Posted by S. Woody White @ 07/23/2003 08:45 AM PST

For real sparkle and fizz, try Alka Seltzer.

Posted by Speedy @ 07/23/2003 09:11 AM PST

You keep away from our daughter Sparkle or we'll have to send Dick Tracy after you.

Posted by B.O. Plenty & Tess Truehart @ 07/23/2003 09:12 AM PST

A question for dear readers: In a late posting Monday (see the archives) DR Jason told about a prank some of his less professional cast members pulled on closing night. I agree with Jason that it is not very funny, and I was surprised it happened in a professional production. I am wondering if any DRs have a story of an on-stage prank in a production they were in or they saw.

I'll start. In my high school days, the big prank was to replace the weak tea in on-stage liquor bottles with the real thing on closing night. Nobody got drunk or sick, but there were some strange facial expressions when a character offered a toast.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/23/2003 09:19 AM PST

When I was doing The
Imaginary Invalid in college
with Cindy Williams, on
closing night she put castor oil
in the medicine bottle I drank
from - that was not pleasant, I
can tell you that.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 09:40 AM PST

Question for the esteemed BK: This past Sunday there was an article in the NY Times about Amoeba Music. Have you ever been to any of their California stores and is the store as good as it sounds? I went to their Web site but alas and alack (also alack and alas) but probably good in the long run, you cannot shop at that there site. You can't even browse for what they have. It just says that they have thousands of items in all categories, LP, CD (new and used) and tape. It sounds like a treasure trove of goodies. I think I could spend a whole day rummaging through the vinyl section alone.I've put it on my must do list for the next time I get to California.

Posted by Ben @ 07/23/2003 09:55 AM PST

Amoeba is okay - it's a huge
store and it's not necessarily
organized that well - it's also a
rip-off of Aron's (who has been
hurt terribly because
Amoeba's store is five minutes
from them), so I have no great
love for Amoeba. However, it's
a huge success, they give
good dough for used CDs and
DVDs and tapes, and they
have a LOT of used CDs and
DVDs - that said, their prices
for non-used stuff are high - no
bargains, usually list price. IF
you can find what you're
looking for used, even those
prices are sometimes high,
basically you can find the
same item new online for the
same price as their used copy.
The only reason I frequent the
store is that they are the only
store in LA that carries PAL
DVDs.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 10:09 AM PST

Good God, where to begin. I have suffered through numerous productions with the nude photos planted inside the book that your character has to open, the obscene message written in the letters that you have to read, the items on a desk or table that have all been glued down, and the telephone and doorknobs that are coated with Vaseline. Now those are just off the top of my head. Give me some time and I am sure that I can probably remember some of the more ingenious ones.

The thing with these pranks is that these actors(?), who pull them, all think that they are being so original, and that nobody has ever thought of them before. In the end, the only person who ever finds them funny is the one that pulls the prank. Usually everyone else just gets pissed off. Some of them can be downright dangerous, such as the real booze in the bottle that gets drunk by someone who is on Anabuse. I have no tolerance for onstage tricks of any kind, but they are a fact of life in all areas of theater, including professional.

Posted by TCB @ 07/23/2003 10:16 AM PST

Where in tarnation IS
everyone? Is it a holiday? I
need my reading matter,
people, so let's get crackin'. I
come back to my office to have
a little respite from the
insanity, and there are NO new
posts in the last forty minutes?
This is unseemly in extremis.
I may just have to get out the
bitch-slap machine.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 10:55 AM PST

Did a production of "Big River" two years ago, playing the role of the King (my first "bad guy"). Late in the first Act I had to deliver a eulogy for my supposed cousin. Due to its length I had a copy taped to the lid of the coffin for quick reference if needed.

Second night, one of the members of the chorus - who thought it unseemly that a supporting lead did not know his lines - turned the paper upside down. I spotted it just as I began the speech, and quickly spun it around. The scene went as planned, but I was steaming when I got offstage. An apology from the offending cast member followed, but it goes down as a major bush league act.

Posted by Phil @ 07/23/2003 11:20 AM PST

SSW: Central air-conditioning can't be beat.

