Getting Back on the Horse...Or Trying To

So it's been nearly a year since I've written or even looked at this blog. I'm sure so many readers in the world have been feeling total abandonment and loathing since August (you can't see it now, but I have a sarcastic smirk on my face). All I can say is this, I moved to New York City, and faster than I ever expected (to my great please, I must add), I was swept up into the world of The Great White Way! I started working on Broadway and that was it! Goodbye free time (who needs ya!), goodbye sleep, and  goodbye faithful readers, or maybe reader (Thanks Dad!) By the grace of the gods (all hale Zeus and Odin-just kidding!), I am still here working my way to the top. I've met a host of brilliant people and had some unbeatable experiences all within less than a year of my arrival. I can only hope for more to come! I would have loved to have done a frequent update via the blog, but everyone tells me sleep is a necessity that I shouldn't skip out on. Anyway, enough with the excuses! I'm making time!

Now since August, I have seen dozens of shows on and off Broadway. I have even worked on a few. I've met quite a few celebs and many important people in the industry, gone to openings and opening parties, worked at gala events etc. Perhaps one day when I feel the motivation, I will give more of a detailed blow by blow. I can tell you now that I have seen 27 different Broadway shows in the last 11 months, some multiple times (i.e. JEKYLL & HYDE 4 times, PETER AND THE STARCATCHER, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD and KINKY BOOTS 3 times, as well others twice each). But for now, I'm going to start with yesterday.

Last night I did student rush for THE LAST FIVE YEARS at Second Stage and was lucky enough to make the cut! Beautiful show, beautiful performances, amazing set. I have to say though, I wish someone would warn me beforehand when I am going see a show that consists entirely of singing sans dialogue. It isn't always my cup of tea. Sometimes you just need a break you know? And the actors do, too, I think. I mean if I wanted the opera style, I'd go to the opera, right? But thankfully this performance is only 90 minutes long, so the consistent stream of song was bearable, plus the actors were wonderful! I am constantly in awe of Betsy Wolfe's performances. I saw her in EDWIN DROOD twice last winter at 54 Below and was blown away by her voice. She's also pretty hilarious when she wants to be, effortlessly of course. Adam Kantor was just perfect in this role. That's all there is to say, perfect....The minute he started singing I thought, "He has the perfect voice for Mark in RENT," and guess what? He was Mark in the closing cast on Broadway. Perhaps casting is my calling. Back to L5Y, both actors really embodied their characters, and I believed them the entire time. I didn't cry like everyone else claimed to do, I guess because A) You know from the beginning that the couple is going to break up, and B) People under the age of 45 these days have a hard time sticking to "til death do us part" through thick and thin anyways, so I wasn't surprised or heartbroken. I was just like, "huh, that was real." No tears here! The beautiful voices and music  nearly elicited tears from my eyes, but that's it.  Anyway, I really enjoyed it. It's closing this weekend, so if you're in the city catch it before it's gone!

Check out this awesome video of Adam Kantor singing a number from the show for the NY Times Click Here!


Things Happening this week!

• Tigers Be Still at the Drilling Company May 17-25 Wed-Sat @ 8 Sun @ 3 (I'm the House Manager! Come see the show!)
• The Drama League Awards May 17 @  The Marriott Marquis (I'll be working registration, so come say "hey" if you're there!)
• My lil sis is graduating from high school this weekend! Woohoo!

Plays, Movies, NYC, Where Does The Time Go?

I do apologize for the grand absence, dear readers. My life has been a whirlwind since I last left you. I volunteered for the Fringe Festival and saw more shows than I could count...for free!! All I had to do was work the box office for a show and I'd get a free voucher to get a ticket to any other show, and sometimes the venue director would let me see the show after my volunteer shift. The Fringe Festival, for those who are unfamiliar, is a theatre festival that began in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's the largest arts festival in the world! Anyway, like with most things, the Americans borrowed the idea, and now there are Fringe Festivals in major cities all over. Like Orlando, New Orleans, New York, etc

Anyway, I saw 9 shows out of the 187 they were putting on, and I didn't pay for any of them. The first was a real tanker, leading me to have extremely low expectations, but I was presently surprised by the other 8. My favorite is the musical Quest for the West: An Adventure on the Oregon Trail. 

