Topic: 23 HICCUPS (Read 29972 times)

bk · « **on:** October 31, 2005, 12:05:34 AM »

Well, you've read the notes, you've hiccuped twenty three times so that you are in synch with my not-quite-yet-replaced modem, and now it is time for you to post until the hiccupping cows come home.

bk · « **Reply #1 on:** October 31, 2005, 12:07:31 AM »

And the word of the day is: MUNIFICENT!

bk · « **Reply #2 on:** October 31, 2005, 12:49:43 AM »

I see that everyone has decided to wear their WUSSBURGER costumes. Not only WUSSBURGER, but WUSSBURGER WITH CHEESE costumes.

Charles Pogue · « **Reply #3 on:** October 31, 2005, 01:56:32 AM »

The worst professional production I have ever seen is a one-man show that Nicol Williamson did playing John Barrymore. Unlike the excellent-in-every-way one-man show Christopher Plummer did portraying Barrymore, Williamson's show was a sloppy, self-absorbed, undisciplined ego trip.

First of all, he made virtually no attempt to look like Barrymore...not even the usual pencil mustache. He looked instead...just like Nicol Williamson, blonde, curly hair and all. Now I suppose I could have forgone him not looking like Barrymore, had his acting been superlative, and he made me believe him.

But he didn't. He made no attempt to portray Barrymore either, but actually was playing Nicol Williamson and just saying he was Barrymore. His characterization was non-existent. His portraint was full of Nicol Williamson tics and indulgences and masturbatory theatrics that had nothing to do with the Great Profile. He would sing snatches of little ditties that I'm sure Barrymore never sang. He stumbled over lines when he didn't forget them altogether at times. He was frenetic and uncontrolled and all over the place. At times he acted like he was drunk or something.

I'm a bit of a Barrymore aficianado (I've got a program from his Hamlet at the Haymarket and two huge portraits of him hang in my TV room...one is as Svengali...printed from the original negative). I've read all the bios and know the nuances of his life pretty well and I not only found the performance sloppy, but the script as well...although Williamson sounded like he was rambling off and away from the script many, many times. Still it seemed badly researched and not particularly dramatic and utterly missed capturing the essence of Barrymore.

Further, Williamson was contemptuous of his audience. He knew he was giving a half-assed, flatulent, indulgent performance and didn't care, thinking he could phone it in and most of the rubes in the audience wouldn't know the difference. Unfortunately, he was right. He got a standing ovation simply because the cretins that night at the Geffen Theatre thought they were supposed to be impressed by anything English or because he was name actor. I think I audibly booed.

He was a very bad boy, giving a very bad performance in a very bad show. And he knew it. And got away with it...except he didn't get away with it with me!

elmore3003 · « **Reply #4 on:** October 31, 2005, 02:32:13 AM »

Good morning, all! I was awake at 4:30 am, thinking about traveling to Chicago, and at 4:45 or so, I decided to get out of bed and finish the preparations for the trek. I keep thinking I've forgotten something in packing, but I also feel I've packed enough to be away for six months. Beats me.

Dear Friend BK, a lousy modem kept my computer out of whack for severasl months this summer. I'm sure your new modem will have you leaping like a gazelle in a woolly thong in no time.

TOD: the Ohio Light Opera production of MY FAIR LADY was the worst thing I've ever seen, and it was ineptly directed by the man directing opera productions for the Eastman School of Music. His directing abilities are not great, but MFL and its dramatics eluded him. The lady who choreographs for Ohio Light Opera is equally terrible since she gives her (limited) dancers around 5 or 6 limited steps for the little dances/prances in operetta numbers. Unfortunately, MY FAIR LADY is a big dance show and she and the director were not up to it.
1. Wouldn't It Be Loverly?: as soon as Liza started singing the refrain, she and the four Cockneys who sing the verse started prancing like mad, so when the dance break arrived, they cut the dance.
2. The scene changes took forever, and the production moved slower than a gazelle in a cast-iron corset.
3. The servants all arrived onstage before the end of "The Rain in Spain" so that when Mrs Pearce made a comment about all the noise waking her up, she was onstage to see it.
4. When Liza came back at the end, Higgins asked where his slippers were and they ended in a big kiss.

