etakyma | Entries tagged with theatre

Full dress tonight. And then we have a semi-performance tomorrow, and we open on Friday.

Costumes are set, and makeup will be set tonight. Tech is coming along - the sound cues are mostly working with us, and there are a couple of rocky programmed light cues that once the cue line is said just *happen* and the actors must follow them. I feel tons better today than I did yesterday - I got fairly ill Sunday night so Monday's rehearsal was "off" for me. But I feel nearly tip top today, so tonight should go well.

Our costumer is not fabulous, but we've mostly made it unscathed. One outfit of almost all my own stuff (minus the vest), and one outfit of almost all Gwen's stuff (minus the jewelry and the hat), and I am pretty set.

Our director has been pleased with what is going on on stage, and it feels really really good to be up there again with a role that I am still discovering new things about.

So nothing really exciting here but show news...

Tags:

real life,
theatre

I saw some people I was happy to catch up with, and some people who I would have been happy to never see again, but all in all, twenty years on, it wasn't a bad experience. We've lost two classmates to cancer, and one to suicide. About fifty people came back for it - so we had about a third of the class in attendance. Some people were happier, some thinner, some fatter, some bald. A mixed bag. And we proved once again, as a class we stay up too late, and drink far too much.

Although the only one I was really worried about took a cab home. And I gave the extra bed in my room to a friend so she could get about four hours sleep before she had to be up to go take her mother to work (I specifically got a room at the hotel with two beds so I had crash space for her - or anyone who really needed it).

Well. So. Done.

I have tech rehearsal later this afternoon. So I am gonna go have brunch with old friends and probably toddle home for some time before driving off for rehearsal.

Tags:

So the show is going well-ish. We have a stumble through tonight - the first time we are going to run all three acts in sequence. Hopefully we will get through it without too much stopping and starting.

I saw my folks yesterday. The weather was such that my dad spent the day watching sports instead of off golfing. I met my mom at the gallery and helped for a while before going home for lunch. Then while she ironed clothes we chatted. My mom hates ironing, and so I try to entertain her so she doesn't feel like she's just wasting time.

Then I requested class photos - you know the ones, while growing up the school pictures that are of the whole class? Yeah. I was looking for elementary school. Because, y'know my HS reunion is coming up on Saturday.

So we spent most of the rest of the afternoon laughing over the big box o' family photos. One thing about class pictures (and man, we found a lot of them) is the school photos don't generally have the year on them. So it was a guessing game as to how old my brother and I were in the various pictures. There was a time in my brother's teenagerhood where he looks kinda like he wants to reach for a gun and blow you away. I just look kind of vacant in a lot of pictures from when I was a young teenager. And then there are the portrait pictures of my parents where my dad looks like he is plotting a mob takeover, and my mom looks like she is about to ask you if you've taken Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

Yeah. The whole family portrait from that photo shoot with my brother the hood, and me looking like a brainless twit - awesome. I can kind of understand why we only ever did that *once.*

The pictures of my parents as children were kind of cool. Although the picture of my mother naked sitting on a stone wall when she was about two was slightly disturbing - only because she is outside and looks cold, and my mother told me *her* mother used to show that picture to all her boyfriends. Cliche - but it does happen.

I think my favorite pictures of my mom were from the summer of '69 - she and my dad were at the beach, and she is in an orange bathing suit building sandcastles. She looks so carefree. Of course that would have been just before she was pregnant with my brother (my brother almost had someone he went to college with convinced he was conceived at Woodstock - but while it would have been almost the right time for it, my parents were never there... so they *say*).

So our search only found two all-class photos for me. Kindergarten and fourth grade. Plus a photo of me as a thief in a second grade play - a Nancy Drew mystery. It was a Nancy Drew mystery that had about ten cops, ten thieves and one Nancy Drew. Funny as hell.

Tags:

family,
theatre

Saw my brother today. My SIL, K, said he worked this morning from home (because even a newly broken collarbone won't stop him from working). I went to a short play my younger niece was in and saw the whole family. My brother looks good, if like he is in a lot of pain. He had an appointment with the surgeon this afternoon - I might find out more this weekend. It is his right side collarbone - and he is right handed. So he's going to be curtailing a lot of activities for the forseeable future.

