The Great Society at Vivian Beaumont Theatre 🎭

“The Great Society” played at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre until November 30. It told part of the story of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency.

The play starred Brian Cox as Johnson. He did a masterful job as the former president.

The play itself was interesting, but overwhelming with all the facts and events thrown into it.

The first act covers Johnson’s state of the union address in 1965 to the signing of the Voting Rights Act.

This play is a sequel to “All the Way” which also played on Broadway and starred Bryan Cranston as Johnson. Obviously I’m not sure how that play turned out, but this doesn’t cover Johnson’s full presidency from beginning to end.

It seems as though the end of Johnson’s presidency didn’t end too well.  There were riots he had to deal with as well as the Vietnam war. The death toll of the war is projected on the back of the set throughout various points in the play and the number continues to grow higher and higher.

These are things that of course actually happened. They affected Johnson, but it’s not always easy to see how. As soon as one point in history is brought up another follows quickly behind it.

The Vietnam war continues due to bad information the president receives from his defense secretaries. J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King also play roles in Johnson’s presidency, but it’s hard to keep track of what or how they did.

There is a lot happening at once. There are also a lot of characters and many of the actors play more than one. Unless you were alive during that particular time in American history, it’s hard to keep up. This is the biggest flaw in the play as the effects of all these events are rushed in an effort to cover everything.

Johnson is also hardly in the play. We see him react to a new bit of information and we see him panic or make a choice on what to do then he disappears as something else starts happening. I wish we had gotten more time with him to truly see how he felt. I wanted to see more of his thought processes and the toll everything took on him.

We see how Johnson ensured that some of his proposals passed.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s hard to see a three dimensional person behind those decisions. He knows how to get the American Medical Association’s support in creating Medicare. With the press present he’s able to get the governor of Alabama to protect the civil rights marchers.

These events tell the audience nothing that they can’t look up themselves. There were a lot of things that happened during Johnson’s presidency, way too many to fit into an almost three hour play, but playwright a Robert Schenkkan certainly tried.

While Brian Cox as Johnson was onstage the entire time, he didn’t have much to do as information was given, he made a decision and it started over again. The same with the supporting characters. They introduced information and left soon after delivering it.

There are minor moments that try to show glimpses of Johnson and who he was as a person. Overall, though that’s what I wanted more of.

Yes there is always a lot to cover in biographies. That doesn’t mean, that the aspects of that person’s character and thoughts and beliefs can’t be showcased more. Anyone can look up the events that happened to find out the causes and results, but how did those affect the man in office? Brian Cox did a wonderful job. He could have truly delved into the character even more had he been given the chance.

The few opportunities Cox is given to experience the the more emotional aspects of the character he does just. These moments are few, but we see how those moments could truly affect someone. Johnson starts off a lot more confident than he ends and in those brief moments we can understand why.

As a history fan, “The Great Society” was interesting. It’s such a shame that the characters were not fully fleshed out. Ultimately we go to the theatre to see conflict and to see that conflict resolved.

Politics I do not find interesting. Even so, I would have wanted to see what drove Johnson’s political beliefs and decisions.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)

 “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is an unexpected biopic in that Fred Rogers is not the main focus of the film.

Yup.

You still learn a great deal about the man known as Mr. Rogers. The film just went about a completely different way about it. Overall, it works. 

I loved the story, but I did want more Mr. Rogers. After all, he’s the reason I was watching the film in the first place. 

Director Marie Heller came up with a cute way to transport us to the different locations throughout the film. Model sets reminiscent of Mr. Rogers’ land of make believe took us from place to place and it was fun to see that. 

The film opens on Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks) singing his show’s opening tune “Won’t You be my Neighbor?”

Tom Hanks plays Mr. Rogers incredibly well. He got the voice down and does a wonderful job of capturing the man many children grew up with on screen.

In the opening show within the movie, Mr. Rogers begins by presenting a picture board to the audience. 

The pictures are of Mr. Rogers’s friends, but one isn’t like the others. One of the pictures is a mugshot  of  Mr. Rogers’s new friend Lloyd (Matthew Rhys). 

Lloyd is based on journalist Tom Junod who interviewed Mr. Rogers for a feature in Esquire magazine. Lloyd happens to be the main focus of the film. 

Lloyd takes his journalistic job seriously and refuses to do anything that isn’t hard hitting. 

Unfortunately, for the magazine’s upcoming Heroes edition only one man agreed to be interviewed by Lloyd. That man is of course, Mr. Rogers. 

Lloyd isn’t a nice man. He’s so different from his wife Andrea (Susan Kelechi Watson) that it’s a wonder how they’re still together. 

The antagonist comes in the form of Lloyd’s father (Chris Cooper). Lloyd has hated his father ever since he abandoned the family after Lloyd’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. 

Now the tie in with Mr. Rogers. 

As Lloyd begins interviewing Mr. Rogers, he finds that Mr. Rogers asks him just as many questions in return. Little by little in the only ways Mr. Rogers can, Lloyd’s begins to confront all his issues. 

Lloyd tries desperately to uncover the real Mr. Rogers and not the persona seen in TV, but it appears, that they were in fact one in the same. The man people saw on their TV screens was the same man they met on the street. 

Hanks portrays this beautifully. If there was one word Mr. Rogers hated to be called it was a saint. He admittedly had a short temper, but he worked daily on controlling it. 

