Random Collected Videos

Not wanting to spend lots of time blogging tonight, but wanted to share a few videos.... 

So I heard this old song for the first time a few weeks ago and fell in love with it.  It's such a sweet, sweet love song. I know it's bluegrass and some people aren't crazy for that, but I think it's absolutely beautiful.


 "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing," by the Browns



This video is ADORABLE. (Thanks, Will!)


So freaking cute.


Speaking of thanks to Will, he's on a roll as he also shared this amazing find tonight....



The 1967 televised Tony's. The first televised Tony Awards.

I haven't watched it yet, I want to be able to sit down and devote time to it. But look at those names. Gower Champion. Zero Mostel. Carol Burnett. David Merrick.

This is AWESOME.

The 66th Annual Tony Awards: Watchin' it Live....(EDITED: Now with video!)

Pre-Show:
Dang it, Tonys. Somehow - even when its been a bad season and I'm not excited about you....somehow I'm still excited right before you start. DON'T DISAPPOINT ME.

Predications:
I bet this year has been the highest grossing year on record. AGAIN.

Wants:
Please, oh please do some sort of special on the Les Mis movie! I want to see some more!

Oooh.... and I see Book of Mormon will be performing the opening number? I have no problem with celebrating all of theatre - past and present - at the Tony's but I get the distinct feeling we're still showcasing Book of Mormon because we have no other real shows to show off this year. That doesn't bode well.



CAT. IF YOU DECIDE TO LEAVE NOW, I'M NOT LETTING YOU BACK IN. DECIDE.

Aaaaaand.... it's beginning!
Opening Number:
Again. So out of all the musicals this year we couldn't come up with one opening number to create from them?
Although, if you did do something where last's year Best Musical presented the opening every year - as they mentioned - I guess that could be interesting. Sort of like a hand off from one year to the next.



Neil Patrick Harris: 
I like you, but....

Okay, another opening number!
What if life were more like theatre?
Okay, while I thought that was going to be really bland (because I'm so tired of songs like this) that actually turned out really fun! I'm shocked! Good job, Tonys! Who wrote that?
(EDIT: Apparently David Javerbaum and Adam Schlesinger from Cry Baby co-authored it as well as the ending recap song.)

Ahahahaha! Paul Rudd is explaining what a featured actress is. "They will pay to see these actresses who are as sweet as a Tibetan cake." Also very fun. We're off to a fantastic start! Since last year's introductions were really rough, this is awesome!

Um.... I don't know anything about the plays this year guys. I'm sorry I can't comment on any of them. I'm lame like that. Although from what I've heard I think Other Desert Cities is gonna sweep, especially since its kicking off winning the first award.

Whoa! And we're already kicking off the showcases with Newsies.
Gasp! Wasn't this the whole reason for Broadway's Moment in the Sun? Whoa, using that up awful early in the show, aren't we? *sarcasmsnarkysarcasm*
Seize the Day. Smart choice, guys. 
I wouldn't say the choreography is anything super special, but its really solid and well-handled. Its got a great stylization for it. Not as crazy about the newspaper work, but eh.
Nice showcase. That would make me really excited about seeing it if I was just going off this.



OH MY GOSH. GHOST IS GOING TO PERFORM. I've only seen clips. This should be intriguing.

Once took Best Orchestrations which I can totally get behind. While the movie itself is slow, it's gorgeous musically and I can see how it would be beautifully worked.

Best Choreography goes to Newsies. No surprise there.

Oh...Neil Patrick Harris....

Les Mis movie mention! *kermitflail*

Bernadette Peters! YAAAAAY! Finally. So far we've only had Patti Lupone & you as our broadway babies show up.

Follies showcase is up.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?! Oh my gosh, I don't know this show at all, but this does nothing for me. The number from the 2001 production ("I'm Still Here") was so, so much better. I still remember that performance. This is so...schizophrenic. I'm sure it's great in context, but.... not out of it.
AHHH! STOP! PLEASE STOP!



AHAHA! There's a guy in full Lion King costume just hanging out in the audience behind NPH. That's pretty funny. That will be even funnier if he doesn't feature later in the show.

Seriously, I've always wanted to know Follies better, but if I was going merely off that clip alone I'd run the other direction. ("Buddy's Blues" was performed if anyone knows it.)

Why do we want to see the cruise version of Hairspray again? Why?

Now Ghost.
Yes, that Ghost. Okay.... so they picked "Unchained Melody."
I have really strong ties to that song, so uh... unfortunately it just feels like its being butchered. I'm not sure that's what's actually happening, but I don't like it.
No, no, no, I didn't like these projections before and I don't like them now.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON. IS THAT THE GUY THAT MURDERED HIM!?
Ahhhh! When you pick songs where everyone sings all at once for the one time you're on national television and you can't understand the lyrics, uh.... 
I have no idea what any of that was about.



Once walks away with Best Direction. No surprise there. I'm calling it, I bet Once will finish us off with production numbers for the evening. The one legit piece up this year. (If, again, a tad boring at times its still pretty beautiful.) I'd go see it.

In the middle of speeches, I'm following Twitter hashtags, broadwayworld.com & Facebook. I feel like I'm watching with people even though I'm not! (I didn't ask anyone else to watch with me. I wasn't putting anyone through this with me.)

