Undergoing Maintenance

As you can probably tell, my blog is currently undergoing some down(ish) time to make things prettier.

YouTube Video Panic Attack! Lands $30 Million Movie Deal

So you put a video on YouTube and years later you score big-time with a sweet ass action movie with a possible (outside) shot at a Best Picture Oscar nomination. So is the case with Neill Blomkamp and his short film Alive in Joberg which lead to that bad ass flick known as District 9.



Not too effin' shabby, but even more impressive is independent filmmaker Fede Alvarez’s “Ataque de Panico” (Panic Attack), a 5 minute clip that shows the city of Montevideo, Uruguay being seized by giant CGI robots.

How'd he one-up the Disrtict 9 guys? By scoring a movie deal with Ghost House Pictures (responsible for vile tripe like Boogeyman and The Grudge while at the same time responsible for good vile tripe like Drag Me to Hell and 30 Days of Night) just a few days after posting his video on YouTube. For $30 million. For a short film that cost him around $300. A short film that's already had over 1.5 million views. That's how.

"I uploaded [Panic Attack!] on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of e-mails from Hollywood studios," he told the BBC's Latin American service BBC Mundo.

Mr. Alvarez's film-to-be will boast a brand new story from scratch and be shot in Uruguay and Agentina. Oh, and Sam SpiderMan Raimi will produce.

And for reals, this short film is rockin'. It's like Ghostbusters II meets Cloverfield by way of Transformers thrown in for fun. Enjoy!

Precious Moments: an Accurate Depiction

I really love the movie Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. This parody reinforces doubts and condemnations that many have attributed to the movie's press and hype. Not entirely unfounded (I mean have you seen the trailer? It reads like a Spike Lee directed Hallmark Channel movie.), but the movie in my opinion really overcomes its possible badness with earnest direction, good writing, and fantastic (!) acting.

But still, this video is effing hilarious.

Precious Moments - watch more funny videos

2 Shots from Wall-E Worth Discussing: Seurat, Sondheim, and Art

While in the process of compiling my list of the best movies of the 'aughts,' I had to take pause on certain occasions to further emphasize the brilliance that is Pixar's Wall-E.

This first shot comes at the end of the first act of the movie. It's almost identical to an earlier shot that shows Wall-E in his day to day activities working. It is also my favorite shot in the entire movie.


The shot the second time evokes isolation and, in context to the story, loneliness (subjects touched on in Sondheim's musical "Sunday in the Park with George."). Wall-E drops the trash bundle and existentially faces a revelation: since the discovery and loss of love, work is meaningless for the first time. Furthermore, since Wall-E's sole purpose was to work, existence itself is rendered meaningless.

Furthermore, the credit sequence drives home the ideas of creation, isolation, art, and science and their effects on humanity. These themes crossover into Geroges Seurat's pointillist painting "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" and more poignantly in Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in the Park with George."


Wall-E's tribute to Georges Seurat's "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" in the closing credits (that conceptualize the progression of technology by referencing major eras in art history with the evolution of human society) also reflects themes explored in Stephen Sondheim's musical "Sunday in the Park ...with George," itself inspired from the original painting.


Seurat developed pointillism as a more scientific style to mimic technological progress when Impressionism had grown too mainstream and failed to address the changing industrial world or the populist leftist politics emerging with the rise of the modern middle class. While less political in concept, the film's subjects of science, art, creation, and human society (both historically and economically) run parallel with objectives in pointillism and ideas in Sondheim's modernist musical.

These two shots express major themes and ideas that are explored in the film itself. Now take the whole movie into context and you have yourself a helluva picture to contemplate.

ATAC Globes vs SA Current vs the Fabulous Actors Guild and Supporters (aka the FAGS)

Please take my humor in stride and disregard anything that might seem offensive. I promise the title will be my only attempt at contempt. ;-)

Finding motivation to write has always been a bit of struggle for me, particularly when it comes to this blog. If you peruse my past entries, you'll find major gaps in time between posts. This has less to do with laziness than with motivation.

After not visiting New York for more than a year, I found my entries to be devoid of any actual content that I thought wasn't already being said out in the blogosphere by more adept bloggers. So then I started posting more entries about the local theater scene here in South-Central Texas. When worked kicked in, it single-handedly affected not only my participation in productions, but my attendance as an audience member for dozens of shows. As a result, my blogging took a side step to work and sleep.

But nothing like an awards show and a newspaper article to bring blogging blood back into the gestating veins of an anxious theater queen...

My first exposure to the Alamo Theatre Arts Council's Globe Awards was in the Fall of 2007. Urinetown the Musical was the first show I was cast in in San Antonio (is that proper grammar?). The production was in May/June of 2007 at the bar-excellence Sheldon Vexler Theater directed by the phenomenal Ken Frazier (I'll see you at his and Tammy's Halloween party!). Globe award 'nominations' <---*note the air quotes* were announced in the Summer and Urinetown was among the honorees. I was ecstatic! Up to this point in my acting 'career,' (note the air quotes again) Urinetown was the best production I had ever had the privilege to be a part of (I still feel this way today) and for it to be recognized by the elusive Globe Awards was reason enough for me to go batty with glee. We were then asked to perform at the ceremony and my elation went through the roof! The Globe Awards must know what they're talking about - Urinetown was a kick ass show. Of course I was a bit biased, but clearly if it was nominated by the ATAC Globe Awards, I wasn't the only person who thought so. Right?

The competitive spirit within me ignited. "So, we were nominated for Best Musical? How about acting noms? I'm sure Ken got a nom for directing, right?" My questions were met with uneasy complacency. To my perplexed revelation, our show wasn't nominated for anything. As a matter of fact, no shows were nominated per se for any awards. The Globes had a different way of recognizing excellence in the local theater scene. Awards are based off of a point system that ATAC judges use to rate different categories for each production. An average score of 8 (out of 10) constitutes a Globe honor. There are no limits on the number of possible honorees. And the shows I thought to be nominated were in fact shows that are already winners. For what categories? Category winners are announced at the ceremony.

"Huh?"

An usual setup to say the least. But it's a system. The Obies do it. So be it.

And then the problems start. If you've ever been involved in the San Antonio theater community, you've heard the complaints. You've seen the snubbed shows. You're aware of the flaws. It doesn't take a Pulitzer-winning journalist to discover the cloud of animosity and irreverence that such large numbers in the community adhere to the aura of the Globes.

