Snook! Sink! Boop! & More Now on Broadway

Reverend’s Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter

Hello, dear readers!  It’s been a while since I last posted and I apologize for the delay.  Numerous issues intervened: extended illness, retirement of the previous blog administrator, northeast US winter, church duties, evil presidential administrations, etc. At any rate, I’m happy to be back AND in the immediate wake of the 2025 Tony Award nominations!

Reverend has been “bingeing” Broadway’s latest offerings over the past month or so, since I live in NYC-adjacent Connecticut and am a member of the GALECA Theatre Wing (galeca.com).  Grrrrlls, we’ve got a lot to write/talk about!

Let’s start with two of this season’s most illustrious yet challenging talents for the alliteration-adverse like myself: Sarah Snook vs. Sadie Sink. These TV/streaming darlings are currently headlining fantastic Broadway plays, and both the actresses and their productions are newly-anointed Tony nominees in multiple categories. But adding to any potential alliterative confusion between the pair is the fact that their respective theaters are directly across 45th Street from each other!

The Picture of Dorian Gray (Now playing at the Music Box through June 29th)

Sarah Snook’s one-woman tour de force interpretation of Oscar Wilde’s classic morality tale. I was not very familiar with Snook (which I learned is pronounced like boo or new, not like look or book) but I became an instant fan after witnessing her Tony-nominated performance. She delectably plays 26 different characters, some of them in the same scene thanks to quick costume changes and/or pre-recorded projections. It is a stunning production, brilliantly conceived by Kip Williams and beautifully designed by Marg Horwell. Catch it while you can!

Reverend’s Rating: A+

John Proctor is the Villain (Now playing at the Booth Theatre)

A live and in person chance to shine for Sadie Sink, Stranger Things’ breakout star. This potent new play by Kimberly Belflower serves as both a critique and modern day translation of Arthur Miller’s theatrical classic, The Crucible. There are no witches to be found here, only a “coven” of high school girls learning to stand up against their male abusers. Sink and her castmates, under the direction of last season’s Tony-winning director Danya Taymor (The Outsiders), are uniformly excellent. Teens and young adults will respond especially well to this.

Reverend’s Rating: A

Boop! The Musical (Now playing at the Broadhurst Theatre)

The most visually inventive and purely enjoyable musical of this season. One doesn’t have to be particularly familiar with Betty Boop, the early-20th century cartoon character, to be wowed by this show’s immense charms. When Betty is transported from her black & white world to ultra-colorful, modern-day NYC, comedic chaos ensues thanks to Bob Martin’s very funny book. Things may get a little too silly at times but kids will eat it up (especially Betty’s adorable dog, Pudgy, who is frequently on stage). A star is born in 25-year old Jasmine Amy Rogers, making her Broadway debut in the title role. She is a charismatic triple-threat and now a deserved Tony Award nominee. The scenery, special effects, costumes and choreography are consistently amazing, and the pop-leaning songs by David Foster and Susan Birkenhead range from serviceable to terrific. I’m surprised Boop! isn’t doing better in terms of attendance although its award nominations may give it a bump. No matter what, I’m hoping it will get a national tour so everyone can check it out.

Reverend’s Rating: A-

Floyd Collins (Now playing at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre through June 22nd)

Speaking of early-20th century Americana, Adam Guettel’s and Tina Landau’s 1995 musical inspired by a real-life incident in 1925 is finally making its Broadway debut. It is a unique work that tells the tragic tale of a young man trapped in a Kentucky cavern and the early “media circus” resulting from his plight. The always likable Jeremy Jordan stars as Floyd, and he was in fine voice during the performance I attended. Jordan is also newly Tony-nominated as is this production in the Best Revival of a Musical category. After a strong start, I found some of the staging odd and the show itself overwrought, with a few too many central characters. Still, Guettel’s songs often soar and the finale packs an emotional punch.

