Melissa McCarthy in "Life of the Party" Gets a Failing Grade in a Mom Goes Back to College Movie

Deanna (the irrepressible comedic actress Melissa McCarthy) plays a mother dropping her daughter Helen, (35 year old Gillian Jacobs) off for her senior year at college.  Just moments later her husband drops a bombshell she didn't see coming, he's dropping her for another woman (Julie Bowen).  This movie is an abomination.  It's a sickening mixed concoction of "An Unmarried Woman" "Mean Girls" "Old School" and "Cougar".  It's more than enough to make you puke.  Helen is now determined to pursue her college degree which she dropped when she became pregnant with her daughter.  Only now, she's matriculated to college at the same university as her daughter.  Remember the college boyfriend you wished you could have a do over?  Don't go see this film.  This will be time you'll regret and can never get back.  Helen (and all her sorority sisters who are too old for their roles) are a ragtag mix of misfits.  They are won over by Deanna's old college try and perkiness.  Helen gives her mom a make over do over and brings her along to a frat party.  The cougar relationship between Deanna and handsome student Jack made me want to hack.  Having sex in the stacks?  Really?  This movie is worse than waking to remember you have a paper due that you didn't do.  Maya Rudolph as Deanna's best friend added some humor.  This worked because they're on the same page.  Signing McCarthy up in this film is an embarrassingly pathetic walk of shame.

The Revival of Mark Medoff's "Children of a Lesser God" Is Less than It Could be

The revival of Mark Medoff's Tony winner for best play (1980) feels amiss despite the two outstanding leads.  James (Joshua Jackson) does the heavy lifting signing & speaking for both himself and Sarah (Lauren Ridloff in a heartfelt Broadway debut).  Too much weight is shouldered by the two which burdens the storytelling.  James is the new speech teacher at the school for the deaf where he meets Sarah, a former student who stayed on as a border & housekeeper.  James is assigned to work with Sarah to get her to speak.   Sarah is not a willing pupil and makes her refusal to speak known, "I don't do things that I can't do well."  The fractious teacher/pupil relationship turns into a love match.  But their love is fraught with friction.  There is mounting frustration felt by both.  The shortcomings with the play stem from a riddled script, flimsy sets and flawed audio.  Too much of the dialogue gets lost in translation.  However, the prescient messaging of the play resounds clearly.  The multi-racial cast echoes the struggle to feel empathy versus pity and proffering help without browbeating.  Grammy & Tony winning composer Brandford Marsalis' score underlines the disability of deafness to fully appreciate the gifts of music.  The play signals a reckoning for failing to inhabit & embrace one another's worlds.  And, undermining and under valuing people for themselves is sinful.

THE MET "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination - Crucifixion Depictions Inspire Beauty

The MET's new Fashion Institute's Show is a glorious gathering of Catholic papal robes and religious adornments poised in a wondrous contemplative dialogue with design & fashion.  The Papal robes are crafted with remarkably intricate and exquisite artistry that the depiction of religious figures and biblical events can be appreciated apart from religious convictions for their breathtaking and awe inspiring depiction of beauty.   Many of these creations from the Vatican & Sistine Chapel have never been made accessible to the public until now.  This is reason enough to be curious to view these rare & spiritually anointed religious vestiges:  chalices, headpieces, shoes, gloves and cloaks.  The items are showcased to gain intimate access to the fine artisan details and heavily designs.  The bejeweled robes, head pieces and cloaks are hypnotic in their majesty.  Together these religious elements evoke a hierachy of submission and a surprising secular sense of serenity.   The liturgical music anchors the exhibit in an ambience of sanctity.   The fabulous fashion exhibit on the main floor is inspired & resplendent with reference to the Catholic religious garments & symbols derived from the 1800s Catholic Church.  The saucy, stunning & elegant fashions show a creative homage that takes design to a revered & fanciful homage.  The iconic designer names include Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, McQueen, Dior and more.  The references to outfits worn by nuns, priests and the Virgin Mary are funky, stylish, irreverent and resplendent.   The clever & delightful designs may be deemed as metaphoric tributes to beauty inspired by passion rather than fervent religious convictions. "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" is aptly titled and worthy of an open minded viewing that will be greatly rewarded.

