Theater Review: Tennessee Williams' Gritty "One Arm"

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Wednesday, 22 June 2011 10:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Tennessee Williams’ One Arm
Adapted for the stage and directed by Moises Kaufman
Starring Claybourne Elder, Larisa Polonsky, Steven Hauck, Todd Lawson, Noah Bean, KC Comeaux, Christopher McCann, Greg Pierotti

It’s easy to see why One Arm remained an unproduced film script, even though it was written by none other than Tennessee Williams. Adapted from Williams‛ short story, the play is about Ollie Olsen (Claybourne Elder), a hustler who lost an arm to a car accident while in the Navy (where he was a championship boxer).

Set in the seediest areas of New Orleans and New York, One Arm doesn’t shy away from showing what happens to Ollie before and after killing a sleazeball who paid him $200 for a porn shoot with a young woman (Larisa Polonsky). Ollie’s downbeat story, coupled with an unflinching look at his (mostly homosexual) exploits, makes for an uncomfortable 75 minutes in the theater.

But in Moises Kaufman’s spellbinding staging, this depressing tale comes across powerfully. Williams’ dialogue has a gritty poetry that perfectly mirrors Ollie’s increasingly desperate straits.

Ollie is enacted with formidable forthrightness and an imposing physicality by Elder, while the Narrator (the play’s weakest link, unnecessarily imposing Williams’ voice onstage) is played by a wobbly Noah Bean.

Other cast members impressively play various roles, led by a stellar Polonsky as the women in Ollie’s life. Whether a French Quarter stripper, a naïve nurse, or his porn partner, Polonsky breathes a moving authenticity into each part.

From the places Ollie lived and worked to the jail cell where he spends his final days, Kaufman shrewdly makes the Acorn Theatre’s wide stage seem claustrophobic.

A first-rate cast, creatively shabby lighting and sets and an admirably honest look at a group of shady characters make for an eminent co-production by The New Group and Kaufman's Tectonic Theatre Project.

What could have been a cloyingly obvious melodrama is transformed into a staggering Greek tragedy.

Tennessee Williams’ One Arm
Acorn Theatre
410 West 42nd Street
New York City
thenewgroup.org
Opened June 9, 2011; closes July 2, 2011

For more by Kevin Filipski, visit The Flip Side blog at http://flipsidereviews.blogspot.com

Theater Review: "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" Reboots

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Tuesday, 21 June 2011 10:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge
Original direction by Julie Taymor; creative consultant: Philip Wm. McKinley
Choreography and aerial choreography by Daniel Ezralow
Starring Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, T.V. Carpio, Patrick Page

Late in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the alternately stultifying and electrifying new musical, the nasty Green Goblin (played with irrepressible glee by Patrick Page) sits at a piano awaiting his showdown with the web-spinning superhero and begins singing “I’ll Take Manhattan,” a crazed send-up of Rodgers and Hart’s classic song.

The Green Goblin’s take on this pop standard is significant for two reasons. First, it’s one of the few times that this schizophrenic show, which bounces between seriously stupid psychology and serious comic-strip silliness, has a genuinely twisted sense of humor about itself (earlier, the Goblin makes mention of the show’s wildly inflated budget).

Secondly, it reminds us that Bono and The Edge, whose songwriting credentials were long ago cemented by U2’s plethora of hits, have a long way to go before they’ll compose a Broadway score that can stand on its own, let alone be mentioned in the same breath as Rodgers and Hart (or even Elton John).

For a show that cost tens of millions and has so much baggage attached to it, Spider-Man at least flows, has a coherent if flimsy plot and some showstopping moments thanks to the talented stuntmen flying around the Foxwoods Theater. Nine stunt Spider-Men take bows at the curtain call, after these superhero surrogates finish flying, spinning upside down, leap-frogging and somersaulting all over the stage, trying to make a middling musical more exciting.

It works at times, in a Cirque de Soleil kind of way, and when George Tsypin’s set design -- which, for the most part, comprises sliding panels -- suddenly gives us a God’s-eye view of the Chrysler Building for the big finale, it’s apparent where some of the money went.

But fired director Julie Taymor’s original concept overexplained the origin of Spiderman’s powers by introducing the eight-legged goddess Arachne, who now only appears in two numbers prodding Peter Parker to his destiny, “Behold and Wonder” and “Turn Off the Dark,” which are the show’s most eye-catching, as well as the most obvious of Taymor’s own creation.

That some of Taymor’s confused mysticism remains in a pared-down version cramps the show’s style severely. The first act begins very slowly, and the audience doesn’t even see some good old- fashioned flying -- why else are we all here? -- until just before intermission. (Although the number “Bouncing Off the Walls“ introduces us to Peter’s new powers with a taste of what is to come.)

If even more streamlining was done -- by jettisoning the subplots with Peter’s uncle and aunt and girlfriend Mary Jane’s father, especially -- and there was more playing up of the comic-book aspects of the story, which don’t really kick in until the Green Goblin gets going in Act II. Then Spider-Man might be a less bumpy rollercoaster ride.

The clunky pacing, particularly in how the show often stops dead between songs, is another liability, while the real charms of leading man Reeve Carney and leading lady Jennifer Damiano (who should, if there’s any justice, become the diva of our musical stage for the next 20 years) are never fully exploited. Bono and the Edge’s mainly dirge-like score, which contains only one memorable tune (“Rise Above,” which sounds like a Joshua Tree outtake), seems to cry uncle when we hear tongue-in-cheek snippets of U2 hits “Beautiful Day” and “Vertigo.”

Neither the unsafe disaster it was nor a successful reclamation project, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ends up as a forgettable musical but a memorable circus act.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Foxwoods Theater
213 West 42nd Street
New York, NY
spidermanonbroadway.com
Previews began November 28, 2010; opened June 14, 2011

For more by Kevin Filipski, visit The Flip Side blog at http://flipsidereviews.blogspot.com.

June '11 Digital Week III

Details

Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Sunday, 19 June 2011 10:00

Written by Kevin Filipski

Blu-rays of the Week
Battle: Los Angeles (Sony)
The latest sci-fi film in which aliens arrive, bent on the world’s destruction, B: LA at least doesn’t bother with dime store psychology: the aliens show up, and the explosive fun begins. Breathlessly moving to its bang-up conclusion, Jonathan Liebesman’s movie doesn’t need subtlety from its actors, but Aaron Eckart tries to give it more weight. The special effects-laden action sequences come off best on Blu-ray; the extras comprise behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews and storyboard comparisons.

Hair and New York New York (MGM)
These late ‘70s musicals were flops for directors coming off their biggest successes. Martin Scorsese had made Taxi Driver before his ambitious failure starring Robert DeNiro and Liza Minnelli, New York New York, in 1977; Milos Forman won the Oscar for One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest before making his extravagant version of the classic hippie musical, Hair, in 1979. What’s best are these films’ visual imaginativeness, which both look splendid on Blu-ray. Hair has no extras; NY, NY extras include Scorsese’s commentary/introduction, alternate/deleted scenes, two-part retrospective documentary, Minnelli interview, and scene commentary by cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs.

Just Go with It (Sony)
Another less-than-ordinary Adam Sandler vehicle, this bumpy remake of Cactus Flower has Sandler using Jennifer Aniston to help him reel in hottie Brooklyn Decker. A few laughs are scattered in the dross, but the movie too often settles for pointless scenes, like every one featuring a grossly overdone Nicole Kidman, stretching the running time beyond endurance. There is a clever use of Police and Sting songs, and the parts shot in Hawaii look splendid on Blu-ray, but the comedy department never amounts too much. Extras include deleted scenes, blooper reel and on-set featurettes.

The Makioka Sisters (Criterion)
Kon Ichikawa’s 1983 quiet, contemplative chamber drama studies a quartet of sisters that have taken over the family kimono business before the outbreak of World War II. Not nearly as incisive as Ichikawa’s best films (due in part to a horribly dated synthesizer score), The Makioka Sisters still has its creator’s affection for his characters in spades. The gorgeous cinematography, in which the four seasons play a big role, remains highly effective on Blu-ray. Unfortunately, there are no extras on this major Criterion release.

The Outlaw Josey Wales (Warners)
Clint Eastwood’s 1976 western, which he directed and starred in, finds the star as a man seeking revenge against the Union soldiers who killed his family and destroyed his homestead. In many ways a standard western, the movie utilizes the Civil War to add tension to the hero tracking down the killers. While blatant, this effective drama showed that Eastwood’s directing career would continue. The Blu-ray image is luminous; extras comprise critic Richard Schickel commentary and three Eastwood featurettes.

Red Riding Hood (Warners)
With an eye toward her Twilight success, director Catherine Hardwicke tries jump-starting a new fantasy franchise  by bringing werewolves into the fairy tale for good measure. Amanda Seyfried makes an appropriately wide-eyed title character, and Julie Christie, Virginia Madsen and Gary Oldman lend able support, but the CGI wolf is neither scary nor believable enough for the conceit to work. Grittily shot by Mandy Walker, the movie looks excellent on Blu-ray; extras include a gag reel, alternate scenes, music videos, audition tapes and director/performers commentary.

Superman: The Motion Picture Anthology (Warners)
Christopher Reeve revived the Man of Steel franchise in the first two Superman movies, but numbers three and four sullied everyone’s reputation. That quartet takes up most of this eight-disc set, which also includes Bryan Singer’s 2006 reboot with Brandon Routh; director Richard Donner’s “director’s cut” of the original, and his own cut of the sequel, which had been taken over by Richard Lester. The Reeve movies look superb on Blu-ray, considering their age: 30-35 years old. Extensive extras on a separate disc include full-length documentaries Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman and You Will Believe: the Cinematic Saga of Superman; vintage featurettes; TV specials; complete 1940s Max Fleischer cartoons; commentaries; and TV pilot.

36th Precinct (Palisades Tartan)
Director Olivier Marchal’s 2004 policier pits two of the biggest French stars, Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteil, against each other as police superintendents hoping to inherit the soon-vacated commissioner’s job. A nail-biter throughout, the movie has twists and turns that don’t always make sense, but the stars’ towering presence help smooth over  rough spots. The movie has a solid Blu-ray transfer; extras include making-of featurettes and director interview.

DVDs of the Week
If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (Film Movement)
Romania’s film renaissance continues with co-writer/director Florin Serban’s tough portrait of an 18-year-old delinquent putting his life in order the only way he knows how: kidnapping a beautiful social worker. George Pistereanu and Ana Condeescu’s raw, emotional performances provide Serban’s film with the backbone it needs to give a sense of a nation trying to survive in an increasingly factitious 21st century. The lone extra is a 20-minute Dutch short, Kiss.

Vanishing of the Bees (True Mind)
With Queen of the Sun, this film makes a one-two punch exploring what’s happening to bees thanks to man’s messing with nature. Narrated by Ellen Page, George Langworthy and Maryam Henein’s documentary explores various theses about how bees are dying by the millions due to Colony Collapse Disorder. More clinical than Queen, which was a more poetic meditation on a horrible situation, Vanishing shows what happens and how it can be stopped. Brief extras include deleted scenes and an animated short.  

CD of the Week
John Adams: Son of Chamber Symphony/String Quartet (Nonesuch)
John Adams, America’s premier living composer, returns with 2007’s Son of Chamber Symphony and 2008’s String Quartet, performed by International Contemporary Ensemble (conducted by Adams) and St. Lawrence String Quartet, respectively. Son of Chamber Symphony is a raucous, exhilarating work that shows how expressive Adams’ musical language has become since his original Chamber Symphony in 1992. The String Quartet is less formidable but is played with passionate precision by the St. Lawrence quartet.