Good Night, Oscar Play Review

Genius and madness (for lack of a better term) sometimes go hand in hand. As much as we love this person for their abilities, we are concerned for their health.

The new play, Good Night, Oscar opened recently in New York City.

In 1958, The Tonight Show has moved from New York City to Los Angeles. The show’s host, Jack Paar (Ben Rappaport) is eager to have his friend Oscar Levant (Sean Hayes in an award-worthy performance) on the show. Levant is known for his off-color quips as he is for his piano playing.

For the last few weeks, Levant has been hospitalized due to mental health and addiction. His doctors have given him a four-hour pass to supposedly attend his daughter’s graduation. Instead, Oscar will be on television. While Oscar’s wife, the former June Gale (Emily Bergl) wants to be the loving and supportive spouse, she also knows that what can give him is not enough.

Hayes blew me away. I knew he was good (I’ve been a fan of Will & Grace for years), but I didn’t know he was that good.

Hayes’s Levant is a sarcastic blowhard who is not afraid to speak truth to power. He is also dealing with emotional scars that have yet to heal. Hiding those scars under jokes and pills, he is a complicated man who is both unlikeable and open about his mental illness. This is in an era in which the list of what was not allowed to be said on television was long and likely to offend many.

The strongest scene in terms of the writing (which is truly a hard decision to make) is the one in which Levant tells his story. In creating fiction (specifically in novels), there are two ways that a writer can get tripped up: showing vs. telling and infodumps. By its nature, a good script shows the action instead of telling the audience what is happening.

That does not mean, however, that the playwright can get bungled up and forget to show. What playwright Doug Wright does brilliantly is to unfold Levant’s biography in a way that is informative and funny without turning a dry list of dates and events.

When he finally gets to the piano, Levant is in his element. Hayes is hypnotic when he is playing. It was breathtaking, and beautiful, and will forever be burnt into my brain.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. This play cannot be missed.

Good Night, Oscar is playing until August 27th. Check the website for tickets and show times.

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Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Movie Review

Puberty is one of the many aspects of the natural life cycle of a human being. Without it, we cannot grow from child to young adult and then to full adult. That does not mean, however, that the process is not challenging.

The new movie, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret. is based on the classic and forever universal book of the same name by Judy Blume. In the early 1970’s Margaret Simon (a fantastic Abby Ryder Fortson) has just ended another season of summer camp. When she gets home, she gets news that no kid wants to hear: her family is moving from New York City to suburban New Jersey.

Though she makes friends easily, Margaret misses her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates). As the school year progresses, puberty sets in, creating a set of questions that do not have black-and-white answers. What Margaret wants most of all is to start menstruating. Raised without religion by her Jewish father Herb (Benny Safdie) and Christian mother Barbara (Rachel McAdams), she starts talking to the almighty and exploring faith in its various incarnations.

Her mother is also going through a learning phase of her own. After giving up her job, Barbara fills her days with trying to put their new house together and joining the local PTA. But the artist in her is not content to put aside her painting for good.

This film is amazing. It was the perfect reminder of that time in life. The narrative is gentle, organic, and respectful of Margaret’s journey. Instead of being pigeonholed into a certain type of character, our protagonist is human and full of the contradictions that come with the pre-teen years.

I can’t end this review without remarking on the fact that this novel has been a target of the book-banning crowd for decades. What makes this book “ban-worthy” is that its lead character is given room to grow beyond what is still sadly expected for girls. It’s not just about boys and future romantic relationships. It’s about figuring out who you are as a person.

What I think also riles them up is that Margaret is not just the child of an interreligious marriage. It’s that religious faith of any kind is not part of how she is being raised. While praying to a specific creator for many is important, this decision by Blume is a reminder that not everyone believes the same way.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is currently in theaters. In fact, I would not be surprised if it is included in any top ten lists at the end of the year.

I Wish There Was an Easy Answer For the Jordan Neely Case

When you travel using the NYC MTA system, you never know what you will experience. It could be uneventful ride or it could be a major news headline.

Last week, Jordan Neely was killed in an incident on the subway. The actions that led to his death are unclear. One set of facts claims that he was killed via choking (a la Eric Garner) simply due to his skin color and that he was homeless. The other set of facts states that Mr. Neely was acting erratically and scaring (for lack of a better term), the passengers. The man accused of his murder, Daniel Penny, was trying to hold him down until the police came.

