Bonnie and Clyde: A Theater Review

Man, there was a good run in my life where critics and I were pretty simpatico.  If they liked it, I liked it.  If they didn't, I knew exactly what they were talking about.  Lately?  I've become mystified by critics.  For the past year they have been loving up on films that I've thought were total shit.  And now?  It seems they've been hating on some theater that I completely adored.  It's official.  Critics, I'm breaking up with you.

This past week I saw the now closed Broadway production of Bonnie and Clyde.  I saw it twice.  I saw it twice to double check that I did in fact like it like it, and that my admiration wasn't just surprise because the critics had made my expectations so very low.  (Okay, I also saw it again because I had friends with broken knees and food poisoning.  But these are other stories for another time).  I can say with certainly now that my reaction was genuine.  And I've been determined to figure out what I saw in this show that the critics didn't.

A little background...Bonnie and Clyde is a musical about, you guessed it, the notorious Bonnie and Clyde.  She was a girl  with silver screen dreams of fame who met him, a dirt poor lifelong petty criminal on the eve of his escape from jail.  They almost immediately fell for him for each other, most likely because they were both hot and feisty.  When he is captured, she remains true and helps him to escape again.  The two go on the run robbing banks until Clyde one day is forced to pull the trigger.  Bonnie contemplates leaving Clyde, but she's far too in love with him, and the two begin their now notorious spree.  Meanwhile Clyde's brother Buck dreams of having the wealth his little bro does, but Buck's wife Blanche wants him to go straight and be a good Christian man.  Eventually he convinces her to go find Clyde with him and the two become members of the Barrow gang.  Eventually the police close in and Buck is killed while Blanche is arrested.  Bonnie and Clyde make it out alive, but not for long.  The loving couple gets into their car and rides off into the night, ready to be pumped full of lead.  It's the fitting ending to this tragic love story.

One problem that the critics seemed to have is that this particular interpretation of the characters does not correspond with how they personally thought they should be. They are stuck on the history or the depictions in the 1967 movie.  Maybe its because I'm not a fan of that film, but I was completely willing to accept these versions of the characters.  Bonnie being an ingenue works because it makes you think that with one different life choice, she just may have been a star.  And Buck and Blanche being the more comical and moral center of the show serves as a lovely counterpoint to out main couple.  I thought these characters, especially for a two act musical, were necessary ways to interpret the characters.

Another major issue for the critics seems to be the show's book.  I'll concede on a few points here.  I do feel that the second act becomes a series of Bonnie and Clyde fighting and bank robbing for a short while, and I'm not into ever seeing a different version of the same scene twice.  We know this couple isn't splitting up, so the stakes are pretty much non existent here as well.  Unfortunately, we also know how they die so its hard to build any real sense of tension in respect to their own lives when we know that Clyde will definitely make it out when someone pulls a gun on him during a robbery.  It's a tricky problem, and I don't think enough credit is given to how it it practically unsolvable.  The real tension should be the slow loss of our characters lives, and this is maybe where the book falters a bit.  They do try, but it never comes across the way it should.  Clyde, the only one who actually kills people, should struggle more with what he has done.  One major problem is that his first kill totally slipped by me.  I figured out that he was raped in prison because I've seen General Hospital, but when he beat the crap out of a pole I missed that it was supposed to be him killing his attacker.  Clyde's first kill should have a face, and while we don't need to see the act that brought him to the murder, we should see the crime itself.  Similarly after his second murder, the first time his gun goes off during a robbery, his slight moment of guilt turns into a scene where he is trying to get Bonnie not to leave him.  Perhaps more of an internal struggle would have made later kills display a loss of morality.  I'm not sure if fleshing out this loss of humanity would have appeased the critics more, but it is one of the only things that I can take fault with.

