525,600 Minutes

I consider myself an exception to the rule. I say this because I do not like the musical Rent, yet I have never met anyone who has seen it and did not like it. I am definitely in the minority on this one. I hate saying that I do not a like a show, and Rent is probably the only show that I have not enjoyed. But the movie is a different story. I absolutely love the movie, and can watch it over and over again without tiring.

Rent is about struggling artists in New York's Lower East Side. It deals with topics of AIDS, poverty, addiction, and love. The characters of this show are simple. Roger, a songwriter that is HIV+, meets Mimi, an exotic dancer with AIDS. They start a relationship that is broken apart my Mimi's addiction. Roger, a filmaker, was dumped by Maureen, a performance artist, for Joanne, a successful lawyer. Tom Collins, a computer genius that is HIV+, falls in love with Angel, a transvestite with AIDS, who dies during the show.

Although I am not a fan of the show, I do like the message. These characters struggle with some ugly things in their life and you feel for them. The song "Will I" is what touched me the most in this show. The song is sung my members of the Life Support group, people with AIDS, singing "will I loose my dignity, will someone care, will I wake tomorrow from this nightmare". Half the characters in this show are suffering from this disease, and they feel abandoned by the world. It is very heart wrenching, because this is more than just a song or a even a musical, but a very real life situation. Jonathan Larson, the writer, lost friends to this disease and he did a great job of bringing awareness about it through his show. Sadly, Larson died before Rent opened.

Larson was a great songwriter, and the score to this show is amazing. But the show itself just has way too much going on for it to be meaningful. Robert Crew of the Toronto Star thought "It was messy, emotionally unengaging and had a cop-out of an ending." He later changed his mind in the article, but I still believe that. I saw this show a few years ago when I was working as an usher for the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale. I was real excited to see it, because I had already seen the movie and loved it. I remember watching the show and not knowing what the hell was going on. If I had not seen the movie, I would have been totally lost. The show just did not flow and like I said there was just too much going on. I was very disappointed to say the least. I was probably a little biased, because the movie featured the original Broadway performers (including the amazing Idina Menzel I mentioned in Defying Gravity). I had high expectations and the touring cast just did not meet those.

Depsite my flawed view of it, this musical is a Broadway sensation. There is even a name for the fans, they are called RENT-heads. But I do hope to see this show again, maybe I will have a different take the next time around. If you never see the show, atleast watch the movie. It is worth it.

Only the Good Die Young

I love Billy Joel. And when I heard that there was a musical that was based on Joel's songs, I knew it would be amazing. To this day Movin' Out is still one of my favorite shows.

I find this show quite different from most Broadway musicals. Usually in a musical the characters break into random song in the middle of their dialogue. But in Movin' Out there is no dialogue, just Joel's famous songs. The dancing, choreographed by the very talented Twyla Tharp, acts almost as the dialogue because there is so much emotion behind it. The characters of the show are all based on those that appeared in Joel's songs. The story takes place in the '60s and is based around five people: Brenda and Eddie, a couple, James and Judy, also a couple, and Tony, who is friends with Eddie and James. The three guys are sent to Vietnam. James dies in Vietnam and Tony and Eddie return to broken lives. In the end Judy brings them all together to remember James and the four friends try to start anew.

Yes, it does sound a bit cliche. But with the lack of dialogue, it does not really come off that way. And the music fits so perfect, as if he wrote these songs to tell this story. The music is played by a live band, with the Piano Man singing on a platform above the stage. When I saw the show, James Fox was the Piano Man, and he sang the songs with great power and emotion. I was a little worried that the songs would not be as good without Joel singing them, but Fox proved me wrong. Billy Joel actually appeared at the opening of Movin' Out in my city. I went to closing night with hopes he would appear again. He did not unfortunately, but that was alright; the show was still amazing.

The dancing is what really makes the show though. It amazes me how dancers can tell a story with their body movements. And the dancers for this show do an amazing job at it. In his blog, JK's TheatreScene, JK describes that "the dance that is presented for each song brings out the depth and pain that is hidden throughout the songs". If you have seen this show, then you would agree. They are able to portray such strong emotions, that I actually cried in some scenes. I believe it takes great talent to make an audience member cry without uttering a word. It also shows what a great songwriter Billy Joel is.

Movin' Out is not the only one of its kind. What I mean is that this show is classified as a jukebox musical. A jukebox musical, as wikipedia puts it, "is a stage or film musical that uses previously released popular songs as its musical score". Other such musicals include Mamma Mia and Jersey Boys. But Movin' Out is nothing like these other musicals. In his review for the New York Times, Ben Brantly states

Nor does "Movin' Out" trade as obviously as "Mamma Mia!" does on what might be
called the karaoke quotient: the pleasure in listening to familiar feel-good
music that makes you want to sing along.

