Tell Me on a Sunday- Memories

If I learned anything from Cats, its that memories are "the time I knew what happiness was"  so "let the memories live again".

Why am I quoting Cats?  That was a terrible musical...or maybe it was because I'm not on whatever drugs made that musical about singing and dancing cats seem like a good idea.

Let's try it again....

Memories....."like the corners of my mind.  Misty, water-colored memories"

 I mean, do you have any habits or rituals that you do when attending or having attended a theatrical performance.  With the express purpose of helping note that you attended the show.  In order for them to avoid becoming "misty, water-colored memories"?

I am a terrible diarist or journal-er (possibly, blogger as well?) as I have a hard time tuning in to write on a regular basis.  Plus, years of getting my diary "given to me" for my birthday by my brother, had trained me not to write in them.  I am not someone who makes scrap books or is organized enough to find things after I have put them in that "I- will -never- forget- where- I- have- placed- this- it -is -so- obvious" spot.  So to make sure that I don't forget  where I have put something and to make sure I don't forget what I saw, where and with whom, I have a book where I keep the covers of the playbills and tickets of shows I have seen.

At every show I make sure to grab two programs.  One immediately gets read and folded as I try to get all the information out of it on the performers before the lights go down.  The other program goes in my purse, carefully saved in my calendar so it doesn't get bent or crushed.  My ticket also gets slipped in next to this program.

Once I get home I immediately pull out my book and open it up to the next open page.  On this page goes the program cover (cast list as well,  if I want that for some reason) and the ticket.  Then in the margins I write down who came to the show with me.  This way I never forget who I saw this show with and what date and time I  saw it.

This habit came about because I love seeing shows and I would get frustrated if I couldn't remember exactly when I saw a show.  This subject comes up a lot for me and not remembering this was unacceptable.  As well, I usually see very interesting shows with very interesting people and I would like to remember what I saw and with whom.

I am now at the end of the book I am currently using and I am excited to start a new one.  These books track not just theater, but my theater preferences, shows when I was going through an "adventurous" theater period in my life, notes what shows my friends like to attend and how far I have traveled to see something.  Currently, Las Vegas or San Francisco are as exotic as I have gotten...I swear, New York and London will one day grace the pages of my theater book. 

Do you have an theater habits to remember shows you have attended?  Do you note it in your day planner?  Buy the swag at the shows and wear them proudly?  Tell me!

Tell Me on a Sunday: Let me Entertain you

People have their preferences for everything in their life.  There are preferences on how you like your food, you laundry folded and how to drive you car.  Theatre is no exception and peoples preferences are as varied as there are people. 

There are some people that only like "happy theatre.  They want to go to be entertained, but they don't want to see anything too sad.  Musicals and comedic plays usually fit this bill.  

Some people only like theatre that is dark and edgy.  They want to see something that defines the "art" of theatre.  Something that pushes the envelope, gives them something to think about and possibly makes people squirm in their seats.

Personally, I like all theatre.  There are things that if I could, I would choose to partake in very occasionally, like any kind of existentialism.  Or anything with an actor chat back immediately following.  My comfort zones are musicals...mainly because there is so much going on.  I can focus on the performances bu I can look at the lighting, the dancing, the costumes and the orchestra.  Do you not watch an orchestra?  You should, sometimes they are one of the BEST things in a show.  

I made myself a promise two years ago that any theatre ticket I could get I had to attend, barring a really good reason to not go.  This way I am trying to stretch outside my own comfort zones.  Because of this I have seen some theatre that I loved and never would have attended- Riverdance comes to mind in this. It was really amazing and held my attention the entire time.  There are some things I've seen where I had to ask myself "What the hell am I watching?" - Peer Gynt comes to mind.  Sometimes, the shows that I think I will love, I have hated.  Yet everything I have seen has been something that was absolutely worth seeing.

 We all go to the theatre to be entertained, but we all have different ideas on what that means. So tell me: do you only like to go to something that may have a happy ending?  Do you like going to shows that might end on a down note?  What are your preferences?  

Tell Me on a Sunday: Swift Kick in the Pants

So they are making a movie of this musical called Les Miserables....maybe you’ve heard of it?

