Makes me want to weep for America

So occasionally when I want something interesting to read, I will go to the local college bookstore.   I know that is odd, but some of the best and most re-read books in my library are books from my college classes.

As I wandered the aisles in came a young lady who walked up to the clerk stocking the shelves with her book list in hand.  After squinting at it for a moment she looked up at him and asked in all seriousness," I need some book called Hamlet, do you have it?"

To quote the Ghost in Act V of Hamlet, I found this exchange "O horrible, O horrible, most horrible!" 

 I live in an area with really good schools, so there is no reason that she should have never heard of Hamlet before.  At least she would have heard of William Shakespeare, who when discussed, usually has his other writings make some sort of appearance. Especially Hamlet, since it's one of his most famous and oft performed and adapted  plays.

Sure, I get that the arts are being cut in our schools. Are they being cut this much?  I know it has been a while since I was in high school, maybe I don't know what they cover anymore.  Am I expecting too much from students who have graduated from high school to have heard of Hamlet?  Not to have read it, not to have seen any of the movie versions, just heard of it?

For goodness sake there are 9 comic book versions that I find with a quick Google search, not to mention a Hamlet for Kids (claims it is good for ages 7-12).  Side note, that seems young for a play that deals in revenge, incest, madness, treachery and moral corruption.  But like I said, it's been a while since I've been in school.  Maybe 7 year olds are ready for these themes these days?

Possibly I'm overreacting and this is not the fault of the educational system.  Maybe this girl is an exception and truly has never heard of Hamlet.  Even in that case, I don't think I'm being overdramatic to say that if you can graduate from high school and not even have heard of this play in some reference or another, then that is the true definition of tragedy.

Even sadder, this might be the first thing that pops into mind when someone says " Prince Hamlet".

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?

So long, farewell Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight 2011

Oh, 2011, I am so glad you are over. Yet, while there is a lot that went wrong in the past year, theatre is not one of them. I had a goal to surpass my 2010 tally of 48 theatrical shows seen. I am proud to say that at the close of 2011, I have seen 56 theatrical productions from San Diego, Los Angeles, to Portland and San Francisco. I was happy to see everything from young adult productions to full glitzy professional productions.

As recap, here are a few of my favorite productions from 2011. (no idea why some areas are highlighted...sorry)

Ahmanson Theatre – Bring It On!
This show was a hot mess, but it was fun, bright and a good time at the theatre (and sometimes that all that counts, right?). The cheerleading was amazing and the crowd went wild.
www.centretheatregroup.org

The Old Vic - Richard the III (San Francisco, Curran Theatre)
What else to say but “Wow”, this show was epic in everyway. The cast from The Old Vic breathed life into this Shakespearian classic, Chuk Iwuji played the “deep revolving Buckingham” like a slick politico or infomercial salesman superbly, but it was the star Kevin Spacey who made this world his own. Falsely innocent, heartlessly ambitious and completely self-loathing, he didn’t just portray this person; he gave him a depth and charm that made you kind of want him as king.
www.theoldvictheatre.com


Coronado School of the Arts- The Laramie Project
This encore performance staged reading featuring students from the Coronado School of the Arts was a stirring reminder of a story of a town touched by hate and a showcased some amazingly talented kids.
www.cosafoundation.org

Cygnet Theatre – Cabaret
Karson St. John's Emcee goes from comic and friendly to terrifying and sinister and was the anchor to the wonderful cast in this gritty and entertaining production.
www.cygnettheatre.com

The Old Globe – Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show
This rollicking musical was a fun revival of a cult classic. The cast, the fabulous Dr. Frank ‘N’ Furter and the audience interaction all added up to one fun time at the theatre.
www.theoldglobe.org

La Jolla Playhouse – Jesus Christ Superstar
Sing hosanna, this revival, fresh from the Stratford Shakespeare Festival before going to Broadway, was a much more contemporary retelling of the last week of Jesus’ life. The three lead performers made their acting match the soaring music and brought the show to a sharp and poignant focus.
www.lajollaplayhouse.com

Chinese Pirate Productions – Dr. Horrible’ Sing Along Blog
This shows fun and inventive staging and strong performances from the cast made this show a blast to watch. Who doesn’t like to root for the villain, jeer the hero and support a local theatre in the process?
www.chinesepirateproducitons.com

