Sister Act- Broadway Theatre, Broadway

Yesterday I saw the “new” Broadway musical Sister Act, with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glen Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner and additional material by Douglas Carter Beane. I have always loved the music of Alan Menken, and I have been aware of this show since its Pasadena Playhouse debut a few years ago, so I was interested in seeing what the final product was.

Patina Miller is fantastic as Deloris Van Cartier, a struggling nightclub singer in 1978 Philadelphia who unwittingly sees her gangster boyfriend shoot one of his cronies. One of her songs, "Fabulous, Baby!" is probably the best tune in the show. The role is a bit of a caricature but Ms. Miller does the best that she can and carries the show on her back, as she is rarely off-stage for any significant plot moments or periods of time.  As a result of what she has seen, she is placed into a convent as a way of offering her protective custody until her boyfriend’s trial when she can testify against him.  She has an understandable culture shock upon her arrival at the convent, with its’ lack of materialism and emphasis on earthly possessions in favor of prayers and chores. She makes friends with Sisters Mary Lazarus (Audrie Neenan), Mary Patrick (Sarah Bolt), and Mary Robert (Marla Mindelle), all named after different patron saints. Mary Robert has the most developed subplot, as a timid postulant struggling to find her voice both in and out of the choir room. Deloris, as Sister Mary Clarence, takes over the struggling choir, and teaches them how to sing in harmony and with extra soul, raising the profile of the church. Their habits get more outlandish as their success increases.

Her police contact, Eddie Souther aka "Sweaty Eddie" has had a crush on her since high school.  Chester Gregory makes the most of his limited role and excels at commanding the stage when he is present. He seems to often get stuck in a sidekick or supporting role, and it would be great to see him have a leading role. His solo number, "I Could Be That Guy" features wonderful costume quick changes against the backdrop of bums under a freeway ramp.

Victoria Clark was absent at the performance I attended, and Jennifer Allen played Mother Superior instead. She's a great actress with many solid credits and did a fine job in a mostly thankless role. I wonder how her performance differs from Ms. Clark's.  She has a few songs sprinkled throughout the show, the most memorable being "I Haven't Got a Prayer". Fred Applegate is quite amusing as Monsignor O'Hara who is willing to sell the failing church to the highest bidder for extra funds until the popularity of the church choir changes their fortunes. 

On the other side of the law, Kingsley Leggs plays Curtis Jackson, Deloris' married boyfriend.  He appears to be an ineffectual Shaft wannabe who can only control people by threatening or shooting them. Demond Green, who was wonderful in The Toxic Avenger Musical, plays Curtis' nephew TJ. The character voice Mr. Green uses is one he also employed in Toxic Avenger, and it becomes a little annoying after a while, as it makes him sound retarded and gay. His character is implied to be the former, but I'm not sure that the latter is intended as well.  Caesar Samoya plays Pablo, a stereotypical Hispanic thug who speaks mostly in Spanish or broken English. John Treacy Egan, always a wonderful actor who gives solid performances fares a little better as Eddie, leading a nun seduction song called "Lady in the Long Black Dress". 

Most of the play's humor seems very silly and slapstick, the plot a bit contrived, and the stakes don't feel very high at all, so it's hard to get emotionally invested in these characters. I usually love Alan Menken scores, but many of these songs were forgettable, even within the context of the show. Glen Slater has some bits of inspired wordplay in the lyrics, but for the most part the songs sound like somewhat generic disco/soul ditties, with a bit more of a Broadway bent for the songs sung by the nuns in character (not as a choir).  Still, the only songs that made a truly positive impression are Deloris' "Fabulous, Baby!" and Curtis' "When I Find My Baby". I had read mixed-to-negative reviews of this show previously, and I agree with some of the points that were made about where this show could use improvement. The show is set in a different time/place than the movie and Ms. Miller's characterization of Deloris is different than Whoopi Goldberg's, but other than that, the musical appears to be a faithful adaptation. 

If you have an interest in seeing this musical, then by all means go see it. If you don't have an interest in seeing it, that's alright as well. Movie-to-musical adaptations are often hit-or-miss, and the ones that succeed don't simply recreate the films but rather rework and improve them.  The Producers is an example of the source material being changed and improved.  There are many adaptations I have enjoyed, and a few I have not, but I don't dislike the genre as a whole, as there are many stories that are improved and find new layers through musicalization.   Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Hairspray are examples which come to mind. I expect to see Catch Me if You Can before the end of its' run, and I will continue this discussion about musicals based on movies at that time. In summation, Sister Act is great for families which need something to see together, but otherwise does not live up to its' potential, as has been the case with many of the musicals to play the Broadway Theatre in the last decade, joining Shrek, Bombay Dreams, and The Color Purple as musicals that have somehow missed their mark and fallen short of the gold.

Bridesmaids

I saw the movie Bridesmaids a couple weeks ago, and it was pretty funny. I love watching Kristen Wiig on SNL, so I was excited to see this film where she was both star and co-writer.  It seems that the film has been successful at the box office so far, and I hope it continues grossing some more money as it has recently crossed the $160 million mark, which does qualify it as a hit, but I think they deserve a little more.

