Girls, It is Time To Think About Our Tea Gowns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     With Autumn settling in, and Winter definitely on its way, we will be spending more and more time indoors, so it is time to think about serving afternoon tea, and what one is going to wear.

                                         Everyone should have a tea gown for afternoon tea, and this is the one I want!  Isn't it lovely, darlings!  With its almost pink hue set off by the dashes of blue?  I cannot wait to wear this, and I know you will be anxious to see me in it.  I shall be proud to pour tea in this outfit.

                                          So, yes, dears, the time has come to think about warmer clothing.

                                          And what to serve with that afternoon tea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh, Well, La-De-Da! La-De-Da!"

                                           That phrase, spoken by Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall," which David and I watched last night in lieu of "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman," is still spoken so charmingly, and the film is a charmer, but watching it this time was also a sad experience.  Many of the stars listed on the poster are no longer with us, including Diane Keaton, and the film evokes a New York City I recall so well, but sadly no longer exists.

                                              Still the movie theater-Marshall McLuhan scene rings true, the family scenes are hilarious, the school scene downright accurate, and Diane Keaton's talent was on full display, not only with her comedic acting, but her singing as well.  She had an excellent singing voice; but don't forget she was in the Original Broadway cast of "HAIR," back in 1968.

                                                  The film also seems to chronicle Woody and Diane's relationship to a point.  They shall always be remembered and this film solidifies it.

                                                     "Annie Hall" is indeed a Seventies film.  Which is why Keaton and the film won Oscars.

                                                         It evoked its time so perfectly then, and even more so now!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Lord! The Duke Is Raising The Dickens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        The Duke Theatre, that is, where the new musical, "Copperfield!" is playing, and David and I saw it, yesterday.

                                         Don't be fooled by the exclamation point in the title.  The show is not "Oliver!"  It does not have a score to match it.

                                           And this is not to be confused with the 1981 musical "Copperfield," which opened on April 16 at the ANTA (now the August Wilson) Theatre.  It had Book, Music and Lyrics by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn.  Who went nowhere.

                                            It had in the cast two Broadway stalwarts--George S. Irving and Mary Stout.  And a young up and comer named Christian Slater, in a minor role.

                                              The current musical is not any better, but it makes several serious mistakes.

                                               Someone dumb here had the idea of going back to director John Doyle's gimmick of performing Sondheim musicals, with all the actos doubling as musicians.  He did this, with no great effect, to "Company" and "Sweeney Todd."  Thank God he never got to "Follies."

                                             "Copperfield!" is performed like a live version of a Classic Comic Strip, but on speed.  Many actors seem unsuited to their roles, especially Cathryn Wake as Dora.  Meanwhile, Nancy O'Connor, early on should not be playing Em'ly; she looks a mature woman, and when she and young David (well played by Henry Wichter) it seems ill matched. And the accents vary.  Bobby Conte cuts more a Byronic than Dickensian figure as the adult David, but his song "I Am Home," Dora's death scene, displays some talent. Act Two had moments that got to me--Dora's death, with its song, "Always The Pleasure Was Mine" and Agnes' proclamation of love, and her song, "If Only You Knew My Heart," probably the two best songs in the score, though as David said was I reacting to them genuinely or to my love for the characters in the book I love so much? I cannot answer that.

                                                Everything--choreography, costumes and direction-- are merely serviceable Director Gabriel Barre was handed too large a task impossible to fulfill.  My hopes were dashed.

                                                  Jeffrey Scharf wrote the Book, Music and Lyrics.  Why is it one man thinks he can do this novel justice?  He should have quit while has was ahead.  Sure, he gets most of the story in, but what about dramtic nuance?

                                                  I still say when it comes to "David Copperfield," stick to the 1935 David O. Selznick, George Cukor Hollywood production.  Oh my God, Maureen O'Sullivan as Dora!

                                                   Now, THAT is "David Copperfield!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                            

Girls, Tonight Is Bela's Turn At 8PM, On "Svengoolie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                        During the seventeen-year span--1931 to 1948--of Universal's monster era, three of its top stars all played the Frankenstein monster.  Boris Karloff, most famously, then Lon Chaney Jr. and in 1943's "Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi!!!!!!!!!!!  This is unprecedented!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         Now, because the make-up was crafted for Karoloff, it was easy to recognize him in close-up!  Which is one of many reasons why the Frankenstein trilogy is the best of the series.

                                             Lugosi looks different but is really not recognizable behind the make-up.  Which is just as well, because no one played the monster better than Karloff.  "Frankenstein Vs. The Wolf Man" verges closely to camp; those never having seen it, it is worth a look, but for the rest of us, I think we will pass it by.

                                                   What is it with "Svengoolie" this month?  Rock bottom choices, and then "The Wizard Of Oz??????????"  Which, despite the witch, is not a horror movie.  Yes, it may introduce new generations, but Oz mavens know when they are being had.  See it on the screen, darlings.  Or on a DVD with no commercials.

                                                       See this film tonight, if so wished.  I will watch something else.  Enough is enough.

                                                         Come on, "Svengoolie," give us a gem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       

                                                    
 

Back On The Aisle, Girls, And At The Hudson!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          That is right, girls, The Hudson Theatre, where we saw both 'Merrily' and Daniel Radcliffe's one-man show.  If he does one more show there, the theater will have to be named after him.

