DC's Demon Knights; Sexuality and Gender Done Right

A long time ago, I got my first exposure to a gay character in mainstream comics. Terry Berg, Kyle Rainer's assistant in his day job as an illustrator/comic artist, got brutally assaulted because he was gay, and for a few issues of Green Lantern, it was very upsetting to everybody.

When I was young, this was groundbreaking; first that gay people could exist in comics, and second that even in the realms of a comic book gay people were getting the shit pounded out of them, no questions asked. You know, normally in comics, victims brave their way through horrible circumstances like this one and get superpowers, or martial arts training, or something like that, so they'll never be victims again. Not Terry Berg! He woke up from his coma, thankfully, but he got jack-diddly-squat. Apparently he was going to be a Green Lantern or something, but his character arc was totally scrapped before DC execs had to think of the PR headache that a tertiary gay Lantern would have caused.

Growing up as a painfully conscious gay girl, I loved comics and it broke my little sparrow heart when I could find literally no characters that were like me in Batman or X-Men. When the Terry Berg arc happened, it became very clear to me that gay people served the exact same purpose in comics as they did in news reels; shock factor and sympathy.

It wasn't until I was a teenager and found Batwoman that I started to see gay characters that were empowered, in control, and not likely to be crucified for the sake of pathos. Gay characters were still very few and far between, a problem I'd hoped that the New 52 would fix. I will never ever expect the New 52 to fix anything ever again, but there have been a couple of triumphs. Take Demon Knights.

On Rebecca

The Rebecca billboard on Broadway

So my heart has been ripped out by the recent events surrounding Rebecca: Das Musical's troubled and ultimately aborted transfer to Broadway. That link is a pretty good rundown of what happened, but basically the producer, Ben Sprecher, was probably the victim of an audacious financial scam that left his production 4.5 million short of its budget. So now Rebecca's Broadway opening has been postponed indefinitely, and several hardworking theatre people are out of work.

I love this musical, in all its incarnations. In the past three years since I became acquainted with it, I have been longing for a production that was closer to where I live than Austria or Japan. There were myriads of rumours and workshops and aborted productions in the English-speaking world, but this was the closest an English production came to actually opening.

Yeah, I do feel betrayed. It's a vicarious betrayal, perhaps, but it hurts all the same. I can't even imagine the disappointment of those who had bought tickets to this show or those whose bread and butter were depending on its premiere and run. It's a gigantic loss.

I feel that anger is the only acceptable emotion to have towards the debacle, both towards the person or persons who perpetrated this despicable fraud and towards Ben Sprecher. The situation was severely mishandled by Mr Sprecher. There were livelihoods and reputations running on his decision-making, and he played fast and loose with them.

Though I try to be an optimist when it comes to the inevitable disappointments in theatre, the things that have happened lately serve only to upset me. An English-language production of this wonderful show seems unlikely now. I would not blame anyone if they decided to drop this project, and frankly the fact that Mr Sprecher wants to try producing Rebecca again isn't heartening.

At Last, A Play To Audit: Stratford's Cymbeline

Lately, theatre at Stratford has been focused more on the visuals and the concept rather than the rich text and characterization. This isn't a bad thing; there is always going to be a place for spectacle. But Shakespeare's audiences went to audit a play, not see one. Antoni Cimolino understands this succinctly, and makes the words the star of the show in Cymbeline.

Staged on the Tom Patterson's extreme thrust stage, Cymbeline is at first blush an extremely problematic play. With a twist-riddled story that feels an awful lot like Snow White, Cymbeline is often perceived as one of the weaker entries in Shakespeare's canon. Be that as it may, it has some thrilling passages of text. When delivered by a cast as strong as the one at Stratford is, this play is a fantastic experience.

Absolute Perfection: Stratford's Matchmaker

One of the aspects of reviewing I have the most difficulty with is what to write about in the case of a perfect production. Praising uniform amazingness gets tiring (this is an unspoken rule of criticism, I fear), and often does the production a disservice. So imagine my consternation when I came out of the Festival Theatre having seen The Matchmaker.

Goddamn it, this is a beautiful show.

...

How dare they?

We Interrupt This Review-Glutting...

For a little update on things to come!

Sorry updates have been few and far between lately; my laptop has had some trouble, but it's fixed now and just as reliable as before the issues.

Unfortunately, it is also September, and that means school! To be fair, my school schedule is not as horrible and time-consuming as I'd like to believe, but there are still a lot of commitments I have to make if I want my marks to be stellar. And I do, I really do.

I will finish this year's round of Stratford reviews. I've yet to review:

• The Matchmaker
• You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown
• Cymbeline
• A Word or Two (maybe??)

I also mean to write about my experiences fencing, a sport I've just picked up this week and intend to take through to the end of the year. Lots of cool random stuff to tell you guys already.

My other big plan for this year is the vlog I've been getting ready these past couple of months. I will be reviewing foodie media. There will be food porn. The first thing I will review is Julie and Julia, and I will make some delicious boeuf bourgignon.

Add to that whatever shows I'm guaranteed to get involved in, and I think we have a pretty cool school year ahead of us!

