Puppet Show at the Public Library was very Popular

What to do on a rainy day just after the holiday? I had the bright idea of going to see a puppet show at the Healdsburg Public Library; a free event open to the public. This bright idea on such a dreary day was not unique in any way.  Little did I think, so many other families would have the same idea. Believe it or not, this made for an especially fun, family outing. The large function room inside the entrance had umbrella stands for collecting sopping parasols, preventing the carpet floors from becoming sodden. There were plenty of chairs for adults positioned behind a large, marked off area for children to be seated on the carpet closer to the "castelet", a fancy French word for the theater structure where puppetry is performed.  A librarian kept the traffic flowing into chairs and floor spaces so the program was able to start promptly (a crucial factor in entertaining preschoolers.)  The show did began with a bang. Rusty the floppy dog was quite amusing. Rusty asked "Are you ready for the puppet show?"  He received a rousing yes to which he replied, "Okay, please bring your puppets up so we can begin.  This brought squeals of laughter.  "No one brought any puppets?  Oh no! Well, tell me what they look like?" responded Rusty while flopping upside down. The children who answered sincerely were listened to with rapt attention by Rusty who had one paw supporting his fluffy head.  "Okay, I think I may be able to find some of those down here. Give me a minute.'' Rusty hummed beautifully while the gold sequined curtain billowed on the "castelet".  A ring of Christmas lights graced the top.  "Okay, boys and girls, I think we're ready to begin today's puppet show 'Jack and the Beanstalk:.  Anyone know the story?"  Yes came the gleeful reply from a chorus of children.  Other puppets, all manipulated by hand from under the stage, included Jack, his mom, his kissing cow, the man who sold Jack the beans, a growing beanstalk, a giant and a golden egg laying chicken.  The kissing cow was particularly funny. The puppets came to life through the masterful manipulation and voicing of the friendly looking puppets (even the giant). Of course, the best effects of all  came from the laughter of the children. Furthermore, everyone in the audience was courteous and helpful.  Parents needed an extra hand, or a child needed a spot were forthcoming.  I guesstimate about a total attendance of 100.  I'm also giving this event a score of 100.  Be sure to go online or take a program listing events held that are free to the public and for all ages. I've been taking knitting and crocheting at the library in the evening and I've been enjoying the monthly book club held during the daytime. Your public library is where it's happening. 

SALTBURN-Sizzles with Steamy Sex but Only Simmers Overall/Barry Geogha/Jacob Elordi

The cinematic SALTBURN slowly simmers with wistful lustful longing by Oliver (Barry Keoghan) after Oxford classmate Felix (Jacob Elordi) through a school year until the end of the term.  With the onset of summer and supposedly no where else to go, Felix, offers his new friend Oliver an invite to come stay with him at his family's home, Saltburn.  Saltburn makes Downton Abbey look minuscule and shabby.  Still, for everyone (me included) who enjoys rambling through English manors and observing the elite's stifling  manner, this is the film for you. (And, me too.) The lady of the house, I mean the manor is Elsbeth Catton (the beautiful Rosamund Pike, played with an icy veneer) and the Lord of the manor is Sir James Canton (Richard Grant, "Game of Thrones"). The setting is stunning and the handsome actors are more than just pretty faces giving standout performances. Barry Keoghan who played a mentally challenged and abused son in "Banshees of Inisherin" has been nominated for an Acad. Award two Golden Globes and received a British Acad. Award is a talented actor and gives a beguiling portrayal of an obsequious outsider that soon makes himself at home in his opulent surroundings. Felix, born to wealth, accepts all the adoration bestowed because he feels himself as owed.  Classmate, cousin and charity case to Felix is Farleigh (a fierce Archie Madekwe) a nemesis to Oliver until he becomes won over by Oliver's sexual overtures.  The haunting cinematography, lush lifestyle portray a hedonistic hell that portends a comeuppance for all the luxuries and sensual pleasures partaken.  Felix ventures off the grounds of Saltburn on the morning of Oliver's birthday with a surprise drive for a family visit with Oliver's estranged widowed mother. Oliver doth protest too much on the road to turn around but it's too late and his deceitfulness is soon revealed. Felix agrees not to disclose Oliver's lies to his mummy and father who've planned a Greek Gods/Goddesses themed birthday celebration. In the shards of the party's carnage, the body of the prodigal son is discovered.  Stiff upper lip, there's still protocol and etiquette to be adhered. The numerous cringeworthy and salacious scenes in SALTBURN get under your skin.  It's the kind of film that you'll be hooked into finishing once you've started watching to its disconcerting ending. Not a holiday crowd pleasure but a scintillating voyeuristic escapade.

