Book Review: Downtown Owl

(Bought at the Strand Bookstore for $6.95) I had been meaning to read this novel for a long time. I bought it because the titles of Chuck Klosterman's books have always intrigued me when I saw them on tables at used bookstores. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, Eating the Dinosaur, The Visible Man. I don't really care about high school football, or rock bands of the 1980s, two of the topics which obsess the citizens of the titular tiny town in rural North Dakota, but the characters are well-drawn and Klosterman can be very funny. He focuses on three apparently unrelated Owl-ites--morose high school student Mitch (nicknamed Vanna because his last name Hrlicka has so few vowels), new teacher and lonely alcoholic Julia, and retiree Horace. Each chapter is from the point of view of one of these three, except two focusing on Julia's teaching colleague and football coach John Laidlaw who has a tendency to seduce his female students, and Mitch's fellow student, the antisocial and perhaps sociopathic Cubby Candy. Mitch is lonely, Julia is lonely, Horace is lonely. John and Cubby are nuts. Without revealing too much of the plot, their stories come to a rather abrupt ending with little resolution. But there are plenty of clever and insightful scenes of their desperate search for connection and meaning in a town with little to offer outside drinking, driving around and watching or playing football.

Book Review: The Body of the Soul

(Borrowed from my husband who bought it on Amazon) This was a short book of stories, so I figured I could polish it off before moving on to other longer works. Russian author Ulitskaya offers fascinating portraits of citizens caught between their intellect and their passions. An older woman wants to commit suicide, but then marries the reluctant doctor prescribing the pills to do the job. A stuffed toy dog takes on significance for a deprived family. A librarian gradually loses her command of vocabulary. Hints of magic realism as one character transforms into a butterfly and a coroner receives a visit from the afterlife. Enjoyable and thought-provoking in spite of their brevity. (only 150 pages).

Book Review: Capote's Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal and a Swan Song for an Era

(Bought at Barnes and Nobles with a left-over gift card from Christmas) I've been wanting to read this since Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans (based on this book) started airing on FX to see where the two differ. Both chronicle the fallout of Capote's publication of a chapter from his unfinished novel Answered Prayers in Esquire Magazine revealing the dirty little secrets of several of his high-society friends. Rich elegant queens of American elite, whom he dubbed "his swans," were portrayed as vicious, petty gossipmongers. Babe Paley, Lee Radziwell, Slim Keith all froze him out of their circle and he languished in a whirlpool of booze and drugs. CZ Guest remained a friend. Leamer offers biographies of seven of these women--Gloria Guinness and Marella Agnelli were not included in the FX series. Pamela Churchill makes a cameo appearance at the infamous black and white ball. Leamer's book is tight and economical, drawing parallels between Capote's tortured bio and those of his swans. The screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz has imagined several additional chapters to Answered Prayers as well as Capote encountering James Baldwin and the Maylses Brothers (Grey Gardens) filming the black and white ball.

I don't think Capote ever finished Answered Prayers. The series imagines he did but burned the manuscript and screenwriter Jon Robin Baitz imagines endings for each of the characters in the book. It's a fascinating read but not very in-depth.

B'way Update: Tammy Faye and Sunset Set Dates

Andrew Rannells and Katie Brayben 
will repeat their London performances
when Tammy Faye moves to Broadway.
Credit: Marc Brenner

As the 2023-24 Broadway season begins the final mad rush to its conclusion just before the Tony deadline, the 2024-25 season is starting to solidify. Two shows announced for the fall, Tammy Faye and the revival of Sunset Boulevard, both London transfers, have announced definite dates and theaters. Tammy Faye, the musical based on the life of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, will begin previews Oct. 19 at the newly renovated and elevated Palace Theater with an opening set for Nov. 14. Katie Brayben and Andrew Rennells will repeat their Olivier-nominated performances as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker. Sir Elton John wrote the music, lyrics are by Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters, the book is by James Graham who previously collaborated with Tammy Faye director Sam Goold on Graham's play Ink.

