Haines His Way
Haines His Way => Daily Discussions => Topic started by: bk on July 23, 2013, 12:39:54 AM
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Well, you've read the notes, the notes planked, and now it is time for you to post until the planking cows come home.
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And the word of the day is: QUILLET!
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bk - what a beautiful song!
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A belated happy birthday wish for DH Vixdad! Also, wonderful news about the car insurance. :)
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Morning all.
That is all.
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The extreme heat and thunderstorms kept me awake most of the night.
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It looks like we are finally getting a bit of a break. There is rain right now and the temperatures are actually decent. I'm in the living room away from the AC and it's OK!
We had to turn the AC on again last night because it was hot and muggy again. No heat wave since it was below 90 degrees but hot and muggy nonetheless.
Oatmeal, banana, walnuts, cinnamon and coffee.
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Well, the rain restrained itself to a light drizzle for the first 45 minutes of our dog walk this morning. But for the last 10 minutes, the heavens opened.
I am quite damp right now, thank you very much. :)
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I ended up deciding NOT to recreate the title number from Singing in the Rain. But it was very close there for a moment.
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And the word of the day is: QUILLET!
And The Song Of The Day Is: I RESOLVE
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Good morning to all
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DR ArnoldBrockman is up really early today. :-)
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:)
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Good Morning.
;)
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That's all I got. :-[
:)
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Good morning, all.
Waiting for the allergy pill to kick in.
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Yesterday DR DRUXy wrote
Charla Doherty was a fairly successful child actress who is probably best remembered for her roles in Take Her, She’s Mine (1963), as Jimmy Stewart’s youngest daughter, and Village of the Giants (1965). For a time, she was also a regular on Days of Our Lives (1965-66).
Charla and I were a couple for the last eighteen months of her life.
My newly published screenplay, CHARLA, is inspired by her story and what happened during those troubled eighteen months. It is available in both paperback and on Kindle.
Carla was the original Julie (mostly associated with Susan Seaforth Hayes) and was on the very first episode
here is a scene from the episode
http://youtu.be/nSdMPS8tQfI (http://youtu.be/nSdMPS8tQfI)
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Good morning. And we'll see if it is.
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Good morning, all!
I slept later than I wanted this morning. Around 11am, i will head down to my pharmacy and pick up my meds, then head to the Lincoln Center NYPL and do some research.
BK, I'm happy everything went well and that you're pleased with the sessions. I can't wait t hear the CD. Thanks for the kind words about "The Brain From Planet X." I love it, and I'm honored to be a part of such a wonderful show. Yesterday morning, I had meant to ask you to give Lanny my regards. He is one of the best! The road to hell has been too many times paved with my good intentions
DR vixmom, good news about the car!
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Good morning.
TOD: I think my favorite version of a Shakespeare play was "All Shook Up."
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Happy (Belated) birthday to vixdad!
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Yesterday DR DRUXy wrote
Charla Doherty was a fairly successful child actress who is probably best remembered for her roles in Take Her, She’s Mine (1963), as Jimmy Stewart’s youngest daughter, and Village of the Giants (1965). For a time, she was also a regular on Days of Our Lives (1965-66).
Charla and I were a couple for the last eighteen months of her life.
My newly published screenplay, CHARLA, is inspired by her story and what happened during those troubled eighteen months. It is available in both paperback and on Kindle.
Carla was the original Julie (mostly associated with Susan Seaforth Hayes) and was on the very first episode
here is a scene from the episode
http://youtu.be/nSdMPS8tQfI (http://youtu.be/nSdMPS8tQfI)
:)
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TOD:
Actually, I have not seen much Shakespeare on the stage; a couple of productions of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW.
But, on film, I really like Olivier's HAMLET and Welles' MACBETH.
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Good morning, all.
Enjoyed hearing some rain at some point last night or during the night, but it was through the haze of sleep. Sunny now.
Haven't checked the air quality yet this morning. Yesterday morning I opened windows for the first time in two weeks, which felt good initially, but within a few hours I was forced to declare it a failed experiment. For now, still playing it safe in the AC.
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Crazy dreams, man. Just crazy. It all began at about 4:30 when I suddenly woke up hearing the "ding dong" chime of my doorbell. It was all in the dream, but so realistic. It's so disorienting when such a sound wakes you up and you could swear you really heard it. I've had that happen before, usually with someone's voice calling me. I don't remember at all now what the 4:30 dream was prior to the doorbell, but fortunately I did get right back to sleep. It's the dreams that followed before I got up this morning that were fascinating. Variations on themes, as per usual, but some very interesting new variations.
More coffee!
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
MERCHANT OF VENICE: I worked on Dustin Hoffman's research for the London-Broadway "Merchant of Venice," and I loved him, personally and as Shylock; I didn't like Peter Hall's production which was cold and sterile. I saw a wonderful Off-off-Broadway production of the same play, set in the 1930s with a cast including Stanley Tucci that was fantastic. When Portia and Nerissa showed up in court as lawyers, they wore double breasted suits and fedoras. I am also fond of the Al Pacino film version.
THE TEMPEST: I like the BBC tv version with Michael Hordern from the late 1970s but I prefer FORBIDDEN PLANET
TWELFTH NIGHT: I was once nearly cast as Malvolio but i couldn't make thecallback; when I saw the production, I was happy I didn't get the role. Trevor Nunn's film from the 1990s with Ben Kingsley and Nigel Hawthorne as Malvolio is one of my favorites.
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: never seen it on stage, although I was once in a production, but i do love the 1971 Joseph Papp production on DVD with Sam Waterston, and Joss Whedon's new film with Nathan Fillion. Much as I like Kenneth Branagh, I do not like his film of this play (sorry, DR vixmom!).
KING LEAR: my favorite play. I saw Peter Hall's production with Alan Howard as Lear at the Old Vic on my first trip to London in 1997. Denis Quilley was Gloucester. It had great moments. I do love the Ian Holm production on DVD with my friend Barry Lynch as Edmund, maybe Shakespeare's sexiest villain: Goneril and Regan kill each other over lust for him. The Olivier production is quite wonderful, but Sir Laurence gets a bit too cute at times. For me, the play rises or falls on the Gloucester and Edgar actors.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: I saw the Royal Shakespeare Company onstage in an interesting production with my friend Barry Lynch as Puck. I also like the BBC tv version from the late 1970s with Helen Mirren as Titania. I did not much like the last film version with Kevin Kline. The play is used in two of my favorite films, GET OVER IT and WERE THE WORLD MINE.
My other favorite film versions of the plays:
Zeffirelli's TAMING OF THE SHREW and ROMEO AND JULIET
Branagh's HENRY V
Olivier's HENRY V and RICHARD III
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I have no special knowledge of orchestration, and I couldn't put two notes together to save my life -- but as far back as I can remember I've been fascinated with all manner of orchestration. Whatever the music, it makes all the difference. Even in symphonic pieces and opera, the music of course should grab one first and foremost, but it's ultimately the orchestration, and the conductor's execution of it, that blows me away every time.
