The Perfect Color of Purple

Twenty years ago Stephen Spielberg made me feel like a big sissy when he made me cry over this story. He had made it into a movie and then won multiple Oscars. It was weirdly cast with comedian Whoopi Goldberg as the dramatic suffering Celie and self-important talk show host Oprah Winfrey as Sofia. Nevertheless, the story of suffering, hope, redemption and the many expressions of love captivated me. It was always a secret favorite movie of mine. I'm not black and I'm not a woman so it was inappropriate for me to confess my love of the show. The catch is this, the themes are universal. Everyone alive is familiar with suffering, loss, insecurity, isolation, low self-esteem. If you've not experienced these things, you know someone who has.

Now, twenty years later I had the chance to see this show again as a musical at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. It was glorious. I laughed, I cried, I clapped and shouted. In short, I practically had church at the Kennedy Center. So did everyone else in the audience.

The show starts with two little girls growing up in the south. It seems sweet. Then the gossipy local church ladies start their self-righteous singing and narrate the rest of the show. It turns darker when you see that one of the little girls is pregnant. Her daddy tears the baby from her arms after its born and the tears start there. The waterworks continue off and on for the rest of the night.

Sofia shows up midway of the first act and suddenly you have reason to celebrate. With her strength and powerful voice, as well as her fists, you realize there is cause for hope. If she can stand up to the mistreatment, so can everyone else abused in the show.

When Shug Avery makes her appearance, Celie finally gets the affection that she so richly deserves. The first major love song of the musical is heard. Shug Avery tells Celie that she is "Too Beautiful for Words". Up until this point in the musical we've heard jazz, blues, and gospel. The show has been a barnstorming blaze of music. Now, this first love song is a subtle, soft ballad that is all the more poignant because of its breathless contrast. This hardworking, humble little woman that has been called ugly by everyone in her life is now called beautiful by the most devastatingly gorgeous and sensual human being she has ever met. Anyone in the theatre who can sit through this song dry-eyed is completely soulless. The writers handle this scene so tastefully. What might be played uncomfortably sexual is offset by Shug's words to Celie before the song. She is thanking Celie for nursing her back to health and tells her, "You're the grace of God."

The production I saw starred several members of the original cast with one exception. Celie was played by American Idol winner Fantasia. This little lady and her story energized this role in ways that were a joy to watch. I don't watch American Idol and was unfamiliar with Fantasia. Apparently, the actress was a high school dropout from the ninth grade. She was an unwed mother at a very early age. At twenty years old she wins American Idol and suddenly has a celebrity career. You can tell that her personal story is close to the surface of her performance. She plays the role and sings with emotion that is raw and authentic . I wouldn't want to see this production with anyone except her in this role.

While the first act is powerful and exhilarating it is just a warm-up to the dynamics of the second. Celie finds her letters from Nettie in Africa. We see this as Celie is transported to Africa while she reads the letters. She is frightened and tossed about. She staggers around awkwardly in the way of the African dancers and in awe of the African chiefs. Then as she reads more and gains confidence and pride she begins dancing in step with the African women. It is a celebration that everyone in the audience applauds. Celie has found herself and found her identity. From this point on she begins to stand up to Mister and stand up for herself.

Celie and Shug part ways as Shug goes back on the road. When she leaves they sing one more beautiful ballad. These are the most beautiful and meaningful lyrics of the show for me. In finishing this article I will leave you with the words of their song.

WHAT ABOUT TRUST?
WHAT ABOUT TENDERNESS?
WHAT ABOUT TEARS WHEN I'M HAPPY?

WHAT ABOUT WINGS WHEN I FALL?

I WANT YOU TO BE A STORY FOR ME THAT I CAN BELIEVE IN FOREVER.
AND WHAT ABOUT LOVE?

WILL YOU BE MY LIGHT IN THE STORM?

WILL I SEE A NEW WORLD IN YOUR EYES?

WITH YOU MY WHOLE SPIRIT RISE.

WHAT ABOUT HOPE?
WHAT ABOUT JOY?
WHAT ABOUT TEARS WHEN I'M HAPPY?

WHAT ABOUT WINGS WHEN I FALL?

I WANT YOU TO BE A STORY FOR ME THAT I CAN BELIEVE IN FOREVER.
AND WHAT ABOUT LOVE?