Stratford's Much Ado About Nothing

One of the biggest problems I have with theatrical productions in general, but especially productions of Shakespeare, is the tendency of creatives to give their show a totally arbitrary setting and aesthetic. At best, this can be an amusing showcase of the creativity of the designers. At worst, the new setting can undermine the text and feel totally appropriative. I tend to feel uncomfortable with 'reimagined' settings no matter how unobstrusive they are, which is why I feel at a loss to describe my feelings about the Festival Theatre's production of Much Ado About Nothing. Light and engaging, with an appealing cast, Much Ado nonetheless has a troubling attitude towards its setting and the setting's culture.

Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound: Henry V at Stratford

Aside from his frenetic comedies of the past few years, I have not been a fan of Des McAnuff's directorial work at Stratford. As such, perhaps I was already a little biased when I went to see this season's flagship production of Henry V. But, as predicted, this interpretation held all the hallmarks of Mr McAnuff serving the needs of the lowest common denominator rather than the text.

Sub-Par Steampunk or Second-Tier Disney?: Stratford's Pirates of Penzance

The Stratford Festival has a long history with the operettas of Gilbert and Sullivan. Many remember with great fondness the Festival's seminal production of The Mikado in the eighties, which had several revivals and a Broadway run. The productions of the other operettas that followed were just as handsomely dressed and casted (great Canadian stars such as Brent Carver and Maureen Forrester all had their turns in these productions), if not met with the same critical fervor. In 1961, The Pirates of Penzance had its first non D'Oyly Carte production at the Festival. So I was really excited to see the return of Gilbert and Sullivan to the festival.

I was not the only one; my little brother of seven years was seeing his very first play at the Festival the afternoon we attended, and he loves pirates. Particularly the ones who aren't very good at being dastardly.

Stratford's Elektra is Stunning

Elektra mourns the death of her father Agamemnon, whose death has left her in the hands of her loathed mother Clytemnestra. Having alienated her sister and unwilling to live under the same roof as the woman who killed her father, Elektra has little to do save suffer the pain of Agamemnon's death and await the vengeance that comes with the arrival of her brother Orestes.

I saw Elektra by Sophokles at the Tom Patterson Theatre on Thursday, prior to last night's opening. It was, I am happy to report, a spectacular effort, with a solid cast and confident direction.

There Are No Asian Men In China?- The Nightingale Panel Discussion

A few days ago, several creatives from the La Jolla Playhouse had a panel discussion about the recent casting debacle surrounding their new production of The Nightingale. You can see the whole thing here.

My notes annotating the discussion are below, but before those, I'd like to thank the La Jolla Playhouse for seeking accountability on this issue. There are so many responsible for whitewashed movies and theatre productions alike who think that they are totally justified in what they do, and hardly bother with open discussion regarding the choices that they make. This is a rare thing.

Stratford 2013

2013 marks the year that Stratford alum and former financial director Antoni Cimolino takes the artistic reins for the Festival. Hurray! No more McAnuff. Maybe there'll be watchable tragedies at the Festival now!

Here's the season:

Colourblind Casting Two: You're Doing It Wrong

So lately it has come to my attention that Duncan Sheik, who wrote the angsty coming-of-age rock musical Spring Awakening, has premiered a new show at the La Jolla Playhouse. The Nightingale is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name, and has also kept the story's original setting of Ancient China.

Well great!

My Ideal Stratford Season

Antoni Cimolino will soon be taking over the artistic direction at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and he's already breaking my heart. According to the linked article, he would rather produce The Who's Tommy than Henry IV parts 1 and 2 along with Henry V. That is a pretty bizarre priority for a classical repertory theatre, but considering that it's been Des McAnuff's mission to make Stratford a well-oiled cash machine featuring the seminal works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, maybe this mentality isn't too surprising.

That's not to say that I still won't be excited for next year's season. I am always thrilled when it comes to what Stratford does. The Festival is basically Disneyworld for me. But sometimes, when I'm a little blue, I like to construct my own seasons. Here's my favourite one that I've made.

Danny Boyle's Frankenstein Viewing 2.0

Three cheers for the alternate cassting! The wonderful manager of my local cinema had heard about the problems last week, and had kindly made it possible for me to see the Millerstein/Creaturebatch version.

My biggest worry going in was that the double casting had in fact been nothing but a money grab, and that Miller and Cumberbatch would be less than brilliant in their opposite roles. I can honestly say that this isn't something that should have worried me at all. Both actors approached the other role with the same ingenuity and creativity as in the original casting.

Sleeping Beauty Is An Epic

Recently, pictures were released of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent. She's shooting a movie about the evil fairy in Disney's Sleeping Beauty. I have mixed feelings about this project, but I'll be seeing it no matter what. I love Sleeping Beauty. It's my favourite Disney movie, challenged only by Mulan or Beauty and the Beast.

When I was little, I watched the VHS of this movie until the tape broke. I was enthralled by every moment of this epic. That's what it was to me, an epic.

Danny Boyle's Frankenstein Viewing 1.2

Yes, Danny Boyle's Frankenstein was popular enough in the cinemas the last round that it got re-broadcasts this summer. Hells yeah I watched it again!

