Book Review: "Limelight" by Andrew Keenan-Bolger

OMG, I had such a smile on my face after reading this! The blurb described this as Fame meets Rent, so I jumped on it immediately. (It’s more the former than the latter for sure.) Thanks so much to Penguin Workshop and NetGalley for the advance copy!!

Danny has always tried to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s just not easy. But he knows he has to go after his dreams. Inspired by his late, musical-loving uncle, he cuts school in Staten Island and heads to NYC for the very first time in his 15 years. His destination: auditions for the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts.

It’s 1996, and Danny’s father is an abusive cop. A performing arts school is no place for a boy like him. But somehow he’s able to convince his mother to let him attend. LaGuardia is everything he dreamed of and more, so much more. He’s utterly overwhelmed, but thanks to a group of new friends and an empathetic teacher, he starts to get his bearings.

There’s so much he doesn’t know—about musical theater, NYC, the club scene, performance art, drag, etc. But his friends, especially aspiring drag queen Christian, make sure he’s learning more than just what he is taught at school.

More and more, Danny starts struggling with belonging and figuring out who he is. And as he and Christian start to draw closer, Danny’s parents threaten to send him back to Catholic school, and Danny doesn’t know which way to turn.

This is such a warm, bighearted book. I was a theater kid and I watched the TV show Fame religiously, so it felt so familiar to me. It’s a YA book, and it definitely skews that way, but it really was like a big hug.

The book publishes 2/24.

Book Review: "Dungeons and Drama" by Kristy Boyce

This was such a fun, sweet read! I’m always a sucker for fake dating rom-coms, but when you throw in a high school musical and some gaming, how can I resist?⁣

⁣ Maybe Riley should’ve thought twice about taking her mother’s car and driving her and her best friend a few hours away to see a production of Waitress. She didn’t get a ticket or get into an accident—she just didn’t have her license yet.⁣

⁣ Now she’s grounded for a while, and her parents can’t trust her to stay home alone at all. So as punishment, she has to work at Sword and Board Games, her dad’s game store. She’s not into gaming, and she believes the store was one of the reasons her parents got divorced. Needless to say, this will be torture.⁣

⁣ Her coworker (and classmate) Nathan takes an instant dislike to Riley, and she’s no fan of his either. But when her ex and his new girlfriend show up at the store, she has to pretend she doesn’t care, so she says she has a new boyfriend: Nathan. While at first, Nathan refuses to pretend they’re dating, Riley convinces him that their “relationship” will make the gamer girl he’s crushing on jealous.⁣

⁣ At the same time, Riley’s high school announces they’re canceling the annual musical for budgetary reasons. But Riley sees the musical as an opportunity to develop her skills as student director. How can she convince the school board not to cancel?⁣

⁣ I really flew through this book. The characters were so appealing and enjoyable and the fake dating trope is a favorite of mine. You can bet I’ll be picking up the next book in the series!⁣

Book Review: "The Third Gilmore Girl" by Kelly Bishop

“I’ve been blessed with a career that’s had its disappointments, but for the most part it’s been a series of dreams come true. The fact that I’ve done it on my terms, without compromising my privacy, my integrity, and my relative anonymity, makes it even more gratifying. I can’t imagine having done it any other way and still looking back on it with the joy and the satisfaction I do today.”

I was obsessed with the movie Dirty Dancing when it came out. While I loved everything about it, Kelly Bishop’s small role as Baby’s mother definitely made me laugh. But at that time, I had no idea that she was a Tony-winning actress, with a career in theater, dance, and movies.

Of course, she hit her stride as Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls. It was (and still is) one of my favorite shows, and she was utterly perfect as the appearance-obsessed matriarch, who fiercely loved her family and wished she could connect with Lorelai as well as Lorelai connected with Rory.

Ever since I found she had a memoir coming out, I was eager to read it. And it was so good, truly written in her voice (which I could hear the whole time). This is an account of her career, from her early days as a dancer to Gilmore Girls and beyond. It’s also a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of A Chorus Line, and the way she helped shape her role as Sheila.

At the same time, it’s also a chronicle of her relationship with her parents, particularly her mother. She also recounts her romantic life, the ups and the downs through the years. Bishop tells it like it is but she is never mean, and she refused to embarrass anyone by name.

Celebrity memoirs can be unpredictable, but I absolutely loved this. It’s funny, emotional, self-deprecating, and full of details about Bishop’s career. What I loved the most, however, is her warmth and her gratitude about the path her life has taken. (And she’s unabashedly Team Logan, IYKYK.)

Book Review: "The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre" by Robin Talley

A fun, queer, YA rom-com with theater kids performing Les Miserables, plus a theater curse? Sign me up for Robin Talley's The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre!!

The Beaconville High School theater program is well-known. Many of their shows have won awards through the years, and some students have gone on to bigger and better things. But a lot of peculiar things happen during productions, so each year the cast and crew have to follow a lot of superstitions to try and pacify the “theater curse,” and even have counter-curses in case someone slips up.

Melody McIntyre is thrilled to be the stage manager for the spring musical, Les Miserables. She has a terrific crew helping her out, and if the show goes well, she’s hoping it will help her get into a college program to be a professional stage manager one day.

Her friends and fellow crew members have noticed that things seem to go wrong in shows when Melody is in a relationship, and she always seems to be in a relationship. So she vows to swear off dating until the musical is done. And that should be easy—it’s not like she NEEDS to date or anything.

