OKC Improv finishing up inaugural run of shows Saturday
Twinprov
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Improv showcase to close successful first run
Oklahoma City’s first ongoing professional improv showcase ends its inaugural run this weekend with an improvised musical, standup comedy and a double-the-fun hip-hop concert.
OKC Improv will close its initial seven-week series with shows at 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday at Ghostlight Theatre Club, 3110 N Walker.
“The response has been fantastic. We have been getting in a lot of people … who have never seen improv before, just really diverse crowds. And the feedback we’re getting at almost every show is ‘That was amazing,’ ‘I’m going to bring everyone I know,’ ‘I can’t believe this is happening in Oklahoma City,’ ‘I didn’t know we had improv,’” said Eric Webb, OKC Improv co-founder and co-producer.
During the first run, about half the shows sold out, and almost every improv troupe in the state took the Ghostlight stage. Among the groups that performed were Oklahoma City’s Red Dirt Improv and The Ones Your Mother Warned You About, Norman’s Obviously Unrehearsed Improv!, Tulsa’s Crayons, Stillwater’s Ham Wallet and Cueless, along with the state’s longest-running troupe, Everybody and Their Dog.
“Generally, the responses from the troupes have been fantastic and … overwhelmingly positive. They love that they have the space they can perform in; they love being able to see what other improv performers and troupes are doing. And they also get the opportunity to play with people they’ve never played with before,” he said.
The showcase’s inaugural series also included the development of the OKC Improv All-Stars, a comedy “super-troupe” with a rotating cast doing a fast-paced mix of short-form and musical improv.
“Having all those improvisers there together, warming up together, in the green room together, we realized that we were wanting to create a scene, we were wanting to create a community, and it was happening,” Webb said. “And that really happens at every show.”
This week, standup comic Brad Porter will open the 8 p.m. show, followed by the debut of a new show from Clint and Buck Vrazel, performing as Twinprov. Twinprov’s “The Doppelgangstas: Live in Concert” will feature the brothers improvising new raps and remixes of their previous songs backed by local musician Stephanie “Dr. Spach” Bidelspach and San Francisco’s DJ Philonious Tao.
The 10 p.m. show will feature the OKC Improv All-Stars and the premiere of “Villain: The Musical!,” an improvised three-act 45-minute musical inspired by the Broadway hit “Wicked” and Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.” The Vrazels, Bidelspach, Cristela Carrizales and Raychel Winstead will star in the musical, told from the antagonist’s point of view.
Though the performers have developed a loose structure, Webb said the musical’s characters and conflicts will be devised on the spot from audience suggestions.
OKC Improv will go dark in March as Ghostlight Theatre Club stages its production of Tom Stoppard’s “The Real Thing.” The improv showcase will launch its next five-week run April 3.
In April, Webb and his fellow producers — the Vrazels and Marcy Fleming — plan to refine the showcase’s format to feature one show with three acts every Saturday. Along with Oklahoma troupes and performers, they are in talks to book improv groups from Austin, Texas, Dallas and the Kansas City area. They also hope to see the debut of a new local all-female troupe, which is now in the works.
“This has been a new experience. It’s certainly been successful,” Webb said. “We definitely like the idea of new acts, new shows and improv concepts being staged at OKC Improv. We are excited to see that happen.”
For more information, call 343-1570 or go to www.okcimprov.com.
-BAM
Movie review: “The Last Station”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 1/2 of 4 stars.
‘Last Station’ explores author Tolstoy’s warlike final year
The war and not peace that filled Russian author Leo Tolstoy’s final year of life has the epic pull of one of his novels in the period film “The Last Station.”
In 1910, Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer), writer of “War and Peace” and “Anna Karenina,” is an aging but still living legend, surrounded by hordes of early-day paparazzi and zealous followers of his Christian-based, pre-revolutionary philosophy.
Retired but still active at his country estate, Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy, his legacy and beliefs brew in the center of a furious storm. After living as an aristocrat and fathering 13 children with his wife, the elderly writer renounces wealth and espouses a doctrine of social equality, passive resistance and celibate purity.
His beloved acolyte Vladimir Chertkov (Paul Giamatti), the calculating leader of the ardent Tolstoyans, campaigns for Tolstoy to rewrite his will and give the copyrights to his masterworks to the Russian people, with “the movement” administering the cash.