The shows I saw in order:

Bumbershoot - hot mess, didn't follow decent plot structure, weird unsympathetic characters, ridiculous, too long, full of pointless scenes, incest, murder, homophobia, cross dresser, online stripper/ terrible mother, hot mess 

Dark Hollow: an Appalachian Woyzeck - beautiful and tragic, fantastic music, haunting

After the Circuit - funny, sad, quality story, endearing characters, great acting

Canon in D Minor -very moving, creative, sad, wonderful violin music, unique/abstract style (3 actors trade up playing the same characters

Hope is the Saddest -funny, bizarre, poetic, movement, Australian, Dolly Parton, sad

Animals - different, violent, funny/sad, extremely masculine male characters, rape 

Vacuum - Thought provoking, cure for cancer vs economics, controversial, smart, beautiful characterization, beautiful writing, sad but three-dimensional characters, legit theatre, all equity actors

Would - beautiful, tragic, moving, thought provoking, sad, may illicit tears, creative

Quest for the West: An Adventure on the Oregon Trail - AWESOME!!!! Audience participation, the live action version of the computer game, hilarious, would see it again if I could, totally different, AWESOME!!!!!

I gave extremely brief descriptions of each and attached the link for each show instead of going in depth for all 8 because I have so little time and so much to say. I gave a little more attention to the show I loved the most and the show I liked the least. 

I started a new internship at Davenport Theatrical Enterprises this month, so that has taken up a lot of my time. That, coupled with the Fringe Festival, has made it nearly impossible for me to find the time to write this blog. I'm learning a lot at the new job, and my volunteer work has allowed me to learn about different theaters, meet new people, see great and rare theater, and explore different areas of the city. 

I have grown pretty familiar with the Village, Soho, and Noho now. Those are my weekly stomping grounds. I can tell you where Pinkberry is and where you can get pizza for $1. I gone to see a french film at the IFC Center or the Angelika Film Center at least once a week for the past month, and I love Washington Square Park. 

So basically, I've been too busy checking out the city to blog. But I'm back, baby! The exploration period is far from over, but I don't want too much to happen in between posts otherwise I'll have to write a novel! (And who would read that?)

Last week my good friend Marc came into town to visit me for 2 days, and he surprised me by bring my bff  Dan from Disney World with him. It was the best surprise I've had in ages. We met up at a METS game after my first day of work (sans trainer) and there was my German Brother From Another Mother sitting in the stands. The 3 of us had a grand ol' time, the brief moments that we had when I wasn't working. We saw EVITA on Broadway with Ricky Martin. Marc LOVES the show, but Dan and I were new to it. Ricky Martin isn't the most spectacular B'way singer/performer, but the show was great! The music had to grow on me at first, but 2 days later I was looking up the soundtrack and singing it on my way to work. We had a little dindin at Sardis (ohlala c'est chic) and wandered around the Times Square area till it was time to bid our reluctant farewell. 

I'm making new friends at work, slowly but surely, and meeting people in the city through Fringe and other things. Last week I got to see a show that DTE is general managing called Cock. It only has 4 actors, it's off- B'way, at The Duke on 42nd Street, and it's hilarious! Well acted and really engaging. I may have to buy the script, the writing was quite brilliant. It closes October 6th, so see it soon if you can! 

Life is going to be busy, busy from here on out, but I'll keep you posted! 

What did everyone think of the Olympics? Team Lochte or Team Phelps?

"The King is Giving a Festival!"

The past 5 days have been filled with quite glorious experiences to behold! As a passionate theatre college graduate, I can say without a doubt that Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is one of my favorite musicals of all time. Up until last week, I had never seen the musical performed live, but I had seen the original Broadway production on Netfilx. Actually, I saw the first act when I took the VHS from the library my junior year of high school because it was to be the musical production for that year. I wanted to be prepared for the audition, but it was so long I didn't finish Act II prior to auditions. Since I had published a somewhat necessary if not blacklist-inducing article about type-casting in school theatre productions the year before. The director was less than pleased, especially since I used his direct quotes which he later tried to refute despite my tape recording of our interview, and thus resulted in the end of my high school acting career. Pretty much, all my preparation was in vain. How was I supposed to know we were actually going to keep the same theatre director for longer than a year for a change. He sure did hold a grudge. So in trivial protest, I refused to attend the show - actually I'm pretty sure I had something going on the weekend of the production.

