While at work today, one of the customers I frequently assist ask me if I had heard what happened at the Wally World where I used to work.  Apparently, the electricity went out yet again.  Speculation was that someone had hit a light pole with their car.  Anyone else care to elaborate?  I just found the whole thing rather humorous because I had been there and done that as an associate at least twice.  Once a few years back when we were still a regular store and again in the wee hours of the morning last summer at the new supercenter.  Each of those times were quite boring.  Standing in the back in the Electronics department in the dark with only a flashlight can be quite tedious.  I do remember amusing myself by trying to scare other associates by sneaking up on them, tapping them on the shoulder, then shining the light at them.

The first instance was memorable because I was severely reprimanded for having wheelchair races  with other associates while waiting in the dark.  Which harkens back to  a cashier meeting  I once attended in a  pair of sweatpants and  sweatshirt.  Apparently, this was not suitable attire for a Customer Service Manager at 7 AM on a Saturday morning when you are not otherwise scheduled.  Aside from that, the person who addressed the issue to me was a member of management who had nothing to do with the situation.  I seriously considered wearing my tuxedo with top hat and tails to the next meeting.

HELLO EVERY PEOPLE!!! Today after a seeing strange man person at work at food store, I a go to the Mount plier to see some Little Womans at their practice. I a also meet a strange person called a Braxton Prendergast who is a just a evil man. He a has a very evil laugh and a evil sounding voice. He is a very evil man altogether. He a tell me he come from a very rich family from Hungry country. A country of Hungry? They have a no food? I so sorry; Braxaton must have a stolen all the food from the country and a make every people hungry, yes? I a not know.

I a also make acquaintance of a Professor Bhaer. He a very strange also. He a supposed to a come from land of Germs. He a supposed to have a Germ Man accent. He instead had a Irich broke. Some person a tell Professor man that he not like the Irich accent. Morat, he a say Liswathistani accent but no. Mr. B he say no Liswathistani accent. Wooly Sheep… excuse please.

Then a come part for evil man person. Mr. B he a say that Braxton was a very melomandactic… OH I A NOT KNOW THE WORD (melodramatic Morat.. JS). He a must know that other man I know I a met long time ago…. Dirt Sneak? Is a dat his name (Dirk Sneath, Morat…. his name is Dirk Sneath….AHHHHHH). But lady in audience who I know say Braxton was very bad, too (that would be Carol, Morat). I a tell you this man person is very strange, he a keep yelling at me. So I a say good night every people and lots of a gefilte fishes for all!!!

Instead of giving the whole laundry list of nominees for the Tony Awards to be presented on June 15, I will touch on a few of the biggies.

BEST MUSICAL

Cry-Baby (the latest 1980s movie to be turned into a huge musical extravaganza a la Hairspray)

In the Heights

Passing Strange

Xanadu (have I not mentioned this before? Amazing… and no… it is not about the home of the future)

BEST PLAY

August: Osage County

Rock ‘n’ Roll

The Seafarer

The 39 Steps (based upon the Hitchcock movie of the same name)

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL

Grease (panned heavily by the critics… thank goodness for the reality series that cast Danny and Sandy)

Gypsy (Patti LuPone gets her Turn as Mama Rose)

South Pacific (the clear-cut favorite in this category… still find it amazing that this is its first revival)

Sunday in the Park With George

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY

Boeing-Boeing

The Homecoming

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Macbeth (starring Tony nominee Patrick Stewart)

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL

Cry-Baby, Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan

In the Heights, Quiara Alegría Hudes

Passing Strange, Stew

Xanadu, Douglas Carter Beane

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (MUSIC AND/OR LYRICS) WRITTEN FOR THE THEATER

Cry-Baby, Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger

In the Heights, Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

The Little Mermaid, Music: Alan Menken; Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater

Passing Strange, Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald; Lyrics: Stew

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood

Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Rufus Sewell, Rock ‘n’ Roll

Patrick Stewart, Macbeth (who was a well-established star in the Royal Shakespeare Company long before becoming Captain Jean-Luc Picard)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Eve Best, The Homecoming

Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County

Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth

S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba

Amy Morton, August: Osage County

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL

Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park With George

Lin-Manuel Miranda, In the Heights

Stew, Passing Strange

Paulo Szot, South Pacific

Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL

Kerry Butler, Xanadu

Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Kelli O’Hara, South Pacific

Faith Prince, A Catered Affair

Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park With George

What surprises me is the Best Original Score Category. Is is original to have the score from a movie possibly with a few extra songs added to be considered? Two of the musicals listed are indeed movies turned into Broadway shows. I guess Young Frankenstein was not original enough to warrant a nomination. I really need to find a copy of the 1980 movie Xanadu to see if it was really as good as I remember because it might help to explain why it seems to have gotten so may nominations. Or the Johnny Depp starring movie Cry-Baby that I do not remember at all. Will this become the next Hairspray? So much for originality.