He's also probably not taking as much pain meds as he was prescribed, because none of us do. I never finish any prescription pain meds, when I had my hand surgery in college, after the wisdom teeth came out, I always have half a bottle left over because I usually did the half dose, nah, don't need it thing.

The play was part of a week long performing arts "camp" and other than the fact she refused to wear a costume, and refused to speak, she seems to have had an awesome time. I guess she loves to do everything leading up to the actual performance, and once there is an audience, forget it. Well, she is only five. And maybe the artistic tech side of theatre is where she is going to be more comfortable.

Still don't know what is going on for L's first birthday, but I have a wooden puzzle and two board books for him.

ETA Just talked to my mom - my brother broke his collarbone in four places and needs to be pinned or plated back together. He goes in for surgery on July 6th. It *would* heal on its own, except for the fact one of the pieces has gone from horizontal to vertical. He doesn't do things by halves, my brother. He doesn't like the pain meds, but the doctor has said if he doesn't want to take the percocet he can take Tylenol. No ibuprofen.

Tags:

**I saw the 3D UP! last weekend. What a surprisingly lovely movie! I loved Carl and his grumpy-ness. I loved Dug and his obsession with squirrels (one thought... does the South American Jungle have squirrels? How does the Dog Militia know what one is, and that they are awesome to chase?) I love the Wilderness Scout (Russell? Randall? Reynolds?). And Kevin is also a wonderful character. Well done Pixar!

This movie has a love hate relationship with gravity. It is only useful when it is USEFUL if you understand what I am saying. And yes, we all cried at various points. The sniffles in the nearly full theatre were pretty epic.

**Saw the PBS Great Performances "Chess in Concert" on Thursday night. Awesome! Tim Rice did preface the show by saying he thinks they've finally worked out a throughline story that works the best. It has good points, bad points, and parts that were fucking AWESOME. Yes, Josh Grobin cannot act. We know this. However, he does have a gorgeous voice, and was perfect as Anatoly, since he didn't have to do much more than put genuine feeling into the music, he did quite well. Adam Pascal as Freddie was also incredibly well cast - his brash, bold, "Fuck you" attitude as the Ugly American was pitch perfect. Idina Menzel as Florence did well. I wish she had enunciated a little more, because we lost some of her words in the duets, trios and quartets. The man who played the Arbiter was suitably creepy and MIB-like. But one of the stand out performances was for the woman playing Svetlana - she was amazing, even though we don't even meet her until Act Two. "Someone Else's Story," "I Know Him So Well," and "Anthem" were my favorites, followed up with "Nobody's Side," "Pity the Child," and "The Arbiter."

Really really well done, even the bits that don't *quite* work, plot-wise. I loved the whole duality that the minimal set and costuming punched up. Black and white. I also liked the ballet bits of the chess matches. I will be watching it again, for sure.

**Tonight Gwen and I went to see Cadence at TCAN - a Toronto-based a cappella quartet. So much fun! The guy who was the bass/percussion for most of the performance was amazing. The new tenor to the group also quite musical - as a number of their arrangements were done by him. They sort of mimic the tones of instruments - horns, strings, percussion. And they seem to specialize in jazzy music from all musical eras of the twentieth century. And they are incredibly funny. I think I loved the "noir" bits the best. One note guys - "On the Street Where You Live" is NOT a jazz standard. I mean it may be a jazz favorite, I don't know, but it is originally from My Fair Lady and is a MUSICAL THEATRE standard. Lerner and Loewe. 1956. Ring a bell? So there.

I do love their Web site tag line... "Instruments are for Surgeons." LOL! It doesn't sound like they need instruments - they take care of all of that vocally. Awesome - I recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance.

Tags:

It is official. I did not get into the show. It was between me and another girl, and the other girl was amazing. So I don't feel particularly bad about it. And I did not make the decision an easy one for them. So I feel good about the audition as a whole, although I think my regular audition was better than my callback audition. I was "on" during the regular audition, the way I wasn't really feeling it during callbacks.

The cast looks good. I think the show will be spectacular - and while I wish I could work with the director again, there will be other shows.