Jesus Christ Superstar. In the over ten years I've been watching the Tonys, I've now seen this performed on here three times.
Title song. Yup.
Although, really, I'm not sure what other song you'd showcase from this show. Heaven on Their Minds? Not as exciting. Not as catchy?
Fun fact: This was one of the first shows I ever watched performed on the Tonys, actually. I walked in on it in 2000 and happened to catch their number and Kiss Me, Kate's. The next year I started watching the full broadcast.
I don't like the weird dancing shadow-girls in the background. This feels like something from the 60's. Is this one set in the 60's? Choreography could support that.
Every time this show gets done, everyone is determined to modern the life out of it.
Whoa. Crowd went wild.



Matthew Broderick is in Nice Work if You Can Get It?

Ahaha! Amazing Spiderman commerical during the Tony's.

Hm.... I thought I'd seen it three times, but the Internet Broadway Database is telling me this is the only other time its been revived since 2000. Maybe another case of re-performing? My bad.

Chairman of the American Theatre Wing......but with ANGELA LANSBURY!
They knew they had to bring him out with someone that would keep people's attention. Or, at least she'll keep theatre people's attention.
Oh wow. NPH is hanging via Spiderman style behind them. It's a little silly, but it's at least getting us through this very boring and expected spiel. Very nice. Applause.

Hm... everyone is commenting how this is the worst Tony's ever. Amusement. That's the comment every year. Considering how low my expectations were for this telecast, I'm partially enjoying myself.

Christian Borle for Peter & the Starcatcher. No surprise there. I would really like to see that one. I really wish they'd show clips from plays.
Aww...! He thanked his mom!

Hey, its Matthew Morrison! He has a beard.
Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Ooo..... she has a really pretty voice. I wasn't paying attention. Who is she? She looks familiar. KELLI O'HARA. No wonder! (Light in the Piazza.)
Matthew Broderick is Matthew Broderick, but at least I've followed what's going on in this segment!
Well his segment got boring and I'm not crazy about the choreography, but I'd go see it for her! Gorgeous!



Once takes Best Book. That's got to be a tough show to get right, so good job.

I'm noticing a severe lack of Broadway royalty this year so far. That makes me sad. So far we've gotten Lansbury, Bernadette, Lupone & O'Hara. James Earl Jones is there, we just haven't seen him as much yet.

Once takes Best Sound Design.

"The Broadway League is proud to announce another record-breaking season."
Blah blah blah blah......blah blah..... Wait, some shows this year featured unexpected melodies? Did I misunderstand that? Wait.... I think she was talking about plays. Sorry. I can accept that. I was gonna say, did you miss "Unchained Melody" earlier?

Play Segment:
Peter & the Starcatcher clip! I would love to see this! Cute!
Okay, the plays are really rocking it tonight. Maybe it was an awesome year for plays this year. If so, that is awesome.
One Man, Two Guvner's is freaking hysterical! Look that clip up if you missed it! (I'll try to add in video clips later.)
"STELLA!"





I finally found the One Man, Two Guv'nors bit in the above clip, but you'll have to fast forward to 2:24 to see it. I think its worth it. Also, that clip will feature its segment for A Year in Plays if you're interested in that as well.

Um. Why is Josh Groban going to be on the Tony's?

Judy Kaye had a great awards speech. My favorite so far. Always knew her name, but did not realize she was the original Carlotta or that she was Emma Goldman in Ragtime! Two of my favorites!

Okay, Neil Patrick Harris, you've been great, but can we get someone new next year?

Porgy & Bess is next! AUDRA MCDONALD! NORM LEWIS!
If you don't know Mr. Lewis, you should check out the song "The Devil You Know" from Side Show. He's got a great voice. And if you don't know Mrs. McDonald, well, you should check out anything she's ever done. *love*

Neil Patrick Harris is going to sing again.... In the classic "let's sing songs from every broadway show" segment. I swear they do a segment like this every year. I like hearing all the songs and references but I wish we could find some new way to accomplish this. Am I being picky there?



Oh well. At least it lead into Best Score....Sheryl Crow? Sheryl Crow's presenting? Oh. She wrote for something entitled something Diner. Okay.
Whoa! Bonnie & Clyde was nominated for something? (Wildhorn.)

Goes to Newsies. Eeeh.... I've heard some of the new music. The original music is great, but....

"LOOK MA! A TONY!"
Okay, that was cute.

PORGY & BESS.
Excuse me, I'm gone for a second.
Man I loved hearing her sing "Summertime" and I looooved all the singing. Lots of awesome energy. So, so sad I can't see that one. I don't know this show that well and I would love for this to be my introduction.
This reminds me of the year the Ragtime revival stole the show.



Rock of Ages commercial. LOL. Um. Yes, I will be going to see this. Probably opening weekend. Even though I'm not entirely sure it won't be terrible. In fact, I think it might be. But man the marketing's been great on it. And I've heard that's supposedly Tom Cruise's actual singing and if so, then that's phenomenal. (You can find clips on amazon.)

Josh Groban is introducing Once? Is there a connection here I'm missing?
Once seems fine and pretty, but this song wouldn't make me go see the show if I knew nothing about it.