At the recording session for the Christmas album I was just in awe of the sounds coming at me, and I made sure that everyone around me (whether they had a musical bone in their body or not) hearing the album over this past holiday season was well aware that the arrangements, as well as the music and words themselves, must be paid attention to.
And yes, THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X. I've already reported how finally sitting down and hearing it properly unfold on The Big Speakers blew me away, and it's only gotten better since. There aren't enough thanks in the world for both BK and DR Elmore for that and so much more. Arrangement, orchestration, show and album concept -- this is the stuff, man.
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What -- no Baz Luhrmann, DR Elmore? :)
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I am eating a Danish.
Does anyone...still eat...a Danish?
It's not a very good one. Costco, I think. Oy!
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
All Shook Up is a modern rock version of Twelfth Night w/music inspired by Elvis Presley. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad (his first Broadway lead). It was during the 2004/2005 Broadway season. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and Christopher Ashley directed the show.
I enjoyed it. Was it great theatre? No, but it was fun and had a good cast. I doubt it will ever be done in NY again but it has life outside the city.
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Good Morning Everyone:
TOD:
ROMEO AND JULIET, I'm sure everyone knows the plot.
I loved it because of the beautiful language spoken between the Two protagonists.
The lesson I learned was that stereotypes can cause harsh feelings (The Capulets and The Montagues)
Just because of their last names, the two families despised each other.
It teaches us to treat each person on an individual basis and not assume anything!
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TOD continued,
I also did love The Merchant of Venice (The movie version)
Great Story!
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
I just love him. So handsome and so funny!
It's rare to be both!
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Samantha's Song -- Beautiful, BK. And heartbreaking.
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I forgot to mention that MISSOURI BREAKS arrived here on Saturday.
I am very much looking forward to Miss Sandy's new CD! It sounds like it will be wonderful.
Enjoyed the notes - but that is a very sad song....and it made me cry again....just like the first time I heard it.
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Well someone sent me an important email with a list of names I need for an website post....I had it open and clicked on something else....and the email disappeared. It is not in my TRASH folder or anyplace else....any other folder. It disappeared. So I cannot write the until the sender sends it to me again.
That has never happened to me in all of the years I have been on the inner web. I do not know what I did....
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Tuesday morning greetings! I will be E & T for most of the midday, because Mom and I are going grocery shopping. Hope to be home before the predicted late-afternoon thunderstorms.
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TOD:
I have seen NO live Shakespeare that I can say I really enjoyed..... There are a few movies I really like:
HENRY V with Kenneth Branagh
RICHARD III - with Olivier
ROMEO & JULIET - Olivia Hussey & Leonard Whiting
THE TAMING OF THE SHREW - Burton & Taylor, although they were both TOO old for the roles
a PBS TAMING OF THE SHREW - Marc Singer & Fredi Fredi Olster
A four-DVD set recommended to me by DR ELMORE called SHAKESPEARE RETOLD that takes four of the plays (Shrew, The Scottish Play, Midsummer's, and Much Ado) putting them in modern settings and all of them featuring fantastic actors. All texts are abbreviated, so it helps to know the material, but they are all fascinating and fun viewing.
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
All Shook Up is a modern rock version of Twelfth Night w/music inspired by Elvis Presley. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad (his first Broadway lead). It was during the 2004/2005 Broadway season. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and Christopher Ashley directed the show.
I enjoyed it. Was it great theatre? No, but it was fun and had a good cast. I doubt it will ever be done in NY again but it has life outside the city.
I had no idea! Thank you, DR Ben.
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I do remember seeing a rock musical version of OTHELLO at the Ahmunson Theater in Los Angeles. I don't recall the title, but, I think, Jerry Lee Lewis played Iago.
BK, you probably remember that show...and who was in it.
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The WORST I have ever seen was directed by Libby Appel (who was then artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theater and who is now stinking up DR JANE's neighborhood as the director the SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL out there when she was run out of town here several years ago....she took her untalented family with her...he son wrote the music for several of her shows, including this HAMLET. AND he was chosen by her when she listened to all the submissions by composers without knowing their names, don't you know....and featured all of her out of work friends from New York - there is a REASON they are out of work in New York).....HAMLET wore a black leather outfit....and at one point was tied to a giant circus wheel and spun around while spouting his famous speech.... No play can survive a wrong-headed egotistical director... She was outraged that we didn't understand what she was doing.
She also didn't care that in her second year - season subscriptions dropped by 1/3....she said that was normal. IRT also lost the support of two volunteer groups that had worked with IRT since it had been founded....she didn't care about that either....she had lots of out of work friends that could do the work....for a salary.
IRT is still recovering from her tenure....many years later.
I guess she was still at it in 2000 - and now she's changing the order of the scenes.....
http://www.sfgate.com/performance/article/Ashland-s-Hamlet-Pulls-Out-All-the-Stops-3304166.php
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A four-DVD set recommended to me by DR ELMORE called SHAKESPEARE RETOLD that takes four of the plays (Shrew, The Scottish Play, Midsummer's, and Much Ado) putting them in modern settings and all of them featuring fantastic actors. All texts are abbreviated, so it helps to know the material, but they are all fascinating and fun viewing.
I love the SHAKESPEARE RETOLD versions of MUCH ADO with Damian Lewis and the restaurant wars of MACBETH. I still haven't seen the MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM adaptation.
I think you'd really like the MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING with Sam Waterston, DR JRand62. The early 20th century choreography by Donald Saddler, assisted by Helen Gallagher, is a lot of fun.
And now I am heading to Lincoln Center.
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
All Shook Up is a modern rock version of Twelfth Night w/music inspired by Elvis Presley. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad (his first Broadway lead). It was during the 2004/2005 Broadway season. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and Christopher Ashley directed the show.
I enjoyed it. Was it great theatre? No, but it was fun and had a good cast. I doubt it will ever be done in NY again but it has life outside the city.
I had no idea! Thank you, DR Ben.
It was one of those times when I looked at my ticket to see how much I paid. And seriously considered whether or not to renew my season subscription. And when I thought perhaps the future of Broadway was in jeopardy. (Actually, I think that a lot.)
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Here's the trailer for WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S STAR WARS
at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0QonroBrEo
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TOD - I saw a lot of Shakespeare and classic farce at the Hilberry Classic Theatre at Wayne State University in Detroit - A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, and The Rivals are the ones I can verify from the ticket stubs in my teenage scrapbook. At the University of Michigan, I remember a wild production of Lysistrata at the height of the anti-Vietnam movement. Most recently, Richard and I loved the wild west version of Taming of the Shrew at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.
