Herb Ritts

There's a really nice exhibit at The Getty of Herb Ritts photos. If you were around in the eighties, you've seen his photos. I recognized so many of the ones on display. He had a knack for using bodies as shapes, lines and texture and he had access to some of the most amazing bodies of the day. (Looking at the photos, you wonder about how grueling it was for the models to hold some of these poses.) The exhibit is shown along with a smaller show of older celebrity photos, including a couple of daguerrotypes and black and whites of figures from the turn of the previous century into the early 20th. These older photos add a lot of context to the Herb Ritts photos, showing how portraiture has evolved. There is also a room with commercials and music videos that Ritts made, again, if you were around back then, you'll have seen them. He passed away in the early 2000s and this show is a reminder of how prolific he was and how much he contributed to the 'look' of that era.

We dined at The Restaurant at The Getty. There's a beautiful view of the hills (it was an incredibly clear day) and the sun setting behind it. This is a pricey place, but the setting is beautiful, service was pleasant, and the food was absolutely delicious.

Bolshoi Swan Lake

The Bolshoi is in town for a short stint performing Swan Lake. They haven't scheduled any of their stars, but the main reason to see this company do this ballet is for the corps. This was the most unified, synchronized corps I have ever seen. During the four little swans, they were so together even their feet were synchronized. Our seats were way up in the rafters (we got our tix late and the show sold out) so while we were quite far away, we could see how beautiful the patterns were created by this impeccable corps.
The leads were technically proficient however I find Bolshoi lead dancers to be a little impassive and they can feel a little cold. The costumes were also a little odd. Some of them were beautiful and sparkly, however others had weird fabric bits scattered on the skirts.

The Follies

I had a chance to catch this musical while it's at The Ahmanson, and I was surprised by how great it was! This show was a last minute fill in, after a previous engagement fell through. We were lucky to get almost the entire Broadway and Kennedy Center cast (only Bernadette Peters didn't make it across the country). This meant that we were able to see some of the top Broadway stars in our own backyard. Living in LA means often having TV and film stars show up in stage productions, and it's often thrilling, however there is a special talent to performing on Broadway and the leads in this show proved it. This production was originally written by Stephen Sondheim in 1971 and tells the story of some show girls who reunite with their spouses at their former theatre one last time before it's torn down. Their heyday was in the time between the wars and throughout the show, the ghosts of former show girls are seen in the dark on balconies and walking among the cast. The songs and story are surprisingly resonant for a 40 year old show. The second half has an elaborate Follies type production with the most incredible floral set and lighting (I involuntarily said, 'Woah' when the curtain went up to reveal this). Throughout the show, younger actors portray the former selves of the 4 leads and the lighting to distinguish the present from the past is really remarkable, and is something that theatre can do so well. And when these Broadway pros get out there and belt out a song while dancing, there's just nothing like it. I particularly enjoyed the actor Danny Burstein who plays Buddy. He's a short, stocky actor, and doesn't seem particularly graceful walking around, but in his dance numbers, he really lit up the stage.