My review of Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme.

First impressions. The set reminded me of Moulin Rouge. I read in the paper that Luhrmann created La Boheme long before he created Moulin Rouge, and you can see in the set and costume designs echoes of the movie.

What was different about this production of La Boheme, was the opera singers. Most opera singers in are older and look it. Most opera singers also tend to be broader and bigger. The cast members of Luhrmann’s La Boheme all looked so young, probably age 30 and under, and looked like normal young people. For La Boheme’s story, this type of casting works incredibly well since the opera is about young bohemians. The guys actually looked like the parts they were playing. Since Luhrmann sets the opera in the 50’s, the time charge further added to the very modern look of the opera. The modern look definitely draws a more younger audience in, especially an audience not used to opera. Opera has the reputation for being stuffy. Luhrmann’s La Boheme was anything but stuffy.

Luhrmann uses 3 pairs of couples to sing the role of Rodolpho and Mimi, since the roles are so demanding. The three pairs have been dubbed by the media here, “the red, white and blue” cast. I saw the “white cast”, which all the reviews said is overall the strongest pair of singers and actors.

I thought the singing was very good. The only thing I didn’t like was the singers were miked, and you can tell they were miked. For the size of the theatre where La Boheme was performed, microphones were unnecessary and a good opera singer would have been able to be heard without a microphone. In interview, Luhrmann said that microphones were used just so the singers didn’t have to worry about being heard.

What I loved about this version of La Boheme was the costumes, the set, and the activity going on in the background in the café scene. Everyone in background cast, except for the main people were all dressed in shades of gray. Most of the sets were also gray. With the gray costumes and sets, the main characters really stood out when they were on stage. My friend and I immediately thought of the girl in the red dress in the movie “Schindler’s List”. That girl in the red dress really stands out in the movie. Here the color scheme is reversed, but it has the same effect with the main characters standing out so to speak from the crowd.

The best scene was the one where the main characters are in a café in town. There was so much activity going on, and so many background people on stage, that it was hard to actually pay attention to the singing. But all the activity and people really made for a very visually exciting scene, that I’ve never scene before in a musical or an opera. I was reminded of the freneticism of Moulin Rouge.

All the activity and background characters on stage reminded me of watching the new Star Wars movie, “Attack of the Clones”. I saw the movie at a special digital theatre. There was so much going on in the scenes, that sometimes I would start paying attention to something that was happening on the right edge of the screen, and not care about the main action. I had the same thing happen at La Boheme.

If the tickets weren’t so expensive, I would definitely go to La Boheme again to view that one busy scene just to see what I missed the first time around.

Of course, I loved the story in La Boheme. What I got this time around, the tragedy of the ending. How a person can convince themselves that everything will be okay, even when they told themselves earlier that a situation was hopeless. It’s kind of like to get through life, you have to always be hopeful, be an optimist, even if you know that the coming events are going to be unpleasant and unfortunate. This is tragic to me, because it’s like you experience the pain twice over. First, the initial pain of realizing that a certain situation is hopeless, and then the second pain of hoping against hope that the situation is not hopeless, but having your suspicions confirmed at the end. I didn’t cry at the end of La Boheme, but there were people who did so, and that’s always the sign of a good opera.

Other things I liked about Buhrmann’s La Boheme. They had subtitles which were easy to see, but SF Opera does that too. When they were set changes, the audiences sees the set changes and even the director, so it’s kind of like you’re watching movie. The characters are also in freeze position in the beginning, and then come to life when the lights go up. The people who moved the set were also in costume, which I thought was a very nice touch, because then it gave continuity to the whole production.

Some scenes that were slow moving, but as a whole the production moved along very nicely. Baz Luhrmann’s La Boheme adds a modern, young, and visually exciting look to opera, and for that I think Luhrmann should be congratulated.

I heard an interview with Harold Kushner, who wrote "When Bad Things Happen to Good People". I wrote some things down that he said. Here they are.

You teach morality to override human instinct.

Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you’re an honest person, is like expecting a bull to not charge you because you’re a vegetarian.

Prayer is thanking god, and asking God to be with you because when you come into the presence of God, everything seems easier. What kind of things are easier to do, if you think God is with you. You don’t believe in God philosophically, you experience God.

Going to church is communal commitment, to find a congregation, to find a community of believers.

A person who you think has treated you badly does not the deserve the power to jerk your mind around, the person doesn’t have to share the space in your head.

I've only ever read his book "When Bad Things". I found the review for another book that Kushner wrote, "Who Needs God", which I will probably as well. Mr. Kushner seems to have very interesting thoughts on religion, some of which deserve my serious consideration.

