FILMS

film roundup

KEITH UHLICH

. Photo: Chiabella James / © 2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved Dune

Red Rocket (Dir. Sean Baker). Starring: Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Suzanna Son. Here’s a different kind of raging a-hole: Down on his luck fortysomething porn star Mikey (Simon Rex), who returns to his Texas hometown during the summer of 2016 (a certain former president looms large in the background) like nothing less than a human poltergeist. He argues his way into crashing with his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod), then sees a potential reversal of fortune in the comely form of jailbait donut store waitress, Strawberry (Suzanna Son), who he proceeds to groom for eventual sex-flick stardom. It’s easy to imagine a moralistic version of this story, but director Sean Baker (Tangerine; The Florida Project) goes more gutsily for a non-judgmental tone and a seductively freewheeling momentum. This tale of an unrepentantly terrible person doing horrible things is, perversely, a joy beyond measure. [R] HHHH1/2

Dune (Dir. Denis Villeneuve). Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya. Frank Herbert’s science-fiction epic gets about two-thirds of an adaptation with Denis Villeneuve’s starry, somber blockbuster. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) is the heir, alongside his father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac), and mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), to the desert planet Arrakis, where hallucinogenic spice flows, monstrous sandworms burrow, and a messianic revolution is brewing between the elite classes and the native, blue-eyed Fremen. There’s also a floating fat man, Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), and plenty of IMAX-sized negative space that, while captivating on occasion, doesn’t come close to the staggering imagery in David Lynch’s 1984 film maudit, made from the same material. At least Lynch told the whole story (and had a leavening sense of humor amid all the convoluted palace intrigue). This is mostly dull setup for a sequel > 24

interview

A.D. AMOROSI

ON THE BEAT WITH STOMP

wWHEN I LIVED INLondon between 1981 and 1982, there was this live busking street band who had just begun making R&B comedy records at that time called Pookiesnackenburger. Along with appearing on television with some regularity, they used to open shows for the pop-ska sensation Madness at the Dominion Theatre in London and nearly knock the headliner off the stage with their antics. One of their biggest bits involved the heavily percussive outfit doing something its co-founder Luke Cresswell called “beating the hell out of each other with sticks and armor made out of bits of metal.” That routine, more than anything, made them famous, won them a UK television series, and put them in mind to produce what would become their beloved “Bins” commercial for Heineken based on a choreographed part of the Pookiesnackenburger stage show.

Drum solos on dustbin lids, beating each other with various sticks and metals, pounding on the most but conventionally, unconventional household objects turned percussion instruments—by 1991, Cresswell and his Pookiesnackenburger partner Steve McNicholas had abandoned band life for another still drum-heavy project based on their life as street buskers in STOMP. Within several years of its start throughout England and Europe, STOMP’s octet hit Orpheum Theatre in New York City, won an Obie and a Drama Desk Award for Most Unique Theatre Experience, and by the summer of 1994, began a touring schedule across the United States that rarely slowed until the last several seasons.

Considering that STOMP has become a worldwide sensation for what is now 30 years since its start—immortalized on IMAX, a famous, bizarre part of local lore as used by Philly comedian Rob McElhenney and “The Gang Goes to Hell: Part 2” episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia—the literally slamming, live dancing and pounding showcase is universal. With the additional something of a dramatic arc and a backstory involving eight ensemble members with their own unique personalities revealing each player’s talents, STOMP Is banging and back in action at the Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Merriam Theatre for a long run as part of its Broadway Series, running from Tuesday, December 28 through the New Year, Sunday, January 2, 2022.

Rehearsal director and performer Jordan Brooks, a Dallas, TX native who has toured the globe as the leader of the STOMP gang as

Sarge, was proud to discuss his longtime involvement with the percussive production. While STOMP is famous for using all measures of street musician, actor, dancer, athlete, comedian, and performance artist as part of its touring ensemble troupe, Brooks is one of the show’s very few highly tuned and trained percussionists.

Though he started as a kid playing piano, Brooks’ real passion for music kicked off when he witnessed the work of a drumline in his Dallas high school.

“As soon as I heard and saw that, I knew that, man, I really wanted to do that someday,” says Brooks, still at home in Texas before the Philadelphia STOMP dates. “I immediately got totally into and thoroughly immersed in percussion. Classical percussion. Jazz percussion. And, of course, marching percussion.”

