Delightful!

Based on the short story Ninotchka by Melchior Lengyel, adapted into a film of the same name (with Greta Garbo) and later adapted to a Broadway musical with music by Cole Porter (his last Broadway musical) and later adapted to film with Cyd Charrise and Fred Astaire (in his last dancing role), this is actually a reworking of the movie musical placing it in the 60’s to capitalize on US/USSR relations at the height of the Cold War. Having seen the other film versions, it is still a delightful story that stays delightfully true to it’s source material while still being relevant and romantic.

Starring Stuart Pankin as one of the Russian Arts Commisars. I didn’t recognize his name at first either, but his voice and face made me go wait a second….then I realized he was in Honey We Shrunk Ourselves as Wayne Szalinski’s brother Gordon and he was Earl on ABC’s Dinosaur (you know….”not the mamma!”). So that was a delightful treat.

BOO! They did a Sarah Palin dig! It just doesn’t seem fair that because of the unequal and biased media coverage we can make fun of Palin saying you can see Siberia from parts of Alaska but not President-Elect Obama for saying he’s been to all 57 states. But mine was a small boo in the audience’s laughter. Sigh.