By Lynn Venhaus The title “Flag Day” is meant to be a metaphor about the American Dream. Who better to embody the flip side of that, with his usual white-hot intensity, than Sean Penn?
The two-time Oscar winner starred and directed this gut-wrenching character study and gets inside the head of a deeply flawed man, John Vogel, who scammed his way through adulthood. Vogel believed life was a grand adventure but was always seeking easy street — and felt he was owed la dolce vita.
Based on Jennifer Vogel’s 2004 memoir, “Flim-Flam Man: The True Story of My Father’s Counterfeit Life,” a complicated father-daughter dynamic takes place from 1975 to 1992, mostly in Minnesota, as she learns dad is more of a train wreck than the larger-than-life figure she thought.
This father of two opted for reckless decisions instead of responsibility, which affected his wife, son and daughter.
The realities of his desperation slowly crept into young Jennifer’s psyche, whose mournful voice is heard over the narration. This is her story, of how she salvaged a broken life and became ‘someone who mattered,” pursuing a career as a journalist.
In a masterful debut, Dylan Penn embodies Jennifer with a yearning, an aching sense of loss, and a moral center. She finds the darkness inside the character as well as the light. Dylan, the 30-year-old daughter of Sean and former wife Robin Wright, is a striking, soulful beauty reminiscent of her mother.
The story, which we know won’t end well, is told in flashback. Screenwriters Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth, who wrote “Fair Game” starring Penn and 2019’s smash hit “Ford vs. Ferrari,” have created an emotional connection that some viewers will relate to – because not everyone grew up in a “Leave It to Beaver” sitcom family household.
Golden-hued memories of idyllic summers at one of Minnesota’s lakes contrast family turmoil. After dad left a trail of unpaid bills and broken promises, he split. But mom, Patty (Katheryn Wittock) descended into a bottle, neglecting the kids.
Those who did not have a safe, secure childhood can relate, and identify with Jennifer finding her voice as she struggles to survive the past, but also of that inescapable bond between parent and child.
Jennifer and her brother Nick see-saw between parents and when teenagers, emerge as the brother-and-sister Penns – Dylan is a punk-goth teen by now. Nick is played by Dylan’s younger brother, Hopper Jack Penn.
In the flashbacks, sweet performances are delivered by Addison Tymec, at 6, and Jadyn Rylee, from 11 to 13, as young Jennifer, and Beckam Crawford as young Nick, age 9-11.
In his sixth directorial effort – and first one featuring him acting, Penn covers a lot of ground. While he is especially good in the interactions with his daughter, he also lapses into proud dad behind the director’s chair, perhaps a little too indulgent with camera time on Dylan. She is, though, destined for stardom.
This might not be in the same league as his best work, “Into the Wild” in 2007, but Penn is a smart storyteller.
One of the film’s drawbacks is the brief turns by accomplished actors. Josh Brolin is part of two scenes as Vogel’s brother Beck (he and Penn worked together on “Milk”) and you want more of him. Regina King is a federal agent and St. Louis’ own, two-time Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz, plays against type as mom’s creepy boyfriend who attempts to assault Jennifer.
When mom turns a blind eye, Jennifer takes off to live with dad, and while she tries to steer him to a normal routine, that ends with more lies, schemes and a prison sentence for armed robbery. He can no longer fool his daughter.
Jennifer’s redemption and John’s lack of is how the film crawls to its inevitable conclusion, as Vogel is targeted by U.S. Marshals after counterfeiting $22 million. He was the most notorious counterfeiter in U.S. history and the subject of an “Unsolved Mysteries” in May 1995.
Melancholy tinges nearly the entire production, but there are moments of love and joy, and some glimmers of hope.
Cinematographer Danny Moder excels at capturing the youthful nostalgia and the patriotic pageantry of American holidays celebrated by many municipalities across the land.
The music is a high point, from composer Joseph Vitarelli and featuring acoustic songs written by Cat Powers, Glen Hansard (“Once”) and Eddie Vedder.
But the main takeaway is a haunting father-daughter story made more poignant by the talent and skills of a real father and daughter.
“Flag Day” is a 2021 true crime drama directed by Sean Penn and starring Dylan Penn, Sean Penn, Katherine Wittock, Hopper Jack Penn, Regina King, Josh Brolin, Bailey Noble, Norbert Leo Butz and Eddie Marsan. Rated R for language, some drug use and violent content, with a run time of 1 hour, 49 minutes. After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the film opens in theaters on Aug. 27. Lynn’s Grade: B+.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
A refreshing summer breeze took over the Muny for the premiere of the solid-gold Emilio and Gloria Estefan musical “On Your Feet!” and transformed it into an effusive Saturday night Dance Party. Did we need this now or what?
A winning combination of melodic Latin rhythms, heartfelt pop ballads, ebullient dance moves and an only-in-America success story, this electrifying jukebox musical swiftly engaged the crowd, who seemed ready to have the rhythm get them up and on their feet for a rockin’ megamix curtain call.
The winds of change were noticeable opening night on that venerable stage in Forest Park, where it has been a beacon in times of turmoil – and created more than a few memorable moments. Will we remember this night as a turning point? It deserves to be one.
To be sure, it was a fait accompli that also was of historical significance. Looking back at the past decade, this Muny premiere is the most recent work on the schedule, having opened on Broadway in 2015.
While the Municipal Opera archives includes pre-Broadway tryouts and shows imported directly from New York, “On Your Feet!” is also among the shows that have had the shortest time between its Broadway debut and the Muny-produced premiere. For instance, “On Your Feet!” has six years between those markers, only surpassed by “Legally Blonde” — 2007 in NYC and 2011 in Forest Park, and “Newsies” on Broadway in 2012 and at the Muny in 2017. (“Kinky Boots” and “Matilda the Musical” both opened on Broadway in April 2013 and were at the Muny the summer of 2019, and “Shrek the Musical” was in NYC in 2007 and at The Muny in 2013, so all tying the six years’ gap.)
The show also represents a sea change — the first about Latinos by Latinos with a primarily Latino cast. The Estefans are known for breaking barriers, so kudos for this achievement, too.
Arianna Rosario and Omar Lopez-Cepero as Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
Because the audience of 5,930 wholeheartedly embraced this modern musical, magic materialized and represented something larger in the big picture. After all, the Muny is most importantly about community, and “On Your Feet!” is about what community means – and how determination and everlasting love can get us over insurmountable odds.
There is so much to like about this local production, well-suited for the expansive outdoors stage, not only a showcase for sizzling performances but also as a panorama of cultural heritage.
Based on the remarkable true story of married power couple Emilio and Gloria Estefan (lightning bolts Omar Lopez-Cepero and Arianna Rosario), who met while making music in Miami. Gloria Maria Milagrosa Fajardo Garcia was 17, studying for a degree in psychology.
As leader of the popular group Miami Latin Boys, Emilio recognized her talent, and it was apparent early on they made quite a team. They eventually married, had a son and daughter, and built an international career that resulted in Gloria becoming one of the best-selling female artists of all-time. (75 million records and counting).
Impossible was never in their vocabulary, and the realities of what they overcame makes for a compelling narrative. Above all, their backstory illustrates how enormous hard work and belief in what they offered paid off.
In the 1980s, their Miami Sound Machine music was a revolutionary fusion of Cuban and American cultures and as an early crossover to other audiences, earned worldwide acclaim through its propulsive beats: “Conga!”, “Rhythms Is Gonna Get You,” “1-2-3,” “Get on Your Feet” and “Live for Loving You” lit up club dance floors. Fame and fortune followed, but not without its struggles.