Thomas Jenkins of the San Antonio Current recently brought up those boiling issues in an article dated this past Wednesday, October 14. Jenkins' writing is pulsating with a tone of passion; he is clearly a lover of theater and of the city of San Antonio. He writes with confidence and backs his opinions on shows with well thought out and intelligent reviews. Whether or not you agree with his taste is irrelevant (as is the case with any good critic). His article, titled "Another gold star! How to make the Globes more like the Tonys, less like school attendance awards" is a piece that is getting all sorts of theater queens (this is a term of endearment) hot. Just read the comments section.

Among the comments you'll find personal attacks, a call to arms, demands for reform, supporters of change, defenders of the process, and satirists/wannabe-comedians supplying ongoing commentary... it's like the 2008 Presidential debate on health care and their associated political campaigns filtered through an episode of Fox's Glee, or at least through the hearts of a bunch of Sondheim-ites. I have to admit the humor I find in it, but I can't deny the overwhelming response it is receiving from the community. Every comment seems to be coming from a place of passion (no matter how ill-advised some of them are), which is more than can be said for any actual Globe award ceremony in the past decade.

What's my opinion? It's less a matter of opinion and more one of taste. I prefer award shows that offer a single winner among a small group of nominees that were voted on by peers or critics or press or fans or those few bloggers out there. The ATAC Globes are what they are and have been for years. Their website clearly states their guidelines, rules, eligibility requirements... heck, it even gives the names of the ever changing roster of judges who vote. I don't know when it was decided that the Globes were gonna be San Antonio's answer to Austin's B. Iden Payne awards or New York's Tonys, but who ever said that this was the case in the first place? We have to realize that it's the community itself that put the awards in such high regard in the first place. Now that a significant portion of the community feels disenchanted with the Globes, it's a matter of focusing energies on a second awards show that meets the demands of those detractors (if a 'better' awards show is indeed what the community wants).

Is a second awards show the answer to the Globes? Maybe. Maybe not. But I do love what Stephanie Elbel (multiple ATAC Globe winner and B. Iden Payne award recipient and friend) has to say in the comments about perhaps focusing on other issues that affect the San Antonio theater community (getting people to actually attend live theatre, making San Antonio an equity theatre community, paying [contributing] artists [...] more than a mere stipend...).

Now that's not an answer to the issue of the Globes as a barometer of excellence for San Antonio theater, but I don't think that's an issue that's on the forefront of Stephanie's mind.

Is it on yours? And if so, what do you think?

Curtains Cast at San Pedro Playhouse

UPDATED 7/29 at 5:17pm
Thank you to my friends Jillian and Amy for this! (And by the way, congratulations to both of you!)

The San Pedro Playhouse has been shooting its proverbial casting wad the past couple of weeks with its 2009-2010 season audition announcements. With a high profile season coming up (Evita, A Christmas Carol [again], Beehive, Curtains, Boeing-Boeing, and The Music Man), San Antonio theater peeps have been anxious for any further announcements concerning casting.

I was given the cast list of Curtains a couple of weeks ago but hadn't posted anything on it. It was still early in the process and people were still needing to accept roles. Now that some time has passed, I've decided to go ahead and post what I believe to be the final casting of the Spring 2010 production of Kander and Ebb's backtage-murder-comedy musical.

The cast will include Ben Gamble as Lt. Frank Cioffi, Annela Keys as Jessica Crenshaw, Anna Gangai as Carmen Bernstein, Jillian Cox as Georgia Hendricks, Jason Mosher as Aaron Fox, Paige Blend as Niki Harris, Lizel Sandoval as Bambi Bernet, Chris Berry as Bobby Pepper, Byrd Bonner as Christopher Belling, Taylor Maddox as Johnny Harmon, Mark Hicks as Oscar Shapiro, and Greg Hinojosa as Sidney Bernstein. The ensemble will feature Chris Rodriguez, Petra Pearce, David Davila, Ashley Mitchell, Mike Duggan, Amy Sloan, Rita Duggan, Robby Vance, Shane Noel, Constanza Roeder, Kate Miller, Alyx Gonzalez, Kenny Patterson, Jim Frazier, Julianne Snyder, David Stautzenburger, Amy Dullnig, and Dave Watts.

Congratulations to all my close friends and past castmates Ben Gamble (The Pajama Game), Jillian Cox (Man of la Mancha), Jason Mosher (Man of la Mancha), Paige Blend (Side Show, The Pajama Game), Lizel Sandoval (PJ Game), Chris Berry (Xmas Carol, Frankenstein in Love, PJ Game), Byrd Bonner (Urinetown, Xmas Carol), Taylor Maddox (PJ Game), Mark Hicks (Urinetown, Vexed), Chris Rodriguez (Thouroughly Modern Millie, Sound of Music), Petra Pearce (Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical, Jekyll and Hyde, Bye Bye Birdie, Xmas Carol), David Davila (Millie, Hair), Ashley Mitchell (Xmas Carol, PJ Game), Amy Sloan (Rimers of Eldritch, la Mancha), Robby Vance (Sound of Music), Shane Noel (PJ Game), Kate Miller (PJ Game), Alyx Gonazalez (Xmas Carol, PJ Game), Jim Frazier (Xmas Carol), David Stautzenburger (B&B, Jekyll and Hyde, BBB), Amy Dullnig (Xmas Carol, PJ Game), and Dave Watts (Frankenstein in Love).

Judging from the cast list, it seems like it's gonna be a fantastic production and a fun cast! Curtains is scheduled to open March 26 (my birthday) and close April 25, 2010.

Boeing-Boeing at San Pedro Playhouse Cast List

My friend and stage manager of San Pedro Playhouse's 2010 production of Boeing-Boeing, Amy Dullnig announced the full cast list today for the super fun and sexy play written by Marc Camoletti.

The cast will feature Brad Adams (Bernard), Joel Crabtree (Robert), Haley Burnside (Janet), Rainya Mosher (Judith), Emily Spicer (Jacqueline), and Gloria Sanchez (Bertha).

The show will start performances May 21, 2010 and end its 5 week run on June, 20. From what I gather either Frank Latson or Kevin Murray (that could be very wrong) will be directing. I'll know more in a couple of days.