Tags:

theatre

But not extreme in either case.

The highs have included geeking out watching the Tony awards with a bunch of theatre friends, auditioning for a show this fall (equal parts terror and elation). Realizing it has been a fair number of years since I've actually walked out on stage to actually *do* something there, instead of being tech.

One of the ladies watching auditions told me later that she knows she has known me ten years, but she has never seen me on stage. She was impressed. I reminded her that I did major in Theatre in college, and while I may not have done an acting Independent Study (my concentration was directing) I *have* been on stage. A lot. Just not recently.

One of the women auditioning (quite well, I thought) and I got to talking about stage-age. Where I am the right *age* to play one part (a woman approaching forty) I would never be cast as her as I "read" too young on stage. And I likely wouldn't be cast as the girl of twenty-five. And being so definitely a character actor, the only part I could fit is the slightly crazy (young) one - who is supposed to be nineteen. In thirty years I'd love to go out for the crazy one who is in her sixties. She is actually my favorite one in the whole show.

Yeah. So while I don't have high expectations of being cast (it would be awesome if I were - since the director is *amazing*), it was pretty cool to get up there and do my thing. I have been called back, so we'll see where that goes.

The lows have just been annoyances, really. Not real lows at all. And mostly work related, which we all discussed at the team meeting yesterday. So now my boss is aware of the petty annoyances which C and I have been dealing with for the last few weeks. And while there is really nothing she can do about it, it felt good just to make her aware so she is not caught off guard.

Prep for Azkatraz goes on. I am down to the last ticketed events. I'll be glad when I can pass all the tickets off to the registrar for distribution. I have a box to go to the decorations chair I'll likely send at the same time. And then I can focus back on my costume. And that final danged banner. I am going to be very very busy the next few weeks! By the time vacation rolls around in August, I will be well and truly ready for a break and to do something fun.

Tags:

... Or, y'know, skip it, this time. Life is not a cabaret, my friends, and it is very sad.

I saw a not-good production of this tonight. Not just an okay production. A terrible production. A production that was lack lustre at best. It had nice bits, and lovely bits, and truly terrible bits, and bits that made no frickin' sense.

The worst bit was *not* the Pineapple Song, when three young kit kat girls came out to Hula in honeycomb pineapples during what is supposed to be a lovely interlude with our older couple - it was pretty terrible, but not the absolute worst (yeah, I don't know).

The ending said nothing. Was not moving or shocking or anything but sort of a collective "huh?"

The accents were as a whole hilariously badly done.

The *worst* bit should have been the best. If you know Cabaret the story at all, you know the title song is one of the last in the show. And usually brings down the house. It is the voice of frantic, desperate hope in the face of overwhelming odds. Do we know it is doomed? YES. Is *she* supposed to know it is doomed? That's a big fat NO.

The show unfolds like this:

Berlin before and during the rise of the Nazi party. All of Berlin is a party. The Kit Kat Klub is a seedy vaudeville/burlesque/song and dance hall. Presided over by the Emcee who molests all indiscriminately. One of the acts in this even-lower-than-c-rated entertainment halls (when everyone can have a good time, and anything/anyone can be bought), is Sally, an English girl of questionable virtue. She is a singer, and is also having an affair with the Klub owner. Who throws her out, and she foists herself on Cliff, an American novelist, also gay (or perhaps Bi, since he does take Sally into his rented room and possibly knocks her up). Yeah, Sally finds out she is pregnant, but wants to see the doctor to get rid of it. Cliff wants to take her home to America - even foregoing anyone or anything else. He eventually leaves her in a Berlin that is growing politically colder by the day, and (supposedly) more sinister by the hour. He leaves for Paris and she goes back to the Kit Kat Klub after she has an abortion.

"Cabaret" is supposed to be her triumphant return to the stage and her dreams of stardom - her "I've given up everything for this life I've chosen, so I better make sure it was worth it!" song. Unfortunately, this cast and this Sally and this directer decided to take this song in a melancholy, sad, pathetic direction. She is supposed to have her breakdown *after* the song - not during, after all she's given up her love for this.

