LAND HO, Let the Good Times Roll for Seniors in Scenic Iceland

LAND HO is a beautifully shot film throughout Iceland.  It is written & dir. by Amer. filmmakers, Aaron Katz (Pilgrim's Song '12) & Martha Stephens (Cold Weather '11.)  Interestingly,  these 2 young, Amer. filmmakers not only capture the majestic landscape of Iceland but the friendship between 2 grizzled old men; retired yet not ready "to walk off into the sunset."  Mitch contacts his ex-bro-in-law Colin,  & convinces him to go on an all expense paid vacation by him to Iceland.  Colin is still grieving the loss of his wife.  He is the more sedate of the pair.  Mitch, is vociferous & over-bearing but both are likable, kind hearted men who find themselves living alone at this late stage in life.  Yet, both are open to adventure & the possibilities of companionship.  Mitch although controlling, is a man of mirth & generous spirit.  Mitch's zest for living soon melts away Colin's reserve.  They find themselves having fun & allowing for new experiences like the "bursting geyser" they watch with glee.  As Mitch say's "Life is too short to sit still.  Nice thing is, good time are still to come."  This charming buddy road trip movie is a tribute to companionship and the joys in store for those who remain forever young at heart.  LAND HO is a must GO.  "Grow old with me, the best is yet to be." (R. Browning)

Melinda's Hiatus, My Best Hit/Miss List

While I'm away, for those who stay, what I suggest was best.  For those who stay - what got away.

Melinda's top picks so far:

1.  Shakespeare in Central Park - King Lear (free)
2.  Holler if Ya Hear Me - (Bwy)
     Argh!  What's wrong with you people, this was great; oops to late.
3.  After Midnight (Bwy)
      Ugh - don't get me started - this phenomenal show was overlooked.
4.  Lady Day (Bwy)
     Audra McDonald is one the greatest ladies to grace the Great White Way.
5.  Violet (Bwy)
      Sutton Foster - ditto.
6.  The Who & The What - (Off B'wy)
      Extended but closing soon - get going!
7.  Lincoln Center Festival (gone with the summer wind)
     Free events & ticketed events - Always check out what's going on around Lincoln Ctr Plaza
8.  Savion Glover (Joyce)
     One of the greatest tap dancers & artists.  (Missed it!)
9.  BOYHOOD -Film
     An incredible movie experience.
10. The Kill Team (Doc. Film)
     Tough going but a must see.

See you in September!

THE WHO & THE WHAT- Is for Everyone about What's Acceptable

The Claire Tow Theater (LCT3) @ Lincoln Ctr. is the latest & greatest welcomed addition to Lincoln Ctr.  Although it has been opened for a yr. this was my 1st opportunity as tickets for this intimate theater ($20/show) sell out almost immediately.  The play was extended & I purchased tickets @ "$50 because it was extended."  Still, this show was well worth the dough.  It's a very intelligent play that questions the ability to question everything you were taught to know.  Playwright Ayad Akhtar (Amer. b 1970 to Pakistani Parents) won a Pulitzer in '13 for  DISGRACED.  His new play, THE WHO & THE WHAT is a courageous, brilliant & entertaining play that questions our beliefs, values & priorities.  It has the audacity for blasphemy. WHAT, if anything should be considered sacrosanct? To WHAT extent should religious beliefs be maintained?  This 4 character contemporary play is about an Amer. Muslim family.  The father, Mahwish is from Pakistan & lives with 2 his adult daughters.  Mahwish (Tala Ashue) is a doting but controlling father.  His marriage was prearranged.   He tells his daughters that their marriage became very loving after 3 years.  Mahwish forbade his daughter, Zarina, from marrying the Catholic man she loved because he was not of their faith.  Zarina is strong minded & curious.  Mahwish surreptitiously arranges for Zarina to meet Eli (Greg Keller) who is white and a devout, converted Muslim.  Zarina is arduously working on a book she describes as "gender politics." Her father believes this an euphemism for "sex crazed."  The book is far more tumultuous. The 2nd act begins with Zarina & Eli married and the book completed.  Eli's honest reaction is not what Zarina hoped to hear.  Eli is concerned she desecrated the prophet & they will be ostracized & put in grave danger.  Mahwish becomes hostile & ballistic.  He banishes Zarina from the family.  This play parralleled FIDDLER.  Both Mahwish & Tevyah are good hearted, & open minded but they both drew a line with their religious convictions.  If an artist hasn't won the Pulitzer in consecutive years, Ayad may be the 1st WHO does just THAT.

