![\"I](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/thumbnail_IMG_2816.jpg\")
<\/a>I hate when people take this obligatory goony photo, but can you figure out why I took it this time? Because of my beautiful red thumbnail, of course! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
I absolutely adored<\/em> Neil and Pat; the show not as much. But it\u2019s definitely worth seeing, on several levels. First of all, it\u2019s Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo music, so there\u2019s that. Their fans will be happy to hear their famous songs and discover the new ones. And the discerning Mr. X* really enjoyed it. He told me he kept looking forward to how each song would fit into the story. *[Note: Since he’s never been a fan of going out, that means this<\/em> time was special, so I’ll be quoting him a lot in this review.]<\/p>\n And then there is the fact that it\u2019s at the Wallis, where it’s always a pleasure to see anything<\/em>! The sightlines and perfect seats make any<\/em> theatrical experience there extra-special. I sat further back in the orchestra this time, and I still felt like I was on stage with the actors! (Mr. X is even lauding the entire staff there!)<\/p>\n Kay Sibal and Khamary Rose. Photo by Jamie Pham, as is the one at the top of this review.<\/p><\/div>\n With a cast of twenty-two, Invincible<\/em> is a really big production! And it’s not your usual \u201cjukebox musical,\u201d despite being created to use mostly well-known<\/em> Pat Benatar songs. Mr. X explains it as a \u201ctwentieth century version of Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, seen through a new lens,\u201d so we’ll go with what he<\/em> says because I cannot describe it better than that. But I will<\/em> add that there are some little differences in the narrative, (from what I remember of that tale.) However, I’m not discussing them here so as not to spoil any of it for you.<\/p>\n Mr. X was most impressed with the actual sound<\/em> of the music; he said it sounded so<\/em> good, in fact, that he thought it was pre-recorded. The fact that no musicians are seen on stage nor in their pit seemed to confirm his assumption. So he was shocked when the orchestra was shown on a screen during the curtain call; they play from a different area of the theatre.<\/p>\n The cast acknowledging the unseen-during-the-show orchestra at the Invincible Opening Night curtain call. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n He also noted that the \u201cvoices are consistently strong throughout.\u201d But Mr. X and I, (who rarely agree on anything<\/em>,) both<\/em> deem Julia Harriman, (who plays what I assume is Juliet’s nurse<\/em>, but seems more like her stylist<\/em>,) to possess the stand-out voice, although she doesn’t sing much in the show.<\/p>\n As far as the acting<\/em> goes, John Patrick Walker, as the Friar, injects some much-needed humor into the proceedings, so I appreciated him the most.<\/p>\n I’ve actually never seen any<\/em> of the actors before, but I was glad to read that several of them went to UCLA, where I was once a dance major. And it’s where Mr. X and I met! (To his eternal regret.) So–Go Bruins!<\/p>\n Speaking of dancing, that art here, (choreographed by Galen Hooks,) is my favorite part of Invincible<\/em>. The krump-dancing Mr. X feels the same way. The show definitely picks-up, a lot<\/em>, with a scene at a club, which features a very exciting entrance into it. And there’s also an impressive, well-choreographed-and-executed fight scene, directed by Steve Rankin, towards the end.<\/p>\n The club scene. Photo by Sean Daniels.<\/p><\/div>\n We’re both fans of that ending because it’s done cleverly, which is always a pleasure to see. Kudos to the writer, Bradley Bredeweg, (whom I met with the Giraldos back then, and is lovely,) for that creativity!<\/p>\n Despite my family pedigree of all English and Speech teachers, and my own two college degrees–in Theatre and teaching–I have an embarrassing admission to make: no matter how incredible or outrageously wonderful, (according to Mr. X, of course,) Shakespeare’s writing is, I’m just not into it! So I’m not very<\/em> familiar with Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, except for the balcony scene and the ending. So I was a tad lost some of the time, but I just went with the flow of the show.<\/p>\n Similarly, as I admitted to Pat when I met her, as a mainly hip-hop chick, (and despite the fact that she and her hubby held the coveted title of My New Best Friends six months ago,) I don’t know much of their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame music. So almost all<\/em> the songs in this musical, not just the quintet she and Neil wrote for this<\/em> show, were new to me. (But I have not stopped singing Love Is a Battlefield<\/em> since Invincible<\/em>‘s Opening Night last week-end!)<\/p>\n Photo by Jamie Pham.<\/p><\/div>\n Of course, since I’m me, I do<\/em> have one small complaint about the presentation. Perhaps because the setting is listed as \u201ca modern, post-war Verona,\u201d the writer chose to meld Shakespearean vernacular and modern-day speech for the dialogue. To my ear, that makes it sound like high school kids who keep forgetting that they’re performing Shakespeare.<\/p>\n Even though the program says that Invincible<\/em> is two hours with an intermission, there’s actually no<\/em> intermission, and it runs a true hour and forty-five minutes.<\/p>\n The fight scene. Josh Strobl and Khamary Rose. Photo by Sean Daniels.<\/p><\/div>\n That length is good, but to improve the pace a bit, Mr. X mused that in some instances, they need to \u201cHoward Hawks it,\u201d and I knew right away what he meant. Hawkes directed the famous film His Girl Friday<\/em>, and produced the cult classic The Thing From Another<\/em> World<\/em>, both of which feature his wonderful style of having the characters talk practically on top of one another, as happens in real life. (Unless I’m<\/em> the one doing the speaking, of course\u2014then no one else has a chance!) The actors in this show often stop at the end of sentences, so the show-runners may want to consider that different approach for future productions of this show.<\/p>\n But it’s really of no matter right now; fans of Pat Benatar’s music will flock to the Wallis to see Invincible<\/em>, as well they should! But Angelenos need to hightail it there\u2014the show is here for just two more weeks!<\/p>\n Invincible<\/em> running through December 18, 2022<\/strong> INVINCIBLE About six months ago, I had the good fortune of meeting, and hanging-out with, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. The occasion was the party after the announcement of the upcoming World Premiere of their new musical, Invincible, at the Wallis in Beverly Hills. And now it has finally opened! I absolutely adored Neil and<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
\n The Wallis<\/strong>
\n 9390 North Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills<\/strong>
\n 310-746-4000<\/strong>
\n www.thewallis.org<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"