Broadway.com has published a long interview with my friend from college, Julie Halston, ranging over her very early days as a performer to her present role in 'Hairspray'.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Sunday, January 23, 2005
A Picture of Ruth
I've just discovered this picture of Ruth in Pied Piper's Interns and Apprentices Showcase this summer. It was taken by Fred Murphy. Ruth is the one on the left.
A Series From the BBC World Service - The State of the Union
In a four-part radio series from the BBC World Service, 'The State of the Union' reporter Owen Bennett-Jones travels the American Heartland talking to ordinary people. attempting "to get a better understanding of what preoccupies and motivates ordinary Americans, now the dust has settled after the election."
In the course of the series he visits Minnesota, Arizona, Texas and Ohio. Two of the episodes have already been posted to the Web, with the others to follow in the next week.
In the course of the series he visits Minnesota, Arizona, Texas and Ohio. Two of the episodes have already been posted to the Web, with the others to follow in the next week.
We Went to See Hairspray Friday Night
The whole family went to see Hairspray last Friday night. The kids had seen it, albeit standing at the back of the theater, once before. It was the first time for Bev and me.
My friend Julie Halston (whom I've known since my college days at Hofstra University) has stepped into the roles previously played by Jackie Hoffman, Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher and Prison Matron. Sabrina Reitman, with whom the kids had participated in some Pied Piper Children't Theater productions, had stepped into the role of Little Inez. They both did remarkable jobs, as did the whole cast.
The show is a high-energy singing, dancing, comedy experience from the opening to the very last note. The night was quite a cold one; New York was getting ready for the blizzard to come. You wouldn't have been able to tell in the Neil Simon Theater, however. Everyone turned in hot, high-voltage performances.
Shannon Durig substituted for Carly Jibson as Tracy Turnblad. She made the most of the opportunity throughout her performance, singing and dancing her heart out. Bruce Vilanch, as Edna Turnblad was simply hilarious. Mary Bond Davis, as Motormouth Maybelle, riveted the audience several times in the course of the evening. Chester Gregory II, as Seaweed Stubbs, was terrific. Todd Sussman, as Wilbur Turnblad, had a genial, loopy, slightly off-kilter delivery that very effectively led into his number with Edna, "Timeless to Me" and provided and effective counterbalance to the antics going on all around him. Tracy Miller, as Penny Pingleton, was a hoot and a half, all awkard gestures and dim-bulb delivery that make it all the more satisfying (and funny) when her light begins to shine.
Julie was marvelous. She was prudish (and discreetly racist) as Prudy, butch as the gym teacher, and no-nonsense tough-cookie as the prison matron. She was very, very funny as all three.
Sabrina Reitman was a wonder. She is (or will soon be ) eleven years old but she has the delivery (and the pipes!) of a twenty-one year old. She danced and sang up a storm, holding her own with the older performers and taking her turn in the spotlight like a star.
We got to talk to Julie and Sabrina backstage after the show although I was in a state of near-speehlessness, still coming down from the high of the performance. We talked about Hairspray all the way home.
My friend Julie Halston (whom I've known since my college days at Hofstra University) has stepped into the roles previously played by Jackie Hoffman, Prudy Pingleton, Gym Teacher and Prison Matron. Sabrina Reitman, with whom the kids had participated in some Pied Piper Children't Theater productions, had stepped into the role of Little Inez. They both did remarkable jobs, as did the whole cast.
The show is a high-energy singing, dancing, comedy experience from the opening to the very last note. The night was quite a cold one; New York was getting ready for the blizzard to come. You wouldn't have been able to tell in the Neil Simon Theater, however. Everyone turned in hot, high-voltage performances.
Shannon Durig substituted for Carly Jibson as Tracy Turnblad. She made the most of the opportunity throughout her performance, singing and dancing her heart out. Bruce Vilanch, as Edna Turnblad was simply hilarious. Mary Bond Davis, as Motormouth Maybelle, riveted the audience several times in the course of the evening. Chester Gregory II, as Seaweed Stubbs, was terrific. Todd Sussman, as Wilbur Turnblad, had a genial, loopy, slightly off-kilter delivery that very effectively led into his number with Edna, "Timeless to Me" and provided and effective counterbalance to the antics going on all around him. Tracy Miller, as Penny Pingleton, was a hoot and a half, all awkard gestures and dim-bulb delivery that make it all the more satisfying (and funny) when her light begins to shine.
Julie was marvelous. She was prudish (and discreetly racist) as Prudy, butch as the gym teacher, and no-nonsense tough-cookie as the prison matron. She was very, very funny as all three.
Sabrina Reitman was a wonder. She is (or will soon be ) eleven years old but she has the delivery (and the pipes!) of a twenty-one year old. She danced and sang up a storm, holding her own with the older performers and taking her turn in the spotlight like a star.
