South Pacific

This is a reprise of an old Broadway classic.  Over the years, I’ve heard the old classic tunes that originally came from this musical such as Bali Ha’I, Happy Talk, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and our personal favorite, Some Enchanted Evening.  That particular song would be our favorite request because Max could dance to that slow, very romantic tune. 

I won’t recap the story since it is a classic, but surprisingly, I’ve never seen the original musical or movie.  I’ve seen short segments of certain songs being performed, but I’ve never seen the whole thing.  First, my only comment about the characters would be regarding Bloody Mary.  She is a special character who sells odd native artifacts as souvenirs such as shrunken heads, but she repelled me.  I would imagine her teeth being sharpened to complete the picture. 

What I thought was interesting was the culture or accepted norms back in the 60’s depicting the wartime era versus today.  Lt. Cable lamented over his newly discovered love, Liat, Bloody Mary’s daughter.  How could he possibly bring her home to meet his family and be accepted?  It was a doomed relationship.

Then there was the scene when Ensign Nellie rejected Emile when she discovers that his late wife was a native.  Hello…he is an older man living on the island for many years.  What did she expect??  She was horrified, but later accepted the situation and lovingly cared for his children.   Okay, I forgave her blind prejudice.

The story was an interesting study of that time of our history in a musical format that entertained. 

Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo

We knew that this play was going to stretch our imagination.  Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo.  Do you mean to tell me that in the midst of all the bombs, war and political upheaval, Baghdad has a zoo?  The opening scene showed a disheveled man within a cage and two American soldiers guarding it.  The man looked like he rolled out of a boxcar.  He begins to speak and we realize he is portraying the Bengal Tiger.  He laments about the lions that escaped during the bombings and as a result, they were shot.  But he was the smart one.  He stayed behind and within his cage.  Of course, since he is a tiger, the soldiers couldn’t understand him and made comments about the Tiger’s constant growling.  

The two soldiers complained about the duty as they guard the zoo.  One soldier, Tom, bragged that he has not only a golden gun in his backpack, but had hidden a golden toilet seat from raiding Saddam Hussein’s palace.  The other soldier Kev, a simple-minded kid from the South is dazzled by that accomplishment.  Suddenly, through stupid decisions, Tom puts his arm in the cage with the tiger and loses his hand.  Kev kills the Bengal Tiger.   Now dead, the Tiger observes the events around him and pontificates throughout the rest of the play about life, death and because he is an atheist, he is wondering why the hell is he still hanging around?  Is he seeking peace?  Is there still a purpose not yet accomplished?  

As the play progresses, we begin to understand that being dead apparently increases awareness, wisdom and knowledge.  Other key figures in the play include a translator and a prostitute. We constantly think about our soldiers in the combat zone, but do we think about the other people in the country, who wind up being collateral damage?  Musa, the translator has demons haunting him.  He was a gardener who created beautiful topiary in the gardens of Saddam’s brother, Uday.  He brings his little sister to see his work, but Uday spies her and winds up raping and beating her to death.  


Later, Kev dies and like the Tiger, begins his wanderings around Baghdad.  His observations of the living people begins to show increased wisdom and at times, profound thought.  He even loses his backcountry accent.  This play is unique, interesting and thought provoking.  Despite the strange concept in one of the modern world’s dilemma, I really enjoyed it and would see it again.

Dreamgirls

We were looking forward to this show despite the fact that we've seen the Academy Award winning movie  at least 2-3 times.  The first time we saw the movie was in a theatre. So we experienced on the big screen, the epic performance by Jennifer Hudson as Ellie and the beauty of Beyonce as Deena.  I remember the applause in the theatre after Jennifer belted out "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"...I got teary eyed because she was so emotional begging Curtis (Jamie Foxx) not to leave her with such a strong set of vocals.  The whole cast including Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy made the movie an excellent musical, well deserving of the nominations and awards the movie collected back in 2006.

