In the Heights

Here's something about me: I feel the magic of theater most strongly when a production is greater than the sum of its parts. Take Wicked, for example. Decent music, mediocre lyrics, good production. But the result is pure magic and a fantastic night at the theatre, oft repeated. Spring Awakening has incredible parts that amount to far more than just the sum of them. On the other hand, as much as I appreciated Caroline or Change, it was exactly the sum of its parts. It was fine, but it wasn't magical. Something to be appreciated more than loved.

Add to the list of sum=parts In the Heights. The show is creative and has wonderful energy. The score is fine; the acting is good; the story is a cut above mediocre. And the show itself is never more than that. It wasn't a bad afternoon at the theater, but it paled considerably next to the other two shows I saw last weekend, Spring Awakening (see below) and August: Osage County (thoughts forthcoming).

In the Heights is original in many ways. The choreography is fresh and original. The hip-hop, latin influenced songs are mostly excellent. It's great to see diversity and fresh perspectives on Broadway.

In all honesty, though, I didn't find the perspective all that fresh. It felt like a very traditional musical packaged in some very contemporary clothes. The three key plot elements involving a lottery ticket, a death and a departure are easily predicted. And the emotion is communicated, not felt, which ultimately leaves the audience unmoved.

Since seeing the show I've been debating whether understudy Shaun Taylor-Corbett, subbing for Lin-Manuel Miranda, bears much of the responsibility. I've heard from several people that they wept out loud at In the Heights, though there was not a moist eye or sniffle in my audience.

I must admit that my intermission thought was "Passing Strange lost to this?!?!?

The show is always competent and often engaging. Sometimes it's even mesmerizing, as in the opening number or the Act I blackout. But it was too predictable to be magical. As much as I admired it, I was never moved by it.

I got a lot out of In the Heights, but I wanted more. As fine as the elements of the show are, I was never transported. Will I see it again when it passes through Boston? In a second!!

Spring Redux

Eighteen months after I first saw the original cast of Spring Awakening I had the chance to take it in again on Friday night. Given all I haven't seen, Spring wouldn't have been on my list except for one reason: Hunter Parrish stepped into the role of Melchior a week earlier than planned. Verdict? In three days, Parrish has developed a fully realized character that breaths fresh life into Spring Awakening. He's fantastic.

Not that Spring was on life support, nor is Parrish alone in providing fresh new insights into these intriguing characters. The show maintains its energy and relevance in droves, and it's just a great night at the theater.

Alexandra Socha is a fine Wendla, in my view superior to Lea Michelle. Gerard Canonico, memorable as the understudy on stage right in the original cast, has permanently assumed the role of Moritz. He, too, gives a fine performance. The creative team has done something very special and rare on Broadway these days. They have replaced the original cast with very different actors (from body type to vocal style) and given them great freedom to bring their own interpretation to their characters. None of them does this more successfully than Emma Hunton whose Ilse in almost unrecognizable from Lauren Pritchard's. Hunton's Ilse is fragile, touched, not the confident earth nymph so memorably portrayed by Pritchard. It's a true departure and a brilliant performance.

Christine Estabrook and Glenn Fleshler are generally strong in the adult roles, though Estabrook tends to go broad when she might be more restrained.

But in the end, it's Parrish who is the revelation. Melchior must be the glue that holds everything together in Spring Awakening, and he must be the catalyst that sets and keeps everything in motion. Parrish understands Melchior. His voice is perfect for the role. He has such ease on stage and with his character.

Stay tuned for my thoughts on In the Heights and August: Osage County, as well as long overdue reviews of The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia!

The Hammer is My Penis

Those who know me know that I never missed an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel during their multi-year runs. I was not originally a fan of Joss Whedon's Firefly, but a friend subsequently introduced me to the DVDs and I got to see the episodes in order. They're terrific. So, I would be totally remiss if I didn't point the way to Whedon's latest, super-fantastic gig (no, not Dollhouse, that's six months away) Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog. Available for viewing at DrHorrible.com or for downloading at iTunes, Dr. Horrible is a small web project Whedon and family undertook during the writers strike.

Neil Patrick Harris stars as Dr. Horrible, a wannabe criminal mastermind who also wants to get the girl of his dreams. The doc has to do something really horrible to get into the Evil League of Evil, while fighting his nemesis Captain Hammer (a laugh-out-loud Nathan Fillion) and getting the girl, Felicia Day. Oh yes, and this really is a video blog and a musical.

Whedon writes the score with his brother, and it is stronger even than the Buffy musical "Once More with Feeling." Harris is a fantastic, nuanced Dr. Horrible, and Day and Fillion, particularly Day, provide wonderful support. The story is funny, but more than funny, and the music and lyrics drive the plot in very creative ways.

Dr. Horrible is shown in three acts of about 13 minutes each. All three episodes are now available online. The few friends I've shared it with so far have all responded the same way: "That's the most awesome thing I've seen on the web in a long time." And it is!!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

"Straight from the mind of, yes, visionary director Guillermo del Toro" is pretty much the only way to describe the strong Hellboy II: The Golden Army. The story is compelling and, like all del Toro films, visually compelling. Red (Ron Perlman) is back to save the world with his bull-in-a-china-shop approach to crime fighting. He's ably supported by the fiery Liz (Selma Blair) and the smoky Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth McFarlane).

