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[Ben]

News from Playbill on Line

Dracula comes to Broadway courtesy of Frank Wildhorn
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85191.html

The mountaintop of Masada is now planned as a Broadway musical as well
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85199.html

and Where's Charley will be mounted at Goodspeed starring Noah Racey who played the Fred Astaire role in Never Gonna Dance this past winter
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85177.html

[DERBRUCER]

Dear every sweet person who expressed concern:
A) I obviously survived to continue my reign as Queen of Weird.
 

Did Her Highness get the new hairdo?
Pictures are required!

[MBarnum]

JRand53, how is you feeling today!

[MBarnum]

Scarlet Street Coven Alert!

Hellboy

der Brucer (still waiting for Perlman's Beast to make it to DVD)

der Brucer, I have no idea what any of this means!?

[MBarnum]

OH, and I almost forgot, BK, JRand53, and Elmore watch the mail for surprises coming to each of you very soon!!!

[Panni]

WEL - That's a hard one. I think honesty mixed with a healthy dose of diplomacy is the best route. Why not tell him that you really admire the fact that he wrote the books (just as you posted) and that you are perhaps the wrong person to give a good critique as (a) you are much too severe a critic of anything of this sort, tending to want perfection and (b) you know him too well to be objective - that the real person that you know and love keeps getting in the way of objectivity.
If he persist with "Yes, but what do you think? Do you like it?"... I'd try... "Some aspects I love (there MUST be something) others I have problems with. But I told you, I tend to look for perfection in literature, and after all, this is your first effort. And writing, in its own way, is as hard as brain surgery. But isn't it lovely that it was selected Queer Book of the Month!"
i should think that would give him the message without you hitting him over the head with the book. Which is my final option.

[Panni]

Same hairstyle, DerBrucer, just neater - and I can see from under my bangs.

Good luck with Scrabble, DR Robin!

VCR - STILL watching Judas. I must, must, must finish it today.
DVD - still broken
CD - Cecilia Bartoli/Andras Schiff: The Impatient Lover - Italian Songs by Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Haydn

[DERBRUCER]

der Brucer, I have no idea what any of this means!?

Assuming you clicked on the link you were treated to a poster for a soon-to-be-released film that should (IMHO) appeal to Scarlet Street folks.

[DERBRUCER]

Chipmunk-cheeked keyboard artist alert!

Creating a better 'Eden' this time

By Jayne Blanchard
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published March 26, 2004

(excerpts)

Whoever said, "In life, there are no do-overs" never met Stephen Schwartz. The composer of the musicals "Pippin," "Godspell," "The Baker's Wife" and "Wicked" has made a career of returning to shows for either a tweak or a major overhaul. Mr. Schwartz considers reworking one of the perks of being a Tony Award-winning lyricist and composer.

    "It's a great opportunity to improve something you know can be fixed," said Mr. Schwartz during a recent phone interview from his home in Connecticut. "Shows take a long time to do and are an enormous investment, and often it is wise to return to certain musicals so that all that time and money do not go to waste."

    Reworking a show is like clinging to the baby in the family you just can't let go of. Mr. Schwartz says his particular "baby" was "Children of Eden," the 1991 musical (with a book by John Caird) about the original first family: Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel.
…
    In its spiffed-up form, the show opened at Ford's Theatre yesterday for a run that ends June 6. "When I saw a revival of it at Kent State a while back, I was reminded how dearly I hold this show," says Mr. Schwartz, who was also responsible for the musicals "Rags" and "Working," as well as music and lyrics for the animated films "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Pocahontas" and "The Prince of Egypt." The latter two films earned Academy Awards for Mr. Schwartz.

    Significant changes were made on "Children of Eden" shortly after a production in London in the early 1990s. First, Mr. Schwartz did a crazy thing. He read his reviews.

    "John [Caird] and I decided to learn from the London production, so we got hold of all 40 reviews and read them in a lump," he recounts. "I never read my reviews, so it was quite a raw experience for me. Out of all of them, it became clear where we weren't communicating our intentions directly to the audience."
…
    This revisiting process is par for the course for Mr. Schwartz. "It was very similar with 'Working,' " the musical based on Studs Turkel's book, he said. "It was not very successful at all when first done in New York in the 1980s. But then there was interest from regional theaters and universities, so I got the chance to improve the piece, and it has gone on to great success all over the country."

