Tag Archives: movies

08.03.25
by

Jesus Christ Superstar

There’s an overused word used to describe a moment or a song or a performance in show business.  And that word is:

Showstopping.

You know… like this

But how many times in your life have you witnessed a performance, song or an actor literally stopping a show for any significantly measurable length of time?

I’ve seen a few but not too many. 

But never have I witnessed the FULL TWO MINUTE spontaneous standing ovation Cynthia Erivo received at the Hollywood Bowl Friday night during her performance in the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar.

What can’t she do?

It was organic, impromptu and sustained for such a significant amount of “stage” time that it appropriately felt, in 2025 theatrical terms, about as close to religion as one can get in the theatre.

Or pretty much anywhere these days.

And it came at the end of her climactic song Gethesamne (I Only Want To Say), at a moment where a very human Jesus begins to question his mission from God. 

Yeah, that

I won’t begin to describe what happens when a once-in-a-generation talent immerses themselves so completely in such an unexpected role.  But thanks to technology you can watch it here yourself.

Though I can testify viewing it from your screen at home doesn’t quite duplicate what it was like to be outside, under the stars, in an audience of 17,000, and being a part of a group who saw it occur seemingly out of nowhere.

This three night production of the rock musical Jesus Christ Superstar headlining an out gay woman of color, and co-starring/featuring a ton of out LGBTQ+ performers, might initially seem like a theatrical stunt to some, or oft-putting to others.

It is not.

What it does is instead reinforce the universality of the messages of kindness, equality, inclusion and love the basic stories in scripture provide when we are forced to look at the story in a new and decidedly different way.

Don’t take my word for it.  Here are some samples courtesy of an article from Broadway World:

There are numerous moments and performances to call out in what pretty much amounts to a mind-blowing three-night production. 

But I’d be remiss to not also specifically mention what a treat it is to hear a singer like Adam Lambert bring his high Cs and Ds, and pretty much every note below that, as well as his acting chops, to what is truly the lead role of the Christ-betraying Judas.

The Chair has loved him since DAY ONE

And that’s saying something from a guy like me, whose high school American history teacher actually took my class in Queens to see the original Broadway production in the early 1970s early in its run.

Thanks, Mr. Vidakovich – and how did you ever manage that?

“Superstar” – Raul Esparza, Cynthia Erivo, Adam Lambert in Jesus Christ Superstar

07.20.25
by

Make America Super Again

In a 2025 world ruled by so many morally repugnant men, especially in America, it seems exactly the right time to release a new Superman movie.

And yes, the morally repugnant part is just my opinion. 

Tell em Pedro

Though if you’re following the real-time Game of Thrones battle over the release of The Epstein Files, one that will hopefully NOT spill into multiple seasons and give us a similarly unsatisfying finale, you’d be hard-pressed to disagree with me.

I mean, as much as I’m no athlete, I have heard more than my share of pathetic “locker room” talk in my life and, trust me, you’re getting some of the sniggering, lying best I’ve ever heard, albeit mostly cleansed of curse words for a mainstream audience.

Oh it’s peaking

As the MAGAverse explodes with outrage and/or gentle support for the White House to release, never release, or partially release, the sealed grand jury evidence and testimony related to one of the most heinous child molesters the world has ever known, the country remains caught in the grip of all of this abusive behavior.

In turn we are left asking ourselves variations of the same requisite questions:

Is there a way out of this, are we trapped forever in this cycle, will the laws protect us and is there anyone who will believe the real truth?

Someone find Mulder and Scully #90sreference

But while we bathe in the metaphors of it all and what it means for U.S. politics, what’s seldom talked about are the dozens of underage female victims who passed through Jeffrey Epstein’s private island of illegal degradation.

Sadly, it seems logical that the more we battle it out in the public media square, the more each of these women get jabs and cuts of the traumas that I can only hope they’re trying to not let forever define them.

Again, my mere opinion, but certainly not an unusual leap.

Thanks Kermit

The iconic Trump dance movies next to Epstein in sweaty 1980s party videos, the supposed Trump birthday card with clandestine “secrets” he and his friend shared about that “good life,” descriptions of an enclosed black marker drawing eerily similar in style to numerous such doodles our current POTUS has made for decades, the grand denials and grand lawsuit and grand anger of a man seemingly being hoisted on his own petard.

And yes, I’ve waited a LIFETIME to use the term hoisted on his own petard (Note: Mostly because I didn’t know till just now what a petard actually is) only to find this is the one time there is no other way to describe the, ahem, president’s current situation.

Still, he’s surprised us before with, as MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace often refers to, his reptilian survival instincts, so I can’t claim to know what the endgame of all of this will be. 

Same skin tone

But I am sure that a $10 billion dollar lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch for publishing his Epstein birthday greeting is just the appetizer course of a very full meal we are all about to be served.

Though just how much of it we will all ultimately decide to collectively swallow is anyone’s guess.

Which brings us back to my basic question of this week:

What in the hell does make a truly SUPER MAN these days? 

Someone with a super DOG!

Well, in Superman (2025) writer-director James Gunn offers us one very simple yet profound definition that I humbly agree with – doing good in the world.

Generally speaking, and avoiding specific spoilers, this latest entry into the superhero sweepstakes of moviemaking is a welcome throwback to an imagined kind of a simpler America when the real measure of masculinity was actually trying to HELP people rather than HURT them. 

When power was used NOT to better oneself with RICHES but to live a life of service to one’s family, friends and neighbors.  (Note: Dare I say country?  Yikes, I did!).

One boot at a time!

Where screwing up or failing wasn’t the true measure of your public worth but your ability to get back up, make amends, and try again to make a difference in some other way was the real definition of success.

If this sounds more like the corny, metaphorical idea of something that never really existed in reality, well, perhaps it is.  But it is also,  more than anything, the myth that truly Made America Great, in the minds of so many across the world, and occasionally even here.

Make America Super Again

It’s also why I’d personally recommend the new Superman to everyone.

Sure, it’s vaguely formulaic and a bit bloated in the middle (Note: Which of us isn’t, these days?).

But it’s also:

  1. Funny
  2. Has three really good actors playing Superman (David Corenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), as well as a host of others in supporting roles
Including the aptly named Mr. Terrific!

And….

  • Features a really, really, REALLY cute and adorable HANDFUL of a dog.
We love you Krypto!

I don’t know about you, but it truly says something to me when a man likes a dog, especially when that dog is far from perfect.  Not to mention, who can resist a pooch who is forever devoted to a man who is far from perfect but, nevertheless, TRIES to do his best.

As far as I know there is only one real person I’ve named in this post who very famously doesn’t like dogs.

And he’s not in Superman (2025).

Just sayin’….

ABBA – “Super Trouper” – ABBA