wandeljw, I was (sort of) watching the red carpet coverage before the Oscars, and one of the commentators actually mentioned Lake House as the reason that Keanu and Sandra were arriving together. (As opposed to a Speed reunion as was proposed by the other guy.)
Thanks, mac. (I didn't watch the red carpet coverage.) Sandra's red carpet arrival with Keanu instead of her husband must have seemed unusual to some people. (Sandra is a newlywed.)
I thought Keanu looked bad - unhealthy or maybe just heavier than usual. Sandra looked great, and there was some discussion about whether she is pregnant.
and co-starring Wandeljw's daughter.
I thought that about Keanu as well, mac11. That he looked heavier than usual and not taking his vitamins. But you know, Keanu isn't 25 years old anymore. We're all getting older.
I watched the Entertainment channel off and on all day where they began Oscar coverage at about 12pm. It was foolish fun. They covered everything. I heard that little tidbit that "maybe" Sandra Bullock "could be'" pregnant also. And it did appear that she had a little pooch but you know...she's not getting any younger either.
Speaking of age (UGH):
Today Cyd Charisse will be 85 years old. Remember this one:
and
I know that one was for me!
Thanks Raggedy!
Doesn't Cyd have amazingly long legs?
Yes, she does -- which reminds me of that line from City of Angels: "Only the floor kept her legs from going on forever."
Yep. That one was for the Heather on the Hill gal.
That's a great line, bree. Love it.
I've just gotten back from a short trip to London, during which I saw four shows, and I thought I'd report on what I saw in case anyone is interested.
Resurrection Blues: Arthur Miller's last play, directed by Robert Altman, with a cast that includes Maximilian Schell and Matthew Modine. With those credentials, you'd think it would be great, wouldn't you? Well, you'd be wrong. I didn't hate it as much as the London theatre critics (who universally trashed it), but I thought it was incoherent. The play takes place in an unnamed country in the Andes, where a revolution has been going on for 38 years. A local peasant has been behaving in ways that suggest he may be the second coming of Jesus Christ, so the general who runs the country (Schell) decides to crucify him "as an example". (Huh?) An American advertising agency offers the general $75 million for the exclusive rights to televise the crucifixion. The American TV crew (headed by Modine) arrives in the country, and Â…well, I could go on, but there isn't much point, or if there is, I didn't get it. A sad waste of a lot of talent.
Embers, by Christopher Hampton, based on a novel by Sandor Marai. The play takes place in Hungary in 1939, and is about the meeting between a 75-year-old general (played by Jeremy Irons, in a beard that's supposed to make him look 75) and an old friend whom he hasn't seen in 40 years. The last time they met, the friend, who was in love with the general's wife, may or may not have thought about killing him while they were out hunting together. The next day, the friend left for Malaya, where he spent 40 years running a rubber plantation. Now he's back, and the general wants to find out whether the friend really intended to kill him that day and, if so, whether the general's wife (now long dead) knew about the plan. The conversation between the two men is pretty much the entire play, so to call it talky would be like calling the ocean wet. But hey, it's Jeremy Irons, so you won't catch me complaining about spending an evening listening to him talk. The friend is played by Patrick Malahide, who has very few lines, but does a great job of demonstrating why so much of acting is reacting.
Sunday in the Park with George, a revival of the Sondheim musical about the artist George Seurat and his girlfriend, who finally realizes that she will never be as important to him as his art is. I loved the original Broadway production, which I saw twice, and I thought this production was every bit as good. The coup de theatre at the end of the first act, when Seurat's painting, "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grand Jatte", is reproduced on the stage, was as breathtaking as ever. As was the case on Broadway, I thought that the second act (which is set in the 20th century, and is about a fictional artist who is supposed to be a descendant of Seurat) was not quite as successful as the first, but the first act is so fabulous, it would be hard to top it. Daniel Evans and Anna-Jane Casey were both very good as Seurat and his girlfriend, Dot (clever name for the girlfriend of a pointillist painter). I saw the last performance at a small theatre called the Menier Chocolate Factory, where the production started out, but it was such a hit that it's moving to the West End in May (unfortunately, without Anna-Jane Casey, who I assume has another commitment).
The Old Country, a revival of a 1977 play by Alan Bennett. The play takes place in Russia, where an Englishman who spied for the Russians (played by Timothy West, who was Sir Leicester Dedlock in the adaptation of "Bleak House" that was recently on PBS) has been living in exile for the past 15 years. The play takes place on a day when the Englishman's sister and her husband arrive from England for a visit. There's a lot of talk about how England ("the old country") has changed in the 15 years since the spy and his wife (played by Jean Marsh, who was Rose the maid on "Upstairs, Downstairs") have been away. It then turns out that the brother-in-law, who has connections, may be able to bring them back to England, and they have to decide if that's what they want. I love Alan Bennett's plays, and I enjoyed this one very much, but I think you may have to be English to fully appreciate it (and to understand why the mere mention of certain place names gets a laugh).