Sunset Boulevard will begin its NY performances on Sept. 28 at the St. James Theater with an opening set for Oct. 20. Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of Billy Wilder's classic film of the delusional silent film star Norma Desmond is directed by Jamie Lloyd and was nominated for 11 Olivier Awards during its London run. Repeating their Oliver-nominated performances are Nicole Scherzinger as Norma, Tom Francis as Joe Gillis, Grace Hodgett-Young as Betty Schaeffer and Oliver winner David Thaxton as Max von Meyerling.

B'way Update: Delia Ephron Memoir on Stage

Delia Ephron

Producer Daryl Roth announced that Delia Ephron (You've Got Mail) will make her Broadway playwriting debut with Left on Tenth, based on her best-selling memoir, to be directed by Tony winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact) and starring Emmy winner Juliana Margulies and SAG winner Peter Gallagher. The production is scheduled for fall 2024 with dates and a theater to be announced. Left on Tenth chronicles Ephron's second chance at love. When she least expects it, Delia Ephron, best-selling novelist and screenwriter of You've Got Mail, makes a surprising connection with a man from her past and falls into her own romantic comedy. As their immediate spark blossoms into a love story that seems to defy all odds, Delia’s life takes an unexpected turn. Left on Tenth tells the messy, beautiful truth about getting older while feeling young, as it celebrates two people with the courage to rewrite their futures and open their hearts again.

“I am grateful and thrilled to be working with these champions of theater – Susan Stroman and Daryl Roth,” said Delia Ephron. “Left on Tenth is about a perilous and wondrous time of my life. We invite you to join our team of warriors and become believers yourselves.”

Juliana Marguiles and Peter Gallagher

“When Delia first spoke to me about her manuscript of Left on Tenth, I felt that her story would make a magnificent play,” said Producer Daryl Roth. “It is heartfelt, deeply personal yet universal, and full of hope. But it is also a classic romantic comedy for a certain generation, showing us that we can all be blessed with a second chance at life and love.”

With her sister Nora, Ephron co-authored the Off-Broadway play, Love, Loss and What I Wore. Her many movie credits – often co-written with her sister Nora -- include You’ve Got Mail, Michael, and Hanging Up, based on her novel. 

B'way Update: Illinoise, Ben Platt, Stranger Things

The cast of Illinoise which will 
transfer to the St. James in time for the Tonys.
Credit: Stephanie Berger

As if this Broadway season couldn't get any more crowded or crazy, we have a last-minute entry in time for the Tony Awards. Illinoise, the dance-theater adaptation of Sufjan Stevens' concept album Illinois, will transfer from its run at the Park Avenue Armory to the St. James Theater, on April 24--just before the Tony cut-off of April 25. The show will open the same night as Lincoln Center Theater's all-star revival of Uncle Vanya. The St. James became available when Monty Python's Spamalot ended its limited run earlier than expected. Illinoise will play a limited engagement through Aug. 10.

"We're absolutely thrilled to bring Illinoise to the St. James Theatre on Broadway.  This project has been ruminating in my mind for nearly 20 years, which makes this moment even more sublime,” says director-choreographer Justin Peck. The audience response throughout our engagement at Fisher Center at Bard, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Park Avenue Armory has been extraordinary, and we feel lucky that we get to continue sharing this unique show with future audiences on Broadway. Illinoise is a coming-of-age story that takes the audience on a journey through the American heartland -- from campfire storytelling to the edges of the cosmos -- all told in through a unique blend of music, dance, and theater. On behalf of my team, we welcome this rare opportunity with full hearts."

