Southern Bookman

Manhattan glows with vibrant autumn energy

New York City reveled in beautiful fall weather during our long weekend visit.

Rather than the chaotic, crime-plagued city depicted by rants in the New York Post, Manhattan displayed a vibrant, diverse spirit, its people warm and welcoming, filling the streets on a holiday weekend.

I first visited New York City 50 years ago, in October. Walking through the Museum of Modern art as an old man now walking with a cane, I summoned the ghost of my youthful self, stunned and transformed by viewing Picasso's "Guernica" there. I loved returning to the old masterpieces, from Picasso, Monet and Van Gogh to Jackson Pollock.

We walked to see Kenny Leon's endearing reclamation of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," starring Jim Parsons as a mesmerizing stage manager. In my first experience with Broadway, I saw Bernadette Peters, Robert Preston, Glenda Jackson, Elizabeth Ashley, Keir Dullea and Fred Gwynne on various stages. 

Gwynne, the star of "The Munsters" and "Car 54 Where Are You" played Big Daddy in  Tennessee Williams' "Cat  on a Hot Tin Roof," which also featured the radiant Ashley and a laconic Dullea.

The young Peters and the veteran Preston achieved aching chemistry in "Mack and Mabel." Jackson gave a dazzling performance in an Ibsen drama. I can't remember if it were "A Doll's House" or "Hedda Gabler."

Now, the young women aren't as stylish. Businessmen don't wear ties. Most newstands don't sell newspapers. Telephone booths are long gone.

The city still pulses with energy, a nutty entrepreneurial vitality. Manhattan might sink beneath the ocean one day, but I'll bet on it coming out on top, forever new.

Bernadette Peters thrills Atlanta audience with exploration of Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein songbooks

Bernadette Peters in an appearance with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Saturday night took an ecstatic audience on a rousing tour of Stephen Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein classics. 

Sondheim considered the Broadway star the best interpreter of his music. Performing a deep selection from Sondheim's songbook, Peters displayed the acting and singing brilliance that Sondheim praised. She made each song a character portrait evoking its original musical.

At age 76, Peters possesses a strong voice and dynamic energy.

In a shimmering silver dress, she made one departure from the Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein menu with a dazzling, sexy performance of the Peggy Lee standard "Fever," in which she perilously climbed stairs in her high heels to recline on music director Tedd Firth's piano.

Swinging her gorgeous legs, Peters echoed Lee's resonant voice, ranging from seductive low notes to brash higher registers.

Firth's piano enhanced the emotional complexity of Peters' more intimate songs. He also conducted the ASO with flair. The orchestra's musicians seemed to enjoy the swinging freedom of playing jazzy songs while smoothly backing slower-paced ballads.

Drummer Cubby O'Brien of Mouseketeer fame and bass player Kevin Axt from Peters' band joined the ASO. Axt and O'Brien gave a pulsing beat to Peters' "Fever" performance, building its dramatic momentum.

Peters reached one of the evening's high points with her aching interpretation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might as Well Be Spring" from the movie "State Fair." Hitting the song's high notes with crystal clarity, Peters uncovered the poetic richness of Hammerstein's simple lyrics.

Remembering Elaine Stritch, her fellow accomplished Sondheimian, Peters said farewell to her ardent admirers with thrilling performances of "Send in the Clowns" and "Being Alive."

Peters with her soaring voice and emotional range turned Sondheim's anthems of remorse and despair into affirmations of the human spirit, night music for the soul.

 

 

Welcome back: Shakespeare, Wilder, Sondheim and Mamet to return to Broadway

William Shakespeare's the hottest New York theater playwright.

Born 460 years ago, the English theater titan will reach 21st century Manhattan audiences with Broadway revivals of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Othello" and a new production of "King Lear."

Opening this month, "Romeo and Juliet" at the Circle in the Square Theater stars Kit Connor, best known for his performance in Netflix's "Heartstopper," and Rachel Zigler, who received raves for her portrayal of the Juliet-like Maria in Steven Spielberg's movie version of "Westside Story." Connor and Zigler will make their Broadway debuts in Shakespeare's tragedy of two doomed teenage lovers unable to escape the snares of their rival families.

The production will be directed by Sam Gold, lauded for his recent production of Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People." Jack Antonoff composed music for the revival.