Of course, the last thing she’s counting on is for Odile Rose, the school’s most talented actress (she’s even done a Game of Thrones prequel and is rumored to be doing a Scorsese film) to audition. And more than that, Melody isn't expecting Odile to be funny or sweet or...into her. So now what? The production or her love life? Her college career or a potential relationship?

I was a theater kid way back when it wasn’t really cool to be one, so I really enjoyed The Love Curse of Melody McIntyre. I remember the relationships that cropped up and fizzled out during shows, the feelings of not getting the part you wanted (still bitter), and the rush of performing. And Les Miserables is one of the shows I would kill to be in—even now!

This is the second book of Talley's I've read, and I really enjoy the way she tells a story!

Book Review: "Dignity & Grace" by Alison Ragsdale

Dignity & Grace, Alison Ragsdale's new novel, is gorgeously lyrical and emotional.

Iona has just turned 21 and her life is at a bit of a crossroads. An immensely talented musician, she’s given up her beloved cello and left university because it dredges up too many painful memories of her mother, Grace, who died of a form of ALS 10 years earlier. She also mostly avoids her father, because of blame and resentment related to her mother’s death as well.

On her 21st birthday, her father sends her a letter her mother wrote her years before. In the letter, Grace urges Iona to visit her old music teacher, a man Grace worshipped and trusted more than any other. At the same time, Iona finds an old photo in the bottom of her cello case, of her mother when she was much younger.

Visiting Grace’s music teacher starts to help put the events of her childhood in perspective. And this visit is just the start of a journey that her mother is sending her on, to help her find a way back to the things—and the people—she loves and needs. Along the way, she starts to better understand her mother and the choices she made.

This beautiful book resonated with me in so many ways. Can you imagine what it must be like to receive letters from someone you lost years ago, and whom the adult you never got to know? The book deftly explores so many emotions and choices but allows you to make your own decisions about what happened, as it did Iona.

This is the second book I’ve read by Ragsdale (I read her story collection, The Liar and Other Stories, earlier this year), and man oh man, can she tell a story! The book takes place in Scotland (a place I’ve always wanted to visit) and her imagery was so vivid I could see the places she described so well. Plus there’s nothing quite like a good cry late at night while you’re reading!

I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Alison Ragsdale provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!!

Read this if you love family drama.

Book Review: "Too Much is Not Enough: A Memoir of Fumbling Toward Adulthood" by Andrew Rannells

I've always thought that Andrew Rannells was my spirit animal.

Seriously, when I first saw him perform in his Tony Award-nominated role in The Book of Mormon, I thought to myself, if I were younger, thinner, and more talented, I could totally be him. But since I'm none of those things, I've become a big fan, having seen him in both Book and Falsettos on Broadway, and watched him on television in both Girls and The New Normal. (He's also a really fun guest on the late night talk show circuit.)

Needless to say, when I was offered the chance to read an advance copy of his memoir, Too Much is Not Enough (the title comes from a lyric from the song "Fame"), I jumped at it. While I was expecting a humorous, heartfelt chronicle of how Rannells made it to Broadway and what it's like to be famous, this book was much more than the former, and didn't really touch on the latter.

This book isn't your typical celebrity memoir of brags and name-dropping. It's actually a more universal story about pursuing your dreams even when everything is telling you that you might want to reconsider. It's also a story about coming to terms with who you are and the need for self-acceptance, or at least getting to the point where you don't give a s--t about what people think. And at the same time, it's the story about navigating the challenges of familial relationships, and how to cope when your family is far away.

Of course, much of this book is Rannells' story about moving from Omaha to New York City in 1997 and enrolling in the theater program at Marymount Manhattan College, and how everything didn't quite turn out the way he thought it would. School wasn't the magical, inspirational classes he saw in Fame, he was living in squalor, and Broadway casting directors weren't quite welcoming him with open arms. (How was he even supposed to find them?)

You also get the story of his childhood, how he became interested in theater and his desire to be a star grew, his relationships with his family, and the always rocky road of coming to terms with his sexuality, and the dysfunctions which accompany finding your way out of the closet and into your first sexual encounters and romantic relationships. (Often the two are not mutually exclusive.)

Rannells tells his story in a witty, often-sarcastic, conversational style which I'm sure belies the anxiety, despair, and depression he felt as things were occurring. There are moments when Rannells recounted incidents which left him emotionally vulnerable, and I'll admit I choked up a time or two. He also sprinkles in a liberal dash of pop culture references which I absolutely loved, and at times he literally made me laugh out loud.

Discussing his fondness for certain color sashes with his altar boy outfit, he said, "Red was my favorite; that was for feast days of martyrs. I think it appealed to me on two levels: I've always loved a martyr story...and I love a classic pop of color. I was dramatic and stylish even as a fourth grader."

Other than being familiar with some of his work, I didn't know much about Rannells, so I really enjoyed learning about his early life. The book ends with his first big break on Broadway, five years before The Book of Mormon, so I found his story really relatable, more about dreams, disappointments, family, friendships, and the search for love and self-acceptance—not to mention wardrobe struggles, figuring out how to call out sick from your job when you have multiple auditions, and trying not to collapse from hunger when you have no money.