The Matthew Warchus-directed revival of Marc Camoletti's comedy was a London hit before the American production on Broadway was put together. The staging at the Longacre Theatre starred Mark Rylance, a holdover from London, who won the Tony as Best Actor in a Play for his daffy turn as a Wisconsinite caught in the middle of his pal's threeway infidelity. The production also won the Tony for Best Revival of a Play.

Take Me Out tonight at the San Pedro Playhouse's Cellar Theater

Tonight I'll be taking in the San Pedro Playhouse's production of Take Me Out in the Cellar Theater. The original play, written by Richard Greenberg, debuted on Broadway February 27, 2003 at the Walter Kerr Theatre and closed on January 4, 2004. The show had a successful run and even won 2003 Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Direction for Joe Mantello, and Best Featured Actor in a Play for Denis O'Hare.

The play is a well written piece commenting on social stigmas of homosexuality and America's favorite pastime, baseball. San Pedro Playhouse's Cellar Theater website offers this description:

This Pulitzer Prize nominated play took the nation by storm with its story of one superstar's coming out and the explosive repercussions which shook him, his teammates and "the great American pastime" to their very core. A shocker for its locker-room language, on-stage shower scenes and violence, it is nevertheless the most brilliant and frank exploration of the personal destruction of living a lie in a homophobic "don't ask, don't tell" world, the fallout from coming clean and the discovery that honor, integrity and true worth must be the benchmarks by which we live.

The Playhouse production cast includes Mark D. Hicks (Kippy Sunderstrom), Butch Anderson (Darren Lemming), Rob Barron (Shane Mungitt), John O'Neill (The Skipper), Rhys Sanchez (Toddy Koovitz), Ryan Ramirez (Jason Chenier), Ian Bunn (Rodriguez), Miguel Diaz (Martinez), Jonathan G. Itchon (Takeshi Kawabata), Vincent Contrell (Davey Battle), and Andrew Thornton (Mason Marzac)with direction by Frank Latson.

Mark Hicks, Rob Barron, and Ryan Ramirez are friends of mine and I'm looking forward to seeing their work. I had a chance to meet Butch Anderson recently after opening night at the champagne opening (which I totally crashed) and subsequently at a San Antonio theatre peeps party hosted by God himself, Steven Bull. Anderson is a newcomer to the cast apparently, but has been getting very good press for his performance. Also getting good reviews is Andrew Thornton as Marzac (but that could be because Marzac is by far the best written character in the show).

The San Antonio Express News and the SA Current have offered up positive reviews and tickets are apparently selling out fast. This is the final weekend for performances, so please get yourself downtown to catch the production ASAP.

I'll be there tonight and afterward I'll be upstairs catching some bubbly enjoying opening night celebrations of Sound of Music. Break a leg tonight to both casts!!!

Cast Announced for Psycho Beach Party at the Cameo in San Antonio

The Cameo Theatre of San Antonio has been home to some stellar productions in the area. Particularly well done was their 2007 production of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret. That production had the benefit of two strong lead performances by Anne Gerber as Sally Bowles and Rick Sanchez as the Emcee.

Rick has become an acquaintance of mine in recent months (we've even had the opportunity to party it up - a welcome pastime of mine). I have yet to actually work with Rick on a show (I had opportunities for the upcoming production of Sound of Music at San Pedro Playhouse and the recently closed Man of La Mancha. Unfortunately both shows I was unable to commit to because of work), however that hasn't stopped us from still being friends (we did go see Transformers 2 at a midnight showing along with other friends - thank God for alcohol.).

Now Rick will soon be directing a production of Psycho Beach Party at the Cameo Theatre due to open I think on August 14 (dates have been somewhat up in the air and sources still are conflicting a bit. I'll update as soon as I know for sure.). The movie and the original Off-Broadway play that it's based on are send ups of 1950s and 60s beach movies with a nod to 70s slasher films. The Cameo's website offers this description:

Summer, 1962. Malibu Beach. Imagine ‘Gidget’ crossed with ‘The Three Faces of Eve’ and ‘Mommie Dearest’. Sun, surf, sand, and ‘Chicklet’ Forrest wants nothing more than to learn to ‘shoot the curl’. Ride the waves. And who better to study under than the Great Kanaka? The macho king of the surfers, who rode the killer wave off the coast of Bali... handcuffed....But something isn't right...People are turning up shaved from head to toe by a mysterious assailant. The star of “Sex-Kittens Go To Outer Space” has disappeared from the set of her latest film. Surfers are coming out of the closet. And who, exactly, is Ann Bowman, the dominatrix who has risen to claim her birthright: World Domination? The big luau is only days away. Will our heroes thwart her evil scheme in time? Will Chicklet learn to surf? Will they still have time to prepare the finger foods? Will any of these questions be answered? Come see this bizarre hybrid of the best the Sixties had to offer: beach movies, bikinis, psychological melodramas, bikinis, surf guitar, bikinis, laughter, and... surfing. Not to mention the bikinis!

The movie is entertaining enough with the always fantastic Lauren Ambrose (Exit the King) cast as Chicklet. Rick has cast the show true to playwright Charles Busch's original intentions; that is to say he has cast major roles in drag.

My good friend Walter Songer - the Jeffy to my Hunter - (Side Show, The Pajama Game, and Vexed are the 3 shows we've worked on together) has been cast as the central female role of Chicklet. Other friends of mine cast include Chris Berry (A Christmas Carol, Frankenstein in Love, The Pajama Game) as Kanaka, fellow New Braunfels native Kate Miller as Marvel Ann, Chris Rodriguez as Yo-Yo, Paige Hansel as Bettina Barnes, and Cassie Moczygemba (who I worked with originally in Bye Bye Birdie and later Frankenstein in Love at the Overtime Theater).

The rest of the cast includes some people I don't know and a few others that I've seen in other productions. Judging from the production team and cast list alone, the show is gonna be a blast; at least it'll be fun for the actors. Lots of friends working together can amount to a lot of fun (it's also been known to cause lots of drama too, but I don't see that happening). I have a small regret of not auditioning; unfortunately work has gotten in the way of my Summer acting.

