Haines His Way

Of course we welcome the rare visits by 'roos to the garden.

When they do visit, do get grey or red roos? Do you get Wallabies also?

Vibes to all who need them...

Cooling vibes for TCB, Angel & Nicky.

Will we never get to page nine?

Sooner than you might think!

Our heat went away for awhile...last night was a record low 50 degrees. Tonight's low will be 58...but by the weekend it will start getting hot again

Thanks for mentioning IVAN'S CHILDHOOD, DR MATTH. It sounds interesting. Where did you hear about it? I had not.

It's a review copy though I was familiar with the director from SOLARIS (which the fairly recent remake with George Clooney was based on).

I began the evening watching all of the bonus features on the IVAN'S CHILDHOOD disc. There was an analysis/appreciation of the film by Vida Johnson, and interview with the actor who played the character Ivan when he was a child, and an interview with the cinematographer (and there are breathtaking images in the film.)

There was no commentary, and this is a film, going into and out of dreams as it does, which might have benefitted from a commentary.

Next up was JESSE JAMES, a very enjoyable western that somehow makes Jesse almost an admirable hero! Power and Henry Fonda are both at the height of their attractiveness (Fonda's blue eyes come through very well), and I enjoyed the wonderful character actors: Randolph Scott, John Carradine, Donald Meek, Slim Summerville, even Lon Chaney, Jr.

Alas, the transfer was variable. No clean up was done so there are speckles and minor damage throughout. There were a couple of places where the colors suffer from misregistration, and a soft scene or two. Some of it looked gorgeous, however, so I'm glad to have it.

I didn't get to last night's MY LIFE ON THE D-LIST today, but that's the first thing I'll watch tomorrow. There's one more MURDER SHE WROTE episode on the current disc in the player (another Jessica-less story!). and then I'll decide if I want to waste time on THE BIG CUBE or go for something not in the Cult boxes.

Cooling vibes to TCB, ANgel and Nicky!

Very sad news about Mr. Hadley.

What a day this has been... DR Jose and I enjoyed a loverly lunch at the Brooklyn Diner on 57th St. before we "experienced" Patti LuPone in Gypsy, which was one of the most moving, wonderful theatrical experiences I've ever had. I literally found myself crying during the show without even knowing why I was crying - I was simply overwhelmed by the whole thing.

I know she has her detractors, but Ms. LuPone was absolutely stunning in the role. Her "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was glorious and terrifying and very understated for Patti. Jose and I both had to take a couple of moments, wipe our eyes and take a few deep breaths to recover from it. Truly wonderful. And "Rose's Turn...?" Wow! I can't even describe it. I've seen many Roses. Most of the major ones, actually, either live or on film, and I really can't stress how impressive Patti's performance was. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like it before in my life, and I mean that in the best possible way. She got a standing ovation after "Rose's Turn," which some people would blow off as being standard practice nowadays, but she truly earned it. She took my breath away.

Another great surprise was Laura Benanti's portrayal of Louise. I generally find Ms. Benanti's voice to be beautiful, but her acting quite bland. Not today! I don't know what she and Arthur Laurents had to do to pull that performance out of her, but it was brilliant. To quote Jose, this was the first time I didn't find "Little Lamb" to be boring. And the dressing room fight leading into "Rose's Turn" was very intense and beautifully acted.

Boyd Gaines was quite wonderful, as well, bringing a je ne sais quoi to the role of Herbie that one rarely finds. He was really great and really held his own with Patti. The rest of the supporting cast was fantastic, too...especially the three strippers. Marilyn Craskey gave the most understated performance as Ms. Electra I've ever seen and totally walked away with that number.

And then there's Tony Yazbeck, recently of DR Jose's A Chorus Line. His "All I Need Is the Girl" was the best sung and danced version I've ever experienced. And he's gorgeous. And Ms. Benanti was really wonderful in that scene, too...quite moving.

It's amazing to see the difference between the Sam Mendes (Bernadette Peters) production three years ago and Mr. Laurents' staging now. Mr. Mendes is a fine director and I loved his take on the show, but Mr. Laurents knows this show like the back of his hand (hell, he wrote it!) and his attention to detail and nuance really made me realize the difference between very good and excellent direction.

Anyway, that's my take on Gypsy. I was emotionally exhausted by the end of it, but I cannot wait to see it again...and again...and (hopefully) again.

(I even loved it so much I actually paid full price for merchandise!!!)

Good Evening!

As for Gypsy - What DR Jason just said!

And more!  It truly is "event theatre".  Yes, Patti Lupone is the star of the show, but I'd have to say the true star of the show is Arthur Laurents, the playwright, and Arthur Laurents, the director.  He really has brought a fresh spin to his own piece.  It's not another remounting of his original.  I'm going to have to sit down with my script and score and see where some of the cuts and additions - all minor - were/are.

And as for Patti LuPone, she's in incredible voice right now.  -And I gather with some of the more operatic work she's been doing lately, that she's really been taking care of her instrument.  A truly thrilling, awesome and at time frightening performance.

Jason or Jose - Did I miss it or did Patti LuPone not sing "Hold your hats and Hallelujah/Mama's gonna show it to ya" during Rose's Turn at the matinee this afternoon?  Unless I was hallucinating, it felt like a line or two was missing.

That section was, indeed, cut. I noticed its absence, but just barely.

Oh - And I liked it so much, that I went ahead and saw it again tonight.  

And it was still amazing.

And, best of all, when I was standing in line at the box office, someone came up giving away a Galery seat, so... I guess I was meant to see it again tonight.

*And the Gallery seats really aren't that bad, and they're only $25.  -Just make sure to get something in the second row and back, otherwise, the rail gets in your line of vision.