...*tries to sneak in without anyone noticing*

...because some people are going to BITE MY PINKY OFF for not posting in...more than 3 months. i know, i know. there shouldn't be any excuses, BUT i have been ridiculously busy with three things:

(1) my job is kicking my ass. i still love it, but it's kicking me hard. in the hind quarters.

(2) DJ and i are moving to Pentagon City a week from tomorrow!!! EXCITEMENT!! now we'll be METRO accessible (and all you DC-ites understand...that's HUGE), not to mention the fact that we'll be walking distance to ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. one of the best malls in nova is right across the street, along with cute outdoor shops, really nice restaurants, and oh yeah, a HARRIS TEETER. did i mention the harris teeter?

(3) soooooo i've kinda decided that i'm applying for graduate school this fall. i'm slowly but surely looking into programs and have decided to either go for a masters in vocal pedagogy or in music education. my plan right now (and it changes every other day obvi) is to get a music ed masters in 1-2 years, be the hottest, coolest high school chorus teacher for a while, and then go back to get a doctorate and teach at a university. ugh, that sounds like a perfect life, but as all of us twentysomethings know, there's nothing definite in life. but we'll see.

oh wait, i forgot that there's a (4). my barbershop chorus is getting ready to compete in Philly at the end of the month. hence the extra rehearsals, retreats, and exhaustion MAJOR. but it's all worth it in the end!!

SOOOO yeah, i haven't had time to breathe AT ALL until this very moment, when i mustered up enough energy to continue blogging. and of course, my motivation was strengthened by the fact that IT'S TONY WEEK!!!!!!!! TONYTONYTONYTONYTONNNNYYY!!!!!! SO, like last year, i'll be giving my tony predictions...and here they are!

UPDATE: check out these YouTube clips of Tony-nominated musicals! (and be sure to click around on YouTube for additional clips!!)

(PREDICTIONS AFTER THE CLIPS)

Fela!


Memphis (with Montego Glover singing...brilliant)


La Cage Aux Folles


American Idiot


Million Dollar Quartet


Everyday Rapture


The Addams Family


Finian's Rainbow


Ragtime


A Little Night Music


{PREDICTIONS IN PURPLE}

BEST PLAY
In The Next Room or the vibrator play
Next Fall
Red
Time Stands Still

(although i'd really LOVE it if a play with the word "vibrator" in the title won the Tony, from what i've been hearing from reviewers, it's not that great. might i add that the vibrator play and Time Stands Still closed before the Tony noms were even announced. so with that in mind, i'm going to cross both off of the list. from what i've been hearing on other theatre blogs, Red (a play based on abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko) is absolutely stunning. that said, i'd REALLY like it if the "Brokeback Mountain"-esque play Next Fall won. two gay New Yorkers fall in love despite their religious backgrounds. ew why didn't i see this play? it'll probably be a close second.)

BEST MUSICAL
American Idiot
Fela!
Memphis
Million Dollar Quartet

(*yaaaawn* is this it? is this all you had for us this year, Broadway?! sad. speaking of sad, the top two musicals of the year with regards to ticket sales, The Addams Family and Promises, Promises, got absolutely CANNED by critics. so we're left with this list of musicals that few people have even been to. including me. this is one of the first time in YEARS that i haven't been to any musical nominated for the biggest musical award at the Tonys. that said, i've been very intrigued by Memphis and am starting to really enjoy the music. and from what critics are saying about the above musicals, i'd say that Memphis comes out on top, with Fela! being a close second. after all, Memphis, the musical based in the 1950s about a white DJ who falls in love with a black singer, is the only true "original" musical from the list.

on that note, let's talk about American Idiot for a quick minute. WHY ARE THESE MUSICALS MAKING MONEY?! it makes me SO upset when a musical like this one or Rock of Ages or Come Fly Away or Mamma Mia! actually get nominated for Tonys. these musicals were probably written in mere DAYS. "hey, let's write a musical. actuallyyyy, i don't have the energy to write an entire musical. so let's just think of an awful story line in five minutes. and then take someone else's music and put it in our show. and then try to change the plot around a bit so that the songs kind-of-but-not-really make sense in the show. and then make millions. ta-da!!"

but we can't leave this category without mentioning the other musical that was supposed to be included in this list and sweep the Tonys this year [apparently]: Spiderman. but oh yeah, the $40 MILLION that they raised for the show STILL ISN'T ENOUGH to even start rehearsals yet. when it DOES come out [in like 2016 at the rate its going], i hope it bombs.)

BEST BOOK OF A MUSICAL
Fela! - Jim Lewis & Bill T. Jones
Memphis - Joe DiPietro
Million Dollar Quartet - Colin Escott & Floyd Murtux
Everyday Rapture - Dick Scanlan & Sherie Rene Scott

(Memphis will win this Tony because, oh yeah, it's the ONLY original story out of all four nominees. also, the story is touching, very racially charged, yet entertaining.

can we also talk about Everyday Rapture for a second? Sherie Rene Scott, i love you...but really?! you wrote a musical. about yourself. and then made yourself the star. i mean, if it were Bernadette or Patti or even Chita, they could get away with writing an autobigraphical musical and then star in it. [Chita did just that actually...and the musical flopped miserably]. but Sherie. sure, you were the "featured actress" in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and played Ursula in the joke-of-a-Disney-musical The Little Mermaid [which, might i add, was the worst casting decision in recent Broadway memory]. but to then write a musical about yourself?? too soon, honey.

by the way, Million Dollar Quartet, if it were any other year on the Broadway stage, the Broadway League wouldn't even give a slight nod to you. so consider yourself lucky.)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Addams Family - Andrew Lippa (M&L)
Enron - Adam Cork (M), Lucy Prebble (L)
Fences - Branford Marsalis (M&L)
Memphis - David Bryan (M&L), Joe DiPietro (L)

(wow. see, THIS is what i'm talking about when i say that the 2009-2010 Broadway season was a huge yawn when it comes to musicals with original music. let's point out that two of the nominees in this category are PLAYS, NOT musicals. PLAYS. with very minimal music. wow. Broadway, get with it.

