Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[bk]

Well, you've read the notes, you are aware of the early bird gets the worm business, and now you are ready to post until the cows come home, which will take awhile since they're traveling right now.

[Tomovoz]

Extraordinary concerts:

Barbara Cook at the Melbourne Concert Hall
Paul Simon at The Royal Albert Hall
Paul Simon at Flinders Park (or whatever the Melbourne Tennis Centre is called this year!)

The most fun:  Village People at Melbourne's Festival Hall.

First Concert: Melbourne's Festival Hall (when it was called the West Melbourne Stadium) - The Mouseketeers & the Diamonds (1958).

Worst concert:  Dionne Warwick - Melbourne
Loudest (and painfull). Maria Muldau

[Charles Pogue]

I really can't think of many concerts I have gone to outside of the Hollywood Bowl, which is alwas a wonderful experience.  I've seen Rosemary Clooney, Babs Cook (with Mandy Patinkin), Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald.  The lovely wife and I like to sit up in the nose-bleed section of the cheap seats.  We take a picnic dinner and some nice bottles of wine and spread out and have a lovely evening under the stars.  I also know secret places to park which with a few minutes walk let you avoid the crowds at the end of the evening.

The only other concert I think I have gone to was to see Bobby Short once at the Wilshire.  

I have also seen Bobby at some hotel in Dallas.  and I saw Anthony Newley at the same hotel once.

[George]

I've seen The Manhattan Transfer in concert six different times.  They were fabulous every time.  I've also Sade (pronounced Shah-day...not Shar-day) in concert.  That was pretty good, too.  My niece loves The Corrs and had tickets to see them in an outdoor concert, but she couldn't go.  She was too sick at the time (a couple of years ago, I think), so her mom (my sister) and I went.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I also had to take my niece to see The Dixie Chicks in concert.  That was a very good concert.  But the best has been and always will be The Manhattan Transfer!

[George]

Have a great trip, BK!!

[George]

I'm off to beddy-bye land.  'Night!

[JoseSPiano]

Good Morning!

I, too, have had a bad Dionne Warwick concert experience.  Amazingly short set - her opening comic, who was Jenny Jones at the time, did about an hour - just as long as Ms. Warwick's portion of the evening.  And she sang three songs that were duets with male singers... with tracks!?!?!?

Favorite concerts:
Tuck & Patti - They opened for Spyro Gyra a couple of years ago.  I only went to see/hear Tuck & Patti, and after Spyro Gyra started their set, I - and a bunch of other people - started to leave.  Eh...  But Tuck & Patti put on a great show.

Barbara Cook's "Mostly Sondheim" evening at the Kennedy Center.  It was her final performance during the Sondheim Celebration, and I had house seats.  

My first National Symphony Concert - Vladimir Askenazy was the pianist - Brahms' Second Piano Concerto.

There have been a bunch of other ones, but they're not coming to  mind right now...

[JoseSPiano]

Well, it's been a good, long day.  And now it's time for some good sleep.

Goodnight.

[Iris*]

Saw Penny O's show this evening, and, oh, anyone going to see it is in for a treat! Penny was so funny-the audience seemed to love her. And Jose was wonderful as always.
Glad you liked the cream puffs, Jose, and I look forward to chatting with you again on Friday.

Safe trip to everyone heading for NYC!

[bk]

Soon I shall be on my way to the Beach of Long and then on my way to New York, New York.

[elmore3003]

Good morning, all!  Oy!  The weekend has officially begun with BK's departure to the East Coast.  I'm hoping the subway problem has been solved before I head out in the next few minutes, and that its fine for the incoming friends, especially DR Danise.  Also, it's been quite chilly the past few days, so bring some thermal underwear or something to wear that's warm for the outdoors.

Speaking of incoming friends, would you please PM or email me with your hotel info and phone numbers (hotel or cell)?  Thanks!

