Pre-Oscar Film Catch-Up

A scene from Flow.
Credit: Dreamwell/SacreBleu/Take 5

As 2024 draws to a close, I'm trying to catch up with potential award nominated and winning films before the Golden Globes are dispensed on Jan. 5 and the Oscar nominations come out on Jan. 17. Just yesterday, I took in the Latvian animated film Flow at the Angelika Center, killing two birds with one stone since it is on the Oscar shortlist for Best Animated Feature and Best International Film. It's a beautifully silent work chronicling the adventures of a cat as it copes with a natural disaster in what seems to be a post-human world. The images are breathtaking as the feline escapes a flood and makes friends with various other animals in their quest for survival. 

As noted in an earlier blog, this year is a bit different because it seems not as many high-profile films are available on the various streaming services as previous years. It was so easy to catch so many of them in 2022 and 2023, but now it seems the studios have wised up post-pandemic and not released their big projects for home viewing so soon. 

Macbeth Pauses Previews Due to COVID

COVID is not done with Broadway yet. The new BA2 variant is playing havoc with shows as just as Omicron did. The new revival of Macbeth at the Longacre has paused preview performances until April 8 because star Daniel Craig and several cast members have tested positive. Performers in Paradise Square and Plaza Suite were out due to the virus and understudies went on in their place. A recent photo from a performance of Company featuring the cast list with several replacements was posted on Twitter. Hadestown cancelled two performances due to COVID absences. This complicates the Broadway schedule as April is stuffed with openings in order to beat the cut-off for Tony Award eligibility. The Scottish Play is scheduled to open on April 28, the last day for Tony eligibility. Note that Chris Rock said the unlucky name of the play minutes before Will Smith slapped him at the Oscars. 

B'way Update: Little Prince, COVID Cancellations, MacBeth Moves

Lionel Zalachis and Charlotte Kah in
The Little Prince at the Sydney Opera House.
Credit: Prudence Upton

While Broadway is in turmoil over multiple performance cancellations and uncertainty due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus, a new production has been announced for the spring--The Little Prince, a stage version of the classic 1943 novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupery about the titular boy royal who seeks companionship on a journey to many different planets. Described as a theatrical experience with musical elements, the show combines elements of acrobatics, circus arts, dance, and video. It is the creation of director-choreographer Annie Tournie and has had runs in Paris, Sydney and Dubai. Previews begin March 4 at the Broadway Theater with an opening set for March 17 for a run through Aug. 14. The show features a libretto by co-director Chris Mourin who also plays the narrator, and music by Terry Truck. It's not clear if this presentation is a traditionally musical, a play with music, and a sort of Cirque du Soleil show. A spokesperson stated it would be up to the Tony Eligibility Committee to determine its status for awards consideration. For our purposes, I have listed it as a new musical under the list of productions for the 2021-22 Broadway season. After seeing it, I might shift it to Special Presentations.

Director Tournié said, "We are thrilled for our company to continue The Little Prince’s world journey to the bright lights of Broadway and New York. On his journey, the Little Prince shares a message of humanity with the many different people and cultures he encounters. We are humbled to bring his story of friendship, loneliness, love, and caring for others and our planet back to the melting pot where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry first created this beloved tale.”

B'way Update: Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga Will Star in Macbeth

Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga
will star in MacBeth,
opening on Broadway in April 2022.

Broadway is definitely back with Sunday night's  long-delayed Tonys followed by announcements of new productions. On Monday, Slave Play and Skin of Our Teeth released dates for openings. Today, we heard Daniel Craig will bounce back on stage after his fifth and final performance as James Bond in No Time to Die. The action and dramatic star will headline a revival of Macbeth opposite Ruth Negga, who played Hamlet at St. Ann's Warehouse. This new production of the Scottish Play will begin previews at the Lyceum Theater on March 29, 2022 in advance of an April 28 opening. Tony winner Sam Gold (A Doll's House, Part 2, Fun Home) directs. Craig has previously appeared on Broadway in A Steady Rain and Mike Nichols' production of Betrayal. Off-Broadway, he played Iago to David Oyelowo's Othello.