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Don't be fooled by the grim-faced picture. It was the only unblinking one. For me, words are worth a thousand pictures. I'm looking forward to saying hi to all of you.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD



MOTHERHOOD OUT LOUD, now playing at Primary Stages after 59 E. 59th St, makes you feel as if someone has read your mind or your mother’s or your grandmother’s because no one would dare to say outright what actors are saying on stage The twenty scenes, united by themes of mothering that span birth to death, were written by a collection of playwrights that includes Beth Henley, a Pulitzer Prize winner. Some of the stories are true, some are composites of the playwrights’ friends’ stories, and others are invented. But they all feel true, intimate, and necessary.
There is magic unfolding as you watch Saidah Arrika Ekulona (Obie award winner for Ruined) morph into a Muslim mother of a teenager who just got her period to a divorced mother whose son is sent to Afghanistan, to a teenager interviewing her grandmother . James Lecense (winner of Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award) is as believable whether he is playing the male character or the character’s mother, Elizabeth. Randy Graff (Fiddler on the Roof (2004) and winner of the Drama Desk and Tony winner) can have loud, pull-your-hear-out desperation as a sleep-deprived mother as well as quiet desperation in Queen Est4her when her plays a woman whose son wants to go to a Purim Festival as Queen Esther. Mary Bacon (The Good Wife, Law & Order) can go from the panic and joy of a new mother to a mother-in-law who needs wising up.
My prediction is that Motherhood Out Loud will be a hit wherever it goes. It’s already been warmly received in L.A. and Greenwich Connecticut. I see this show as a hit in New York and lighting up stages all over the country: Florida, Texas, Washington, and more, then on to London.
From Motherhood Out Loud, whether you’re a mother or not, you’ll get an appreciation for just how thorny the role is. You might even end up forgiving yourself for the inevitable messes you’ve made with your children or your mother has made with you. And all the while, you’ll laugh hysterically and become tear-glazed, knot-throated, what my Russian bubby used to call “farklempt.”



DISCOUNT TICKETS AVAILABLE if you call Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 or visit Primarystages.org and use the promotion code MOM9161

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Enter CarlIto Carvalhosa's Sum of Days at the Moma and you will see and hear just as a psychic does








Do you see the figures through the scrim of fabric? That is just how a psychic sees. And check out the UTube of a visitor to Sum of Days. You will hear just as a psychic hears: an overlay of sounds over time. That's why when a psychic says, "I hear a name that begins with H," instead of thinking he's guessing, try to pick out specific names when you enter the exhibit. You'll see. You'll hear.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Vera Famiglia's Higher Ground



Vera Famiglia stars in the original and quirky film out now. She delves into a woman's challenge to be part of a community of faith, all the while admiring their ability to keep their faith. Amazing to see such emotional honestly!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

VOCA PEOPLE, The White Blue Man's Group



Actually, Blue Man Group doesn't sing, and Voca People, they rock. They not only sing, but they dance and become their own instruments. (If you sit on the aisle, you might find your forearm becoming a sax.) I didn't think kids would like it, but there was a three year old behind me, enraptured. http://vocapeoplenyc.com/index.php?aid=ADV000000800

Monday, September 5, 2011

SMURFS MOVIE: KIDS SHOULD REVIEW KID'S MOVIES, I THINK!

My grandchildren loved the new Smurf movie so much that they wouldn't leave until the last credit rolled and the screen went dark. And it has enough double entendres to keep the adults chuckling.