Burt’s Eye View: ere is Hope

Perspective

By Burt Ross, Contributed Column

We all need hope, and I am no less than my fellow man. As I rapidly reach my ninth decade, I all too frequently see my friends and acquaintances encounter signi cant health issues. I, too, am not immune, as my own recent bout of vertigo makes all too clear. But every once in a while, I hear a story which gives me hope.

A close friend of mine, Loretta Weinberg, will be 88 soon, and she recently retired as the Majority Leader of the New Jersey Senate. She has a dynamic personality and is blessed with a big heart and a great sense of humor.

Loretta moved into an assisted living facility roughly a year ago, and she tells me that a woman who lived collectively won 12 Oscars and were nominated 95 times in musical categories. His older siblings, Martha and Isabella atcher, and Sonny Newman, are all enjoying professional careers in theater and lm.

“Freckleface Strawberry the Musical” is about 7-year-olds, one named Strawberry. In it, Joaquin plays Danny, a popular jock.

“He’s good at basketball, but he’s not very bright,” he explained. “He’s kind of a brat and a bully.” But Joaquin’s mother Newman pointed out his character is also “soft hearted.”

Danny eventually leads a search for Strawberry when she goes missing. One character has a “huge crush” on his Danny character, which is another plot point in the story.

Joaquin, who is a bit of a jock also as he plays baseball for MHS, dances in a few numbers. One routine even has him dancing while bouncing a basketball in time there was 106 years old. More remarkable is that this woman did not use a cane nor a walker, and you might not believe me, but every morning this woman worked out on the treadmill. I know you think I am making this up, but I would trust Loretta with my life. She speaks the truth.

Loretta tells me that each morning at the exact same time, this woman went on the treadmill and then had her breakfast in the communal dining room. Late last year, another woman who lives above the gym did not hear the treadmill at the appointed time. She went to the dining room and did not see the 106-year-old lady. She alerted management, and they found her in bed, having breathed her last breath.

“To live 106 years, to be in good physical shape, and to die peacefully in sleep, what more could any of us want?” I asked Loretta. She simply responded, “107 years.” to the music. “It’s extraordinary,” Newman chuckled. Joaquin also tap dances with the cast in the show. Every musical number includes a di erent style of dance including hip hop and ballet. “ ere’s never a dull moment,” Joaquin said. “ ere’s even a gospel number.”

“ e reason why I (auditioned) for the show is because of the company. It’s excellent, Although it’s not a well-known show, it’s about inclusivity. It’s about a girl who’s getting bullied for having freckles on her face. She’s not seen as an actual person. She’s seen as just the kid with freckles.”

“ ere’s also another character called ‘Ballet Girl.’

It’s ironic that she’s unnamed because she’s another huge lead in the play. It’s also seen as how positive things can also kind of kill your identity. She’s excellent in ballet. She’s going to be professional, but since she’s so good nobody really sees her as a person anymore. e whole play is about how these characters overcome and see how much they miss in a person because they view them as objects to and great audiences at this location,” Tallal said. “We really want to come back to Malibu, and I’m hoping that we can work that out; this is the kind of event that should’ve been done in Malibu.”

During the past ve years, the Malibu Film Society has screened an average of more than 80 lms per year. During the awards season (November through February), this includes most of the awards categories: nominated features, documentaries, and short lms. Films are currently screened at the Agoura Stadium 8 eater in Agoura Hills and the Bay eater in Pacific Palisades, with additional screening venues planned for the future.

“ is does nothing for our community,” Tallal said. “We started this because we wanted to do it for Malibu and the way things are right now, we can’t because the city is still preventing us from doing what we need to do where we need to do it.”

To learn more about the Malibu Film Society, visit mfsreservations.org make fun of, but they actually do deeply care about the person. at’s what the main four characters are searching for,” Joaquin explained. e books the musical is based on are apparently semi-autobiographical. e actress Julianne Moore was called “Freckleface Strawberry” as a kid. e show’s director Anne Gesling commented on the triple threat. “Joaquin is a powerhouse! No matter what you ask for as a director or choreographer, he will do his utmost to make it happen, on stage and o . He is constantly working to better himself in all aspects of theater— acting, singing, and dancing. Plus, he is one of the most polite kids I have ever had the pleasure of directing.”

Asked if he wants to pursue theater as an adult Joaquin answered, “Well I do love theater. I’m still trying to gure it out, but if I was to pursue musical theater as a career I de nitely would not be upset about it.”

Of his fellow performers the MHS student said, “I think they are excellent actors. It’s an excellent plot. ere’s never a boring moment.”