19
Dec
2014
ANNIE
Sony's last-remaining grab for the holiday box office, the much-downloaded reboot of Annie, opened this weekend, and it must be said that as a musical - especially as a musically faithful interpretation of the stage show - it kind of sucks. The choreography's a shambles and the mixing is poor and the original numbers are terrible, while familiar, enjoyable Annie tunes such as "Little Girls" and "Easy Street" are merely sampled, their melodies and lyrics awkwardly woven into new pop and hip-hop arrangements. (Three of the film's myriad producers are Jay-Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, so I guess we should just be grateful that the titular orphan is played by Quvenzhané Wallis and not Willow. Or Jaden.)
If you're new to this almost-annual recap, what follows is my conversation with Reader theatre reviewer Thom White about the area's stage stage over the past 12 months.
EXODUS: GODS & KINGS
Event
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
FORCE MAJEURE and GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE 3D
"I always feel like, in terms of my career, I'm a little bit behind," says singer/songwriter J.M. James, whose public concert as a Quad City Arts Visiting Artist takes place on December 12 at Davenport's Redstone Room. "You know, it wasn't like I was writing songs and singing at 18. I didn't have a band in high school, I wasn't a 22-year-old trying to get my music out there ... . I didn't do my first solo gig with my own stuff until I was, like, 27."
PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR
Music
The holidays are a time of giving and receiving. And if you peruse the holiday events listed in this issue's accompanying Winter Guide, you'll realize that we'd all better get crackin' on that "giving" part. Have you checked out just how much receiving we'll be doing this season?
