Pilobolus Dance Theatre's Dance in America: Monkshood's Farewell, Ocellus, Ciona, & Untitled (1997) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have yet to see Pilobolus live, but I know from their video alone that they are one of my favorite dance companies. Supple, flowing bodies doing things you never knew were possible... tricks on the eye.... gorgeous soundscapes... interviews with the dancers themselves... if you like modern dance which is stunningly original yet crowd-pleasing, rich in athleticism AND thought-provoking, never pretentious, and just weird and wild, buy this video.

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George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (1993) Review

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(More customer reviews)All things considered, I have to say that this is quite an enjoyable theatrical presentation of Balanchine's "The Nutcracker." Looking at "the show" itself, its most rave-worthy characteristic is how well the team of Peter Martins (ballet master), Emile Ardolino (director) and Ralf Bode (cinematographer) collaborated to actually "choreograph the camera" to the movements of the performers. Thanks to a talented movie crew and an incredible amount of consideration given to viewing angles (read the description in the disc's "special features"), the TV always seemed to be showing exactly what I wanted to look at on the stage. Add in some nice work by Industrial Light & Magic, decent narration, and a top-notch production team, and the result is a superb presentation.
From a performance standpoint, I'd give this an A-minus mainly because the versions of "The Nutcracker" I've seen most often cast the Nutcracker Prince in a much more active role dancewise. Still, everyone else did a fantastic job. Noteworthy were the Pas de Deux by the Cavalier (Damian Woetzel) and Sugarplum Fairy (Darci Kistler), and the powerful dance presence of Coffee (Wendy Whelan). The other "Sweets" performed very well also. So long as you try not to picture Macaulay Culkin as a ballet dancer, you'll be okay. Let's face it: you can't expect the little guy to measure up next to the NYC Ballet, but he is there to add a little star appeal and possibly sell ballet to your kids (which may not be a bad idea). Nuff said. By the way, the younger performers from the School of American Ballet were wonderful.
Regarding disc features, the DVD has some cool stuff to offer: two viewing formats, 30-scene index, and some good production notes regarding the history of the show, camera choreography and description of ILM's special effects.

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Angels and sugarplums. Candy canes and ice. A magic prince, a dreamy young girl, a mysterious old man and a Christmas tree that grows sky high. Enter the world of George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, featuring the New York City Ballet, and let this all-new movie version of a timeless Yuletide fantasy, narrated ny Academy Award(R) winner Kevin Kline, draw you under its spell. Starring Macaulay Caulkin, Darci Kistler and Bart Robinson Cook. Year: 1993 Director: Emile Ardolino Starring: Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Caulkin, Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel

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The Heritage Theatre - The Mysteries Review

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(More customer reviews)A friend from church told my wife and me "you MUST see this!" He was right. It brings old familiar Bible stories richly to life in a fresh and new way. Great casting, clever humor in places, and amazing music and dance from a country (South Africa) where they have a lot of great singers and dancers.


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Life After Tomorrow (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Life After Tomorrow is a documentary about what happens in life after your dreams come true. The film reunites cast members who played orphans in the Broadway production of Annie. Via interviews with high-profile "annies" like Sarah Jessica Parker, viewers get a glimpse of life inside the dream-nights at Studio 54 when you're ten, life on the road with tutors who got high, stage mothers who had affairs with stage fathers and subsequent abortions, and worst of all, growth spurts which predicated your removal from the show. As one cast member in the film remarks, "the younger ones are coming to take your place and you're 12."
This isn't a US Weekly type of documentary. There are no child star "smash-ups" here-no stories of "annies" robbing liquor marts for drug money because they weren't able to readjust to life after stardom. The tragedy here is subtle and understated. Many of these women admit to being forced off stage and continuing life with the nagging hope in their heart that they would get back to Broadway. Life happens to these actresses-they become financial planners, mothers and annoying stage mothers, but some of them are obviously stuck somewhere else-not in tomorrow, but yesterday-when they were singing and dancing in Annie. Some of them haven't self-actualized which is unpleasant to see in someone who is turning 40. Others have adjusted OK. It's interesting, but it's also a hard-knock life when you peak at 10.

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The award winning Life After Tomorrow, a film by Julie Stevens and Gil Cates, Jr., reunites more than 40 women who played orphans in the original Broadway production of Annie and reveals the highs and lows of their experiences as child actresses in a cultural phenomenon. Once the curtain came down, many found it could be a hard-knock-life, fraught with out-of-control stage mothers, separation anxiety, and worst of all, pubescent growth spurts that could find the moppets being replaced by smaller, younger editions just waiting in the wings. As one cast member in the film remarks, The younger ones are coming to take your place and you're 12. It's not like you are getting downsized at 50...you're 12!. While their lives moved on, the impact of the experience remains. Features behind-the-curtain footage from the original Broadway production and performances with the re-united orphans.

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