Lorna Luft: Sparkling Non-Stop Pleasure; Good Boys and True: “Raging Hormones”
by Buzzin' Lee Hartgrave, 2009-08-28
LORNA LUFT AT THE RRAZZGUARANTEED! – THIS SHOW IS THE MOST EXHILARATING EVENING YOU’LL HAVE.
Lorna Luft (Judy Garland’s daughter) came to the stage in a smart looking Tux and the highest stilettos I have ever seen. How does she manage to stay on them for so long? Luft starts the show off with a fabulous rendition of “You Don’t Know Me” – and it was a blast. You actually could feel the heat on your face.
The whole show is bursting at the seams with familiar songs like “Let’s do it” (she even sings the verse), “Who Will Buy” from the musical Olivier. Her talent has really blossomed. Luft shines like never before in this fantastic collection of songs that range from love, broken hearts and the hilarious.
You’re gonna love the “Guys and Dolls” medley. It’s like listening to the entire show. By the way, Luft has appeared in the musical, and it’s easy to see and hear why.
The tribute to Bert Bacharach was beyond fantastic. It was a vocal roller coaster ride. She is the likeliest inheritor of her mothers talent. What an amazing range Luft has.
Luft also gave us a wonderful tribute to Peter Allen, who she says was her best friend since she was twelve. The Talented Allen died and Luft still thinks of him all the time. Allen was also married to Liza Minnelli. Really touching and soul wrenching is Luft singing Peter Allen’s “Don’t Cry Out Loud.” Wow! It almost blew the roof off of the Rrazz Room. I know --because my hair was standing on end. All four strands. Look for a new C.D. featuring the songs of Peter Allen sung by Luft. Sony records asked her to do it. Can’t wait to hear it.
During the show Luft reveals little inside things about growing up in a house with celebrities who came and went constantly. “As you may have guessed” she said – “Our house was not like ‘Ozzie and Harriet!” Yeh, I think we kinda figured that.
Luft’s vocals are just terrific and they are nuanced enough not to be copies of any other singer including her mother. Oh, if you close your eyes, you can hear the influence of Judy, but make no mistake about it; Luft is not imitating her mother or her sister Liza. She makes the music her own.
RATING: FOUR GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!!! – (highest rating) -trademarked-
YOU CAN CATCH LORNA LUFT THROUGH THIS SUNDAY AT THE RRAZZ ROOM AT THE HOTEL NIKKO (At Mason and O’Farrell) It’s a gorgeous room and a grand Lobby shows you the way to the room) http://www.therrazzroom/
(((Lee Hartgrave has contributed many articles to the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Datebook and produced a long-running Arts Segment on PBS KQED)))
Brady Boyd (Brandon) and Sal Mattos (Justin) in the Locker Room.
GOOD BOYS AND TRUE
Well, as it turns out – the Boys are not so true and not so good. And I don’t mean that in the acting department. Jesuit schools must be a great place to be at. There is elitism, sexual tapes of a student having sex with a poor down and out shop girl that one of the Boys picked up at the MALL. I guess he thought it was THE MAUL. He is handsome – and she is just so, so. Plus, she never would have a chance with Mr. Jock Strap, so when he asked her out for a date she was floored and that’s what he had in mind. Yeh, he’s handsome with a winning smile and he is elitist. Think Pacific Heights, or better yet – think Tiburon, where houses sell in the Zillions.
We sure do get a lot of these stories about Boys Gone Wild in a Prep. School. There have been many movies about the same subject and there have been plenty of plays about the schools. Especially notable was “The History Boys.”
The star Sports Jock gets into to trouble when the Videotape is passed around the school. All the boys have seen it. They liked it, because they have done similar things themselves.
Then there is the Gay Boy, who is a close friend of Brandon (The Jock). Brandon pulls the Gay Boys strings by gestures and body movements that look very erotic. There are times when talking to his Gay friend that he even brushes his hair against the friends cheek. It’s all a rouse of course. He is using the Gay Guy, just as he used the girl that he picked up in the mall. Sure he’s handsome, but is so full of himself that he thinks that everyone exists for him.
This version of the play is pretty conservative actually. There is another version that almost reads like a different play, and it is much more gay. Who changed it? And why? I guess you’ll have to go to a Prep. School to find out.
In the first act Brandon (Brady Boyd) seems a little stiff in the role. But he has the looks and is well-cast overall. The Coach Russell (Mark Irwin) that exposes the Video to Brandon’s Mother is right on target. He reeks of the locker room Loud Mouth that is of course only interested in the boys morals. But, he did look at the tape in its entirety.
Mom Elizabeth (Jennifer McGeorge) is excellent as the in-denial mother, who swears that it is not her hunky Angel that is in the sex tape. She does a terrific job of displaying the right emotions. Justin Simmons) the Gay Friend is given some impossible silly lines to deliver. The fact that he still was able to be interesting is a marvel. Don’t blame the coach-blame the playwright. Here is one of the lines: “They call Justin, ‘Cock Sucker’ -- which technically is accurate.” Of course, Brandon didn’t mind letting Justin Jack him off. But, later Brandon calls Justin a Fag in front of his mother. Nice clean cut Lad – don’t you think?
This play is not as good as “The History Boys,” but yet it was still entertaining. I say see it! It is titillating.
RATING: THREE GLASSES OF CHAMPAGNE!!! –trademarked-
AT THE NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER.
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