Unexpected, Unpredictable ‘Barbie’ Is An Irresistible Pop o’ Culture

Unexpected, Unpredictable ‘Barbie’ Is An Irresistible Pop o’ Culture

By Lynn Venhaus

Far from plastic and without a whiff of cynicism, “Barbie” is a cherry lemonade-frosted cupcake made with the best ingredients, no artificial sweeteners, and sprinkled with Mom love. It tickled me pink.

For our hero’s journey, Barbie must leave her comfort zone, the female-fantastic Barbie Land, to discover the perils of the Real World, where men rule, and she questions her existence.

Savvy writer-director Greta Gerwig has crafted an irresistible fantasy-comedy vision narrated by Helen Mirren, featuring Kate McKinnon as the outcast Weird Barbie, Ryan Gosling projecting “Kenergy” while wearing a floor-length white faux fur coat, and Lizzo singing a spirited “Pink” wake-up tune.

Whatever emotions a Barbie doll has evoked in your lifetime, this inventive live-action movie will bring them all out because of its sincere heart. While a delectable confection, there are multi-layers to digest, making it a surprising thought-provoking piece for our time.

On the one hand, with its frothy cotton-candy-colored façade and breezy beach vibe, “Barbie” is a joyous ode to childhood make-believe and a sentimental nostalgia trip for those who grew up playing with the style-setter. (However, this movie is not for kids, so scratch your plans for a mother-daughter bonding experience if they are under 12).

Brimming with great gags and vibrant visuals, it’s a dizzying pop o’ culture and universality. Through a smart, clever, and funny script co-written by Gerwig and the father of her two children, accomplished filmmaker Noah Baumbach, it is also self-aware and pokes fun at the Barbie ideal and how that has evolved over the years.

Most importantly, though, it is a matter-of-fact look at women’s treatment in society, pushing for more female empowerment while it points out inequalities and unrealistic beauty images. So, whether you love or hate Mattel’s global fashion icon, the takeaways are plentiful.

That’s because all the elements come together to celebrate girl power, while also taking a closer look at a toy’s story and what it reflects about us. Case in point — Issa Rae plays the President, and only female justices are on the Supreme Court in blissful Barbie Land while America Ferrara is a harried working mom in the Real World that tells it like it is in a monologue worthy of break-out applause.

Two-time Oscar nominee Gerwig, who grew up playing with Barbies, wants everyone to have their cake and eat it too. That’s why it is playful, but then addresses how it is a powerful yet polarizing corporation’s merchandise, at once adored by consumers but also decried by detractors.

With Warner Brothers’ studio’s extensive marketing campaign in high gear this summer, the world’s most famous doll, born in 1959, is ubiquitous – and both the filmmakers and filmgoers have embraced this journey.

Margot Robbie as Barbie

Gerwig, an inspired storyteller and enthusiastic film fan, includes nods to such whimsical influences as “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and the colorful aesthetics of the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals and Jacques Demy’s unorthodox “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.”

And of course, she references “Grease” and “Saturday Night Fever” in group numbers and tempo. The catchy centerpiece “Dance the Night Way,” sung by Dua Lipa, also a Barbie, is produced by hitmaker Mark Ronson – although cut short when Barbie’s bubble bursts. 

The kicky escapist pop soundtrack includes the sampling of “Barbie Girl,” the 1997 Aqua song, in Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” along with HAIM’s “Home,” Sam Smith’s “Man I Am,” Tame Impala’s “Journey to the Real World,” Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and yes, Gosling’s ‘90s boy-band ballad “I’m Just Ken.”

Must also mention the Indigo Girls song from 1989 “Closer to Fine” that becomes a singalong!

A nod to inventor Ruth Handler is lovely, with Rhea Perlman as the Jewish businesswoman (and Mattel’s first president) having tea with her creation. “Humans have only one ending. Ideas live forever,” Ruth tells Barbie.

The pink paradise that is Barbie Land is a wonder to behold, an imaginative playground where girls of all sizes rule. They are independent, successful Nobel Prize winners, Olympic athletes, astronauts, and doctors, living in custom Barbie Dream Houses and changing lives.

The most upbeat is Stereotypical Barbie, and as the blonde bachelorette beauty, Margot Robbie is splendid, with that megawatt smile of hers, radiating star quality. A two-time Oscar nominee (“Bombshell” and “I, Tonya”), she also produced the film.

Her self-sufficient character is no bimbo and certainly not in anyone’s shadow, least of all Ken, who is fine focusing on Barbie’s happiness.

When she discovers – gasp – that men rule the world, and Ken becomes enamored with the patriarchy, thirsting for the power associated with being in charge, not to mention hanging with his macho-cool bros –  it becomes a rocky road.

Fortunately, the toxic masculinity fueled Kendom is short-lived, and the divine disco dancing dude returns as his supportive self.

Ryan Gosling

Two-time Oscar nominee Gosling is flat-out hilarious and an all-in team player as the golden boy. While known for his brooding performances in “Blade Runner 2049,” “Drive” and “The Ides of March,” he has proven how funny he can be in two stints hosting “Saturday Night Live” (must-see sketches are “Close Encounters” in 2015 and “Papyrus” five years ago) and shown his prowess for singing and dance in “La La Land” and his Mouseketeer roots on “The All New Mickey Mouse Club.”

Robbie’s Barbie is not the only girl in town – and the casting is faultless. Emerald Fennell, who won an Oscar for her original screenplay “Promising Young Woman,” is seen briefly as the pregnant Midge, Barbie’s best pal that was discontinued in 2002.

McKinnon is a hoot as the embodiment of the doll who was played with a little too rough, one that had her hair chopped off and her face scribbled with magic markers. She’s become the sage, and makes Barbie select either a stiletto heel or a Birkenstock sandal, a riff on her path as “The Matrix” red or blue pill choice.

And Michael Cera steals the whole show as Allan, Ken’s friend — “I can wear the same clothes.” Marvel guys Simu Liu and Kingsley Ben-Adir are good sports as other Beach Kens. John Cena as Mermaid Ken? Yes, please.

The innovative sunny, sparkly production design by six-time Oscar nominee Sarah Greenwood is a work of art, aided by her frequent collaborator Katie Spencer as set decorator, as is the costume designs by two-time Oscar winner Jacqueline Durran, who worked with Gerwig on “Little Women.”

“Barbie” gets so much right that it’s unfortunate that the filmmakers don’t seem to know how to properly end it, appearing to run out of gas on that golden stretch of Pacific Coast Highway.

Nevertheless, any film that encourages self-expression is to be saluted.

As a first-generation Barbie owner (my mom gave me the ‘Picnic Set’ Barbie with the fishing pole, wearing jeans, for my 6th birthday in 1960), the gift was aspirational, for I could dream of adventures and a glamorous life of achievements when I grew up.

And that spirit lifts this entertaining film into a magical ‘make your own kind of music’ anthem whose time has come.

“Barbie” is a 2023 comedy-fantasy directed by Greta Gerwig and starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Michael Cera, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, America Ferrara, Simu Liu, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Will Ferrell and Rhea Perlman. It is rated PG-13 for suggestive references and brief language, and the runtime is 1 hour, 54 minutes. It opens in theaters July 21. Lynn’s Grade: B+.

Note: this review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Take Ten with St. Louis Filmmaker Andy Compton

Take Ten with St. Louis Filmmaker Andy Compton

By Lynn Venhaus
At home behind a movie camera, Andy Compton has strived to be a resourceful filmmaker, working through pitfalls to take a film from page to screen. Post-pandemic, he has been busy, crafting shorts that have been accepted for the St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, and last year’s comedy, “Ethan and Edna,” played at the St. Louis International Film Festival.

He’s currently working on four more shorts this summer through fall.

“Basically, just having a blast making stuff with my friends and trying to keep getting better as a filmmaker,” he said. 

His latest “Captcha,” a sci-fi horror thriller comedy short, will be screened as part of the Narrative Shorts #4 Program on Saturday, July 22, at 9 p.m. at the Hi-Pointe Theatre. At the July 30 Closing Night Awards Party, Cinema St. Louis’ artistic director Chris Clark will announce which of the 91 films screened this year will move on to SLIFF in November (3-13).

The Whitaker St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase, an annual presentation of the nonprofit Cinema St. Louis, serves as the area’s primary venue for films made by local artists.The Showcase screens works that were written, directed, edited, or produced by St. Louis natives or films with strong local ties.