Cygnet Theatre- Little Shop of Horrors
This fun musical referenced every production of this show, from its B-movie origins to the 80’s musical movie with 50’s camp in between. The monochrome staging made this all about the only thing in color, the plant from outer space and what its plans are for Earth.
www.cygnettheatre.com

The Old Globe -Jane Austen’s Emma – A Romantic Musical Comedy
This charming and fun musical was a sweet portrayal of Austen’s favorite meddling matchmaker. The set, the costumes and the songs all seemed to finally hit their stride in this production (the show had traveled and been revised quite a bit prior to this one).
www.theoldglobe.org

La Jolla Playhouse – Little Miss Sunshine
This ultimate dysfunctional family road trip had a fun cast and a way of making this crazy car trip entertaining. With an inventive way of making a car trip theatrical and some entertaining (if uneven) numbers and pacing this was a fun new show.
www.lajollaplayhouse.com


In the end, I am excited to start 2012 for a variety of reasons, but mostly I am excited to sample some more fun and fabulous theatre. I don’t believe I can beat 56 productions in a year without quitting my job and dedicating myself to the task, which I am not against but my husband is (so mean) so I hope to match that number if I am able.

I am not one for resolutions, but hopefully I will be as consistent in posting here as I would like and I look forward to hearing from you, my tens of readers J

Have a fabulous new year and happy theatre viewing!

Sexy Naked Time at the Sinatra Club

I am not a dancer.  I know that this is shocking information, especially since once you see me in all my five foot, clumsy glory, you will wonder what in the world has prevented me from dominating the dance floor.  But even with this handicap, I love dance shows.  I love watching graceful and coordinated (Important in dance I have found) individuals tell a story though dance.

Combine this with the songs of Frank Sinatra and I am a happy girl.  I like Sinatra’s songs and think they could lend themselves to a fun show.  So I happily went to see Come Fly Away at the San Diego Civic Theater.

Being the epitome of a non dancer I took my friend along with me who is a dancer, for more technical feedback.  Curiously her feedback was “less crotch shots of the female dancers”, which is not a bad note.

The dancing is really really good.  It is a mix of jazz, modern and ballet.  The dancers were fluid and their lines were beautiful.  Especially the gentleman who played a “Chanos” the drunk (his spins were beautiful) and the young waiter,” Marty”, who was adorable in his enthusiasm and high energy.  The dances don’t so much end and begin as they blend into each other and one couple might fade away as others become more prominent.  There are a tremendous amount of lifts in this show (many which feature the woman in a full split facing the audience – hence the crotch shot comment).  There are so many lifts that it was almost like whenever someone wondered “what shall the next step be?” the answer was always “A lift!”

All this combined makes for a continuously moving stage and characters that are in the background and always moving.  And their movements are not always things that help define the story.  A girl randomly moves chairs and wanders around.   One guy is dumped by the hot blond and so naturally he proceeds to find another girl and have sex with her against the proscenium.  Meanwhile the mood spread and it seems for a moment that an orgy breaks out.

The characters were also asked to do some very strange things which I cannot begin to comprehend:

• ·         One character was always crawling over the stage, even across the front of the stage during another couples dance.  Bonus for some - she was mostly not dressed while doing this.The same character was passed around between the men in the company for the first half of the show, finally settling on one guy.  I think she was supposedly to be the “Vamp” character, but really I couldn’t think of her as anything but “tiger crawl” girl.
• ·         One character was choreographed to deliberately pull gum out of his pocket, unwrap it, put it in his mouth and throw the wrapper o the floor.  WTF?  How does this add anything to anything?  Plus I was always worried that he was going to choke as he chewed and danced.  (but he does get bonus points for being able to dance and chew gum at the same time)
• ·         Inexplicably take of your clothes…….at some point all the men took off their shirts and the waiter his pants.  Why?  No. Idea.  (but it sounds very unhygienic for a supper club)  I have no idea why they took off their clothes and danced around, and then some of the girls ended up in the underwear and negligees.  Why?  Why in a supper club?  At this point my friend deemed it “sexy naked time at the Sinatra Club”.

But here is the main problem; I was trying to make sense of it.  This was a bad plan.  The plot is so thin you could read a book in the dark through it.  The “characters” are so loosely created that they barely meet the stereotypical archetypes.    There are the young couple in throes of first love, there’s the couple that fights (the vamp and her …rebellious whatever he is), the drunk (which I didn’t get from viewing, it was only after dancer referred to his character as that after the show did I get a label for him.  Before this he was referred to as the guy with the mustache).