In shows like Mamma Mia you know the songs and want to sing along. Not so in Movin' Out. Although you may know the words you do not feel compelled to sing along. You will be to0 riveted by what is going on on the stage to bother with singing. And that is what makes this show great.

You Never Say Goodluck on Opening Night

Mel Brooks making fun of Nazis makes for good theater. I hope everyone reading is familiar with Mel Brooks; if you do not know who he is, then you should. He is one of my favorite director/actors of all time. Some of his best works include: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Brooks is usually not politically correct in what he does, and The Producers is no exception.

The Producers was first a movie, then a Broadway musical, and then again a movie. The musical, which won 12 Tonys, starred Nathan Lane (The Lion King) and Mathew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off). It is about a producer, Max Baileystock, and an accountant, Leo Bloom, who decide to produce a show that will be sure to flop. Their scheme is to raise more money than it costs to put on, keep what is left, and run away to Rio. They set out to find the worst script and the worst director. The show they picked is called Springtime for Hitler: A Gay Romp with Adolph and Eva at Berchtesgaden, written by an ex-nazi who worships Hitler. Instead of the musical being a flop, the audience mistakes the plot as being a humorous satire and the show is a huge success. And Max and Leo are convicted and sent to prison.

The subject of Hitler can be touchy and some people may find dancing and singing Nazis inappropiate. Mel Brooks, who is Jewish, does not see it that way. Pam Harbaugh, on her blog for FloridaToday.com, quotes Mel Brooks on this topic in an interview with U.S News and World Report ". . . if you ridicule them, bring them down with laughter -- they can't win. You show how crazy they are." I did not find any part of this musical offensive. It was really funny. And the dancing Nazis were humorous, because the idea of it was just so ridiculous. I would highly recommend seeing this musical.

What I would not recommend is the movie. There are two movies, one from 1968 and one from 2005. I have never seen the original, but I was sadly disappointed with the most recent one. It starred the origianl Broadways actors Lane and Broderick. Having loved the show I was excited to see the movie. I did not even finish the movie. I found it boring and was actually annoyed with it. It is nothing compared to the show. Film critic, Eleanor Ringel Gillespie of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, remarked "It's not all it was on stage and it's not all it could be on film. The result is a often jolly, highly-polished compromise, which can't be what anyone intended. Or wanted. " Some musicals just do not work for film, and this would be an example of that.

What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?

Do you ever wish there was an adult version of Sesame Street? Well there is, and that would be the Tony award winning musical Avenue Q. For those of us who watched sesame street as kids, this show is a lot of fun because it addresses issues that are relative to our age now. But it is definitely not a show for children. The official website for Avenue Q tells parents to use discretion when deciding if their children are old enough because the show addresses issues of sex, drinking, and surfing the internet for porn. Yes, surfing the internet for porn. If you are wondering how that topic could be turned into a song, listen to "The Internet is for Porn".

I know I said Avenue Q is like Sesame Street for adults, but it has no affiliations with the Jim Henson creation, although creator Jeff Marx and puppet designer Rick Lyon both worked on Sesame Street. They consider it be a homage to the show. The reason it is similar to Sesame Street is due to the fact that the show contains puppets and humans working side by side on the stage. Pam Harbaugh in her blog Extreme Culture, said that disclaimers had to be posted when Avenue Q came to Melbourne so people would not think that the show was endorsed by Henson's company. It would be bad publicity if it was thought that the Henson Company was endorsing a show with puppet nudity.

The show revolves around the lives of the residents of Avenue Q. The main character, Princeton, is a recent college graduate looking for his purpose in life. Kate Monster is a kindergarten teacher who falls in love with Princeton. Rod is an investment banker, who is secretly gay, and lives with Nicky, who is unemployed. Brain is a Jewish comedian who is engaged to Christmas Eve, a Japanese therapist. Trekkie Monster is addicted to internet porn, and secretly rich from investments in pornography. Lucy the Slut is a night club singer and regular on Girls Gone Wild, and Gary Coleman ("What you talkin bout Willis?") is the superintendent. The best part about Avenue Q is most definitely the characters. You can tell from some of their back stories that it is definitely not a show for children. There is also puppet nudity and a sex scene. Somehow it does not seem as vulgar because it is puppets and not people, but still it is pretty racy.

Avenue Q is an absolute riot from beginning to end. Not only is the show humorous but through its' comedy it presents issues that are relevant in today's society. In this musical you will find songs discussing racism ("Everyone's a Little bit Racist), homosexuality ("If You Were Gay"), money (The Money Song), and the purpose of Life ("What do you do with a BA in English?"). I believe it is a show that everybody can relate to it one way or another.