I'm confused why that girl is standing in the middle of this song and looking confused. I suspect she is the Girl, but.... so far her whole feature is to stand there and look overwhelmed. I did like that bridge section though. Nice build. Wait, didn't they meet over a vacuum cleaner? Is that still in there?

WHY DO WE CARE THAT THIS THE "FIRST TIME EVER FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN"?! I don't care that you're going to reshow Hairspray. They keep reperforming on the Tony's. It's a great show, but pick another one.
Ah. Apparently there was a Josh Groban slam in Once and its an inside joke from the movie. That's pretty cute.

Also, as much as I like "Falling Slowly" I'm impressed they didn't choose that one. Good job. 

I always like seeing the Broadway signs on the Tonys. They always make me happy.

Evita is coming up next. With Ricky Martin.

Jim Parsons introducing Best Play! Yay!
Whoa, Tony goes to Clybourne Park? I'm surprised. Is that an upset?

*blinks* It's Ziva from NCIS! Introducing Evita. With Ricky Martin.
That went about as expected. He was okay.
And in the feature for Evita, Eva Peron got to sing I think two lines.
I've never been able to get into this show.



They're really pushing this Hairspray from the High Seas thing. That's really getting old. What was it last year?

They also keep mention---

LES MIS TRAILER! *kermitflail!*



They also keep mentioning Hugh Jackman coming up so I'm crossing my fingers it'll be something awesome with the Les Mis movie. SHOW US RUSSELL CROWE.
Seriously, everytime I wonder if Crowe will be able to sing "Stars" all I hear in the back of my mind is:
"Can he sing, can he sing?"
"Hear, I have a note--"
"LET ME SEE IT."

Godspell was revived? CAN WE PICK OTHER SHOWS TO REVIVE?!
Bring Back Birdie. I want to see Bring Back Birdie on the Tonys.
Oh YES. DO A FLOP SEGMENT. OH PLEASE DO A FLOP SEGMENT. Carrie's already back!!
That would be awesome.



Awww! Is that poor guy trying to pick up some of the confetti? Maybe not.

Patti Lupone! Mandy Patinkin! Okay. That segment was great. Introduction for Best Revival of a Musical.
PORGY & BESS! WIN! WIN! WIN!

Happy, happy, happy....

Aaaand right after that.... FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON THE TONYS.... LIVE ..... Hairspray  on the HIGH SEAS!
I'm not kidding. They just said that.
Why is this getting so much importance. Seriously. They're on a cruise ship. It's a musical on a cruise ship. This is nothing new, people.



Darn it, Hairspray. I want to hate this and your music is so freaking catchy.

Wait, wait, wait.... Leap of Faith will be our final performer for the evening?

And Hugh Jackman is just getting a special award? I don't care! SHOW US THE MOVIE.

Porgy & Bess is trending on twitter. That's hysterical and awesome. 

I love how the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre gets presented earlier, not televised, and given a five second clip of the speech, while Hugh Jackman is about to receive some sort of award for....what exactly? I mean, he's awesome, but uh....
For his "extraordinary contributions to the Broadway community."
I know he's raised a lot of money for the community, and that's really, really wonderful, but.... Lifetime Achievement? LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT?! Nothing?
His speech, though, especially to his wife was really sweet. I'll give him that. He always seems so nice. She apparently surprised him, he didn't know she was going to be the one presenting it to him. Cute.

"I'm sad to announce that that production of Hairspray was just taken over by pirates....of Penzance."
Okay, that was sort of cute NPH. (He's been doing mashups all night.)

The Guy from Once took Best Performance for an Actor in a Musical.
He's thanking the ensemble! Good job, you!
Oh my goodness. Just gave a beautiful speech about his mom who just lost her life to cancer.

What is Candance Bergan wearing exactly? I just looked up.
The guy from One Man, Two Guv'ners won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Play! I'm so excited for him - that performance earlier was so, so funny! YAY!
He seriously just beat out Philip Seymour Huffman, James Earl James and Frank Langella. I would be speechless too.
Awww! Another great speech! Applause, applause.

Oh.... Here we go. Leap of Faith.
I can't pinpoint why I didn't like that.... I did at least understand everything that was going on, which after some of the other performances of the night, is a major plus. But I just didn't really like it. Esparaza looks really out of place in this show. There's a ton of energy here, they're really working hard. Anyone else? What did you think?



YES. Last year's winners of Best Musical (Book of Mormon) will be presenting for Best Musical. I can totally get behind that. Much better than Chris Rock. I was kind of dreading the announcement of who it would be.

Ahahaha! I don't know who this lady is (winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Play) but telling presenter Christopher Plummer "Sir, you were my first crush, When that whistle blew in Sound of Music...." was super cute.
I like her. She's really funny. And genuine. She was from the play Venus in Fur. 



WHAT DO YOU MEAN COMPLETE SIGNAL LOSS?!

.....
....

Okay. We're back. Dish, don't do that to me.

AUDRA MCDONALD. AUDRA MCDONALD MUST WIN.
(Best Leading Actress in a Musical)
Hey! Bonnie & Clyde got another nomination!
AUDRA MCDONALD FOR THE WIN! Her first Tony for a Leading Actress. Yes. You rock, Audra.

Ah. Royal Caribbean was one of the Tony's sponsors. That explains a lot.

