Posted by MasterLcZ @ 08/07/2003 08:24 AM PST

"Psycho" and "The Silence of the Lambs" still freak me out. The scene at the end of "Lambs" in the dark totally freaks me out! "Fatal Attraction" creeped me out, too...

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 08:25 AM PST

CATS was the show to see for non-English speaking tourists. It was always made fun of by most theatre fans. Actually, there's about an hour of good entertainment in CATS. My problem with the show was that every number was repeated and repeated (both when initially done and then in reprises) so that what started out enjoyable ended up wearing out its welcome. I think the best ALW show was the original 45 minute version of JOSEPH before it kept getting larger and larger. And I still like the original concept album of SUPERSTAR, a show which works much better on disc than in any staging.

BK - It's great that you will be doing another CD, but will you ever get to the songs from KRITZERLAND bonus CD you promised those of us who bought the book on this here site?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 08:25 AM PST

Oh and as for the ? of the day: SHOWGIRLS creeps me out.

Posted by William E Lurie @ 08/07/2003 08:26 AM PST

And good vibes to you, BK, for all that important paper signing stuff. May the vibes be with you! (A Star Wars reference, of sorts!)

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:27 AM PST

And for those of you who didn't check the archives to find out the total number of posts yesterday was

*#*#*316*#*#*

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 08:32 AM PST

DR TCB, please do post again, or re-post, the easy method for underscoring. There are just too many posts in yesterday's notes (thank you, DRs, one and all) to go looking for your underscoring post. Thank you.

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:36 AM PST

The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover gave me so many willies that I left the theatre two-thirds through the picture. I saw Silence Of The Lambs at bedtime. Big mistake.

Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 08/07/2003 08:38 AM PST

I agree with Jason about "Silence of the Lambs." I still get an uncomfortable feeling when I think about that movie. It is definitely NOT one that I would like to see again!

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:40 AM PST

~~~~~ Good Vibes to BK for the Important Papers.

Posted by Laura @ 08/07/2003 08:43 AM PST

Susan, here is the easy method, in case TCB doesn't get to read the notes for a while

Place two (2) underscore marks (the underscore is on the key with the hypen or dash, usually next to the zero and right parentheses mark and remember to press the Shift key to get the underscore mark) before the word or words you want to underline (that turns on the command) and then two underscore marks after the word or words and that turns off the command

word

although you can't see them, you only see the underlined word, there are two underscores (_) directly before word and two underscores (_)directly after.

Posted by Ben @ 08/07/2003 08:46 AM PST

Thanks, Ben!

:-)

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:48 AM PST

Post of the day (forgot again)

I agree, I think Silence of the Lambs was creepy and although I despised it with every fibre of my being, I too was creeped out by The Cook, The Thief, His Wife And Her Lover. I fail to see the brilliance in that movie (of course that's just MHO)

Posted by Ben @ 08/07/2003 08:49 AM PST

Yes, WEL, as I've said, we will get to the Kritzerland CD as soon as we finish with Jeepers Creepers. As I said, the new album won't even be recorded until the end of the year. If I could record the Kritzerland CD by myself, I would, but I am dealing with Grant, and Grant moves at his own pace, especially when he's doing things as a favor.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 08:53 AM PST

Tons and tons of good vibes to you DR BK, not only today, but in the weeks to come. I am grateful to have made your acquaintance.

DR Susan, I hope you realized that I was only kidding. You, fair lady, may post ahead of me at any time.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 09:02 AM PST

Dear esteemed, early-rising, sultry, and guapo BK --

Well, if there was a free fleet of 30 foot Penske rent-a-trucks at my disposal, they would be all headed towards you and they are all filled with the most atomic-powered good vibes, positive affirmations, novenas direct from Rome, fabulous Mitzvahs, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "I Am What I Am" (pun intended!! as far as the choir!).

Why?? Not only to help the SOIP, but also because you create, you guide, you lovingly keep this most interesting and warmly human site steering along a course of good friends and good fun (a Muzzy reference). There are some exceptional warm and loving people in the New York area that wouldn't have added richness to our lives if it weren't for you, my little mensch.

Question of the day -- years ago when DR Kerry and I first saw "When A Stranger Calls"...No gore, no monsters in grisly make-up,.... just slowly built terror in your own mind, built to the point of ultra-creepy, Hmmmmm, "Ultra-Creepy" sounds like a new Revlon shade, maybe for all the "Goth" kids in black.

Off to the salt mines of consulting for now. Happy day to all.

Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/07/2003 09:04 AM PST

~~~~~~~~~~~Good Vibes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Papeles muy importantes!

I am agog at the JEEPERS CREEPERS CD...I can hardly wait!!

Creepiest movie...that TV movie we talked about earlier this week... Trilogy of Terror ...episode three when Karen Black has to fight off a Zuni warrior doll...and the ending is a tribute to the writing, directing, and Miss Karen Black who displays the most disturbing hair raising visage I have EVER seen!

Movies...for some reason the remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS made me very nervous.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/07/2003 09:18 AM PST

Oh, Music Guy, the theme from My Little Margie is available on a cd. I posted a link yesterday. But email if you just want a cassette of that song. I have it!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/07/2003 09:20 AM PST

Best of good vibes to you Mr. BK!

Creepy movies....Silence of the Lambs is indeed a creepy film and one that I would not ever willingly sit through again and I have never forgiven my friends Scott and Christy for making me watch it!

Posted by MBarnum @ 08/07/2003 09:20 AM PST

Thanks BK. The CD with BENJAMIN KRITZER is so good I'm just impatient to get the one with KRITZERLAND. I'm sure it will be worth waiting for.

To all DRs:
Since there has been much talk the last two days about italics, bold and underscore, I just want to remind you that if you use these, please preview your post to make sure the instructions were entered correctly. If it is okay go ahead and post, but if not please correct it first. In the past, several DRs (including me on one or two occasions) neglected to do this and it affected all future posts for the day until Bark Makalor (who has either been T&A or silent lately) could fix it. So far there have been no problems since instructions were posted yesterday, but it's only after DRs get used to using these codes that they occasionally get careless.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 09:20 AM PST

And thank you JRand52 for e-mailing me the instructions for bolding and italicizing

By gum and by golly I do think I have the hang of it now!!

Posted by MBarnum @ 08/07/2003 09:22 AM PST

Thank you for clarifying that, DR TCB. I must admit, I was a bit miffed by the profanity that had been hurled my way. But now all is forgiven.

;-)

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 09:26 AM PST

JRand---
Karen Black is creepy in anything she does. See NASHVILLE as an example.

I wonder how many DRs know that she was originally cast as Phillea in the original production of 4UM (as SS's license plate refers to it). One day in tryout she decided to sneak out into the balcony to watch the show until her first entrance (this was before "Comedy Tonight" was added). When it was time to go on stage she decided to leave through the first Exit she saw. Unfortunately it was an emergency exit and she ended on the theatre's marquee in a toga. She was replaced soon after by Preshey Marker... and whatever happened to her?

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 09:27 AM PST

Thank you, Ben, for explaining the underscoring in much clearer terms than I could. Hopefully, everyone is up to speed on all these little tricks.

Jason, I know you said you didn't think we had been bashing ALW, but I am curious to know why you think he needs anyone to defend him? I am a fan of Sunset Blvd. and of Phantom of the Opera, but I laughed outloud when I saw Cats (and this was in ’83) and Velveeta put me to sleep. Certainly, Andy's shows have kept a lot of actors employed over the years, but those same actors have made ALW a very rich man. It is a two-way street.

The creepiest movie I have ever seen was The Innocents with Deborah Kerr (and Marni Nixon didn’t even dub the voice).

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 09:35 AM PST

Dear Reader Music Guy:

I wasn't being rude. Logged on last night, read the 250+ posts that were in place at that point, posted my missive, logged off and went to bed.

To answer your questions: Born and raised in Brooklyn, spent four year on the isle of Manhattan for college, two years in Philadelphia for graduate school, back to Brooklyn for five years, and have been living in the L.A. area since the very end of 1984. I currently reside in the great city of Pasadena.

I am currently "between gigs," as they say. My job at a large HR consulting firm was eliminated in May. (My background is primarily in operations management/team leadership in HR-related fields.) Since then I have been attempting to make a career shift and find work in the field of arts management. Although I have networked extensively with top brass at some of the major cultural institutions in the L.A. area, and they all have been very encouraging, I have essentially come to the conclusion that now is not the time for me to be doing this. The state of non-profit funding these days, the limited number of jobs, the levels of pay and, to some degree, the insularity of the field have posed some significant barriers. I tell myself that my attempt has been noble, and though I am disappointed, I am not bummed. Will now seek work in the field from which I came, which should provide enough compensation to allow me to continue to be a regular patron of the arts. I intend to become active with one or more organizations on a volunteer basis.

As for remembering the Coconut Grove, the very first time I was in L.A., which was about 1971 or 1972, I stayed at the Ambassador Hotel, though I did not go to the Coconut Grove. Ironically, many years later, I parked in the Ambassador Hotel parking lot while a worked in the office building immediately adjacent to the hotel. You may or may not know that the Ambassador is being threatened by demolition now. The L.A. Unified School District owns the property, and intends to tear down the hotel to build a new school campus. The L.A. Conservancy, of which I am member, is lobbying for the preservation of the hotel. They have submitted an adaptive reuse plan which would convert the Coconut Grove into the school's auditorium. There is another significant public space in the hotel (the lobby?) that would be converted into the library. Needless to say, I am hopeful that the Conservancy's plan is adopted, though that is far from a sure thing. Although preservation has come a long way in L.A., it still is nowhere near what it could be.

And finally, regarding composers recycling: I agree with the dear reader who last night or early this morning said it was kosher when a composer recycles his or her own music. When a composer rips off another composer's work, well, then, that's another thing. Devotees of LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST already know this, but the composition credits for "Music of the Night" should read "by Puccini, adapted by Andrew Lloyd Weber."

