Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Greenman Theatre Troupe’s Smoking Gun

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In early March there is a group that puts on their annual “Murder Mystery Dinner” as a kind of fundraiser for their upcoming season. It is fairly common knowledge that murder mystery dinner shows are not well written by any stretch of the imagination, nor are they all that strong. I have made a point of avoiding them as much as possible except in extreme circumstances. However, once in a while curiosity gets the best of me and I end up going only to be reminded as to why I didn’t like them in the first place.

The only exception? Tony and Tina’s Wedding, but that wasn’t a murder mystery as much as just a show during dinner… but I am not talking about that in this point.

So knowing that there was a group putting on a mystery dinner I found myself interested enough to see them… after all they have been doing this for several years now, but I just had not had the time (or motivation, regrettably) to go. So when a friend of mine noted that she was planning to go I decided “why not” and went with her.

The first act… I will admit was a lot of expository and as thus seemed to slow down quite a bit at points and the action dragged in a lot of places. Then again, because it is a lot of expository it is bound to feel slow. Not an excuse in some cases and at first glance I could not understand why there are certain characters there or why certain scenes were included.

Sam Spade (played by Jim Zervas) caught my attention from the moment he opened his mouth, he was in character, and drew your attention. I found myself wondering when would be the next time he would be back on stage… thankfully being that he was the Private Investigator on the case it usually isn’t all that long.

The chemistry and interaction between Nino and Gilda (portrayed by Carl Zeitler and Courtney Knysch) is a sight to behold, they were fun, flirty, and have that perfect “tango-esque” quality of pushing against each other and pulling towards one another. They were more fun together than they were apart. Though, Nino was fun independently with a few other characters, Gilda was just fun to watch. Period.

Which brings me to Aphrodite (Grace Martinez)… she walks into the room and she demands attention. Then again considering the character are you really all that surprised? She had a nice “Mae West” quality to her voice and kept it subtle enough that I wasn’t sick of her. Seriously though, she was fun to watch.

Others that stood out every now and then were Effie and McPherson (respectively Vicky Giannini and Jerry Moore).

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Fleeting: Joss Whedon’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”

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For anyone that knows me, you would know that my favorite Shakespeare comedy would be “Much Ado About Nothing” (with “Twelfth Night” being the sentimental second). So when word got around in late 2011 that Joss had completed filming an adaptation of said Shakespeare comedy… let’s just say I got all obsessed about it very very quickly.

Why? Because Joss not only adapted my favorite comedy, but he also brought on board a vast number of actors from his previous projects… and considering how big of a fan I am of the science-fiction / fantasy / comic feel that Joss tends to create… well what do you expect.

That and the fact that I am a MAJOR Nathan Fillion fan (though you probably wouldn’t know it at first glance).

So why am I in such a tizzy? Well because of this:

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Literary Review: Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall

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If you were to ask me why I decided to pick up a few audiobooks about those that have fled the “polygamist cult” also know as “The Fundamentalist Church of Latter-Day Saints” – FLDS for short – I wouldn’t be able to give you a straight answer.

I think it started while I was browsing various news articles one day on Yahoo.com and came across one about a young woman by the name of Ruby Jessop who fled FLDS and reached out to her sister (or was it cousin) Flora Jessop who had left years earlier.

The Yahoo News article expanded by talking about others that have fled including Suzette Steed and her children when their father/patriarch – Carling Steed – was banished from the FLDS community by Warren Jeffs. Within the article a few of the daughters mentioned how they were most afraid of being arranged in a marriage with someone that they would dislike… to which a cousin of theirs – Elissa Wall – understood.

According to Elissa she was forced to marry her first-cousin when she was 14 and he 19 (much like Ruby Jessop who was forced to marry her second-cousin when she was 14 and he in his early 20s). Elissa recounts her experiences before, during and after her ill-fated marriage in her personal memoir: Stolen Innocence.

