One Jewish Boy at Trafalgar Studios is Incisive, Upsetting, & Too Relevantby Randi / March 13, 2020It’s Theatre Thursday during a pandemic, which means I’m going to rave about a show that you can no longer see because THIS! WORLD! IS ON FIIIIIIIRE.
Man alive, Chekhov needed a friend, am I right? Christopher Durang could have easily made a less-funny Chekhovian play called Vanya & Sonya & Depression & Sadness and we’d all get it. Actually, it should still be funny, because Chekhov, the master, infused his gloomy, depressing (if you drink every time I use this word in this piece you will get through quarantine like a champ) classic Uncle Vanya with just as much humor as sadness, and just as much heart as melancholy, just as much humanity and sad beauty as grief. The current London production of Uncle Vanya is a fantastic, nearly flawless revival, one of the many heartbreaking casualties of this strange time of isolation. Toby Jones in the titular role redefines how fully felt this unforgettable character can be, and he leads a pretty great cast in this magnificent production.
If you don’t know Chekhov’s classic of countryside despair, Uncle Vanya tells about a man named Vanya who lives with his niece Sonya in a crumbling country estate where every day looks the same and their future looks bleak but they just go through each day doing their paperwork and drinking their vodka and, like, sighing, I guess. But excitement enters with the unwelcome arrival of Vanya’s brother/Sonya’s father Aleksandr (played by the wonderful Ciaran Hinds), a famous professor who is lauded as a genius but is really just an annoying and ignorant blowhard and my favorite part was when Vanya tried to shoot him and my least favorite part was when he missed. Aleksandr has a hot new young wife Yelena (played by understudy Afia Abusham when I saw it, who was decent but didn’t seem to quite get her footing enough to make an impression among this stellar cast) and Vanya is like OH DIP A HOT WOMAN AND ONE I’M NOT RELATED TO I HAVEN’T SEEN ONE IN YEARS! And he falls in love with her but Yelena is like mmm pass and falls instead for the hot town doctor who pays ever increasing visits since her arrival. Sadly, Sonya, who is good (and Natasha’s young and Andrei isn’t heeere) but plain is like SUPES in love with hot doctor (Richard Armitage, magnetic) but he is not attracted to her in the least even though he is as lonely as everyone else and it would be nice if he and Sonya saved each other from a life of dreary solitude but hey he just doesn’t love her you can’t force it so instead he ALSO falls for Yelena (who is MARRIED, my dudes) (okay to an old buffoon but STILL). So everyone is super unhappy and lonely and depressed because they know this is their lot in life and it will never change. Russians, man.
Toby Jones’s Vanya is, well, everything. He so completely and perfectly inhabits Vanya’s despair with every joke and gesture and gaze, a despair that informs everything Vanya says or does though he tries to keep it bubbling under the surface, at least part of the time. It’s heartbreaking that he has lived a life so barren and knows that there’s nothing he can do to change it (I mean, I’m optimistic that if he really wanted to, he could change his life, but Russians man). Jones also infuses his Vanya with a sad but incredible humor, because I admit nothing is funnier than self-hate, it’s true. His seemingly nonstop movement, even at rest, and elastic facial expressions added to the creation of a dynamic Vanya for the ages.
In a cast this starry, it’s surprising and impressive that despite Toby’s complete encompassing of his character, the standout is young Aimee Lou Wood as Sonya. I can’t think of a more efficient performance in recent times, with so much done with comparatively little. With only a few lines at the end of the first act, she broke my heart, and continued breaking it throughout the rest of the show. Her sad monologue that ends the show had me riveted. Husbo thought the delivery was painfully labored and it took him out, but for me, I needed all that time to breathe in between words because I was still so shaken by her final interaction with the doctor, an interaction so subtle and so exquisitely performed that I wanted to gasp but instead cried. She’s an incredible young actor that I can’t wait to see more of. Her performance is a huge part of what makes this production so beautiful, so heartbreaking, and so – one more for the road – depressing.
INFORMATION
After a 7:30pm start (probably 7:33 or so, happily not as late as most shows), Act I ended at 8:44pm and Act II at 10:12, so note that it is 12 minutes longer than it says on the official show website which might not seem like a lot to you but it’s enough to be wrong.
Vanya’s annoying mother is extra annoying because they have her smoke a lot. She has like 4 lines but it was important to establish that her character smokes?? MISS ME WITH THIS UNNECESSARY LUNG DAMAGE PLEASE.