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Here's the trailer for WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S STAR WARS
at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0QonroBrEo
See? That's how they should be talking.
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I need to brush up my Shakespeare.
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I need to brush up my Shakespeare.
I'd done this speculation when the Times had their report on that book.
Darth Up Your Shakespeare - Tune of Brush Up Your Shakespeare
The Shakespeare lovers don’t think they’re nerds
They find sci-fi too dull for words
But now we find in their folio / R-2 and C-3-P-O
So the next new Broadway hit, I’ve no doubt, not one i-ota
Since the book’s done with such wit, They’ll love the Bard crossed with Yoda
Darth up your Shakespeare / Work in Luke and Han
Darth up your Shakespeare / Cash-flow worries will be gone
You will find there is no other plan akin / To a Iago played by little Anakin
Princess Leia will take any slam at her / If she‘s Kate in iambic pentameter
Bet your Hamlet would fly with Chewbacca / Though it sounds just a bit off your rocka
So darth up your Shakespeare
And you’ll gross anon / Dough goes on and on
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TOD:
I've seen a lot of great Shakespeare on stage and on film. Onstage, Derek Jacobi's LEAR at the Donmar Warehouse may have been the best Shakespeare production I've ever seen and made me see why the play is truly great for the first time. Brilliant production. I also saw Jacobi do a stunning Prospero in THE TEMPEST at The Old Vic. Trevor Nunn's LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST with Joseph Fiennes at the National Theatre in London was an exquisitely beautiful production. THE RSC did a terrific production of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM that I saw in London a few years back. At the Old GLOBE in San Diego, I've seen many fine Shakespeare productions...particularly Paxton Whitehead as RICHARD III. At South Coast Rep, Douglas Sills played a great Benedick in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.
On TV or DVD, I have seen a lot of great productions of what are essentially filmed theatre (which, despite a lot of naysayers, I quite like and wish there was more of...what a wonderful way to see great theatre pieces). These include a magnificently hysterical production of TAMING OF THE SHREW from ACT in San Francisco starring Marc Singer as Petrouchio, a brilliant COMEDY OF ERRORS starring The Flying Karamazov Brothers (a juggling troupe, believe it or not), an elegant RSC production of A WINTER'S TALE starring the brilliant Antony Sher; another beautiful, imaginative RSC MIDSUMMER starring Alec Jennings and Lindsay Duncan as Oberon and Titiania; RSC's David Tennant's HAMLET; and a televised production of Trevor Nunn's MERCHANT OF VENICE starring a dynamic Henry Goodman as Shylock. Another great Nunn televised production (from the RSC) was ANTONY & CLEOPATRA with Richard Johnson and Janet Suzman in the title roles. The recent BBC HOLLOW CROWN has a great RICHARD II, both parts of HENRY IV, and HENRY V. Simon Russell Beale, maybe the greatest actor working today, plays a brilliant nasty Falstaff.
Roger Allam also plays a brilliant and funny Falstaff in the Globe Theatre's DVD of their HENRY IV productions. I highly recommend the Globe DVDs of their productions...I very like their LOVE's LABOUR LOST and MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING and their MERRY WIVES. Looking forward to getting their TWELFTH NIGHT with Stephen Fry as Malvolio and Mark Rylance playing Olivia.
On film, Branagh's HENRY V and MUCH ADO are great. And Zefferelli's ROMEO & JULIET. And Olivier's RICHARD III.
As for farce, I was lucky to see the original production with the original cast of NOISES OFF in London. Nothing has ever topped it.
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TOD: Branagh's "Henry V" and "Much Ado About Nothing".
Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" and "The Taming of the Shrew".
Julie Taymor's "Titus".
Why? Branagh's because they're brilliant, to me, and not stagey and not overacted by the stars and supporting casts. They are beautifully edited and easily sustain my interest.
Zeffirelli's because they are SO magnificently produced and they're very Italianate in their sensibilities and they're brilliantly conceived and wonderfully performed.
Taymor's because it's audacious and moving and edgy.
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And fizzy and funny and fine.
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I forgot that I really liked that filmed version of TITUS as well.
I would love to see a good farce....such as NOISES OFF. I shall have to think about some I have seen on film....NOISES OFF didn't quite work for me because of some of the casting.....
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Some fine lyrics there, DR FJL.
I, too, would like it if there were a lot more filmed theater.
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I love Noises Off.
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TOD:
I have seen no Shakespeare on stage, good or bad.
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On a related note, I do have a 1940s Bollywood version of HAMLET on dvd which I need to watch one of these days.
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I also just ate a large chunck of dark chocolate. It was good.
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TOD:
Does "Kiss Me Kate" count?
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I forgot that I really liked that filmed version of TITUS as well.
I would love to see a good farce....such as NOISES OFF. I shall have to think about some I have seen on film....NOISES OFF didn't quite work for me because of some of the casting.....
Farce rarely works on film because it is the stage timing of the action that makes it amazing and fun. The only film farce I remember working for me was THE RITZ. But I haven't seen it in years, so memory may be kind.
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I forgot that I really liked that filmed version of TITUS as well.
I would love to see a good farce....such as NOISES OFF. I shall have to think about some I have seen on film....NOISES OFF didn't quite work for me because of some of the casting.....
Farce rarely works on film because it is the stage timing of the action that makes it amazing and fun. The only film farce I remember working for me was THE RITZ. But I haven't seen it in years, so memory may be kind.
Right. In spite of the multitude of totally hilarious films, the kind you can still laugh at loud at after many years of repeated viewings, the kind of laughing I've experienced at a well produced farce on stage is a whole different animal. If you aren't laughing till you're almost bent over double in pain and exhaustion, it ain't a true farce. :)
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Thanks, Chas!
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Beyonce's hair got caught in a fan onstage during a performance the other night.
It's on YouTube and she's OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sTvRz1MxW0
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Beyonce's hair got caught in a fan onstage during a performance the other night.
It's on YouTube and she's OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sTvRz1MxW0
Oh the humanity!
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Beyonce's hair got caught in a fan onstage during a performance the other night.
It's on YouTube and she's OK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sTvRz1MxW0
Oh the humanity!
:) :D ;D
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I'm up, I'm up, after a very rough night of semi-sleep, thanks to this painful whatever on the lower right side of my mouth. Dr. Chew x-rayed it - there's nothing wrong there that needs attention now (but will later) but there's what he calls a deep pocket there and he thinks it's just a little bacterial infection - he really picked at that area in a very painful way yesterday then put some anti-bacterial whatever in the deep pocket and just said not to chew anything too hard on that side for a day or two. It was fine until the middle of the night, and then suddenly I guess all that picking he'd done resulted in some really intense pain, so I slept in fits and starts and also starts and fits.
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Time for a little LANAP procedure?
