Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 2 => Topic started by: bk on June 24, 2004, 11:59:56 PM
-
Well, you've read the notes, you know everything there is to know, you are in the loop, you are in the know, you are happening and with it and cool, man, cool, so post away, my pretties.
-
Haha...first post. Huzzah!
-
VCR: More WB detective shows from DRMBarnum....featuring Miss Allison Hayes as Lotta Peel, the stripper, in SURFSIDE 6!
DVD: GUMNAAM.....that dance is the bomb! plus a new BOLLYWOOD double feature from, yes MB.
CD: Avenue Q.....I'm not wearing underwear today....therefore I cannot take part in the magic trick DRPANNI talked about yesterday. Now that would surprise the magician! :o
NOW....on Wednesday evening I watched WALK ON THE WILD SIDE with its wonderful Elmer Bernstein score, Saul Bass titles, and interesting performances.
I really have never seen so many two-bit chippies in haute couture since the last Emmy Awards....BUT.....
Jane Fonda is not so hot. But I keep remembering her...when I first remember her. She really was THE hot young actress for quite awhile. I loved her in TALL STORY and especially in ANY WEDNESDAY and SUNDAY IN NEW YORK.... She was so fresh and beautiful and so different from anyone I had ever seen in the movies. She was - usually - a better actress than Natalie Wood, certainly she was a better comedienne. Then of course, politics reared its ugly head, and she did what she thought was right at the time..... I always thought her speech when she won her Academy Award for KLUTE was one of the best ever....."There is a LOT to say....but this is not the time or place to say it....."
I see her now with all her plastic surgery....and no movies to do....I would hope she would get something together.... She is very talented and her performances (if not her appearance) have matured gracefully. I wish she would come back in something that was worth watching. I miss you, Jane.
Or is it just my youth I miss? No....it's Jane....
-
Jr - Your Jane IS doing a movie. MONSTER-IN-LAW with JLo.
-
Ohhhhhhhhh....DRPANNI......ohhhhhhhhhhh....thanks for the news....I am not sure what to think. Nice to know though.
-
A must-miss movie.
-
Jr - Your Jane IS doing a movie. MONSTER-IN-LAW with JLo.
And which one is playing the monster?
-
LOL....Does anyone have a FAVORITE Jane Fonda performance?
I like TALL STORY....but I think the movie that really made me notice her...was SUNDAY IN NEW YORK with Rod Taylor and Robert Culp and Cliff Robertson. ;D Which I am watching right now on TCM, and enjoying just as much. Clever....based on a play, of course....on location photography, great clothes and music...everything going to a movie used to be.
-
Added to our DVD shelf this week:
Quantum Leap, first season. A damn well-written show, adventurous with it's premise and willing to follow through on that premise. Yeah, it got preachy at times. What show these days doesn't have it's "Special Episode," and advertise them as such. Besides, Bakula has such a nicely hairy chest. ;D
The Marx Brothers collection - the stuff starting with A Night at the Opera. Part of me says that we're adding these films to our collection because the grandlads should be introduced to it at some time. Part of me says we're adding them to our collection because der Brucer has somehow missed on seeing them. And another part says I love this stuff because it gives me a childhood I was born too late to have. A lot of my peers didn't get to see these films until college. Gives a whole new meaning to "sophomoric," and not a shallow one.
Der Brucer, meanwhile, has added the original Stepford Wives and the recent Secret Window, because he wanted to. Well, the initials of the films' titles are nice. ::)
-
There ain't no sanity clause.
-
I thought Fonda was great in Klute. Of course, it was really Sutherland's movie, but she was pretty good as a hooker.
Which leads to a follow-up question: Why are so many good women's roles about hookers?
-
I'm to bed. There's cookies to bake and salads to make tomorrow, and I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of my dough. Der Brucer meanwhile is trying to devise games for the birthday party on Sunday. I think I've got the easier jobs.
-
Nothing in CD.
But lots of DVD: ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE...Televised play with Blythe Danner and Frank Langella, Tennessee Williams' re-written and preferred version of SUMMER & SMOKE. Quite wonderful.
ANTONY & CLEOPATRA...1974 RSC Televised play with Janet Suzman & Richard Johnson and Patrick Stewart. Quite nice and great eununchs!
ROBIN HOOD...the Patrick Bergin televised one from a few years ago. After the Flynn version, perhaps the best version of Robin Hood.
THE GREEN GLOVE...a cheapie I picked up because it looked interesting. Film noir by Rudolph Mate with Glenn Ford and George MacReady.
-
Added to our DVD shelf this week:
Quantum Leap, first season. A damn well-written show, adventurous with it's premise and willing to follow through on that premise.
My favorite television series, period (and I'm NOT a sci-fi guy at all). Bakula and Stockwell, both fantastic. Great writing, getting that blend of comedy and drama right most of the time. I'll have to wait for the price to drop before I get the DVD set, though... especially for a 9-episode first season!
-
Which leads to a follow-up question: Why are so many good women's roles about hookers?
Because most movies are written by men.
-
As to this week's Medea Czech:
On deeveedee: The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and finishing off Jonny Quest--Season One. Yeah, I know it took a long time to watch all of the 'toons, but I only wanted to watch one or two at a time....savoring, rather than gulping.
On CD: Boulez Conduct Webern II and Nino Rota's Third Symphony. Lordy, Rota was a great composer! I'm just now getting into his non-film music, which is marvellous.
On VHS: nada. I tossed the old broken player in the trash, but the Significant Other tells me we will be buying another one this weekend.
What I'm Reading: Will Eisner's The Spirit Archives, Volume 13. The Spirit is the greatest comic book, ever. (OK, Jack Cole's Plastic Man is great too.)
What we'll be seeing at the theater this weekend: definitely Fahrenheit 9/11, probably The Terminal, and possibly a second go-around for the non-Americanized Godzilla. (Oh, and a trip to the Gay Pride festival and parade. I was thinking about being one of the staff at the Minnesota Atheists booth this year, but got lazy.)
-
Not much in the various players at this point. I'll be listening to internet radio at work, probably the BBC. We may be going to see Joan Morris and William Bolcolm tonight but we're waiting to hear from a friend if we have tickets. Otherwise, I will watch Mr. Jennings on Jeopardy at 7pm NY time. Tomorrow we have pre-Pride day evening plans w/friends. We will have dinner and be proud and then wander around until around midnight when we will gather at Washington Square Park and gaze at the lavendar lights on the Empire State Building. They are switched off each night at midnight. We wait until they are turned off then we all go our separate ways. That's not video or audio or CD or book or television-related, but those are the weekend plans.
-
My favorite Jane Fonda movie performances are Barefoot in the Park and Julia, but my absolutely favorite is her performance in a TV movie called The Doll Maker.
Media Check:
CD Player (at home): the soundtrack to Nashville
CD Player (at work): Taboo Broadway Cast Recording
DVD Player: another disc from the SCTV set. Like Robin with Johnny Quest, I'm savoring this one.
