Three Weekends at the Theatre

Over the last three out of four weekends, I have been fortunate enough to have tickets to three musicals. Here is my response to each of them.

The Color Purple- I can't lie.  I saw this show because I love Jennifer Hudson to the infinite power.  I love the story of the Color Purple, but I saw the touring company of the original production  several years ago and found it to be a big mess.   While Jennifer Hudson was what got me in the door, I left with many reasons to rave about it.  This revival is a vast improvement from the original musical.   Lots of editing was done, the sets are more sparse, and there is just less. And in this case that lets the performers and the songs shine.  Jennifer Hudson is well suited vocally and personality wise to play Shug Avery, and she pulls it off, especially vocally.   Danielle Brooks from Orange is the New Black is well cast as is the rest of the cast, but ultimately the show is a "star is born" moment for unknown actress Cynthia Erivo as Celie.   In the way that Whoopi Goldberg made one of the all time great debuts in the movie version, Erivo shines and steals in a theatrical experience that I was so pleased to witness.  If there is any justice, Erivo will continue to do great acting work in the future, and I will be able to say "Remember when...."   I have seen many plays and musicals, but this is the first time that I had seen an actor get a standing ovation in the middle of the show.  Jennifer Hudson is leaving the production soon so if you want to see her, hurry up! But ultimately Cynthia Erivo is who you should be there to see!

Assassins- I have seen a lot of Stephen Sondheim  over the past couple of years, and Assassins is a departure from what people in the know view as typical Somdheim.  It is a musical telling of the stories of all of the people in the USA who have either attempted to assassinate  a President or  actually were able to follow through with the assassination.  The play does a good job at making the characters human without making them entirely sympathetic for what they did.  It is not the kind of musical that has tons of stand alone sing a long songs, but I did like the Ballad of Booth, The Gun Song, and the unlikely love song Unworthy of Your Love which is about two of the character's dark obsessions with Jodie Foster and Charles Manson. Assassins is not always a smooth ride, and it is easy to see why it has more of a cult following than actually being a huge hit, but I admire the creativity in it and the drive to do something original in musical theater.  In that regard it overwhelmingly succeeds.

Ragtime- This one has been at the top of my musical bucket list for years, and I am glad I was able to catch a performance of it.  Ragtime begins with characters pursuing or living the American Dream.  In the first song, characters are lit up in red, white and blue depending on their lot in life.   The white middle to upper class who are already succeeding in the dream are lit up in white, the African Americans already living in the USA are lit up in red and the immigrants coming to Ellis Island are lit up in blue.   Their paths take them to different places, some to success, some paths  diverge and some don't ever succeed in the American Dream.  It was amazing to me how a story that takes place at the beginning of the 20th century had so many storylines around race and immigrants could be so very relevant in 2016.  As in the original production Coalhouse, Sarah and Mother are the standout characters with the best songs and because I had listened to the Original Cast Recording I had a hard time not imagining the original actors as these characters. (Audra McDonald won one of her six Tony's playing Sarah in the original version).  But the actors who played these characters in this touring version were also excellent.  This isn't a show that tours much so if you ever get the chance to see Ragtime, you must take advantage of it.

The Walking Tease: Why I'm running out of patience with The Walking Dead

This post contains spoilers of Walking Dead Season 6.  

Negan was supposed to be the savior.  

For all of Season 6, I waited out 15 mostly tedious episodes with a promise of Negan.  Negan came.   Negan lifted up Lucille his pet deadly baseball bat and then.....fade to black.  

More tease in a season full of tease.   And the payoffs haven't been worth the tease.  The Walking Dead is giving me blueballs.    

For the past three seasons, I have spent around $50 per season to watch the Walking Dead on Apple TV since I don't have cable.   That is one of the most expensive season passes.  I used to not mind because there was a reason that Walking Dead was the number one show. Sure it had lots of cool ways to kill zombies or...,eh...walkers, but the main draw for me at least was the character interactions on the show and how they survive (or don't) in the extraordinary environment of the undead.   One of the best things about the Walking Deaf was how unsentimental it was about killing off fan favorites since they are after  all in a place for pending doom and a place where death is a reality.  

That's not the case anymore.  Something changed.  

I've been far more critical than most about the show for the past few seasons.  There has been a real pacing problem.  Storylines full of action like Terminus were over pretty quickly while slower ones like Alexandria seemed to go on forever. This would've been fine if anyone had actually thought about building character development, but throughout the first half of season 6 in Alexandria Walking Dead swapped out interesting characters for more gory zombie kills.  

Then there was the second half of season 6 which was spent trying to get excitement stirred up about Negan and his savior crew, but after the third repetitive  episode which involved looking for supplies outside Alexandria and running into walkers, bad guys, or both.  I had started to have enough. Bring Negan on already!!

