Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 1 => Topic started by: bk on March 21, 2004, 12:00:55 AM
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Well, you've read the notes, you've deciphered the various dots and dashes, you've broken the code and you are now ready to post on a myriad of topics of your own choosing. Post away, my pretties.
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In response to the late-night post of George - first he quotes elmoore:
<DR George, I believe - and I could be wrong here - that Topol and Carole Demas were replaced at the same time; I don't know if Lupone ever did the show with Topol. >
Then responds:
<I didn't know that Carole Demas was in it at all. I knew that the role was written with Betty Buckley in mind, and that she auditioned but didn't get it. I just assumed that Patti was the one and only Genevieve. The same friend who had the Merrily We Roll Along video also has a (very poorly recorded from the audience) tape of the show (or at least excerpts) with Patti (unless my ears deceived me) and Topol. "Meadowlark" is shorter than the version that everyone knows and has different lyrics.>
I saw The Baker's Wife in its pre-Broadway Los Angeles tryout, and Lupone definitely did the show with Topol.
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Maya, continuing our Sondheim/Hart discussion from last night. I think both Sondheim and Hart, despite being intellectually and technically facile, are both lushly romantic and emotionally moving without devolving into any sort of cloying sentimentality. They both can get the same rap about being cold and smart without emotion, but it just ain't true.
One of my favourite playwrights, Tom Stoppard, gets the same rap but if you've ever seen The Real Thing or Arcadia, you know what a specious load of clap-trap that is.
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Interestingly, when I saw the special Company reunion in NY in 1993, I went to Mr. Sondheim's house afterwards to chat about Unsung Sondheim. Afterwards we shared a cab because he had to go back for the evening performance. On the way, I told him that this "Sondheim always writes cold, analytical lyrics and music" was pure BS, and hearing the score of Company that afternoon, I said was so filled with warmth and heart it was amazing. I thought he was going to kiss me. He raised his hands in the air and said, "Yes, you're right and I'm so tired of hearing that crap."
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This is starting to sound like a TOD:
What examples can you give of Sondheim not being cold and emotionless?
For me, the example is in Sunday in the Park with George, specifically in the pairing of the songs "We Do Not Belong Together" (in Act One) and it's parallel, "Move On," (in Act Two). In the first case, it isn't that Seurat cannot feel that is the problem, it is that he cannot feel for Dot in the way that she wants, that what he feels and puts into his art will always come first. In the second case, Dot returns to George and basically tells him to rejoice in what he feels for his art. She isn't resigning herself to coming in second, she has instead learned to rejoice in the art herself. The two songs together are a love song, one of great understanding and support.
(Is it any wonder that der Brucer and I started to fall in love while listening to this score?)
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And thank you, BK, for your own story above. I hadn't realized that there was a connection between the Company Reunion concerts and Unsung Sondheim. I'll have to listen to the disc again; I think the song from Reds is another example that we're looking for.
For which we are looking.
Whatever.
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I can't think of a Sondheim musical where I did not feel an emotional connection with the chartacters at some stage - How can you not feel for George in Sunday or even for the characters who are portrayed in Assassins? We don't have to like them or agree with them to feel for them in their isolated worlds. I feel so much for the leads in "Follies". The folly of their self delusion make them so human. Sondheim's characters are so often flawed which makes them more human than those usually depicted in in musical theatre. I don't find the characters "cold" at all. Mr Sondheim's lyrics and music seems to me to flesh out the characters provided by the book. We know so much more about their motivations, fears and hopes because he tell us so much in his lyrics and his music. We even are given a sense of when they know they are lying to themselves. If you would not like to lunch with a Sondheim character, it is because of their "reality". You would never be dining with one of George's cardboard cut-outs. Sondheim's characters have dimensions and contradictions - the music and the lyrics give us this.
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Good morning everyone!
Hey before I forget, yesterday BK was talking about Atkins sweets. I was wondering if anyone has tried his caramel chews (not sure of the exact name). They just got these at my Club Price. OMG, they are good. They taste like caramel chocolates.
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This is starting to sound like a TOD:
What examples can you give of Sondheim not being cold and emotionless?
For me, the example is in Sunday in the Park with George, specifically in the pairing of the songs "We Do Not Belong Together" (in Act One) and it's parallel, "Move On," (in Act Two). In the first case, it isn't that Seurat cannot feel that is the problem, it is that he cannot feel for Dot in the way that she wants, that what he feels and puts into his art will always come first. In the second case, Dot returns to George and basically tells him to rejoice in what he feels for his art. She isn't resigning herself to coming in second, she has instead learned to rejoice in the art herself. The two songs together are a love song, one of great understanding and support.
(Is it any wonder that der Brucer and I started to fall in love while listening to this score?)
Actually the above songs are Parts Two and Three of a complete love song. The first part of the song occurs during the title song when Dot steps out of the dress and goes over to George(s) and sings"
George's stroke is tender
George's touch is pure
Your Eyes George
I love your eyes, George
I love your beard, George
I love your size, George
Bust must, George
Of all,
But Most of all
I love your painting
I think I'm painting
This section of the song has the same melodic them that is carried over to We Do Not Belong Together and then in Move On.
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The notion that Sondheim writes technically-brilliant but emotionally-distant songs just plain puts me in a tizzy. A tizzy, I say!
There was a local production here of Pacific Overtures recently, in which the reviewer leveled that idiotic charge yet again. In his review, he said that there were no "characters" in Pacific Overtures for an audience to relate to. Obviously, he fell asleep from time to time during the production. That's my explanation of his poor judgment, and I'm sticking to it.
And speaking of local productions, I feel I must tell the assembled masses about a local treasure we have here in Minnesota: The Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus, directed by the incredible Stan Hill. Over 150 voices strong, the TCGMC doesn't only perform the standard repertoire, they commission new music, and aren't in the least bit afraid to program modern or avant-garde works. And they almost always sell out their performances.
Last night, the Significant Other and myself attended their latest concert, entitled "Our Legacy in Song". The first half was essentially a "greatest hits" collection. It brought back some wonderful memories of concerts past, and filled the sell-out crowd with warm fuzzy nostalgia. And of course, there were Show Tunes, from La Cage aux Folles and Ragtime, to name two.
The second half of the concert looked forward, with a specially-commissioned song-cycle entitled Metamorphosis, written by Robert Seely and Robert Espindola, and performed with the locally-based James Sewell Ballet. The piece was based on interviews with members of the Chorus, and their experiences are reflected in the twelve songs of the cycle, which is by turns humourous and hearbreaking, but ultimately hopeful and uplifting. I was personally moved to tears by Metamorphosis, and it's a rare thing, given my calloused old heart.
The James Sewell Ballet is an avant-garde dance company, based here in Minnesota. Michael and I are enthusiastic fans (and financial contributors) to both organizations. And you can imagine our delight when we found out that they were going to be on-stage together for Metamorphosis.
One of the greatest things about the TCGMC is their audience. It's not just gay men, it's folks from all walks of life. And, according to their audience surveys, the audience is 55% straight folks. From all over the midwest and beyond. At intermission, I spoke to a very nice fellow who'd travelled all the way from Idaho to see this concert; he was once a Twin Cities resident, who couldn't give up seeing the Men's Chorus once he'd moved out west.
I love these guys. They're a treasure! And if you ever have the opportunitiy to see them, do it. And do try to check out your local gay or lesbian chorus; they're springing up all over the country (and the world, for that matter). I've seen a lot of these choruses over the years...and I've rarely been disappointed in their offerings. They are organizations worth supporting.
OK, end of Sunday Sermon.
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Good morning, all!
BK, thank you for clearning up the question of cast comings and going in THE BAKER'S WIFE. Like CANDIDE and THE GRASS HARP, I think it's score is so magnificent, but I doubt the book will ever work. I always felt with CANDIDE that Hellman's flawed book was better than the silliness and camp that followed it, that a "dramatic" book with character development had been replaced by a "story theatre" attempt to put Voltaire's book onstage (especially true in the National Theatre of Great Britain production where I wanted to stand and yell "cast singers, it's an operatic spoof!" after listening to a lot of score with a lot of second-rate singing).
