Post Pageant
Well, the lovely Miss Tennessee is the new
Miss USA 2007. It was kind of a no brainer. Once we saw the swimsuit scores and she's the only one who scored above a 9, we pretty much should've rolled credits and gone home. My girl from Rhode Island was first runner up. I made it as far as I could in the pool. Oh well. As expected, Nevada made it to the Top 5, then she had the unfortunate task of having to speak. I'm doing a show in June called "Guy's Choice Awards" for Spike TV (oh, don't get me started but you KNOW there will be good stories from this one) and I fully expect to see the delegates from Nevada and Missouri dancing with a pole. Enough of the crown and sash. I defended my title and that's all that matters.
I went to an all day crop yesterday hosted by my dear friend Ginger. She throws the best crops. 13 hours of scrapping and I completed 9 pages that I'm very happy with. The last time I scrapped in February, I felt really boxed in. I was using some idea and sketches books and I really felt like it was closing me in on my creativity (as if it's all that bang up to begin with). Well, yesterday, I left the sketch books at home and came up with the ideas all by my little brain self. And I'm really pleased with all my LO's. I'll scan tomorrow and post. I even won one of Ginger's contests which I've never won before. The theme was stamping and I won 2nd place which was very exciting. I won an 8x8" album (can never have enough of them) and one of those awesome KI Memories embellishment kits with papers, stickers, chipboard, etc. KI is one of my very favorite product lines so that was way cool. I had a great day sharing a table with
Wendy, Melissa and another girl Carla. And of course, seeing a bunch of my other
Foxy friends. It was a terrific day. I got my mojo back which I wasn't sure I'd have any with the lack of sleep of the past week.
Today,
Toni had a photo shoot for us Foxy girls. The last one I participated in was about 2 1/2 years ago and you can see the results with my blog photo on top. Terrific photos but it was time for an update. We went to the park at Sepulveda dam where the cherry blossoms are blooming. I got one sample photo which I'll post later as well. It looks terrific and I hope the others come out just as well. Toni's a terrific photographer so I'm sure they will.
Lisa and I drove together. She brought two of her girls and C came withe me. Took another 150 pictures of all the girls and got some really cute ones. Lisa has one fabulous one of C that I'll have to get and post. Until I really learn how to use my camera, I figure I've got a great camera so if I shoot enough shots, I'm bound to stumble onto a few good ones eventually, right?
And C and I did a fun thing today in the afternoon. C got her first manicure and pedicure. I desperately needed to get my nails done and when I have time, I still go to my old place in Burbank. I've been going there for over 10 years and they knew me all through my pregnancy (and previous engagement, this wedding etc). Anyway, I don't think they'd seen C since she was a baby since, for obvious reasons, it's not that conducive to take a toddler to a nail place. So we went today. C was so cute. She picked out her nail polish colors all by herself. She picked blue, of course, for her toes and silver for her fingers. When the girls were working on me, Bing told her to come with her and took her to another station two chairs down. C sat perfectly still while Bing polished her toes. When Bing realized that the blue glittery polish that C picked was a little too sheer, she came back and picked out a nice bright turquoise and put that one first. C sat the whole time, chatted with Bing but was perfectly behaved. She was so pleased with her pretty fingers and toes. I can't wait to do that LO on her first mani/pedi.
It's been a good weekend. I'm tired so I'm going to crawl into bed and catch up on some of my reality shows. Get back into life. Woo-Hoo!
(stay tuned for pictures tomorrow)
Labels: manicures, Miss USA Pageant, pedicures, scrapping, taking photos
MIss USA Pageant
We're about 9 minutes to air. I haven't slept much in the last two days. Lots of late nights editing which is simply no fun. The only thing I'm looking forward to, after 8PM tonight which means we're off the air, is hitting my pillow and scrapping all day tomorrow. I might be too tired to have any mojo, I won't get my HS LO done since I haven't had time to pull some photos, but darn it, I'm still looking forward to scrapping. It should be an interesting pageant. It's always fun to see who will win. I could tell you who the Top 15 are but then I'd have to kill you (or be fired for publishing before it's officially announced). That being said, I think I have one of the front runners in the camera pool. Rhode Island, is it a road or an island? Discuss. LMK if you can spot a few pole dancers in the Top 15.
