Lightbulb Over Head Blog

On Sunday evening I had the opportunity to see the Euripides’ The Bacchae at Shakespeare in the Park. As I entered the open-air theater, I was reminded of the amphitheaters of ancient Greece. The air was sweet and warm and the play-space vast and mysterious, a single plume of mist sprouting from a large crack in the stage, leaving me with a sense of foreboding and mystery.

As I took my seat, I recognized a familiar face. Jonathan Groff (familiar to musical theater fans for his turn in Spring Awakening) was roaming the stage and ritualistically preparing it in the role of Dionysus. He pulled various articles from a large case and placed them about the stage. He also washed an animal’s severed head and mucked about in the shallow pool of water that ringed the front of the stage. Lastly, he dressed himself in jeans, a white shirt and a leather jacket, taking on a sort of a James Dean quality, simultaneously winning and dangerous. His portrayal successfully evoked those facets of the god and was only set off course at times by Philip Glass’ disjointed vocal compositions.

James Conklin’s set was both abstract and reminiscent of ancient Greek theatrical architecture. I felt the history behind his choices, while at the same time the streamlined modern lines of the silver play-space gave the impression that I would see something fresh. I loved the fact that the whole production was set on the top of Semele’s grave, placing importance on the fact that the very godhead of Dionysus was at stake in the telling of this story. There was also a fantastic visual moment where the grave burst into flames at the back of the stage. I wondered if this was necessary, but it did make for a very unusual stage picture.

The most exciting part of the piece for me was David Neumann’s choreography as executed by the chorus of Bacchan women. They traversed the stage in rhythmic punctuation that had the curious ability to seem organic while invoking the original performances of ancient plays wherein the chorus stomped across the stage in large shoes to emphasize the rhythm of the verse lines. Conversely, Neumann punctuated the rhythm of the verse with shapes and changes in tempo of movement rather than relying on the drudgery of stomping. Neumann’s choreography was the heart and soul of this piece and was no less than magical when it came together seamlessly with the design and the text, as in the moment where the women washed themselves in the pool, lit only by dim lights shown through the shallow water.

The costumes, by Kaye Voyce, were at times unexpected, as in the choice of glittering pants for the prophet Teiresias, but always worked with the style of the piece. Her color choices brightened the stage and brought a wild vivacity to the chorus that is not always present in Greek drama.

JoAnne Akalaitis’ direction was hit or miss for me. There were moments where I wasn’t exactly sure what I should be looking at which can be a challenge when it comes to shows with a lot of ensemble members in a large space. Rocco Sisto’s turn as the Messenger at the climax of the production was heart rending and dynamic, but I felt the presence of the women on stage almost overshadowed his brilliant performance. In addition, there were some strange homo-erotic moments framed very prominently between Jonathan Groff as Dionysus and Pentheus, played by Anthony Mackie. I wasn’t sure that these were supported by the script which is why they stuck out to me as an imposed choice made by the director. Perhaps it was an attempt at showing that Dionysus’ enchantment was taking hold of the King of Thebes? In any case, I wasn’t clear as to the purpose of these moments.

This brings me to a problem I have always had with this play. How are the Bacchan women both there in the palace of Thebes and out in the hills with Dionysus simultaneously? It just doesn’t make sense, especially when used so loosely in the case of this production. Akalaitis often placed them in beautiful shapes around the stage, but I sometimes wished that the principle actors could have had more focus. I admit that some of these issues stem from the script itself rather than the direction of the piece, but I almost felt that the director ignored them rather than contending with them, leaving her audience at a loss.

People don’t go to a Greek drama for a wild ride, so to complain about the pace of the show would be poor form. However, I felt that the end of the show was a bit lackluster. I enjoyed the performance of George Bartenieff as Cadmus in his charmingly befuddled scene with Teiresias, played expressively by Andre de Shields, but the end of the play took a leaden pace and dragged his work down. Joan Macintosh’s Agave was a bit wooden for my tastes. Agave is a character that has to win over the audience in seconds with the tragedy of her mad plight. Not a moment can be spared with a lack of specificity. With this portrayal of Agave, I found I didn’t feel anything, despite the fact that she was dripping with gore and holding a semi-life like rendition of her son’s severed head.

This brings me to another pet peeve of mine. When you cannot actually show something on stage in an extremely realistic light, as in sex, murder, or death, it is best to abstract it. I found myself assessing the poorly rendered dead body of Pentheus instead of paying attention to the acting. If it had been abstracted, I would have at least been thinking about the artistry of the actor’s relationship to a choreographed and designed moment rather than the fact that I didn’t believe the realism of the fake body on stage.

As for Phillip Glass’ score and vocal compositions, I found them well performed with little substance. The performers blended well and shifted dynamically as one but to what purpose? I found it strange to be at such odds with Glass’ music because I love his movie scores. The Hours and The Truman Show would not be the same without his pulsing, persistent musical scores. Here, Glass was so amelodic that I sometimes lost the direction of the spoken lines and became a bit confused as to what was being said by the chorus. If it hadn’t been for Neumann’s choreography, I might have been lost altogether.

