It's difficult to choose which articles on my pal Mark Evanier's website are my favorite to read, but among them -- and very possibly at the top of the list -- are when he decides to play along with unsolicited phone calls. Usually these concern contractors, of which Mark (for some unknown reason) gets an inordinate amount.
I admire that Mark is so witty and clever and quick with these play-alongs, though almost more I admire that he takes the time to do so. Me, I tend to say, "no," the instant I get that initial pause and then a voice comes on the line (my "no" means the call is registered by them as having been completed) and then instantly hang up. On a rare occasion when I'm just in the mood I'll hang on and do something odd, but it's very rare. (My 92-year-old dad, on the other hand, tends to get very angry and tells the caller off at length. My most common response when I'm visiting is calling out across the room, "Dad, just hang up the phone!") But my own efforts, on those rare occasions when the spirit moves me, are paltry compared to Mark. Mark, he's an artist at these. This recent article isn't necessarily his finest -- if there was a Nobel Prize for fake response to unsolicited calls, he'd win it for those -- but it's pure Evanier. And there might well be a follow-up from it, as he points out. I suspect there will be. Basically, he tells the roto-dialer person calling (who clearly isn't a contractor) about how he wants specific work done on his house -- work that he...well, let Mark tell you about i. You can read the latest tale here.
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On Sunday, Republican Party nominee for president Mitt Romney appeared on Face the Nation and, among many other things, said -- "Our esteem around the world has fallen. I can’t think of a major country, it’s hard to think of a single country that has greater respect and admiration for America today than it did five years ago when Barack Obama became president." It gets a little annoying every four years to have to keep repeating this to the former Republican Party nominee for president, but again, here goes -- Dear Mitt Romney -- you lost the election. Mitt, you must understand: more people wanted Barack Obama to be president than you. They voted against you. They aren't interested in your policies, or even particularly your opinions all that much. Though I suppose they would still like to see your tax records. But as for your opinions...nah, not really. You lost the election. You aren't a senator or congressman or governor anymore, no matter of elected official, so your words don't even hold any political authority. So, it really again boils down to: You lost the election. Please go see John McCain and take about trying to get over it. He probably won't be able to offer much good advice, but at least you'll have comfort and solace from an understanding voice. To be fair, Mr. Romney is the official, titular head of the Republican Party until the next nominee is named. So, his opinion holds that weight. And he was invited by CBS to be a guess, so his thoughts were solicited. And he has past experience as governor and head of the U.S. Olympic Organizing Committee, so he has experience in those areas. But there's a difference between speaking in your areas of expertise and diving off the deep end into unknown waters. And also, there's a huge difference between giving informed analysis and just being a bitter, spiteful grumpy snob. And I think most fair-minded people can tell that difference. One way they can tell that difference is something I like to call "reality." When you start pulling statements out of your hidden orifices to be snarky about the guy who beat you, that's when most people roll their eyes and look at you like you're their grouchy uncle who comes over for holidays and complains about everything, most notably the crazy kids today, how many commercials are on TV, the Blacks and Mexicans (extensively using the phrase, "You know what I mean"), loud music today, movies today, and Democrats. Keep in mind that Mitt Romney was the man who the GOP wanted to be President of the United States. With his finger on the nuclear button. Someone to analyze facts and make cool-headed, solid decisions. And he said, "It’s hard to think of a single country that has greater respect and admiration for America today than it did five years ago when Barack Obama became president." Dear Uncle Mitt, at least you could have check with Pew Research beforehand. The Pew Global Attitudes Project regularly researches other countries about their attitudes, notably about the United States, and puts out a poll each year. The poll is really easy to find, especially if you were, well, a former nominee for president. At the very least, you just ask someone on your staff to do it, they probably have a lot of free time these days without much responsibility. In the most recent 2013, there was a favorable opinion of the U.S. in 28 of the 38 nations who has been polled. That's over three times more than had a favorable opinion of America when George W. Bush was president -- when just nine of 23 counties said they had a positive opinion of the U.S. in 2008. (In fairness, more countries were polled for Mr. Obama, so we'll look at percentages. For President Obama, 74% of countries had a favorable opinion, while 39% did under President Bush.) Beyond just the pesky facts of reality, it's also worth questioning why favorable opinions of the U.S. might not be as high as some would wish (though those numbers look pretty respectable). It might well be, not because of the president, but because of the white noise and policies coming out of the conservative wing of the nation that makes it across the ozone, airwaves and Internets to foreign countries beyond. And when they read about policies forcing women to have required vaginal probes, policies that make it more difficult to vote, policies against immigrants (of which, as "foreigners," they might be a tad sensitive to), policies intended specifically to block the very popular President Obama, cries against universal health care (which most other nations tend to enjoy) and more, they just might not find the Home of the Brave and the Land of the Free as brave and appealing as they've read in their school books.
