Sing Sing Sing

I love the Hollywood Bowl. It's so much fun to sit outside and eat while you watch a show during the summer nights. I go every year with my parents and this year was no exception. I went to a bunch of shows and I'm pretty sure I've written about all of them. This past Saturday I took my roommate to see the Sound of Music Sing-A-Long for her birthday and I have to say that it was very fun. I thought that it was going to be annoying with all the people thinking they could sing, but it was actually a lot of fun. It's such a good movie and getting to be able to sing aloud was very fun. There was a costume contest before the show started and some parents came up with super clever costumes for their kids. The kids that won were all dressed like Oscar's because the movie won 5 Academy Awards. Very awesome.

I also forgot how good the movie actually is. I mean I've seen it a million times, but this was the first time in a long time I sat and watched the entire movie from beginning to end. I might have to go every year now. I loved how much the audience got into the movie too. When the Nazi's were searching for the Von Trapp family, people in the audience took out their flash lights and started shining them everyone. Each audience member also got a small bag of goodies and inside were party poppers so when the Captain and Maria kissed for the first time, everyone shot off their poppers. And of course, when they all sang edelweiss, everyone took out their cell phones and waved them in the air. I was laughing almost the entire movie at things the audience members were doing. So I definitely think I will return.

Still A Bad Graduation

Ugh! So now the Glee people are saying that Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and Cory Monteith aren't leaving Glee. I'm so sick of your games! The cast members signed on for 7 years and therefore can't be leaving the show after the 3rd season. Makes sense, but stop messing around. One of the creators was asked during Comic-Con if these 3 were leaving and he said:

Cory, Lea, Chris, they are seniors and so they are graduating. But because they are graduating doesn’t mean they’re leaving the show. I always say, if you have Lea Michele under contract, you don't just say, “You know what? We’re gonna let you go.” It just wouldn’t be kind of the smart thing to do.

Well duh!!!! I would come over there and strangle you myself if you did something like that. There are just more and more things that make me dislike Glee. It makes me sad because it has the potential to be a good show, but when you throw this bullshit into the mix, I'm outtie.

Worst Graduation

Ok, I can’t ignore this any longer. I think this is the dumbest decision the Glee writers and producers could possibly make! Lea Michele (Rachel), Chris Colfer (Kurt), and Cory Monteith (Finn) will not be returning for season 4 of Glee. They will be “graduating” and they won’t be followed off to college. I understand that the writers didn’t want it to be one of those shows where the kids are in high school for 8 years, but wow. Your show is popular right now. Why would you change the cast so dramatically like that? I pretty much only watch the show for Lea Michele. She’s amazing and belongs on my TV singing. There’s a show right now called The Glee Project where the Glee talent guy is actively hunting for new talent. I don’t really like any of the kids they have on the show. I’m not even a very big fan of Glee and this makes me a little mad. I think it’s a really bad decision and I wouldn’t be surprised if the show gets canceled not too far down the line.

Fox is also going to release a 3D concert movie of Glee. I’m kind of over you!

Weekend Show - West Side Story

I went to the Hollywood Bowl this past weekend with the family to see West Side Story. We originally thought it was going to be a live action show, but it turned out to just be the movie with the LA Phil playing the music. It was very good, but I never realized how gay the movie is.

I've seen it plenty of times, but wow is it gay. Obviously, it was perfect for the time, but now when you watch the movie it's very fruity. The guys are dancing all over each other with fighting motions. I had to try not to laugh at some points. The movie will always remain a classic in my heart, but with very gay tendencies. It was definitely a good time though. I always love the Bowl in the summer.

Weekend Show - HAIR

I saw HAIR with my mom on Friday night. I figured she would be the best person to take because she loves the show and loved the production I did in college.

I’m always skeptical of other HAIR productions because I’ve seen the script and I know that it’s very open to interpretation. Some directors can do good things and some can do bad. I’ve seen both. This one was pretty good. The first act was a little slow, but the second act was definitely better. The guy who played Claude had the most amazing voice!