Initially, Gloria shied away from the spotlight, but that exceptional voice demanded she be front and center. The band became known as Gloria Estefan and The Miami Sound Machine, later dropping the group name. Grammy Awards, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Kennedy Center Honors and two Super Bowl halftime appearances are among her accolades.
The ready-made-for-a-musical opened at New York’s Marquis Theatre in 2015 after a Chicago tryout and closed after 746 performances in 2017. Some of the Muny cast and production team were involved in the Broadway show, including music director Lon Hoyt, who makes the music pop with pizzazz.
Omar Lopez-Cepero and Arianna Rosario. Photo by Phillip Hamer
This biopic was immediately elevated by the casting of real-life husband-and-wife Lopez-Cepero and Rosario as the leads. They make a dynamic duo, easily captivating with sincerity, personality and noticeable chemistry.
As the Queen of Latin pop, Rosario is a dazzling magnetic force delivering hit after catchy hit and conveying warmth and courage in the personal life interludes. During the Broadway run, she was an understudy for Gloria and performed as Rebecca, Gloria’s sister, and in the ensemble.
Since his breakthrough performance in the Muny’s 2017 “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and his tremendous turn as Armando in 2019’s “Paint Your Wagon,” Lopez-Cepero has been notable. Fortunately, he finally gets an opportunity to be in a starring role, and effortlessly rises to the occasion. He was in the original Broadway cast as a supporting player.
He shines as Emilio, who recognized Gloria’s talents and would not be deterred by all the doors shut along the way, opening windows instead and allowing the music to do its magic. His splendid voice soars in “Don’t Want to Lose You.”
Both the Estefans and the headliners project that their marriage is a terrific representation of a true partnership.
Family is a major focus of the musical’s book by Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Oscar winner for co-writing the original screenplay of “Birdman” with Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone and Armando Bo.
The delightful Alma Cuervo, who originated the role of Consuelo, Gloria’s supportive “abuela’ (grandma) on Broadway, endeared herself on the larger stage.
And because there is never a musical biography without conflict, that friction is displayed in the rocky relationship with bitter mom, also named Gloria, whose dreams were crushed at a young age.
As the elder Gloria, Natascia Diaz stands out in song – “Mi Tierra” and with Lopez-Cepero in “If I Never Got to Tell You,” a song written by Gloria and her daughter Emily Estefan for this show.
Locally, Diaz won a Kevin Kline Award for best supporting actress in a musical in 2006 for portraying Anita in The Muny’s 2005 “West Side Story” and was nominated for a St. Louis Theater Circle Award as Velma Kelly in the Muny’s “Chicago” in 2012.
While the book follows the template of many other standard biographies, Gloria’s backstory does include some hefty issues. At age 2, she fled from the revolution in Cuba with her family. In the U.S. military, her father served in the Bay of Pigs invasion and volunteered for Vietnam, and Gloria’s tapes of her singing comforted him on the far-away battlefield.
Martin Sola is poignant as Jose Fajardo, the loving dad suffering from multiple sclerosis. He was also a part of the Broadway production.
Adolescent performers are bright lights — Isabella Iannelli as young Gloria and Jordan Vergara as son Nayib and young Emilio respectively. Vergara made his Broadway debut as an alternate in those roles and continued playing them in the national tour.
There is a fun recreation of a Shriners convention in Vegas, with the two youngsters as tiny Elvis impersonators, and the enitre youth ensemble is a sunny presence in the big numbers.
The multi-generational ensemble is noteworthy – and the diversity reflects how America looks today. Bravo to the casting that recognized talent comes in all different shades and sizes, and for the work by dialect coach Gaby Rodriguez Perara.
Director Maggie Burrows, a Muny first-timer, has deftly pulled all the elements together to keep the story on its toes, fortified with athletic choreography by William Carlos Angulo and Hoyt’s percussive beat. The musicians were a finely tuned machine, and the additional percussion gave the pulsating numbers extra oomph.
Costume Designer Leon Dobkowski’s signature swirling mix of bright colors provided flexibility and were pleasing to watch in motion.
The book’s construction makes it necessary to stage small, intimate scenes – such as a kitchen counter, a bedroom, a dressing room and a hospital bed, so I wish the sound had been better, because at times it was subpar, hard to hear the conversations.
Because of Gloria’s explosive career as an entertainer, scenic designer Tim Mackabee has staged multiple numbers with the pop superstar descending a staircase in headlining diva mode, and the band perched in full view – which lends such a vitality.
As does video segments on the LED screen as an ‘up close and personal’ viewpoint – an ingenious move that offers something new. Kudos to video designer Kate Ducey on the innovative work.
The scenic design also features a minimal but effective use of tropical settings in Havana and south Florida.
Act II features the devastating accident in March 1990, when the Estefans’ tour bus collided with a semi-truck in a snowstorm. Gloria suffered severe spinal injuries, and could have never walked again, but a nine-hour surgery, where they inserted two titanium rods, helped her to fully recover – that and an intense focus on rehabilitation, not to mention the encouragement from thousands of fans across the globe.
The finale recalls the stunning moment when Gloria took the stage at the American Music Awards the next year and sang “Coming Out of the Dark,” which she wrote with Emilio and songwriter/bandmate Jon Secada.
As with any triumph in life, persistence is the key, and this musical exemplifies that, just like Gloria’s album, “Into the Light.”
“On Your Feet!” is a breath of fresh air, a jolt of joy in an increasingly scary world. As the joint was jumpin’ on opening night, this indicated patrons could be receptive to a brand-new day.
How lovely that the universal language of music could soothe our souls at a time we badly need a reminder in the enduring, inspiring notion that America still is the land of hope and dreams.
This summer smile was indeed welcome. And a sweet ending with fireworks after tripping the light fantastic.
“On Your Feet!” is presented nightly at 8:15 p.m. from Saturday, Aug. 21 to Friday, Aug. 27, at the Muny outdoor stage in Forest Park. For more information, visit www.muny.org. For tickets, visit www.Metrotix.com or the Muny box office, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Sunday at 1 Theatre Drive, or call (314) 361-1900 x1550.
The Megamix Curtain Call. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
Muny photos by Phillip Hamer.
Lynn Venhaus has been reviewing the Muny since 2009 and professional theater since 2005, and is a founding member of the St. Louis Theater Circle, established in 2012. A longtime journalist, she has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metropolitan area publications since 1978, earning awards along the way for news and features (and an Illinois Press Association award for reviews before they dropped the category). She has taught writing for the media as an adjunct instructor at three local colleges. A graduate of Illinois State University, she has a mass communications degree with a minor in theater. Among her life achievements are sons Tim and Charlie.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus The stars have aligned for the triumphant return of the Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis with “The Glass Menagerie” in a way you have never seen it before.
Nature cooperated with a bright, full moon in the late summer night sky Friday, and the TWF supplied the wishing and hoping that characterized the playwright during his formative years here.
Now in its sixth year, these special tributes are one I look forward to, a favorite-not-to-be-missed annual events in the city.
The passion and care that goes into each festival’s planning and programming is admirable. And the finest talent comes together to introduce us to, or offer a fresh perspective of, his signature dramas and little-known works.
To understand Williams’ dreams and desires has fueled each production, but this one – his memory play that gives us insight into his family life – is extraordinary.
The fest’s 2021 theme, “The Moon and Beyond,” aptly fits in a pandemic-guided scaled-down event. And this focus gives us an intimate local view that zeroes in on what we should see, hear and feel when we see a Williams play.