I've love the film PEYTON PLACE. I always thought the book itself got a bum rep in the 50s, but I admire Grace's attempt to expose small town hypocrisy. In the original manuscript, which she was forced to change by her publisher, Lucas Cross was Selena's father, so the rape was incestuous and this was too much for the time.
So much for profundity, who am I all of a sudden? Dorothy Parker (all I need is enough space to lay my hat and a few friends)?
DR Jane, yes, we'll have homestyle beancurd!
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It's the first day of Spring! Happy Solstice everyone!
.......and yet Spring can really hang you up the most...............
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Well, I couldn't decide if I was thanking Dear BK for "cleaning" or "clearing" up the Topol-Lupone question, but THE BAKER'S WIFE got me thinking about French films of the 30s and how both THE BAKER'S WIFE and CARNIVAL IN FLANDERS, source of another flawed musical, need restored prints with unexpurgated subtitles. Both films are quite delightful, but their current subtitles quite laundered.
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Well...today's LACalenderLive is a load of goodies with HHW tie-ins:
Exhibit the First: (for DR Lurie)
Out of the picture (http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-ca-george21mar21,2,3224957.story)
Toontown darkens for L.A.'s animation artists, as computers and an overseas workforce overtake their future.
By Lynell George
Times Staff Writer
March 21 2004
Eddie Goral doesn't look like a man who would have painted himself into a corner.
Even among the requisitely colorful Trader Joe's crew he works with in Pasadena, Goral stands apart: There's the whimsical push broom of mustache that looks as if it were daubed on with a big, saturated brush and the metal professor specs. It's that and the booming question he poses to most anyone passing through his checkout lane: "So, what's your passion?"
He wastes no time telling you his: "Painting." He nods toward a brightly hued mural that seems to float above the top quarter of the store, a points-of-interest sweep of Pasadena — the Arroyo, the Colorado Street Bridge, the Rose Bowl.
"Before this?" he'll explain, if you press him as he runs bottles of "Two-Buck Chuck" through the price scanner. "I was an animator."
Suddenly whimsy drains away. Anger flashes in its place. "Until Disney got rid of all of us."
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The article goes on, at great length (10 pages in my Word document) detailing the agony of the dissappearance of traditional animation from the American scene.
The subject of the article has afriend named Bruce:
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/2016318/48871329.jpg)
"Ex-Disney animator Eddie Goral, now a store checker, with a cel from his own “Bruce, the blue-eyed moose” project.
(Genaro Molina / LAT)
der other-blue-eyed Brucer (not a mooser)
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INTO THE WOODS is so full of warmth and heart, it's amazing. I remember Joanna Gleason's Tony acceptance speech where she mentioned the show is about parents and their relationships with their children, and she was right.
I also played the Narrator/Mysterious Man in a local production some years ago, and I can tell you I got a lump in my throat every night sharing the song "No More" with my son, the Baker.
The warmth and heart, the depth of feeling in so many of his songs is all right there, if folks would just sit down and really listen. Sondheim has endured a lifetime of people telling him or writing about his cold, hard lyrical attitude and the lack of melody in his music. None of that is the actual fact.
On the question of Sondheim's disdain for Lorenz Hart, I, too, am at a loss. Yes, Hart did have a couple of lazy, sloppy rhymes in his prolific career, but can we not be generous? forgiving? understanding when knowing the demons the man dealt with and the astounding songs he DID produce?
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In response to DR RLP's query last night about whether "PennyO, Panni, Pogue, and Pulliam" was onomatopoeia, of course the answer is no. It's alliteration.
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Exhibit the Second: (for BK)
L.A.'s own Mayor Zelig (http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-ca-cromelin21mar21,2,4346024.story)
A new film follows Rodney Bingenheimer's journey from a torn childhood to hanging with the hip bands of the music scene.
By Richard Cromelin
Times Staff Writer
March 21 2004
"What's happening?" says Rodney Bingenheimer, looking up from his breakfast of fruit and scrambled egg whites. He's sitting in the far corner booth at the Denny's coffee shop in Hollywood's Gower Gulch, where he arrives every day at 1 p.m.
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But radio DJs with a nose for the now come and go. Bingenheimer's true claim to fame and inescapable uniqueness stems from something more elusive and fascinating: his presence for four decades at the throbbing center of the Los Angeles music scene.
There he's become something of a presiding spirit — a ubiquitous, deadpan leprechaun who pops up at every notable event. Actor Sal Mineo long ago pronounced him the mayor of the Sunset Strip, and no one's come along to challenge him yet.
Those who have seen the framed photos on the walls of his Hollywood apartment — Rodney with Dylan, Rodney with Elvis, Rodney with Lennon — inevitably think of Zelig, the Woody Allen character who drifted from one momentous historical scene to another.
There's also something Warhol-like in the way Bingenheimer maintains his reserved, understated manner amid the social swirl. He's a shy man who likes to keep his private life private and his feelings close to his vest.
Which makes the latest twist in his saga all the more remarkable: "Mayor of the Sunset Strip," a documentary film opening this week, captures him with his guard painfully down.
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Although most people might look at Rodney Bingenheimer and see a cuddly music mascot or a rock 'n' roll kewpie doll, George Hickenlooper saw both a kindred spirit and the stuff of symbol. That's why he signed on to direct "Mayor of the Sunset Strip." It wouldn't be just a glorified VH1 biography. It would be something much bigger.
"Celebrity ultimately is an extension of the human need to be loved," says Hickenlooper, whose previous films include 1991's "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," a documentary on the making of "Apocalypse Now," and the 2001 drama "The Man from Elysian Fields," with Andy Garcia and Mick Jagger.
"I saw Rodney as a perfect Zelig-like metaphor for what's happened to American culture and our obsession with celebrity," adds Hickenlooper, who says that the pain of his parents' breakup gave him a powerful bond with his subject.
"Our culture's trying to sort of heal those fragments that have come along with the rising divorce rate and the breakdown of religion and all that, so I was interested in Rodney in an anthropological sense."
Maybe so, but even though Hickenlooper cites Gershwin and Stravinsky as his favorite music and puts a USC professor expounding on celebrity in the film, "The Mayor of the Sunset Strip" still rocks, with its buoyant, thumping music and a cast of colorful interview subjects. Among them: Cher, Bowie, Joan Jett, Courtney Love and the cynical, flamboyant record producer Kim Fowley, Bingenheimer's longtime friend, whom Hickenlooper describes as "Darth Vader to Rodney's Luke Skywalker."
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Sitting up military-school straight in his booth at Denny's, he's a man of few words, at least when the subject is himself, and with his breakfast plates empty he's itching to head home to open the day's shipment of CDs and make some calls (he lives an e-mail-free life and doesn't even own a computer). Later, he'll be stationed at the nearby International House of Pancakes at 5 p.m. and then Canter's deli on Fairfax at 11 p.m.
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Comment 1: " flamboyant record producer " is a bit redundant.
Comment 2: Do all record producers have strange eating disorders habits?
(http://pic8.picturetrail.com/VOL242/891350/2016318/48874204.jpg)
der blue-eyed Brucer
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Exhibit the Third: (For Jay, M. Shayne, and Panni)
LEGENDS OF HOLLYWOOD (http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-ca-thomas21mar21,2,1184158.htmlstory)
Poetry in motion
Powerful images and timeless tales of reality versus dreams mark F.W. Murnau's films. VIDEO
By Kevin Thomas
Times Staff Writer
March 21 2004
In "Sunrise," F.W. Murnau's 1928 poetic fable of guilt and redemption, the filmmaker transports the audience, via a trolley ride, from the innocent pastoral beauty of the countryside to the city with its bright lights and glittering amusement zone. Murnau captures in striking detail the impact of this world on a farmer (George O'Brien) and his wife (Janet Gaynor) — the lure of the city ultimately a seductive threat to the couple and their happiness. It remains one of the most striking moments in the silent cinema.