Getting Drunk
Got bad news. Not happy. Very bad day yesterday. Thank goodness for
Lisa and Kari. Okay, that's not to say I didn't get warm wishes from many others of you but they helped me drink. I went over to Lisa's after dinner having already had one big glass of wine. We proceeded to drink another 2 1/2 bottles of wine. I think I had about 5 glasses by the time I rolled home. Lisa and I sat in the hot tub for I think about 3 hours just yakking away. Sorry if we kept any neighbors awake but they didn't yell so screw 'em. Thanks to both of you for always being there for me and listening and supporting. And to all of you who responded. You know who you are. I love you all and that's why I shared with you.
On a very happy note, I got an AWESOME box of birthday goodies from
Sonia and Lisa today. A fabulous "Scrapbooker" t-shirt designed by Sonia. Check out her
website. Everything so stinkin' cute. And they sent me two felted purses. I don't knit and I still don't understand how this works (the felting) but they sent me a fabulous blue and black purse and a beautiful blue one for C. When I read the note and it said it was for C, she had a huge "gasp" with excitement and then carried it with her for the remainder of our errands today. (photos to come) What a wonderful birthday surprise. Proper thank you's to come but for now, THANK YOU so much! I hate that you two live so far away.
Off to the hockey game. I'm sure that'll only get us depressed again. Boy, do the Kings stink this year.
Labels: good friends, hot tubs, Sunshine's Designs, wine
Daytime drama
I need some good, warm fuzzy thoughts today. Do what you can. Greatly appreciated.
Another note on the lack of sleep department. I'm in the middle of a project where I'm transferring all my old shows that I have on VHS to DVD. There will be another post in the near future to discuss all the bad television that I've worked on over the years, but I digress. So far, the earliest tapes of shows I've found is from 1986. Yes, what's more amazing is that the tape still played. Anyway, so I do have some long shows that I put in the machine overnight to dub. Last night, around midnight, I popped in
"The Big Help" from 1996. This was an 8 hour "telethon" that aired on
Nickelodeon to encourage kids to do community service hours and "help". So I go downstairs this morning, figuring I'll finalize the DVD and pop in the next done to dub while I'm at work. The show is still recording. Yes folks, I went to bed around 1AM and was downstairs before 8AM. I slept less than the show was on the air. Sad.
Speaking of shows, as I've mentioned previously, I've been working on
"Dr. Phil" this week. Sometimes intriguing but generally, high calibar trash IMO. But it's a paycheck and the people are terrific. (at least the post department. I have no contact with anyone else) There was some excitement here on Wednesday though. Apparently, they were taping a follow up show where the husband was possessive and literally stalking his wife. The show initially intervened and got him into some facility to get him some help. So this was the follow up show to see how the husband was doing. They kept the husband and wife separated and they were never on the stage at the same time. The husband apparently said to Dr. Phil something like "His greatest wish is that he and his wife walk off the show hand in hand like him and Robin". Creepy. The show is over, they put him back in the limo to take him back to the hotel, or the airport or wherever. They get a few blocks away and he bolts from the limo and hops into a taxi! There's a camera crew still in the limo, they whip the car around and follow the taxi. He hops out of that taxi and then into another one and then they lose the second taxi. The crew comes back to the studio, one of the taxi's wants the show to pay him the $60, and the guy is still MIA. I heard yesterday that he called the wife on her cell. She was trying to talk him into going back to rehab, she'd meet him there (apparently all he wants is to meet with her), etc. He had no money or credit card since that's all turned in when you enter rehab, he's pissed because he was at the show under false pretenses, so he tells the wife that he sold his wedding ring and bought a plane ticket to go home. Not sure how he'd get on a plane without ID and paying for a last minute ticket with cash, should, theoretically, send up a flag in this day and age with the airlines. Don't know how it's all been resolved (if it even has been at this point) but it's pretty funny. Scary people will do anything to get on TV. White trash comes to mind but I don't know who the people are (haven't seen them or the first show) so I can't completely jump on that bandwagon. All I know is that we didn't have that kind of drama on "The Other Half". Had to share.
Labels: Dr. Phil, Nickelodeon, The Big Help
Is sleep optional?
