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"Half Time" Makes East Coast Premiere at Paper Mill, But Does it Score?
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 14 June 2018 16:29
- Written by Ellis Nassour
June 14, 2018 – There’re enough Tony winners among the creative team in the East Coast premiere of Jerry Mitchell’s production of the musical Half Time for you to expect a championship game. The adaptation of Dori Berinstein’s 2008 documentary Gotta Dance, about New Jersey seniors creating a hip-hop squad for the local team, plays at the Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, NJ) through July 1. While things don’t quite gel to equal the sum of their parts, there are incredibly standout parts. With a score by Matthew Sklar (music) and Nell Benjamin (lyrics) and book by Bob Martin (Drowsy Chaperone) and Chad Beguelin (Aladdin; The Wedding Singer), it dribbles along at TV-sit-com level until the momentum picks up when a couple of players shoot winning hoops.
The show, where the seniors defy the odds to disprove the axiom “No one said getting old is easy” and that age is just a number, had changes since its 2015 Chicago premiere, then-titled Gotta Dance, also helmed by Mitchell. He’s kept the lead cast mostly intact. As with any show, no matter how strong the book and music are, great casting choices make it stronger. He’s blessed to have five-time Emmy-nominated Georgia Engel and Tony and Obie-winning stage veteran André De Shields as the MVP.
Tony nominated Sklar (Elf) and Olivier and Tony nominated Benjamin (Legally Blonde) joined the team when EGOT (Emmy, Grammy Oscar, Tony) and Pulitzer Prize winner Marvin Hamlisch died in 2012. Three of his tunes remain. They and two from the new players add incalculable gloss.
Half-Time is very much an ensemble show. Returning in addition to Engel and De Shields are Tony winning belter Lillias White, Haven Burton, Lori Tan Chin, Nancy Ticotin, Madeline Doherty, Tracy Jai Edwards, Lenora Nemetz, and Kay Walbye. Replacing popular TV star Stefanie Powers from Chicago is Donna McKechnie.
The inspiration for the musical is literally ripped out of the headlines – or, in this case, a gossip column. Four-time Tony-winning producer Berinstein (2012 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf revival, Thoroughly Modern Millie, among others) saw an item in a 2006 Cindy Adams New York Post column announcing the New Jersey Nets were holding an audition for the first-ever N.B.A. senior hip-hop squad. She raced there, camera in hand. That led her to produce the 2008 indie film Gotta Dance.
In Half Time, reminiscent of the English import of Richard Harris’ 1987 play with songs, Stepping Out, there are nine seniors and one man. Here, the team is the New Jersey Cougars, choreographed/coached by Tara (Burton). The 60-year-old plus dance hopefuls – all truly amazing cougars, arrive thinking they’re up for tap and ballroom and find themselves in a rude awakening. Things get off to an even worse than bad start for the Nifty Shades of Grey, until the revelation that mild-mannered kindergarten teacher Dorothy, portrayed by extraordinary scene-stealer Engel [who turns 70 next month], who can’t walk without a cane is a hip-hop aficionado spouting lyrics from rappers Tupac, Run DMC, 50 Cent, and Eminem. On the dance floor, she gets her grove on as if she’s a high-energy teenager. In less than three weeks they’re to bust their moves center court in front of 20,000 fans. As things start to shape up there are petty jealousies, granddaughter marital advice from sassy “grandma” Bea (White) who’s knows how to work it and twerk it, a superiority attitude from former professional dancer (McKechnie) who’s hiding a secret, wise-cracking one-liners courtesy of the diminutive Mae (Chinn), and hot salsa from Camilla (Ticotin) who brandishes a sexy French-kissing boy toy. They’re balanced by a smooth-talking widower (De Shields) known as “the Prince of Swing” in spite of his aching back. They put petty attitudes and differences aside and finally bond in solidarity – not to mention romance, defy the odds, and become “We seniors are the world!” champions with no end-game in sight.
