...that when I need new music, the library catalog is being updated, ergo I can't put anything I want on hold?! Well....for consolation, I'm going to go to the bookstore today. So there.
In other news, the first rehearsal for my show is tonight...I'm very excited. After much rigamarole, we have a cast again. In order to get a replacement for someone who had other commitments, I had to brush up the phone voice again. I called...what was it?...four people before I got someone who could do it that actually had an interest.
Lesson learned: Don't count your cast members before the first rehearsal.
And so this post isn't completely lame, I leave y'all with a song I'm really loving right now from a musical called Curtains.
To make up for the angst of that song, and because I told myself I was going to be HAPPY today, I'll also leave y'all with links for Muppet Show songs I'm also loving right now.
Despite my griping and complaining that this musical even existed, I really love this one song. Someone in my vocal studio sang it during our recital, and I fell in love with it.
Which makes it really irritating that I don't have the vocal type or range to sing this song, ha ha.
The Title Song from Love Never Dies
Next, another piece that was performed at my vocal recital, though again not by me. This song is from the musical Side Show, which is about a set of conjoined twins. In my recital, it was performed by non-identical twin sisters, so it was very appropriate for them.
I actually liked our vocal recital staging better, but this video works. Just skip the jabbering at the beginning.
Dream Roles I Could Play (conceivably)
Jane from the Jane Eyre musical
the Lady of the Lake from Spamalot
Essie from You Can't Take it With You
Lucy from Jekyll and Hyde
Fantine from Les Miserables
Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd (I'm not sure whether this goes on the list under this because I'm not old enough for Mrs. Lovett, but I'll leave her here for now)
There are more than that, but those are the main ones.
Dream Roles I'm Not Right for but I'd Love to Play
Christine/Carlotta from Phantom of the Opera
Eponine from Les Mis
Dream Roles I've Played
Miss Hannigan in Annie
(there's only one because I'm counting a "dream role" as a part I've wanted to play before I knew of a production somewhere I could audition for. If that makes sense.)
And I'm adding a new category:
Roles I've Played that Became Dream Roles
Helen Smith from Reserve Two for Murder
Myrtle Mae Simmons from Harvey
Alexander from Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
In other theater news, Harvey is over, (*sigh*) but I am on the play selection committee for the next season and might also possibly get to assistant direct something.
Does anyone know anything about the Crucible (Arthur Miller) or Picnic (William Inge, I think)? And does anyone have opinions on a Streetcar Named Desire?
EJC's most ambitious project to date is finally complete!!! What starts off to be a serious filming of Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again soon turns into a fiasco in this two-part piece featuring the return of the Famous Producer, Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, and lots of humor!
Enjoy!!
EDIT: My films are filmed in widescreen, so they may show up squashed on the blog. Clicking again on the video to view it directly on youtube is recommended.
In other news, whilst accomplishing the above project, we finally had the Official EJC convention, which was the first time that all of the current members had ever gotten all together. We also got a cool picture....
Now, I'm drawing from a memory of a long span of showcases and performances, so some of these I may have actually done, but can't remember it.....bear with me.
Put an "x" in the brackets of statements that are true.
Over the span of your theatre experiences, you have been cast in..
[x] A chorus role
[x] A cameo role
[x] A minor/supporting role
[x] A principal role
[x] A title role
[x] The lead role
You have played...
[x] A character that is very similar to you
[x] A character that is very different from you
[x] A character you loved
[ ] A character you hated
[x] A ditsy/scatterbrained/clueless character
[x] A character of the opposite gender
[x] An obnoxious character that no other character likes
[x] A boring character
[x] A "show-stealing" character
[ ] An ingenue
[ ] A "prima donna"
[x] A character in love and/or loved by another character
[ ] A character abused or ridiculed by other character(s)
For a role, you have...
[ ] Cut your hair
[x] Dyed your hair
[ ] Gained weight on purpose
[ ] Lost weight on purpose
[x] Changed the sound of your voice
[x] Changed your way of moving
[x] Changed your posture
[ ] Developed bad habits as a result of characterization
[ ] Become depressed as a result of characterization
You have played a character who ________ onstage.