The point of that digression is that I was exposed, however minutely, to the brilliance of Into The Woods long before I truly knew the stage experience. I finally did watch the entire production on film years later, but I already knew all the songs. To be honest, I think waiting was perfect, because my experience last Friday was unbelievable. So, The Public Theatre does this thing every summer called Shakespeare in the Park where they put on free productions of beloved shows at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The thing is, when the word "free" is tacked on to a show, you best believe (especially in NYC) there will be thousands of people crawling over each other to get at it. So basically, one would have to arrive at Central Park around 4AM or so just to get in line for a chance to get free tickets that aren't distributed till 1PM. I love theatre, but that is asking a lot. Luckily, they also give away tickets in the different boroughs on certain days- which brings me to Friday. It was "Queens Day" last Friday, and tickets were being distributed at the Queens Center for Arts and Learning. I showed up at around 11 AM, and there were around 70-100 people already in line. I was a bit concerned that I might not make the cut (they don't tell you ahead of time how many tickets they have because that would just be too convenient for all the people who do end up wasting their day in line). I realized, in hindsight, that I should have brought something to sit on for my 2 hour wait so that I wouldn't have to sit on the dirty sidewalk (my grandmother made me paranoid by mentioning all the gross and horrible things that have been on the sidewalk and reminded me that they aren't power washed every day like at Disney World), but a kind and informative gentleman who brought a stool for himself was willing to part with the business section of his New York Times so that I would have something halfway decent to sit upon. It made the whole experience quite bearable. He shared with me his previous experiences in lines, telling me about something called a "cheese line" where they used to pass around a wheel of cheese for people to pull from while waiting in line for tickets. He spoke of better days when the ticket distributors would be there to regulate the line hours before distribution began in order to prevent cutting and groups jumping ahead to join friends. The line began to swell like I never thought feasible on the sidewalk of a busy street (3 rows deep!) Despite our concern that we wouldn't get vouchers (2 per person in line). We both made it!! I bid my line neighbor a fond farewell with a feeling of absolute satisfaction and success in my heart. I came, I saw, and I most definitely conquered.

Friday night couldn't come any sooner. My godmother Shawn joined me for the show, and we claimed our tickets at the box office 45 minutes before show start. We weren't let in the theatre until about 15/10 minutes before 8:00, and I was so excited. I wish I could have taken pictures of the set, but they were diligent about forcing anyone who risked a snapshot to promptly delete the forbidden photo. The set looked like an actual wood. It was nearly theatre in the round with stadium style seating. The stage was rounded and there was pretty much no back stage save the density of the wood design deeper in the set. There were spiraling stair cases going up and up, ladders, wooden bridges, and platforms. It looked almost like the village of Robin Hood and his merry men. There was a large oval shaped nest-like hollow in a patch of branches and twigs in the upstage center and highest most point of the towering set. It was Rapunzel's tower, so clever. There was greenery to give the set the feel of being trees, and there were so many different levels and layers to the set it was astonishing. It fit perfectly with the back drop of Central Park. Once could almost imagine that the Belvedere Castle was where Cinderella's Prince lived.

I was so pleased with this theatrical experience. The performances were great, the adaptation was unique and creative (they had the Narrator played by a little boy!), and I will rave about the set till the cows come home. The cast list included several high level names:

Baker's Wife- Amy Adam (ENCHANTED)
Baker- Denis O'Hare (TRUE BLOOD)
The Witch- Donna Murphy (TANGLED, SPIDERMAN 2)
Jack- Gideon Glick (SPRING AWAKENING Original B'way Cast)
Rapunzel- Tess Soltau (THE ADDAMS FAMILY on B'way)
Little Red Ridinghood- Sarah Stiles (AVENU Q, ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER)
Cinderella- Jessie Mueller (ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER)
Mysterious Man- Chip Zien (INTO THE WOODS Original B'way Cast as The Baker, HOWARD THE DUCK)
Cinderella's Stepmother- Ellen Harvey (HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS...)
Rapunzel's Prince- Cooper Grodin (SALT, MUSIC AND LYRICS)
Jack's Mother- Kristine Zbornik
Cinderella's Prince/Wolf- Ivan Hernandez (GOSSIP GIRL)
The Giant(voice) - Glenn Close (not pictured but you know who she is)
Pictured in 3rd photo below: Narrator - Jack Broderick (BILLY ELLIOT)

