Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight – 7.5

A thoroughly charming cinematic representation of Alexandra Fuller’s riveting 2001 memoir about the 1980 transfer of white to Black power as Rhodesia was reborn as Zimbabwe. The story is told through the eyes and actions of seven-year-old actress Lexi Venter in an astonishing performance, while her innocence is matched by her psychologically fierce and tormented mother, played by Embeth Davidtz, who also wrote and directed. The story has a documentary truth as well.

Familiar Touch – 7

Less a story than a scrapbook account of moving one’s mother to a memory-care facility. Kathleen Chalfant is superb as the regal 80-year-old who has retained her culinary skills but has no inkling of who the people around her are. Sympathetic, not maudlin, the picture it presents of a stage in life we have experienced with our own parents is touching if inevitably sad, if not scary.

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life – 6

After time spent watching streamers it felt good to sit in a theater and see characters on a big screen with lush scenery behind them. Beyond that, this film was largely forgettable, although it left me wondering what its title meant. Camille Rutherford was fine as the Austen-besotted would-be writer, but the main attraction, for us as well as her, were the blue eyes of Charlie Anson in the Mr. Darcy role.

The Bobby Awards

In anticipation of tomorrow’s 2025 Tony Awards–many going to shows we haven’t seen–I am introducing the Bobby Awards for exemplary achievement in the eight shows we did see in May 2025.
Best Actor: Hugh Jackman in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes
Best Actress: Sadie Sink in John Proctor is the Villain
Best Supporting Actress: Julia Knitel in Dead Outlaw; Joy Woods in Gypsy
Best Supporting Actor: Brooks Ashmanskas in Smash
Best Music: Dead Outlaw
Best Choreography: Smash
Best Set Design: Maybe Happy Ending
Best Ensemble: Dead Outlaw
Most Provocative: John Proctor is the Villain
Best Moment: “Modern Major-General” in Pirates of Penzance Musical
Best British Import: The Last Laugh

NY Theater Spring ’25

Dead Outlaw   (9)
An outrageous true story of a mummy brought to life by a superb ensemble cast and a catchy country rock score played live onstage. The stagecraft was everything, as each excellent actor rotated through a variety of roles at a breakneck pace that drew you in and, amazingly, made you care. Andrew Durand was good as the not-so-good outlaw but more impressive as the mummy; bandleader Jeb Brown was a commanding presence; and Julia Knitel, the only female, was a treat.

Pirates of Penzance Musical  (8)
A totally fun take on a classic G&S operetta, with everyone having a hoot, most notably Ramin Karimloo as the Pirate King and David Hyde Pierce as Major-General Stanley. The transfer to a New Orleans locale contributes to a sloppy, less satisfying ending, but any who quibble about messing with the original shouldn’t bother coming to this production.

Maybe Happy Ending   (7)
A cute simple love story with elegantly futuristic staging. On the plus side, lyrics and dialogue were easy to understand and the plot, until the ending, was easy to follow.  The technological gap between HelperBot 3 (Darren Criss, excellent) and HelperBot 5 (Helen Shen, also) seemed enormous, but nothing that love couldn’t bridge.

John Proctor is the Villain     (7)
A Me-Too Era take on Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, as studied by a group of Georgia high-schoolers under the tutelage of John Proctor – I mean Mr. Smith. How the analogy fit, or didn’t, gave me a lot to think about, having re-read the play the day before . The problems, undoubtedly related, were that too often I couldn’t understand the dialogue (despite the audience laughter after lines I missed), and only four of the seven students were played by good actors (as defined by the comfort and enjoyment level I had when they were in the spotlight). There was also a plethora of 2018 pop culture references that I recognized but didn’t resonate with–Lorde, Twilight, Taylor Swift, Beyonce–and an ending that left me cold rather than exhilarated. Judging from my wife’s reaction, I’d say this was a play written by, about and for women. For me, the high point was re-reading The Crucible.

Smash    (9)
I went in with no expectations or even a recollection of what the play was about and left having thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the musical about a musical about Marilyn Monroe. Robyn Hurder was a convincing Marilyn, but “Karen” and “Chloe” also performed show-stopping diva numbers in the role. Best of all was Brooks Ashmanskas as the gay Broadway veteran director Nigel, who despite age and girth showed off all the hip-grinding dance moves he was giving the dancers. And they were uniformly great. The 21 numbers by Marc Shaiman, mostly diegetic, left hardly a moment to catch one’s breath, and I can’t think of one I didn’t enjoy. The supporting cast–shoutout to Krysta Rodriguez as the song-writing Tracy–were another delight. This was Broadway as entertainment, quite enough for me.