MAESTRO-Alas, No Master Class/Bradley Cooper Does Badly

MAESTRO, the biopic, musical movie about Leonard Bernstein's life stars acclaimed actor Bradley Cooper.  Cooper also co-wrote and directs this massive missed opportunity for a film depicting one of the most gifted and beloved musicians, composers, educators and conductors of the 20th C.  A prodigal pianist by age five, born to Russian immigrant parents in New York, Bernstein became a cause celebre' at 25 when he filled in to conduct the NY Philharmonic on short notice and got noticed by fans and musical muckety mucks, alike. Bernstein was hailed as a conductor who made classical music accessible to everyone, especially young people in his young people's concerts. These televised programs are emulated and used as teaching tools today.  One of the greatest musicals of all time to grace Broadway is "West Side Story".  Bernstein famously collaborated with renowned choreographer Jerome Robbins on "West Side Story," and also on the ballet "On the Town," one of NYC Ballet's iconic ballets.  My favorite scene was of Bernstein watching a rehearsal of "On the Town" with starry-eyed adulation. Was this for his music, dancing or for one of the male dancers.  This was not the first nod to Bernstein's homosexuality.  The morning he receives his life-changing call to conduct at Carnegie Hall, he hops onto his lover's back and plays the buttocks like bongos.  The main thrust of Bernstein's illustrious life centers around his intermittent flings with other men and while seeming to be flitting around his wife and family.  Filmed in black/white at the beginning of the film and in chroma color during his marriage to his wife Felicity (a compelling Carey Mulligan) and resuming black/white filming during his years as a widower  years as a living more openly gay was one of Cooper's artistic missteps as a director.  The cinematography was alluring but the artistic choices in mass were artifice devices which failed to suffice for a discordant story.  There were too many missing staccatos and missing beats needed for a resounding bio pick worth singing about. I wanted to hear about Bernstein's struggles as a composer or conductor.  What was his childhood like or his relationship with his parents (other dreaming of killing patricide). Symphonies contain several movements with pauses in between.  Oftentimes, novices mistakenly clap inappropriately and prematurely.  Cooper's directing felt as faux as his conducting Mahler's symphony and then showing Bernstein slobbering over Felicity after his less than faithful marriage which was at the core.  Overall I was left wanting to shout give us something much more than Leonard lusting for men again and again. 

The ETERNAL MEMORY-Doc.Too Personal for Mainstream Appeal

The very personal documentary film, "The Eternal Memory" covers a Chilean couple, Augusto and Paulina, both quite well-known in their home country.  Augusto, a former journalist who gained notoriety covering the political turmoil during Pinochet's dictatorship and Paulina, an accomplished actress and Cultural Minister. The footage spans their separate careers and their 25 years of marriage.  Augusto has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease which gives the film its center and surveys the bonds of love the two have sustained while adjusting to the strains of the disease. I found this film tried too hard to depict a poignant love story which is too often too personal, too intrusive and Augusto's benign personal and faulty memory, sadly pathetic.  A majority of time is filmed in the bedroom, with Augusto prone and Paulina providing him company.  The archival film of their earlier years shows a handsome couple, prominent in their careers and building their dream home. Sadly, their dream home is now, more or less, a confining castle in which Augusto is still able to navigate and be well-cared for. There's a scene of the couple taking a leisurely, hand-in-hand stroll which I found to feel staged. Paulina is still active in theatrical productions.  A very choreographed number shows Paulina rehearsing with the ensemble and the inclusion of Augusto dancing to his own-beat.  Some may find this sweet, I found it rather debasing.  True, Augusto appears happy and included.  But, let's not be deluded. Augusto's Alzheimer's disease has progressed to the point where he is no longer able to care for himself, and each morning is like ground-hog's day revisited. Paulina reintroduces herself and reminds him who he is, that they are married and that they' re in their shared bedroom.  The ETERNAL MEMORY is a self-indulgent exercise that doesn't fly in Peoria or outta Chile or the family's personal archive.  I wish Paulina and Augusto all the best. I  know this film was well intentioned but it misses the mark intended for mainstream viewing.    