Nearly eighty years later where it was imagined, this current presentation of “The Glass Menagerie” is as organic as you will find anywhere, with naturally gifted performers honoring these four characters with a tangible vitality.
There is a brightness, a vigor to the work, as if we are discovering it for the first time. The site-specific location, outdoors behind “The Tennessee,” at 4663 Westminster Place, no doubt played a part in this, for it has become a character, a presence affecting the poignancy.
Bradley James Tejeda as Tom. Photo by ProPhoto STL
But that’s not the only imprimatur.
A young man yearning for adventure looks up at the moon while he’s out on his fire escape in St. Louis, hopeful that one day he would lead the life he dreamt of – but fretful that it would never happen unless he took steps to make it so.
From the time he was 7, Thomas Lanier Williams III lived in an apartment in the Central West End with his shoe company executive father, his Southern belle mother, his mentally fragile older sister and his younger brother Dakin, who later lived in Collinsville, Ill., for many years, and died at age 89 in 2008.
Nicknamed “Tennessee,” Williams eventually took pen to paper, and typed out stories of longing and aspirations, shaping characters from damaged people whose life didn’t turn out like they had planned.
And his stubborn refusal to not accept the status quo or to settle because that’s just the way it is, people kept reminding him – well, that admirable quality served him well.
He would go on many voyages – bur always starting from inside his heart.
What fiction he wrote would take him far, becoming known internationally as one of the world’s greatest playwrights. But here, he struggled to find his voice — returning from college at Mizzou to work at the shoe factory, and 20 years after moving from Mississippi, finally getting out of the city (until buried in Calvary Cemetery after his death in 1983).
He was impacted by his dysfunctional family, and realizing he was an outsider looking in –that hunger to be someone, and to become comfortable in his own skin, drove him during his 71 years.
All of that is apparent in “The Glass Menagerie.”
Knowing that he was fueled by a hope that could not be quelled and a fire that burned inside him to tell stories from a city neighborhood lends both a magical quality and a gravitas to the latest production.
The cast found the truth — Bradley James Tejeda as Tom, Brenda Currin as Amanda, Elizabeth Teeter as Laura and Chauncy Thomas as the Gentleman Caller Jim. All but Thomas reprised their roles from the radio play last fall, directed by Brian Hohlfeld during the “Something Spoken” streaming offering instead of live theater — (ahem, public health crisis you may recall, so they pivoted).
In most productions, the women are portrayed as victims, and their tragic life circumstances influence its staging.
However, director Hohlfeld, who has been part of the TWF since its inaugural year in 2016, has brought out every character’s depth, and so have the actors, who found a rhythm in the words and with each other.
I have previously seen a few dour versions, most of them not very good because they didn’t seem to grasp the multi-faceted nature and emphasized only the melancholy. This cast “gets it.”
The lines are delivered in a conversational manner, and a real bond can be felt between these inextricably linked people, no matter how unhappy or frustrated they appear.
The sad and desperate Amanda clings to her delusions of grandeur like a warm coat, mired in the past and overly concerned about her children’s future. Currin captures all of that, as well as the exasperation with life and her breadwinner son and helpless daughter having notions of their own.
Each character has a different viewpoint on success.
With his literary illusions, Tom can’t seem to find his way – but is about to take a leap of faith. Tejeda brings a restlessness to the role, like he is a trapped animal. But there is also a sweetness in his interactions with his sister.
Elizabeth Teeter, Chauncy Thomas. Photo by ProPhotoSTL
Thomas’ inherent charm adds a palpable compassion to the dinner guest, never pitying Laura but treating her kindly and with respect. He adds a wistfulness to Jim, who is past his high school glory days.
Teeter disappears into the delicate Laura, whose fantasy world is overtaking a daily string of disappointments. She will break your heart as a shy and peculiar girl who couldn’t overcome life’s challenge, but who lights up in conversation with Jim.
When the play premiered on Broadway in 1944, expanding on Williams’ short story “Portrait of a Girl in Glass,” director Elia Kazan noted: “Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life.”
And we have been enriched by that authenticity.
Staged outdoors, the set, designed by Dunsi Dai, is minimal, but evocative of the area. He effectively uses windows as an entry to the soul.
The sound design by Kareem Deanes includes period songs played on a victrola – and dealing with the inescapable sounds of the city, including a fire truck and sirens Friday night (Bravo, Chauncy, for not missing a beat).
Lighting designer Catherine Adams shifts between day and night, under serious moonlight, enhancing the atmosphere.
Williams spent his life trying to escape the ghosts of his past, which of course molded him into what he became. By now, the Wingfields are an all-too-familiar American tale tinged in tragedy and regret, but the power of his words remains.
He ultimately discovered, through his artistry, that he wasn’t the only lost star, and the eloquence of his semi-autobiographical work shines through in the backyard that he once called home.
The Tennessee Williams Festival runs Aug. 19-29. The headliner, “The Glass Menagerie,” is presented at 8 p.m. Thursday through Sundays, Aug. 19-22 and 26-29, behind the Tennessee, 4663 Westminster Place. Tickets must be purchased online and are available through MetroTix.com.
“You Lied to Me About Centralia” is a one-act play by John Guare that will be presented at 2 p.m. on Aug. 21 and 22 at The Tennessee.
Free, secure parking is available at Holliday, 4600 Olive, for festival patrons.
Other festival programming includes Scholars’ Panels, Walking Tour of Williams’ St. Louis, Tennessee Williams Tribute: “The Moon and Beyond” hosted by Ken Page, happy hour conversation with Blue Song author Dr. Henry Schvey, Why Did Desdemona Love the Moor reading, and more.
Lead sponsorship of the festival is provided by Emerson. Additional sponsors and the full festival itinerary can be found at twstl.org.
Photo by ProPhotoSTL
Lynn Venhaus has been reviewing professional theater since 2005, and is a founding member of the St. Louis Theater Circle, established in 2012. A longtime journalist, she has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metropolitan area publications since 1978, earning awards along the way for news and features (and an Illinois Press Association award for reviews before they dropped the category). She has taught writing for the media as an adjunct instructor at three local colleges. A graduate of Illinois State University, she has a mass communications degree with a minor in theater. Among her life achievements are sons Tim and Charlie.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Despite a few fine actors who wring out decent performances, “The Protégé” is a convoluted and ridiculous late-summer action-thriller throwaway with too many characters, loose ends and nine lives.
Rescued as a child by Moody (Samuel L. Jackson), Anna (Maggie Q) has become an assassin too – hence, the title (Duh). When he’s brutally murdered – not a spoiler – she seeks vengeance in a fact-finding mission on why. Caught up in a complicated web of intrigue, she plays cat-and-mouse with a hired gun on the other side, Rembrandt (Michael Keaton).
Slickly directed by Martin Campbell, who is more focused on style than substance, the movie combines quicksilver martial arts combat with blazing bullets ripping people open in high-powered gunfights. Let’s mow people down first, get a few answers later.
The testosterone-heavy script by Richard Wenk, who wrote both “The Equalizer” reboot in 2014 and its sequel four years later, shrouds all characters in mystery.
Jackson plays cranky Moody, a crackerjack hired killer who has mentored a young Vietnamese orphan girl, Anna, that he saved in Da Nang. On the plus side, Wenk did write some sage advice from Moody, delivered as only Jackson can.
The beautiful lethal weapon Anna is now an expertly trained cold-blooded contract killer whose side hustle is a rare book shop in London. Action star Maggie Q (TV’s “Nikita”) is a cool and composed heroine, always one step ahead of the enemy.
