Saturday, November 10, 2018

110 in the Shade


"The rainmaker doesn't change the weather: he changes people, turning them into what they really are." ~ Ethan Mordden. Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960's 

110 in the Shade has been compared to The Music Man. Both involve a con man who charms the town and a spinster who stands against him. While Marian domesticates Harold, Starbuck awakens a drive in Lizzie. Lizzie's been held down by her well meaning family. She needs to break out of her comfort zone and find some independence before she can settle down with a spouse. The show is more respected than beloved but Lizzie is a fantastic role for a singing actress. The role won great praise for both Inga Swenson in 1963 and Audra McDonald in 2007.

I'll be taking a break from this comic to work on some other projects. Have a safe winter and a happy new year!

Saturday, October 13, 2018

A Star Is Born


The 1954 remake of A Star is Born features one fantastic song: Gershwin and Arlen's "The Man That Got Away." I assumed it would be the grand finale but it turns out to be Judy Garland's first number. She sings it in a bar when James Mason stumbles in. It's the moment that draws him to her and establishes their unhealthy dynamic.

That song is the only thing I really enjoy about the film. The other music is forgettable and the story is dour. Streisand and Gaga's remakes somehow feel even bleaker. The story is interested in the leading man's fall but the audience wants to see the leading lady shine. She does, in moments, and those moments are what people take away from each remake. I don't need to watch the 2018 film again but I'm sure I'll see the scene where Gaga performs "Shallow" many times to come.

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Teen Beach Movie



Disney's Beach Party movies were a hit in the 1960's. Disney's High School Musical was a hit in 2006. Would these two great tastes go together in 2013? Critical reviews were mixed but ratings were high enough to merit a sequel. Afterwards co-stars Garrett Clayton and Ross Lynch would graduate to racier projects, which would renew interest in their musical theater beginnings.

Thursday, September 13, 2018

High School Musical


How did a low budget TV movie launch a franchise and a film career? Today's high school themed musicals are loaded with snark and angst. High School Musical has a mean girl and with a coded-gay brother but the overarching tone is earnest.

Quick. What's the hit song from High School Musical? I'm not sure either... but it has four compelling lead players who Disney was able to contractually secure for two sequels.

Oh and my favorite song? I like "Bet On It", Efron's campy nervous breakdown in part 2.

Sunday, September 2, 2018

The Light in the Piazza


Critics described this show as a delicate romance. I found it to be overwrought camp. I was in the minority when I saw it live and had to stifle my guffaws. Then I saw the Forbidden Broadway parody and learned I wasn't alone. Your mileage may vary.

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Bloomer Girl and South Pacific



Bloomer Girl. Music by Harold Arlen. Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg. Book by Sig Herzig and Fred Saidy. 1944 Broadway.

South Pacific. Music by Richard Rodgers. Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein. Book by Oscar Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. 1949 Broadway.

One of these shows is better known than the other but both concern race relations in war time. Both were considered progressive for the 1940's and both feature artists from the original production of Oklahoma!

Monday, August 6, 2018

Finian's Rainbow


Earlier this summer I wrote about Were The World Mine, a musical in which the homophobic jocks are magically transformed from straight to gay. In Finian's Rainbow a spell transforms the racist Senator from white to black. The Senator tries to undo his cruel policies but as a black man his staff will no longer listen to him. The leprechaun has to restore him to white to save the Sharecroppers. Pretty cutting social commentary for 1947.

A white actor put on blackface makeup on Broadway in 1947 and on film in 1968. When the show was revived in 2009 the switch was made with two actors. Critics praised the production but it only ran 15 weeks. 40's satire wasn't commercial in the 00's.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Glory Days

High school friends Nick Blaemire and James Gardiner wrote the show after their own graduation.  Blaemire called the show "a commemoration of our friendship and the friends we've had and lost between high school and college — and what happens when you're a kid, and then you realize that you're not anymore."

Glory Days premiered at the Signature Theatre in Virginia. It transferred to Broadway where it opened and closed on the same night: May 6, 2008. Blaemire and Gardiner spent some time apart, then re-united to write another show for a smaller venue.

The cast album reveals a spirited cast and a lovely ballad, Open Road, in which Jack comes out to his friends. Shows about angsty teenagers are big in 2018, with Heathers, Mean Girls, Dear Evan Hansen and Be More Chill inspiring passionate fan bases. I hope some of them will give Glory Days another look.

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Before Dolly Levi, before the White Queen, Carol Channing's signature role was Lorelei Lee. Her rendition of "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" is very different than Marilyn Monroe's but no less fantastic.

Saturday, July 7, 2018

Subways Are For Sleeping

This jokey show about homeless con artists knew nothing about the realities of being homeless. With very little plot and a mediocre score the show quickly folded. It is best remembered for a publicity stunt. Producer David Merrick found 7 strangers with the names of the New York critics and got them to sign off on positive quotes. The poster said "7 out of 7 are ecstatically unanimous about Subways Are For Sleeping."

