School of Rock at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts

I always enjoy seeing a production of School of Rock because it is such a fun and exuberant show with a powerful message about finding your voice despite the pressure to conform. I saw SCERA's version last night and was incredibly impressed by the incredibly talented kids (and adults) on stage! Dewey Finn (Jacob Thompson) is a slacker who is kicked out of his band No Vacancy right before the Battle of the Bands and is fired from his job at a record store. When his best friend Ned Schneebly (Felipe Larrocha), with whom he has been living for several years, is pressured by his girlfriend Patty DiMarco (Sierra Palmer) to make him pay rent, he takes a substitute teaching job at Horace Green Prep School meant for Ned in desperation. He realizes that his students are being suffocated by the expectations of parents who don't understand them so he decides that they need a little rock and roll in their lives. He forms a band with Zack (Noah Huber) on lead guitar, Katie (Afton Largey) on bass, Lawrence (Miles Tanner) on keyboard, Freddie (Simon Maxfield) on drums, and Shonelle (Lillian Walker) and Marcy (Reese Davidson) on backing vocals. He recruits Billy (Watson Lane) to be the band's stylist, James Porter McCormick) as security, Mason (James "Jeb" Buffington) on tech, and Summer (Juniper Martin), the class know-it-all, as the band's manager. He also convinces Tomika (Tessa Jensen), a shy and insecure transfer student, to sing lead vocals with him. The students eventually become more confident so he decides to enter them in the Battle of the Bands but, first, he needs to convince the uptight principal Rosalie Mullins (Camilla Curtis) to let him take them on a field trip. The parents are angry when Dewey's deception is discovered, but the kids ultimately win them over when they hear them play. Thompson gives a fun and energetic performance and he has a great rapport with the kids. I loved all of the young actors, especially Huber, Largey, Tanner, and Maxfield because they play their instruments live on stage and they sound great. They all do a fantastic job singing and dancing in "You're in the Band," "Stick It to the Man," and "School of Rock" and they also have impressive comedic timing, particularly Martin who made me laugh out loud several times (I loved her rendition of "Time to Play"). Curtis also made me laugh in a hilarious scene when she drunkenly sings "Edge of Seventeen" (I always laugh at this because I love the song). The set is one of my favorites for this show. There is a multi-level stage with a giant guitar that lights up as a backdrop and several DJ lighting towers in front. Panels that rotate to become Ned's apartment, a classroom at Horace Green, and the Roadside bar are brought on stage and placed between the towers and several arches descend from the rafters to become a hall at Horace Green (these are used to great effect when the students sneak out of school for the audition). The school uniforms worn by kids are also a lot of fun (I loved the pop of yellow). I had a really great time at this feel-good show and highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs at the SCERA Center for the Performing Arts on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays through May 2.

Fuze

The second movie in the double feature with my nephew last night was Fuze (my nephew likes heist movies and I like Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  It is thoroughly entertaining even if the ending is a bit anticlimactic.  An unexploded World War II-era bomb is discovered on a construction site in the middle of London which necessitates the evacuation of the entire area, including an Afghani refugee named Rahim (Elham Ehsas) and his family.  The police, under the command of Chief Superintendent Zuzana Greenfield (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), monitor the area while the military, under the command of Major Will Tranter (Taylor-Johnson), attempt to diffuse the bomb.  The tense situation is further complicated when the police discover the heat signature of a group, led by Karalis (Theo James) and X (Sam Worthington), attempting to rob a bank inside the evacuated area.  The police initially suspect that Rahim is involved but, when they witness the group leaving the bank,  they give chase.  The sudden explosion of the bomb allows the robbers to get away but that is just the beginning as crosses, double-crosses, and triple-crosses ensue.  This is an economical and tightly-plotted thriller with lots of action and suspense.  The hand-held camera work is kinetic with quick cuts that emphasize the chaos and keep the audience feeling disoriented.  All of the twists and turns kept me riveted but the third act loses momentum and the abrupt ending is disappointing after all of the build-up.  James and Taylor-Johnson are fun to watch, for reasons, but Worthington barely makes an impression.  I ultimately enjoyed this and recommend it for a fun night out.

