Posted by bk @ 07/28/2002 12:34 PM PST

I think I have all of you beat for being lazy. I hate to admit this, but I just woke up about twenty minutes ago...and it's now 4:05 EDT. I have to admit, though, it was wonderful to get so much sleep.

As I sit here, lazy and quasi-full from my left-over spaghetti and a glass of iced tea, I wonder what I should do today. Dare I venture out to Manhattan for a day of shopping? I, of course, would be shopping at the K-Mart in Penn Station, cause I certainly couldn't afford Fifth Avenue today. How does one go about rallying for a Target store somewhere in Manhattan? Isn't Target just the best? I REALLY wish, though, that we had a Wal-Mart SuperCenter. One stop shopping...now THAT'S the epitome of Sunday laziness.

Well, I guess I'll skee-daddle for now, dear friends, but I'll be back. Oh, yes, I'll be back. Mwah-ha-ha!

Posted by Jason @ 07/28/2002 01:06 PM PST

Bruce !

You did NOT answer Robert' s
question !!! -- I also have that
LP --
Are you LAZY or what ?

Nice write up about the Bye
Bye Birdie showing..... I sure
miss film musicals on BIG
SCREENS and cartoons, and
shorts and...... Those were the
days, my friends....and we
thought....they'd never end...

Foolish were we !!!

it's VERY HOT tonight in Paris.

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 01:13 PM PST

LAZY AFTERNOON !

Ain't that a gorgeous song ?

I have Barbra's and Julie's
versions , and the original one,
of course, and I love them all
---I'm so consensual !! --

Hazy evening here ! and i 'm
quite buzzing around the hotel
( my working place ) I'm
buzzing off...

Buzz..................

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 01:20 PM PST

Where is everyone today? Is it a lazy day all around?

Posted by Dolores, formerly Lolita @ 07/28/2002 01:40 PM PST

Hi, sorry I forgot to answer Robert's question - I was just being lazy. No, we didn't use any songs from Goldilocks on The Sherman Brothers Album that I conceived and did the musical arrangements for. Lots of other goodies, though.

Now, this is, after all, free-for-all day here at haineshisway.com so let's get some topics going so I can come in and shoot my lazy mouth off. We must make up for the lost three days and we are CLOSE I am here to tell you but we cannot slack off on a lazy hazy crazy Sunday.

Posted by bk @ 07/28/2002 01:57 PM PST

OK.. topic topic... we've listed our top bway musical #'s and shows.. but have we ever discussed off-broadway deeply? for example, here are some of my fav shows I did NOT see on broadway...but off and thoroughly enjoyed

1. Weird Romance
2. Bat Boy
3. Tick Tick Boom
4. Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!

to name a few...

Posted by Craig @ 07/28/2002 02:29 PM PST

Jason: Surely there's a Wal-Mart Super Center somewhere in the greater NYC area -- maybe over on Long Island????

Of course, I hear there's a Holdup in the Bronx, Brooklyn's broken out in fights, there's a traffic jam in Harlem that's backed up to Jackson Heights....but there's no Wal-Mart Super Center in Manhattan?

There are some interesting things on TV this afternoon -- chief among them is "The World According to Garp," a movie I've not seen since it was in theaters. Wonderful film -- essentially the screen debuts for Robin Williams, Glenn Close and John Lithgow (they all got their first big screen notice in this film).

"Destry Rides Again" the Broadway musical -- any thoughts anyone???

I'm sure everyone is greatly relieved and heartened by the news that the nine coal miners were rescued. Before my early bedtime last night, I heard that the drillers had broken through, but nothing was being said about the miners -- and the only thing the Pennsylvani governor would say was that the next of kin had to be notified first. I sure didn't like the sound of that at that time...that's usually what is said before the dead are identified. Glad that wasn't the case here.

We needed some cheery news. So much crazy stuff going on here and everywhere.

I feel quite certain that what we need is a little Christmas -- even if it's just for the non-secular reasons -- decoration and cheeriness and a reason to hang mistletoe and wear lots of gaudy tinsel and to decorate one's spaces with twinkling lights. Yes, we need a little Christmas NOW!