Kristen Wiig really carries this movie as a down-on-her-luck single woman whose best friend (Maya Rudolph) is getting married, and while she is picked to be the Maid of Honor, she doesn't fit in with her friend's more affluent social circle, and she is especially upstaged by Helen, played with bitchy aplomb by Rose Bryne. Helen is a perfectionist who takes over the wedding plans and has the resources to accommodate her expensive tastes and ideas. Since she doesn't know the bride as well, she steals Kristen's ideas and fulfills them on a much larger scale.  The supporting cast is very strong, with funny performances from Melissa McCarthy (who is full of surprises), Jon Hamm, and Ellie Kemper. Wendi McClendon-Covey is also very funny as Maya's droll older cousin. The movie isn't incredibly raunchy for an R-rated movie as would be expected, the rating seems to be more for the language than for any visuals, although the movie opens with a sex scene.

The trailers and promotional material seem to include scenes that are not in the actual movie.  I hope the DVD will include extended or deleted scenes. This really is a comedy about friendships and relationships and I hope Kristen Wiig gets to star in more movies as a result, instead of being just a featured player in Judd Apatow projects, as she has the talent to carry a whole film.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

I have been a huge fan of Harry Potter since I was in 8th grade, which is when I started reading the first three books and saw the first movie soon afterwards. I have been hooked into the magical fantasy world dreamed up by J.K. Rowling since then. You can tell it's a fantasy world for two reasons: They have wands, and good triumphs over evil. Because of this, I was of course very excited for the movie. I am proud to say that I was not disappointed. I had wished that the last few books had each been split into two movies, which had been discussed as a possibility for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, so I am glad that this book was split into two so that all the action could be retained and the film was not rushed. This was the first movie that I thought really did justice to its source material instead of being a rapidly moving, "greatest scenes" version of the book.  I was impressed that 75% of the movie actually took place at Hogwarts with an elongated battle sequence, as if the filmmakers were making up for the omission of the Battle of the Astronomy Tower from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

It has been great to see Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson grow up because they have embodied the characters well and have such a great chemistry with each other.  Hermione and Harry especially have developed a great brother-sister relationship.  I look forward to seeing them in other flims, and it would be great to see them in a non-Harry Potter film together.

I have always felt that the teachers and adults in the film series have always been given short shrift, and this film was no exception, but the balance was evened out a little bit.  Alan Rickman gave a great performance as Severus Snape, showing a different and much more human side to the character that gave him another dimension. Seeing Maggie Smith on screen is always wonderful as well, especially in a leadership role. Robbie Coltrane's Hagrid doesn't show up until the end of the film, but he's always a welcome presence.  Gary Oldman, David Thewlis, and Jim Broadbent make brief appearances as well, all of whom should have had more scenes in the last few films given their character's roles in the books.  Only Ralph Fiennes gets significant screen time. Helena Bonham Carter also has a few scenes as his main lackey.  The problem is that there are so many wonderful characters that it's hard to showcase them all correctly in the 2 1/2 hour spans of each film, so characters often make brief or background appearances.

The actual battle is quite physical and all-consuming, at times a bit tough to follow.  There are a few changes from the book as well. The final image of the aftermath is the main three characters standing on a bridge looking back at the building that has been the centerpiece of their lives for the last seven years.  The movie then concludes with an Epilogue taking place 19 years later that is a complete shift in tone, showing the next generation of Hogwarts students, the progeny of our main characters, who have been aged to be in their late thirties, although still played by the same actors. Rupert Grint's transformation makes him look a bit like Mark Williams, who plays Arthur Weasley. The final image of this scene, and the whole saga, is a closeup of our three heroes as adults.  I hope that the film and book series doesn't go out of style and will remain popular with future generations of readers and moviegoers, because this universe is too vibrant to fade away.

The King's Speech

This is my second movie review, and I feel it's somewhat fitting for this blog since the film has a very theatrical feel to it at times.  I've always enjoyed historical fiction, and this movie was getting a lot of awards buzz, so I was attracted to seeing it for those reasons in addition to also liking the cast a lot as well. Colin Firth was superb as Prince Albert, who became King George VI. Helena Bonham Carter was also fabulous as his wife, the future Queen Elizabeth.  Geoffrey Rush had a method to his madness as Dr. Logue the speech pathologist, and the cast was stocked with so many other wonderful actors: Michael Gambon as King George V, Jennifer Ehle as Mrs. Logue, Derek Jacobi as the Archbishop, Eve Best as Wallis Simpson, and Timothy Spall as Winston Churchill, complete with cigar and a pompous scowl.  He communicated a lot of the character through his posture and mannerisms alone. I highly recommend this movie to everyone interested in history, England, or good acting.  It's a great example of how a movie should be put together, because even though the outcome is known ahead of time, there is still dramatic tension and buildup. This reminds me of the musical 1776, where even though we all know that the Declaration of Independence will be ratified and signed, the play does a great job of making us forget that in the moment of watching as we follow Thomas Jefferson and John Adams' actions. I hope that The King's Speech will inspire other similar movies about real-life events, so that people will learn more about historical events through watching them.