Reverend's Interview: Bryan Fuller is Giving Us a Dust Bunny for the Holidays

Santa Claus isn’t the only one coming to town this month.  You’d better watch out for a very large, very hungry, very scary Dust Bunny!

Out TV series creator/writer/showrunner Bryan Fuller is making his feature film debut on December 12^th with the nationwide release of Dust Bunny.  Set in a decaying apartment complex on the edge of New York City’s Chinatown, it is a dark, surreal, yet fun fable told through the eyes of 10-year-old Aurora. She is convinced there’s a monster living under her bed, one that devoured her foster parents in the middle of the night. 

Isolated and frightened, Aurora becomes fixated on her reclusive neighbor, a wounded hitman she secretly follows through the city.  After witnessing him kill a dragon-like creature on a rooftop, she decides he might be the only one capable of saving her. As the two form an unlikely bond, her neighbor--who is himself being hunted by professional killers tied to his past—uncovers a chilling pattern: Aurora’s previous foster families have all mysteriously vanished. But when one of the neighbor’s wannabe assassins is swallowed whole by something beneath Aurora’s bed, he realizes her fears may be grounded in something very real…and very dangerous.

Dust Bunny boasts a fantastic cast led by Mads Mikkelsen as “The Intriguing Neighbor” and amazing newcomer Sophie Sloan as Aurora, with Sigourney Weaver, David Dastmalchian and Rebecca Henderson in wild supporting roles.

Bryan Fuller, the film’s writer-director, got his start in the entertainment industry as a writer on TV’s legendary Star Trek series Voyager and Deep Space Nine. He next created or co-created such memorably offbeat shows as Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls, Pushing Daisies (which won multiple Emmy Awards), Hannibal (which also starred Mikkelsen) and American Gods. Fuller is openly gay and most of his work features a notably queer sensibility.

In the movie’s press notes, Fuller shares the very personal motivation behind Dust Bunny: 

“Our heroine, Aurora, wished for the monster under her bed to eat her parents. ‘They weren’t very nice to me’ is all the explanation we get as to why Aurora wished her wish. A little background: I grew up with an abusive father, and I would have been content to have him eaten by a monster. There are all sorts of reasons your average child might, in a blaze of anger (or less), wish their parents dead. From no cha-cha heels at Christmas to curfews to things less common and cruel. I want the viewer to have their own take on why Aurora did it. Or more specifically, why they would do it. I know I had my reasons.”

Reverend recently spoke with the very thoughtful, very funny Fuller via Zoom. Note: Some questions and responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Bryan, I’m truly honored to have this opportunity to speak with the creator of what I feel are several of the best, if sadly short-lived, TV series of the 21^st century so far.

Oh, thank you! 

Absolutely. Can you tell me a little bit about what’s your method or your sensibility when it comes to choosing or developing projects?

I love storytelling and I love characters and I love thematics. There’s something about if a story or a narrative has the opportunity for me to break off a bit of my soul, and put a horcrux into it, to give me a barometer of what an audience would want from that story. I definitely have to be the first person in the audience that wants to see this story, so I can’t imagine working on something that I wouldn’t watch. There’s plenty of movies where I’m like “I don’t know if I’m the audience for this; I may enjoy the experience but I also don’t necessarily know how to steer something like that.”

I’m primarily a genre storyteller because I like those extra colors in my Crayola crayon box to color with. I think that there’s something about horror, science fiction, fantasy that gives you an opportunity for an analysis of certain thematics that do feel distinctively queer. The things that I’m attracted to have a queer sensibility to them. How I like to tell stories and the aesthetics and the way that I enjoy telling a story feel very queer to me. For things like Dust Bunny or Pushing Daisies that may not have queer narratives, they are certainly queer in design and characterizations that feel like that part of my psyche is being serviced in a way.