On the other hand, a private Olympic-sized swimming pool, an airy, open cabana, with a supply of humongous, thirsty towels and a fully stocked bar/refrigerator would put me right into a summer reverie the likes of which no Christmas could touch!

I sure hope many of you have made heads and tails of the Mystery Question...I've sent in several answers and I'm sure BK thinks I'm absolutely nuts. But it is fun to make ridiculous guesses when it's not possible to make an educated one. I think everyone should play. Just write BK and tell him what those three actors all have in common!

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 02:41 PM PST

Jason No Wal-Mart, super center or non-super center in Manhattan (yes, they do exist on Long Island). No Target either, and there most likely won't be one. I know from Target. I grew up in Minnesota where my beloved Target was born out of the mind of the Dayton family, owners of the late and lamented Dayton's Department Store. It began as Dayton's and then in the late 1960s or early 1970s, Dayton's bought the Hudson's Department Store chain in Michigan and became Dayton-Hudson. They expanded in the 70s, 80s and 90s buying such stores as Marshall Fields. Last year they decided Marshall Fields has a bigger name recognition than Dayton's so they retired the Dayton's name and re-named all Dayton's and Hudson's as Marshall Fields. Anyway, I digress.

Target is very successful, second only to Wal-Mart as a discount department store. The reason they will most likely never appear in Manhattan is because they have a belief that their stores must be on one level. They won't do a multi-level store and in Manhattan, that's a hard thing to pull off. K-Mart at Penn Station and on 8th Street downtown are both multi-level stores and I have shopped at them, but I find them difficult to manuver in and also the quality of the stores is WILDLY uneven. Many departments within the stores are dumpy and unpleasant. Target has a very high quality control department and I think it would be difficult to make it stick in a Manhattan store.

Even a regular Target (not a Target Greatland) is too large to be economically feasible. There is a space in Manhattan on 14th Street and University Place (there used to be a Bradlee's but it died an ignonomous death a couple of years ago) which could have a Target but it's a five-story place and Target won't move into a place like that.

OK, that's enough about Target and Manhattan.

Ron Other than the score, I don't know much about Destry Rides Again other than Dolores Gray as the lead. I love her singing "I Hate Him".

You're right. We do "need a little Christmas" It's supposed to be 95 DEGREES tomorrow and humid and awful (here in NYC). It will be that way for a couple of days. Then I'm off to DC to see A Little Night Music. Knowing DC though, I'm sure it will still be hot and humid and climactically unpleasant there as well. I expect the production of Night Music to make me feel better at least for a couple of hours. I will report back after I see the show.

I'm looking forward to listening to the radio show tomorrow morning as I sit in my Dilbert-like cubicle indexing grants.

Only 2 hours and 45 minutes until Sex and the City.

Later, folks.

Posted by Ben @ 07/28/2002 03:12 PM PST

Ron,

I know what those three actors
have in common !!!!

They are totally unknown of
little me, François....

Got y'all real SCARED, hey ?

Ain't that a ridiculous and
unseemly guess ?

Does anyone know what
Susan Watson is doing now ?

Happy Wal-Mart hunting,
Jason.

Hey, you, lazy bums, wake-up !
It's "showtime" !

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 03:12 PM PST

Drat the Chat, but I'd rather
chat chat chat, even tho it's too
hot and we're too LAZY today:
worse, how could we Chat On
A Hot Tin Roof ????

Whished it would rain chats
and dogs !

Anyone for an Aristochat ?
Everybody Wants To Be A Chat

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 03:19 PM PST

There may be no Targets in Manhattan yet but they are starting to pop up in the outer burroughs. The one in Queens is on two levels with a special escelator for shopping carts.