Premium Seating and Tickets to Sold Out Events

Now that the latest Indiana Jones movie has hit the theatres and has already been dethroned at the box office, I began to start coming up with sure fire ways to relaunch other 1980s blockbuster movie franchises… many of which ended on a sad or horrible note. We have already seen a new Rocky as well as Rambo feature. I kind of appreciated Rocky Balboa as a nice homage and wrap up of the previous movies (it was far better than the deplorable Rocky V). I lost interest in the shoot em up Rambo series after the second installment. I think Stallone should have come up with a good story for both franchises to interact; however, that might have been asking a little too much for his acting prowess.

How about a nice return of Jaws (not the James Bond character with metal teeth but the shark). Jaws the Revenge (I think it was called) was just too horrible to even get into. Anything anyone comes up with surely would be better than that debacle. How about a wonderful sequel to both the Jaws series and Finding Nemo?

The Beverly Hills Cop franchise took a serious nosedive with the third movie in the series. Audiences expected to see Eddie Murphy be funny as the wise cracking Detroit to LA detective Axel Foley (with or without the foul language). The third movie was almost a family oriented feature taking place at a theme park. I suggest combining Beverly Hills Cop with many of the movies in which Eddie appears as several characters. Why not have Axel go in search of the people responsible for the travesty that is Norbit and arrest them? I do see that a Beverly Hills Cop IV is in the earliest stages of development.

I think it is about time to dust off the Police Academy shelf. This could be another collaboration with Steve Guttenberg and company joining Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Murphy, AAAAAAND Eddie Murphy on a quest to find the villains who stole the careers of the other academy grads.

Or…. how about Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes? I think we have had only Attack and Return so why not?

Of course most of these franchises were products of their time and reflected the period.  Very doubtful that any of them would be able to start with anything near a fresh approach.

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Last Saturday while I was at the library, some of my other family members decided to take the little ones to the Ft. Wayne Children’s Zoo. When they returned, the highlight seemed to be seeing two rather enormous turtles “going at it.” Apparently, the spectacle drew quite a crowd. My four-year-old niece commented that she watched them wrestle. Following the spectacle, one of the animals could be heard letting out a great sigh (of relief?).

This story made me recall one of the most hilarious yet apropos movie reviews I have ever read or heard. The 1980 movie The Blue Lagoon tells the coming-of-age tale of an eight-year old boy and girl who were shipwrecked on a desert island following a shipwreck. As they age, the two (Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields) make all kinds of “discoveries.”

In 1991, Return to the Blue Lagoon was released which brings me to the review. Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert must have thought very highly of both films. Mr. Ebert recalled that the best thing about the original was “two turtles mating.” The scene must have been a wonder to behold! Unfortunately, the Return featured no such memorable scenes. Funny how the glowing reports have still kept me away from seeing either film. And where, oh where have the two stars gone oh where oh where can they be?
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Tonight’s rehearsal was primarily focused on vocals and what blocking we have learned for the songs in Act I of which there are 10. It was almost as if I had stepped back into a vocal lesson reflecting on what I had learned years ago about sound placement, breath support, projection, etc. and alot of it was nearly second nature. After my song was finished I decided to wait and see how the rest of the cast was coming along on their songs. Amazingly, there were only about lets see (Jo, Amy, Beth, Marmee, Prof. Bhaer, Laurie, Mr. Brooke, and Mr. Lawrence, and myself) 9 of us there. I have yet to see Rodrigo at a rehearsal, but I guess people are busy and have other commitments.

I must say that the young man playing Laurie has his work cut out for him. This role calls for a range of approximately 2 octaves soaring to a high A on the Treble cleft, but I think he is doing a fine job… just needs to open up and get that breath support flowing.

Some of the March sisters songs are fun and choreographed well once they learn them well enough to sing without music in hand and move around the stage at the same time.

Actually, a hard rehearsal but at least it seems that the cast is well on its way with just over three weeks to go before performances begin. The trip home was quite exciting with a lightning storm flashing all around, but little rain… so no ditchings 😀
Little Women (1933)

This morning in an effort to promote our upcoming production of Little Women, a few of the cast members, director, and a rather outspoken woman who was attempting to interest a few children in the children’s theatre later this summer, met at the library for an impromptu presentation for young minds. It was rather enjoyable as each of us in turn introduced ourselves by telling who were were playing, past theatrical experiences, and what theatre means to us. Our director lead a short intro to theatre in general and asked our audience of approximately 20 children who ranged in age from about 8-14 a few questions. I was really surprised to learn that a young girl of about 10 knew why the stage directions of “Downstage” and “Upstage” were so named. For those not in the know, stages used to be built on an incline because the audience seating was flat. As the performers moved up the slant or down, the audience had a better view of the action.

