Hats off to Claire Danes in Pygmalion!

Claire makes her Broadway Debut

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

"I love Claire Danes," exclaimed my niece Jaime with delighted glee as an ear to ear smile lit up her beautiful face when I told her, her birthday gift was an evening at the theatre.

Her excitement mirrored my own when I first saw ads for George Bernard Shaw's classic "Pygmalion" featuring Dane's handsome head shot. Claire Danes coming to Broadway! I had to see her.

Her guileless innocent face first captured my attention in Romeo and Juliet directed by Baz Luhrmann. Oblivious to the clash and clamor of party preparations criss-crossing around her, she effortlessly navigated between her emotional overwrought mother and hysterical nanny. She won me over. I am a fan for life.

Any play by Shaw is demanding, as it is difficult to "preach" his ideals while keeping an audience entertained and awake, so I was doubly impressed by her desire to stretch command of her craft by appearing in one of his best known works for her Broadway Debut. Hat's off to Claire.

Dane's working class Liza is more true to Shaw's character than the street urchin turned aristocrat in the musical, My Fair Lady. When she goes toe to toe in a successful dual of wits with Henry Higgins in his mother's drawing room, there is no chance that this young lady, with newly awakened confidence, would eagerly bring Higgins his slippers as in the Hollywood "happily ever after" final scene. Yet hers is not a feminist declaration.

Jefferson Mays' Higgins gives the play a facelift and brings it right into the 21st century; Immediately recognizable, he is an arrogant, petulant, naughty teen-ager (though at least in his late thirties) who stubbornly refuses to grow up. Mrs. Higgins (Helen Carey), Liza's dad Alfred (Jay O Sander's) and Colonel Pickering (Boyd Gaines) with their quick repartee and elegant costumes engage and amuse.

My only question. In the final scene, where Liza finds refuge at the home of Henry's mother, she enters in a rather drab morning dress, appropriate enough for receiving visitors in the drawing room; She then announces she must leave to get ready to attend her father's wedding, however she returns in the same dress with only the addition of gloves and purse. After the many elegant costumes in this production, why did David Grindlay(director), and Jonathan Fensom(costume-set designer), choose to end the play with Liza in that dress?

An attractive walking suit or long flowing coat would have completed the picture more appropriately, especially since Mrs. Higgins is elegantly decked out with an elaborate hat as the finishing touch; She looks like she is going to a wedding. Liza's final confrontation with Higgins would have had more impact if she were handsomely attired.

"Pygmalion" is on Broadway only for a limited engagement. Mark your calendar now to see it by December 16th at the American Airlines Theatre. Here's hoping Claire will soon make a return visit. I would love to see her as Ibsen's Nora in "A Dolls House" or Strindberg's "Miss Julie."

Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York


P.S. The theatre entrance is on 42nd Street; however, when you leave, exit on the 43rd Street side of the Orchestra level and you will come out near the back-stage door. Wait a bit and the stars will exit. Then do what Jaime and I did, ask them to autograph your Playbill.

Stay tuned for what many of you have been asking for, Restaurant recommendations in the Theater District.

Address to Remember: The American Airlines Theatre, West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10011. 212-719-1300, http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/.

Directions: At Times Square.

Photo by Kelly Jeffers

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group

Autumn Splendor - The Foliage Report

Their job done!

---- A Note from the Publisher ---

If you only received the title of last weeks story, The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, please visit us at http://www.postcardsfromnewyork.com/ to see the entire article. We apologize for the FeedBurner posting mishap.

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Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

This time of year always reminds me of a "Johnny Walker" ad some years ago "When the trees have done their job even they turn to Red."

The last vestige of summer gone with last week's heat wave, the cooler weather signals the approaching holiday season, harvest time, Halloween pumpkins, and Thanksgiving.

October and November can race by in a flash, unless you live in the suburbs or near Central Park where nature's physical changes are ever-present. In this city, it is possible to miss out on Autumn's special beauty altogether; Don't let that happen this year.

Plan now to spend a weekend in the country. The Catskills and Poconos are not far away if upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire would require more time and planning than your schedule allows.

