Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 1 => Topic started by: bk on March 13, 2004, 11:47:55 PM
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Well, you've read the notes, you've chewed on the notes, you've spat the notes out like old tobaccy, and now you're ready to post until the cows come home. To it, I say.
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Wow, I didn't mean to press post and yet I pressed post and now this fershluganah topic is posted before midnight for no reason other than I pushed post when I didn't mean to. The notes will be up in twelve minutes and then all will be right with the world. Until then, just pretend you don't see this.
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Oh, but see it I do! New posts before new notes... the universe is reeling with such chaos!!!
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I can't see anything. I will now check for today's column, Or is that tomorrow's column. Whatever.
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Saw CITY LIGHTS for the first time tonight. Don't know how I've missed it all these years. What a magnificent movie!So funny and so very sad.Charlie just breaks your heart. And the ending... I get teary just thinking about it.
Also caught up with THE PARALLAX VIEW. An interesting double bill. I'm too tired right now to write about it. Good night Tom, who seems to be the only denizen here
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Notes have been up since midnight and all is well with the world or, conversely, all is world with the well.
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Must confess I have not seen "City Lights". I love "Limelight" and "Modern Times". I must look out for this other classic of Chaplin.
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City Lights is the best of them all. It's trascendent. It's in a whole other class.
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Der Brucer and I are finally back from our jaunt to the big urban place. We enjoyed a triple bill of I Am My Own Wife, Our Dinner with Jenny, and Wonderful Town. I am far too tired to go into detail on this long but worthwhile day as yet. Later.
Oh, one bit of bad news: although we brought the camera, someone forgot to use it, even after I made sure he had it in his hands. :o So we have no photographic record of what Jenny, der Brucer and I look like together.
Clearly, this was simply a dress rehearsal, with that grevious error to be corrected later.
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BK, loved the interview! I've known Larry since the early 80s when he was conducting SUGAR BABIES, and he's been a friend for a long time. I was working for a defunct shop called THEATRE BOOKS on Broadway and 47th, and Larry would come in and hang out. He was the person who first introduced me to Harvey Schmidt while they were working on COLETTE, and that seems a whole other lifetime ago.
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Lovely and witty, but fortunately not a member of the high school elite, because she's better than that, Jenny:
Oh no, my Joe is not actually in hospital, he is in the so-called "medical unit" of the lockup, the big house, the hoosgow, the old klinkeroo, as a result of the Unpleasant Business reported on here for the last two years, a complete miscarriage of justice resulting from the incompetence of lawyers, the intransigence of the Hanging Judge, the apathy of bureaucrats, and primarily the Spite, yes pure Spite, of Evil People who would lie shamelessly under oath for no other motive but to harm another human being.
Not to sound bitter.
But I have led a charmed life, up to this point, because I have never really suffered at the hands of others, never been unjustly wronged, and I am the eternal optimist in our family. So this whole affair has done damage to my view of the human race as a whole, and I am recovering from all those negative emotions which, BK can tell you, invade your being when you are betrayed and wounded by those you thought you could trust.
But Joe should be returning in five, count'em, five days, and I am a rock (though no man is an island), and he is counting on me to counteract his own chronic pessimism with good thoughts.
I can do that in large part because of the warmth, humanity, and yes the enthusiasm for life, films, music, books, language, theatre, food and whatever, the pure gemütlichkeit and even downright silliness that I find every day in the posts (not to mention the notes) at this here web site. Ginchy. Downright ginchy.
Now for next time: You are delegated to remind DerBrucer to take some pictures.
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I agree that City Lights is such a brillaint film. I remember reading somewhere that there was a list of 10 greatest shots in movies. The final moment of City Lights is one of them. (Two of the others I remember being on the list are: Gone With the Wind's moment when she walks across the railyard looking for the doctor for Melanie and the camera pulls back with a crane shot and their are literally hundreds of wounded solidiers and then we see the torn confederate flag. The other one I remember being on the list in the Julie Andrews on top of the mountain at the begining of The Sound of Music. The camera on the helicopter moves in and she gives the famous twirl.)
What are your favorite shots/moments from a movie.
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Favorite short: Mary LaRue and the Dancing Dildos, she studied with Strasberg!
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That's favorite shot!
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I remeber when I was a child my family was visiting Toronto. There was a movie theater that specialize in showing silent movies. One afternoon they left me with my sister while they went to do something. We were left at the movie theater and they should Chaplin's The Circus (I believe this was the first time I saw him in a film of any kind) They also showed a classic National Film Board of Canada short called The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes. I think we watched both films three times and were upset when mothe arrived during the 4th showing of The Circus.
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National Film Board had many great film shorts. The Rise and Fall of the Great Lakes is a great one. (From IMDB: Both a documentary and a comedy. It features a man on a canoe tour of the Great Lakes while the geological time frame changes around him. He finds himself atop the great glacier, and then suddenly falling from the sky as it is removed. His canoe teeters from a cliff after the shoreline vanishes. He sips pure water from the lake as it suddenly changes to a modern polluted state.)
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I grew up in NYC. My dad, who was a great fan of Chaplin's, took me to see Limelight (his favorite), City Lights and Modern Times. When A King In New York was banned in the U.S., my dad, who hardly traveled, talked seriously about taking me to Toronto to see it with him. The trip never materialized, though years later I did of course wind up here.
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The National Film Board of Canada did many great short films and many were innovative for their time. Norman McLaren was a great film innovater and ahead of his time. One of the best was The Neighbours. An 8 minute short This film, shot in pixilation (a kind of stop-motion animation with actors), is about two neighbours who come to barbaric blows over a flowers that straddles the property liine. The film was nominated for 2 oscars winning one for best documentary short (it was also nominated for best short subject-one reel)
I looked it up and the National Film board produced over 3454 titles which including short subjects, animation, documentaries and motion pictures.
Another favorite is the animated The Cat Came Back. It was nomianted for an oscar but lost to what I belive was the first Pixar short
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A question of the day. Over the weekend I've enjoyed reading about HHW visits - DRs Jenny, Maya, S. Woody White and Der Brucer. Though I've established some wonderful friendships, I've yet to have a face-to-face meeting with someone I've met online. Any exceptional experiences - positive or negative?
(And TCB, you are of course invited to the next chicken paprikash dinner.)
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One of my favorite film shots: the rather extended opening shot of Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. (An unfairly undercelebrated film, in my humble opinion (IMHO in internet lingo.))
One of my favorite film shorts: Bambi Meets Godzilla. 'Nuff said.
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DR Robin Anderson,
How are you feeling?
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What are your favorite shots/moments from a movie.
A few of my favorite indelible shots:
•Martin Balsam falling down the stairs, arms akimbo, after being stabbed in Psycho. Less flashy, but every bit as effective as the shower sequence earlier in the film...and you know by looking into his face as he falls that he knew Mrs. Bate's secret.
•Looking up through the water at William Holden's floating corpse in Sunset Boulevard, as he's being fished out by the cops.
•Morris Ankrum being subjected to the Infinitely Indexed Memory Bank in Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers. The bright light shines down onto his noggin, exposing the brain underneath. Hey, I was eleven, and it freaked me out...
By the way, City Lights is far and away my favorite Chaplin film, and I was disappointed it wasn't included in the first wave of CC titles.
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Much as I love THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL, I think my most unforgettable film shot is the dead Shelly Winters sitting in the car in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER with her hair swirling in the current of the river.
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The Larry Blank interview was great (even though he didn't mention Studio Arena he did mention Bill Cox who got his start there). Larry doesn't look any older in the picture than he did when I knew him in the early to mid-70s. Is that an old picture or has he really not aged at all?
It's off to the vet in a little while for Phoebe's annual check-up. She loves the vet. Tonight, it's an all-star reading of BELL BOOK AND CANDLE (free!) with Dody Goodman, Charles Busch, Malcom Gets, Howard McGillin and Jonathan Freeman! Two of the five (Gets & Freeman) will also be in the off-Broadway revival of FINIAN'S RAINBOW which starts previews this week. The other two stars of that are Melissa Ericco and Max von Essen. Pardon me if I spelled any names wrong but I have to leave in a few minutes and didn't want to take the time to look them up.
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Well, CITY LIGHTS is certainly my favorite Chaplin, too, and it certainly has to rank among the great masterpieces of cinema. But, I love so many of his films that I'm tempted to just buy these boxed sets and to heck with the quality. We probably won't get them again in any better condition. The second set also contains the one Chaplin film I haven't seen - A WOMAN OF PARIS (though he's only got a cameo in it).
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Good morning. It's wonderfully foggy here. I'm about to take my morning walk and will not listen to music so I can enjoy the fog.
Dan-in-TO - You were lucky to have a father willing to take to you to TO to see a banned Chaplin film! Says so much about him and his relationship with you.
While we're talking about CITY LIGHTS -- I have a question/discussion topic for the DRs.
NOTE: SPOILER for those who haven't seen the film, so don't read on.
I've read a few articles about the film this morning. All of them assume that the Blind Girl accepts Charlie. I'd have to look at the ending again (my eyes were blurred with tears) - but it didn't seem like a slam dunk to me. To me, on that one blurry viewing, it looked like she was surprised and grateful, and filled with pity, but not that she would/could love him as a man. "I can see now" does not necessarily mean"Yes, and seeing you, I accept you and love you as before." The whole film is after all about reality and illusion. The Millionaire only loves Charlie when he's blind drunk. In the cold sober light of day, he shuns him. The police assume that Charlie stole the money, they can't see the truth. And so on....
This may be my Hungarian view of things. Perhaps there is a rosier interpretation. Perhaps the Little Tramp went to work in the flower shop and they got married and had babies that the Grandmother babysat and they all lived happily ever after. That would be lovely. What do you all think? (None of this, of course, makes one whit of difference in enjoying the film - which was SO good. I'm actually lucky in a way that I hadn't seen it before. It was like opening up a new and absolutely delightful gift.)
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For any of you who are fans of the TV show ANGEL and who were astonished when the WB announced its cancellation some weeks ago despite some of the network's best ratings, here is a website you can go to for information about efforts to save the show for another season.
And thanks to DR RLP for providing this information:
http://www.saveangel.org/index.php?story=103
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Probably my favorite shot is also from PSYCHO, but it's the camera turning and moving back from the eye of the dead Marian Crane, mirroring the swirtling of the blood down the drain. Pure genius in shot construction and execution.
