Trick or Treat?

I've been following this show and was lucky enough to see both it's reading at last year's New York Musical Theatre Festival, and it's limited run at the York Theatre Company last May. To my knowledge it's the only musical to specifically center around Halloween. We've had White Christmas, Easter Parade and even the movie Holiday Inn which celebrated many different holidays, but didn't mention Halloween!

According to this article in Playbill:

Broadway's current Elphaba, Shoshana Bean, will make a special guest appearance at the official opening of Stephen Schwartz's new family musical, Captain Louie, on Oct. 31.

Bean will be the evening's celebrity reader, reading Ezra Jack Keats' children's book, "The Trip," on which the new musical is based.

Previews for Captain Louie, the family musical that played a limited engagement in May at the York Theatre Company, began at Off Broadway's Little Shubert Theatre Oct. 28. The musical features a score by Schwartz, a libretto by Anthony Stein and direction by Meridee Stein. The Off-Broadway run is being produced by Stein, Kurt Peterson and Bob Reich.

I think it's a treat...let's see what the critics say!

Happy Halloween!

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A friend of mine, Jamibeth Margolis, who just happened to have directed Plane Crazy at NYMF, e-mailed me this info on a new play she is directing, so I thought I'd pass it along...

Hey, I recognize a couple of other names there too: Ray Zilberberg was an amazing production coordinator and general pitch-in-and-do-whatever-is-needed-no-questions-asked guy on Plane Crazy and Jesse Belsky was our lighting designer!

DEAR MAUDIE
A New Play In Correspondence About Pimples, Parents, Peer Pressure, and Friendship

Written by Michele Willens
Directed by Jamibeth Margolis

Assistant Director: Raymond Zilberberg
Lighting/Set Design: Jesse Belsky
Stage Management: Sarah Gates
Casting: Margolis-Seay

With: Allison Brustofski, Leanne Cabrera, Danielle Carlacci, Justin Clark, Lily Corvo, Hunter Gallagher, Michael Jacobs, Tommy McKiernan, Kelsey Merritt, Kristin Piacentile, Staci Rudnitsky, and Rachel Viola

Sundays At 1:00pm On Oct. 30, Nov 6, Nov 13, Nov 20, Dec. 4, 2005
78th Street Theatre Lab
236 West 78th Street
Tickets: Theatermania.com or call 212-352-3101
$10 Adults, $5 Children Under 16

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From my friends at the classiest musical in New York:

HOLLA OUT TO ALL YOU MEGASLUTS!!!

SLUT will be throwing a special bash for all you guys and gals out there who have been extra supportive of the show!!

$25 tix PLUS pizza on stage with the cast!

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5th
3pm PIZZA
4pm SHOW

To order your special tix:
CODE: SLFAN25
www.broadwayoffers.com
212-947-8844
or
just visit our Box Office w/ code ready!!

If you are planning to come: Please RSVP to me so I can get a general idea of how much pizza to order.

email: ShoreyW@aol.com

ASAP.

Thanks for all your love and support!

See you then!!

FEEL FREE TO FRWD THIS EMAIL TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND FELLOW MEGASLUTS!

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There once was a woman...

Okay, everyone knows that The Pajama Game is my absolute favorite musical so I'm watching with great interest the casting for the revival that's coming to Broadway in 2006, starring Harry Connick Jr.

They are pushing this production pretty hard, with lots of ads, and they did a special "first 100 tickets" for $19.54 since the show was originally done in 1954. However, I think it would have been a more compelling promotion if they had sold those first 100 tickets for 7.5 cents.

Anyways, the latest news is that Babe Williams played by Janis Paige in the original Broadway production and Doris Day in the movie version, will be played by Kelli O'Hara. Kelli is currently starring in The Light in the Piazza, as the daughter with the terrible secret that can't be revealed until Act 2...

No question, she has a beautiful voice (she won a Tony for that role), but is she Babe Williams, the spunky, girl next door with...uh...spunk? That's not exactly the voice I was imagining for the role, but who knows, maybe she is extremely versatile and can handle the chutzpah required for such a weighty, important role.