I just saw the Broadway revival of I'M NOT RAPPAPORT with Judd Hirsch repeating his Tony winning role and Ben Vereen in his "Broadway acting debut" (per the Playbill). This is the first show in memory when the standing ovation started before the curtain even went up on the curtain calls. Was it that good? No. It was what is was in 1986 --- a very entertaining show with great performances but better dialogue than plot. I liked it a lot, but think the audience went a little too overboard in their reactions. Still with so little else on Broadway, it's nice to see this back.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/28/2002 03:38 PM PST

I spy a new radio show up...

Posted by Agatha Christie @ 07/28/2002 03:51 PM PST

Welcome, Dame Agatha. Susan Watson lives close by to where I live - she's still quite active and is a member of a company called the Musical Theater Guild, which performs every so often at the Pasadena Playhouse.

My favorite off-Broadway shows would have to include the grand-daddy of them all The Fantasticks, The Streets of New York (a MAJOR guilty pleasure), the Julius Monk revues (and their LA counterpart, the Billy Barnes revues) and quite a few others which I can't seem to think of right now because I'm too lazy to.

Posted by bk @ 07/28/2002 04:26 PM PST

It's way too cold to have a lazy day here. I shall endeavour to listen to "Destry" today. I can't remember anything about it. It is also probably too cold for icecream cake - but if the opportunity presented itself! The trivia question means nothing to me. I have never heard of the actors and don't have the resources to research (other than the NET). I make take a few guesses. Perhaps there should be a prize for the most courageous and creative guess. I should receive my "Into The Woods" tomorrow. (I m looking forward to the booklet!). I also expect to receive "Milly" and would you believe "Mrs Miller" singing "Downtown". - maybe she is an English "thing". - really atrocious voice (worse than mine) but made the charts in the mid 60's in UK & OZ with her strictly for laughs versions of pop songs.. Maybe I'll at last receive the BK CD. I have also ordered from Amazon a copy of Don Cherry (the singer/golfer not jazzman) singing his best.
Wonderful news about the miners but mention of drillers reminded me that tomorrow is DENTIST day. Audrey where are you?

Posted by Tom from OZ @ 07/28/2002 04:30 PM PST

Good to hear Miss Watson is doing well. I loved her in Doctor Faustus, which coincidently was written by a guy with a great detective name... Mr. Marlowe

Posted by Detective Purefoy @ 07/28/2002 04:44 PM PST

What did the 0 say to the 8?
Hey... NICE BELT!

Why were all the ants confused?
Because all their uncles were ants!

Posted by Craig @ 07/28/2002 04:46 PM PST

How do they circumcize a whale?

they send down four skin divers

Posted by Craig @ 07/28/2002 04:48 PM PST

Well, BK ain't handin' out no stinkin' ceegars today!

But I thank him for tolerating a myriad of wild silly guesses at the mystery question!

Darn the Dog!

I totally forgot that Tom from OZ is having his winter right now! That's right...water runs down drains counter-clockwise in the great down under -- and June and July and August are cold...and Christmas is mild and pleasant, if I recall correctly. I spent one fine Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 19876 in Perth when I was on an aircraft carrier on a Western Pacific Cruise. It was my second visit. Perth always rolled out the red carpet to the U.S. Navy...and Aussie warmth is WARM, indeed!!!

During my first visit, circa 1984 or 85, visit to Perth -- I was in a wonderful hotel, the name of which escapes me...but I went to the pool on the top floor to catch some rays (it wasn't hot, but it was very nice). There was a couple at the other end of the pool. I soon became aware of another person joining us...and he took a chair near mine. After a few minutes, the girl member of the couple squealed "It's Pat Boone." I remember being drowsy and thinking, "How ridiculous!

"What's Pat Boone", I wondered. But it turns out that the gent in the chair next to mine was Pat Boone and in Perth for a concert. He looked like himself -- that's what registered with me. Many times, celebrities look different in person -- Pat Boone looks just like himself in person!! A very nice guy.

[Well...it's free-for-all day...and my life hasn't been THAT exciting. Okay?!]