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Literary Review: The Guardians of Childhood (Book Three) by William Joyce

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It finally arrived! The audiobook to the third book in William Joyce’s series “The Guardians of Childhood“. So who is next up to bat? The wonderful Tooth Fairy also known as Toothiana in William Joyce’s world.

According to the website Toothiana is noted as:

One of the most riveting and mysterious Guardians of all time!

The Tooth Fairy can spin herself into a multitude of selves, all depending on nightly teeth-placed-under-pillow rates. And her diminutive size is not at all indicative of how fierce of a warrior she can be — Pitch has no idea what he is up against.

No kidding. Via this particular novel we are given a glimpse of her parents and what happened to them and the backstory of how she came about to gather the tooths of children. Which technically is a lot, but we are also given a secondary antagonist who apparently has a major thing against Toothiana and has found itself aligned with Pitch Black (aka Bogeyman) in hopes of regaining his former glory.

So now the battle between good and evil is coming down on a more personal level.

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Aftermath: Ken Kaden’s Adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “A Long Way Down”

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Wow…

Seriously… just wow.

Ask any thespian on the planet about shows, movies, etc that they are most proud of and I am sure they have one. Not that they have to… but chances are they do.

For a long while I was most proud about a role in a musical theatre production that people still remember to this day. However, after having been blessed with the chance to run lights for Ken Kaden’s adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “A Long Way Down”, I find it mildly ironic that the role I played in this production wasn’t onstage (not that I would have wanted it… hits too close to home) but rather off. Not only that, but it happens to tie in with my day job.

Figures doesn’t it.

But enough about me. This is Ken’s show, Ken’s production and for his first time in adapting a book in such a way that makes sense for stage and doing it well… Not only that but directing for the first time and putting all this together for the first time, yeah, it is a job not just well done… but WELL DONE.
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Literary Review: Lover Mine (Book 8) by J R Ward

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Title: Lover Mine
Author: J R Ward
Series: Book Eight
Format: Audiobook

So this is a nice change, the female is more than your typical “strong” vampire protagonist from the previous books… she not only holds her own in the battle against the Lessers but she also out there fighting as hard as any other member of the Brotherhood.

How does this tip the balance of the pairing chosen for these two? Well that is difficult to say, but first:

In the darkest corners of the night in Caldwell, New York, a conflict like no other rages. Long divided as a terrifying battleground for the vampires and their enemies, the city is home to a band of brothers born to defend their race: the warrior vampires of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

John Matthew has come a long way since he was found living among humans, his vampire nature unknown to himself and to those around him. After he was taken in by the Brotherhood, no one could guess what his true history was – or his true identity. Indeed, the fallen Brother Darius has returned, but with a different face and a very different destiny. As a vicious personal vendetta takes John into the heart of the war, he will need to call up on both who he is now and who he once was in order to face off against evil incarnate.

Xhex, a symphath assassin, has long steeled herself against the attraction between her and John Matthew. Having already lost one lover to madness, she will not allow the male of worth to fall prey to the darkness of her twisted life. When fate intervenes, however, the two discover that love, like destiny, is inevitable between soul mates.

So what is a “symphath”? Well… take a look at Book Thingo: Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet Part 7, for a bit of a lowdown of not only Rehvenge and Xhex but the Symphath Culture as well…

As for a bit about John Matthew? Well you would need to know more about his “father” Darius which can be found at the Book Thingo: Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet Part 8
– Darius, son of Marklon, reincarnated as John Matthew aka Tehrror, son of Darius of Marklon
– Qhuinn Warrior, formerly Qhuinn, son of Lohstrong, and Blaylock, son of Rocke
– Saxton, son of Tyhm
– Transition

The problem though is this: Xhex and John Matthew have both been thrown through the wringer of life not once, or twice, or thrice… but several times in their lifetimes. Xhex was let down and not just taken advantage of despite her superior than average skill set… but she was taken advantage of in such a way that it strip her almost entirely of her pride and sense of self.

John Matthew came close to that in his lifetime until he was introduced to the world that he was meant to be a part of. Not only that but he also went through so much loss that he had to find ways to recreate his life and put the pieces back together after they were callously smashed into hundreds of tiny pieces.