The critical question is, of course, who is going to play Gladys Hotchkiss?

According to this article in Playbill:

Kelli O'Hara, who was Tony-nominated for her performance as an American innocent in 1960s Florence in The Light in the Piazza, will leave the Lincoln Center production on Dec. 4, to begin rehearsals for the Broadway revival of The Pajama Game.

O'Hara will play Babe Williams opposite Harry Connick, Jr., in the Kathleen Marshall-directed production, due to begin previews Jan. 19 at the American Airlines Theatre.

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I admit it -- I was one of those who thought In My Life was self-funded by author Joe Brooks! Turns out he adheres to the golden rule of Broadway -- never put your own money into a show!

Although Fed Whittemore may not be reaping much profit on In My Life so far (According to Playbill, attendance this past week was at roughly 37.7% with average ticket price at $47.90), I'm not shedding any tears for him since he also invested in Chicago...'nuff said!

According to this article in Playbill:

The money man behind the new musical In My Life, which recently opened at Broadway's Music Box Theatre, has been revealed.

Many in the theatre believed that composer Joseph Brooks -- who penned the international hit "You Light Up My Life" -- had put his own money into the musical. That, however, is not the case. Although Brooks penned both In My Life's score and book and also directed the production, he did not invest in the musical.

The musical's producer, according to the New York Post, is Fred Whittemore, a former executive at Morgan Stanley. The New York daily said Whittemore decided to keep his name out of the Playbill -- which lists producers as Watch Hill Productions and TBF Music Corp. -- because he did not want to be bombarded by other shows seeking backers.

Whittemore has also invested in Broadway mountings of Guys and Dolls, The Who's Tommy, The Music Man, Annie Get Your Gun and Chicago. In the Playbill biography for Watch Hill Productions, it states, "[The] principal of [Watch Hill Productions] was inspired to support this musical when he heard the most original and memorable score that has come to Broadway in decades."

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Elton John is one of my absolute favorite singer/songwriters (nothing can get me out of a funk faster than listening to "Yellow Brick Road"...), but I've always found that I like his stuff best when Bernie Taupin is the lyricist.

I find that the wonderful, sometimes unexpected, images in Taupin's lyrics elevate Elton John's music. I know, I know, I'm spending too much time thinking about this...

I've just found, and this is probably a gross generalization, that sometimes with other lyrics Elton's music becomes more predictable. Bernie Taupin is one of those lyricists who can be at times very simple and straightforward and at other times wonderfully obtuse (at least to my simple brain). But even when I don't really understand what the song is about, there is something that hooks me!

So natch, I was excited to hear that Elton and Bernie were reuniting to work on Lestat, the musical based on Anne Rice's novel. I've read a few of her books, but Interview With a Vampire is probably the one I remember the most (maybe 'cuz they made a movie of it?).

Normally I would groan at what might be another Dracula or Jekyll and Hyde sort of thing, but I'm intrigued after reading this article on Playbill:

Tickets for the pre-Broadway world premiere engagement of Lestat, the new Elton John-Bernie Taupin musical based on the vampire characters of Anne Rice, go on sale the day before Halloween.

Tickets for the Dec. 17-Jan. 29, 2006, San Francisco run go on sale 10 AM Oct. 30. The production at the Curran Theatre is presented as part of the 2005-2006 Best of Broadway season, under the direction of Carole Shorenstein Hays and Scott E. Nederlander.

Lestat will arrive on Broadway in spring 2006 at the Palace Theatre following the California engagement.

Tickets for Lestat in San Francisco range in price from $30-$90 and are available online at shnsf.com, through Ticketmaster by calling (415) 512-7770, at ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster ticket centers and at the Curran Theatre box office (445 Geary, Monday-Friday Noon-6 PM). For groups of 20 or more, call (415) 551-2020.

*

Inspired by novelist Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles," Lestat is the first theatrical score from the legendary pop songwriting team of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and has a book by Linda Woolverton.