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 09:43 AM PST

The Manchurian Candidate creeped me out bigtime. I had real trouble sleeping that night; everytime I closed my eyes I saw Angela Lansbury as the Queen of Diamonds.

Posted by Lulu @ 08/07/2003 09:54 AM PST

TCB: I suppose its a sentimental thing. PHANTOM was the show that got me hooked on theatre, and EVITA quickly became one of my favorite scores in the repertoire, and Lloyd Webber tends to write things that sit beautifully in my voice. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I mean, I can't sit through FORUM to save my life and I hate SOUTH PACIFIC with a passion. It just gets tiresome to hear people speak ill of Lloyd Webber. Sometimes it even gets tiresome to hear people speak ill of Frank Wildhorn.

Nah...that never gets tiresome! Haha...I'm kidding.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 09:56 AM PST

Hey, don't get me wrong. I love PHANTOM and adore SUNSET BOULEVARD (even though ALW uses the same exact music for different characters expressing widely divergent emotions.) I'm just saying give credit where it's due.

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 10:01 AM PST

OK. Enough about Andrew Lloyd Webber already!

For anyone who is interested, there's a tiny photo of Hunter Foster and our very own Kerry Butler in costume for LITTLE SHOP on Broadway.com.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:03 AM PST

Tuesday and Thursday are
bagel days here at work - so I
am chewing on a bagel as I
post this - a nice sesame
bagel.

You will read about the
Coconut Grove in the new
Kritzer book.

Seconds is quite creepy at
times. Also, Mario Bava's
Black Sunday.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 10:08 AM PST

Creepiest movies I ever did see were The Day of the Locust (Kreepy Karen Black again) and Blue Velvet (but in an insinuatingly interesting way).

Posted by Drumm @ 08/07/2003 10:11 AM PST

Jason, I was with you until you starting bashing Frank Wildhorn. I get tired of people bashing Wildhorn for the same reason we get tired of people bashing ALW. Both write highly melodic, emotion-filled music, while neither differentiates between time, place or character in their writing. (In other words, their songs are more or less interchangeable, and could be interpolated into any of their scores with no difficulty...) I enjoy much of the music of both composers, while recognizing the faults and limitations of each of them.

(And, of course, I prefer Sondheim to either one of them....)

But Jason, since you're in SCARLET PIMPERNEL, you should appreciate the score of that show. If you don't get goosebumps during "Prayer", then your Percy isn't doing his job. And "Into the Fire" and "Creation of Man" are sure-fire showstoppers. Anyone who can write songs like that is all right in my book.

In ALW's case, his major problem is that his music is almost always better than the show he is writing for.

Which raises an interesting question for discussion:

What is your favourite ALW score? AND What is your favourite ALW show? (They needn't be the same.)

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 10:20 AM PST

I think bringing Nathan and Matthew back to THE PRODUCERS is wrong. I am not referring to the people who will be disappointed when they discover an understudy in one role nor do I think it is wrong because the $1.2 million each for three months of work could pay the entire cast of another show. I think it will add to the myth that the show doesn't work without them and in the long run cut the show's total Broadway run by years, shorten the tour and put a damper on future productions because people will only want to see it with Nathan and Matthew. Is three months of over-the-top grosses worth messing with the overall succes of the show? I don't think so.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 10:22 AM PST

For anyone who has seen the
motion picture Percy, the line,
"Your Percy isn't doing his job"
has an entirely different
meaning.

I never bash Mr. Lloyd
Webber's music in a general
way - I do bash his publicity
machine which I find annoying.
I think Aspects of Love is truly
bad, but I like POTO and Evita,
some of JCS, some of Jeeves,
some of Sunset Blvd. I have
yet to hear Whistle Down the
Wind or Beautiful Game.

Wildhorn is a bit more difficult
for me - although I like him as
a person (we had a very nice
breakfast once) I think his
music is very melodic but
within his shows is also very
generic, and he is quite
frequently undone by his
lyricists. Jekyll and Hyde was,
for me, excruciating to sit
through, even though there
was some pretty music in it.

Jason, I hope your Percy is
doing his job, oh, yes, I hope
your Percy is doing his job.

I had to laugh - over at that
other board those people are
acting like VICTIMS, because I
called one of them a twit and
one a smartass. They are
acting like VICTIMS I tell you (in
an entirely different thread, by
the way - BTW, in Internet
lingo). Apparently it is fine for
them to say the most specious
things about anyone they like,
but when they get a little of
their own medicine, they cry
like stuck pigs - it is both
pathetic and amusing and it
made me smile when I read it.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 10:33 AM PST

Jason wrote about Lloyd Webber's lyrics... Yes, they may have been better in their original form, but let's keep in mind that Andy didn't write the lyrics himself, so we can't blame him for that.

Wow!

Where I come from each and every collaborator is equally responsible for each and every collaborator's work. A lyricist hands me a line like "You were once a friend and father" and I'm sending him back to the drawing board until he comes up with something better. I'm not bashing anyone, but I hold Lloyd Webber fully accountable for his songs, music and lyrics: In a good collaboration, no writer lets the other slide by with anything less than the best.

And yes, I hold Sondheim responsible for the lousy books to some of his shows. And I take full responsibility for the books of my shows, whether I wrote them or whether they were penned by the likes of Tom Carrozza, Margit Ahlin or Tony Kushner.

Posted by Noel @ 08/07/2003 10:33 AM PST

Aha! So that's the difference between musical theatre and opera. Some of the most glorious music has been written for the opera stage to some of the worst books (librettos) ever penned. Verdi's IL TROVATORE is probably the prime example. And look how far that Joe Green got in his career!

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 10:42 AM PST

Dave: Read the whole post before you go accusing me of bashing ANYONE. I said I was kidding, which, according to your post yesterday, is sometimes necessary to post in order to make people understand that your post is tongue-in-cheek.

The score to PIMPERNEL is fine, but I've heard it all before in JEKYLL & HYDE. "Into the Fire" is a splendid number, as is "Creation of Man," but one has to wonder if its the song or the ridiculous costumes and foppery that makes the thing work. Our Percy is splendid, but "Prayer" does very little for me. "I'll Forget You" is a great number, and it works quite well in the prison scene.

Frank's shows are quite accessible to Joe Blow who decided he wanted to take his girlfriend to the theatre. Andrew's shows are like that, too. There's nothing wrong with appealing to mass audiences and making some money. I dare say any of us would do it if we had the opportunity.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:42 AM PST

My brother and now sister-in-law spent their first date at PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. So you mean to say that the blame for all the tsuris those two have caused my family since they married can be pinned on Andrew Lloyd Webber? Eureka!

Thanks, Jason!

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 10:49 AM PST

I hold everyone responsible for
everything. I hold everything
responsible for everyone. I
hold myself responsible for
both everything and everyone.
Damn them, damn them all to
hell.

Now, where is Maya, for
example? Where is Sarah in
her swishy shorts, for
example?

Jason, is your Percy working
or not? I saw that you said you
were kidding and I knew you
were kidding before I saw you
said you were kidding. Just as
I knew that findingnamo was
being a snot on the other
board.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 10:49 AM PST

BK wrote re: ALW:

"I never bash Mr. Lloyd
Webber's music in a general
way - I do bash his publicity
machine which I find annoying.
I think Aspects of Love is truly
bad, but I like POTO and Evita,
some of JCS, some of Jeeves,
some of Sunset Blvd. I have
yet to hear Whistle Down the
Wind or Beautiful Game."

I agree with every word. Though I have heard a few tunes from WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND and BEAUTIFUL GAME, I haven't heard the complete scores yet, so I'll reserve judgment until I do. I will add that JOSEPH is a fun show, with a simple score. I can't endure either CATS or STARLIGHT EXPRESS.

And then BK wrote re: Frank Wildhorn:

"I think his
music is very melodic but
within his shows is also very
generic, and he is quite
frequently undone by his
lyricists."

Again, I agree on every count. I have said often that Leslie Bricusse should be taken out and shot for the lyrics he gave Wildhorn - both for J&H and for V/V. (How does this man get work?)

But lousy books to Sondheim shows? Pray tell, Noel, which shows do you mean?

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 10:50 AM PST

a typical morning in my life...Elmo is singing about the letter W, the baby is dancing to the music and looking for inappropriate things to put in his mouth. The four year old is holding his toy dragon, making very fearsome roaring sounds, for a four year old, and making his dragon "attack" his other defenseless toys...which means hurling them across the room at the baby. This, of course, is not his fault. It's that mean ol' dragon doing it. I'm just glad the dragon's aim isn't very good.
Bunches of good vibes for dear BK this morning and every other morning as he might need them.
Creepy movies...SOTL is also up there on my list, Stigmata is also one that just gave me the willies, and a strange anime by the name of Perfect Blue was a real mind scrambler.
Better go, the dragon's aim is improving...

Posted by Ann @ 08/07/2003 10:53 AM PST

BK: Last time I checked, my Percy is working QUITE well. Thanks for asking... ;-)

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:53 AM PST

Oh good, Jason, I am glad you feel that way. Perhaps you will keep yourself available for next March. I am hoping, by then, to have found the backing needed for my new show, Gigli - the Musical.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 10:53 AM PST

Jason, I knew you were kidding. So was I. (Gee, I guess I was right. We really do need to say it...) ;-)

I just used your post as a chance to defend Wildhorn. The current crop of critics bashes him the way the previous generation beat up on ALW in the 1970's and 1980's. Same old, same old.

And I agree with you about "I'll Forget You" - especially as sung by Rachel York. Mmmm....

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 10:55 AM PST

TCB: We can start on that right after I finish From Justin, To Kelly: The Musical!.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:56 AM PST

Yes, I know I missed the boat on that one. That show may keep you busy for quite a while. Perhaps I should rethink Gigli for 2008?