Some critics also felt that the show wasn't dark and dangerous enough.  I may have missed this because instead, the show is crazy sexy.  A lot of that would have to be scarified to make this the Sweeney Todd of West Dallas.  Seeing the aforementioned murder would perhaps help a little bit, but I'm not sure how else to keep the sultry nature of the show that I really think works for it, while upping the danger factor.  We see bloody murders.  Guns go off galore.  Do we want torture that didn't happen?  Fancier ways of killing people?  Even darker lighting?  As someone who likes to play in the dark, I thought the tone of the show was smokey enough.  It seemed like an odd thing to nitpick to me.

My biggest WTF moment with these reviews was the way in which the music was panned.  I'm actually totally new to Frank Wildhorn's work, so maybe having no preconceived notions helped me just appreciate the score.  But the critics really hated it.  And I LOVED it.  I found not one snoozer ("Whispering" from Spring Awakening, "Easy To Be Hard" from Hair) in the bunch and had several of the songs stuck in my head for days.  I continue to hum "Picture Show" and am crazy about "Raise A Little Hell".    Big group numbers like "Made In America" were just as moving as the big solo eleven O'clock song "Dyin' Ain't So Bad".  "Bonnie" is so simple and yet incredibly beautiful.  I'll admit that sometimes the lyrics can be clunky and the rhyme scheme can seem off, but  I love the actual instrumental arrangement of the show.  I'm thrilled that a cast recording was made this week and that I will be able to blast these songs in my car.

There is one area where the show got a little praise by critics, the one area where they were a little soft.  The performances got a decent amount of praise and it was well deserved.  I've loved Laura Osnes since I rooted for her since You're The One That I Want and she has continued to prove that she's the real deal.  Her voice is like butter, and she played Bonnie with a subtle sexuality and yet fresh feistiness that made you understand why Clyde could see her as both a lover and a partner.  Similarly, Jeremy Jordan knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of Clyde, who he somehow manages to make you like even though you shouldn't.  As much as it pains me to admit this, Jordan is the most talented of the twenty-something guys on Broadway right now.  His voice is kind of insane, and I would listen to him hit those high notes any day of the week.  Also, considering that he was unemployed for like, a day, I'm pretty sure those pipes are going to be on the Great White Way for quite a while.

While I knew Osnes and Jordan would do fine work, I was really impressed with Melissa van der  Schyff as Blanche and Claybourne Elder as Buck, who were new to me.  It's hard to play both the comedic second bananas and the moral and tragic center of the show and the two did it with ease.  I also felt that their relationship felt authentic, and I understood how much they meant to each other while still wanting the other to change.  I'm not sure if this show will be remembered at all come Tony time, but if it is I would love for these two to get some recognition.  Some praise also needs to go out to Kelsey Fowler, who plays young Bonnie.  I love the sound of her voice and I have a feeling that she will be the new young star of Broadway in a few years.

I'm not really sure why it happened, but I don't really think Bonnie And Clyde got a fair shake.  It's a bummer, because I think that given a little more time some word of mouth might have helped it quite a bit.  I'm glad that I got the chance to see it and am sorry if you didn't.  I don't know what's going on with the critics nowadays, but I hope they wake up.  They're missing some great stuff.

My Pop Culture Wishes For 2012

Well my little Popettes, we made it.  It's a whole new year!  I don't know about you, but I wasn't a big fan of 2011.  After a bunch of resolutions and some high hopes for change, I feel almost certain that 2012 has to be a better year.  And I'm hoping its a much better year in Pop Culture-land too.  Here is what I'm crossing my fingers to see in entertainment in the next twelve months:

Movies:

