Category Archives: Theater

New York, New York

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My impending trip to New York to see The Story of My Life (see picture above)  is looking better and better. My sister reserved us a hotel downtown a few blocks from the theater, at a reasonable price. So, we’re not paying a truckload of money, but we will also not be staying in the ghetto. There’s been some press on the show, including this interview, which makes me happy. I think the show opened in previews yesterday. I haven’t looked to see if there are reviews yet. I am torn on this; a part of me wants to see but another part of me would rather be surprised. And also, if it’s a bomb (which I feel like it won’t be…am I jinxing it?) I don’t want to read about it and then be disappointed. But…I know myself and know that I will probably look eventually. If they are even available.

Edit: I did look, and there’s nothing till Feb. 20th. So I have three weeks to decide.

BUT, even if the show is a bomb (knock wood, knock wood, knock wood) the trip might be worth it, because my sister and I are going to go on….drumroll please…. The Sex and the City Hotspots Tour!  A friend told me about this tour during a marathon post-Sex and the City: The Movie discussion, and I forgot about it until a few days ago. This could be totally lame; well, it IS dorky, but whatever. I don’t care. My sister found a site that had a little bit of a discount, and all the testimonials were really positive. Plus, it’s 3.5 hours. Crazy! And they play clips from the show and movie of the sites we are about to see. And you can go out and buy stuff. And evidently get cupcakes, according to the front page pictures. So much fun!  

Now I just have to get through the next two weekends and I’m off! I can’t wait. 

Video Sound Clip of the Day: Honestly, I’m just excited to get to see the dude who sings this so brilliantly perform. This is my favorite song from A New Brain. An obvious pick? Maybe. But I still love it.

And They’re Off

Oh Lauren, how I miss thee

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Just went over to EW.com, in need of a break after reading grant applications all afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised to see Lauren Graham gracing the front page!

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Almost didn’t recognize her with blonde hair, did you?

Anyway, there’s an interview with her by EW’s Michael Ausiello that’s worth checking out. She talks about playing Miss Adelaide in the upcoming Guys and Dolls revival, her potential new show with Arrested Developmentcreator Mitchell Hurwitz (!!!), and is pretty blunt about her feelings on the Gilmore Girls ending. I’ll put that here:

I also think a lot of fans…
…were disappointed with how it ended.

Yes.
But for me, when you have a bad breakup, going back and dating the guy again is not really going to change the breakup. It didn’t end in the way I think any of us would have liked — and that is a disappointment for me as well. And a sadness, really. When the reruns come on now I think about the path it took, and it makes me sad. I wish we would have known it was the end when we shot the final episode, quite simply. But we can’t go back and change that. And I’m not sure a movie would help. What helps me is to try and do other things in my life and do work that I like. I don’t know that going back to the show is the answer. But there are people who are still really devoted to it, and I understand that, too.

Wow, Lauren. I do believe that’s the first time I’ve heard you – or anyone else from the Gilmore camp – admit you kinda fucked up the show. It’s…oddly satisfying. Read the rest of the interview here.  Buy tickets to Guys and Dolls here.  Please buy them! I’m not going until April and want to make sure it’ll still be running.

Video of the Day: Man, I miss this show. I haven’t watched it much since it went off the air; I needed a break, as when it WAS on the air, I watched an average of 2 episodes day. (Seriously.) Maybe I’ll re-watch it this year. Anyway, this is one of the best scenes in the series, IMO. What makes it is the faint rattle at the end. Please come back to my TV screen soon, Lauren! I miss you!

(For the record, I can recite this whole scene from memory. I did it once in front of a friend, and I think it scared her.)

Broadway baby

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2009 is turning into an exciting year for the theater-musical-loving dork in me.  (Come to think of it, the tail-end of 2008 is/was, too. A few weeks ago I saw Grey Gardens with the fabulous Barbara Walsh at the Studio Theater here in DC, and in a few hours, I’ll be seeing the pre-Broadway revival of West Side Story. But, back to 2009…)

… In April, I’ll be going to New York with my family to see the revival of Guys and Dolls with the coolest mother in recent TV history (and a woman who can wear the crap out of  a pair of jeans), Lauren Graham.  Already, that was enough. Lorelai Gilmore Lauren Graham on Broadway? And I’m gonna get to see it? Get out!

But wait, there’s more! But first, let me back track: Thanks to friend of the blog, Nicki, I was recently introduced to the off-Broadway show, A New Brain. (The show’s only been around for 10 years, so it’s no wonder I didn’t know about it.) For those who haven’t heard it, and who are musical lovers, I highly recommend it. It’s a really beautiful score. You have to really listen to it – the first time I did was at work and I got distracted and lost in the last set of songs – but once you know the play and understand what’s going on, it’s really moving. Even made me tear up the first few times I really listened to it.  So, the main character in the show is this dude Gordon, this composer, who is played by Malcolm Gets. Who? My new boyfriend. He’s been in a ton of musicals, was nominated for a tony a few years back, but you’d probably know him from that old TV show, Caroline in the City. (Which I definitely did not rewatch in the last couple of weeks, rediscover just how hot he was [he totally was not that hot when I was 15] and that’s the real secret reason why I got A New Brain and discovered the dude’s musical talent to begin with. Nope. Definitely did not do that.)  So, turns out the guy is this insanely talented singer and musician who’s this classically trained piano player and has a beautiful voice.