The thing that bothered me a little was the fact that there was no dancing. Yeah, the tribe members moved around and danced on their own during musical numbers, but there was no choreographed dancing. The production I did had choreographed dancing and it made the first act less boring, I think.

I think everyone should see this show. It’s about the war and being drafted and peace and all that hippie stuff. Don’t see the movie. Don’t ever see the movie. You’re doing yourself a real disservice if you do. See the play. It’s at the Pantages until January 23.

Monday Night Show - Next To Normal

I saw Next To Normal last night at the Ahmanson. I was super excited to see it because I heard amazing things about it, it won a million awards, and I saw the cast perform at the Tony’s last year and it just looked good. I can’t say I was disappointed because the show was good, but the main actress Alice Ripley totally ruined it for me, which was the most surprising part because she’s won a lot of awards for her performance. Her singing voice just kind of ruined a lot for me. So even though the set was amazing and the lights were amazing and a lot of the singing was incredible, every time Alice Ripley opened her mouth to sing I wanted to cringe. It was so sad because someone would be singing on stage in a very pretty voice and then she would chime in and just train wreck the shit out of the song. I couldn’t even describe the sound that came out of her mouth. It was as if she was trying to suppress an accent while having the corners of her mouth sewn shut. It was just weird.

The story is nothing like I have ever seen before and that’s probably the reason the play has won so many awards including a Pulitzer. It’s about a mom who has some major psychological issues all stemming back to the death of her son 17 years ago. She has a daughter to replace the son, but she never seems to get over the loss and kind of neglects her daughter. She goes into intensive therapy with the backing of her loving husband to relieve her insanity and it all kind of makes things worse. In the end she leaves and I was left holding back a lot of tears. It makes me thankful that I had a very good up bringing. The story was definitely touching and I could hear a lot of sniffles in the audience so I know I wasn’t the only one who was moved.

I wonder if the show would have been amazing for me if Alice Ripley wasn’t the main character. Everyone kept ranting and raving about the fact that she’s in the touring cast because she originated the role on Broadway and was amazing in it, but I just didn’t see it. In fact, like I said she just ruined it for me. It was no longer about the subject matter of the show. It was all about hearing the pretty voices over her frog voice. Makes me wonder how she got the role in the first place. Maybe she was sick because she sounds ok here…

Just A Spoon Full of Sugar

Oh Julie Andrews. How I love thee. I mean who doesn’t. She’s so fun and makes everyone smile. This is long over due for her, but she is finally receiving a Grammy lifetime achievement award alongside Dolly Parton and The Ramones. Interesting group of people. I’m so happy for her! The Grammy’s are in February 2011 so I can imagine they will all receive their awards then.

Can you believe she’s had a steady career for 60 years? That’s kind of incredible. Even though she can no longer sing, she’s still super well known and will never be forgotten. That’s incredible as well. She definitely lives up to Mary Poppins: practically perfect in every way.

The Return

The rumors are true. Gwyneth Paltrow is coming back to Glee. No one knows when yet, but she was so liked by the cast and fans that the producers are bringing her back. I'm not going to lie, she was very cute/good on the show. Normally, she does nothing for me. I always thought she was kind of a boring actress, but on Glee she was fun and she can actually sing. I'm kind of looking forward to her return. Glee isn't returning until after the Super Bowl, which isn't too far away. They're taking a break to allow American Idol to have it's turn. Barf. Looks like the cast is going on tour again, which should be fun. Their show last year was freaking incredible. I think I've given up on focusing on the lack of story line and hating Kurt and have just focused on the songs and the fun of it all. At least for now...

Weekend Movie - Burlesque

I hope everyone had an awesome turkey weekend. I don’t want to eat any more turkey until next year!

I’ve been excited to see Burlesque and I got the opportunity this past weekend. Going into the movie I thought it would either be super awesome or it would suck big time, but it was neither. It was pretty good, nothing more nothing less. There were some technical issues that I couldn’t get over, like some camera angles were funky and the editing was a little choppy, but if you could look past that the movie was good. I was completely entertained. There were a few parts that seemed forced, but for the most part I was entertained and could turn my brain off and just watch. There weren’t any songs that made me want to run home and download so that was kind of disappointing, but I would see the movie again. It’s one of those movies you watch on a rainy day or when you’re just sitting at home and nothing’s on TV.

