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sincerelymeee · 8 months

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Cyrano De Bergerac Review

(My Personal Review)

Last week, I had the honor of witnessing such a beautiful and rare production of Cyrano De Bergerac at KCRep in Kansas City, Missouri. I was truly blown away by the acting chops, set design, and reimagining of this piece.

It included stars like:

James Chen, notably known for his role in The Mandalorian and Run The World as Cyrano himself.

Christopher Rivas, who play the charming yet lost Christian. Rivas is known for his podcast Rubirosa, his published book Brown Enough and even seen on Call Me Kat as Oscar.

Ito Aghayere, as the lovely, much wanted Roxane, and known for her TV role in Star Trek: Picard.

Director: Nelson T. Eusebio III

Scene Design: Riw Rakkulchon

Costume Design: Paul Kim

Lighting Design: Marie Yokoyama

There were a handful of wonderfully selected actors and actresses from Kansas City, who did an amazing job with fulfilling their many roles as ensemble members.

If I’m being honest, going in I had no idea what to expect. All I knew is that this particular production kept popping up on my many social media feeds and seemed to have quite a bit of diversity in the cast. I just HAD to see it and so the last week of the run, I did just that.

For those of you who don’t know the tale of Cyrano De Bergerac (like me before ever entering those auditorium doors) let me give you a quick rundown:

Cyrano De Bergerac is a classic French play written by Edmond Rostand. It tells the story of Cyrano, a brilliant yet self-conscious poet and swordsman known for his large nose. Cyrano is in love with Roxane, but he lacks the confidence to express his feelings. Instead, he helps a handsome but less eloquent soldier, Christian, woo Roxane by ghostwriting love letters and poetry for him. The play explores themes of love, self-esteem, and honor with a focus on Cyrano’s internal and external battles. It’s a tragic romantic tale filled with wit and poetry.

Deep down, I knew I was about to witness history being made that night. There were a lot of first happening behind the scenes.

1.) This version is described as “freely adapted” by Martin Crimp. Meaning, all of the original elements of Cyrano were kept, but it was updated to reflect the gender and sexuality norms of this current generation.

2.) Director Nelson T Eusebio III is the first Asian-American ever to direct this show (at the professional level).

3.) Typically this production is put on by a less inclusive cast. In fact, this is the first to ever have an Asian-American Cyrano (James Chen)!

From the immersive audience member experience, the passion of the storytelling from the actors and designers…

this production gets a 5/5 stars from me!

I truly feel for those of you who missed out on such a life changing production.

#cyrano de bergerac #James Chen #Christopher Rivas #Ito Aghayere #Kansas City #personal review #review #theatrical #theatrical review

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agentnico · 8 months

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The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023) Review

As the new dawn broke, my eyes fell upon the streaming interface of my Netflix account, and at that moment it was that I noticed it. "What's this?" I cried. "Another Wes Anderson film already?" I drank my cup of water to catch my breath. "But it's only been a month or two since his last one!" I thought. I stood up and slowly applauded Mr Anderson for his dedication to his busy schedule. "Right then, let's get to it." And with that, I sat back down and happily sighed in preparation for the unorthodox piece of storytelling whimsy that awaited me in the next 38 minutes.

Plot: Henry Sugar, a wealthy man, decides to take on an extraordinary challenge - he wants to master an extraordinary skill in order to cheat at gambling games.

I'm in the minority when it comes to my opinion of Wes Anderson's most recent film release - Asteroid City. Even though I enjoy Anderson's uniquely symmetrical and colorfully vibrant directing style, I did find that movie came off a bit too obnoxious and pretentious for my liking. That has not swayed me away from the talented director though, as The Grand Budapest Hotel is still one of my favourite indies to come out this century (if you're a collector such as myself seek out the superb Criterion release of this) and by the way managed to make the colour pink look cool before the Barbie blockbuster came about, and Moonrise Kingdom is an innocent coming-of-age comedy that used humour to deliver its internal message about 'the end of childhood', but presented not as a loss, but more-so a compromise. Wes Anderson is a tour-de-force with his own distinct vision, so individuals such as him should be cherished in modern-day cinema that is saturated with unoriginal mediocrity. So for Asteroid City, I forgive you, kind sir.