But Mitt Romney once again goes yammering on about how unpopular the United States was. Gee, all he left out was, "You know what I mean." Dear Mitt. You lost the election. You know what I mean? For quite a few years, Butch Thompson was the music director of A Prairie Home Companion. Then he left and Richard Dworksky took over and has been there since. I don't know why he left, but there you have it. Perhaps he wanted to focus more on his solo career. When they made the Prairie Home Companion movie several years back, it was a treat to see his name in the credits, though you had to look hard to spot him, playing in the background onstage. But it was great that he was included. And then the last few weeks, I've noticed that he's been back on the show as a guest. It's possible that he's been on more than that, but I just haven't been paying close enough attention. Here's a video of him on the show this past weekend. I've always liked Butch Thompson a lot. A friend though wasn't crazy about him, saying that he made so many flubs while playing -- and he did. But it never bothered me, because 99% was so wonderful. I said that you can't be that wonderful and not be a terrific musician. The problem, I said, was that I think most people are used to listening to performers on studio recordings, when the musician plays under ideal conditions and if there's a flub, they redo it -- and redo it -- until it's perfect. But when performing live, mistakes do happen.
(I remember as a kid my parents taking me to the Ravinia Music Festival where the legendary Van Cliburn was playing. And even as a kid I remember thinking, "Gee, he made another flub there.") It happens. Not all the time. But live performances -- especially ones where there's a clock ticking and people are running around the stage, and it's a madhouse -- will have flubs. But I was always convinced that Butch Thompson was an absolutely wonderful musician, and was sure that if he had a studio recording, that would prove it. Maybe about seven years ago, I actually found a Butch Thompson CD. It had the wonderful name, Yulestride," and was a collection of Christmas songs played in a Dixeland jazz style called "stride." It's great -- and now one of my favorite holiday albums I look forward to listening to again and again. And what's a joy, too, is how it proved my theory about Butch Thompson. I challenge anyone to listen to this studio recording and not slap themselves in the forehand and go, "Yipes! Those are flying fingers! He's great." This might be my favorite, "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." It's only taken 17 years for me to get the chance to see Harmony again. That's the Barry Manilow-Bruce Sussman musical that had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, which I've been writing about, oh, more than occasionally... It's the story of the real-life Comedian Harmonists, a wildly popular mix-religion "close harmony" group from Germany in the late 1920s until the mid-1930s when events overpowered them, as the Nazis came to power. The show ran into development hell with producers for a very long time, but finally got revived late last year at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre, and now is being done in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theatre, with the Center Theatre Music Group. It got glowing raves in Atlanta, though mixed reviews in L.A. With all due respect to the critics here, while I understand their criticisms, I largely disagree with most of them. The show is extremely good. It's flawed, but the issues are in the details and not the appeal of the production. It's a rich, interesting, thoughtful, tuneful, dark, funny show that misses on a few cylinders, but ultimately and overall is quite entertaining. I admire it, too, for what it's attempting to undertake, and that it largely succeeds at it. It's important to note, too, that unless you're talking about the 15-20 Greatest Broadway Musicals of All Time, pretty much all shows are flawed in one way or another. And Harmony isn't actually even a Broadway musical yet -- it's only had three tryout productions. (Two, really, since this in L.A. is largely the same co-production as that in Atlanta.) That's no excuse, nor no reason not to criticize -- in fact, this is the very time when criticism does the creators the most good -- but perspective has to be kept. When Camelot was out of town, for instance, the first production ran about 4-1/2 hours. A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum was a bit unfocused and not working well with baffled audiences, until Stephen Sondheim wrote "Comedy Tonight" out of town in Washington, D.C., to open the show. One of the most famous telegrams in theater history came from out-of-town when Michael Todd wrote about a show in tryouts, "No Girls No Tunes No Chance." The show was Oklahoma! They fixed things. It did just fine. Again, this isn't to overlook the shows flaws, only to put them in context. Harmony, as it stands right now, is a very good show that works well. It needs some more work, for my