Harold Pinter theatre; Barbican, London
Trevor Nunn began the summer by directing a heavy-handed Kiss Me Kate; he ends it by staging a star-encrusted but tepid Chorus of Disapproval. What a waste. Of Alan Ayckbourn, whose 1984 play has not been taken seriously, and therefore looks unfunny. And of Nunn, who has been innovative (Nicholas Nickleby) and meticulous (his Merchant of Venice was a revelation because of its detail), and who has helped (with Gorky's Summerfolk) to widen the theatrical repertoire but is in danger of looking fusty.
Rob Brydon fans may think his performance alone is enough to justify the price of a ticket. He certainly provides the high points of the evening. As the director of the Pendon Light Operatic Society's amateur production of The Beggar's Opera, Brydon is hangdog and top dog: bullying, cardiganed, down in the dumps, overweening. He unleashes a terrific riff when, while trying out...
Trevor Nunn began the summer by directing a heavy-handed Kiss Me Kate; he ends it by staging a star-encrusted but tepid Chorus of Disapproval. What a waste. Of Alan Ayckbourn, whose 1984 play has not been taken seriously, and therefore looks unfunny. And of Nunn, who has been innovative (Nicholas Nickleby) and meticulous (his Merchant of Venice was a revelation because of its detail), and who has helped (with Gorky's Summerfolk) to widen the theatrical repertoire but is in danger of looking fusty.
Rob Brydon fans may think his performance alone is enough to justify the price of a ticket. He certainly provides the high points of the evening. As the director of the Pendon Light Operatic Society's amateur production of The Beggar's Opera, Brydon is hangdog and top dog: bullying, cardiganed, down in the dumps, overweening. He unleashes a terrific riff when, while trying out...
- 9/29/2012
- by Susannah Clapp
- The Guardian - Film News
Kathryn Grayson, the lilting soprano who starred in the classic MGM musicals "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate" and "Anchors Aweigh," died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home. She turned 88 last week.Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953). Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
- 2/18/2010
- backstage.com
Kathryn Grayson, the lilting soprano who starred in the classic MGM musicals "Show Boat," "Kiss Me Kate" and "Anchors Aweigh," died Wednesday at her Los Angeles home. She turned 88 last week.
Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.
Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953).
Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.
Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
Grayson's longtime companion and secretary, Sally Sherman, said Thursday that the actress died of natural causes.
Grayson also was professionally linked with Howard Keel, with whom she co-starred in three movies. With him, Grayson sang and acted as the riverboat belle Magnolia in "Show Boat" (1951); as a Parisian dress shop owner in "Lovely to Look At" (1952) -- in which she sang Jerome Kern's "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" -- and as a high-strung actress in "Kiss Me Kate" (1953).
Later in their careers, Grayson and Keel performed together in nightclubs -- she was a coloratura soprano, he was a baritone -- and toured in summer stock.
Born as Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick on Feb. 9, 1922, in Winston-Salem, N.C., she...
- 2/18/2010
- by By Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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