Yelp Reviews

I'm always more than happy to support my friends in their creative endeavors, especially when they're bloody hilarious. A friend of mine recently produced the above video in which another friend gives a dramatic reading of a Yelp review. I hope you enjoy it; I think it's hysterical.

Harvey

Jim Parsons is Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Once the famed haunt of disco divas, Studio 54 is currently home to a rabbit named Harvey.

Harvey is the story of one Elwood P. Dowd, an affable bachelor who lives with his widowed sister, Veta, and her daughter, Myrtle Mae, in the Dowd family’s Denver mansion in 1944. Elwood likes to pass out his card to people he meets and spend his afternoons drinking at Charlie’s Bar with his friend Harvey. Not so unusual until you learn that Harvey is an invisible six foot three and a half inch white rabbit whom Elwood insists on introducing to everyone he meets. Harvey you see is a pooka, a creature from Irish mythology that usually takes the shape of an oversized animal, and apparently only Elwood can see him (well, most of the time). Intent on introducing her daughter into high society, Veta sees Elwood as an embarrassment and tries to have her brother committed to the local sanatorium, Chumley’s Rest. But Veta’s plans go astray when her frantic tale gets her admitted instead while Elwood and Harvey go on their way. After Veta’s release, everyone searches frantically for Elwood who shows up at Chumley’s Rest looking for a missing Harvey. He proceeds to charm the staff, making a profound impact on them while Veta decides that regardless of Harvey, she likes Elwood just the way he is.

Made into a much beloved film in 1950 with James Stewart in the Elwood role, the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Mary Chase may at first seem too old-fashioned for a revival but this Harvey is utterly delightful due largely to the casting of Jim Parsons as Elwood. Parsons is a perfect Elwood. With his childlike interest in the most common of things, gentlemanly manners, and unwavering belief in Harvey, the role could have been all wrong in the hands of another actor. But Parsons makes Elwood utterly believable. He is able to convey all the wonderment of Elwood’s view of the world without coming off as corny or clichéd. He also does a fine job maneuvering around the stage with an invisible rabbit next to his side.

In one monologue Elwood explains how he came to meet Harvey. “I started to walk down the street when I heard a voice saying: ‘Good evening, Mr. Dowd.’ I turned, and there was this great white rabbit leaning against a lamppost.” You never learn exactly why Harvey appears to Elwood when he does. Could it be a result of Elwood’s alcoholism?  Maybe. But when he says, “Doctor, I wrestled with reality for forty years, and I am happy to state that I finally won out over it” you get the feeling there’s some other tragedy from his past that Harvey helps Elwood to forget.

Jessica Hecht and Jim Parsons in a scene from Harvey. Photo: Joan Marcus.

Jessica Hecht turns in an outstanding performance as sister Veta. Speaking in a perfect 1940s voice (she could have stepped right out of a black and white movie), Hecht makes Veta very likable even when she is at her shrillest. And the moment when she lets slip that she too has seen Harvey is one of the great moments in the play.

The rest of the cast is top notch including Charles Kimbrough as the befuddled Dr William R. Chumley, Mad Men’s Rich Sommer doing his best Jack Carson as the orderly Wilson, and a brilliant cameo by Carol Kane as Chumley’s wife Betty.

The set is wonderful, rotating between the Dowd household, all wood and Victorian furniture, and the sanatorium’s waiting room, minimal and bright white. And the special effects (“Harvey” flips through a book and opens and closes doors) were just right.

The night I went, the theatre was packed and the audience lively (the fans of Jim Parsons, best known for his role as Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, were particularly vocal). Walking out of the theatre afterwards, I couldn’t help but glance at each lamppost I passed to see if there were any white rabbits. 

Harvey plays at Studio 54 through August 5. For more information, visit here.

Her Majesty's Secret Service

Forget the fireworks and the army of Mary Poppins and the athletes from all over the world. My favourite moment of the Olympic opening ceremony was the pairing of James Bond with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The short film, Happy & Glorious, that showed 007 arriving at Buckingham Palace to escort the Queen to the games was great fun. Bond looked dashing, the Queen actually said the words "good evening Mr. Bond," and there were corgis. It doesn't get much better than that. Now, let the games begin!

If you missed it, you can watch the video here. 

Murder Is My Business

Weegee shooting outside his studio (ca. 1939).

With the winning combination of photography, true crime, and New York, the International Center for Photography (ICP) exhibit “Weegee: Murder Is My Business” was bound to be a favourite of mine this summer. And after a recent viewing, I’m happy to report it didn’t disappoint.

