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[Joey]

Re: A Tale of Two Cities... Last I talked to them there is going to be a workshop sometime this fall. Didn't have any dates set. I feel bad because I wasn't in very good touch with them with the end of my first year of college I got busy. I emailed them not too long ago, but they haven't gotten back to me yet. Check out the website www.ataleof2cities.com and go to the songs and lyrics page. Several of the songs have full length clips you can listen to. My favorite is "If Dreams Came True". The producers are Ron Sharpe and Barbra Russell and is written by Jill Santoriello (sister of Alex Santoiello) Paul Gemignani is in on the project too which is pretty exciting, and Gabriel Barre is directing. I tend to ramble about it so I'll stop myself now. If you have any other questions feel free to ask! It actually had its world premiere at the Circle Theatre in Indianapolis which I thought was interesting.

I will be spending this evening with the rest of the people from the show I'm in at a pool/Tonys party.

Song of the South is actually the Japanese Laserisc. (though we don't have a laserdisc player so we had the person who bought it for us copy it to videotape.) He was in Japan and saw it and knew we'd love it . It's fun watching it with the Japanese subtitles during the songs. I wish they would release it on DVD!!!

Newsies is great, but for some reason. (I think its because my DVD player is cheap. The DVD player squeezes it so everything looks narrower than it should.  So I usually watch it on my parents dvd player or on my laptop. (Which reader works for MTI? I know they are planning on adapting it for the stage?)

[DERBRUCER]

And now our Hungie of the day.

A Hungie is a fan of William Hung?

der Brucer

[Joey]

Oooh I should add that Ron and Barbra just produced a CD of lovesongs that were sung by Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy since I know many of you are old movie buffs. It's them singing the songs made popular by Eddy and MacDonald.   http://www.russellsharpeproductions.com/sweethearts/index.cfm

[George]

Another memorable Tony moment:

Michael Jeter and Brent Barrett (my first time seeing either of them) doing "We'll Take a Glass Together" in the GRAND HOTEL excerpt. After I saw it on TV, I booked tickets and a flight and saw it, CITY OF ANGELS, and other shows that December. All of the original casts were still with the shows, and overall was one of the best trips to NYC ever to see shows.

This was one of my most favorite moments.  And I remember Michael Jeter crying when he accepted his award.  It was such a personal triumph for him and what he'd gone through in his life up to that point.

[Danise]

So everyone is fasting today?

[Joey]

Haha I am not sure what I am going to be eating! I am sure the person who is hosting will get creative!

[George]

I don't know what I'll be having, either, but I will be eating.  Right now I have to go to my sister's and help her set up some shelving for her garage.  I told her in no uncertain terms that I MUST be home at 4:00 (PDT) for the Internet pre-show announcements and then I will not be available after 8:00 PDT.  Post often...but no spoilers, please!!

[Panni]

A Hungie is a fan of William Hung?

I can proudly say that William Hung is NOT Hungarian.
BTW - Newsies had a Hungarian cinematographer. And isn't it interesting that there are so many Hungarian cinematographers of note...Laszlo Kovacs, Vilmos Zsigmond, Elemer Ragalyi, etc. Wonder why that is?

[Panni]

An interesting quote from an article I was just reading:
After the failure of 1956, the Hungarian writer Tibor Dery remarked: What is Hungarianess? A joke dancing over catastrophes," a statement that captures one aspect of Hungarian separation and pessimism. Another is captured by the 20th-century author, Arthur Koestler, who was born in Hungary and lived much of his life elsewhere, but claimed always to have dreamed in Hungarian: "The peculiar intensity of their existence can perhaps be explained by this exceptional loneliness. To be a Hungarian is a collective neurosis." :o

[Panni]

And my last bit of Hungariana for today...
"The composer Franz Liszt was a Hungarian by choice. Liszt didn't know Magyar, though he took up the study of the language in 1829. He is said to have stopped at his fifth lesson when he learned that the word in Hungarian for "unshakability" is tantorithatatlansag, a mouthful he evidently found insurmountable."

[Jason]

Joey...I work at MTI and yes, we will be adapting NEWSIES eventually for our Broadway, Jr. department. Unfortunately we won't be adapting it for the big kids to do...sorry. If (and when) NEWSIES ever becomes a full-length show for grown-ups to do, Mr. Menken will do it--not MTI. You wouldn't believe the requests we get for it, and the extreme disappointment when people find out it's never been a stage show!