We're up to Best Musical.
Winning Best Musical changes your life. You're transformed from an artist...to an artiste.
Tonight, we, who are the Broadway establishment!

That was really funny, guys. Good job.

I wish I could find video of that. I'll keep looking.

So Once or Newsies?
I'm calling Once. 

Once! 
 
That introduction was so good, these guys should host next year.

So! Bad to okay productions, a couple great ones, a mostly wearying host and an enjoyable evening mostly because of my low expectations. And, despite it all, because I still love theatre.

I do like this writing-the-end-song-throughout-the-show bit they've done two years now. I really liked the rap last year (mostly because Miranda wrote it.)



Goodnight everybody! If anybody else watched it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

Catching Up: Class, Tonys, Articles and More.

Let's play catch up!

The Wedding Class....
....is mostly why I've been away. It was a wedding intensive class that began this past Sunday through Wednesday (where I graduated to Pomp & Circumstance, ha) and lasted from 8:30 - 5:30 every day in the city. And paranoid me left at 6:30 every morning to ensure I would beat traffic and make it to class on time.

And while I was rather terrified to go through the first hands on experience (since this was my first time around other designers) everything went okay. I learned a lot and it was really kind of nice to have a four-day designing focus, rather than multitasking computer, order taking, satisfying customers, etc. Not that those things are bad. Just that it was nice to strictly soak up some design wisdom and let some of it gel in my head a little better. Especially for wedding work.

I did solidify a few styles (one of which we just used today in the shop) and learned a few crazy things as well. For one, I never thought I'd be able to complete a composite flower which is several flowers put together to form one large bloom. So she showed us how to make a glamela (glad blooms) and we completed one and then she quickly showed us a composite rose. And it looked easier than I expected. So while we had some extra time on our hands this morning I wanted to make one while I could still remember how: 

 

In this picture it kind of looks like one giant bloomed-out rose, but that's kind of the whole point too.  That's actually three roses put together. I would love to make more of these, I think they're really beautiful. (And I was so excited to make one.)

Anyway, I essentially was coming home, eating dinner with grandma, rewriting my notes and crashing.

But I saw some awesome girls....
.... and had a chance to spend the night with them before my class started.  :) I spent the night with the Puckett family and played games and sang karaoke and had a general blast. Maybe I can sneak over there one more time before summer is up. ;)

Did I mention the Tonys are this Sunday?
Oh wait, I haven't.
Um.
I'm just not excited this year. I'll watch them (and blog inner-monologue style) but I'm just not anticipating them this year. I wasn't really last year either and they pleasantly surprised me and gave me lots of hope, but look at this years Best Musical lineup:
Once
Newsies
Leap of Faith
Nice Work if You Can Get It

Now. Not that I'm not excited for Newsies to finally be on Broadway (although, honestly, I'm not all that crazy about some of the new music I've heard) and not that I don't think Once can do well there (although, honestly, it is pretty slow in some places.) But the top three are all based off movies and the last one - while it has a new story - is essentially a Gershwin review. Where's the originality? It's nowhere. At all. And it just kind of depresses me a bit.
Okay, so it was a slow season for new stuff. How about the revivals?
Evita
Jesus Christ Superstar
Follies
Porgy & Bess 

I am VERY excited to see Porgy performed because it features none other than Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis (ahh!) but I've also heard amazing things about the supporting cast as well. That one, I'm stoked for. But the others? How many times has JCS been revived recently? Evita? Nothing new. Follies? Great show from what I've heard (my shame, I don't know that one as well), but again, played a lot.

And I'd tell you about the plays, but sadly I know nothing about them. So consider the rest of it strictly referring to musicals, because I'm telling you up front I just haven't kept up with the plays. 

This article that was posted today makes me sad: For Broadway Fans, A Moment in the Sun. It mostly discusses how nice it is for Broadway to be mainstream for a little while (and it is) and how shows like Glee, Smash and High School Musical have been the main backbone for that happening.
While I haven't been able to get into those shows, I don't have a problem with them. In fact, I like that Glee does pull a lot of old showtunes and breathes new life into them for a new generation. My problem with the article is not that our "moment in the sun" is because of these television shows. My problem with the article is when you continue reading it gives the impression that Broadway is gleaming right now with success. Newsies is finally on Broadway. This is the highest grossing year ever. We are awesome.
I'm really frustrated with this. This is a terrible year for musicals. We've been in an originality drought for awhile now, but really? Not a single show? I mean, at least in the past we've had Memphis (that's a joke.)

I'm not upset with the television shows that the article claims: "I trace this surge in popularity back to 2006's "High School Musical." Sure, I despised it (and the endless sequels) with a fervent passion, as any true musical nerd would. It turned our beloved world into a pop singer-filled, Disney Channel-style, teenybopper show." but within our own community. Why aren't we encouraging and supporting good, original art and pushing for it to be on the Great White Way where there's a better chance a larger community will see it? Why aren't we calling foul for this? Why aren't we helping promote or demanding a higher quality? Why isn't someone at least trying something instead of just rewriting movies with songs?
Probably for the same reason I haven't raised a fuss this year. Because we have in the past and now we're tired and a bit jaded with the whole thing.
I do realize there is a lot happening in smaller venues now, off-Broadway and way way off-Broadway and that's great. But I also wish we could open back up that larger market where the creative shows could potentially gain more attention and maybe one day create more of a demand for thought provoking and high quality work.
Ah well, a girl can dream.