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TOD
I saw a young Ian McKellen as HAMLET in a very successful production in Nottingham in the early '70s.
However my favorite Shakespearean production was, of course, my own ;D. A modern dress version of LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST in Sheffield also in the early '70s in which I played The King (left)
(http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc228/vanmunchen/8f1a7048-ef3c-440f-bbac-28462a1fdc04.jpg)
(http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc228/vanmunchen/07c74302-3fea-4e6f-a43e-0edbb4b00973.jpg)
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
All Shook Up is a modern rock version of Twelfth Night w/music inspired by Elvis Presley. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad (his first Broadway lead). It was during the 2004/2005 Broadway season. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and Christopher Ashley directed the show.
I enjoyed it. Was it great theatre? No, but it was fun and had a good cast. I doubt it will ever be done in NY again but it has life outside the city.
They just staged it here to sellout crowds. Sadly, I missed it.
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I saw it here in LA and wished I'd missed it :)
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TOD:
a brilliant COMEDY OF ERRORS starring The Flying Karamazov Brothers (a juggling troupe, believe it or not), another beautiful, imaginative RSC MIDSUMMER starring Alec Jennings and Lindsay Duncan as Oberon and Titiania;
I saw the Flying Karamazov Brothers production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS at Lincoln Center and had totally forgotten about it. My friend Karla Burns (Olivier Award winner for SHOW BOAT, as I recall) played Luce. The live performance was amazing. I saw that MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM with Jennings and Duncan on Broadway; my friend Finbar (Barry) Lynch was the Puck. The DVD version adds that child at the beginning.
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I am back from the NYPL and quite informed about ROBERTA. The card catalogue for the Theatre Collection says they have clippings for "Gowns By Roberta," but there was no card for programmes of the tryout. So, I looked at a lot of programmes for ROBERTA from the opening week in 1933 to to the last staging in NYC which invented a lady named Masha to sing a reprise of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes." On a whim I filled out a slip for programmes for GOWNS BY ROBERTA, and I got a run of the Forrest Theatre, Philadelphia, tryout programs, even though the catalogue doesn't list them!
So many questions answered. By the 1934 post-Broadway tour, Bob Hope, George Murphy, and Fred MacMurray were heading off to Hollywood stardom.
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(http://i1282.photobucket.com/albums/a532/singdaw1/flautist_zpsf98acc9e.jpg)
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That's great news DR ELMORE.....there is always more to be found.....I have found.
DR DOUG R that production looks like a LOT of fun! Thanks for the photos.
I am off in a bit for a rehearsal of Act Two of THE DROWSY CHAPERONE.
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Danny Burstein will appear at the Metropolitan Opera.
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/180386-Four-Time-Tony-Nominee-Danny-Burstein-Will-Make-Metropolitan-Opera-Debut-Opposite-Tony-Winner-Paulo-Szot (http://www.playbill.com/news/article/180386-Four-Time-Tony-Nominee-Danny-Burstein-Will-Make-Metropolitan-Opera-Debut-Opposite-Tony-Winner-Paulo-Szot)
This comic (non singing) role has also been played in the past by Mr. Jason Graae.
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Shirley Jones on some of the revelations in her new book:
http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html (http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html)
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Good morning. And we'll see if it is.
Well...was it?
;)
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Crazy dreams, man. Just crazy. It all began at about 4:30 when I suddenly woke up hearing the "ding dong" chime of my doorbell. It was all in the dream, but so realistic. It's so disorienting when such a sound wakes you up and you could swear you really heard it. I've had that happen before, usually with someone's voice calling me. I don't remember at all now what the 4:30 dream was prior to the doorbell, but fortunately I did get right back to sleep. It's the dreams that followed before I got up this morning that were fascinating. Variations on themes, as per usual, but some very interesting new variations.
More coffee!
What I REALLY hate is when I'm peeing in a dream and I actually wake myself up to make sure that I'm not really peeing in my bed! :o
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And yes, THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X. I've already reported how finally sitting down and hearing it properly unfold on The Big Speakers blew me away, and it's only gotten better since. There aren't enough thanks in the world for both BK and DR Elmore for that and so much more. Arrangement, orchestration, show and album concept -- this is the stuff, man.
When I was in "The Brain From Planet X" here in Olympia, out of necessity we had a reduced band...I think just piano, bass, drums AND an actual Theremin! ;D
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DR Laura, what is "All Shook UP"? And what play is it based on?
All Shook Up is a modern rock version of Twelfth Night w/music inspired by Elvis Presley. Cheyenne Jackson played Chad (his first Broadway lead). It was during the 2004/2005 Broadway season. Joe DiPietro wrote the book and Christopher Ashley directed the show.
I enjoyed it. Was it great theatre? No, but it was fun and had a good cast. I doubt it will ever be done in NY again but it has life outside the city.
Harlequin Productions (which is doing "Jesus Christ Superstar" right now and their production is "based" on the recent Live Arena Tour (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jesus-Christ-Superstar-Live-Arena/dp/B009DHOP4S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374611895&sr=8-1&keywords=jesus+christ+superstar+live+arena+tour+2012) from England) wrote their own version called "A Rock & Roll Twelfth Night (http://castalbums.org/recordings/A-Rock-Roll-Twelfth-Night-1997-Original-Cast/12198)," and it was wonderful! They wrote a great score for this show. They put on three different productions and actually recorded it twice (http://castalbums.org/recordings/A-Rock-n-Roll-Twelfth-Night-2003-Revival-Cast/18847). Louis Hobson, who went to on be in the original Broadway casts of "Next To Normal (http://castalbums.org/recordings/Next-to-Normal-2009-Original-Cast/15721)" and "The People in the Picture (http://castalbums.org/recordings/The-People-in-the-Picture-2011-Original-Broadway-Cast/24156)" (whose recording was released by Kritzerland!) was in the second revival.
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Crazy dreams, man. Just crazy. It all began at about 4:30 when I suddenly woke up hearing the "ding dong" chime of my doorbell. It was all in the dream, but so realistic. It's so disorienting when such a sound wakes you up and you could swear you really heard it. I've had that happen before, usually with someone's voice calling me. I don't remember at all now what the 4:30 dream was prior to the doorbell, but fortunately I did get right back to sleep. It's the dreams that followed before I got up this morning that were fascinating. Variations on themes, as per usual, but some very interesting new variations.
More coffee!
What I REALLY hate is when I'm peeing in a dream and I actually wake myself up to make sure that I'm not really peeing in my bed! :o
TMI?
But, I hear ya! Have had "got to go right now, got to go, got to go, got to go" dreams. I wake up with a start expecting the worst and am always happy to discover that it was premonitory rather than current.