I would say the easiest answer (to your question), particularly for this publication, is “What is the inherent queerness of this story and what is my relationship to the perception of that queerness?” Sometimes that queerness is asexual and sometimes it is sexual. There’s something about the asexual romance of Pushing Daisies, or the blossoming of an asexuality into a sexual romance of Hannibal, or the explicit sexuality of something like American Gods, where I got to do barebacking, flaming ejaculation kind of sex scenes--that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else—but in a fantasy story of sorts. I do think my guiding principle for a lot of my taste is rooted in my queerness.

Thank you, that’s an excellent response and helpful. It’s funny, just thinking about and reflecting on Dust Bunny I wrote “fairy tale meets anime meets horror movie meets survivor story, with a musical number thrown in”! I loved the dancing nuns.

(Laughs) Do you remember that song from the 70’s? I know you grew up Catholic. I was raised very Catholic so I’ve been fantasizing about robbing a church (which Aurora does in the film) for most of my life.

Of course! (laugh) Congratulations on Dust Bunny.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and found it visually stunning, as well as so compelling and interesting. I’m so happy that it is an original story of yours that you got to direct, because I had read that you were working on adapting a novel or doing a remake or something. I’m so glad that this is the film for your first feature on the big screen. How does that strike you or how does that feel?

Thank you, thank you. You know, we were developing this story for (the TV series) Amazing Stories and we were having trouble pushing it through the process. It had so many of the things that I loved growing up and watching the (Steven Spielberg) Amblin’ brand in the 80’s, whether it was Poltergeist or Gremlins or The Goonies or E.T.  All of them had a sense of someone who didn’t feel like they belonged in the world in which they were living, and a guest from another world coming into theirs and showing them how they belonged. Not necessarily in the world that they’re struggling to belong in but what other worlds and relationships they can belong in. That also feels distinctively queer. 

I also loved fairy tales growing up. I love the Disney extrapolations of the fairy tales. I loved Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and that there were these gateway horror stories being sold to children that were scary and thrilling. Now we are so sensitive to traumatizing children but I do think there’s a lot of fun in scaring kids. I did it a lot when I was a kid. We would always ambush people in cemeteries in cloaks. The kids I was babysitting when I was like 12 years old, we would design haunted houses for their friends that would come in. I would leap through a window and grab the kid and pull them out screaming into the yard. (laugh) I love that kind of fun of telling a spooky story, and it is fun first for me. Even when Hannibal got very dark, I saw it as a black comedy and there was something about those storylines and the extremities that I just innately found a sense of humor in. Also, I think cannibalism is hilarious. As a pescatarian, people being served up in a way that they would serve others up, I find delightful. (Both of us laugh)

The idea of this being my first movie and also something that feels like the movies that I enjoyed as a kid, and wanting to share that experience with both younger audiences and the adults who are taking those kids to those movies, was really exciting. I think that was kind of the impetus for me, to bring the joy of the audience experience that I remember to modern audiences who may not have been around in the 1980’s to see all these fantastic films in the theater.

Talk to me about working with Mads Mikkelsen, who you’ve worked with a few times now on different projects. What’s your working relationship or your friendship like? Is he kind of your muse?

Mads is so cool. When I met him, I was like “Oh, I get it; he’s a movie star.” He’s like Danish George Clooney and he’s got the rizz, as they say, for days. But so many of his characters that we see him play in American movies are villains, whether it’s a James Bond villain (Casino Royale) or an Indiana Jones villain (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) or a Marvel villain (Doctor Strange). In Star Wars: Rogue One, you assume he’s a villain but he ends up being the greatest hero of the rebellion. So, there is a contained quality to a lot of his American performances that are directly in contrast to some of his Danish roles, where he plays more of a fool or is a very stoic hero.

I wanted the (Dust Bunny) audience to see just a little bit more of my friend, who has a charismatic personality, is a family man, who doesn’t have all the gravitas of all these weighty, villainous roles that populist audiences associate him with. I wanted everybody to see more of the guy I know as my friend but also just realizing, with his professionalism and his dedication and how good he is at his job, that it was undeniable that he was the guy. I pitched him the story at the premiere of Rogue One (in 2016) and he was like “Great, I’m in.” And then the movie lived and died at various studios who wanted various kinds of actors in the role. We finally found a studio (Lionsgate) that would make the movie with Mads. 