Murnau reverses direction in "City Girl," a 1929 talkie in which a waitress (Mary Duncan) in a busy Chicago café imagines that life on a farm would be paradise in contrast to her hardscrabble urban existence with all its noise and pushing and shoving.
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On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has an exhibit of Murnau posters and photos, will screen "Sunrise," a joint restoration project with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. The film, which has a synchronized score, brought Gaynor the very first Oscar for her performance and for those in "Seventh Heaven" and "Street Angel" and one for its pioneering cinematographers, Charles Rosher and Karl Struss.
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Photographed by Ernest Palmer, the dynamic, sweeping "City Girl" screens April 3 as part of LACMA's series "Halo of Dreams: The Films of F.W. Murnau."
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The LACMA series commences Friday with the sprawling and melodramatic "Phantom." Adapted by Thea von Harbou from Gerhart Hauptmann's novel, "Phantom" is remarkable for the intensity of Murnau's expressiveness and psychological insight. Unfolding in flashback, it tells of a humble city clerk (Alfred Abel, later the master of "Metropolis") already deluded that he possesses poetic genius when he is struck by a phaeton driven by the angelic-looking daughter (Lya De Putti) of a rich family. He becomes haunted and undone by his recurring images of the radiant young woman in her phaeton passing through the town square like a goddess in a chariot. Reflective of the times, "Phantom" examines a society in such desperate straits that it is in danger of valuing money above all else.
A triumph of production design (by Hermann Warm of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"), "Phantom" has remarkable sequences depicting the clerk's fevered imagination and a cast of vivid characters, including Anton Edthofer as the oily gigolo of the clerk's prosperous pawn broker-money lender aunt (Grete Berger). The film will be presented with live organ accompaniment by Robert Israel, who will be performing the eloquent score he composed for the film.
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Exhibition: "F.W. Murnau: Film Pioneer," Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, 4th Floor Gallery, 8949 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills. Through April 14.
Screenings: "Sunrise," Thursday, 8 p.m., Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. (310) 247-3600. Retrospective, "Halo of Dreams: The Films of F.W. Murnau," Friday through April 10, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. (323) 857-6010.
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The article fills four four Word document pages with details of Murnau's films.
Comment 1. It seems Robert Israel had a career before writing TV Quiz Show theme music.
Commen 2. An actressss named "Lya De Putti"!
"...and I can tell you now, she is by birth, HUNGARIAN, and of Royal Blood!..."
IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0211048/bio) reports:
Biography for
Lya De Putti
Birth name: Amalia 'Lia' Putty
Mini biography
Daughter of a Hungarian Baron and Countess she went on to perform classical ballet in berlin after a breif stint in Hungarian Vaudeville. She later made several films at the German UFA Studios most notably VARIETY (1925), before going to Hollywood in 1926. While in America she starred in several movies, mostly in vamp roles.
Now, if my surname was "putty" I can see changing it - but to "putti"? Sounds like a little spanish harlot!
der Brucer (wondering if no editor at IMDB knows to capitalize Berlin and put the "i" before "e" in brief)
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And yes, BK, there are other Code writers:
Deep into the 'Code'
(http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-tawa19mar19,1,6274451.story?coll=la-home-style)
'Da Vinci' talks, tours, follow-up books serve a renaissance of interest in art and religion.
By Renee Tawa
Times Staff Writer
March 19, 2004
On a rainy day in Paris last week, 50-year-old Linda Ackerman headed to the Louvre for a bit of detective work. Her checklist included the "Mona Lisa," a painting that she had seen before — but not this way, not with new eyes on the "Cracking the Da Vinci Code at the Louvre" tour.
Sure enough, just as author Dan Brown had described in his novel, "The Da Vinci Code," Ackerman noticed for the first time that the woman in the Renaissance masterpiece looked androgynous. Ackerman took in the bulky shoulders, masculine face and, of course, the Smile. In Brown's mystery-thriller, Da Vinci left clues in his artwork pointing to an explosive secret about early Christianity and the irresistible notion of a cover-up by the Catholic Church and other power players.
In Paris, throughout the U.S. and elsewhere, insatiable fans are exploring the controversial themes in "The Da Vinci Code," even pulling members of the intelligentsia into the novel's energy field. The book's grip on the popular imagination is so fierce that academics and theologians are putting aside their ancient Greek and Latin texts and boning up on Brown's characters, including a self-mutilating, white-haired albino villain.
"The Da Vinci Code," which was published by Doubleday a year ago this week, is the fastest-selling adult fiction title ever, with more than 6.5 million copies in print in the U.S., according to a Publishers Weekly report to be released Monday. It has been translated into more than 40 languages and has sparked a wave of nonfiction titles analyzing Brown's theories. And just wait until Ron Howard's film adaptation is released in the next year or so by Columbia Pictures.
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Now if Kritzerland had an "...self-mutilating, white-haired albino villain..." maybe it could get a Ron Howard production!
der Brucer (furiously posting to get the site count up)
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Good morning, gang.
A lovely first day of Spring here in the forest. My flower beds are bursting with crocus, snowdrops, tulips, lily of the valley, hyacinth and hundreds of daffodils - all still in the bud. I'm hoping some of them will bloom while I'm here... gotta leave in about a week for LA.
The bluejays screamed me awake at first light - I have them in the habit of zooming in for peanuts every morning. And my starlings are back, whistling and singing as they make their annual nest under my eaves. I even saw some robins this past week.
I got my fractured Figaro off to the Penn Players at U of Penn in Philly - they are soliciting proposals for their Fall musical. While i was at it, I sent one to Paulette Haupt at the O'Neill Theatre Center. She is an old friend from the Old Days - workshopped Maury Yeston's early work, put together a reading of NINE, among other stuff... I was one of her actors in those days - ability to read music, sing anything made me useful. Gadzooks, those summers at the O'Neill were the best fun! I wish experiences like that to all our young actors at HHW.
Okay, so a jolt of caffeine, a scribble in ye olde journal, and out I go into the Springtime. Clear away the past, make way for what's sprouting and blooming. Ah, Life!
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Just finished watching the movie CAMP. The only number that really gave me goosebumps was when Anna Kendrick sang "Ladies Who Lunch". Other than that, I loved the idea for the movie. But I thought the actual movie was just okay.
But I did enjoy seeing Stephen Sondheim. And I loved how all the theatre geek kids jumped up and down when they saw him. Somehow I think he'd get the same reaction around here :)
Now I must finish watching MONA LISA SMILE so I can go out and do some shopping.
Btw, DR Maya I was interested to read your review of the ETERNAL/Jim Carrey movie. My parents saw it yesterday with my sis, her hubby and some friends. And my mom hated it. I really didn't think it would be her cup of tea when I saw who wrote it. I doubt I will go to the theatre to see it. But I definitely look forward to it in video.
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When the Los Angeles Conservancy does their annual "Last Remaining Seats" (a series of classic films shown in historical movie palaces in downtown Los Angeles), they always include one silent film, and rely on Robert Israel to conduct an orchestra playing a score that he composed to accompany it. His work is superb and the overall experience is quite marvelous
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Just finished watching the movie CAMP.
Some of us actually attended Stagedoor Manor, the camp on which the movie is based. And knew Todd Graff. Not friends with Todd Graff, but knew Todd Graff. And many others.
Unfortunately, CAMP only played in Rochester for one week last fall, and more unfortunately, my dear partner and I were on a cruise during that week. So I have missed it. But will eventually get out to rent it.....
And Dear Brother, I am thrilled to know you have returned to the sushi-eating fold. I know what a horrible experience the last time was.......
Can I also say, last night my dear partner and I, both adjudicators for Rochester's "Stars of Tomorrow" program (like the Tony's, but for high school shows) went to see a production of IRENE in, of all places, Romulus, NY. And it was WONDERFUL. The girl playing Miss Irene O'Dare gave one of the most polished performances I have seen on a stage, professional or otherwise, in many a new day.
And now we are off to Batavia for an ANNIE. Oy.