Reverend’s Rating: B

Operation Mincemeat (Now playing at the Golden Theatre through February 2026)

This British import is definitely one of the more unusual shows currently running. The musical is based on a true story but considerably infused with a Monty Python-esque sensibility. A crack team of government operatives (including James Bond creator Ian Fleming) develops and executes a plan to oust Hitler’s troops from Sicily during World War II. While most of the story is played for laughs, it features some touching, resonant moments. The strongest is “Dear Bill,” a lovely soliloquy beautifully performed by Tony nominee Jak Malone (he previously won the Olivier for his turn). Operation Mincemeat’s first act is stronger than the second, both dramatically and musically, but it definitely makes for an entertaining afternoon or evening at the theatre!

Reverend’s Rating: B+

Real Women Have Curves (Now playing at the James Earl Jones Theatre)

The newest of this season’s musicals just opened April 27th.  Adapted from Josefina Lopez’s play and 2002 movie of the same name, it depicts a group of Latina immigrant coworkers in a dressmaking shop in Boyle Heights, California circa 1987. One of their daughters is about to graduate from high school and is intent on attending Columbia University in NYC, much to her parents’ disapproval. Though set nearly 30 years ago and developed prior to the current presidential administration, the show is powerfully timely in dealing with immigration issues. While very serious in spots, this is primarily a musical comedy with many funny moments and a vibrant score by Joy Huerta and Benjamin Velez. They were both surprise nominees last week for this year’s Best Score Tony. Real Women Have Curves also boasts a delightful, mostly Latina cast. It is a true crowd pleaser, and Latina/Latino theatregoers will no doubt especially appreciate it.

Reverend’s Rating: A-

Reverend's Reviews: 2024 — Another Queer Year for Movies

Happy new year, dear readers! Interestingly, we termed my round-up of the best and worst movies of 2023 “a Queer Year for Movies.” Guess what? 2024 turned out to be even MORE queer. (Queerer?) Heck, a major award-nominated release was even entitled Queer!

Also interesting is the fact that many of this year’s best films feature lead characters who are underdogs, oppressed, and/or members of underrepresented communities who discover their dignity and power. What’s more, there is no shortage of LGBTQ talent in front of and behind the camera.

Without further ado, here is this queer critic’s rundown of the best and worst cinematic offerings of 2024. As is my custom, I sometimes join together movies of equal quality that also share themes, genres or talent.

1. The Brutalist (A24). An excellent, humanist epic about the title style of architecture and a whole lot more. It follows the journey of a Holocaust survivor, his wife and their niece to post-World War 2 USA. Lead actors Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones and Guy Pearce have never been better. Actor-turned-director Brady Corbet, who memorably played Brian in Gregg Araki’s potent Mysterious Skin (2004), establishes himself here as a master filmmaker. It is 3 ½ hours long but well worth the time, and thankfully includes an intermission.

2. Emilia Pérez (Netflix) and The End (NEON). Two original, deliriously unique movie musicals. The first centers on a trans character (played by trans actress Karla Sofía Gascón) and both the havoc and grace that result from their transition. The second depicts a family, headed by the always great Tilda Swinton, that has survived a global apocalypse in their underground bunker. Did I mention both films are musicals with full-on singing and dancing? Don’t miss them.

3. The Animal Kingdom (Magnet Releasing). I fell in love early last year with this French fantasy-drama. An unknown phenomenon is causing humans to turn into animals, birds and other species. Derogatorily termed “hybrids,” their mistreatment evokes LGBTQ parallels. When his teenage son is afflicted, a father grapples with how best to support him. This is a beautiful, timely parable featuring award-winning special effects.

4. Challengers (Amazon/MGM) and Queer (A24). Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritzkes created not just one but two of the most provocative movies of the year. Tennis has never appeared as sexy as it does in Challengers thanks to the film’s fluid — and very hot — love triangle, while Daniel Craig (yes, the former James Bond) has never been as boldly sexual as he is in Queer.

5. The Blue Angels (Amazon/MGM), Jim Henson: Idea Man (Disney+) and Let the Canary Sing: Cyndi Lauper (Paramount+). In a strong year for documentaries, these three stood out to me for the unadulterated admiration they have for their subjects even as they remain objective. The Blue Angels, about the elite Navy flying corps, also boasts spectacular cinematography best experienced on the biggest screen you can find.