About Mads’ character, Resident 5B or “The Intriguing Neighbor,” what can gay viewers deduce or conclude about his character? Is he gay? Is he queer? Is he open to interpretation?

What I love about queer analysis of movies is that if you give us an inch, we’ll take a mile. And if there are no indicators of sexual desire or opposite sex attraction, we plant a flag and claim that character as our own.  You certainly can--because there is no real romance in (Dust Bunny)--project that onto Mads’ character.

This is not necessarily a queer narrative, although it did recently screen at Outfest. I would say if politics are proceeding along the line that some would hope that they would proceed and it becomes illegal to be gay again, the smoking guns of my homosexuality will be Dust Bunny and Pushing Daisies. Despite not having actively queer characters in them, they are distinctively queer worlds from a queer person. That’s the immersive experience or the aesthetic that also invites the audience to project themselves onto the characters. If you want to project a queerness onto Mads, it’s there. If you want to project a queerness or outsider-ness to little Aurora, for all of us queer kids who grew up in tricky households, you can. I say if you see queerness it’s there, it’s yours. Claim it!

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Thank Goodness for (Most) New Screen & Stage Musicals

On this Thanksgiving Day when those of us in the United States traditionally count our communal and personal blessings, Reverend remains ever grateful for—in addition to many other things--the opportunities God continues to provide me in reviewing new movies and NYC stage productions. God knows they aren’t all perfect artistic creations, but I will always respect the effort (not to mention the money) it takes to bring a film, play or musical to life today.

Here are my mostly positive reviews of several works I’ve seen this past week: 

Wicked: For Good (Now playing in movie theaters)

AKA Wicked: The Movie Part 2, this is the cinematic second act of Jon M. Chu’s pretty darn overall masterful adaptation of the long-playing/-touring stage musical. The first act of both renditions, with their fundamental world-building and central-character development, is stronger than the second. Act II is also necessarily darker and the tone more solemn, with songs that are decidedly less bubbly than Act 1’s. That being said, Wicked: FG makes some definite improvements/needed expansions on the source material (noting the initial contributions of authors/creators L. Frank Baum and Gregory Maguire).

I am noting I’ve already used the forward slash / above much more than I usually do. But this seems unavoidable when one is dealing with a generations-spanning literary and pop culture phenomenon like The Wizard of Oz. Some “purists” who have responded negatively to Wicked in its various forms have done so because of perceived deviations specifically from the classic 1939 movie. I don’t disagree with some of these criticisms, but I am also apparently more willing to suspend disbelief that the Wickeds exist in an alternate storytelling timeline/universe. (Darn, there’s another / !)

Chu, the newer films’ director, is clearly conscious of these criticisms and tries mightily to reconcile them. Is he wholly successful? No. The most glaring and downright confusing discrepancy in Wicked: For Good regards the motive and process by which Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh, who has a few amusing moments with Ariana Grande’s Glinda but is pretty much one-note evil in Part 2) conjures the cyclone that brings Kansas’s Dorothy Gale to the Land of Oz. And the fact that Cho refuses to show the latest Dorothy’s face becomes irritating, simplistic political “pawn” though she may be in this telling.

Despite all of this, there is still plenty to recommend Wicked: FG. Grande and Cynthia Erivo as “wicked witch” Elphaba cement themselves in these roles for this and perhaps future generations. It was most telling—and accurate--during the screening I attended that a young boy seated nearby loudly declared “That was awesome!” at the end of the song “No Good Deed,” performed by Erivo with spectacular visual support from Elphaba’s flying monkeys.

I wasn’t thrillified—to utilize the movies’ vernacular—by Jeff Goldblum’s turn as The Wizard in Part 1, but he redeems himself in Part 2 with his visual gag-infused number “Wonderful.” His performance also makes a stronger dramatic impact here. Similarly impressive and even hotter than he was in the first half is out dreamboat Jonathan Bailey, recently christened “The Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine, as conflicted hetero love interest Fiyero.