I devoured this book in a day. It was so terrific to read a celebrity memoir that was funny, self-deprecating (without trying too hard), and quite enjoyable, one that leaves you feeling like a bigger fan than you might have been when you started. I'll definitely appreciate his performances even more in the future, because I know how hard he worked to get where he is.

Crown Archetype provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Truth About Goodbye" by Russell Ricard

Losing a spouse, a partner, a lover is one of the most difficult experiences a person can endure, and when it happens suddenly, there is no rhyme or reason. Seeing a premature end to your hopes and dreams for your shared future can at times seem almost too much to bear, and as much as friends and family provide love, support, and consolation, sometimes that just doesn't seem enough.

Why does everyone expect you to get on with your life, when you feel as if so much of your life has ended? If there were issues which were unresolved when your loved one died, how can you move on when you truly have no closure? When will you know whether it is ever time to try and start again? These are just some of the questions that Russell Ricard touches upon in his upcoming book, The Truth About Goodbye.

Sebastian's world seemed to stop about one year ago, when his husband Frank died suddenly. Yet as devastated as he is about Frank's death, as lost as he still feels, he blames himself as well, because that night he and Frank were arguing about one of Frank's former flames. He really can't move on because he still wonders whether there was anything going on with Frank and the other guy, although perhaps knowing the truth could be dangerous.

Meanwhile, the rest of Seb's life is an absolute mess, and we're not just talking about his apartment. He's barely hanging on to the two part-time jobs he needs to make ends meet, he can't seem to come up with a routine for the tap dancing class he teaches, and he still dreams of landing that big role in a Broadway musical instead of being just a chorus boy at age 40. Oh, and he's convinced Frank is haunting their apartment.

A further complication enters into his life when his best friend and ex-Rockette Chloe, introduces him to Reid, a handsome landscape designer. Reid seems truly interested in Seb, and lord knows he's lonely, but is he ready for a new relationship?

This is a sweet and moving book, and while it deals with some difficult emotional issues—loss, guilt, grief, loneliness—it never gets too heavy-handed. Ricard has created an interesting bunch of characters, and so much of the plot was so entertaining and full of hijinks that I could totally see this as a movie. (Plus, I'd love to see who they'd cast as Reid, who sounded absolutely yummy from Ricard's description.)

For me, the weak link for a good portion of the book was Seb, believe it or not. I understand what he was going through and all of the complex emotions he was dealing with, but I just wished he would have spoken his mind or snapped out of his indecisive fugue state a little quicker, because he just wasn't very appealing. But ultimately, as his character pulled his life together a little bit more, he became more charming.

I look forward to seeing what comes next in Ricard's writing career, because he's written a winning first novel.

NetGalley and Wise Ink Creative Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "Mister Monkey" by Francine Prose

I remember a number of times attending a local professional theater production that wasn't particularly good, and I wondered about those involved. Did the actors know it was bad, and if so, were they soldiering on for the sake of the audience, or were they so far gone in their own careers that this was the best they could do? It was an interesting, but somewhat sad thought.

"But the actors and presumably the director never expected that they would wind up doing that play—in that theater. Whatever they'd hoped to achieve in their careers certainly wasn't that."

Francine Prose's new novel reminded me a bit of those productions. The story of a very-far-off-Broadway production of a children's musical called "Mister Monkey," the book is both satire and commentary on many different aspects of our society. It's surprisingly sensitive and astute in some places, amusing in others, and doesn't quite work as a whole.

"Mister Monkey" is a musical that has had many runs all over the world over the years, but probably should have been taken off the boards a while ago. The story of an orphaned chimpanzee who is adopted by a widower and his children, only to be surprised when the cheekily larcenous monkey is accused of stealing the wallet belonging to his father's girlfriend, the musical is a favorite of some and reviled by others, yet it lives on. (Even the author of the book on which the musical is based hates the stage adaptation.)

The cast of the latest production is in a bit of an uproar. Adam, the young gymnast who plays the title character, is in the throes of puberty, and his alternately lascivious and obnoxious behavior has nearly all of his fellow actors on edge. Margot, a once-promising actress who views this production as a true sign of her downfall, not only finds herself being preyed on by Adam, but mistreated by the director, who outfits her in a garish costume that makes her feel foolish. Lakshmi, the earnest young costume supervisor, doesn't quite understand her purpose in the show, but views it as fodder for the play she wishes to write.

Each of these characters is the focus of their own chapter, as are everyone from the show's director and the author of the original book, to an elderly grandfather who is in the audience the first day the wheels start to come off of the production, his grandson, his grandson's kindergarten teacher, and a waiter at a fancy restaurant who is given tickets to the show by the author. It's an interesting approach, one which seems to be used more frequently in books, and here it has mixed results.

I'll admit, I expected this book to focus on the show and those involved, and those chapters were the ones I enjoyed the most. I get what Prose was trying to do with the other chapters, both demonstrate the show's effect on audience members, the author, etc., and provide commentary about our culture, how children are raised these days, and so on, but I just didn't feel this worked as well as it could have.

Prose is one hell of a writer, however, and she has created a very memorable set of characters, as well as imagery that you truly can see in your mind's eye. (I could almost picture certain musical numbers she described, in all their dysfunctional glory.) I just wish this book didn't try to do too much, because when it focused on the musical itself and those involved, it was, shall we say, a hit?

