Challenge Accepted: Saint Joseph's Pants Cavazoon (Sweet Chickpea Calzone) & Happy St. Joseph's Day! by Randi / March 19, 2014
Not since “The Light in the Piazza” has a score so overflowed with emotion and moved its audience with its beauty. For classic heart-wrenching ballads that hearken back to the golden age of Broadway, “The Bridges of Madison County” is the show to see this season. I can’t wait to see it again just to hear the gorgeous, romantic score, of a type not seen on Broadway in a long while, sung live. Thanks to the always astounding Kelli O’Hara, perhaps the best interpreter of lush, romantic scores, and the fantastic musical newcomer Stephen Pasquale, this show absolutely captivates.
In “Bridges” the musical, a National Geographic photographer upends the life of a lonely Italian housewife living in Iowa. In town for a few days to photograph the county’s famous bridges, the photographer, Robert (Stephen Pasquale) falls in love with Francesca (Kelli O’Hara) and presents her with a life-changing opportunity. The well-known novel and movie versions are topped, because a musical is the best way to tell a romantic story. Also, musicals are allowed to be somewhat corny, so the story works better here. The whole town is unsettled, knocked off its staid monotonous track with the arrival of the hippie photographer, who fortuitously knocked on Francesca’s door.
It’s no coincidence that O’Hara is partly responsible for the splendor of both “Bridges” and “Piazza”, the two most romantic scores on Broadway since “West Side Story”. Her voice is the stuff wildly romantic songs rely upon. She only gets more expressive and more sophisticated in performance with each Broadway season. It would be a mistake if she didn’t take home the Tony this year.
Steven Pasquale is unbelievably making his Broadway musical debut, and presenting a showcase in how to be a leading male heartthrob. (At the stage door, this 7-foot-tall Russian woman, wearing 5-inch open-toed stilettos in winter and smoking 7 cigarettes during the 20 minutes we waited, had Pasquale sign her fully exposed breast without have English at her disposal. Suffice it to say the rest of the waiting crowd was horrified.) He is just so great. His Robert is up there with Matthew Morrison’s Fabrizio for perfect male love story performances. As the show progresses, and as we get to know the character more, his voice opens up and takes control not only of the house but seemingly of the entire theatre district. I cannot think of another male vocal performance as commendable this season (save Ramin Karimloo in “Les Miserables”, but Les Mis shouldn’t count).
The show’s book is much more decent than I would have expected with such a doe-eyed show. There were a few clunky lines and transitions, but for the most part everything flowed. The best part of the book came from Francesca’s neighbors, the old married couple Marge and Charlie (Cass Morgan and Michael X. Martin). Nosy but lovable Marge knows something is up with her neighbor and pesters her husband about what he would do if she cheated on him. Their neighborly interactions, nosy wonderings, and hilarious repartee is a very necessary comedic relief in this very cryfest of a show. The single funniest part is unspoken, just Marge pressed against her screen door and reaching for binoculars. Amazing. The best line, though, comes from Francesca, when Robert makes a comment on what brought him to Iowa and she says it was “the patron saint of Iowa housewives.” Italians and their patron saints. (Although in the opening song, Francesca’s accent sounded Irish. Whatever, it was still beautiful.)
My other favorite part of the book was when Robert said he was a vegetarian because he “just feels better when [he] doesn’t eat meat.” Score! And when he gathers vegetables from the garden, Francesca comments that he didn’t get kale, which she would have expected because it is a very American thing. Or something very current about the obsession with kale. Tee hee.
The only part I didn’t care too much about was all the time spent at the fair, where Francesca’s husband (Hunter Foster) and kids went during this week. One hitchy-giddyup song was kind of irritating, as was the “Oh I’m in Iowa” song that came instead of a needed emotional release.
But it is worth the ticket price alone to hear the standout moment of the show, the Act II duet between Francesca and Robert called “One Second & A Million Miles”. It is so gorgeous, the girl in front of me started sobbing at its beauty. As did the girl behind her.
The very “500 Days of Summer”-esque staging of the ‘fantasy’ and ‘actual’ endings, when she makes her choice between staying with her family or leaving with her love, is extremely effective and heartbreaking. The show is overall wonderful and should have a long run, but it is facing a challenge from the abundance of quality shows running right now. Hopefully, people won’t assume that they already know this story from the movie or the book and will instead take in one of the most beautiful shows in a while.
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Gilmore Girls “A Year in the Life”: “Winter” is Coming
Hey Gillies! Can you believe we have finally received the gift of a ‘Gilmore Girls’ reunion? And not just any old reunion, but four extra long movie-like episodes making up ‘A Year in the Life’, all written and directed by the formerly ousted show creator herself, Amy Sherman-Palladino! (Well at least Winter is. I fear Daniel will weasel his way in.) I am so psyched! So psyched and SO FULL OF WILLPOWER, because I have only watched “Winter”, the first 90 minute episode of four revival treats, even though they have been out since last Friday. Can you believe it? I am the williest of powers! I could so easily have watched all 4 minimovies (6 hours! maybe not so easily) but I don’t want to be out of new episodes so quickly. I am savoring this shiz! To help me spread out the watching, I’m going to write about each episode/minimovie/‘season’ one by one, thereby forcing a prolonged watching period. Hey, you might be mocking but who’s got two thumbs and three more whole episodes left to watch?? (*motions ‘this girl’ to absolutely no one*).
“Winter” begins with a black credit screen and audio clips of some of the best and most famous quotes from the series, and I am hooked from the very start. Reminding me of some of my favorite things gets me teary from the get-go, and then of course the first Richard quote they share is “People die…” OOF. This is going to be so hard without the great Edward Herrman as Richard Gilmore. But Luke can waltz! Luke can waltz! I’m not going to Harvard! I had sex but I’m not going to Harvard! Oy with the poodles already!!! I very much approve of this kind of hokey opening that feeds directly to the core fan base. Especially because it leads to Lorelai’s famous skill via the quote: “I smell snow.”
Cut through the snow-covered magical white-aquafaba town (both in terms of snow and race) of Stars Hollow to Lauren Graham sitting adorably on the gazebo drinking coffee, just so perfectly adorable, it made my heart sing! Gilmore is back! But then Rory has to come sit down and ruin everything. Just kidding, I am not contributing to the Gilmore Guys endless roast of Rory Gilmore…per se. I mean she is annoying af, mostly because she doesn’t really do anything but be so goddamn beautiful and have everyone around her except Mitchum Huntzberger tell her what a perfect genius angel she is and now 10 years later she is actually 10x as beautiful. But she has a different voice. My god, why does she have a different voice? Did she go through puberty in her 20s and her balls dropped so now she’s a baritone? So confused! Does pregnancy change your voice as well as your body? I was not aware of that. Pregnancy is gross. So oh yeah Alexis Bledel is a mother; wrap your brain around that one. Oh god I really hope Rory doesn’t get pregnant or have kids in this revival. Oooof. I do not need to see that. She’s totally grossed out by pregnancy/birth anyway, remember from when Sookie was aliening? I mean she’s smart there.
The Gilmore Girls’ first exchange in ‘A Year in the Life’ is exactly what you’d want: They’re sitting on the gazebo, drinking coffee, talking a mile a minute about how Rory looks so perfect after being on a plane, and so the only explanation is that she must have gotten ‘Goop’ed. What a perfect first pop culture reference!!! GOOP! Yes!! Of course Lorelai mercilessly mocks Gwynnie! Lorelai accuses her of doing yoga in the aisles, while Rory argues that she was wearing her compression pumps, Yonah Schimmel Knishes baseball hat, and toothpaste on a face pimple. Okay, let’s unpack this. First of all, yes on compression footwear when flying. Y’all think I’m crazy but I’m just wise. Second, I did NOT know Yonah Schimmel, the purveyor of the best knishes in NYC, made baseball hats? They don’t. I’m saying they don’t. Oh my god I just checked and they DO. Dammit Rory Gilmore!! Why does she know that and I didn’t? I bet you $10 that she never actually had their knishes. Oh I can’t wait to get knishes omg I get to go there in weeks!!! I hope this inclusion in the hottest entertainment of the year saves the knishery from the inevitable destruction of all decent East Village landmarks. Oh and third, no way in hell Rory has toothpaste on her chin in public. Or even gets pimples.