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 10:58 AM PST

I'm tied up in 2008 with Percy: The Musical!, a poperetta about a man who loses his "member" in an accident. Doctors are able to replace his "member" with that of a dead man, and this man is quite literally being led by his "member" through a plethora of women and woes. Michael Crawford is in talks for the lead.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:01 AM PST

Sondheim show with a great score and bad book? Easy... ANYONE CAN WHISTLE. Maybe it works on stage but it certainly doesn't read well. The score is wonderful, but it definitely falls into the general category of "How could a great score be saddled with such an awful book" along with shows like HOUSE OF FLOWERS or ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 11:05 AM PST

Jason---
If Michael Crawford doesn't get to be the lead, he can always be the leader.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 11:07 AM PST

I remember a day, oh my
droogs, when fifty posts would
have had us dancing in the
street - I mean fifty posts in
total - and here we have fifty
posts by eleven o'clock in the
am. I'm thinkin' that soon we
will be the most popular site
on all the Internet.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 11:07 AM PST

Where I come from, BK, we would hold the owner of the site as responsible for its success as the people who post here, so you must be doing something right to get so many posts this early!! Congrats!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:10 AM PST

I don't understand why everyone always says that about Roar / Smell. I think it is delgihtful little show, and done in the right space and with a good cast can be very successful.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 11:10 AM PST

Jason - If they are looking for creative casting for Percy, they might want to consider John Wayne Bobbitt for the lead.

And speaking of Mr. Bobbitt, I understand he is going to be in a new detective series on UPN. He, of course, will be playing the dick.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 11:16 AM PST

If a musical of Percy is being made, I would love to be a member of the cast.

Or, at least, I would rather be a member of the cast than have my member in a cast.

Of course, other members of the cast might include:

Don Johnson
Dick Latessa
Peter O'Toole

Any other suggestions?

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 11:23 AM PST

The creepiest films? There are two that earn that distinction in our household, one for myself and one for der Brucer.

The film that earns the crepiest honors for me is Rosemary's Baby, and is in fact the one film that I will walk out of the room if it is playing. Poor der Brucer wanted to watch it one night, without realizing what my reaction would be, and had to come to my room to appologize. (The detail that I hadn't yet made dinner was probably part of his reason to appologize. No, I didn't make him a bottle of warm milk with a nipple on it, but only because we didn't have any rubber bottle nipples in supply, because he would have deserved it.)

On the other hand, I love Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, which is der Brucer's ultimate creep-out flick. I make a point of only watching it if he isn't in the room. Of course, part of the reason I enjoy The Birds is because of my SoCal heritage: the three next-door neighbor kids were regularly getting calls (and getting to skip classes) as extras on films. One of the schoolgirls running down the hill with Melanie is, in fact, the eldest neighbor child. Of course, the children were really in no danger, as they were running in front of a blue-screen, but there's a part of me that still hopes those crows will catch up to her, since she was a genuine Hollywood brat. (Fortunately, her sister and brother were more modest about their screen achievements.)

Posted by S. Woody White @ 08/07/2003 11:23 AM PST

Anyone Can Whistle was produced last spring at the Matrix Theater in Hollywood, with a slightly reworked book (two acts instead of three). I wouldn't say that the book stank, but it really is the show's major flaw. That Arthur Laurents was the show's original director as well as the author of the book probably didn't help the original production, as he was too involved with both jobs to see where he was making mistakes. All in all, ACW provides us with a good reason for concert stagings of some works.

Posted by S. Woody White @ 08/07/2003 11:29 AM PST

S. Wooody White - Your stories are always delightful.

And while we are speaking of creepy, did anyone in the movie West Side Story do their own singing???

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 11:29 AM PST

And let's not forget the book for MERRILY... all 99 versions of it.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:30 AM PST

Well well well..

A frank Frank Wildhorn discussion.

Two words to end the debate: Civil War.

What? One or two of you liked the Civil War? You're responsible for 45% of its entire box office take.

Seriously, though, Wildhorn is a good writer, of course. Not great. He writes great songs but not great scores. He writes mostly stand alone songs that can work into a show with tweaking. Jekyll and Hyde was better as a recording (the Warlow one) than a show, like someone recently said of JCS.

I enjoy some Wildhorn music, some just makes me want to smash his ukelele. Is there any composer (or lyricist) you can't say that about, though?

I don't think any of us would put happy ol' Frankie in our top ten favorite musical theatre composers, but he's not... you know... okay, I can't put any name here without starting another debate. Let's say he's not (insert hated writer name here).

To each their own.

And when discussin' the Pimpy music, I'm a bit partial to Chauvelin's stuff, thank you.

Posted by Don @ 08/07/2003 11:37 AM PST

Gee, Don, what role do you play?

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 11:40 AM PST

Don...c'mon...you gotta admit that Ozzy's big number in the third act is brilliant. Better than any "You Are My Home" or "When I Look At You."

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:41 AM PST

Don...c'mon...you gotta admit that Ozzy's big number in the third act is brilliant. Better than any "You Are My Home" or "When I Look At You."

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:41 AM PST

Jason, you would be the guy in-the-know about this:

Which version of MERRILY does MTI currently license?

I saw a production of the show last year, and it was very enjoyable.

ANYONE CAN WHISTLE is perhaps the only Sondheim show that I have neither seen nor read, so I can't comment on it. I certainly wouldn't place the score among his top five, though.

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 11:41 AM PST

Oops

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:41 AM PST

We have a copy of the original script and a copy of the "new" York Theatre treatment in our reference library. I don't know what that means exactly. I'd say the newer version is the one we license.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:44 AM PST

MERRILY is a book that can't be appreciated the first time you are seeing it because of its backwards time frame. Yet that is the same reason it is so effective as you watch the layers of the years pealed away and see the innocent youth with their whole future ahead of them and then think of the jaded adults they became. You need to have seen it first to get an overall view and then when you see it again and remember the first time it all makes sense. I know that you should be able to understand a work the first time you see it, but can anyone honestly say that they saw HAMLET once (without having read it) and understood it completely? Just as you learn and appreciate HAMLET more each time, the same thing happens with MERRILY. Now I am not comparing the two works, because Firth is no Shakespeare, and I think that some things are not really made clear in MERRILY no matter how often you see it, but a lot of its faults are in various productions, not in the script itself.

As for ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, let's just say that English Cockney humor is not my cup of tea and that since many people feel the same way about the show the book must be blamed at least in part. I feel the same way about GOOD COMPANIONS and ME AND MY GIRL - good scores (though not as good as GREASEPAINT) but English humor I just can't connect with.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 11:46 AM PST

Don,

I am inclined to agree with you. "Falcon in the Dive" is an awesome song, and the women swoon for "Where's the Girl?"

I have only heard a couple of songs from CIVIL WAR - which is probably more than 99% of the population can say... When the National Tour came to town, I missed it, but a friend - whose opinion I respect - said it was highly enjoyable.

The Warlow recording of J&H makes a case for the notion that a talented performer can elevate the material he performs. On that CD, the show sounds wonderful. On stage, not so much. I still think there is a good show in J&H, with some re-working. Clean up the lyrics a little, remove some of the repetition, and decide upon a tone for the show, and you just might have something there...

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 11:49 AM PST

Can I be in Percy too?

Posted by Wally Cox @ 08/07/2003 11:49 AM PST

Me, too!

Posted by Courtney Cox @ 08/07/2003 11:52 AM PST

Dave: "Where's the Girl" is a touchy subject for Don. The song was cut from our production, but he still reprises it in Act II.

WEL: I've seen MERRILY in various incarnations many times (I even saw it at the Kennedy Center twice in one day), and while I love the score and the idea of going backwards, the only reason I wanted to see it all the way through was to hear "Our Time." Firth himself has never been happy with the book, and that's a big part of the reason they couldn't do dialogue in the reunion concert. He didn't want to have any part of it because they wanted to do the original book and he hated that version so much that he refused to let them do the dialogue.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 11:56 AM PST

Twenty-five (count 'em, twenty-five!) posts in the last hour!! WOW!! At this rate, we'll soon be the most popular site on the internet!

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 12:00 PM PST

What???!! They CUT "Where's the Girl?" What are they, crazy?

When we did the show, we cut the "Rescue Ballet", and found the show flowed *much* better as a result.

But "Where's the Girl?" Yeesh..

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 12:08 PM PST

Yes, and the Batcave scene with the Bounders was entirely cut, as well.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 12:10 PM PST

Just thought of another creep-me-out movie

Requiem for a Dream

I had to cover my eyes at one point near the end when the junkie and his arm and...well, if you've seen the movie you know. If you haven't what a creepy scene!!!

Posted by Ben @ 08/07/2003 12:15 PM PST

Jason - In your production of Titanic did they cut the sinking ship scene?

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 12:15 PM PST

OMG, too many posts to read! But I did learn how to underline. And it looks like everyone else learned how to bold and italicize as well :)

As for Ron's comments last night about Big Brother. Okay I thought the questions in the HOH competition were easy (I got them all correct). But they were definitely tailored towards Justin, which makes me very mad.

Ron wrote:
Jennifer: BB4 just got very interesting -- I don't think Justin is stupid enough to believe that Robert and Jee are all he needs to succeed in this game. What will he do? What will he do?

I was so mad at Alison for not getting rid of Justin. And i was even madder that he won HOH. I think that Justin is okay with Robert and Jee, and using Alison and Jun.

Justin will nominate Jack and Nathan (getting rid of Nathan). I think he will keep his word to Alison this week.

Alison is sure she's safe. Jun is grinning from ear to ear.

Alison is safe. She knows Justin and they made that deal. She was smart in a way. Because she made sure she was safe this week.

If they don't do something soon to shake things up in the house, I'm going to stop watching.

I wish that the other side had won HOH. I just hope that somehow they win next week.

Posted by Jennifer @ 08/07/2003 12:15 PM PST

The ship sinks? Wow! I guess we did do some editing after all!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 12:16 PM PST

Oh, Jason, I just about fell off my chair when I read that. That means they cut your big moment from the show! When Ozzy turns to Percy and says, "And we...we will be beside you. Into darkness...into danger...", that is a goosebump moment in the show.

Did the powers-that-be offer any explanation as to why they cut such important material from the show?

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 12:17 PM PST

But in the Clive Cussler revision, they raise it again.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 12:18 PM PST

Did I miss a j/k or a smiley, or do you really want to know which Sondheim shows have sub-standard books?

The morality play by twin brothers in which the hero gets out of his troubles when the cops say "Aw, forget about it!"

A meaningless fable in which one can't tell the loonies from the sane people and one never much cares.

A commitment-phobe observes married friends and then, in the finale, says he wants to make a connection, but nobody can be sure why.

That one I keep complaining about involving middle-aged has-beens regretting their life choices and then continuing on in their mis-wrought marriages.

The show that doesn't have a protagonist but has a country instead.

The one that goes backwards, so that you hate the leads throughout the first act but you eventually like them.

The revue about our history's worst villains that fails to draw any connections between them or a conclusion.

The one about a miserable woman who behaves abyssmally, but eventually a man loves her enough to fight a dual.

More words I live by: You only get one shot in the theatre. A Broadway show costs $100 and if you've left the audience mystified after one viewing, you've failed. I appreicate that some people return to shows again and again and eventually find merit in them, but the authors' responsibility is to the one-time atendee.

Creeped out by films: A Clockwork Orange and the original Diabolique. Just try to see them with the lights off.

Posted by Noel @ 08/07/2003 12:20 PM PST

They can cut "Where's the Girl?" from SCARLETT PIMPERNELL as long as they don't cut "Who's that Woman?" from FOLLIES.

Posted by Stella Deems @ 08/07/2003 12:20 PM PST

Remember the movie called Percy? It's about, yes, a percy with an identity crisis. It may not be creepy, but it gives one the willies.(Hywel Bennett stars as the first recipient of a penis transplant.) Turn that into a musical.

Posted by Dan-in-Toronto @ 08/07/2003 12:22 PM PST

Re. BB4: I was so happy that Justin won HOH! I don't mind that Dana left. I didn't really dislike her, but she wasn't a favorite. Jun makes me laugh sometimes so I was rooting for her to stay, but now and then she says hurtful things about other players. And towards the beginning of the show she was unusally mean to Jee...although that might be part of their secret alliance plan.

Allison still irritates me. She is a big phoney and even admitted that she was just using Nathan (who seems to trust her). Now, I think Nathan is a nice guy as you see I am playing both sides! LOL! I like everyone except Allison! I even am liking Erica now.

All and all though, this isn't the most exciting season of Big Brother that I have ever seen.

Posted by MBarnum @ 08/07/2003 12:24 PM PST

Dan-in-Toronto: Scroll up a few messages. We're working on Percy: The Musical!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 12:26 PM PST

(Don is not available for comment at the moment, he is still screaming and ranting alone in his room about the whole "Where's The Girl" fiasco.)

...

...

Oh, hi. The "powers that be" making decisions of what to cut is a long and complicated story punctuated by the vanity of morons.

TITANIC had its cuts as well, but those, by and large, helped move the dinosaur along.

PIMPERNEL has been reworked and rethough so many times already that additional cuts really don't work. Still, we've extended and sell like hotcakes. It's a damned good show, I think. Except for the ....

(Don is unavailable for comment...)

Posted by Don @ 08/07/2003 12:27 PM PST

(Don is not available for comment at the moment, he is still screaming and ranting alone in his room about the whole "Where's The Girl" fiasco.)

...

...

Oh, hi. The "powers that be" making decisions of what to cut is a long and complicated story punctuated by the vanity of morons.

Also didn't help that, if I may be so bold, I nail that song and knew it going in better than I knew anything else. I won't bore you with reasons I'm sure you know about why it's one of the few actually plot-related, important songs of the show.

TITANIC had its cuts as well, but those, by and large, helped move the dinosaur along.

PIMPERNEL has been reworked and rethough so many times already that additional cuts really don't work. Still, we've extended and sell like hotcakes. It's a damned good show, I think. Except for the ....

(Don is unavailable for comment...)

I still think it'd be great if anyone could get out to the Poconos to see it.

Can we talk about ice cream again?

Posted by Don @ 08/07/2003 12:31 PM PST

oops...

Posted by d @ 08/07/2003 12:37 PM PST

Noel ---

If you want to reduce the books to Sondheim musicals, you have to remember musicals by others that somehow have remained popular

*The one about the farmgirl who can't decide which of her suitors can take her to a picnic

*The one about a nurse who won't marry a man with multi-racial children until he almost dies in a war

*The one about the nun who marries a Barron, teaches his children to sing and escapes the Nazis

*The one about the busybody who tries to match up couples but saves the rich man for herself

*The one about the sadistic choreographer who puts seventeen job seeking dancers through a night of hell

*The one about the mother who couldn't make it in show business herself and tries to live through her kids who she forces to become performers

*The one about the poor dairyman whose daughters marry against his wishes and who ends up being kicked out of his hometown by the enemy

You can boil anything down into a few words that make a classic work sound trite.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 12:41 PM PST

More potential casting for Percy! The Musical:

Bernadette Peters
Rod Stewart

The score will be composed by:

Willy Russell

And of course the costumes will all be designed by... (wait for it)

Edith Head

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 12:44 PM PST

It can be a double-bill...Percy: The Musical! followed by Moby Dick: The Musical!.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 12:46 PM PST

These fellows on that other
board are trying to BAIT me, I
tell you. Anytime they can
mention me in a thread they
can, trying to be cute as pie.
Well, you'll be happy to know I
shall not take the bait. Juliana,
yes, I'll take the bait - me, no,
these people are not worth my
taking the bait. I know who
they are, and they are bitter
pathetic losers. Anonymity is
wunderbar - while it lasts.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 12:46 PM PST

Will Percy - The Musical! interpolate "The Theme From Shaft"?

Will script doctoring be done by Betty Condom (or will she just cover it for some newspaper)?

Posted by William E Lurie @ 08/07/2003 12:48 PM PST

I'm thinkin' we might just reach
100 posts today. It's getting
quite randy around here, so
maybe I'll recount the story of
The Randy Vicar and the Peter
Principal.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 12:48 PM PST

Can I be in your musical?

Posted by Lea Shalonga @ 08/07/2003 12:50 PM PST

Unless someone beats me to it this should be #100. Maybe we'll make it past 300 again.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 12:51 PM PST

"The Peter Principal" - What a great opening number for Percy.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 12:51 PM PST

Yes, it can interpolate the theme from 'Shaft,' but I warn you, it will be cut short.

D'oh!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 12:52 PM PST

Now, let's not get TOO randy -
we do have young people
here, you know.

By the way (BTW, in Internet
lingo) I was at the store
yesterday and I saw what must
have been a nine year old girl
with the LOWEST jeans shorts
I've ever seen, and with her
THONG underwear pulled up
for all to see. What are this
girl's parents thinking of?
Even our very own Melissa
was wearing low jeans in her
show, and let me tell you, she
bent down at one point and it
was not especially pleasant
when her shirt rode up and
revealed... Well, who am I to
make a crack about such
things.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 12:54 PM PST

Jason I'll go see Moby Dick: The Musical but only if they descend a life sized version of a sperm whale from the ceiling.

The Query o' the day: The creepiest movie I have ever seen is the disney version of Alice in Wonderland. Why would anyone ever think that kids would actually enjoy that movie and not have crazed nightmares about playing cards gone amok?!?

Posted by Emily @ 08/07/2003 01:02 PM PST

lol, bk.

"crack"... tee hee... GUFFAW!

Posted by Emily @ 08/07/2003 01:03 PM PST

WEL (and anyone else who feels the need to disagree with me)

I don't think bringing Matthew and Nathan back is a mistake at all. They are capable of doing the roles and will bring in a huge boost to the box office keeping the hundreds of people involved in THE PRODUCERS working.

Sorry if I sound peevish about this - but I often read posts on various sites about stunt casting and/or DISNEY, etc and all about how they wish certain shows would pack up and call it a day - just because (not like a DOTV, Amour or UC situation). And I have posted the same to their responses. With the economy the way it is and people out of work - I am ALL for the "powers that be" doing just about anything they can to sustain their shows. This doesn't mean bastardizing them in favor of a new cast member. But other stunt casting and/or bringing a return engagement of the two leads, in my book excellent marketing AND good for everyone.

People who missed the leads will get to see them, they other actors will enjoy healthy houses, tv stations and newspapers (and so on) will see advertising revenue dollars, etc.

Anyway.. I could go on about this point.. but I am sure we are all intelligent enough here to understand what I am getting at...

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 01:03 PM PST

BK: At least those girls were wearing underwear. We have girls in our cast who would come to rehearsals wearing jeans (and sometimes even short skirts) and wouldn't have on ANY undies! Can you imagine? And there are nights that we've overheard them in their dressing room talking about how they've "forgotten" to wear panties that night, or that they didn't have any clean ones, so they just went commando. And the costumes haven't been cleaned in a month? Ew!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 01:04 PM PST

My favourite creepiest movie:

Island of Lost Souls (1933) with Charles Laughton. When it was condemned in Britain as "being against the laws of nature" Elsa Lanchester quipped: "So is Mickey Mouse."

Posted by Charles Pogue @ 08/07/2003 01:13 PM PST

Thank you Jason, for that very vivid picture of some of your female cast members! But are you trying to tell me that there isn't one guy in your cast who goes commando?

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 01:13 PM PST

I don't know if they do in their everyday clothes, but not one guy in our cast goes commando during the show. One guy wears a dance belt (we're still not sure why...he doesn't dance at all in PIMPERNEL), but no one goes completely commando.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 01:14 PM PST

Craig---
What I said was that bringing Matthew and Nathan back will be great for the three months they are back, but will add to the totally incorrect perception that if you don't see THE PRODUCERS with them it is not worth seeing. I don't think the 3 months of great box office that they will bring is worth it because as soon as they leave business will go down even more than it has since they left the first time (currently about 80%)because people will either be waiting for the next time they come back or saying "well I missed Nathan and Matthew again so I won't bother to see it"). This could ultimately cut two or three years off the total run of the show. It would be better to wait until business declines to the point where they are seriously considering closing and then bring Nathan and Matthew back for the final three months of the run rather than stick them back in now and then have to find replacements who will be both good and can sell tickets in March again.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 01:14 PM PST

WEL..