The 17 film programs that screen at the Hi-Pointe Theatre from July 21-23 and 28-30 serve as the Showcase’s centerpiece. In addition, the event features a quartet of live-streamed master classes — the legal-issues class is also available as an in-person event — and the Closing-Night Awards Party at the Hi-Pointe Theatre.

The film programs range from full-length fiction and documentary features to multi-film compilations of fiction, documentary, and experimental shorts. The programs with feature films include post- screening Q&As with the filmmakers and/or subjects.

For a complete schedule and more information, visit: https://www.cinemastlouis.org/23rd-annual-st-louis-filmmakers-showcase

You can find Andy’s films on his YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@andycompton and follow him on social media — @andycompton_ on twitter and Instagram

He also produces “The Social Screenwriters Podcast,” where he interview screenwriters he has met on the internet about who they are, their projects, their writing process, and more. Available on podcast platforms.

“It’s a fun listen for writers chasing this crazy dream,” he said..

Here’s more about Andy.

Q&A QUESTIONS FOR “TAKE TEN”:

1. What is special about your latest project?

I think the most special thing about our latest short film, CAPTCHA, is that we shot it with a 4-person crew of friends for only about $250 when all was said and done. I’m incredibly proud of what we were able to make with very few resources.

2. Why did you choose your profession/pursue the arts?

A turbulent childhood coupled with a need for attention. That’s the recipe.

3. How would your friends describe you?

I would hope for charismatic and outgoing but more likely weird guy who goes to see movies alone.

4. How do you like to spend your spare time?

I grew up skateboarding and I’m still holding onto that at 35. Playing guitar. Watching movies. Pretty much the same stuff I was doing when I was 14. 

5. What is your current obsession?

Watching YouTubers watch movies I love for the first time and seeing how much they love it or if they cry when I cried or get scared when I got scared. I was just watching people react to Avatar 2 (another James Cameron banger).

6. What would people be surprised to find out about you?

Probably that I’m a former high school dropout. I quit school at 16, then just worked random jobs for most of my 20s until I got my GED at 26, enrolled in community college at 27, and graduated from Webster University with a Bachelor’s degree in Scriptwriting at 31. I took the long road, lol.

7. Can you share one of your most defining moments in life?

When I got sober in 2017. Drugs and alcohol were a big part of my life from my early teens on through my 20s. Eventually, I started noticing that those things were only holding me back in life. Then in 2017, I got a DUI. Obviously not proud of it, but it was undoubtedly the best thing that could have happened to me at that time and I was able to turn my life around starting the next day and I haven’t looked back since. Life has gotten so much better. Coming up on 6 years in September. 

8. Who do you admire most?

My mom. 

9. What is at the top of your bucket list?

I want to kickflip over the Arch.

10. How were you affected by the pandemic years, and anything you would like to share about what got you through and any lesson learned during the isolation periods? Any reflections on how the arts were affected? And what it means to move forward?

My hair got a lot more gray during the pandemic and I’m not sure if it was caused by the stress or simply coincidence. But, obviously it was a tragic and scary time for everyone. I will say, as a natural introvert, I was not mad about being forced to stay inside everyday. I got a ton of writing done. I was actually supposed to graduate from Webster in May 2020, but it was postponed. Also, we had a short film I had directed at Webster called TIN BOX entering into the film festival circuit at the time so all of that went online as well. It was a bummer for sure, but when people are losing family members out there, it was kind of hard to be upset about my dumb short film or not walking at graduation right away. It’s an interesting time for filmmakers as just when pandemic restrictions were lifted, the Writer’s Guild and Actor’s Guild have gone on strike (rightfully so), so it’s another pause on progress for those of us trying to break into the industry. That’s life, though. 

11. What is your favorite thing to do in St. Louis?

I’m a big St. Louis Blues fan so I love going to games. Also, Grammy Sammies at The Gramophone. Also, seeing shows at The Improv Shop. I did their training program when I first got sober and played on some teams until I just got too busy chasing the film dream. It’s a great theater and great community, though. Go see a show!

12. What’s next?

A lot! The same team behind CAPTCHA have another short film in post-production right now, then we’re shooting three more in August, September, and October. Four shorts from June to October seemed like a great idea earlier this year but now that we’re doing it, it’s a lot! But, I’m too stubborn to admit defeat so we’re pressing on. Basically, just having a blast making stuff with my friends and trying to keep getting better as a filmmaker. 

More on Andy:

Name: Andy Compton
Age: 35.
Birthplace: Lansing, Michigan
Current location: St. Louis Missouri
Education: Bachelor’s degree in Scriptwriting/Minor in Film & Television Production from Webster University
Day job: Wedding/Event Videography
First job: Line cook at Sonic Drive-in
First movie you were involved in or made: PET TURTLES, written & directed by Vern Tooley. Some improv friends and I were extras in one scene. My best friend and actor in all my movies, Larry Claudin, stars.
Favorite jobs/roles/plays or work in your medium: Due to a lack of budget, I’m usually wearing a lot of hats on the shorts I make. I write, direct, produce, edit, do production design, wardrobe, casting, etc. Of all those, I love the writing process, but my absolute favorite part is directing. Writing is a lonely profession. Being on-set with a whole creative team throwing out ideas, and actors who bring their own flavor to the words you put on the page is the best part. I also love doing improv on-set so I just love pitching jokes on the fly to actors and seeing if we can make the crew laugh. If the crew laughs, I know it’s funny.
Dream job/opportunity: I would love to develop a movie with Adam Sandler. He’s one of my heroes and it would be an honor to direct him in something. I think I would have to fist fight the Safdie Brothers to get to him, though.
Awards/Honors/Achievements: I had two feature scripts, SUPLEX, and BELLYACHE, make the Semifinals of the Nicholl Fellowship, the screenwriting competition run by The Academy in 2020. That kind of kicked off a lot of things for me and helped me land a manager in LA. 
Favorite quote/words to live by: Be kind.
A song that makes you happy: “Check the Rhime” by A Tribe Called Quest

Nolan’s Magnum Opus ‘Oppenheimer’ is Big, Bold And Brilliant

Nolan’s Magnum Opus ‘Oppenheimer’ is Big, Bold And Brilliant

By Lynn Venhaus
One of the best films of the year, “Oppenheimer” is a stunning achievement in sight, sound, story, and scope.

Brilliantly directed and written by Christopher Nolan, his first biopic about the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” is his magnum opus. He not only delivers a fascinating historical drama on the genius theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s research and development, but he has crafted it like a big-stakes psychological thriller with many pieces of a puzzle becoming clear over its three-hour runtime.

It was exhilarating to see something this intelligent, lucid, and well-constructed.

Based on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, Nolan’s adaptation focuses primarily on the scientist’s rise in the hallowed halls of revered institutions, the U.S. government’s interest in his quantum mechanics work, directing the Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II, his role in organizing the Manhattan Project, and the aftermath of building a nuclear weapon.

This erudite character study explains much in its sharp dialogue that didn’t feel heavy or highbrow, and thanks to the actors’ snappy delivery, naturalistic.  Nolan’s verbal dexterity is crucial to this becoming edge-of-your-seat good instead of an academic exercise, and through meticulous detail, infuses a compelling biography with big-picture questions.

Nolan has created some of the best films of the 21st century since “Memento” in 2000, and is known for his cerebral storytelling, nonlinear style, and visual mastery.

Oscar-nominated five times for picture and director for “Dunkirk,” picture and screenplay for “Inception” and screenplay for “Memento,” his films have won mostly technical awards. He has thrilled with his Batman trilogy, impressed with “The Prestige,” and confounded with “Tenet” and “Interstellar,” gaining a fervent fan base.

Even those not as enamored will begrudgingly admit to admiring his commitment to big, bold cinematic grandeur, rarely relying on digital effects. (For instance, no computer-generated graphics in “The Dark Knight.”)

While weaving a grand-scale intricate narrative that flashes back and forward across decades, Nolan creates tension that leads to the “Trinity” code-name bomb-testing that’s one of the most astonishing sequences ever captured on film as he manipulates sight and sound for the Big Bang.

After the bomb is used and the government takes it over from there, the film raises issues about actions causing reactions, scientific advancement, and government responsibility as Oppenheimer is swept into the maelstrom of moral, ethical, and political debates unleashed after the bomb’s use to end World War II.