Mother Mary

I am a big fan of David Lowery (A Ghost Story and The Green Knight are two of my favorites) so I was really excited to see his latest, Mother Mary, as part of a double feature with my nephew last night.  It is a surrealistic psychological drama very much in the vein of Lowery's other films and I loved it.  An iconic pop star who uses the stage name Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is attempting a comeback after a traumatic injury.  She is nervous about her return to the stage and is unhappy with the costumes because she thinks they represent her stage persona rather than the real her so she travels to see Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), her former stylist from whom she has been estranged for many years, hoping that she can help her rediscover her identity.  The two of them have a complicated relationship and their initial interactions are fraught with tension. Sam was incapacitated when Mother Mary abandoned her after achieving success and was only able to let go of the trauma, represented by a red ghost, by removing her from her life.  Now Mother Mary is debilitated by that same trauma, portrayed once again by a red ghost, and they both eventually realize that Sam must (literally) exorcise it for them to find success again.  Their reconciliation allows Sam to find the inspiration to create an iconic dress and allows Mother Mary to give an authentic performance that reignites her career.  I loved how the narrative uses the collaborative nature of the creative process to explore the need for resolution in broken relationships.  I also loved how Mother Mary's performances (which are incredibly theatrical and feature original songs by Charli XCX, Jack Antonoff, and FKA Twigs) are interspersed within the narrative to show the backstory of their rift and its effect on each of them.  The way that Sam's barn opens up to become Mother Mary's stage creates a very dream-like atmosphere and the visuals are incredible.  Watching the characters spar back and forth is very compelling and, even though many of the supernatural scenes involving the red ghost are a bit inscrutable (particularly a scene involving a seance), they are definitely intriguing.  Coel gives a powerful performance as an artist who has lost her muse and Hathaway is riveting as an a performer who needs help to shed a persona that no longer serves her (she is also fantastic in the concert sequences).  As with most of Lowery's films, I had to think about this for quite a while before I made sense of it so I would only recommend it to fans of the director (my nephew didn't enjoy it as much as I did).

Michael

Last night I went with my sister and nephew to an early access screening of Michael and I loved it so much!  Although, before you give credence to anything I say, you need to know that I was a huge fan of Michael Jackson during the time period depicted and his music and performances are an indelible part of my teenage years so my opinion is completely biased (see also: Bohemian Rhapsody).  It follows Michael Jackson (played as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi and as an adult by Jaafar Jackson) from 1966 to 1988 including when the Jackson 5 is discovered by Suzanne de Passe (Laura Harrier) and signed to Motown Records by Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate), when he records his solo album Off the Wall with Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson), when he hires entertainment lawyer John Branca (Miles Teller) as his manager and records Thriller, when he is coerced into reuniting with his brothers for the Victory Tour, and when he embarks on his first solo tour for the album Bad.  His story is told through the lens of how he finds the courage to break free from his controlling and abusive father Joseph (Colman Domingo) and I found it very moving.  I especially loved the scene in which he announces the final Jackson 5 performance to a stadium of fans for an audience of one after having others speak for him for so long.  I also loved the emotional interactions between Michael and his mother Katherine (Nia Long), who tries to protect him from his father's abuse, and his bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), who is his only real friend.  However, my favorite scenes were the incredible recreations of some of Jackson's most iconic performances, particularly the live performance of "Billie Jean" for the Motown 25 Special and the making of the video for "Thriller" because they were incredibly nostalgic for me.  I don't think I will ever forget watching the premiere of "Thriller" on MTV (I was a sophomore in high school) because it absolutely blew me away!  It was the only topic of conversation at school the next day because we had never seen anything like it before (kids today will never know how groundbreaking it was).  Jaafar Jackson is brilliant in his portrayal of his uncle and he absolutely nails Michael's look, voice, and signature dance moves as well as his vulnerability.  There were many times when I thought that I was actually watching Michael perform and it gave me goosebumps.  I was also really impressed by Valdi because his singing and dancing are equally amazing (my favorite scenes were the recording of "Who's Loving You" and the live performance of "I'll Be There") and one scene in particular with Domingo brought tears to my eyes.  The critics have been brutal but the large crowd last night applauded enthusiastically at the end.  If you are a fan of Michael Jackson, you will definitely enjoy it and, if you are not, you probably won't.

Note:  I laughed out loud at a cameo by Mike Myers as a record executive (see also: Bohemian Rhapsody).

The Christophers

Last night my nephew and I saw The Christophers at the Broadway and I was pleasantly surprised by its moving portrayal of an unlikely friendship.  Lori Butler (Michaela Coel), a struggling artist known more for her work in art restoration than for her own paintings, is approached by Sallie Sklar (Jessica Gunning), a former classmate from art college, and her brother Barnaby (James Corden) about completing a series of unfinished paintings locked away by their estranged father Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen) so that they can be "discovered" after his imminent death and then sold for a fortune.  They contrive to have her hired as their father's personal assistant, ostensibly for the purpose of cataloging his work, but with the real intention of accessing the paintings as well as his paints and supplies to aid in the eventual authentication process.  Sklar is initially reluctant to even speak about the paintings because the subject of the series is his former lover (the titular Christopher) and the memories they evoke are painful to him.  He even suggests that they be destroyed but, when Lori eventually reveals the truth, the two of them plot to sabotage their plan (it involves the use of glitter).  This is a very dialogue-heavy movie that emphasizes character development over action but every conversation between Lori and Julian slowly reveals information that recontextualizes their relationship and it is very compelling.  I especially enjoyed their philosophical discussions about art and perception and the notion that a painting's worth is not necessarily determined by its value.  McKellen gives a brilliant performance as the curmudgeonly painter because you can actually see the mischief in his eyes as Julian and Lori spar with each other and Coel more than holds her own with the veteran actor (the chemistry between them is electric).  Finally, this is often quite funny, more so than I was expecting, and I laughed out loud when Sallie's attempt to copy one of the paintings is revealed (it is obvious that she was admitted to art school because of nepotism).  This is one of the most delightful movies I have seen in recent memory and I higly recommend it.