F3Stage Review: Blue Man Group indeed is & will leave you Speechless--but is that good or bad?

Given what a familiar presence they've become in various forms of media, whether in their long-running, world-spanning live stage productions or on television in various shows and commercials, it's more than a bit surprising that the silent, blue, bald trio of alien performers known as Blue Man Group has never had one of its touring shows play in Los Angeles. And so what better way than to make their overdue, official SoCal splash than to kick off their latest sensory, slapstick spectacle, the aptly named Speechless Tour--and, to go for the easy, punny pull-quote, it definitely will leave viewers speechless, but whether or not that's a good thing is ultimately a simple matter of taste.

For the unitiated, the basic conceit of Blue Man Group is that they are three nameless, mute, almost indistinguishable bald, blue beings of presumably alien origin (played alternately by the quartet of Meridian, Mike Brown, Steven Wendt, and Adam Zuick) who spend the next ninety minutes or so creating music (composed by Andrew Schneider and Jeff Turlik) out of various do-it-yourself percussion instruments crafted out of PVC piping and other objects in their sleek industrial lab and silently, quizzically observing human behavior. The latter, of course, is a mere excuse for the Blue Men to venture into the audience with cameras and other instruments, staring with blank curiosity while invading patrons' personal space, and occasionally bringing a few (un?-)lucky viewers on to the stage for comic bits. And so goes the entire evening, with broad, deadpan comic skits, both with or without audience participation; and propulsive, percussive music set to colorful light shows. It's all very diverting to say the least, thanks to director Jenny Koons's brisk pacing and the real stars of the show, set designer Jason Ardizzone-West, lighting designer Jen Schreiver, and sound designer Crest Factor. But it is, to my personal taste, all a bit too undemanding to a fault. Being not-quite performance art, not-quite theater, not-quite concert, not-quite satire, but cranked-all-the-way-up flashiness and glitz (not for nothing has a production been a Vegas mainstay for nearly two decades), once the initial novelty wears off, the lack of "there" there underneath wears a bit thin after a while.

That all being said, even if not attuned to my tastes, Speechless speaks a lot as far as to explaining just why Blue Man Group has become the multimedia institution it now is. It plays far and wide in just about any demographic spectrum. It's all-ages friendly, so kids and seniors and all points in between can enjoy; and being driven solely through the force of its visuals and wordless melodies, its oddball charms require no translation. So to the many audiences that easily and understandably succumb to the siren spell, Speechless will indeed leave them so, out of awe. But to others such as myself, speechless is also the reaction, but with an admittedly amused but altogether indifferent shrug.

Blue Man Group with actress Busy Philipps
on the opening night blue carpet at the Pantages Theatre
on September 26, 2019
(photo by Michael Dequina)

Blue Man Group Speechless Tour is now playing at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood through Sunday, October 6; the touring company then moves on to other cities across North America through 2020.

(Special thanks to Hollywood Pantages Theatre)

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F3Stage Review: LA Opera stages a darkly alluring & affecting La Bohème

Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème is one of the most widely known and, thus, widely produced operas around the world, and so it would be easy, and quite understandable, for a company to play it safe and traditional with its staging. But after mounting the same Herbert Ross-directed production no less than seven times (most recently in 2016) over the last 25 years, LA Opera revives Puccini's tale of bohemian bonhomie and tragic romance in a dark, striking, and different staging that director Barrie Kosky premiered in Berlin earlier this year.

The particulars of the plot remain as familiar as they have been to opera aficionados--and, for that matter, fans of Jonathan Larson's ever-popular La Bohème-inspired '90s musical Rent. In 1830s Paris, poet Rodolfo (Saimir Pirgu), "painter" (more on the quotes later) Marcello (Kihun Yoon), philosopher Colline (Nicholas Brownlee), and musician Schaunard (Michael J. Hawk) are starving artist roommates struggling to pay rent to landlord Benoit (who, in Kosky's big deviation, does not appear at all here, with the four instead play-acting his part); Marcello pines over lost love Musetta (Erica Petrocelli), has moved on to another; Rodolfo meets and falls for neighbor Mimi (Marina Costa-Jackson), but looming over their romance is the spectre of disease. Coincidental or not, one cannot help but see some echoes of Larson's work here, from the more youthful than the norm cast, to the Mimi here sharing Mimi Marquez's bright, forceful joie de vivre that only the absolute final stages of terminal illness can dampen, to making Marcello only a metaphoric "painter" and more literally working in film, namely early forms of photography.