The story is framed with an unsettling hearing in 1954, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, which stripped Oppenheimer of his security clearance, a kangaroo court depicting the post-war Red Scare paranoia. With his leftist leanings, connections to people that were avowed (past) Communists, and fretting over nuclear proliferation, he was accused of being a Soviet spy and became an unfortunate scapegoat.

Nolan uses this backroom thrashing as a look back, intertwining science with politics by effectively alternating color and black-and-white film. It’s a master storyteller at the peak of his craft.

A key element is a mega-cast that features everyone giving their all, creating authentic portraits of people that played a part in history, from Alden Ehrenreich depicting a Senate aide to British actor Tom Conti unrecognizable as Albert Einstein and Gary Oldman’s sly work as President Harry S Truman in one scene.

A longtime fan of Cillian Murphy, I’m happy to see the Irish actor finally taking center stage in a part that seems tailor-made for him, and he’s on screen nearly the entire time. It’s such a virtuoso lived-in portrait, his career best, and he superbly unfolds multiple layers – showing many facets of Oppenheimer’s personality.

Murphy’s most well-known work is as crime boss Tommy Shelby in the Netflix series “Peaky Blinders” (2013-2022), which is about a gangster family in 1900s England. In 2002, he broke through in the Danny Boyle sci-fi masterpiece “28 Days Later,” and has been featured in six Nolan films, starting with “Batman Begins” in 2005 as DC Comics’ villain Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow.

As the two complicated women in his life, Emily Blunt is bulldog-like in her support, portraying his alcoholic biologist wife Kitty, unapologetic as a stressed-out mom, and Florence Pugh is troubled longtime girlfriend, psychiatrist Jean Tatlock.

Robert Downey Jr. stands out in a shrewd performance as Lewis Strauss, a founding commissioner of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and ambitious political climber, and Matt Damon is strong as General Leslie Groves Jr., director of the Manhattan Project.

Josh Hartnett, who fell off mainstream movie radar, roars back as pioneering American nuclear scientist Ernest Lawrence, who worked with Oppenheimer at University of California-Berkeley, and Benny Safdie is once again surprising as theoretical physicist Edward Teller, who disagreed with Oppie on the hydrogen bomb.

A litany of recognizable actors portraying either scientists, military brass or support staff includes Casey Affleck, Kenneth Branagh, Jason Clarke, Dane DeHaan, Tony Goldwyn, David Krumholtz, Rami Malek, Matthew Modine, and Alex Wolff.

You might also be familiar with Dylan Arnold, who plays Robert’s brother Frank Oppenheimer, Michael Angarano as good friend-physicist Robert Serber, David Dastmalchian as William Borden, who filed a complaint with the FBI, Gregory Jbara as Senate Chairman Magnuson, and Macon Blair as Oppenheimer’s defense attorney Lloyd Garrison.

This film leaps to being either a frontrunner or contender in many awards categories, figuring into the year-end conversations. It will be in mine – considerations for film, director, adapted screenplay, lead actor, supporting actor (Downey), supporting actress (Blunt), cinematography, editing, music score, visual effects, production design, costumes, hair and makeup, and sound nominations.

Nolan’s go-to cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema, Oscar nominee for “Dunkirk” and showing his keen eye in “Nope,” reaches new heights here, groundbreaking actually. He shot the film partially in black-and-white, and in doing so, made history. In a combination of IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large-format film photography it includes, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX black and white analogue photography.

L to R: Matt Damon is Leslie Groves and Cillian Murphy is J. Robert Oppenheimer in OPPENHEIMER, written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan.

So that the sections of the movie could be shot in the same quality as the rest of the film, Kodak developed the first ever black and white film stock for IMAX.

Composer Ludwig Goransson, who won an Oscar for his “Black Panther” score, distinctively guides the tone and the tempo with savvy music choices.

The artisan work is exceptional – especially Jennifer Lame’s decisive editing, and the sound editing and mixing technicians’ advanced capabilities (Richard King, Michael W. Mitchell, Kevin O’Connell, Gary A. Rizzo leading the way.)

Luisa Abel’s expert makeup and prosthetic department’s aging visages appear realistic, and costume designer Ellen Mirojnick’s looks for tweedy academia, active soldiers, swanky party guests and ‘40s housewives are spot-on, factoring in desert, Northern California, and New England climates.

Ruth De Jong’s production design spans decades and locations with accurate retro recreations, as Nolan moves from ‘20s grad school in Germany to ‘30s UC-Berkeley classrooms, to ‘40s Princeton, deserts and mountains, wartime New Mexico and McCarthy-era Washington D.C.

“Oppenheimer” harkens back to those mammoth blockbusters of old, those sweeping epics filmed by David Lean that captured our fancy. It is rare to see a movie of this magnitude be this satisfying, but it is nuanced filmmaking at its finest. Go see this big-brained movie on the biggest screen possible.

“Oppenheimer” is a 2023 drama-thriller-biography written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr., and Florence Pugh. It is Rated R for some nudity, sexuality and language and runs 3 hours. It opens in theaters on July 21. Lynn’s Grade: A.

Note: this review was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

Comfortable Cast Contemplates Life’s Unpredictability in ‘The Years’

Comfortable Cast Contemplates Life’s Unpredictability in ‘The Years’

By Lynn Venhaus
Life and death. Lost and found. Weddings and funerals. The big picture and small moments. Cindy Lou Johnson’s “The Years” mulls it all over, and a pliant cast grasps their roles astutely in a bittersweet production from The Midnight Company.

A family comedy-drama written in 1994 and presented in St. Louis some years ago by the Orthwein Theatre Company, its universal themes again connecting in the intimate space of The Chapel. Joe Hanrahan directed the current show, and the latter.

The two-act framework, at first, seems like a familiar scenario: preparing for a small wedding with chaos all around two sets of cousins. Is any family spared drama on special occasions? Not in my experience – but we’re one of those who puts the ‘fun’ in dysfunctional, so the turmoil is relatable.

And this family is indeed ‘off-center.’ “The Years” is resolute in accepting the quirky, with characters going through different phases of understanding through a 20-year period. As the two sisters Andrea and Eloise, Alicen Moser and Summer Baer suffer both in silence and then out loud. They are fine, delicate actresses who excel at their craft.

Alicen Moser. Summer Baer. Photo by Joey Rumpell.

Their flakier cousins Isabella and Andrew are counted on to get things done, and Ashley Bauman and Joey File are terrific in comic relief as bossy, neurotic older sister Isabella and slacker, yet contemplative, younger brother Andrew. Newcomer File is the show’s breakout star, and one to watch.

It’s Andrea’s wedding day, but she is delayed by an inconvenient mugging that’s left her visibly bruised and emotionally battered. Meanwhile, her sister Eloise has problems of her own. They are both fragile, anyway, as they deal with their mother’s suicide soon after their father’s death.

They move on after that turbulent day, and 13 years pass. It’s time for another family wedding, and the cousins come together after struggling through the unpredictability of life. The last act takes place three years later, and this is where it stretched credibility, but it had me up to that troubling end, which didn’t feel like a ‘wrap up.’

The confident cast makes the most of a jagged little play, for they are a finely calibrated ensemble, smooth in their deliveries and comfortable on stage with each other.

In particular, the four cousins are convincing in projecting their shared bonds. While their lives intermingle, we get snippets of their characters through the skills of the performers – because the character backstories are slim.

Rounding out the cast, Michael Pierce and Joseph Garner may seem like interlopers, but their roles are anything but random. In only one scene, Pierce is assured as Eloise’s husband Jeff and Garner, a powerful presence in recent stage appearances, is a conflicted stranger Bartholomew, a lost soul that re-emerges throughout the play. He is prone to giving advice after life-altering events: “My life didn’t change – I changed my life.”

Hanrahan, a master storyteller on his own, has a knack for connecting people through art. A creative dynamo during the coronavirus public health crisis, he pivoted with original material, and keeps challenging himself and his casts with intriguing projects – well-known or new.

An experienced fight choreographer, Pierce (“Twelfth Night” by St. Louis Shakespeare Festival and “Murder on the Orient Express” at The Rep) set up authentic confrontations.

Competent design work was handled by Brad Slavik on set, Miriam Whatley on props, and Tony Enselmo on lights. Liz Henning’s costume designs are always outstanding

While not profound, “The Years” is a thoughtful reflection on connection, curveballs in life, and how our lives are impacted in roundabout ways, and ever more relevant after a global pandemic shutdown.

