The Creator is Oscar-bound. No stars. No need for them. Well, Denzel Washington's son, John David Washington is the hero and not an eyesore. A child Gemma Chan is a darling AI heroine. Great story, great action, great visuals. Never have I seen art direction this creative and awe-inspiring. Artificial intelligence is not the enemy. It is our military. A child and a handsome African-American star steal the film from the screen into your hearts. If you get a bit confused in the plot, just go with it. The special effects will carry you throughout the film. Don’t miss this one. It’s a home run.
The Nutcracker at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music Meets Baryshnikov
Boy, I wanted to see what the Pennsylvania Ballet would do with Balanchine’s choreography of the Nutcracker and the lyrical music of Tchaikovsky’s and recall those days I would frequent the New York City Ballet. Once I was following Misha around when he was about to go on. “You are not allowed on stage, Carole,’ he said as he smiled his pixie grin and danced off to please an eagerly awaiting audience.
But today I was going to see Pennsylvania Ballet founder and Balanchine protégé Barbara Weisberger’s production of the Nutcracker with good friends, Diane and Tom Reed and my sister, Elmira Batson who had studied ballet as a child, Tom and Diane who own Tom’s Pet Outlet had sold me the love of my life, Herbert, my five lb. Maltese.. We were all excited and exchanged stories about when we had last seen this romantic vision where the balletomanes dance trippingly on their toes with children under their wings, in dresses, lying in beds, flying off over a crescent moon at the end and waving goodbye to an awestruck audience.
But would the tree rise from the floor suddenly in the middle of Act One as it had in New York some eighteen years earlier. Or was that just a big city bit. Would it rise and rise and dwarf the sleeping princess and all her friends. Would it? Probably not, I thought.
This was Philadelphia and while I had read excellent reviews, I needed to see if this tree would rise. The opening sparkled as the party the night before the dream was about to happen.
Teary-eyed,I listened to the overture and to the Philadelphia Boys Choir as I recalled my 95 -year -old mother by my side, wheel chair bound, and how cultured she was. Of German descent she taught me to value the arts. Piano lessons, classical music and while she had been a Pennsylvania Deutsch farmer, her appreciation of the fine arts was reminiscent of high German culture.
Misha was always kind to my mother, “How do you do, Mrs. Wagner,” he would say as he shook her hand and feigned a mock but polite curtsy. Misha adored his mother who had committed suicide. Mothers meant a great deal to him
But this was the past and the magic of the Nutcracker is how it evokes fond memories as everyone wonders, “When was the first time I saw the Nutcracker.
But would the tree rise? I still pondered.
Outstanding performances were Amy Aldridge as the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier, Ian Hussey. But it is the professionalism and joy of the many children that tears at your heart as performed by Claire Smith as the Little Princess and Aidan Duffy as the Little Prince.
While seeing the Nutcracker Suite recalls the innocence and naiveté of youth and all its charming trappings, storm clouds often loom on the horizon with age, but a visit to the Academy of Music and its fine production of Tchaikovsky’s score and Balanchine’s images performed through December 31, puts all that sadness to rest and replaces it with fond, joyful memories for celebration of a traditional Christmas Season with one’s remaining family and friends.