IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: Broadway Finds Its Groove!

It's that time of year again!  We are approaching the weekend at the beginning of the summer where the Broadway community gets together to celebrate the year in Theatre.  The Tony Awards!!!  And this year seemed to be the year that Broadway finally molded itself into the groove that has been set by the recent downturns in the economy.  You see, in recent years, Broadway producers have been hedging their bets and streamlining the kind of material that makes its way to the Great White Way.  They've been limiting their funds to shows that can generate an immediate revenue (i.e. Celebrity-led Plays, Movie-based Musicals, "Known" composers and authors, etc.).  It has made it really hard for what many Broadway insiders call "the Next Generation" of creatives to make a name for themselves in the Theatre (meaning if you're looking for the next Stephen Sondheim, you might not find them on Broadway!).  However, this year had a huge melting pot of all these elements that people have been lamenting and (in one way or another) they all seemed to be an example of Broadway getting "back on its feet," as it were.

One thing we have learned in the last few years and especially this year is that the Limited Run show is here to stay.  For years, the Roundabout Theatre Company, the Manhattan Theatre Club and the Lincoln Center Theatre have been masters as Broadway's repertory houses.  And all three of those companies had shows this year that both wowed the critics and excited audiences.  Roundabout produced revivals of Harvey (starring The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons) and Rupert Holmes' Tony-winning audience-solved Musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood (featuring Chita Rivera and Stephanie J. Block).  The latter, which closed after two extensions to its initial limited engagement, has now been nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical.  Meanwhile, the Manhattan Theatre Club, which has recently become the pioneer of great plays both Off-Broadway, produced two well-received plays (The Other Place starring Tony nominee Laurie Metcalf and The Assembled Parties which is nominated for Best Play).  And Lincoln Center, which was enjoying the success of 2011's Best Play War Horse until its closing in January, has had other success with a much-hailed revival of Clifford Odets' Golden Boy which featured Monk's Tony Shalhoub, Chuck's Yvonne Strahoski and Broadway Musical star Danny Burstein (the limited run production which closed in early 2013 is nominated for 8 Tonys including Best Revival of a Play).  They also produced Two and a Half Men star Holland Taylor's tour-de-force one-woman show Ann, where she plays former Texas governor Ann Richards (for which she is nominated for Best Actress this Sunday!).  Limited runs have been the thing to beat this year when it comes to a hit Broadway show.

And it wasn't only these three companies getting into the Limited Run action.  Producers have always enjoyed investing in a production that has a big star over the marquee.  And what makes a big star sign on for such a challenge as 8 times a week?  The answer is a Limited Engagement!  This year we have seen big name stars like Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johannson, Alec Baldwin, Bette Midler, Alan Cumming, Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr., Sigourney Weaver and Jane Lynch all take time out of their busy Movie-TV star schedules to take on a role in Play, Musical or even a Revival.  And each of the productions these stars are (or were) a part of has made some kind of impression either critically, financially or both.  But of course with all this sweet star-led revenue, there comes the bitter side of the double-edged sword that Celebrity can bring (cough cough Shia LeBouf cough cough).  And many a Broadway die-hard will still lament that the Great White Way has become a "summer camp" of sorts for Film stars who just want to "Hollywood-ize" their day-to-day stomping grounds.  Despite all that, it seems that Broadway really has tried to welcome the Celebrities who want to challenge themselves and try their hand at 8 performances a week (and whether they meet that challenge or not is a subject for another blog!).

But the biggest thing that Broadway seems to be accepting now (to a certain degree) is the mass amount of Musicals based on previously produced projects (basically, Movies!).  And nothing is a stronger testament to that than the four nominees for Best Musical: Kinky Boots, Matilda The Musical and the limited engagements of A Christmas Story: The Musical and Bring It On: The Musical (I guess it's safe to say that if it had the words "The Musical" after it, it probably was well-liked this year!).  All four of the nominees are based on Movies (granted Matilda is more based on the novel by Roald Dahl, but the 1996 film version starring Mara Wilson is quite popular with some audiences!).  This trend was actually started by the Walt Disney Company in the 1990s (with their hit staged versions of their films Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King!) and was perfected by the likes of Mel Brooks (The Producers), Marc Shaiman (Hairspray), Elton John (Billy Elliot) and even Monty Python (Spamalot) throughout the next decade.  It seems that now Broadway has finally figured out a way to accept this trend.  In addition, they've managed to encourage newer composers and authors to make their Broadway mark (or even debut!) with this trend.  Three of the Best Musical nominees (Kinky Boots, Matilda and A Christmas Story) are also nominated for the Best Score Tony Award and all three of those shows are by composers who are making their Broadway debut (Kinky Boots is by '80s icon Cyndi Lauper, Matilda is by Aussie rock musician Tim Minchin and A Christmas Story is by the brand new pair of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul).  So maybe someday we will find the next Rodgers and Hammerstein...as they are making the "long-awaited" Musical version of Argo!

No matter what, Broadway is always going to be an ever-changing animal that depends on audiences to be a success (either creatively or financially!), which is what live Theatre is all about.  And I will still be a fan of that animal (as always!) so I will be watching CBS at 8PM on Sunday night as the Broadway community gathers with host Neil Patrick Harris to celebrate the year in Theatre!  Happy Tony watching!

10 FAVORITES (67): Super Bowl Ad Awards 2013

It's Awards Month!  Each post this month is going to be Awards-related.  Whether it has to do with the upcoming Grammys, BAFTAs or Oscars, or it's a made-up Award relating to something in the popular culture; that's what this month is all about.  Today, I am giving out the Awards for the Best (and Worst!) commercials that were aired during this year's Super Bowl on Sunday.  Every year it seems like the competition for Best Super Bowl Ad gets fiercer and fiercer. It doesn't help that the networks keep raising the price of the ad time (this year CBS charged over $8 million for one ad spot!).  So let's get on with:

THE 2013 SUPER BOWL AD AWARDS

Let's get the Negatives out of the way:

WORST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Bar Rafaelli and Generic Nerd Kiss - GoDaddy.com

I never expect anything good out of a GoDaddy.com ad, but this was just awful.  What makes this universally panned commercial so terrible is not the fact that a shlubby nerd is getting a make-out session with the gorgeous model Bar Rafaelli, but the disgusting sound effect of said make-out.  Whether it was an effect added afterwards or live recording, it was just unpleasant.

ODDEST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Come On, Get Hoppy, 'Mon - Volkswagen

The elements of this commercial ultimately seemed like something that came out of the fake writers' room on 30 Rock.  A completely white-bread guy speaks with a Rastafarian accent telling all in his office to "Get Hoppy, 'Mon" all while the strains of an island version of The Partridge Family theme song play in the background.  And yet it's not an ad for Red Stripe Beer or a Caribbean Cruise!  It's an ad for the German-made Volkswagen!  Everyone at my Super Bowl party was just befuddled.  Even the people in the ad are befuddled!

MOST POLARIZING SUPER BOWL AD 2013

And God Made the Farmer - Dodge RAM

Every year there is always one ad that gets completely opposite reactions from the public.  This year, the Dodge RAM ad has that distinction.  Some people really loved it and others really hated it.  I tend to fall more in the latter category (though "hated" may be a bit strong!).  What people loved was the message the first minute and half of this commercial had (that whole "God saw that the land needed tending and so the Farmer was created" thing!).  While that message is fine on its own, inspirational and even patriotic, the pay-off of the ad was just disappointing.  Even if I knew going into the ad that it was nothing more than a car commercial, I still would have wanted more from the people at Dodge than just a prompt to "Join the Movement at Dodge.com" (Whatever the hell that means!).  It would have been much better if the ad had ended with their new Dodge RAM and a promise from the company to donate a percentage of the proceeds to a Farmers' Aid Organization (like Farm Aid!).  But no, they had to be ambiguous and just show off their new truck and use the equivalent of emotional blackmail to make consumers love the ad (seriously, go into a chat room and say something negative about this ad and it will not go over well!).

Now on with the good ones:

BEST SUPER BOWL MOVIE TRAILER 2013

Star Trek Into Darkness (May 17, Paramount Pictures)

Of all the movie trailers that were aired on Sunday, this one teasing the awaited sequel to J.J. Abrams' first Star Trek reboot made geeks everywhere squee with delight!  And I am especially looking forward to what seems like a tour-de-force performance from Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch.

BEST SUPER BOWL TIE-IN 2013

Joe Montana Miracle Stain - Tide

The ad is fairly self-explanatory and I don't want to spoil the ending for those who missed it!  Suffice it to say it was a great way to honor one of the most famous San Francisco 49ers and yet throw in a zinger.

BEST USE OF MUSIC IN A SUPER BOWL AD 2013

I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - M&Ms

Hilarious for the annoying Red M&M to sing MeatLoaf's impassioned '90s power-ballad to Glee star Naya Rivera...and then subject us to all the things the little guy won't do for love.

BEST CELEBRITY PERFORMANCE IN A SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Amy Poehler - Best Buy

There were celebrities abound in this year's Super Bowl ads (Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Stevie Wonder, Zoe Saldana, Kaley Cuoco, Willem Dafoe and many more!).  But the celebrity that shined the most was Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler in this hilarious Best Buy ad with all her questions for this young (and oft-confused!) clerk.  She proves why she is one of the most hilarious women on Television.

FUNNIEST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Goat 4 Sale - Doritos

Doritos always tend to bring the funny when it comes to their Super Bowl ads (and this year they had two, see the Honorable Mentions below!).  This one that aired during the first quarter was just hilarious and made everyone at my Super Bowl party ROTFL! (Yeah I know, I hate Text-speak too...but here it's appropriate!)

CLEVEREST SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Library Whisper Fight - Oreos

While Doritos get my praise for being hilarious, its Oreos that get my kudos for being clever.  Here, Oreos called upon a joke from a classic Super Bowl ad and gave it a great twist.  By setting it in a Library, the whispering caught the audience's attention especially when juxtaposed against the chaos created by the Cookies vs. Cream fight.

AND..

BEST OVERALL SUPER BOWL AD 2013

Clydesdale and Trainer - Budweiser

It seems like anytime the people over at Anheuser-Busch do one of their popular Clydesdale ads, the quality goes up by like 11!  This one (which seems like a cute parody of the central relationship in Steven Spielberg's War Horse) was poignant, clever, touching and even a little humorous.  It was smart to use Stevie Nicks' classic "Landslide" as the background music (that's the touching part!).  It makes me want to run out and pet a Clydesdale.  This ad was a surefire winner!

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Viva Young -Taco Bell; Fashionista Daddy - Doritos; Where Babies Come From - KIA

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS (so dishonorable, they don't get links!)

Coca-Cola - The Chase (insipid and full of doofy stereotypes...but in the bad way!)

Subway - Mispronouncing FebruANY (who the hell cares if certain athletes can't pronounce a MADE-UP WORD!!!)

Union Bank - Maya Angelou (similar problem to the Dodge RAM ad, yet a little more offensive to use someone so profound - and talking about profound things! - to promote a bank!)

LET'S REVIEW: A Defense of Les Miz...

It's a brand new year and I thought it would be time to introduce a brand new column.  Occasionally, I will give my readers a review of a Movie, TV Series, Play or Book that is bouncing around in our Pop Culture consciousness.  And to begin, I thought I would open with the long-awaited film adaptation of the mega-hit stage musical Les Misérables, directed by The King's Speech's Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper.  The overall critical reaction to the film has been mixed.  But what I am seeing in most of the reviews, both negative and positive, is a not-so-surprising trend in the critics reviewing it.  The ones who really loved it (and there were quite a few!), were already in love with the musical from it's previous stage productions.  The ones who really loathed it (and there were quite a few!), did not like the stage musical already (which then begs the question as to why their respective publication would have them review the film version, but I digress!).  Now granting the fact that I am enamored with the stage musical already, it is not too far of a leap to believe that I was equally impressed with the film version.  I was.  But that is not to say I do not understand or disagree with some of the criticisms thrown at Hooper's adaptation.  In some of the cases, I see their points.  But in most of those cases, it comes down to typical critical nit-picking.  Is it the greatest stage-to-screen musical adaptation? No; not when films like My Fair Lady, West Side Story, The Sound of Music, Fiddler On the Roof and Chicago exist.  But is it the most disappointing stage-to-screen musical adaptation? Certainly not; not when films like Annie, The Wiz, A Chorus Line, Hair and The Phantom of the Opera exist. These are truly sad when you think of the talented directors behind each of those films: John Huston, Sidney Lumet, Richard Attenborough, Milos Forman and Joel Schumacher, respectively (I know Schumacher can be quite awful, but he's also had some good films!).  So LET'S REVIEW!

First and foremost, let's go through the most crucial thing when adapting a successful stage musical to the big screen: casting.  Casting a big brassy musical like Les Miz is made even harder these days particularly because of the expectations of the audience, the "non-acceptance" of lip-syncing (sorry Marni Nixon!), the boldness of the difficult score and the lack of truly talented "A-List" actors.  All that being said, Hooper could not have found a better Jean Valjean than Hugh Jackman.  For Les Miz (any production!), the strength of it ultimately lies on the shoulders of the actor playing Valjean.  As the central role of the story (which has been adapted more times than any Shakespeare play, thanks to its several French adaptations!), the actor playing Valjean has to run a gamut of emotions from convict to respected factory owner to unexpected father to man-on-the-run to willing revolutionary.  In the musical, add singing difficult songs like "Who Am I?" and "Bring Him Home" and you have a character that is extremely difficult to cast.  But in Hugh Jackman (known to audiences as Wolverine from the X-Men films), Hooper got an actor who uses every piece of himself as both an actor and a performer (he is, after all, a Tony Award-winning musical star!).  His voice is strong, his acting is perfect and his looks (which change throughout the film, spanning 20 years!) match every time.  It is truly the performance of his career.

But Valjean is not the only character crucial to the casting process of Les Miz.  As with most musicals, the female characters become the thing that Broadway purists and fans become obsessed over.  And thanks to the likes of a cherubic singer (and YouTube sensation) named Susan Boyle, the casting of Fantine is almost equally crucial to the casting of Valjean (even though the character only appears in 30 minutes of the entire 3 hour musical!).  Fans love this character (partly because the original 1985 London production cast Broadway legend Patti LuPone as Fantine!).  But once again, Hooper cast the proper person giving the performance of her career.  Anne Hathaway, who has shown her musical chops here and there on film before, truly transformed herself to play the tragic character that is Fantine.  And her rendition of the iconic "I Dreamed a Dream" is overwhelmingly impressive, especially when  you hear she completed the scene in one take (take that Sinatra!).  She IS the front-runner in the Supporting Actress category at every Awards this season (and should obtain an Oscar nod come Thursday!).

With Jackman and Hathaway taking most of the praise (albeit deserving!), most of the critics take their "vengeance" out on some of the other actors in the principal roles.  And in Russell Crowe, unfortunately, they have rather an easy target.  Unlike Jackman and Hathaway, Academy Award-winner Crowe is not extremely well-known for his musical "talents" (he has a rock band, folks!).  He also has never had the friendliest relationship with the press (he's had incidents with papparazzi that make Sean Penn look like a Care Bear!).  And in a role like Javert, expectations are very high (and in Crowe's case, almost unfairly high!).  You see, Crowe is obviously not used to or comfortable with this style of singing (usually known as "recitative").  He uses all of his intense method-acting skills to try to cover his discomfort and sometimes it works (other times...not really!).  But then I think to myself: Who else really could have played this role in this adaptation?  You see, there are certain criteria the studio, the creatives and the audience has in the casting of Javert...and each one's criteria is very different from the other!  Every adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel has a Javert that is of equal caliber in both ability and star quality to the man playing Valjean (since most versions are French, you're just going to have to trust me!).  You  need an "A-List" actor to play opposite Hugh Jackman's "A-List" casting of Valjean.  So run through the list of "A-List" actors in your mind who could: 1) Act the role of Javert (cause let's face it, he needs to be a quality actor!) and 2) Actually sing! And not just sing, but be willing to step outside a "comfort zone" and sing this style of music.  In that last respect, Crowe stepped up.  He's not perfect, which is unfortunate, but he is not so-bad-you-want-to-forget-he-was-cast-in-the-first-place (Gerard Butler, I'm looking at you!).

The rest of the principals fit their roles well.  Eddie Redmayne, who plays the lovelorn Marius, was the biggest surprise with a sweet and lush tenor voice and an emotional quality I rarely get out of most guys who have played Marius.  In the role of Eponine, Hooper took a chance and cast the unknown Samantha Barks (who has played the role on stage in the UK).  She is not only talented but extremely beautiful (which might sometimes work against the Eponine that exists in Hugo's novel, but who cares?!?!).  As the treacherous Thenardiers, Helena Bonham-Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen are well-cast.  I mean, they would be on my list if I were casting (so if you had problems with them, that's on you!).  Broadway star Aaron Tveit gives the Tony-winning role of Enjolras a mix of pretty-boy good looks and strong musical chops.  And as Cosette, Amanda Seyfried is fine (with what she has to do!).  I always feel Cosette gets the short end of the stick in the muscial as far as material goes.  I think that is why I have rarely seen a Cosette that can match the quality of either the original London Cosette (Rebecca Caine) or the original Broadway Cosette (Judy Kuhn).  So with that said, Seyfried (whose voice is surely not as strong as Caine's or Kuhn's) is pretty good and very pretty to watch.

And now on to the criticism that is at the forefront of most of the nay-sayers out there.  In The King's Speech, Tom Hooper used close-ups and the wide-angle lenses to give us the "fishbowl" quality of a royal life.  And even there, some people didn't like it.  In Les Miz, Hooper once again uses a ton of close-ups and strange angles to give us an intimate quality that he feels balances against the epic quality of the original story (and stage production!).  But I am going to venture another theory as to why this technique works and why Victor Hugo himself would have loved it.  With all the close-ups and strange tilted angles, we the audience feel extremely like a fly on that "fourth wall" that exists in both the theatre and the movies.  The audience is shoved right into the action and is right up close to the peasants and convicts and thieves and revolutionaries and whores of Hugo's world.  And Hugo would have wanted it that way.  The point of his original novel, Les Misérables, was to shove this world of poverty right in the faces of the bourgeoisie he so loathed in many of his works.  These close angles are supposed to give intimacy and a certain level of discomfort.  Hugo would have wanted nothing less.

So to all the negative critics out there, I say this is a great musical film adaptation that should be viewed by both fans of the original and those who are not familiar with the material.  I would love to see it on Oscar's list of Best Picture nominees come this Thursday!

IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS: Oscar Season Begins!

Clockwise: Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln; Alan Arkin and Ben Affleck in Argo; Stephen Dillane and Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty; Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables

Well readers, it's been a month since my last post and it was a very well-deserved vacation!  And now that we are heading into Winter, there is one thing that is on everyone's mind in Hollywood: The Oscars and who will be nominated this time around.  The nominations will not be announced until the morning of January 13th and it is during the month of December that those ballots will be filled out by Academy voters as to which of this year's films deserve the top prize.  Because the Oscars have moved their schedule up an entire month, all the other awards on the circuit have tried to accommodate that with the Golden Globes (the most high-profile Oscar precursor) announcing their nominees next Thursday.  So which films are the front-runners in the race to be nominated for the biggest award?  Well there are certainly a few.  And with the Academy's new rule that allows for anywhere from 5 to 10 films to be nominated for Best Picture, the race has become that much harder to predict.