Film and stage heavyweight Denzel Washington and Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaall star in "Othello," which opens in February at the Barrymore Theater. English stage and film actress Molly Osborne plays the tragic Desdemona to Washington's doomed Moorish general Othello, and Gyllenhaall's duplicitous villain Iago.

Lauded Shakepeare actor and director Kenneth Branagh stars and directs a production of Shakespeare's "King Lear" from Oct. 26-Dec. 15 at the Griffin Theater at the Shed, located in New York's Hudson Yards development.

Along with Shakespeare, classic American theater will also return to Broadway with productions of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town," Stephen Sondheim's "Gypsy" and David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross."

Directed by Atlanta's Kenny Leon, who also will helm "Othello," Wilder's nostalgic classic about residents of a small New England town returns to Broadway for the first time in 2o years.

Starring Jim Parsons, Katie Holmes, Zoey Deutch, Ephraim Sykes, Billy Eugene Jones and Richard Thomas, the production begins this month at the Barrymore Theater.

Six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald takes charge of the famous role of Momma Rose in Sondheim's beloved "Gypsy," beginning in November at the reopened Majestic Theater.

In a stirring contrast to Shakespeare, Wilder and Sondheim, Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" returns to Broadway next spring in a revival starring Kieran Culkin, Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr.

With a dazzling array of Hollywood stars bringing fresh energy to the classics, Shakespeare, Wilder, Sondheim and Mamet will light up Manhattan stages for longtime fans and a new generation. 

 

 

 

 

Griffin Dunne recounts Hollywood life of triumph, tragedy in "The Friday Afternoon Club"

Griffin Dunne's "The Friday Afternoon Club" upholds his family's glittering literary heritage.

The nephew of famed writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne and son of acclaimed author and crime reporter Dominick Dunne, Griffin Dunne looks back on a life of privilege, heartbreak and tragedy.

In the tradition of other revealing Hollywood memoirs, the 69-year-old actor, director and producer examines the intense pressures and fear of failure at the heart of film glamour.

Dominick Dunne enjoyed a blossoming career as a film producer, hosting sumptuous Hollywood parties with his wife, Ellen Griffin Dunne, that attracted a dazzling array of film stars. Griffin rccalls Sean Connery saving him from drowning, Elizabeth Montgomery serving as his babysitter, and his mother's close friendship with Natalie Wood.

It all crashed when Dominick Dunne at a dinner party told a cruel joke about the high-powered agent Sue Mengers. Suddenly, no one returned Dominick's calls, and he was finished as a film tycoon.

The book's tragic center is the murder of Griffin Dunne's beautiful and vivacious sister Dominique, a rising film star. The book's title derives from the name his late sister gave to a group of young actors with whom she frequently met.

The 22-year-old star of the movie "Poltergeist" was strangled by her boyfriend, John Sweeney, on Halloween in 1982. In a trial presided over by an incompetent judge who issued several prejudicial rulings in favor of Sweeney's attorney, the killer was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder, eventually serving three years in prison.

Griffin Dunne recalls the family's outrage over the trial and the defense attorney's malicious tactics. But the family's anger resulted in Dominick's emergence as a writer for Vanity Fair. Tina Brown, the magazine's new editor, met Dominick at a New York dinner party, and when he mentioned the trial, asked him to write about it. 

Dominick's success from reporting on the trial upset his son, who grew up admiring his uncle more than his father. Griffin poignantly describes his reconciliation with his father before his death in 2009 from cancer at age 83. As Griffin details, Dominick was tormented by his homosexuality, which he struggled to resist until late in life.

At times not an admirable character, Griffin fearlessly recounts scandalous behavior and career missteps. Yet he never loses the reader's sympathy.

One of the book's most captivating vignettes is his youthful friendship with Carrie Fisher before she gained fame portraying Princess Leia in "Star Wars."

Dunne amusingly recalls how Fisher didn't expect the movie to be a hit and was shocked by her sudden rise to stardom. They remained friends, and he endearingly recalls his final goodbye to her before her death.

With inside glimpses of the New York and Los Angeles film and theater worlds, and a full cast of memorable characters, "The Friday Afternoon Club" affirms the enduring power of family love.

 

 

Griffin Dunne receives widespread attention for his memoir "The Friday Afternoon Club"

Griffin Dunne's drawing intense media anticipation for his book "The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir," to be published next week.

In a chorus of media interviews, the actor says completing the memoir fulfills one of his lifetime goals. He still wishes to learn to play a musical instrument and master Spanish.