But nonetheless, with so many productions coming up, at least my Summer viewing will be plentiful. This Friday I'm stopping in at the San Pedro Playhouse to catch a final weekend performance of Take Me Out (with my soon to be going away to NYC buddy Ryan Ramirez) in the Cellar Theater with a brief stop upstairs in the Russell Hill Rogers Theater to catch the opening night celebrations of Sound of Music (gotta love champagne); hopefully by Saturday night I'll be able to get over my hangover and catch Cal Collins original revue titled Broadway's Best at the Brauntex Theater in New Braunfels; next weekend I'm looking forward to productions of Buddha Swings! at the Overtime Theater and the previously mentioned Sound of Music; and somewhere in there I'll squeeze in Seussical at Circle Arts Theatre in New Bruanfels, the Cameo's current production of I Hate Hamlet, and AtticRep's Blackbird.

Yay for local theater!

More of the Critic Debate - Now from Down Under

From Alison Croggon's (blogger of theatre notes) review of Jersey Boys in Australia:

"On the morning of the Australian premiere of Jersey Boys, I had an appointment with an osteopath to deal with the Gordian knots in my shoulders.

"My osteo is a young woman from Taylor's Lakes with the hands of a ministering angel. While she was busy with the medical equivalent of breaking rocks, she asked me if I was doing anything special that weekend. With a sigh, I said that I had to see Jersey Boys. Musicals, I explained, are just not my bag. And me, I'd prefer to stay home with a DVD, wearing my fluffiest bed socks.

"She clasped her hands to her breast. "Oh!" she said. "I'd love to see Jersey Boys! I wish I could afford to go! You're so lucky!"

"I felt properly chastened. The privileges of a critic shouldn't, after all, blind me to the naive pleasures of seeing a show."

It's an interesting way to start what turns out to be a positive, if not glowing, review of the production. You may find the exchange concerning her tone and critical assessment in her review (original article taken from The Australian) on Alison's blog to be quite engaging.

Taken from Avi's first comment on the blog:

"I've freely admitted how much I admire you as a reviewer but I cringed when I read the first paragraph of your Jersey Boys review in The Australian. If musicals are "just not your bag", why review them? Surely you're going to be watching music theatre shows with a bias that prevents you from being really objective about the piece?

"The fact that you gave Jersey Boys a favourable review doesn't change the fact that you opened the article by stating that you don't like musicals. Therefore, your review is tainted with your disdain for the form, and no amount of glitzy costumes and showy numbers is going to change that."

Avi goes on to mention her frustrations concerning a stigma against the musical theater art form in Australia among legit theater and artistic communities.

Alison chimes in respectfully. Here's a snippet:

"Aside from having a little fun at my own expense (and hopefully amusing one or two readers, rather than as is my wont enraging them)... there is a serious subtext to my playing about. Yes, I wasn't especially looking forward to it. Yes, I was coming from a place of privilege, and that little conversation made me realise that I was wrong to do so. Do you think that there isn't a divide between a reviewer who gets free tickets and goes to the swisho opening nights, and the punter who just loves musicals and saves up for the ticket? Isn't it better to acknowledge that gap (most reviewers don't but that doesn't mean that it's not operating), and to be reminded that there's a lot of point to what I said were the naive pleasures of seeing a show?"

The rest of the exchange is spirited and reminds me of that ever ongoing debate of the critic's role (see Chris' post What Are Critics Good For?). Thoughts readers?

See the entire theatre notes exchange here.

Note: Commentator Avi owns a blog called Life Upon the Wicked Stage which is invite only. I don't have access to it, but I am curious if any of my readers do.

Sarah Palin Photo Caption Contest!!

First an excercise in critical interpretation:

Let's get the brain warmed up this morning with a little bit of creative analysis. Given Palin's political views, ethical and moral standing, and her employment history (Matthew Freeman over at On Theatre and Politics posted her resignation speech and this unfortunate quote on quitting her job -

"A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. And I'm doing that - keeping our eye on the ball that represents sound priorities - smaller government, energy independence, national security, freedom! And I know when it's time to pass the ball - for victory."

Reminds me of when I posted the Katie Couric interviews during the election and the subsequent SNL sketch with Tina Fey.)... taking all that into account, I offer up this pic above (click to enlarge) taken by Brian Adams from a spread in Runner's World magazine. Take a gander. Ponder on it. It represents an awesome splash of patriotic and political symbolism ripe for parody. What are your views.

And since theatre people are my favorite people, I ask for your own creative caption to underscore the potential laughs. And therein lies my motivation behind this post. Yes, it may be selfish, but I really want some entertainment.

My favorite caption will win something of non-monetary value (something akin to blogger love). And if you can tie it in to something theatre related, extra bonus kudos. So write friends! Together we can make for a better country.

I've also included these next to pics which I find hilariously self-deprecating.


They too remind me of her election campaign, specifically her use of props (of the main 3 in the campaign [ugly baby, boobs, and gun] only her gun isn't represented here).


This second pic is my new favorite of my life. Thanks to Jim Emerson.

If you have more thoughts and funny captions, please leave in the comments section. Let the games begin! Off to the races! (Rupert Holmes shoutout).

Hair 2009 Revival cast album review

Great Recording, Good Score, Sucky Package

I was wanting to go in depth with my review of the new Hair cast album, but there really isn't any need to. The score by Galt McDermot (music), Gerome Ragni and James Rado (lyrics) is superb (well for the most part – act 2 does get bogged down a bit). The cast sounds fantastic (especially Gavin Creel, Will Swenson, and Sasha Allen). Plus, there are a large number of tracks available here all on one disc. Overall the disc really is great.

The packaging blows hard. No lyrics, a flimsy imitation cardboard case (no jewel case here), and some boring essays. Meh.

The original cast recording still packs a wallop but this version is just as memorable. It's worth mentioning that I like about 75-80% of the score from Hair. The rest of the filler is probably enjoyed much more under the influence of purple haze.

Or if drugs aren't your thing, from what I hear the actual live show is freakin' awesome. I was lucky enough to catch the Public's mounting in the park last summer with Jonathan Groff. Loved it then. Apparently it's better now. And check out the Tony award performance or the David Letterman show performance for some electrifying staging. Woot woot.

***1/2 (out of ****)

Persepolis film review

Affirmation of Eastern Civilization

If you, like me, are one of the many who were intrigued by the Iranian protests that started in June, than you will find the film Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical film based on her graphic novels about growing up during the Iranian protests of the 1970s, to be a formidable piece of world education and an enthralling dramatic entertainment.

The format of the film is a bit unusual for such heavy-handed material: the most unusual characteristic is not that the film is in black and white, nor the fact that it's based on a French graphic novel – but that the film is animated. The liberty animation provides for film is well suited for this story and its directors' vision.

