Sunday, November 13, 2011

Something Cool and Something Cooler

Cool:  I saw a performance of a new Broadway musical called Bonnie & Clyde.  The actress who usually plays Bonnie was out, and of her two understudies, the one that went on today is usually a swing.  Which means she doesn't have a regular role in the show.  Which means -- as excitedly pointed out by two of her friends sitting behind me -- that this was her very firstest time performing any role on a Broadway stage.  And here she was, playing the lead (on relatively little notice, and -- I'm guessing -- not a whole ton of rehearsal).  She was good, too -- had a lovely singing voice and good characterization.  Congratulations on your Broadway debut, Cassie Okenka.

(The show itself wasn't particularly engaging.  I think the problem was that, the way it was set up, you didn't particularly identify with Bonnie and/or Clyde, and you didn't particularly want them to get caught/shot either.  So, I mean, the songs were good and the acting was terrific, but I wasn't particularly involved in the show.  Thank goodness for Cassie over there -- I was much more interested in seeing whether she could pull it off than in seeing what happened to Bonnie and Clyde.)

Cooler:  And I saw The Book of Mormon.  Which was, like, instantly engaging from the first moment, when I was completely involved in the story of Elder Price and Elder Cunningham and their mission to Uganda.  I don't really see much point in analyzing something that's just so damn entertaining -- but when you think about it, it's quite remarkable how the script simultaneously mocks Mormon beliefs (and religion on the whole) while still somehow connecting with what it is that's good and valuable about faith.  But, mostly, it was really f*cking funny.

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