Failing that, stick 16-oz. water bottles in the freezer and walk around with them. As the ice melts, you can take cold, refreshing swigs, and in the meantime, hold the cold bottle to the back of your neck. When the back of your neck is cool, it makes the rest of you feel cool, too. Dunno why that is...something to do with the circulation of blood?

Posted by Lulu @ 07/23/2003 11:29 AM PST

Guess what was on amc (formerly American Movie Classics, now amc-no-it-doesn't-stand-for-anything) this morning? "Moment by Moment," the 1978 clunker starring Lily Tomlin and John Travolta. I was so excited, this is a famous stinkeroo, and I was expecting something ridiculously campy and silly and fun.

Imagine my disgust when I tried to watch it a short while ago and found that it is quite relentlessly banal. The tone and pace of the film are set immediately, as the opening credits run over ENDLESS footage of Lily Tomlin walking up and down the streets of Rodeo Drive. Nothing of interest happens, she just walks. And walks. And walks some more. INTERMINABLE.

The level of incompetence is puzzling, given the fact that this movie was made by professionals and released by a major film distributor. I know it's not Ask BK day, but I'm hoping maybe he can enlighten me - do you have any idea what they did to make the film so grainy and hazy, and the sound so muffled? Why does this film look and sound so terrible compared to other films of the late '70s? Any clue? I'm genuinely interested.

About 20 minutes in, I started flipping through The Count of Monte Cristo to find vocab words to give to the student I'm tutoring. The movie was on in the background right through to the bitter end, but I simply had to find an occupation to distract me while it was on, or I would have gone insane. Occasionally I smiled when the ludicrous dialogue involved John Travolta referring to Lily Tomlin as "Miss Ultra-Frost" or "Miss FabuLash," and when they were in the hottub and Lily kept saying, "Oh, Strip! Strip!" (Travolta's character's name), but other than that...nada.

After years of waiting (this turkey NEVER shows up on TV, and has never been released to video), I am just SO disappointed; I can't even tell you.

Posted by Lulu @ 07/23/2003 11:38 AM PST

Not my story, but I thought those not already familiar with this example of onstage pranks would find it amusing.

Paul Muni was responsible for closing his vehicle "At the Grand," a musicalization of "Grand Hotel," when he refused to extend his contract. In retaliation, Joan Diener took the opportunity during her curtain call to turn upstage towards the notoriously prudish Muni and open her full-length mink coat to reveal she was completely nude except for a single long-stemmed rose between her legs.

Muni was not amused.

(Hey...at least it was during the curtain call and not during the show proper.)

Posted by Lulu @ 07/23/2003 11:46 AM PST

The grainy/hazy look of
Moment by Moment might
have been a choice of the
cameraman and director, as
heavy diffusion was all the
rage back then (especially in
the films shot by Vilmos
Zsigmond). The other answer
could be that it was just a bad
print or transfer. There's really
no reason for muffled sound
for a film that was not low
budget, so I'm sure that's an
amc prob as opposed to a film
prob.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 11:48 AM PST

WOW. Quick answer. Thanks, BK. Like I say, I've seen a lot of films from the '70s, so I know that diffusion was pretty big for awhile (along with sun spots...oy). But it seems really excessive for Moment by Moment. And the grain...no kidding, it just looks like something went really WRONG. Maybe as you say, it's a bad transfer or print. I'm sure that the full-frame presentation doesn't help.

Oh, and RE: The In-Laws...I couldn't agree with you more. We watched it again just a few weeks ago (just before the remake came out, though at the time I was blissfully unaware of it). This movie is indeed laugh-out-loud funny and stands up to repeated viewings (we've probably watched it three or four times in the last 8 years, and always have a great time). When praising the supporting cast, which is excellent, don't forget David Paymer as the cabdriver (love it when Peter Falk asks him about The Price is Right, which happens to be on the TV at the bar they're in. Falk has never heard of it, and asks how long it's been on the air. Paymer deadpans, "Oh, since about 1911.") and Ed Begley, Jr. as the CIA guy.

Vince Ricardo (Peter Falk) on the CIA: "Are you interested in joining? The benefits are terrific. The trick is not to get killed. That's really the key to the benefit program."

And if you don't laugh when Richard Libertini as a banana republic dictator reveals the design for his country's new flag, then you are clinically dead.

