1. The 9th Annual Liza Nemetz Memorial Chutzpah International Festival of Jewish Performing Arts, continues to provide a showcase for some splendid live performance (theatre, music, dance) thanks to Marie Louise Albert, Jodi Smith, and many volunteers. At the Jewish Community Centre and other venues across town.
2. Victoria’s Laura Anne Harris…a guest on the Arts Rational
last week….charmed my friend Alison and me with her one-woman Fringe circuit hit….Pitch Blond…on the life of Judy Holiday… a nice Jewish girl from a broken home who made her name playing the quintessential dumb blond with the distinctive voice in Born Yesterday and countless other film, radio, and stage performances. Ms Holliday…in spite of appearances to the contrary….had a genius level IQ…and Pitch Blond recounts her talent at using her ditzy persona to escape the clutches of the American anti-left witchunt of the early l950s. Pitch Blond, I think like any good play, made me interested in finding out more about Ms. Holiday.
3. We also went last night to see the joint Chutzpah…Firehall and Tarragon Theatre Toronto production of East of Berlin….from up and coming Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch…which continues a very short run at the Firehall only until February 28th.
Several weeks ago, I dished the holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas for being ridiculous and implausible. But East of Berlin’s story line…..at least on the surface…is weirder and wilder.
Imagine…if you will…..a young schoolboy….living in a german speaking colony in Paraguay….being shocked to learn that his father….who with the rest of the local German community celebrates Adolph Hitlers birthday……is a war criminal. And later……this same fellow…estranged from daddy…..but supported by a war criminals trust fund…..getting on his knees…and proposing marriage to the daughter of a holocaust survivor…in the tourist parking lot at Auchwitz. Oh yes. Shes got a bad case of the touristas.
Strange. Strange. Strange. But you know….somehow East of Berlin really worked….for both of us…..dealing with themes as varied as family conflict, historical awareness, secrecy and betrayal…..and all in 90 minutes.
I think that’s due to a very good script by Miss Moscovitch..an emerging talent in Canadian theatre circles….….very impressive set design……and tremendous performances….notably by Toronto actor Brendan Gall as Rudi….the conflicted….rather neurotic and chain smoking hero of the piece.
If you want to see a good play. From Tarragon Theatre…one of the pre-eminent theatre companies from back east. You might want to check out East of Berlin at the Firehall until Saturday night only.
No one need ever complain to me about a lack of good film in town. Just pay attention to the Cinematheque program. Something for everyone.
And over the next few months….
- Canada Top Ten films from 2008 as selected by a panel of Canadian film critics and notable filmmakers…..a showcase of current Austalian cinema…plus Sir Carol Reed’s l947 clasic Odd Man Out…. with James Mason as an Irish terrorist on the run….Tuesday March l7th only…..and Hong Kongs brilliant Wong Kar Wai and his Director of Photography James Doyle…in a remake of his 1994 historical epic….Ashes of Time….running from April 8th to the 13th.
Also coming to the Cinematheque…..a showing of its perennial sellout Fellini’s La Dolce Vita……buy your tickets online and get their early……and Eisenstiens Ivan the Terrible Parts One and Two…….also in Mid April.
5. Van City Cinema. The home of the Vancovuer International Film Festival. And some of the best seats in Town. Always good programming. And never in competition with the Cinematheque. Thank God for cooperation.
At Van City Cinemas….the Godfather Part 2…considered by many to be the most successful sequel ever made….and considered by many to be better than the original Godfather
And following that….a cinematic look at Canada’s national sport—Hockey….featuring Paul Newman in Slapshot ….Keir Dullea in Paperback Hero…..and Rocket…the Quebecois box office hit about Maurice “The Rocket” Richard”.
And for film festival enthusiasts…..note that the Vancouver International Film Festival this year is a bit later…starring October lst and running to October 16th.
6. At the commercial cinema. Steven Soderberg’s glowing adulation of Che Guevera….a man some Cuban friends refer to as the communist Mickey Mouse……his portrait as ubiquitous in Cuba as Mickeys in Disneyworld…..Yes. Che. all 4 to 6 hours of it….is opening this weekend.