When the going gets rough, Anna is forced to return to her homeland, a place she never wanted to see again, and with the help of grizzled biker Billy Boy (Robert Patrick), she tracks down powerful rich old white men pulling the strings. The who, what, why remain fuzzy — just minor details as long as they are in fancy houses in plush locales being attended to by a gaggle of generic yes men acting tough.
Wenk wants us to believe Anna has met her equal in Rembrandt, played with a wink by the unlikely Keaton, cast against type. Not exactly in his wheelhouse, but then again, also not disappointing — even though it’s a strikingly odd couple.
Keaton manages to deliver some quippy wordplay that doubles as foreplay when he and Anna meet oh-so conveniently at several spots. There is a magnetic vibe – but we’ve got gunplay to shoot that all to hell.
Follow the blood.
She’s silky, he’s smooth – and for an old white guy, he can bust a move. Well, at least his stunt double can. The Oscar-nominated actor would look more at home as an accountant.
Campbell’s coasting on his action blockbuster reputation here. After all, he introduced Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in “Goldeneye” and Daniel Craig as 007 in “Casino Royale” – but also directed the epic fail “Green Lantern.”
Nevertheless, he can deftly stage an action sequence and come up with interesting demises for the bad guys. Just kinda yucky to watch.
Without the appealing trio of Jackson, Keaton and Q, “The Protégé” would be indistinguishable from a long line of cinematic shoot-‘em-ups.
Flitting between Vietnam, Romania and England in the first 10 minutes does no one any favors, just makes the scorecard longer when you’re trying to connect the dots.
As unsentimental as this film is about running away from childhood trauma, there is a heavy-handed scene involving a gruesome beheading and extended mass bloodshed that’s pointless. We should have been spared.
Trying to lighten the mood, the filmmakers add snippets of pop songs that intrude at inane times. Note to them: No need to mimic Quentin Tarantino because you can’t compare, so stop trying so hard.
The more the film unravels, the more absurd it becomes. While watching the top-shelf three is pleasurable, one hopes they could repeat the magic another time with a better script and a less-busy movie.
“The Protege” is a 2021 crime-thriller directed by Martin Campbell and starring Maggie Q, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Robert Patrick. Rated: R for strong and bloody violence, language, some sexual references and brief nudity, its run time is 1 hour, 49 minutes. It opened in theaters Aug. 20.Lynn’s Grade: C-
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Actor-filmmaker-founder of Sundance Film Institute Robert Redford turned 85 today! (Aug. 18).
He has been a major part of my film-going life, first as an actor, then making smart movies, and then deciding storytelling would be his life’s work through honoring independent films in Utah.
“Storytellers broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us,” he once said.
He has changed the film industry and changed lives.
Early on, he broke the mold in Hollywood and carved out a career on his own terms, living far from the celebrity life in Utah, raising a family and becoming an environmental activist.
He turned the perception of a ‘golden boy’ into an exploration of culture and society’s roles/expectations. (His movie, “Quiz Show” is rarely mentioned, but go back, and what he says about the American Dream — great work by Ralph Fiennes and John Turturro).
My sister Julie and I rushed to every one of his film openings in the 1970s after “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (when I was in high school), then hit after hit — “The Sting,” “The Way We Were,” “Three Days of the Condor,” “The Candidate” and “Jeremiah Johnson,” among them.
He was born to play the tortured hero Jay in “The Great Gatsby,” starring opposite Mia Farrow in the 1974 adaptation that did not measure up to expectations.
My boys used to give me DVDs of his work for Mother’s Days (and paired “The Natural” one time with “Serial Mom” — yep, that’s my John Waters’ loving son Tim’s idea of humor).
Hubbell Gardiner in “The Way We Were”
He gave us the definitive investigative journalism movie “All the President’s Men,” one of my all-time favorites and inspirations, explaining how the press changed the course of history in our country’s politics.
For his only competitive Oscar, he turned the bestselling book “Ordinary People” into an honest and painful study on families and grief in 1980.
I watched it again a couple months ago, and wow, does it resonate. Mary Tyler Moore, Donald Sutherland and Timothy Hutton turn in some of their finest work. I will argue its value to anyone who wants to fight me on this.
His intelligence behind the baby blues, his sharp observations on human behavior — obvious early on in a remarkable filmography.
He only works sparingly in front of the camera these days, but I think he still has it – particularly in “The Old Man and the Gun” with Sissy Spacek,” “A Walk in the Woods” with Nick Nolte, and his solo tour de force “All is Lost.”
Robert Redford and Paul Newman
He has never been afraid to be a flawed anti-hero (“Downhill Racer”) or an all-out bad guy (spoiler alert: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”)
The on-screen pairings have been high points — so memorable as Denys with Meryl Streep in “Out of Africa.”
A good move was working with Brad Pitt in “Spy Game,” and he coaxed a career-best performance (at the time) from Pitt in “A River Runs Through It,” which he directed and narrated.
Of course, the pinnacle was his work with Paul Newman, and thus, the buddy movie was born.
And three films with Jane Fonda, They both started out on stage in the late 1950s and worked early together on film when he reprised his role as Paul in “Barefoot in the Park.” Then, reunited in “The Electric Horseman” in 1979 and “Our Souls at Night” in 2017.
In the Natalie Wood documentary, “What Remains Behind,” he is one of the commentators and remained a close friend, after they made two films together (“Inside Daisy Clover” and “This Property is Condemned” in the ’60s), before he exploded as a superstar. She, in turn, showed up in a cameo in “The Candidate.”
Roy Hobbs in “The Natural”
For a while in the 1990s, he experienced a screen ‘renaissance’ — “The Horse Whisperer,” “Indecent Proposal,” “Up Close and Personal” and “Sneakers.”
He will always be Hubbell Gardiner and Roy Hobbs to me, masterful screen portraits of complicated guys.
Cases in point: Hubbell’s college writing: “In a way he was like the country he lived in — everything came to easily to him. But at least he knew it.
“Roy in hospital: “God, I love baseball.” “There goes Roy Hobbs, the best there ever was in this game.”
Meryl’s Karen in “Out of Africa”: “When the gods want to punish you, they answer your prayers.”
And this:(Robert Redford) “You’ve ruined it for me, you know.”(Meryl Streep) “Ruined what?”(Robert Redford) “Being alone.”
You see all these being said, don’t you?
And of course, the “Be a Beacon” speech in “Sneakers.” https://youtu.be/2q2iQC-4wbA
What great timing!
Thank you, Mr. Redford, for the memories and your lasting impact.
(On a Related Note: In January 2011, my two sons and I made the cut to be volunteer ushers at the Sundance Film Festival. It was a highlight of my life, and sharing it with my movie-loving boys was very special. Tim described it as the greatest two weeks of his life, and he saw something like 23-24 movies in 11 days).
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Inspired by an adored golden-age movie musical 67 years ago, the stage version of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” has been updated to rework some of the more problematic portions of the plot for contemporary audiences.
While the Muny’s latest production tries mightily to breathe new life into one of the more neanderthal mid-century musicals, selling the macho characters is a pesky issue to overcome – even with a cast deep with exceptionally skilled dancers and singers.
Head of an all-male household in the mountains, Adam’s caveman way of thinking has influenced his uncultured backwoods brothers. However, they have their ‘teachable’ moments in the revamped book.
The focus on the uncouth siblings becoming more civilized around women – as they have zero experience with the opposite sex – is part of the show’s enduring charm.