    The same thing happened to 1976's "The Baker's Wife," which closed after a calamitous out-of-town tryout tour. A cast album was made, however, which attained cult status. Director Trevor Nunn headed a London revival in 1988, allowing the show a second life. "Trevor was instrumental in seeing what changes could be made," says Mr. Schwartz. "It is great when someone can step in from the outside and see the flaws not just as flaws, but as challenges that could be overcome."
…
    WHAT: "Children of Eden" by Stephen Schwartz and John Caird.
    WHERE: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth St., NW.
    WHEN: Now through June 6.
    TICKETS: Individual tickets can be purchased in person at the box office, by telephone at 703/218-6500 or 800/955-5566 or online at www.Tickets.com.

der Brucer (guessing his next extravagence is a trip to DC, camera in hand, trying to get pictures of a gay madcap sprite in a pit)

[Ron Pulliam]

News from Playbill on Line

The mountaintop of Masada is now planned as a Broadway musical as well
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/85199.html

I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.

[DERBRUCER]

Last night he had a reading at the Gay Center  (I refuse to call it Lesbian, Gay, Transexual & Bisexual Center as they prefer)

Until they get it right - "Lesbian, Gay, Transexual, Bisexual, Transgenered, Identity-Questioning & What Am I-Chopped Liver Center" - I think your choice of Gay Center is ideal.

der Brucer (Hey Ben let's make it "Gaye Centre"!)

[Ron Pulliam]

BK:  I saw your post re: your FSM comment to Joe Caps only this morning.

I quite agree.  There is a point at which things go simply too far.  I know we are all different, and that fandom comes in various shapes and sizes, but HONESTLY!, must every single nanosecond of music recorded for a movie be nitpicked to death in terms of where it appeared in the movie (1) in the first cut, (2) after it was edited and changed out for another piece, or (3) replaced with a new, shorter/longer/different piece of music not heretofore heard?

If it weren't for less-than-desirable transactions I've had with Mr. C, I'd say he'd have made an excellent accountant.

[DERBRUCER]

I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.

Done realistically it will be an Equity boon - new cast every performance!

der Brucer (Contemplating "Sipping Purple Flavor-Aid - the Jonestown Musical" - Noel, are you listening?)

[Ron Pulliam]

ABC aired the pairs and men's finals of the 2004 World Figure Skating championships last night.

The programs they chose to show us were all rather wonderful, with several being unbelievably brilliant.  

I have no problem with the fact that a Russian pair  won the gold because the pair won it fair and square and with a wonderful program to boot.  What spoiled it for me, though, was that the Russian pair won only because the Chinese pair -- world champions the past two years -- had a fall in the short program which cost them dearly and saw them entering the free skate in fourth place.  A series of events would have had to take place for the Chinese pair to have a chance at gold.

When the Chinese took the ice, though, the gold had been decided.  They were skating for pride, alone....plus the silver medal if they skated well enough.

They transcended well enough.  They transcended their earlier breathtakingly beautiful performances.  They soared and shimmered -- weaving a magical spell to music  from Tschaikovsky's "Nutcracker" (not the most familiar movement).

Their reward -- 12 perfect 6.0s and the Silver Medal.

The Men's Finals were pretty good, although for the second consecutive year, it is my opinion that Evgeny Plushenko was "handed" his gold by virtue of being "propped up" by overindulgent eastern bloc judges.

Last year, he was so-so and beat out Timothy Goebel, which satisfied me well enough because Goebel isn't world champion quality yet (if he ever will be).

But this year, two other skaters OUTskated Plushenko...one rather brilliantly.  Brian Joubert of France was unbelievable, and Stefan Lindeman of Germany was right behind him.  They both displayed speed and power and jumps that put Plushenko's slower, and deliberate, posturing to shame.

Plushenko has huge popularity and there was no outraged booing from the stands, but for all the "artistry" Plushenko is thought to have, and despite the fact that he fell when the other two did not, he was bettered "twice" in the final competition, but he was "given" better marks.

Ice Dancing finals and Ladies' Finals will be aired Saturday evening.  Tonight, they have their short programs.

Alarming news out of the qualifying round for ladies:  Michelle Kwan had two major mistakes in her program and she's in a precarious third place in her group.  Sasha Cohen won her group skate.  What this all means, overall, prior to the short program, I have no idea, but it is decidedly an uphill battle for any skater not in the top few going into the short program.

Good news, DR MattH:  While Irina Slutskaya IS skating, she had an even more horrific qualifying round, finishing in fifth in her group.  She had no combination and only accomplished four triples.  She's hoping to move up.

[bk]

The musical of Masada has been promised for Broadway for the last seven years.  They've done readings, workshops, concept album, hired a new lyricist and on and on it goes.  Our very own Mr. Brent Barrett took part in the latest reading just last week.  Our very own Michelle Nicastro did all the first readings and the album and I think Davis Gaines was part of it, too.  Will it get to B'way?  We shall see.