There's more to remember but the production was scarier than the same team's THE YEOMAN OF THE GUARD, THE BLAIR WITCH, PSYCHO, and A CHORUS LINE: THE FILM put together!

Tomovoz · « **Reply #5 on:** October 31, 2005, 02:39:20 AM »

TOTD: Worst professional productions I've seen here in Melbourne were 1. "Chess" - cheap set design and poorly staged. I've seen much better productions by non professional companies.
2. "A Chorus Line" (Revival_ which totally lacked any magic at all. theatre by numbers!!
3. "Man Of La Mancha" - Aldonza played and acted like Fanny Brice! and most of the production just without focus. A very sad night.

Tomovoz · « **Reply #6 on:** October 31, 2005, 02:45:11 AM »

Good morning DR Elmore. Safe journey.

elmore3003 · « **Reply #7 on:** October 31, 2005, 03:09:06 AM »

Quote from: Tomovoz on October 31, 2005, 02:45:11 AM

Good morning DR Elmore. Safe journey.

Thank you, dear friend! Have a great week, all!

Jrand74 · « **Reply #8 on:** October 31, 2005, 03:54:10 AM »

Boo!

Jrand74 · « **Reply #9 on:** October 31, 2005, 03:55:36 AM »

We will be having our Spirit Circle at the World of Wisdom Bookshop this evening at 7 pm EST. Hopefully the experience will be munificent for me as its moderator - and exciting and comforting for those in attendance.

Beginning Friday I will also be working at the store part time.

Jrand74 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 31, 2005, 03:56:04 AM »

Have a good trip, DR ELMORE - wave as you fly over Indiana!

Jrand74 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 31, 2005, 04:09:26 AM »

So sorry to hear that CITY OF ANGELS was not a good experience! I like the score a lot. The play can be confusing.

TOD:

hmmmmm....Worst professional production would be a play called COASTAL DISTURBANCES. The play by Tina Howe was horrible and the performances were in perfect tune with it. I just remember the setting as a beach with a lifeguard's chair. At one point two OLD people came out and did a scene while setting up one of those portable tents. UGH!!

Worst amateur production:

Another MY FAIR LADY....whew. Not well sung, acted, or choreographed....and the direction was frightening. Accents all over the place. Characters wandering around the stage. The choreography was the kind that EVERYBODY does the STEP at the same TIME - and the SAME steps are always repeated during the chorus.

The kicker was the scene changes. The scenery was painted on 4x8 pieces of plywood with legs and braces. each plywood slab also had a piece of painted canvas attached to the top and weighted with a metal rod through the bottom. Throwing the canvas over the tops of the three plywood pieces would make a new backdrop.

And throw them they did. These canvas pieces would come flying over the tops of the slabs and hit the floor with a mighty BANG.....those that made it over the top. Some got snagged on the precipice and hung limply half way over. So poor Freddy sang ON THE STREET WHERE YOU LIVE to about 2/3's of the street.

And of course - twice the slabs were out of order so the the seams of the scenery didn't match.

By the middle of the show....so many of us in the audience were laughing it was very embarrassing....but I couldn't help it. Maybe it was SUPPOSED to be that way....I figured it was a joke on us.

Jrand74 · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2005, 04:20:45 AM »

DR CP:

Many years ago while I was sitting on the bench outside the Putnam County Playhouse - the grandmother of one of the children in the Children's Workshop was sitting on the opposite bench. She had on sunglasses and was very quiet.

I introduced myself and she did the same. Jean Nascimbene, wife of Dr. Leon Nascimbene. We started talking about the current season and she stated how much she enjoyed THE CRUCIBLE.

She then mentioned in passing that her father had been an actor on Broadway. I asked his name: Paul Huber.