Visually, musically and dramatically—not to mention financially-- Wicked: For Good is a success. Even if it isn’t as strong an achievement as Wicked, I fully expect both chapters together will prove over time to be a cinematic classic.

Reverend’s Ratings: B+

Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York (Now playing at Broadway’s Longacre Theatre)

I wasn’t planning on seeing this new musical I knew nothing about when I did on November 19th, but another show I was committed to that day cancelled on me somewhat last minute. At the time, I was complaining privately but now I’m raving publicly about the multiple benefits of this fabulous London to NYC transfer!

A charming plot by co-writers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan focuses on two young antagonists turned protagonists who are thrown together by unlikely circumstances. The British Dougal flies to New York for the wedding of his father, who he has never met, only to fall in love with Robin, the sister of his father’s much younger fiancée (i.e. Dougal’s step-aunt-to-be). What starts as potentially creepy turns into a genuinely moving romance between two lost Generation Y-Z souls.

Two Strangers features only two actors: Sam Tutty (making his Broadway debut) and Christiani Pitts. Tutty is adorable as Dougal, although he initially risks wearing the audience down with his overly enthusiastic attitude. One can sympathize with Pitts’ Robin and her aversion to having much to do with him. However, with further character development, some great songs and a genuine chemistry between the two performers, Tutty wins over all but the hardest hearts.

I was very happy to see Pitts perform once again. The first Broadway production Reverend saw in 10 years after relocating to the northeast was 2018’s flop King Kong musical, in which Pitts played the classic Fay Wray role. She was very impressive acting alongside a massive gorilla puppet, and she gives another tough yet ultimately compassionate performance here.

I also have to give a shout out to the musical’s superb scenic design by Soutra Gilmour. It consists of two towers of luggage, with various suitcases ingeniously utilized at times as tables, chairs, a wet bar, beds, and more. The stage’s turntable is also used brilliantly by the designer, actors, and director-choreographer Tim Jackson.

There is no shortage of bigger, better-known shows now on Broadway clamoring for patronage. I encourage everyone to hear the call of this new, small-scale but big-hearted production.

Reverend’s Rating: A-

Chess (Now playing at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre)

Full disclosure for anyone born after the year 2000: this is not a new musical but rather the show’s first major revival since 1988. This allegorical tale depicting a chess match between the USA and the then-Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War (one can definitely argue whether we are in a new Cold War with Russia today) has had a checkered history. At the time, Chess’s greatest claim to fame was the song “One Night in Bangkok” that became a pop top 40 hit. The initial Broadway production closed after only two months and 68 regular performances. 

In the 37 years since, Chess has become a frequently re-worked cult classic subject to numerous video renditions and community theater mountings. I attended a quite good “theater in the round” production in my native Arizona approximately 25 years ago. Die-hard fans have been clamoring for a true Broadway revival all along and have finally gotten their wish. Too bad it isn’t much of an improvement on the original, especially according to a personal friend who saw both the original production and this one.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out that the musical’s current incarnation is a glorified concert staging. There is one set throughout with the band prominently displayed, a required chorus that incorporates occasional cheerleader-esque choreography, and the lead characters migrating downstage for their over-amplified soliloquies.

These lead characters are Soviet competitor Anatoly (Nicholas Christopher), his American rival Freddie Trumper (Aaron Tveit, a Tony Award winner for Moulin Rouge!) and Florence, the woman who comes between them played by Lea Michele of Glee, Spring Awakening fame. While they and the chorus members provide impressive vocals throughout, only Tveit gives a truly layered performance. Christopher and Michele are bland when they aren’t singing. Hannah Cruz (Suffs) makes more of an impression than the latter two in the supporting role of Anatoly’s wife, Svetlana.

I thoroughly enjoyed Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder) in this production as the all-seeing Arbiter, a role which seems to have been expanded and modernized here. Though amusing, the character’s commentary on current political figures—much is made of Freddie’s unfortunate last name--and issues as well as Chess itself tends to undercut the show’s seriousness. Perhaps the musical’s ultimate rendition is yet to come? Or maybe they should quit while they are at least financially ahead, since this Broadway revival is proving to be a hit.