They missed the motherfuckin' POINT of the show. If ever there was a director who totally missed the depth and nuances of a script it was this director and this show. And they played the end way too early. There is a chapter in a book I read in college about auditioning. The whole chapter is on Not Playing the End - the characters Don't Know They Are In A Tragedy, So You Can't Telegraph It Is A Tragedy.

Wow, from the intermission on, it was one big ol' TRAGEDY. Yes, WE know the Nazis come to power and start rounding up everyone they disapprove of and shove them into camps. WE know that in a few short months and years all those people playing in Berlin are likely dead. BUT *THEY* ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW IT!

Instead of being shocking and jarring and insidious, it was merely tragic in a BAD way.

So yeah, unfortunately, this production ftl. Ah, well. It just confirms my decision not to be involved with it, even though I was asked repeatedly.

I saw a production of Cabaret done several years ago by a college theatre company, directed by a good friend. It was everything the show should be - gritty, determined, hopeful, chilling, scary. It was amazing - every single nuance had been coaxed out of the show, and it was an evening of theatre I will never forget. Which makes this production just that much worse - because all the mis-steps were so glaringly obvious.

Ah, well. I shan't harp on this anymore.

Tags:

Children's theatre went swimmingly yesterday - But it was a hella long day. I was at the school at just after nine, and after two performances, strike, and party, I didn't get home 'til after 10pm. I pretty much went straight to bed.

But in the course of the day I got to hold A - he is seven months old now (and drooling, but not cutting teeth yet), and he is a little darling. And H - one of the four-ish month old twin boys of our "wicked stepmother." As I was cuddling H, one of A's dads asked me if I heard any ticking. Nope. I can safely say, there is no bio clock ticking desperately down. I do love babies and kids, but I am not finding a huge urge in me to have any of my own. As I've always felt, if it happens great, fine, whatever, but if not in this life, well, maybe the next one.

So today I spent doing errands I have neglected doing for ages - as I've been sewing for the last few weekends without ceasing. Although, I am getting quite a closet full of fairy tale story costumes. And I am getting better at adapting patterns to fit what I want - and also of creating bits and pieces. I also now own a tiara. I ask you, what life is complete without a tiara? The actress came offstage and immediately handed me the tiara and I plopped it on my own head so I could collect other stuff. And i spent the whole of the cast party with it on my head. Because, really, if you own a tiara you should wear it at least once. So it will go into storage with the captains hat, the fake top hat, the three-quarter satin gloves, the politician's boater hat, etc. etc. etc. And all I have to do is wash and iron all the clothes before I store them - the auditorium we were in was incredibly well heated, and everyone sweat through everything.

Tags:

More snow and more snow and more SNOW! I am heartily sick of snow. And it is only January - we've got at least another two months, maybe more of this snow-thaw-freeze cycle. Pain in the ass.

I went to rehearsal last night - and we've been adding the last bits - they ran the whole thing twice - the first act is almost 50 minutes, and the second just over half an hour. Good length for a show aimed at the under-10 crowd. I think if they get the first act to about 40 minutes or so, it will be perfect. And the duet Hansel and Gretel sing is GORGEOUS. I love these two kids - adorable, appreciative, and so damn good. I've got to cover a stool tonight, and I have only one more costume piece to create - and a tutu to locate. Tiara is bought - and given over to the actress who wears it.

The witch got hysterical and hates her costume. I finally convinced her that the costume is perfect for the character and she is wearing it. But gods, the drama! I am never costuming her ever again. It helped that one of the other actresses saw it as I put the last hooks into it and gushed how amazing it is. If you don't want a costume that makes you look like a witch - DON'T AUDITION TO BE THE DAMNED WITCH! The costume is perfect. It is the same style as the other Woodcutter's family, and is perfect for her type of wicked witch. But she was in tears because it makes her look too "hippy" - for gods sake you are WITCH who lures in CHILDREN with a candy house to EAT them! You should look well-fed.

The StepMother almost had to bring the twins - they are about four and a half months, now, and because of the snow, her regular sitter couldn't get there to take them. And her husband and older sons were up in Maine skiing. She just had her daughter (8) and the twins. But one of the other actresses daughter volunteered (she's in her twenties). We got running commentary via text messages from her (we've had three crying jags, one (false) poopy diaper scare and three rounds of feedings in the last half hour) through out the rehearsal. I've entertained the twins - one or both of them - a few time during the rehearsal process, and they are sweet, but man, I do not envy SM - I know, these being her fifth and sixth children that she is an experienced mom, but wow. Six kids under ten - five of them boys. I can't even imagine.