While I (think) I have made my feelings clear on this particular musical, I wanted to broach it about the casting of this movie. Now, clearly, I do not have (any) emotional investment in this musical or who is portraying any character. There are some amazing songs that I do love to hear (outside of the musical, I won’t pay a gajillion $ to wait for hours to hear a few songs), so I do care about who is singing, but not that much.

Casting news has trickled out and here is what is known so far:

Hugh Jackman - Jean Valjean
Russel Crowe - Javert
Anne Hathaway - Fantine
Sacha Baron Cohen - Thenardier
Helena Bonham Carter - Madame Thenardier
Amanda Seyfried - Cosette
Taylor Swift - Eponine

If I give you a moment to look over the list again, can you guess which person is causing the uber fans to have panic attacks and sling vicious vitriol across the Internet?

If you answered Amanda Sayfried, I would understand, because Mamma Mia did no one in that film any favors. But apparently she is opera trained, and from what (little) I saw of the last musical, she has a pretty voice.

But if you answered Taylor Swift, then...you win (your prize is being right, ta da!)

The reaction has been amazing to me. People have been FREAKING THE F*CK OUT over this.

So, I decided to compile some of the most oft given reasons for the overreaction and add my own opinions to them. Who would have guessed that theatre fans are overdramatic?

Reason #1 - This role should have gone to Lea Michele
Lea has an amazing voice. She is a fantastic theatrical/musically trained actress. I own many an album that she is singing on, and most of them are Glee soundtracks.
She also makes the worst singing faces on the planet and while that is ok on the stage (where you're far away) and on Glee (where standards, continuity and plot are things that are not necessary...sorry thats a different post), I think this might not work on the big screen (see New Years Eve for more proof) for three hours at a time. Plus, she’s kind of busy taking over everything else in the world. She’s probably tired...

Reason #2 - Taylor can’t sing
Whether you like her or hate her, Taylor Swift is a superstar performer and singer who has won a bajillion awards in the last few years, including Billboard’s 2011 Woman of the Year and according to 2010 Nielsen SoundScan is the most successful digital artist in music history with over 34.3 million digital tracks sold. Clearly, some people are listening to her...

I grant the haters out there that she has never attempted something the magnitude of Eponine, but here’s her chance! The song is written as it’s written, it’s not like she’s going to turn it into a country song.

Reason #3 - Taylor can’t act and can’t bring the depth needed to the role
Valentine’s Day is referenced a lot in this reasoning, but I think she played the role of a bubbly, head over heels, slightly obnoxious teen in love pretty well...cause that's the role. That's how she was directed and that's a subject matter she knows.

Some country songs and hers more specifically, are filled with girls in love, over romanticizing everything, wanting people they can’t have, and living in an imaginary world where their love conquers all.

Which is sad, because Eponine is ....all of that. Eponine is in her late teens, in love with a man who doesn’t love her, imagines her world as something it’s not when thinking of him and is over dramatic to the end. Huh...maybe this is something Taylor could do. It seems to be in her wheelhouse, yes?

I promise that my complete and utter hatred of this musical is not the reason I defend her. I defend her because I think these reasons are ridiculous. If you vow not to see this musical because she is in it, then fine, that's your call. Even with my hatred of this musical, I will see this movie. It is bound to be an interesting and unique adaption of the show. Much like how Daniel Day Lewis was different  than Antonio Banderas’ portrayal of the main character in Nine, so will Taylor be different than any of the actresses that have played Eponine on stage.

To be clear, this is not a defense of Taylor in the role.  It's more to point out that she's not the worst choice in the world.  If she happens to bring a fraction of her music fans with her to the movie, is that so bad?  A few thousand more people giving money to a musical film that, if popular, may convince the studios to make more movie musicals?

If she's terrible everyone gets to say "I told you so", but until then can we give her and the project itself, the benefit of the doubt?   And in the end, many people auditioned for this role, Taylor got it. Get over it. This movie is directed by Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) I think the guy knows how to make a movie.

What do you think?

Tell Me on a Sunday: Who to you go with to the theatre?

Tell Me on a Sunday: People…who go to theatre with other People…

Are the luckiest peeeeoople….

Sorry, I got Barbara stuck in my head there for a moment.

Right, so you may have noticed that I have not had a chance to write a whole lot lately, yeah, sorry about that.