Focusing on Lloyd allows us to see Mr. Rogers as he existed in the world. The downside is that, we don’t get Mr. Rogers’s full story. How he came to be on television and why he stopped and why he decided to ultimately come back. 

My admiration continues to grow for this man, but if you truly want to learn more about the man on your TV screens the documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” is the way to do it. 

The Dork Knight at Cherry Lane Theatre 🎭

Jason O’Connell’s one man show correlates the Batman movies and his life. Most recently seen as Mr. Darcy in Primary Stages’ production of “Pride and Prejudice”, Mr. O’Connell brings us along on his life’s journey. O’Connell is a huge Batman fan and it appears that major life events happened near the release of the Batman films. It was an absolute joy to experience.

O’Connell relates his life to the audience while also seeking refuge within his favorite superhero. Each film came at the right moment in his life as he grew from childhood to adulthood. Batman was there through it all. From his first date to his first years as a struggling actor he was able to find comfort in the caped crusader. O’Connell sought advice from the caped crusader and the other characters in the films and they take form in his pretty spot on impressions of the actors that portrayed them. He switches back and forth from him to the Batman characters giving him advice.

O’Connell’s passion for Batman is infectious. I loved it as a non comic fan as much as my Batman loving husband did. O’Connell unites all the Batmans from Michael Keaton to Christian Bale as well as the villains they face. The lights help differentiate between O’Connell and his Batman impressions, though he does that well enough on his own.

It’s a genuinely engaging show. O’Connell’s performance is as truthful as it can get while being funny and sad all at the same time. While he does mention Ben Affleck’s Batman, his story truly ends with “The Dark Knight Rises”. That was the perfect ending to him as Bruce Wayne finally got the happy ending O’Connell thought he deserved.

People can say it’s silly for a grown man to love something nerdy this much, but I disagree. O’Connell had an absent father and while his grandfather was a fantastic father figure, O’Connell was also influenced by Batman. We can all deny our inner nerd. However, I believe there’s something nerdy in all our lives that influenced us (even those of you who may outright refuse to admit it). My nerdy aspect is Harry Potter. If I wanted to, I could probably write how Harry Potter correlated and influenced me. We can all learn from Mr. O’Connell that the truth in our inner nerd is something to be celebrated.

Fear at the Lucille Lortel Theatre

I’m a sucker for a good thriller. Plot twists, done well, also fill me with glee.

“Fear” currently playing Off Broadway, left me wanting more.

The description sounded cool, but I was left unsatisfied.

Phil (Enrico Colantoni) enters a shed in the woods pushing in a teenage boy. Jamie (Alexander Garfin) is subjected to harsh treatment, before Phil ties him to a chair.

An 8-year-old girl has gone missing and Phil is convinced Jamie is involved with her disappearance.

Phil gets more aggressive with his questioning when Ethan (Obi Abili) enters the scene. He is disgusted by what he sees, but he has no cell phone reception or any way to report what he has stumbled upon.

Phil conveniently has cell phone reception and is able to take phone calls often. For whatever reason he leaves Ethan alone with Jamie during these phone calls.

Ethan is book smart, but not smart otherwise as he is unable to untie Jamie from the chair. He also doesn’t look for anything that can cut the rope even though they’re in a shed.

The play’s main conflict revolves around Ethan as he has to choose who to believe. Phil and Jaime give him conflicting stories and it’s unclear who is the unreliable one.

The premise of the play had potential. I was excited to see this until I realized that the playwright had also written another show I didn’t enjoy titled “Actually, we’re f*cked”.

The audience, along with Ethan, must figure out if Jamie is as misunderstood as he claims to be or if Phil knows more about the kid than he lets on.

Garfin does a masterful job of winning the audience’s sympathy.

The main problems arise from the adult characters as they seem more like caricatures rather than three dimensional characters.

The technical aspects of the show are great, though.

Last Christmas 🎄(2019)

If you’re familiar with the titular song, it might not be hard to guess the premise of this film. The film stars Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh in this romantic comedy. Kate (Emilia Clarke) is trying her hardest to avoid her overbearing mother (Emma Thompson, who also co-wrote the screenplay). Her life is not a happy one, but things change after she meets Golding’s character at work. As my roommates keep reminding me, this film is cheesy af. The twist is not as clever as the creative team tries to make you believe. Still, cheesy Christmas movies aren’t meant to win awards and this one warmed my cold heart. 

Macbeth at Classic Stage Company

Macbeth is a great guy. He’s a fearless warrior. He’s a loving husband. He’s loyal to the crown. He’s loved by the king and most everyone else in his life.

It seems odd to say that he’s a likable guy, but he is. Classic Stage Company’s production of Macbeth stars Corey Stoll in the title role and he is charismatic as heck.

Macbeth is a complicated character, but it is easy to play him one note. This production does not do that making sure to differentiate Macbeth before and after the witches’ visions which he initially is appalled by.

The visions start happening as predicted and Macbeth is soon filled with a hunger for power.

Lady Macbeth needs to push her husband though into actually murdering the king Duncan (Mary Beth Peil). Duncan trusts Macbeth fully and is staying at his residence when the murder occurs.

Despite any initial reservations Macbeth is eager for the visions to become reality. Lady Macbeth (played by Stoll’s actual wife Nadia Bowers) must get the action going at first, but soon Macbeth is making the decisions on his own. These decisions bring about major consequences.

Soon Macbeth is no longer a great guy, but a cold hearted man. He had a great friend in Banquo (Erik Lochtefeld), but when Banquo is murdered, Macbeth feels no remorse.