When Chertokov is put on house arrest by the czar’s police, he dispatches idealistic, fervent Tolstoyan Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy) to Yasnaya Polyana to serve as the writer’s personal secretary. But Valentin’s true mission is to spy on Tolstoy’s wife, Countess Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren), whom Chertokov considers dangerous and grasping.
Tolstoy’s spouse of 48 years, Sofya knew the author before he was famous, a living saint or the prophet his doctor (John Sessions) declares him. She scorns the “fake religion and revolutionary nonsense” of her husband’s disciples and venomously despises Chertokov. Having helped write his novels and born those 13 children, she desperately wants to keep her husband’s copyrights and estate for the sake of herself and the family.
The entire household is fully engaged in the heat of this battle — it’s even split the Tolstoy children, with daughter Sasha (Anne-Marie Duff) siding with the Tolstoyans and son Andrey (Tomas Spencer) backing the countess — when Valentin arrives.
Initially so awed he can barely speak to the author, Valentin continues to regard his hero as an intellectual giant. But he is surprised that Tolstoy is admittedly not that great a Tolstoyan, particularly when he starts fondly recalling youthful days spent sowing wild oats.
Valentin’s loyalties are challenged when the countess takes him into her confidence, encouraging him to keep a diary of what he really sees. He, along with the audience, sympathizes with Sofya even as she shatters dishes, rails in near hysterics and even attempts suicide to get her spouse’s attention.
The young disciple also must question his beliefs, particularly his vow of chastity, when he falls in love with Masha (the luminous Kerry Condon), a spirited worker at the nearby Tolystoyan commune. Masha fears the movement already has begun to fall into political scheming and stray from the core principles of love and freedom.
Period beauty and details and powerhouse performances drive director Michael Hoffman’s (“Soapdish”) intriguing if melodramatic tragicomedy. Nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar, Plummer deftly conveys the complexities of Tolstoy, who eventually flees the household to find peace.
But “The Last Station” truly starts and stops with Mirren’s towering portrayal of the loyal wife shunted aside by her spouse’s celebrity. By turns sorrowful, sardonic and histrionic, Mirren’s Sofya is always wonderfully, sloppily human. Though she is a longshot, Mirren deserves the best actress Oscar for which she is nominated.
— BAM
DVD review: “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”
With its muddled tone and murky plotting, The horror-comedy coming-of-age tale “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant” fails to suck in its audience, whomever that might be.
The supernatural story follows Darren (Chris Massoglia), an ordinary nice-guy teen with good grades, reasonable popularity and parents more anxious about his future than he. His longtime best friend Steve (Josh Hutcherson), on the other hand, is a budding juvenile delinquent.
The pals are bored with life in their nameless suburb until a freak show rolls into town. On a fateful night, they sneak out to see the Cirque du Freak, with its cast of eccentrics, including towering ringleader Mr. Tall (Ken Watanabe), regenerative Corma Limbs (Jane Krakowski) and bearded fortune teller Madame Truska (Salma Hayek). They are particularly mesmerized by sardonic spider trainer Larten Crepsley (John C. Reilly, who seems an odd choice but sinks his teeth into the role), whom Steve correctly pegs as a vampire.
The arachnid-obsessed Darren recklessly steals Crepsley’s poisonous pet, and Steve is accidentally bitten. Darren makes a bargain with Crepsley: In exchange for the antidote, the teen agrees to become the bloodsucker’s half-vampire (he will still be able to go out in daylight) aide.
When he awakes from a coma, Steve is furious with Darren for stealing his dream of becoming a vampire. Through the machinations of warmonger Mr. Tiny (Michael Cerveris), But Darren and Steve end up on opposites sides of an ancient struggle between vampires, who feed from but don’t kill humans, and the bloodthirsty Vampaneze, who ruthlessly drain their prey.
Adapted from British author Darren Shan’s 12-book series, “Cirque du Freak” has its creepy-cool moments, especially with the animated opening credits and in the graveyard sequences. The freaks are fascinating, and their campground colorfully exotic. But most of the story focuses on the less-intriguing conflict between the teens.
Director/co-writer Paul Weitz can’t decide what kind of movie he’s trying to make, though he obviously hopes to do a sequel. “Cirque du Freak” isn’t funny enough to be called a comedy nor scary enough to qualify as horror. Too long and convoluted for kids and too bloodless for teens, the vampire tale feels undead on arrival.
DVD features: Deleted scenes, three making-of featurettes and Cirque campground tour.
