As if the reality of media layoffs and non-existant newspaper readerships wasn’t enough of a reason for journalists to take up drinking, along comes Broadway’s ‘Time Stands Still,’ a play focusing on the emotional breakdown of a war correspondent.
Photo by Joan Marcus
Written by Donald Margulies and directed by Daniel Sullivan, ‘Time Stands Still’ touches on the always relevant, yet often sidelined, subject of journalism. This at a time when the profession is battling e-readers and blogs — formats that erase the desire for hard copy newspapers and day-late stories.
While ‘Time Stands Still’ lacks enough focus to drive home the point that hard working journalists give up comfort and love to pursue their calling, the subject is touched upon throughout the play. Laura Linney tackles the role of a war photojournalist that has recently suffered a near-death experience while reporting from the Middle East. Riddled with scars, both physical and emotional, she carries the baggage of front-line reporting. Death, devastation and futility are common themes journalists encounter when covering disaster and war zones. Where the play succeeds is in its slow-paced portrayal of an emotional meltdown.
Linney’s character hobbles back to a New York City apartment with her long-time lover, also a conflicted journalist, and spends the entire play fighting an urge to return to the Middle East. It’s an emotional battle for her, because returning to work would mean losing her boyfriend and risking further injury.
Most of the play focuses not on journalism as a whole, rather, on the emotional hardships associated with love and how people settle for something comfortable in life rather than going it alone. Linney’s boyfriend, Brian d’Arcy James, suffers post traumatic stress disorder following troubles in a war zone and decides he wants to settle down, raise a family, and spend his days obsessing over horror movies.
Eric Bogosian is a magazine editor suffering a mid-life crisis that takes the shape of a simple-minded Alicia Silverstone. After spending years with an over-analitical woman, Bogosian opts for a pretty, young face that he finds comfort in.
By the end of ‘Time Stands Still,’ Linney stands alone, the only one of her cohorts willing to sacrifice for the journalistic cause. Such actions can be read as heroic amongst the young journalists springing up from the Columbia Universities and North Westerns of the world — I’ll own up to being a Columbia Journalism School alum — but to many watching the play, it might seem tragic that Linney’s character finds solace in a life of torment.
After all, when you read the news for free online, be it blog or the New York Times via an iPhone, how tragic it must be to imagine someone risking their lives to write up that quick blurb read between subway stops. Yet, as ‘Time Stands Still’ points out, some stories require a journalist willing to forgo a life of comfort for the greater good. The fact that Linney’s character is unable to give up on her life-long pursuit of journalistic truth is a message the public and media leaders alike must pay attention to.
While many New Yorkers stick their noses up at the thought of a “theatre scene” in Los Angeles, there is plenty of live theatre going on in the spread-out city. Some of it is actually worth watching. Having covered the Los Angeles theatre beat for a long while, it was always my hope to highlight the best of what the town had to offer, and during my time with BroadwayWorld.com, I often had great success in doing so.
Video I produced of 'Mask'
Video I produced of 'Of Mice and Men'
One venerable theatre that lent itself to my cause was the Pasadena Playhouse, a theatre founded in 1917 and the home to many inspiring theatrical works. Actors including Gene Hackman, Raymond Burr and Dustin Hoffman trained at the theatre — it was at one point known as the ‘Star Factory.’
Sadly, the Pasadena Playhouse has announced it will close Feb. 7 due to money troubles. “The playhouse is essentially out of cash and faces more than $500,000 in immediate bills, as well as payments on more than $1.5 million in bank loans,” reports the Los Angeles Times.
Word of a potential disaster for the Playhouse started leaking late last year, with the wife of an audio supervisor writing on the Huffington Post, “If the Pasadena Playhouse closes, we all lose. The actors, the production staff, and most of all, the community.”
Sheldon Epps, the Playhouse’s artistic director said he’s holding out hope for a last-minute donation or help from the city. Read more about the Playhouse’s struggles at the LATimes.
As Los Angels readies to bid the Pasadena Playhouse farewell, I thought it best to remind people of the inspiring work staged at the theatre during my time out West.
A new musical, ‘Mask,’ based on the 1985 Universal motion picture, had its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2008 under the direction of Tony Award-winner Richard Maltby, Jr. Watch a video I produced for the production.
Director Paul Lazarus took on John Steinbeck’s classic sotry, ‘Of Mice and Men,’ giving it a Southern California spin with a focus on the plight of Mexican immigrants. Watch a video I produced for the production.
