The Secret Garden at APAC

Last night I was fortunate enough to check out the final rehearsal for the musical The Secret Garden, opening tonight from The Astoria Performing Arts Center. Everyone in NYC should take a quick trip to Astoria, Queens to check out this lovely production (and have a delicious dinner at one of Astoria’s crazy good restaurants as well).

From APAC’s Website: “Living in a lonely manor house in 1906 England, Archibald Craven yearns for his beautiful, late wife. He blames his crippled son, Colin, for his wife’s death and has left him neglected and isolated. Their quiet routine is turned upside down when young Mary Lennox, a rich, spoiled child, is sent to live with them following the death of her parents by cholera in India. While living at the manor house, Mary discovers a secret walled garden hidden in the grounds and releases the magic and adventures locked inside, changing their lives forever. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Marsha Norman, in collaboration with composer Lucy Simon, achieved Broadway success with the moving book and lyrics adapted from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s beloved 1911 novel. Using the classic form of the traditional American musical, they have fashioned a faithful rendition of the novel, equally appealing to children and adults, to devotees of the novel and to The Secret Garden newcomers as well.”

This has been one of my favorite musicals since I first saw it as a young girl when the touring company traveled the country back in the early 90s. I’ve known the words to all of the songs ever since, but this production made them fresh and new in my mind and revitalized old memories. One of my favorite lines in the show is when young Mary asks Uncle Archibald if everyone who dies becomes a ghost. His reply is the melancholy, “They’re only a ghost if someone alive is still holding on to them,” which reflects the themes of letting go, moving on, and especially regrowth, both garden and personal.

Highlights of the show include an utterly gorgeous set designed by Michael P. Kramer that turns an old church theater into a stunning English manor. Stoic paintings and ornate accents give way to a lovely transformation that I won’t reveal in this write up, but the outcome is simply gorgeous. Patrick Porter delivers a heart wrenching performance as Archibald Craven, Mary’s reclusive uncle who continues to mourn the loss of his wife while his lonely son lives on, quarantined away. His “Race You to the Yop of the Morning” was surprisingly funny, yet bittersweet. Porter’s heartache, his lovely numbers and the close of both acts moved me to some unexpected tears. Hannah Lewis puts forth a feisty, rebellious Mary Lennox and Benjamin J. McHugh creates a Dr. Neville Craven that somehow garners sympathy; a feeling I had never had for the character before. Jennifer Evans is a lovely Lily, with a peaceful tone and hypnotizing presence. Her ghostly duet of “Come To My Garden” with the young Colin, the adorable Sam Poon, was particularly moving and reminded the audience that little Colin is also mourning a loss; something Archibald perhaps never noted. With direction by Tom Wojtunik, whose slight alterations provide fascinating results, this production of a little seen musical is a fantastic addition for this blooming theater company.

The Secret Garden opens tonight, May 3rd and runs Thursdays-Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm until May 19th.

Location:
Good Shepherd United Methodist Church
30-44 Crescent St (@30th Rd)
Astoria, NY 11102

Oscars 2012!! Is the film industry moving backwards?

Greetings CBC readers! I know, it’s been a long while since my last post. But I have actually been working! Like for money! So CBC falls to the wayside. But I couldn’t let something like the Oscars slip by without commentary! So here we go. Let’s begin, like we always do, with some fashions!

The Best

My absolute favorite was Jessica Chastain. Lovely gold embroidery on black. Thankfully the black was a sheer chiffon type of fabric so it was sort of light and airy while at the same time totally ornate.

Lots of the “fashion experts” really hated Sandra Bullock’s, but I really loved it. I liked the black and white mix, I like that it was flouncy at the top and dippy in the back. And those colors again! I guess gold embroidery is hip this year.

Even though Ellie Kemper’s bangs pretty much match her dress, which is weird, I really love this copper,sequined number. The earrings are great too.

Natalie Portman’s was a bit casual, but very cute. Apparently it was 1950s vintage, so that’s cool. I liked the polka dots on red and the period but casual hair. If anything I think the big, diamond necklace glammed it up a bit too much.