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And yes, THE BRAIN FROM PLANET X. I've already reported how finally sitting down and hearing it properly unfold on The Big Speakers blew me away, and it's only gotten better since. There aren't enough thanks in the world for both BK and DR Elmore for that and so much more. Arrangement, orchestration, show and album concept -- this is the stuff, man.
When I was in "The Brain From Planet X" here in Olympia, out of necessity we had a reduced band...I think just piano, bass, drums AND an actual Theremin! ;D
I have an actual Theremin! Sadly, embarrassingly, it's just sitting here -- one of those things I keep saying I'm going to set myself down and learn how to play halfway competently. I think I started saying that in 2003.
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Well someone sent me an important email with a list of names I need for an website post....I had it open and clicked on something else....and the email disappeared. It is not in my TRASH folder or anyplace else....any other folder. It disappeared. So I cannot write the until the sender sends it to me again.
That has never happened to me in all of the years I have been on the inner web. I do not know what I did....
Jack, could you have accidentally moved it to another folder? That's happened to me. I would then have to check EVERY single folder (and I can have a lot) to see where it went. :-\
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I need to brush up my Shakespeare.
I'd done this speculation when the Times had their report on that book.
Darth Up Your Shakespeare - Tune of Brush Up Your Shakespeare
The Shakespeare lovers don’t think they’re nerds
They find sci-fi too dull for words
But now we find in their folio / R-2 and C-3-P-O
So the next new Broadway hit, I’ve no doubt, not one i-ota
Since the book’s done with such wit, They’ll love the Bard crossed with Yoda
Darth up your Shakespeare / Work in Luke and Han
Darth up your Shakespeare / Cash-flow worries will be gone
You will find there is no other plan akin / To a Iago played by little Anakin
Princess Leia will take any slam at her / If she‘s Kate in iambic pentameter
Bet your Hamlet would fly with Chewbacca / Though it sounds just a bit off your rocka
So darth up your Shakespeare
And you’ll gross anon / Dough goes on and on
Fred, I love this!!
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My favorite version of "Much Ado About Nothing" (actually, it's the ONLY version that I've ever seen ;)) is THIS (http://www.digitaltheatre.com/production/details/much-ado-about-nothing-tennant-tate/play) version with David Tennant and Catherine Tate...former Doctor Who co-stars!
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I have an actual Theremin!
That is so cool!
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Good evening!
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I have an actual Theremin!
That is so cool!
It's this one, the Moog Etherwave. I built it from a kit. It's mounted on a mic stand.
I see they have a "Plus" version out now -- it's got another knob on it, so it must be better!
(http://home.comcast.net/~chasmith7/etherwave.jpg)
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I have an actual Theremin!
That is so cool!
Isn't it? I would love to have one, too. And like you, ChasSmith, mine would probably sit there without me ever learning to play it.
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I not only have a theremin, I play it on the cast album of The Brain.
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I had a turkey sandwich and no fries or onion rings. Did a three-mile jog. Did a little work on the computer, and am now going to pick up some packages.
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TOD: When I was in seventh grade, I discovered Shakespeare and before the school year was out, I had read a half-dozen of his plays, including As You Like It and Macbeth. I later learned that summer that there was something called Shakespeare in the Park across town that was free, so I made my dad take us down there. That first season they did both of those plays and Measure for Measure.
It started a tradition that continued through high school and even after, whenever I came back to Louisville. When I was old enough to drive, I would go with friends and sometimes we would sit through the same production five or six times over the course of the two-week run of each show. It was a great educational experience, because you would get to see actors grow into their roles. The actor who played Hamlet one summer could barely get through the part on opening night. By the closing, he was much more assured.
I've seen plenty of Shakespeare in the park productions wherever I've lived. Often the shows are transformed into musicals with anything from rock to 1920s-style songs.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a production of Merry Wives of Windsor in Louisville one summer. On the last night (I had seen it four times already), the leading lady took ill and the director went on with a script in her hand, concealed behind a fan. Everything about the evening was magical.
As for the movies, I love the Soviet King Lear, Kurosawa's Ran, Twelfth Night, the Reinhardt version of "Midsummer's Night Dream," "10 Things I Hate About You," "West Side Story," "Scotland, Pa.," Zeffirelli's "Taming of the Shrew," "My Own Private Idaho," "Titus," Mazursky's "Tempest" and "Forbidden Planet."
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Four! Forbidden PLanet Dance!
(http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTdezCLVjjLSRDzZFda6eEKqiSg9TGMKfjRrL1zG-MwYg18bXMvLQ)
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For me, the difference between a professional and proficient orchestrator and a great orchestrator is simple - the great ones understand how to create the "sound" of the show - they really understand what the show is and how to translate that in sound. When we all sat at the first band play-through for The Brain, the minute they began playing the opening number I knew elmore had gotten the sound of the show - it was perfect and everyone in that room knew it. In fact, other than cutting a brief overture, I only asked for one small change in LA and that was taking a little harp (on synth) figure and moving it up to the first verse of World of Tomorrow, which was very simple to do. In NY, I asked for one further change in the rideout of The Brain's song, also simple. But the basic "sound" of our show is elmore. I'm a piano guy - if elmore had asked what I thought it should sound like I wouldn't have been able to really tell him.
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TOD 2: Favorite production of a farce would have to be the "Hay Fever" revival with Rosemary Harris, Charles Kimbrough, Deborah Rush and a cast of crazies that had me on the floor in fits of laughter. And a lovely song, "No, My Heart" (on Brent Barrett's Kander and Ebb album).
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HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO VIXDAD!!!!
Having one's faith in humanity makes for a nice birthday gift. :)
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I enjoyed the evening posts of amusement parts, rides, and the photos.
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I ended up deciding NOT to recreate the title number from Singing in the Rain. But it was very close there for a moment.
;D
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
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Shirley Jones on some of the revelations in her new book:
http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html (http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html)
For a time, I was Marty Ingels' publicist.
:o ::)
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Well, you know I am!
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I'm sure she'd be surprised at at least one revelation in MY book :)
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Get me off this damn page.
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Picked up some packages.
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But none of the ones that are overdue.
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The WORST I have ever seen was directed by Libby Appel (who was then artistic director of the Indiana Repertory Theater and who is now stinking up DR JANE's neighborhood as the director the SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL out there when she was run out of town here several years ago....she took her untalented family with her...he son wrote the music for several of her shows, including this HAMLET. AND he was chosen by her when she listened to all the submissions by composers without knowing their names, don't you know....and featured all of her out of work friends from New York - there is a REASON they are out of work in New York).....HAMLET wore a black leather outfit....and at one point was tied to a giant circus wheel and spun around while spouting his famous speech.... No play can survive a wrong-headed egotistical director... She was outraged that we didn't understand what she was doing.
I believe she is completely retired. She seems to have been appreciated by many here and the move was good for her. From what I hear people aren't happy with her replacement. We haven't been to any plays in a long time so I can't personally comment.
