GUNS, HIPPIES, PANINI
posted by James Reel
Talk about the Christmas rush … forget shopping; it’s the almost last-minute reviewing that’s kept me busy. Here’s what I have in the latest Tucson Weekly. First, a review of a surprisingly good musical at Invisible Theatre:
I know what you're thinking, because I thought the same thing--and we're both wrong. Invisible Theatre is putting on _Gunmetal Blues_, a musical inspired by the gritty 1930s-'40s private-detective stories of writers like Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler. It rattles off lines like, "The rain on my face was a washrag full of straight pins." You can't really take that seriously unless it's coming straight from Hammet or Chandler. And this is a musical, remember, in which two of the stars are longtime regulars at Gaslight Theatre. You're thinking: This is just another silly, fluffy spoof. But you're as wrong as stilettos on a choirboy. Sure, _Gunmetal Blues_ starts off as a send-up of more noir clichés than you can list on a corpse's toe tag, but the writers, actors and director take their characters' emotions seriously. They're using some well-worn conventions to tell us a story about people worth caring about, not laughing at.
The full review awaits you here. Then there’s a very good production of a not good show:
_Hair_ is tremendously important in the history of American musical theater. Opening on Broadway in 1968, it was one of the first real rock musicals; it brought nudity and profanity to the stage; and it left in its wake a series of court decisions that liberalized American censorship laws. Unfortunately, _Hair_ is not a very good show. It features three or four enduring songs, but its first act is an irremediable mess; its characters have less depth than an R. Crumb cartoon; and its plot, such as it is, boils down to a simple question: Should Claude burn his draft card and continue to frolic with his hippie friends, or not? _Hair_ is not effective as an anti-war protest or a pro-love rally, yet it will soon be revived on Broadway after a Central Park run this past summer, and Arizona Theatre Company has mounted its own version of the show. However limp _Hair_ may seem now, ATC has done a terrific job of giving it new life and body.
The rest of the review can be found here. I hope you haven’t lost your appetite, because I also contribute a Chow review this week:
I avoid chain eateries as much as possible, but sometimes in the line of duty, I must review such establishments. Sertinos Café (it lacks an apostrophe, but the corporate office does like the proper accent on the "e") is a franchise outfit based in Portland, Ore. It's part Starbucks-style high-end coffee shop, part deli sandwich shop, part ice cream parlor. The newish location at Tanque Verde and Bear Canyon roads is partly ordinary, and partly very nice--which is better than the franchise/chain average.
The full review is here.