Directed by Robert Jess Roth with musical staging by Matt West, Lestat stars Hugh Panaro in the title role, Carolee Carmello as Gabrielle, Jack Noseworthy as Armand, Jim Stanek as Louis, Roderick Hill as Nicolas, Michael Genet as Marius and Allison Fischer as Claudia.

"Lestat...is the romantic and heartbreaking story of the extraordinary journey of one man who escapes the tyranny of his oppressive family only to have his life taken from him," according to production notes. "Thrust into the seductive and sensual world of an immortal vampire, Lestat sets out on a road of adventures in a quest for everlasting love and companionship but is forced to reconcile his innate sense of good with his primal need to exist."

"'Interview with the Vampire' is one of my favorite books and Anne Rice is one of my favorite authors," composer Elton John said in a statement. "Lestat is the first stage musical that I've written with Bernie which makes it even more special for me."

"Anne had always loved the idea of seeing her 'Vampire Chronicles' set in some sort of serious and seductive musical setting and for all of the parties involved this is the opportunity of a lifetime," said lyricist Bernie Taupin. "Elton and I have threatened for years to work together on something for Broadway but until now had never found anything that appealed to both of us collectively or suited my own personal writing style. We have unified these books into a linear storyline and our intention is to make a stylish, sexy, intelligent and richly hypnotic show that is stripped of gothic clichés and that shows the vampire dealing with his damnation on a more realistic and human level. Please let me make this clear this is not a rock opera."

The cast of 16 also features Rachel Coloff, Nikki Renee Daniels, Joseph Dellger, Colleen Fitzpatrick, Megan Reinking, Drew Sarich, Will Swenson, Steve Wilson and Tommar Wilson.

So like I said, I'm intrigued: How will the Bernie Taupin lyric change for Broadway? If it's not a rock opera, what is it? Will there be only evening performances?

Road trip to San Francisco anyone?

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OH MY GOD...this is so incredible. Janet and Brett would love this...

From this great post on BoingBoing:

Last week, I blogged Jim Bumgardner's amazing science fiction cover explorer, a Flash app displaying tiny thumbnails of thousands of covers of old pulp sf mags. Mouse over them and they zoom up to full size, and become links to a bibliographic page.

Now Jim's done it again, with...a collection of MAD Magazine covers. Hovering over those old MAD covers and watching them zoom up put me in a nostalgic clicktrance. MAD Magazine Cover Explorer Link

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Ah, Romance, Romance!

Ever since my husband brought home the DVD collection of Quantum Leap I've been reliving my 1980s love affair with Scott Bakula. What a frikkin' fantastic show!

For those of you unacquainted, Scott Bakula plays Sam Beckett, a time traveler who never knows whose body he is going to "leap" into next and at what moment in history he may find himself. Sam is joined by a helpful but easily distracted holographic guide, Al (Dean Stockwell) who assists him on his mission and aids Sam in his ultimate goal of returning to his own life in the present. There were so many great episodes, it is hard to pick my favorite, but interestingly, the second one they did starred a very young Teri Hatcher!

When this show was originally on the air, I didn't know that Scott Bakula was a song and dance man by trade. In fact before he started the show he had been nominated for a Tony for Romance, Romance, a Broadway show with Music by Keith Herrman and Lyrics and book by Barry Harman. It Opened April 20, 1988 at the Helen Hayes Theatre in New York and ran for 297 performances.

Bakula's first Broadway show was in 1983 as Joe Dimaggio in the shortlived Marilyn -- An American Fable.

Next, he will be starring as patriarch Charlie Anderson in the Ford Theatre's 2006 production of Shenandoah.

Strange Fact -- In Romance, Romance Scott Bakula played two characters, one named Al and one named Sam. He went on to play Sam on Quantum Leap with Dean Stockwell playing Al. Coincidence? I think not!

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I'll always remember being in Earl Haig Secondary School's production of Li'l Abner (I was one of the wives...) and hearing Appassionata Von Climax say to General Bullmoose "You forgot to take your Norman Vincent Peale Pill..."