Stoll navigates Macbeth’s changes smoothly. His rise to power is only more awful as we saw a glimpse of the man he once was.

The technical aspects are all simple. The main set piece consists of the throne upstage and two benches placed as needed. The characters wear all black with plaid shawls to distinguish who’s who as most of the cast plays more than one character.

Most of the murders are committed off stage, but a few are within the view of the audience. The lights are also sparse, which adds to the mystery of the murders. Everything is simple and for the most part effective.

Macbeth is aware that his doom is foretold. He chooses to ignore that. He becomes so consumed with power that he believes he is unstoppable.

Lady Macbeth starts out seemingly cold, but she ends up regretting their actions. Macbeth has the opposite change.

Macbeth is incredibly complex and this is one of the first times I’ve seen it portrayed as such. It was wonderful to watch.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at Lyric Theatre 🎭

Time creates the main problems in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child”. A year and seven months after it premiered on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre, I finally got to see Harry Potter’s adventure continue thanks to a Halloween sale.

J.K. Rowling created the characters of course, and provided her insight into the creation of this play. Somehow time manages to bend on stage as five hours fly by quickly in the audience seat.

Written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany, the play explores what happens when time is messed with and how leaving the past alone is best, even if we do wish we could change things. The smallest change in the past causes major and often times unwanted  changes in the future.

Like many fans I had issues with the script after reading it (though I never hated it), but all I can say is give it a chance because being physically in the theatre makes everything fall into place. You are also witnessing true magic as the technical aspects are done flawlessly.

The show definitely sets a high standard for any other adaptations with huge fan bases. Heck, it sets a high standard for what can and can’t possibly be achieved on stage.

Tons of money was spent on this production including renovating an entire theatre just to bring this production to life and it definitely paid off. This show is the most impressive thing I have ever seen on stage technically.

The set is simple though, allowing the ensemble to seamlessly move from time and place seamlessly. I’m not exactly sure how big the cast is, but they all work together to bring the world to life from scene transitions to time transitions and everything in between.

As mentioned the entire theatre was renovated for this production so as soon as you enter, you can’t help feeling excited as patronuses are painted on the wall and the sconces are griffins. The set is visible the moment you enter the auditorium you see light shining on stage coming from the clock that will play the most important part.

The play opens at king’s cross station so trunks and suitcases are visible in the shadows of the clock. Again, the set is simplistic. Hogwarts consists mainly of staircases that slide in and out as needed and the rest of the locations are mainly implied with doors and desks.

The locations truly don’t need anything more than that. There are also smaller clocks in the arches of the proscenium that aid the big clock on set move time along.

The scenes flow seamlessly one into another with the swishes of cloaks and wands. We begin immediately during the epilogue of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”.

Harry Potter (James Snyder) and Ginny Potter (Diane Davis) are seeing their sons off to Hogwarts. Joining them are of course, Hermione Granger (Jenny Jules) and Ron Weasley (Matt Mueller).

The younger of the Potter boys Albus (Nicholas Podany) will be starting his first year at Hogwarts. His cousin Rose Granger-Weasley (Nadia Brown) is also set to start her first year.

Draco Malfoy (Jonno Roberts) is also there to send his son Scorpius (Bubba Weiler, who is absolutely endearing!) to Hogwarts for the first time. Albus and Scorpius become unlikely friends and thus begins their dangerous adventure.

They manage to befriend an older woman by the name of Delphi Diggory (Sara Farb) who also joins them on their adventure. All the while Albus and Harry try to work on their relationship which became incredibly strained once Albus started Hogwarts.

J.K. Rowling is able to create believable characters and has them face relatable problems just in a magical world. The trend continues here.

I can’t say too much more as I need to #keepthesecrets as does anyone who watches the play or reads the script. I know fans who have only read the script have strong opinions about it, but I think as fans we are protective of our fandom and in this case we didn’t need to be (I’m looking at you Fantastic Beasts franchise).

Being surrounded by fans was also cool as certain character reveals drew audible gasps from the audience. The plot can be confusing to non fans, but I believe it is entertaining enough to keep them invested.

The cast members move in sync a lot of the time to indicate a change and it works beautifully. We are transported to alternate realities as time is messed with and the set and lighting matches everything perfectly. By far the coolest aspect was the appearance of (SPOILER!!!!) the dementors.

The entire main cast is fantastic! The ensemble also delivers memorable performances including those who play other well known characters.

The main plot revolves around time. The main conflict comes from parents and children and their relationships.

The past can’t be changed, but time can help heal the future. It also helps to see your parents as something other than people you should rebel against.

I went in with reservations though I knew I always wanted to watch this show eventually. My opinions completely changed upon watching this. It’s not perfect, but it is still the magical world we know and love though it may not seem like it upon first read.

The Addams Family (2019)

3 stars ✨

This animated take on The Addams Family captures the dark look of the macabre loving family while adding some modern twists to them. The voice talent is also fantastic with Charlize Theron and Oscar Isaac playing Morticia and Gomez and Chloe Grace Moretz and Finn Wolfhard as Wednesday and Pugsley.

The main plot point comes from Margeaux Needler (Allison Janney) wanting to makeover the Addams family mansion as it doesn’t fit in with the bright town she has built nearby. It’s overall a cute film, but some of the character decisions seem out of place with previous iterations. It’s definitely aimed at kids as there are few dark jokes with the majority of the film being kid friendly. In trying to appeal more to the kids, they lost some of what makes the Addams Family unique.