Then there was the Glenn thing.  This was the moment that the makers of the TV show may have really started to ruin the show.   We see fan favorite (for whatever reason) Glenn in a zombie pileup that nobody could survive.  NOBODY.  The show runners copped out in killing a character that has been long dead in the books BECAUSE they were afraid of fan reaction.  This is a show that decapitated it's wise gentle old sage and had a grieving mother shoot a child who had killed her little sister. Those moments were disturbing and unflinching.  The Walking Dead is better when it doesn't flinch.  With the Glenn debacle, the show flinched badly. 

Then there it was last night.  The moment that the season had trudged  toward.  Most of the cast was on its knees begging at the mercy of Negan.  He decides he is going to kill one of them, he looks to have actually done it, and then it's over.  We won't know for at least 5 months who it was (And it better be Glenn and NOT one of the more ancillary characters).   A season of build up for this?!

The Walking Dead isn't a terrible show.  Not even close. But I'll spend part of the cliffhanger months deciding if it's worth paying for a season pass.  I may have to resort to being a more casual fans and waiting it out and watching it on Amazon Prime or Netflix about a year after it aired on TV.  

You teased one too many times, Walking Dead.  

The best sandwich I ever had

Let me take a pause from reviewing movies, pop culture, and politics for something really important. Yesterday on my vacation to Seattle, I had the best sandwich I've ever eaten.  

Salumi is just a barely noticeable sliver in a not too prominent building in Seattle's Pioneer Square.   It is owned by celebrity Chef Mario Batali's father Armandino Batali.  It's open four days a week for very short hours, but yesterday eating a sandwich there was life changing.  I  lived in Seattle 16 years before I moved to Boston and never went to Salumi.  If I had gone there I maybe would've never left Seattle.  Ok that's a lie.  The sandwich was really good though. 

Around lunch time,  Salumi is known for having long lines every day it is open.  I arrived at about 1:00, and the line was slightly out the door.   It took me about 30 minutes to get to order.  It was worth it.  I ordered a hot  sandwich called Porchetta. I almost changed my order because the sign  for the Porchetta said that they do not recommend cheese.   Since for me cheese is life, and I want to respect the chef's vision, I almost ordered something else.  That would've been a mistake.  

There is very little seating inside, so I opted to find a place outside on an unusually sunny Seattle afternoon.   From the first bite, I was in heaven and knew they were correct to not add cheese to this perfect sandwich.  

Essentially Porchetta is pork butt that has been rendered and braised in its own delicious fat with Italian spices, carrots, fennel, grilled onions and peppers on a fresh baguette.  My description cannit do it justice.   But trust me after you take one bite and the fatty spiced pork juice starts dripping out, you also will be sold (unless you're vegetarian then Salumi is definitely not for you).  

I only ate half of it and this morning I had the second half.  After heating it up only slightly to not dry out the fantastic bread, I can tell you that this sandwich was just as good on the second day. 

I also ordered a pork meatball on the side which was outstanding.  I will most definitely go to Salumi again.  It's hard to imagine ordering anything besides the Porchetta, but I may also order some of their delicious fresh made cheese and cured meat to go as well. 

If you are visiting Seattle, make Salumi one of your top priority lunch destinations. 

Teeny Tiny Movie Reviews Returns!

This is the deal. I give movies a score from 1 to 10 and the review is as many words. Here we go.  

Zootopia- 8 out of 10

Charming Disney fare with a nice liberal message.

99 Homes- 6 out of 10

Kinda forgot about this movie already.  

The Witch- 5 out of 10

All atmosphere.  Almost no substance

Miss You Already 7 out of 10

Standard tearjerker.  I love Collette and Barrymore

Chi Raq 6 out of 10

Interesting choice for Spike Lee.   Messy

Truth 6 out of 10

Liberal bias in a standard biopic

Lady Sings The Blues 6 out of 10

Props to Diana Ross. Average movie 

The Omen 6 out of 10

1970s horror feels sorta slow now

My Very favorites in 2015 Film: The Winner's Version

Now  that I've finally seen my first 2016 film (Zootopia), it's time to close up on 2015.  Here are my choices for winners in 2015 film.

Best Song in a Film- Til it Happens To You (from the Hunting Ground)
Best Original Score- Music from It Follows
Best Animated Film- Inside Out
Best Costumes in a Film- Carol
Best Set Direction- Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Use of Sound in a Film: The Revenant
Best Visual Effects: Ex Machina
Best Cinematography- The Revenant
Best Acting Ensemble- Spotlight


My Favorite Adapted Screenplays:
Brooklyn
Carol
Creed
The Martian
Room - WINNER

My Favorite original Screenplays
Inside Out - WINNER
It Follows
Spotlight
Spy
Straight Outta Compton

Best Supporting Performance by a Male Actor
Steve Carell The Big Short
Idris Elba Beasts of No Nation
Tom Hardy The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone Creed -WINNER

Best Supporting Performance by a Female Actor
Joan Allen Room
Rose Byrne  Spy
Jennifer Jason Leigh The Hateful Eight - WINNER
Alicia Vikander Ex Machina
Julie Walters Brooklyn

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Best of Enemies -WINNER
Cobain: Montage of HeckGoing Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
What Happened, Miss Simone?

Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson Room -WINNER
Peter Docter and Ronne Del Carmen Inside Out
Todd Haynes Carol
Tom McCarthy Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell It Follows

Best Lead Performance by a Female Actor
Blythe Danner I'll See You in my Dreams
Brie Larson Room -WINNER
Rooney Mara Carol
Saoirse Ronan Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander The Danish Girl


Best Lead Performance by a Male Actor
Matt Damon The Martian
Leonardo Dicaprio The Revenant
Michael Fassbender Steve Jobs
Samuel L Jackson The Hateful Eight
Jacob Tremblay Room - WINNER

And my 10 favorite films of 2015 were
Brooklyn
Room
Spotlight


And ranked in Order from 10 to 1 my favorite films of 2015 were:
10.  Straight Outta Compton
 9.  It Follows
 8.  Carol
 7.  Creed
6.  Amy
5.   Best of Enemies
4.   Brooklyn
3.   Spotlight
2.   Room
And my favorite film of 2015 was:

INSIDE OUT.

I'm looking forward to more great film in 2016!

#freesamsmith (from the clutch of catty queens)

Sam Smith has an Oscar and a bunch of Grammys.   You probably do not. I certainly don't.   And maybe he didn't "deserve" some of those awards. Maybe he didn't deserve the Oscar in particular. But what I know is that he probably didn't force anyone to vote for him with sexual favors, so it is kind of isn't his "fault" that he won some awards.

Sam Smith also misspoke. When he won his Oscar, he misspoke.  Have you ever misspoke? I did.  But just Once.

Sam Smith in a moment of nervousness and being misinformed thought and said that he was the first openly gay man to win an Oscar.   He said it in a statement of support to the GLBT community.   The is during a time when things are better for the gay community, but progress needs to continue.  Positive visibility and support are still needed. But many  of his gay community tribe did not support him back.

You would've thought that Sam Smith had said he was going to kidnap and BBQ one of Angelina's and Brad's children from the reaction that he got.

"How dare he speak and not know his gay history!! Said one voice, "And also Sam Smith use to be FAT!" said another gay history knowing gay.

This is what I know. Sam Smith is 23 (and 21 when he was FAT for you gay historians).  Do you remember when you were 23?  I do.  Very well.  It was the year I started to come out of the closet, and while I know now is a wildly different time, I would not have known my gay history either.  In fact, I'm pretty sure most 23 year old gay people now don't know their gay history much less know a list of openly gay Oscar winners.  It doesn't excuse it.  But maybe let's just lighten up a bit.  Let's stop eating our own.

One thing I do know is that at the age of 23 (and for Sam Smith earlier), I wasn't giving speeches in front of millions and millions of people talking about how proud I was to be gay.   Yeah, it's a different world now than it was back then. It isn't as big of a deal for a 23 year old singer to be out and proud (though there are still many many who are probably closeted at that point in their careers of many kinds.  )   Let's not forget our own histories.   Some of us at 23 didn't have the speck of courage that Sam Smith showed in his Oscar speech.  And if we did, maybe we would have misspoke too? Or maybe not.   But let's lighten up a bit.   Let's practice some kindness.   The Internet is an easy place to be a queen bitch.   Let's stop eating our own.  

#freesamsmith

My favorites in 2015 film.

Now that the Oscars are over, you can finally have what you've been waiting for.  You want to know what I, Dan Rosson, liked best.  So here we go.   In a week I will tell you my very favorite of these choices along with a few other favorites not mentioned here today! All of today$s choices are in alphabetical order.

My Favorite Adapted Screenplays:
Brooklyn
Carol
Creed
The Martian
Room

My Favorite original Screenplays
Inside Out
It Follows
Spotlight
Spy
Straight Outta Compton

Best Supporting Performance by a Male Actor
Steve Carell The Big Short
Idris Elba Beasts of No Nation
Tom Hardy The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone Creed

Best Supporting Performance by a Female Actor
Joan Allen Room
Rose Byrne  Spy
Jennifer Jason Leigh The Hateful Eight
Alicia Vikander Ex Machina
Julie Walters Brooklyn

Best Documentary Feature
Amy
Best of Enemies
Cobain: Montage of Heck
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
What Happened, Miss Simone?

Best Director
Lenny Abrahamson Room
Peter Docter and Ronne Del Carmen Inside Out
Todd Haynes Carol
Tom McCarthy Spotlight
David Robert Mitchell It Follws

Best Lead Performance by a Female Actor
Blythe Danner I'll See You in my Dreams
Brie Larson Room
Rooney Mara Carol
Saoirse Ronan Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander The Danish Girl

Best Lead Performance by a Male Actor
Matt Damon The Martian
Leonardo Dicaprio The Revenant
Michael Fassbender Steve Jobs
Samuel L Jackson The Hateful Eight
Jacob Tremblay Room

And my 10 favorite films of 2015 were
Amy
Best of Enemies
Brooklyn
Carol
Creed
Inside Out
It Follows
Room
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton