ARTS

Theater Review: Mothers and Sons

Every so often, a play comes along which reminds us of why we love the theater so much. For in it, we find moments of enlightenment and truth which transform us into better people. We walk out, deeply moved, challenged, and changed by what we have just seen. Terrance McNally’s new Broadway offering, Mothers and Sons is such a piece.

The play opens in the elegant apartment of Cal Porter (Frederick Weller), shared with his significantly younger husband, Will Ogden (Bobby Steggart), and their adopted son, Bud Odgen-Porter (Grayson Taylor). Cal is making small talk with an unexpected visitor, Ms. Katherine Gerard (Tyne Daly). Katherine is the mother of Porter’s former lover, Andre. Years before, Andre was a promising stage actor whose life, like many gay men of his era, was snuffed out by the AIDS epidemic. Even after twenty years, an unfulfilled personal life coupled with the shame of a homosexual son is too much for Katherine to bear and she has come to their home to air her grievances, frustration, and disapproval. Meanwhile, Cal and Will remain proud of the lives they have led.

The subject of parental discontent over sexuality is too often drawn in shades of black and white. Here, there is proper room for gray. What is most humanizing about McNally’s script is that it does not vilify Katherine. It could simply portray her as rigid and unforgiving, and yet Tyne Daly has provided us with well-rounded matron of complexity, sure to resonate with many theatergoers. If a look is worth a thousand words, Ms. Daly is giving us the entire Wikipedia in 90 minutes. Her fellow co-stars shine equally in this sympathetic, heartfelt, and timely play about facing uncertainty and forging forgiveness.

Mothers and Sons is now playing on Broadway at the Golden Theater 252 West 45th Street between Broadway and 8^th avenue. For tickets, call 212-239-6200, online at www.telecharge.com, or go to the box office.

Pierre Dulaine: Peace on the Dancefloor

by Ryan Leeds

If the Nobel Peace prize committee is searching for nominees, they should look to the world of ballroom dance. Here, they will find Pierre Dulaine- a former dance champion turned social activist who is changing hearts and minds literally one step at a time.

In 1994, Dulaine founded “Dancing Classrooms”, a New York City based program which teaches elementary and junior high school students to dance with each other. He realized through his own experience just how effective the art form can be in building life skills and working with one another . His work was chronicled in the 2005 award-winning documentary Mad Hot Ballroom. One year later, it received the Hollywood treatment through the 2006 feature film Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas as Pierre Dulaine. After conquering Gotham, (where the program continues to thrive), he took his method across the nation and around the globe. The Dulaine method is now being taught in 31 cities, 5 countries, and 200 schools.

Born in Jaffa, Dulaine decided in 2010 to return to his homeland, where he would undertake the challenge of teaching Jewish and Palestinian children to dance together. He enlisted the aid of producer Diane Nabatoff who had also produced Take the Lead. Within two months, Nabatoff quickly secured financing, assembled a crew, found a director and joined Dulaine to record the experience. The result is Dancing in Jaffa, which will premiere in New York City on April 11th and in Los Angeles and other cities on April 18th.

The documentary has already trotted off with numerous awards at major international film festivals, most recently in France. The modest and eloquent Dulaine was in attendance. “There were eight screenings and, with all due respect, there were standing ovations at every single one”, he said. Nabatoff has also shared in the achievement and has noted how the movie is both cross-cultural and cross-generational. “We were just at a screening in Virginia. Afterwards, a young, beautiful girl in her twenties approached us to let us know that this was the most important film she had ever seen. Another lady (at the same screening), who was close to eighty shared that her parents were Holocaust survivors and that this was the most important movie she had ever seen. Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve gotten standing ovations, so people are connecting to this film on an emotional level.”

Breaking through cultural barriers was a challenge. Dulaine had to convince the principals of participating schools that his program would be beneficial for the kids on an academic level. He shared the transformative results his program had in New York and finally won them over. Nabatoff observes, “He teaches them self-respect, respect for your partner, and that one doesn’t preclude the other. She added, “Pierre always says ‘If you change the children, you change the future’. He went in and he transformed these children. They were spitting on each other, would not touch each other and hated each other.They were 11 years old. How do you have that much hate?” After 10 weeks of finesse, interaction, and implementation of the Dulaine method, the animosity faded. “By the end of the program, they were holding each other and respecting one another,” said Nabatoff.