Off Center Is Not That Easy

Wow! I was so excited to see the change in the old place. There was more than just a fresh coat of paint. There was a new sense of life. The most noticeable change was an energy and excitement brought on by the house band playing. Cody Belew covered a pop-rock repertoire with a live band that kept the crowd very happy.

The crowd was shoulder to shoulder. Of course, part of this was brought on by the absence of a cover charge and free drinks for the first hour of the evening. I’m sure things will settle down soon. If tonight is any indication of what is to come, Little Rock is in for a treat. Patrons that want a comfortable smoke-free environment with great music now have a place to come.

The regular cast of characters was there with a few new additions. There was one very heart felt absence, of course. We miss you Buddy. But, it was like old home week after the place has been closed for the last couple months. I never go out on a work night. Who parties on a week night? I felt so rebellious. It was fun. There’s more to look forward to on the weekends now.

Avoid Mamma Mia, Save Meryl’s Reputation

“I have a dream……”

That’s how it begins, and after those words are sung the dream quickly becomes a nightmare.

I’ve always wanted to keep the Gemini Art blog positive and upbeat. I don’t want to be perceived as the typical spiteful, bitter ol’ queen with nothing but venom to spew onto the Internet. However, I must use a little space here to complain about the great injustice done to a musical theatre piece that I love very much. “Mamma Mia: The Movie” had to be one of the worst things I’ve ever paid money to sit through. The last time I paid money to endure that much suffering was for my last dental filling. I think the audience was in agreement with my opinion judging by the snickers and giggles I heard at inappropriate times through the show (some of them from me).

I went into the movie with some skepticism. If anyone has seen Meryl Streep’s closing number at the end of “Postcards from the Edge”, they would have known that casting her in a leading musical role might not be the best idea. But, I loved the stage version of the musical and was eager to see what this all-star cast would be able to do with it. I also attended the movie with a couple of fellow “fancy-boys”. Needless to say, our people are quite friendly to the musical theatre format. But it wasn’t long before we were all three wincing and cringing with embarassment of watching this talented actress crash and burn in this glorious cinematic failure. After the first two bars of Streep’s “Money, Money, Money”, her Donna looked old, tired, pathetic and totally unbelievable. By the way, for the uninitiated, Donna is the heroine of our story. We’re supposed to be cheering for her, not pitying her. Her dancing was a difficult routine of awkwardness to watch. I kept averting my eyes in discomfort while watching a near 60 year-old in overalls and stringy hair attempt sexiness and touching herself inappropriately. You know, it’s the same feeling you get when you accidentally walk in on grandma in the bath tub (just add music).

Now, for some compassion. I love Meryl. The ol’ girl’s got skills. She’s one of the most talented and consistent leading ladies in Hollywood. In a dramatic role, there’s none better. Remember “Silkwood“? As a comedian, she can go there too. I loved, loved, loved her in, “Death Becomes Her”, and “The Devil Wears Prada”. I would bet that a professional actress like her is probably delivering the dialogue and presenting the character exactly like she’s being asked to. So, we should probably blame the director for this turkey.

Streep is surrounded with an all-star ensemble that has big-time show biz creds. But, this was just not the movie for them. Pierce Brosnan is still the dashing, tall, dark and handsome business that he’s always been. He is still leading man material in anybody’s book. Who doesn’t love “007”? I promise, any day of the week, I would let Pierce Brosnan be the “Spy Who Shagged Me”. But if I have to listen to that man sing I’ll have to put him on the couch for the night. The casting director should have asked Brosnan’s agent if he can sing because this is a MUSICAL. And, by the way, he can’t.

I didn’t understand the weird interpretation of the movie’s time setting or the characters ages. In the dialogue we hear that Donna was a young “rock chick” in the early 70’s. Her daughter was born in 1974 and is now 20 years old. If Donna and her friends were around 20 in 1974 then they should now be about 40. But, its obvious that the adult leads in the movie are closer to 60 than 40. The freakish idea of any one of them has a 20 year old daughter here in 2008 is just bizarre. I wasn’t sure what type of strange scifi time-warping explanation the director has for this. Whatever.