I never knew what it really meant but it stuck with me for some reason.

Over the years I came to know about him and his famous book "The Power of Positive Thinking". And this summer, on one of my many long walks (this one from 75th down to 15th to see Amanda McBroom's "A Woman of Will") I happened to walk by the church where Dr. NVP had been a minister, and had developed this outlook as part of his ministry.

Then just the other day my fabulous husband gave the recently released DVD of L'il Abner. The kids and I had a great time watching it, and the not-so-subtle, but very funny pokes at government and nuclear bombs were much more obvious to me than they were back in my teens. The kids didn't get all those references, but they certainly enjoyed the music and the idea of a Sadie Hawkins Day Race! And being very musical savvy, they immediately said of Marryin' Sam -- "hey isn't that the guy from Guys and Dolls?" Indeed, it was Stubby Kaye! Kids these days!

On the very same day I noticed my husband had brought home a copy of "The Power of Positive Thinking" (over 5 million copies in print, no less...) in which the good doctor demonstrates "faith in action". Coincidence? I think not!

Hey, if I had my druthers, and I would rather have 'em, somebody should bring a revival of L'il Abner to Broadway. I guess I just have to think positively!

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I love funky airlines...and here's a very, very funky take (from BoingBoing):

Taiwanese airline EVA has repainted one of its jets with giant Hello Kittys. According to Popgadget, "the plane's interior features Hello Kitty-related items as well, ranging from boarding passes, baggage tags, dining utensils, and lavatory papers to flight attendant uniforms." Link

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Ouch!

Hey, I wasn't crazy about the three-song demo I got but I was still intrigued by the premise of this show, partly because it was championed and funded solely by Joe Brooks, but mostly because it involved Tourette's Syndrome and OCD and advertising jingles. But the critics have outdone themselves in condemning it. Now I've got to see it!

Here's a selection from the Broadway.com article:

People have been buzzing about In My Life, the new musical written and directed by Joseph Brooks (a Broadway newcomer best known for writing the song "You Light Up My Life" and a host of advertising jingles) for weeks. On October 20, when the show officially opened at the Music Box Theatre, it was time for critics to make their thoughts public. Did the show light up their lives?

Here is a sampling of what they had to say:

William Stevenson in his Broadway.com Review: "It's hard to describe Joe Brooks' In My Life, except to say that it is undoubtedly the most bizarre, misguided Broadway musical of the millennium. Part love story, part parody, part opera, the schizophrenic show is one of those you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it experiences. To his credit, Hanke doesn't aim for maximum volume during his ballads but lends them a sweet, sincere quality. His Tourette tics and outbursts are appropriately jarring. As the over-the-top Winston, Turner offers occasional comic relief, and most of his funny lines are apparently ones he improvised during rehearsals. On the other hand, Boevers' singing is underwhelming, and Farina's jingles take only seconds to become grating. The big-lunged Navarra, meanwhile, seems to think she's competing on American Idol."

Ben Brantley of The New York Times: "It's true that In My Life does have a few jaw-dropping moments of whimsy run amok... But it becomes clear early on that beneath the swirling madcap flourishes and willful tastelessness lies a small pink candy heart, of the kind that schoolchildren exchange on Valentine's Day, with phrases like "U R 2 sweet" inscribed on them. To describe the logic-free, ontology-embracing plot of In My Life may make it sound like a grotesque folie de grandeur. Boy meets girl; boy gets brain tumor; boy's dead sister intervenes with God, while angels roam around a big room filled with silver filing cabinets (that's heaven) and occasionally put on lavish period costumes to perform mock operas. But the careering story line and its bizarre accouterments are merely an excuse to deliver inspirational messages that are commonly found on television movies of the week and to trot out one sticky boy-band-style ballad after another."

