B'way Update: Buena Vista Social Club

The company of 
Buena Vista Social Club.
Credit: Ahron R. Foster

Buena Vista Social Club, the musical about musicians in Castro's Cuba which had a run last season Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company, is transferring to Broadway. Previews begin Feb. 21, 2025 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater prior to a March 19 opening. Buena Vista Social Club was also the subject of a documentary—Wim Wenders’ 1999 Oscar-nominated feature which spotlights the making of the titular album and a legendary Carnegie Hall concert. The Off-Broadway production won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations and received three Outer Critics Circle nominations and seven Lortel nominations. The book is by Marco Ramirez and Saheem Ali (Fat Ham) directs and also developed the show. Choreography is by Patricia Delgado and Tony winner Justin Peck (Illinoise). The score is the Grammy-winning Buena Vista Social Club. The music team is led by Tony Award winner David Yazbek (The Band's Visit) and Music Supervisor Dean Sharenow.  

The Broadway company features Natalie Venetia Belcon (Omara), Julio Monge (Compay), Mel Semé (Ibrahim) Jainardo Batista Sterling (Rubén), Isa Antonetti (Young Omara), Da’von Moody (Young Compay), Wesley Wray (Young Ibrahim), Leonardo Reyna (Young Rubén), Renesito Avich (Eliades), Ashley De La Rosa (Young Haydee), and Angélica Beliard, Carlos Falú, Héctor Juan Maisonet, Ilda Mason, Marielys Molina, Sophia Ramos. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB™ band features Marco Paguia (Piano, Music Director), David Oquendo (Guitar), Gustavo Schartz (Bass), Hery Paz (Woodwinds), Eddie Venegas (Trombone), Jesus Ricardo (Trumpet), Javier Díaz (Percussion), Mauricio Herrera (Percussion), and Román Diaz (Percussion).

Book Review: Afterglow: A Last Conversation with Pauline Kael

(Taken out of the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center) I was browsing the film section and came across this thin volume recording a last interview with legendary New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael conducted by music critic Francis Davis. At only 126 short pages, I finished it in an hour or so. I liked the introduction best, giving an idea of Kael's later years. Suffering from Parkinson's Disease, she retired from writing to Great Barrington, Mass. Davis describes planning a night out at the local cinema including who would give them a ride, Kael's issues with mobility and having pizza with her grandson who was living with her for the summer. A torrential downpour prevents their going out and they wind out watching a DVD of Galaxy Quest and an episode of Sex and the City. (The grandson goes out despite the heavy rain.) There is something sweet and cozy about this evocation of a night at home with a cherished friend.

The conversation is far ranging and not very deep, covering her days at the New Yorker and relationship with editor William Shawn, many movies and TV shows and Kael's disenchantment with the contemporary arts scene. You get a hint of her wit and an idea of her taste (which I often disagree with. She hated Star Wars and finds The English Patient self-important and tedious, for example.) 

I have several of Kael's books of collected reviews, but I have yet to read any of them cover to cover. I usually pick out individual pieces if I've just seen the film under consideration to compare my thoughts with hers. Some day I will have to read these works as a whole rather than dipping into them occasionally so that I can get an idea of the state of cinema for the several decades Kael covered. Afterglow would make a flavorful brief dessert to such a feast.

Earth's Woman President on Doctor Who

Vera Fusek as Earth's President in
Frontier in Space (Doctor Who, 1973)

Yesterday I was watching the Classic Doctor Who channel on Pluto and came across Frontier in Space, the six-part serial from 1973. The story is set in the 26th century where the third Doctor (Jon Pertwee) and his assistant Jo Grant (perky Katy Manning) are caught in the middle of an interplanetary conflict between Earth and the Draconian Empire. The two forces are on the brink of war, but the whole thing is ploy by the Master, using Orgon mercenaries at the behest of the Daleks to divide and conquer the universe. 

What I found most interesting about this serial is the casting of a woman as president of the entire Earth 50 years before we even had a woman running for US President on a major party ticket or Great Britain having a female Prime Minister. In addition, this imagines a world government with the globe unified in interests (horrors!). Her gender is never brought up as a plus or a minus and she is not American or British, but speaks with a vaguely European accent. The actress Vera Fusek was from Czechoslovakia and lived in Britain, according to Wikipedia. 

The casting was repeated two years later in 1975 with Ark in Space. The Doctor, now regenerated into Tom Baker (my favorite Doctor), along with new companions Sarah Jane Smith (the marvelously expressive Elisabeth Sladen) and Harry Sullivan (Ian Marten), materializes thousands of years into the future on board a gigantic vessel containing cryogenically frozen humans. The trio discover a recording from Earth's High Minister (again a woman), explaining the occupants of the ship are the survivors of a nuclear holocaust. The idiotic Harry exclaims to Sarah, “I bet that did your female chauvanist heart a power of good… Fancy a member of the fair sex being top of the totem pole.”