They are tutored by their new sister-in-law, the dissatisfied yet determined townswoman Milly (Kendra Kassebaum). Though strong-willed, she is coerced into marrying Adam (Edward Watts) in a weak moment when he comes to town on a woman-hunt.
We can look it this as a ‘glass half full’ or a ‘glass half-empty’ experience.
After all, that is the period. The time is 1850, during the great migration to the Pacific Northwest on The Oregon Trail, when men still acted like women were property, and society felt marriage was in part a financial transaction.
In so many words, people didn’t discuss gender politics. Times, as they tend to do, have changed. But we are still evolving as a society, and theater must address the modern sensibilities to stay relevant. Musical theater, by virtue of its history, is forced to mirror those changes, and this discussion will be ongoing.
As we are painfully aware, during this 21st century, particularly in the last five years, with the #MeToo and #Time’s Up movements, the old-fashioned sexist attitudes on display in the old chestnuts are hard to get beyond. (Think of the abused women in “Carousel” and “Oliver!”). In the upcoming “Chicago,” we hear another side from fed-up females in “Cell Block Tango.”
Thankfully, among the improvements to “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,” they have removed Adam’s song, “A Woman Ought to Know Her Place,” and Milly’s “One Man.”
Edward Watts and Kendra Kassebaum as Adam and Milly. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
They have added a feisty “I Married Seven Brothers” for a peeved Milly – a highlight for Kassebaum — and “Where Were You?” as a vehicle for Adam to vent his anger from his perspective.
Nevertheless, a musical that is based on a Stephen Vincent Benet short story, “The Sobbin’ Women,” which was shaped by an ancient Roman legend called “The Rape of the Sabine Women,” that’s just hard to spin – and swallow — these days. And the plot hinges on the other six brothers encouraged to kidnap women they took a shine to in town, so that is a controversial hurdle.
And despite a Herculean effort from the Muny’s creative team to focus on a battle of the sexes and bring out the personality and humor, the aggressive song “Sobbin’ Women” and some of the remaining dialogue are wince-inducing, even like nails on a chalkboard.
I know, I know – people generally go to musical theater to be entertained, to escape the realities of daily life and usually aren’t seeking enlightenment while enjoying song and dance. They are just fine taking a respite, blissfully unaware of the real world. They enjoy a bouncy, tuneful musical and take it all in stride.
That’s not me. So, this review is from my perspective. As a friend said, “Every musical is someone’s favorite.” I had to keep reminding myself: “Context.”
It’s like my inexplicable fondness for “Mamma Mia!” Everything screams silly, but I love it, and have seen it at least six times — reminds me of “Gidget” movies when I was growing up, comfort food for the soul.
Under a magnifying glass, many musicals can’t hold up to current scrutiny, but that debate will keep on keeping on.
Peruse a list of musicals from the 1940s through 1970s, and so many female characters are underwritten – typically waiting for a man to rescue her or change her life, which should be annoying to current generations.
Modern musical theater has hopefully moved beyond that. Maybe someday our princes will come, but none of that royal superiority, he’ll be on equal footing, and in the meantime, we’re following paths trailblazed by women who clamored to be heard.
Next week’s “On Your Feet!” will show a true partnership between a husband and a wife, Gloria and Emilio Estefan.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” isn’t the first musical to deal with deception – for starters, the list includes “Light in the Piazza,” “The Most Happy Fella,” “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (and ‘go!’), among others.
And bull-headed Adam and assertive Milly work on trust issues to advance the plot.
People really do have affection for the 1954 movie. It was nominated for Best Picture, losing the Oscar to “On the Waterfront,” but won Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. In 2006, the American Film Institute named it one of the best American musicals ever made, and in 2004, the Library of Congress’ U.S. National Film Registry selected it for preservation because of it being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.”
Many fans enjoy the nostalgia, the appealing leads – brawny Howard Keel as Adam and sweet girl-next-door Jane Powell as Milly, plus the gymnastic Russ Tamblyn as youngest brother Gideon, and foremost, those rousing dance numbers.
The Muny drew 6,907 patrons on opening night. This is the sixth time the Muny has produced the show. Taking a cue from a reworked version by the Goodspeed Opera House in 2005, brought in David Landay, an original co-writer of the stage play, to do some rewrites and editing. A female contribution may have been helpful too.
The script feels like whiplash. One minute, the women are acting empowered, and the next minute the guys seem in “Me, Tarzan, you Jane” mode. It’s like when people attempt to update Shakespeare by a couple hundred years, but don’t commit to a wholly new vision.
Oh well. Baby steps. Growth is good.
In recent years, the Muny has resurrected some of the creakier shows and presented versions with freshened books – most notably “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” and “Paint Your Wagon,” both of which I enjoyed.
I was hoping this would be similar. Several members of the “Paint Your Wagon” production team have returned for this reboot, including director-choreographer Josh Rhodes and associate director-choreographer Lee Wilkins, along with music supervisor Sinai Tabak.
The music direction by Valerie Gebert is crisp. Additional arrangements and orchestrations are by Larry Blank and Mark Cumberland. That’s quite a collaboration.
The Muny was one of the first theaters in America to present the stage adaptation of the movie, back in 1978 during a pre-Broadway tryout. The new stage show didn’t make it to Broadway until 1982; its last year at the Muny was 2011.
The music retained from the movie, written by Saul Chaplin and Gene de Paul, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer, includes “Bless Your Beautiful Hide,” “Wonderful Wonderful Day,” “Lonesome Polecat” and “Goin’ Courtin’.”
Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn wrote “Love Never Goes Away,” “We Gotta Make It Through the Winter,” and “Glad That You Were Born” for the stage show.
The maidens in The Quilt Dance. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
The show has always been considered a major dance vehicle, and five-time Tony Award winning choreographer Michael Kidd cemented his reputation through his robust barn-raising dance and his movements based on reality.
Kidd’s unpretentious style earned him Tony Awards in “Guys and Dolls,” “Can-Can,” “Lil Abner,” “Finian’s Rainbow” and “Destry Rides Again,” and lasting Hollywood admiration (check out Danny Kaye in “Knock on Wood.”)
His uncommon approach transformed frontier chores into rollicking dance numbers. He once said if he had made slobs in the woods break out in ballet, people would have ridiculed it.
And the Muny has assembled an outstanding dozen triple threats to portray the men and women going courting – the Pontipee brothers show off their muscular moves in “The Challenge Dance” at the church social while the maids-in-waiting demonstrate a graceful, sophisticated elegance in “The Quilting Dance.” The finale, “The Wedding Dance,” wraps everything up on an enthusiastic, happy note as a long winter has turned into spring.
Rhodes has emphasized the ensemble’s energy and spotlighted the athletic and acrobatic dances. He helmed an exhilarating “Newsies” in 2017 and has finessed these pieces with vigor.
Kassebaum, who grew up in St. Louis, was impressive as lovable and comical showgirl Adelaide in the 2019 “Guys and Dolls” (and won a St. Louis Theater Circle Award for that performance). She is an emphatic Milly, strong in voice and spirit.
Edward Watts, saddled with a distracting shaggy hairstyle, struggled with the push-pull of that stubborn barbaric character, but is assured in his commanding vocal numbers and a sturdy physical presence as the dominant hero.
The brothers, nowhere near as educated as the snotty East Coast-bred smart-alecks running the town, show plenty of spirit and ‘street smarts’ when they are struck by love and try to impress the town maidens.
Raised to think marriage is the end-all for their young lives learning how to cook, sew and clean, the women must play the stereotype common to the era. But here, they have a tad more gumption, individually attracted to the guys, no matter what their dads say.