• Great films that are actually great films.  When the world raved about Like Crazy or The Descendants this year, I was hoping they would actually be good.  But I pretty much learned that the world had just been drinking the Kool Aid.  I hated almost every film that I was supposed to love, which left me with very little fulfillment at the cinema this past year.  I'm hoping that when the next little Sundance darling or Oscar film comes out, there is legitimate quality in every sense of the word and that I walk out of the theater with a little faith left in the people who make movies.
• Good sequels.  A lot of lighter fare from years past are bringing our favorite characters back this year for another go at the big screen.  I'm hoping that American Reunion is actually funny and doesn't just make us all feel old.  And after not being a fan of the second film, I have my fingers crossed that Men in Black III can restore the franchise to its former glory.
• James Cameron proves that a post 3D conversion can be done.  I mean, I was a twelve year old girl when Titanic came out, so there is no way that I'm not going to see the 3D version this year.  But I'm hoping Cameron actually makes it worth my while in a new and exciting way.
• Big blockbusters are also good films.  I really do have my doubts about The Hunger Games based on everything I have seen so far (most people I know do not share my concern) but I REALLY want it to be just as good as the source material.  Similarly The Amazing Spider-Man will do well at the box office, but due to my undying love of Andrew Garfield and general fondness for the rest of the cast I'd like it to be a critical success as well.  Can we get some quality moneymakers please?
• I'd like Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter to do well enough, but can it please not make Benjamin Walker a star?  Broadway would like him back please.
• Please don't ruin The Lorax.  This was always my favorite Suess book, probably because it is dreary and dark and a big warning about taking your natural resources for granted.  The film?  Looks peppy and colorful, adventurous and bright.  I hate it.  I'm hoping this is only really the first act of the film and that it in some way stays faithful to the soul of what The Lorax is about.
• Let there be too many choices for Christmas films this year.  After the slim pickings in 2011, I'd like a plethora of quality to choose from this year.  As long as Les Miserables or The Great Gatsby don't get postponed or panned, I have a feeling that this is the wish most likely to come true.

Music:

• We get some quality "best new artist" contenders who weren't manufactured by a record label.  It seems as though the one fun indie band seems to take the prize come awards season, so wouldn't it be great if we had several authentic and quality acts to choose from?
• Chris Brown's new album, Fortune is a disaster and he goes away forever, like he should have done ages ago.
• Justin Bieber proves that he has legitimate staying power by coming out with a song that the over 30 (or hell, even 20) set really likes.  This does not include doing Beatles covers with Stevie Wonder, Beibs.
• The late 90s/Early2000s has a comeback.  With the likes of Eve 6, Alanis Morissette, Third Eye Blind and The Cranberries all dropping albums this year we could have a fun little retro year that brings me back to Junior High.
• Green Day's new album is awesome.  I suspect this won't be hard.
• Actual new music tops the charts way more often than Glee covers do.

Theater:

• It becomes cool to be a theater geek.  I've been wishing for this every year since I was little, but with Glee and Book of Mormon and now the potential that Smash brings, 2012 is the year it can happen.
• Newsies gets better.  I saw the regional production of this show at The Papermill Playhouse and was a little disappointed.  Sure the concept is ripe for the stage but it needed a bigger ensemble and a little more showing coupled with a little less telling.  I'd like to see it made a little more polished before hitting Broadway this year.  Also, now that he's available, they should do this thing with Jeremy Jordan as Jack Kelly one again.  Just announce it already.
• Yank finally happens.  This show had so much buzz Off-Broadway but has yet to make the previously announced transition to the big stage.  Fingers crossed that this is the year as I have been dying to see this show.
• Death of A Salesman is actually good.  Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Linda Emond and Andrew Garfield in this classic Arthur Miller play directed by Mike Nichols.  There is no reason this should be anything short of brilliant.  So I really hope it is.
• Porgy And Bess proves Sondheim wrong.
• We get the next Rent/Spring Awakening/Next To Normal, a little rock musical that ends up being kind of epic and changes the way we think about theater.

