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Film and the Arts
Theater Review: Cirque du Soleil's New Ice Show, "Crystal"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Monday, 25 July 2022 22:22
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Crystal
Cirque du Soleil
July 21-24, 2022
UBS Arena, Elmont, L.I.
European tour, September 2022-February 2023
cirquedusoleil.com/crystal
I’ve previously seen two Cirque du Soleil shows—The Beatles LOVE, in Las Vegas in 2007, and Wintuk, the troupe’s ill-fated holiday show, in New York the following year—so I knew what to expect from Crystal, the Cirque’s first ice show: dazzling acrobatics, humorous clowns, impressive jugglers and marvelous stagecraft. And that is what we got—as my wife said, “This isn’t our mothers’ ice capades.”
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| The final "ballroom" sequence in Cirque du Soleil's Crystal (photo: Matt Beard) |
Crystal is about the eponymous creative girl with a tumultuous mind, and she dreams up (through writing, which may confuse some of the younger attendees, especially in a sequence featuring, of all things, typewriters) several fanciful, dream-like sequences that tumble one after another onto the ice. Though narratively choppy, it is, as usual with Cirque du Soleil performances, the visual dazzlement that matters: even if it seems to be too much, there’s no doubt you won’t be bored watching the two-plus hour show.
Cirque du Soleil shows have always been about astounding physical feats, and Crystal has the group’s usual incredible array of acrobats on swings or even precariously balanced chairs, jumping, teetering, twisting, and turning. (The final "ballroom" pas de deux, between Crystal and her suitor, on ropes above the ice, might be the single most memorable moment in any Cirque show I’ve seen.)
The ice adds more excitement and danger, as the fast-skating performers leap through the air, spin around the rink with unbelievable agility, and even—in one silly but amusing sequence—play hockey, with Crystal skating around in an Islanders jersey at one point. And if you never thought you’d ever see tap dancing on skates, well, here’s your chance.
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| The hockey acrobats of Crystal (photo: Matt Beard) |
Crystal is also an audiovisual bath to immerse oneself in. The atmospheric music—composed by Maxim Lepage—includes covers of pop songs by the likes of Rhianna and U2, whose “Beautiful Day” makes a satisfyingly upbeat closer. A violinist, guitarist and pianist all make on-ice appearances as well. Then there’s the visual design team, especially the costumes and lighting, which keeps wowing the audience with each subsequent scene.
My first thought was that such an overstuffed show would be too much for the children in the audience, but to the contrary, they seemed enthralled and were watching intently throughout Crystal. Cirque du Soleil’s own motto could well be, to steal a phrase from the most famous of Cirque collaborators, “a splendid time is guaranteed for all.”
"Romeo & Juliet": A Beautiful Tragedy from The American Ballet Theater
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 21 July 2022 14:57
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Gillian Murphy in Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.
At the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, on the evening of Thursday, July 14th, I had the privilege to attend American Ballet Theater’s production of Kennth MacMillan’s splendid version of Romeo and Juliet—set to the extraordinary score by Sergei Prokofiev, here ably conducted by Charles Barker—bringing a marvelous season to a satisfying close. The handsome scenery and costumes were designed by Nicholas Georgiadis, with effective lighting by Thomas Skelton.
The success of the event owed the most to an impressive cast. The fabulous Gillian Murphy—probably the finest ballerina in the company—was superb in the title role—she excelled this season as Odile/Odette in Swan Lake. Her partner, Thomas Forster, has the appearance of a matinee idol—this season he danced admirably as the lead in Alexei Ratmansky’s new Of Love and Rage, as well as in Swan Lake, as Prince Siegfried—but memories of the the inimitable David Hallberg as Romeo were not eclipsed. However, Garegin Pogossian as Mercutio, was simply dazzling in what I imagine will be a breakout performance.
There were some outstanding dancers in the secondary cast that included Roman Zhurbin as Tybalt, Patrick Frenette as Benvolio, Eric Tamm as Paris, Alexandra Basmagy as Lady Capulet, John Gardner as Lord Capulet, Rubén Martín as both Escalus, Prince of Verona and Friar Laurence, Courtney Lavine as Rosaline, Claire Davison as Nurse, Kiely Groenewgen as Lady Montague, and Duncan Lyle as Lord Montague. Especially exceptional though were the Three Harlots: Katherine Williams, Scout Forsythe, and Courtney Shealy. The excellent corps de ballet were terrific in several scenes. The artists were enthusiastically applauded.
