Home Work: A Memoir of my Hollywood Years by Julie Andrews

 3 stars ✨ 

What great insight into Julie Andrews’s start in Hollywood. It was chock full of insights and wisdom that only someone as talented and with a career as ranging as Ms. Andrews. 

Lackawanna Blues at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

 

Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s solo piece “Lackawanna Blues” is a love letter to the woman who raised him and the interesting characters he came across while living in Nanny’s boarding house.

I had the absolute privilege of meeting Santiago-Hudson during my summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and apart from being genuinely talented he is also a humble, giving man who is incredibly kind. It’s easy to see why after learning about Rachel Crosby aka “Nanny” and the kind of person she was.

As a young child, Santiago-Hudson would be left alone by his mother in the room they lived in at Nanny’s boarding house. After finding him one day, Nanny takes on the responsibility of raising him. 

Nanny was the kindest woman. She helped not only her boarders, but anyone in the community who needed it. Whether it was with cash, food, advice or anything else Nanny was there to provide. That isn’t to say she wasn’t tough or strict when she needed to be because she was. 

She also wasn’t afraid to take those people in that other folks would turn a blind eye to. No one messed with Nanny and everyone respected her so much that they tried making decisions they knew wouldn’t disappoint her.

We see how much Santiago-Hudson loved her. The whole play itself demonstrates it, but we get a beautiful moment with a 10-year-old Santiago-Hudson telling Nanny he hopes he dies first because he doesn’t want to live in a world without her.

“Lackawanna Blues” also shows us snippets of some of the more interesting characters Santiago-Hudson met growing up. 

There’s Lemuel Taylor a man with one leg and a tongue that constantly flicked in and out of his mouth that he and Nanny went to pick up from the mental hospital. There’s Numb Finger Pete who lost his fingers to frost bite after drunkenly falling asleep in the snow. Lemuel Taylor and Numb Finger Pete get into a fight at the boarding house and it was a sight to see.

Accompanying Santiago-Hudson’s stories is Junior Mack on guitar. The guitar enhances the stories and also assists Santiago-Hudson during the blues breaks between stories.

It’s fascinating to see Santiago-Hudson perform. The set is minimal with the facade of the boarding house behind the performers and a table and a few chairs. That’s all Santiago-Hudson needs. His performance is engaging and he’s clearly enjoying every moment of being on stage reliving these moments.

Nanny continues to live on through this story. I can’t think of anything better for her.

Nomad land (2020)

 

 Nomad land is a beautiful film. It’s simple, but admittedly the book hit me more with the realities and difficulties many faced after the recession of 2008.

The film chooses to focus on loss and the bereavement that comes with it. Some losses are greater than others, but the smaller losses don’t hurt any less. 

Frances McDormand stars as Fern. Fern was a resident of Empire, Nevada until the entire city shut down. Her husband passed away before it shut down, so with seemingly no other option, she converts a van into her new living space. In it she travels all over the country, he temporary living situations determined by the seasonal jobs available.

A staple of Chloe Zhao is hiring people not trained as actors and with the exception of Frances McDormand and a few others, she does the same here. We meet some of the same nomads introduced in the book written by Jessica Bruder. These nomads give us a peek into the life of a nomad. These people have a tight knit community with each other, but they say goodbye to each other often depending on the jobs they take. 

Zhao takes her time with each frame in the film. Each moment is savored and nothing is rushed. We are able to take in everything from the emotions being portrayed to the landscapes in the background.

Frances McDormand is fantastic as usual. She’s vulnerable, but able to put up her shield at a moment’s notice. 

This film isn’t for everyone. There’s no action. There’s nothing exciting happening in the frame. It’s life. From the mundane to the simple pleasures that bring us joy, it’s meant to reflect real people. We’re meant to see ourselves even if we can’t directly relate to the characters’ experience. 

The Good Lie (2014)

 

“The Good Lie” is inspired by the true story of the Lost Boys of South Sudan. When a civil war breaks out in Sudan, a group of refugee children start their difficult journey to Kenya as they seek refuge at the Kakuma Refugee Camp. It is an engaging and harrowing journey as we see these children face loss and many trials before reaching their destination.

After they reach the camp, the film fast forwards thirteen years when this now grown group of refugees are accepted as asylum seekers in the United States. This is when the story starts to get stereotypical as they navigate all the modern wonders the United States has to offer. The first half is definitely stronger than the last half, but all the actors provide wonderful performances.