When Marjane's parents (voiced by Catherine Deneuve and Simon Abkarian) tell her of the history of the shah, the Vaudevillian presentation allows for an accurate, if somewhat simplistic, retelling of the past. Even the silhouetted bodies of protesters and soldiers provides an eerie aura about the proceedings. The simple facial expressions of Marjane's world offer clear and concise embodiments. Further evidence of the strength of animation in this film is made when Satrapi and her co-director Vincent Paronnaud travel into the realms of surrealism: the cascading jasmine falling from Marjane's grandmother's bosom is wonderfully beautiful and young Marjane's conversations with God have an emotional impact.

This is a smart film about an intelligent girl growing up under dire circumstances. Marjane is infinitely more interesting than most Western girls growing up in films. Marjane idolizes her mesmerizing Uncle Anouche (François Jerosme), who has been in prison and hiding, but offers up a greater vision of the world; she listens to Iron Maiden as a form of rebellion to the government; she moves to Europe where she discovers all the landmarks of adolescence and adulthood (education, artistry, puberty, love, sex, drugs, and yes – even more rock and roll). Marjane travels back home only to find a country that is as foreign to her as anything in Europe. Her journey to find her place in the world is an engaging one and is marked by more violence and tragedy.

And once again, animation is key. The scenes of torture and depression are not bogged down by melodramatic touches that would have been inescapable in a live-action film. And the whole film benefits from a touch of humor and surrealism that gives a bit of a lightness to the complex and dramatic material at hand which elevates the film.

The middle section of the film, while still highly effective, is a bit of a drag compared to the bookending Iranian segments of the film. Marjane's adventures in Vienna are familiar territory in anyone's growing adulthood. However, Satrapi and Paronnaud illustrate it with wit and energy, still finding value and purpose for Marjane's journey.

The story is a large one and at a slim 98 minutes, the film accomplishes to bring it to a decipherable level. It's powerful, smart, and tender. The film has immense heart and is very entertaining. Enjoy.

***1/2 (out of ****)

Note: make sure and watch the original French version with English subtitles. The voice casting in uniformly great. The English dubbed version is not a bad second choice though, with featured voices by Sean Penn and Gena Rowlands.

Go Green, Support a Revolution

So I was supposed to give you a Chess in Concert review and a [title of show] review, but I've been mesmerized lately with all the Iran protests. As a result, first review up by tomorrow morning will be of the film Persepolis.

With all the crazy-ass stuff going on in Iran, now would be a good time to re-watch Perseoplis, Marjane Satrapi's animated memories of growing up under the Shah and the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Or if you have yet to see this excellent movie, do yourself a favor and get a hold of a copy. Or the graphic novel on which it is based. Satrapi has reportedly denounced the election results as a fraud.







And since you can't stand side by side with the protesters, get yourself a green Twitter avatar to show your support here.

Agust to close; Chess and Hair reviews postponed; around the theatre blogosphere

Sad news: Agust: Osage County will be closing June 28th. Major bummer.

I was originally planning on posting full reviews today of Chess in Concert (CD & DVD) and the new cast recording of Hair. Looks like things are changing a bit.

I've been listening to Chess now for the past hour and still am bored out of my mind. Early thoughts: Idina Menzel is no Elaine Paige. Adam Pascal has ruined his voice. Josh Groban is giving a good effort with a strong "Anthem." The live mixing and producing isn't as high a quality as other live shows. And this disc has done nothing to change my opinion on the show itself: Chess is still a failure; still a product of its creators and their time. I'm gonna stop listening now and spend the rest of my afternoon/evening enjoying other recordings. I'll tune into the broadcast of the "live" show tonight on PBS and just supply a brief capsule review of the DVD/CD package. Sorry guys, I don't get paid to write here. And I have a pretty strong feeling that most of my readers will understand my case.

As for my upcoming Hair review, well I decided to hold off on it until June 23, the day the hard copy is available in stores, for my official review. The recording is available via downloads right now - and believe me, it's fantastic. However, no matter how enthusiastic I may feel about the recording, I feel I should wait for the entire package - jewel case, booklet, etc. - to dish out a full fledged reccomendation. The quality of the tracks themselves is superb, but the tracks of Spring Awakening were too and as anyone who owns that album can attest, the overall packaging was dissapointing at best (of all things there was no plot synopsis. Really?!?!?). So to be fair, I'll gestate over my digital copy in the mean time. It'll allow me to write more in depth too.

If I get around to it tonight, expect a Chess review and if not, I'll post it tomorrow with a second review that is long overdue - the [title of show] original cast recording.

Now in the meantime, take a look around at the rest of the theatre blogosphere to catch some pretty interesting thoughts. Here's the callboard...

Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals: Chris has a couple of important things to say about file sharing and its effects on the musical recording industry. And the role of the theatre critic seems to be up for debate again. Plus he has a review of the newly restored Criterion DVD release of 1931 film version of The Threepenny Opera.

Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertaiment: SarahB recently caught a production of High Spirits in Mufti at the York and fills us in on the Met's Summer HD Festival calendar of 10 screenings of "live" opera performances.

Steve on Broadway (SOB): While Steve has been taking it easy, he still finds time to post blogs and fill us in on his recent trip to Chicago and tell us the effect a certain pointillisitc painting had on him.

Gratuitous Violins: Esther voices her opinion on a recent New York Times article discussing the DOMA and catches up on her Playbill Radio podcasts with Carole Shelly and Oskar Eustis.

Broadway & Me: Jan gives us her reviews of The Amish Project and Dov and Ali.

Theatre Aficionado at Large: Kevin brings up the MPAA-like ratings of the theatre world and even quotes my personal fave Roger Ebert. We are also treated to some classic "Honeymooners" with Jackie Gleason and Art Carney.

Happy blogging readers!

West Side Story (2009 revival) cast album review

Still West Side, Still Essential

There’s not much else to say that hasn’t been said about West Side Story and this revival. Therefore this will be a short review. We are all aware of the exceptional Leonard Bernstein score (perhaps the greatest score ever); we are all aware of the influential Jerome Robbins choreography; we are all aware of Karen Olivo’s fantastic performance as Anita. And of course we are all aware of the show's inherent flaws: a couple of low key performances that can’t measure up to their respective costars; and namely Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Spanish foiling of Stephen Sondheim’s wondrous lyrics.