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In response to Panni's question about CITY LIGHTS, I'd have to say that it's impossible to know what the girl's next move will be, and that's the beauty of the film. Will she or won't she? and Chaplin provides no easy answers. Just another aspect that makes it a masterpiece.
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I'm actually lucky in a way that I hadn't seen it before. It was like opening up a new and absolutely delightful gift.
Dear Reader Panni--
You subconsciously described the whole point of the film's ending with these words.
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DR Robin Anderson, How are you feeling?
Doin' just fine, and thank you for asking!
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Ooooh, ooooh!
Page 2!
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DEAR LURKER BRIAN CRANE:
we know you're out there, oh yes we do, taking note of all we post. For, you see, last week DR DerBrucer posted a little story with the line "How about giving a senior citizen a break here?" and what do I find when I open my Sunday paper? Why, the very same story in your comic strip Pickles® and also at your web site: http://www.comics.com/wash/pickles/
Delurk, you rascal, you, and give credit where credit is due.
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Three more glorious shots, all from Mr. Orson Welles' Citizen Kane:
--The sweeping shot of the roof-top signs that then descends through (!) the skylight to land on the broken Susan
--The remarkably efficient sequence of shots at the breakfast table that depicts the disintegration of the Kanes' marriage
--The shot that rises, rises, rises (that is three riseses) through the opera house flies as Susan makes her ill-fated operatic debut
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Good morning all!
I have to start with a request to DR DERBRUCER, I can't find that link you posted about what you can and can't take on the plane. I thought it was sometime this past week but I can't get my fingers on it. Would you please repost that? Or E-mail/PM it to me? Many thanks.
I have to run. I didn't get my dirt yesterday--there was a very young gal at the garden center who couldn't find the right code so I just left. I want to go someplace else today and hopefully get the flower bed done this afternoon. :)
Bruce, what program do you have to do your CD burning? I have Roxio Easy CD Creater 5.
Have a good day all!
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Very astute, DRJay.
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Ooops (Spoo) - I missed an entire page of posts in my response to Jay. I thought I would be the post right after his on the previous page - and was referring to his pointing out my "subconscious" summing up of the final shot of CITY LIGHTS.
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DRLaura-- You know Sugar is ALWAYS hre for you to pet. You can see her on Wednesday.
Jack, I STILL want to know why you might have trouble getting through the metal detector at the airport. I'll make it worth your while to let me know. ;>)
There are so many great shots in movies. Sometime I'd like to discuss favorite movie moments (whether or not the film itslef was good). But favorite moments. One day dramas perhaps, the next day comedy moments.
WFO--- Joe will be out in time for KRITZER TIME!
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SHOTS - No one has yet mentioned the series of incredible close-ups of Monty (remember, Jay, we're sharing) and Elizabeth Taylor in A PLACE IN THE SUN.
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Back from the Vet. Phoebe behaved beautifully. She got a clean bill of health except for the fact that she gained 11 pounds in the last year --- way too much for a dog her size. Some of it is "winter weight" since she could not get as much exercise, but we are going to cut down of the "people food" leftovers we give her as well.
Favorite shot? Has anyone mentioned the crane shot at the hospital in GONE WITH THE WIND?
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Lovely postings all on this Sunday morning.
Several of the shots listed are interesting as they are not quite what they seem. The Citizen Kane shot is not continuous as it appears, there's a dissolve in the middle of it (covered by lightning) as it goes from a miniature to the set. It's the conception that's brilliant. Same with the shot in Psycho, in which the camera doesn't turn at all. The turn was done optically and then the shot starts with the pull back. Again, the conception is nothing less than brilliant.
The City Lights moment is one of the most profound in all of cinema.
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I log on forty minutes after my last post and there is not ONE post made since.
Goodbye Cruel World.
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A question of the day. Over the weekend I've enjoyed reading about HHW visits - DRs Jenny, Maya, S. Woody White and Der Brucer. Though I've established some wonderful friendships, I've yet to have a face-to-face meeting with someone I've met online. Any exceptional experiences - positive or negative?
I had a very positive experience when I med Jay last year. :) I hope to see him again in May and meet more of the L.A. Kimlets.
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Tomovoz I like your no carb diet. I shall pass it along to my friends.
Fosca is also a cutie.
Robin Anderson I’m glad you are fine. I know someone who didn’t take care of himself after a concussion and has been having seizures.
Penny O left at nine this morning to head on home. It is another beautiful day for a drive.
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I had a very positive experience when I med Jay last year. :) I hope to see him again in May and meet more of the L.A. Kimlets.
The feeling is mutual, my Dear Jane!
I've had the honor of meeting in person, through this here site (the almost most popular site in all of internetdom) and through Dear BK's hospitality: Dear BK himself, Dear Reader Jane, Dear Reader Panni, Dear Reader Penny O, Dear Reader Jose, Dear Reader Laura, Dear Reader Sandra, Dear Reader Kerry, Dear Reader Music Guy (wherever he may be), Dear Reader Charles Pogue and his lovely wife, Dear Reader Noel, Dear Reader Joy (wherever she may be), Dear Reader S. Woody White and Dear Reader der Brucer.
The interesting thing about meeting these people in the flesh for the first time is that you already know them--in some cases quite well--by way of their cherce postings here. So there's a degree of familiarity that is at odds with the apparent situation of meeting someone for the first time. Some of the HHW folks I've met are, in the flesh, just how they come across on the site. Some are quite different. Regardless, it's a great experience and I recommend it to all.
I've truly enjoyed meeting each and every Dear Reader that I have, and look forward to future Hainsie/Kimlet encounters!
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KRITZER report: My daughter, who is in Hungary and Switzerland right now - not at the same time, of course - just phoned me to say hello and to tell me that she had finished BENJAMIN KRITZER on the all-night train trip from Budapest to Zurich. She loved the book and was surprised and touched that it was bittersweet.
She is looking forward to reading the rest of the Kritzer saga.
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When I first met DR Jay, I threw my arms around him. Such was the connection I felt through his posts alone. We also attended the same college and since our school lacked a secret handshake, I thought a hug would have to do.
My best relationship that started on-line began roughly seven years ago. A young actress in Washington (DC) had some questions about the theatre biz. Based on my chat room know-it-all-ness in the old AOL Playbill chat, she thought I'd be a good guy to e-mail and query. This led to a lot of letters back and forth, and, like the characters in She Loves Me, the closeness increased.
Or, to reference a musical I like even better, the feelings in e-mail, instant messaging and phone calls was a whole lot like the love in The Most Happy Fella. So happy was I that she planned a trip to my little vineyard on Broadway. So nervous was she that she sent a headshot that didn't look a thing like her (this was long before my computer could receive photographs). On June 3, I was teaching a song improv class (as I often am), and she arrived at my door precisesly at the time I had to leave to teach the class. So, we kissed, went down to 72nd street, and didn't resume our conversation until after the class. (She looked even better than the headshot, by the way.)
That conversation never ceased. When she went back home to Washington, we had a commuter relationship for a while, and then she made the big move to New York. Eventually, she moved in, and, well, last fall there was an original musical premiering at a theatre in the Village. If you want to know more, I suggest you get the CD. It's available at www.weddingmusical.com
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Oh my God, I’m reading about the coffee houses in Prague, Budapest & Vienna and the pastries served in these coffee houses. They sound so scrumptious I am in physical pain for the want of them. I will have to loose enough weight before our trip so I can indulge and still have my clothes fit.
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William, I'm so sorry about Joe's situation. At least he's going home soon.
A question of the day. Over the weekend I've enjoyed reading about HHW visits - DRs Jenny, Maya, S. Woody White and Der Brucer. Though I've established some wonderful friendships, I've yet to have a face-to-face meeting with someone I've met online. Any exceptional experiences - positive or negative?
Though I don't have any extreme stories about meeting HHW members, two young people from Sondheim.com had a screaming fight in my basement once at four AM. It was strange. Then I had to deal with three crying Sondheim.com members (One was not involved in the situation in any way, so I'm not sure why he was crying) at once, all the while trying not to wake my parents, who would not have found the situation particularly amusing.
Oh, one bit of bad news: although we brought the camera, someone forgot to use it, even after I made sure he had it in his hands. :o So we have no photographic record of what Jenny, der Brucer and I look like together.
Oh no! And I looked so purty yesterday! ;)
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Re: Shots. There was one, after a softball tournament in San Diego, where an opposing team bought the team I was with shots of cinnamon schnapps...
In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, there's that remarkable shot where Butch and the Kid look up from the train they've blown up while robbing, to see this other train coming towards them. The camera begins to track closer and closer to this car on the other train, and then, just as the side of the car fills the entire frame, the side of the car slams down BANG and the camera recoils as the horses carrying the Posse leap out of the car and over the camera.
And there's that entire opening sequence in The Player, following first one person and then another, as story ideas are pitched, each one absurdly involving the casting of Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts, while other people are discussing historic long shots in other films. And this whole shot, which lasts something like eight minutes, is indeed ONE SHOT!
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Jenny, what a story. :o Do you still see these people?
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There isn't anyone from this site who has not proven to be wonderful when I've met them in person. That is one of the hallmarks of HHW: that people who are charming when they are at their keyboards are, in person, just as charming in real life. Some things really cannot be faked.
But that's generally true, that nice people on-line will prove to be nice people off-line. On one occasion, Der Brucer and I had a wonderful lunch with a young woman I had met on-line at a foodie site, one whom he had had no contact with before, and they got along smashingly. Another time, we met Mr. Bakalor when he was appearing in Into the Woods in San Jose.
But when someone is by nature acidic when they type, the odds are they will be very nice in person...on the surface. I've had this happen several times. Once, der Brucer and I went to a cabaret performance at the Cinegrill (not the one that BK recorded with Jason Graae, that came later), where we met some of the people from another theater site. The leader of that pack could become very snide when his ego got in the way, although he thought of himself as being absolutely charming. And he was, indeed, charming in person...to those present. About those not present, he was quite catty. He was even catty and dismissive about our BK, who I did not yet know, but there was something in his tone that led to my dropping away from his site shortly after that face-to-face.