Turns out that I was sitting on a bench in the field in the middle of Putnam County, Indiana, with the daughter of the man who played Rosencrantz in the John Barrymore production of HAMLET on Broadway.

She later brought me his scrapbooks to see (his Equity Card was number 3 or something like that) - telegrams on opening nights from many notables including Jeanne Eagels and Barrymore.... He was also in KING LEAR with Reginald Pole in the title role. Later in his career he did HIGH TOR and JOHNNY BELINDA and even ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. He played the Doctor in THE IMMORALIST the play that won James Dean the Daniel Blum Newcomer Award.

Interesting scrapbooks. Jean proclaimed that her children were not interested in them....I encouraged her to give them to the library in her late father's hometown - if the not the Library of the City of New York for their theatre collection.

Her father and Barrymore were great friends - although eventually John alienated him by making a pass at Jean's mother.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:19:12 AM »

Good Morning!

I'm up! I'm up!

Ben · « **Reply #14 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:22:24 AM »

I am back from the weekend. We had a good time at Captain Louie. The show is OK but no great shakes. The children were very good but I'm not sure why they decided it needed to be moved. I don't see it having a long life once it opens. The book on which it was based, The Trip, (which was read at the beginning of the show as a teaser) didn't strike me as good source material for a show. There were some very nice visual elements but overall nothing stood out as wonderful.

I went to my 10th high school reunion in 1981, more out of curiosity than any other reason. Although I loved high school, it was more of an escape for me than a great social experience. I lived in the Speech and Drama department and didn't have many friends outside that group. Most of them didn't come to the reunion. There were people with whom I was friendly and we had nice chats but it didn't make me want to attend the 20th or 30th reunions. Perhaps I'll venture out to Minnesota for the upcoming 35th (in 2006) but it's not high on my list of things to do next year.

TCB said it very well about my thoughts on Halloween. I did have a very good costume in 1979 when I went as a Q-Tip. I think I might have posted that picture some time in the past. Now I don't partake much in Halloween festivities. We have to be careful about being home or leaving the apartment or returning after a certain hour because the annual Parade goes up 6th Avenue and disrupts traffic for hours. After 4pm it's hard to cross 16th Street and 6th Avenue (they close down the street early) so coming and going is disrupted. It's easier to just watch the parade on NY One, the local cable all news station.

A long-running show called Perfect Crime is one of the worst shows I have ever seen in my ENTIRE theatre-going experience. It opened sometime in 1984/1985 (they are touting the 20 year run right now). A friend from college was in the show and I happened upon free tickets from Equity. Since it was spur of the moment, I didn't get a chance to tell my friend I would be seeing the show. Lucky me because I left at intermission. In every way it was crap. The script sucks, the direction was non-existent. The sets were so flimsy they shook whenever a door opened or closed. Most of the actors ranged from adequate to embarrasing (Gordon was OK but not great) and I just couldn't bring myself to sit through the second act. How this piece of s**t has lasted 20 years is beyond me. The woman who wrote, produced and stars in it must have very, very, very deep pockets (of course her house nut is probably very low also). It is on the must miss list if you come to New York.

Mr. Moore is probably at the airport as I type. Good Flight Vibes and such.

I will listen to the radio show today as I always do. George, glad you were able to listen to the whole show last week. I listened earlier in the week and had no problem so it must have been a random hiccup.

I must now get back to work.

Later!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:25:03 AM »

Topic of the Day:

A production of Chess that I saw in... Well, now I can't remember... One of those cities with "Falls" or "Rapids" or some other water feature in it's name... In any case...

It was a very interesting "mix" - a pretty decent set, some interesting use of video screens and cameras, and one or two decent performers... But the rest... Yikes! The choreography was laughable in a bunch of places - laugh out loud laughable (unfortunately). And they guy playing Freddy was sort of the chunky/clumsy side, so it sort of compromised the whole sexual tension dynamic between him and the actress playing Florence. Worst of all was the orchestra, or rather the lack thereof. One keyboard playing just one keyboard part. And I believe it was all tracked/programmed. Absolutely no "color", and worse yet, no percussion! And that's definitely a score that requires a bit of "beat" behind it.