Reverend’s Rating: C 

Wishing all my dear readers/followers a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! I give thanks for all of YOU.

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend's Interview: I Was Born This Way

I was unfamiliar with the late Carl Bean until approximately 5 years ago. I had bought a new car that included Sirius XM satellite radio and I often listened to their Studio 54 channel. One day, they played a remarkably progressive, LGBTQ-positive disco era song I had never heard called “I Was Born This Way.” I subsequently researched it and Bean, who sang it.

He ultimately became Archbishop Carl Bean and founded the Unity Fellowship Church, the first large-scale LGBTQ+ ministry in the USA.  Having survived racism, homophobia and childhood trauma, Bean initially found his voice through song – first as a gospel singer in Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir and later performing with his group, Carl Bean and Universal Love, on their 1974 album Universal Love. But it was his recording of the 1977 Motown hit “I Was Born This Way” that would earn him fame. The song was celebrated as the world’s first gay anthem. 

However, Bean eschewed a mainstream music career and instead chose a vocation in activism. He started the Minority AIDS Project in Los Angeles, serving a vital role for underserved populations at the height of the AIDS crisis. Established 40 years ago, it is still in existence and serving those in need today.

A fabulous new documentary, I Was Born This Way, celebrates the life and legacy of this unapologetic gay Black trailblazer. It is currently playing at the Laemmle North Hollywood Cinemas and will expand to additional cities/theaters soon. The film utilizes innovative rotoscope animation and features appearances by Lady Gaga, Questlove, Billy Porter, California state representative Maxine Waters, and the legendary Dionne Warwick.

Lead producer Wellington Love and co-director Daniel (Dan) Junge recently spoke with Reverend about the process of making their revealing, engrossing documentary. Note: Some questions and comments have been edited for space and/or clarity.

 Thank you both for your time! It’s a great film, so congratulations on it and the awards it has won at film festivals thus far. Let’s start with a question for each of you: How or when did you first become aware of Archbishop Bean?

DJ: I was researching a television series on social action and music, protest music essentially, and one of the episodes was going to be on sex. That made me think immediately of Lady Gaga and her anthem Born This Way, so in researching that I found out that her song was an homage to this earlier song and the man who sang it. I was enthralled and thought that would be an incredible part of the episode. Well, the series—like so many—didn’t happen but that story stuck with me. When I initially researched him I for some reason thought he was in the Midwest, but then I dug in and realized his church was in L.A., probably 2 or 3 miles from where I lived at the time. I thought this could be an amazing standalone film, so I reached out to him and was shooting within a month.

WL: I’m embarrassed to say I really didn’t know much of anything about him until 4 ½ years ago when I got a call from executive producer Josh Green while I was on vacation in Amsterdam. He called me and says “Hey Love, I’ve got this project about this guy named Carl Bean and we’re looking for a little money and maybe you can make a couple calls.” So Josh sent me an interview of Carl who, as you see in the film, was this incredibly charismatic, magnetic figure. It was 45 minutes of him telling his story and (afterward) I couldn’t call Josh back quickly enough to say “How can I help? What can I do to move this along?”

Daniel, in terms of interviewing him—and I don’t want to be morbid or anything—but how long after you interviewed him did Carl pass away?  

DJ: About a year later (in 2021) but he was already immobile and that’s why we’re playing a little trickery there in the film with the background. He was in his home, which was a mobile home near Compton, living in very humble circumstances, and he hadn’t moved from that chair (seen in the film). He was being assisted by members of his congregation. We didn’t want to place him in that world for the film, and that’s why we shot on bluescreen and put him in his church where we felt he belonged. He was as vibrant as ever at that point, you can hear how strong his voice is, but from the waist down he was unable to move. For the sake of the film it really works well because he seems as healthy as ever, but we knew that he was unwell and was very unwell within a few months of shooting that.

Well, that just tells me how providential the timing was that this project came together when it did and you were actually able to get him instead of it being all archival footage or retrospective. That’s great.