— BAM
CD review: The Texas Sapphires, “As He Wanders”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Country
The Texas Sapphires “As He Wanders” (Ike Records)
With creative songcraft and two distinctive vocalists, The Texas Sapphires glitter a little brighter than many among the burgeoning cache of honky tonk groups on the Texas music scene.
The Austin band will celebrate the release of its new album, “As He Wanders,” with a show at 8 p.m. Saturday at Route 66 Bowl’s Silver Dollar Saloon, 3810 NW 39 Street. Doors open at 7 p.m. For more information, call 946-2717 or go to www.66bowl.com.
If you go, get ready to shuck the bowling shoes for your dancing shoes, as “Teardrops or Rain” and “190” are ideal old-fashioned two-stepping songs. “Riddled Days” gracefully waltzes with poetic lyrics like “Time was I’d drink/The river like the sun/Burn those wheat fields/To desert for fun.”
Co-singer-songwriters Billy Brent Malkus and Rebecca Lucille Cannon are the crowning jewels for the Sapphires. They successfully switch off lead vocal duties to croon about drinking too hard, crossing paths with the law and struggling with heartaches. Each classic-sounding country tune is heavily laced with bold pedal steel, fiddle and mandolin. And Malkus’ down-home warmth provides the perfect foil for Cannon’s old-school Emmylou Harris-esque drawl.
The Sapphires also show off a sparkling sense of humor, sharing an engaging tale of excess with “How Did I Get So Sloppy Drunk (When I Was Drinkin’ Neat)” and zipping through the bluegrassy tribute to country living “Farmer’s’ Tan.”
— BAM
What to do in Oklahoma on Feb. 26, 2010
Today’s featured event:
Hear Dallas alt-country band the Old 97s at 8 tonight at the Wormy Dog Saloon, 311 E Sheridan.
For more information, go to www.wormydog.com.
The Old 97s also will play at 8 p.m. Saturday at Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main in Tulsa. For more on that show, go to www.cainsballroom.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
-BAM
Concert review: Elton John and Billy Joel “Face 2 Face” at Ford Center
Elton John and Billy Joel take a bow Thursday night at the Ford Center. (Photo by Steve Maupin/The Oklahoman)
Few performers have the credibility or the chops to begin their show with a bow, but Elton John and Billy Joel did just that Thursday night at the Ford Center.
The sell-out crowd roared with anticipation as the lights went down and a pair of shiny black grand pianos rose slowly from below the massive stage. Joel, 60, entered casually to the jaunty tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” while Sir Elton, 62, mounted the steps to the British theme “Rule, Britannia!”
Meeting at center stage in front of their instruments, the dueling pianists paused to exchange a quick embrace and bend to the adoring audience. They opened the latest stop of their wildly successful and long-running “Face 2 Face” tour by easily swapping lyrics and gracefully harmonizing on four of their signature smashes: John’s “Your Song” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and Joel’s “Just the Way You Are” and “My Life.”
Their faces may be more lined and their voices less supple with age, but the “Rocket Man” and the “Piano Man” still have skillfully fleet fingers, bountiful energy and enthusiasm and a bevy of peppy pop-rock hits to keep fans ecstatic for the nearly three-and-a-half-hour, virtually nonstop show.
The concert marked the first time the pair were “Face 2 Face” at the Ford Center since 2003, and Oklahoma fans had to wait an extra three months to see it. The show, originally set for November, was delayed after John was hospitalized with E. coli and the flu.
“We’re happy to be here — finally,” John told the crowd after starting his spotlight set
John launched his solo act with the glam-rock grandeur of “Funeral for a Friend” before segueing into a veritable hit parade of familiar favorites, from the ballads “Daniel” and “Tiny Dancer” to the anthems “Levon” and “Philadelphia Freedom.”
Though he rarely spoke to the crowd, John often addressed the eager masses with a rakish grin and satisfied nod as he tickled the ivories and belted his trademark songs. At the end of practically every number, as the audience rose to voice its approval, the flamboyant star leapt from his bench to triumphantly pump his fists and acknowledge the boisterous multitude. He then flicked out the tails of his shimmering black tuxedo jacket with a flourish and loosed his next hit on the fervent fans.
His expansive rendition of “Rocket Man” got the crowd chanting along with the “oh, no, no, nos,” while the raucous “Crocodile Rock” prompted the cheerfully dancing throng to provide the “la, la, la, la, la, las.” After pausing to sign autographs and clasp outstretched hands, the British star made way for his American counterpart.
