Beautiful

It's a damp, cool October night, a full moon is out and the clouds obscure it so that there are only slivers of moon peeking through.  I walked down a tree-lined block in Brooklyn at 10:30 pm. I went to see Beautiful, The Carole King musical. I have such a soft spot for musicals and although it didn't give me the emotional payoff that I usually look for in musicals...it was still quite wonderful. I love singer songwriters and seeing her influence in music.


All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2019 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge - Hoorah!

I am obsessed with Phoebe Waller-Bridge at the moment. I have gone through two seasons of Fleabag, a season of Killer Eve, and a season of Crashing. There is more work out there...so can't wait to dig my teeth into her other works. I follow writers like most people follow actors or musicians.  Love her voice and her sense of humor.  Can't wait!  

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2019 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.

Monologues, Musicals and Plays, Oh My!

Photo by Marc Brenner

For the past month, I have been going to see pieces on Broadway.  It started with Harold Pinter's Betrayal, directed by Jaime Lloyd. This performance gave me goosebumps.  Tom Hiddleston played Robert, Zawe Ashton played Emma, Charlie Cox played Jerry in a love triangle. Now I know this Pinter play was not one of his strongest pieces but with the direction from Mr. Lloyd and the subtle nuanced work from these amazing actors...it was a devastating piece. Weeks later the play is still reverberating in my writer's soul. Tom Hiddleston has one of the most heartbreaking moments and the scene still chokes me up. There is something about the emotional impact that has me tempted to buy another ticket to go see it again.

Then I went to see Bat Out of Hell playing at City Center on a high recommendation from a co-worker. Lord was that a mistake.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE music by MEATLOAF, which was why it wasn't a hard sell for me to buy a ticket to go see this show. Let me start with the positive...the stagecraft/set design was actually amazing. The performance of the songs was a bit cheesy but I went with it since the performers could hold the notes.  But the choreography was laughable. It was so basic and juvenile that it felt more like a school performance than a Broadway show. I was waiting for "jazz hands" to come out somewhere. The story arc felt forced...trying to fit songs into the story line felt a bit random. I love a good rock opera...hello, rocker chick here...but this did not work for me. The one saving grace was Danielle Steers, who played Zahara; that woman could belt out a song.

Photo by Annie Liebovitz, 2019

On Saturday I finally went to see Sea Wall/A Life....Monologues written by Simon Stephens and Nick Payne. Tom Sturridge played Alex in Sea Wall and Jake Gyllenhaal played Abe in A Life.  Both pieces talked about life, death and loss. Tom Sturridge's staccato performance of Alex was a bit rough. I'm not sure if he forgot lines or if his pauses were on purpose but it really pulled me out of the material. Stephens has some really beautiful transcendent lines that felt a bit butchered by Tom's performance.
Meanwhile, Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was quite captivating. He handled the telling of two stories simultaneously in a seamless manner without losing the meaning of either. It was an hour long monologue and he relayed the material with emotional impact. He made me laugh and also welled me up with tears at some of the more poignant moments. Truly an actor mastering his craft.

Why am I on a theater jag?  I am trying to connect back with my own writing. I want to be inspired, moved, shaken awake...I need "something" to get me going again. I've been dormant for far too long and my inner writer is aching for some creativity. I journal to keep me writing but that's not nearly enough. The writing is slow, thick, molasses-like.  I've put so many years into this craft and the past couple of years there has been so much neglect that I can barely call it up. That might be why I've shown up to my blog again after all this time. Keeps my mind working on short pieces, hoping to spark that ember in my belly, breathe it back to life. I am a bit lost at the moment. 

L~

All artwork, photos, and text © Copyright 2008-2019 Liliana Almendarez unless indicated otherwise. All Rights Reserved. Any downloading, copying or use of images on this website is strictly prohibited without express written consent by Liliana Almendarez.