DJ: Yeah, I don’t believe in angels but if ever there were, there was one on our shoulder. Or maybe it was providential for him as well because he got a chance to use us as a microphone to amplify his message right at the end of his life.

Yeah, he got to tell his story firsthand. That’s awesome. Love, as the producer can you talk about your role in wrangling or supporting this project?

WL: Initially I came on to help raise much needed funds and when the film was meant to be a 40-minute short. Soon after I came on board, we realized that we couldn’t do Carl’s story justice in that time so we had to recalibrate, open up the film, bring in more talent, raise more money, and think about what other elements we could include in order to really do justice to his life. As a producer, part of your job is to keep it moving, not only the money side but the spirit or the morale so we could keep going. Thankfully, Dan is a real force and we made a good team in terms of making sure, even in the low moments, how important it was to get this right not only to help bring in talent like Questlove and Billy Porter and Lady Gaga, but also to be responsive and responsible to the community whether it be the LGBT community, AIDS activists or the black community. So part of my role was being there to support everything that Dan and (co-director Sam Pollard) needed to do to make sure that this got done as best we could make it.

Who was responsible for reaching out to the talent involved, like Billy Porter?

DJ: We both did but Wellington was really the primary impetus for reaching out to Billy and working with Billy. Wellington, you can fill in more there but I think that’s a critical element for the film.

WL: Obviously, one of the things that we wanted to do in the film was to bring Carl’s story forward, to make it relevant to what’s going on now, and Billy was the perfect sort of ambassador or advocate or embodiment of that in so many ways: being an out, black person of faith; he’s been very open about his HIV status; his musicality and how important that was to embrace that as part of your art. I think that was something that Carl was so adamant about since he was a kid. He was unapologetic about being this gay kid who had this voice, and so Billy was a critical part of that and then obviously—without revealing too much of the film—the recreation of the Liberation song and to make that a point of continuity and moving things forward. Certainly, when Dan started this and I came on board, we had no idea that the film would arrive at this moment when we need these messages more than ever.

DJ: Chris, it’s worth mentioning because of your background (as an out gay clergyperson) that in the Venn diagram where black civil rights and LGBTQ rights overlap, we can probably name a lot of people there and we know there’s a strong history there. Also, there’s some conflict there as well. But in the Venn diagram where you bring Christianity into that, that’s a very small sliver—I won’t say it’s a miniscule sliver—but it’s unknown and not often spoken of.

Yes indeed. Jamie Lee Curtis is listed as one of the film’s executive producers. How did she get involved?

DJ: Thankfully, I had made an earlier documentary with her called Hondros, about a war photographer, so I knew her through that and had an immediate point of contact with her. Also, she has a trans daughter and has been a very strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. 

WL: To add to that, one of the things we want to highlight with the film is how much we need allies, and Jamie has been so supportive of the film in many respects and also just in terms of promoting it. As Dan said, she has a trans daughter so she has a vested interest in making sure that this work lives and can get out into the world.

There are so many messages, so many inspirations that people can get out of your film and out of Carl’s story. If there is one thing that each of you most hope or want people to take away from viewing this film, what would that one thing be?

WL: You know, Carl talks about God is love; love is for everyone. Love is for everyone! I think that is an increasingly hard thing to remember and to embrace. We need to be compassionate. We need to think about other people, remember to love other people. That would be it for me.

DJ: I would only add that, in times like these, we have to remain hopeful. Carl had an indomitable spirit and was always hopeful. We hope the film sees a wide audience and that his spirit gives people some hope in this era. It’s just dark days, as you know.

Amen to that!

For more information, visit iwasbornthiswayfilm.com.

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Pre-Halloween Review Roundup: Epic Universe, Black Jesus, Jewish Superheroes, and a Spider Woman

Reverend apologizes for not posting recently, between prepping for and recovering from our biennial (every two years) church Synod. It was held in Orlando, Florida the first week of October. Synod was excellent, and the location enabled Reverend to spend a pre-church biz day at Universal’s latest theme park. Now that I’ve recovered from all of the above, I am able to tell all about Epic Universe!