To start, yes, the score is still phenomenal more than 50 years after its debut. Back in the ‘50s it was considered too "dissonant" and "complex" for the mainstream. In retrospect, those who spoke too soon look foolish. There is no denying the sheer beauty of the ballads like “Tonight” and “Maria” and the absolutely influential sounds of “Cool” and “America.” When was the last time you were able to listen to an album all the way through and be able to recognize every single track as a standard? And with the large orchestra accompanying the mostly successful cast, the songs really do sound as equally good as they do on the film soundtrack.



Speaking of quality sounds, Matt Cavenaugh is the best sounding Tony ever committed to disc. It’s a privilege to hear Bernstein’s music for Tony sung by a strong vocalist who can do it justice. Josefina Scaglione is fine as Maria, if not completely powerful in voice at least sweet. Cody Green’s Riff and Curtis Holbrook’s Action do solid work, with Holbrook creating a memorable presence for his minor role.

However one must single out Karen Olivo. The role of Anita has always been a coveted role for actresses of all races, and two of the most influential Latina actresses of all time made their marks performing in the original Broadway cast (Chita Rivera) and the Oscar winning film (Rita Moreno). Here Olivo gives a standout performance among the whole cast. She attacks her songs with confidence and with the sense of an actress. She is also given the opportunity to be the first Anita to be able to incorporate Spanish into her performance, allowing her to distance herself acting wise from Rivera and Moreno. Olivo claims in various interviews and news articles that she embraced that opportunity and was able to be liberated from sticking to the standard interpretation. By doing so, she has laid out a career path for her that is set to take off and go places. Her first major exposure as Vanessa in 2008’s Tony winner for Best Musical, In the Heights, landed her this role. Her own performance and hard work in this revival of West Side Story has paved the way for her to continue the legacy of influential Latina actresses and their connection to Anita. It gives me great joy and pride to predict great things for Karen Olivo in the future. May her career continue to blossom and flourish.



Olivo thanks her good friend Lin-Manuel Miranda for her breakout in In the Heights. It’s no small coincidence that Miranda was commissioned to adapt Spanish-language lyrics to Sondheim’s originals. Fellow blogger Chris writes much more eloquently and intelligently on this subject than I could hope to do so. So please refer to his review of the cast album for reference, particularly in the Spanish translations. I agree for the most part with the naysayers about the unnecessary gimmick. But the execution seems to trump the concept. While it’s kinda cool to hear a different sound, one definitely yearns for Sondheim’s remarkable lyrics in “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love.” Thankfully, the English language tracks of this song and “I Feel Pretty” are available via iTunes and a special edition disc available only at Barnes and Noble. Unfortunately, you do have to buy the entire album on iTunes and the whole B&N disc to obtain the recordings along with some extra bonus tracks. Kinda silly, but if you’re a WSS fanboy and lover, it's worth the (i.e. my) effort and money (this is where a playlist becomes handy for substitutions for key tracks).

Still, this is West Side Story. And a new recording can only do so much wrong. The essential quality of the material is still present and the strong vocal abilities of Karen Olivo and Matt Cavenaugh are jovial. Is this the definitive recording of the show? Maybe not. But neither is the movie soundtrack or the original Broadway cast recording. And the only reason the revival recording isn’t as essential of a disc as the previous two (which were important to bringing new sounds to both film and stage) has to do more with the familiarity of the material than with the disc itself. However, I can say without reservations that the revival recording will perhaps be the most played out of all of them in my life.

I seem to have written more than originally planned for West Side Story. I adore the show and it remains close to my heart as a highly influential landmark to my life. Perhaps I’d forgotten in recent years how much the show actually means to me. This revival has rekindled that love. And for that, I am grateful. Hopefully, I can make it out to New York to catch the show live before it closes. It will be at the top of my list.

***1/2 (out of ****)

Next reviews - Hair revival and Chess in concert

next to normal cast album review

Certainly Not Ordinary People, Definitely Not Normal

A couple of years ago when I was listening to the drek that is High Fidelity, my thoughts prematurely wrote off composer Tom Kitt as a talented writer with no sense of musicality and character. What should have been an excellent rock score for a would-be rock musical came off as amateurish with no direction and no sense for the (bad) book and elementary-grade lyrics (“climb the chart… to your heart” *gag*). Fast forward 3 years and what has emerged from Mr. Kitt is a developed composer of grade-A quality work (and a Tony to show for it) and, more importantly, an entertaining rock score that can finally give my Spring Awakening cast recording a much needed break.

next to normal is a gem of a show. In a season where there were flying ballerina boys, a green ogre, a mash-up of ‘80s power ballads, and a group of annoying kids, next to normal gives us a family who is struggling to stick together in the face of sickness and grief. The show is electrifying and shocking, two things that are sorely missing from this year’s Tony Award winner for Best Musical IMHO.

The music is fantastic for the most part. I will admit, on my first listening, I was not impressed. The songs seemed derivative of a Jason Robert Brown score trying to be Jonathan Larson with a bit of Duncan Sheik thrown in for coolness factor. While I was immediately drawn into the story, I was a bit baffled by the score and its connection to the themes. The songs seemed blatantly unsubtle (“Superboy and the Invisible Girl”) and forced into a rock sound that didn’t seem to fit thematically for me (“Just Another Day”). However after learning of the show’s strong critical reception and reading a trusted blogger’s second opinion of the production, I decided to give the show a second listen. And I’m happy that I did. Now the album is in constant rotation in my car stereo and on my computer. The songs that seemed at first obviously symbolic now just seem simple and pure. The songs that seemed a bit “too rock” for the material, now come off as angry and confused – apt adjectives for a show about mental illness and family angst.

**spoiler**

The strongest part of the album is the middle of disc one starting with the revelatory “He’s Not Here.” After showing up to dinner with a birthday cake for her son Gabe (Aaron Tveit), Diana’s (Alice Ripley) husband Dan (J. Robert Spencer) has to painfully let her know that she is suffering from hallucinations. Their son Gabe has been dead for over a decade. **spoiler end** This escalates into the stirring and riveting “You Don’t Know/I Am the One” segment that was performed on the Tony Awards. These two songs are so well written; it must be a joy for actors to be able to play a song as though it were scripted dialogue by Arthur Miller. Kudos to Kitt’s music and Brian Yorkey’s lyrics for capturing not only the intensity of the moment, but the pain and power dynamics of the life these characters live. It’s like the dishwasher scene in Rachel Getting Married or the dog chasing scene in No Country for Old Men in that it captures the essence and tone of the whole show in a brief 5 minutes that resonates strongly.

