Titanic The Musical at HCT

Other than Strictly Ballroom, I don't think I have ever been as excited for a show at HCT as I was for Titanic The Musical last night (I even drove through a major snowstorm to get to the theatre). It certainly didn't disappoint because it is amazing and rivals anything I have seen on Broadway! Just before the RMS Titanic sets sail on her maiden voyage, the designer Thomas Andrews (Kelton Davis), the owner J. Bruce Ismay (Justin Bills), and the captain E.J. Smith (Josh Richardson) marvel at the ship in the song "The Largest Moving Object" while a stoker named Fred Barrett (Brock Dalgleish), the lookout Frederick Fleet (R. George Banner), and the telegraph operator Harold Bride (Dallin Bradford) are in awe of it in the song "Ship of Dreams."  The third class passengers, represented by Kate McGowan (Adrien Swenson), Kate Murphy (Kenzie Davis Kremin), Kate Mullins (Erica Schoebinger), and Jim Farrell (Landon Horton), are excited to be going to America for a better life in the song "Lady's Maid," the second class passengers, especially Alice Beane (Ali Bennett), are excited to mingle with the wealthy passengers aboard the ship in the song "The Latest Rag," and the first class passengers, including John Jacob Astor (Paul Hamilton Murphy) and his wife Madeline (Kennedy Bradford), Benjamin Guggenheim (Davis Underwood) and his mistress Mme. Aubert (Casey Wawro), Isidor Straus (David Weekes) and his wife Ida (Sharon Lynn Kenison), John B. Thayer (Ricky Parkinson) and his wife Marian (Melody L. Baugh), George Widener (Tony Akin) and his wife Eleanor (Larissa Villers), Charlotte Drake Cardoza (Shawnda Moss), and a Major (Carson Davies), congratulate themselves on their success in the song "What a Remarkable Age This Is!" Ismay wants the ship to go faster to reach New York Harbor a day sooner for the publicity but that is dangerous and Titanic eventually strikes an iceberg in "No Moon." When it becomes clear that the ship will sink without enough lifeboats for all of the passengers, Andrews, Ismay, and Smith accuse each other in "Blame." Only women and children are allowed on the lifeboats and the men must say goodbye to their loved ones in "We'll Meet Tomorrow." Andrews laments the errors in his design as the ship goes down in "Mr. Andrews' Vision" while the survivors on the Carpathia express hope that they will be reunited with their loved ones in the song "Godspeed Titanic/ Finale." The large ensemble cast, which includes quite a few of my favorite regulars at HCT, is truly outstanding and everyone gets a moment to shine but I was particularly impressed by Richardson's commanding presence (pun intended) as the captain, especially when he takes responsibility in "The Blame." The music is beautiful and I loved it all but I was incredibly moved by the pathos in "The Proposal/ The Night Was Alive" when Barrett sends a telegram to his sweetheart, "The Staircase" when the third class passengers realize that they are trapped, "We'll Meet Tomorrow," as the men try to reassure their loved ones in the lifeboats that all will be well, and "Still" as Ida decides that she will stay on the ship with Isidor (I pretty much had tears in my eyes in all of these songs). The set is absolutely spectacular (one of the best I've seen at HCT and that is saying something!). A large multi-level structure rises from the pit to reveal the boat decks, the first class deck and smoking room, the second class deck, the third class deck and dining room, the boiler room, corridors, and the staircases to each level. The first class dining room, the bridge, the crow's nest (my favorite), and the radio room come down from the rafters. The costumes are fantastic, especially the elaborate turn-of-the-century gowns worn by the female first class passengers and the uniforms worn by the crew.  Finally, the opening montage when the crew and passengers first see the ship is very clever with blueprints and images projected on scrims and the sinking of the ship is incredibly dramatic (it even mimics when the ship breaks apart). I cannot say enough about this beautiful and moving production and, if you think you might want to see it (you should!), I recommend getting tickets as soon as possible because almost every show is sold out (go here).

Note:  Everyone is given the ticket of a real-life passenger with a QR code to scan to learn their fate. My passenger went down with the ship.

Close

I became really interested in Close when it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature (it also won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year).  Luckily it is now screening at the Broadway and I was able to see this poignant coming of age story last night.  Remi (Gustav De Waele) and Leo (Eden Dambrine) are thirteen year old boys who have an incredibly close friendship.  They spend all of their time together playing imaginative games and telling fanciful stories to each other.  However, when they begin secondary school, they are bullied by a group of their peers who notice their physical affection for each other.  This begins to bother Leo, especially when homophobic slurs are used, so he seeks out other friendships and goes to great lengths to avoid spending time with Remi.  Remi is devastated by this and confronts Leo about his behavior but it leads to a physical altercation which leaves him in tears.  When a tragedy occurs Leo must learn to live with the guilt he feels.  What I loved most about the narrative is that it is not necessarily about the sexuality of the two boys (although that interpretation works) but rather about them being viewed as different for having an unconventional friendship that people can't understand.  It does begin to meander a bit in the second half, although the portrayal of how a school reacts to a tragedy is spot-on (unfortunately, I have experienced this several times), but it is worth it for the emotional conclusion between Leo and Remi's mother (Emilie Dequenne) which brought me, and many in my audience, to tears.  The two young, and relatively unknown, actors give lovely performances and I was particularly struck by how well they portrayed their feelings for each other, especially during a scene where Leo watches Remi perform a solo during an orchestra concert.  I also really loved the luminous cinematography and the recurring visual motif of running and bicycling through a field of flowers (which makes the final shot so devastating).  It is beautiful and heartbreaking and I highly recommend it.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