Now playing in London and soon to debut on Broadway, ‘Sister Act the Musical,’ with music by Disney alum Alan Menken, made its world premiere at the Playhouse in 2006. I had the chance to review this still in-progess production.
And I truly enjoyed reviewing the intriguing play ‘Orson’s Shadow’ in 2008 with riveting performances by actors Sharon Lawrence and Scott Lowell as the storied theatre critic Kenneth Tynan.
My only hope is that some type of donation or funding comes along in the near future, helping to re-open the Pasadena Playhouse. Without such breeding grounds for creativity, there is no telling how many pieces of art will go unseen.
After seemingly endless public fighting and controversy, Conan O’Brien is ready to depart NBC’s ‘The Tonight Show‘ with Friday night’s broadcast marking his final time hosting the legendary late-night program.
First hosted by comedian Steve Allen in 1954, ‘The Tonight Show’ has seen many lead the talk show. From Allen and Jack Paar to the venerable Johnny Carson and now O’Brien, the program is full of comic history. Jay Leno reigned as king of ‘The Tonight Show’ from 1992-2009 after nabbing, some would argue “stealing,” the show from David Letterman upon Carson’s retirement.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the show, with ratings dropping and that ill-fated format switch in 1957 to a news-type program. However, there has been a sense of dignity about hosting the legendary broadcast, until now. Who wants a washed up comedian, Leno, to return to late-night with his tail between his legs, besides Jeff Zucker?
With O’Brien departing ‘The Tonight Show,’ and Leno set to return as host March 1, NBC is certain to face an uphill climb as it tries wooing back viewers and re-building the dignity of its storied program. Any TV viewer that ditched ‘The Tonight Show’ once O’Brien took over shouldn’t be that hard to get back, pending they haven’t died of old age. No, NBC shouldn’t be concerned about that demographic. It should, however, be nervous about the 18-to-49 demographic — a group O’Brien plays well to.
O’Brien has been the leader in late night with the 18-to-49 year-old viewers this season, according to BusinessWeek.com. Leno, on the other hand, has been struggling to garner any viewers for his prime-time show. And once O’Brien is able to return to the airwaves in September, Fox could prove a strong competitor to NBC should they snatch up O’Brien for its own late-night program. The network is the most-watched in prime time when it comes to youngsters.
Zucker recently told Charlie Rose he made a “mistake” regarding the whole late-night debacle. When the coveted 18-to-49 year olds follow O’Brien this Fall, perhaps Triumph the Insult Comic Dog can interview the NBC executive and get him to admit something worse. After all, it appears the NBC higher-ups decided to lock up Triumph and most all of O’Brien’s comic creations so that they can’t be used on a competing network.
Perhaps Zucker’s master plan is to have Triumph the Insult Comic Dog co-host ‘The Tonight Show’ with Leno. Now that might be the only positive thing to come out of this late-night madness — a puppet upstaging Leno each and every night. I’d definitely tune in.
It’s not often that my work as an entertainment and Broadway reporter crosses paths with my day job as the New Media Specialist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, so when I heard that an opera was going to be staged in the Museum’s Hayden Planetarium, I was excited to check it out.
Turns out the director of Broadway’s recent Hair revival, Diane Paulus, decided to direct a production of Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon) by Joseph Haydn in the Planetarium — a perfect setting for a show about a nobleman who is fooled, by a fake astronomer, to believe he has been sent to the moon.
Written in 1777, the story of Il mondo della luna remains intriguing to both art lovers and science enthusiasts, thanks in part to the stunning projections displayed on the Planetarium’s 180-degree dome throughout the production.
I had the opportunity to film the opera’s rehearsal and document this cool production. Check out the video below and if you happen to be in New York City between now and January 28, 2010, try scoring a ticket to this intimate opera.
Looking at the current Broadway season, both at shows that have already closed and upcoming productions, the most prevalent trend is star power. And by star, I don’t mean theatrical heavyweights like Ethel Merman, George M. Cohan or Bert Lahr — these names certainly mean little to nothing when it comes to the current theatregoing masses. Stars on Broadway this season mean Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Scarlett Johansson.
All of these actors have names that transcend the stage — something producers surely hope will fill seats as tourists roll into town. While some of these recognizable names won over even the toughest of Broadway critics, and proved more than capable of handling a live production, it was name alone that won them the role.
The trend of casting Hollywood celebrities in Broadway shows is nothing new, and has been griped about by many a theatre columnist, however, with news of Ragtime, a completely star-less musical closing after a brief revival, the subject should once again be analyzed.