I ran into Senora Lavadora today. That hateful putana is using TEN (!) dryers!!! In one dryer (I'm not lying) she had four white t-shirts and a hand towel. And for some reason, without even feeling the clothes to see if they were dry, she went around the room and added more quarters to all of her machines while there were five of us waiting with baskets full of wet clothes. I noticed on one machine that she added two quarters (that equals fourteen minutes) to a machine that still had 18 minutes left! And she never even felt the clothes to see if they were dry yet!! I hate her and I hate her culo face!

[Jason]

OH! Tonight I will indulge myself and have a Whopper with fries. And then at my friend's house, we're having hors d'oeuvres--and he's making my favorites (mini-quiches) just for me.

[Noel]

Extracts from an LA Times article:If Tony history is any indication, "Caroline" will have a tough time snatching the top award of the night from its competition. Almost invariably, the sunnier show has won: "West Side Story" lost to "The Music Man," "Gypsy" to "The Sound of Music," "Sunday in the Park With George" to "La Cage aux Folles…

"When you're a pioneer, sometimes it takes a bit of work and a bit of time," she says. "Sometimes it's better to leave it for history to decide rather than to try to second-guess these things."

But second-guessing is what Broadway producers are paid to do in terms of the audience's acceptance of whatever may be proffered. Those expectations change, as the revival of "Chicago" has proved so lucratively. When that John Kander-Fred Ebb musical opened in 1975, director Bob Fosse's black comic vision of merry murderesses was widely considered by both audiences and critics as too cynical and nasty.
[Bolding is mine, not the Times]

der Brucer

Well, I thank der Brucer for the posting and bolding.

It's been a wonderfully varied year for Broadway musicals: I can't think when there's ever been nominated four more different shows than Wicked, The Boy From Oz, Avenue Q and Caroline or Change.

We have a traditional book musical with star turns and a huge set.  We have that more-recent beast, the musical using a score that was written many years ago - and not, in most cases, for the stage.  We have an extremely funny musical that's also an innovation, as no previous show (even those with puppets) has been remotely like it.  And we have an unsentimental memory-play. a chamber opera which finds the link between Jewish and black music.

But, if the sunniest show wins, well, I'd have to ask the author of the article: which is the sunniest show?  Is it Boy From Oz for glossing over the ravages of death from AIDS?  Is Caroline to be considered sunny since nothing so terrible happens to its characters?  Is Avenue Q a sunny show (with one of its production numbers being "It Sucks To Be Me"?  Is Wicked sunnier?

Also, the author doesn't seem to remember that the original Chicago was a huge hit, embraced by both critics and audiences.  It wasn't nearly the hit of the other big show that year, A Chorus Line, but nothing is.

[Jane]

Seeing Ronald Reagan again after all these years, I notice how much ACTING he did. Just watch the speech he gave when the hostages in Iran were released. The lowering of the voice, the breathless excitement, the dramatic pauses...

Yes, even when you didn’t like what he said, he still sounded and looked good.  

Who remembers what they were doing when he was shot?  I was listening, with my boys, to a radio broadcast of STAR WARS.  At the time we lived in Connecticut in a charming Cape Cod style home.

When he died I was at the nursing home with Echo and the TV’s were suddenly full of the news.

[JoseSPiano]

Good Afternoon!

I tried posting last night before going to bed, but my laptop was being "touchy", so I took that as a sign that I should finally get some sleep - for the first time in 36 hours!  I didn't end up getting to bed until around 3:00am, but I slept well, and even though I sort of slept in today, I'm pretty sure I should be back to a normal sleeping schedule - well, at least my sense of normal.  Plus, it's very sunny and bright today, and it's supposed to be a nice day weather-wise tomorrow too.

-Well, I just opened the blinds in the front room, and even though it is bright outside, the sky is a bit cloudy.. ah, well.. The sun is just being modest right now.

As for favorite Tony moments...  I'd have to say almost every musical number - whether from a show or something for the ceremony - is a favorite moment of mine.  The one series that always comes to my mind is when they did that mini-retrospective of the past Tony winners that included Priscilla Lopez singing "What I Did for Love" and Sweeney Todd.  I also remember being thrilled by the Evita sequence.

It will be interesting to see how tonight's ceremonies turn out.  There is quite the possibility for some very heartfelt acceptance speeches - and I'm always a sucker for a good cry.

OK - I want to get some "work" done today before the Tonys start...

Laters..

[Jane]

Danise I haven’t read the new Dune Books.  Do they continue where the last ones left off?

I am recording the Tony’s but won’t be watching.  I still have a book I must finish reading.

Dan (the Man) your “Tony” is cool.  Is there a story to go with it?

Jason, I’m missing your cute face.

Panni, the Hungarian posts are great.  How long can you keep them coming?

[Panni]

Panni, the Hungarian posts are great.  How long can you keep them coming?

Glad you're enjoying them, Jane. There are lots and lots of interesting Hungarians, so I can keep it going for a LONG time.

[Robin]

A Hungie is a fan of William Hung?

The notion that he has fans at all perplexes me.  

[Jason]

I just realized that it was one year ago on Tony night that I made the move to the Poconos to start rehearsals for TITANIC. My, how time flies...

[Tomovoz]

Favourite Tony moments for me - the sequence from "Big River" and also Judy Kuhn singing "Rags".(I suspect I wrote this a year ago too!). I also like the dance sequence from "Big Deal" or whatever the Fosse musical was called. They were "Tony moments" that made me so interested in seeing the shows and buying the Cds. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[bk]

We're having a fine partay, but there are lots of errant and truant people who are going to be bitch-slapped from here to eternity and hell and back.  THIS is the place to be - not OTHER places.  We are happening, baby, we are the ginchiest, and the gearest, and the grooviest, we are cool, man, cool, daddy-o, so let's get with it you errant and truant people.

And one for Mahler.

[MBarnum]

I just have not Tony Award comments to make, but I is here, where I should be...so no slaps will be coming in my direction I hope! LOL!

Just finished watching a most interesting DVD. STRIKE ME DEADLY (1963) starring Gary (THE VIRGINIAN) Clarke and Jeannine (PETTICOAT JUNCTION) Riley...first film made by Ted V. Mikels who is more famous for his films THE ASTRO ZOMBIES and THE CORPSE GRINDERS...LOL...but don't let that fool you, STRIKE ME DEADLY is one of the niftiest low budget thrillers I have seen to date! Quite suspensful and it has some great (and sometimes rather adult) dialogue! Clarke and Riley are newlyweds who are temporarly working as forest rangers. Clarke witnesses a murder in the woods and the killer tracks down the young couple and decides he must kill them. I am surprised that Ted V. Mikels made such a good film. As I said it is very low budget but he had a good cast and an intelligent script. Highly recommended if you come across the DVD (only $9.99!).


Now off to watch the DVD of the 1936 Ellery Queen film  THE MANDARIN MYSTERY starring my favorite Charlotte Henry!

[Panni]

Note to bk and all other interested parties - As a time waster fun exercise I entered "Sondheim Hungarian" into Google to see what would come up. I was sort of hoping to discover that Mr. S. was of Hungarian heritage - which would by my coup for Tony day. Well, the interesting thing about the results is how many times a certain Bruce Kimmel came up!
bk, you seem to mention Hungarians fairly often, especially when speaking of Sondheim. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just thought I'd point it out.
(And no, I have not as yet discovered the Sondheim-Magyar link. But I'm working on it.)

[bk]

Okay, where in tarnation IS everyone?  Two people in the middle of a partay?  Is this siesta time?  A lull?  The calm before the storm?

[bk]

If you frequent other theater sites, STAY AWAY.  There are posts (some with spoilers, some not) and thank goodness I got out just in the nick of time before seeing anything I shouldn't.

[Dan (the Man)]

Where did you get that?  

Dan (the Man) your “Tony” is cool.  Is there a story to go with it?

I wish I had an intriguing story to go with it, but I bought it on eBay.

[Panni]

I'm not opening my eyes until after the Tonys, lest I see something I shouldn't. (Driving my be hard, but I'll manage. This is LA after all and many people seem to be driving with their eyes closed.)
BTW - I have now done extensive research and Mr. Sondheim, poor man, does not seem to have any Hungarian blood. He is of German-Lituanian heritage, according to what I've just read.

[Panni]

My advice to those contemplating leftover Mexican food for lunch: Don't. It made me very sleepy and very thirsty. (But it was tasty.)

[S. Woody White]

Another memorable Tony moment:

Michael Jeter and Brent Barrett (my first time seeing either of them) doing "We'll Take a Glass Together" in the GRAND HOTEL excerpt. After I saw it on TV, I booked tickets and a flight and saw it, CITY OF ANGELS, and other shows that December. All of the original casts were still with the shows, and overall was one of the best trips to NYC ever to see shows.

And immediately after winning his Tony, Jeter was signed to co-star on the Burt Reynold's TV vehicle, Evening Shade.  The other award shows are where you see people who already are movie and television stars.  The Tonys is where you see the new stars for the first time.

Dang, I miss Michael Jeter.

[Dan (the Man)]

BTW - I have now done extensive research and Mr. Sondheim, poor man, does not seem to have any Hungarian blood. He is of German-Lituanian heritage, according to what I've just read.

You know, depending on who you believe, Eliza Dolittle is Hungarian.