This was supposed to run until May 2 but the world is on a break from life so I suggest reading the play and perhaps acting out all the parts with the people you are locked down with. If you are locked down alone, do all the parts yourself like when I sing “Moscow” from The Great Comet it doesn’t make you look or feel crazy no sirree I promise totally a normal thing to do.
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Your Annual Oscars Movie Roundup: 2021 Lockdown Edition
It’s THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR! Well, in normal years. This weekend is the 2021 Academy Awards, which means it’s time for your annual rundown of all the important movies you should know before watching on Sunday. But, fun fact, because we’ve been in lockdown, I didn’t get to see all the movies this year. Like, not even close. It’s very sad. So, to fill in the blanks, I asked some Renowned Movie Experts to weigh in with some of their thoughts. We almost got everything covered! Because no one is as verbose as I am, this means this year’s roundup is a lot shorter than usual! (It’s still hella long, but like normal person long, not carve-out-the-next-three-days-of-your-life-for-reading-through-it-long like previous years.) So without further adieu, here are the notable movies of the past year. Comment with your thoughts/faves/hopes/fears.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Chinqui! I love ah-Borat! Listen, as someone who went to Kazakhstan not not because of Borat, I obviously loved this second moviefilm that exposes the most horrifying aspects of American culture. The Q Anon people were really terrifying; it was too much to handle knowing that they represented so, so many misguided Americans. But everything from Maria Bakalova was brilliant and actually enjoyable; what a find she is. The abortion clinic stuff with the baby Jesus from the cake?! the period dance?! absolute LEDGE.
Crip Camp
“Those hippies were nuts! That wins the Best Overall Message Award, which is: disabled people need to get high too.” – my friend
Da 5 Bloods
Oh rightttt I remember watching this movie like a year ago. IT WAS VERY GORY AND VIOLENT. The only thing worse than being in the Vietnam War is thinking you made it out and then having a personal War Part Deux directed right at your ass. I did NOT enjoy seeing my beloved Norm Lewis chopped up like that! Oh boy. Delroy Lindo wasn’t nominated?? He should have been!
Eurovision Song Contest
Okay this movie was incredible. I can’t wait to watch it again I can’t believe I haven’t rewatched 100x times. Such a me movie. Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams were such a surprise dream comedy team. I can’t believe Rachel is old enough to be Will’s love interest? Wait let me google it to make sure I shouldn’t be railing against how gross it is….Okay he’s 53 and she’s 42 so it passes the test. Anyway it’s nominated for the Husavik song I guess? Should win, hundo p. They built up the idea of the mythical Speorg note throughout the movie and this finale song was a great showcase for it, really paid off. Although – they could have explained the Speorg note by saying ‘you know, it’s the WAHHHH part of WHEN JESUS WAHHHHH in Sister Act 2, when Whoopi turns around shocked?’ and we all would have been like ‘yep of course I know what you are talking about now, who doesn’t.’ Loved the little elves. The elves went too far!!!
The Father
The Father is based on one of Florian Zeller’s plays. He wrote The Father, The Mother, and The Son for the stage, among other The __ shows. I saw The Son in the West End two years ago and I am still shook from it. It was one of the most devastating theatrical experiences. If The Father is even half as devastating – and since it appears it’s about Alzheimers, I’m gonna guess that it is – then boy oh boy that’s some DEH VAH stating shit.
“The father great movie but I can’t remember what it’s about. JK not funny. The Father is about the refusal and denial of people suffering from dementia or in this case Alzheimer’s. But what’s great about this movie is we are put in the mind of the father. The constant changes in family pictures, family members’ furniture, dinners in his house, are all what Anthony is experiencing. It’s what is going on in his mind. Very well done.” – my aunt
Hillbilly Elegy
Lol yeah right I’m not giving that little shitprick JD Vance any more money or time or mental capacity, I don’t care that this movie’s being on Netflix makes it so convenient to watch. PASS. As soon as I move on from this section I’m done giving any thought to that forking Tucker-Carlson-ass-kissing misunderstander of democracy hawhite devil in a short-sleeved collared shirt and khakis, uh GUH BYE. asshole.
Jingle Jangle
The first 20 minutes of this movie are SO PROMISING. The middle hour is SO BORING. When Anika Noni Rose finally FINALLY gets to sing, it is SO FIRE AND AMAZING. And then it’s boring again. Could’ve been so amazing.
Judas and the Black Messiah
Could not find anyone who saw this, unforch.
