I Would Totally Adopt These Guys!

I had the pleasure of seeing “Orphans” on Broadway this past weekend and absolutely loved it. I knew that the play would be leaving Broadway soon, so I had to see it and I did not regret it.

“Orphans” is a play written by Lyle Kessler and directed by Daniel Sullivan, starring Ben Foster as Treat, Tom Sturridge as his younger brother Philip and Alec Baldwin as Harold. Set in Northern Philadelphia, “Orphans” shows the viewer a glimpse of these three individuals at point in their life when they may need each other the most. Treat is excessively aggressive but has utilized his skills to feed his younger brother who can hardly take care of himself let alone get a job. Treat stumbles upon Harold at a bar and decides to kidnap him, especially after opening Harold’s briefcase and finding it loaded with stocks and bonds. After sleeping his drunk off, Harold comes to and subsequently releases himself from the bonds that Treat has tied him in, befriends Philip, and offers Treat a job. Harold sees himself as a father figure to these two individuals, promising them money, women, and security. Harold also sees a bit of himself in these two, as he is an orphan as well. “Orphans” will bring you to tears, split your sides, and make you really appreciate Alec Baldwin, Ben Foster and Tom Sturridge.

Who, by the way, totally steals the show. Sturridge’s character resembles Arnie, Leonardo DiCaprio, from “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”. Philip made the audience laugh while also offering his view on the situation. His desire to know exactly where he is, appears childish, at first, but once it is revealed becomes quite tragic. He is an orphan whose only family is his aggressive temperamental older brother who vacillates from hugging him to hitting him. Philip strives to have some control in his world and Harold offers this.

Ben Foster was also quite good. Her appeared to be channeling his character from “Alpha Dog” who was just a crazy neo Nazi, but I could see that all over his character. An individual I went with, did not feel entirely convinced with his character and felt that he was either trying too hard or not hard enough. I felt that his character may have come across as unusual and difficult because his character was difficult. I believe that Foster had a good grasp on Treat, but that Treat himself was a difficult character. He wanted to be strong without acknowledging that he needed guidance, however, guidance was exactly what he needed. He was angry, happy, drunk, sad, and disappointed. His moods were difficult to predict and all over the place.

Baldwin, I would say, didn’t shine within this play. He was good, but he wasn’t great. This may have been due to amount of stage time he had and the fact that a lot of his dialogue didn’t project. But his character was unusual. He wasn’t difficult to predict, like Treat, he was just weird. I apologize if I cannot describe his performance well, but it left me wanting. I wanted more from him. He was funny he was enlightening, but I felt like this was not his A-game.

So if you could see this play, I would recommend that you do. If it is revived, you should definitely check it out.

I’ll Cop to That

The other day I was perusing Netflix, interested in watching anything really. I came upon this shower “Copper” and remembered seeing ads all over New York City about it and I knew, just from those ads, I would love this show.

“Copper” is a period detective story that was created by Tom Fantan and Will Rokos. This show follows the life of Detective Kevin Corcoran, Tom Weston-Jones, an Irish New York City detective who returned from the Civil War to find his wife missing and his daughter dead. Original? Not so much, but I don’t hate this show for it. The audience is introduced to Kevin and his two amigos Detective Francis Maguire, Kevin Ryan, and Detective Andew O’Brian, Dylan Taylor, as they delve into the underworld of 1800s New York City and try to solve crimes using wit, humor, guns, and fists. When the going gets tough and Corcoran finds that he cannot figure how a crime has been committed he enlists the help of Matthew Freeman, Ato Essandoh, a free African American who has studied the doctoral arts while in France. Corcoran also relies on the support of his Eva Heissen, Franka Potente, a hooker with a heart of gold. 

This cast includes a lot of characters from all over the socioeconomic field, allowing the audience to glimpse this time period from very different perspectives. We get to see the hooker’s take on the hanging of an African American while also witnessing Corcoran’s insistence on finding out who-dun-it.

I just finished the third episode of this show tonight and I am hooked. My fellow viewer compared this show to “Hell on Wheels” and I could see the similarities but I felt that this show suprecedes that one. For example, this show is a BBC production allowing the viewer to witness more gore, violence, and often nudity. It also doesn’t have that strange filter that “hell on Wheels” has, thus allowing me to watch it without rubbing my eyes. Finally, this show has some characters that I already really enjoy and I think will keep me watching.