On another occasion, a group from yet another site filled a very large table at a restaurant in West Hollywood. The leader of that group, when he finally arrived (late and flamboyant about it, as if he'd studied Quentin Crisp), was someone with whom I had not been getting along. As he introduced himself to the rest of us and realized who I was, his face basically froze, teeth bared and clenched. Later, back at the site, he took elements of conversation der Brucer had been part of and attributed them to me, as if we are one and the same person. That wouldn't have been so bad, but he then proceeded to attack the the remarks and the person who had made them...which to his way of thinking, since we were the same person, meant attacking yours truly, for things I had not said at all.
Fortunately, the good eggs far outnumber the bad ones. If only the bad ones didn't sour the stomach so!
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Jenny, what a story. :o Do you still see these people?
Yes, but I'm sad to say that they don't see one another anymore. They were very close friends over the internet and telephone, but as soon as they met, they're entire relationship was ruined. It's very sad, actually.
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Had a wonderful day yesterday seeing CHICAGO and meeting Mr. Tom Wopat! The show was fun and had some great performances..particularly Velma (Reva Rice) and Roxie (Bianca Marroquin)! Carol Woods, who played Matron Mama Morton has a beautiful voice. My seat (which cost a fortune) was not too good..next time I will make sure to buy my ticket on the first day!! Prior to the show I walked down to the Subway Sandwich place and stood in line. In front of me were a cast member and a crew member from Chicago. They were both very nice and told me that they hoped I would enjoy the show.
After the show I had Tom Wopat sign the CD insert from his CD which I had brought with me. We chatted about his upcoming CD which I am very excited about hearing. It will be songs by Harold Arlen and I think he said it would be out in October. Mr. Wopat is still quite handsome and in very good shape. Seems to me he had gotten a bit portly when he was on the show CYBIL, but he has gotten himself in fine condition now! If you have not had a chance to hear his CD titled THE STIL OF THE NIGHT, I highly recommend it. Beautiful songs and many old standards.
After the show I decided to go to the Northwest Film Center and catch a movie. All this month and part of April they are having a Yasujiro Ozu film festival. They are showing a whole slew of his films from the 1930s through the early 1960s. Last night I saw his 1936 film THE ONLY SON. It was quite good, but a bit depressing. Not a happy movie. The lead actress (who played the aging mom) was outstanding and the music was beautiful.
I only found out about the film festival on Friday so I have already missed out on a couple of the films that they have shown including TOKYO STORY which I really wanted to see. If anyone has any recommendations of his films please let me know as I plan on seeing a few more. I will definately see his 1961 film THE END OF SUMMER as it has several of the actors who appeared in my favorite Godzilla films!
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PS: JRand53, I hope you are feeling better today!
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I have to admit that I've never seen (or can remember seeing all the way through) a Charlie Chaplin movie. I'm certainly aware of him and his movies and certainly his importance to the movies, but I don't think I've ever sat all the way through one. I will definitely have to rectify that situation (or I'm sure that I will be given a stern talking to).
I have yet to meet fellow HHWers in person, but if when the HHW Pacific Northwest Contingent have our get-together, I'll attend and finally be able to meet you all!
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Mr. Tom Wopat's signature!
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IMHO - A REVIEW
I AM MY OWN WIFE
In the words of the playwright, Doug Wright, “…a one women show performed by a man.”
“Like Tony Kushner, (Doug Wright) has found a way to use his gay identity as a universal criticism of life.”
Robert Brustein, The New Republic
“But I need to believe in her stories as much as she does! I need to believe that – a long time ago, in an attic – a generous aunt handed her confused nephew a book and a blessing. That a little boy – in his mother’s housecoat – survived storm troopers. That Luthar Berfelde navigated a path between the two most repressive regimes the Western world has ever know – the Nazis and the Communists – in a pair of heels”
Act II “Abdication”
In the published preface, the playwright reminisces about an exchange with an artistic director of a writer’s retreat:
“I just can’t do it, Robert,” I moaned. “I can’t write this play. My subject exceeds me.”
Robert exploded: “You’re right, “ he cried. “You have absolutely no authority – moral or academic – to write about twentieth century Europe. No credibility whatsoever!…You’re an authority on one subject alone: your on going obsession with a remarkable character….Your passion for her, your disillusionment – it has all the makings of a romance, “ he continued. “Whatever you do, don’t write a play about history. Write a play about you love affair with Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. If you’re lucky, the requisite history will take care of itself.”
*****
This play is an exemplar of what is unique and precious about live theatre - the necessity of human presence, both on stage and in seats. This work would poorly translate to film –even a filmed version of the play would be too “cool”. It will get limited exposure in regional venues because of the nature of the material and the need for an exceptional star to carry the entire burden of the performance. Woody thinks the best hope for preservation lies in an audio recording (are you listening Bruce “Coppenhagen” Kimmel?)
Jenny remarked that the audience with whom we saw the play seemed much more receptive than the one with whom she had shared a preview performance – our audience seemed to laugh more – even though there were few “joke lines”. In retrospect, much of the laughter came not from the wit of the lines, but personal memories the lines evoked in the listener. Jenny even noticed that the laughter seem somewhat delayed from the time of delivery. I suspect our audience had more receptive listeners (read: older gay men) than did the previews. Woody disagrees, he thinks this performance had more out-of-towners attending, more open to the play’s ironies.
der Brucer (putting firmly on the record that the choice of play was all Jenny’s – the gay uncles exerted no influence whatsoever!)
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The leader of that pack could become very snide when his ego got in the way, although he thought of himself as being absolutely charming. And he was, indeed, charming in person...to those present. About those not present, he was quite catty.
Years ago I worked on a puzzle book. One of the hardest things was coming up with trite yet meaningful quotations for the cryptograms. We had one contributor who was excellent at these, and I've often been reminded about the truth in one of his contributions:
c l
j c f
h t l m q h
b w w
z f
x f i
j b ww
h t l m q
b w w
f o
x f i
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M Barnum,
I saw Chicago in Toronto. I saw the same Roxie, and thought she was superb. Gregory Harrison was Billy, and he was not too shabby either. Thanks for sharing the autograph.
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Jay asked, yesterday
And where, Dear Reader Noel, has your Dear Wife Dear Reader Joy been hiding? We haven't seen posts from her in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long.
A change in DW Joy's life which has certainly been a change for the better, has collateral damage: i.,e., less time to post here.
In 2003, DW Joy worked full time for a law firm. As there'd be no time to take acting gigs during the year of Our Wedding - The Musical ( www.WeddingMusical.com (http://www.WeddingMusical.com) ), she spent most of the year chained to a desk. Now and then, they didn't have a lot of work for her, and it was during those times she could come to HainesHisWay and post to her heart's content.
2004 has been filled with auditions, dance classes, being asked to be in new plays and recordings, and also, now and then, time spent at the same law firm, to pay the bills. The law firm realizes that DW Joy is the best worker they've ever had, and they're very lucky to have her, on a temp basis, whenever they have her. So, they make sure her plate is full, and that she's toiling away for them, whenever she's there. As a result, she's no time to visit this here site.
It's not for not wanting to. It's just the circumstance of the law firm realizing that, whenever they have her, they have the best employee they've ever had, and should make so much use of her she can't surf the 'net.
I have another word origin question: As a punishment, school kids are made to stay after school. This is called "detention" ... was the word (and punishment) in use in the early 1950's?
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DEAR LURKER BRIAN CRANE:
we know you're out there, oh yes we do, taking note of all we post. For, you see, last week DR DerBrucer posted a little story with the line "How about giving a senior citizen a break here?" and what do I find when I open my Sunday paper? Why, the very same story in your comic strip Pickles® and also at your web site: http://www.comics.com/wash/pickles/
Delurk, you rascal, you, and give credit where credit is due.
ooops! I thought it obvious my post was a "lift". I gave no attribution because if was sent uncredited to me in an EMail - I suspect you DT WEO (DT=Dear Dectective) has unearthed the source.
der repentant Brucer
Who made me the genius I am today,
The poster that others all quote,
Who's the professor that made me that way?
The greatest that ever got chalk on his coat.
One man deserves the credit,
One man deserves the blame,
And Nicolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky is his name.
Hi!
Nicolai Ivanovich Lobach-
I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky.
In one word he told me secret of success in posting:
Plagiarize!
Plagiarize,
Let no one else's work evade your eyes,
Remember why the good Lord made your eyes,
So don't shade your eyes,
But plagiarize, plagiarize, plagiarize -
Only be sure always to call it please 'research'.
with apologies to Tom Lehrer
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Good morning all!
I have to start with a request to DR DERBRUCER, I can't find that link you posted about what you can and can't take on the plane. I thought it was sometime this past week but I can't get my fingers on it. Would you please repost that?
Of course, dear lady:
Yesses and NoNos (http://www.tsa.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/tsa_ppitems.pdf)
der Brucer (or ded DR Damnse want me to post the extract from the Acrobat file?)
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I suspect our audience had more receptive listeners (read: older gay men) than did the previews. Woody disagrees, he thinks this performance had more out-of-towners attending, more open to the play’s ironies.
Actually, our audience was significantly younger than the preview audience! While there was an eclectic mix of ages and genders at yesterday's matinee, when I saw "I Am My Own Wife" in previews, the audience consisted mainly of women (Lesbians, mostly, as I learned while eaves-dropping in the ladies room) in their 50s or 60s. After I considered it further, I do think that Jefferson Mays is performing the role slightly differently now. His performance was far more subtle in previews, allowing both the humor and the sadness to be expressed by his face alone, while now he incorporates more variation vocally. Though I found the play to be far more moving in previews, I found yesterday's performance to be more engaging and enjoyable. I also noticed that the play is significantly shorter now, meaning either that Mays has increased his rate of speech substantially or that some material was cut.
Doug Wright wrote a letter to the New York Times (printed in today's Arts & Leisure section) about homophobic subtext in "The Passion". I found it interesting and rude that the Times did not include a "Mr. Wright is the author of Broadway's 'I Am My Own Wife'" after his signature, because that would have offered some perspective on his argument about how homosexuality ought to be presented in art.
How was "Wonderful Town"?
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I've enjoyed meeting all the lovely dear readers I've had the pleasure of meeting, and I hope to meet some of our new East Coasters when I'm next back.
Just had a lovely chat with our very own Mr. Brent Barrett - he's coming out here in April and we'll be supping somewhere snazzy.