Broadway advertisements should cease saying a particular show is “starring” an actor if by actor it means movie star. Moving forward, it would be wonderful to see commercials and posters touting a Broadway show is “celebritying” a Hollywood actor and leave “starring” for the theatrical legends. Angela Lansbury is starring in A Little Night Music, while Catherine Zeta-Jones is celebritying in the Stephen Sondheim musical.
To be fair, Zeta-Jones is delightful in Night Music, and her singing and dancing abilities are on par with many a strong stage actor, however, Christiane Noll delivers a knockout performance (see video) in Ragtime, but it would be a cold day in hell before her name showed up on PerezHilton.com, so saying Noll is starring in a production means little money in the bank for producers.
In this time of economic uncertainty producers shouldn’t be blamed for trying everything in their power to fill seats. It was a brilliant move teaming up Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig on stage in A Steady Rain, as Jackman has proven an exception to the celebrity rule after making Broadway is second home. But, while A Steady Rain might have brought in the bucks it sacrificed cultural value — the production was a complete snore.
Ragtime’s lack of celebrity is one of many reasons why the musical failed to set box office records, as was pointed out by Patrick Healy in The New York Times last week. While that ultimately led to an early demise — the production is set to close on January 3rd — Ragtime should wear that as a badge of honor.
Set at the turn of the century, Ragtime is a sweeping story that follows three truly American stories, a Jewish immigrant and his daughter, a well-to-do white family and a Harlem musician (Coalhouse Walker, Jr.) dead set on attaining equal rights for African Americans. Not something light and mindless like White Christmas, but certainly more fulfilling.
The cast and crew of Ragtime should go their closing proudly and remember the words passionately sung by Coalhouse at the show’s end:
And say to those who blame us
for the way we chose to fight
that sometimes there are battles
which are more than black or white
Ragtime chose to stand up to the celebrity factor and prove a point, that actors and a strong story, not a celebrity, make a fulfilling show. So to Christiane Noll (Mother), Quentin Earl Darrington (Coalhouse), Bobby Steggert (Mother’s Younger Brother), Robert Petkoff (Tateh), Stephanie Umoh (Sarah), Ron Bohmer (Father) and the daring producers of Ragtime, thank you for a worthy revival of this important musical.
With a new season of Showtime’s The Tudors coming up and Barack Obama now bogged down by controversial plans for Afghanistan, it seems appropriate to reflect on a recent trend that graced the Broadway stage over the past couple years. George W. Bush’s reign got Americans riled up, doubting their Commander-in-Chief’s decision-making abilities and crying for “change.” Hope is a theme on display in the current Broadway revival of Ragtime — possibly a little late to the game seeing how Obama’s grace period is over — but looking back at the recent cultural landscape, outrage and fear were strong themes playing out on stage throughout 2008-2009.
Broadway
Surveying some of Broadway’s best offerings over the last couple years, as well as a quick glance at prime-time television programming, one common storyline jumps out. King Henry VIII and all of the Tudors-related atrocities have seen a prominent revival, most recently with the recently updated play Mary Stuart, along with the recent Broadway revival of A Man for All Seasons and the latest season of The Tudors. Three politically weighty stories, each attacking another aspect of the Tudor’s reign in Britain. American audiences have embraced these productions, on some level, because of a fury over the Bush throne, built up and managed not unlike a royal bloodline.
When London’s Donmar Warehouse staged a newly updated production of Friedrich Schiller’s Mary Stuart in 2005, British audiences had an opportunity to relate not only to the shrewd railings against their own royal history, but also their prime minister Tony Blair’s link with Bush. American audiences then had a chance to embrace the tale of Mary Queen of Scots and her archrival Elizabeth I, as the London production transferred with much fanfare to Broadway’s Broadhurst Theatre, having opened in April of this year. Without a storied Monarch to draw comparisons with, the onus falls directly onto the shoulders of the Bush administration when justifying our recent interest in the Tudors lot. Peter Oswald’s adaptation of Mary Stuart provided an exciting look into an epic political battle between two of history’s most power hungry leaders.
After King Henry VIII died, his crown was passed down to his sole son, but only briefly, as within a few years King Edward VI would succumb to a grave illness. Enter Queen Mary I and then Elizabeth I, all Henry’s descendents. But Elizabeth’s throne was not without dispute, especially from cousin Mary Stuart and her loyal followers. Religion was a main proponent of their quarrel, with Mary advocating the return of Catholicism in England. Nothing like a good ideological dispute to send shivers down a country’s spine.
