The Arthropologist

The wonder of getting held over: The Houston plays that just won't quit, nearPhantom style

Holland Vavra Peters as Peggy the Pin-Up Girl and Ross Chitwood as PatrickAndrews in Roger Bean’s musical, "The Andrews Brothers" at Stages RepertoryTheatre (2009)
Photo by Bruce Bennett
Rachael Logue, from left, Chelsea McCurdy, Christina Stroup and Holland VavraPeters in "The Marvelous Wonderettes," now playing at Stages Repertory Theatre
Photo by Bruce Bennett
Mikah Horn as Pickles, from left, Susan O. Koozin as Betty, Carolyn Johnson asLin and Joseph Corri as Duke in "The Great American Trailer Park Musical" atStages Repertory Theatre (2006-2007)
Photo by Bruce Bennett
Susan O. Koozin as Louise Seger and Julia Kay Laskowski as Patsy Cline in StagesRepertory Theatre’s first long-running show, "Always…Patsy Cline" (2003-2004)
Photo by Bruce Bennett
Amanda Hebert as Sister in "Late Nite Catechism" at Stages Repertory Theatre(2007)
Photo by Bruce Bennett
A scene from Main Street Theater's production of "The Trust" with Mark Pickell,from left, Andrew Ruthven and Charlie Trotter
Steve Garfinkel and Jack Young in Main Street Theater's production of "Awake andSing"

Held Over. Extended. Three more weeks!

Oh the joys and tedium of the long-running show. And I am not talking about Broadway. Phantom of the Opera will be playing after the sun runs out.

Every now and then, Houston gets held over. Right now, it's happening at Stages Repertory Theatre with The Marvelous Wonderettes, a show whose wonder just won't quit.

It's fun, fluffy vocal candy with an indeed marvelous cast, which collectively possess some stunning pipes. Who doesn't want to "lollipop lollipop" to forget the most recent tragedy; musical Prozac is the safer option. Even former President H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush showed up.

The cheery musical is about to go into the record books as the largest grossing show ever at Stages. Coming in second is The Great American Trailer Park Musical, followed by Always...Patsy Cline and I Love You, You are Perfect, Now Change.

"What's up? I asked the always grinning Stages chief Kenn McLaughlin. "It's a numbers game," he says. If they keep coming, he will keep extending.

Held over shows tend to fall into a certain category. "They have to be populist, accessible, offer a fun time in the theater and involve the audience in the event," McLaughlin says. "I have no illusions that this is high-brow theater. But I like this stuff too. The audience really feels ownership and they provide great entertainment."

Then there are the people who go over and over to the held overs. "One person saw Trailer Park 20 times. So far, 14 is the record for Wonderettes," reports McLaughlin. Stages has even started sing-a-long Fridays if you want to join the Wonderettes.

Stages has the luxury of two theaters, which allows edgier fare to run simultaneously. Chances are, Will Eno's Oh, The Humanity and other exclamations, opening on Jan. 26, will not be held over, despite the fact that The New York Times claims, "Eno confirmed the singular nature — and singular beauty — of his voice with Middletown," his most recent play. (Prove me wrong people. Eno is one of the most original voices since Edward Albee.)

Most theaters already have published dates for the next show, limiting the possibility of a hold over until the end of the season. After a rave in The Wall Street Journal, Main Street Theater (MST) extended Awake and Sing, and rightly so, it was a ravishing production. WSJ critic Terry Teachout even liked their Brooklyn accents. MST also had a hit with The Trust, the story of the murder of the founder of Rice University, which has been held over numerous times during its numerous productions over the years.

“It’s a great, local and an important Houston story," says Rebecca Green Udden, MST's artistic director. "It’s based in fact (though with some speculation). And the fact is, Rice University might not had happened if these guys had gotten away with it. As a Rice alum, I think that’s very important."

MST plans to bring Trust back next season and they anticipate it will be, you guessed it, held over.

Long-running shows have a different meaning for actors. Lindsay Gee has played many a "Connie" in A Chorus Line and also performs with Suchu Dance when her schedule allows. Next, she's singing and dancing in casa mañana's production of Evita.