Pass Over at the August Wilson Theatre

 On Saturday, I had the honor of watching Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s play “Pass Over” currently playing on Broadway at the August Wilson theatre. The play has clear influences of theater of the absurd and I found it an effective way to send a message.

The set is quite sparse. It involves a street lamp, a trash can and other various items, but a surprise is revealed at the end making it a stunning finish.

The play consists of three characters. Our protagonists Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Namir Smallwood) live on this street corner and they find ways to pass the time. Their lives are unexpectedly thrown for a loop when a stranger (Gabriel Ebert) stumbles into the street corner. At first it seems that everything will be okay, but happy moods turn sour quickly.

All three actors are outstanding. They all handle the absurdity with ease making it look natural. 

The play is directed by Danya Taymor. She finds a way to heighten each of the moods to the extreme so that a clear shift is apparent any time it changes. 

The lighting is subtle. You really have to look in order to notice that the street light has changed color. Lighting and sound come together most effectively to create a tense mood whenever Moses and Kitch sense danger.

If you have a chance to see this production, I say take it! It was a wonderful show to mark my personal return to Broadway in more than a year. The show is timely, but filled with fun, quirky moments.

The show is currently in previews and will only run until October 10. 

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

 

This was actually a disappointing sequel. Gal Gadot reprises her role as the titular character. She continues to do a good job with it, but the film itself was a let down. Kristen Wiig plays one of the villains Cheetah, and her motivation to turn evil seemed to come out of nowhere especially since the “loss of her humanity” compared to some of the other things doesn’t seem as high stakes. Pedro Pascal plays our other villain Maxwell Lord and while he’s fun to watch, the character itself is someone motivated by power and greed which Is not unique in any way. Chris Pine reprises his role as Steve Trevor and the plot line involving him is awkward at best. The movie passed the time, but overall was okay. The main message it was trying to send out could have been executed better.

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

 

Raya and the Last Dragon has a simple enough plot. Kumandra was once one kingdom, but is now split in five due to people’s lust for power. Raya seeks out the last dragon to reunite everyone and make it whole again. Not an original story by any means, but it tells the story effectively all while bringing fun characters into the mix.

The film is visually stunning. It’s gorgeous. The food looks delicious. It’s worth a watch for that reason alone.

The story opens with Raya telling us the history of Kumandra. 500 years before the start of the film, humans and dragons coexisted and teamed up to fight the Druun. The Druun are black clouds of smoke that turn humans and dragons into stone. They nearly overpowered all living things in Kumandra until Sisu created the dragon gem. This gem defeated the Druun and revived the humans from their stone forms, but did not revive the dragons. The gem remained in what is now known as Heart, Kumandra split after Fang, Talon, Spine and Tail grew resentful of Heart’s possession of the gem.

Chief Benja (Daniel DAE Kim) of Heart believes that the four kingdoms can reunite into Kumandra once again. He invites the chiefs and their people to Heart in an effort to bring peace. Raya (Kelly Marie Tran) befriends Naamani (Gemma Chan) the daughter of Fang’s chief. To solidify the friendship, Raya shows Naamani the location of the dragon gem. Naamani betrays Raya and reveals the location to everyone else. While fighting for the gem, the different kingdoms break it releasing the Druun. Each of the chiefs take a piece and run. Before being turned to stone Chief Benja gives the remaining piece to Raya. Fast forward six years and Raya is in search of Sisu.

Raya finds Sisu (Awkwafina) and together they set out to collect all the pieces. Sisu is a lot of fun. She’s funny and still believes in the good of the people. She’s the perfect counterpart to the cynical Raya.

From here the story gets repetitive. Raya and Sisu travel to each kingdom and get the missing piece all the while adding to their team. They are joined by someone from Talon, Tail and Spine and with each new team member Sisu tries to prove Raya wrong. Sisu believes in trusting someone and giving them a chance and no matter how many times she’s proven wrong Raya refuses to let anyone in on her plan.

It’s a classic Disney formula. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as it’s tried and true, but there’s also nothing that makes it stand out from the rest. It’s good, solid entertainment. As mentioned the animation is beautiful and the voice acting is phenomenal. 

It’s worth checking out. It has a good message and overall has great qualities to it.