Jason Reitman's "Tully" Stars Charlize Theron as an Overwhelmed and Overwrought Mother of 3

Motherhood never looks or feels good in Jason Reitman's film "Tully".  Tully is the maiden name of Marlo (Charlize Theron) which we learn when her husband Drew (Ron Livingston) is filling out paperwork at a hospital following a near fatal DUI.  Dir/producer Jason Reitman's films ("Juno" & "Up in the Air") handle life's rough patches with an uplifting & loving touch.  "Tully" never floats  out from under the malaise of motherhood's overwhelming demands.  Marlo & Ron are married with 2 children and about to have their 3rd child.  The film is overwrought with tension & drudgery. Their son Jonah is described as quirky, a euphemism for somewhere on the autistic scale. She's informed by the director of the posh private school which has accommodated her children thanks to her brother (Mark Duplass) being a large benefactor.  At the end of the school year, shortly after the birth of their baby, the school's director (Gameela Wright) informs Marlo although Jonah is loved at the school it's not the right fit & will no longer be accepted.  Marlo's successful brother attempts to be Marlo's benefactor offering a night nurse to enable her to rest and better cope.  The night nurse (Mackenzie Davis) seems a free spirited nymph who magically cleans their home, bakes cupcakes and shakes up things in the bedroom.  Things turn from dreary to bizarre as the night nanny becomes a Svengali to Marlo leading her astray.  Despite an excellent cast led by Theron, there is nothing fulfilling in "Tully" a film of pre & postpartum depression unless Reitman is on a mission to deglamorize and stave off parenthood.

Kyle Abraham A.I.M. at the Joyce World Premiere "Meditation" and "Drive" (2017)

Kyle Abraham is the artistic director /choreographer of A.I.M.  The dance company has been performing at the Joyce this past week.  The world premiere of Abraham's "Meditation: A Silent Prayer" is a sombre tribute to young people of color who have been killed by police officers those vindicated in their deaths.  The piece was a liturgy of mourning for "fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, friends" who were murdered.  The shocking audio tape of Philando Castile's girlfriend speaking to the officer who fatally shot him is heard.  Dancers move lethargically through space and lie prone resembling corpses "laying outside uncovered for hours".  The backdrop is of 3 black men whose eyes blurred eyes look as if they're looking in multi-directions.  The potency of the choreographed piece is its political statement that aches with suffering & injustice.   "Drive" choreographed (2017) by Abraham showcases the talented dancers fluidity and versatilities.  It's a glorious representation of inspiring bodily movements encapsulating vast human emotion.

Susan Stroman's "The Beast in the Jungle" Is Not a Thriller in Manila or An American in Paris

The combined talents of dir/choreographer Susan Stroman ("Contact" & "The Producers"), Tony nominated playwright David Thompson and Tony winning composer John Kander ("Cabaret" & "Chicago") has all the makings for a real knock out show only it falls flat.  This dated production, based on Henry James' novel is trite.  The dance play is ephemeral fluff lacking in bite.  The flashback storytelling of young lovers who missed their chance at love because of a haunting emotional trauma that led Young (played by Tony Yazbeck) to flee his beloved May (Irina Dvorovenko, a former ABT dancer) packed a mere powder puff jab.  The two leads went a few rounds with some charming though uninspiring choreography.  Michael Curry's scenic designs were  corny.  The only knock out punch came from Kander's original score performed live.  Stroman leads this "Jungle" into a bungled beast.  It's a sleepy, tangled mess that's not worth going the distance.

NY Historic Society "Walk This Way" Shoes from the Private Collection of Stuart Weitzman

Surely this would seem to be a fun & frivolous promenade through a gallery of glamorous shoes perhaps adorned by celebrities.  But as they say, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did only backwards and in heels and this show is more than just a shoe fetish find.  The shoes are from the Stuart Weitzman private collection (which is why I thought it was going to be shoes from their own commercial business).  The shoes are laced in with history.  On display you'll find shoes worn by the suffragettes, by the factory workers; shoes that hold relevance to history for women's achievements and struggles.  There are the shoes for the working woman as well as designer shoes for haute couture.  The pictures tied in and the curatorial notes support femininity, self-empowerment and progress.  The artisanal craft of designing & creating shoes shine brightly.  There are cushy seats you'd find in high end shoe stores for you to sit and take some weight off your feet before tallying forth.  This show is fun, enlightening and more rewarding than a 1/2 off shoe sale.  The 3 winning designs selected at the end of the show are worth noting.  You'll also find an original pair of Ginger Roger's shoes from the film "Top Hat".