Life goes on. no matter what the world did to you, you could survive. – John Matthew from Lover Mine

As is the continuous underlying thread in this series:

It doesn’t have to be easy to be right. – Tohrment from Lover Mine

Granted there are times when it could be tedious and the formula just starts to become predictable… so granted when it came to this particular novel I was slowly losing interest, but as it was for all the past female protagonists there was something about Xhex that I felt a sense of kin to… and no I won’t mention what it is.

I understood what Xhex was going through when she felt herself to be at the bottom of the hole looking up and wondering if she would be able to get out of it. Going so far as to believe that there was no way she could get out of the situation that life threw her in.

But when she was finally out in the light the real battle began and who of the Brotherhood could relate to her? No one but John Matthew:

And the two of you make so much sense that you have no idea how much sense you make together. – Tohrment from Lover Mine

One of the slowly being interwoven stories within this novel was that of Quinn and Blaylock and their slowly and surely growing relationship… The separation, the hurt, pain, etc… how this trio of friends attempt to work through everything together and yet there are signs that their trio could break off and splinter because of unresolved feelings that have been growing over time:

I miss you, I miss you so fucking bad it hurts but I don’t know how to find you even though you’re right in front of me. – Quinn from Lover Mine

Looking back (since it has been at least six months since I have listened / read this particular novel in the series) this is probably one of the few novels I would consider listening to again… sure there is a slight sense of finding the princess in the tower moment, but at the end of the day the growth between these two was so extreme and so poignant and such a long, hard battle that it is impossible to understand it all in just one sitting.

John Matthew understood this best… the irony of life as it were:

Maybe this was just life, for everyone on the planet. Maybe the survivor’s club wasn’t something you earned but simply what you were born into when you came out of your mother’s womb. Your heartbeat put you on the roster and then the rest of it was just a question of vocab. The nouns and verbs used to describe the events that rocked your foundation and sent you flailing weren’t always the same as other peoples, but the random cruelties of disease and accident and the malicious focus of evil men and nasty deeds, and the heartbreak of loss with all it’s stinging whips and rattling chains… At the core it was all the same. And there was no opt out clause in the club’s bylaws unless you offed yourself. the essential truth of life he was coming to realize wasn’t romantic and took only two words to label: shit happens. but the thing was, you kept going, you kept your friends and your family and your mate as safe as you’re able and you kept fighting even after you were knocked down, goddammit you dragged your ass off the ground and you kept fighting. – John Matthew from Lover Mine

John Matthew couldn’t choose whom to love and whom to mate with, that much is clear. However, he can choose to either follow through or let it go and it was clear as day that there was no way for him to let go of Xhex, and refused to do so when it appeared she was lost to everyone:

Fate was not easy but it got things right, eventually everything that came to pass was exactly how it was meant to be.

So yeah… I wouldn’t call this my favorite of the series, but definitely high up that ladder. Not only that, but it is one of the series that most people might consider too fantastical to be true and yet this particular partnership happens more often than not in reality. What else can you do with life…

Don’t look backward, only forward – Tohrment from Lover Mine

This might actually one of the more thought provoking novels in the series for me… something that I relate to more than most and as thus harder to swallow on first reading (much like . However, once I managed to muddle through it would

Literary Review: Lover Enshrined (Book 6) by J R Ward

The joy of siblings… Phury has spent his entire life utterly and completely devoted to his twin brother, Zsadist believing him to be scarred beyond redemption. Even when Zsadist found his mate in Bella, Phury constantly worried over the chance and possibility that Zsadist would fall off the deep end… But what ended up happening was that it became apparent over time that it would be Phury who would not only fall over the deep end, but would be left to his own devices when everyone who cared about him gave up on him.

