Kimberly Akimbo!

 The Tony Award winning musical came to Omaha this week amid a snowy cold weather system that may have kept the crowd down. I expected nothing as much of what I read about this quirky musical was not good. What we got was really something.

Kimberly is a soon to turn 16-year-old with progeria and in a new school with no friends. Progeria ages people at 4-5 times the normal rate thus Kim is a 60 something looking woman trying to fit in. Kim is dealing with the disease, with terrible parents, a con artist aunt, and knowing she will die soon. It's a lot for a kid to deal with. She meets Seth, a kind kid who plays the tuba and works at the local skating rink. They become friends and also befriend a group of 4 show choir nerds, none of whom even know each other very well. Well, until Aunt Debra, a foul mouthed grifter who never misses the opportunity to make an ill-gotten dollar, sums them up to each other that made me laugh out loud.

Kim deals with school, a science experiment about her disease that she really didn't want to do, and her parents who are having another baby they want to "be perfect" unlike Kim, who they believe ruined their lives and are not shy about telling her. Aunt Debra gets her and the other teens into a check fraud scheme to make them money for show choir uniforms, and a road trip for Kim to see things she will probably never get to see.

The show has all the emotions. Laughter, sadness, pity, and disgust. Theres not a weak moment in it. The cast is wonderful. Carolee Carmello plays Kim and considering she's been nominated for 3 Tonys we are lucky to have her in the lead. Original Broadway cast member, Justin Cooley, returns as Kim's buddy Seth and he is perfect. Jim Hogan and Laura Woyasz as Kim's just awful parents also shine. It's not easy playing mean to a kid who will soon die. But Aunt Debra, played by Emily Koch, gets all the good lines and the most laughs. She swears like a sailor, never met a person she doesn't see as a potential mark and is really a piece of .....work. The teens who play the show choir nerds are also great at playing to type. 

All in all, this musical is just the weird type of show that will make you forget the world for a couple of hours. It's got catchy songs, and the lyrics are understandable with the great sound system they brought with them. It has a Dear Evan Hansen vibe but better.

I can't imagine the Broadway version is any better than this tour. Go, you'll be glad you did..

Collective Soul!

 

Need a palate cleanser from seeing a South African invader standing in the Oval Office with a child on his shoulders filibustering on his grift while the Felon sits at his desk with a goofy grin on his orange mug? Great me too.

Collective Soul was at the Steelhouse in Omaha last night for a show of hits and more hits. Collective Soul had more hits in the 90's than any other rock band and seeing them for the 5th time didn't disappoint. Ed Roland, lead singer, is in his 60's and still has it. His voice is great, his onstage banter is great, his crazy outfit was great, the band is still great, and the crowd of middle aged and boomer fans was great.

Starting with a couple of newer songs that still rocked, Collective Soul, led by Roland in a sort of mink coat, got the crowd right into it. Heavy, one of those hits from the 90's, really got them going. When the opening chords of Shine began, oh it was on now. The crowd sang along the chorus at the urging of Roland who wisely backed off and let the fans do the honor of doing the Yeah and the whoa, heaven let your light shine down. It was a great group effort.

The latter part of the show featured all the hits, December, The World I Know, Gel, She Said, Precious Declaration and of course Run which of course had a sing along from the masses.

Collective Soul is one of those bands that get better with age. The music is wonderful, and the wisdom of a 62 year old man, Ed Roland, shows during his stage stories. This show was postponed from last summer and Roland freely admitted it was because he had a nosebleed that wouldn't stop and needed 2 different ENT doctors to get it stopped. "At my age everything is 50/50 on making it or not". 

There was a tribute to Aerosmith, who gave them their big break by adding them to a tour in the 90's. A tribute to AC/DC with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, Ed's first "import album".

This band tours constantly. I mean I've seen them 5 times now, but not for 20 years or so. Wanna forget the world for 90 minutes? Go see Collective Soul, it will make you feel young again.

Halftime Shows!

 Ok its about time I emerge from my cocoon. Politics was of no interest to me after Nov 5th. America chose a fascist liar and sexual predator and I accept that, Not gonna rush the Capitol, not gonna beat up cops, not gonna crap in Mike Johnson's wastebasket cuz you see we are adults. We may hate what happened but accept it and move on. Trump is a traitorous piece of shit, we know that, and we voted for Kamala Harris to stop him. It didn't work for whatever reason, eggs, woke, racism, sexism whatever you want to blame, feel free. Fact remains there's a madman in the Oval Office with all 3 branches of government in his corner and a Cabinet full of lunkheads he's seen on TV (Hegseth RFK Duffy) or ones he wants to fuck (Noem, Gabbard) or psychos willing to destroy the nation (Patel, Stefanik, Miller) in his name. But what can we do? Nothing. At least until 2024.