Clive Barnes of The New York Post: "Any musical featuring a hero with Tourette's syndrome and an ad-jingle composer called Al (who's wisely kept his day job as God) sounds distinctly unpromising. And Joseph Brooks' musical In My Life, which opened last night at The Music Box, fulfills every unpromise possible. Brooks' music is tedious and his lyrics sentimentally simplistic -- this from a man who's sold 80 million records. Perhaps he should have stopped while he was ahead. By the way, a fruit the show makes emblematic of J.T. and Jenny's happiness is...a lemon. Say no more."

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From BoingBoing:

Don't force your children to play with retrograde/reactionary Victorian gingerbread doll houses. Buy them a proper modernist doll house and get them prepared for the Barberella future. Link

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Hey this seems like a worthy cause: The Actors' Fund of Canada is holding a Benefit on Monday October 24 at 8:00pm at the Jane Mallett Theatre in Toronto. For only $150 ($50 show only) you get a 6:30pm star studded reception and VIP seating for the 8:00pm show!

Louise Pitre hosts a an evening of entertainment, featuring:

Roger Abbott, Jane Burnett and the Humber Jazz All-Stars, Brent Carver, the cast of Degrassi: The Next Generation, Robin Duke, Jayne Eastwood (of course!), Joe Flaherty, Joe Matheson, Colin Mochrie, Debra McGrath, Charlotte Moore, David Rogers, Jennifer Valentyne, and more!

From The Actors' Fund Web site:

The Actors' Fund of Canada promotes artistic excellence for performers, creators, technicians and other members of creative and production teams in all entertainment industry sectors. The Fund carries out this mission by providing encouragement and short-term financial aid to help entertainment industry workers maintain their health, housing and ability to work after an illness, injury or sudden unemployment.

A career in the entertainment industry seems like a dream come true for many people. The all too frequent reality is that entertainment professionals face a precarious livelihood after years spent perfecting and practicing their crafts. The Fund believes that the risks that Canadian artists take as they create some of the finest live and recorded productions in the world should be recognized, valued and supported by all Canadians.

The Fund has helped over 10,000 people working in film & television, theatre, music and dance since its creation almost 50 years ago and has delivered over $2.5 million in financial aid

within the past 10 years.The Actors' Fund is a registered charity sustained by members of the entertainment industry professions.

To Order Tickets: Call 416-366-7723, or online at stlc.com

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According to this article in Playbill:

Richie, Mr. and Mrs. C, the Fonz, Potsie, Ralph Malph and the other characters of a beloved television sitcom will come to life in the new musical Happy Days set to debut in Los Angeles in 2006.

The TV show's creator-producer Garry Marshall will stage the new musical version of his popular 1974-84 series at the theatre he founded in Burbank, California, Feb. 15 March 12, 2006. Opening night is slated for Feb. 24.

"Kicking off 2006 will be the world premiere of Happy Days, a brand new musical which I wrote with Oscar and Grammy Award-winning composer/lyricist Paul Williams, with a book based on my successful TV series," boasted Marshall in the company's season announcement.

"It's May, 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Fonzie is still the king of cool at his favorite malt shop, Arnold's," reads show materials. "The school year is coming to an end and the rest of the gang, including Richie, Lori Beth, Potsie and Ralph Malph, are getting ready to graduate from Jefferson High School." The musical "celebration of nostalgia" will feature appearances by Pinky Tuscadero and the Malachi Brothers as well.

Academy, Grammy and Golden Globe Award-winning composer Williams has provided music for the films "Bugsy Malone," "A Star Is Born," "The Muppet Movie" and the theme to TV's "The Love Boat" Among his songs include "Evergreen," "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Just An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Rainbow Connection." As an actor, he has appeared in the films "Phantom of the Paradise," the "Smokey and the Bandit" trilogy, "The Doors," as well as on Broadway in Tru.

Marshall -- a producer, director and writer of film, television and theatre -- has directed the films "Pretty Woman," "Frankie & Johnny," "Beaches," "Overboard," "Runaway Bride" and "The Princess Diaries" movies.

He is also known for his successful television shows including "Happy Days," "Laverne & Shirley," "The Odd Couple" and "Mork & Mindy." In 1997, he founded the Falcon Theatre which run by his daughter Kathleen Marshall.