Comedian Nimesh Pahtel-First Stand-up at LBT Hopefully not the Last

Last night in Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Theater, Nimesh Patel graced the stage with his erudite, cutting edge humor that poked fun at political candidates, religions while maintaining a friendly, relaxed banter. The audience had an Indian cartel representation who let their adoring presence be known to Patel at the behest of the rest of us. Even so, Patel was delighted by those who showed up (which left the upper balcony totally vacant). Perhaps, a small venue is more conducive to his style of stand-up; smart and laid back with equanimous, humorous attacks.  Pahtel put down presidential candidate Ramaswarmy calling him "smarmy with a terrible hair style and a bone to grind.  The kind of guy I went to school with that tattled on everyone."  Patel cleverly poked fun at the folklore and symbolism in Hinduism. He turned the tables on Christianity, particularly the symbol of Jesus on the cross and "Jesus is in the Karan." The Muslim faith was also fodder for funny jabs. All told, Pahtel's capriciousness in moving from one topic to another was strategic and similar to Dave Chapel's circuitous comic routines.  I found Pahtel's irreverent bravado  charming. His engagement with audience members, totally disarming. Pahtel's exchange with Tim, a weed grower in the area for more than a decade, provided a solid groundwork for jokes.  Pahtel developed this kernel into comedic genius. His irreverence, no holds barred approach made Pahtel a comedian at the top of their game, whose name should alongside his favorite comediennes, "Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle and Wanda Sykes." Chris Rock spotted Pahtel performing early in his career and hired him to write jokes for him. From there Pahtel went on to be an Emmy nominated writer for SNL.  "What are the 3 careers that Indian parents expect their children to pursue?" he called out to the audience.  On cue, the Indian contingency shouted out, "Dr. lawyer, or engineer!" Admitting to disappointing his parents after graduating NYU with a degree in finance, he side-stepped into comedy writing. But, he said they've supported him all along and he spoke fondly of the familial ties in Indian families with its scores of aunties and cousins.  Pahtel brought up his therapy and had a funny and touching conversation with a patron of his therapy. Pahtel's easy command on stage allotted hot topics from the Palestinian/Israeli war,  to providing porn for his dying papa. While performing at Columbia Univ. (2018) Pahtel was kicked off-stage for a joke made about being born black and gay as not being a choice. (Personally, I find his joke funny). Regardless, I disagree with his being censored. Pahtel was doing his job as a comedian. Let's all lighten up a little. Hearing Pahtel perform live last night was a tonic for toxicity. I particularly liked  his welcoming Q&A's with the crowd. Asked for his favorite joke he's written. He shared a joke about having annal sex with Mike Pence.  Hence, Pahtel is a comic whose star is rising quickly. Catch him live at smaller auditoriums. He didn't fill LBT but he's heading to MSG and I bet it will be a packed garden party. 

Irreverence

standup 

FREMONT-Not for the Masses but for Discerning Asses with Jeremy Allen White/Anaita Wali Zada