taste, but it's fine-tuning that it needs, not an overhaul of a problematic production. I don't think this is just my opinion -- the packed audience gave it a rousing response throughout. That doesn't make them, or me, right. But this isn't a piece of fluffery that's able to razzle-dazzle an unthinking public with light-hearted joviality -- it's a serious, moody, thoughtful story that has a bleak plot development, and a heartbreaking, albeit moving and satisfying ending. This is hardly the stuff used to blind an audience with glitzy tinsel and distracting fireworks), and the audience was involved to the very end, cheering at the curtain call. Photo credit: Craig Schwartz Clearly, it's the Manilow-Sussman score that attracts most people's interests. And it's very good. Not just musically, creating a sense of period and location, but the lyrics are smart, flowing, and effective. And sometimes quite funny. I didn't find them to necessarily leap out, but they fit the music, characters and plot very well. This isn't a Barry Manilow Score. (I don't mean that pejoratively, but descriptively.) It's a score than fits the show and its locale. If you're listening to hear -- "Oh, yeah, there, that's Manilow" -- yes, you'll hear it in places. Just like you'll hear Richard Rodgers in all his shows. But for much of it, I suspect most people, if they weren't told who wrote it, wouldn't have a clue. And would be seriously impressed.
Yes, there are a couple of beautiful, soaring "Manilow" ballads -- and whose lyrics do leap out -- most notably the break-out "Every Single Day" (which Manilow now performs in his concerts) and "In This World" (a -- literally -- heart-breaking song near the end that is problematic in the story for the character singing it) but even those fits the show, and ultimately most of the score is focused on character and moving the plot. Often quite cleverly. For instance, "This is Our Time" (pictured above) actually has three different meanings to the characters singing their own version -- the group itself; one of the women, Ruth, protesting the growing fascism; and two of the characters in their budding romance; These three separate scenes end up blending and overlapping one another and turn into a joint number. The song, "Where You Go," is a moving duet, but not a traditional sort. It's song by the two wives to their husbands, each with completely opposite lyrics, all within the same scene, as we move back-and-forth between two bedrooms. The title song is very lively and serves a particular plot function quite effectively -- it's used as a montage that starts the group out when first meeting, through rehearsals in the alleys and train stations, and then finally when they become a polished act. It also serves as a leit motif recurring through the show. Several reviewers found the song to be endless, but they miss the point of it. Not just in function, but in substance. It's what the show is about. Besides which, it's a terrific song. There's also a very tricky aspect to a score like this, when trying to incorporate songs from a musical act show-within-the-show. If not handled well, these non-plot songs can stop the evening cold. Harmony needs such songs, to demonstrate the group in action, but handles them very well. Several have a subtext to the plot going on around them -- like "Come to the Fatherland," performed with the Harmonists as controlled marionettes on strings, singing about the delights of the Third Reich. The result is very funny on the surface and quite uncomfortable and profoundly sad underneath. And then there are a couple numbers from their act that are simply so hilariously staged that they can't help but demonstrate how the group got to be so popular, notably "How Can We Serve You, Madame?" (full of double-entendres, sung by elegant waiters who end up in their skivvies) and the virtuosic "Hungarian Rhapsody #20" -- much in the style of what the real Comedian Harmonists often did, create the sound of an orchestra vocally, in this case a parody of Franz Liszt's 19 other rhapsodies. I must almost mention the "11 o'clock" number, a powerful song called "Threnody," sung by the character of Josef (nicknamed 'Rabbi," since he had once been...well, a rabbi) who periodically steps out of the show to narrate it as the last surviving member. In "Threnody" he faces a situation tormenting to him, whether it was his mere fate, tragic doom or blessing to remember all that happened to them. Though the singer, Shayne Kennon, also gets to sing the big hit, "Every Single Day," it's the roaring reaction of the audience here that is even greater. The cast was very good, at times wonderful, and each get their moments, though no one really leaped out to me as standalone special, which is fine, since it's about a group, though Kennon has the most to do, narrating it as he does -- and he does well. The others Harmonists (who, to be clear, each do come across individually) are Matt Bailey, Will Blum, Chris Dwan, Will Taylor, and Douglas Williams) And the two leading women are played by Hannah Corneau (the aforementioned