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Photo by Don Kellogg
Showing posts with label Judith Ivey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judith Ivey. Show all posts

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Now Playing over at the Cherry Lane Theater hidden down on a charming Greenwich Village street is a gem of a situation comedy written by Israel Horovitz.  

The story revolves around a dead man (the star of the show who we never see) and his many ex-wives and girlfriends who are congregating in his Paris apartment one by one for his funeral and learning, at times, more than they cared to know about each other and the life they all shared throughout the decades with this man.  

Stage and screen veteran the indomitable Estelle Parsons (Evelyn) is the oldest of the wives and the first one to the apartment (well, the oldest alive, actually).  She's sharp tongued, sassy, and brassy - just like Ms. Parsons herself.   Judith Ivey plays the next in line - Evvie - slightly more hip but still sassy and bold.  Then there was Janice (Angelina Fiordellisi) who is quite the psychologically challenged woman who may or may not repeat jumping out a window - something she did when she was married to our invisible host character.  Fast forward through some other now dead women to a young 20 something young woman who appears and announces she was his latest wife.  

Hilarity ensues with the introduction of each woman to the equation.  Generational differences are discussed, analyzed, bitched about and thrown against the walls to see what will stick.  We slowly learn he was a womanizer who aged to 100 but always liked his wives between the age of 20 and 25ish.  These ladies all loved their husband, all are curious about the other women but deep down hate each other except for the last young chippy (Francesca Choy-Kee) - she loves everyone and wants to make a home in Paris for them all.  

Hilarious and entertaining!  These women will make you laugh about being loved, jilted, and replaced.  If only we could meet the dead guy - who remains unnamed in the script!  In an interesting twist -i do not know who's idea this was - there are 26 pieces of artwork on the set (as a proper Paris apartment would have) that are done by celebs themselves including Eve Plumb, Rosie O'Donnell, Joel Grey, Tina Louise, and others.  A secret art gallery right there on stage alongside the show!

Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Audience

In what might be heralded as the show of the season, Dame Helen Mirren graces the stage at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre bringing Queen Elizabeth II to life right here on West 45th Street here in the USA.  What is not as evident is that this play is not only about her, it is about her Prime Ministers and how history and their personalities shaped her life.

This production is written and presents her in a very soft light.  Her youth interrupted by the duties of Royalty;  Her upbringing influenced by wars, world events, and the British culture.  Her steadfast dedication to Britain even today is a testament to her perseverance  and steadfast dedication to her calling.

Peter Morgan's book which has changed ever so slightly for the US audiences presents her story as told through glimpses into the private meetings she holds with her Prime Ministers.  Lightly narrated by Geoffrey Beavers (Equerry) to give it an "insider feeling", it was funny, touching, heartfelt and endearing and this portrait of the queen does not dwell on any one event or family tragedy. On the contrary - it flows as effortlessly as her on-stage costume changes throughout the long span of her reign.

Equally diverse were her prime ministers over the years as portrayed by fine actors who all looked and sounded like their real-life role models.  From Winston Churchill (Dakin Matthews) and Margaret Thatcher (Judith Ivey) to John Major (Dylan Baker) to Gordon Brown (Rod McLachlan) and Tony Blair all the way up to the current David Cameron  (both Rufus Wright)- they all brought a political bent and a touching tale to the stage to help frame the life and experiences of the queen.


Life apparently isn't all tea and crumpets and Dame Helen Mirren brings the majesty as well as the normalcy of having lived a life in a castle straight to the stage.

A first class production all around which looked, sounded, and felt like they spent King's ransom on it behind the scenes.  There are even two of the queens guards in full regalia standing at attention guarding the stage at intermission.  Run.  Don't Walk.