All the major oscar winners and nominees are in town. My own favourite films still showing….Milk…SlumDog Millionaire….Meryl Streep in the screen version of John Patrick Shanleys Tony Award winning play Doubt…..the holocaust thriller Defiance….and last year’s Cannes Festival top prize winner…..The Class…..a particular favourite.
And you might want to check out the very minimalist low budget American film……Wendy and Lucy….the Best Film of the year from Film Comment…the journal of the Film Socieety at Lincoln Centre…and the Toronto Film Critics Society. With Michelle Williams. I was grabbed by the film…her performance…and the sadness of the story. Other friends said Wendy and Lucy was like watching paint dry….though theyd prefer the paint.
7. Some terrific Music and Performance. . Unforgettable. The Music of Nat King Cole. A musical starring Dan Stewart….with Sibel Thrasher…she is phenomenal……playing Ella FitzGerald…..and featuring the Ron Johnston quartet. At the PAL Theatre (Peforrming Arts Lodge) only Thursday, February 26 and Friday, February 27.
8. And Speaking of PAL. The Performing Arts Lodge. Cooperative Housing for the Arts Community. They are developing a wonderful program in their own small theatre.
The incomparable Nicola Cavendish will inaugurate a Solo Series at PAL…..with a reading from one of her best known roles…Shirley Valentine…..followed by Rosey Frier Dryden in Rose…..the story of a sweet little Jewish lady from Miami who survived the best and the worst of the 20th Century….Renne Bucciarelli in the Belle of Amherst….on the life of poet Emily Dickinson……and later…Tanya Dixon Warren in British playwright Alan Bennett’s A Lady of Letters and Her Big Chance.
All of this should remind us that good theatre does not need to have a massive budget or a gigantic cast…it can be intimate..
Compelling…and affordable.
9. And speaking of affordable theatre…check the Arts Club Box Office or go online at the Arts Club and check out some lower price nights…..and their special prices for young people and their older friends. Remember the first Saturday matinee of any production at the Playhouse is a pay what you can bargain….and if Studio 58 and Theatre at UBC provide top of the line professional productions….at student prices. Your tax dollars at work!
10. And while both of these events are almost over…do check out Rendez Vous….an amazing program of Francophone cinema from Quebec….. France and overseas……now in its 15th Year…and surviving almost under the promotional radar. Which is too bad. Rendez Vous will wrap up on March 6th. But it will be back next year. Mark you calendars for early February next year!
11. And Reel to Real….the Youth Film Festival…..wraps up at Van City Cinema and the Roundhouse this weekend. Check that out. And if you have a young Eisenstien….a future Bergmann…or merely a budding Steven Speilberg……this Youth Festival will doubtless be back…same time next year.
12. Presentation House. The only professionally curated Photographic Art Gallery in Canada. On the north Shore.
Their current show features Isabel Pawels Video Installation…B and E…..which looks at the goings on…on the screen and through the front door of Vancouver’s infamous Porn Theatre The Fox. Hey you might recognize someone you know.
13. And if Slumdog Millionaire is….well…..just a little bit too cinematic for you. What about the real thing? Check this out. Aisha and Ben…presented by South Asian Arts and Theatre Jihad….at the Telus Studio Theatre Chan Center for the Performing Arts on March l9th to 2lst. Described as a provocative play about the perils of Success….Aisha and Ben is a romance….a culture clash…and a bit of Bollywood…and it features Port Moody born Anita Majumdar……who is currently studying theatre at the National Arts Centre and is currently based in Toronto.
14. Cockpit. Wen Wei Dance. At the Dance Centre. In spite of its rather graphic title…this dance piece…featuring 4 male and one female dancer…is described as a subtle delving into the nuances of nascent sexuality. Only until Saturday February 28th.
You gotta admit. The Title sort of grabs you!
That's all for this week! Remember to tune in to The Arts Rational on Co-op Radio 102.7 to hear Gerry present his Arts Notes live and enthusiastically every Thursday at 9:00 p.m! Thanks for listening!!
M & G
No comments:
Post a Comment