Concerts?
  A.  In Dec 194, I sang in the chorus of a wonderful MESSIAH, with the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by the late great Max Rudolf, a fantastic conductor and a wonderful gentleman.  By contemporary baroque performance practice, this would probably sound stodgy and Victorian now, but the concert was my first exposure to one of the world's great compositions, the soloists were superb, and it's one of my concert highlights.

  B.  In 1988, I was one of Michael Tilson Thomas' assistants and librarian for a fantastic Gershwin celebration at the Brooklyn Academy with Larry Kert, Maureen McGovern, Julia Migenes, Christopher Walken, Madeleine Kahn, Leonard Bernstein, Rosemary Clooney, and others.  PBS played with it and the broadcast won an Emmy.  I adore Michael Tilson Thomas, who's an amazing conductor and gentleman, and working with him was certainly one of the great opportunities I've ever been given.

  C.  The best concerts I've been to:
          1.  The New World Symphony conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas at Carnegie Hall around 1990.  I have no idea now what they played beyond a John Adams piece, but the orchestra was young and enthusiastic, Michael is tops, and I remember how exciting it was.
          2.  In 1973, Bette Midler played the Cincinnati Music Hall, and I had her first album.  For birthday gifts to friends and my brother and his wife (the first of three) whose birthdays ran from Nov 5-11 (literally Nov. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11), I bought them and myself tickets to Bette's concert.  No one in the group knew who she was beyond me, and I thought it was a hoot to get to Music Hall and find the steps to the door covered in drag queens.  Barry Manilow had a set to open the second half, and it's probably the greatest event I ever attended.  
         3.  A close second would be Cleo Laine and John Dankworth around 1976 and another amazing performance I hoped would never end.
         4.  In 1970 or so, Beverly Sills finally became famous after singing everywhere for years.  I had seen her do FAUST and TALES OF HOFFMANN at the old Cincinnati Opera in the Zoo, and she'd been wonderful.  The City Opera revival of Handel's GIULIO CESARE for her and Norman Treigel made her a star, and I was lucky to see a performance.  At the end of her first big aria, she gave the audience a "top that!" look and sailed offstage in this huge barogue gown.  I don't think we have divas of that calibre any more, and La Sills was amazing.  The audience went crazy.
         5.  Over 10 years ago, Marc Shaiman moved from New York to Los Angeles to work with Bette Midler, and his farewell to New York included two concerts at The Bitter End with a small band and a lot of his friends performing Marc's songs.  If you were lucky to be there, it was one helluva night!

WORST CONCERT:  Miami University 1971, Judy Collins seemed very unfriendly:  no encores, no talking to the audience, and it all seemed very brisk.  To be fair to a lady I've adored since I first heard her and who's always pleasant when I see her these days, I think she was going through a bad personal period, and it wasn't a bad concert at all; it was a letdown for me.
I still think she's one of the greats and always will.

[Ben]

Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall in 1980 and the Manhattan Transfer in Saint Paul in 1978. Both amazing and wonderful.

I saw The Glass Menagerie last night. It's got problems. First of all, I don't remember it being almost 3 hours. Perhaps it is but the other productions I saw were paced better. It drags terribly at points and comes in at almost 2:45. I looked at my watch more than once during the show, always a bad sign. It opens in one week so I don't think they're doing much about running time. I wish I could understand why the director, David Leveaux, decided to do some of the scenes, important ones IMHO (In My Humble Opinion), behind a lace curtain scrim??? Also, the scene in the first act where Tom grabs his coat to run out and the coat hits the shelf where Laura keeps her glass animals is badly staged. The uproar that follows is not in proportion to the little or no damage caused by the action of the coat hitting the shelf.

 The girl playing Laura comes off the worst in this production. Although there is repeated mention in the script that Laura is "crippled" again in other productions I don't remember it being so obvious. The brace is very prominent and although she doesn't drag her bad leg behind her she certainly limps much more than I think necessary. Also some of her shyness seems to have devolved into slight developmental disability. It's so unpleasant to watch in the scene with the Gentleman Caller. Granted, she has very few social skills but the staging and line readings just ring so false for me.