Christina Aguilera’s talent was definitely portrayed in this movie. I mean I knew she could sing, but her voice in the movie is amazing. I sort of knew she could dance, but now I know for sure she can dance. Her acting was better than I thought it would be too. Overall, she did a good job. Cher was of course good because that’s just what she does. There was one part of the movie where she sang and it was so random to me. It was as if the producers decided Cher needed another song so they kind of just slipped it in there. Stanley Tucci was amazing as well. I love that guy. He’s always good. Overall, if you’re looking to be entertained, you should see this movie.

Dance For Me!

I really want to see this movie! I’m not a big fan of Christina Aguilera, but I think I can over look it for a movie musical. The trailer kind of reminds me of Chicago and I loved that movie. I remember seeing it with my parents when it first came out and I remember catching my self with my mouth wide open. Christina Aguilera looks so young in the trailer too. It makes me wonder how long ago this was filmed. I mean she looks the way she looked when she first became known. Since, she has gained a lot of weight and her face has changed a lot. Maybe it’s make up magic, but she still looks super young. Either way, if you can’t find me on Thanksgiving, I’m probably seeing this movie.

Glee Isn’t So Gleeful Anymore

Glee has really started to piss me off. I’m kind of sick of all the flashy crap. At first, the show had me super intrigued because the show did things no other show would dare to do. They had amazing singers singing out during any moment. To me, that’s amazing and I loved the show. Now, I’m kind of over all the crap. They went on hiatus forever and I’m sure they lost some of their fan base. Then, when they came back, the show sucked butt. There wasn’t a story line anymore and the episodes were only relying on the musical numbers. The last few episodes of season 1 were ok and they ended on an okay note. Then, they decided to do a cattle call and have people audition through Myspace for season 2 and the producers told everyone that 3 new cast members would be chosen from these Myspace auditions. Yeah, that didn’t happen at all. Then, I walk through the mall and see huge Glee memorabilia displays in the middle of nowhere. I’m just kind of sick of it. I liked the show so much better when it wasn’t about all the flashy crap. You have musical numbers on your show. There’s no need to get flashier than that. Stop with the lies to the fans and the crazy memorabilia. Stop with the flashy! I still like watching the show because they do some interesting twists on songs, but if this continues on much longer, I may need to boycott. Last nights episode was a small wet dream for me because I used to freaking love Britney Spears because she had amazing dance numbers and they did a Paramore song, but all the songs were exactly the same as the original. No super awesome Glee twist. Are they getting lazy? Come on Glee, come back to me the way you used to be!

Shooting the Spit

I kept this a secret until today, but the excitement has overwhelmed me and I must share. Tonight, 3 of my friends and I are going to see the cast of Glee live. We will officially be Gleeks tonight, which by the way means the build up of saliva in the salivary glands and the pushing of the tongue against those glands causing spit to shoot out, but we're going to ignore that definition for now. I saw Lea Michele at the Hollywood Bowl in Les Miserables when no one knew who she was and she was utterly amazing and I freaked out, so if you see a story on the news about some crazed fan running across the stage, it just might be me. You know you're all jealous. Happy Gleek day!!!!

Too Much Glee?

Glee was back last night for the first time in about 3 months, but it never felt like it was gone. Yeah, we didn't get to watch episodes, but there were enough promos on TV and Hulu to tide us over. There was enough news going around about the auditions for the second season on MySpace and there was enough news about Glee touring live and yes my tickets are bought. So with all of that, it never felt like Glee even left. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'm not sure. While I was watching the episode last night things got a little weird for me. The story line was kind of wonky and I was a bit over it. I was screaming "WTF" at the TV. I keep reading other bloggers say "Is there such thing as too much Glee?" and I can't help but wonder if they're right. Is there such thing as too much Glee? Yes, they're trying to keep this brand new show alive with promo after promo and yes it's a huge hit because of the musical numbers and the talent on the show, but does the show have a potential to bomb very soon? I hate to say any of this because I love the show, but when it gets to the point where it's too much singing and drama will we all keep watching and hoping the writers give us something we can walk away with? I will definitely keep watching, but at this point I'm a little scared for the show. I'm scared that people might stop watching and move on. I'm scared that this awesome show will be another Pushing Daisies. Please don't get canceled!

