Holiday Traditions: Wickedness and Music | "Wicked: For Good" and "Song Sung Blue"

As you know, it is a halachic tradition to see a movie on Christmas Day, followed by Chinese Food. We arranged the Chinese Food through our synagogue’s brotherhood, but it was up to us to pick the movies. Normally, we’re live theatre folks: If you follow my blog at all, you know that we see live theatre or other forms of live performance almost every week (on average). But movies, in a movie theater? That’s reserved for the week around Christmas. I also don’t feel the need for full writeups (as I do with stage shows) for movies, especially given the size of the production team compared to live theatre production teams. That’s why IMDB exists. So here are some thoughts about the movies we saw this holiday season.

Wicked: For Good

GIven that last year’s holiday movie was “Wicked: Part 1“,  it is probably no surprise that this year’s pair of holiday movies started out with “Wicked: For Good” on Erev Christmas. Before we get started on the movie itself, a small bitch about the titles: I get that the producers changed their mind on the title after the first movie was released, but the fact that there’s a Part 1 without a Part 2 just gnaws at my brain. If an autauer as great as George Lucas can retitle “Star Wars” to “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope” after its release, then you can fix the title mismatch. Rename one of the parts of make things consistent. Ideally, the solution would be something along the lines of: “Wicked (Act 1): Defying Gravity” and “Wicked (Act 2): For Good”. With that off my chest…

This is a movie. This means that much of the audience was unfamiliar with the original musical by Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz, let alone the original books by Gregory Maguire. This also means that they went into the movie expecting a continuation of the lightness and humor of the first movie. They didn’t get it. I felt bad for the family sharing our row at the theatre who brought their smalls (under 10 years old) with them. They were scared by the darkness, and bored by the love story, and as a result, were crying and couldn’t sit still. Folks: Act 2 of “Wicked” is dark. It was extremely dark in the original book, and just a bit lighter in the stage production, but is dark none-the-less. Folks should expect this, even given the MGM film. The focus of the story, the “Wicked Witch”, dies in the end. This can’t be a light story where the two girlfriends go skipping down the path together.

Gregory Maguire wrote his original book (which was the first of four in the series) as a political allegory during the Clinton administration. According to Wikipedia, while living in London in the early 1990s, he noticed that while the problem of evil had been explored from many different perspectives, those perspectives were seldom synthesized together. He wondered whether calling a person evil might be enough to cause a self-fulfilling prophecy. He decided to use the milieu of Oz to explore the story: hence, “Wicked”. His politics got more pointed in the later books: In particular, his second book in the series “Son of a Witch”, explores the political torture of the second Bush administration. The musical changed the story quite a bit (especially the ending), but kept the political themes, and the Act 2 movie leaned into that even more.

I mention this all because this really shows the adaptability of Oz. L. Frank Baum wrote the original story (before he started the rest of the children book series) as a political allegory about the McKinley administration and the silver standard (hence the silver shoes). Maguire wrote his first story exploring what makes people evil, as well as the nature of the power of propaganda and attacks on class. Yet viewing the story today, it is a wonderful commentary on the Trump administration, the administration’s manipulation of “truth”, and of the harnessing of hatred of a particular subclass of citizens to gain and retain power. The Wizard’s song “Wonderful” exposes this well, and is perhaps the political heart of the story (the emotional heart, as always, is the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda). I’m sure that much of the audience was unaware of this political message going in: Hopefully, they will learn from it. We are still dealing with the Carney who is running a government based on carnival flim-flam alone (and no real skills, other than charm), who is making up and selling a story, and who is abusing contributing citizens to gain and retain power. Children’s stories are often used to teach adult lessons in disguise.

The performances in the movie were outstanding. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were great, and bought distinct personalities and exceptionally strong singing voices to the role. I always love Ethan Slater (who I’ll always think of a Spongebob from the Spongebob Musical), and Jonathan Bailey made a great Fiyero.

