Jerusalem, Music Box Theater, Broadway

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to see Jez Butterworth’s Jerusalem, starring Mark Rylance as Johnny “Rooster” Byron a derelict Pied Piper of sorts who lives in the woods outside the fictional English town of Flintock.  The play began at the Royal Court Theater in London before transferring to the West End, and now Broadway.  All the action in the play takes place over a 24 hour period, on St. George’s Day, which is also the day of the town’s Mayfair, outside Rooster’s trailer. Johnny is often visited by teenagers looking to get drunk and high, as well as Ginger, a second-rate DJ who is older than the others but just as immature, having never grown out of the drug-addled lifestyle.  There are occasional visits from an eccentric older man called “The Professor” as well as Wesley, a saloonkeeper who has known Rooster since they were children, and has a friendly rapport with him that is strained by Rooster's behavior.

The main conflict in the play deals with Rooster’s impending eviction from his land, as he doesn’t pay taxes, sells drugs, gives alcohol to minors, and often gets into bar fights, so he is considered an all-around bad influence and eyesore. He seems to represent the pastoral past of England who is being trampled by civilization, the "dark Satanic mills" of the hymn. He's considered an embarrassment to the town because he embodies many vices and temptations.

Jay Sullivan (taking over for John Gallagher Jr.) is Lee is the sort-of the prodigal son who is leaving to go to Australia, and the leader of the gang of high school kids who currently hang around Rooster's trailer.  Molly Ranson and Charlotte Mills appear as Pea and Tanya, two high school girls reveling in the drunken debauchery.  Aimee-Fifon Edwards plays Phaedra, the reigning May Queen who is a rather ethereal presence, walking around in fairy wings and speaking with a Welsh accent.  She makes sporadic appearances at the top and bottom of acts and she doesn't have a real scene until the very end of the play. Her first two appearances consist of singing the hymn "Jerusalem" by William Blake and Sir Hubert Parry alone onstage at the top of each act.

Many of the characters don’t have much stage time as well.  There are a couple city officials who set up the conflict at the top of the show but don't do much else to advance it, not appearing again until Act III.  Especially gypped is Geraldine Hughes as Rooster’s ex-wife and mother of his child Marky, who barely speaks as well. I would have liked to have seen more time devoted to this subplot of how Rooster relates to his family. His son seems to want to have nothing to do with him because he gets mistreated at school for having a deadbeat dad.  Having Marky around brings out a completely different side of Rooster than the beer-guzzling former daredevil that he appears to be for the rest of the play. To most of the hangers-on, Rooster is just an old drunk with drugs, only Ginger knows his past of being an attraction people came to see perform stunts at the annual fair.

Mark Rylance does a great job playing this character who is often surrounded by people but still very lonely at the same time, as evidenced by his ability to memorize Trivial Pursuit questions. Rooster Byron is a proud man who doesn't intend to give up his way of life anytime soon, citing a long list of famous relatives and the rarity of his blood type.  I had previously seen Mr. Rylance perform in La Bete at this same theater back in January, and I enjoyed his performance much more in this play, where he got to show more of his range as an actor. He does a great job at playing idiot savants.  The show's appeal is also increased by a wonderful and naturalistic set showing the countryside where Rooster resides, just outside civilization.  The show has a few weeks left on Broadway before returning to London, where it first premiered in 2009.  The play is three hours long but it certainly makes for memorable viewing, and I will be interested to see other plays written by Jez Butterworth, and unraveling the many layers of this one.

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.

Angels in America- Part 1: Millennium Approaches and Part 2: Perestroika

I am working through my backlog of reviews, so I might as well start at the beginning with the oldest and then move towards the more recent ones. Back in February, I had the chance to see the second cast of the off-Broadway revival of Angels in America at Signature Theatre Company perform both parts of Tony Kushner's epic play.  I had previously seen the first cast perform Part II back in December, and that review can be found on this blog for comparison. I think Part II is my favorite part, as I feel that Part I is mostly the exposition to set up the events which actually occur in the second part, beginning with the entrance of the angel at the end of Part I.

Thankfully, some of the cast members from the first cast were still there, namely Frank Wood as Roy Cohn, Bill Heck as Joe Pitt, and Billy Porter as Belize.  Frank Wood's portrayal of Mr. Cohn is quite a wonder to behold, as he plays the real-life lawyer as a slimy, unlikable self-hating Jewish man who spends most of this play attempting to carry out underhanded deals to keep himself afloat as he faces a potential disbarment hearing. He is in denial that he has contracted HIV from unprotected sex with men on business trips because of the stigma that comes with being labed homosexual. He is afraid of losing his position of political influence in Reagan-era America.  As the plays progress, his symptoms worsen and he is eventually committed to a hospital where he lies slowly dying with his tongue hanging out and an odd orange complexion.

Billy Porter is still marvelous as Belize, the homosexual black nurse who tends to Roy Cohn and also helps his friend Prior Walter cope with the same disease.  He often provides a voice of reason and hope to the other characters, the opposite of Louis. Adam Driver inhabits Louis with a nervous energy but gives a very solid believable performance as a gay man struggling with his life situation, and his personal and religious identity.  His partner has contracted HIV and he doesn't know how to deal with it, so he leaves and begins dating the Mormon and newly gay Joe Pitt.  Mr. Driver does a good job at conveying the neurotic qualities in this complex character struggling with his emotions. Bill Heck provides a grounded center as Joe, struggling with his homosexual feelings, his career choices offered to him by Roy Cohn, and his marriage to the pill-popping and agoraphobic Harper Pitt.

Out of the new cast members, I was most excited to see Michael Urie take on Prior Walter since I enjoyed seeing him as Marc St. James on Ugly Betty over the past few years. Some of his vocal inflections and character mannerisms were the same, which made it feel like I was watching the same character at times.  I did enjoy his performance though, as it felt fairly realistic.