Linda Vista at Helen Hays Theatre 🎭

Tracy Letts is an absolute popular playwright, but his plays are hit or miss for me. In fact “August: Osage County” is the only play of his that I’ve read/seen that I’ve enjoyed.

“Linda Vista” is currently playing on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre and it follows a man experiencing a mid life crisis. The play begins as he moves into an apartment in the Linda Vista neighborhood of San Diego. Wheeler (Ian Bradford) is excited to have his own place after living with his ex wife for several years.

He’s an average man living an average life. Wheeler is doing the bare minimum. He failed as a photographer when he was younger and refuses to do anything outside of his comfort zone. This is his reality.

Everything else in his life isn’t worth fighting for. He has a son, but doesn’t even want to fight to have a relationship with him.

His best friend is determined to get Wheeler back in the dating game. Wheeler seems to be ready as well. He attempts to ask out his younger coworker Anita (Caroline Neff), but she turns him down. 

Wheeler is Wheeler. He views life through a cynical lens. His new apartment has got him excited for his future love life, but he is still cynical. He is no longer used to flirting. He is awkward. 

We’ve seen characters like Wheeler before. He is just another man who takes the women in his life for granted. 

“Linda Vista” if you can’t tell already, was not something I enjoyed. The comedic aspects were more for shock. There were two intimate scenes on stage which are also not my thing. 

Like most of Letts’ plays, this is an almost three hour production. There are intriguing moments. Some of the line deliveries are genuinely funny. Overall though I didn’t care. Wheeler is way too unlivable. There were little redeeming qualities that made me care about his situation. 

The main plot revolves around Wheeler’s relationship with two different women. There’s the woman who’s closer to his age with a positive outlook on life. Then there’s his younger, pregnant neighbor. 

It’s Wheeler’s best friend and his wife who introduce him to Jules. Jules has a master’s degree in “happiness” and is a life coach. 

Wheeler and Jules meet during a group hangout at a karaoke bar. They somehow hit it off and end up at Wheeler’s apartment. There’s some miscommunication during sex, but they figure it out. Fast forward and Wheeler and Jules are now celebrating one month together. 

Right before meeting Jules for the first time, Wheeler meets Minnie (Chantal Thuy). She’s much younger, pregnant and seeking an out from her abusive boyfriend asks to stay at his place. She’s the opposite of Jules in every way and Wheeler can’t resist. 

Jules initially comes to stay with Wheeler after he and Jules hook up for the first time. He and Minnie get together a few days before his one month anniversary. 

The set revolves and is split into four main parts: the doorway toWheeler’s apartment, the living room of his apartment and the other two sections change into whatever is needed. It’s kind of cool to see the set transform into different areas as needed. They’re all intricately detailed. 

Letts is a master at dialogue and the actors are great. This show is just not for me. It’s not my humor and I didn’t like Wheeler. I felt no sympathy towards him and didn’t care about the situations he found himself in. 

Terra Firma at Baruch Performing Arts Center

This show is fun to watch at first, but it does get gimmicky as it continues. The premise gets old pretty quickly and frustratingly a lot of questions are left unanswered. The comedy is definitely more in line with that of Brecht or Beckett so it’s definitely not for everyone. The show takes place in the future and it appears that there is only one woman left in the entire planet. There are definitely political undertones, but some are too obvious while others are difficult to interpret. This production definitely has its moments and it’s not a bad production overall. I thought the beginning was stronger than the end.

Abominable (2019)

4 stars ✨

This is an animated movie that honestly anyone can enjoy. Everest is a yeti with magical powers.

He has been captured by a yeti hunter (Eddie Izzard) and is in Shanghai far from his family on Mt. Everest. After escaping the stronghold where he is kept, he is found by Yi (Chloe Bennett).

Yi teams up with her neighbors to bring Everest back home. Dreamworks has been killing it and truly giving Disney a run for their money. Well, Dreamworks is currently better than the tired, boring remakes Disney has been releasing. Yeah, I said it.

The story is a bit formulaic, but it’s different enough to not feel like a retread of something else. The animation is gorgeous and outright breathtaking against the Chinese landscape. The characters are hilarious and you care about the circumstances they find themselves in. Overall, I highly recommend this film.

Downton Abbey (2019)

The main plot of this film stems from the fact that the king and queen will be traveling through the countryside and will be staying a day at Downton Abbey.

I’ve seen bits and pieces of the show through my friends and roommates, but I’m not too familiar with it other than the names and relationships of the Crawley family.

That being said people who have never seen the show can follow along with no problems whatsoever.

The film begins with a letter arriving at Downton Abbey. The letter states that the king and queen will stop by for a visit and the residents must prepare for that immediately.

This proves to be problematic as the king and queen have their own staff who quickly take over the running of the estate.

The pretentious royal staff get on everyone’s nerves, and the Downton Abbey staff plan a sabotage so that they may serve on the king and queen instead. There are also other minor subplots that add to the drama.

It is an engaging little flick and the acting is superb. This film is definitely not for everyone. If you don’t mind period pieces though, I say it’s worth checking out.