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Good morning. Could someone please tell me how to upload my pic. I think if my face is staring out, there will be no more Panni/Penny/Peone mix-ups. I have a jpg pic ready to go on my desktop.
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I did it!
(Photo was taken at the Getty a few days ago.)
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If I didn't know it was you, Dear Reader Panni, I'd have thought it was Miss Frances McDormand in that picture!
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Der Brucer---
Thanks for the article. I know that Eisner has closed the animation studio i Florida and cut way down on the one in California. However the film I wrote about Friday (Mickey, Donald and Goofy as The Three Muskateers) has been completed and is awaiting release in some form or other. And as good as many of the computer animated films are, they just can't match the good old handdrawn, multiplane camera films that Eisner has eliminated. Walt is spinning in his grave.
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We saw THE GAY DIVORCE last night (no - it's not what will be happening down the line in San Francisco). It has a great score of Cole Porter songs including hits like "Night and Day", lesser known numbers like "After You, Who?" and songs even Ben Bagley never revisited. It also has a very funny book. The problem is that the two don't go together at all, and with one exception songs are shoehorned into the plot with a line or two of dialogue from left field. The cast (as in most Musical Tonight shows) is much stronger musically than acting. However it was still very entertaining and a nice way to spend the evening. Today it's BEST FOOT FORWARD at Mufti.
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Say, where in tarnation IS everyone? I slept four hours due to my allergies. I then logged on to find I couldn't access or write e-mail at all. Called AOL - the usual idiocy. Finally got a reasonable tech on the phone who finally admitted to me that the problem just may be on there end, a server problem. He's filed a top-level report and supposedly something will be done in the next 72 hours. Otherwise, ta ta AOL. I did a system Quick Restore and that fixed it for now. None of this, prior to Friday's nightmare, was ever a problem before.
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If I didn't know it was you, Dear Reader Panni, I'd have thought it was Miss Frances McDormand in that picture!
Thank you, Jay! I used to get Mia Farrow a lot when my hair was frizzy from humidity, Joni Mitchell on occasion, and once even Marianne Faithfull (go figure). But never Frances. I'll have to wear dark glasses at all times from now on.
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Everyone MUST be reading Kritzer Time.
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I am leaving now to head to the County of Orange for lunch with me Mum and "An Evening with Dame Edna," even though the performance takes place during the afternoon.
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I am leaving now to head to the County of Orange for lunch with me Mum and "An Evening with Dame Edna," even though the performance takes place during the afternoon.
What fun! Full report on the hilarity and high jinks, please.
(And tell us about Dame Edna, too.)
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Love Dame Edna. We had quite a high old time together in the recording studio. Everyone must be off brunching or reading.
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And yes, BK, there are other Code writers:
Deep into the 'Code'
(http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-et-tawa19mar19,1,6274451.story?coll=la-home-style)
'Da Vinci' talks, tours, follow-up books serve a renaissance of interest in art and religion.
By Renee Tawa
Times Staff Writer
March 19, 2004
On a rainy day in Paris last week, 50-year-old Linda Ackerman headed to the Louvre for a bit of detective work.... <SNIP>
der Brucer (furiously posting to get the site count up)
der Brucer, thanks for the link. I work for a library and every two months I run a report that lists all of the high demand titles, then I order the needed extra copies. "The Da Vinci Code" is always high up on the list. Our fiction selector is reluctant to buy as many copies as the number of holds demands, mainly because she read the book and didn't really like it. As they say...there's no accounting for taste. ;)
As for today's agenda, I'm just about to take a shower, then I will head over to my sister's old house (my soon-to-be new house) so that we can clean up and paint and get it ready for me to move in! I'll be gone all day and sadly, won't be able to chat tonight. Have a good one!
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William Lurie, speaking of the GAY DIVORCE, I received one of the best compliments of my acting career from Claire Luce who starred in the original production with Fred Astaire and danced to Night & Day with him. Also the first American actor to play Stratford, she was guest director one summer at the Globe of the Great Southwest where I started my illustrious career. She directed Twelfth Night. And over the summer we became fairly bonded, because it was my job to pick her up every day and drive her to the theatre. Later, after the summer, we worked in an original play at the Globe about critic George Jean Nathan, who she personally knew and was still friends with Julie Hayden, his wife. But that summer, after the opening of MacBeth, in which I was playing Malcolm, she swept backstage, kissed me, and announced in front of all: "It's so good to hear A VOICE in the theatre again!" I'll always prize the memory.
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Ah, yes, DR MattH...thanks for straightening out my alliteracy!
:D
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Everyone MUST be reading Kritzer Time.
No, but I have been reading "Benjamin Kritzer", which arrived this morning (On a sunday! I was shocked!)! I always wondered what this "What is it, fish?" business was all about, and I feel far more in the loop knowing what you crazy people have been talking about. Thank you for sending it, BK! :-*
Can I also say, last night my dear partner and I, both adjudicators for Rochester's "Stars of Tomorrow" program (like the Tony's, but for high school shows) went to see a production of IRENE in, of all places, Romulus, NY. And it was WONDERFUL. The girl playing Miss Irene O'Dare gave one of the most polished performances I have seen on a stage, professional or otherwise, in many a new day.
I wish that something like that existed on Long Island! We have a girl at our school (Currently playing the title character in "Hello, Dolly!") who could easily win a contest like that. She's one of the most talented singers I've ever heard, regardless of age.
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Frank Langella, who is an actor I much admire and have been fortunate enough to see on three occasions onstage, has often written eloquently on the profession and experience of being an actor. He has written a tribute to the late Alan Bates in the current issue of Equity News, a lovely moving memory piece about working with him on Broadway in Fortune's Fool (for which Bates won a Tony) and of their professional and personal relationship that grew out of it up until Bates' death. It's one of those bits of writing that make me happy to be in the profession, proud to have trod the boards, and that reinforces my image of these two men, both as actors and human beings.
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As for today's agenda, I'm just about to take a shower, then I will head over to my sister's old house (my soon-to-be new house) so that we can clean up and paint and get it ready for me to move in!...
Don'cha love hand-me-downs?!
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Big news -- Just finished cleaning out my closet. Hallelujah!
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::Pokes cheeks:: My face hurts. Stupid allergies.
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Swedish Chef Hat had a fun spring break. Here it is, visiting the Yuma Territorial Prison Museum in Yuma, Arizona.
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And here is Swedish Chef Hat meeting "Mr. Swallow" at San Juan Capistrano.
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Is the licensed version of IRENE currently used the version Debbie Reynolds did on Broadway, or is there some other version floating around out there that the licensers issue? Curious about this.
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I had planned to spend this afternoon watching the Special Extended Edition of LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS, but a friend called to invite me to a 4 p.m. dinner and I didn't want to see the film in pieces, so I postponed it and put in THE CIRCUS from the CHAPLIN COLLECTION VOL 2 boxed set (just as hilarious as ever) followed by THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY, the Miss Marple mystery with the wonderful Joan Hickson. Off to the dinner now.
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Is the licensed version of IRENE currently used the version Debbie Reynolds did on Broadway, or is there some other version floating around out there that the licensers issue? Curious about this.
It's my suspicion that Tams-Witmark rents both the original show and the 70s revival; they rent all three versions of ANYTHING GOES.
DR Panni, I love the photo!
Was it Mr Lurie who saw GAY DIVORCE? I worked on it for the Cole Porter Trust several years ago to prepare it for a BBC Radio 3 broadcast. I think the show's quite funny and I love the score, especially "How's Your Romance?" and "I've Got You On My Mind." Some of it, like the Helen Broderick numbers and Eric Blore's number about the Prince of Wales, are clearly incidental, but I think it deserves a complete recording with its fantastic orchestrations.
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Frank Langella, who is an actor I much admire and have been fortunate enough to see on three occasions onstage, has often written eloquently on the profession and experience of being an actor. He has written a tribute to the late Alan Bates in the current issue of Equity News, a lovely moving memory piece about working with him on Broadway in Fortune's Fool (for which Bates won a Tony) and of their professional and personal relationship that grew out of it up until Bates' death. It's one of those bits of writing that make me happy to be in the profession, proud to have trod the boards, and that reinforces my image of these two men, both as actors and human beings.