-
CD - Noel & Cole - For Noel the original cast of the 1950 ACE OF CLUBS which featured the song "Sail Away" twelve years before it was also featured in a Broadway musical of the same name; for Cole the DE-LOVELY soundtrack. What a strange mixture. A few of the tracks are excellent, but most are terrible. Whoever told Ashley Judd she could sing? Didn't anyone bother to teach Sheryl Crow the correct melody? I've heard the movie is a camp hoot and on the basis of the CD I'm sure it is. The only problem is, when it does no business people will point to it and say nobody wants to see a musical.
VHS - The AFI 100 Greatest Song Clips. What a strange collection. Since there is nothing from THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL, how accurate can this list be?
DVD - Catching up on some M*A*S*H and Dick van Dyke episodes.
Cassette - An episode of Richard Diamond from 1949 featuring a character names "Esther Blodgett".
-
CD player: 110 in the Shade, with its "previously unreleased," and very beautiful, overture.
I love this musical. The music, lyrics and book are perfectly integrated (IMHO), and I imagine that N. Richard Nash, who also wrote the original play, was more than pleased with the collaboration. I'm trying to think of other playwrights who adapted their work for the musical stage, and can't imagine any other doing so as effectively.
-
This e-mail snippet is from Ann W, a dear friend in the nation's capital, who manages to answer a perennial question:
"Good morning, Dan. It is a beautiful day in Ottawa and I am stepping out with a friend to have lunch at the Royal Ottawa. Very posh. My friend is a member and they have to eat up a certain amount of money, so once in a great while, usually after she realizes she has neglected me, I get to eat with the golfing, bridge playing crowd. Fortunately their lives do not inspire any envy. I think I shall wear a hat."
-
author=S. Woody White
If Broadway, as it is generally referred to, is a neighborhood in NYC known for it's theaters, in spite of the fact that most of the theaters are not located on Broadway itself, and in spite of the fact that the street named Broadway extends the length of Manhattan, so that even if you're on Broadway you might not be in the area known as Broadway...
Then it is logical that "West End Avenue" also refers to a neighborhood, in spite of the fact that not everything in that nieghborhood is on West End Avenue itself, and that the Avenue extends beyond the neighborhood referred to.
Therefor, when Stephen Schwartz wrote the lyric line "Delis and laundromats and gay bars" in 1974, he was being accurate.
It may be logical but it isn't true. Nobody refers to West End Avenue as a neighborhood. It's a street. Broadway, the street where I live, is of course also used to donote the large commercial theatres in the theatre district, as Madison Avenue is used to donote the advertising industry. But neighborhoods they're not.
But I agree about the song West End Avenue (as a whole) and its merits. I was nitpicking with Dan-In-Toronto, who called the "laundromats and gay bars" phrase a great rhyme. One could come up with a lot of great rhymes if one were willing to stretch the truth:
Gee but The Flintstones is a marvelous film.
I like it when Fred calls his girlfriend "The Wilm."
I also agree about the more popular Meadowlark. The Baker's Wife goes to great lengths to establish how happy the baker is to be married to Genvieve. So, to give her a long story-song in which she, through allegory, justifies her leaving him for another man. Well, the audience has just got to hate her, right?
David Merrick had the right idea in pulling the score off the orchestra's music stands.
Media: Mozart clarinet concerto, William Finn's Infinite Joy, Purlie, Godspell
-
I'm trying to think of other playwrights who adapted their work for the musical stage, and can't imagine any other doing so as effectively.
For starters, try the prolific team of Lawrence and Lee, who adapted their Auntie Mame into the first musical I saw on Broadway, Mame.
You're right that it doesn't happen very often, and it's rarer still to see it done well (110 in the Shade, Mame). Arthur Miller did the book to an awful musical about Adam & Eve based on his own awful play about Adam & Eve. And some wonder why I don't see the need for a Children of Eden
-
Yes, Lawrence and Lee is another good example (though, unlike N. Richard Nash (did his wife call him N?), they didn't write the source material). (And Chaim Potok, who did an adaptation of The Chosen, is in the Arthur Miller group.)
I greatly admire clever rhymes - and agree that they can't be clever for their own sake. Still, I don't mind a bit of stretching. One of my favorites is Kiss Me Kate's "If a Harris pat means a Paris hat." On the other hand, that's not everyone's style, nor should it be.
-
Hooray, we are going to see Joan Morris this evening. She's doing a show as part of the Lucille Lortel White Barn Summer Season. The theatre is under renovation so they have moved the season down to the Lucille Lortel Theatre on Christopher Street. Morris will be performing with her husband, William Bolcolm, Robert White and Max Morath. The show is "AIN’T WE GOT FUN” songs with the lyrics of Gus Kahn. So I will tape Jeopardy tonight so I can watch Mr. Jennings (I guess I'm becoming a Jeopardy groupie).
-
CD - Bounce (and I really want to like it more than I do)
DVD - empty right now, but next to view is Moulin Rouge - I haven't seen it yet; I'm very behind in my movie viewing. The other night in the dressing room people were appalled at all the 80's movies I've missed. I guess I have some catching up to do.
Housemate wants to get online - gotta go
-
Good Morning!
I slept and slept and slept... well, I did have a slightly restless period somewhere in there, but at least I'm not feeling as tired and blah as I did when I woke up yesterday.
Media Check - Actually, even though I've been home and had the time, I haven't put anything new in any of my various audio and visual pieces of equipment. Shame on me! Instead, I've been listening to a lot of NPR and catching up on my TV (in reruns).
DR Ben - Can I come see Joan Morris and William Bolcom too?!??! Huh??!? Can I?!??! Pretty please?!?! Bolcom's "Cabaret Songs" - and Ms. Morris' performance of them - are among my favorites. And Mr. Bolcom's "Piano Etudes" - WOW! Talk about a lot of notes! And I like how they are written for the Bosendorfer grand with the extra low notes extension.
OK... I have to get out of the apartment today... Laters...
-
Yes, we are fans here of Miss Morris and Mr. Bolcolm. Thanks to DR Kerry, we have a tape copy of the long out of print Lime Jello Surprise. Even though they're in Chicago right now, THANKS AGAIN KERRY!
-
VHS - Emmy tape of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM episodes. Finally caught up with the renewal of the wedding vows episode. Hilarious! Esp. Barry Gordon as the rabbi.
CD - Gate of Dreams - Claus Ogerman
Book: Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music
Interviews with Kander and Ebb. Saw it among the new acquisitions at the library. Looked like it would be interesting to dip into.
-
Okay I'm a day late but I love the Stephen Schwartz album. And "Lion Tamer" is my favorite!
-
Meanwhile back at the ranch, BK is beating a dead horse while waiting for us to post till the cows come home.
-
I, too, slept and slept and slept this morning. Getting a VERY late start on the day.
Oh, ECCENTRICITIES OF A NIGHTINGALE, probably my favorite transcription of a Tennessee Williams work, and Blythe Danner gives her greatest performance, I think. And I do MUCH prefer this version to SUMMER AND SMOKE.
I have been lucky not to be plagued with many outages over the years, but there was a time a couple of years ago when my phone service (and thus internet since I use dial up) would get cut off whenever we had a heavy rain. I'd lose phone service for days at a time while the phone company tried to locate the source of the problem. Finally, after four or five visits over the course of two-three months, they located and fixed the problem. Have had no trouble since.
