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morrigirlFor the last week, when not writing about current events that grab my attention, I've been getting myself cultured. This was the week all those theatre tickets Greg and I got for Christmas were handed over to ushers and magically turned into folding seats with no leg room. The type only slightly less comfortable than airline coach seating.
Last Sunday we saw Spamalot which was hi-larious. I have never been a big fan of Monty Python. I never got into Flying Circus, and of all their film offerings, have only seen "The Meaning of Life" which everyone tells me is the worst. All in all I just don't get the Monty Python brand of humor. Even so, the reviews for Spamalot were so great I really wanted to see it, and I'm damn happy I did because it was a ball!
we were seated in the second to last row of the mezzanine. The view wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't awful either. Greg was pleased that they kept it true to the movie. I was especially tickled by how much fun the show poked at Broadway musical theatre. What turned out to be my favorite song "The Song that Goes Like This" was a parody of the long, overly emotional love duet that has become a staple of musical theatre. The flashy number "You'll Never Make it on Broadway" celebrates rich Jewish backers. And, the "story" is temporarily suspended for "The Diva's Lament" during which the female lead wanders on stage in her dressing gown, wondering why her character has not yet made an appearance half way through act II. It was positively delightful.
Thursday evening after work, I rode down to Chelsea for the opening reception of my old friend and fellow Knox Alum Meghan Wilbar's first New York art show. I got back in touch with Meghan through Friendster over Christmas after having not seen or heard from her in three years. That's how I found out about the show and got my invite to the reception. The show was at the Prince Street Gallery. It was a single room only slightly larger than my mother's living room, stuffed with people and featuring the art of five immerging artists on the walls.
I spotted Meghan the moment I walked in, though considering how tall, pretty, and beautifully dressed she was that's not particularly remarkable. She was working the room when I arrived so I decided to take a lap before I tried to corner her. Meghan had three canvases on display, most of which were on the larger side. Back at Knox her work consisted primarily of landscapes, but the work on display was far more abstract and showed a grand range of skill. There were postcards, of course, so I picked up one that advertised the show itself, and one that featured a shot of what I thought was the best piece in Meghan's show.
Finally, I made my way over to the lady of the hour. We warmly embraced and spent the next thirty minutes or so catching up with each other. She is the same ole lovely Meghan. She is still living with Melanie's sister (whose name I have never picked up) and the two of them moved to Greenpoint recently. She works three part time jobs and paints during the day. I told her all about what I've been up to and it was just NICE. It was nice to see and speak to someone I've not seen or spoken to in such a long time.
There were a couple other galleries holding opening receptions on the same floor, so after a while I left Meghan to the crowd and cruised through the other galleries. In all I think I stayed for 45 minutes or so before saying goodbye and promising to do a better job of keeping in touch.
Last night, Greg and I went to see the revival of "A Chorus Line." This time we were in the second row of the mezzanine, but far enough to the left that the our view of the last person on the line was obstructed. I had never seen Chorus Line on stage, not even a crappy community theatre production, and...holy smokes is that a difficult show! The first fifteen minutes is nothing but dancing and all I could think through the entire sequence was "Shit, these actors must want to kill themselves on matinee day!" The show is performed with no intermission and, for the most part, the entire cast is on stage the whole time. The show requires that the performers be able to dance, act, and sing so every cast member MUST be a triple threat. And with the decline of dancing in Broadway musicals over the last 20 years triple threats are hard to find these days. I was in awe the while time. I've come to expect so much LESS of Broadway performers, less sweat, less energy, less intensity, that it all but boggled my mind that these people were able to do so much.
It was so nice to see real dancing on a Broadway stage again. After the show, I told Greg the last time I'd seen that much dancing in a musical was when Mike took me to see "Cats" for the second time, way back in 1995. Even my mom, the "Sheila" of our little theatre clan, who doesn't even LIKE "A Chorus Line" was glad to see real dancing on stage when she and Mike went to see it right after it opened. The enitre cast was really good, but I especially liked Natalie Cortez who played Diana Morales. She had a stong voice, great moves, and studied at NYU which is the good actor's seal of approval. I know everyone is supposed to cry during Paul's big monologue, but I found myself crying during "At the Ballet." It is just such a beautiful, aching song full of so much joy and disappointment. And I loved the curtain call, which takes the form of the "One" reprise. Each actor stepped out on the stage one at a time, in full gold, glittering chorus garb, took a bow, and then joined the ever growing chorus line that went on to perform "One" in full. And when the lights went out, that was it. Nobody came back out for a big group bow, the final song WAS the curtain call. I thought that was great.
I mentioned that Mom and Mike saw "A Chorus Line" a couple months ago, each for the second time having both seen it during its original run. My Mom didn't like it the first time but couldn't quite put her finger on why, it wasn't until this second go round that he was able to articulate the reason. She said she goes to the theatre looking for fantasy. When she sees a show she wants a fairy tale of some kind. Having been a professional chorus dancer for years and years "A Chorus Line" isn't fantasy for her, it's a snippit of a reality she is already well aware of. So, it doesn't satisfy her desires as a theatre goer or live up to her individual expectations. I found that very interesting. It makes sense, but since life in the theatre IS a fantasy for so many people it's not a reason I would have ever thought to attach to anyone's dislike of the show.
Anyhow, Greg and I both enjoyed it. After such a busy week of getting cultured, I'll look forward to seven days of sitting on the couch and watching TV.