Our first walk-and-talk through the town was pretty wonderful, as we got a recap of all the inane goings-on in the Hollow, like Taylor petitioning for sewers, parking meters that came and went, and the fight to save the phone booth (“But where would Superman change when he had to save the town from Ben Affleck?” liked it). But my first real laugh out loud came courtesy of a Lorelai throwaway line, when Rory was running to Doose’s to find cell reception and called to Lorelai “Aren’t you coming?” and Lorelai, standing still on the corner, said “No I just hit my steps.” This was PERFECTION and gives me sooo much hope for the writing to come. How many of you reading have your days planned out around hitting your FitBit steps? I know firsthand that so many of you do! This cracked me up! If I was the type of person who used the phrase ‘on point’ despite it now having lost all power I would use it now. People are so obsessed with hitting their mark and then of course Lorelai, once she hits it, would just STOP MOVING if possible. I love it!
Why does Lane look 10 years YOUNGER than she did last? Is it because she has a weird haircut or just the incredible genes of Keiko Agena? Unbelievable! Bigger question, why did they make Kirk a heartthrob! He looks amazing! I hate facial hair but it really works on him. This is gross I do not appreciate being made to think Kirk looks okay, Amy Sherman-Palladino you devil! At least they quickly ruined the whole thing by having him say ‘Ooober’ way too many times; that was pretty annoying. But then we’re back on the other hand with the reveal of his pet pig! Dammit Amy!
It’s really weird to imagine Rory as a big time journalist, as she seems to be with all these phones and calls and stuff. And she’s wearing a camel trench coat! A camel trench signals big time journalist more than anything! I can’t wait to see what she’s actually doing. Is she successful? Are her extra phones just toys to keep her entertained? I know mine are.
But there’s no more time to worry about Rory because PAUL ANKA IS THERE! PAUL ANKA IS ALIVE! I knew he would be (HE HAD TO BE! HE HAD TO BE!) but seeing him in the house just made me squee like a puppeh lover. Oh my god I’m so happy. And YASSS LUKE LIVES IN THE HOUSE! LUKE AND LORELAI ARE TOGETHER! Thank god. They better not put them through any bullshit in this revival. It’s coming though, isn’t it? Of course it’s coming. Dammit Amy!
Guys I love Paul Anka so much. Apart from my own real life baby dogs and their friends that I like, I think Paul Anka is my favorite dog in the entire world.
Um so Paul! Rory has a boyfriend! Named Paul! Immediately, I think of ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ when Emma Stone is dating a very very extra nerdy Josh Groban (who is not at all nerdy in real life thankyouverymuch) and we see immediately that they can’t last. Paul is a nerdier, lesser Josh Groban in that great movie. I hope that doesn’t mean that Rory ends up with Logan because he’s the closest to Ryan Gosling that we have in the Hollow. Paul’s entire purpose is to make us remember how terrible the Girls can be, but also how funny. His whole thing is that he’s so boring, so bland and milquetoast (p.s. as kids how many of you thought that was milk-toast and was a breakfast item no not me either) that no one remembers anything about him. Luke and Lorelai don’t remember his name or that they’ve met him several times, and Rory doesn’t even remember that they’ve been dating for more than a few months, let alone two years ffs! It’s cruel and it makes me horrible to like it but I liked it. I love when Paul and Luke are discussing antique wrenches in the kitchen, and after Paul leaves Luke says, “I just forgot the entire conversation we just had.” Lolol Luke got a funny! Don’t judge, I really do feel so bad for how mean they are to Paul but it’s kind of hilarious. I hope Rory cuts him loose soon, but the odds are low because she is quite inconsiderate.
Well hello, more evidence of Rory’s inability to think of anyone but herself! Lorelai wakes up from her scary dream (I don’t even want to talk about how gross and dumb that recurring nightmare is) and hears banging. She finds Rory tap-dancing in the kitchen to calm her nerves – in the middle of the night. Goddammit Rory. This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. I mean come on. There’s no way anyone would think it’s okay to TAP DANCE in the middle of the night. No one is that stupid and inconsiderate, not even Rory Gilmore. I mean I cannot even fathom why Amy wanted this to happen. Are we really supposed to hate Rory even more, or think she’s that stupid? Or did Amy just really want to feature some good old-fashioned terrible tap dancing? Like, Sutton Foster is in one of the episodes, right? If Sutton is on this show and doesn’t tap, but Rory does, I’ma be hella pissed.
I loved loved Lorelai and Luke’s banter as they got ready for bed. It was everything I wanted from them that we were never given in the series, just seeing them normal and adorable while throwing around loving barbs, ending with them calling each other ‘Oscar’ and ‘Felix’ without missing a beat. It was great. One thing I realized, though, is that we’ve never ever heard them say they love each other. I honestly bet that despite 10 years together they haven’t yet, and it’s not just that they haven’t shown us. I really want them to. And I hope we see evidence of better communication skills. After all these years, there’s no way they would still be making all the same mistakes of hiding every single damn thing they think and feel from each other to the detriment of their relationship. Of course they will hide lots, but not every single damn thing after all these years of learning how to communicate better! Ugh I know better than to trust Amy with this though.
I love how typical it is for Luke to give all the customers different fake wifi passwords. And I love how the ‘No Cell Phones’ sign has evolved into all sorts of new rules against hipster behavior. The first scene in the diner was perfect. Taylor being annoying as usual, Kirk being weird as hell. I really enjoyed when Lorelai threw a stranger’s bagels at Kirk and then paid said stranger for new bagels, and the stranger just laughed. It was fun to see someone outside the universe react to her as normal humans would, in total amusement. I love that the picture Luke used of Rory on the back of the menu (‘so proud’) was like the very first picture of her in the series. And I’m sorry, I know it makes me a terrible person, but I adore all this horrible Paul stuff in the diner. They forgot he was in the house? Then they forgot he was in the diner after only a minute? Lorelai and Rory are such terrible people! I love it! I mean I often hate it but right now I love it. It’s too funny. And Rory has never been better than she was when she left the diner, only to run back in a few seconds later and pretend that she had been waiting for Paul to get out of the bathroom. I laughed too hard. The lingering shot on the empty table as we realize that Paul is still there was perfectly done.
We’re apparently on a nonstop highlight tour of all the most important spots in the Gilmore universe, because after quickly running through the town square, Doose’s, Lorelai’s, and the diner, we’re at the Dragonfly Inn! It’s just like old times with Michel complaining to Lorelai as they walk through the inn. One of the best reveals so far is that Michel is gay. We all knew but to finally, finally acknowledge it is wonderful, especially to do so in such a nonchalant way – him complaining to Lorelai about his husband and his aversion to children with a fantastic line: “We could be walking by the well that Timmy fell down and he’d throw a penny in.” I love how it captures Gilmore Girls’ pop culture references, sharp humor, and meanness. Michel, one of my favorite characters in the whole series, is in top form in this short intro to the main Dragonfly scene. “Isn’t that what boarding school is for, so you don’t have to live in a good school district?” and “’Hold this. What do you feel?’ Well now there’s spittle on my Brioni suit, so, rage?” were both classic Michel. He is the best.
