Running for the Shelter of Mama's Little Helper

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“Next To Normal” Nothing Like Ordinary

By Skip Sheffield

Slow Burn Theatre’s “Next To Normal” is an extraordinary production of an extraordinarily dramatic musical show. You can find out how extraordinary weekends through Nov. 2 at West Boca High School Performing Arts Theatre.

It takes a lot of nerve to take on the challenge of a Pulitzer Prize-winning modern musical about mental illness. In its fifth season Slow Burn has plenty of nerve, courage, chutzpa- call it what you will. Without first-rate, heartfelt performances backed by precision live musical accompaniment, enhanced by dynamic lighting (Lance Blank), appropriate suburban costumes (Rick Pena) and a serviceable, evocative set (Sean McClelland), “Next To Normal’ could easily be a train wreck. This train stays on the track and arrives on time after two and a half hours of sometimes gut-wrenching emotion, often leavened by dark, sardonic humor.

Patrick Fitzwater is the engineer or director of this hot-burning train and Manny Schwartzman is the musical director, or in old railway terms, the fireman.

The combustible fuel is a cast of six wildly talented singer-actors of various ages, sizes and attitude.

Brian Yorkey’s book is a parable about the incomprehensible sorrow of bi-polar disorders and the detrimental effects on all who try to comprehend and coexist. The story is propelled by Tom Kitt’s musical score in a variety of styles, from rock to schmaltz and waltz, wistful ballads and stand-up-and-be counted anthems.

Diana (Sharyn Peoples) is a forty-something mom who was diagnosed with a bipolar disorder 16 years ago; not too long after giving birth to a daughter Natalie (Anne Chamberlain), now 16 and quite resentful.

Slow Burn co-artistic director Matthew Korinko is Diana’s infinitely patient, frustrated husband, Dan Goodman. Jason Edelstein is Henry, a 17-year-old who has a serious crush on Natalie.

The song “Just Another Day” is the setup for another chaotic day in the profoundly dysfunctional Goodman household. It’s 3:30 a.m. and mom is up, sleepless. A son sneaks in late and is scolded. Natalie is up at 5:30 getting ready for school. Dad is getting ready for another day at work, which is often interrupted. The chorus is completed by a young man with an angel’s voice who we learn later is the son named Gabe (Bruno Vida).

In the course of the first act we will see mom undergo various treatments with her doctors (both played by Clay Cartland). Strange as it may seen, delusions can be funny when mom imagines her shrink is a rock star.

That’s probably enough plot for now. Anyone who has been touched by bipolar disorders will be familiar with all the painful outcomes, including the most drastic.

All of this high drama is sung beautifully in duets, trios, quartets and sextexts in razor-sharp harmonies. This is not Rodgers & Hammerstein and “Oh What a Beautiful Morning.” It is music that makes you think about what may be unthinkable. If you can take it, you will be rewarded. You may even see the light.

Tickets are $40 adults, $35 senior citizens and $25 students. Call 866-811-4111 or go to www.slowburntheatre.org.

The Intrigue of "The Fifth Estate

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“Fifth Estate” Explores WikiLeaks

By Skip Sheffield

As a long-time journalist I eagerly anticipated seeing “The Fifth Estate.” As a movie fan I was not disappointed.

“The Fifth Estate” is the story of WikiLeaks and its egotistical, tyrannical creator, Julian Assange.

Assange, who is a most distinctive-looking, platinum-haired Australian man, is played by Benedict Cumberbatch, a most distinctive, brilliant 37-year-old British actor. Playing Assange’s conscientious right-hand man Daniel Berg is Daniel Bruhl, who looks almost completely different in the still-showing race car film “Rush.”

These two actors are the key elements in the story, which is a fictionalized, greatly simplified account of Berg’s book “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World’s Most Dangerous Web Site.” The book was written with the assistance of David Leigh and Luke Harding and adapted for the screen by Josh Singer.

