Ballet West's Jewels

I usually prefer more traditional full-length ballets but I was very intrigued by the premise of Ballet West's current production, Jewels, which includes three pieces choreographed by George Balanchine each featuring a gemstone that embodies a particular theme.  I decided to get a ticket and I thoroughly enjoyed myself last night.  The first piece is Emeralds and features the music of Gabriel Faure.  It is meant to evoke the elegance, romance, and intrigue of 18th century France.  The main choreography features a central couple, Christopher Ruud and Arolyn Williams, gliding through intricate patterns performed by a female ensemble and it is stunning.  Ruud is one of my favorite dancers in the company and I was thrilled that he was in a featured role last night.  He is an amazing dancer and the pas de deux with Williams is so graceful.  The second piece is Rubies and features the music of Igor Stravinsky.  It is meant to evoke the Jazz Age in America in the 1920s and the choreography is whimsical and playful.  There is a featured couple, Christopher Sellars and Katherine Lawrence, a female soloist, Olivia Gusti, along with a male and female ensemble who all use their bodies to create unique and innovate shapes.  The speed and intensity keeps increasing until the dramatic conclusion.  The final piece, Diamonds, is probably my favorite because it features the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky and evokes the grandeur of imperial Russia.  The choreography is very traditional and classical and features an incredibly romantic pas de deux between Rex Tilton and Emily Adams (he kisses her hand at the end of it!).  There is also a section which features a male ensemble performing athletic leaps and spins and it is spectacular! The ballet continues with a staggering number of couples dancing on stage and it brought to mind what I imagine a stately ball at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg would be like.  I loved it!  The green, red, and white costumes sparkle with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds and the minimal set features a chandelier which is reconfigured for each ballet with the appropriate colored lights.  It is a beautiful production and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here) for one of the four remaining performances.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street at PTC

I have never seen the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street before (or the movie version, either) but, since I am a huge fan of Stephen Sondheim, I have been looking forward to Pioneer Theatre's production for a long time!  I finally had the chance to see it last night and it is incredible!  It is one of the darkest musicals I've ever seen so, of course, I loved it!  Sweeney Todd (Kevin Earley) is a Victorian-era barber who has just returned to London after 15 years of exile in Australia.  When he learns the fate of his wife and daughter, he immediately wants to get revenge on Judge Turpin (Joe Dellger), the man who ruined his life.  He goes back to his former rooms above the pie shop run by Mrs. Lovett (Anne Tolpegin) to discover that she has kept all of his barbering tools.  He decides to set up shop and lure the judge in for a shave so he can slit his throat.  However, the judge eludes him and he vows vengeance on the whole human race.  He begins to kill all of his customers and Mrs. Lovett uses the bodies in her meat pies!  Eventually, his quest for revenge turns to madness.  As with all Stephen Sondheim musicals, the music is absolutely brilliant and the songs have an almost operatic quality. Both Earley and Tolpegin have fantastic voices and really bring these despicable characters to life in a way that is both comedic and tragic.  I especially enjoyed Tolpegin's renditions of "The Worst Pies in London" and "By The Sea" and I laughed out loud when the two of them sang "A Little Priest."  I also really liked "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd" and all of its many reprises sung by the ensemble because the various Londoners reminded me a bit of a Greek chorus.  The set is amazing with two rusted cogwheels in the center of the stage to represent the industrialization of London.  I also loved the barber chair which sent Sweeney's victims to the bakehouse in the basement.  The use of fog and lighting added much to the spooky atmosphere and the special effects, especially all of the blood as Sweeney slit his victim's throats, were great.  The show is gruesome but it is so much fun and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Note:  If you have a rush pass plan to get there early.  The line was one of the longest I've seen for a PTC show!

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The second film in my indie double feature was Can You Ever Forgive Me?  Melissa McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a curmudgeonly author who prefers the company of her cat to people.  She has just lost her job and her agent (Jane Curtain) won't return her calls so, in desperation, she sells a personal letter from Katharine Hepburn to a dealer for a substantial amount of money.  While she is doing research for a book at the New York Public Library she finds a signed letter from Fanny Brice.  She takes the letter back to the same dealer but is offered a low price because the content isn't very noteworthy.  When she discovers that her typewriter has the same font as the letter, she embellishes it and takes it to another dealer who pays a much larger sum.  She then begins forging letters from other authors, most notably Noel Coward and Dorothy Parker, which becomes very lucrative.  She is extremely adept at mimicking the tone and idiosyncrasies of the various authors and regards her forgeries as her best work.  When one of her letters raises suspicion and dealers stop buying from her, she enlists the help of an old friend named Jack (Richard E. Grant) to sell the letters but he ultimately betrays her when confronted by the FBI.  This is a darkly comedic film in which a deeply flawed character eventually finds a sort of redemption (one of my favorite themes).  Melissa McCarthy gives a brilliant performance (earning some early Oscar buzz), turning Lee into an incredibly sympathetic character despite her behavior.  I liked the juxtaposition between Lee and Jack because Lee is misanthropic and difficult while Jack is full of charisma and charm.  They have some fantastic dialogue as two lonely people who only have each other banter back and forth.  I actually found the character of Lee to be refreshing in that she is unapologetic and I really enjoyed this film.  It might not be for everyone but I highly recommend it!