What’s not like old times is that the Dragonfly is housing really cool chefs as they put on short pop-up restaurants – or try to, before Lorelai throws them out for not being Sookie. Sookie, we learn from Lorelai and Michel’s arguing, went on a six-month sabbatical…a year ago, and an obviously upset and heartbroken Lorelai refuses to accept the loss, by refusing to let any chef take control of Sookie’s kitchen. Although I hate when characters I normally like are completely and utterly impractical and unreasonable, I really liked how Lorelai was now mirroring Sookie’s annoying refusal to fill her own head chef position when she needed to go on maternity leave back in season 5. Remember in 5.19, when Sookie needed to go on bedrest but she had not yet provided Lorelai any assistance on hiring her temporary replacement, so Luke had to fill in last minute? And Sookie was at 1000% Sookie-annoyance levels, giving Luke an exasperatingly hard time about making sure to copy her cooking exactly, without showing him any gratitude for saving their asses or showing Lorelai any remorse for leaving her in the lurch like this? Well, seeing Lorelai behave just as stubbornly and irrationally trying to fill the position now kind of made me forgive past-Sookie the tiniest bit for not apologizing profusely to Lorelai back then. Two peas. I don’t know how intentional this connection was, but it felt strong to me.
We get our first (it better not be our only) Gypsy treat sighting when she ‘accidentally’ calls Lorelai. Sure, accidentally. One of my favorite things to know now when I rewatch is that Rose Abdoo played Gypsy as if she was in love with Lorelai. It’s so fun to watch with this in mind. Gypsy takes this opportunity to tell Lorelai that her car – her same old broke ass car – is not finished yet because the necessary parts have not yet arrived on a Delorean. I admit it’s kind of tired to still be talking about Lorelai refusing to upgrade her same old broke ass car but I enjoy it.
The highlights tour continues with Friday Night Dinner at the Gilmores! Although, of course, now it is only Emily’s. Oh jesus, this is going to be so sad, isn’t it. Edward Herrman was such a force. At the very least, without him present, the animosity between Emily and Lorelai stands out even more strongly. Rory is not strong enough to be a buffer without the presence of her grandfather. As usual, Lorelai annoyingly pushes Emily too far and a fight erupts, necessitating a flashback to Richard’s funeral four months prior. Tom Waits (so I’m told) plays as we see the three girls sit in silence in the limo and then the service. Zero words accompany this entire scene, and it’s so moving. The table near where the priest is speaking has books and pictures and the Chuck Berry record that Rory brought to him last time he was in the hospital, which was a nice if brutal touch. The picture taken at Richard and Emily’s vow renewal is blown up, the one when they’re dancing to “Bill”, and ugh that’s brutal too.
Post-funeral, at the reception, I love that Luke is fixing things around the house. And Emily’s face after Lorelai says she’s staying despite Rory needing to leave was the happiest we’ve ever, ever seen Emily. So it was immediately clear that something really truly terrible was coming, because Emily doesn’t smile like that. I mean, yes we’re at Richard’s funeral but I mean terrible between Emily and Lorelai. When night falls and only the stragglers/closest friends are left, Emily asks everyone to share their favorite Richard story. Unfortunately, Lorelai is drunk…and doesn’t have any? I find this hard to believe, because although they had a very tumultuous relationship, we’ve seen many, many great moments between her and her father. I mean ffs she could have just talked about how they were being cheated on the Inn’s insurance plan and he redid the entire thing and took on their account. There’s one I just thought of in 2 seconds. Or what about when she thought her parents were moving to Stars Hollow but they were really there buying a house for her? That’s a really easy one to spin to show Richard in a great light. Or how supportive they were of Rory any of the million times they were. So, considering I am now thinking of tons of things she could have said about her father, I really wish they had just made Lorelai drunker, because nothing else explains it. Not even grieving or being caught off guard, because she had a good five minutes while others talked to come up with something instead of awkwardly climbing over the guy in the wheelchair. There’s no way she would have shared the ridiculous story she shared unless she was plastered, and Lauren Graham was not playing her plastered, so it was all very frustrating and annoying, especially when it’s supposed to be the main dramatic plot point of the episode. UGH.
So, of course, after this debacle, Emily is furious and she and Lorelai fight in the kitchen. This extended, nonstop shot of their argument is epic. They say so much and it’s so long, it must have been so hard to shoot but everything about it is perfect. When Emily shouts “I just lost my husband!” and Lorelai breaks down responding “I just lost my father!”, it was like ah finally this is the stellar acting we require from these two. Just so impressive, that whole scene. After the argument, Emily kicks Lorelai out of the house, beginning a months-long spell of silence between the two. Obviously Emily would be furious, but I just wish the reasoning behind all of this was stronger. I just ugh I don’t buy it, Lorelai. Whyyy couldn’t you think of anything else?
I could have done without Digger.
Luckily, Rory does something right and convinces her mother to make amends with Emily, which brings us to one of the best scenes ever. Lorelai arrives in present day at her mother’s house, only to find the maid and her entire extended family (and all the related children) packing up all the Gilmore’s carefully chosen, expensive possessions, from knickknacks and clocks to clothes and furniture, while Emily oversees everything in – gasp! – jeans. Emily of the famous ‘Don’t wear jeans’ mindset is wearing Lorelai’s old jeans and a Candie’s baseball tee. Oh man was this a vision. So it turns out Emily, like 90% of the world, was taken in by Marie Kondo’s The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up, when you hold everything you own and toss it if it doesn’t bring you joy. Emily, naturally, finds that nothing brings her joy, so all her stuff is going. Kelly Bishop is magical in this scene, sending off the dining room chairs with a deadpan “They don’t bring me joy.” So hilarious! And it provided a great way for Lorelai to reconnect with her mother, by reminding her that nothing is going to bring her joy right now, and losing all her stuff might make things harder. Emily snaps out of her reverie and starts ordering all her belongings be brought back. It’s a perfect scene.
Ohhh but then there’s another perfect scene, with my favorite character ever: my idol, Paris Gellar. Luke and Lorelai are in a doctor’s office exploring the option of surrogacy, when we hear that familiar bossy bitchy voice cut through to the waiting room and realize, oh shit, this is Paris’s business. Paris is like the most successful person in the country and I’m like YEAH SHE IS. She is the greatest. If Hillary can’t be president at least Paris can be winning at life. It’s unfortunate that this scene shows how poorly Lorelai and Luke communicate, because they clearly want a child but won’t admit it to the other. And also they don’t like when things are hard, so better to just ignore it. eye roll eye roll eye roll. Come on guys!
In a very forced squeezing of as many characters as possible into one scene, Kirk Ooobers Rory and Paris (who didn’t plan to meet up but ran into each other at the Diner? Sure.) to Lane’s house where the band is playing. Um okay I am just going to accept all this coincidence as part of the magic of the Stars Hollow universe because a) Lane’s accident babies Steve and Kwon are like, 9 years old now and adorable!!! And b) Hep Alien is actually good! When did they get good? I always hated Hep Alien because I despised Zack (and why is he the lead singer when Sebastian Bach is there?) but they really sounded good here and I loved it. Seeing Brian and Gil (!) again made me so happy. I hope that’s not all we get from them, because I really want Brian to be with one of the Korean cousins. Oh my god I can’t wait to see Mrs. Kim!!!
There’s so much going on (it is twice as long as a normal episode!) that I almost forgot about a main storyline – Rory working in London! Rory flies back and forth to London seemingly every other day (who is paying for that?) despite not having a job. Why would so much of her job-seeking involve 24-hour trips to London on the regs? We see her have a very confusing lunch with an older British woman who is nothing like any British woman I’ve ever met. This Miss Shropshire – apparently the former teenage beauty queen of Shropshire because that is a county and not a last name – is bold and brassy in the manner that would make a man in a 1950s movie complain about how she ‘cannot be contained!’ har har but today just makes me wonder, hey where are your shoes. She stops the waiter in the stuffy old members-only-looking restaurant every time he passes with a plate, and makes jokes to Rory about how food tastes better when it’s ‘stolen’. Um, sorry Miss Steer of the Year, but just because those weren’t the dishes you ordered doesn’t mean they won’t be on your bill…? So odd. Why would Rory want to write a book with this woman? Also why is this woman worth writing a book about?
