Jersey Boys at Auckland’s Civic Theatre

Hype started building ever since Mayor Len Brown announced last July that Jersey Boys would be gracing the stage at Auckland’s Civic Theatre. After a long wait, Saturday night marked the official opening of the show and you can rest assured that this hype has not been misguided.

 Fresh off an impressive two year run in Melbourne and Sydney, the international hit that tells the tale of the rise and fall of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons is an exciting one indeed. The group was comprised of four unlikely superstars from New Jersey who, through raw talent and sheer persistence, quickly became one of America’s most loved and recognizable groups. Resembling something of a rollercoaster ride, the performance details the incredible highs and lows that the group endured because of such phenomenal success and the audience is treated to an array of their many hits throughout. The two numbers best received by the crowd were ‘Sherry’ and ‘Oh What A Night’, with the latter featuring at the show’s opening and closing.

Charged with the daunting task of replicating Valli’s famous falsetto voice, Australian Dion Bilios shone in the lead role and the audience was not hesitant in showing their appreciation. Declan Egan became another fan favourite as he was especially likeable in his role as Bob Gaudio, the main architect behind the band’s songs and the final addition to the original line-up. Not to be outdone by his Australian counterparts, New Zealand’s own Vince Harder got in on the action and he more than held his own through both acting and song. Harder, while not a core member of the cast, was nonetheless standout in his varied cameos throughout the performance. These included playing a modern-day French rapper and a radio station executive.

Despite many extravagant musical numbers, Jersey Boys is not your typical musical. It is a high octane, high drama tale showing the darker side of the group as it includes jail time, run-ins with the mob, crippling debt and broken families. However, it is definitely not all hopelessness and despair and the show’s success lies in how it combines these elements with contagious songs and timely humour, ultimately producing a happy ending.

Leaving the theatre without a smile and a great deal of appreciation for Valli and company is next to impossible. One comes to realise that almost fifty years on, their songs are just as alive and meaningful as when they first hit America’s airwaves.

Simply put, whether you are familiar with The Four Seasons or not, Jersey Boys is a sure bet for an entertaining night out. The show truly does have something for everyone. Be sure to catch the show before it closes on the 17^th of June.

Photo credit: Jeff Busby

Jackie Robinson: Sixty Five Years On

An entry I wrote for Double Technicals. Check the blog out here: http://doubletechnicals.wordpress.com/

To commemorate the sixty-fifth anniversary of Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play major league baseball in the modern era, players in all of last Monday’s games donned Jackie’s famous number 42.

This fitting tribute was in recognition of a watershed moment not just for baseball but for American society as a whole. Robinson’s breaking of the colour barrier not only helped usher the game towards the modern, diversified form we know now, it much more importantly served as an inspiration for the Civil Rights Movement that was to come and paved the way for black athletes to succeed at the highest degree.

Let’s journey back to 1947 - the year that this all transpired - for a second.

Harry Truman was president and the Marshall Plan was underway. India was enduring a brutal partition after its newfound independence. Heck, even precious little New Zealand was shrugging off colonial influence via the signing of the Statue of Westminster.

I digress but, simply put, it was a year of sweeping change across the board.

The Brooklyn Dodgers were not spared by this wave of change. Going against the grain, Brooklyn manager Branch Rickey called Jackie Robinson up to the majors at the outset of the 1947 season. Five days later, on April 15^th, the second baseman made his historic debut for the ballclub at Ebbets Field. Although he went hitless in his first start, Robertson was quick to secure his spot on the roster and he played out a successful season, posting a batting average of .297 and earning the Rookie of the Year Award.

However, as the story goes, this success and recognition only made it harder on Jackie. Hostility surrounded him wherever he went, even within his own clubhouse as several Dodgers made known their disapproval and threatened to sit-out games. The commissioner of the majors at the time, Happy Chandler (I simply could not omit a name like that), was relatively supportive of Robinson’s career and deemed it necessary to impose a severe suspension on any player planning to sit-out. Moreover, there are infamous stories of opposing players deliberately injuring Jackie, as well as the countless jeers he had to endure in most, if not all, of America’s ballparks.

While Robinson was able to silence the hecklers to an extent with his undeniable eye for the ball and his superb base-running, discrimination was something he simply had to deal with until he walked away from the game in 1956. Yes, he did have two more African-Americans join him in the majors in 1947 (Larry Doby, Harry Thompson) but, being the first, Robinson remained the centre of attention and the target for dissent. This makes his triumph in the 1955 World Series and his Hall of Fame induction appear all the more remarkable; he persisted, weathered the storm and succeeded in the game he loved with the odds stacked heavily against him.