And let me reiterate - turning a movie into a musical isn't bad in and of itself. I just wish it wasn't seemingly every show right now or that they would do something new with it. Lion King is the perfect example. Its a movie to a musical and while it's not a perfect overall show, it is excellent in so many capacities. Puppetry work? Absolutely worth the hype. The opening number? Outstanding and worth every laud. Scenery? Music? Lovely. This is a great example of breathing new life and making something truly theatrical from something that's been done before. I realize that kind of brilliance can't happen every time - that's why its so special - but its an excellent description of what I hope for in movies turned musicals and why they can be good. 

Actually, I think I hate that article. I think its dumb. And seriously, how does an article entitled "Broadway's Moment in the Sun" not include....

....the upcoming Les Mis movie.
The Les Mis trailer is still gorgeous and I'm still a bit shocked it looks so perfect. This would be such a hard show to get right and I'm so excited by all the pictures! December seems just around the corner.

And yet, there's one nail biter beforehand. 
The Dark Knight Rises marketing keeps throwing me from one side to other. I thought the Catwoman poster was stupid, yet I love all the tv spots I've seen lately. So I'm hoping its actually awesome and the marketing team has just been confused this whole time. Or if not awesome, at least solid. Please, Nolan, I want a solid ending to a good trilogy. Pleeeeeease.

However, my boss is awesome and when I begged to please, could we please be done with the wedding work by 7:00 so I can go see this movie, please oh please she laughed and said of course. So Dark Knight Rises opening weekend, here I come. Mwee!!

Let's make up for that last article.
I can assure you, this one will do it. This is a story about how a five-year-old boy and his mother got onto the Avengers set, was able to take pictures with some of the cast and how awesome they were treated by all the cast members and crew. I love it. It's super cute, really heartwarming and very "aww" worthy.
The picture of him with Loki alone is worth it. (It's at the top, I won't spoil it.)

Have you heard that saying about the thunderstorms being a good omen for Thunder?
Cause I'm sure sick of it. EVERY. WEATHERMAN. EVERY. FORECAST.
But I am glad they won, I'm thrilled for them and I'll watch the finals. They actually make watching the game fun and intense to watch, which isn't saying I usually say in context with basketball. Ever. I think these are the first full games I've ever watched where a family member wasn't playing in them. So go Thunder! You are awesome. You actually have made me enjoy basketball.

That's the majority of what you've missed. We are launching into wedding season now which will keep me busy, but not like this past week. Hurrah! I should be as back as I ever am.

The 65th Annual Tony Awards

I thought this year I would blog as the Tony's went along. Therefore, this is more of a collection of sporadic thoughts as it moves along...

Overall Impression:
I wasn't excited to watch tonight. I didn't know any of the shows going in and I really thought it would be a lot like last years, which really disappointed me. But the nominated numbers -especially the first hour- was so full of energy and looked great!

Opening Number
Um. I'm trying to figure out what they were going for with this...

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying - "Brotherhood of Man"
Of course, you know they're going to perform this song.
I really loved the choreography for this show! So fun. Lots of energy. Great ensemble.

Commercial
What, you're really offering The Book of Mormon for only $1.99 on amazon.com for the next 24 hours? Way to go show! I may not actually take you up on that, but I wish more shows would provide opportunities like that.

Catch Me if You Can
Wowza! Energy, energy, energy! This is what I'm talking about, Broadway! New shows with old Broadway pizzazz.
I had no interest in this show before. But to see *looking up names* .... waaaait, wait, wait...that agent was Norbert Leo Butz?! That was a total knockout performance. If he doesn't win, I'm gonna be so disappointed.
I LOVE, LOVE shows that use every note of their music in the choreography and they really nailed it. Nice.

Check this out:


Surprises
Wow. I'm really excited to see War Horse take Best Direction of a Play. That was unexpected to me, but from all the clips I've seen from that show it looks incredibly well handled. I was totally expecting that to go to Normal Heart.

The Scottsboro Boys
Oh man! There are some REALLY great voices this year on Broadway! I'm really excited by what I've seen so far for this year! (And I'm kind of shocked by that.) Seriously, I can't believe this is closed. I would be really interested in hearing more from this show. That song was really nice and really nicely sung.
Hey, while I'm here, anyone know what's with Santa Fe? I mean, RENT has "Santa Fe" and the whole theme for a character in Newsies is getting to Santa Fe and now this show is referencing the idea of getting to Santa Fe.... I've never really known why that was considered a dream place for these characters.

Wait, Victoria Clark is in Sister Act? Where have I been this season?

The Book of Mormon
I've had my curiosity piqued by this show. Its composed of a team from South Park and Avenue Q which should tell you a lot up front. Again - I'm not really sure what I make of it.

Neil Patrick Harris/ Hugh Jackman Duo
I wasn't really crazy about this, honestly. They sound great together, and play off each other well, but I feel like this sort of montage has become really expected on the Tonys.