Posted by Lulu @ 07/23/2003 12:04 PM PST

For the BK question day:

Recently I purchased with my hard earned cash a CD by Mr. Tom Wopat (of Dukes of Hazzard fame) and a CD of Frank Stallone (of brother of Sylvester fame). I was quite pleased with the singning talents of both gentlemen, particularly Stallone. My question to BK is: Have you heard either person sing and if so what is your opinion. Also have you seen either one on the stage..I know that Mr. Wopat has been doing a lot of stage work in recent years.

Posted by MBarnum @ 07/23/2003 12:05 PM PST

I like Frank Stallone. I directed
him in a movie called Prime
Suspect and we had a blast -
and I had him sing in it, just for
fun (he was playing an insane
killer). Haven't heard Wopat's
cd, but he was very good in the
Bernadette Peters' AGYG
revival

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 12:12 PM PST

Sorry Lulu, (and BK) I must be clinically dead. I am afraid I don't find any part of The In-Laws to be particularly funny. Although I thought Miss Peyser and Mr. Lembeck were charming, and Nancy Dussault is always a pleasure, I found Alan Arkin and Peter Falk to be more annoying, than amusing. Since I didn't care for either one of them in this film, there wasn't a lot left of the movie for me to enjoy.

Posted by TCB @ 07/23/2003 12:24 PM PST

LA, Squad 51. We have a patient, unconscious, unlaughing, possibly clinically dead. Vital signs are: pulse 95, respirations 18, BP is 120 over 65. Commencing IV with Ringers Lactate, prior to transporting to Rampart. Over and out.

Posted by Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto @ 07/23/2003 12:33 PM PST

Has anyone seen the movie Laurel Canyon? It just came out on DVD.
If so, can you please explain the ending (or lack there of). Lately, I seem to be having a problem figuring out the meaning of half the movies I see.

Posted by JB aka JK @ 07/23/2003 12:51 PM PST

My question:

When Niki Harris choreographs the taps on your albums, does she do it with an CD in mind or does she choreograph it as if she was doing it for a stage presentation.

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 07/23/2003 12:56 PM PST

BK, I didn't even realize you had worked with Frank Stallone. I will have to check out that film. I only have one of his CDs...IN LOVE IN VAIN...and he does a lot of the old standards...wonderful voice. I will be picking up some of his others I am sure.

Posted by MBarnum @ 07/23/2003 01:00 PM PST

Thankfully, I've so far (about 20
various productions) been
lucky enough to work with
actors who have sense and
respect enough to shy away
from on-stage pranks. Had a
director once who spoke to the
cast before closing night...
"I know this is closing night,
and often times that leads to
improvisations and pranks
and such, and I say go for it.
Change things up, try to make
each other break, pull any
stunt you like, as long as you
have fun. It's your night. Just
know that I'll be waiting for you
when you come offstage, and
that you will never work for this
company again."

Posted by Jed @ 07/23/2003 01:02 PM PST

Niki choreograph's specifically
for the track - the aural sound,
even though the idea is for it to
sound as if you were watching
people do the step. But we
want it to "sound" that way and
so she does things that have
the sound of great tapping,
without having to worry if the
steps look good.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 01:07 PM PST

LOL...sounds like the speech I always give, Jed. But mine is usually...if ANYTHING is done, then we will NOT have a cast party. We will strike the set and go home. I promise you that.

Most people HATE closing night pranks, and I am one of them. Short changing the audience and really causing pain and frustration to your fellow performers are not funny.

Frank Stallone was VERY funny as one of the crew in the Movie within a Movie in AMAZON WOMEN ON THE MOON.

My question for the busy and working Mr BK, do you have a favorite Carroll Baker performance? Not particularly a favorite MOVIE she was in, but her own performance in a movie?

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 01:31 PM PST

How ironic! Frank Stallone was a guest star last night on LIFE WITH BONNIE and sang "Come Fly with Me." And he looks like he's aging a good deal more kindly than his brother Sylvester.

One reason MOMENT BY MOMENT looked so grainy on AMC was that it's a Panavision movie, and I'm sure AMC showed it as a pan and scanned full frame presentation. Of course, blown up like that, every flaw is going to be magnified, and colors and focus are going to be way off.

I just will not watch anything on AMC.