We got to talk to Julie and Sabrina backstage after the show although I was in a state of near-speehlessness, still coming down from the high of the performance. We talked about Hairspray all the way home.
Sunday, January 02, 2005
Movies Viewed
Forever Amber -- is not a great movie. It is not terrible, however. There is a certain amount of spectacle. Some of the supporting cast -- most notably George Sanders as Charles II -- are marvelous. There is a scene set at a performance of "Romeo and Juliet" which is fascinating. This was an early Technicolor film and the print that I saw seems not to have aged well.
The Clearing -- is a thriller, but not really. The movie is really interested in illuminating its characters through the unfolding of its events. It is not interested in providing little shocks along the way, in "thrilling" you. Nor is it interested in tying up anybody's life in a nice, manageable package. Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe all seem to appreciate the opportunity afforded them by this film; they turn in admirably subtle performances.
The Postman Always Rings Twice -- I'm going to have to watch this movie again. It is almost universally acclaimed as a top-notch noir but, after my first viewing, I merely liked it. It didn't grab me the way I felt it should have. John Garfield does a very good job and Lana Turner does as good a job as I've seen Lana Turner do. Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames are standouts. Cecil Kellaway does a number of interesting things which, however, don't quite add up to a coherent character for me. The motorcycle cop (I cannot identify the actor) was a small role that bugged the hell out of me. He seemed to be too dumb by half. The movie as a whole seemed softer, glossier than I wanted it to be. Some intriguing ideas seemed to get buried and some (perhaps inevitable) implausibilities seemed too much at the fore. I much preferred Double Indemnity, Out of the Past, and about fifteen other noirs I can think of. Still, James M. Cain himself seems to have liked the movie and I've read some glowing reviews. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Like I said, I'll have to give it another chance...
Boogie Nights -- Paul Thomas Anderson reminds me of the Robert Altman of M.A.S.H. and Nashville or the Spike Lee of Do the Right Thing. He likes to gather a bunch of people together around some activity and show us all the interactions. This film is about a group of pornographers in the late 70's and early 80's, just as videotape began to rise to prominence as the preferred medium. Interestingly, although it is a very different movie (and a very different sort of movie), Paul Schrader's Auto Focus is also concerned with the impact of videotape on the production of pornography -- in particular, amateur pornography. Anderson is very sympathetic to these people, whose talents are modest but whose ambitions propel them forward. Unfortunately, in just about every case, they have had to ignore some aspect of the situations they are in. In the course of the movie they will have to come up, hard, against realities for which they are poorly prepared. There is surprisingly little nudity and virtually no salaciousness in this film. I wouldn't have thought that I'd ever call a movie about the demimonde of pornography a sweet film but, well, this one is...
The Clearing -- is a thriller, but not really. The movie is really interested in illuminating its characters through the unfolding of its events. It is not interested in providing little shocks along the way, in "thrilling" you. Nor is it interested in tying up anybody's life in a nice, manageable package. Robert Redford, Helen Mirren and Willem Dafoe all seem to appreciate the opportunity afforded them by this film; they turn in admirably subtle performances.
The Postman Always Rings Twice -- I'm going to have to watch this movie again. It is almost universally acclaimed as a top-notch noir but, after my first viewing, I merely liked it. It didn't grab me the way I felt it should have. John Garfield does a very good job and Lana Turner does as good a job as I've seen Lana Turner do. Hume Cronyn and Leon Ames are standouts. Cecil Kellaway does a number of interesting things which, however, don't quite add up to a coherent character for me. The motorcycle cop (I cannot identify the actor) was a small role that bugged the hell out of me. He seemed to be too dumb by half. The movie as a whole seemed softer, glossier than I wanted it to be. Some intriguing ideas seemed to get buried and some (perhaps inevitable) implausibilities seemed too much at the fore. I much preferred Double Indemnity, Out of the Past, and about fifteen other noirs I can think of. Still, James M. Cain himself seems to have liked the movie and I've read some glowing reviews. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. Like I said, I'll have to give it another chance...
Boogie Nights -- Paul Thomas Anderson reminds me of the Robert Altman of M.A.S.H. and Nashville or the Spike Lee of Do the Right Thing. He likes to gather a bunch of people together around some activity and show us all the interactions. This film is about a group of pornographers in the late 70's and early 80's, just as videotape began to rise to prominence as the preferred medium. Interestingly, although it is a very different movie (and a very different sort of movie), Paul Schrader's Auto Focus is also concerned with the impact of videotape on the production of pornography -- in particular, amateur pornography. Anderson is very sympathetic to these people, whose talents are modest but whose ambitions propel them forward. Unfortunately, in just about every case, they have had to ignore some aspect of the situations they are in. In the course of the movie they will have to come up, hard, against realities for which they are poorly prepared. There is surprisingly little nudity and virtually no salaciousness in this film. I wouldn't have thought that I'd ever call a movie about the demimonde of pornography a sweet film but, well, this one is...
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