In terms of first impressions, the park is beautifully designed and appointed. It is highlighted by various “portals,” one at the main entrance and one at each of four unique entertainment areas. These are the Isle of Berk inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon franchise; video gamey Super Nintendo World; the Universal parks’ latest Harry Potter evocation, Ministry of Magic; and what not unexpectedly emerged as my personal fave: Dark Universe, a celebration of all the classic Universal movie monsters including Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and many more. 

Entering Dark Universe feels like stepping into a 1930’s black and white thriller. Dr. Frankenstein’s castle dominates the landscape, although its current inhabitant is Dr. VictorIA Frankenstein. She puts a welcome feminine twist on the still scientifically obsessed character. The castle’s interior boasts a genuinely thrilling attraction entitled Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. I was fortunate as a solo guest/single rider to be able to walk right onto this ride not once but twice.

Adjoining Monsters Unchained is a roller coaster, Curse of the Werewolf, which appears deceptively small-scale at first glance. However, it’s spinning cars, fast launches and multiple reverses actually make it one of the more intense coasters I’ve ridden in a while.

A slightly less intense and definitely more humorous thrill ride, Hiccup’s Wing Gliders, is the centerpiece of the whimsically designed Isle of Berk. An adorable audio-animatronic Toothless pushes the launch button on this wild coaster. The multiple family-friendly attractions in this themed area, plus an opportunity to meet and even pet Toothless, make it a winner.

Epic Universe’s remaining sections, Ministry of Magic and Super Nintendo World, left me a bit cold.  Or rather hot--and not in a good way--as the temperature reached 90 degrees on the day I visited and there is currently a dearth of shaded areas and/or cooling stations in the park. The Fantastic Beasts re-creation of Paris is spectacular but its sole ride, Harry Potter’s Battle at the Ministry, was “delayed” (aka broken down) when I first attempted to ride it and later had a 2 ½ hour wait time. Hard pass even for a single rider. Similarly, Nintendo land’s two major attractions were either “delayed” or had too-long wait times. I ultimately felt compelled to leave the park late afternoon for the cooler environment of my hotel room, with visions of classic movie monsters dancing in my head.

Reverend’s Rating: B

Saturday Church (Now playing at New York Theatre Workshop)

In his nearly 30 years of reviewing movies and theatre, Reverend has never described anything in print as fucking fantastic. Sorry to offend you pearl clutchers out there. ; )  Yet that is exactly what I exclaimed verbally to my companion at the end of the performance we attended of this off-Broadway musical world premiere. Others apparently agree with me, as the show has been extended through October 24^th. 

While Damon Cardasis has vibrantly adapted his excellent, non-musical indie film of the same title for the stage, this new musical boasts two major calling cards: songs by Aussie pop goddess Sia (with additional music by American DJ Honey Dijon) and Tony Award-winning non-binary actor J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like it Hot) in the dual role of Pastor Lewis/Black Jesus. The songs are great, and Ghee plus the entire cast including relative newcomer Bryson Battle as lead character Ulysses are—at the risk of repeating myself—fucking fantastic.

Ulysses is a sexually searching, devoutly Christian teenager who, rebuffed by his family church, finds himself at the LGBTQ+ friendly “Saturday Church” held in a local community hall. While there and under the guidance of numerous queer members of the faithful, Ulysses finds love and discovers their true self…and just in time for their fabulous annual Ball!

Whitney White’s direction, Darrell Grand Moultrie’s choreography, and Qween Jean’s costumes are all eye-popping.  The one weak link I detected in the production is Tony winner David Zinn’s scenic design.  Yes, the set needs to be multi-functional, but do the walls and upper level sight lines have to be so high and the paint color so lime green?

Saturday Church seems Broadway-ready and I would love to see it transfer there this season BUT it would likely have to compete with the stylistically similar and fantastic (if not fucking so) Cats: The Jellicle Ball.  I recommend Black Jesus on Broadway for the 2026-2027 season. That is, unless the Cats reimagining ends up running “now and forever” (ahem).