Quietly taking the stage, Joel brought his own style of showmanship and string of smash singles. He didn’t stay quiet for long, racing through “Angry Young Man” before moving on to “Movin’ Out,” which showcased his band’s trio of canny saxophonists.
In between hits, Joel charmed the audience with self-deprecating, sometimes silly banter, which included randomly adopting a fake German accent and cracking that one of his albums was released in 1929.
“I’m Billy Joel’s dad. I know all his stuff, OK?” joked Joel, whose simple gray suit matched his hair and goatee.
“His stuff” included the still-relevant “Allentown,” the touching “She’s Always a Woman” and the shifting “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.” He augmented the soulful “River of Dreams” with a zippy rendition of “Oklahoma!” that got the throng proudly singing and clapping along.
Joel left the piano and took up his guitar to blast through the speedy 20th century tribute “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and wowed the crowd with his hip-shaking moves and microphone stand-wielding stunts during “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” and “Only the Good Die Young.”
Essentially a greatest-hits show, “Face 2 Face” focuses on timeworn classic rock favorites that get the crowds crooning along but can all be heard on the radio on at least a weekly basis. It doesn’t leave much room for surprises, but both performers got in a deeper album cut with Joel’s jazzy “Zanzibar” and John’s moody “Madman Across the Water.”
For their encore, though, the pair reunited at their keys to again turn their trademark hits into spirited duets, starting with John’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” and then Joel’s “Uptown Girl.” By the time they charged into “The B- – - – Is Back,” most of the fans were out of their seats and bouncing along, and the show revved into a full-blown arm-waving, booty-shaking celebration with “You May Be Right” and “Benny and the Jets.” John was well dressed for musical merrymaking in a black jacket adorned with a sequined scene of him riding a silvery flying saucer.
The stars dialed down the party atmosphere to close the show with dual renditions of their signature ballads: the Marilyn Monroe tribute “Candle in the Wind” held the crowd transfixed until time to give a standing O, while the all-too-apropos “Piano Man,” featuring Joel on keys, vocals and harmonica, got the fans wailing along with abandon and completely taking over one refrain.
By the time the dynamic showmen came together one last time at center stage, they had clearly earned their bows.
— BAM
Brooks & Dunn bringing “Last Rodeo” Tour to Tulsa’s BOK Center; Tulsa tickets on sale March 6
Brooks & Dunn (Associated Press file photo)
The BOK Center has confirmed that country duo Brooks & Dunn, which includes former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, will play the Tulsa venue May 28.
In August, Dunn and Kix Brooks announced their intention to end their musical partnership this year. The superstar pair decided they weren’t about to call it a day as a recording duo without one more chance to party with their fans, and Dunn and Brooks are ready to go out in style with their final tour, “The Last Rodeo.” A celebration of their 20 great years together, the tour will launch on April 23, make a stop in Tulsa on May 28 and end on August 8 after 47 shows.
Rising star Jason Aldean will join the duo on the Tulsa stop.
Tickets to the Tulsa show will go on sale at 10 a.m. March 6. They will be available online at www.bokcenter.com, at the Arby’s Box Office and all Tickets.com outlets, or by calling (866) 7BOKCTR.
“The Last Rodeo Tour is going to be a ‘must see’ for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the amazing energy that Kix and Ronnie create on stage. I look forward to seeing what they have up their sleeves on a nightly basis, and I am confident that they will leave everything they have on the stage one final time in each city. Anyone who has ever seen a Brooks & Dunn show knows that they will be coming full tilt! I do not look at this tour as an ending, rather a celebration of their career by two of the greatest artists that country music has ever known,” said Brian O’Connell, president of Nashville touring for Live Nation said in a news release.
The tour follows the recent release of Brooks & Dunn’s career-spanning double-disc collection, “#1s … and then some,” which features 30 favorites in all, including an amazing 23 #1 hits. Among the songs on “#1s … and then some” is the smash single “Cowgirls Don’t Cry,” earned the duo their 15th career Grammy Award nomination.
Jason Aldean has recorded three albums on the independent Broken Bow Records label: “Jason Aldean,” “Relentless” and “Wide Open,” in 2005, 2007, and 2009 respectively. These albums have accounted for 10 singles on the Billboard country singles charts, including the No. 1 hits “Why”, “She’s Country”, “Big Green Tractor” and “The Truth”. His first album, “Jason Aldean,” is certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America; his second album, “Relentless,” is certified gold; and his third album, “Wide Open,” is certified platinu
For more information on the tour, go to www.brooks-dunn.com or twww.livenation.com.