One more week and this show is finished - and I get to turn my creative energy in a new direction.

Tags:

theatre

I've been busy working on the costumes for Hansel and Gretel. Gretel's dress is nearly perfect - but the director wants me to let the hem down - way down. I only hemmed it today, so no bug deal to let it out. I thought it was going to be too long! Nope, not long enough.

Hansel is set - same tunic the actor wore last year, new belt.

Woodcutter just needs his vest completed, now I have the proper length for it I can finish that right up.

StepMother needs a different blouse. Something more homespun. And her skirt needs clasps, but the skirt absolutely looks as fabulous as I thought it would when I saw the pattern, so I am very happy with the result of it.

Witch - I just need to finish the witch - she has a hat already which is a load off my mind.

The Tinker needs a coat, but provided everything else costume-wise (thank the gods!).

Witch 2 is completely done - I gave her the orange and black striped tights.

Ballerina needs a tutu - white, preferably. Working on it.

Politician is done - she provided everything for her costume.

Dowager looks fabulous in her dress - she just needs a tiara.

Sailor is done - but I need to block out the "golf club" stuff on the yellow slicker I found for him.

The only one left is the Magician, and I finally got the go ahead to to a top-hat-and-tails kind instead of the court-jester kind the director mentioned.

So the show looks to be a lot of fun, and the kids are going to *adore* it. But it means I've been head down and sewing for the last week and not really paying attention to the outside world.

I finally cleared the ice off my car yesterday late, because I went to a party, and then it snowed again - but we didn't get as much snow as they predicted - only about six inches instead of the ten we were expecting. Still have an inch of ice on the driveway, but I scraped a few patches clear today as I shoveled.

Ah, well, guess I'll go take down the hem for Gretel. Tell me what all I've been missing this week!

Tags:

Once we got past the earthquake thing, California was great for the rest of the week. The company holiday party was at a fairly local (within about 45 minutes of the office) winery. Our event took place in the "tasting room" which was very nice - with the "casino" in the barrel room (which was kind of coldish). The food was terrific, the music was unobtrusive (and mostly instrumental), the casino games entertained us - and since we were not "playing" with real "money" losing didn't suck - the dealers just gave you more chips to keep you playing and entertained. I understand blackjack, but its kind of boring. Didn't make it over to the table to see the poker going on, and got sucked into the rhythm of craps. I still don't understand it - would probably not play it for real - but the rules were starting to make sense to me when I finally got tired of standing there collecting and losing colored chips (I am still unclear about *why* the dealer paid out what he paid out when he paid it - and how much.).

Getting home was alright - the new NY JFK terminal is sparkly and new - and quite spiffy. I expect the shine to wear off pretty quick, but for right now JetBlue's new home in NYC is pretty sweet. My layover was all of an hour - we were half an hour early from Oakland, so my layover ended up being almost twice as long as it was scheduled to be (35 minutes).

I saw the sun rise over the Oakland airport as we left, and the sun set over the JFK airport - also as we left. It was an enormously long day.

Yesterday was the Players holiday party which was great fun. C and K brought their seven month old son A and I got to make faces and blow kisses and generally act very foolish in the direction of the baby. I guess tomorrow is a big day for them on the path to finalizing the adoption. I'm not sure what other than going into court it all entails at this point, I didn't get a chance to really ask.

Feeling kind of crappy about declining assisting with a show with my home theatre group today. I was right to say no, but I'm still going to feel torn and maybe a little guilty about my decision. But there comes a time when stuff just gets to be too much, and I guess I found where I draw my line. I'm also telling myself it is good to say no once in a while on general principal, and hoping the producers eventually realize it is nothing against them. But I do theatre in my spare time because I love it. And I do it on a volunteer basis. And it tends to give me something back - sense of community, fun, purpose, creative outlet, etc.