Yes, a great achievement you say, but why does Robinson’s appearance warrant being categorized with the aforementioned events happening around the globe that same year?

Because April 15^th, 1947 signified a crucial stepping stone towards equality and a departure from the Jim Crow era. Robinson immediately became a symbol for racial progress and would be a role-model to future generations. We know now of how a teenage Martin Luther King Jr. was captivated by Robinson’s accomplishment and at the height of the Civil Rights Movment, King cited him as being one of his main inspirations, calling him a “freedom rider before freedom rides”.

Also indebted to Robinson are the athletes that followed the road he paved. Looking at the MLB, the NBA and the NFL, recent estimates show that the non-white players account for 38%, 89% and 59%, respectively. It is staggering to think of just how much talent non-white athletes contribute to these leagues and Jackie Robertson was their trailblazer.

Many argue that it was just a matter of time before somebody would break the colour barrier anyway and, yes, while this is true, few would have been capable of handling such prejudice with the dignity and grace that Jackie did.

To quote the man himself: ‘A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives’.

By those terms, Jackie Robinson led a very important life indeed. May we always remember.

Obama’s Broken Promise

According to the Gallup daily, President Obama’s approval rating in the latter days of December sat at 47%. To give that percentage some context, the previous two incumbents that failed to regain office - Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush - boasted ratings of 53% and 51%, respectively. Needless to say, Obama has fallen well short of the ratings needed for success come the first Tuesday in November.

However, due to the damaging nature of the GOP nomination trail (the cost of which is yet to be revealed), all is not lost for the president. Even with Rick Santorum suspending his campaign in recent days, the fragmentation of the political right is unmistakeable and Mitt Romney, the frontrunner, will emerge battered and bruised if he does indeed win the vote of the delegates in the National Convention held in late August. Frankly, if the Republican nominees had not been so intent on killing each other off and had there been greater consensus from the outset, the Obama Administration would have found itself in dire straits. As that it is simply not the case, a tightly contested and unpredictable general election is imminent.

But, the question must be asked: how did we get here? How did Barack Obama, the man who embodied the hopes and dreams of a nation not all that long ago, fall from grace in the space of three years?

The answer: one too many broken promises.

Perhaps there is no broken promise more disappointing than the lingering mess that is Guantanamo Bay. As Andrew Malcolm of the Los Angeles Times comments, the then Senator Obama of Illinois emphasized as early as 2007 that he would close the facility in the event he became president. Merely a few days after his inauguration, in one of his first acts as Commander in Chief, Obama signed an executive order which called for the prison to be closed within twelve months.

That was the assurance in January 2009. As Time Magazine reported in January this year, 171 detainees are still imprisoned in Guantanamo. The enlightening Time report divulged other alarming statistics, such as how the youngest prisoner was 13 and the oldest a staggering 98 years of age. Moreover, just 5% of the total 779 inmates kept there since its opening were captured by U.S. Troops and 92% were never Al-Qaeda fighters at all.

Considering that detainees are held indefinitely and denied basic rights, it is yet another humbling example of the contradictive way in which America fails to live up to its own expectations. The ‘Land of the Free’, oftentimes, does not embody the very liberty and political freedom it so brashly tries to promote to the rest of the world.

Granted, Obama has had his hands tightly tied since the Republican swing in the mid-terms but the inability to follow through on this promise immensely disappoints. It is these kinds of shortcomings which have cost Obama support among his constituents; they have simply grown weary of the lack of promised results.

With Mitt Romney showing little divergence from his 2007 remarks of “we ought to double Guantanamo”, it seems that ‘Gitmo’ will remain open for the foreseeable future, regardless of the outcome of this year’s election.

Brady & His Legacy

Rest assured, Tom Brady has already secured his place amongst American sporting immortality. The resume of the twelve-year pro is nothing short of staggering as it consists of 3 Superbowl rings, 2 MVP awards, Comeback Player of the Year and an undefeated regular season.

Aptly, the New England icon is locked in as a future first ballot Hall-of-Fame inductee. But just how good is the guy?

After leading the Patriots  to their fifth AFC title during his tenure with a narrow victory at home over Baltimore, he will start in his fifth Superbowl, which will tie John Elway’s number of appearances. If Brady emerges from Indianapolis a winner in a week’s time, he will have his fourth ring, putting him in a three-way deadlock with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana as the starting quarterback with the most Superbowl championships. Comparing Brady with these names is a gruelling, ultimately subjective matter made even more difficult by the vast differences between their respective eras.

