Go, run, fly

Great news for all of Jennifer Ehle's admirers:

She has now opened a public twitter account! You can follow Ms Ehle at http://twitter.com/jenniferehle , or click directly from this blog on the @jenniferehle sign (Right column, "The essentials").

She presents herself as "Mama, wife, home educating, sometimes actress". Let's hope that the last part of her bio will give way to exciting and interesting thoughts!

New to Twitter and already panicking at the idea of making a fool of yourself amongst the birds community ? Check this good article on 12 Common and Frequent Mistakes Made by Users on Twitter (and How to Avoid Them). In French too (thanks YC!).

Last week for Mr & Mrs Fitch

Now is time to hurry and book your seat at Second Stage Theatre to see the last performances of Mr & Mrs Fitch.

Latest favourable reviews include the Bestofoffbroadway one, in which Colleen Verbus acknowledges that:

John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle's portrayal of these characters is hilarious and fun. Ehle plays Mrs Fitch as the instigator of their scheming, while Mr Fitch furthers their ploy. (...) Lithgow and Ehle perform well with the script they have and make it a fun performance to watch.

"What is present are two very good actors at the top of their game", follows on The Epoch Times:

Director Scott Ellis, whose prior productions have won many theatrical organization nominations and awards (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle), has kept the piece moving lightly and swiftly. Therefore, what one views is light, attractive and sophisticated.

Blogger's reactions include Candia's one, entitled "Run to see this play...the run is short and the laughs are long!", or Life upon the sacred stage's one:

I was so sleepy as I settled in for this world premiere of Douglas Carter Beane's Mr & Mrs Fitch that I wondered how I'd make it through the next two hours. Not to worry. I perked up the moment John lithgow and Jennifer Ehle entered, laughing as they stumble into their colourful Mahattan loft in the wee hours of the morning after a night on the town. And I stayed engaged as their glitzy world unfold in this cocktail of a show (...).

Don't hesitate to give your own thoughts on the play in the forum.

The King's Speech release

The King's Speech will be released on November 26th, 2010 in the USA. No dates available yet for other countries.

Thumbs down

Ehle out, Fairley in, according to Winter is Coming.

Last reviews before taking off

Paul Hansen at the NewYorkGrapevine is extremely positive about Mr & Mrs Fitch, and its author Douglas Carter Beane - so positive that I can not resist the pleasure to give you a great part of the article to read:

It is a testament to the writing ability of Beane that tremendous humor is generated in references to Edith Wharton, Virginia Wolf and Evelyn Waugh, to name but a few authors in the Fitchs' lettered galaxy. It would probably take at least three or four viewings of the play for even the most sophisticated audience-goer to catch all of the humorous cultural allusions.

Although the comedy can be very erudite, the humor in Mr. and Mrs. Fitch is never dry or sterile. Those who are not as literary-minded as the Fitch's need not be intimidated as the infectious exuberance and virtual musicality of the actors' performances creates genuine dramatic excitement. It is also wonderful to listen to a script in which the author challenges the audience instead of pandering to it. The tenor and the delivery of the dialogue in the play remind a viewer of the rapid-fire dialogue in the 1930's screwball Hollywood comedies featuring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, or Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Mr. Lithgow sings several excerpts from Cole Porter and George Gershwin to highlight the play's cultural connection to 1930's sophistication.

The comedy offers an interesting snapshot of how information is transmitted in the early 21th century. The irony is that the very explosion of methods of communication through the internet, blogs, twitter, etc. can make it more difficult to determine what the truth actually is. Facts may be circulated before being checked. Fame and celebrity can be manufactured virtually overnight to masses that enjoy being titillated, even if those same masses suspect in the back of their minds that they are being manipulated. The play humorously examines the superficiality of much of popular culture and the danger of having a relative approach to reality.

Like their cinematic counterparts referred to above, John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle have tremendous synergy and charisma as a couple. Like any true duo, each derives inspiration and energy from their partner. It is a great challenge for two actors to carry a full length play and one can only admire the sparkle and zest that Lithgow and Ehle bring to their roles.

(...) Visiting Mr. and Mrs. Fitch in their dapper digs can make for a very rewarding evening.

Other late reviews include the more mixed ones at Wolfentertainmentguide, the hofstrachronicle or the villagevoice.

