Catalina “Cat” Capuleta is an up-and-coming performer who gets the career boost of a lifetime. She is being paired with Patricio Galán, a fellow mariachi singer whose sex appeal and string of hits have propelled him to the top of the charts.
The problem is that Patricio is not the easiest person to work with. Cat is determined to not let him get to her. She has one goal: to see her dreams become a reality. The only thing that stands in her way is an unnerving attraction to the man.
Though Patricio is no stranger to the female sex, Cat is the one woman who can get under his skin. She is the total package and unknowingly opens an old wound that he would prefer to remain hidden.
When they go on tour, their chemistry is nothing short of volcanic. But love on the road and on stage is a different animal than a long-term relationship.
The problem is that I was not feeling the chemistry between the leads. I wanted to feel the slow burn of the will they or won’t they. But it just was not there.
Do I recommend it? No.
Kiss Me, Catalina is available wherever books are sold.
Nearly 30 years after James Cameron‘s Titanic was released in theaters, it remains a cultural powerhouse. This epic Romeo and Juliet-style romance meets historical disaster film is as powerful today as it was in 1997.
The new Off-Broadway musical review Titanique the Musical takes the narrative of the film and lovingly satirizes what can only be seen as a classic. Wealthy Rose DeWitt Bukater (played by Kate Winslet on screen and by Carrie St. Louis on stage) and working-class Jack Dawson (played by Leonardo DiCaprio on screen and Constantine Rousouli on stage) fall in love in spite of the barriers standing in their way. Hijacking her way into the story, Celine Dion (Marla Mindelle, who co-created the show with Rousouli), puts her own two cents in via her decades-long music catalog.
I haven’t laughed this hard at a stage show in a long time. Mindelle’s version of Dion is an SNL-type impression that could have easily devolved into a cheap caricature. Instead, she lovingly parodies Dion as only a fan can.
I loved the pop culture references, I loved the humor, and I loved the respect the creators had for original work. As an old millennial who saw Titanic in the movie theater in 1997, I appreciate this show in many ways.
I don’t say this very often, but I am tempted to see the show again.
Titanique the Musical is playing at the Darryl Roth Theatre in New York City until September 10th,2023. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most iconic stories in human history. William Shakespeare‘s tale of love, hate, and war has been told and retold across centuries.
The new Hulu film, Rosaline, asks the following question: what happened to Romeo’s (Kyle Allen) first love, Rosaline (Kaitlyn Dever)?
After being dumped for her younger cousin, Juliet (Isabela Merced), Rosaline will do anything to get him back. Adding to her troubles is Dario (Sean Teale), the guy her father wants her to marry. He is interested in her, but she only has eyes for Romeo.
Rosaline is fun to watch and entertaining. It is an interesting twist on a chronicle that we all know. Dever is perfectly cast as the title character, bringing a new perspective on Romeo and Juliet. As she does in Ticket to Paradise, she proves that has the romantic comedy chops to revive a genre that sorely needs a kick in the figurative behind.
Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous love stories in human history. William Shakespeare‘s tale of forbidden love set against a background of two warring families has touched generations of readers and romantics.
In the new Netflix romantic comedy, Love in the Villa, Julie Hutton (Kat Graham) is ready for the week-long vacation with her boyfriend to Verona, Italy. Instead, he decides that it is time for them to go their separate ways.
When Julie arrives in Italy, she discovers that the property she rented has been double booked. Charlie Fletcher (Tom Hopper) arrived at the home first and is refusing to find another place to stay. After they play a game of “top that” to force the other one out, they discover that they have a few things in common. Which of course, grows into a mutual attraction. But of course, there are barriers standing in their way.
Is it cute and charming? Yes. But it is also a little too predictable. That predictability comes from Julie’s GBF (gay best friend) and the return of both of their exes. I wish that the screenwriters would have transformed the narrative from hate to love a little sooner. It was also a bit too long. The last scene could have been cut down by a few minutes. I was almost wanting them to get together just so the movie would end.
Do I recommend it? Maybe.
Love in the Villa is available for streaming on Netflix.
The reimagining opens as San Juan Hill, a neighborhood in Manhattan, is being torn down to become what we know today as Lincoln Center. Not surprisingly, the residents of this neighborhood are people of color, immigrants, and low-income Caucasians.
The Montagues and Capulets have been replaced by two warring gangs of young men, fighting to retain unofficial control of what is left of their neck of the woods. Riff (Mike Faist) is the leader of the Jets, who are all White. Bernardo (David Alvarez) is the leader of the Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks. Though he has a career as a boxer, he is equally concerned with protecting his family and his fellow Puerto Ricans.
Their fates are changed when Maria (newcomer Rachel Zegler) and Tony (Ansel Elgort) meet at a dance. Maria is Bernardo’s younger sister. Newly arrived in NYC, she is both idealistic and stubborn. Without their parents, the only maternal influence she has is Anita (Ariana DeBose), Bernardo’s girlfriend. Anita is spicy, whip-smart, and is eager to take advantage of the opportunities that lay before her. Tony is Riff’s best friend and his former second in command. After spending a year in prison, he wants more from life than being a hoodlum.
As the two fall in love and envision a life together, their relationship is tested by the violence around them. If they could get those closest to them to find a way to get along, Maria and Tony could have a chance at a future. But as lovely as that idea is, it will take a miracle to make it happen.
