musical, and also grappled with controversial subject matter at the time with skill and respect. Also interesting is that they rarely worked in the same room. Rodgers was quick in composing while Hammerstein would take his time in developing suitable lyrics. Also brought up by Purdum in his book is the fact that Rodgers and Hammerstein may not have really liked each other all that much.

Other books have been written about these two amazing men not to mention interviews they gave during their lifetimes. So what is different about Something Wonderful and Purdum’s analysis of their careers that we didn’t know before?

One of the unique narrative techniques used by Purdum is having both Rodgers and Hammerstein quoted often as if this book is being presented to the reader on a first hand basis. Purdum tells the individual stories of Rodgers and Hammerstein in their early days and dramatically sets the stage for them to reach a point in their lives when they were ready to be collaborators.

Of course there are the bits of interesting background information such as the possibility of casting Mary Martin in the role of Laurey in Oklahoma!, and the fact that Larry Hart – with his translating skills – translated Ferenc Molnar’s Liliom, which was used as foundation for Carousel,  receiving no public credit for doing so. Also engrossing are the details and history of Rodgers and  Hammerstein’s successes and failures – included among the failures, Allegro, Me and Juliet, and Pipe Dream, and successes including Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music.

In Purdum’s description and details of the development of The King and I, mentioned are the number of people who were encouraging Rodgers and Hammerstein to do this musical and how they would exploit the talents of the musical’s star, Gertrude Lawrence. Of particular interest was Richard Rodgers’ advice to Jerome Robbins when Robbins was struggling with the concept and tone for the Uncle Tom’s Cabin Ballet in The King and I – which was to approach the piece from a comic viewpoint but still convey the serious message that was required.

Rodgers and Hammerstein were excellent businessmen getting the best advice they could find. That advice included producing their own work, and also producing the work of others. Their maiden voyage as producers was the Broadway play, I Remember Mama, and another one of their great successes as producers was Irving Berlin’s Annie Get Your Gun.

Also unique to their collaboration was their care in getting involved in the film versions of their musicals from producing, to casting, and many other details. In Purdum’s Something Wonderful there are details and facts about how Rodgers and Hammerstein were involved in the casting for the film versions of Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I, and South Pacific. In such searches you wonder what might have been if other actors had been chosen to play the principal roles in the film versions of these musicals.

Todd Purdum’s Something Wonderful – Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Broadway Revolution explores and describes the careers of these musical theatre legends which provides a unique slant on these legends’ lives and work.

Melissa Gilbert – My Brilliant Divorce

New Ohio Theatre

March 31, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Child star, now adult star, Melissa Gilbert has been making a measured return to the stage in three plays in New York during the last year. Her latest theatre appearance is in the off-Broadway Fallen Angel Theatre Company’s production of Geraldine Aron’s My Brilliant Divorce being performed at the New Ohio Theatre for a limited engagement from March 20 through April 8, 2018.

Ms. Aron's Olivier Award-nominated play, which had its premiere at Ireland’s Druid Theatre 2001, is a solo piece in which the principal actor played by Melissa Gilbert, also portrays many people who make her life fun, intrude upon her life, and confuse her life.

The principal character is Rachel Lipsky Haringay, a Jewish New Yorker living in London who is abandoned by her British accountant husband – he also abandons their daughter – and relates her series of woes – and highs and lows – in a monologue often breaking the fourth wall with the audience.

 A New Yorker living in London, a fish out of water, has suffered through a divorce from her husband after that said husband has been involved in an affair with an Argentinean lover, and was told by her adult daughter that she is only person who didn’t know about her husband’s affair.

Rachel mourns her marriage, and relates her bitterness, her joys, and needed transitions through that journey. Those include the relationship with her daughter’s dog, Axel, being an Airbnb hostess, and simply coming to terms with her divorce, the divorce settlement, but most importantly learning to live with herself.  

In spite of the fact that she runs into disappointing moments from bad choices, she begins travelling on her own and even initiates a romantic relationship with a doctor. Although it seems that Rachel has had more hurdles than achievements in her life, there are many comedic moments, and the journey is one that we can all identify with. Every moment and every circumstance that Rachel finds herself in is relatable. In about 90 fast-moving minutes audience members become close friends with Rachel.

Playwright Aron often translates Rachel’s miseries for laughs. Gilbert plays many characters – close family members, friends, and ancillary characters – who are connected to Rachel’s life – all defined by voice and accents. Rachel must learn how to live life alone. It is a journey that we all have to take at some point in our lives, and Gilbert gives that journey a great deal of humanity, emotion – and also some comic moments.

Director Aedin Moloney deftly guides Gilbert through these characters and makes them resonate with the audience.

My Brilliant Divorce is a challenge for any actress and Gilbert must be credited for taking on this challenge, giving a gutsy performance, and succeeding brilliantly. She does command a stage.

Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition – Awards Ceremony & Gala

Symphony Space

March 30, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The 8th annual Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition has taken place at Symphony Space from March 26-30, 2018 including among its competitors dancers from all over the world. The particular focus of this competition is to provide participants evaluation by leading figures in the dance world, and to compete for prizes that will include further dance studies and contracts with professional dance companies.

This year’s competition was dedicated to the memory of Rudolf Nureyev on the 80th anniversary of his birth. Charles Jude, a former etoile of the Paris Opera and a protégé of Nureyev provided his personal thoughts about Nureyev as delivered by Valentina Kozlova, and a video was shown of rarely seen film of Nureyev early in his career in Ufa, Russia, the Mariinsky Ballet, and with the Muppets. The gala evening concluded with a beautifully conceived tribute to Nureyev with the dancers paying homage to this great artist with Nureyev’s photo in the rear of the stage to remind us of how much he contributed to the art of dance.

Also featured in the ballet competition were the two compulsory solos from Serge Lifar’s Suite en Blanc – La Cigarette variation for the women, and the Mazurka for men, which were staged by Charles Jude, former etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet. Nina Buisson choreo-graphed, Unleashed, as the compulsory contemporary solo for the female dancers in the senior division, and Ilya Zhivoi choreographed An Awesome Wave, as the compulsory solo for the male dancers in the senior division.

The members of the jury were Andris Liepa (Russia), Patricia Aulestia de Alba (Mexico), Nina Ananiashvili (Georgia), Ivan Cavallari (Italy), Mi Sook Jeon (South Korea), Charles Jude (France), Sun Hee Kim (South Korea), Caroline Llorca (Germany), Victoria Morgan (United States), Mikko Nissinen (United, Radenko Pavlovich (United States), Anderson Santana (Belgium), Olga Guardia de Smoak (Panama), Sergei Soloviev (Russia), Nikolai Tsiskaridze (Russia), and Carlos Valcarcel (United Kingdom).

The following were the medal winners in the major categories at this year’s competition:

Grand Prix for Overall Performance: Claire Teysseire, France

Classical Competition:

Youth Division (Ages 11-12)

Female

Gold Medal: Minji Son, South Korea

Gold Medal: Ella Kolpakova, USA

Silver Medal: Jaeun Goo, South Korea

Bronze Medal: Sadie Weintraub, Ireland

Bronze Medal: Seoyoung Bang, South Korea

Male

Bronze Medal for Youngest Male Participant: Sacha Vaeremans, Belgium

Student Division (Ages 13-14)

Gold Medal: Ana Bellini, Brazil

Silver Medal: Eugine Ahn, South Korea

Bronze Medal: Maria Eduarda Pinto, Brazil

Bronze Medal: Luiza Falcao, Brazil

Junior Division (Ages 15 to 17)

Gold Medal: Nikita Boris, USA

Silver Medal: Mari Bell, Canada

Silver Medal: Rheya Shano, USA

Senior 1 Division (Ages 18 to 21)

Female

Gold Medal: Eunice Suba, USA

Silver Medal: Yuyu Ichikawa, Belgium

Bronze Medal: Jioh Gwak, South Korea

Male

Gold Medal: Clement Guillaume, France

Silver Medal: Zi Wang, China

Bronze Medal: Suhwan Kim, South Korea

Bronze Medal: Seong Jun An, South Korea

Senior 2 Division (Ages 22 to 26)

Male

Bronze Medal: Davi Chagas, Brazil

Contemporary/Neoclassical Competition:

Female Solo Division 1

Gold Medal: Ella Kolpakova, USA

Bronze Medal: Zaira Yanet Quezada Meza, Mexico

Bronze Medal: Lilly Fridlyand, USA

Female Solo Division 2

Bronze Medal: Maria Eduarda Pinto, Brazil

Bronze Medal: Valentina Vucanik, Croatia

Female Solo Division 3

Silver Medal: Minji Kim, South Korea

Female Solo Division 4

Gold Medal: Yewon Choi, South Korea

Silver Medal: Sun Jae Lee, South Korea

Bronze Medal: Chaehee Kim, South Korea

Male Solo Division 4

Gold Medal: Chang Min Lee, South Korea

Gold Medal: Soo Beom Jang, South Korea

Silver Medal: Hyukjun Jeong, South Korea

Bronze Medal: Yan Lopes Rosa Elol, Brazil

There were many wonderful performances by medal winners in the competition’s gala performance including Nikita Boris dancing Esmeralda Pas de Deux; Yewan Choi of  Korea dancing Osscilation, Minji Son of South Korea in a variation from Coppelia, American Ella Kolpakova dancing a variation from Coppelia, Claire Teysseire of France dancing the Cigarette Solo from Lifar’s Suite en Blanc and the solo variation from Grand Pas Classique, American Eunice Suba dancing a variation from La Bayadere, and also outstanding Clement Guillaume of France, and Zi Wang of China in their solo presentations. There seemed to be a host of future stars who are just at their beginning of their careers.

Plaudits to Valentina Kozlova for conceiving this competition, now in its 8th edition, carrying it out with such commitment and integrity, making sure that the awards to the dancers are meaningful and will contribute to these dancers’ future careers, and her heartfelt tribute to Rudolf Nureyev.

Big Deal – Bob Fosse

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Oxford University Press has recently published Big Deal – Bob Fosse and Dance in the American Musical by Kevin Winkler which should be in the library of every musical theater lover and also for those who are considering careers as choreographers for the Broadway stage.

Bob Fosse has been recognized as an innovator both as a choreographer and a director, and lived and worked during a time period in Broadway’s history when one person guided, shaped, and brought to the stage new concepts in musical theatre. And in Winkler’s book, there is a detailed look at Fosse’s life in those roles rather than about his personal life – as well as details about the influences and antecedents that developed into Fosse’s unique choreographic and directing style.

Significant projects in Bob Fosse’s career on the stage included the choreography for Pajama Game in 1954 and then taking on the roles of choreographer and director for Redhead in 1959. And in 1973, he accomplished the Triple Crown by winning a Tony Award for Pippin, an Academy Award for the film version of Cabaret, and an Emmy Award for the television special, Liza With A Z.

Fosse’s legacy includes his work on Broadway in  The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, New Girl in Town, How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Little Me, Redhead, Sweet Charity, Pippin, Chicago, and Dancin’ and also notably his work in film as a performer, choreographer and director.

In Fosse’s early days as a professional dancer and entertainer, Fosse worked late nights dancing in burlesque houses and in the period up to and during World War II becoming familiar with the seedier aspects of show business. In his dancing and choreography Fosse absorbed the influences of Paul Draper, Jack Cole, and Joe Frisco – influences that would shape his work as a Broadway and film choreographer.

He turned to theatre work after completing his military service, and then on to television and the movies and it is noted in Winkler’s book, that Fosse’s work as a choreographer during his early days in the profession re-appeared in his work for Broadway and films. This was all exemplified in Winkler’s brief history of directors/choreographers on Broadway setting the stage for Fosse’s arrival on the Broadway scene.

Also noted were the contributions of Fosse’s dancing partners in  Fosse’s creative life including his first wife, Mary Ann Niles,  his second wife, Joan McCracken, his third wife, Gwen Verdon, and Ann Reinking. Also notable that the opening sequence in the autobiographical movie, All That Jazz, was the forerunner of the MTV music video.

Fascinating anecdotes included Bob Fosse’s contribution to the Broadway musical, Funny Girl, as one of its several director/choreo-graphers, and the meticulous analysis of how Fosse conceived the musical Sweet Charity and how its narrative was propelled by dance.

Also there are in depth descriptions of Fosse’s camera and directing technique for the film version of Cabaret and the television special, Liza With A Z, and analyzing and describing Fosse’s concepts for the stage musicals he choreographed, and those he was involved in as choreographer and director. In particular was how Fosse envisioned the casting for Pippin, and how Fosse developed that musical’s opening number, Magic To Do, as well as the warring relationship between Fosse and composer Stephen Schwartz.

Also interesting to note that ballet companies pursued Fosse to create pieces for them. Fosse never accepted any such projects. But Robert Joffrey’s quest to persuade Fosse to work with the Joffrey Ballet was described in Big Deal with Joffrey being the most persistent pursuer of Fosse – even providing Fosse with a recording of Cole Porter music which did not reduce Fosse’s trepidations – a strategy that didn’t succeed. However Fosse gravitated towards a concert dance piece for Broadway, Dancin’ which exhibited influences from ballet, modern dance as well as theatrical dancing.

Kevin Winkler has written a comprehensive homage to Bob Fosse’s work on Broadway and in film, including descriptions which jump off the page, and provide the reader with thoughtful images of what Fosse’s art looked like on the stage and the environment in which he created his art.  

Andrew Lloyd Webber – Unmasked

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Harper Collins has recently published Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s memoir, Unmasked, in conjunction with the composer’s 70th birthday. Considered among the most successful composers for the musical theatre only within the last year four of his musicals were simultaneously being performed on Broadway.

In Unmasked Lloyd Webber presents an honest memoir as he himself describes his modest family background, and his aspirations. But with many family members attuned to music – particularly on his father’s side of the family – it seemed destined that his life would be in music. As a child, he was exposed to all forms of music but he was particularly attracted to the greats who wrote for the musical theatre and also revealed are his personal indulgences in learning about history and architecture.

As part of his journey toward success as s composer for the musical theatre, Lloyd Webber reveals the details of his first meeting with lyricist Tim Rice, mentioning the mutual respect for each other’s work and how their collaboration developed not only artistically but also from a business perspective. Lloyd Webber showed a keen and astute analysis -- and sense -- of the music business and the recording industry in the United Kingdom at very young age. All of which served him well with his burgeoning and successful career over many decades. Throughout this memoir Lloyd Webber describes his meetings with other lyricists he has worked with – along with those in the music business and theatre producing world – who were pivotal in his success.

Lloyd Webber also provides self-criticism of his musical works – expressed with honesty -- Lloyd Webber often references the compositions of composers he respects and those well-known classical composers who showered his music with praise.

Perhaps most interesting were the details revolving around the casting, production, musical challenges, and professional ups and down connected with his early successes and how they came to be. One of the more interesting casting exercises was auditioning Bette Midler for the role of Mary Magdalene for the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and the casting for the title role in Evita both in London and Broadway which reached the scale, anticipation and interest as did finding an actress to play Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind – and how fascinating to know the actresses being considered and who wound up playing the role. Also of interest were the travails of dealing with Actors Equity when his musicals had their Broadway transfers, and how those unexpected disappointments influenced the casting for those Broadway productions.

Then there were the clandestine meetings Lloyd Webber had with Harold Prince concerning the stage version of Evita – showing how a director’s strong hand and input can shape a musical.

The story of how Cats made it to the stage is particularly fascinating – noting that Lloyd Webber played the score of Cats for Twyla Tharp among others for their consideration – and perhaps how different Cats would have been without the guidance of Trevor Nunn and Gillian Lynne. The nuts and bolts – and inspiration – for the development of The Phantom of the Opera are journaled in Unmasked and make for excellent reading to inform one how a project of this magnitude makes its way to the stage.

And then there is the description of Lloyd Webber’s awkward audition for the film version of Amadeus – and the plan to make sure he was withdrawn from further consideration. Another might-have-been was Lloyd Webber being approached to compose the score for Disney’s The Little Mermaid.

Lloyd Webber is not only a composer of musicals but also a producer of musicals by other composers and it was also interesting to read his comparisons of the apples and oranges of how his own musicals and those of others he produced were received in London and Broadway and beyond – also regretting the opportunity to produce particular musicals including Annie.

In its entirety Unmasked is written as if Lloyd Webber was sitting opposite you at high tea or talking to you  directly in your living room – full of information and enthusiasm – and being very candid about himself and the people he worked with. One of those candid remarks was the self-recognition of his trade mark for composing “sung-through musicals”.

Unmasked covers Lloyd Webber’s beginnings and through the opening of The Phantom of the Opera, and does not cover his career thereafter – even in its 500 pages. Perhaps that means that Lloyd Webber has another memoir in him that will further unmask himself and his career – and his candid thoughts.

For musical theater lovers and for those aspiring to work in the theatre world, Unmasked is a fascinating read, and provides an insight into this important composer’s thoughts, creativity, and persistence to succeed.

Tulsa Ballet Returns To The Joyce Theater

March 6, 2018

Joyce Theater

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The Tulsa Ballet, directed by Marcello Angelini, is one of America’s major ballet companies yet it does not perform in New York with any frequency.  The Tulsa Ballet’s last New York visit – at the Joyce Theater – was back in 2009. From March 6-10, 2018, the Tulsa Ballet has returned to the Joyce Theater and presented a varied program of dance which reflects the Tulsa Ballet’s artistic vision.

All of the works being presented were created on the Tulsa Ballet including two which were premiered on September 15, 2017 in a program devoted to the works of female choreographers, and the remaining work was given its world premiere at this Joyce Theater performance.

What all of the new works had in common was that, for the most part, they were all ensemble works performed to varied contemporary music, and showed off the company’s dancers with great distinction. The dancers had to make the choreographers proud.

Opening the program was Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Shibuya Blues choreographed to music by various composers including Richard Beggs, Michel Banabila, Radbound Mens, Manuel Wandji, and Rene Aubry – some music only and some with wordage overlapping the music. 

In Shibuya Blues there is The Outsider (danced by Maine Kawashima) who dances and observes the series of duets and group dances which are formal in many aspects and danced to pulsing movement. The three duets were well danced by Jaimi Cullen with Joshua Stayton, Jennifer Grace with Jonnathan Ramirez, and the third duet was danced by Maine Kawashima and Luzemberg Santana.

Second on the program was Helen Pickett’s Meoal (Among) which was a bit of a variation on the theme of The Rite of Spring with Daniel van de Laar as the Chosen One and observer. The piece was choreographed to songs composed by Icelandic composer Johann Johannsson. Meoal (Among) did not have a linear narrative but you could feel the conflict that was inherent in the choreography. 

To conclude the program was the world premiere of Glass Figures choreographed by Tulsa Ballet’s resident choreographer, Ma Cong. In creating his choreography to Philip Glass’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 1 Cong matched the atmospheric aspects of the music – including a starry night created by the effective lighting design by Les Dickert. Cong’s constant movement was consistent with Glass’ music and as in all of the pieces presented on Tulsa Ballet’s mixed-bill presentation, Glass Figures also was created with the dancers’ strengths in mind.

The Tulsa Ballet is a welcome addition to the New York dance season and I hope that the company will visit New York more often in the future.

York Theatre Company Presents Musicals in Mufti Concert Version of Subways Are For Sleeping

The Theatre at St. Peter’s

February 25, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

For the third and final concert in its musical tribute to Jule Styne, the York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti series presented Subways Are For Sleeping with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, which had premiered on Broadway in 1961. The musical was inspired by an article about homelessness in a 1956 issue of Harpers and a book in 1957 both written by Edmund Love. To fully immerse himself in the problems of the homeless Love slept on subways and trains through the 1950’s and he encountered a unique New York subculture.

In its original Broadway production, the cast was led by Sydney Chaplin, Orson Bean, Carol Lawrence and Phyllis Newman (Mrs. Adolph Green) who won a Tony Award for her performance, and such future stars as Valerie Harper and Michael Bennett were in the ensemble. And it was directed and choreographed by Michael Kidd.

This musical probably is best remembered for producer David Merrick’s publicity stunt in which Merrick invited people with the same names of New York theater critics to see Subways Are For Sleeping, and used their favorable reviews in this musical’s advertising campaign.

Hard to believe that we are in the year 2018 and homelessness is still a problem not only in New York but in many parts of the United States – and the world. Subways Are Sleeping presents a slant on this special world in a way that is unfortunately relevant to today even with its quirky and romantic intentions. But this is not a grim representation of homelessness but instead optimistic and even entrepreneurial as the principal characters find love and direction in their lives. All of this is emphasized in the witty lyrics and how this musical was adapted – and illuminated under Stuart Ross’ gentle and clever directorial hand.

Our heroine is Angie (played by Alyse Alan Louis), a reporter, who suggests and is assigned to write a story on a unique segment of New York City society – a group of well-dressed homeless people sleeping in the New York subway system (described in this musical as addressless), and creating a world that allows them to live by their own rules. Their group leader is Tom Bailey (played by Eric William Morris), who offers his constituents odd jobs, coffee, and places to sleep. Angie goes undercover to get her story and learns about how the other half lives while also getting a good dose of an alternative philosophy of life. Although trouble comes into the picture when Tom finds out Angie’s real identity, there is a resolution that ends well for all concerned. There is also a sub-plot in which the oddly-matched Martha Vail (played by Gina Milo) and Charlie Smith (played by David Josefsberg) meet by way one of Smith’s connections peeking into the window of a hotel next door.

There are many assorted “characters” that give Subways Are For Sleeping real spice, and the experience of travelling with these characters on board would make a subway ride magical.

Although the action takes place in New York City in 1961, Subways Are For Sleeping is very much a throwback to the Comden/Green musical, On The Town. In its own way it celebrates New York City. And then there is the wonderful score. The most familiar song would probably be “Comes Once In a Lifetime” but other highlights include the patter song, “Subway Directions/Ride Through The Night”, the romantic, “How Can You Describe a Face”, and the optimistic, “What Is This Feeling in the Air”.

Musical director David Hancock Turner on piano, and George Farmer on bass, represented a two-man orchestra that enhanced Styne’s music.

Besides the aforementioned Alyse Alan Louis, Eric William Morris, Gina Milo, and David Josefsberg who give charming and endearing performances in their roles also notable in this cast are David Engel, Kilty Reidy, Karl Josef Co, Gerry McIntyre, Beth Glover and Kathryn McCreary.

The York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti has polished another Jule Styne gem, and it is an entertaining and joyful ride.

Time and The Rose Garden By Anthony Peake

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Time and The Rose Garden by Anthony Peake, published by O Book at John Hunt Publishing, is a detailed and absorbing analysis of the work of J.B. Priestley, both as author and playwright. Born in 1894 Priestley wrote a prestigious number of novels, essays and plays reducing his output until his death in 1984.

Interest in Priestley’s writings seems to go in and out of fashion with occasional revivals of his plays – focusing on time and place, and the social and political history of Great Britain during the years between World War I and World War II – a period of time that has been re-examined by historians and social scientists in the last few decades – in how one can monitor the changes that leaped from one worldwide war to a second worldwide war.

Priestley’s interest in politics was reflected in his own efforts to run for election in the British Parliament as an Independent after World War II – an election which he lost.

Peake provides biographical information reflecting on the impact of Priestley’s experiences during World War I including his own wounding and recovery.

Also explained is Priestley’s fascination with time and moving away from the conventional views influenced by An Experiment with Time written by an Anglo-Irish aeronautical engineer, John William Dunne.  Dreamers dreaming dreams and accessing information from the future – the circular nature of time is experienced with the underpinnings of new philosophical and scientific thinking about time. In more simple terms Priestley often examined his philosophical calculation that in certain circumstances the future can be perceived in dreams and it seems to be a subject that fascinated him – and is described in detail in Time and The Rose Garden.

Also examined is Priestley’s transition from novelist to playwright. In his plays Priestley used the method of manipulating the audience’s memory -- living in the moment before – a feeling of déjà vu – or being able to look back at events and finding the seeds for whatever might come next.

Of Priestley’s work perhaps it is Time and the Conways that comes up most often in the last decade with major revivals in New York and London and within that play there is the depiction of the faltering British aristocracy and economy between the wars, and also how one imagines time as the play’s narrative does not progress in a linear manner. Similarly another one of his plays, An Inspector Calls, which has received more appreciation in recent years, was successfully revived by the National Theatre in London and produced on Broadway.

If one has the opportunity to encounter Priestley’s plays and writings in the future, Anthony Peake’s Time and The Rose Garden is an insightful guide.

Jule Styne’s Bar Mitzvah Boy is Welcomed to New York

York Theatre at St. Peter’s

February 11, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Second in the York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti Concert Series tribute to Jule Styne is Bar Mitzvah Boy which is being performed from February 10-18, 2018. With a book by Jack Rosenthal, based on his teleplay for the BBC, and music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Don Black, Bar Mitzvah Boy premiered in London in 1978 and these performances represent the New York premiere of a new version first presented in London in 2016 with a book adapted by David Thompson, and new songs with lyrics by Don Black using previously unheard Jule Styne music.

Set in London, the central core of Bar Mitzvah Boy’s story is about a young Jewish boy who runs away from his perceived excessive Bar Mitzvah celebration which his parents have arranged.

The Jewish boy is Eliot Green (played by Peyton Lusk), the 13-year-old son of a Willesden taxi driver, Victor Green (played by Ned Eisenberg), who flees from the synagogue just before his Bar Mitzvah ceremony. That after six months of preparation and a discussion with Rabbi Sherman (played by Neal Benari) it is Eliot who asks the question why its required that must be bar mitzvahed.  Victor Green and Rita Green (played by Lori Wilner), Eliot’s parents, prepare and anticipate the great event and when all is revealed the celebration is a more of “hairdressing contest, a catering competition, and a summit conference at Camp David”. And what embarrassment there is with 117 portions of chopped liver and chicken for the guests but the bar mitzvah boy is nowhere to be seen.

Eliot does recite the appropriate Hebrew prayers in a playground while standing on his head, and as the Rabbi decides that God is everywhere, Eliot was bar mitzvahed and the celebration goes on as planned.

With Eliot Green as the narrator and hero of his own story, and the actors donning British accents, the story reflects the hysteria and guilt that is often experienced by Jewish boys on their fateful Bar Mitzvah day – not to mention the family dynamic – and in this instance brings the family closer together.

Bar Mitzvah Boy has its sentimentality and nostalgia, but is also a heartfelt story that is told exceedingly well in the newly revised book by David Thompson – which includes many Neil Simon like jibes – and the score by Jule Styne and Don Black which exposes for both a different side of their Broadway songwriting.

Director Annette Jolles pulled together all of the elements of this musical with great skill, and assembled cast that did Bar Mitzvah Boy justice. Besides the standout performance by Peyton Lusk as Eliot Green, there were excellent performances from the entire cast which included Ned Eisenberg as Victor Green, Lois Wilner as Rita Green, Neal Benari as Rabbi Sherman, Julie Benko as Eliot’s sister, Lesley Green, Ben Fankhauser as Lesley Green’s earnest boyfriend Harold, Casey Watkins as Eliot’s friend, Denise, and Tim Jerome as Grandad.

Darren R. Cohen was the able musical director.

For anyone who has been a Bar Mitzvah Boy or a Bat Mitzvah Girl or has been in a family when these occasions are being planned – as well as marriages, graduations, Sweet 16 parties, church communions, and christenings will understand the universality of the themes and story told in Bar Mitzvah Boy. 

Credit goes to the York Theater Company – yet again – for making it possible for another gem to reveal itself. And I hope that Bar Mitzvah Boy will get to be seen by a wider audience – but while it is being performed by the York Theatre Company, take up the opportunity to see Bar Mitzvah Boy – you will be glad that you did.

City Center Encores Presents Hey, Look Me Over!

City Center

February 8, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

Opening its 25th season City Center Encores is presenting Hey, Look Me Over!, a showcase for possible future concert productions, which is being performed at the City Center from February 7-11, 2018.

This “revue”, conceived by City Center Encores director Jack Viertel, with direction by Marc Bruni and choreography by Denis Jones, includes overtures, opening numbers, a grand finale, and other excerpts from musicals that have not yet been performed by City Center Encores.

Included were excerpts from musicals that premiered on Broadway during the years from 1957 to 1974 with the 1960’s heavily represented with All American, Milk & Honey, Greenwillow, Sail Away, and George M, and the overture from Subways Are For Sleeping. 

Hosting the audience through this revue is Bob Martin, one of the stars of and part of the creative team for The Drowsy Chaperone. In reprising the role of Man in Chair, he is re-invented as a disgruntled City Center Encores subscriber who complains to the City Center Encores director Jack Viertel about Viertel’s failure to program neglected musicals – some of which were represented in excerpts as part of this performance. Martin provided the background and history of each musical – sometimes injecting himself into the proceedings – sometimes elbowing himself in and at other times doing so with a wink and a nod. In so doing Martin provided the connective tissue and commentary between excerpts and also setting the tone for the evening noting that the musicals represented were not all major hits but have scores worth hearing. Also music director Rob Berman and his full orchestra provided the usual high standard of musical support and underscoring to enhance this concert-style presentation.

Even in these excerpts dramatic context was emphasized with book dialogue, costumes, props and scenery, and also noting that in the olden days, Broadway was the source of American popular music – and also has its messages that are particularly universal and timely such as “Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor” from Irving Berlin’s Miss Liberty which was the surprise “encore” of this entertaining and glorious evening of music from less known Broadway musicals.

Hey, Look Me Over! is the song title from one of the excerpts musicals which was Wildcat, a vehicle for Lucille Ball, which was represented here with its overture, “Oil” and the aforementioned mentioned “Hey, Look Me Over!” which provided a boisterous and energetic opening to the evening as performed by Carolee Carmello and Britney Coleman.

The musical All American’s excerpts were particularly notable for the performance of “Once Upon A Time” by Reed Birney and Judy Kuhn, and Vanessa Williams channeled Lena Horne in “Ain’t It The Truth” and “Push De Button” from Jamaica. Marc Kudisch and Judy Kuhn offered a poignant rendition of “Shalom” from Milk and Honey, with Tam Mutu, Clyde Alves and the Ensemble in an energized performance of “Milk and Honey” the title tune of this musical.

To end the first half of this concert were Douglas Sills and Alexandra Socha performing “Movies Were Movies” and “Look What Happened To Mabel” from Mack and Mabel, and if any of these musicals are being concerned for a full concert version, Mack and Mabel should be one of them based on the performances of Sills and Socha in these excerpts.

The second half of the concert opened with the Overture from Subways Are For Sleeping followed by three songs from Greenwillow – highlighted by Clifton Duncan’s rendition of “Never Will I Marry”. On the lighter side came three songs from Sail Away with Bebe Neuwirth offering her own unique reading of “Why Do The Wrong People Travel” and Tam Mutu offering the title song.

The evening ended with an appropriate and rousing performance of “Give My Regards To Broadway” from George M led by Clyde Alves – and the arrival of a surprise guest.

The City Center Encores’ Hey, Look Me Over! was an exciting evening’s entertainment of show stoppers given show stopping performances from the performers and Rob Berman’s orchestra. This was City Center Encores living up to its well-earned reputation – and this is only the first presentation of the 2018 season with more to come. 

Classic Stage Company’s Fire and Air

Classic Stage Company

January 31, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The Classic Stage Company is currently presenting a world premiere play, Terrance McNally’s Fire and Air, from January 17-February 25, 2018. In the past McNally has written plays with themes from opera and his personal interest in opera, but this play is about the intimate world of Sergei Diaghilev and his creation, the Ballets Russes, representing a different foray into the classical arts.

In the last decade or so Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes have been celebrated with performances by ballet companies and museum exhibitions. These events have ignited debate about Diaghilev’s contributions to the art of dance which are clearly influencing the aesthetic of dance in the present tense.

These contributions are debated in Fire and Air but the play’s focus is on Diaghilev’s personal relationships with two of the Ballets Russes’ male dancers, his cousin, a trusted servant, and Misia Sert, a benefactress of the Ballet Russes.

Diaghilev established the Ballets Russes in 1909 and the company disbanded in 1929. Diaghilev spent a great deal of his time raising money for that company’s artistic endeavors, selecting choreographers, commissioning composers to write music for ballets, and recruiting the great painters of the day to design costumes and scenery for these ballets. Diaghilev initiated an artistic revolution that divided audiences and excited audiences at the same time – and also gave greater visibility to dance, music, and the visual arts.

Although the Ballets Russes’ performances were primarily in Western Europe, Diaghilev recruited dancers from Russia and other Eastern European countries. But when the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia and dancers were not able to leave the country, Diaghilev recruited dancers based in Western Europe. Diaghilev’s far-reaching artistic contributions to dance continue to influence dance today even though the existence of the Ballet Russes lasted only about 20 years.

In Fire and Air, McNally traces Diaghilev’s personal, artistic, and financial struggles as flashbacks while Diaghilev is on his death bed in Venice surrounded by his most intimate friends, family, a devoted servant, and the ghosts of Vaslav Nijinsky and Leonide Massine, Diaghilev’s superstars who were also his love interests during his life.

Diaghilev’s passion, tempestuous and reckless relations with his male principal dancers, Nijinsky and Massine loom large in Fire and Air – and although Diaghilev inspired them, they were also each other’s tormentors incorporating love and revenge into their relationships. All of them self-involved and ambitious with unresolved problems of their own.  Exhibited is Diaghilev’s rage nad betrayal when Nijinsky marries one of the female dancers of the company, and his discomfort being a fish out of water in Western Europe – yet ultimately he was vindicated as an artist in his own right for his achievements.

McNally tells the story with finely drawn – yet minimalist – portraits of each character with a bit of tongue and check humor and musings on what an artist must struggle with and the goals they feel they must achieve.

Fire and Air’s director, John Doyle, is particularly effective in telling McNally’s story in a minimalist setting that only includes a handful of chairs, and a mirror with a ballet barre attached to it. Although locations move from one to another with few details, the story unfolds brilliantly while letting the actors in the play shine.

There is an embarrassment of riches in the cast with Douglas Hodge giving a virtuoso performance as Diaghilev, Marin Mazzie displaying a quiet dignity as Misia Sert, John Glover’s understated performance as Diaghilev’s cousin, Dmitry Filosofov, Marsha Mason’s fully realized and compassionate performance as Diaghilev’s long-suffering servant Dunya, and the distant and self-involving performances appropriately given by James Cusati-Mayer as Vaslav Nijinsky, and Jay Armstrong Johnson as Leonide Massine. 

Presented were characters with a dedication to dance and the human side of those complicated personalities. Fire and Ice represents an intense and fulfilling evening in the theatre. 

York Theatre Company – Musicals in Mufti – Hallelujah, Baby!

York Theatre Company at The Theatre At Saint Peter’s

January 28, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

The York Theatre Company is devoting its Winter 2018 Musicals in Mufti series to celebrating Broadway musicals composed by Jule Styne. The choice of musicals represents Styne’s not as well known efforts which have not been given Broadway revivals – all the more to celebrate Styne’s music and to give credit to the York Theatre Company for making it possible for audiences to see and hear these musicals which might otherwise be forgotten.

The first in the series is, Hallelujah, Baby! with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and book by Arthur Laurents which is being presented from January 27-February 4, 2018.

Hallelujah, Baby! opened on Broadway in 1967 and looked back on the struggle for racial equality during the first half of the 20th century. The story focused on Georgina who overcame many obstacles, made her way through the Great Depression, World War II and the beginnings of the civil rights movement, and achieved stardom Adding to the mix were the two men who vie for Georgina’s attention. Harvey, who is white, who offers her a stable life and professional opportunities, and her fiancée Clem, who is black, who also rises to success from being a train porter to Army captain and civil rights activist.

In spite of its modest Broadway engagement, Hallelujah, Baby! won the Best Musical Tony during its season as did the musical’s star, Leslie Uggams.

This concert version includes additional lyrics by Amanda Green, and a revised book by Arthur Laurents for productions that were staged in 2004 and 2005. The highlights of the score, “Hallelujah, Baby!”, “My Own Morning” and “Being Good” are included in this revised version. The major component of Laurents’ revision is that Hallelujah, Baby! has extended its historic reach tracing the struggle for racial equality in the United States throughout the 20th century. And the ending is now a bit bittersweet and uncertain. But that uncertainty is also a reflection of today’s world.

Throughout this revised version of Hallelujah, Baby! there are moments when the fourth wall is broken as Georgina tells her story and her thoughts about her relationship with her cynical Momma, and the competing romantic interests in her life. In spite of the many hurdles that must be jumped, Georgina is determined and there is progress in terms of how human beings connect and how race relations can be improved.

In that sense director Gerry McIntyre has tied all of the sensitivities and facts together, and also nurtured excellent performances from the cast members during what is the usual short rehearsal period that York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti have. David Hancock Turner also brings the musical elements together in what is a newly chamber-sized version of Hallelujah, Baby!

The York Theatre Company put together a superlative cast with Stephanie Umoh as Georgina, Vivian Reed as Momma, Jarran Muse as Clem, and Tally Sessions as Harvey – and Randy Donaldson, Bernard Dotson, Jennifer Cody, Michael Thomas Holmes, and Latoya Edwards in supporting roles and in multiple roles.

Hallelujah, Baby! is much more than a history lesson. It has a wonderful score and a story to tell – and in this concert version a wonderful cast to bring this musical to life.

Hayley Mills Returns to the New York Stage in Party Face

City Center Stage II

January 26, 2018

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2018

British actress Hayley Mills has returned to the New York stage in a satirical light comedy that is being performed at the City Center Stage II for what is a limited engagement from January 11-April 8, 2018. As part of a wonderful ensemble cast Mills is starring in Irish playwright Isobel Mahon’s Party Face, a play enhanced by its fast-paced direction by Amanda Bearse, known for her work on the television series, “Married With Children”.

This import from Ireland is set in a modern day suburb of Dublin in which a group of neighbors and family members gather together to celebrate the completion of a kitchen renovation and also a homecoming of sorts. It asks the question as to what is going on in this affluent suburb which has the universal curse of jealousies and snobbery – with more than a few surprises.

Mollie Mae (played by Gina Costigan) has suffered a nervous breakdown after her husband left her. Upon returning home she celebrates with a party – celebrating her return home and to celebrate her new kitchen extension.

The party guests form a coterie of the closest to Mollie Mae including her controlling mother, Carmel (played by Hayley Mills) who is obsessed with the outward appearances of status, wealth, and success; Chloe (played by Allison Jean White) a neighbor from down the road who has the solutions to every problem and also seems to have succumbed to the same bad habits and snobbery as Mollie Mae’s mother; Mollie Mae’s cynical sister Maeve (played by Brenda Meaney) and then you have Bernie (played by understudy Alison Cimmet in place of Klea Blackhurst), a compulsive neurotic who met Mollie Mae at the hospital. Bernie’s compulsions for cleaning, wrapping everything in cellophane, and coming from a different social class than the other guests at this party provides a needed counter balance to the mostly affluent party guests.

Carmel brings her own food to the party as she feels her daughter’s offerings are not to up to standard and also brings along a friend, Chloe, who is just as opinionated as Carmel -- and is also the “’right” person for her daughter to be associated with.

However connections between these women are revealed, their lives unravel, mysteries are also revealed – and in the end people have changed and so have their attitudes towards each other. You feel that all of these women have their coping devices – and they will all be okay in the future. There is some cynicism in what goes on, the examination of their own lives, the petty snobinesss but somehow the daggers and arrows don’t sting as they may have. This is all satire.

Also what a luxury to have a wonderful ensemble cast like this to tell Mahon’s story.

Bearse keeps up the pace with a ton of one-liners flying at a fast and furious pace exposing the worst and the best in these characters – infusing physical humor and even a bit of melancholy -- combining for a funny and entertaining theatre evening.

Ensemble for the Romantic Century Presents Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Pershing Square Signature Center

December 24, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century is presenting its own stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein at the Pershing Square Signature Center from December 21, 2017 through January 7, 2018.

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century’s mission is to produce multi-media presentations which include video, projections, and music, and also take the audience to another time period. This theatrical experience’s goal is also to inform the audience about the historical and social context of each of the stories being told.

Shelley’s Gothic 19th century tale has been adapted for the stage and film, and continues to haunt and entertain audiences to this day. Here adapted by Ensemble for the Romantic Century’s artistic director, Eve Wolf, and featuring music by Bach, Liszt, and Schubert, this version of Frankenstein is culled from excerpts contained in the 1818 edition of Mary Shelley’s novel, and is enhanced by quotes from Shelley’s letters and diary entries. 

Wolf’s perspective on Shelley’s Gothic tale explores the connections between Shelley and her Monster from a woman’s point of view, and also from the unique background that Shelley had as part of a family of accomplished writers and political thinkers. Therefore this reworking does not re-tell the story of Frankenstein but explores how Shelley’s life experiences influenced her writing – particularly her most famous novel -- and what character flaws Shelley’s Monster was given.

The genesis of Shelley’s novel was a writing exercise that was initiated while Shelley and her husband were in the doldrums coping with incessant rain storms while living in Italy. To amuse themselves the writers present were asked to write their own ghost stories and Mary Shelley’s contribution evolved into her novel. A novel that was published in 1818 anonymously and for years its authorship had been speculated upon.

Wolf explores Shelley’s depression as a result of her frequent miscarriages, losing children during her lifetime, as well as unresolved issues with her parents, coping with her widowhood, her political leanings, and in creating her Monster, explains how The Creature that Dr. Frankenstein experiments with and produces sets off on the dangerous path of committing heinous crimes through no fault of his own, while at the same time has a human soul and a sympathetic heart. 

During the latter half of the 19th century science was moving forward with ferocity. E.T.A. Hoffmann’s two stories The Sandman, and The Doll, the source material for the ballet, Coppelia, tells the story of Dr. Coppelius who tries bring one of his dolls to life, and then there were the many travelling shows during the 18th and 19th century featuring mechanical automatons, and later prototypes for robots which were presented at the world expositions held in Europe. Bringing people back to life and creating life was certainly on the minds of scientists and writers during those times.

Unfortunately, in this adaptation, there isn’t much time to dwell upon Victor Frankenstein’s moral conflict as a scientist creating life and its consequences – creating a creature that is mocked and taunted by both children and adults, and commits horrendous crimes because it is reacting to how society reacts to him.

The directing chores are left to Donald T. Sanders who has marshaled a singer, musicians, child actors, and adult actors who play multiple parts. A notable contribution comes from Robert Fairchild, former principal dancer of the New York City Ballet, who has now embarked on a career in theater. He plays the Monster in this adaptation and has also contributed the choreography he has created for his character which exhibits the torture that the Monster is experiencing as he interacts with people as he journeys through his limited experience with humanity.

Also noteworthy in the cast are Rocco Sisto in the double role of De Lacey/William Godwin, Mia Vallet as Mary Shelley and Agatha, and Paul Wesley in the triples roles of Percy Shelley (Mary Shelley’s Husband)/Victor Frankenstein/Felix.

Although this version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is not always clear and defined, it does represent a different slant on how Shelley created her Monster, the moral conflicts in Shelley’s story, and how incidents in Shelley’s life influenced the creation of her novel. 

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century’s multi-media approach to this material provides a cogent method of integrating the many facets that are revealed in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Farinelli and the King – Mark Rylance Returns to Broadway

Belasco Theatre

December 19, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Mark Rylance has made a triumphant return to the New York stage in the Broadway transfer of the Shakespeare’s Globe production of Claire van Kampen’s Farinelli and the King which will be seen through its limited engagement ending on March 25, 2018 at the Belasco Theatre.

This play was originally produced in London in 2015 and we are now able to see this elegant and absorbing theatrical experience here on Broadway. As this play has been extensively revised since its London premiere, Farinelli and the King has arrived on Broadway in a unique and distinctive production.

van Kampen’s play is set during the early part of the 18th century and focuses on King Philippe V of Spain and his idiosyncratic relationship with Farinelli, one of the great singers of the early 18th century. A relationship that was sometimes volatile, precarious, and frustrating.

Philippe V of Spain was the grandson of Louis XIV of France, and his father had the strongest claim to the throne of Spain. King Charles II of Spain named Philippe as his successor which provoked the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession resulting in Philippe having to relinquish his claims to the French throne. In spite of Philippe V’s political problems, his health issues, and coping with mental illness, he ruled Spain for the sum total of more than 45 years.

As King Philippe V suffered from bouts of depression and insomnia, Philippe’s second wife, Isabella Farnese, traveled to London in 1737 to engage the celebrity castrato Farinelli to sing at the Spanish royal court in the hope that Farinelli’s magnificent singing voice would moderate Philippe’s apparent madness and uncontrollable behavior. Farinelli and Philippe developed a unique bond – which also confirmed the curative effects of music. 

Hovering in the background were indications of King Philippe V’s “madness”, and the political problems created for Spain as the King was sometimes able to function as the country’s ruler and other times could not at all. Then there were also the tenuous ties King Philippe V and his wife had with Spain as both were natives of other countries. They were fish out of water, a metaphor used in the opening minutes of the play as King Philippe V attempts to fish out his gold fish, Alfonso, out of a fish bowl.