The director in charge of this complicated history is Bill Condon, director of “Dreamgirls” and “Twilight Saga: Breaking Down Part 2.”

“Fifth Estate” covers a lot of waterfront in a short time. We get a visual representation of the advancing technology of print racing from the time of Gutenberg to the latest in World Wide Web Internet inventions before the story even begins at England’s Guardian in 2010. Condon has a way with flashy visuals to help dramatize an uncinematic story.

The Fourth Estate is the name given to the traditional press media as a group. “Fifth Estate” denotes an evolution or mutation if you will into paperless, instantaneous journalism done in a free-form, reckless and at times illegal fashion.

Julian Assange emerged as a self-appointed watchdog; a whistle-blower to all manner of political, military and monetary misfeasance. Daniel Berg was recruited early on as Assange’s right-hand man; a computer genius. The relationship that developed became like a Cain and Abel story. The fall from best friends to bitter rivals is illustrated graphically with literal fire and destruction simulating the deletion of massive computer files.

“The Fifth Estate” glosses over the intricacies of its creation (particularly the role of Bradley-now Chelsea Manning’s military secrets) and overly dramatizes the relationship of the two main creators. The fact remains WikiLeaks rocked the world and continues to do so. Assange lives in relatively comfortable exile in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London. In his absence WikiLeaks lives on. You may not find this story as fascinating as I do, but it is important for all of us.

Santa Fe, Real Superheroes and Crazy Cowgirls at Boca Museum

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Santa Fe, Cowgirls and Real Heroes Featured at Boca Museum

As much as I love Florida, I find something magical in the desert landscapes of the Southwest.

So do many artists. Santa Fe, New Mexico has been a Mecca for artists since the early 20^th century. To see the impact of art on this small community, visit “Southwestern Allure: The Arts of the Santa Fe Art Colony” at Boca Raton Museum of Art at Mizner Park through Dec. 29.

It is a simply gorgeous, uplifting and educational exhibit by some of the best-known Santa Fe artists, such as Georgia O’Keefe, Stuart Davis, Andrew Dasburg and Marsden Hartley, as well as some you may never have heard of. The exhibit was organized by the museum and independent curator Dr. Valerie Ann Leeds, who specializes in art of this period. After its Boca Raton run, the exhibit travels to the Museum of Art in Orlando and the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

For something completely different, check out the rodeo-themed cowgirl exhibit “Nancy Davidson: Let ‘Er Buck” and the humorous yet touching photo essay, “The Real Story of the Superheroes” by Dulce Pinzon.

The museum has also instituted an “Art of Wine” series pairing fine wines with art and artists displayed in the galleries.

Call 561-392-2500 or go to www.bocamuseum.org for more information.

28th Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

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28^th Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival Oct. 18-Nov. 11

By Skip Sheffield

The 28^th annual Fort Lauderdale Film Festival runs Oct. 18 through Nov. 11, bringing more than 175 American independent films and World Cinema to our area. Screenings take place at FLIFF’s own Cinema Paradiso, 503 S.E. Sixth St., Fort Lauderdale and three other locations, including the Muvico Pompano at 2315 N. Federal Highway, Pompano Beach, which is the closest to Boca Raton.

Spotlight films include “August: Osage County,” “Last Vegas,” “Nebraska,” “One Chance,” and “Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom.”

Special guests coming to Fort Lauderdale to be honored include Lea Thompson, star of “The Trouble with Truth,” who will attend the Cinema Paradiso screening at 7 p.m. Oct. 19. Honored with Lifetime Achievement awards are Tab Hunter (Oct. 29), Ed Asner (Oct. 23) and Ann-Margret Nov. 9). Also honored but not attending due to her age (96) and frail health is Zsa-Zsa Gabor. Zsa-Zsa and her sisters Magda and Eva are profiled in the book “Those Glamorous Gabor Sisters.” Publisher and co-writer Danford Prince visited FLIFF Oct. 15 to speak and sign his book at a pre-festival event.

