{"id":804,"date":"2023-06-07T01:37:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T01:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/?p=804"},"modified":"2023-06-12T00:36:09","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T00:36:09","slug":"for-the-love-of-the-glove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/for-the-love-of-the-glove\/","title":{"rendered":"For The Love of The Glove"},"content":{"rendered":"[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]\n

For The Love of The Glove<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reviewed by Mart<\/strong>\u1f77n Hern<\/strong>\u00e1ndez<\/strong>
\nCarl Sagan \u2013 Ann Druyan Theatre at the CenterfFor Inquiry West<\/em><\/strong>
\nThrough June 24<\/strong><\/p>\n

RECOMMENDED<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mix a B-movie sci-fi plot with the life story of the \u201cKing of Pop,\u201d add some inventive puppetry and a talented and uninhibited ensemble, and the result is a profane, hilarious, and razor-sharp skewering of the pop culture industry, systemic racism and religious hypocrisy. With director Julien Nitzberg\u2019s clever book and lyrics, arranger\/composer Drew Erickson\u2019s and composers Nicole Morier\u2019s and Max Townsley\u2019s engaging music, Robin Walsh\u2019s innovative puppets, and Chris Judd lively choreography, the piece also serves up a compassionate portrait of Michael Jackson, a child star who, like Peter Pan, was truly never allowed to grow up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truth must be told,\u201d declares our narrator Thrihl-Lha (Patrick Batiste) \u2014 that truth being that it was he, the iconic sequined \u201cglove,\u201d who made Michael (Eric B. Anthony) the \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest Superstar.\u201d He then explains that he was one of five extraterrestrials, all resembling glittering gloves, who escaped from their dying planet of Bazalaam, only to end up in Gary, the dying steel town in Indiana (a state derided in the outrageous, \u201cWhat Is It About Indiana?\u201d).<\/p>\n

Striking a Faustian bargain between the Bazalaamians\u2019 nefarious leader, Vikh-Tah (an inspired Andrew Ableson) and abusive family patriarch, Joe Jackson (Pip Lilly), the aliens infuse the Jackson siblings with extraordinary talent. The aliens hide their identity by, well, acting like gloves, with Michael finding a kindred spirit in the more empathetic Thrihl-Lha and forming an indelible and sometimes spicy bond (\u201cLet A Friend Help You Beat It\u201d).<\/p>\n

With Joe as the Jackson 5\u2019s manager, the road leads to Motown mogul Berry Gordy (Daniel Mills) who eschews the brothers\u2019 dreams of making anti-racist message music, schooling them on the value of \u201ccrossing over\u201d and making pop pablum that won\u2019t anger the white folks. He also warns them of the \u201cPat Boone-ing,\u201d phenomenon (\u201cDo You Know What Happened in 1959?\u201d). Other aspects of Jackson\u2019s career are absurdly portrayed, from his vitiligo diagnosis (\u201cWhat a Delight When You Turn White\u201d) to his AMA \u201cdate\u201d with Brooke Shields (understudy Sasha Urban.) Even his Pepsi commercial disaster is ripe for comic fodder.<\/p>\n

By using lifelike puppets whose limbs and facial features are manipulated, Bunraku-style, by the actors, the show underscores how the music industry exploits its artists to the hilt, exemplified by Michael getting sucked dry \u2014 financially, psychologically and physically \u2014 by his family, Motown, and the aliens (\u201cHate Your Family\u201d). \u00a0Along the way, the show takes well-deserved potshots at Jackson matriarch Katherine\u2019s (Suzanne Nichols) , along with several religions \u2014 Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, the racist Mormonism of Donny Osmond (Urban) and Shields\u2019 Roman Catholicism (\u201cIf I Were a Nun and You Were a Priest\u201d).<\/p>\n

The high energy music embraces soul, pop, disco and gospel, and the cast is up to the challenge, both in singing and dancing. Anthony is at turns inane and sympathetic, with his singing and dancing doing his lead character justice. Batiste also delivers some forceful vocals and movements; in his scenes with Anthony, the two display admirable chemistry.<\/p>\n

Even with the show\u2019s prodigious mirth, there is also a sincere sympathy for Michael Jackson, whose tortured life remains a cautionary tale of the price of fame and fortune, especially for artists of color navigating the still white-dominated entertainment industry.<\/p>\n

Carl Sagan \u2013 Ann Druyan Theatre, Center for Inquiry West, 2535 W. Temple St., Echo Park; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; thru June 24.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>https:\/\/fortheloveofaglove.com\/<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 Running time: 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission.<\/em><\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” column_position=”default” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1\/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” animation_type=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][image_with_animation image_url=”902″ image_size=”full” animation_type=”entrance” animation=”None” animation_movement_type=”transform_y” hover_animation=”none” alignment=”center” border_radius=”none” box_shadow=”none” image_loading=”default” max_width=”100%” max_width_mobile=”default”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overflow=”visible” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_direction_desktop=”default” column_element_spacing=”default” desktop_text_alignment=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_backdrop_filter=”none” column_shadow=”none”…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-reviews","8":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stageraw.com\/remake\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}