Gossip Central

Alex Bornstein at the NYWFT Muse Awards: “You Are Enough.

“Do not fuck with a woman from NYC,” exclaimed comedian/actress Alex Bornstein, accepting her award for The Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment Made in NY Award at this year’s NYWFT Muse Awards.

The “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star reminded 700 guests seated for a sumptuous steak dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street this week, she was not actually “made in New York,” but everyone seemed to think she was, maybe because as Susie Myerson, she epitomized the brash, pushy person who could be a New York bred talent agent.

Her parents never called to congratulate her for any of her work, but they did for “Mrs. Maisel.” “You were good,” said her mother, while her father asked, “Why weren’t you the lead?” Her mother replied, “Because the skinny one with the perfect tits is the lead.” This may have bothered her growing up, but as the Muses dispense advice, now she knows: “You are enough.”

Canadian actress Tantoo Cardinal whose personal story informed Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON, had gratitude to family, particularly her grandmother who picked her up from the “dregs of genocide.” When her grandfather spoke her name, she said, “I knew he knew me.” And when he died, she wore an eagle feather in her hair for him. That was brave, she told the crowd. Of indigenous descent, she was taught to be ashamed of who she was.

The WONDERSTRUCK and A QUIET PLACE actress Millicent Simmons accepted the Loreen Arbus Changemaker Award. Her mother was discouraged from learning to sign by doctors who thought that would slow her, a deaf baby, in learning to speak. A riveting performer, in A QUIET PLACE II, she leads the cast including writer director John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, often giving them notes. Actress Kyra Sedgwick has taken on directing. Her husband Kevin Bacon advised her: she was great at directing, if only she would never say “I’m sorry,” as she worked—as in, I’m sorry but we’re doing another take. This gave the audience a hearty, knowing chuckle.

Water for Elephants: An Awesome Spectacle on Broadway

This circus show comes with no disclaimer. No animals were hurt in Water for Elephants, opening this week at the Imperial Theater. Some human characters, yes! But if you know the story from the movie and the book on which it’s based, you know that certain bad leaders get their just desserts. The animals, so appealing in their puppet form, make for the heart and soul of this beautiful theater piece.

When Marlena, a gorgeous aerialist (Isabelle McCalla), married to the ringmaster (Paul Alexander Nolan), must put down her prized, overworked show horse, he ascends to the heavens in a white sash, carried aloft in the acrobatics of Antoine Boissereau, an elegant performer from France in his Broadway debut. Here is a riveting moment, the essence of this production: the audience must suspend disbelief; awed, you see the divine in the art.

Now, of course, Marlena must find another act, and soon an elephant with long curled eyelashes wraps her in its trunk. The elephant act works well to rescue the Depression era failing Benzini Brothers Circus. Along with a talented troupe of acrobats and one funny clown (Joe de Paul—the Playbill says he really did run away with the circus), the circus thrives. The day is saved! Until . . .

Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli in Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People

If the players were not dressed in late 19^th century fitted jackets, and the Circle in the Square stage not set as the interior of a fine Norwegian home with old school furnishings, you might think An Enemy of the People was a pandemic era drama of science vs. profit. Jeremy Strong--vulnerable as he was as Kendall Roy in Succession-- as Dr. Thomas Stockmann, wants to alert the small town of serious, life-threatening bacteria in the water. His brother Peter—Michael Imperioli as a thuggish Sopranos bully who happens to be mayor, wants to suppress the information so that the people do not suffer the economic decline, from thriving baths about to enrich the community. Dr. Fauci seems so present, as does a narcissistic leader bent on denying scientific research. Amy Herzog has trimmed Ibsen’s original work to good effect and under Sam Gold’s superb direction An Enemy of the People feels like a parable for this time.

As in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the ostensible drama whether it relates to the dynamic of saving people’s lives vs. preserving the opportunities for the rich or marriage and its tenuous relationship to true love, the real threat is the sheep-like dumbness of a citizenry that does not think for itself.

Amy Ryan, Liev Schreiber, Zoe Kazan in A Superb Revival of Doubt: A Parable

In the revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt: A Parable at the Todd Haimes Theater, Amy Ryan as formidable, grim-faced Sister Aloysius is the kind of no-nonsense nun so fearful—under her eye, the consequences of actions good or bad are the same; you definitely don’t want to be caught. As directed by Scott Ellis, a fine tuning of Shanley’s work, she demonizes Liev Schreiber as Father Flynn, newly arrived at this Bronx parish in 1964. From the start, centerstage, delivering a sermon on “Doubt” in New York-ese, back lit by stained glass, he projects humanity, especially as his speech sets up the parable at hand: Doubt can be as binding as faith.