[ ] Cried
[x] Had an emotional or mental breakdown
[ ] Kissed another character
[x] Slapped another character (I'm counting biting under this category)
[ ] Was slapped by another character
[x] Got into a catfight
[x] Was carried/picked up by another character
[ ] At some point in the show, wore only underwear
[x] Fainted
[ ] Died
Onstage, you have sung...
[x] As part of a chorus
[x] A solo in a chorus piece
[x] A duet while other characters were onstage
[x] A duet while no other characters were onstage
[x] A solo while other characters were onstage
[x] A solo while no other characters were onstage
You have been...
[ ] Asked to sign an autograph as your character
[x] Asked to sign an autograph as yourself
[x] Recognized by someone who saw you perform
[ ] Asked by a director to audition for their show
[ ] Given a role without auditioning
[ ] The first person to play a specific role in an original show
[ ] The inspiration for a character in an original show
You have had your name...
[x] In a newspaper.
[ ] In a magazine
[ ] On the front cover of a playbill
[ ] On a poster
[ ] On a billboard
[ ] On a marquee
You have had your picture...
[x] In a newspaper.
[ ] In a magazine
[ ] On the front cover of a playbill
[ ] On a poster
[ ] On a billboard
[ ] On a marquee
I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas, and has a great New Year!!
Lady Brainsample signing off.
So...a review. To clarify, this is a semi-joint review: a review of the movie (based on a musical) and the original cast recording (of a revival of the original musical).
Anyway.....Sweeney Todd. (quick synopsis borrowed from here: "A barber who slits people's throats has a neighbor who makes meat pies....... you do the math.")
I have to say, I didn't expect to like it that much. I knew my best friend really liked it, and my tastes usually coincide, but in this instance, I thought....well, never mind with what I thought. I think I LOST my train of thought... (haven't had my cup of tea yet this morning.) Spoilers probably follow.
So ANYWAY again....my friend gave me the soundtrack, but because I hate listening to showtunes without knowing the story, I put the movie on hold at the library. Because I'm in a scatter-brained mood, I'll do this part of the movie review list-like:
CON: Blood....for some of the more....let's say, 'dramatic' scenes, I just closed my eyes. Yes, I know the subject matter, but Tim Burton didn't need to be THAT graphic.
PRO: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. They each were AMAZING in their roles, and they all sang very well, I thought.
CON: They didn't use the Ballad of Sweeney Todd and all its reprises!!! That song was an integral part of explaining what the musical was really about!! (but more on that later)
PRO: Costumes, make-up, and overall look of the movie I thought fit very well with the story and characters.
Moving on from the movie to the music and show in general, it really has grown on me. Yes, it's dark, but it's dark for a reason. Sweeney Todd was motivated to slit throats because he wanted to avenge the supposed death of his wife. Yet ironically, in getting his "revenge" he actually kills his wife! We can despise Sweeney or pity him, but we are not immune to what led him to such dark deeds. Just as the Ballad said, "Perhaps today you gave a nod to Sweeney Todd" and "To seek revenge may lead to hell, but everyone does it if seldom as well."
If I had anything else to say about this subject, I forgot what it was, so I'll just leave y'all with two of my favorite songs from the musical, one version from the original cast the other from the movie. Enjoy!
So, I realize I haven't blogged in over a month...not for lack of wanting to, though. So for this randomish blog post, I will discuss some random things. ~ First, My Fair Lady has been going extremely well. The set changes have been going smoother, the music sounding great, and my hat hasn't fallen off during a show as of yet. The crowds have grown significantly, but we haven't had a full house yet. Oh well, we still have two shows left. ~ I have REALLY enjoyed the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. I'm in the middle of Xenocide right now, and I'll be rather sad when I finish Children of the Mind because it'll mean I need to get ahold of some new audiobooks. If I had to choose, I'd say my favorites so far are Ender's Game, Shadow Puppets, Ender in Exile, and Speaker for the Dead. ~ And so this post is not completely lame, I will leave y'all with some favorite quotes:
"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen
"If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane." -Robert Frost
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." -Terry Pratchett
Ok, has anyone else ever noticed the constant presence of French mobs? In every musical I know of that takes place in France, there's a mob of some kind.