Mank
I might decide to watch this one day, but that day has not yet come because I still have ethical standards. This is a story about a Jewish man, and they get a famous antisemite to play him? I mean, what the ACTUAL. David Fincher, Laray Mayfield, you’re on my list. Cannot believe Gary is nominated for Best Actor for this absolute nonsense. NONSENSE. [The image description of me right now would be Gritty saying ‘fuck around and find out.’]
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
A few years ago, I reviewed the Sharon D. Clarke-starring stage version of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in the West End and admitted that the play did not and does not work for me. I never found it as compelling as it should be. It felt like a series of often engrossing monologues but with no plot, no force driving it forward. In repeated productions, it was absolutely the case that the parts were greater than the whole, and the whole never lived up to what its parts promised.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but the film version completely unlocked this work for me in a way stage productions could not. With the magic of George C. Wolfe’s direction (who doesn’t love this man?), the story revealed that it did indeed have forward momentum, so much so that it became a locomotive that kept driving forward with all the force in the world. Unlike the play productions I’ve seen, the work moved undeniably towards a climax even though it was all talk, and even though the build-up is subtle, simmering under the surface. The monologues worked now as plot, as forward-looking action, rather than the stagnant feel of the play. Most of this successful difference is due to the direction, yes, but also to the shockingly complex and superb performance of Chadwick Boseman. He took his character and made it so deep, so deeply felt, and so complicated and I can’t believe anything but that this was the seminal performance of this role. And that’s why this film worked better than stage productions. Because of Chadwick, and because the camera could focus on how he was making this show from the inside out.
Wolfe clearly wanted the audience to surrender to Levee’s story, and that surrender is what the show depends on to work. I realize that now, and that’s why this movie version was the first time Ma Rainey succeeded for me, because Chadwick Boseman might be the first person in fully and completely take this role and do it so fully and so well that he made the whole thing work. Viola Davis was as great as always, and made the role of Ma Rainey actually feel like a lead role, whereas onstage you are always surprised to realize that she seems like a minor supporting role.
The Midnight Sky
In my mind, this is the George-Clooney-trying-to-look-unattractive-for-the-Academy-and-telling-a-NASA-story-but-without-sufficient-backstory-so-you’re-like-hey-why-is-the-world-ending-oh-you-don’t-think-it’s-important-or-necessary-for-us-to-know-because-it’s-a-Netflix-movie-cool-got-it-sad movie. I saw it a while ago but from what I remember, George is dying and so is Earth, but Netflix was like ‘let’s save some money by cancelling Glow and by not explaining why the Earth is bum, no one will care about either’ and they are SO WRONG ABOUT BOTH. They did explain why George is dying though – because he’s sick. I feeeel like it’s more important for this story to know why the Earth is now unlivable though and why it’s bad that anyone is left on it, but that’s just me that’s just me I’m weird.
Like News of the World, infra, this movie was continuous anxiety as you feared everything would go wrong, and then everything did go wrong. The little girl actress (Caoilinn Springall) was phenomenal. So cute and sad. I just looked on imdb to find her name and my goodness – I forgot that this movie had Felicity Jones, Demian Bichir, Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo??? Like completely forgot that whole aspect of the film. Getting it confused with the space crew captained by Kate Mara in another movie (The Martian??). I did NOT forget that Tim Russ was in it, because he’s in it for literally 5 seconds and I screamed OH MY GOD IS THAT TUVOK, and it was, and then he wasn’t in it anymore, which is bullshit; I hope he had a bigger role and it just got cut in editing but he still got that coin.
Minari
Okay this movie was superb and not just because of the cute little boy and I know we have a lot to cover but MY GOODNESS THE LITTLE BOY WAS SO GD CUTE I JUST LOVE HIM SO MUCH I WANT TO GIVE HIM A HUG AND I KNOW THAT’S WEIRD BECAUSE I’M AN ADULT AND I’M NOT A PEDO BUT OMG I LOVE HIM.
Minari was such a beeyootiful, moving, sad, lovely film about a Korean immigrant family just trying to grow some good veggies so they can stop chicken sexing is that so much to ask for, universe?? The family has so many hardships and they are TRYING and this poor little boy is so cute and so sick, and, as Matilda would say, that’s not RIGHT. The grandma is the best character in a movie maybe all year, just the funniest baddest-ass lady ever, and the only funnier badder-assed lady is the actual actress who played her, Youn Yuh-jung, who had the greatest BAFTA acceptance speech where she said she was happy to get recognition from the Brits because they are usually so snobby about everything, my goodness she’s the best. I hope she wins the Oscar (either her or Maria Bakalova). She made her scenes so hilarious and then so heart-breaking. This is such a wonderful movie about trying to make a life in America. It’s the most heartfelt American movie all year, so eff the Golden Globes, as usual/always.