6. The People’s Joker (Altered Innocence). Vera Drew caused a commotion with this, her first feature film as a director. A queer, clever, satiric take on Batman’s nemesis and many other DC Comics characters, it angered DC’s leadership to the extent they prohibited Drew from showing the movie publicly. She even had to withdraw it from some 2023 film festivals. Fortunately for all of us, DC relented last year and Drew’s ingenious comedy is now available for all to see!

7. Wicked (Universal) and Nightbitch (Searchlight). Women rule — eventually — in these fantastical works. Director Jon M. Chu not only adapted the long-running Broadway blockbuster Wicked into a blockbuster movie musical, but worked in tributes to the entire cinematic legacy of The Wizard of Oz as well as more story elements from gay writer Gregory Maguire’s original novel. Meanwhile, Amy Adams gives her best performance in years as a neglected wife and mother who learns to defy gravity with the help of a pack of dogs and her newly unleashed inner canine.

8. A Quiet Place: Day One (Paramount) and Tuesday (A24). As some readers know, my “day job” is working with hospice patients. I was therefore caught off guard, pleasantly so, by the terminally-ill protagonists of these two well-made adventures. Lupita Nyong’o’s Samira finds renewed reason to live, with the help of her therapy cat and a traumatized man, as NYC is attacked by aliens in the Quiet Place prequel. In the lovely Tuesday, a dying teenage girl and Death itself, which appears as a magical bird, must prepare her mother (a terrific Julia Louis-Dreyfus) for the inevitable.

9. Anora (NEON). The latest from writer-director Sean Baker (Tangerine, Red Rocket) is currently racking up awards from film festivals and critic groups. It focuses on the title character, an exotic dancer/sex worker who falls for the spoiled son of a Russian oligarch. Though their relationship proves ill-fated, Ani discovers her true strengths in the process. Mikey Madison gives a delightful, star-making performance.

10. Conclave (Focus) and The Critic (Lionsgate). Conniving Catholic cardinals and an equally manipulative theatre critic are the subjects of these more classical yet unexpectedly entertaining movies. An all-star cast including Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini add credibility as their characters participate in the election of a new pope in Conclave, while queer legend Ian McKellen plays the secretly gay, deliciously vicious writer in The Critic.

Honorable mentions in alphabetical order: The Fall Guy, Kinds of Kindness, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Late Night with the Devil, Lover of Men: The Untold Story of Abraham Lincoln, National Anthem and Sing Sing.

At the other end of the cinematic spectrum are these 2024 movies that most made me want my money, time and/or dignity back after enduring them:

1. Under Paris (Netflix). Super-smart great white sharks invade the French capital. Utterly ridiculous, yet it became a streaming hit that is reportedly getting a sequel.

2. The First Omen (20th Century Studios) and Immaculate (NEON). Evil nuns and priests have become an overused cliché in horror movies. These two entries employ them to the worst, most illogical extremes to date. God should smite the filmmakers.

3. Road House (Amazon/MGM). I don’t think anyone was asking for a remake of the 1989 camp classic that starred the late Patrick Swayze as a bouncer with seemingly mystical abilities. Well, we got a remake anyway with Jake Gyllenhaal stepping into the role. It was far from an improvement.

4. Night Swim (Universal). A family moves into a new house which, unbeknownst to them, features a haunted swimming pool as an amenity. While this plot gets points for originality, it quickly starts to tread water.

5. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (Warner Bros). The long-running sci-fi action series has finally run out of gas, as proven by this over-the-top, more-of-the-same prequel.

6. Madame Web (Sony). So bad it soured me on the current Marvel offering, Kraven the Hunter, and I would normally watch yummy Aaron Taylor-Johnson in anything (see honorable mention The Fall Guy above).

7. Civil War (A24). It may yet to prove to be a prescient documentary, but this box office hit seemed like a cash grab in light of our country’s political woes by the otherwise reputable British filmmaker, Alex Garland.

