''ANTIGONA" REVIEW

SOLEDAD BARRIO AND
NOCHE FLAMENCA
Presents

"ANTIGONA"

Adapted& Directed by Martin Santangelo
Choreography by Soledad Barrio
At West Park Presbyterian Church, (165 W 86th Street ) Till January 23rd

REVIEWED
BY
BINA SHARIF

Sophocles wrote a fatal tragedy in which the fate of the characters is determined  by destiny.
In,"ANTIGONA" the flamenco and the story of Antigone combined with the most passionate
music, movement, lament, the soulful chants and Soledad Barrio's dance which is un-matched
by any dancer living or dead gives us chills and make our souls so touched with the desire of changing that destiny and make Soledad Barrio's Antigona live for ever and ever  and dance for ever and ever....
but alas the story's tragic end is controlled by fate and who are we to change that fate but experiencing this, AMAZING, FANTASTIC, EXTREMELY POWERFUL, PASSIONATE
PRODUCTION,  THE FATE OF DANCE AND TRAGEDY IS CHANGED FOR ME FOREVER.
NO ONE IN MY VIEW CAN EVER DANCE BETTER THAN SOLEDAD  BARRIO AND NO ONE CAN  SING, LAMENT AND PLAY MUSIC BETTER THAN THE MUSICIANS IN THIS
AMAZINGLY MOVING PRODUCTION OF, "ANTGONA."

I saw this play a few days ago and I still imagine myself sitting in that ancient church and shivering with emotions stirred by such high talent and power of that blazing talent and craft that I can't stop
shivering still. My friend who accompanied me is an Australian living in London who is a passionate theater goer and he feels exactly the same.  He said that it was the best experience of his stay in NY
and he has never seen any dancer better than Soledad Barrio in the whole world.
(Believe me, he did go to Broadway a few times)

The story of Antigone by Sophocles is of family, power, politics and of never ending blood shed.
Its amazing how relevant the story seems in today's politics and wars and un-rest.

Antigona is based on that very story of myths about the children of Oedipus, the king of Thebes who kills his father and marries his own mother.
After the death of Oedipus, his sons Polyneices and Eteocles, fight with each other for power grabs and are both killed.  Creon, their uncle becomes the king of Thebes and refuse to bury the corpse of Polyneices whom he considers a traitor and buries the other brother with honors.
Antigone defies the king and buries her brother.  The brother's corpse is un-buried again by the king's guards and Antigone buries him again, is caught this time and ordered to be buried alive in a cave.
Creon's son who is in love with Antigone pleads with the king to spare her life but the tragedy is waiting in the wings and eventually the house of Creon is destroyed.
Tiresis, a blind prophet, ( "SUPERB"Pepe El Bocadillo ) pleads with the king and reminds him of the wrath of gods for murdering his own flesh and blood but Creon pays no attention and then its too late for him too.

I have always loved this story not because I am fatalistic but the power of the story and its relevance with the nature of man and his search for power and glory and its eventual elements of destruction
reminds me of the power of gods and the myth of destiny which warns me to be a kinder and caring person and my utmost joy is always not wanting a throne but having a great experience when I am watching the art in its sublime form and "ANTIGONA" was that for me. "SUBLIME"

Every one in this haunting production was great but Tieresis, the blind prophet played by Pepe El Bocadilio and,  Juan Ogalla, (Haemon) were superb.
And Soledad Barrio, I wish I can watch her and watch her and watch her and I won't want anything more in my artistic search and its pleasures.

Also a great job by Martin Santangelo, the director, artistic director and the lucky husband of Soledad Barrio

Reviewed by Bina Sharif for
artsinternational
artsinternational.blogspot.com
binashariff@gmail.com
Cell: 212-260-6207
Facebook.com

JOHN PIZZARELLI SINGS AT CAFE CARLYLE

REVIEW
BY
BINA SHARIF

In one of the most elegant room with the most charming original murals created by French artist
Marcel Verte's, where melodiously colored paintings float up in the air like wingless singing birds
we, (The fortunate ones ) sip wine slowly and listen to Bossa nova love songs from the album,"Amoroso.' by the Brazilian singer/guitarist Joao Gilberto.
The scene for love, extreme joy and a nostalgic feeling of leisure & relaxation sets in.
John Pizzarelli is joined by Daniel Jobim who is the son of guitarist Paulo Jobim and grandson of
composer Antonio Carlos Jobim.  They both sang bossa nova classics by Jobim's grandfather softly, so very softly as if they were whispering in the ears of their beloveds some ancient secrets of love not to be heard by an other soul.