However, amid all the predictions are 3 films that are definitely going to be in prominent contention come Oscar night.  When Argo was released in September, Ben Affleck received the best reviews of his career (as a director, actor and co-screenwriter).  His thrilling and suspenseful adaptation about a secret CIA mission to retrieve American Embassy workers during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis was far and wide considered a surefire bet for Best Picture.  In addition to Argo, critics then lauded the most recent Steven Spielberg film, Lincoln.  In this stunning political biopic, two-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis has received raves for his role as the 16th President of the United States and is in definite contention for a third Best Actor statue.   But the buzziest film of 2012's Oscar season has yet to be released for audiences.  Academy Award winner Tom Hooper's adaptation of the iconic stage musical Les Misérables has been receiving Oscar buzz ever since the first trailer appeared in theaters over the summer (especially for Best Supporting Actress contender Anne Hathaway) and will not be released until Christmas Day.  So at this time, I have seen both Argo and Lincoln and can assure you that both deserve the attention they are getting.  I will soon be seeing Les Misérables (thanks to a perk, I'll get to see it a week before Christmas Day!), so I will be able to let you know if the buzz is correct in placing it alongside the other two.

But in the last few days, another film has been getting attention that most likely would have belonged to the three films mentioned above.  Kathryn Bigelow, who two years ago made history when she became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker, has made yet another topical film that has captured awards attention.  And that film is Zero Dark Thirty, Bigelow's adaptation of the operation that took down Osama Bin Laden.  Over the weekend, the New York Film Critics named Bigelow's movie the Best Picture of the year with the National Board of Review following suit just a few days later.  The National Board of Review also named Bigelow Best Director and star Jessica Chastain as the year's Best Actress.  However, my father pointed out that these wins may have more to do with the movie's subject matter than with the merits of the movie itself (even if it is a great film!).  But with these new developments, I would not be surprised to see Zero Dark Thirty (a film I have yet to see and now have more interest in seeing!) among the top contenders come Oscar time.

There are two other films that are getting mentioned (at least by the critics) when it comes to the contenders for Best Picture.  One is David O. Russell's dark relationship comedy Silver Linings Playbook which stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as two people with deep personal problems who connect with each other despite several differences.  The film is being hailed across the board and Lawrence is considered the top front-runner for Best Actress.  And Bradley Cooper shouldn't be out of the mix either having won the National Board of Review's Best Actor award (over Daniel Day-Lewis!).  The other film being mentioned is Ang Lee's sweeping Life of Pi, which garnered much praise after being viewed at the New York Film Festival.  Several critics pegged it as a surefire Best Picture contender.  And with Ang Lee's previous Oscar pedigree (winning Best Director in 2006 for Brokeback Mountain and Best Foreign Language Film in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), it has a pretty good shot with the critics behind it.

Now I could leave these predictions at six films, but what kind of Oscar predictor would that make me?  There are several other films that are being mentioned on message boards (and by a few critics).  There's Paul Thomas Anderson's faux-Scientology drama The Master (which won at the Cannes Film Festival) and Benh Zeitlin's critically-lauded Beasts of the Southern Wild (which won at Sundance).  The Denzel Washington-led Flight and Quentin Tarantino's new film Django Unchained (which is an homage to "Spaghetti Westerns") are also audience faves (even though Django Unchained is yet-to-be-released!) Let's not forget the Foreign Film Amour, which won Europe's top Film prize and is on several critics' top 10 lists.  And among all these typical awards-fare, three franchise films (or genre pics!) are being thrown into the conversation.  Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Sam Mendes' Bond film Skyfall are all on some lists when talking about Best Picture.  All this said, it shall be a very interesting mix of movies being lauded at the Academy Awards this time around.