Interesting analysis. I see you have it all figured out from your magic crystal ball seeing into the future. >smile< Your prediction may come to pass, then again, one never knows. One this is for sure is that if they are planning on opening in London with Matthew and Nathan as originally planned, the hype these three months will generate in the press will be perfect timing to get the show going again. THE PRODUCERS hasn't seen media attention in quite some time and with the new Broadway season upon us, I think it IS necc for them to roll out the stops now.

One thing you do not know is their advance sales. Sure.. the BO might be 80 percent now.. but perhaps their advance is REALLLLLLLY bad. Perhaps it isn't and everything is fine. Point is...with many new shows to see, the #'s aren't going to go up unless they shake things a bit.

Will numbers slip after they leave.. most likely. But the cash flow from the 3 months might be important to the BO. Not to mention, the #'s wont drop off the day they leave.. no, it will slide down gradually like it did last time. And perhaps by then, we can get Marty and Jason over here

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 01:21 PM PST

I think the two National Tours of the show are more likely to cut two or three years off the Broadway run of THE PRODUCERS than three months of having Nathan and Matthew back in the show. The show was so wildly popular mainly because you couldn't see it anywhere else in North America...well, now you can, and in L.A. you can even see it with two major stars, which you can't even do in New York now. I haven't seen the show, and probably won't because the hype has totally turned me off of it, but I have to agree with Craig. I think this is a good marketing plan for a show that is now starting to see a 20% decline in ticket sales. Let's not forget that two years ago you couldn't even THINK about getting a ticket to this show...now its playing to smaller houses than PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, which has been running nearly 14 years longer than THE PRODUCERS? Maybe it does need a couple of stars to pull it off. There's no shame in that. And there's also no shame in a three + year run. Remember when shows used to be successful if they ran the whole season? Now we're talking about what a shame it would be if a show had two or three years shaved off its run! I think that's amazing.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 01:26 PM PST

By the way... this perception has mostly been fostered by the critics who don't judge each new Bialystock or Bloom on their own merits, but as a weak comparison to one of the originals. The show does work without them (as much of the audience who saw an understudy during their initial run can tell you). GLASS MENAGERIE works without Laurette Taylor, Zero only played Tevye for the first nine months of the 7 year run, STREETCAR is still a classic without Brando, there have been several Roses since Merman, and look at all the successful Dollys there have been. Somehow the press has been pushing the fact that THE PRODUCERS is not nearly as good without Nathan and Matthew, and bringing them back now will do nothing to convince the people that while the show would not have worked without Mel Brooks, there are a number of other actors who are just as capable of playing these roles.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 01:27 PM PST

Holy guacamole, people. 114 posts??? I can't possibly catch up before I go a-tutoring. Perhaps this site is a little TOO darn popular? Or maybe it's just too darn hot. Yes, that's it.

Posted by Lulu @ 08/07/2003 01:34 PM PST

I don't think the road companies are hurting the Broadway company. MAMA MIA played over a year on the road (and is still touring) before coming to New York. Look at all the tours of PHANTOM and LES MIZ. They did nothing to hurt the Broadway runs. PHANTOM has not had a major name since Michael Crawford left, but it didn't even have discount tickets until about its 12th year because people were going to see a show not a star. I think the biggest mistake the producers of THE PRODUCERS made was in not replacing Nathan and Matthew with bigger names when they first left and kept the momentium going. Now they are trying to fix it, but not with new names... with the same names the public was initally informed were indispensible. As for the cash flow, at $100,000 a week EACH a lot will be going out. I think they should move Jason and Martin to the NY company (which will get the hype they need) and then replace them with names the public knows. I have always been a big fan of Lewis J. Stadlen, but let's face it: how many tickets can he sell? There are some shows that only one person can succesfully do (BELLS ARE RINGING and COCO to name two). There are any of a number of people who can do THE PRODUCERS. And let's not forget, the highlight of the show is as it was in the movie: "Springtime for Hitler" - a number neither Bialystock nor Bloom is even in.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 01:44 PM PST

WEL wrote: If you want to reduce the books to Sondheim musicals, you have to remember musicals by others that somehow have remained popular

*The one about the farmgirl who can't decide which of her suitors can take her to a picnic

I was asked to identify some of the Sondheim shows that have weak books and I did it with one-line descriptions. The point was not to ridicule by reduction, as your list does. Oklahoma!, while fitting the description you've given, is brilliantly written. All that class conflict and smoldering sexuality underneath is riveting. If you find Sondheim shows with such widely-produced collaborators as Furth and Weidman "classic" please tell me why. I've been asking people to point out what's so wonderful about Follies for days now. Me, I'm often left scratching my head saying "Well, the songs were good, but the show?

Posted by Noel @ 08/07/2003 01:45 PM PST

On Mr. Lloyd Webber: Don't really like anything he's done in toto. There are intermittent songs in his shows that I like, but none of the scores with the possible exception of EVITA seem of a piece to me.

bk, is the Bava BLACK SUNDAY you're referring to the same as BLACK SABBATH? HBO showed it last week one afternoon, and even though I know it scares the pants off me as a kid, I rewatched it. The first episode "A Drop of Water" has always been the scariest to me, and it did it to me again - creeped me out big time and made me jump a couple of times. The hideous visage of the dead woman is HAUNTING.

As for the WEST SIDE STORY question, I think we can assume Tucker Smith (Ice) sang all his role since he also provided the vocals for Russ Tamblyn (Riff), too. And the little bit that George Chakiris sings in "America" sounds like his own voice as well.

Posted by Matt H. @ 08/07/2003 01:49 PM PST

DR Noel - the FOLLIES poster was great!

So many posts.

Hywel Bennett was creepiest in THE TWISTED NERVE....tormenting poor Hayley Mills to within an inch of her life!!!

Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/07/2003 01:52 PM PST

If you give me a couple of letters, I'll do the hats for the show.

Posted by Marty Milner @ 08/07/2003 01:54 PM PST

Noel - It's not the actual book that makes FOLLIES a classic... it's the subtext. I've always liked the show even while feeling that I did not care for any of the characters and didn't care if Sally ended up with Ben, Buddy or Phyllis. Even with a flawed book it's still a show that I find fascinating. See Ethan Mordeen's new book One Last Kiss for a long portion on why he thinks the FOLLIES book is so great.

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/07/2003 01:58 PM PST

If they highlight of THE PRODUCERS is "Springtime For Hitler," which Bialystock and Bloom are not even part of, then why bother with the rest of the show? And if the hightlight of a Broadway show is already on film, then why go see it at all? Without strong Bialystocks and Blooms, all you have is "Springtime for Hitler," and that ain't worth $100.

I agree with you that the tours won't really put that much of a dent in the B'way production's ticket sales, and I think that Matthew and Nathan returning for three months will do even less to hurt the show's run. I was trying to be ironic or sarcastic or one of those things, but I guess the irony/sarcasm was lost somewhere in the text. The show is still playing at 80% right now with no stars. That's not shabby at all, considering some shows are running at 60%. But, with highly-anticipated shows like LITTLE SHOP and WICKED coming up, shows like THE PRODUCERS and HAIRSPRAY, who have recently lost some or all of their original principles, are going to have to work to keep up with the Joneses--and THE PRODUCERS is going to have to work much harder than HAIRSPRAY will simply because its a three-year old show as opposed to a year old show that is still selling at capacity.

I think the biggest problem THE PRODUCERS will have to face is the hype that they created for themselves. They sold the show like it was the best thing ever to hit Broadway and that you would never see anything better ever again in your life. Then the stars left and changed the equation. Now its "that show that used to be the best damn thing ever to hit Broadway...but who's in it? Mmm...just some replacements no-one has ever heard of. Let's go see HAIRSPRAY instead!" And eventually, the same thing will happen to HAIRSPRAY, even though the story is very strong. Marissa was a no-name to begin with, so Tracy's replacement will be easier to accept. People are going to expect a name to play Edna once Harvey leaves.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 01:59 PM PST

Uh oh.

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 02:02 PM PST

Sorry...that was my fault. :-(

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 02:03 PM PST

hmmm hmmm hmmm

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 02:05 PM PST

Fixed

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 02:05 PM PST

Thank you, Craig.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 02:05 PM PST

No problem Jason.. When do we do Ollie's next?

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 02:06 PM PST

As soon as I feel like I can stomach it again. I don't know if it was Ollie's or the heat that made me sick-feeling the other night.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 02:07 PM PST

Jason - perhaps it was you lack of future living situation

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 02:09 PM PST

I believe the book in question is called One More Kiss.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 02:14 PM PST

To my mind, touring companies (pre- or post-Broadway opening) boost Broadway box office. If people in (fill in the blank with the name of some place other than New York) enjoy a touring show in their home town, that increases their liklihood of seeking theatre on their visits to New York and elsewhere. Sure, maybe if they saw MAMMA MIA! in (fill in the blank again, as above) they probably would want to see something else when they visit Aunt Martha in New York. Maybe something with a cohesive score and a tightly written book. (Get my drift?)

I wish I could remember Addison DeWitt's comments (well, Joe Mankiewicz's really, but Addison says them--don't ever accuse me of not appreciating screenwriters and playwrights) about how the "theatuh" is not limited to eight blocks on Manhattan's west side.

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 02:17 PM PST

Well, it has been a busy day. So far today, we have managed to bash the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Stephen Sondheim, Frank Wildhorn, Anthony Newley, Rodgers and Hammerstein; with an occasional swipe at Mamma Mia, Titanic, The Producers, House of Flowers, Me and My Gal, and too many others for me to remember. Is there any show that we all do like?

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 02:49 PM PST

Why of course! It's Carrie, silly!