The opening night film, “Free Ride” starring a grown-up Anna Paquin, will be screened at Cinema Paradiso at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 18. The film’s producers will be on hand. An opening night party will be held at Villa de Palma.

Other special events include author Aphrodite Jones for “Boys Don’t Cry” at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 and a Wrap Party Nov. 10 at Cinema Paradiso.

There is so much going on at FLIFF it is best to go to their web site at www.fliff.com. Call 954-760-9898 for more information.

Rag-Tag Pirates Catch a Really Big Fish

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“Captain Phillips” One Terrific Movie

By Skip Sheffield

“Captain Phillips” is a terrific movie in the most terrifying sense of the word. It is directed by white-knuckle specialist Paul Greengrass (“United 93”) and the script is based on a book written by the actual Capt. Phillips.

Tom Hanks gives the performance of his career as the title character, who was kidnapped and held for ransom in 2009 by four Somali pirates in the first high-jacking of a U.S.-flagged ship in 200 years.

The Maersk MV Alabama was on a routine 10-day mission from Port Oman around the Horn of Africa through the Somali Basin to Mombasa, Kenya. Somewhere around 280 miles from the Somali port city of Eyl, the huge Alabama was attacked on April 8, 2009 by a small, outboard-powered wooden boat manned by four raggedy young pirates armed with automatic rifles.

Greengrass starts the story on a routine and low key with Phillips (Hanks) rising early and leaving his Vermont home with wife Andrea (Catherine Keener) for Boston’s Logan Airport.

We see Phillips meeting his 20-man crew and mapping their journey, with an acknowledgment that they would be traveling through dangerous, possibly pirate-infested waters. Phillips has the crew perform security drills.

In separate scenes we see the desperate Somali pirate crew being chosen by war lords. Only the most menacing, fearless and clever sailors need apply.

We see the pirates’ modus operandi: a “mother ship;” formerly a fishing trawler, and two smaller vessels not much larger than rowboats to do the dirty work.

A young man named Muse (Barkhad Abdi), called by his nickname “Skinny,” emerges as the leader. What Skinny lacks in physical size he makes up with courage and cunning. He is also the only pirate who speaks and understands English

Greengrass recruited actual Somali refugees, now U.S. citizens, as the pirates. None of the Somali had previous acting experience, yet they took to their roles naturally; especially Barkhad Abdi as Muse, who is truly a skinny but scary adversary.

The first evidence of a possible attack is green blips on a radar screen, indicating the approaching small boats. Tension builds as the blips get closer and closer and the boats come into sight.

As someone who has traveled by boat in the Caribbean, I found it curious the MV Alabama had no weapons of self defense other than flares and water cannon. Perhaps that has changed by now.

“Captain Phillips” was produced with full cooperation of the Maersk Line and the U.S. Navy, so the look is absolutely authentic.

The tension ratchets higher during the actual attack and boarding of the now-helpless Alabama. The closest U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, was still 800 miles away.

With the crew cowering in darkness behind locked gates in the Alabama’s hold, Capt. Phillips faced the pirates and engaged in a game of cat and mouse, desperately stalling for time. Phillips tried to buy off the pirates with $30,000 in the ship’s safe. The pirates wanted millions and they were prepared to die for it.

The war of nerves becomes almost unbearable when Phillips offers himself as hostage, and gets into the Alabama’s motorized lifeboat with the pirates, as the U.S. Navy and their elite SEALs arrive.

Other than a somewhat unconvincing New England accent, Hanks’ performance is flawless and explosive in a literal sense. It is a measure of the director and actor’s skill and artistry than we remain on the edge of the seat, despite the well-known outcome.

Already there are naysayers who claim Phillips was not the hero he is portrayed as in this story, and that his reckless course encouraged the high-jacking. In fact there is a lawsuit stating as such.

This is a movie after all, and there is such a thing as artistic license. If Tom Hanks is not nominated for an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor, there is something wrong with the system.