First of all, there's Les Mis. This one is probably the most prominent with all the revolution going on. I mean, this French mob has got it all: the flag, the barricade, the rousing call to arms with "Do You Hear the People Sing." How can you go wrong?
Phantom of the Opera: This mob is less prominent, but it's a mob nonetheless. How can it not be a mob when they're shouting/singing, "Track down this murderer; he must be found!"and the like.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: It's been quite a while since I've seen the movie or the musical they used to have at MGM Studios, but I remember distinctly there's a mob of some kind.
Marie: I saw a ballet once that was based on the life of Marie Antoinette, and ohhh...that mob. That was not a pretty one.
Beauty and the Beast: This one should get a special reward because they actually have a song called, wait for it.... "The Mob Song" !!!
I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any at this time. If anyone can think of other French mobs, leave a comment! ~
My Fair Lady rehearsals are going very well. We had the first big stumble-through last Saturday, and it went surprisingly well considering all the people who were out of town. I have to say that my favorite role in the musical (I have three, Maid 1, a cockney chorus girl, and a woman at Ascot) is my cockney girl. I mean really, the cockneys get all the fun songs: Loverly, Little Bit O' Luck and Reprise, and Church on Time. And my character is the one who spends most of her time philanderin' with Doolittle, so I'm in all of those. Score! Plus, cockney is an 'ole lot more fun ta speak than proper British.
I found that whilst looking for inspiration for my own choreography for that number and just had to share... That's gotta be the silliest version of that song ever.
Well, recently I had the amazing privilege of seeing The Phantom of the Opera live on stage, and there are many words that come to mind to describe it: amazing, fantastic, gripping, tragic, beautiful. But a review that just describes something in such pithy undescriptive tones would be boring, so I'll try to think better ways to relay my awesome experience. As always, spoilers are a constant presence, so beware. Also seeing the musical makes me even more suspicious of the sequel, as I posted about earlier.
Times I cried in the whole show: four.
Three times in Act 1 and once in Act 2, though that time was rather...extensive, we'll say.
Favorite scenes:
Chandelier going up:
We were in the mezzanine, so we had a spectacular view of the chandelier and how it ascended from the stage, over the heads of the orchestra pit and people in the first few rows, then all the way up the theater.
When Christine and Meg were singing Angel of Music:
The ballet chorus girls kept making hilarious mistakes. There is always the constant question of whether art imitates life or life imitates art: I think in this case, art imitates life because I've made many of the same silly mistakes those girls have made when dancing.
Title song:
Ohhh......my.........gosh...... There are no words sufficient enough to describe this scene. This one in my mind was the thing I had anticipated the most, and it did not disappoint. Think of how the movie version had an elaborate set, then stuff it down to moving platforms, fog, candles that come out of the stage, moving boat, and the Phantom himself. With a hat! I'm so used to the movie, I always forget that he has an awesome hat in the musical. Add to that the music itself and the actors singing it, and... ugh! I'm flabbergasted trying to explain, so I'll just move on... Well wait, before I go on I have to say something: I was obsessed with Spamalot before I was obsessed with many other Broadway musicals, Phantom being one of them. But seeing "Phantom of the Opera" (individual song) on stage made me completely get how brilliant "The Song that Goes Like This" was in parodying it in its staging. I don't think I'll ever be able to choose my favorite musical.... It's either Spamalot, Phantom of the Opera, or Les Miserables...such a decision...but moving on.
Music of the Night:
Rocked. His high light note literally made me and a friend I was seeing it with gasp in amazement.