We cut to Rory reviewing the lunch conversation in a super swanky apartment to someone off camera. Whose apartment is this, we wonder as she continues to talk about what a character Miss Shropshire is and how she is just wild, and just as we remember again to ask ourselves, who is paying for all of this?, out comes MISTER LOGAN HUNTZBERGER. I literally gasped when he walked out. I kind of love that they have a ‘what happens in Vegas’ arrangement, it is so them, especially when Rory has a boyfriend. I never shipped Rory and Logan (I always hated Logan) but I kind of want them together now because these assholes deserve each other. I really did love seeing him walk into that room though, that was a superbly done twist.
We end with Lorelai, Luke, and Paul Anka dressed as Luke (!! squeeeeee !!) in the town square for another Stars Hollow Winter Wonderland fiesta or some such small town nonsense that happens every week, and Lorelai gets a call from Emily. It seems sweet, as Emily thanks Lorelai for suggesting she see a therapist and gushes about how well it’s going. Okay, Lorelai, what is going on? She would so immediately recognize that Emily is up to her old tricks again, because when has Emily ever thanked her for anything? I really am flabbergasted that Lorelai doesn’t suspect anything, even when Emily suggests that Lorelai come to a session just to meet the therapist. Lorelai seems so happy and touched that her mother would want this…I mean…who is this person? Even Luke realizes right away that Emily just tricked her into joining her for therapy! I find it hard to believe that Lorelai would go one minute without suspecting her mother’s motives, because she always has an ulterior motive. Oh jeez. I cannot wait to see their therapy session.
Okay so it seems like the big question from this episode, aside from why Lorelai is actually worse than Bridget Jones when speaking in public, is why in the name of Paul Anka did Rory send boxes of her possessions to the homes of everyone she knows? Some went to Lorelai’s, some to her grandmother, some to Lane, some to Paris, SOME TO LOGAN IN LONDON?? What the hell! Was there a multi-destination discount at the post office? Rory is not as smart as they want us to believe. Seriously, there better be a good reason for her to have scattered her possessions around the globe in the next three episodes, because just having her unable to find what she’s looking for due to her own idiotic decision making skills at UPS would be pretty unsatisfying. If this storyline isn’t explained well, I think it may go down as the dumbest, most frustrating plot point in the history of television. Yes, more stupider than when “Once Upon A Time” explained “Frozen” by having Anna in a box in the ocean for 20 years or something I don’t even know. Maybe not as dumb as that. But dumber than most things.
Overall I was giddy throughout this episode. Everything felt right, especially after the slightly off-kilter tone of Season 7. I have high hopes for the rest of the new episodes but also lots of fear. I just know Amy is going to try to pull some dumb shit on Lorelai and Luke instead of letting them grow. And I am sad that we only (reportedly) get one Sookie scene and one Mrs. Kim scene. And not nearly enough Miss Patty and Babette! I need more townies!!
Fashion report:
Cut through the snow-covered magical white-aquafaba town (both in terms of snow and race) of Stars Hollow to Lauren Graham sitting adorably on the gazebo drinking coffee, just so perfectly adorable, it made my heart sing! Gilmore is back! But then Rory has to come sit down and ruin everything. Just kidding, I am not contributing to the Gilmore Guys endless roast of Rory Gilmore…per se. I mean she is annoying af, mostly because she doesn’t really do anything but be so goddamn beautiful and have everyone around her except Mitchum Huntzberger tell her what a perfect genius angel she is and now 10 years later she is actually 10x as beautiful. But she has a different voice. My god, why does she have a different voice? Did she go through puberty in her 20s and her balls dropped so now she’s a baritone? So confused! Does pregnancy change your voice as well as your body? I was not aware of that. Pregnancy is gross. So oh yeah Alexis Bledel is a mother; wrap your brain around that one. Oh god I really hope Rory doesn’t get pregnant or have kids in this revival. Oooof. I do not need to see that. She’s totally grossed out by pregnancy/birth anyway, remember from when Sookie was aliening? I mean she’s smart there.
The Gilmore Girls’ first exchange in ‘A Year in the Life’ is exactly what you’d want: They’re sitting on the gazebo, drinking coffee, talking a mile a minute about how Rory looks so perfect after being on a plane, and so the only explanation is that she must have gotten ‘Goop’ed. What a perfect first pop culture reference!!! GOOP! Yes!! Of course Lorelai mercilessly mocks Gwynnie! Lorelai accuses her of doing yoga in the aisles, while Rory argues that she was wearing her compression pumps, Yonah Schimmel Knishes baseball hat, and toothpaste on a face pimple. Okay, let’s unpack this. First of all, yes on compression footwear when flying. Y’all think I’m crazy but I’m just wise. Second, I did NOT know Yonah Schimmel, the purveyor of the best knishes in NYC, made baseball hats? They don’t. I’m saying they don’t. Oh my god I just checked and they DO. Dammit Rory Gilmore!! Why does she know that and I didn’t? I bet you $10 that she never actually had their knishes. Oh I can’t wait to get knishes omg I get to go there in weeks!!! I hope this inclusion in the hottest entertainment of the year saves the knishery from the inevitable destruction of all decent East Village landmarks. Oh and third, no way in hell Rory has toothpaste on her chin in public. Or even gets pimples.
Our first walk-and-talk through the town was pretty wonderful, as we got a recap of all the inane goings-on in the Hollow, like Taylor petitioning for sewers, parking meters that came and went, and the fight to save the phone booth (“But where would Superman change when he had to save the town from Ben Affleck?” liked it). But my first real laugh out loud came courtesy of a Lorelai throwaway line, when Rory was running to Doose’s to find cell reception and called to Lorelai “Aren’t you coming?” and Lorelai, standing still on the corner, said “No I just hit my steps.” This was PERFECTION and gives me sooo much hope for the writing to come. How many of you reading have your days planned out around hitting your FitBit steps? I know firsthand that so many of you do! This cracked me up! If I was the type of person who used the phrase ‘on point’ despite it now having lost all power I would use it now. People are so obsessed with hitting their mark and then of course Lorelai, once she hits it, would just STOP MOVING if possible. I love it!
Why does Lane look 10 years YOUNGER than she did last? Is it because she has a weird haircut or just the incredible genes of Keiko Agena? Unbelievable! Bigger question, why did they make Kirk a heartthrob! He looks amazing! I hate facial hair but it really works on him. This is gross I do not appreciate being made to think Kirk looks okay, Amy Sherman-Palladino you devil! At least they quickly ruined the whole thing by having him say ‘Ooober’ way too many times; that was pretty annoying. But then we’re back on the other hand with the reveal of his pet pig! Dammit Amy!
It’s really weird to imagine Rory as a big time journalist, as she seems to be with all these phones and calls and stuff. And she’s wearing a camel trench coat! A camel trench signals big time journalist more than anything! I can’t wait to see what she’s actually doing. Is she successful? Are her extra phones just toys to keep her entertained? I know mine are.
But there’s no more time to worry about Rory because PAUL ANKA IS THERE! PAUL ANKA IS ALIVE! I knew he would be (HE HAD TO BE! HE HAD TO BE!) but seeing him in the house just made me squee like a puppeh lover. Oh my god I’m so happy. And YASSS LUKE LIVES IN THE HOUSE! LUKE AND LORELAI ARE TOGETHER! Thank god. They better not put them through any bullshit in this revival. It’s coming though, isn’t it? Of course it’s coming. Dammit Amy!
Guys I love Paul Anka so much. Apart from my own real life baby dogs and their friends that I like, I think Paul Anka is my favorite dog in the entire world.
Um so Paul! Rory has a boyfriend! Named Paul! Immediately, I think of ‘Crazy Stupid Love’ when Emma Stone is dating a very very extra nerdy Josh Groban (who is not at all nerdy in real life thankyouverymuch) and we see immediately that they can’t last. Paul is a nerdier, lesser Josh Groban in that great movie. I hope that doesn’t mean that Rory ends up with Logan because he’s the closest to Ryan Gosling that we have in the Hollow. Paul’s entire purpose is to make us remember how terrible the Girls can be, but also how funny. His whole thing is that he’s so boring, so bland and milquetoast (p.s. as kids how many of you thought that was milk-toast and was a breakfast item no not me either) that no one remembers anything about him. Luke and Lorelai don’t remember his name or that they’ve met him several times, and Rory doesn’t even remember that they’ve been dating for more than a few months, let alone two years ffs! It’s cruel and it makes me horrible to like it but I liked it. I love when Paul and Luke are discussing antique wrenches in the kitchen, and after Paul leaves Luke says, “I just forgot the entire conversation we just had.” Lolol Luke got a funny! Don’t judge, I really do feel so bad for how mean they are to Paul but it’s kind of hilarious. I hope Rory cuts him loose soon, but the odds are low because she is quite inconsiderate.
