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!

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!

`

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.