Gregory G. Allen's Blog, page 25

A Trip To Wonderful

There are certain moments you sit in a theater and you realize you are in the presence of greatness.  That was how I felt watching Cicely Tyson in "The Trip to Bountiful". This acting icon hasn't been on Broadway in 30 years, but those acting chops are well-oiled and in top form. Watching her, you can't help but recall all her amazing films from Miss Jane Pitman to Roots to Sounder to even Fried Green Tomatoes and recently The Help. Whatever movie she does - she gives her all in a role. And that was what she does every night on stage playing Carrie Watts in Horton Foote's fifty year old play. The truly amazing part is that at 79 (or 88) years old (depending on which online source you believe) - she carries this show! All those lines, dancing and singing hymns, constantly moving, and acting that can convey powerful emotion in one line.
The play follows an elderly woman's plight to return to the small Texas town she grew up in. She lives with her son and his wife in a cramped apartment and wants nothing more than to sit on the porch of that home in Bountiful. What is wonderful about it is that it shows what so many older people think and feel: they are still young on the inside even though their bodies are giving out. I hear that from so many people. And while some reviewers have criticized the production directed by Michael Wilson as being uneven and not as sentimental as the 1985 film starring Geraldine Page, I think the uplifting final moments portrayed by Tyson are in line with what many elderly feel. They don't sit around being sad about aging: they live life and recall memories that bring them peace and give them a sense of accomplishment in the world: and why CAN'T that be a positive moment instead of sad?
Vanessa Williams knows how to play a 'bad character' without having an audience hate her. And as the daughter-in-law that is at odds with Ms. Watts, she gives a wonderful performance as a self-centered, Hollywood loving woman. Cuba Gooding, Jr. makes his Broadway debut and I only wished he would saved the 'little boy act' for later in the show. A man caught between his mother and wife, his character has a tough time and Mr. Gooding seemed to be lost between two fine actresses. Tony nominated Condola Rashad is another wonderful actress in this production as a woman that befriends Ms. Watts on her bus trip to Bountiful.
The music, lighting and especially the sets by Jeff Cowie (who should have been Tony nominated) all evoke the perfect setting and time for this piece. This production does something that has been tried before by turning a play usually played by white actors into an African-American story. I think that casting worked very well because while a period piece, racial issues are never addressed, but alluded to by the characters sitting on the back of the bus and having a whites/coloreds line at the bus station. At times it felt as if Mr. Foote had written this play specifically about a black experience that is also universal. (Such smart writing!)
Lastly, there is nothing like watching a show with a predominantly African-American audience. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and I know when people agree with a minister; you let him know. So does this audience. They groan approvals and discontent with what happens on stage. And yes, they join in singing as Ms. Tyson 'leads us' in a few old-time hymns. (I'll admit, I was caught up in the moment and was humming right along.)
A wonderful piece that I am so glad I got to witness. The joy on Ms. Tyson's face is infectious and I left the theater in such a great mood. Thinking of my own childhood in Texas, my family - those still around and those that have already left us. And I loved it so much that I turned around and purchased tickets for this summer when my mother will be visiting. She's not as elderly as Carrie Watts in this play, but she (like so many other retired people) does think about her history, her parents and her own 'Bountiful'. 
I can't wait to share the experience with her.