Memphis will win this Tony, too. talk about an unexpected sweep! also, might i point out that American Idiot didn't get nominated for best book because, oh yeah, YOU DIDN'T USE ANY ORIGINAL MUSIC. stealers. did i mention Rock of Ages is being turned into a movie? i just threw up on myself.)

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY
Fences
Lend Me A Tenor
The Royal Family
A View From The Bridge

(now we get to the big awards for this year in particular: REVIVALS. aka the only shows that are actually more than decent on Broadway stages this year. my guess is that, in this category, it comes down to two quite star-heavy plays battling for first: Fences and A View From The Bridge. i'm familiar with Fences, and with Denzel and Viola as the leads, i'm sure it's nothing but brilliant. but Liev and ScarJo in A View From The Bridge? it'll be close, but i think Fences will come out on top.)

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL
Finian's Rainbow
La Cage Aux Folles
A Little Night Music
Ragtime

(now HERE is where the great musicals are hiding this year! SO excited to see who comes out on top in this category! here are my thoughts:

Finian's Rainbow: yawn. the show is meh. the songs are meh. just a really outdated musical that shouldn't have been revived. although i do LOVE me some Kate Baldwin, who will be in the running for Lead Actress. overall, this one is a solid fourth place out of four. wah-WAH.

A Little Night Music: so many people will stab me for saying this, but as a devout Sondheim worshipper, i'm actually not a huge fan of this show (*GASP!!!*). and i've heard (and seen through YouTube) very "blah" things about this show. except Angela, who is supposed to be the only saving grace of the show. and she has a pretty minor part, which says everything about the show. although a few critics were impressed, and Catherine Z-J DID come away with a Drama Desk for her performance [which is BEYOND me. Catherine, you were awesome in Chicago, but stick to movies]. a solid third place.

Ragtime: SO mad i didn't get the chance to see the revival. although the critics really enjoyed it and the clips i've seen on YouTube have been very impressive, i do think that this revival doesn't really look "new" enough to win this award. Ragtime is arguably one of the greatest musicals ever written, so you can't really go wrong with this show. it's easy for this show to rock everyone's socks off. in my opinion, the critics and the theatre lovers who really enjoyed the show were just aching to have Ragtime come back to Broadway, regardless of how well-performed and well-directed it was. it'll end up in second, but far from first.

La Cage Aux Folles: now, to start, i may be biased here because this was the only show i actually had the chance to see, BUT compared to what the critics said about the nominations and what i've seen and heard on YouTube from other shows, this masterpiece of a revival will without a doubt win the Tony. the show was brilliantly executed. the acting was spectacular. the scenic design was minimal but appropriate for the setting and the time period. the direction was brilliant. and how can i say in words how absolutely spectacular Douglas Hodge was? and even Kelsey Grammer surprised me as a VERY strong actor and singer. a phenomenal cast, a phenomenal artistic staff and directing team. this show without a doubt deserves the Tony it will rightfully receive Sunday night.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Jude Law (Hamlet)
Alfred Molina (Red)
Liev Schreiber (A View From The Bridge)
Christopher Walken (A Behanding In Spokane)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

(it will be close between Denzel and Liev, but i think Denzel will come out on top.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Viola Davis (Fences)
Valerie Harper (Looped)
Linda Lavin (Collected Stories)
Laura Linney (Time Stands Still)
Jan Maxwell (The Royal Family)

(VIOLA DAVIS I AM OBSESSED WITH YOU. she will OWN this category, no doubt. although i do love me some Laura Linney.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Kelsey Grammer (La Cage Aux Folles)
Sean Hayes (Promises, Promises)
Douglas Hodge (La Cage Aux Folles)
Chad Kimball (Memphis)
Sahr Ngaujah (Fela!)

(Douglas. Hodge. he will beat the crap out of ALL of the other nominees. his performance in La Cage is absolutely stunning. if you plan on going to New York at all this year, GO SEE HIM. if you aren't, go on YouTube IMMEDIATELY and watch a clip of him singing. absolutely stunning. actually, i'll post one at the end of this list for your enjoyment. absolutely amazing. Kelsey will be solidly second.)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Kate Baldwin (Finian's Rainbow)
Montego Glover (Memphis)
Christiane Noll (Ragtime)
Sherie Rene Scott (Everyday Rapture)
Catherine Zeta-Jones (A Little Night Music)

(i refuse to vote for Catherine Z-J, although she might win. for some reason, the critics actually enjoy her. i think she looks horrible. and her performance of "Send In The Clowns" at Sondheim's 80th Birthday Gala in April was horrific. i've heard Christiane Noll is meh. i love Kate Baldwin, but she'll never win a Tony for Finian's Rainbow. and Sherie, i love you honey, but stick to NOT writing musicals about your life.)

other awards i don't really care about but am putting in my predictions anyways:

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY
David Alan Grier (Race)
Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences)
Jon Michael Hill (Superior Donuts)
Stephen Kunken (Enron)
Eddie Redmayne (Red)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Maria Dizzia (In The Next Room or the vibrator play)
Rosemary Harris (The Royal Family)
Jessica Hecht (A View From The Bridge)
Scarlett Johansson (A View From The Bridge)
Jan Maxwell (Lend Me A Tenor)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL
Kevin Chamberlin (The Addams Family)
Robin De Jesus (La Cage Aux Folles)
Christopher Fitzgerald (Finian's Rainbow)
Levi Kreis (Million Dollar Quartet)
Bobby Steggert (Ragtime)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL
Barbara Cook (Sondheim on Sondheim)
Katie Finneran (Promises, Promises)
Angela Lansbury (A Little Night Music)
Karine Plantadit (Come Fly Away)
Lillias White (Fela!)

BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY
Michael Grandage (Red)
Sheryl Kaller (Next Fall)
Kenny Leon (Fences)
Gregory Mosher (A View From The Bridge)

BEST DIRECTION OF A MUSICAL
Christopher Ashley (Memphis)
Marcia Milgrom Dodge (Ragtime)
Terry Johnson (La Cage Aux Folles)
Bill T. Jones (Fela!)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY
Rob Ashford (Promises, Promises)
Bill T. Jones (Fela!)
Lynne Page (La Cage Aux Folles)
Twyla Tharp (Come Fly Away)

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Jason Carr (La Cage Aux Folles)
Aaron Johnson (Fela!)
Jonathan Tunick (Promises, Promises)
Daryl Waters & David Bryan (Memphis)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A PLAY
John Lee Beatty (The Royal Family)
Alexander Dodge (Present Laughter)
Santo Loquasto (Fences)
Christopher Oram (Red)

BEST SCENIC DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Marina Draghici (Fela!)
Christine Jones (American Idiot)
Derek McLane (Ragtime)
Tim Shortall (La Cage Aux Folles)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A PLAY
Martin Pakledinaz (Lend Me A Tenor)
Constanza Romero (Fences)
David Zinn (In The Next Room or the vibrator play)
Catherine Zuber (The Royal Family)

BEST COSTUME DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Marina Draghici (Fela!)
Paul Tazewell (Memphis)
Matthew Wright (La Cage Aux Folles)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A PLAY
Neil Austin (Hamlet)
Neil Austin (Red)
Mark Henderson (Enron)
Brian MacDevitt (Fences)

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Kevin Adams (American Idiot)
Donald Holder (Ragtime)
Nick Richings (La Cage Aux Folles)
Robert Wierzel (Fela!)

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A PLAY
Acme Sound Partners (Fences)
Adam Cork (Enron)
Adam Cork (Red)
Scott Lehrer (A View From The Bridge)

BEST SOUND DESIGN OF A MUSICAL
Jonathan Deans (La Cage Aux Folles)
Robert Kaplowitz (Fela!)
Dan Moses Schreirer & Gareth Owen (A Little Night Music)
Dan Moses Schreirer (Sondheim on Sondheim)

and as promised, Douglas Hodge! see you on Tony night!!

happy birthdaaaay to meeee!!

i'm 24. scary. i don't have much time to post today, but in honor of my birthday, i'll post a video from a 1986 musical (the year i was born). although Andrew Overrated Webber wrote this musical, i'm obsessed with Bernadette Peters, as well as this song. so here's my present for you: "Unexpected Song" from ALW's Song and Dance:

1963: Little Me - meh.

soooo my birthday is in two days. it's freaking summer and picture perfect outside. i have a new job that i absolutely love. i'm drinking a glass of cab sauv on my balcony. and i'm in my favorite pair of PJs watching Miley Cyrus perform on American Idol. i think it's safe to say that i'm a happy camper right now.

to add to my perfect night, BROADWAY!! so, like i said, we're in 1963, yo. so here's to the musical that ... was. received mixed reviews. not recognized at all these days. was awarded one Tony and then was forgotten. a little musical called...

...Little Me, based on the Patrick Dennis novel entitled (get ready) Little Me, The Great Memoirs of that Great Star of Stage, Screen, and Television: Belle Poitrine. annnnd breathe. what a title. does Patrick Dennis sound familiar? maybe not, but Mame sure does, right? starring the great Angela Lansbury and Bea Arthur, Mame is based on a more-famous Patrick Dennis novel: Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade. aside: here are Lansbury and Arthur. classically brilliant:



sorry. back to 1963. so basically it's about this made-up diva named Belle Poitrine who decides to write a memoir. (with the help of character Patrick Dennis. imagine that. ACTUALLY, the little boy in Mame: Patrick Dennis. brilliant.) she's from venezuela. no, not that country in the southern hemisphere. from venezuela, illinois. umm what. she falls in love with this guy Noble, but she's poor and he's not. so all throughout the musical, she's trying to get famous to win this guy's bootie. annnd basically every guy that helps her out ends up dying a painful death. and then her and Noble get together at the end. wonderful.

ridiculous plot. on the verge of awful. BUT that's ok. because in this musical, Sid Caesar plays every single comedic role. YES. one of his ever so many famous sketches:



(can't you tell there aren't many clips of Little Me online?) so Sid Caesar is clearly the star of the show, even though the show is centered around this little hick woman who wants to be famous. however, Sid got showed up by one of (if not THE) most epic Broadway star to have ever graced the New York stage. but we'll get to him later.... moreover, the actresses playing Young Belle and Old Belle: Virginia Martin and Nancy Andrews. ......annnd scene. two nobodies in new york. furthermore, a sidenote: the 1982 revival of Little Me starred the great Victor Garber as the Sid Caesar characters. and "starred" Mary Gordon Murray as Belle......yup, another nobody. at least Bebe Neuwirth was in the ensemble!! here's a clip from the most recent (1998) revival, starring BY FAR the most talented Belle there ever was, Faith Prince:



(another sidenote: that same performance starred...Martin Short. and then it ran for 99 performances. wah-WAH.)

back to the original production. two words. Bob. Fosse. one of the greatest Broadway choreographers of all time. a man who has choreographed Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game, How to Succeed..., Bells Are Ringing, Chicago, Sweet Charity, and Pippin. why Little Me, you ask? apparently Bob and Sid Caesar were very good friends and had worked together in the past! here's Gwen Verdon and Bob himself performing Bob's own choreography to "Who's Got The Pain?" from Damn Yankees:



well, there it is. Little Me. a little musical...with little to rave about. but it's there. and Sid & Bob are fab.

teleport to...1963!

in all, Y2K was not only a new age for Mother Diva Earth, it also served as a gateway to the new age of musical theatre. the year 2000 brought to the stage some interesting (sometimes disturbing) plotlines, unusual interpretations, and some incredible performances. from audra mcdonald playing a fierce bitch who kills her husband and kids...to a diva bald heather headley belting the shit out of elton john's sexy tunes...to recreating the past with brian stokes mitchell and marin mazzie, 2000 was a good year.


...but i'm sick of it already. time to take our first trip into the TIME MACHINE OF AMAZINGNESS, where all your musical theatre dreams come true. let's step in and see where it takes us...

beep beeeeeep beeep booop boooop. BOOOOP. patti luPOOONE. zing ding. felaaaaaa. STOMP. porn.

HEY MAMA WELCOME TO THE 60s!!! (oh oh oh oh ohhhhh oh). no, we're not venturing into the hairspray world of 2002. we're in 1963! a preview of coming attractions: one of the biggest male broadway superstars ever (in more ways than one), a sondheim classic, a fun Annie-like musical, and a show written by the same man who wrote "The Candy Man" from Willy Wonka.

so pumped.

2000: Contact = controversy.

.....ok so i kinda broke my promise. but i have legit excuses as to why i haven't posted in a few days:

(1) my work day on thursday was a doozie (doozy? doozie? what does doozie even mean really? moving on). training training training = tired, cranky myles. so after convincing myself that i need to go out and drink (which didn't take long), i drove into the city to meet my friends Kenny and Jeremy at a hotel bar for 4H. (no, not THAT 4H. the Homo Hotel Happy Hour. obvi. by the way, i'm gay.) it was actually a blast. i can't usually stand more than 4 homos in the same room, but i'm glad i went. then we stuffed our faces at The Commissary, considering i hadn't had dinner. and two bottles of Peroni for dinner isn't very nutritious to tell you the truth.

(2) last night, after my last day at Foxes, my boss and his partner took me out to the Clyde's in Alexandria. i ordered some littleneck clams for an ap and freaking bangin' beef bbq brisket for my main course. ah. mah. zing.

so, in short, no time for broadwaytimetravel-ness. but now i have some down time (before DJ, my boyf, takes me out for birthday surprises...i'm turning 24 in one week. god help me. i'm ancient.)

so, we'll wrap up Y2K with the musical that brought home the big shebang at the Tony's: the award for....BEST MUSICAL!!!! (reverb reverb reverb...) along with that hott Tony, they also snagged awards for Best Choreo, Best Featured Actor, and Best Featured Actress. let's cut to the chase:

yes, the Susan Stroman (she's so diva) semi-hit that helped spark the dance-centered phenomenon on Broadway stages. divided into three acts, Contact is a "dance play" that is all about the ballet-style movements...with a side of music. unlike the more recent Twyla Tharpe hits Movin' Out and Come Fly Away, Contact's music is pre-recorded. that's right. PRE-RECORDED. now, most musicals do have dubbed, pre-recorded parts. *GASP* (e.g. that STUPID Jersey Boys musical. that thing is entirely dubbed. and a piece of crap. but still selling at 100%. people are dumb.) but NEVER has a Tony Award-winning musical's music been recorded earlier in its entirety. some think it's a cop-out. some think it shouldn't even be labeled a "musical". hence the CONTROVERSY!! dun dun DUNNN!!!

after Contact won Best Musical, it left the entire population of the American theatre asking the same question: what defines a "musical"? how can a show that's entirely dance, with all pre-recorded tracks and minimal dialogue, win Best Musical? one year later, after much controversy and deliberation, the Tony committee announced a new category: "Special Theatrical Event", which Liza Minnelli was ever so fond of. HOWEVER, this new category ALSO created controversy in the Broadway/homo world, and just last year, the category was retired...only after 8 years of being in existence.

ok, let's get on with the show's deets. as stated earlier, Contact is actually a set of three one-act shows. the first: a dance/musical adaptation of Fragonard's painting The Swing, pictured below:

the painting shows a young woman on a swing, being pushed by a bishop, with a freakish man in the bushes looking up her dress. the woman has also lost her shoe, symbolizing the loss of virginity. also the arm is supposed to symbolize a boner. great. way to go, Fragonard, you sketchy sexual deviant, you. the style of dance in this first act is called contact improvisation, a very modern style of improv dance where two or more bodies are in contact with one another (contact! get it?! CONTACT! i'm smart) while the physical laws of gravity, momentum, and inertia lead the way. this technique was established by American choreographer Steve Paxton...and what a stoner he must've been. also, much of the action apparently takes place on a huge SWING. awesome.

act 2 is set to solely orchestral music, specifically grieg and tchaikovsky. the setting: an Italian restaurant. the characters: a mafia gangster, his innocent wife, and their empty marriage. the dance is apparently quite powerful.