So okay, this is going to be interesting because the story and songs were going to be presented in a different format.  Broadway and movies are different medias, so we will be open minded.  We have front row season seats, so while we were waiting, I was observing the staging.  I figure we were in for some great light shows because there was a whole wall of lights, floor to ceiling on either side of the stage besides the normal overhead lighting.  I counted 90-100 spotlights on either side.  Wow.

First, we were so disappointed with the little slip of paper inserted in our programs announcing that Ellie, one of the main characters was being played by a substitute, Patrice Covington.  Oh Great.

But, wow to the show because she packed a wallop with her performance.  Patrice was EXCELLENT!  We don't know how the regular, Moya Angela,  would sound, but how could she be any better?  Her rendition of the same song Jennifer Hudson sang was absolutely wonderful.  I was riveted by her performance.  Remember the old commercial of this guy sitting in an armchair listening to an awesome speaker system?  He sat there gripping the armchair while he was being "blown away" by the sound.  Same here.  We just sat there wondering, how much more wonderful can this person's voice get???

Chester Gregory played Jimmy, Eddie Murphy's role in the movie.  He was excellent as the James Brown soul singer and irreverent dancer.  Syesha Mercado played the role of Deena Jones and she was okay.  She started her career as the second runner-up on American Idol's seventh season.  But I don't remember her in particular.  Chaz Shepard played the other main male role, Curtis.  He was okay too, but in his bio he was on the Billboard charts 3 times in 2009 and his gospel work was nominated for a Grammy in 2009.  So the quality of the cast was top notch.

The main difference between the movie and the theatre presentation was that there was more dancing and the lively dancing to the Detroit soul sound kept everyone mesmerized.  The dazzling 90+ lights were probably causing the electric meters in downtown L.A. to spin out of control as they made the costumes sparkle.  The costumes were not only glamorous, but interesting.  In one scene, Ellie is singing in a casual top and slacks as she auditions for her comeback.  During the same song, the scene is supposed to transition to her singing in a nightclub with a sparkling evening gown.  To make this happen onstage, she is surrounded very briefly by props and people.  I could see her unsnap her blouse at the shoulders and voila, it becomes an evening gown, then with an addition of a disco ball and a candelabra the new scene was complete.  The same innovative way changing costumes was very evident in a scene when the Dreams was supposed to be in several fashion photo shoots.  As they sang and danced amid the change of moving scenery, they threw off layers of clothing to show off different costumes.

So all in all, this is a keeper.  Great show.

The Subject Was Roses

I thought this would be an interesting play with a title that could be a complement to Valentine’s Day, today.   The actors in this play are Martin Sheen (West Wing), Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under) and Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker), playing a family in the Bronx, 1946. Martin Sheen played  the role of Timmy in 1964 and has returned to play John, the father.

Timmy just returned from the war, unfazed and uninjured, but in no time is caught back up in the competition and fights between his parents about him, over him or about each other.  His mother is disappointed that her husband is the life of the party in public, but doesn’t know how to be close to her in private.  His father had dreams to make it big, but is settling for a middle class life and extramarital affairs.  Timmy loves them both and is always caught in the middle during the tension and drama that has caused him to be upset and frail as a child.  Now a man, he tries to resolve the issues and is finally able to push back and stand up for himself. 

There was a scene in the final act where it hit close to home.  Timmy told his father that one thing he could never get over was that John never told Timmy he loved him.   Standing up as a man with the knowledge of what he wanted for his future and what was the right thing to do, Timmy could tell his father that he loved him.   Both men reached out to each other and hugged.  This hit close to home because Max said his father finally said he loved him shortly before he died.  Maybe it was the type of thing men didn’t do back then, but I’m glad that has changed today.

I think the author listed every human emotion and tried to portray them in this play.  I think it was a job well done.

New Years Eve 2009/2010

One day in October, while we were in L.A., we passed by the Disney Concert Hall.  Max noticed that Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (BBVD) was playing New Years Eve.  So we made plans for what is normally a quiet evening, off the streets away from the out of control revelers.

