The Unoffical Susan Diol site has a guestbook, in which Susan's sister
Kathy posted the following: Hi, I just wanted to let you know that Susan
will part of a new, funny sitcom. Starring Jason Alexander (Seinfeld's
buddy) and Susan Diol. They filmed their
first show, infront of a live audience last Friday. My parents were
there to see it and said it was hillarious. Susan plays Jason's ex-wife.
The cast is great. The laughs are non-stop. Watch for more about it this
spring. Keep up the good site! Susan's sister, Kathy
May 01, 2001
The big, gorgeous Disney production of "Aida" playing at the Fox Theatre
has almost nothing to do with ancient Egypt, its stensible setting, nor
with 19th-century Italy, where Giuseppe Verdi composed the grand opera
that inspired it.
This "Aida" is pure Hollywood, a freewheeling
extravaganza that offers considerable pleasure if you take it on its own
flamboyant terms.
"Aida" is the creation of composer Elton John,
lyricist Tim Rice and director Robert Falls (of, if you can believe it,
"Death of a Salesman" fame). But they take a back seat to the visual artists.
This production belongs above all to scenic
and costume designer Bob Crowley and to lighting designer Natasha
Katz, both of whom won 2000 Tony awards for their work here.
Unconstrained by history or, apparently, by
budget, they create a kaleidoscopic fantasy, soaked in color and vast in
scope. The Nile, the center of this world, is brilliantly evoked by a double
set of palm trees about midway across the back wall. One set of trees
points up, the other down. It's the trees and their reflection in the river,
an imaginative, elegant touch.
Their designs are full of triangles; choreographer
Wayne Cilento even has his talented troupe execute a military-style dance
in which the performers form triangular shapes with their bodies. That
suggests the pyramids as well as the plot of "Aida," a love triangle.
Radames (Patrick
Cassidy), an Egyptian military hero, is betrothed to his princess,
Amneris (Kelli Fournier). She's not a deep thinker; her obsession with
clothing prompts a dazzling number, a fashion show featuring fabulous outfits
that represent no culture anywhere.
Radames finds himself irresistably drawn to
a Nubian prisoner of war, Aida (played by Simone. In the tradition of Cher,
Madonna and Hildegarde, she lacks a surname.) He doesn't know that she's
the Nubian princess; he thinks she's just another slave. But her courage,
dignity and beauty touch him, just as his noble nature moves her. Although
it's hopeless, they fall in love.
Verdi wrote a tragedy, and this show is roughly
true to its outline. But a framing device that opens and closes the play
in the Egyptian room at an art museum at least hints at brighter possibilities.
Still, it's awfully strong for children.
The principals give vibrant performances as
actors as well as singers. "Aida" is not sung-through, a plus. The
dialogue clarifies the plot; the songs give it color. Simone is a passionate
performer; her delivery of "Easy as Life," in which Aida acknowledges how
hopeless things are, is heartbreaking.
Cassidy, virile and charming, opens the show
on a powerhouse note with "Fortune Favors the Brave." Fournier makes a
graceful transition from broad comedy to muted sorrow as the spoiled Amneris
is forced to look beyond her own pampered life. There's also good work
from Neal Benari as Radames' scheming father and Jacen R. Wilkerson as
a clever slave.
Although "Aida" won the 2000 Tony for best
score, the songs are its weakest element. (There wasn't much competition:
The other nominees were "Marie Christine," "The Wild Party" and "The Dead,"
all long gone.) "Aida" has neither the specificity of a Rodgers and Hammerstein
score, striving to evoke a particular time and place, nor the style of
a Cole Porter or Gershwin score, packed with witty tunes that can be enjoyed
out of context. Instead, "Aida" favors servicable athems with a lot of
power, plus a gospel-inflected number that seems to be the Nubian national
anthem.
But with its contemporary look and pop music
vernacular, "Aida" achieves exactly what it wants to: not high tragedy,
but high show biz. Its lush imagination aims at the eye, not the ear. It
may not be a great musical, but it's a stunning production.
CBS schedule is now confirmed. Here's the program description:
THE AGENCY (Thurs. 10-11pm) Starring Gil Bellows (Ally McBeal), Will
Patton (Remember the Titans), Rocky Carroll (Chicago Hope), Paige Turco
(Party Of Five, NYPD Blue), Ronny Cox (Perfect Murder, Perfect Town), David
Clennon (thirtysomething)and Andrea Roth, is a fast paced drama about a
passionate team of highly skilled CIA agents based in Washington, DC, who
consistently put their lives on the line to preserve the safety of the
nation. The agents operate in secrecy, knowing that one small mistake can
cost lives and jeopordize national security. Director Alex Pierce III (Cox)
oversees the extraordinary team of overworked undercover agents. Heading
up the counter-terrorism team is Lisa Fabrizzi (Roth), a brilliant agent
who is cool and calm under pressure-- and who reports to Carl Reese (Carroll).
Agent Joshua Nankin (Clennon), heads the art/fraud department, which creates
fasified documents. He has just recruited Terri Lowell (Turco) the newest
member of the Agency who has a sharp eye for detail and an intense determination
to make it on her own. Matt Callan (Bellows), is an exceptionally well
trained undercover operative reeling from the mysterious death of his brother--also
a CIA agent Senior agent Jackson Haisley (Patton) is a newly widowed father
of two who possesses invaluable skills and top secret agency information
that could shatter Callan's world. Week to week, these agents, whose calling
card is secrecy, wage high stakes battles under the ever watchful eye of
the CIA. Wolfgang Peterson (The Perfect Storm), Michael Frost Beckner (Cutthroat
Island) and SHAUN CASSIDY (Cover Me: Based on the True Life Of An
FBI Family) are excutive producers for Radiant Television in association
with CBS productions.