All joking aside, this black/white, blistering film is for anyone whose experienced isolation or torment. And, especially for pompous asses who clamor for this type of turgid drama drawn out at a snail's pace. For those whose interests I've piqued, it's now available on Apple.  You may grapple with why Jeremy Allen White agreed to be in this picture, albeit a fleeting few minutes. Someone with his star power has the power to pick and choose with little to lose and lots to gain.  Directed by Iranian born Babak Jalali who received a BAFTA Award for his short film "Heyday" and "Radio Dreams" which won the Hivos Tiger Award. The film focuses on Donya, played with great strength and nuance by Anaita Wali Zada, an  Afghan refugee herself, in the role of a recent immigrant who fled Afghan after serving as a translater for US intelligence.  Donya plays a haunted refugee struggling in a lonely purgatory. working a numb minding job in a Chinese cookie factory in Fremont.  She lives alone in a tiny walkup apartment amidst other recent Afghan immigrants battling their own ghosts.  Some ex-Afghans offer solace, the wizened waiter for one who keeps her company as she eats dinner from a slight distance and a weary Afghan closer in age who offers wisdom between long drags on his fags late at night on their adjoining walkway.  And, there are immigrants who shun Donya believing her a traitor. While working her tedious, fortune cookie stuffing and wrapping job, she's befriended by an overweight, body-pierced co-worker, Joanna. Joanna is on a mission to find a mate.  Their friendship appears the only respite staving feelings of total alienation.  With little to do outside work and a myriad of thoughts running through her mind. Donya suffers from insomnia. She's desperate to obtain a prescription for sleeping pills. Her cunning and resolute attitude manages to usurp a bureaucracy swarting all her efforts to obtain help.  Help comes in the way of a bizarre shrink (a dead-pan Gregg Turkington) as Dr. Anthony.  Dr. Anthony thinks the answers to life all stem from Jack London's novel, "White Fang." Donya devises a scheme to insert her tel. # advertising for a date on fortune cookie slips.  One cookie lands in the hands of the stingy, resentful wife who is a co-owner with her husband of the factory. The husband is kind and well-meaning. He refuses to fire Donya as his wife demands.  However, the wife constructs a cruel ploy luring Donya on a road trip to do a fool's errand. "How wise are they that are but fools in love?"* The car ride leads Zada to cross paths with a lonely auto-mechanic. They talk over lunch across separate booths inside an empty diner.  Don't miss out, take a chance on seeing this out-of-the-way, artsy film. It's a melancholy joyride, beautifully shot with superb acting.  Of course, this is a must see for the asses even if they aren't able to articulate what makes this unassuming movie so appealing.       

*Unknown-fortune cookie slip

KILLERS of the FLOWER MOON-Flows Slow with Leo and DeNiro

KILLERS of the FLOWER MOON ("KFM") is a cinematic feature broadly based on David Grann's historic book.  KFM conveys the heinous murders of scores of people of the Osage nation. These rampant killings went uncontested by law enforcement in the 1920s. A shameful note: the OK massacre of the African Amer. population and businesses also took place in 1921.  A scene in K FM is in theater and a newsreel is depicting the Tulsa Race Massacre.  Both melees in OK have mostly gone unheralded as the mass murders were committed by resentful, white people with the intent to raze both races and confiscate their lands and fortunes. The film also shows the Klan marching proudly and unobstructed down the town's main streets. Dir. Scorsese is to be commended for the historic significance he's canonizing on film. The conveyance of under represented blights on humanity must not be ignored.  There's much to admire in this epic feature, beautifully filmed and acted.  Scorscese tapped into his reliable/bankable A listers.  The  brilliant ensemble cast include DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Robert DeNiro as (Ernest's uncle, William Hale), Jessie Plemmons (FBI investigator, Tom White) and a bravado performance by Lily Gladstone (Ernest's wife Mollie Burkhart of the Osage nation).  The film is a demanding 4 hour saga difficult to sit through in its entirety. The events and people are factual but this murderous/crime thriller fails to rouse above a tepid tempo of intrigue.  The duplicitous killers are known to the viewer. Nevertheless, the plot needlessly  meanders at a plodding pace lacking suspense.  The impact of the premeditated intermarrying in order to siege Osage's oil land rights and then assassinating spouses and family members didn't register strong enough shock or repugnance. Ernest courts and marries Mollie as instructed by his svengali uncle, William and then slowly tries poisoning her while coddling her as she writhes in pain. These scenes were agonizing to watch. However, DiCaprio with a Gomer Pyle pout and blank expression was pitifully malleable without seeming credible.  DeNiro's narcissism and justifications for destroying the Osage to enrich himself fared better in his cringeworthy role. Plemmons, as an FBI investigator Tom White was summoned to OK after Mollie ventured to D.C., met with the Pres. Harding to plead for protection for her people being slain.  Plemmons was intriguing in his portrayal as an unassuming and stalwart investigator.  Ultimately, Scorsese's fact based storytelling unveiled a domestic intimacy that didn't feel  immediate or despondent enough to evoke terror or pathos. Ernest gushed, "I love money, I surely do," at the poker table but don't bet on him convincing a sagacious Mollie he's a devoted, selfless husband. FKM does justice to events long brushed aside.  Yet, it doesn't fully broker the horror or abhorrence committed against the Osage nation.       