With The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Wes Anderson returns to adapting Roald Dahl's works, and seeing as how in the past he so fantastically brought to life in stop-motion Fantastic Mr. Fox, it seemed like the return is a welcome one. And indeed Henry Sugar is a most delightful little Netflix short film, that very much reinstates the fact that Anderson and Dahl are a match made in heaven. This starts right with the title, as with The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Anderson sets out to tell a story literally. In the film, all the characters also narrate everything they do and say, as such at times you feel like you're listening to an audiobook. You can literally watch this movie with your eyes closed and you'd still know exactly what happens. Ironically, seeing with your eyes closed is a primary theme of this short. But also you would be doing yourself a disservice keeping your eyes shut. The production design is impeccable with the entire thing feeling almost like a live theatre performance. With the set design and scene transitions, Henry Sugar exudes a distinct theatrical vibe, adding a layer of whimsical charm. And the moving sets are wonderful to look at, with the colors and detail nothing short of superb. The entire thing is simply overflowing with creative charm.

This is Benedict Cumberbatch's first entry into the Wes Anderson verse, yet it is shocking that it took this long to happen, as the Sherlock alumni is known for his fast-talking swift line delivery, and with the amount of dialogue Anderson always gets his actors to churn out in every scene naturally makes Cumberbatch appear right at home. Even at this short's rapid 38-minute runtime, Cumberbatch manages to add layers of depth to the peculiar Henry Sugar, from the small facial expressions as his character processes certain revelations. The rest of the ensemble does their part to add to the whimsy of the whole piece, with Dev Patel shining especially with his delivery of the fourth-wall-breaking narration, fast-talking his lines of dialogue with brisk elegance, and in the same breath managing to throw in the "I said" and the "he cried out loud".

All in all A Wonderful Story is a mesmerizing dance of wit, wonder, and whimsy that is aesthetically pleasing, and the story itself is an enjoyable little bedtime tale that, though not particularly deep. Look, cynically speaking it's a story about a man who reads a book and then learns a technique that allows him to easily make money. That's about it, however, it's the overall presentation and Anderson' touch that makes this the delightful piece of tapestry that it is. If you're a Dahl and Anderson enthusiast, I mean, there's really no excuse then for you to miss this.

Overall score: 7/10

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starlene · 8 months

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I just saw a quote pulled from the local newspaper's review of the new Finnish-Swedish production of Something Rotten!

It said combining musicals and Shakespeare doesn't make any sense, but maybe that's exactly why Something Rotten! works so well.

Not to sound too cranky and done with everything or anything, but EVER HEARD OF A LITTLE MUSICAL CALLED WEST SIDE STORY??? I mean? Seriously??

At this point, I think I would feel happier if Finnish media just stopped publishing musical reviews altogether, seeing how time and time again, they appear to be written by people who've never seen a musical before.

#like. besides WSS there's Kiss Me Kate. and & Juliet. and The Lion King. and that original Finnish Hamlet musical that was even shown on TV #combining musicals and Shakespeare is a time-honored theatrical tradition at this point #granted I've only read a bit of the review in a social media quote so maybe it's not really as bad as that makes it seem like #but hot damn!#I'm just so completely absolutely extremely done with stuff like this #Finnish musical theatre

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lafcadiosadventures · 1 year

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Le lycanthrope lyonnais

#my art #french romantics #petrus borel #artists on tumblr #someone/something interrupts borel mid theatrical posing #someone reads him that part of the janin review where he’s sexily crawling in the desert (?)