This time around, I had purchased a ticket to the showing with Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature and Johnny Lee Miller as Victor. Unfortunately, the showing was still the one with Miller as the Creature and Cumberbatch as the Doctor, an unfortunate mistake on the cinema's part. This coming Saturday they promise they'll be showing the correct screening, but as I'd already paid upwards to twenty dollars for this special event, I was a tad disappointed.

But!

It's still a great show, and really stands up to a second viewing. Having read the script in the space between my first time last year and this one, there were things I was looking for and references that were much clearer this time around. I honestly don't think I noticed the Sistine Chapel imagery the first time, which is hilarious to me now because it's kind of heavy-handed:

• In their initial discourse, Victor and the Creature make a deal regarding a mate for the Creature. They shake on the deal, and as they withdraw, their fingers linger long enough to recall God and Adam.
• In the final scene set in the Arctic, Victor is weak and lying on the ground. The Creature pulls him up with one arm. For one moment they look very much like God and Adam, except this time the Creature is on the right side, and Victor on the left. SYMBOLISM.
• "I should be Adam" - The Creature in Scene 24.

The thing that bothered me the last time around, the casting of Frankenstein's father, hasn't changed one bit. The actor just doesn't fit with the rest of the cast; his line delivery is odd and at times unintentionally funny, and he doesn't command the kind of respect I would have expected from someone who is said to be a magistrate.

I'm anxious to see the alternate casting though, because I want to see how having dual roles affects the overall and complete performance of both. According to Johnny Lee Miller in the short film they show at the beginning, a lot of his Creature has seeped into his Victor. As a performer and a theorist, I really want to see that kind of 'two halves of a whole' thing.

This time around I saw this show with a group of friends who are admitted Cumberbitches. Last time I'd seen it with my father and another friend. The atmosphere was slightly different, way more receptive. There was a lot more emotion coming from our row of the cinema than the last time. It reminded me of that scene in Farinelli where the titular character gives that duchess an orgasm through the pure force of his performance. If they come again this Saturday to see Benny in the actual tortured role, I think that the collective pathos will actually destroy the block.

What was really great was that everyone I saw the show with looked really interested in seeing other live broadcasts from the National Theatre. This was a really positive experience for them, and I hope the NT takes note and programs a lot more of these events in the near future.

Over The Rainbow In Toronto

Over The Rainbow was originally a British TV competition that followed the search for Dorothy in a new stage production of The Wizard of Oz. The winner, Danielle Hope, was chosen via viewers vote. This same production will be transferred to Toronto, and so a Canadian equivalent of the televised competition has been devised.

On Monday, June 18th, I was lucky enough to attend the initial audition in Toronto. This was a cattle-call style audition; literally anybody could try out at this stage, with no preference made to professional or unionized talents. The only qualification was that participants had to be over the age of sixteen and willing to wait.

I Didn't Like The Captain America Movie

Usually, it takes me a while to formulate why I did or didn't like something. With Captain America, it took me a few months to shake the disappointment before I could look at the material objectively.

To clarify, I really do love comic books, and their movies, and 2011 was one of the biggest years for comics, pretty much only dwarfed by 2012, which has friggin' every superhero movie coming out ever.

So after seeing X-Men: First Class and Thor, which had their problems but were still hugely enjoyable, as well as Green Lantern and Green Hornet, which were largely disappointing even with the latter's hesitant charm, I was ready for Captain America to be the best superhero movie of the year.

Best superhero movie of 2011? Thor. Not Captain America.

That highly personal crap aside, here are some reasons why I felt that this movie did not succeed like it should have for me.

Full spoilers ahead!

Defaults Are Boring By Default

I guess I've been working myself up to this for a pretty long time.

Obligatory Disclaimer: I have nothing against straight white dudes. Some of my best friends are straight white dudes.

However, I'm honestly sick of seeing straight white dudes in the movies.

I think it's an established fact that main characters in movies aren't white, straight, and male out of any obligation to the plot in films that are not about race, sexuality, or gender.

Colourblind Casting One: The Streetcar and I

As someone who is not a part of a visible minority, I'm pretty sure I'm not qualified to talk about this, but lately this has been bothering me a lot, because there have been a lot of cases where colourblind casting (or hell, even colour-conscious casting) has been received with a mindset that is less than modern and far less than enlightened. Though the US and Canada that generally pride themselves on being open on issues of diversity, there are still embarrassing and primitive fails.

(I'm not talking about the Hunger Games issues. I am so late to the party on that one it isn't funny. The twitter shitstorm that followed the release of that movie was a problem that stems from idiots reading a book but blocking out what they don't want to here. Rue is clearly black in the books, and while it isn't a huge part of her character, it was definitely the right choice to cast a black actress in the movie, especially if that actress was someone of such screen presence as Amandla Stenberg. Case closed. Idiots are idiots, and should have their rights to the Internet restricted if not outright revoked.)

What I'm talking about is the treatment of actors and actresses of colour in theatre, not film and television. Tentatively this subject will be covered in more than one post.