Despite whatever ideas the last movie above in particular might inspire, here’s to a happy, healthy, safe, non-revolutionary (but no promises) 2025 for all of us!

Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: A Magical Christmas On & Off Broadway

It has become a delightful, annual tradition for Reverend to spend a weekend in New York City with local friends before Christmas. The Big Apple is transformed each year into an extravagantly (sometimes excessively) decorated tribute to the multiple holidays celebrated by its various communities, including the LGBTQ community. I even helped a drag Mrs. Claus (aka Jacklynn Hyde) cross the street prior to her Bingo appearance at Dickens, a fabulous gay bar/restaurant in Hell's Kitchen. Hopefully, that will secure Reverend a few extra points with the "Big Gay," aka God.

While I can't say our December 13th-15th weekend in NYC was a Christmas-centric time, it was truly magical. One of my friends and I did kick things off in a religious vein with a performance of Handel's Messiah at Lincoln Center. Presented by the New York Philharmonic, the Musica Sacra chorale and several talented soloists, it was Reverend's first time seeing/hearing Messiah all the way through. Although my more knowledgeable companion thought the overall tempo too fast, I found it altogether lovely and faith-affirming.

We went from the sacred/sublime to the lovably ridiculous at The Big Gay Jamboree! This showcase for the hilarious writer-actress Marla Mindelle, who previously co-created and starred in off-Broadway's fantastic, long-running spoof Titanique, did not disappoint. Sadly, though, Reverend didn't learn until the next day that it was the production's closing weekend! The recent announcement that Titanique has expanded internationally provides some consolation.

The Big Gay Jamboree serves as Mindelle's LGBTQ-aware tribute to Broadway shows both classic and more recent. It features musical and/or visual callbacks to Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, Wicked, Hairspray, A Chorus Line, The Music Man and Dreamgirls, among others. While performed in the East Village's small-scale Orpheum Theatre (home to the original Little Shop of Horrors and Stomp, among others), Mindelle's labor of love boasted director-choreographer Connor Gallagher (Beetlejuice: The Musical) and Hollywood-based production companies Luckychap, Indian Paintbrush and Annapurna. Subsequently, its scenic design, costumes, lighting and supporting cast were noticeably more advanced/underwritten than most off-Broadway ventures. In fact, The Big Gay Jamboree was initially developed as a movie star vehicle for Margot Robbie before she moved on to Barbie and other projects. God willing, the movie will yet happen.

Mindelle headlined the closed-too-soon stage rendition as Stacey, a vacuous party girl who drinks too much at a gay bar one night and wakes up engaged to be married in a Broadway musical circa 1945. While she has to follow the social conventions of the time, Stacey gradually enlightens her fellow characters to such modern-day advances as racial equality, BDSM, and LGBTQ rights as she searches for a way back to the "real" world.

It is rude and crude in spots but also smart and timely; AI ends up playing a significant part in the proceedings. Also playing a part in the NYC proceedings were former Saturday Night Live cast member Alex Moffat and Mindelle's Titanique co-creator, Constantine Rousouli. Rousouli's well-developed, lovingly-exposed thighs alone were worth the price of admission.

Whether as a movie, a Broadway transfer or local theater productions, I hope The Big Gay Jamboree will yet have a long and fruitful (no pun intended) life.

Nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like a new Broadway musical about survivors of a 19th-century shipwreck who resort to cannibalism to survive, but such is the plot of Swept Away. It is now playing at the Longacre Theater, although a premature closing of December 29th has been announced. (The show just officially opened on November 19th.) Actually, a closing date of December 8th was first announced but a subsequent surge in holiday ticket sales resulted in a postponement. Such is the fate nowadays of too many shows not based on a previously existing property like a movie, book or TV show. Lempicka, Swept Away's sensational predecessor at the Longacre, is another sad case in point.