For tickets to Happy Days at the Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Drive in Burbank, CA, by calling (818) 955-8101. For more information, visit www.falcontheatre.com.

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I just flew back from Chicago (and boy are my arms tired). It was great to finally get back into the swing of things of my second year at the Theatre Building Chicago Musical Theatre Writers Workshop.

The second year is spent working on one project -- a full-length book musical or revue. Greg Silva (a great composer who I met during last year's mini-musical) and I are working on a revue called NAKED IN AMERICA -- THE MUSICAL. This idea sprang from the documentary film (of the same name) Greg is making that will examine America's attitudes towards nudity. But more on that later...

I wanted to tell everyone about a fabulous evening of entertainment called "Chicago's Newest Works of Musical Theatre" hosted by Theatre Building Chicago. Here is the copy from the invitation:

Theatre Building Chicago celebrates its 28th season as an incubator for nurturing new works, emerging artists, and theatre companies. TBC's Musical Theatre Writers' Workshop begain in 1986 and has provided an artistic home for more than 250 musical theatre writers. Each writer starts at the beginning in the Introductory level, proceeds to the Intermediate level and finally "graduates" to the on-going " Alumni" level.

This New Works Showcase is a benefit to support the musical development program and provide funds to assist alumni workshop members in their author-produced readings at TBC in the 2005-2006 season.

The benefit is on Tuesday November 1, 2005. Curtain is at 7:30pm, followed by a champagne and dessert reception. (Casual attire/valet parking). The event will take place at Theatre Building Chicago, 1225 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Also, "Turbulence" from PLANE CRAZY will be performed! So get your tickets now!

Tickets are $50 and can be reserved by calling the TBC box office at 773.327.5252 or by emailing tom@theatrebuildingchicago.org.

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According to this article in Broadwayworld:

Kate Reinders, Chicago's Glinda, has fractured her foot during a recent performance and will be out of the show for a few weeks. During Reinders' recovery, understudy Sarah Jane Everman will play the pink-clad witch.

Wicked, currently enjoying an open-ended sit-down run, is playing to full houses at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph St). The production also stars Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba, Kristoffer Cusick as Fiyero, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, Heidi Kettenring as Nessarose and Gene Weygandt as The Wizard.

Reinders last appeared on Broadway in the Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations. Previous Broadway credits include Gypsy, Into the Woods and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, her Broadway debut. Reinders, who also appeared in A Year with Frog and Toad, recently picked up a Jefferson Award nomination for her performance as Glinda.

For a show with such little dancing, it certainly is lethal! What with both Kristin Chenoweth (she received a chronic neck injury from whipping her hair around every night!) and Idina Menzel falling under the accident spell, and then Stephanie J. Block in Toronto, this show is hard on the body!

On the other hand, once you're involved with any given production in a behind-the-scenes way, you realize it's amazing more cast members don't end up in traction!

As they say, it's a tough business -- here's to a speedy recovery!

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London Guys and Dolls Recoups...

According to this article in Playbill:

The much-buzzed-about London revival of Guys and Dolls, starring Ewan McGregor and Jane Krakowski, has recouped its $5.24 million investment in a speedy 17 weeks, Variety reported.

I don't know about you, but four months seems like a really quick recoup to me, especially these days. Not to mention a smallish capitalization at $5mil! Can the West End be compared to Broadway? Are the economics the same? Does anyone out there know? Are Jane and Ewan just that good?

The article goes on to say:

The staging has been a huge box-office success, no doubt partly due to the presence of its stars. The show opened June 1 at the Piccadilly. Michael Grandage directs.

"Guys and Dolls" is produced by Howard Panter for Ambassador Theatre Group and David Ian for Clear Channel Entertainment. Another producer is American Arielle Tepper. According to the Variety article, the backers plan to open the show on Broadway in fall of 2006.

Guys and Dolls was last brought to Broadway in 1992. Jerry Zaks directed a cast which featured Nathan Lane, Faith Prince, Peter Gallagher and Jose de Guzman.