Kudos go to director Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner. They took a chance on remaking a classic and succeeded. What makes it stand out from its 1961 predecessor is both the casting of Latinx actors and the understanding that socio-economic issues, politics, and racial strife is the backbone of this narrative.
The deliberate decision of seeking out and hiring performers who are from Latin America or of Latin American descent adds a feeling of authenticity that is missing from the original film. Even Rita Moreno, who is also Puerto Rican (Anita in the 1961 movie and Valentina, the co-owner of the pharmacy and widow of the late pharmacist in this adaptation) had her skin darkened.
If there is one performer who stands out, it is Rachel Zegler. In her first on-screen role ever, she shines as Maria. Her voice is absolutely stunning. Most young actors start out as background players or in small roles, slowly building up their resume. To come out of the gate in the lead role in a major movie and blow everyone away shows that she has nothing but a bright future ahead of her.
This narrative is as timely and powerful as it was sixty years ago. The problems have not changed, they just have different names and different faces. If nothing else, it reminds the audience that we have two choices. We can continue to figuratively shoot ourselves in the literal foot, or find a way to work tother.
Though it clocks in at a little over two hours, it is worth sitting through.
Among the thousands of stories that have been written throughout humanity’s history, there is a reason that some have come down through the generations while others have been forgotten. Romeo and Juliet is one of these tales.
On Sunday, the trailer for the West Side Story reboot was released.
I’m not a huge fan of musicals, but this trailer is just what I need to entice me to see the movie when it comes out in December. The colors are bright and inviting. Director Steven Spielberg was wise enough to honor the original 1961 film via some of the visual aspects and hire Rita Moreno, who played Anita. Moreno singing “Somewhere” in the trailer is the perfect link between both adaptations.
If nothing else, the release of West Side Story is timely. Given what is going on in our country and our world these days, we need a reminder that love is possible, if we are willing to do the work.
West Side Story will be in theaters December 10th, 2021.
Romeo and Juliet is one of those plays that we all know. The convergence of young love, hate, and violence come together in a potent mix that has been irresistible to audiences for centuries.
This production is fantastic. Emphasizing the narrative and the emotions of the characters, it is one of the best re-creations I have seen in a long time. It also, in my mind, proves that one does need to clothe the actors in Elizabethan era costumes or film somewhere in Europe that looks like 16th century Italy to be true to the text.
Do I recommend it? Absolutely.
Romeo & Juliet can be watched on the Great Performances website.
In our world and our culture, the idea of young love is put on a pedestal, especially when it is enveloped in the idea of class or political warfare. The question is, can this young love overcome the challenges?
The book is set in two periods: Iran in the early 1950’s and New England in 2013. In the early 1950’s Iran is torn between the past and the present, between democracy and a religious autocracy. In this world our lovers, Roya and Bahman meet for the first time. They are young, passionate and eager to begin their lives as a married couple. But on the day that they are to say their vows, Bahman disappears.
When it becomes obvious that Bahman is not coming back, Roya moves to America and a new life. Decades later, a twist of fate brings Bahman and Roya back together. After sixty years, she still is still asking why he abandoned her.
I know that it’s only February, but this is one of the best books of the year. Using a narrative baseline of Romeo and Juliet and mixing in Iranian history with class politics, the author is able to weave together a story of young love that stands the test of time.
The story of forbidden love is akin to catnip for many writers. The question is, can the writer or writers create a story that stands out from the pack?
In the 2006 film, Tristan + Isolde, James Franco plays Tristan, a prince who is second in line to the British throne. Sophia Myles plays Isolde, the princess from an Irish clan who is feuding with the British. Needless to say, this is not a match that would be approved by either side. Isolde marries Marke (Rufus Sewell), but does not forget the man she loves. Will the lovers be able to build a life together or will they be fated to hide their love to survive?
The film is based on the story of a mythical, yet forbidden love between Cornish Knight and an Irish Princess. The problem with this film is that unlike another famous tale of forbidden love (Romeo and Juliet), it does not have same oomph. While it helps that Rufus Sewell’s character is the main reason that the lovers are kept apart, even he cannot save this film.
Of all the intangible things in the world, innocence is the most precious of intangible things. It is also the easiest to take away.
In The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne, Bruno is the young son of a German officer. His family is removed from their house in Berlin to a house in the country where his father has relocated for work. Bruno does not understand why they had to move. He soon meets Shmuel, a boy his own age who lives behind barbed wires and wears striped pajamas. Despite not understanding why Shmuel lives why he lives, Bruno and Shmuel become friends. This friendship will briefly enrich both boys lives, but will lead to devastating and heartbreaking consequences.
While this book is concise, it is mind-blowing. Told through Bruno’s point of view via third person, the story is told from an angle not seen in Holocaust fiction previously: a young boy who is unaware of the hate he should have in his heart and befriends another child whom he should hate, but doesn’t.
I keep thinking of the end of Romeo and Juliet when I think of the ending of this book.
See what a scourge is laid upon your hate,
That heaven finds means to kill your joys with love;
And I, for winking at your discords too,
Have lost a brace of kinsmen: all are punish’d.
If nothing else, this book reminds me that hate and love have equal power in this world, it is just matter of which one we choose to embrace and if we are truly wiling to accept the consequences of this hate if we choose that path.
Writergurlny 
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