Farinelli was the stage name of Carlo Broschi, who was born in the early part of the 18th century in Italy. Broschi sang as a boy and at ten years of age his family agreed to have him castrated to preserve his youthful voice and also to build the foundation for the fame that resulted from his successful concerts throughout Europe. Upon being engaged to sing at the Spanish court Farinelli ended his stage career and never sang in public again – spending 22 years in Spain before retiring to his native Italy. 

The first act of the play is primarily that of exposition and how the relationship between King Philippe V and Farinelli grew – and the second act presents Farinelli, King Philippe V and his wife, Isabella in their country retreat where Farinelli’s efforts prove to be curative while Farinelli evaluates the conflicts in his own life – the celebrity Farinelli, and Carlo Broschi, the human being.

It is Don Sebastian De La Cuadra, the King’s Minister (played by Edward Peel,) who represents the reactionary political views while Dr. Jose Cervi, the King’s doctor (played by Huss Garbiya) is willing to seek out all possibilities in order cure the King’s madness. They are both observers and combatants in their constant struggle with King Philippe V’s confounding behavior.

van Kampen’s play sets forth a story of madness, court intrigue, and the unconventional link to music providing a dazzling showcase for this outstanding cast of actors, singers, and musicians. This is a play rich in history and rich in music.

Mark Rylance plays the maddening and capricious King Philippe V of Spain in a masterful and virtuoso acting performance. Farinelli’s role is divided – two people in Farinelli’s body – the performer and the man. Sam Crane in the speaking part, and Iestyn Davies, as the singing Farinelli, who sings arias from operas composed by Handel. These two performers moved onstage in a choreographed and ghost-like manner as they interchanged their roles. Melody Grove effectively plays Isabella Farnese, the long-suffering second wife of Philippe V.

The production, directed expertly by John Dove, in and of itself is elegant with beautiful historical details including period costumes, a gallery for the musicians playing baroque period instruments, the atmosphere illuminated with candle light, and then there is Rylance’s overwhelmingly moving performance as King Philippe V – and the performances of Sam Crane and Iestyn Davies in their combined efforts to paint the portrait of Farinelli.

The producers of Farinelli and the King have scaled ticket prices to make it possible for a wider audience to see this play. As this play is significant, and the performances are towering, take advantage of this opportunity to see this sublime play which focuses on the positive effects of music in our lives, and being informative and entertaining at the same time. This is theatre at its best.

Once On This Island Returns to Broadway

Circle in the Square

December 4, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Once On This Island, which premiered on Broadway in 1990, has returned to Broadway in an imaginative and endearing revival which received its premiere on December 3, 2017 at the Circle in the Square Theatre.

The team of composer Stephen Flaherty, and lyricist/book writer, Lynn Ahrens, had their first Broadway success with Once On This Island and since have had major successes with Ragtime, the current Anastasia, and also My Favorite Year. This team, collaborating with director Michael Arden and choreographer Camille A. Brown, has succeeded in creating an entirely different vision for Once On This Island. 

Once on This Island is based on Rosa Guy’s novel, My Love, My Love telling a tale set in the French Antilles with elements of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. However the romantic triangle in Once On This Island is also similar to that of the love triangle in the ballet, Giselle. As program notes indicate, Once On This Island was inspired by the experiences of the Haitian people after several natural disasters, and the natural disasters that have been experienced by people living on other islands in the Caribbean and around the world.

The story is told in flashbacks as the villagers are coping with the destruction from a major storm that has hit this island. The stage is strewn with garbage and debris to depict conditions after such a major storm as well as the everyday life of these villagers which even includes a live chicken and a live goat. 

But as the story goes Ti Moune (played by Hailey Kilgore) falls in love with one of the “grandhommes” of the island, Daniel (played by Isaac Powell) within a class system in which the peasants live on one side of the island, and the grandhommes, descendents of the French planters and their slaves, live on the other side of the island. Ti Moune sets off on a quest to reveal her love to Daniel and her journey is assisted by the gods of the island. Ti Moune has her own personal journey and although her goals are not fulfilled, her life inspires others and her life is memorialized by a tree – a tree of life that represents love after life.

Director Michael Arden has created a fantasy vision for Once On This Island in telling this story, and creating an intimate theatrical experience in the Circle in the Square with the audience encountering the immediacy of the story as it is being told. Even some of the instruments being played in this revival of Once on This Island are improvised using materials that would be left after a natural disaster – added to by the new vocal arrangements that drift in and out as would water to the shore. With the score reflecting Caribbean rhythms Arden’s concept is further enhanced by Camille A. Brown’s choreographic images. 

Also there are the marvelous contributions by scenery designer Dane Laffrey, costume designer Clint Ramos, and co-lighting designers Peggy Eisenhauer and Jules Fisher, who collaborate in creating the fresh concept in this revival of Once On This Island.

Also more important this 90-minute intermission less musical tells its story simply with grace and charm.

All is enhanced by a wonderful cast led by Hailey Kilgore as Ti Moune and Isaac Powell as Daniel, as well as Merle Dandrige as Papa Ge, Quentin Earl Darrington as Agwe, Alex Newell as Asaka, Lea Salonga as Erzulie, Philip Boykin as Tonton Julian and Kenita R. Miller as Mama Euralie. This is truly a cast of stars who give star performances.

There is a great deal of joy on the stage in Once On This Island coming from this cast which communicates well with the audience – and this is a story that is universal and for our time. We need inspiration in our lives and this revival of Once On This Island not only entertains, it is also thoughtful and reassuring – Once On This Island gives us a little hope that all will change for the better.

Dance Conservatory of New York’s The Nutcracker Winter Suite

Symphony Space

December 2, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Valentina Kozlova’s Dance Conservatory of New York annually presents The Nutcracker Winter Suite to showcase the school’s students and also entertain a holiday audience with an abridged version of The Nutcracker which includes many of this ballet’s highlights. This year the performance took place at Symphony Space on December 2, 2017.

The Nutcracker Winter Suite is a collaboration of Valentina Kozlova, Margo Sappington, and Olga and Vitaly Verterich that includes the familiar Act I Snow Scene, and the best known divertissements included in Act II of The Nutcracker. The narrative element is connected by the new character that of the Christmas Star (danced by Katya Saburova) that brings together the characters in The Nutcracker and finishes with the traditional and rousing finale.

For this year’s performance Nikita Boris and Justin Valentine led the way in a polished and poised performance as the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Cavalier. Justin Valentine also appeared as the Snow King partnering Mari Bell as the Snow Queen – also in an accomplished performance – and along with Saburova as the Christmas Star, it was clear how much these student dancers had learned, experienced, and gained through the year to give the excellent performances that they did. These are future professional ballet dancers and they must be supported.

Most important were the children in the audience delighted and giggling about what they saw on stage – and perhaps they will also be dancers in the future – but at least members of future dance audiences. 

A wonderful way to celebrate the hard work of the student dancers, and the dedicated teachers, coaches, and choreographers who contributed to make this performance the enjoyable experience it was and a highlight of this holiday season.

All That Jazz – The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

When the musical, Chicago, opened on Broadway in 1975 the recognition of its quality and wit was somehow dissipated as it was in the unfortunate position to open during the same season as A Chorus Line. A Chorus Line dominated the attention of the Broadway theatre community walking away with many important theatre awards and by having one of the longest engagements in Broadway history. But it’s time came along when a concert version of Chicago was presented by City Center Encores and was transferred to Broadway in 1996. Chicago has become a world-wide phenomenon. It is now the longest-running American musical on Broadway and it is still going strong.

The story of Chicago as an iconic American musical is presented in Ethan Mordden’s detailed and absorbing book, All That Jazz – The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago, published by Oxford University Press. Mordden tells the story of Chicago’s antecedents, its history, and an evaluation as to why Chicago has captured the hearts of theater audiences all over the world.

Chicago has re-invented itself into many different forms – a play to a silent film, a talkie, then the musical, the current Broadway revival, and then to a movie musical.

Mordden begins his narrative with the American Indians who inhabited the lands that would be become the unique city that Chicago has become – and that uniqueness is also what makes the stage musical so appealing. Setting the stage for the first incarnation of Chicago, Maurine Watkins’ play, which premiered in 1926, portrayed all aspects of the city of Chicago’s underworld.

Watkins was a reporter. Although she was a member of the press, she was uncomfortable with the tabloid press that encouraged the public to believe that the guilt or innocence in murder cases could be influenced by the press or even create a murder case when it didn’t exist. Watkins’ play was based on two murder trials she had covered in 1924 – and the connection between them is that the murderesses killed a man each was having an adulterous affair with. 

Chicago, the play, was guided by George Abbott when it was produced on Broadway, and none other than Cecil B. DeMille guided the first – silent – film version of Watkins’ play – focusing on the character of Amos Hart and seeing the story as a domestic arrangement gone wrong with a bit of comedy. Frank Urson gets the credit for the direction of the film and there is debate in regard to DeMille’s contribution to the film version. Watkins’ Chicago focused on how the town’s personality drives the action but DeMille focused on a bad marriage and murder.

The slant on Chicago in its second film version with Ginger Rogers starring as Roxie Hart in 1942 is closer in plot to Watkins’ play but in the film Roxie Hart is actually innocent of the murder rather than a murderess.

When Chicago was adapted as a stage musical its pulse was that of a satire, and Mordden skillfully describes the many satirical musicals that opened on Broadway before Chicago and how Chicago’s satire was eventually accepted.

Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed Chicago as a musical, conceived Chicago as a vehicle for his wife, Gwen Verdon, and in an interview, Verdon stated that Fosse was inspired by the Watergate scandal, which emphasized scandal and notoriety in regard to the American system of justice.

The collaborators, who worked on the musical stage version, composer John Kander, lyricist Fred Ebb, and book writers Ebb, and Bob Fosse, saw their inspiration in Watkins’ play including Watkins’ contempt for transforming murder cases into entertainments. Perhaps that is the reason why Chicago was advertised as a musical vaudeville. Fosse was familiar with Chicago’s own tradition of vaudeville and Fosse envisioned Chicago as a series of vaudeville numbers and turns which reveal the characters and move the narrative forward. Fosse’s interpretation also focused on the crude and carnal nature of the story – as well as celebrity worship that comes with it.

The pastiche score imitates numbers by the greats of American vaudeville and follies shows, and represented a unique collaboration by the creative team.
Negotiations with Watkins to obtain the musical rights for her play began in 1962 without any success. But upon Watkins death in 1969, it was revealed that Watkins’ will included the proviso that Gwen Verdon would be given first refusal.

In 1996 City Center Encores produced a concert version of Chicago which was directed by Walter Bobbie, and choreographed by Ann Reinking – Reinking also appeared in the role of Roxie Hart – and timing is everything as it premiered around the time of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. Clearly Chicago was way ahead of its time as the world was able to observe notorious celebrity trials on television, and the scandals they generated. And by 1996 the public’s attitudes towards such trials and this revival aligned.

Also described was Rob Marshall’s approach to Chicago’s story when he directed this musical’s movie version. Marshall eliminated many of the songs from the stage musical and focused on Chicago’s cinematic elements. As Chicago was a box office success, movie producers were, again, interested in making movie musicals.

Chicago has received its due and has been recognized as an important musical in the Broadway canon – and it is still running on Broadway, toured through the United States, and performed internationally, as it continues to touch the hearts and minds of audiences – and hasn’t lost any of its punch over the years. Therefore Mordden’s book, All That Jazz – The Life and Times of the Musical Chicago, is a must read for those who wish to learn about the history of this important musical, how Maurine Watkins’ play became a stage musical, and why its themes still ring true decades later.

Laura Young, An American Ballerina

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Published by University Press of New England, Laura Young’s autobiography, Boston Ballerina, written with Janine Parker, is an intriguing read about a distinguished American dancer’s career.

Laura Young was a charter member of the Boston Ballet and its predecessor, the New England Civic Ballet, and is an American born and trained ballerina, who in following her dream to be a ballet dancer, made the commitment to pursue her career with a major regional ballet company -- achieving acknowledgment and success – taking the same journey that the Boston Ballet itself has had in achieving national and international recognition. And for the most part Young realized her goal of being appreciated as an artist on her own terms.

Young’s career was blossoming at the time of the dance boom in the United States in the 1960’s and 1970’s and in her autobiography she describes what it was like to work with the Boston Ballet at the time when dance was being publicized and being exposed to a wider audience. Her autobiography brings with it humility as she notes her mentors who supported her in her career as a dancer, her many partners, and the artistic directors who helped her achieve her artistic and professional goals.

Ms. Young describes her family connections to the dance world and her early training, and her joining the Boston Ballet. She also describes how E. Virginia Williams, the Boston Ballet’s artistic director, solidified the foundations of the company, and learning the craft of teaching and establishing relationships with important people in the dance field including George Balanchine.

Young describes how she learned from the guest artists and guest choreographers who worked with the Boston Ballet, the history of the Boston Ballet dancing the Ballets Russes’ repertoire and the Balanchine repertoire. Also how the Boston Ballet acquired diverse repertoire by major international choreographers over the years while also adding productions of the classics to its repertoire.

In particular Ms. Young mentioned the challenges she had in dancing Balanchine ballets – and also her special experience working with Agnes de Mille in creating her own approach to the role of the Cowgirl in de Mille’s Rodeo. Also noteworthy were Young’s experiences working with Rudolf Nureyev when he joined the Boston Ballet as a guest artist during extensive tours of Nureyev’s Don Quixote. Although at the time Nureyev’s dancing powers were dimming in dancing Nureyev’s Don Quixote all over the world, the Boston Ballet achieved further informational recognition.

Also Young takes head on the dilemma every dancer faces – transitioning from dancer to balleltmistress and teacher when one’s dancing career has ended. Even through that process Young had great respect for the Boston Ballet’s founding director, E. Virginia Williams, and Williams’ successors, and gives credit to the Boston Ballet for its achievements since her departure from the company.

Boston Ballerina tells the story of Laura Young’s career in dance, the history of the Boston Ballet, and drawing back the curtain in describing the challenges in her professional and personal life. There is a compelling story here to tell, an informative story here to tell, and an astute and practical take on a dancer’s life that is a must read for those involved in the dance world.

National Theatre Live – Follies

Skirball NYU Arts Center

November 20, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Skirball NYU Arts Center continues to maintain its commitment to be a venue for the National Theatre Live cinema screening series which provides New Yorkers with an opportunity to see the best that London theatre has to offer.

The 2017-18 season had an auspicious beginning with the cinema screening of the National Theatre’s revival of Stephen Sondheim’s cult musical, Follies.

Follies premiered on Broadway in 1971 with Sondheim as composer and lyricist, James Goldman as the book writer, and Harold Prince and Michael Bennett as co-directors with the sterling cast of Dorothy Collins as Sally, Gene Nelson as Buddy, John McMartin as Ben, and Alexis Smith as Phyllis– and Yvonne De Carlo as Carlotta.

Although it was considered an esteemed artistic success it was not a financial success. But Follies still remains in the hearts of those who appreciate musical theatre as a metaphorical success that never received its due, and to some fans has never received a revival that lived up to the original Broadway production.

Sondheim’s score for Follies is one of his best. Overwhelmingly beautiful music and poignant lyrics, and the success or failure of past revivals has been in interpretation.

Broadway has been blessed with two revivals, the Paper Mill Playhouse also produced a full-scale revival, and the New York Philharmonic and the City Center Encores have also produced concert versions of Follies – all with excellent casts. But here one had the opportunity to see the National Theatre’s revival backed up with the financial and human resources that only the National Theatre can provide. 

An element of the National Theatre’s mission has been to produce revivals of musicals. Its first was Guys and Dolls, a favorite of the National Theatre’s founding artistic director, Laurence Olivier, and the National Theatre has revived several of Sondheim’s musicals over the years. The current National Theatre revival, which was screened at Skirball NYU Arts Center on November 20, 2017, has been much anticipated since this production was announced months ago.

London had its first view of Follies in a production that premiered in 1987 which was revised by Sondheim – including new music and what has been described as more sardonic yet having a happier conclusion than the Broadway original. There have been concert versions of Follies also presented in London but the National Theatre’s revival was the first London revival of Follies.

Follies was inspired by a photograph of Gloria Swanson standing amidst the rubble of the Roxy Theatre when it became a victim of demolition symbolizing the end of an era. It was a time when buildings, that were deemed useless, were bull-dozed to make room for cookie-cutter glass and steel office buildings which now dominate the American urban scape.

In Sondheim’s Follies, cast members of the Weismann Follies gather together for a reunion 30 years after their final performance -- before the Weismann Theatre is demolished. These lovely and formidable ladies make their entrance to the tune of “Beautiful Girls”. They look back on their past lives, with the ghosts of their younger selves hovering within the theatre walls, and confront their regrets, relationships, and hopes from those younger days that were not realized.

Sondheim’s score is a rich pastiche of follies-style numbers which cleverly provide character descriptions and move the story forward – some of these numbers are real and some harken back to the past – or are imaginary. 

The focus of the musical is two couples whose marriages are currently in trouble and they look back on their younger selves and the relationships of the past with regret. The ladies were members of the Follies and their future husbands were Stage Door Johnnies with great possibilities ahead of them. Sally (played by Imelda Staunton) and her husband Buddy (played by Peter Forbes) move outside the environs of New York to pursue their lives after the Follies has ended its performances.  Sally’s best friend Phyllis (played by Janie Dee) has reinvented herself as a socialite.

However Sally has some unresolved issues with her best friend’s husband, Ben (played by Philip Quast), who is questioning his own life and his marriage with Phyllis.  These conflicts represent the crumbling of the American dream.  

In spite of what seems like an introspective look at marriage, the fact of the matter is that Follies doesn’t have a plot. The past is revealed about the principal characters but their futures remain unresolved in the end. These revelations are enhanced when all of the principal characters’ regrets and issues are played out in a series of fantasy follies-type numbers. 

Imelda Staunton’s Sally portrays the character as a neurotic personage and one sees that interpretation carried out through this revival without much development from the starting point. Peter Forbes’ Buddy is a balancing weight to Sally’s instability. Janie Dee as Phyllis is edgy and Phillip Quast’s Ben is ultimately self-accepting of his past sins in his life and marriage, and is somewhat sympathetic to Sally’s pleas to recognize a “romance” which seem to be more in Sally’s imagination than in reality.

This revival of Follies closely follows the original Broadway script and it is performed without any intermission. And through this time frame, all of these glamorous Follies performers have some moments to themselves to re live the past and also re-evaluate what their lives are now. These members of the Weismann’s Follies look back on their salad days and what might have been the happiest moments of their lives.

The National Theatre has produced Follies in the lavish manner it deserves, and director Dominic Cooke   has put his own stamp on the interwoven stories that are played out – and the National Theatre has put together an outstanding cast that not only includes the actresses and actors in the principal roles but also Tracie Bennett as Carlotta (effectively singing the anthem-like “I’m Still Here”), Josephine Barstow as Heidi (in one of the many highlights of this revival of Follies singing the melancholy, “One Last Kiss”), Geraldine Fitzgerald as  Solange LaFitte, Gary Raymond as the inimitable Dmitri Weismann, Di Botcher as Hattie Walker (singing “Broadway Baby” with irony and humor), Adam Rhys-Charles as Young Ben, Zizi Strallen as Young Phyllis, Alex Young as Young Sally, and Fred Haig as Young Buddy.

All of the cast members are effective singing actors – and director Dominic Cooke guided his cast bearing in mind the text in Sondheim’s lyrics and the dialogue in Goldman’s book.

All of these actors and actresses from the principals to the ensembles give superlative performances, and if only for that reason the National Theatre’s revival of Follies is a must see.

 Being produced in London, this production has the objectivity of peering into American society in the years after World War II, and providing insights that might not have been seen in American revivals of this musical. Beautifully designed by Vicki Mortimer with nostalgia in mind – and imaginative use of turntables and bringing an air of mystery to this revival of Follies, and Bill Deamer creating the musical numbers which hail back to the glamour days of the Follies, Sondheim’s Follies is presented here by the National Theatre in a memorable and reverential revival bringing out all of the sentiment and regret that Goldman’s story reflects.

Having seen the original Broadway production of Follies in 1971 and subsequent revivals, Follies brings out the nostalgia inside of all of us but having seen Follies at a young age, I also realize the deeper emotional and personal issues in Follies are more understandable as one matures and has more life experience.  Therefore for me this revival of Follies is penultimate in many aspects, and meaningful for our times. 

Sarasota Ballet – Guggenheim Works & Process

Guggenheim Museum

November 19, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Guggenheim Museum has annually presented its series Works and Process to inform audiences about how a composed piece of music, choreography or a play finally gets to the stage. On November 19th, 2017, Works and Process presented an informative program about two dance works -- one that the Sarasota Ballet has performed and one that the Sarasota Ballet will perform.

The Sarasota Ballet, under the direction of Iain Webb, has been increasing its visibility outside of Sarasota, Florida particularly with its recent appearances in New York. Among ballet companies in the United States, it is one of youngest, and the company has assumed an identity of its own with its productions of the 19th century classics, the works of American and European choreographers, and in particular for its productions of ballets by Frederick Ashton.

The Sarasota Ballet program was narrated by the company’s artistic director, Iain Webb, and guest artist and guest choreographer, Marcelo Gomes, principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, with Wendy Perron as the astute moderator.

Webb provided details about The Two Pigeons, and presented Gomes with Sarasota Ballet principal dancer, Victoria Hulland, in the final pas de deux from Ashton’s The Two Pigeons. The Two Pigeons was created for the Royal Ballet’s touring company in 1961 and was restaged for the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden that same year. The Two Pigeons was Ashton’s follow-up to his very successful La Fille Mal Gardee, and worked with John Lanchbery to reconstruct and revise Andre Messager’s music from 1886 (for a production of The Two Pigeons choreographed by Louis Merante at the Paris Opera Ballet).

Ashton created a romantic piece with simplicity, clarity, musicality and clear theatrical intent. Both Hulland and Gomes were called upon not only to dance these principal roles but also to bring their dramatic talents to the roles as well. Unfortunately rarely performed in this part of the world, The Two Pigeons, has been presented in the Sarasota Ballet’s repertoire and one can see how charming the ballet is and Ashton’s clever choreography even in this excerpt from the ballet that was danced at this performance.

Gomes described his new work, Dear Life, which has been choreographed to Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony and will be given its world premiere by the Sarasota Ballet in Sarasota in December. Gomes had been drawn to this music before having choreographed a movement from this symphony several years ago. And as described Gomes approach to Beethoven’s music is in the narrative form in which a man looks back on his life when he is on the brink of death. 

Two excerpts from Dear Life were danced on this program. A pas de deux danced by Victoria Hulland and Ricardo Rhodes, and a separate pas de trois danced by Samantha Benoit, Ivan Duarte, and Logan Learned. Gomes had these dancers dance these excerpts from beginning to end and then added his comments and coached the dancers – revealing what his choreographic and narrative intent will be when Dear Life is presented with full production values.

In spite of the brevity of this program and dancing excerpts from The Two Pigeons and Dear Life, the Sarasota Ballet revealed itself as a company to watch and to be seen more often in New York. 

Play Going in Early Modern England – the Experience

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Allison Hobgood’s book, Passionate Playgoing in Early Modern England, published by Cambridge University Press, deftly explores and describes what it might have been like to attend theater performances in Renaissance England. This was the time when the works of William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Thomas Kyd, and Thomas Heywood were being performed on the stages in London and toured through the British Isles.

During my undergraduate years while studying Shakespeare’s Tragedies I was informed by my English professor that Shakespeare’s plays were written primarily to be read and not to be performed. Shakespeare’s plays like the plays of every playwright tend to have an added dimension when the words are spoken and acted – the plays are telling stories that an audience is waiting to hear. 

In Passionate Playing in Early Modern England, Hobgood examines the impact of the stage performances of these plays by virtue of this age’s typical audience’s involvement. Theatre provokes passions, arouses passions, and the most adept of the playwrights of the time included moments and words in their plays that were meant to trigger those passions and the curiosity of audience members.

Ms. Hobgood quotes from the plays of that era that are meant to be triggers for an audience member’s emotions. Playwrights inserted phrases, and plot twists which were meant to manipulate the emotions of the audience members, and entertain them as well. Also revealed is how the audience of this time identified with characters in the plays, and how characters broke the fourth wall with asides and directly speaking to the audiences.

Ms. Hobgood analyzes several of the major plays of the day in defining how the playwrights were up to this task and knowledgeable about producing an audience reaction,  She is most adept in the references made in her analysis of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in how the playwright was able to manipulate audience members’ reactions to the words and how the story was being told on stage.

Also examined are the expectations of the playgoers, and the genre of plays that audience members would be aware of. Playgoers would know these genres and would know what to expect when paying for a ticket for these plays.

And, of course, there are the practicalities of the day in that one could risk physical harm and even disease in being an audience member of a theater performance, as audience members argued with other audience members in regard to favorite actors, playwrights, and how the plays effected them personally, and also how contagious diseases could be passed on from one audience member to another in a gathering of people who are watching these plays for hours at a time.

If you wish to experience the feeling of being in the audience during Shakespeare’s day, Passionate Playgoing in Early Modern England will give you excellent insight.

Dresden Semperoper Ballett Makes Joyce Theater Debut

Joyce Theater

October 31, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Making its Joyce Theater debut the Dresden Semperoper Ballett is performing at the Joyce Theater from October 31-November 4, 2017 in a mixed-bill program that displays a company style and the dancers’ abilities to adapt to the work of several different choreographers.

Germany is the home of many ballet companies as each major city in this country has an opera house of its own – and as a result a ballet company of its own. The German ballet companies that have danced in New York most often have been the Stuttgart Ballet, the Hamburg Ballet, what is now the State Ballet Berlin, the Leipzig Ballet, and the Bavarian State Opera Ballet. This company’s few appearances in New York have been as a participant in the City Center Fall for Dance Festival.

Directed by Canadian Aaron Watkin since 2006, the Dresden Semperoper Ballett is based in Dresden, Germany, and comprises more than 60 dancers and performs a varied repertoire. However as Watkin danced with Ballet Frankfurt when this company was directed by William Forsythe, a portion of the company’s repertoire is a reflection of Forsythe’s aesthetic and the many choreographers who have choreographed dance pieces in the same vein. The repertoire presented during this New York engagement reflects this artistic philosophy.

In all three choreographers were represented by four works. Choreographer David Dawson was represented by two of his works. The first of which was the American premiere of 5, first seen as the Wedding Pas de Cinq in his full-length production of Giselle which he staged for the Dresden Semperoper Ballett in 2013. Dancing to music composed by Adolphe Adam the principal dancers in this divertissement are costumed simply – the male dancers with black tops and white tights, and the ladies in white tutus-- and the choreography represents a random neo-classical and classical style. If Dawson’s purpose was to show off the dancers he succeeded because as danced by the cast of Alice Mariani, Gina Scott, Zarina Stahnke, Julian Amir Lacey, and Michael Tucker, these dancers were definitely shown off.

Dawson was also represented by the New York premiere of On The Nature Of Daylight, choreographed to music by Max Richter, and in contrast this was Dawson creating a piece in a contemporary ballet vein. According to this piece’s program notes, the intention was “to explore the idea of love as both the ordinary and the extraordinary.” This piece for two dancers had the goal of revealing how the dancers, Alice Mariani and Julian Amir Lacey, searched for love with the uncertainty of human emotion. Mariana and Lacey expressed much emotion as they danced Dawson’s choreography.

Also an American premiere, Vertigo Maze, was created by Belgian choreographer Stijn Celis, and was choreographed to silent moments and Johann Sebastian Bach’s Chaconne For Solo Violin and Four Voices. Celis’ style is contemporary and modern dance, and his response to Bach’s music was represented in constant movement. Vertigo Maze begins in silence and as the piece unfolds the dancers are captured in off-kilter positions, curled up bodies, and ever changing patterns using the eight dancers in the cast led by Ayaha Tsunaki and Jon Vallejo.

Rounding out the program was the world premiere of The Night Falls Quietly choreographed by company dancer Joseph Hernandez who also designed the costumes and the lighting. Choreographed to music by Bohren & De Club of Gore, Piano Nights as arranged by Johannes Till, the atmosphere that Hernandez created seemed similar to Tudor’s Lilac Garden as four dancers – change partners and explore relationships – and in this instance the music is used as a soundtrack rather than inspiring the movement.. There is a sense that these relationships represent regrets from the past, and one doesn’t expect that these relationships will continue in the future. The piece is basically a moment in time.

The intent of Hernandez’s choreography was revealed by the cast of Aiden Gibson, Ayaha Tsunaki, Francesco Pio Ricci, and Jon Vallejo.

In this relatively short but fully packed program, the Dresden Semperoper Ballett presented itself as a well-trained and versatile group of dancers who are adept in interpreting different choreographic styles – all danced with clarity and clean lines. The performance represented a noteworthy artistic statement by the company.

Matthew  Bourne’s The Red Shoes

City Center

October 26, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Michael Powell’s film, The Red Shoes, has been an inspiration for those working in the dance world – both the positives and negatives. The heroine of The Red Shoes is Victoria Page and her story is known universally. Matthew Bourne has taken up the challenge of creating a dance theatre version of this iconic film which is being performed by Matthew Bourne/New Adventures at the City Center from October 26-November 5, 2017.

In spite of the inherent dance themes in the film The Red Shoes, there have been few dance or theatre versions among them except for a full-length ballet choreographed by Simon Dow for the West Australian Ballet, and the Broadway musical version – from which the stand alone Red Shoes Ballet, choreographed by Lar Lubovitch, was danced by American Ballet Theatre.

Matthew Bourne’s source material is the film by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger -- and the incorporation of Hans Christian Andersen fairytale – employing music by Bernard Herrmann, the legendary composer of many Hollywood film scores – orchestrated by Terry Davies. The score is an amalgam of music from such famous film scores as Citizen Kane, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Fahrenheit 451. 

Similar in structure to the film version Bourne presents The Red Shoes as a ballet within a ballet. Setting the scene in the late 1940’s, austere times in post World War II Britain, and focusing on a touring dance company and its backstage dramas. Victoria Page is a new dancer on the scene whose career rises to the top upon taking on the leading role in the ballet, The Ballet of the Red Shoes, due to a senior dancer’s injury. She takes on the leading role in The Ballet of Red Shoes, with a score by composer Julian Craster, who becomes Page’s love interest. Page and Craster try to keep their fragile personal relationship together while working under the company’s controlling and peripatetic general director, Boris Lermontov, inspired by Serge Diaghilev, director of the Ballets Russes. 

It is Hans Christian Andersen’s The Red Shoes that is in the inspiration for this ballet within a ballet in which a pair of red shoes takes over its wearer’s life – a young girl literally dances herself to dance.

The Craster/Page relationship is focused on when the couple leave the ballet company and their professional and personal lives deteriorate as they perform in a British music hall. They return to the ballet company with Page enticed by a dangling pair of red shoes. This detail is among many in Bourne’s The Red Shoes that make it possible for this story to be told in pure dance terms.

Page is also struggling against social norms and also the norms in the ballet world whether she can pursue a personal relationship with her composer boyfriend or she must put blinkers on and only pursue her dance career.  A dancer’s blind ambition requires that the dancer must live to dance – a life that is not compatible with romance much less a marriage, and Page must make the decision as to which is most important to her. In our time dancers wouldn’t be confronted by such a choice or have to make such a sacrifice. As in the film, this version of The Red Shoes ends in tragedy. But Bourne plants the seeds for Page’s dilemma along the way which supports the arc of the story.

Throughout The Red Shoes Bourne’s clever parodies and send-ups of classical ballet – most often the ballets of the Ballet Russes era  -- are used to develop the characters and their roles in this story. In The Ballet of the Red Shoes, Bourne captures the tragedy and terror which builds to the climax of The Red Shoes dance theatre piece with its cinematic elements.

Bourne presents a cinematic montage of the many scenes in The Red Shoes as the story swiftly moves forward – during a running time of two hours -- from location to location. Bourne is aided by his frequent collaborator, designer Lez Brotherston, and Bourne’s choreography is a mix of contemporary and modern dance, and vernacular dance of the time period – and ballet. Bourne is an expert story teller and he has created a concept for The Red Shoes that is intriguing and absorbing. Performed by a troupe of only 17 members Bourne has more than just re-created the essence of the original film but has also made the story more vital – and communicated that story entirely in dance.

Bourne’s dance theatre pieces are enhanced by the committed performances by his company’s dancers. At this performance Ashley Shaw gave a heartfelt and well-danced performance as Victoria Page with Dominic North, sympathetic and cruel, as Julian Craster, and Sam Archer, cunning and manipulating as the impresario Boris Lermontov.

Also notable were the performances by Michela Meazza as Irina Boronskaja, Liam Mower as Ivan Boleslawsky, and Glenn Graham as Grischa Liubov.

This committed cast of dancers makes Bourne’s The Red Shoes involving and emotionally tinged. 

The Paris Opera – A Documentary

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

In the last few decades it has become common place that documentary filmmakers have been allowed behind the scenes access to observe the inner workings of European opera houses, and North American ballet companies. These glimpses have sometimes proved to be illuminating and perplexing at the same time.

The same could be said for a new absorbing documentary, The Paris Opera, distributed by Film Movement, which doesn’t always capture its constituents at their best – but presents the reality of how a typical European opera house operates, and it is also pleasing to the eye.

It was in the autumn of 2015 that Swiss-born documentary film maker, Jean-Stephane Bron was given access to the Paris Opera, and the people who perform and manage this legendary arts institution. This was a critical moment as the Paris Opera’s general director, Stephane Lissner, was to reveal his artistic plans in his first press conference as director, new productions were in preparation, there was a national labor strike, a tragic terrorist attack in Paris, and the Paris Opera Ballet’s artistic director, Benjamin Millepied, decided to leave his post for reasons that seemed sudden and unclear.

The documentary begins with the raising of the French flag – cutting into an animated meeting involving the Paris Opera’s hierarchy focusing on future artistic plans, preparing for a press conference and an opening night. The Paris Opera management must deal with labor cuts and strikes, complaints about ticket prices, and how the upward ticket prices were hurting the Paris Opera’s image.

Of course one can see all of the gears and cogs that must be oiled in order to keep such an organization moving forward to produce operas and ballets in spite of the day-to-day problems that also include a singer who must withdraw from a major production due to illness – and finding a substitute -- production concerns with a new staging of an opera, and a continuing outreach music program for children who will be the audience for the future.

Of interest to those of us involved in the ballet world were the brief mentions concerning Benjamin Millepied’s decision to leave his post as artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet, his responsibilities as both choreographer and artistic director, his method of communicating and working with the company’s dancers, his doubts and hesitations, and ultimately his departure from the Paris Opera Ballet. And in Millepied’s defense only heard from Lissner’s side of the conversation.

In this documentary the Paris Opera’s day-to-day operations are revealed to the world, displaying the sudden changes created by human beings as creative artists and as artistic administrators coming into conflict. And ultimately the problems must be solved.

For anyone interested in such behind the scenes views of a major European opera house Bron has succeeded in revealing what many audience members should know about the advance preparation necessary before the curtain goes up.

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents First of Three New Musicals – The Honeymooners

Paper Mill Playhouse

October 14, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

During the 2017-18 season the Paper Mill Playhouse will be presenting three new musicals – two of which are world premieres and a third that is an East Coast premiere. The first of these new musicals is the world premiere of The Honeymooners, inspired by the well-known CBS television series, which is being presented by the Paper Mill Playhouse from September 28 through October 29, 2017.

The Honeymooners television series starred Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden, Art Carney as Ed Norton, and Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton – an iconic cast because of their portrayals of these characters. The Honeymooners is a love story between Ralph and Alice Kramden, and Ed and Trixie Norton, but there is also the equally important bromance between Ralph and Ed. In fact there is never a point in this new musical adaptation in which love and affection is not expressed by these characters, and emphasizing that these characters have their human weaknesses. 

Rather than drawing upon plot lines from The Honeymooner’s television series, this musical stage adaptation borrows the characters, their ambitions, and the gist of the times to create a new story for these familiar characters to encounter.

In this musical stage adaptation of The Honeymooners Ralph Kramden, the irreverent bus driver, and his pal Ed Norton, who is a sewer repairman, are waiting for the next great opportunity to better themselves and their lives. Set in Brooklyn and Manhattan just before Christmas 1950, they surprise themselves and their wives when they win a high-profile jingle contest celebrating Faciamatti Mazzeroni cheese, and Kramden and Norton win the first prize of $500. We find that Norton can compose a musical jingle and play piano, Alice can play the piano, and Trixie, the retired burlesque performer has now landed the job of lead singer at the renowned and notorious El Morocco Night Club.

As a result of winning the jingle contest, these two regular Joes find themselves in the jungle that is the world of Madison Avenue advertising as they are employed by Upshaw and Young as jingle writers. In the course of encountering the moguls, the corporate office politics, and the efforts to tear apart their friendship, Kramden and Norton find themselves very much out of place. They are shooting for the moon yet the American dream may be too high a cost to pay -- their quest for fame and fortune could cost them their friendship.

The Honeymooners television series depicts members of the working class hoping for their ship to come in while working at very dull and uninteresting jobs. These are the working class heroes who brought back America’s economy after World War II. They wanted to climb up the economic ladder but they didn’t find too many people to help them and often ran into schemers who gave them false hope. The thought that once you were able to get over the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan you would have success. The Honeymooners television series premiered in the 1950’s and although it had only 39 episodes, it is still seen regularly in syndication up until today – and its themes are even more relevant in the here and now, as in the 1950’s. We’re all searching for the American Dream and achieving that goal, and somehow it is just out of reach. Everybody can identify with those dreams and the frustration in somehow not being able to grab the brass ring! And all of these aspirations are emphasized in this stage musical adaptation of The Honeymooners.

In musicalizing The Honeymooners, this musical’s tuneful and memorable score was written by Stephen Weiner with lyrics by Peter Mills – very much in the style of the Broadway music of the 1950’s, with the adapted story written by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss – including some of the best classic Honeymooners zingers, with choreography by Joshua Bergasse – incorporating June Taylor Dance numbers that were part and parcel of The Honeymooners and Jackie Gleason brand of entertainment, and all directed with reverence and skill by John Rando  who captured the period, and the characters – and the aspirations of the characters – all expressed with humor and depth of emotion. This is a musical that has heart.

Scenery designer Beowulf Boritt recreates those familiar locales from the television series including the scenic element that duplicates The Honeymooner’s opening credits – New York City is illuminated by a full moon, and then there is the apartment that the Kramdens live in – the place that they wish to move from but are not sure where they will wind up. 

Inspiration is drawn from classic Broadway musicals such as Guys and Dolls and even a bit of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, and there is the whiff of nostalgia in the story that these empathetic characters are dropped into.  And you couldn’t have a more capable cast than Michael McGrath playing the crabby but honest New York bus driver Ralph Kramden, Michael Maestro as Ed Norton, Leslie Kritzer as Alice Kramden, and Laura Bell Bundy as Trixie Norton – all of these actors have mastered the mannerisms of the creators of these characters without being an imitation. These actors have included something of themselves in these iconic characters, and they gave superlative performances. What a versatile bunch these actors are.

Also excellent in supporting roles were Lewis Cleale as Upshaw & Young’s obsequious creative director, Bryce Bennett, and Lewis J. Stadlen as Old Man Faciamatta in a formidable and outstanding cameo part.

One must see The Honeymooners for one to remember simpler times when there were no cell phones, no DVRs, or drive thrus to purchase fast foods. Yes, The Honeymooners offers more than a whiff of nostalgia. We know the Kramdens and the Nortons as they are our families, and we want them to succeed and fulfill their dreams.

City Center Fall for Dance Festival – Program Five

City Center

October 13, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The City Center Fall for Dance Festival’s final program on October 13, 2017 included a New York premiere and a world premiere, and ended with an audience rousing finale danced by a Cuban contemporary dance company making its United States debut. This was a celebration of yet another successful and diverse Festival.

Opening this program of varied dance performances was the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago which presented the New York premiere of Crystal Pite’s Solo Echo. In Solo Echo, Pite depicts a dying man who is left alone to contemplate his life – surrounded by ghosts from his past. Choreographed to music by Johannes Brahms, Pite created a desolate landscape with snow falling, with dancers costumed in black on a dimly lit stage. Pite utilized sharp and angular choreography creating tableaus including diverse numbers of dancers. Pite created this piece for the Nederlands Dans Theater in 2012 and Pite’s concept was interpreted well by the cast of Jacqueline Burnett, Kellie Epperheimer, Michael Gross, Elliot Hammans, Alice Klock, Florian Lochner, and Kevin J. Shannon. 

The San Francisco Ballet was represented by five of its male dancers dancing Helgi Tomasson’s virtuoso piece, Concerto Grosso, which the San Francisco Ballet premiered in 2003. Set to the music of Francesco Geminiani after Arcangelo Corelli, Tomasson does not reveal any choreographic surprises as the choreography is academic, refined, propulsive and presented with a courtly etiquette. The cast included Max Cauthorn, Esteban Hernandez, Wei Wang, Diego Cruz and Lonnie Weeks putting the spotlight on the San Francisco Ballet’s up and coming male dancers.

Mark Morris created a world premiere solo for David Hallberg, entitled Twelve of ‘em choreographed to Benjamin Britten’s Twelve Variations for Piano one of Britten’s early musical pieces. The combination of Morris, Hallberg and Britten was a potent one as Morris responds well to the music he chooses for his pieces, and in Twelve of ‘em, Morris’ choreography toys with a parody of classical ballet from a modern dance point of view. Morris inspired a great deal of self-deprecating humor from Hallberg, especially in Hallberg’s interactions with the onstage pianist. The collaboration of Hallberg and Morris resulted in an artistically challenging solo dance that should reveal more details upon further viewings.

Closing this performance was the Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, making its United States debut in a work entitled Matria Etnocentra, choreographed by George Cespedes. Founded in 1959 by Ramiro Guerra, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba represents the prominent contemporary dance company in Cuba. 

Cespedes employs a wide range of dance styles in his piece which begins with a lone male dancer on the stage with the dancers appearing and disappearing in multiples of twos and threes. There are also large ensemble dances which included repetition of choreography in a post-modern vernacular. The momentum builds in this piece which made for an appropriate conclusion for the Fall for Dance Festival’s final program. 

Ballet West Returns To The Joyce Theater

Joyce Theater

October 11, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Ballet West may be on its way to becoming a regular New York visitor and this was reinforced with Ballet West’s return engagement at the Joyce Theater from October 11-14, 2017. The last time Ballet West performed at the Joyce Theater was in 2015.

For this visit Ballet West presented a mixed-bill program which included the works of five different choreographers. Two of these works had been given their world premieres at the National Choreographic Festival earlier this year – and one, a work in progress, will be premiered at the National Choreographic Festival next year.

The program opened with Val Caniparoli’s Dances for Lou which was inspired by the music of Lou Harrison and was premiered by Ballet West in 2017. As a former resident choreographer of Ballet West Caniparoli has created a special connection with the company’s dancers and that was evident in Dances for Lou. It seemed as if old friends were coming together to create something new.

In Dances for Lou, Caniparoli’s choreographic vocabulary is contemporary ballet, and in it he responded to the exoticism of the music in a series of 8 dances – some short and others extended. Although the ballet begins and ends with ensembles it is the in between series of pas de deux, beautifully danced by Allison DeBona, Adrian Fry, Lucas Horns, Jordan Veit, Jenna Rae Herrera and Oliver Oguma, that are the most expressive and direct responses to Harrison’s percussive and rhythmic music.

Giving a nod to Ballet West’s historical relationship with the work of George Balanchine, and Ballet West’s artistic director’s relationship with Gerald Arpino as a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet, two of the short pieces presented in the middle section of the program included works by both major 20th century choreographers.

Gerald Arpino was represented by Ruth: Ricordi per Due, a New York premiere created by Arpino shortly before his passing. Ruth: Ricordi per Due is an elegy, depicting a man who finds himself confronting his dead lover who returns as a ghostly vision. The Joffrey Ballet premiered this 9-minute piece in 2004 and its haunting atmosphere has been enhanced by the music composed by Tomasso Albinnoni. Here Ruth: Ricordi per Due was sensitively danced by Christopher Ruud and Arolyn Williams.

Balanchine was represented by the Pas de Deux and Variations from Chaconne, choreographed to music by Christoph Willibald Gluck and added to Ballet West’s repertoire in 2011. During his lifetime Balanchine choreographed the ballet divertissement in several different opera productions of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and in 1976, he adapted a version he created for a Hamburg State Opera production of Orfeo ed Euridice for the New York City Ballet. Balanchine’s fluid classicism was on display with its quick shifts of direction and being attentive to the patterns in Gluck’s music. These excerpts were danced with clarity by Emily Adams and Adrian Fry.

