My Top 5 Obsessions This Week
Greetings To all new readers and welcome. Thank you to all my semi constant readers as well. Spring is here almost and the promise of renewal and hope and lots of entertainment ahead.
1) The Fiasco Production's new pared down version of Into The Woods focuses on the witty lyrics and beautiful songs and music. Scaled down to a cast of 10 with each actor playing multiple roles and minimal set design and costume has a 70s vibe and seems to revitalize the musical. For those of you that love lavish stage production and are expecting special effects this is not for you. But for Sondheim lovers and fans of just seeing a stripped down heartfelt production come and see it. Hilarious Darick Pead stole every scene he was in even as Milky White the cow and Florinda , Cinderella's stepsister. Lisa Helmi Johanson as Tough Little Red Riding Hood was a delight.
2) From Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino comes a new series on
Amazon for their new pilot season. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Centered around a 1950s' housewife in New York who decides after a series of events to
become a comic. This has all the fantastic earmarks of a Sherman-Palladino
series with witty dialogue and attention to the smallest details and pop culture references. A great cast featuring Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel and the wonderful Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Luke Kirby as a young Lenny Bruce. I want to see more of this right away. I almost see a trend here with shows featuring the behind the scenes look at Stand -up comedy ( Crashing, anyone?)
3) Anything with John Lithgow is a must watch for me. Trial and Error the new sitcom that spoofs the crime documentaries that have flooded the small screens for a few years now is a perfect set up. Lithgow plays a small town poetry
professor accused of murdering his wife and the "Northeastern " lawyer in town to defend him. It is early days yet but the creative forces behind this are some of the best comedy minds and have a great track record so far. The supporting cast is often hilarious with Nicholas D'Agosto, Jayma Mays and Sherri Sheppard as Anne Flatch the receptionist who has a number of bizarre disorders that include an inability to recognize faces. This could be right up there with The Office and 30 Rock. Time will tell.
4) A Netflix original movie I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a true original. Starring Melanie Lynskey as a depressed Nurse Ruth and Elijah Wood as Tony as an oddball loner who team up as vigilante sleuths to find who burglarized Ruth's house. Lots of dark twisty turns and bizarre characters along the way will keep the suspense going and the unlikely relationship that builds from these two characters made this a surprise favorite.
2) From Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino comes a new series on
Amazon for their new pilot season. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Centered around a 1950s' housewife in New York who decides after a series of events to
become a comic. This has all the fantastic earmarks of a Sherman-Palladino
series with witty dialogue and attention to the smallest details and pop culture references. A great cast featuring Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel and the wonderful Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Luke Kirby as a young Lenny Bruce. I want to see more of this right away. I almost see a trend here with shows featuring the behind the scenes look at Stand -up comedy ( Crashing, anyone?)
professor accused of murdering his wife and the "Northeastern " lawyer in town to defend him. It is early days yet but the creative forces behind this are some of the best comedy minds and have a great track record so far. The supporting cast is often hilarious with Nicholas D'Agosto, Jayma Mays and Sherri Sheppard as Anne Flatch the receptionist who has a number of bizarre disorders that include an inability to recognize faces. This could be right up there with The Office and 30 Rock. Time will tell.
4) A Netflix original movie I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a true original. Starring Melanie Lynskey as a depressed Nurse Ruth and Elijah Wood as Tony as an oddball loner who team up as vigilante sleuths to find who burglarized Ruth's house. Lots of dark twisty turns and bizarre characters along the way will keep the suspense going and the unlikely relationship that builds from these two characters made this a surprise favorite.
5) Kendra Tanacea is able to put a voice to the feelings we all carry with us in our daily lives with her new book of poetry A Filament Burns in Blue Degrees. Eloquent and illuminating , these poems resonate with all of us. The yearning and uncanny ability to hone in on the zeitgeist is like an X-ray into our lives. Check out Thanksgiving and Divorced at Forty.
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