The Milwaukee Post

May 23, 2014 • Milwaukee County Post • 23 By JULIE MCHALE Post Theater Critic MILWAUKEE – "Hair," the controversial musical of the 1960s, is alive and well at Skylight Music Theatre's finale of the 2013-2014 sea- son, the first year of Viswa Subbaraman's tutelage as artistic director. The theme of this year's repertoire was revolution, and this produc- tion certainly delivered that message. Each generation tries to change the world, to rebel against their parents' mores. The '60s was a decade of experimentation and alienation. The bar was low- ered in the provinces of sex- uality, drugs, race, gender identity, family and atti- tudes toward war. The battle cries rallied around accept- ance, freedom, individuality, love and peace. The music and dress projected this greater expansiveness. Upon entering the the- ater, one sees cast members milling about the audience, revving people up for what's to come. Breaking the rules, setting aside the usual pro- prieties, reflects the rebel- lious spirit that we are about to experience. The cast con- tinued to break through the fourth wall to engage the audience. An explosive opening in the rousing "Age of Aquarius" by Dionne (strongly rendered by Raven Dockery) and The Tribe sets the standard for the musical quality that characterizes the whole show. Twenty strong vocalists comprise the cast. The show is not driven by a narrative so much as by a sequence of moments where the attitudes and ethic of the young rebels are revealed. We learn that they are comfortable with drugs, especially the hallucino- gens, they accept more open sexual practices, they dis- courage segregation of dif- ferent races and ethnic groups, they promote love and peace and are totally against war as a means of solving differences between nations. Fifty years after this show was written, there are still big differences of opinion regarding all these subjects. Certainly there has been greater acceptance of sexual choices and prac- tices, but we are still a long way from eliminating dis- crimination and the use of violence as a problem solver. Berger (Alex Mace), Claude (Doug Clemons), Woof (Ryan Cappleman) and Hud (Sherrick Robinson) are the four main male leads. Sheila (Alison Mary Forbes), Jeanie (Amber Smith) and Crissy (Katherine Duffy) are the prominent female soloists. All are strong, but we were especially moved by Forbes' rendition of the hopeful "Good Morning Starshine," which provides a sharp con- trast to some of the darker pieces, such as Hud's "Colored Spade" and Claude's "Where Do I Go." The multi-tiered set design by Lisa Schlenker and the colorful costuming by Shima Orans contribute a great variety of texture, and the lighting by Kurt Schnabel is very effective for enhancing the volatile moods inherent in the piece. Skillfully directed by the versatile Ray Jivoff with musical direction by Subbaraman and choreogra- phy by Jeremy McQueen, "Hair" comes alive again – with a mighty pow. Skylight's 'Hair' recalls revolutionary time By TOM JOZWIK Special to The Post MILWAUKEE – "Million Dollar Arm" and "Godzilla" both got off to banner starts in the movie theater in terms of gross earnings for the first weekend of their releases. In case you haven't made it to the theater to see either movie, TimeOut offers reviews of both blockbusters. "Million Dollar Arm" 124 minutes, PG Maybe a few scenes in Disney's Craig Gillespie-directed "Million Dollar Arm" land perilously close to Saccharine City. Maybe Jon Hamm's J.B. Bernstein isn't that far removed from his "Mad Men" TV role and so maybe the filmgoer won't quite forget the protagonist on the big screen isn't named Don Draper. Maybe audiences have seen enough of Alan Arkin as a comical curmudgeon. Maybe "Million Dollar Arm's" background music is annoying at times. Maybe the ele- ment of surprise, hallmark of so many great films, is pretty much absent from this one. Still, I haven't enjoyed a movie more this year. I'd have to go back 22 years to "A League of Their Own" for a baseball flick I've liked so well. But "Million Dollar Arm" is more than a baseball flick. As a voiceover tells us at the outset, it's a story of several lives changing. True, baseball is the catalyst for the changes, but it's also the backdrop for the stage on which the changes occur – not the stage itself. If J.B. is another Draper (at one point J.B. and his tenant Brenda agree he's some- times "a jerk"), at least he's a kinder, gen- tler jerk than the "Mad Men" character. J.B. is very watchable, too, easy to root for as a foundering sports agent who decides to mine India – cricket territory – for prospective major league pitchers and the agency-saving money they might bring. Typecast or not, Arkin is a delight as the retired scout J.B. hires to help with the tal- ent search. Madhur Mittal and Suraj Sharma are just fine, and work well togeth- er, as pitchers whose relationship with J.B. changes big time. Lake Bell plays Brenda with the right blend of candor and empa- thy. My favorite performance is that of Bill Paxton, completely credible as Tom House, a bona fide big league player turned coach. Longer than many contemporary movies, "Million Dollar Arm" is time well spent, an appropriate admixture of humor and poignancy that will engage audiences from opening to closing credits. A scene of Gary Cooper playing Lou Gehrig in "Pride of the Yankees," the 1942 release many critics would place near the top of the baseball movie heap, finds its way into "Million Dollar Arm." Given the exceptional quality of both films, that clip's inclusion is altogether fitting. Rating: 4 stars "Godzilla" 123 minutes, PG-13 I'm not into creature features. I'd never seen a Godzilla movie prior to this Gareth Edwards-directed one. I guess I expected a relatively plotless parading of a solitary monster in front of the cameras, with actors portraying plastic people caught up in bogus situations. "Godzilla" was a pleasant surprise. Writers Max Borenstein and David Callaham have provided the grist for some meaty enough acting performances, the meatiest of which is Bryan Cranston's ("Breaking Bad") as a onetime nuclear power plant supervisor in Japan who "lost everything" in a long-ago disaster that "wasn't just a reactor meltdown." The film is hardly plotless. It provides a cautionary if far-fetched tale (Godzilla is fantastic, after all, even if government cover-ups are not) of history repeating itself in horrible spades. The story doesn't come across as simplistic, either. It centers on the Cranston character's son and daughter-in-law (a competent Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen), lov- ing and giving spouses-parents with whom viewers are likely to identify. It's through Taylor-Johnson's Army explosives expert, primarily, that audiences will experience the international havoc wreaked by howl- ing Godzilla – all 350 feet of him – and a couple smaller monstrosities. Offered in 3- D and IMAX, "Godzilla" (understandably, given a budget the size of LeBron James' salary) boasts remarkable special effects overseen by University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee alumnus Jim Rygiel. Faux Fox News reports and references to Hiroshima contribute doses of verisimilitude. None of the language or behind-closed- doors behavior in "Godzilla" should give anybody cause to complain. "Godzilla" could prove an enjoyable outing for par- ents and their adolescents – if the latter will let the former accompany them, of course. Rating: 3 1/2 stars At a glance "Hair" runs through June 8, with many performances per week at the Cabot Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee. Call 414-291-7800 or visit www.sky- lightmusictheatre.org for show times and tickets. 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