When I was preparing BABES IN TOYLAND for the Houston Grand Opera, Frank was doing MY FAIR LADY for them, and he was a wonderful Henry Higgins. Conductor John de Main took us all to lunch one day and I decided that Mr Langella was one of the best persons offstage as well.
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Glad you like the photo, Larry!
I'm sure that Frank Langella is a very nice man, but his wonderfully creepy Quilty in the 1998 version of LOLITA with Jeremy Irons has forever marked him in my brain with an "S" (for sleazy) on his forehead.
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I think Sondheim is jealous of Hart (whom I consider to be the greatest lyricist ever). Hart lived in a time when cleverness was the most-prized virtue of a lyric. Hammerstein's strong suit, on the other hand, was the emotional romantic song, such as The Folks Who Live On the Hill or If I Loved You. I've actually not heard Sondheim say much in praise of Hammerstein, the lyricist, although he obviously appreciated Hammerstein the person. Mentor. Teacher.
Here's my controversial thought of the day: Sondheim's strong suit is the clever, not the romantic. I'm not saying he's never done the romantic well, but my favorite Sondheim songs are the most Hart-like - You Can Drive a Person Crazy, You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through - that sort of thing. Sometimes, when he attempts to write a love song, he seems to trip over his tongue. What's a word like "implacable" doing in an expression of ardor? "Crazy business this, this life we live in" just makes me choke. Nobody talks that way; it's not romantic to do so.
But I certainly "felt the love" in Sunday in the Park With George, which is about an artist who is unable to express his feelings, except through his work. So, nothing that George says moves me - he's intentionally inarticulate, emotionally distant - but when his daughter points out that, in the painting, "Mama is everywhere. He must have loved her so much," I cry buckets.
In a way, much of Sondheim's career has been a rejection of what Hammerstein taught by example. We see couples falling in love and getting together in South Pacific and Oklahoma. We see couples rushing to divorce in Merrily We Roll Along and Follies. It seems Sondheim is more interested in depicting unsuccessful liaisons, unlike Hammerstein.
And sometimes, as an audience member, I'm left unmoved by Sondheim shows. I think that there's some truth to his reputation for being cold: Pacific Overtures and Assassins were interesting history lessons, but not emotional experiences for me. Passion seemed ironically titled. Even in the most gorgeous of his shows, A Little Night Music, the characters seem to be more motivated by sex than love.
I admire Sondheim most as a songwriter, not as a show writer. That is, there are a great number of his songs that I think are wonderful (and, yes, emotional and romantic). But there are just a few of his shows that satisfied me, as a whole, in the theatre.
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Hart lived in a time when cleverness was the most-prized virtue of a lyric. Hammerstein's strong suit, on the other hand, was the emotional romantic song, such as The Folks Who Live On the Hill or If I Loved You.
Well, DR Noel, let me throw in some ideas here, too! I love Hart's lyrics, but to me he is the antithesis of what we're led to believe is good theatre writing: he's the poet laureate of the broken heart, and I believe his lyrics are more personal than theatrical.
What I love about period musical comedy, from Victor Herbert to Cole Porter, is that no matter where its plot is set, the show never leaves New York; what is the "Roxy Music Hall" doing in Budapest? Are those Syracuse boys really in ancient Greece, and, if so, what are Romeo and Juliet doing in ancient Greece as well? Not to mention the night boat up the Hudson to Albany?
I think Hart's lyrics are a history of the path to self-destruction by a lovelorn masochist setting his broken heart to sublimely romantic and cynical verse. By the time of the 1940s CONNECTICUT YANKEE, you've got lines like "if you count your friends on the fingers of your hand, you're lucky to have two." That's a long haul from the optimistic "I've Got Five Dollars" of the 1920s and 30s, and somewhere in the middle lies the great "Falling in Love with Love"; the singer's disillusioned but Rodgers' great waltz says it ain't over yet. Don't you think the poignancy of "My Romance" isn't that is says what is says so brilliantly but that you know Hart believed it, probably many times over, but knew he was Nobody's Hart?
I remember seeing in the Library of Congress Hammerstein's notes on CAROUSEL; there was a handwritten recipe for clam chowder and info on clambakes, notes on dialects, the fishing industry, everything to acquaint himself with the milieu of 19th Century New England. I admire his ambitions and his results, but I could never see Lorenz Hart giving a single thought to such research. This is how I see Steve Sondheim working as well; during the creation of INTO THE WOODS I gave Patricia Sinnot, Steve's office manager at the time, and James Lapine suggestions for various books on fairy tales and folklore beyond Bruno Bettelheim, especially THE GREAT CAT MASSACRE, a history of 18th Century France I really admire. I believe there was some real psychoanalysis of Cinderella's character to get to "On the Steps of the Palace," something I can never see happening in a Hart lyric.
One last comment about Sondheim and Hart; I think his closest attempt to do a Hart lyric is his version of "He and She" in DO I HEAR A WALTZ: "We're Gonna Be All Right."
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It depends on what you mean by "heart" (not Hart). "Heart" isn't just romantic songs. There is heart aplenty in Send in the Clowns or Sorry-Grateful or Every Day a Little Death and The Road You Didn't Take - rueful, but heart. And let's not forget his lyric to Small World, which is a wonderful romantic lyric. Little Lamb has heart and emotion - simple and true. What Can You Lose? is extremely heartfelt. Anyone Can Whistle has heart. And I like his lyric to With So Little To Be Sure Of.
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Good early evening all!
What a nice day! It was nice and warm and quite lovely. I forgot to tell you that I got 2 bags of dirt yesterday when I was out and about. I spent all afternoon outside weeding and digging and planting. I don’t mind getting dirt under my nails.
I can't wait to see my little four O’clocks raise their little heads to the sun for the first time. I also planted some sunflowers and Brodiaea.
What is it about putting a little seed into the good earth that makes you feel so good? I’m tired tonight but it’s a good tired.
The GREAT LIZARD made it’s yearly appearance. I have to explain that. Every year when I’m planting the lizards come out. The males all try to impress me with their displays of red from under their throats but I have them beat. I pinch my cheek until it’s a nice bright red then puff it out at them. Their little eyes just about pop out of their head!
I think this is a great help to them as word spreads among the lady lizards in the neighborhood. I think they all flock to see the GREAT LIZARD and that gives the local guy a chance to step up to the plate and say, “No, I’m Spartacus”, as it were.
In any case, we should be seeing lots of baby lizards in the coming weeks. I don’t know how baby lizards come about in other places but here the GREAT LIZARD is glad to play a part.
I just love the little “baby dragons” as I call them. With their bright eyes and little toe nails, they are so cute. I love catching and petting them for a moment or two before I put them back to go their merry way.
In the good news/bad news category. When I opened the supply shed, there was my frog prince. Unfortunately, he was not alone. It seems he has decided not to wait for me to kiss him and has himself a lady. I can see he is a leg man because she had the prettiest pair of frog legs I’ve ever seen.
I’m quite crushed, as you might imagine, but what could I do? I simply closed the door and left them alone. Sigh. I guess I could say I’m green with envy but that would make me sound like a bitter old spinster. ;)
Gee, that Swedish Chef Hat sure does get around.
I’ll be at chat for a short time tonight.
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I'll say nothing.
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Sometimes a wise decision BK.
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Seems so strange for Danise (and others) to be talking about the "Rites Of Spring" when we are in wrongs of Autumn over here. ("Fall" is not a term we use for the season here).
No wrongs of Autumn really - I think it is my favourite season. I have already gathered this year's hazelnut crop. The chestnuts have a few weeks to go as yet. "The Christmas Song" is so inappropriate here as we would certianly not be roasting chestnuts in December - more probably May.
At least I'm posting!