Television:

• There is finally a network show that is both high in quality and gets decent ratings.  This is crazy, but I dare to dream.
• Smash is as good as everyone says it is.  Also, it stays true to producing a quality television show and doesn't get Glee-itis
• Mid season shows like Awake, G.C.B. and Don't Trust The Bitch In Apartment 23 leave the 2011-12 season with more hits than misses
• AMC goes back to making more shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad and less like The Killing and The Walking Dead
• Season two of American Horror Story somehow proves all of us naysayers wrong
• Dan and Blair get together on Gossip Girl.  Plllleeeeeaaaasssseeeeeee.
• The powers that be gets over reality television and we are left with a lone few high quality competition shows and far less "let's follow rich people" shows.  In a related wish, The Kardashians go away for good.
• General Hospital does not get cancelled.  Instead, it reinvents itself and the daytime drama is saved.
• Parks and Recreation gets a lot of Emmy love.
• The Newsroom proves that you don't need a lot of money and crazy production value to be a hit show on HBO.  You just need Aaron Sorkin.  Also, the world does not fall too much in love with John Gallagher Jr. and steal him from the theater community.
• We get some new cute actors to love and adore.  Quality is great, but pretty is damn important too.

That's all folks!  What do you want to happen in the world of Film/Music/Theater/TV this year?

Bring It On: A Review

A born and bread New York theater lover, it is sometimes difficult to live in Los Angeles where the pickings are far more slim than they are on the Great White Way.  I usually have to travel to see an original musical and even then, the work always seems pretty rough.  That's right Toto.  We're not by Broadway anymore.

So color me pleasantly surprised when I went to see Bring It On at the Ahmanson this weekend.  Not only was it extremely polished and professional in every way, but it was actually a lot of fun.  Out of all of the potential Broadway transfers I have seen in the past year, this is the only one that I truly hope makes it.

The first thing you need to know about Bring It On: The Musical is that it is NOT based on the movie.  It is about cheerleading, there are two schools (one being incredibly more diverse than the other) and the team colors are the same as they were in the film.  Bu that is where the buck stops.  Here's the set up: Campbell is the head cheerleader at Truman High, a school poised to win their first national championship.  Being the nice gal that she is, she lets seemingly shy sophomore Eva on the squad and then when it seems as though the kid may quit, she lets her be her sophomore lieutenant, should her two potential backups fail to do her head cheerleader duties in case of an emergency.  When Campbell gets redistricted to the funky but cheerleader-less Truman high, she is heart broken.  Her attempts to create a squad are halted by Danielle, the queen bee of Jackson and the leader of the dance crew.

Eventually, Campbell learns how to fit in at Jackson, by showing that she is willing to get down and dirty and dance with the rest of them.  But when she hears that Eva managed to take over the squad over at Truman, her spidey senses start to tingle.  She believes that the sophomore has totally single, white female-d her life, and sets on a path to take it back...starting with getting a squad together at Jackson.  Even though it is easier said than done, she manages to trick her fellow students into believing that there would be fame and fortune should they win, and the race is on between the two squads to take nationals.

Bring It On has a lot going for it.  You know when you see those cheerleading championships on ESPN and you think "How the hell do they do that"?  Well, imagine that, while the athletes sing AT THE SAME TIME.  In addition to having crazy choreography, the show has to have an ultra talented cast to pull it off.  Obviously they have one of the hardest working ensembles in the biz, although I do fear that an onstage accident is imminent.  Watching them pull it off is all kinds of amazing.  But they aren't the only ones worth watching.  Taylor Lowderman is an adorable lead, bringing her best Elle Woods to the part but still making it her own.  She has a lot to do here, and she pulls all of the singing, acting and acrobatics off with ease.  Adrienne Warren plays a solid foil turned friend in Danielle, although I do feel like hers is the role that would work best with "a name" in the part.  As Danielle's two besties, Ariana DeBose and Gregory Haney bring life to Nautica and La Cienaga- the former having the best voice in the show and the latter great comedic timing.  Ryann Redmond, Kate Rockwell and Nicolas Womak all bring the funny as well and it was great to see So You Think You Can Dance alum Neil Haskell making some money off of the "tricks" and charm he was criticized for having on the show.  Finally, Elle MeLemore rocked as Eva, a difficult part as we are meant to be uncertain as to the character's true intentions for the first 3/4 of the show and she pulled off all of Eva's transitional moments incredibly well.

