A Sign of the Times at Theatre 511

Javier Muñoz was fantastic in this one man show. The show itself was engaging to a point, it did start getting repetitive towards the end. Muñoz engaged with the audience and drew everyone in to his story. He was a delight to watch from beginning to end even as some points were repeated. The show did start to drag towards the last third of the show, but this could be easily resolved by cutting moments. There were also a few false endings that made the show feel longer than it was.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

72 Miles to Go... at The Harold and Miriam Steinberg for Theatre 🎭

I appreciate that this show exists and I appreciate the message it was trying to send, but as someone who grew up in a border town and knows people in this situation, it didn’t speak to me the way I would have liked it to. The story follows a family separated from their mother who was deported two years back as they adjust to life without her while also trying to protect the eldest son, a DREAMer who recently lost his status. It’s a show that could have made more of an impact than I think it did.

Frankenstein at Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company ran Dracula and Frankenstein in repertory and as much as I wanted to see both, I was only able to catch Frankenstein. It’s interesting to see how companies try to make classic stories feel fresh and new. Classic Stage Company definitely brought something new to this production.

This adaptation is written by Tristan Bernays and is directed by Timothy Douglas. This is a minimal adaptation using only two actors and minimal costumes, props and set pieces. Rob Morrison is the chorus. He is the narrator and any other character that is needed to tell the story that isn’t Frankenstein or his monster. He also sets the mood using various stringed instruments. Stephanie Berry takes on the role of both Frankenstein and his creation.

The adaptation is also a short one.  The production is only about 80 minutes long. A good chunk of that is dedicated to the monster learning how to talk. We see the monster trying to interact with the world around it while not being able to express itself. The monster points and interacts with the audience in order to learn new words.

Once the monster has learned how to speak, the action fully starts. Bernays has the monster and the narrator recite passages straight from the novel, so actual dialogue is minimal. The only time there is dialogue, rather than passages, is when the monster interacts with the few other characters. The only time this gets confusing is when Berry has dialogue between the two roles she plays. There was little distinction between Frankenstein and his creature.

This was an interesting take on a well known story. I enjoyed it, but I do wish there had been at least one more actor. That might have helped to clearly distinguish each character.

Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) 2020

If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you know I’m not a huge fan of comic book movies. I did like this one, though.

“Birds of Prey” is a spin off of “Suicide Squad” centering around Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie). Recently single, she’s ready to tell her own story on her own terms. Born Harleen Quinzel she was an orphan who grew up to be a psychologist for the criminally insane at Arkham Asylum. She ended falling in love with the Joker and together, they ruled the crime world. After their break up Harley is ready to prove that she can do things on her own terms. Without Joker’s protection though, enemies keep showing up to take her out.

“Birds of Prey” has fast frenetic action that matches Harley’s personality, but there are quieter moments mixed in. Harley does show her sensitive side in this one and it’s refreshing. The film is directed by Cathy Yan who brings a nice balance to the two sides of Harley while making the journey a lot of fun.

The villain is Roman Sionis, Black Mask, (Ewan McGregor) who is out to get a diamond engraved with the account codes of a rich family. While in the possession of Black Mask’s henchman, the diamond is pick pocketed by Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Cassandra is arrested and Harley breaks her out of jail where they go on the run. Little by little the rest of the women who make up the birds of prey begin joining in. Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) has been on the hunt for the assassin killing people via bow and arrow who turns out to be Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). Dinah Lance, Black Canary, (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) starts off as a singer at Roman’s club before being hired as Roman’s reluctant driver. Harley joins this team, though she has to learn to work with them instead of against them.

This is undoubtedly Harley’s story with the birds of prey thrown in. It’s a fun, distracting romp, but there’s nothing deeper than that. I enjoyed this film, but if you’re looking for something that gives you a deeper look into Harley’s psyche this isn’t it. This is by no means a bad thing, but it is worth noting.

Robbie is great as Harley Quinn. She delves as deep into the character as she can and runs with it. She’s funny, but knows how to be vulnerable when she needs to be. It’s also apparent that she’s having a blast playing the role and it fits perfectly with the style of the film. I’m looking forward to seeing more Harley in the DCU.

Miss America’s Ugly Daughter at the Marjorie S. Deane Little Theatre at the West Side YMCA

Barra Grant is Bess Meyerson’s daughter. Their relationship was far from ideal.

Bess Meyerson isn’t well known to everyone, but her semi celebrity status did cause her to be full of herself as well as being hard to please.

This is all according to Barra Grant who describes their relationship in her autobiographical solo show “Miss America’s Ugly Daughter”.

Bess Meyerson is the only Jewish woman to have won the Miss America contest and that was a lot to live up to. Grant never felt like she could compare to her mother.

The show opens with Grant receiving a call from her mother in the middle of the night. Her mother is in her 70s at this point.

It seems as though this is a nightly routine for the two. Meyerson (voiced by Anna Holbrook) berates her daughter constantly, but she also craves company and that seems to be the reasons for the calls.

Meyerson was crowned Miss America in 1945. It was a huge honor, but she still faced a lot of anti-Semitism. Pageant sponsors didn’t want to work with her, but she persevered and ended up having successful careers on TV and in politics.

Despite this, I have no idea who Bess Meyerson was before this, though many in the audience did. Grant mentions her mother’s accomplishments, but the main focus is the relationship between the two, so I still don’t know much about Meyerson besides that.

Grant is an actress and screenwriter and has accomplished things in her own right, but it was an uphill battle for her Asher mother constantly found ways to undermine her.

The conversations between Grant and her elderly mother are also difficult to listen to though for other reasons. It’s clear that Meyerson had no idea what to do once she was out of the public eye.

Grant truly includes the worst aspects of the relationship between her and her mother and maybe that’s truly how the relationship was with no exaggerations. Still, it does not paint Meyerson in a flattering light and makes her seem like an awful mother with little to no redeeming qualities.

It’s clear Grant is hurt by her mother, but despite all the details included in her show, there were things that were brought up and seemingly left unfinished.

Harry Townsend’s Last Stand at City Center

Like most of the shows I watch I had no idea what this was about. I had absolutely no preconceived notions about it.

What I saw was a comedy about the realities of growing older. It gave a glimpse of the independence many older people strive to cling to even if it’s not safe for them.

It’s life and the harsh realities that come with it, though some laughs are thrown in.

Harry Townsend (Lou Cariou) is an 84 year old man living alone in his home in Vermont. He’s grumpy, stubborn and set in his ways. His son Alan (Craig Bierko) is visiting him for the first time in months from California.

Alan does have an ulterior motive for visiting his father, but it takes a bit to reveal what that is.

Harry is happy to see his son, but there is tension as they don’t always see eye to eye. Lou Cariou is great as the titular character.

Harry seems to enjoy finding new ways to irritate his son and will bicker with him for any reason. Alan puts up with it because he has to accomplish his ultimate goal.

As Alan presents more and more evidence as to why his father shouldn’t live alone, Harry grows more irritated and defensive. Alan has a point as we see Harry’s memory fail him and how he struggles to even get around at times.

The show has some funny moments though the subject matter isn’t funny itself. It has a nice balance between the two.

Director Karen Carpenter doesn’t milk the bad moments and instead focuses on the lighter moments, but she isn’t disrespectful about the plight older folks face. Both actors also played off of each other well.

Neither actor plays their character as a caricature, but instead focus on the love the characters have for each other.

Cariou does a stand out job in this role. He shows all the conflicting emotions a Harry feels any time he gets called for something he didn’t realize what he was doing. Harry doesn’t get what he wants in the end, but that’s life and that makes it all the more difficult.