The Addams Family at HCT

I consider HCT's 2019 production of The Addams Family to be one of the best I've seen of this show so I was very excited to see a new version last night. I had so much fun watching it (I was sitting next to a teen seeing it for the first time and her excitement was infectious) and I think it may even surpass their earlier production! The Addams family relies on their dead ancestors to help them through life and they need them now more than ever because Wednesday (Tearza Leigh Foyston) has fallen in love with a boy from Ohio named Lucas Beineke (Danny Kenny). She wants his uptight parents, Mal (Chandler Bishop) and Alice (Claire Kenny), to meet her family, including her father Gomez (Josh Richardson), her mother Morticia (Bailee Morris), her brother Pugsley (John Nelson Wakley), her uncle Fester (Dallin Bradford), her Gradma (Heidi Scott), and their butler Lurch (Thomas Wood), so she arranges a dinner and requests that they give her just one normal night. Chaos ensues when a mishap involving a poisonous potion occurs and it is up to Uncle Fester, with the help of the ancestors (Alec Foote, Alex Joyner, Jonathan Avila, Collin Larsen, Sophi Keller, Kristi Curtis, Channing Spotts, and Kennedy Bradford), to convince everyone that love is the answer.  This features a nearly perfect cast and I especially enjoyed Richardson (reprising the same role from the 2019 production) and Morris as Gomez and Morticia, respectively, because their interactions are hilarious (watch their facial expressions). Foyston is one of my favorite Wednesdays because her voice is very well-suited to the score. I especially enjoyed her renditions of "Pulled" and "Crazier Than You" because they are so powerful. Wakley is adorable as Pugsley (he can definitely scream) and Bradford is a different Fester than I've seen before (I liked him) but Wood absolutely steals the show as Lurch (he is often in the background but you should watch everything he does because he had me laughing out loud, especially his interactions with Thing). The choreography is a lot of fun and, in addition to the big song and dance numbers "When You're an Addams," "Trapped," "One Normal Night," "Full Disclosure," and "Move Towards the Darkness," I really loved the integration of the ancestors in a kick-line with Morticia in "Just Around the Corner," a Pas de Quatre with Fester in "The Moon and Me," and a tango with Gomez and Morticia in "Tango de Amor." I loved Wednesday's iconic black minidress, all of Morticia's slinky gowns, and Gomez's velvet smoking jacket but the costumes for all of the ancestors are epic (my favorites are the Conquistador and the Viking). Finally, the set is absolutely incredible. The proscenium is surrounded by portraits of ancestors (be sure to watch them throughout the show) and the stage is dominated by an ornate wrought iron staircase that is rotated to become different rooms with the addition of elaborate set pieces and props (I loved all of the dead flower arrangements). The visuals, which change for each of the different rooms, are my favorite aspect of this production and they, along with lots of amusing little details, are what make it so spectacular! This would be the perfect show to see during the Halloween season and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs on the Sorenson Legacy Jewel Box Stage through November 16.

My Penguin Friend

Last night I returned to the Broadway to see My Penguin Friend and I think it is one of the most heartwarming movies I've seen in a long time.  It tells the true story about a Magellanic penguin who traveled from Patagonia every year to visit the man in Brazil who nursed him back to health after being caught in an oil spill.  Joao Pereira de Souza (Jean Reno) is a fisherman living on the coast of Brazil who has isolated himself from the villagers around him because he is still grieving the loss of his young son who died many years ago in a boating accident for which he feels responsible.  A penguin is separated from his colony during its annual migration from Patagonia and washes up on Joao's beach sick and covered in oil.  Joao brings the penguin home, much to the dismay of his exasperated wife Maria (Adriana Barraza), and cares for him tenderly until he is ready to be released back into the wild.  When the penguin, dubbed Dindim by a girl in the village, returns the following year, it brings Joao back to life and Dindim ultimately helps him reconcile his son's death.  The underwater cinematography following Dindim's journey from Patagonia to Brazil and back again is incredibly beautiful and immersive and I loved the footage of the penguin colony because I learned so much about their behavior.  There are also some shots from Dindim's POV that are highly amusing because he is very curious and a little bit naughty.  Some liberties are taken with the story but it is really touching, especially a scene when Dindim is in peril and another when we realize that Joao is desperate to save him because he was unable to save his son.  Reno gives a performance that is subtle but affecting and I also love that Dindim is portrayed by ten different rescue penguins. This is such an uplifting movie about the power of friendship and forgiveness that I think almost anyone would enjoy it!