Later, the little peoples engaged in theatre games. “Who am I” involved the children walking around with signs on their back. On the signs were names of people, animals, and occupations. Harry Potter, bear, and nurse were a few. The children wandered around asking each other yes/no questions in an attempt to figure out what was written on the sign. I was surprised that it took the only young man the entire game to come up with “Mickey Mouse.” Much like a game I am fond of called “Hedbanz” except the players wear a band with a card attached.

To wrap things up, the children’s theatre director presented a piece on audition etiquette. What to do and what not to do when auditioning for a play. Speaking loudly and clearly as well as having confidence were a few of the dos. Turning off the cell phone (that goes for audience members, as well), not chewing gum, and NOT ACTING LIKE A GOOF?! were a few of the no-nos (I believe I saw a few glances my way when the the word “goof” was mentioned… mostly from the person leading the discussion). I always thought that acting like a goof was a sure way to get the part.

So, a fun few hours. Anytime young people can be introduced to something fun and ultimately rewarding is time well spent.

Little Women (The Illus Children’s Library)

Funrise Toys Headbanz Adult Game

Tonight’s rehearsal was full of very hard work but it was all fun. We spent nearly an hour-and-a-half blocking and walking through the most elaborate piece of the show: “The Weekly Volcano Press.” The scene is essentially Jo telling a story that she has written to the Professor and Mrs. Kirk. The story is chock full of characters drawn out of fairy tales and other sources that come to life on stage. There are a chorus of trolls, hags, monks, a damsel in distress, the hero and of course the “aristocratic melodramatic stock villain” Braxton Prendergast (thank you Chris for your help). That is all I will elaborate upon so I do not spoil it for those who may wish to come and enjoy the show for themselves. I do believe that when fully realized this will be one of the highlights of the musical. There is something going on musically and visually every second of the piece.

Once again, the director commented to me a few times. He seemed to be amazed at how well I know my character. Well… every character in any play has a story. It is up to the actor to find that story and BRING IT!!!

It was also bio-night. Each of us was given a form on which to list our past theatrical experiences, awards (“Dancing Star”), any acknowledgments we would like to make, future endeavors, and any words of wisdom we would wish to share. Needless to say, mine will probably be edited for length. I just could not shut up about how much I love doing this.

Finally before we were excused, volunteers were asked to attend a mini-theatre seminar at the local library Saturday morning. Guess who had their hand up before anyone? “Big Surprise,” exclaimed Mr. Director.

Little Women The Musical (2005 Original Broadway Cast)

Well, to his creator anyway. Ian Fleming was born May 28, 1908. WOW… that would make him 100 years old today… of course he passed away many years ago. Ironically, he left the world mere months after the release of From Russia with Love on the big screen in 1964. The centennial of the author’s birth is being celebrated in at least two ways. Today sees the release of the newest James Bond novel Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks. In November, the 22nd film in the Bond franchise Quantum of Solace will be presented on the big screen with Daniel Craig reprising the role of British Secret Service agent 007.

In total, Fleming wrote 12 Bond novels and two collections of short stories. Following his death, other writers have taken up the mantle. Although most of the plots for the books and the movies have very little in common, fifteen of the movies take their titles directly from the books. The novel From Russia with Love was high on President John F. Kennedy’s favorite reading list which prompted the production of the second film. Below is a list of Fleming’s 12 Bond novels and 2 short stories and the order in which the movie was released which are not synonymous.

Casino Royale (21)

Live and Let Die (8)

Moonraker (11)

Diamonds are Forever (7)

From Russia with Love (2)

Dr. No (1)

Goldfinger (3)

For Your Eyes Only (12)

Thunderball (13 sorry… 4)

The Spy Who Loved Me (10)

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (6)

You Only Live Twice (5)

The Man with the Golden Gun (9)

Octopussy (13) and the Living Daylights (15)

(GoldenEye takes its name from Fleming’s Jamaican home where he wrote the stories)

Fleming’s writing was not limited to the world of the spy. He also penned the children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

James Bond Novels

In more Harry Potter related news, Daniel Radcliffe (Harry himself) will be making his Broadway stage debut on September 5 at the Broadhurst Theatre. Last year, he received rave reviews for his London stage debut in Peter Shaffer’s play, Equus. The story of Alan Strang, a rather disturbed young stable boy who has an unusual fixation with horses. However, the psychiatrist who attempts to must solve the mystery of Alan’s sexual and religious perversion has his own hidden psychological trauma. Incidentally, the psychiatrist will be played by Richard Griffiths who also plays the role of Harry’s eternally frustrated Uncle Vernon in the Potter films. A few words of warning to those who may think that the play will delight the young fans of the boy wizard (although “delight” may not be the most appropriate term). Equus is definitely NOT a play to introduce to young children. Its heavy adult themes and scenes are much too heavy perhaps even for some adult theatregoers.

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