Matteo Bocelli Makes Beautiful Music at LBT

Italian rising star, Matteo Bocelli (son of opera legend, Andrea Bocelli) is taking aim at fame on the pop star track in the United States. Already a well known artist in Europe, Matteo hopes to grow his fan base here. Last night's performance portends the likelihood Matteo will likely gain popularity rapidly for his tenor recordings which have garnered several Grammy Awards and for his ingratiating appeal.  Yes, I was smitten with the offspring of the great Andrea Bocelli who has also been named one of PEOPLE"s 50 Most Beautiful People.  Matteo's inherited talent and good from his famous father.  Fans in the theater waved their iPhones inside Luther Burbank Theater in appreciation of last evening's one night show.  It's fair to say Matteo does not possess the full richness of Andrea's resounding vocal (at least yet).  There is a similarity that reverberated in his ballads.  Matteo came onstage without fanfare and sat at the concert sized Steinway accompanying his first song.  He told the crowd this was his first US tour then introduced us to the musicians performing with him.  His musical entourage included keyboard, acoustic guitar, violin, viola, cello and electric cello.  The cellist doubled up playing a neon lit electric cell and the keyboard player performed on guitar and piano.  Colorful lighting in crimson red and midnight blue added to the high-spirited concert.  The smoky haze emitted was more of a distraction.  Matteo came down in the aisle and flirted jovially with female fans while her husband raised his arms in resignation.  Matteo encouraged audience members to dance. There were several takers along with a bodacious woman in a form fitting jumpsuit that made a more salacious sideshow than Matteo may have intended.  After a few songs, Matteo's voice smoothed out and built-up fuller sounding.  I preferred hearing the love ballads  that were sung in Italian and best emulated his father's style.  Tony Bennett was a mentor and close friend whom Matteo spoke of lovingly.  While Matteo's vocal range was limited, his sex appeal was not.  Towards the later part of the program, standing ovations were given after each number.  When he announced the last number, audible bellows of "No!  Uno mass!" were heard.   Having left after the first encore, I could detect roars of applause way out in the parking lot leading to a second encore.  We'll be hearing and seeing more of this dynamic artist who is a chip off his father's shoulder and someone who holds his own on stage.  Bravo Matteo!