The fact that daughter Natalie (Jennifer Damiano) is not present in the previous segment is a beautiful choice on behalf of the creators. The next number segues into Natalie’s situation brilliantly. “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” manifests out of an unaccepted apology to Natalie from her mother. Jennifer Damiano soars here and takes her moment and seizes it. Always overshadowed by her brother, Natalie laments over her non-existent relationship with her mom. It’s an important song and all the more poignant for Gabe’s ending taunts.

Then we are given the opportunity to get the perspective of Gabe in “I’m Alive” – a deliciously melodic, almost folksy/Blues Travelers-esque song that bounces with energy and spirit. Aaron Tveit’s sweet tenor sounds fantastic throughout the score, especially here.

What wasn't looked over on my first listen of the show (and what was extremely apparent) was the strong performances of the entire cast, particularly J. Robert Spencer and Alice Ripley. Spencer anchors the show with an incredibly rich emotional core. His voice is superb and emotionally textured. His last song with Aaron Tveit is heartbreaking. Alice Ripley deservedly won her Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical (despite her crazy in-character acceptance speech). next to normal offers her the part of a lifetime. And she takes it by the horns and runs with it. What could have come off as hysterical and manic, her vocal performance is powerful and rich. I’ve never been a big fan of her (at least to me) strained high notes and seemingly forced vibrato, but what was a dislike for me years before is a strong suit for this show and role. She sounds marvelous, actually, and I’ve developed a new respect for her belt.

Bravo to Adam Chanler-Berat for his superb Henry, Natalie’s would-be boyfriend. In the hands of a lesser performer, Henry could have easily been a throw away character; however, Adam’s Henry is ever present throughout the score where the story does not center on him, but couldn’t have existed without his ever-present persona. This is in part due to Kitt and Yorkey’s work, but elevated by Adam’s humorous, strong, and ultimately sympathetic performance.

I do wish there was more dialogue on the disc. The first act is pretty well represented, but when things go a bit crazy (hee hee) in the second half, the story and situations become a bit vague. Some of the songs I just plain don’t like (“I Miss the Mountains”), and the opening number “Just Another Day” still seems jarring and forced for the introduction of the material. Minor complaints about a mostly terrific listen.

I now consider myself an avid supporter of this show. I hope it does well, but feel nonetheless that it will have a life beyond Broadway. I can’t wait for the opportunity to perform the piece in the possible future in community and regional productions. What a treat to be able to sing not only melodic and fun tunes, but richly textured and emotional material.

***1/2 (out of ****)

Next album review - West Side Story revival

Billy Elliot: The Musical cast album review

Yes I'm blogging again. Moving on...

Playbill.com has posted an article reflecting back on the cast albums of the 2008-09 theatrical season. After reading it, I've concluded that while the season may have been a bit blah for new musicals, it was still a pretty good year for cast albums. And while not every new show was of my personal liking (13, Shrek), there was one show that I fell in love with and one more that I am currently falling in love with more and more.

Now this past year was a little cough*crazy-hard-ridiculous*cough rough financially, so my New York trip didn't manifest itself, thus I missed most of the new shows (all but one to be more precise) live. Sad. Very sad. And being from Texas, It's not quite as effective for me to try and win $25 lottery tickets to some productions. As a result, I've returned to cast albums and television performances once again (which I must admit brought back a certain nostalgic mystery to discovery again) as my window to Broadway. So my judgments on the productions of the Broadway musicals of the past season are based solely on cast albums (with a little help/influence from Wikipedia, theater websites, publications, forums, bloggers I adore with all my heart, and a couple of illegal bootlegs - I in no way condone this practice, but they just happened to fall into my lap... and alcohol impairs your judgment, so I've heard).

No Spark, No Electricity

First up - Billy Elliot, the Musical. My quips: where's the Broadway cast recording? Ugh. What we are left with is the original cast recording from London that, for my money at least, is a dud. I've had the recording in my library for a couple of years now and even upon initial listening, the album was lame.

While the story is strong and heartwarming (see the excellent movie from which this musical is based), as a stage show I was never swept up. Perhaps it's Elton John's lukewarm and workmanship-like quality score - it gets the job done minus, pardon the musical pun, the 'electricity'. Or maybe it's the so-so performances of the cast members that fail to ignite a spark for me (although I must confess to liking the London Billy, Liam Mower, over Kiril Kulish). And Haydyn Gwynne is fine as Billy's dance teacher.

However, I think my main problem with the cast album is its inability to portray the heart of the show - the dance. That's not the cast album's fault; it's a fundamental thing. Cast recordings are made to preserve a show to the best of a compact disc's abilities. We're not talking DVD here (although I think Broadway creators/producers need to start looking into that medium's untapped potential more). But even with that said, from videos that I have seen of the show, while the actual choreography and dancing are great, my opinion of the production and staging is that they are overblown and weird. And the acting from Kiril Kulish, not to mention his singing voice, leave a lot to be desired. From what I've heard and read, David Alvarez seems to be fairing well as the most well-balanced Billy. And a former cast mate/friend of mine (and Broadway performer) Andy Richardson tells me that his friend Trent Kowalik is giving a wonderful performance (based on his Tony Awards performance, I can say he's a spirited young performer indeed).

In the end, I'm not an avid fan of the show. Maybe if I saw it live I would be inclined to think otherwise. But what the cast album has yet to do, is intrigue me enough to want to see it live. And from what I've seen of the recent production, I'm not biting.

** (out of ****)

Next album review - next to normal

Racist Midgets and Talky Hitmen, or: In Bruges Film Review

In Bruges ***1/2 (out of ****)

"Back off, shorty!" And then Ray karate chops Jimmy, a 'midget actor', in the neck and heads out.

If that image doesn't bring even a little smile to your face, then In Bruges may not be your ideal movie. Just like Ray, played with wonderful humor and pathos by Colin Farrell, bemoaning a temporary vacation in the least of ideal locales (have you ever seen Bruges? It's quite beautiful - but not to Ray), if you don't have the right mindset, you are likely to miss out on the beauty present In Bruges.