Laughing Stock Production "randy writes a novel" Is a Novel Comedic Approach to Pondering Life's Ironies

It was no surprise that Laughing Stock Production of "randy writes a novel" was a one puppet show.  What was delightfully surprising, was how entertaining, erudite and unique an experience  this comedy sketch which stretched into something inordinately funny & thought provoking.  Randy is an elastic pink headed sock puppet with white bulging eyes.  He looked something like a pepto bismal colored Kermit with a similar saucy & sincere attitude.  Randy announces himself as the opener for the opening act which is in fact Randy.  He promises "fucking magic" as he interacts with the audience in the manner of a live stand-up comic appearing on stage.  However, this comic only rises above his boxed facade as a ruse for a faux figurehead. The gimmick acts as a friendly mask in establishing a jocular rapport with the audience.  The initial comic material of observational humor is LOL.  And, once the puppet has the crowd in hand the show transforms into a prologue of iconic literary writers as a preamble to reading us his novel.  Randy's bantering of where you're from & what do you uncovered 2 UN employees; one from India and one from Australia "here trying to save the world."  Randy asked their biggest fears.  "Fear of people's stupidities."  An elitist fear replied Randy.  The show juxtaposes jokes of masturbation with procrastination from reading aloud his novel.  Randy shifts from his comedic schtick to more enlightening topics of Buddhism, existentialism and mortality.  The musings of a pink sock puppet pull some about face twists although Randy concedes the show was "billed as a comedy." This ingenious Laughing Stock production pushes the boundaries of communication and disconnection.  Art is meant to push your thoughts in another direction. Who'd have thought such clever philosophical comedy could come from a faux facsimile of a live stand-up comedian?    

Dance Works in Progress Featuring Liz Gerring, Shannon Gillen and Abby Zbikowski at 92nd Y - WOW!

The Harkness Dance Center May 4, 2018 "The Body in Action" featured 3 Dance Companies' works in progress under the direction of 3 choreographers/artistic directors:  Liz Gerring, Abby Zbikowski and Shannon Gillen.   This was an intimate and exciting exposure to the choreographers' creative process and the demanding rigors required of the dancers.  Gillen said her piece "Superbloom" was inspired by the sudden burst of flowers & vegetation in AZ where she lives that surface immediately following a rainfall & shortly thereafter wither & die.  Having this concept it was discernible in the dancers vibrant largess of movements followed by listless & shriveling motions.  Zbikowski spoke about her dance bio and that of her dancers and their collaborations.  The 4 consecutive sections were performed without pause and unaccompanied by music.  The two dancers wore sneakers that added discordant squeaks to their frantic darting which felt like a rigid aerobic exercise.  Gerring's "Field work-in-progress" was the more complex and stimulating choreographed piece.  She shared her thought process & problem solving in terms of controlled spatial relationships, tautness and repose.  "Field" was far & wide the most developed and engrossing work.  The 6 dancers (for a work being developed for 7) showed amazing strength and graceful control.  The panel following the dancing part of the program included Gerring, Zbikowski and one of the dancers.  Listening to the choreographers question each other's intentions and struggles was an incisive master class into the undertaking of expressing their motives.

A Night with the Paris Review - Selected Shorts Performed by Actors Linda Lavin, Jin Ha and Others

A Night with the Paris Review is always a good idea.  The Paris Review is a prestigious & influential literary magazine credited with publishing talented new writers such as Philip Roth, David Foster and T. C. Boyle to name a few.   Last night at Symphony Space, we were treated to a reading/performance of 5 short stories published in the Paris Review. The Review was founded by expatriates George Plimpton and Peter Mathiessen. The stories were incredibly intriguing, funny, peculiar, melancholy & bizarre.  Each talented actor gave voice and theatrics to the varied & remarkable stories.  "How to Travel with a Salmon" by Umberto Eco was performed by Jin Ha recently featured on NBC's Jesus Christ Superstar.  The exasperating "fish" tale is of an American writer's frustrations while staying in a foreign hotel whose operations need modernization and a better system of communication.  Ha's annoyance mounts in this absurdly convincing comedy of errors.  George Fox's "The 26th Second" is a dark comedy of a married couple who bicker over the husband's secret suicide pill just uncovered by the wife.  Marital discord & mistrust was performed with perfection by Tony & Emmy winner Linda Lanvin.  "Marabou" is written by Joy Williams a recipient of the Paris Review's Lifetime Achievement Award.  This was bizarre & morose.  A story of a mother the day she buries her 26 year old son from a drug overdose.  Two time Emmy winner Michael Emerson voiced the grieving mother mourning amongst her son's friends also struggling with addictions.   The most energetic reading came from actress Colby Minifie  currently seen in Marvel's "Jessica Jones".  Her performance of "The Weirdos" by Ottessa Moshfegh, winner of the Hemingway/PEN Award was incredibly entertaining.  It's an odd LA love story.  A young man manages a rundown  LA apartment complex while aspiring to be an actor.  Moshfegh's blend of humor, eccentric characters & discernible descriptions was irresistible.   Minifie's reading brought clarity & comedy to a quirky tale.  The evening was a tribute to talented & unique writers & actors.  It was tremendously pleasing to have these selected shorts brought to life.