Movie Hawk » Theatre http://moviehawk.net Sporadic ramblings on pop phenomena. Thu, 27 Jan 2011 20:41:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Absentee Blogger http://moviehawk.net/2007/04/09/absentee-blogger/ http://moviehawk.net/2007/04/09/absentee-blogger/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:17:34 +0000 Jeff Martin http://moviehawk.net/2007/04/09/absentee-blogger/ When it comes to posts bemoaning the fact that one no longer has the time or energy to devote to blogging – a past time entirely devoted to filling one’s time when they don’t have the energy to do real work – I usually side with the majority of the world who despise excuses. But since I can wrap in a nice shameless plug, I’m going to write such a post.

You may have noticed my dip in productivity in this space, and you should be warned that it will continue for another week or two. You may also remember that I was cast as the Beast in the St. Bernadette Players’ production of Beauty and the Beast. There’s your reason. The past few weeks have been devoted to nailing down my part and trying to remember the words to my songs. This week, I’ll be going straight from work to tech rehearsals and won’t have the time to pre-write any posts. Save for a review of Blades of Glory set to go live tomorrow, don’t expect to hear from me.

But worry not. I’m still here, and I still appreciate you, oh tens of readers. Once the show is over, I’ll be back to a decent posting regularity, and am happy to announce that Movie Hawk will be hitting the road and giving you posts from exotic locales. In the meantime, continue reading for the show dates.

Show info:

  • April 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 @ 7:30 p.m., April 15 @ 2 p.m.
  • Tickets: $10 general admission, $8 seniors and children under 12. No reserved seating.
  • Location: St. Bernadette’s O’Brien Hall
]]> http://moviehawk.net/2007/04/09/absentee-blogger/feed/ 1 Beauty and the Blogger http://moviehawk.net/2006/12/13/beauty-and-the-blogger/ http://moviehawk.net/2006/12/13/beauty-and-the-blogger/#comments Wed, 13 Dec 2006 20:55:00 +0000 Jeff Martin http://moviehawk.net/2006/12/13/beauty-and-the-blogger/ BeastJust a tiny bit of shameless self-promotion this afternoon: your humble author has been cast as the latter titular role in the upcoming production of Beauty and the Beast at St. Bernadette’s Players in Drexel Hill. Rehearsals start next month; the show goes up in April. Start clearing your calendars now, because if anyone has ever seen the man behind the keyboard, they know that I’m a natural looker for the part.

]]> http://moviehawk.net/2006/12/13/beauty-and-the-blogger/feed/ 4 Stop or I’ll Shoot http://moviehawk.net/2006/10/21/stop-or-ill-shoot/ http://moviehawk.net/2006/10/21/stop-or-ill-shoot/#comments Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:33:53 +0000 Jeff Martin http://moviehawk.net/2006/10/21/stop-or-ill-shoot/ assassinsWhat goes through the mind of a madman before he commits his defining act? What drove John Wilkes Booth, for example, to slink into the presidential booth at Ford’s Theatre and put a bullet in the back of Abraham Lincoln’s head? Assassins, a revue-style musical with book by John Weidman and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, examines the motivations of nine presidential assassins – successful or attempted – and their place in history. The show is being performed at Saint Joseph’s University through October 28. It’s said that bad reviews sent Booth over the edge and into madness; based on the quality of the performances in Cap & Bells’ version of the play, there is little danger of inspiring a new killer.

That is not to say that the show itself is flawless. It’s far from Sondheim’s best work – his lyrics are choppy and his melodies awkward in most numbers – and the scripted vignettes that lead into each assassination are in most cases less than affecting, with the exception of the final scene, where the assassins team up on Lee Harvey Oswalt and convince him to pull the trigger on JFK. But the quality of the acting in this particular production raises the standards of the source material and makes it watchable, and in the last scene making it a tense, emotional experience.

David Sucharski is a delightfully mad presence on stage, playing Booth with a quiet reserve that keeps him relatable throughout the play. Nick Virginio, as would-be James Garfield assassin Charles Guiteau, is a surprising comic presence, devouring the scenery in each of his appearances. Mark Maher and Matthew Duncan, as John Hinckley (Reagan) and Samuel Byck (Nixon), respectively, fully embrace their character studies and turn in extremely convincing performances. Rob Mateja ties the characters together as the Balladeer; his relaxed tenor is among the best singing in the show.

Technically, the production missteps as often as it succeeds, the former largely due to the inclusion of a projection screen casting PowerPoint images, distracting from the action onstage, and canned dialogue that plays back with distortion over the sound system. Digital technology can either be the best friend or the worst enemy of a stage play; here, it botches the best efforts of the actor’s performances.

Nearly done in by the unnecessary additions under the hood, Cap & Bells’ production of Assassins is a satisfying experience to watch, as the actors carry what is otherwise just an average show.

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