Though termed a "jukebox musical" since most of the show's songs by the Avett Brothers were previously existing, Swept Away features an original book by Tony winner and Oscar nominee John Logan. The all-male cast led by Broadway veterans John Gallagher, Jr. and Stark Sands is terrific but the standout element is the show's scenic design by Rachel Hauck. This includes the ship's spectacular on-stage sinking and a rolling, rotating lifeboat.

I found elements of both Logan's book and Michael Mayer's direction heavy-handed. More subtle handling of such themes as brotherly tension, religion, forgiving oneself, and the aforementioned cannibalism. A lighter approach also might have helped the show survive longer on Broadway, although the audience I was part of seemed to love it as is. If nothing else, it's worth catching Swept Away before it closes for that astonishing shipwreck.

The best, most lovable show I attended during our weekend of pre-Christmas revels was Maybe Happy Ending, now playing at the Belasco Theatre. This represented one of those happy, near-religious experiences where I went in knowing next to nothing about it and came out a raving believer.

This original musical, imported from South Korea but easily accessible to American theatregoers, is set in the near-future and centers on the growing, seemingly impossible love between two AI "helper bots." Oliver (played by the always watchable, Emmy-winning singer/actor Darren Criss) and Claire (Helen J. Shen, making her welcome Broadway debut) are neighbors in a helper bot retirement community, although Oliver is not aware that he has been retired. He devotedly pines for the return of his owner, James, so he can once again serve him. Claire decides to help Oliver find James, even as her battery is dying and she requires more frequent charging breaks.

Even if the plot becomes predictable at times, there are so many unique elements to this story and production that keep it engaging. Michael Arden's direction is masterful and Maybe Happy Ending also boasts amazing scenic design, this time by Dane Laffrey. Indeed, one moment in the show (no spoilers) is the most exquisitely beautiful moment — both musically and visually — I have ever seen on any stage anywhere.

Criss gives an excellent, physically precise yet emotionally moving performance as Oliver. Shen matches him emotionally if not physically, although as a later model of helper bot Claire is more advanced and less robot-like. Happily, Maybe Happy Ending seems to be finding an audience so I hope it will enjoy a longer run than the preceding productions reviewed here. It was a wonderful way to end our NYC holiday adventure.

Reverend wishes you and yours happy holidays, merry Christmas, and a blessed 2025!

Reverend's Ratings:
The Big Gay Jamboree: B+
Swept Away: B
Maybe Happy Ending: A-

Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: Forbidden History Lessons

With our US presidential election looming, this is a good time to recall the life of who is generally considered the greatest president to date: Abraham Lincoln. The fact that the progressive, anti-slavery Lincoln was a Republican seems utterly shocking from today's perspective. To top things off, a new documentary provides the most compelling evidence to date that Lincoln was also homosexual. That loud noise you just heard was a collective gay gasp from pearl-clutching, modern-day Republicans!

Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln, directed by Shaun Peterson, is now available across all VOD platforms for purchase and rental following its theatrical release last month. There was some cultural hubbub about Lincoln being gay before Steven Spielberg's 2012 biopic, which included a couple of oblique references to this. More recently, Cole Escola's smash Broadway play Oh, Mary! pulls no punches in depicting him as a barely closeted, adulterous gay slut.

Peterson, however, has created the most comprehensive and scholarly exploration of Lincoln's homosexuality to date. He had at least four long-term, romantic relationships with men during his lifetime, which was tragically cut short by his assassination. While we can't say for sure that they had sexual relations, they at minimum slept together regularly. The documentary produces numerous personal letters and eyewitness accounts to this.

Yes, Abe was married to Mary Todd and they had several children. As the new film makes clear, though, theirs was a mutually advantageous marriage in terms of social standing. Lincoln likely would not have been taken seriously as a presidential candidate had he been single. In fact, Abe broke off his first engagement to Mary and seemingly proposed to her begrudgingly once his male lover at the time, Joshua Speed, took a wife.