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Here's the trailer for WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S STAR WARS
at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0QonroBrEo
See? That's how they should be talking.
:)
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Me! Me! Me!
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When I was at the University of Washington in 1960, I played "Osric" in a one-hour television production of HAMLET that aired live on Seattle's educational channel.
What's interesting about that production is some of the people who were involved. It was conceived and directed by Rod Whitaker, who under the name of “Trevanian,” would later write THE EIGER SANCTION, which became a Clint Eastwood movie. John Gilbert, later a major player at the Seattle Rep was "Hamlet," Marian Hailey, who would do many Broadway plays (e.g. HARVEY with Jimmy Stewart and Helen Hayes) and movies (e.g. LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS) was "Ophelia" and David Seidler, who won the Oscar for writing THE KING'S SPEECH was "Claudius".
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I love Noises Off.
Libby was still in charge when we saw the brilliant production at the Shakespeare Festival. I still regret we did not see the show a second time even though we had tickets when our guests from hell realized they had seen the play in NY and didn't like it. Yes, I asked if they wanted to see the play before purchasing the tickets, in fact gave them a choice of several plays to chose from with a recommendation on Noises.
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Crazy dreams, man. Just crazy. It all began at about 4:30 when I suddenly woke up hearing the "ding dong" chime of my doorbell. It was all in the dream, but so realistic. It's so disorienting when such a sound wakes you up and you could swear you really heard it. I've had that happen before, usually with someone's voice calling me. I don't remember at all now what the 4:30 dream was prior to the doorbell, but fortunately I did get right back to sleep. It's the dreams that followed before I got up this morning that were fascinating. Variations on themes, as per usual, but some very interesting new variations.
More coffee!
What I REALLY hate is when I'm peeing in a dream and I actually wake myself up to make sure that I'm not really peeing in my bed! :o
;D
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Not I. Reading the link was enough.
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BK, thank you for the very kind comment about "The Brain" orchestrations. I was lucky that I'd seen most of the movies the show affectionately references, I loved the music of the period when it occurs, and I loved the show's songs, which were as quirky as the plot. I needed to find a sound that referenced the time and place, but everything had to be emotionally real yet as quirky as the characters and the situation.
"Here On Earth" was the hardest because I loved the song, I loved the characters, and i didn't want the scoring to sound as though I were making fun of them or commenting on the show's humor. I held off working on that ne until I felt I knew what the song should sound like. I loved Donna's song so much that I wanted the entr'acte to be like a rock'n'roll band jiving on a favorite tune.
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Shirley Jones on some of the revelations in her new book:
http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html (http://news.yahoo.com/shirley-jones-offers-naked-truth-book-161813008.html)
For a time, I was Marty Ingels' publicist.
:o ::)
I read the book they co-authored about their romance.
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
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I'm sure she'd be surprised at at least one revelation in MY book :)
Maybe not after reading what her book is about. ;D
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Me! Me! Me!
Down, boy. Down!
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Moi!
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I'm sure she'd be surprised at at least one revelation in MY book :)
:) :) :)
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Man, people are just so ignorant and stupid and yet they post in public and pontificate and just look like the idiots they are. Someone posted the video of Poor Little Person from Henry, Sweet Henry - it's a great number with perfect Michael Bennett choreography - why a choreographer who knows how to actually build a number - unlike today's choreographer hacks. Here's the number. And here is what the idiot posted, something along the lines of "That was painful. Terrible choreography and Playten (Alice Playten) is pitchy!" You watch and tell me all about the "terrible" choreography. As to pitchy, she may have been having trouble hearing the band in that noisy section of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyv67Peo4w&feature=share&list=PLv1NJ34PSuYxXHSluWZrKYflkidqHrsdC
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Man, people are just so ignorant and stupid and yet they post in public and pontificate and just look like the idiots they are. Someone posted the video of Poor Little Person from Henry, Sweet Henry - it's a great number with perfect Michael Bennett choreography - why a choreographer who knows how to actually build a number - unlike today's choreographer hacks. Here's the number. And here is what the idiot posted, something along the lines of "That was painful. Terrible choreography and Playten (Alice Playten) is pitchy!" You watch and tell me all about the "terrible" choreography. As to pitchy, she may have been having trouble hearing the band in that noisy section of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyv67Peo4w&feature=share&list=PLv1NJ34PSuYxXHSluWZrKYflkidqHrsdC
Just watched that video. It's just about as close as it gets to musical comedy perfection. That look Playten gives when she's headed back up the stairs after no one has given her money is a riot.
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I'm far from an expert on choreography, I do however know what I like and this was delightful.
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Driving on our road today we had to stop for two female deer and two older fawns. By the time I thought to have Keith take a photo they were running up the hill. I cropped the photo multiple times and it didn't help the photo. Here it is anyway.
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Man, people are just so ignorant and stupid and yet they post in public and pontificate and just look like the idiots they are. Someone posted the video of Poor Little Person from Henry, Sweet Henry - it's a great number with perfect Michael Bennett choreography - why a choreographer who knows how to actually build a number - unlike today's choreographer hacks. Here's the number. And here is what the idiot posted, something along the lines of "That was painful. Terrible choreography and Playten (Alice Playten) is pitchy!" You watch and tell me all about the "terrible" choreography. As to pitchy, she may have been having trouble hearing the band in that noisy section of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyv67Peo4w&feature=share&list=PLv1NJ34PSuYxXHSluWZrKYflkidqHrsdC
I loved Alice Playten. Anyone saying anything bad about her is a complete fool in my book. And that number is brilliant! I watch it often.
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LOVED that clip. AND the fawns. :)
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TOD: I don't know if it was the BEST Shakespeare production of Macbeth I've ever seen, but it was interesting. At the Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, CT. The set was a giant sheet. That was it. The sheet covered the entire stage, and it was pulled by wires and/or other mechanisms into all the various shapes required for the set pieces.
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
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LOVED that clip. AND the fawns. :)
Thanks. They were much cuter trotting across the road in front of us.
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We saw a fantastic HAMLET at the outdoor theater, at least the first half was great as the second half was called on account of pouring rain. It was a memorable experience. As the rain progressed the actors would often go off stage and return changed out of their traditional costumes and into something
a bit more comfortable. I especially got a kick out of the king who changed into a jogging suit.
The actor playing Hamlet never went out of character & was amazing.
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
I loved all of the Tales of the City books, but I must say that for me the moment has passed.
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That is great news about Vixdad's car. I think it seems fair since the other person acted irresponsibly.
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I love roller coasters especially wood ones. The only part I dislike is being knocked around.
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I love roller coasters especially wood ones. The only part I dislike is being knocked around.
That being knocked around is why I had to give them up.