The movie made a number of changes to the original story (for example, Elphaba’s father was originally an itinerant preacher). The movie also expanded a number of parts of the story, and made many aspects of the connection to the 1939 movie a lot more explicit (certainly more explicit than in the musical). The transformations of the Tin Man and Scarecrow were particularly strong. I did like how the ending ties well to the original story and map of Oz (and that’s all I’ll say).

Lastly, as I noted in my original comment on Facebook, it is amazing how many people it takes to make a movie, especially when compared to a stage production. The production team for the stage consists of perhaps 20 to 30 people, with perhaps another 20 in the costume and scenery shops. The Wicked movies listed at least 200 people, I’d guess.

One article I read noted that this movie was key for Universal, which viewed the movie as a tentpole franchise. Unlike their action movie or animation franchises, this movie appeals to women and brings them into the theaters. Hence, the intense and almost overwhelming marketing blitz for the pair of movies, which continues unabated. I’ve already heard rumors that there will be more movies in this franchise, although it is unclear in what direction they will go. It is hard to imagine them continuing with Maguire’s remaining 3 books (“Son of a Witch”, “A Lion Among Men”, and “Out of Oz”), simply because of their darkness, political intrigue, and work required to musicalize them. More likely would be Oz-adjacent stories set in the Maguire/Holzman universe, with new music. I’m not sure those will succeed, but given the desire of the audience, they probably will. Get ready for “Wicked: The Sparkly and the Furious”.

An excellent movie, well worth seeing. I predict that this pair of movies will continue to be shown and reshown on your television screens for a long time, just like the ubiquitous “Back to the Future”.

Song Sung Blue

When I first heard about the movie “Song Sung Blue” and saw advertising for it, I was afraid it would be another Neil Diamond bio-pic. This didn’t interest me at all, as I had recently seen the excellent “A Beautiful Noise” at the Pantages. I also had no interest in seeing Jackman, whose musical star was tainted by the mess with Sutton Foster (who I think is a wonderful Broadway artist). But when my daughter was in town last week, she suggested that we go see “Song Sung Blue”, indicating that my concerns were misplaced. In particular, it was NOT a Neil Diamond bio-pic; rather, it was a story about two real Neil Diamond interpreters and was based on real life.

In parallel, I started reading some stories in the NY Times about Kate Hudson’s performance,  and how it was particularly strong.  As that article starts:

She’s a middle-aged, blue-collar amputee who sings backup in a kitschy Neil Diamond cover band. “I don’t want to be a hairdresser,” she says with a heavy Wisconsin accent. “I want to sing and dance.”

It’s not exactly a role that shouts Oscar. At first glance, it reads more like Razzie bait.

But the right actress in the right part: As played by Kate Hudson in the musical bio-dramedy “Song Sung Blue,” arriving in theaters on Christmas Day, the character, Claire, transcends her movie-of-the-week attributes — so much so that Hudson could land in the best actress race at the Academy Awards.

This sounded intriguing. I could overlook Hugh Jackman for that. So we booked tickets for this movie as our Christmas Day movie. I’m really glad we did.

This movie tells the story of Mike and Claire Sardina, who became famous as Lightning and Thunder, a group that interpreted Neil Diamond music at state fairs in the midwest, going so far as to open for Pearl Jam (yes, that’s true). Mike was a down-on-his-luck cover impersonation artist. He meets Claire, another such artist, and falls for her professionally and emotionally. The movie explores their ups and downs, and how music was the heart of their relationship. It is based mostly on real life, although there were a few changes from the real story of the Sardina’s. I found the story compelling, although the way the director presented the story there was almost too much foreshadowing. Some of the plot beats were predictable from the telegraphing alone (unlike real life). The movie would almost have been stronger without them (although it does make me curious to see the original 2008 documentary).