Dulaine jokes that he’d like to teach Democrats and Republicans how to dance together. It’s a quixotic idea, but not out of the scope of Dulaine’s optimistic worldview. “He goes into areas of conflict and brings people together,” said Nabatoff. “It’s just unbelievable.” Someone recently posted a quote on the film’s facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/DancingInJaffa) which said, “Pierre makes the impossible, possible.” This should make us all celebrate an elegant man who can spin a daunting dance with the devil into a hopeful, heavenly waltz.

Dancing In Jaffa premieres in New York City on Friday April 11th. For showtimes and more information, visit www.dancinginjaffa.com. For more information about Dancing Classrooms, including the 2014 Fundraising Gala on May 21st, 2014 at the Plaza Hotel, visit www.dancingclassrooms.com.

Glittering Bombs- The Affordable Art Fair in Chelsea

by Jessica Klein

If you live in Manhattan, you’ve probably seen the many bright, pink banners flapping up Sixth Avenue announcing the Affordable Art Fair at the Metropolitan Pavilion. The four-day event hosting 78 galleries from all over the world started on April 2^nd and goes until Sunday, April 6^th in Chelsea. Deemed the Affordable Art Fair for a reason, no piece under the Met Pavilion’s roof costs over $100,000, with many settling below the $5,000 mark.

With the typical stark, white walls of a gallery setting, the art itself was better reflected by those shocking, pink banners. The array of pieces from emerging and established artists formed an amazing collection for those looking to buy or those simply hoping to soak up the lively atmosphere. It felt like all of the pieces came together in Chelsea to explode, scattering glitter, bright colors, Disney references (like a metallic Batman with a vastly enlarged erection), aerial views, and splattered paint.

Some of the more standout results of this explosion included interactive pieces by Waller & Heneet from Cambridge, UK, the “Eye Series” by Myung Nam An, and photographs by Sebastian Bieniek, a Poland-born German artist. The first, made of “mixed media,” featured a number of different colored balls that felt like wool attached to a surface over which viewers were free to run their hands, creating a vibrating effect across the “canvas.” Meanwhile, An’s ceramic “Eye Series” stared from across the pavilion, a handful of abstract “eyes” adorned with spikes, points, and blobs. Representing the most unique idea, Bieniek’s art occupied my attention for some time.

His most intriguing work starred his former girlfriend, whom he photographed in rather unique makeup. Using eyeliner and lipstick along with the woman’s own two eyes, Bieniek created the illusion of two faces by using her hair to cover her actual nose and lips, drawing new ones on the left and right sides of her face. In one photograph, a well-placed gun at the center of her face created the picture of a shocking, two-faced hold-up.

Current themes of surveillance and concealed violence pervaded the fair. Whether it was a collection of explosives crocheted from glittering, gold and silver fabric or a Homer Simpson-like Jesus wearing a bulletproof vest and double-fisting guns over the Hollywood sign, such imagery was hard to escape. Artist Warren Keating beautifully captured the surveillance era with paintings from an overhead perspective. The subjects were people walking down the street, depicted in a way that made them look “digitized,” as if they were being watched on a camera hooked up to a computer.

Of course, not all of the fair’s pieces embraced boldness and pop culture. Amidst the young, suit-wearing buyers scrutinizing wild, new works, a number of more traditional pieces unassumingly took up space on the white walls. It was refreshing to see some oil paints of restaurant scenes and sidewalks between the bold colors and sometimes vulgar images that mark contemporary art. Jonelle Summerfield of Indiana, Pennsylvania stuck out as an artist who captured such traditional subject matter through her own, unique lens. Taking an “impressionistic approach to her romantic street scenes,” in the words of UGallery, an online gallery that features Summerfield’s works, the artist did a beautiful job of capturing lighting, painting from photographs she took herself.

So whether you can afford some (not actually so) affordable art or you’re a student looking to spend ten bucks on a very cool exhibition, try and make it over to the Affordable Art Fair in Chelsea before the end of the weekend. Perhaps bring your sunglasses to prepare for all the glitter.

