Gossip Central

Girl Power: My Brilliant Friend, season 3 on HBO

Addiction to the HBO series My Brilliant Friend is second only to a passion for the source, Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels. That’s why, writing about the eight episodes of season 3, I do not fear spoilers. Faithful to the literature—in fact Ferrante is listed among the script writers—the series follows friends Lenu (Margherita Mazzucco) and Lila (Gaia Girace) from childhood on, with season 3 the period of young adulthood: each has been married; Lila has a son, Lenu, 2 girls. Proud to a fault, and difficult to comprehend, Lila works in Bruno’s meatpacking plant, a harrowing flesh factory on every level. Lenu, now a famous novelist living in Florence seems to have it all. Something, however, is seriously missing. Their domestic lives play out against blistering violence in Naples, with friends beaten and raped. Yet all the while, their relationship endures, at times through enormous bouts of envy, irritation, ambivalence. Who among us can’t relate?

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in The Music Man: “There Was Love All Around”

Harold Hill, a talented conman, who wants to swindle the Midwest town of River City, Iowa, had me at hello. That may owe to the fact that “The Music Man” is played by Hugh Jackman. Arriving on a train, bumping along with salesmen grousing about Hill’s wiles, Hill pays them no mind, singing and dancing his way into the townsfolks’ hearts. All except Marian, the librarian, who is onto him from the start. It does not take the signature “Seventy-six Trombones,” to know he will win her over too. That’s the stuff of the American musical, and especially a revival as juicy as this one is, at the Winter Garden Theater. It helps too that Marian is that darling of this classic genre, Sutton Foster, who when she is won over by Hill can cast a look of epiphany as no one else can.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Still Marvelous in Season Four

She’s baaack! Expect funny throughout The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, season four, starting with a strip tease in a taxi. No, it’s not what you think. Miriam Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) is acting out, not working, mind you. The opposite of work. She’s been fired from a European tour, and with Susie Myerson (Alex Borstein), the agent (who dresses like she’s refereeing prize fights), beside her, she’s having a tantrum, ripping off her beautifully coordinated hat and throwing it out the window of the cab as she’s making her way back into the city. Next comes the jacket, the skirt. Susie is wailing, representing us all bemoaning this untoward episode, equal parts astonishing and hilarious. We all know these clothes are much lauded --the work of costume designer Donna Zakowska who, in real life, has been feted at the White House and beyond for her to-die-for swing coats. “Stop, that goes with the outfit,” screams Susie before they find the one remedy for what ails our Midge—the comedy stage.

Black No More: A Skin Deep Musical Fantasy

A new “The New Group” production, Black No More, a musical adaptation of George S. Schuyler’s Afrofuturist 1931 Harlem Renaissance novel, has the feel of something special, theater that may go off the charts in the manner of Hamilton. Black No More opened this week at the Pershing Square Signature Center.

Featuring a stellar Broadway cast led by powerhouse Tony winning vocalist Lillias White, and Brandon Victor Dixon, of Hamilton and Jesus Christ Superstar fame, the show’s ensemble of excellent singers and dancers tell a tale of contrasts: the exciting free, artsy denizen of Harlem vs. the racist crackers of Atlanta and how they handle their black folk. Needless to say, whites do not fare well in this scenario, even as the fine performances by such actors as Theo Stockman as chief villain Ashby Givens beguile us with their villainy.

Oscar Picks 2022

Fair is fair. Choosing among the pleasures of this year’s best movies could not have been easy. Awards, particularly the Oscar voters’ choices announced this morning, reflect a nuanced vision: I am especially heartened by the nods to two of my favorite actresses, Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz in two outstanding of this year’s films: The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Parallel Mothers respectively. Will they win, over the work of Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Nicole Kidman? They can. And Kristen Stewart for Spencer, a movie that many people simply did not love—her fine performance as Diana deserves a category all its own.