Some Like It Hot!

 You've seen the movie, right? That 1959 Billy Wilder classic was bold for its time with the cross dressing and mature themes but basically, it's a farce, slapstick type of film.

The musical based on the movie opened in Omaha last night to a pretty packed house. It's a bit updated to go even further than the movie in its themes but forget all that, It's 2025 and gay, transgender and drag are in the mainstream despite what the MAGAts and its rather vocal minority are trying to do.

The story is as follows. Two song and dance men in 1933, Joe and Jerry, are hustling for gigs and stumble upon a mob murder. They need to go on the run to avoid being killed. They come up with the idea to join an all-girl jazz band by dressing as dames and touring the country until they reach San Diego where they will cross the border. Will Spats, the mob boss, find them before that? Will Joe continue to Gilligan every situation? Will Jerry ever get tired of being a woman?

This musical has some great songs. It is also without a doubt the wildest musical I have ever seen. There are so many things going on at once onstage it's sometimes hard to keep track of. But this crazy old-fashioned type of musical (despite the updated views on many themes) is just such a throwback to what entertained people for centuries. You cannot not like actors who can sing and dance and create such a frenzy onstage that it exhausts you too. The last 10 minutes of this nuttiness is absolutely brilliant. There is a chase scene involving a kind of musical doors atmosphere in which the actors are going in and out of doors, singing, dancing and making the crowd laugh while at the same time being amazed at the energy. Yeah, as I said, it exhausted me too. It was wild to see this slapstick/tap dancing/singing craziness going on all at once. The rehearsal involved must be flawless and it paid off onstage.

Now the performers. Matt Loehr is Joe, a combination sax player and con artist. Loehr is fantastic. Once he becomes "Josephine" in women's clothing he also becomes Dana Carvey as church lady. I challenge anyone to not be waiting for him to exclaim "well isn't that special".

Tavis Kordell is Jerry the bass player. He's kind of a follower who lets Joe get them in trouble time after time. But once he becomes Daphne, the tall drink of water, he becomes the leader. Realizing who he really is, this character is truly the interesting one as he becomes himself. Kordell is just a force onstage with his dancing and singing. He will be one to watch for. Also think of Mrs. Howard on Abbott Elementary.

Leandra Ellis-Gaston is Sugar, the singer in the band, She is bound and determined to become a star. Joe falls in love (as Josephine) with her and has to keep up the charade of being Josephine and Kip, the German "screenwriter" who will take her to the top. Gaston is good but for some reason she didn't connect with me as a character. But this woman can sing!

Now for Tarra Connor Jones as Sweet Sue, the leader of the band. Sweet Sue is a bad ass. Sue cannot believe what is happening to her band. Jones can act with her face. Keeping an eye on her for her priceless facial reactions is comedy gold. Plus, she gets lots of sassy lines and had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

Some Like It Hot is wild. It's maybe the best show of the 2024-2025 season. Boredom will not be a problem as there really are no speed bumps. 

Obviously. I recommend this musical highly. It's not heavy at all. It's comedy at its core and it succeeds.

Bravo!  

Hadestown!

 The first time we saw Hadestown from up in the rafters, I was blown away by the story, the music, and the performances. It was so New Orleans, it was so Greek tragedy, and it was so damned good.

Hadestown came back last night and this time we were on the floor which makes it even better to actually see the performers faces and the knowing glances between characters. 

Hadestown is about well, Hades. Sell your soul to the devil and suffer the consequences. Hades is played by the deep bass voice of Nickolaus Colon, who really doesn't enter the play until the end of Act 1 but once he does its game on. His wife, Persephone, played by an understudy Miriam Naverette, spends 6 months in the overworld and 6 months in the underworld. Eurydice, a homeless poverty-stricken woman who is duped into entering hell. Played by a wonderful Megan Colton, Eurydice has a hero up above in Orpheus, a songwriter in love with her attempting to finish a song that will free her from Hades clutches. Orpheus, played by a great singer, Bryan Munar, walks to the underground and thru the wall to free Eurydice. Will he succeed? Well, it's a tragedy so you guess. He succeeds yes, but he also fails.

The narrator of this play is Hermes, played by Jaylon Crump, and he is the glue. From the opening where he plays with the crowd, the other performers and the musicians onstage, Crump is a joy to watch. He belts out the Road To Hell and gets this thing rolling and it just keeps rolling towards its inevitable tragic end. Crump is a force onstage. And he's a helluva singer, actor and dancer.

I loved this version. Hadestown is in my Top 5 musicals of all time. The song that ends Act 1 is a dirge called Why We Build The Wall, and is so relevant to today's atmosphere its uncanny for a musical written in 2006. It's as if the writers anticipated the arrival of MAGA.

If you get a chance, see Hadestown. It's one helluva ride.,

Oscar Time!