Hey, it's Bono!
"When I saw the Tony Awards on our schedule, we assume we had been, y'know, nominated."
"Seems we missed the deadline."
"Cute."
"In rock and roll, you see, deadlines are just your manager trying to get you back on the bus."
Aw, that was a really nice segment, you guys. Good job Bono & The Edge. That was really well handled.

Spiderman: Turn off the Dark
First off, I love the look of the pop-up set. And musically speaking, this song was really pretty. But lyrically, I'm a little confused. "If the world should end tomorrow, there's no need for a savior or a friend"?
As in...if the world ends tomorrow, I guess there isn't a need for friends...if we're all dead?
If the world ends tomorrow - but we haven't died yet - wouldn't you want friends more than ever?
I guess it comes down to how you define the world ending. Maybe I'm just as confusing as the lyrics.
The lyrics just remind of the title all over again. It just sounds...turned around. And confused.

Jim Parsons is in The Normal Heart?
Don't believe it, Jim Parsons. The League announces every year is the highest grossing season on Broadway.

Getting to see the facades of these theatres makes me miss New York.

Robin Williams has a beard. I mean...an intense beard.

Sister Act
Hm... I wasn't really impressed by this. The voices were great, but the song itself felt way too standard.

THE PUPPET FROM WAR HORSE. Oh my goodness, it's really beautiful. I'm torn on whether I would see that show. Honestly, I would love to see the show - but uh. After reading Will's review of the book, I don't think I could handle watching it! Such a heartbreaker.

I think it's really awesome that Memphis performed for low-income schools. I think it's even more awesome that the students learned the choreography ahead of time for the finale and surprised the performers by jumping up in their seats at the end and performing it with them. That's what theatre is all about.
But as for the song itself, I'm just still not impressed.

It's only 9:00. Why are presenting Best Play now? There's still an hour to go. I think they did this last year too. Lame, Tonys. Still lame.
While I like getting more (and longer) musical moments, plays are still just left out in the cold and that's sad. Why does Memphis get to perform again?

Anything Goes
One of the reasons I love to watch Sutton Foster is because she always looks like she's having a blast in whatever she's in. Nice to see tap represented.

So apparently the plays get a two minute segment with a few lines spoken from each one in a montage. Sigh.

Company
I'm still not crazy about Neil Patrick Harris as Bobby... But I guess I'll see. (I really wish I could have seen Raul Esparza in the role a few years ago.) I'm most excited because I really don't know too much about this show and I'll get a full experience this week.

The Tribute - In Memoriam
Arthur Laurents... Tom Bosley... Shannon Tavarez... Elizabeth Taylor... Jerry Bock... Joseph Stein...

Okay, Sutton Fosters winning speech was really cute.
....
What is THIS?! Why are they singing It's Raining Men!? Why is Paul Schafer here? What are these costumes?! WHAT IS THIS?! GO AWAY! STOP! STOP! WHY IS CHRIS ROCK GOING TO PRESENT BEST MUSICAL?! No, Tonys, YOU WERE DOING SO WELL!
Priscilla Queen of the Desert is apparently what just happened to the Tonys. Sigh. Maybe if there were more context. Instead of...just appearing...

And Best Leading Actor in a Musical is....NORBERT! YAAAAAY!

Again. Why Chris Rock? Whyyyy?
That was terrible.
Oh, Tonys. You did so well for the most part...until the last fifteen minutes.

Anyway.
On a positive note, I'm so excited to see some of the shows that appeared this year. This is really encouraging! Win me back, Broadway! Win me back!

Won't you take me down to Memphis on a midnight ride?

Flying across the land, trying to get a hand, playing in a travelin' band...

In unrelated news:

Apparently the Tonys are this Sunday. Who knew? I actually thought they were next week. Will I watch? Oh, probably. I don't really know what's up, but I didn't last year either and still got excited at the last minute, so I'm expecting similiar results.
Also, Spiderman: Turn off the Dark will be performing (though not eligible for any awards since it hasn't officially opened yet) so that should be interesting. The show is officially frozen now and back open to critics. It will officially open Tuesday, June 14th. (This looks like a pretty well-handled, fair new review if you're interested. It also appears to note most of the major changes.)

Speaking of next week, Company is playing throughout the week at a local movie theatre. Holly's already mentioned her interest (yay!) so I think we're going. ;)

Tonight I discovered Plants vs. Zombies and I have to admit that's a pretty fun game. Not necessarily too challenging so far, but amusing to despair for suns while zombies attack your garden.

The stories from Jopin still break my heart. I don't even know what to say in light of this new struggle.

In good news, I had dinner with Phyllis tonight which was wonderful as always. Chips and salsa may or may not have been involved. You never know with us (actually, you probably do.)

There are way too many anniversaries in June. I've already missed a few. No one else in my circle can get married in June. The limit has been breached.

Many of you read Epbot, but in case you don't, these silhouettes were just too amazing not to share. They're from Olly Moss' art show Paper Cuts. I have no idea who that is, but you should check out their blog because there are loads more (including Godzilla) and they're all wonderful. These are just some of the ones I was happiest to see:

Will, did we ever watch your full season of this? We should.

You know you're already singing it. I love the use of the map!

I thought this was the sweetest one. Up.