Binging on John Ford: Part 3: St. Patrick's Day Irish Movies

Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne in
The Quiet Man.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here's a continuation of my consideration of John Ford's cinematic oeuvre, focusing on his Gaelic efforts. The director had an affinity for his ancestral home and two of his Oscars were for pix set in the Emerald Isle. The Quiet Man (1952) is lushly beautiful, gorgeously capturing the colorful scenery. Winton Hoch rightfully also won an Oscar for his cinematography. However, it lost Best Picture to Cecil B. DeMille's extravagant and schmaltzy The Greatest Show on Earth, probably for CB's model train wreck (Steven Speilberg pays tribute to this sequence in his autobiographical pic The Fabelmans). But Ford was no slouch when it came to schmaltz. The New Yorker's critic Philip Hamburger sneered,  "If am to believe what I saw in John Ford's sentimental new film, The Quiet Man, practically everybody in Ireland is just as cute as a button....Mr. Ford's scenes of the Irish countryside are often breathtaking ... but the master who made The Informer appears to have fallen into a vat of treacle."

Return to 2022 Oscar Nominees

Ana de Armas in Blonde
Credit: Netflix

Now that the 2024 Oscars are over, I can return to catching up on nominated films from previous years. Recently viewed on Netflix were Blonde, the bizarre adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' massive novel based on the turbulent life and career of Marilyn Monroe which earned Ana de Armas a Best Actress nomination and Animated Featured nominee Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Ironically, Blonde also won Worst Picture and Screenplay from the Golden Raspberry Awards. It was also nominated for Worst Director and Worst Supporting Actor for  Evan Williams and Xavier Samuels who played Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Edward G. Robinson Jr. The film switched from black and white to color. The cinematography was beautiful, creating the look of black and white photography of the 1950s and the super saturated color of the era. de Armas gives a heartfelt performance, but the film is exploitative while condemning the exploitation of Marilyn. There are numerous gratuitous topless scenes.

Marcel was cute as the dickens and very sweet. Mixing animation and live action, Marcel depicts the relationship between a documentary filmmaker and a one-inch shell whose family has disappeared. Sentimental without being cloying.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on
Credit: A24

Book Review: Thank You, Mr. Nixon

(Downloaded from my Kindle for $5.95. Read mostly on my I-phone) I was intrigued by the first story in this collection where a Chinese girl writes a letter to the late president who opened up relations between her country and the US. In the first line she says she's sorry he's in hell while she's in heaven. That's a grabber. What follows is a series of interconnected tales of Chinese people in China, America, and Hong Kong and how they deal with cultural displacement. "No politics, just make money," says Tina Ko whose three daughters each react differently to China's authoritarian regime. That advice reverberates through the stories as the characters' choices have great impact. "Rothko, Rothko" was probably my favorite. As a side hustle, an English Literature professor in NYC commissions an artist to create an imitation Rothko for Tina and her husband Johnson. Meanwhile he has to report a favorite student for using AI on her paper on Middlemarch. When is it best to be totally honest? He tries to help the artist whose mother is sick in China and relies on her daughter for financial help but must report the student who will certainly be suspended. The conflicts are fascinating.

Book Review: My Name Is Barbra

(A Christmas present. Finally finished two and a half months later) As I was reading this door-stopper of an autobiography on the subway, a woman said to me as she was exiting, "I admire you, sir." I was startled and said, "Why, because I'm reading this huge book?" She laughed and nodded her head. The sheer size of Streisand's enormous tome is not surprising when you start reading it and how she relies every detail of every experience she's every had. Some would call her obsessed or controlling. If she were a man, she would be labelled commanding and thorough. But despite the meticulousness, My Name Is Barbra is an engrossing account of one of the most unique and talented entertainers of her time, certainly the best singer and among the best actresses. 

From the decoration of her dressing rooms to the sound mixing of her albums to directorial decisions, Streisand leaves nothing out. If you want to know how to launch a career, put together a TV special, mount a concert tour, deal with difficult studio heads, furnish a home, or process an insanely jealous mother--Babs will let you know how. We learn so much about Broadway, Hollywood, political activism and the music biz, it's like a college seminar. The personal side is not neglected with honest appraisals of her two marriages (to Elliot Gould--they were both too young--and James Brolin--he arrived in her life at exactly the right time) as well her many extended relationships and dalliances. There are also the tragic might-have-been projects such as The Normal Heart, a remake of Gypsy and a sequel to The Way We Were. A fat, juicy lovefest for Streisand fans--of which I am one.