Avenue Q has been in the news recently, but not because of rave reviews. Colorado Springs refused to put up ads that featured Lucy the Sluts cleavage when the show was playing there in February. I first read about this controversy on the blog site The Frisky, but found quite a few news articles about it. The advertising company, Lamar, refused to display the ad because of its raciness and the conservative nature of the city. The responses to the blog post concerning this topic were interesting, because they were from people who actually live in Colorado Springs. They were all shocked that the show was even allowed to play in the city. One guy commented that one should expect to find "ultra conservative, Palin loving people" in the city. My favorite was from a woman who exclaimed "I think that the billboard issue is ridiculous, considering that there’s been some hot tub ad with living, real-person sideboob hovering over a main street near downtown for months." I would agree that it is somewhat ridiculous, I did not find the picture to be that obscene. I have definitely seen worse advertisements. But I have been to Colorado Springs several times and it really is a predominately conservative Christian town. I also applaud the advertising companies decision, because they showed respect for the residence who do not want to be subjected to cleavage, even a puppets cleavage.

Aside from the all the controvery to do with the raciness of the show, I highly recommend seeing it. I have never laughed so hard in a musical. The show definitely crosses some lines, but I did not find it offensive in any way. And puppet nudity is always exciting.

One Singular Sensation

Imagine a father watching his little girl sing about tits and ass. Yeah, that would be my father. And I was the little girl, all of sixteen years old.

Out of all the shows I have done, A Chorus Line is the most memorable. Not because I think it is the best show, but because I had a leading role of course. I did not know anything about this show before I auditioned for it. A friend of mine said I should audition for the part of Val, that I would enjoy playing this role. Little did I know this would lead to me standing in front of a few hundred people singing about my tits and ass in the song "Dance: Ten Looks: Three".

A Chrous Line is a cast of seventeen people who are auditioning for the chorus line of an unnamed show. They tell their personal stories about how they got to this point in their lives through monologues and songs. There is no elaborate set to this show. Just people standing on stage pouring their hearts out just to get another job. The best way to describe this show is as a behind the scences look at what it is like to audition for a musical.

I like this show, but it is definitely not one of my favorites. Paul Hodgins of TheArtsBlog made a list of ninteen reasons why he hates A Chorus Line, a few of them being:

13. Unitards. 10. Step-kick lines. For any reason, at any time. 7. Bimbo
clichés. 6. Slut clichés. 4. Never knowing a thing about the accursed show
they’re auditioning for. 2. Getting the phrase “singular sensation” stuck in my
brain for three days.

Althought I do not agree with these as reasons for hating the show, they do speak to why this is not one of my all time favorites. To begin, unitards and step-kick lines. Unitards I do believe speaks for itself. Step-kicks on the other hand look good in a dance routine, unless you are five foot like myself, then it just looks awkward. The bimbo and slut cliches were a little annoying because my character was the bimbo and slut, hence the song about tits and ass. I am niether of these so it was hard to get into the role. Also not knowing what show the characters were auditioning for is fustrating, because it leaves you wondering what they are working so hard for. I think it is a flaw in the storyline. And the least appealing thing about this show is the song "One". It is one of those songs that you cannot stop singing, no matter how much you may dislike it. You will rue the day you heard it.

There is also a movie that came after the musical. I would not recommend seeing it, although it does star the great Micheal Douglas. It is a poor rendition of the show, and would dissuade you from actually seeing the musical, which is certainly more interesting. Robert Sandla in the musical review book, The Theater Mania, wrote concerning the movie

To paraphrase a lyric from the show's opening number, 'God, they really blew
it!' when they made the movie of A Chorus Line....The film
version effectivley killed the movie musical genre until the success of Chicago seventeen years later.

This is certainly true. I cannot think of one movie musical that is worth mentioning until Chicago, and after that the musical movie genre took off again. This movie takes away from the show and is not worth your time.

I obviously have mixed feeling about this musical. There are some things that I obviously do not like about the show, but having been a performer I can relate to it. I know what it is like to have to audition for a show. I know the joys and pains of being good enough and not being good enough. The lyrics "won't forget, can't regret, what I did for love" from the show expresses the emotions than an actor feels when it comes to their experience in theater. I will always remember my time on stage and I will never regret anything I did because theater is my love.

Defying Gravity

The wicked witch is dead.

Sorry Dorothy, but not according to Broadway. Actually the wicked witch is one of the most popular characters on Broadway.