Summer Baer and Michael Pierce. Photo by Joey Rumpell.

The Midnight Company presents Cindy Lou Johnson’s “The Years” from July 13 to July 29 at The Chapel Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on July 16 and 23. Tickets are on sale at metrotix.com. For more information, visit www.midnightcompany.com

The Midnight Company’s 2023 season continues with extended performances of “Just One Look” July 19, Aug. 16 and 30 at Blue Strawberry; “You Made Me Love You” July 26, Aug. 2 and 9 at Blue Strawberry; “Humans of St. Louis” at the St. Louis Fringe Festival Aug. 15-21, and “The Lion In Winter” Oct. 5-21 at the .Zack.

The Muny’s Electric, Elegant ‘West Side Story’ Aims For The Heart

The Muny’s Electric, Elegant ‘West Side Story’ Aims For The Heart

By Lynn Venhaus

Bursting with vitality, The Muny’s latest heart-tugging interpretation of “West Side Story” emphasizes its potency as a cultural snapshot and the exceptional elegance of its buttery vocals.

Arthur Laurents’ 1957 contemporary slant on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” brims with pulse-pounding tension as rival ethnic gangs, The Jets and Sharks, fight on the mean streets of Manhattan’s pre-gentrified Upper West Side while you root for forbidden yet fairy-tale hopeful love.

As the star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria, Christian Douglas and Kanisha Feliciano will break your heart and their lush vocals will melt it. Their duets “Tonight” and “One Hand, One Heart” are exquisite, as is standout Douglas exuberant in “Maria” and projecting the longing in “Something’s Coming.”

The timeless music score again demonstrates its power as one of the greatest American musicals of all-time. Some 66 years earlier, Leonard Bernstein’s supple orchestrations and 27-year-old Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant lyrics forged unforgettable songs – including poignant “Somewhere,” vibrant “America,” propulsive “The Jet Song,” comical “Gee, Officer Krupke” and the fervid “Cool.”

The Jets. Phillip Hamer photo.

Rob Ruggiero seamlessly directs the musical with compelling urgency, stressing the emotional weight of an ‘us vs. them’ culture clash, an ingrained blind hatred that fuels the tumultuous turf wars of entrenched ‘white’ lower-class locals vs. Puerto Rican immigrants.

As is his custom, Ruggiero is a master at stripping down a show to its essentials, deconstructing a piece and making us see it through new eyes. He’s been the go-to guy for definitive productions of “Sweeney Todd” (2022), “Gypsy” (2018), “Hello, Dolly!” (2014) and “South Pacific” (2013) at the Muny, and transplendent productions of Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” and “Follies” at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

When the musical first debuted on Broadway, while spellbinding and integrating those visionary dance scenes, audiences didn’t know how to take such a dark story that resulted in two major characters killed off before intermission. Tragedy wasn’t a forceful plot point in those golden era musicals – hence, “The Music Man” defeating it for Best Musical at the Tony Awards.

Photo by Phillip Hamer.

However, through the years, its appeal has grown, and several Broadway revivals have enhanced its stature, including a heralded 2009 reworking, with contributions by Lin-Manuel Miranda for more Latino authenticity.

The landmark 1961 film, the top-grosser that year, was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and won 10, including Best Picture, making it the record-holder for movie musicals. The film is second only to “Singin’ in the Rain” on American Film Institute’s list of Greatest Movie Musicals.

Sixty years after its release, director Steven Spielberg reimagined this gritty street symphony in 2021, earning critical acclaim and seven Oscar nominations, with Ariana DeBose winning Best Supporting Actress as Anita.

The film first captured my heart on the big screen, as a reissue in fall 1968 before being sold to television, and I was immediately entranced at age 13. After multiple repeat viewings, a special anniversary DVD, and devouring all sorts of behind-the-scenes materials, it still holds my heart.

Jerusha Cavazos as Anita, center. Phillip Hamer photo.

While the original hasn’t aged well in the millennium with a predominantly white cast, bad makeup and some dubbed voices, it does capture a moment in time, and the 2021 adaptation corrected the egregious.

Eager to experience the magic again, this electric production did not disappoint Sunday night. The last Muny one, in 2013 with Kyle Dean Massey and Ali Ewoldt, was epic and became my gold standard, so a high bar. Let’s just say the Muny has come a long way since the first time I saw it there in 1982, as a season ticket holder, with Barry Williams, aka “Greg Brady,” as Tony. Ah, those old days of stunt casting.

This is the ninth time “West Side Story” is at the Muny, and retains its grip with such vigor, alive with possibility. It draws out the sadness because optimism is thwarted by ill-fated violence.

This run coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Muny’s first staging in 1963. It returned for a two-week run in 1967, and was seen again in 1982, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and then 10 years ago.

While some of the dialogue is insipid in that ‘50s daddy-o way, the stage musical continues to take me to my happy place as my all-time favorite. It does still pack an emotional punch in its truth and remains relevant today.

Why did this version make me fall in love with it all over again, after seeing it countless times on tour, in regional, community and youth theaters? Let me count the ways.

the Jets vs Sharks. Phillip Hamer photo.

Jerome Robbins’ original stylized dance numbers are precisely reproduced by choreographer Parker Esse – the enthralling “Prologue,” “Dance at the Gym,” “America,” and “Cool” and the muscular, balletic ensemble leapt on the ginormous stage in breathtaking fashion. The staging of the “Somewhere” dream ballet pulls the heartstrings, enhanced by Grace Marie Rusnica’s affecting vocal.

It’s a thing of lyrical and kinetic beauty to see those polished, passionate performers burn bright with red-hot intensity. Their version of the “Tonight” Quintet and Chorus is magnetic.

Arguably, there is not a better musical score, and the numbers are admirably delivered. Music Director James Moore is such a graceful conductor that a few bars into the overture, and his artistry has you hooked with his expertly orchestrated pieces. You may recall his luxurious skills in conducting Sondheim before – “Sweeney Todd,” “Gypsy,” and the last “West Side Story.” He makes you feel the music.

Performers familiar with their role’s challenges boost the show’s dynamics. Yurel Echezarreta is the seething, smoldering Bernardo, and it’s his seventh “West Side Story,” including Spielberg’s movie.

In his fifth Muny show, Kyle Coffman brings the heat as a limber Riff, the cocky, driven leader of the Jets and Tony’s best friend “womb to tomb.” He was Ice in Spielberg’s movie and part of the 2013 ensemble.

Making her Muny debut, Jerusha Cavazos is a fiery Anita, and along with her lissome dancing, she conveys a solid chemistry with Feliciano’s Maria, including the sublime duet, “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love.”

Caylie Rose Newcom is a feisty Anybodys, the tomboy Jet, and Ethan David Steph as hothead Action, Ethan Van Slyke as greenhorn Baby John and Daniel Assetta as explosive A-rab are also notable.

Ken Page as Doc. Phillip Hamer photo.

Local actors elevate the standard “adult” roles, with revered Muny all-star Ken Page touching as the kind, frustrated Doc, Tony’s boss and drugstore owner. Versatile veteran Michael James Reed portrays Lt. Shrank with a disquieting hostile edge and what a pleasure to see outstanding dramatic actor James A. Butz making his Muny debut as the sweaty, ineffectual Officer Krupke.

Ann Beyersdorfer’s scenic design is a striking urban jungle grid, depicting the decaying tenements that would be later torn down for Lincoln Center and such. Her set pieces – the dress shop, Doc’s drugstore – are smartly detailed, and both fluid and functional. Beyersdorfer is from Belleville, Ill., and this is her third show at the Muny, after this season’s opulent “Beauty and the Beast” and last year’s earthier “Camelot.”

Other noteworthy designs include the vintage costumes from Gail Baldoni, who has selected specific muted color palettes for the Jets and the Sharks and crafted a stunning white dress as Maria’s iconic outfit for the dance. Her bright fuchsia-violet shades for the Sharks’ girls in the “Mambo” and “America” scenes are eye-catching and enliven the dances.

And John Lasiter’s lighting design takes us from sweltering summer playgrounds to moonlit fire escapes to desolate concrete battle grounds while Shawn Duan’s video design punctuates exteriors and interiors.

“West Side Story” endures as a idealistic love story dashed by the gut-punch of tragic circumstances of gang war because of the reality we live. At a time when we hear of tribal sparring daily across the nation, this story is a reminder that decades after this social commentary pointed out what misguided hostilities can lead to, this musical provides a glimmer of hope that fists won’t stay clenched, and headlines won’t point out another young gun-related death.

