On Broadway a revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man is perfect entertainment in this election show. The cast is simply wonderful, and it is a joy to see veterans like Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones steal every scene in which they appear. It is one of the most enjoyable evenings of the season. End of the Rainbow, by Peter Quilter, features an astonishing performance by Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland. She is sensational and all avid theatregoers should see her. Newsies The Musical, music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Jack Feldman, book by Harvey Feirstein, takes place in 1899, when a group of children, who sell newspapers in the street, begin a strike against the publisher. It is an energetic entertainment, where the choreography is acrobatic, with the young boys constantly spinning, turning and doing somersaults. The first revival on Broadway of Evita, lyrics by Tim Rice, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, features an outstanding Michael Cerveris as Juan Peron, a rock star Ricky Martin as Che and a hard working Elena Roger as Eva Peron. Fans of one of Webber's best scores will welcome the opportunity to see this modern operetta again. Magic/Bird, by Eric Simonson, is about the rivalry between two basketball superstars, Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird in the 1980s. Basketball fans will enjoy reliving the highlights of their careers. The six member cast, includes the excellent Peter Scolari and Deidre O'Connell in multiple roles. Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice, transferred from a successful run Off-Broadway, and is the same wacky, crazy show, which tells us how Peter Pan got his name. Christian Borle is a tour de force as the villain, the precursor of Captain Hook. One Man, Two Guvnors, by Richard Bean, is a slapstick comedy based on The Servant with Two Masters, by Carlo Goldoni, with a plump, pleasant, likable James Corden playing the servant. It is typical low class humor filled with silly jokes, pratfalls and lots of vulgarity. The audience roars with laughter. Clybourne Park, by Bruce Norris, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize and also transferred from Off-Broadway. In the first act, a white family sells their home to a black family and in the second act, fifty years later, the same house is sold back again to a white family. An excellent seven member cast, in this serious, intelligent play, reveal the racism involved in real estate.  A revival of A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams, features a wonderful multiracial cast, headed by Blair Underwood and Nicole Ari Parker. The Lyons, by Nicky Silver, is  another Off-Broadway play transferring to Broadway, with a talented six member cast, headed by the brilliant Linda Lavin, as a mother from hell. It is wickedly funny. Nice Work If You Can Get It, music & lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin, book by Joe DiPietro, is considered a new musical. It is, without doubt, the most entertaining musical on Broadway.The Columnist, by David Auburn, is a play about Joseph Alsop, an influential political newspaper columnist during the Kennedy/Johnson administrations. Unfortunately, although well acted, it is not particularly dramatic. Leap of Faith, music by Alan Menken, book by Janus Cerine and Warren Leight, lyrics by Glenn Slater, is a new musical based on the film of the same name, about a phony evangelist with repetitious gospel music. It is unimpressive.  Don't Dress for Dinner, by Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon, is a farce that takes place in a French country house. Unfortunately, it is not very funny.

Off-Broadway, The Morini Strad, by Willy Holtzman, is based on a true story of a renowned violinist, Erica Morini (a superb Mary Beth Peil), and her valuable violin, which is still missing after her death. A revival ofLost in Yonkers, by Neil Simon, is a splendid, well acted production, headed by Cynthia Harris as the tyrannical grandmother. It is worth a visit. A Slow Air, by David Harrower, is a two character play (well acted bySusan Vidler and Lewis Howden), who are an estranged brother and sister and have not spoken to each other in fourteen years. They address the audience in alternating monologues for 80 minutes about their unhappy, dull lives. Federer versus Murray, by Gerda Stevenson, is a well acted two character play, with a live saxophone player, about an unhappy middle-aged married couple mourning the loss of their son in the war in Iraq. 4000 Miles, by Amy Herzog, is a play about an aimless grandson, who arrives at his grandmother's apartment in New York City after a bicycle trip from Minnesota. Although they have not seen each other in a long time, they develop a loving relationship over the following days. The excellent Mary Louise Wilson heads the four member cast. The City Club, book by Glenn M. Stewart, music and lyrics by James Compton, Tony de Meur and Tim Brown, at the Minetta Lane Theatre is a delightful jazz musical with a talented cast. In Masks Outrageous and Austere, by Tennessee Williams, is a newly discovered full-length play, and was given a superb production at The Culture Project, with a large cast headed by Shirley Knight. It is about a very wealthy lady, married to a much younger gay man, who are both abducted by strange forces. A splendid production by the Classic Stage Company of A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, with a cast headed by Bebe Neuwirth. An Early History of Fire, by David Rabe, takes place in 1962, and features a group of aimless young men and women in the Midwest, who face an uncertain future. 