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes    (9)
A cliche of a plot only underscores the brilliance of performance by Hugh Jackman as the horny middle-aged English professor temted/abetted by the coyly diffident Ella Beatty as his 19-year-old student in Hannah Moscovitch’s unerring play. Like much of  great art, the end left me scratching my head,  causing me to think more deeply, if confusedly, about what I had just seen. In any case, it was great theater (at the intimate Minetta Lane Theater) and the chance to watch Jackman perform in three dimensions was priceless and, after Gypsy, restorative.

Gypsy     (4)
Having never seen this classic American musical before, I can’t judge whether Audra McDonald’s portrayal of Madam Rose as an insufferably neurotic, egotistical harridan was par for the course; knowing that Ethel Merman originated the role I’m not sure that McDonald’s overmiked vocals that veered on screeching were unusual, but her operatic vibrato that seemed out of place on Broadway exaggerated the problem. She gave it her all, I will say, but all for what? I had had a hard time watching “Rose’s Turn,” her let-it-all-out finale, and put my hands over my ears to turn down the sound. I had always considered “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” a cheerfully optimistic number and “Small World” a sweet romance, but in McDonald’s hands they were songs of desperation. The other familiar number, “Together, Wherever We Go,” came across better, but only because Herbie (Daniel Burstein) and Louise (the excellent Joy Woods) were so devoid of ego they together balanced the self-centered Rose.
In short, I hated almost every minute of the production, with the notable exception of the three strippers singing “You Gotta Get a Gimmick.” The mood so lightened and I found myself smiling when Rose was nowhere to be seen. The dance numbers were fine, but they are almost a given in Broadway productions these days, and this clearly was a Broadway production. But “the great American musical”? I don’t think so.

The Last Laugh    (7)
A thoroughly enjoyable riff on British music-hall comedy, familiar to me from the Benny Hill TV show, imported from the Edinburgh Festival to Brits on Broadway at 59E59. Three aging comedians with different trademark styles exchange reminiscences, witticisms and bon mots in the final dressing room, adding a serious twist of triste to their routines.

Sinners – 7.8

One powerful movie. Ryan Coogler keeps us on the edge of our seats, guessing where the story is going before it explodes in our faces. There’s a lot about music, especially the blues, Southern culture, power, magic, sex (romance?) and race (the good guys are Native American, the bad guys white, and everyone in between in Black). I only wish I had closed-captioning, and maybe if Michael B. Jordan hadn’t played both brothers I could’ve told them apart.

Warfare – 7.3

A minute-by-minute recreation of Navy Seals under attack in Ramadi, Iraq, remarkably devoid of a point-of-view, unless it’s that war is, if not hell, not a lot of fun. Why the American soldiers are holed up in this building, who is attacking them, or even why America is in this war are not even hinted at, which makes watching this film a somewhat clinical exercise. This happened, and that seems to be enough for the filmmakers.

The Teacher – 8.1

Forget the context of the Palestinian-Israeli struggle, as if that were possible, this film succeeds as a wonderful human drama, a gripping story with superb lead performances by Saleh Bakri and Imogen Poots, both easy on the eyes. Then add the context of Palestinian life in the West Bank, even without Israel’s later all-out assault on Gaza, and the movie’s philosophical and political messages hit so much harder. Because it is a story well told and was filmed in comparatively controlled conditions, albeit on site, this is a much stronger and more watchable movie than the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. Major kudos to British filmmaker Fareh Nabulsi for pulling off a major movie with minimal resources.

Misericordia – 7

An affectless Jeremie returns to a small French village (apparent population: 6) and shakes everyone’s world while mainly strolling through beautiful fall woods with mushrooms sprouting. We’re never sure what’s on Jeremie’s mind; like many a good French film, it’s all about relationships. It gives us time to think, and wonder.

The Last Stop in Yuma County – 7.8

A fun and funny dramedy set in a remote Arizona diner where (spoiler alert) everyone gets killed. Everything you need to know about each character is evident from their looks, and is confirmed once they open their mouth. You feel like you’re watching a movie from the ’60s, with no stars, one set and a budget under a million. And unlike the France in Misericordia, the scenery is no advertisement for Yuma County.