Latest news with #Lillian
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Lange, Brosnan, Bates: performances like these never get old
This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch. This is one of those movies that gets described as a love letter to the theatre. For those of us who enjoy both art forms and can look past some of the cliches and overdramatic elements, it's well worth seeing. For others, it might not appeal quite so much, but the acting is excellent and it's sometimes funny despite its underlying seriousness. It's a truism that there aren't many good movie parts for older actresses but there are a couple of juicy roles here. At one point Meryl Streep was going to play the title character and I can imagine Glenn Close eyed the role with longing. But Jessica Lange is the star and she's excellent. This film was produced for HBO in the United States but, like an earlier HBO movie, the 2013 Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra, it's getting a theatrical run here. Lillian is the First Lady of the American Theatre (you can practically hear the capital letters when it's said). She's been in hundreds of plays over a long career, a total pro and a bit of a diva, the kind of grande dame who often seems to be acting as much off stage as on. She's in rehearsals for a Broadway production of The Cherry Orchard, expected to be another triumph. But lately, strange things have been happening. She's been having visions of her late husband Carson (Michael Rose) who was sometimes her director, and worse, she's having more and more trouble remembering people's names - and worse, her lines. Any actor can have a memory lapse but here it's getting to the point where the director, the producer and the other actors are noticing. And the producer, in particular, is getting worried. Will Lillian, the big draw, be up to the demands of the Chekhov play? Should she be replaced? Medical tests reveal a terrible truth: she has a form of dementia. She's shocked and terrified but desperately wants to stay in the play, knowing it will be her last. She also wants to reconcile with her daughter Margaret (Lily Rabe) who was sorely neglected as a result of her parents' careers and wonders why her mother keeps wanting to spend time with her now. But Lillian can't bring herself to tell her daughter the truth and, of course, this does not bode well. Her longtime friend and assistant Edith (Kathy Bates) finds out what's going on sooner than most and, having been through the experience with her husband, is shaken by the thought of facing it again. Bates is excellent in bringing out the mix of good humour, affection, tough love and anguish in the role. The Great Gillian Hall is like a spiritual sequel to the classic backstage movie All About Eve. In that movie, great Broadway star Margot has to accept that she's getting older (40!) and that love can be had as well as a career. Here, Lillian has lost one great love, her husband, and is about to lose another, her career. And, all too soon, there will be more and more losses. There have been other movies dealing with dementia - The Notebook, Still Alice, and The Father among them - so many elements of Elisabeth Seldes Annacone's screenplay are familiar. And I have to say one way to alleviate Lillian's problems seemed painfully obvious: it occurred to me long before someone in the movie thought of it. Director Michael Christof's experience with thrillers (Body Shots, The Night Clerk) helps convey the creepiness as well as the strange comfort of Lillian's hallucinations. Providing some lighter moments is Lillian's flirty, friendly banter with artist Ty (Pierce Brosnan) who lives in the neighbouring apartment. If you're in the mood for a poignant film where the excellent performances are foregrounded, this is well worth a watch.
Sydney Morning Herald
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
This star-studded tale takes us into the heart of acting and obsession
THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL ★★★★ (M) 108 minutes Maybe it's all the time she spent starring in American Horror Story, but Jessica Lange has become more febrile and actressy as she's grown older, making her perfect for the role of Lillian Hall. Directed by a Broadway veteran, the playwright Michael Cristofer, The Great Lillian Hall is a tribute to the New York stage and one of its most revered performers, Marian Seldes, famous both for her talent and the fact that she rarely missed a performance, no matter the length of a play's season. The script is by her niece, Elisabeth Seldes Annacone, and the action takes place during rehearsals of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard just as Lillian, who shares Seldes' work ethic, is starting to lose her grip. The first sign comes when she causes one of her co-stars to trip over the furniture and her troubles accelerate rapidly when the lines begin slipping from her memory. Lange frequently overacts but that is the nature of the part. In her head, Lillian is never offstage. The doorman in the lobby of her apartment building on Central Park South is treated to a line from Chekhov as she leaves for the theatre, and a passing fan on the street gets the same treatment. The only people who can get past the pose are her neighbour, Ty Maynard (Pierce Brosnan), an artist who shares her late-night confidences when they chat to one another from their adjoining balconies, and Edith (Kathy Bates), her salty-tongued housekeeper and assistant. Edith occasionally succeeds in putting her in touch with life's realities but Lillian's daughter, Margaret (Lily Rabe) lacks that gift. In an early scene, Margaret arrives for a scheduled breakfast with her mother only to find that Lillian has forgotten and is about to hurry off to rehearsal, and we gather from her response that this is the kind of disappointment she's been dealing with for most of her life. Films focusing on famous people during their darkest hours seem to be in vogue. We've recently seen Angelina Jolie in Maria, which takes Maria Callas through the last unhappy weeks of her life. Now we're with Lillian as she receives her dementia diagnosis. The difference is that she's refusing to give up. She will act in The Cherry Orchard even if she has to die in the attempt. And in this context, dying doesn't mean merciful oblivion. It means total humiliation.