In my house, the answer is apparently a resounding YES. As I've stated many times in countless blog posts, my child is a lousy sleeper. I shouldn't really be surprised by this since I (nor G for that matter) don't need a lot of sleep myself. I had some insomnia issues when I was growing up, didn't require a lot of sleep but my parents do claim that once I went to sleep, I did actually stay asleep until morning. Not my kid. C has been difficult to get to sleep pretty much from the moment she was born. Most kids, so we were told, are so tired by the birthing process that they pretty much fall asleep. We should've known we were in trouble when she was up for the first few hours of her life. It's pretty much continued along the same course for almost 4 years now.
I will admit that we've enabled some it (apply pancake baby theory here) by cuddling with her when we put her to bed. I'm better at getting up after the stories ("Honey, I have to go potty." is a common "I'm leaving" line) then G is but she definitely still feels the need to cuddle. G usually falls asleep and I go in to wake him up and get him out of there. I get frustrated watching the clock because there's usually something that I need to do and get tired of waiting for her to fall asleep, thus the above mentioned attempts to excuse myself. That being said, C didn't fall asleep until after 11PM last night! Yes, you read that right. We were all ready to pull our hair out. She had a full day at school, afternoon playing with the babysitter (I'm working this week) and then dinner. No nap and she was still wired. Finally, I told her when you see the 11 on the clock, I've got to go downstairs (I was there for about 30 minutes trying to get her to calm down) and I left. She wasn't happy but funny, she fell asleep. This is another on the growing list of things "When you turn 4" that we're going to implement. After reading stories and kisses and hugs goodnight, we're leaving the room. Four year old girls can fall asleep on their own. Enough already.
Yes, I know we're long overdue. We do well for awhile and then we have setbacks. I'm done. I'm tired. And because she doesn't go to sleep until late, I don't get my shit done and then you wonder why I don't turn out my light until 2AM. Of course, my insomnia last night didn't help either. When work is crazy and I'm working stupid hours (the Oscars pre-show comes to mind) then yes, sleep is an option. The rest of the time, it shouldn't be that hard.
Go to sleep kid! Or maybe I'll start putting a little Kahlua in her chocolate milk...
In other news, I'm filling in on
"Dr. Phil" this week. Just doing to editing of some shows. It's a very slow week so I'm spending a lot of time on the computer. Next week is the
"Miss USA Pageant". Hey, it's paycheck. Need me a few of those.
I made arrangements to go see
"Wicked" again when Caz is in town in a few weeks. She's seen it too but hey, you can never see it too many times, right? How special is this show that you can't get enough? I can't wait to see her. It's been about a year. Thank goodness for her job at
Mannatech because she organizes the annual trip for the Aussies to the National Convention in Dallas so they pay for her travel here. Good because I haven't exactly had the time or the money to get back to Sydney. We're hoping to go away for a few days to see the Grand Canyon. I've never been myself so if I'd get off my lazy butt and plan it, we might actually go.
I think I'll go do some research on that now. Have a great day!
Labels: Australia, chocolate milk, Dr. Phil, Miss USA Pageant, Sleep, Wicked
Quiet week
After my "big" 200th post, I've run out of things to say. Okay, not really but it has been a quiet week. I spent most of the week enjoying some relaxation. I've been able to catch up on some TV on the Tivo. I finally watched "The Queen" which was fantastic. Still need to watch "Little Miss Sunshine" which hopefully I'll get to this weekend. Generally, I did as little as possible.
Wednesday was also my birthday was turned out to be nice for a change. I had lots of visitors. Elizabeth and Debby (moms from school) surprised me with a breakfast of bagels & cream cheese and assorted donuts. Plus balloons and Elizabeth gave me a dozen roses that have opened up absolutely perfectly. My friend Wendy sent me another dozen white and red roses which are also gorgeous. My sister, Lisa and Kari came over for lunch. Had a nice yummy tuna sushi salad and of course, great conversation. G sent me another bouquet of beautiful flowers and a dozen chocolate covered strawberries. Oh my! It doesn't get better than that. YUM! My MIL also brought me some stunning fushia flowers. I've never seen color like these and they're so pretty. My bedroom smells like a flower shop. It's fabulous. Lots of wonderful phone calls, people singing to me and emails. G even got out of work early so he was able to bring in dinner which is a little better than the whatever is in the freezer that I was originally planning. Hey, C also wrote on a paper towel the word "Happy". She wrote it all by herself. Very impressive and definitely something I'll treasure. So I had a terrific birthday which I don't always get to say. I know I'm very blessed to have such wonderful, special friends in my life and who took the time to make me feel special. I love you all more than you know.