Movie Review: "La La Land"

Damien Chazelle's La La Land is a love letter of sorts. It's a paean to the musicals of yesterday, a tribute to the dreamers who power so much of show business, a salute to the City of Angels itself, and, of course, a love letter to love and the often-circuitous path it takes. That's an ambitious agenda, but Chazelle hits each note perfectly, creating a magic film to be savored over and over again.

From the minute the film in all its beautiful technicolor glory opens (a direct contrast to Chazelle's last film, Whiplash, which was both emotionally and atmospherically dark), you know you're in for a treat. Traffic has come to a dead stop on the highway (not a rare occurrence in LA, or almost anywhere these days), and suddenly, a beautiful girl in a brightly colored dress begins to hum, syncopating the rhythm of the horns and the chaos, and then the crowd breaks into song, celebrating the dreams that drove them to this city, to pursue a career in show business. It's a fun start to this movie and it signals this won't be business as usual.

In the midst of the traffic jam are Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), who have a not-quite-meet-cute as the traffic dissipates. Mia is an aspiring actress who works as a barista at a coffee shop on the Warner Brothers lot, while Sebastian is a jazz musician who dreams of opening his own club someday. But his problem is he's a jazz purist, and although the genre is waning in popularity, he's convinced if people just listen to it, they'll fall as hard as he has. This obsession causes him no end of misery, since he can't bring himself to settle and play other things, which leads to another less-than-special encounter with Mia.

But it's not soon afterward when Mia gets her revenge, in a delightfully campy scene, and when the two finally talk and trade barbs, it's clear to everyone (except them, of course), that this pair has incredible chemistry. They're determined to ignore it, however, and cement those feelings in a charming song-and-dance number with the city's skyline at sunset as its backdrop. It really feels like a classic musical at that point, although with a slightly modern twist.

At the movie's core, along with Mia and Seb's burgeoning relationship, is a key question: should you follow your dreams forever, or is there a time you have to either settle, or give up and grow up? Is the power of those dreams enough to sustain you even if it looks like nothing is going your way, or does that make you unrealistic? Both characters struggle with that dilemma, and it puts the inevitable strain on their relationship, as each does what they feel they need to. And the less said about the rest, the more you'll enjoy the movie.

This movie works on so many levels, in large part because Gosling and Stone both light up the screen (it's no secret I'm obsessed with both of them) and bring out the best in each other. As in Crazy, Stupid, Love, their chemistry just sizzles, and you root for them to get together.

Gosling, who seems often to shy away from his natural leading-man status, takes full advantage here, and brings a debonair song-and-dance-man charm to his role (good to see his early days on The All-New Mickey Mouse Club paid off), as well as a deep well of emotion. Stone, who appeared on Broadway as Sally Bowles in one of the revivals of Cabaret, doesn't belt her way through this movie, thankfully, because that would have felt all wrong. Her voice is light but not lightweight, and she is the perfect foil for Gosling. She, too, brings a lot of emotion to her role.

I really loved this, in part because I'm a fan of musicals, and in part because I love these actors, but mostly because it's an excellent movie. This isn't quite a traditional musical, as there's a lot of dialogue, as well. The songs are a perfect counterpoint at particular times throughout. I've been listening to the songs on YouTube since I saw the movie, and I am honestly thinking of seeing it again. I can't say yet whether this was my favorite movie of the year, as I have a lot of movies to see, but I know it will be among my top three at the very least.

Book Review: "Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story" by David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green and David Levithan, was one of the best books I read in 2010, and years later, it remains one of my favorites.

That book, populated by two very different high school students, both named Will Grayson. One Will Grayson's best friend, "Tiny" Cooper, who isn't shy about his size or his sexuality, and tries to push Will to declare his feelings for his best friend, Jane, all while Tiny is getting ready to produce his autobiographical musical.

This "companion piece," authored by Levithan, is the script of Tiny's musical, complete with his commentary/stage direction, which in some cases, lets the reader in on how the lives of both Will Graysons, Jane, and Tiny progressed after the book ends. But mostly, the musical gives tremendous insight into what it's like to live a life where everyone thinks they know who and what you are, and just how much courage it takes to put yourself so far out there and be happy with who you are every day.

"There are those of us who draw our power from those electric moments when everyone is watching, everyone is listening, and there is the most perfect silence you can imagine, the entire room waiting to hear whatever you will say next. Especially for those of us who ordinarily feel ignored, a spotlight is a circle of magic, with the strength to draw us from the darkness of our everyday lives."

Tiny's character really resonates for me. I remember what it was like to feel most at home in the middle of a stage, singing my heart out to an audience, even if it was an apathetic one. I remember what it was like not feeling comfortable in my own skin, but still wishing that I'd find others like me. And I remember what it was like to like someone so much, and fall so fast, that the biggest mistake you could make was expressing how you felt too soon. His musical is full of the unconditional love Tiny gets from his family and his best friends, as well as flamboyant musical numbers, some of which even star the ghost of Oscar Wilde.

While it's difficult to read a musical as if it were a book without knowing what the songs sound like, getting a glimpse into Tiny's heart, head, and personality more than makes up for it. Levithan once again treats his characters with the respect and love they deserve, and looks beyond the stereotypes. I hope this isn't the last we see of Will, Will, Jane, and Tiny...maybe Levithan and Green can team up again?

