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Author Topic: NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE  (Read 60761 times)

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JMK

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #120 on: December 31, 2005, 06:44:55 PM »

OK, I think we have the makings of a new, improved catch-phrase department:  So I notice I'm getting all these hits on my Farmer article from Italy.  And a certain forum in particular.  And lo and behold I get an email from an Italian woman last night asking about my Farmer research.  So I go to the Forum and have it roughly (*very* roughly, LOL) translated by Babelfish, and it turns out someone there uses the screenname Frances Farmer, and they're all oohing and aahing about Jessica Lange and the movie, and someone has pointed out my research, at which point someone else accuses me of "frightening revisionism."  So of course I have spent most of the day attempting to register on the site and defend myself, but I have yet to receive my password through the email.

Now, here's the punchline/new catchphrase part.  It turns out the Forum is for Italian women of the Sapphic variety.  Which of course leads me to ask about my pathetic attempts today:

Is this because I'm an Italian lesbian?   ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 2005, 06:45:28 PM by JMK »
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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #121 on: December 31, 2005, 06:45:14 PM »

Good night, Jane.  Happy New Year's!
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Ginny

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #122 on: December 31, 2005, 07:08:39 PM »

We're back from:

1) Visiting DH Richard's mother in the hospital, where we found her in good spirits and not looking nearly as bad as I'd expected.  The stomach problems that put her there seem to have abated, but her weak heart is cause for concern.  As we were leaving, one of her granddaughters came to visit.

2)  Seeing The Producers with my mom, my aunt, and DS Rob.  I liked the movie very much, including Uma Thurman, who I was prepared to dislike in the role.  We followed DR Jose's advice to stay through the credits - we always do, but apparently many other people had heard the same thing, because the almost-full theatre remained so until the very end.

3)  Having chili, chips, cabbage & apple salad, and my aunt's homemade, strawberry-topped cheesecake for dinner at my mom's.

4)  Driving home, during which I could see fireworks from Paramount King's Island and the odometer on my Vibe (a 2005 high point) turn 6000 miles.

As promised, we are snug at home well before midnight.
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Ginny

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #123 on: December 31, 2005, 07:11:44 PM »

Low:  Remodeling the kitchen
High:  Remodeling the kitchen

Jane -  ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 2005, 07:15:14 PM by Ginny »
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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #124 on: December 31, 2005, 07:31:14 PM »

I fell asleep while Skip was frying the chicken for the party, and am now groggy and in no condition to meet new people.  Maybe a nice Diet Coke will get me ready to get going.  
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Ron Pulliam

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #125 on: December 31, 2005, 07:33:02 PM »

As some of you may recall, today was my day to see a matinee of "Lestat", the new Elton John/Bernie Taupin musical.

I offer my review, and I ask that you consider that when I saw the show, I had some distractions that I did my best to overcome in the early going of Act I (the person in the seat next to mine occupied her seat and a chunk of mine, wedging me against the left arm rest of my seat).  I was fortunate that the seat to the left of me was vacant, and I moved about 10 minutes into Act I (when I was certain no one would be seated there).   That, plus being a bit medicated to fight what seems to be an impending head cold, may have tempered my reaction to Act I a bit...or more than a bit.  

At any rate, I'm home, I'm more than delighted to have experienced "Lestat," and I offer this opinion:

The production of "Lestat" currently playing in a pre-Broadway tryout at San Francisco’s Curran Theater is opulent, engaging and easy on the ears.  The book by Linda Woolverton creates a chronology of the life of Lestat as was told in the novels Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.  It is entirely true to the spirit of Rice’s novels and to her vampire ethos, but it also takes artistic license with chronology that should be understood by fans of the novels.

The cast is first-rate.  Hugh Panaro is dashing as Lestat and has a beautiful voice.  Jim Stanek, as Louis, Roderick Hill as Nicolas, and Drew Sarich, who replaced Jack Noseworthy as Armand, are equally good.  All the principals have superb voices and make the score sound as wonderful as it is/ought to be.  They all perform their roles beautifully.

Overall, this production is well done.  It is my second pre-Broadway experience, although I must say it is not as completely satisfying as I found "Wicked" to be the first time I saw it, even with that show’s problems with length and a few numbers that never completely satisfied me, but this show has some stunning moments.