Theater Review: “The Bardy Bunch”

by Ryan Leeds

There’s something delightfully warped about squeaky clean children sticking daggers in their opponents as they cheerfully sing, “It’s a Sunshine Day”. Don’t worry–It’s not nearly as dark as is sounds. In fact, it is probably the campiest scene you’ve seen on any stage in quite some time. This outrageous moment unfolds near the end of act one in the brilliant and hysterical The Bardy Bunch , now playing off-Broadway at theatre at St. Clements.

This Shakespearean send up pits the Bradys and Partridge familes against each another. Both have been booked to perform at the same venue and neither are content to share the spotlight. In true fashion, all of the Elizabethan elements conjoin and no one is spared from the bloodbath that will inevitably ensue. Othello is here, along with Macbeth, Hamlet, and Shylock. Romeo and Juliet are also evoked as the Brady teens and Patridge teens bat forbidden eyes of romance across enemy lines.

Writer Stephen Garvey has created a witty and clever script that is executed with tongue in cheek perfection from a fun and talented cast.While many of us grew up with these two families, we are well aware of how delightfully tacky both shows were. Yet we cannot get enough of them. Here, “so bad it’s good” dialogue is blended with the eloquence of the Bard, and the results are side splitting.

The show has a limited run, playing only through April 13th. I have already sung the praises of this retrospective gem to friends and plan to catch it again before they pack up the bellbottoms. To paraphrase the dippy song, “I think I love it/So what I am so afraid of?/ I’m afraid that it might sell out before you can get your hands on a ticket!”

The Bardy Bunch plays off-Broadway through April 13th at the Theatre at St. Clements, 423 W. 46th between 9th and 10th. For tickets, visit http://thebardybunch.inticketing.com/events/series/The+Bardy+Bunch

Theater Review: All The Way

by Ryan Leeds

Since the days when sketch comedy became a part of our popular culture, it has been challenging to view portrayals of celebrities and/or politicians with an objective eye. It is especially difficult if those personalities are larger than life figures. Difficult, but not impossible. Currently, Bryan Cranston is proving this theory wrong in a layered and complex performance as President Lyndon Baines Johnson in Broadway’s All the Way.

This rich political drama begins in 1963, shortly after the assassination of President Kennedy. With Johnson now at the helm, he is forced to pass the Civil Rights Act, which has both the nation–and congress–at complete odds. It is a pivotal moment for Johnson. While he honestly feels as though it is the right thing to do, he must fight against archaic opposition from those more concerned about their own political careers and approval from constituents.

Over the course of 3 hours, deals are dealt, hands are shaken, secrets are whispered, and there’s “a whole lotta cajoling goin’ on”. Johnson’s southern charm is prominent, but so are his razor sharp tactics. No one is spared from his drive to succeed, not even his own wife, Lady Bird Johnson (Betsy Aidem), whom he enlists to speak in front of audiences in the days leading up to the 1964 election.

Though the cast is 20, most of them play multiple roles of actual figures. Robert Petkoff is perfectly obsequious as Senator Hubert Humphreys, who serves both as Johnson’s right hand man and punching bag. Rosyln Ruff renders a brief performance during a memorable scene. Her character, Fannie Lou Hamer, is appearing at a press conference on national television to describe the cruelty she endured as a young black girl. William Jackson Harper ignites the audience with a fireball performance as Stokley Carmichael, a civil rights organizer demanding equality. It is effectively staged, as Carmichael delivers his plea from the orchestra. There is potency in the language and an immediacy which cannot be ignored.

Cranston is clearly the star here, but the rest of the cast can fully hold their own. With simple use of projections, scene changes are made within the confines of the US Congressional House. This is truly theater at its’ finest. Robert Schenkkan’s script is crisp, riveting and thoughtful. He has successfully given us the first must see hit of the year.

All the Way is now playing on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theater, 250 West 52nd Street between 8th and Broadway. For tickets, call 1- 800-745-3000, visit ticketmaster.com, or go to the box office.

Theater Review: “Beyond Therapy”

by Ryan Leeds

Photo Courtesy of Marielle Solan. Pictured L to R: Karl Kenzler, Cynthia Darlow, Michael Schantz, Liv Rooth, Mark Alhadeff, Jeffrey C. Hawkins

It’s hard to believe that, not too long ago, in days pre-dating OkCupid, eHarmony, and other smart phone apps, that our means of meeting Mr. or Mrs. Right were limited to a newspaper clipping and blind optimism. Those days were the eighties, the era in which Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy is set. Currently, the Actor’s Company Theatre (TACT) is diving head first into the crazy pool with this send-up of psychiatric madness.