First, we had dinner at Ciudad which is a restaurant in downtown L.A., across the street from the Bonaventure hotel.    The restaurant is owned by the radio personality duo called the Too Hot Tamales, offering recipes and other cooking advice here in L.A.  The food is Mexican with a modern, haute cuisine fare.  The New Year's dinner was a set 5 course menu with a couple of selections for each course.  The meal started with lobster caviar with radish and pomegranate.  For the appetizer, I had an Asian pear salad and saffron risotto.  Well, so far it doesn't sound Mexican, but it is and perhaps it was the way the food was seasoned.  I had Roasted Pasilla Chile Relleno for the main course and Max had the Sirloin Steak.  He said it was ok, but it didn't compare to my pan-seared Rib Eye.

Ciudad offered a limo service to the theatre, but we opted to walk back since it was such a nice evening and we had plenty of time.

What can I say about the concert?  In one word.  Cool.  Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is simply cool.  They have been together since 1989 and play the big band music such as Minnie the Moocher or Calloway Boogie.  If you look on iTunes, you can also find their music under Jazz and considered a contemporary swing band from Ventura, just north of L.A.  I thought after a few songs they would sound alike, but no.  The 2 hour show went by so fast and totally entertaining.  They helped ring in the New Year with a lot of toe tapping, finger snapping, hand clapping cool tunes.

Avatar 3D

There are certain movies that set the precedence and raise the bar for movie making.  Avatar has established itself as one of those movies and is a milestone in the evolvement of movies and entertainment today.  James Cameron's last achievement was the Titanic and he has added another movie to his crown of accomplishments.  Did I like the movie, you think? Absolutely!

This is the type of movie that has to be seen not only on the big screen, but it has to be seen in 3D.  Yes, one could say the technology and special effects made the movie, but many movies can still fall flat on their faces if it doesn't deliver beyond that.  It has to be a story that connects to the hearts and minds of the audience.  What do I mean by deliver?  My experience is that it transported me to another world far beyond my wildest imagination.  The movie took me to an amazingly beautiful world that filled me with childlike wonder with the grandeur and beauty of Pandora.  The scenes of the Navi taming, bonding and flying on a Direhorse, climbing up vines to floating mountains and the horror of seeing the central spiritual tree fall were so memorable.   James Cameron, the genius behind it all, shared his vision with millions of enthusiastic viewers around the world.  I'm sure others who have experienced the scenic beauty of Pandora just jump-started ideas in their own minds.

Some would say that the plot was too black and white of how corporations in the name of capitalism can devastate the local natives due to greed.  It is funny that the mineral the corporation is after is called "unobtanium".  But I got something else out of it.  The natives loved the good and bad of the nature around them and felt one with the plants, animals and other natives in their world.  We are all somehow connected with one another and what we do can impact those around us.

Does this turn me into a member of a tree hugging activist organization or a member of PETA?  Not exactly, but I will appreciate the gift of life God has given all of us and I will do whatever I can to respect that gift.

Kudos to Cameron's genius and I am looking forward to buying the DVD and seeing the sequel.

Mary Poppins

We weren't exactly looking forward to this musical.  Ho hum.  How good can a musical play be compared to the movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke that has become an American classic?  There were children all over the place and we hoped they didn't detract from the performance.  It was so cute because the theatre sold booster seats for children so that they could see the stage better and not sit so low into the seats.  A mother and her daughter, about 9 or 10 years old sat next to us.  The mother commented that her daughter was looking forward to the play because she has learned most of the songs at her school.

Were we ever surprised with the performance.  Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee who played Mary Poppins and Bert respectively did outstanding jobs.  The costumes, singing and dancing were absolutely outstanding.

There was one scene when Gavin Lee had ropes attached to a brace around his waist.  I wondered what he was going to do.  The next thing we knew, he started walking up the side of the stage, then at the top he was upside down.  He continued walking across the top, then did a couple of jigs, then continued walking down the other side of the stage.  They had to have had the ropes cinched just right so that he could dance the jigs while still upside down.  Otherwise, if he lost balance or footing, he could have been hanging from those ropes above the stage, looking rather foolish.

Overall, it was enjoyable and magical.  I found myself with the rest of the children of the audience,  enraptured with the sights and sounds of the musical that was a surprise treat.