FC BARCELONA

I had the pleasure of seeing Zarkana last night, three days before its official opening on Wednesday. The show tells the story of Zark, a magician who has lost his powers, on his quest to rescue his girlfriend who was kidnapped. It was unclear who kidnapped her and who the bad guys are—was it the witch in the tree? The Medusa-like snake performer? Or the spider? Or are all three the incarnation of the same woman? No matter. Plot in a Cirque de Soleil performance is about as necessary as a storyline in porn—it loosely helps to define the story, but we're all there for the action.

On that action front, Zarkana doesn't disappoint. The show, which runs through October 8 at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, features some impressive reverse juggling, trapeze acts and a gorgeous sequence of banquine (acrobats bouncing off of each other). While some acts felt familiar, like the Cyr Wheel that was also in Kooza, and others fell flat, like the Flags that were no better than your local high school's flag corps, some like the Ladders had me holding my breath. Just when I was thinking that the male performer who balances a ladder using pure strength must be glad this his part in the show was over, he came back and did something even more outrageous. Unfortunately on the night we attended the Hand Balancing performer failed to perform. From what I can tell, he came out on cue, then ran backstage never to appear again. We didn't get an explanation and it was a big disappointment that the penultimate act failed to show.

The stage, before the start of the show

The setting at Radio City is one of the more gorgeous Cirque de Soleil sets I've ever seen. The lighting designer, Alain Lortie, makes full use of the ceiling and interior of the orchestra so you really do feel as though you're transported into a creepy nether world.

For a show that is billed as a rock opera, the music is lackluster. It was hard to make out what the singers were saying, which is a big reason why the plot is indecipherable. Even if I could understand the lyrics, the songs themselves fail to make an impression.

So would I recommend seeing Zarkana? Yes, if you're a Cirque de Soleil junkie or a newbie or if you're looking for an entertaining show to see. But if the $47+ ticket price is a stretch for you, you aren't missing much if you sit this one out.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.com.

I was given free tickets to review this show.

As I walked into the theater last night for Sister Act, I spotted more than a few men and women of the cloth, which immediately made me nervous. As a lapsed Catholic, I have a guilty conscience that has followed me into adulthood. Moreover, could I possibly like the same show as priests and nuns? The answer is a happy yes—though I'm just assuming by the rousing standing ovation the show got that the priests and nuns enjoyed the show, too. I think it's a safe bet.

Sister Act was turned into a musical by the original movie's star, Whoopi Goldberg, who is producing the show. She brought in veteran composer Alan Menken to write the songs, which have a 70s, Motown feel. The plot of the musical is similar to that of the movie, Dolores, an aspiring lounge singer, has to hide out in a convent after witnessing her thug boyfriend kill someone. She quickly turns the tone deaf choir of nuns into a must-see, money-making act for the church. The results are charming, toe-tapping fun.

One thing that really struck me is that after seeing shows with a giant Manolo Blahnik, helicopters that land on stage and sinking ships, the set of Sister Act is disarmingly simple. The showiest part is a stained glass window and over-sized Madonna (the Virgin Mary, not the singer). It was refreshing that the show wowed on its plot, songs and dance numbers alone.

It has been a while since I've seen the movie—it came out in 1992, so it's safe to say it was nearly 20 years ago—but I do think a touch of the original charm was lost in the transfer to Broadway. I get that it's a challenge to develop characters in a musical, but some of the depth of the friendships was lost from the movie. In addition, Kathy Najimy stole the show in the movie as sister Mary Patrick, a character who barely makes an impression here. On the other hand, sister Mary Robert in the musical, Marla Mindelle, is adorable with a killer voice.

My tickets were courtesy of Swarovski. I started to fret in Act I that I would have nothing to write about when it comes to sparkly costumes. But rest assured, they're there—I don't want to spoil the surprise.

All in all, I give Sister Act a hearty thumbs up. We left the theater with a smile on our face, humming the final show stopping number. And really, what more do you need from a musical?

Tickets to Sister Act are available online.

Thanks to Swarovski, we had the opportunity to catch the Saturday night performance of Priscilla Queen of the Desert on Broadway. It's a fun-filled romp that follows three drag queens on a road trip across Australia. The costumes were created by Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner, the same folks who won the Oscar in for the costumes from the film in 1994. (Lizzy, as you may remember, wore a dress she made out of American Express gold cards to that year's Academy Awards.) The duo must be the shoo-in for this year's Tonys as there are countless costume changes including Divas, a Tina Turner impersonator, Madonna, and giant cupcake dresses to name a handful.

It would take too long to note all the fabulousity in this show: the giant disco ball, the techno-color Priscilla bus, the over-sized Swarovski-sequined Manolo Blahnik atop Priscilla and the out of this world costumes. But what we loved the most was all the scantily clad boys who were shaking their groove thing through the first act (you can catch a glimpse of what we're talking about about 10 seconds in on the left side of the video above). The boys are still there in Act 2, but, unfortunately, are wearing more clothes.

Most of the songs in Priscilla are familiar crowd pleasers, including with "It's Raining Men", "Material Girl", "I Say a Little Prayer", and "I Will Survive". The story is sweet as the lead Tick/Mitzi, played by the hunky Will Swenson, frets about meeting his young son for the first time and fellow drag queen Bernadette falls in love. A few of the jokes were over our straight heads, though it may have been related to the Australian accents and not our sexual orientation.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert would make a great first stop on a bachelorette party or a birthday night out in NYC. All those nearly naked boys are far hotter and more entertaining than at any strip club we've ever been to.

The only thing we missed was the Manolo necklace charm that we wrote about previously. We thought it would be on sale in the lobby, but none of the clerks knew what we were talking about. We're investigating...

Priscilla Queen of the Desert is now a Broadway musical, filled with eye-popping costumes, the best 1970s dance tunes and fabulous dance numbers to go along with them. In Australia, where it takes place and the show opened, it holds the record for the most successful musical ever.

In celebration of all that glam, Manolo Blahnik created a silver patent leather Mary Jane high-heeled shoe with a Swarovski crystal button. A giant version of the shoe makes an appearance in and on Priscilla (the van), and you can buy one in your size at the flagship store in New York.

A Manolo Blahnik-designed silver shoe charm is available at the Palace Theater, Priscilla Queen of the Desert's home.
A portion of the sale of each benefits Bette Middler's New York Restoration Project. The group is near and dear to us as it takes care of the park down the street from our home.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert opens on March 20. Buy tickets here.

Shoe photos are courtesy of TheaterMania.com

Each piece of Van Cleef and Arpels jewelry is so stunning and undeniably a work of art, it's only fitting that it's the focus of the Set in Style exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York. The exhibit features gorgeous pieces, including Princess Grace's diamond and pearl engagement ring (above) and this Lamartine bracelet (below), along with matching earrings, that Richard Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor in 1971, because they matched violet eyes.

You'll also see examples of the famed Van Cleef and Arpels zipper necklaces that transform into bracelets and this Walska Brooch/pendant. Originally a "push" present, it features wings that become earrings, a  tail that's a brooch and a 95-carat yellow diamond in the bird's beak that can also be worn as a pendant.
The exhibition runs through June 5.