KING LEAR-The Sovereign Summer Experience in Central Park

The tempests forecast  defied last night by a clear summer wind allowing thespicans the opportunity to experience Shakespeare's timeless eloquence the way it was intended, outdoors, in the round & accessible to all.  (Being that it is free to the public, is also a wonderful gift - but that makes obtaining 2 tickets/person onerous.  (Long ques surrounding the Delacorte Theater are a daily scene starting whilst sleeping under the stars, perchance to dream of nabbing the coveted prize.)   King Lear is not dear to my heart.  It is the story of the King's insanity, sisterly vanity & vying for their "entitled" inheritance, ultimately leading to murder (sisters fighting; tsk tsk.)  The stellular cast brought some celebrity cache to the program:  John Lithgow, Annette Bening, & Jessica Hect.  However, the fault in the stars lay with the substellular performance of Bening whom seemed anachronistic in her role as Goneril and (Tony winning actress) Hecht (Regan,) her voice protests the beauty of Shakespeare's words.  (Not to mention the noticeable flubbed lines by both.)  As for Lithgow, he played a convincing crazy - but then that should be child's play.  I was impressed with the performances of actors, Jay O. Sauders who played Kent and by Steven Boyer who played Lear's Fool with wit & intelligence.  The scenice & lighting designs were first-class.  The choreographed fights were thrilling & convincing.  Shakespeare productions in Central Park art more lovely & more temperate than a summer's day.

The Doc. "THE KILL TEAM" War Makes Killing a Team Sport

My, oh my, another heinous lesson not learned from the Mai Lai Massacre in Viet Nam.  Doing the right thing is not easy, or safe for a soldier in a platoon when the Sgt. is a bully bent on giving orders that are out of order.  You want the truth?  The truth is hard to deliver & harder to handle. Under the guise of honor, code, loyalty, Sgt. Gibbs set up scenarios in which his fellow platoon members were told to shoot "worthless Afghanistans" for the pleasure of the kill & "war souvenirs,"  i.e. bones from the corpses for necklaces.  Gibbs, maintains the killings were in self-defense, but he made his own noose.  Gibbs is serving a life sentence for the killing of 3 Afghan. civilians.  During the Viet Nam conflict, more than 500 Vietnamese civilians were murdered.  Only 1 official was convicted of any crime, Lt. William Calley.  Sgt. Gibbs along with 3 other  soldiers under his command in Afghan. were  found guilty of murder.  This Doc. focuses on Specialist Adam Winfield.  He alerted his parents of a civilian killing in Jan. '10 under the command of his Sgt.  He also made it clear via emails, he feared for his own safety should he become a whistle blower.  Winfield's father attempted to contact army officials only to be told "unless you son's story is corroborated, it's 30 against 1 & there was nothing to be done."  Adam's account of staged, ruthless killings of Afghan. civilians was corroborated by PFC Justin Stoner who paid the price: "snitches get stitches."  The travesty is Winfield did participate in one such murder in May '10, for which he was tried and sentenced to 3 years in addition to 1 year served & a dishonorable discharge.  Acad. Award nom dir./producer ((The Most Dangerous Man in Amer. '10) does a brilliant job of showing the brutalities of war.  It also arouses our sympathy for Winfield, "I never wanted to kill anybody."  Winfield laments, "I wish could go back & fix things."  PFC Stoner, who reported what was happening to his superiors, has utter disdain for American civilians "You train us to kill & then you get pissed off when we do it."  What's worse, "This is a common occurrence, just this regiment got caught."

Mala Hierba @ 2nd Stage Theatre Uptown is a Downer

What's the play about?  It's about $20 & 2 blocks from the Beacon.  The 1 act, 4 character play is by Mexican playwright Tanya Saracho (writer for TV's "Girls" & "Devious Maids") whose characters switch between English/Spanish leaving many in the audience in the dark.  Basically, this is a dark, melodramatic lesbian love affair that turns deadly.  Martiza is the beautiful Mexican trophy wife of a rich TX politician.  She is often seen before her vanity, putting on make-up.  Almost incessantly by her side is Yuya;, her maid, mother figure, punching bag.  The wealthy abusive husband has a daughter, Liliana, a self-centered, manipulative, self-destructive college age daughter (although she has dropped out without notifying her controlling father.)  Liliana, is played by Marta Milans who is making her theatrical debut gave a convincing performance.  Liliana brings home a mysterious, butch woman, Fabiolo whom she knew as an old "friend" of Maritza's.  As it turns out, their friendship is a long running sexual relationship.  Fabiolo pleads with Martiza to flee with her from  TX & move to Chicago with her.  The soap opera conflict, which Yuya reminds Maritza, is her family's total dependence on the money she provides them from her rich husband.  Need I say more?  Well, for $20 this is live entertainment and it's never dull.  And, Mala Hierba is a Spanish u-Tube video of a sexy woman dancing in leather bondage.

Woody Allen's New Movie MAGIC in the MOONLIGHT Touches Old Ground

Woody Allen's newest movie, MAGIC in the MOONLIGHT, is a charming & delightful old fashioned romantic comedy that delves into a redux of Allen's old themes:  death, after life & the meaning of life.  These themes are presented in a refreshing & beguiling new manner.  Sophie (Emma Stone) is a psychic medium who can read minds & speak with the dearly departed.  Stanley (Colin Firth - I'll see  him in anything) plays a curmudgeonly magician who makes a living deceptively entertaining & lives to debunk fellow charlatans.  The cast which includes Marcia Gay Harden as Sophie's mom & British actress, Eileen Atkins as Stanley's crusty aunt are all divine.  The movie is deceptively clever, raising questions of faith, evolution, spiritualism & mysticism.  Stanley speaks to Allen's previous views  "One hopes for super powers but there is only 1 with a black robe."  The transformation & enchantment comes with the epiphany "there is more to life than meets the eye."  There is the "foolish logic" of falling in love which is itself lunacy.  But without this magical lunacy life would be a dreary shambles.  See this old fashioned romantic romp before it disappears from theaters.