I spent two hours in my storage facility this morning, trying to unearth the originial mix of the Guy Haines CD, so I'd have the track we didn't use, but sadly unless it's hiding in some box I didn't get to, it wasn't there. I suppose it could be on a mis-labeled or unlabeled CD, but I found two or three mix CDs of it and the song wasn't on any of them. I should have probably taken them home to check, but we're really good about labeling things. I did take home about twenty unlabeled CDrs, so maybe it's on one of those. But, I finally took home all my file copies of my CDs (I had most of them at home, but not all), and while looking through things I also found some pretty amusing stuff, like a demo CD and video from Avenue Q, which was sent to me in early 2000, and which I don't think I ever got around to listening to. I also found some CDs that I've been looking high and low and also low and high for, like my beautiful CD of the flop La Strada.
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My daughter, who is in Hungary and Switzerland right now -
(http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/05/50/71m.jpg)
Left foot- Switzerland, right foot - Hungary!
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I have been reading excerpts from Sir John Gielgud's letters in the London Daily Telegraph. Very entertaining. I must get a copy of the book coming out at the end of March.
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Doug Wright wrote a letter to the New York Times (printed in today's Arts & Leisure section) about homophobic subtext in "The Passion". I found it interesting and rude that the Times did not include a "Mr. Wright is the author of Broadway's 'I Am My Own Wife'" after his signature, because that would have offered some perspective on his argument about how homosexuality ought to be presented in art.
There's homophobic subtext all over that misbegotten movie; King Herod and his coterie are portrayed as mincing, crossdressing sissies; Satan is played by a woman with a dubbed-in man's voice. If there are sure ways to make a fundamentalist audience respond favorably, portray homosexuals as unsavory stereotypes, and blur gender lines...it gets them every time.
Not only is there anti-gay subtext all over this movie, it's fetishistic focussing on Christ's torture and suffering is so over-the-top (and unbelievable!) that I found myself becoming desensitized to His suffering.
And exactly how many times did Christ fall in s-l-o-w m--o--t--i--o--n? I lost count. And that overblown score? Gimme a break...!
I know this movie is getting rave reviews all over the place, but they're obviously watching it with a very different perspective from my own. I thought it was reprehensible.
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Did I just go off on a rant there? I'd intended that post to be two sentences, tops...
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Good afternoon all!
Just got back from shopping. And I've been trying to catch up on today's posts.
Hope everyone is having a good Sunday.
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The only HHW denizen I've met face to face is DR Ann, but I'd known her for 8 years or so before HHW's inception. I do very much look forward to meeting as many of you as possible! Just gotta get to where I can afford some travel to where all y'all are. I think the oft-talked-about-but-stuck-in-"neat-idea"-stage NW HHW meeting in Portland would be a grand start! I think we've got 7 of us active posters in WA and OR. Of course, when I move to the Puget Sound area this summer, I'll be joining TCB as the greatest father/son theatre team the region's ever seen, so there's a guaranteed future meeting! :D
But Joe should be returning in five, count'em, five days
Oh, what a celebration we shall have then! Pointy party hats and brightly-colored pantaloons like nobody's business!!!
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I have another word origin question: As a punishment, school kids are made to stay after school. This is called "detention" ... was the word (and punishment) in use in the early 1950's?
You betcha. Red Rider!
Been there. seen that, done that - in der early fifties!
Here is an extract from an Article about English Boarding school (http://www.mcjs.co.uk/schoolhistory.htm)in the 1920's:
And for those who were caught...
Detention was given in multiples of a quarter of an hour, mainly for so-called idleness and misbehaviour in class. It consisted of copying out from a book, usually a history book, for the given time. At least there was no need for a boy to write fast. All awards of detention were read out by Mr Easterfield in Assembly at the end of the morning. If he found that a boy had so much detention that it amounted to two hours or more, he said "Come to the study", the boy then had it 'whacked off'. A boy could also go himself and ask to 'have two hours whacked off'. This was a merit in Mr Easterfield's eyes: he liked a boy who showed spunk.
My Own Trumpet; A F Lace
der Brucer (leaving it to TCB to comment on "whacked off"!)
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I can't believe it DRs - I was reading a script that I was asked to read and respond to as a favor -- and I fell asleep. For an entire hour! That's a good working hour wasted. Even though it's Sunday. Writers have no Sundays. Okay, once in a while. And if I really wanted to waste time, but waste it well, I should have gone outside. The fog is gone (no remarks about my mind, please) and it's beautiful. The fog was beautiful, too. I walked in it early-ish this morn.
Now i'm hungry and will spend more time eating.
Then back to readin, writin' and (one of the few blessings of being all grown up) NO 'rithmetic.
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There's homophobic subtext all over that misbegotten movie; King Herod and his coterie are portrayed as mincing, crossdressing sissies; Satan is played by a woman with a dubbed-in man's voice. If there are sure ways to make a fundamentalist audience respond favorably, portray homosexuals as unsavory stereotypes, and blur gender lines...it gets them every time.
Not only is there anti-gay subtext all over this movie, it's fetishistic focussing on Christ's torture and suffering is so over-the-top (and unbelievable!) that I found myself becoming desensitized to His suffering.
And exactly how many times did Christ fall in s-l-o-w m--o--t--i--o--n? I lost count. And that overblown score? Gimme a break...!
I know this movie is getting rave reviews all over the place, but they're obviously watching it with a very different perspective from my own. I thought it was reprehensible.
I don't think there is any force on earth that could persuade me to sit through this film, and DR Robin's comments only solidify my resolve to avoid it like the plague.
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Actually, our audience was significantly younger than the preview audience! While there was an eclectic mix of ages and genders at yesterday's matinee, when I saw "I Am My Own Wife" in previews, the audience consisted mainly of women (Lesbians, mostly, as I learned while eaves-dropping in the ladies room) in their 50s or 60s. After I considered it further, I do think that Jefferson Mays is performing the role slightly differently now. His performance was far more subtle in previews, allowing both the humor and the sadness to be expressed by his face alone, while now he incorporates more variation vocally. Though I found the play to be far more moving in previews, I found yesterday's performance to be more engaging and enjoyable. I also noticed that the play is significantly shorter now, meaning either that Mays has increased his rate of speech substantially or that some material was cut.
Now I ask you, could any of those way cool cliquish teenagers who were snubbing our DR Jenny last week even hope to write an insightful paragraph like that? Not that they would have had any desire to attend the performance in the first place.
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And I've been meaning for two days to say,,,
Do feel better, Jrand 53! Good health vibes to you!
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before HHW's inception.
Maybe we need an annual celebration:
"The Feast of the Non-maculate Inception Of Guy Haines"
der Brucer (who'll bring the ham hunks?)
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I agree with WFO above. And I hope, Jenny, that you got a chance to read director John Hirsch's remarks about feeling "the outsider" - posted by me yesterday evening. His remarks about theatre ain't too shabby either.
(Mind you, (that's a general "you") no one responded with comments . Sigh. And I didn't just paste the remarks from a website. No sir. I typed them out with my own little hands... over a hot computer... Not that anyone should feel pressured to read them. Just thought I'd mention it Oh, I have to go and change the bandages on my injured hands.)
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Now I ask you, could any of those way cool cliquish teenagers who were snubbing our DR Jenny last week even hope to write an insightful paragraph like that?
And, mirable dictu - no errors!
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Then back to readin, writin' and (one of the few blessings of being all grown up) NO 'rithmetic.
Something picked up from your Gabor kin - no balancing of check book!
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Panni, I did indeed read Hirsch's remarks and found them very interesting. Thank you for sharing.
Now I ask you, could any of those way cool cliquish teenagers who were snubbing our DR Jenny last week even hope to write an insightful paragraph like that?
:)
And, mirable dictu - no errors!
That's so unlike me!
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I also am looking forward to a NW HHW dear readers get together! I look very forward to meeting TCB, Jed, George, Jane, JMK, and Ann (am I leaving someone out? Seems like there are a couple more around the Pacific Northwest). And of course my wish would be for JRand53 to fly in for the partay!
Maybe this summer! Maybe there will be a really good play or movie to go to...or just dinner and a walk around downtown Portland?
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Something picked up from your Gabor kin - no balancing of check book!
That's what overdraft protection is for, D.B..
(Just kidding. I'm actually pretty good at basic math. Something they used to teach at school in the good old days. All the most important math I know and use daily, I learned in Grade 6 from Miss Bessie Breckenridge.)
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I know this movie is getting rave reviews all over the place, but they're obviously watching it with a very different perspective from my own. I thought it was reprehensible.
And you are not alone in your disgust:
FromAndrew Sullivan (http://www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/2004_02_22_dish_archive.html) :
WARNING: EXTRACT CONTAINS VERY GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF VIOLENCE
PURE PORNOGRAPHY: At the same time, the movie was to me deeply disturbing. In a word, it is pornography. By pornography, I mean the reduction of all human thought and feeling and personhood to mere flesh. The center-piece of the movie is an absolutely disgusting and despicable piece of sadism that has no real basis in any of the Gospels. It shows a man being flayed alive - slowly, methodically and with increasing savagery. We first of all witness the use of sticks, then whips, then multiple whips with barbed glass or metal. We see flesh being torn out of a man's body. Just so that we can appreciate the pain, we see the whip first tear chunks out of a wooden table. Then we see pieces of human skin flying through the air. We see Jesus come back for more. We see blood spattering on the torturers' faces. We see muscled thugs exhausted from shredding every inch of this man's body. And then they turn him over and do it all again. It goes on for ever. And then we see his mother wiping up masses and masses of blood. It is an absolutely unforgivable, vile, disgusting scene. No human being could sruvive it. Yet for Gibson, it is the h'ors d'oeuvre for his porn movie. The whole movie is some kind of sick combination of the theology of Opus Dei and the film-making of Quentin Tarantino. There is nothing in the Gospels that indicates this level of extreme, endless savagery and there is no theological reason for it. It doesn't even evoke emotion in the audience. It is designed to prompt the crudest human pity and emotional blackmail - which it obviously does. But then it seems to me designed to evoke a sick kind of fascination. Of over two hours, about half the movie is simple wordless sadism on a level and with a relentlessness that I have never witnessed in a movie before. And you have to ask yourself: why? The suffering of Christ is bad and gruesome enough without exaggerating it to this insane degree. Theologically, the point is not that Jesus suffered more than any human being ever has on a physical level. It is that his suffering was profound and voluntary and the culmination of a life and a teaching that Gibson essentially omits. One more example. Toward the end, unsatisfied with showing a man flayed alive, nailed gruesomely to a cross, one eye shut from being smashed in, blood covering his entire body, Gibson has a large crow perch on the neighboring cross and peck another man's eyes out. Why? Because the porn needed yet another money shot.