But, make no mistake, this La Bohème is distinctly Kosky's own. Much of his concept springs from that shift in Marcello's art, with blacks, whites, and greys dominating the palette he crafts with scenic designer Rufus Didwiszus and lighting director Alessandro Carletti. While this choice falls a bit short in act three, where a static black and white, period photography-tech accurate street scene drop feels a bit too minimalist, it makes for an appropriately ominous atmosphere hanging over the entire proceedings and lends a darkly alluring sense of decadence and indulgence to the act 2 Cafe Momus. It is here that Kosky and his designers appropriately go the most grandiose, with the principal cast and a horde of chorus members young and old in Victoria Behr's striking costumes create a vibrant, bustling, constantly shifting scene on a revolve stage. The exuberance is in effective, sharp relief to more somber turn post-intermission and, of course, in the fourth and final act, where the tragedy is augmented by some truly stunning stage pictures, particularly the final images.

But images would only half serve Puccini's intended effect, and thankfully Kosky's cast is up to the task in lending the characters life. All of the principals are in strong, fine voice, but appropriately the pair of romantic leads make the strongest impression, with Pirgu and Costa-Jackson fittingly striking an immediate spark right from when Rodolfo lights Mimi's candle. Costa-Jackson especially resonates in both literal and character voice, and once Mimi takes her final breath, Kosky's untraditional approach lends the loss and the overall production a lingering and haunting sadness and shiver.

Saimir Pirgu as Rodolfo, Marina Costa-Jackson as Mimi
(photo by Cory Weaver)

LA Opera's production of La Bohème will have two more performances, on Wednesday, October 2, and Sunday, October 6, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

(Special thanks to LA Opera)

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The Movie Report #1037, September 20, 2019

#1037, September 20, 2019

MOVIES:

• Ad Astra
  
• Downton Abbey
  
• Pailwaan (Wrestler)
  
• Rambo: Last Blood
  
• The Wedding Year
  
• Where's My Roy Cohn?
  

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F3Stage Review: Idina Menzel offers laughs & emotional truth in Skintight

When one thinks of Idina Menzel, the first thing that most likely, and quite understandably, comes to mind is her spectacular singing voice--to the unfortunate oversight of her no less impressive acting chops. This was never more apparent in her last major stage appearance in If/Then, a production that blessed her with a dual role that was even more dramatically demanding than it was vocally so; while earning her a much deserved third Tony Award nomination, still more attention was paid to the powerhouse pyrotechnics of her pipes than the tear-wringing tour de force of the totality of her turn. Menzel's pure gifts as an actress should never come close to being questioned with her richly wrought work in a change-of-pace straight play role in Joshua Harmon's funny and insightful Skintight, currently playing its west coast premiere engagement at the Geffen Playhouse's Gil Cates Theater in Westwood.

The production's key art being a close-up shot of Menzel's face being done up by the hands of an unseen glam squad is somewhat misleading for a couple of reasons, most notably for this being very much an ensemble piece, with Menzel's Jodi Isaac being one of four equally weighted central characters. Also, however, this is could not be less of a glamorous vanity project for Menzel, whose Jodi, a 40-something divorcé whose ex is about to marry a woman some 20 years their junior, is a raw, riveting mess of neuroses and insecurities. Her sudden presence at the posh and creepily sterile townhouse (scenic designer Lauren Helpern's two-level set is spot-on in its self-consciously clinical chic) of her wealthy fashion designer father Elliot (Harry Groener) for his 70th birthday is met with less than a warm welcome, not so much due to her frazzled state than the inevitable disruption she causes in his seemingly idyllic existence with his much younger live-in love Trey (Will Brittain). Strapping, studly southerner Trey is all of 20 years old, the same age as Jodi's rather effeminate eldest son Benjamin (Eli Gelb), who soon joins the would-be festive gathering from his queer theory studies abroad in Hungary.