Going down the rhythm-heavy rabbit hole of drum and bugle corps, Brooks wound up on the touring end of Santa Clara Vanguard and Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps, competing in summer competitions and refining his rudimental drumming skills, all while falling in love with tuned and malleted percussion instrumentation: marimba and vibraphone. “Not a lot of young guys go for that, I know,” says Brooks, who—on the bearded, scruffy outside—looks as if he could sub for Dave Grohl or Taylor Hawkins for the drum stool in the Foo Fighters.

While staying on the rock drumming tip, Brooks—who drums, composes, and plays as a hired drumming gun—credits Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith with being the greatest inspiration making the funkiest music. “I watch him sit down behind the kit, and he is in a world of his own while setting the pace for the rest of the band.”

All of this high-minded training—as well as a steady diet of listening to and studying up on classical, jazz, contemporary, and world music genres—led him to Boston and the Berklee College of Music and to earn his masters in Percussive Performance at Manhattan’s NYU. “I truly just loved hitting anything and everything,” says Brooks. “Plus, it was at NYU where I fell in love with the performative aspects of percussion, its more theatrical elements, and the concept of musicals. I saw dance recitals at Tisch, where I found myself crying at the emotionality of the performance. I found myself getting all aspects of dancing, playing, writing, and producing music for dance and theater.”

living and loving and banging

Upon seeing an advertisement for STOMP auditions…Brooks not only ran to its tryouts but won a spot in the troupe, eventually as the group’s onstage leader, Sarge, never left and has never fallen out of love with the show. “It is as awesome now as the day I started,” he says.

>22

Jordan Brooks

WINTER FESTIVITIES I

Live Advent Calendar

Thru December 23, 5:30 PM. A oneof-a-kind experience where at 5:30 PM each night the doors will open and guests will get a new holiday treat in the form of musical acts and more from local shops. 1810 Goundie House, 501 Main St., Bethlehem.

The Baum School of Art Holiday Gift Gallery

Thru Dec. 22. Shop for the holidays and support local artists and The Baum School of Art, in-person or make a virtual shopping appointment. 610-433-0032. 510 W. Linden St., Allentown. Baumschool.org

Bethlehem: Christmas City USA

The Christmas City has a rich holiday heritage that dates back to the 18th century, when the Moravians who settled the city christened it “Bethlehem” on Christmas Eve, 1741. Since 1937, the city has officially been known as Christmas City, USA. From guided walking tours of the city’s Historic Moravian District, one of the finest collections of 18th Century Germanic-style architecture in the nation, to the Christkindlmarkt marketplace and Christmas Carriage rides through the city, there are dozens of attractions and activities for all ages. It all culminates on Dec. 31, when the community comes together at PEEPSFEST®, featuring fireworks and the dropping of a 400pound lighted PEEPS® Chick to welcome in the New Year.

Christkindlmarkt at SteelStacks

Thru Dec. 19. Christkindlmarkt, named one of the top holiday markets in the world by Travel + Leisure and one of the top holiday markets in North America by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice competition, featuring dozens of artisans offering thousands of handmade gifts and holiday items. SteelStacks, ArtQuest, 645 E. First St., Bethlehem. 877212-2463 ChristmasCity.org

Bethlehem By Night Bus Tour

Dec. 23, Dec. 26, Dec. 31, 5 PM., 6 PM, and 7 PM. Deemed “the best way to see Bethlehem,” this bus tour explores the history and traditions of Bethlehem with guides in period dress. Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, Visitors Center, 505 Main Street, Bethlehem. HistoricBethlehem.org. 800-360-8687

Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides

Dec. 2–19, Dec. 22–23, Dec. 26–31, 3–9 PM. Enjoy the beauty of Bethlehem’s downtown National Historic Landmark District in a Christmas carriage ride. Central Moravian Church, 73 W. Church Street, Bethlehem. HistoricBethlehem.org. 800360-8687. Presented by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites.

Bethlehem Christmas

Carriage Rides.