Arthur Fellig (1899-1968), who immigrated to New York as a young boy, worked in a variety of photography-related jobs from photographer’s assistant to darkroom technician before striking out on his own as a freelance photographer. Nicknamed Weegee after the Ouija board for his uncanny ability to get to the scene right before a crime occurred, he become one of the best-known photographers in New York. With his trademark cigar in mouth and Speed Graphic camera in hand Weegee ushered in what would become known as tabloid journalism.

The ICP exhibit focuses on the years 1935-1946 when Weegee was at the height of his fame. During this time, he lived across the street from Police Headquarters in a tiny cold-water studio with just the bare minimums—a single bed, a beat-up desk, a police radio. His studio is partially recreated in the exhibit, which along with his camera, oversized press badge, and hat on display help to bring to life the man behind the photos.

"Mr. Esposito in line for night court" Weegee (January 16, 1941).

Weegee strove to beat the police to the scene of a crime and to see his photos printed first. To facilitate this need, he drove a 1938 Chevy Coupe, which acted as an office on wheels. Outfitted with a police radio, it included a portable dark room, typewriter, and change of clothes (along with a supply of cigars), allowing Weegee to get his photos and copy (he often wrote his own captions) to the Daily News, Herald-Tribune, Journal-American, PM, Post, Sun, or World-Telegram before his competition. Always aware of his public image, he didn't shy away from getting his own face in the papers and took to stamping his photos “Weegee the Famous.” In 1945, he published many of his images and prose in a book, Naked City, which became a bestseller.

Weegee’s beat was the streets of New York. In particular, the streets at night (that's when murder happened). And with his blinding bright flash, he captured New York in all its grimy realism. Murder suspects hide their faces, children stare right at the camera, fires blaze, cops go about their business. In one image, candy-store owner Joseph Gallichio lays dead while his neighbours look on. In another image, a pristine white hat sits upright near the head of its murdered owner, Dominic Didato. Yet there is also humour to be found in some of the images. In one section, cross-dressing men descend from the back of a police wagon, smiling and posing for the camera like models on a runway.

"Their First Murder" Weegee (October 9, 1941). 

Part of the exhibit is devoted to Weegee’s show at the Photo League in 1941 (the title for this exhibit comes from that show). Weegee’s homemade displays are recreated including the use of red nail polish on the white board to mimic blood (Weegee’s idea). The guest books from the 1941 show make for great reading; one visitor complains about the unprofessional quality of the displays while another innocently asks how one can become a Weegee.

Yet crime wasn’t the only topic that interested Weegee. Toward the end of the exhibit visitors can watch some color footage of people at Coney Island that he shot in 1948. The colour lends a modern air to the people playing and laughing on the beach and proves that murder was not Weegee's only business.

The exhibit is at the ICP through September 2, 2012. For more information, visit their website here.

Jimmy & Gran

East of Eden (1955) was my introduction to James Dean, and I've always had a special fondness for the film. There is something so real about Dean's performance as the tormented Cal that his anguish seems to practically leap from the screen. This screen test, less than a minute long and without audio, gives viewers a glimpse of the actor's talent and his amazing screen presence. For me what makes this test special is the actress with him, Lois Smith, who made her screen debut in the film in the role of Anne. Some of you may know her better as Adele "Gran" Stackhouse on True Blood, the wise grandmother to Sookie and Jason. Jimmy and Gran—what a combo.

Edwardian Summer

Edward Linley Sambourne was a cartoonist and illustrator best remembered for his work for Punch magazine. He was also a keen amateur photographer. During the summer of 1906 when Great Britain was experiencing a heat wave Sambourne took his camera to the seaside towns of Brighton and Folkestone. Save for the woman on the steps of a bathing machine, it looks these women must have been burning up. They're even wearing jackets and corsets in the first image!

Earlier that summer he took the ferry over to Ostend in Belgium where he captured these women using a bathing machine. Speaking of which, these machines were quite popular during the Victorian era. You would enter the contraption on the beach, change into your bathing costume, and then the machine would be wheeled into the water (often pulled by a horse) where you would then descend the steps directly into the water without people on the beach seeing anything improper (like a woman's legs). They would be out of style by the 1920s. They sure do seem like a lot of work. But the women's outfits are adorable.

These and more wonderful photos can be found on the blog The Library Time Machine, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea here.

Friday the 13th

It's Friday the 13th, a date that for many superstitious people is unlucky. I've never held to that belief but then again there are a lot of superstitions that I don't buy into like a black cat crossing your path is a bad omen. I for one adore black cats, which is why I love these photos from 1961 of a black cat casting call for the Black Cat segment of Roger Corman's Tales of Terror starring Joyce Jameson, Peter Lorre, and Vincent Price (how great was he?). I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that these cats were not amused. Have a great weekend everyone.

Photos from Life Magazine.