American Idiot

Not quite sure what we wanted to do yesterday, we hopped in the car during a lull in the rain and headed for the Ahmanson. We didn't know if we would even be able to get tickets, but somehow, we managed to get rush tickets -- 2nd row center, in fact -- for $30 a piece. Not too shabby considering the rest of the orchestra seats sold for $100 a pop. I usually don't enjoy sitting that close to the stage, but after seeing American Idiot, I recommend those seats if you can.

Using the music from Green Day's American Idiot album, the stage musical tells the story of three friends from Jingletown, USA -- Johnny, Will and Tunny -- who are disillusioned with their lives that they plan on hightailing it to New York to explore their futures. But Will's exodus derails early as his girlfriend Heather tells him that she's pregnant, leaving Johnny and Tunny to head for the bright lights on their own. Once in the big city, Tunny becomes disillusioned with what he thought would be a great time in his life and chooses to join the military to fill an emptiness that eats at him. And Johnny, he dives into the drug culture, teaming up with St. Jimmy to enjoy a life of excess and a new girlfriend, Whatsername. The musical follows each of their stories as they maneuver through life in the days leading up to 9/11 and how that event changes their outlook on the future.

The entire cast was amazing from the three leads -- Van Hughes as Johnny, Jake Epstein as Will, and Scott J. Campbell as Tunny -- to Leslie McDonel as Heather and Gabrielle McClinton as Whatsername. Josh Kobak as St. Jimmy is a force to be reckoned with, too. The show also gave me a new appreciation of Green Day's songs. It's one thing to hear them in their original punk rock forms, but put them into a context where they are pared down or use a different arrangement, and the meaning and impact of the songs shines, like Are We the Waiting when Tunny makes his decision to join the military (one of my favorite songs). What also makes the songs so much more is the choreography, such as with When September Ends. Johnny, Will and Tunny are in their respective lives, And Johnny tells the audience that it's September 10. The ensemble slowly gathers onstage one at time, each dressed in suits or office attire, staring into the audience as rectangles of light, like what you see reflected from windows, slowly climb the set. The ensemble collapses on stage, and as they sing, some lift their arms and legs in the air, flailing as they sing a single note, resembling people falling from a tall tower. It's an incredibly powerful scene and changed my entire impression of the song.

Simply an amazing production. That's all I can really say without overly gushing about it. I highly recommend it if the opportunity presents itself.

Image from Chicago Theater Beat.

Look what was released this morning! Before Plan 9: Plans 1-8 from Outer Space. Taking a lead from Ed Woods' cult classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space, these stories answer the often-asked question, "Well, what about the other 8 plans?"

The anthology includes stories to answer that burning question, including tales from Jonathan Maberry (Patient Zero, The Dragon Factory), Craig DiLouie (Tooth and Nail), DA Chaney (Cryptic), and many others.

And my story is Plan #3!!

Blast from the Past: Nu Shooz

I Can't Wait was one of my favorite songs from the '80s. I actually wore out the cassette and had to buy another copy. Bizarre video, though. I think the director was trying to show all the (ahem) "neat" stuff they would be able to do with computer graphics rather than focus on the song.

Update 3-18-12: If you'd like to learn more about the video for I Can't Wait, check out this link. And thank you to Valerie and John (of Nu Shooz) for the information!

The Woman in Black

Yesterday, we finally saw The Woman in Black, Daniel Radcliffe's first post-Harry Potter film.

Radcliffe plays Arthur Kips, a young solicitor from London, sent to a small town on the coast of the United Kingdom called Crythin Gifford to set the affairs of one Mrs. Alice Drablow in order. His visit to the town doesn't start off with any promise, as the town's solicitor -- Mr. Jerome -- seems too eager to hasten Kips' exit form Crythin Gifford as soon as possible. The other townsfolk are just as off-putting, hiding their children when Kips rides into town, denying him a room at the only inn. But it isn't until he makes his way to Eel Marsh House -- the former home of Alice Drablow, set at the end of the causeway on the outskirts of Crythin Gifford -- that the true strangeness begins.

Kips finds stacks of Drablow's papers in the house and begins to sort through them in the cold comfort of the house's library. His efforts are interrupted when he hears odd sounds, such as a rocking chair in a locked upstairs room, footsteps crossing the floor, voices shouting across the thickly-fogged marsh. He also spies a strange woman dressed in black standing in the yard staring up at the house, but when he investigates, he finds no one. As he investigates further, he uncovers the dark secret of Eel Marsh House and why the townsfolk are so fearful of anyone who sees the mysterious woman in black. But will he be able to put things to rights before disaster can strike again?

I enjoyed the film without having to watch through my laced fingers. (I may love to read horror, but when it comes to watching, I am the biggest chicken.) The film's creators didn't rely too much on CGI to generate the creepiness, instead using shadows and camera angles and sounds -- with the occasional computer trick -- to effectively scare the bejeesus out of me. I also liked the acting, especially from Daniel Radcliffe. He was well-suited for the part of a young widower still grieving but also out to prove himself, and not once did I think of him as Harry Potter.