                                               The current theater season started for us with the exquisite all-star cast production of Jon Robin Baitz' "Other Desert Cities," dominated by the lovely and marvelous Lily Rabe.

                                                 Now, Lily plays Brooke, the one I could relate to.  She has returned home to her West Coast--she lives on the East--home with her published memoir about her family that bares all--or does it?  Because whatever one may think of Brooke or her family there is a twist in the second act that makes the audience think about all that has gone before.

                                                       Allson Janney has some wonderful scene-stealing moments as Aunt Silda.  Ed Harris captures the psyche of a tormented individual, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus' performance, I am sorry to say, does not go much beyond her Elaine on "Seinfeld."  I was expecting a lot more.

                                                          I guess that marvelous, good looking actor John Benjamin Hickey could not extend her further.  But with Lily he could make magic and he does. Actually, his direction is not the problem; Dreyfus' inability is.

                                                           Scott Pask's set design is dull California chic, which, as a New Yorker, I would not be seen dead in.  A crack house in the Bronx would have more defined style than this.

                                                              But in relation to the status of the characters, especially the parents, it somehow makes sense.

                                                                  It has been so long since there has been a good family drama, so, darlings, make the most of this one.

                                                                    Especially with Lily Rabe in it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Introducing Gay Film #6--1956's "The Bad Seed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                          Oh, girls, I am telling you, this is hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         The thing about "The Bad Seed," darlins, is that the film has to be looked at in several ways.  First, as the 1950's shocker it genuinely was, because back then the idea of a seemingly innocent child committing murder was inconceivable.  Unlike today, when it is now commonplace.

                                           Theater Queens can look at it from the perspective of a stage play being put on film in a highly theatricalized style, with the key members of its Broadway cast.

                                            Then there is the Gay Way to look at it, which ratchets up the histrionics, with such stalwarts as Nancy Kely, Eileen Heckart and Joan Croydon, as repressed lesbian spinster Miss Fern to guide you.  And once Nancy Kelly drops the glass, early on, we are off and running.  How do you like her dresses; that blouse with her initials sewn on, and the striped thing she wears when Miss Fern comes?  Oh, and when she drinks the coffee?  Girls, don't we all want to be like Nancy Kelly as Christine Penmark?  Of course, if you were dealing with a homicidal child, you would be hysterical too!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                 Eileen Heckart registers as sympathetic camp, because her pathos is genuine.  I always wince at the line "It's a pleasure to stay drunk when your little boy has been killed."  Ain't it the truth?????????????

                                                    Now, Joan Croydon as Miss Fern is something else.  I have no doubt she carries in her pocket book a paperback copy of Radclyffe Hall's "The Well Of Loneliness," which has been well thumbed.  When running a private school and living in a small town, what chance does a repressed lesbian have??????????????

                                                    This film teaches gays the importance of histrionics which are going to be needed when confronting one's adversaries.  And there is no better film to learn from than 1956's "The Bad Seed."

                                                   As for Patty McCormack as Rhoda, well, has there ever been such a child, before or since?

                                                  And let's forget Henry Jones as Leroy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   Of course, the film can be viewed on its own as pure entertainment!

                                                   But where is the fun in that, darlings????????????????

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All Small Towns Offer Is Sex, And Hanging Out At The Local Luncheonette!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                           Believe me, darlings, I know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                          Not that sex is limited to small towns.  It is what its citizenry is limited to.  But if one moves to the city, the possibilities are endless.

                                           Few films exemplify this better than Peter Bogdanovich's masterpiece, 1971's "The Last Picture Show."  What fascinated me about this viewing was the character I expected to spend the rest of his life in town--Duane Jackson (Jeff Bridges) -- is the one who actually leaves town and makes a life of his own.  You just never know, darlings.

                                            From the first to last tracking shots, influenced by Welles' "Touch Of Evil," this film chronicles the misery, beauty and ennui in such a dismal environment as Anarene, Texas.    And with pros like Ben Johnson, Ellen Burstyn, and Cloris Leachman to serve as guides, the acting meter cannot get better.  Take note; this is the only good film performance Cybill Shepherd gave, not because she was young, but because the character fit her limited range to a tee.  But you have to give her credit.  When Bogdanovich's Selznickian attempt to make her into another Jennifer Jones tanked, she licked her wounds, rallied and returned to TV, where she was discovered to have a surprisingly comic range.  More power to her.  But one can see here how Bogandanovich might have been entranced with her.

                                            As for Bridges and Bottoms, who were young and promising, what happened to them, especially Bottoms?  I could not dismiss from this viewing that there some subliminal homosexual feelings between Duane (Bridges) and Sonny (Bottoms) that impeded their growth toward stable relationships with women.

                                               Robert Surtees, one of the last great cinematographers, is responsible for making beauty out of isolation.  And Verna Fields is the one who edited it all superbly.

                                                 This film is underrated in the cinema canon because of Bogdanovich's plunge.  It should stand on its own, and does, as a masterwork.

                                                     Just think, when I first saw this film in my hometown at 16, I thought I might end up as Genieve, (Eileen Brennan).

                                                      See what can happen, girls!????????????????????????????

                                                     Now listen to me and experience the splendors and pleasures of a true film masterpiece!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!