Well hello, more evidence of Rory’s inability to think of anyone but herself! Lorelai wakes up from her scary dream (I don’t even want to talk about how gross and dumb that recurring nightmare is) and hears banging. She finds Rory tap-dancing in the kitchen to calm her nerves – in the middle of the night. Goddammit Rory. This is one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard. I mean come on. There’s no way anyone would think it’s okay to TAP DANCE in the middle of the night. No one is that stupid and inconsiderate, not even Rory Gilmore. I mean I cannot even fathom why Amy wanted this to happen. Are we really supposed to hate Rory even more, or think she’s that stupid? Or did Amy just really want to feature some good old-fashioned terrible tap dancing? Like, Sutton Foster is in one of the episodes, right? If Sutton is on this show and doesn’t tap, but Rory does, I’ma be hella pissed.
I loved loved Lorelai and Luke’s banter as they got ready for bed. It was everything I wanted from them that we were never given in the series, just seeing them normal and adorable while throwing around loving barbs, ending with them calling each other ‘Oscar’ and ‘Felix’ without missing a beat. It was great. One thing I realized, though, is that we’ve never ever heard them say they love each other. I honestly bet that despite 10 years together they haven’t yet, and it’s not just that they haven’t shown us. I really want them to. And I hope we see evidence of better communication skills. After all these years, there’s no way they would still be making all the same mistakes of hiding every single damn thing they think and feel from each other to the detriment of their relationship. Of course they will hide lots, but not every single damn thing after all these years of learning how to communicate better! Ugh I know better than to trust Amy with this though.
I love how typical it is for Luke to give all the customers different fake wifi passwords. And I love how the ‘No Cell Phones’ sign has evolved into all sorts of new rules against hipster behavior. The first scene in the diner was perfect. Taylor being annoying as usual, Kirk being weird as hell. I really enjoyed when Lorelai threw a stranger’s bagels at Kirk and then paid said stranger for new bagels, and the stranger just laughed. It was fun to see someone outside the universe react to her as normal humans would, in total amusement. I love that the picture Luke used of Rory on the back of the menu (‘so proud’) was like the very first picture of her in the series. And I’m sorry, I know it makes me a terrible person, but I adore all this horrible Paul stuff in the diner. They forgot he was in the house? Then they forgot he was in the diner after only a minute? Lorelai and Rory are such terrible people! I love it! I mean I often hate it but right now I love it. It’s too funny. And Rory has never been better than she was when she left the diner, only to run back in a few seconds later and pretend that she had been waiting for Paul to get out of the bathroom. I laughed too hard. The lingering shot on the empty table as we realize that Paul is still there was perfectly done.
We’re apparently on a nonstop highlight tour of all the most important spots in the Gilmore universe, because after quickly running through the town square, Doose’s, Lorelai’s, and the diner, we’re at the Dragonfly Inn! It’s just like old times with Michel complaining to Lorelai as they walk through the inn. One of the best reveals so far is that Michel is gay. We all knew but to finally, finally acknowledge it is wonderful, especially to do so in such a nonchalant way – him complaining to Lorelai about his husband and his aversion to children with a fantastic line: “We could be walking by the well that Timmy fell down and he’d throw a penny in.” I love how it captures Gilmore Girls’ pop culture references, sharp humor, and meanness. Michel, one of my favorite characters in the whole series, is in top form in this short intro to the main Dragonfly scene. “Isn’t that what boarding school is for, so you don’t have to live in a good school district?” and “’Hold this. What do you feel?’ Well now there’s spittle on my Brioni suit, so, rage?” were both classic Michel. He is the best.
What’s not like old times is that the Dragonfly is housing really cool chefs as they put on short pop-up restaurants – or try to, before Lorelai throws them out for not being Sookie. Sookie, we learn from Lorelai and Michel’s arguing, went on a six-month sabbatical…a year ago, and an obviously upset and heartbroken Lorelai refuses to accept the loss, by refusing to let any chef take control of Sookie’s kitchen. Although I hate when characters I normally like are completely and utterly impractical and unreasonable, I really liked how Lorelai was now mirroring Sookie’s annoying refusal to fill her own head chef position when she needed to go on maternity leave back in season 5. Remember in 5.19, when Sookie needed to go on bedrest but she had not yet provided Lorelai any assistance on hiring her temporary replacement, so Luke had to fill in last minute? And Sookie was at 1000% Sookie-annoyance levels, giving Luke an exasperatingly hard time about making sure to copy her cooking exactly, without showing him any gratitude for saving their asses or showing Lorelai any remorse for leaving her in the lurch like this? Well, seeing Lorelai behave just as stubbornly and irrationally trying to fill the position now kind of made me forgive past-Sookie the tiniest bit for not apologizing profusely to Lorelai back then. Two peas. I don’t know how intentional this connection was, but it felt strong to me.
We get our first (it better not be our only) Gypsy treat sighting when she ‘accidentally’ calls Lorelai. Sure, accidentally. One of my favorite things to know now when I rewatch is that Rose Abdoo played Gypsy as if she was in love with Lorelai. It’s so fun to watch with this in mind. Gypsy takes this opportunity to tell Lorelai that her car – her same old broke ass car – is not finished yet because the necessary parts have not yet arrived on a Delorean. I admit it’s kind of tired to still be talking about Lorelai refusing to upgrade her same old broke ass car but I enjoy it.
The highlights tour continues with Friday Night Dinner at the Gilmores! Although, of course, now it is only Emily’s. Oh jesus, this is going to be so sad, isn’t it. Edward Herrman was such a force. At the very least, without him present, the animosity between Emily and Lorelai stands out even more strongly. Rory is not strong enough to be a buffer without the presence of her grandfather. As usual, Lorelai annoyingly pushes Emily too far and a fight erupts, necessitating a flashback to Richard’s funeral four months prior. Tom Waits (so I’m told) plays as we see the three girls sit in silence in the limo and then the service. Zero words accompany this entire scene, and it’s so moving. The table near where the priest is speaking has books and pictures and the Chuck Berry record that Rory brought to him last time he was in the hospital, which was a nice if brutal touch. The picture taken at Richard and Emily’s vow renewal is blown up, the one when they’re dancing to “Bill”, and ugh that’s brutal too.
Post-funeral, at the reception, I love that Luke is fixing things around the house. And Emily’s face after Lorelai says she’s staying despite Rory needing to leave was the happiest we’ve ever, ever seen Emily. So it was immediately clear that something really truly terrible was coming, because Emily doesn’t smile like that. I mean, yes we’re at Richard’s funeral but I mean terrible between Emily and Lorelai. When night falls and only the stragglers/closest friends are left, Emily asks everyone to share their favorite Richard story. Unfortunately, Lorelai is drunk…and doesn’t have any? I find this hard to believe, because although they had a very tumultuous relationship, we’ve seen many, many great moments between her and her father. I mean ffs she could have just talked about how they were being cheated on the Inn’s insurance plan and he redid the entire thing and took on their account. There’s one I just thought of in 2 seconds. Or what about when she thought her parents were moving to Stars Hollow but they were really there buying a house for her? That’s a really easy one to spin to show Richard in a great light. Or how supportive they were of Rory any of the million times they were. So, considering I am now thinking of tons of things she could have said about her father, I really wish they had just made Lorelai drunker, because nothing else explains it. Not even grieving or being caught off guard, because she had a good five minutes while others talked to come up with something instead of awkwardly climbing over the guy in the wheelchair. There’s no way she would have shared the ridiculous story she shared unless she was plastered, and Lauren Graham was not playing her plastered, so it was all very frustrating and annoying, especially when it’s supposed to be the main dramatic plot point of the episode. UGH.