The players that came closest to hitting their parts were Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, and Colin Firth. These three certainly understood that they were in a musical comedy. Baranski and Walters looked like they were having fun. I’ve met old sisters like them who enjoy being silly and don’t take themselves too seriously (my mother for one). You could tell they were laughing at themselves and it made it fun to laugh along with them. Baranski is an old pro at playing the man-eating middle-age cougar. It would have been fun to see more of her in this picture. Firth brought us some of the same Mark Darcy up-tight Brit that we loved in Bridget Jones’ Diary except here he was much more the ham. It was nice to see him playing for laughs against Brosnan’s straight man, the role that Firth usually fills in the Bridget Jones movies.

Another positive about this movie is the beauty of the location and the male chorus line. For those of us that quickly tired of watching the poor performance of the leads and the messy story-telling in this movie it was easy enough to just shift our attention to the beautiful scenery. The locations made me want to move to Greece today and the Speedo clad man-candy singing and dancing their hearts out was enough to hold my attention if nothing else did.

So, if you want to see Mama Mia, be sure and see it on stage. I don’t want anyone to think that this movie is the appropriate interpretation of this musical. If you feel you must see this movie, then wait until it comes out on DVD and then borrow it from a friend. Do not spend money on this one.

Movin' Out Moved Me

Yesterday I saw a traveling production of Movin' Out, the theatre production inspired by the music of Billy Joel. I liked it but my friends didn't. Here's the deal. You have to prepare yourself for what your going to see. Don't go expecting to see your typical lighthearted romantic-comedy musical theatre production. Instead, this show is basically a dance recital that's heavily ballet influenced. Let's just make a checklist here of what you get and what you don't.

1. First of all, you get a real live band of very talented musicians that are practically channeling the essence of Billy Joel. Its a really great combo of "real" piano, synth, lead and bass guitar, 2 sax players and a drummer. Several of them shared the vocal duties but the piano player could have been BJ's twin twenty years ago.

2. Secondly, you get very talented dancers that are very verstile in traditional ballet and modern dance. Its a supremely athletic cast. They have to be due to the very physically demanding nature of the show.

3. You don't get any dialogue. The show is basically a production that uses interpretive dance to illustrate a story using Billy Joel's music as the theme.

4. There are no sets. The entire stage is utilized for the staging of the elaborate dance numbers. The lighting and fog machines are used somewhat effectively to emphasize featured dancers and dramatic moments, but that's about it.

I have been a lover of Billy Joel's music every since I was a college kid. I respect him for being a real musician and not just a pop commercial lip-syncer like so many of today's pop musicians. The guy writes his own music. I've tried to play some of thoese piano parts to his tunes. Several of them take the skills of a real virtuoso to pull it off effectively. His vocal abilities are amazing. His range is atypical of most rock stars. As a matter of fact, it took three vocalists to sing the parts to some of the songs that Joel handles himself. So, I loved the show for that reason.

The drawback of this show is that the story was somewhat forced out of the songs. It was beautifully choreographed by Twyla Tharp, but Billy Joel never meant for these songs to be used in a musical. He wrote this material over the course of twenty to thirty years. The writer of this show really had to force these songs together to create a story. Fortunately, Joel's music his stylistically and harmonically unified enough to bind the thing together. If it hadn't been for that it would have been a little tough to stick with it. Because, somone as easily bored as myself can only watch prancing pretty people and fancy footwork for so long before I start to ask, "where's the concession stand?"

Here's the roughly contrived story in a nutshell. Brenda and Eddie (from song) and their friends Tony and James are wild high school kids from the 60's. They dance and romance one another beginning with Italian Restaraunt. The guys head off to the Vietnam War. James gets killed and when James and Eddie return to the states they suffer the obligatory emotional crises required to flesh out the dramatic points for the show. Tony becomes reaquainted with James' widow. And achieves a catharsis. Brenda and Eddie reconcile and they all dance away happily ever after.

My only problem with the story was a brief scene where Tony experiences a nightmarish life of drugs and sexual addiction that has the dancers mimicking various sex acts wearing very skimpy and risque' costumes. I personally don't have a problem with it (I'm a big boy now). But, there were several families with young children in the audience. There was no warning in the program about this scene and it was definitely way beyond PG-13. I'm not saying the scene should have been cut. I'm saying that families should have been allowed to make the choice whether their children were ready to see such things played out so realistically by real people.