Vegan warning: lots and lots of ‘chicken sexing’.
Mulan
“I saw Mulan in February 2020 why is this on your list?” – my dad
My Octopus Teacher
“I saw octopus teacher. Can’t eat octopus anymore. They are smarter than me.” – my aunt [Ed. note: octopi are smarter than ALL OF US please leave them alone] [Ed. note #2 – she lasted a week before eating it again.]
“The ultimate tragedy of the Oscars this year is that the octopus in My Octopus Teacher, humbly and simply named “Her”, was snubbed for best actress.” – my friend
News of the World
I have trouble watching content that is stressful because I get anxietyyyyyyyy and this movie was like two hours of pressure-cooking simmering tension. I was so scared the entire time that everything was going to go wrong and boy howdy everything would go wrong for them. THanx plus little German girl (Helena Zengel) were a power duo and I adored them and I wanted things to STOP GOING WRONG FOR THEM. I loved how subtly and well the film built their bond. I loved the ending. I did not love the anxiety but that’s show biz, kid.
Just as with Minari and Midnight Clooney Movie, the child actor here was amazing. Did Sydney Lucas put something in the water?? Jacob Tremblay giving Zoom lessons? The kids this year are UNREAL.
Nomadland
“I procrastinated in watching Nomadland for a long time. When I finally watched, I was immediately sucked in to the unique story. What makes this movie stand out is the semi-documentary feel of it, due to everyone onscreen being non-actors, aside from Frances McDormand and David Strathairn. This adds an amazing depth of realism to a sad story. Friends and relatives offer Frances a home with them following her personal loss, but her fierce independent spirit and desire for freedom prevent any acceptance of these gestures. We see Nomads working odd jobs when they want to, or when they need gas money. They are a floating community, generous of spirit and human kindness, living in vans or trailers. Director Chloe Zhao blends all of these realistic emotions into a framework that lets the viewer really “get it”, and by the end of the movie you fully understand what drives this character to keep driving her “home” down the road. This is the kind of movie that sticks with you for a while, as you ponder the lifestyle and marvel at how well the true-life participants help tell the story. I liked this movie Norm. I laughed, I cried, I stuffed my face.” – my dad
“I appreciate you for letting me look at raw Frances McDormand footage for an hour and 50 minutes, even while she pooped.” – my friend
“Nomadland that could be the new America soon.” – my aunt
“I really liked No Man’s Land.” – my mom
One Night in Miami
“It was one of the more ambitious motel movies in film history. Will Smith was a better Ali. It would’ve been better as a Sam Cooke biopic – Aaron Burr was the best part, worthy of that supporting actor nom.” – my brother
Palm Springs
Ugh I loved this movie. Andy Samberg AND Cristin Milioti?? Girl (from Once), did you write it for me? This movie was like Michael Schur TV show writing plus Groundhog Day plus Andy Samberg humor. As a guy stuck in a time loop, Andy plays a darker, rougher Jake Peralta, since Groundhog Day shenanigans will really fork you up. Cristin is the Girl who accidentally gets sucked into the loop as well. JK Simmons is also stuck! What fun! He’s terrifying! It’s so good. They have a lot of fun once they accept that there’s no getting out of it, and I loved that they went through the spectrum of acceptance and decided to indeed get out of it, by any means necessary. I wonder how many years I’d have to spend living the same day over and over before I’d learn quantum physics.
Pieces of a Woman
“Wish there was a category for Best Opening Scene Before Showing Movie Title. The opening was powerful, dark, gripping, and you didn’t even tell us what we were watching for a solid 30 minutes. Really brought on the intrigue.” – my friend
“Pieces of a Woman – very sad but didn’t see why they needed to tie in the Holocaust and her mom into this.” – my aunt
Promising Young Woman
“My favorite was Promising Young Woman – revenge is great but not in her case. I want Emerald Fennell to win because I not only loved her film, I loved her as my Prince Charles’s lover Camilla in the crown. Brilliant. ” -my aunt
“I hated Promising Young Woman more than Gigli but I’m alone on that.” – my cousin
Soul
Tina Fey, man. I know this movie has so much greatness to offer that I should be concentrating on first but man, she really proved herself as an animated character voice actor in a time when actual voice actors lose out on animated roles to big name celebrities like Tina Fey.