The Age
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Age
This star-studded tale takes us into the heart of acting and obsession
THE GREAT LILLIAN HALL ★★★★ (M) 108 minutes Maybe it's all the time she spent starring in American Horror Story, but Jessica Lange has become more febrile and actressy as she's grown older, making her perfect for the role of Lillian Hall. Directed by a Broadway veteran, the playwright Michael Cristofer, The Great Lillian Hall is a tribute to the New York stage and one of its most revered performers, Marian Seldes, famous both for her talent and the fact that she rarely missed a performance, no matter the length of a play's season. The script is by her niece, Elisabeth Seldes Annacone, and the action takes place during rehearsals of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard just as Lillian, who shares Seldes' work ethic, is starting to lose her grip. The first sign comes when she causes one of her co-stars to trip over the furniture and her troubles accelerate rapidly when the lines begin slipping from her memory. Lange frequently overacts but that is the nature of the part. In her head, Lillian is never offstage. The doorman in the lobby of her apartment building on Central Park South is treated to a line from Chekhov as she leaves for the theatre, and a passing fan on the street gets the same treatment. The only people who can get past the pose are her neighbour, Ty Maynard (Pierce Brosnan), an artist who shares her late-night confidences when they chat to one another from their adjoining balconies, and Edith (Kathy Bates), her salty-tongued housekeeper and assistant. Edith occasionally succeeds in putting her in touch with life's realities but Lillian's daughter, Margaret (Lily Rabe) lacks that gift. In an early scene, Margaret arrives for a scheduled breakfast with her mother only to find that Lillian has forgotten and is about to hurry off to rehearsal, and we gather from her response that this is the kind of disappointment she's been dealing with for most of her life. Films focusing on famous people during their darkest hours seem to be in vogue. We've recently seen Angelina Jolie in Maria, which takes Maria Callas through the last unhappy weeks of her life. Now we're with Lillian as she receives her dementia diagnosis. The difference is that she's refusing to give up. She will act in The Cherry Orchard even if she has to die in the attempt. And in this context, dying doesn't mean merciful oblivion. It means total humiliation.
Leader Live
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Flintshire music venue celebrates 100 years of entertainment
Today (May 25) marks the 100th anniversary of The Tivoli, in Buckley. Now associated with live music and events, the iconic location started life as a theatre and cinema, and later a nightclub. In a move that united community and history, The Tivoli held two pantomime showings on Thursday (May 22). The first ever panto held at the Brunswick Road site was Dick Whittington in 1941, but this time round, audiences were treated to Peter Pan. Read more: The Tivoli - from cinema and dance hall, to night club and music venue Brought to life by Buckley-based Big Stars Theatre School, the classic tale was performed for free, to 600 people on the day. The first show was an afternoon performance to children, invited from primary school children in the area. The oldest and youngest at the show - Lillian, 101 and one-year-old Charlie. (Image: The Tivoli) The next panto was for residents of local care homes, with oldest member of the audience beating The Tivoli by one year at 101-years-old. Ahead of the event, assistant manager Kirsty Miah - who has been involved at the venue since 2009 - was helping to set out hundreds of chairs, ready for their guests. Kirsty, whose grandad Joseph Vaughan would also have been 100 today, explained that all the children had been given a history of the venue. Read more: Flashback photos from the Elfed High School, Buckley One school even went along for a tour and ghost hunt at the long-believed to be haunted building, and are now completing a project about The Tivoli. She said after the shows: "It was a huge success. The pantomime was loved by all who attended. Over 600 people over the two shows. "The schools, the Mayor of Buckley, and Lillian, a lady who we invited from one of the care homes who is 101-years-old, all really enjoyed it." Jessie Bouch-Evans, owner of Big Stars, added: "We were approached by Kirsty to ask if we would put on a pantomime for the community to remember what The Tivoli was initially used for. "It's been a fantastic process from start to finish. Working with our incredibly talented young actors, dancers and vocalists and having my fantastic team of choreographers and teachers by my side! Read more: Wrexham-born actor to return home as title role on UK tour this summer "I'm beyond proud of every single student. A moment in history that the town of Buckley won't forget any time soon. "Seeing my students develop as performers and be in their absolute element on stage is incredible. "Both performances were outstanding and our performers shone on the stage like the big stars they are! "Thank you so much to The Tivoli for asking us to be a part of your 100th birthday celebrations, we are honoured." Celebrations continue tonight, with The Sherlocks set to perform from 7pm. To book or to find out more about upcoming event, visit:
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Armed robbery suspect arrested after Escambia County, Florida chase with deputies
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — An armed robbery suspect was arrested after a chase with deputies in Escambia County, Florida. Two Lillian women killed in multi-vehicle crash in Elberta Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons announced the arrest on Monday afternoon at a press conference, and investigators believe the suspect is responsible for several robberies in the area. Surveillance video shows the moments of an armed robbery around 11 p.m. Sunday at the Raceway on Airport Boulevard. Deputies located the suspect, identified as Deshawn Isaiah Donson, and attempted to initiate a traffic stop. That's when deputies said Donson led them on a chase. That chase ended in the West Florida Hospital parking lot when a deputy rammed into the side of his vehicle. Inside that vehicle, deputies said they found a gun and a bag full of cash. Investigators believe Donson is responsible for a number of robberies in Escambia County and Pensacola in 2024 and 2025. 'We were aware of Donson and were conducting surveillance, and we were keeping track of where Donson was coming and going,' Simmons said. ECSO shared photos that they believe show Donson robbing other convenience stores in the area. Donson was arrested and charged with armed robbery and fleeing. Simmons anticipates Donson will face additional charges as the investigation continues. 'I can simply tell you that his robbery spree is over,' Simmons said. 'That's what you're going to get if you rob businesses or rob people here in Escambia County.' Gulfarium releases 3 sea turtles after weeks of special care Simmons said several agencies have been involved in the investigation including the FBI, the Pensacola Police Department and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