The problem is that there were no cameras on the platform that could have verified the facts.

The only thing that the public, law enforcement, and the city can go by is the testimony of eyewitnesses and the footage on their phones. Which we can easily point to general issues that created this shitstorm, there is no easy answer to why Jordan Neely is dead.

RIP.

My Last Innocent Year: A Novel Book Review

The last year of college is developmentally speaking, an important one. It is the emotional and psychological bridge between young adulthood and full adulthood.

My Last Innocent Year: A Novel, by Daisy Alpert Florin, was published in February. In 1998, Isabel Rosen is months away from college graduation. Attending a formerly WASP-only university in New Hampshire, she is one of a handful of Jewish students on campus. The daughter of an appetizing store owner from New York City‘s Lower East Side, she feels like an outsider.

In the shadow of the affair between Monica Lewinsky and then President Bill Clinton, she starts sleeping with her writing Professor. He is older, married, and makes her feel seen and attractive. As the school year wears on, their “relationship” forces Isabel to start answering difficult questions. As his secrets come to light and the older generation reveals their flaws, she discovers that life is far from black and white.

I loved this book. This coming-of-age tale is full of complications, narrative twists and turns, and a protagonist I immediately connected with. Isabel is intelligent, hopeful, slightly insecure, and unaware of the potholes that life will be shortly sending her way.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely. I would also argue that it is one of my favorite books that I have read so far this year.

My Last Innocent Year: A Novel is available wherever books are sold.

Some Things Never Change: How Saba Kept Singing Review & Justice for Joey Borgen

As much as things change, they stay the same.

In honor of Yom HaShoah earlier this week, PBS aired the documentary How Saba Kept Singing. The film followed David Wisnia, the late Cantor and Holocaust survivor.

Originally from Poland, David was the only member of his immediate family to see the end of the war. The only reason he walked out of Auschwitz was his singing. The audience travels with David and his grandson Avi as he talks about his past and visits the place in which he nearly died.

I loved it. I was in tears by the end. This was a man who had every reason to be angry and bitter. But he found the light and a reason to live. It is a message that anyone can relate to.

Back in 2021, Joey Borgen was attacked in broad daylight in New York City. His crime was being visibly Jewish and attending a pro-Israel rally.

His attacker (who shall remain nameless on this blog) was given a slap on the wrist: six months in jail and five years probation. Alvin Bragg‘s office claims that they did a thorough investigation. If they did, these men would have been charged with a hate crime and given a significant jail sentence.

The message is loud and clear: anyone who verbally or physically assaults a Jewish person in NYC will not be treated as the criminal they are. They will be told they were naughty and nothing more.

That is not the city I know and love. Shame on you, Alvin Bragg. You know better. You could have done better, but you chose not to.

Republican Fuckery XVII: The Tennesse Three, MTG comes to NYC, and the 60 Minutes Interview

From a distance, it may seem that democracy does not need tending to. Once established, it can survive on its own. The truth is that it requires all of us to pay attention, specifically when it could go to h*ll in a handbasket.

Earlier this week, in response to the school shooting in Nashville, protestors swarmed the state capitol. Supporting them were three state representatives who are on the blue side of the aisle. One is a Caucasian woman (Gloria Johnson) and two are men of color (Justin Jones and Justin Pearce). The leadership wanted them out. In a telling reaction, Ms. Johnson retained her position. But Mr. Jones and Mr. Pearce were expelled from their seats.

This does not happen in a country with a thriving and respected democracy. This happens in a fascist government where the wants and the needs of the average person on the street are ignored by those in power whose only concern is staying in power.

Meanwhile, Marjorie Taylor Greene once more proved why she is unfit for office. When she came to New York City earlier this week to support the former guy, she was swamped by protestors. What she experienced this week (and what Ted Cruz also experienced last year) is that we are loud, proud, and not afraid to shit on you if you shit on us.

For some reason, someone at 60 Minutes thought it was a good idea to interview the Congresswoman and air the interview.

I don’t know whose bright idea this was or the reason for the conversation. Either way, it was dumb and gave this woman a platform that was unwarranted. What is worse is that instead of the hard hitting questions that I would have expected from this OG television news program, softball questions were lobbed at her. This is the type of content that I expect from Fox News, not a respected and established show like 60 Minutes.