Closer to home, take a leisurely drive along the Hudson River Parkway; marvel at the Palisades awash with colors or experience Autumn's silent music along the Saw Mill River Parkway, The Taconic or US Highway (7) in Connecticut.

You will find a foliage map here of nearby forest and woodland areas to alert you to the peak time to experience nature at its most dramatic moment before it begins to hibernate for the long winter.

Autumn more than any other season keeps us in touch with the cycle of life. Somehow as the trees change they ignite our inner spirit.

If, despite all your efforts, life gets in the way and a weekend or day in the country is out of the question; the New York Botanical Garden is only a 20 minute train ride from Grand Central Station. Go; enjoy a walk in the more than 50 acres of natural forest for an hour or two.

Just don't miss out, whatever you do, on this season's spectacle of Autumn colors.

Jacqueline Cable

For Postcards from New York

Photo courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group

The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria

Columbus proudly stands over his vessels

Dear Postcards from New York Reader,

Three tiny ships that changed the world; See them floating on the pedestal standing in the center of always-busy Columbus Circle.

High above them, their great Admiral Cristoforo Colombo looks over the horizon, intent and resolute, the way one imagines he once looked over an endless sea of water from the deck of the Santa Maria. Hand on his hip, his lucca (long coat) below his knees, leggings, and balloon trousers, long locks under his cap, even today he is a commanding presence.

When Constantinople (present day Istanbul) fell to the Turks in 1453, all the land routes to India and China, in use from the days of Marco Polo, were suddenly lost. European kings, queens, merchants, nobles and townspeople anxious for markets and eastern products, made new trade routes imperative. 1488 saw Portuguese sailors successfully circle Africa's Cape of Good Hope, while Colombo sought a western route, against all odds and at great peril.

What made this voyage so adventurous? For millenniums, ships navigated the Mediterranean almost always close to the shoreline or within a day's sight of land. When the Portuguese circled Africa, however rugged the journey, they were never far from the coastline. Colombo's crews saw nothing but water for more than 30 days! Any wonder their panic increased with each passing day. Several times, they threatened mutiny.

The captains of the Nina and the Pinta secretly prepared to turn back. With his life in danger, Columbo resigned to abandon his mission on October 11, and decided to turn the ships around. Then, in the early hours of the 33rd day, the cry came from the lookout on the Nina, (Rodrigo de Triana), "Tierra! Tierra!" (Land! Land!)

With Colombo's "discovery" of the New World, modern history begins. The Atlantic would soon overshadow the Mediterranean's former trade dominance.

The Columbus Day Parade and a special exhibit in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Station through October 13*, give us special reason to pause and acknowledge Colombo's and other Italians many significant contributions to our history. Amerigo Vespucci gave his name to two continents. Giovanni da Verrazano, Fiorello LaGuardia, Mother Cabrini, Maria Montessori are others we remember, to name just a few.

For Kids

After the Parade, make it a day; Take the Staten Island Ferry and visit the Garibaldi Meucci Museum.

On a personal note, I pause to remember that centuries ago the name Cable ended with a "z", Cablez. Colombo, thinking he had reached islands off the coast of India and China, named almost all the islands of the West Indies. St. Kitts, a particular favorite, was named for his patron saint, St Christopher. This is the home of my paternal ancestors, and in the 1780's, my family founded the first newspaper on the island, The St. Christopher Star.

Gérard Depardieu's stirring portrayal of Colombo gives us some sense of his many trials during his great discovery in 1492 - Conquest of Paradise.

Jacqueline Cable
For Postcards from New York

* Do not allow the week to pass without visiting the sumptuous exhibit of Italy's many beautiful regions at Grand Central Station. There are exquisite Vespa's and Maserati's on display begging to be driven.

Address to Remember: Columbus Circle, New York, New York 10019.

Directions: From Times Square, MTA 1, A, C, E, to 59th Street, or M10 or M104 Bus to 59th Street.

Photo by Joseph Knight

©Copyright 2007 The Cable Group