Beautiful Boy

Yesterday was a dark and rainy day so I thought the best thing to do would be to see another indie double feature.  I began with Beautiful Boy because many of my students have read and enjoyed Nic Sheff's autobiography Tweak, upon which the film is based (along with his father David's autobiography Beautiful Boy).  Nic Sheff (Timothee Chalamet) is a young man with a promising future as a writer and artist when he begins experimenting with drugs.  He ultimately becomes addicted to methamphetamine and begins a never ending cycle of rehabilitation and relapse.  His father David (Steve Carell) believes that the two of them have had a strong relationship and wonders what he has done to cause Nic's addiction in a series of sometimes confusing but ultimately heartbreaking flashbacks.  In his desperation he tries to do anything he can to understand what Nic is going through and to help him overcome the addiction.  There is an incredibly poignant moment in the film when David sees the turmoil that this has caused his second wife (Maura Tierney) and their two children and he realizes that he can't do anything to help Nic because he has to help himself.  It is a film with a very powerful message but it is not easy to watch because it gives an incredibly gritty and authentic portrayal of how an addiction impacts everyone around the person addicted.  Chalamet is outstanding, particularly in a scene at a diner where Nic lashes out at his father, because he masterfully conveys the dramatic change in personality that meth addicts undergo (I am more and more impressed with Chalamet with every role).  Carell, in another dramatic turn, also gives a haunting performance as a father who would do anything for his son.  As I mentioned, this is not any easy film to watch but I recommend it.

Bohemian Rhapsody

Last night I finally had the chance to see Bohemian Rhapsody and I absolutely loved it!  The movie begins when Farrokh Bulsara (Rami Malek), a college student of Indian descent who works as a baggage handler at Heathrow Airport, goes to see Smile, a band he has been following.  After the show he introduces himself to guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy) who tell him that their lead singer has just quit.  Farrokh joins the band, changes their name to Queen, changes his name to Freddie Mercury, and has the band record a demo.  The movie then chronicles Queen's rapid rise to fame, the creation of their epic song "Bohemian Rhapsody," tensions within the band, and their triumphant reunion performance at Live Aid.  The movie also explores his difficult relationship with his very traditional family who disapprove of him, his complicated relationship with Mary Austin (Lucy Boynton) who he considers to be the love of his life, his troubled relationship with his personal manager Paul Prenter (Allen Leech), his questioning of his sexuality, his loneliness, his promiscuity, his AIDS diagnosis, and, finally, his loving relationship with Jim Hutton (Aaron McCusker).  The story of redemption is very powerful and emotional but I was completely blown away by the staging of Queen's performances, especially the 21-minute Live Aid performance (which I remember distinctly).  It seems as if Rami Malek is actually channeling Freddie Mercury in these performances, from the distinctive strut across the stage to the twirling of the microphone stand to the dramatic poses.  Malek gives an absolutely incredible performance, which is already receiving some Oscar buzz, and I had goosebumps whenever he was on stage.  I love the music of Queen and it was fascinating for me to see how they experimented to get their distinctive sound, especially on "Bohemian Rhapsody."  One of my favorite moments in the movie is when an EMI executive, played by Mike Myers, refuses to release the song saying that teenage boys will never bang their heads to it in their cars.  This made me laugh out loud considering a certain scene in the movie Wayne's World where a character, played by Mike Myers, bangs his head to it in his car!  I've heard criticism that this movie doesn't accurately portray his sexuality but I think it is very clear.  It is just not portrayed in an overly salacious way.  I've also heard criticism that there are historical inaccuracies but I don’t think this detracts from the narrative at all.  This is not meant to be a documentary but, rather, a movie that entertains and captures the spirit of Freddie Mercury.  I think it succeeds in doing both and I highly recommend it!  I want to see it again!