Criticultura em Portugal

Carousel Music by Richard Rodgers Words by Oscar Hammerstein II Directed by Jack O’Brien Choreography by Justin Peck Starring Joshua Henry, Jessie Mueller, Lindsay Mendez, and Renée Fleming Imperial Theater, Manhattan August 8, 2018 This dynamic revival of Carousel (1945) did full justice to the complexity and richness of the show that Richard Rodgers called his best, even better than Oklahoma and South Pacific . In the first act we meet Billy Bigelow, a dark antihero type who seduces innocent girls at carnivals. He falls for and marries the innocent Julie Jordan, who has a bit of spunk and independence and ignores the social stigma of associating with such a shady man. Billy hits her, and this abuse eventually prevents him from entering heaven after he later kills himself during a failed attempt to rob a local businessman. He is given a chance to go back to earth to help and redeem himself with his wife and daughter, who is becoming wild like her father. He conne...

The Damned Based on the work of Luchino Visconti, Nicola Badalucco, and Enrico Medioli Directed by Ivo van Hove Starring Christophe Montenez and Elsa Lepoivre Le Comédie Française Park Avenue Armory July 28, 2018 This intense production of The Damned was the fourth production I have seen in the past few years by famed Belgian director Ivo van Hove. He takes lots of risks, and always displays a provocative visual style that tries to get to the emotional heart of his subject. The risks often pay off (a riveting  View from the Bridge  and   Kings of War ), but sometimes come across as interesting innovations that do not serve the play well ( The Crucible ).  Lately he has been adapting films for the stage ( Network, Visconti’s Obsession ), and this production was another of these efforts. The credits for this intense two-hour production oddly show no author; Van Hove “adapted” the play from the 1969 film The Damned by Luchino Visconti, but ad...

Hello, Dolly! Written by Michael Steward Music and Lyrics by Jerry Herman Original Production and Choreography by Gower Champion Directed by Jerry Zaks Starring Bernadette Peters, Gavin Creel, Kate Baldwin, and Charlie Stemp Every so often it is great to get away from edgy off-Broadway fare and veer back onto the Great White Way for some old fashioned musical theater. Hello, Dolly! is certainly that, perhaps a bit dated even when it appeared in 1964, harkening back to the 1930’s for its inspiration. There’s only one famous song (the title song), but features an attractive, well designed score that underlines the plot well. The plot centers on Dolly Levi, a 1890s widow who makes her living matchmaking, scamming, and turning every deal she can. She is an independent woman even before the Women’s Movement of the 1970s, so is a very attractive character. The show is a classic star-vehicle for luminaries like Carole Channing, Bette Midler, and now Bernadette Peters, who rep...

Whipped Cream (Schlagobers) Music by Richard Strauss Choreography by Alexei Ratmansky American Ballet Theater Metropolitan Opera House, Manhattan July 6, 2018 Who knew that Richard Strauss, he of the long, philosophically-wrought operas and tone poems like Also Sprach Zarathustra and Die Frau ohne Schatten , also wrote fun ballet scores? Not me. So imagine my delight to see and hear the delightful Whipped Cream , one of the latest of choreographer Alexei Ratmansky’s American Ballet Theater archival revivals. The original premiered in Vienna in 1924, during a time of post-WWI hardship, so its extravagance caused it to be derided as “the billionaire’s ballet” and it quickly vanished from the scene only reappearing last year in Los Angeles with the new ABT production. I suspect Strauss had a noble intent, much like the escapist Ziegfield Follies musicals of the depression 1930s. He wrote, “I cannot bear the tragedy of the present time. I want to create joy.”   That he...

Cyprus Avenue Written by David Ireland Directed by Vicky Featherstone Starring Stephen Rea The Public Theater June 24, 2018 There was recently an interesting article in the NY Times ranking the best 25 American plays   in the 25 years since Angels in America premiered in 1993. I have only seen a few of the plays ( Ruined, The Humans, Jesus Hopped the “A” Train , The Laramie Project, and August, Osage County ), but I have a few comments. First, it was interesting that Angels would be seen as some kind of iconic, Gibraltar-like anchor point of the ratings. Its flashy but only intermittently profound (see my recent review). Regarding the rated plays, Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train was not Stephen Guirges’ best play ( From Riverside to Crazy was better). The Humans was at best a ‘meh’ play about NYC white people, certainly not in the league of August Osage County , which deserved a much higher rating than 19th.   Most of the chosen plays exhibit clear political/...