Whether you have never seen it or have sat under the stars mesmerized multiple times, this season’s “West Side Story” entices – it has a significant snap and pop to it, and the care involved in its presentation is perceptible. We may be dreamers, but love is a powerful tool. And these soaring vocals will give you goosebumps.

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Somewhere. Grace Marie Rusnica sings. Phillip Hamer photo.

The Muny presents “West Side Story” nightly at 8:15 p.m. from July 15 to 21 on the outdoor stage in Forest Park. For more information, visit muny.org.

Dance at the Gym. Amy Maier photo.

Daffy Doings In ‘The Nerd’: The One With the Houseguest from Hell

Daffy Doings In ‘The Nerd’: The One With the Houseguest from Hell

By Lynn Venhaus
The laughs come in waves as wackiness ensues in “The Nerd,” a fizzy farce that showcases a nimble seven-member cast at their best.

Set in architect Willum Cubbert’s bachelor apartment in Terre Haute, Ind., in November 1981, what starts out as a typical drawing room two-act play soon turns into an outrageous comedy of manners that’s at once timeless and old-fashioned — but in a charming early ‘80s way. (Answering machine messages are a part of the humor).

Now on stage at the Strauss Black Box Theatre in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, the Moonstone Theatre Company’s fleet production accents the laugh-out-loud circumstances and plays up the absurd character traits in playwright Larry Shue’s clever classic.

As played by Oliver Bacus, Cubbert is an anxious people-pleaser. His two best buds are a snobby theater critic named Axel and an ambitious ‘weather girl’ named Tansy (also former girlfriend), who are moving along with their careers while he’s, well, ‘stuck in second gear’ to use The Rembrandts’ lyric to “I’ll Be There for You” (aka the “Friends” theme song).

And like that ensemble that just clicked together, Bacus, Bryce Miller and Bridgette Bassa are a tight trio, effortlessly conveying a realistic friendship and establishing their distinct personalities as the unusually named Willum, Axel, and Tansy.

Oliver Bacus, Bridgette Bassa, Bryce Miller. Photo by Jon Gitchoff

Miller adds the sour and Bassa brings the sweet to the mix. Miller superbly lobs sarcastic one-liners and keeps the disdain brewing as he demonstrates his adroit comedic skills.

Bassa, who has been memorable in such dramatic roles as the rebellious niece Jean in “August: Osage County” and as Billy’s girlfriend Sylvia in “Tribes,” both at St. Louis Actors’ Studio, shows her comedic chops again after appearing in “Grand Horizons” at Moonstone in March.

Noteworthy is her agility during back-and-forth trips between the kitchen and the living room while carrying food, keeping the show’s fast pace on track. And she is stylish encapsulating the typical early ‘80s chic career woman look by costume designer Michele Siler, along with the requisite big hair.

Willum’s concerned friends think he is too nice of a guy, and they encourage him to have more of a backbone because those habits have affected his decision-making. Nevertheless, he is trying to advance his career and persuade Tansy to resume their relationship and not move for a job elsewhere.

Ever loyal, Willum, a Vietnam War veteran, has talked about what he owes fellow soldier Rick Steadman for saving his life. During his ‘Nam service, he was seriously wounded, and while he never met the good Samaritan Rick, he feels indebted to him. In a letter, he wrote that as long as he was alive, Rick “will have somebody on Earth who will do anything for you.”

Ryan Lawson-Maeske, Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Eager to collect the favor, Rick shows up one night, in the middle of a rather uncomfortable dinner party as Willum is trying to impress his hotel-owner client, who brought his wife, clearly ill at ease, and their rambunctious, spoiled son.

Weird timing, but Willum rolls with it, until he discovers just how peculiar Rick is and how disruptive he can be while staying as his houseguest. Pre-technology boom, the “nerd” definition was slightly different 42 years ago, and Ryan Lawson-Maeske embodies the socially inept, tone-deaf, unrefined guy in a full-throttle performance.

Accentuating the character’s oafishness, Lawson-Maeske affects a nasal, sing-song voice delivering goofy lines in a tactless way, and creating an awkward walk, so that his cadence and gait are funny no matter what he’s saying.

Bacus capably assumes the blander ‘straight’ man role because the eccentric people surrounding him need to standout. As an increasingly frustrated Willum, he feels put-upon, because this is a circus thrust upon him and people around him are demanding action in this escalating tug of war.

His exasperation and agitation grow as The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave wreaks havoc on his life. It all comes to a head when his friends concoct a ridiculous ‘foolproof’ scheme to send Rick on his merry way, and his domineering client is demanding immediate changes to his blueprints.

Kieran Thompson, Leslie Wobbe, Greg Johnston and Oliver Bacus. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

It’s a tour-de-force comedic portrayal by the versatile Lawson-Maeske, who can easily move between comedy and drama on St. Louis stages. He fully commits to the madness, finding the sweet spot so that the growing animosity towards Rick’s obnoxious behaviors isn’t perceived as cruel, being hurtful to a hopeless cause.

Presenting the ‘work’ part of the dilemma is the irritating Waldgrave family, utilizing the synergy of veterans Greg Johnston as the blustery hotel magnate and Leslie Wobbe as his fretful wife, with Kieran Thompson displaying youthful energy as their bratty kid Thor.

Shue wrote two highly regarded comedies before his untimely death at age 39 in a commuter plane crash in 1985 — “The Nerd,” produced first in 1981, and “The Foreigner,” in 1984.

At first glance, the plays seem like tailor-made laugh fests with clever turns of phrase. Shue was gifted with remarkable verbal dexterity, and adds idiosyncratic touches – not just the odd names, but Rick is a factory chalk inspector? Tansy, playing hostess, brings out heaping bowls of three-bean salad and macaroni salad — quirky choices.

But Shue also underlined the human condition in such a way that we can relate. How many times do we need a push in life, that we must get out of our way to move forward?

With this ace cast under the shrewd and sharp-witted direction of Gary Wayne Barker, you expect a madcap romp but may be surprised by the heart the players have mustered, and what it has to say about work-life balance.

The ensemble moves easily around the nondescript apartment set designed by Dunsi Dai, with recognizable retro touches. While that is static, this cast is anything but, and their proficiency in making jokes land is admirable. Their timing is so crisp it doesn’t tip off any twists, either.

 And I doubt anyone in the audience will be wanting cottage cheese any time soon.

Greg Johnston, Bridgette Bassa, Leslie Wobbe, Oliver Bacus and Bryce Miller. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Moonstone Theatre Company presents “The Nerd” July 6 – July 23 on Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. in the Strauss Black Box Theatre at KPAC, 210 E. Monroe. General admission tickets are $40, with seniors $35 and students $15. For more information, visit moonstonetheatrecompany.com or call MetroTix at 314-534-1111.

Ryan Lawson-Maeske. Photo by Jon Gitchoff.

Lissome Acting and Distinct Points of View Mark This Year’s ‘LaBute New Theater Festival’

Lissome Acting and Distinct Points of View Mark This Year’s ‘LaBute New Theater Festival’

By Lynn Venhaus

This year’s LaBute New Theater Festival dives right into blistering topical commentary on our great societal divide, and while “Safe Space” is one of the playwright’s sharpest one-acts in the fest’s nine-year history, the best play is about a troubled prizefighter who hasn’t been in the news for decades.

“One Night in the Many Deaths of Sonny Liston” by JB Heaps of New York City is a masterfully constructed conjecture about what might have happened the night the former heavyweight champion died on Dec. 30, 1970.

Both plays feature Reginald Pierre, who has frequently been a part of the festival since it began in 2013, and next to his outstanding work as Lincoln in “Topdog/Underdog” that same year, this is his finest hour, as Sonny Liston and as a theatergoer in “Safe Space.”

In a revelatory performance as Liston, Pierre conveys bravado, hurt, resentment, and toughness recounting how, as a celebrated and feared sports figure, he faded from glory as his bad boy reputation persisted.

Considered an outsider, his difficulties adjusting to fame, and those demands that led to his downfall are documented by Heaps in clever dollops of dialogue, as Liston opens up to a professional escort delivering a “Christmas present” from sordid types he does business with, at his home in Vegas.

While only hinted at, these presumed underworld figures are connected to a multi-state mob syndicate. All very shady, the real details are murky, and Heaps weaves a plausible tale because the tango Pierre does with Eileen Engel, playing this mysterious woman, is riveting.