I just don't see any of that being true for this show. So I explained pretty carefully *why* I was saying no, but I'm going to feel crappy about it for a while, and I just have to realize that, own that, and be okay with that. I think I will be better off having said no, than having said yes and regretting it. Because I don't think I will ever regret saying no - and that just makes me feel a tiny bit guiltier. Love the catch 22s.

So music. I've been listening (trying to anyway) to other kinds of music lately. My collection is pretty much mostly broadway. I've got a few CDs that are other (kids, classical, folk, country, little bit of rock, more a cappella than I should, some random mix tapes). And Broadway tends to run the gamut from what people think of as typical "showtunes" to country, hard rock, and pop, even stylized near-opera. Anyone out there have a favorite band currently? Because I am realizing growing up in the era of bubblegum pop and metal hair bands did me no favors, because between you and me, a lot of the popular music from the eighties was fucking horrible. And a lot of the stories you see on VH1 and MTV just don't touch me because my musical taste, while wide-ranging in style, didn't make me a rabid fan of any particular band or genre.

My iTunes is completely schizo - and I haven't even loaded all my CDs into it yet.

What are you listening to right now? Why - and how did you get to like them? Rec me something!

Tags:

Happy Birthday

hiddenhibiscus! I hope you had a lovely day!

I spent today at a matinee of "Titanic: the Musical" done locally. Fairly well done! The choreography was limited (and a little silly in places) but it was simple enough that all of the people on stage could do it - no matter their ages, or their ability to dance. The voices were all quite wonderful - I didn't lose many words at all - I think having the band off stage left helped tremendously with that - they didn't overwhelm any of the voices.

I had friends in the show and while the man playing Captain Smith was wonderful *as* the captain, he didn't get a chance to sing much. Which is too bad, because he has a marvelous voice.

My parents threw me a family birthday party - I spent an hour coloring with G and B, and some time cuddling L. B asked me who I live with. And if I had a dog or cat or bunny rabbit. And when I admitted I live alone, with no pets, she sunnily informed me I *could get* a dog or cat or bunny rabbit. Or, I could get a baby. Love her view of he world. I could just up and *get* a baby to live with me in my house.

I've been invited to my niece G's seventh birthday party - which is happening a whole month early, because there is a family friend who does concerts for kids, and she's invited all the girls in her class to go to the concert, with pizza and ice cream cake for afters. How can one turn down such an awesome invitation? One cannot, so I am going to get to see the kids next weekend. Yay!

And I am currently kicking around plot ideas for a multi-fandom ficfest I signed up for in the new year.

Must we go back to work tomorrow? And must it be December, already? *sigh* Oh, all right.

Tags:

Had our first (and likely only) production meeting for "Hansel and Gretel" tonight. This is an original show loosely (very very very) I say again, LOOSELY based on the fairy tale of the same name. It was written thirty years ago - and written for the particular skill set of a specified group of people. So the Magician actually knew a little bit of illusion. The Ballerina did train as a dancer for a while. The Politician... well, I'm not too sure how *he* got into the show at all, actually. Might have been a town selectman at the time? I don't know.

I am on costumes. The Sailor is a "guy with a boat - fisherman maybe" and he carries an oar. So maybe the Gorton's Fisherman type of costume? I wonder if anyone I know has those yellow rain pants. And wellies! I think just about everyone else will be in the best "Fairy Tale" mishmash.

When M was talking about what the Middle School has for lights he asked if we wanted spot lights. B hemmed and hawed a while before I asked point blank, does the middle school *have* spot lights that we can make use of with the rental of the space. Which sparked the question who would run them, should they pay some middle school kids to do it, where I again opened my mouth and said "or you could poll the Players and find a volunteer or two who have run spot before who won't mind giving up the single evening and the one Saturday" I was also holding my hand up, because, really? Spot light op? SO DAMNED EASY, PEOPLE! I'll already be there with the costumes, and not doing *anything* once the show starts, so double duty is no hardship.

Then we were discussing props, and L, our prop lady was actually at Tribute rehearsal tonight, so she wasn't there. But B had a little stuffed handmade bird and she wanted L to take it and make four more. So she handed it to D, who is also involved in Tribute, to give to L. D seemed massively unhappy to take custody and responsibility of telling L anything at all about the bird (which with four buddies become the flock of birds that eat the breadcrumbs). The people who move the trees also manipulate the birds. Anyway, D just did not want to take the bird, and again I opened my mouth.