Bruce (Mark Alhadeff) and Prudence (Liv Rooth) are two bags of nerves who meet at “The Restaurant”, a dining spot in which couples maintain so much privacy that they are completely ignored by the wait staff. Shortly into the date, Bruce takes every wrong turn imaginable by crying (to show his sensitive side), and admitting to a relationship with his lover, Bob (Jeffrey C. Hawkins).

Bruce and Prudence plead for guidance from their psychiatrists; both are who are irreverent and completely insane. Bruce attempts to find meaning in life’s madness with Charlotte (Cynthia Darlow), a spacy crackpot who can’t remember simple words, details about her clients, or where she placed important files. Furthermore, she converses with a stuffed snoopy dog and uses it to speak in a doggie voice with Bruce. Darlow is outstanding and her comic timing is impeccable.

Prudence attempts to gain insight with Stuart (Karl Kenzler), but that is a sure fail. Stuart and Prudence were once romantically intertwined and Stuart can’t seem to cut the string. In his twisted mind, the best way to win back his lost love is to force himself on her and belittle her. It makes no sense that anyone tolerates this nonsense. Come to think of it, there is very little here that makes sense in the entire play. But that is the point. Rather than offering a seminar on the meaning of life, Durang suggests that it is all a collision of confusion and chaos, all of which is completely funny.

Under the direction of Scott Alan Evans, TACT once again manages to score a breezy and winning production. It is a complete diversion from the group’s mounting of last fall’s serious and somber Natural Affection, but it is equally as well crafted and entertaining.

Beyond Therapy is now playing off-Broadway through April 19^th on Theatre Row, 410 W. 42nd St. between 9^th and 10^th avenues. For tickets, call (212) 239-6200, visit www.telecharge.com, or go the box office.

British singer Kate Bush returns to the stage

by Jordan Mattos

In a stirring turn of events, pop chanteuse Kate Bush has announced a limited 15-date tour in August and September at London’s Eventim Apollo. The British singer, now 56, first became known in the late 70s with the unusual “Wuthering Heights”, inspired by the Bronte novel of the same name and featuring her now iconic high-pitched incantations. The classically trained Bush became known for off-kilter, idiosyncratic song subjects and for combining obscure ethnic instruments with state of the art production equipment, such as the then groundbreaking Fairlight CMI synthesizer.

Her only tour, 1979’s “The Tour of Life”, used whimsical stage elements such as mime, magic and modern dance choreography. A succession of hit singles throughout the 80s cemented her position in the pop pantheon, inspiring a string of cover songs by Natalie Cole (The Man with the Child in his Eyes), Maxwell (This Woman’s Work), the Futureheads (Hounds of Love) and others. In 2013, the Queen honoured her with a CBE for services to music at Windsor Castle.

Quite erroneously, traditional media outlets have named Bush a recluse for her sporadic media appearances and unwillingness to perform. In reality, her absence in the spotlight is due to Bush’s devotion to family, to production – at times taking up to a decade between albums to release songs in perfected form, and to a healthy disregard for celebrity. Already she is poised to outsell fluffy pop acts Kate Perry, Lady Gaga and even Beyonce, with ticket searches for the performer reaching an outstanding 432% on Viagogo.

Sales figures notwithstanding, Bush’s return to the stage is a hallmark event for fans of esoteric pop stars of any stripe. Quite a multitude of contemporary acts from Bjork to Tori Amos, have been influenced by her distinctive, elegant persona.

Tickets are now on sale. Prices start at £49, ranging to £135. For tour information please visit KateBush.com.

Theater Review: “Middle of the Night”

by Ryan Leeds

Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Simple enough, one would think. Then again, that would make for a rather drab drama. So, to complicate the lives of our leading lovers, classic playwright Paddy Chayefsky has whipped up some conflict in Keen Theater’s tender revival of his 1956 play Middle of the Night, now playing on Theatre Row.