If I picked the Oscars: 2012

As I've done in three previous posts, in preparation for the Oscars telecast on Sunday evening, I've been looking at the winners from previous years, and sharing my thoughts as to those I would have voted for if I were a member of the Academy. (Check out my thoughts on who should have won the 2000 Oscars, the 2005 Oscars, and the 2009 Oscars.)

This time I'll look at the 2012 Oscars. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts—since this is just my opinion, I'm always interested in talking with people who both agree and disagree with what I think.

Best Picture
The Academy again nominated nine films for Best Picture in 2012—Amour; Argo; Beasts of the Southern Wild; Django Unchained; Les Miserables; Lincoln; Life of Pi; Silver Linings Playbook; and Zero Dark Thirty. (I wasn't, well, wild about Beasts of the Southern Wild, and would have nominated Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom in its place.) The winner was Argo.

My choice: Do I go with my head or my heart? My heart's favorite movie of 2012 was Les Miserables, mainly because I have loved that musical since it debuted in 1986, know every word by heart, and have seen it about 1000 times, and I thought the movie adaptation was really good, despite one notable flaw. (Cough, Russell Crowe, cough.) And perhaps that's why I'd go with my head, and agree with the Academy by picking Argo as Best Picture. As I said in my original review of the movie, despite having reasonable certainty about what happened in real life, this movie kept me in suspense, and I thought the acting was spot on.

Best Actor
The nominees in this category were: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook; Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln; Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables; Joaquin Phoenix, The Master; and Denzel Washington, Flight. There were a number of really strong performances delivered by actors in 2012, and I felt the most egregious oversight in this category was John Hawkes, whose absolutely fantastic performance in The Sessions, should have been star-making. (I also thought that legendary French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant deserved recognition for his emotional work in Amour.) Daniel Day-Lewis took home his third Best Actor Oscar for Lincoln.

My choice: Like there was a contest in this category? I mean, Cooper, Jackman, Phoenix, and Washington all were very good, but Daniel Day-Lewis was, once again, utterly mesmerizing. His portrayal of Abraham Lincoln was truly an acting master class—he was fiery, emotional, tender, stalwart, and there was almost a moment when I hoped that Steven Spielberg might subvert the course of history and have him decide to skip the play at Ford's Theatre that night in 1865. Honestly, just a phenomenal performance all around.

Best Actress
The Best Actress category in 2012 boasted the oldest and youngest nominees in history. The nominees were: Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty; Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook; Emanuelle Riva, Amour; Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild; and Naomi Watts, The Impossible. Two years after her first nomination, Jennifer Lawrence took home the Oscar in this category. (I would have nominated 2007 winner Marion Cotillard for her amazing performance in Rust and Bone.)

My choice: Jennifer Lawrence was quite good in Silver Linings Playbook (I'd imagine every actress enjoys the opportunity to play a character struggling with emotional issues), but I would have given the Oscar to Jessica Chastain for her performance as a dogged CIA analyst in Zero Dark Thirty. She is quietly ferocious as she tries to prove that her instincts are correct, and they have found Osama bin Laden, she is emotional and, at times, humorous. It was a fantastic role—one which wasn't perhaps as showy as Lawrence's, but one I felt more deserving of the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actor
The nominees in this category in 2012 had all won an Oscar previously. They were: Alan Arkin, Argo; Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook; Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master; Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln; and Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained. (I believe Leonardo DiCaprio's performance in Django Unchained deserved a nomination, as did Javier Bardem's campy, unhinged performance in Skyfall.) Waltz took home his second Best Supporting Actor Oscar in four years.

My choice: Waltz is his usually hysterically dangerous self in this movie, but I felt like this performance was very similar to his Oscar-winning role in Inglourious Basterds, despite playing a Nazi in one and a bounty hunter of runaway slaves in the other. My choice for this award would be Phillip Seymour Hoffman, for his utterly mesmerizing performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, in which he plays an L. Ron Hubbard-like leader of a movement called The Cause, which is governed by psychological and spiritual mumbo-jumbo involving hypnosis and past life regression, among other things. While the movie was a bit bizarre (as Anderson's films often are), Hoffman delivers one of the best performances of his career, more complex and nuanced than his portrayal of Truman Capote, for which he won Best Actor in 2005.

Best Supporting Actress
This year's nominees were: Amy Adams, The Master; Sally Field, Lincoln; Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables; Helen Hunt, The Sessions; and Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook. (I thought Ann Dowd did some marvelous work in the little-seen Compliance, and I'm still a bit shocked that Maggie Smith wasn't nominated for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.) Anne Hathaway won the Oscar for her role as Fantine in Les Miserables.

My choice: While it is difficult to compare a musical performance with a dramatic one, I would agree with the Academy, and give the Oscar to Anne Hathaway. I thought she sounded great (and as a fan of the show, I'm a tough critic) and really was able to convey the tragic drama of this role without really overacting. It definitely was one of the stronger portrayals of Fantine I've seen—usually casting tends to give this role to someone who can sing well but not necessarily act well.

Best Director
The nominees in this category were: Michael Haneke, Amour; Ang Lee, Life of Pi; David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook; Steven Spielberg, Lincoln; and Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild. This category was more about those who were overlooked, namely Ben Affleck for Argo, Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty, and Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained. Lee won his second Best Director Oscar (the first was for Brokeback Mountain in 2005) for his adaptation of Yann Martel's best-selling book.