Sigh. I really, really hate to admit that it took me a second to get this one. And then all I could think of was a lion being drawn in crayon with a crown on his head... Maybe I have a block against lions. Or...maybe just against the obvious. *headdesk*

How many theme songs are stuck in your head now? :)

This one is merely for me. One of my favorite animes. Ride on, Cowboy.

And of course....
This made me smile. The days are just packed.

Oh, when it's your wedding day.

I've spent all day up to my elbows in wedding work and I'm so excited to show you soon how one of them is turning out. For one, its flowers we don't normally get to play with (which is fun) but also the color combo is just knockout. I'm not lead designer on that one (thank goodness) but I'm getting a ton of experience out of mimicking my bosses designs. She's a pretty incredible designer, so I'm really enjoying this opportunity to stretch my floral muscles a bit. This wedding provides challenges for both of us, which becomes amusing long after the shop is closed and we've been staring at our respective pieces for hours to get them just right.

Also, for an entirely different wedding, I had the opportunity this morning to make the bridal bouquet and I'm pleased with how it came out. I don't have much experience with handhelds simply because we don't do them as often. And considering I had spent the two hours before fighting with the smaller bridesmaids, I was surprised at how pleased the main piece turned out.

For those interested, work is apparently still being done on Carrie: an "exploratory workshop" is in motion, to lead to an Off-Broadway revival. Whoohoo!

Also, the Tonys are to be announced May 3rd. I would probably be more excited about this, but sadly I don't think I know of a single show that would be up for anything this year.

Tony's Recap: Nothing for it but a ragtime tune...

I'm sure you've all been waiting with bated breath.

Despite not being that excited about the Tony's, I still found myself running home from church to hurry, mow the lawn and leap onto the couch moments before it started. So it's still tucked down in there even with all the disappointment of the season. But I digress.

(my personal opinions only, as always)

Overall, I really felt this year's season - at least the musicals - were very mediocre, and that was heavily reflected throughout the Tony's. I felt like the actual awards show itself went smoothly enough, or at least as it ever does, but that there just wasn't anything to be excited about there. I did love the opening bit with host Sean Hayes who played the piano and mixed in classical music with Broadway showtunes. That was really cool. And the rest of the opening was fine, ending with quite the Green Day number that was too long. But there was no crossing fingers, there was no pulling for an underdog, there was nothing. And after watching the performances, I don't feel ashamed about that because this season just looked very...blah. Blah is a solid word for this.

Now for any interested, here's the breakdown:
The Design Awards Conundrum
I'm still ashamed they did away with handing the design awards out during the actual telecast (opting to do them online instead beforehand). Say what you will about making the Tony's mainstream - the Tonys will never be mainstream (at least not for long) and as a theatre lover I feel the designers who are so much a part of the work just get completely jipped. 5 second sound bites. That's all you get folks for winning a Tony award after all those hours and hours of designing a show. Nonetheless, the show still barely clocked in at exactly three hours and the Tony's don't get the pleasure of going over, so they had to cut something. Still, it's a shame.

The Plays:

Unusual for me, after listening to the plot descriptions of the plays (who also don't get enough airtime), I was more interested in them than the musicals. Sadly, Red will not be extending past it's allotted summer run, despite winning the big prize, several design awards and supporting actor. Another one that caught my ear was Next Fall.

The Highlight
We get it, we get it, Matthew Morrison and Lea Michelle from Glee are going to perform. We get it. Please. Not every commericial break.
Nonetheless, this was actually the highlight of the show for me. Wow! I mean, I prefer the traditional version of "All I Need is the Girl" but I was so happy to see one of my favorite showtunes pulled out that it didn't matter. It was still handled with excellence. And Lea did well with the very difficult "Don't Rain on My Parade." Very, very nice guys.

Distracting Random Question:
Is Daniel Radcliffe really that short? Or is Katie Holmes really that tall?

The Musicals (Now with video! Oo!):

I have to admit, I no longer feel bad that I chose not to keep up with this past season because I no longer feel there was a reason I should've. The four in contention were Million Dollar Quartet, Memphis, American Idiot and Fela!.

I was super excited to see what Fela! would bring to the table and quite frankly was left very confused by the end result. I mean, it's a cool concept, based off a true story of a man named Fela in Nigeria that used his music for civil rights but... is there actually a storyline in the show? Is it just his music? Is it his music at all? I have no idea what's going on! Though I'm glad it won for choreography, because that was some seriously awesome work.

Million Dollar Quartet (inspired by the one-time recording of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley & Carl Perkins) also left me sadly cold. Again...cool idea and wowIhadnoideathateverevenhappened, but it basically appeared to be another jukebox musical. Except for the opening song bit of "Down by the Riverside," I was bored.

Memphis which actually ran away with the Best Musical prize hopefully merely picked a terrible song for the telecast because the lyrics were pretty awful.
Case in point:
"And if you listen to the beat and hear what's in your soul, you'll never let anyone steal your rock and roll, nananana, nananananana, nananana...."

American Idiot actually was the only one I had any vague interest after watching all four but that's possibly because there was entirely too much going on and my tv was incredibly pixelated during the entire performance because of all of their flashing lights.