The MEH

I love the color and the layers on Michelle Williams. I HATE the little mini-skirt or whatever the hell it is and the fact that the back is actually beige. Ew.

Zee Arteest’s Bérénice Bejo needs a bit of red carpet practice. I love the color and the bead work. It just seemed a bit overwhelming and one note at the same time. I also really hate the hair. But the earrings are lovely.

Paltrow wore a cape. That’s all I got to say.

Yes, Angelina Jolie. We know you’re sexy. You’re dress kind of looks like a velvet trash bag though. Also, eat a sandwich please. Don’t listen to Paltrow, carbs are your friend.

The Worst

What…on…earth? Rooney Mara, just because you’re not wearing black does not mean you can wear a nightgown from the Corpse Bride collection.

Oh god. Why does Melissa Leo look like she’s wearing a sparkly pajama top underneath a hideous sequin gown?

Viola Davis. I LOVE you. You were ROBBED. But This dress is really awful. I love the color on you, I love your natural hair. But what happened with this? Bizarre cuts and mixing fabrics and awful all around.

Alright kids, now let’s move on to the actual show and some “memorable” moments. I put memorable in quotes because all in all I thought the show was incredibly dull, old fashioned and pretty lame. I give it a C.

-Billy Crystal as host: Look, I get it. After last year’s debacle of trying to “young” up the Oscar telecast with the atrocious James Franco and Anne Hathaway, they wanted something familiar, something stable, something traditional. And boy did they get it. I’ll give Billy applause for being exactly what they wanted, but shesh, what a snooze fest. I’ve never been a big fan of Billy Crystal type comedy to begin with, but his entire shtick was rehashed hosting bits from his 90s gigs. The opening video montage was funny, but the “Oscar, Oscar” song that he’s used 85 times? The mind reading gag?  Old news, my friends. And was it me, or was there an uncomfortable element of racism going on with Crystal’s whole bit? With the black face and the opening film and a couple of uncomfortable jokes about The Help, Crystal waded into some pretty sketchy territory. Hey, the old white men who make up the Academy wanted old and traditional, they got old and traditional, even with the winners (we’ll get to that later).

-Cirque du Soleil: For me, this was probably the most exciting moment of the show. I wish it had been a little more movie-centric and tied in more with some clips, for example I really loved the bit part where the flying acrobat was running away from Cary Grant running away from the plane in North By Northwest, but that was kind of the only evident tie in they did. While the amazing feats of Cirque don’t translate as well on TV as they do live, it was still a lovely spectacle.

-Wizard of Oz focus group: Am I the only one who thought this was stupid? It wasn’t particularly funny, and I mean…come on. REALLY? You’re going to make fun of your audience tonight, film industry? Your audience is the only thing keeping any of this alive. Your box office numbers are down and you’re going to mock the AUDIENCE?

-The Funnies: Thank goodness for Robert Downey Jr., Melissa McCarthy and up and coming comedienne Emma Stone. Their bits were way funnier than anything Crystal brought to the stage all night. Also, bravo to McCarthy and Rose Byrne for bringing back the Scorsese drinking game. In all seriousness, can we have the cast of Bridesmaids host next year?

-Best Acceptance Speach Quotation: ““You’re only two years older than me darling, where have you been all my life?”- Christopher Plummer after winning Best Supporting Actor for Beginners.

The Winners

I actually did pretty well with my predictions, getting 15 out of 24 correct. You can find a complete list of the winners here at EW. But I have a few notes:

-Viola Davis was ROBBED. I cannot tell you how pissed off I was that Meryl Streep won. I was one of the people whom Meryl correctly predicted audibly GROANED when her name was called. Ugh. Come on Meryl. And don’t give me this always a bridesmaid never a bride bull. She’s got two already. You know how hard it is going to be for Viola Davis to get another role that is going to earn her an Oscar nomination? Lame.