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 05:00 PM PST

And pardon the date typo -- it was Christmas Eve/Day 1986

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 05:03 PM PST

Many thanks, Bruce, for the
infos regarding Susan Watson
!
I've always loved her voice
tremendously, and treasure an
album she made years ago of
Jerome Kern songs, along
with Danny Carol ( sp. ; i'm
quoting from memory !!) and
the original Daddy Warbucks
himself, whose name
escapes me at the moment...

I also have her on tape from
the TV prod of THE
FANTASTICKS, opposite John
Davidson.....

Ain't you all-- eurh --- y'all
thrilled to pieces by those
tidbits ?

Sure you are!

Hope we get to HEAR the
Sherman Brothers Album
someday soon....

That would be just
supercalifragilistic too too toot
sweet....

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 05:05 PM PST

Don't kid yourself, Ron; I
enjoyed your post..

I never met Pat Boone, but I
did a relative of his, who went
to greener pastures recently,
the one and only Rosemary
Clooney, and I waited on
Debbie, when I worked in on of
the French restaurants at
Epcot, Florida.....

They were both charming, and
Rosie was always warm with
her fans.....

Rosie, I'll be looking at the
moon, and I'll remember you !

Posted by Francois @ 07/28/2002 05:16 PM PST

Ron & others re Far(t)scape: Yes, it was my own t, for they manage to put at lease one coprophiliac joke in every episode. And no, Denise Crosby left Star Trek because it was too limiting and she wanted to be a Movie Star (a beautiful, glamourous movie star). The point being, quitting a highly successful series at the peak of its popularity just isn't a smart move. Colm Meanie managed to have a quite successful film career simultaneously with his ST rôle, thank you.

Delores: Should we say, "Goodbye, Lolita! Hello, Dolly!"?

Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/28/2002 05:31 PM PST

Ron: Denise Crosby didn't leave ST:TNG for health reasons. She was dissatisfied with the limited action she saw her character getting (agreeably strange, since she was playing the security chief), and was getting offers for films. She returned to TNG several times during the next six years, both as her original character, Tasha Yar, and that character's daughter, Sela. This included returning as Tasha in the series finale, "All Good Things."

Someone may have confused Crosby with Grace Lee Whitney, who left the original Star Trek series to go into rehab after that show's first year. Ms. Whitney is clean and enjoying her life now, singing and acting. And word is, she'd love to know what happened to that basketweave wig she wore those many years ago!

Posted by SWoodyWhite @ 07/28/2002 05:34 PM PST

Favorite off-B'way? I'd have to say THE LAST FIVE YEARS. I saw it in previews and a couple of weeks before it closed. I love Jason Robert Brown's work, so...there you have it.

I also developed a greater appreciation for THE FANTASTICKS after I met Tom and Harvey. They really are great little guys. Unfortunately, the show closed the weekend I moved here, so I never got to see it. Such a pity, though Tom told me the last NY cast was really pretty bad.

Posted by Jason @ 07/28/2002 06:03 PM PST

Two favorite off-Broadway shows: "Dames At Sea" and "Forever Plaid" I'll think of more later.

June Christy did a great version of "Lazy Afternoon." Emily Skinner's version is great, too, but one of my favorite versions is by Polly Bergen.

More to come....

Posted by Kerry @ 07/28/2002 06:05 PM PST

Ok Ron. Just revisited "Destry". Is it available on CD. I like it a lot. I like Harold Rome's scores but apart from "Gone With The Wind" have never seen his work staged. I may listen to "Fanny" next.(What a strange title for a musical).Pat Boone. Good Grief. I remember all that publicity when Shirley Jones stole a kiss from him in April Love. Pat Boone singing "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" - now that was a classic.I have now annoyed BK with some guesses.

Posted by Tom from OZ @ 07/28/2002 06:19 PM PST

Francois did a relative of Pat Boone's? Incroyable! And, perhaps, unseemly.

I performed "Lazy Afternoon" with incredible flugelhornist (er?) Paul Mazzio just this afternoon. We were both struggling to stay awake (must be going around), and felt that was the perfect song to perform for the adoring throngs (maybe we were asleep and dreaming).