But before moving on you could find out more about Phury’s backstory at Book Thingo: Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet Part 6
– Black Dagger Brotherhood: Phury, son of Ahgony
– The Primale and the Chosen
– Layla
– Selena

Well known as to be the more handsome of the two brothers, Phury felt a sense of devotion to the point of celibacy believing that as long as he felt that Zsadist was in danger of being a danger to everyone around him, Phury could not enjoy himself or live his own life. Granted spending over a century searching for his lost twin brother could do that to a guy… and feeling like Zsadist was the shadow over their family’s memory that they all but forgotten about the son that was still alive and around could do that to a guy (in the more extreme of situations).

With his fantastic mane of multicoloured hair, Phury should have been in Hollywood’s league with the ladies, but he’d stuck with his vow of celibacy. There was room for one and only one love in his life, and it had been slowly killing him for years. ― J.R. Ward, Dark Lover

So this novel became the growth and revelation to Phury as he continued to fall deeper and deeper into his own world to the point that everyone around him lost faith in him. In fact the only being that had any faith (outwardly) in Phury is the soft spoken and ethereal Cormia… his first mate from “The Chosen”.

Available Summary:

Fiercely loyal to the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Phury has sacrificed himself for the good of the race, becoming the male responsible for keeping the Brotherhood’s bloodlines alive. As Primale of the Chosen, he is to father the sons and daughters who will ensure that the traditions of the race survive and that there are warriors to fight those who want all vampires extinguished.

As his first mate, the Chosen Cormia wants to win not only his body but his heart for herself- she sees the emotionally scarred male behind all his noble responsibility. But while the war with the Lessening Society grows more grim, and tragedy looms over the Brotherhood’s mansion, Phury must decide between duty and love.

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Reflection: Ken Kaden’s Adaptation of Nick Hornby’s “A Long Way Down”

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There are few shows that bring comedy into a serious issue and still resonate with the audience… and yet Ken Kaden has managed to keep that vary spirit of Nick Hornby’s novel “A Long Way Down” via his staged adaptation.

But first a little about “A Long Way Down”:

In his fourth novel, New York Times-bestselling author Nick Hornby mines the hearts and psyches of four lost souls who connect just when they’ve reached the end of the line.

Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year’s Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper’s House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives.

In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.

Intense, hilarious, provocative, and moving, A Long Way Down is a novel about suicide that is, surprisingly, full of life.

Yep… you read that right, funny but in a very thought provoking way even Ken admits as such via the Facebook invitiation:

Some oddities about “A Long Way Down!” :
1. It’s about suicide, and we hope to make you laugh.
2. It’s a staged reading, and most of the lines are memorized.
3. It’s not a musical, and music is important throughout.
4. One of the characters is famous, and nobody likes him.
5. Admission is free, and we hope you will give generously to a worthy cause.
6. It is first-come, first-served, and we hope to turn no-one away.

So now that you are semi-familiar with the adaptation and realize that it will open this coming weekend, why am I writing about it now?

Simple..

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Reflection: Oscars Snub at the VFX Industry

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See this?
20130226-122012.jpg
Yes… it is a big blob of green… or more specifically the green used for the “Green screen” for visual special effects.

But let me go back a bit…

One of the things that bugged me was the botched up (and semi-funny) presentation for the Visual Effects award done by The Avengers clan. At the moment I am sure a lot of us were just rolling our eyes, but when I started listening and relistening I realized something…

It felt like they were goofing and stalling… why?

The San Francisco Gate said it best:

Biggest Oscars snub: A shark attack on the VFX industry

What happened? Well according to the SFGate.
Well they turned on the light to the one thing that was bugging me during Bill Westenhofer’s thank you speech… specifically right when he was cut off:

Sadly, Rhythm & Hues is suffering serious financial difficulties now…. I urge you all to remember…

Not only that, but the producers of the Academy Awards cut him off using JAWS musical.

Sadly, I will admit it was rather funny in the moment… which was probably what the producers were going for… but in hindsight reveals something far more sinister.

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Fleeting: Modern Adaptations of Old Classics (Shakespeare Edition)

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Being a lover of Shakespeare, I am always on the look out of modern adaptations to some of Shakespeare’s works. Some have been hits (for me) others have been misses (you gotta have some) and some fall in the in between.