There really wouldn’t be much here except for Engel and De Shields. She has a winning Hamlisch reverie in “Dorothy/Dottie,” where she reveals that the woman on the dance floor isn’t her/Dorothy but her hip-hop alter ego Dottie. She sings “Dor’thy’s not bold … She’s got nothing to say. Neat appearance and good manners”; but as Dottie, when the music “pulses through her body, bass and reverb start to shake … she feels something inside her wake.” And it’s on the dance floor where she literally walks off with the show. De Shields has long been known as a smooth-talker with amazing stage swagger. He delivers both towards the end of Act One in the Hamlisch charmer “The Prince of Swing,” where he reveals how one dance changed his life and got him a wife. He and Engel spot some dazzling ballroom moves during a few stanzas of “There You Are,” which Hamlisch incorporated into the number. They not only stop the show, they bring the house down.
White delivers brassy, sassy advice to her granddaughter in the three-part “Princess” and Ticotin and her boy toy Fernando (Alexander Agular) deliver hot Salsa in “Como No.” Then, there’s the Act Two moment when set designer David Rockwell’s back wall segues into panels of mirrors and Cassie, that is Joanne (McKechnie), delivers a solo dance in “Too Good for This” that’s three degrees of separation from her Tony-winning moment in A Chorus Line.
Music director and arranger is Tony-winner Charlie Alterman (Pippin revival, Next to Normal), with orchestrations by Tony-winner Larry Hochman (Book of Mormon), and dance arrangements by Kenny Seymour. Two-time Tony winner Mitchell (Kinky Boots) choreographed and directed, but credits co-choreographer Nick Kenkel with the hip-hop moves accompanying Sklar’s pulsating dance music. Half Time is produced in association with Berinstein and Bill Damaschke.
* * * 1/2
To learn more, go to: www.PaperMill.org
June '18 Digital Week II
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 13 June 2018 16:38
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-rays of the Week
Tomb Raider
(Warner Bros)
Bringing back Lara Croft in this era of rebooting everything is a no-brainer, as is Alicia Vikander replacing Angelina Jolie, since Vikander’s athleticism is less freakishly superhero-ish—she owns the role for however many sequels the producers want to make.
The movie itself is divertingly forgettable, with stunts and special effects galore, but the nonsensical adventure is the last thing anyone will remember with Vikander so busy reviving a blockbuster franchise. The hi-def transfer is excellent; extras include four making-of featurettes.
Benvenuto Cellini
Il Vologeso
(Naxos)
Hector Berlioz’s 1838 grand opera Benvenuto Cellini—a largely fictionalized overview of events in the life of the great 16th century Italian sculptor—gets an energetic 2015 Dutch National Opera staging by former Monty Python member (and creator of Brazil and The Fisher King) Terry Gilliam, who squeezes out a lot more humor than drama; his cast keeps up with the frenetic pace, led by John Osborn’s Cellini.
A virtually unknown opera by Niccolò Jommelli, Il Vologeso, was unearthed centuries after its 1766 premiere, but it’s such a run-of-the-mill baroque work that it’s unsurprising it’s been eclipsed by so many better operas. Still, the Stuttgart production is first-rate, as are the performers and musicians. Both operas have terrific hi-def video and audio; too bad there are no extras, since a Gilliam Cellini interview (or commentary) would have been a hoot.
The Hurricane Heist
(Lionsgate)
Helped by a clever plot twist—crooks use an impending hurricane to cover their tracks when they rob a U.S. mint—this basically risible crime drama remains watchable mostly because it’s a blast to discover what ludicrous pieces of nature’s wrath happen to move the crazy plot forward.
Director Rob Cohen keeps his tongue in cheek, especially during the nutso finale in which dangerous winds claim victims that include 18-wheelers. A game cast featuring Maggie Grace (an actress who deserves better movies) is another plus. The film looks fine on Blu; extras are Cohen’s commentary, deleted scenes and featurettes.
King of Hearts
(Cohen Film Collection)
Philippe de Broca’s 1966 tragicomedy has attained cult status over the years with its optimistic allegorical theme—“in an insane world, the insane are sane”—and a story of inmates of an asylum in a deserted French town at WWI’s end crowning a Scottish soldier, sent to disarm bombs retreating Germans left, as their leader.
Alan Bates is charming, Genevieve Bujold is stunning, and a bevy of French performers—Daniel Boulanger, Pierre Brasseur, Jean-Claude Brialy and Michel Serrault, for starters—gives this slight satire the energy it needs to get to the finish line. The new hi-def transfer looks superb; extras are new interviews with Bujold and cinematographer Pierre Lhomme along with a commentary.
The Strangers—Prey at Night
(Universal)
The original The Strangers, from 2008, wasn’t necessarily begging for a sequel, and this belated attempt tries but fails miserably to equal or even come near its occasional chills, with a non-existent plot, characters doing the dumbest things imaginable, and a finale that doesn’t even raise a sigh let alone a scream.
It all looks good enough in hi-def; extras include an alternate ending and an alternate (unrated) cut of the film, music video and featurettes.
American Ballet Theater Stages the Classic "Harlequinade"
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- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Saturday, 09 June 2018 00:45
- Written by Jack Angstreich
Probably the most delightful production thus far in an already terrific season at American Ballet Theater is the brilliant Alexei Ratmansky’s beautiful staging (with assistance from Tatiana Ratmansky)—which just received its world premiere—of the legendary Marius Petipa’s glorious hommage to the commedia dell’arte, Harlequinade—featuring some of the most enchanting and original choreography of his career, here reconstructed from notations, and which I attended on the evening of Friday, June 8th—set to a lovely score by the undervalued Riccardo Drigo. Remarkable too were the captivating scenery and costumes by Robert Perdziola, inspired by the original 1900 designs by Orest Allegri and Ivan Vsevolozhsky.
June '18 Digital Week I
- Details
- Parent Category: Film and the Arts
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Tuesday, 05 June 2018 22:25
- Written by Kevin Filipski
Blu-rays of the Week
Au hasard Balthazar
(Criterion)
Among French director Robert Bresson’s most singular films, this 1966 allegory of faith and sacrifice follows a donkey through owners benevolent and malevolent, alongside a young woman’s journey through difficult relationships not unlike the innocent animal’s.
Shot in immaculate black and white by brilliant cameraman Ghislain Cloquet—whose photography looks stunning in Criterion’s new hi-def transfer—Balthazar ends with one of the quietest, most moving moments in the history of cinema. Extras are Un metteur en ordre: Robert Bresson, a 1966 French television program about the film, and a 2004 interview with Bresson expert Donald Richie.
Frank and Eva: Living Apart Together
(Cult Epics)
Director Pim de la Parra’s 1973 drama, a messy, occasionally interesting look at a couple on the rocks—he’s sleeping with everyone while she wants to settle down—has a few fleeting moments of blood and eroticism, sometimes entwined with each other. But there’s the rest of the film—mainly indifferently acted and scripted—that drops it into the mediocre category.
Although Sylvia Kristel of Emmanuelle is prominent on the cover, she barely registers in a marginal role (and feature debut). There’s a decent hi-def transfer; extras are director’s commentary and featurette.
Gun Crazy
(Warner Archive)
A forerunner of Bonnie and Clyde, this 1950 shoot-‘em-up is as blunt and crude as they come, but director Joseph H. Lewis gets some mileage out of its ludicrously straightforward “they both love guns, fall in love and go on a crime spree” plot line.
In the leads, John Ball is fine as Bart, but Peggy Cummins—who didn’t have much of a career—is a knockout in every way as Laurie, the proto-Bonnie. The B&W film looks good on Blu; extras are an audio commentary and the informative 2006 feature-length documentary Film-Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light.
Little Women
(PBS Masterpiece)
In this elegant-looking, engagingly performed adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott classic, several veteran performers—Emily Watson as the girls’ mother Marmee, Angela Lansbury as Aunt March and Michael Gambon as neighbor Mr. Lawrence—acquit themselves admirably.
But besting them all is Maya Hawke as a wonderfully level-headed Jo, a role so over-familiar that it’s difficult to make something new out of it (although Sutton Foster was a delightful Jo in the 2005 Broadway musical). The hi-def transfer is excellent; extras comprise three on-set featurettes.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
(Warner Archive)
Stanley Donen’s 1954’s CinemaScope spectacular, an original musical based on a book by Stephen Vincent Benét, is splendid old-fashioned entertainment, with inventive choreography by Michael Kidd and memorable songs by Johnny Mercer and Gene de Paul. It’s an enjoyable lark, spun together beautifully by Donen.
The colors on the Blu-ray are eye-popping but there’s some softness in the image; extras are Donen’s commentary, cast and crew documentary, vintage featurettes and, on a second disc, the film presented in a different widescreen ratio.