Posted by Matt H. @ 07/23/2003 01:47 PM PST

To see what Rosie is doing to my show, click on my name.

Posted by Boy George @ 07/23/2003 01:49 PM PST

Yes, if AMC showed a scope
movie pan and scan, then all
that grain is a result of doing
so. The movie was shot by
Phil Lathrop, who is a fine
cameraman.

I like Carroll in The
Carpetbaggers.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 01:54 PM PST

Im just curious. Nobody I know watches AMC any more yet it claims twice as many people are watching now than a year ago. Just who is watching?

And regarding the article Boy George posted, is anyone even interested in seeing TABOO?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/23/2003 01:56 PM PST

WEL, I'm with ya re: AMC. I was so depressed when I found out that a channel showing crappy movies with constant commercial interruptions gets higher ratings than a channel showing classic films with no interruptions. On what planet does that make sense?

And don't EVEN say "tomato, toMAHto," because Swingtime is empirically a better movie than Bachelor Party, and by a substantial margin. There have been scientific studies.

Posted by Lulu @ 07/23/2003 01:59 PM PST

And Carroll Baker as Rina. Good choice! Click on my name to see the widow's weeds.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 02:05 PM PST

WEL, I think those of us that grew up with Boy George and Culture club will be interested in what Taboo will have to offer. I look at it like Mamma Mia (one of my guilty pleasure musicals) if they don't take themselves too seriously, it will be great. If the music shines and is strung together by a book as weak as Mamma Mia, it will do well because of the music. Did that make ANY sense at all?

Posted by Matthew @ 07/23/2003 02:07 PM PST

Back later but I must ask before I forget...
BK: Any more news on a possible return of the wonderful "Show Music" which is so missed?

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 07/23/2003 02:24 PM PST

Mr BK - the DVD of Indian Music I got turned out to be 50 music videos from a girl singer named Preity Zinta.

Nice - but can you really watch 50 music videos in a row?

I am still looking for a compilation of songs from movies....and the Indian movie SHOOL. I did find ROJA which has some good songs and dances and a couple of others RUDAALI and VATSYAYANA KAMASUTRA. Good music and photography, but I am beginning to realize that the first one I saw and bought PAKEEZAH is really the best.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 03:13 PM PST

Count me among those who loved the original In-Laws. I crack up thinking about the scene in Alan Arkin's dental office. I had almost forgotten about Arlene Golonka, whom I identify with "The Call From Long Island" (When You're In Love The Whole World's Jewish). As for beating the heat, it was always going to a movie - a movie like the In-Laws. Although when I was a kid, the sign read, "Cooled By Refrigeration."

Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 07/23/2003 03:20 PM PST

Matinee down, Evening show to go...

On-stage pranks... Hmmm... Where to begin...

Annie - During the Hooverville scene, someone placed a tampon in one of the tin cups that they were holding. There were a few giggles, BUT the proverbial straw was when the lights came back up for the next scene... Guess what was downstage center?!?!?!???!!

????? I would name the show, but I don't want to possibly incriminate any of the actors or the theatre... -Sorry, but some of you might be able to figure out the show... The final notes of the show are sung by the ensemble as they are walking off-stage. To help them stay with the conductor, there were video monitors mounted in the wings with the conductor on them helping them to stay in time and to conduct the cut-offs. Well - and I think this was actually a "closing week" prank - there was one show where the final note/chord - which is held out for about two slow measures - started getting "shaky". Hmmm... It turned out someone had cut out a penis from a "magazine", and had pasted it on the monitor, right on the conductor!

Anything Goes - This is a "closing of the tour" prank... well pranks... And I even participated in one of them: During one of the dances, one of the chorus girls would run by me and rub my head as she was crossing the deck - the band was on-stage. Well, the final show, I put a big glob of hair gel on my head, so when she came by to rub my head... -She kept going. ;-) AND then when the bottle of champagne was thrown overboard by Sir Evelyn (or was it Reno at that point), a few seconds later it was thrown back up. There were a few other pranks pulled during this show, but none of them affected the overall performance, and they actually helped us all get through the final show - we had been on the road for a few months at this point, and this leg of the tour was the one-to-two-nighter leg. UGH! It may not excuse us, so to speak, but everything was done in the best spirit, and the only real noticeable prank was the champagne bottle. -And that got a great laugh from the audience.