Everyone has seen, or atleast heard of The Wizard of Oz. It is a timeless classic. But has anyone ever wondered how the Wicked Witch came to be wicked, or how Glinda came to be the good witch of the North? Probably not, but Author, Gregory Maguire, wrote a book "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West", detailing how these two characters came to be. You could almost call it a prequel to the movie, and from this book comes the popular musical "WICKED"

I have seen this musical twice and absolutely love it. My knowledge of WICKED before seeing the show came from the music itself. My voice teacher loved the music, so therefore I studied the songs in her lessons. The music is incredible, listening to Idina Menzel, the original wicked witch, belt Defying Gravity gives me goosebumps. I tried to emulate the Tony award winning Menzel in my singing, but once you hear her sing you know that is not possible. Unfortunately I was not able to actually see Idina play Elphaba in WICKED when it came to my town. But I was lucky to see the talented Jenna Leigh Green perform this role. Some of you may know Green as Libby from Sabrina: The Teenage Witch.

WICKED is a very exciting show and sheds some light on The Wizard of Oz. Mike Trobiano of TheMinaretOnline best described the show as "a series of deleted scenes from the movie". And that is exactly what it feels like. In this show you learn why the wicked witch is green, where the red slippers come from, and why the cowardly lion is a coward. For those who the love the movie this is a great addition.

Besides the great story line and the awesome special effects, the show also asks a question that makes one think, "Are people born wicked? or is wickedness thrust upon them?" Galinda asks this question in regards to Elphaba, the Wicked Witch. It is also a topic that has been discussed and argued about for centuries. The show does not answer this question, but it does call into question the common assumption that the witch is "naturally" wicked. Most assume that she is just plain wicked, because that is how the movie portrays her. WICKED on the other hand complicates this view. It leaves you wondering whether she was as wicked as the Munchkins made her out to be or did her morals and values drive her to make the decisions that she did.

I already mentioned how amazing the music is to this show. Melissa Cabrera of AOL Radio Blog listed WICKED's soundtrack as #1 on her list of 10 Best Broadway Musical CDs. I could not agree more. If you never see the show, atleast listen to the music. Stephen Swhartz, who I mention in my blog Spark of Creation, is a master at writing and composing music. I am always moved by his songs. But I strongly encourage you to see this show. WICKED is currently playing at the David A. Straz Center for the Performing Arts, formely the TBPAC. I sadly do not have the time to go, but highly recommend going to see this musical, you will not be disappointed.

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

As a child I was shy and timid. I was an only child and spent much of my time growing up surrounded by my parents and their friends. This is where I was comfortable. But I felt awkward when interacting with children of my own age because I did not feel like I could relate to them. So of course I was less than happy when my mother registered me for a summer theater camp. I was not interested performing in a play, actually I was terrified. But my mother, with all her wisdom, thought it would be a good thing for me. And in the end, as always, she was correct.

My first day at The Performance Project was the start of a new life for me. I had never been so nervous, and my fears were only reinforced when I saw that everyone knew each other. But of course they did, they had all been doing this their whole lives. And here I was with no experience at all. To my relief though, I was accepted rather quickly. One thing you learn in theater is that everyone is a family and we all look out for each other.

After introductions were over, I thought I had gotten through the worst part. Oh no, certainly not the case. The director had everyone sit in a circle, and then informed us that everyone would get up, sing a solo and perform a monologue. Now I was sweating. These people were nice, but having to sing and perform in front of them was not something I was ready to do. The singing came first. The song we were singing was "Tomorrow" from Annie, since this is the show we were putting on. Luckily I knew the song cause I had seen the movie. I waited patiently for my turn, listening to these other kids. Some were really good, like the girl who got to play Annie, and others were dreadful. I was praying hard that I would not be one of the dreadful ones. Then the moment of truth came. I got up in front of everyone and the director told me what lines to sing. And I sang, rather softly, while she played the piano. I sat down and listened to the rest of the kids. When everyone was done I thought we would move on to the monologues but the director called me up again. She said that she wanted to hear me sing, but louder. I was beyond nervous, but I did my best to push that song out louder. The director informed me that I was belter, girls are categorized as a soprano or alto, which basically means I can project my voice when I sing.

I was so happy when that first day had ended and my mother arrived to pick me up. But to my horror the director pulled my mother aside. I was waiting for her to say that I had to no talent, but instead she told her that I had a lot of potential and would like to have me as a singing lesson student when the summer was over. I was surprised and even more surprised when I was given one of the leading roles in the play, Grace, Daddy Warbucks' secretary, for those of you who know the show. And so began my passion of theater.

After that day I spent the next several years with The Performance Project. I went to camp, took voice lessons, interned, and performed in the adult shows when I was older. Being involved in theater definitely changed my life for the better. I was no longer shy and timid, but confident and outgoing. I was doing something that excited me, because nothing is more thrilling than getting in front of those stage lights and singing your heart out for the audience. This became not only my hobby but my joy. I felt at home when I was performing. Unfortunately I had to start working and put my interests aside. But I still hope to pick it up again someday soon.