Get Down with "Get on Up"

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Chadwick Boseman Amazes as James Brown

By Skip Sheffield

The genius of soul singer James Brown was subtle. Take the two-letter word “up,” Brown gave it two syllables: “Up-Ah,” as in “Get On Up-Ah.” He changed the meaning of "up."

“Get On Up” is the title of a James Brown biography starring Chadwick Boseman in a truly amazing performance. It isn’t the first time Boseman has portrayed a ground-breaking African-American man. In 2013 Boseman was superb as baseball star Jackie Robinson in “42.” Although he is taller and thinner than short, stocky Brown, Boseman embodies his spirit.

Both Jackie Robinson and James Brown were trail-blazers. Robinson broke the color barrier in professional baseball. James Brown brought real, primal, flamboyant black music to the American masses.

James Brown was one of a kind. His dancing was as important as his singing. It is obvious Boseman rehearsed a lot to duplicate Brown’s gymnastic dance moves, including his sideways, feet-only shuffle and his leaping splits.

Director Tate Taylor (“The Help”) explores the down side of James Brown as well as his charismatic stage presence. Brown had a volatile temper and a dictatorial attitude toward his band members and handlers. British screenwriters Jez and John-Henry Butterworth do not whitewash Brown’s less admirable traits.

Nelsan Ellis represents Brown’s abused associates as his loyal second-in-command, Bobby Byrd. Dan Aykroyd plays Ben Bart, the Caucasian Jewish manager who helped expose Brown to a wider white audience (and profited greatly in the process).

Brown grew up dirt-poor in Augusta, Georgia. His father left early and his mother (Viola Davis) was largely absent. The closest thing to a mother figure was his Aunt Honey, played by Octavia Spencer. Playing Brown’s long-suffering wife DeeDee is Jill Scott.

Little Richard (Brandon Smith) had a small but key role in advancing Brown’s career, as did Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. Jagger is in fact a co-producer of this film.

James Brown was an enigmatic, contradictory man. I had the honor of meeting him at a press conference once at the Boca Raton Airport in the early 1990s. I humbled myself by sitting cross-legged on the floor at Brown’s feet. I was rewarded with eye contact and a smile from a man who obviously was not fond of meeting the press. No one can deny James Brown was a pro and a show business force of nature who channeled his energies in electrifying, unforgettable performances and best-selling recordings.

A Real-Time "Boyhood" Unfolds

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Life Itself Unfolds in “Boyhood”

By Skip Sheffield

No one can accuse Richard Linklater of lack of persistence. The writer-director of “Dazed and Confused” and “Before Sunrise,” etc., spent 12 years creating a real-time account of “Boyhood,” linked to a fictional story of a broken family in hardscrabble East Texas.

The boy in “Boyhood” is Ellar Coltrane, who is called Mason in the story. Filming began when Ellar was 6-years-old and we watch him grow up before our very eyes within the 164 minutes of this extraordinary film.

Mom is played by rarely-seen Patricia Arquette in her best performance ever. Dad is Ethan Hawke, star of Linklater’s “Sunrise, Sunset” films. Mason’s older sister Samantha, usually called Sam, is played by Lorelei Linklater, daughter of the writer-director.

I suspect Linklater collaborated closely with Ethan Hawke on the story, which resembles Hawke’s own life story in part. Like Mason, Hawke’s parents split when he was 5, and he was raised by his mother in a number of locations.

Patricia Arquette has not been seen in many films recently, but she makes up for lost time as the embattled mother of Mason. Like her character, Arquette has made some poor choices in life and love, most notably with a brief marriage to volatile actor Nicolas Cage. Unlike her sister Rosanna, who was so beautiful she inspired a hit song, Patricia has been fiercely independent and proudly imperfect, even refusing an offer of braces from her parents for her crooked teeth.

Ethan Hawke’s father is an itinerant and not-too-successful musician and full time slacker-dreamer whose arrested development is symbolized by the vintage Pontiac GTO he drives.

Arquette’s mom is a striver who returns to college to earn a teaching degree, yet chooses subsequent husbands who are violent or drunks or both.

Ellar Coltrane develops into a thoughtful, stoic young man who seems to be stronger for all his life challenges.

“Boyhood” is a movie in which nothing much “happens’ but the process of growing up. When you think of it, that is a pretty huge achievement.

Living is Easy, Just Close Your Eyes

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John Lennon Inspires an On-the-Road Fable

By Skip Sheffield

“Living is Easy With Eyes Closed” is lifted from the song “Strawberry Fields Forever,” written by John Lennon in Almeria, Spain in 1966.

Thereby hangs the tale of “With Eyes Closed,” written and directed by David Trueba. The title is from a verse in John Lennon’s autobiographical song “Strawberry Fields Forever.”  The movie is not about John Lennon or the Beatles, but it is a jumping off point for Trueba’s fan-boy fantasy of three unlikely friends on the road together.