The middle section of the program closed with a preview performance of an excerpt of a work in progress, Sweet and Bitter, choreographed by Spanish contemporary dance choreographer Africa Guzman which will have its world premiere at the National Choreographic Festival in May 2018.

Choreographed to music by Enzo Bosso, Guzman deftly moved Ballet West’s dancers through space with flair and in interesting patterns on the stage – doing so with the eight-member cast of Allison DeBona, Chase O’Connell, Katlyn Addison, Katherine Lawrence, Chelsea Keefer, Hadriel Diniz, Alexander MacFarlan and Jordan Veit.

Closing Ballet West’s performance was a work choreographed by Ballet West’s resident choreographer Nicolo Fonte, Fox on the Doorstep, a work choreographed to the music of Olafur Arnalds, Harry Escott, and Johan Johannsson, which had its premiere in 2017. Fox on the Doorstep is the seventh work Fonte has created for Ballet West since 2012, and was inspired by an emotional incident in which a white fox appeared which proved to be the omen of a death.

Fox on the Doorstep is colored in a grim atmosphere, alienation, and militaristic modern dance vocabulary – ending with a lone man on stage with flakes from debris falling on him. It is a statement for any time when catastrophes surface spontaneously and how we react to them.

Adam Sklute successfully curated an eclectic evening of dance – familiar and not so familiar – but repertoire that spoke to the strengths of Ballet West’s dancers. I hope that Ballet West will continue to perform in New York as often as possible. 

American Repertory Ballet at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater

Gerald L. Lynch Theater at John Jay College

October 5, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

American Repertory Ballet, which is based in New Jersey, and is under the direction of Douglas Martin, rarely dances in New York. This company has had a long and continuing history that most companies would revere, but New York audiences are not as familiar with the company as they should be – especially as commuting to New Jersey to see the company dance would be wrongly thought of as an arduous task. During the 2017-18 season American Repertory Ballet will have New York engagements in both the fall and spring.

For its fall performance at the Gerald L. Lynch Theater at John Jay College on October 5th, 2017, American Repertory Ballet presented a mixed-bill program which included two works choreographed by Kirk Peterson, and a work choreographed by Mary Barton, both of whom are American Repertory Ballet’s Resident Choreographers. These works were created in styles accessible to the most informed of dance audiences and also revealed American Repertory Ballet’s artistic aesthetic.

The program opened with the first of two ballets choreographed by Kirk Peterson, The Eyes That Gently Touch, which had been seen danced in New York previously by the Washington Ballet in 2000. 

Choreographed to music by Philip Glass, Peterson’s choreography reflected the impulses coursing through Glass’ music. The piece opens with a pas a deux – Kylian-like in terms of partnering and movement – at times tentative. The Eyes That Gently Touch made an artistic statement as to what the American Repertory Ballet’s performance would be like and was well danced by the cast of Shaye Firer, Austap Klymko, Ryoko Tanaka, Jacopo Jannelli, Lily Saito, and Mattia Pallozzi.

In contrast was Mary Barton’s Straight Up With A Twist, an ensemble work choreographed to music composed by Kaila Flexer and Third Ear which also made a statement in revealing American Repertory Ballet’s artistic portrait.

Barton’s choreography was exotic and musical, with shifting groups in unexpected patterns. The duets were playful and reflected real personal relationships – expressing moods and captured the audience’s attention. 

Kirk Peterson’s second contribution to this mixed-bill program was his own version of Carmen based on Prosper Merimee’s novella. This version included the kernel of the story that exists in Bizet’s opera, but also elucidated the nationalistic connections of the principal characters and Carmen’s innate superstitious nature. This is a Carmen who has no moral compass and easily betrays those who care about her – and does so without any guilt. The love triangle that includes Carmen, Don Jose, and Lucas, a matador, inspired rage and jealousy, all foreseeing that this story would not have a happy ending.

Peterson chose to choreograph his version of Rodion Shchedrin’s orchestration of Bizet’s familiar music which provided a pulsating background score for the drama on stage. That drama was exemplified by the performances of Nanko Yamamoto in the title role, Journy Wilkes-Davis in the role of Don Jose, and Aldeir Monteiro in the role of Lucas, the matador.

American Repertory Ballet showed that the quality of presentation is not determined by how large a budget you have or how many dancers you have. This performance also reminded us that there are dance performances worth seeing throughout the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area.

City Center Fall for Dance Festival – Program Two

City Center

October 4, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The City Center Fall for Dance Festival’s Second Program, seen on October 4, 2017, featured a rare New York appearance by one of our major American ballet companies, the Pennsylvania Ballet. The Pennsylvania Ballet is now dancing in New York more frequently than it had been and this was a welcome opportunity to examine the new artistic policy that has been put into effect by the Pennsylvania Ballet’s artistic director, Angel Corella.

For this appearance the Pennsylvania Ballet presented the New York premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Rush, a work created for the San Francisco Ballet in 2003 and was given its company premiere by the Pennsylvania Ballet in 2017. Choreographed to Bohuslav Martinu’s Sinfonietta La Jolla, Wheeldon has created an homage to the duet. In its neoclassical style and structure, Wheeldon’s choreography is epitomized by its close partnering, symmetry with tinges of European veneer, and with a hint of influence from Jiri Kylian.

The Pennsylvania Ballet danced Rush with the necessary speed and clarity – and included in contrast was the understated pas de deux in the second section of Rush danced by Oksana Maslova and Ian Hussey with great subtlety in their performances.

Cie Art Move Concept adapted its piece, Nibiru, in its United States premiere for this Festival performance. In their choreography, Soria Rem and Mehdi Ouachek (also one of the company’s dancers) have fashioned an urban scape creating a hybrid piece ranging in various styles from hip hop to break dancing, from circus arts and mime, all combined in an atmosphere of optical images, and highlighting  the cast members’ virtuoso dancing. The cast of Kevin Mischel, Si M’hamed Benhalima, Bruce Chiefare, Artem Orlov, Jackson Ntcham, Erwan Godard, and Mehdi Ouachek must also be credited for bringing this highly theatrical piece to life.

The Stephen Petronio Company, created to curate American post modern dance masters, has authored a project entitled Bloodlines, which presents iconic works from the beginnings of the post modern movement to the present. At this performance the company danced two short works, Chair-Pillow, choreographed by Yvonne Rainer, and Excerpt from Goldberg Variations choreographed by Steve Paxton which are examples of the ingenious post modern choreographers. 

In Chair-Pillow the cast members enter the stage with chairs and pillows in hand moving to Ike and Tina Turner’s rendition of River Deep Mountain High. Created in 1969 in this ensemble work the cast members follow patterns and repetitions in manipulating both their chairs and their pillows in this short and to the point piece.

In Paxton’s Excerpt from Goldberg Variations, this solo is danced to Glenn Gould’s idiosyncratic interpretation of Bach’s music – always moving -- in a challenging piece well danced by Nicholas Sciscione. 

Both Rainer and Paxton were original members of the pioneering of Judson Dance Theater, and in these pieces, one can see these choreographers’ signatures.

Closing the program was German Cornejo’s Tango Fire which had been adapted for its New York premiere at this Festival performance. Tango Fire features a series of lively duets and ensemble pieces in the tango idiom, telling stories, telling tales – sultry, humorous with heat and passion, and precision dancing executed with flair by the superb cast of Sebastian Alvarez, Victoria Saudelli, Marcos Esteban Roberts, Louise Junqueira Malucelli, Ezequiel Lopez, Camila Alegre, Eber Burger, Sabrina Nogueira, Julio Jose Seffino, and Carla Dominguez – with the frosting on the cake -- musicians playing the music that grabs one’s attention. This was a rousing finale to ponder at another varied Festival program.

City Center Fall for Dance Festival – Program One

City Center

October 3, 2917

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The City Center Fall for Dance Festival’s opening program, which was presented in its second performance on October 3, 2017, reflected the Festival’s mission for diversity in dance presentations. As in past years, this year’s Festival participants will include some of our major American ballet companies as well as multi-national, and modern and contemporary dance companies from all over the world.

This performance was notable for the appearance of the Miami City Ballet, a company which has been a more regular New York visitor in the last few years. The Miami City Ballet opened this program with Christopher Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, a work created by Wheeldon for the New York City Ballet, and was given its Miami City Ballet company premiere in 2013. 

Created by Wheeldon when he was resident choreographer of the New York City Ballet, he choreographed Polyphonia to piano music by Gyorgy Ligeti, which has become associated for being used in the movie score from Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut.

Polyphonia is a ballet for four couples featured in ten sections where the dancers perform in ensemble groups, solos and pas de deux which interconnect as the ballet progresses. Some of the ballet’s sections are punctuated by blackouts on a dimly lit stage. Influences from Balanchine’s modernism, partnering, the manipulation of bodies, and movement in space are apparent in Wheeldon’s Polyphonia, here danced with clear execution by the cast of Tricia Albertson, Reyneris Reyes, Ashley Knox, Jovani Furlan, Emily Bromberg, Jennifer Lauren, Kleber Rebello and Renato Penteado. The Miami City Ballet’s dancers seemed very much at home in Wheeldon’s intricate choreography.

Also presented on this program was the New York premiere of Gula which had been given its world premiere in South Africa in 1993. Danced by its choreographer, Vincent Mantsoe, this tour de force solo opened with the sounds of bird-like chirping – and Mantsoe developed bird-like movement creating an atmosphere and mystery which illustrated the physicality of birds and their relationship to man, and the earth to the sky – creating a respect for nature.

Celebrating the memory of Trisha Brown, the Trisha Brown Dance Company danced Trisha Brown’s You can see us, a piece that had its initial birth in a solo in 1994 which was distinctive as the audience saw Brown dancing with her back turned and only revealing her face in side glances. This concept has been expanded in You can see us in which two dancers, Cecily Campbell and Jamie Scott are also seen on a darkly lit stage with the dancers rarely facing the audience and not connecting – and notable for Brown’s signature angular movement. 

Bringing this program to a boisterous conclusion was Dorrance Dance presenting the world premiere of Michelle Dorrance’s Myelination, featuring original live music by Donovan Dorrance and Gregory Richardson with vocals by Aaron Marcellus. This new incarnation of Myelination was commissioned by the City Center Fall for Dance Festival as an expanded version of a short work which Michelle Dorrance created for the Festival in 2015.

Dorrance is a unique tap virtuoso and in this piece, and others she has created her own brand of tap which she uses to create new directions and new expression, and combining tap with contemporary and modern dance. This expanded version of Myelination includes improvisational choreography – besides Dorrance additional choreography is credited to Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie and Matthew “Megawatt” West – and provides a wonderful showcase for Dorrance’s dancers – and a fitting conclusion to an intriguing program of dance presented by the City Center Fall for Dance Festival.

The York Theatre Company – Desperate Measures

Theatre at Saint Peter’s

September 30, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The York Theatre Company is opening its 2017-18 season with its presentation of Desperate Measures from September 19-October 15, 2017.

Desperate Measures is a new musical comedy, with a wink and nod towards William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure was written in the early part of the 17th century chronicling the story of the Duke of Vienna who leaves the city to conduct state business. But appropriately disguised he remains in the city to witness his interim successor’s corruption – especially as it concerns Claudio who is unjustly imprisoned by this temporary ruler, Angelo. Fortunately Claudio’s sister, Isabella, begs for Claudio’s life and schemes with the disguised Duke of Vienna to thwart Angelo’s evil intentions.

The creative team of Desperate Measures resets the Bard’s story to 1890 in a Western territory in the United States where Johnny Blood (played by Conor Ryan), a not too repentant cowboy, has been sentenced to hang for killing a man in self-defense in a local bar fight. His sister, Sister Mary Jo (played by Emma Degerstedt) is a novice nun who makes her pleas to the corrupt governor (Governor Von Richterhenkenpflitchtgetruber -- played by Nick Wyman) to save her brother’s life. The Governor promises to do so only if the Sister sacrifices her virtue and succumbs to his sexual advances. In consenting and participating in the Governor’s seduction, a series of ruses save the Sister’s morals, and frees her brother from prison.

The other accomplices are the highly moral Sheriff Martin Green (played by Peter Saide), the saloon girl Bella Rose, drawn as a woman of easy virtue with a heart of gold (played by Lauren Molina), and Father Morse (played by Gary Marachek) who spends most of his waking hours in an alcoholic stupor and is a fan of the German philosopher, Nietzsche.

There are hints along the way that Desperate Measures was not to be a typical musical as reflected in the signage on the stage including “End of the Trail Jail”, “Mane Street”, “Our Lady of the Tumbleweeds”, and “Wild Will’s Saloon” and with the dialogue in verse there is plenty of tongue in cheek humor.

It is these kooky characters and their interactions that create the chaotic and surprising plot of Desperate Measures which eventually ties up everything with an unexpected conclusion that is life changing for all of Desperate Measures’ characters. The fun is enjoying these offbeat characters, their plotting, and how they make their way to this musical’s unexpected conclusion.

The score with music by David Friedman and lyrics by Peter Kellogg – Kellogg is also the book writer for Desperate Measures – is Country and Western influenced which fits in with the re-location of the story and Desperate Measures unique interpretation of Shakespeare’s words and action – and appropriately American. Every song draws and illuminates these off beat characters, and moves the plot forward – but many of these songs could be stand alone and could be performed beyond the parameters of this clever, witty, and tuneful musical.

The wonderful cast brings life to this fanciful comic plot. Nick Wyman gives a tour de force performance as the Governor who is a hybrid of Hugh Hefner – down to the monogram on his bed and his wardrobe of a silk robe and pajamas -- and the hapless John Cleese. Conor Ryan’s Johnny Blood appropriates the comic elements ingrained in this character as he deals with what could be his last days and contributing as much as he can to the plot and plot twists to get him out of jail – and this character is not a rocket scientist either.  

Peter Saide plays Sheriff Green with the intensity of a Hollywood western movie hero. Based on his intelligence and his slickness you wonder where he actually came from and why did he settle for life in   this odd Western town. And then there is Gary Marachek’s Father Morse portrayed as a bungling drunk who somehow manages to get involved in the many ruses that are included in Desperate Measures’ plot.

Just as outstanding are the leading ladies, Emma Degerstedt as Sister Mary Jo who seems innocent at first but basically has enough street smarts to participate in and facilitate the many plot twists to get her brother out of jail – and the multi-talented Lauren Molina as Bella Rose, who, chameleon-like, changes her looks, voice and mannerisms which put Sheriff Green’s schemes into motion.

This chaos is guided expertly by Bill Castellino both as director and choreographer. Also the costume designs by Nicole Wee and the scenery designs by James Morgan add to the realization of David Friedman’s and Peter Kellogg’s concept.

Desperate Measures can be inanely funny at times, entertaining at all times, and makes for a problem forgetting two hours in the theatre – a tonic we all need! And isn’t that what a musical comedy ought to be!

Spirit of the Fallen

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Conceived and choreographed by Keith Lee, Spirit of the Fallen, is a documentary which is an impassioned tribute to Americans who served in the military, but are often forgotten.

In 2013 Keith Lee created his dance piece, The Fallen, and his journey began to make an educational documentary film about American military veterans. The documentary, Spirit of the Fallen, had its premiere in 2017. The dedication to the ballet and the documentary film is the same, “Dedicated To Veterans Who Fought And Serve For Our Freedoms”.

In addition to Keith Lee’s dance piece, which serves as the core of the documentary, Spirit of the Fallen also includes historical footage during periods in American history when our future was uncertain, and describing how much sacrifice was made by Americans serving our country. They need not be forgotten and the compassionate words of veterans’ activist Heather Webber, emphasize that they cannot be forgotten and their rights need to be protected.

Integrated into Spirit of the Fallen is Keith Lee’s fitting and emotional choreographic tribute to the veterans, The Fallen, and a spiritual piece, Con Spirito. Lee’s voice is also present as there are several sections of narrative which are spoken by Lee himself.

Celebrations commemorating the beginning of World War I in 2014 brought us full historical circle to appreciate this compassionate and straightforward tribute to the best of the best in this personal tribute to those who served in the military and who are too often forgotten. This is not to mention the military services which have made extraordinary efforts in regard to the relief efforts in the hurricane effected areas of the United States.

Scandinavian American Theatre Company Presents The Baroness – Isak Dinesen’s Final Affair

John Clurman Theatre

September 10, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Scandinavian American Theatre Company’s mission is to present the work of contemporary Scandinavian playwrights, and new perspectives of Scandinavian classics.

As part of the fulfillment of that mission from September 2-24, 2017, the company is presenting a new play by Danish playwright Thor Bjorn Krebs, The Baroness – Isak Dinesen’s Final Affair at the John Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row. Krebs is a young Danish playwright who has won many Danish theatre awards and The Baroness is his 12th play.

Isak Dinesen is Baroness Karen Blixen’s pen name and she achieved notoriety for her book, Out of Africa and her short story, Babette’s Feast. She spent a part of her life in Africa, and experienced an adventurous and uncompromising life – ultimately becoming an author of note – in some respects more accepted in parts of the world other than her native Denmark.

Krebs' play, The Baroness Isak Dinesen’s Final Affair, translated by Kim Dam Boek and directed by Henning Hegland, focuses on Blixen’s May-December mentor relationship with Thorkild Bjornvig, an author and poet. Within the real time span of a little over two hours with one intermission, The Baroness is inspired by anecdotes, letters and books by and about Blixen and Bjornvig.

When Dee Pelletier, as the 62-year-old Isak Dinesen, sets foot on the stage it is clear that there is to be an inspired relationship and a battle at the same time, and Conrad Ardelius, as the 29 year-old Bjornvig, is her target. This relationship is represented from the student’s perspective rather than from a teacher’s perspective – involving a blind faith trust given to a mentor – an arrangement of sorts that is a personal one and can foster creativity or do enormous damage.

Bjornvig is convinced that his boring domestic life with his wife and son is limiting his creativity, and this uncontrollable circumstance is causing writer’s block. And it is at this vulnerable stage of his personal and artistic life that Dinesen makes her appearance and perhaps sees an opportunity.

Spanning the years of 1948-55 this complicated bond has a catalyst in the third character Benedicte, (played by Vanessa Johansson), the wife of Bjornvig’s publisher, who warns Bjornvig of Dinesen’s duplicity when it comes to relationships. Dinesen’s intentions in cultivating her relationship with Bjornvig are revealed when Dinesen describes herself as a lioness and Bjornvig as her lion cub.

Dinesen is well-known at the time, and when she takes Bjornvig under wing they share an explosive friendship, introducing new people into their lives, and in questioning her intentions towards Bjornvig, Dinesen even doubts her mental state as she reveals her decades-long battle with syphilis.

This relationship is a mixture of regrets, control and what it is is to be an artist. All presented in an intimate space with the actors performing in a theatre scape including a modernistic and changing graphic of contemporary artwork.

Besides depicting this difficult liaison, which Bjornvig described as a complicated friendship, these authors question the role of an artist, an artist’s doubts, and how emotions and enablers conflict with an artist’s work.

The Baroness also reveals the complicated personalities of Blixen and Bjornvig, which makes for an absorbing play.

This story is entrusted to three wonderful actors including Dee Pelletier as Isak Dinesen, Conrad Ardelius as Thorkild Bjornvig, and Vanessa Johansson as Benedicte. All are commanding – and in command of their characters – and breathe life into these very intriguing and manipulative characters.


Dame Beryl Grey’s Memoir For The Love Of Dance

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Oberon Books has recently published the autobiography of one of the great British ballerinas, Beryl Grey, who had danced with the Royal Ballet, and after her retirement from the stage took on the directorship of London Festival Ballet.

For The Love Of Dance represents a detailed journal of Dame Beryl Grey’s life as a dancer with the Royal Ballet and as a freelance guest artist, and the everyday travails of directing a major ballet company and inner workings of such a ballet company. The intricacies of a ballet company’s daily life are rarely revealed to the general public and in For The Love Of Dance, the reader will be able to read insights into the hazards and rewards of taking on the job of an artistic director of a major ballet company.

Grey joined Ninette de Valois’ fledging Sadler’s Wells Ballet at age 14, dancing Swan Lake on her fifteenth birthday, Giselle at age sixteen and Aurora at nineteen – and was the first English ballerina to dance with the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov Ballet in Russia.

Grey describes her early childhood and life in Great Britain during World War II, and in this absorbing autobiography she describes the apprehensions and highly-charged anticipation early in her career as she took on one major role after another. She comments about rivalries with other dancers, billing, competing for roles, creation of roles, and in retrospect disappointment in how de Valois treated the dancers. She also describes the hazards of touring with a big ballet company and in small concerts after she left the Royal Ballet.

Mentioned was the lost opportunity to play Princess Katherine in Laurence Olivier’s movie version of Henry VI as de Valois refused permission for her to do so. However Grey also mentioned how rewarding it had been to dance the second ballerina role in George Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial – and upon mentioning her planned wedding to Sven Svendsen, Balanchine warned her that marriage would have a deleterious effect on her career.

Also there are the fascinating facts and remembrances of Grey’s debut on a Russian stage at the height of the Cold War, primitive performing conditions but supportive colleagues, kind government officials who fixed problems, and travel plans gone awry. 

There are also many no holds barred comments about dancers she had seen perform and those dancers that performed for her while she was artistic director of London Festival Ballet. Described are inconsistent performances by company members as they danced one day to the next, coping with injured dancers, casting ballets, backstage intrigue, and also what she felt was intrigue aimed at her – uncomfortable Board of Directors’ meetings and why Eliot Feld was engaged to stage a ballet for the company – Meadow Lark – and the rationale for other choreographers to be engaged by her to either create re-stage ballets for London Festival Ballet’s repertoire. Presented are day to day journal entries with a depth of frank and honest detail.

In one of the rare instances of sensationalism in this autobiography Grey writes of the love-hate relationship she had with Rudolf Nureyev during the time period when he appeared as a guest artist with London Festival Ballet. This was the juggling act of coping with Nureyev’s moods, undermining her authority, and even violence towards dancers in the company. Also described is how this relationship had an impact on the London Festival Ballet’s touring engagements that involved Nureyev as a guest artist, and how his demands and the requirements of presenters and producers came into conflict. According to Grey he was not the only dancer that created or caused stress and challenges for her as an artistic director.

Also Grey describes how she juggled her professional life with her family life, the sacrifices her family had to make in order for her to fulfill her career goals and make a living as a dancer and artistic director. There are no clear answers to these problems in her autobiography, and these questions remain unanswered today as people contend with problems of all kinds in their daily lives.

Grey has revealed a great deal of herself in her autobiography which makes For The Love of Dance an absorbing read.

Alive and Kicking – The History of Swing Dancing

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Magnolia Home Entertainment is presenting Alive and Kicking, a documentary that examines the origins of swing dancing and its best practitioners of this dance genre today. In her directorial debut, Susan Glatzner explores all of the facets of this American social dance form, its history, and its current resurgence.

Harlem during the Great Depression was the birth place of swing and swing dancing, and as with all trends and genres, swing dancing went out of fashion and is now back in fashion. Swing dancing is now taught all over the world, and the best of the best teach this dance form, and also participate in competitions.

Alive and Kicking presents archival footage of swing dancing at its birth, and interviews with swing dancing legends Norma Miller and the late Frankie Manning – and also introduces the legends in the making in a new generation of swing dancers. 

Through this 90-minute documentary one can see the development of the great social dances that were developed and refined in the swing era, and how these social dances are making their way back into our current popular culture. There is also the emotional ride taken by the dancers themselves as they develop and perfect this dance form.

As described swing dancing is inspired by the music. Also participation in swing dancing creates a personal connection – rather than watching life one is participating in life – also creating an emotional and creative outlet. One partner leads in the dancing and thereafter it is all improvisation as one partner reads the other. It becomes a conversation between the dancers. Swing dancing is now spanning generations and is creating new dance communities.

This 90-minute documentary, Alive and Kicking, provides excellent insight into the dance form of swing dancing, the people dedicated to keeping the art form alive, and how it is inspiring its community.

York Theatre Company – Musicals in Mufti – Jerry’s Girls

York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s

August 6, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The York Theatre Company has added a special attraction to its season – adding spice to the summer – and closing the chapter on the company’s tribute to the show music of Jerry Herman. The York Theatre Company is ending its season with a Musicals in Mufti performance of the Jerry Herman revue, Jerry’s Girls, from August 5-13, 2017.

Jerry’s Girls, with a concept by Larry Alford, Wayne Cilento and Jerry Herman, had been developed in cabaret venues, then toured in the United States and arrived on Broadway in 1985 starring Dorothy Loudon, Chita Rivera, and Leslie Uggams. 

It is a tribute to the many female characters that are prominent in Jerry Herman’s musicals, such as Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, the title role and Vera Charles in Mame, and Countess Aurelia in Dear World, Mabel Normand in Mack and Mabel. Herman seemed particularly adept in understanding the female characters in his musicals and providing actresses with roles that will stand the test of time.

In Jerry’s Girls Jerry Herman’s wonderful songs are sung by an all-female cast in tribute to these  female characters that Herman has given center-stage in his musicals. And in this production Jerry’s Girls returns to its roots with minimal production values and only a pianist to accompany a cast of dazzling female performers. The result is that you have a fitting and entertaining tribute to one of Broadway’s significant composers.

In Jerry’s Girls, Herman’s songs are performed out of context but they all tell a story – comic, describing characters, and poignant. The songs are spirited, honest and uplifting, and define Jerry Herman as an American treasure.

Herman’s music was in the capable hands of the cast led by Stephanie D’Abruzzo, Christine Pedi, and Stephanie Umoh, versatile performers with excellent singing voices, story-tellers, and all having natural comic timing. All of these wonderful ladies had their moments but in particular Stephanie D’Abruzzo in her performances of “Before The Parade Passes By” and “Time Heals Everything”, Stephanie Umoh in her performances of “It Only Takes A Moment” and “I Am What I Am”, and Christine Pedi in her performances of “If He Walked Into My Life” and “Nelson”.

The cast was guided by director Pamela Hunt who understood Herman’s music and intentions, and spotlighted these marvelous actresses at their best. And then there is the musical director, Eric Svejcar, a one-man band who musically supported these female performers and is a notable interpreter of Herman’s optimistic music.

Plaudits to the York Theatre Company for presenting this most entertaining and rewarding evening of Jerry Herman’s music and to find the excellent cast, director and musical director to do justice to Herman’s contributions to Broadway.

New York Musical Festival – Georama

Peter Jay Sharp Theatre

August 4, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The New York Musical Festival continues its mission to provide a showcase for musicals that are being developed and have reached the stage when an audience’s responses are required. The Festival performances also provide opportunities for these musicals to reach the next stage of its creative process.

From August 2-6, 2017, the Festival is showcasing an official selection of the Festival’s Next Link Project, Georama: An American Panorama Told on 3 Miles of Canvas, its New York premiere, with music and lyrics by Matt Schatz & Jack Herrick with a book written by West Hyler, who is also this musical’s director.

Georama focuses on the life of the American artist John Banvard, who was a well-known artist in the first half of the 19th century and became famous for painting his three-mile long moving panorama celebrating the Mississippi River and its adjoining landscape. 

Born in New York in 1815 Banvard began painting large scale panoramas of the Mississippi River Valley in 1840. These paintings were transferred from sketches to large-scale canvases in a building built for this purpose in Louisville, Kentucky. Banvard developed a mechanism to display his panorama pieces and in 1849 began touring “Georama” in Europe, Asia, and Africa – including a private showing for Queen Victoria. Unlike other starving artists Banvard became a millionaire. This engrossing and empathetic story, which is now merely a footnote in American history, is presented in this musical.

Georama traces Banvard’s life as an artist selling his sketches of the Mississippi River Valley to passengers on the Mississippi River’s show boats, and then with the collaboration of Taylor he develops the painting of large canvases and the mechanism to present these large canvases to audiences on show boats and along the Mississippi River. Along the way Banvard romances Elizabeth Goodnow, a pastor’s daughter, who is a composer and musician, and their collaboration on Banvard’s Georama, ultimately evolves into marriage.

Banvard’s Georama intertwined moving pictures and music which became the latest novelty and trend in America – with great success at first – but as with any trend or novelty, the American public moves on to the next novelty and trend.

Banvard had a great success with his Georama but also a great many disappointments as the entertainment entrepreneur, P.T. Barnum, appropriated his ideas, and Banvard must make a decision whether he wishes to be true to his art, his wife, and the reason why he became an artist in the first place. Banvard succumbs to the conflicts of art and commerce, and must answer the question as to whether it is a betrayal for an artist to lie about his art in order to promote his art.

Of course such themes have been contemplated in all art forms, but West Hyler, Matt Schatz and Jack Herrick have created an earnest musical with a score that is sincere and tuneful, and sometimes satirical and witty in telling Banvard’s story. Now in the form of 90 minutes, Banvard must move on to the next stage to develop the characters a bit more and perhaps a bit more exposition about Banvard’s life and his enterprise, the Georama.

Georama’s story is told by the talented cast of P.J. Griffith as John Banvard, Jillian Louis as Elizabeth Goodnow, Randy Blair as Taylor, Nick Sullivan in multiple roles, and musicians Jacob Yates and Ana Marcu who also play minor roles in this musical.

Georama has already reached the stage of being informative and entertaining, and now must be developed to also expose more of its heart.

Bolshoi Ballet Dances The Taming of the Shrew

David Koch Theater

July 27, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

In its rare American tours, it is also a rarity for the Bolshoi Ballet to dance its recent acquisitions and world premieres. For this engagement at the Lincoln Center Festival, the Bolshoi Ballet performed a recent world premiere, that of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s The Taming of the Shrew, which was given its Bolshoi Ballet premiere in 2014.

There are few choreographers who have tackled a dance adaptation of this comic play by Shakespeare. The best known was choreographed by John Cranko for the Stuttgart Ballet which is in the repertoire of ballet companies all over the world. Cranko’s version of The Taming of the Shrew was inspired by Cole Porter’s Broadway musical, Kiss Me Kate, which was based on Shakespeare’s play. Maillot’s influences seem serendipitous and different but are also not wholly derived from Shakespeare’s play.

Maillot has choreographed his own unique versions of Swan Lake, Cinderella, and Romeo and Juliet. In these full-length ballets Maillot has searched for 21st century theatrical concepts to tell these stories which have their roots in prior centuries. Minimalist scenery is the landscape (designed by Ernest Pignon-Earnest), costumes inspired by couture designers (designed by Augustin Maillot), and the use of stage craft, a few props, a multitude of dance styles, and the extension of conventional mime. These ingredients have now become standard in Maillot’s narrative ballets.

In his version of The Taming of the Shrew Maillot tell his story in two short acts.  Maillot’s method of story-telling is unique in that the dancers often must connect the dots when it comes to portraying the characters and moving the story forward. The choreography is focused not only on steps and movement, but also on facial expressions, and hand movements. However when all pieced together Maillot’s view of The Taming of the Shrew is unique – and witty and satirical – and most important, fast-moving, as Shakespeare’s comedy is told in less than two hours.

Maillot has described his version of The Taming of The Shrew as a ballet about the play – and there is the avoidance of the complicated gender politics traps that productions of The Taming of the Shrew fall into. Maillot envisions Katharina and Petruchio in a battle of the sexes as two strong individuals who are trying to find out more about each other, and Katharina willingly submits to Petruchio in the end – and finds happiness in doing so. 

One should also be aware that one of Shakespeare’s collaborators, John Fletcher, had written a sequel to Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew -- entitled The Tamer Tamed -- in which Petruchio’s second wife, Maria, turns the tables on Petruchio. Even one of Shakespeare’s contemporaries had questions about Shakespeare’s slant on relationships.

From the beginning of the ballet when Victoria Litvinova as the Housekeeper comes from behind the curtain – breaking the fourth wall – and reveals herself as a self-absorbed fashionista --  it is clear that the story of The Taming of the Shrew is being told in a novel manner.

Maillot has choreographed to music from several of Dmitri Shostakovich’s ballet scores and films – Counterplan, Alone, Hamlet, Pirogov, The Gadfly, Sofia Perovskaya, The Great Citizen, Symphony No. 9 Op. 70 and String Quartet No. 8, and from his musical comedy, Moscow Chuymushliki.

Shostakovitch’s arrangement of Tea for Two is the musical back drop for the end of the ballet tea party – the seasoning of wit that seems to pop up through this ballet, and also sets the stage for Katharina’s and Petruchio’s happy ending.

Besides telling the story in The Taming of the Shrew in an unconventional manner, Maillot gets the best out of the dancers who dance this ballet. Kristine Kretova as Katharina and Denis Savin as Petruchio danced the combative pair in this ballet with Anastasia Stashkevich as Bianca and Artem Orcharenko as Lucentio, the ardent lovers in a relationship in which Bianca is the one who turns out to be more combative than Katharina and Petruchio are. All four dominate the stage when they appear – a real stretch for all four dancers.

Maillot’s ballets are an acquired taste, but it was fascinating to see the Bolshoi Ballet’s dancers tackle the unfamiliar, be challenged, and rise to the occasion.

Also I hope that it won't be too long before the Lincoln Center Festival hosts the Bolshoi Ballet again.

Lincoln Center Festival Presents Joint Performance of Jewels Danced By the Bolshoi Ballet, New York City Ballet, and Paris Opera Ballet 

David Koch Theater

July 22, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

From July 20th – 23rd, 2017 the Lincoln Center Festival produced a significant dance event. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of George Balanchine’s Jewels, the Festival presented a joint performance of Jewels danced with the participation of the New York City Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Paris Opera Ballet at the David Koch Theater. 

Balanchine created Jewels for the New York City Ballet in 1967 – a 3-act abstract ballet with the only link being the theme of precious jewels visualized in the costuming and scenery. Balanchine created three ballets with different styles, and all of them expressing allusions to the past. The distinctive styles of the ballets, and the signature dancing styles of the ballet companies were emphasized and enhanced by each company dancing in costumes designed for its own specific production of Jewels.

Jewels is a ballet well-known to New York audiences but only two companies other than the New York City Ballet have danced Jewels in the New York area, Miami City Ballet at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 1999, and the Mariinsky Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House in 2002. Ballet du Nord, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and the San Francisco Ballet have danced the Rubies act of Jewels in New York as well.

At the July 22nd matinee performance, the Paris Opera Ballet danced Jewels’ first act, Emeralds. Choreographed to Gabriel Faure’s incidental music for theatrical productions of Pelleas and Melisande and Shylock, Emeralds was Balanchine’s homage to the Romantic era of ballet in the early part of the 19th century with the Parisians dancing in distinctive costumes designed by French fashion designer Christian Lacroix.

The Paris Opera Ballet is known for its attention to detail in the way the company’s dancers dance every ballet. There was an air of mystery in this performance of Emeralds as well. All the more emphasized in Balanchine’s revised ending of the ballet with the three principal men in the cast left alone on stage. 

The attention to detail was in evidence in the first pas de deux danced by Laetitia Pujol and Mathieu Ganio, in the second pas de deux danced by Myriam Ould-Braham and Mathias Heymann, and in the pas de trois danced by Hannah O’Neill, Sae Eun Park, and Fabien Revillion. It was an occasion just to see these Paris Opera Ballet dancers on a New York stage.

The New York City Ballet danced Rubies, choreographed to Igor Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra, typical of the choreographer’s style with a bit of American and Broadway swagger. The New York City Ballet dancers danced in the original costumes designed by Karinska.

Leading this cast of Rubies was Megan Fairchild, Joaquin De Luz and Teresa Reichlen exemplifying the company’s usual high energy. This performance was also notable for its spirit and clarity – and joy. In the performances of the principal dancers there was a feeling of the specialness of the occasion. 

The Bolshoi Ballet danced the closing Diamonds act, choreographed to Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony, representing Balanchine’s reverence to the era of Marius Petipa at the Mariinsky Ballet at the end of the 19th century. The dancers danced in glittering costumes designed by Elena Zaitseva.

Dancing the principal roles in the Bolshoi Ballet’s performance of Diamonds were Alena Kovaleva and Jacopo Tissi. Tissi is a former member of La Scala Ballet and one of the few non-Russian dancers in the company. Thereby adding another layer to the stylistic nuances in the execution of Balanchine’s choreography. Kovaleva and Tissi danced with an easy elegance beyond their experience and years.

As would be expected Kovaleva, Tissi and the supporting Bolshoi Ballet’s dancers were very much suited to the opera house grandness of Diamonds. Also in evidence was the dancers’ musicality as they switched the dancing styles from classical ballet to character dancing – when the music called and choreography called for it – and then switched back to classical ballet.

This collaborative performance of Jewels reconfirmed that this rarity among Balanchine’s ballets has also become iconic.

The New York City Ballet Orchestra played the music composed by Faure, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky with refinement – under the experienced guidance of conductor Andrew Litton.

In spite of the fact that Jewels has been danced often in New York the Lincoln Center Festival’s collaborative performances of Jewels was an extraordinary artistic and logistic effort, and an opportunity to see a familiar ballet danced by companies with very distinct styles. An experience that was shared by an audience appreciative of the ballet’s acceptance, appeal and longevity.

Me & Ella

York Theatre Company at Saint Peter’s

July 16, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The York Theatre Company is celebrating the summer with the “NEW2NY” series presentation of Me & Ella from July 15-23, 2017, a musical celebrating the song stylist Ella Fitzgerald. Just in time for Fitzgerald’s centennial – a perfect time to remember one of American music’s legends.

Me & Ella has been written and is performed by Andrea Frierson with music direction and arrangements by Ron Abel, and co-directed by Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel. Here presented as a musical in development, one can see its future clearly with the need for a wider audience to experience this engaging autobiographical show.

First and foremost Me and Ella intertwines the stories of Ella Fitzgerald and Andrea Frierson, and how Fitzgerald inspired Frierson’s career in music. Frierson does not impersonate Fitzgerald but shares Fitzgerald’s essence with the audience.

Fitzgerald has been described as the First Lady of Song. She was best known for interpreting the Great American Songbook with a varied career including recordings, television, concert, and concert appearances.

Fitzgerald, like many other artists, had challenges to overcome in learning her craft and fulfilling her musical genius which entertained audiences for decades.

In this 80-minute presentation Fitzgerald’s art and life is presented through the songs that Fitzgerald aptly interpreted during her singing career – a song list that includes I’m Old Fashioned, S’Wonderful, Tisket A Tasket, I’m So Lucky To Be Me, Goody Goody, Sunday Kind of Love, Lady Be Good, Laura, I’ve Got It Bad and That Ain’t Good, How High The Moon, It Might As Well Be Spring, Close To You, and many others – as well as Frierson’s descriptive and engaging narrative.

Frierson creates a tapestry of her family life, her family’s achievements, and her own career, and how much she was inspired by Ella Fitzgerald’s difficult life and genius. Fitzgerald and Frierson are two extraordinary women with extraordinary lives that contributed so much to American life and American history. And rather than describe all of the details in these women’s lives, one should experience Frierson’s talent for storytelling for oneself. Both Fitzgerald and Frierson have compelling stories to tell.

Murphy Cross and Paul Kreppel have lovingly fashioned Andrea Frierson’s inspired journey which is enhanced by the show’s musicians, Ron Abel, Rex Benincasa, and Richie Goods.

In Me & Ella one is not only entertained by Andrea Frierson’s performance and her sincere tribute to Ella Fitzgerald – but is also moved by it. What is clear is that Andrea Frierson’s journey has not ended and will continue, and there are compelling reasons why the joy of this journey must be seen by a wider audience. 

Encores! Off Center – Assassins

City Center

July 15, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Encores! Off Center, presented by the City Center, is not a new series. But this was my first opportunity to experience the series’ mission and take in one of the high-level performances that the series presents. The mission of the series is to present off-Broadway musicals in concert form in sync with the City Center Encores series which presents concert versions of Broadway musicals.

One of the offerings presented this summer is Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins from July 12-15, 2017, a musical that premiered off-Broadway in 1990 and was remounted for a Broadway production in 2004. 

Based on an idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr., Assassins spans decades of American history. With Sondheim’s signature music and John Weidman’s thought-provoking book Assassins focuses on the people who have attempted or succeeded in assassinating Presidents of the United States. With surgical precision Sondheim and Weidman get into the minds of these people and why they craved  notoriety so much that they would be willing to kill to make their political views known, and achieve their misguided notion of patriotism and immortality.

In this concert production, directed by Anne Kauffman, these assassins are portrayed as a crew of misfits and malcontents questioning whether the American Dream can be achieved and an obsession in effecting change through violence – and a society allowing people such as these to have easy access to the weapons to achieve their goals.

The premise for Assassins is a murderous carnival game where notorious assassins are invited to take target practice at photos of American Presidents. The characters are presented in vignettes in which these assassins articulate their frustrations of not being recognized for their hard work and victimization, and having these assassins interacting with each other in which they examine their motivation to use violence to resolve their conflicts with these American Presidents. In the closing minutes of Assassins, the notorious assassins of the past convince Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate President Kennedy in an effort to make sure they are not diminished to being footnotes in American history.

The Proprietor (played by Ethan Lipton) acts as a facilitator to egg on the assassins while a Balladeer (played by Clifton Duncan) narrates -- provoking and questioning the assassins’ motives for their actions.

Sondheim’s music and Weidman’s words speak to us profoundly – especially in those moments when black comedy is used to communicate its pertinent points emphatically – a message that seems to be timely at most any time in history. These cautionary tales are presented in an engrossing piece of theatre that keeps one full attention for about 2 hours in length.

There isn’t a weak link in this production’s cast. The superlative cast  -- matched with the targets of their characters’ assassination attempts -- included Steven Boyer as John Hinckley Jr. (Ronald Reagan), Alex Brightman as Giuseppe Zangara (Franklin Roosevelt), John Ellison Conlee as Charles Guiteau (James Garfield), Clifton Duncan as the Balladeer, Shuler Hensley as Leon Czolgosz (William McKinley), Ethan Lipton as the Proprietor, Erin Markey as Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Gerald Ford), Steven Pasquale as John Wilkes Booth (Abraham Lincoln), Cory Michael Smith as Lee Harvey Oswald (John Kennedy), Victoria Clark as Sara Jane Moore (Gerald Ford), and Danny Wolohan as Samuel Byck (Richard Nixon).

Also Anne Kauffman’s direction and concept persuades one that Assassins is a musical for the ages.

Errol & Fidel at the New York Musical Festival

Peter Jay Sharp Theater

July 13, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The New York Musical Festival has been an important showcase for the work of composers and writers who wish to make their mark in the musical theatre. The Festival’s presentations are produced in a minimalist fashion, and the musicals performed are in the developmental stage needing the feedback from an audience in order for these musicals to be refined by their creative teams.  Several of the musicals presented in this format have been further developed and produced off-Broadway, on Broadway, and produced by regional theaters.

Of the many musicals showcased for this year’s Festival is Errol & Fidel, a new musical, that presented an attention-grabbing historical juxtaposition of a cinema star and a political leader – both of whom were known for their notoriety in their professional and private lives. It is the fictionalized story of this relationship between Hollywood movie star, Errol Flynn, and Cuba’s long-time political leader, Fidel Castro, which is the basis for Errol & Fidel and is being presented at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater on July 10, 13, 14, & 16, 2017.

Errol & Fidel is based on the historical novel by Boyd Anderson, Errol, Fidel and the Cuban Rebel Girls, with music composed by Peter Caldor, John Caldor, and Doug Oberhamer, lyrics by Boyd Anderson, and book by Boyd Anderson and Guy Anderson, an all-Australian writing team. Not a wonder that this story might be of interest to Australians as Errol Flynn was born in Australia.

Flynn became known for his roles in Hollywood films as a romantic swashbuckling leading man – a career that had its ups and down. Fidel Castro was a revolutionary leader in Cuba where he was able to bring down the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and forcing Batista into exile.

Flynn went to Cuba in 1958 to film and produce Cuban Rebel Girls – a B-movie – where he met Fidel Castro and was initially a supporter of the Cuban Revolution. Flynn, who had some journalistic background, wrote a series of newspaper and magazine articles for American publications describing his experiences in Cuba. Many of these stories were lost, but then rediscovered in 2009 at the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for American History. And in fact, Flynn’s last known work as an actor was as the narrator of a short film, Cuban Story: The Truth About Fidel Castro Revolution which was released in 1959.

However Errol and Fidel is not an historical musical. It is a satire with a political and social edge – and is a by-product of reality television, and the public’s obsession with celebrities.

Narrator, Mima (played by Sydia Cedeno) sets the scene articulating the dreams of the Cuban people on the brink of a revolution – and the hope of Cuban immigrants to escape tyranny by receiving sanctuary in the United States and achieving the American Dream.

Errol Flynn (played by Jonathan Stewart) is making a film in Cuba at the very same moment in time. He is captured and kidnapped by Cuban revolutionaries in the mountains with the assistance of Lola (played by Claire Saunders) who is acting as a double agent for the CIA. Soon after his arrival in the revolutionary encampment, Flynn meets Fidel Castro (played by George Psomas) initiating a personal relationship as smoking and drinking buddies while commiserating with the lack of recognition for the successes they have had in their careers.

