Review: “Dear Evan Hansen”

Like most musical theatre fans, I was all over the “Dear Evan Hansen” Broadway cast recording when it was released in early 2017. The collection of pop tunes written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who were also behind the popular musicals “La La Land” (which I like) and “The Greatest Showman” (which I loathe) […]

Cinema Classics: “42nd Street”

“42nd Street” is the definitive backstage musical. It’s also the film that likely saved the movie musical genre. In the early 1930s, a slew of poorly made musicals following the advent of talkies failed to gain a following amongst critics and audiences. “42nd Street”, directed by Lloyd Bacon and featuring spectacularly-shot musical numbers choreographed by the great […]

Cinema Classics: “Footlight Parade” (1933)

Following the huge success of their iconic musical “42nd Street”, director Lloyd Bacon and choreographer Busby Berkeley topped it the next year with a bigger, better film: “Footlight Parade”. James Cagney welcomed the opportunity to break free of his popular gangster persona and return to his song-and-dance roots as the main character, Chester Kent, a […]

Review: “Annette”

Toward the end of Noah Baumbach’s 2019 film “Marriage Story,” Charlie, played by Adam Driver, breaks into an emotional rendition of Sondheim’s “Being Alive” from the musical “Company” while at a restaurant with friends, facing the dissolution of his marriage. It’s a beautiful scene—my favorite in the entire film, actually—and one that made me immediately […]

Review: “In the Heights”

We’re likely all familiar with how ground-breaking Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical “Hamilton” was, but it’s safe to say that that show might not exist were it not for the success of Miranda’s first show, “In the Heights.” When “In the Heights” opened on Broadway in 2008, it entered a space predominantly inhabited by shows made […]

Review: “Best Summer Ever”

Plot-wise, there isn’t much that is new about the musical “Best Summer Ever,” directed by Michael Parks Randa and Lauren Smitelli. The story involves two teens who meet at a dance summer camp and fall in love before going their separate ways. Tony (Ricky Wilson Jr.) is supposedly going home to New York, where he […]

Streaming Movies: December, Part 1

Wow, what a busy month! Despite widespread theater closures and release date delays, awards season and the holiday movie season are both definitely in full swing. I’m presenting some mini reviews of some of the new movies that have been released on streaming services this month so far, including potential awards contenders “Mank” and “Sound […]

Holiday Classics: “White Christmas” (1954)

Irving Berlin’s song “White Christmas” had been out for around twelve years by the time a new movie musical of the same title that revolved around his music was made. Directed by the great Michael Curtiz, the plot of “White Christmas” is derived from the 1942 musical “Holiday Inn”, which also starred Bing Crosby and […]

Holiday Classics: “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944)

The Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane song “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a standard during the holidays, and has been ever since Judy Garland first sung it in the 1944 MGM musical “Meet Me in St. Louis”. But if it wasn’t for Garland, it probably would have been a much different song. Martin […]

Holiday Classics: “Holiday Inn” (1942)

Don’t get me wrong, I love “White Christmas”. But there’s something special about “Holiday Inn”, the 1942 film that 1954’s “White Christmas” was a loose remake of. “Holiday Inn” follows song and dance team Jim Hardy (Bing Crosby) and Ted Hanover (Fred Astaire). Jim plans to retire to his farm and marry the other member […]