Don't Rain On My Parade

The Glee auditions are finally underway on MySpace. You have 6 minutes to tell the producers why you’re good for the cast of Glee as well sing your heart out. Of course there is a list of songs to choose from and they are all Glee songs and not the good ones either. How are you supposed to show your vocal range while singing Gold Digger or Rehab? Another thing that makes me feel weird about this is that the public can see all submitted videos and can vote on the ones they like best. Talk about being set up for judgment. If the videos went straight to the producers than it would be alright with me, but this is American Idol MySpace style and I’m having a hard time with that. What if people vote on the crappy ones and leave out a lot of good ones? Will the producers even watch the videos that weren’t voted on? Probably not. I’m sure there’s going to be a million submissions for this thing with everyone telling the producers to put them on the show because they are Lea Michele’s biggest fan or something. Hopefully the producers know better and keep the crazies away. So after that lovely vent fest, are you going to audition or is being set up on MySpace too scary?

Weekend Show - Mary Poppins

So for my birthday weekend I was taken to see Mary Poppins at the Ahmanson. I was so excited to see the show. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I ruined it, but I was still excited. I knew the show had tap dancing and the Disney movie is one of the best classics.

When they had the 40th anniversary for the movie, they had this premiere party thing going on at the El Capitan in Hollywood and I got to go to the premiere. Julie Andrews was there and so was Dick Van Dyke and a bunch of other celebrities. I even got to go to the after party and eat along side these celebs. The gift bag was amazing. We got the anniversary DVD and some other little chotskies. It was very exciting. When I heard about the show on Broadway, I was very excited for it to go on tour. I heard it was a lot darker than the movie, but I hoped that it still followed the movie pretty closely.

I have to say that my expectations weren’t fulfilled. The play was a bit darker than the movie, but the story was much different. The actors who played Mary Poppins and Bert were very good and there was tap dancing, but I wasn’t awed by it. It was just kind of so so. My one thing was that Bert tap danced on the top of the proscenium and I couldn’t see it where I was sitting. Made me a little sad. I guess you have to sacrifice a few seats to make dancing on the proscenium happen. Mary Poppins flew all over the place and even flew into the mezzanine, which was pretty cool.

There was even a new dance to be learned by me for the song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious." I even know how to spell it now thanks to this show!

The show was aesthetically pleasing for sure. The set pieces were amazing and very cleverly done and the lighting and costumes were amazing as well. I guess the story is what made the show a bomb to me. I’m not going to lie, I was a little bored at parts. Makes me want to go back and watch the movie again so I can flush my mind a little.

Holiday Movie - Nine and Sherlock Holmes

Sigh. The holidays are now over and it is back to the real world and work and blah. The next holiday to look forward to is Martin Luther King Day. Lame sauce.

This holiday proved to be a big movie holiday. A million movies came out on Christmas day and don’t you doubt that I saw a few of them. The first was Nine. We saw it at the Arclight because there is no other place movies should be viewed. It was pretty good. It was done by the same people who did Chicago the movie. That much was very obvious. They pretty much did the same monologue type deals. Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas was AMAZING. Why the hell is she doing pop music? Her song was the best one of the movie. She has the most amazing voice ever. Someone told me she was classically trained and after that news I am even more stumped as to why she isn’t on Broadway. She seriously NEEDS to be on Broadway.

The cast was pretty stacked. There was Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis who was pretty amazing as the lead character, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, etc. Everyone is a damn singer too. They all had a song and they can all sing. It’s funny because Nicole Kidman kind of started the musical movie movement with Moulin Rouge and she seemed to have a really good voice, but when she was paired with the singing voices in this movie, she wasn’t so great. Her song was kind of blah. Even Kate Hudson had a pretty good song. Who knew she could sing? Anyone could have played Nicole Kidman’s part to be honest. She was kind of whatever to me. Either way, this movie is one to see if you are a musical theatre fan. It’s entertaining and who doesn’t love a good musical.