And there's a company in suburban Maryland that has a tradition of a closing night prank. A rubber chicken is somehow worked into one scene on closing night - it can be a subtle thing, or it can be a not so subtle thing. The closing night is also the alumni night, so it actually gets a great laugh and repsonse from the audience. Well, most of the audience - "Honey, was there a rubber chicken in the original Merrily We Roll Along"?

And... and... Time to head back to the theatre...

Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 07/23/2003 03:40 PM PST

Keep me posted re Bollywood
movie compilations - I know
they exist. I won something
Bollywood compilation-wise
on eBay but I suspect it's
along the lines of what you
won. And if you haven't seen
Gumnaam, do so
immediately.

I don't think the Show Music
issues have been resolved
yet. When last I spoke to dear
Max Preeo, he had instigated a
lawsuit against the
Goodspeed Opera House. I
don't know where it stands at
the moment, but I do, of
course, know all about
lawsuits against people who
have the time and money to
string them along and abuse
the justice system, oh, yes, I
know all about that.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 03:41 PM PST

I know nothing today; it's hot; it's sticky, and we need some rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Kerry @ 07/23/2003 04:29 PM PST

At last we have rain here DR Kerry. Can't spare any as we are heavily in to water restrictions.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 07/23/2003 05:06 PM PST

All right, all right, all right (that
is three all rights) I sense a
certain malaise that is
perhaps heat induced and/or
nausea induced. Say, I have
an idea - clothing call! I am
wearing jeans and a black
t-shirt and I am quite the
bomb. Your turn.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 05:27 PM PST

DR WEL wrote: "Im just curious. Nobody I know watches AMC any more yet it claims twice as many people are watching now than a year ago. Just who is watching?"

Answer: People you don't know. You need to get out more.

Posted by The Answer Person @ 07/23/2003 05:28 PM PST

Actually, Mr. Anonymous
Answer Person, WEL's
question is reasonable -
everyone in the business
thinks AMC is lying through
their teeth in their publicity
releases re audience growth.
And I happen to concur with
that notion so I guess perhaps
I need to get out more, too.
Actually, I think we all should
get out more, but only after
posting. I'm wearing jeans
and a black t-shirt and I'm
quite the bomb.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 05:44 PM PST

Well, here's one for JRand and BK:
I got my deluxe extende sountrack recording of SUMMER HOLIDAY today, and noticed something very strange in the extensive liner notes.
Broadway's Leisl from THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Lauri Peters was vocally DUBBED for her song snippets in the film! Not only that, but, the voice double, a Miss Grazina Frame also provided the singing voice for London's WEST SIDE STORY's Anita (and future bride of Fu Manchu), Carole Gray in the previous Cliff Richard musical, THE YOUNG ONES.
Speculatively speaking, or knowingly nodding, do you think that these two legit voices were doubled to acheive more of a pop sound in these movies? I must say that Lauri's quite adept at lipsynching! I would have never guessed that it wasn't her!
And after many, many viewings of THE YOUNG ONES, it never occurred to me that Miss Gray wasn't doing her own singing!

Posted by td @ 07/23/2003 05:48 PM PST

How remarkable! No, td, I had no idea Carole Gray AND Lauri Peters had been dubbed in the Cliff Richard musicals. How strange.

Grazina Frame - from the only picture I can find of her, was not the svelte dancer type. Maybe her voice matched Cliff's better, or maybe she was under contract to the record company.

Strange..........

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 06:12 PM PST

. . .but TRUE, Jrand!
Where's the picture? On Goggle?

Posted by td @ 07/23/2003 07:22 PM PST

Yea, some interview with someone. Just did a google search on her and started checking out the stories. Seems she lost her top while she was playing a mermaid in a musical number while Princess Margaret and Lord Snowden were in the audience...so it was A LONG time ago.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 07:24 PM PST

No pranks I can think of -- although one time while appearing in "Blithe Spirit," the actor who played my husband didn't enter when he was supposed to so I and the actress who played the "live" wife had to improvise for a full 5 minutes (that's a lo-o-o-o-ng time without a script)! She kept asking me questions--which meant I had to do all of the talking! I babbled on and on (even got a few laughs) when, finally, the actor came on looking frazzled. He had been outside having a smoke but didn't bother to tell anybody. Oy!