Harris Milgrim is a standout as second-oldest brother Benjamin, and lithe Carly Blake Sebouhian’s beautiful movements and ballet-training are noticeable as Martha.
The seven brothers. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
The limber Pontipee lads include Waldemar Quinones-Villanueva as Caleb, Ryan Steele as Daniel, Garett Hawe as Ephraim, 4-time Muny vet Kyle Coffman as the tempestuous Frank, and Brandon L. Whitmore as Gideon.
The supple refined city girls are Leslie Donna Flesner as Dorcas, Shonica Gooden as Sarah, Sarah Meahl as Ruth, Mikayla Renfrow as Alice and Kristin Yancy as Liza.
Michael Schweikardt has provided majestic mountains to convey the grand open spaces and dense forests for the topography while video designer Caite Hevner’s striking work on the changing seasons and the Echo Pass avalanche are spectacular. Schweikardt’s multi-floor log farmhouse is masterful in levels and details.
While some shows like the culturally inappropriate “Flower Drum Song” have unofficially been ‘retired,’ the jury is obviously still out on this show. The passionate performers carry this one here over the threshold
A look back can be a step forward in some instances. The Muny has put a tremendous amount of effort in making this production palatable for its multi-generational audience. Yet, the outdated debate will continue.
As Thursday’s opening night rainout indicated, patience is a virtue. Not to be a Debbie Downer, this isn’t a step backwards, but some of us are ready to move on.
The company of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” Photo by Phillip Hamer.
“Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” is at 8:15 p.m. through Wednesday, Aug. 18, at the Muny outdoor stage in Forest Park.
The shows remaining are Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Aug. 12 – 18), On Your Feet! (Aug. 21 – 27) and Chicago (Aug. 30 – Sept. 5). For more information, visit muny.org.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, online at muny.org or by phone by calling (314) 534-1111.
To stay connected virtually and to receive the latest updates, please follow The Muny on their social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Patsy Cline was that rare artist who made a deep connection with anyone who listened to her sing.
A similar effect happens with actresses Diana DeGarmo and Zoe Vonder Haar, who are a delightful combo of sweet and salty, smooth and sassy, silky and spirited, in the jukebox musical “Always…Patsy Cline,” now playing at Stages St. Louis through Sept. 5.
Raised in Georgia and now living in Nashville, DeGarmo has returned to her country music roots in a thoroughly engaging performance.
She sleekly inhabits Cline, who is considered the most popular female country singer in recording history. DeGarmo emulates Cline’s richly textured, emotive voice, and effortlessly delivers 27 numbers, including five with Vonder Haar, who plays Cline’s fan-turned-friend, Louise Seger.
DeGarmo, who was the runner-up on Season 3 of “American Idol” at age 16 in 2004, which Fantasia Barrino, 19, won (a total of 65 million votes were cast for both), has since pursued a music and musical theatre career, appearing on Broadway and in national tours.
Diana DeGarmo as Patsy Cline, Photographed by ProPhotoSTL
Previously in St. Louis, she was impressive as Doralee Rhodes in the first national tour of “9 to 5: The Musical,” which stopped at the Fox Theatre in February 2011, and also at the Fox in 2014 as the Narrator in the revival tour of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Her husband, Ace Young, was Joseph. (She met Young, who was on American Idol’s fifth season, when they were cast in “Hair” and have been married since 2013).
She is poised and commanding as she interprets one hit song after another, showcasing her range and control. The vocals on the ballads “Crazy,” “I Fall to Pieces” and “Sweet Dreams” are particularly lush, tugging on your heart strings.
She has fun changing tempos with the more down-home numbers, such as “Stupid Cupid” and “Shake Rattle and Roll.”
DeGarmo projects an elegance, which is enhanced by Brad Musgrove’s gorgeous vintage costume designs, and she is exquisitely lit by lighting designer Sean M. Savoie.
She has a dynamic chemistry with feisty firecracker Vonder Haar, the veteran fan favorite who has played Louise twice before. Vonder Haar won the St. Louis Theater Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical for the first time (and would go on to win that same award for Stages’ “The Full Monty” two years later).
It’s a good match. Seger, a colorful Texas housewife, was a devoted fan who first saw Patsy on “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” in 1957, when she won after singing “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Living near Houston, she attended the singer’s show at the Esquire Ballroom in 1961, and they connected as friends, writing letters and talking on the phone until the singer’s tragic death at age 30 in a plane crash in 1963.
Playwright Ted Swindley fashioned the interviews Seger did for the biographies “Patsy Cline: An Intimate Biography” and “Honky Tonk Angel: The Intimate Story of Patsy Cline” into the source material for his 1988 two-woman tribute revue, “Always…Patsy Cline,” which is the epitome of a crowd-pleaser. It is licensed by Cline’s family and estate.
Zoe Vonder Haar as Louise Seger, photographed by ProPhotoSTL
From Seger in “Country Weekly”: “The person inside me recognized the person who lived inside her. It was truly eerie.”
Patsy joined Louise and her friends and after the show accepted an invitation to Louise’s home for a late-night breakfast. “It was like I was living in a dream. There was Patsy Cline in my kitchen helping me fix bacon and eggs. She took her shoes off and wore an apron I gave her.
“She told me about her life, her hopes, her dreams. We discussed loves lost, loves found, loves yet to be.
“We talked about her troubled marriage and the pain she endured being away from her children. It was just two people baring their souls.
“We both sang and harmonized old Gospel songs and hillbilly tunes. We sat there and smoked and sang until 4:00 in the morning.”
Louise rushed Patsy to the airport, expecting never to hear from her again. But within two weeks, Louise received her first in what was to be many letters and phone calls they would exchange.
“I often would receive calls at 1:00 in the morning. She’d be singing in some town wanting a friend to talk to.”
Of course, this was 60 years ago, before entertainers had security, a ‘team’ and ‘people.’ It was just two women bonding at a kitchen table.
While Swindley took some poetic license, the story is true – a glamorous celebrity who grew up without privilege and her plain-spoken, music-lovin’ pal.
From the moment she sashays on to scenic designer James Wolk’s vintage 1950s-era kitchen set, Vonder Haar, a St. Louis treasure, is a funny and sincere Louise. She engages the audience as comic relief with her folksy charm, coming across like a neighbor joining you for a kaffee klatch.
This memoir, which opens the theater company’s 35th anniversary year, is the most popular show in Stages’ history. This is the third time it’s being presented, after back-to-back runs in 2013 and 2014, which demonstrates again how endearing and charming it is. It was as warmly received Aug. 11 as it was seven and eight years ago.
The cozy show, first at Stages’ former home at Kirkwood’s Community Center, then moved intact to The Playhouse at Westport Plaza, is opening their new venue, the Kirkwood Center for the Performing Arts. The Ross Family Theatre seats 529 comfortably.
Artistic Director Michael Hamilton has recreated the production, capitalizing on the actress’s strengths. The premise is simple – showing Cline singing at the Grand Old Opry and other locations, with Louise listening to her on the radio, which was a communication lifeline for people back then.
A simpler time, a touch of nostalgia, admiration for a career cut way too short, but spotlighting music that continues to warm hearts to this day.
The lively band, conducted by music director Jeremy Jacobs, who also plays the piano, is an expert blend of Steve Hitsman on steel pedal guitar, Dave Black on electric and acoustic guitars, Kevin Buckley on acoustic guitar and fiddle, Eric Grossman on bass and Joe Meyer on drums. Their tight sound is mighty in an alcove perched behind a scrim.