Maybe this version is really different...maybe all the cast members play instruments on stage...I can picture it now..."Adelaide's Lament" done with Jane playing the harmonica...

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I got this email from the folks at [title of show] so I thought I'd pass it on:

Hi all,

In case you didn't know, the cast of [title of show] (Hunter, Jeff, Heidi and Susan) will be joined by Larry on piano and Steve White on drums as we host AVANT GARDE ARAMA at PS 122 this Friday and Saturday night. We'll be doing a few original numbers and a little ditty from the show we like to call, "Die Vampire, Die!"

Get your umbrellas ready and haul your ass down to 1st Ave and 9th Street for the festivities this weekend. Or don't. But it sure would be nice to see some of our [tosser] friends in the audience.

Visit this link for more information about ticketing and stuff.

We like all of you equal amounts.

Your best friends,

[title of show]

P.S. You were sent this email because you signed up on our site or someone gave us your name. If you don't want to get anymore email from us, just reply to this email and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line and our computer boy will erase you from our memory.

My favorite number in their show is "Die Vampire Die", so if you get a chance to see them do it, take it! Lots of stuff is hilarious in the show, but I've always felt this number is probably the most universal in sentiment. It's the one I remember most, because it is about the creative process and the external and internal vampires that try to suck the life out of that process by telling us we're not good enough, or trying to censor us. They do it in their typically wacky [TOS] way, but the message is still honest and meaningful. Sorry guys, that is meant as a compliment!

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It's not unusual that I love this show!

Well, in the week after Plane Crazy closed at NYMF I had the opportunity to see a bunch of Festival shows. Some I liked, and some...not so much.

But there was one that really stood out -- Tom Jones (music by George Stiles, book and lyrics by Paul Leigh in collaboration with Daniel D. Brambilla and Vera Guerin, based on a concept by John Doyle and based on the novel by Henry Fielding).

Tom Jones played at Theatre at St. Clement's 423 W. 46th Street in New York, a nice large space.

I had gone to see this show mostly because the music was written by George Stiles, who wrote the music to Honk! and the extra songs in Mary Poppins. I really like his work, and I was not disappointed. From the first phrase of the opening number "Behold", my ear was hooked! I could definitely hear fleeting strains of Mary Poppins in the number "Something of the Lady".

They started the show with a cell phone announcement (in a British accent of course) and then announced 'Ladies and gentlemen...Tom Jones'. The audience then heard the opening strains of the other Tom Jones "It's Not Unusual". Funny, but a bit of a cheap laugh, and certainly not necessary. There was lots of laughter and applause for the work itself.

As a plus, when we went to our seats we received a free CD. Not a rough demo, but a full up CD recording of the North Shore Musical Theatre production. Talk about added value. Even now, listening to "Sir!" on the car stereo, I still chuckle to myself.

Tom Jones had fabulous, over the top costumes and very, very minimal sets. Director Gabriel Barre definitely had fun with the piece, and therefore so did the audience. The show had a larger-than-life feel, which I think suited the material perfectly. I loved the use of "sound effects". The characters on stage would be propless, but two actors off to the sides would be creating appropriate sound effects (doors closing, tea cups being stirred, etc.) which was delightful!

David Ayers as Tom Jones was perfect -- handsome, lanky, with a wonderful voice and devil may care "catch as catch can" attitude. I also loved Jeremy Webb as Blifil and his transformation in character was matched by his transformation in hair! However, the entire cast was top notch with countless Broadway credits amongst the bunch.

Apparently this public domain piece is very popular musical theater fodder...there are 165 versions! This one is definitely worth seeing again!

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This chuckle was sent to me by Rob Asselstine, founder of the ACLCL.

I decided to post it because it reminded me of the day we did the first band runthrough for Plane Crazy. The band sat there, oblivious to the actors, engrossed in their own world of music theory jokes...it was so cute!

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This is the MOST FANTASTIC BOOK. I picked it up accidentally at Borders one day last week, and it's a riot. I literally DEVOURED it...

Here's a great interview with the author, Susan Jane Gilman:

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