Hugh Jackman’s performance was good, and he makes a credible Neil Diamond impersonator. However (and this is especially true listening to the soundtrack of the movie in isolation), his Australian accent comes slightly through (e.g., at times I thought I was listening to Peter Allen singing Neil Diamond). If you don’t get that reference, Hugh Jackman burst onto the stage as a singer through the musical “A Boy from Oz“, which tells the story of Peter Allen). I don’t recall that accent coming through in “The Greatest Showman”, but now I’ll listen for it. His acting was very strong. For those that know him only from Wolverine, this might be a shock. For those that know him from stage or Showman, it is less of a surprise. He does bring quite a bit of depth to the role.

Kate Hudson is remarkable. I had no idea she was that strong of singer: she handles both the Neil Diamond and the Patsy Cline numbers with aplomb. Her performance, as the Times noted, was Oscar-worthy. She becomes Claire Sardina — and unlike a lot of actresses, is unafraid to do scenes sans makeup and showing her real age and vulnerability. She brings the character alive through performance alone. In some ways, this is unsurprising given her parents. But it also shows that she has been underestimated by the Hollywood machine. Hopefully, this will open more doors for her and a wider range of options.

Other performances were equally strong: I didn’t realize until the credits that Jim Belushi was involved. I was also particularly taken by Ella Anderson as Rachel (Claire’s daughter) and King Princess (as Angelina, Mike’s daughter) and their relationship to their parents. Hudson Hensley was also strong as Dana, Claire’s other child. Dana’s status is quietly male in the movie: In the articles I’ve seen about the real-life Dayna, I’ve seen all sorts of pronouns being used. Again, this is a movie that will play to middle-America, perhaps making a statement about acceptance they don’t realize they are getting.

Again, this is a movie I strongly recommend.

And thus, our two movies for 2025 are achieved. We now return you to your regularly posted theatre reviews.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Holiday Traditions: Wickedness and Music | "Wicked: For Good" and "Song Sung Blue" by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.

Sausage Making | "Stereophonic" @ BiH/Pantages

There’s an adage that goes something like: Sausage is tasty, but you don’t want to see how it is made. If there is a short summary of “Stereophonic“, which we saw last night at the Hollywood Pantages as part of the Broadway in Hollywood season, that would be it.

Going into this show, I didn’t know what to expect. Coming into the 2024 Tony awards, it had loads of buzz. Loads of Tony nominations. According to Wikipedia: “13 overall nominations at the 77^th Tony Awards, breaking the record previously held by the Jeremy O. Harris play Slave Play (2020) to receive the most nominations for a play in the history of the ceremony; The play proceeded to win five awards: Best Play (which it also won at the Drama Desk Award, the Drama League Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award), Best Direction of a Play, Best Featured Actor in a Play (for Will Brill; Eli Gelb and Tom Pecinka also received nominations for the award), Best Scenic Design of a Play and Best Sound Design of a Play. Juliana Canfield and Sarah Pidgeon both received nominations for Best Featured Actress in a Play.”

The Broadway production received excellent reviews. I had gotten the album and was underwhelmed, but then again: This was a play with music, not a musical. So based on the Tony awards, and the performance at the Tony Awards, I was looking forward to the show. But then I started reading the comments when Broadway in Hollywood was posting about the show on Facebook. Comments like:

“Most nominated play in theater? Then theater is dead. Our entire group left at intermission tonight.”.

“I saw some comments before we saw it on Tuesday that the Pantages is too big for this particular show. And after leaving at Intermission (which we’ve NEVER done before), I’d have to agree. 1/4 of the stage was cut off for us and the play was incredibly slow.”

“Was really looking forward to this production. I’ve had season tickets for years here, and have been going to theater my entire life. I have NEVER walked out of a production before. We left at intermission.”

The pre-show buzz was so bad that Broadway in Hollywood felt the need to manage expectations, sending out an email that said to expect “cinematic, almost documentary-style pacing” and “Stereophonic paces in real time with conversations that overlap, spark, and erupt”, noting “Trust the silence. Sometimes the quietest moments are the loudest.”