I agree that Last Five Years has some wonderful stuff, not the least of which is Jason's string writing. Brown alumnus Brooks Ashmanskas will be performing with me in a benefit here in Portland in September, though we will probably not be doing any of Jason's material.

And since today is free-for-all, may I state that Mario Nascimbene's score for "The Vikings" is perhaps the most awful big-budget score by a well-respected composer I have ever heard?

Posted by JMK @ 07/28/2002 06:33 PM PST

Tom, I don't know if BK is capable of being annoyed by guesses. I suppose if you sent him 20 e-mails, all with the SAME guess, he might get a tad ticked-off, though!

Yes, "Destry Rides Again" is on CD. Footlight.com has it.

William and SWoody: Thanks for the clarfication on Denise Crosby. In her case...and in David Caruso's...neither stepped away at the right time.

I always wondered how much effect that body makeup would have on Ms. Hey, though. she was blue from head to toe. Gigi Edgely seems to have pretty heavy makeup, but it's basically on her face, upper torso and arms.

I wish Ms. Hey well. And it was good to see her back in a guest appearance.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 06:37 PM PST

JMK: Yes you may say such a thing. I've heard little Nascimbene that I could stomach much of...and I've heard plenty (Light in the Piazza is a nice exception). BUT, many soundtrack fans count "The Vikings" among those scores that got them hooked into being soundtrack fans.

I got my start on the basis of "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "The Robe" and "Exodus" and "Mutiny on the Bounty."

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 06:41 PM PST

JMK, YOU NASTY YOU !

I am French, but NOT that
French....

As you DID well understand, I
meant "I did meet....."

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 06:48 PM PST

Tom,
Besides the fact that "Fanny" was named after the character in the play, the word, "fanny" does not mean the same thing colloquially in this hemisphere as I'm told it does in Australia.

Amd it is a beautiful song.

Posted by Kerry @ 07/28/2002 07:03 PM PST

Ok, alright.... you want me to
be French, fresh and frisky ?

Well, those two shows, Fanny
and Gone with the Wind, were
quite a gas.........

Did you say it was free-for-all
day, Bruce ?

Sorry !

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 07:04 PM PST

hemisphere, Kerry ?

You mean two emispheres,
right ?!

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 07:05 PM PST

Craig, you rascal, I know where those jokes came from because today (Sunday) I listened (here in New York) to the 11am repeat of the Saturday 6pm broadcast of PHC (which was a repeat in itself, being from 2000).

Yes, Target has made it's way to the outer Boroughs. It would be wonderful if they made it to Manhattan.

One of my favorite off-Broadway shows was Forever Plaid with the lovely and talented Mr. Jason Graae.

Mr. BK, you mention a show that I did back in 1976. Not here in NYC but as a summer gig on a showboat. We did The Streets of New York that Bicentennial summer. An original 1858 paddlewheel boat was purchased by the University of Minnesota Theatre Department and docked on the east bank of the Mississippi River. They renovated and made a beautiful little theatre inside the boat. Every summer a show was done using students from the department. In 1976 we did The Streets of New York. I was in the chorus. It was one of the most enjoyable summer shows I ever did. I still remember sitting on the top deck of the boat on July 4th, after the show, and watching the fireworks on the Mississippi River. Ah, my youth.

I came across the off-Broadway recording at Footlight a few years ago. It's amazing how things stick in your brain forever. As soon as I heard it, the music came rushing back to me. "California, California, en mi corizon vive por sempre" (excuse the spelling, I took French in high school and college, not Spanish, also I don't know what it means anymore).

Posted by Ben @ 07/28/2002 07:12 PM PST

Would it be terribly unseemly of me to point out that I was born in 1976? It would be, so I won't.

Posted by Jason @ 07/28/2002 07:24 PM PST

California, you live in my heart
for ever..

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 07:29 PM PST

Well, you can say that you've
read it right here at
hainehisway.com.....and it's
true !

