Columns – Houghton STAR

by Kat Wojsiat

I had the pleasure of seeing Houghton University’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods twice! Director Amanda Cox did something a little different and split the cast so that many roles had two actors, and I wanted to see and compare both casts.

Both did an amazing job, and it was fun to see each actor put their own spin on their character. For those of you who did not get to see it, Into the Woods follows a baker (Luc Peirera) and his wife (Rebekah Scharf) as they journey through the mysterious woods to find four objects demanded of them by their neighboring witch (Linnette Taylor).

Along the way, they come across multiple fairytale characters who live in their world, including Jack (Thomas Auld & Ethan Carr), Little Red (Grace Vuolo & Josey Ikker), and Cinderella (Emily Quick & Rachel McVeigh). Together, they face giants, death, princes, and a race against time.

All of the actors in the show clearly put a lot of work into learning their lines, choreography, and characters, and it is clear that there was so much fun and dedication put into these performances. The vocal performances put out by the leads were highly impressive. Most of the leads had at least one solo or duet where the audience got to see them shine.

Surely word has spread, but this show was made even more eventful thanks to the campus-wide power outage that occurred on Saturday. Right toward the end of Auld’s solo during the matinee, the power went out, causing the stage and the mics to go dark. Auld continued without faltering, delivering an impressive and composed performance through the confusion. After his scene ended, the show took a brief intermission during which the tech team went to work finding solutions. They quickly found lights, and the rest of the performance was completed in darkness, as well as the Saturday night performance. The actors adapted very well and delivered a great performance. I got to go to three of the four performances (although I did not get to stay the whole time for each one) and each one was meaningful and fun. They did a great job, and I highly encourage students to go to future lyric theatre productions! ★

By Caleb Tiedenmann

Now I may absolutely adore film, but I have very high standards for what constitutes a “good” film, which is why I am always wary of films that fall into the comedy genre. However, when searching for movies to watch this year, I stumbled upon a film that goes by the name of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. After watching the trailer about a week before actually seeing the movie I was interested, and the marketing only made me more excited. So I sat down hoping to see something enjoyable and funny. Lucky for me, it was just what I wanted.

When it comes to comedy, you get a mix of movies. Many claim to be comedic, but are just worthless and unfunny outings. I am sure the first time a guy got hit in the crotch on TV was like Jesus healing the blind man to comedic writers who believed they struck gold. Now, let’s not deny, that is peak comedy, but today if you see that in a movie, it will not have nearly as funny of an effect as it did ten years prior. You’re probably wondering why I made this whole paragraph, but there is a point. The point being that Massive Talent is genuinely funny. It does not rely on cheap gags alone. It relies on the fact that you have some knowledge about film and culture.

The movie stars Nick Cage as Nick Cage (a daring casting choice) who is running out of luck and experiencing burnout. His career is dying as well as his marriage and relationship with his daughter. On the verge of financial collapse, he accepts an offer to make an appearance at a rich billionaire’s birthday party. However, there is a twist: the billionaire, Javi (played by Pedro Pascal) is a super fan of Nick Cage, as well as a crime lord wanted by the US government. While Nick is pestered for information about Javi, the two of them start to become close friends and form a wholesome brotherhood, attempting to write a movie together.

From that brief synopsis alone you can tell that this movie is already something interesting. The whole movie is one big love letter to two things: movies and film, and Nick Cage. There are multiple references to Nick Cage’s wacky and wild career, from his hits such as Face Off and The Rock to things like his voicework in Croods. It talks of movies, classic and non, poking fun at them and the cinematic “system.” Nick Cage is just awesome in this movie, he seems to enjoy his time on screen and really sells his act. But the star of this movie has to be Pedro Pascal as Javi. The whole time he acts like the biggest nerd and is super convincing in every way, I literally loved his performance.

The cinematography was just gorgeous as the whole movie takes place in an exotic country. The costumes were nothing special, but I just really love floral button ups so the whole movie was tailored to my choice of summer ware. The humor was funny and it had me laughing throughout the entire film. Overall, I strongly recommend the movie. If you do not want to take it from my word alone, check out the trailer because that was enough to convince me to see it. In my mind, it is the perfect 100 minutes to kick back and put your brain on autopilot. I strongly recommend the movie with one of the longest titles ever: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Final Grade: 9/10 (A-)