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That's what overdraft protection is for, D.B..
I thought overdraft protection is what a coaster provided to a beer glass.
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While we're talking about CITY LIGHTS -- I have a question/discussion topic for the DRs.
NOTE: SPOILER for those who haven't seen the film, so don't read on.
I've read a few articles about the film this morning. All of them assume that the Blind Girl accepts Charlie. I'd have to look at the ending again (my eyes were blurred with tears) - but it didn't seem like a slam dunk to me. To me, on that one blurry viewing, it looked like she was surprised and grateful, and filled with pity, but not that she would/could love him as a man. "I can see now" does not necessarily mean"Yes, and seeing you, I accept you and love you as before." The whole film is after all about reality and illusion. The Millionaire only loves Charlie when he's blind drunk. In the cold sober light of day, he shuns him. The police assume that Charlie stole the money, they can't see the truth. And so on....
This may be my Hungarian view of things. Perhaps there is a rosier interpretation. Perhaps the Little Tramp went to work in the flower shop and they got married and had babies that the Grandmother babysat and they all lived happily ever after. That would be lovely. What do you all think? (None of this, of course, makes one whit of difference in enjoying the film - which was SO good. I'm actually lucky in a way that I hadn't seen it before. It was like opening up a new and absolutely delightful gift.)
Funny, but mabye it is Canadian in me. But I never forsaw a happy ending for City Lights. I think that after that moment the tramp will walk away and never see the girl again. The image to me says. I am glad you can see and that you don't have to worry about me. I will be all right
(http://www.angelfire.com/film/Chaplin/filmpics/city26.jpg)
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I also remember seeing on PBS maybe about 20 or so years ago a 3 part documentary by Kevin Brownlo called the Unknown Chaplin. One part of the documentary dealt with his struggle over City Lights. As far as I know they have not been released on DVD and they really should. An interesting look at times of the film making process through the eye of Chaplin. Recommend it highly!!!
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I have a question for those in the know about the latest production lingo.... Just finished reading a book review written by Richard Schickel in the LA Times. In his little bio it states that Schickel is at the moment producing a "reconstruction" of Sam Fuller's THE BIG RED ONE for Warner Bros.
So - I'm not sure what is meant by "reconstruction"... Is the movie being re-edited to include lost footage? Is it being remade shot by shot like the misguided remake of PSYCHO? Or have they just found another word for "remake"...?
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Funny, but mabye it is Canadian in me.
No, the Canadian in you would ask if there's provincial sales tax on the flower.
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And you are not alone in your disgust
Never let it be said I don't give credit where it's due; but Mr. Sullivan wrote it better than I ever could...and I rarely agree with him on anything. But we're on the same page here...
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I have a question for those in the know about the latest production lingo.... Just finished reading a book review written by Richard Schickel in the LA Times. In his little bio it states that Schickel is at the moment producing a "reconstruction" of Sam Fuller's THE BIG RED ONE for Warner Bros.
So - I'm not sure what is meant by "reconstruction"... Is the movie being re-edited to include lost footage? Is it being remade shot by shot like the misguided remake of PSYCHO? Or have they just found another word for "remake"...?
Ah The Big Red One! Never saw it. But wasn't one of Lee Marvin's last films? Maybe he didn't have the final edit and he wanted it cut a certain way.
But my guess that the "reconstruction" could be something in way that TOUCH OF EVIL was re-edited to the specifications that Orson Welles wrote down, but were not followed by the studio.
OR
Something like Lost Horizon or Garland's verison of A Star is Born where they had to use still photos, alternate takes and less the optimal quality to restore the film as it was originally edited and released to the theaters
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It's also worth noting than none of the vicious homophobia in The Passion of the Christ is in the Scriptures. That's purely the responsibility of Mr. Mel Gibson.
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It will be interesting to see what happens to The Passion at Oscar time. I saw Mel being interviewed somewhere (Diane Sawyer, perhaps) and when the interviewer suggested upcoming Oscar noms, Mel positively smirked and said something like, "Don't bet on it."
In other words it's a no-lose situation for him. If he gets nominated he is vindicated, if not (or if he loses) it's because everyone in Hollywood (which we all know is run by the Jews) is out to get him.
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Thank you, DR Michael Shayne!
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I modified my original post so now you can modify your last one.
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I know this movie is getting rave reviews all over the place,
Actually, I didn't know this. What rave reviews has The Passion of Christ received?
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Whew! Thanks for the good wishes from MBARNUM & PANNI. I am feeling better, but it's hard to get rest during TECH HELL! But we open on Thursday, and then it belongs to the ages! :P
DRSWW....que esta But Cassidy?
Yes, DRRobin The Unearthly is correct. Allison, John Carradine, Tor, AND Sally Todd - whew did we even need Myron Healey? ;) Of course DR Robin AND DRTD and Mr BK and I think DR CHARLES POGUE are all featured or quoted or written about in issue number 50 of Scarlet Street. I was left on the cutting room floor...AGAIN. You know, even the most tenacious of us gets discouraged now and then. :'(
Mr Bruce Kimmel is an evil person, yes he is....he is diabolical! He is Damian...he is Beelzebub!! Why do I say this, you may ask? Why do I write this here at Mr BK's OWN site?
Because he produced and sang on what must be the most damn near perfect CD I have ever heard.....and I want all my friends to have it....and it's no longer in print! Not a slag song on the disk...new favorites old favorites and favorites I thought were forever MIA.
I know it is a long time coming, and I know it is coming late, and I am late coming to it. But MR BK - the Guy Haines CD will NOT leave my player for a LONG time! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
OH Dr EVIL KURT opens in The King and I this week, if anyone would like to see the picture from the newspaper, I will post it!
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Actually, I didn't know this. What rave reviews has The Passion of Christ received?
Well, the Pope, for one!
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Well, the Pope, for one!
Joel Seigal on Good Morning America praised it. Not sure if it can be considered a rave. On the flip side a reviewer on NPR slammed it. Two polar opposite reviews.
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[quote author=JRand53
Mr Bruce Kimmel is an evil person, yes he is....he is diabolical! He is Damian...he is Beelzebub!! Why do I say this, you may ask? Why do I write this here at Mr BK's OWN site?
Because he produced and sang on what must be the most damn near perfect CD I have ever heard.....and I want all my friends to have it....and it's no longer in print! Not a slag song on the disk...new favorites old favorites and favorites I thought were forever MIA.
BK sings! I am astonished, shocked and amazed. Has he been taking lessons from his friend Guy? Next thing you know BK will be playing tennis.
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I know we rarely discuss politics here, but I thought these letters from the Washington Post were interesting and, in my mind, on the money.
The first letter, especially, comes from an interesting source:
The Bush Ads: Exploitative or Traditional?
Monday, March 8, 2004; Page A18
Though I wasn't surprised, it was nevertheless with profound sadness that I read that President Bush's reelection TV ads feature images of the destruction and devastation of the World Trade Center ["Bush Ads Using 9/11 Images Stir Anger," front page, March 5].
For months, I was a volunteer at Ground Zero, where I bore witness to the selflessness of the firefighters, uniformed officers and recovery and construction workers who labored tirelessly around the clock. Their steadfastness and resolve reassured New Yorkers and indeed the nation during a time of national crisis.
What happened in the aftermath of Sept. 11 was an extraordinary labor of love. Mr. Bush's exploitation of our pain and sense of community to try to gain political advantage should outrage all Americans.
FAYE M. ANDERSON
New York
The writer is a former vice chairman of the Republican National Committee's minority outreach advisory committee.
---- ----
[Excerpt]
Without question, Sept. 11 was a seminal event in recent history, and it occurred on President Bush's watch, so I don't fault him for invoking the tragedy. It would be foolhardy for Americans -- including presidential candidates and advertising gurus -- to ignore the event and what it means for the future. Yet Mr. Bush's team easily could have shown the president giving a speech addressing Sept. 11 and its aftermath in a way that would not have been so painful, exploitative and cheap.
Here's a thought for the president: In the next round of ads, to show concern for Americans in the wake of that tragedy, why not throw in a few images of you cooperating with the 9/11 commission?
KIM A. O'CONNELL
Arlington
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Of course I meant Mr Guy Haines.
What the hey! Faye Emerson is a Republican?
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Actually, I didn't know this. What rave reviews has The Passion of Christ received?
Ebert and Roeper loved it. Two thumbs up - nails in them, mind you.
(I apologize. Couldn't resist.)
But I wasn't making up the review. They do give it two thumbs up and love it to bits.
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Jrand, I shall pass your lovely comments along to Mr. Haines, who I know will be appreciative. Isn't it funny, a certain record label paid lots and lots of dough for that CD, you'd think they'd want to sell a few of them. Oh, well.
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Now where, oh where is DR §wishy §arah with her review of the Gibson opus? She was planning to see it, I know, but have we heard from her since?
Myself, I worry because of the whole resurgence of what seems to me the worst elements of the Christian faith. That Other Cheek stuff and The Meek Shall Inherit are definitely secondary to what my philosophy professor called the "primitive totemism". It was in "The Philosophy of Literature", and we had just read Calderón de la Barca's La Devoción de la Cruz, a play wherein a protagonist with no redeeming qualities whatsoever betrays all around him and commits every sin in the book, but is, I believe, assumed into heaven because at the last minute he prays to a magical cross. As I recall, he doesn't even repent.
One of the other letters in the Times actually stated that Christ's teachings themselves are rather incidental, in the letter-writer's personal faith, to the important fact of suffering and torture. He, of course, heartily enjoyed the film.
Now, if someone would only make a similarly graphic movie of the torture-murder of thousands of non-believers and heretics by the Church, I am sure neither Mel nor anyone else would accuse them of being "anti-Catholic".
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Mr. BK, if a certain label's title that you produced goes out of print, do the rights revered back to either you or the artist? Are the conditions under which the rights revert back to you?
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MR BK thanks for passing along the comments to the elusive Mr Haines!