Pros-cons discussions and comments about reviews to be found at Broadwayworld.com, while playwright Carter Beane will discuss his comedy on Cuny TV on Monday, March the 15th.

News about Game of Thrones include an impressive list of crew members needed for the forthcoming filming of the series (info reported by Winter is Coming). Lucky readers from Belfast!

No updates from me next week, as I'll be in New York City judging for myself what to think of the Fitches! I'll be back soon, though...

"The effortlessly charming Jennifer Ehle and John Lithgow"

On the Fitch front



New critics have flourished all over the net, some of which much nicer than the first ones.



Entertainment Weekly has given a B+ to Mr & Mrs Fitch, stating that:

The media-urbanite will savor every crazy morsel of Mr & Mrs Fitch (...) That's mostly because the characters, the minutiae they talk about, and, natch, where they live, are just so neurotically New York. Tony winners John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle smashingly portray a married couple who write a gossip column (hello, Daily's News' rumor patrol Rush & Malloy!).

The banter-filled dialogue is so rapid-fire that it can get a tad exhausting. But overall, Mr & Mrs Fitch is the work of a fine writer.

One of the play's major strengths lies in its meta-awareness. "Yes, you know, theater", Lithgow intones during one of his many linguistic sword fight with Ehle. "That thing that movie people do when they want to announce they're available for television." It's that heightened, self-conscious cleverness that makes Mr & Mrs Fitch a riotous deep dive into the shallow waters of gossip.

Another (short) positive review to be found at flavorpill:

Douglas Carter Beane tackles the growing blur of journalism and fiction in his new acerbically funny play. The title characters, played with amazing acuity by the effortlessly charming Jennifer Ehle and John Lithgow, are a gossip columnist couple who live a vampiric lifestyle (...)

Hilarity and madness ensue as they try to stop the monster they've created in this savvy comment on our celebrity-obsessed culture.

Witty Sandy MacDonald at Theatermania has a lot of good words for Fitch too:

The script for Douglas Carter Beane's latest comedy (...) consists mostly of a warp-speed badinage. But the words are of so entertaining a caliber - and so gloriously delivered by stars Jennifer Ehle and John Lithgow - that audiences likely won't mind the play's lack of forward motion. (...)

Hints are dropped early and often that Mr Fitch is predominantly gay. (Bisexuality makes women appear "adventurous", whereas men simply seem "indecisive", quips Mrs F.) Still, the couple's own rapport is as fond and fizzy as a teenage romance (...) And yes, it's sexual. Dinosaurs though they be, the Fitches' blood runs hot. Love comes in all shapes, sizes, and configurations, suggests Beane. And most of all, certain accomodations ought to be made to ensure the survival of the wittiest.

Other less enthusiastic and/or less original reviews can be found at TheVillageVoice, the WallStreetJournal or NY1. A quite complete review of reviews (!) at StageGrade. Reviews from the audience include the positive one of freakgirl.com, and the very negative one of Broadway & me.

On the Thrones front

A lot has happened during the week following the HBO greenlight announcement of Game of Thrones, including reactions from Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Culture and Arts Minister, Nelson McCausland:

This is extremely positive news for Northern Ireland (...) At this stage, it is estimated that £20M will be delivered into the local economy though the production of the nine-part series.

Filming is due to begin in Belfast in June, for a release in spring 2011.

You'll find extremely good recaps of the events of the week at Game of Thrones news and Winter is coming - the latter has even decided to reinforce his contributors team to stay "on top of the latest news" !

For French and francophile readers, more about Thrones at lagardedenuit.com, a French site dedicated to the Game of Thrones.

Read on

Finally figured out how you can read the interview here on the blog, instead of having to download it separately. Enjoy.

Green's the colour !

Green is definitely the colour for March, and it's now official.

Winter is, indeed, coming.

HBO has greenlighted highly anticipated fantasy series "Games of Thrones"

The Hollywood Reporter also notices that this great news is partly due to the "enormous, perhaps unprecedented, online interest (...) at such an early stage".

The picture on the right is from the opening scenes of the pilot.

10 episodes ordered (pilot + nine), so you can actually let your imagination go a long way through the woods, imagine the mighty Starks, the opponents Catelyn and Cersei, Eddard, Robert and Jaime...No limits now!

More later, to be sure.

Are you anxious ?

You should be.