It's a coincidence that I just read a passage in Hume Cronyn's memoir, A TERRIBLE LIAR, where he describes working on "Omnibus," one of those live television shows, with a young actor named "Jimmy." During the dress rehearsal, Jimmy hid the props and was never where he was supposed to be. It's too long to post here, but you can read it on pages 276-279.

I liked Carroll Baker in "Giant" and "The Big Country."

In weather like this, I head for the shopping mall, but the movie theater sounds much more inviting. Don't we have any Hainsies and Kimlets in the southeastern part of the country who are used to this muggy weather and have all kinds of tips for staying cool? 'Fess up you guys!

Navy cotton bermudas and white cotton shirt. Barefoot.

P.S. I've already purchased my tickets to see SEABISCUIT on opening day (Friday). I haven't been this excited to see a movie in a long time. I hope I won't be disappointed. Oprah says, "America is going to love this movie." Who does she think she is anyway? Ebert or Roeper?

Posted by Donna - Cabaret West @ 07/23/2003 07:27 PM PST

Since SUMMER HOLIDAY was released in 1948, Ms. Peters must have been very young. I knew Rhino was going to release the soundtrack but I haven't seen it listed yet. I missed it last week when Film Forum had it as part of the Arthur Freed festival. Although it had its moments, it was not one of MGM's biggest hits. By making it a Mickey Rooney vehicle it turned the secondary storyline into the main story line which didn't quite work. I think TAKE ME ALONG is a much better version of AH WILDERNESS.

I just watched the premiere episodes of two of television's most noted flops: MY MOTHER, THE CAR and PINK LADY AND JEFF. MY MOTHER was typical of sitcoms of the period and though not very funny it was not as bad as I had expected. Jerry Van Dyke was certainly better than he had been on THE JUDY GARLAND. As for PINK LADY... well now I know what killed television variety shows. PINK LADY could barely speak English and when they sang pop hits of the period (1980) they were harder to understand than Patti LuPone. Jeff Altman was probably better than the material he had to work with. It's no wonder that head writer Mark Evanier became much more well known for writing comic books than variety shows. The guests were Blondie (Debbie Harry), Sherman Hemsley and Bert Parks! Guests for the 2nd show (Trio is showing all 5 episodes) will be Donnie and Marie! This whole thing was put together by Sid and Marty Kroft although there was not a puppet in sight. If you get Trio, watch these shows this week. It will probably be your only chance.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/23/2003 07:42 PM PST

I have been in some shows where
the last show got a little silly, but I
can only think of a few instances
when there were real pranks: One
was Hello Dolly!, when there were
naked men put into the menus. What
made it worse was that the curtains
in front of the tables had been cut in
tech week, so the principals spent
the whole scene with their faces
buried in the menus! Minnie Fay
(who was a bitch anyway) barely
made an effort to stop from laughing-
the others handled it with great
aplomb. I did one show where a
character who wears a lab coat
came on without any pants, and
another where one person came on
in boxers. These were both Kid's
Playwriting festivals, so things were
somewhat laxer, but there was still
fallout. I must admit that I laughed
about the naked pictures, and the
kid who came on only in boxers-he
was asking people if they would pay
him if he did. And I contributed a bit.
I hope that I have changed my ways
since then. I certainly will give the
speech above to my actors at the
last show of Antigone.

Posted by Hapgood @ 07/23/2003 07:45 PM PST

I am wearing a red and orange paisley top and jeans. I wear far too much paisley. It used to be I wore too much black but now I'm out of my gothish phase and more into a bohemian chick one.

Donna--that's funny about Blithe Spirit! You must have been Elvira? Something similar happened to me in my high school production of it! I was Madame Arcati, and the girl playing Ruth was probably in her dressing room or something and she missed her cue, so I ended up alone onstage calling out "Mrs. Condomine?" for about 2 or 3 minutes. I never found so many ways to stress 5 syllables.

Nobody has ever really pulled a prank in any of the plays I've been in. But the last play I was in did involve condoms! The community college I'm going to now did Lysistrata and during the epilogue, in which all the characters exorted the men and women to get together and make love, not war, we threw condoms at the audience. I don't want to think about the fate of all the Trojans that got tossed out there.