After a few days of laying low, the craziness started up again. Had my flute concert last night. We played pretty well shockingly. We were a little shaky even with the rehearsal just prior. Still, we pulled it off which shocked most of us I think. There was one piece we had never really played all the way through without stopping so we got through that. I had a solo during one of our pieces and played the melody on "Danny Boy". After our conductor explaining how she was going to count it off, how come I'm the only one who understood what she was talking about?? It's not the first time we rehearsed the song and the other two people (on other parts) didn't come in at the beginning. Oy. No one but us knew the difference but still, at the end, Patty looked over to me and mouthed "Thanks". Now, I'll finally have time to go get my flutes adjusted. Maybe I'll get able to get some of the low notes. (I know, boring flute tech talk)
C and I went to see a fun little theater version of Cinderella at the
Santa Monica Playhouse. It was a quick show, a little over an hour (including an intermission) and it was really cute. C watched intently the whole time and I think understood the whole thing. There were some good adult jokes and good singing. It was very fun. For all my years living in LA and Santa Monica, I had never been there before. It's a terrific little theater that does tons of theater for kids. I'll definitely be going back.
Okay, that's the update of the past few days. Boring, I know. Please accept my apologies. Just needed to post something that wasn't a list.
Labels: birthdays, Cinderella, flowers, Flute Choir
Number 200
This is a momentous occasion. Trumpets are blaring. Fireworks are a-popping. Welcome to my 200th post. I couldn’t think of a list of 200 anythings so I’m following in the blogsteps of
Sonia and just adding another 100 random thoughts to add to my first
100 post. Pardon the rambling and apologies if any of these things are repeats to other information that you already know about me. So sit back, relax, pull up a chair, make sure you have your favorite beverage handy and you’ll get your read for the day.
1 - I broke my leg when I was 2 years old by tripping on a carpet.
2 - I don’t think I could go an entire day without checking my email, the Foxy message board, woot.com and the blogs of my dear friends
Lisa,
Sonia and
Wendy.
3 - My after school job in high school was working at an accounting firm. My junior year I assisted one of the busiest bookkeepers, helped file and occasionally typed up checks (olden days with typewriters). My senior year I was a runner for the firm making deliveries and doing the bank deposits for many of the clients. I was making over minimum wage, no weekends so it was a great job.
4 - I delivered items to Marlon Brando’s house a few times for the above mentioned accounting firm.
5 - I went to my first LA Kings hockey game when I was 9 years old. The Kings beat the Boston Bruins that night and the rest is history.
6 - I played piano from 1st grade through 9th grade. Started playing the flute when I was 10 and still play.
7 - I loved going to summer camp. It’s still the fondest memories from my childhood but my first session at sleepaway camp, I was that kid that cried each night because I was homesick. I was 12 years old. My sister who was 9 was perfectly fine. I got over it about halfway through.
8 - I ended up going to that camp for 10 years and went through the CILT (camper in leadership training) program, and on to counselor. I spare you the singing of camp tunes at this time.
9 - I went to UCSB as a Speech and Hearing major (what?) and wanted to be an audiologist working with deaf kids. My brain is not scientifically minded and I did poorly in the lower division science classes so I bailed out of the major to my “backup” career in TV production. What was I thinking?
10 - My first TV credit was on a “Bloopers & Practical Jokes” special in 1985.
11 - My next show, I went to Australia for a month for “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” pageant. I turned 21 on that trip and met two of my best friends who live in Sydney.
12 - If I could move anywhere, I’d move to Sydney. It’s an amazing city.
13 - I want to go to Greece. Badly.
14 - I was the lead in two of my camp musicals. I played Guenevere in “Camelot” and Golde in “Fiddler on the Roof”.
15 - Yes, I can sing.