What's most remarkable is that Great Britain has had three female Prime Ministers since Frontier in Space and Ark in Space aired while we have had no women Presidents. Hopefully, that will corrected this November.

Other Random Dr. Who Thoughts: I've started taking out Dr. Who DVDs from the NYPL branches because my interest has been rekindled by the Long Island Dr. Who convention I attended. It's not to watch the old episodes, but the special features on the DVDs. So far, I've seen features on The Five Doctors (30th anniversary specials), The Green Death (an episode of the Sarah Jane Adventures with Katy Manning and Matt Smith), The Visitation (Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton and Mark Strickson reunited), The Robots of Death (a history of robots), and missing episodes from the First and Second Doctors. 

Book Review: All About Me! My Remarkable Life in Show Business

(Free. Found in a library box on 78th St. in Jackson Heights.)  I've seen most of Mel Brooks' movies and TV projects, so I really enjoyed this autobiography. At 451 pages, it flew by. From his childhood in New York to WWII, TV writing for Sid Caesar and Get Smart to his movie career, Brooks includes hilarious jokes, production details and behind-the-scenes glimpses of his gut-busting comedies. 

His personal life is somewhat stinted. While we learn much about his early years and his large family, very little is forthcoming about his first marriage. His second union to Oscar and Tony-winning Anne Bancroft is given full, loving attention. 

One surprise is the serous films like The Elephant Man, Frances, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Fly and the flop Solarbabies his production company Brooksfilms made.

My only quibble is after describing the making and casting of 12 films, it gets a bit repetitive. Every actress Brooks ever worked with is "talented and lovely," every actor is "talented." There are exceptions. The larger-than-life Zero Mostel and Brooks' frequent collaborator Gene Wilder are given special analysis. 

At 98, Brooks is still going strong and this is a joyous read. The best lesson to be taken from this book is laughter and work are the best medicine. These two elements helped his Producers Broadway director-choreographer Susan Stroman when her husband Michael Ockrent passed away and did the same for Brooks when Bancroft passed.

Binging on John Ford, Part 5: Silents, Shirley Temple, and Others

I found a cache of Ford's silent films on YouTube. These early Westerns blurred together and after a few days their plots jumbled in my mind and I couldn't tell one from the other. Many starred Harry Carey, Sr., as a grizzled cowboy. Carey's son Harry, Jr. later appeared in many of Ford's films, and his wife Olive had a significant role in The Searchers.

Straight Shooting (1917): According to many sources, Ford's first film. The ranchers and the settlers battle for dominance. For all its shooting and stunt riding, the highlight of the film is the silent acting of Molly Malone (that can't have been her real name). She plays the daughter of the crusty old farmer harassed and terrorized by the malignant rancher. Her brother has just been murdered and she is putting away the breakfast dishes he ate from that very morning. You can read the emotions on her face as she handles the bowl and slowly puts it away.

Bucking Broadway (1917): Cowboy Harry Carey Sr. goes to the big city to rescue rancher's daughter Molly Malone from the evil clutches of an alcoholic, sweet-talkin' slicker. You can trace the roots of the Beverly Hillbillies humor this far back.

Hell Bent (1918): Harry falls for Bess, a good gal forced to work in a dance hall cause her no-count brother cain't support her. After a bank robbery and kidnapping, he saves her from death in the desert. 

Just Pals (1920): Anticipating Chaplin's The Kid, Just Pals idolizes the bond between the town tramp and an adorable runaway rugamuffin. Romantic rivalries, kidnapping, embezzlement, and other melodramas figure in this kitchen-sink sentimental drama.

B'way Update: Real Women Have Curves

Sandra Valls, Florencia Cuenca and Shelby Acosta
in "Real Women Have Curves: The Musical."
(Courtesy Nile Scott Studios)

Real Women Have Curves, a new musical based on Josefina López's play and the HBO film  (screenplay by Josefina López and George LaVoo), is schedule to debut on Broadway in 2025 following a 2023 run at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T) at Harvard University.

Summer 1987, Boyle Heights, Los Angeles. After eighteen years under the roof of her immigrant parents, Ana is ready to spread her wings. Her dreams of college and a career in New York City are bursting at the seams, but her family’s expectations would keep her home, working at their garment factory (and being driven crazy by her mother). Is it worth sacrificing the dreams of her family by Ana fulfilling her own? 

