BWW Reviews: FRIDAY MORNING WITH THE PHIL at Avery Fisher HallMay 26, 2015The New York Philharmonic's series of 11am Friday matinee concerts is one of the real hidden gems of the New York cultural experience. True, the programming for the series is a bit less adventurous than one might wish for, but it is nonetheless laden with masterpieces.
BWW Previews: HUDSON VALLEY HONOR FLIGHT PREMIERE! at Lafayette Theater SuffernMarch 12, 2015'Hudson Valley Honor Flight: Generation Bridge' tells the story of the local Honor Flight hub that takes World War II veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the monuments in their honor. It's a day-long celebration that gives the veterans the coming-home party they never received. It also follows the veterans as they visit local schools to talk to teenagers about World War II and what it was like to fight it.
BWW Previews: A New Beginning For NEW YORK CITY OPERA at Rose Theater, Lincoln CenterMarch 6, 2015New York City Opera was one of the great artistic treasures of New York. It was famously dubbed 'The People's Opera' by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia at its founding in 1943 and throughout its nearly 70 year history, the NYCO helped launch the careers of many of the world's greatest opera stars including Beverly Sills, Sherrill Milnes, Placido Domingo, Maralin Niska, Carol Vaness, Jose Carreras, Shirley Verrett, Tatiana Troyanos, Jerry Hadley, Catherine Malfitano, Samuel Ramey. Sills later famously served as the company's director and chief ambassador for the art form from 1979-1989. It also sought to produce an innovative choice of repertory, and provide a home for American singers and composers.
BWW Reviews: CHINESE COFFEE at The Nyack Village TheaterJanuary 7, 2015'Chinese Coffee' by Ira Lewis is a very idiosyncratic play that has been an actor's favorite since its debut 25 years ago. Al Pacino has championed the piece both on Broadway and in a film which he produced, directed and starred in. The current presentation at The Nyack Village is a real gem and shows vividly why actors are so drawn to the piece.
BWW Reviews: DOHNANYI DOES DVORAK at Avery Fisher HallDecember 17, 2014The only thing missing from the opening week of the New York Philharmonic's 'Dohnanyi/Dvorak' festival was Dohnanyi. The legendary conductor was laid out by a bad case of the flu, causing him to miss the first performance of the series. 32 year old Krzysztof Urbanski, the music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, stood in for the 85 year old maestro and last week and did a fine job, but after a massive promotional campaign one can be sure the management breathed an equally massive sigh of relief when Dohnanyi returned last Saturday night to an enthusiastic New York welcome.