So for some perspective and a more workable comparison, let’s talk Manning v Brady.

I find it ironic that Tom Brady has the chance to cement his legacy and distance himself from Peyton Manning in the very city where Manning plays his football. I believe that should Brady beat out Peyton’s younger brother for the Lombardi Trophy, it will be the final nail in the coffin of the Manning v Brady debate. Granted, Peyton is the most intelligent, most pure quarterback the world has ever seen so yes, while he may be the better or more gifted quarterback, the case for who has had the most successful career to this point is strongly in favour of his adversary.

Despite Manning having a two year head-start on Brady (he entered the Draft in 1998), he has only lifted the Lombardi once in his playing career, triumphing against Chicago in 2006 and then falling to Brees and the Saints three years later. While his four MVP awards look enticing, remember that his first in 2003 was a shared prize with the late Steve McNair and his third in 2008 came when Brady was fatefully injured in week one and missed the remainder of the season.

This is where the apologists would step in and claim that Manning has had a far weaker supporting cast over the years than Brady. This is definitely a myth that demands debunking. Brady (Belichick deserves immense credit here too) has made it work with a host of changes in the locker room. Save for a few stalwarts (think Kevin Faulk), the Patriots offense has at times taken on the appearance of a jigsaw puzzle, with an incredible array of practice-squad-type players contributing and making a name for themselves (think Danny Woodhead). Sometimes, you really are left wondering where they find these guys (for the record, nobody drafts better than the New England Patriots). Sure, Brady threw to Randy Moss (only for two and a half seasons) but Manning had Marvin Harrison and he now has Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Peyton Manning works with whatever pieces he has and makes everyone around him better, but so does Tom Brady.

I guess it really comes to down to who you would rather have behind center for a final drive in a Superbowl. The answer, for me anyhow, is and always will be Tom Brady. Winning on February the 5th (6th NZT) will propel Brady even further forwards and will make him a strong candidate in the greatest-ever debate.

We all know what happened four years ago however, and with the younger of the Manning brothers set on carving out his own piece in history we are in for a great game of football indeed.

Image belongs to the Boston Globe

Basketball & Jazz

Basketball, unlike football with its prescribed routes, is an improvisational game, similar to jazz. If someone drops a note, someone else must step into the vacuum and drive the beat that sustains the team. One slight drop-off, one guy in the wrong spot at the wrong time, and the whole unit will fail.

Phil Jackson in The Last Season

Procastination and Summer’s Reading

There is a strong correlation between my activity on Tumblr and times when I should be studying. So, as you might expect, with a history midterm waiting for me tomorrow, I decided to list some of the books that are waiting for me this summer.

• The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons
• How Soccer Explains The World by Franklin Foer
• The Last Season by Phil Jackson
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• The Rwanda Crisis by Gerard Prunier
• The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson

Given that I subconsciously placed the three books about sports at the top of the list above books about serious, real-world issues, you could say that I may need to check my priorities. I would probably agree.

America

Had a thought-provoking discussion a couple of nights ago about some of the major differences between New Zealand and the US and litigation came to the fore. 

As we well know, the US is notorious for the sheer volume of lawsuits, oftentimes frivolous. Just think back to Pearson v Chung 2005 where a D.C. judge attempted to sue a dry-cleaners that ruined his suit for $67 million, citing the business had fallen short of its ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ clause displayed in the store. Fortunately, this was dismissed as a frivolous lawsuit but it is not a good sign to have a judge, supposedly a qualified interpreter of the law, attempting to exploit and uproot the system.

The most interesting one that was mentioned in this discussion though was a case of a burglar suing a school when a skylight on the school building he was attempting to break into gave way and sent him falling (Bodine vs Enterprise High School 1982). He sued for $8 million and settled for $260,000. I know that criminals do not forfeit their rights by committing a crime but this scenario is just absurd.

My friend then went on to say that his number one problem with the US is the lack of personal accountability. This really got me thinking.

My eyes have been opened to a different way of life over here and I am wrestling with just how contradictory this country can seem sometimes. But, in saying so, I guess its important to remember what somebody who has travelled the world once told me: each country has their own idiocies.

1960 World Series & The Electoral College

My lecturer used the famous Yankees-Pirates series of 1960 as an analogy for the electoral college in class today.

Despite winning the series 4-3 in dramatic and upsetting fashion, Pittsburgh were outscored in runs with the Yankees batting home 55 to their 27. 

According to my professor, just as wins matter more than runs, the electoral votes of the states matter more than popular votes.

Good analogy? I sure appreciated it.