Author Spotlight: Phil Taylor

We never know how or where we will come across a new writer. A while back, someone shared a blog on Facebook of Phil Taylor and I found myself heading to his site and reading some great blogs he has written. And then I did what I always hope people do when they end up on my blog: I looked up the novel WHITE PICKET PRISONS he had written and downloaded it to read. Most indie authors use social media to communicate with their readers and before you knew it we were both tweeting how we had picked up the other's book. 
I started the book while sitting in my dermatologist office and was pulled into the story of Phil Taylorfour childhood friends who are brought back together as adults because of certain circumstances and discover how age has changed them. (It happens to us all.) Even while pulled into the story, I will admit I was having difficulty because of the formatting and editing in the book. And then out of the blue, Mr. Taylor sent me a private message that his book is being re-edited and I was blown away by the honesty of this author instead of doing what too many indies out there do - leave unedited work for the public to find. So I decided I had to interview him for my blog (even though I haven't completed his novel) so please welcome Phil Taylor to my page!
GGA: Phil, I meant what I said above. I'm really impressed with an author noticing that perhaps their work didn't go out with the best foot forward and decided to change it. Let's start there. What made you decide to rework your debut novel?
PT: The most important thing to know is what you don’t know. We never get blindsided by the stuff we know. It’s the stuff in life that we don’t know that usually upsets our best laid plans. Like most writers I have a blind spot when it comes to my writing. When I published White Picket Prisons I was fortunate to have many wonderful friends who told me that my writing was good and just as fortunate to have a few who said, “your writing is good, but…”  Who doesn’t love a good but?
GGA: If people reading this now find the first edition of the book, are you telling people to hold off (as I know it's not always easy to pull the first edition from all the places it can be found online)?
PT: Absolutely not! It may be about two months before the second edition is published and I plan to leave the flawed version out there until then. In the meantime maybe my book can be a fun Where’s Waldo kind of game where readers try to spot the mistakes and e-mail or tweet me every time they find one. In fact, I’ll announce it here: Who ever finds the most mistakes and lists them in an e-mail to me (authorphiltaylor@gmail.com) wins a free copy of my second book that’s coming out this summer. 
GGA: That's awesome! A giveaway on my blog! You can be totally honest here…do you read all your reviews written across the internet?
PT: Of course! If my writing is good enough or bad enough to motivate someone to write a review I’m tremendously appreciative. Time is the most significant finite resource each of us has. For someone to use some of their valuable time reading my writing and in turn writing about it humbles me.
GGA: (I'm such a glutton for punishment that I get google alerts!) Indie authors are slammed all the time for not taking the time to get an editor, yet I have to say…I really like what I've read of the story so far - even with you editing it yourself! So let's get away from the first edition and let readers know what they can expect this summer from the 2nd edition. Where did the premise for White Picket Prisons come from?
PT: One thing readers can expect from the second edition of White Picket Prisons is commas. Apparently commas are the key to everything. The editor that helped polish the new version of WPP must have deleted a thousand commas and added a thousand more. The premise for the novel came about several years ago. I do have a close group of friends like the characters in the story. In the course of about eight months three of us lost a parent. Although none of their deaths were suspicious, the tragic coincidence set the wheels in my mind spinning. I think writing the story may have been my own self-administered therapy. 
GGA: Do you have a set of male friends from high school you are still in touch with (or like many of us…is it all a Facebook only thing)?
PT: I do have a close group of friends very similar to The Golden Boys in my story and although we all live in different cities, we talk regularly and try to get together once a year. If we all do get to have The Five People You Meet in Heaven, I want three of mine to be these friends. 
GGA: That's awesome to still have those guys in your life. Since this is a murder mystery. What was your favorite mystery when you were growing up?
PT: Embarrassingly, I have to admit that as a young kid I read and enjoyed the Hardy Boys mystery stories. 
GGA: Nothing to be embarrassed of! (Many of us did!) You have a great blog presence online - with an awesome sarcastic wit. When did you start blogging?
PT: I began The Phil Factor in April 2005. 
GGA: Was there a certain topic you knew you wanted to blog on?
PT: Again, I’m a little embarrassed, but I’ll answer honestly. I first started blogging about fantasy football. I know, cool right? One day at work I was making jokes about something and a co-worker said, “You ought to blog about that.”  I had dabbled in stand-up comedy in the 90’s but when life got busy I gave it up. That’s when Al Gore invented the internet and I started blogging.
GGA: So tell me this…how does someone with a Psychology background working in the mental health industry move into sarcastic ball-buster online?
PT: We all have our own coping style in life. Some people are extroverts, some are introverts, some confront and some withdraw. I chose to make fun of stuff. 
GGA: I think you had me with the "Facebook National No Re-Post Day" blog. Can you share a little of that?
PT: The idea for “Facebook National No Re-Post Day” came on a Sunday morning when I sat down with my coffee to watch the news and browse Facebook. I opened Facebook and was subjected to an endless stream of ads, game progress reports and re-posts of cartoons from George Takei (who wouldn’t re-post the Facebook National No Re-Post Day. What gives? That guy re-posts everything!) Facebook used to be like the world’s best cocktail party where we met old friends, talked about our kids and shared vacation photos. I just wanted to try and create a day where people got back to just talking to each other on Facebook. 
GGA: I like that you describe your debut novel as 'humorous murder mystery' (as I'm one that always mixes up genres too). Do you think that book will set the tone of who you are as an author, or do you plan on mixing it up as you move forward?
PT: I think that regardless of what genre I choose to write in the word ‘humorous’ will always precede it. It’s part of who I am, much to my wife’s chagrin.
GGA: What is next for The Phil Factor (yes…I dig that title on the blog)?
PT: In my dream scenario some news editor somewhere reads this interview, checks out The Phil Factor and offers me the opportunity to write a weekly syndicated humor column for a much larger audience. 
GGA: Cheers to that editor reading this interview & discovering you! I look forward to following your career to see where it goes next and really look forward to finishing your book! Check out Phil on his website The Phil Factor , Facebook or follow him on twitter @ThePhilFactor! (He needs some more twitter love!)