act 3: "explores the emptiness of the career-driven lives of Manhattan apartment dwellers". the setting: an NYC bar. the characters: a lonely executive longing for a woman in a yellow dress. he must overcome his fear of making contact with another human in order to win her over. lots of "rock n roll swing dancing" in this third and final act, whatever that means...

notable performers:
Karen Ziemba
(first roles on Broadway were Diana in A Chorus Line and Peggy in 42nd Street ... her biggest roles: And The World Goes Round, I Do! I Do!, and Steel Pier)



Boyd Gaines
(nominated for Tony's in The Heidi Chronicles, the 1994 revival of She Loves Me, and the 2008 revival of Gypsy [with PATTI LUPOOOONE] ... one of only two Broadway actors to be nominated for all four categories a single actor can possibly be nominated for [Best Leading Actor in a Play, BLA in a Musical, Best Featured Actor in a Play, BLA in a Musical] --- the other: Raul Esparza)



a clip from Contact (and i promise this isn't a virus...although there are lots of foreign characters...):

Contact!!!

i just finished a 20-course meal at Poste Moderne Brasserie. yes, 20 courses. it lasted about 3 1/2 hours and was the best meal i've ever had in my life. how did i get so lucky to have such a fantastic partner to share the rest of my life with??

cheers!

i lead a busy life. i fail.

i know i know. i told you i'd write in this every day, but every Tuesday I have rehearsal with the Harmonizers, and tonight i have a birthday party to go to. and they're serving chicken pot pie. and as we all know, chicken pot pie gets priority over everything. so alas, i will not be able to post in my blog. but i PROMISE i'll post tomorrow. and maybe i'll make it super long. it'll be the last post of Y2K, and i'll give you a little hint:

tata! xoxo

2000: Kiss Me, Kate revival - LONG overdue!

after a super super fun weekend in philly, i was greeted by a monday of all mondays. it was one of those days when the first half of the day i had absolutely nothing to do (and didn't even have Playbill Radio to keep me sane)...and then the second half of the day exploded with work. at least we finally found a replacement for me!! which means that the next two weeks are going to be absolute hell, especially when i'll be working two jobs at once. yeeeeah, stressfest central right here.

...though showtunes always put me in a better mood. today, we'll talk about a revival. *GASP* a broadwaytimetravel first! now, although i do think that revivals are clearly produced to be huge lazy money-makers (no one needs to write a book & score, and it's usually a musical that most people are familiar with...example: after Les Miserables finally closed in 2003, they decided to produce a revival...three years later), most of them tend to serve as a way to celebrate and appreciate past musical genius. and a revival of this 1948 production (yes, it had been over 50 years) had been LONG overdue. let's cut to the chase:

yes. the Cole Porter classic show-within-a-show: Kiss Me, Kate. first, let's share some background info from the original (and yes, i promise that when i pick 1948 to write about, i'll try not to repeat myself). now Cole Porter...what a badass he was. in 1947, after spitting out some semi-successful musicals (Gay Divorce, Fifty Million Frenchman, Anything Goes), he basically got pounced on by a horse he was riding that crushed most of his body to shreds. he remained mostly crippled for the rest of his life. immediately after the injury, he continued to write through constant pain, throwing out a few musicals that really didn't go anywhere (but give the guy a break...he just got pwned by a freaking one ton horse). then, in response to his Broadway rivals Rodgers & Hammerstein shoving Oklahoma! in his face a few years back, he had to produce something that had potential to knock everyone's socks off. so he wrote Kiss Me, Kate, his biggest hit ever, and it ran for more than 1,000 performances. while his entire body was pretty much paralyzed. no big deal. at the FIRST annual Tony Awards that year, he took home the award for Best Musical...and proceeded to rub it in R&H's faces. obviously, the original showcased Alfred Drake (huge Broadway star of Oklahoma! [imagine that], Kismet, and Babes in Arms) and the diva-tastic Patricia Morison (i mean, just look at her):



di. va. anyways (you know how distracted i get with divas), Cole-meister wrote some pretty iconic songs for this show, including (but not limited to):
"Another Op'nin', Another Show" (the weirdest spelling of 'opening' i've ever seen. also see below.)
"Wunderbar" (sprechenzie deutsch?!)
"So In Love" (quite the tear-jerker)
"I Hate Men" (you GO girl! you verbally bitchslap those boys silly.)
"I've Come to Wive it Wealthy in Padua" (that's a tongue twister if i've ever seen one)
"Too Darn Hot" (holy dance number)
"Where is the Life That Late I Lead" (ok Cole, what's up with the tongue twisters. for serious.)
"Always True to You in My Fashion" (yes i'm AL. WAYS. TRUE. TO. YOUUU DAAAARLIN' IN MYY WAAAAY. sorry. i digress)



the list goes on. a hugely popular and iconic show. which is why they waited 51 years to put out a revival. (?!?!) however, this revival does NOT disappoint. at the 2000 Tony's, the revival picked up 5 awards (including Best Revival) out of 12 nominations (the most nominated show of the season). pretty awesome feat for a revival. AND talk about a big night for the director of Kiss Me, Kate, Michael Blakemore. he not only took home a Tony for Best Director of a Musical, but also won Best Director of a Play (Copenhagen). and then he went home and probably made some pretty epic whoopee.


so who, might you ask, could even come close to replacing the great Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison. obviously, two other greats. first one: three words:

BRIAN. STOKES. MITCHELL. with one of the greatest voices to ever step onto a Broadway stage. he played the leading man Fred. other theater credits: the 2002 revival of Man of La Mancha and Kander & Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman. and, oh yeah, played Coalhouse in RAGTIME, one of the greatest musicals ever written (performing alongside the already-mentioned diva in this blog Audra McDonald):



he also played Sweeney in the 2002 Kennedy Center revival of Sweeney Todd. AND apparently does lots of voice-overs for cartoons such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures. epic.

