Greetings again from the darkness. For live theater lovers, the film version of a favorite play or musical comes with pros and cons. The film’s director, Maria Friedman (a renowned stage actor) strives to deliver the intimacy of a stage performance with cinematic qualities. What we see was the filming of a stage presentation in June 2024 at The Hudson Theater in New York City. The story was written by George Furth with music by Stephen Sondheim, only the production has quite an interesting history, with an original production in 1934 written by George S Kaufman and Moss Hart.
The story structure is fascinating in that it’s presented in reverse order. The opening sequence shows the resulting breakdown of friendship between three: composer Franklin Sheperd (Jonathan Groff), playwright and lyricist Charley Kringas (Daniel Radcliffe), and theater critic and author Mary Flynn (Lindsay Mendez). All three actors are Tony Award winners and are in prime form here. We then proceed to go back in time across three decades as the years are noted. Instead of watching this friendship triumvirate breakdown, we watch the bonds grow stronger … only of course this is actually putting the causes of the breakdown on center stage – one phase at a time.
It’s not just the three leads who are standouts. Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Sheperd, Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephon are all excellent. It’s rare to find so many superb soloists in one program, and each has their moment (or moments) to shine. Beth is Franklin’s first wife and the mother of his child. Gussie is a Broadway star and Franklin’s second wife, while Joe is a producer who experiences the highs and lows of show business.
While the play-it-in-reverse structure provides a uniqueness to the presentation, the story itself has quite a bit to offer in terms of complexity. The fragility of friendship and the importance of constantly working at relationships is front and center, yet it’s only one element. Also on display here is how cruel show business can be. Sometimes you are loved and showered with adulation, while other times they say you are too old for a role. Ego and emotions are constantly in play here, including envy and arrogance. Although it’s the sneakiest element, perhaps my personal favorite is the unrequited love Mary carries towards an unaware Franklin. It leads to her bitterness and alcoholism, and her story is the most interesting when you read about the origins of Kaufman’s story. When the opening number is a robust, “How did you get to be here?”, the rest of the play is spent showing us.
Opening in theaters on December 5, 2025
Posted by David Ferguson 
Greetings again from the darkness. The first FROZEN movie was released in 2013 and the sequel, FROZEN II in 2019. FROZEN III is scheduled for release in 2027, but since the story (adapted from an original Hans Christian Anderson story) remains so popular, fans get a film version of the stage musical to tide them over … and ensure no generation (or even part of one) misses out. Brett Sullivan directs the filming of Michael Grandage’s stage presentation, and I’m still trying to figure out if young kids will embrace this version.
Sometimes a getaway to a Greek isle is meant only to be a good time. Such is the ongoing popularity of the stage production “based on the songs of ABBA”. The Swedish band’s global success was first derived through these songs in the 1970’s. In 1997, British playwright Catherine Johnson wrote the story that led to the smash stage musical (1998), followed up by the blockbuster film in 2008 (starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried). Both the stage production and the film were directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The most recent of many incarnations of the stage musical continues this year with a United States tour, a six-month stint on Broadway (beginning in August 2025), and finally, an international tour.
Greetings again from the darkness. There may have been a movie that surprised me more than this one during 2024, but off the top of my head, I can’t think of one. My expectations were low for a film based on the true story of a British boy band pop star whose music I wasn’t too familiar with … oh, and he’s played by a human-sized CGI chimp. Robbie Williams is the pop star, and though he has little popularity or recognition in the United States, his story is quite interesting … and certainly presented in a creative and entertaining manner by writer-director Michael Gracey (THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, 2017) and co-writers Simon Gleeson and Oliver Cole.
It’s a tale as old as time. OK, not that tale. And not all of time, although the story of Peter Pan dates back to JM Barrie’s 1904 play (“Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up”) and 1911 novel (“Peter and Wendy”). Most of us, across multiple generations, were first exposed to the story of the boy who never grows up while we were kids – through television, books, movies, and/or stage plays. Two of the more popular films include the 1953 animated Disney movie and the 1991 Spielberg movie HOOK starring Robin Williams. However, it’s live theatre where the story has had its greatest impact. There was the1954 Broadway production that featured Mary Martin (Larry Hagman’s mother) in a Tony Award winning performance as Peter Pan, and then in 1979, Sandy Duncan took on the role for a new Broadway production. The 1990’s had Olympic gymnast Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan, with her most recent run occurring in 1998.
Greetings again from the darkness. Who is the good witch and who is the bad one? For those of us whose obsession with the classic 1939 film version of L Frank Baum’s 1900 novel has lasted from childhood through adulthood, it has always been crystal clear that the Wicked Witch of the West was bad and Glinda the Good Witch was so-named for obvious reasons. Then along came Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”, and the subsequent 20+ year Broadway run of the stage musical, which generated many new fans. And now we have a film adaptation of the stage production is directed by the talented Jon M Chu (CRAZY RICH ASIANS, 2018) with a screenplay co-written by Dana Fox (CRUELLA, 2021) and Winnie Holzman (who wrote the musical book for the stage musical). Could it be that the line between good and evil is not so clear? Or even that others have manipulated the situation to ensure a villain exists? I’m so excited for Oz fans to watch this.
Greetings again from the darkness. High School is a challenging time. High School girls can be mean, especially to each other. Those two points were made quite clearly in the 2004 film MEAN GIRLS, written by the brilliant Tina Fey and directed by Mark Waters. The film struck a chord with that generation both emotionally and through vocabulary. Society has seen many changes since 2004, but evidently High School is still challenging, and High School girls are still often mean. That film was adapted for a musical stage production in 2017, and now that Broadway musical has been adapted back to the big screen for a new generation. Tina Faye returns as screenwriter (and as math teacher Ms. Norbury), and the new film is co-directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
Greetings again from the darkness. It all began with Alice Walker’s 1982 novel, for which she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Shortly thereafter, Steven Spielberg turned it into the movie event of 1985, with a memorable cast including Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, and yes, Oprah Winfrey. The film received eleven Oscar nominations, yet was shut out in all categories. Jumping ahead 20 years (2005), Marsha Norman created a musical stage book that turned into a smash hit on Broadway, receiving eleven Tony nominations. It was 2015 when the musical revival hit the stage, re-establishing the story as part of the fabric of the entertainment world. Along the way, Ms. Walker’s book had been frequently banned and censored, and the adaptations were sure to pick and choose what to cover and how to do so. Here we are forty-one years after the book’s publication, and director Blitz Bazawule (Beyonce’s BLACK IS KING, 2020) delivers a moving and bold film version (screenplay by Marcus Gardley) based on the musicals, the novel, and the original film.
Greetings again from the darkness. It appears as though I’m one of the few early viewers who walked away without having been beguiled or enraptured with this musical prequel to Roald Dahl’s 1964 story, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Full disclosure requires me to admit that I actually found it a bit dull, and that’s mostly due to the lead performance by Timothy Chalamet. I understand that he’s the hottest young actor working today, and brings along an entire fan base, but for me, Willy Wonka should have a twinkle in his eye, a spring in his step, and enough charm to draw folks in … even at a younger age.
“I could have danced all night”. That felt like the sentiment enveloping the audience as the curtain dropped on last night’s performance at Dallas’ Music Hall at Fair Park. It was the second performance of the show’s stop on Broadway Dallas, and nostalgia filled the air as many were singing along to the familiar songs and laughing oh-so-slightly ahead of the famous punchlines. Watching live stage shows of beloved material is always a bit confusing. We usually have actors and voices ingrained in our memories, and it can be a bit uneasy to experience a different style.
Movie Reviews from the Dark 