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supercantaloupe · 1 year

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Magic Flute Thoughts

i liked nathalie stutzmann's conducting a lot more in this than i did for don giovanni. granted i am much less familiar with zauberflote than i am with don g so i'm not like hyper picky about tempi or whatever yet but anyway i liked her

flute soloist! glockenspiel soloist! FLUTE SOLOIST!!!

i just like lawrence brownlee man idk what to tell you. i think he's neat. i think he's singing something here in the winter and i'll definitely try to get tickets to that if so

i really liked erin morley as pamina! actually i thought all the main cast did a good job no one stuck out to me as being particularly Amazing or Bad. kathryn lewek got a HUGE applause (and standing o) tho and i mean kudos it was her fiftieth performance like damn.

interesting choice to play the queen as physically frail as she did; i think it works and the performance is very good, although the heavy age makeup sticks out a bit on hd cameras lol

the queen's three bitches. i'm free on friday (twirling hair)

also i hope those three kids who played the old men get to borrow their outfits again come october because they have the funniest possible halloween costume opportunity in the world now

VERY funny to me that papageno's costume makes him look like he's drenched in bird shit

okay speaking of costumes. do i 100% Get It with the like suits and colors and everything....not really but i don't think i can say that i Get a lot about this opera tbh. what i did get was the very obvious dark/light symbolism going on with pamina and tamino wearing white and the queen and her cronies wearing all black. and i think zauberflote does benefit from some heavy handed symbolism bc what else is this show about actually without that....then again the fact that sarastro and his priests or whatever are all in dark colors too kind of undermines that a little so 🤷‍♀️

same thing with the whole reason vs superstition thing too like...sure you can claim Truth And Reason as good all you want sarastro but the constant invocation of isis/osiris and Mysterious Rituals kind of undermine what you're going for there lol. i think my point is that i don't feel like i really Get what zauberflote is like...going for, thematically. i mean i get the Themes but not a clear Point. maybe if i was an enlightenment era freemason i'd get it lol but alas i am not

that said......i didn't go into this one expecting a rock solid plot and honestly who does....it's zauberflote....it is very obviously not designed to work or be interpreted on a literal level and i appreciate that it never tries to ground itself in reality. that its plot and characters exist in a completely fantastic realm works and it works with the weird plot and its vague theming.

which itself is of course accomplished through good design and holy SHIT. this is truly the shining strength of this production. the design is INCREDIBLE.

the orchestra isn't totally onstage but they are raised up in the pit to the point where they are fully visible the whole show. i love an onstage orchestra so this made me very happy. and it allowed for actor/orchestra interaction which i also love!! like tamino coming down into the pit to hand the eponymous magic flute to the flute soloist and bring him onstage with him (i was wondering during the overture why the flutes and oboes were swapped places seating wise -- it's so the flutist can easily get onstage! delight!!), or when papageno brings his glockenspiel to the percussion soloist to play (the player being 'missing' at his last solo, making papageno play by himself, and he enters late with a cup of coffee...lmaoo). also stutzmann giving a big ol grin and thumbs up to papageno during his duet with papagena at the end. so sweet

also blocking around the orchestra seating of the audience and up the aisles! so much fun we love immersive theater

the set itself had this big flat platform in the center hoisted at each corner by a cord so it could raise/lower/tilt in any direction. made for some very neat staging with levels and slants and i enjoyed that, especially since the production forgoes any kind of traditional set pieces

papageno's birds were done in such a beautiful way omg...they have an ensemble in black wandering around stage and following him about when he's doing stuff and they each have a 'bird' made of a folded in half piece of paper that they flutter about stylistically (some of the orchestra members have some too that they flutter during his entrance aria). description does not do it justice, this was a beautiful way to stage it...so simple and evocative.

the designer was saying in the interview between acts that this production was meant to combine the high and low tech aspects of theater to connect present performance practice with the opera as it was originally done (hence the visible orchestra) and i looove that philosophy. and it worked here really well i think