I was really excited for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania because I enjoyed Ant-Man and Ant-Man and the Wasp so much.  I went to see it last night but, unfortunately, I thought it was a mixed bag.  After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Cassie Lang (Kathryn Newton) builds a device that can make contact with the Quantum Realm but it accidentally opens a portal which transports her, Scott Lang/ Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), Hope van Dyne/ Wasp (Evangeline Lilly), Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), and Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) there.  They discover a world filled with fantastical beings and creatures but they also discover a time-traveling multiversal being known as Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) who was exiled there and then betrayed by Janet.  Kang is now the ruthless dictator of the Quantum Realm and demands that Scott help him rebuild the multiversal power core that Janet destroyed.  This leads to an epic battle where the fate of both the Quantum Realm and the Multiverse hangs in the balance.  What I loved most about the first two movies in this trilogy is the lighthearted and goofy banter between Ant-Man and his crew so I was really disappointed to find that missing in this installment (where is Luis?).  Much of the humor in the interactions between Scott and the natives doesn't really land and, in my opinion, the characters Lord Krylar (Bill Murray) and M.O.D.O.K. (Corey Stoll) are pointless and ridiculous, respectively.  The emotional core of this movie is meant to come from the father-daughter relationship between Scott and Cassie (Hope is completely sidelined) but I just wasn't very invested in it because I didn't like Cassie as a character (I'm not sure if it is because of Newton's portrayal or my growing annoyance with the plucky-teenager-who-knows-better-than-everyone-else trope).  The CGI is both messy (it is obvious that everyone is acting in front of a green screen) and exhausting (I found my mind wandering during the never-ending climactic battle).  Having said all of that, I absolutely loved the character Kang and Majors' portrayal of him is brilliant because he is so menacing but also a bit vulnerable.  I found Kang's interactions with Janet (Pfeiffer is also outstanding) to be the most compelling aspect of this movie and I am actually looking forward to seeing more from him moving forward (definitely stay for the mid- and end-credits scenes).  I didn't hate this because it sets up one of the most interesting villains in the MCU but yikes!

The 39 Steps at the Grand Theatre

I was so excited to see a new production of The 39 Steps at the Grand Theatre last night because it is one of the funniest plays I have ever seen!  It is a hilarious spoof of the 1935 spy movie of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock and features many references to other movies by the director, including Psycho, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North By Northwest, and Vertigo.  There are only four actors performing all of the roles and the action is lightning fast with scene changes and costume changes happening right on stage.  Nicholas Dunn plays Richard Hannay, a man at loose ends who becomes embroiled in a plot to stop a ring of spies from stealing military secrets after a mysterious woman named Annabella Schmidt is stabbed to death in his apartment.  Mara Lefler plays Annabella and several other women who become romantically involved with Hannay when he travels to Scotland to clear his name.  Michelle Lynn Thompson and Max Huftalin play every other character, including actors, traveling salesmen, policemen, innkeepers, farmers, spies, and more.  All four actors have brilliant comedic timing and I especially enjoyed it when Thompson and Huftalin performed several different characters in the same scene simply by changing hats and accents!  I also really enjoyed the physicality of the performances, such as when Dunn and Lefler get stuck trying to climb over a turnstile and when the two of them try to get undressed for bed while handcuffed together.  The audience sits right on the stage so it is an intimate space that is perfect for this show.  The sets and props are very minimal with pieces that are moved and reconfigured to become various locations such as Hannay's flat in London, a music hall, a train, a bridge, the moors, a crofter's cottage, a manor house, a hotel, an assembly hall, a police car, and the London Palladium.  The lighting design is brilliant, especially a sequence where Hannay is being pursued by planes across the moor, during another chase sequence on a train, and when Hannay jumps off a bridge.  The costumes are a lot of fun and are used to great effect to distinguish between the different characters.  I laughed out loud during the entire show and I had a wonderful time.  It is a Backstage at the Grand production and runs Thursday-Saturday until March 11 (go here for tickets).  I highly recommend it!

The Writing Retreat

My February Book of the Month selection was The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz (the other options were Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes, River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer, Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn, and Maame by Jessica George) and I liked it but I didn't love it. Alex has always wanted to be a writer so, when she is unexpectedly offered a spot at an exclusive writer's retreat at the estate of her favorite author Roza Vallo, she jumps at the opportunity. When she arrives at Blackbriar, however, Alex discovers that things are not what they seem.  Roza has assembled the five up-and-coming writers in order for them to compete against each other for a million dollar publishing deal, one of the other participants is Alex's former best friend with whom she has a complicated past, and the estate is remote and isolated (no Wi-Fi or cell service) with a mysterious history involving the occult. When one of the writers disappears, Alex wonders if the supernatural is involved or if one of the participants has sinister intentions. This psychological thriller is incredibly suspenseful and I couldn't put it down but there is a lot going on in this novel and not everything worked for me. I really enjoyed Alex as a character as well as the journey she takes in order to accept and then embrace her sexuality and to claim her power as a writer for the first time. I also really enjoyed the pacing of the novel because the tension builds and builds as information about each character is slowly revealed in order to subvert expectations. I didn't enjoy the supernatural element because it feels very forced, especially the novel-within-a-novel that Alex is writing as part of the competition (I found it very boring), and I feel that it is not necessary because the human intrigue and the locked-room mystery is compelling enough. Also, I didn't really care for all of the graphic sex scenes or the scenes involving drug use, which don't necessarily bother me per se, but I had a big problem with the lack of consent depicted. I would, ultimately, recommend this because of the intriguing premise and atmospheric setting (it has received lots of rave reviews) but I think there are a few elements that keep it from being great.