With a world-weary air and looking glamorous in a glitzy evening gown, Engel’s smoothness makes us question whether she’s compassionate or has ulterior motives, and the more Liston spills the tea, what is her story?

As Pierre, who does not physically resemble an imposing boxer, skillfully peels back layers on Liston, he divulges a litany of hard-knock life injustices, his triumphs in the ring, and his torment over being blacklisted by the boxing establishment.

Eileen Engel, Reginald Pierre. Photo by Patrick Huber

Through exposition, Heaps shares key facts about one sharecropper’s son, born in Arkansas, an ex-con who knocked out Floyd Patterson, tussled with Muhammad Ali, hobnobbed with the rich and famous – and is included in the famous artwork on The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover. For real!

Thoughtfully directed by Kari Ely, she lets the drama unfold naturally while Pierre and Engel establish a rhythm, keep each other sharp, projecting both a mutual like and a distrust. It was one of the few plays in the line-up that was gripping until the very end.

The climactic impact is genuine, bolstered by the superb performances but also Heaps’ knowledge of the subject. A second-act playwright at 71, he retired from a television career as an executive producer for Showtime Sports where his shows on boxing won five Emmy Awards. (As they say, write what you know).

Liston’s death has remained suspicious for some 50 years, fueled by knowledge that he was a heavy drinker and used heroin. While no one knew for sure, his age was estimated at 40. His wife, Geraldine, whom he married in 1950, was from St. Louis and there visiting her mother over the holidays. She discovered his body about two weeks after authorities think he died.

Because Pierre gives emotional heft to a tragic, larger-than-life figure, you may want to find out more about the guy, nicknamed “The Bear,” and there is a 2019 Showtime documentary called “Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston.”

Heaps’ play opens the second act, while “Safe Space” kicks off the presentation.

Engel, Anthony Wininger. Photo by Patrick Huber.

LaBute, the provocateur, through shrewd writing and supple performers, tackles the current state of “us vs. them,” the culture wars and racial friction in the U.S., in “Safe Space.” It is through the theatrical lens that he explores how we got to this point and is today’s state of outrage histrionic or necessary.

Here, he seats a privileged white woman (Jane Paradiso) next to a black theatergoer (Reginald Pierre) for a performance advertised as a special evening for African Americans to come together for this show, although they allowed others to purchase tickets too. The Man attempts to be polite in the shared space, but the Woman feels his agitation, and let the verbal sparring begin.

LaBute, the longtime playwright and screenwriter, has written a new work for every festival, and his highly verbal and rhythmic dialogue is well-suited for one of his favorite themes – political correctness. And add the divisive climate now infiltrating every aspect of daily life, and let the fur fly.

We’re at a point where any little thing we say — whether misunderstood, taken out of context, or deemed inappropriate, will be used against us in the public court of opinion. And is anyone really listening anymore or just shouting to be heard? “Safe Space” touches on all those notes.

The points of view here are strong, so if you wince at any confrontation, be warned. But it is a lively exchange that does come to some sort of truce. And a time capsule entry for 2023.

Paradise is captivating as a woman huffy about being perceived as entitled, but then demonstrating why one could understand that observation and Pierre easily throws shade with some glances and reactions, defensive about why he’s pitching a fit. Both are deft in their delivery, and John Contini astute in his direction of the rapid-fire, razor-sharp piece.

Laurel Button, Colleen Backer. Photo by Patrick Huber.

Like LaBute’s play, the others utilize the intimacy of the black box stage to their advantage. The festival features works that have up to four characters.

The other three dramas in the line-up this year include “The Blind Hem” by Bryn McLaughlin of Oregon, “DaVinci’s Cockroach” by Amy Tofte, and “The Mockingbird’s Nest” from Craig Bailey of Vermont.

I heard someone in the audience compare the offerings to a box of chocolates. The plays, always a mixed bag, are memorable when they are a touch strange and keep us off guard. Others prefer less edge, but different is better than staid.

In any case, the talent is usually affecting, and this year, the format lends itself to their particular strengths. Colleen Backer, who excels at portraying eccentrics, is a jittery scientist named Dana whose work destroys things. Perhaps she’s soulless, she seems guilty about the way her life has gone. Loathe to connection, she does engage with a staff member, Finn, who is having a bad day at an art museum in “DaVinci’s Cockroach.”

They talk about things trivial and big-picture, and you want to know more about the pair, to an extent. But hen Tofte just goes on for far too long. But Laurel Button is impressive as a kooky, colorful young woman for whom art brings joy.

“The Blind Hem” is a melancholy-tinged romance between a college professor and a former student – hence named after the ‘invisible’ stitches in a garment, and is one of those character studies where you have to read between the lines to fully grasp what is happening, and what transpired before we entered their cheap motel room. Anthony Wininger is Robert, a conflicted man fooling himself about life, while Eileen Engel is Kate, no longer in school but still naïve.

They’re fine, although unsympathetic, but does McLaughlin’s play say anything new or explore another facet of an illicit romance that we haven’t seen before?

“The Mockingbird’s Nest” takes on another familiar topic – an aging parent’s dementia but does so with a technological twist. We’ve wound up in the twilight zone, and that’s a clever aspect of Craig Bailey’s piece. But despite Backer and Paradise’s splendid portrayals, the play ultimately loses steam by not trimming what seemed to be a tacked-on ending.

The production crew is efficient in setting the scenes for each show, and Abby Pastorelli’s costume design nails each personality in a simple yet effective way. She also did the artwork shown, which is for sale.

A 10-member panel selects the plays from submissions across the country. It’s nice to see a rebound from the pandemic that halted theater, then delayed its reboot with those pesky variants.

The presentations offer food for thought, an opportunity to see something thought-provoking and watch local performers shine, but best of all, support new work.

Backer, Paradise. Photo by Patrick Huber

St. Louis Actors’ Studio presents the ninth annual LaBute New Theater Festival July 7 to 9, July 13-16, and July 20-23, with performances at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 3 p.m. on Sundays at The Gaslight Theater on North Boyle in the Central West End. For more information: www.stlas.org

‘MI:7’ Is Stunt Spectacular, Thorny Mission on Cruise Control

‘MI:7’ Is Stunt Spectacular, Thorny Mission on Cruise Control

By Lynn Venhaus

One thing about Tom Cruise: Love him or hate him, he is a consummate entertainer. And let’s face it, we’re sucked into Cruise’s World nearly every time he headlines an adventure trying to save the world.

If there is peril, he shows up. He knows how to throw himself to a rip-roaring yarn, as he has proven time and again. In yet another bold, brash move as Ethan Hunt, he pushed himself with death-defying stunts that are among the most dazzling in movie history in this seventh one, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.”

His Impossible Missions Force team must track down a dangerous weapon before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins.

Now 61, Cruise was 57 when filming initially started, so give him credit for stretching himself physically, a remarkable feat. For a glimpse of the risky business — Exhibit 1: Motorcycle stunt on the edge of a cliff. My jaw dropped and my stomach flip-flopped when he freefalls.

That might not top the helicopter chase in “Fallout” (MI:6), also filmed by now head cinematographer Fraser Taggart, but it’s a dandy and among several terrifying set pieces including an extensive pulse-pounding pursuit through the streets of Rome and fights on aboard and on top of a speeding train (and not just any train, but THE Orient Express).

While not as emotionally impactful as Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” last year’s sequel to a 1986 film that proved to be more successful than anyone thought – I mean, 36 years later? — “MI 7” played to his strengths.

Because he exceeded expectations for making the 2022 top-grossing film of the year ($718,732,821, to be exact), and was an Oscar nominee for Best Picture, there is a great deal of current goodwill. Some said he “saved Hollywood” by getting people into theaters post-pandemic. Let’s see if he repeats.

MI7 produces the thrills that define a crowd-pleasing blockbuster, but not the chills, and perhaps still will be a summer success after a few other tentpoles sputtered.

There is a sense of comfort in nostalgia. Like John Williams’ rousing Indiana Jones score, composer Lorne Balfe uses variations of Lalo Shifrin’s iconic TV series theme song to punctuate the action.

As with Harrison Ford returning as Indy, Cruise settles into another beloved familiar character, fearless American secret agent Ethan Hunt. Based on the Emmy-winning TV show (1966-1973) formula created by Bruce Geller, this covert Impossible Missions Force spans the globe fighting international terrorists in sophisticated ways.