So, of course, after this debacle, Emily is furious and she and Lorelai fight in the kitchen. This extended, nonstop shot of their argument is epic. They say so much and it’s so long, it must have been so hard to shoot but everything about it is perfect. When Emily shouts “I just lost my husband!” and Lorelai breaks down responding “I just lost my father!”, it was like ah finally this is the stellar acting we require from these two. Just so impressive, that whole scene. After the argument, Emily kicks Lorelai out of the house, beginning a months-long spell of silence between the two. Obviously Emily would be furious, but I just wish the reasoning behind all of this was stronger. I just ugh I don’t buy it, Lorelai. Whyyy couldn’t you think of anything else?
I could have done without Digger.
Luckily, Rory does something right and convinces her mother to make amends with Emily, which brings us to one of the best scenes ever. Lorelai arrives in present day at her mother’s house, only to find the maid and her entire extended family (and all the related children) packing up all the Gilmore’s carefully chosen, expensive possessions, from knickknacks and clocks to clothes and furniture, while Emily oversees everything in – gasp! – jeans. Emily of the famous ‘Don’t wear jeans’ mindset is wearing Lorelai’s old jeans and a Candie’s baseball tee. Oh man was this a vision. So it turns out Emily, like 90% of the world, was taken in by Marie Kondo’s The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up, when you hold everything you own and toss it if it doesn’t bring you joy. Emily, naturally, finds that nothing brings her joy, so all her stuff is going. Kelly Bishop is magical in this scene, sending off the dining room chairs with a deadpan “They don’t bring me joy.” So hilarious! And it provided a great way for Lorelai to reconnect with her mother, by reminding her that nothing is going to bring her joy right now, and losing all her stuff might make things harder. Emily snaps out of her reverie and starts ordering all her belongings be brought back. It’s a perfect scene.
Ohhh but then there’s another perfect scene, with my favorite character ever: my idol, Paris Gellar. Luke and Lorelai are in a doctor’s office exploring the option of surrogacy, when we hear that familiar bossy bitchy voice cut through to the waiting room and realize, oh shit, this is Paris’s business. Paris is like the most successful person in the country and I’m like YEAH SHE IS. She is the greatest. If Hillary can’t be president at least Paris can be winning at life. It’s unfortunate that this scene shows how poorly Lorelai and Luke communicate, because they clearly want a child but won’t admit it to the other. And also they don’t like when things are hard, so better to just ignore it. eye roll eye roll eye roll. Come on guys!
In a very forced squeezing of as many characters as possible into one scene, Kirk Ooobers Rory and Paris (who didn’t plan to meet up but ran into each other at the Diner? Sure.) to Lane’s house where the band is playing. Um okay I am just going to accept all this coincidence as part of the magic of the Stars Hollow universe because a) Lane’s accident babies Steve and Kwon are like, 9 years old now and adorable!!! And b) Hep Alien is actually good! When did they get good? I always hated Hep Alien because I despised Zack (and why is he the lead singer when Sebastian Bach is there?) but they really sounded good here and I loved it. Seeing Brian and Gil (!) again made me so happy. I hope that’s not all we get from them, because I really want Brian to be with one of the Korean cousins. Oh my god I can’t wait to see Mrs. Kim!!!
There’s so much going on (it is twice as long as a normal episode!) that I almost forgot about a main storyline – Rory working in London! Rory flies back and forth to London seemingly every other day (who is paying for that?) despite not having a job. Why would so much of her job-seeking involve 24-hour trips to London on the regs? We see her have a very confusing lunch with an older British woman who is nothing like any British woman I’ve ever met. This Miss Shropshire – apparently the former teenage beauty queen of Shropshire because that is a county and not a last name – is bold and brassy in the manner that would make a man in a 1950s movie complain about how she ‘cannot be contained!’ har har but today just makes me wonder, hey where are your shoes. She stops the waiter in the stuffy old members-only-looking restaurant every time he passes with a plate, and makes jokes to Rory about how food tastes better when it’s ‘stolen’. Um, sorry Miss Steer of the Year, but just because those weren’t the dishes you ordered doesn’t mean they won’t be on your bill…? So odd. Why would Rory want to write a book with this woman? Also why is this woman worth writing a book about?
We cut to Rory reviewing the lunch conversation in a super swanky apartment to someone off camera. Whose apartment is this, we wonder as she continues to talk about what a character Miss Shropshire is and how she is just wild, and just as we remember again to ask ourselves, who is paying for all of this?, out comes MISTER LOGAN HUNTZBERGER. I literally gasped when he walked out. I kind of love that they have a ‘what happens in Vegas’ arrangement, it is so them, especially when Rory has a boyfriend. I never shipped Rory and Logan (I always hated Logan) but I kind of want them together now because these assholes deserve each other. I really did love seeing him walk into that room though, that was a superbly done twist.
We end with Lorelai, Luke, and Paul Anka dressed as Luke (!! squeeeeee !!) in the town square for another Stars Hollow Winter Wonderland fiesta or some such small town nonsense that happens every week, and Lorelai gets a call from Emily. It seems sweet, as Emily thanks Lorelai for suggesting she see a therapist and gushes about how well it’s going. Okay, Lorelai, what is going on? She would so immediately recognize that Emily is up to her old tricks again, because when has Emily ever thanked her for anything? I really am flabbergasted that Lorelai doesn’t suspect anything, even when Emily suggests that Lorelai come to a session just to meet the therapist. Lorelai seems so happy and touched that her mother would want this…I mean…who is this person? Even Luke realizes right away that Emily just tricked her into joining her for therapy! I find it hard to believe that Lorelai would go one minute without suspecting her mother’s motives, because she always has an ulterior motive. Oh jeez. I cannot wait to see their therapy session.
Okay so it seems like the big question from this episode, aside from why Lorelai is actually worse than Bridget Jones when speaking in public, is why in the name of Paul Anka did Rory send boxes of her possessions to the homes of everyone she knows? Some went to Lorelai’s, some to her grandmother, some to Lane, some to Paris, SOME TO LOGAN IN LONDON?? What the hell! Was there a multi-destination discount at the post office? Rory is not as smart as they want us to believe. Seriously, there better be a good reason for her to have scattered her possessions around the globe in the next three episodes, because just having her unable to find what she’s looking for due to her own idiotic decision making skills at UPS would be pretty unsatisfying. If this storyline isn’t explained well, I think it may go down as the dumbest, most frustrating plot point in the history of television. Yes, more stupider than when “Once Upon A Time” explained “Frozen” by having Anna in a box in the ocean for 20 years or something I don’t even know. Maybe not as dumb as that. But dumber than most things.
Overall I was giddy throughout this episode. Everything felt right, especially after the slightly off-kilter tone of Season 7. I have high hopes for the rest of the new episodes but also lots of fear. I just know Amy is going to try to pull some dumb shit on Lorelai and Luke instead of letting them grow. And I am sad that we only (reportedly) get one Sookie scene and one Mrs. Kim scene. And not nearly enough Miss Patty and Babette! I need more townies!!
Fashion report:
- Obviously Emily wearing Lorelai’s old torn jeans is the big fashion story. It was actually shocking to see, which made it so much funnier. Never do it again! Too weird!
- I love Lorelai’s pink coat and Rory’s whole first look in the opening. They look exactly right. Rory’s whole professional style is so profesh journalist and great. Dammit Rory. Her hair is perfect too.
- Luke looks so much better without the baseball hat now, whereas when he was younger he looked so much better with it on. Interesting. Aging is yucky. His flannel shirt looks like a tent now too. Huh.
- Lorelai’s puppy pajamas!!! Yass!!!