My choice: If I had my way, Lee would have already won two Best Director Oscars (for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000, and Brokeback). I thought Life of Pi was more a triumph of visual effects and cinematography than anything else, so since Affleck wasn't nominated, I'd give the award to Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, for two reasons—for making a movie so compelling despite the fact that it's based on history and you know everything that will happen, and for getting a spellbinding performance from Daniel Day-Lewis, not to mention strong performances from Field, Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and others. But then again, I would expect nothing less from Spielberg!!

Movie Review: "Into the Woods"

While this may lead me to having my gay cred get knocked down a few pegs, I'll confess that of Stephen Sondheim's musicals I didn't know much about Into the Woods going into the film adaptation, save being familiar with a few of the songs from Tony Award telecasts and a few CDs. Luckily, such knowledge wasn't a prerequisite for enjoying the film, which was a great deal of fun and full of terrific performances.

Into the Woods follows characters from some of your favorite fairytales—Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), who is desperate to go to the royal festival and meet the prince (Chris Pine), despite the machinations of her wicked stepmother (Christine Baranski) and stepsisters; young Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) is being badgered by his mother (Tracey Ullman) to go to the marketplace and sell their ailing cow; Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) is off to her grandmother's house; and a baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are desperate to have a child.

One day when lamenting their childless lives, the baker and his wife are visited by a devious witch (Meryl Streep), who is also their neighbor. She admits to putting a curse on their house after the baker's father stole some produce from her garden as well as some magic beans years ago. (The witch's loss of the beans led to her transformation from a beauty to a crone.) But being a generous witch (aren't they all?), she offers to reverse the curse, provided the couple bring her four items before the blue moon three days hence—a cow as white as milk; a cape as red as blood; a slipper as pure as gold; and hair as yellow as corn. Sounds easy, no?

The baker and his wife make their way into the woods (go figure) to find these items, and they encounter Jack, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood, and also learn that Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy) has been banished to a high, doorless tower by the witch. Of course, with any good fairytales, each of the characters possesses something the couple needs to get to the witch—but how to get them? And the witch, meanwhile, is desperate to keep Rapunzel from leaving her and seeing the world, which becomes more of a challenge when Rapunzel meets the prince's brother (Billy Magnussen).

The couple's quest is not without its challenges, and each character learns some valuable lessons. In fact, if I was to point out any weak spot in the movie in my opinion, it was that it felt a little preachy, as each character learned the moral of their particular fairytale. These lessons weren't without context, and obviously, when delivered musically, they're much more palatable, but I felt as if they were hammered home a bit too much. But that being said, it didn't stop me from getting choked up, big sap that I am, or from enjoying the movie from start to finish.

There isn't a weak link among the performances in this movie, unlike in many adaptations of Broadway musicals (Russell Crowe as Javert, cough, cough). Meryl Streep is absolutely fantastic as the witch, in stronger voice than she's ever been before, and chewing up the scenery as if it were coated in chocolate. I've waxed poetically before about my total infatuation with Anna Kendrick, and she is both headstrong and introspective as Cinderella. But equally impressive were those performers whose singing ability I wasn't aware of prior to this movie—Emily Blunt does a wonderful job with her emotionally charged role; James Corden is charismatic and charming, and a bumbling ball of energy; and Chris Pine is a prince in the Gaston model, who is equally as infatuated with himself as he is with the bewitching runaway princess. (The scene where he and his brother lament their romantic problems is well-sung and hysterically cheesy.) Theater veterans Huttlestone and Crawford do quite well, and Johnny Depp is pleasantly slimy and menacing as the wolf who takes a shine to Little Red Riding Hood.

This was a fun, sweet, and dynamic movie which had me singing along, laughing, and even tearing up (whatever). Definitely one to watch if you're a fan of musicals. They just don't make them like this anymore...

Movie Review: "Jersey Boys"

Making movies out of Broadway musicals is nothing new, but it seems to have become more frequent in recent years, and we've even gone the movie-turned musical-turned movie again route a few times. (Of course, they've also made musicals out of movies, but that's a different article.)

While sometimes the adaptation works (IMHO, Grease is a prime example), many times the transition from stage to screen is more awkward, because where simply bursting into song works for musicals, it doesn't always feel right in the movies, so directors and screenwriters feel compelled to add dialogue and facial expressions that weren't necessary onstage.

Jersey Boys was a pretty fantastic musical, the winner of the Tony for Best Musical in 2006. Recounting the story of 60s-supergroup The Four Seasons, from their humble beginnings in (where else?) New Jersey to their successes and challenges along the way, the musical was upbeat and grabbed your attention from start to finish, because The Four Seasons' music was so memorable and hooked you immediately.

Clint Eastwood's film adaptation endeavors to do the same thing, tracing the group's start to know-it-all Tommy DeVito's (Vincent Piazza) shepherding of young Frankie Valli née Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young, recreating his Tony-winning role) to the mega-talent he became. After a series of brushes with the law, DeVito and his friend Nick Massi (Michael Lomenda) agree to let Frankie join their musical group, only to discover the world doesn't want any more trios. So they find Bob Gaudio (Erich Bergen), already a successful songwriter in his own right, and convince him to join the group and write them some hits.

