BEST OF 2020: LEGIT THEATER

I wish I could say that 2020 had been a profound year for live theater production but once the pandemic hit pretty much every theater closed its doors for the remainder of the year.  Most postponed an entire season of shows as a precautionary measure.  The only saving grace for most theater companies was government funding and if they were bigger theaters or venues, they were able to offer older shows that had been recorded at a fraction of the cost that it would have been if you had seen it live with full production.

 

This being said, I did manage to see two shows before the lights deemed on the world of live theater.  They were both the only shows that the Atlanta Opera completed for 2020 which were “Porgy & Bess” and “Salome.”  I will not say much of each of the individual shows because they were both amazing productions as brought to you by The Atlanta Opera.  There is nothing like seeing a live performance of an opera show.  Part of the enjoyment is the live orchestra and the singers as they bellow into the venue hall and the dancers as they make every inch of the stage their playground.

 

For this reason, my wife and I decided to forgo the Opera’s two tent shows and decided not to get the subscription to their old shows online.  Part of the great thing about live theater is the atmosphere and the opportunity to meet fellow annual subscription seat holders.  We have generally had the same people sitting on both sides of us for the last two years and even though we cannot always remember their names it was always a joy to see them at the show.  This is one of the experiences that watching a show at home just cannot replicate…ever.

 

Now, I bring this all up because as of now there is still no telling when live theaters will be back up to something even remotely calling normal.  The live theater experience is something extremely important to the communal identity that we have whether we know the people around us or not.  This is one of the reasons why people crave the live theater experience.

 

2021 is looking to be just as hard a year as 2020.  Most theaters are still closed and shall remain closed for the better part of the year if something big does not happen.  I am not anticipating much for this year and when I write this same article for 2021 there may not be much difference.  But I can still hope as should you all.

Indie Film Review: MR. LOCKJAW (2015)

It has been a long time coming but director Byron C. Erwin’s latest production is a pilot for the show Mr. Lockjaw (2015), which is now available VOD (http://mrlockjaw.com/).  The pilot is written by Justin Craig and is a crime drama about Miles Brimley (Troy Halverson), a struggling children’s entertainer who also just so happens to have a split personality that manifests itself through his ventriloquist dummy, Mr. Lockjaw. 

While Miles struggles to make ends meet, Mr. Lockjaw excels as an extremely skilled interrogator for a mob boss.  This initial episode sets up many stories and subplots that will play out through subsequent episodes but in addition to Miles’ continuing struggle to grapple with his sanity and just trying to get through each day of life there is a phalanx of drug dealers, dirty cops, blackmail, and corruption that threatens to bring everyone down with only Mr. Lockjaw in the center who can fully grasp the whole picture.

Shot in and around all parts of Atlanta, Georgia, Erwin and his production team have crafted a unique and dark underworld of Atlanta unlike any other independent production.  Production values are first rate on par with a Hollywood television series.  They’ve actually made Atlanta a character in the film that Miles just happens to be trapped in.  

Halverson shines as the emotionally malevolent Miles whose sanity is always on the brink of collapsing and brings to mind Anthony Hopkins’s magnificent performance in the similarly themed film Magic (1978).  He is supported by the equally good Mark Ashworth (as mobster Mr. Stanley), Keith Brooks (as Balto, the clown), and Tomi Lavinder (as Gwyneth Peters), among others.  It is very interesting how all the characters’ stories intertwine in this complex crime drama that borders on the truly horrific.

Writer Craig does a nice job balancing the many different stories and subplots and even though they may not all completely connect, by the end of the first episode you are drawn in and want to find out more and what will happen next.  

Horror fans will be able to rejoice in the onscreen violence (and there is plenty of it) as well as the dark comedic touches sprinkled throughout.  This is a disturbing new kind of crime drama that fans of more cerebral shows like Hannibal, Bates Motel, or Dexter will enjoy.  I cannot wait to see what the future holds for this series.