The Kids Are All Right: A Review Monday, Aug 30 2010 

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Over the weekend, PJ and I watched Lisa Cholodenko‘s The Kids Are All Right. We were particularly excited to see this movie, since it’s getting a lot of Oscar buzz, but also because it’s been rather controversial. I read one review, for example, in which the reviewer walked out halfway through the movie because she was so angered by its depiction of lesbian sexuality.

Here’s the trailer:

The movie stars Annette Bening as Nic and Julianne Moore as Jules, two lesbians who have raised two children together. Nic is a doctor and is somewhat stressed out and consumed by her job. Trained as an architect, Jules seems to float from one thing to the next professionally. At the start of the film she’s decided to begin a landscaping business.

More stress is added to their relationship when their oldest kid, Joni, played by Mia Wasikowska, decides to contact her sperm donor shortly after her eighteenth birthday. She doesn’t really care to meet him, but her younger brother, Laser, played by Josh Hutcherson, pushes her into it.

Mark Ruffalo plays Paul, the sperm donor. He’s thrilled to receive word that Joni wants to meet him. He’s a restaurateur, owns an organic local farm patch, and has a lot in common with Jules, as he’s also a bit feckless.

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Summer Hiatus Sunday, Aug 29 2010 

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My blogging has really screeched to a halt this summer. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to write about or that I didn’t want to blog — I have lots of things I’ve wanted to post about. But this summer has been busier than I ever imagined it would be.

I’ve traveled more than I’ve ever traveled in a two month period (and that was after canceling one trip!). I’ve also been under a lot of pressure at work. While I love my job, I definitely feel a lot of stress from it. And I’ve had a lot of allergy problems this year, more than usual.

All of this has left me mentally exhausted. So much so that the thought of blogging has often been too much. I frequently think about blogging about something only to be too mentally tired to bother with it. So, for the past two months I’ve basically taken a hiatus from doing it.

But I really want to get back into writing. I find this blog is a useful way to remember what I thought about the movies I’ve seen, the music I’ve heard, the museums I’ve visited, etc. Even if no one else ever read it, it’s worth it just for that. It’s also a useful way for me to think through my work as dean and as a researcher and teacher.

So, I’m going to try my best to start writing again on a regular basis. I’ve got lots of things to blog about, so over the next few days I’ll catch up on whatever I can catch up on, and then I’ll start writing about new things. I’m hoping it will energize me a little. Maybe it will also be a good way to deal with the stress of my job. I’ve got a week left before our quarter starts. Let’s see what kind of blogging rhythm I can get into. Here goes ….

 

Wicked: A Review Sunday, Aug 1 2010 

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Yesterday, PJ and I drove up to Columbus to see the matinée of Wicked, which is spending a month at the Ohio Theatre. My sister, my friend James and his partner, my parents, and just about everyone else I know has already seen it, so PJ and I thought that we’d avail ourselves of the opportunity to see the company in Columbus. I’m glad we did. Wicked isn’t the greatest musical I’ve ever seen, but it’s entertaining and a lot of fun! I definitely recommend it.

As I’m sure everyone knows, Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, i.e., the “real” story behind The Wizard of Oz. The show begins just after the announcement of the Witch’s death by water. The citizens of Oz soon recall the Glinda was rumored to have been friends with the Wicked Witch, so they want to know how that was possible. The rest of the show is told in flashback, as Glinda reveals what really happened between her, the Witch, and the Wizard.

What I like most about this re-telling is its emphasis on politics and the way in which propaganda shapes political reality. If you get people to believe whatever you tell them, then you can start telling them anything. In many ways, this production is an indictment of the Bush era and the creation of “truth” out of nothing more than lies that protect the administration in power. In this way, this musical is rather bold — I wonder how many of my fellow Midwesterners who saw it yesterday got this message too!

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Natalie Merchant’s “Leave Your Sleep” Concert in Chicago Monday, Jul 26 2010 

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PJ loves Natalie Merchant, so, for his birthday this year, I bought us tickets to see her  in Chicago last week. We’ve been listening to her new album of poetry for children set to music. I wasn’t completely into it, I have to say, so I was really surprised by how blown away I was by the concert. Merchant’s performance for the better part of three hours was simply amazing. It was one of the best concerts — if not the best concert — I’ve ever been to. Merchant was brilliant!

Here’s an explanation of what she’s doing in the album:

We saw her in the Chicago Theatre, which is a great venue. The first part of the concert was all songs from the new album. Instead of a traditional encore, she did a second set of some of her greatest hits and fan favorites.

What impressed me about the concert was two things. First, I really admired her commitment to teaching us a little bit about the poets whose words she’s set to music. She didn’t go into full-fledged lectures or anything, but she gave us a little tidbit about each poet’s life or poetry, something interesting and relevant to the poem. She also presented us with a PowerPoint presentation that had pictures of each poet and in a couple of cases illustrations that went along with the poems.

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SotW: Felicia by The Constellations Friday, Jul 23 2010 

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“Felicia” by The Constellations is another song I’ve heard a lot recently on Alt Nation on XM radio. I love it! Here’s a live version:

I love “dirty” songs like this in general, but what I love most about this track is the groove. It just makes you want to dance. (And for a change I don’t think the lead singer is hot, at least not here!)

I also love the female back-up singers. I like that the female voice is represented — it makes the song seem less sexist and more equitable!

Here’ a link to the official video (the singer is much cuter here — love the glasses!). I think it’s a fun and really sexy video.