Saturday, June 23, 2018

Were the World Mine



This film started off with a great idea. A modern gay remake of A Midsummer Night's Dream with a bullied gay teen, Timothy, serving as a combination of magical Puck and lovelorn Helena. The opening scenes won me to his side and the unleashing of the love potion felt cathartic.

Things fall apart soon after. The film can't agree on tone or internal logic. If the potion makes you fall for the first person you see, it makes sense the all boys school would fill with same sex couples. But why do all couples remain same sex when it spreads to the town? Why does the homophobic coach become a broad gay stereotype? Why do people have selective memories of what occurs during the course of the film? If Tim's point was to make the jocks understand bullying, why leave no straight people left to bully them? Why are the songs so forgettable?

Timothy's primary love interest is a mystery. We aren't supposed to know his true feelings till the end of the film. But we need to learn something about him to invest in the relationship. As is Tim's melancholy is never salved, leaving a streak of pain through the film. A lot of missed opportunities here. It frustrated me as the premise was fantastic.

Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Calamity Jane


At first glance Calamity Jane seems like a remake of Annie Get Your Gun. Independent pioneer woman swallows her pride to win Howard Keel. But Jane isn't chasing Howard Keel. She's chasing Lieutenant Danny Gilmartin. You know he's not important because he's in a musical but doesn't sing a note. To win him she needs to learn feminine drag.

Here's where the most interesting character arrives; Katie Brown. Katie is a maid impersonating a famous singer. Jane protects her from bandits, takes her to her first performance, and defends her from the mob when her identity is revealed. Howard Keel's at the performance too... in drag. He lost a bet with Jane. Katie finds the confidence to perform and suddenly... she's a maid no more. She has become the star she pretended to be. Jane is smitten. She wants Katie to teach her how to do drag. In the song "A Woman's Touch" Katie and Jane break out the tools and remodel their cabin. Jane trades her pants for a frilly dress and sings:

Then all at once the cabin that we knew
Becomes a shining castle built for two.
Me and you.

They're getting on fine till Lieutenant Whats-His-Name falls for Kate. Jane is heartbroken, kicking her out of the cabin and challenging her to a duel. The pants are back on. Katie grabs a gun and fights back. She can do drag too. Wild Bill splits them up and tells Jane he loves her. But there's no duet. Instead we cut to Jane alone in the woods singing "Secret Love." She sings the first verse in a dress and the last verse in pants, riding a horse.

Once I had a secret love
That lived within the heart of me
All too soon my secret love
Became impatient to be free

 
Who is she singing about? Did she love Bill all along? Or has Bill given her the excuse to save her friendship with Katie? She'll spend the last act of the film pursuing Katie and bringing her back home. They hold a double wedding with their forgettable men. 

How intentional was this lesbian subtext? Hard to say. Screenwriter James O'Hanlon also wrote the script for The Harvey Girls, another musical western focused on two strong women. He'd go on to write for the television westerns Maverick and Cheyenne. Whatever his original intention the film has gone on to play at LGBT film fests and was featured in Vitto Russo's fantastic documentary The Celluloid Closet. That's enough for me to feature it here for Pride month. 

Happy Pride!

Saturday, June 16, 2018

Fellow Travelers


There's a familiar tale in gay fiction. Two men find each other. One is ready to embrace his sexuality. The other burrows deeper into the closet, harming those around him. If they are lucky they both make it out alive. 

Fellow Travelers sets these tropes against the backdrop of Senator Joseph McCarthy's "Lavender Scare." McCarthy was determined to kick all homosexuals out of government jobs. Did McCarthy fear homosexuals would sell state secrets or was he just looking for a scapegoat? McCarthy makes an appearance in Fellow Travelers to defend his gay attorney Roy Cohn. The contradictions aren't deeply examined. They're simply there for the audience to interpret.

The focus of Fellow Travelers is the doomed affair between Timothy Laughlin and Hawkins Fuller. They live under the watchful eye of their co-workers in the Washington, D.C. of the 1950's. Spears's score provides distinctive arias for both men. Timothy's joyous "Last Night" is filled with the liberation of first love. Hawk's guarded "Our Very Own Home" laments the double life he's built. It's not a happy story but there are moments of humor and hope along the way. With luck Timothy's newfound pride will carry him safely to better times.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

LGBT+ Tropes on Film

"I want a gay thing about gay adults who are relatively well-adjusted and aren't dying, that is wistful, hopeful, fun." ~ Richard Lawson, Chief critic for Vanity Fair

This week Rotten Tomatoes posted a list of the 150 Best LGBT Movies of All Time. I've seen about a third of them and decided to see which matched Lawson's criteria. The majority of these films are focused on cisgendered gay men.The following post contains spoilers. 

Of the following 65 films:

  • 47 feature adult cisgendered GBQ men. 
  • 17 feature a cisgendered GBQ man's death
  • 16 end with the Adult GBQ protagonists coupled, and alive. That's 24% of the list.
  • 6 feature Teenage GBQ protagonists coupled, and alive. For another film in this category check out the recent Alex Strangelove on Netflix.