Now, as they say, that's the facts, Jack. But, here's the real reason why this show is worth every penny you pay for it. Here's why you should make every effort to attend this show (especially if you happen to be one of the "family" or a female). ITS THE MEN, STUPID! Imagine if you can a whole cast of young athletic men in the twenty to thirty age category who have been working at vigorous athletic, aerobic, and strength training for the last several years of their lives. Do you realize what that type of conditioning does to the gluteus muscles of those fellas? It was amazing. The whole afternoon was like window shopping at a bubble-butt boutique. Its also certain that they had found the most imaginative costume designers to outfit the guys in clothes that definitely flattered their best features. There were a few times when the guys didn't even bother with the inconvenience of wearing a shirt. And my-oh-my, how flexible they are.

Now, as beautifully, eye-poppingly gorgeous as these guys were, my friends and I were very able to control ourselves and maintain our composure. Because, we've got class. However, the same can't be said about the tasteless cow sitting behind us. This two-ton, middle-aged menopausal heifer never shut up for the entire show. While she was well-dressed it was obvious that she had been brought up as an ignorant hillbilly. You just can't whistle and cat-call like she did and not have been raised in the woods. If I were her husband I would have been ashamed and embarassed that my wife acted this horny in public. Every time "Tony" showed us a really hot move she squealed like a horny co-ed at a Chippendales strip show. She also had the audacity to believe that her full-voice singing along to the show actually added to our enjoyment of the evening. I gave her several ugly looks. We put our hands over our ears during the most hellacious screeching and screaming. But, she never got the hint. If there was any justice in the world she would have to pay for our tickets. I couldn't believe that the ushers didn't ask her to control herself.

But, it was an experience I'll never forget.

Wicked was Wicked!

Have you seen it? No? Too bad for you, I did! Have you heard of it? No? Then you must be living in a greater cultural wasteland than I do. What a pity.

While in Chicago a couple of friends and I had the chance to see this little gem. I had read the book by Gregory Macguire and thought it was very deep and intellectual. I thought it would be a silly little spoof or satire of the original. But, instead he treated the characters with a lot of respect and depth. Of course, what many people don't know (those who have only seen the Garland pic and not read the Oz book) is that Baum's novel was very dark. When 1930's Hollywood got hold of it and added red sequins to Dorothy's "silver slippers" it made Baum's rich original chocolate cake of a novel into a pop tart. It was a delicious and well made pop-tart, however, it was still a pop tart.

After reading Wicked and then heard it was to be made into a musical a few years back I thought, "Yikes, what are they thinking? Anyone in the U.S. who has seen the Oz musical with Garland are going to be outraged when the witch becomes the misunderstood heroine and our poor mislocated Dorothy and the Good Witch of the North become the villains." But, fortunately I was wrong. The musical, Wicked, wisely modifies and abbreviates some of the darker elements of the story into the traditional romantic-comedy/love-triangle format that we in the Western world now believe is the only form of story telling that can be entertaining to us.

Here's my synopsis of the staged version. We are introduced to Galinda announcing to the frightening and near demonic munchkins that the Wicked Witch of the West is dead. The typical dancing celebration of course ensues. Galinda is asked why the Witch had been Wicked. She responds that some people are born wicked and some people have wickedness thrust upon them. This statement tastefully and intelligently sets up the plot of the entire play. Next we briefly see that Elphaba (the Witch) is of illegitimate birth. Then we skip many chapters of the novel to focus on Elphaba being a geeky, nerdy, misunderstood academic during her years at the Shiz University. Galinda is her "good" and popular nemesis that is vain, flippant and shallow. Through several scenes and musical numbers the women gain a grudging respect for one another and then become friends. Elphaba, with the young and vivacious Prince Fiyero (wouldn't we all love to have a sporty, athletic little dancing prince named after a sports car), are thrown into a situation where they are required to break the law in order to protect the literate and speech capable animal citizens of Oz. Galinda, being Good, can't bring herself to break the law. However, she does help Elphaba and Fiyero escape. Earlier in the story Galinda gives Elphaba a hideous black hat in order to embarrass her. Then during the escape, Galinda puts a long black cloak around Elphaba to keep her warm during her escape from Shiz. Thus, we see that it is Galinda, The Good, who has literally made Elphaba into The Witch. Elphaba has had "wickedness thrust upon her." The end of the escape scene is the amazing end of the first act of the play with Elphaba flying above Oz on her broom for the first time and singing the song, "Defying Gravity." This number when performed to its fullest potential, as it was the night we saw it, is perfectly designed to pull a standing ovation from the audience.