Soul was a big surprise. I did zero reading about it before it was released and I watched it as soon as it dropped on Disney+. I did not know the main character was going to die? like immediately?? and it wasn’t my favorite tv show (The Good Place but you know that)??? and that he’d strive somehow to get back to our realm and return to his life and live his dreams?! and the little munchkin fetus he befriends (Tina!) was going to have some RELEVATIONS that both helped and threatened them both?! THAT’S SOME REAL SHIT RIGHT THERE.
Soul cut me REAL deep, Shrek. I love loved that it was about so much beauty: living your life to the fullest, loving your family, and most importantly living your dreams – your actual dreams, and not dreams that you’ve been telling yourself are your dreams your whole life long. Sometimes dreams aren’t what you tell yourself! Yay now I have The Cranberries in my head! OHHH MYYY LIIIIIFE IS CHANGING EVERY DAYYYYY IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAYYYY (lol it’s REALLY not, 14 months of same same).
Sound of Metal
Oh I need to begin by telling you that when we put this movie on, husbo said “We’re off to see the Rizard!” Nice.
This movie begins with literally the worst song I have ever heard in my entire life, and then soon you get so upset at the idea that the main character might not be able to hear that song. Now that’s a good movie.
Riz Ahmed, without doing much showy acting despite being given a role that could have easily been Overacted, is so natural and convincing as the drummer going through this traumatic, life-changing event. As his character Ruben loses the ability to continue his normal way of life, he tries at first to push everyone away to maintain some semblance of independence. He’s not overly sympathetic but that makes him all the more relatable. As he becomes more comfortable with his new community, and more accepting of his needs, his shell softens and makes him more vulnerable and likeable and so sympathetic that it’s like a gd puppy that you just want to protect because what else would you do with a deaf puppy except protect at all costs? Probably not what they were going for here, but man, I just wanted him to be okay.
I loved the second act with his new community, with the wonderful Paul Raci leading. The scene when Paul has to enforce the rules of the homestead, my goodness. Such a difficult but understandable situation from both of their perspectives which is GREAT FILMAKING BABY. When you set out to watch a movie about a musician going deaf, you know you’re gonna feel some shit, but I did not expect the hurt to hit deepest when said musician is drumming on a slide so a deaf child can feel his drumming. That moment is when I realized the greatness of this film. And when I cried. A lot. I thought the end section in France kind of petered a tad in its direction but the end made it all good, all good, so good.
Tenet
“I wish I had the CliffsNotes so I could understand what was going on.” – a person my dad works with
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Man ALIVE the justice system has been UTTERLY FORKED for so, so long. Like since it was created. It was built on racism and injustice and even though we are celebrating one positive result from it this week, that doesn’t mean the system as a whole is not broken and skewed towards injustice. Look at the harm this one muhfuhking judge could do! Man Frank Langella really never cares that he makes you despise him so successfully!
This ensemble was so impressive even though it was all men. I really love how cool Jews in the ’60s were. They were like…the coolest muhfuhs around. Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong (I initially wrote Jason Schwartzman as I honestly remembered him clearly being in this movie and I am shook that I am misremembering) as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were just so cool. Big Jewish stoner but cool af energy. SBC truly is incredible in anything he gets his hands on, including but not limited to publicly eviscerating Mark Zuckerberg. Also, give me a movie that provides not one but both of my skinny pale faves – Joey Gordon-Levitt and Noah Robbins (different brands of faves, obviously) – and we’re already set. But when it’s a great, poignant movie about social justice and the broken racist justice system and it’s incredibly well done even though it’s more than 2 hours and this past year destroyed my attention span but I still was riveted the entire time? forgettaboutittttt.
The White Tiger
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE.
That’s the main thing.
A central theme of this film, a film that leaves you sitting slack-jawed buggy-eyed not sure what to do except stare forward in dismay and disarray, is that Indians of lower classes are kept in a constant state of servitude that they can’t get out of, like chickens in a coop who know they will be slaughtered but don’t move. Our protagonist, the riveting discovery of an actor Adarsh Gourav, acknowledges this way of being, but is determined to break out of his fate.
The main guy, Balram, isn’t a great guy even before he REALLY isn’t a great guy, which I guess is important so that you feel for his situation and have empathy without it being obvious, which is more realistic and shows you should have empathy for everyone even if they aren’t great people. But like, he really pissed me off, and not just because of the vitiligo jokes (I guess my beef is with the writer for that one, ARAVIND). I mean pobody’s nerfect and all that but they did give enough subtle support throughout the film to bolster his big climactic moment, which I watched through my fingers.