Open Poetry Reading at 222

Poetry is an art dish best served up spoken aloud.  "Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen," as best described by Leonardo da Vinci. The free poetry program welcoming orators of their poems was held last evening at the 222 in Healdsburg.  The evening was hosted by Rev. Sally Hubbell of the Rector of St. Paul's Church.  Rev. Sally is also the Community  Prog. Dir. for the 222. She began the evening on a somber note. She said poetry exacts something from her in ways that many things don't do and then quoted Emily Dickinson, "It is difficult to get the news from poems yet men die miserably every day for lack of what is found there."  The Rev. said what many of us are feeling from the news today is oppressive and requires her to step away at times.  I concurred and considered listening to poetry recited as a means to elevate my spirit on a rather cold Sunday evening.  Rev. Sally encouraged those reciting to offer an explanation as to what inspired their poems.  The disparate participants ranged in ages from 15-85. Both men and women were equally represented. The Rev. sought unifying themes in subject matter of the poems which really didn't matter.  What mattered most for me was the gift of sharing proffered by the poets.  As Dylan Thomas wrote, "A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it.  A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him." A few poems read actually took my breath away. One lovely woman with long blonde hair and knee high black boots said this was her first time reading her poetry in front of an audience. I surmised her to be an aspiring actress. She urged us, "feel for a pulse in the stars around you. Do things that don't cost money. Read poetry, write anything." This reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut's quote, "Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something." An 84 year old aspiring poet told us she had suppressed her creativity and is now feeling "surprise and courage again".  Her poem was entitled "Leap of faith." My favorite poem was by Jacquelyn Wells, a gifted playwright who was "taking a stab at poetry". Her poem she named "November" struck a chord in me. She called the month, "Nasty as a bear roused from slumber".  I was hypnotized by her personification of Nov.  I am paraphrasing from her verse, ."..Nov. has shards of strong fingers and dances on the moon. Nov.is a solitary guy searching for secrets in the rocks."  A 15 year old male eagerly shared his poetry. He explained it was from a school assignment.  A male reader donning a Santa hat read his rhyming poems which were eulogies for his mom, dad and cousin drunken toasts heralded at wakes.  Another gentleman wrote a poem after the Israeli/Hamas war and hearing the repeated chant, "I stand with Israel". His poem resounded with proselytizing. "I stand with dignity...pleading with humanity," but his  line, "buried by the same earth" resonated.  The next reader was a young woman whose poetry came from the conflicts between her and her mother. "I'm going to forgive you until my heart has a shiner." Her poetry would've won a slam poetry contest.  A very clever and biting poem talked about pretentious diners, "I pick cilantro from my teeth to the annoyance of manicured man."   I applaud all the participants for their creativity and generosity.  "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find how far one can go."  T.S. Elliott  There will be a Prose Reading Event at The 222 on Feb. 25th and I will be there to listen and perhaps to share. 

SRJC'S A CHRISTMAS CAROL the Musical

Charles Dickens' A CHRISTMAS CAROL is a Christmas classic that has been performed in numerous iterations with a broad array of Ebenezer Scrooges.  Some iconic stars who've graced the role are Tom Hanks, Albert Finney, Michael Caine, Mr. MaGoo and of course, Scrooge McDuck. This beloved holiday story of redemption was given a musical adaptation by Alan Menken.  It was performed in MSG from 1994 to 2003.  Menken is the musical genius who composed many scores for Disney's including A LITTLE MERMAID and BEAUTY and the BEAST.  The SRJC's ambitious production adapted Mencken's music.  A live orchestra performed under the musical direction of Nate Riebli winner of the SFBATCC Award for "Excellent Achievement in Music Direction (2018).  A full cast accompanied by Mencken's music pumped vitality and enchantment into Dickens' beloved tale. The delightful and dynamic cast included top vocal performances by Alana Weatherby as the Host of Christmas Past (a current SRJC student) and a very convincing Ebenezer, played with umbrage and later with compassion by Justin Smith.  Smith has appeared in roles in films such as "The Right Stuff" and the TV series "General Hospital".  The cast also included young performers who added warmth especially in the full ensemble musical numbers, "Hear the Bells" and "Abundance and Charity".  Several minor missteps in choreography added an inimitable charm.  Choreographed by Tamara Grose, choreographer for NYC Dance Congress & the Nat'l Thespian Society. Her steps and staging shined brightly in the "Annual Christmas Ball" and set the tones beautifully for bustling, wintry London streets.  The elaborate costumes from topcoats and tails to ragamuffin garbs looked authentic. The lighting shifted in colors and tones, enhancing the Victorian era.  Special shout outs for the two signers who provided signing throughout the show.  Bravo!  For humbugs who are unfamiliar with the plot, Scrooge is a miserly, mean curmudgeon. Scrooge hoards his wealth and  rebukes acts of generosity oe kindness.  But, he's given a miraculous opportunity to reckon with his life and perhaps change his heartfelt ways after being led on a magical journey by spirits into the past, present and future.  One of the reasons this story has such staying power is its alluring storytelling that encompases empathy, hope and forgiveness.  Today is the last day for this first rate production priced incredibly low starting at $15 for 12 and under, $20 for students and $25 regular price.  A CHRISTMAS CAROL makes for a lovely holiday tradition for the entire family.  Hurry it's not to late.  Don't be a Scrooge, have a heart and do your part to support your local theater and God bless us, everone!