As an Outer Critics Circle nominator, I was invited back to see Venus in Fur and The Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. They are both splendid, and definitely should be seen by all theatre lovers,

New York City Encores! is always a delight, and Pipe Dream, music by Richard Rodgers, book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, shows why. Although it has a convoluted story, no one composes better music than Rodgers or write more charming lyrics than Hammerstein. To hear the music played by a full sized orchestra, splendidly conducted by Rob Berman, and see a magnificent cast headed by Leslie Uggams, is to hear Broadway musicals at their best. I would not miss one single production.

Film Society of Lincoln Center's 19th New York African Film Festival April 11-17 held press screenings. Mama Africa, by Mika Kaurismaki, Finland/South Africa/Germany, 2011, is a documentary about the wonderful South African singer Miriam Makeba, who was exiled from her country and actively fought against apartheid. It is a superb film, with many scenes of her performances over fifty years. Relentless, by Andy Amadi Okoroafor, Nigeria/France/Spain/Germany 2011, has an appropriate title. It relentlessly repeats scenes and constantly changes out of focus shots into focus making one's mind and eyes weary. It shows the effects of war on a soldier, who returns to Lagos and runs a security company, and ends tragically. The Education of Auma Obama, by Branwen Okpako, Kenya/Germany/Nigeria, 2011 is a fascinating look at President Obama's half-sister, who is an activist and teacher in Kenya. She is bright and intelligent, and a joy to watch as she inspires young people to become self reliant. It is interesting to see scenes of a young Obama visiting her and other members of his extended family in Africa. The documentary is highly recommended. How to Steal 2 Million, by Charlie Vundla, South Africa, 2011, is about a thief released from jail, who needs money and engages in a home invasion with a young woman as his accomplice. Things go from bad to worse. It is a typical underworld film, that holds your attention throughout, with lots of violence and unsavory characters. Outside the Law, by Rachid Bouchareb, Algeria/France, is the story of three brothers, who leave Algeria and reside in France, where they become involved in the Algerian fight for independence. It is an engrossing, powerful story, well acted, and was a 2011 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Fire in Babylon, by Steven Riley, UK, 2010, is a documentary about the West Indies cricket team, that rose from a weak to the most powerful team in world cricket, never losing a game in 10 years. During that time, we see their fight for equality in an era filled with racism. It is a fascinating look at a seemingly gentlemanly genteel sport filled with tension.

Film Society of Lincoln Center held two press screenings of The Space Between: A Panorama of Cinema in Turkey April 27-May 10. Revenge of the Snakes, by Yilanarin Ocu, Turkey, 1962, is considered a classic, and it is a very powerful film. The black and white feature takes place in a tiny rural village, where life is hard. We see a very realistic view of their way of life. When a new house is being constructed illegally, bitter hatred and violence erupts between neighbors. It leaves an indelible impression. Secret Face, by Gizli Yuz, Turkey, 1991, is based on a Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk' novel The Black Book. It is a beautifully photographed, but an extremely slow moving film, about a young man, who takes photographs of men in a bar, and the next day, shows them to a mysterious beautiful young lady, who appears to be searching for someone. It is dreamlike and philosophical, and clocks and time play an important role. 

I recommend highly a charming film Late Bloomers, by Julie Gavras, 2011, starring William Hurt and Isabella Rossellini. It opens April 13 at Cinema Village. A successful married couple are approaching 60-years of age. After 30-years of marriage, their life begins to fall apart with the realization that they are in the senior citizen category. Their children try to prevent them from separating. It is a serious, intelligent, penetrating view of the problems of a longer life generation. The two stars are excellent.

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, by Alison Klayman, USA, 2012, is a remarkable documentary about a courageous Chinese activist, considered one of China's most famous conceptual artists. His fight for freedom of expression on the internet in his blog and then on twitter is brilliantly portrayed in this film, which follows him from his youth, his time spent in New York City, his creation and exhibition of his works in Munich and London, to his activities to expose the disaster of the Sichan earthquake in which over 5,000 children perished, mainly because of shoddy school construction. Unfortunately, he is now under house detention and unable to express his views. It is a powerful film, which is an indictment of the repressive Chinese government. One only hopes he will gain his freedom to continue his fight for freedom.

Payback, by Jennifer Baichwal, Canada, 2011, is a documentary based on the lecture given by Margaret Atwood based on her book Payback:Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth. It shows different examples of debt ranging from a horrendous Albanian blood feud to the Gulf oil spill, and tomato workers trying to improve their working conditions in Florida. All the examples reveal the dark side of the notion of debt. It leaves a vivid impression. It opens April 25 at Film Forum.