A gift to Gwen from Jack
FOSSE VERDON — Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdoncredit Eric Liebowitz/FX Networks Ed. note: Excerpted from a story published today in DANCE Magazine: You can see them in “Fosse/Verdon” episode one. Michelle Williams, playing Gwen Verdon, wears them with a cool, retro, forest-green jumpsuit. Tucked beneath a mop top of tousled Gwen Verdon locks, Williams sports ...
It’s Jack Cole time Tuesday on FX’s ‘Fosse/Verdon’
Actor Christopher Tocco, above, plays Jack Cole in a backstage scene with the young Gwen Verdon in FX’s blockbuster eight-episode docu-drama, “Fosse/Verdon.” “Fosse/Verdon”‘s backstage scene between Verdon and her mentor Jack Cole is preceded by a Jack Cole jazz number vividly choreographed by “Hamilton” choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler, who is a co-producer of this series. Out with ...
Silent Movie Theatre before/after #metoo accusation
The disbanding of The Cinefamily at the end of December 2017 began with accusations of sexual predator behavior. It led to the unraveling of The Cinefamily’s clearly vulnerable organization which, despite miscreant behavior, managed to project movies onto the screen of the former Silent Movie Theater. The frothy group of followers, both guys and gals, ...
Clippings tour: ‘Dirty Dancing,’ original version 1
42nd Street (1933) choreography by Busby Berkeley This month’s edition of “Dirty Dancing: The Original” dates to the 1930s. If you think the McCarthy era saw the birth of the Hollywood black list you got that wrong. A work ‘lock-out’ took place during the Depression when chorus girls did not (ahem) ‘put out’ — and ...
The struggle to love, @ TCM Fest 2019
Apr
15
2019
HOLLYWOOD, CA – APRIL 11: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal attend the 30th Anniversary screening of “When Harry Met Sally” at the 2019 10th Annual TCM Classic Film Festival on April 11, 2019. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM) There was a happy feeling when hordes of classic film fans descended upon Hollywood Boulevard ...
Jack Cole on the Beeb 2
Apr
13
2019
Jack Cole, Chita Rivera, Beale Street Blues It’s correct. The attention given, this past week, to the choreographer Jack Cole at the very moment of the debut of the Fosse/Verdon mini-series on FX. It’s correct because Verdon, a miraculous, one-off entertainer, was nearly a creation of Cole’s. And it’s correct because, basically: no Jack Cole, ...
Nureyev – the man, the dancer – in a stimulating documentary 1
A rich companion piece to the soon-opening feature film, The White Crow (our review here), is the cleverly constructed new documentary, Nureyev, co-directed by BAFTA-nominated directors Jacqui Morris and David Morris. This doc, with its very unusual structure, was made with the support of the Nureyev Foundation. Released by CineLife Entertainment, Nureyev is a reworking ...
THE WHITE CROW: Getting Rudik right 2
WHITE CROW director Ralph Fiennes sets up museum shot for Oleg Ivanko as Rudolf Nureyev My headline news: dance people will absolutely love The White Crow. Most everything — in dance terms — about this rapturous feature film depicting the early life of ballet’s dark prince, Rudolf Nureyev, is spot on. (The film, based on ...
Gwen Verdon to critic: Don’t overlook my choreographer
Apr
1
2019
Gwen Verdon, a woman with values, in a handwritten note from September 1958, mildly protests to Los Angeles Times film critic John L. Scott about a crazy oversight in his review of the film Damn Yankees. [Hover to pause the slide show for easier reading.] Scott was sufficiently impressed by Verdon’s message that he saved ...
Jerry’s beach house … 1
This lovely Bridgehampton cottage, a creative, restorative retreat for its former owner, Jerome Robbins, can now be yours. It is for sale by the Jerome Robbins Foundation. According to Forbes.com, His two-bed, 2 ½ bath wooden-shingle cottage on an acre along the Hamptons oceanfront was the perfect spot, with a wraparound deck and views of ...