The Gospel at Colonus

This retelling of the story of Sophocles' Oedipus is currently running at the Zachery Scott Theatre. Directed by Dave Steakley, the producing artistic director, this show brings some of the best talent Austin has to offer.

The Gospel at Colonus was an inspirational play for me. As I continue to toy with the idea of putting together a musical, this performance includes, song, dialogue and the spoken word.

Once again the set design was interesting. There were no changes of scenery, it was set in a revival tent and there were a few special effects used. The pond was an awesome feature and the rising of Oedipus played by Tim Curry was great.

Colby Cotton gets the audience in a gospel mood as he plays the organ as the audience is seated and waits for the show to begin. The play opens as some of the audience members are greeted as if we are a part of the revival. The voices come through the audience and enter onto the stage from both sides.

In this performance the men seem to have the cool songs and the great moments. Roderick Sanford, Mark Anthony Hall and Kenny Williams made you want more. Judy Arnold has a voice like Patti Labelle.

The Gospel at Colonus is one of those shows that makes you reflect on your own life. It’s filled with music that makes you wanna get up or at least stomp your feet and clap.
The choreography was done by Christa Oliver.

Felicia Dinwiddie plays Evangelist Ismene, and Eugene Lee is Preacher Oedipus. It would make for a great family outing to see the show Easter Sunday. The show does run until April 27, 2014.

Movies April 4 - April 13, 2014

Movies since the last entry included more films I had never seen before and some I hadn‘t seen in a long time.

(A couple relaxing along town lake in Austin Texas. (c) 2013)

The Sea Wife (1957)- (DDDD) starring Richard Burton, Joan Collins Basil Sydney and Cy Grant. This film reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock’s film Life Boat. A group of people become stranded on a boat and must put up with the various personalities and backgrounds of each other.

Hunk (1987) - (D) starring Deborah Shelton, James Coco, John Allen Nelson This is a quirky film that could have been better, but it wasn’t. I’m not sure if this had a theatrical release or was made for television. It’s a make a deal with the devil type of film with some comedy thrown in. Deborah Shelton is the beauty in the film who works for the devil, but falls in love after getting the young geek to give being a hunk a try for a few days. The acting isn’t all that great. I became a fan of Deborah Shelton after I saw her in the film Body Double.

For Keeps- (DDD) starring Molly Ringwald, Randall Batinkoff, Sharon Brown and Pauly Shore. Molly Ringwald had broken away from John Hughes, but still ended up playing a high school student. In For Keeps she plays a senior who gets pregnant and is forced with the decision to keep the baby or to have an abortion. Everyone has their opinion on the subject as the two kids involved try to decide what is best for them. The parents are not crazy about the situation and it tears them apart. It you are a fan of Molly Ringwald and haven’t seen this film it’s a must see. And if you’ve seen it, watch it again. The film was directed by John G. Avildsen.
I’m watching all of her films that are a part of my collection. Including the not so popular films such as Strike it Rich, The Pick Up Artist, Malicious and Fresh Horses.

Village of the Giants - (DDD) starring Beau Bridges, Tommy Kirk and Ronnie (Ron)
Howard. This film is based upon a book by H.G. Wells, Food for the Gods. It’s about a kid played by Ronnie Howard who is a young genius in the small town of Hanesville. He spends his time experimenting in the basement of his family home. One day by accident he creates a concoction which can make things larger. They then call it goo and hope to make money selling it to farmers who can enlarge animals for food consumption. A group of juvenile delinquents come to town and get their hands on the goo and proceed to take control of the small town. I’m sure the film was very racy for its time. It’s a fun film if you can get your hands on it. There are so many films that are just not available. I recall seeing this film when I was really young as part of a double feature with Escape from the Planet of the Apes.

Fantastic Voyage - (DD) starring Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch, Arthur O’conner and Donald Pleasance An interesting sci fi film about a new way to perform surgery by shrinking scientists and putting them inside of the body. The film has its moments. The special effects are pretty good. Check it out if you are a fan of Raquel Welch

Toby McTeague   (1986)- (DDD) Starring Winston Rekert, Yannick Bisson and Andrew Bednarski I had never heard of this film before and it wasn’t that bad. I bought this pack of DVD’s called The Excellent Eighties and its filled with some interesting films. The quality of the films isn’t the best, but its okay. Some of the films I’m just watching since there are several on a disc and I can say I saw them. The film is about a young teenager who lives with his father and younger brother in Canada raising sled dogs. Toby and his father don’t always see eye to eye. Toby wants to help the family save their dogs by racing in a big race, but his dad stands in his way. An old Indian helps Toby reconcile with his father and he is able to race the dogs. There are some really good moments in the film.

Dog Day - (1984) (D) This film stars Lee Marvin, Miou-Miou and Jean Carmet I had never heard of this film, but I figured I watched it. I’ve not seen a lot of films with Lee Marvin. This isn’t the best film, but it was certainly a surprise. It was definitely a foreign film that was dubbed in English. Lee Marvin and his girlfriend played by Tina Louise of Gillian’s Island fame star as outlaws on the run after a big heist. Lee Marvin camps out in a farm house becoming a captive and then turning the tables on the sadistic family that lives there. It’s a very bizarre film.

Scandal Sheet - (1985) (DD) This film stars Burt Lancaster, Robert Ulrich, Pamela Reed and Lauren Hutton. Burt Lancaster is a ruthless tabloid publisher who will stop at nothing to get a scoop on a story that could destroy an actors career. Robert Ulrich is an actor trying to over come his alcohol addiction and Lauren Hutton is the supportive wife. Burt Lancaster recruits Pamela Reed to cover the story unknowing to her it’s because she is great friends with the couple. It’s an interesting film.

Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So, so if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


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Movies March 28 - April 3, 2014

Since my last entry I’ve probably seen a dozen or so movies. I continue to catch movies that I’ve never seen or wouldn’t pay to see on Movies TV network as well as films in my collection. There are still many films to see. I have yet to sit down and watch Warhorse.

(I took this picture when I was in New York many years ago.)

It had been many years since I had seen the Batman movie (1966) with Adam West, Burt Ward, Lee Meriwether, Burgess Meridith, and Caesar Romero. It's fun to see the films I watched as a kid and realize what was really going on. The action was always the fun part, but now the fighting just seems so fake and you understand the relationship between Batman and Cat Woman. All of the villans are present, The Joker, The Riddler and The Penguin. It's the comics brought to life. With all the Splash, Whams and Splunks.

On April 1, 2014, It was an interesting night of films, No Highway in the Sky (1951) (DDDD) starring Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. I Don’t recall ever seeing a film with Marlene Dietrich. I’ve seen clips from the film in which she sang in the tuxedo, but never all the way through. The film is in black and white, it’s about an aeronautical engineer who believes planes will begin falling out of the sky after his research reveals how many hours a plane can fly before parts begin to malfunction.
The Psychopath (D), about a killer that left a doll resembling each of his victims at the scene of the crime.  I watched the film April Fool’s Day (1986)  (DD) which played over and over again. There were some familiar faces in the film including Amy Steel from Friday the 13th part 2.

I watched The Belles of St. Mary (DDDDD) with Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman. I’m not sure if I saw this as a kid with my grandmother, but I know she liked Bing Crosby. I really enjoyed this film and its still relevant today. It brought back some memories of attending catholic school. It also made me think about the importance of prayer and if you believe it does work. May not work the way you wanted it, but you have to be specific in what you are asking for.

The Easter Parade  (DDDD) was another one of those films I remember seeing when I was a kid. This film stars Judy Garland, Peter Lawford and Fred Astaire. It’s sort of a Pygmalion type story as a dancer loses his partner and says he can turn anyone into a good dancer. He discovers Hannah Brown played by Judy Garland and the two women compete against each other in their own shows. Costumes are really colorful and there are some great musical numbers; Fred Astaire does some incredible dancing.

Twisted Obsession is an 80’s film (DD) that stars Jeff Goldblum and Miranda Ricardson. It’s in English, but was filmed in France. It’s about a writer who becomes obsessed with  a young film maker’s sister who is used to get his artistic film made.

Portrait of a Showgirl (D) stars Lesley Ann Warren, Rita Moreno and Tony Curtis. Another film from the 80’s. I’m pretty sure this was a made for Television film. There are several stories going on here which aren’t hard to follow, but they aren’t all that interesting. A showgirl, played by Lesley Ann Warren, becomes a mistress in New York and moves to Vegas to try and start anew. She is still being wooed by the guy that won’t leave his wife and she falls for a younger guy that just isn’t ready to grow up. Rita Moreno plays the veteran showgirl that just wants to stay afloat because her husband, played by Tony Curtis, keeps falling for get rich quick schemes.

Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So, so if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.

Check out my other blogs:
http://ArtbyDlonzo.blogspot.com
http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com