The most interesting aspects of this really well done film came from the exploration of class and culture in provocative ways. Any film about Indian servitude can address the same problem of castes and control and never being able to really change your situation. But I thought the most interesting part here was when our American feminist character, played by Priyanka Nick Chopra Jonas, thought she was being very good and very helpful by telling her servant so forcefully that he should live his own life, to the point that she gets angry when he can’t just flip a switch and understand and accept her advice. She’s trying to help but it ends up being very rude and inconsiderate since he can’t adjust easily to her way of thinking, or change everything he knows to be true that’s ingrained in him, even though he wants to please her and even though she, well, means well. It’s COMPLICATED. Like the Da Vinci Code. These scenes really nail the complex tone of the film along with scenes like when she yells at him for speaking rudely to a beggar child – right before she hits a beggar child with the car. It did NOT make me want to go to India. Or a Jonas Bros. concert.
Gourav was so exceptional in this. When he signs the confession to please his masters and he’s smiling at them while his eyes tear? MY GOODNESS. I’m glad he was nominated for the BAFTA (Brits getting something right for once) but I dare someone to explain to me how he wasn’t Academied, as that scene alone put him at least on equal footing to the others in that category, but really above Gary Old Racist Man.
My favorite part was how often they called the female politician simply The Great Socialist. A title Bernie could only dream of. Of course she ended up being corrupt though (I don’t like how they continue to besmirch socialism). Apparently in the book she was a man so ugh it’s good to increase female representation I guess but it’s kind of magoo that the female characters were the corrupt politician, the annoying ancient grandmother, and Priyanka Chopra (who was very good).
Vegan warning: cruelty of roosters in coops shown for representation of the (at least important) central metaphor. Also human warning: death of a child, lots of sad children.
“So, award season – not so good.” – my aunt
“How to Succeed” in London: Make An Old Show Absolutely Ridiculously Hysterical
“How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” is one of those old Broadway musicals from just after the Golden Age (1961) that I always forget I like. Fun fact: I saw Daniel Radcliffe on Broadway in the 2011 revival of “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying” (a ‘Birdman’ long title which I will from here on out refer to as H2$) TWICE. I mean I liked Harry Potter fine but I wasn’t a fangirl of Big D until this show. I really can’t believe I saw it twice lol. He was GREAT. That’s not important right now. Funner fact: When Husband learned that the venue around the corner from our flat was doing a small production of H2$, of course we went, considering it is around the corner from our flat, but I completely forgot that I knew the show and that I kind of loved it and that I had seen it enough times for me to memorize pretty much all the lyrics. I just thought, hey sounds fun, I like seeing theatre and we should support the smaller productions in London too. All I remembered really was that there was some hefty ‘60s-era misogyny that we should take with a grain of salt because of when it was written, or as I explained to my friend who came along, “It’s really sexist but in kind of a lovely way.”
We walked the ten seconds to Wilton’s Music Hall and the show began and I literally slapped myself in the face with the metaphorical hand of memory and was like OH YEAH I LOVE THIS SHOW. Wilton’s production is obviously smaller than the Broadway one (and I could move my chair! like on Alitalia), with less exciting dancing, but what’s there is hilarious and so well done. They successfully mine the book and score for every single sarcastic, cutting drop of humor that I think it’s the funniest production of H2$ I’ve seen. I laughed so hard throughout, especially at every slight movement Matthew Whitby made. It was an extraordinarily self-aware production, like they realized the material was sexist and lily white and stuff and so presented it as mocking itself a little. I think a lot of this is in the original book anyway – you can’t have a song called “A Secretary is Not a Toy” (omg I accidentally typed Tory first hahaha I hope none of your secretaries are Tories (I hope none of you are Tories) (please don’t let them win)) and not have the sardonic bite built into the actual show – but I never really noticed it until this production. And I never knew it won the Pulitzer Prize, and sexist things can’t win prizes (or positions of power?) so of course it had to be tongue-in-cheek right?