In an effort to restore his career and reflect his past glories, Flynn is taken in by Castro’s charismatic personality and with the prompting of his agent, Flynn drafts himself to be Castro’s Minister of Information. When that relationship sours, Flynn takes on the personality of the action heroines he played in the movies and escapes Castro’s guards and returns to the United States with the assistance of the CIA. Also entangled in this story are the stereotypical cold war warrior CIA bureaucrats who are naively unaware of what they are doing and how their bad decisions embroiled the United States in the quickly changing political developments in Cuba.

All along the way the story is told with tongue in cheek and satirical humor, and I am not sure that such a story could be told in this satirical manner without the objectivity of Errol & Fidel’s Australian creators who provide music, lyrics and a book that are to the point and sometimes cut like a knife – but is entertaining and funny throughout.

Under Michael Bello’s guidance as director the wonderful cast of Errol & Fidel underscore the irony and satire in this sketch of the peculiar circumstantial meeting of these two charismatic personas and what they saw to gain from their relationship.

There is the need for further development of some of the principal characters and sharpening this musical’s pace. However Errol & Fidel is remarkable for its sharp satire and its pure entertainment. 

American Ballet Theatre Ends Its Metropolitan Opera House Season with Tchaikovsky Spectacular

Metropolitan Opera House

July 8, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

To end its Metropolitan Opera House season American Ballet Theatre devoted its final week to dancing ballets that were choreographed to music by Tchaikovsky. The final program of the season on the evening of July 8th included works familiar and unfamiliar, hearing a piece of Tchaikovsky music’s for the first time, and also important historical inserts that were presented in an excerpt from one of Tchaikovsky’s classics.

Not only was the program dominated by Tchaikovsky’s music, but also by two choreographers whose roots had been in Russia and had developed their careers as choreographers in the West – George Balanchine and Alexei Ratmansky.

George Balanchine was represented by two of his works representing his choreographic range, and his musical sophistication. Balanchine approached Tchaikovsky’s Suite No. 4 on several occasions during his career as a score for Mozartiana – the first time in 1933 and a new version in 1981 in conjunction with the New York City Ballet’s Tchaikovsky Festival. Tchaikovsky’s orchestral suite is an arrangement and orchestration of short works by Mozart, a composer that Tchaikovsky had venerated. 

Mozartiana is reverential and spiritual in its choreographic content as represented in the Preghiera section and is quickly followed by the Gigue which offers a joyful counter balance. The choreography is uncomplicated and can expose a ballet dancer’s faults. Mozartiana has been in American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire since 2004 and on this occasion was danced by Hee Seo, Cory Stearns, and Jeffrey Cirio supported by students from the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School. Seo was soulful in the opening Preghiera section and was ably partnered by the elegant Cory Stearns, and Cirio was elfin-like in the Gigue.

When Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov prepared their iconic production of Swan Lake for the Mariinsky Ballet, they didn’t have all of Tchaikovsky’s music. Missing was the music that Tchaikovsky had composed for the Black Swan Pas de Deux which had been part of the score for the Bolshoi Ballet’s production of Swan Lake. In rediscovering this music, Balanchine choreographed a stand-alone virtuoso pas de deux in the neo-classical style which, in mood, was in striking contrast with the original narrative intent of Tchaikovsky’s music. 

Balanchine created this duet for Violette Verdy and Conrad Ludlow in 1960 and in this performance it was danced by Isabella Boylston and Joseph Gorak. Boylston and Gorak were tested in executing filigree and floating choreography and did so with ease and flair.

The other two pieces on this program were contributions by Alexei Ratmansky. The first of which was the company premiere of Ratmansky’s Souvenir D’un Lieu Cher, a work that Ratmansky had created for the Dutch National Ballet in 2012. Tchaikovsky composed this moody and striking piece of music for piano and violin, which was later orchestrated and arranged by Alexander Glazunov. Ratmansky choreographed this work for two couples who fall in and out of love in the first section of the piece, and then have a complete emotional turnaround in the second section. Jealousy and conflicting emotions are evident and there are illusions to Antony Tudor’s Jardin Aux Lilas.

There was a great deal of sexual tension reflected in the dancing and the choreography in Souvenir, which was well danced by Devon Teuscher, David Hallberg, Cassandra Trenary and Tyler Maloney who all heightened the tension in the piece.

Closing the program was Ratmansky’s staging of the third act of his opulently designed production of The Sleeping Beauty which he had staged complete and was performed by American Ballet Theatre in 2015. This production was inspired by the Diaghilev Ballets Russes’ production of The Sleeping Princess that premiered in 1921. 

On this occasion, this performance omitted the Hop ‘o My Thump and Cinderella divertissements, and inserted were the Porcelain Trio, danced to the Chinese Dance from The Nutcracker, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska, and The Three Ivans, danced to the Russian Trepak from The Nutcracker, choreographed by Ninette de Valois, both of which were included in the aforementioned production of The Sleeping Princess. These divertissements were restaged and reconstructed from film. Although neither one of these divertissements seemed to be integrated into this historical production of The Sleeping Beauty, and seemed more suited to a production of The Nutcracker, it was an opportunity to have some idea of what The Sleeping Princess might have been like when it premiered in 1921.

The role of Aurora was danced by Cassandra Trenary with Joseph Gorak as her adoring Prince, Luciana Paris as the Diamond Fairy, and Sarah Lane as Princess Florine and Gabe Stone Shayer as the Bluebird. All of these dancers adapted to the historical period style of choreography that Ratmansky staged for this production which to today’s audience represented moments of surprise more often than not.

This all made for a special evening of dance – reverential to Tchaikovsky and choreographers George Balanchine, Alexei Ratmansky, Bronislava Nijinska, and Ninette de Valois – and the perfect way to end American Ballet Theatre’s Metropolitan Opera House season. Now only to wait for American Ballet Theatre’s fall season at the David Koch Theater in October.

Royal Ballet Dances All-Ashton Program

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

To conclude its cinema screenings for the 2016-17 season the Royal Ballet presented an all-Frederick Ashton mixed-bill program which will be shown in the United States during the month of July. As a choreographer and artistic director, Mr. Ashton’s vision was a major influence on the artistic development of the Royal Ballet and its international reputation as one of the world’s major ballet companies.

In this mixed-bill program there are three prime examples of why Mr. Ashton’s choreography is not only an important aspect of the Royal ballet’s artistic vision but also Mr. Ashton’s place in dance history. These ballets represent a wide range of his choreography at pivotal points in his creative life.

The Dream premiered in 1964 as part of a mixed-bill program celebrating the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth, and was fashioned as a vehicle for young ballet stars in the making, Antoinette Sibley creating the role of Titania, and Anthony Dowell creating the role of Oberon. In The Dream Mr. Ashton distilled the magical and comic plot of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a concise and stylish manner, and added brilliance by re-setting the action in Victorian England.

Mr. Ashton chose Felix Mendelssohn’s well known incidental music – arranged for The Dream by John Lanchbery – with a beautiful forest setting created by the designer David Walker along with the Victorian costumes to match.

As in Shakespeare’s play, Ashton creates the magical atmosphere and supernatural world in which two pairs of mismatched lovers are united. Also in what may be considered a cruel joke as revenge for Titania not giving up her Changeling Indian Boy (played by Ambrose Bartlett), Oberon plays a trick on his love, Titania, convincing her that she is in love with a donkey – until all is resolved. The epilogue of The Dream is a beautiful pas de deux of reconciliation and love danced by Titania and Oberon.

In this performance Akane Takada takes on the role of Titania, and Steven McRae takes on the role of Oberon. This is a sublime pairing with McRae being imperious as Oberon and giving an excellent account of the choreography in the Scherzo, and Takada is impish, and a bit spoiled, and exacting in her dancing.

Also integral in The Dream is the role of Puck here danced by Valentino Zucchetti, the comic Bottom danced by Bennet Gartside – in a particular heartrending and sympathetic characterization -- and the excellent  two pairs of lovers, Itziar Mendizabal as Helena, Tomas Mock as Demetrius, Claire Calvert as Hermia, and Matthew Ball as Lysander.

Another one of Ashton’s masterpieces follows, Symphonic Variations, premiered in 1946, choreographed to Cesar Franck’s music of the same name, with distinctive designs by Sophie Fedorovitch.

With choreography influenced by the neo-classical style, only six dancers are on stage, dancing in unison and separately to form sculptural pictures against Fedorovitch’s landscape. The six dancers never leave the stage during this ballet. There are many moments of stillness in Symphonic Variations which are just as effective as the movement in Ashton’s choreography. Here danced with musicality and precision by Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov with Yasmine Naghdi, James Hay, Yuhui Choe, and Tristan Dyer as the side dancers.

To conclude the program is Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand, based on Dumas’ Lady of the Camellias, and more of a piece d’occasion than a substantive ballet as it was created as a star vehicle for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev at the beginning of their partnership in 1963. Marguerite and Armand has been revived of late by the Royal Ballet and has been acquired by other ballet companies, but in this instance it was a piece d’occasion as much as anything else. These last performances of Marguerite and Armand for the 2016-17 season marked the farewell performances by Royal Ballet principal dancer, Zenaida Yanowsky here dancing Marguerite opposite guest artist, Roberto Bolle, of La Scala.

The story of Marguerite and Armand is told from Marguerite’s point of view in a series of flashbacks highlighting the key moments in the story about these passionate lovers.

Choreographed to a piano sonata composed by Franz Liszt with designs by Cecil Beaton one has all of the ingredients of a dramatic yet understated ballet that Ashton was known for.

Yanowsky is one of the best dramatic dancers of her generation and she was equally matched by Bolle’s ardent Armand. This is a story of passion, betrayal and heightened emotions – further heightened as this was Yanowsky’s farewell performance – ending with a celebration as only the Royal Ballet can do it.

This is a glorious evening of ballet celebrating Frederick Ashton’s career as a choreographer, and Zenaida Yanowsky’s career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet – a suitable ending to this season’s series of cinema screenings.

To find this screening at a venue in the United States, visit https://www.roh.org.uk/cinemas.

American Ballet Theatre Turns To The Drama of Eugene Onegin

Metropolitan Opera House

June 21, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Although John Cranko’s Onegin has been in American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire since 2001, the ballet has not been performed regularly by the company. Cranko’s classic ballet drama based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem, has returned to American Ballet Theatre’s active repertoire during its Metropolitan Opera House season with familiar and unfamiliar casts.

Cranko created Onegin for the Stuttgart Ballet and the ballet had been performed regularly by that company in New York during its American tours. There had been performances of Onegin in New York danced by the National Ballet of Canada and the Bavarian State Opera Ballet, but American Ballet Theatre is now calling Onegin its own in these performances from June 19-24, 2017. Borrowing new costumes and scenery from the National Ballet of Canada designed by Santo Loquasto, Onegin made a triumphant return to New York at the Metropolitan Opera House.

The focus of Onegin’s story is the passage to adulthood of the young and impressionable Tatiana, who has an infatuation with Eugene Onegin, a mysterious visitor. Onegin spurns Tatiana’s affection, and Onegin’s uncompromising devotion to honor is tested when he is challenged to a duel by Lensky – precipitated by Onegin’s flirtation with Lensky’s love, Tatiana’s sister, Olga. It is years later when Tatiana, now married to Prince Gremin, that Onegin realizes what he lost in not returning Tatiana’s affection. He tries to persuade her of his feelings, but Tatiana rejects him.

Rather than employing music from Tchaikovsky’s opera, Eugene Onegin, Kurt-Heinz Stoltze arranged lesser known Tchaikovsky music fashioning a score that seems as if it was commissioned for Cranko’s ballet. The score includes excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s piano cycle, The Seasons, and also from the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy.

There is a great deal of heightened drama and theatrics in Onegin -- particularly the moving Act I Letter Scene --  which draws one into the story which Cranko tells concisely in dance terms. The choreography flows organically and the dramatic details are told in a literal and easy to access fashion  -- with very little conventional mime -- while also being the showcase for excellent dancing. The choreography and the ballet itself tend to test dancers as actors and mature artists.

This doesn’t mean that Cranko hasn’t included visions of grandeur with huge ballroom scenes, and theatrical dancing. However every choreographic element that Cranko introduced into Onegin has an important role in illuminating this dance adaptation of Pushkin’s poem, defining the characters, and creating the atmosphere and the mood in which the story takes place.

American Ballet Theatre is presenting four casts during  its Metropolitan Opera House season and I was able to see the matinee performance on June  21, 2017 which featured Stella Abrera as Tatiana, Cory Stearns in the title role, Cassandra Trenary as Olga, Joseph Gorak as Lensky and Alexandre Hammoudi as Prince Gremin.

Abrera has shown herself to be a creditable dance actress in many other roles and she came into her own in Onegin’s Third Act Pas de Deux – this is also where the chemistry truly was at its height with Cory Stearns in the title role. Gorak was superlative in the Act II solo as the character he was portraying, Lensky, was emotionally bereft at what could be his death in a duel with Onegin – and Cassandra Trenary, as Olga, came through with flying colors in regard to her acting ability and the crispness in her dancing. Hammoudi brought pathos to his performance of Prince Gremin.

American Ballet Theatre is on its way to making John Cranko’s Onegin its own and I trust will succeed in just that with more frequent performances of the ballet in the coming years. 

Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition

Symphony Space

June 10, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Valentina Kozlova hosted her own international ballet competition’s gala and awards ceremony at Symphony Space on June 10, 2017. This competition is unique for many reasons including the participants encompassing an age range that included young dancers and senior dancers, there is a separate competition for modern dance and modern dance choreography, and the goal for competitors is to obtain scholarships for further studies and contracts with professional dance companies. In short one can see what is in store for the future when it comes to the development of artists in the dance world.

The Awards Ceremony and Gala were the culmination of a competition which began on June 6, 2017, and was adjudicated by a distinguished jury with Andris Liepa as the Chairman of the Judges, and including Nina Mireille Buisson (France), Charles Jude (France), Caroline Llorca (Germany), Nina Ananiashvili (Georgia), Ivan Cavallari (Italy), Alberto Pretto (Italy), Tursynbek Nurkaliev (Kazakhstan), Aivars Leimanis (Latvia), Patricia Aulestia de Alba (Mexico), Olga Guardia De Smoak (Panama), Sergei Soloviev (Russia), Sun Hee Kim (South Korea), Mi Sook Jeon (South Korea), Jelko Yuresha (United Kingdom), Virginia Johnson (USA), Victoria Morgan (USA), Radenko Pavlovich (USA), Margo Sappington (USA), and Peter Stark (USA).

The contemporary competitors were required to dance a compulsory choreographic solo with Y. Czhang choreographing the compulsory solo for the senior male division, and Ricardo Scheir choreographing the compulsory solo for the senior male division. Classical dancers were required to dance variations from La Viviandiere. The contemporary competitors also brought solos that had been pre-prepared presenting a wide range of choreography, while classical competitors chose from a list of required repertoire and also danced contemporary solos. All of the competitors must be lauded for their work and contributions to this Competition’s success. 

The award winners were:

GRAND PRIX

Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan – Classical 

Sungmin Kim, South Korea - Contemporary

CLASSICAL COMPETITION MEDAL WINNERS

Youth Division (Ages 11 - 12)  Female

Gold Medal: Seehyun Kim, South Korea 

Silver Medal: Katya Saburova, Russia 

Bronze Medal: Lilly Fridlyand, USA

Bronze Medal: Chloe Colter, USA

Bronze Medal: Delaney Hart, USA

Youth Division (Ages 11 - 12)  Male

Gold Medal: Kangwon Lee, South Korea

No Silver and Bronze Medals Awarded

Student Division (Ages 13 - 14)

Gold Medal: Alesia Astashonok, Belarus

Gold Medal: Catherine Parker, Switzerland 

Silver Medal: Nattalia Tiemi Nakamura, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Jillian Schubert, USA

Bronze Medal: Natasha Snogren, USA

Junior Division (Ages 15 - 17)  Female

Gold Medal: Rheya Shano, USA

Gold Medal: Yuyu Ichikawa, Belgium 

Silver Medal: Mari Bell, Canada 

Bronze Medal: Talia Egge, USA

Bronze Medal: Madison Holdsworth, USA

Junior Division (Ages 15 - 17) Male

No Gold and Silver Medals Awarded 

Bronze Medal: João Paulo Jezler, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Marco Marongiu, Italy

Senior Division (Ages 18 - 26) Female

Gold Medal: Yu Jeong Choi, South Korea 

Silver Medal: Eunhye Lee, South Korea 

Medal: Francesca Loi, Italy

Senior Division (Ages 18 - 26) Male

Gold Medal: Jinsol Eum, South Korea 

Gold Medal: Koyo Yanagishima, USA

Silver Medal: Justin Valentine, USA

Silver Medal: Jun Kyoung Kim, South Korea 

Medal: Serik Nakyspekov, Kazakhstan 

Bronze Medal: Marcos Silva, Brazil

Best Interpretation of the Classical Compulsory Female 

Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria

Best Interpretation of the Classical Compulsory Male 

Christian Pforr, USA

Best Interpretation of the Contemporary Compulsory “Deep Mirror” 

Alice Lunedei, Italy

Camila Rodrigues, USA

Best Interpretation of the Contemporary Compulsory “In the Wake”

Marcos Silva, Brazil

CONTEMPORARY COMPETITION

MEDALWINNERS

Division I (Ages 12 and Under)

Gold Medal: Sadie Weintraub, Ireland 

Silver Medal: Lilly Fridlyand, USA 

Medal: Maria Loberto, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Katya Saburova, Russia

Division II (Ages 13 - 14)

Gold Medal: Noh Youn Kim, South Korea

Silver Medal: Jillian Schubert, USA

Bronze Medal: Giuliana Maria Tavarelli Nunes, Paraguay

Division III (Ages 15 - 17) Female

Gold Medal: Nikita Boris, USA

Silver Medal: Yul Ui Kim, South Korea 

Bronze Medal: Alexia Duff, USA 

Bronze Medal: Semi Lim, South Korea

Division III (Ages 15 - 17) Male

No Gold Medal Awarded

Silver Medal: Gabriel Barbosa, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Roberto Santos, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Khevyn Sigismondi, Belgium

Division IV (Ages 18 and Up) Female

Gold Medal: Jooeun Son, South Korea

Silver Medal: Kyungmee Hwang, South Korea

Silver Medal: Scarlet Oliveira, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Yasmine Matos, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Isabella Souza, Brazil

Division IV (Ages 18 and Up) Male

Gold Medal: DongHun Go, South Korea 

Gold Medal: Haneul Jung, South Korea 

Silver Medal: Seungmin Choi, South Korea 

Silver Medal:  Justin Valentine, USA 

Bronze Medal: In Hyeok Jung, South Korea 

Bronze Medal: Jey Santos, Brazil

Duets

Gold Medal: Yasmin Matos and Jey Santos, Brazil

Silver Medal: Nicole Soares and Marcos Silva, Brazil

Bronze Medal: Ana Luiza Santilli and Gabriel Barbosa, Brazil

Bronze Medal:  Mima Freitas and Alexandre Lobo, Brazil

Groups

Gold Medal: Dedicatoria de um Retrato by Laura Moeckel, Brazil

Silver Medal: Implexus by Flavia  Sà, Brazil

Bronze Medal: Sensibus by Ricardo Scheir, Brazil

CHOREOGRAPHY COMPETITION MEDAL WINNERS

Gold Medal: A Thin Line Between by Sunghoom Kim, South Korea

Gold Medal: Delusion by Jungoh Ha, South Korea

Silver Medal: Implexus by Flavia Sà, Brazil 

Silver Medal: Hersperion by Ariel Rose, Brazil 

Bronze Medal: Only… by Flavia Sà, Brazil

COMPANY CONTRACTS

Boston Ballet – USA

Natasha Snogren, USA

Cincinnati Ballet – USA

Marcos Silva, Brazil

Columbia Classical Ballet – USA

Camila Rodrigues, Brazil 

Mari Bell, Canada

Lily Saito, USA 

SCHOLARSHIPS

Accademia Internazionale Coreutica – Italy

Rheya Shano, USA 

Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria 

João Paulo Jezler, Brazil

Boston Ballet – USA

Natasha Snogren, USA

Brussels International Ballet School – Belgium

Francesca Loi, Italy 

Iliana Yotova, Bulgaria

Catherine Parker, Switzerland 

Marcos Silva, Brazil

João Paulo Jezler, Brazil

Koyo Yanagishima, USA

ClémentGuillaume, France 

Marco Marongiu, Italy

Cincinnati Ballet – USA

Rheya Shano, USA

Cinevox Junior Company– Switzerland

Marcos Silva, Brazil

Columbia Classical Ballet – USA

Natasha Snogren, USA

Conservatoire National Superieur de musique et de danse de Paris – France

Catherine Parker, Switzerland

Christian Pforr, USA

K-ARTS – South Korea

 Sydney Hensen, USA 

Madison Holdsworth. USA

Le Atelier Loft – Switzerland 

Alesia Astashonok, USA 

Pauline Gierling, Belgium

Munich National Conservatoire – Germany

Alesia Astashonok, Belarus

Tulsa  Ballet  –  USA

Alice Lunedei, Italy

Camila Rodrigues, USA

VKDCNY Full Year Scholarship – USA

Jillian Schubert, USA

VKDCNY Sotogrande Summer Intensive – Spain

Alesia Ashtashonok, USA 

Alexia Duff, USA

Elodie Lefebvre, Belgium 

Marcos  Silva,  Brazil 

João Paulo Jezler, Brazil

PERFORMANCE INVITATIONS

Confederacion Interamericana y Mundial de Profesionales de Danza Gala Tijuana – Mexico

Clément Guillaume, France

Corporea in the State of Mexico – Mexico

Koyo Yanagishima, USA

Gala Rudolph Nureyev Moscow March 2017 – Russia

Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan

Performance at the Ecuador Congress Gala – Ecuador

Nikita Boris, USA

Justin Valentine, USA

Riga National Gala August 2017 – Latvia

Bakhtiyar Adamzham, Kazakhstan

Also Arthur Mitchell was given an award to honor his lifetime achievement in dance. This award was accepted by Eddie Shellman on Mr. Mitchell’s behalf, with Ms. Kozlova giving a heartfelt speech about Mr. Mitchell’s sacrifices and successes in his founding of the Dance Theatre of  Harlem, and also describing the arts as having no borders.

The award winners also performed in the Competition’s Gala with the medal winners showing off their versatility and their artistry in varied  contemporary dance pieces, and classical ballet competitors dancing both classical ballet pieces and contemporary dance pieces.

Besides the award winners’ performances in the gala, also among the participants was a trio of dancers, Gazella Verbitskaya, Nina Immobilashvili, and Eugenia Repelskii of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, who danced a more than credible performance of the Odalisques Pas de Trois from Le Corsaire. 

American Ballet Theatre Dances Le Corsaire – A Pirate Fantasy

Metropolitan Opera House

June 6, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The ballet, Le Corsaire, is unique in ballet history as for decades the ballet was only danced by Russian ballet companies. It is only in the last 20 years or so that the ballet has been seen more widely and has become popular.

The ballet is based on a poem by Lord Byron, and was given its world premiere at the Paris Opera in 1856 with choreography by Joseph Mazilier. Marius Petipa re-choreographed Le Corsaire for a production danced by the Mariinsky Ballet in 1889. It is Petipa’s production that provides the foundation for current productions, but the score is a mix of music composed by Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni, Leo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo and Prince Oldenbourg.

American Ballet Theatre’s production of Le Corsaire was staged by Anna-Marie Holmes in 1998 after Marius Petipa and Konstantin Sergeyev – a production that American Ballet Theatre has toured widely.

Le Corsaire’s story focuses on a Greek princess, Medora, who has been sold to Seyd, a pasha. Conrad, a pirate, falls in love with her and organizes his pirate gang to steal Medora away from the pasha by raiding the village and kidnapping Lankendem who is the owner of the village’s bazaar.

Conrad succeeds in his quest, but when Medora makes the request for Conrad to have all of the slaves freed, one of Conrad’s pirates, Birbanto, betrays him. Birbanto succeeds in his plot to capture Medora and free Lankendem. But disguised as pilgrims, Conrad and his band of pirates save Medora, and they sail off in his pirate ship only to be shipwrecked – but they survive serving as a symbol of their enduring love.

There is a lot of swashbuckling, bravura dancing – including the pas de trois version of the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux in Act II – and the beautiful Jardin Anime, a divertissement combining soloists and the corps de ballet to represent a flower garden coming to life. And the story is told in three fast-moving acts.

American Ballet Theatre’s performance of Le Corsaire on June 6, 2017 featured the cast of Hee Seo as Medora, Cory Stearns as Conrad, Devon Teuscher as Gulnare, Joo Woo Ahn as Lankendem, James Whiteside as Ali, and Gabe Stone Shayer as Birbanto.

The combination of Hee Seo as an elegant and serene princess, and Cory Stearns as a matinee idol hero had a great deal of chemistry. Stearns, a strong partner, brought out Seo’s fluid classical style, and with James Whiteside displaying pyrotechnics as Ali, the Act II Pas de Trois proved to be the highlight of this performance.

Devon Teuscher as Gulnare has all of the facility and presence of a principal ballerina showing  strength and control in her solo variations – while Gabe Stone Shayer as Birbanto showed off his considerable technique and his comic sensibility, as did Joo Woo Ahn as Lankendem – in particular in the Act I Pas de Deux with Gulnare.

The trio of Pauline Waski, Zhong-Jing Fang, and Kaho Ogawa as the Odalisques were all treasures, and American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet came into its own in the Jardin Anime divertissement.

More importantly Le Corsaire is a fun evening of entertainment and a showcase for wonderful dancing.

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents Mary Poppins

Paper Mill Playhouse

June 3, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Paper Mill Playhouse is concluding its 2016-17 season with its own presentation of the stage version of the magical film, Mary Poppins from May 24 through June 25, 2017.

Based on P.L. Travers stories and the Walt Disney film, with original music and lyrics from the film by Richard M. and Robert Sherman, new songs and additional music and lyrics by Anthony Drewe and George Stiles, and a book by Julian Fellowes (of Downton Abbey fame), this stage version premiered on Broadway in 2006 and closed on Broadway in 2013 – not all that long ago it seems, but has been missed.  

This stage version’s adaptation mirrors the film’s plot and themes. But the stage version includes a few of the grimmer aspects of P.L. Travers stories.  On the other hand it is all joyous and entertaining – and lives up to its reputation as the international hit Mary Poppins has become.

As in the film version Mary Poppins turns up out of nowhere upon being made aware of the requirements for a nanny as proscribed by the Banks’ family’s children domiciled on Cherry Tree Lane. She has an uncanny ability to connect with children using magic tricks, cajoling, taking the children on fantasy travels, appears and disappears at will,  and also solves the problems of the adults in the same household. 

The Banks household has been set on its ear as Mr. Banks has not been successful in balancing his work responsibilities as a banker in London with his family responsibilities. His children are concerned, and so is Mrs. Banks. 

There is a reason why Mr. Banks is not as close to his children as he might be and wants to be, but this puzzle and others are charmingly presented and resolved by Mary Poppins, taking the audience on a journey that is as delightful and enchanting as a musical can be and should be. This production of Mary Poppins is wrapped in all of the charm that can entrance an audience – from the very young to the most cynical adults among us.

Drewe and Stiles have composed the additional songs in a fashion that completely meshes with the original Sherman songs from the film version, and Fellowes has conjured a compilation of the Mary Poppins’ tales that showcases the magic that Mary Poppins creates. All of the main characters have back stories including Mrs. Banks’ previous career on the stage, and Mr. Banks being terrified by his own nanny Miss Andrew (described as the Holy Terror).  

Also there are the wonderful dance numbers choreographed by Denis Jones, and familiar songs that tug at the heart strings, and make hearts sing no matter what age you may be.

All is under the reverential and expert direction by Mark S.  Hoebee, and fashioned in such a way that makes the Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of Mary Poppins inviting and entertaining.

And you can’t find any faults in Denis Jones’ choreography for the knee-raising Step in Time and the clever staging of Supercali-fragilisticexpialidocious inventing a spelling lesson that is amusing and ingenious.

This production of Mary Poppins is buoyed by a superlative cast including Elena Shaddow as the inimitable and practically perfect Mary Poppins, Mark Evans as Poppins’ sidekick Bert, Adam Monley as George Banks, Jill Paice as Mrs. Banks,  Dierdre Friel as Mrs. Brill, Bill Nolte as Admiral Boom, Blakely Slaybaugh as Robertson Ay, Abbie Grace Levi as Jane Banks, John Michael Pitera as Michael Banks, and then there is Liz McCartney in the dual role as the Bird Woman and Miss Andrew – with McCartney singing Feed The Birds in a compelling and compassionate fashion, and transforming herself into the role of the horrifying Miss Andrew.

Anything is possible with Mary Poppins around. It is a joy to see Mary Poppins on the stage again, and entertaining new audiences. By all means get to the Paper Mill Playhouse to see this classic musical with this incomparable cast while you can. 

Janis Brenner & Dancers Presents New York Premieres

Gibney Dance – Agnes Varis Dance Center

June 1 , 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

For its annual New York season, Janis Brenner & Dancers is performing at the Gibney Dance - Agnes Varis Dance Theater from June 1-3, 2017 as part of Gibney Dance’s Performance Opportunity Project.

Presented were two New York premieres both of which feature Brenner’s signature choreography, sentiment, humanity – and also tinged with her special brand of humor where appropriate. Most important is that you will be moved by what you are seeing and experiencing.

The focal point of this engagement is the New York premiere of an ambitious project, a major work choreographed by Janis Brenner, Once You Are Not A Stranger, which had its world premiere at the Sarajevo Winter Festival on February 10, 2017.

This work, a collaboration with composer musician Svjetlana Bukvich, costume designer Sue Julien, set designer, Eva Petric (Petric also providing designs for projection/video design and photograph collection), and lighting designer Mitchell Bogard, represents another stage in Janis Brenner’s artistic  maturity as a dance-maker. This work in particular, is an artistic response to the troubled times that have taken over the world as we know it. 

Once You Are Not A Stranger is the culmination of the family histories of each of the participating dancers which illuminate lineage and ancestry, and emphasizing that we are one community at a time when people are being displaced all over the world. If there was one note of humor, Brenner, herself states that she is walking in someone else’s shoes, and that is a metaphor for own experiences as well as for others.

In Once You Are Not A Stranger, Brenner has collaborated with her dancers in the creation of the choreography, combining young and mature artists who contribute to this important piece. Kyla Barkin, DeAndre Cousley,  Ruth Howard, Sumaya Jackson, Kristi Ann  Schopfer, Aaron Selissen, Brenner herself and composer Svetlana Bukvich all infuse a part of themselves in the performance of this work. The added ingredient is that the piece was performed with live music – including Ms. Brenner as a vocalist.

Also on the program was another one of Ms. Brenner’s works making its New York premiere, Soul River/Blues, which Ms. Brenner created in collaboration with the Maya Dance Theatre in Singapore. 

Inspired by the music of Ry Cooder, and BV Bhatt’s “A Meeting by the River” this piece focuses on the significance of water in rituals and as a part of nature. Sometimes nature at its cruelest when devastation is the result. In this piece Brenner evokes the East, while also creating a spiritual and calming atmosphere.

In Soul River/Blues dancers Kara Chan, Ruth Howard, Sumaya Jackson, Kristi Ann Schopfer and Aaron Selissen create the mood – and the calm.

In this particular program Janis Brenner sets the tone for our times -- no mean feat in these difficult times, making for a provocative and entertaining program of dance.

American Ballet Theatre Dances Giselle

Metropolitan Opera House

May 29, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The ballet, Giselle, has been in American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire since 1940, and fulfilling that long tradition the company performed Kevin McKenzie’s staging of this Romantic era 19th century classic for a week of performances during the company’s Metropolitan Opera House season from May 25 to 31, 2017.

The ballet, Giselle, is one of the few ballets created during the early 19th century which continues to be performed today. It is the epitome of that time period’s style and it is a style that must be mastered by the best of any generation’s dancers.

Productions of Giselle differ from each other in what amount to small details. What is consistent is the core of the story which is about a young girl who is being taken advantage of by an arrogant aristocrat – a story taken out of early 19th century literature when women’s roles in ballets and operas tended to be roles in which they were ill-used by men. However in Giselle there is a redemptive resolution to the story.

Giselle is a peasant girl who is pursued by two eligible men. One of them, Hilarion, is a gamekeeper in the village, and other is Loys, who is actually Count Albrecht, a local aristocrat who has disguised himself as a peasant and is affianced to Bathilde, the Duke of Courland’s daughter.

Hilarion reveals Albrecht’s deception which results in Giselle being so despondent that she dies of a broken heart – presented with theatricality in a “Mad Scene”. However her departed spirit returns in the second act of the ballet in which Giselle saves Albrecht from the wrath of the Wilis, and saves his life. It is assumed that upon being successful in his redemption that Albrecht has resolved his character flaws. We may yet have hope for him as he pursues his life in the future.

Although Giselle premiered at the Paris Opera Ballet, with choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, most productions of Giselle performed today have their ancestry in productions of the ballet staged in Russia. Marius Petipa revived Giselle for the Mariinsky Ballet and his production is the blueprint for today’s productions of Giselle.

There was a strong Russian tradition represented in the performance of the American Ballet Theatre dancers who assumed the principal roles in this ballet.

For this performance on May 29th, 2017, Isabella Boylston portrayed the heroine and title role, and dancing Boylston’s Albrecht was James Whiteside. Boylston’s Giselle was vulnerable and believable, and her mad scene was filled with naturalistic dramatic details. As the spirit of Giselle in Act II her dancing reflected Giselle’s forgiving nature.

Whiteside’s Albrecht was regal, royal, and often arrogant and proud. His attributes as an excellent partner was particularly present in Act II as he was able to assist Boylston in presenting the theatrical allusion that Boylston was Giselle’s spirit.

Veronika Part was a commanding Queen of the Wilis as were Zhong-Jing Fang as Zulma and Katherine Williams as Moyna, and much credit must be given to American Ballet Theatre’s corps de ballet for the uniform poetry and the necessary menace presented in the sequences danced by the Wilis. Patrick Ogle’s Hilarion was sympathetic as he expressed his devotion and loyalty to Giselle and exhibited his pain when Giselle unexpectedly dies.

American Ballet Theatre also presented its future with the excellent performances of Skylar Brandt and Joseph Gorak in the Peasant Pas de Deux.

American Ballet Theatre’s reading of this great ballet classic is one that shows depth and compassion. 

American Ballet Theatre Brings Back Don Quixote

Metropolitan Opera House

May 17, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

American Ballet Theatre has opened its annual Metropolitan Opera House season with a week of performances of the Kevin McKenzie/Susan Jones staging of the full-length ballet, Don Quixote – a ballet that has been missed from ABT’s repertoire.

A curiosity about the ballet, Don Quixote, is that Marius Petipa created his first version for the Imperial Russian Ballet at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow in 1869, and later re-created a new production for the Imperial Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg in 1871. Most modern-day productions derive from a version staged by Alexander Gorsky for the Bolshoi Ballet – and later staged for the Mariinsky Ballet – in the very early years of the 20th century, and continued to be performed in Russia during the days of the Soviet Union and until the present. Although many ballet companies now perform productions of Don Quixote, the ballet’s choreography requires a very high standard of dancing, and fortunately American Ballet Theatre meets that standard with ease.

When Marius Petipa conceived Don Quixote, his libretto focused on an episode from Cervantes’ novel, one of the great literary masterpieces of the Spanish Golden Age of the 17th century. The Knight Errant, Don Quixote, contemplates his vision of an ideal love, Dulcinea, and sets out on a quest to find her and to right the wrongs inflicted upon those that are powerless.

In the Act I Prologue, Don Quixote (here played by Clinton Luckett) wanders into a village, with his companion Sancho Panza (played by Sean Stewart), and supports the efforts of Basilio, the local barber, in his romantic pursuit of Kitri, the tavern keeper’s daughter. Kitri’s father has greater aspirations for his daughter and hopes to match her up with one of the local aristocrats, Gamache. However with the Don’s assistance – and those of Kitri’s friends, Kitri and Basilio are joined together in marriage offering up a third act wedding celebration with lots of fireworks and flash.

The ballet’s first act set ups the conflict and the romance between Kitri and Basilio which is highlighted by the first of several virtuoso pas de deux danced by these protagonists as well as a spirited suite of dances led by Espada the Toreador and Mercedes the Street Dancer. To escape Gamache and Kitri’s father, Kitri and Basilio are whisked off to a gypsy camp.

Then Petipa conjures up the romantic and mysterious atmosphere of one of his Dream sequences in which the Queen of the Dryads, and a vision of Kitri, which the Don misapprehends as his ideal love, Dulcinea.  Then a comic tavern scene in which the Don, Basilio, and Kitri outsmart Kitri’s father to gain his consent to the marriage of Kitri and Basilio leading in to the Act III wedding celebration, a suite of divertissements including the well-known Don Quixote Pas de Deux.

American Ballet Theatre’s staging of Don Quixote reveals the comic story that is told in a clear fashion, while also moving aside when necessary to make room for the virtuoso dancing.

In this performance on May 17th, 2017, it was Isabella Boylston as Kitri and Danill Simkin as Basilio whose virtuoso dancing and mettle excited the audience – and also displayed Simkin’s comic ability. They not only pulled the stops out in the Act III Grand Pas but also throughout the ballet with Boylston making a fluid transition from the bubbly Kitri to the vision of Dulcinea  in Don Quixote’s dream.

Alexandre Hammoudi gave a commanding performance as Espada – with a little trace of arrogance and the pizzazz of a sports hero. Stella Abrera brought the necessary brassiness as Mercedes and the atmospheric vision as Queen of the Dryads.

Also just as notable were Sarah Lane and Luciana Paris as the Flower Girls in their variations in Act III, and the charming “Les Petits Amours” in the Dream sequence.

ABT’s corps de ballet was brilliant in the vision scene and also created the animated scenes in the first and third acts.

This was a wonderful way to get American Ballet Theatre’s Met season started!

City Center Encores Presents The Golden Apple

City Center

May 12, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The City Center Encores’ third and final offering of the 2016-17 season is a Broadway musical that has had a cult following. The Golden Apple premiered at the off-Broadway, Phoenix Theatre, in 1954, and then transferred to Broadway’s Alvin Theatre the same year where it ran for only 12 performances in spite of critical acclaim. After much anticipation, City Center Encores is presenting The Golden Apple from May 10-14, 2017.

The score is the work of composer Jerome Moross with lyrics by John Latouche who also wrote the book for this sung-through musical.

The Golden Apple is a musical adaptation of parts of the Greek myths of The Iliad and The Odyssey – transported in time to the early part of the 20th century and re-located to Angel’s Roost, a small town dominated by apple orchards near Mt. Olympus in the state of Washington. 

In the original Broadway cast Kaye Ballard portrayed the role of Helen and Stephen Douglas portrayed the role of Ulysses, and one of the songs from the score, Lazy Afternoon, has been performed through the years. 

The story begins with Soothsayer, Mother Hare (N’Kenge) promising a golden apple to the winner of a bake-off with the enthusiastic local bakers being Mrs. Juniper (Ashley Brown), Miss Minerva (Alli Mauzey) and Lovey Mars (Carrie Compere). A travelling salesman, Paris (Barton Cowperthwaite) is the judge but he has his prejudices as Lovey Mars promises to help him win over Helen (Lindsay Mendez). In spite of the fact that Paris communicates only through the language of the ballet choreography he dances, Paris still succeeds in seducing Helen, a character who often expresses how boring it is to live in the small community of Angel’s Roost, and they fly off in a hot air balloon pursued in haste by Ulysses (Ryan Silverman), a local farmer, who along with other young men from Angel’s Roost, has returned to this small community after fighting in the Spanish-American War.

After the exposition of the first act, the second act condenses the episodes of the Trojan War and the journey home back to Angel’s Roost – with the journey presented in the form of a vaudeville revue -- hosted by Hector (Jason Kravits) -- with the theme of the seven deadly sins. The vaudeville turns represented in The Golden Apple comment on hubris, greed, and power as Ulysses’ men disappear succumbing to the temptations in the small city of Rhododendron. In the end Helen is retrieved and taken back to Angel’s Roost, and Ulysses returns to the waiting Penelope.

Latouche’s lyrics and book adaptation are clever, and Moross’ music is colored with varied American styles dominated by influences from Aaron Copland. Moross composed music for ballets – particularly Ruth Page’s Frankie & Johnny – and in Latouche’s libretto there are many characters who communicate through dance rather than through speaking. 

Golden Apple’s score has many gems including the well-known Lazy Afternoon – seen in context as a “duet” sung by Helen and danced by Paris – My Love Is On The Way, Helen Is Always Willing, My Picture in the Papers, Store-Bought Suit, and We’ve Just Begun. In fact the score soared when one had the luxury of the orchestra playing Lazy Afternoon as audience members were leaving the City Center. This score’s vibrancy at this performance must also be credited to Rob Berman’s contributions to The Golden Apple as musical director.

The cast for The Golden Apple must be excellent singers as well as comic actors as The Golden Apple is a sung-through musical with soaring melodies, and also having its subtle and compelling moments that cleverly draw human frailties and emotions. Although the story doesn’t stand up to the test of time in all aspects, this concert version of The Golden Apple is what the City Center Encores’ artistic mission is all about – and The Golden Apple gets its due in this concert production.

This production has been directed by Michael Berresse with choreography by Joshua Bergasse – and between those two there was a great deal of dance expertise. Dance was discretely integrated into this production and moves the action with clarity and is quickly paced.

A wonderful cast came together to give The Golden Apple life and its due. Lindsay Mendez as Helen not only sings well but is an excellent comedienne, Ryan Silverman as Ulysses represents what a Broadway leading man should be, Mikaela Bennett makes an excellent City Center Encores debut as Penelope, Barton Cowperthwaite communicates well in his dancing as Paris, and then there are the sterling performances by Ashley Brown as Mrs. Juniper, Alli Mauzey as Miss Minerva Oliver, Carrie Compete as Lovely Mars, Jeff Blumenkrantz as Menelaus, and N’Kenge as Mother Hare.

This may be your only opportunity to see this jewel of a musical, The Golden Apple, and one must thank City Center Encores for making it possible.

Richmond Ballet at the Joyce Theater

Joyce Theater

May 9, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Richmond Ballet has become a regular New York visitor and is currently performing at the Joyce Theatre from May 9-14, 2017. As in past New York visits, the company is presenting dance pieces from the company’s diverse repertoire. For this engagement the works of four different choreographers will be performed which were commissioned by the Richmond Ballet supporting the company’s well-earned reputation for creating new works.

The program opened with Val Caniparoli’s Swipe, choreographically a mix of many styles of dance from classical ballet to African, contemporary dance, jazz and hip-hop. Premiered by the Richmond Ballet in 2011 this was all danced to music composed by Garbriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev, in a remix of his own String Quartet No. 2.

In Swipe, Caniparoli “swipes” dance motifs from familiar dance styles and ballets – particularly African dance motifs, which he had also successfully distilled in his piece, Lambarena – also including virtuoso ballet vocabulary, particularly the competition among four male dancers.

The cast of Cody Beaton, Elena Bello, Abi Goldstein, Trevor Davis, Kirk Henning, Thomas Ragland, and Fernando Sabino danced this piece with aplomb and showmanship.

And in a more classical vein, the Richmond Ballet danced Malcolm Burn’s Pas Glazunov, a romantic and playful piece using Glazunov’s music from Raymonda -- which was given its company premiere in 1991.

In Pas Glazunov Burn set up partnering challenges for the male dancer dancing this piece but you can see the romance between these dancers evolving through Pas Glazunov which was appealingly danced by Cody Beaton and Marty Davis.

In contrast was Katarzyna Skarpetowska’s Polaris, an ensemble dance work, inspired by the photo, “Pillars of Creation” taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995.

Choreographed to a sound scape by Fernando Corona and performed by Murcof, this modern dance work is inspired by the gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula pictured in the Hubble Telescope photos.

With the stars appearing to fall, the dancers participate in slow modern dance movement against shadowed images which give the impression of exploring an unknown world. The movement is continual and deliberate, and Polaris reaches its conclusion with pictorial images.

Choreographer Ma Cong was represented by Lift The Fallen, which was premiered by the Richmond Ballet in 2014. Choreographed to music by Max Richter, Lift The Fallen was inspired and influenced by the choreographer’s Chinese culture, and also is a tribute to his mother.

Although the choreography did not always reflect Cong’s themes he created effective choreographic images with the use of classical ballet, and contemporary ballet vocabulary which was enhanced by the use of fabric being used for scenery and also being utilized by the dancers as part of the piece. One sees the cycle of life depicted in an awakening, falling in love, struggle, and the uplifting of us all, and in the end seeing a humanitarian-driven community.