- PAUL ANKA DRESSED AS LUKE
- CESAR’S HAIR OMG CESAR’S HAIR
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” in the West End: It’s Just Pretty
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is such a freaking easy show. Easy to write, easy to promote, easy to enjoy. Just as on Broadway, the jukebox musical’s West End incarnation is pleasant, pleasing, and so much fun, especially for white, middle-aged, middle-class ladies who think it’s cool to sing along because oh my goddd this was sooo my soooong. “Beautiful” shows what a jukebox musical should be – a story about the songs being performed, rather than using the songs to force an arbitrary and usually shitty story (cough “Mamma Mia” cough).
What’s not easy is singing as Carole King when you aren’t Carole King. The audience doesn’t want an impersonation that reminds them they can just listen to Tapestry later at home, but they want the actress to still sound like Carole. The actress thus needs to evoke her but not imitate, and has to bring something unique to the performance and elevate it above mere copying. Jessie Mueller did this on Broadway perfectly, and (I begrudgingly admit (just because Kelli O’Hara when is it your turn)) deserved her Tony.
What’s not easy is singing as Carole King when you aren’t Carole King. The audience doesn’t want an impersonation that reminds them they can just listen to Tapestry later at home, but they want the actress to still sound like Carole. The actress thus needs to evoke her but not imitate, and has to bring something unique to the performance and elevate it above mere copying. Jessie Mueller did this on Broadway perfectly, and (I begrudgingly admit (just because Kelli O’Hara when is it your turn)) deserved her Tony.
Now in the West End, Katie Brayben won the Olivier (only a few nights ago), but I don’t think she fully did the job. Her voice is great and she had a wonderful energy, but her singing had nothing to do with Carole King. There was no raspiness, no edge, no “I have vocal damage but can still hit all the notes”, as Seth Rudetsky described Mueller’s impeccable work. Brayben was adorable and lovable in all the book scenes, completely believable as young teenage Carole and young mom Carole and super-old-lady-hair-but-still-young Carole and then still-pretty-young-successful Carole. (I think this show only covers her life until like age 30.) But when she sang, in the parts that brought Mueller’s Carole fully to life and made you feel exactly what she was feeling, Brayben’s Carole was just Brayben, a pleasantly voiced young actress. Her joy came through and made the audience equally joyous, but it just had nothing to do with Carole King.
It’s difficult to mar such an easy, prepackaged-to-succeed show, so of course “Beautiful” is virtually unharmed by this. But save for one exception, the cast was uniformly a notch below what it should have been. I really don’t like taking personal shots, but the casting really was the unfortunate aspect of this show (and of so many shows I’ve seen here). (Are the best people just already in NYC? Do they need me to do casting here?) Like I said, Brayben’s acting was wonderful, her Brooklyn accent and youthful mannerisms without fault, but her singing as Carole was lacking. But that wasn’t even the most upsetting to me. In telling the tale of Carole’s early years of songwriting success and persona life hardship, “Beautiful” relies on two of Carole’s best friends to provide comic relief as well as plot forwarding: Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. On Broadway, Anika Larson and Jarrod Spector were freaking off the charts perfect in mining their lines for every possible bit of hilarity and in singing their songs like their lives were on the line. Superb. Here, not so much. Lorna Want (so, yes, people are still named Lorna) treated Cynthia seemingly with kid gloves, being too British and prim instead of ballsy and ball-busting and awesome, as Cynthia should be. One of my favorite parts of the show, of any show maybe, is our introduction to Cynthia: her audition for Donny’s studio to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again”. In this song, we learn that Cynthia is really smart, really daring, brave, audacious, and, yes, a total ball-buster. She also has to command attention, get it, and make you feel grateful for giving her your attention. It’s an important little part that seems like it’s merely funny. Anika Larson got that and it was amazing. Lorna, not so much. Her method of commanding attention and demonstrating that her personality couldn’t be contained to the room was to…lightly tap her toes along to the music. Maybe that’s the choreographer’s or the director’s fault, but still. She didn’t own her big moment, and the rest was downhill from there. That Lorna also won an Olivier is more of a commentary on this year’s weak offerings than of her performance being award-worthy. I hope Anika doesn’t think anything of it.
Equally necessary in “Beautiful” is a scene-stealing Barry Mann. Jarrod Spector, famous for being the longest-running Frankie Valley in “Jersey Boys” (so he has that super strong falsetto), was so funny, so lovable, and so freaking strong that it’s almost not fair that anyone would have to follow him in this role. Barry is obviously Jewish, not only in name but in personality, like stereotypically. He’s a hypochondriac to the extreme, and he’s nebbishy and often immature, but adorable. You have to laugh with him and love him. Unfortunately, I don’t really think they know how to do “fun-Jewish” here in Britain. At least not like how they know in NYC! Ian McIntosh is a strong singer, but his Barry was lacking in personality. Like, he had none. He didn’t grip you or reel you in. It was just like, oh he seems nice. Byeeeee. It’s a shame because, for being a real person, Barry Mann is such a freaking fun character. I bet this was also a casting/directing problem because do they even know how to do Jewish here? Considering that Barry and Cynthia are an integral duo in the show, when one of them is weak, it’s a problem for their dynamic. When both are weak, it’s a problem for the show.
More disappointment in the ensemble! The Righteous Brothers, who are supposed to give a show-stopping performance of Mann/Weil’s “You Lost That Loving Feeling”, were…not good. My companion to the show was most disappointed with this performance. It’s a lot to live up to the original, but come on, this is the West End. You’re supposed to be able to find the kind of talent we expect. Equally subpar were the ensemble voices composing The Drifters and The Shirelles. Listen, all of these people are of course super talented. It’s just that they were miscast in playing these roles. The lead Drifters singer, at least in the early numbers (they switched around leads I think), had to change some of the melody, bringing some low parts up and some high parts down, because they weren’t in his range. Um. Excuse me. Cast someone with the proper range maybe?? The lead Shirelle (again, at least for their first number, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”; they switched the parts around) had a really strangely deep, slow voice. It was off-putting when she spoke (as Donny’s secretary) and much nicer when she sang, but it still was not right for The Shirelles, one of the most popular and successful girl groups of all time. There was no energy in these performances, not in the way we needed. Argha bargha.
The exception that I noted above, the one performance of the lot that was actually more than I expected, was Alan Morrissey as Gerry Goffin. On Broadway, Gerry’s portrayer Jake Epstein was the only one of the four mains to not get a Tony nomination. It was unfortunate, because Epstein was very good, but in a packed category Spector clearly outshone him. Unfortunately, Olivier voters seemed to think that those Tony noms were meant to be followed and that Mann was just the more ‘award-worthy’ role, which is definitely not the case, and sadly they followed the same pattern here, nominating the three other mains but not Morrissey, whom I think was the most deserving. His Gerry hit me more emotionally than it did on Broadway, and I really felt for him in his later scenes. His performance was sometimes crushing, often moving, and overall splendid. What he brought to what many consider a thankless role (given how Gerry is the only character sort-of approaching ‘villain’ territory) was special. It’s a shame he didn’t get the recognition that his less deserving comrades did.
On this repeat viewing, I noticed a couple of things I never noticed on Broadway. For one, the strip poker scene is suuuupes awkward. Oh man. It is perfect at showing us that Carole was quite prudish and straight-laced, and that it really bothered her husband, but damn it’s awkward. It will be a fantastic scene in the movie version, I bet, but onstage it’s kind of weird? Like, Carole has old-lady hair throughout most of her twenties. We don’t need extra scenes to tell us that she wasn’t cool.
Also, did the Broadway audience ever laugh at The Drifters? When they first appear for “Some Kind of Wonderful”, the audience was laughing. Like, everyone. Hard. At first I thought it was just because they were doing cutesy old-fashioned boy band dance moves (rightly so), but that doesn’t seem like enough of an excuse, because the UK did have and does have boy bands that do similar non-hilarious moves (hello, 1D). Was my audience just super racist or something?!