See the full list of “The Last Rodeo” tour dates after the break.
Blake Shelton to play first headlining show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium
There is a first time for everything, and for Warner Bros. Records/Reprise Recording Artist Blake Shelton, the next few weeks will bring him a couple of firsts.
Shelton, an Ada native who now lives in Tishomingo, recently announced the release of his first Six Pak album, “Hillbilly Bone,” which will debut Tuesday. Today, he announced he will play his first headlining show in Nashville at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Shelton’s headlining show at The Ryman is set for Thursday, March 18. Tickes will go on sale Friday, March 5.
Beginning Tuesday, there will be a BSer Fan Club only pre-sale. For full details, including the pre-order code, fan club members can visit www.blakeshelton.com on Tuesday. Fans can join Shelton’s fan club by going to www.blakeshelton.com/membership.
Also on Tuesday, Shelton and fellow Oklahoma native Reba McEntire will read the nominees for the 45th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards live at 7:15 a.m. (Oklahoma time) on CBS’ “The Early Show.” Shelton also will perform on the show.
The ACM Awards will air live from Las Vegas April 18 on CBS, with McEntire as host.
In addition to the title track, a comedic, sing-along duet with Trace Adkins that is currently No. 6 on the Billboard and Country Aircheck (Mediabase) charts, the new album “Hillbilly Bone” will include five new tracks from Shelton. “Hillbilly Bone” is produced by Clinton native Scott Hendricks.
Shelton has previously released five studio albums, including his most recent, 2008′s “Startin’ Fires.” His last single, “I’ll Just Hold On,” broke into the Top 10 on the country singles charts and was the follow-up to his back-to-back multi-week No. 1 singles “She Wouldn’t Be Gone” and “Home.” Shelton’s hits also include his six-week No. 1 debut single, “Austin,” and two additional multi-week No. 1 singles, “The Baby” and “Some Beach.”
I recently talked to Shelton about making his new album, shooting the raucous “Hillbilly Bone” video with Adkins and myriad other topics. Look for that interview here on BAM’s Blog in the coming days.
In the meantime, for additional information on Blake Shelton, go to www.blakeshelton.com.
- BAM
Special It’s-Been-One-of-Those-Days Catchy Quote
Joan Hackett as Prudy Perkins in “Support Your Local Sheriff”
Ever had one of those days? Yeah, me, too. Like, today.
This special edition of our usually-on-Monday Catchy Quote is dedicated to all those who know from hard experience that anything that can go wrong will go wrong – and in the stupidest way possible so that you feel like a real moron when you have to tell the story over and over:
“I’m sick and tired of these stupid things that always happen to me! And somebody better do something about it soon!”
- Prudy Perkins (Joan Hackett), from the Western comedy film “Support Your Local Sheriff” (1969).
“It must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.”
- Arthur Dent, from the book “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams.
“I’m having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
- Alexander, from the children’s book “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” by Judith Viorst.
Good luck to all of us in getting through the rest of this day. Is it Friday yet?
-BAM
Norman Music Festival announces main stage performers, including Dead Sea Choir, Mayola, Electric Six
Dead Sea Choir
Organizers of the Norman Music Festival this week announced the main stage performers for the 2010 edition of the event.
Along with previously announced headliner Dirty Projectors, the main stage lineup will include Oklahoma bands Dead Sea Choir, Mayola and Gentle Ghost.
Here is the full list of main stage performers:
Dirty Projectors
The Sword
Electric Six
Edan
Grupo Fantasma
Dead Sea Choir
Mayola
Gentle Ghost
The main stage at the third annual festival will again be in the 100 block of Main Street, right by the railroad tracks.
“We are the only festival in the world that has a real live train drive through it every hour!” organizers boast at www.normanmusicfestival.com.
Also, the festival announced two of the bands that will be playing at the Sooner Theatre, 101 E Main, during the event. Again, the festival is tapping state talent, with Evangelicals and The Non (accompanied by Cloud Collision Orchestra) the first performers revealed for the Sooner Theatre.
The 2010 Norman Music Festival, a free, all-ages event, will be April 24-25 at various venues in downtown Norman.
- BAM