Kissing Fanny is a
punishment for losing a game
of boules -- don't laugh-- aka
pétanque in the south of
France-- without scoring a
single point !

it would appear that this
tradition started in France's
Savoy region, far from the
sunny south !
The first Fanny was a waitress
at the café de Grand-Lemps,
just after WW I.
As legend would have it, she
was so kindhearted that she
would allow customers who
had lost a game of boules
without scoring a single point
to kiss her ... on the check.

This went on until one day the
village mayor lost a game --
no, this is not CHOCOLAT, but
Leslie Caron was Fanny in the
film adaptation...--and came to
collect his "prize". No one
knows whether Fanny had a
grudge against him and
wanted to humiliate him, but
we do know that she stepped
up onto a chair, lifted her skirt
and offered him... her fanny!

The mayor was up to the
challenge though, and less
than a second later, two loud
kisses resounded through the
café.
This was the beginning of a
longstanding tradition...

The problem with this
charming ritual is that the
players don't always have a
Fanny at hand. That is, a
Fanny who is willing to bare
her backside in public.
This is why, everywhere
boules is played, a fake fanny
is proudly displayed.
The unhappy losers are
obliged to kiss, in public, the
generous cheeks of a Fanny,
whether in a painting, or made
of pottery or as a sculpture.....

And that, ear readers, is the
truth !

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 07:59 PM PST

"Fanny" was a lovely film with Leslie Caron. All the songs were dropped, but the Rome music was woven into a beautiful underscore that Warner Brothers records issued in the early 1960s.

I have an Aunt Fannie -- Fannie Sue, to be precise. She's heard all the "fanny" jokes and then some...

I heard "fanny" all my life growing up in the south (and could Mr. Donald Feltham detect one ounce of "southren" accent" in our interview? I think not). So any time we encountered somebody named Fanny, the young'uns would start tittering.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 08:12 PM PST

O, o, o, Dolores! O, o, o!

Here is the O that got knocked out of your name in my last post, when the awful, unseemly e came barging in.

A thousand pardons, I beg you!

Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/28/2002 08:13 PM PST

In re: Destry

Does anyone else have the TER recording? It is a Donmar production from 1982, starring Alfred Molina and Jill Gascoine, directed by Robert Walker. What is curious about this version is that it is orchestrated for a sort of Country and Western band, and all the instuments-- guitars, banjo, mandolin, bass, piano, washboard, accordion, trombone, sousaphone, harmonica--all are played by the actors on stage. Quite an interesting sound.

And François, thanks so much for the etymology of "Fanny".

Posted by William F. Orr @ 07/28/2002 09:01 PM PST

If Dear Reader Sandra were here, she'd definitely list Forever Plaid as her favorite off-Broadway show. We saw the VERY off-Broadway version -- in Las Vegas.

Posted by Laura @ 07/28/2002 09:12 PM PST

William -- I have the TER Destry. I guess I have to finally listen to it. I'll get back to you.

Saw the last two performances of HOUSE and GARDEN today. A lot of fun, although I'm told the show in the lobby is even better. Veanne Cox must be the hardest actress in the world to replace. There is NO ONE quite like her. A comic delight in everything she does.

Posted by Robert Armin @ 07/28/2002 09:22 PM PST

William,

Thanks for your thanks !

Have you gotten my email
about Jacques Brel's book ?

What should I do ?

I won't be a kimlet/hainsy for
the next 3 days... but -- no fear
-- I'll be back next thursday....

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 09:25 PM PST

I too have the TER Destry
version -- who cares, right ?--

Alfred Molina: CHOCOLAT
again !! Interesting version, but
the Dolores Gray one is much
superior.
Jill Gascoine has very good
looks but she can't really carry
a song, IMO..........

Posted by François @ 07/28/2002 09:31 PM PST

...I'm still waiting for someone to elaborate upon what "Fanny" means in Australia....

...Hello?

....G'Day!

...Anyone?

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 07/28/2002 11:56 PM PST

The official temperature in New York City at 8:45 on this Monday morning: Somewhere between hot and hell. We're expected to reach temperatures around hell later this afternoon.