"Alternatively, L - if she doesn't sew herself, can find a Player with a sewing machine and the know-how to use it to make the birds for her." I ended up taking the bird home. Four more kinda like it coming right up (after my trip to Minneapolis, of course). No sweat - I have everything I need already. The birds will come out of the scrap box. I'll likely make them blue, as I have a ton of blue. But if I find a good red in the scrap box they might be red - red shows up really well.

And I am working auditions as well. And we've decided to take the photography digital for the "head shots" at auditions. And we got a grant to have the show sign-language interpreted. Probably the second show.

Fun fun. Packing tomorrow, and then up at ass-o'clock to get to the airport on Thursday.

Tags:

...Because I had a ticket to the theatre!

I went and saw a lovely production of "A Man of No Importance." I had a few friends in it, and I know the music a little bit. It was wonderful - and I cried only once. The play takes place in Dublin in probably the fifties or sixties (Rock is the wave of the future). Our hero is the conductor on a bus, but is very into literature and theatre. He's got a little group of friends who put on plays with him at the local Catholic church hall. He lives with his sister, and is fairly sheltered, idolizing literary figures, and Oscar Wilde is his Hero.

We open and he spies a young woman on the bus who he sees as Princess Salome - and decides that is the next play they are going to do. Through the show we find a man who has lived most of his life in his own head. It is a voyage of self-discovery - he realizes that it really is okay to be different. The song his sister sings in the second act slayed me - she is begging him to tell her why, when she has loved him her whole life, he couldn't confide in her - and she doesn't know him at all (she's just discovered that he is gay - well we've known for a while - but the poor man is so deeply in the closet, he doesn't even acknowledge it). The end of the song - after he's run out of the room, is her telling him that he has to know, no matter what, she loves him anyway.

And while they lose the church hall for their production (Salome being vulgar - the bishop bans them), and the Princess Salome girl moves away, his friends are determined to go on with their little troupe - perhaps in another church basement they know of. And while you get the idea he will never be completely comfortable with his sexuality, he likes his life, and he loves his friends - and they in turn think he is a good man - even if he is a "poufter."

Well done, all the way around. And they were certainly the hardest working cast! The set was ingenious - an empty box, but the various "sets" folded out from the walls - there were four different fold out sets - the confessional, Alfie and Lily's apartment, the neighborhood bar, and the butcher shop Lily's significant other owns. Every other space is created with chairs in the wide opens space when all the other sets are closed. Even the bus! Really clever and creative. And the song "The Streets of Dublin" - likely the most well known of the songs in the show - was really amazing.

So anyway, that is why I missed Show tonight. I shall have to download the episode and watch it this weekend.

Tags:

theatre

Apropos of nothing in particular.

I had forgotten how much I love the opening sequence of "West Side Story" for the pure theatricality of it. The quiet beginning before the music goes all frentic. This fairy tale was ground breaking when first introduced in 1957 and made into a film in 1961.

Some of the best musical theatre of its time.

Tags:

I saw a friend in a show this past weekend. She was one of the wives in the British farce "Run for your Wife."

On the whole, the show was good. The set rocked, the lighting, while limited because of the venue, was good, and the actors were very funny. The man playing John and the man playing Stanley held the show up fairly well. And my friend, R, and the other actress who played John's wives were quite good. The gentlemen who played the two police sergeants were very funny, and they did an amazing job not being cutouts of each other. The only problem I had was with the actor playing the flamingly gay upstairs neighbor. He was a little too awkward, a little too mincing, a little too flamingly, obviously, fluorescently gay. He would have been far more interesting as a character if he had toned it down and was a little less in the stratosphere with his shrieking.

On the whole, a fairly standard British farce. Premise: a man, who works as a taxi driver, got into an altercation and is injured during a mugging. He is taken home to his wife Mary by a police detective after a night in hospital, only to realize he is in the wrong home. He is *supposed* to be home with his wife Barbara. Into his trying to escape Mary to get to Barbara and get back on his very precise schedule, he confesses to his upstairs neighbor Stanley, who becomes his accomplice.