ABT will return to Lincoln Center, at the David Koch Theater, in the fall.
The American Ballet Theater Mixes Things Up
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 20 July 2022 19:10
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Scene from Single Eye. Photo: Marty Sohl.
I had the privilege of attending the marvelous American Ballet Theater matinee performance on Saturday, July 9th—at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center—of this season’s excellent Mixed Repertory program, which upheld the impressively high standard of the current season as a whole.
The program reached its pinnacle with its opening presentation, an exquisitely realized version of the magnificent Theme and Variations, choreographed by the titanic George Balanchine and set to the enchanting eponymous movement of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 3–here splendidly conducted by David LaMarche—and with attractive scenery and gorgeous costumes designed by Zack Brown–it seems certain that no more perfect masterpiece could be encountered in performances by this company during this season. The work is one of the greatest of Balanchine’s highly formalized, gracefulhommagesto the vanished world of the Imperial Russian Ballet.
The fabulous cast was led by a brilliant Herman Cornejo—who with the recent departure of David Hallberg is surely the finest male principal at Ballet Theater—and an astonishing Skylar Brandt, who has ascended to the first rank of ballerinas in the company. The secondary cast included Zimmi Coker, Zhong Jing-Fang, Breanne Granlund, Luciana Paris, Patrick Frenette, Cameron McCune, Garegin Pogossian, and Luis Ribagorda. The dancers were admirably supported by the sterlingcorps de ballet.The artists deservedly drew enthusiastic applause.
Less immediately accessible, but featuring some engaging choreography by Alonzo King, and conveying at least the impression of an ultimate expressive unity, was A Single Eye—a new Ballet Theater commission here receiving its local premiere—set to a contemporary score by Jason Moran, with appealing costumes by Robert Rosenwasser. The accomplished primary cast included: Christine Shevchenko, who was memorable this season in the lead role of Alexei Ratmansky’s new Of Love and Rage; Thomas Forster who also was notable as the other lead in Of Love and Rage, as well as in Swan Lake, as Prince Siegfried; Calvin Royal III; and Devon Teuscher.
More charming was the ebullient Zig Zag—which premiered at Lincoln Center last year during the fall season and held up well on a second viewing—choreographed by the talented Jessica Lang, set to songs performed by Tony Bennett, with delightful costumes by Wes Gordon. As to what the songs are that are featured, I quote here, with slight emendation, from my review of the original presentation:
“What the World Needs Now” by Burt Bacharach with lyrics by Hal David; the signature “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”; "Fascinating Rhythm" by George and Ira Gershwin; “Spring in Manhattan”; Cole Porter’s “It's De-Lovely,” a duet with Lady Gaga; "Just One of Those Things,” also by Porter; “Smile” by Charlie Chaplin, from the theme to his classic late feature,Limelight; “Blue Moon” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart; Duke Ellington’s "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)”; and "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" with music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman.
The alluring main cast included: Teuscher and Paris again, Jarod Curley, Blaine Hoven, Cassandra Trenary, and Joo Won Ahn, who was outstanding in the lead role of Don Quixote, in the opening week this season. The dancers were again rewarded with a standing ovation.
The current season will close with a final week of performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s superb ballet of Sergei Prokofiev’s glorious Romeo and Juliet.
July '22 Digital Week II
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 20 July 2022 14:00
- Written by Kevin Filipski
In-Theater/Streaming Releases of the Week
Marx Can Wait
(Strand Releasing)
In this new documentary from Italian master Marco Bellocchio—who has made indelible films for the past six decades, from 1965’s Fists in the Pocket to 2019’s The Traitor—the director turns his camera on his own family, specifically his twin brother Camillo, who killed himself at age 29 in 1968.
That devastating event still has reverberations for the entire family, as Bellocchio interviews his surviving siblings—two sisters and two brothers—and, amid relevant clips from his films (several of which present fraught mother-son relationships), we discover that his entire career has been one long, penetrating psychological study of family complexities.