Peter and the Starcatcher at Murray Park Amphitheater

Last night I was able to see Peter and the Starcatcher under the stars at the Murray Park Amphitheater and it was enchanting!  This show is a really clever and imaginative origin story for Peter Pan which explains how a mistreated orphan boy gets magical powers after arriving on Neverland and how the inept pirate Black Stache becomes Peter's arch-nemesis Captain Hook.  The entire cast, most of whom play multiple roles with the addition of costumes and props located on stage, is fantastic.  I particularly enjoyed Trinity Medina as Peter, Cece Capps as Molly, Georgia Collings as Smee, and Hunter Oliphant as Mrs. Bumbrake because they all give slightly different interpretations of their characters from ones I've seen before.  However, Matthew Davids absolutely steals the show as Black Stache because he is incredibly flamboyant as a misunderstood poet looking for a hero to defeat so that he can become a menorable villain.  His facial expressions are hilarious and many of his ad-libbed lines had me and the audience laughing out loud, especially a line about being a Disney villain wannabe.  I also loved his physicality, particularly in the scenes where he loses his hand and where he impersonates Michael Jackson.  A multi-level stage is transformed into the ships The Wasp and The Neverland as well as a volcanic island with ordinary objects that are used in very creative ways (I especially loved having a rope represent different areas on the ships, green parasols as the forest, and a ladder as a crocodile) so the audience must use their imagination much like the Lost Boys do.  I was also impressed by some really clever staging and choreography including how Molly reveals her powers, how Molly shows the stars to Peter, and how Peter and Molly are thrown overboard.  The costumes are also a lot of fun (the use of a fan as a mermaid's tail is ingenious) and all of the amusing sound cues by pianist Jennifer Hansen and percussionist Angel Williams add to the playful vibe.  There are some small pacing issues with this production because I think the second act loses steam but this is a complicated show to mount and I am impressed with what a community theatre company was able to do with it.  Unfortunately, last night was the final performance but there are still a few opportunities to see shows at the Murray Park Amphitheter (go here) before the summer ends.

Note:  I felt a hint of fall in the air because I needed a jacket after the sun went down.

Sing Sing

Last night I went to the Broadway for Sing Sing, a movie that I have been anticipating for months, and it absolutely delivered because I loved it!  It is about a group of men incarcerated in Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison who participate in a real-life theatre program operated by Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA) and the cast features many formerly incarcerated men who are alumni of the program.  The narrative alternates between the brutal realities of living behind bars with scenes of guards roughing up inmates and tossing cells and the chance to escape from those realities for a few hours with scenes showing the men participating in acting exercises and rehearsals for performances. The dialogue is very authentic as the men work through how their life experiences inform their characters and how their characters allow them to express feelings that have been repressed.  It is incredibly powerful, especially when one of the men says that this program allows him to be human again.  I especially loved the relationship between John "Divine G" Whitfield (Colman Domingo) and Clarence "Divine Eye" Maclin (Himself).  Divine G feels very protective of the group and is initially hesitant when Divine Eye joins because he is resistant to the process but he soon does whatever he can to help Divine Eye find success both on stage and in seeking parole.  Then, when Divine G suffers a setback and gives into despair, it is Divine Eye who helps him find his way back to the stage (the resolution between the two characters is so emotional that I was practically sobbing and I wasn't alone).  I also loved that it is Hamlet's soliloquy that helps Divine Eye express his emotions.  Domingo's brilliant performance absolutely blew me away, especially when the camera comes in close to show the subtle changes in his expression, and he should definitely be in the conversation for every Best Actor award.  Maclin is also very affecting as is Sean San Jose who plays Divine G's cellmate.  This is an incredibly moving depiction of the redemptive power of art and it is one of the best movies I've seen this year.  I highly recommend seeking it out.

Alien: Romulus

I think Alien is one of the best science-fiction movies ever made so, even though I like some of the many sequels and prequels more than others, I have been beyond excited to see Alien: Romulus.  I had the chance last night at a Thursday preview and I loved it.  Rain (Cailee Spaeny) is an orphaned indentured laborer on a desolate mining colony eager to escape from Weyland-Yutani Corp.  She and Andy (David Jonsson), an android reprogrammed by her father to take care of her, are invited to join a group, consisting of Tyler (Archie Renoux), Kay (Isabela Merced), Bjorn (Spike Fearn), and Navarro (Aileen Wu), traveling to a decommissioned spaceship floating near the colony in order to access the cryogenic chambers required to leave because they need Andy to communicate with the computer on board.  When they arrive, they discover that the ship is really a space station and that it wasn't decommissioned but destroyed.  They also discover a damaged android who reveals that a xenomorph recovered from the wreckage of the Nostromo is on board and that they have inadvertently provoked an attack by multiple facehuggers.  They attempt to escape by implanting the android's chip into Andy so he can access the space station's controls but this changes his directive with terrifying results.  I was impressed by the story because it is definitely an homage to the movies that have come before (one specific callback had my audience cheering) while still bringing a unique vision to the franchise.  The practical sets, featuring damaged labs, airlocks, corridors, and elevator shafts, brilliantly emphasize the claustrophobia and the use of atmospheric lighting and unsettling sound design add to the almost unbearable tension.  There are some incredible action sequences, especially in the absolutely wild third act (which had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath), and I was particularly blown away by one involving gravity.  I loved the relationship between Rain and Andy because it provides some emotional depth that I wasn't expecting and both Spaeny and Jonsson give outstanding performances (I was quite impressed with Jonsson because he effectively shifts between two different personalities).  My only complaint is that I sometimes had a hard time with the geography because I couldn't figure out where everyone was in relation to various locations and to each other.  Ultimately, I think this is the best entry in the franchise since Aliens and I highly recommend it.