Here is a film that knows exactly where it's going, even when the viewer has its doubts. We meet Ray and Ken. Ken is quite smitten with Bruges, Belgium. Ray, on the other hand, is quite bored. We come to realize through often hilarious dialogue that they are 2 hitmen, currently relaxing in Bruges from a recently botched job. They are there on orders from Harry, their boss.

The film opens with exchange after exchange between Ray and Ken. Ken is the thinker, the reader. Ray is the doer, the reactionary. It's a classic buddy film relationship. And the often clever dialogue entertains humorously. The relationship is familiar, but the dialogue is quite refreshing. Credit must be given to writer/director Martin McDonagh for all the witty banter. McDonagh has always had a way with dialogue on the stage (see The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Beauty Queen of Leenane), and he doesn't disappoint here ("You're a fucking inanimate object!!" - one of my favorite lines).

The film at first seems at first to be lost in its own purgatory of waiting. The characters are waiting on a phone call. And we are too. Little plot develops in the first 40 minutes, but relationships are started and are blossomed. Along the way we meet a persistent hotel clerk, a racist midget, a small time crook on a film set. Where are they going? What are they doing in Bruges? What the hell are they doing in this movie? By the end, we may not know all the answers, but we certainly know how they all correlate into one character's fate. The end of this movie is quite surreal, quite dreamlike. And it's quite devastating in its emotional impact.

Colin Farrell as Ray gives perhaps his best performance dedicated to film. When Farrell is allowed to be Irish, he is quite good. He delivers his dialogue with biting relish and silver-tongued enthusiasm. Ray's personal demons haunt him daily, and Farrell is heartbreaking in scenes of guilt trodden meditation. Ray may be bored out of his mind in Bruges, but I was never uninterested with Ray as a character. Brendan Gleeson provides excellent yin to Farrell's yang as Ken. Gleeson has always done admirable work as a character actor, but here is given full weight as a leading man. His attachment to Ray, his detachment to his job, his love of the city Bruges are all in harrowing display. What a sympathetic murderer. Not since Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction has there been such an engaging pair of crooks on celluloid. The histrionics are toned down here in favor of more subtle exchanges and human comedy.

Solid supporting work is provided by Thekla Reuten and Jordan Prentice (said 'racist midget'). Like the characters they portray, the actors are endlessly fascinating. An absurd scene with the dwarf actor, the 2 hitmen, a couple of prostitutes, and copious amounts of cocaine is bizarre in its stark reality and brilliant in its surreal elevation and character development.

The final thrid of the film unfolds quite surrealistically and may come across as a bit contrived for some tastes. I found said contrivances to come out of character observation and detailing. In a lesser film, they would bug me more, but the payoff works well within the context of the tone of the film. I would not have had the movie end any other way than it does.

The film is composed quite beautifully too. There is a fall late in the film. The composition of the sequence in 3 distinct shots is maximized for visceral and technical effect. The use of the sound of coins hitting the street recalling a previous conversation, the camera staying after a character leaves the frame, the impact of the fall - it's all very effective. And of course, for most of us who are unfamiliar with the city of Bruges, if nothing else, the movie provides quite a portrait of "the best-preserved medieval city in Belgium" without looking like a travel companion.

However, with moments of poignancy and pathos, moments of sadness and loneliness, and moments of hilarity that come naturally out of the relationships developed, this human comedy provides much, much more than just a compelling reason to visit the city Bruges. I suppose it's a 'thriller,' but know that the resolution to In Bruges is determined not by plot requirements, but by character ideology and ethical denouements. Yes, even killers have their morals.

Wow, a new post!! or: how I got over being lazy

So, yes. I have been done with A Christmas Carol since the end of December. Here are a few pics from that wonderful show.






The show was quite a success, commercially and artistically. We sold out nearly every night (even during the week of Christmas) and the show was well received by the San Antonio critics. Michael E. Barrett of the San Antonio Express News wrote in his glowing review, "At the risk of gushing, there's nothing to say but that it's almost perfect." We also made the SA Express' end-of-year best-of list for 2008, citing the show once again as "the perfect holiday musical."

Playing Marley was a blast. Byrd Bonner, who contributed his Little House on the Prairie review here, was a delight to play against as Scrooge. What a generous actor.

I'm really happy I took part of this production. I met a lot of wonderful people who I still hang out with every week. It's been an amazing gift to be around people who are just as nutty as me.

And along the way, I started a new show which I am currently playing, Frankenstein's Creature in Love. The show opened at the Overtime Theater in San Antonio 2 weekends ago and so far has been a decent hit. The SA Express thoroughly enjoyed the screwball comedy. The show is a send up of Saved by the Bell, 90210, and bad 90s teen movies (with a bit of Halloween and The Goonies thrown in for mucho fun). With a little bit of effort, you can search my facebook page and find links to pics and the theater around there somewhere.

Alas, a lot has happened since I last posted. We got a new president (a black one at that), Broadway has experienced many closings, the Oscar nominations were announced (the subject of my next post), and a new year has begun.

A lot has happened personally, too. I've been a 'victim of the economic crisis' and am now officially unemployed. Which sucks ass, but I'm still young and hopefully can get back on my feet again. Not the end of the world. But it is one contributing reason to my blogging absence. Blogging has just not been a top priority for me the past month. Which is really a shame, since I enjoy it so much. Had I kept it up, I probably could have dealt with a lot of the crises with much more emotional stability than I did. But everything kinda got turned upside down, and as they say, when it rains, it pours.

But I am here now. Writing again. And if feels great. Thank you to all the bloggers who emailed me and/or left comments here asking about my MIA status, even as recently as last week. If it weren't for you, I probably would have just left this blog alone and had it fade into obscurity. Thank goodness I didn't. And thanks to those bloggers who I read everyday (SarahB, Esther, Steve, Chris, ModFab, Vance, Alicia, TAAL) who keep a consistent number of interesting and well written posts daily. Believe me, I feel I haven't missed anything over the past month due to your exemplary work on your blogs.

So what was it that made me want to pick up and start posting again? The end of the year movie awards season. Look forward to lots of posts over the next week dealing with film. And of course, you can start expecting all the wonderful theatre news and announcements as usual too. Can't wait to start interacting with all of you again.

Special shout out to Broadway & Me, Joie to the Max, Loves Mind Travel, The Resident Artist, and Theatreisms for all the quirky posts in the past month. Yous guys rock.