Antonio (Javier Camara) is a mild-mannered middle-aged high school English teacher who is a major fan of John Lennon. Lennon traveled to Almeria, Spain in 1966 to launch his solo acting career with Richard Lester’s bitter anti-war black comedy, “How I Won the War.” While in Almeria Lennon wrote the dreamy “Strawberry Fields Forever,” which was about a favorite childhood place in Liverpool, England.

Antonio is such a John Lennon groupie he intends to drive his little Fiat all the way south to the Mediterranean seaside town of Almeria to meet his hero.

On the way he spots a pretty girl on the side of the road. Her name is Belen (Natalia de Molina), and she is fleeting the strict discipline of a convent where her parents have placed her. Oblivious to any danger, Belen accepts Antonio’s offer of a ride to Almeria. Soon afterward they encounter a boy who is also on the run. In the case of Juanjo, 16, (Francesc Colomer), he has run away from a strict father who has ordered him to cut his Beatles-style mop.

Both of the young travelers are intrigued at the prospect of seeing or perhaps meeting John Lennon, but that goal is not easy. In fact it may be impossible.

“With Eyes Closed” is a lovely movie, both for its scenic settings and its good-looking young actors. Javier Camera, who is best-known in America for his supporting roles in Pedro Almodvar’s “Talk to Her” and “I’m So Excited,” is an unlikely movie star in his native Spain. For his Walter Mitty-like character of Antonio he is likely to win your heart too. Just don’t go to this movie expecting a lot of Beatles trivia, because you won’t get it.

Philip Seymour Hoffman "A Most Wanted Man"

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A Grim Finale for Philip Seymour Hoffman

By Skip Sheffield

Philip Seymour Hoffman was brilliant at portraying complex, tormented characters.

Gunther Bachmann, the downtrodden anti-hero of “A Most Wanted Man,” is just such a character. Based on the John Le Carre novel, adapted for the screen by Andrew Bovel and directed by Dutch-born Anton Corbijn (“The American”), “Most Wanted Man” is a complex political thriller set in 2012 in the grimy port city of Hamburg, Germany. Gunther Bachmann (Hoffman, with German accent) is head of a covert German intelligence unit keeping an eye out for terrorists. The film begins with a battered suspect emerging from the sea, cloaked in a gray hoodie.

We learn the man is Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Chechen-born, Muslim-raised Russian on the run. Rather than arrest the illegal alien outright, Gunther’s strategy is to observe him and see if he doesn’t lead the spies to bigger fish.

One of those large fish was Issa’s late father, who purloined a fortune from charitable donations to Muslim organizations. Gunther’s theory is that at least one of those organizations is a front for terrorist militants. Gunther further theorizes the local conduit is a respected businessman named Dr. Faisal Abdullah (Homeyoun Ershadi), whose college-age son Jamal (Mehdi Dehbi) Gunther has enlisted as an inside spy in hopes of catching Abdullah in the act. Always-reliable Willem Dafoe plays a shady banker who may be in on the scheme. Observing all of the above is wry American intelligence liaison, Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright, stretching her boundaries).

Running interference on Gunther’s clandestine activities is a young, idealistic civil liberties lawyer named Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams).

Lovely McAdams is playing against type in this, one of her most ambitious roles to date.

Hoffman chain-smokes, drinks and curses his way through the role of Gunther Bachmann. By the end of the film a betrayed and defeated Gunther clearly looks unwell. This makes Hoffman’s character all the more convincing, but it is a sad reminder of an immensely talented, tragic figure who was suffering more than anyone could ever know.

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy at Broward Center

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“Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” a Visual, Sensory Overload

By Skip Sheffield

Step right up for the greatest show on Earth for a limited time through Sunday, July 27 at Broward Center for the Arts.

“Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” is an amazing human circus of sight, sound and sensory stimulation. The show was created in Pompano Beach by Neil Goldberg and ran on Broadway to good reviews in 2008 and has since travelled all over the world.

The show is a pastiche of circus acts from Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Mongolia, Ethiopia and the USA. There is no particular plot other than a jungle motif, with props, puppets and performers costumed as animals. The show seemed to me like a modern-day Ed Sullivan variety show minus, the wooden emcee.

Instead there is an attractive woman with a strong singing voice in the unannounced role of Mother Nature. In fact none of the performers is named, which gives the show an anonymous, to whom it may concern quality. For the record there is a pair of adorable, amazing female Asian contortionists; a high-flying male-female aerial duo; a girl who twirls about a dozen Hula Hoops at once; a few jugglers, acrobats, dancers and a hunky, shirtless, long-haired guy who plays an electric violin strapped to his brawny chest. My female companion was transfixed by this blond god, and several of the other very fit beefcake specimens. For a finale there is a balance board artist who does some of the most amazing, towering tricks I have ever seen live onstage.