So what is the actual show about? As I explained to Husband beforehand, “It’s like this guy, and he like charms his way up a company ladder, and it’s like ocean colors?” I remembered that from the 2011 set, what can I say. Also apparently I say like a lot in real life. So what is it really about now that my brain is working? J. Pierrepont Finch, a charming young man who works as a window washer, realizes ‘hey, I can’t be a window washer with this name, not that there’s anything wrong with being one, but my name was clearly made to be attached to a man of great stature at a Fortune 500 company, otherwise what a waste, also it would help matters along if I were British because who else has a name like that, but I can’t change that now, so we’ll try to get a corporate job and because I’m American I’ll just go by Ponty because Americans could never abide a first-initial-legit-ridiculous-middle-name combo on anyone but S. Epatha.’ Okay that’s my thought process not his, but the gist is there. (Oh my god I never until now wondered what the J is for. Any guesses??) Ponty wants a big time corporate job like most white men do (and how!) so he goes into the office building for the World Wide Wickets Company (hilarious made-up business that has the side effect of reminding you of the bar exam (so many widgets/wickets questions)) and just straight up starts charming people into a job and up the ladder consistently and swiftly. It’s a good lesson that it doesn’t matter what your skills are as long as people like you.
As Finch (I can’t say Ponty too much or my stomach starts to hurt), Marc Pickering played the character differently from both Radcliffe and Matthew Broderick (back when he was appealing onstage and not a wooden statue but I digress). His Finch was a smooth charmer of course, but in a much subtler way, and with a more devious, scheming vibe. Finch is always scheming, but other portrayals have had him be a little more cheerful and pleased when his scheming pays off, like in every single scene when he gets promoted over someone else or orchestrates someone else’s firing because of something he knew or did. Others’ reactions have been like ‘cheeky smile – ah ha!’ Marc was more like ‘side eye half smile- YEAH BITCH I DID THAT YOU DARE MESS??’. He was charming but also aloof. And a little scary. It all worked. He looked just like a young Pee Wee Herman who could also have been a Newsie when he was little and I don’t mean that at all in a mean way.
The show starts with Ponty weasling his way into an entry-level position by alluding to the head of HR that he knows the boss. That’s a really good real-world tip. The opening number “How To Succeed” with those weird intervals sounded a lot nicer than I remembered, so bravo. In the five seconds it takes for Finch to land this job, a secretary named Rosemary falls for him because why not/’60s and sings the song I had been singing in jest to my husband the whole week prior, “Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm”. My god I still can’t get over how funny it is that there is a song called this, literally about how a lady would be content to make her husband’s dinner and then keep it warm when he works late. It’s amazing. If you take it with a grain of salt. Hannah Grover’s Rosemary is lovely and manages to get to through the song without breaking and screaming about how we have to topple the patriarchy, as I would have done. More impressively, her mic was having a fit throughout her big song, which is such a shame (that I hope the tech people have sorted by now), but she didn’t even flinch, whereas I would have probably screamed ‘WTF IS GOING ON’ and ruined everyone’s night, so brava.
As usual, the comic song “Coffee Break” goes on way too long, as all jokey songs/jokey anythings tend to, but the choreography was pretty funny. Luckily, before I could worry, it leads into my favorite song that, again, I completely forgot was in this show, “The Company Way”. Finch, in the mailroom, gets to know the head of the mailroom (Richard Emerson, who plays all the older man parts aside from the boss and is hilarious in all of them), who describes how he has lasted this long in the company by always playing it safe and toeing the company line. It’s a delightful, catchy song that I haven’t been able to get out of my head all week, and the delivery of all Emerson’s little lines was spot on. I love this scene. We also meet our villain, as all adorable preppy blond boys are, Bud Frump, the boss JB Biggley’s nephew who uses nepotism to try to advance his career. Okay, I know you are rolling your eyes – Frump? F-ing BIGGLEY? But take a deep breath because I’m about to blow your mind. These character names were not made up for this production in response to the current ruin of America. These are the real names from the original 1961 production. I KNOW!!! I think 90% of the audience, tittering when they heard these names like I am tittering at the word tittering, thought they were added for this. See musical theatre is always relevant!
As Bud Frump, Daniel Graham is wonderfully exasperating and annoying as he is supposed to be, and it’s almost hard to hate such a cute person in such cool glasses (he looked exactly like Christopher Hanke to me, from the 2011 revival). It was extra hard to remember that the names were not changed for this production when Bud continuously whines about how he should get what he wants because his uncle is the boss and who cares if he’s qualified if he wants something. So on point. As for the other fair-haired adoraboys in the cast, I don’t even remember Mr Bratt in the H2$ Bway revival but the aforementioned Matthew Whitby f-ing SLAYED me. How he managed he make such a nothing character into the funniest performance ever boggles my mind. He did a lot of amazing side glances and had hysterical comic timing. But more than that, it was his footwork. He seemed to be in a ballet that the rest of the cast didn’t always know about, step-ball-changing and pirouetting around the stage. I was dying. We all were. When he came in to do a scene change dressed as a maid for no good reason, my god. Whose idea was this? So ridiculous and so funny. All the choreography was great, actually. There were no really big booming dance numbers, but all the movement had a clear purpose and was very effective. And so much of it was really funny. I would not be surprised if the choreographer was really a comedian.
