A Quiet Place, The Terror, Santa Clarita Diet, Lost in Space and Altered Carbon

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

For some reason I have been watching a lot of horror and sci- fi lately. As with many of us fans it takes a lot to scare us. Sometimes unsettling and creepy work even better for me. Here are a few highlights.

1) A Quiet Place , a hybrid of Signs and Cloverfield is as good if not better than both. I have never been in a theater so silent that every sound is amplified for maximum scare. Smart, well crafted and something totally different for this genre. In the year 2020 two years from now SOMETHING happened. Something BIG and we are seeing a family trying to survive in a remote farmhouse . Husband and wife team - in real life John Krazinski and Emily Blunt are struggling to keep their family safe and quiet. Because they can hear you! 

2)  The Terror a new series on AMC based on true events about two ships the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus venturing into uncharted territories searching for the treacherous Northwest Passage. The two ships become stuck in the ice and something unseen is stalking and killing the crew. Based on the best seller by Dan Simmons this atmospheric thriller is building each episode . It is great to see Jared Harris back on AMC.

3) Santa Clarita Diet streaming now 2nd season on Netflix is finally getting to the first season promises. The is a little more of the thriller portion to the storyline this season and some questions are being answered and new ones being raised.  The ball spider, feral zombies and the big question where did the  red clams come from and how many people are truly infected and will Nathan Fillion's head get renewed for the new season. I cannot wait.

4)  Lost in Space the reboot  now streaming on Netflix has my interest , and I am reserving my full opinion once I have finished the first season. Focusing more on the full impact of being stranded on another planet and sci-fi and less on the camp value of the original  Dr. Smith and iconic robot. I am a huge fan of Molly Parker and will watch anything she is in as well as the Indie darling Parker Posey  and the original disaster director Irwin Allen who created the original as well as the famous The Poseidon Adventure. I am hoping we get to see some of the acerbic wit that Posey is famous for in the Dr Smith character and maybe a bit of the light hearted comedy of the original 1965 series. This version has a robot that may or not be good and everyone has a secret, including  every one of the Robinson family. 

5) Altered Carbon  a Netflix Original series is set in the future where consciousness is digitized and stored in "stacks" and moved from sleeve to sleeve (bodies) when they begin to wear out. The plot is set in place when a prisoner is downloaded into a disgraced cop played by The Killing's handsome Joel Kinnaman who is hired by wealthy aristocrat James Purefoy ( at his most charismatic ) to solve his murder. Genre-bending and excellent cinematography make this a must watch for me.

Mean Girls ( Broadway) , Summer the Musical, Hello Dolly, Rise and Bananrama Tour

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

It has been a whirlwind lately of travel and shows. Including a new series that I absolutely recommend . I will get right to it.

1) Mean Girls on Broadway was a hilarious musical lighthearted romp that will appeal to the cult of Mean Girls fans and newbies who never saw the 2004 movie. Although Fetch may never happen this updated book by Tina Fey is worth it. Narrators Janis and Damian offer the opening song A Cautionary Tale with all the bite and wit you could hope for. Meet The Plastics was another favorite. Several standouts include the amazing scene stealer Grey Henson as Damien who is” “Too Gay to Function” Taylor Louderman as the Apex Predator Regina George and Barrett Wilber Reed as Janis Sarkisian and a shout-out to Kerry Butler in multiple roles including the “cool mom” . Meeting Louderman and Henson after the show was another highlight.

2) Summer-The Donna Summer Musical just opening on Broadway was a trip down memory lane. From the iconic beginning as a stage pillar lifts with only a turntable that rises and plays the opening tune I was hooked. Tony winner LaChanze, Storm Lever and Ariana DeBose play Donna Summer at different phases of her life- Duckling Donna, Disco Donna and Diva Donna. From Love to Love You Baby, MacArthur Park, Hot Stuff, Bad Girls- the hits and storyline unfolded the story of her life and ended as all enchanted evenings do- with Last Dance. Amazing show and meeting the three talented ladies afterwards was the perfect ending.

3) Hello Dolly featuring the amazing Bernadette Peters in one of my favorite musicals was a dream come true. A magical evening with Peters breathing life into the indomitable Dolly Levi and the super talented Victor Garber as the gruff Horace Vandergelder. A standout was the superb Santino Fontana as Cornelius Hackl. Amazing sets , songs ended with the gracious Peters bending down and grasping my hand was the perfect ending for me to say Hello Dolly.

4) Rise the newest NBC offering is a musical drama hybrid with a largely unknown  cast with the exception of Josh Radnor and the amazing Rosie Perez stepping out of her comfort zone as two battling heads of a high school drama department. Bucking all the conventions of typical high school musicals newly minted head of drama Radnor decides to shake it up and put on the controversial Spring Awakening. Mixing it up with his own family, the principal and the coach while battling for the balance of work and home it is the Anti Glee. I love the whole cast including Stranger Things’ “ Barb” Shannon Purser who is everywhere these days. Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho and Ted Sutherland are my top two although everyone is great.

5)  Bananarama at the Warfield a few weekends ago was so great I wanted to make sure no one misses the tour. It marks the first time the original lineup of Siobhan Fahey, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward have toured North America.
Backed by a live band they opened with Nathan Jones, Cruel Summer and brought the house down with Na Na Hey Goodbye. This was a tight set and the girls(ladies) rocked the house to a sold out audience who danced like the House was on fire(which it was). I would love to catch them again.

Three’s Company

Did you enjoy watching characters like Nurse Terri Alden on Three's Company, or Ivannah from Mallrats, Verna from The Crossing Guard and Magda from Jane The Virgin? Please go to this link to learn more about Priscilla Barnes' career in TV and Movies: https://lnkd.in/ehKsdjq