Haines His Way

The fantasy sequences were handled with a mere change of lighting, nothing as stupendous as the film does.
There are some very minor changes in the film, some scenes are switched around, but very few are dropped (iirc, the actual count of scenes dropped was somewhere around five).
Mary Louise Parker is brilliant, isn't she, bK?

looks like it's only you and me right now. . . .

I agree. I think Howard Keel did great work in all his films, but I think he's the sexiest in KISS ME KATE, especially the scenes as Petruchio. My second favorite would be CALAMITY JANE.

I have no clue what my next DVD movie will be. I have lots to pick from on the to-watch shelf, but I haven't made any decisions yet. Let's see where the magic fingers lead me tomorrow. For right now, good night

Oh my a two hour special edition of EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER....I hate network television!

I had been on a bit of an Extreme Home Makeover for a few weeks, only in that Ty Pennington is pretty easy on the eyes and he always manages to remove his shirt on each episode.  But, Oy--that voice!  I couldn't put up with that for two hours, either.

I saw Howard Keel in "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers," and like him very much. This show was my kids' favorite movie when they were little kids.

It has been raining off and on today -- great for wildflowers, if it keeps up.

That's about all I have to say for today.

DR Danise: I would love to receive a Christmas Card from you! Email me at DearReaderLaura@cs.com

And, DR Danise, how is your mom doing?

Good Evening!

Back from Jalapeno's - nothing like some Tex-Mex and some margaritas after a closing performance.  -However, I just opted for some tamales and something called a "Carmen Miranda" which was basically an ice cream sundae a la Mexican.  It was quite dee-lish.  Vanilla ice cream in a cinnamon-sugar tortilla "bowl", topped with fresh fruit (grapes, strawberries, blueberries, etc.. even raspberries!), drizzled with dulce de leche and chocolate sauce.  The fresh fruit really helped to "lighten" the dessert.

There was some more crying after the dinner... And we're all going to be seeing each other tomorrow morning as we load our stuff on the bus to get to the airport - all of our flights leave within 30 minutes of each other.

The whole pouring out of emotion kind of caught everyone off guard this afternoon.  Including myself.  As I mentioned previously, right after "Music and the Mirror" finished, you could sense the sense of "this is our last show" in the air.  -And the band really rocked today too during "Music and the Mirror" - and that was with a sub trumpet player in today too!  -Oh, and the crescendo into the instrumental section of "At the Ballet".... WOW!  Very moving.

I also think the fact that Eric, our Richie, was out of the show also was on everyone's mind.  The initial diagnosis is that he tore a muscle.  Unfortunately, depending upon what his doctors say back in NYC, it could be anywhere from two to six months of no dancing for him - or at least no strenous leg activity.  We're all hoping that his recovery is speedy.

For myself, all these thoughts just started going through my mind as soon as I started playing the intro to "What I Did For Love".  How would I feel if I had to stop playing piano today?  What would I do?  How would I really feel about it?

But I also started thinking about all the wonderful places I've been, all the wonderful things I've done, and all the amazing people that have come into my life as a result of my music, my talent, my hands... WOW!  That really got the waterworks going.

"No regrets, can't forget..."

The true magic of theater.

DR Jose, I always enjoy your stories about being a musician. And I enjoy your stories about food, too.

And I had a combined "Duh! (smack myself on the forehead)"/"Six Degrees of Separation"/"Small World" moment tonight at the dinner tonight...

So, I'm sitting next to the conductor, Fran Liebergall, and we're all trading various war stories about this show and that show... and this show and that show...  She brings up the tryout period of The Goodbye Girl in Chicago...  "What show?  The Goodbye Girl?... Hey!  Tammy Minoff just did the show I was doing out in L.A.!"  OHH!!!!!  DUH!!!! -Smacked myself on the forehead...

So... I've been working side-by-side with Fran for the past five weeks, and I knew that she had been Marvin Hamlisch's assistant since A Chorus Line, and that she had gone on to work on his other shows including They're Playing Our Song, and, of course, The Goodbye Girl.  We've even talked about all those shows over the past couple of weeks, but it wasn't until tonight that I made the whole Tammy Minoff connection!?!?!?!  So.. I tried calling Tammy, but I kept getting her voice mail.... something about her cell phone getting stolen - ?!?!?  But I left a message, and, hopefully, her and Fran will able to touch base in the next couple of days.

Congratulations DRJOSE on a great A CHORUS LINE finale.

I am trying to decide if I want to leave this job tomorrow and face the uncertainty of no income for however long it takes.

GRRRRRRRR.....I don't think I will be able to take it much longer, anyway.  So why prolong it and make myself unhappy every morning?  Thinking....thinking...thinking....

Not to prolong your agony but... What line of work are you right now again?

Question for anyone who saw Angels in America on stage: How are all the fantasy sequences handled, just out of curiousity.  How much was changed for the film?  It's got some very good moments, and some wonderful performances.  On to Part Two.

All the stage tricks on Broadway appeared to be just that, tricks.  You could easily see the wires on the angel, and each bit of business reminded you that you were in a theatre.  The most spectacular bit was the sudden Hebrew letter flambé.

I can't speak of script changes, but Justin Kirk's interpretation of Prior was completely different than Stephen Spinella's on stage.  First off, Kirk is rather handsome.  Stephen conveyed the impression that he's a drag queen because only with all that make-up on does he look the least bit attractive.  His nudity during a doctor's examination was one of the most shocking things I've seen in my life.  The audience gasped.  It was like having an emaciated concentration camp inmate right in front of you.  Stephen's Prior always had an air of desparation about him, not necessarily related to disease.  He was a nudge and a nag, and extremely funny.

(Can you tell I thought Justin Kirk was completely wrong for the role?)

Look at all the American dramas on Broadway over the past 35 years or so, and I doubt you'll find any play as good as Angels In America.  It's a stunning achievement

DR Penny O - Did you get my corrected e-mail?  Any chance I'll be able to see you in NYC on Tuesday?

OH!  And another small world story...

The actress playing Judy was on the First National (Max Company) tour of The Producers for a while.  Her name is Melissa.  Well...  When I subbed in for The Producers (Max Company) the week before coming to Houston, I remember seeing charts for "If You've Got It, Flaunt It" in B-Flat in the book.  And across the top in big red letters was written "Melissa"... Well.. So, after another light bulb moment, I asked Melissa if she did "If You've Got It, Flaunt It" in B-flat - which was the key of the "Melissa charts".  Well... She said, "Yes"

Ah...

I can see said the blind man!

And then there was that guy at the bar...

Oh, well...

Maybe...

Nevermind

Tacos at my parents' were good, as usual.  Anyway, I got home from my parents' just in time to see "Desperate Housewives."  I love this show...this and "Lost."

Wow, twenty posts from now I hit a new plateau.