My only problem was that the story felt as though it were missing something. I understood the motives behind the Woman in Black, but couldn't understand why she was taking her revenge on the townsfolk. The story hinted at a possible reason having to do with the Woman having her child taken from her, but a connection to the townsfolk was never made clear so her interaction with them seemed odd to me.

Even so, the movie certainly delivers the creepiness and scares, and I recommend it.

Image from Heartchunks Everyday

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Last night after dinner, we walked the length of 2nd Street from Lucille's down to Powell's Candy Store,then decided we wanted some frozen yogurt for dessert. However, Yogurtland was all the way back where we started, and as we began the trek beck, the urgent need to use the restroom kicked in. By the time we reached Yogurtland, I thrust pushed passed the crowds at the machines and dashed into the Men's Room. The lights clicked on as I locked the door behind me I hurried over to the porcelain basin and started doing my business when the lights suddenly went out. Not in the entire building, mind you, but just in the restroom. With one hand maintaining my aim, I raised the other, waved it back and forth in the air. But the light didn't click back on, damned motion sensors. I seriously considered jumping up and down, but the two diet Cokes and a glass of water from dinner wouldn't allow it.

I stood in the dark, my eyes barely adjusting to the faint glow coming from under the door, and finished my business. I zipped up and felt my way to the sink. It was only when I turned the faucet the that the lights clicked on. I checked myself -- thank goodness I hadn't made a mess -- then washed up.

Moral of the story: never drink two Diet Cokes and two glasses of water before going for a walk.

Columbia

Since I decided to not renew my Disney Annual Pass, I've begun searching for other local things to do. Today's outing: the Columbia Memorial Space Center in Downey, CA. The Center opened almost three years ago as a tribute to both the Space Shuttle Columbia and to the space and aeronautics industry that helped to put Downey on the map. The Apollo space capsules were designed and built right across the street from the Center, and the Boilerplate from Apollo 12 sits outside the entrance to the Center, as you can see in the picture.

The first floor of the Center opens with an interactive exhibit about the Space Shuttle Columbia, including a wall-sized photograph of the launch made from smaller pictures. The remainder of the floor provides hands-on exhibits about air pressure (shooting empty liter-sized plastic bottles into the air), aerodynamics (creating and launching different kinds of paper airplanes), flying a plane, learning how planets orbit, and a robotics lab. But the best part is a live feed from the International Space Station so guests can watch experiments being conducted in space. The second floor contained an exhibit on loan from the Smithsonian: Suited for Space showing the progression of space suits from the 1930s to proposed manned missions to Mars.

It's a fun place to visit, one of the little out-of-the-way finds that turn out to be more than you'd expect.

I think I'm going to enjoy not having the pass....

Quickie Book Review: Autumn: Aftermath

by David Moody

In a matter of moments, a strange infection strikes without warning, wiping out the vast majority of humans. Millions dropped dead in an instant, leaving those who survived trying to understand what happened. And then they dead began to wake up, struggling to their feet and seeking the last remaining survivors.

One small group of survivors makes their way to Cheetham Castle, hoping that the castle walls would provide the much-needed protection they'd been seeking. But as the months pass and winter begins to settle in, the idyllic life they'd all imagined begins to sour. Survivors butt heads, forming two groups: those who want to wait the winter out, safe behind the closed castle walls, and those who want to take advantage of the frozen dead, making their way to the nearest towns to scavenge for food and supplies.

Meanwhile, another pocket of survivors manages to set up life on Cormansey, a small island off the coast. They've cleared the island of the living dead and are well on their way to regaining some level of normalcy. Trips need to be made to the mainland for supplies, though, and with fuel running low, a new means of transport to and from the island needs to be found. During their last trip to the coastal town of Chadwick for supplies and to rig a few boats for the journey across the water, the islanders run into a lone survivor who tells them about the others at the castle. Believing that bringing the fellow survivors to the island can only help everyone, they travel to the castle to offer their assistance. But some in the castle aren't so ready to leave the safety of the stone walls, and their refusal may prove deadly for everyone.

Though most of the characters have appeared throughout the previous Autumn novels, author David Moody provides enough background information in Autumn: Aftermath that reading those novels isn't necessary -- though I highly recommend it, if only to provide a more well-rounded view of events. And he manages to step up the creepiness level of the living dead by showing them in winter, frozen in place like snow-covered statues. The survivors slowly made their way through them, all the while noticing the subtle movements of arms or a twitch of the eyes, making the living very aware that the threat was still there, and a quick rise in temperature could catch them offguard.

But what I liked best about Autumn: Aftermath is that with only a few words, the whole outlook of the living dead and what they truly are comes into question. Perhaps like the survivors, I viewed Autumn's living dead with the same preconceived notion of what a zombie is and does, and in re-thinking the earlier novels, did I assume that the dead must be the aggressors? It begs the question as to who the real monsters are, and now, I want to go back and re-read each of the books with a new insight to see how that changes the story.

Autumn: Aftermath brings Moody's Autmun series to a satisfying conclusion. (And yes, I'm sad to see it end.)

Autumn: Aftermath
by David Moody
Thomas Dunne Books (March 2012)
trade paperback, 388pgs

Received book from publisher

Image from Forces of Geek.