The heartthrob actor Ryan Reynolds (”The Proposal,” “Definitely, Maybe”) will make his debut next week in the New York edition of the theatrical comedy “Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words,” where stars read humorous snippets from memoirs of the entertainment world’s A-list through D-list.
Given Mr. Reynolds’s popularity in movies and on “Sexiest Man Alive” lists, a second show has been added for the Nov. 23 production at the Triad Theater on the Upper West Side; performances will be at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Mr. Reynolds is scheduled to read from Kenny Loggins’s “The Unimaginable Life: Lessons Learned on the Path of Love.” Other performers that night include Rachel Dratch, Carol Kane, Sherri Shepherd, Michael Urie andKristen Wiig.
Forty-five years after his death, Cole Porter has never truly left town. His songs are a staple of Manhattan’s cabaret scene: one performer finished a tribute at the Algonquin last month, while two others just opened shows that prominently feature his work.
Stevie Holland in her one-woman musical show, "Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter."
None are as ambitious as Stevie Holland, a jazz singer who has tried to steer into somewhat more daring precincts. Apparently drawing on sources like William McBrien’s fine Porter biography and the 2004 film “De-Lovely,” Ms. Holland and her husband, the composer Gary William Friedman, have written “Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter.”
It’s billed as a one-woman play, directed by Ben West. Really, though, it’s cabaret. Ms. Holland takes the nightclub stage of the Triad Theater as Linda Lee Porter, the dazzling divorced socialite from Kentucky who wed Porter, eight years her junior, in 1919 when both were expatriates in Paris. Despite her husband’s homosexuality — Ms. Holland has Linda saying she “accepted his romantic appetite for men because I had his love” — the couple stayed married for 35 years, until Linda’s death from emphysema in 1954.
With a trio playing smoothly behind her, Ms. Holland runs through truncated versions of some of Porter’s best-known songs — “In the Still of the Night,” “I Love Paris,” “What Is This Thing Called Love?” — as well as a handful of comparative rarities. Instead of conventional patter, she ladles out bits of the Porter chronology in a Southern-tinged lilt.
There’s a lot of ground to cover, even for a more polished actress than Ms. Holland: the couple’s time in Europe; the return to the States and Porter’s first great Broadway successes; the move to Hollywood; the horse-riding accident that disabled him; Linda’s failing health. As a result, the piece, which clocks in at just about an hour, feels rushed. Not only does it make great demands of Ms. Holland, who between her singing and narration barely has time to pause, but it also shortchanges the audience, which for the most part gets only bits and pieces of songs that cry out for full, lustrous renditions.
This is a shame because Ms. Holland, tall and stately, has a graceful, silken voice that glides easily through her material. “Love for Sale,” which she sang after discussing the Porters’ growing estrangement in Hollywood, carried emotional weight, and she gave the closing number, “When a Woman’s in Love,” a real sense of triumph.
Adam Shorsten, Anthony Francavilla, Michelle Mantione, and The Imagination Company presented EROTIC BROADWAY at The Triad on Monday June 29th. EROTIC BROADWAY is New York City's sexiest, new late-night Monday series. BroadwayWorld.com made the late night trip to the Triad to cover all the seductive action.
Two of Broadways hottest talents, Nick Adams and Kearran Giovanni guest starred in the June 29th performance which was choreographed by Broadway's hottest dance talent, Lorin Latarro.
Press notes describe EROTIC BROADWAY as, "this stimulating and irreverent adults-only variety show series, showcasing Broadway's brightest talent, will feature an erotically-charged evening of dance, slinky love songs, risqué stand-up comedy, steamy story telling and...well, who knows what else? Featuring a new cast and creative team at each performance, the hottest and most exciting talent on Broadway will offer their own unique and different interpretation of the genre."
Future performance dates are July 20th, August 10th, August 24th, October 5th & October 19th at 9:30pm. Cast and creative teams to be announced.
The Triad is located at 158 West 72nd Street, NY, NY. www.triadnyc.com Tickets are $50, $35 & $30 each plus a 2 beverage minimum. Tickets on sale now for all performances at www.smarttix.com.