-
Friday Media Check:
CD - still listening to AN AMERICAN IN PARIS soundtrack.
DVD - THE HANGING GARDEN and disc one of THE JETSONS. (I, too, am taking my time with the episodes watching only one or two a day)
DVR - Graham Norton's show on COmedy Central last night.
I'm looking forward FINALLY to getting the soundtrack CD to THE FIVE PENNIES. Finally got abound to ordering it, and it should be here early next week. Can't wait!
-
Watched Nip/Tuck. Between them showing the sex and the surgeries this show is VERY graphic!
Btw, it's been so long since I saw the season finale that I forgot about the shocker about Christian's son. :)
-
Book: Colored Lights: Forty Years of Words and Music
Interviews with Kander and Ebb. Saw it among the new acquisitions at the library. Looked like it would be interesting to dip into.
I think you'll find it is a very quick read. ENjoyable, a little infuriating at times, but definitely not a lot of meat on the bones there.
-
Media check:
CD: Los Bravos: Black is Black
VHS: Kikujiro. Taped off the Independent Film Channel
DVD: Godzilla Vs. The Thing
And the Bollywood movie for this week is:
NEEL KAMAL (1968). This one is a remake of THE MUMMY minus the bandages.
-
Today I shall hie myself to the Port of Land to luncheon with actor Rhodes Reason. Afterwards I shall visit the humongous books store Powell's Books and perhaps purchase some reading materials. In the evening I will trot over to Cinema 21 to see the long awaited release of GOJIRA! I can't wait to see it on the big screen!
Tomorrow I think I will treat myself to seeing TWO BROTHERS and perhaps I might try to catch THE NOTEBOOK at some point on Sunday.
I will also be baby-sitting a co-workers German shephard dog this weekend. I don't know how Freddy will feel about this, but hopefully they will get along.
-
I shall attempt to make some rational posts; however, I am still recovering from an evening of extreme nausea and horrific nightmares - thanx to being lured to visit "that terrible web site"! I mean, I thought, how bad can it be. And for the first time in eons, WORDS FAIL ME!
der Brucer (slowly recovering)
-
LOL...derbrucer.
Have a great lunch with Mr Reason, MB!
-
The LA Times Calendar (http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-shirley25jun25,2,2006001.story) has an interesting artricle on the impact of non-equity show tours.
Drama behind the curtain
Nonunion touring shows complicate Equity contract talks.
By Don Shirley
Times Staff Writer
Jun 25 2004
(extracts)
Jennifer Paz wowed Los Angeles in the city's first "Miss Saigon," at the Ahmanson Theatre in 1995. Wrote The Times' Laurie Winer: "The stillness, simplicity and grace of her performance form the heart of the show, a perfect jewel in a garish setting."
Paz had joined "Miss Saigon" in 1992 without any professional experience. The show was her ticket to a membership in the Actors' Equity Assn., the stage actors' union.
Now Paz is back in town in the same role, in a touring version at the Pantages Theatre. But she is no longer a member of Equity. The tour is produced by Big League Theatricals, which has never signed a union contract. To repeat her role, Paz quit the union last year.
Paz isn't alone. At least three other members of the "Miss Saigon" company are former Equity members, she says.
They provide a human face for one of the most divisive issues in the commercial theater: non-Equity tours of Broadway-derived musicals. It propels ongoing negotiations in New York between Equity and the League of American Theatres & Producers — the Broadway producers' organization.
The two sides are negotiating the contract that governs Broadway shows and tours. The current contract will expire Sunday. If agreement isn't reached by then, talks might be extended. Or, in the worst-case scenario, the actors could go on strike and darken not only Broadway but also such touring productions as "Thoroughly Modern Millie," at the Ahmanson.
In recent years, the number of non-Equity tours has mushroomed. This week, both the Pantages and the Orange County Performing Arts Center — which usually book musicals with union contracts — are hosting non-Equity productions: "Miss Saigon" in Hollywood and "Oklahoma!" in Costa Mesa.
Over the years, Equity has protested some engagements with leaflets and demonstrations. Union officials often complain that these shows appear in series with names that boast of Broadway ties — such as "Broadway/LA" and the "Bank of America Broadway Series" — even though the touring versions couldn't appear on Broadway, where Equity contracts are required.
They contend that the lower wages for non-Equity actors might easily translate into less seasoned performances that aren't of Broadway caliber.
...
In recent years, the number of non-Equity tours has mushroomed. This week, both the Pantages and the Orange County Performing Arts Center — which usually book musicals with union contracts — are hosting non-Equity productions: "Miss Saigon" in Hollywood and "Oklahoma!" in Costa Mesa.
Over the years, Equity has protested some engagements with leaflets and demonstrations. Union officials often complain that these shows appear in series with names that boast of Broadway ties — such as "Broadway/LA" and the "Bank of America Broadway Series" — even though the touring versions couldn't appear on Broadway, where Equity contracts are required.
They contend that the lower wages for non-Equity actors might easily translate into less seasoned performances that aren't of Broadway caliber.
Equity is not protesting either of the current engagements in the Southland. In the case of "Oklahoma!," the union and the tour's producer Ken Gentry are on relatively good terms, because Gentry uses Equity contracts as often as not.
The "Miss Saigon" tour encountered protests last fall in the East. And at the Pantages, in a separate labor dispute, "Miss Saigon" is the target of a leafleting campaign by the musicians' union, which contends that the pit orchestra is too small and too computerized to meet contractual requirements and that it includes nonunion musicians. (Martin Wiviott, managing director of the Pantages, responded in a written statement that the theater management and the musicians' union local "differ on the interpretation of the contract between the parties with regard to what is allowed and what is prohibited.")
...
Equity and league officials agreed not to talk to reporters this week as their negotiations approached the Sunday deadline. However, Paz provided The Times with a letter that Equity President Patrick Quinn wrote to her last February in which he rebutted some of the points she had made when she left the union. One of the issues he raised in the letter was Equity's health plan, which is the other key topic in New York this week.
"You don't seem to grasp the obvious connection," Quinn wrote, "between the difficulties facing our health plan and the loss of Equity employment ... due to the proliferation of non-Equity tours" — which results in fewer producers' contributions to the health plan.
In response to Paz's concerns that she and her fellow minority actors (Paz is Filipina American) have even fewer opportunities than other Equity members, Quinn cited Equity's efforts to redress that imbalance and added that Paz had "contributed to that problem for all Equity minority actors by lending your talents to a nonunion production."
der Brucer
(DRs having "difficulty" accessing the site can PM me for a full copy)
-
Re Jane Fonda: My favorite in Barefoot in the Park - she's so fresh, and pretty and funny.
Re The Baker's Wife: I've said for years, ever since seeing the show here in LA with Topol - the book of the show can NEVER work (nor can parts of the score) because, as others have pointed out, you absolutely love the baker and HATE his wife. Even when she comes back at the end I don't think she apologizes (that may have changed).
-
Ms. Jane Fonda - I also like BAREFOOT; my other favorite JF performance is in THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?
-
Has anyone noticed that the Canadian actor, Colm Feore has become the Villain du Jour? I must have seen his name as villain in at least four films recently.