The new musical will feature music and lyrics by Grammy Award-winning artist Joy Huerta of the Mexican pop duo Jesse & Joy and composer/lyricist Benjamin Velez, book by Lisa Loomer, additional material by Nell Benjamin, music supervision by Nadia DiGiallonardo, and direction & choreography by Tony and Olivier Award winner Sergio Trujillo (Jersey Boys, Ain't Too Proud).

“I am thrilled to be a part of bringing Real Women Have Curves: The Musical to Broadway,” said Grammy Award-winning artist Joy Huerta, who will pen music and lyrics. “Songwriting for theater is a new undertaking for me, and it’s been a thrill to collaborate with Sergio, Bejamin, Lisa, Nell, and the rest of this extremely talented team. Ana’s story is such a powerful and universal one that already holds so much cultural relevance, and we look forward to bringing it to new audiences in this musical format.” 

Dates, cast and additional creative team will be announced at a later date.

B'way Update: Elf; McKean in Glengarry; New LCT Leaders

Grey Henson will star in 
Elf the Musical this holiday season.
Credit: Rebecca J. Michelson

A new production of Elf the Musical will hit Broadway just in time for the holidays. Following two runs in London's West End in 2022 and 2023,  the new Elf will begin previews at the Marquis Theater on Nov. 9 with an official opening or unwrapping on Nov. 17 for a limited run through Jan. 4, 2025. Tony nominee Grey Henson (Mean Girls, Shucked) will star as Buddy the Elf who journeys from the North Pole to find his family in NYC.

"I cannot wait to play Buddy the Elf eight times a week, in this hilarious and joyful musical, during the most magical time of the year on Broadway,” said Grey Henson. “Elf has always been required yearly viewing for me, and I am so honored and excited to be fulfilling a lifelong dream of wearing tights on Broadway!”

Based on the 2003 film comedy starring Will Farrell, James Caan and Bob Newhart, Elf opened on Broadway in 2010 and was revived in 2012. The book is by Tony winners Thomas Meehan (The Producers, Annie) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone) and the score is by Matthew Sklar and Chad Begulein (The Wedding Singer, The Prom). This new production is directed by Philip Wm. McKinley (The Boy from Oz, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) with choreography by Olivier and Drama Desk nominee Liam Steel (Company).

Michael McKean and Bob Odenkirk in
Better Call Saul.

Michael McKean in Glengarry: According to Deadline, Drama Desk winner Michael McKean will join previously announced Bob Odenkirk, Kieran Culkin and Bill Burr in the upcoming Broadway revival of David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. This fourth Broadway production of Mamet's play on cut-throat real-estate salesmen is scheduled to open in the Spring of 2025. Tony winner Patrick Marber directs. McKean appeared on Better Call Saul opposite Odenkirk. McKean last appeared on Broadway in the 2017 revival of The Little Foxes. His additional Main Stem credits include All the Way, The Best Man, Superior Donuts, The Homecoming (Drama Desk for Outstanding Ensemble), The Pajama Game, Hairspray and Accomplice.

B'way Update: John Mulaney, Renee Elise Goldsberry in All In

John Mulaney

Comedian-actor John Mulaney will return to Broadway in All In: Comedy About Love by Simon Rich beginning performances at the Hudson Theater Dec. 11 for a limited run of ten weeks. Mulaney last appeared on Broadway in the two-character comedy piece Oh, Hello! opposite Nick Kroll. Tony winner Alex Timbers who directed Oh, Hello!, will stage All In.

The cast will consist of a rotating group of four players. Mulaney will initially be joined by Tony winner Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton) (through Dec. 30), Peabody winner and Emmy nominee Fred Armisen (Portlandia, SNL), and Drama Desk winner Richard Kind (The Big Knife). Chloe Fineman of SNL will join the cast Jan. 2, 2025 through Jan. 12. Additional casting will be announced. The play will consists of short vignettes about dating, marriage and heartbreak, based on Rich's stories which have appeared in The New Yorker. Rich is an Emmy nominee and WGA winner for his work on SNL and has written six story collections and two novels. Man Seeking Woman, a comedy series based on his collection The Last Girlfriend on Earth, premiered on FXX in 2015. He is the son of former New York Times theater critic Frank Rich.

Othello Finds a Home: In other news, the starry revival of Othello with Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Molly Osborne (Call the Midwife) and directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon has announced a theater and dates. This 22nd Broadway production of the jealous Moor's tragedy will begin previews Feb. 24 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater prior to a March 23 opening. The play previously played the Barrymore in 1935 for 11 performances.

Pre-Debate Anxiety; Word Salad

If Trump were held to the same standard as any normal politician he would disqualified right now. If

Graphic from CNN

Harris had given his gibberish, word-salad answer to a question about childcare, she would out of the running. So why does these MAGA morons still support Trump? Vance's respond on a similar query wasn't much better. He said get Grandma, Grandpa, Aunties, or Uncles should be called upon to help with daycare and if none are available, the authorities should lower the standards for getting a child care license. 