Building a Family With Orphans

It's a shame that Shia LaBeouf added so much drama around the revival of the Broadway play Orphans by Lyle Kessler, because seeing it the night it was nominated for a Tony award for Best Revival - I was very taken with it. I had seen the movie, but really couldn't recall anything about the family drama. Two adult brothers living parentless in a house as the older Treat attempts to care for the younger Philip who is mentally challenged. Treat is a bubbling cauldron of anger and brings home an older gentleman from a bar and attempts to hold him for ransom. But even the older gentleman Harold isn't as it seems.

This is a theme throughout Kessler's work: each character is different from what we first think of them - all three having some sort of dysfunction that challenges who they are and how they interact with the world. I love to write about families: those we are born into and those we choose - and this play fits right into that genre.

I think one of the best things that may have come out of Shia LaBeouf not getting along with Alec Baldwin who plays Harold is that Ben Foster gives such a natural, yet layered approach to Treat. Some reviewers have felt he lacks a killer instinct, but there is something in his downplaying of the role...holding that rage underneath that I loved. He shows a great range of emotions throughout the show and I say kudos to him for walking in later than the others and taking this on.

The breakout of the night is Tony nominated Tom Sturridge. In a performance that reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", he flies around the room jumping from furniture piece to stairs; almost climbing the walls at times. He is gentle, heartwarming and never breaks character. I found myself watching him when he wasn't the focus and he was always in his 'world' as someone with a disability would be. 

The two brothers have a great connection on stage and I found myself rooting for them and feeling the strain that Treat has for caring for his brother; even if it means lying to him.

And then Alec Baldwin enters the stage. I'm a huge fan of Baldwin. I'm even a fan with the
media tears him a part for his real life drama played out in tabloids. I love when he is on SNL and I think he is very funny. But this play shouldn't be a sitcom. Yes, there should be humor in life - but Baldwin's delivery always reads like an SNL sketch and has no heart or truth to it. The only thing I recall from the movie version of this play was Albert Finney: Baldwin was missing that fatherly feel the two brothers desperate need to give this piece it's heart. He also never got to a place of danger that is also needed to keep Treat on edge. As the character that needs to drive so much of the story along, it just felt flat to me. We could simply blame an actor or we could question if director Daniel Sullivan had decided on the tone of the piece prior to the offstage fireworks and thought how to place these three actors in the same play.

Still, the two younger men rise above and manage to pull out some pretty moving moments. The huge set of John Lee Beatty adds to the melancholy the brothers share in this mammoth home and the lighting and sound also greatly added to the evening. 

If nothing else, it definitely made me want to look up the film and watch it again. 

