WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Promises, promises, promises. Do we all not wish to at least attempt to maintain that, when we come to others in need or in general and state something we desire to offer them, we WILL keep our word? This should hold true, much less when what is being offered is to be for the betterment of EVERYONE involved. However, with flawed human nature being what it is, not everyone has legitimately GOOD tidings for ALL….even when it IS what’s being proposed.
In a Southern backwoods, coal-mining town, a vibrant yet frustrated young woman named Louanne (Mary Sarah) seeks to escape the doldrums of life to pursue grander, more fulfilling dreams. But, when slick, definitively shady televangelist John Cyrus Mountain (Jon Root) and his less-than-holy “assistant” Chastity (Raquel Castro) roll into town conveying possibilities of changing ALL the townsfolk’s lives, it becomes apparent that leaving town may be more difficult than Louanne first believed, and that things that are too good to be true….often aren’t too good at all.
Next, my Mind:
If a wonderfully whimsical, well-orchestrated stage musical married the scathingly irreverent, purposefully satiric, but undeniably hilarious film “Blazing Saddles”, and put it all in the context of bluegrass music, one just MIGHT have an inkling of what to expect when absorbing the absolute eccentricities, unapologetic candidness, and biting social commentary of this 113-minute indie film from director/editor Justin Isaac Ward, writers/producers Bill Robertson, Tom Sage, writer Cliff Wagner, producer Brad Wilson, co-producer Tor Campbell, plus executive producers David Lipper, Robert A. Daly Jr., Dennis Crum, Todd Gross, Damon Suter, and Tara Singleton. To say this is “grass roots” filmmaking takes on a whole new meaning thanks to the prominently featured music provided by Cliff Wagner and Bama McCall (the name based on a character played by Jerry Reed in the 1976 film “Gator”). Time to toe tap, stomp those feet, and square dance, peeps!
Finding its primary foundation on the original stage musical “Paradise” produced by Kevin and Geric Frost and performed by Ruskin Group Theatre Co. January through beginning May 2013, the narrative focused on a plucky and positive down-on-her-luck young woman and the equally struggling town in which she resides who are beset upon by a scheming televangelist wanting to “turn their fortunes around” via a reality T.V. show is immediately buoyed by the unequivocally infectious spunkiness of its bluegrass-infused songs, both upbeat and ballad alike. However, it also then becomes VERY conspicuous, like the classic, HIGHLY UN-PC film I alluded to above, that NO ONE is ultimately safe from both the tunes’ and dialogue’s raw, unflinching tone and crude humor. Now, for me personally, this facet of things was well beyond my normal tolerance level and/or preference. But, that aside, this story assuredly strikes a multitude of societal and cultural chords!
We clearly glean that the cornerstone gist of much of the humor, both crude and cute, centers on poking fun at the prototypical types of characters represented, as well as, on an expanded scale, the ideas of hillbillies, faith, and the perils of believing someone who claims “the grass IS greener” on the other side of reality television. THIS is where the thematic relevancy of these particular explorations DOES hit home so adeptly, as the effort isn’t only blatantly willing to just dive into (PLAYFULLY, mind you! Very important to understand that!) disparaging just about everyone in some form while honestly exercising an astutely and provocatively delivered homage to small town living, the plight of those facing the hard times when a focal industry collapses, and the ugliness of those who would seek to take advantage of this for their OWN gain rather than actually HELPING people in need.
The expanse of additional thematic forays is legion from this point on, covering everything from seedy financial agendas, ethnic groups, delusions of grandeur, manipulative promises, the desire for a more stable and rewarding life, missing those we’ve lost, the search for REAL abiding love, and Southern hospitality to unexpected connection with someone, twisting the American Dream, excess in place of practicality, being lured away from what is ACTUALLY good by fame and fortune, shallowness of motives vs. genuine ones, parental expectations, the damage of secrets, being true to yourself, one’s legacy, exposing truths, and ultimately redemption are all a part of the insanity here. The songs themselves are QUITE the adventure into topics both sincere and scintillating, redeeming and repulsive, a few filled with enough innuendo to make even the staunchest of clergymen blush. But again, it IS all being played for COMEDIC entertainment and fun.
