An American in Paris at The Ruth

I was so excited to see An American in Paris at The Ruth last night!  It is such a beautiful show and I think this version   rivals the Broadway touring production I saw several years ago.  Jerry Mulligan (Johnathan Tanner) is an American soldier who decides to stay in Paris after the war to pursue his dream of becoming a painter.  He sees Lise Dassin (Ella Bleu Bradford), a Parisian shopgirl with aspirations of becoming a ballerina, on the street and is instantly enchanted by her.  They meet every afternoon along the Seine and inevitably fall in love but complications arise.  Lise feels a duty to the Baurel family for hiding her from the Nazis and accepts a proposal of marriage from their son Henri (Thomas Wood).  Jerry is indebted to his patron Milo Davenport (Teaira Burge), an American heiress who promotes his art and falls in love with him.  It takes an incredibly romantic ballet sequence for Lise and Jerry to realize that they belong together.  The dancing in this show is absolutely exquisite and I loved both the choreography and the performances.  I especially enjoyed "Concerto in F" on the streets of Paris because it conveys the hardships experienced after the war very effectively, "I've Got Beginner's Luck" as Jerry wreaks havoc in the Galeries Lafayette where Lise works because it incorporates a lot of fun props such as umbrellas, mannequins, bolts of fabric, and display cabinets, and "Stairway to Paradise" at a Paris nightclub because it is dazzling.  Bradford is an incredible dancer and I was so impressed by her ability to dance on pointe during the ballet "An American in Paris" because it is at the end of the show and requires an enormous amount of stamina.  Tanner is very exuberant and I loved his energy in "I've Got Rhythm" and "Fidgety Feet" as well as his chemistry with Bradford in "Liza" (which is really lovely).  Of course hearing all of the amazing music by George and Ira Gershwin is a treat and I particularly loved the beautiful rendition of "They Can't Take That Away From Me" by Jerry, Henri, and Adam (Jordan Briggs) at the end of the show.  The set is simple but very dramatic with an arched screen upstage used for projections of Paris and flowing fabric covered by twinkling lights above the stage to represent the Seine while the moody lighting gives everything a dream-like quality.  Finally, the costumes are gorgeous, especially Milo's elaborate gowns, the bold black and white costumes and masks at the ball, and the pink sparkly showgirl costumes and headdresses in "Stairway to Paradise."  I loved everything about this beautiful production (Who could ask for anything more?) and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).  It runs in the Smith Grand Theater through July 19.

Materialists

I loved Past Lives so much I named it as my favorite movie of 2023 so I was very eager to see what writer/director Celine Song would do next.  My nephew and I saw her latest movie, Materialists, last night as part of our double feature at the Broadway and, while it doesn't quite have the same emotional impact as Past Lives, I really enjoyed it.  Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a successful New York City matchmaker responsible for nine marriages using her own unique algorithm for compatibility.  At the wedding of one of her clients, she meets the groom's brother Harry (Pedro Pascal) and, because he is tall, handsome, charming, well educated, and incredibly wealthy, he fits the algorithm for her perfect match.  However, she also encounters her ex-boyfriend John (Chris Evans), a struggling actor working as a waiter for the company catering the wedding.  The two of them split five years earlier because of their incompatible attitudes towards money but they still clearly have feelings for each other.  Harry, who believes that Lucy is also the perfect match for him, pursues her with extravagant dates but she contrives to find ways to keep in contact with John.  Eventually, she must decide if she belongs with the one who is perfect for her based on what she thinks she wants or the one she loves in spite of his imperfections.  There is also a subplot involving one of Lucy's clients (Zoe Winters) who has a terrifying experience with a man who is matched to her using the surface-level specifications in Lucy's algorithm and this ultimately helps her make her decision.  As with Past Lives, Song explores what it means to find your soul mate but this time love miraculously overcomes all complications (which is certainly less heartbreaking but also feels a bit unearned).  Nevertheless, I loved the witty banter between the characters and the honest, if sometimes harsh, observations about dating and marriage.  I also loved the performances.  Johnson is hit or miss with me because I think she is the kind of actress who needs a good director to pull a good performance out of her and this is one of her best.  Pascal is incredibly charming and Evans is endearing (one of the things that makes this so compelling is that it is entirely plausible that she could end up with either of them).  This may not be as strong as Past Lives (how could it be?) but I definitely liked it and would recommend it.

The Life of Chuck

Last night my nephew and I had a double feature at the Broadway starting with The Life of Chuck.  I absolutely loved this and I find it even more meaningful the more I think about it!  In Act One, Charles "Chuck" Krantz (Cody Flanagan as a 7-year-old, Benjamin Pajak as an 11-year-old, and Jacob Tremblay as a 17-year-old) spends his formative years with his accountant grandfather (Mark Hamill) and free-spirited grandmother (Mia Sara) and becomes involved with an extracurricular dance club run by the gym teacher (Samantha Sloyan).  In Act Two, Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) demonstrates how the people in his life have influenced him during an encounter with a busker (Taylor Gordon) and a woman reeling from a recent breakup (Annalise Basso).  In Act Three, a high school teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a nurse (Karen Gillan), and a mortician (Carl Lumbly) discover the influence Chuck has had on them at the end of his life.  This is told in reverse chronological order with narration from Nick Offerman and an elaborate conceit in Act Three that is both brilliant and thought-provoking (I haven't read the novella by Stephen King, upon which this is based, so I gasped out loud when I finally realized what was going on).  I loved all the recurring images that tie the three different acts together, especially the use of Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself" (which eventually provides a powerful message).  I also really loved Hiddleston's performance (he's got some serious moves) but I was really surprised by how little screen time he actually has.  In fact, I was surprised by the number of people who essentially have cameos (my favorites involve David Dastmalchian because his is very amusing and Matthew Lillard because his is incredibly profound) but this serves to emphasize the tremendous impact that one ordinary person can have in a lifetime.  This is a moving, and surprisingly optimistic, exploration of existence and I cannot recommend it enough!