The Lightning Thief at the Longacre Theatre 🎭

“The Lightning Thief” is a musical based on the popular Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Fresh off of a national tour, the show is currently in previews and will officially open on October 16. I actually have not read these books, but fans have said that this is a better adaptation than the films. This show was a lot of fun. The music has rock n roll vibes to it and the set is minimal. The entire cast is hilarious. This show was made for the fans specifically, but anyone can enjoy it and have a great time. If you’re a fan of traditional musical theatre, this is probably not the show for you.

The Rose Tattoo at the American Airlines Theatre 🎭

Marisa Tomei stars in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “The Rose Tattoo” by Tennessee Williams. Her portrayal of Serafina Delle Rose was good and that’s about the only good thing I have to say. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m not a Tennessee Williams fan, but I did not like this at all. I found myself wishing it would hurry up and end as I was bored. As I said, I did enjoy Marisa Tomei’s performance, but that’s about it. I did not care about the circumstances the characters found themselves in or really anything else. It was what it was.

Hustlers (2019)

The stock market crash of 2008 affected even those businesses you didn’t think would be affected. Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) and her friends find a way to exploit the men who used to go to gentlemen’s clubs by drugging them and charging thousands of dollars on their credit cards. The main focus of the film though, is the friendship between the women. The film is written and directed by Lorene Scafaria and she does a good job of not overly exploiting her cast. Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu both do great jobs in their performances. Lili Reinhart provides the laughs with her throw up gag. 3.5 stars.

In the Height of the Storm at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre 🎭

Andre’s wife has died. His daughters want to sell their father’s home and put him in a nursing home.

At least I think his wife is the dead one.

At times they’re both on stage and everyone is interacting with each other and at others one parent is being ignored.

This happens all at once and at unexpected times. It does take a while to get used to the style and it can be distracting. Ultimately I think Andre is the surviving spouse. As he states in the play, he wouldn’t be able to live without his wife and it’s possible that he sees her, but the daughters interact with her as well, so it’s up for interpretation.

This play is written by French playwright Florian Zeller. I’ve never seen or read any of his other works so I’m not sure if this is his style. Either way, I wasn’t exactly a fan and I wish the story had been written differently. This piece has plenty of good material and I believe the overall message is an effective one, but trying to figure out what’s going on takes away from that.

However the performances by Jonathan Pryce as Andre and Eileen Atkins as his wife Madeline are phenomenal. They balance each other perfectly. They work off of each other well. They are truly believable as a couple married for decades. They fight playfully with each other but the underlying emotion of everything they do is love.

The ending is absolutely beautiful. The story may be confusing, but watching these actors at work more than makes up for it.

Ready or Not (2019)

3.5 stars ✨

This comedy slasher flick has a lot to say about wealth. It does it in an over the top way, but it does.

Grace (Samara Weaving) grew up in foster homes and wants nothing more than a real family. She is getting just that as she prepares to wed her rich boyfriend Alex (Mark O’Brien).

After the ceremony Alex reveals the family tradition: whenever a person joins the family, that person must draw a card and the entire family must play the game on the card. Grace draws the most dangerous card: hide and seek. The La Domas family become the seekers and the person who drew the card is the hider and the family must sacrifice the hider before the sun comes up.

Grace was unaware of what was at stake as Alex never revealed to her the family tradition before that point. Alex was hesitant to marry Grace as he knew the risk, but he gave in because Grace really wanted a wedding. She wanted a family as she never had one growing up. Grace also wanted Alex to fix the rift between him and his family as he hadn’t spoken to them in years. Of course, Grace is furious once she realizes her life is at stake.

She arms herself with the weapons in the family’s study and prepares to defend herself. This is a horror comedy so don’t expect much blood and gore. The La Domas family and their odd tradition does bring in laughs especially since this is the first time in decades that someone has drawn the hide and seek card and the younger members of the family make mistake after mistake in their nervous state. 

The matriarch Becky LaDomas (Andie MacDowell) seems as loving and caring as any mother at first. The more things go awry the more nuances come out in her performance as her calm facade falls away. 

The entire ensemble is fantastic. Weaving stands out and I’m sure has a bright future ahead of her. Her expressions and delivery are spot on. Melanie Scrofano as the drugged up daughter is funny. She is the biggest wreck out of everyone and accidentally kills two of the maids in the process. Her husband played by Kristian Brunn is also funny. Having been assigned the crossbow, he needs to take a break before starting the hunt to look up tutorials on how to use it. 

Another standout is Nicky Guadagni as Aunt Helene. She more than anyone is eager to kill Grace and conduct the ritual. Adding to the comedy is the clothing she is wearing and the permanent bitch face she has from start to finish. 

Ready or Not is great up until the end which felt uninspired to me. Still I enjoyed it up until this point. If you’re looking for standard horror fare, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for a good time, I think you’ll enjoy this. It’s fun to laugh at these over the top rich people and the lengths they’ll go to keep their riches. I don’t think anyone out there is keeping their riches by sacrificing people, but people do weird things to stay relevant.

American Moor at the Cherry Lane Theatre 🎭

Actors deal with a lot of crap. The things we have to go through can be incredibly frustrating.

The actor played by Keith Hamilton Cobb in “American Moor” is auditioning for “Othello”. The actor makes is quite clear that auditioning is a major frustration as actors only have a few minutes to prove they are worthy of a role.

This is clearly a semi-autobiographical piece as the actor, also named Keith, delves deeper into the annoying aspects of auditioning. The audience is the actor’s sounding board as he vents everything on his mind.

The director is a faceless entity sitting somewhere in the audience. He’s late for the audition and proceeds to continue as though nothing is wrong. The director is a much younger man, clearly not as experienced as the actor, yet he talks down to the actor as though he knows everything.

One of the actor’s many gripes is that directors talk about Shakespeare and his plays as though they know everything Shakespeare intended.

All the research in the world could never reveal Shakespeare’s true intentions as he’s been dead for centuries. The only thing that the young white director and Shakespeare have in common is that they believe to know what a black man is thinking. These racial tensions are the prevalent story in Mr. Cobb’s play. Yes, he is auditioning for the role of “Othello”, but he knows firsthand what it’s like to be Othello in the sense that they are both black men who want better things for themselves, but society does not aid them.

Society hinders them in their journey.

The actor explains all this to the audience. He does not however, tell this to the director as he wants the job.

Of course in telling the audience, we are continued to be made aware of a major problem still found in this industry. There is still a major lack of diversity on the stage, and if there isn’t, there is probably a lack of diversity in the director’s seat. That lack of diversity in the director’s chair may unwittingly prevent an actor of color from fully expressing their opinion on a character, which occurs with the actor in this play even during the audition, and this is where the frustration stems from.

Some may take this personally while watching the show. The anger and frustration are justified though, and truly never sound accusatory.

It also makes sense as we watch the actor and director interact. The director played by Josh Tyson, stops the actor a few lines into Othello’s monologue, and gives him adjustments.

The actor does not agree with these adjustments. The actor tells the director why he has made the acting choices he has. There’s nothing he can ultimately do however, except do the adjustments as asked.

The actor does so and it is what it is.

“American Moor” finds clever ways to tie the actor’s experiences and Othello’s experiences together. Just as Othello must switch the way he talks in the presence of senators, the actor talks differently to the director than he does to the audience. As his frustration with the director grows, you expect the actor to break at any point.

As interesting as this play was to watch, it did get repetitive at times. Points that were made before the director shows up were made again afterwards. As the actor’s frustration grows, the points get drilled more than once.

There is definitely a difference between the actor’s discussions with the director and those with the audience. It does take a moment to get used to, though.

The play is important and will hopefully encourage more dialogue between everyone involved in the industry. It is something that still needs to be fixed. Still, the length of this play could have been cut.

It’s also exhilarating to hear Mr. Cobb’s love/hate relationship with Othello. Othello provides a great three dimensional character for black actors to explore, but that is usually the only Shakespeare role people can see them in as opposed to any of the other Shakespearean leads in existence, which honestly any actor of color can relate to.

Mr. Cobb is great. His interpretation of Othello as well as his delivery of the director’s interpretations were fantastic and I wish we could have seen more of that. I’m looking forward to seeing any future projects he’s in.

Roseanna (Martin Beck, #1) by Maj Sjöwall

“Of course I acted in school plays but mostly as angels or mushrooms.”

This is the first book in a series that follows Swedish detective Martin Beck. He does his job. He’s quite ordinary and there is nothing particularly special about him. He struggles with depression. He works a lot and barely sees his family. He’s married, but he’s no longer happy in his marriage. She wishes he’d spend more time with his the kids and he doesn’t want to. It’s refreshing to see a perfectly ordinary man be the protagonist. 

When Martin Beck is physically home, he isn’t there emotionally. He spends most of his time alone. He doesn’t pursue his family. They’re used to him not being around. 

The crime Martin Beck is sent to solve is the murder and rape of an American tourist named Roseanna McGraw. Her body is fished out of the lake at the start of the novel. The body was found near a small town that doesn’t have the resources to solve the crime, so they send for Beck and his team. Beck becomes close to a detective from the small town and together they team up to lead the investigation. There are no clues or leads to the case.

The reader gets a glimpse into the highs and lows of the investigation. This includes getting in touch with an American detective to help them interview people who knew Roseanna. The reader is presented with the interviews in the format of a transcript. The interviews get personal and uncomfortable at times. This does help Beck figure out the profile of potential suspects. There are dull moments in the book as there times when the investigation comes to a stand still until new clues are uncovered. Beck does finally figure out who committed the crime. At this point, Beck is desperate to solve the crime. He is sure he has found the killer, but has no substantial proof so he has to figure out a way to get him to confess. The book is clever in showing the reality of solving a crime, but it can be boring. 

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019)

3.5 stars ✨

I was told too old to watch Dora the Explorer when it premiered in the early 2000s. The show was aimed at toddlers as it followed five year old Dora, her companion Boots the monkey and her talking backpack as the explored different regions of I’m guessing Latin America. Needless to say when a Dora adaptation was announced I was one of the many people who scoffed at the idea. The adaptation takes place ten years later with a fifteen year old Dora at the helm. It can be silly and ridiculous, but it’s surprisingly a lot of fun especially since it doesn’t take itself too seriously.

There aren’t too many films starring a mainly Latino cast. I balked at the idea of watching this film at first, but seeing the success of “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” I knew I had to give this one a chance. I loved “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” and I loved that I got to support these diverse films that were also genuinely good films. And despite my initial reservations “Dora” was also a good film. Is it going to win Oscars or get nominated like the other two? Probably not, but I went, I saw and I had a great time.

Tiny Pretty Things (Tiny Pretty Things, #1) by Sona Charaipotra

"The moment you think you’re on top is the moment you lost your passion."

I read this book as part of my Popsugar Reading Challenge. The challenge this time was to read a book by two authors. 