I have to say also that even though I imagine the show is dated....I enjoyed Lucie Arnaz in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG...and fell in love with the song "Fallin'" way back when. I of course have the cast LP, but didn't know anyone else had recorded it.
And "Pitiful Penniless Bums" has one of the best arrangements, instrumental AND vocal I have ever heard. That song and "The Beauty That Drives Men Mad" are why I go see SUGAR!
I have rehearsal...deadly cue to cue rehearsal tomorrow evening. But I will be thinking about the lively chat that will be taking place.
And even though it wasn't requested....here is DR Evil Kurt as the King as in .....and I! 8)
Favorite shot in a movie....many, many of course....but Madeline Kahn being dragged out of the reception screaming for Howard and her shoes making little marks on the floor always makes me laugh! ;D
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Mr. BK, if a certain label's title that you produced goes out of print, do the rights revered back to either you or the artist? Are the conditions under which the rights revert back to you?
Shame on you Mr. Charles Pogue!!
A talented writer as you saying revert back!! (Sorry but it is a pet peeve of my ever since a English teacher drilled it into my head you can not say that!!!!
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WONDERFUL TOWN – REVIVAL
When a musical show has not been translated to film, and its original production was over 50 years ago, it rarely has to withstand comparisons; however, the original “Wonderful Town” was my introduction to Broadway – my local Philly church group did an outing to NYC to see the show with Rosalind Russell
When on Saturday last we ventured into what was once the Martin Beck theatre, I was wondering if my delightful memories of 50+ years would be recreated. (So, see, I now have an “I dare-you” bias before I even sit down!)
When the curtain goes up, we are treated to vast array of musicians assembled on a raised platform across the entire rear 5/8s of the stage Alarms go off! Am I going to be treated to a “minimalist” staging on the apron and end up with Mini-WT? ) Or are they going to relocate the Orchestra for the balance of the show.
Orchestra stays put, “Christoper Street” begins. “Ohio” is delightful, but by the time we end the fourth number, “One Hundred Easy Ways, one thing is clear – Donna Murphy is no Roz Russell! She’s good, very, good, excellent – but Roz was genius. Clearly Donna out-sings Roz, but can not reach the zany physical comedy that Russell put into the original performance.
I suspect some of the problem was directorial discretion – Roz definitely chewed up some lines that Donna is left to simply deliver believably: a motley crew has aggregated in the girls’ apartment where Eileen is preparing pasta; Ruth looks at all the newcomers and expounds: “You know for a bad location, and no neon signs, we’re doing a hell of a business!” Back in the Eisenhower days Roz delivered this line with a gusto that presaged Momma Rose. Murphy gives us Patricia Heaton.
Oh, well, one line does not a show make.
As Act I progressed I started to become aware of a considerable amount of underscoring I didn’t recall from days of yore. Somehow the musical numbers seemed to flow together better than before.
Suddenly it dawned on me! The star of this production is Leonard Bernstein! The score is in deed, front and center. We have a complete wall of delightfully complex and varied orchestrations filling the theatre for most of the time. There were over 23 musicians on that stage, there was little or no physical barrier between them and the audience, and they rarely rested long enough for a reed to get dry. The sound design was perfection. In “A Quiet Girl”, Gregg Edelman starts the song softly downstage; he moves up onto the platform supporting the orchestra and we are treated to the song’s ending with Gregg, backed by the full orchestra in play, coming in clear as a bell. We were in the Mezzanine, yet the sound had an almost three-dimensional quality – you could pick Gregg out as the instrument in front. In case there was any doubt, after intermission we were treated to an extended “Entr’acte introducing Act II. I stopped worrying about Roz and started getting engrossed with the music. (JoseS would be proud!)
Occasionally I grumble about color-blind casting in historical pieces – there were likely no black cops in the Irish Police Brigade in Greenwich Village 1935! Well the opening number of Act II is “My Darlin’ Eileen” – a full multipart harmony Irish Barbershop routine for the cops. Toward the end, one of the black cops steps forward and in a crystal clear tenor solos in a perfect Irish brogue – damn near brought down the house. The choreographer also had fun at the end of the number when the cops lined up across the stage and did a “Riverdance” Irish Line Dance jig.
Lesson Learned: Old Memories should be cherished, but must not be allowed to detract from current pleasures.
der "Glad-he saw-it" Brucer
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MR BK thanks for passing along the comments to the elusive Mr Haines!
I have to say also that even though I imagine the show is dated....I enjoyed Lucie Arnaz in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG...and fell in love with the song "Fallin'" way back when. I of course have the cast LP, but didn't know anyone else had recorded it.
Actually Tom Conti, Günter Pavel Fieber. Peter Fröhlich, Gianluca Guidi, Víctor Laplace, Mauricio Herrera, Fabrizia Magaglio also recorded the song. So Mr Guy haines is in good company.
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Well DRMichaelShayne - I am from Indiana...and we don't get a LOT of music out hyere - but thanks for the heads up!
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WONDERFUL TOWN – REVIVAL
Occasionally I grumble about color-blind casting in historical pieces –
You should see the interesting, integrated families in many of the plays in Ashland. I believe it was in THREE SISTER’S, presented a couple of years ago, where each of the siblings was a different race. :D
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Evening all!
I sitll didn't get my dirt. Sigh. Mom wanted to do a little shoping so that took so long it wasn't worth stoping to get the dirt until next weekend. I didn't complain, if she feeling like going out, I'll take her. The four o'clocks can wait. :)
Jrand, I just finished reading yesterdays notes. I'm sorry your not feeling well. Please get well soon.
I read where the bad guys name was Johnathan, duh! So much for my memory! :) I was in a hurry and I'm lucky I remember MY name when that happens.
Many, many thanks, DERBRUCER for the repost. This time I bookmarked it like I should have done the first time.
As for The Passion of the Christ, I refuse to go see it. Seeing someone in pain is not my idea of entertainment.
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JRand53, thanks for the pic of DR Evil Kurt. I was gonna ask, but you posted before I. I don't think DR Evil Kurt has ever posted since I have been here....just who is he and why does he not come around any longer?
The above description of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST just cements my desire to pass it up. I will stick to religious movies that have a more positive and uplifting message...although it does seem that many viewers find this film positive and uplifting for some reason.
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Sadly, said company owns all my recordings and none of them, no matter what, revert to me under any circumstances, unless they finally realize how unjust thing were and wanted to simply hand them back to me. Can we say the 12th...of Never?
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Michael Shayne, does PIN number bug you too? My son got on me about that one.
JRand53, glad you are feeling better. Try and get some rest so you stay that way.
Panni I’m sorry I didn’t remark on your cousin’s (cousin, yes?). I did find them interesting and thank you for sharing.
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You should see the interesting, integrated families in many of the plays in Ashland. I believe it was in THREE SISTER’S, presented a couple of years ago, where each of the siblings was a different race. :D
I directed a production of Tennesse Williams This Property is Condemed and I cast a black actress as in the lead. Not because she was black, but she was the best actress for the part. It was only afterwards that the play took on another dimension having a black actress for the role. I didn't change any dialogue.
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Sadly, said company owns all my recordings and none of them, no matter what, revert to me under any circumstances, unless they finally realize how unjust thing were and wanted to simply hand them back to me. Can we say the 12th...of Never?
Maybe you can find an "angel" who will buy them back for you. They don't seem to give a damn about what they have as they are getting away from more of the Boradway related material.
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Panni I’m sorry I didn’t remark on your cousin’s (cousin, yes?). I did find them interesting and thank you for sharing.
No need to be sorry, Jane. I was joking about being peeved with no response. Sure, it's nice to see a response to some things, but it's not mandatory. But you're very sweet to feel "guilty" about it. Not my intention, though.
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I agree with WFO above. And I hope, Jenny, that you got a chance to read director John Hirsch's remarks about feeling "the outsider" - posted by me yesterday evening. His remarks about theatre ain't too shabby either.
(Mind you, (that's a general "you") no one responded with comments . Sigh. And I didn't just paste the remarks from a website. No sir. I typed them out with my own little hands... over a hot computer... Not that anyone should feel pressured to read them. Just thought I'd mention it Oh, I have to go and change the bandages on my injured hands.)
[Cue sentimental violin music.]
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Panni I know you were joking, :) it’s just I did think about reponding at the time and didn’t.
Gosh I’m sleepy today and compounded it by being too lazy to walk Echo. It really isn’t that I’m too lazy for the walk, which I love, it is the clean up process that follows. I should have taken a nap today like someone else did.
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Jay-LOL
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I saw the Passion of the Christ.
My response:
phlphtfftphtfllphhhhhhhhh (i.e. the sound of me sticking out my tongue)
They lost me somewhere around the slapstick sit-commy flashback of Jesus the Carpenter pre-mission where he invents a table that requires the use of chairs and Mary goes: "this will never catch on"
OY OY OY OY OY
The extreme continued violence also detracts from any impact it may have had to begin with.
Show a man getting abused once - you feel his pain and think about the message behind it
Show a man getting beaten over and over and over again - you start thinking of the huge quantities of fake blood used in the film
TPotC is definitely getting way more notice than it should have. Give me Godspell any day.
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DR Jed (and newfound family member, he's MY nephew, TCB) wrote:
Just re-watched the movie Memento, which I own but hadn't watched in awhile. Rather enjoy it, I do. .
And what a weird happenstance! I too, last night watched MEMENTO! (following a very mellifluous chat with a certain DR). I watched it because i finally picked up the *special edition* two-dvd disc, so I very quickly found an online guide to navigating the menus so that I could watch the chronological cut. I still enjoyed it that way, too, but, sweet Harriet Harris' scenes are no longer spaced out, but, all come at the *beginning* of the film.
Great screenplay.
And as another DR (Matt, to be precise) has said, he watched MYRA BRECKENRIDGE - - and you know what? SO DID I! I certainly didn't HATE it, but, even today my mouth is still agape. Talk about giving a monkey a movie camera! It is a mess of a movie, a train wreck which one can't look away from. Every time Mae West came on screen (WATCH OUT, TCB!) I thought we had gone from black comedy to outright horror! Welch does admirable work, most of the time. John Huston aptly foreshadows his future performance in CHINATOWN, Rex Reed should stick to writing and they never should have exhumed Miss West for the film.
Chat isn't open, because it isn't Monday, yet.
