West Side Story: A Magnificent Surprise

 

To do a remake of the beloved Oscar winning 1961 film West Side Story (original Broadway production was in1957) takes guts. Maybe only a director with the standing of Steven Spielberg could get a way with tackling such a risky project.

Many of my friends who fervently love the original film have pledged not to see the remake.  How can you improve on a classic? Despite the negative talk, Spielberg has been dedicated to this idea for many years.

The film was shot in New York in the summer of 2019 but was just released on December 10, 2021. It’s the perfect movie to bring you back into a movie theater.

Let me begin by saying that I rank West Side Story as one of the greatest Broadway musicals of all time. I have great respect and love for this piece of theater. Transferring it to yet another film is a delicate process.

SONDHEIM: Irony of Ironies

 

The theatrical world was shocked by Stephen Sondheim’s death on November 26, and immediately the media was awash in a tsunami of praise and tributes. Professionals and fans from all walks of life described Sondheim as the greatest writer of Broadway musicals, ever.

Although Sondheim was 91, his passing was still a surprise.  Up until the very end, Sondheim was seen attending theater, working on the revival of his landmark show Company and appearing on TV. He seemed vigorous and sharp.

Ever since first hearing the soundtrack album of Company in 1970, I have been a fan. I found the new show so current, so hip, so real, and so witty. Like nothing I had ever heard before. Indeed, it has been said that Company revolutionized musical theater. It was nominated for the most Tony awards of any musical (14 nominations, 6 wins), a record that held until The Producers (2001)

It was so different, that I didn’t even realize that Company was written by the same guy who penned the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story, let alone Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum, his only hit before Company in which he wrote both music and lyrics.

HADESTOWN - A Funky and Brilliant Opening to the B'way Season

 At long last, East Lansing’s Wharton Center’s Broadway series finally opened on Tuesday night. Everyone in attendance was eagerly looking around to see how big the house was, understanding that Michigan’s Covid numbers are stubbornly high. Well, it looks like folks have a great need to have their spirits lifted with singing and dancing and good stories.

“Hadestown,” the Tony award winning spectacle, filled about 1100 seats (out of 2500) at the Cobb Great Hall – about normal for Covid times.

Although many people didn’t know what to expect from this oddly named musical, the 13-member cast dispelled all apprehensions at the very beginning. They entered the stage as a group, smiling and waving to the audience enthusiastically. And the audience smiled and laughed back. I saw the 4^th wall crumbling.

INTERLOCHEN - Great changes, Great Traditions

 

The 1200-acre land mass that is the campus of Interlochen – the Arts Camp during the summer and Arts Academy boarding school during the academic year – is an architect’s dream. Two idyllic lakes sit on either side of the densely wooded property dotted with small 80-year-old stone and wooden practice huts and various performance and academic buildings. Interlochen is located just south of Traverse City, Michigan.

30 years ago, the international architectural and planning firm, Sasaki Associates, was engaged to create a campus master plan. Interlochen saw a great need to offer world class teaching and living facilities to serve arts students in the 21^st century. Also, it had to re-build classic buildings which have become dangerously out of date.

After Months of Covid Darkness, Performers are Expressing Themselves Once Again

 

For many folks, the Covid pandemic lockdown did not make a big difference to their daily work life. Given the technology now available, working on computers in the family room allowed them to do most of the tasks required of them back in their offices. Some even preferred the “new normal” of going to work, dressed in jammies with a dog at their feet.

But that’s not the case for performing musicians. Working remotely is not an option for a concert soloist. 

The pandemic denied these artists more than not being able to do their job. It limited the very essence of how they communicate emotions and feelings to others.

VAIL! Mountains and Music: Perfect

 

When I was planning a trip to the mountains of Colorado with my son, my one request was that we choose a place that had live music available to us in the evening.  I was aware that Aspen has a famous music and arts school with many concerts but I didn’t know about Vail. 

To my surprise this ski resort, an hour southwest of Denver, is the home of Bravo!Vail a full throated music festival with a full array of concerts, and events. During the month of July, the festival played host to four major orchestras, one week for each ensemble. The lineup was Academy of St. Martin in Fields with Joshua Bell, the Dallas Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic.

I was there for the NY Phil’s week which made me feel I had hit the mother lode.  I found the experience to be nearly perfect: hiking through the stunning 8-10,000 ft. mountains during the day (no humidity, no mosquitoes), and listening to a world class orchestra in the evening.

COVID - TV

 

It’s been a strange year. The semi-quarantine we are living in began almost like a game.  Sometimes, it reminded me of camping.

People stayed at home.  They played board games, ate ALL meals together and watched a lot of TV.  It was a new adventure and almost fun.  Families brought out favorite recipes they had forgotten. Zoom, which was mostly unknown by most Americans, suddenly became ubiquitious.  Every one was Zooming for family gatherings, playing bidge, religious servies and business.

And everyone was walking.  Dogs have never been happier as their masters took them outside 3-4 times a day. And they were with them all day long, as well.  Heaven! Also, stores were running out of flowers and topsoil as folks spent hours laboring in their gardens. 

But soon the fun of it all began to fade.  Cooking became a chore again. Lovely quiet evenings at home reading, soon lost its charm.

Lansing Symphony: Up-Close, Personal and Online

 

How can a symphony orchestra survive if there are no audiences to listen to their concerts?

Lansing Symphony Orchestra conductor and music director Timothy Muffitt has given much thought to pondering an answer to that difficult question.

The most obvious answer is digital video.  A quick scan of You Tube and you will find hundreds of orchestras trying various ways of keeping classical performances alive and their subscribers happy.

Muffitt says, “I’ve spent a lot of time viewing videos of orchestras giving performances with empty concert halls.  That didn’t seem right to me. I kept on thinking; how can we turn liabilities into assets?”

Lansing's Queen of Theater, Dead

 

On January 30^th, Lansing lost its queen of local theater. Carmen Decker died at age 97 after years of lingering bad health.

She was only 5 foot tall, painfully shy and had a high raspy voice, but when the petite blonde stepped on the stage she became a powerhouse of the theater.

Carmen Decker was hailed by both her peers and her fans as the first lady of Lansing theater.

Whether she played in a classic drama like “The Lion in Winter”, an emotional human story like “The Gin Game” or a raucous comedy like “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All For You”, Decker won over the audience with applause and awards.

All of us who have loved Lansing theater over the decades have reveled in Carmen’s heartfelt and brilliant performances.  Beginning with the Lansing Civic Players in the 1950s, she later became a key member of the Boarshead Theater and delighted audiences with dozens of plays that paired her with John Peakes, the theater’s founder. 

The chemistry they displayed on stage was a rare and beautiful thing to behold.