All I Ask of You and its Reprise:
This Raoul actually wasn't annoying! It's amazing how this has happened two times in a row... the Lovesick Tenor in love with the Main Soprano usually never fails to annoy in movie versions or soundtracks. In both Les Mis and Phantom, their Marius/Raoul and Cosette/Christine were not completely annoying!
Phantom lowered down on the statue: completely amazing.
And of course, the Chandelier Crash.
Really, it crashes. Right back onto the stage. And it rocked.
Past the Point of No Return to the end:
I'm really coming up with nothing descriptive that wouldn't completely ruin the musical for someone who hasn't seen it, so I'll just say this: it made me cry pathetically.
Overall, I had an incredible time, and I was so blessed in that I got to see it with some of my dearest friends and family, which made the time even more amazing.
To leave y'all, here is the condensed title song and Music of the Night as performed in the Tony Awards in 1988, by Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, the original Phantom and Christine. This'll give you a tiny taste of the awesomeness of the set, especially the title song.
Ok, a mini-speech... I always find it interesting how as an actor, I've always been taught never, Never, NEVER to turn my back on the audience, yet in shows like Les Mis and Phantom, there are times when a performer has his back on the audience for long stretches of time... I just find that amusing...
Well, I am still a terrible blogger, but I'm posting for once with lots of little random things on my mind.
This morning was the fiasco of taking all our animals to the vet, which went surprisingly well for us. Because we have six cats and two dogs, we have a proper procedure to carry, otherwise the cats will smell the danger and disappear the morning of the visit. One week before D-Day we get all the cat carriers down from the attic and set them out in plain sight to get the cats accustomed to them. Two days before D-Day, we move all the cat bowls into the small bathroom so that they get used to eating in a place that can be closed up. And finally, the morning of, we cram all the cats in there to be put in carriers. This year went perfectly, heh heh....
Mini-Review Time:
Broadway: The American Musical. Awesome, AWESOME Broadway documentary hosted by Julie Andrews.
Oklahoma: 1990somethingorother London version Forgive me, but I like this version better than the original movie. (for those thinking, "Oh, it's just because of Hugh Jackman playing Curly," well, it's partially that, but it's also everyone else playing their roles and alot of how the lyrics to the songs were interpreted differently, especially 'People Will Say We're In Love.') This was also the first version of Oklahoma that I know of in which the main actors danced their own parts for the dream ballet as opposed to the doubles used in the movie and most stage productions.
Bones of Makaidos, by Bryan Davis FINALLY HERE!!!!! I pre-ordered this book months before it came out in May, but because of our stupid post office, I didn't get it until about a week ago. I'm only about a hundred pages into it, but absolutely loving it. For those who haven't read Bryan Davis at all, don't start with Bones. Start with Eye of the Oracle, move on to the Dragons in Our Midst series, then finish off with the rest of the Oracles of Fire. Don't try to start in the middle.
Speaking of starting in the middle, I have something to say: NEVER EVER EVER EVER read a summary for a book in a series if you're still on a book behind it...especially an Orson Scott Card book. Whilst I was putting Shadow of the Giant on my iTunes, I accidentally read the summary on the back and was consequently spoiled as to a certain....well, thing. (I don't want to spoil it for you too)....I wasn't supposed to know about yet in Shadow Puppets. Nuts..... But oh well, it didn't ruin the book for me.
Final mini-review: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: Read it. That's all I can say.
Ok, as to my theater exploits, as you all know I am currently in two plays, Annie and My Fair Lady. (playing the parts of Miss Hannigan and a chorus, respectively) I've come across a fact: in both, I am playing at least one drunk character. For Annie, Miss Hannigan is hung over almost all the time, and in My Fair Lady, during "With A Little Bit 'O Luck" I am right on the edge of being drunk. (the way our choreographer put it was that I was a bar waitress who worked 24 hours a day.) But don't worry, I get respectible parts in Lady too. In Loverly I'm not drunk, and in Ascot I am most definitely sober. Snobbish and high class, but sober. I just wonder what I'll be doing in "Get Me To the Church on Time." Oh boy....