"It's good for artists because these shows pay the bills," Gee says. "Also, I can afford to take more dance classes, voice lessons or acting workshops with the money I save. A long-running contract allows me to discover new things about the character I'm playing which enables me to develop a richer, layer-filled performance. So often, on short contracts, rehearsals are super fast and product driven and just when I'm starting to get into the groove of the show, it's over."

Susan Koozin has lit up many a held over show, including The Great American Trailer Park Musical and Always...Patsy Cline.

"It's a huge commitment, but I am always grateful to have the work, especially in Houston," she says. Koozin paces herself for a long run, keeping herself healthy and focused. As for the tedium, she has her own method

"It's good when you have material you can keep deciphering and keep nuancing. If It's a crowd pleaser and funny, that helps," says Koozin, who starts up yet another round of Trailer Park on June 1. "Once I get there and put on my makeup, I can feel the energy. The crowd feeds me."

And this just in, Late Nite Catechism, another energizer bunny of the stage, returns this spring at Stages. If there are enough recovering Catholics, it will be, yeah, held over.

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Movie Review

Over-the-top acting and incoherent plot drag down Her Private Hell

Photo courtesy of Neon

Sophie Thatcher in Her Private Hell.

Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn is not someone who plays nice with the general film world. His 2011 film Drive introduced him to American audiences in a big way, but that pulsating thriller was followed up with artier films like Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon that eschewed coherent plots in favor of moody, atmospheric pieces.

Winding Refn, who hasn’t made a feature film in 10 years, has gone fully down the rabbit hole with Her Private Hell. Taking place in a liminal space that kind of resembles Earth but also feels like someone’s dreams/nightmares, the film focuses on Elle (Sophie Thatcher), an actor currently starring in a sci-fi film. Staying at a hotel with newcomer Hunter (Kristine Froseth), the two bond over their shared passion and the legend of Elle’s father, Johnny Thunders (Dougray Scott), who’s now married to Elle’s friend Dominique (Havana Rose Liu).

After spending a good amount of (mostly incomprehensible) time with that group, Refn introduces Private K (Charles Melton), who seems to be living in post-World War II Japan. He is looking for his daughter, who might have been taken by a mysterious figure known as “Leatherman,” and he will stop at nothing to find her, fighting whoever stands in his way.

It becomes clear almost right away that Winding Refn has no desire to engage in traditional storytelling in this film. The main characters wander through neon-drenched streets and buildings, which are often surrounded by a mist that is referred to on multiple occasions but never explained. Everyone speaks as if in a constant state of wonderment, and there are many moments where it’s unclear if events are actually happening, part of a movie-within-a-movie, or something else entirely.

Unlike his previous films, Winding Refn has taken the characters in this film completely out of the real world, with every scene taking place in a sparsely decorated room or street that is obviously a movie set. While there are moments where this decision really works, especially the striking first shot of a human-like figure mixed in with a cityscape and clouds, most of the time it only adds to the stilted nature of the film as a whole.

In fact, the entire movie has the feel of an avant-garde theater exercise. Every actor seems to be trying to outdo the others with awkward performances and out-sized reactions. Two very specific characters make appearances in both sides of the story for seemingly no reason other than to inject their weirdness into both spaces. The shocking violence that crops up on occasion would have more of an impact if it was related to anything intelligible.

Thatcher (Companion) and Liu (Tuner) are among the young stars who have had breakout moments in recent years, but neither of them is served well by this hot mess of a movie. They, along with Melton, still demonstrate the talent they possess, but the oddity of the film weighs them down. Scott makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, while Froseth is called upon to play a character who might as well not be there at all.

If there’s any kind of message that Winding Refn was trying to convey with Her Private Hell, it’s lost among the flashing lights, overload of pink, and jewel-like structures. Filmmakers who try to make art for art’s sake have a place in the world, but this film too often feels like people are making things up as they go, with no real goal in mind.

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Her Private Hell opens in theaters on July 24.

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