But, then again, I also saw comments praising the show. So I really didn’t know what to expect going in. Would this be a disaster on the level of “Girl From the North Country”? Would this be spectacular, on the level of “To Kill A Mockingbird” (the last non-musical to play the Pantages)? I just didn’t know. All I really knew is that this was a play based on the making of a record album, supposedly based on Fleetwood Mac and the creation of the 1977 album “Rumours”, and that the Broadway running time of 3 hours, 10 minutes had been cut to 2 hours, 50 minutes.

So, here are my thoughts:

First, I think this was very much a case of a good show in the wrong theatre, with the wrong audience. The Broadway in Hollywood audience has been trained on musicals, with the best reception for spectacular, uplifting musicals. This was a dark (in theme) downer of a show. It wasn’t musical. It had slow pacing, with a documentary style, meaning the story wasn’t spoon fed to the audience. It had a single set that was boxed-in on the stage, meaning that much was lost in the cavern that is the Pantages. In short: This wasn’t playing to an audience that was receptive to the story, and the theatre was so big it swallowed the performances. These were two fatal flaws that doomed the reception of the show for much of the Pantages audience. “Stereophonic” would have been received much better on the Ahmanson stage; it might even have been acclaimed had it be done in one of Los Angeles’ mid-size prestige houses such as the Pasadena Playhouse or the Geffen.

Second, reviews were right in that it was a bit slow in its pacing. Taking a show on tour allows the production team a chance to review and improve the production for its eventual long life. A prime example of this is “The Addams Family”. That show had book and pacing problems on Broadway. It was revisited for the tour, and the result was a production that is now extremely popular and is being done everywhere. The production team of “Stereophonic” wisely cut out 30 minutes in preparing the tour version, as noted in the program. I think they could have tightened the production just a bit more.

Thirdly, this was not a production for everyone. There was strong language, there was reference to sex and drugs and rock and roll. There were fights. There was overtalking. There was silence. This wasn’t a feel-good show. The characters ended the show in a different place than where they started, but it was arguably a much worse place in terms of relationships and the band’s future. Those looking for a light musical would be disappointed. Those looking for a traditional play with a traditional structure and storytelling would be disappointed. This was a play for a more sophisticated audience who were willing to tough it out for a good conclusion.

That said: This wasn’t a “I Caligula: An Insanity Musical” level train-wreck. It wasn’t a “Girl from the North Country” level disaster. It was even better than mediocre. I was interested in the characters, and what happened to them. The story was interesting, and the behind-the-scenes of the making of an album was interesting. It clearly is a pressure cooker, and a good environment for story telling. It could have used a bit more dramatization to clarify the story and heighten interest. It probably had more relevance for those familiar with Fleetwood Mac and the “Rumours” album (I think I might have one Fleetwood Mac album in my library — it is a group I never knowingly listened to).

If I had to rate it, it was on the level of “OK” to “good”. I enjoyed the story, but I don’t really have a desire to see it again. But this clearly is a play not for everyone. I did like the Four Rules for Engineers stated early on in the show: 1. Show up. 2. Pay Attention. 3. Tell the truth. 4. Deal with the consequences

The performances were strong. I particularly liked Jack Barrett’s Grover, Claire Dejean’s Diana, and Denver Milord’s Peter.

“Stereophonic” continues at the Hollywood Pantages until January 2, 2026. You can get tickets through the Pantages website. Be forewarned that this isn’t a show for everyone: There were a number of people that left before and during intermission.

Other December Live Performances

You may have noticed a dearth of reviews during December. Part of that was due to the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference, which was in Waikiki the week of December 8, and prevented us from seeing shows the first and second weekends of December. However, while at the Conference, we did see the Pa’ina Waikiki Luau at Waikiki Beach Marriott. We actually coordinated the attendance of a group of 245 conference attendees at the luau. The luau itself was spectacular, with hulu, island stories, fire dancing, and all other sorts of traditional dances. Of course, the best was when we quietly engineered for our conference chair to join the dancing on stage. I have heard there are videos of this, but I don’t have the links.