-
I've opened the windows to freshen up the place. Unfortunately, the woman in the aptartment below is very big on aromatherapy - and the blend drifting upward is giving me a headache.
-
I thought Jane Fonda was a hoot in Barbarella. I also loved her in Barefoot in the Park (though Mildred Natwick nearly stole the movie) and Klute. I never did see Hurry Sundown. Was it really that awful?
-
Good Afternoon!
Well... I'm still here... (ah, a Follies reference)...
We're due for some possibly major thunder storms this afternoon. The skies have been cloudy and gray all day, and from the looks of the trees outside my window, there have been some wind gusts every now and then. -And they've reported some tornados about an hour south of here - I hope the damage reports are minimal.
So, I'm just going to hang out for a little bit longer - and finish "The Young & The Restless" too. ;) We'll see if the skies ever open up today - we've been in the pattern the whole week, but it did not rain here yesterday or Wednesday.
Hmmm... I wonder if I'll get a chance to do my Gene Kelly impression again today?!?!? ;D
-
Yes, DIT, it was pretty bad.
-
I have a couple of questions regarding non-Equity tours. Why haven't the other unions like the Musicians and Stagehands refused to work with a non-Equity tour? I know that at least in large cities, the theatres have to hire union people in many jobs, so why don't the other unions support Equity? Are they afraid that they will all be replaced by non-union people too if they complain? Also do any tours have a contract with Equity that allows them to use x amount of non-Equity members for every y number of members they use?
-
Re Jane Fonda:
Unlike JRand, I hold a grudge for a very long time.
I enjoyed "Barefoot in the Park" and "Barbarella" before she became "Hanoi Jane" - then, like many of us who were "in-theatre" at the time I imposed a personal boycott on her work, so I've missed out on "Klute" and "China Syndrome".
der Brucer (who admits to falling off the wagon for "9 to 5" and "On Golden Pond".
-
I've opened the windows to freshen up the place.
Well, I opened my window and got these pictures:
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/4436247/57887265.jpg)
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/4436247/57887251.jpg)
der Brucer (thinking of naming that corner of the yard "Burgoo Garden".
-
I finally caught up with Thoroughly Modern Millie last night at the Ahmanson Theatre. This was my first exposure to the show, and I must report that I was rather underwhelmed by it. (This an opinion that probably won't sit well with a number of Dear Readers.)
I thought the show had an OK score, OK book, OK choreography, OK performances, and somewhat less than OK sets. Nothing was particularly bad (other that Mrs. Meers' substituting "L"s for "R"s and vice versa, which grew tiresome rather quickly) but I didn't find anything particularly outstanding either.
-
I think, Jay, that if you check my notes you'll find we're pretty much in agreement. I haven't cared for Rob Ashford's choreography in the past, so I liked Millie a bit better in that regard just because it was better than his past work. I really didn't like the set, and I went on at length about what they did to Mrs. Meers and her "dialect". I hated it, and yes, you can't understand much of what she says. Bea Lillie didn't need to do that and was a hoot. Of the new songs, I only liked Forget About the Boy, and didn't "get" all the hoopla over Gimme, Gimme, whose reaction, I think, stems more from loud singing and the performer rather than what the performer is actually singing.
-
Also do any tours have a contract with Equity that allows them to use x amount of non-Equity members for every y number of members they use?
Well, Equity does "do deals".
From the aforementioned LA Times article:
Equity has occasionally provided reduced contracts on a case-by-case basis. An upcoming "Evita" tour, produced by a company that sometimes mounts non-Equity tours, received some concessions in a special contract, prompting the producers' league to charge Equity with hypocrisy for not providing a similar deal for league members. The union responded that any such deals would require the producers to open up their books for Equity inspection, as the "Evita" producer did.
The regional theatre, on whose B of D I served, had special contracts with Equity that covered salaries and percentage of Equity/non-Equity players.
der Brucer
-
I finally caught up with Thoroughly Modern Millie last night at the Ahmanson Theatre. This was my first exposure to the show, and I must report that I was rather underwhelmed by it.
Have you seen and enjoyed the movie?
-
DR Der Brucer those photos are lovely! :)
-
Have you seen and enjoyed the movie?
I must confess that I have not seen the film version of TMM.
-
Seems like a good day to read the L. A. Times...
Did I miss any DR's reaction to the Master Chorale's "New Broadway" concert at the Disney Hall?
-
When Sutton Foster sang "Gimme Gimme" on the Rosie O'Donnell show, Rosie O'D shreaked "Tony Award!!!" and the audience went nuts. But I too thought it was just a loud song.
I found the movie delightfully nutty. Bea Lillie (born on Dovercourt Road in Toronto) with chopsticks in her hair? Julie Andrews singing "Trinkt le Chaim"? And I think Carol Channing saved her Muzzy outfit for this year's Tonys.
-
DR Der Brucer those photos are lovely! :)
I just wish I could get a good shot of the birds.
Day before yesterday, a new clutch of baby Crackles showed up under the feeder. The sat there with mouths agape while Momma picked up seed from the ground and popped it in their mouth. Yesterday the youn-uns were back, and most were happily picking up seed from the ground - all but one, that is. There it sat, head up turned, mouth open wide, waiting (in vain) to be fed. The baby Blue Jays now hide in the woods and dash out to a feeder when there is a spot. The only species that seems to get along (sort of) are the Blue Jays and the Woodpeckers - they will share at the bird seed bar. (The Woodpecker, however, beats the bejesus out of any Crackle that gets near - and the Crackle is nearly twice his size. Noticed a baby woodpecker yesterday - his head still hasn't turned red.
-
Great squirrels, DB! I must say, however, that looked at in a different light, squirrels are just rats with furry tails. I pulled into the parking lot of Wells Fargo the other day and was startled to see a rat scurrying about in the middle of the day. The nerve! On closer look, I realized the "rat" was a squirrel which for some reason was on all fours and very close to the ground. (Perhaps a squirrel with emotional problems who was a rat wannabe.)
-
As Mahler once purportedly said, "Rats!"
-
... Rosie O'D ...
She does drugs?
der waiting-for-groans (not allowed) Brucer
-
Great squirrels, DB! I must say, however, that looked at in a different light, squirrels are just rats with furry tails.
My point exactly!
-
Must run and do some errands now, so keep the home fries burning, won't you?
-
Great squirrels, DB! I must say, however, that looked at in a different light, squirrels are just rats with furry tails.
Well, if truth were told, I'm also rather fond of rats. Actually I used to sleep with a rat,
::waiting for the TCB comments::
The rat (Sidney, by name) was rescued by my daughter when Fred, my son's Boa Constrictor, decided he wasn't hungary. Sidney would have been easy prey since, it turned out, he was totally blind. Sidney would go to bed in his cage, and then in the middle of the night, would creep into our bedroom, crawl up on the foot of the bed, get under the covers, and scamper the length of my body to go snuggle into the crook between my neck and shoulder. Younger son's Iguana, Iago, fortunately stayed in his aquarium, and the family pooch, a Great Dane/Shepard mix, Beauregard felt outnumbered.
der Brucer (who found much of "Children of Eden" quite familar)
-
Good morning all
der Brucer, I'm with you on that! As some of you may remember, I used to have a dear little pet rat named Shy. Shy unfortunately passed on this winter, in January to be exact. But he (yes, he) was a lovely little creature who used to run around my apartment as I did my evening activities, occasionally coming up to say hello and curl up on my lap for awhile. I am thinking about getting another pet sometime soon...maybe another rat would be cool..hmm...
-
Did I miss any DR's reaction to the Master Chorale's "New Broadway" concert at the Disney Hall?
You did. See June 16 at 8:24:58 a.m. for one Dear Reader's thoughts on the concert.
-
This talk of rats as pets is making my skin crawl.
:o
-
Der Brucer, I love the pics of the squirrels!
I used to sleep with a rat as well. His name was Lonnie. He was 6ft 1 with blonde hair and he was sneaking my credit card numbers to charge pay-per-view football games, of all things! Oh, well!
Ok, off to Portland. Might stop off at Fry's in Wilsonville and pick up some DVDs. I hope they have HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL!
-
Seems like a good day to read the L. A. Times...
Yewbetcha. Not only are there interesting articles, one of the clues to today's crossword puzzle is "Brett Halliday detective Michael."
-
Domesticated rats....oh my.
I am watching CARNIVAL STORY on TCM....I like to think this is how Eve Harrington ended up....doing dumb movies like this...or working in a German carnival high diving into a horse tank.
-
You all know how I feel about the "usual suspects" being touted as the voices of the new Broadway.
1) Adam Guettel and Ricky Ian Gordon have never had any work done on Broadway. While Michael John LaChiusa and Jason Robert Brown have done Broadway musicals, none of these ran for very long.
2) My subjective opinion: Their work isn't very good. And people coming to a "voice of the new musical theatre" concert are left with the false impression that new musical theatre writing is traditional, often treacly, ballads, with little musical or lyrical innovation
with complicated accompaniments and self-indulgent self-piteous caterwauling.
3) To consistantly tout the four three-named wunderkinds is to overlook the work of some far-better songwriters who have achieved, in fact, far more success. Take my old pal Jeanine Tesori, the first female composer to have two shows running simultaneously on Broadway (and she has three Tony nominations - LaChiusa has way more) or the most obvious example, Flaherty & Ahrens, who've done many shows that have become popular in the last 15 years (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, etc.)
So, I was thrilled to read Mr. Taylor's assessment of the Disney Hall concert. I feel the L. A. Master Chorale might be better off doing some of the finer choral works from recent Broadway musicals, such as Yeston's Titanic & Nine.
-
Great squirrels, der Brucer. I have a similar tree right outside my study window, where the squirrels scramble and play all day, much to the fascination of my cat, Mosby the Grey Ghost.
Robin, yes, THE SPIRIT may well be the greatest comic book character around. I collected the Warren reprints for years. Still have them lovingly hoarded away...along with the rest of my comic book treasures. I love Will Eisner's non-Spirit work as well.
I think Jane Fonda's best work is easily THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? I've met Miss Fonda a couple times personally and I liked her very much, but I really don't find her all that compelling an actress and I think she can often be god-awful. Is there anything worse or more mannered than her performance in AGNES OF GOD?
Equity's problems with non-union encroachment echoes the problem all artistic unions are having, reflected in the stalled WGA talks, the SAG/DGA one-year stop-gap agreement, and in all the fractious union articles in Backstage West this week.
In this Bushie Big Business Era, I think there is a concerted effort to crush all unions. If they get their way, pretty soon no actor/writer/director will be able to have a viable career in his profession.
DO NOT PATRONIZE NON-UNION TOURING SHOWS! Wait till it comes to a community theatre near you.
The sad thing about those three former Equity actors in the two-week tour of MISS SAIGON is that by leaving the Union for a short-term gain, they are going to have a real hard time having sustaining careers in their profession and have denied themselves any benefits they might have accrued under a Union contract. Particular the Asian (and if any of the other are Asian as well), as there are few enough Asian roles around and career longevity is already problematic.
Of course, the real tragedy is do we really need another two-week run in LA of a show that was unmitigated, overblown, tedious crap the first time round?
-
In my VCR: Shall We Dance?
In my CD player: absolutely nothing
Rats are so cute. My mom would never let me get one, but I had some mice. They were CUTE!!
I don't know from Jane Fonda.
I am yet again out of Cherry Coke. :o
-
I will also be baby-sitting a co-workers German shephard dog this weekend. I don't know how Freddy will feel about this, but hopefully they will get along.
They'll either get along, or you won't have much of a house left! :-\
-
Hmmm... I wonder if I'll get a chance to do my Gene Kelly impression again today?!?!? ;D
NEWS FLASH! DR Jose can DANCE!
(We have only begun to explore the man's talents!)
;)
-
My apologies for insulting rats. I had no idea there were so many rat lovers (MBarnum excluded) on this site!
(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/tiere/animal-smiley-091.gif)
-
I don't know from Jane Fonda.
And that should be remedied, DR Sandra. Get a carton of Cherry Coke and rent BAREFOOT IN THE PARK and THEY SHOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? (or KLUTE). That will be a fine beginning.
-
My apologies for insulting rats. I had no idea there were so many rat lovers on this site!
I used to have quite a few rats. Of course, I didn't have 'em for very long, since I used them to feed my pet snake.
But domesticated rats would make good pets, too.
And what is a squirrel but a rat with a bushy tail, anyway?
-
My favorite Jane Fonda movie: Barbarella.
No contest there.
-
I am thinking about getting another pet sometime soon...maybe another rat would be cool..hmm...
And this, Dear Readers, is why Ann and I have never been roommates. :D
-
The cows have left, so now I can post. I agree with BK and DR Jay about Millie. I really wanted to like it, but I was close enough to see that the lead was WAY too old to be convincing as Millie. That ruined the magic. Juliana was awesome as were the other members of the cast, but as a whole, I was ho-humm about the whole experience.
The only media happening is the mini-disk player (while waiting patiently for the new (to me anyway) iPod won on eBay, on the current disk is
Little Shop of Horrors (new Bway cast)
Taboo (London Cast)
Bombay Dreams
Wicked
Anyhow... nice to post again.
-
DR derBrucer mentioned it as one he had missed, but my favorite Fonda performance (and there is a lot of her mature work that I think is fabulous) is THE CHINA SYNDROME.
-
After watching and enjoying the melancholy, poignant THE HANGING GARDEN, I popped in THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE.
The animation was beautifully done, very very sharp DVD brought out the brownish, orangy palette. The story whimsical and overly eccentric, I thought. Certainly different and a unique animated experience, but really not my cup of tea. Perhaps had I seen it with an audience I might have appreciated it more. Sitting alone watching the weirdly composed images and story whiz along made me a bit antsy for it to get on with it. Seemed about 10 minutes too long to me (the dog barking at passing trains got old after awhile).
-
Friday night rehearsal.... laterz
-
Nice squirrels, DerBrucer. I sure wish you could get a picture of your birds!
-
In my CD player: the original cast recording of Cindy-Ella, or I Gotta Shoe with Cleo Laine and Elisabeth Welch. I just got it in the mail today from eBay all the way from England. After that will probably be the soundtrack to "De-Lovely" and then Bounce.
In my VCR: a blank tape to tape tonight's Comedy Central lineup of gay comics, including Mario Cantone and Elvira Kurt as well as "Out on the Edge," Alan Cumming hosts this gay comedy revue, featuring comics Jim David, Rene Hicks, Elvira Kurt, and music acts Betty, Bayne Gibby, the Hazzards and Johnny McGovern! Sounds like fun!
In my DVD player: something, but I just can't remember what. ::)
-
Media checked:
Most recently watched DVD - Six Feet Under - Series One. We last watched the very confronting SIDS episode.
CDs: the New Barbra Cook - wonderful.
Endless Summer (the Best of Donna!)
Novelty songs volume from the great years of American Rock and Roll. "I Want My Baby Back" is a song I had never heard before - Sick and very funny "answer" to "Leader Of The Pack". The disc also includes "Leader Of The Laundromat". My favourite oldie to replace an old scrathcy 45, is Linda Laurie's "Ambrose- Part 5". I guess that information will really only mean something to JRand and Kerry!
Waiting in the wings ( Noel Coward Reference): Lots of Rosemary Clooney and some Steve Lawrence and Bobby Darin. (Thank you so much to a DR)
Favourite Fonda: "They Shoot horses" and "Julia".
-
If my good mate TCB is missing for the next few days, don't be surprised - his home computer is the problem. Maybe DR Ann can drop around with a spare monitor.
Not a good day in the world of technology for TCB - his phone has problems too - an overdose of coffee!!!
-
I just saw the silliest commercial.
Has anyone else seen this commercial where Mickey & Jan Rooney, Mick's wife, are hawking life insurance. Pay attention to the next time you see it when they're in the kitchen. Jan is in the foreground speaking, Mickey is in the background at the sink, pretending to be doing something and he's DOING NOTHING! He's miming taking dishes out of the sink and washing them, but there are no dishes! He reaches here and there and makes little motions with his hands, but there's absolutely nothing in them.
My guess is you weren't supposed to be able to see what he was doing there. So it's got to be really sloppy camera work or directing or editing or all three. He's trying real hard, but the camera sure ain't helping him.
-
I'm back from having lunch with DD and doing some errands. Sorry to hear about TCB's computer problems!
-
He reaches here and there and makes little motions with his hands, but there's absolutely nothing in them.
That's how I always do the dishes!
-
After watching and enjoying the melancholy, poignant THE HANGING GARDEN, I popped in THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE.
The animation was beautifully done, very very sharp DVD brought out the brownish, orangy palette. The story whimsical and overly eccentric, I thought. Certainly different and a unique animated experience, but really not my cup of tea. Perhaps had I seen it with an audience I might have appreciated it more. Sitting alone watching the weirdly composed images and story whiz along made me a bit antsy for it to get on with it. Seemed about 10 minutes too long to me (the dog barking at passing trains got old after awhile).
I, too, recently watched this DVD. What struck me was the idea that it was a French, or French-Canadian, work but with a rather Francophobic slant.
The clincher was the triplets' engorgement of frogs -- some still alive, for some inexplicable reason. One of the triplets constantly licked at the legs of the frogs with a cannibalistic glee.
The features of the male characters seemed stereotypically overt (the DeGaulle-like nose, limpid eyes, or short, squat men with pencil moustaches and berets).
And the song. Fun the first time. Not bad the next couple of times. And then I was tired of it....very tired of it.
It's extremely well-done, but takes effort to fully appreciate. I much prefer "Fantastic Planet" as an imaginative animated feature.
-
"Francophobic". I doubt it.. A truly healthy society can make fun of itself. A great movie.
-
Dr RLP,
I believe DR Tomowoz is right; TRIPLETS -- French/French!! Part of it was done in my hometown! -- is "auto-dérision", self-mockery!
It's full of clichés; the "frog" thing comes from the Brits -- some of them!! -- who call the French, frog-eaters, and the caricatures are common place in the animation world...
Well, the song is ALSO part of the style of the story: those singers had, obviously, ONLY one hit!
It's all about losers but losers with a "vengeance"....
Definitely NOT a commercial endeavour and it's nice to see that it got such an international recognition!
Was not the song nominated for an Award?
-
Evening all!
What storm we had last night! I barely made it home from work before it broke. Lightning, thunder and high wind. I heard from a lady at work that they had many, many trees down near by where she lives. A whole privacy fence was knocked down as well. Bear, my hero, was a quaking, shivering mass that lay at my feet.
I scolded him asking who is protecting whom? Poor baby. I guess even dogs have their fears.
He just turned 8 recently and I find that so hard to believe. Where has the time gone?
I’ve come up with two ideas for the T-shirt design but I’m not sure I can draw them. I’m afraid I failed at Stick Figures 101. I’m hoping to hook up with someone who can draw and maybe we can use my idea and their drawing skills. I already had an offer from one of the guys at work. We’re going to meet for lunch next week and talk it over.
We’ve worked on a project before. I helped him with a cover for his book about a year or so ago. He has yet to publish it but is working on it. If/when it is published, I’ll have to show it to you. That time it was his idea but I put it together for him on the computer.
I love the pictures of the squirrels and birds.
Someone at work was asking me how to get rid (?!) of the lizards around her house! I was in shock. I can’t imagine not seeing my baby dragons about. I told her that the lizards eat the bugs and she should be grateful to have them around. I think I convinced her to leave them alone.
I would gladly go and get them from her house and bring them here if she really didn’t want them. I can’t tell you how many of them I have caught in Down Town Tampa and brought home. I make city lizards into country lizards. Just as long as they don’t turn into lounge lizards, I think we’re doing ok. The minute I see one in a smoking jacket with a mike in hand singing Englebert songs, I’ll know we’ve got big time trouble. :D
-
Sylvain Chomet
Belleville Rendez-Vous
Interviewed by Saxon Bullock -- bbc.co.uk
Animated films rarely come as quirky and stylish as "Belleville Rendez-Vous" the wonderfully bizarre tale of club-footed Portuguese old lady Madame Souza, and her quest to rescue her Tour De France-obsessed grandson from the Mafia. Already surfing on a wave of huge acclaim, it's the feature film debut of 40-year-old French animator Sylvain Chomet.
What was the main objective in making "Belleville Rendez-Vous"?
I wanted to do things in animation that hadn't been done before. It's a very rigid medium in what people think it should be. It's always got to be for kids. It should bring good feelings, have bad guys and good guys, and end with a moral. But this means there are lots of subjects and things you can't show, like someone smoking a cigarette for example. With "Belleville", the aim was to go against that, and do something that wasn't aimed at kids. It's great that kids can enjoy the film, but it freed us up to go in directions that the animated movie hasn't gone in before.
Why did you choose the Tour De France as the film's subject?
I've always liked the movement of cycling. It's the circular motion of the bicycle, and the shape of the cyclists themselves - especially back in the days when they'd be incredibly spindly with amazingly overdeveloped leg muscles. They're fascinating characters: very nice, timid and shy people. But they often don't look like they're enjoying the race. I don't think I've ever seen a cyclist looking happy, even when they've won. I've also always thought it was strange that the Tour De France starts and ends at the same point. It's like they're suffering all this hardship, but not actually getting anywhere as a result.
There's a surprising amount of digital animation in the film. What problems did it help you to solve?
It was mainly to get rid of all the boring stuff. Objects, for example, always take a very long time to animate because they don't change as they move. We used CGI for the cars, the bicycles, the boats and the trains, and it meant the animators had more time for enjoyable elements like the character acting.
How did you go about developing the characters?
It doesn't come from a drawing. What I get in my mind is an idea of their movement, and I just use the graphics to enhance this. Like with Madame Souza: she's a very small, fragile character, but because she has to drag around this enormous club foot, she can also be quite violent and stubborn. It's one of the things I love about animation: to be able to have two concepts of a character. To see one thing, but feel something else.
-
... I’m hoping to hook up with someone ...
In today's world of evolving language I would avoid using "to hook up" as a verb (unless you are really looking for a good time!).
der Brucer (who used to think hooking up was something you did with a trailer, and now its something you do with trailer-trash)
-
Nice squirrels, DerBrucer. I sure wish you could get a picture of your birds!
Here's a Blue Jay waiting his turn at the feeder:
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/4436247/57940748.jpg)
der Brucer (wishing the Jays - as in Blue, not DR) would let me get closer)
-
CD player:
Radio broadcast of CANDIDE with Kristin C. and La Lupone, (thanks to a DR!.)
COOK/SONDHEIM (thanks to another DR!.)
Ukulele Ike Sings Again...........thanks to me!!
Gosh! Where's everybody today?
-
DR DerBrucer -- he's beautiful. We don't have bluejays out here, so it is a treat to see one!
-
I think it's incredible that a blue jay is waiting for smaller birds.
My experience with jays is that they demand territoriality wherever they go, chasing off all other varieties.
On a second look, though, it doesn't appear there are any other birds in the picture. Is there, perhaps, a squirrel inside one of the feeders?
My eyes! My eyes!
-
I think it's incredible that a blue jay is waiting for smaller birds.
My experience with jays is that they demand territoriality wherever they go, chasing off all other varieties.
On a second look, though, it doesn't appear there are any other birds in the picture. Is there, perhaps, a squirrel inside one of the feeders?
My eyes! My eyes!
No, it's my lousy picture. The tree on the right has a Woodpecker seed bar (the Jay's favorite) with a squirrel hanging on to it.
-
It seems events awaken the poet in all of us:
(from a post on a political board):
Original:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
Jack Ryan Version:
To run, or not to run: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and whips of public sex,
Or to take arms against gays and lesbians,
And by opposing end my political career?
-
Dale Wasserman is another writer who wrote a dramatic version of Man of La Mancha and adapted it into a musical. He wrote a book about it.
-
Colm Feore studied and acted in Montreal many moons. I worked a theater where he did the play Veronica's Room. He was good the play was not.
-
DVD Player: The restored The Good The Bad and The Ugly
-
DVD Player: The restored The Good The Bad and The Ugly
You mean
The Restored The Good The Bad and The Ugly?
Never saw that! ;)
-
TRIPLETS -- ...Was not the song nominated for an Award?
Yes, it was. And it was the only nominated song this year that had a beat and you could dance to it.
-
My experience with jays is that they demand territoriality wherever they go, chasing off all other varieties
Just like my mother-in-law!!
... and we used to call her Jay Fonda!!
(i don't have one! :D)
-
Yes, it was. And it was the only nominated song this year that had a beat and you could dance to it.
That's why it did not win!! ;D
-
BK!
We're keeping the home flies buzzing!
-
Oh,
Excuse me if this has been "said" here before, but I've just realized that RATS is STAR backwards!
Ok... I know.... I need a life!.....
-
...I feel the L. A. Master Chorale might be better off doing some of the finer choral works from recent Broadway musicals, such as Yeston's Titanic & Nine.
Nine opened in May of 1982. Twenty-two years ago is not what most people would call "recent."
Yes, it was revived recently, but a revival is usually of an older work that has appeared on Broadway before.
(Edited for emphasis)
-
Maybe, if Enya had performed the song from The Triplets of Belleville, it could have had a better chance of winning the Oscar!
As it is, the film did win the Caesar for best music written for a film. That should count for something.
-
Well, Nine opened 2 years ago here in Paris and lasted, humm, just a few weeks!
We just LOVE musicals here!!
-
Maybe, if Enya had performed the song from The Triplets of Belleville, it could have had a better chance of winning the Oscar!
It was my favorite movie of 2003. And I adore the soundtrack CD.
-
See NINE was ZERO in Paris!
"Deux saisons auparavant, un autre spectacle avait été monté aux mêmes Folies Bergère : l'adaptation du film 8 1/2 de Federico Fellini en comédie musicale, Nine, de Maury Yeston. Malgré la hauteur du propos - il s'agissait d'un des meilleurs et plus ambitieux spectacles du Broadway des vingt dernières années -, la participation de l'auteur de théâtre Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt pour les textes et paroles en français, et la présence de l'étoile française du West-End de Londres, Jérôme Pradon, la sauce n'a pas pris avec les Parisiens. Le spectacle était vite tombé, emportant dans le désespoir les amateurs qui caressaient l'espoir de voir les grandes affiches de Londres et Broadway succéder à Nine."
-
Did anyone watch "Regis and Kelly" today? All this week, they've had Broadway performers come to the R&K studio and perform a song. They've had songs from Wonderful Town, Little Shop of Horrors and today, Bombay Dreams! You know what they performed??
Shakalaka Baby!!
-
Late night Trivia:
The films The Flamingo Kid & the film Henry and June have something in common. What is it?
-
I know THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE had quite a few real fans here at HHW, and I'm truly happy you folks enjoyed it. I found it inspired but not to my liking.
Tonight, I broke out the Anjelica Huston THE WITCHES. It's one of those Warners budget DVDs meaning it was done pan and scan with no effort to mount a DVD edition that celebrated the film in any way. Anyway, even with the lack of an anamorphic transfer, it looked fine and was quite entertaining. I guess I was in a fantasy mood today with THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and THE WITCHES. I got a little more down to earth watching some DICK VAN DYKE SHOW - Season 3 episodes before MONK came on.
-
Late night Trivia:
The films The Flamingo Kid & the film Henry and June have something in common. What is it?
Easy. They're both films of which I have neither seen nor heard.
-
Late night Trivia:
The films The Flamingo Kid & the film Henry and June have something in common. What is it?
I know I liked both of them, but didn't know they had anything in common. I know HENRY AND JUNE was the first film rated NC-17. Don't know anything trivial about THE FLAMINGO KID.
-
[sigh] Due to the holiday weekend next weekend, MONK's next episode is a rerun from the second season. Argh! Two episodes into the new season, and we're already getting reruns!
-
And speaking of rain, we are truly waterlogged here. It's rained every day this week, and they're predicting rain on Saturday and Sunday, too. Anybody got an ark handy?
-
The Flamingo Kid?
Well worth meeting, IMHO!
Never met Henry and June though!
-
Oh, Oh... Henry and June...
Me thinks it has something to do with Kevin Spacey....
-
Oooops.... thought the quiz was from... Tomovoz!
Sorry!
I guess... The Flamingo Kid IS Michael Shayne who lives in Florida, unless Danise goes by that name too!!
-
NEWS FLASH! DR Jose can DANCE!
(We have only begun to explore the man's talents!)
;)
Actually, I was the dance captain for a show once - mainly because I was the only one who could actually watch everyone on stage - and notice who was out of step. -I also just like playing rehearsals, dance rehearsals especially - I guess I learn the steps by "osmosis". *And at most auditions, I'll usually attempt to learn the dance combination(s) depending upon their level of difficulty. It's a great way to stretch my legs after sitting down for a while.
-
I know I liked both of them, but didn't know they had anything in common. I know HENRY AND JUNE was the first film rated NC-17. Don't know anything trivial about THE FLAMINGO KID.
Correct. And the Flamingo Kid was the first pg-13 film although Red Dawn was released first
-
And speaking of rain, we are truly waterlogged here. It's rained every day this week, and they're predicting rain on Saturday and Sunday, too. Anybody got an ark handy?
Ah, so you're getting all the rain. The past couple of days have been very gray and cloudy here in Richmond, and the forecast has been for rain every day this week at some point during the day. However, at least in the part of Richmond where I live, we've only had a few sprinkles. But just a mile and a half away, they had buckets coming down. Even tonight, I felt a few sprinkles on my arm during my walk, but when I got home, I was talking with a friend who lives across town, and he got a good soaking. We shall see if the pattern continues tomorrow.
-
Correct. And the Flamingo Kid was the first pg-13 film although Red Dawn was released first
And "The Flamingo Kid" also had Matt Dillon in it too! *Actually, I remember the PG-13 rating made it a "must-see" amongst my high school friends - or was I still in middle school at the time? Hmm... In any case, we all wanted to see what "gave" the film a PG-13 rating.
-
You're right Michael; I remember I could not go and see Flamingo Kid back in 1984!!! LOL!
But I sneeked in for SPLASH.
Hey? What ever happened of Janet Jones?
-
RED DAWN was a truly awful movie, I thought, but I did enjoy THE FLAMINGO KID. I knew RED DAWN had the distinction of being the first PG-13 film released. I didn't know there was another that got the rating first.
-
Good Evening!
I went to CompUSA to look at a possible new computer, and I was amazed at just how much non-computer stuff they sell now. DVD players, flat screen TVs (plasma and LCD), digital cameras, etc. It actually took me a few twists and turns among the aisles to find the computers. And even once I found them, the selection was no where near what I remember it used to be. I didn't buy anything, but I did take some notes, and at least now I know what's out there more or less.
After that short shopping excursion, it was off to school to practice. Three hours!!! And I got another Chopin prelude memorized!! Yippee! -And the three hours actually went by pretty fast too.
-However, on the way in, I happened to be entering the building at the same time as the person who sent me "the e-mail" the other night. I was thinking the timing could not have been more perfect. Unfortunately, his hands were full with a tray of cups from Starbucks, and he was doing the hands-free thing with his cell phone, so... But at least there was some eye-to-eye contact for what it was worth - if anything. I lingered for a little bit just in case his phone call was about to end, but after a few seconds I just went on with my own business and headed down to the studio.
Then it was off to the grocery store, and I actually bought some groceries this time instead of just "junk". I'm looking forward to doing some cooking this weekend. *I opted for Chinese take-out tonight - Hot & Sour Soup, Egg Roll, Hunan Chicken and Pork Fried Rice (it was a combo).
Oh, and I also got a good three mile walk in tonight too. It was nice to get out of the apartment for a while.
Well, that's today's "dear diary" entry...
-
I love computer shopping on-line. The selection is SO wide.
-
DO NOT PATRONIZE NON-UNION TOURING SHOWS! Wait till it comes to a community theatre near you.
The sad thing about those three former Equity actors in the two-week tour of MISS SAIGON is that by leaving the Union for a short-term gain, they are going to have a real hard time having sustaining careers in their profession and have denied themselves any benefits they might have accrued under a Union contract. Particular the Asian (and if any of the other are Asian as well), as there are few enough Asian roles around and career longevity is already problematic.
Of course, the real tragedy is do we really need another two-week run in LA of a show that was unmitigated, overblown, tedious crap the first time round?
I had dinner tonight with a fellow who, some years ago, played the lead in a non-union national tour. Mr. Pogue should be happy to know he's since joined the union. And now, he's playing exactly the same role. In a union production. For less money than he made when he did the non-union tour. Plus Equity takes 2% of his meagre salary. And, since it's a short(ish) gig, he gets no health benefits.
Actors Equity Association does more to stop theatre from getting produced than any single entity I know of. Rather than helping its membership by helping more shows get on the boards, its operatives spend an inordinate amount of time trying to convince people that non-union shows aren't as good as Equity shows.
If only this were so! I gather it's been many years since Mr. Pogue has acted, so perhaps he's unaware of the current state of things. The stars of the first national Miss Saigon found they couldn't support themselves taking nothing but Equity roles, so they both quit the union. I can't say I blame them.
I thank Der Brucer for quoting that informative article.
-
How old is Max Morath?
-
FRANCOIS....Janet Jones is now Mrs. Wayne Gretzky, the hockey star...although that may be changing any moment now.
TOMOVOZ....Ambrose....hehehehehehe.
-
I assumed right Jack. Just keep walking?
-
DRJOSE...did you put up your 3x5 card about your books? Leave it on the piano where the books were left..... My guess is the person doesn't realize the value of what he has.
-
LOL Make tracks...make tracks.
-
DRJOSE...did you put up your 3x5 card about your books? Leave it on the piano where the books were left..... My guess is the person doesn't realize the value of what he has.
I left a large note taped to the piano... Tomorrow it will be a week since they went missing... I'm hoping that the person who took them is a Saturday morning practice/lesson person, and that they'll be back on the piano tomorrow afternoon. -And for all I know, my teacher could have borrowed them. ;) -But I'm pretty sure she would have left a note telling me that she did.
We shall see.
-
OK - Time for me to become a Wussburger...
Goodnight.
-
My fingers are crossed for you DRJOSE.
-
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.....we never heard back from MBARNUM....exactly how long does lunch with Rhodes Reason take?
-
Sleepy time here as well.
-
U.S. Weekly to Boy George (some years ago): "What would you like to come back as if you were reincarnated?"
Boy George: "Matt Dillon's underwear."
-
Great line in the comic strip Pibgorn:
"Here, justice is always swift...we have short attention spans."
-
How old is Max Morath?
According to the bio I found (http://www.ragtime.nu/morath.htm), Mr. Morath was born on October 1st, 1926, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is seventy-seven, and will be celebrating his seventy-eighth birthday this fall.
Of course, the better question would be "how young is Max Morath," which I figure the answer to be "Incalculably."
Edit: dang spelling.
-
I'm back, and to prove it, I'm here. Just in time to get the new notes up - now, no wire WUSSBURGERS ever! Let's get some serious postin' goin' on tomorrow, you dear, dear people out there in the dark.