Downtown Bethlehem. Thru Jan. 2., 3 PM–9 PM. Rides depart from the corner of Church and Main Streets. In front of Central Moravian Church. For more information on rides offered: Bethlehemcarriage.com. 610730-4973

Lehigh University Choral Arts: Christmas Vespers

Dec. 5, 4 PM and 8 PM. Lehigh University Choral Arts presents its annual Christmas gift to the community. Packer Memorial Church, 18 University Dr., Bethlehem. Presented by Zoellner Arts Center. Free. LehighUniversity.edu. 610-758-2787 ext. 0.

Christmas City Stroll Walking Tour

Dec. 2-19, Dec. 22, 23, & 26, 1 PM, 3 PM, and 6 PM. See The Christmas City on a walking tour of one of America’s National Historic Landmark Districts with certified guides.

S IN LEHIGH VALLEY

Visitors’ Center, 505 Main Street, Bethlehem. Presented by Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites. HistoricBethlehem.org. 800-360-8687

Trees of Historic Bethlehem

Thurs.–Sun. 11 AM–6 PM. Thru Jan. 9. With more 26 trees across five historic sites, this display is a time-honored tradition. Moravian Museum of Bethlehem, 66 W. Church St., Bethlehem. Single Sisters’ House, 50 W. Church St., Bethlehem. Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 N. New St., Bethlehem. Luckenbach Mill, 459 Old York Rd., Bethlehem. 1810 Goundie House, 501 Main Street, Bethlehem. HistoricBethlehem.org. 800-360-8687

Christmas Classics Matinees Movies at the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas

White Christmas: December 2, 3, 4 The Shop Around The Corner: December 9, 10, 11 It’s a Wonderful Life: December 16, 17, 18 *Screenings are Thurs., Fri., and Sat. at 12 PM. SteelStacks, ArtsQuest, 645 E. First St., Bethlehem.

Christmas City Follies XXll

December 2-19, Thurs.–Sat. 8 PM, Sun. 2 PM. Dec. 18, 2 PM. Celebrate the holiday season in the Christmas City with Touchstone’s high-spirited, homegrown, vaudevillian variety show. Touchstone Theatre, 321 East 4th St., Bethlehem. Touchstone.org. 610-867-1689

Floral Letter Illustration with Lauren Beck

Dec. 8, 6:30–8:30 PM. Step-by-step guidance on visually combining botanical elements inside a single monogram letter. You’ll design your own unique illustration. The completed monogram will make a great holiday gift. Banana Factory Arts Center, 25 West Third Street, Bethlehem. Presented by ArtsQuest. bananafactory.org, (610) 332-1300

Holiday House Tour Bethlehem Historic District

Dec. 11, 10 AM–4 PM. Tour ten unique homes, as well as other distinctive sites within the Historic District,- all festively decorated for the holidays. Single Sisters’ House, 50 W. Church Street, Bethlehem. Presented by Bethlehem Historic District Association. HolidayHouseTour.com

Bach Christmas Oratorio, Parts

1, 2 and 3 (Allentown concert)

December 11, 8 PM–10 PM. First Presbyterian Church, 3231 W. Tilghman Street, Allentown, PA

Bach Christmas Oratorio Parts 1, 2

and 3 (Bethlehem Concert) Dec. 12, 4:00–6:00 PM. First Presbyterian Church, 2344 Center St., Bethlehem.

Bach Christmas Oratorio Parts 1, 2

& 3 (Virtual Concert) December 12, 4:00 PM–6:00 PM. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Tickets and information, bach.org. 610-866-4382

Westminster Concert Bell Choir

Dec. 17, 7:30 PM. In the spirit of the holiday season, bells will be ringing. The Westminster Concert Bell Choir has appeared on Today, performed at Carnegie Hall, and joined Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for an acclaimed tour of A Royal Christmas. Packer Memorial Church, Lehigh University, Bethlehem. Zoellnerartscenter.org

PEEPSFEST

Dec. 30 & 31. The annual two-day New Year’s Eve festival celebrating the fun and excitement of the PEEPS Brand. PEEPS Chick Drop, a 4’ 9” tall, 400 lb. lit Peeps chick descends on Dec. 31 to commemorate the beginning of a new year. Presented by Just Born Quality Confections. SteelStacks, SteelStacks, ArtsQuest, 645 East First St., Bethlehem.