Ruth, a composite of a few women) and Leigh Ann Larkin (the real-life Mary). I would have loved to have seen a bit more conflict between the group, but it's there and very hard to miss (though a few critics did). But perhaps this is one of the times when having a scene be more direct rather than suggestive or hinting would work to the show's advantage. I wasn't particularly bothered that none of the characters change all that greatly over time -- in part because when you're in a group, people tend to create a wall to protect their place in it -- but perhaps a little more change would flesh things out a touch. But ultimately, it's the group that changes, more so than the individuals, as it's forced to react to the crushing conditions around them.. My biggest character quibble is that I found the character of Ruth a bit too loud and strident. Whether that's as written or performance, I don't know. In fairness, if any character has the right to be unrelentingly strident, it's Ruth -- a Jewish woman trying to reform Germany in the midst of growing Naziism. Indeed, Hannah Corneau has a great moment after a concert which has been interrupted by Brown Shirts, and a Nazi colonel fan and his wife come backstage afterwards for autographs. My sense from having seen the show 17 years ago is that the opening was more drawn out in that original incarnation, as we learn more about the members and their development. I could be wrong about that, but if so it would work well doing so here. But having said that, much as it might help, there's something to be said for the vibrancy here of doing it all as the one, long, "Harmony" montage that carries you away with enthusiasm. Overall, I liked the direction by Tony Speciale, particularly in the larger production pieces. There were places where things do get a little static, mainly in the more dramatic moments, but it didn't cause my interest to waver. The ending is changed slightly from that initial production, and for the better. Then, as I recall, it was split between reminiscences between 'Rabbi' and Mary, who had been his wife. Here, it's more focused with just 'Rabbi.' That adds power to the climax, though it gets a bit talky. What I most admire about the end is that Sussman and Manilow didn't try to give it a spin to make things happy. The end isn't happy. But the authors make it so that things aren't tragic for the group -- rather, what they come up with is substantive and effectively moving and satisfying, concluding with the lovely, "Stars in the Night." Oddly, the real -- further -- ending is more upbeat than the show. The Comedian Harmonists weren't as forgotten as the characters feel. There was a successful 4-hour TV documentary about them in Germany in 1975 (when all but one of the group were still alive). A very good award-winning film, The Harmonists, was released in 1997, which was named Outstanding Feature Film at the German Film Awards. The group even won an Echo Award in 1998 from the country's record academy, Deutsche Phonoakademie -- Germany's version of the Grammys. And now this musical. So the Comedian Harmonists are far from forgotten in their home. I'm not sure what the future for Harmony holds, or what the plans are by the creators and producers. What occurred to me afterwards is that while Broadway or touring might be among their thoughts -- it would make a terrific production in Germany. I say that not just because that's where the Comedian Harmonists are best known, but there actually is a fairly solid stage musical foundation there, largely through a group called Stage Entertainment, which is even becoming a growing place for out of town Broadway tryouts. The musical version of Rocky which just opened on Broadway to actually-good reviews began life in Hamburg. A lush musical based on Rebecca was set to open on Broadway, after having begun production in Stuttgart, before infamously becoming embroiled in a bizarre producer/money meltdown. When Tarzan left Broadway after only a very modest run, it gained new life in Germany when the show was tweaked and re-staged. I also wrote here (several times, in fact) about the very entertaining musical Hinterm Horizont that I saw in Berlin, produced as well by Stage Entertainment. So...who knows what the future life is of Harmony. Both Manilow and Sussman say they're not looking ahead and are just thrilled to focus on these two new productions in Atlanta and L.A. that brought Harmony back to well-deserved life. It runs at the Ahmanson through April 21, 2014. There's more work they can do on it. But what they have already, in these early stages, is a wonderful evening in the theater. If you'd like to hear much of the score -- I can't embed it, but here are long excerpts that play back-to-back in this Soundcloud.com music player. Each song selection is about a minute-and-a-half. Just scroll down the page to where it says "Listen" and click the Play button. Let it keep running when a song finishes, and the next will start up. I made it through my Day of Much Media and survived. In fact, everything was terrific all around.