These people should not be in government. I beg with, I plead with my fellow citizens to get them out of the office before this country goes down the tubes for good.

P.S. Did you hear that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has not been reporting luxury vacations paid for by a 1% Republican donor? It’s time for limits on SCOTUS.

The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe Book Review

One of the things that I find interesting is how pop culture and history is intertwined.

The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe, by Helen Stapinski and Bonnie Siegler, was published last month. It brings together three stories that otherwise, would exist in separate worlds: a Jewish family desperate to escape Nazi Germany, the creation and cultural explosion of Superman, and the making of The Seven Year Itch.

This book is fantastic. It takes what would otherwise be the standard Holocaust narrative and adds new levels to it. At its heart, it speaks to the American dream, how powerful it can be, and the complications that we don’t see coming.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Thoughts On Mayor Adams’s Church and State Statement

The separation between church and state is one of the foundational ideals of American democracy. The idea that one’s religion (if they have one) is divided from the government was and still is earth-shattering.

Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams made the following statement about this distance.

“Don’t tell me about no separation of church and state. State is the body; church is the heart. You take the heart out of the body, the body dies,” he told religious leaders at the event held at the main branch of the New York Public Library.

“I can’t separate my belief because I’m an elected official. When I walk, I walk with God. When I talk, I talk with God. When I put policies in place, I put them in with a God-like approach to them ― that’s who I am,” he said, later adding that “when we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools.”

“When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools.”

— NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) speaking at the New York Public Library interfaith breakfast pic.twitter.com/2GkxKCB5bX

— The Recount (@therecount) February 28, 2023

I get it, his audience was clergy from various faith groups. While he is entitled to pray to whatever higher entity he prays to, he does not have the right to force his beliefs on others.

"Don't tell me about no separation of church and state."

New York City Mayor Eric Adams explains a controversial remark he made at an interfaith breakfast. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/KtMCSb6Dm4

— CNN (@CNN) March 5, 2023

What is more concerning was the proposition that had there been prayers in school, a litany of societal issues would be non-existent. Specifically, mass shootings that take place within educational settings. Two points stick out. The first is whose prayers are said if they are said at all? Given the diversity in this city, the mere thought of this question is contentious from the start. The second is that the only way to prevent school shootings is to enact sensible and national gun control laws.

Every politician puts their foot in their mouth at least once in a while. I guess this is Mayor Adam’s time.

Throwback Thursday: Secrets of New York (2005 to Present)

History (at least from my perspective) is fascinating. For every piece of information that is uncovered, there is more that remains in the shadows.

Secrets of New York has been on the air since 2005. Hosted by Kelly Choi, each episode dives into an aspect of the city’s history that has been buried, forgotten, or ignored.

I enjoy this program when I watch it. The nooks and crannies that they are somehow able to find amaze me. Every episode is a learning experience without being hit over the head via a dry academic textbook.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Your Place or Mine Movie Review

*The image below is not mine. I am borrowing it. It can be found at fineartamerica.com.

The best romances often start as platonic friendships. The complication comes in when that relationship becomes more than friends.

In the new Netflix romantic comedy, Your Place or Mine, Debbie (Reese Witherspoon) and Peter (Ashton Kutcher) have been besties for twenty years. Debbie is divorced, a single mother, and lives in Los Angeles. Peter is single and lives in New York City.

For one week, they switch lives. Peter travels to LA to take care of Debbie’s son. Debbie flies to New York to fulfill her educational dream. While temporarily living in each other’s houses, they discover new things about the other person. They also realize that they are in love with one another.

I loved this movie. It is romantic, funny, charming, and the perfect way to relax after a long week. The lead actors have fantastic chemistry and the narrative is pitch-perfect. The cherry on top is that the portrayal of NYC is the way it’s supposed to be. The chaos, the beauty, the people, it’s all there.

My favorite scene is the one in which Debbie has arrived in the city and is walking to Peter’s apartment. He tells her to stop. She is in DUMBO and is standing in front of the bridge. Her mouth drops at the sight. It is one of my favorite places in Brooklyn. Every time I see the bridge framed by the building, my heart stops. No matter how many times I see it, I am awed by its beauty.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Your Place or Mine is available for streaming on Netflix.