It was a busy weekend for the family, as my eldest nephew was getting married on Saturday. Some of us were in the church hall ahead of time, helping with decorating and food preparation. We arrived to find the couple's LOTR nerdiness (nothing wrong with that) on full display: Everything came together pretty smoothly and the reception tables looked lovely: The wedding was beautiful, and the weather- which had been forecasted to be rain- cooperated; it was bright and sunny. After the reception, the couple motored away to begin their honeymoon leaving behind family & friends, waving and wiping away happy tears, and wondering where the time had gone. I couldn't help thinking of this scene from Fiddler On The Roof- Tzeitel and Motel's wedding: On Sunday afternoon while most of the family was still about, we celebrated my birthday (which was actually earlier in the week). I got some great presents including these lovely flowers: I received a variety of really great handmade cards from some of the nephews and nieces, including this one, drawn and painted in watercolours by my five year old nephew (he told me he watched an instructional video on how to draw turtles): I also got a variety of gift cards which I shall put to good use: All in all, it was an amazing weekend, full of family and friends, love and laughter. I hope that yours was as enjoyable.
Comments
On Saturday night I saw a production of the musical Little Women, put on at Neptune Theatre by the Youth Performance Company. To be frank, Little Women was never one of my favourite books as a child; some of my sisters absolutely adored it, but I started and stopped reading it several times before I managed to get all the way through. Though I do recognise the skill of Louisa May Alcott's writing, the story just never really caught my imagination the way some other childhood books did. I've seen the 1933 movie version starring Katherine Hepburn, and the 1994 version starring Winona Rider- it's quite good, by the way- and the 2019 Greta Gerwig adaptation which I was so-so on. There were things I liked, and some things I didn't, but it was definitely watchable. To be honest, I didn't even know there was a musical version of Little Women until this was being advertised and I looked it up; it opened on Broadway in 2005. So I went into Little Women the Musical, knowing the book but practically nothing about the show... I regret to report that it was not very good. This is not a critique of the young actors in the production: they threw their hearts into it and their acting and singing, if not brilliant, were certainly adequate but sadly, let down by the material they had to work with. One observation/ mild criticism I will make about the cast: it was rather unfortunate that the young man they had playing Laurie was at least a foot shorter than the actresses portraying Jo and Amy, which gave a rather strange vibe, especially in the first half of the production when Amy is supposed to be a child. Although, considering the feminist leanings of the production, they may have considered this a feature, not a bug. Yes, I know that Little Women is considered a proto-feminist work, but it always irritates me when characters in period pieces think, talk, and act in ways which no one at that actual time would have. For example, in several scenes, Jo is going about dressed in men's trousers and suspenders- even traipsing into town dressed like that. It's the 1860's. And yes, some feminists had started in the 1850's wearing a type of baggy trouser, gathered at the ankle (called "bloomers" after their enthusiastic proponent, women's rights activist Amelia Bloomer). But these bloomers were worn under a skirt (see picture), were very controversial, and never really caught on with the wider public. It was the early/mid 1900's before any significant amount of women began wearing pants. Jo trotting about in men's clothes would have, at the very least, excited some negative comment, but no one even appears to notice here, not even super-outspoken Aunt Josephine who, seeing Jo in trousers, criticises other things about her but doesn't mention the one thing which would have scandalised her the most. Very odd. The production, unlike the book, starts out in New York where Jo has gone to live and write- and meet Professor Bhaer- and then flashes back to a few years before when Jo is at home. Various scenes from the book are acted out, interspersed with some selections from Jo's rather lurid stories she's trying to get published. And, of course, all these scenes are punctuated by a number of songs, as this is a musical. To be honest, most of this didn't work for me. The production relies on the audience knowing the story well instead of putting in the work to provide a convincing and well-framed narrative. If I had been watching this musical without any knowledge of Little Women, I would have no reason to believe this was a close family of loyal sisters... we aren't given enough of their characters or interactions to convincingly convey this. Also, the hopping back and forth between past and present, their lives and Jo's stories, seems disjointed rather than telling a cohesive story. Again, it's okay if you know the plot of Little Women, but if you didn't, I can't imagine that you'd be able to get a good sense of the story from this musical. Speaking of music, the songs in this are unfortunately almost universally bland and forgettable. I saw this production two days ago, and I already don't remember what any of the songs sound like. Mrs. March does get a song with some emotional resonance after Beth's death (oops- 154 year old spoiler alert)- Days of Plenty- but it's the only one that has any weight to it. There's also a cute little duet which Beth and Mr. Laurence sing/play- Off To Massachusetts- which is fun and believable... the rest of the songs, not so much. Jo's solo at the end of Act I- Astonishing- does not live up to its title; I suspect this was supposed to be a showstopper, leading into the intermission... it isn't one. To reiterate, this is not a reflection on the abilities of the young players: the actress playing Jo had a good voice and wasn't a bad actor. Objectively, the writing just isn't that good, and neither are the songs; since this was never one of my childhood favourites, the nostalgia factor does not make me view this musical through rose coloured glasses. My two sisters who also viewed this production, and really love the book, had a much more favourable opinion of it than I did... I still think I'm right, though. Related Posts: Yeah, I said it: this movie is a mediocre musical- at best- and it has a crap message. That about sums up my opinion of Grease although I will, of course, elaborate. The 1978 movie Grease is based on the 1971 stage musical of the same name and is set at and around Rydell High School in 1958. I'm not going to get into too much detail about the plot... chances are