ANYWAYS, so he performed alongside the great M&M of Broadway: Marin Mazzie (Lilli/Kate), who ALSO starred in Ragtime as Mother. famous for her ridiculously strong voice. her other big Broadway credit: starred in (and was completely nude in the first scene of) Passion, written by God aka Stephen Sondheim (*worship bow*). here's both BSM and M&M singing "So In Love" from Kiss Me, Kate (with introduction by rather large Rosie):



other notable performers:
Amy Spanger (Lois/Bianca) - originated the role of Holly in The Wedding Singer and Shelley in Rock of Ages, was in the movie musical Reefer Madness [badass], and REALLY fun fact: she costarred with RENT sensation Anthony Rapp in the New York Musical Theatre Festival of Feeling Electric...which later became Next to Normal! i love Broadway tidbits.
Michael Berresse (Bill/Lucentio) - Broadway performer, director, and choreographer (talk about talented) - Giuseppe Naccarelli in Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza, Zach in the 2006 revival of A Chorus Line (which i saw in the front row. epic.) AND directed/choreographed [title of show]. so talented.

well, that's all you need to know about the awesome revival of Kiss Me, Kate. ...oh, the plot of the show? hmm. i ran out of space. google it. to end, here's Forbidden Broadway's take on BSM and M&M. GOODNIGHT!

2000: Marie Christine - a crazy ass bitch.

how have i not seen Planet Earth before this moment in time? i'm currently sitting on a couch in Philly, captivated by weird ass creatures roaming the earth. dj, glots and i had an epic brunch with champagne cocktails galore at Farmicia, did some serious shopping in Old City & Center City, and went to this sweet, gigantic market to buy fresh ingreds for tonight's pork dinner. with brussels sprouts. and cornbread. god almighty. planning to go out to a few bars tonight, including one of the greatest whiskey bars around. i may or may not sit my butt on a bar stool there...and stay there forever.

this smashing journey to philly won't stop me from being gay and talking more about Broadway. today, we'll discuss hands down the most disturbing musical released in 2000:

...Marie Christine. i know, i know, another musical that didn't get a Tony nom for Best Musical, but it deserves some blog time because of it's insane-ness. and yes, that diva on the front cover grasping a man boob is none other than the great Audra McDonald. who is Audra McDonald, may you ask? answer (and i quote, from Glee Season 1): "who is [Audra McDonald]?! KILL YOURSELF!" having studied classical voice at Juilliard, she proceeded to win THREE Tony Awards before the age of 28...THREE Tony Awards in FIVE years. yeah, hate her...but obvi love her at the same time. those three shows: the 1994 revival of Carousel (see below), Master Class (with camera-flash-sensitive Patti Lupone), and of course, one of the greatest musicals of all time, Ragtime. here's Audra singing one of the most epic songs from Carousel, "Mister Snow":

can't you tell divas distract me from the original topic? a few more tidbits about Audra:

(1) Audra obviously respects her Broadway costars and idols. with her first husband, she had one child, Zoe Madeline, who was named after two other diva actresses: Master Class costar Zoe Caldwell and the great Madeline Kahn

(2) After divorcing her first husband in 2009, she's currently dating her former costar from the recent 2007 revival of 110 in the Shade: Will Swenson (also one of the lead guys in the awesome 2009 revival of Hair)

(3) Audra is unreal. she's actually an alien. from the planet Diva.

(no, Audra is not in The Fifth Element. but it'd be awesome if she was.)

...what were we talking about again? back to Marie Christine. now why, you ask, is Marie Christine a "crazy ass bitch"? well, the musical is loosely based on Medea, that insane woman who went on a rampage after her lover left her for a royal hottie and proceeded to poison a golden dress, send it to her, kill both her and her former lover...oh yeah, and killed her two sons. icing on the cake. Marie Christine is a more modern take on the play (takes place in 1899). Audra plays Marie, who meets a white sea captain from Chicago. they sail around together, Marie pops out two babies, and the two start a home together. pretty soon, Dante (her lover) gets interested in politics, peaces out and marries the daughter of his boss. Marie freaks out, sends the new lover poison as a wedding present (oh, how thoughtful), and kills her two sons. aka a crazy ass bitch.

Audra was nominated for a Best Actress Tony, but was beaten out by Miss Heather Headley of AIDA. oh yeah, and the music was written by Michael John LaChiusa. sound familiar? another musical came out in 2000 that also had his name on it: The Wild Party (see last entry). two musicals in one year? another crazy ass bitch.

other notable performers in Marie Christine:

Dante: Anthony Crivello (Valentin in Kiss of the Spider Woman...also currently plays Phantom in the Las Vegas show of that Andrew Overrated Webber musical)

Magdalena: Mary Testa (nothing worth mentioning...but played a supporting role in the 2007 revival of Xanadu aka Xana-poo)

this is the only song i found on YouTube from Marie Christine. and it's an amateur performance. damn. oh well. the first song they sing is not from Marie Christine, but fast forward to 1:40. this one's called "Way Back To Paradise". annnnnd go:

well, that was fun. back to planet earth. and drinking. and making an incredible feast. and then more drinking. i love life right now.