But success doesn't come easy to the Jersey boys (see what I did there?), as they find themselves fighting with a record executive to get the chance to record a demo, and they need to find the money to fund their own studio time. And then that first magical hit takes shape...and the rest is history. But along their road to success comes a number of bumps—personal problems within and outside the group, jealousy, gambling problems which lead to debts and other challenges, the need to control the group, etc. Suddenly this group that made such joyful music doesn't seem so joyful.

Getting the chance to hear all of The Four Seasons' hits, see all of the terrific choreography, and feel all of the energy from their performances was what made the musical so appealing. The music is still the best part of the movie, but the pauses between songs are much longer. There's far too much introspection, far too much backstory, far too much of the characters talking directly to the camera (a gimmick which worked much better in the stage version), and just not enough singing. But when the band takes center, well, stage, that's when the movie comes alive.

The performances are all strong—Young still sounds great (although you can tell the years of hitting those high notes has worn down the smoothness of his voice), and although I wish they had been able to reunite the original Broadway cast for the movie (especially Christian Hoff, who also won a Tony for playing Tommy DeVito), Piazza, Bergen, and Lomenda do quite well. The only person who seems a little out of place is Christopher Walken, who plays mafioso Gyp DeCarlo. I can't help but feel that many of his performances have become caricatures of Walken himself.

If you loved the musical, you'll probably be a little disappointed by the movie, although the music is still worth the price of admission. It's an okay movie, not a great one—if you have a choice, I'd definitely recommend you see the musical if at all possible. Ultimately, the movie will be good to watch at home one rainy or cold night, where you can sing along with no fear of upsetting your fellow audience members, but I definitely wouldn't pay full price for it.

Fade in on a, well...

I was a huge fan of NBC's Smash in its first season. It was a show I had eagerly anticipated after first seeing the trailer, and once I started watching it, I loved the music from the show-within-a-show, and thought that many of the performances were great (despite that creepy, annoying Ellis). But when the show changed hands in its second season, the show (in my opinion) lost its focus, and quickly lost my interest.

But harkening back to that first season, one of my favorite songs was Let Me Be Your Star, which was performed in the trailer. A duet between Katharine McPhee and Megan Hilty, the two actresses vying for the role of Marilyn Monroe in the fictional musical Bombshell, the song hits on many feelings which should be familiar to anyone who has ever hoped to land a part in a production of any kind.

While on a surf of random videos on YouTube earlier today, I stumbled upon this version of Let Me Be Your Star, performed by Tony Award nominees Jeremy Jordan (who appeared in Smash's second season) and Jonathan Groff. It's a little campy (especially when the two don Marilyn wigs), but both are in pretty fine voice, and I thought it was too good not to share.

And for old time's sake, here's the original duet between McPhee and Hilty. Still gives me chills.

Now THAT'S the way to open a Bar Mitzvah...

And I thought I've seen some pretty ostentatious Bar and Bat Mitzvah parties...

Check out Sam Horowitz's opening dance number at his Bar Mitzvah last fall in Dallas. I would wager that the hora and lifting him and his family up on chairs pales in comparison to this! (I was wondering why I couldn't have something like this at my Bar Mitzvah and then I remembered: I can't dance, and was even less, umm, graceful back then!)

I pledge allegiance to Anna Kendrick...

Ok, it's true confession time: I have a bit of an obsession with Anna Kendrick.

While I remember hearing about this theatrical wunderkind in the late 1990s, when she received a Best Featured Actress in a Musical Tony nomination for her performance in High Society (she was only 12), she first landed on my radar with her hysterical performance as controlling, conniving, spotlight-hungry Fritzi in the underrated, little-seen, but fantastic movie, Camp (2003). (Not to be confused in any way with the disastrous television show of the same name starring Rachel Griffiths.)

In this scene, Fritzi, tired of being the lackey, sabotages a friend's performance of Ladies Who Lunch so she could take over. Completely on point.

Of course, her acting in recent years has been stellar, from her Oscar-nominated performance in Up in the Air to her strong work in 50/50 (loved that movie) and End of Watch, and of course, the fantastic Pitch Perfect. Leave any top 40 radio station on for about 30 minutes and you'll hear a version of Cups, and you won't be able to get it out of your head.

Here's the scene from Pitch Perfect:

Even her recent stint as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance made me crush on her just a little bit more. A self-proclaimed "geek" for the show, she gave some of the most cogent and affirming feedback of nearly any non-dancer on the show, in direct contrast with Carly Rae Jepsen, who guest judged the prior week. For example, of dancer Makenzie, she said:

"Makenzie, you were so powerful in this. In some of the other dances, you've been given the 'beautiful' character—and you're SO pretty. But in this, the power wasn't coming from your beauty. It was coming from your ability."

And trolling YouTube for Anna Kendrick clips helped me stumble on this gem—a version of For Good from the musical Wicked, which she performed with Kristin Chenoweth for The Trevor Project's live concert in May. She may not have Idina Menzel's range, but she does pretty darned good, I'd say.

Can't wait to see what's next on the horizon for her, and I just hope she becomes even more of a star. Anyone else on the Anna Kendrick bandwagon?

After Ever After...

I'd never heard of Jon Cozart, aka "Paint" before, but I am absolutely blown away. This guy is a freaking genius, and he is crazy talented.