I'll get into far-more in-depth comments about Harmony, but the short version is that it was very good. A few things seemed familiar, but I can't specifically make many comparisons to this production and the one 15 years ago in San Diego. It's still not a classic, finished product -- but it's awfully well done, and the audience was full and very enthusiastic. More later. Then I drove straight to the Writers Guild Theater, where they had two screenings back-to-back. The first was Veronica Mars, which I quite enjoyed, despite only having watched the TV series just once or twice, and that because friends directed episodes. But the film makes it easy to get up to speed, the cast is good -- especially Kristin Bell (who I adore on general principle, and she clearly loves playing Veronica who is basically her signature role), and Enrico Colantoni was terrific as her father. There are a few plot holes, and it gets a little convoluted, but the script is smart, there are some very funny lines throughout, and it was solidly done. The movie that followed was Bad Words -- which I absolutely loved, to my surprise. It's a crude, rude movie about a highly unlikeable guy, and they play it for all it's worth. Jason Bateman (who also directed) is a 40-year-old guy out to win the national spelling bee, having determined that the rules only reference school grade for the contestants, not their age. He refuses to explain his reason for entering, and is blunt and obnoxious all the way through. What I appreciated is straightforward they play everything, as reasonably-realistic as possible (given the ludicrousness of the situation.) Usually I don't like crude, but this is so unabashed that I admired the effort, and found too that there were some laugh-out-loud sequences. Also, there are a couple of good plot twists that keep it from just being a one-joke film -- though that one-joke is a hoot. All-in-all, a smart, well-done movie -- albeit one that's really rude. And that left returning home finally at 9:45 PM and watching the recording I made of UCLA's tournament basketball game, which had a happy ending, as they won by 20 points. This might be as far as they go, since their next game is against Florida, who many experts pick to win the championship, so we'll take the wins when we can get them. At least they made it to the Sweet 16. Thank goodness for fast-forwarding -- I was able to get through the game and finish by around 11 PM -- after having left the homestead this morning at 11:30 AM. And now it's time to rest my weary eyes... Today is Media Day. I expect to be bleary-eyed at the end, bus once in a while, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do.
In the early afternoon -- very shortly, in fact -- I'm heading off to see the matinee of the musical, Harmony. I believe I've mentioned the show once or twice... I didn't get a chance to see the show when it opened, because I was heading off to Chicago, but I look forward to finally seeing it again after 15 years. I'm not sure if I'll remember all that much for how different it was from that world premiere tryout in San Diego, but perhaps some thoughts will rush back. Hopefully the show will end early enough for me to drive home first, otherwise drive straight to the WGA Theatre, where they're showing Veronica Mars in the afternoon, and then right after that they're screening Bad Words. (I expect to be camping out in the lobby...) Fortunately, the first movie is long enough that the wait at the theatre won't be too long, and the second movie is fairly short, so I can get home at a reasonable hour. Also, so that I can get home in time to crank up the DVR and watch my recording of the UCLA basketball game in the NCAA tournament, which is being played lived while I'll be previously occupied. If my eyes are blurry tomorrow, you'll know the reason. |
AuthorRobert J. Elisberg is a political commentator, screenwriter, novelist, tech writer and also some other things that I just tend to keep forgetting. Feedspot Badge of Honor
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