As for "well-adjusted," I could not say.
Movie
Genders
Age
Fate
Genre
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
Ambiguous
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Tragedy
Ma Vie En Rose (1997)
Ambiguous
Pre-Teen
Single
Coming of Age
Carol (2015)
Female
Adult
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
Hours, The (2002)
Female
Adult
Coupled.
Biography
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Female
Adult
Dead (suicide)
Mystery
Color Purple, The (1985)
Female
Adult
Single
Coming of Age
Killing of Sister George, The (1968)
Female
Adult
Single
Tragedy
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Female
Teen
Prison
Tragedy
Oy Vey My Son Is Gay
Male
Adult
Coupled
Farce
Ten Year Plan, The
Male
Adult
Coupled
Romcom
Big Eden (2001)
Male
Adult
Coupled (after pining for a straight man)
RomCom
Birdcage, The (1996)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Farce
God's Own Country (2017)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
Jeffrey (1995)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
RomCom
La Cage Aux Folles (1979)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Farce
Maurice (1987)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
Moonlight (2016)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Coming of Age
My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
The Sum of Us (1995)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Family Drama
Trick (1999)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
RomCom
Victor Victoria (1982)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Farce
Wedding Banquet, The (1993)
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Farce
Latter Days
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
Gone, But Not Forgotten
Male
Adult
Coupled.
Mystery
Gods and Monsters (1998)
Male
Adult
Dead
Biography
Love Is Strange (2014)
Male
Adult
Dead
Tragedy
Holding the Man (2015)
Male
Adult
Dead (AIDS related illness)
Biography
Longtime Companion (199)
Male
Adult
Dead (AIDS related illness)
Tragedy
Normal Heart (2014)
Male
Adult
Dead (AIDS related illness)
Biography
Philadelphia (1993)
Male
Adult
Dead (AIDS related illness)
Courtroom Drama.
A Single Man (2009)
Male
Adult
Dead (heart attack)
Tragedy
Bent (1997)
Male
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Tragedy
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Male
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Tragedy
Milk (2008)
Male
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Biography
Beginners (2011)
Male
Adult
Dead (of old age)
Coming of Age
Imitation Game, The (2014)
Male
Adult
Dead (suicide)
Biography
Bad Education (2004)
Male
Adult
Single
Mystery
Cabaret (1972)
Male
Adult
Single
Biography
Happy Together (1997)
Male
Adult
Single
Tragedy
In & Out (1997)
Male
Adult
Single
Farce
Other People (2016)
Male
Adult
Single
Family Drama
Weekend (2011)
Male
Adult
Single
Romantic Drama
Ritz, The
Male
Adult
Single
Farce
Like You Mean It
Male
Adult
Single
Biography
Happy Birthday Gemini
Male
Adult
Single
Farce
Those People
Male
Adult
Single
Romantic Drama
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)
Male
Adult
Single (after pining for an ambiguos man)
Farce
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Male
Adult
Single (and pining for a straight man)
Coming of Age
Boys In The Band, The (1970)
Male
Adult
various
Black Comedy
Love! Valour! Compassion!
Male
Adult
various
Slice of Life
Stranger by the Lake (2014)
Male
Adult
various
Thriller
Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Male
Adult
various
Slice of Life
People You May Know
Male
Adult
various
Slice of Life
Hellbent
Male
Adult
various
Horror
Cruising
Male
Adult
various
Thriller
Beautiful Thing (1996)
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Coming of Age
Being 17 (2006)
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Romantic Drama
Love, Simon (2018)
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Coming of Age
Way He Looks, The (2014)
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Coming of Age
Were the World Mine (2008)
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Farce
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
Male
Teen
Coupled.
Slice of Life
Closet Monster (2016)
Male
Teen
Single
Coming of Age
G.B.F. (2014)
Male
Teen
Single
Farce
Get Real (1999)
Male
Teen
Single
Coming of Age
Mysterious Skin (2005)
Male
Teen
Single
Tragedy
Nightmare on Elm Street 2
Male
Teen
Single
Horror
Camp (2003)
Male
Teen
Single (and pining for a straight man)
Show biz
Broken Hearts Club, The (2000)
Male
various
Single
Slice of Life
Call Me By Your Name (2018)
Male
various
Single
Romantic Drama
Handsome Devil (2017)
Male
various
various
Coming of Age
Crying Game, The (1992)
Trans
Adult
Coupled.
Mystery
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Trans
Adult
Dead (AIDS related illness)
Biography
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Trans
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Biography
Rocky Horror Picture Show, The
Trans
Adult
Dead (murdered)
Farce
Hedwing and the Angry Inch (2001)
Trans
Adult
Single
Coming of Age
Tangerine (2015)
Trans
Adult
Single
Black Comedy
Transamerica (2006)
Trans
Adult
Single
Slice of Life
Pricilla, Queen of the Desert (The Adventures of) (1994)
Various
Adult
various
Farce