(Greenwich Entertainment)
This artful documentary by Christophe Cognet is a different kind of Holocaust film, exploring a series of photographs taken by death camp inmates themselves, which sparks a subtle recounting of how these surreptitious photographs are vital evidence into brutal torture and murder.
Some might find it difficult to watch these clinically fascinating explorations, especially the horrifically indelible opening and closing sequences of bone fragments, but this is an important addition to the necessary body of films that preserve such history.
Girls to Buy
(VMI Worldwide)
In Maria Sadowska’s playful black comedy reminiscent of The Wolf of Wall Street, Paulina Galazka gives a star-making performance as Emi, a young woman from a small Polish town who becomes wealthy running an exclusive escort service for rich and powerful men.
At 135 minutes, the movie wears out its welcome, repeatedly dramatizing debauched parties and the emotional difficulties and physical distress of the women: again, the obvious role model is the Scorsese film’s morally fuzzy display of immoral behavior as glorious, until it isn’t (and Galazka does look like Margot Robbie). But Scorsese did more with his story than Sadowska ultimately does with hers.
(Abramamora)
The pivot toward natural winemaking is the focus of Lori Miller’s illuminating documentary chronicle of four wine producers in California who decide that natural—using whatever grapes are grown annually, no additives, no pesticides, using traditional methods—is preferable and, it’s hoped, profitable.
There are harrowing moments as wildfires come very close to destroying crops and even buildings, but there’s an underlying hope that climate change might be mitigated by the ways these wine producers are handling their businesses.
4K/UHD Release of the Week
Raging Bull
(Criterion)
Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro’s cinematic collaborations reached their apogee with the underrated The King of Comedy, but their previous film together, this 1980 biopic about boxer Jake LaMotta, got all the love, including an Oscar for DeNiro as best actor. However—and I know this is heresy—for all the technical brilliance on display, from the B&W camerawork to the razor-sharp editing and the towering performances by DeNiro and then-newcomers Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty, there remains a hollowness at its core, a cipher in search of illumination.
Still, it certainly looks spectacular in all its gritty and grainy glory on this new Criterion 4K/UHD disc; there’s an accompanying Blu-ray disc and many extras including three audio commentaries, archival interviews and featurettes as well as new video essays.
The Frisco Kid
(Warner Archive)
Despite a sparkling pedigree—director Robert Aldrich, stars Gene Wilder and Harrison Ford and a great storyline—this 1979 western, about a Polish rabbi circa 1850 who comes to the U.S. to assume a San Francisco congregation but who falls in with a bank robber, misadventures ensuing, is fairly mild both comically and dramatically.
There’s engaging byplay between Ford and Wilder (Wilder is a gem in a role that could have easily been a dull caricature) but Aldrich rarely coalesces the whole thing into a satisfying buddy story. There’s a superior hi-def transfer.
Summertime
(Criterion)
In David Lean’s gorgeously-shot 1955 Technicolor romance, Katharine Hepburn gives a winning portrayal of a single, middle-aged American who doesn’t expect to find love while in Venice but who falls for a local antique shop owner, played charmingly by Rossano Brazzi.
Lean’s ravishing use of color and Venice locations, along with Hepburn and Brazzi, make this far more entertaining and uplifting than one would expect. The colors of the film and of the Veneto shimmer on Blu-ray; extras include a 1963 Lean interview, 1988 audio interview with cinematographer Jack Hildyard and a new interview with historian Melanie Williams.
Yellowjackets—Complete 1st Season
(CBS/Paramount)
While its premise is interesting—the survivors of a plane crash involving a girls’ high school soccer team are revisited more than two decades later—the execution of this series’ first season unearths seemingly every cliché imaginable, particularly the antagonisms between the characters that exist for mere purposes of dramatic irony.
Although the cast is unbeatable—Christina Ricci, Melanie Lynskey and Juliette Lewis head the adult cast, while Sammi Hanratty and Sophie Nélisse superbly play the Ricci and Lynskey characters as teens—but the script and direction of these 10 episodes lacks originality and invention. Extras are two behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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