This book was fun to read and although it was over the top dramatic at times, it didn’t bother me too much so I give this three stars. 

I loved reading about the mean girls found at the center of this book and the ways they tried to stay on top. This is probably not a realistic portrayal of life at a ballet school, but I lived for the drama. 

There was backstabbing and privilege and threats and bullying. As I mentioned this is probably too over the top to be an accurate representation of ballet school, but it did give a glimpse into the hard work that goes into ballet as well as the pressure they feel to keep their body looking a certain way.

I enjoyed that the story is told in the first person by three different characters. 

*Bette is blonde and thin and the perfect ballerina in every way, but she also lives in the shadow of her sister who became a professional at the age of fifteen. 

*Gigi is the newest student to the New York school adjusting to the differences between there and California and as the only black student at the school she has a lot to prove although she’s currently the best dancer enrolled. 

*June is half-Korean, battling an eating disorder and fighting to prove to her mother that she deserves to stay at the school. 

The book’s main plot points come from different pressures the dancers are experiencing and how that affects how they treat themselves and others. 

The book is easy and quick to read. The chapters are short and sometimes this is problematic because after a major event we cut to a different point in time sometimes without fully exploring what happened. Some things feel unnecessarily rushed and many things are left unresolved with the hope being that everything is answered in the sequel. 

Overall I enjoyed the book. The ending especially leaves the reader with more questions than answers. . The second book is out for anyone who wants to read the books back to back. I felt so unsatisfied with all the new questions brought up that I chose to look at spoilers instead. Patience has never been my strong suit and that ending left me with too much energy to wait. I don’t necessarily hate books that end with a cliffhanger, but most do not leave you with that many questions left unanswered.

I want to read the second book, but I’ll see what happens. I was intrigued by the ballet aspects of the book and I wish the sequel focused more on that because while I loved the drama, I do think drama added for drama’s sake can be overwhelming. 

I also should note that the pictures are not affiliated with the book at all, but my reviews with pictures get more views and ballerinas are beautiful.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)

3.5 Stars ✨

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” is based on the children’s horror book by Alvin Schwartz. The film is adapted in a way that showcases some of the popular stories found in the book, but with a bigger plot to tie them all together. It’s an interesting way to bring the stories to life, but it is done well.

The film is directed by Andre Ovredal with Guillermo del Toro working behind the scenes as well, we are taken back in time to 1968. The events unfold in a small farming community in Pennsylvania. The main protagonists start their journey on Halloween night after hiding from the town bullies at their local drive in.

Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) and her best friends Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) dress up and head out for a night of tricks. Their plan is to play a trick on the town bully Tommy  (Austin Abrams). Their trick goes off without a hitch, but unwittingly Chuck’s older sister Ruth (Natalie Ganzhorn) is caught in the crossfire. She has agreed to go on a date with Tommy and is in the car when the trick is played. Stella, Auggie and Chuck run to the drive in theatre and end up the car belonging to Ramon (Michael Garza) in an effort to hide from Tommy. Tommy finds the friends, but Ramon is able to fend him off. From there, the group of four head to the town’s boarded up haunted house.

Stella reveals that the former inhabitants had a daughter named Sarah Bellows who was sent to an insane asylum where she eventually died. Legend says that if you ask Sarah to tell you a story, it’s the last story you will ever hear. Tommy finds the friends and locks them in the basement and while the boys are trying to find a way out, Stella takes Sarah’s book of stories and asks to be told one. After the protagonists escape the house, one by one they (and everyone inside the house including Tommy and Ruth) become subjects in Sarah’s story book which Stella finds she can’t get rid of or destroy it.

The scary stories Sarah is writing are the scary stories of the source material. They are incredibly well done. The first story is that of Harold the scarecrow who lives on Tommy’s cornfield and is a great introduction to the stories. All the stories take place in different parts of the town and the use of colors and the contrast between light and dark are the most effective tools in creating the atmosphere. As this film is aimed at the younger demographic, it is not too scary, but that doesn’t mean you won’t feel creeped out by the creatures the characters encounter.

The ending hints at a sequel. This isn’t a bad thing. There are sequels to the book after all. That does mean though, that the film has an open ended ending. The film has a great climax, but the film doesn’t wrap up as nicely as you would like. I’m not personally bothered by this, but I know many people do want a clear ending. I appreciate what this film accomplished. I’m also looking forward to more.

I think that “Scary Stories” handled the source material well. It took it in an interesting direction that I felt overall worked well. I applaud the filmmakers for making a scary movie for younger audiences especially because it relies so much on atmosphere to scare the audience rather than constant jump scares and unnecessary amounts of blood and gore.

Rinse, Repeat at Pershing Square Signature Theatre

The first thing you see when you enter the theatre is the set. The set consists of a kitchen that can be found in any modern home.

“Rinse, Repeat” written by and starring Domenica Feraud is set in the kitchen as Rachel and her mother Joan figure out their relationship to food.

The play opens with Rachel (Domenica Feraud) returning home after four months away. She’s a law student at Yale. However, she isn’t coming home for vacation, Rachel has been an at in patient treatment center recovering from anorexia.

Rachel is home for a trial weekend to see if she is ready to be released from the treatment center. Her parents Joan (Florencia Lozano) and Peter (Michael Hayden) are concerned for their daughter, but are  at odds about how to treat her.

They fail to see how they affect their daughter’s relationship to food. Joan eats little and is incredibly thin.