16 - I’m 2 years and 10 months older than my sister. We grew up fighting like most siblings. I think we’re pretty close today.
17 - My oldest friend is Mel and I’ve known him since I was 6 years old.
18 - I had my Bat Mitzvah a few days before I turned 14. I decided late that I wanted to be Bat Mitzvah’d. I think I just wanted the party. (sorry M&D)
19 - I took the SAT 4 times a never broke 1000 points.
20 - My best individual test score was on the Spanish achievement where I was a straight C student and can’t speak a word. So much for standardized testing.
21 - I like beer. There was a place at UCSB called Spikes (it still might be there) that had this “around the world” thing where you drink 40 beers from around the world (not in one sitting). I completed it three times. I still have the t-shirts to prove it.
22 - I was engaged once before but came to my senses and after lots of therapy, we broke up. I think he’s still bitter but I hope he’s moved on.
23 - Billy Joel is God.
24 - Garth Brooks is a close second.
25 - I’ve really been into Reeses Pieces lately.
26 - I think the most obscure/exotic places I’ve ever been is Namibia and then Cyprus. Just places you don’t normally “go” to when traveling. Both were for the Miss Universe Pageant.
27 - Noumea is also pretty obscure. I went to a Club Med there in 2000 with my Aussie girlfriends.
28 - Spelling does count.
29 - I’m lucky to have a fantastic husband. We’ve never gotten into a real fight. We’re lucky that we communicate really well and have similar taste to make decisions easily.
30 - My daughter is named after four of our grandparents. Three began with the letter C (Celia, Charles and Clara) and her middle name is a variation of G’s grandmother Vivian.
31 - I was named after Catwoman Julie Newmar. I was supposed to be a Joann or a Joanna but I guess I didn’t come out looking like those names. My uncle was working with Julie Newmar at the time and suggested it.
32 - I would’ve been Jonathan if I was a boy.
33 - I’ve been a member of the Directors Guild of America since 1992.
34 - My two favorite TV shows right now are “Grey’s Anatomy” and “The Office”.
35 - I’m also a reality junkie and love “Survivor” and “The Amazing Race”
36 - I started scrapbooking 3 1/2 years ago. I was obsessed from the moment I took my first class. Thanks Yvonne!
37 - My first car was a blue Mercury Capri
38 - I got my driver’s license on my 16th birthday.
39 - I’ve worked on the MDA Jerry Lewis Telethon every Labor Day since 1990.
40 - I’m a night owl.
41 - I hate early mornings.
42 - I love the rain.
43 - I learned to ski right before I turned 30.
44 - I loved being pregnant. I felt special.
45 - The oldest guy I ever dated was 13 years older than me and the youngest was 5 years younger.
46 - The toughest shows I ever worked on were the 1990 MDA Telethon (too many changes) and a show called “Concert of the Americas” in 1995 (averaged 3 hours a night of sleep for a few weeks)
47 - Couldn’t tell you the show I’m most proud of but there are a few cool shows on the resume.
48 - It was way cool to work on the Oscars in 1991 and meet all the presenters as they came in to rehearse. I was in a room with the likes of Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren and Barbra Streisand.
49 - I can time a show to get off the air exactly but I can’t exactly balance my checkbook.
50 - I think Mark Feuerstein (my heart skipped the first time I saw him on “Ally McBeal”), and Jimmy Smits are seriously dreamy. Esai Morales when he was on “NYPD Blue” was pretty darn cute too. (and yes G knows about this)
51 - I’m currently reading “Wicked”. It’s a dense story so it’s taking me a long time.
52 - Ginger Ale and Root Beer are my sodas of choice.
53 - Bloody Mary, Mojito and beer are my favorite alcoholic drinks.
54 - I love pizza.
55 - I don’t think I have one favorite color.
56 - I love my Dansko clogs. I have 9 pairs of them.
57 - I use a backpack purse instead of an over the shoulder one. I like my hands free.
58 - I like writing with Flair felt tip pens.
59 - I use a Mac.
60 - I have naturally curly hair.
61 - I wish I were 2 inches taller. I’m 5’3”.
62 - I don’t like horror films.
63 - “The Twilight Zone” scared me as a kid.