That's about all there is as far as plot, but Harmon is less interested in straightforward narrative than exploring issues of aging, maturity, beauty, sexuality, family, and identity via the relationship dynamics within this contrasting quartet of characters. That description sounds heavy, but the proceedings are far from it, with Harmon spiking his genuine and sincere insight with biting, often hilarious, wit. Driving the piece more than the general and relevant themes are his words, which fly fast and furious right from director Daniel Aukin's rather sudden first act lights-up, catching Jodi and Elliot in the midst of what will not be their last heated conversation of the night. The actors are right on pace with the frenetic, full-steam-ahead wordplay, with Menzel's minutes-in, masterful mouthful of a hilarious rant setting a high early bar for the cast and the play as a whole. While the rhythms soon settles down to a less frenetic level, the entire cast's work only grows richer as the banter and barbs recede somewhat and they dive into the deeper dimensions of their characters.

Brittain and Gelb, who originated their roles alongside Menzel earlier this year in Aukin's world premiere Off-Broadway production, especially impress in this respect. They lend roles that both initially strike as contrasting comic stereotypes a complex, harder-to-categorize humanity beyond the more overt surface-level attributes and affectations. Menzel delivers a star turn in the best possible sense, a blazing stage presence whether precision-dropping Harmon's brash bon mots or mining Jodi's deep-seated pain from her tortured history with her father. She instantly wins one's heart over with the many laughs she elicits, and then she proceeds to pierce it with her soulful emotional range. Despite being the newcomer in the cast's core four, Groener, just recently seen on the Los Angeles stage in Indecent, fits right in with the returning trio, forging believable and individually unique rapports with each of his castmates. His is perhaps the hardest role of the piece, not only being the calmer, centering presence amid the more comic counterparts but also generating some empathy and understanding for a character who could be taken as overly cold, shallow, and vain.

And that is right in line with Harmon's overall interest here, inviting and challenging the viewer to find some level of understanding for, though not necessarily agreement with, various viewpoints on the play's key issues as expressed and embodied by the quartet. Much like the characters, with just as much food for thought offered as laughs over the play's two hours, the audience is left to mull over and figure out how one personally handles and navigates such a mental minefield in their own day-to-day, even if it may not be as extreme as seen in the Isaac home. If the psychological and emotional Pandora's box opened by the convergence and collision of these characters doesn't come close to being tidily tied up by night's end, such is exactly the tightly achieved point of the deceptively loose-in-structure Skintight.

Will Brittain as Trey, Harry Groener as Elliot,
Eli Gelb as Benjamin, Idina Menzel as Jodi in Skintight
(photo by Chris Whitaker)

Skintight is now running at the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood through Saturday, October 12.

(Special thanks to Geffen Playhouse)

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The Movie Report #1036, September 13, 2019

#1036, September 13, 2019

MOVIES:

• Another Day of Life
  
• Chhichhore (Flippant)
  
• The Goldfinch
  
• Hustlers
  
• Monos
  
• Ne Zha
  
• The Sound of Silence
  

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F3PR: 9th annual Catalina Film Festival returns September 25-29

PRESS RELEASE

9^th ANNUAL CATALINA FILM FEST
RETURNS TO SISTER CITY BY THE SEA --
LONG BEACH LAUNCH & LANDING BOOKENDS
ISLAND FEST WITH PREMIERES, PARTIES & EVENTS
AT THE QUEEN MARY SEPT. 25-26 & 29

Chartered Boats Available Daily to and from Catalina
for the Island Fest Sept. 27, 28

Oscar-Winning Actress, Mira Sorvino,
Among Honorees Slated to Attend

Los Angeles, CA (September 10, 2019)－Catalina Film Festival (CFF) is excited to announce its return to Long Beach, capturing the best of both coasts and iconic, historic film venues for its 9th annual film fest. The continued partnership connects the island festival’s experience to the mainland Sept. 25-29, 2019, bookending CFF with “launch” and “landing” premieres, parties and panels Wednesday-Thursday and Sunday in Long Beach. Catalina Island will play host to CFF Friday and Saturday, with Festival-chartered party cruises to and from the Queen Mary Terminal daily.