2000: ... i'm lazy and busy.

welcome to the first night of laziness. i'm in philly with the love of my life Sarah Gulotta right now and unfortunately can't post another blog entry until at least tomorrow night...maybe sunday afternoon even. sad. but i'll give you a hint: the next post will involve this hot, talented diva:

2000: The Wild Party ... times 2.

headache. loooong day of interviewing candidates for the position i'm leaving. at about 12:30PM, i was really dragging, even after having lunch. and then i realized...i completely forgot to make coffee this morning. how in the world did that happen?? and coffee in the afternoon just gives me a headache, but i made it anyways. hence the headache. it was also one of those days where you just forget to drink water...and then by 3PM your body feels like it just got run over by a tank. but no plans tonight...other than providing you with Broadway knowledge. WOO!!

our next stop in the good ol' Y2K is a rather interesting one. we'll actually be learning about two musicals in one post, the first of which...The Wild Party!


and the second? The Wild Party!

no, you are not seeing double. and yes, for the first time ever, two musicals with the same name and based on the same work opened in New York in the same year. ubuhh?? how is that even possible?? show ideas getting leaked by insiders? i think so...

both musicals are based on an epic poem of the same name by Joseph Moncure March. basically, the poem is about a huge shitshow during Prohibition filled with alcohol, cocaine, and orgies (oh my!). it was published in 1928 and obviously banned rather immediately. good strategy by March though; if you want your controversial work to be successful, publish a hugely raunchy book that gets banned, and then for future publications, tone it down a notch. it's all relative.

let's examine the first of the two (the one with the weird coked out diva black girl with short hair on the CD cover). now, it's up in the air as to which one was more successful, but this version of The Wild Party, with music & lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa, was the only one that made it to Broadway...but then did a semi-bellyflop after just 68 performances. this version, according to March fans, stayed more true to the poem and succeeded at displaying every aspect of March's work. LaChiusa's music stays true to the time...jazzy sexy tunes. LaChiusa also wrote ANOTHER musical that premiered in 2000 (talk about a year of coincidences), which i might get into later... he also recently wrote the music & lyrics to Giant, which was produced by Signature Theatre just down the road (woo DC!).

here's a clip of LaChiusa's The Wild Party. (aside: notice the broad arms and shoulders by the lead. good lord.):



notable performers in the LaChiusa version:
Mandy Patinkin
(most famous for his lead role in Sunday in the Park with George alongside my one and only soulmate Bernadette Peters. his greatest performance: Inigo Montoya in the movie The Princess Bride...see below)
Toni Colette
(Australian movie star seen in Muriel's Wedding, About A Boy, Little Miss Sunshine. the highest paid Australian actress, only behind the divalicious Nicole Kidman)
Eartha Kitt
(yes, the diva black disco singer. this was one of her last roles in any form of performance, having recently passed away of cancer. the only other notable Broadway performance: Timbuktu! ... an African tribe twist on the horrible musical Kismet ... don't ask)

a note: the lead role played by Colette was supposed to be Vanessa Williams (SO overrated, btw), but she got knocked up instead. oopsie.

my name is Mandy Patinkin. you wouldn't let me "finish the hat". prepare to die:



the other version (the one that looks like a vampire made it to the party and is biting a party guest's ear off) was written by Andrew Lippa, and what a guy he is! he wrote the music & lyrics for the recently-premiered Broadway musical The Addams Family. he's been the "music director" for the amaahhzing Kristin Chenoweth for over 10 years, and speaking of the delicious diva, Lippa wrote a handful of new songs for the 1999 revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, including the killer song that Chenoweth sang as Sally Brown: "My New Philosophy". i know it's not The Wild Party, but i had to post it:



ok enough straying from the subject. k-chen distracts. ANYWAYS, the Lippa version did not make it to Broadway (i know, i know, another musical that wasn't nominated for Best Musical at the Tony's...but many will agree that the 2000 Tony's were a joke, so give me a break). however, it did have a pretty successful run Off-Broadway production, winning a Drama Desk for Best Music and an Outer Critics Circle award for Best Off-Broadway musical. the cast is much smaller in this production, and the plot line is mostly centered around the love triangle among the lead characters (and involves death like AIDA...imagine that). but they still included the orgy, obvi. apparently they just released Lippa's The Wild Party: School Edition so that this show about sex, orgies, drugs, and illegal alcohol can be produced by high schools. great idea, guys.

this one also had more modern music that strayed from the time period it was based in, which received harsh criticism. regardless, i'm a big fan of the music.

notable performers in the Lippa version:
Brian d'Arcy James (Sweet Smell of Success with John Lithgow, Titanic: The Musical...also recently played Shrek in Shrek the Musical and the dad in the Off-Broadway version of Next to Normal with Alice Ripley before the show went to Broadway [sad.] ... his voice is literally my ultimate favorite out of any Broadway star)
Idina Menzel (obvi Elphaba in WIIIICKEEEED and Maureen in RENT [which was her FIRST Broadway apprearance, i might add...that bitch])
Julia Murney (speaking of Elphabas, she also played one...the first replacement for the National Tour)
Taye Diggs (one of the hottest men alive. the end. he's shirtless in the next video, ps.)

here's a (super impressive) scene from the Lippa musical. i freaking love this song. if you want to be amazed, listen the harmonies by d'Arcy James, Diggs, and Murney at about 3:35. epic. as is Taye's body:



so there they are. The Wild Party and The Wild Party. two musicals, one giant coke-induced orgy. did i mention Taye Diggs' body?