There is (IMHO) some disturbing staging between Tom and Laura in the first act. I know he loves and treasures his sister but some of the physical staging brings the idea of incest far too close to the surface for me.

While Jessica Lange is good in the role it's not a career marking performance and Christian Slater seems to be in another play. He's speaking Williams' lines but they just don't connect for me. He also just played "drunk" in his scene coming home from "the movies". It's hard to make drunk work on stage and he doesn't do it. As an actor would say, he's "indicating" all over the stage. Also, the blow-ups between Amanda and Tom are just loud choreographed movement on stage, there doesn't seem to be any truth or reality to the scenes.

I'm really disappointed in this production. The poetic beauty of the piece (in spite of it being a rather sad story) is missing. Williams has written gorgeous lines and they are delivered by competent actors but something is missing. Slater has been in the show for a while now but it seems like he's still searching for the character. He knows his lines but he doesn't bring the character alive for me.

Oh, well. You pay your money and you take your chances.

On another note (C#), glad to hear the first night for JTOB went well.

Since it's now 8:19 I must hie off to Robert Wood Johnson and his various and sundried grants. I will return later.

[vixmom]

[move=left,scroll,6,transparent,100%]Happy St. Patrick's Day!![/move]

[vixmom]

TOD:

I've seen Fairport Convention several times and their concerts ar always fun, but the best one for me was one November at the Stephen Talkhouse  out in Amagansett on the South Fork of Long Island.

It was a very small and intiment setting and out table was right up against the stages.  The kitchen had been closed for the winter so they allowed you to bring food in form the deli and the pizza parlour next door.  The band shared our nachos and cheese and pizza between songs!

[vixmom]

I also remeber very fondly seeing Dan Fogelberg at Carnegie Hall,must have been 1978 or so. It was just him on the stage with his guitar and it was a wonderful evening.


One of the worst concerts I had been to was the Petty/Dylan  at Madison Square Garden in 1985  or 1986 , I think,,, Petty was ok but Dylan had absolutely no connection to the audience.  The lights came up, he sang, the stage went black, never spoke to the audience, didn't appear to even notice we were there.  It was a real turnoff.

[vixmom]

For anyone who might be interested, I just got this offer in my emailbox:
THE MINUTE YOU WALK IN THE JOINT…

 
 You’re in for the best time
on Broadway.

How sweet! Tony Award nominee Charlotte d'Amboise
is coming to Broadway in a dazzling new production of
the smash-hit musical SWEET CHARITY.
 
And now, as a New York Times Ticketwatch subscriber, you're being offered a terrific deal: See SWEET CHARITY for just $50 (Monday - Thursday) or just $55* (Friday & Saturday). That's a savings of up to 50%. This offer is good for preview performances from April 4th through April 20th only, so get your tickets right away!

One of Broadway's top leading ladies and most sensational dancers, Ms. d'Amboise has starred in such shows as Chicago, Contact, Damn Yankees and Jerome Robbins' Broadway.

In SWEET CHARITY, she'll play the irrepressible Charity Hope Valentine, a true original, eternal optimist… and the unluckiest romantic in New York City.

Starring with her is Denis O'Hare, who won a Tony Award for Take Me Out.

Directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, SWEET CHARITY has a hilarious book by none other than Neil Simon. And the classic score (by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields) features such hits as "Hey, Big Spender" and "If My Friends Could See Me Now."



PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Mon. 8, Tues. 8, Wed. 2 & 8, Thurs. 8, Fri. 8. Sat. 2 & 8
 

There are three easy ways to get your specially priced tickets:

BY PHONE: Call Telecharge.com at 212-947-8844 and mention code SC4YTW2.

ONLINE: Visit broadwayoffers.com and enter code SC4YTW2.

IN PERSON: Go to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre box office, 302 W. 45th St., NYC.

To find out more about SWEET CHARITY, visit www.sweetcharitythemusical.com.
 
*Offer good for Orchestra/Mezzanine seats (rows A-R). Offer valid for all perfs from April 4 through April 20, 2005. Offer is subject to availability and prior sale; not valid on prior purchases; cannot be combined with any other discounts or promotions. Valid via phones, box office, or Internet. Limit eight ( tickets per order. No refunds or exchanges. Telephone and Internet orders are subject to standard service fees. Cast and performance schedule subject to change. Certain blackout dates may apply. Offer may be revoked at any time.
     
   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 

[DERBRUCER]

Rumored "sexual orientation" trumped by demonstrated questionable professional ethics:

FoxNews

Ex-'Idol' Hires Clay's Lawyer, Releases Album
Thursday, March 17, 2005
By Roger Friedman

"Personal reasons" be damned. The secret is out (and so is the album).

Mario Vasquez, the guy who quit "American Idol" suddenly last week, has been "Clay-ed," or is that "Ai-way-kened?"

He's hired Clay Aiken's high-powered record-industry lawyer. And he may have jeopardized his "amateur" status by being featured on an album that's already been released.

Vasquez, I've learned, has gotten Atlanta entertainment lawyer Jess L. Rosen to represent him. Coincidentally — or not, depending on how you look at it — Rosen is most famous for extricating Aiken from his octopus-tentacled "American Idol" management contract with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment last year.
…
In leaving the show, Vasquez was obviously convinced of the value of bowing out now rather than continuing through the needless process of competition. Aiken would be his role model.

After losing "American Idol" to Ruben Studdard, Aiken realized that he was stuck with a management contract that kept him with Fuller, the show's owner, for years to come at a very high commission.

Rosen got him out of it and moved him over to Jeff Kwatinetz's behemoth agency, The Firm.

der Brucer

PS The link has a nice review of SPAMALOT

[DERBRUCER]

Marty in his famous "Labra-ball" pose with Baxter using him as a pillow!



der Brucer

[Hisaka]

Have a good flight,  dear BK!
And enjoy your NYC stay with beautiful DRs.

Look forward to many pictures will be posted.

[Ginny]

Concerts:  Bette Midler, early in her career, played Detroit's Masonic Auditorium and Ann Arbor's Hill Auditorium, and I attended both.  Barry Manilow was her pianist and Melissa Manchester was a Harlette.

During high school in the '60's:  Peter, Paul, and Mary at Detroit Masonic and The Supremes and The New Christy Minstrels at the Michigan State Fair

Concert-related memorable experience:  On my first trip to NYC, with my mother in 1967, we toured the then-new Lincoln Center and were unable to go into Avery Fisher Hall because there was a rehearsal in progress.  The guide, instead, took us to an observation room, from which we watched Leonard Bernstein and Van Cliburn rehearse.  That was a thrill.

[Hisaka]

Thank you DRs JANE, TOMOVOZ and RODZINSKI for your mentions of "dubber".
I think the word works.

[MBarnum]

I have only been to one concert and this one was in 1984 or '85...Portland Oregon...TALK TALK and BERLIN. It was a lot of fun. BERLIN, particularly, put on a great show.

[vixmom]

Here is another ad for any one who might be interested

ALTAR BOYZ, the new musical comedy and unqualified hit of the New York Musical Theatre Festival is now winning over audiences and critics alike Off Broadway, and you can see what everyone's laughing about for JUST $39.75*!

ALTAR BOYZ is the hysterical account of five singing heartthrobs from Ohio - Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham (he's Jewish!) - whose soul-searching performance leads to some surprising discoveries during their New York City debut. Whether you like Abba, Bernstein or *NSYNC, you will love the sweet harmonies and high-octane choreography of these five wildly talented performers. A show for the entire family, ALTAR BOYZ is 90 minutes of pure fun, called "HILARIOUS!" by Newsday, The Star-Ledger, The Journal News, Variety, Daily News, and the Associated Press!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

See ALTAR BOYZ for just $39.75*
for all performances thru July 3!
(Reg. Price $66* for Tues-Thurs at 8, Sun at 7; $69* for Fri at 8, Sat at 2 & 8, Sun at 3.)

That's a savings of 40%!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 3 easy ways to get your $39.75* tickets:

1. ONLINE: Click Here or visit www.broadwayoffers.com and enter code: ABPBX54

2. BY PHONE: Call Telecharge.com at 212-947-8844 and mention code: ABPBX54

3.  IN PERSON: Print this page and bring it to the Dodger Stages Box Office, 340 West 50th St., open daily: Mon - Fri at 1pm, Sat & Sun at noon.

Performance Schedule:
Tues - Sat at 8, Sun at 7; matinees Sat at 2, Sun at 3
 

*Offer valid for performances through 7/3/05. Blackout dates may apply. All prices include a $1.00 facility fee. Normal  service charges apply to phone and online orders. Limit 10 tickets per order. All sales final. No refunds or exchanges. Not valid in combination with any other offer or on prior sales. Offer expires on July 3, 2005, but may be revoked at any time.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[vixmom]

More and more concerts are coming to mind:  Jethro Tull at the Jones Beach Theatre, where the stage is floating just offshore...on a lovely warm summer evening in 1987  or 1988...

[MBarnum]

DR Rodzinski, is RAGE OF THE WEREWOLF your only film? I will have to find a copy of it! It would be fun to see.

[Ginny]

More and more concerts are coming to mind

Isn't it funny how these TOD's do that?

More concerts for me:  Victor Borge with Cincinnati Pops, Doc Severinson at Crisler Arena (Univ. of Michigan), Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Fraze Pavillion here in Dayton, a Miami University Men's Glee Club Alumni Reunion concert in which my DH Richard and both of his brothers sang.

[vixmom]

The  much needed security cover shade mentions did no good, but now we're getting Broadway theatre ads....

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions BTW.. and Jose thanks for the offer of the escort shade, but I don't think it will fit.

I actually did buy a shade on ebay for a 1996 Taurus wagon, it turned out that ws the year they had changed the body shape, and of course it doesn't fit.  So now I have to offload that!

The way it got on the roof, is that it slides out to make more room when you have a lot of cargo.  When dear dear DH bought me the Gazebo for Valentine's Day
 (dislocating his arm  in the process of loading it as you may recall) he placed the roller shade thing on the roof.  With all the arm dislocating ruckus we forgot it was up there and then when we got home we were tending to his arm.  We never heard it fall off, but fall off it must have, and we didn't remember it until about a week later, when I went to use it and found it was gone.. of course during that time period there were several snows and of course plowings so all chance of recovering the cargo security roller shade was lost.... and here endeth the sad saga of the cargo cover roller shade that is no more

[vixmom]

DR Rodzinski, is RAGE OF THE WEREWOLF your only film? I will have to find a copy of it! It would be fun to see.

I think DR Rodzinski should  have a showing of it at the HHW meet Saturday night!!

[William F. Orr]

In Dec 194, I sang in the chorus of a wonderful MESSIAH,

Well, it's good to know I'm not the oldest one on this here website.

[William F. Orr]

And with that I will suddenly deWussburg.

I have been lurking, yes I have been lurking.  But it seems I'm always a week behind reading the posts, and I never want to post until I'm up-to-date.  

The good news is that Joe and I will be at the signing and the show and the PARTAYs afterwards.  Since he came down with EMS, it has been too difficult to make a day-trip into the city, so once or twice a year we have a theatre week, and fortunately this hhw get-together coincides with my spring break.

I have moved my final from Friday to today SPECIFICALLY so I can attend the most excellent (Oh, a Bill and Ted reference!) book-signing.

We will be staying at the Marriott Marquis for six days.  Our plans:

FRIDAY:  Signing and Joe Allen.
SATURDAY:  Jewish Thighs and Angus.
SUNDAY:  Dame Edna
MONDAY:  Forbidden Broadway
TUESDAY:  Dame Edna Turnblatt (Hairspray)
WEDNESDAY:  The Producers
MONDAY:  Washday.  Send your undies Chinese laundry in Hong Kong.

Gotta run and torture my students.  Laters.