Although it had it’s problems, Shakespeare in the Park’s The Bacchae was a very visually gripping rendition of a difficult Greek drama. The show runs until August 30th. For more information on this production see: http://www.publictheater.org/

Tonight, I had the distinct pleasure of viewing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the Clearview Cinemas Zeigfeld theater. I’m including the theater in which I saw the movie because it had a lot to do with my experience of the film. So far, critics have given the movie  rather lackluster reviews, but I considered my thirteen dollars and fifty cents money well spent.

Firstly, the Zeigfeld theater is a sight to behold. It is a movie theater with a vintage feel. As soon as you walk in the building, you’re surrounded by a sea of crimson, gold, and velvet curtains with over-sized shimmering tassels. The staff is also very friendly and began shouting to the crowd about how the stars of the movie had been there the previous week for the NYC premiere as we filed into the packed theater. When you enter the theater itself, the space is vast. It clearly was an actual theater with a stage at one point and is only a few blocks away from The Great White Way.

On this particular evening, the place was packed because it was the first day of release. My friend and I arrived at the theater early, eager to settle into good seats for our epic journey into J.K. Rowling’s universe. My friend is an avid Potter fan and her intense excitement was undoubtedly infectious. I doubt I would have had the same experience if she hadn’t been with me. She has read the books more carefully and more times than anyone I know and I credit her with infallible Harry Potter expertise. We actually went to this same theater to Coraline and we instinctively knew that it was the right place to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. In Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s book, Decolonizing the Mind, he says that “Space is never neutral.” That is certainly the case for the Zeigfeld. There is a curtain that they close between the previews and the film. When they open it as the movie starts, it’s as if you’re looking at a live stage with infinite possibilities. Due to the nature of the space, the audience took on the characteristics of a live theater crowd, cheering, applauding, gasping, and laughing along with the performances. The place was buzzing with energy.

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson

The best thing this film did, which was only further amplified by the movie theater itself, was to honor the brilliant performances that the cast turned in. It’s hard to believe that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint are the same children who performed in The Sorcerer’s Stone. Their skills have matured and deepened, each with their own specialty. Watson is stunningly vulnerable while retaining the values and strength of Rowling’s original character, crestfallen when it comes to Ron’s inattentiveness and brutal when it comes to Harry’s occasional overconfidence. Grint’s skill for improvised physical comedy is at an all time high. Especially amusing were his scenes while under the affects of a love potion and his oblivious separation of Ginny and Harry when they are about to have an intimate moment, followed by offering them scones. I simply couldn’t get enough of him in this film. He kept the audience in stitches the entire time.

I must credit Daniel Radcliffe with remarkable improvement in his acting prowess. I have to admit that when I saw the first Harry Potter film, I actively disliked him. I have seen a bit of improvement over the years, but what truly changed my mind about him was his performance in Equus, by Peter Shaffer. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that this play is impeccable on its own as a written piece, but when I saw Radcliffe perform his extremely challenging role on Broadway, I saw a spark I hadn’t seen before. He was playful, unafraid, and interesting. I’m not sure when it was, but during the run of that show, Radcliffe discovered something about being in the moment and following impulses, no matter how strange or inappropriate they might be. That was reflected in his performance in The Half-Blood Prince, impersonating spider pincers, and impersonating the characterization of his co-star, Jim Broadbent, while under the effects of a “luck potion.”

Daniel Radcliffe, I hereby retract all ill wishes I harbored in your earlier years and officially give you my full support and a well deserved round of applause.

As the younger members of the cast rise to the occasion, the elder members become even more brilliant. As Snape, Alan Rickman is impeccable, both hilarious and terrifying. His comedic timing and command of his vocal instrument is a killer combination. I was on the edge of my seat, falling for the bait each time he paused, only to drop in the last word of his sentence at exactly the right moment- Simply an astounding and relentless performance.

Jim Broadbent, as Professor Horace Slughorn, gives a very intelligent performance. I have been a fan  since his role in Moulin Rouge. His drunken monologue in Hagrid’s cottage was a stunning combination of brilliant writing and expert performance. Broadbent does a wonderful job of addressing the multi-faceted nature of this character.

Helena Bonham Carter is a delicious villain. Her body and her voice are incredible, enhanced by her costume and makeup. I was so thankful that we got to see more of Bellatrix Lestrange in this film.

The only performance I wasn’t ecstatic about was that of Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. While his performance was honest and heartfelt, the way he portrayed his character’s public actions at Hogwarts was extremely over the top. Anyone who saw him would have known he was up to no good. Draco Malfoy won the “emo kid” award for the evening.