School of Rock at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse

Last night I went to see School of Rock at the Terrace Plaza Playhouse. This is a fun high energy show and I loved seeing so many talented kids performing live on stage! Dewey (David Simon) is kicked out of his band No Vacancy right before the Battle of the Bands and his best friend Ned (Spencer Slade), with whom he has been living for several years, is under pressure from his girlfriend Patty (Crystl Naylor) to get him to pay rent. Desperate to earn some money, Dewey takes a substitute teaching job at Horace Green Prep School that is meant for Ned. As Dewey gets to know his students, he sees that they are being crushed by the weight of their parents' expectations so, after hearing them during their music class, he decides to form a band to give them some confidence. He puts Zack (Will Simon) on lead guitar, Katie (Lillian Logan) on bass, Lawrence (Luke Simon) on keyboard, Freddie (Charlotte Booth) on drums with Shonelle (Indie Magalei) and Marcy (Madi Child) on backing vocals. He recruits Billy (Andrew Slade) to be the band's stylist, Jamie (Nora Despain) as security, Mason (Luke Collier) on tech, and Summer (Grace Moore), the class know-it-all, as the band's manager. Tomika (Eva Teiter), a shy and insecure transfer student, eventually finds her voice and becomes the band's secondary singer. Dewey wants to enter them in the Battle of the Bands but, before he can, he must convince the uptight principal Ms. Mullins (Margaret Simon) to let him take them on a field trip (which he does in a hilarious scene involving the song "Edge of Seventeen" by Stevie Nicks). The parents eventually catch on to Dewey's deception but the kids win them over with their performance at the Battle of the Bands! As previously mentioned, the kids play their instruments live in the songs "You're in the Band," "Stick It to the Man," and "School of Rock" and they are amazing! David Simon is an irrepressible and energetic Dewey (I laughed out loud during his performance of "In the End of Time") but he also shows a lot of heart in his interactions with the kids (two of them are his real-life sons) and the bond he forms with them is palpable. Margaret Simon has a beautiful voice in "Here at Horace Green" but she also has a moment of vulnerability in "Where Did the Rock Go?" My favorite young actors are Moore, because is so funny as the boastful Summer (I always laugh when Dewey calls her Hermione) and does a great job in the song "Time to Play," and Teiter, because she is very hesitant as Tomika until she finally shows Dewey that she deserves to be lead singer and her solo in "School of Rock" is very powerful. All of the young actors do a wonderful job with "If Only You Would Listen" (my favorite song in the show) and I was really impressed with how well they perform the choreography in "Stick It to the Man" and "School of Rock." I loved the minimal set pieces used for Horace Green Prep School as well as the fun uniforms worn by the kids. I had so much fun watching this show (I couldn't help but cheer aloud during the Battle of the Bands) and I highly recommend it! It runs on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays through July 26 and tickets may be purchased here.

Note: Dewey's band No Vacancy played before the show started (they are really good) and I especially enjoyed hearing their cover of "Back in Black" by AC/DC.

Something Rotten at Hopebox Theatre

I love the musical Something Rotten so much I saw it again last night, this time at Hopebox Theatre. I really admire the mission of this theatre (go here to learn more about Rachel Milne, the Wall of Hope recipient for Something Rotten) and I thoroughly enjoyed this production. Nick Bottom (Ian Fife) and his brother Nigel (Ian Wellisch) are playwrights in London during the Renaissance. Nick will do anything it takes, even stealing the money he and his wife Bea (Brynn Thurston) are saving in order to consult the soothsayer Nostradamus (Andrew Stone), to become more popular than William Shakespeare (Austin Shipp) while Nigel just wants to be true to himself and use his poetry to woo Portia (Kira Dalby) despite the disapproval of her father Brother Jeremiah (Lee L. Perry). Nostradamus tells Nick that he should write a play with singing and dancing because that will be popular in the future so this is a really fun love letter to musical theatre. I always enjoy looking for all of the references because it seems like every production adds their own interpretation and in this show I noticed the fans made of blue feathers from White Christmas in "A Musical" and Maria from The Sound of Music, the Fiddler from The Fiddler on the Roof, and the chimney sweeps from Mary Poppins make an appearance in "Make an Omelette." I also love finding all of the allusions to Shakespeare and last night I noticed for the first time (because I actually read the program) that the actors in Nick's troupe are named Tom Snout, Robin, Peter Quince, Francis Flute, and Snug which are characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Too funny! The entire cast is great but shoutouts go to Stone for his energetic physical performance as Nostradamus, Wellisch for his hilarious facial expressions as Nigel (he portrays Nigel as overwrought which is very different from O'Boyle's characterization in the production at Murray Amphitheater the night before), and Shipp for all of his rock star poses (I laughed out loud every time he mimicked Elvis Presley) and all of his interactions with the audience as Shakespeare. I enjoyed the lively choreography for "Welcome to the Renaissance," "A Musical," "Bottom's Gonna Be on Top," "We See The Light," and "Make an Omelette" because it involves a large ensemble on a small thrust stage very effectively and I always appreciate tap dancing. I was really impressed with the elaborate set that is rotated to become a timbered cottage and an outdoor theatre. Finally, this production tones down the profanity and some of the more suggestive innuendos, especially in a scene when Nigel reads a sonnet to Portia, but I don't think this detracts from the humor. I recommend getting a ticket (go here) to this entertaining show for a fun night out and an opportunity to support a very worthwhile cause. It runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (with matinees on Saturdays) through July 12.

Note: I will be seeing two more productions of Something Rotten later this year!