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 02:54 PM PST

Actually DR Jay - it was Bill Sampson's comment, and I quoted him briefly yesterday.

"The theatuh - the theatuh - what book of rules says the theater exists only within some ugly buildings crowded into one square mile of New York City? Or London, Paris, or Vienna? Listen, junior. And learn. Want to know what theater is? A flea circus. Also opera. Also rodeos, carnivals, ballets, Indian Tribal dances, Punch and Judy, a one-man band -- all theater. Donald Duck, Ibsen, and the Lone Ranger. Sarah Bernhardt, Poodles Hanneford, Lunt and Fontanne, Betty Grable -- Rex the Wild Horse, and Eleanor Duse, you don't understand them all, you don't like them all -- why should you? The theater's for everybody -- you included , but not exclusively -- so don't approve or disapprove. It may not be your theater, but it's theater for somebody, somewhere."

And with that I am off to the opening night of GYPSY! It is the story of Jocko, a man who discovers talent children in Seattle Washington and later changes his name to Murvyn Goldstone and offers lousy acts contracts with the Orpheum circuit.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/07/2003 03:03 PM PST

Oh, he also runs the light board for the second act, since the regular operator can't be there until tomorrow.

Posted by Jrand52 @ 08/07/2003 03:04 PM PST

Thank you Bill, I mean Joe, I mean Jrand52!

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 03:05 PM PST

That's what television is, dear, nothing but auditions.

Posted by Addison DeWitt @ 08/07/2003 03:11 PM PST

Come and knock on my door...
Take a step that is new...
With a loveable space to greet your face...
Suzanne Somers, we're through...!

Posted by Joyce DeWitt @ 08/07/2003 03:14 PM PST

Hmmm. We probably could hit 400 posts if we all quote epigrams from All About Eve.

My favorite: "This bed looks like a dead animal act."

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 03:15 PM PST

Black Sunday is different than
Black Sabbath. Black Sunday
is an amazing moody horror
film with Barbara Steele. If the
prologue doesn't get you,
nothing will.

I am back from signing
Important Papers. Still need
postive vibes because it's all
rather complex and will
continue into next week. BUT,
the Important Papers are
signed - took an hour - and I'm
back at work with a splitting
headache.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 03:18 PM PST

Here I am, BK (to whom I send many good vibes!) Just read all today's posts and LMAOed at Percy the Musical.

There aren't a lot of movies that creep me out, as I'm quite difficult to scare, but The Exorcist really creeped me out, as did Poltergeist. And of more recent movies, The Ring wasn't that great structurally, but the mood of it was really eerie.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Frank Wildhorn (can you imagine if these guys ever collaborated??)...it seems that if you are a Sondheim lover, it is like a crime to also really like ALW. You have to like somewhat atonal, intellectual scores or sweeping, romantic pop operas. I like both. I definitely prefer Sondheim and Finn and all those guys, but I think it's kind of silly to dismiss ALW and Wildhorn because they write more commercial and accessible shows. Though I will not deny...ALW does to songs sometimes what Bonnie and Clyde did to banks. And I've gotta say also that I hate, HATE This is the Moment. That song irritates me so very much, even though I like most of the songs from Jekyll and Hyde.

Well, this will be my last post for a couple of days...I'm going to an anime convention in Baltimore with some friends. I'm somewhat of an anime fan, but hardly an otaku (which means something like obsessive fan). It should be fun though. I've been to one other anime convention and it was pretty amazing with all the outrageous (and sometimes very skimpy) costumes people wear. Everyone, keep posting so that we have more 200+ post days and become the grand poobah of the internet!

Posted by Maya @ 08/07/2003 03:26 PM PST

This site it the ginchiest!

Posted by the Garbage Collector @ 08/07/2003 03:37 PM PST

Maya, that is totally not right. I
must be taken to any anime
convention because I LOVE
anime. Will the stars of Noir
be there? Will Hayao Miyazaki
be there? Will the stars of
Serial Experiment Lain be
there? Will Lupin the III be
there?

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 03:54 PM PST

I visited this here site earlier this a.m. when there were only 313 posts to yesterday's missives. This was around 8 a.m. I had severe sinus/allergy attack last night and a major headache this morning. Stayed home.

And it's not even 4 p.m. PDT and there's over 100 posts...amazing.

Jennifer and MBarnum: I thought Jack was quite pathetic missing that first question last night. I am positive he either "threw it" so he wouldn't HAVE to be HOH or he didn't get the hang of how to put the right face on...it was too easy and his response was too stupid to have been anything other than intentional.

I agree that the "elephant" question was tailored more for Justin, although Nathan (had he been "in" at that moment) probably would have gotten it, too.

Justin will obviously keep Jee and Robert -- they're his stooges and incapable of doing anything without his telling them, so he could probably carry them to the final three and then order them to self-destruct.

Dana asked the Diary Room last week about America's Choice and she was told they were not doing it this year. Last night, Julie said there would be one next week. They lied to her. Thus, they might be lying about no former houseguests reentering the game.

Movie that creeps me out: Brian dePalma's "Sisters."

GBOGP (Great Big Old Guilty Pleasure): "While You Were Sleeping" -- just love this film. And can't stand anything Sandra Bullock has made since...although "Miss Congeniality" had its moments.

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/07/2003 04:03 PM PST

I have seen all the ALW shows except "Whistle" and have found them all entertaining to some extent - most difficult to find positives about were "JC Superstar" and "The Beautiful Game". I do go the theatre to hopefully enjoy a show on some level - even some of the worst performances by non-professional casts can be enjoyed on some level. (Please note the use of split infinative in the above if you are about to tutor anyone in English). Do I think about the ALW shows after the event ? No! With Sondheim I get to appreciate a great score, performances and I do get to think about content. I am more likely to find his characters multi dimensional and interesting. Even with "Anyone Can Whistle" I get to think about why it does not work. With "Follies"I loved the most recent NY production because of its darkness. I have certainly heard it better sung but I really felt for these people.
I love "Merrily" and the best production I have seen was of the "first" take - bookended by "The Hills Of Tomorrow" . In some ways I can see that having being familiar with recordings of Sondheim shows before I saw them produced has added to my appreciation.

To TCB's comment:
IMHO "Nine" is one of the best musicals written. Do we all like it?
And for the topic of the day:
I'll go with TCB - "The Innocents".

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 08/07/2003 04:07 PM PST

Yay..I have more time! I don't have to leave for another hour of so!

Tom from Oz--I haven't seen Nine yet (and hopefully I will get to before it closes), but I definitely think it has one of the greatest SCORES ever. Would be in the top 20, in my book, without a doubt.

BK--I have NO idea what anime people are going to be at the con, but if Miyazaki is there and I can get through the hordes of people who will no doubt surround him, I will be sure to get you a personalized autograph!

And Lupin the III will be there of course...in all his pimpin' glory.

Why aren't there musical theatre conventions by the way? People could get all dressed up as their favorite musical character....ah, that such a dream could be!

Posted by Maya @ 08/07/2003 04:16 PM PST

Here are some big names of this era we're leaving out... I wish that Boublil and Schonberg would write another show. I like their stuff.

I think many of the weaknesses shared in Martin Guerre and Miss Saigon came from poor lyrics (how many versions of Martin Guerre are there?) and from the fact that once Les Mis "made musical theatre history" CamMack wanted the French wonder boys to crank out the material faster than they should've. I heard something over a year ago they supposedly were writing, but I don't remember what it was.

Posted by Don @ 08/07/2003 04:21 PM PST

Maya makes an excellent suggestion. It would not be at all difficult to do a musical theater convention. Just takes a little organization (and, of course, someone to organize it). You'd want to do it in the NYC area, of course, as presumably most of the probable attendees would be in and around that area. Very doable.

Posted by Lulu @ 08/07/2003 04:29 PM PST

I think it may be time for a big, relaxed, easy breath to be inhaled....hold for 5 seconds...then slowly exhale. There doesn't that feel good, and calming, and restorative.

Let's not get our pretties in a twist over who wrote what, or which book stinks, or any of the rest. We are so lucky to live in a part of the world with creativity, openness, artistic expression, and all the joy that comes from all of that.

Dear esteemed and fully-signed BK -- glad that your SOIP went well. Just try to let your little mensch head relax now, and feel soothed.

And if I may offer a little "unexpected bright sparkle" that came to me today; hearing the beautiful, strong, and emotionally rich voice of our very own Jason Bratton fill the interior of my car as I drove to a work appointment earlier today. When the right person puts that boy and that voice together with the right show and the right material.....honey, you got a new light on Broadway on your hands!!

Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/07/2003 04:30 PM PST

Lulu--I'm glad that you liked the suggestion! You would think with the renaissance and rediscovered marketability of movie musicals and all that, someone could start up a musical con! Maybe it will happen within the next 5 years :) Who would you want to go as by the way??

Posted by Maya @ 08/07/2003 04:41 PM PST

MusicGuy: What on earth are you talking about? I had 2 or three silly little solo lines in MOBY DICK, and I'm sure you weren't listening to POOP: THE MUSICAL! Thanks for the compliments. :-)

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 04:46 PM PST

It's not how many lines you
have to sing, it's the way you
sing them. I shall be leaving
work soon and must get some
foodstuffs to put into my
gaping maw - all I've had today
was a lowly bagel this
morning. My headache will
probably abate, oh, yes, it will
probably abate once I get food
into my gaping gob.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 05:09 PM PST

the next (and final) Encore Presentation Broadway Radio Show is now up. Bruce discusses his first novel, Benjamin Kritzer, as well as the DVD release of The First Nudie Musical.....we'll have a new Broadway Radio Show up and running late Sunday

ENJOY!

Posted by Donald Feltham @ 08/07/2003 05:23 PM PST

Another radio show with ME?
Thank you all you lovely
Hainsies/Kimlets, for voting on
MY radio shows.

All right, we need some action
here - clothing call. Jeans,
black shirt and sneakers.
Your turn.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 05:43 PM PST

Wow.. a new radio show, Bruce eating foodstuffs.. what else could possibly be more entertaining. Wait. I know!

JULIANA'S JOURNAL HAS BEEN UPDATED! and given the fact that she emailed me a slew more entries.. expect news ones quite often over the next week!

Posted by Craig @ 08/07/2003 05:44 PM PST

Clothing call: Gap jeans, faded blue polo shirt (I bought it faded), anklet socks and sneakers.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 05:49 PM PST

Maya: Hmmmmm...that's a toughie. I'd probably cross-dress as Harold Hill. :) How 'bout you?

Clothing call: It's nearly 9 p.m. here; I'm wearing my jammies. They're blue and quite comfy.

Posted by Lulu @ 08/07/2003 05:50 PM PST

I am here, and I don't feel too well, which is making me very very mad. My server has been down all day, so I couldn't get online, or on AIM, or anywhere fun, there was nothing good on television, and I had to babysit 3 little boys for 6 hours. They were awful. BAD day, I tell you. Though, I am wearing swishy shorts, which makes it all worthwhile...

On the bright side I have a feeling that my best friend is throwing me a Sweet Sixteen party, which should be awesome. She throws good parties.

BK: Good vibes to you, good sir, as you sign your Important Papers. Headaches are the absolute spawn of Satan. Might I suggest a hot bath? ALways helps me.

DR Ann: I LOVED Stigmata, I thought it was an incredibly intriguing movie. I hadn't ever heard of that happening, so I was immensly interested.

DR Ron Pulliam: I'm sorry to hear about your sinus/allergy happenings, feel better soon!

I don't get too scared of movies, with nightmares and such, but I get veeeeeery jumpy and nervous for the rest of the day. Some movies that do this:

The Ring- Interesting the first time, very creepy the second, as you understand it more. Plus, after I watched it, I went to babysit in an old house with creaky long hallways, mirrors, and a TV that wouldnt turn on. Scared the s*** out of me for a while.
What Lies Beneath- A jumpy movie. Lot's of people popping out and creepy music. I slept with the light on.
The Cell- Visually scary. What goes on in this man's mind is...weird.
Signs- Awful story line. Stupid, stupid, stupid. But fabulous music that really sets the mood. Clicking noises bothered me for a while after this.

I've heard about SOTL and I refuse to watch it.

Posted by Sarah @ 08/07/2003 05:51 PM PST

Clothing Call: Purple swishy shorts and pink tank top, pink slippers with pigs on them. Quite comfy.

Posted by Sarah @ 08/07/2003 05:53 PM PST

Creepiest Movies

The Haunting (The original) One of the best Horror films every.

The Legend of Hell House another group of people investigate a haunted house.

Wait Until Dark. Audrey Hepurn and Alan Arkin and those last ten minutes!!! All out on DVD. Haunting and Wait Until Dark came out this week!! Highly recommend it

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 08/07/2003 05:56 PM PST

Regarding clothing call: Let's just say that if the sweepstakes people show up at my door to photograph my surprise upon learning that I have won their grand prize I'm in deep doo.

Posted by Jay @ 08/07/2003 05:58 PM PST

Bought a wide screen tv today. It's 47" inches. That beats any Dick Latessa, Peter O'Toole, Wally Cox or A Member of the Wedding any day!

It's coming on Saturday. I can't wait.

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 08/07/2003 05:59 PM PST

47 inches! Man, everyone to Michael Shaynes house for movie time!!

Posted by MBarnum @ 08/07/2003 06:37 PM PST

Andrew Lloyd Webber ripping himself off Part Two

I Don't Know How To Love Him was originally Kansas Morning

Music of the Night was originally Married Man which was written for Sarah Brightman while he was married to his first wife. (They were having an affair)

All I Ask of You was originally sung by Placido Domingo in 1985 as the song I Don't Talk To Strangers with lyrics by Tim Rice.

Two songs from Cricketa 30 minute musical showed up in Aspects of Love.

Another Cricketsong was reworked for Sunset Blvd.. Lazy Days of Summer became As If We Never Said Goodbye and from the previosuly mentioned Half a Moment from By Jeeves.

With One Looksteals from the song Will This Last Forever?.

The melody of the title song from Sunset Blvd. was heard in such diverse places as Finally a song recorded in the 60's by Pamela Patterson and the theme from the film The Odessa File.

Other music for this musical was cribbed from his score for Gumshoe with Albert Finney.

And worst of all in my opinion _Surrender sounds like it belongs in another musical like The Civil War.

This information was taken from a very interesting article in SHOWmusic Volume 9 Number 3 (Fall 1993) called A Journey Down Sunset Boulevard starts on page 39. If you can find a copy I recommend reading it.

Posted by Michael Shayne @ 08/07/2003 07:16 PM PST

Did I miss a day, or...? wasn't yesterday ASK BK day?

Has anyone heard when he will reply to the questions asked?

I know he answered a question or two during the day, but I did pose a question that was not addressed.

Have I looped the loop or something?

Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 08/07/2003 07:34 PM PST

Michael, I'd love to hear more about the TV you bought. I can tell you when I bought a digital set with HDTV capability, my TV watching greatly increased. Everything looks so much better in high def, and DVDs (which aren't high def) sure come close to my eyes. It's just such a pleasure to watch stuff now. And TVs are so sophisticated today that they can take lowly videotapes, basically double the scan lines, and even they look fantastic!

A musical that we all like? How about GUYS AND DOLLS? MY FAIR LADY? THE KING AND I? BRIGADOON?

Posted by Matt H. @ 08/07/2003 07:37 PM PST

WHO just ran three miles? I'll TELL you who just ran three miles. ME! Quite an accomplishment, I haven't run that much since XC season last year. It's weird though, I did it in less time now than I did in the middle of the season.

Where IS everyone?

Posted by Sarah @ 08/07/2003 07:48 PM PST

Matt... I hate to be blasphemous here but I never really understood why people like My Fair Lady so much. It always seemed so anticlimatical to me. Blech. Give me The Last Five Years (which I know WEL detested) instead.

There's no such thing as the perfect musical which EVERYONE will like.

Posted by Emily @ 08/07/2003 08:04 PM PST

anticlimatical should of course read anticlimaxic. or is that anticlimatic?

it seems a side effect of inner ear troubles is bad spelling. :)

Posted by Emily @ 08/07/2003 08:08 PM PST

WOW - so many posts, so little time. Seeing as though I have been dubbed the ALW guru in my area, I reserve comment on his shows or those of SS and FW. Clothing call - grey shorts, black shirt. Cheers

Posted by Matthew @ 08/07/2003 08:13 PM PST

I like Emily more every day. I have never been a fan of MY FAIR LADY, either. (I've always thought that BRIGADOON was the best of the Lerner & Loewe scores)

And I'm a huge fan of THE LAST FIVE YEARS, too.

Count me in for GUYS & DOLLS, though. THE KING AND I is probably my least favourite of the "big 5" R&H shows.

Posted by Dave @ 08/07/2003 08:16 PM PST

OK, I'll name some musicals I like: 3 with scores by Frank Loesser: The Most Happy Fella, Guys & Dolls, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying; 3 staged by Jerome Robbins: West Side Story, Gypsy, Fiddler on the Roof; 3 more by Bock & Harnick: The Apple Tree, Fiorello, She Loves Me; R & H: Oklahoma!, Carousel, The King and I; Shakespearean musicals: Kiss Me Kate, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Boys From Syracuse; R & the better H: Pal Joey, By Jupiter, On Your Toes; auspicious debuts: A Chorus Line, Nine, Once On This Island, Oliver, The Fantasticks, 3Penny Opera, Falsettos, Avenue Q; great unknown shows: From the Hip, The Boob Movie, Quitters

Posted by Noel @ 08/07/2003 08:18 PM PST

DR Ron, I agree with you on "While You Were Sleeping". I also adore "Serendipity". I can't help it. I'm a hopeless romantic.

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:35 PM PST

Hey, let's not let a great idea fall by the wayside. Why not a musical theatre convention?? After all, why couldn’t we, with the wise counsel of our beloved leader, pull off such an incredible event. Lectures by composers, artists, producers, etc. Workshops. Showcases for new shows / new talent (are you listening Jason?). Autograph signings with some theater legends. It could be the cultural event of the 21st century.

Hey gang, let’s put on a show!

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 08:35 PM PST

Before I take my exhausted body to bed I had to chime in on the creepiest movies. "The Tenant" is very creepy and weird as is "Dressed to Kill". "When a Stranger Calls" is more scary than creepy. Although what is the difference?

Posted by Dennis Clancy @ 08/07/2003 08:41 PM PST

What a great idea, TCB! Really. Why don't you organize it and we'll all pitch in. HHW will sponsor it, of course. (Right BK?)

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 08:49 PM PST

This site is the jiggiest!

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 09:00 PM PST

Actually, if you check yesterday's posts, Ron, you'll see that I answered all the questions - all except yours apparently. Ask again and I'll answer posthaste. Nike shorts and a One from Column A t-shirt.

Posted by bk @ 08/07/2003 09:02 PM PST

Are you serious, Susan, or are you just getting even with me for swearing at you this morning? I really think it would work. Look how big soap opera and sci-fi conventions have become. And what a great excuse for all of us Hainsies and Kimlets to gather together for an entire week in the Big Apple AND maks ourselves some money besides.

Posted by TCB @ 08/07/2003 09:14 PM PST

TCB: A musical theatre convention would be wonderful.

We had one the week after I graduated from OCU. We had several very cool people there, and several of us got to perform for them...a lot. I think out of the 6 scheduled performances that weekend, I was involved in 5 of them.

Let me think of who was there...hmm...
John McDaniel of the Rosie O'Donnell Show,
Bill Russell, who co-wrote SIDE SHOW,
Stephen Schwartz, who fell asleep onstage in the middle of a group lecture,
Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, who were absolutely the best. To hear them sing/play through some of THE FANTASTICKS was something I'll never forget...
Howard Kissel, crazy-haired theatre critic for the New York Daily News,
representatives from the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, MTI(that's where I made my MTI connection), and Sam French,
One of the producers of SWING!,
John McD's publicist,
and
Midge Wooley, who hosts things on WNET Channel 13.

It was wonderful to meet and sing for all of those people. It'd be great to get to participate in another one.

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 09:18 PM PST

Sure, TCB, and Jason. It's a great idea!

Posted by Susan @ 08/07/2003 09:32 PM PST

DR Emily, I'll happily give you THE LAST FIVE YEARS, but, only on the condition that you take Lippa's THE WILD PARTY as well.
:-)

Creepy things that spring to mind, movie-wise:
CHINATOWN creeps me out more than ROSEMARY'S BABY. . .
THE NIGHT PORTER is, well, different.
SALO: THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM, which I actually LIKE, and will not discuss here, unless someone is turning it into POOP: THE MUSICAL.
I felt that I needed to shower with scalding hot water after I saw THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, and, you know what? when the dvd came out earlier this year, I bought it, watched it, and still had the same feeling.
UN CHIEN ANDALU; or, the Andalusian Dog. Brilliant piece of surreal filmaking from Bunel. . .razor balde across the eye, decaying donkey. . .the usual suspects. . .
SE7EN creeps me out, but, then I've always had an aversion to Gwyneth Paltrow.

Posted by td @ 08/07/2003 09:45 PM PST

DR Jason.....Au contraire, my little pate choux -- I did listen to more than just 1 or 2 lines....and no, the material in "Poop" wasn't anything near the quality of your voice....

But the point is, 1 or 2 lines would have told me all I need to know and hear. In fact, you don't know it, but while you were relating a story to me in NY about some theatre experience you had experienced, you inadvertantly sang about 3 or 4 syllables from something, and I could tell exactly what your voice was like.

It ain't a voice kiddo...it's an instrument and a gift. Take care of it.

By the way dear readers, if you want a good chuckle sometime, try to listen to the very last sustained note at the end of a song called "Brown (Prunella)", which Jason does with a very clear falsetto, and then while sustaining the last syllable adds "I'm a tenor!"... I almost had to pull the car over to the curb!

And to quote Jack Lemmon in S.L.I.H., "nighty night Emily, you sleep tight, hear?"

Posted by MusicGuy @ 08/07/2003 09:57 PM PST

I realize I'm chiming in late here folks, but I had to read all the posts! What a commitment!

Regarding the Topic of the Day - I have a weak stomach, so I avoid creepy films whenever I can. I saw a tiny bit of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS and almost lost my lunch! Films I've seen in the past that had me covering my eyes were WAIT UNTIL DARK, DRESSED TO KILL, MISERY, THE BIRDS and THE EYES OF LAURA MARS.

Posted by Donna @ 08/07/2003 09:59 PM PST

DR MusicGuy: I don't know if you realize it, but you and BK and, I think, WEL, are the only people on this board to have copies of POOP: THE MUSICAL!, so I'm afraid they're not familiar with "Brown." Are you able to figure out which solos are mine in MOBY DICK? Wow, that was a very third-grade "Hey, mommy, look at me!" kind of question. Forgive me. ;-) I'm glad you're enjoying the CDs.

And by the way, that's not the height of my falsetto. I'm just a whole step shy of being the next Mary Sunshine in CHICAGO. Hahaha!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:04 PM PST

DR Susan: Where did you go to college? OCU sounds familiar, but its more than likely not what I think.

Posted by Sarah @ 08/07/2003 10:08 PM PST

I just cleaned the filter in my air conditioner. Here's the sad thing...I didn't even know there WAS a filter on this one, so you can imagine how gross it was. I actually had to bleach the bathtub to get the green-black goopy stuff out. The A/C is over a year old and had never been cleaned out, which in a normal city probably wouldn't be TOO gross, but here...well...I might as well have a petri dish growing spores in there.

And its amazing how much more air is flowing now that the air can actually pass through!

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:09 PM PST

OCU was me. Its Oklahoma City University, 'Home of Tony-Winner Kristin Chenoweth.' I think we get a percentage off our student loans for every time we say that. Haha! (I'm kidding)

Posted by Jason @ 08/07/2003 10:11 PM PST

Wow! It WAS what I was thinking about! I thought it'd be something about Ohio or something. I actually lived in Edmond, Oklahome for a total of 9 years, over two different periods of time. I probably would've ended up going there if we hadn't moved. But, sadly enough, my loyalties have changed. I'm a Sooner, all the way :)

Posted by Sarah @ 08/07/2003 10:34 PM PST

The movie that scares me: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Those children disappearing always bothered me.

Posted by Laura @ 08/07/2003 11:27 PM PST

Okay, this is my first time, so
be gentle. There was a question
posed a few days ago about
favorite TV movies and I didn't
answer. Is it too late? No, I
say! My favorite was MISS ROSE
WHITE, originally presented on
the Hallmark Hall of Fame in
1993, it starred Kyra Sedgwick.
Maximilian Schell, Amanda Plummer
and Maureen Stapleton. Had a
marvelously evocative score by
Billy Goldenberg. Won many Emmy
Awards, including Best Movie.
While I'm at it, last year on
Showtime I really liked MY
LOUISIANA SKY with Juliette Lewis
and the wonderful Shirley Knight.
Lovely score by Mader. This one

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 12:20 AM PST

I don't know why my posting looks
like a poem. I also don't know
why the last sentence was rudely
chopped off. The last sentence
was: "This one also won the
Emmy." Anyway, I thought this
posting would appear tomorrow -
which is today because it's past
midnight.

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 12:25 AM PST

Welcome to our humble site, DR Panni. I'm glad you decided to delurk and join us!

Posted by Laura @ 08/08/2003 12:25 AM PST

Panni, everything will post on these notes until BK writes new notes tomorrow.

Posted by Laura @ 08/08/2003 12:35 AM PST

Welcome to DR Panni from the "Down Under" land of OZ. One of your comments jogged my memory about TV movies I usually forget. I love "Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom" with Maureen Stapleton. I like the OBC of "Ballroom" as well.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 08/08/2003 12:51 AM PST

Welcome to DR Panni from the "Down Under" land of OZ. One of your comments jogged my memory about TV movies I usually forget. I love "Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom" with Maureen Stapleton. I like the OBC of "Ballroom" as well.

Posted by Tom from Oz @ 08/08/2003 12:52 AM PST

To new DR Panni (if you
happen to read these late
night posts) -
First off, welcome! Secondly,
the reason for your narrow
column posts (and likewise
mine, and other DR's such as
Hapgood, Ann, and BK when
he's at work) is because you
are posting from a Mac, not a
PC.

Posted by Jed @ 08/08/2003 02:20 AM PST

Tempting as it is, I won't post
three messages in a row just
to be #200. So, I leave that
honor to whoever follows this
post, which is #199!

Posted by Jed @ 08/08/2003 02:22 AM PST

OK. I'll do it.

Michael is going to get 47 inches. Who's his plastic surgeon?

Is bigger really better?

Posted by MDS @ 08/08/2003 02:58 AM PST

#201 and counting!

Posted by Phil @ 08/08/2003 05:37 AM PST

Emily---
Where did you get the idea that I detested THE LAST 5 YEARS. I never saw it but I like the OCR very much. I also loved PARADE (the R J Brown, not the Jerry Herman which I like on disc but have never seen). PARADE was the perfect mixture of old-style musical (actual dialogue scenes) and new-style musical (a modern sounding score).

Posted by William E. Lurie @ 08/08/2003 06:11 AM PST

Tom from Oz - I also liked Queen
of the Stardust Ballroom, the
movie. And here's a cute cosmic
coincidence - I'm about to begin
a project with the producers of
that very movie. Thank you, Jed,
for solving the mystery of the
narrow column posts. I can rest
easy now (although it's m

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 06:15 AM PST

...and welcome to DR Panni too!

Hey Jason - Will take another listen to MD to find your voice. Can you send me a copy of "Poop"?

As for Mary Sunshine - I knew we had something else in common (sang it back in '79!)

And lastly, here's to another recording date in December!

Posted by Phil @ 08/08/2003 06:15 AM PST

...Cut off again! Is this a Mac
thing? My final perfect phrase
was "(although it's morning

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 06:17 AM PST

Welcome, DR Panni, to our little (ever-expanding) world.

I had never heard of MISS ROSE WHITE, so I looked it up in my EMMY book: it won three Emmys at the end of the 1991-1992 season: Best Film, Best Supporting Actress (Amanda Plummer), and Best Hairstyling. Just thought you'd like that information for your records since you loved the movie so much.

MY FAIR LADY has a special place in my heart. Besides thinking it's probably the most perfect musical comedy ever written, it was the first Broadway musical I ever saw, and I saw the first replacements for Harrison and Andrews: Edward Mulhare and Sally Ann Howes. I was young, but I can still remember the excitement in that audience, standing ovations stopping the show for "The Rain in Spain" and "Get Me to the Church on Time," and I can remember the glass rising up from the wooden barrcade at the back of the orchestra which allowed standees to see the show (we were seated in the last row of the orchestra at the Mark Hellinger).

Posted by Matt H. @ 08/08/2003 06:35 AM PST

Matt H. - it also won for Best
Director (Joseph Sargent) and
perhaps something else. I need to
ch

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 07:28 AM PST

Matt H. - it also won for Best
Director (Joseph Sargent) and
perhaps something else. I need to
ch

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 07:30 AM PST

No, Joseph Sargent did not win as Best Director. Daniel Petrie did for MARK TWAIN AND ME. Trust me; I checked all the categories. It only won three.

Posted by Matt H. @ 08/08/2003 07:31 AM PST

Just checked _ Ms. Rose also won
Emmies for Art Direction and
Cinematography. That's six in
all. Your book was wro

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 07:34 AM PST

Matt H - I was there. Joe Sargent
sat right beside me and got up to
accept his award. Petrie won for
Mark Twain in the Daytime Emmies.
Trust

Posted by Panni @ 08/08/2003 07:38 AM PST