Trump claims he's not rambling, he's weaving separate bits of info to create a beautiful tapestry of meaning. Who does he think he is, Rachel Maddow? She can do that--talk for 20 or 30 mins on seemingly unrelated topics, but stitch them together into a brilliant narrative. Trump juts spouts words like Bart Simpson giving a book report on a book he didn't read. (OK, I got that bit from Morning Joe this morning.)

This has me worried because if Trump can put together a coherent sentence and doesn't look like a total blithering idiot, expectations for him are damn low he will be seen as winning Tuesday night's debate with Harris. Plus the mics will be muted so he won't be tempted to talk over Harris and the moderators and sound like a rambling jerk. 

Another news flash which infuriates me: the judge in the hush money case has postponed sentencing till after the election, almost at Thanksgiving. What if Trump wins? How will the sentence be carried out? Will he have to wear an ankle bracelet in the White House (This picture is amusing and would work for an SNL sketch but not for reality.)

On top of that, Trump held a 45-min. rant and called it a press conference, re-opening the E. Jean Carroll case, castigating her and the other woman accusing him of sexual assault. Time for a third lawsuit, Donny? I repeat, how can anyone support this guy to lead our country?

Book Review: The Kingdom of Sand

(Bought at the Time and Space Limited Store, Hudson, NY) Andrew Holleran's melancholy, well-written novel doesn't have much of a plot. We follow the nameless narrator, a lonely single gay man in his 60s, as he drives around the tiny North Florida town he returned to in order to care for his aging parents and can't seem to leave after they have died. The protagonist came of age when gays had no models of family, romance and marriage, so his intimate encounters with other men are held on the fringes of public places like the ramp of a boat dock after dark, video booths at an X-rated bookstore, or in restrooms. We never learn about his work life apart from NYC temp jobs after college and doing research for a writer in Washington DC. But he seems to have enough money to be comfortably retired. 

The bulk of the novel is taken up with the narrator's relationship with one of his few local friends, Earl, a much older gay man. Both are alone, without lovers, watching DVDs of classic Hollywood films, listening to classical records and facing their solitary mortality. Holleran's descriptions bring both characters to vivid life even though not much happens. I like the last chapter best "Two Loves Have I at Walgreen's" where the narrator details his elaborate plans to visit the titular chain drugstore just as it's about to close so he can have some private time with an attractive boyish clerk with Bette Davis eyes and a pharmacist who resembles Edgar Allen Poe. 

It's a very sad novel. As noted there seems to be no history of love for the protagonist. Holleran evokes the lives of the narrator and Earl through telling details and metaphors. The story asks the vital question, what will we leave behind and how do gay lives fit into the larger society. Holleran paints a depressing picture, but the narrator seems to have few regrets and never expresses sorrow for his lack of deep connections with his sister or her children or never having a sustained intimate relationship with another man. Gay men and women now have more options to be open and not be ashamed of their found families. One of the most telling details occurs when the narrator and Earl hesitate watching the silent German film Different From the Others about a gay man subject to blackmail because Earl's handyman is present, fixing them dinner. They're worried what the straight man would think, when it's probably obvious the handyman knows both friends are gay and he couldn't care less. That was the saddest part of the whole book for me. 

Notes on Films Viewed on TCM

Marlene Dietrich in the infamous
Hot Voodoo number in Blonde Venus

I happened on the middle of Blonde Venus (1932, Josef Von Sternberg) on TCM and rewound it to the beginning. What Marlene Dietrich was selling and what Madeline Kahn satirized so brilliantly in Blazing Saddles was boredom and beauty. In her most iconic role after The Blue Angel, Dietrich plays a German-born wife and mother forced to sing in NYC cabarets to pay for her ailing husband's expensive medical treatments (Herbert Marshall is the husband in a role he would later repeat opposite Bette Davis in The Little Foxes.) 

In the infamous Hot Voodoo number, later parodied by Joel Schumacher for Uma Thurman in the ultra-campy Batman and Robin, Dietrich transcends the plot, her character and sexuality itself. The number is supposed to take place in a low-class dive but there are high production values and filthy rich customers like Cary Grant as a playboy-politician frequenting the dump. The weirdness starts as a chorus of African-American dancers--not white girls in blackface--got up as stereotypical tribeswomen with spears, shields and Afros, sensuously move as one like a giant millipede, leading a gorilla on a chain. Things get weirder when the beast removes its paw to reveal an alabaster feminine hand, nails painted and adorned with diamonds. The gorilla is revealed to be Dietrich who once shod of the costume, croons of the intoxicating rhythm of Hot Voodoo.