Final Oscar Predictions

Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Lily Gladstone,
Cillian Murphy

With the viewing of The Color Purple on Max, I've seen all the Oscar acting nominees, plus the Best Picture candidates and almost all those in the running for the major categories. (I tried to watch Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning on Paramount +, but I was bored out of my mind after 30 minutes. I couldn't bring myself to care about any of these people.) Here are my predictions for the winners which will be handed out tomorrow night.

Best Picture: Oppenheimer

Best Actor: Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer

Best Actress: Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Best Supporting Actor: Robert Downey, Jr., Oppenheimer

Best Supporting Actress: Da'Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers

Best Director: Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer

Best Original Screenplay: Anatomy of a Fall (Though I would vote for Past Lives)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Barbie (a consolation prize from Greta Gerwig being snubbed in the Director Category)

Best International Feature: The Zone of Interest

Best Documentary Feature: 20 Days in Mariupol

Best Animated Feature: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (I would go with The Boy and the Heron, but Spidey is getting more buzz including winning at the Annie Awards)

Best Editing, Sound, Cinematography, Original Score: Oppenheimer

Best Costume Design, Production Design: Barbie

Best Original Song: "What Was I Made For?" from Barbie

Best Make-up and Hairstyling: Maestro

Best Visual Effects: Godzilla Minus One (This is the only one in the category I haven't seen yet--apart from the remaining two hours and ten mins. of Mission Impossible. But everyone seems to be predicting the Japanese monster to roll over the competition.)

Best Live-Action Short: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

Best Animated Short: War Is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko (My preference is Ninety-Five Senses but this cloying pacifist message short won at the Annie Awards.) 

Best Documentary Short: The ABCs of Book Banning (This one sends the proper liberal message, but it's kinda dull. If I were voting, I'd go with The Last Repair Shop or Nai Nai and Wai Po)

B'way Update: Washington and Gyllenhaal to Star in Othello

Denzel Washington

Get ready for the highest-profile star casting in several years, if not decades. Oscar and Tony winner Denzel Washington (Training Day, Fences) and Tony and Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Sea Wall/A Life, Brokeback Mountain) will co-star in a revival of Shakespeare's Othello, set to open in Spring 2025. To add to the marquee value, the play will be directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun) who will also be staging a new production of Our Town during the same 2024-25 season. Leon directed Washington in The Iceman Cometh, Raisin, and Fences. Further casting is to be announced.

This will be the 22nd production of Othello on Broadway. The most recent was in 1982 with James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. The most famous was probably in 1943 with Paul Robeson, Jose Ferrer and Uta Hagen. Recent Off-Broadway productions have starred Raul Julia and Christopher Walken, David Oyelowo and Daniel Craig, John Ortiz and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier have played the jealousy-ridden Moor on screen.

Estelle Parsons' Weird Semi-Exit from The Conners

Laurie Metcalf and Estelle Parsons 
in The Conners

Episode 3 of Season 6 of The Conners (aired Feb. 21) featured a weird semi-exit from the series for 96-year-old Estelle Parsons. Her character Bev (mother of the late Roseanne and her sister Jackie) was on an experimental drug trial that improved her cognitive functions, lessened her dementia and brightened her mood. In this new state of being, Bev proposes she and Jackie (the brilliant Laurie Metcalf) spend a day together in Chicago for some long overdue mother-daughter bonding. 

At Union Station in the Windy City, Bev reveals she plans to go on a "great adventure" while she still has her wits about her and to board a train headed eastwards. She has no specific destination in mind and only one small bag of her belongings. She hugs Jackie and apologizes for her belittling behavior. (She wanted to have one perfect day with her daughter before losing her mind.) Jackie protests but lets her go. If only real life could be this simple--letting your nearly century-old mother on a train with no clear plan or means of support. You say goodbye and go on about your life.