Just a few highlights of 9th annual Catalina Film Festival include:

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 25－ OPENING NIGHT ABOARD THE QUEEN MARY
The Opening Night feature film is the comedy Babysplitters. When two couples with mixed feelings about having kids hatch a plan to share one baby, it seems like the perfect compromise until things spiral out of control. Written and directed by Sam Friedlander, Babysplitters stars Emily Chang (The Vampire Diaries), Danny Pudi (Community), Mark Feuerstein (What Women Want) & Maiara Walsh (The Last Ship). Filmmaker/Cast Q&A after the screening in the Queen’s Salon.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 26－THURSDAY THRILLER: WORLD PREMIERE OF DARK HARBOR, STARRING JOEL MCHALE & JESSICA SIPOS
Thriller Thursday takes over the Queen Mary with World Premiere screening of Dark Harbor, starring Joel McHale (Community, The Soup) and Jessica Sipos (Chesapeake Shores, Wynonna Earp), directed by Joe Raff. Cast confirmed to attend: Jessica Sipos, Xander Berkeley, Meagen Fay, Connor Trineer, Jillian Armenante, Reiko Aylesworth, Sterling Hurst, and Nick Wolf.

Thriller Thursday also includes the annual Wes Craven Horror Block at 6 p.m. – CFF is the only competitive Festival to have an award sanctioned by the king of horror himself – plus, The Talk, directed by Kevin Alejandro (confirmed to attend), best known for his role as Detective Dan in Netflix’s Lucifer. Catalina Film Fest’s Film & New Media Summit also kicks off Thursday on the Queen Mary featuring two panels: Film Finance: Hands on Workshop (10 a.m.) and Making your First Feature Film (12:30 p.m.)

FRIDAY, SEPT. 27 & SATURDAY, SEPT. 28 : SET SAIL TO CATALINA FOR THE LIONS DEN, RED-CARPET PREMIERE AND TRIBUTE TO ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS MIRA SORVINO
The Festival heads to Catalina Island for two full days of premieres, panels and events. Daily roundtrip cruises are available from Long Beach. A few highlights of the island action include:

• The Lion’s Den Pitch Panel. Stacked with prospective film investors, this pitch-fest matched accredited investors with filmmakers seeking funding for their projects on Friday.
• CFF honors Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion), and spotlights World Premiere of Badland, starring Sorvino, Kevin Makely (Big Legend), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Trace Adkins (I Can Only Imagine), and Wes Studi (The Last of the Mohicans)

SUNDAY, SEPT. 29－BEST OF FEST ON THE QUEEN MARY IN LONG BEACH
Best of Fest winning films announced Saturday night on Catalina Island will be screened on the mainland in the Queen’s Salon all day. NEW THIS YEAR: CFF launches a new streaming channel, featuring 67 official selections in competition for the 2019 Film Festival. Streaming passes to the Catalina Film Channel are available September 1 – 30, 2019 for only $7.99. Passholders have 30 days from the point of purchase to watch films in competition and vote for their favorites.

For more info, visit filmfestivalflix.com/festival/catalina-film-channel/

Full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit www.catalinafilm.org.

ABOUT CATALINA FILM FESTIVAL & FILM INSTITUTE
Catalina Film Festival is an annual celebration of film in Southern California with coastal screenings and events in Long Beach and on Hollywood’s island, just 22 miles off the Los Angeles coast. Past CFF honorees include Nicolas Cage, Jon Favreau, Stan Lee, Kevin Hart, William H. Macy, Andy Garcia, Sharon Stone, Emmy Rossum, Richard Dreyfuss, and more. CFF is a competitive festival with awards in multiple U.S. and International categories, including the prestigious Stanley Kramer Social Artist Award, Charlie Chaplin ICON Award, Wes Craven Horror Award, Ronald Reagan Foundation "Great Communicator" Award and the Island's Conservation Award. 2019 sponsors include The Cafaro Group, Building Image Group (BIG), Bogart Spirits, REED’S INC, REZ – Recovery Brands, BANDERO Tequila, Catalina Express, ABK BEER, Horseshoe Bend Vineyards, and Sprint.

Follow @CatalinaFilm, #CatalinaFilm , www.catalinafilm.org.

The Movie Report wants to attend all your film festivals and special events! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

The Movie Report #1035, September 6, 2019

#1035, September 6, 2019

MOVIES:

• Before You Know It
  
• Bennett's War
  
• Don't Let Go
  
• The Fanatic
  
• It Chapter Two
  
• Killerman
  
• Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice
  
• Official Secrets
  
• Saaho
  
• Tod@s Caen (Everybody Falls)
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!

