The Brutalist

Last night I went to an early screening of The Brutalist at the Broadway with my nephew (I sure do love going to movies with him) and I think it is an epic masterpiece.  Laszlo Toth (Adrien Brody) is a Hungarian Jew who emigrates to the United States after surviving the Holocaust while separated from his wife Erzsebet (Felicity Jones) and niece Zsofia (Raffey Cassidy).  He lands in New York Harbor but soon travels to Philadelphia where he is taken in by his cousin Atilla (Alessandro Nivola), who has become very assimilated and has an American (and Catholic) wife named Audrey (Emma Laird) who does not want him staying with them.  Atilla eventually gives in to Audrey's wishes (and a false claim that Lazslo made advances to her) and asks him to leave.  He becomes a heroin addict while working a construction job and living in a shelter run by the Catholic church but soon meets a wealthy, but mercurial, industrialist named Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) who knows of his reputation as an innovative architect before the war.  He proposes that Laszlo design a large project as a memorial to his mother and offers to help facilitate the immigration of his wife and niece as an incentive.  Laszlo is reunited with his family and moves to Van Buren's vast estate as work on the elaborate community center begins.  The project is fraught with complications including the last minute addition of a chapel, Van Buren's insistence on having another architect supervise the work, the derision of Van Buren's arrogant son Harry (Joe Alwyn), and the derailment of a train carrying materials which is blamed on Laszlo.  However, it is a violent encounter with Van Buren that ultimately dooms the project.  Many years later, at a retrospective of Laszlo's work in Venice, it is revealed that the community center was eventually completed and now stands as a monument to him rather than Van Buren.  I was absolutely riveted (despite a runtime of over three hours) by this bold exploration of the immigrant experience and I loved how Laszlo's first distorted view of the Statue of Liberty, which is often called a symbol of the American dream, foreshadows what is to come.  Brody is utterly captivating with an emotional performance that, in my opinion, is the best of 2024, especially in an incredibly intense scene where Lazslo tells Van Buren that his buildings will be his legacy, but I was also impressed with Pearce because he is the perfect embodiment of Van Buren's privilege juxtaposed with Laszlo's suffering.  I could not look away whenever the two of them appear on screen together.  The production design is immersive, particularly Laszlo's innovative buildings, and the cinematography is dazzling (it was filmed in VistaVision).  I even loved the titles because they mimic Brutalist architecture.  Finally, I was blown away by the score by Daniel Blumberg, especially the continuous music in the ten minute opening sequence, because the repetition of a four note motif (by the brass and the piano among other instruments) is so evocative.  I cannot recommend this enough!

Note:  Watching this felt like an event because the theater was packed and the structure of the movie (which includes an overture and an intermission) is a throwback to the way movies used to be presented.

Dial M for Murder at PTC

I love the movie Dial M for Murder (I'm a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock) so I was really excited to see a new adaptation by Jeffrey Hatcher at PTC last night. This version is still set in the 1950s but there is an update that intensifies the motivations of the characters and I found the whole production to be incredibly compelling. Tony Wendice (Dan Domingues) blackmails his old college friend Lesgate (Aaron Cammack) into killing his wife Margot (Awesta Zarif) for her money after he discovers that she is having an affair with a crime writer named Maxine Hadley (Lucy Lavely). However, all of his elaborate plans go awry when Margot kills Lesgate instead and he must improvise to make Margot culpable for the murder. Will Margot, Maxine, and Inspector Hubbard (Peter Howard) be able to expose Tony as the mastermind before it is too late? This is an incredibly intense psychological thriller because it is not so much about "whodunnit" but about how the plot will be unraveled. Every aspect of the production adds to the tension and I especially loved the set, which features a well appointed living room surrounded by discolored mirrors that distort the contents within and a murky scrim through which you can see the all-important staircase on the other side of the door, and the dramatic lighting, which uses light and shadow to great effect (especially in the scene where Tony is compelling Lesgate to do his bidding because Tony's shadow looms over Lesgate and it is so ominous). I was also impressed with the sound design because hearing Maxine's interview on the radio during the attack sequence creates a sense of unease that is palpable. The pacing is absolutely brilliant because, despite the heavy reliance on dialogue, my attention never wavered as more and more secrets are slowly revealed (the audience gasped out loud during a particularly heated scene). The cast is uniformly exceptional and it is difficult to single anyone out but I had a lot of fun watching Dominigues subtly manipulate everyone around him with a smirk on his face (he is such a cad) and Howard bumble around with an overwrought delivery (he is the source of much comic relief) until he reveals himself to be Tony's equal in manipulation. Finally, I think having Margot's lover be a woman (the biggest change from the original play by Frederick Knott) really ups the stakes for her and provides a more persuasive motive for the lengths she goes to hide the affair. I thoroughly enjoyed this and, if you are a fan of suspense, I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here). It runs at PTC through January 25.