Reverend’s Rating: A-

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay  (The Metropolitan Opera) 

God knows comic book superheroes have been all over the big screen and small screen in recent years, so it’s only fair that they finally make an appearance on the main stage of the world’s most revered opera company. The Met’s new production of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay just completed its initial run on October 11^th, but it proved to be such a success that a revival as well as an HD broadcast in movie theaters has already been announced for early 2026.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Chabon, this excellent opera just had its world premiere last year at decidedly smaller-scale Indiana University. With a melodic, dramatic score by Mason Bates and strong libretto by Gene Scheer, it relates the story of its title characters. Both are Jewish cousins who flee Eastern Europe for the USA as Hitler rises to power in the 1930’s. Once they are together in New York City, they unite their writing and artistic talents to create a new superhero: The Escapist. Their resulting comic book becomes a smash success. This hardly ends the challenges they face, however, especially since Clay is a closeted gay man.

Reverend was privileged to attend its final performance of 2025 and I’m so glad I did. The production, directed by Broadway vet Bartlett Sher, is strikingly designed and gorgeously sung. Act II suffers a bit from its length (the whole performance ran 3 hours including intermission) as well as the use of an excessively large turntable battlefield that cut off images on the back wall for those of us seated in the Met’s upper levels. Perhaps that can be re-thought before future performances.

Nevertheless, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay has the potential to become an operatic classic. It is also exposing younger audiences to the art form. A boy no older than 10 behind me in the bathroom line during intermission told me how much he was enjoying it. Hopefully this was the first of many positive days or nights at the opera for him.

Reverend’s Rating: B+ 

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Now playing in movie theaters)

I was thrilled to learn 2 or 3 years ago that acclaimed filmmaker Bill Condon was going to make a movie of one of Reverend’s favorite stage musicals, Kiss of the Spider Woman.  In fact, the original Broadway production starring the late great Chita Rivera was one of the shows I saw during my first time in New York City way back in 1993. Of course, it was based on the Oscar-winning 1985 film that was itself adapted from Manuel Puig’s acclaimed 1976 novel.  That’s nearly 30 years of spider women, gay window dressers, and straight South American revolutionaries thrown together in one prison cell, whew! If you’ve read, seen or listened to any of these iterations, you know what I’m talking about.

This latest adaptation premiered to mixed reviews at the Sundance Film Festival in January of this year but Reverend has been chomping at the bit to see it ever since.  I finally had my chance with its US theatrical release on October 10^th. Sadly, the movie has bombed at the box office so if you want to see it on the big screen you’d better move fast. I expect it will hit streaming sooner or later, to reference one of the score’s songs by divinely inspired gay composing duo John Kander (who is still going at the age of 98) and Fred Ebb (who passed away in 2004).

Condon (who previously adapted both Chicago and Dreamgirls for the screen) stays fairly faithful to the stage version but makes some subtle changes. The story is now set in the early 1980’s, so some of the film within a film references and other elements have been somewhat updated. Molina--the flamboyant, effeminate character forced to share a cell with brooding Valentin—has been made more gender-fluid or non-binary than in previous versions. Most disappointingly, some of the original show’s songs have been cut including one, “The Day After That,” which provides some critical backstory for Valentin. A couple of new songs have been added but they aren’t particularly memorable.

The movie’s biggest strengths are its lead performances and elaborate, retro-technicolor musical numbers. Queer actor Tonatiuh makes a strong impression as Molina, while veteran Diego Luna gets to display his singing and dancing chops (he is also in his tighty whities a lot). Jennifer Lopez dazzles as the Spider Woman and her movie star alter ego, Ingrid Luna playing Aurora, and she seems to be having fun with her dual roles.

Kiss of the Spider Woman has hit movie theaters at a time of social and political upheaval in the US that Condon and his collaborators could not have envisioned when they went into production. While this may be hurting the film at the box office, it only makes this story’s/show’s themes more relevant. Catch this spider (woman) while you can.

Reverend’s Ratings: B

With all these reviews and related costume suggestions completed, I wish all my readers a safe, spooky and happy Halloween!