Here, of course, we have Elton John writing the score and Bernie Taupin writing the lyrics.  I thought the songs in Act I extremely expositional without much appeal.  

I saw Elton John on some TV show a few weeks ago and he performed, from the show, "Make Me As You Are."  Gabrielle, Lestat’s mother sings this song, to her son in Paris where she has come to see him because she is ill and going to die.  She quickly recognizes that her son has been given a dark gift that she, too, wants to experience.  John’s performance was fine.  At the time, I thought it a nice piece of expositional writing with an interesting, if understated, melody, but I never dreamed it would be the best song in Act I.  

It was impassioned and powerful as sung in the show by Colleen Fitzpatrick who substituted as Gabrielle for principal Carolee Carmello.

Another first act number, also beautifully sung by Fitzpatrick, was “The Crimson Kiss” sung by Gabrielle to Lestat as she takes her leave of him to go live in the wild, away from the marking of time that comes with civilization.

The sets and costumes are handsome, atmospheric and wonderful.  Scene changes are marked by words projected upon a screen as Lestat speaks them.  They represent passages from Lestat’s tale -- the play starts with a modern-day scene of Lestat narrating/typing his history on a laptop.  There are also video effects that accompany blood drinking (i.e., the vampires see the life experiences of each victim from which they drink) and video effects for fire projected on a dropped panel that, for me, was a bit cheesy.  Work is needed to sharpen the focus of the videos, and something more special than projection on a panel for the fire scenes should be developed.

The first act ended (big) with an explosive, uplifting entrance by Michael Genet (excellent) as Marius, the ancient one, whom Lestat has been seeking.  It was a rousing conclusion to an act that was, for me, mostly low-keyed.  Don’t get me wrong.  Taupin’s lyrics are extremely good...but they go on and on (almost slavishly relating the details of Lestat‘s life), and Johns’ music for the first act does nothing to accentuate them beyond accompaniment (i.e., da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, dum-dah).  

I am a huge fan of the Lestat novels, and here in Act I, the story screams out for brilliant, tragic bits of melody which don‘t happen.  I never get a sense of the “vampire“ in the musical development.  Other Act I songs are called "From the Dead," "Nothing Here," "In Paris" (reprised once), and "The Thirst" (reprised twice).  All appropriate and necessary to the story, but without the kind of melody that appeals to my senses.

Happily, Act II was a fulfillment of the promise of the rousing final scene of Act I.  The act begins with Lestat arriving in New Orleans ("Welcome to the New World" -- a rousing ensemble number extolling the pleasures of New Orleans and its melting pot culture) and encountering Louis, to whom he gives the dark gift.  "Embrace It" is Lestat’s deadly/loving command to Louis, during which I felt the show began to come vividly alive.

It virtually explodes when Claudia arrives.  Beautifully performed and sung by Allison Fischer, Claudia has two standout numbers in the early going.  Her magnificent tantrum number -- "I Want More" -- was spellbinding and funny.  Even though the play is about the living dead, this number proved that nothing about the living dead need be somnambulistic.  For me, it was a starting point from which the composer should backtrack and reconsider melody and more strident rhythms for Act I.  Lestat truly needs a kick-ass number, and he doesn’t have one.

Next came "I’ll Never Have That Chance," a song in which Claudia sings of her lost opportunities for a mortal life and for the tragedy of having been made too young, an eternal child doomed to never experience womanhood.  This song is emotionally wrenching, brilliant and beautifully sung by Fischer.  

Most of the numbers in this show are duets or solos with only the actor(s) singing on the stage.  This gives it an intimacy that I liked.  One of the more effective solos was Lestat’s ballad "Sail Me Away" as he has embarked upon a sea journey from New Orleans to Paris, defeated by the treachery of Claudia and Louis who deserted him, leaving him for dead because they felt it was the only way they could escape him.

Once in Paris, he seeks out Armand and begs to drink from him to restore his health.  Little does he know that Louis and Claudia are in Paris and working in Armand’s theater.  Armand, using Lestat and taking advantage of his weak condition, doles out some vampire justice as the company performs "To Kill Your Kind."  It’s an energetic song and the ensemble invests it with macabre delight.

Armand then has a prime moment -- "After All This Time" -- when he tells Lestat how much he hates him for destroying the old ways and old values.  It‘s a very good number and beautifully, powerfully sung.

"From the Dead" -- the finale -- was emotionally satisfying and a touching conclusion for this production as all the characters who had been a part of Lestat’s life are laid out before him as integral parts of the most curious and engaging vampire that he has become.

I liked this show...a lot.  
« Last Edit: December 31, 2005, 08:09:42 PM by Ron Pulliam »
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Ginny

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #126 on: December 31, 2005, 07:50:58 PM »

DR Ron Pulliam - Thank you for the detailed review of Lestat.  Would you recommend that someone who has not read the novels do so before seeing the show?
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Ron Pulliam

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #127 on: December 31, 2005, 07:52:40 PM »

DR Ron Pulliam - Thank you for the detailed review of Lestat.  Would you recommend that someone who has not read the novels do so before seeing the show?

Absolutely.  The novels are excellent.

But you need not be familiar with the novels to follow the book of the show.
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TCB

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #128 on: December 31, 2005, 07:56:53 PM »

Ron, it sounds like a very exciting show.  I have always felt that the strongest and most dramatic part of the triology that made up the original chronicles, was the INTERVIW WITH THE VAMPIRE.  To me, the triangle that existed between Lestat, Louis, and Claudia was never equaled anywhere else in the series.
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Ginny

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #129 on: December 31, 2005, 08:01:27 PM »

Well, for the first time in several years our household is wussburgering before the arrival of midnight.  One has a sore throat, one a sinus headache, and one is just plain tired (that's me).

[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Happy New Year, All!!![/move]
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Ron Pulliam

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #130 on: December 31, 2005, 08:06:02 PM »

Ron, it sounds like a very exciting show.  I have always felt that the strongest and most dramatic part of the triology that made up the original chronicles, was the INTERVIW WITH THE VAMPIRE.  To me, the triangle that existed between Lestat, Louis, and Claudia was never equaled anywhere else in the series.

Yep.  But once you're hooked you've just GOT to read the rest.

As a P.S. to my review, I think it fair to add that during my walk out of the theater, another guy was telling some friends which scenes were exactly like the scenes in the novels and which were moved around/merged.  He then said he gave the production an A-minus, but felt the first act was clearly superior to the second!  One of his friends asked, "Really? Does everyone think so?"  I piped up and said I thought show was saved by Act II.  She said, "I think so, too.  The first act was kind of dull."

So...different strokes....
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bk

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #131 on: December 31, 2005, 08:11:28 PM »

I am having such a wild New Year's Eve that, immediately after eating my Wacky Noodles and then a piece of dear reader Jane's fudge, I put on McLintock and promptly fell asleep.  I have now lit a log and will try a different DVD, one that's not quite as soporiphic as McLintock!
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bk

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #132 on: December 31, 2005, 08:12:17 PM »

Whilst our East Coast hainsies/kimlets will have their balls drop before the West Coast, the REAL balls dropping will be from haineshisway.com at midnight Pacific Standard Time.
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Matt H.

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #133 on: December 31, 2005, 08:15:40 PM »

Good lord! It's 11:15 here, and idiots are already shooting off fireworks. Geez, some people are dumb.
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Matt H.

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #134 on: December 31, 2005, 08:24:26 PM »

I'm sitting at my computer, sipping a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoying the warmth of good feelings at HHW on this New YEar's Eve. Not sure I'll make it to midnight as this hot chocolate is soothing and making me long for bed. We'll see.
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bk

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #135 on: December 31, 2005, 08:25:59 PM »

No WUSSBURGERING here, baby.  We're doing the Lambada (The Forbidden Dance) and getting our second wind - our first wind is gone and gone with the wind are the Wacky Noodles.
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bk

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #136 on: December 31, 2005, 08:26:23 PM »

A mere three-and-one-half hours until 2006!
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #137 on: December 31, 2005, 08:28:15 PM »

Good Evening!

Another crazy-good audience tonight! -And we played "Auld Lang Syne" as the final bit of exit music.

:)

*And we also ran out posters to sign and "sell" for the BC/EFA, Food & Friends donations, so now we're "selling" pictures (Polaroids) with with either our Lola, Meg Gillentine, and/or our Joe Hardy, Matt Bogart.  -I was tempted to stay and get my pic taken with Matt.

;)
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #138 on: December 31, 2005, 08:31:20 PM »

One of the women in the cast was having a small gathering at her place after the show, but most people seemed to be heading elsewhere - either to another party or home to sleep.  -Two shows tomorrow.

I almost stayed, but just decided to head on home.  I'm actually sort of tired.  And as I was driving, I happened to pass one car chase and two police stops (one guy had five cruisers pulled up behind him!).  So, I guess it was good that I headed home when I did.

My parents are home tonight too - which is sort of surprising since they usually head out with some of their friends.  Instead, they've been cleaning and cooking.  They're hosting a New Year's Day dinner here tomorrow.  -I'll have to scour for the leftovers.  ;)
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Matt H.

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #139 on: December 31, 2005, 08:31:36 PM »

Well, I watched a most enjoyable movie tonight - SERENITY.

For those of us who are fans of Joss Whedon (ANGEL, BUFFY), this movie had the same mix of elements: drama, high adventure, off the wall quips, and great characters.

If you're familiar with the Fox TV series FIREFLY (which only ran half a season but has been a huge hit on DVD), you'll know all of the familiar characters. What will absolutely shock you, however, is that not all of those wonderful characters survive this adventure!

What a brave thing for Whedon to do! If the movie had been a hit, several favorites in the cast wouldn't have been around for the sequel. As it turned out, the movie did middling business at best, but again, has done big numbers on DVD. Still, it was great to get to spend some quality time with these wonderful characters.

And Adam Baldwin continues to be one of my swoonworthy men. I've loved him ever since MY BODYGUARD all those years ago, and he's only gotten better with age!
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Ron Pulliam

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #140 on: December 31, 2005, 08:32:39 PM »

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our East Coasties!

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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #141 on: December 31, 2005, 08:36:02 PM »

DR Ron Pulliam - Thanks for the "review" - the quotes are yours not mine. ;)

-Wow!  I didn't realize Carolee was out.  However, I love Colleen too.  -And it's also nice to hear that Drew has stepped into the role of Armand with no problem.

They're treating the whole process - from San Francisco up until April 13 (opening night on Broadway) as a "process".  Heck, the current script and even major bits of the score don't match what I was given the first week of rehearsal.

I look forward to seeing the show myself on January 26.  -And to starting pit rehearsals on March 1.

:)

And, yes(!), Brad is indeed a cutie.  I look forward to looking at his stick biceps baton as he conducts me.  -And the rest of him is also very cute too!

;D
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #142 on: December 31, 2005, 08:36:39 PM »

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our East Coasties!



Still about 23 minutes to go...
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Matt H.

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #143 on: December 31, 2005, 08:36:41 PM »

Thank you, DR Ron, for the detailed review/report on LESTAT. Sounds very promising and I wish the production team and company well as thge run continues in SF and then on to Broadway!

Does the Playbill have the show's logo on it? I'm not sure I've seen the logo.
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #144 on: December 31, 2005, 08:37:38 PM »

DR Ron Pulliam - Did you snag an extra Playbill? ;)

*And is my name listed in the staff listing? -under "Rehearsal Pianists"?
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #145 on: December 31, 2005, 08:38:10 PM »

Thank you, DR Ron, for the detailed review/report on LESTAT. Sounds very promising and I wish the production team and company well as thge run continues in SF and then on to Broadway!

Does the Playbill have the show's logo on it? I'm not sure I've seen the logo.

Go here:

www.lestat.com

or

www.lestatmusical.com
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #146 on: December 31, 2005, 08:39:57 PM »

Hmmm....

Dick Clark...

Hmmm....
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JoseSPiano

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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #147 on: December 31, 2005, 08:40:25 PM »

-Mariah Carey had another comeback this past year?!??!
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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #148 on: December 31, 2005, 08:40:27 PM »

I've read all of Rice's VAMPIRE CHRONICLES, but INTERVIEW and VAMPIRE LESTAT were unquestionably my favorites. The others all had their merits, but I often felt she got lost in the overly complex mythology in the later books in the series, and stories that began interestingly rather petered out by the end of the volume (THE VAMPIRE ARMAND comes immediately to mind).
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Re:NEW YEAR'S ROCKIN' EVE
« Reply #149 on: December 31, 2005, 08:41:15 PM »

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