How wonderfully comforting and melodious that music felt unlike the screams and high pitched noise of modern singers.
I loved all the songs especially, (but of course) "Girl from Ipanema." "Quiet nights of quiet stars."
"Two kites." ' S wonderful (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) "Waters of March" and, "How Insensitive."

There was such a spirit of joy in both John Pizzarelli and  Daniel Jobim's voices when they recreated the superb mood of bossa nova love songs and Daniel Jobim was brimming with pride every time his grand father, Antonio Carlos Jobim's name was mentioned.
I also throughly enjoyed the ballads such as, "Change partners, " and "I Remember" from the I967 Album, "Francis Albert Sinatra and Antonio Carlos
Jobim."

There were lots of lovely anecdotes by John Pizzarelli throughout the evening, jokes about the effectiveness of Viagra like effect of this particular music and how Antonio Carlos got a phone call from Sinatra at a bar in Brazil.
Rest of the band, Helio Alves-Piano, Martin Pizzarelli-Bass,Duduka Dafonseca-drums were all incredible.  Daniel Jobim was at Piano as well.

The original song, 'Soares Samba" by John Pizzarelli was thrilling as he played around with his guitar.
Mr. Pizzarelli is the recipient of Ella Fitzgerald award established in 1999 for the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Jazz Festival  and has been featured over 40 albums as a sideman, accompanying greats as
Paul McCartney and many others.
I will go back to listen to their enchantingly beautiful music any time any where but Cafe Carlyle
makes it even more special and elegant.  The atmosphere of this grand room is perfect for Mr. Pizzarelli and Daniel Jobim and the superb band.
I Still feel I am there and they are so very exotically whispering-whispering love songs to me,  only for me.

artsinternational.blogspot.com
binashariff@gmail.com
www.facebook.com
Cell:212-260-6207

THEATER REVIEW
BY
BINA SHARIF

DIJLA WAL. FURAT: BETWEEN THE TIGRIS AND THE EUPHRATES
BY
MAURICE DECAUL (US Marine Corps Veteran )

DIRECTED
BY
ALEX MALLORY, Part of POETIC LICENSE 2015; subconscious

AT THE WILD PROJECT:  195 E.3rd Street.

The play takes place in 2003: before, during and after the fall of Baghdad. (Statue of Saddam Hussein also falls with the great sound effects of thousands of people rejoicing ) One would wish to believe that the country, Iraq and its people and the soldiers by now will also rejoice because the job is accomplished and the victory achieved and a celebration due.

But wait, there are terrible and tragic surprises awaiting the people involved.  There are four US Marines, four Iraqis and one reporter (French ) representing the thousands upon thousands of soldiers and Iraqis and the horrendous consequences as a result of this illegal
war, (started on the false assumption of the presence of weapons of mass destruction ) which were never there but the towns and cities and its inhabitants all turned into death camps, ghosts, burning bodies and un-imaginable destruction.

On a sand colored empty stage the Marines and Iraqis struggle and fight for their lives.
Their trauma and emotional devastation is absolutely hard to watch.  In the very beginning of the play an errant mortar round kills a child, (A girl named Amina ) and his father begs her burial but the Marines don't allow it.  They themselves are stricken with fear of some ominous tragedy befalling them.
Its just the beginning and the phantoms will haunt the living and the dead for the rest of times to come.
Then Baghdad burns and the loss of life, the soldiers deaths and their  emotional devastation and the destruction of a country will have wounds so deep and trauma so heavy and the price every one will pay,  so tremendous.

The brilliance of the author, Maurice Decaul is that he has made all his characters human and we feel their pain, loss and humanity throughout.  We never hate the Marines for being the enemy because
their loss is also as huge as the Iraqis and it is even more Ironic and sad to watch because they want to go home to their families and their wives and to a normal life but still we feel so much more for the innocent iraqis and their tragedy brought upon them by a foreign power under a false premise.

Most of the acting is excellent and many scenes are very moving but the scenes between Labib and Marid played by, (Ankur Rathee and Fahim Hamid ) are totally hunting, living and the ghost of the dead never leaving each other alone.
And in another scene when Ortega, (Nabil Vinas ) is saved by his comrade Ali who gets killed himself and Ortega gets badly injured, (his wife back home waiting to deliver his baby ) is also extremely moving and painful to watch.