The Baker and The Baker's Wife/ The Witch

Narrator(center), Cinderella, Baker Jack, Baker's Wife

Fairy tales came to life before my eyes in a musical extravaganza that blew my mind and left me wanting more of everything. The Public Theatre took a modern spin on the story with contemporary costumes including a brightly colored rollerblading or cycling costume for Little Red including an extremely red jacket and helmet. The Wolf looked like a homeless Lothario with snug pants and long, flowing, dirty hair- but still sexy. He was well played by Hernandez. I was even persuaded to go off with him! Little Red had the cheekiest laugh, and Stiles made a believable bratty kid. It was weird seeing Denis O'Hare as an endearing Baker doing all he could to undo the curse so he and his wife could have a child, especially after watching him kill an entire wedding party on TRUE BLOOD mere nights before. But, he pulled it off with such authenticity, that I wanted to give him a hug by the end of the performance because he made such a sweet father and husband. I forgot he could sing! But then of course, he was the adorable man-child Prince Dauntless in ONCE UPON A MATTRESS with Tracy Ullman only 8 years ago! How could I forget?

In this production, the Narrator was a child who was sent to his room by his angry father at the beginning of the show. He apparently runs away from home with a lunch box, a sleeping bag, and a backpack full of toys and things he uses while telling the story. He dumps out barbie dolls, flowers, and other items that he plays with or gesticulates with while weaving in and out of the different characters' lives (unseen, of course, SPOILER ALERT until his fateful end when they give him to the giant SPOILER OVER) throughout the course of the show. At first, I was like, "What the heezy? This is so not what I expected." But from the moment The Narrator said, "Once upon a time," I instantly got over any expectations I had and allowed myself to enjoy this totally new experience.

Donna Murphy killed as the witch! That woman has an incredible voice. I have to admit, I had my reservations going into the performance about anyone being even half way close to the level Bernadette Peters brought it to in the original show. Donna Murphy proved that Bernie isn't the only one who can bring shivers (the good kind) down the spine while belting, "It's the last midnight!" Plus you can imagine my glee at hearing the voice of Mother Goethel from TANGLED yell, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair." I wish I could talk to her, if only to talk with her about the irony of her playing the witch in two different formats.  SPOILER ALERT Seeing her disappear into the earth after she re-curses herself was so unreal. There were hands pulling her into the ground, and she gladly allowed them to escort her back down to whatever hellish doom below. SPOILER OVER


Amy Adams made a wonderful Baker's Wife! I was surprised by how good she was at singing. She played that roll with such heart that I SPOILER ALERT dreading the moment when her character would bite the bullet. SPOILER OVER "Moment's In the Woods" between her and Cinderella's Prince was so precious. I would love to see Amy Adams perform more on stage. She is definitely one of those actresses who crosses over well.

Cinderella reminded me so much of the original B'way actress that I found myself googling her to see if it was the same woman - which would be impossible because 1987 was a long time ago (I should know, I was born then) and that actress, however beautifully she may have aged, could not be preserved enough for that role. Jessie Mueller did a great job with "On the steps of the Palace" (One of my favs!) She had so much conviction, I love this version of Cindy so much!

Cindy and Rapunzel's Princes were so funny. I loved them with their big bows and quivers of arrows. "Dwarfs are very upsetting." I laughed every time they came on stage! "Agony" is easily my second favorite song. The understudy (Eric Williams) played Rapunzel's Prince during my show. I loved his chemistry with Hernandez.

Rapunzel is just CRAZY! That's all I can say.

Gideon Glick is so precious! I met him after the show. I love love loved him as Jack. My favorite song in the entire show is "Giants in the Sky," and I was pleased with his rendition. His voice, demeanor, costume, character was just right. He played Jack's stupidity, innocence, and sweetness so well, I almost teared up during "I Guess This is Goodbye" when he sings farewell to his cow, Milky White. I loved the way they did Milky White. They gave her fluidity and life by having the ensemble members trade off on portraying an earthy-looking puppet of the cow. I met him after the show, he was about to head home on his motorized scooter (the kind that looks like a Razor). He seemed very soft spoken and humble. He didn't even think the people waiting at the stage door wanted his autograph. I saw SPRING AWAKENING when he was in it, but his understudy was filling in. Still, it's his voice I hear when I listen to the soundtrack. After that meek voiced character, I was surprised to hear the power in his voice as Jack.