For the first time in my life, I'm not angsty and depressed the day after an audition. Why you ask should I ever be angsty and depressed the day after an audition? I'm glad you asked. Normally, after an audition day, I have to wait at LEAST a week to find out if I made it/what part(s) I got.
Consider my Annie audition. That was a week and a half ago, yet I'm still not supposed to find out until Friday, almost two weeks after I auditioned. This has resulted in a refusal to listen to any of the Annie music and a need for chocolate. So why am I so happy? We're supposed to find out about My Fair Lady auditions TOMORROW. Hence my mental thought process for the title. I auditioned yesterday, but I find out tomorrow. So now that I have that ecstatic announcement out of the way, I can actually talk about the auditions.
The Annie audition, I think, could have been better than it was. But that's because the stupid karaoke track for Little Girls messed me up. (Jr. adaptations often cut the songs in a weird way) Other than that, it went great. I read for Miss Hannigan more than once and read for Grace more than once. I think I'm more likely to get Grace, mainly because out of the three teenage girls there, (this was a "kid's" production) I was the only one who put Grace as my second part to audition for.
My Fair Lady....I have only one regret about that audition in the way of temperature. I should have worn my sweater the whole time, but no. So I was shivering while singing Wouldn't It Be Loverly and I Could Have Danced All Night. I read two scenes as Eliza, and I was among the people they asked to do the high G from the end of Danced All Night. (I didn't squeak, woo hoo!!!) Despite such a great audition, I don't think I'll get Eliza, but I'm perfectly ok with it. I didn't expect to be able to audition for her in the first place, especially because I haven't done anything with this theater before, and there were people there that I think were better than I was in the singing department.
So there you have it. Within two days I will know my fate for both musicals, and through that, the fate of my summer.
EDIT: I got in to My Fair Lady! They had the cast list in ONE DAY!!!!! That is unheard of!! I'm just a chorus, but with a show like My Fair Lady, I'm sure I'll have plenty to do. I'm really excited...
The further I delve into J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, the more I fall in love with it. The books are central to the obsession, of course, but around the books is also the extended universe of the movies, the musical, and things like that. And it's always so heartening and encouraging when they do the adaptions well. Take the song Now and For Always from the musical based on the book:
Great song right? Well, it's even greater to a hard-core fan when he examines the correlation between the lyrics and the original book.
"Sing me a tale of Frodo and the Ring!
Fearless and bold,"
"Tired and cold!"
"A sword at his side, an elf-blade called Sting,
Crossing a miserable land.
Wouldn't retreat, just follow his feet,
Now and for always."
Then later:
"Sing me a tale of the bravest of them all,
Comrade and guide, at my side.
Stout-hearted Sam who wouldn't let me fall,
Holding my life in his hands.
True to the end, no finer friend,
Now and for always."
Compare that to an (abridged here) passage in the book the Two Towers:
Sam: "Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We're in one, of course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: 'Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring!' And they'll say: 'Yes, that's one of my favourite stories. Frodo was very brave, wasn't he dad?' 'Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that's saying a lot.'"
Frodo: "But you've left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. 'I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn't they put more of his talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam, would he, dad?'"
"Now, Mr. Frodo, you shouldn't make fun. I was serious."
"So was I. And so I am."
AHH!!! I can't ever stop geeking out about how awesome that passage is and how well they adapted it for the song. I can't speak for the whole musical because I haven't seen it and have only heard the soundtrack, but that song is just amazing....
But, on the other side of the equation are the things that they didn't do so well. ((from here on out is highly opinionated ground, just to warn you)) There are many examples, some of which are forgivable, (like the elves showing up at Helm's Deep) and some which are unforgivable. (Arwen in general, Haldir dying, Frodo leaving Sam on the stairs at Cirith Ungol, Anduril not coming it when it was supposed to)
But the one unforgivable change I specifically want to discuss is Faramir's character.
Faramir is my absolute favorite character in the whole book, so as I've been re-reading the book, I have been very disappointed with a lot of the changes that were in the movie. Many of these changes are humorously illustrated in this great fanfiction story.