64 - I have a stuffed (animal) clown that I’ve had since I was 5. I’ll still sleep with it when G is out of town.
65 - I *love* my XM radio.
66 - I’m very anal and organized at work. Not so much at home.
67 - I’m not athletic in any way but I would like to learn to play golf and tennis one day.
68 - I like the Winter Olympics better than the Summer Games. I’d like to be a speed skater in my next life.
69 - The first album I ever bought was Queen “A Night At The Opera”. Yes, it was an LP. Still have it.
70 - Both ears double pierced. I wear diamond studs in each hole.
71 - I think everyone should own a convertible once in their lives. Mine was a Mustang which I owned until it was time for the family car, my first 4-door car.
72 - I love blueberry pie, preferably with vanilla ice cream.
73 - I’m a gadget girl. I like fun electronic toys and I know how to use them. I really want to get an Apple Iphone because I need to update my Palm Pilot. I love my 3 ipods, I’m dubbing my VHS tapes to DVD, and generally, I’m in control of the remote.
74 - I used to collect hockey cards. I still have them in my garage. A lot are in binders and I still have a shoebox or two with more.
75 - I also used to collect Beanie Babies. No idea what I’ll do with all of them, also piled in my garage.
76 - Now I collect scrapbook supplies.
77 - I love watching fireworks. Disneyland and the Hollywood Bowl do the best IMO,
78 - I hate having headaches and I get them all the time. I’m a headache/migraine girl and they’re just simply annoying.
79 - Chocolate covered frozen bananas are God’s gift to desserts. Crème Brulee is pretty high up on the list as well.
80 - I’ve had 5 dogs in my life. Frosty from when I was 6 until 17. Shayna until 1995. My parents have Xuxa (which is an extended dog for me) and Tazzie and Keely. I’m allergic to cats.
81 - I used to love the soap opera “Another World”. I was very sad when it went off the air about 10 years ago. I still watch “The Young & The Restless” whenever I watch TV during the day.
82 - I love foot massages.
83 - The first thing I notice on a person is their smile. Some people notice eyes, I’m a smile person. I guess that’s what I get for all those years with braces.
84 - I still sleep with my retainers.
85 - I had 5 wisdom teeth.
86 - While I don’t think I could pick just one favorite movie, here are a few that are in my Top 10 - “Cinema Paradiso”, “The Parent Trap” (either version), “Slap Shot”, “Singin’ In The Rain” and “Star Wars”.
87 - I always have nail polish on my toes and it’s usually a bright color. Currently, dark pink with flowers.
88 - I just got some new photos of my “nieces” in Sydney and it makes me realize how much I miss them. It’s been 5 years since I’ve seen any of them. Thank goodness I’ll see their mom in a few weeks.
89 - I still miss “Sex and the City”. That was my favorite show and yes I have the entire series on DVD.
90 - Pedro Almodovar is my favorite director. I never miss any his films.
91 - I’d like to get a scrapbook layout published in one of the magazines. I’ve had two LO’s published in books which I'm quite proud of.
92 - I’m determined to learn how to use my fantastic Nikon Digital SLR camera.
93 - I don’t drink enough water.
94 - I always have to sleep under the covers. Even when I take a nap in the summer, I’ll have a blanket on me.
95 - At our wedding, when we were “introduced” at the reception, G & I made our grand entrance wearing LA Kings and Chicago Blackhawks hockey jerseys.
96 - I wear YSL Paris perfume.
97 - C said to me the other day that she’s going to learn to play 5 instruments. Piano, flute, clarinet, drums and violin. But she knows she has to learn to play the piano first.
98 - I don’t like tuna fish, carrots or coconut. I only recently got eggs off the list but I can only tolerate them hard boiled or scrambled with enough salsa to drown the taste.
99 - I prefer Letterman to Leno. Leno is a terrible interviewer. He never listens to what the guest is actually saying. He just goes to the next question on his card. It’s annoying.
100 - I’m fascinated by the Apollo missions to the moon and I’d love to learn more about astronomy. One day.
That’s it. Hope your eyes aren’t popping out of your head. Hope this was mildly entertaining. Hope you learned a little bit more about me. Or not.