In Life The Fallen there were notable performances by Maggie Small, Fernando Sabino, Lauren Archer and Thomas Ragland.

New works enrich the dance world, and I look forward to the Richmond Ballet’s next New York visit.

Royal Ballet Dances George Balanchine’s Jewels

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

George Balanchine’s iconic three act, abstract ballet, Jewels,  is being danced by a host of ballet companies all over the world in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the ballet’s world premiere by the New York City Ballet in 1967. In performing Jewels, each company brings its own signature and interpretation of the ballet, and an example is that of the Royal Ballet, whose production of Jewels goes back to 2007 and will be shown in cinema screenings in the United States on May 23, 2017.

In 1947 George Balanchine choreographed Symphony in C for the Paris Opera Ballet, which was then named Le Palais de Cristal, with each movement costumed in a different jewel color. After a visit to the world renowned jewelry store, Van Cleef and Arpels, Balanchine returned to the “jewel concept” when he choreographed the full-length Jewels. This is also to mention the New York City Ballet had only just moved from the City Center to the then New York State Theater, which was designed by architect Philip Johnson, with the motif of a jewel box.

Balanchine’s Jewels includes Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds – although he also considered pearls and sapphires – with each act’s music and choreography combining to be an homage to an important era of dance.

Emeralds, choreographed to Gabriel Faure’s music for Pelleas et Melisande, and Shylock, alludes to the early 19th century Romantic ballet era. Balanchine’s choreography is as exact as the stitches in a French tapestry and reflects the mystery and spirit of the ballets of that era.

One of the highlights of Emeralds is the “Walking Pas de Deux” which was beautifully danced by Laura Morera and Ryoichi Hirano, but the entire cast, which also included Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Valeri Hristov among the principal dancers, and Helen Crawford, Emma Maguire, and James Hay dancing the Pas de Trois expressed the immediacy, the emotion and the mystery that is Emeralds. All the more mysterious with Balanchine’s second thoughts on the ending of Emeralds in which the three male dancers are alone on stage.

In contrast Rubies, reflects the neo-classicism and a bit of Broadway that is a Balanchine signature with playful choreography that is a perfect companion for Igor Stravinsky’s Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra. Balanchine’s angular and spirited choreography expresses optimism all expressed ably in the dancing by Sarah Lamb, Steven McRae, and Melissa Hamilton.

The closing Diamonds, alludes to the grand opera house style of Petipa and late 19th century classicism and danced to Tchaikovsky’s Third Symphony. One feels the ghosts of The Sleeping Beauty and Snowflakes from The Nutcracker reflecting the grandeur of Tchaikovsky’s music.

Marianela Nunez has all of the attributes of a classical ballerina and they are showcased here with Thiago Soares as her elegant partner – the excellent partnership is particularly shown off in the extended pas de deux in Diamonds.

The Royal Ballet’s production is performed with Karinska’s costume designs with new scenery designed by Jean-Marc Puissant which subtly reflects each act’s era and style. They create a different but clear picture of Balanchine’s Jewels.

In this cinema screening the Royal Ballet brings George Balanchine’s Jewels to a worldwide audience with its dancers meeting Balanchine’s challenges. All the more of interest for this global audience to enjoy the Royal Ballet’s unique interpretation of what has become a modern classic.

Dance Theatre of Harlem –

Glen Tetley Tribute

City Center

April 22, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

To close its City Center season on April 22nd, 2017, the Dance Theater of Harlem’s mixed-bill program’s centerpiece was a tribute to Glen Tetley that included excerpts from two of his dance pieces as well as a new Dance Theatre of Harlem production of a work that was being revived at this performance.

The tribute to Glen Tetley was to mark the tenth year anniversary of his passing and also to note the artistic relationship between Tetley and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. The tribute was introduced and hosted by Dance Theatre of Harlem’s artistic director, Virginia Johnson, and Carmen de Lavallade lovingly spoke about working with Tetley as a dancer, and Charmaine Hunter described her experience working with Tetley as a choreographer.

Opening the Glen Tetley tribute were Allisyn Hsiah and Carl Coomer of Texas Ballet Theater dancing a short excerpt from Tetley’s iconic ballet, Voluntaries. Created for the Stuttgart Ballet in 1973 as a tribute to the company’s artistic director, John Cranko, the ballet was choreographed to Poulenc’s stirring Organ Concerto, and has been performed in New York by the Stuttgart Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem in past years. Even though only an excerpt from Voluntaries was danced, one can see the subtle nuances in Tetley’s choreography and his response to the music and the reasons for this tribute to Cranko. Also in this instance were two excellent dancers who had the artistic maturity to communicate the choreography’s emotions.

Former Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancer Caroline Rocher performed an excerpt from Tetley’s Greening, a work choreographed to music by Arne Nordheim. Here Rocher presented herself as the mature artist that she is in this short excerpt from this ballet.

The third component of this Glen Tetley tribute was Dialogues which was being presented by the Dance Theatre of Harlem in a new production. Choreographed to Alberto Ginastera’s Piano Concerto, Dialogues reflects Tetley’s specific choreographic style – a unique hybrid of ballet and modern dance movement. This work divided into four movements depicts the relationships of four couples – literally talking to each other through Tetley’s choreography with Ginastera’s music used as a soundtrack at times and Tetley creating lyric choreography to the music’s phrases. 

The Dance Theatre of Harlem’s dancers, in each movement, reflected Tetley’s intentions with Chyrstyn Fentroy and Jorge Andres Villarini leading the first moment, Alicia Mae Holloway and Nicholas Rose leading the second movement, Stephanie Rae Williams and Da’Von Doane leading the third movement, and Alison Stroming and Dylan Santos leading the entire cast of Dialogues in the fourth movement.

Tetley’s signature as a choreographer was his power and clarity, projecting emotions, and his choreography’s simplicity and directness.

Also on this program was a repeat performance of Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Vessels with the same cast that danced this piece on April 21st -- and danced with the same exuberance -- and Robert Garland’s rousing finale piece, Return, in which the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s dancers seem to be shot out of a canon -- and letting loose sustaining their energy until the end when Francis Lawrence and the Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers brought the house down in the “Superbad” section.

Dance Theatre of Harlem

– New York Premieres

City Center

April 21, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

For its annual City Center engagement from April 19 through 22, 2017, the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s repertoire of mixed-bill programs includes familiar works, a company premiere, and New York premieres.

Featured on the program on April 21st, 2016, the Dance Theatre of Harlem presented two New York premieres and a Dance Theatre of Harlem company premiere.

The company premiere was Jose Limon’s Chaconne, a 13-minute solo choreographed to music by Johann Sebastian Bach which Limon created for himself in 1942. Chaconne has been danced in the past by both male and female dancers. In this instance it was danced by one of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s male dancers, Dylan Santos. In Chaconne, Limon has created a solo that reflected great nobility and quiet dignity, and requires a dancer to cover the entire performance space with clear movement. Dylan Santos performed this solo with great respect and with a degree of melancholy.

The first of the New York premieres was Robert Garland’s Brahms Variations, a piece intended to show off the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s dancers as classicists. In the program Garland described Brahms Variations as Louis XIV’s Court meeting Harlem Swag – creating a challenge for the dancers to meet the high standards of classical ballet. Brahms Variations is neo-classic in style with choreography that requires the dancers to be spirited and to execute the steps with clarity and speed.

The cast of Chyrstyn Fentroy, Da’Von Doane, Lindsey Croop, Lilit Hogtanian, Alicia May Holloway, Alison Stroming, Nicholas Rose, Choong Hoon Lee, Stanford Placide, and Francis Lawrence danced the work with the aspiration of meeting the challenges presented in Garland’s choreography.

The second of the New York premieres was Francesca Harper’s System. Choreographed to John Adams’ String Quartet No. 1, Harper choreographed here in an abstract manner rather than being literal. However it is clear in the atmosphere of the piece that there is something holding back the human beings portrayed by the dancers on stage. Beginning in silence, with the dancers grouped together as a protective crowd wary of their surroundings, sinister and suspicious, and from there the choreography was in the abstract.

The cast of Stephanie Rae Williams, Ingrid Silva, Chyrstyn Fentroy, Da’Von Doane, Choong Hoon Lee, Dylan Santos, Nichols Rose, and Jorge Andres Villarini translated and brought Harper’s thoughts to the fore.

Concluding the program was Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Vessels, a work created for ten dancers. Choreographed to music by Ezio Bosso, Moultrie’s work represented the cycle of life with sections named Light, Belief, Love, and Abundance. The movement responded to Bosso’s pulsing music.

The Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers Alison Stroming, Ingrid Silva, Lilit Hogtanian, Stephanie Rae Williams, Lindsey Croop, Francis Lawrence, Dylan Santos, Choong Hoon Lee, Stanford Placide and Jordan Kindell gave an exuberant performance of Moultrie’s’ work.

This was a program that was the hallmark of diversity, and also displaying the versatility of the Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers.

J.T. Rogers' Oslo

Lincoln Center Theater

Vivian Beaumont Theater

April 16, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

J.T. Rogers’ Oslo opened at the Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitzi Newhouse Theater last summer and its success has simmered until Oslo re-opened at the Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on April 13, 2017.

Oslo chronicles how one young couple, Norwegian diplomat Mona Juul (played by Jennifer Ehle) and her husband, the director of a think tank, Terje Rod-Larsen (played by Jefferson Mays) planned secret meetings between the representatives of the State of Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Oslo. These meetings resulted in the historic Oslo Accords in 1993, and the photo of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat in the White House Rose Garden signing this agreement instantly became iconic – and also hopeful. Although the Oslo Accords proved to be a temporary solution to a chronic problem of an unstable Middle East, one can only look in wonderment at this great achievement.

These negotiations and secret talks unfolded during the period from April 1992 through September 1993 with J.T. Rogers presenting an account of how these negotiations were initiated, its twists and turns, the personalities of the representatives of the warring parties and those that wanted to move the direction of the negotiations to a formalized and lasting peace.  All is told with the suspense and intrigue of a James Bond movie – a brilliant manipulation of crisis management – and also a bit of humor revealing that these human beings were attempting what they understood to be next to impossible. Also to the credit of J. T. Rogers, he presents the historical facts and doesn’t take sides.

J.T. Rogers’s clarity of language, terse words, and organic dialogue help to draw the portraits of the principal characters. Using diplomatic jargon, talking past each other, and wanting peace, but after so many years of conflict, fearing peace. Also to mention that Mona Juul and Terje Rod-Larsen use every diplomatic tool in their arsenal,  their abilities to persuade and facilitate, and sometimes wind up being punching bags for the warring negotiators on each side of the conflict.

Bartlett Sher has crisply directed this 3-hour play which is involving and compelling as he creates believable stage pictures and puts the spotlight on the interconnections between the pivotal characters – highlighting Rogers’ subtle humor and the high tensions. And scenery designer Michael Yeargin has created an appropriate minimalist atmosphere in which this story inhabits.

There is an involving story told by J.T. Rogers in his powerful play, Oslo, and an equal amount of credit in telling this story must go to this incomparable cast. Besides the stellar performances by Jennifer Ehle and Jefferson Mays, and Michael Aronov as Uri Savir and Anthony Azizi as Ahmed Qurie (the representatives from Israel and the PLO), there is the superlative supporting cast of Adam Dannheisser, Daniel Jenkins, Dariush Kashahi, Jeb Kreager, Christopher McHale, Daniel Oreskes, Angela Pierce, Henny Russell, Jeff Still, and T. Ryder Smith -- many of whom play multiple parts – and who make this incredible story come alive.

Three hours is daunting and quite a commitment – but this story moves at its own speed and you cannot feel untouched by emotion as Rogers’ compelling play comes to its conclusion.

The last image one sees, after the cast has taken its curtain calls, is a partially open door in the rear of the stage. Was it unintentional or symbolic – I hope that it was symbolic at the performance I attended communicating the message that there is a possibility of peace in the Middle East – and it will require people taking risks to make it happen. It gives one hope that there are heroic and statesmanlike people in this world who might make the personal sacrifices to resolve the unresolvable and bring peace to this unsettled world we live in. 

Scottish Ballet Makes New York Debut

Joyce Theater

April 11, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Scottish Ballet has made an auspicious and long awaited New York debut at the Joyce Theater where it will be performing from April 11-16, 2017. Having seen the company dance in the past in Great Britain and Canada it was no surprise to me that this winning group of dancers and the company’s artistically challenging repertoire would be an important event during this New York dance season.

Scottish Ballet was established in 1969 under the leadership of Peter Darrell. Over the years the company has been led by curators and choreographers among them Robert North, Galina Samsova, and Ashley Page. Currently Scottish Ballet is under the artistic leadership of Christopher Hampson who is both choreographer and curator. His artistic philosophy was revealed in Scottish Ballet’s New York debut.

Hampson was represented by his neo-classical work, Sinfonietta Giocosa, which he created in 2006 and was danced in New York by the Atlanta Ballet in that same year.

Choreographed to Martinu’s Sinfonietta Giocosa – for piano and orchestra – Hampson constructed his piece for six women and six men which starts and finishes with the entire cast on stage in pre-determined and random patterns. The choreography has clean lines and symmetry – and is inspired by Martinu’s music – showing off the company’s dancers.

The First Movement was led by Christopher Harrison, Nicholas Shoesmith, and Sophie Martin, followed by Constance Devernay, Marge Hendrick, Madeline Squire, Christopher Harrison and Sophie Martin leading the Second Movement and with the final and Third Movement led by Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Thomas Edwards. Sinfonietta Giocosa showed off the strengths of these well-trained dancers.

A contrast in style was Motion of Displacement, created for the Scottish Ballet in 2015, and choreographed by New York choreographer Bryan Arias. Arias’ inspiration was the experience of Arias’ mother’s journey from her native El Salvador to seek a better life in America although that story is not presented in literal narrative terms. The setting is an empty and dark stage with suspended light bulbs illuminating the stage intermittently during this piece. Arias contrasts ballet movement (in the style of William Forsythe) with modern dance striking a balance that sets the tone for the piece. Particularly clever was a short duet in which a tall female dancer dances with a short male dancer – which would normally strike a comedic tone, but in Motion of Displacement there were forceful and independent images.

This ensemble piece was danced by Sophie Martin, Victor Zarallo, Constance Devernay, Andrew Peasgood, Marge Hendrick, Jamiel Laurence, Araminta Wraith, Thomas Edwards, Bethany Kingsley-Garner, and Nicholas Shoesmith.

One of Britain’s foremost dance-makers, Christopher Bruce, was represented with his Ten Poems, a work choreographed to Richard Burton’s 1955 recording of poetry written by Welsh-born Dylan Thomas – poetry focusing on loss, war, and peace. Bruce created this 20-minute work for Ballet Kiel in 2009.

In Ten Poems the dancers portray typical villagers that were familiar to Thomas and described in his poetry such as a vagrant hunchback and a mourning woman. The choreographic vocabulary is modern dance but the movement is theatrical in style inspired by Thomas’ poetry – and matching the rhythms and rhymes of the poetry. A mournful cadence is established in the coupling of the words and the choreography. 

Among the dancers, Thomas Edwards was notable in Fern Hill, Victor Zarallo and Christopher Harrison in Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, and Jamiel Laurence in The Hunchback in the Park. But Ten Poems informed the audience that the Scottish Ballet’s dancers can convey a story even if the story in Ten Poems is gift-wrapped in metaphors.

The program of these diverse pieces of choreography showed off the versatility of the Scottish Ballet dancers – and also defining the company’s current artistic aesthetic. 

After this auspicious debut I hope that the Scottish Ballet will perform regularly in New York in the future. 

Pearl Theatre Company’s Vanity Fair

Pearl Theatre

April 8, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Kate Hamill, who was the adapter for the critically acclaimed stage version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, has now turned to another 19th century novel, William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. The Pearl Theatre Company is presenting this adventurous adaptation of Vanity Fair from March 24 – May 14, 2017.

Thackeray wrote his novel, Vanity Fair, in serial form during the years from 1847-48. In Vanity Fair Thackeray focuses on the lives and misadventures of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley as well as their connections and associations, and families during and after the Napoleonic Wars. The novel satirized the social conventions of the time but it is a story that is as scandalous and up-to-date as today.

Although Becky and Amelia have parallel lives they take individual paths in life. Each one of them adapting to their circumstances.

Amelia comes from a respectable family that has fallen on hard times caused by her father’s financial decisions and she marries George Osborne against his father’s wishes. George dies serving in the Napoleonic Wars leaving behind Amelia with a young son. Struggling to support herself and her young son – and also nursing her dying father – Amelia appeals for help from Osborne’s father. The result is that Amelia’s son is taken into the elder Osborne’s household but upon the elder Osborne’s death the family fortune is left to Amelia’s son. She had put off another suitor, William Dobbin, for years but when Becky Sharp makes her realize that George Osborne was not the man she thought he was, Amelia realizes that her future is in the hands of Dobbin – and marries him in the end.

However Becky Sharp is the opposite side of the coin. Intelligent, ambitious and a social climber. Sharp is sent off into the world to be a governess the only profession she can pursue as her birth is stained in scandal. She marries Rawdon Crawley against Crawley’s family wishes – including his outspoken Aunt Matilda -- and does everything within her power to support his promotion in the military and her own fortunes.  But that marriage fails when Crawley believes that Becky has betrayed him, and takes their son with him.

Both Amelia and Becky find themselves towards the end of their lives at the same place they started, but they had similar journeys as their fortunes changed. To say the least Becky Sharp is not a likable character and would be a person that would be frozen out of normal society during any era. However she is a survivor and survives in a fashion against great odds, and her adventures make for a good story.

Kate Hamill’s adaptation is clever in how it tells the story, employing humor, and satire, and without any incrimination or condescension, the main characters are enabled to throw their darts at specific targets.

Hamill’s choice of theatrical convention in her adaptation is for Vanity Fair to be performed in a story theater style. The stage manager (Zachary Fine) addresses the audience in front of the curtain and introduces the audience to the principal characters, and sets the tone for this re-telling of Thackeray’s story. Valerie Therese Bart’s costumes are period -- but look like they were pillaged from trunks hidden in a house’s attic. That is all but for the stage manager who is costumed in modern dress. Sandra Goldmark’s decorated set suggests the period with random vintage-like furniture and props carefully placed on the stage. It is in this minimal staging that one’s imagination can be ignited.

Director Eric Tucker accentuates particular moments with current references that range from excerpts from recordings by Beyoncé to Michael Jackson. The combination thereof strikes an amusing note in this 3-hour long production performed by a troupe of seven versatile actors playing a dozen parts.

Hamill, herself, plays the role of Becky Sharp, and Joey Parsons plays Amelia Sedley. These actresses recreate these larger than life characters with verve, and a wink and a nod. Among the men who go off to war are Ryan Quinn playing William Dobbin, Debargo Sanyal as George Osborne, and Tom O’Keefe playing Rawdon Crawley – and seeking his fortune in India is Joseph Sedley played by Brad Heberlee. These characters come to life in their able hands, and are instruments for Eric Tucker’s clever direction which gives these characters’ humanity.

I know that we have all run into modern day Becky Sharps which is the reason why this stage adaptation is relevant – and this wonderful cast of actors also makes it an amusing and entertaining journey. A journey everyone should take with this marvelous company of actors telling a wonderful story.

The Play That Goes Wrong

Lyceum Theatre

April 5, 2017

 By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Play That Goes Wrong has come from a continuing and triumphant engagement in London to American shores opening at the Lyceum Theatre on April 2, 2017. The question is whether the British humor on parade in this play was able to successfully travel across the Atlantic – and it does – and brilliantly. In fact if you want to be awash with comedy and humor The Play That Goes Wrong will allow you to forget your problems, and the world’s problems for a little more than two hours. A great antidote to the blues we experience on a daily basis.

The Play That Goes Wrong chronicles the vicissitudes of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society performing a stage production of a 1920’s murder mystery, The Murder at Haversham. This creaky play contains all sorts of pitfalls and potholes which should convince any theatrical producer that it would open – and then close by the end of Act I.

The premise is that this play within a play – The Murder at Haversham --  and the amateur thespians who are performing in it are not a match made in heaven. These amateurs are often inept and embarrassingly have little or no acting talent. This motley group of dedicated amateur posers is trying to save this sinking ship – and will go down with the ship if necessary. All but suggesting the phrase of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

This farce is set up before the performance begins with the actors interacting with audience members – some who play characters in the play within the play, and others who portray backstage personnel – including a lighting and sound designer who is searching for his Duran Duran CD, and is also searching for a missing dog which is integral to the plot in the play’s Act II.  Further catastrophes on stage during the play, an actor playing a dead body who moves at inopportune moments or an actor who indulges himself in over the top conventional balletic mime.

A running gag in The Murder At Haversham is the stage manager, Annie, taking over for one of the actors, Sandra during Act I of the play. Annie does her best reading from the script with the emotion of a robot. But when Sandra recovers enough to resume her role in the second act, Annie refuses to disappear from the stage with grace nor will she give up her 15 seconds of fame and the audience’s adulation.

Contravening the theatrical conventional wisdom that an actor can succeed by simply remembering his lines and not bumping into the furniture – in this instance the scenery and props are weaponized and major accidents occur. Part of the fun is how the actors on stage get themselves out of these situations and ingeniously do so with aplomb.

For these amateur actors anything could go wrong, and does go wrong. Doors don’t open. Props aren’t where they should be or can’t be found, a cocktail that includes paint thinner that could be lethal, and the stage set falls apart. What is unique about The Play That Goes Wrong is you must determine what is spontaneous and what is planned – somehow you are kept guessing.

The premise for The Play That Goes Wrong owes its roots to Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, with a hint of the in-your-face comedy on display in John Cleese’s Fawlty Towers. Slapstick humor and physical comedy represent the primary components of the play.

The Play That Goes Wrong is the brainchild of three actor/writers who are also participants in this organized chaos – Henry Lewis portraying Robert, Jonathan Sayers portraying Dennis, and Henry Shields portraying Chris – among the players in this disastrous amateur dramatic society.

Henry Shields, as actor Chris Bean, playing the Inspector in the play within the play, channels John Cleese – with his frustrations being suppressed when all about him is falling apart. 

Dave Hearn playing Max Bennett as the play within the play’s character, Cecil Haversham, gives a performance that is perfectly timed – as does Jonathan Sayer as the tongue-tied Dennis playing the inept butler, Perkins.

Keeping up with the authors are Rob Falconer as Trevor, Charlie Russell as Sandra, Greg Tannahill as Jonathan, and understudy Bryony Corrigan making her Broadway debut in the role of Annie – all joining this humorous and crazy circus with director Mark Bell as the clever ringmaster.

Scenery designer Nigel Hook has designed scenery that is a character in the play within the play that responds to plot points and is meant to sabotage the amateur actors’ performances.

An audience member has to be on high alert to catch all of the hilarious goings-on, but it is worth the effort – and glad for that fact that we now have a comedy on Broadway that will have some staying power. But don’t wait to play a part in this riotous circus!

Joffrey Ballet’s Gala Celebrated with Varied Repertoire

March 30, 2017

David Koch Theater

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

To commemorate the Joffrey Ballet’s return to New York, on March 30, 2017, the Joyce Theater hosted a gala performance offering a one-time only mixed-bill program which included one ballet that was created for the Joffrey Ballet and two company premieres.

These three short dance pieces were presented in a similarly short program of an hour and 15 minutes with no intermissions to bring down the curtain early for the gala fundraising dinner.

What these dance works all had in common is that they were primarily ensemble dances and they all represented a similar aesthetic – contemporary ballet and the inspiration for these ballets was guided by the music the choreographers chose for their pieces.

Opening the program was the only commissioned work that was presented, Yuri Possokhov’s The Bells, which was created for the Joffrey Ballet in 2011. Possokhov is a former principal dancer of the San Francisco Ballet and that company’s resident choreographer. The Bells was Possokhov’s first creation for the Joffrey Ballet and was choreographed to seven piano compositions composed by Sergei Rachmaninov – with one of these compositions repeated for a second time at the end of the ballet. The choreography is influenced by folk dance traditions and contemporary ballet with each section being a vignette of its own. Possokhov presented a range of feelings and tugged at the emotions in his choreography as reflected in these vignettes. 

The cast of Anastacia Holden, Yoshihisa Arai, April Daly, Fabrice Calmels, Victoria Jaiani, Temur Suluashvili, Jacqueline Moscicke, Graham Maverick, Joanna Wozniak, and Aaron Renteria brought all of these emotions to the surface in their dancing of The Bells.

The first of the company premieres, Myles Thatcher’s Body of Your Dreams, was having its company premiere this very evening. Also there was a connection to the San Francisco Ballet as Myles Thatcher is a member of that ballet company, and has been given opportunities to choreograph by the San Francisco Ballet. Thatcher created Body of Your Dreams to music by Dutch composer Jacob Ter Veldhuis with voice overs consisting of encouraging words from fitness trainers and the pitches you would hear about fitness and fitness equipment on late night infomercials. The choreography consisted of satires of exercise classes and lots of mirrors to lose oneself in, in pursuing the perfect body.

Body of Your Dreams was danced  by Anais Bueno, Valeriia Chaykina, Nicole Ciapponi, Yumi Kanazawa, Derrick Agnoletti, Edson Barbosa, Fernando Duarte, and Elivelton Tomazi, with the enthusiasm of cheerleaders at a sporting event. All that was missing was the sports equipment product placement. Taken all into account the choreographer can be credited for his clever and witty observations.

The second company premiere was Christopher Wheeldon’s Fool’s Paradise, created for Wheeldon’s fledgling company Morphoses, and given its Joffrey Ballet premiere in 2015. Choreographed to music composed by Joby Talbot, Fool’s Paradise is a muted piece of choreography including three duets and one trio for a cast of nine dancers. The choreography is dominated by sculptural images which are dusted by the gold petals falling like rain onto the stage. There are allusions to Ashton’s Monotones -- and the piece has a calming effect. Talbot’s cinematic music punctuates the dramatic moments in Wheeldon’s choreography.

Fool’s Paradise was well danced by the ensemble cast of Jeraldine Mendoza, Christine Rocas, Anastacia Holden, Temur Suluashvili, Dylan Gutierrez, Rory Hohenstein, Yoshihisa Arai, Amanda Assucena and Alberto Velazquez.

The Joffrey Ballet’s New York engagement was a significant achievement and hopefully it will be the first of many engagements by the company in the future.

The Joffrey Ballet Returns to New York With Romeo and Juliet

David Koch Theater

March 29, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Joyce Theater is presenting the Joffrey Ballet in an overdue engagement at the David Koch Theater from March 29-April 2, 2017, after an absence of over 20 years. This engagement is a welcome return to New York and much credit must go to the Joyce Theater for making this engagement a reality.

The Joffrey Ballet had been a resident company here in New York until the company moved to its current base in Chicago back in the 1990’s. The founders of the company, Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino, are no longer with us, and the Joffrey Ballet is now under the directorship of former Joffrey Ballet dancer and San Francisco Ballet dancer, Ashley Wheater. The Joffrey Ballet has evolved in these intervening years and its artistic statement has evolved. However the Joffrey Ballet has been missed.

The Joffrey Ballet opened this return engagement with Krzysztov Pastor’s re-thought production of Romeo and Juliet which had been given its world premiere by Scottish Ballet in 2008 and given its Joffrey Ballet premiere in 2014. This is the third production of Romeo and Juliet danced by the Joffrey Ballet having danced Oscar Araiz’s production beginning in 1977, and having acquired John Cranko’s production in 1984. 

Needless to say every ballet company in the world now performs Romeo and Juliet as it has become a staple in the standard ballet repertoire. With Serge Prokofiev’s score as the blueprint, even so, productions of Romeo and Juliet do differ from each other in terms of how the story is told, and also has been presented in different choreographic styles. 

Pastor, who is the artistic director of the Polish National Ballet, offers a new scenario for his production of Romeo and Juliet – in collaboration with dramaturg Wilem Bruls.

Pastor’s version opens with a first act set in Italy in the 1930’s at the time of Mussolini and the rise of Fascism in Italy and throughout Europe.  The two feuding families are represented in this production of Romeo and Juliet from a different perspective. The Capulet Family represents the rich conservative elements of society, while the Montagues represent the liberal lower and middle class elements of society. The Capulet Family represents the dictatorial rule of Italy in that era. 

The second act moves forward to the 1950’s, during the era of Red Brigade terrorist attacks, as it became known in Italy, although optimism and stability has been re-established by the Montague Family in the post World War II 1950’s. And the third act, taking place in the 1990’s, reflects the atmosphere in Italy during Berlusconi’s leadership and the increasing clashes between social and economic classes. Hatred and conflicts re-emerged during this time period, and Romeo and Juliet, who are still alive, become victims of the times.

Pastor’s approach to Romeo and Juliet is an expansive metaphor – Romeo and Juliet are destined for their fate. Families, friends, gangs and conflicting religious beliefs make it necessary for Romeo and Juliet to conceal their love. As stated in the program notes Pastor believes that younger generations suffer and die from the mistakes made by the previous generations. Conflicts, walls and wars are timeless.

Pastor’s libretto owes a great deal to West Side Story and other contemporary re-interpretations of Romeo and Juliet’s story. Having the story being told over several decades and not reflecting the morays of each era results in anachronisms. Conventional mime is absent, and there are lapses in narrative clarity.

Neither Romeo nor Juliet is represented as the flowering of youth and youthful recklessness. Juliet seems a bit calculated and has her eyes on Romeo from the moment they meet. After the Balcony Scene Romeo and Juliet disappear into a city crowd.  The killing of Mercutio is presented in a street fight and Romeo cuts Tybalt’s throat with a knife resulting in Tybalt’s death. There seems to be a lack of shock as these horrible events are taking place. And somehow the audience must connect the dots when there are gaps in the narrative.

Pastor’s choreographic vocabulary is that of contemporary ballet and modern dance – often expressive and enigmatic. Pastor’s production of Romeo and Juliet is provocative and suits the company – which comes alive by the committed and determined performances by the entire company.  

Much of the success of this production must be credited to designer Tatyana van Walsum whose costumes are simple and retain their appropriateness as one time travels from one historic period to the next. It was in the scenery designs – in which video of newsreels and projections are used – that gives support to Pastor’s interpretation of Romeo and Juliet.

Also outstanding were the passionate performances of Christine Rocas as Juliet and Rory Hohenstein as Romeo. Besides their dancing being passionate, they both fully understood Pastor’s approach to the story – and enabled the story to be told. Also notable was Yoshihisa Arai’s comic Mercutio, and Fabrice Calmels as the commanding patriarch of the Capulet Family.

Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet employs Serge Prokofiev’s classic score and this performance was enhanced by the live music provided by the Joffrey Ballet Orchestra with members of the Chicago Philharmonic under the guidance of conductor Scott Speck.

There are lots of details in Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet to absorb and appreciate. But this is a Romeo and Juliet of our time and also provides an appropriate showcase for the Joffrey Ballet’s dancers and the Joffrey Ballet’s artistic vision.

Church & State

New World Stages – Stage 5

March 27, 2017

 By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

What could be a timelier New York premiere than Jason Odell Williams’ Church and State which opened at the New World Stages – Stage 5 on March 27, 2017.  Williams’ play is of the moment and grabbed out of today’s headlines. But politics, and its consequences, have amazing similarities from century to century and era to era. Yet when presented to an audience it can be baffling and perplexing.

Church and State focuses on Senator Charles Whitmore (played by Rob Nagle) who is in the midst of his re-election campaign, and he has decided to tell the public what is going through his mind as his constituents are trying to come to terms with a catastrophic event. The question is whether the voters are ready for Whitmore’s dissembling – or his honesty or his dishonesty – and whether the voters will condemn him or support him.

The play begins just after a shooting incident that has taken place in Raleigh, North Carolina, the hometown of Republican Senator Charles Whitmore. After the somber funeral of the victims – some of whom are children -- Senator Whitmore makes some off-the-cuff remarks about questioning his faith in God, and the harmful effects of not strengthening gun control laws to a local blogger/journalist who records the interview.

Whitmore’s unvarnished and impulsive comments are quickly disseminated into the world of social media which communicates both the good and the bad at the speed of light. Senator Whitmore is also having doubts about his effectiveness as a senator and whether he should be re-elected.

Senator Whitmore’s wife, Sara, (played by Nadia Bowers) and Senator Whitmore’s New York campaign manager, Alex Klein (played by Christa Scott-Reed), try to contain the damage and strategize how to salvage the Senator’s political career – there is also fence-mending between Klein, Sara, and the Senator showing the effects of  the stress that is produced during a political campaign. A truce is agreed to in order to save the Senator’s political career and future.

The timing of Senator Whitmore’s self-examination couldn’t be worse. But in an unforeseen turn of events  Senator Whitmore’s supporters and voters are not put off by his remarks as had been feared – and he is safe for the moment to face another day. However the issue of gun control and gun violence weighs heavily on the minds of the characters in Church and State.

The moral parable in the play is about gun control for which Williams expresses his transparent beliefs.  But in Church and State Williams also examines Senator Whitmore’s journey as he confronts his own beliefs and his moral dilemma. This conundrum is presented in a fast-paced 75 minutes and the audience witnesses the consequences and effects of Whitmore’s brutally frank and heartfelt words.

Rob Nagle as Senator Whitmore plays a multi-faceted and thoughtful character, with aplomb, with both comic and dramatic timing that emphasizes the metamorphoses that Senator Whitmore is going through. Nadia Bowers plays Sara impeccably as she evolves through the problems developing in her husband’s campaign even through a rather tipsy battle with her husband and her husband’s campaign manager which strains the relationships in this political troika. Christa Scott-Reed keeps her cool as Alex Klein playing the campaign manager with intensity, professionalism, and also the persistence of herding kittens let loose in a garden. Jonathan Louis Dent ably defines four different supporting characters. With this quality of actors and their acting they give Williams’ play the truth and honesty it is conveying – and also the play’s spirit.

Plaudits to Williams for taking on the issues he has in his play, Church and State, as well as Markus Potter’s precise direction. 

Lynn Nottage’s Broadway Debut with Sweat

Studio 54

March 26, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Opening at Studio 54 on March 26, 2017, Sweat marks the Broadway debut of Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Sweat journeyed to Broadway after a successful engagement at New York’s Public Theater last year. Nottage has finally arrived on Broadway, and has done so with a timely and powerful play.

Nottage’s Sweat tells the story of factory workers facing the day to day vicissitudes of holding down a job, juggling work and family obligations, and living from paycheck to paycheck – a story not often told. The plight of these hard-working people cannot be more of the moment, and is told with compassion and humor.

It was mentioned in the play’s program that when Lynn Nottage and director Kate Whoriskey are researching a theatrical project together that they take on the roles of investigative journalists rather than collaborators on a play. It seems that this process is what makes Sweat as compelling as it is. Sweat is a play about real people who are coming to terms with the truth that the American Dream is slipping through their fingers. A tale for our time, and our era.

Sweat’s story is set in Reading, Pennsylvania, once a city that had been booming but is now experiencing the economic downturns that are occurring in a myriad of Midwest towns. The downturns result in loss of jobs due to factory or business closings – with some of the jobs migrating to other countries. These circumstances are not merely life setbacks. Lives are changed suddenly and people search from within to find survival skills to cope. Although the events in Sweat shift back and forth between 2000 and 2008, they are just as relevant in the present day. Can this period be described as a dishonest decade – and are we still stuck in it?

The play opens with a prologue in which two young men, one white and one black – presented in separate sessions with the presence of a police officer as a mentor – and you are immediately aware that something ominous has happened. Clearly these two young men had a strong friendship that was developed over many years. We learn later in the play that these two young men are also the sons of two best friends.

Tavern keeper Stan (played by James Colby) had spent 28 years working for the Olstead steel mill and had hoped for job security and perhaps a comfortable retirement – but the company abandoned him after he was injured by faulty machinery on the steel mill floor. He is the father confessor to the locals, sympathetic to their problems while also attempting to persuade them to consider positive solutions to their problems.

Stan’s tavern has become a gathering place for Olstead workers where they share their personal challenges and their work frustrations – and celebrating their birthdays. Two particular workers Tracey (played by Johanna Day) and Cynthia (played by Michelle Wilson) have had their friendship tested all too often as they work the line, seek promotions, and are apprehensive about rumors of downsizing and losing jobs that are to be sent to Mexico.

Tensions rise when the union calls for a strike and tavern bar back, Oscar (Carlo Alban) takes a job as a replacement at the steel mill. Conflicts between the tavern regulars are revealed, which are exacerbated by frustration, accusations of racism, and familiarity doesn’t help to tamper down violence.

These characters have to face a realistic self-examination of their lives and what their futures might be, and are dealing with issues they are helpless to control. And they lash out at the closest target. It is the play’s combustible conclusion that is unexpected and then there are the long-term implications for all of these flawed characters.

The story is told by Nottage in a compelling manner which is enhanced by Kate Whoriskey’s compassionate direction revealing heartfelt and honest performances by the play’s formidable ensemble cast which makes these “regular people” come to life and easy to identify with. 

Sweat is performed by an exceptional cast, but particularly notable are the performances by Johanna Day and Michelle Wilson as the two best friends whose friendship is severely tested.

Sweat is a play with a message reflecting the chaotic times we are living in. A playwright has succeeded when he or she succeeds in provoking an audience and challenges us all to think about what society could be rather than what it is -- and also motivates us to find solutions to the problems that we face. Nottage’s Sweat succeeds on all fronts and must be experienced.

City Center Encores – The New Yorkers

City Center

March 23, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

In its concert performances of vintage Broadway musicals, City Center Encores has fulfilled its mission to reconstruct lost Broadway musicals. Such reconstructions evolve into musical archeological digs requiring research about these musicals’ scores, orchestrations, dialogue, and directorial notes. Often those doing the research had little to go on but hoped to bring these marvelous scores to a wider audience, and there have been many success stories.

From March 22-26, 2017 City Center Encores is presenting the result of such research in rediscovering the Cole Porter musical, The New Yorkers, which had premiered on Broadway in 1930. Based on a story by Peter Arno (a cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine) and producer E. Ray Goetz, with a book by Herbert Fields, this musical was built around its star, Jimmie Durante, who also contributed songs of his own to the score. The New Yorkers was a book musical, but had also been described to be more like a vaudeville revue. No matter what the description, The New Yorkers, in its present form, is a crazy valentine dedicated to New York City and its inhabitants.

Arno’s cartoons tended to be politically incorrect and critical of the urban classes in New York City. Arno’s commentary on the excesses of rich New Yorkers in the last days of Prohibition represented a slice of life of New York in the late 1920’s. Arno, a socialite himself, characterized America’s elite as unpleasant, unlikeable, pompous and arrogant. As part of a colorful life of his own Arno was a member of Rudy Vallee’s band, the Yale Collegians, and he also observed the Café Society world that was paraded in front of him – people in top hats and nightclubbing. Not a surprise that The New Yorkers’ subtitle is, “A Sociological Musical Satire”.

The only surviving material for The New Yorkers consisted of copies of the script with barely decipherable notes by a stage manager. Jimmie Durante’s missing songs were discovered in Durante’s archive at UCLA. In the original production, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians were also in the show and they performed their own original material. A portion of Waring’s contributions to The New Yorkers was found in Waring’s papers at Penn State University – and materials from Cole Porter’s archives at Yale also provided insight into the structure and music for The New Yorkers.

Musical director Rob Berman and Encores’ artistic director, Jack Viertel, made revisions of their own.  For this production, much of the Waring material and two of the Durante songs were cut, and injected were a few numbers from other Cole Porter shows to fill in gaps including songs from Fifty Million Frenchmen, Gay Divorce, Let’s Face It!, and Leave It To Me.

Josh Clayton and Larry Moore wrote new orchestrations for a 30-piece orchestra based on the musical style of recordings of other of Porter’s musicals of the same time period. 

What is presented on the City Center stage is not a recreation of The New Yorkers but a reimagined version using the newly-discovered materials and what was at hand.

The New Yorkers is set in the 1920’s, a time of speakeasies, gangster violence, and sexual liberation. The story focuses on socialite Alice Wentworth (played by Scarlett Strallen) and her bootlegger boyfriend Al Spanish (played by Tam Mutu). Attached to other love interests, they become joined at the hip, and they set off on an adventure that might only happen in New York which takes them to Sing Sing Prison – and back.

Wentworth meets Spanish by happenstance at his club seeking to hire his talented nightclub performers for a social event at her New York apartment. But after Spanish’s nightclub is raided and closed Wentworth concocts a scheme to re-open the speakeasy in her own apartment. Spanish is in jail, and Wentworth’s scheme is to make a call to the police to raid her apartment speakeasy – in order to improve business for her speakeasy -- and join Spanish in jail. Throw in bootlegging gin and a dubious business in caviar. 

The New Yorkers abounds in novelty numbers that are linked together by a conventional story you might bump into in a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers movie. But in viewing The New Yorkers as a period piece, appreciating its double-entendre and sharp-witted dialogue, and the mismatch of characters, The New Yorkers is a happily entertaining vintage musical.

Triple-threat musical stars Strallen and Mutu make much of the material that they are given. They were both in the moment, dancing and singing, making these characters believable.

In particular Kevin Chamberlin as Jimmie Deegan has the unenviable job of taking on the Jimmie Durante material but brings much to that material without becoming too much like an impression of Durante. His particular talents were evidence in the Act I ending novelty number, Wood – starting out with a description of himself with a head of Wood with members of the cast carrying all sorts of objects, made of wood, making a pile on the stage – and yes, Deegan makes the off-hand remark that this was how the show ended in its 1930 production.

Arnie Burton as Feet McGeegan also provides a great deal of comic relief in this musical. In particular in the tongue-twisting and witty Let’s Not Talk About Love – which demanded an encore. Also notable is Cyrille Aimee who sings superbly and has the honor of presenting one of Cole Porter’s best known songs from this show, Love For Sale, which along with I Happen To Like New York represent the two standards that are from The New York Yorkers. In fact the closing show reprise of I Happen To Like New York could only be described as an anthem and brought The New Yorkers to a heart-stirring close.

This concert version of The New Yorkers was directed with reverence by John Rando who master-minded the comic timing necessary to bring off The New Yorkers’ satire and humor, and Chris Bailey created choreography that was perfect for the novelty and cabaret numbers in the show.

The New Yorkers proved to be a treasure worth discovering, and another success story that can be credited to the City Center Encores’ artistic mission.

Hamburg Ballet Makes Debut at Joyce Theater

Joyce Theater

March 21, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Hamburg Ballet, directed by American-born choreographer John Neumeier, has achieved dominance in the landscape of ballet companies in Europe. Neumeier is an exponent of the full-length narrative ballet – approaching this dance form in a unique manner.

The Hamburg Ballet has performed Neumeier’s full-length ballets in various venues in New York over the last few decades including engagements at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the City Center, and the David Koch Theater. The Hamburg Ballet is making its Joyce Theater debut from March 21-25, 2017, and is presenting a thought-provoking program of dance which has been conceived to fit in this intimate theater.

The Hamburg Ballet’s program was danced under the overall title, Old Friends, an evening of dance pieces choreographed by John Neumeier, and choreographed to music ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach to Simon & Garfunkel. This two hour program appears to be Neumeier’s personal choreographic response to the music he selected – with little or no narrative to speak of.

Old Friends opens with the Ouverture section subtitled, Bach Suite No. 3,  which is choreographed to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major. Bach Suite No. 3 is choreographed in the neo-classical mode with quick movement, and with partnering that veers in the direction of gymnastic and acrobatic. Led by Xue Lin and Alexandr Trusch, this plotless piece is divided into four sections and is performed at breakneck speed by the well-trained dancers in the cast.

Old Friends continues with Chopin Dialogues choreographed to excerpts from Federico Mompou’s Variations on a Theme of Chopin and Simon & Garfunkel’s Theme and Overs from Bookends.  Depicted is a relationship that is deteriorating and in trouble – bleak in its tone --and the two people in the relationship are attempting to control each other emotionally. Even at the end of this duet, there doesn’t seem to be a resolution as to how this relationship will move forward or terminate. In this duet Neumeier’s choreography transitions to the mode of modern and post-modern dance with the principals having minimal contact. As danced by Anna Laudere and Karen Azatyan this duet has Neumeier in a pensive mood.

This duet extends into the beginning of the second half of the program. The two dancers are now in the midst of a gathering of people in the Dangling Conversations section danced to a series of Chopin nocturnes with the addition of Simon & Garfunkel’s Dangling Conversation. In a La Rondine-like sequence presented is a changing series of relationships between the dancers also reflecting regret and quick changing moods, and choreographically in a mix of contemporary ballet and modern dance.

The assembled cast of Silvia Azzoni, Leslie Heylmann, Anna Laudere, Xue Lin, Emilie Mazori, Christopher Evans, Marc Jubete, Alexandre Riabko, Alexandr Trusch, and Ivan Urban transitions easily from one dance style to the other, and subtly reveal the emotions in play.