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Got home from taking Mom shopping just in time to rescue the box of K-cups that FedEx had left on the front porch. Five minutes later and they would have been soaked. I was exhausted and spent several hours dozing and getting my head back on straight.
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I don't know from "pitchy" but I loved the Alice Playten number. I suspect the commenter has watched too much American Idol.
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Got home from taking Mom shopping just in time to rescue the box of K-cups that FedEx had left on the front porch. Five minutes later and they would have been soaked. I was exhausted and spent several hours dozing and getting my head back on straight.
No plastic bag? Was rain expected today?
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That's right, DR Jane, no plastic bag. And, yes, rain was predicted.
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You might mention that next time you see your delivery person ;)
Fortunately it all worked out ok.
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Good evening, all,
Been a busy day here.
TOD:
My favorite live Shakespeare was the Royal Shakespeare's HENRY V I saw at the Brooklyn Academy, when I was at school in NYC. Alan Howard was supposed to be playing Henry, but he was out that day and his understudy, Charles Dance was brilliant!!
I've only even been in classical farce, not seen any. My favorite play based on classic farce was the tour of NOISES OFF at the Ahmanson with Dorothy Loudon and Victor Garber. Hilariously played!
Back to Shakespeare, I am a huge fan of the Canadian series, SLINGS AND ARROWS. Great backstage comedy in a Shakespeare company, but also some incredibly good work in the Bard's plays shown as well.
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
I loved all of the Tales of the City books, but I must say that for me the moment has passed.
One of these years I'm going to have to read those.
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Thanks so much, George!
(for the post a few pages back, that is)
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Will there be a movie (or TV movie) about Shirley Jones' life with all this juicy stuff in it?
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Loved the clip of Alice Playten!
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'night
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Loved the clip of Alice Playten!
Me, too! Talk about energy! :D
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Well, I'm off. I want to go to Costco and do a little shopping.
Be back later.
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That Poor Little Person clip is incredible!
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
I thought he was perfect, too. But, when I interviewed him and mentioned that I loved the movie, he got pissed and said he hated it; that it was a terrible film.
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Man, people are just so ignorant and stupid and yet they post in public and pontificate and just look like the idiots they are. Someone posted the video of Poor Little Person from Henry, Sweet Henry - it's a great number with perfect Michael Bennett choreography - why a choreographer who knows how to actually build a number - unlike today's choreographer hacks. Here's the number. And here is what the idiot posted, something along the lines of "That was painful. Terrible choreography and Playten (Alice Playten) is pitchy!" You watch and tell me all about the "terrible" choreography. As to pitchy, she may have been having trouble hearing the band in that noisy section of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyv67Peo4w&feature=share&list=PLv1NJ34PSuYxXHSluWZrKYflkidqHrsdC
Terrific number!
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Sorry, I am having a terrible time with my wifi tonight. I will keep trying to post.
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TOD: I don't know if it was the BEST Shakespeare production of Macbeth I've ever seen, but it was interesting. At the Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, CT. The set was a giant sheet. That was it. The sheet covered the entire stage, and it was pulled by wires and/or other mechanisms into all the various shapes required for the set pieces.
Saw some abomination called "Shogun Macbeth." The actors were apparently given some sort of expression to utter, especially during the battle scenes to give it some Asian authenticity. Sadly, the word sounded like "nyuck, nyuck" and more than a few people in the audience started laughing because it all just sounded like a Three Stooges routine. And because it didn't let up for the rest of the show, the laughter just grew and grew.
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Six! Wifi vibes for TCB!
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
I loved all of the Tales of the City books, but I must say that for me the moment has passed.
I would agree. Maupin's last few books seem more about regaining his audience than in doing what he wants to say or write.
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
I thought he was perfect, too. But, when I interviewed him and mentioned that I loved the movie, he got pissed and said he hated it; that it was a terrible film.
I don't think the director, Frank Capra, liked it much either.
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Man, people are just so ignorant and stupid and yet they post in public and pontificate and just look like the idiots they are. Someone posted the video of Poor Little Person from Henry, Sweet Henry - it's a great number with perfect Michael Bennett choreography - why a choreographer who knows how to actually build a number - unlike today's choreographer hacks. Here's the number. And here is what the idiot posted, something along the lines of "That was painful. Terrible choreography and Playten (Alice Playten) is pitchy!" You watch and tell me all about the "terrible" choreography. As to pitchy, she may have been having trouble hearing the band in that noisy section of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyv67Peo4w&feature=share&list=PLv1NJ34PSuYxXHSluWZrKYflkidqHrsdC
The person criticizing the talent in that clip knows nothing. I loved it, myself!
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
I thought he was perfect, too. But, when I interviewed him and mentioned that I loved the movie, he got pissed and said he hated it; that it was a terrible film.
I don't think the director, Frank Capra, liked it much either.
I think that the play is one of the all time great comedies; a timeless classic. I saw the revival in NY back in the 1980s with Jean Stapleton, Tony Roberts and, my client, Abe Vigoda.
Perhaps Grant and Capra's problem was that the play had to be toned down for the movie?
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
I thought he was perfect, too. But, when I interviewed him and mentioned that I loved the movie, he got pissed and said he hated it; that it was a terrible film.
I don't think the director, Frank Capra, liked it much either.
I think that the play is one of the all time great comedies; a timeless classic. I saw the revival in NY back in the 1980s with Jean Stapleton, Tony Roberts and, my client, Abe Vigoda.
Perhaps Grant and Capra's problem was that the play had to be toned down for the movie?
I seem to remember Capra saying something about that. And also, farce is hard. I think Grant's wonderful in the movie, but the pacing is almost too frantic or something about it seems to be trying too hard.
It's been years since I've seen it. Will have to get it from the library.
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TOD:
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE: (Classic Farce)
Why? Cary Grant is at his comedic best. Need I say more!
No ;)
I love this movie...but Cary Grant hated it.
Really? Why? I read this before I saw the movie and thought he was perfect.
I thought he was perfect, too. But, when I interviewed him and mentioned that I loved the movie, he got pissed and said he hated it; that it was a terrible film.
I don't think the director, Frank Capra, liked it much either.
I think that the play is one of the all time great comedies; a timeless classic. I saw the revival in NY back in the 1980s with Jean Stapleton, Tony Roberts and, my client, Abe Vigoda.
Perhaps Grant and Capra's problem was that the play had to be toned down for the movie?
I seem to remember Capra saying something about that. And also, farce is hard. I think Grant's wonderful in the movie, but the pacing is almost too frantic or something about it seems to be trying too hard.
It's been years since I've seen it. Will have to get it from the library.
Grant's double-take when he opens the window seat is the funniest double-take I have ever seen.
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They've held over "All Shook Up." Maybe I'll get to see it this weekend.
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Loved the lyrics, Fred.
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Loved the lyrics, Fred.
d
Me, too.
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Good night, all.
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George, have you seen LOVE, LOSS, & WHAT I WORE at OLT? Or are you planning to see it?
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TOD: When I was in seventh grade, I discovered Shakespeare and before the school year was out, I had read a half-dozen of his plays, including As You Like It and Macbeth. I later learned that summer that there was something called Shakespeare in the Park across town that was free, so I made my dad take us down there. That first season they did both of those plays and Measure for Measure.
It started a tradition that continued through high school and even after, whenever I came back to Louisville. When I was old enough to drive, I would go with friends and sometimes we would sit through the same production five or six times over the course of the two-week run of each show. It was a great educational experience, because you would get to see actors grow into their roles. The actor who played Hamlet one summer could barely get through the part on opening night. By the closing, he was much more assured.
I've seen plenty of Shakespeare in the park productions wherever I've lived. Often the shows are transformed into musicals with anything from rock to 1920s-style songs.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would be a production of Merry Wives of Windsor in Louisville one summer. On the last night (I had seen it four times already), the leading lady took ill and the director went on with a script in her hand, concealed behind a fan. Everything about the evening was magical.
As for the movies, I love the Soviet King Lear, Kurosawa's Ran, Twelfth Night, the Reinhardt version of "Midsummer's Night Dream," "10 Things I Hate About You," "West Side Story," "Scotland, Pa.," Zeffirelli's "Taming of the Shrew," "My Own Private Idaho," "Titus," Mazursky's "Tempest" and "Forbidden Planet."
Ah yes, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU. Filmed right here in Tacoma.
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OK, so who's going to read Shirley Jones' tell-all autobiography?
Read it? For God sakes, I made out with the woman. Okay, so maybe she kissed me. Once.
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
Oh! Thanks for telling us, I love the Tales of the City
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
I loved all of the Tales of the City books, but I must say that for me the moment has passed.
I'm willing to give it a go.
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BK, thanks so much for putting Samantha's song in the notes. It's beautiful. If I think about the book, it's touching, if I think about my niece, it feels like I'm singing her a lullaby. I sent her the link. Don't know if she'll stop back in. She's expecting her second baby in October and Dash is just a little over a year so she's got her hands full. She's always wanted to be a mom, so she's in her element and very happy.
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And she still says that Ginny is cute... :)
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Ok, I'm up way too late. I've been in a bit of a funk lately. I'm not getting much done at the office. I had to buy a new washer and dryer and today the tree man gave me an estimate on getting the huge limb down that broke off in the last storm and trimming everything else up. it has to be done. I have some old trees that could easily fall on the house. He's going to trim the limbs around my neighbors chimney while he's at it. Between these two expenses, not so sure the trip will happen this fall. But I'll just wait and see.
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I have pigeons on my fire escape at work for the first time. I don't see them on anyone else's fire escape. What is it with the animals wanting to be near me, lol
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I do think the tree man is expensive, but these are limbs that require them to climb way up in the tree, they can't get a cherry picker up there. Others will need the cherry picker, and he said he'll take out a couple stumps I have and trim all the rest of my trees for the same price. He'll also give me as much mulch as I want and even spread it for me. It's worth it. Much better than having a tree fall on the house and his crews are the best in the area
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Oh, and he'll clear out all the volunteer trees I haven't been able to get to.
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Armistead Maupin is publishing a new "Tales of the City" novel next year: The Days of Anna Madrigal.
I loved all of the Tales of the City books, but I must say that for me the moment has passed.
Thanks for this info, Larry. I love that series. I've read it many times including the two books he wrote after the series about Michael Tolliver and Mary Ann Singleton.
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Tonight I saw Bernadette Peters in concert with members of the SF Symphony. She gave a performance that was beyond my expectations. The only thing that kind of threw me for a loop was her second song was "No One is a Alone", interesting place to program that song. ANYWAY, she sang Sondheim, she sang Rodgers and Hammerstein, and she sang Fever while laying on the piano. She encored with "Move On" from "Sunday in the Park With George" which practically moved me to tears. She sang two songs from "Follies" which were just fantastic.
She also sipped water throughout the whole entire evening and moved her mic stand around a lot. I wouldn't have noticed if those things weren't mentioned in bk's notes recently!
The surprise of the evening came when she sang "Children Will Listen" - something I never thought she'd do. It was quite the treat. So, all I have to say is, please Bernadette, no more revivals, just sing the songs you love to sing for us.
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That's my life. One big exciting thing after another. Although I do have a cool idea that I'm toying with. My laundry room is very small, a hallway really. It has a wall that adjoins a big storage room in my garage. I thinking about seeing if someone can take down the wall, finish the whole room off and then put in some sort of heating system. I'd put in storage shelves and cabinets, but would also have it as a laundry room. It would really be great. The storage area would be much more accessible and clean and I could put in a table for folding laundry etc. I can't think that it would cost THAT much since all the structure is already there, although there is electric that may have to be moved....It would be really cool, though. I just don't know any good contractors here, so it scares me a bit to even get an estimate
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Better get to bed. I do have a lot to get done at work tomorrow
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George, have you seen LOVE, LOSS, & WHAT I WORE at OLT? Or are you planning to see it?
I hadn't planned on it...do you know someone in it?
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Well, since we're so close...
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PAGE SEVEN DANCE!!
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I'm watching the season premiere of the new half-hour version of "Who Do You Think You Are?" Kelly Clarkson is the first person this season. It sounds like Sam Champion doing the voice-over narration. Otherwise, they make it seem like she (and her mother at the beginning of the episode) are just doing all this research on their own.
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The show is still interesting. So, instead of two different people in a one-hour episode, they have one person in a half hour.
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Back from our final vocal session, which went very well. I had to get tough a couple of times to get the performance we needed, but it was all fine. I also did something I've never done in my twenty years of doing this - I felt Sandy just wasn't "getting" Bluesette, which is a very difficult song to do, but which has a point. For most it's just a jazz waltz they sing and I feel the song's point is frequently buried or lost. After about four takes, I kept stopping and telling her what she was doing that wasn't working and she just kept doing it, so I finally just played it for her and she heard it immediately. But I took a shortcut and I went into the room with her and stood there while she sang the song - I acted for her and gave her someone to sing to and something to sing about and it was like night and day - one take and we basically had it.
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There was some screwed up bullcrap with the cops going on where the studio is - in that area. Santa Monica Blvd. was a nightmare with cars literally at a standstill for miles. I finally turned onto a side street and drove north to Fountain, which was a huge mistake as that's where the problem probably was. There was a cop car blocking the street at Poinsettia (the street the studio is on), and it looked like they'd shut Fountain down all the way to Fairfax. It was madness. I turned onto Poinsettia and it took literally thirty minutes to go one damn block to the alley behind the studio. I was going berserk in the car thanks to my claustrophobia.
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And now to write some damn notes.