After we returned, we saw two live concert performances. I normally don’t review concert performances, but I’m listing them for completeness:

• Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson. I went in expecting this to be mostly Broadway music. Instead, it drew heavily from Ben’s solo albums and songwriting. It was an enjoyable show, and those more familiar with Ben’s music were really rocking out to it.
• Nochebuena: A Christmas Spectacular at the Soraya. This production featured Ballet Folklórico de Los Ángeles, Mariachi Pueblo Viejo from Tucson, and had as a special guest Ximena Sariñana. I didn’t understand much of the words, but the dance was spectacular.

Lastly, the Christmas period concluded as halachicly required, with two movies: “Wicked: For Good” and “Song Sung Blue”. Both were excellent.

Credits

Stereophonic. Written by David Adjmi. Original songs by Will Butler. Directed by Daniel Aukin.

Cast: Jack Barrett Grover; Claire Dejean Diana; Steven Lee Johnson Charlie; Emilie Kouatchou Holly; Cornelius McMoyler Simon; Denver Milord Peter; Christopher Mowod Reg. Understudies: Jake Regensburg u/s Grover, u/s Reg; Quinn Allyn Martin u/s Diana; Andrew Gombas u/s Charlie, u/s Peter; Lauren Wilmore u/s Holly; Eli Bridges u/s Simon.

Production and Creative: David Adjmi Playwright; Will Butler Original Songs and Orchestrations; Daniel Aukin Director; David Zinn Scenic Design; Enver Chakartash Costume Design; Jiyoun Chang Lighting Design; Ryan Rumery Sound Design; Robert Pickens & Katie Gell Hair and Makeup Design; Justin Craig Music Director and Orchestrations; Alldaffer & Donadio Casting Casting; Gigi Buffington Vocal, Text, and Dialect Coach; Dylan Glen General Manager; Brian Decaluwe Company Manager; Geoff Maus Production Stage Manager; Holly Adam Stage Manager; Work Light Productions Production Management; Bond Theatrical Tour Booking, Marketing & Publicity; Ray Wetmore & JR Goodman Production Props Supervisor; Ann James Intimacy Coordinator; Drew Leary Fight Director.

Favorite Minor Credit: Work Light Productions Tax Credit Consultant.

Administrivia

I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, Chromolume Theatre ^NEW, and 5-Star Theatricals. We just added Chromolume Theatre as our intimate theatre subscription — we subscribed there pre-pandemic when they were at their West Adams location, but they died back in 2018. They started back up last year (but we had seen all their shows); this year, their season is particularly interesting: The Color Purple, If/Then, Elegies (during Hollywood Fringe), and Roadshow (nee Bounce) [by Steven Sondheim]. Mind you, these are all in the intimate theatre setting, and this will be the first time Roadshow has been done in Los Angeles, to my knowledge. Information on purchasing their 2026 season is here. Our previous intimate theatre, Actors Co-Op, seems to be on hiatus.

I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• January: ♣ New Beginnings: A Chromolume Cabaret! at Chromolume; ♦ The Notebook at BIH/Pantages; ♦ All the Devils Are Here at The Broad; ♦ Jewish for Dinner at the Santa Monica Playhouse; ♣ Tom Chapin @ McCabes.
• February: ♦ Applause at MTG; ♦ Amadeus at Pasadena Playhouse; ♣ Anat Cohen at the Soraya; ♣ Preservation Hall Jazz Band at The Soraya.
• March: ✡ MoTAS Brotherhood Seder at Temple Beth Hillel; ♦ The Color Purple at Chromolume; ✡ MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at TBD; ♦ The Play That Goes Wrong at 5-Star Theatricals;  ♦ Here Lies Love at CTG/Mark Taper; ✡ MoTAS Poker Tournament; Spamlot at BIH/Pantages.
• April: ♦ Kim’s Convenience Store at CTG/Ahmanson; ♦ Ride the Cyclone at The Main; ♣ Jeremy Jordan at The Soraya; 🧬 California Science and Engineering Fair at CLU; ♦ Flower Drum Song at East/West Players

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Sausage Making | "Stereophonic" @ BiH/Pantages by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.