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Saturday, July 22, 2006

Kaleidoscope Eyes: A Perfect Escape from a Heat Wave

Posted by on July 22 at 14:28 PM

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Last night I spent a dreamy evening at the Northwest Film Forum, where the thoroughly air-conditioned main theater is hosting Kaleidoscope Eyes, a series of 16 film segments directed and/or choreographed by cinema genius Busby Berkeley, scored with new songs written by the beloved-and-acclaimed Seattle composer (and first Stranger Genius award winner for Theater) Chris Jeffries. For the show, Jeffries sits at a piano below the screen alongside a small chorus of singers, many of them esteemed Jeffries’ vets, who deliver their songs from behind music stands.

The show’s not perfect, but it’s totally worth seeing. There are some klunky moments and a couple numbers feel extraneous, but on the whole, it’s delightful, and its best moments are near-transcendent. Jeffries’ deep love of Berkeley’s work is clear, and in the best numbers, the amazing screen images mesh with Jeffries’ Stephin Merritt-meets-show-choir songs in dazzling and hilarious ways.

Also, sitting in a deeply air-conditioned room watching 50 identically beautiful women plunge one after the other into a vast cool pool on a black-and-white screen is the most effective heatwave-escaping maneuver this side of suicide.

Go.


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Oh, it was okay, but there were several moments where I found myself wishing they'd just shut up and let the scenes roll. And in a couple of sequences -- the WWI/Depression number (That Man of Mine, originally) -- the film score is so much superior to the new versions that it's tragic.

Also, what was up with that last number? Fisherman, fisherman, look how far we can pee? Was that really necessary?

It was just so Tom-Lehrery. Was there really no one else who could have looked at these scenes and *not* thought of show tunes?

FYI Busby's last name is spelled
Berkeley.

Horace: "Tom Lehrery"--ouch. But understandable. Still, I liked the rewritten "Forgotton Man" number, for recounting the history that inspired the (admijttedly superior) original, and I, uh, thought the pee joke was hilarious.

Edly: Sorry about the spelling, I'll fix it.

I think hacking up old Hollywood movies and rescoring them complete with "Fisherman, fisherman, look how far we can pee" lyrics is genius. They were much better than the originals. I've never liked Cole Porter songs and other 1930's music anyway, he was so racist and sexist. Seeing Busby's work with better music proved to me that America really is getting better and better culturally.

I love old movie songs, but the new ones were superb - yummy tasty harmonies and lyrics every bit as sly and artful as Porter, now that you mention him.
And come on, how could you NOT have been thinking about the pee thing before they even said that. Don't you have even an ounce of little kid in you?
I'm just wondering if the original viewers were thinking it even in 1940 or whenever, cuz they'd have to be really blind to miss it. And the between-the-legs shots, good lord! How pervy is that?? Sweeet.

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