The dirt on the Fringe Festival NYC

New York's annual August Fringe Festival is over on Sunday.  Here's the dirt on the best show in the festival.
I'm so glad I had a chance to see "Absolutely Filthy," written by and starring Brendan Hunt. But I predict we'll be seeing more of this show, which was originally produced by the Sacred Fools Theater Company in Los Angeles.
I went not knowing anything about the show. I was pleasantly surprised to find a well written, well acted, funny and thoroughly engaging piece about what happens to the Peanuts characters when they're all grown up. Even if you didn't like Charlie Brown or watch any of the TV specials, the characters are etched in popular culture and the characters' attributes are familiar territory.
As the playwright explained it in the program, "… a few people asked me if I am a Peanuts 'fan.' When I was a kid, one did not need to play favorites in this way; Peanuts was simply Peanuts and it was everything."
"Absolutely Filthy" is the story of Pigpen, Charlie Brown's perpetually dirty friend, drawn by his creator Charles Schulz's pen as surrounded by a cloud of dust.
The action takes place on Valentine's Day, 2013 in a large city in California, on the day of Charlie Brown's funeral.
The playwright, who plays Pigpen, was not authorized by the Schulz estate to use the characters, and the characters are called by other names i.e., Pigpen is called "The Mess" in the program.
Charlie Brown has died of encephalitis. Pigpen, now a homeless street person, lives outside the church where his funeral is to be held.  One by one Pigpen meets his long lost gang as they are going to the service. They are disgusted, but saddened, by the way Pigpen's life has turned out. 
Schroder is now a gay rockstar. Marci is an ophthalmologist, Linus is an Iraq war vet suffering from PTSD. The pocket square of his suit is now his security blanket.  Sally, Charlie Brown's sister and Pigpen's old love, is distraught to see Pigpen in his degraded state. Lucy is a businesswoman. No one remembers the black guy's name — Franklin.
Hunt's riffs on the Peanuts' characters are hilarious and the story is very nicely woven together. The totally dysfunctional Pigpen character is both charming and poignant. He blames his parents, his dirt "disease" and the bad decisions and negative thought processes in his life for his ending up where he is.
The most ingenious idea in the show is that Hunt keeps a hula hoop rotating throughout the entire play to represent the cloud of dirt around Pigpen. That Hunt could do this for almost two hours is quite a feat.
"Absolutely Filthy" was winner of best show at the 2013 Hollywood Fringe. I hope it takes New York this year.

Winning the lottery

So you needed binoculars from Midtown to see the Macy's fireworks south of the Brooklyn
Bridge. The rooftop view of Manhattan at night was more spectacular than anything the Grucci family could come up with.
Saturday I saw an excellent Patti LuPone at Caramoor in Katonah in her "Far Away Places" concert, but the real excitement for me over the Fourth of July weekend was winning the lottery for the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park's final performance Sunday of "Much Ado About Nothing." The cast included
Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater and Brian Stokes Mitchell. I've been entering this lottery daily for over a year, rather than schlep over to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park at 6 in the morning to wait on line for a chance to get tickets. When I got the email with "Congratulations!" I was elated.
The night was magical, the weather perfect. The set for Shakespeare's comedy was an Italian villa, complete with a garden of tomatoes, grapevines and an orange tree.
Rabe as Beatrice and Linklater as Benedick had great chemistry. She has an unusual voice and real stage presence. When she is off stage, you find yourself waiting for her to come back.
Ismenia Mendes was excellent as Hero, Beatrice's cousin, as was John Glover who played Hero's father Leonato.
To hear Stokes Mitchell as Don Pedro sing was an unexpected treat.
John Pankow was hilarious as Dogberry.
The entire cast was terrific at bringing the words of Shakespeare to life. The actors were incredibly comfortable with the language and at transmitting the meaning of the Bard's words. Their joy at performing is also infectious. The audience was in an appreciative good mood.
Of course, people-watching is another favorite activity at the Delacorte. Catching the last performance of "Much Ado" was one of my favorite actors, Alan Rickman who was there with Rima Horton. Rickman starred with Rabe and Linklater in "Seminar" on Broadway.  Former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich was also in the audience.
Coming up next is "King Lear." I'll keep trying the lottery!

'Disney's On the Record' — mashups and medleys

White Plains Performing Arts Center is presenting the tristate premiere of "Disney's On the Record," a jukebox musical featuring mashups and medleys of 64 Disney songs from the past 75 years.  
Set in a contemporary recording studio, “On the Record” is the story of a recording session that changed the lives of a young unknown who is about to get her big break, a pop diva who is about to meet her match, and a matinee idol who is about to meet the “new kid” who could take his place. Songs are featured from “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “The Lion King,” “Mary Poppins,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Toy Story,” “Pocahontas,” “Tarzan,” “Pinocchio,” “Aladdin” and more.
Remaining performances are June 27, 28, 29, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. The cast includes Álvaro Francisco, Chelsey Lynn Alfredo, Eric Pagan, Devin Lewis, Gina Noto, Triona O’Callaghan, Paulette Oliva and Joseph C. Bellino. The show is directed by Frank Portanova with musical direction by Stephen Ferri.
Tickets: $30, $25 for students 22 and younger. To purchase tickets: visit the theater box office in City Center in downtown White Plains. Purchase tickets online at www.wppac.com or call 328-1600.
Check it out at http://vimeo.com/98540314.

Marilyn Maye - Here's to Life

When my friend told me she bought us tickets to Marilyn Maye at the 92nd St. Y June 17, I said "Marilyn who?" I didn't remember the singer who was discovered by Steve Allen and performed on the Tonight Show 76 times.  She clearly has her fans and a following. She played to a packed house in her return engagement at the Y.
The 86-year-old rocked a gold sequined jacket over a pants suit. Her voice strong, her set list brimming with songs of optimism, romance, joie de vivre, the tireless Maye sang for an hour and a half, medleys on rainbows and being happy and my favorite, "Here's to Life." She delivers the whole package — Broadway, nightclub, jazz, cabaret. She was backed by the best — conductor and pianist Ted Firth, bassist Tom Hubbard, and Bryan Carter on drums.
Maye said she was a "commitment singer" back in the day for RCA Records. That meant she recorded tunes written for Broadway before a show opened, giving the show a boost at the box office. She made a hit of the song "Cabaret" in 1966. She also made big bucks recording a version of her hit "Step to the Rear" for Ford Motors.
I went on YouTube and saw some early performances. She was a powerhouse.
Forever classy and a classic, Maye will sing a tribute to her early champion in "A Tribute to Johnny Carson" at 54 Below June 26-28.

'Mothers and Sons' closing

What a Tony Award can do. Just two days after the Tony Awards comes the announcement that Terrence McNally's play "Mothers and Sons" with Tyne Daly is closing June 22 at the John Golden Theatre. The play was nominated for a Tony for best play and Daly was nominated for a Tony for leading actress in a play. They lost out to "All the Way" and Audra McDonald (who could win against her?), respectively.
I was riveted by Daly's poignant performance and gripped by the power of McNally's words. McNally skillfully wove the story of a mother making peace with her ghosts and the rapidly changing society in which gays and their families find themselves. 
Discussions are underway to have the show our.
After the performance I saw there was a conversation on stage with the playwright; his partner, Thomas Kirdahy; Daly; and (bonus!) Nathan Lane, for whom McNally wrote several parts. 
I'm sorry to see the show close, but there's more McNally in the fall. In the 2014-15 Broadway season, a revival of McNally's "It's Only A Play," will star F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally and Micah Stock. The limited 17-week engagement begins Sept. 4 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with opening night Oct. 9.

Museum Mile Festival

Put on your walking shoes and get your culture on today. The Museum Mile Festival  http://museummilefestival.org takes place Tuesday, June 10, from 6-9 p.m. along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 105th Street in Manhattan. The event includes free admission to nine museums, music and art projects along the way.
I, for one, have never visited the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. (Shocking, I know!) http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/current.  I'm looking forward to seeing "City as Canvas," Graffiti Art from the Martin Wong Collection.