The scion of a famed literary and Hollywood family, Dunne felt immense pressure to finish the book following the acclaimed literary careers of his father, Dominick, his uncle, John Gregory Dunne, and his aunt, Joan Didion.

Interviewed this week by New York magazine, People magazine, the Los Angeles Times, the Guardian and the Literary Hub, Dunne says he felt compelled to revisit the murder of his sister Dominique, a rising young actress slain by her ex-boyfriend, John Thomas Sweeney, in 1982.

The 22-year-old actress's buoyant spirit still shines against the darkness of her death, Dunne says. The book's title comes from the name of his sister's acting group.

Vanity Fair in a recent issue published Dunne's recollections of his sister's murder, and the trial of her killer, which outraged his family.

Sweeney, accused of murder, was convicted of manslaughter, serving three and a half years in prison. Dominick Dunne in an article for Vanity Fair magazine divulged his disgust for Sweeney's attorneys and the presiding judge. The piece launched his spectacular career covering celebrity trials for the magazine.

Griffin says he was initially incensed by his father's success stemming from the trial of his sister's killer. Griffin eventually reached a rapprochement with his father on that and other points of contention. His father died in 2007 at age 83.

The book recounts Griffin's Hollywood childhood. Dominick, a closeted homosexual, built a successful career as a producer before wrecking his insider status with an insult of super-agent Sue Mengers published in the Hollywood Reporter.

After years of destitution, Dominick Dunne rebuilt his life writing for Vanity Fair and making frequent TV appearances as a crime expert.

Griffin as a youth often attended parties given by his aunt and uncle, renowned Hollywood scriptwriters who never lost their standing.

In the book, he recalls being saved from drowning by Sean Connery and having his girlfriend hit upon by Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty.

"Like three wolves sniffing a baby lamb," he told New York magazine's Shawn McCreesh.

Griffin discloses in the interviews that the book revisits his up and down acting career. After initial success in Hollywood films and on the New York stage, Dunne struggled with lackluster roles and substance abuse.

The 69-year-old has undergone a resurgence in recent years, producing and appearing in the documentary "Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold," a retrospective of his late aunt's career. He also starred in the popular NBC hit "This Is Us."

Now, he's matching his family's literary radiance.

 

 

 

Broadway buzzing over Audra McDonald's autumn appearance in "Gypsy"

Broadway will receive a boost this fall when six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald stars in Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim's "Gypsy."

McDonald will bring her star power to one of the musical theater's greatest roles, following other stage legends. She'll perform some of Sondheim's most memorable songs in her portrayal of the mesmerizing Rose, the stage mother who pushed the career of her daughter, the exotic dancer Gypsy Rose Lee.

Previews begin Nov. 21 at the renovated Majestic Theater. The production, directed by George C. Wolfe, opens on Dec. 19, drawing huge holiday ticket sales.

Camille A. Brown, who's received four Tony nominations, will choreograph the production. Ticket sales opened last week.

Wolfe, the winner of five Tony awards, collaborated with McDonald on the 2016 Tony nominated production of "Shuffle Along or the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All that Followed."

"Gypsy," with a book by Tony winner Arthur Laurents and Styne's music and Sondheim's lyrics, premiered on Broadway in 1959 starring Ethel Merman as Rose, the stage mother who steered her daughter's career while secretly desiring fame for herself. The role has also been performed by Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daiy, Bernadette Peters and Patti Lupone.

The "Gypsy" revival will continue Sondheim's posthumous presence on Broadway. Staring Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez, the revival of his "Merrily We Roll Along" has received seven Tony nominations. The musical, which portrays the characters' lives in reverse order, was a flop when it first appeared on Broadway in 1981.

McDonald's dazzling talent, and the enduring brilliance of Stern and Sondheim's songs, will take "Gypsy" to new heights.

 

 

William Shakespeare's plays still excite us

William Shakespeare's plays still enthrall audiences, 460 years after his birth.

Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford on Avon and died on the same date 52 years later in his hometown.

Sometimes I imagine Shakespeare's amazement at our technology, transportation, buildings, mass media and hygienic and health improvements if he were to come back to life today.

Although the English language has changed immensely since Shakespeare's Elizabethan era, and science and commerce have transformed the world, his characters remain relevant. His insights into the human heart, with its passions and foibles, are unsurpassed.

His sonnets also express universal emotions that remain true for us.

Artificial intelligence will never match his poetry and understanding of humanity. 