It’s not that I didn’t want to write; I just literally had no free time in which to write. Hopefully the crazy that has kept me spinning will slow so I can get get in some blog time!

All righty then, enough with the chitchat here is todays Tell me on a Sunday question: With whom do you like to attend theatre? Is there a specific person? Why or why not?

I love to attend theatre with all of my friends, because they always notice something that I don’t, they interpret something differently than I do and are super interesting to do the post show chat with. (Also all of my friends are super interesting, hence their super interesting commentary) Not all of my friends are theatre people, and that’s fine with me. I don’t need you to know anything or everything about theatre to go with me; you just have to want to go (I’m easy like that).

But the person that always gets first pick of show tickets, whether she wants them or not, is my Mom. I love going to the theatre with my Mom. The things she notices and the way she comments on them always interest me. She likes theatre, but she didn’t study it. When I got into theatre she helped with song choices, rehearsals and even getting my hair dyed black (Thanks King and I).

I remember attending Les Miserables with my Mom. We had pretty good seats and were very interested since everyone and their Mother had told us that it was the BEST SHOW EVER. Apparently neither of us though that because once intermission arrived my Mom turned to me and said, “Did you see those pockets on his jacket? Beautiful!” I laughed because; in fact the show had such little pull for me that I was also looking at the seaming on this characters jacket (it was beautiful, and infinitely better than the show)

Another time were watching Jekyll and Hyde and as the show was going on she said,” The lighting on the ground is fantastic”. Since I had been watching the characters I had neglected to even notice that they had lit the floor to look like cobblestones and then change to tile depending on where the characters were going. (I was in high school then, I notice lighting now, I promise)

After every show we break down everything we just saw, from the performances to the sets, costumes and plot. We debate whether things that stuck with us are directing choices, acting choices or were specified in the script. We try to imagine how hard it must be to wear that ridiculous outfit or dance in those heels. Sometimes I love something that she couldn’t stand, sometimes we both gush but each over a different aspect of the show. Sometimes we go back at the end of a run to see how something has changed and debate all over again.

Yes, it is possible that I think my Mom is a theatre whiz because we find the same things funny, the same things annoying and both love a happy musical…but more than that I love having this to share with her, especially since she’s the one that helped make me into this theatre crazed person I am today. I guess it’s up to you if that something we should thank her for or not.

Happy Mother’s Day to the bestest theatre Mom I know.

So whom do you like to go with to the theatre? Why do you like going with them? I look forward to reading your responses!

Tell Me on a Sunday: Overrated Musicals!

There are some shows that are amazing and popular and critically acclaimed, but then there are shows that are terrible and yet everyone loves them. While we all love to talk about shows that we love, I find that more people are more interested in talking about shows that they are baffled by or even just straight out dislike.

Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion, and tastes vary from person to person. However, there is always that musical that someone considers overrated and every time someone mentions it they think “What am I missing?”

To help, here the definition of overrated: to rate or appraise too highly; overestimate

Also, here are the words that come up when you put “overrated” in a thesaurus: magnify, exaggerate, blow out of proportion and embellish.

Ok, so with that all out of the way here are the two shows that I think are so overrated that I, to this moment, do not understand their appeal.

And I know that the second you read this, you will think “Have you lost your mind?”

I promise you that I have not

Here they are:

Les Miserables

Phantom of the Opera

I will with while you let that sink in….I know it’s most likely that someone loves those shows.

It just so happens that the two musicals that I have mentioned are two of the most successful and long running musicals in the history of Broadway. But that doesn’t mean I’m wrong, and it doesn’t mean that they’re good.

I know that Les Miserables is based on a classic novel, and I have read that novel. I have seen various adaptions of the novel, both musical and non, so it’s not the story. I think that while it has some songs that are memorable (Although possibly it is because they are played until ad nauseum – yes “I Dreamed a Dream” I am thinking of you). But overall I think that it is a overly long, dark (visually) and overly sentimental musical. It can border on campy and sometimes crosses the line into overblown.

While I know that adapting into a musical can require changes to plot and characters (Wicked, I’m looking at you) I feel like the adaptions leave out some interesting plot information, turn truly vile opportunists into charmingly obnoxious disillusioned con men and simplify other characters into shadows of what they were.