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Oh, DR Emily, you simply have to check out Stephen King's musings on TPotC in this week's Entertainment Weekly. :o
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A question of the day. Over the weekend I've enjoyed reading about HHW visits - DRs Jenny, Maya, S. Woody White and Der Brucer. Though I've established some wonderful friendships, I've yet to have a face-to-face meeting with someone I've met online. Any exceptional experiences - positive or negative?
(And TCB, you are of course invited to the next chicken paprikash dinner.)
Gee, Dan, I thought you would never ask. Of course, you could always just mail me the leftovers!
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I can no longer stand by in silence and watch or I shall explode! Explode, I tell you. :P -- It's Chicken PAPRIKAS (no H). In Hungarian, "s" is pronounced "sh"...
"S" as in the word "sit" is written "SZ"...
That feels so much better.
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OK, OK. So it took me until this evening to get around to reading the Opinion section of today's L.A. Times. My punishment was the apoplexy I got by reading an item on the section's front page:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-kmiec14mar14,1,2604469.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-kmiec14mar14,1,2604469.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions)
I often ponder in my head the letters I might send to the editors of the Times, but seldom am I moved to get off my tuchus and actually send one. Today I was so moved. Here's the text of the letter I e-mailed just a minute ago:
The logic in Douglas R. Kmiec's Opinion piece today arguing that marriage is based on procreation is so faulty I do not know where to begin. Perhaps his citation of the federal appellate court's opinion noting that Florida has a "rational interest in 'emphasiz[ing] [the] vital role that dual-gender parenting plays in shaping sexual and gender identity'" might be a good place. Wait a minute. Let me check something here. Yep! Most gays, lesbians and transgendered individuals are the product of dual-gender parents. How does Mr. Kmiec explain that?
Following Mr. Kmiec's logic, the walls of defense that some would like to see built around marriage in America today would need to protect it from not only gays and lesbians, but also the infertile and post-menopausal.
To my perception, marriage should be based on the mutual love and support between two people, regardless of gender and regardless of whether procreation is desired.
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Hurray, Jay!!!
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Good Evening!
I'm back from New York...
Sorry for being E&T and T&E since Thursday night, but I had some early mornings and some late nights, so... -Thankfully, the charges for my phone/internet calls were no where near what I thought they would be... Alas, my time to post and catch up was quite limited, but now that I'm back home in Richmond - for the night at least...
I've been spending the past two hours watching "Trading Spaces" and catching up on the posts here on HHW from the past few days.
I shall report, respond and answer shortly...
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Had a wonderful day yesterday seeing CHICAGO and meeting Mr. Tom Wopat! The show was fun and had some great performances..particularly Velma (Reva Rice) and Roxie (Bianca Marroquin)! Carol Woods, who played Matron Mama Morton has a beautiful voice. My seat (which cost a fortune) was not too good..next time I will make sure to buy my ticket on the first day!! Prior to the show I walked down to the Subway Sandwich place and stood in line. In front of me were a cast member and a crew member from Chicago. They were both very nice and told me that they hoped I would enjoy the show.
After the show I had Tom Wopat sign the CD insert from his CD which I had brought with me. We chatted about his upcoming CD which I am very excited about hearing. It will be songs by Harold Arlen and I think he said it would be out in October. Mr. Wopat is still quite handsome and in very good shape. Seems to me he had gotten a bit portly when he was on the show CYBIL, but he has gotten himself in fine condition now! If you have not had a chance to hear his CD titled THE STIL OF THE NIGHT, I highly recommend it. Beautiful songs and many old standards.
So, was Mr. Wopat playing Roxie? I bet he has great legs (to match the rest of him).
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I can no longer stand by in silence and watch or I shall explode! Explode, I tell you. :P -- It's Chicken PAPRIKAS (no H). In Hungarian, "s" is pronounced "sh"...
"S" as in the word "sit" is written "SZ"...
That feels so much better.
If that didn't, then this will send you over the edge. I got the spelling from Fanny Farmer.
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And as another DR (Matt, to be precise) has said, he watched MYRA BRECKENRIDGE - - and you know what? SO DID I! I certainly didn't HATE it, but, even today my mouth is still agape. Talk about giving a monkey a movie camera!
Didn't one of the actors describe him as a wolf with rabies?
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Somewhere in the vaults of VANITY FAIR magazine, there is a contemporary look at Michael Sarne and his troubled career. Fascinating material.
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Somewhere in the vaults of VANITY FAIR magazine, there is a contemporary look at Michael Sarne and his troubled career. Fascinating material.
Michael Cimino had similar problems. Each directed a film that almost destroyed a studio
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Good letter, DR Jay.
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What are your favorite shots/moments from a movie.
Some favorite cinematographical moments:
Woody and Diane walking through the Planetarium in Manhattan
The first shot of the mother ship looming over the mountain in Close Encounters
The shot through the skylight of Dorothy Comingore's nightclub in Citizen Kane
Gandalf leading the charge down the hill to Helm's Deep in LOTR: The Two Towers
Some favorite moments in general:
Little Margaret O'Brien going postal on the snowmen in Meet Me in St. Loius
Jill Clayburgh carrying the painting in An Unmarried Woman
George Saunders giving Anne Baxter her comeuppance in ALL ABOUT EVE
The final scene of On The Waterfront
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DRs JRand and Kerry should now be appreciative of Mike Sarne's other talents!
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If that didn't, then this will send you over the edge. I got the spelling from Fanny Farmer.
On should never trust one's Fanny to do the spelling.
OR, the math: "I add two and two the most simple addition, and swear that the figures are lying."
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Gee, thanks, Dear Readers Panni and Dan-in-Toronto. Now let's see if it's published.
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The above description of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST just cements my desire to pass it up....although it does seem that many viewers find this film positive and uplifting for some reason.
It's the use of the word "uplifting" that bothers me.
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Dan-in-TO - Just teaches you... Never trust anybody named Fanny. (Stick with Annie.)
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"Sensitive Song" from Larry O'Keefe's "COPS: The Musical"
She smells like rain,
And she tastes like champagne.
She's got a special smile
That makes her intentions plain.
She makes me ache
With all the love that we make.
She makes me dream wide awake.
And that's why I'm dumpin' you,
Bitch.
That's why I'm out the door.
She is a perfect angel,
You're a skanky, skanky whore.
A skanky, skanky, skanky, skanky whore.
She's not annoyed
When I can't stay employed.
She never calls me pervert
If I wanna take a Polaroid.
She's a fuck machine,
Yeah, she just turned eighteen.
She buys me methamphetamine.
And that's why I'm dumpin' you,
Beeyatch.
That's why I'm out the door.
Go on and throw that toaster,
'Cause you're still a skanky whore.
A skanky, skanky, skanky, skanky whore.
Yeah, you skank them at the truck stops
And at the tattoo shops.
And it don't make you an actress
Just because you been on "Cops".
And, sure, you finished college,
Well, whoop de fuckin' doo.
If I blew all my teachers, I'd a finished college too.
Yeah, that's why I'm dumpin you,
Bizzatch.
That's why I'm out the door.
I'm sorry she's your sister,
But you're still a skanky whore.
She is a little bit skanky too,
...But you're a whole lot more.
You creepy, cranky,
Stinky, stanky,
Skanky skanky whore.
You whore.
Whore.
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I heard O'Keefe perform this song last week at Harvard. Just thought I should share. :-*
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By the way, HAPPY PI DAY! I hope that your Pi Day was filled with joy, revelry, and mathematic equations.
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DR Michael Shayne, those three installments of UNKNOWN CHAPLIN were definitely released on commercial videotape because I have them. I had taped the programs off PBS when they first aired, but at SLP to fit them on one tape, and the quality was lousy, so when I got a chance to buy commercial issues of them, I certainly did. Don't know if they've made their way to DVD yet, but I seem to remember seeing them announced several years ago. The contents of all three are superb, and I know some of the contents of them have made their way to the Chaplin boxed sets (Georgia Hale's screen test to replace Virginia Cherrill in CITY LIGHTS, Chaplin's "The Professor" which was abandoned after one sequence which he later revised and incorporated into LIMELIGHT, the wooden piece caught in the grate cut from MODERN TIMES).
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The above description of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST just cements my desire to pass it up. I will stick to religious movies that have a more positive and uplifting message...although it does seem that many viewers find this film positive and uplifting for some reason.
Ditto, DR MBarnum. As a Catholic (and as they say, "...once a Catholic..."), I won't deny the importance of the story of the crucifixion of Christ, but I won't put myself through Gibson's S&M fetish show. I much rather keep in my mind the image of the Buddy Christ that appears in Kevin Smith's Dogma (I even have one that I keep on my bedrrom dressing table.)
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Finished watching THE OX-BOW INCIDENT today which never fails to move me deeply and the put in and watched DARK PASSAGE. I've always liked this movie even with its too-pat ending and too easy to figure out mystery plot. The DVD sure looks good, and I appreciated the simple but nice making-of documentary Warners included on the DVD.
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OUR DINNER WITH JENNY
(To begin with, head on back to der Brucer's review of I Am My Own Wife. This post begins as we were leaving the theater together.)
As everyone can tell from Jenny's and der Brucer's posts, a grand time was had by all. I particularly was glad to meet Jenny's parents; she'd teased that her mother wanted to make sure we weren't axe-murderers, but I think there were other things going on than that.
I found her Dad to be gently humored and indulgent in that paternal way that some father's have. Her Mother was more certain in checking der Brucer and myself out, the way a mother ought to when meeting her daughter's friends. In other words, good parents, the sort of people I'd like to meet again.
I missed out on much of the conversation, unfortunately. It was up to me to head over to TKTS for the evening's entertainment, and the line was much longer and slower than any of us had anticipated. So instead I got to meet total strangers and discussed the shows we'd seen, how the weather has been (the Canadians in our section of the line were so happy to get out of the cold ::)), the usual line dancing. It was getting to be time for our reservation at Joe Allen, where the others were waiting, so I tried to call via cell phone to let them all know I'd be late. Sure enough, der Brucer, after carefully training me during our northward drive on how to use the danged contraption, had forgotten to turn his own danged contraption on!
Mom and Dad had left on errands by the time I returned, fifteen minutes later. Der Brucer had been playing "menu predictions" with Jenny, telling her what he thought I'd order while placing their appetizer order of escargots, something Jenny had never had and was curious to try. He'd thought I'd want the quesadilla, but I fooled him by ordering the black bean soup instead! Hey, it was cold out there on that line, and soup sounded good. As for the escargots, Jenny rather liked them, although der B thought the presentation on puff pastry left much to be desired...like a lack of delicious sauce.