One of my favorite things about Bring It On was, as you may have just noticed, that there are a lot of characters in this show.  There are two schools filled with people, not all of whom are even on the squad.  And yet it is really easy to know who all of them are.  They are distinct individuals and each one plays a part in the story.  This is one of the most successful aspects of the book.  I also appreciated that I wasn't truly able to predict where the story was going, which took me along for the ride.  There is a fully fleshed out story here, which a lot of musicals of late have been lacking.  A great deal of the characters get their own individual arcs, which is lovely to see as well and makes you feel like you have been on an actual journey.

The other great thing about the show was the music.  My two favorite music writers of the theater scene right now are Lin Manuel Miranda, who won a Tony for In The Heights and Tom Kitt who  too won a Tony for Next To Normal and wrote the kick ass orchestrations for American Idiot.  Bring It On's music is written by both men.  There are lots of great production numbers and a few excellent ballads.  There were no legit sleeper songs, which I really appreciated.  Miranda's trademark rap made its way into the show as well and it surprisingly worked.  And the almost Disney-esque hopeful tone to many of the numbers really worked with what the story was about and who the protagonist was.  It was a large part of what made it such a fun night at the theater.

All that being said, Bring It On wasn't perfect.  The show could afford to be tightened a little bit.  For the first twenty minutes, before Campbell gets redistricted, I was certain that there would be no actual conflict and that we would just watch pretty people do pretty things for a few hours. (Which I don't need...that's why I watch the CW) I'm glad that it didn't turn out that way, but it was a looonnngg time to wait for a plot to start.  There are also tiny logic problems, like the fact that we never are actually told that Campbell and her boyfriend break up when they both move on to someone else or that Eva is able to surpass Kylar as captain because Kylar was sick...except that she comes back to the squad yet Eva remains in charge.  These things don't matter much in the grand scheme of things but they do take away a little from the show.  I also didn't love the love storyline between Campbell and the music loving boy at her new school, mostly because he seemed underdeveloped and unrelated to all of the rest of the action.  I understand that its a peppy musical and romance seems needed but I wish it was with a more fleshed out and integrated character.  In addition, as much as I loved the music, Act 1 was heavy on the big production numbers which made the excess of the smaller numbers in Act 2 feel uneven.  They need to spread everything around a little more..create some hills and valleys of musical magic.  They have all the parts, they just need to figure out how to put it together.

Despite all of these problems, one thing remains clear...Bring It On is FUN.  It may not have a great deal of deeper meaning or be the most perfectly structured thing to hit the stage but it does keep you entertained for a few hours.  Are we looking at a Best Musical Tony contender here?  Probably not.  But if you are in Los Angeles and are looking for something to do, get your butt down to the Ahmanson.  Yes, it will be annoying when people think you just saw someone try to be Kirsten Dunst on stage and you will need to explain otherwise, but trust me.  It will be worth it.

Broadway on my TV

I was going to blog about last night's Glee this morning, but I really don't want to spend any more time thinking about last night's train wreck of an episode.  I mean really, what was that? (And oh, poor Damian McGinty.  You were adorable on The Glee Project and can totally sing, but I now stand firmly by my stance that the competition should have tested acting skills.  Yikes.)  No, I just can't do Glee.  But I'm still in a peppy show tune-y mood, and luckily for me, last night's performance of Godspell on Letterman totally gave me something to sing about.

It should be said...I have not seen Godspell.  But I do troll the Internet from time to time and had read some less than flattering buzz about the show.  Couple that with the fact that I know very little about the source material (Yes, I AM talking about the New Testament.  Bite me) and it was slowly slipping down my to do list for my great New York trip.  But then I saw last night's televised performance and it totally changed my mind.  It's back on the list.  It's back on it hard.