The Manufacturer (Jonathan Hadary), an employee of New York’s garment district, is a bit lonely. His wife has passed and he’s in desperate need of some tender loving care. When the Girl (Nicole Lowrance) drops by the widower’s store to drop off some sales slips, she begins to deluge him with her problems. Her Husband (Todd Bartels) is a bohemian jazz artist who spends much of his time away. Aside from the sexual chemistry, there is not much keeping them together. The Girl is besieged by sadness to the point of filing for a divorce. Upon learning of her trials, the Manufacturer listens intently and, as Cupid would have it, falls in love with her. Here’s the “sticky wicket” in this: He’s Jewish. She’s a Gentile. He is in his fifties. She is a fresh 24. Neither family is taking this sitting down, but the couple is resolute on making it work.

Both Jewish and Gentile families adopt dual roles, and each player brings a strong performance to the stage. But it is Hadary, a long time stage veteran, who brings solid gravitas and a firm footing to Middle of the Night. The volatility and sincerity in his performance is perfect.

Although he is known more for his Oscar-winning scripts on films including Network, Marty, and The Hospital, Chayefsky’s Middle of the Night (which also received a film treatment in 1959) strikes sweet chords of unexpected promise and love. Director Jonathan Silverstein’s gentle guidance has allowed for a heartfelt production.

Middle of the Night is now playing off-Broadway now through March 29th. Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd between 9th and 10th ave. For tickets, call 212-239-6200, visit www.telecharge.com, or visit the box office.

Theater Review: “The Bridges of Madison County”

by Ryan Leeds

I’ll admit it. I watched the movie when it opened in theaters in 1995. I couldn’t wait for it to end. It was over two hours long and was chock full of schmaltz and bridges—and schmaltzy talk about romance and bridges. I was particularly unsettled by Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood naked in a bathtub. It isn’t that I am ageist and have an aversion to geriatric sex. I just don’t care to witness it, neither in fiction nor real life. So when I heard that Bridges of Madison County was receiving a musical treatment, I winced. Then I saw the creative team and star power behind it: Music and Lyrics by the genius behind Parade, Jason Robert Brown? Ok. My ears are perked! Book by Pulitzer and Tony award winning author The Secret Garden and The Color Purple, Marsha Norman? You bet! Starring the dashing leading man Steven Pasquale and the first rate Kelli O’Hara? Please! Can this get any better? All under the direction of Broadway hotshot, Bartlett Sher? Well, I was simply gob smacked with interest!

Did this creative team match the quality of their already impressive credits? Indeed. Based on Robert James Waller best-selling novel, Bridges is a morality tale which somehow, when paired with a stunningly gorgeous score by Brown, soars above all expectations. Francesca (O’Hara) beautifully paints a picture of the native Italy she left behind for… wait for it…IOWA?!!? Someone got a bum rap here, huh? Yet this was 1965 and her choices to be a homemaker beckoned her to the United States. Her beau turned out to be the “Aw Shucks” type, Bud (played with usual blue-collar esteem by Hunter Foster). Bud and his kids are headed to the county fair for a few days, leaving Francesca for some well-deserved quiet time. The children, Michael and Carolyn (Derek Klena and Caitlin Kinnunen), are a handful. Within 5 minutes of meeting them, I was convinced, had it been me, that I’d have thrown myself off one of the titular wooden overpasses as a permanent avoidance tactic to such insolence. Shortly after leaving for the fair, a handsome “hippie” photographer, Robert (Pasquale) pulls into the driveway, asking directions from Francesca and soon, their paths are both headed in the direction of lovers’ lane. It all makes sense, right: Iowa as a sacrifice for Italy? A redneck husband? Rambunctious children and an empty House? I’d like to buy a vowel, Pat. OOOOhhhhh! And you’ve solved that little puzzle.

For four days, the lonely lovers spark untapped wells of emotion and lust in one another, all the while realizing that this must remain a hidden passion. It doesn’t help that they need to dodge Marge and Charlie, (Cass Morgan and Michael X. Martin) Francesca’s nebbish neighbors. While the do gooders next door provide a few opportunities for comic relief, they read like cookie cutter caricatures. Without question, O’Hara’s radiant presence carries this show. Besides capturing the nuances of a conflicted, immigrant housewife, her voice is pure heaven. Pasquale generally carries his own here, too. Yet for all of his stage chemistry with O’Hara, his macho ruggedness and powerful baritone, the magnetism does not translate to the audience.

There is much to ponder in Bridges of Madison County, most significantly the choices and consequences of our actions- the “could nots”, “should nots”, and “might have beens” that morally conscious individuals are plagued with on a continual basis. It skillfully accomplishes its’ purpose without seeping into saccharine ground. With elegant scenic and lighting design by Michael Yeargan and Donald Holder, Bridges of Madison County creates a deeply profound tableau of love, longing, and life. While it eschews the typical Broadway extravaganza, its’ simplicity and beauty rests in the story. This will be a quality chapter in theatrical history books for those fortunate enough to have seen it.

The Bridges of Madison County is now playing on Broadway at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street between Broadway and 8th. For tickets, call 212-239-6200, visit www.telecharge.com or go to the box office.

Home work: Filmmaker Yared Zeleke’s Origin Stories

by Jordan Mattos

It takes a certain level of conviction to stay true to one’s roots when balancing the demands of a bustling metropolis. The filmmaker Yared Zeleke is an Ethiopian storyteller who swims against the current, making films that detail his experiences back home and abroad. His first feature, currently in development, was selected as one of the 15 international projects for the Cannes Film Festival’s lucrative L’Atelier program in 2013. Raised in the slums of Addis Ababa, Zeleke earned his MFA in Directing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and has worked with various NGO’s in Norway, Namibia and the U.S. All the while, he has preserved his artistic integrity while redefining where he calls home. I had a conversation with Mr. Zeleke about current artistic pursuits and the conditions facing today’s artists in the Big Apple.

Can you talk about your upbringing?

I grew up in the slums of Addis Ababa during one of the darkest periods of Ethiopia’s 3,000-year history. Emperor Haile Selassie had just been deposed in a military coup and the country was consequently thrown into cycles of war and famine. The ongoing conflict and chaos in my country caused me to also lose my family and home while a young boy. Despite the disturbances, I had a happy childhood.

How has your sense of home influenced your next film?

My first feature, Lamb, is analogous to my life’s journey in that it is deeply personal and inescapably political. It is a semi-autobiographical drama about the heart, heartache, and humour of everyday life in my homeland.

You are now back in Ethiopia. How did you feel being an artist in NYC?

It’s challenging…

Your film The Quiet Garden (2009) is about people asking to escape from the city’s noise. Would you or did you ever live in Manhattan?

I once lived in the Lower East Side, right before it got out of control with rent and well-off tourists. I wouldn’t want to return there or probably any part of Manhattan even if i could. Rent, especially, continues to increase for meagre spaces even in inconvenient locations. More and more young people are moving in, who are not necessarily artists themselves.

Film financing is a complex matter, especially during times of economic difficulty. How do you manage?

Grants, grants, and more grants. My work has been funded by several major European sources.

Why do you think artists resist calling their work political?

Politics is such a dirty word.

Your films directly confront difficult to dramatize anxieties. Housewarming (2009) confronts dead-on the alienation felt by an immigrant woman longing to be back home while attempting to fit in at a stylish dinner party in Brooklyn.

Housewarming is about homesickness, particularly as an immigrant in New York. Tigist (Patience) is a short documentary about a girl from the Ethiopian country-side who dreams of being a pilot and comes to California to learn to fly.

Women play an integral role in many of your films.

Strong women raised me in Ethiopia. My primary caretaker was my grandmother who was revered for her storytelling skills as much as she was for her coffee ceremonies. She was born in Kaffa, after all, the birthplace of the coffee bean.

Many of your stories deal with being an outsider and the relationship between defending one’s individuality or being accepted into a group.

The traditional African proverb,”it takes a village to raise a child”, rings true about my upbringing. The adults in my neighbourhood collectively looked after all of us as children by keeping us distracted from the horrors of the Derg with school, church, and the movies. I remember my aunt’s spiced bread; my cross-dressing cousin’s comedy act; the forested, majestic mountains surrounding the city; and the bonﬁres, singing, and dancing during the holidays. I incorporated all these memories into my stories.

For more information about Yared Zeleke and Slum Kid Films, visit http://vimeo.com/user942327

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