Generations to come will no longer understand his language, critic Amit Majmudar laments in the April New Criterion.

I believe "Hamlet," "King Lear," "The Tempest," "Othello," "Romeo and Juliet," "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "As You Like It" will keep astonishing those yet unborn.

 

 

 

 

 

Rediscovering the Norton Anthology of English Literature on Good Friday

On Good Friday, I return to one of my most beloved books, "The Norton Anthology of English Literature."

As I do each year on this beautiful day, I read John Donne's"Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward" and George Herbert's "Easter Wings." I also revisit some of the other riches of the anthology's first volume.

Under the general editorship of the great scholar M.H. Abrams, the anthology's first volume brings together the foundational works of English literature, from "Caedmon's Hymn" and "Beowulf" to generous offerings from Chaucer, Sir Thomas More, Sir Philip Sydney, Edmund Spenser, Shakespeare, Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas Campion, Ben Jonson, Robert Herrick, Andrew Marvel, Milton, Samuel Butler, Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Oliver Goldsmith and others.

I particularly love a chapter of popular ballads like "Lord Randall," "Barbara Allen," "The Three Ravens," and "Robin Hood and the Three Squires."

Volume 2, which I also revere, covers the 18th century, the Romantics, the Victorians and the modern era of T.S. Eliot, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf.

The Norton Anthology opened the world of English literature for me in my college days. Through the years, I reread  the anthology with the same sense of wonder, discovery and joy. 

 

Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhall to star in Broadway production of "Othello"

Shakespeare's "Othello" returns to Broadway in spring 2025, starring Denzel Washington in the lead role and Jake Gyllenhall as Iago.

Atlanta's Kenny Leon will direct the production at a not yet determined Shubert Theater.

Leon directed the 69-year-old Washington in smash Broadway productions of August Wilson's "Fences," co-starring Viola Davis, and Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun." The acclaimed director recently led a Shakespeare in the Park production of "Hamlet."

Washington, lauded for his dynamic movie performances, has also appeared in "Julius Caesar" on Broadway, and portrayed MacBeth in a 2021 film.

A leading film star, the 44-year-old Gyllenhall has appeared in three Broadway plays, including "Sundays in the Park With George."

The actress who will play Desdemona, the falsely accused wife of Othello, has not been named.  

"Othello" was last performed on Broadway in 1982, starring James Earl Jones as Othello, Christopher Plummer as Iago and Dianne Wiest as Desdemona.

The tragedy still shocks modern audiences, with its racial and sexual themes, Iago's duplicity, and Othello's mistaken jealousy leading to the sudden murder of the innocent Desdemona.

With Washington and Gyllenhall's starpower, Shakespeare's 400-year-old play will be Broadway's hottest ticket.

 

 

 

Replaying Frank Loesser's "I've Never Been in Love Before"

On a dreary Tuesday in Atlanta, Chet Baker's "I've Never Been in Love Before" kept running through my mind.

Baker's aching voice and wistful trumpet solo bring forth the full emotional power of Frank Loesser's ballad, written for the 1950 Broadway smash "Guys and Dolls."

Recorded many times by artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand, the song originated as a show-stopping duet between the gambler Skye Masterson and Sarah Brown, a sister at the Save the Soul Mission, which opposes gambling. Brought together as a gag by Skye's raffish friends, the two unexpectedly fall for each other.

Robert Alda, Alan's father, played Skye in the original musical, and Isabel Bigley portrayed Sarah. In the 1955 movie version, Marlon Brando surprisingly landed the role, which he handled well, even performing his own songs. Jean Simmons starred as Sarah.

In both the stage and film versions, Vivian Blaine played Miss Adelaide, desperate to marry the gambler Nathan Detroit, portrayed by the smirking and wisecracking Frank Sinatra in the movie, although he had wanted to be Skye. He reportedly clashed with Brando.

The great comic actor and singer Stubby Kaye appeared in both the Broadway and Hollywood productions as the gambler Nicely-Nicely Johnson, who leads a cast of background singers and dancers in the spirited horse-race anthem "Fugue for Tinhorns,"  a favorite of newspaper sports desks known to spontaneously start singing the rounds of the chorus while on deadline.

Loesser, who also wrote "How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying," is one of the special group of songwriters like Irving Berlin and Cole Porter who wrote the music and the lyrics.

My mind contains a library of pop songs that make up the soundtrack of my life. At different moments, they come back to me.