Utan Kayu screens major musicals

JAKARTA (JP): Lovers of Hollywood musicals can sing the praises of the Utan Kayu arts center, which is screening some of the best from the 1950s through 1970s next weekend.

The festival opens at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 22, with Gigi, directed by Vincente Minelli in 1958. The acting standouts are, of course, Leslie Caron as the poor French girl who rises to become part of the creme de la creme; Maurice Chevalier, in his signature role and with his signature tune, Thank Heavens for Little Girls; and the irrepressible Hermione Gingold.

My Fair Lady will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Directed by famed "women's director" George Cukor in 1964, it's the rags-to-riches story of Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) who comes under the stern wing of Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison). Stylish sequences (Ascot race scene in particular), but Hepburn's singing is dubbed.

On Saturday, there are three films: Oliver, the hugely popular Carol Reed work from 1968, adapted from the Dickens' tale (2 p.m.); Singin' in the Rain, the Gene Kelly masterpiece which is probably the most popular musical of all time (4:30 p.m.); and at 7:30 p.m. Fiddler on the Roof, Norman Jewison's 1971 movie which made Topol an international star, albeit briefly (look for Paul Michael Glaser, of Starsky and Hutch fame, in a small role).

On Sunday, there is Milos Forman's groundbreaking Hair, which will be screened at 2 p.m., followed by Bob Fosse's brilliant Cabaret, starring Michael York and Liza Minelli (4:30 p.m.) As tart-with-a-heart Sally Bowles, Minelli gives the best performance of her career.

A discussion led by film critic Rayya Makarim will be held at 7:30 p.m. The center is located at Jl. Utan Kayu 68 H (telephone 8573388) (brc).