Liars and Saints

 "Jesus Christ Superstar" is essentially the same story as "Evita." We have the charismatic antagonist who steals the show. We have the drippy third wheel who gets one memorable solo ("I Don't Know How to Love Him," "Another Suitcase"). We have musings on celebrity and power--we have questions about where money should flow. Consider this: Woman, your fine ointment--brand new and expensive-- Could have been saved for the poor! Why has it been wasted? We could have saved maybe... Ten thousand silver pieces or more... Also this: The money kept rolling in from every side... Eva's pretty hands reached out, and they reached wide... Now you might hear a little of the cash has gone astray... But that's not the point, my friends. When the money keeps rolling out, you don't ask how. Both shows also feature a direct address to God. ("Oh, what I'd give for that hundred years...My Creator...") "Superstar" gives Jesus hi...

  I'm not going to rain too much on anyone's parade, but I will list my objections first: *Ariana Grande was the wrong candidate. She has obvious reverence for Kristin Chenoweth--which is touching--but she isn't on par with Chenoweth. It's clear that Grande made a choice to attempt a Xerox copy of Chenoweth's various brilliant moves--and I'm disappointed. (Was Annaleigh Ashford judged to be "too old"?) *The meandering book scene before "Defying" is almost fatally tedious. *It is impossible to make sense of Fiyero. (I understand that this is because he actually represents a mishmash of two characters from the novel.) *The Galinda/Glinda discussion adds nothing to the story, and it certainly doesn't merit inclusion in a movie that is already much too long. *Glinda's sudden decision to befriend Elphaba--because of an awkward dance--leaves me scratching my head. Maybe an actor stronger than Grande could have persuaded me to believe in thi...

The best songs have double meanings; "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" could be about Oz, but it could also be about fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe. "Killing Me Softly" was intended in a literal way; it really was about seeing a male performer, feeling "understood" by an artist. When I watch a Nicole Holofcener movie, I feel she is "strumming my pain with her fingers"; she understands who I am. This is the kind of artistic connection that Roberta Flack describes. However, on another level, "Killing Me Softly" is about sadism. It's about helpless love. The speaker is in thrall to a man, and the experience is painful: "I prayed that he would finish, but he just kept right on." The man is especially seductive because he isn't really "invested": "He sang as if he knew me, in all my dark despair. And then he looked right through me, as if I wasn't there." This is blinding, irrational love. Nothing is r...

 We have a cast for the movie adaptation (of the musical adaptation of the movie adaptation of the novel)  The Color Purple. I'm surprised that Oscar-nominee Cynthia Erivo isn't the lead performer, and I imagine this subject will be the focus of my Internet-surfing today. On another note: My favorite  Color Purple  moment belongs to Shug, and, in my heart, Shug will always be Heather Headley. Shug is sitting with Celie, and Celie casually describes herself as "ugly," because the world has repeatedly assigned this word to Celie. Startled, Shug disagrees. And she sings something simple and direct to Celie: I've always been the kind of gal That's had a lot to say. I says the things that's on my mind.... Too dumb to shy away. But you hush my mouth and still me With a song I've never heard. I guess that means that you are just-- Too beautiful for words. Shug elaborates. She alludes to her starry past with kings and counts. But: When I see what's in your...

Cynthia Erivo is on PBS, in concert, tonight! 9 PM--at least in my neck of the woods. Some thoughts: -Erivo started singing in earnest because, in childhood, she just noticed that people liked when she made music. -Erivo took Broadway by storm--winning a Tony in her debut, in "The Color Purple." This wasn't just a good performance: There was something about Erivo's stillness and quiet charisma that made people murmur about "legends" and "making history." -Erivo will be serving some Whitney and some Annie Lennox tonight. I'm excited! Tune in!

What is a plot? It's an effort one character makes to get what he wants. If you have an ambition, duplicitousness will almost certainly follow. It's in the nature of human behavior. You package your motives in nice, fancy paper, and you hope that no one looks too closely. You try to get other people to behave in the way you desire--and misunderstandings and comedy almost certainly pop up, as a result. For Shakespeare, a metaphor for life's messiness was cross-dressing.  You have  a grand dream? The realization of that dream will almost always entail pretending to be a  boy,  when you're a  girl,  or vice versa. At least in the land of Shakespeare. For John le Carre, a wish almost always involves spying. You pretend to be an ally when you're not, and you gather info covertly, and the tension inherent in a "performance" is the tension that keeps readers turning pages. In my view, one of the most scintillating recent Broadway plots is not actually from a ...