Aside from the lack of Carole King in Carole King’s singing, the failure to make our two comedic characters anything resembling comedic, the lowered quality in our ensemble performances, and oh a lack of overall cohesion, “Beautiful” is still, remarkably, a lovely, pleasant, enjoyable show in the West End. I didn’t realize before how good the book is, especially for a jukebox musical. Despite all this production’s shortcomings, it’s still pretty much a success, which proves the strength of the show, the inability to really tarnish it no matter how hard people try, and of course the appeal and splendor of Carole King’s music. Her music is what it’s really about, and that’s why it’s still worth seeing, even though, well, all of the above.
AUDIENCE: (Oh I’ve decided that, as I judge the water service and bathrooms in my restaurant reviews, my entertainment reviews will from now on judge the audience. Yebop.) There was much less old-lady singing around me than on Broadway (thank the LORD), but more cell phones. PEOPLE. TURN THEM OFF. There was also a lotttttt of (the expected) whispering along the lines of “Oh! Husband/wife! Remember when we first heard this song when we were sharing a cherry phosphate at the soda fountain when I wore my pink poodle skirt and we held hands for the first time? This song and this show it’s all about us and I think it’s important for the entire audience to know that we have a memory of hearing this song before in our lives!” Shut up.
It’s difficult to mar such an easy, prepackaged-to-succeed show, so of course “Beautiful” is virtually unharmed by this. But save for one exception, the cast was uniformly a notch below what it should have been. I really don’t like taking personal shots, but the casting really was the unfortunate aspect of this show (and of so many shows I’ve seen here). (Are the best people just already in NYC? Do they need me to do casting here?) Like I said, Brayben’s acting was wonderful, her Brooklyn accent and youthful mannerisms without fault, but her singing as Carole was lacking. But that wasn’t even the most upsetting to me. In telling the tale of Carole’s early years of songwriting success and persona life hardship, “Beautiful” relies on two of Carole’s best friends to provide comic relief as well as plot forwarding: Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. On Broadway, Anika Larson and Jarrod Spector were freaking off the charts perfect in mining their lines for every possible bit of hilarity and in singing their songs like their lives were on the line. Superb. Here, not so much. Lorna Want (so, yes, people are still named Lorna) treated Cynthia seemingly with kid gloves, being too British and prim instead of ballsy and ball-busting and awesome, as Cynthia should be. One of my favorite parts of the show, of any show maybe, is our introduction to Cynthia: her audition for Donny’s studio to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again”. In this song, we learn that Cynthia is really smart, really daring, brave, audacious, and, yes, a total ball-buster. She also has to command attention, get it, and make you feel grateful for giving her your attention. It’s an important little part that seems like it’s merely funny. Anika Larson got that and it was amazing. Lorna, not so much. Her method of commanding attention and demonstrating that her personality couldn’t be contained to the room was to…lightly tap her toes along to the music. Maybe that’s the choreographer’s or the director’s fault, but still. She didn’t own her big moment, and the rest was downhill from there. That Lorna also won an Olivier is more of a commentary on this year’s weak offerings than of her performance being award-worthy. I hope Anika doesn’t think anything of it.
Equally necessary in “Beautiful” is a scene-stealing Barry Mann. Jarrod Spector, famous for being the longest-running Frankie Valley in “Jersey Boys” (so he has that super strong falsetto), was so funny, so lovable, and so freaking strong that it’s almost not fair that anyone would have to follow him in this role. Barry is obviously Jewish, not only in name but in personality, like stereotypically. He’s a hypochondriac to the extreme, and he’s nebbishy and often immature, but adorable. You have to laugh with him and love him. Unfortunately, I don’t really think they know how to do “fun-Jewish” here in Britain. At least not like how they know in NYC! Ian McIntosh is a strong singer, but his Barry was lacking in personality. Like, he had none. He didn’t grip you or reel you in. It was just like, oh he seems nice. Byeeeee. It’s a shame because, for being a real person, Barry Mann is such a freaking fun character. I bet this was also a casting/directing problem because do they even know how to do Jewish here? Considering that Barry and Cynthia are an integral duo in the show, when one of them is weak, it’s a problem for their dynamic. When both are weak, it’s a problem for the show.
More disappointment in the ensemble! The Righteous Brothers, who are supposed to give a show-stopping performance of Mann/Weil’s “You Lost That Loving Feeling”, were…not good. My companion to the show was most disappointed with this performance. It’s a lot to live up to the original, but come on, this is the West End. You’re supposed to be able to find the kind of talent we expect. Equally subpar were the ensemble voices composing The Drifters and The Shirelles. Listen, all of these people are of course super talented. It’s just that they were miscast in playing these roles. The lead Drifters singer, at least in the early numbers (they switched around leads I think), had to change some of the melody, bringing some low parts up and some high parts down, because they weren’t in his range. Um. Excuse me. Cast someone with the proper range maybe?? The lead Shirelle (again, at least for their first number, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”; they switched the parts around) had a really strangely deep, slow voice. It was off-putting when she spoke (as Donny’s secretary) and much nicer when she sang, but it still was not right for The Shirelles, one of the most popular and successful girl groups of all time. There was no energy in these performances, not in the way we needed. Argha bargha.
The exception that I noted above, the one performance of the lot that was actually more than I expected, was Alan Morrissey as Gerry Goffin. On Broadway, Gerry’s portrayer Jake Epstein was the only one of the four mains to not get a Tony nomination. It was unfortunate, because Epstein was very good, but in a packed category Spector clearly outshone him. Unfortunately, Olivier voters seemed to think that those Tony noms were meant to be followed and that Mann was just the more ‘award-worthy’ role, which is definitely not the case, and sadly they followed the same pattern here, nominating the three other mains but not Morrissey, whom I think was the most deserving. His Gerry hit me more emotionally than it did on Broadway, and I really felt for him in his later scenes. His performance was sometimes crushing, often moving, and overall splendid. What he brought to what many consider a thankless role (given how Gerry is the only character sort-of approaching ‘villain’ territory) was special. It’s a shame he didn’t get the recognition that his less deserving comrades did.
On this repeat viewing, I noticed a couple of things I never noticed on Broadway. For one, the strip poker scene is suuuupes awkward. Oh man. It is perfect at showing us that Carole was quite prudish and straight-laced, and that it really bothered her husband, but damn it’s awkward. It will be a fantastic scene in the movie version, I bet, but onstage it’s kind of weird? Like, Carole has old-lady hair throughout most of her twenties. We don’t need extra scenes to tell us that she wasn’t cool.
Also, did the Broadway audience ever laugh at The Drifters? When they first appear for “Some Kind of Wonderful”, the audience was laughing. Like, everyone. Hard. At first I thought it was just because they were doing cutesy old-fashioned boy band dance moves (rightly so), but that doesn’t seem like enough of an excuse, because the UK did have and does have boy bands that do similar non-hilarious moves (hello, 1D). Was my audience just super racist or something?!
Aside from the lack of Carole King in Carole King’s singing, the failure to make our two comedic characters anything resembling comedic, the lowered quality in our ensemble performances, and oh a lack of overall cohesion, “Beautiful” is still, remarkably, a lovely, pleasant, enjoyable show in the West End. I didn’t realize before how good the book is, especially for a jukebox musical. Despite all this production’s shortcomings, it’s still pretty much a success, which proves the strength of the show, the inability to really tarnish it no matter how hard people try, and of course the appeal and splendor of Carole King’s music. Her music is what it’s really about, and that’s why it’s still worth seeing, even though, well, all of the above.
AUDIENCE: (Oh I’ve decided that, as I judge the water service and bathrooms in my restaurant reviews, my entertainment reviews will from now on judge the audience. Yebop.) There was much less old-lady singing around me than on Broadway (thank the LORD), but more cell phones. PEOPLE. TURN THEM OFF. There was also a lotttttt of (the expected) whispering along the lines of “Oh! Husband/wife! Remember when we first heard this song when we were sharing a cherry phosphate at the soda fountain when I wore my pink poodle skirt and we held hands for the first time? This song and this show it’s all about us and I think it’s important for the entire audience to know that we have a memory of hearing this song before in our lives!” Shut up.