2000: new millennium, new age for broadway / AIDA

ugh, today killed me. so, for those who don't know, i'm in a job transition right now. i'm leaving a low-paying job as the head of the music lessons department for a music company...for a high-paying receptionist/admin asst for a doctor's office in Dupont specializing in gay men's health. yes, i will be working in dupont. aka no need to find myself an apartment. i can just work, go to happy hour, go straight to bars, then pass out in my office until the morning. good plan. my start date at the new job is a week from monday. which means i need to sift through neverending resumes (most of them horrible...who the hell sends a freaking headshot with their resume?), schedule interviews, hire someone, and train them in a week and a half. oh yeah, not to mention the fact that training me for this job took about a MONTH. fml.

enough chatter and more showtunes. so for the inaugural entry, i decided to pick a year that showcases great, exciting changes on the Broadway stage...and also the year that we freaked out about all computers on earth going haywire. how were we ever going to know what day it was from the top right corner of our computer screen?!?! AHHHH THE WORLD IS OVER. yes, i'm talking about Y2K. the year 2000 brought us some pretty groundbreaking musicals, and the first one i'll highlight did NOT get nominated for Best Musical that year. actually, it's one of the only musicals to win a Tony for Best Score (thanks to Sir Elton and his former lyricist buddy Tim Rice) and not even get a nomination for Best Musical. quite a shocker, especially since the show took home three other Tonys, too, including Best Actress. if you haven't guessed yet, here it is:



AIDA!! the typical love triangle musical. guy and girl 1 are supposed to fall in love. guy meets girl 2 who he's supposed to hate. guy ends up falling in love with girl 2. girl 1 suspects and breaks down. guy and girl 2 do whatever it takes to be together, even death. girl 2 has a ridiculous belt number. death. ta-da! applause.

legend: guy = Egyptian soldier (Radames); girl 1 = Pharaoh's daughter (Amneris); girl 2 = diva Nubian slave (Aida) who we learn later is a princess! OMFG!



based on Verdi's opera (which is the second-most frequently performed opera by the Met only behind La Boheme), AIDA was Disney's third try at a Broadway show (after Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King received such critical acclaim and large audiences) and the first one that wasn't inspired by an animated film. actually, AIDA was originally conceived as a new Disney animated movie...before it decided to pretend to be a Broadway show. the movie was, in turn, never created.

AIDA first opened in Atlanta, where it was slammed by critics, calling it disconnected and trying too hard to be appealing to a wide variety of audiences ("thrashing between child silliness and civic preachiness"). the show was completely transformed, especially the set. in Atlanta, the tomb was raised eight feet off the stage, but after it collapsed (oopsy daisy) and caused Heather Headley (Aida) and Adam Pascal (Radames) to faceplant on the floor, they decided that it'd probably be a good idea to avoid the lawsuits and have the tomb at stage level. speaking of the two characters, here's the epic duet from the musical where Radames and Aida sing while awkwardly feeling each other up. WOO!:

Written In The Stars - Heather Headley & Adam Pascal

there are no words for Heather Headley. after performing as Nala in the Disney musical immediately preceding AIDA, The Lion King, she completely exploded on the stage and received much critical acclaim...and a Tony for Best Actress in a Musical. i mean, LISTEN TO HER. girl can SAANG. also i have a minor obsession with bald diva black girls.



other notable performers:
Radames : Adam Pascal
(most famous for his role as Roger in RENT four years prior...and is still currently performing the role on national tours...when will he just give it up?)
Amneris : Sherie Renee Scott
(her first big role actually...later went on to star in The Last 5 Years, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels...and Ursula in The Little Mermaid, which was probably the worst casting choice of the decade. wa-WA.)

other performers playing lead roles after the originals left:
Deborah Cox, Toni Braxton (ser?), Michelle Williams (Aida)
Will Chase, Patrick Cassidy (Radames)
Idina Menzel (WIIIIIICKEEEEED!), Mandy Gonzalez (Amneris)

recent chatter!! there is talk of a movie version of AIDA starring Beyonce and XTina. get out of town. if this happens, i will be the first in line to see it. well, second...right behind Kyle Mihalcoe.



well, there you have it. thanks, sir elton, for spitting out yet another epic musical. and for just being freaking fabulous.

myles*

new way to spend my free time

the amount of pointless blogs that exist online is almost unfathomable and rather laughable. bloggers that are still waiting for their first comment. or boring "today, i did this" journal blogs...or blogs that have a whopping two entries...one year apart. or even blogs that give video reviews of items found in the frozen food section (um. what.). on that note, i've been wanting to become a member of the blogging world for some time now, but the last thing i wanted to do was add to the smogblogs that are doing nothing but polluting the air of the internet.

i've recently enjoyed reading my good friend Suzanne's blog, all about staying healthy through "clean eating" and exercise. see, here's a blog that actually deserves bytes on the world wide web. so i thought, wow, that's a great idea. i'll start narrating what i eat! i already eat pretty healthy, but it'll give me motivation to eat even healthier. BUT i realized that with doing that, i'll break the #1 rule in the book: never ever EVER blogarize or blogpeat, or else. so i tried to think of something else to do...and continued to draw a blank.

as i sat in my car over the weekend, driving back home from Richmond jamming to Sirius XM 75 - On Broadway per usual, i had an epiphany. if there's one thing in the world i couldn't live without, it's showtunes. i'm not kidding; i say that with the straightest face ever (no puns, please). i consider myself pretty knowledgeable of the broadway world, and i absolutely love sharing cool little facts as well as learn new tidbits for myself as well. SO...welcome to my new blog: broadway time travel.

basically what i'll do: every week (theoretically), i'll pick a random year in history, and go through all of the shows nominated for Best Musical at the Tony's. each entry will showcase a different Broadway musical, with interesting facts, YouTube links of highlights from the show, and notable cast members/songs/composers.

thanks Seth Rudetsky for helping me finally find my blog calling...now let's see if i have the motivation and the time to keep this blog alive...first year in Broadway history to come!!

myles