In "After Ever After," he outlines what life was like for the Disney princesses after their happy endings ended. And it isn't pretty. (Pretty funny, yes.)

If you're easily disillusioned, or you're not in a place where you can laugh out loud, save this for later. And check out his YouTube channel, where he does spoofs of movies and other things.

Movie Review: "Les Misérables"

I have seen Les Misérables the musical more times than any other show—three times on Broadway, countless times performed by national theater companies, even once performed by a high school-age performing arts group. It's one of the musicals I know completely by heart—I can sing every part of every song, and actually have on a few long car rides. And if I could have the chance to be in any musical, Les Misérables would be at the top of the list.

From the moment I heard they'd be adapting the musical into a movie, I've been anticipating this. (I need something to completely eradicate the memory of the non-singing, Liam Neeson/Uma Thurman version from the late 1990s.) And once the casting was complete, and clips starting being released, I have been counting down to this day.

So after all that hype, did the movie live up to my expectations? Yes, and then some. While not a 100 percent line-for-line adaptation of the musical, I felt its translation into a movie gave it more depth, strengthening the power and emotion of the film. And nearly all of the performances were as good as I hoped they'd be.

Most people have either seen the musical or are familiar with the plot, so I'm going to skip the rundown of the story. But suffice it to say the plot has a little bit of everything—an ex-con trying to live the straight and narrow life but realizing the stigma is too much to bear; the dogged police inspector always on his trail; evil factory workers; women struggling to survive in a cruel world; whores, crooked thieves, and abandoned children; love at first sight; unrequited love; and standing up for what you believe in, all with the backdrop of the 1832 June Rebellion.

As Jean Valjean, the hero always trying to do right even when he doesn't, Hugh Jackman is magnetic, vulnerable, and in terrific voice. All of those performances on the Tony Awards were no fluke—he's a true performer. Sadly, Russell Crowe, as Valjean's foe, Inspector Javert, doesn't fare quite as well, at least vocally. He has the glower and sense of duty down quite well, but his musical delivery often seems somewhat rushed and it almost sounds as if he's trying to sing an octave lower than he speaks. (But perhaps I'm being a little unfair to Crowe; he does fine with Javert's song Stars, which is probably one of my most favorite in the entire show.)

Anne Hathaway, as the doomed Fantine, is as good as everyone says she is. She not only sings quite well, but the emotion she brings to her small but pivotal role is terrific and poignant. Amanda Seyfried, as Cosette, Valjean's adopted daughter, shows her voice off even stronger than she did in Mamma Mia, while Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn), really surprised me with the strength of his performance as Marius, Cosette's love interest. (Quite often in productions of the musical, Marius is played by an exceptionally good looking actor with a weaker voice, but Redmayne sounds terrific.) And making her film debut as the defiant and lovelorn Eponine, English actress Samantha Barks (who played the role in the theater), is absolutely fantastic, and I think it's the fact that she's unknown that has stopped her from garnering praise equal to Hathaway's.

The supporting characters are equally fantastic. Broadway actor Aaron Tveit, as Enjolras, the leader of the rebellion, is vocally and emotionally powerful, while Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter, as the deviously cunning Thénardiers, provide the campy, comic relief you'd expect them to, without overacting or distracting.

As you might imagine, I was prepared to mouth the words from start to finish, so I noticed when lyrics were changed a bit or portions of songs were cut. But none of the alterations diminished the movie's power at all, although I felt the one new song added to the movie, Suddenly, seemed a bit out of place, even if it was written by the creators of the musical.

Be warned: adapting the musical into a movie makes the emotionally heavy parts even more so (I was a sobbing mess by the end), and some scenes are graphic and disturbing, particularly those around the barricade. And steer clear of the super-sized soda or bottle of water, as with previews, the movie runs just about three hours long.

It's rare when a movie you've waited so long and so hopefully for lives up to your expectations perfectly. But this movie did just that. And much like the musical, I'm ready to see it again. And again.

T-minus 24 days and counting...

I've made it no secret that the movie version of Les Miserables may be the one movie I'm anticipating most this year. Since it is being released on Christmas, I know there probably will not be any midnight showings, but if there are, rest assured that this will be the first movie I wait on line to see at midnight. (And this coming from the person who bought tickets to see Independence Day on Independence Day, and stood in line before 6:00 a.m. that day to see the 10:00 a.m. show.)

Five new clips have been released and I am—seriously—squealing. Some, in my mind, are stronger than others—I'm not as much a fan of speaking lyrics as others may be—but I cannot help but get more and more excited when someone opens their mouths and sings the songs I've known by heart since the show first opened on Broadway in 1986. (Much like when I saw the movie version of Rent, I know I'll be singing silently along with every single song when I see this movie.)

Here's film newcomer Samantha Barks as Eponine, with a clip from On My Own:


In this clip, Inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) releases prisoner 24601, aka Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman):


The working women enact their revenge on poor Fantine (Anne Hathaway) in this excerpt from At the End of the Day:


Here's an excerpt from Jean Valjean's Who Am I?


And I'm already in love with this tiny excerpt of Marius (Eddie Redmayne) and Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) singing A Heart Full of Love:

It's not spoiling it Sandy, it's just making it better...

Building on my Facebook post from earlier today, where I wondered if anyone else had been inspired to sing Sandy from the movie version of Grease because of the impending hurricane, I saw this: