Posts Tagged ‘Harry Potter’

Theatre Is Easy: Celebs on Broadway, 2009-2010

It’s no surprise that Broadway producers like to cast celebrities in their shows. If your show, let’s say, is a dramatic British play about horses that wouldn’t attract the average tourist (ahem, Equus), throw a naked Harry Potter on the stage and voila, you just made additional millions. (And this is good because Harry Potter probably doesn’t get naked for cheap.) To no one’s surprise, the 2009-2010 Broadway season is stacked with celebrities. Here’s who you can expect to see, for better or for worse. Let the celeb worship/bashing begin! (And I suppose it’s only fair to remind you that many of these celebs are stage actors with credible resumes.)

John Stamos, Gina Gershon
Bye Bye Birdie (musical, revival)
Performances begin September 10, 2009
Henry Miller’s Theatre

Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman
A Steady Rain (drama, new)
Performances begin September 10, 2009
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Jude Law
Hamlet (Shakespearean classic)
Performances begin September 12, 2009
Broadhurst Theatre

Sienna Miller
After Miss Julie (drama, revival)
Performances begin September 18, 2009
American Airlines Theatre

Carrie Fisher
Wishful Drinking (one-woman show, new)
Performances begin September 22, 2009
Studio 54

Julia Stiles, Bill Pullman
Oleanna (drama, revival)
Performances begin September 29, 2009
John Golden Theatre

James Spader, Kerry Washington
Race (drama, new)
Performances begin November 17, 2009
Ethel Barrymore Theatre

Alicia Silverstone, Laura Linney
Time Stands Still (drama, new)
Performances begin January 5, 2010
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Evan Rachel Wood, Alan Cumming
Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark (musical, new)
Performances begin February 25, 2009
Hilton Theatre

Nathan Lane, Bebe Neuwirth
The Addams Family (musical, new)
Performances begin March 4, 2010
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Farkakte Film Flashback: Strange Magic

There is a new Harry Potter movie out this week, which millions of fans are extremely excited about, even though they’ve all read the books and know exactly what’s going to happen. Also, they don’t seem to mind that it’s based on the one that was mostly flashbacks, meaning there’s less Harry than in the other movies – although we do get to see young Dumbledore, who, rumor has it, looks exactly like Chris Pine.

I’ve read all the books, and one thing I enjoyed about them was the way J.K. Rowling wove the world of magic so cleverly in with our own. Somehow, the wizardry practiced and taught at Hogwarts seems to make logical sense – it propels the story while at the same time serving as a sharp satire of academia, and as an added plus it steers unsuspecting young readers toward godless occult practices. Wait, wasn’t that the idea?

Regardless, in the Harry Potter films, such a rich and layered portrayal of the existence of magic is unusual for cinema – mainly because the role magic usually plays in movies is, of course, the handy plot device. With that in mind, here’s another look at five movies that, if it weren’t for magic, would have ended after 12 minutes. (And in some cases, we would have been better off.) (more…)

Film Review: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Harry_Potter_and_the_Half-Blood_Prince_2I’ll admit, first and foremost, that I’ve been more a fan of the Harry Potter films than I have the books. While I admit the books are enjoyable (I’ve read the first four), I find them rather repetitive and not quite as fleshed out in some ways as I think they could be–which is saying something, considering the epic lengths at which they mark off.

I’ve enjoyed the films more, I guess, because I can appreciate the fact that while they are more condensed versions of the books (every film has to have some type of limit before audience members begin laying across other seats in search of a brief respite in dreamland), they are still the most faithful cinematic adaptations of the material that will ever exist, and it’s just a fun experience to watch Daniel Radcliffe (My Boy Jack, December Boys) and the other young actors in the cast bring J.K. Rowling’s characters to full-fledged life. It’s also beginning to make me feel a little old, in a bittersweet way, to watch these kids grow up before my eyes as the series has progressed. Like all of you legitimate diehard Potter fans, I’ve come to feel an affinity for this cast, and in some ways feel like a proud parent, watching these talented young actors mature so gracefully. (more…)