-The Descendants SUCKED and I can’t believe it won best adapted screenplay. A friend and I sat down Saturday night to watch the screener and we were so bored that I started doing the hula every time they showed beautiful shots of Hawaii. Terrible, terrible film. When it won I screamed so loud that I scared my cat and he ran out of the room.

-On that note, thank goodness Jean Dujardin won Best Actor. If they gave it to Clooney for that shit-tastic Descendants, I would have probably scared my cat again.

-I’m very glad that The Artist won Best Picture. Of the rest of them, I could only say that I would have been happy with either a Hugo or The Help win. But The Artist was really fantastic. Does it, however, reflect the old fashioned trend of this entire awards season, nay year in film, as a whole in a negative way? Let’s ponder this for a moment.

The two films which won the most awards, Hugo and The Artist, were both love letters to old cinema. The era of silent films and George Meliés were groundbreaking and should be honored for sure. But add that content to the rest of these facts: The Academy is made up of primarily over 60, white men. A commentator on Roger Ebert’s facebook page noted that Viola Davis lost to Meryl Streep because, “There was no way they were going to allow two black women in that photo.” Was she right? Does Billy Crustal’s old fashioned hosting, his borderline racist commentary, Meryl’s win, the content of the two most winning films and the makeup of the Academy suggest that this entire year the film industry has been devolving and  moving backwards? I truly hate to throw The Artist and Hugo under the bus here, as I loved them both and am a nerd for old cinema, but I don’t think the connections can be denied. After The King’s Speech won out over The Social Network last year, the industry was labeled as being out of touch with modern life. I didn’t share the disdain, considering that I thought The King’s Speech was a better film, but I can see where they were going. THIS year, it’s even more evident. The question now is, what do we do about it. Suggestions folks?

Oscar Night! My Ballot

Hey folks! It’s Oscar Night! I’ll be live tweeting/Facebooking starting tonight at 7pm. Here’s my ballot! I’ll be back tomorrow with a post going over winners, fashion and highlights of the show. Enjoy!!

 

 

Trailer Watch: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

I chose to feature this trailer because it’s New Years Eve, and it just kind of spoke to me. I don’t much care for Jonathan Safran Foer’s books, but I DO think that Everything is Illuminated was transformed into a phenomenal film. Let’s hope this one does the same.

Trailer Watch: One Snow White looks better than the other.

So the Fairy Tale trend is in full swing, dudes. You’ve got  Once Upon a Time, and Grimm on TV. Plus a good sack full of films in production or in the works, the most recent first look being that of Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gretel.

I have to say, they look a little…Underworldy? And the title, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters sounds like a hokey scyfy movie of the week.  Fairy Tale adaptations like this one tend go one of two ways: Totally awesome, or truly wretched. Adapting a fairy tale can be seriously difficult, given the settings, over the top characters, and magic involved, but I love it when they try. I’m quite a  Fairy Tale nerd. I went through a brief period of attempting to write angsty-teen revisions during high school. Sadly (or luckily?) those were all lost when my laptop died from an unfortunate Diet Coke incident.

Disney announced back in August that they were working on an adaptation of Snow White’s story titled  Order of the Seven, even though two Snow White films are almost wrapped. I have to say though, bring it on Disney, because these two don’t bust my buttons just yet. Let’s take a look.

Mirror, Mirror.
I had hoped, from the title, that they were actually making a film out of Gregory Maguire’s awesome book. But alas, its is not so. Also, they cast Julia Roberts as the evil queen and BAM, the whole thing seems to have gone down hill from there. Guys…this…looks…terrible.

I get it, they’re shooting for the comedy here, and Lily Collins totally looks the part. But …OY. Julie Roberts slipping in and out of her terrible accent, the one-liners, the weird rock music. I don’t know where this movie is going, but I know where I am NOT going on its opening weekend.

Snow White & The Huntsman
Now…I’m not a fan of Kristen Stewart. But tell me, doesn’t this movie look a lot mo’ bettah?