 Oscar time! The annual event where costume designers and animated short winners carry on for so long that you wish you could fast forward in real time. But alas, we must put up with bad skits, bad songs, bad jokes and perhaps a Trump tweet. I cannot not watch, it's in my DNA. Ever since I first saw an Oscar telecast as a child, it got me. This year's will also get me. Now onward to my Top Ten Movies of 2024

10) One of Them Days

Kiki Palmer and SZA go thru a day of dodging landlords, going to Church's Chicken and trying to raise the rent money SZA's boy toy blew. It's funny, it's sad and it's a pretty good time.

9) My Old Ass

Aubrey Plaza comes from the future to warn her younger self of the mistakes she shouldn't make. Maisy Stella shines as the 18 year old Elliott, high on an acid trip, and visited by her "old ass" self (Plaza). Meanwhile, 39 year old Elliott warns 18 year old Elliott to stay away from Chad, a perfectly nice kid. Why? He will break her heart. Why he breaks her heart in the future comes to light at the end. You might cry.

8) A Real Pain

Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, Jewish cousins, take a road trip to visit their late grandmother's past in Poland. Eisenberg is the married nerd and Culkin is the sarcastic bullshit artist with deep seeded problems. Their journey ends at a Nazi death camp their granny survived. It's pretty powerful stuff. 

7) Sept 5

The story of the ABC coverage of the 1972 Munich massacre of 11 Israeli athletes by Black September. We see the sports division take over from news, the infighting, the horrible mistakes in the name of being first and the morality of all of it. It's a great journalism movie in the spirit of All The Presidents Men.

6) Conclave

If you're a victim or veteran of 12 years of Catholic school indoctrination this tale of choosing a new pope is in your wheelhouse. Ralph Fiennes as the de facto head of the conclave of cardinals who will pick the new Pope and John Lithgow as his protagonist shine. Stanley Tucci as the liberal American cardinal attempting to stop the conservatives from taking the church backwards is also great. The ending will surprise and I'm not sure about it even now.

5) Horizon An American Saga- Chapter One

This Kevin Costner western epic may have bombed at the box office but I found it fascinating, It may be a Costner ego trip but its well worth the time. Impressive cast, great story and not a boring moment.

4) Seed of the Sacred Fig

This tale of an Iranian family attempting to deal with freedom from the mullahs. The parents are steadfast in not rocking the boat. The daughters do nothing but rock the boat. This results in a missing gun, panic by the father and an inevitable showdown of past and future. You have to read but its worth the effort

3) Wicked

The play itself is a slog, but this movie is 2 1/2 hours of great storytelling and music. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo turn the Wizard of Oz on its head. The wizard (Jeff Goldblum) is a fascist, the Wicked Witch of the West is a freedom fighter, and the Good Witch is a coward. I cant wait for Part 2.

2) The Brutalist

3 hours and 30 minutes and an intermission. Who does that anymore? Director Brady Corbet does, thats who. The story of a visionary architect who survived the Holocaust, moved to America and found himself. Not a dull moment. Working for Guy Pearce, a bigoted ass, can be a test of will but Adrian Brody survives that too. The ending where you find out his Architectual philosophy is kind of jarring but makes sense.

1) I'm Still Here

This Brazilian film takes place in 1970 when a military coup has taken over. People disappear, are brutalized and one family especially feels it. Their father is taken away by police and never heard from again. The family proceeds thru the years, sticks together and attempts to find out what happened to him. Fernanda Torres keeps this thing alive at all times. She is a marvel. Let's hope Oscar notices.

There were other movies that were great

Number 24- Norwegian film about the takeover of Norway by Nazis

Lee-- Kate Winslet as war photographer Lee Miller, a woman who pays no attention to the sexist rules during WW2

A Complete Unknown-Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. He's great but the movie itself is no Lewyn Davis

Thelma-- don't fuck with Ruth Squibb. You rip off Ruth and she's coming after you on her scooter.

A Quiet Place Day One-- I didn't really care for the 2 Quiet Place films but this one, a sort of prequel, works as a love story more so than a thriller.

Blitz- Saoirse Ronan stars as a British woman avoiding the German blitz in 1940 with her child.

Origin--Ana Duverney's latest tackles the class system and institutional racism. Well worth the watch

Will and Harper-- the documentary with Will Farrell and Harper Steele, a former SNL writer who became a woman at the age of 60. They road trip across the country and encounter all sorts of sadness and joy. But what it all comes down to is once people meet an actual transgender, it's like meeting anybody. Unfortunately, the people who need to see this will not.

The worst movie of the year?

No doubt its M Night Shyamalan Trap. This waste of time is so horrible I would urge avoidance at all costs.

And avoid Babygirl as well, This Nicole Kidman embarrassment is ridiculous and just plain boring.

Lets go Conan!