So what worked for me may not work for you guys, but hey, that’s what opinions are for, no?

Keep in mind these are adaptations that are also modernized… I will not be looking at pieces like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet… which is essentially the play with a modernized feel, what’s the point.

ROMEO AND JULIET
West Side Story
This has got to be the most obvious. Taking a look of who kills who, what happens to whom and most of the ending (Juliet doesn’t really kill herself as much as she may want to). It is well written, well composed, and chock full of dancing, singing, and drama. Classic in a Romeo and Juliet piece.

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Literary Review: Lover Unbound (Book 5) by J R Ward

Whoever out there has ever worked or played with an Ouija board may final the introduction to this particular book interesting… since Jane and her sister Hannah used the board to try to figure out a bit about their futures and overtime realized that it revealed more than they had thought.

Viscous – arguably the most brilliant of the Brotherhood (well in my point of view, because I just appreciate technology in general) – gets his moment in the spotlight if it wasn’t for the fact he comes equipped with his own light.

However, this guy has a hell of a past, and a hell of a way of attempting to come to terms with it. In fact I would go so far to say that by him enjoying what BDSM does in general has made me more uncomfortable than I am willing to admit in general…

Like always… for a bit of Viscous’ past just head on over to Book Thingo: Black Dagger Brotherhood Cheat Sheet Part 5
– Black Dagger Brotherhood: Vishous, son of the Bloodletter
– Payne
– Dr Manuel Manello
– Medical quirks
– The Bloodletter

So what kind of person was it going to take to crack this hell of a vampire? Well:

Available Summary:

Ruthless and brilliant, Vishous son of the Bloodletter possesses a destructive curse and a frightening ability to see the future. As a pretrans growing up in his father’s war camp, he was tormented and abused. As a member of the Brotherhood, he has no interest in love or emotion, only the battle with the Lessening Society. But when a mortal injury puts him in the care of a human surgeon, Dr. Jane Whitcomb compels him to reveal his inner pain and taste true pleasure for the first time – until a destiny he didn’t choose takes him into a future that cannot include her.

Yup another incredibly strong willed and viscously independent woman. Or after the fourth book in the series… a female version of Butch, Viscous’ best friend of the gang. Does anyone feel like this was a cop out in a way? I mean really.

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Review: Theatre of Western Springs’ Ghosts in the Machine

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Show: GHOST IN THE MACHINE
Stage Manager: Jon Mills 		Location: The Theatre of Western Springs
Director: Rick Snyder


This was a very last minute decision to see this production and really it was because one of my friend wanted to see his friend (whom I am also familiar with) in it and I was curious enough with what little of the premise I was able to construe to want to see what it was about.

So first the quickie:
Acting: love
Staging: love
Set Design: love

Fairly simple, no? According to The Theatre of Western Springs website…

The story begins with a common situation – that of a missing fifty dollar bill – and spins it into intriguing questions of probability, chance and the complexities of musical composition. A man programs a computer to compose music at random, but in the middle of all the binary coin-tossing the computer gives him much more than he asked for. A concurrent mystery surrounds several people who find themselves suspecting and distrusting each other over the issue of a lost or possibly stolen fifty dollar bill. Originally produced at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre, Ghost in the Machine is an entertaining and brisk mix of sex, mystery and metaphysics.

So below is the cast list and beyond the break my thoughts:

CHARACTER ACTOR
Wes Westlund Mike Janke
Nancy Westlund Laura Leonardo Ownby
Matt Carroll David M. Rodriguez
Kim Goldfarb Sharon Kushiner
Ali Schumann Noor Hamdi
Llewelyn Harper James Murphy

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Fleeting: Miss Saigon Characters (Wish List: Round One)

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Still no update on whether or not a Miss Saigon film is a “go” but I figured that as an extension of my original “wish list” in regards to a possible Miss Saigon film adaptation… I’ll provide my idea / vision of the character breakdown for various character parts.