you know it, and it's not exactly complicated anyway. Good girl Sandy meets bad boy Danny during the summer and they become infatuated with each other (Summer Nights); I'm not going to insult your intelligence by saying they fall in love, because these two idiots don't have a clue what that is. Then- surprise- Sandy ends up attending her senior year at Rydell, where Danny also goes to school. Afraid that he will appear uncool in front of his fellow greasers if it becomes known he's gaga over a goody-goody like Sandy, Danny acts like a jerk to her (is it an act though, or is he merely reverting to his true form?). This causes her to assume that he doesn't care about her... cue the tears and sad songs (Hopelessly Devoted To You) and lots of angst as Danny tries to win her back (Sandy). There's a subplot about skanky Rizzo and male skank Kernickie having a pregnancy scare, and also a drag race which exudes whatever the opposite of suspense is (Greased Lightening), and then of course it all resolves in the end in a song & dance scene (You're The One That I Want). Please understand that I'm not knocking song & dance as a staple of musicals: there are plenty that I love. This just isn't one of them. I had never seen Grease; it definitely wasn't a thing while growing up in my very conservative, very Baptist family. I had often heard people gushing, however, about how it was their favourite musical. Then, when I was in high school, I was babysitting one Friday night for a couple who informed me as they left that their kids could watch Grease before going to bed. I was kind of interested in seeing it myself, but we weren't too far into it before a few things occurred to me, one being that, with its sexual references to gang-bangs, promiscuity, and mockery of innocence ("Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee/ Lousy with virginity...") this was not an appropriate film for the preteen crowd, yet it is routinely and enthusiastically shown to youngsters- including the ones I was babysitting- as if it were wholesome family fare. It's not. It also occurred to me that the people who love it must be seeing Grease through the rosy hue of nostalgia, because it simply isn't that good. The songs are okay- not great- and a couple of them are rather catchy, but there's no depth to any of them- or to the plot, for that matter. And for me, any song that includes John Travolta automatically loses a few points. I'm aware that this is a matter of personal taste, but I have never liked Travolta in anything I've seen him in... I find his acting affected and unconvincing, and every time he slips into that falsetto of his, it's like nails on a chalkboard for me. Oh, and that pink shirt/ pink sock combo? Yikes. Also- and this isn't unique to Grease; plenty of other movies/musicals have the same problem (Rent)- the "high school students" are anything but... most of the actors in Grease are in their late 20's and 30's, and it shows. In fact, several of them had to be shot in soft focus to hide their crows feet. I mean, really- do these look like any teens that you've ever seen? Of course, I'd be more inclined to overlook these flaws if I actually enjoyed the movie, but I don't. I find the colour scheme kind of garish, the plot and songs unremarkable, and the cynical message reprehensible. At the end of Grease, instead of Danny learning to value Sandy's character, respect her morals, and want to protect her reputation, we actually have the opposite happen. Sandy transforms herself from a pretty, well-dressed innocent girl into a cheap-looking, cigarette smoking hoochie, wearing an outfit so tight she'd have to slather herself in baby oil just to get into it, in order to make herself more desirable to lunk-headed greaser Danny. And this is presented to us as the ideal outcome; the moral of the story, if you will: girls, change your character completely, abandon all your morals and convictions, and be sure to objectify your body in order to hold on to some guy who'd lose interest if you were yourself. Just a wonderful message for teenage girls everywhere. Yeesh- what a trash fire. And this is presented as a great triumph. Ladies, if you have to go about looking like you've been vacuum sealed into your clothes and comport yourself like a trollop in order to hold onto your man, you might want to consider the very real possibility that you'd be better off without him. In conclusion, Grease is not a good movie, its values are completely skewed, and John Travolta's affected mannerisms- and falsetto- just don't do it for me. Also, don't let the kids watch it. Related Posts:I've been sewing some small projects lately, which I can finish up quickly. I made quite a few of these: key chain lip balm holders, because they take no time at all. I also sewed this fanny pack to give as a gift to my sister who is a runner; its outer layer is cotton, but I made the lining out of rainwear so that it'll be water resistant if she's running in the rain. I have a few baby showers to attend coming up, so am also sewing some baskets and then filling them with baby supplies: I have been, obviously, spending a fair amount of my spare time parked in front of my sewing machine. Tangentially, The Perils of Pauline is a movie musical from 1947 which stars Betty Hutton. It's supposed to be a biography of 1910's-20's silent film actress Pearl White except, bizarrely, the story bears little resemblance to White's actual life. The movie's title is taken from a film serial Pearl White starred in beginning in 1916, so at least that is accurate; it's about the only thing that is. Why am I mentioning The Perils of Pauline? Well, because it's the only movie I can think of offhand that has a song in it about a sewing machine. According to the film, White worked in a sweat shop making clothes until she broke into show business. This never actually happened, but what can you do? In any case, the song was written by Frank Loesser who did, I believe, all the songs for this musical. Not one of his better known productions- which include Guys and Dolls & How To Succeed In Business Without Even Trying- or one of his better known songs, such as Baby, It's Cold Outside, Slow Boat To China, Luck Be A Lady, and Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition, to name a few. The Perils of Pauline has generally been forgotten, though one of the other Loesser songs from it- I Wish I Didn't Love You So- actually received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. You can, in fact, (legally)watch the movie in its entirety on YouTube because it is now in the public domain. If you wanted to... it's not that great, and wildly inaccurate, but it does, indeed, have a song about a sewing machine:
|
About MeI'm a lover of good books, classic movies, and well-written shows (as well as some pretty cheesy ones, to be completely honest). Categories
All
Archives
March 2024
Fun SitesOdds & Ends |