The production is brilliantly directed by Alex Mallory.
The sound design by Jaime A Diaz is astounding. The lighting design by Derek Miller is also very effective.

This kind of a war play is very hard to stage and realize with such a small cast but every one involved has done a great job and the play is very moving and evokes many feelings.
A very Important play for every one to see.

“V.S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life,” at the Guggenheim Museum, until February 11, 2015

“V.S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life,” at the Guggenheim Museum, until February 11, 2015

REVIEW OF THE SHOW BY Poonam Srivastava

“I work as an individual. I do not have a scientific point of view. It is mostly my total experience of life [and] nature that comes through me, that is manifested on canvas. For me, every painting I do is a miracle … It is my sincere belief in life, truth, God, whatever it is, that prompts me to paint.”1 Quoted in Polyphonic Modernisms and Gaitonde’s Interiorized Worldview by Sandhini Poddar. In: VS Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life, exhibition catalogue, published by Solomon R Guggenheim Museum and Prestel Verlag, New York, 2014, pages 27-28.

I was fortunate to witness the Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde, VSG, show, “V.S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Painting as Life,” at the Guggenheim Museum, October 24, 2014–February 11, 2015. The 45 paintings and drawings  in oil on canvas and ink on paper, span the years 1952 to 1998. The show of VSG’s works, left me centered and moved. His is the rare talent that opens hearts, minds, and souls simultaneously. The show touched me both as a person with great interest in art, but also as person with great interest and affinity for Zen Buhddism. I was moved as a South Asian woman, and also on a deeply personal non-nationalistic/historic level. VSG’s work reflected his life, 1924 to 2001 and brought to focus the recently discarded twentieth century with all its twists and contradictions; being modern and global while embodying ancient truths; the East - West / North - South dichotomy that was brought to light by the works of such scholars as Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Edward Said. I am grateful that the Guggenheim for bringing his works to the attention of a greater public, and to my attention. Quite frankly the exhibit  left me wanting more. I not only wanted to see more of V. S. Gaitonde's work, I wanted to know the man.

I agree with the New York Times in their January 1, 2015 article about VSG's work: " It is by a 20th-century Indian modernist who looked westward, eastward, homeward and inward to create an intensely personalized version of transculturalism, one that has given him mythic stature in his own country and pushed him to the top of the auction charts." Charts and

auction prices aside, the work I saw is the work of a true artist, one who transcends not only his geography but his historic moment to express the personal that is also the universal truth of life. His large canvases are monochromatic. There is a simplicity to them yet also a complexity. At first glance they are monochromatic studies of color. This draws you in and then you realize the world of detail that you have dropped into. The paintings are landscapes and portraits. For me they were uniquely Indian as well. The red one for example was an immediate connect to the myths of Kali and Durga and the female principle of the divine. There  was another large oil on canvas that had me literally tasting curry and smelling cardamon. Yet as a western viewer I saw clearly Rothko, Klee and others, even as I realized VSG was simply Gaitonde.

In the earlier work, before 1970 or so, one sees more clearly the classical Western approach to modernism. Even a cursory google search of VSG's life and art reveals him as a hard working, spot light shunning, man who painted in a one room apartment in Delhi that also functioned as his studio. He never married and never had children.  He worked in the community of artists and can be seen with his fellow painter chums, yet still worked outside of them. He reminds me of Henri Michaux that way -- with the Surrealists but not of them. VSG was a singular, rather solitary painter, well known as a member of the Bombay school of painting, not reflecting them but from within that bathwater marking his own strokes of genius. This then is what he offers.

Within the forty five pieces I recalled Moghul minatures, hindu temple art, flashed back to my visit to the cave murals of Ajanta, north of the city of Aurangabad, recalled Jain painting, and also the artists Klee, Rothko and many more. His oils include calligraphy from the written Indus Valley and Harrapan languages as well as compositions influenced by the Hill Korwa Tribe now extant as well .

Here is an artist who cast a wide net and then spoke in his own breath creating technique and producing works that put the words such as derivative, global, Western, Eastern, even modern to a special light. During a 1962 show at MOMA he said: my painting  “was done on wet white with a roller and painting knife.” VSG used a roller and a knife, pasting on rolled up paper that was painted several times, to give layers that showed the arguably Indian notion of simultaneous creation and destruction translated to fields of light, color and form. As he told MoMA, “I aim at directness and simplicity.”

Do not miss a chance to see this show at the Guggenheim. It ends the eleventh of February. Hurry. You may see me there again. I hope we will be seeing more of Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde’s works here.

THEATER REVIEW

"BACK"

A TRAGEDY PARTY

POETIC THEATER PRODUCTIONS
Presents AT THE CELL 338 WEST 23rd  at 8pm and runs through October 31st

REVIEWED
by
BINA SHARIF for ARTS INTERNATIONAL

Its 1989.  We are in a Greenwich Village Gay Club on Halloween.
There are a few men and women handsomely dressed lying motionless on the floor
for quite some time.  They don't move, they don't breathe.  Are they resting from a long evening's
pleasures or are they dead after the consumption of fun, sex, drugs and passions?
We are not sure yet.

Then enters a Krishna type, finely dressed in gold and orange and glitter ( Matthew Dalton Lynch )
as  George Harris 111/Hibiscus (1949-1982 )  He is the one who put a flower into a rifle during the
Vietnam War.  He livens the room with his dancing and then who walks in?  Cookie Mueller (1949-1989) ) A party girl and John Water's actress with a cane ( fabulously played by Olivia Nice)
Now we know that the party goers are bringing the dead back and every one on the floor rises.

The party begins, lots of kissing and lots of hugging and mingling and laughter.  It makes you feel you want to get out of this awful 2014 where the fun has been replaced by constant news of war and the demise of East Village with nothing left but condos and boring people in it with no style, no sense of
fashion and no humor at all.  We are still waiting for something concrete to happen and all of a sudden
a play called,  FRANK a 1966 tragedy starring Frank O'Hara (brilliant Adam  Wennick ) starts to
unfold and that's when a sense of real theater and the impact of great poetry happens.
The mood becomes solemn, poignant and sad.  Frank wrote Meditations in an Emergency and he used to scribble poems at his lunch break which became Lunch Poems. He had a tragic death due to a car accident.

This part of the evening was my favorite.  Beautifully recited poems by Adam Wennick as Frank
were very touching and soulful.  Bello Pizzimenti as Joe LeSueur ( Frank's room mate and  lover
was just wonderful,  subtle and touching in a quiet, effective way.

After the intermission we had another treat. Another  1804 tragedy called, AARON  Starring,
Felix J. Mayes as Aaron Burr (Handsomely attired with silver heals to die) and Mateo d'Amato
as Alexander Hamilton. a life long rival of Aaron Burr. (quiet effective in an intense role)

This play was nothing if not a great history lesson.  Listening to the speeches of Alxander Hamilton
one suddenly realizes that not much has changed in such a long time.  He keeps blatantly tries to
Insult Aaron Burr who is so confident in his ability and sense of justice that he laughs away the insults most of the time thus making Hamilton so furious that he challenges Aaron Burr to a duel from which Hamilton dies a short time later.

 BACK is written by Mickey Bolmer and developed with poetic Theater Productions and directed by
Andrew Willis-Woodward.

There are other characters such as Nan Goldin, Bernice Abbott, Walt Whitman and David Wojnarowicz.  The whole ensemble is really good and they work very well together but outstanding performances are given by, Olivia Nice, Adam Wennick, Bello Pizzimenti and Mateo d' Amato.
The whole evening was thoroughly enjoyable and informative. Costumes were also very beautiful and festive. My friends who happened to be from Berlin and accompanied me to the show on their last night in NewYork Loved the whole evening.

I felt very nostalgic for the old times and for the fabulous dead.

I congratulate the Co-Artistic Directors' Jeremy Karafin and Alex Mallory of  Poetic Theater Productions for staging such a wonderful and important work.

Photo: Top with Mathew Dalton Lynch and Olivia Nice
Photo: Bottom with Felix J. Mayes and Bello Pizzimenti
BACK
A TRAGEDY PARTY RUNS TILL OCT 31st

Bina Sharif: Editor/Publisher
artsinternational
artsinternational.blogspot,com
binashariff@gmail.com
binasharif@earthlink.net
Cell: 212-260-6207

NUTCRACKER ROUGE AT MINETTA LANE AND OTHER GREAT SHOWS OF 2013

GREAT SHOWS OF 2013
Loved by artsinternational and Bina Sharif

One of the very many great shows of 2013 such as Richard the 111, No man's Land, Waiting for Godot, Lady Day, I came to look for you on Tuesday is NUTCRACKER ROUGE directed and
choreographed by Austin McCormick based on Tchaikovsky's timeless  "Nutcracker.
The director Takes liberties and for the better to combine many formats such as dance beside the ballet,
incredibly erotic and sexy movements without ever a slightest hint of any bad taste at all, styles which are so avant garde and delicious that every second one waits for a new surprise and exotic surprises keep coming.

The director is very successful experimenting with new forms which are deliberated with great sense of fun and joy. The brilliant cast of dancers and actors have such agility and ability that at times feel humanly impossible but possible in this amazing show at every minute.

There is classical ballet,  French Can-Can, Jazz,  Rock, you name it, its there and still the show never seem overloaded.  The secret of this Nutcracker is the amount of fun and superb ability the performers are exuding at every given moment.  It shows how beautiful the human body is and how blessed the performers are to have that toned, muscular, angular and elongated muscles which with the talent mesmerize us all.

The whole ensemble is great but actors and dancers and singers such as Lura Careless as Marie Claire and Shelly Watson as Mrs. Drosselmeyer are superb.
Jeff Takacs as a co-host is lots of fun.

Lighting Design  by Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew is absolutely effective and just stunning creating an incredibly beautiful and exotic atmosphere and so is the set design by Zane Pihlstrom.

NUTCRACKER ROUGE is in the company of the best of the best theater in New York
I absolutely enjoyed this show as well as  few other above mentioned shows but NUTCRACKER ROUGE'S sensuality and erotic raw energy can't be matched.

REVIEWED
BY
BINA SHARIF
FOR
artsinternational.blogspot.com

I CAME TO LOOK FOR YOU ON TUESDAY

THEATER

I CAME TO LOOK FOR YOU ON TUESDAY
BY
CHIORI MIYAGAWA

DIRECTED
BY
ALICE REAGAN

REVIEWED
BY
BINA SHARIF

I came to look for you on Tuesday is a play which is hauntingly beautiful and poignant.
I came to look for you on Tuesday is a passionate poem play, an unending stunning poem of
memory, loss and reunion after natural disasters such as Japan Earthquake in 2011 and wars.
The main character in the play is a young girl named Maia who is six years old at the time of the tragedy of tsunami when she is saved by her mother at the loss of her mother's life who was only twenty years old. At the end of the play Maia is fifty years old and all her life she has tried to deal
with her loss and the reunion with her father who just can't come to terms with the tragedy of losing
his young wife and some times blames Maia for the loss.  In a heart breaking scene the father says to his daughter,"You are a thief, you stole my life."  One can never forget strong and bold writing like this.
I came to look for you on Tuesday throughout has poetry like that.
Poetry which destroys you at one point and enthralls  you at the next moment.
There are almost twenty characters in the play who are trying to deal with the loss of loved ones and trying to reunite to have some kind of closure in some ways and all scenes have great strength of
brilliant writing.
The play is also stunningly directed by Alice Reagan.  Direction is precise, clean, sharp and moving.
When one enters the theater , one encounters just a very clean room with grey walls and floor and
a projection screen.  Almost no props except some little blocks of wood and some doors, actually many
doors but not intrusive at all.  The set is just perfect for this kind of a play which is taking place all
over the world and characters inhabiting the space are also people, real people of blood and flesh
trying to deal with the loss which can never be dealt with actually, the loss which is beyond one's control but still some kind of reunion is wished for.
All the actors are brilliant.  Completely connected with their characters.  Right in-front of you they become the real people and you forget that you are watching a play.
Actors play many different roles and they are good in each one.
The playwright and the director conducted salons where they developed stories of reunion
by many artists and the result is so effective that the play stays inside of you for days.
I have been thinking about this beautiful play for a whole week.
I came to look for you on Tuesday, a lovely title, which is based on one of the characters who is looking
for his missing son and leaves a hand written message on the wall of one of the evacuation center
telling him, I CAME TO LOOK FOR YOU ON TUESDAY.
If that doesn't break your heart, just tell me what will.......
And theater should have that kind of lasting effect and this play does.
And there is another amazing thing happens here often, Laughter.
Play also has sharp and real heartfelt humor.
I just loved this play.

AT LAMAMA E.T.C TILL OCT 13