A Different Life After Being Governor

There are people in the world that would never give someone a break or a second chance. That demand documentaries answer the questions THEY want answered. That believe they have a certain right to those in the public eye because those people 'chose' to make themselves public. 
That's what I found after watching the HBO documentary Fall to Grace about Jim McGreevey and then reading reviews and articles about it. Writers and reviewers wanted the story to continue where he left off when he walked away from office. They felt his memoir, going on Oprah and all that 'coming clean' wasn't enough. They needed the why/where/who answered.
That didn't seem to be what filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi was in search of when she decided to follow him around.
Yes, one can criticize that there seems to be much hugging of the women in prison that McGreevey is spending his days counseling. And that he appears to still be campaigning when walking the streets of Newark and people come up to him. But that could also just be part of having been in the public eye for so long - people are going to approach you on the street.
My take away from the documentary: I saw a very caring man that seems to truly believe in what he is doing. Debate all you want that he should have come out of the closet sooner - but this man was torn for years between what his religion taught him and who he really was. Do I hate that men in the closet ruin the lives of their wives? Absolutely. But that's not what this documentary is about.
It is about someone changing course midway through life. And actually - it hardly deals with him being gay. That's but one aspect of his life now. He is a father and he is partnered and he and his husband go about as everyone else. But like I've blogged before about 'regular' every day people making career changes later in life...this is a prime example of it. Out of the political eye. Trying to let go of that ego that made him seek attention and fame. I saw a loving man that cares for these people in the prison system that he believes are left alone. He identifies with them and he leans on something else that has always been very important to him: his faith. We see in the tabloids that he wants to be a priest and his turned down by the Episcopal Church. But from this documentary, you see a man who is living the life he feels he was called to live and I can't fault that. 
It takes a special person willing to give of their time to others. This was a man all about "me" and I saw a man about "them". I'm really glad I watched it and saw this other side to my former governor.
And I don't need answers about his personal life. I was simply happy to see he has found a way to switch courses later in life and it seems to bring him peace. 

Why Did Nashville Succeed and Not Smash?

Have you noticed that most critics and TV people compare the two shows “Dallas” and “Nashville” when talking about them in articles? One can assume this is because they are two southern cities in the title and came out around the same time.  I watched “Dallas” up until JR Ewing died, but sort of let it go after that. However – I do still keep up with “Nashville”.
I sort of think that comparison isn’t fair because the shows are very different. If we want to compare two shows currently on…we should look at “Nashville” and “Smash”. Both use a creative industry as the background of the stories they choose to tell. One is more main-stream in that many people across America listen to country music. The other is truly a niche market because it deals with the theater world in New York City.
I have to admit: I should absolutely love “Smash” because of all that it is and all that I have been my entire life. I’m all about musical theater and that’s the setting for this show. And I have tried these first two seasons to love it – sadly, I’m not the only one that feels that way. Ratings have not been good (4 million more people watch "Nashville" than "Smash") and NBC has moved it around and has decided to air the finale as a two hour special on the Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend (not the best time-slot). I guess fans should be happy they are getting an ending to it as network television has no problem nowadays cancelling a show and never letting us know what happens to the characters we have grown to love.
What did “Nashville” do that was right that “Smash” couldn’t tap into? I love the music on both shows, yet the stories and characters on “Nashville” simply pull me in much more than those on “Smash”. Both shows have performers at odds with each other, both have people sleeping around within the industry and both give us drama (with a capital D).  But there is something in the writing of the Music City Capital tale that makes me care about these people when the other has me longing for another song by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.  


I'm sure I'll tune into the finale in a month to see what becomes of Ivy and Karen, but I know it won't affect my summer with its departure. I wish viewers could have cared more about what happens in the making of a Broadway musical (and I really wish they'd just write Bombshell and get it on stage) - but for a story that makes me feel something; I'll continue to tune into ABC to see if country superstar Rayna James ever gets back together with her first love Deacon. (Of course - that's until ABC decides they are not pulling in enough viewers and replaces it with a Celebrity D-List reality show.)