It has been referred to as Tharp’s homage to Sinatra, which I would have loved to seen, but this not it.  The dances don’t seem to take any cue from Sinatra in either dance styles or costumes.  The men are in nice suits and ties but the women are in shiny short dresses that defy any time period other tacky 70’s.  The dancing is strong no doubt; it just makes no sense at times.

An unexpected bonus was the awesomeness of the band.  They have the unenviable task of playing along with vocal tracks of Frank Sinatra singing in different venues and with different bands and make it sound cohesive.  The band does this and more.  They blend with the vocals so well I almost expected Old Blue eyes to walk out at some point.  The band has some moments to highlight their drummer and some horns, including the saxophone player, which are stellar.  Its good music that makes the audience forget that they’re there to see a dance show.

Upon inquiry it was discovered that the band plays to a series of “click tracks”.  So the original vocals are taken and the music is removed, but they have a background “click track” that helps the band keep track of the beat and where they should be.  Like a giant metronome, I suppose.  This is the most simplified version of how they do this possible, I’m sure that it is much more complicated in actuality.  No matter how it’s done, it was a fantastic performance from the band.

Have you see this show?  What were your thoughts?  I need someone to discuss this with so comment!

Jim Parson on San Diego and Theatre

This is an article I wrote after comic con for another site, but thought that I would share it here as well since it involves me asking recent Emmy winner Jim Parsons, from "The Big Bang Theory" about two topics close to my heart, theatre and San Diego.  Known, for playing everyone's favorite nerd Sheldon, Jim Parsons is no stranger to San Diego, having appeared at both the Old Globe and the La Jolla Playhouse while he studied for his MFA in Theatre.

When asked about his recent theatre experience with Normal Heart in New York and how it all came about, here is what he had to say:

“I called my agent a couple of months before the season was over and said ‘Look, we don’t have anything lined up for the full summer or anything, and I would just kill to do some theatre. I know it’s a long shot to get on a Broadway show, that’s not what I’m asking. I’ll do reading, I’ll do whatever’.

They said “Ok, let us think”.

About 5 days later, they called back and said that they’re going to do the Normal Heart and that they were going to do it in this time frame, would you consider this role.  And then I said “uh, yea!”.

Then they had to work out scheduling conflicts, which were many, you know. I had about 8 days of rehearsal total before the first preview of that show, which was very frightening. With that being said, the whole process was short. The whole cast had about two weeks total of rehearsal, so they were willing to work with me and I was so grateful. And I feel very rejuvenated having done that. I’ve done so much theater in my life, but I haven’t done any since I’ve started "Big Bang". Even if we tape it in front of a life audience, it’s different you know, never mind the tone of the Normal Heart is so different from a "Big Bang" episode. It was just nice to play somebody different, you know, it really was. It was nice to spend the summer doing that and that group of people I worked with is a remarkable bunch, they really were. It was more than I ever dreamed that request for theatre would have turned into, they did so many things. ”

How do you feel about returning to San Diego for Comic Con?

“I love it here.  We drove in this morning and I was talking with my manager and said that the only thing hard about being San Diego for Comic Con is that when I was here for school, San Diego is a very fun town, but also very laid back.  There is nothing laid back about Comic Con. “

Is there more theatre in his future, or did his Broadway experience tide him over for a while?

“One of the people in the show said “This is your first Broadway show?”  I said “Yes”. They said “You should retire now, you do not want to see the way things can go in another show. Just stop it here.  That’s the only bad part about it was that it did not satiate my thirst for theater, it made me hungrier. I want to do another theater”.

Hopefully in his quest for more theatre he will find him performing in San Diego again!

Theatre from an unexpected source...

I have been away for a while, I know….

This week I have been super busy working Comic –Con. Comic – Con?, you ask. Why am I there? How could I possibly connect theatre and comics? These are usually the questions that the other reporters ask of me whenever I sit at their tables.

Very easily, but those articles will be out soon enough.

At one roundtable people are firing questions at the actor and he was responding pleasantly, probably having responded to these questions a bajillion times over the course of the day. At a brief pause I asked him about his most previously theatre experience. He immediately responded with “Thank you for asking!” and launched into a 4 minute answer about how much he misses theatre and told his managers that he had to do some theatre on his next break from his show. He talked so much that the publicist had to interrupt him twice before he stopped talking and left for another table.

The other reports all looked over at me (hopefully with new found respect for my theatre questions).

Next actor approaching the table, I told the person next to me that I hoped I had a chance to ask him about a new play he wrote. The actor sat down and immediately started talking, in a semi-monologue about the show he is on.

At a brief moment in his tirade I said, “A bit off topic of the show, but I had a question about the new play that you wrote…” The actor sat up straighter and talked for about 10 minutes about his play, when it opens and how excited he is about it. As the interview came to an end, he stood up and thanked me for the very interesting question and how much he appreciated me knowing about it and asking about it.

At this point every reporter looks at me and starts asking me question about theatre. I chuckled to myself and was saved from answering any of them because the next person sat down for their interview.

For the next hour and a half every reporter at the table, peppered the table with questions about theatre. I didn’t have to ask one question and they all did the work for me. Their questions were a fun way to see how these people, whose lives are steeped in pop culture, video games and television, thought about theatre. The questions were mostly about Shakespeare and what working in front of an audience is like, but still, they were theatre questions!

I love that these reporters are going to go write their articles and their readers will get the information, using information they got from questions about theatre.

More people learning about theatre from unexpected sites with the words “TV” and “Monsters” in their names? That makes me very happy

Oh Mamma....

Mamma Mia – here we go again? I know that I am late to the Mamma Mia party; it’s been an international hit for years and somehow I am just now getting around to seeing it. I have nothing against ABBA and I love jukebox musicals, so this should be something that I really enjoy.

(Before I get started, if you want to read my official review click here)

And yet…there was something missing. What was it……?

Oh yes, a plot and dialogue.

Are those important?

The plot is this: Sophie is getting married and wants her Dad to walk her down the aisle. Except, according to her Mom’s diary from the year before she was born, that could be one of three men. So Sophie invites all three of them to the wedding because she will just “know” when she meets her Dad. Throw in two old band mates of her Mom’s, who naturally when they get together, put on their old costumes and sing their old songs (I can’t find too much fault in this as I can’t imagine this being a huge stretch for me and my friends, and we weren’t even in a band).

The dialogue consists of things such as this:
''I'm old enough to be your mother.''
''You can call me Oedipus.''
Cue song

Every line seems to be a cue for another song. Some of which, are distressingly out of context. As the person I went to the show with said afterwards,” If you are gong to use pop culture in a show then you must acknowledge that the audience knows the context of the song. So having her sing what is a love song to one of her potential Dad’s is a bit off putting”.

Agreed – You could argue that the song works in the context of the show, but if you listen to the words and realize it s a love song then it’s back to being creepy. And since there is so little meaningful dialogue (see above) the audience has no choice but to listen to the words of the song. It’s a vicious circle.

The choreography is, I suppose, designed to look like anyone from the audience could run up on stage and join in. To help show that each number is really a spontaneous expression of the characters about what is happening in the moment. Except, some of it I can do and no one is going to pay to see me dance. These people on stage are professional dancers, please; lets give them something interesting to do (and watch).

Then, there are the scuba themed dance numbers. Yes, I said numbers, as in plural.

I’ll wait while that sinks in

WTF?? Really? Someone thought that what the world needed was not one, but two scuba themed dance numbers? Accented in bright neon colors?

There’s a story that Kevin Smith the filmmaker tells about how he joined a movie to write the script and all the director could talk about is having the main character fight a giant mechanical spider. While Smith argued that it made no sense and couldn’t figure out how to add it in a coherent manner, and as things spiraled out of control, the director steadfastly demanded his mechanical spider. Eventually the film wasn’t made, but in the very next film this director made there was a giant mechanical spider. I feel like this can be the only plausible explanation for these scuba themed dance numbers. They had to be the dream of someone, who, come hell or high water, wanted two scuba themed dance numbers damnit!

Notice that I am not talking about the performances, that’s because they were very entertaining and talented. They made this crazy show more than the sum of its parts.

In the end, I did like the overall message of the show (albeit it didn’t arrive until the second to last line of the show) that there are “all kinds of families”.

While I loved the music (at over 20 songs, there was a lot of music), the performances and even the very small side plots, overall I think I’m not going there again.