Broadway: And the Tony’s Are Upon Us….

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Ever since the Tony nominations came out, I have made it a goal to see as many of the shows that have major nominations (more than five) before the Tony’s. Well, the time is drawing near and there are still a few shows I need to see. Luckily I have seen all shows nominated for best Musical, with the exception of “In The Heights,” but I have tickets for that. What shows do I have to see before June 15th?



Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
August: Osage County
Gypsy
Boeing-Boeing



I plan on doing Tony predictions, but I won’t do it until I have seen as many shows as possible. I have sixteen days. I think I can get these four shows in.

Last week, I squeezed in Xanadu. I was pleasantly surprised. I have never seen the movie, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I found a blog through a friend of a friend, and I found that all his Broadway reviews were very fair. He gives really great reviews of shows, and his little blurb about Xanadu was spot on. It was very cheesy, but amazingly entertaining. Once again, I can’t say what my pick for best musical is until I see “In the Heights.”

A Change of Scene

I decided to mix things up from my usual Broadway Show rampage and went to a concert last night. It didn’t feel much different than a show, because the concert was in a theatre near Broadway. What can you do? I went to see KT Tunstall with a few friends. It was a great concert. Leah asked me what my favorite song was after we left, and I think it would have to be “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” with “Suddenly I See” a close second. I know that’s lame, but I just really like those songs. That KT girl is a great entertainer! While she’s got nothing on my ‘N Sync boys back in the day, I really enjoyed her concert. It was a great night – phenomenal company and an amazing concert! (I did miss Kort!)

Broadway: Hey! It's the Guy From Shrek...You Mean Shrek?

Saturday, May 24, 2008

As many of you know, they are turning Shrek into a Broadway musical. At first I was very apprehensive about this. To tell you the truth, I'm still not 100% sold. The Shrek costume will most definitely make or break the situation. The only reason I was going to go see it was because Sutton Foster will be playing Princess Fiona. I'm a big fan of her! Well, I was looking at the Shrek site today, and discovered that Chester Gregory II will be playing Donkey! I love him! I mentioned him in the post about Cry-Baby. Now I know I have to go see it just for him! It doesn’t come out until this fall, but I'm really excited now.

I also found out they are make a Bruce Lee musical that’s to come out in 2010. This is another one of those - "I don't know how I feel about that" shows. It will be interesting to see what they do with it.

I saw "Passing Strange" a few nights ago. It has seven Tony nominations, so I thought I should go see it. Let me just say it’s strange. There were some seriously hilarious parts and some songs that grooved hard, but overall I wasn’t that into it. It’s not my kind of show. Stew, the narrator, has a great voice and added some fun comedic relief to the show.

The set was very simple (just a few chairs and a back wall with some serious light action going on), but the cast did a great job of making you feel like you were traveling to different places (even though the set hardly changed). The interaction with the band was fun too. I haven’t seen all the shows nominated for best musical yet, so I can’t cast judgment if I think it will win or not. I’m still waiting to see In The Heights. I hear it’s the one to beat.

Broadway: 'The 39 Steps'

Monday, May 19, 2008

What was the play this weekend? 'The 39 Steps'! Yes, this is an Alfred Hitchcock film. It opened earlier this month. I haven’t heard much about it, except that it was funny. I really like Alfred Hitchcock so I thought I might enjoy the play.

Four actors play about 150 different roles. I was a little apprehensive when I heard that there were only four actors, but was amazed at how wonderfully funny this show was. There were moments on stage where an actor was playing three characters by just switching hats. I know it sounds lame, but it was really funny. It just seemed to work with the type of show. They had several little puns about other Hitchcock films and Mr. Hitchcock even made his famous cameo in the play. This was a nice change from the shows I have been seeing lately. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was absolutely delightful!

The real reason why I wanted to see it was because I liked the poster. I don't know why, but I do.

So Long, Sarah!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Sarah left for New Zealand yesterday. The lucky, lucky girl! She will be living there for a year. I just hope I get to visit her next winter. That’s the game plan anyways.