Christopher Wiilliams: The Production Line of Happiness @ MoMA

The Production Line of Happiness scheduled to open Monday, is more intriguing for its curatorial format than perhaps the culmination of the work.  Christopher Williams (Amer. b. 1956) love for photography is infectious.  This is largely due to his manipulation of vivid primary colors, particularly yellows & reds which draw you into the photos & sparks your imaginative input.  The exhition consists primarily of Williams' photos but there are playful architectural partitions which enhances the focus onto the works.  Before entering the exhibit, the entrance is painted in stoplight red with large print giving a timeline for Williams works & gallery exhibitions.  There is a stack of red pamphlets that will curate the exhibit as you walk through the galleries.  The artwork inside are mounted without any plaques or written information on the walls except for large architectural structures with large text that is not entirely decipherable.  I glanced at the verbse brochure & chose not to read it or bring it with me. Other patrons were more preoccupied reading their leaflets rather than engaging with the art.  The 1st photo as you enter is of 3 colored buttons, red, yellow, green and a finger on the green button; a witty  start.  There are numerous black/white photos of landscapes & plants, making the singular colorful floral photo appear glowing.  The black/white photos of Hoover dam reminded me of works by Ansel Adams.  There were photos of supergraphic structures which evoked solitude.   These photos were in opposition to the last gallery which held Williams' iconic colored photo of attractive woman with a yellow towel wrapped around exuding radiance.  The last wall of the gallery in the corner, was a black/white photo of a black man in white shirt holding a camera facing outwards with a resplendent smile.  The Production Line of Happiness is a reminder - we are all creators of our own happiness.

Charles James BEYOND FASHION-Creative Designer Surpasses Couture

British fashion designer, Charles James (1906-78) is known "as America's 1st Couturier" which is paradoxical because, a. he's British and b. (I had never heard of him.)  Okay, my not knowing who Charles James was before this show @ the MET's Costume Instit. is irrelevant (this is not about the Melinda Project, still… )  What I did learn from his work as well as his quotes was enlightening & intoxicating.  "All creative work begins by doing something with the hands.  Creation is simply a problem and design is the way out."  James' designs are known for their architectural structure.  Most of  the ball gowns were so elaborate in form, they appeared impractical.   Would the women who wore them be able to do anything other than pose in them?  There are 2 separated galleries for the show making it a maze to transverse.  See the gallerie on the main floor which houses the designer's complex structured & detailed gown from the 40's-50's.  The 1st display has several muslin/black dresses that look like mockups.  They were paradigms for constructing his dresses (they were works in progress; like an artists' sketch.  Inside the dimly lit gallery, the ball gowns are spotlighted.  These gowns look more like costumes than haute couture.  I understood where McQueen, Westwood or Prada may have been influenced by James' designs.  There is an emerald green gown that would have fit in the emerald city.  The satin red dress would have made Scarlett O'Hara blsuh and the black/red velvet ball gown '46 could cast a spell on Angelina Jolie in Malificent.  My favorite ball gown was the Cloverleaf '53.   It was a stunning work of art.  Wearing it would seem sacrosanct.  According to James "Fashion, after all is magic and miracle."  I enjoyed the ballgown room.  It was magical but as fashion, not practical.  Nonetheless, the show was inspiring, "Forget all you know & learn something everyday."  

Sing Me Home - Has Me Singing the Praises of Mandy Gonzalez & Telly Leung

The NYMF presented Sing Me Home in the Laurie Becchman Theatre which is tucked away, literally, below the West Bank Cafe on 42nd/9th.  Unbeknownst to me, this theater is a nightly cabaret.   This production was part of the NYMF & World of Stage.  Sing Me Home was a medley of songs performed winningly by Mandy Gonzalez (B'wy Wicked & In the Heights) & Telly Leung (B'wy Rent, Godspell & star of GLEE.)  Kristy Hanson, the singer/songwriter for this "show" played guitar on stage & narrated the loosely knit plot of Lexi, a former teen pop star, staging her comeback with the support of her best friend, Charlie, her rock, "her home."  Kristy went on to elaborate the unnecessary explanation for what the songs were meant to evoke.  Was this a joke?  No, and it wasn't entertaining.   Fortunately, the talents of its 2 stars Gonzalez & Leung were marvelous.  Gonzalez's voice was beautiful and her interpretations for the songs were phenomenal (not requiring any clarification.)  Leung added his incredible talents & their duets together were magnificient.  Musical Dir. Angela Parrish performed on piano & led the accomplished musicians:  drummer & guitarists (including Hanson.)  This is obviously a work in progress that needs much work.  However, if you have the chance to hear Mandy Gonzalez & Telly Leung perform in anything, you're fortunate.  This was an inexpensive treat ($26) for an hour of fabulous singing.