"Chicgao" Comes to Fort Lauderdale, Again

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Music, Sex and Razzle-Dazzle in “Chicago”

By Skip Sheffield

A hot band, even hotter dancers, a dynamic duo of leading ladies and the most dapper and handsome Billy Flynn ever are the hallmarks of “Chicago,” which kicks off a new season Broadway Across America through Oct. 20 at Broward Center for the Arts in Fort Lauderdale.

The winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical revival, “Chicago,” which debuted on Broadway in 1975, is the best work by the songwriting team of John Kander and Fred Ebb, working with famed director-choreographer Bob Fosse. It is indeed one of the most popular musicals of all time.

“Chicago” is first and foremost a satire about everything sleazy in American politics, law and culture. It is set in the appropriately lawless Roaring 20s in the city of the title.

The show begins with a short prologue by a statuesque showgirl promising a show about “All the things we hold near and dear to our heart:” sex, booze, crime, corruption and publicity.

Velma Kelly (Terra C. MacLeod) and Roxie Hart (Anne Horak) are currently incarcerated and waiting trial for murder in the not unfriendly cellblock ruled by “Mama” Thornton (Carol Woods). We get to see Roxie plug her boyfriend Fred (Jon-Paul Matero) as setup for “The Cell Black Tango” with its refrain, “He had it coming.”

Both women have hired the slick, expensive, and utterly insincere lawyer Billy Flynn (John O’Hurley) as their attorney. Flynn celebrates his hypocrisy in the ironic ballad “All I Need (is love).”

O’Hurley, best known for his 14 years as J. Peterman on the “Seinfeld” TV show, fits the role of Billy Flynn as perfectly as his tailored tuxedo. O’Hurley has played Flynn countless times in countless productions, yet he keeps it fresh in a cleverly tongue-in-cheek fashion.

The production features an onstage band that interacts with the performers on occasion. I must say it is fun to see an ensemble, conducted by Jack Gaugham, with a banjo, accordion and tuba among its instruments.

Anne Horak is fresh and sweet in the ingénue role of Roxie, while Terra MacLeod is predictably bitter, catty but unbowed as the older Velma.

The foolish but poignant role of Amos Hart, Roxie’s hapless husband, is nicely realized by Todd Buonopane in his signature song, “Mister Cellophane.”

My female companion was nothing short of dazzled by the virile young dudes who comprise the male dance chorus. I must say the women are pretty darn agile too.

“Chicago” is perfect escapist entertainment in time of trouble, which let’s face it, is always. Forget real-life political shenanigans for awhile and enjoy them played for laughs. You have only until Oct. 20 to enjoy this “Razzle-Dazzle.”

Tickets are $34.50-$79.50 and may be reserved by calling 954-426-0222 or going to www.browardcenter.org.

A Child Shall Lead The Man

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Written by Nader Rizq and directed by Evan Riklis, “Zaytoun” is rooted in the never-ending conflict between Israel and Palestine.

It is set in Lebanon 1982 at the fall of Beirut. American actor Stephen Dorff (“World Trade Center”) plays Yoni, an Israeli pilot shot down and held in a PLO prison camp.

Abdallah El Akai is Fahed, a Palestinian boy who wants to visit his ancestral home on the West Bank.

When Fahed gives some water to Yoni out of pity, he says, “Let me out, and I’ll take you with me.”

When Yoni seizes the prison cell keys, Fahed shoots him. Yoni nevertheless overpowers the boy, who Cleverly swallows the key to Yoni’s handcuffs, binding the man and boy in an uncomfortable relationship as Yoni tries to make his way back to Israel and to Fahed’s homeland.

“Zaytoun” is one harrowing escape after the other as man and boy make their way across the desert, eluding soldiers, police, land mines, all the while Fahed lugging a small tree which he hopes to plant in his homeland.

The tree symbolizes a fragile hope for future peace between Muslims and Jews. “Zaytoun’ drives home the point it will not be easy.