A shout out for indie bookstores

My Connecticut College roommate Ellen Richmond won a $5,000 James Patterson grant at the Book Expo in New York recently for her bookstore, The Children's Book Cellar in Waterville, Maine. http://www.childrensbookcellar.com. Ellen will use the grant to make improvements to the store and maybe offer a community reading program. How wonderful that Patterson is giving away $1 million to independent book sellers like my friend.
Ellen was featured today in an article in the Bangor Daily News.
http://cultureshock.bangordailynews.com/2014/06/09/out-and-about/waterville-book-store-receives-5000-grant-from-writer-james-patterson/.
What better labor of love for an English major and avid reader than a book store? Ellen is the only person I know who doesn't own a TV. She's spends a lot of her free time reading. She really knows her stuff.
Ellen began working at the chain Mr. Paperback in Skowhegan, working her way up in management. She bought the Children's Book Cellar in 2002. I enjoy Ellen's posts on Facebook about all the events and author  appearances at the store. I wish I lived closer — or at least had a grandchild or two to buy for!  Ellen recently added a selection of books for adults, so if I were heading up to Maine this summer I'd stop there for my summer reading.

Maya Angelou and my bad

Everyone's got their Maya Angelou story, and I have mine.
I'm probably the only person in the world who thinks of Maya Angelou and has a negative thought. Dr. Angelou was the cause of a rift between one of my oldest friends and me. Let me explain.
As a reporter for The Scarsdale Inquirer, I was invited to her lecture at Pace University in Pleasantville on Feb. 9, 2005. I was a fan and had loved "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," so I was eager to go. But tickets to the event were much sought after, and it wasn't certain that there would be enough tickets to meet press requests until the last minute. When I told my friend, who like Angelou, is a poet, artist and writer, that I would possibly be there, she begged me to try to get her a ticket. I told her I would, but that it would be very last minute. It looked like a no go, and I told my friend to forget about it. She had another avenue for tickets and was going to try that. But, I got lucky and the p.r. person came through with two tickets at the 11th hour and a half. By then, it was complicated and I didn't ask my friend, I invited someone else. I don't know why, it was just easier. I got lazy.
Well, who do I meet at the event, but my friend, who confronted me. She was surprised, upset and very hurt that I didn't call her. I hadn't realized how very important it was to her to hear Dr. Angelou. I never think of myself as the bad guy in any relationship, but that day, I really was.
I had the privilege of meeting Maya Angelou at a small press conference after her speech, where she was as eloquent and inspiring as she had been in the packed gym where she talked about "being the rainbow in somebody else's cloud."
That day, I was definitely the cloud in somebody's rainbow.
My friend and I have long since repaired our relationship, although it took a while, and whenever I think of that day and Maya Angelou, a flood of shame comes over me.
Since that day I don't take my friendships for granted. I'm trying to be the rainbow. It's not always easy, but the refracted light shines back on me.
I think Maya would approve.

"Frost/Nixon"

Director Ron Howard in the mix of celebrity and politics

Director Ron Howard discussed his endorsement of Barack Obama during a Q&A with Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers following a screening of "Frost/Nixon" Friday, Oct. 24 at a fundraiser for Pelham Picture House in Pelham, N.Y. Howard endorsed Obama in Internet ads as his Opie character from "The Andy Griffith Show" with Griffith and as Richie from "Happy Days" with Henry Winkler as the Fonz.

Howard told Travers a bit sheepishly that he always thought celebrities should stay out of politics, but it was the first time in his "50 years in show business," he said, that "I felt strongly that an endorsement was worth doing."

The 1977 post-Watergate interviews between TV host David Frost and the disgraced president Richard Nixon "changed the relationship between politics and journalism forever, says "Frost/Nixon" p.r. The film, adapted for the screen from Peter Morgan's Broadway play, is a dramatic retelling of the story of how the lightweight British talk show host was able to elicit an apology from president for his abuse of power. Frank Langella and Michael Sheen reprise their roles as Nixon and Frost in the film.

Howard said he was "riveted" by the original interviews. "I was looking for clarity," he said. Seeing the play with his wife in London, he knew immediately that he wanted to make the film. Luckily for him, he said, Universal agreed with Howard and his "indie model" for "Frost/Nixon."

Howard said that after the Watergate scandal, people thought the abuse of executive power would never happen again. "It resonates today," he said. "That's the dramatic link."

Both Frost and Nixon's reputations were on the line with the interviews. Each thought he could manipulate the medium of TV for his own benefit. Frost, who put up his own money for the interviews, hoped the “get” would result in “a cascade of candor” from the president and would lend him journalistic legitimacy.
Nixon hoped a soft interview could help rehabilitate his image as a statesman and gain sympathy from the American people.