I can understand why some of the reviews for The Half-Blood Prince are negative. There was so much wonderful acting that the movie could not contain all of it while simultaneously dealing with all the complexities of Rowling’s story. There were points at which I would have been extremely lost if I hadn’t read the books and points at which I was still lost simply because I haven’t reread the books in a few years. My biggest problem was that they focused a lot on the developing relationships between Ron and Hermione and Ginny and Harry, yet left the actual mystery surrounding the Half-Blood Prince and his Potions book mostly untouched. I missed the the mystery solving capers of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I think the director, David Yates, was more interested in giving detailed cinematic highlights of Rowling’s written world rather than a well-told story presented on film. I will say, however, that the composition of his shots is extremely dynamic. I felt in this film, more than in the other parts of the series, that there was a level of detail and depth that was fully integrated with the performances of the cast. The film wasn’t structured with stunted acting scenes followed by action sequences. The whole thing was a cohesive piece.

For anyone who enjoys the Harry Potter series, this movie is a must see. For those who haven’t read the books, I don’t think you’ll be able to understand and appreciate the brilliant parts of the movie in a way that will compensate for the otherwise unfinished story telling.

Being a huge Johnny Depp fan, I did not question spending thirteen dollars on a ticket to his recently released film, Public Enemies. When I was in Chicago during the summer of 2009, the extras were being put through hair, makeup, and costumes at the theater where I was interning so I felt a sort of loyalty to the film because I was excited about seeing how all the production work I had witnessed every day had turned out.

I always feel swept away by Depp’s performances because it’s undeniably clear to me how much he enjoys what he’s doing, how playful his choices are, and how alive he is when he’s in front of the camera. He drips with passion for his art.

This is the first time I’ve been a bit let down by him in a movie. I enjoyed a few of his “simply frank” moments, such as when he convinces Billie to “be his girl” by roughing up a man who’s giving her trouble at the coat check where she works and then holding her coat out wordlessly as if to say, You know you’re going to come with me. Also of note was the scene where he dangerously risks being discovered at the police station in Chicago where his case is being monitored. He studies his own pictures, the mug shots of his fallen comrades, and asks for the score of the game the cops are watching without them realizing who he is. It is Depp at his classic best; playful, mysterious, and confident. He did have a few great moments of characterization in this film, but I thought perhaps he was bored with this project. It seemed like he lacked inspiration.

Oddly enough, I enjoyed Christian Bale’s performance and I’m usually rather ambivalent about him. I think he’s done some cool action and mystery movies, but I wouldn’t necessarily call him a “fine actor.” There was something a bit deeper about his portrayal of Melvin Purvis. His physicality was fox-like as he ran down his pray, even with a heavy weapon like a rifle. He’s always been good with physical roles, like Batman and John Preston in the cult classic Equillibrium, but he managed to combine his physical prowess with a manifested determination. Perhaps he’s simply more compelling without his bat-mask on.

I hadn’t seen Marion Cotillard’s Academy Award winning turn as Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, but I had heard so many good things about it that I was very excited to see her work in this movie. With the exception of the scene in the interrogation room where she is explicitly brutalized by one of the investigators on the Dillinger case, she gave a simply honest performance, but nothing particularly special.

The aforementioned scene was actually the best in the movie. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie where the camera stays focused on a woman as she is beaten. It was hard to watch, but the pay off was so satisfying when Cotillard’s character told off the man who had been hitting her. It was a great movie moment, framed well by specific cinematography. However, the circumstances Cotillard’s character were often more engaging that her uneven performance.

The action sequences were too general to keep track of the story. They began. Lots of machine guns were fired. Then they ended leaving the characters either dead or in different circumstances. Sadly, it was a missed opportunity for story telling. It was easy to lose track of who was shooting and who had been shot. During the climactic action sequence at a woodland farmhouse, the heavy sound of the machine guns and the mass destruction they wrought lost their initial power after a few minutes of the long-winded shoot-out.

Stephen Graham was truly terrifying as Baby Face Nelson. He brought a sorely needed unpredictable element to the movie. When he went down, shooting wildly into the air and pelting the grass with bullets as he took a lethal volley of machine gun fire, I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or to cheer. He was such a dangerous force in the movie that I was happy for Dillinger to be rid of him, but I immediately missed his exciting presence.

I was also shocked at how many cameos there were by established actresses in the film. Leelee Sobieski played Polly Hamilton who appeared near the end of the film and had about five lines in total. I haven’t remembered seeing her in front of the camera since I was in my freshman year of high school. Emilie de Ravin, who plays Claire in the hit television series, Lost, played a random bank teller who is used as a human shield to keep the police from shooting at the men driving and defending a post-bank-robbery getaway car. As long and slightly didactic as this movie was, seeing these actresses made me wonder how much film was lying on the cutting room floor considering the fact that these ladies probably wouldn’t have signed on for the project without a supporting role as opposed to a part with a few spoken lines.

For me, the bank robbing scenes were the highlights of Public Enemies. They were a window into a different age when crime was waged with different tactics than in today’s world, not to mention that Depp’s rock star quality had a chance to shine.

Public Enemies is by no means a horrible film, but I don’t think it makes my “Must See” recommendation list. With with movie ticket prices in New York City at an all time high, this is one where I would wait for the release to DVD.