Lover of Men is heavily detailed and includes commentary from a number of researchers and Lincoln experts. It includes some arguably unnecessary dramatizations of Lincoln with his various, alleged lovers but the film remains engrossing and convincing. Most intriguing are some of the historical questions Peterson and company raise. For instance, would have/could have a straight president abolished slavery? Lincoln was able to empathize with the oppressed of his time, more than likely because he felt oppressed himself. As a result, he is considered by at least one commentator in the film to be the one US president to date who was "most invested in America, in democracy."

On that note and in honor of gay old Abe, be sure to vote on or before November 5th!

The best original musical on Broadway this year/last season – even though it wasn't nominated for the Tony Award in that category (it was in a few others) – was the stunning but sadly short-lived Lempicka. I entered the theater knowing absolutely nothing about the renowned 20th century painter whose life it depicts. I came out a fan of the subject and wanting to learn more.

As if in answer to Reverend's prayer, a documentary entitled The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & The Art of Survival just had its world premiere October 11th at the Mill Valley Film Festival in San Rafael, California. Its representative was kind enough to send me a screener of the film in advance. Directed by Julie Rubio, the premiere is complemented by the first US retrospective of the trailblazing artist whose revolutionary work obviously continues to captivate audiences worldwide. Her exhibition is currently running at the De Young Museum in San Francisco through February 9th, 2025.

The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & the Art of Survival traces the life and endurance of Lempicka: from her rise to international stardom in 1920's Paris, to her move to the United States fleeing fascism in 1940, to her revival in the current art market. Rubio's film (with input from the painter's biological descendants) follows this remarkable refugee as she reinvents herself multiple times. It successfully looks behind the veneer of the publicity she generated for herself and examines the bisexual, Jewish artist who embodied talent, resilience, passion and a relentless pursuit of artistic freedom.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, even as it unintentionally makes clear some of the dramatic license taken by the creators of the stage musical. One of several examples: Lempicka ultimately settled in Mexico and died there, not in California as implied by the musical. But this is a minor qualm on my part, and anyone who didn't see the musical wouldn't know the difference. I'll happily continue to take Lempicka in whatever format or venue she appears.

Thankfully, the late lamented Lempicka is not skewered in the latest edition of Gerard Alessandrini's long-running NYC stage satire Forbidden Broadway. Subtitled Merrily We Stole a Song as homage to the recent, successful revival of Merrily We Roll Along and its late creator, Stephen Sondheim, the production now playing at Off Broadway's Theater 555 gleefully spoofs Broadway classics plus current hits and flops. The above mentioned Oh, Mary! even makes an appearance.

Interestingly, this version was originally slated to be the first Forbidden Broadway to actually play on Broadway. Plans changed a few months back so it is once again Off Broadway. The show's opening number, "Forbidden Broadway Not on Broadway," has great fun with this. Most of the revamped showtunes featured are fun, and some of them hilarious. But it also becomes apparent to longtime followers including myself that, after 30-plus years, the show's format is a bit tired and Alessandrini's repeats himself lyrically at times.

His current cast, however, is excellent. Danny Hayward makes a freakily accurate Eddie Redmayne while spoofing him and all his predecessors as Emcee in Cabaret. Nicole Vanessa Ortiz is vocally and comically impressive as both the Alicia Keys-inspired lead character in Hell's Kitchen and Audra McDonald's Mama Rose in her upcoming revival of Gypsy. As Doc Brown in Back to the Future: The Musical, Daniel Radcliffe in Merrily... and a bearded Mary Todd Lincoln, Chris Collins-Pisano is a hoot. Last but certainly not least, Forbidden Broadway vet Jenny Lee Stern nails Patti LuPone, Suffs creator Shaina Taub and Bernadette Peters, among others.

Unfortunately, the Saturday night performance I attended two weeks ago was sparsely attended, and the production just announced it will be closing on November 3rd. I honestly don't know that Forbidden Broadway will have an audience for potential future installments. That's all the more reason to catch Merrily We Stole a Song while you can.

Reverend's Ratings:
Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln: A-
The True Story of Tamara de Lempicka & the Art of Survival: B+
Forbidden Broadway: Merrily We Stole a Song: B

Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.