Did I like the Super Bowl halftime show? I'd be lying if I said yes. Kendrick Lamar is not for my demo. Old white men. My time is over. We aren't gonna see Paul McCartney or the Who or even Pearl Jam in what is left of my lifetime at the Super Bowl halftime. It's a whole new world. The young folks are running the show. And if they wanna see Kendrick Lamar or the Weeknd or even Beyonce that's the way it is. Old guys like me need to just live with it. We don't need to go ballistic and post every stupid thought we have on social media. Most of the outrage from Magas is, let's face it, racist at best and the Final Solution at worst. They want country. They want white people onstage. They want their orange hero to put out an EO mandating white people at halftime of the Super Bowl. 

Kendrick Lamar put it to Trump right in his face. Trump left rather than see Kenrick Lamar "insult" him. Then Trump tweeted out an old Democratic idea of eliminating pennies, trashed Taylor Swift and claimed she was booed because of Magats. Yeah, the fact she used to be an Eagles fan before Travis came along may have had something to do with the booing but why question the Felon? He's never wrong. 

Kendrick Lamar was fine. He didn't piss me off just as Dre and Mars and Katy Perry didn't. I simply don't care. If the entertainment doesn't interest me, so be it. If some idiotic decision to have Nugent or Kid Rock or Morgan Wallen perform at the next Super Bowl, ok then. I won't pay attention. But anger? Never.

"The revolution is about to be televised, You picked the right time but the wrong guy"

Goddamn right sir. That alone was worth it. 

MLK Jr Day!

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This is his day. Nothing else. 

Seinfeld And Gaffigan!

 Who doesn't need a laugh the last weekend of democracy? Well, we do and off to the CHI Centre to see two comedy legends named Seinfeld and Gaffigan. Gaffigan a legend? Yes, dammit he is to us out here in the vast wasteland.

Ryan Hamilton opened the show with a short 15-minute set of funny stories and jokes about the cluelessness of the coasts. Its New York, Los Angeles and in between is the Midwest. Perfect humor for the audience of Midwesterners.

Jim Gaffigan was next. Ok, he's not the legend that Jerry is, but to Midwesterners he sure as hell is close. Gaffigan is a master storyteller, a walking Dad joke that's actually funny. His humor is family oriented, self-deprecating and just plain true. He hits a nerve with anyone with a family of teenagers, a spouse or parents. In other words, 90% of the world. Gaffigan is the everyman of comedy. Even though he seems like just a guy getting through life, he is a great writer of jokes and anecdotes. His story about a college reunion, looking in the mirror and seeing a feisty 20-year-old while his buddies are all old as hell had me in stitches. I love Jim Gaffigan's entire persona. We here in the sticks can identify with him as New Yorkers identify with Jerry.

Jerry Seinfeld came out next. I am a late bloomer to Jerry. I didn't watch Seinfeld in the 90's. I don't know why, maybe cuz on Thursday nights I was out gambling and drinking back then. But I knew people who loved it and couldn't wait to explain to me the whole show from beginning to end and because they weren't Jerry it failed miserably. I binged the entire series about 3 years ago and realized what I missed. Genius.

Seinfeld did an hour set of basically the same family type humor of Gaffigan, but from a New Yorkers perspective. Cynical, biting and hilarious. It was Seinfeld at his best, He hates everything, hates traveling, can't stand the society he lives in, but loves complaining about it all. And complain he did. Like Gaffigan, he's a very wealthy everyman from Queens. And it is possible to think the Midwestern perspective and the New York perspective are both valid and hilarious. 

It was a great 2 hours of fun, laughter and an escape from what's coming on Monday. Oh, humor won't die on Monday, but it's gonna take a dark turn. I can always remember this night of laughter. 

Thanks guys.

Clue!

Yes, it's a play based on a movie based on a board game we played as kids. No, it's not Shakespeare or Sondheim or even Sorkin, but what it is, is fast paced and funny. 

The play takes place in 1954 in DC, at the height of the McCarthy hearings. 6 people have been invited to party at the Boddy mansion, and they all show up solo. Yeah, put the brain in hold here and just enjoy.