Lies, hilarity, and (flaming gay) Bobby ensue. Stir well. Repeat. Eventually John comes clean, but the whole thing is so far fetched the police detectives don't believe him.

I laughed like hell. B+

Tags:

real life,
theatre

This weekend was EMACT Festival weekend. EMACT is the Eastern Massachusetts Association of Community Theatres. So from Friday night to Sunday afternoon I saw LOTS of theatre. I saw eleven shows from the audience, listened to a twelfth from backstage and missed one because I was hyperventilating in the green room.

So thoughts and impressions of the pieces I saw:
( Starting with Session One: Friday Night )

All in all, an exhausting weekend. I need a weekend to recover! So while I go through the backlog of email and lj posts (hi there, skip-eleventy-billion!) tell me, what did I miss?

Current Mood: awake

Tags:

real life,
theatre

Okay, I'm gonna say some things that are not going to be a surprise to most of you. Confession time. Ready?

I am a complete musical theatre dork. I have no idea what happened at the Oscars, but am a HUGE fan of the Tony awards. Seeing all the actors of Broadway together is exciting. It is exciting because you *know* these folks work their asses off night after night.

I love the form. I love the storytelling. I love the music. I love the creativity. I love that the songs usually have something to say (even if it is silly and/or crazy). It takes a whole hell of a lot for me to *hate* a musical.

I can be indifferent (Jersey Boys? really? Okay fun music, but it is not *new.* Contact - the first and ultimate juke box musical - I still enjoyed it as an experiment). But outright hate? Hmmmm....

Even the borderline-bad concepts have something to recommend them (whoever thought Les Miserables would make a hit musical? Big-ass depressing French novel - or Oliver - a big-ass depressing English novel). Then we have the socially conscious. Carousel took on domestic violence, and South Pacific took on prejudice. Rent became the battle cry of youth in the nineties. Now we have Spring Awakening dealing with ignorance, confusion, sexuality, and puberty - which I also have no desire to see (can you say depressing?).

So while the concept of "Lord of the Rings: The Musical" makes me think "That right there? Likely nothing but a hot mess." However, having heard some of the music, it is lovely. I can't imagine how they could tell the story of the LotR journey in any kind of meaningful way in a stage production. But the ethereal style they made the elvin music contrasts and complements the folky drinking-song-style of the hobbits.

So while I have no real desire to *see* it staged, the music has intrigued me. I can see the writers of the music doing something really fine with a retelling of an Arthurian legend. Or Merlin. Or anything uniquely British and from a thousand or so years ago.

There. Done. Off my soapbox for the night. :D

Current Music: LotR: the Musical

Tags:

So the new laptop with the new job is a MacBook Pro. Now the last job with the last laptop was an IBM thinkpad. And we were strongly discouraged from putting any other applications on the laptop than what was needed for our specific job. Specifically, no iTunes.

But the new laptop comes with it already installed. And the new job doesn't particularly care (at least there is no irritating popup discouraging it every single frickin' time you turn it on).

So today, I downloaded my first album and loaded it into my iTunes. "Legally Blonde, the Musical" which seems to work incredibly well as a musical. The music is cute, bubbly, and meshes well with the story. Love the opening number.

"They're just like that couple from Titanic, only no one dies, omigod you guys!"

In other observations... it is too warm to do this (currently 40), but it is snowing anyway.

Current Music: Legally Blonde, the Musical

Tags:

Random Bits

the lint you find in the corners of your pockets...

Life in the Theat-ah!

I Survived My High School Reunion

Busy busy busy

Related to my last post...

Many Reviews! Find a New Adventure! Musical Theatre! A Cappella!

Well

This week has been highs and lows...

Come to the Cabaret...

(no subject)

Whether the weather...

Pokes head up. What'd I miss?

Mondays...

life, the universe, and theatre!

Life in the Theat-ah!

I did not see Show tonight... But I did see a show...

Sapm spam spamity spam.

That's Just Crazy

Offline since Friday mid-afternoon...

(no subject)

OMIGOD OMIGOD you guys!

Profile

Syndicate

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags