#Montana Levi Blanco

[arcimboldisworld]

El Niño - Metropolitan Opera New York 08.05.2024

El Niño - Metropolitan Opera New York 08.05.2024 #johnadams #operalover #opera #newyork #review #marinalsop #lileanablaincruz #amazing

Was für ein grosses Glück habe ich, eine der Vorstellungen der Neuproduktion von „El Niño“ von John Adams an der MET zu zu sehen. Es ist ein aussergewöhnliches Werk in einer wirklich ungewöhnlichen und wunderschönen Umsetzung von LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ, die als Regisseurin an der MET debütiert. Am Pult steht MARIN ALSOP, die ebenfalls am Haus debütiert. Was für eine tolle Produktion! Continue…

[larryland]

REVIEW: "Lempicka" at the Williamstown Theatre Festival

REVIEW: “Lempicka” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival

[flurryheaven]

2022 Tony Award Nominations 

Best Costume Design of a Play 

Montana Levi Blanco, The Skin of Our Teeth Sarafina Bush, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf Emilio Sosa, Trouble in Mind Jane Greenwood, Neil Simon's Plaza Suite Jennifer Moeller, Clyde's 

Update: Congratulations to Montana Levi Blanco for the win. 

[amateur-theater-critic-blog]

Eddie and Dave

Eddie and Dave is amazingly funny and charming to see. It follows the growth of the rock star band Van Halen, from its inception to its fallout, focusing mainly on the connections of the musicians, on the family and friendships they create. I found myself laughing along pretty consistently, and I felt true pity for Eddie near the end when showing the way his alcoholism and drug addiction destroyed him and his life.

The lighting is absolutely gorgeous, making the audience feel like a part of the action, as a true audience member of a rock band one moment and then a silent watcher of a private conversation the next - assisted by the way the entire set is masterfully hidden behind large obstructive pillars that the venue has.

There is such a strong resonating feeling of what rock is really about, about people who have no idea what they are doing trying to figure themselves out in a world that doesn’t make any sense. And the director’s choice of ‘gender-bending’ all of the characters of the story also makes a strong presence - almost giving it a childish feel because of the over exaggerated drama but also giving it a certain presence that is strictly Eddie and Dave.

While this is one cohesive story of the whole band, it felt halfway between an actual story and a history timeline of the Van Halen band. While they focused on Eddie and Dave as the namesakes of the play, and the connections within the play, I felt like they didn’t play up enough the way Dave was both so crucial to Eddie to be in the band, as well as impossible for him to be around. There could have been something a little bit more in the production that I was missing, and I believe it was the plot.

The acting is absolutely phenomenal, and the directing was on point. Absolutely everything worked together to bring a gorgeous piece - the pacing, the tech, the actors, the director - everything except for the most basic story plot. They tried, and while I couldn’t say they failed, I feel like they shot for the moon, and only reached orbit,

It reminded me a lot of the movie Almost Famous, the coming of age story about a 15-year-old reporter for Rolling Stone going on tour with a rock and roll band. Except without the outsider kid. Just the band. Through the wonderful symbolism in even just the costuming, you can see the growth in character, relationship in humanity in just five people acting together on stage, answering the question nobody now is asking of ‘what really happened that day of the 1996 VMAs?’

Rating: 4/5

Tickets Available through February 17th

https://atlantictheater.org/production/eddie-and-dave/tickets/

Trigger Warning: A few flashing lights and smoke if you sit in the front row seat.

Cast and Creative:

MTV DJ -- Vanessa Aspillaga

Dave -- Megan Hill

Val -- Omer Abbas Salem

Playwright, Eddie -- Amy Staats

Al -- Adina Verson

Director -- Margot Bordelon

Scenic Designer -- Reid Thompson

Costume Designer -- Montana Levi Blanco

Lighting Designer -- Jiyoun Chang

Sound Designer -- Palmer Hefferan

Projections Designer -- Shawn Boyle

Original Compositions -- Michael Thurber

Hair and Wigs Designer -- Cookie Jordan

Fight Director -- Mike Rossmy

Production Stage Manager -- Megan Schwarz Dickert

Assistant Stage Manager -- Jessie Medofer

[hulusan]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

By ALEXIS SOLOSKI Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” Published: February 7, 2019 at 03:30AM from NYT Theater https://nyti.ms/2Gf67hs

[izayoi1242]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

By ALEXIS SOLOSKI Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” Published: February 7, 2019 at 09:00AM from NYT Theater https://nyti.ms/2Gf67hs via IFTTT

[topnewsfromtheworld]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

By ALEXIS SOLOSKI Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” Published: February 7, 2019 at 01:00AM from NYT Theater https://nyti.ms/2Gf67hs

[newyorktheater]

The 2019 Henry Hewes Design Awards have been given to

Scenic designer Charlie Corcoran for The O’Casey Trilogy, at the Irish Repertory Theatre

James Russell and Michael Mellamphy in The Shadow of a Gunman

Charlie Corcoran

  Costume designer Montana Levi Blanco for Ain’t No Mo’ at the Public Theater

Jordan E. Cooperas Peaches

Montana Levi Blanco

  Lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker for Boesman and Lena, at Signature Theatre

Boesman and Lena

Amith Chandrashaker

  Lighting designer Yi Zhao for The House That Will Not Stand, at New York Theatre Workshop

  The House That Will Not Stand

Yi Zhao

Sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman for Fairview at Soho Rep

“Fairview”

Mikaal Sulaiman

  2019 Henry Hewes Design Awards: The 2019 Henry Hewes Design Awards have been given to Scenic designer Charlie Corcoran for The O’Casey Trilogy…

[costumier1]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style - The New York Times

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style – The New York Times

Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” — Read on www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/theater/costume-designer-montana-levi-blanco.html

[larryland]

by Macey Levin

There was woman, born to a Jewish father and Catholic mother in Warsaw, Poland, in 1898.  In Petrograd Russia, she married a wealthy Polish lawyer who was arrested in the midst of the Russian Revolution in 1917.  After he was freed they journeyed with their infant daughter to Paris where she became a celebrated artist who led a hedonistic life style typical of the French artistic community in the 1920’s.  Her controversial yet popular work was identified only by her last name.  She is the central character in the world premiere musical Lempicka at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

This production has the same driving music and narrative as the larger-than-life style of Evita, Les Miserables and others of the 1970’s and 80’s.   Lempicka’s life story is as dramatic as Eva Peron’s and as dark as Jean Valjean’s and, perhaps, more touching.

After Tamara de Lempicka (Eden Espinosa) extricates her husband, Tadeusz Lempicki (Andrew Samonsky,) from prison, their life in Paris is hard.  Since he does not want a menial job, which he believes is below him, she works as a waitress.  She finds herself becoming fascinated by painting and takes lessons until she develops a form that complements her personality. Her interpretation of art deco utilizes bold, clashing colors in dynamic, highly stylized portraits and nudes. She paints a series using her daughter Kizette (Alexandra Templer) for her model.  As her fame increases and she becomes more involved in the unconventional side of the art world, she has numerous affairs with both men and women, some of whom are subjects of her work.  In particular, Lempicka has a lengthy affair with a street prostitute, Rafaela, played by Carmen Cusack.  Divorced by Tadeusz, she marries, her lover, Baron Kuffner (Nathaniel Stampley.) In 1939, with the growing power of the Nazis they emigrate to America.  Her life covers the 20th century and historical moments become an integral part of the plot.  The show is not totally factual, while it follows the outline of her life.

Ms. Espinosa is the core of the production and she makes it pulsate.  Her energy drives the show and her voice is strong.  In addition to her vocal responsibilities, her acting is nuanced and intelligent.  Her growth from a young bride to a tough, self-protective woman who revels in international fame is convincing.  Cusack’s Rafaela is hard, fearing to let her guard down as she falls in love with Lempicka.  Hers is also a layered performance and her voice is a match for Espinosa‘s, especially in a touching duet –  “Stillness.”

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The rest of the cast fulfill their roles with well-rounded characterizations, though the book by Carson Kreitzer doesn’t fill in their backgrounds as specifically as she does with Espinosa and Cusack.  Worth noting are Samonsky as Lempicka. Nathaniel Stampley (The Baron) Rachel Tucker (The Baroness) who sings a heartfelt “The End of Time,” Natalie Joy Johnson who has a rousing number as lesbian bistro owner Suzy Solidor, and Steven Rattazzi as a self-proclaimed art expert who reviles classic art.

Director Rachel Chavkin’s (Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812) staging and the choreography by Raja Feather Kelly are virtually inseparable with one form flowing into the other.  There is a great deal of movement lending energy to the various scenes.  The cast sets props, furniture, and rovers (spotlights on rollers) within dance numbers and dialogue scenes.  The choreography is very stylized, certainly not what is seen in a conventional musical.  Matt Gould’s music is redolent of the blockbuster musicals of the 70’s and 80’s and there is a lot of it.  Kreitzer’s book is over-stuffed and her lyrics are occasionally repetitive.

In designing the set Riccardo Hernandez opens up the entire stage, including the wings, to create a larger world for Lempicka’s journey.  The set is minimalist with no permanent structures; everything is moved on–and offstage by cast members.  The immense number of Monica Levi Blanco’s costumes are evocative of the various eras depicted… many, especially the women’s clothes, are colorful.

Bradley King’s lighting highlights the dramatic qualities of the myriad scenes.  The strip lights in back of the upstage cyclorama change the emotional tones in a flash.  The rovers, which are moved freely around the stage, focus attention on the actors.

This is probably a show that people will love or spend their time nit-picking and there is a lot to pick at considering it runs for three hours.  It needs a lot of cutting cutting cutting.  Despite this, Lempicka is an exciting theatrical experience.

Lempicka; Book and Lyrics by Carson Kreitzer; Music by Matt Gould; Directed by Rachel Chavkin; Choreographer: Raja Feather Kelly; Music director: Charity Wicks; Music Supervisor and Vocal Arranger: Remy Kurs; Cast:  Eden Espinosa (Tamara de Lempicka) Andrew Samonsky (Tadeusz Lempicki) Carmen Cusack (Rafaela) Nathaniel Stampley (The Baron) Rachel Tucker (The Baroness) Steven Rattazzi )Marinetti) Natalie Joy Johnson (Suzy Solidor) Alexandra Templer (Kizette) Ensemble: Justin Gregory Lopez, Azudi Onyejekwe, Michael McCorry Rose, Tim Creavin, Grace Porter, Sav Souza, Kay Trinidad; Scenic Design: Riccardo Hernandez; Costume Design: Montana Levi Blanco; Lighting Design: Bradley King; Sound Design: Nevin Steinberg; Hair and Wig Design: Leah Loukas; Production Stage manager: Cody Renard Richard; Running time: 3 hours, one intermission;Williamstown Theatre Festival Main Stage; Opening: 8/20/2018; Closing: 8/1/2018

REVIEW: “Lempicka” at the Williamstown Theatre Festival by Macey Levin There was woman, born to a Jewish father and Catholic mother in Warsaw, Poland, in 1898. 

[repwincostl4m0a2]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” https://nyti.ms/2HZ6tL3

[jenbettypd]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” https://nyti.ms/2HZ6tL3

[hughessherryma]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” https://nyti.ms/2HZ6tL3

[retextdorsl3z0a1]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” https://nyti.ms/2HZ6tL3

[graymarandaas]

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.” https://nyti.ms/2HZ6tL3