Original orchestrations for the band and vocals were crafted by August Eriksmoen and Tony Migliore.
While the songs take center stage, the fascinating tale of a close friendship between kindred spirits is what resonates, drawing an audience in, one who welcomes the warm embrace of harmony in music and life.
Diana DeGarmo as Patsy Cline, photographed by ProPhotoSTL
Stages St. Louis presents “Always…Patsy Cline” through Sept. 5, performance times vary, at the Ross Family Theatre inside the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center at 210 Monroe St. ASL interpreting and audio description by MindsEye will be available for the Aug. 20 show. For more information, call 314-821-2407 or visit www.StagesSt.Louis.org. Follow Stages on Facebook and Instagram.
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Sure, it’s predictable, but “CODA” earns its way into your heart with a touching family coming-of-age story that makes it impossible not to be moved by it.
As a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Ruby (Emilia Jones) is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music and her fear of abandoning her parents (Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur).
With warmth, humor and a strong cast, “CODA” has turned a conventional family dynamic and an oft-told tale of a teenager pursuing her dream into something special. Not original, it is a remake of a 2014 French film, “The Belier Family,” but setting it in America translates well.
The film has an appealing lived-in atmosphere. The solid sense of place, set in a New England fishing village — Gloucester, Mass., is one of this small film’s charms. Cinematographer Paula Huidobro deftly handles land and sea — and a flooded rock quarry. Production Designer Diane Lederman has added visual texture with a shabby yet cozy clapboard cottage as the family home and a battered fishing trawler for its business.
The working-class Rossi family has earned its living as fishermen. Dad Frank, Mom Jackie and son Leo are all deaf, and the local fishing business is going through economic struggles, which affects their home life. Ruby helps, but she has high school and can’t be there all the time.
Because she loves to sing, the shy and awkward teen signs up for choir, surprising her best friend and family – and herself. Her mother doesn’t understand this need to pursue a hobby – and underestimates Ruby’s passion.
A tough music teacher, Bernardo Villalobos recognizes her natural talent and pushes her to succeed, although she is her own worst enemy because of her lack of confidence, not commitment.
A graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mr. V has arranged auditions at his alma mater for a bright star, Miles (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo), and decides to do the same for Ruby.
“There are many pretty voices with nothing to say,” Mr. V tells her. “Do you have something to say?” Turns out, she does.
But the family’s dependence on Ruby is so overwhelming that she feels that she can’t pursue her dreams. Well, open the waterworks, because there will be bumps in the road, and baby steps, to finding a way to keep her time slot – not only as an individual, but also as a family.
Director-writer Sian Heder has presented the challenges of deaf adults in a hearing world with compassion and accuracy. Through her sharp observations, we can see what hardships that hearing-impaired people face daily. She demonstrates it effectively throughout the film, but a later scene at a concert, shot with complete silence, is a stunner.
Heder, with only her second feature film, won the directing award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Like “Minari” last year, “CODA” was honored with both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, and a Special Jury Prize fpr Best Ensemble.. Apple Studios purchased it for a record-breaking $25 million. I hope it will have a broader reach than arthouses.
Oscar winner Matlin, now 55 and the mother of four children, has been an active spokeswoman for the National Captioning Institute. In 1995, she was instrumental in Congress passing a law requiring all television sets that are 13 inches or larger to be manufactured with built-in chips for closed captioning capabilities on their screens.
After winning the Academy Award in 1987 for her debut screen performance in “Children of a Lesser God,” she has represented the deaf community for breakthroughs large and small.
Her visibility here, as an imperfect mother seeking to be more sensitive to her hearing daughter, is immeasurable, and she does a fine job.
As the sexy mom, she has a playfulness with deaf actor Troy Kotsur, whose portrayal of a gruff but soft-around-the-edges dad is believable. They provide a light-hearted touch, as does deaf actor Daniel Durant as big brother Leo, who tussles with his baby sister like brothers naturally do.
Emilia Jones’ pitch-perfect performance is the necessary glue, and fully engaged, she does not overplay the teenage angst and range of feelings.
The family’s love for each other can be felt, and the actors project that bond.
Supporting players also appear comfortable in their roles, particularly Eugenio Derbez, known for comedies in his native Mexico, showing his drama skills as the no-nonsense choir director.
He’s relatable, as is Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, so terrific in 2016’s sublime “Sing Street,” as Ruby’s duet partner Miles. So is Amy Forsyth, notable as Ruby’s best friend Gertie.
Also noteworthy is composer Maurius de Vries for his expert music supervision. He worked on both “La La Land” and Baz Luhrman’s “Moulin Rouge!” and makes some interesting choices here. Miles and Ruby sing the Marvin Gaye-Tammi Terrell classic “You’re All I Need to Get By” and Ruby’s audition piece is Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” Be sure to stay for the credits to hear Jones’ sweetly sing “Beyond the Shore.”
Emilia Jones and Eugenio Derbez
The movie uses English subtitles when characters use American Sign Language.
A crowd-pleaser in the mold of “Billy Elliot,” “CODA” resonates because it takes a familiar story and amplifies it through a different perspective. It is a major step forward in inclusivity. “CODA” is a 2021 drama directed by Sian Heder and stars Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant, Eugenio Derbez, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo and Amy Forsyth. Rated PG-13 for strong sexual content and language, and drug use, its runtime is 1 hour, 51 minutes. It is in theaters and streaming on Apple Plus TV starting Aug. 13. Lynn’s Grade: A-
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Jennifer Hudson is a vocal powerhouse as “Queen of Soul” Aretha Franklin, showing her rise from preacher’s daughter to global fame and fortune. She pours her heart and soul into this role of a lifetime.
But unfortunately, the film is a formulaic biopic that hits all the melodramatic cliches of a messy personal life when the career achievements should have been more of a focus, instead of a greatest hits package followed by a photo-and-video collage during the credits.
The R&B superstar Aretha died at age 76 on Aug. 16, 2018, so there is a lot of life to pack into a 2 hour and 25- minute film, and while Aretha’s true story is a dandy one, the movie decides to ramp up the soap opera and leaves gaps in professional highlights.
First-time director Leisl Tommy, coming from Broadway, and screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson (“Fosse/Verdon”) time-stamp events, but some of the major recording milestones are given short shrift in favor of the seamier side of the characters. The movie touches upon childhood traumas – but no real depth — maintains a choppy style that leaves out facts that should have been included.
Aretha, who grew up comfortably in Detroit and sang not only at New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was pastor, but also entertained invited guests at his beautiful home, was sexually abused by a family friend as a girl and had her first child at age 12. She was emotionally damaged by the loss of her divorced mother (Audra McDonald), who did not have custody, and died before Aretha was 10.
Skye Dakota Turner does a remarkable job as the young Aretha. She also played a young Anna Mae Bullock, aka Tina Turner, in the recent Broadway musical on that singer’s life and career.
The main theme of this biopic is how Aretha was controlled by men – her father, Clarence, played by Forest Whitaker as a strict authoritarian with a hunger for celebrity status, and her abusive husband-manager Ted White, well-played by Marlon Wayans, whom she was married to from 1961 to 1969. You can feel the tensions rise every time he walks into a room, whether it’s with her family or a recording session, because of his combative know-it-all nature — and his eye on the gravy train.
How she finally dealt with her ‘demons,’ including a downward spiral as an alcoholic that seemed to come out of nowhere, is addressed but quickly. That tonal shift is one of the film’s problems.
