Gossip Central

Classical Theater of Harlem Does the Scottish Play: Macbeth in the Park

As you contemplate US leadership in this election process, it is essential to check in with the bard: in play after play he asks, what makes for a solid, dependable ruler? Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a towering character, shows more flaws and foibles than any tyrant in the public eye; fear and paranoia abound in his psyche. As performed by Ty Jones in the current Classical Theater of Harlem production at Marcus Garvey Park, under Carl Cofield’s superb direction, he is also physical, sexually charged, an adept swordsman. And as his Lady Macbeth, Roslyn Ruff, gives as good as she gets, as this iconic political schemer. This is a great night of choreographed magic, betrayal and violence under the night sky.

Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon in James Schamus’ Indignation

Bespectacled and bowtied, James Schamus introduced his movie, Indignation, his directorial debut from Philip Roth’s novel, at MoMA, with the observation that a premiere at MoMA makes up for not having had a bar mitzvah. Hold that Jewish joke. In fact, the film starts with a brief image of war, and a Jewish funeral, a shiva—you can tell by the smoked fish at the buffet—for a fallen soldier. The grieving family is related to the Messners, the Newark butchers at the story’s heart, and their only son Marcus who goes off to college in Winesburg, Ohio (Sherwood Anderson’s fictional domain) where he falls hopelessly in love with a blond shiksa, Olivia Hutton, from a divorced family with a penchant for oral sex and self destruction.

Hamptons Journal: Nona Hendryx Pays Tribute to Bowie at LongHouse Reserve Jubilee/ Richard Mishaan’s Design at Guild Hall, and the East Hampton Historical Society

Jack Lenor Larsen’s LongHouse Reserve, home to a spectacular sculpture garden including Yoko Ono’s “Wishing Tree,” became the site of great music, food, and art, in “serious moonlight,” its 25^th year celebration. As maidens in midnight flowy frocks danced around a reflecting pool, partiers slurped oysters and sipped peach bellinis, gathering for a piano recital by Nico Muhly, last year’s honoree. Robert Wilson, Ralph Gibson, Mary Jane Marcasiano, Jack Youngerman, Eric Fishl, April Gornik, some of whom had paintings on display for a silent auction to benefit the Longhouse program for young artists, sought a breeze on this steamy night.

Kristen Stewart in Woody Allen’s Café Society: A Glimpse of the New Woman

In Woody Allen’s new movie, Café Society, Kristen Stewart plays a girl from Nebraska who tries her luck in 1930’s Hollywood, an era of big stars like Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford. Jesse Eisenberg plays a boychick from New York who tries his luck in L.A. too, working with his uncle Phil, a big time agent played by Steve Carell. Jesse’s Bobby falls for Kristen’s Vonnie at first sight, and why not? Close ups of her--Vittorio Storaro’s wonderful cinematography makes this film special in Woody Allen’s already outstanding oeuvre--show Kristen Stewart’s transcendent appeal, a look that’s old glamor, and new. This movie, one of Allen’s most poignant on the subject of youthful dreams, love, marriage, and missed chances, should establish Stewart as the actress of her generation.

Alec Baldwin: “I Crave the Movie Elephant” at HIFF SummerDocs Screening

One of the many revelations in Jeff Feuerzeig’s riveting documentary Author: The JT LeRoy Story, was that Laura Albert, the mastermind behind her fictive persona JT LeRoy, an author of some renown, also worked with director Gus Van Sant on his 2003 Elephant, a movie of a Columbine-like mass shooting at a school. She was commissioned to write the script, which was then discarded, the movie retaining only the image of a fat girl in the library, the shooter’s first victim. In the post-screening Q&A at Guild Hall for the Hamptons International Film Festival’s SummerDoc series, Alec Baldwin enthused about Elephant, a coincidence for him to realize the connection to Laura Albert.

Sandra Bernhard at Guild Hall: Feel the Bernhard

Funny woman Sandra Bernhard joins this week’s list of funny women performing at Guild Hall. There was Kathy Griffin, and if you count the many personae of Charles Busch, this Friday night makes the third for her show titled, “Feel the Bernhard.” A few days before, Sandy interrupted her viewing of Venus Williams’ tennis match at Wimbleton—“She’s winning!” –to talk about what she’s bringing to the stage at the beach.

Patti Smith and Marianne Faithfull Take in “The Beat Generation” at Centre Pompidou: Hipsters on the Continent

What is beat? From down and out through saintly beatitudes, beat is an attitude. As a literary movement, the Beat Generation is an American phenomenon, but every geographic area that experienced it, takes ownership, and the French are no different. In Paris, at Centre Pompidou’s 6^th floor neighboring a retrospective of Paul Klee, a vast exhibition devoted to the culture of The Beat Generation --with principals Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, and Allen Ginsberg-- provides essential visual and auditory material for an understanding of this literati’s global influence.