For the week of January 16-22…
Carmina Burana, January 20-22, Marcus Center, 929 N Water St (mso.org)
When Andreas Delfs took the reins of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for the 1997-98 season, he capped his first season with performances of Carl Orff’s spectacular cantata Carmina Burana, which features the familiar “O Fortuna” theme that opens and closes the piece. That performance was such a smash with MSO audiences that Delfs has led several subsequent performances, and this weekend he returns to lead the MSO in this piece in three performances that are likely to be sellouts. While there are vocal soloists in the piece, the real star is the MSO Chorus, which will be impeccably prepared as usual by Chorus Director Lee Erickson. No matter how many times you may have heard this piece on CD or seen it performed on TV, this is truly one classical piece that must be experienced live, which probably explains why so many people have returned to see the MSO perform it again and again (including me). Add the voices of the Milwaukee Children’s Jubilate Chorus, and it adds up to the one single work that many associate with Andreas Delfs’ tenure as MSO Music Director. It’s probably the MSO’s equivalent to the Milwaukee Ballet’s Nutcracker or the Rep’s Christmas Carol. In other words, it is not to be missed.
Red Tails, opening January 20, playing at various theaters
There have been several previous attempts to present the story of America’s unsung heroes of World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen, the all-black squadron of fighter pilots whose exploits helped turn the tide of the war in Europe, but who had to struggle to get the opportunity to actually fight for their country. But this production has the financial muscle of one George Lucas, who has put up $50 million of his own money to get this film made, after trying nearly 25 years to get a Hollywood studio to produce it, the studios fearing the film couldn’t succeed in foreign markets. The film stars Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr (in perhaps his best role since Jerry Maguire), Terrence Howard and Nate Parker, and directed by Anthony Hemingway, whose TV work includes the acclaimed series The Wire and Treme. And Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic shop was involved in the recreations of the aerial battle scenes. And Lucas knows a thing or two about staging air (or space) battles. But it’s the human story behind the battles that looks to distinguish this movie. As Gooding himself says, “Red Tails isn’t a story about victims. This is a story about heroes. And when I realized that, I was like, ‘I’ve got to be involved in this.’ I love The Color Purple. I saw Roots. But we were more than that. And this was an opportunity to say, ‘We were slaves, but we were also airmen and warriors.'” With Black History Month just around the corner, the timing couldn’t be better. And I wouldn’t be against Lucas’ ability to draw the key younger demographic to this movie, but it’s one every American should see.
This Gun for Hire, January 21-22, Times Cinema, 5906 W Vliet St (timescinema.com)
The classics have returned to the Times, the venerable (and recently refurbished) neighborhood theater in Washington Heights. The just-launched weekend movie classics series will present many of Hollywood’s greatest films in noon showings every Saturday and Sunday. And this weekend’s movie is a doozy. 1942’s This Gun for Hire served as a launching pad for Alan Ladd and was the prototype for the film noir genre. Besides Ladd, don’t overlook the beautiful Veronica Lake: a movie pair wouldn’t produce such smoldering onscreen heat until Bogey met Bacall in To Have and Have Not and Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck ignited sparks in Double Indemnity. But this is the granddaddy of noir movies and this is a special opportunity to see it on the Big Screen. We’ll feature more selected movies in this series in coming weeks.
Tuning In With Randy-O 