The movie hits its stride when the restless artist in her craves something more than recording jazz albums, and she hooks up with legendary producer Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records – comedian Marc Maron in an endearing, natural performance as the blunt-spoken instinctual record label pioneer.
Her Muscle Shoals recording sessions in Alabama in 1967 and her reinvention of Otis Redding’s “Respect” with the help of her sisters — and back-up singers, is a high point, and offers an intriguing inside look of an uncompromising artist.
Hudson is electric when performing Franklin’s hit songs, including her first number one, “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You,” and her chart-toppers “Chain of Fools” and “Think.”
The Oscar winner for her breakthrough performance as Effie White in “Dreamgirls,” Hudson has grown as a confident performer and understands Franklin’s multi-facets. In her posture, she carries herself with that same dignity. The costumes and hair and make-up are outstanding, encompassing at least four decades.
For as much as this story is heightened drama about her personal life, we mostly get fuzzy details. Aretha, mother of four, was married twice and had a child with her road manager.
Considered one of the most influential artists of the 1960s, she was a civil rights activist early on and a feminist inspiration after recording “Respect” and Carole King’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”
The first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Franklin was named the number one female singer of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. Her blend of spirituals, the blues, R&B and rock and roll was one-of-a-kind. You will leave with more of an appreciation for the woman and the artist.
You must stay through the credits to get some professional nuggets, including her appearance at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and paying tribute to Carole King at the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors. There is a lot of reading to do.
The cast is large and sprawling, and sometimes, hard to figure out who is who. However, Mary J. Blige is notable as diva Dinah Washington, who throws major shade Aretha’s way after she moves to New York City.
Such formidable singers as 6-time Tony Award-winner Audra McDonald, who plays Aretha’s mother Barbara, and Tony winner Heather Headley, as Clarence Franklin’s longtime girlfriend Clara Ward, are in minor roles.
The movie, while overly long, leaves out her second marriage to actor Glynn Turman and one of her biggest triumphs, singing “Nessun dorma” at the Grammy Awards in place of an ill Luciano Pavarotti. It doesn’t mention moving over to Arista Records and RCA, and only gives a photo nod to her appearance in “The Blues Brothers.”
However, it does include the personal triumph of recording gospel music with a Baptist church in L.A. in 1972, “Amazing Grace,” which became her best-selling album of all-time and inspired a riveting documentary of the same name that wasn’t released until 2018. The doc is worth a rental.
R_25682_R
(l-r.) Hailey Kilgore stars as Carolyn Franklin, Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin and Saycon Sengbloh as Erma Franklin in
RESPECT,
A Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film
Photo credit: Quantrell D. Colbert
For all of the film’s zig-zagging, the music plays the most memorable role. And nothing can take that away from Miss Franklin, who tried to live life on her terms, and was a force until the end.
“Respect” is a 2021 biopic directed by Liesl Tommy and starring Jennifer Hudson, Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald and Marc Maron. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, strong language including racial epithets, violence, suggestive material, and smoking, run time is 2 hours, 25 minutes. In theaters Aug. 13. Lynn’s Grade: B
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
By Lynn Venhaus Clever, brimming with wit and good nature, “Free Guy” is one of the most pleasant surprises of the summer.
An action video game, comic-book slate of heroes and villains and romantic comedy rolled into one, the plot focuses on a mild-mannered bank teller Guy (Ryan Reynolds) who discovers that he’s actually a NPC inside a brutal, open world video game. When he spontaneously decides to become his own hero, and proceeds to rewrite his story so that he saves the world — on his own terms, he unleashes a frantic race against time. Antwan (Taika Waititi), a megalomaniac tech mastermind, is hell-bent against Guy succeeding.
As one who isn’t a gamer – and had to look up what a NPC is (non-player character), I expected to be lost, but thanks to an engaging cast, I could not only keep up but also be entertained.
Set in a world of video game creation and role-playing, a town called Free City is where the action takes place, a busy burg with old-fashioned charm. Think Mayberry meets Metropolis.
Every day, the mayhem and mean streets one associates with video game action occurs as most everyone is trying to go about their daily lives. They deal with explosions, gunfire, criminals and stunts like it’s normal.
Guy’s jovial best friend, Buddy (Lil Rel Howery), is a security guard. The simple pleasure of a good cup of coffee makes their day, which includes a routine where they avoid gunshots, falling debris and hulking monsters.
Their oblivion and good hearts are refreshing, but of course, if there wasn’t a conflict, there would not be a movie. Can an action movie, particular in the sci-fi realm, be light-hearted?
“Free Guy” demonstrates that a little originality and a lot of technical acumen can produce a fizzy summer blockbuster not bogged down in high expectations.
As agreeable as cheery Guy is to watch going about his day, reminiscent of “The Truman Show,” waiting to pounce is a nefarious computer genius, Antwan. Waititi, the wildly talented actor-writer-director who won an Oscar for writing “JoJo Rabbit,” is gloriously over-the-top playing the devious guru who has underhandedly ripped off an enterprising programming whiz Keys (Joe Keery) and his resourceful co-creator Millie (Jodie Comer) by stealing their innovative life’s work.
Somehow, Guy switches up the rules and displays a mind of his own, which is unheard of in this universe. The whole world is watching as “Blue Shirt Guy” captures viewers/players’ hearts, and he is motivated because he is attracted to one of the tough female characters, also played by the winning Comer, Emmy winner for ‘Killing Eve.”
Game on! The action gets fast, furious – and fun. Shawn Levy has directed this in a high-spirited way. He’s known for the “Night at the Museum” franchise and the streaming TV show “Stranger Things,” and keeps the action moving and the story sharp.
The actor who has played Steve Harrington, Joe Keery, is a likable mild-mannered gamer and smart techie who is on to Antwan’s schemes. With the help of his cynical work pal Mouser, the well-cast Utkarsh Ambudkar, they’re one step ahead.
The cast appears to be ‘all in’ – and having a blast with the story’s playfulness. Howery, whose breakthrough was “Get Out” and has carved a niche as a good buddy, has a nice camaraderie with the everyman movie star Reynolds.
Reynolds is at his best as a good guy caught up in something he doesn’t understand. He has a knack for playing regular dudes under pressure, ready with a quip, and doesn’t shrink from saving the day. This role is more jocular, like DC’s “Deadpool,” his biggest hit, and he’s thoroughly charming.
“Free Guy” possesses a self-assured quality, and its veteran screenwriters know a thing or two about crowd-pleasers. Zak Penn, who sold his first script, “The Last Action Hero” when he was 23, has worked on films in the Marvel Comics Universe, including “X-Men 2” and “The Avengers,” and wrote “Ready Player One,” which bears a strong resemblance to the crux of “Free Guy.”
His co-writer Matt Lieberman has been working on such family-friendly fare as “The Christmas Chronicles” starring Kurt Russell as Santa Claus and the animated “The Addams Family” reboot.
Jodie Comer and Joe Keery in “Free Guy”
Together, they have fashioned a breezy romp that’s well-suited for the big screen and makes nimble use of a crackerjack cast, who has splendidly mastered green screen acting.
“Free Guy,” which was slated for release last summer, is one of those rare August treats that unexpectedly has provided a delightful cinematic experience. “Free Guy” is a 2021 action, sci-fi, fantasy, comedy directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi, Joe Keery and Utkarsh Ambudkar. Rated: PG-13 for strong fantasy violence throughout, language and crude/suggestive references, its run time is 1 hour, 55 minutes. It opened in theatres on Aug. 13. Lynn’s Grade: B+
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