Sofia Jean Gomez did a wonderful job in her roles as a hospital nurse the titular angel descended from on high to speak to the would-be prophet Prior. Keira Keeley also did a great job as Harper Pitt, inheriting the role from the immensely talented Zoe Kazan.  She communicated the anxiety and insecurity of a wife who is losing her husband but not fully in control of her own life decisions until the end of the play. Lynne McCollough did not leave a lasting impression as Joe's mother Hannah Pitt as well as the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to see both parts of the play together with the same cast in a short timeframe. Some scenes were edited, presumably for time, but the staging in the small Peter Norton Space worked very well, as the audience was close to the action and the projections and set changes really set the stage in terms of locations. I was amazed at how much was achieved simply by rotating a set piece, and the appearance of the angel was well-conceived.  I look forward to seeing more productions produced by Signature Theatre Company in the coming years, although I have not seen their production of The Illusion yet as I have been unable to get a ticket. Next season will be devoted to Athol Fugard, and since I am not familiar with most of his work, I look forward to those productions.

My 24th Birthday

Yesterday, June 25, marked the occasion of my 24th birthday, and so I am dedicating to this post to encapsulating my thoughts on this event so that I can view them later and have an accurate reckoning of my thoughts and feelings. At first I wasn't thinking my birthday was a big deal. I got into the mood a little bit on Friday, but Saturday was mostly a normal day for me. Reading and napping, and then in the evening I opened a couple cards from my mother and grandmother.  My grandmother's card was a little bit weird, since she signed it  "Sol and Family" and not "Grandpa and Grandma" as she always did before. This is also weird since my grandfather passed away on May 3, so the card should have been signed "Grandma".  I started to open my mother's birthday package, but I haven't gone through all of it.  A lot of magazine articles and newspaper clippings, also Playbills from Cabaret and Lion King since I love to read and collect Playbills.

I felt happier about my birthday today because I was able to celebrate it more. I saw the matinee of Billy Elliot because I hadn't actually seen it yet.  It was a pretty powerful and moving show, and I want to write a full review of it in another post. (I am REALLY behind in posting reviews. I see plays much faster than I can write about them.)  This was also the first time I actually paid to see a show in a few months, not since March I think. Everything else was a gift from family or I was ushering or otherwise seeing for free.

Last year when I turned 23, I was working for the Census as a Crew Leader, a position which I mostly enjoyed but I didn't know how long it would last.  I also felt 23 was a weird number. It's odd, it's prime, not easily divisible. I'm glad to be 24 which is an even number and can be divided into halves, thirds, and fourths so that I can easily review the prior years in equal sections.  This year I am working part-time at two jobs but the two positions don't add up to anywhere close to 40 hours a week, so I'm still not working full-time.  I do enjoy math tutoring, but wish I could do more with my math skills.  I need to focus more time on my part-time position so that I can give it 110%. It's hard to put time and effort in something that is only part-time, but devoting more time to it makes it easier to accomplish things.

At this moment, I am glad to have some sources of income, but I would like to have one full-time source that I feel is stable and secure.  I would also like to have some other financial uncertainties solved so that they do not cause me any stress or other physical/psychological symptoms, which tends to happen. I hope that is coming year is full of new opportunities and accomplishments in life, and I have to keep thinking of ways to make that happen.

True Grit

I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would, as it is the first Coen Brothers film which I actually watched.  Halle Steinfeld is great as Maddie, the straight-laced, no-nonsense 14 year old who is overseeing her late father’s affairs. Dakin Matthews has a great bit role as a horse trader who’s on the wrong side of a contract with Maddie.  Jeff Bridges gives a great performance as Rooster Cogburn, the drunk, sodden old codger trying to finish his life out with no scruples or regard for personal dignity.  Matt Damon is also good as a Texas Marshall who also lends help and support at times in the pursuit of Josh Brolin as an outlaw wanted for murder.

There is great dramatic tension throughout as to who this ragtag team of people will encounter next and whether they will survive.  There is a scary moment of Maddie being attacked by a rattlesnake in a cave that will lead to her arm being amputated. It was a great Western, showing the thrill of the open road. Made me want to spend more time in this world of the Wild West with lawlessness, outlaws, and crazy gunslingers. I have never really been a fan of Westerns, but this movie did begin to cultivate an interest in them inside me, and I would be interested in exploring more movies within that genre.

No Strings Attached

I’m working through my back-log of theater and film reviews for productions I have seen in the last four months, so please bear with me if these reviews seem like past news!  Since Friends With Benefits is still due to be released, I thought it would make sense to post this review and then compare both movies. 

I thought No Strings Attached was a pretty enjoyable movie.  Predictable at times but still funny and entertaining.  Ashton Kutcher was actually likable as a struggling writer stuck being a Production Assistant for the High School Musical-esque show he wants to be on the writing staff for.  He was more grown-up and grounded than other characters he has played, which made his portrayal more realistic and likable.  Natalie Portman was quite amusing and likable as a young doctor who initially resists his romantic advances until the morning after a drunken party when they end up in bed together and decide to give “friends with benefits” a try.  They do make a good couple, and have some chemistry with each other.

The movie also benefits from a strong supporting cast.  Mindy Kaling has some great one-liners as a roommate/co-worker of Natalie Portman’s and Greta Gerwig has some scenes as well as a longtime friend.  Kevin Kline hams it up as Ashton Kutcher’s father, a washed-up actor dating annoying women half his age, including Lake Bell as a funny and very awkward co-worker of Kutcher’s.  Abby Elliot makes the most of her screen-time in a small role as a waitress. The upcoming Friends with Benefits will probably top this movie, but it wasn’t a bad movie at all.