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Is the licensed version of IRENE currently used the version Debbie Reynolds did on Broadway,
Yes, it was the Reynolds version, and did include "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows." I had heard at sme point that this song was optional, much like "Take Me to the Fair" from CAMELOT. I am not saying I agree with that idea, or that it makes any sense, but it was something I had heard along the way.....
The ANNIE this afternoon was.....not good.
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It's movie day today.
Actually, it's rare that we don't see at least two movies in the cinema on the weekends. We love everything about going to the movies; checking the schedules, waiting in line, going to the concession stands, watching the trailers...if there's a heaven, it's a gigantic cinema, with every movie ever made playing in a theater with stadium seating.
The Significant Other and our buddy Randy (and opposed to a randy buddy) went off to the googleplex and caught showings of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the remake of Dawn of the Dead.
They liked the first better; I, however, liked the former. I just cannot warm myself to Jim Carrey, in whatever mode he's in.
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Okay I feel very bad that there are not more posts today. So I shall contribute now.
It snowed here today. And yesterday. It melts right away. But I'm done with snow. I want spring.
Oh and speaking of weather, the weather channel said there will be a windchill tonight/tomorrow morning of -25C. What the heck is that about???
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Today I watched Mona Lisa Smile, which while somewhat uplifting, was not totally satisfying. I do like Julia Roberts. But I don't think I was in the mood for this type of movie today.
Then I went shopping. Bought a nice new black jacket. Then attempted to pick up a few items at the grocery store. But it was afternoon, and they ran out of all the sale items I wanted :(
I hate that. Rainchecks, rainchecks and more rainchecks.
On a brighter note, new Alias and The Practice tonight.
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I think I may be the only person alive who didn't finish reading The DaVinci Code. I thought it poorly written and boring.
Benjamin Kritzer and Kritzerland...not boring. Just wonderful.
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In the good news/bad news category. When I opened the supply shed, there was my frog prince. Unfortunately, he was not alone. It seems he has decided not to wait for me to kiss him and has himself a lady. I can see he is a leg man because she had the prettiest pair of frog legs I’ve ever seen.
I’m quite crushed, as you might imagine, but what could I do? I simply closed the door and left them alone. Sigh. I guess I could say I’m green with envy but that would make me sound like a bitter old spinster. ;)
Would you like me to locate a recipe?
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Thank you, Robin. Well, we're on page three at least. I'll keep the chat short tonight and maybe then we can get some posts going. Even though I've predicted it before on many occasions and it hasn't come to pass, I don't really see any way we won't be achieving our new low this very evening. Too bad, but ultimately who cares. Nothing wrong with sixty-three posts when they're cherce. It just makes us like every other website on the weekend.
New column at The DVD Place (http://dvds.allaccessworld.com)
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I don't think that clever lyrics or complex songs (and musicals) are necessarily emotionless songs (and musicals). ....Maybe it was the mood I was in - but I only saw INTO THE WOODS once - and at a dinner theater at that - but I was blubbering like a baby. Sondheim brings out all sorts of emotions in me.
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Would you like me to locate a recipe?
For what?
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I would just like to say how much I'm enjoying this discussion about the presence of romanticism and emotion in Sondheim's lyrics. I think that Sondheim's lyrics are some of the most touching and poetic out there and, in my limited experience, those elements usualy coincide with beauty, emotion, and romance. I don't find his work to be the least bit cold, with the exception of a few songs in "Bounce", maybe. Most all of his shows have moments when the lyrics move me to tears..."With So Little To Be Sure Of" is one of them!
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DAWN OF THE DEAD has finally knocked Gibson's PASSION from its #1 spot in the US Box Office. The zombies have triumphed over Jesus.
Has a lot to say about many things.
The darling daughter has just returned from Hungary. She says that even though there is poverty there, it's nothing like the homelessness she sees in San Francisco. In the wealthiest country in the world. What's wrong with this picture?
On the good side, for our country... she was shocked by the overt racist policies against the Romas (Gypsies in my day) in Hungary. Newspaper ads for apartments state "no Romas need apply." At least we're a little beyond that.
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On Fox Classic Movies right now is a movie entitled The Cape Town Affair which is, apparently, a scene for scene remake of Mr. Sam Fuller's Pickup on South Street, with James Brolin as Richard Widmark, Claire Trevor as Thelma Ritter, etc. It's directed by the awful Robert D. Webb and it looks awful. Why do they do these sorts of things?
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I had a very unproductive day as far as writing goes. Cleaned out the closet and will probably do some more house cleaning, but the writing work has been teeny-tiny today. Really hate myself when that happens. That’s not just an expression. I really do loathe myself when I don't do the writing I should. I found myself swearing at me in very unladylike language. Should learn to be kinder, but I'm a very unforgiving taskmaster and the road to self-flagellation is a short one.
(Is that a Hope-Crosby film? The Road to Self-Flagellation)
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I had a hunch Noel would be the one disparaging Sondheim; he'd be inconsistant if he didn't.
What ties Sondheim to Hammerstein, and not to Hart, isn't the mentor/student relationship they had. It has more to do with writing for character, which was a trait of Hammerstein's. Hart's lyrics are generalized, not set for any particular characters. Hammerstein, on the other hand, wrote for the characters in his plays (let's not forget that he is also one of the greatest bookwriters the musical has ever known).
The King and I, in particular, is filled with character songs, pieces that could not be sung by any other character in that show. Anna's songs ("I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You," "Shall We Dance" and particularly "Hello, Young Lovers") are all consistant in their point of view, that of a woman who has known sadness yet refuses to desert her basic optimism. She could never have sung "Something Wonderful," which is rightfully Lady Thiang's song, explaining a relationship Anna has yet to understand. Similarly, "My Lord and Master" and "We Kiss in a Shadow" belong to Tuptim; the emotions in those songs are not those felt by any of the other characters.
Sondheim carries this connection to character even further. In Anyone Can Whistle, the title song is clearly Fay's; no one else is in that quandry of being unable to connect. "Everybody Says Don't" is in turn clearly Hapgood's song, even while it resonates with Fay's earlier melody. And both are filled with emotion, not a lack of same.
Let's jump ahead to much later in Sondheim's career, to Assassins. This is not some simple history lesson; this is a probing into the hearts of people we've previously been taught to regard as cardboard villians. The slow waltz that Czolgosz sings at the beginning and end of "The Gun Song" reveal his passionate hatred for the toll the mechanization has taken on society; this is hardly heartless, he sings from his heart. Similarly, Booth's plea to make his motives understood in "The Ballad of Booth" is filled with passion, a passionate love for his country. It isn't until he calls Lincoln a "nigger-lover" that we are reminded of the foulness in his soul; until that repellant moment, the audience falls into his own rapture. Even in as simple a song as "Unworthy of Your Love," Sondheim fills his characters with passion and heart, even when those passions are pointed in negative directions.
Jumping again to an earlier show, what is Sweeney Todd's "Epiphany" but the baring of a soul right down to the heart, showing all the bitterness, anger, and sense of loss that the man has.
Sondheim has as much heart, and as much empathy for his characters, as Hammerstein ever had.
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A recipe for frogs legs, of course!
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DR Reminder during my posting frenzy...Barbra Streisand is on INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO tonight. Should be interesting. Although I now can't watch James Lipton without thinking of Will Ferrell and cracking up. (Of course, he was pretty funny even before Will Ferrell came along to spoof him.)
Lots of good TV tonight, actually.
Which reminds me... For the Canadians.... Is Brian Linehan still doing interviews? He used to drive me crazy with his ten minute questions, showing he knew EVERYTHING there was to know about the stars he was interviewing. Very James Lipton-esque
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Wonderful post, Woody.
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DAWN OF THE DEAD has finally knocked Gibson's PASSION from its #1 spot in the US Box Office. The zombies have triumphed over Jesus.
Has a lot to say about many things.
Unfortunately, what does it say about us that we've supplanted one violent film with another?
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Off to make dinner...
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Come back soon, y'hear. Chat in one hour and ten minutes.
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I'm trying Claritin D now, instead of plain old Claritin. Perhaps that will work better.