Jon Peterson: Song Man Dance Man
The Triad, 158 West 72 Street
With youth, one expects energy and exuberance, but good looks, intelligence and talent are rarely found in the same package. Jon Peterson, an enchanting new performer from England who has “adopted” the Apple as his own, has got it all. In Song Man Dance Man, an entertaining nonstop revue at the beautifully refurbished cabaret theater called the Triad, Mr. Peterson is paying homage to the historic song-and-dance icons George M. Cohan, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bobby Darin and Anthony Newley. A combination of Tommy Steele and Norman Wisdom, he was a veteran of the Royal Ballet School at 9 years old. But Swan Lake didn’t hold a candle to MGM musicals, and Mr. Peterson never had any doubt what he wanted to be when he grew up. He is, in many ways, the real Billy Elliot.
Unfortunately, by the time he was handsome and supple enough to become the new Bob Fosse, movie musicals were over. That hasn’t stopped him from emulating his heroes. From a vaudeville trunk he extracts top hats, canes, baseball caps and props to create his own version of That’s Entertainment! His Bobby Darin needs work, but the athletic cockiness of Gene Kelly shines through, tough but tender on “For Me and My Gal” and wet dancing with an umbrella on “Singin’ in the Rain.” He doesn’t imitate the cockney of fellow Londoner Anthony Newley. He channels him, until his “Once in a Lifetime” sends chills down your spine. His biographical patter is revealing, his personal revelations are endearing and his tap-dancing is aces high. With flipper shoes, baggy pants, white gloves protruding from a long purple coat, orange shirt and polka dot tie, he kneels in front of a mirror applying clown makeup and emerges as Kelly singing Cole Porter’s “Be a Clown” in The Pirate, then keeps the makeup on for “What Kind of Fool Am I?” which displays the serious, lonely side of a clown and builds to a perfect finale.
Out of character, his floppy hair refuses to stay in place, and his smile is as warm as Palm Springs in December. With Hermes Pan to do the choreography, Conrad Salinger to write the arrangements and Ira Gershwin to pen the lyrics, Jon Peterson could have been a big star. Even in the creatively bankrupt show business world of today, he vibrates with talent and charisma, and in the right vehicle he could own the stage.
rreed@observer.com
The next Scheduled Performance is Monday, June 22 at 7:30pm
Scheduled to appear are:
Rachel Dratch, Jackie Hoffman, Kristen Johnston (3rd Rock) Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, Steve Schirripa (Sopranos), Sherri Shepherd (The View), Alan Zweibel, and more!
April 5, 2009 --
THAT Scott Adsit, Michael Urie andRachel Dratch partied hard at Jennifer Klein's Wine & Roses on Columbus Avenue after the "Celebrity Autobiography" show the other night at the Triad, whereVanessa Williams read the autobiography of Ivana Trump and Craig Bierko read "The Jonas Brothers" in the voice ofFrankie Jonas, the 9-year-old bonus Jonas . . . THAT Vogue oracle Andre Leon Talley, shrouded in cashmere and velvet shoes with no socks, had a breakfast of fresh fruit and organic oatmeal with branding guru Peter Arnell at a meeting in Arnell's 7 World Trade Center offices . . . THAT Endeavor uber-agent Nick Stevens, who represents the likes of Ben Stiller, hung out withJames Gandolfini after seeing him in "God of Carnage."
Celebrity Autobiography, one of NYC's most buzzed-about shows, plays only on Monday nights at the Triad Theater, where a rotating cast of stars like Kristen Johnston and Matthew Broderick do dramatic readings from the (often ridiculous) memoirs of A-listers. Here's a sampling of some of the featured books' best lines. (212-868-4444)
''I don't think you have to have a language in common with someone to have sexual rapport. But it helps if the language you don't understand is Italian.'' — Madonna in Sex
''Have you ever talked to your muscles? As you bring up the dumbbells, say 'Grow.' It's what I call 'body dialogue,' where I actually converse with certain parts of my body.'' — Sylvester Stallone in Sly Moves''Take away the wigs and the eyelashes and the fabulous clothes, and you'll find me at White Castle, feasting on a half dozen of those greasy square burgers.'' — Star Jones in You Have to Stand for Something...
''Susan [Dey] lacked the slutty aspect of a female that I always found so attractive. She was never going to say, 'I want to take that big piece of meat of yours, baby.''' — David Cassidy in C'mon, Get Happy...
From People.com - March 11th, 2009
• Vanessa Williams, cheering on her Ugly Betty costar Michael Urie, who earned big laughs while reading from Miley Cyrus's new autobiography, Miles to Go, during the weekly Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words show at New York's Triad Theater. With his tongue planted firmly in cheek, the actor also channeled his inner Tommy Lee, sharing tips for pleasuring lovers, straight from the rocker's tome Tommyland.