F3Stage Review: Must See TV makes for breezy theater in Friends! The Musical Parody

As someone who not only regularly watched Friends during its historic original ten-season run that began 25 (!) years ago this coming fall but still watches the syndicated reruns on a near-nightly basis as background late night comfort food, I'm not exactly the best person to most accurately assess the stand-alone, self-contained merits of Friends! The Musical Parody, whose North America tour production is currently stationed at Center Theatre Group's Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.  However, that über-familiarity with the influential, iconic NBC sitcom makes me all the more appreciative, impressed, if not downright stunned at just how much material writers/lyricists Bob and Tobly McSmith and director Tim Drucker pack and condense into this a breathless 90 minutes over two acts.  The feeling I had while in the theatre must be akin to what devotees of The Brady Bunch while watching The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel in the cinema in the '90s, with a stream of nostalgic references to individual episodes as constant and unwavering as the gags.

Luckily for those in the audience, Friends fan and non-fan alike, just as constant and unwavering is the boundless spark and enthusiasm of the terrific ensemble.  While stellar chemistry between its core sextet of actors appropriately mirrors that of their forebears on the tube, also like the original six, each individually brings their own distinct energy and approach to their respective characters, who do register as appealing comic creations regardless of previous familiarity.  As one would expect with a parody production, a number of the cast members go for more spot-on impressions, namely Madison Fuller's accurate capturing of the daffy charm of Lisa Kudrow's Phoebe Buffay; Domenic Servidio's recreation of lovable lunk-headed lothario Joey Tribbiani, originally essayed by Matt LeBlanc; and Sami Griffith's downright eerie channelling of Jennifer Aniston's inflections, mannerisms, and facial expressions as spoiled little runaway bride Rachel Green.  The others--Maggie McMeans as Courteney Cox's neurotic neat freak Monica Geller, Aaron C. Rutherford as Matthew Perry's ever-wisecracking Chandler Bing; Tyler Fromson as David Schwimmer's geeky, oft-married Ross Geller--go for less literal, more spiritual impressions.  Adding additional spice are Jenna Cormey and Nick Palazzo, who turn up at various supporting characters/guest stars.  The contrast in approaches, much like that in the personalities of the characters, help keep the silly proceedings from being one-note.

Indeed, silly it all is, and any newcomers to all things Friends will likely be hard pressed to find a completely coherent narrative through-line, especially given that the show compresses an entire decade's worth of "Must See TV" into 90 minutes, with the McSmiths and Drucker wisely using the intermission to skip over some years.  But even if all of the events and that steady stream of in-jokes and episode references fly clear over the heads of non-fans, everyone would get the appeal of the completely original songs composed by Asaaf Gleizner, which runs the gamut of sounds from traditional showtunes to pop to even hip-hop.  That last note is another  example of how the experience is further enhanced by viewership of the original show, referencing Sir Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back," which was central to one late season episode; and the McSmiths cleverly build a few tunes out of characters' signature catchphrases and notable dialogue, even having cheeky fun with how, due to copyright restrictions, this Phoebe cannot sing her infamous ditty "Smelly Cat" (which is an even deeper-reaching reference for fans since she, on the original show, was ultimately barred from performing it).  Billy Griffin's choreography matches the high spirits of the production and makes good use of the entire ensemble throughout.  Even if the dancing isn't the most complicated nor intricate, nor are the cast members great dancers, the sheer exuberance sells the movements.

And that exuberance, inviting and infectious, infuses and sells the entire production.  Friends! The Musical Parody, with its functional but still evocative scenic design by Josh Iacovelli (a dual-sided sofa that is rotated to serve as Monica's couch and that at coffeehouse hangout Central Perk is an example of that perfect balance of imagination and practicality), and spot-on but equally no-frills costuming by David Rigler, may somewhat remind of a live sketch/improv show on the physical production level.  But like such a show, its ultimate success is really dependent on the timing and talents of the troupe, and they most definitely bring the fun and funny.

Aaron C. Rutherford as Chandler Bing, Sami Griffith as Rachel Green,
Madison Fuller as Phoebe Buffay, Maggie McMeans as Monica Geller,
Domenic Servidio as Joey Tribbiani, Tyler Fromson as Ross Geller
(photo courtesy Right Angle Entertainment)

Friends! The Musical Parody is now playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City through Sunday, August 4; the touring company then moves on to other cities throughout North America through the end of August.

Buy the Friends The Complete Series Blu-ray here.
Buy the Friends The Complete Series DVD here.