Spoiler alert! Now I'll wrap it up. Here's how the musical really differs from the book and how the play connects itself to the 1939 movie version. The book continues on with Elphaba moving into the castle, having a child and living for years there studying magic and ruling her people. In the play, she is forced to use magic in order to save lives, yet is demonized by reports of her witchcraft being used to harm people. In order to soothe a frightened little lion from attacking during its rescue, she removes its courage. To save the fiancee of her sister after his death, Elphaba turns him into a "clockwork tin man." Then to save her lover, Fiyero, from being beaten to death she turns him into a straw man incapable of having his body broken. We see in silhouette the figure of Dorothy arriving at the castle and dousing Elphaba with water who melts, naturally. But, contrary to the book and movie (and to give us a warm, fuzzy, happy ending to our romantic-comedy), the scarecrow (Fiyero) returns to the castle and pulls Elphie out of the trap door where she has staged her own death. And we assume they live happily ever after as Galinda sings the final number.

For some reason the wonderful actress singing the Elphaba role on the night of our play did not perform the second act. The understudy did an acceptable job but certainly lacked the energy and punch of the actress in the first act who knocked us out with "Defying Gravity". The part of Galinda is not a secondary role by any means. The character is rich with comic elements and big emotional notes as she argues with Elphaba. The Galinda musical numbers require a soprano with almost magical powers in order to get them out. Wow, what range this lady had! I enjoyed our performers in Chicago but would have loved to have seen the original cast in New York. I bought the souvenir program and saw who they were. Galinda was originally played by Kristen Chenoweth (I recognize her from The West Wing), a brilliant little blond pixie that must have been a real pistol in the original production (picture from Wireimage.com).

So, after seeing it, I understand why this musical incarnation of Oz connects so successfully with its audience just as much as the original did. In 1939 the innocent, mostly agricultural and sweetly optimistic Americans identified with lost little Dorothy. We all long for home and family, its a universal theme. But, here in our much more cynical and technological world, many of us identify with the embittered Elphaba. We all feel the need to fit in. Our fashion and image obsessed culture drive us to want to be one of the "pretty people" like Galinda and Fiyero. Intelligence and academia are suppressed under the expectation to be young, fit, and POPULAR (as Galinda marvellously sings)!

I loved the Chicago cast, but Kristen, if you're out there reading this, I'll buy you dinner at Olive Garden if you'll drop by the house and sing some of these tunes for me. What actress in an Oz inspired musical could possibly turn down an offer to eat Italian food with a perfectly safe, musical-theatre loving gay guy. Who knows, the connection just might turn you into the next Garland-esque gay icon.

Mama Mia!

Wow! What a great show. My last post was about "The Producers" and I thought it was fun. But, I was totally awed by "Mama Mia!" I'm not the most savvy individual concerning musical theatre but I thought this show was far better than "The Producers". Once again I saw the show at the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas. I've really enjoyed the quality of performances they've booked into that venue. I hope it continues.

I'm not very familiar with the music of ABBA. Yes, I know they were a band from the 70's/80's. As a friend said to me earlier today, "It was roller rink music," for us. If the show had been about the band it would have been a real snoozer. Instead, there was a sweet, happy story that everyone can identify with in some way. Since I'm approaching that mid-life thing I really enjoyed the idea that all of us are young at heart. For a moment I embraced my inner rock star. But, I'll be outraged if anyone suggests I'm a "Dancing Queen."

The female lead was quite the diva. In this production the actress was Laurie Wells. Her solo on "The Winner Takes it All" was spine-tingling. Of course, I would be negligent if I didn't give credit to the outrageous characters created by Lisa Mandel as Tanya and Laura Ware as Rosie. They were absolutely hysterical in their roles and the musical numbers were real show-stoppers.

I've been to a few musical theatre productions. I'm no expert but I've seen my share. This show is the first where I've seen audience members dancing and singing along with the music. Even geriatric old ladies were standing with arms in the air swaying to the beat. I loved every minute of it. I would see it again in a heartbeat. I even bought the expensive super deluxe program and the CD.