After 27 years, we expect elaborate action and increasingly complicated high-tech plots. The first feature film directed by Brian De Palma was successful in 1996, its sequel stumbled in 2000 directed by John Woo, came back super-charged by director J.J. Abrams with Philip Seymour Hoffmann as a cunning villain in 2006, was even better in director Brad Bird’s “Ghost Protocol” in 2011, followed by what some say are the best ones in Christopher McQuarrie’s “Rogue Nation” in 2015 and “Fallout” in 2018. Now we have a long, dense follow-up in “Dead Reckoning,” a first part that is 2 hours and 43 minutes.

Hayley Atwell is the slippery Grace, Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt, world savior.

McQuarrie, who directed and co-wrote the script with Erik Jendresen, has been a consistent collaborator with Cruise during the 21st century. They first worked together on “Valkyrie” in 2008, followed by “Jack Reacher,” which he directed, and “Edge of Tomorrow.” That led to writing and directing the fifth and sixth ones, the first repeat director.

McQuarrie won the Oscar for his original screenplay “The Usual Suspects” in 1995 and was nominated last year for the adapted screenplay of “Top Gun: Maverick.”

The man who created Keyser Soze knows his way around criminal masterminds, but there’s a less than compelling one in sinister Gabriel, played by Esai Morales. He somehow is connected to the evil algorithm “The Entity,” which is so advanced it manipulates reality and the truth to cause endless chaos.

The menace is never-ending, although the enigmatic plot is dull. However, four interesting actresses shine in strong-willed roles: Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Vanessa Kirby, while Rebecca Ferguson returns for round three as MI6 operative Ilsa Faust.

Even with his energy and intensity, Cruise needs strong support, which he gets from the unsung heroes Simon Pegg as tech turned field agent Benji Dunn and Ving Rhames as wingman Luther Stickell.

Foe-turned-frenemy Atwell distinguishes herself as the slippery Grace. Since 2011, she has played beloved Peggy Carter, Captain America’s one true love, in all things Avenger-related in the Marvel universe (TV and film).

 Oscar-nominated Kirby returns as the mysterious White Widow from “Fallout,” still sketchy, and a ferocious Klementieff, Mantis in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, is cold-blooded assassin Paris.

It’s a stacked cast. Cary Elwes is CIA’s Denlinger and Henry Czerny, from the first movie,  is back as Kittredge, while Shea Wigham and Greg Tarzan Davis are agents Briggs and Degas hot on the trail.

Czerny, with his ace delivery, has the best line: “Your days of fighting for the so-called greater good are over. This is our chance to control the truth. The concepts of right and wrong for everyone for centuries to come. You’re fighting to save an ideal that doesn’t exist. Never did. You need to pick a side.”

It’s a very different global playing field from when they first launched the feature film. They’ve all been high-octane state-of-the-art thrillers, but this one is hyper-speed. Stunts aside, their mission has always been against shadowy figures hell-bent on ruthless power. Noble, sure, but do we care?

My main beef is that it’s not so much a nail-biter as it is an exercise in endurance. The mumbo-jumbo about “The Entity” gets ridiculous.

Yet, the adrenaline rush takes over viewing. Think of it as a summer sojourn to Cruise World. We are all pulled into his orbit. We’ll see what he’s up to next June, as no. 8 is set for June 28, 2024.

“Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part I” is a 2023 action-adventure directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Cary Elwes, Henry Czerny. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material .and runs 2 hours and 43 minutes. It opens in theaters on July 12. Lynn’s Grade: B-.

Muny’s Gambit Showcases Virtuoso Talents in Stylish, Daring ‘Chess’

Muny’s Gambit Showcases Virtuoso Talents in Stylish, Daring ‘Chess’

By Lynn Venhaus

What was that?

A stunning showcase featuring some of the most passionate voices ever on a St. Louis stage, “Chess” is a love triangle, dramatic duel, a singular experience – and an extraordinary achievement for The Muny and its loyal audience.

For those not familiar with the show, either in concert or as musical theater, you are not alone. Those in-the-know cool kids had often waxed rhapsodic about the rock-symphonic score – and now we know why.

The 1986 rarely seen/performed pop opera, with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and lyrics by Tim Rice (“Jesus Christ, Superstar” and “Evita”), concerns a clash of world powers at an international chess tournament.

Set during the highly charged ‘80s political atmosphere of the Cold War, the mind games between rivals Soviet Union and the United States escalate. Tensions are high, and so are the stakes. And then a fight develops over a woman that further complicates matters.

Most people know “Chess” only for its catchy pop hit, “One Night in Bangkok,” which was an MTV staple and now heard on classic radio stations (and fun fact, sung by Murray Head, the original Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar.”) Its checkered history has become grist to the backstage mill, especially concerning the troubled book.

Principal characters of “Chess” Photo by Philip Hamer

Initially a concept album in 1984, it opened as a theatrical piece in London two years later to much acclaim, and ran for three years. With an altered book, moved to Broadway in 1988, where it flopped (ran only for two months). A revival was staged in London’s West End in 2018, and now the Muny is doing what has been described as “mostly the London version” after other revisions over the years.

It is risky to bring something so different and uncommon to St. Louis audiences and mount it on the 102-foot-wide outdoor stage, where generations have delighted in the civic traditions and traditional productions for 105 years.

That, in itself, is a challenge, and the amount of care to create a compelling piece was evident in the collaboration between director and choreographer Josh Rhodes, music director Jason DeBord and the design dream team of Edward E. Haynes Jr. (scenic), Emily Rebholz (costumes), Rob Denton (lighting) and Alex Basco Koch (video).

Because this introduction was handled in such a spellbinding way, we all won. I still don’t know any more about chess than when I took my seat, but that’s OK. That’s not the point. And you don’t need to know anything either to marvel at the stylized look, the silky vocals, and the creative team’s bold choices.

This is not your mom’s “South Pacific” or even Andersson-Ulvaeus’ “Mamma Mia!” And from the reaction of the crowd, people were fine with that. The audience seemed genuinely excited to see something new to them, and they leaned in, responding with ovations that swelled more with each musical number.

Photo by Phillip Hamer

All around me, people were rapt – captivated by the political intrigue, the global playing field, the thorny romance – in other words, epic gamesmanship. When the boom opened to reveal an expansive, inventive set design, people applauded, and it grew from there.

The complex storyline isn’t the easiest to follow, and sometimes, the context is lost because of the ‘80s being the state of play. If you don’t understand the root of the hostilities, then it can appear to have a whiff of pretention.. (If you think about it, does mirror the decade!). It’s very helpful to read a synopsis ahead of time.

But what made this production something special were the leads – gifted with world-class talent, their powerful vocals soared into the night sky, and they hit the emotional beats to make the action matter.

John Riddle, a Muny veteran recently seen as Raoul in “The Phantom of the Opera” on Broadway, is sensational as the Russian grandmaster Anatoly Sergievsky. Among his many moments, he induced chills in the one-act finale solo, “Anthem,” giving his head vs. heart country dilemma depth.

When he falls in love with the Hungarian-born Florence, the remarkable Jessica Vosk reaches new heights. She wowed as Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway and as the Narrator in The Muny’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” last year and has an exceptional voice.

John Riddle as Anatoly Sergievsky. Photo by Phillip Hamer

Their duet, “You and I” is simply gorgeous, and along with Jarrod Spector, as the flashy American grandmaster Frederick Trumper, their “Mountain Duet” is when the games really begin.

Vosk also wows in an intense “Nobody’s Side” with the ensemble, and in the conflicted “Heaven Help My Heart.”

In his second show this summer, Spector is quickly becoming a fan favorite. He was last seen in the season opener “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” as Barry Mann, for which he was nominated for a Tony. He is well-cast as the brash, arrogant American whose cockiness and hot temper provoke controversy, and delivers a strong “One Night in Bangkok” ensemble number as well as his solo, “Pity the Child.”

Speaking of fan favorites, Tony nominee Taylor Louderman, who grew up in Bourbon, Mo., and has graced the Muny stage multiple times throughout her young life, isn’t seen until the second act. She plays the pivotal role of Anatoly’s wife, Svetlana, and history has its eyes on her. Looking fabulous in a beautiful white dress, she owns the stage in “Someone Else’s Story,” and is heartbreaking, along with Vosk, in “I Know Him So Well.”

