Christmas and the holidays are times of tradition – we all listen to the same songs, hang the same decorations, make the same food, and inevitably watch the same Christmas movies. Therefore, it’s no surprise that The Wallis Annenberg Center for Performing Arts and For the Record: Live brought back their hybrid film/stage production of Love, Actually Live for a fourth year to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the film. Though regular theater-goers might find the show frivolous, it’s undoubtedly delightful, and offers not only a new way to experience a modern Christmas classic, but showcases a host of musical talent that enhances the film’s iconic early-noughties soundtrack, mixed in with holiday staples.
The show fuses scenes from the original 2003 movie with on-stage performances, with in-person actors doubling on-screen characters. Director Anderson Davis’s staging keeps Love Actually Live feeling dynamic by utilizing large, moving screens to display the production’s source material and neatly dividing the stage into quarters to service each intertwining story without a lag.
The musical numbers act as transitions as well as interpolations of the characters’ internal worlds, an addition that’s welcomed with such a large ensemble cast that draws from a movie with many aspects that have aged rather poorly. The film’s casual fat-shaming and unapologetic male gaze threatens to shatter the cheery Christmas vibe, yet a stellar band and cast claw the material back from the problematic brink.
Brian McKnight Jr., son of the music legend, and “America’s Got Talent” prodigy Madison Taylor Baez bring down the house with their respective numbers as Peter and Johanna, but special commendation must be given to Grace Kinstler who plays Natalie, the Prime Minister’s love interest, and Nina Nelson who plays Aurelia. Though the entire cast boasts show-stopping singing voices, Kinstler and Nelson’s performances are not only technically strong, but have a subtlety that causes their characters to come across as more lived in, and adds depth to them beyond the vignettes on screen.
Incorporating the movie itself is a departure from the cabaret shows that established For the Record as a fresh and exciting theatrical experiment in Los Angeles. The production endeavors to blend movie and music as seamlessly as possible thanks to costume designer Steve Mazurek’s faithful and meticulous replication of the noughties fashion in the film, but the concept of the production doesn’t fully land.
That being said, Love Actually Live is a must-see for musical theater lovers, repeat-viewers of the original film, and perhaps even as a great “starter production” for audiences unfamiliar with theater. Whether you’re a seasoned theatergoer or not, it is undeniably a fun, festive, and glamorous night out. The Wallis is a gorgeous venue a stone’s throw from several swanky Beverly Hills restaurants, and the theater balances historic charm with state-of-the-art production value.
The energy on Love Actually Live’s opening night was nothing short of exuberant. Many celebrity guests attended, including Retta, Rumer Willis (who originated the role of Juliet/Mia in the show) and Jonathan Bennett. The bevy of star-studded support speaks to how attractive a proposition the show is, despite its minor pitfalls. In a world so devoted to its Christmas traditions, Love Actually Live possesses the potential to either update a tried and true ritual of watching the original film, or perhaps create a new one itself through the softening of the less savory elements of its source material and celebrating the music.
Tickets for Love Actually Live can be purchased on the Wallis Center’s website.
More on The Wallis
The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, located in the heart of Beverly Hills, CA, is a dynamic cultural hub and community resource where local, national, and international artists share their artistry with ever-expanding audiences. Since its doors opened in October 2013, The Wallis has been committed to robust and distinctive presentations and education programs curated with both creativity and social impact in mind.
More on For the Record Live
The FTR Live Experience is not your classic movie-based musical, but a new kind of character-driven concert where some of cinema’s most beloved stories and the songs forever linked to those films mix and mash together in inspired and surprising ways. What began in 2010 in a small bar in East Hollywood went on to become a “must-see show” in Los Angeles and they have become the premier theater company for reimagining popular culture – movies, albums, and entire catalogs – as theatrical worlds, immersed in rock ‘n’ roll with a story to tell.