So. Point is, there’s this new show coming to Broadway in February called The Story of My Life, starring Gets and the fabulous Mr. Will Chase.  (If any of you saw the filmed version of the last performance of Rent — he played Roger. And he was wonderful.) I found out about this, literally, three days ago, and as of late yesterday afternoon, I’m the proud owner of two FRONT ROW tickets to the new show.

To say I am excited is an understatement. First of all, I’m going to see a Broadway show! Second, it’s new! (I’ve always seen revivals or plays that are on first run, but have been around for awhile.) Third, I get to have a New York adventure! Fourth, I bought the tickets by myself, which, though it was expensive, it’s something I’ve never done before, and it made me feel all grown up. (I know I AM all grown up, but I hardly ever feel that way.) Fifth, uh…I’ll be extremely close to two beautiful men singing and dancing for two hours. What more could I ask for?

Happy new year to me!

Video(s) of the Day:

Reference points for anyone who’s interested – I’ll be seeing these guys:

Mr. Will Chase:

And Mr. Malcom Gets:

(Hee. That cracks me up)

And then later, this chick:

(I’m assuming she’ll sound much more like Miss Adelaide and less like heart-broken Lorelai)

Madlibs!

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Don’t ask me how I found this, because I’m not really sure. You know how it is, you’re looking up one thing on the Internet and end up somewhere completely different. That’s what happened to me last night. And it’s why I went to bed way to late, because once I started watching, I couldn’t stop.

Warning: If you all didn’t already know I was a total geek, well, the secret is out now. This is probably one of the geekiest things I’ve ever seen. And yet…so much fun!

So there’s this improv show in New York called Don’t Quit Your Night Job. Here’s the show’s description:
DON’T QUIT YOUR NIGHT JOB, the critically acclaimed comedy variety show featuring a revolving cast of Broadway’s brightest performing without a net, is presented monthly at The Zipper Factory Theater in New York City. DON’T QUIT is where Broadway goes to let its hair down. The late night happening of improv, music, sketches, stories, games and surprises was created by its stars: industry mainstays Steve Rosen (The Farnsworth Invention, Monty Python’s Spamalot), David Rossmer (Fiddler on the Roof, Titanic), Sarah Saltzberg (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) and music director Dan Lipton (The Coast of Utopia).  It is, truly, where Broadway and improv meet… and make out.

So one of the things they do is bring out these Broadway actors to perform songs (usually from the show they’re in currently), with one twist: Beforehand, the audience – with no prior knowledge of the song – is asked to replace words, Mad Libs style. The result: Well, based on the videos I saw last night, varies (like any Mad Lib), but when it works, it’s hilarious. Here are some of my favorites:

I Know Things Now

Nothing

When I’m Not Near the Girl I Love

And my (thus far) absolute favorite (it’s all in the performance)
I Can’t Take My Eyes off of You

Note to self: Go see this the next time I find myself in New York!

I’m still here!

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Don’t worry, I didn’t get swallowed up by Thanksgiving. After a long car trip, a fun four days and a 14 -fucking-hour car trip home, I am back.  Note to self: Never go anywhere over the Thanksgiving holiday ever again. People will just have to come to me. (This is totally going to work.)

So. Now that it’s officially Christmas season and the end of the year, I’m getting ready for my annual (if you read my old blog last year) blog on my top 10 Favorite Things of the Year in Popular Culture. There’s the obvious (Dr. Horrible, anything that NPH touched); the not-so-obvious (how the Tony Awards totally restored my love of musical theater. Not that it was waining. So maybe I should say enhanced my love); and the surprising (Mad About You Rewatch! Discovering the awesomeness that is This American Life! Discovering Wally Lamb and all of his glory!)

Oh, speaking of Dr. Horrible, it’s now available to order exclusively on Amazon.com, and will be released Dec. 17th.

But anyway, back to the Best of 2008 – I am open to suggestions! What did you love best in popular culture this year? I might split it up into different categories (music, film, etc.) Not sure yet. It’ll be a pretty tough competition. There was a lot of great stuff in 2008.

Video of the Day:
So, I made some mixes for the drive to and from Boston over Thanksgiving. One was a collection of some of my favorite show-tunes (shut up!) and the other was a collection of cover songs. This was one of the cover songs. It’s the performance that made me realize, “Hey, this guy could win this thing. This guys is GOOD. I guess I have to stop hating him, now.”