A scene from "Hyde Park on the Hudson"
Oscar alert. There's history – 1939 on the cusp of world war. There's royalty – on the British side, stuttering Bertie and his good wife Liz again, fresh off The King's Speech; on the American, F.D.R. himself and earnest Eleanor. There's pomp – the King visits the Prez at his Hyde Park mansion. There's sex – even in his wheelchair, Franklin gets around. There's Bill Murray – lacking Roosevelt's accent and girth, but capturing his cigarette-in-holder manner with panache. There's humour – damned if the mansion doesn't open up into a veritable drawing-room comedy. There's politics – okay, just a little, but enough to pretend to a certain seriousness. Most important, there's real entertainment with a distinctly American theme – the Yanks teach the royals a valuable lesson in populism. The golden little guy loves this sort of stuff.
Sept. 10, 6:30 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall; Sept. 11, 12:30 p.m., Winter Garden