For ask BK day--I have two questions! 1) How do you pronouce fershuglanah (sic?)?
2)You said you didn't like doing serious plays all that much when you were in high school and college, but was there one that you enjoyed doing?

Posted by Maya @ 07/23/2003 07:46 PM PST

Just back from a very slow rehearsal for MM (choreography for "Wells Fargo" & "Shipoopi"). Sitting in front of my monitor in boxers, nothing else.....

Posted by Phil @ 07/23/2003 07:49 PM PST

DR WEL:
Ha! Your post made me "farrow."
Wrong SUMMER HOLIDAY, dear friend!

Posted by td @ 07/23/2003 07:52 PM PST

Of course you're right TD. Some of us think of one while some think of the other... just like every time someone mentions MEN IN BLACK I think of the classic 3 Stooges film (Dr Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard) of that name, not the Will Smith film with the same title.

Question for anyone: Why can you copyright an entire screenplay and yet not the title? SUMMER HOLIDAY and MEN IN BLACK are just two examples of totally different films with the exact same title. Does this mean someone could call a new film THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL and it would be legal to do so as long as it was a totally different screenplay?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 07/23/2003 08:04 PM PST

They would have a problem, I think, with Nudie because it is very specific. Whereas Summer Holiday and titles like it are generic. But, no, I don't think you can actually copyright a title.

I don't know if I can do fershluganah phonetically, but I'll try: fur-shloog-uhnuh. That works.

I liked doing The Glass Menagerie best of all the dramatic plays I did.

Posted by bk @ 07/23/2003 08:21 PM PST

Ask BK or anyone on this site who has the answer....I recently bought a new DVD. Granted it was el cheapo but it was a vast improvement over what I had. The sound is tremendous and the picture is very sharp. The only problem is that the picture is darker than it was on the old DVD or when I am watching a TV show. It kind of annoys me. I have tried adjusting the contrast on my set and that doesn't help. A friend told me that DVD's usually are darker because movies in the theatre are not as bright and you are seeing what was shown in the theatre. Does that make sense? If anyone can verify if this is correct I would appreciate it.

Pranks on stage are horrible. I haven't encountered them a lot and it has been many years. My one memorable incident was a production of "Li'l Abner." One of the cute Moonshine Boys decided closing night to play pranks. I got wind of what he was doing and some it bordered on dangerous. I tipped off the cast members.

I learned a valuable lesson from this prank. If you have something to "read" onstage memorize it. I played Pappy Yokum and at the end of the show I had a proclamation to read. I had never bothered to memorize it and when I opened the paper, our little prankster had replaced it with every obscene word in the English language. I completely went up. I couldn't think of one thing to say. I handed it to the actor playing the sherrif and asked him to read it. His reply was classic. "Pappy, you know I can't read", and handed it back to me. I'm sure we were frozen in time a very short time but it seemed like hours. Finally the chorus started singing and we ended the show.

A very heartfelt apology was given to the entire cast at the party. I learned a lesson...memorize what you read

Posted by Dennis Clancy @ 07/23/2003 08:35 PM PST

BK--BTW, my mom thanks you for the kiss and is halfway through Kritzerland! (Where is that darn emoticon when you need it?)

Posted by Maya @ 07/23/2003 08:36 PM PST

Worst onstage prank? The ENTIRE chorus of a Gilbert and Sullivan show I was in at university held a backstage contest, the gist of which was that the winner would be the person who could best upstage one of the principals (not *any* one of the principals - a particularly insufferable individual... so insufferable, in fact, that the stage manager and MD were in on the contest).

All I can say in my defence - other than "Damn, it was fun" - is that there's a long-standing tradition in British universities of performing Gilbert and Sullivan in arch, camped-up pantomime style, sending up the material as much as possible. And the individual in question deserved it (we basically managed to systematically sabotage every laugh he thought he was going to get while a member of the chorus was onstage). Psychotic, I know - and probably the meanest thing I've ever done - but we *did* actually give the audience a good show, and despite the outrageous silliness going on onstage, the production was notably well sung.

Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 07/23/2003 08:47 PM PST

DR TD - here's some kleenex. I'm sorry.

Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 07/23/2003 08:49 PM PST

Oh - and I'm wearing blue socks, khaki shorts and a plain green T-shirt. And a wristwatch and glasses.

Posted by Stephen Farrow @ 07/23/2003 08:51 PM PST

I really like TAKE ME ALONG, but it too directed the focus to a less than leading character, in the case of the musical play to Uncle Sid since Jackie Gleason was playing it. Amazing that both the movie SUMMER HOLIDAY (1948) and TAKE ME ALONG cast basically untrained singers in some leading roles.

I have SUMMER HOLIDAY on laserdisc, but I haven't watched it in a long time. Might be time to take it down and give it a spin.

Posted by Matt H. @ 07/23/2003 08:53 PM PST

To the tune of The Sounds of Silence:

Clarice Starling, F.B.I.
I'm here to see that Lecter guy
I have some questions that I have to ask
That hissing monster in the hockey mask
This will help me catch a killer just like him
But not so prim
I won't be sleeping till the lambs...
Are silent.

Posted by Noel @ 07/23/2003 09:09 PM PST

Juliana's TMM tour now has an official website.

If it has been posted here already...SORRY...but I must have missed it....

Click on my name to match faces with all the people Juliana talks about in her Jiggy Journal

Posted by Jrand52 @ 07/23/2003 10:00 PM PST

Uh-oh. Someone's been E & T today and that someone is me! It's been a mighty busy day: telephone job interview (a screening interview, really) this morning, a networking lunch at the Getty Center (I stayed after for a while to look at some of the special exhibitions), got out some job search related correspondence, and then attended a meeting of the Board of Directors at my synagogue. Such a thrilling life I lead. You could just plotz, no?

Seeing Maya's question and BK's response regarding the Yiddish word "fershluganah" made me think of my favorite Yiddish word: "farblonjet." One of my favorite uses of the word was by P.D.Q. Bach in his takeoff of Wagner's DER RING DES NIBILUNGEN: DER RING GOT FARBLONJET.

Posted by Jay @ 07/23/2003 10:05 PM PST

Ha! Love the ABNER story,
Dennis! Beautiful response by
your sheriff.

Jay - so just what does
"farblonjet" mean?

Jean shorts, black t-shirt.

Posted by Jed @ 07/23/2003 10:10 PM PST

And I am wearing..............................................
nothing

Posted by TCB @ 07/23/2003 10:23 PM PST

TCB, you're not the only one!

Anyway, the only actual practical joke (as opposed to mistakes and forgotten lines--see below for that) was when I was doing the show CARNIVAL about five or six years ago. The woman playing the Kaye Ballard part (the assistant to the magician--I can't think of the character's name right now) had to get into a big giant box. Someone (not I) put in the box a picture from a Playgirl magazine of a naked man which also listed all his "vital statistics". The box was not completely dark inside and the picture was specifically placed so that Holly (the woman playing the Kaye Ballard part) had to look at the "guy" the whole time she was in the box. She almost broke character when she saw the picture as she was getting in the box, but was able to maintain her composure.

The only really big mistake that happened in a show that I was in (I think I've told this before, but I'm forever grateful that I didn't make the mistake) was when I was in AMADEUS in 1990. It was opening night and the actor playing Salieri was also the producer of the show. To give an example of how badly the whole process was, on the first night of rehearsal, we had a "wander through," not a read-through. The director told us to just take the script and sort of wander through the blocking that was written in the script. We had no set or even taped outlines of set pieces...it didn't get much better than that. Also, the lighting designer was fired the night before we opened and the producer/Salieri and the stage manager totally redesigned and hung all the lights over night. Anyway, in that first performance, Salieri was doing a monologue and sort of messed up a bit, jumped around in the script and ended up in a different scene than where he started. The actor playing Mozart panicked a bit and came in to do the scene that Salieri left off at (and didn't really give Salieri time to get himself out of the mess that he'd gotten into) but the play continued from there to the end. Everyone in the cast had their scripts either very close off-stage or (like me during the entire run) stuck in their costume. We were all thumbing through the scripts saying, "not there, not there…" It turned out that Salieri cut 15 pages on opening night! There were a couple of actors whose only scenes were within those 15 pages! They never got to perform that first night, but took their bows anyway.

Posted by George @ 07/24/2003 02:18 AM PST