Here's what was great about the Godspell performance:

A- They did a medley 
I don't know any of these songs, but I kind of feel like I do now.  And I know that there is more than one number that doesn't suck

B-Everyone got a moment in the sun 
The best thing a show can do when performing on television is make you curious about the characters.  That will hook you into getting your butt in a seat.  By showcasing almost the entire cast, I was interested in all of these people and what their story is.  Plus most of them can really sing, which is a nice departure from Glee-land (I'm sorry.  Still scarred)

C-It felt like a Broadway show
Sometimes when a show performs on TV it tries to hard to be cool.  They are the talk show's musical guest, after all, and thus tend to trying to present themselves as the Kanye West of musical theater.  Kids, there is a reason Kanye West doesn't do Broadway.  Broadway shouldn't try to do him.  Embracing the fact that you are a show is a GOOD thing.  It takes the audience to the world of your story and makes them want to be a part of it.  Also, it feels genuine which means we can just sit back and enjoy the performance and not shift in out seats over the uncomfortable attempts to be cool.

D- It was fun.
Simply put, the cast looked like they were having a great time.  Which makes you think you will too.

E- Hunter Parrish makes a pretty Jesus
I'm sure that this will sell the show, but it actually has nothing to do with the performance.  I really just think that it needs to be said.

Check out the Godspell performance here:

There are a few other show performances on TV throughout the years that  have sold the show really well.

Spring Awakening on The View used a great song (Touch Me) and showcased the beauty of the show while providing a teaser into the characters.

42nd Street's Lullaby of Broadway from the Tony's sums up everything great about going to see it:

Hair's Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In on Letterman combined the show's two most well know songs so create an Electric performance.  It set the standard for Godspell:

And Ragtime's performance on The Rosie O'Donnell Show (the old one)  showed how to showcase a big ensemble show in a small space.

These shows knew how to capture the essence of their show and give a killer performance.  And they were all a hell of a lot more entertaining to watch than an episode of Glee.

Damn.  There I go again....

Iris In

Last night my friends in New York found themselves at a surprise Green Day Halloween spectacular.  I'm less cool and live on the opposite side of the country, so I has to get my yayas out by seeing LA's newest import, Cirque Du Soleil's Iris.  Visually, this thing was insane.  My eyes were on overdrive.  I literally gasped several times.  And then there were these guys:

I mean, COME ON!

I was totally into it.  And then my mother, while on our catch-up phone call, asked me this crazy question.  She asked if it was good.

And I really didn't know.

Is what these people do amazing?  No question.  But is it anything more than a circus act?  The attempt at a story, at characters and a distinct world, imply that it wants to be.  There is a protagonist, the Chaplin-esque Buster, who longs for the beautiful Scarlett. She likes him too, it seems, but is controlled by an inaudible French man who wants to make her a star.  There are other zany characters, like a man who uses his hair as a whip and a woman with a zoetrope skirt but I'm not sure the function they serve.  There is also a screenwriter who decides he needs to dress in drag to become a star.  That gets a lot of laughs, but it makes absolutely no sense.  Unless you are in a Robin Williams' movie.

In the middle of all this, people who appear to have no spines or are super human stack themselves on top of each other or fly through the air.  And sure, it is AWESOME but I have no idea what it has to do with anything.  I also have no idea how, other than costumes and the set, it sets itself apart from any other Cirque Du Soleil show.  So is it good?  No, I really don't think it is.  But does it matter?  No, I really don't think it does.

Like super peppy pop music or teen stoner movies, some areas of pop culture don't have to be amazing to draw and audience and serve their purpose.  They just are what they are and they embrace that.  Which, I kind of respect.  So while I don't think Iris was great theater, I would not hesitate to recommend it to someone.  It's fun.  You'll watch, you won't think and you'll like it.  Because in the end, they can still do this:

And you can't.