(Special thanks to Right Angle Entertainment and Patty Onagan Consulting)

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F3Stage Review: The Central Park Five opera powerfully retells the true tragedy of injustice

Classical-style opera is generally associated with stories and, more often than not, works from many years ago. But the artform can also be used, and rather effectively at that, to tell contemporary stories, particularly those that navigate the often roller coaster gamut of emotion within human existence.  Such is the powerful case (no pun intended) with composer Anthony Davis and librettist Richard Wesley's take on the true tale of tragic injustice that befell the then-so-named The Central Park Five, currently in its world premiere production mounted by the Long Beach Opera.

Three decades may have passed since the five of the title--aged only 14 to 16, four African-American, one Latino--were wrongly convicted of the 1989 beating and rape of a white female jogger in New York's Central Park, but awareness of the story is probably even more widespread today than it was back then, thanks to Ava DuVernay's celebrated miniseries When They See Us, which began streaming on Netflix literally (and completely coincidentally) a couple of weeks ago.  But beyond also being the subject of a near-simultaneously released, higher profile project, this shameful blight in American history could sadly not more  be relevant to and reflective of the social and political climate of today.  Despite a glaring lack of concrete evidence, law enforcement was quick to criminalize young Antron McCray (Derrell Acon), Yusef Salaam (Cedric Berry), Raymond Santana (Orson Van Gay), Kevin Richardson (Bernard Holcomb), and Korey Wise (Nathan Granner), and forced them into false confessions without adult, let alone professional legal, counsel.  A voracious news media was all too quick and eager to go along with the narrative, with prominent figures amplifying the sentiment to even more sensationalistic and alarmist levels, including a certain brash real estate developer (played by Thomas Segen) still many years removed from his eventual perch in the highest political office of the country but already exhibiting and expressing his now-even-more-familiar blowhard attitudes and viewpoints on particular demographic groups.

The one glaring misstep in Wesley's libretto is that depiction of now-45, not in terms of accuracy but in falling into the trap of going for the cheap and easy joke; the second act opens with no less than him on a phone call while sitting on a golden toilet.  But as the term "operatic" is often applied, trafficking in broad strokes to convey a greater truth is a convention in the genre, and having an exaggerated, if cartoonishly so, 45 as well as an amorphous character billed as "The Masque" (Zeffin Quinn Hollis) representing, at various points, either the oppressively long arm of the law, public sentiment, or White Paranoia itself effectively depict the monolithic system that the five and their truth was (and, ultimate, far too belated exoneration aside, still are) up against.  Similarly, with the late exception of Wise, the one of the group who was sent to an adult prison, the five themselves are treated more as a collective than individuals, but so speaks to the larger point of how young men of color, particularly African-Americans, regardless of individual personality and circumstance, are viewed in the same ever-suspicious lens from all angles.

Director Andreas Mitisek's physical production further reinforces this notion in at once spartan and overwhelming fashion.  Doors and screens are often the only objects on stage with the actors, but they more than do their jobs practically and metaphorically, representing the various spaces, rooms, and cells and offering surfaces on which to project many archival video clips, images, and newspaper headlines, smothering the protagonists in their humiliating negativity and prejudice.  Cannily, Davis's score, which pulls as much from jazz influences as it does classical ones, also reflects the persistent tension between black and white, truth and untruth in his copious use of dissonance between the vocal lines and those played by the orchestra.  With the uniformly strong-voiced cast and the gifted musicians in the pit landing all the notes beautifully and memorably, the effect is appropriately jarring and discomfiting in the best way,  That applies to  The Central Park Five  as a whole, an overall beautifully composed and produced work that dares to powerfully remind of an uncomfortable case in recent history and underscore how the circumstances and atmosphere that led to such a tragic injustice are just as much, if not even more, overtly present in the here and now.

The Central Park Five composer Anthony Davis
and director Andreas Mitisek during the pre-show talk
(photo by Michael Dequina)

The Long Beach Opera's world premiere production of Anthony Davis's The Central Park Five will have two more performances, on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23, at the Warner Grand Theatre in San Pedro.

(Special thanks to Long Beach Opera and Davidson & Choy Publicity)

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The Movie Report #1024, June 14, 2019

#1024, June 14, 2019

MOVIES:

• American Woman
  
• The Dead Don't Die
  
• Funan
  
• Men in Black International
  
• Shaft
  
• This One's for the Ladies
  

The Movie Report wants to attend and cover all your film events and press junkets! Please send any and all invitations to this address. Thanks!