Sister Act at Murray Park Amphitheater

Last night I saw a production of Sister Act at the Murray Park Amphitheater.  I love seeing outdoor performances (I haven't seen very many this summer for some reason) and this show was so much fun!  A singer named Deloris Van Cartier (Kortney King-Lives) inadvertently witnesses her gangster boyfriend Curtis (Tyson Jensen) kill someone.  A love-struck cop named Eddie (Tommy Kay) places her in the Queen of Angels Convent to keep her safe until she can testify against him but she disrupts the orderly way of life at the convent until the Mother Superior (Cindy Swan) puts her in charge of the choir to keep her out of trouble.  The new and improved choir's unorthodox performances bring people back to the church but all of the attention puts the convent in danger after Curtis and his henchmen see Deloris on TV.   King-Lives is really understated as Deloris but she has an incredible voice and I enjoyed the pathos she brings to the role, especially in the reprise of "Fabulous, Baby."  Courtney Byrom is absolutely hilarious as Sister Mary Patrick because she is so flamboyant and over the top.  Chloe Cox, as T.J., Eric Lash, as Joey, and Jacob Crosby, as Pablo, almost steal the show in the songs "When I Find My Baby" and "Lady in the Long Black Dress" because they have some great disco moves!  The audience also laughed out loud during Kay's version of "I Could Be That Guy" because it features several costume changes and back-up dancers composed of homeless people from an alley.  The choreography is a lot of fun in the songs "Raise Your Voice," "Take Me To Heaven," "Sunday Morning Fever," and "Spread the Love Around," which are sung by the choir, and I especially enjoyed it whenever Sister Mary Theresa (Wendy Johnson Richhart), an older nun, incorporated her cane.  It is also really amusing when the Monsignor (Shan Lloyd) comes out into the audience with a collection basket during the nuns' performances (he made quite a bit of money!).  The costumes are absolutely fabulous and I loved how the Monsignor's vestments and the nuns' habits get more and more elaborate as the show goes on (I especially loved the purple sequins).  The set is very simple with a backdrop of stained glass windows with various pieces moved on and off as needed but it is effective.  I had a great time because the crowd for this show was really loud and animated (people were dancing in the aisles during the final number).  There are three more performances next weekend (go here for tickets) and I highly recommend it.

Note:  There were very ominous clouds in the sky as I was driving to the amphitheater and it actually rained a little bit before the show but, luckily, it cleared up just as it started!

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Paris is my very favorite city in the world so I was really excited to see Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris last night.  Ada Harris (Lesley Manville) is a war widow in 1950s London who works as a cleaning lady.  When she sees a Dior gown owned by one of her wealthy clients she dreams of owning one herself and even takes in sewing in an ill-fated attempt to save enough money for one.  However, a series of fortuitous events makes her dream possible and she heads to Paris.  Claudine Colbert (Isabelle Hupper), the imperious director of the House of Dior, refuses to let her in but the rest of the staff is impressed by her cash and she is invited to a show.  She chooses one dress but, when she learns that it is promised to an exclusive client, she settles for another one.  After she learns that she will have to stay in Paris for fittings, she ends up having a series of adventures and, when she returns home, she has more than just a pretty frock because she discovers her self-respect (and a certain je ne sais quoi).  This movie is such a charming feel-good story about following your dreams no matter how outlandish they may seem to others and, even though a lot of it is extremely far-fetched, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Manville gives a delightful performance (which is a complete departure from Cyril Woodcock in Phantom Thread despite the fact that both movies are about haute couture in the 1950s) and I loved watching her go toe to toe with Huppert.  The costumes are absolutely gorgeous, especially all of the Dior gowns in the fashion show, and I loved the few scenes shot in Paris (I really want to go back).  This movie put a smile on my face and I recommend it!