Thank you so much for posting about the plays, bree. You know we're interested.
And now, I've got to know:
1. In "Resurrection Blues" did they crucify the man?
Were you impressed at all by Maximilian Schell's performance? (He is a favorite of mine.)
2. In "Embers", had his friend really intended to kill him?
3. In "The Old Country", was the decision as to whether the couple should return to England left up in the air?
(I have a feeling you're going to tell me I'll have to see the plays. )
4. Did you see "Sunday in the Park With George" when Mandy Pantinkin and Bernadette Peters were in it?
Wow! First of all, thank you for taking the time to write your reviews. And second, you
know I'm interested.
I've heard about both Resurrection Blues and Embers. They would be on my must-see list if I were going to London. It's a real shame about that Miller's "last play" isn't something to get excited about, but somehow, I expected that we'd already seen his best stuff. I've always liked Matthew Modine - how was he onstage?
I saw Sunday in the Park twice in its original run, too. I need to get out the cast album and listen to it, right now. Gee, I love Mandy Patinkin.
I agree that Alan Bennett's plays (and screenplays) are great. It must have been weird to be surrounded by people who got all the in jokes. Or were there some tourists there too?
Ha! I just saw Raggedy's post.
I'll answer the last one - I saw Bernadette and Mandy the first time, but the second time, Mandy had been replaced by ... I think his name is Robert Westerberg? He had a small part in the original cast and understudied Mandy I think. He was very good, but <sigh> it just wasn't the same.
Don't worry, Raggedy, you don't have to book a flight to London to have your questions answered!
1. They don't crucify him because he escapes from prison (by walking through the wall). And, boy, is he mad when he gets out -- the play ends with an apocalyptic thunderbolt.
2. The friend declines to answer the question, so we never know whether he really intended to kill the general. In the novel, after the friend declines to answer, the general says, "I understand", and "in his voice there is a strange hint of satisfaction".
3. At the end of "The Old Country", the couple return to England, but we're left with the feeling that it isn't a happy ending because they will never be at home there any more.
4. The first time I saw "Sunday in the Park with George", both Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters were in it. They were later replaced by Robert Westenberg (mac was right) and Maryann Plunkiett, but I believe Mandy Patinkin came back at the end of the run, and that when I saw it the second time it was with him and Maryann Plunkett -- but I'd have to dig out a 20-year-old Playbill (which is in my apartment somewhere) to be certain of that.
To answer your question, mac, I got the impression that the audience at "The Old Country" was proportionately much lower in tourists and much higher in native English people than any of the other shows I saw. It's playing at a theatre called "Trafalgar Studio 1", which (along with "Trafalgar Studio 2") occupies the former Whitehall Theatre. Before the performance started, the woman sitting behind me was reminiscing to her companion about how the old Whitehall Theatre used to specialize in farces, which she said gave rise to the expression "Whitehall farces". It sounded like the kind of thing only a native Londoner would know.
I see that I forgot to comment on Maximilian Schell's performance in "Resurrection Blues". I'm afraid I felt that he was somewhat uncomfortable in what was apparently supposed to be a comic role. There's a running joke about the general's impotence, and how he hopes it will be cured by the young American woman who is directing the filming of the crucifixion. I found that the jokes became tiresome after a while -- which of course has more to do with the writing than with the performance, but it couldn't help but affect my opinion of the performance.
Oh thank you for satisfying my curiosity, bree. I was imagining all sorts of endings.
I don't think I'd care for Maximilian Schell in that type of a role either.
I can tell you'd like Jeremy Irons in any play -- and at any age.
I saw a PBS production of "Sunday in the Park With George" with Patinkin and Peters and wondered how it would be without them as the leads.
Yes, you've got my number -- I would like Jeremy Irons in just about any role.
I see I also forgot to answer mac's question about how Matthew Modine was onstage. (Jet lag is obviously making me forgetful.) I thought he was very good, and seemed very comfortable onstage. The play was done at the Old Vic, and I read an interview with him somewhere in which he said how exciting it was for "a kid from Wyoming" (or maybe it was Colorado; anyway, it was some western state other than California, which is where imdb says he's from) to tread the same boards that Richard Burton and Laurence Olivier once trod.
How humble of Matthew to say that.
I hope the jet lag fades quickly. When did you get back? Are you working tomorrow?