Labels: 100, 200
Wicked
Have I mentioned how obsessed I am with this show? We saw it tonight and it was, once again, an incredible experience. It's such an amazing spectacle and the performances are outstanding. It took me a little bit to get into the girl playing Glinda but she was terrific. And OMG Eden Espinosa who plays Elphaba was simply spectacular. I love her voice. I was happy that Fiyero was good too. When I saw the show two years ago, I hated the guy who played Fiyero. Sounded way too much like Brian McKnight, which there's nothing wrong with Brian McKnight but it just didn't suit Broadway singing. This guy was WAY better. Everyone was wonderful.
As expected, I cried during "Defy Gravity" and "For Good". I love those songs. Megan Hilty (who plays Glinda) did something funny during "Popular" which just cracked up Eden Espinosa. That's what makes the theater so wonderful. The live, anything can happen mode. I had forgotten some of the details of the comedy and some other little pieces so it was so nice to be reminded of the funny dialogue, some of the interstitial dancing and singing and how things get revealed.
We had a great night. Can't wait to see it again. Gotta go check my calendar to start planning.
Theater Snob
I am a theater snob. I've been going to the theater since I was 7 years old. My first show was Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys". Okay, I guess it helps that I have connections because my uncle is a Broadway Producer (he's won 8 Tony Awards as producer and his shows have won countless more) so I've been exposed to it my whole life. But I do have a great appreciation for theater. There's nothing like it.
With that in mind, we're going to see
"Wicked" tomorrow night. I saw it when it was here in LA in 2005 and I've been counting the minutes until I can see it again. The CD has been in my car for almost 2 years. It's the only thing I'll listen to when I'm not listening to my beloved XM radio. (Okay, save for the Disney Princess CD) C knows all the words to "Popular" and I am in no way burned out on one note of the music. I can't wait. I told a friend the other day how "Wicked" changed my life. I'm not sure exactly how it did, but it did. I've never been so obsessed with a musical, a story, the songs. Although I did come close when I saw "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" in 1989. I still know every word of that show by heart as well.
There are 4 shows that have moved me to tears, literally. I sat in my seat and bawled like a baby. In no particular order, here they are.
"Wicked". I still can't get through listening to the song "For Good" without tearing up. It's a beautiful song and I think of my best friend Caz whenever I hear it. She's in Australia but she's definitely changed my life for good.
"Rent". At the beginning of the second act, the song "Seasons of Love" is beautiful. I saw the original Broadway cast and the girl who hits that high note singing the gospel part gave me the chills. It's a perfect note. Listen to it on the Original Cast Album. Pure. I guess I have an Idina Menzel theme going here. Another show I know all the words to.
"Jerome Robbins' Broadway". This was a show that my uncle produced and it was kind of a review choregraphed by the great Jerome Robbins. He picked musical numbers from his favorite shows, recreated them so it was kind of a "greatest hits" production. Among the featured shows were "Fiddler on the Roof", "West Side Story", "On The Town", "The King and I" and "Peter Pan". Peter Pan brought tears of joy to my eyes. Each time I saw the show (which I did 5 times), on the line "Just think happy thoughts and UP you go", Peter Pan lifts up and flies. It's a magical moment and so exciting. It made me cry. BTW, Jason Alexander won a Tony for Lead Actor in a Musical before he was Jason Alexander of "Seinfeld".
"Our Town". The wonderful, perfect play by Thornton Wilder. I remember seeing a TV version starring Robby Benson when I was a kid and the whole thing just stuck with me. The last time I was in NY in 2002, it was playing on Broadway starring Paul Newman. I got a single ticket (G was working) and sat 3rd row center to see Paul Newman in my favorite play. Pretty much doesn't get better than this and this production didn't disappoint. The whole 3rd act is so beautifully written, and sad, and I just sat there crying.
I'm sure I've welled up at other shows (I'm missing a "Les Miserables" reference here when I saw Gary Morris sing "Bring Him Home" live) but these are the moments that have stuck with me. Sorry for the personal, boring post but I wanted to write this down for me. Thanks for indulging me. Then again, it doesn't take much for me to cry. I'm a sap at TV commercials too.
Labels: Jerome Robbins, Our Town, Rent, Uncle Manny, Wicked