Last Sunday we saw Spamalot which was hi-larious. I have never been a big fan of Monty Python. I never got into Flying Circus, and of all their film offerings, have only seen "The Meaning of Life" which everyone tells me is the worst. All in all I just don't get the Monty Python brand of humor. Even so, the reviews for Spamalot were so great I really wanted to see it, and I'm damn happy I did because it was a ball!
we were seated in the second to last row of the mezzanine. The view wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't awful either. Greg was pleased that they kept it true to the movie. I was especially tickled by how much fun the show poked at Broadway musical theatre. What turned out to be my favorite song "The Song that Goes Like This" was a parody of the long, overly emotional love duet that has become a staple of musical theatre. The flashy number "You'll Never Make it on Broadway" celebrates rich Jewish backers. And, the "story" is temporarily suspended for "The Diva's Lament" during which the female lead wanders on stage in her dressing gown, wondering why her character has not yet made an appearance half way through act II. It was positively delightful.
Thursday evening after work, I rode down to Chelsea for the opening reception of my old friend and fellow Knox Alum Meghan Wilbar's first New York art show. I got back in touch with Meghan through Friendster over Christmas after having not seen or heard from her in three years. That's how I found out about the show and got my invite to the reception. The show was at the Prince Street Gallery. It was a single room only slightly larger than my mother's living room, stuffed with people and featuring the art of five immerging artists on the walls.
I spotted Meghan the moment I walked in, though considering how tall, pretty, and beautifully dressed she was that's not particularly remarkable. She was working the room when I arrived so I decided to take a lap before I tried to corner her. Meghan had three canvases on display, most of which were on the larger side. Back at Knox her work consisted primarily of landscapes, but the work on display was far more abstract and showed a grand range of skill. There were postcards, of course, so I picked up one that advertised the show itself, and one that featured a shot of what I thought was the best piece in Meghan's show.
Finally, I made my way over to the lady of the hour. We warmly embraced and spent the next thirty minutes or so catching up with each other. She is the same ole lovely Meghan. She is still living with Melanie's sister (whose name I have never picked up) and the two of them moved to Greenpoint recently. She works three part time jobs and paints during the day. I told her all about what I've been up to and it was just NICE. It was nice to see and speak to someone I've not seen or spoken to in such a long time.
There were a couple other galleries holding opening receptions on the same floor, so after a while I left Meghan to the crowd and cruised through the other galleries. In all I think I stayed for 45 minutes or so before saying goodbye and promising to do a better job of keeping in touch.
Last night, Greg and I went to see the revival of "A Chorus Line." This time we were in the second row of the mezzanine, but far enough to the left that the our view of the last person on the line was obstructed. I had never seen Chorus Line on stage, not even a crappy community theatre production, and...holy smokes is that a difficult show! The first fifteen minutes is nothing but dancing and all I could think through the entire sequence was "Shit, these actors must want to kill themselves on matinee day!" The show is performed with no intermission and, for the most part, the entire cast is on stage the whole time. The show requires that the performers be able to dance, act, and sing so every cast member MUST be a triple threat. And with the decline of dancing in Broadway musicals over the last 20 years triple threats are hard to find these days. I was in awe the while time. I've come to expect so much LESS of Broadway performers, less sweat, less energy, less intensity, that it all but boggled my mind that these people were able to do so much.
It was so nice to see real dancing on a Broadway stage again. After the show, I told Greg the last time I'd seen that much dancing in a musical was when Mike took me to see "Cats" for the second time, way back in 1995. Even my mom, the "Sheila" of our little theatre clan, who doesn't even LIKE "A Chorus Line" was glad to see real dancing on stage when she and Mike went to see it right after it opened. The enitre cast was really good, but I especially liked Natalie Cortez who played Diana Morales. She had a stong voice, great moves, and studied at NYU which is the good actor's seal of approval. I know everyone is supposed to cry during Paul's big monologue, but I found myself crying during "At the Ballet." It is just such a beautiful, aching song full of so much joy and disappointment. And I loved the curtain call, which takes the form of the "One" reprise. Each actor stepped out on the stage one at a time, in full gold, glittering chorus garb, took a bow, and then joined the ever growing chorus line that went on to perform "One" in full. And when the lights went out, that was it. Nobody came back out for a big group bow, the final song WAS the curtain call. I thought that was great.
I mentioned that Mom and Mike saw "A Chorus Line" a couple months ago, each for the second time having both seen it during its original run. My Mom didn't like it the first time but couldn't quite put her finger on why, it wasn't until this second go round that he was able to articulate the reason. She said she goes to the theatre looking for fantasy. When she sees a show she wants a fairy tale of some kind. Having been a professional chorus dancer for years and years "A Chorus Line" isn't fantasy for her, it's a snippit of a reality she is already well aware of. So, it doesn't satisfy her desires as a theatre goer or live up to her individual expectations. I found that very interesting. It makes sense, but since life in the theatre IS a fantasy for so many people it's not a reason I would have ever thought to attach to anyone's dislike of the show.
Anyhow, Greg and I both enjoyed it. After such a busy week of getting cultured, I'll look forward to seven days of sitting on the couch and watching TV.
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no subject
Date: 2007-02-04 10:11 pm (UTC)its my favourite python...
i know all the songs and sing them... sometimes daily.
i lose :(
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVERY SPERM IS SAAAAACRED!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVERY SPERM IS GOOOOOOD!
EVERY SPERM IS NEEDED IN YOUR NEGHBORHOOD!
no subject
Date: 2007-02-05 03:28 am (UTC)