Before Sarah left, she made me promise her one thing. She made me promise her that I will come looking for her if her plane crashes. I am not to believe the news when they say that everyone aboard is dead. I’m to search every island for her. I'm her Penny! I promised her I would never stop looking for her. I haven't heard if she made it there safely, but I haven't heard on any plane crashes either. No worries Sarah! I'll never stop looking!

I miss you even more, Sarah! I need my Broadway buddy back!

Baby Mama!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Kort and I went to see Baby Mama tonight. It has been a long time since I've seen a movie, and I thought it was about time. Baby Mama was the perfect choice. Such a cute movie! I love both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. I was surprised to see Steve Martin! He has a little cookie role in the file, but I liked it.


Its movie time again! There are some great movies coming out in the next few months. I can’t wait for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Dark Knight.

Broadway: Two Plays in Two Days! What can I say? I’m addicted!

Two shows this week and I only had to pay for one! Lucky me! I went to see A Catered Affair on Tuesday night. I had heard so many great things about it, and thought it would be good to see it before the Tonys. Well, let’s just say it’s not my type of show. I thought it was boring. The acting was good. I really enjoyed Harvey Fierstein, but the rest of it was blah. I found myself wondering when it was going to be over. I felt bad feeling this way about a show. I left the theatre a little depressed. I felt better when a woman behind me said that it was the most boring show she had ever seen. This made me feel a little better. I can’t wait for the Tony nominations on Tuesday to see how it does.
The other show I saw was A Chorus Line. I enjoyed it. It’s not the best thing I have seen, but it was quite entertaining. Mario Lopez is playing Zach for a little while. He’s not the best actor in the world, but he sure was good to look at! I heard that he was taking a break for a month on May 11 to promote a book. I wanted to see him before the break, so Wednesday night was the perfect time. It’s worth a student ticket. I’m glad I got the chance to see it. I don’t think it’s going to last much longer. I bet over 1/3 of the house was empty. The balcony looked very barren.

i guess i'm evil!

Friday, May 9, 2008

I always listen to music on my ipod while I'm at work. It makes the time go faster on those slow days. While listening to my Disney/Animated Film playlist, I noticed that my favorite songs were the villains songs.

Examples?
Be Prepared - Scar
Poor Unfortunate Souls - Ursala
Mine, Mine, Mine - Governor Ratcliffe In The Dark Of The Night - Rasputin
Oogie Boogie's Song - The Oogie Boogie Man
How Could I Refuse - Preminger There are a few others, but I can't think of them right now. The play counts for these songs blow the other Disney/Animated songs out of the water. I don't know how I feel about this. I prefer the mean and evil songs. What does that say about me? Hmmm…I’m going to have to think about this.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Yes, there is a National Scrapbooking Day. I love this nation! I spent today like any good scrapbooker should. Scrapbooking and shopping for scrapbooking supplies! Talk about the perfect day! I just wish I could have been in Utah for all those amazing sales.

Broadway: Cry-Baby: All In My Head

Friday, May 2, 2008

So what was the play of choice to celebrate my one year? Cry-Baby! I had heard that it isn't doing too well, but it’s worth the $26 for the student tickets. Therefore, I went to the box office after work today and was delight that there were student tickets left!

The show, well…It’s entertaining and worth the $26. Is it the best show I've ever seen? No, not by a long shot. Is it better than anything currently playing? No, no luck there either. I did enjoy the show for its cheesy humor and great dancing - two qualities I truly admire in a show. There are some really great songs too. I plan to buy the album when it comes out. Honestly, I probably will never see the show again, but I’m glad I did.

The best thing about the show is that Chester Gregory II is in it! I am such a fan of his. He played Terk in Tarzan. He has an amazing voice and is so funny. I can listen to him all night long.

I am glad that I went to see it, but I'm even more excited for the next one - A Catered Affair. I hear it’s really good. I can’t wait!