Howard's challenge was to make the material visual, he said. He did this by letting secondary characters get their viewpoints across, enabling viewers to “connect emotionally” with the film. He also wanted spontaneity, which he achieved by letting the actors improvise, which "liberated" them and "broke up what they were used to.”

Langella caused a fuss when he asked to be called “Mr. President” on the set. The resulting tension created an unease which carried over into filming and shows on screen in the Nixon character. Langella was not doing an impersonation, Howard said, but he masterfully incorporates Nixon’s physical and vocal mannerisms which helped him develop the character.

Sheen, who played Tony Blair in Morgan's film “The Queen,” plays the ingratiating jet-setting playboy Frost with the right blend of insecurity and bravado.

Frost recognized “the reductive power of the closeup,” Howard said. A defeated Nixon’s facial expressions captured on camera in the last interview were more eloquent than anything Americans had heard.

“Frost utilized the medium to its greatest effect in a democracy,” Howard said.

For more about the movie, see www.frost/nixon.net.

'Arjuna's Dilemma' - Next Wave in Opera

I must confess. Learning that Douglas Cuomo wrote the theme music to "Sex and the City" inspired me to catch an Aug. 22 preview performance of his opera-oratorio "Arjuna's Dilemma." What could Cuomo, who created such an iconic and memorable theme, do for the Bhagavad Gita, the ancient Sanskrit text? He's created a hypnotically beautiful work by blending eastern and western musical traditions in a masterful way, creating a powerful piece as indelible in its own way as his other acclaimed work. The bold combination of Indian classical music, Bollywood pop, jazz and Gregorian chant worked together in a suprisingly cohesive way. The 70-minute opera features an Indian singer, a Western tenor and a female chorus, along with 12 instrumentalists, including tablas and a jazz saxophone.

Produced by Music-Theatre Group, "Arjuna's Dilemma" had preview performances Aug. 22-24 at Purchase College. It will premiere Nov. 5, 7 and 8 at BAM Next Wave Festival in Brooklyn. The opera tells the story of the great warrior prince Arjuna, who, on the eve of civil war, is faced with a great moral and spiritual conflict: On the opposing side of the battlefield, he is faced with members of his own family and community. He asks for guidance from his charioteer Krishna, who has not revealed himself as the great Hindu god. Through the musical conversation as Krishna gradually reveals to the warrior the duality of the universe, Arjuna grows in self-knowledge.

The cast featured Tonny Boutte as Arjuna, Humayun Kahn as Krishna and John Kelly as the Scribe. Bob Franceschini was saxophone soloist. Badal Roy played the tablas.

The instrumentalists, on stage during the production, were dressed East meets East Village by designer Gabriel Berry in shades of saffron, orange and red.

The image of a rope fraying to the breaking point projected on a screen was metaphoric to me of the universal, of the many separate strands that wind together, to make the whole.

With "Arjuna's Dilemma," Cuomo draws from his diverse influences and experiences to create a noteworthy opera, one that will one day find its place in the contemporary repertoire.

Catch the Next Wave in Brooklyn.

'The Country Girl' or Can This Play Be Saved?

Wait. Don't leave the theater. "The Country Girl," directed by Mike Nichols and now playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway, gets better in the second act. During Act 1 we're left wondering why the three lead characters don't connect with each other and whether or not we should care if they do. In Act 2 playwright Clifford Odets makes things clearer, and we have a better understanding of the characters and their motivations. The actors have warmed up a bit by then, too, and breathe a little life into the production.

Frank Elgin (Morgan Freeman) is a washed up alcoholic actor. He and his wife Georgie (Frances McDormand) have a longtime co-dependent relationship. Georgie might have had a drinking problem first, but now she's the one waiting up nights, making the coffee and throwing away the beer bottles. And if you want to get to Frank, you have to go through Georgie.

Oh, and there's that dead child that keeps getting mentioned.

Bernie Dodd (Peter Gallagher) is an idealistic director, a man passionate about the theater, who believes Frank still has the magic and wants him for the lead role in a new play trying out in Boston.