Keep in mind I prefer to stay away from “fantasy casting” so don’t be expecting me to do any “name dropping” as it were. Though thinking this through I think it would be best if I broke this down into two posts… one for the Vietnamese only characters and another for the non-Vietnamese cast. Also (time-permitting) I’ll list out all the side characters from the original Miss Saigon musical that have bit parts in the songs that I think are significant enough to have decent cameos (if necessary).

So to make my life easier (and I’ll explain why in the next post) I’ll work on the non-Vietnamese characters first… these will include the obvious: Chris, John and Ellen… and I will add in “The Engineer” as well to which I will explain at the end of this post, but first:

CHRIS and JOHN
I think this would have been obvious. Americans… doesn’t have to be the stereotypical blond haired / blue-eyed Americans… or Caucasians, but heck anyone that you can see from the Army at some point during the 1970s. Sure the traditional look from musical theatre between Chris and John is one African-American and the other Caucasian, but it isn’t absolutely necessary. What is more necessary is how they look… do they look like they have been through the military boot camp of evil and tossed into an exotic place like Vietnam and rampaged through the jungles of the city of Saigon and not know what the heck is going on? Do they look worn down by the stress of war to the point that they are about to break?

ELLEN
So by extension Ellen (though obviously American) I feel should have a quiet strength to her. Someone that is steadfast, but not overbearing. A light at the end of the tunnel, someone who worked to be a sounding board for Chris for so long and is not only incredibly patient, she stands her ground… after all she is willing to “fight” Kim to keep Chris.

THE ENGINEER
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Literary Review: Old Friends New Fancies by Sybil G Brinton

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Technically I read this particular novel a few years ago, and I have reread particular portions of the novel but it has been a while since I have read the novel front to back in its entirety. So after those few years I decided to pack up the book and reread it during my flight to the west coast and from there decided to break it all down again.

First a few generalizations to note:
The author does notate some passage of years for various characters (if not all), however, there was a distinct feeling that all six of the primary novels ended at approximately the same time. As thus there was a sense of convolution in trying to fit everything in as much as possible.

There were a fair number of characters that were either 1) mentioned in passing, 2) passing through as an obstacle or 3) passing through as a connection for other characters to meet. How do these break down? Well
1) Edward and Elinor Ferrars, Colonel and Marianne Brandon, Catherine Tilney, most of the Bertrams
2) Anne Steele, Robert and Lucy Ferrars, Sir Elliot, Lady Catherine de Bourgh
3) Lady Portinscale (Eleanor Tilney), Mr Yates

As always there were a few primary romances that occurred over the course of the novel… without providing any spoilers some of the characters in question included:
Northanger Abbey: James Morland
Mansfield Park: Tom Bertram, William Price, Mary Crawford
Pride and Prejudice: Colonel Fitzwilliam, Georgiana Darcy, Kitty Bennet
I am sure from the above you are able to figure out the majority of the pairings (if not all)

Overall I rather enjoyed this particular novel, despite all the typos, editing errors, etc. It is probably one of the better Jane Austen sequels I have read in a while. With the majority of the characters staying true to the original characterization as depicted by Jane Austen it is a real trip to try to remember how someone knew someone else and why. At the same time the new romances were fun to follow as I found myself getting involved in them as well.

But like all books… I have a few grievances:

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Review: Dogfight and Yo Soy Un Hombre Loco (both Short Films)

Just because I like to pimp the talents of my friends… here is my friend Shawn Bernal in Dogfight.

I haven’t seen good martial arts like that since… well… yeeeeaaaaah. I mean I love a good action flick like the next guy, but this really gets me going. 🙂

Now at first glance I have never been a big fan of two against one fight sequences… it just doesn’t seem fair and adding more people into a fight sequence would feel a bit crowded if it isn’t done right… well it is being done right, and done well… as I have come to expect from Shawn and his friend Manny.

True martial arts fighting without all the tricks, this is what sets him apart from the rest of the crowd.

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