Peter does all the cooking to ensure that his daughter hits her calorie count at every meal. He does nothing, however, to ensure that his wife is eating. Rachel sees this and finds it difficult to eat when her mother isn’t being held to the same standards.

Adding to Rachel’s stress is her fear of disappointing her mother. Joan strives for perfection and while Rachel dreams of being a poet, she’s attending law school because that’s what her mother wants.

The only one who truly seems to understand Rachel is her younger brother Brody (Jake Ryan Lozano). He is angry at Rachel for almost killing herself and is closed off to her presence at first.

Rachel’s poems are oddly read by her brother throughout the play. This is really the only complaint I have as the play is fully engaging and the characters are fully fleshed out.

This play deals with the cycle that many face, but are unable to escape. A parent has an unhealthy relationship with food and unwittingly passes it on to their child and so on and so forth until someone decides they want to break free and in this play, you want Rachel to break free.

2071: The World We’ll Leave Our Grandchildren at Episcopal Actors’ Guild

Ripple Effect Theatre Artists’ mission is to get the audience members who come see their show to take action. This one man show is written by Duncan MacMillan and Chris Rapley and talks about the disastrous effects our dependence on fossil fuels is to the planet. It is filled with facts and does bring on concerns for the future.

This is a “documentary” for the stage. It can be overwhelming and some may find it difficult to understand due to all the scientific terms. Director Carin Zakes did a good job in making it easier to understand. Chris Rapley (portrayed by Robert Meksin) stood at his podium for the majority of the hour long play. Behind him were screens portraying pictures and videos of the events he mentioned.

Rapley is an actual scientist who has spent his career studying Antarctica. As climate change began affecting the Antarctic, he began to study climate change and its effects. He is concerned for the world and what will be left of it for his grandchildren. At the rate we’re going, there won’t be much left for future generations.

Climate change can be used in an emotionally manipulative manner by some people, but in this show
 everything is dealt and backed up with facts. Rapley started by showing the audience the planet and how it looked only a few years ago. He continued by presenting the audience what was occurring at the time this play was published (2014) including glaciers breaking off and melting causing sea levels to rise and thus messing up the delicate balance needed to keep the planet’s temperatures from rising.

Rapley gave us the facts. He also translated these facts into layman terms. Some of the information is slightly outdated, but this is nothing to celebrate. An update at the end of the show let the audience know that in the five years since the play premiered, things have only gotten worse. 

As Rapley is British, he stated that the world can only increase 2C in overall temperature. Any more than that and things will only get progressively worse. 

It is hard to hear these facts especially since we are close to reaching that temperature threshold and few people seem to care. Still Rapley is hopeful that people will begin to collectively make changes that will ultimately help the planet. 

He did offer solutions. The biggest one was being more energy efficient by relying more on wind and solar power. Many countries are already making the switch, while others are stubbornly refusing to do so. 

It is a lot to take in, but unfortunately the majority of people who would want to see this show are those who are already trying to do their part in lowering their carbon footprint. Meksin did a fantastic job as Rapley especially in conveying all the facts in an engaging manner. Still, the people who deny 

climate change or are apathetic to it, probably won’t get their minds changed. 

I’m hoping I’m wrong obviously. This is an important piece of theatre and sometimes the arts speak to people in a way that other subjects can’t. I seriously hope this inspired someone to give a damn. It was hard for me not to make any personal statements in this review because I care about this subject so much, but I will finish by saying at least read this play and make as educated a decision from there. 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

3 stars
Runtime: 161 minutes

Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) is an engaging character. Perhaps it’s because we know what ultimately happens to her.

She goes to the movies to watch “The Wrecking Crew”, which happens to be the second to last film she worked on before her life was cut short. 

It’s heart breaking to see Tate in the theatre enjoying the fact that the audience is enjoying her performance and probably thinking about the opportunities headed her way. Tarantino does not focus on Tate though, she is simply part of the Hollywood background in 1969.

Tarantino’s ninth film sets his story in the real world of 1969 and surrounds it with real people who lived during that era, but ultimately it is a fictional story. This is something he is known to do, but in this instance I wanted to learn more about the people who actually existed and not the fictional ones he created.

The story follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). In the early 60s, Dalton was the star of his own TV show, but now years later, he’s struggling to find steady work.

Dalton has now turned to drinking and doubts his career can go any further. It’s a sad reality for any actor. 

Booth is tough and cool and his only true friend is Dalton. Rumors swirl around Booth’s past that 

make people in the industry distrust him. Dalton’s word is the only thing that will allow Booth on set.

Dalton lives in a house he won’t be able to afford much longer next door to Tate and her husband Roman Polanski (Rafal Zarwierucha). 

The audience knows what to expect at some point during the film as Tate and others with her lose their lives because of Charles Manson (Damon Herriman). 

It’s this balance between fact and fiction that the world lives in. The film is mostly devoid of the violence Tarantino is known for, coming in during the final moments of the film. 

It’s an entertaining film. I found the more interesting aspects of the film coming from the people who actually existed and I wish the film had focused solely on them.

The ending isn’t the one expected and while I appreciate that, I did not like it and wish it had gone in a different direction. 

This is standard Tarantino fare and while it did keep me entertained, I do believe it could have been cut way down. I’m also not sure what Tarantino’s ultimate goal was in telling this story. 

I also wasn’t as invested in Booth and Dalton’s story as I think Tarantino wanted the audience to be. I wanted more of Tate, Manson, and his followers.