Last Five Years Soars at Second Stage

I love musicals - especially those small gems that have cult followings, but that few people see. (I spent years searching those out for 4th Wall Theatre when I served as their artistic director.) So I realize my card should be revoked that I did not see “The Last Five Years” by Jason Robert Brown when it ran off-Broadway ten years ago. I love his work from “Songs for a New World” to “Parade”. The man is a genius as a composer/songwriter. In this piece, he has mixed his contemporary sound with a semi-autobiographical account of his first marriage and placed it on the stage for all to see: and all told through song.
The musical running at Second Stage Theatre has been extended several times and if you are in New York…you must go and see it. We witness the lives of two twenty-somethings as they meet, fall in love, marry and dissolve: all within five years. Jamie Wellerstein is an up and coming novelist who takes the literary world by storm (much as Jason Robert Brown did as a composer in his twenties) while Cathy Hiatt is one of the thousands of people in New York trying to make it as an actress, but doesn’t quite  get there. I give nothing away by saying the marriage dissolves, because the story is told through two perspectives: Jamie moves forward and Cathy starts at the end and moves backwards. It may sound confusing, but it is cleverly done in this song cycle – with the two never really connecting except in the middle when it is at their wedding.
Brown has directed this version himself and I can’t help but wonder what that must be like for him. As a writer myself, I realize I put some of my own life into my writing – but his former wife actually tried to get this show stopped when it first came out. Distance and time must place a new perspective on it for this writer/director. But he has done a great job at directing and the clever sets and lighting all add to a wonderful production.
The two actors are incredible. I think I’m in love with Betsy Wolfe and now I must see everything she does. She is completely adorable with her comedic numbers, heartbreaking when she starts the show with a bang, and a belt that shakes the cavernous room at Second Stage while also drifting up into angelic soprano areas. I found myself grinning ear-to-ear when she was on stage.  Adam Kantor makes the role his own, even while being directed by the man who ‘semi’ lived it. The man has a vocal range from bottom to top that does not quit. Watching him progress in his career with exuberance is delightful and he carefully maneuvers some pitfalls written into his role.
I’m twenty years beyond my twenties, but I still recall those years in NYC when I was striving to balance career and relationship. It’s never easy. As a novelist, I watched carefully as Jamie’s world takes over the marriage because even at 44 I want to make sure that never happens in my own life. So the show has themes that many couples can relate to – no matter our age.
The one issue I would have with it is that we don’t get a sense of where the love came from. We see devotion from Cathy and we see a lot of ego from Jamie. We wonder why Jamie would ever leave her (especially with such a vibrant actress playing the role). But if you look closely at the lyrics – I think Brown has put it in there. Jamie sings the word “I” over and over. Even when he has an amazing song called “If I Didn’t Believe in You” (which when I heard Norbert Leo Butz sing from the original recording it broke my heart) – the arrogance of Jamie shines through in Kantor’s performance. Maybe we would have felt more for this man climbing the literary ladder and leaving his wife behind had he only said “If you didn’t believe in me…” But Jamie makes it all about himself – all the time. Perhaps this was Brown’s way of apologizing to a past love. I guess we’ll never know.
The musical is being made into a film starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. (I have a huge crush on Kendrick too in every movie she makes.) I’ll be very curious to see what director Richard LaGravenese does with a stage show that has two characters singing monologues and never connecting to each other on stage. Can't wait to see!

A Birthday to Remember Childhood

I started my birthday this year in the best possible way I can imagine: speaking to a group of preschoolers about my book Chicken Boy. Those tiny faces were adorable as we talked about how we are different and not to ‘point at’, ‘make fun of’, or fear someone…simply because they are different. I carry that message to every school I attend. Because I see how people stare at my godson when we are in public and he does something that others may feel is ‘not normal’.
My birthday lunch was spent with that godson and his family and the 4th grader was enjoying feeding me my birthday dessert (as he doesn't like chocolate sauce and it was covered in it). Spending so much time with kids made this old guy feel very young at heart that day.
And then the terrible afternoon happened in Boston at the marathon: during a joyous event that carries so many messages of endurance, personal victories, and remembrance of tragedies past.
My mind went back to the children I had been with in that morning. How parents find themselves talking to their kids about these heinous events that occur in our world. How they continue to make them feel safe. And how they talk about the word ‘fear’ that I had just mentioned in the morning.
Every generation has had to deal with some huge event that has placed a dark stamp on history, but here in the US, this generation seems to be dealing with so much more. Parents are constantly finding themselves talking to their kids about awful events and one can only imagine how it is shaping their tiny worlds…can only imagine what they are thinking in their heads. I salute the people who raise children in today’s society. I admire their courage and strength as they tuck in their little ones with encouraging words that everything will be ‘ok’.
So, this one birthday went from an overwhelming feeling of joy to incredible sadness. But I used it as a time (as so many of us do) to evaluate where I am in my life and what is important. For me: it’s important that kids get to be kids. I loved my childhood and I hate to think that those growing up today will one day spend their birthday thinking about how they grew up in a world they feared.  