This is theater at its finest, a holy cathedral of words. Playing with notions of innocence and guilt, the 2004 play—a Pulitzer Prize winner--means to keep us juggling our own internal debates on the subject, the truth intensely shimmering far away, compelling, mysterious and suspenseful. A younger teacher, Zoe Kazan shines as Sister James. Meek as need be before her superiors, she also represents the future of the church. She has doubts about what happened in the rectory when a student—the school’s only black boy-- returns to class after a private meeting with Father Flynn. Reporting to Sister Aloysius, she suspects her superior’s accusations go too far, judging him a pedophile without saying the word. Can she maintain discipline as represented by Sister Alyosius, while keeping a tender, nurturing and welcoming presence for her students?

Sister Aloysius’ meeting with the boy’s mother in a deft performance by Quincey Tyler Bernstine brings its own surprises. As does Father Flynn’s confrontation with Sister Aloysius in her Bible-lined study, questioning why he is thought guilty without proof. Of course, we as observers have our own certainties, or doubts, and they keep shifting. And it’s hard not to be swayed by Father Flynn’s kindness, vulnerability—and sheer manliness.

Marion Cotillard at the Rendez-vous with French Cinema

Oscar winner Marion Cotillard in feathery white posed before photographers on opening night of this year’s Rendez-vous with French Cinema at Lincoln Center. She’s a big star, known internationally since her debut role as Edith Piaf, but for this yearly festival, a collaboration with Unifrance, it did not take long before she melded into the crowd, another guest for cocktails. Similarly, at the French Embassy where the party turned swank, she was part of the crowd with Thomas Cailley, director of the opening night film, THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, enjoying drinks, vegetarian tagine, the confluence of English and French conversation. The French are very good at keeping the celebrity buzz under control.

Winner of five Cesars in France, THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, explores the imagined proposition of humans mutating into animals--literally. How does that affect identity? Family? Empathy? The star, Romain Duris, plays a family man whose wife has become a large beast—yes, literally. Neither he nor Adele Exarchopoulos, another big star who plays a minor role attended. In France as in America, having a film this lauded will improve chances of funding the next one, but Cailley said of his film in our conversation: This film is weird, and will widen the possibilities for others to make their more edgy films.

Taking a conservative view on this movie that also features one such mutant who wants to fly, this is surely the best movie I have ever seen on the subject of father/son relationships. More conventional, director Pascal Bonitzer’s film AUCTION, about a Nazi-stolen Egon Schiele painting turning up in a workingclass home in the French countryside, would screen the next night, its North American premiere. A favorite among Rendez-vous critics, AUCTION is smart about the art market. Bonitzer based his script on interviews with key players in a known newspaper story. While Alex Lutz stars as an auctioneer, for Bonitzer, the young man who wants to give up his lucrative possession to the true Jewish heirs is a hero.

Sting—yes, that Sting-- plays himself in Michel Gondry’s THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS, perhaps the goofiest selection in the Rendezvous lineup. A young film director (Pierre Niney), wanting to complete his work after the project has been kaboshed, holes himself up in the French countryside with the stolen footage. Manic, he wants to complete his movie and even convinces Sting to perform. Nutty as the twists and turns seem, this film may illustrate the inner frustrations of many filmmakers.

Christine Lahti in Russian Troll Farm: Jesse Tyler Ferguson Honored at the Vineyard Theater Gala

Any lingering doubts about how the 2016 election went the way it did, Sarah Gancher’s Russian Troll Farm: A Workplace Comedy, now ending its run at the Vineyard Theater, offers a hilarious, clever, chilling spectacle of our nightmares come true –especially horrifying as we move toward the 2024 elections. Set in a cold office space, this play posits workers, computer nerds doing what they do best: hacking. A photo of Putin hangs on a back wall. We are in fact where our worst fears of control by a foreign enemy are fueled and posted. Expert in manipulating social media, these workers, led by Ljuba, a Robotnik performed by Christine Lahti, tweet misinformation at once familiar and breathtakingly outrageous—Hillary as a pedophile—kidnapped kids in tunnels beneath Disneyland—incredible fakeries that had us by the –eh, balls.

The brightest note—this is good, riveting theater. And that view goes beyond the sight of Steve’s (John Lavelle) ample, inked butt crack. Renata Friedman as Masha, Haskell King as Egor, and Hadi Tabbal as Nikolai round out the fine ensemble. My hope is Russian Troll Farm will move to Broadway—as have other superb Vineyard productions such as Dana H. and This is a Room.

At the Vineyard Theatre’s gala this week, the Edison Ballroon was abuzz. Honoring Jesse Tyler Fergusen, a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was a no-brainer. Chelsea Clinton, Lea DeLaria, Celia-Keegan Bolger, Sara Bareilles, Emily Bergl, and Montego Glover paid tribute, but Glover, a former Ferguson roommate, could attest: Jesse puts down the toilet seat. Whattamensch!