Sin #62: Life's a Stage

I’ve always admired the theater. I haven’t seen a lot of it since theater is pretty difficult to find here where I live. A couple of months back though I went to see a Mexican production of “The Good Canary”, directed by John Malkovich and starring Diego Luna. It wasn’t a particularly accomplished play (it had the obligatory clichés of addiction) but at least it amused me and presented me with a different kind of entertainment. Watching a local play however (without the pretentious flair of international acclaim) was a much better experience since I saw a hilarious story of comical farce entitled “The Story of the Polar Bear that got Stuck Inside the Bathroom of a Restaurant” (that’s the title more or less, in a rough translation).

I’m aware that mounting a stage production can be an awesome feat since it involves the labor of dozens of technicians and especially the actors who have to bring it to life. Orson Welles, before reaching fame with “Citizen Kane” (often considered the best movie of all time), worked in theater and was known for having one of the biggest egos in the business. In “Me and Orson Welles” he is portrayed as a womanizer and a drunk but also as someone who took his craft very seriously and had a grand vision.

It’s a shame that the movie chooses to focus on a young man named Richard Samuels, played by Zac Efron, instead of the great man. He is the typically idealistic actor who plunges himself, through mere luck, into an expensive production of Julius Caesar directed by Welles. Efron brings an unwanted modern sensibility that hurts the delicate nature of the movie and robs it of its real attention on Welles and Christian Mckay’s virtuoso performance.

The movie is also an odd choice for director Richard Linklater who’s one of the best of indie directors and whose films range from experimental (“Tape”) to the commercial antics of Jack Black (in “School of Rock”). “Me and Orson Welles” isn’t one of his best movies but it features a great performance and represents an interesting spotlight on the plays of the thirties and the craft involved.

My favorite movie about the theater is Mike Leigh’s “Topsy Turvy” which presents us with the genius of Gilbert and Sullivan, two brilliant composers of the 19^th century whose plays have been beloved by many but whose relationship wasn’t always as rewarding. The film is astonishing in giving us a full behind the scenes of every aspect of the production including actor’s rehearsals, choreographies, costume fittings and production design among others. Mike Leigh’s films are famous for being “crafted” in a tight collaboration between the director and his actors; there isn’t a script but more of an outline and the actors rehearse for months before stepping in front of the cameras. This dynamic gives his movies a special vibrancy and realism and the opportunity to witness terrific performances. The whole cast of “Topsy Turvy” is brilliant but a special nod must be given to Allan Corduner and Jim Broadbent who create two distinctive personalities that perfectly relate to each other on an artistic sense, albeit not on a personal one.

My favorite scene in the movie involves the singers around the piano rehearsing one of the songs (although it’s hard to pick a favorite scene since the film contains dozens of wonderful moments). It’s truly a fantastic movie.

I wish that I went to see more plays or enjoyed a musical or two every once in a while but for now I guess that I must be glad for the cinematic adaptations (the good ones that is).