The second movie was Sherlock Holmes. Holy crap was this movie amazing. It was like watching a funny episode of Law and Order wrapped in with an episode of Bones. Of course, we all know Sherlock Holmes is a crime solver and this movie doesn’t disappoint. Not only is the movie amazing, but Robert Downey Jr is incredible. He is so witty and on the ball. He plays Sherlock as the Jack Sparrow of crime fighting. Funny and just ridiculous. I want to see this movie a million more times. Jude Law is pretty good as well.

The one sad thing for me was Rachel McAdams. I love her, but she didn’t seem to fit in this movie. Her skin was very pale and clean and she spoke with an American accent and it was just odd. Here she is with these dirty drunk guys and she’s super clean and American. It was just a weird fit. Again, that makes me sad because I love her. Either way, this movie is seriously a must see. It is funny and just very well written.

That Girl Has Pipes!

We have another very talented, hot chick in our presence, Sara Ramirez (pronounced Sada). You may recognize her as Callie from Grey’s Anatomy or others may know her as the Lady of the Lake from the original cast of Spamalot. Either way, she is freaking talented. This girl has pipes!!! She was the major diva in Spamalot and holy hell can she sing. On the last episode of Grey’s before the holiday break, her acapella version of Silent Night was playing in the background of the dinner scene. I remember hearing it and thinking it sounded very pretty and wondering who sang it. I looked it up and sure enough it was Sara singing her heart out. I have been searching ever since for the MP3 and have yet to find it. Sad face.

Anyway, not only is she talented with pipes, she is gorgeous. She is one of those girls who doesn’t need to be a toothpick to be pretty. She has some meat on her and is gorgeous just the way she is. She also has a great personality off screen according to her interview with Ellen, who brings out the best in everyone. Sigh. Let’s take a look and listen shall we.

Filled With Glee!

I heard the most amazing news this morning. The cast of Glee has released an album. It can be found on iTunes! How amazing. It has “Defying Gravity” from the Broadway show Wicked as well as many other amazing songs. Some we have already heard and some we have not. This means these songs will appear in episodes!!! We will all have to wait for the Defying Gravity episode to hit the air, but in the mean time check out iTunes. The album is listed on the home page. Or you can just listen here. Enjoy!

Yes Please!

A couple years ago, I went with my family to New York and when that happens you know you will see Broadway shows. So one of the options was the musical Nine and at that time if I recall correctly, the cast had John Stamos and Chita Rivera, but we didn’t end up seeing it because we found out it was like 4 hours long. We probably should have gone anyway, but I think we had dinner reservations or something. So anyway, we never saw it and I recall seeing a number during the Tony’s and wished we had seen it. Well now, there’s a movie. Normally I say “leave Broadway alone.” I don’t think I will be saying that here. See for yourself.

An Awesome Sequel…For Once?

Awesomeness has unveiled itself to me this morning. I heard on the radio that Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that he has written a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera called Love Never Dies. Kind of sounds like a James Bond sequel to me. The story of Love Never Dies continues the story of The Phantom. The Phantom of the Opera left off with The Phantom all alone in the Paris Opera House. Love Never Dies begins 10 years later with The Phantom now haunting the fairgrounds of New York’s Coney Islands. Hmmmmm. This better be good. Sounds a little weak to me…

The show is said to open in London on March 9, 2010, New York on November 11, 2010 and in Australia in 2011. Wow. I have to see this. Decisions, decisions. Should I go to London or New York? If it’s good enough, maybe both?

The Phantom of the Opera is one of the longest running shows. I hope Love Never Dies can live up to that. Webber has had some amazing success with “Memory” from Cats and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita so I assume he can continue this streak, but those were written quite some time ago.

Webber is now 61 years old. I guess talent like that doesn’t just go away. I really hope this is another hit.