#93 - Oscar Update

Been awhile since I posted Oscar progress. In fact 39 movies worth of progress. So, that's a total of 125 watched, with 100 remaining. The grand total of 225 is counting the Oscar winners of 2009 (Crazy Heart, The Hurt Locker, and The Blind Side). I'm in the habit now of one per week, which won't quite get me to my goal. I might downshift the goal a bit to just movies after 1934. That would knock 23 movies off the list, of which I've only heard of a couple before (Grand Hotel and All Quiet on The Western Front), so I might not miss much. That plus a couple film fests should get me pretty close.

Speaking of 1934, the winner that year was It Happened One Night, which swept the Oscars (Actor, Actress, Director, and Picture). One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and The Silence of The Lambs are the only other movies to have done that. All three also won their screenplay categories. I mention because It Happened One Night is the only Oscar winner I've seen not through Netflix since the last posting. So I wanted to mark it down.

Other than noting what a great leading man Clark Gable is, I don't have much else to contribute about the movie. If you are interested in viewing the complete list I published my Google Docs Spreadsheet here. TL was participating in this goal with me but she went and got herself a fiancee and a social life so I've pulled ahead.

#90 - Plays, Act III

Just a small post to note how well I've done on task #90 - see plays. I've seen 26 plays so far, with my original goal being 25. I've crushed the non-musical portion with 20 plays (goal 15). I still have to do more "modern, arty, freaky". I've seen some out there plays, but only 2 (Nerve and Prodigal) have made me go WTF!

So, I've got some MAF exploring to do. You would have thought murderous, Slim fast drinking lesbians would tip my weird-o-meter but then you never met my mom.

Just Kidding, Mom!

#91 - The Planets

Since the Art Museum hasn't had anything inspiring lately, I'm changing #91 to include the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) as well as St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) events. The first SLSO event to count was a March 5, 2010 performance of The Planets by Holst. One of my favorite pieces of classical music (especially the opening Mars movement), I had been looking forward to it for a long time. And I was not disappointed. The acoustics in Powell Symphony Hall are excellent (though I'm not that discerning a critic - but they sound good to me). Hearing all the tracks together is a real treat since you start recognizing common themes and how Holst gives each planet its own personality.

The opening number, Violin Concerto by Ligeti, was well-done too. So, 2 for 8 on this one so far. Since I can't find an easy way to embed mp3 after looking for 5 minutes, I'll post the following youtube.

#90 - Plays, Act II

#Continuation of plays seen. These are all individual venues, arranged chronologically.

Steel Magnolias at Dramatic License - February 2010 - A three hanky play. The basis for the 1989 movie. Just 6 actresses in one setting (including my favorite Colleen Backer). Talky and sentimental but well-done. I thought the blocking was a little weird sometimes. This was also the first production of Dramatic License Productions (see Doubt in a previous post - Magnolias also had Kim Furlow) at Chesterfield Mall and sometimes you could catch noise from shoppers. Hopefully they get some heavier curtains for the shop front. But I'm looking forward to seeing more there.

Gutenberg! The Musical! at The Ivory Theatre- March 2010 - Comedy about two guys who are staging their new play about Johann Gutenberg for us - their potential "backers". With no cast and crew, they have to wear many hats (literally - quick changing hats with character names - including Anti-Semitic Flower Girl). Trading on all of the Broadway cliches, Bud & Doug do a great play-within-a-play. It is very funny and highly recommended.

This play also made me feel like an expert in St. Louis theater even after only a year of play watching. I injected myself into a conversation with some people wondering about the actors (if they were local, touring, etc.). I was able to be the knowledgeable outsider, and recount the many local productions I had seen with Ben Nordstrom (Bud).

A Doll's House at The Gaslight Theater - April 2010 - A really powerful play about transformation and growth. Well-staged and well-acted. I like the small intimate Gaslight as well.

The One Hour Star Wars Trilogy: Live! at Magic Smoking Monkey Theatre - April (May?) 2010 - Taking a page from the Reduced Shakespeare Company, Magic Smoking Monkey consolidates the epic saga of our time into 1 hour. Hitting the highlights of the first three films (Episodes 4,5,6 - the non Jar-Jar one), the play is obviously crafted by people with a) a deep appreciation of Star Wars and b) not so much they can't laugh at the foibles of the Holy Trilogy. I mean, "Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs", let's just admit Lucas screwed the physics pooch and move on. And, like Galileo, I will say on my deathbed, "Han offa primoris".

Young Frankenstein at The Fox - May 2010 - A lavish Broadway musical. Based on the hilarious 1974 Mel Brooks film with Gene Wilder. Since I loved the movie I liked the show, and it had some good if not memorable songs. I can see why some critics might not have liked it. And maybe I wouldn't see it again. Perhaps Brooks is trading on our love of the original. But then so is much of Broadway these days (Legally Blonde: The Musical - seriously?).