The program ends with Old Friends II – Opus 100 – for Maurice Bejart – which is a male duet choreographed to Simon & Garfunkel’s Old Friends and Bridge Over Troubled Water. This piece was created in 1996 on the occasion of Maurice Bejart’s 70th birthday. It celebrates the camaraderie between two male dancers, Alexandre Riabko and Ivan Urban, bringing Old Friends to a dynamic and forceful conclusion.

Old Friends, as danced by the Hamburg Ballet, and choreographed by John Neumeier, is Neumeier’s choreography in a different vein that one has seen in his narrative works. Still displaying the breath of the Hamburg Ballet’s dancers, and a side of Neumeier not often seen.

McCarter Theatre’s Murder on the Orient Express

McCarter Theatre Center – Matthews Theatre

March 18, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Published in 1934, Agatha Christie’s mystery thriller Murder on the Orient Express may be the best of its genre ever written. The McCarter Theatre is now presenting an engaging and entertaining stage adaptation of this Christie classic by Ken Ludwig from March 17 – April 2, 2017.

Christie’s mysteries have been adapted for film and television but their stage adaptations are not as well known even though Christie was a successful playwright as well as a novelist – the exception being the stage adaptation of The Mousetrap which is the longest, continuously running play of all time – still being performed in London. 

Ken Ludwig, who has a reputation for writing fast-paced farces, here has been reverential to Christie’s intent yet also seasons this classic mystery with insight and satiric wit. In so doing Ludwig enhances Christie’s story in bringing it to the stage.

Murder on the Orient Express features one of Christie’s most enigmatic and mercurial characters Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. His eccentricities, and his steel-trap mind aiding him to solve every murder, are what makes Murder on the Orient Express an absorbing tale. In Murder on the Orient Express there are also references to the infamous Lindbergh baby kidnapping, and Christie’s fascination with train travel – in particular train travel’s intimacy.

The play opens with a Prologue in which Poirot sets the scene for his next adventure. While in Istanbul Poirot is urgently recalled to London for a meeting at Scotland Yard. His only travel option is the Orient Express and with the assistance of the Orient Express’ Monsieur Bouc, Poirot is able to secure a compartment on the train.

One of the passengers, Samuel Ratchett, collars Poirot seeking Poirot’s help to determine why his life is being threatened. Although Poirot seems to take Ratchett’s ramblings as claptrap, on the second night of the journey Rachett is found murdered.

With the Orient Express stuck in a snowdrift in Yugoslavia, Poirot is imposed upon to solve the murder. Either the murderer is someone who managed to board the train enroute or is one of the Orient Express’ passengers. And then there is the question of who the murder victim actually is. 

Poirot, the genius detective that he is, solves the murder. But it is how this tale unravels, and making the acquaintance of this unusual cast of characters, which represents the core of Ludwig’s retelling of Christie’s mystery novel. 

When all of the murder suspects are gathered together in the play’s final scene, Poirot lists the clues revealed throughout the play with each character stating those clues in his narrative. Audience members are sworn not to reveal who the murder is, but in the play’s Epilogue Poirot comes to terms with the how and why he solved the murder.

Murder on the Orient Express hosts a most interesting group of personages led by the venerable Hercule Poirot, superbly played here by the equally venerable Allan Corduner.  Corduner could have easily channeled David Suchet’s characterization as Poirot, but Corduner has created his own approach to this eccentric character. And Poirot does have a group of eccentric and colorful characters as suspects. 

However for this stage adaptation, Ludwig has reduced the number of suspects from twelve down to eight, and in so doing allows us to get know these characters in some depth. Ludwig has also injected a bit of satire and comic farce. Ludwig can’t resist the surprise of a satiric quip, slamming compartment doors, mistaken identities, and also there are Broadway musical references, and the cacophony of the characters’ accents.

Among the personages are Princess Dragomiroff played by Veanne Cox, Mrs.  Hubbard played by Julie Halston, Michel played by Maboud Ebrahimzodeh, Mary Debenham played by Susannah Hoffman, Countess Andrenyi played by Alexander Silber, Hector MacQueen played by Juha Sorola, Greta Ohlsson played by Samantha Steinmetz, the dual roles of Ratchett/Colonel Arburthnot played by Max von Essen, and Monsieur Bouc played by Evan Zes.

This mystery is all played out within the splendid atmosphere created by scenery designer, Beowulf Boritt, costume designer, William Ivey Long, and lighting designer Ken Billington in what is a limited and confined space. Boritt has created a “train” for the stage which is ingeniously designed and utilized, and Long has created the costumes that reflect the style of this glamorous era.

The McCarter Theatre’s artistic director, Emily Mann, helms this production, and guides the train journey of this eccentric group of women and men moving these characters within the restricted space of the train without dropping a beat.

If you are a fan of mysteries – or interested in an engrossing tale – Ludwig’s Murder on the Orient Express presents a rewarding theatrical experience performed by talented and adept actors that make this mysterious tale, and its characters, come alive on the stage.

Tom Gold Dance’s Sixth Annual Season

Gerald W. Lynch Theater

March 14, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Needless to say it is a challenge in this economic environment to self-produce dance performances of your own in New York. However Tom Gold, former soloist of the New York City Ballet, has produced several of these performances under the banner of Tom Gold Dance, which performed in its sixth annual season at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College on March 14, 2017. This particular performance was also a challenge because of the inclement weather but audience members made it to the performance in spite of the travel vicissitudes.

For this sixth annual season Tom Gold Dance performed a program of three different dance pieces all of them choreographed by Tom Gold – including two company premieres and a world premiere.

Opening the program and the first of the two company premieres was Served which was first developed as part of the 13th annual National Choreographers Initiative in Irving, California. Choreographed to Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, played live by pianist Xak Bjerken, Served was inspired by the action of tennis matches. The choreography reflected the game of tennis’ to and fro, and was influenced by the masters – George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Yet at the same time the choreography reflected simplicity and clarity.

Served was danced with impressive speed by the cast of Morgan McEwen, Courtney Nitting, Allynne Noelle, Mary Elizabeth Sell, Kristen Segin, Thomas Garrett, Zachary Guthier, Evan Swenson, and James Shee.

Following Served was Gold’s world premiere, Counterpoint, choreographed to Steve Reich’s New York Counterpoint, and Nagoya Marimbas. This duet, structured in four movements, suggested detachment – the two dancers danced around each other with little contact – in counterpoint to each other and responding to the rhythms in Steve Reich’s music. Counterpoint was danced by Meaghan Dutton O’Hara and Daniel Applebaum with a great deal of showmanship.

This hour-long performance ended with the second company premiere, Gold’s Oasis, originally commissioned by the St. Louis Ballet. Choreographed to John Zorn’s “Lucifer” from the Book of Angels, Zorn’s jazz influenced music formed the foundation for the choreography of this piece. Depicted is an imagined group meeting at a desert retreat – a work for ten dancers. Gold’s choreography responded to the patterns in Zorn’s music – freeing for the dancers and festive for the audience.

For what was a snowy night in New York, Tom Gold Dance – and Gold himself – successfully met the challenges of producing a diverting and entertaining program of dance here in New York – with the dancers exhibiting spirited and winning performances.

Manhattan Theatre Club Presents American Premiere of Linda

Manhattan Theatre Club – City Center

– Stage I

March 3, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The Manhattan Theatre Club is currently presenting the American premiere of Penelope Skinner’s Linda from February 28 – April 2, 2017. Skinner’s Linda was given its premiere by the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in 2015, and the Manhattan Theatre Club’s production is a welcome opportunity for New Yorkers to see this thoughtful and compelling play, and become familiar with Penelope Skinner as a playwright.

The playwright puts the spotlight on Linda Wilde, who is a successful cosmetic executive as well as being a busy mother and wife. The company she works for, Swan, is questioning her abilities as a brand manager because she is out of touch with the younger demographics that the company wishes to reach in order to sell its products. These accusations are made after she pitches a revolutionary concept, a product called Dove, which could change how the world looks at women of her generation. When making her pitch for this product she finds herself fighting for her professional life in the youth-oriented world of fashion and cosmetics.   

At work, Linda is also being undermined by a younger, ambitious and career-oriented woman who has practiced cyber-bulling during her school life and in her professional life. And in Linda’s personal life, her husband is having an affair with a woman who is young enough to be his daughter. Linda’s older daughter is careening from crisis to crisis as she copes with the emotional scars she received from a group of “mean girls” at school. Linda is sliding down the slippery slope of being irrelevant and invisible. 

In the midst of all of this chaos, Linda realizes that she has made some bad decisions regarding her professional life and her personal life which has contributed to the multitude of problems that are coming her way, and she is suffering a meltdown as a result.

However Linda does take a moment to give a no holds bar and in your face declaration about being a victim of sexism and ageism, and is seeking liberation from both. It had also been her hope that after ten years of success in her professional life, that these battles would have and should have been won – for herself and for her daughters.

Linda is not the only character in this play that is carrying either light or heavy baggage. The characters’ interactions are what triggers the plot of this play, and contributes to how the play evolves through its cathartic end.

The subject matter couldn’t be more germane, and Skinner has approached the issues with tongue in cheek humor and human emotion while also throwing knives and barbs at those ruling the roost in the establishment. Under Lynne Meadow’s skillful direction, Linda speaks to everyone – both women and men – who are questioning how to survive in the work place and in their personal lives.

Linda is performed within Walt Spangler’s striking revolving modern stage design that moves back and forth between Linda’s office and her home.  Her two worlds that cannot be separated, and are colliding with each other in this play.

British actress Janie Dee’s performance of Linda Wilde is emotional, compelling and spine-tingling – and heralds her welcome return to the New York stage.

Dee is supported by a wonderful cast of actors particularly Molly Griggs as Linda’s office nemesis Amy, Jennifer Ikeda as Linda’s older daughter Alice, and Donald Sage MacKay as Linda’s husband Neil.

Penelope Skinner’s Linda is a provocative and timely examination of contemporary life, and is also a showcase for Janie Dee’s extraordinary performance in the title role.

Musicals in Mufti – Dear World

York Theatre Company

February 26, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti series has featured two of Jerry Herman’s musicals this season. The first of which had been Milk and Honey, and the second is Dear World which runs from February 25 – March 5, 2017. Both Milk and Honey, and Dear World have been re-discoveries and we are fortunate that the York Theatre Company has made it possible to experience both of these musicals and insuring that these musicals do not disappear into obscurity.

Jerry Herman’s Dear World had a short life on Broadway. Opening on February 6, 1979 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre, it closed at the end of May of that same year – after only 132 performances.

With a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, based on Maurice Valency’s adaptation of Jean Giraudoux’s The Madwoman of Chaillot, Dear World was a departure from the stories that Jerry Herman told in his previous musicals. Giraudoux’s play has its eccentricities and absurdities – and a bit of whimsy. Although it was a vehicle for the much-loved Angela Lansbury, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Countess Aurelia, Dear World has faded from memory. Unfortunate because Dear World is a musical with a point of view, comments on the human condition, and its score has its charms.

The plot of Dear World focuses on the Countess Aurelia, Madame Constance, and Madame Gabrielle who scheme to prevent a group of unscrupulous businessmen from drilling for oil in Chaillot, an elegant neighborhood of Paris. There is also the sub-plot of the young lovers, Nina and Julian, who are willing accomplices with the Countesses to prevent these corporatists from getting their greedy hands on the community of Chaillot. It is a simple tale of people speaking truth to the powerful corporate world, and transforming themselves into community organizers to fight the establishment. And this community is filled with true “characters” in every sense. 

The Madwoman of Chaillot is set in Paris in 1945 after France had been liberated from the Nazi occupation but with the French still suffering the aftereffects. Giraudoux used metaphors in his play to tell his tale. Giraudoux’s metaphors are reflected in Dear World where instead of the Nazis, we have President 1, President 2, and President 3 – and the Prospector – corporate types who wish to exploit the population. There is talk of oil derricks decorated with stained glass that would appear all over Paris in a year – and from the community the response would be the equivalent to the Eiffel Tower being inverted – somehow we may feel, in this day and age, that there is a monument in Washington DC that is also inverted which makes Dear World timely.

The York Theatre Company is presenting David Thompson’s new version of Dear World which is a chamber version rather the grander scale of the original Broadway production. This chamber version brings out the intimacy that Dear World needs to convey its message. Also this version keeps the score’s gems intact including I Don’t Want To Know, the title song, Kiss Her Now, Each Tomorrow Morning, I’ve Never Said I Love You, and in particular, And I Was Beautiful, enhanced by the glorious and touching performance of Tyne Daly in the role of the Countess Aurelia.

Also contributing to the success of this version of Dear World are Alison Fraser as Madame Constance, Ann Harada as Madame Gabrielle, Lenny Wolpe as The Sewerman, Erika Henningsen as Nina, and Hunter Ryan Herdlicka as Julian. All of these performances were genuine, well-acted – and well sung.

Musicals in Mufti’s concert version of Dear World is in the capable hands of director, Michael Montel, and the music in the capable hands of musical director, Christopher McGovern – with McGovern as the pianist, and Louis Tucci on bass and accordion.

At a time when it is difficult to be optimistic, Jerry Herman and Jean Giraudoux, have spoken to us in Dear World, and to remind us all that we can survive and all will correct itself in time – we just have to keep our “dear world” heading on a positive track. This all comes together in the wonderful performance of this concert version of Dear World being presented as part of the York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti Series.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812

Imperial Theatre

February 14, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

These days there are few musicals that can be described as innovative – and inventive – all in the same sentence. However, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, which has been presented in various off-Broadway settings, has reached Broadway and has changed the tone of Broadway and may perhaps, will do so for years to come. Imagination runs wild in this immersive theatrical experience with tongue in cheek humor, smiles, and flashes of light. There is audience participation and involvement in a story that might be considered obscure but connects on many different levels. Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 draws one in, and is stunning.

This musical is the creation of Dave Malloy, who has written the music, lyrics and the book, based on 70 pages from the epic novel, Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Cleverly fashioned by director Rachel Chavkin, and set in the scenic environment magnificently created by designer Mimi Lien, and lighting designer Bradley King, the audience has an immediate theatrical experience as it becomes part of this romantic, thrilling, and reckless story that takes place in 19th century Russia -- but is universal and of the moment.

The heroine of this story is young Countess Natasha Rostova who falls in love with the widowed Prince Andre Bolkonsky. One of the conditions for their marriage to take place provides that the Countess must be patient enough to wait one year. It is during that time period that her impatience and emotions take over, and she allows herself to be swept off her feet by the dashing and self-indulgent Anatole Kuragin. A scandal ensues but it is a family friend of the Rostovs, Pierre Bezukhov, who is the Rostovs’ hope in repairing Natasha’s and her family’s reputation.

Pierre is a young Russian aristocrat who is trying to find his purpose in life, and is trapped in a loveless marriage in which his wife, Helene Kuragina, is forward enough to be involved with a lover – an embarrassing scandal that he must suffer through himself.

This story is set against the background of the brink of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 – attempted by Napoleon because of the Russian Czar Alexander I’s refusal to participate in France’s trade embargo against the British. The Russian army retreated within Russia pillaging Russian cities and burning Moscow so as not to leave behind food for Napoleon’s troops – and thereby upsetting the Russian nobility.

At the same time Russian intellectuals were also fascinated by Napoleon’s progressive policies in Europe. In Tolstoy’s War and Peace, Pierre Bezukhov is one of those intellectuals who was mystified and in awe of Napoleon.  Yet ultimately the Napoleon’s Russian invasion would also expedite Napoleon’s fall from power only a few years later. 

It is how this romantic story is told that makes Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 animated and involving – and entertaining – beyond what one has seen in a Broadway musical in some years.

Malloy’s music is of a sung-through operatic style with arias revealing exposition and emotions – the actors are immediately placed among the audience members who are seated in cabaret-style at tables, banquettes, and in conventional theatre seats surrounded by walkways, ramps, catwalks, and period artwork. To accent it all is lots of red velvet, gold and brass, reflecting the style of Czar Alexander and the time period that the story unfolds in. This unconventional approach doesn’t consistently support the action of the piece, but you can’t help being involved with all that is surrounding you. The music, which encompasses many different styles, also surrounds you as the musicians are placed in different locations in this elaborately designed environment.

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 marks the Broadway debut of recording artist Josh Groban in the role of Pierre creating an inspired interpretation of a besotted and sympathetic character with an excellent singing voice to match. His rendition of “Dust and Ashes” reflects the sentimental nature and melancholic nature of Pierre, and stops the show – in a good way. Among his many foils are understudy Lauren Zakrin as Natasha, and understudy Josh Canfield as Anatole Kuragin who make a passionate and combustible pair.

However the entire cast of Brittain Ashford as Sonya Rostova, Gelsey Bell as Princess Mary Bolkonsky, Nicholas Belton in the dual role of the elder Prince Bolkonsky and the younger Prince Andre Bolkonsky, Nick Choksi as Fyodor Dolokhov, and the feisty Amber Gray as Helene Kuragina, also bring this exciting theatrical concept to life.

It is rare to have a fresh theatrical experience like the one Natasha, Pierre and the Great Come of 1812 provides, which is why one must experience this vibrant Broadway musical for oneself.

City Center Encores – Big River

City Center

February 12, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Continuing its mission to perform neglected Broadway musicals, and those that couldn’t be commercially produced on Broadway in these delicate economic times, City Center Encores presented a concert version of Big River from February 8-12, 2017.

Big River premiered on Broadway in 1985 and was notable because the score was composed by Roger Miller, then a well-known Country and Western singer and songwriter, and the musical was an adaptation of one of American literature’s best known and much loved novels, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. William Hauptman’s faithful book adaptation and Miller’s signature music, consisting of gospel, bluegrass, and Country and Western music, was a perfect match.

As an indication that Mark Twain’s ghost hovers over Big River, there was a sign over the City Center’s stage which quotes from Twain’s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – “Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot.” 

Big River focuses on the relationship of Huckleberry Finn (played by Nicholas Barasch), poor but practical, who found a large sum of money with his equally adventuresome friend Tom Sawyer. Finn has found himself under the protective guidance of his two adoptive mothers, Miss Watson (played by Annie Golden) and the Widow Douglas (played by Cass Morgan), who are attempting to assimilate him into civilized society.

When Finn’s father comes to claim him and his small “fortune” Finn fakes his own death and sets forth on his own adventure. He befriends a runaway slave, Jim (played by Kyle Sutcliffe), and they are to travel on a raft down the Mississippi, where they will catch a steam boat north where Jim  can find freedom in one of the Free states.

It is an expansive story as Finn and Jim come into contact with many different characters as they travel on the Mississippi. Among them are two con artists, Duke and King. These two characters draw Finn into some nefarious schemes and add a great deal of eccentric color to the proceedings.

As both the narrator and protagonist in Big River, Finn often breaks the fourth wall justifying and explaining how his misadventures and his mistakes can be transformed into moral choices.

This musical was groundbreaking because of the musical style that Roger Miller brought to Broadway. It is a score full of oddities and gems. Among the oddities is Hand for the Hog, sung by Tom Sawyer (given an excellent and playful rendition by Charlie Franklin), which is an ode to pigs, and the tuneful and melodic, Muddy Water, and River in the Rain, which are sung by Huck and Jim.

In this concert version directed by Lear de Bessonet, with choreography by Josh Rhodes, and musical direction by Rob Berman, the essence of this groundbreaking musical is captured. With the orchestra on stage – populated by a talented group and versatile group of musicians – and the suggestion of locale only represented in a projection of the Mississippi River – Twain’s story is told with its ambivalence and autobiographical associations.

It was the good fortune for City Center Encores audiences that this concert version of Big River was staged and performed with care. 

Beyond the excellent musical contributions to this performance, the superlative cast brought Big River to life. Nicholas Barasch gave a convincing and heart-warming performance as Huckleberry Finn, Kyle Scatliffe portrayed well the stoic runaway slave, Jim, and Christopher Sieber as the Duke and David Pittu as The King portrayed a pair of ne’er do wells that make mischief and move the story forward. Lauren Worsham lent her elegance to the role of Mary Jane Wilkes.

This was a wonderful opportunity to experience and embrace Big River, and its charm, as it is joyous, uplifting and stirring. 

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents A Farce, A Comedy of Tenors

Paper Mill Playhouse

February 11, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me Tenor had its Broadway premiere in 1989, a hilarious farce about an opera company in Cleveland coping with the antics of a temperamental Italian tenor – and the craziness that ensues behind the scenes of an opera company when things don’t go as planned. Ken Ludwig has written a hilarious sequel, A Comedy of Tenors, which had premiered in 2015 as a co-production of the Cleveland Playhouse and the McCarter Theatre -- and is playing at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey from February 1-26, 2017.

Rarely have sequels been written for successful plays – although William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew had its sequel, John Fletcher’s The Tamer Tamed – following Shrew by about 15 years. Many more years have separated Lend Me A Tenor and its sequel, A Comedy of Tenors, but in this instance no less laughs, and no less chaos. And you don’t have to have seen Lend Me A Tenor to enjoy its sequel.

Lend Me A Tenor took place in Cleveland, Ohio in 1934, and we now move forward two years to setting the scene in Paris where the action is taking place in a hotel suite (opulently designed by Michael Schweikardt) – racing through at breakneck speed with the cast of characters of three tenors, a wife, and a girlfriend, and in the background, a soccer stadium filled with screaming and over-enthusiastic fans.

The master of this circus is producer Henry Saunders (played by Michael Kostroff), who had been the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, and mayor of Cleveland, and is now in concert management. It is he who confronts one catastrophe after another in this funny Ken Ludwig farce, guided by the adept direction by Don Stephenson.

Italian tenor Tito Merelli (played by John Treacy Egan) is now facing competition from a younger American rival tenor, Carlos Nucci (played by Ryan Silverman). A Swedish tenor, Jussi Bjorling, has cancelled out of the concert of the century – a typical happenstance in the opera world and is the first shoe to drop. Tito believes his wife Maria (played by Judy Blazer) is having an affair with Carlo Nucci. But it is actually his daughter Mimi (played by Jill Paice), who is the object of Carlo’s affections. And then there is the glamorous Russian opera star Racon (played by Donna English) who is attempting to seduce Tito.

As problems and mistaken identities present themselves and all is falling like dominos, Saunders must rely on his son-in-law Max (played by David Josefberg) to save the day. While fulfilling his role being one of the tenors, he is also drafted to solve problems as the tenors cancel and then agree to participate in the concert – again – and keep all participants happy. In the midst of slamming doors and unexpected confrontations – rivalries amongst the tenors -- one can only expect the unexpected – and the question is answered whether Max uses his ingenuity to save this situation from catastrophe, and the show goes on.

The comedy takes flight at the beginning of A Comedy of Tenors with quotes from operas, typical stereotypes and a few surprises – and yes, there is singing and the curtain call is expertly choreographed.

Not only are some cast members in A Comedy of Tenors been members of the cast for the Paper Mill Playhouse’s production of Lend Me A Tenor, but also from the recent Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Producers.  These are actors who are expert farceurs.

Whether you are an opera fan – or not – you will enjoy A Comedy of Tenors – an excellent cure for the winter blues! 

ABT Studio Company and Royal Ballet School in Joint Performance

Skirball NYU Center

February 10, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

The ABT Studio Company and students from the Royal Ballet School gave a joint performance at the NYU Skirball Center on February 10th, 2017. These organizations have performed in joint presentations in the past here in New York City, and this was a welcome return for this special collaboration. 

These joint performances present a unique opportunity to see these young dancers in varied repertoire and to compare their training, experience, and development as artists.

The ABT Studio Company, now under the direction of Kate Lydon, is made up of 15 dancers. They were on display in works created specifically for the company.

Among them were Marcelo Gomes’ neo-classical work, Kabalevsky Violin Concerto, Dana Genshaft’s Chromatic Fantasy, a contemporary ballet choreographed to Dave Brubeck’s Chaconne from Chromatic Fantasy, and Ethan Stiefel’s See the Youth Advance!, choreographed to Beethoven’s 12 Variations on See the Conquering Hero Comes, which was a joint work commissioned for the ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School as part of last year’s annual exchange. Stiefel described this work as his Jane Austen ballet, which included formal and pastoral dances.

The Royal Ballet School is now under the direction of Christopher Powney, and the School’s students performed repertoire that was mostly drawn from the Royal Ballet’s repertoire.

Notably the students danced two works familiar to New York audiences from their performances by American Ballet Theatre in the past. Danced were the elegiac adagio duet from Kenneth MacMillan’s Concerto, and an excerpt from Frederick Ashton’s A Birthday Offering. Showcasing five of the School’s male students was an excerpt from Helgi Tomasson’s Concerto Grosso, a work not in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire.

The ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School students joined forces to dance in a world premiere by Liam Scarlett, choreographed to the third movement of Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 2.  Scarlett choreographed a contemporary ballet that was a showcase for both the ABT Studio Company’s dancers and the Royal Ballet School students.

The repertoire danced by the ABT Studio Company and the Royal Ballet School students was challenging and sophisticated.

These performances provide a vital performance experience for these young dancers, and also enable the audience to see these dancers in an appropriate showcase.

Ballet de Lorraine – Unknown Pleasures

Joyce Theater

February 8, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Ballet de Lorraine’s second program was performed on February 8, 2017, under the umbrella title of Unknown Pleasures. Unknown Pleasures is a recent addition to the company’s repertoire as it was given its world premiere at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London in October 2016.

It could be construed that the premise of Unknown Pleasures is a novelty or a challenge to the audience. In this 1 hour 15 minute intermission less program, five dances are performed. But the choreographers, the composers, and designers are not credited or named, and the pieces are untitled. All we know is that four women and one man are among the choreographers who range in age from their thirties to their seventies. 

It is a similar to a musician being placed behind a curtain while auditioning for an orchestra in order for the listeners not to be influenced by the musician’s sex or age. It also means that the audience is not viewing these pieces with any preconceptions and can enjoy them at their face value – without being cognizant of the choreographers’ experience or notoriety.

Is the theme for this program conceit or choreographers and other artists not being given credit for the work they have produced – or is the anonymity giving these choreographers complete artistic freedom to create works that would not be expected of them.

Unknown Pleasures opens without a curtain but only a wall with multicolored square panels which also closes the piece. This is one of several theatrical transitions that acted as links between each of the pieces. But for the most part Unknown Pleasures is performed on a bare stage with the pieces distinguished by different choreographic styles, music used in different fashions, as well as pre-proscribed costuming and lighting.

What all of the pieces had in common was a sense of spontaneity, repetitive movement – choreography responding to vocals, spoken word, music, and silence, and an emphasis on ensembles. Also there wasn’t a pointe shoe in sight – and all of the choreography was insightful.

Because of the familiarity of the music, the section of Unknown Pleasures that had the most impact was the section choreographed to Ravel’s Bolero. This section opens with a bare stage with dancers making their entrances one at a time, and then creating a steady stream of dancers criss-crossing the stage. Two dancers – one male and one female – have a confrontational duet and tape off a section of the stage where they find sanctuary and some privacy.

In all Ballet de Lorraine’s Unknown Pleasures is a choreographic mystery that has many layers to reveal and the audience can participate in how the mystery unravels, and also pick their favorites of the pieces that are presented. Also Unknown Pleasures incorporates all of the company’s dancers – a wonderful showcase for them.

During its New York engagement Ballet de Lorraine has presented two provocative dance programs that are worth an audience’s attention. 

Ballet de Lorraine in American Debut

Joyce Theater

February 7, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Making its American debut, the 26-member Centre Choreographique National – Ballet de Lorraine has included an engagement at the Joyce Theater from February 7-12, 2017 as part of its American tour. 

Ballet de Lorraine was first established in Amien, France in 1968 and was permanently relocated to Nancy, France in 1978. In 1999 the company was given the Centre Choreographique National (CCN) designation and its aesthetic supports contemporary choreographic creations and acquisitions. Repertoire represents a hybrid of all dance styles requiring the dancers to be versatile. 

Since 2011, Ballet de Lorraine has been directed by former Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet principal dancer, Petter Jacobsson, and the repertoire danced by the company during this engagement represents his artistic stamp influenced by his dancing career and also as artistic director of the Royal Swedish Ballet, a position he held before becoming Ballet de Lorraine’s artistic director. This engagement includes two different programs including works created for the company, and a work created by one of the masters of modern dance.

This first of two programs, which was performed on February 7, 2017, included Devoted, co-choreographed by Cecilia Bengolea and Francois Chaignaud. She Argentinean and he being French have collaborated as choreographers since 2005. This piece was choreographed to music by Philip Glass.

Devoted is one of the pieces in which the ladies dance in pointe shoes and the choreography emphasizes spinning and turning, dancers moving backward, and random movements. The all-female cast of Amandine Biancherin, Agnes Boulanger, Pauline Colemand, Laure Lescoffy, Sakiko Oishi, Marion Rastouil, Elsa Raymonda, Elisa Ribes, and Ligia Saldanha contribute to the work’s building crescendo. Light defines space on the stage, and this combination of light and the sounds of the music are similar in spirit to the works of William Forsythe.

Alban Richard’s HOK solo pour ensemble was choreographed to music by Louis Andriesen. Richard is the artistic director of the Centre Choreographique National de Caen in France. Richard’s choreographic aesthetic is similar to that of Cecilia Bengolea and Francois Chaignaud in which the choreography is at the forefront, and repetitive movement is used to build up to a fever pitch. The emphasis is on the movement of groups of dancers focusing on arms and hand movements – a hybrid of informality and formality.

This work was created for Ballet de Lorraine in 2015 and was danced by a cast of both male and female dancers which included Amandine Biancherin, Pauline Colemard, Laure Lescoffy, Valerie Ly-Cuong, Sakiko Oishi, Marion Rastouil, Ligia Saldanha, Matthieu Chayrigues, Charles Dalerci, Tristan Ihne, Yoann Rifosta, and Luc Verbitzky.

This program closed with Merce Cunningham’s 1975 iconic work, Sounddance, a work described as organized chaos, choreographed to a score by David Tudor, with a stage space decorated by a gold plush curtain designed by artist Mark Lancaster.

Notable in Sounddance is Cunningham’s simple movement which looks improvised but one can see how the movement has a blueprint – dancers forming groups and groups being disbanded – and although not having a beginning, middle, and an end, one feels that Sounddance is framed. Framed also in part by the decorative drapery in the rear of the stage.

The cast of Amandine Biancherin, Agnes Boulanger, Valerie Ly-Cuong, Sakiko Oishi, Marion Rastouil, Jonathan Archambault, Matthieu Chayrigues, Justin Cumine, Tristan Ihne, and Yoann Rifosta emphasized how the dancers of Ballet de Lorraine easily adapt themselves to the styles of the choreographers represented on this program.

Ballet de Lorraine presents its own prospective on contemporary choreography of the day – and all with a French flair.

Musicals in Mufti – Milk and Honey

York Theatre Company

January 29, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Among its many missions, the York Theater Company presents neglected Broadway musicals in concert format in its series, Musicals in Mufti. These concert versions are simply staged with only piano accompaniment, and the actors reading from scripts. In spite of the back to basics nature of these presentations, Musicals in Mufti creates an intimate atmosphere affording the opportunity for one to experience the wonderful scores of these musicals.

Jerry Herman will be represented on Broadway this season with a major revival of Hello, Dolly! with Bette Midler, and enhancing Herman’s presence this season Musicals in Mufti will be presenting two of Jerry Herman’s musicals in concert form.

The first of these two Jerry Herman’s musicals is Milk and Honey, Herman’s first Broadway musical and his first hit, with a book by Don Appell, which had opened on Broadway in 1961. Starring the imitable Molly Picon, Mimi Benzell, Robert Weede, and Tommy Rall (with Hermione Gingold taking over for Picon during its Broadway run), Milk and Honey’s Broadway engagement lasted 543 performances. Musicals in Mufti is presenting this concert version of Milk and Honey from January 28 through February 5, 2017.

The plot is typical of the innocents abroad plots one has seen and known about in films and theatre. In this instance a group of Jewish-American widows tour Israel hoping to find romance at the time when Israel was establishing itself as an independent nation. This was not a religious pilgrimage but an experience abroad for these ladies to rediscover themselves.

Taking place in 1961, Israel is barely 13 years old as a nation, and it is only 16 years after the end of World War II. Program notes indicate that Don Appell might have been inspired to create “the Israeli Oklahoma”. If nothing else Milk and Honey reflects the pioneering spirit of native Israelis and those who immigrated to Israel to build this Jewish homeland, and Milk and Honey exudes an overabundance of optimism. Israel is a land where anything can happen, and a land of new beginnings. Also unique is that Milk and Honey’s story focuses on a middle age romance.

Milk and Honey’s primary protagonists are Ruth and Phil who meet in Israel, and fall in love. This relationship has its complications. Although Phil has long been estranged from his wife, he is not divorced. Their future together hangs in the balance as both of them must decide if this relationship has a future or not. Phil’s daughter Barbara now lives in Israel with her Israeli husband, David, and their marriage is having its difficult moments. And then there is Clara Weiss, who finds love with a diamond dealer, and decides to remain in Israel. It is an open question as to whether Ruth and Phil have the same happy ending.

Milk and Honey’s story is timely and compelling. Then there is Jerry Herman’s score which reflects the optimism he is known for as well as hummable melodies and clever lyrics. Besides the well-known Shalom, other gems in the score are, the title song, Milk and Honey, There’s No Reason in the World, Let’s Not Waste A Moment, I Will Follow You, and the comic turns of Chin Up, Ladies, and Hymn to Hymie.

With the piano accompaniment by musical director Jeffrey Saver, and Michael Unger’s caring direction – which incorporates audience participation -- Musicals in Mufti’s concert version of Milk and Honey is further enhanced by an excellent cast. Anne Runolfsson as Ruth, and Mark Delevan as Phil bring much to illuminate what this relationship could be and bring their fantastic voices to sing Jerry Herman’s music. Also in Alix Korey as Clara Weiss (the role created by Molly Picon) you have a perfect representation of what this character would be like – well-sung and adept at comic turns. She is the interfering Yente – but yet lovable. They lead an excellent ensemble cast.

Perhaps Milk and Honey would be seen through our more sophisticated eyes of the 21st century as rather innocent and apolitical. It is perhaps for those reasons that a full-fledged revival might not be possible even though it has a score that is most worthwhile listening to. All the more reason why audiences should see this excellent concert version being presented by the York Theatre Company. It is an opportunity to hear and experience a treasure.

Bolshoi Ballet Dances The Sleeping Beauty

January 22, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Fathom Events continued its series of cinema screenings of the Bolshoi Ballet when on January 22, 2017 it presented the Bolshoi Ballet dancing The Sleeping Beauty. It was in 2011 that Fathom Events last presented the Bolshoi Ballet in a cinema screening of The Sleeping Beauty, dancing this revised production by Yuri Grigorovitch, with opulent costumes designed by Franca Squarciapino, and scenery designed by Ezio Frigero, and utilizing all of the resources that the Bolshoi Ballet and the Bolshoi Theatre can offer.

Such is the nature of the continuity of live screenings by the Bolshoi Ballet that the 19th century classics and performances of them will repeat themselves – but what is rewarding is to see a new generation of dancers taking up the challenges of these important roles in the 19th century repertoire. The Sleeping Beauty represents the paradigm of a grand ballet requiring a large cast of dancers, and includes many opportunities for the dancers to shine.

Most of the productions of the 19th century classics that the Bolshoi Ballet currently performs have been staged and choreographed by Yuri Grigorovitch – and many of those productions are conceived through the prism of a choreographer rather than aiming for a pure reproduction of a classic. However in the instance of The Sleeping Beauty Grigorovitch created a reverential production of this classic ballet. He has also masterfully compressed the ballet into two parts and tells the story expeditiously without losing any important details. There are children among the dancers in the Act I Waltz, and Grigorovitch has choreographed a virtuoso solo for Prince Desire at the beginning of Act II – such are the details that make this production worthy of repeated viewings.

In bringing this ballet to its world premiere in the 19th century, The Sleeping Beauty was a collaborative effort between composer Tchaikovsky and the ballet’s original choreographer, Marius Petipa, complete with spectacle, and an homage to the trappings of monarchy. “Grand” would be the operative word in terms of how a performance of The Sleeping Beauty should be danced, and in this instance the Bolshoi Ballet succeeded.

Dancing in this performance were Olga Smirnova as Princess Aurora and Semyon Chudin as Prince Desire who shined in these principal roles as did Yulia Stepanova as the Lilac Fairy, and Anastasia Denisova as Princess Florine and Artemy Belyakov as the Bluebird in the Bluebird Pas de Deux. Seamless dancing, classical elegance, and technical assurance are descriptions of all of these dancers’ performances.

However just as notable were the dancers dancing the Jewel Fairies including Margarita Shrainer as the Diamond Fairy, Xenia Zhiganshina as the Sapphire Fairy, Victoria Yakusheva as the Gold Fairy, and Yanina Parienko as the Silver Fairy. Grigorovitch’s production also offers a cavalcade of fairy tale characters in the Act III Wedding Scene including that of Little Red Riding Hood and the Grey Wolf, Puss in Boots and the White Pussycat, and Cinderella and Prince Fortune. Not often seen danced as these variations are often cut from modern day productions of The Sleeping Beauty.

Enhancing this production of The Sleeping Beauty on stage were the Bolshoi Ballet’s brilliant character dancers, Alexei Loparevich as Carabosse, and Vitaly Biktimirov as Catalabutte.

Also a marvel to listen to the Bolshoi Theatre’s orchestra play Tchaikovsky’s score as it should be played with crisp musical tempi. The music was composed for dancing and with Pavel Sorokin as conductor, the music was not sacrificed at this performance.

Kinky Boots Raises Your Spirits

January 10, 2017

Al Hirschfeld Theatre

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

Based on the British film of the same name, the Tony Award-winning musical – and international hit -- Kinky Boots, is a modern fable in which an unlikely pair of every day heroes join forces to save a shoe factory in Northampton, England. Not a story that one would think would make an entertaining and heart-warming musical, but Kinky Boots succeeds on all fronts.

Based on the 2005 British film by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Kinky Boots’ story focuses on Charlie Price, who has inherited his father’s business enterprise, and entertainer Lola, who helps Charlie to save his father’s legacy, a shoe factory, and the jobs of the factory employees.

Charlie finds himself in the uncomfortable and unenviable position of having to return to Northampton to take over his father’s business. He is torn by his career in London and his fiancée, Nicola, who longs for a high-powered business career. Charlie’s meeting with entertainer Lola is pure happenstance as they meet after he gets assaulted trying to stave off thugs that are assaulting Lola on a London street. Although their relationship is a mix of fire and ice, Charlie realizes that Lola’s need for “kinky boots” is what might save his father’s shoe factory – and Lola pitches in to design them – and you have alchemy that is unpredictable, and ultimately convivial. Also it is a story of overcoming one’s fears and acceptance.

This bromance of sorts evolves as both discover how they can earn respect for themselves while at the same time resolving their distant relationships they had with their fathers. 

The combination of forces, Cyndi Lauper’s music and Harvey Fierstein’s adaption, is involving and uplifts your spirits as guided by Jerry Mitchell as both director and choreographer. Mitchell’s choreography is the pulse of Kinky Boots – with particular inventiveness exhibited in his dance sequence on an assembly conveyor belt.

Scenery designer David Rockwell has created a theatrical playground for Kinky Boots’ story to be told in.

Kinky Boots doesn’t miss a beat with its high level of energy and the performances of its cast.

Killian Donnelly is an Irish actor who has played the role of Charlie Price in the London production of Kinky Boots – and was nominated for the Olivier Award for his performance -- and gives authenticity to this role. His awkwardness, his excellent comic timing, and everyman portrayal explains Charlie Price’s inner conflict – and he is also an excellent singer and interpreter of Cyndi Lauper’s music.

Any actor who plays the role of Lola is going to steal the scenes in which he appears in, and understudy Stephane Duret did just that. Duret’s Lola is commanding yet also vulnerable. Haven Burton also provides an eccentric and quirky interpretation of Lauren – making The History of Wrong Guys a showstopper -- and Shannon O’Boyle’s Nicola is steadfast and ambitious.

There is also the animated and committed ensemble which breathes life into Kinky Boots. Every audience member feels like they have been invited to a party given by intimate friends.

Kinky Boots’ energetic finale is Raise You Up – an element of the life-force that Kinky Boots is and inspires one to be passionate about anything one endeavors to take on -- and it is a tonic that cures the blues of everyday life.

Mark Felt, Superstar

York Theatre Company At St. Peter’s

January 8, 2017

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

As part of its continuing efforts to develop new musicals, the York Theatre Company is presenting the limited engagement of the New2NY presentation of a new musical, Mark Felt, Superstar, the sole effort of Joshua Rosenblum, a self-confessed political junkie, who has composed the score and written the book for this musical. The York Theatre Company is presenting Mark Felt, Superstar from January 7-15, 2017.

Mark Felt, Superstar was inspired by the No. 2 person in the FBI, Mark Felt, who in 2005 revealed that he had been Deep Throat, the source cultivated by Washington Post investigative journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, in their reporting on President Richard Nixon and his involvement in the Watergate Scandal. Felt’s motives for his actions have been debated. In Mark Felt Superstar, Felt is revealed as someone who didn’t feel he was revealing secrets but was only confirming the facts as they were. 

This is a cautionary tale, filled with the conflicts influencing the principal players in the Watergate Scandal – none of whom were saints – and the personal struggles of Mark Felt, as he wrestled with his decision to be the anonymous source in one of the greatest scandals in American political history. Mark Felt, Superstar grapples with the moral dilemma as to whether Felt was a whistleblower who was putting his country first or whether his actions were in retaliation for failing to receive the recognition he felt he deserved for his government service as he was overlooked on several occasions for promotion. As presented in Mark Felt, Superstar, Felt’s motivations were in gratitude to his long-suffering wife, Audrey, who saw him as her White Knight.

As has been described by political and social commentators we are living in the post-truth era, and history tends to repeat itself, a re-examination of the Watergate Scandal, and Felt’s involvement in it, deserves to be seen in the light of day – and in this instance in an entertaining manner that has the ingredients to make Mark Felt, Superstar a provocative musical – and perhaps there will be an opportunity for more work to be done on it so its artistic promise can be fulfilled.

The story is told with the help of five hard-working actors who play multiple parts with a score that runs the gamut from jazz to traditional Broadway music. There is a great deal of the tongue-in-cheek approach in how the story of Mark Felt unfolds which examines the motives of the real-life cast of characters involved in this scandal and the uncovering of the scandal – with all of its ambiguities and conflicting loyalties.

Political satire has an important place in the arts world, and Mark Felt, Superstar deserves to be seen for that reason.

Annette Jolles has directed Mark Felt, Superstar with precision. Neal Mayer portrays Mark Felt to reveal all of Felt’s personal conflicts and his uneasiness in being portrayed as a hero or traitor. The remainder of the cast Will Erat, Vanessa Lemonides, Peter Benson, and Michael McCoy play multiple roles which are elucidated with the use of photographs of the characters they are portraying. All of the cast members bring a great deal to these characters which could be developed further in a revised production.

Only 90 minutes in length Mark Felt, Superstar has punch, is provocative, and is worth sampling.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

January 5, 2017

Stephen Sondheim Theatre

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2017

It seems Carole King has always been in our consciousness as her songs have become the soundtrack of our lives. We remember a Carole King song when we have had our life’s ups and downs – and especially when life was unpleasant, Carole King’s music has made it much easier to cope and enjoy our lives.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical tells the story of songwriter, Carole King, on her own and as part of a songwriting team with her husband, Gerry Goffin, and her relationship with her colleagues and best friends, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, leading up to her success as a solo performing artist.

Book writer, Douglas McGrath, tells a powerful story as Carole King’s life is presented here as a bio musical that reflects the struggles King faced in getting her talents recognized, and the personal challenges she had to face in her life. Among the challenges were starting her career at 16 year of age, and later in life when her marriage was falling apart due to the mental instability of her husband, Gerry Goffin. She broke the glass ceiling many times during her career, and has left us a lasting musical legacy.

King’s story is the story of American pop music of the 1960’s with composers working in the Brill Building in New York City – composing and promoting their music – and performed by the rising recording artists and singing groups of the time.

With a score that is the song list that has become an integral part of American culture – including King’s classic songs among them – A Natural Woman, and It’s Too Late – and compositions by the remarkable team of Weil and Mann including You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling – it is impossible to choose a favorite as these songs are the tapestry of our own lives. And they are performed by an incredible group of actor/singers, and a talented ensemble.

The audience is given an inside look at the process of songwriting – real people, talented people – with this musical bringing these real people to life – their anxieties and self-deprecating humor along the way. Carole King’s story is that of a survivor – and a journey worth taking.

Director Marc Bruni and choreographer Josh Prince have paced King’s story swiftly and energetically savoring the many moments to appreciate King’s music.

Canadian Chilina Kennedy is compelling, bringing warmth and humor to her performance as Carole King – exuding confidence when King rises to the occasion. Original cast member Jake Epstein gives a commanding performance as Gerry Goffin, a challenge because Goffin is not a sympathetic character in King’s life. Jessica Keenan Wynn as Cynthia Weil, and Ben Jacoby as Barry Mann provide the comic relief – but also illuminate the camaraderie of the song writers of this time when all were struggling to achieve success in the music business.

Also notable were original cast member Liz Larsen as Genie Klein, and Paul Anthony Stewart as Don Kirshner – and the multi-talented members of the ensemble who play multiple roles.

Beautiful opened in 2014 and continues to energize its audience. And the cast embraces the audience. Take the journey – it will entertain and inspire you. 

Life Is For Living Conversations with Coward

59E59 Theaters

December 17, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Yvonne Arnaud Theatre of Guildford is presenting a unique cabaret evening, Life Is For Living Conversations with Coward, performed by West End star Simon Green, at the 59E59 Theaters. This is a refreshing 70 minutes of song and observations of life that celebrates Noel Coward -- a renaissance man of the theatre – an actor, playwright, and director -- and also a prolific song writer.  

Coward’s roots were what he described as “genteel poverty”, and his career in the theatre was launched first as a child actor. He had his hand in every aspect of theatre, and also worked in the film industry.

Coward’s most productive period was in 1930’s and his contributions have drifted in and out of fashion in predictable cycles. Although Coward’s plays are revived on a regular basis in New York, there are fewer opportunities to hear his music. Particularly to hear his music interpreted with the required insight into the time period when Noel Coward was observing the pretention and flaws of the people in society that surrounded him – the frosting on the cake is Coward’s dry martini wit.

One could not find a better interpreter of Coward’s songs than Simon Green, who has extensive credits on the London stage, and who has also performed in cabaret.

Life Is For Living has been created by Green and Green’s accomplished accompanist, David Shrubsole, with additional research by Jason Morell. Simon Green takes command in interpreting Noel Coward’s iconic songs – with his own twist – and a great deal of new Coward material – and songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, and Ivor Novello thrown in. 

There were the expected Coward classics including “What’s Going To Happen to the Tots", “London Pride”, “I Travel Alone”, “I Went to a Marvelous Party”, and “Sail Away”. Green’s performance of “London Pride” was both nostalgic and inspiring. But also included were Coward’s lesser known songs among them “Later Than Spring”, “Don’t Turn Away From Love”, and "There’s No More To Say About Love”. However research produced a trunk full of Coward’s verses – some of them expertly set to music by David Shrubsole – and others spoken. Among the notable new collaborations included in Life Is For Living were “Co-Communists” and “Do I Believe”.

This was a performance of unexpected pleasures and discoveries tied up into a gift package – not what one would expect in a cabaret performance in tribute to Coward.

Coward’s songs are timely and universal – especially potent in these unexpected and bewildering times. In so doing, Simon Green achieves Coward’s self-attribution of having a talent to amuse. Life Is For Living Conversations with Coward is a cure for the holiday blues.

Life Is For Living runs until January 1, 2017 – and it would be wise to include it in your holiday celebrations. 

Allegiance, the Broadway Musical

December 13, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

In its continuing commitment to present cinema screenings of theater presentations, Fathom Events sponsored the cinema screening of the Broadway musical, Allegiance on December 13, 2016. Allegiance had been given its world premiere at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California in 2012, and had its Broadway premiere at the Longacre Theatre in November 2015. In this cinema screening Allegiance was presented with its original Broadway cast in its original Broadway production as filmed in January 2016.

Allegiance, with a score by Jay Kuo, and book by Kuo, Marc Acito, and Lorenzo Thione, is the mode for this collaborative team to chronicle aspects of actor George Takei’s family experiences in Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II – a tragedy of great import, and not as familiar to the American public as it should be. It is an account of history that needs to be told especially when racism and the fear of immigrants recur in American society.

More than 120,000 Japanese and Japanese-American citizens were imprisoned during World War II – all from the Pacific Coast – who were feared as security risks. President Roosevelt signed an executive order in 1942 ordering these relocations, and they were housed in Spartan barracks in remote areas of seven Western states. Although there were schools for the children, and the intent had been for these camps to be self-sustaining by farming its own food, those living in these camps had a hard life – and a life that was much more frustrating when their efforts to get redress from the U.S. Government were thwarted. The obvious question is how this could happen in America.

In Allegiance, the story of the Kimura Family is traced in the weeks and years after the attack on Pearl Harbor as family members are forced to relocate from their farm in Salinas, California to the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming. The story focuses on the discord within the Kimura Family but is also a compelling history lesson that is presented in an entertaining manner.

Families are divided. Their family and political loyalties are tested. The character of these people is tested with some people rising to the occasion and others that are not. Also the pride and prejudice of individuals in this thought-provoking story complicate matters for themselves as individuals, and also for their families. Some people are shamed, and some people regret the choices that they have made.

On first glance one sees Allegiance as an anomaly simply because it is a Broadway musical about a dark incident in American history effecting thousands of Asians – and performed by a predominantly Asian cast. However Allegiance reflects universal themes begging for tolerance, and a need to assert that nothing like this will happen again – as history tends to repeat itself.

Allegiance’s score is filled with soaring ballads and anthems – the music and lyrics serving the story and stirring the emotions -- which are passionately sung and interpreted by a very talented cast.

Takei himself plays two roles in Allegiance – Ojii San the wise-old grandfather of young Sam Kimura played by Telly Leung, and Kei, Sammy’s sister, played by Lea Salonga, and then later portraying an older Sam Kimura looking back on the horrible and degrading series of events that his family experienced. All of these actors command the stage as they tell their story – a story begging for thought and compassion. There are no better actors to accomplish this important task.

They along with Katie Rose Clark as Hannah Campbell, Michael K. Lee as Frankie Suzuki, Christopheren Nomura as Tasuo Kimura, and Greg Watanabe as Mike Mosaoka are committed to telling Allegiance’s story – a story that needs to be passed down to the descendants of those interned but also to inform a wider audience of Americans – and for that matter to a world audience.

Directed by Stafford Arima, and Andrew Palermo as choreographer, the narrative of Allegiance is told in eloquent style without being a history lesson.

As Allegiance was destined for a short Broadway engagement, it is a saving grace that Fathom Events presented this cinema screening to make it possible for a wider audience to see this very important piece of musical theatre, and experience the compelling story that it tells.

Paper Mill Playhouse Presents North American Premiere of The Bodyguard

Paper Mill Playhouse

December 10, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

In the past few years the Paper Mill Playhouse has become the launching pad for several musicals that have had Broadway aspirations, and others that have toured the United States and Canada. Among last season’s presentations, A Bronx Tale has already opened on Broadway, and The Bandstand will open on Broadway in the spring.

From November 25, 2016 through January 1, 2017, the Paper Mill Playhouse is the place to be in order to see the North American premiere of The Bodyguard, a musical based on the popular film that starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. These performances comprise what is the first engagement of The Bodyguard’s national tour.

With a book by Alexander Dinelaris and a score that is a compilation of Whitney Houston’s hit recordings, director Thea Sharrock has transformed the story of The Bodyguard into an involving  and power house stage musical, which received its premiere in London in 2012. 

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Warner Brothers film, Sharrock has fashioned this musical in a cinematic style.  The plot and its twists are represented in short scenes and Whitney Houston’s hit recordings are interwoven into the story and are also presented in concert style performances.

The audience was treated to a performance by understudy Jasmin Richardson  in place of Deborah Cox, playing the role of superstar recording artist Rachel Marron, and Judson Mills is Frank Farmer, an understated former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, who is employed to protect Marron from a mysterious and cunning stalker. 

Initially Farmer is reluctant to take on this assignment as he sees Marron as a spoiled celebrity. Ultimately Farmer takes on the assignment because of his concerns for Fletcher, Marron’s 10-year-old son. 

The superstar/bodyguard relationship has produced romances in the world of Hollywood and on the concert scene. Therefore this plot line is not unique. The Bodyguard opens with a gunshot and you feel like you have been shot out of a canon because of the energy that is generated from the stage.

That opening sets the tone for what is yet to happen. Marron and Farmer fall in love as they dodge threats and life-threatening incidents – with their romance complicated by Rachel’s sister, Nikki (effectively played by understudy Emily Jenda), who has her own designs on Farmer. 

The story has all of the elements of an action film and mystery thriller. But it is the outstanding performances by Richardson and Mills (who plays Frank Farmer as a hybrid of Kevin Costner and James Bond), and the other very talented cast that enhance the characters in the story, who provide the sparks in The Bodyguard. 

If you are a fan of Whitney Houston’s song catalogue the live performances of these memorable songs provide the pulse of The Bodyguard. The songs from Whitney Houston’s catalogue include One Moment in Time, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, I Will Always Love You, So Emotional, Saving All My Love For You, and All At Once – many of them deriving their performance energy from Karen Bruce’s choreography.

Although The Bodyguard’s story focuses on Rachel Marron, her sister Nikki, and Frank Farmer, the supporting cast provides the major portion of connecting plot tissue. Jorge Paniagua plays the unnamed stalker with cunning and cool. The remaining characters are members of Marron’s entourage including Alex Corrado as Tony Scibelli, Rachel Marron’s personal security guard, Charles Gray as manager Bill Devaney, and Jonathan Hadley as publicist Sy Spector -- and there is also the stand out performance by Douglas Baideo in the role of Rachel’s son, Fletcher.

Tim Hatley has created scenery and costumes that fit the themes and environment of this musical with atmospheric lighting designs by Mark Henderson, and video design by Duncan McLean.

The Bodyguard ends with a concert-style finale which takes advantage of the audience’s pent-up enthusiasm to get up and dance. The Bodyguard is an entertaining and engaging musical, possessing Las Vegas pizzazz and razzle dazzle, and the applause machine finale is worth the price of admission. These are among the many reasons to take the time to see and experience The Bodyguard at the Paper Mill Playhouse before it sets off on its national tour.

Dance Conservatory of New York’s The Nutcracker Winter Suite

Symphony Space

December 3, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

Valentina Kozlova’s Dance Conservatory of New York presented its annual The Nutcracker Winter Suite at Symphony Space on December 3, 2016. Featuring talented students studying at the Dance Conservatory of New York, it is a measure of the development of these students after they have completed another year of training under Kozlova’s guidance.

The Nutcracker Winter Suite was choreographed and staged by Margo Sappington, Valentina Kozlova, and Vitaly Verterich with the Arabian Dance choreographed by Victoria Rinaldi. The Nutcracker Winter Suite featured The Nutcracker’s Snow Scene and the divertissements from Act II of the ballet. The new character of the Christmas Star ties all of the dancing together as well as a bit of narrative with great vitality. Condensed to a running time of a little over an hour, this allows audience members to focus in on the dancing.

Jack Furlong of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo joined the students of the Valentina Kozlova Dance Conservatory of New York as the participants in this year’s performance.

Nikita Boris and Justin Valentine, who were awarded positions to study at the Vaganova Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia in the past year, danced the principal roles in the Grand Pas de Deux. This was an elegant and commanding performance with both of these student dancers developing into artists and improving their stage presence.

This performance was enhanced by the spirited and committed students eager to please their teachers and the audience. These students are the art form’s future, and need to be supported. The audience clearly supported these students’ efforts.

The Valentina Kozlova International Ballet Competition will take place at Symphony Space from June 5-10, 2017. 

A Bronx Tale The Musical

Longacre Theatre

December 1, 2016

 By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

A Bronx Tale The Musical made its Broadway debut on December 1, 2016 at the Longacre Theatre after a successful pre-Broadway tryout at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey earlier this year.

Inspired by a one-man show written and performed by Chazz Palminteri in Los Angeles in 1988, and off-Broadway in 1989, A Bronx Tale is Palminteri’s reminiscences about his childhood and young adulthood -- living in an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx in the 1960’s in an atmosphere of racial conflicts and tensions, and organized crime. Palminteri’s one-man show was adapted for the screen in 1993 with Robert De Niro making his debut as a film director.

A Bronx Tale focuses on Calogero, who is torn between the two men he idolizes – both with their faults and both with redeeming qualities that made him the man he was to become. It is the older Calogero, in a breakthrough performance by Bobby Conte Thornton, who tells his story as a narrator and participant. One sees a younger Calogero questioning his bus driver father Lorenzo, who is a product of the school of hard knocks and espouses a forthright path, and is easily impressed by a local mob boss, Sonny who preaches a different path to success. 

C, as Calogero is dubbed by Sonny and referred to by his friends, also has an infatuation with Jane, a young black woman – an interracial relationship that also tests Calogero through his rite of passage to adulthood. This relationship proves to be a fleeting moment in Calogero’s life, but this relationship has its impact as an important life lesson.

The question is whether Calogero’s loss of innocence will translate into a successful life outside of the neighborhood or whether the neighborhood’s negative influences will scar him forever.

In spite of the harsh realities that are presented in A Bronx Tale, it is also sentimental. There are heart of gold characters who point out the consequences of Calogero’s choices, and guide him in the right direction. As communicated in the A Bronx Tale’s finale, fundamentally we benefit or don’t benefit from the choices we make.

This musical adaptation has been faithfully and successfully created by composer Alan Menken and lyric writer Glenn Slater with a book adapted by Chazz Palminteri. These collaborators have written a cogent sequence of events with the music enhancing the plot line in this musical.  There are musical moments that remind one of The Jersey Boys, and West Side Story, but the score offers the musical styles of the period and is unique on its own. Sonny’s advice to Calogero, in regard to his romantic relationships in “One of the Great Ones”, is one of the more disarming moments in A Bronx Tale. A wonderful integration of song and book dialogue that one doesn’t see enough of on the Broadway stage.

Co-directed by Robert de Niro and Jerry Zaks, A Bronx Tale has its moments of sentiment, but reveals itself quickly – heightened by the swift-paced choreography by Sergio Trujillo.

The atmosphere has also been cleverly created by scenery designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer William Ivey Long, and lighting designer Howell Binkley.

The performances by the principal actors produce the sparks in A Bronx Tale – particularly Nick Cordero giving a virtuoso performance as mob leader Sonny, and the appealing performances of Richard H. Blake as Lorenzo, Bobby Conte Thornton as the older Calogero, and Ariana DeBose as Jane, Lucia Giannetta as Calogero’s mother, and Hudson Loverro as the younger Calogero.

A Bronx Tale is uplifting and entertaining, and a welcome addition to the Broadway season.

Kenneth Branagh in The Entertainer

Symphony Space

November 25, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company has presented a series of plays at the Garrick Theatre in London for the past year – a wide range of theatrical literature some of which Branagh has starred in. Shadowing Laurence Olivier’s career, Branagh takes on another one of Olivier’s signature roles that of Archie Rice in John Osborne’s The Entertainer, a performance that was fortunately seen in this part of the world in a cinema screening at Symphony Space on November 25, 2016.

Osborne’s The Entertainer had its premiere at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1957, and in 1958 was seen in New York. It was written as a vehicle for legendary stage and screen star, Laurence Olivier. The play takes place in 1956 when political tensions were at its highest at the time of the Suez Canal conflict.

The focal point of the play is Archie Rice, a member of a British vaudevillian family, an angry middle-aged man, and a failing music hall performer. He is now reduced to being the filler between strip tease acts, while also being the patriarch of a family in emotional turmoil, and economic stress. Archie Rice is caught up in the dying atmosphere of the British music hall which is translated into a metaphor for the decline of the British Empire. Rice’s music hall routines are tinged with fragments that describe a crumbling nation.

The British music hall tradition had its roots in musical clubs in taverns and coffee houses, and in Britain’s Victorian era, the first music halls were built. Charles Dickens often attended music hall performances, and such comedic legends as Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin began their careers in these music halls. However in the 1950’s this form of entertainment disappeared due to the competition from television.

The Entertainer depicts the Great Britain of the 1950’s during which the population was still on food rationing until 1954, and Tory politics mirrored the decline of Great Britain as an imperial power. It was also a time when the class system was a fixation, and one’s future might be pre-determined as there wasn’t much opportunity for upward mobility.

Archie Rice’s family weathers its crisis in this atmosphere. Daughter Jean (played by Sophie McShera) has broken up with her fiancé; son Frank (played by Jonah Hauer-King) had been imprisoned for not joining the military service, and another son, Mick (unseen in the play), and in the military service, is captured and taken as a prisoner. Then there is the peculiar and confrontational relationship between Archie and his wife (played by Greta Scacchi), and the constant figure of Archie’s father, Billy Rice (played by Gawn Grainger) who longs for the old days, but also attempts to be the mediator in solving the recurring differences among members of this dysfunctional family.

This production of The Entertainer has been directed by Rob Ashford, who has chosen to give The Entertainer a veneer of razzle dazzle and presents Archie Rice’s songs and patter as interludes in a continuum.

The heightened confrontational moments in The Entertainer are depicted in scenes typical of a kitchen sink family drama. Family relationships are crumbling against the landscape of Europe soon after World War II, a time for economic and political revival in some parts of the world, but in Europe there was struggle on all fronts.

Branagh lives in the skin of Archie Rice – and even executes Rice’s song and dance routines with skill – and slowly transforms into the shell of a man that Rice has become. Greta Scacchi sympathetically plays Rice’s wife, Phoebe, and Gawn Grainger plays the family patriarch – the aged vaudevillian, Billy Rice, Archie’s father, with grace and wisdom. The impact of life during World War II and immediately thereafter has taken its toll on the Rice Family, and you see the Rice Family imploding in front of you.

This is reflective of the themes of many of Osborne’s plays which were  part of the world view of the angry young men generation in British literature which wanted to portray British life as it really was rather than the idealized picture of British life presented in plays written by Noel Coward and Terrence Rattigan.

The content of The Entertainer is timely with the present economic and political woes we are facing – the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company’s production of The Entertainer is an absorbing revival reminding one always that history repeats itself. In his performance of Archie Rice, Branagh has taken on and conquered another great role. 

Manhattan Theatre Club Presents Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone

Manhattan Theatre Club City Center Stage I

November 20, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

As part of its 2016-17 season the Manhattan Theatre Club has presented the New York premiere of Qui Nguyen’s Vietgone at MTC’s New York City Center – Stage 1 – which has extended its engagement until December 4, 2016.

In his play, Qui Nguyen has recreated his own parents’ meeting at a relocation camp in Arkansas and integrated his narrative with aspects of American popular culture of the time.  Vietgone is both comic and dramatic, and is not only a reflection on a family’s history but also how human beings adapt to new situations and new countries after leaving a homeland where strife abounds.

In the opening moments of Vietgone, one realizes that one might be going on an unconventional theatrical journey. Nguyen opens Vietgone with an actor claiming to be the playwright – he welcomes the audience, warns the audience to turn off their cell phones, and then informs the audience that the play is not about the hazards of war but instead a love story. 

Taking place in 1975 Nguyen’s play follows the courtship of Nguyen’s parents – a story that is not told in a linear fashion. And it is a story that is expressed in eclectic theatrical styles including sex farce, road trip comedy, fighting cartoon characters – with rap dialogue and dancing interwoven as being integral in telling this intimate tale.

To add color to the story-telling, the culture clash between the Americans and the Vietnamese refugees in Arkansas is represented with each of these communities having a language of their own – clever in illuminating the difficulty in communication of the people thrown together by fate.

The plot follows Vietnamese helicopter pilot Quang Nguyen (played by Raymond Lee) who has saved lives before leaving Vietnam. He leaves behind his wife and children and finds himself in Fort Chaffee – an Arkansas relocation camp. He meets Tong (played by Jennifer Ikeda) which is when and where the romance blooms. Yet Nguyen doesn’t forget his quest to return to Vietnam to save and rescue his wife and children. Nguyen embarks on a cross-country motorcycle journey in an attempt to return to Vietnam to find his family, but in the end he decides to return to Arkansas and pursue his relationship with Tong.

In an exchange between the actor playing the playwright and Quang Nguyen, in his later years, the elder Nguyen expresses his gratitude to Americans for their participation in the Vietnam War and how much that participation was appreciated by the Vietnamese people – rather than the American analysis  of the Vietnam War as a major foreign policy blunder. Vietgone elucidates the after effects of the Vietnam War from the perspective of the Vietnamese – an important story to be told – and in so doing Vietgone presents a universal story in regard to how immigrants adjust to the horrors of war they have experienced and adjusting to a new country – with its prejudices and different societal values.

It is May Adrales’ adept direction that not only illuminates the text in the play but also develops the engaging and skilled performances from the cast of Jon Hoche, Jennifer Ikeda, Raymond Lee, Samantha Quan, and Paco Tolson, as these characters set off on their individual journeys.

Enhancing Vietgone’s absorbing story is how time and place are created in a simple and minimalist style by the design team of Tim Maackabee in his scenery, Anthony Tran in his costumes, and Jared Mezzocchi in his projection design.

Vietgone presents a comic and heartwarming story – the individual paths taken by the Vietnamese immigrants in the United States, and an appreciation of how Americans were supportive during these difficult times. This is a refreshing approach towards explaining one of the most difficult periods in American history. It is story that should be heard and experienced by each and every one of us.

Nederlands Dans Theater Performs Four New York Premieres

City Center

November 16, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Nederlands Dans Theater was founded in 1959 and has become one of the world’s leading contemporary dance companies. Unfortunately the Nederlands Dans Theater is an infrequent visitor to New York. Now under the directorship of Paul Lightfoot, the company has returned to the City Center from November 16-19, 2016.

The Nederlands Dans Theater of today is not the Nederlands Dans Theater of the past. An important artistic influence on the company’s repertoire, Jiri Kylian, is not represented during this engagement, and the company’s repertoire has now evolved in the direction of modern and post modern dance. Bearing this in mind, the dancers perform the company’s repertoire in a polished and committed style. And for this engagement the Nederlands Dans Theater is presenting four works that are New York premieres.

The team of Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot were represented by two collaborative works, the first of which was Safe As Houses, which dates back to 2001. The inspiration for Safe As Houses is the ancient Chinese book of I Ching, and the work is choreographed to music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. The piece begins with three dancers downstage with their backs to the audience, and thereafter the focal point of the piece is a rotating wall which reconfigures the stage space. The wall effectively chases the dancers from one sequence to another with dancers emerging from behind the wall to dance in alternating sequences. There is the representation of motion and time although the piece seems static because the choreography begins to blur in repetition. Notable for their performances in Safe As Houses were Marne van Opstal, Sarah Reynolds and Jorge Nozal.

Leon and Lightfoot were also represented by a second collaborative work, the closing piece of the program, Stop-Motion, which premiered in 2014, and is choreographed to music by Max Richter. Stop-Motion was the most ambitious piece presented on this program but made an ambiguous statement. 

Depicted is video of a girl who exhibits a range of emotions including crying and disbelief – the girl in the video is the choreographers’ daughter, Saura – one infers that the girl is reacting emotionally to what climate change is doing to the planet.

The movement patterns are persistent and plotted – images of water are depicted, and two of the dancers perform in white dust similar to snow on a mountain. The ensemble cast of Parvaneh Scharafali, Chloe Albaret, Meng-Ke Wu, Roger Van der Poel, Jorge Nozal, Prince Credell, Jianhui Wang, and Marne van Opstal dance in the midst of the projected images. The message seems to be presented in earnest but the message is somewhat diminished in this 30-minute piece.

NDT’s associate choreographer, Marco Goecke, was presented by his recent work, Woke Up Blind, choreographed to You and I, and The Way Young Lovers Do by American singer/songwriter, Jeff Buckley. This work for two female and five male dancers has been influenced by the acoustic guitar world and Buckley’s songs. Goecke’s frantic movement was in contrast to the relative calm of Buckley’s music – the music and the choreography were at odds. In Woke Up Blind, the cast of Aram Hasler, Anne Jung, Thiago Bordin, Olivier Coeffard, Prince Credell, Jorge Nozal, and Rupert Tookey executed Goecke’s choreography with skill and intensity.

Canadian choreographer, Crystal Pite, who is one of the Nederlands Dans Theater’s associate choreographers, was represented by a recent work, The Statement, choreographed to a new musical composition by a collaborator she has worked with previously, Owen Belton, with spoken text by playwright Jonathan Young. 

Pite sets the scene in a corporate board room where executives and public relations people are arguing over how to defend themselves as they are embroiled in a public relations disaster. The movement is choreographed to the dialogue – dialogue that is timely in terms of how corporations react to crises – which could also be applied to political crisis management – offering some black humor in the process.

The cast of Rena Narumi, Imre van Opstal, Jon Bond, and Fernando Hernando Magadan gave virtuoso performances as both dancers and actors – with excellent comic timing. In The Statement, Pite makes her points quickly but the choreography is developed in fits and starts, and the end of the piece is an anti-climax.

Although the works presented by the Nederlands Dans Theater were similar in style and choreographic approach, it was the dancers of this company that brought the individuality to each work. The company’s dancers are amazing and deserving of credit in giving these works credibility. 

Cirque du Soleil Paramour

Lyric Theatre

November 10, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour is a first for Broadway.  It is the first new musical of this season, and the first Broadway production developed by the creative think tank, Cirque du Soleil. Now being performed at the Lyric Theater, I attended the November 10, 2016 performance where one can see the collaboration of great artists combining their talents in a new format.

Cirque du Soleil has specialized in exotic and spectacular circus presentations and this is a first – a Broadway musical – with a plot – and in Paramour circus elements are interwoven into what is a very simple story.

Paramour’s story is set in the Golden Age of Hollywood – the picture perfect fantasy landscape.  The plot focuses on Indigo, a young singer who is torn between an egotistical film director, A.J., and songwriter, Joey.

Paramour is defined in the sense of illicit love, but in Cirque du Soleil’s Paramour, the romantic triangle depicted in this musical’s plot is a not a unique one. A.J. dreams of his next film success after many failures. He discovers Indigo, who he wants to make into a movie star, and falls in love with her during the process. However Joey still has Indigo’s affection and that is where the tensions rise.

As Paramour’s story is presented in a dream landscape, this is an ideal environment for the expected elements of Cirque du Soleil to be interwoven. With Hollywood films being made in foreign lands, in distant times, in enjoying films of the day one can be an arm chair traveler. This is the intention of Paramour and Cirque du Soleil’s concept.

Besides the talented principal actors – particularly Jeremy Kushnier as A.J. -- and supporting actors, and ensemble, there is a glorious and expert group of circus performers seen at their best in Paramour. The seasoned and extremely talented acrobats, jugglers, and other circus performers who are part of the cast are employed in routines to enhance the dramatic moments in Paramour’s plot, and also excite the audience as well. 

Some of these wonderful performers are included in the context of film-making – the twin brothers flying in the air in the musical version of Cleopatra, the acrobats in the Calamity Jane film which has the enthusiasm of the barn-building scene in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and the Act II Chase Scene with acrobats flying on and off trampolines, the rooftops of buildings, and fire escapes. All of these effects are heightened with projections and videos.

Paramour is under the general direction of Philippe Decoufle, who also conceived this production, and also part of the team is Daphne Mauger as choreographer. The score is a collaborative effort with music composed by Bob and Bill, Guy Dubuc, Marc Lessard and Andreas Carlsson, with Andreas Carlsson as the lyricist. All have contributed – and collaborated – to make Paramour the entertaining show that it is.

Even dreams can be over produced but Paramour succeeds in all aspects – particularly as a fantasy and a spectacular entertainment. It is an equivalent experience to unwrapping an unexpected and welcome gift. 

Royal Shakespeare Company’s King Lear with Antony Sher

November 6, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The title role in William Shakespeare’s King Lear is a benchmark in an actor’s career and seems only appropriate for an actor who is of a certain age. It is often the crowning glory of an illustrious theatrical career – and a major challenge.

On November 6th, 2016 the Royal Shakespeare Company presented a cinema screening of its recent revival of King Lear, directed by Gregory Doran, with Antony Sher in the title role – a fitting match of an actor to a role.

King Lear is a play about a warring family and the collateral damage to many families and a country as a whole. It is also a play about regret, bad choices, and being an outsider – and how one deals with the loneliness that one is engulfed in when bridges have been burned, and there is a lack of forgiveness and tolerance for other human beings.

In King Lear the title character descends into madness after he abdicates and he divides his kingdom between two of this three daughters – Goneril and Regan – who use flattery to influence their father regarding his decision. Lear’s remaining daughter, Cordelia, does not succumb to Lear’s demands for flattery -- and Lear leaves her nothing.

Lear’s decision results in tragic consequences for all as the political and selfish machinations of the two sisters and their husbands are used for revenge, accessing political power, attaining control of their country and their families, and intrigue, murder and suicide – drawing in not only Lear’s family but also the Earl of Gloucester’s family, particularly his sons, Edgar and Edmund.

King Lear was first performed in 1606, but its themes are relevant in the present day, particularly how family members relate to each other, rivalry over power and money, and the collateral damage that results.

In Gregory Doran’s production of King Lear, Lear is a ruler in a mythic kingdom where he is displayed with an outward façade of greatness. After making his decision to abdicate and divide his kingdom, Lear takes off on a journey of discovery and learning a great deal about the people in his kingdom. There are the reminders of the medieval king, Henry II, who had three warring sons, and how Henry II put into motion intrigues about dividing his kingdom or remarrying, and hoping to have alternate options in terms of his heirs.

It isn’t until after Lear is banished from his two daughters’ households, and those daughters reveal their true selves to Lear, that Lear begins his descent into madness. However in this production Lear’s madness has an aspect of dignity. Lear’s family is not the only family effected by Lear’s decisions as the Duke of Gloucester finds himself embroiled in the sibling warfare between Goneril and Regan, and is drawn into intrigues by his illegitimate son, Edmund – who in this production is often seen as a Greek chorus outsider looking on the carnage that the families are creating – and is viewed through the prism of humor. Gloucester is blinded but could not see clearly even when he had his sight.

This revival is dominated by the towering performance of Antony Sher as King Lear. Sher is moving and scattered. His Lear is an individual interpretation. With Doran’s clear direction the combination is a memorable production of Lear – reflecting the fact that King Lear is a play about contradictions and emotions.

Most moving is Lear’s confrontation with Gloucester, as two authoritarian figures are pictured who are weakened and the relationship between themselves and their children is reversed. The children take over the parents’ lives and the parents are controlled by them – for better or for worse. 

Lear’s daughters, Nia Gwynne as Goneril, Nathalie Simpson as Cordelia, and Kelly Williams as Regan are seen as less than sympathetic. Gwynne’s Goneril is filled with rage which is switched on and off through the play, and Williams' Regan has ice running through her body – a combined image of a strict school marm and Mrs. Danvers with a smile. Simpson does not represent Cordelia as the perfect daughter but even with her imperfections, Lear clearly chooses the wrong daughter to entrust his kingdom and his love.

The trials and tribulations of Edmund are well played by Paspa Essiedu, and Edgar played by Olivier Johnstone encapsulates the character being trapped in Edmund’s intrigues. Gloucester, played by David Troughton, is a human being torn between obligation and honor, which influences his bad choice in regard to which son he should be trusting. And then there is Graham Turner as the Fool, who represents the fools among us who often offer common sense solutions to the world’s problems – they certainly simplify them.

King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s major tragedies, and this production is one in which the entire cast triumphs.

Zora Neale Hurston, Leading Light of the Harlem Renaissance

Castillo Theatre

November 5, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

From October 20 through November 20, 2016, Woodie King, Jr.’s New Federal Theatre, in association with the Castillo Theatre, is presenting Lawrence Holder’s Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography, celebrating Hurston’s 125th birthday.

This presentation replicates a production of this play that was performed at the American Place Theatre in 1998 which was directed by Wynn Handman, and starred Elizabeth Van Dyke in the title role and Joseph Lewis Edwards as the men in Hurston’s life including her first husband, Herbert Sheen, a jazz musician and Hurston’s classmate at Howard University who later became a physician, Alaine Locke, who supported her work, and other writers of the period including Langston Hughes,  and Richard Wright. In this production Woodie King, Jr. is the director and Wynn Handman, who directed the play at the American Place Theatre, is consulting director.

Hurston, an important literary figure in her time, was an acclaimed writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance being a novelist, a playwright, and a journalist. She was born in Alabama in 1891, and she attended Howard University and Barnard College being awarded her college degree in anthropology. Ms. Hurston wrote four novels. Besides more than 50 published short stories, and plays that were produced on Broadway, she was best known for her 1937 novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. But she was also a political activist opposing integration. 

After her journalistic coverage of a 1948 Florida murder trial, Hurston was charged in a case of child molestation in the United States even though she was in Honduras at the time. In spite of the fact that Hurston proved her innocence, the accusations permanently damaged her career. Hurston ultimately died in obscurity. However over the years her work has been re-evaluated and she was been revered posthumously.

Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography tells Hurston’s story in flashbacks while she waits for a bus to take her back home to Florida at a bus station in New York on Christmas Eve in 1949. In the space of 90 minutes Holder’s play brings to life the rise and fall of Hurston’s literary career, her relationships with men, the obstacles she faced in achieving success in education, and her career as a writer. 

As Hurston, Elizabeth Van Dyke brings Hurston to life as the play follows Hurston from her experience living in the all black town of Eatonville, Florida, to her studies at Barnard College – writing on black folklore and anthropology.

Hurston also restaged folk dances in her stage works through her anthropological research. Among them was the Bahamian Fire Dance, the finale of her folk revue, The Great Day, which premiered in 1932 at Broadway’s John Golden Theatre. This fact was briefly mentioned in Zora Neale Hurston: A Theatrical Biography. Luminaries in the dance field of the day pursued their interest in the Bahamian Fire Dance including Irene Castle, Doris Humphrey, Ruth St. Denis, and Helen Tamiris with performances on Broadway, in concert halls, and in nightclubs during the period from 1932-1936. Hurston has not been given ample credit for her contributions to dance.

Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography is not merely a history lesson. Holder presents living and breathing characters and thoughts behind Hurston’s decisions – both personal and professional – that enhanced and influenced Hurston’s writing. Van Dyke and Sheen bring Holder’s words to life – as well as the characters they are playing. Van Dyke is a brilliant storyteller portraying an equally brilliant story teller.

In attending a performance of Zora Neale Hurston: a Theatrical Biography, one encounters an engrossing theatrical experience performed by actors on top of their game – and also the opportunity to learn about an important figure in American political and literary history. An example of what a theatrical experience should be. 

American Ballet Theatre Presents Jessica Lang’s World Premiere

David Koch Theater

October 27, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The mission of American Ballet Theatre’s annual fall season is to present world premieres and company premieres as part of mixed-bill programs in contrast to the company’s Metropolitan Opera House season when full-length ballets dominate the repertoire.

During the second week of its fall season at the David Koch Theater, on October 27, 2016, American Ballet Theatre presented a world premiere work by Jessica Lang, in a program that also included two major revivals.

Jessica Lang is a graduate of the Juilliard School and a former member of Twyla Tharp’s Tharp! She has choreographed for many major ballet companies in the United States, and also for her own company, Jessica Lang Dance.  

Her Notes was inspired by Lang’s research into the life of composer Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, a sibling of the composer, Felix Mendelssohn, but prolific in her own right having written more than 450 musical compositions. Lang focused her attention on an obscure piece of Mendelssohn’s music, The Year, which is a series of piano pieces named after the months of the year. For Her Notes, Lang chose the January, February, June and December piano pieces which were played at this performance by piano soloist, Emily Wong.

Rather than representing the seasons that inspired the music, Lang chose to focus on the experiences that the composer faced during the time period when The Year was composed. But quite clearly, Lang doesn’t represent Mendelssohn Hensel literally in her dance piece – nor do the costume designs by Bradon McDonald and the scenery design by Jessica Lang give the impression of an historical period. 

The fact that it was well danced by the aforementioned Stella Abrera, Isabella Boylston, Christine Shevchenko, Katherine Williams, Sarah Lane, Cassandra Trenary, James Whiteside, Arron Scott, Alexandre Hammoudi, and Calvin Royal III also resulted in the fact that Lang created a showcase for these wonderful dancers.

The first of the two major revivals was Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations which was premiered by the Royal Ballet in 1946 and was acquired by ABT for its repertoire in 1992. Choreographed to Cesar Franck’s music of the same name with unique designs by Sophie Fedorovich, Symphonic Variations represented Ashton working in the style of a neo-classicist displaying a choreographic voice that is understated and sophisticated with a small cast of only six dancers. It is a display of fluid dancing, and a case in point how effective the illusion can be when a dancer transitions from movement to repose. In this relatively short work, Ashton emphasized simplicity and created a serene atmosphere.

In their dancing – and in repose – the cast of Cassandra Trenary, Christine Shevchenko, Skylar Brandt, Cameron McCune, Calvin Royal III, and Alban Lendorf moved fluidly, gliding over Franck’s music.

The second revival was George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son, a work created for the Diaghilev Ballets Russes in 1929. Prodigal Son entered American Ballet Theatre’s repertoire in 1980. Based on the Biblical parable, and choreographed to Sergei Prokofiev’s commissioned score, Prodigal Son is also notable for its designs by Georges Roualt. 

Narrative ballets were not Balanchine’s forte yet in Prodigal Son he effectively tells this narrative with clever use of simple props, organic movement, and with Prokofiev’s music as a soundtrack, the emotional aspects and seductive facet of the story come through. In particular the final moment of the ballet when the Prodigal Son returns home and is embraced by his father hits dramatic and emotional notes.

Jeffrey Cirio, in the title role, encapsulated boyishness in the title role, and also exhibited wonder as he set off on his journey to experience the world. His was a complete performance both in his dancing and acting. Hee Seo, in her own sophisticated manner, projected the exoticism and pathos of the Siren. What made this performance of Prodigal Son as successful as it was can be attributed to the committed performances by every cast member including those of Jonathan Klein and Simon Wexler as the Prodigal Son’s Two Servants and the performances of the all-male ensemble that played the Drinking Companions.

This mixed-bill program represented diverse styles of choreography, wonderful vehicles for the company’s dancers, and confirms American Ballet Theatre’s mission to present provocative repertoire during its fall season. 

The Bolshoi Ballet Dances The Golden Age

October 16, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

To inaugurate its 2016-17 season of live screenings of the Bolshoi Ballet, Pathe Live/Fathom Events presented Yuri Grigorovitch’s The Golden Age on October 16, 2016.

With a libretto by Yuri Grigorovitch and Isaak Glikman, The Golden Age is an enigmatic examination of Russia during the early years after the Bolshevik Revolution – all choreographed to a score composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, including a transcription of a well-known piece of Broadway music.

This production of The Golden Age is Grigorovitch’s revision of his 1982 creation and was revived by the Bolshoi ballet this season to celebrate Grigorovitch’s 90th anniversary. The Golden Age was danced by the Bolshoi Ballet in New York in 1987.

Grigorovitch’s ballet was inspired by a 1930 Soviet Realist ballet of the same name choreographed by Vasily Vainonen for the Mariinsky Ballet, which focused on the experiences of a Soviet football team in the West and culminated in a joint dance in praise of work by the Soviet footballers and capitalist workers. Grigorovitch’s new version of The Golden Age does have its roots in Soviet political and social philosophy but not to the same degree.

In an intermission interview Irina Shostakovich, Dmitri Shostakovich’s third wife, praised Grigorovitch’s intention to create a ballet to Shostakovich’s music. Shostakovich had stopped composing for ballets after an article was published in Pravda, “Ballet Falsehood”, in the 1930’s which criticized Shostakovich’s music for The Bright Stream. And it should be noted that Grigorovitch’s co-librettist for The Golden Age, Isaack Glikman, was a friend of Shostakovich. In spite of the radical revision to The Golden Age’s libretto there was some lineage and precedent.

Set in a seaside town in Russia in 1923, this is the period of the New Economic Policy during which experiments in free enterprise and trade were allowed – resulting in corruption and crime. 

The story focuses on a young dancer, Rita, who performs in The Golden Age restaurant nightclub show. Her chance meeting with Boris, a young fisherman, at a performance by the Young Workers’ Propaganda Theatre, results in a blooming love affair. But one of Rita’s fellow performers and a local crime boss, Yashka, attempts to break up the romance. To the point that Yashka organizes an attack on Boris and his fellow fishermen. Lyushka, a fellow performer of Yashka’s at The Golden Age restaurant, attempts to kill Yashka in a fit of jealousy, but he ultimately kills her. Yashka is overpowered by Boris’ compatriots, and Rita and Boris have their happy ending. In fact the plot and emotions in this ballet are close in context to Romeo and Juliet and other romantic tales.

This turbulent story is told swiftly which includes displays of entertaining dance show pieces focused on social dancing, and emotional pas de deux between the major characters. Most notable is the Tango section in the second act which is danced to a transcription of the familiar Broadway show tune, Tea for Two, and the final – and most powerful – pas de deux in the ballet is danced to the second movement adagio of Shostakovich’s Second Piano Concerto.

Grigorovitch’s employs the classical vocabulary skillfully as well as the acrobatic lifts and partnering that the Bolshoi Ballet has become known for. The Golden Age proves to be more than just an entertainment but a passionate choreographic statement.

It is in these narrative ballets that the Bolshoi Ballet principal dancers shine. As was the case with Nina Kaptsova as Rita, Ruslan Skvortsov as Boris, Mikhail Lobukhin in the role of Yashka , and Ekaterina Krysanova as Yashka’s friend and accomplice, Lyushka. Kaptsova and Skvortsov played their roles with the proper romanticism, and danced beautifully and cleanly. Lobukhin is an excellent actor and dancer who personified the villainous Yashka, and Krysanova was superbly malicious and a schemer as Lyushka. You couldn’t have had a better cast in this ballet.

Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg

Manhattan Theatre Club – Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

October 15, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

Solving a puzzle or an attempt at untying a knot can be a challenge. Simon Stephens suggests such a challenge in his new play, Heisenberg, which the Manhattan Theatre Club is now presenting at the Samuel Friedman Theatre from October 13 through December 11, 2016.

Seen on October 15, 2016, Heisenberg is a provocative and dazzling play that questions how human beings communicate with each other in today’s society. The short answer is with great effort. 

Simon Stephens, a prolific playwright, who won international acclaim for his play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time, sets the scene in a London train station at the height of the rush hour. Georgie Burns, (played by Mary-Louise Parker) spots Alex Priest (played by Denis Arndt), a much older man, and initiates a connection by kissing him on the neck. Alex, who is from Ireland, is a butcher and has never married. Georgie is a waitress – a free spirit from New Jersey who could also be described as kooky and seductive – and also a pathological liar. She is, in fact, waiting for her British-born husband – and the questions about her personal life remain unanswered.

This unconventional relationship blooms as these two strangers spar with each other for about 90 minutes. A fencing match of sorts with comic and insulting barbs – and surprise revelations and betrayals -- but the relationship grows and their bond strengthens. Both Georgie Burns and Alex Priest are emotionally wounded warriors who have connected with each other.

Stephens paints this picture in concise words which are channeled and sifted with skill by director Mark Brokaw. All of the action is confined in a small space in which there are only two chairs and two tables – with part of the audience on stage in close observation -- and facilitated by Brokaw’s direction the audience travels with these characters from location to location as their relationship moves laterally and forward.

And hanging over this play – who is Heisenberg? Werner Heisenberg was a scientist, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1932. In September 1941 Heisenberg traveled to German-occupied Copenhagen and met with Niels Bohr – a meeting that was the subject of Michael Frayn’s play, Copenhagen. This random connection between Georgie Burns and Alex Priest may have been inspired by Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” with the principal characters representing particles which collide or separate in an uncertain and unpredictable manner. A metaphor for everyday life.

This comic-drama is a unique look at a May-December romance with witty and erudite dialogue – and offers an opportunity to watch two stage actors at their best and on top of their game. Parker and Arndt are artful in interpreting these complicated characters and make them believable – they are wily and persuasive. And both are in the excellent hands of director Mark Brokaw who guides both actors splendidly through Stephens’ play. 

Paper Mill Playhouse’s First Offering of the Season – The Producers

Paper Mill Playhouse

October 8, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Paper Mill Playhouse’s first offering of the 2016-17 season is a musical comedy that seems like it never left us even though it closed its successful Broadway engagement in 2007 -- The Producers, a musical based on the 1968 comic film directed by Mel Brooks. From September 28 through October 23, 2016, you can join the hilarity in attending a performance of The Producers at the Paper Mill Playhouse – and quickly understand why The Producers was the Broadway hit that it was.

With a musical score by Mel Brooks, and a book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, The Producers puts all of the stereotypical characters one perceives to be involved in the theater under a magnifying glass. The producers are the blustering and overpowering Max Bialystock, and the timid and neurotic accountant, Leo Bloom, who concoct a scheme to produce a monstrous Broadway flop in order to run away to Rio with the investor’s money.

That scheme blows up in their faces when after doing and producing everything wrong, the play, Springtime for Hitler, is a hit!  But the play is also about a strong and empathetic relationship between Bialystock and Bloom in which both of these strong characters develop and grow. Also The Producers is a humorous and outrageous valentine to the Broadway Theater – thorns and all.

The Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Producers has some connections to the original Broadway production. Director Don Stephenson played Leo Bloom, and John Treacy Egan played Franz Liebkind in the Broadway production. Here Stephenson, and choreographer, Bill Burns, have re-created Susan Stroman’s original direction and choreography. All of which holds up well – with all of its shtick, madness, and lack of political correctness.

In any production of The Producers the burden is placed on the actors who play the roles of Leo Bloom, and Max Bialystock, who form the partnership to produce the worst musical that has ever opened on Broadway.  Headlining The Producers is David Josefsberg, who heightens the frantic characteristics of Leo Bloom, and for Michael Kostroff, who brings to the character of Max Bialystock the necessary comedic bluster while being a teddy bear at the same time. Kostroff has had a priorconnection with this role as he understudied the role of Bialystock on The Producers first national tour. His interpretation and performance of the opening number in The Producers is a personal interpretation – placing emphasis on  Bialystock’s vanity, and ego, set against the theatre signs representing Bialystock’s “hits” and “flops”. He comes into his own in Betrayed, a tour de force.

Josefsberg portrays the perfect nebbish who suddenly evolves into an assertive human being and opens up himself to love – who happens to be Ulla, Bialystock & Bloom’s sexy receptionist.

Also in supporting roles are Ashley Spencer as Ulla, Kevin Pariseau as Roger De Bris, Mark Price as Carmen Ghia, and John Treacy Egan as Franz Libkind, who enhance their characters with their over-the-top interpretations.

The Paper Mill Playhouse production of The Producers emphasizes that The Producers is an ensemble musical in many aspects. All of the cast members contribute to fulfilling Mel Brooks’ vision.

Once the audience has felt it has the permission to laugh – navigating comedy that can only described as vulgar, and cutting – and which ridicules the major characters -- Mel Brooks’ comic outlook effortlessly communicates to the audience – a whole new generation of audience members.

The audience doesn't roar with laughter at every comic moment in The Producers but they are getting it. Certainly underscored by the roar of applause when The Producers comes to its uplifting finale.

What a wonderful way for the Paper Mill Playhouse to open its season! 

Ken Bloom’s Anecdotes from Broadway

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

Show & Tell, the New Book of Broadway Anecdotes by Ken Bloom, published by Oxford University Press, is a collection of stories, remarks, and behind the scenes fables, legends, and back stories that bring to life what it would be like to be involved in the everyday life of the Broadway theatre. Some of the anecdotes have been revealed in other forms and in other books, but most of them have been directly passed on to Mr. Bloom by many Broadway personalities.

There is also an element of surprise in all of these anecdotes as the book is divided into categories, and each anecdote is set up with background information that places each one in context.

Critics are skewered – and anecdotes expose how Broadway producers treated them – as well as publicists and most of all, actors, directors, writers, and choreographers. If you have put these theatrical artists on pedestals, you may want to borrow a ladder and help them down from their pedestals. But these anecdotes are an entertaining read.

It would not be possible to list them all in this review, but there are a few worth mentioning that are amusing and informative.

Gwen Verdon was attracted to the idea of a musical being developed of the film version of Chicago way back in 1953 when she had seen the film version with Ginger Rogers – and was drawn to the subject again by the Watergate hearings in the 1970’s -- an example of how long the ideas for Broadway musicals percolate, and then are written and produced. Also the fact that the music for The Wiz was not written entirely by Charlie Small. He was a front for a group of songwriters who all contributed songs to the show. When Bob Fosse used the words magical and anachronistic to describe his costume design ideas for Pippin to costume designer Patricia Zipprodt, she asked for further clarification. Fosse came up with the answer, “Jesus Christ in tennis shorts”.

However the most fascinating anecdotes were those of casting decisions and what could have been. Among them would be Frank Sinatra’s agent asking that Sinatra be considered for the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. Others considered for the role of Tevye included Danny Kaye, Danny Thomas, Tom Bosley, and Walter Matthau. David Merrick offering the part of Dolly in Hello, Dolly! to Jack Benny with George Burns as Horace Vandergelder, John Cleese being up for the lead in the Broadway production of Half A Sixpence, and Kaye Ballard being considered for the title role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

What turn of fate would have happened if Nancy Walker had been contracted to play the role of Miss Marmelstein in I Can Get It For You Wholesale instead of Barbra Streisand or Jack Lemmon playing Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie instead of Dick Van Dyke, or Mitzi Gaynor as Lola in Damn Yankees instead of Gwen Verdon.

There was also a long list of actresses considered for the title role in Mame including Lisa Kirk, Nanette Fabray, Dolores Gray, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley, and Judy Garland – Angela Lansbury landed the part and Broadway history was made.

A notable historical anecdote was a Danish production of Porgy and Bess presented in the late 1940’s during the Nazi occupation. The Danes used “It Ain’t Necessarily So” to jam Gestapo radio lines – and it became a symbol of the resistance.

There are also some wonderful anecdotes concerning the out-of-town tryouts of plays and musicals – too many to mention here.  Those might have been forgotten with the passage of time.

For the Broadway theatre fan it is the joy of having all of these anecdotes in all one place and to savor them – a must read for theatre enthusiasts.

City Center Fall for Dance Festival – Program Four

City Center

October 5, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The City Center Fall for Dance Festival’s fourth program offered another varied program which included performances by one company from Europe and the remaining performances by companies based in the United States.

Jessica Lang Dance presented the New York premiere of Jessica Lang’s Tesseracts of Time, a collaborative work with Lang’s choreography and designs by Steven Holl Architects – merging dance and architecture – and divided into four parts.

In Tesseracts of Time, there was clever use of video combining dancers perched on various levels of architectural elements with live dancers either mirroring the movements or moving in opposite directions or in contrast to the visual images. There were also sections of the piece in which the dancers danced amidst architectural design elements physically on stage.

What Jessica Lang achieved were arresting images that are now typical of an urban landscape in the 21st century and danced to varied music by David Lang, Morton Feldman, John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, and Arvo Part.

During the past decade the Royal Ballet of Flanders’ artistic mission has been evolving with a focus on contemporary ballet and modern dance.

In this snapshot performance the Royal Ballet of Flanders danced the American premiere of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Fall, which exemplified how the company’s repertoire has evolved. Having been premiered by the company in 2015, Cherkaoui turned to Arvo Part’s Frates, Spiegel im Spiegel, and Orient and Occident, to choreograph a work for nine dancers that focused on amorphous movement. Cherkaoui used the ladies on pointe sparingly as they were manipulated by their partners with designs that were tune with autumn images and the changing of seasons.

The cast of Alexander Burton, Matt Foley, Virginia Hendricksen, Drew Jacoby, Kozuki Kazutomi, Jason Kittelberger, Yevgeniy Kolesnyk, Philip Lens, Fiona McGee, Nancy Osbaldeston, Raymond Pinto, Aki Saito, Acacia Schachte, and Wim Vanlessen, absorbed Cherkaoui’s movement and presented his choreographic pictures effectively.  

Also on the program Demetia Hopkins-Greene of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater who gave a virtuoso performance in Alvin Ailey’s Cry. Ailey was notable for translating his stories into choreography, and he did just that magnificently in the solo, Cry – the struggle of black women down to every detail.

Cry is a series of short dances that runs the gamut of passion, emotion, and joy, and Hopkins-Greene told that story with every cell in her body with style and grace.

The Sarasota Ballet only recently performed at the Joyce Theater in an all-Frederick Ashton mixed-bill program in August, and makes a return engagement at the City Center Fall for Dance Festival performing Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand.  

International guest artists and the Sarasota Ballet dancers combined and integrated their efforts to perform Ashton’s gem – noted for Ashton’s subtlety and musicality when necessary, and with emotion and boldness when necessary – all danced to Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B Minor. It is amazing how Ashton encapsulated this compelling story within the confines of Liszt’s music.

Marguerite and Armand was created as a star vehicle for Margo Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, and was premiered by the Royal Ballet in 1963. Inspired by Dumas’ The Lady of the Camellias, and enhanced by Cecil Beaton’s costume and scenery designs, it is a story that has been tackled by many other choreographers. However Ashton put his stamp on this intimate dramatic ballet which had disappeared from the Royal Ballet’s repertoire after the retirements of its two original stars – only revived as a vehicle for Sylvie Guillem and performed by the Royal Ballet in New York in 2004 as part of the Lincoln Center’s Ashton Festival. The Sarasota Ballet acquired Marguerite and Armand in 2015.

The principal roles in this performance were danced by guest artists Alina Cojocaru as Marguerite, Friedmann Vogel as Armand, Johan Kobborg as Father, and Calin Radulescu as the Duke. 

Seen in the relatively intimate setting of the City Center, Marguerite and Armand, has its moments of mystery and reckless love which were expressed in the dancing of Cojocaru and Vogel. There was definite chemistry between them which brought passion to this performance of Marguerite and Armand.

In this instance the City Center Fall for Dance Festival presented bold, varied and entertaining programming. 

City Center Fall for Dance Festival – Program Three

City Center

September 30, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The City Center Fall for Dance Festival lives up to its mission year after year presenting a variety of dance companies, and making tickets affordable to enable a wide audience to attend its performances. And this year was no exception.

The Festival’s third program, seen on September 30, 2016, included performances danced by companies based all over the world – examples of different dance styles and performing repertoire that would not have been exposed to New York dance audiences were it not for this Festival. On this program the diversity represented was hip hop, contemporary ballet, tap dancing, and a hybrid of modern dance and ethnic dance.

Opening the program the CCN de la Rochelle/Cie Accrorap presented the American premiere of Kader Attou’s Opus 14. Attou’s choreographic turf is hip hop and taking this style to a new level. The CCN de la Rochelle is one of France’s National Choreographic Centres, and Kader Attou is the first hip hop choreographer named to be its artistic director. He continues to expand the artistic boundaries that were established in 1974 when the company was founded.

Attou’s Opus 14 was created in 2014, a piece for 16 dancers who are responding to music composed by Regis Baillet. The piece has elements of hip hop, break dancing, and modern dance – far more than street dancing. It is a piece that has structure but comprises virtuoso break dancing and modern dance movement intertwined. The dancing was fluent and the overall concept urbane and sophisticated.

Ayodele Casel, a virtuoso tap dancer, danced her own composition, While I Have The Floor. While I Have The Floor opens with a video of Gregory Hines praising the talent of Ayodele Casel and from there Casel’s written and spoken monologue surveys the foundations of tap steps and the many female pioneers who left behind contributions to the world of tap dance. Would have appreciated more tap dancing than there was in this solo piece. It was not self-congratulatory but instead a tribute to the people who broke with tradition and prejudices in the tap dance world and allowed for tap dancers such as Ayodele Casel to find their artistic path.

The Hong Kong Ballet returning to the City Center Fall for Dance Festival presented the American premiere of Jorma Elo’s Shape of Glow. Choreographed to three separate pieces of music including Mozart’s Symphony No. 28 in C and Piano Concerto No. 278 in B Flat, and Beethoven’s Consecration of the House Overture, Shape of Glow was premiered by the Hong Kong Ballet on May 23, 2014.

The Hong Kong Ballet, under the direction of Madeleine Onne, has achieved a reputation as a beautifully trained group of ballet dancers who exhibit their versatility in contemporary works and the full-length classics.

Elo’s Shape of Glow was choreographed in the style of a Balanchine-like neo-classical ballet without the usual speed and modern dance influences that have been trademarks of Elo’s other choreographic work that I have seen. Although the choreography lapsed into predictable patterns, the choreography showed off the strengths and classical lines of the company’s dancers.

The performance concluded with the Bangarra Dance Theatre of Australia, an aboriginal performing arts company combining the aboriginal culture with contemporary dance, dancing the American premiere of Stephen Page’s & Djakapurra Munyarryun’s Spirit, an umbrella title as Spirit showcased excerpts from many works in the Bangarra Dance Theatre’s repertoire.

In this piece Page is represented by the contemporary choreography and Munyarryun is represented by the traditional choreography. Presented in vignettes separated by black outs, these excerpts did have a connecting thread describing the traditions of the aboriginal culture, and creating an engrossing atmosphere.

With the exception of Casel’s While I Have The Floor, the pieces presented were ensemble pieces which showed off the dancers’ skills and strengths in their particular style of dance. Great dancing and provocative choreography.

Once again the City Center Fall for Dance Festival presented a satisfying to a very responsive audience. 

London Revival of Miss Saigon Presented by Fathom Events

September 22, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

In advance of the Broadway debut of the recent London revival of Miss Saigon, on September 22, 2016, Fathom Events presented a cinema screening of this production which was originally filmed in London on September 24, 2014. 

With music composed by Claude-Michel Schonberg, and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr., Alain Boubil, and Michael Mahler, Miss Saigon was a huge success when it opened on Broadway in 1991. This new London revival has been directed by Laurence Connor, with musical staging by Bob Avian, and additional choreography by Geoffrey Garratt.

This new production of Miss Saigon has been enhanced with new scenery designs by Totie Driver and Matt Kinley based on an original concept by Adrian Vaux, and with costumes designed by Andreane Neofitou.

This performance was filmed to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Miss Saigon’s London premiere. When it premiered Miss Saigon was one of the many sung-through musicals that were being produced in London and later transferred to Broadway. But this is Miss Saigon’s first revival, and long-awaited by fans of this musical.

Based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, Miss Saigon geographically re-locates this familiar story to Vietnam in the 1960’s during the American involvement in the Vietnam War. Even with the change of the setting of this story from Japan to Vietnam, Miss Saigon retains the elements of the culture clash of different political, and social values that were reflected in Puccini’s opera. In some ways these conflicts are further amplified in this adaptation especially from the French point of view as Vietnam was once a colonial territory of France -- presenting a different perspective from what most Americans had of the Vietnam War.

Miss Saigon focuses on the ill-fated romance of an ordinary American marine, Chris (played by Alistair Brammer) and a young Vietnamese woman, Kim (played by Eva Noblezada) – a relationship exploited and manipulated by a hustler and pimp, The Engineer (played by Jon Jon Briones), an enigmatic figure of mixed Vietnamese and French descent who feels victimized by the colonial wars in Vietnam. He sees his hope to emigrate to the United States and seize the benefits of the American dream slipping through his fingers when the American troops depart from Vietnam – a feeling of abandonment after the suffering experienced by the Vietnamese people during the endless years of war.

Chris meets Kim in a brothel in sleazy and corrupt Saigon. Their one-night stand is a reckless Romeo and Juliet inspired romance which changes their lives forever. Chris leaves Saigon with the withdrawing American military forces. Kim is left behind with a child that is produced in that reckless one-night stand, and is then forced to flee Vietnam to Thailand after she kills, Thuy, her intended bridegroom who becomes a Communist Commander. A dramatic moment in which Kim prevents the Commander from killing her son.

Through an American organization set up to find children that were fathered by American servicemen during the Vietnam War, Chris – now married – seeks out Kim in Thailand and must reveal his past to his wife, Ellen, (played by Tamsin Carroll). Ellen comes to terms with her husband’s past, and also accepts the child he brought into the world.

Of course Miss Saigon is also famous for the helicopter descending on Saigon as the American forces retreat from Vietnam – an iconic image punctuating the military failure that the Vietnam War proved to be.

This story is given the grand operatic treatment with soaring melodies and arias that reflect the emotions and fears of the leading characters in the fog of war that draw the audience in to the emotional struggles that they are wrestling with.

When Miss Saigon initially premiered in London more than 25 years ago, the cast of Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga became overnight stars. No doubt it is inevitable that Eva Noblezada and Jon Jon Briones will achieve the same success when they re-create their roles when this revival opens on Broadway next year. Noblezada is blessed with an amazing voice and acting skills, and Briones brings both the evil and comic sides of The Engineer’s personality. However the entire cast is excellent and enlivens Laurence Connor’s new production of Miss Saigon.

A special finale ended this performance with the participation of three of the three original London cast members of Miss Saigon, Jonathan Pryce who played The Engineer and Lea Salonga who played Kim (and also played these parts on Broadway to great acclaim), and Simon Bowman, who played Chris with each participating in scenes from Miss Saigon with their revival counterparts. For fans of this musical, this was an amazing tribute to these great artists.

This was a fortunate opportunity to re-visit this thoughtful and provocative musical from the distance of 25 years and re-acquaint oneself with the raw feelings one had experienced in the 1990’s when the after effects of the Vietnam War represented open wounds and indifference. Wounds and all it was worth re-visiting this unsettling time in American history as represented by the major artistic statement that Miss Saigon is and why it still remains compelling and popular for audiences of today.

Something Rotten!, A Funny Theatrical Romp!

St. James Theatre

September 13, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

If you are searching for an escapist theatrical experience and you want to have an entertaining evening, Something Rotten! at the St. James Theatre is the perfect solution.

In writing the music and lyrics, Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick, with Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell writing the book – and with Casey Nicholaw as director and choreographer, acting as the wizard who puts this funny and clever high-speed musical together – Something Rotten! is an homage to the Broadway musical and a gift to Broadway -- an equally enjoyable journey for both a theater insider, and the occasional theatergoer.

Having opened in April of last year, and attending a performance on September 13, 2016, Something Rotten! is still going strong and retains its freshness with a virtually new cast. When the Minstrel opens the show with “Welcome to the Renaissance” you know you are in for an unpredictable and humor-filled ride. This opening musical number is an extraordinary historical survey of the waning years of Elizabethan England that sets up this musical for the audience.

Something Rotten! focuses on brothers Nick Bottom (Rob McClure) and Nigel Bottom (Josh Grisetti) who are confounded by – and consumed with jealousy of – the success of William Shakespeare (Eric Sciotto) who is receiving rock star adulation from his adoring public, and accessorizes his behavior with excessive vanity, paranoia and ego. In a desperate attempt to knock Shakespeare off his pedestal and to fulfill his own ambitions, Nick Bottom consults with soothsayer, Nostradamus (Brad Oscar) to come up with a scheme to achieve his own success no matter what the price might be.  Although Nostradamus somehow mangles the name of Shakespeare’s next “hit”, he does foresee that the next major theatrical art form will be the Broadway musical.

Then the mayhem and theatrical alchemy begins as Something Rotten! mocks and parodies this much esteemed art form – it becomes theatrical bedlam, perfectly-timed comedy, and tests a Broadway audience’s knowledge of Shakespeare’s plays, and the genuine article, a Broadway musical comedy.  

In, “A Musical” during which Nostradamus and Nick Bottom, and this musical’s talented ensemble, describe their plan, they perform clever parodies of familiar musicals – we all know them – with pointed accuracy while also making allusions to  16th century England – even the bawdy nature of the times.

McClure and Grisetti play the Bottom Brothers with comic precision. You perfectly understand their ambitions and needs, and why and how they are weighing their choices for the better and the worse. Their performances were excellent examples of the old bromides that less is more, and being in the moment.  

Sciotto creates a caricature of Shakespeare that one loves and hates, who lives off the oxygen of his fans, and you wouldn’t doubt that he would stab you in the back and throw you a going-away party. Leslie Kritzer as Bea is the dutiful and supportive wife of Nick Bottom mocking the sexism of the time and is hopeful for changes in the future, and Catherine Brunell is the bumbling Portia who brilliantly lands the physical comedy, and the subtle line readings which are skillfully delivered. As the object of Nigel Bottom’s affections it is clear that they are a match made in heaven. Then there is Oscar’s Nostradamus – Oscar a modern day vaudevillian who understands that you have to break an egg in order to make an omelette. Edward Hibbert is the wise cracking Lord Clapham and Master of the Justice – precious and snooty.

Quite often theatrical artists take themselves a little too seriously, and one needs to have the reality check that Something Rotten! provides.  If you haven’t seen Something Rotten! already, and if you haven’t returned to Something Rotten! to see these masterful new cast members, take the most direct route to the St. James Theatre and indulge yourself in the hilarity that ensues in Something Rotten!

Saving Radio City Music Hall

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Radio City Music Hall opened its doors in 1932. Designed by Edward Durrell Strong with interior Art Deco designs by Donald Deskey, the Radio City Music Hall was designed and built with the purpose of offering high quality entertainment at prices ordinary people could afford. It was and still remains a showplace, a tourist attraction, and during its golden age it was known for its format of presenting six screenings a day of first-run movies, and presenting four stage shows on a daily basis. It was a unique entertainment experience.

I am of the generation that could remember my mother’s parents taking me and my brother to the Sunday morning shows at the Radio City Music Hall to see some of the great American films which were paired off with imaginative stage shows that included the Radio City Music Hall’s ballet company, variety acts, the world-famous Rockettes, and cameo appearances by movie stars. It was a magical place, with the orchestra appearing out of nowhere, and big Wurlitzer organs being played that filled this very large movie palace with music. Seeing the films and stage shows at the Radio City Music Hall was an integral component of the New York experience – and a ritual for New Yorkers and tourists. However this important New York cultural institution was in danger of being demolished and could have been lost.

Saving Radio City Music Hall, A Dancer’s True Story, by Rosemary Novellino-Mearns, published by Turning Point Press, documents the activism by the Radio City Music Hall’s performers, and show business and political allies that led the fight in obtaining the Radio City Music Hall landmark designation and saving it from demolition.

Rosemary Novellino-Mearns, Dance Captain of the Radio City Ballet Company, and her husband, William Mearns, Captain of the Radio City singers, organized the Showpeople’s Committee to Save Radio City Music Hall – and ultimately succeeded in saving the Radio City Music Hall from demolition, and it is the brave story of this activism -- the disappointments and successes in this quest -- that is described in this book.

Also in the book are the descriptions of the Radio City Music Hall’s daily life with performances taking place, rehearsals, the various departments churning out costumes, and the musicians, the dancers, and the technicians, who put on the Radio City Music Hall’s elaborate stage shows.

It is notable that the ballet company at the Radio Music Hall had been the oldest professional ballet company in the United States with such notables as Patricia Wilde, and Melissa Hayden among its members. The ballet company was disbanded in 1974, and the Radio City Music Hall’s fortunes began to decline in 1978 after a series of poor choices of films – resulting in a decline in audience attendance. That is when the threat of demolition reared its ugly head, and inspired the efforts to save the Radio City Musical Hall -- and give it a future.

The book is filled with statistics and information about the Radio City Music Hall, from rehearsal schedules to photos of performers, and an appendix which provides technical information about the theater, and a chronology of all of the films and shows that were presented at the Radio City Music Hall from 1932 until 1979, when the Radio City Music Hall’s existence was saved but the format of entertainment presented moved away from film to stage shows and concerts only.

This book serves an invaluable first-hand acount of the struggle to save the Radio City Music Hall providing details about its daily operations, and what audience members were able to experience at the Radio City Music Hall during its heyday. This book is a major contribution to our urban history, and a well-earned tribute to the people who spent the time and effort to save this important New York cultural institution.

Peter Wright’s Memoir, Wrights and Wrongs

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

Published by Oberon Books, Wrights and Wrongs, My Life in Dance by Peter Wright with Paul Arrowsmith, is Peter Wright’s candid memoir of his life in professional dance. Known primarily as a former artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Wright has gained the reputation of being one of the most astute stagers of the 19th century classics in the dance world with deep experience in the administrations of dance organizations in Great Britain and Germany.

Besides his long association with the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet, as a dancer he studied at the leading ballet institutions in Great Britain as well as with Kurt Joos – performing as a member of Joos’ company when the company was in exile in Great Britain during most of the years before, during and after World War II.  Wright was also the balletmaster for the Stuttgart Ballet when John Cranko was the company’s artistic director, and it was while working with the Stuttgart Ballet that Wright staged his iconic production of Giselle.

In his memoir, Wrights and Wrongs, Wright lays out the history of the beginnings of the Royal Ballet in the 1940’s and 1950’s, and also describes the rejuvenation of dance in Germany after World War II. 

Wright reveals, in his early years, seeking out dance training against his father’s wishes, and joining Kurt Joss’s company – and also working with the Royal Ballet – chronicling the Royal Ballet’s historic tours in the 1950’s, his relationship with Ninette de Valois, the Royal Ballet’s founding artistic director, and frank comments about the dancers and choreographers he worked with. Also Wright participated in the London productions of Finian’s Rainbow and Flower Drum Song, choreographed the London production of Fiorello! and Lionel Bart’s musical, Blitz! He also supervised and choreographed many ballets that were filmed for television.

In providing the narrative of his career in dance, Wright is straightforward about his strengths and weaknesses, the professional relationships and connections he has made, and often is outspoken about the talent and work ethic of the people he worked with. On balance there were some indiscrete and unkind remarks about his colleagues which diminish this memoir. But he is just as upfront in regard to what he learned from each of them, and how he applied what he learned as a dancer, and artistic director. 

Wright describes in detail how he was involved in the transformation of the Royal Ballet’s New Group into the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, and the company’s move from London to Birmingham. He also describes his disappointment in not being fully considered when the position of artistic director of the Royal Ballet became open during his tenure working with the Royal Ballet organization. Wright reveals the candidates under consideration for that position during several searches for a new artistic director, the rationale for the choices, and his opinion of the choices. Wright is also very blunt about how and why decisions are made by artistic directors and also expresses his own philosophy as an artistic director.

There are particular words of wisdom to be fully considered by artistic directors, and those who wish to be, including his statements that “The director of a ballet company is the dancers’ champion, but he – or she – should not always think like a dancer.” Or “A wide-ranging vision is a necessity for a company director who must be able to see the bigger future.”

Wright’s talents as a stager of the classics is not as well known in the United States although his production of Giselle has been danced the by Houston Ballet, and his production of Giselle has also been staged for the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet – both companies having performed Wright’s production of Giselle in New York. The Royal Ballet performed his production of The Sleeping Beauty in New York during the 1970’s, the Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet performed his new version of The Sleeping Beauty at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1986 as part of an American tour, and his production of Swan Lake has been seen in Canada as danced by the Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet in Toronto in 1983. 

One of the highlights of this book is Wright’s description of how he approached his first staging of Giselle, and stagings of subsequent production of Giselle for ballet companies during his career. Wright reveals his inspiration, research, revisions, tradition, and how the roles in Giselle should be danced and interpreted – and also how design played a part in the theatrical aspects of staging a 19th century classical ballet. Most interesting was giving the option to the dancers playing Giselle to decide whether they wish to stab themselves during Giselle’s Mad Scene – committing suicide which was in the original production of Giselle – or opting for the dying of a broken heart that has become part of the tradition of interpreting the role of Giselle. 

There is also a chapter describing his collaboration with Frederick Ashton on a production of The Sleeping Beauty, as compared to his own productions – with particularly focus on designs and how they contribute to the success of a production of The Sleeping Beauty. There are also details of his productions of The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Coppelia, and what goes on in the mind of a producer of a classic ballet and choices that must be made.

In particular there are words of wisdoms to producers of a full-length 19th century classic, “To tackle a big classic you need experience of directing big scenes and making dramatic points rather than just producing choreography”, “Young choreographers or former dancers run the risk of still looking at a big ballet only from a dancer’s perspective.” But a more general bit of wisdom is, “The choreography must express what the choreographer is attempting to say without extra embellishments.”

There are also several interesting revelations. Among them is his confirmation that he choreographed short sections of John Cranko’s Romeo and Juliet, and Onegin, because Cranko’s alcohol problems kept him from rehearsals. Wright did give Cranko great credit for giving him choreographic opportunities and to gain experience as a balletmaster but when Wright left the Stuttgart Ballet, his relationship with Cranko was strained.

Wright also provided an analysis of Kenneth MacMillan’s choreography and his memories of working with MacMillan as an associate when MacMillan was artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is particularly critical of MacMillan’s widow, Deborah MacMillan, for changing the choreography and designs for her husband’s ballets.

For any balletomane who wishes to know what it is like to be an artistic director of a ballet company – inside and outside – Wrights and Wrongs, is an excellent read, and one can thank Mr. Wright for being honest and forthright about his experiences, and looking back on his decisions with some objectivity.

Sarasota Ballet Makes Its Debut at the Joyce Theater

Joyce Theater

August 8, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Sarasota Ballet made its New York debut at the City Center Fall for Dance Festival in 2014, and caused a stir. Relatively new in the dance world, the Sarasota Ballet has earned its status as a ballet company of interest in a short period of time establishing itself in Sarasota, Florida, as well as in engagements at the Kennedy Center and Jacob’s Pillow -- also spending the time and devotion to honing its artistic perspective.

The Sarasota Ballet was founded by former Stuttgart Ballet principal dancer, Jean Allenby, with the intention of establishing a company in Florida that would have its own artistic niche, and serve the community of Sarasota, which didn’t have a ballet company. 

Since its founding 25 years ago, the company has had three different artistic directors, and all have put their artistic stamp on the company’s repertoire. The current artistic director is Iain Webb, former soloist of the Royal Ballet, whose primary contribution to the company has been to add Frederick Ashton’s classic and lesser known works to the company’s repertoire – many of which are not even in the Royal Ballet’s current repertoire. Webb has been ably assisted by his wife, Margaret Barbieri, former principal dancer of the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, who is the company’s assistant director, and like Webb had danced the Ashton repertoire under the guidance of Ashton himself. They have re-staged many of these Ashton works for the Sarasota Ballet with painstaking care passing on the Ashton style to the company’s dancers.

The Sarasota Ballet is now making its Joyce Theater debut from August 8-13, 2016. For this engagement the Sarasota Ballet is performing an all-Ashton program with the overall title, A Knight of the British Ballet, which includes a few familiar works, and those that are not as familiar, and danced with a commitment to the Ashton style. What is represented is not an historic or academic exercise, but to see a renewal of an artistic legacy that is relevant to today’s audiences, and is not regularly seen on New York stages.

Although the artistic directors of ballet companies the world over are rediscovering the charms of Frederick Ashton’s ballets, New Yorkers are starved for their performances but for the occasional performances of these ballets by American Ballet Theatre. The Royal Ballet performed in New York in 2015, and the only substantial Ashton work the company performed was The Dream – and with the company’s infrequent American tours since 1976, it is now a rarity for the Royal Ballet to perform Ashton’s ballets here in the United States. 

The program opened with the rarely seen Vales Nobles et Sentimentales which was premiered by the Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1947, revived in 1986, and given its company premiere by the Sarasota Ballet in 2012. Choreographed to Ravel’s music of the same name, Ashton created a romantic atmosphere, set in a ballroom with Sophie Fedorovich’s design of a series of screens used to create mirror and passing images of the dancers. Valses Nobles et Sentimentales presented style and elegance at a time of austerity in Britain. The simplicity of Ashton’s choreographic statement was ably presented by Danielle Brown and Ricardo Graziano as the principal couple – a charming gem that has been rediscovered.

In contrast was Ashton’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee which Ashton created for a gala in 1977 and was danced originally by Wayne Sleep, and Graham Fletcher as the twins, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, and Lesley Collier as Alice, all of the Royal Ballet. This comic work – reflecting the traditions of Christmas pantomime – with its core being a game of musical chairs – is choreographed to Percy Grainger’s Shepherd’s Hey and Country Gardens, and was given its Sarasota Ballet premiere in 2016.

Danced with charm by Alex Harrison, Logan Learned, and Samantha Benoit, it is amazing that Ashton, in his choreography, says more in five minutes than many ballets say in 30 minutes or more.

In contrast is the life and death experience of Ashton’s The Walk to the Paradise Garden, choreographed to Delius’ music from A Village of Romeo and Juliet (also used by Antony Tudor in his 1-act version of Romeo and Juliet), is an atmospheric and forgotten piece that Ashton created for the Royal Ballet in 1972 with Merle Park, David Wall, and Derek Rencher dancing the principal roles. The Walk to the Paradise Garden had been danced by the Royal Ballet in New York in 1974, and unfortunately has disappeared from the Royal Ballet’s repertoire. Recently added to the Sarasota Ballet’s repertoire and danced with innocence and urgency by Ricardo Graziano, and Danielle Brown, and Jacob Hughes as the figure of death confirming that this piece still rings true today.

Following were excerpts from two longer works choreographed by Ashton. Jazz Calendar was premiered by the Royal Ballet in 1968, choreographed to music by Richard Rodney Bennett with designs by Derek Jarman. The scenario of the ballet is based on the nursery rhyme, Monday’s Child. Although not currently in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire, the Joffrey Ballet performed this ballet frequently in New York in the 1970’s, and the Sarasota Ballet added Jazz Calendar to its repertoire in 2015. The music by Bennett is jazz-tinged with the music composed for only 12 instruments. Excerpted in this performance was the blues pas de deux, Friday’s Child, which was danced at its premiere by Antoinette Sibley and Rudolf Nureyev, and here, danced by Ellen Overstreet and Edward Gonzalez bringing out the jazz elements in the choreography.

Also performed was the second movement from Sinfonietta, which was premiered by the Royal Ballet in 1967 and given its Sarasota Ballet premiere in 2014. Choreographed to music by Malcolm Williamson, the second movement of Sinfonietta is a dream sequence in which one female dancer is held aloft and manipulated by five male dancers – with the intention of not allowing the female dancer’s feet to touch the ground. As the lone female dancer, Victoria Hulland, was supported by Ricardo Rhodes, David Tlaiye, Jamie Carter, Daniel Rodriguez, and Daniel Pratt, and convincingly presented the theatrical illusion of Hulland floating in thin air.

Closing the program was Façade, given its company premiere by the Sarasota Ballet in 2008, and is one of Ashton’s early works. The music by William Walton was intended to accompany avant garde poems written by Edith Sitwell and was chosen by Ashton to create a ballet divertissement for the Camargo Society in 1931.  Façade is a series of dances that parody the social dances and British music hall acts of the 1920’s and the 1930’s. Although a ballet active in the Royal Ballet’s repertoire, Façade, like many other Ashton ballets, has been rarely seen in the United States. The Joffrey Ballet had often danced Façade in New York in the 1970’s and the Colorado Ballet danced Façade in New York in 2000.

Façade is notable for Ashton’s tongue-in-cheek humor as each section of the ballet is a comic vignette inspired by Walton’s take on the popular songs and dances of the twenties. Façade remains an unusual marriage of typical English entertainment, a bit of camp – and one’s feeling that one has experienced and seen high art at the same time. The tango section – which is danced by a debutante and an older manipulative partner, is where Ashton’s comic touches are most apparent. It was danced by Danielle Brown and David Tlaiye with all of the style and panache one would see in a performance on Dancin’ With the Stars – with a little wink of an eye.

This program was a revelation in its performances of Ashton works known and less known, and the Sarasota Ballet, I hope, will continue to perform these ballets on a regular basis to allow a whole new generation of dancers to learn Ashton’s unique choreographic style. However also a revelation was the Sarasota Ballet itself which improves on each viewing with the indications of even greater things to come – and perhaps more frequent New York visits.

Cagney, The Musical

Westside Theatre (Upstairs)

August 4, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The legendary film actor, James Cagney, is best known for his portrayals of roles as a tough guy. However he was an accomplished hoofer, and stage performer. Besides a prodigious number of film performances, Cagney also performed on Broadway and in vaudeville -- and he had been associated with a well-known Broadway star, George M. Cohan, who Cagney portrayed in his Academy Award winning performance in the 1942 film, Yankee Doodle Dandy. And this year is Cagney’s 117th birthday!

These contrasting images inspired the new off-Broadway musical, Cagney, which examines James Cagney’s life – both professional and personal – within the framework of a musical tale. With a score by Robert Creighton and Christopher McGovern, and a book by Peter Colley, Cagney examines this unique actor’s rise to stardom – a combination of tenacity, survival skills, and talent -- and also revealing many of the important people that had an impact on Cagney’s personal life and professional life. 

The musical is framed by its starting and ending point in 1978, an evening in which James Cagney (played by Robert Creighton) receives the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award. Cagney reveals details of James Cagney’s varied career – from Cagney being discovered when vaudeville was breathing its last breath, noting classic lines in his films, struggling against typecasting when under contract at Warner Brothers, as well as being accused of being a Communist by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

In his personal life one catches sight of the family ties with his mother and brother, and the growing relationship with fellow entertainer, Frances, whom he married. Many of the important personages in Cagney’s professional life, including Jack Warner (played by Bruce Sabath), and Bob Hope (played by Jeremy Benton) – and a multitude of others -- are played by a cast of only five supporting players.

In the end Cagney comes to terms with the fact that he is best known for playing the tough bad guys in films and that is what his fans wanted – even though he tried to play roles that allowed him to break that image.

The score is highlighted by the insertion of well-known songs that Cagney sang and danced in in the film Yankee Doodle Dandy including “Give My Regards To Broadway”, “Harrigan”, “Yankee Doodle Dandy”, and “You’re A Grand Old Flag”.  The new music for this musical is memorable and serves to tell Cagney’s story well.  

Choreographer Joshua Bergasse finds his footing throughout Cagney with intricate tap dance sequences that enhance the plot as well as present an excellent display of virtuoso tap dancing by the cast members.

Robert Creighton, in this musical’s title role, is a force of nature, multi-talented, and has a striking resemblance to Cagney. His performance makes it clear why he won the Fred Astaire Award for Outstanding Male Dancer in An Off-Broadway Show. And the gifted supporting cast of Jeremy Benton, Danette Holden, Bruce Sabath, Josh Walden, and Ellen Zolezzi are versatile in portraying the many personalities that populate Hollywood during Cagney’s heyday as a movie star. Director Bill Castellano has fashioned a structure to present Cagney’s life in an interesting and involving manner.

Cagney, the film actor, was unique, and Cagney, the musical involves the audience in pondering the obvious for what is an exceptionally entertaining musical.

A Second Look At The National Ballet of Canada’s The Winter Tale

David Koch Theater

July 30 (Matinee), 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

A second opportunity to experience Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale danced by the National Ballet of Canada, as presented by the Lincoln Center Festival, revealed more details in Wheeldon’s choreography, and the dramatic details became clearer with this additional viewing.

In this second performance, a matinee performance on July 30, 2016 at the David Koch Theater, the National Ballet of Canada gave the ballet another absorbing performance by a second cast of dancers that lended their own interpretations to the roles in this intense ballet.  

The series of details focused on the relationship between Leontes and Polixenes was depicted from the beginning of the ballet as that of an enduring comradeship that went back to these Kings’ childhood. Represented as little boys, playing together, the seeds of their friendship is planted which makes the betrayal to come later that much more unexpected. Clearly these were royal families that formed close and safe bonds that were ruptured by one man’s irrational act, and Wheeldon displays this in his choreography emphasizing those dramatic moments. As the plot unravels and goes out of control, The Winter’s Tale still comes to a qualified happy ending. But it is a tale of great regret for past actions. Quite moving was the blessing of the marriage of Perdita and Florizel by both Leontes and Polixenes, underscoring another important aspect of The Winter’s Tale – the relationships between children and their parents.

At this performance the cast was led by Guillaume Cote as Leontes, Sonia Rodriguez as Hermoine, Rui Huang as Perdita, Svetlana Lunkina as Paulina, Peter Ottmann as Antigonus, Felix Paquet as Polixenes, and Skylar Campbell as Florizel.

Cote and Rodriguez brought a great deal of artistic maturity to their roles. Cote is an excellent actor/dancer and how he presents Leontes’ deepening madness offers a balance to Rodriguez’s interpretation of Hermione as a trusting human being until Leontes’ betrayal is revealed. The sense of betrayal was represented in every step and move, and also reflected in the equally compelling responses by Felix Paquet’s Polixenes. These pivotal characters were also solidly supported by Lunkina’s heart-rending Paulina. Rui Huang and Skylar Campbell, in their roles, portrayed the innocence and joyfulness in young love, both in their acting, and also in their polished and technically accomplished dancing. Their dancing literally floated on the music. Ottmann as Antigonus here again displays the artistic maturity to bring this humble and dignified character to life.

In this performance the National Ballet of Canada presented its qualities as an ensemble of dancers that balances both the dancing and story-telling when the company performs narrative ballets. I hope that these performances have given New York audiences a sample of what this company can do at its best, and also welcome the National Ballet of Canada again at the earliest opportunity.

The National Ballet of Canada Dances Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale

David Koch Theater

July 29, 2016

By Mark Kappel

Copyright 2016

The Lincoln Center Festival presents the National Ballet of Canada for the first time at the David Koch Theater, from July 28-31, 2016, performing the New York premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s dance interpretation of Shakespeare’s play, The Winter’s Tale -- the second ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon shared as a co-production between the National Ballet of Canada and the Royal Ballet – the first was Alice. Nearly brand new to the National Ballet of Canada’s repertoire, its company premiere of The Winter’s Tale was on November 14, 2015.

For The Winter’s Tale Wheeldon assembled the same creative team that worked with him on Alice – with a commissioned score by Joby Talbot and designs by Bob Crowley. Talbot’s music for The Winter’s Tale is more traditional than his score for Alice although his instrumentation in The Winter’s Tale’s score is more varied and unique including an onstage band of musicians playing an accordion and a dulcimer – and Crowley’s designs, also more traditional, give The Winter’s Tale a sense of place – and season.

Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale had been placed in the category of a comedy by Shakespearean scholars and then re-thought to be placed among his late romances. The paradox is that the first half of the play consists of tragic elements, and the second half of the play diverts emphatically with comic elements and a relatively happy ending.  Also there is the puzzling stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear” which is noted in this dance version of The Winter’s Tale as a projection of a bear before the bear kills his innocent victim, Antigonus.

Creating a ballet version of The Winter’s Tale is a challenge because not all of the plot elements can be depicted in dance terms. The complicated plot made simple is that King Leontes of Sicily  suspects that his wife, Hermione, is having an affair with his long-time friend, King Polixenes of Bohemia – even suspecting that Hermione’s soon to be born child is not his but Polixenes'. Leontes’ uncontrolled jealousy is not explained and he doesn’t have a “Iago” to encourage this behavior. Leontes banishes Hermione to prison, she is put on trial, she has her child, and she ultimately dies. Also Leontes’ male heir, Mamillius, dies leaving Leontes’ legacy in jeopardy. Hermione’s child is exiled, and Paulina and her husband, Antigonus, bring the child to safe haven in Bohemia. She is brought up by a shepherd, and is renamed Perdita. Perdita ultimately meets Polixenes’ son, Florizel, who in courting Perdita masquerading as a shepherd. This relationship evolves into a love match, and ultimately is blessed by the estranged Leontes and Polixenes, bringing together both royal families and kingdoms.

Wheeldon has included a great deal of exposition in the first act of The Winter’s Tale which uses a choreographic vocabulary that is a fusion of contemporary ballet and modern dance – then on to the second act which is pure dance -- with ballet the primary choreographic vocabulary -- and the third act culminates in celebrations before the supernatural moment of a statue of Hermione coming to life to forgive Leontes for his jealousy. Throughout The Winter’s Tale Individual characters perform dance monologues – setting the tone of the piece and illuminating the inner conflicts of the characters. The finale stage picture of Paulina in front of Mamillius’s statue is chilling and compelling. The choreography communicates anguish and dramatic tension, and then there are the anomalies of Hermione being pregnant yet being thrown about by Leontes, Polixenes, and the palace guards. It does suspend reality

In comparison to Wheeldon’s approach to Alice which seemed to be guided by a non-linear narrative, the general plot lines of The Winter’s Tale are presented in this ballet version in a more straight-forward manner, and the choreography is an instance of less is more.  In many aspects The Winter’s Tale is a more mature work than Alice – with more sophisticated and thoughtful choreography. 

The National Ballet of Canada is a welcome visitor to New York and one of the reasons is that the company brings energy, and commitment to the story ballets that the company dances. And, in fact, the National Ballet of Canada’s production of The Winter’s Tale is also less maudlin than the Royal Ballet’s production.

On July 29, 2016, the cast for The Winter’s Tale was Evan McKie as Leontes,  Jurgita Dronina as Hermione, Elena Lobsanova as Perdita, Svetlana Lunkina as Paulina, Peter Ottmann as Antigonus, Brendan Saye as Polixenes, and Francesco Gabriele Frola as Florizel. 

McKie was kingly and yet consumed by the conflicts that his character, Leontes, is facing – a compelling combination of Hamlet and Siegfried. Dronina played the devoted Hermione with subtlety and her character’s compassion at the end of the ballet heals all of the wounds and conflict that Leontes has created in what seemed to be his irrational acts. Equal to McKee’s Leontes was Brendan Saye’s Polixenes portraying the surprise of Leontes’ betrayal and false accusations. Then there was the engaging couple of Elena Lobsanova as Perdita, and Francesco Gabriele Frola as Florizel, who displayed pyrotechnical dancing – reflecting their joy in love. Also Lunkina’s Paulina was seething with emotion – representing the character with the most wisdom trying to fix the problems with rationality and also protectiveness of the members of the royal families. 

It’s marvelous for New York audiences to have the opportunity to see the National Ballet of Canada once again in a relatively short time, and I hope that the company’s visits will be an integral part of a New York dance season as the company had been in past years.

Agnes de Mille Telling Stories in Broadway Dance By Kara Anne Gardner

By Mark Kappel