Both Sides of the Blade

Director Claire Denis won the Silver Bear for Both Sides of the Blade this year at the Berlin Film Festival so I was really excited to see it last night at the Broadway.  Sara (Juliette Binoche) and her husband Jean (Vincent Lindon) have a blissful holiday at the sea but, when they return home to Paris, she catches a glimpse of a man on the street and this has a profound affect on her.  It turns out that he is Jean's former business partner and Sara's former lover Francois (Gregoire Colin) and he has come back into their lives after an absence of ten years with a business proposition for Jean.  Sara expresses concern but Jean ultimately accepts because he needs employment to support his son Marcus (Issa Perica) who lives with his mother (Bulle Ogier).  Sara continually professes her love for Jean but is completely undone when she inevitably meets with Francois at a company event.  Jean is jealous but she cannot deny the love she has always felt for Francois and begins an affair with him leading to an explosive confrontation and an ending that took me completely by surprise.  This is a slow burn without exposition so details about the three main characters are revealed very slowly (or not at all because I still have so many questions).  Binoche and Lindon give very understated performances in the first two acts with interactions that seem almost polite as they circle around each other in the claustrophobic environment of their apartment but every look and gesture is fraught with meaning.  The tension builds and builds until an incredible scene in the third act where they both give vent to all of the feelings they have been repressing and the performances are riveting.  I enjoyed the story about a marriage that seems very happy but eventually comes undone; however, many of the subplots, including Sara's job as a radio personality and Jean's troubles with his son, seem very superfluous with themes about race that are very underdeveloped.  This is an interesting psychological drama with compelling performances but I found the lack of detail to be very frustrating.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Several of my friends recommended Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and I finally had the chance to read it during the lockdown (when I spent all of my free time reading).  I absolutely loved it so I was a bit worried when I heard about the upcoming adaptation because the movie is rarely as good as the book.  However, after watching a Thursday preview last night, I have to admit that I really enjoyed it.  Catherine "Kya" Clark (Jojo Regina) grows up in extreme poverty with an abusive father in a North Carolina marsh.  Eventually her mother, all of her siblings, and even her father abandon her leaving her to fend for herself.  Kya (now played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) grows up to be incredibly resourceful and intimately acquainted with the flora and fauna of the marsh but she is wary of outsiders who treat her with disdain.  Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) is able to break through her reserve by giving her specimens from the marsh and they begin a romantic relationship.  When he leaves to go to college, she feels as if he has abandoned her like everyone else in her life.  She turns to a wealthy young man from town named Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson) who woos her with promises of marriage but she soon realizes that he is just using her.  Things turn violent when she ends the relationship so, when his body is found at the base of a fire tower, she is the prime suspect.  The timeline alternates between the story of her life in the marsh and her murder trial with a big twist at the end.  The movie is very faithful to the book so if you enjoyed the story you will probably love this adaptation (and the reverse is also true so if you didn't like the book you should probably avoid this).  The beautiful cinematography brings the marsh to life and I was absolutely mesmerized by the images on the screen, particularly the scenes involving flights of birds against a vivid sunset.  Edgar-Jones gives an incredibly nuanced performance and she is exactly how I pictured Kya as I was reading.  I also really enjoyed David Strathairn as a kindly lawyer who comes out of retirement to defend Kya, although I will admit that the courtroom scenes are less compelling than the scenes in the marsh.  Both Smith and Dickinson are a bit bland as Kya's love interests but it almost doesn't matter because Edgar-Jones is so captivating in their scenes together.  My only real criticism of the movie is that the extreme poverty in the book is portrayed very unrealistically, especially in regards to her picture-perfect appearance and her stylishly appointed cabin.  I suspect that this will appeal to a very specific demographic because my audience was packed with enthusiastic middle-aged book club types.  As a member of said demographic, I recommend it!

Upgrade

My July Book of the Month selection was Upgrade by Blake Crouch (the other options were First Born by Will Dean, The Bodyguard by Katherine Center, You're Invited by Amanda Jayatissa, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin). I had never read anything by this author before but the premise was really intriguing to me so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did! In a dystopian future where genetic engineering has wreaked havoc on the environment, Logan Ramsay works for the Gene Protection Agency out of a sense of guilt because his mother was the cause of the catastrophe. He helped her create a genetic modification that was meant to improve the rice plant's resistance to a virus but it ended up destroying the world's supply instead and caused millions of deaths. Genetic modifications are now outlawed. In the course of an investigation for the GPA he is unwittingly exposed to a virus which changes his genome and dramatically improves his strength and intelligence but takes away his ability to feel emotion. His agency sees him as a threat but this upgrade might be a way to save the human species from the disaster he and his mother set in motion. This is a tense science-fiction thriller, to be sure, but it is also a cautionary tale about the fate of the planet because the description of a world not too far in the future shows the logical progression of the problems we face right now, including climate change, environmental disasters, and the scarcity of resources, and it is quite sobering. I enjoyed the inclusion of specific details, such as the use of electric cars and innovative mass transportation systems as well as synthetic food sources, because they are so clever (some of the brand names are very amusing). All of the action and plot twists kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen but I also found the discussion about intelligence vs. empathy to be incredibly thought-provoking. The science is absolutely fascinating! Even though it is extremely complicated, I never felt like it was over my head enough to detract from my understanding and enjoyment (it reminded me of Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir in that respect). This is one of my very favorite selections from Book of the Month and I highly recommend it!

Note:  While I was reading this I kept thinking that it would make a great movie so I was excited to learn that the film rights have been acquired by Amblin!