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Well, Jesus did raise the dead, did He not? It seems a logical next #1 movie to me.
I'll pass on the frog legs receipe, but thanks. I couldn't do that to her. We used to pack them when I worked at the seafood plant. Breaded frog legs look like little pairs of pants.
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Unfortunately, what does it say about us that we've supplanted one violent film with another?
If you read Matthew 27:52-53*, Jesus' death triggers an invasion of Jerusalem by zombies:
"The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' ressurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people."
*I'm not a biblical scholar. I had to look this up. But it's perfectly appropriate that the pretentious splatter of The Passion of the Christ gets toppled by the old-school splatter of Dawn of the Dead...
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We sure have a lot of people looking at posts - twelve regulars and eight GUESTS. Why, if only...
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Whew getting my thoughts together to post my Kritzer Time impressions.
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I had a hunch Noel would be the one disparaging Sondheim; he'd be inconsistant if he didn't.
Hart's lyrics are generalized, not set for any particular characters.
Hammerstein, on the other hand, wrote for the characters in his plays (let's not forget that he is also one of the greatest bookwriters the musical has ever known).
I actually find myself in near-agreement with DR Noel; because I still believe (Oh! a MISS SAIGON reference! - in a Sondheim vs Hart discussion!) that Hart is the top lyric writer of the twentieth century, followed by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein AND Stephen Sondheim. It's not that I find Sondheim overrated, just over-discussed, dissected and sanctified. It's hardly disparagement which I read into DR Noel's post, but a fairly factual - though opinionated - take on Sondheim.
I will however, heartily disagree with the statement that Hart's lyrics are not written for a specific character! Listen to THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE (which is my favorite Rogers & Hart score) once more; tricky twin songs which are truly confined to the Dromios, even "Falling in Love with Love" is a totally accurate expression for its character; "The Ladies of the Evening in the Morning" is a brilliantly written "fun" song. The fact that many of Hart's songs have become standards is something to shout about, rather than something to put down! Listen to PAL JOEY. Listen to YANKEE. Personally, I think you may be surprised at Hart's prolificacy as well as his talent.
Well, off to watch Babs in The Actors' Studio.
No chat for me. Weekends are fraught with nurse-like activities. . .moreso than week nights. . .
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I'll pass on the frog legs receipe, but thanks. I couldn't do that to her. We used to pack them when I worked at the seafood plant. Breaded frog legs look like little pairs of pants.
What about a frog legs recipe with HORSERADISH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
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What I like about both Hart and Sondheim is that they appeal to both my intellect and my heart. They can delight me with the intricate cleverness of their verse while evoking strong emotion in me. I also think that intellect and emotion are not necessarily two different things. I think the smarter a person than complex is emotional development is.
Panni, Frank Langella will always have a place in my heart if for nothing else than simply his performance in THOSE LIPS, THOSE EYES...my very favourite movie about the lure and the love of the theatre.
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Alas, my computer still won't let let me enter chatrooms.
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Although I now can't watch James Lipton without thinking of Will Ferrell and cracking up.
I've never been able to watch James Lipton. I can only stand so much sycophantic ass-kissing.
Can I say "ass-kissing" on HHW?
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My Kritzer Time comments are here, and posted at Amazon - for whenever they decide to publish them.
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okay, I'll post.
Today has been a boring day of TV watching and lounging about. But ironically, I have to go to a rehearsal along about the time chat will start, so I probably won't make it to much of it.
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Just wanted to let everyone know that my great-aunt Angela, whom I mentioned before, passed away today. She had been suffering for a while, and now she is at peace.
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I'm most sorry to hear about your loss DR Laura II. My deepest condolances to you and your family.
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Here are Jrand's beautiful Kritzer Time comments, for those who haven't seen them on the other board:
<I have heard of A Purloined Letter, I have heard of A Purloined Book, I have even heard of Purloined Pearls! But purloined memories?
That is what Kritzer Time seems like to me. If I knew for sure it wasn't so, I would be certain that Bruce Kimmel had followed me around from ages 13 to 17. The wants and fears are the same, the clothes are the same, and most definitely the music is the same.
If Benjamin Kritzer was obsessed with songs, movies, and records in the first two volumes of this trilogy (Benjamin Kritzer and Kritzerland), in Kritzer Time he makes the short leap to passion for them. And he makes two amazing and life-changing discoveries about himself: he can CREATE music, and he can hold an audience in the palm of his hand.
In short, as so many of us long to do, Benjamin Kritzer discovers a wonderful and joyful world outside his own. But is it really outside? Perhaps the world he has grown up in is the alien one (he always suspected it was so) and the world he is about to step into is the one he belonged in all the time.
Readers of the first two books will be joyful at the return of familiar characters and relish the introductions to new ones.
Life is wonderful and tragic, and a reader knows his heart has been touched when he immediately understands the feelings the author is expressing. With moments of high hilarity and other moments of sorrow and longing, Kritzer Time mines that richest of all fields, an adolescence, and comes up with such gold and treasures that it should be kept in a safe place.
Buy the book (all of them) for a friend. The friend will thank you. And in giving it yourself, yours will be safe....like an acquaintance from the past, like a letter from a faraway friend, like a memory you keep inside your heart until it's time to share>
Thanks, Jrand! And also, thanks to all who are so careful to not include spoilers in your comments - much appreciated.
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Chat in forty minutes.
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Sorry for your loss, DR Laura II.
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Jrand53 - Just read your comments on KRITZER TIME (then found them posted here, too)... Beautiful. And I agree with every word.
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My condolences, Laura II.
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I'm sorry to hear about your loss, Laura II.
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DAWN OF THE DEAD has finally knocked Gibson's PASSION from its #1 spot in the US Box Office. The zombies have triumphed over Jesus.
Has a lot to say about many things.
The darling daughter has just returned from Hungary. She says that even though there is poverty there, it's nothing like the homelessness she sees in San Francisco. In the wealthiest country in the world. What's wrong with this picture?
On the good side, for our country... she was shocked by the overt racist policies against the Romas (Gypsies in my day) in Hungary. Newspaper ads for apartments state "no Romas need apply." At least we're a little beyond that.
Exactly, now we just say "no gays."
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Chat in a mere twenty-five minutes.
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Can I say "ass-kissing" on HHW?
Well, I said "Kisses on your opening!" I always liked Will Sasso's impersontation of Lipton on MAD TV.
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Chat in a mere forty minutes.
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Chat in a mere fifteen minutes.
Sorry to hear about the sad business, LauraII. Hopefully, knowing there is peace is comforting.
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Chat in a mere forty minutes.
According to my watch, it's in about 10!
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LauraII those are best excellent schools-good going!
Maya-nice review of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". While watching the movie I was reminded of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, without knowing at the time it was written by the same screenwriter. Keith isn’t sure how he feels about it and found it rather on the dark side. I agree it’s a bit dark but found it fascinating in a quirky way.
TCB-you are too late-the tofu jerky has arrived and passed customs. ;D
Panni, nice pic. I would watch DEAEDWOOD if I had HBO.
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I must say the trailers for Deadwood are terrible and I had planned to never watch the show based on them. Chat in a mere eight minutes. Be there or be round.
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Condolences to Laura II
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Chat in a mere four minutes.
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Chat is now open. Get your various and sundried butt cheeks in there.
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My butt was sun-dried once. When I was visiting a nudist colony.
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Exactly, now we just say "no gays."
Well, I did say we were "a little beyond" no Romas need apply. Not a lot beyond.
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What about a frog legs recipe with HORSERADISH?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
;D ;D ;D-my mother would have eaten that.
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LauraII those are best excellent schools-good going!
Maya-nice review of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". While watching the movie I was reminded of BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, without knowing at the time it was written by the same screenwriter. Keith isn’t sure how he feels about it and found it rather on the dark side. I agree it’s a bit dark but found it fascinating in a quirky way.
TCB-you are too late-the tofu jerky has arrived and passed customs.
Panni, nice pic. I would watch DEAEDWOOD if I had HBO.
DearReaderLaura cute photos. Looking at these it sure would seem silly if we were still calling you OldLaura.
Danise you are a riot. I will have Keith read this so he can learn the proper way to impress our lizards.
Tomovoz, if Autumn is hazelnut season I will have to visit you in the summer.
LauraII, my condolences. I’m glad your aunt is at peace now.
Jrand, nice review!.
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Chat is still going on and is sparkling. Pay a visit, or post. Those are your only options at this time.
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Thanks DRJANE!
What a sparkling chat it was! It is still going on....go enjoy!
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I will be watching the historical drama about Charles the (first? second?) on A & E, starring Rufus Sewell and Diana Rigg.
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Great post S Woody White.
DR Laura II, good vibes to you ~~~~~~~~~~~
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I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, Laura.
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Returned to Chat after my meal, but, alas, it was over. Had a lovely time there before my meal break. Pleasant surprise to find out that DR Elmoore had known Mildred Natwick - one of my comedic acting heroes. He described her as sweet and ditzy. Just what I would have expected.
I'm going out now to get a coffee drink to sip on while watching Ms. Streisand and the Sopranos. A good combo.
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I’m getting a special kick out of posting. Almost every time I use the computer Keith has a new screensaver up. :D This is fun. I hope he doesn’t run out of these soon.
Off to watch a DVD or something on TIVO.
Good night.
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My butt was sun-dried once. When I was visiting a nudist colony.
Packed in oil?
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To my neice Laura II: My condolences on your loss. Please, take the time you need for yourself, to remember everything good. And take the time to be with everyone else, as they need you, to help them regain their balance.
With love, your uncle Woody.
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Waiting for The Sopranos. Watched Streisand. Too many clips, no probing, very surface and rehearsed.
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And, in case people are running out of things to talk about, here's a link where you can buy something called Meatball Magic! (http://www.magma.ca/~emj/meatballmagic/details.html)
A quick quote:
The meatballs are formed as the meat hits the sides of the grid as you rotate Meatball Magic in a circular motion. The typical comment after seeing Meatball Magic in action is "Wow!" "It's so simple!"
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I just finished watching DEADWOOD, and I recommend it. It was the pilot, so there were tons of characters to introduce and I found some of it confusing. I think I'll stick with it for a while and see how it develops. The cast is interesting, but getting used to this Calamity Jane after Doris Day is difficult. When does she sing "Secret Love?"
To all of you who missed the chat, it was fun. BK is always the most sparkling host and he leads a lively discussion.
DR Panni, when I first met Miss Natwick, the first thing I told her was how much I loved her singing the "Elephant Song" in 70 GIRLS 70, and she laughed and told me I had to come for tea. She created Mme Arcati in the American premiere of BLITHE SPIRIT and IO can't imagine someone so different from Margaret Rutherford in the role. I believe I saw her recreate the role in the Coward-Bacall-Colbert broadcast of BLITHE SPIRIT, but I have no memory of it now. She lived on Park Avenue in the 60s, as I recall. I didn't see DANGEROUS LIAISONS until after she died, and she's so wonderful in the film.
I also befriended Brenda Forbes, who was in the Routledge-Price musical DARLING OF THE DAY singing "Panache," and she was also a great lady and sweet person. She wrote a bio that was friendly but not gossipy enough for all the work she did.
Good night, all!
Good night, all!
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an echo!
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And just for that, we're doing the PAGE FIVE DANCE!
[move=up,scroll,6,transparent,100%] ;D :D ;D :D ;D
:D ;D :D ;D :D
;D :D ;D :D ;D
[/move]
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Love the page five dance - never thought we'd get even close.
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Well, I disagree vehemently with what Noel wrote about Sondheim, but since he was writing about his own personal interpretations and reactions, of course, they're his to have and his to say. I just differ with them in every respect.
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This different Claritrin, Claritrin D is doing a much better job - not taking it totally away yet, but I'm not sitting here rubbing my eyes to death or sneezing incessantly.
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I LOVED the TV series Mildred Natwick won her Emmy for - THE SNOOP SISTERS with Helen Hayes. I was so sorry that it only ran a season (in rotation with other titles on NBC's Tuesday Mystery Movie omnibus). Mildred and Helen were both allegedly delighted it was canceled. They found working in a TV series a disorganized mess and didn't enjoy the experience, at least according to interviews Helen Hayes gave a year after the show went off the air.
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I love Mildred Natwick in THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY and AT LONG LAST LOVE.
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I saw BARBERSHOP at my friend's home after we had dinner. Certainly funny in spots, but W.C. Fields, it ain't.
Looks like the possibility of reaching a daily low is now within possibility of overtaking, so I'm signing off and leaving it to the late night West Coasters to carry on through the next few hours.
Hope everyone has a pleasant evening.
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I have returned from "An Evening with Dame Edna." I suppose I have laughed as hard as I did this afternoon on other occasions. But never before have I laughed so hard continuously for two and one half hours (excepting the 15-minute interval.) Mr. Humphries is a most talented artist, indeed.
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Watched Streisand. Too many clips, no probing, very surface and rehearsed.
Imagine that. She who in live concert read her "ad-libs" off the teleprompters.
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To everyone, thank you all SO very much for your sympathy. Your posts brought tears to my eyes (happy ones) as I realized how my second family would be thinking of my great aunt along with my relatives and me. Your thoughts mean so much to us. Thank you!
Uncle Woody, your words were particularly touching, and I truly appreciate them. You always seem to know exactly what to say. I can't thank you enough.
Love, Laura
Oh, Jane, thank you for congratulating me! I will keep everyone posted about my decision. :)
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DR Jay: Mr Humphries was there too? Wow! Did you notice if Sir Les Patterson was present as well? Dame Edna usually refuses to appear with him but now that he is better known in North America for his work in "Finding Nemo" I wondered if Sir Les was tolerated more.
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I agree re Dame Edna. When I saw her in NY I thought I was going to have a heart attack I was laughing so hard and loud, and I am not an easy laugher. The Sopranos was very strange and very good tonight. It's been a slow build so far, but it looks like it's finally kicking into gear.
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What is the dreaded all-time low number of posts that we want to avoid if at all possible?
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Laura II -- My deepest sympathies on your loss.
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For some reason I am totally exhausted tonight. Fell asleep during The Sopranos and missed the last 15 minutes. Drat.
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I've read with interest all the comments regarding Sondheim.
For me, there isn't anything to debate. I have never felt Sondheim to be cold, distant or unemotional. It grieves me that there are people out there who cannot hear and feel what I hear and feel in his music.
Outside of anecdotes about Sondheim and how he might or might not feel about Larry Hart, it's totally not relevant, IMO, to any of his own work which is informed by a sensibility that was ripe for when it arrived and blossomed.
Hart's and Hammerstein's works are both timeless and of their era, the latter remark meaning that the world as it was, and New York as it was, and theatrical sensibilities as they were at that time, are what shaped and informed their lyrics. That, plus their entire personal histories and experiences.
Ditto for Sondheim. His work is informed by how the world has impressed him and how he has related to the world.
To me it seems so clear. And that, in turn, allows me to love and appreciate each for his own distinctive talents and contributions without feeling a need to pit one against the other.
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Amazingly, the dreaded number of low posts is an astonishingly high number - there have been many weekends and even some weekdays when we were so far away from that number I thought we'd for sure have a new low, but thus far we've managed to squeak by each time. It's not important - I've come to realize that, even though it used to drive me crazy, I'm jiggy with whatever we do. Our lowest number of posts, which we have managed to beat ever since this board went "live" is 135. Considering that most days prior to this board we were lucky to hit 100, I'd say that's pretty terrific.
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So sad to be all alone in the world.
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I guess the Wussburgers must have all gone beddy-bye.
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you're not alone, bk...I'm here
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Ah, a customer! Wait, what's your rush, what's your hurry, sit you down - what am I, Mrs. Lovett all of a sudden?
Thank you, Ann. Now keeping with our Sondheim theme, I can sing No One Is Alone
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You're Gonna Love Tomorrow!