The Last Showgirl

Last night my nephew and I went to see The Last Showgirl at the Broadway.  I was really eager to see this because of everything I had heard about Pamela Anderson's performance and it is definitely the highlight of the movie.  Shelly Gardner (Anderson) has been a dancer in a Las Vegas revue called Le Razzle Dazzle for over thirty years.  Her much younger castmates Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) see the show as just a way to earn money but she thinks of it as a glamorous career in an iconic show where she feels beautiful and seen.  However, when she learns that show will be closing permanently very soon, she must come to terms with the effect her career has had on the relationship with her estranged daughter Hannah (Billie Lourd) and with the fact that she has only been deluding herself that she is a star after a disappointing audition for another director (Jason Schwartzman).  I really loved the exploration of what it means to follow a dream even when that dream requires sacrifices or is derided by others and I found the ending to be almost triumphant even though Shelly's future remains uncertain.  I also liked the examination of how society treats women when they age (this would be a great double feature with The Substance), especially in the scenes involving Shelly's friend and former castmate Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis).  Anderson gives the performance of her career and, as a woman who was herself sexualized in most of her acting roles and then discarded, she brings an authenticity to the role that is incredibly poignant.  I particularly loved her vulnerability in the audition scene.  I was also really impressed by Dave Bautista as Eddie, the producer of the revue, but I found Curtis to be too over the top.  Unfortunately, the script is quite weak with ambiguous relationships that I wish had been explored more fully and much of the already short runtime is taken up with artistic shots of Shelly standing in front of various locations (I get that this is supposed to represent the real Las Vegas that tourists don't see but the repetition becomes tedious).  Much like with Maria, I really loved the central performance but didn't necessarily love the movie.