The Revivals:
Um...Catherine Zeta Jones? I have no words for her head-jerking, confusing performance. I'm so lost. If that's her typical performance...how did she win exactly?
Christiane Noll put everyone else to shame. Actually the two-minute piece she performed for Ragtime put just about everyone to shame but I'm slightly biased (it's my favorite).
Sadly, there was no Finian's Rainbow and Promises, Promises performed a strictly choreography-only piece that was cute but completely misused Sean Hayes.

I was wondering if my having a lack of love these past few years simply had to do with not having one to root for. And I'm sure that's partially it. But there's usually at least one big contender, and I just felt like this year just kind of scraped by. I know, I know, it was "the biggest year for profits in Broadway history" but that doesn't mean it was good.

So I was wondering if it was just me. But I loved all the songs that were well-written ("Back to Before," "All I Need...", "Don't Rain..."). In fact, those songs shined ten times brighter because of what I felt they were held in comparison to.

Any thoughts? Am I stuck on standards or are these really that ill-written? I feel like Fela! just may not be served well in a three-minute format, but maybe I'm wrong. I would love to discuss with someone (here or otherwise).

Won't you save me, San Francisco?

Truthfully, I have nothing to blog about tonight. Let's see what happens.

One of the computers went down again at work today. I thought my poor boss was going to explode. It's the motherboard again-- we apparently fell into the "two-week window" where Dell switched to a different type of motherboard for Teleflora products and something...went wrong with them. I don't remember now. Quality wasn't as high, something was off, blah blah blah, sensitive network card. We've been told so many things now that it just all runs together. So while three computers received new motherboards last week, we still have two with old ones (my boss tried to assure the representative they might as well go ahead and order two instead of one). If you've been following this whole ordeal, you know by now it's starting to sound like a joke. I keep wanting for some sort of punchline, a 'ba-dum ching!' in the background and flashing cameras to come out.
I know I should consider it a lesson in patience, but I am beyond upset with Teleflora for this insanity. While it was seemingly Dell's fault for the motherboard issue, we've been having a whole host of other problems with the software before this. Rar. This is ridiculous. Since February. Since February this saga has been unfolding. Since February I've been on the phone certainly weekly, and at times daily, with a technical rep to solve something. Where are the clowns, people? Send in the clowns.

(I know, I know. Sometimes I can't help myself. One of these days I'm going to try to write a post and see just how many theatre references I can make and how many you guys can guess.)

Speaking of, Catherine Zeta-Jones will be performing "Send in the Clowns" for the Tony Awards this Sunday at 7:00. And besides that and seeing what Fela! can bring, that's all I'm sort of curious/excited about in advance. Give me something exciting Broadway. Bring me back.

In happier news, I've about decided my birthday present to me may be buying tickets to see Train at Riverwind this year! (The fact that Nancy's Cupcakes are also in Norman just sweetens the deal.)

"Take me to my city by the bay..."

Sweet dreams, everyone.

Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony....

I survived! And so did my car. Thankfully. And instead of taking six or so hours (as I was initially nervous about), it only required three. Awesome. Chick-Fil-A was involved and therefore the entire trip was worth it. Sadly, however, I did not get started on Till We Have Faces. This summer, it has to happen. It's a must.

Apparently the Tony Awards are around the corner (June 13th). I, however, haven't kept up with the broadway scene in general this year. Truthfully, I lost interest a few seasons ago. Somewhere along the way I began to feel jaded and tired of defending something that kept turning out musicals like, oh, Shrek and Spamalot.
(Note: I've actually seen Spamalot. And I thought it was hysterical! This is merely an example of a genre. )

Nonetheless, I went and looked at the lineup. Essentially, I only recognize American Idiot and Fela!, but practically only in titles alone. Yes, I realize the former is the Green Day musical based off the record. And that pretty much ends my knowledge of all the Best Musical nominees (for anyone interested, the other two are Memphis and Million Dollar Quartet.)

But what really interested me was Best Performance of a Leading Man in a Play. Check out this loaded category:
Jude Law... Hamlet
Alfred Molina... Red
Liev Schreiber... A View from the Bridge
Christopher Walken... A Behanding in Spokane
Denzel Washington... Fences

Also, American Idiot is only up for Lighting & Scenic Design Awards. Explain to me how you can be up for Best Musical and not even nominated for direction or book categories? (It's not an original score, hence, it cannot be up for the music.) Blah, this is one reason I became so frustrated.

And no, I'm not ignoring Best Play. I simply just don't recognize any of them either:

In the Next Room or the vibrator play...Author: Sarah Ruhl
Next Fall...Author: Geoffrey Nauffts
Red... Author: John Logan
Time Stands Still... Author: Donald Margulies

Actually I recently read an article on Red and that it was about artist Mark Rothko starring Alfred Molina, and how Molina began his Broadway career in Art and is now coming full circle with Red but that's all I remember. I also read an article about In the Next Room but I remember nothing, so that certainly doesn't help you now.

Really, the only names I recognize are in the revivals and there I recognize them all. Ragtime, Finian's Rainbow, La Cage aux Folles, and A Little Night Music.

And Best Original Score:
Addams Family, Enron, Memphis, & Fences

Best Revival of a Play:
Fences, Lend Me a Tenor, A View from the Bride & The Royal Family

For any other nominations, click here.

Also, I love this. And am highly amused by this. (Thanks Will!)

G'night everyone! Sweet dreams!