We can laugh at the story and how the different Faramirs compare notes, but more seriously, the movie did miss alot of things. As Mom put it, "The people who wrote it didn't seem to GET his character."
The wikipedia article discusses the book fans' negative reaction to the change and notes,
"Co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens and actor David Wenham defended the changes to Faramir's character in order to increase dramatic tension: Faramir's "sea-green incorruptible" nature in the book would not have "[translated] well filmically".
I remain in the group of fans that is "unimpressed and unconvinced" with their pithy justifications. He was "sea-green incorruptible" because he was educated and wise. The book tells us that when Mithrandir (otherwise known as Gandalf) was around, Faramir always loved to listen to him talk and study with him. He probably took that studious wizard-like habit with him long after he saw Mithrandir and kept studying.
I personally think that he thought about what he would do if he came across Isildur's bane. He probably knew that anyone who used it became corrupted and evil and decided what he would do if he ever got the chance to have it. He says before even knowing what Frodo carries,
"I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory." Then once he does know about the ring, by way of Sam's slip, he says, "Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held by them. But I am not such a man. Or I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee."
Another "what were they thinking?" moment for me was the removal of one of the greatest lines in the trilogy that was spoken by Faramir.
"War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend."
WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????????
I could go on and on and on about how much I love Faramir and how most of the movie's changes are deplorable, but I've only scratched the surface of his character in the Two Towers. I'll save Return of the King and other things for another post.
But before I shut down entirely, I want to leave y'all with one of my favorite passages in the entire book. This is right after Sam's slip, and Faramir has told them he's not going to take the Ring from them.
"Frodo had felt himself trembling as the first shock of fear passed. Now a great weariness came down on him like a cloud. he could dissemble and resist no longer.
'I was going to find a way to Morder,' he said faintly. 'I was going to Gorgoroth. I must find the Mountain of Fire and cast the thing into the gulf of doom. Gandalf said so. I do not think I shall ever get there.'
Faramir stared at him for a moment in grave astonishment. Then suddenly he caught him as he swayed, and lifting him gently, carried him to the bed and laid him there, and covered him warmly. At once he fell into a deep sleep.
Another bed was set beside him for his servant. Sam hesitated for a moment, then bowing ver low: 'Good night, Captain, my lord,' he said. 'You took the chance, sir."
'Did I so?' said Faramir.
"Yes sir, and showed your quality: the very highest.'
Faramir smiled. 'A pert servant, Master Samwise. But nay: the praise of the praiseworthy is above all rewards. yet there was naught in this to praise. I had not lure or desire to do other than I have done.'
'Ah well, sir,' said Sam, 'you said my master had an elvish air; and that was good and true. but I can say this: you have an air too, sir, that reminds me of, of-well, Gandalf, of wizards.'
I LOVE these videos, and would watch more Les Mis, but that my internet can only take so much youtube before dying on me. So...enjoy these two, and if you have good internet, find the other ones related to these. I'm sure they rock too.
Just to get this out of the way, fun withdrawals stink.....every year this happens to me. I get home from our last show, and I get so depressed cause it's all over...I'd have pics for y'all already, but I'm not done editing them. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to take good pictures without red eye in that theater...and to make things worse, our microwave just kicked the bucket, so I can't make popcorn....ugh!!! Where was I.....Seussical! yes... All of our shows went really well. None of us had any major misshaps. I only wish we could do more performances at the end. That of course brings up the question of what are we doing next year? We know it won't be a musical, so that narrows things down a bit...but only a bit... Picture, for fun if you will: Spamalot Jr.!!!! No? How bout Sweeny Todd Jr.!!! No? I can't picture it either..... Until next time, Lady Brainsample P.S. Pics tomorrow I promise!
I conform to non-conformity. I am myself because everyone else is taken. I am a paradox wrapped in an oxymoron smothered in contradictions in terms. I am who I am and say what I feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