The Golden Globe nominations were announced this week, placing a handful of Hollywood directors on a pedestal for all others to admire. Martin Scorsese will be bestowed with the prestigious Cecil B. DeMille Award while James Cameron has returned from his post-’Titanic‘ absence to join Clint Eastwood, Quentein Tarantino, Jason Reitman and Kathryn Bigelow in the Best Director category.
All of these talented individuals will certainly be showered with warm write-ups and have hefty paychecks in their futures; however, I’d like to look a few directors that won’t be getting much attention this awards season — this might be because they are either dead, lacking a recent film or were simply shunned by the industry.
Of course, there are plenty of directors that could make a top-whatever list, so I’ve decided to focus on those directors that recently popped up in an internet video. There were some real treasures that showed up on YouTube and other video sharing sites this season, and some of them deserve another round of accolades.
Topping the list is perhaps the best discovery made, in terms of Hollywood history, in a long while. Thought to be lost forever, a six-part interview with the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, turned up on YouTube earlier this year. The interview originally aired as one of the first Tomorrow Shows with Tom Snyder in 1973.
Next up is a personal favorite of mine, David Lynch. Suspense might not be the best word to describe Lynch’s style, rather introspective and nutty better fit this eccentric director. From ‘Blue Velvet‘ and ‘Twin Peaks‘ to ‘Dune’ and ‘Mulholland Drive,’ Lynch never fails to cause debate amongst film buffs and simply confuse the average moviegoer. Now, imagine if Lynch had directed the Star Wars film ‘Return of the Jedi,’ because George Lucas offered him the gig.
Werner Herzog wouldn’t be considered bizarre in Lynchian terms, but the foreign director is by no means easy to digest. I’ll simply ignore his recent addition to motion pictures — ‘The Bad Lieutenant’ stars Nicholas Cage, therefore making it an utter waste of time — but his filmography is full of gems like ‘Grizzly Man’ and ‘Fitzcarraldo.’ It’s the latter film that earned him recent recognition, long after its 1980s release, as the director published a book that compiles his notebooks during the film shoot. Time Magazine caught up with the director and posted this cool chat with Werner in July.
While predominantly known as an actress, Natalie Portman is a woman of many hats, or at least two, as she recently directed a segment for the charming film ‘New York, I Love You.’ To be honest, the only reason I’m calling her out as a director is to have a reason to post a clip from the Funny or Die series ‘Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifinakis.’ Perhaps the most awkward interview show ever…
Finally, the American Film Institute has been hard at work fillings its YouTube archives with plenty of treats for film lovers including awards show highlights and archived Q & A’s with Hollywood heavyweights. One such interview clip is with one of the big boys, Steven Spielberg. Despite a recent lack of luck developing his long gestating Abraham Lincoln feature film starring Liam Neeson, Spielberg is always on my radar — as long as he doesn’t puke out another ‘Jurassic Park‘ flick. Here he is talking up the benefits of filming in continuity, something not many directors believe in.
Being born and raised in Southern California can mean many things: spotting movie stars at concerts, spending more than half the year under sunny skies, and visiting Disneyland more times than can be remembered. All three of these stereotypes ring true for me, especially the last bit.
I often joke about my being a Disney baby, seeing how my father was working behind-the-scenes on Disney’s ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes‘ around the time I was born. So began my lifelong love of all things Mickey Mouse and friends.
Summer breaks from school were filled with frequent trips to the “happiest place on earth,” Disneyland. Sitting in wonderment in front of our television as one animated Disney classic after another came across the screen was always a joy for me. Take one look at my DVD collection and you might think I’m obsessed — I prefer to think of it as collecting movies I hope to show to my children one day, or at least that’s what I tell people.
I’m also Jewish. How exactly is that relevant in a nostalgic trip down Disney lane? Well, it happens to factor into a discovery I made a couple holiday seasons ago while riding on the cherished Disneyland attraction ‘It’s a Small World.’
Starting in 1997, Disneyland began giving a holiday makeover to ‘It’s a Small World’ complete with seasonal music like “Jingle Bells” and “Deck the Halls” playing in between bits of the often infectious and sometimes annoying iconic theme song. Disneyland.com describes the holiday attraction as showcasing “different holiday customs and traditions throughout the world.” Just don’t expect any of the more than 300 somewhat creepy audio-animatronics to be celebrating Chanukah.