Searching for Utopia at The Madrid

There is so much a playwright can learn when attending a new play. You see what works in the piece, what doesn't. How a cast and a director can take the piece and make it come alive. How important structure is to taking an audience on the journey.
After attending a performance last evening, I read people's comments on the NY Timestheater review for “The Madrid” at the Manhattan Theater Club. It seemed as if the average theater-goer was not enjoying their experience at New York City Center. Written by Liz Flahive and directed by Leigh Silverman, I personally couldn't help but feel at times the two were at odds with each other: not sure of the tone they wanted to convey in the evening.
Edie Falco plays Martha: a teacher who is 'done' with it all. She leaves her classroom and her family and we spend an entire act trying to figure out what is going on and why. The daughter recently out of college returns to live with her father and take up her mother's life. We meet neighbors who speak of how much they miss Martha. Everyone misses Martha. Yet the Martha we have seen doesn't seem like someone you would miss.
And then we get to act II and we discover the unending string of times Martha has wanted to leave the family before and yet she longs to have a relationship with her daughter: the person that seems to have been the cause for her wanting to leave – that she wanted to give up motherhood. (Is this making sense to you?) It doesn't make a lot of sense on stage either. And yet, there is something very moving about it and left me so melancholy. (Strange for a show billed as a comedy.) For those that know the musical "Next To Normal" - I see similar themes running in both. It's just that “The Madrid” doesn't ever quit 'get' there. 
Edie Falco is an amazing actress and I love to see her perform. But I get the sense she's not always certain of Martha's decisions either. Yet some of the scenes between her and the daughter (Phoebe Strole) are so real and raw. Frances Sternhagenplays a grandmother teetering on the edge of alzheimer's, but the comic relief she brings to the show feels like it belongs in a different play. (I saw Sternhagen in “Driving Miss Daisy” many, many years ago and loved seeing her again.) There are quirky moments that pop up - I suppose as the author stating that life is never black and white. There is comedy in every dramatic situation. We long for things we don't have: that "Madrid/Utopia" that will make us happy...but we don't always achieve it.
The play has a feel like an indie film and I almost believe pacing and theme would probably be better in film. This may be one of the reasons so many of those comments I first mentioned had such a tough time with the play. For me, it wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen – but it did bring up many questions for people to carry out of the theater about marriage, relationships, and put me in a very philosophical mood.

Lucky to See Hanks

Print is a dying art, but those that are journalist love what they do more than anything in their lives.
That is sort of the theme I walked away with after seeing Broadway’s Lucky Guy : Nora Ephron’s final nod to a business she was a part of for many years and the last thing she wrote before passing away.
You can’t attend this show without speaking about seeing an amazing ensemble. And I do mean ensemble. Yes, Tom Hanks is the main character. He never leaves the stage. He gives a performance like…well, like Tom Hanks: the lovable actor we all crave in movies. The man that can win you with a smile or a lilt in his voice, no matter the character he is playing. 
But this IS an ensemble with everyone taking a bow together at show’s end. For me, Courtney B. Vance is pure magic and I couldn’t take my eyes from him while on stage. So wonderful to see him back on Broadway. He made a splash in the 80s in the play Fences with James Earl Jones and has mastered quite a career since. The stage is full of movie and television personalities including: Richard Masur which has done everything from One Day at A Time to one that has always stayed with me from the early 80s Fallen Angel, Christopher McDonald most recently from Harry’s Law (but he’ll always be Goose from Grease 2 to me), Maura Tierney from ER and NewsRadio, and Hanks’ other Bosom Buddy Peter Scolari along with a fine group of other stage and film actors. (Stephen Tyron Williams makes his Broadway debut in a five minute scene playing Abner Louima and blew me away.)
These actors took what many reviewers have felt is not the best script (though most are afraid to dwell on that because it is Ms. Ephron’s final work and she is not here to defend it), and created full blown characters. That alone is worth the admission if you are an actor looking to hone your craft. You get an evening of witnessing what it means to create a story that is not on the page. Something actors must always do and all of these fine people did a wonderful job with it; some better than others…but that is the nature of the size of their roles. (Insert ‘no such thing is a small part, only small actors’ here.)
George C. Wolfe is one of those directors I absolutely admire and I love what he has done with this cinematic script. And it is. It is written and cut like a movie. The action doesn’t stop. We move from one setting to another – quickly. (And I’ll admit I love that as I’ve been told I tend to write plays in that fashion: not the standard one living room set and everyone enters and plays their scenes there.) We are inundated with the smell of herbal cigarettes as everyone smokes. A newsroom in the late 80s: you couldn’t get away from it. (Sometimes Peter Scolari’s job is actually to stay on stage and smoke to continue to fill the stage.)
What we don’t get much of is a story that makes us feel something. It all comes at you so quickly and if you are not part of that life, you may be glancing at your watch (which I saw people next to me doing). In Ephron’s attempt to shed light on the real life story of Mike McAlary who jumped jobs from newspaper to newspaper in the 80s and 90s and who won the Pulitzer Prize before his death on Christmas Day in 1998, we end up with a bio-drama that feels more like a documentary that is just giving us the facts. When the show would stop for a moment and allow the characters to have a scene, I felt I could breathe and settle into the show. But then we were off and running to get through about 15 years of his life. Critics seem to dislike Act II and yet – I found it to be the one that had the most heart: possibly because we got more dialogue and scenes and less of one of the actors spitting out exposition to the audience in the form of a “newsboy headline cry”. 
McAlary had many moments in his life that could have been explored in play form (and actually another play on him ran off-Broadwayin 2011). He was a controversial man that infuriated many with his style, demeanor and especially his coverage of rape victim Jane Doe. But this incarnation of his life feels like an attempt to turn an everyman into a hero – as quickly as possible. To do so, you skim over his life and you cast the most famous everyman that people adore: Tom Hanks. Why We Love Hanks
It is Hanks that makes me feel for McAlary towards the end of his life. And yet, I’m not sure if I were feeling for McAlary or just caught up in the glory that is witnessing Tom Hanks mesmerize us with another fine performance.
You go to the theater. You tell me how lucky McAlary was or if you feel lucky for snatching up tickets. And then come back and let me know your thoughts on it.