THE FOLEY AND PROJECTION ARTISTS. STARS OF THE SHOW. i am not joking

they get to be onstage (albeit off to the sides) the whole show too and i love it. i love that the cameras on the broadcast kept cutting to them periodically to show off their work.

the use of live projection art was really well done -- he managed to make Writing On A Chalkboard captivating!!

and the foley. the FOLEY!!! i've done sound design and a bit of live foley before so i have a soft spot but wooow she did an amazing job and it was SO much fun to see all the props she played with to make the scenes come alive sonically. plus her little interactions with papageno were very funny. give her a tony award

i do think there were a couple of small moments here and there that didn't entirely work for me or a scene or two that dragged out longer than necessary but overall it was a joy to watch. the beautiful and whimsical design of the whole thing totally makes it worthwhile even if the plot itself is a bit lacking.

easily THE coolest production design i've seen the met do yet, and the best lighting and projections from them for sure. when it comes on demand i am forcing anyone i can to watch it with me bc that SET! the LIGHTING! the SOUND! the STAGING! it ticks all my boxes it hits all my buttons it was MADE for ME SPECIFICALLY

#sasha speaks #sasha reviews #the magic flute #die zauberflöte #die zauberflote #if someone actually understands what the magic flute is supposed to be about feel free to enlighten me lol #i don't know exactly what i was SUPPOSED to get from that but the production was so fucking good i don't even care tbh #tldr: watch this if you're interested in theatrical design. go go do it now do it

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ash-and-books · 10 days

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Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb:

The definitive, deluxe art book about Edward Gorey's theater work—from the iconic and Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Dracula to the wildly creative productions to which he devoted the last decade of his life.

Edward Gorey (1925-2000) was a prodigious and original artist who published more than one hundred beloved works, including The Gashlycrumb Tinies, The Doubtful Guest, and Amphigorey, and illustrations that appeared regularly in such publications as The New Yorker and The New York Times and books by authors ranging from Charles Dickens and T.S. Eliot to John Updike and Virginia Woolf, among many others. His animated credits for the PBS Mystery! series introduced him to millions of television viewers. In addition to his intricate pen-and-ink drawings and darkly humorous storybooks, Gorey also nurtured a lifelong passion for the performing arts. This volume is the first to showcase his extensive theatrical work, including his transition from designing major productions to crafting original community theater pieces on Cape Cod.

Written by his friend and collaborator Carol Verburg, this deluxe hardcover edition is filled with annotated scripts, behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and over 200 images, including archival photos and previously unpublished artwork. It unveils Gorey at work and play, drawing back the curtain on his enigmatic genius, which continues to inspire creatives and collectors today.

Review:

A beautiful look into the work of Edward Gorey's theater work! This was such a fun read for fans of Edward Gorey's art and projects. As a huge fan of Dracula, getting to read about his work on the Broadway production of it was fantastic. This was a really interesting read and it chronicles a lot of Gorey's works and projects throughout his life. It's a great book for Gorey fans and any art/theater people who are interested in learning about a craftsman!

*Thanks Netgalley and Chronicle Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #bookish #theatrical adventures of edward gorey

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philosophythorn · 1 year

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#philosophy tube #philosophytube #abi thorn #abigail thorn #she is so pretty #ok i know everyone wants book reviews but i love the theatrical stuff

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courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme · 2 months

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The Fabelmans (2022, Steven Spielberg)

17/03/2024

The Fabelmans is a 2022 American film directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film is a semi-autobiographical story loosely based on Spielberg's adolescence and early years as a director. The plot is told through the original story of the fictional Sammy Fabelman, a young aspiring filmmaker who explores how the power of film can help him see the truth about his dysfunctional family and those around him. It stars Gabriel LaBelle in the role of Sammy, alongside Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch in supporting roles. The film is dedicated to the memories of Spielberg's real-life parents, Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg, who died in 2017 and 2020, respectively.