Seriously, it's only 8:45 and already I'm sweating like a whore on nickel night. What's up with that?? Remind me never to spend another summer in New York. Anyway, where are all the late night and early morning posts??? We're slacking, folks, and we only have 2 more days to catch up to June!

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 05:42 AM PST

At 6:00am it was already 81 (I'm an early riser). It's rumored that the temp will be 95 and with the "heat index" it's supposed to feel like 105. I'm glad I'm in an air conditioned office right now.

Jason: Guess you got all that sleep out of you yesterday by sleeping till 4:45pm. Stay cool you Bicentennial child

Posted by Ben @ 07/29/2002 05:56 AM PST

I went out walking before dawn (4:45 am) and it was a nippy 87F outside. It will probably be around 108F today again.

Posted by Laura @ 07/29/2002 05:59 AM PST

Ben: Yes, I believe I got most of the sleep out of my system, though I only slept 'til 3:45 yesterday...not 4:45. I usually would be embarassed to admit this, but I got a whopping 28 1/2 hours or so of sleep this weekend. I think my allergies had just had enough of this weather mess and my body kinda shut down. Apparently I needed the rest!

I, too, am very glad to be working in an air conditioned office, though I must say, the A/C is less that cool today. In fact, I can barely feel the air moving in here at all. It's on the verge of unpleasant, but then I think, "Thank God I don't work in the subway tunnels."

Laura: Where do you live and why in God's name were you even AWAKE at 4:45, let alone outside?!?!

General question for fellow posters: How do I do italics and bold and all that jazz on here? I'm sure it involves HTML, which I'm totally ignorant of, so if someone could explain it to me, either in here or through email, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks!!

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 06:55 AM PST

It seems the label that shall not be named has announced the release of Brent Barrett's Alan Jay Lerner album, produced, one assumes, by our own dear sweet BK.

Ah, if only we could know all of The Story!

Posted by Philip Crosby @ 07/29/2002 07:00 AM PST

It is free-for-all day, so I thought I would ask a question and get some good answers. I have to go to Las Vegas in a few weeks and I am looking for some practical entertainment suggestions. I have tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s O, which I am looking forward to seeing. Danny Gans will not be performing when I am there, and that is O.K. I am not dying to see Siegrfied & Roy, and I am not sure that a Vegas floor show is for me. I am not a gambler, and I fear it will be too hot for hiking and outdoor sight-seeing—it might even be too hot for cake—and unfortunately Debbie Reynolds’ hotel is no more. Are there any shows that must be seen? Any rides that must be taken? Any sights that must be seen? Maybe we will just walk every inch of every hotel on the strip. That should kill some time. Wouldn’t you just know the one time I make it to Vegas there is no 42nd Street, no Starlight Express, no Chita Rivera in Chicago, and not yet Mamma Mia!?

Jason: Never spend another summer like this in the city. There. I have reminded you. Would you remind me, too?

Posted by freedunit @ 07/29/2002 07:03 AM PST

Freedunit: Thanks for the reminder. Oh, and by the way, don't spend another summer like this in the city. There. Consider yourself reminded. :-)

Must-dos in Vegas...? Hmm... There's a roller coaster at New York, New York, from what I understand, that is fabulous if you're into that sort of thing. It actually goes through the hotel. Also, you should go to that huge-ass hotel that is made to look like Italy. I can't remember the name right off hand, but I've seen it on TLC more times than I care to admit, and it looks just fabulous. Take a gondola ride with your travel companion and just have a splendid time!! I've never been to Vegas, so be sure to let me know if it's great fun or not.

Oh, and there's always Elvis and the wedding chapels.

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 07:20 AM PST

Ice-cream cake must contain actual cake for it to be ice-cream cake—otherwise it’s just ice cream. Fudge, caramel, chocolate crunchies—none are enough; it must be cake for it to be cake.

Favorite Off-Broadway show?
I am not sure I know. Little Shop of Horrors maybe? Balm in Gilead, Betty’s Summer Vacation, Hurlyburly, Hapgood, or W;t maybe? Maybe not. Maybe Balm in Gilead because it was quintessentially the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble. I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, even though I saw it in Chicago and not Off-Broadway, maybe? The Last Five Years maybe? Really, The Last Five Years is just the most recent that I have liked, but I really, really liked it, and I was surprised by how much so I did. Still, that leaves out Uta Hagen in Mrs. Klein and Collected Stories. Neither is a favorite show, but Hagen is a favorite actress, and her performances were very special events. It would also omit On the Town, which was so much fun in Central Park, but not so at the Gershwin Theatre, and also The Seagull, which was very special also at the Delacorte. My favorite Off-Broadway show would be A Chorus Line, even though I saw it in Chicago and on Broadway, but never Off-Broadway, if that counts. Otherwise, I guess it would be Rent at New York Theatre Workshop, where it actually was better than it was on Broadway.

By the way (BTW), the only professional production of The Fantasticks that I have seen was in Chicago with Robert Conrad as El Gallo—I wish that were a typographical error—and Megan Mullally as Luisa. It was performed in-the-round and terribly. The Fantasticks is not a favorite Off-Broadway show, and I never saw the New York production.

Posted by freedunit @ 07/29/2002 07:25 AM PST

Jason: May I consider myself at home, too?

Posted by freedunit @ 07/29/2002 07:26 AM PST

freedunit,
To add some culture to your visit, the Bellagio usually has some great art exhibits. There is supposed to be an exhibit of the Kremlin Museum's Faberge Collection sometime this summer, but I don't know when. I envy getting to see O. I haven't been to Las Vegas since 1977, so it's very different now, I'm told. I was there when Elvis died (which I mentioned previously), and the city took it VERY seriously (they dimmed the slot machines for a full 60 seconds).
And Yes, Jason, I was there when I was 21. I know you were only one then. Well, just sit on my lap, and I'll tell you all about the good old days when we had 45's and no cable TV or VCR's (although I did have a Betamax in 77 0r 78-- you'll have to ask your grandfather to explain about Betamaxes).

Yes it's hot here too. Yesterday was pretty nice however. It was still 100 or so, but nice and dry--quite pleasant (relatively speaking). I found out last week in Chicago that there really is a difference when you have a lot of humidity. Thank God Phoenix Phoenix is usually dryer than that.

Posted by Kerry @ 07/29/2002 07:35 AM PST

Freedunit: Yes, you may... and consider yourself part of the family. God, did I really just quote Oliver! ?

(Special thanks to Ben for teaching me HTML. You'll be in my Tony acceptance speech.)

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 07:37 AM PST

Kerry: Believe it or not, I can actually remember the days of LPs, no cable and, yes, even Atari. I, myself, was lucky enough to have a Commodore 64 computer, so I could play games on that or my super-nifty Nintendo. Oh, the hours I wasted away on that Nintendo, listening to my cassettes of Les Miserables or Guys and Dolls. Mario and Luigi were my best friends back then...

Sad to be all alone in the world...

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 07:45 AM PST

Oh, Jason. Thanks. I knew I would get on to the Tony stage somehow. Years ago I spent time honing my own Tony speech, now I just use it on my partner (his name is Anthony AKA Tony)

Posted by Ben @ 07/29/2002 07:46 AM PST

I'll be sure to mention your Tony as well, Ben. Tell him I said hello. :-)

Posted by Jason @ 07/29/2002 08:06 AM PST

Kerry: Thanks! And I will be looking for cake while in Las Vegas, too.

Jason: In fact, I did quote Oliver!, because I had heard Oliver! had been going around quoting me and I decided to return the favor.

Posted by freedunit @ 07/29/2002 10:26 AM PST

It looks as though EFX Alive is to be the second production of choice in Las Vegas. Can it really be that I am headed to see Rick Springfield in a musical special-effects extravaganza? Oy.

Posted by freedunit @ 07/29/2002 12:51 PM PST