Ragtime at The Ruth

I really love the musical Ragtime so I was thrilled to be able to see it last night in the Scott & Karen Smith Grand Theater at The Ruth.  It is an amazing production (and the theater isn't too shabby, either).  This show tells the story of America at the turn of the 20th Century from the perspectives of three different groups of people.  Mother (Amy Shreeve Keeler) is the matriarch of an upper-class family living in the suburb of New Rochelle when Father (Christopher Higbee) leaves on a voyage to the North Pole and she is forced to make decisions for the first time in her life.  Tateh (Taylor Morris) is an Eastern European Jew who brings his daughter to America hoping for a better life.  Coalhouse Walker, Jr. (Yahosh Bonner) is a Harlem piano player looking for justice after the death of his fiance Sarah (Brittany Andam).  Their stories converge along with those of the most notable figures of the day, including the illusionist Harry Houdini (Clayton Barney), a showgirl named Evelyn Nesbit (Morgan Fenner) who gets caught up in the Crime of the Century, the Black leader Booker T. Washington (Chad Brown), the financier J.P. Morgan (Bradley Moss), the inventor of the Model-T Henry Ford (Trevor B. Dean), and the anarchist Emma Goldman (Marcie Jacobsen), with ragtime music as a metaphor for the dramatic changes taking place in American life before World War I.  The entire cast is outstanding but I especially enjoyed Bonner and Andam because they sing "Sarah Brown Eyes," my favorite song in the show, so beautifully (the two of them also just about blow the roof off the brand new theater with their powerful rendition of "Wheels of a Dream") and I found Bonner's performance of "Make Them Hear You" and Andam's performance of "Your Daddy's Son" to be incredibly stirring.  I was also really impressed with Keeler because she sings "Back to Before," another one of my favorites from the show, with so much emotion.  Speaking of emotion, the ensemble brought tears to my eyes during "Till We Reach That Day" because it is so affecting.  The dynamic staging and choreography really add to the storytelling, especially in "Ragtime" as the various groups circle around each other, in "Journey On" as Father and Tateh arrive and depart from New York Harbor as Mother waves to both of them, in "A Shtetl Iz America" as the immigrants arrive at Ellis Island with metal fences that are moved and configured as barriers and then as a gate, and the synchronized movements that mimic an assembly line by the factory workers in "Henry Ford."  I also really loved the energy in "Gettin' Ready Rag" and "Atlantic City."  This new theater features a thrust stage which retains the intimacy of the old theater but allows for more elaborate sets and I liked the use of bricks, glass, and iron girders to represent the industrialization of the age.  Finally, I have always loved HCTO's costumes and this show is no exception.  I especially loved the white Edwardian dresses worn by the women of New Rochelle and Evelyn Nesbit's showgirl costume.  Every aspect of this production is extremely well done and I highly recommend it (you definitely do not want to miss out on being a part of The Ruth's inaugural show).  It runs through February 22 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note:  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing shows at the quirky HCTO theater but I have to admit the the new theater is much more comfortable (lots of leg room).

Titanic The Musical at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

I loved HCT's production of Titanic The Musical so much I saw it twice! I was, therefore, really intrigued by the concert edition of this show now being performed at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse. I saw it last night and, while it doesn't have the same technical wizardry as HCT's version, it is beautiful and very moving. This musical tells the story of the doomed maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic from the perspectives of the different groups on board. The White Star Line is represented by the designer Thomas Andrews, the owner J. Bruce Ismay, and the captain E.J. Smith who marvel at the ship in the song "The Largest Moving Object." The crew is represented by a stoker named Fred Barrett, the lookout Frederick Fleet, and the telegraph operator Harold Bride who are in awe of it in the song "Ship of Dreams." The third class passengers are represented by Kate McGowan, Kate Murphey, Kate Mullins, and Jim Farrell who are excited to be going to America for a better life in the song "Lady's Maid." The second class passengers, especially Alice Beane, are excited to mingle with the wealthy passengers aboard the ship in the song "Doing the Latest Rag." The first class passengers are represented by John Jacob Astor and his wife Madeline and Isidor Straus and his wife Ida who 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 extremely 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 so 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 "Godspeed Titanic." This is a stripped down version with a live orchestra on stage and an ensemble cast of twenty, many of whom play several parts, with minimal props (I loved the life preservers and the blankets with Carpathia stenciled on them) and costumes (the fur stoles worn by the first class passengers were my favorites) and a large screen showing actual photos of various locations on the Titanic. Cast members are located on risers behind the orchestra and move to center stage or on platforms on either side to perform the songs (although there is choreography for "Doing the Latest Rag") and I think this is very effective because the emphasis is on the music rather than an elaborate set. The sinking of the ship is not quite as dramatic but it is still powerfully conveyed through sound and lighting design. The cast is wonderful and the standouts for me were Blaine Hickman as Andrews because he is so emotional in "Blame," Cydney Hall as Bride because her physicality and facial expressions are hilarious in "The Night Was Alive," Ben Teeples as Fleet because his voice is so beautiful in "No Moon," April Beardall as Alice because she made me laugh out loud trying to elude the first class steward in "Doing the Latest Rag," and Mary Nakayu as Ida because she is heartbreaking in "Still." I was very impressed with this production and I highly recommend it (there were a lot of empty seats last night and this definitely deserves a big crowd). It runs on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through February 8 (go here for tickets).

Note:  There is a wonderful display in the lobby with pictures and information about the real people on the Titanic. Make sure to check it out.