At one point during this show I realized that the person I was attending the show with and I were using binoculars to look at the stitching details on the costumes – that’s how not invested we were in what was happening on the stage.

Now on to Phantom of the Opera……dear lord

Repetition - The songs are incredibly repetitive - how many reprises and sequels to songs can one show have?There is:

"Think of Me" Part 1 – Carlotta, Ballet Girls, André and Buquet

"Think of Me" Part 2 – Christine and Raoul

"Notes/Prima Donna" – Firmin, André, Raoul, Carlotta, Madame Giry, Meg, Piangi, and Phantom

"All I Ask of You" – Raoul and Christine

"All I Ask of You (Reprise)/Chandelier Crash" – Phantom, Raoul, and Christine

"Notes II" – Firmin, André, Carlotta, Piangi, Raoul, Christine, Madame Giry, and Phantom

And that’s not counting all the other songs in this musical!

Lip-syncing- While I understand that due to staging, sometimes songs have to be pre-recorded, it is not cool that the main song, the most famous song and the moments that are so revered by people are also the moments that are pre-recorded. So unless you go to the show knowing that you will be watching someone lip-sync they do not tell you. That’s just cheating….

This adaption of the novel that it is based on is not well done and in doing so sacrifices the character development and with it audience investment. There is no explanation as to why the Phantom lives in the bowels of the opera house (he is a disfigured genius who was one of the contractors who built the opera and who secretly built into the cellars a home for himself) or even his name (Erik). So why should I care about him?

Ok, so now that I’ve gotten that off of my chest….which musicals do you think are the most overrated?

Is there a musical that you avoid at all costs? Why and what turns you off from this musical?

Tell me on a Sunday: Characters

It is time once again for Tell Me on a Sunday! I know that I missed last week’s post and I apologize, but I have a great excuse. Besides being outwitted by a balloon (click here) I was super sick. Like La Boheme, coughing sick. I could barely make it out of bed let alone to the computer to type something.

This is where Mr. Theatrophile points out that the computer is in fact portable, and could have come to me in the bed very easily. This is also where I respond with “hhmmm?”

Moving on…This week’s Tell Me on a Sunday is about characters that resonate with you. Is there a character that you love to watch over and over because you identify with them in some way?

Do you love to watch Wicked because you identify with Elpheba? Do you sometimes have a quick temper and act impulsively? Do you, like Belle in Beauty and the Beast, feel like there is more for you that what is in your provincial town? Do you try to find a way to stay detached from things that may end up causing you pain like Mark from Rent?

Do you love a character because you are inspired by their journey? Do you come away from A Dolls House by Ibsen with a renewed sense of not wanting to depend on anyone for anything and wanting to be independent? Do you chafe at traditionally drawn societal roles? Do you really want to dance the tarantella?

I like many aspects of many different characters and enjoy all the different paths that different shows can take you on. One I very much love is The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, not only because it is adorable and the songs are catchy, but because there is something in each character that I love. I also like that it’s a show written with kids as characters but treats them as the flawed human beings they are, instead of just the kid stereotypes. Out all the kids my favorite is Leaf Coneybear

.

Leaf is played by a wonderfully funny actor named Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who you may know

from the television show “Modern Family”. Leaf is not the brightest kid in the tournament, and in fact wouldn’t have made it into the spelling bee at all if the two kids who placed ahead of him hadn’t been invited to the same bar mitzvah. Yet there he is, boldly trying to spell words he may never had heard of before, all to prove he is smart like the rest of his family.

By his own admission Leaf has a gentle personality and he likes his hair, both things have nothing to do with smarts at all and everything to do with why I love him (I don’t know why, but the hair line makes me laugh EVERY SINGLE TIME).

While in the beginning he is a bit gun shy after being home schooled with his more aggressive family, he soon is happily amongst the other spellers.I love that even though he grows in confidence he never grows out of his goofy personality or quirks. I admire that. Sometimes I wonder if my job, responsibilities and behaving as I people think I ought is dampening my sense of whimsy and wonderment, but then I hear Leaf sing and it never fails to make me laugh. That’s when I realize that no matter how far down it may get sometimes; my personality (while not gentle like Leafs, is goofy none the less) is there.

Of course living with Mr. Theatrophile keeps me goofy too.

So how about you? What character(s) do you identify with? Tell me about it!