Fate Found in Sedona

Do you believe in fate?

A year ago I went to Sedona for my birthday. My book was launching that same day and I needed a chance to regroup, rethink, recharge. Everyone had said Sedona was the place for that and they were so correct.
While there we saw signs for the film Sedona  all over and I knew I wanted to see it. But came home, forgot to look it up and it passed from my mind. Sometimes that little thing called fate plays a part in what happens in our life and because of a certain social site - I was up this morning watching the film on iTunes.
Exactly what I needed.
A year later and my life has gone in many directions since then, but it feels like time to regroup and take stock again as my birthday approaches. This wonderful film made me think of all of that and more. It not only captures that town so beautifully, but is all about destiny and how certain people come into our lives at the right moment (and oddly enough - birthdays play a significant point in the story). I found filmmaker Tommy Stovall to have such a great eye for both creating a gift to the town in which he resides and for telling a story that pulls in audiences with a mix of comedy and drama. Full of quirky characters that are not always found in standard Hollywood films - this film captured the essence of the vortexes of Sedona, the craziness that some feel about the people that live there, and kudos for showing a gay couple that completely plays against stereotypes. The film intertwines the lives of two very driven strangers and follows them in the course of one day.  Actors we recognize such as Francis Fisher, Seth Peterson, Beth Grant, Christopher Atkins make up this fine ensemble cast (which was also another coup for a indie director). I also really love the tone of the film: how it rides the line while dealing with some dramatic situations and yet keeping it light because life is not always black or white when it comes to drama and comedy.
A good film stays with you and causes you to think. I've been lost in my head for a while lately, but this one really added on additional layers about doing what makes you happy. Not allowing those we love to get lost in our lives. And honestly believing that things happen for a reason. As a writer and someone who has been in the entertainment industry in some capacity for many years, lately my mind has gone more and more to film: how my novels would translate into this medium. 
Tommy StovallSeeing films like Sedona renews that dream as I witness others living out theirs. And I don't simply mean the story we see on the screen. I mean the one behind the camera with filmmaker Tommy Stovall. A man who (while getting his degree in film at the University of Texas) started his own production company and worked in that industry all through college. Who went on to challenge himself in the middle of a very competitive field and raised the funds to produce his first film in 2005 and then did it again with Sedona in 2011. 
Hats off to, Mr. Stovall for living his dream. And for making a really great film that not only inspired me this morning while watching it - but makes me want to return to Sedona again.
So DO you believe in fate? 
After watching "Sedona" ... you just might.