But at least they had a good fog machine.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #16 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:26:59 AM »

Yes, Good Travel Vibes to DR elmore- who is most likely in transit already. I believe his flight was supposed to leave at 6:30.

Have a wonderful time in Chi-Town!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:28:02 AM »

DR Jason - 7:30 at Becco, huh? I would love a chance to have another meal there[/i] meet your parents.

Have a great time today.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:28:43 AM »

OH! And if you do happen to take tomorrow off to recuperate, I think I know how and where you could spend a few hours tomorrow afternoon...

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #19 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:29:24 AM »

And a Very Happy Halloween to Everyone!

Don't forget to brush your teeth!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #20 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:30:10 AM »

AND...

A Very Happy Birthday to My Brother, Mike!

*Guess I need to call him sometime today.... oops.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #21 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:30:46 AM »

DR Jrand - Congrats on the new job!

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #22 on:** October 31, 2005, 05:32:48 AM »

Well, I need to get ready to head down to midtown. I don't have to be there until 10:30, but I want to make sure I'm there on time. So, I'm gonna get ready here, and head in and grab a bite down there.

I hope everyone has a wonderful All Hallow's Eve... Or at least a wonderful last day of October.

Laters...

FJL · « **Reply #23 on:** October 31, 2005, 06:26:29 AM »

JRand - Could you possibly be talking about the Broadway production of COASTAL DISTURBANCES starring Ms. Annette Bening and Mr. Timothy Daly? If so, that's what makes horse races. I thought it was one of the finer straight plays I'd seen in the late 1980's and was blown away by it. If you're talking about a different production, I could see where it might be a fragile play and in lesser hands fall apart. But wow, I loved it.

On the negative side, I agree with Ben about THE PERFECT CRIME, except that I sat through the whole thing. It was the most amateurish acting I'd seen on a New York professional stage. This was back in the late 1980's and it remains unsurpassed in that regard.

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #24 on:** October 31, 2005, 06:30:37 AM »

Congrats to DR Jrand for his new gainful employment and impending employee discount on books galore!

Happy Halloween to y'all. I wanted to wear a costume in my avatar today, but the firewall in my office will not allow us to upload pictures. Maybe tonight when I get home...

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #25 on:** October 31, 2005, 06:40:13 AM »

TOD:

There was a touring company of CATS that played in Philly a few years ago that I had the misfortune to sit through. It was cast with the most amateurish performers imaginable. It was as if they believed that they could get by with just posing and vogueing their way through the show. Awful! Where was the dance captain on this tour is what I want to know.

MBarnum · « **Reply #26 on:** October 31, 2005, 06:56:53 AM »

Yes, DR Elmore3003 should now be up in the air and downing double martinis.

DR JRand, congrats on the new job!!

MBarnum · « **Reply #27 on:** October 31, 2005, 07:00:22 AM »

Early this morning, at about 3:30 AM, I was rudely awakened by a phone call that turned out to be a prerecorded message from some satellite company....yes, a junk mail phone call in the middle of the night! I was a bit disgruntled as when the phone rings in the middle of the night it scares the bejeebers out of me!

I am presuming someone someone at that company messed up when changing the time and set the solicitations to dial at 3:30 am instead of pm.

MBarnum · « **Reply #28 on:** October 31, 2005, 07:01:14 AM »

Ok, hopefully I will have a new window in my car today!

Dan (the Man) · « **Reply #29 on:** October 31, 2005, 07:07:58 AM »

Quote from: MBarnum on October 31, 2005, 07:01:14 AM

Ok, hopefully I will have a new window in my car today!

Drop the "hopefully" and make it into your affirmation of the day, DR MB. The Dynamic Laws of Universal Prosperity will deliver for you.

News:

Author Topic: 23 HICCUPS (Read 29972 times)

Ben

FJL

MBarnum

MBarnum

MBarnum