Experienced Muny performer Phillip Johnson Richardson as The Arbiter (president of the International Chess Federation) is a formidable presence while Rodney Hicks, as Freddie’s financial administrator/secret CIA agent Walter De Courcey, and Tally Sessions, as part of Anatoly’s team and a KGB agent Alexander Molokov, stir up trouble and orchestrate double-crosses.

At Thursday night’s performance, unruffled associate music director Michael Horsley smoothly conducted the orchestra with a firm hand.

The design team’s concepts are striking, giving the show a certain look and attitude. Edward E. Haynes Jr., who won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for his Gaslight Square inspired set of “Smokey Joe’s Café,” has created eye-catching geometric grids and continues a checkerboard theme throughout the pomp and circumstance of the European and Asian settings (Merano, Italy, and Bangkok, Thailand specifically).Video designer Alex Basco Koch’s work is integral here, with multimedia incorporated into the presentation.

With its dramatically operatic arc, moments of levity are few, but plunging back into ‘80s fashions is fun, especially spotting power suits and shoulder pads. Costume designer Emily Rebholz has made members of the ensemble look like they stepped out of Robert Palmer’s “Addicted to Love” music video, with their belted black mini dresses adorned with white collars.

Taylor Louderman, center. Photo by Phillip Hamer.

It was a smart move for The Muny to partner with the Saint Louis Chess Club and World Chess Hall of Fame for this presentation – after all, St. Louis was the site of the first official world championship in 1886 and home to many devotees. (Stop by their Central West End location for free exhibits and tours).

Although the characters are fictional, supposedly the American is loosely based on champ Bobby Fischer while the Russian is a composite of Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karnov. Book writer and lyricist Tim Rice had a Cold War musical for awhile on his radar, fascinated by the 1972 “Match of the Century” between Fischer and Boris Spassky, and that adds context too.

For those who remember the Cold War, “Chess” taps into the two world powers trying to manipulate to gain the upper hand, and in the Reagan years, when the U.S.’s strong anti-communist agenda swelled after the Iran Hostage Crisis and other international trouble spots.

Sixty years after I learned to ‘duck and cover’ during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Russia is a constant thorn in the U.S. side and is at war with Ukraine. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

As a commentary on strategizing geopolitics and propaganda, “Chess” is interesting, but as a bittersweet love story, has more emotional heft. Already in the record books as the largest production of a “Chess” revival, the chief pleasure in The Muny’s grand, inspired staging is the powerhouse vocals.

In sports terms that we can all identify with, The Muny knocked it out of the park, giving us a dandy night to remember.

The ensemble of “Chess.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.

The Muny presents the musical “Chess” July 5-11 at 8:15 p.m. on the outdoor stage in Forest Park. For more information: muny.org.

Photos by Phillip Hamer

“One Night in Bangkok.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.

Encore! Theater Presents Hard-Hitting August Wilson’s ‘The Piano Lesson’

Encore! Theater Presents Hard-Hitting August Wilson’s ‘The Piano Lesson’

By Lynn Venhaus

August Wilson’s powerful, haunting “The Piano Lesson” is an ambitious kick-off for an emerging theater company’s inaugural production in their new home at South Side Spaces.

The Encore Theater Group may lack resources, as a low-budget scenic design in a church basement indicates, but they are not short on effort and drive.

Wilson’s drama, his fourth play of the Pittsburgh, or Century, Cycle, is set in the Hill District in 1936, after the Great Depression, and focuses on themes of legacy, identity, and healing.

The renowned Wilson wrote a series of 10 plays chronicling the black experience in 20th century America, and each one is set in a different decade, with nine of them in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood where Wilson grew up. For this play, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1990, and it was originally produced on Broadway in 1987.

In the Doaker Charles household, a battle is brewing between strong-willed siblings. At the center is the family’s prized piano, an heirloom because carvings of enslaved relatives are in the design.

Entrepreneur-ish sharecropper Boy Willie (Zachary Clark) wants to sell it to build the family fortune and has just arrived from Mississippi with a truck full of watermelons. His sister Berniece (understudy Angel Carter stepped in for Atiera “Tarrah” Currie) plans to go to any length to keep it and preserve their family history, for the images of their great-grandfather’s wife and son are on it. Their uncle (Don McClendon) stands in between, acting as the family storyteller, and the ghosts of the past resurface, for apparently, their home is haunted.

Wilson’s themes are universal, and Encore! director Jason J. Little concentrates on the family dynamics to present an intimate view of the African American experience — reflecting progress and change (or not).

Clark excels as the impulsive Boy Willie, who makes a strong case for using the money to buy the land where their ancestors worked as slaves. That way, they can honor them by taking back what their ancestors couldn’t own in their lifetime. But his family will be the voice of reason, talking about the importance of legacy and learning from the past.

The core male actors click when together on stage. Dennis Jethroe II is notable as comical Wining Boy, the elder brother of Doaker, who is a smooth-talking piano player and a gambler. He has a funny scene slickly selling shy Lymon spiffy clothes to go out on the town in, and often provides comic relief.

Alexander “Smoogie” Christian is a charmer as the well-meaning Lymon, who is trying to find his way in the world.  Larry Green is genuine in his portrayal of the good-natured, sensible preacher Avery, who is sweet on Berniece. Don McClendon, a St. Louis stalwart with a lengthy stage and screen resume, lends gravitas as the head of household, trying to impart the wisdom of experience.

Their characters’ struggle to reconcile the past with their ancestral heritage needs to make a potent connection because Wilson had a lot to say here. Overall, more character-building would have helped to understand the conflicts and gradually feel the rationale of their choices and behaviors.

The supporting cast included Arriel Cummings as a lively gal pal Grace and Jada Little as Berniece’s dutiful but frightened 11-year-old daughter Maretha.

As the understudy, Angel Clark had to do the heavy lifting on opening night, and it is not easy to slip into such a demanding role. At first, she yells a lot at her brother, so you know there is underlying tension, things not spoken, and it’s crucial to understand their complicated relationship. She blames him for her husband Crawley’s death three years earlier.

Understanding the depth of the backstories is important to bring out the emotions, and confronting the ghosts of slavery makes for a hard-hitting show.

On opening night, just before curtain, a noisy thunderstorm unleashed a torrential downpour, and the thunder rolled and lightning struck outside for several hours, which could be heard, and somewhat hampered sound. That additional challenge could have affected the action on stage.

Pacing was an issue, as a planned runtime of 2 hours, 20 minutes took well over 3 and a half hours to complete (not counting late start because of storm). With a less-than-perfect first night under their belt, it is hoped that the rest of the run was less bumpy.

I saw this play during its second go-round by the Black Repertory Theatre of St. Louis in 2013, and it has stayed with me ever since that night in the Grandel. The Black Rep famously completed the Century Cycle – only the third company in the U.S. to do so – from 1988 to 2003 and has been repeating it. Their first production of “The Piano Lesson” was in 1992.

In their mission to bring another round of the American Century Cycle to St. Louis, they’ve earned St. Louis Theater Circle awards for outstanding production of a drama with “Two Trains Running” in 2022 and “Jitney” in 2023, and they’ve presented “Seven Guitars” in 2017 and “Fences” in 2018. The Clayton Community Theatre has also performed Wilson’s works, most recently “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” in 2021. They have been my introduction into the celebrated playwright’s works, and much appreciated.

Any opportunity to bring Wilson to St. Louis audience in today’s political climate is a good one, but the technical aspects need to be crisp, especially sound and lighting. The company’s executive director Effrem Grettenberger’s specialized lighting design and Jay B. Saffold’s sound design to mimic the supernatural happenings are effective, but there were some technical issues with cues and hard-to-hear dialogue at other times.

Currie, the company’s artistic director, assembled the modest scenic design and handled the costume design with flair, creating character statements through bold color choices and vintage wear. The hats were terrific.

Encore! is well-intentioned about art nourishing the soul, and offering a sense of community, inclusion, and diversity. Their next production is “Cuentame,” in which people will share their personal stories, in November.

Just FYI: To explore “The Piano Lesson” further, Netflix will stream a filmed production of the recent Broadway revival starring Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker and John David Washington as Boy Willie, produced by Denzel Washington, sometime either later this year or early in 2024.

Encore Theatre Group presents August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” June 30 – July 9, with Friday and Saturday performances at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. at 2607 Potomac in south St. Louis (South Side Spaces). For more information: www.encorestl.org. You can learn more about the cast and crew here:. https://our.show/pianolesson