Looks like Kristen Stewart is not going to be a problem because CLEARLY the winner of this trailer, and hopefully the film, is in the awesome looking performance from Charlize Theron. Really, this is what I imagined when I sat down at 16 or so to come up with some Fairy Tale badassery. Hope it lives up to my expectations.

Save Pan Am!: My Favorite New Fall Show

Dudes, the fate of my favorite new fall show is questionable. On November 29th, Pan Am star Karine Vanasse tweeted: “Well, we received THE call, #PanAm is only coming back for one more episode after Christmas. But up to the end, we’ll give it our all!” leading to a world of confusion throughout the TV land. Merely an hour later, Vanasse returned to Twitter to clarify: “Sorry for the confusion #PanAm fans; we still have 5 new episodes to air until February! ”  Prompting @PanAmABC to tweet: “No flight cancellations here” and a release statement from ABC statiing that Pan Am hadn’t been cancelled. What she probably meant was that the cast and crew likely only have one episode left to shoot before their 14 episode commitment is fulfilled. But boy did this spark a TV frenzy!

I for one would be darned disappointed if Pan Am were to be cancelled. It’s definitely my favorite new fall show and I honestly think it’s better than often lauded (and picked up for a full season) new ABC drama Once Upon a Time. Sure, Pan Am can be over dramatic, unrealistic and soap opera-like at times, but less so than the dying-a-slow-and-boring-death Grey’s Anatomy. 

At its simplest, Pan Am is just a great, fun show. To delve a little deeper, here are a few reasons why it happens to be my favorite 2011 addition to the prime time landscape:

1) I freaking LOVE to travel.

At this point I’ve been to 19 different countries and I’m just getting started. As hokey as it sounds, Pan Am gives me a nice hint of that excitement you get when you’re about to see a new place and marvel at its wonders. When the stewardesses step, wide eyed into a foreign country, I’m right there with them.

2) It’s got the ambiance of Mad Men, without the whole task of watching Mad Men.

Don’t get me wrong, I freaking love Mad Men. But it’s really nice to have a show within that 19060s setting that is just a little more whimsical fun and a little less “holycrapwhatjusthappened.” Mad Men is a brilliant, beautiful show but it can be seriously soul draining to watch sometimes.

3) The Pan Am gals are what we wish the Mad Men gals could be.

Again, brilliant show, brilliant female characters in Joan, Peggy and the awful Betty Draper. But Pan Am‘s Maggie, Laura, Kate and Colette are a little more tailored to 2011 mindsets.  While Joan is totally awesome, she frequently lets the sexism of the 60s slide, while Christina Ricci’s Maggie throws a drink in it’s face. Yes, it’s probably unrealistic for its time. Yet, if we had a chance to go back, exactly what we would do.

4) Mad Men talks about historical events, while Pan Am shows them to us.

While much of Mad Men‘s beauty lies in its subtly, I often wish the show would be more up front about the time period, not just by addressing the issues of the period, but by actually featuring 1960s current events. Where Mad Men slyly alludes to a historical events (JFK’s assassination, Race riots etc.) Pan Am puts its main characters present and involved (JFK’s trip to Berlin, Cuban refugee crisis etc.).

5) The Smoking Issue

Seriously, I don’t even notice that these people aren’t smoking up a storm. In fact, when I am watching Mad Men, I am seriously astounded at how much they smoke and often find it distracting. I know, again, unrealistic, but I really don’t mind it.

6) Karine Vanasse is fantastic and Colette’s story line is super interesting.

The tweeter herself is really wonderful in the role of French stewardess Colette.  Her WWII refugee back story in the episode “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” was incredibly engaging and paved the way for the flash-back/back story reveal as we go along system that they’ve now put in place.

Who knows, gang, maybe Vanasse’s tweet was a ploy all along to get Pan Am some more press. If so, I think it worked! But I was going to watch the mid-season finale tonight anyway, and I suggest you check it out as well. Save Pan Am!

Trailer Watch: The Hunger Games

Dudes…this better kick some ass…