Despite the first act being over an hour and a half long (I KNOW), it pretty much flew by with very few low points. I think the pacing could surely be improved a great deal (I do not remember any other production being this long) but there’s not much that’s noticeable. The song at the end of Act I “Rosemary” is too long for being literally just her name repeated ad infinitum, but that’s more OG problems. The scenes with Biggley (Andrew Wadsworth) and Hedy La Rue (Lizzii Hills why are there two i’s I’m genuinely curious) kind of dragged but that’s because those are two kind of thankless characters. I know everyone familiar with this show is aghast at what I just said and shouting ‘but they’re literally 2 of the like 4 main characters’ and I know but still, there’s not the ones we root for. They did a fine job of course and were enjoyable. But you spend the whole show actively rooting for Finch to trick Biggley at every turn, so it’s not like you invest in him or his own story (and the only thing that’s really his own is his affair with Hedy). And Hedy’s whole thing is that she prances about being an attractive bimbo who knows every man wants her, and so unless you are Tammy Blanchard waddling hysterically around the stage and making killer faces, it is a little thankless. Lliizzii did however manage to make us cry with laughter in her first scene, when she apologizes because “it was I whom was late”. Died. And Biggley’s big goofy number with Finch where they sing the Old Ivy fight song was hilarious too. Okay fine they were all great. The whole cast was. Geri Allen was an adorable Smitty. I always lose it when Smitty comes in during “Paris Original”, and Geri nailed how funny that moment should be. Maisey Bawden as Miss Jones was good too, although it seemed like she wasn’t miked at the end and it was hard for her big verse in “Brotherhood of Man” to be as show-stopping as I could tell up front that it could have been. And Nuwan Hugh Perera, who we last saw in the supes creepy “Side Show”, was solid all-around until the end when he was like shimmying in a corner of the stage and we were DYING. So f-ing funny. God everyone in this cast was hilarious and made this show so much fun. We were all seriously in stitches the entire time. That’s so rare and awesome.
And the score! How could I have forgotten how much fun this score is? Why was the song about keeping dinner warm the only one that stuck before? I so love “The Company Way” like I said, but every song is special in its own way. “A Secretary Is Not A Toy” I mean COME ON. I wonder if they know about this song over at Fox News. Someone should send them a recording. And I love “I Believe in You”, when Finch gears himself up for his big meeting and the rest of the company men dream of taking him down. This song was staged in the men’s bathroom, which is a preposterous and amazing idea. Finch is singing to himself in the mirror and using the urinal and stuff and then the rest of the men are watching him and also using the urinals like at least 4 times and singing about how they’re gonna stop him coooold and you’re like how do you already have to pee again you should see a doctor! So good. And nothing gets you as pumped up as “Brotherhood of Man”, even if you are a woman. It’s set up nicely in the scene, with all the company men coming to a face-off about who to blame for the problems Finch has caused. Emerson was hysterical here doing a crazy heavy ‘New York’ accent as the chairman of the board who also used to be a window washer. When he said ‘window washer’ it sounded like he had cotton in his mouth and we were crying. He really sounded just like my South Philly Italian uncle. So good. Finch gets out of the jam by pointing out their shared humanity – being men – which is so dumb and perfect. “Brotherhood of Man” is a joyous, satisfyingly big number that you can’t help but smile throughout. I can’t wait to sing it to my baby nephew when I teach him the responsibility of his white male privilege and all the perks he can look forward to, as the song teaches us.
Honestly, my expectations for this production were seriously low. I knew nothing about this production and thought it was going to be some tiny nothing at the nearby jazz hall. That it was so sublime and kept all of us grinning wildly for 3 hours is something I never would have predicted and am really grateful for. SO MUCH FUN. It ends its short run Saturday so if you are in London you should absolutely see it. Compared to the West End, tickets are cheap, yet the quality of the production is so high. It’s a guaranteed good time so you should definitely go and then I dare you not to sing all the songs all day long.
