The Broadway Show: 12/06/22

 

The Fantasticks (PG Players)

 

This musical still holds the record as the longest running musical in musical theater history. It was first produced off-Broadway at the Sullivan Street Playhouse and opened on May 3,1960 and ran for 41 years & 8 months (17,162 performances) and closed on January 13, 2002. The show's producer, Lore Noto kept the show going until it found its audience, a rare thing in professional theater. It went on to win an off-Broadway Obie Award and a special Tony Award in 1992. The musical was created by Tom Jones (Book and Lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (Music); adapted for the stage from the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand.

This musical has never been one of my favorites. It is very dated and its simplistic and black & white view of life is problematic and filled with metaphors and symbols that can easily be misinterpreted. I have to congratulate the Pleasant Grove Arts Commission and director's Howard and Kathyrn Little for a job well done in rising above these issues and producing a very well-paced and easy to interpret production of this musical.

The production elements were simple and beautiful. Congratulations to Tina McClelland Fontana for her Scenic, Costume & Properties design, Steve Heywood's Tree design, and Mike Handy's truck construction. The rest of the production elements were outstanding: Howard Little (Lighting) and Kathryn Little (Sound & Music Direction), and Rebecca Boberg's simple choreography.

The ensemble were all outstanding in their performances. Caleb Wallengren (Matt) and Rebecca Boberg (Luisa) had perfect chemistry and worked well together to portray the innocence and later maturity by the end of the show. Their voices blended beautifully throughout Harvey Shmidt's wonderful score. One of the key controversies in this musical takes place in the second act. Luisa is abducted and raped by the narrator of the piece, El Gallo. It is usually presented in most productions as a waltz, burying this moment in metaphor and symbolism, but also, the role of El Gallo is usually portrayed by an actor that is older than Luisa which adds to the uncomfortable nature of this scene. The directors of this production cast an actor in this role that is very similar in age to the actress playing Luisa, which made it so much more comfortable for the audience to deal with. I applaud Howard and Kathryn for this casting choice. The wonderful Dallin Bradford portrays this role, which also doubles as the show's narrator with maturity, moral courage, and vulnerability. His portrayal moved and touched me deeply. Rob Holcombe (Hucklebee, Matt's Father) and Candace Wright (Bellomy, Luisa's mother) made a great team as they both team together to push their two children together. The role of Bellomy is actually supposed to be Luisa's father, but this change actually added a different dimension to the character as well as a balance between the two parents. It was nice and refreshing to see that take. Both actors played these roles with tenderness, love and strength. I enjoyed their performances immensely. The remaining members of the ensemble, Dennis R. Purdie (Henry) & Kirk Baxter (Mortimer), the two traveling performers and Daisy Art Bailey (the Mute) all gave spectacular performances.

As a whole, this was the first time I actually enjoyed a production of this musical. I left happy, satisfied, and deeply moved by my experience. Thank you, PG Players, for a wonderful evening out at the theatre.

The Broadway Show: 11/21/22

 

Actors on Actors: Anne Hathaway & Jeremy Strong

 

The Broadway Show: 11/14/22

 

Bravo Playbill

 

Halloween Ends (Update-2nd Edition)

 

The time has come. Friday, October 14, 2022, I sat in my bed, covered in sheets, had my drink and my snacks, and settled in to watch the conclusion of the Laurie Strode/Michael Myers saga. I sat in the dark and was completely taken in and led on a roller coaster ride and in a direction that I wasn't expecting. Thank you to director, David Gordon Green along with his writing partner, Paul Brad Logan for creating a fitting ending to this terrifying saga, which began back in 1978 with John Carpenter's infamous original, when the world was introduced to Laurie Strode. The wonderful Jamie Lee Curtis gives the performance of a lifetime. I fell in love with this incredible lady back when I witnessed the original film while in college. I, like so many others, were disappointed when the franchise, which seemed to end with the sequel by John Carpenter, Halloween II, unfortunately, like so many others (franchises) in this genre, money is the order of the day, lackluster sequels were created. In my humble opinion, Michael should have died with Doctor Loomis (portrayed by the late, great Donald Pleasance) in the explosion at the hospital in Halloween II (1980).

Then, in 2018, David Gordon Green came along, with the blessing of John Carpenter and original producer of the 1978 and 1981 films, Debra Hill, with his fresh perspective on the franchise, and created Halloween (2018) which happened 40 years after the original 1978 film, leaving the 1981 and all other sequels as if they never existed. I applauded this move, particularly when I walked back to my car and drove home from seeing Halloween (2018) and was blown away. For me, this story is so much better, and left me completely satisfied.

Revisiting a theme began with the character of Doctor Sartain, Doctor Loomis' protege, about how evil overcomes an individual, we now have in this final installment, the character of Corey Cunningham, played brilliantly by Rohan Campbell. We see a young man, unloved by those around him, abused by a very disturbed mother, and, after a horrible accident portrayed in the beginning of the film, is treated like a monster for the rest of the story and eventually succumbs to his inner demons. I will not spoil the film for those who haven't seen the film yet, but suffice it to say, David Gordon Green and Paul Brad Logan weave this story into Laurie's narrative so well that by the end of the film, I was so devastated and felt the whole theme of evil and its very nature had been dealt with such mastery and still leaving the real source and motives of Michael Myers himself to speculation, which made this story even more bone chilling. It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" where, we the audience is left with no answers as to why the birds began to attack. John Carpenter once said that the less we the audience knows about Michael Myers the better! I agree with him!

The performances were outstanding all around! The beautiful and wonderful, Andy Matichak returns as Laurie's every suffering granddaughter, Allyson. We see this wonderful character come full circle as well, and by films end, we see a bright future for her. Overall, I was so happy with the ending to this version of the story, and I hope that other franchises will follow suit and learn to end this endless and mindless keeping franchises going for the sake of money, and to find new and innovative ways to reinvent the Horror genre and keep it fresh. Thanks to all involved for an exciting experience over the past three years.

Below are three well thought out and magnificently intelligent video essays on this film, as well as a video podcast discussion. This film is getting raked over the coals, IMHO, wrongfully so. Enjoy! SPOILER ALERT: Do not view these videos before seeing the film!

The Broadway Show: 11/05/22

 

Scream Queens in Conversation

 

Actors on Actors: Viola Davis & Samuel L. Jackson