I like Tom Weston-Jones, I think he plays Corcoran quite well portraying his lust for a women one minute and his indifference to violence the next minute, quite superbly. I also like his story, although it may appear cliche and unoriginal, I won’t to know who killed his daughter. I want him to find some peace and i want to know why he is so driven.

I also like the eccentricity of Robert Morehouse, Kyle Schmid. I think the best characters are often the ones that appear most unhinged and I think Schmid plays this character quite well. He has that sly grin that almost makes him appear as if he is drunk, when in fact, he might not be. Rather, he might just be scheming and I do enjoy a scheming character.

I like Essandoh’s character as well, however, I think it was a bit much to give him the last name, Freeman. Yes, we get it, he is free. I want some back story as to how him and Corcoran met and I want to witness an instance when his work his finally recognized.

The biggest item that this show has going for it, is the fact that the protragonist isn’t trying to change the system. Cocoran doesn’t believe in a world without police corruption, he understands it’s part of the job and works within these confines. The me-against-the-world theme, can often be very well portrayed but it also can be quite unrealistic. Yes, Corcoran will approve of changes within the police department that make it more legitimate and less illegal but he isn’t going to be the one leading it. 

So watch “Copper”. The first season is on Netflix and so far I enjoy it quite a lot. 

Maybe, Just Maybe, I will visit Hemlock Grove

 

Last night I finished “Hemlock Grove” the Netflix original series created by Eli Roth based on the book written by Brian McGreevy. The show depicts a town in which a series of grisly murders makes everyone a suspect and everyone suspicious. The lead suspect in all of this is Peter Rumanecek, played by Landon Liboroin, who moved to Hemlock Grove shortly before the murders began and due to the rumors spread by Christine Wendall, Freya Tingley, that he is a werewolf, he becomes suspect number one. Despite this, heir to the Godrey estate and pale bad boy, Roman, played by Bill Skarsgard, decides to befriend Peter because he really just wants to. His mother, Oliva, played by Famke Jansenn, doesn’t want him to because well hanging out with the lower class is just so beneath them. Peter’s mom, Lynda, played fantastically well by Lili Taylor, reflects this thinking while believing that the Rumanceks are the ones in the right. Roman’s cousin, Letha, played by Penelope Mitchell, also becomes involved in this controversy while Roman’s sister, Shelley, played by Nicole Bovin, also feels an attraction to Peter, due to the fact that he doesn’t see her as a freak but a person. Phew, did I cover it all? Probably not because there is a lot going on in this show.

When i first began this show, I was determined to get through it despite the terrible lines and the poor acting and I have to say, it was worth it. I felt like I became more engaged within the show due to the fact that there were very few slip ups and the continuity made sense. A friend of mine compared this show to “Lost” and I completely agree with that comparison. Not everything is explained in “Lost” and some episodes and characters were just plain awful, but despite that I still enjoyed “Lost” I just had to get through it. The same rings true for this show. Watch it until the end. It has a pretty sweet finale and leaves a lot open to speculation, which I like. I think some people would not enjoy the show specifically for that reason, that not everything is answered. But before I ask and possibly answer my own questions, I have to recommend that you watch this show all the way through. there is supposed to be another season on Netflix and I honestly cannot wait for it.

Now onto my spoiler ridden questions/speculations!

I don’t think Letha is dead. I think she was reborn in the square that we glimpsed at the end. I think that was her. She was such a good character and to kill her off so shockingly just seemed too unreal. I just don’t believe it, so I think she is part of the project that doctor Pryce is working on.

Why was Pryce so upset at the end? I honestly didn’t think he felt that way about Letha and I don’t know why he smashed the table, any speculation as to why this happened?

I liked Roman finally manning up. I also liked the twist that in order to become a vampire, he had to kill himself. See Olivia die was totally worth watching that whole series. 

Do you think Shelly is still alive or do you think she is an angel, as per Roman’s beliefs? I think she is alive and well and will return for season 2. She was one of the best characters on the show and if they do not have her come back they will be really missing out.

What’s with the tail? What do you think that signified?

How about that twist? I never suspected Christina whatsoever. I did not like Peter’s half hearted attempt at fighting her, not sure why he just didn’t kill her before she changed. but whatever, she’s dead that’s all that matters.

Finally, I want to end this review with stating how much I loved Lynda’s speech to Peter at the end. That right there was the clincher for me in deciding who had the best performance in the show. She absolutely did. Whoever wrote her lines, awesome job. Seriously, I want to memorize that speech and say it to anyone that is experiencing a loss because it is just so damn good.