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SotW: Yeah Yeah Yeah by New Politics Saturday, Jul 17 2010 

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In preparation for a drive to Richmond, Virginia, for a memorial service today (we left yesterday, spent the night, and returned him this afternoon), We re-subscribed to XM Radio. During the drive we listened to Alt Nation a lot, which has introduced me to a few new songs that I love, including New Politics‘ “Yeah Yeah Yeah”:

This song is infectious! New Politics is a band from Denmark but are now living in New York. And, not surprisingly, I think the lead singer, David Boyd, is hot! I’ve just purchased their album on iTunes.

Here’s another video of New Politics singing Yeah Yeah Yeah for the SXSW 2010 Showcasing Artist:

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War Horse: A Review Thursday, Jul 15 2010 

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The third play PJ and I saw in London was War Horse, which is based on a children’s book of the same name by Michael Morpurgo. It relates the story of a horse who is sold to the British cavalry at the beginning of World War I. The tale of this one horse becomes a meditation on the inhumane treatment of horses during the war. Here’s the “trailer”:

This preview gives you a little taste of what makes this production so amazing: the puppetry, which was designed by the Handspring Puppet Company. All of the horses in the show are puppets, but the amazing part is that you quickly forget that these horses are puppets and not real horses. They really seem to emote and to move like real horses. It’s amazing that these puppeteers can make you care about puppets in this way! PJ and I were both astounded by this aspect of the play. It’s the magic of theater at its best.

War Horse starts with young Albert being assigned to help raise a horse, Joey, that his drunken father has spent all of the family’s money buying just to spite his brother. When war is declared, the drunken father sees a chance to make a quick buck and sells Joey to the cavalry. Albert swears that he will find him again and bring him home.

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Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: A Review Tuesday, Jul 13 2010 

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When PJ and I were planning our trip to England last month, the one show I definitely wanted to see was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I love the movie, which is one of the great gay-themed films of all time, way ahead of its time. So, as soon as we landed in London and checked into our hotel we got our tickets for Priscilla for the second night we were in town.

I’ll state up front that this is going to be a mixed review. On the one hand, the show was entertaining. I especially liked the actors and was incredibly impressed with the stagecraft of the show, especially the quick costume changes. On the other hand, this show is little more than a collection of random songs — none of which are original — tied together by the barest of plots. As a result, we couldn’t care less about the characters or what happens in the show; we’re just waiting for the next big production number. I wish it had been more interesting on a narrative level.

The obvious point of comparison for this production is Billy Elliot, a great movie and show. Its creators took the plot of the movie, augmented it to make us care even more about the characters and time period, and then added original songs. It is an interesting show on every level, and it says something about gay issues.

Priscilla on the other hand is really just trying to make money. The creators clearly made a decision to use only old songs that audience members could sing along with–“You Were Always on My Mind,” What’s Love Got to Do with It,” “Hot Stuff,” and “I Will Survive” to name a few examples–as a way of filling the seats. It seems like this is a winning strategy, but the show could have drawn audience and been innovative and interesting. Why couldn’t they have taken a page from Billy Elliott and done more?

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SotW: Crossfire by Brandon Flowers Friday, Jul 9 2010 

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The Killers is (are?) one of my favorite bands, and I’m totally in love with Brandon Flowers (regardless of his heterosexuality and Mormonism). So, I was extremely excited to learn recently that he’s putting out a solo album. I was even more excited to hear his first single, “Crossfire.” And the video is smokin’ hot:

I love the way this video casts Flowers in the damsel-in-distress role and Charlize Theron as his rescuer. He’s so cute when he gives her his little small, and I’m surprised by how hot I think he looks with a bloody lip and a black eye! I also love the way she puts her arm around him at the end. The gender politics of this video are so interestingly feminist — maybe his Mormon heterosexuality isn’t so bad after all! (He’s seems gay-friendly in his interview with The Advocate and he’s on record as “not opposing” gay rights.)

I look forward to the new album, which is due out in mid-September.

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Holding the Man: A Review Tuesday, Jul 6 2010 

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Perhaps the main goal of PJ’s and my recent trip to England was to see a few shows. The last time we were there most of the shows we saw were total crap, so we really wanted this trip’s theater to be better. We ended up seeing four shows. Almost as soon as we arrived, we took the Tube to the Leicester Square tickets booth and bought tickets for our first two nights in London.

We knew we wanted to see Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, but it wasn’t playing on Monday night (our first night in London) so we bought tickets to another show, Holding the Man. PJ had read about it beforehand and knew that it was also an Australian “gay play,” which was enough for us. We bought tickets for Priscilla for Tuesday night, so we figured the theme of our visit would be gay Australian theater!

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. Holding the Man is much more than just a gay Australian play. It is an amazingly affecting theatrical experience. Unfortunately, the West End production has now closed, but the play itself is so good that I would recommend any production of this play.

Holding the Man is based on the memoir of Timothy Conigrave, an Australian writer, actor, and activist. Conigrave’s memoir follows his 15-year relationship with John Caleo. The two men met while still in high school, a Catholic boys school. Caleo was the captain of the school’s football team. The play’s early scenes detail their courtship and eventual coming out to their parents. When Conigrave goes off to college and wants to experiment with other men, the couple briefly breaks up. The second half of the play focuses on the latter years of the mens’ relationship and takes place in the AIDS era. Both men eventually dies of AIDS-related illnesses.

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