I found the second entry in the Hellboy series to be far more compelling than the first. In this installment, the mythical world is rebelling because the human world has largely been ignoring or marginalizing the mythical dimension. The mythical beasts, led by Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) plot world domination. Nuada is set on pulling together the three pieces of the crown that will give its owner full control over the golden army.

This is del Toro's vision and the mythical beings feel like cousins to those in the far darker Pan's Labyrinth. But the psychological exploration that is del Toro's strength is very present here. Hellboy is one of those mythical beings trying to find his place in the world, and even as he strikes at the villains, he understands he is snuffing out a piece of himself. Add to that the natural marital tension that arises between Liz and Red, and the film rises far above the typical summer action fare.

A Littler Night Music

I had a fabulous trip this Tuesday to Tanglewood with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. The evening was beautiful, though it smiled only twice. The occasion? The Boston Pops Concert production of A Little Night Music with Christine Ebersole, Ron Raines and Mary Louise Wilson Bobbie Steinbach. Steinbach stepped in for Wilson, who apparently had scheduling conflicts the day before the Boston performance. (So much for the Grey Gardens gimmick.

The score remains among Sondheim's best and was extraordinarily well performed by the Pops orchestra. The book was nicely edited to capture the sting and humor. So, it felt like Night Music should feel. The staging was largely non-existent. The members of the quintet would bring a chair to center stage when necessary and a chaise was used a couple of times for Desiree. So, the effectiveness of the piece rested largely on the shoulders of the cast, and they were up to the challenge of performing Night Music in the shed at Tanglewood...mostly.

A word on Ebersole in a moment. Ron Raines was a terrific Frederick. He was vocally crisp and his acting was strong. Steinbach was also exceptional, and the circumstances of her appearance endeared her to the audience. Her history with Madame Armfeldt also allowed her to be the only person off book the entire evening. The rest of the company came largely from the Tanglewood company and represented the pops well. Katherine Growden (Charlotte) and Rebecca Jo Loeb (Petra) were particular standouts, but there wasn't a weak link in the bunch.

And what of Ms. Ebersole? If I'm to be totally honest, I can only say mixed. I must admit I had high expectation. I am a huge fan, and I thought the casting was perfect. (My drive was far longer than the performance.) I think her first act was shaky and somewhat unfortunate. Everyone in the cast was off-book for the musical numbers and relied on the scripts for the book scenes to varying degrees. Ebersole needed the script throughout, even for the lyrics. This was hugely problematic for "You Must Meet My Wife," and the overall effect was that she was less prepared than her colleagues on stage. Things improved in the second act, and she ended the show with perhaps the most profound "Send in the Clowns" I've ever heard. It was breathtaking. All could be forgiven/ The audience was riveted, the applause thunderous and well deserved. The last 15 minutes of the show were as perfect as any performance of "A Little Night Music" I have ever seen.

Keith Lockhart conducted the Pops to a thrilling conclusion. He made a great argument for the timelessness of the piece and for bringing musical theater to the canon of pops orchestras.

Hancock

I might be able to forgive Hancock for the three homophobic jokes in the first 10 minutes, but I can't forgive it for being agonizingly dull. The film tries to give a little meat to the comic-action-superhero genre, but it rarely succeeds. Will Smith in angsty, I-don't-know-who-I-am mode is just not that interesting.

Hancock is an amnesiac superhero who drinks, berates those he saves and is, as almost everyone he saves or comes across notes, an asshole. He saves Jason Bateman from an oncoming train, and Bateman, a PR man, then decides to help Hancock reform his image. Turns out, all is not as it seems, and we get about an hour of Hancock going through his identity crisis.

The gay-sex innuendo is really out of place. There might actually have been a funny head-up-your-ass moment if the joke hadn't already been beaten to death.

I'm all for good summer diversion, but Hancock is more annoying than diverting.

Album Quick Takes

I've been listening to a bunch of new music and one new-to-me album:

Sigur Ros: Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust does nothing to quell my love and lust for Sigur Ros. The album is more percussive and, dare I say bouncier, than earlier outings, but they're fifth studio album is great. This Med was recorded around the world and includes the first SR song recorded in English. The album is a mix of uptempo and traditional tempo songs. While the uptempo songs feel fresh and give new life to the band, the quieter, slower-paced songs also stir.

Hercules and Love Affair: I'd read a number of reviews that praised the self-titled debut from Hercules and Love Affair. The album has an 80's retro feel that works with Andrew Butler's Boy George smokes-too-much vocal stylings. It's dancefloor pop that feels fun and dark at the same time.

Madonna: Don't hate me because I like "4 minutes," the first single off of Hard Candy, the new Madonna effort. It's a strong entry in the Madonna canon. Though some have called it a throw-back, I find it to be compelling and contemporary.

Kiley Minogue: Kylie's back with X, and she, too, is in fine form. It's taken a little longer to grow on me than the other albums in the list here, but X has fought its way into heavy rotation on my ipod.

Freezepop: I've come a little later to the table for freezepop, and the name is right on. futurefuturefutureperfect is a chilly little pop confection with a few standout tracks that get the body moving and are guaranteed to get you singing along. While it's not a stellar effort, there's enough of interest to keep me following this group.