(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!
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