Now I Ask You at Muddy Waters Theatre - June 2010 - A lesser-known play by Eugene O'Neill. I suppose you could call it this a drawing room comedy, a farce. It is basically a 1916 sitcom. Allows us to laughs at characters dumber than we are. Enjoyable.

#90 - Plays, Act I

Play Round-up since the last time I did this. By venue, then chronological.

The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Sleuth (Mainstage) - October 2010 - This is the definition of a cat-and-mouse game. Twists galore, never quite sure which of the two main characters is the cat and which the mouse. Well-done.

The 39 Steps (Mainstage) - January 2010 - Based on a Hitchcock film, and while not a great play in terms of the standard spy chase plot, it is played for laughs so it isn't noticeable. It did have a nice concept in that only 4 actors play all 20 or so roles in the play. And when you consider the hero only does one role, and the woman does just the three heroine and/or femme fatale roles, that leaves two characters playing about 15 assorted cops, criminals, innkeepers, and random passers-by. So, it was entertaining to watch.

Crime and Punishment (Studio) - March 2010 - Wow! And I thought The 39 Steps was stripped down. This is Dostoevsky's sprawling novel (which I gave up on after 50 pages), reduced to 3 actors. And man, does it work. Again, multiple characters per actor. Great lighting work and staging. The atmosphere and mood are almost soul crushing. Placing you really inside the mind of a murderer. This is intense theater.

Echo Theatre

Secretaries - October 2009 - The play about a "murderous cult of Slim Fast drinking female office workers" which I alluded to in an earlier post. Offbeat, amusing, and a little violent.

Fugitive Songs - November 2009 - "This innovative musical journey spotlights people on the run: a disgruntled Subway sandwich employee, a jilted ex-cheerleader, a pair of Patty Hearst fanatics, a stoner forced to rob a convenience store against his will, and many others. Blending traditional folk music with contemporary pop and gospel, Fugitive Songs offers a new sound for a restless America." Good songs: some funny, some poignant, all say something about America circa now.

Santaland Diaries - December 2009 - Working as an elf at Macy's teaches you the true meaning of Christmas. Funny.

Hot City

The Eight: Reindeer Monologues - December 2009 - Santa is accused of sexual harassing a reindeer. The 8 members of the sleigh team give their points of view. Was Vixen asking for it? Has it happened before? Amazingly does not qualify as "modern, arty, freaky". Seen one gay reindeer, seen them all.

Why Torture is Wrong, and the People who Love Them - February 2010 - Ever have one of those days? You wake up hung over, married to a strange guy who may or may not be a terrorist. So you take him home to meet your oblivious mother, and your father who may or may not be a CIA agent. Add a little torture in the study and your husband planting a remote bomb in your childhood home. Plus a porno-making minister. Bad day for you, fun for the audience.

The Sinker - May 2010 - Winner of last year's Greenhouse New Play festival. World premiere of the play. Very nice and I'm not talking about the thong shot of one of the actresses that opens the play. Well, not exclusively. A very minimalist play. 3 actors - and all the action and dialogue revolves around the unseen 4th, and the very complicated relationship that all 3 have with him.

Stray Dog Theatre

Speech & Debate - February 2010 - Cute little play about 3 outsider teenagers tied together by a sex scandal in their high school. Darkly funny, smart, and entertaining. I like the Tower Grove Abbey space that Stray Dog occupies.

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds - March 2010 - Well done, but a total downer of a play. Follows Chekov's loaded gun rule but uses a live rabbit, which was a bit disturbing.

#89 - Belly up to the Bard

A couple of Shakespeare plays to note. Since it is summertime, it was again Shakespeare in The Park. It was the tenth anniversary so they trotted out Hamlet. Ghosts, treachery, incest, suicide, wholesale slaughter - what a bore. Of course, I'm kidding. As always the play, performance, and setting in Shakespeare Glen of Forest Park was a good time.

So, that makes 8 out of 10 park performances I've attended. I missed As You Like It in 2004. My only other miss was the first year, Romeo and Juliet. Which I saw back in February at The Black Rep. Another fine show. It was interesting. The mostly black cast gave the play a bit of a different spin. I thought the Motown song and dance numbers during the Capulet party in Act I were a nice touch. The more that I see various versions of the play, the more I'm convinced that the play doesn't work without a good Mercutio. He really is the lynchpin behind all the action of the play. Without Mercutio, Romeo and Juliet just have standard teenage problems. This production had a good Mercutio in Chauncy Thomas.

So, that's 3 Shakespeare of 5. With next year's festival (The Taming of the Shrew) and one more pick-up, this task will be "bitch-slapped like a cheap hooker at a gangbang". To quote the Bard. Ok, not quite. But still, you get my point.