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¢ ‘Talking Sex On Sunday’ musical review
¢ The success of this year’s Best Picture

¢ Ranking the five episodes of DC's ‘Crisis
on Infinite Earths’ crossover special

..and more

Rabbits, Ricardo, and secret rendezvous

> ‘Talking Sex On Sunday’ musical review

Sonam Kaloti
Arts Editor

 

kek kK

Iking Sex on Sunday is a fantastic
musical about a group of women who

have a girl's night on the first Sunday of
every month. These nights are always
themed, and the theme of this party is
sex toys. The other women attending are
just as confused and thrilled as you may
be—singing, “How did I get to this sex toy
party? Crazy Margot!”

The musical stars Janet Gigliotti as
Margot (the party host), Jennifer Lines

 

as Olivia, Irene Karas Loeper as Sissy,
Caitriona Murphy as Carol, Katrina
Reynolds as June, Sara Vickruck as Frankie,
and Seana-Lee Wood as Odessa. Talking
Sex on Sunday’s books and lyrics are by
Sara-Jeanne Hosie, the music is by Hosie
and Nico Rhodes, the arrangement and
orchestrations are by Rhodes, and the
whole thing is directed by Donna Spencer.

The music is a highlight throughout
the musical. The play itself starts off with
the band alone. Quickly, the women begin
to sing the opening song in unison and the
atmosphere is light, fun, and extremely
joyous.

The vocalists were mostly sopranos,
but the harmonies in the higher registers
still sounded beautiful. The material
is challenging, so any pitch issues can
understandably be brushed off. Credit goes

 

» The success of this year’s Best Picture

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

wards season this year featured a lot

of great films. This made the race
to Best Picture at the Academy Awards
interesting. Last fall, the commercials for
the nominated films claimed that they
were the best film of 2019— especially Joker
and 1917. Even Bong Joon-ho’s recent film
Parasite not only claimed that it was the
best film of 2019, but also stated that it had
a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes—and
that Joon-ho is the greatest director of our
time. History was made in the Academy
Awards this year as the South Korean
film got Best Picture... making it the first
international film to get the award.

Parasite got four awards in total.
Additional awards include the newly
rebranded Best International Film, Best
Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Joon-ho’s films are serious but also have
many comedic moments along the way.
Some of his other films include Okja,
Snowpiercer, The Host, and Memories

of Murder. He has a fan base that is as
powerful as the fan base of a K-pop group.
His winning film tackles social equality
and credible evidence in the era of Donald
Trump. The story is not only relevant to
South Korea—it is relevant to the rest of
the world.

The Kim family is very skilled but they
do not have the credentials to get a job;
the Park family are poor at everyday tasks,
yet they are wealthy. Joon-ho and Han
Jin-won’s screenplay show their ideas of
the differences between the two classes the
families represent. They masterfully insert
comedy throughout the serious film, and
also speak to the idea that hard work will
lead to success. There are a few scenes in
the film that are trying to comment on the
racism that Indigenous people face... but
the scenes aren't very good.

The film started to get attention
when it premiered at the 2019 Cannes
Film Festival and got the Palme d’Or. A
week later, it was released in South Korea
on May 30 and it did very well. Then, it
went through the film festival circuit—

to Reynolds for her performance during
“Alter My View.” Her riffs were astounding,
and the emotional impact was incredible.

The stage is made use of greatly—as
are the stairs, and the rows of audience
members. The set is incredibly comfy and
cozy, displaying a homey and beautifully
decorated living room and kitchen. The
backdrop is built to look like multiple
shelves holding household objects such as
lamps and vases, and some shelves were
covered with a sheer material so you could
see the band playing behind the set—I
found that to be a very nice design.

Youre thrown right into the sex-toy
theme, and though it’s a little jarring, it
becomes second nature quite quickly.
Humour is instantly sprinkled throughout
the opening and sets the perfect
foundation for what the audience is in

including the Vancouver International Film
Festival—where the screenings of the film
were sold out. The screening that I went to
had a very long lineup outside that went
around the theatre once.

There was a limited release of the film
in Canada and America on October 11. A lot
of people filled the cinemas... and that led
to more theatres showing the film. Parasite
surprisingly got a lot of awards, including
Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden
Globe Awards, and even Outstanding
Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
at the Screen Actors Guild Awards—

Photos of ‘Talking Sex on Sunday’ by Emily Cooper

for during the next two hours. All male
character voices are represented by piano
notes: very wholesome humour. In fact,
Ricardo, a male blow-up doll, received the
most love and attention out of any “male”
characters.

Disappointingly, the second part of
the show wasn't as impactful as the first,
despite the poignant plot twists. It felt as
though it dragged on, which may have
been because the cast was losing energy
or emotion. The emotion became more
exaggerated, less human, and less relatable
as the musical went on... which was a
shame.

The cast as a whole is older than I
expected for such a taboo musical, but
honestly that is wonderful. Overall, it’s
apparent that the plot intends to challenge
traditional beliefs and targets to be diverse.
The youngest character, Frankie, is a
lesbian whose major storyline revolves
around her desire to be accepted by her
mother.

The musical tackles everything from
types of sex toys and how to use them all
the way to failing marriages, body issues,
religion, defining feminism, and morality.
I highly recommend seeing Talking Sex
on Sunday at the Vancouver Firehall Arts
Centre at 280 East Cordova Street during
its February 14 through March 8 run. Find
tickets at the Firehall Arts Centre website;
tickets are offered at $25 for those under
the age of 30, and $30 for seniors and those
with a valid student identification.

  

Promotional image for ‘Parasite’

making it the first international film to get
that award. The best cast award included
Bong-movie regular Song Kang-ho who
plays the father, Ki-taek.

Because Parasite got Best Picture this
year, it will probably still be in theatres for a
few more weeks and there hopefully will be
a Criterion Collection release of the movie
(where it would be honoured with a DVD
and Blu-ray release). It’s a relevant story
and Bong’s directing style is the reason why
it earns the title of the big surprise hit of
last year.