That is the special magic of Cirque Dreams. Everything is live (except pre-recorded music) and accidents can and do happen. If you are looking for excitement and sensory overload on a hot summer’s night, this is a show for you.

Tickets are $34.50-$74.50. Call 954-462-0222 or go to www.browardcenter.org.

A "Most Happy Fella" for Incurable Romantics

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No Barriers to Love in “Most Happy Fella”

By Skip Sheffield

The rarely-performed Frank Loesser musical “Most Happy Fella” continues a limited, 12-performance run through Sunday, April 27 at Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach.

Ensemble singing is the strong suit of this distinctly dated 1956 show, based on the 1925 play “They Knew What They Wanted” by Sidney Howard. The show is almost like an operetta rather than modern Broadway musical, with more than 40 songs and the barest of sets, suggested by projected impressionistic paintings. The action is set in California’s Napa Valley in 1927, before the region became known as a wine hipster paradise. This is a concert version of the show, directed by former Caldwell Theatre artistic director Clive Cholerton. The large cast refers to manuscripts on music stands, but the principals have it pretty much down by heart.

Tony Esposito (Broadway veteran William Michals) is about as far from cool California hipster as you can be. A recent immigrant from Italy, Tony frets that he has no social graces and he barely speaks proper English. Now bald and in middle age Tony is lonely and longs for a wife. As a last resort, Tony puts out an awkward, hand-written request for a “mail-order bride” to a pretty young waitress he spots in San Francisco. To up his likelihood of acceptance, he leaves behind a treasured tie tack and a return address. He dubs the girl “Rosabella” for her beauty. When against odds she writes him back, Tony replies with a letter and a photo of his younger, more handsome ranch foreman, Joe (Jim Ballard).

Rosabella (Jessica Hershberg) is not her real name, but the girl we later learn is Amy is so impressed with Tony’s passion and sincerity (and Joe's photo), she shows up at his Napa Valley vineyard, suitcase in hand. You can imagine her shock and disappointment when she learns Tony is not a handsome young stud. Furthermore Tony has been injured in a truck accident and is in a wheelchair, so all he really has is the pity card.

The heart of Loesser’s script is Tony’s quixotic quest to win the heart of a true love he has lured by deception. Baritone Michals has been on this quest before as a most heartfelt Don Quixote last year in PBD’s production of “Man of La Mancha.”

Rosabella will have her own deception to add to the romantic conflict. Pretty much the rest of “Most Happy Fella” is comic business with a diverse cast of characters led by Rosabella’s friend Cleo (Dance Captain Laura Hodos), an otherwise cheerful waitress with sore feet; Ken Clement as a goofy postman; Shane R. Tanner as Herman, a Texan who inspires one of the score’s hits, “Big D” (as in Dallas), Jeni Hacker as Tony’s bitter, disapproving sister Marie, and in his PBD debut, Slow Burn Theatre executive director Matthew Korinko in several roles. The score’s biggest hit is the upbeat, stand-alone “Standing on the Corner.” The loveliest is the duet “My Heart is So Full of You.”

The songs are in a crazy mish-mash of styles and tempos, but all beautifully sung with gorgeous harmonies, backed by two onstage pianists, including musical director Howard Breitbart.

If you believe true love conquers everything, this is a show you can embrace warmly. Tickets are $40. Call 561-514-4042 or go to www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.

Florida-Made "Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy" at Broward Center

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Family-friendly “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” at Broward Center

By Skip Sheffield

Montreal has its world-renowned Cirque du Soleil. Florida has its own ambitious Cirque Dreams, and they have spread all over the world.

Tuesday, July 22, “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” opens at Broward Center for the Arts for a Fort Lauderdale engagement through July 27.

“The show goes to the Kingdom of Bahrain right after Fort Lauderdale,” reveals the show’s creator and director, Neil Goldberg. “I won’t be going on that one, but we have been all over the world. I went to Russia for the first time 15 years ago. It's amazing how far we have traveled.”

“Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy” features an international cast of aerial artists, contortionists, acrobats, jugglers and musicians, all costumed in wildly colorful and imaginative costumes. The show opened on Broadway in 2008, and played the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with pop star Debbie Gibson in the lead role of Mother Nature. Although the show was created right here at Cirque Dreams headquarters in Pompano Beach, this is the first time “Jungle Dreams” has played South Florida.

“In a 21-year journey we have built a brand,” says Goldberg proudly. “You just never know where the next request will come from. Jungle Fantasy is an ideal summer family engagement, and we have a good relationship with Broward Center, so we felt this show was the perfect fit.”

Tickets are $34.50-$74.50 and may be reserved by calling 954-462-0222 or by going to www.BrowardCenter.org.