Spielberg had conceived the project as early as 1999, with his sister Anne writing a screenplay titled I'll Be Home. Spielberg revisited the project in 2019 with screenwriter and frequent collaborator Kushner while they were making West Side Story, and the script was completed in late 2020.

It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2022, where it won the People's Choice Award. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the film opened theatrically in the United States on November 11, 2022, and then expanded to wide release on November 23, grossing $45.6 million against a $40 million budget, a disappointing result for a film directed and produced by Spielberg. It received largely positive reviews from critics and was named one of the ten best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. The Fabelmans earned numerous awards and nominations, including seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including seven nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (Williams) and Best Supporting Actor (Hirsch). It also earned 11 nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards, winning Best Young Performer (LaBelle), and five nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards, winning Best Motion Picture - Drama and Best Director.

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twinprime · 1 year

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ordered a wig bc i cannot STAND this rumpelstiltskin looking hair fr. i’m having phantom hair sensations it literally feels like i’ve lost a part of myself physically and emotionally

#sorry for being dramatic but i love theatrics and hyperboles and complaining #n e wayz. it’s a $25 amazon wig but it gets surprisingly astounding reviews and the pictures from customers look good so i’m getting it #it’ll be here saturday so when i’m back from my trip on sunday i can finally have hair again 😭♥️#strq.txt

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eroticlizardfiction · 2 years

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It's incredible that there was a bad review of the last MCR show when Ray Toro literally played his guitar with a wine glass and still managed to make it sound good

#I'm not bothered by the review #it read to me like they weren't a huge fan and were expecting something big and theatrical like during tbp #but i wasn't there but it looked like they had a lot of energy and sounded good so who cares what one loser says

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3nn-express · 2 months

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Family Star Movie: Vijay Deverakonda & Mrunal Thakur’s film.

Family Star Movie review: The biggest drawback of the Vijay Deverakonda-Mrunal Thakur film perhaps is Parashuram’s writing. The story itself is utterly dated and the treatment has no spark.

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spdk1 · 5 months

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REVIEWS: My 2023 End of Year Theatrical Release Movie Catch-Up

A Look at some more movies I saw that I did not get a full review up for. To see my mid-year version of this, click HERE Once again, I have been going to the movies a LOT because I signed up for AMC A-List in the Summer. I normally don’t go to the theater this much, so this is somewhat new territory, but this little experiment has really blessed me with some cool stuff I wouldn’t have seen on…

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#2023 #film #Hollywood #Movie Review #Movies #theatrical

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chaotictomtom · 5 months

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until now i had no idea 86' little shop of horrors had 2 different endings. the thought that i didn't remember the ending at all was too plausible for me to avoid me to think too much about it

#wouldn't know any better if i haven't come across a letterboxd review talking about the director's cut ending i've just watched #to me it was a normal thing to misremember to a point of “ig the good guys loose huh #it's. like a drastic change from the theatrical eending that i saw for my first watch #i trust the movie more than my own brain and memory at this point

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birukzz · 7 months

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Movie: The Creator 2023

youtube

>>Watch The Full Movie For free... https://tinyurl.com/3kw7bj9y

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xtremeservers · 8 months

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Between theatrical releases and streamin... https://www.xtremeservers.com/blog/the-biggest-new-and-upcoming-movies-in-2023/?feed_id=93592&_unique_id=650e491fd4fd4&The%20Biggest%20New%20and%20Upcoming%20Movies%20in%202023

#Featured #NewReleases #PC #Popular #Reviews #2023 #already #between #Catalogue #exclusives #massive #movie #Nintendo #releases #streaming #theatrical

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nihilnovisubsole · 2 years

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me explaining goncharov to my mother: so tumblr made up this scorsese crime film and they're arguing about its themes and-

my mother, completely deadpan: well are they reviewing the theatrical release or director's cut.

me:

my mother: what does frances ford coppola think of it

#shitpost #it's 2022 and she is still a Poster

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