For entrees, der B was back on target with my choice of Jambalaya. Jenny thought it "cute" (in the best sense of that word) that he could predict my tastes, a sure indication of coupledom. She had the penne with hot Italian sausage, and he the steak tartare, which I should have predicted myself; when at restaurants, we always try to find what I am not good at cooking myself. (Instead, I'd predicted the liver.) Jenny, in turn, predicted that her mother would be stunned to find she'd tried the escargot (she was), as well as der Brucer's dinner choice (right again).
The really nice thing about Joe Allen is that it is a convivial place to eat with others. I don't think I'd want to eat there alone, but the service and surroundings, along with the friendly food, invite good conversation. And we were glad to have taken Jenny, her first time there. She also enjoyed the show posters on the wall, although we were in the bar's room and she could only see them through the separating windows. Hopefully she'll get to inspect them closer on another visit.
And other visits there will be. We've promised ourselves that.
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Unknown Chaplin was released on laserdisc as well, and I still have my copy. It's a good show, but a lot of that material has found its way onto these special editions from Warners.
If you want some laughs, don't miss Curb Your Enthusiasm tonight or tomorrow. It's the last show of the season, an hour-long episode, and we actually get to see Larry and David Schwimmer do several scenes and numbers from The Producers. There are lots of fun cameos, too, so keep your eyes open.
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I spotted Lee Wilkoff, and of course there was Stephen Colbert (not known for musicals, he, but I've loved him on stage). Richard Kind of the Sondheim tuner. Who else?
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Lesson Learned: Old Memories should be cherished, but must not be allowed to detract from current pleasures.
Truer words, DR Derbrucer, truer words...
At a place where I no longer frequent, there are those who constantly and unfavorably compare the musicals of today with those of yesteryear and pray for the day when this show from forty years ago or that show from fifty years ago will be revived. And when such a revival happens, if one word of the book is different, if one song is moved to another place or if the corpse of Gwen Verdon is not disinterred and anamatronically placed on stage to sing and dance, they howl like banshees at a virgin's funeral. The concept of a living theatre seems to escape them and anything that falls out of their House of Wax definition of musical theatre is quickly labled unschooled trash.
Do I sound angry? Sorry...I'm going through RATM withdrawal and it's particularly tough tonight cause my ears are burning--I've been informed that my name has been bandied about there today and it's hard not to go and take a lurk.
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Yuck! What a way to start the top of a page. Again, sorry about that.
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Mr. Michael Shayne, good for you for taking me to task...I'm not the greatest on grammar, and I am certainly lax when it comes to internet posts. So I don't mind being corrected at all. I'm also slightly dyslexic.
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It will be interesting to see what happens to The Passion at Oscar time. I saw Mel being interviewed somewhere (Diane Sawyer, perhaps) and when the interviewer suggested upcoming Oscar noms, Mel positively smirked and said something like, "Don't bet on it."
In other words it's a no-lose situation for him. If he gets nominated he is vindicated, if not (or if he loses) it's because everyone in Hollywood (which we all know is run by the Jews) is out to get him.
There are Jews in Hollywood, too?
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And as another DR (Matt, to be precise) has said, he watched MYRA BRECKENRIDGE - - and you know what? SO DID I! Rex Reed should stick to writing and they never should have exhumed Miss West for the film.
I don't think they did, td.
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DR Jed (and newfound family member, he's MY nephew, TCB)
How did my son, become your nephew, td?
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And speaking of Mae West:
Does anyone remember a movie from the early 70s about a Mae West-type movie star, who following her death, is revealed to have been a man all the time?
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After Jenny had left with her parents (who had patiently waited in their car outside after finishing their chores), der Brucer and I wandered around trying to find the Drama Book Shop. Jenny and family had thought they knew the block; they had only sent us south by one. Still, I broke down and asked for directions at one of the hotels; better than not finding the place at all.
Der Brucer was mainly to blame for our CD selections earlier at Virgin. (Extra bargains were found on Wonderful Town and Sherry. He also picked up the Jacques Brel revival, a Peter Allen best of, and Harold Arlen's Saratoga, about which I know very little.) At the bookstore, however, he can only be blamed for finding The Cambridge Companion to the Musical (or "How to write pretentious essays on the theater and still leave them tapping their toes"), and Words at War, about the days of the blacklist and it's effects on radio.
For my own raid on the bookstore, the results give us a longer list. The New American Musical is an anthology including the books for Floyd Collins, Rent, Parade, and La Chuisa's Wild Party. Single volumes included the books for Urinetown and Weird Romance (the latter to replace what he'd loaned out before), and scripts for I Am My Own Wife, Take Me Out, Proof, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, and The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?
There is something engaging about reading plays. It relates back to Marshal McLuhan, in some ways, about his theories on cool and hot media. Watching a play is hot: the audience is directly involved with that performance. Watching a film or listening to a recording is cool: the performance exists unchanging without the audience's participation, and will not change even if the watcher or listener never bothers to watch or listen.
Books tend to be cool. They will continue to exist in print, no matter who reads them, and they do not change from one reader to the next. The same can be said of plays, of course, but there is a vital difference in that they demand of the reader an investment of imagination that is far greater than is demanded by a novel or news story. The reader has to construct the theater in his mind, build the sets, light them, cast the actors, costume them, put them through their paces. These aren't just words, they are instructions for a performance, whether that performance takes place in an acutal theater or the virtual theater of the mind.
Some plays and playwrights give explicit instructions when it comes to sets and staging. Some, like Wright's I Am My Own Wife, include prefaces that don't really have to be read by the audience, but inform the reader of other things that matter to the play that the presenter had better know first if the play is to be staged properly. G. B. Shaw did this a lot; some of his prefaces are better than the plays they accompany.
Some plays, like Greenberg's Take Me Out, give little instruction other than entrances and exits, who says what...except for significant moments. There is a much commented-upon monologue, spoken by Mason, on the metaphors of baseball. In the published script, it starts on page 35 and runs though to page 38, ending with the line "That's baseball." Then Greenberg continues with stage directions:
Darren takes his excellent batting stance. Signals to someone located audience-ward to throw a ball. He swings. The swing is beautiful. It connects, there is that lovely sound. DARREN and MASON watch the ball soar. A moment.
DARREN (casually) Baseball.
MASON (happily) Yes. That is, too.
End quote. But read it again, the choice of words. "Excellent batting stance...swing is beautiful...that lovely sound." I know what Greenberg is telling us, I can see it without even closing my eyes.
With musicals, having the score (and knowing how to read music) helps a great deal. Lacking the ability to read music, a flaw most of us have, including some musicians, having a recording available is the next best alternative. There's a reason we associate musicals with their composers over their lyricists, and almost never with their book writers: most people cannot imagine what a melody sounds like without having heard it first, which makes the composer's contribution that much more demanding of our attention.
But there are other things to a musical than the score, the same things to be imagined from any script. This is why I hold recordings and scripts to be so important. With these things, the theater can exist any place I choose to be, as long as my imagination has just enough direction with which to work. And I know I am not alone. Theater buffs are to be found everywhere in the world, some in sections of our planet where no theater ever has been or will be built.
Physically built, that is. The virtual theater is everywhere.
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I can no longer stand by in silence and watch or I shall explode! Explode, I tell you. :P -- It's Chicken PAPRIKAS (no H). In Hungarian, "s" is pronounced "sh"...
"S" as in the word "sit" is written "SZ"...
That feels so much better.
My apologies, DR Panni, but a Google search turned up 279 entries for Chicken Paprikash -- and that doesn't include my friend Lorna's recipe, which is spelled the same way. They must have all been from the wrong side of Budapest. ;D
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There are Jews in Hollywood, too?
No, they just run it by proxy from NYC.
Silly boy.
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And speaking of Mae West:
Does anyone remember a movie from the early 70s about a Mae West-type movie star, who following her death, is revealed to have been a man all the time?
I don't recall any such movie, but it was rumored that she had really died, and that her son had taken up the mantle by playing her in drag. No, really.
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Oh, I definately enjoyed Wonderful Town, but the ending was a bit abrupt. Bernstein should have written more dance music for Ruth and Bob, so that they could be elegant on stage together a bit longer. Oh, well, so much for happy endings.
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Michael Shayne, does PIN number bug you too? My son got on me about that one.
Jane, working for a library, "ISBN number" makes me cringe (I don't know why, it just does). For those of you non-library types, the ISBN is the unique 10 digit number assigned to every book (and now a lot of CDs, DVDs and videos). ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. So "International Standard Book Number number" is just redundant...like Personal Identification Number number.
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...there are those who constantly and unfavorably compare the musicals of today with those of yesteryear and pray for the day when this show from forty years ago or that show from fifty years ago will be revived. And when such a revival happens, if one word of the book is different, if one song is moved to another place or if the corpse of Gwen Verdon is not disinterred and anamatronically placed on stage to sing and dance, they howl like banshees at a virgin's funeral. The concept of a living theatre seems to escape them and anything that falls out of their House of Wax definition of musical theatre is quickly labled unschooled trash....
Our of curiosity, how do some of these people know what these stage productions were like? Are they all fifty, sixty, seventy years old? Or are they watching kinescopes, faded and blurry?
I'll stick to what I've written about a few posts earlier. And I'll stick with der Brucer, who is sixty-plus but has a younger mind than most people a third his age.
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Frankly, I don't like grammar and I don't give a crap about it, frankly. See, I used frankly to bookend that sentence, which frankly isn't done, frankly. "Revert back" is perfectly fine in my opinion (IMO, in Internet lingo).
Noel forgot to mention the appearance of a person named Jerry Seinfeld, and, of course, Anne Bancroft.
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And Stroman.
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And Stroman.
Frank Stroman, the grammarian?
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No, his sister Susan, she of the baseball cap.
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Oh, the one who had to use the "other" locker room in Take Me Out, right? Her character doesn't have many lines in the script.
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About time to wish you all a good night. (6.40pm Monday here Panni). Dinner calls.
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Lots of lovely posts to read. I have nothing to add.
Goodnight, all.
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Thanks for the time update, Tom. Good evening to you. And goodnight (again) where it's applicable.