WEL: Yes, hash lines were different than cafeteria lines.  I don't know where the term came from, but the hash lines were outside.  There were windows out of which were served food at recess (cookies, rolls, hot chocolate, that sort of thing) and then at lunch, if you didn't want to sit inside in the cafeteria, you could get fast food items from the hash lines.

[bk]

Michael Shayne's thoughts on Kritzer Time are on the Kritzer board and also up at amazon and barnesandnoble.

[Ron Pulliam]

WEL: Yes, hash lines were different than cafeteria lines.  I don't know where the term came from, but the hash lines were outside.  There were windows out of which were served food at recess (cookies, rolls, hot chocolate, that sort of thing) and then at lunch, if you didn't want to sit inside in the cafeteria, you could get fast food items from the hash lines.

If I'm not mistaken, "hash lines' is a term that was coined during the depression when food lines were set up in cities for the thousands of folks who were out of work and homeless and never knew where they would get a meal.  "Hash" was an easy meal -- and it went further than anything else at that time.  It consisted of ground up/chopped meat (or meat parts!!!??), chopped onion and diced potatoes.  It was served with chunks of bread. (Throw in some beets and you've got goulash).

[Jay]

I, for one, will be most curious as to how they score and stage the mass suicide from the mountaintop.

It can work if they keep it gay.

[Lulu]

To me, hash lines sounds like a drug thing.  But then, I'm a child of the '70s.

We're all about DVDs here, since joining Netflix 5 days ago.  Here's the DVD lineup:

Tonight:        To Catch a Thief
Tomorrow:    Mr. Vampire
Sunday:        Spellbound  (Criterion edition)
Monday:        Imitation of Life (both versions...if they arrive then, which I think they will)

We inaugurated our Netflix membership two days ago, with Pirates of the Caribbean.  It was VERY enjoyable; like a cross between an Errol Flynn and a Ray Harryhausen movie.

[Jennifer]

DR WEL, re: your predicament.

How good a friend is this?  I fear that if you are honest, then you will most certainly lose a friend.  I think you are probably better off not saying exactly how much you hate the books.  As DR Panni said, there must be some things you like, so you could mention them.  If he really asks your opinion (and really wants to know the truth) then you could gently tell him how you feel.  

It's a tough call because people are sensitive.  Think for example if someone here hated BK's new book.  

The difference there is that you said your friend cannot write (and BK can).  So it's not even a matter of you not liking the story.  I guess you just have to hope that your friend doesn't decide he should make writing his career

Good luck with whatever you do.  And do let us know.

[William E. Lurie]

Will has had a boy friend for two episodes and he's scheduled for next week, too. That will tie the longest relationship he's had on the series during its six year run - three episodes.

That --- in a nutshell --- is what I hate about this series.

[Panni]

I've always been fascinated by suicide - must be where I come from - so I'd go see Masada, the Musical. Tonight, as a matter of fact, I might go to a motion picture theater and see  WILBUR WANTS TO KILL HIMSELF, a British (Scottish?) film that's supposed to be very good.

[Noel]

I'm listening to Jeff Hanar's 1959 Broadway Songbook, which was directed by my frequent collaborator Sara Louise Lazarus.

I'd be willing to bet money that the musical of Masada will never arrive on Broadway.  Book, music and lyrics by people who've never written book, music and lyrics before.  I don't mean to pre-judge anything, but, post-Miserables, a lot of neophytes have labored under the belief that the more tragic the subject matter, the better the show; it ain't so.

And I've mixed feelings about Schwartz's continued efforts on Children of Eden.  From everything I've heard from the show, it seems to be the worst thing he's ever written.  And how necessary was it to create a musical that tells the tale of Adam & Eve and Noah's Ark when we already have the sublime first act of The Apple Tree and the perfectly servicable Two By Two?  But the article points out that, as the most successful American musical theatre writer (in terms of number of performances - I could be wrong), Schwartz has the luxury of revisiting something that failed around a dozen years ago and tweaking it some more.  And more.  He can afford to do that - he's a very rich man - but, speaking as a fan, I do wish he'd work on something new.  And yes, I know last year he gave us Wicked, but I think he can do better than that.

The Gershwins never stopped.  One show would be done and they'd immediately start on another.  One of their least successful efforts Pardon My English was an absolute delight at Encores!  They had one of those sick-star's last-minute-replacements in Rachel Koloff (I've probably spelled that wrong) and she was wonderful.  I liked the whole cast, in fact.  It's like a best-of-Broadway smorgasbord to see the stars of The Producers, Little Shop of Horrors, The Full Monty, Sweet Smell of Success and Urinetown in one show.  Tuneful as it was, George Gershwin wasn't the revelation here: the evening succeeded on its humor, both in book (reconstructed by David Ives from texts by Morrie Ryskind and Herbert Fields) and lyrics by Ira Gershwin.

I'm going to take a walk and write outside, perhaps sipping a diet gay madcape Sprite.

[Ron Pulliam]

I'd be willing to bet money that the musical of Masada will never arrive on Broadway.  Book, music and lyrics by people who've never written book, music and lyrics before.  I don't mean to pre-judge anything, but, post-Miserables, a lot of neophytes have labored under the belief that the more tragic the subject matter, the better the show; it ain't so.

And I've mixed feelings about Schwartz's continued efforts on Children of Eden.  From everything I've heard from the show, it seems to be the worst thing he's ever written.  And how necessary was it to create a musical that tells the tale of Adam & Eve and Noah's Ark when we already have the sublime first act of The Apple Tree and the perfectly servicable Two By Two?  

I think that if Sondheim can revisit every musical he's done and add songs and change the book, then it's not too exasperating if Stephen Schwartz tweaks one little show that he'd like to see do better than it did.

As for how/whether it was necessary to create a musical to cover the Genesis stories, how necessary is it to create ANOTHER musical about two people falling in love, and finding different ways of expressing that love, when it has been done SO MANY TIMES before?

[TCB]

DR Panni,
 
That last sentence in your post is quite Jewish-motherly. But if I can add some J-M advice myself, please don't shrug this off - and follow things up with a doctor's visit.

Also - for all DR's, especially those who live alone:

In Toronto there's something called life-line: a gizmo you wear around your neck, with a button to press in an emergency. (It connects with the nearest hospital; they in turn contact someone on a list you provide.) I was told that this service (and I'm sure there are comparable ones) is not just for the elderly - but for anyone who lives. (It proved very helpful to a neighbor who locked herself in her bathroom.)

Thank God, otherwise I would hate to answer some of those calls.

[DERBRUCER]

ABC aired the pairs and men's finals of the 2004 World Figure Skating championships last night.

The programs they chose to show us were all rather wonderful, with several being unbelievably brilliant.  

Might this be USA's future hope?



Johnny Weir

[William E. Lurie]

Thanks for the advice so far.  He is a good friend, but he can't take criticism.  As I said with the FUNNY GIRL story, he defended it by saying I was the only person who would notice it.  I'm sorry, if his intended readers are gay men, I won't be the only one to notice that.  I don't want to go into the writing with him even by asking a question like "why did you use so many" italics?".  I think Ray and I showed our friendship by showing up last night (they are no better when read aloud), but he keeps asking Ray when he is going to read them (he stopped after Chapter One of the first book) and he keeps asking me when I am going to read the third.  After the second I tried to offer some praise --- at least there were no glaring errors with the time --- and he seemed happy.  Also, by some strange coincidence, his books have come out around the same time as the three KRITZER books, and they may seem worse than they actually are in comparison --- but not by much.  I'll probably read the third one, but I will have to read something between KRITZER TIME and it first.

******

Television Alert

I rarely watch any sitcoms that are more recent than the late 70s or early 80s because they are just not funny.  The one current exception is "Hope and Faith" and tonight (9:00 Eastern/Pacific on ABC) they are rerunning the funniest episode so far... one that we watched twice when it was first on.  I was initially unprepared for how funny Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford could be when given good material, but they are today's answer to Laverne and Shirley or (dare I say it?) Lucy and Ethel.  Even Ted McGinley --- usually the kiss of death to any series --- is not bad.  If you've never seen this show, tonight is a good time to try it.

[William E. Lurie]

Noel -
I'm seeing PARDON MY ENGLISH tomorrow afternoon (I always go to the Sat. Matinees because of the post-show discussion groups).  Who did Rachel Koloff replace and is she supposed to be doing all five shows or only the one you saw?

[Ron Pulliam]

Might this be USA's future hope?



Johnny Weir

Unless he has a severe "makeover" in his choice of costumes and hair style, PERISH the thought.

[DERBRUCER]

BK:  I saw your post re: your FSM comment to Joe Caps only this morning.

I too snooped on BK's posts:

"...I've finsished listening to the three discs..." (GOLDSMITH Thread)

"I don't give a flying Wallenda if this track should be joined to that track or that track should come in the middle of this track –"

This from a man who clearly has struggled with putting together a Thomas Train set on Christmas Eve.

Well, I'm finsished carping.

der Brucer (shouldn't "finsished" be followed with an "And one for Mahler")