We have Colonel Mustard, a dimwit. We have Mrs. White, a black widow with a history of dead husbands. We have Mrs. Peacock, wife of a Senator and prude. We have Mr. Green, a bureaucrat and gasp, a homosexual. We have Professor Plum, an arrogant ass. We have Miss Scarlet, a sharp-tongued escort. 

The "party" is run by a butler named Wadsworth who has all them there for a reason. Blackmail! All 6 characters have secrets, though Miss Scarlet loudly announces she did everything she's accused of and is incapable of being blackmailed. Bodies begin dropping. 6 in all. Whodunit?

The play is only 90 minutes long. It ends abruptly and I'm not sure anybody expected it because it was barely started, or so it seemed. The sets are amazing and change effortlessly whether it be the study or the lounge or the lobby or the kitchen. 

The cast. Damn, there's not a weak character up there. They are in a constant frenzy, and all deliver lines with perfect timing. Jeff Skowron as Wadsworth runs the show, he's the QB. And he is wonderful with numerous accents and snark. John Tracy Egan plays the kind of dimwitted Col. Mustard. His off the cuff lines sort of relating to what was just said is both weird and hilarious. Tari Kelly as the devious Mrs. White, who may or may not have killed her numerous husbands. Joanna Glushak as Mrs. Peacock, the wife of a Senator and prudish hypocrite. Jonathan Spivey as Professor Plum, the condescending professor of psychiatry. Christina Anthony as Miss Scarlet, the fast-talking madam. Elizabeth Yancey as Yvette, the sexy maid. Mariah Burks as The Cook, the cook. Then we have Alex Syiek and Teddy Trice playing various roles as need be.

But John Shartzer as Mr. Green, the secret gay guy shines. This guy can do physical humor as well as I've seen on stage. He falls, he limbos, he is like a Jim Carrey with a rubber body. He is amazing not to mention that he has perfect timing in his pratfalls. He got applause from the audience a lot.

This play is for anyone who needs a break from life. Its humor is dry AND crazy. It's both physical AND mental. It's clever AND stupid. The cast makes all this happen. It helps to know things about the board game, the movie AND what life was like in 1954 during the Red Scare. That knowledge just makes it funnier.

I put this play in the Expected Nothing And Got A Lot Category. I laughed a lot. It was fun.

January 6th!!

 4 years ago, I sat there working remotely, feeling good about the fact the worst POTUS of all time was on his way out, and then it happened. Trump gave a speech whining like the lil bitch he is about stolen elections and how HE was upset and for the crowd to go up to the Capitol to "fight like hell or you won't have a country left" and the gullible trash went up to the Capitol and began to beat Capitol police, break windows, invade the Congressional offices, invade the Senate chamber led by a nut in a horned hat and face paint, walk around sing songy looking for Nancy Pelosi, looking for Mike Pence to hang him from the pop up gallows assembled outside, take dumps in wastebaskets, smear their feces all over the walls, steal computers and podiums, ya know, touristy things. Trump had told them he'd go up there with them, then ran back to the White House to watch what he started joyfully. Typical Trump, all alligator mouth and hummingbird ass.

The day was despicable. Eventually, after Republican politicians like Josh Hawley (Pussy-Mo) and Ted Cruz (Scumbag-Tx) gave speeches about the "stolen" election, the election was certified, despite 177 Republican traitors in the House objecting to the process that had worked for 250 years because their cult leader demanded they do. Now I understand that many, maybe most, of those people were being blackmailed, lacked the courage to stand up to a bully, or just plain were frightened of the death threats and cult members being violent towards them or their families. Trumps a mob boss, we all know that, and his minions are barbarians that wouldn't think twice about killing Trumps enemies if he ordered them to, but that day, with the cop beating and the metaphor of beating people with flag poles, it was a fucking disgrace. Yet here we are. 

Americans have horrid memories; they are so easily manipulated by lies and bullshit pressed forward by news channels that paid damn near a billion dollars to a company for lying. Some Americans are so goddamned stupid they actually reboot their minds to factory set and believe that none of this happened. It really is amazing.

So, 4 years later, after this riot played out on television for all to see, a plurality of Americans voted for the scumbag because egg prices were too high, because they've been told the economy was awful, because they couldn't stomach a black woman in the Oval Office, because they are brainwashed baboons. Trump got 47% in 2020, and to just get 2 more percent from Latino men, black men and white women wasn't all that difficult. It happened. 

And to that I say fuck Trump AND anybody who voted for him.