The finale makes total sense in the scope of everything being portrayed, and does at least end things ON a more merry note. The music, as stated above, is engaging from start to finish thanks to Wagner and his group Bama McCall, infusing the events with a constant hum of very masterfully executed bluegrass magic. The visuals here are literally presented as if watching the musical live on stage, which befits it all perfectly, with no need for constant changes in venue for the narrative to keep its flow. Ensemble casts are a thing of wonder when they fit together and play off of each other well. Here was certainly a cast that was able to pull this off in spades, beginning with the utterly charming, adorably cute, country music artist Mary Sarah as Louanne, a small and broken town’s little bastion of innocence and light who’s only trying to abscond from her mundane existence and head towards sunnier pastures.
But, when the town is taken over by a holier-than-thou televangelist with a “vision” for the town’s new path for resurgence, Louanne has to choose between staying true to who she really is–or succumbing to the “golden” words of an unscrupulous new arrival. Sarah’s voice is simply angelic, her personality unavoidably bubbly and genuine, and it makes you root for her character from the start without any hesitations whatsoever. Root does sometimes steal the show through his intentionally over-the-top portrait of “the Lord’s message bringer” with a shadowy plan named John Cyrus Mountain, a decidedly arrogant evangelist wanting a megachurch and the television glory to go with it–all for the “benefit” of the small Southern town he’s now captivating with smooth talk and initially veiled “inspiration” that might be anything but Heavenly. Root deliciously and energetically guides the character through his paces with a smugness that is magnificently hysterical.
Eric Casalini plays Peter, the proposed show’s producer who may or may not REALLY want to pull off what the “esteemed” Rev. Mountain is chasing once he allows himself to become enamored with Louanne and slowly begins to realize all may not be what it seems. It’s the perfect “everyman” role for Casalini to delve into, and he does so with ease and down-to-earth credibility. Castro has her own scene-chewing moments to shine here through her turn as Chastity, Rev. Mountain’s “assistant” who just happens to be a “former” pole dancer and whose notions about her own “faith” is incontrovertibly awry, as a particular song she regales the town with more than adequately implies. It’s another one of those roles that an actor must just pine over, being able to be so “bad” but do so in a totally exaggerated and mirthful manner. Castro sure seems to have enjoyed the role wholeheartedly.
Edward Singletary Jr. plays Gaylord Pettibone Johnson, the little hamlet’s very–outgoing–Mayor who is FAR more open and agreeable to seeing himself and fellow constituents made into reality starts through Rev. Mountain’s machinations. Topped with being father to a Black son, Mayor Johnson has more than his fair share of explaining and forgiveness to seek as everything unfolds, with Singletary, Jr. playing the character with the utmost enthusiasm and witty poise. Casey Ford Alexander is Alan, Mayor Johnson’s son, who it would seem has a wealth of possible questions about precisely how he IS the Mayor’s son in the first place while also being a young man wanting to establish his OWN identity rather than be weighed down by his father’s plans for him. Alexander plays the character, for me, as both victim to circumstances beyond his control and foil to the whims others would try to place upon him, doing so with believability and comedic appeal.
If ever there were stereotypical stabs at the kinds of folks people tend to want to consider in backwoods haunts, then here they are provided to us in unbridled and uproarious fashion through Diane Delano and Dave Florek as Cindy and Ezra respectively, the former the town’s fix-it woman and all-around spitfire of amusingly (often crassly!) unfiltered sentiments and songs and the latter the town’s blind drunkard who has a feisty streak himself and a deep love of his rifle. The attitudes with which Delano and Florek imbue these characters with is riotous and entertaining to the “nth” degree! Again, it has to be the style of roles the actor’s fully enjoyed playing. Finally, there is Cliff Wagner as basically himself, the town’s musician who fluidly and dynamically accompanies all the songs we here throughout the story.
So, in total, “Paradise: A Town of Sinners & Saints” is a raucous, fearless, and unavoidably laugh-inducing musical romp that takes all the facets of the aforementioned underlying stylings and melds them seamlessly into a tale of one town’s troubles, one man’s subterfuge, one young woman’s yearnings, and another man’s awakening while surrounded by a the circus of hotbed topics and archetypal people, showcased within the shell of engagingly captivating bluegrass rhythms and off-color humor that may offend some and enrapture others as it compels us to think about that ever-shifting factor that forms the center of it all–life in the modern world.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