Interesting article from New York Times columnist, Edward Rothstein on Defending Post Modernism in a post 9/11 world.

The Giants won game 4, and I am so incredibly distracted by this world series that I can't concentrate on my screenplay. I thought I would push up my deadline and have it finished by Thursday night, but I don't think I can do it. Last night, I was too burnt out to write. Tonight was my bible studies class, and we were discussing the crucifixion and the ressurection and whether it matters if you believed the events actually happened or if these events are just metaphors for faith. My mind is buzzing on that whole discussion. I think there were people in class who probably don't believe that the crucifixion and resurrection actually happened, not that it matters to me if they do or don't because that's a person own private and personal business, and who am I to pass judgment on what other people believe or don't believe. I certainly don't want other people passing judgment on what I believe or don't believe, and this is where for the bible teaching of "do unto other as you would have them do unto you or judge not and you shall not be judged" come in. What was interesting was the sense of shame and secrecy that stole over class about the whole subject. I totally believe it's true, but that's just me.

How can I go back to writing my screenplay after a discussion on what I think is a cornerstone of christian faith; the crucifixion and resurrection of JC.

I only pushed up deadline to Thursday night because my screenwriting teacher is leaving for Europe Friday morning, and I wanted her to take my screenplay with her so she could read it, which she said she would do. I originally thought I would finish my screenplay by Saturday night, because I didn't think I could write with that kind of intensity. It certainly looks like I was right about myself. I think it's hard, at least for me, to write that intensely day in day out. I did it for Nanowrimo, but that was because I think you can write very intensely day in and day out on a first draft. In fact I'm starting to think now that first drafts should come out as quickly as possible, just to get something down on paper.

For my screenplay, I'm in second draft mode. I am doing the second rewrite from scratch, but it's not like I'm just writing off the top of my head. Since I pretty much know how my characters are and how they behave from writing the first draft, when I rewrite the story I have to really think about whether my characters would actually behave and talk the way that I'm writing that they do. In first draft mode, at least in my first draft mode, I sort of know stuff about my characters but not how they actually talk and behave. There's a sense of discovery and exploration of the character in first draft mode. In second draft mode, it's more like does what I'm writing ring true for the character from what I already know about him or her.

That whole section above probably didn't make sense at all, but there is a difference in a second draft rewrite.

I was thinking of taking tomorrow off, but I decided not to. I want my screenwriting teacher to read my screenplay before I send it off to the contest, but if she doesn't, it's not that big of a deal for me. It's not like this is a final, final draft. This is the second draft of my screenplay, and I'm sending in to the contest for two reasons. One, to see how I rate along side other writers and two, to move my screenplay to a state, a place, where I can comfortable leave it until I decide to work on it again.

Since it's the world series as well as football season, I'm into sports analogies. Using baseball analogies. The first draft of your work is like getting to first base. Second and third base represent either a 2nd or third draft or however many drafts you feel you need to get to second and third base. When you write your final, final draft, then you've scored a run. Using football analogies. The first draft is the return after a kickoff. The drafts represent downs, and who know how many downs it will take you to get to the goal line, or get your writing piece to a point where you're satisfied with it and you feel there's nothing else you can do to improve on it. The final final draft means you've scored a touchdown.

Entering my screenplay into a contest in second draft mode is like going from first to second base. I've moved the screenplay further along in the process. I can either leave my screenplay at second bae, or if I wanted to, I could work on it some more and move it from second to third base, and then work on it again until I'm absolutely done, which will mean I've reached home plate and scored a run.

It's good to for me to move my writing pieces out of first draft mode, and to get them further along in the process. I haven't been very good at moving my writing pieces along, having only rewritten two short stories. I'd like to change that. This screenplay will set the table for my writing pieces to move towards final draft mode.

Maybe if I didn't work full time, or if there wasn't a compelling world series on with the hometown team playing, or if I didn't have this very interesting bible class I attend every Wednesday night which makes my mind reel and buzz, I could write with the kind of intensity that I'd like to have. But life is always going to get in the way of my creativity, so I think I just need to write with the kind of intensity that comes naturally to me. And for now, my intensity is there, it's just not there every day. I definitly need time off just to recharge my creative energies, especially after an intense writing session. I wrote for four hours on Monday, and two hours on Saturday and Sunday. I probably could have written for a longer period of time on Saturday and Sunday, but it was hard to settle down to write. Once I do settle down, the writing becomes easier and I think if the world series wasn't on, I could concentrate a little better and get more writing done.

Some part of me wonders if I'm just making excuses and rationalizing my laziness and my inability to meet my own deadlines. I wish I knew the answer.

Right now all I can think about is GO GIANTS!