Freeman, generally a satisfying actor, seems to be underplaying the role. There's no desperation in his Frank, and Freeman doesn't make us believe Frank was ever a great actor.

McDormand is a bit wooden and comes across more as a tight-lipped school marm than a life-hardened woman who started out as a fresh, naive country girl. We never really find out how this country girl ended up in a life in the theater. There isn't much chemistry between the two actors, which has nothing to do with the interracial casting.

Gallagher brings a bit of life and energy to the production in his character, and he does have some chemistry with McDormand.

The play asks, can this marriage be saved? Will Frank be able to keep on the wagon and take on the role? Is Georgie really a supportive helpmate or is she part of Frank's problem? Will Frank and Georgie stay together? And during the second act, we begin to care. When Frank becomes ill during the dress rehearsal and sips a high-proof cough syrup, the tension builds. It's not looking good. He's still fumbling his lines. Can he pull it off? We're rooting for him.

The generally good supporting cast includes Remy Auberjonois as the sympathetic playwright and Chip Zien as the hardball producer. Anna Camp, after a drab set and dreary costumes, was as refreshing sight as the ingenue in a fluffy pink dress.

'Port Authority' in Pleasantville

It wasn't just the 80-degree temperature in the airless auditorium that had women fanning themselves with their programs. John Gallagher Jr. (Tony Award "Spring Awakening") and Brian d'Arcy James (Tony-nominated, "Cashmere Mafia") turned up the heat with their performances in an open rehearsal of Conor McPherson's "Port Authority" for the Atlantic Theater Company at the Rosenthal JCC in Pleasantville on April 12.

McPherson, author of "The Seafarer," tells the story of three ordinary Dubliners through interconnected monologues. Gallagher plays Kevin, a young man desperate to begin his life and move out of the comfort of his parents' home. James plays Dermot, a middle-aged, alcoholic loser who lands a fabulous job through a case of mistaken identity. Jim Norton, who originated the role of Joe in Dublin, did not take part in this rehearsal. He plays a widower making the best of his life in a retirement home. Director Henry Wishcamper said the playwright's description is "three men summoned by God to tell the truth." McPherson's keen observations strike at the heart of each generation's hopes and dreams. The playwright tells his story of failure, loss and love with humor and compassion.

Gallagher and James both have a good grasp on their characters and manage convincing Dublin accents. Gallagher said he practiced for his audition by listening to an interview with "Once" actor Glen Hansard on YouTube over and over. The actors have been working with a dialect coach. Their performances had me engrossed, and I left wanting to see the final product. "Port Authority" opens April 30 in Chelsea at the Linda Gross Theater, 336 W. 20th St., http://www.atlantictheater.org/. Call 212-279-4200 for tickets.

Although this is the last production for this season, don't miss Anna Becker's next Insights and Revelations Series at the Rosenthal JCC (http://www.thedeependproductions.org/). Champagne and raspberry sorbet and a chance to meet the actors are a refreshing post-performance treat.

The Great White (Plains) Way

New York actors have been riding the rails to Westchester lately, with good reason. Executive director Jack Batman's new productions at the White Plains Performing Arts Center have drawn good buzz, and hopes are that a permanent repertory company is waiting in the wings!

Robert Cuccioli ("Jekyll & Hyde") gave a memorable performance in an overall excellent production of "Man of La Mancha" in December. Cuccioli's girlfriend Laila Robins, pale and ethereally beautiful, was there to support him, sitting orchestra center on opening night. Luke Yankee, son of the late, great actress Eileen Heckart, directed the show.

Composer Stephen Flaherty showed up on opening night for the concert version of "Ragtime" in February which featured a stirring Jerry Dixon ("Five Guys Named Moe") as Coalhouse Walker Jr. Dixon switched to the director's chair in March for "Ain't Misbehavin'," the supremely sassy Fats Waller musical revue. The crown jewel in a stellar cast was Anastacia McCleskey ("Tarzan"), who knocked everyone's socks off with powerful vocals and stage presence.

Dixon's partner Mario Cantone ("Sex and the City" and Broadway's "Laugh Whore") was there on several nights with a coterie of pals to cheer on his man.

Coming up April 24 at the White Plains Performing Arts Center is "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."

Wonder who'll be reverse commuting on Metro North for that?