On tap for 2013-14

Book of Mormon, flying cats & a War Horse highlight new Gexa Energy Broadway season

Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center is going big for its 2013-14 season, which officials announced on Sunday. A melange of something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue (naughty, too) will hit the stage with six musicals that together have earned 25 Tony Awards.

Read on for the selections, each with accompanying video to whet your appetite for tuneful entertainment.

The Book of Mormon (Sept. 3-15)

The creators of the anything-goes television animated series South Park, where nothing is sacred and no one is safe from ridicule (even Jesus), had prior success with satirical, full-length musicals like the film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut and Team America: World Police. Though we know that the text of The Book of Mormon is tamer than the lyrics of "Uncle F**ka" and "Kyle's Mom's a B**ch," there's a dash of obscene language that will satisfy fans of Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone.

What happens when pagans from Africa and cute Mormons from Utah appear on the same stage? Goofiness.

Peter and the Starcatcher (Oct. 15-20)

Before there was Peter Pan, the flying, orphan boy in green tights who would never grow up, there was a neglected 13-year-old boy who sought to create his own adventure. In Peter and the Starcatcher, the hero's story unfolds. Peter learns about starcatchers, a group of folks who protect starstuff (the pixie dust that allows things to take flight), meets Wendy and flies for the first time.

The musical has won five Tony awards. Could it be the appearance of a flying cat?

Chicago (Nov. 12-17)

So what if Society for the Performing Arts brought Chicago, starring John O'Hurley, back in 2011? The story of murder, fame, sex, infidelity, fishnet stockings, trials by jury and "All That Jazz" set in the roaring '20s, like a good friend, never gets old.

What matters is who will be cast as Roxy Hart, Velma Kelly and Billy Flynn?

Ghost (Feb. 18-23, 2014)

The 1990 film captured the hearts of many, particularly in the scene where "Unchained Melody" signaled the romantic vignette when Whoopi Goldberg channeling Patrick Swayze lays a wet one on Demi Moore. Can Sam and Molly be united forever on stage? Through song?

Traditionalists will say nay, though the troupe of heavyweights who premiered the work in 2011, including Glen Ballard, who worked with Alanis Morissette on Jagged Little Pill, and Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics, say yay.

Either way, will there be wet, sloppy clay? Will kids these days start saying "ditto" again?

American Idiot (March 21-23, 2014)

Turning Green Day's seventh album into a jukebox musical follows along what the rock band sought to create when it released American Idiot in 2004. The "rock opera" concept mused the band's guitarist, Billie Joe Armstrong, to collaborate with director Michael Mayer to expand the story into this one-act musical. The tale centers on three characters — Johnny, aka Jesus of Suburbia, Will and Tunny — who must weigh their options. Will they choose the comforts of suburban life or pursue their city dreams?

War Horse (May 27-June 1, 2014)

When Albert's beloved horse, Joey, is auctioned off, the young protagonist gallivants through the trenches of World War I England and France in search of his four-legged friend. The emotional drama is teeming with songs that circle back to their reunion right before tragedy claims their lives. The production features life-sized puppets crafted by the Handspring Puppet Company of South Africa.

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Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center season tickets (starting at $154) are on sale now and can be purchased online or by calling 800-952-6560. Individual tickets are typically available six to eight weeks prior to each scheduled performance.

War Horse with Christopher Mai, Derek Stratton and Rob Laqui.

Photo © Brinkhoff Mögenburg

War Horse with Christopher Mai, Derek Stratton and Rob Laqui.

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Movie Review

Feuding couple fights for survival in dark comedy Over Your Dead Body

Photo courtesy of IFC Films

Jason Segel and Samara Weaving on Over Your Dead Body.

When dysfunctional couples are depicted in movies, about the worst that typically happens is an acrimonious divorce. But in the new comedy/thriller Over Your Dead Body, the husband-and-wife have already gone way past that point by the time they’re introduced to the audience, with their plans leaning toward murder.

Dan (Jason Segel) is a low-level filmmaker relegated to directing pop-up ads, while Lisa (Samara Weaving) is an actor making do in small theater productions. The film finds them heading toward a rare getaway to a remote lake cabin, but it’s clear from the start that the married couple has been at odds for months, if not years. As the film begins, Dan clumsily drops hints at an alibi for his planned murder of Lisa to his ailing dad (Paul Guilfoyle) and others.

His shoddy planning was already sussed out by Lisa, who turns the tables on him when he tries to attack her, revealing a plan of her own. The situation naturally heightens their shared enmity of each other, but their blind hatred turns out to reveal the presence of Pete (Timothy Olyphant) and Todd (Keith Jardine), two escapees from a nearby prison who were helped by guard Allegra (Juliette Lewis). What was once a shared murder plan turns into a fight for survival, forcing Dan and Lisa to work together.

Directed by Jorma Taccone (The Lonely Island) and written by former SNL writers Nick Kocher and Briand McElhaney, the film aims to mine comedy out of darkness. Dan and Lisa’s ire for each other is palpable, and their interactions early in the film are uncomfortable. As the film turns increasingly violent with the introduction of other unsavory characters, most of the humor is derived from the creative ways people are attacked and the ultraviolence that results from them going after each other.

It’s a little tough to get fully invested in the story when the filmmakers throw the audience directly into the plot with almost zero setup. There’s not even a cursory montage of Dan and Lisa being in love, so it’s hard to care a lot about their current hate for each other. Likewise, the presence of the prison guard and escapees is completely random, and the three of them aren’t utilized well in the story despite having a couple of well-known actors portraying them.

The saving grace of the film, though, is the twists and turns it takes in the final act. Everyone on screen is put through the wringer, with each of them suffering multiple injuries or worse. The mayhem becomes so chaotic that it’s almost impossible to tell what’s going to happen next, which slightly makes up for the fact that the story as a whole is lackluster. Even though the audience knows they’re being manipulated, the sequences are entertaining enough to overcome that fact.

The cast as a whole is solid. Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Shrinking) uses his comic sensibility to keep the proceedings light. Weaving (Ready or Not) has done multiple movies in this vein, so she knows how to navigate the comedy/thriller waters. Olyphant feels a little out of place, but he has a presence that elevates his part. Lewis goes a little too manic in her part, and Jardine ably embodies the dumb brute.

The comedy history of Taccone, Segel, and Weaving keeps Over Your Dead Body as a positive experience even when the story doesn’t quite measure up. The film never becomes fully predictable, giving the audience a great dose of pandemonium that lifts it up despite its other faults.

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Over Your Dead Body is now playing in theaters.

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