While exiting the ride a few seasons ago it dawned on me that I didn’t remember seeing a Star of David, menorah or dreidle. The line was far too long to hop back on, but I made it a point to disprove my casual observation upon my next visit. This year I brought my Flip camera along and documented the ride from start to finish. Low and behold, no Jewishness to be found, at least not to my eyes nor the camera’s lens.
So, what gives?
Anti-semitism is by no means unknown to the Disney empire, as highlighted by author Neal Gabler in his well-researched biography, Walt Disney: The Triumph of The American Imagination. In the book, Gabler writes of Jew hating rumors surrounding Walt and Roy Disney throughout their lives.
There were unsubstantiated accounts from disgruntled Jewish employees, including animator and director David Swift, who said at the time he left Disney to work for another studio Walt told him, “Okay, Davy Boy, off you go to work with those Jews. It’s where you belong, with those Jews.”
From all accounts presented in Gabler’s book — they fall on both sides of the argument — there is no telling whether or not Walt was anti-semetic, especially since he often donated to various Jewish organizations.
Queen, the iconic rock band led by the equally iconic singer Freddie Mercury, has found its way into the world of Jim Henson’s Muppets.
Earlier this week Muppets Studio, now owned by the Walt Disney Company, released a video on YouTube featuring nearly all of the classic Muppet characters rocking out to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this video has gone viral — at the time of this blog post it has more than 863,000 views.
With the Muppets already on Twitter (@MuppetsStudio), the link has been re-tweeted around the Internet and embedded on plenty of entertainment blogs. Fancast.com has a few 140-characters-or-less reactions to the fantastic cover video.
On this Thanksgiving week, I would like to personally thank the late Jim Henson for creating such a wonderful bunch of characters, which have obviously withstood the test of time. It turns out that one of the Muppets first appearances came by way of an advertising gig for Pak-nit, a fabric product. The Chicago Tribune tells the tale and features video of some early Muppets commercials.
From 1960s commercials to YouTube sensations, the Muppets have always captivated audiences, and hopefully with Disney recently acquiring the Muppets family, these fuzzy creatures will have a long and creative future.
For now, we can all enjoy “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Muppets style.
Move over Rydell High, there is a new group of singing teenage starlets on stage hailing from Springfield High, and they are making audiences flip as they relive their 1958 Senior Prom to some doo-wop classics.
Off-Broadway’s The Marvelous Wonderettes has been playing to enthusiastic crowds at The Westside Theatre since it settled in New York City following an extended run in Los Angeles — where I first saw the show and fell in love. Word has now come down that the quaint musical will close on January 3 after having played 545 performances.
Cindy Lou, Missy, Betty Jean and Suzy dredge up repressed memories of prom nightmares and mishaps in an addictively saccharine fashion each night, finding a way to pack in an innumerable list of nostalgic melodies of the Brylcreem and bubblegum era.
For the first half of the evening, the Wonderettes take the stage at their Senior Prom as the musical entertainment, having had to fill in last minute for The Crooning Crabcakes, who suddenly fall ill and are unable to perform. Chalk it up to short notice and a lack of rehearsal time, or perhaps just having blind ambition, but the four lovely ladies might just go down in the pantheon of infamously bad prom acts.
Catty tiffs and spot-light stealing behavior lead to a breakdown between the girls as the evening drags on, before finally storming off stage as the first act draws to a close. But never fear, Springfield High’s 10 year reunion brings the girls back together again, in their now vogue facades as they discover the meaning of true friendship, but not before reverting to their immature ways once or twice for good measure.
Never has “jukebox” musical been more apropos, as the songs pouring out of The Marvelous Wonderettes were spinning in neon music machines at diners across America through the fabulous ’50s, including such kitschy classics as “Lollipop,” “Dream Lover,” “Stupid Cupid,” “Lipstick on Your Collar,” “It’s my Party” and “It’s In His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)” to name only a handful sung during the show. It does not take long for the infectious tunes to get toes tapping and bubblegum popping.
Writer/Director Roger Bean (Route 66, Winter Wonderettes, The Andrews Brothers) pays polite service to the nostalgic past in Wonderettes, although as with most jukebox musicals, the book is somewhat lacking in substance, merely skipping from one song to the next. In the case of Wonderettes, however, the fun is in the music, and Bean knows how to accentuate the positive.
The Golden Globe 
Queen, the iconic rock band led by the equally iconic singer 
Move over Rydell High, there is a new group of singing teenage starlets on stage hailing from Springfield High, and they are making audiences flip as they relive their 1958 Senior Prom to some doo-wop classics.