The way they created the beanstalk was very clever as well. The ensemble gathered up a winding staircase in the middle of the set from top to bottom and opened large green umbrellas, giving the illusion of a winding, growing beanstalk. The ensemble was onstage for the majority of the show either as observers of the action, participating in scenes, or becoming a part of inanimate objects like creating the bedroom scene where the Wolf posed as the Grannie (performers holding up bed sheets at an angle, being the Wolf's Granny arms, being the support of a night stand, helping Little Red and Granny escape the belly of the Wolf). The woods were full of life and action. Despite a few technical snafus - Amy Adam's mic wasn't working in the beginning/the Narrator couldn't keep his jacket sleeve on his shoulder so every time he adjusted it or his backpack his mic would make a noise- it was easily one of the greatest performances I've seen in a while.

The most surprising part had to be the Giant. The ensemble worked these huge individual puppet pieces on the different levels stage right in the taller towering section of the set. The Giant seemed to appear in the trees with her pointy librarian glasses and her shining eyes glaring at the humans. Her hands were each operated by a different ensemble member on different platforms. It was so organic and fluid. Even her eyebrows- made of two green umbrellas. It reminded me of Ursula from Voyage of the Little Mermaid at Walt Disney World. It fit so well, and the entire audience gasped in surprise from her appearance, as if she was real. And of course, Glenn Close's voice offered authority and inspired terror. Her voice kind of reminded me of the female version of The Great and Terrible Oz from that movie about a country girl who gets sucked into a tornado and ends up in the land of little people and magic (haha just kidding, I know what it's called, of course!)

Chip Zien, I recognized his voice before I saw and realized who he was. The Mysterious Man!! Going from the Baker to the Mysterious Man 24 years later! It was weird because when I heard him singing "No More" with Denis O'Hare, it felt like hearing two Bakers sing. SPOILER ALERT  He did such a great job, though, transitioning from the son to the father. SPOILER OVER I was lucky to have the chance to talk with him after the show, which was unbelievable! He said it was surreal for him to go from one role to the other. He's really nice and friendly. I have to say that I always skip, "No More" when it comes on my iPod because I don't find Tom Alderedge as the Mysterious Man to sound aesthetically pleasing when he sings, but I loved Chip's voice as this character. I'm so glad I got to meet him!

Chip Zien (Baker), Joanna Gleason (Baker's Wife), Bernadette Peters (Witch) Original B'way Cast

Unfortunately, Denis O'Hare, Amy Adams and Donna Murphy slipped out, leaving a cluster of awaiting fans disappointed. I understand, that they were probably exhausted after such a stellar performance in the heat of the night, so I was willing to cut them some slack. I was already lucky enough to obtain the tickets, I didn't want to push my luck!

SPOILER ALERT
The style of the story changes again at the end. From the end of Act I till just before the end of Act II, the narrator is seen sleeping in his sleeping bag underneath a ladder stage left. All the while, the narrator is still interacting with the characters until his demise. (So clearly, there was a double, but I allowed suspension of disbelief to take over). At the end, when the Baker's Wife is singing "No one is Alone," we see the Baker as a dad searching for his son. The Narrator wakes, they make up and embrace. During the Finale, the son tells the story of his dream to his dad using his toys (Is that the Baker and is son years later, or not?) As the song nears the end, the cast begins to disappear into the woods as the father and son climb the stairs towards the top of the trees. They head towards the back of the woods, and, at the very end, the boy runs to the top balcony in the center of the set, "I Wish!"
SPOILER OVER

I was completely happy with my experience, so much so that I am putting my name in the virtual lottery every day there is a performance for the chance to get tickets again. I was laughing, crying, and hanging on the edge of my seat the whole show in spite of the fact that I knew everything that was to come, so you know it was good. I wish more of my friends could see it. The show closes August 25th, so go if you can!
This was my first time seeing any Sondheim production in New York, and I hope one day I can meet him because a conversation with the mind that also created SWEENEY TODD, COMPANY, and the lyrics for WEST SIDE STORY is bound to be interesting. He is brilliant and sharp when it comes to dark comedies. I can't wait for more!

Seeing as how this post is extremely long, I will post reviews on the Farewell My Queen and The Dark Knight Rises, which I saw in the last 5 days as well, in a later post. Good night all!

Conquering NYC, One Week At A Time

So I've finally made the big move to The Big Apple, and I'm loving it! I was so nervous initially about the transition, but it wasn't so bad. My moving in/unpacking process is slow going due to my hectic schedule so far. I've only been here over a week, and the only things that have a officially found a home in my room are my clothes. That's the most important part, though, right?
I managed to see SAVAGES last week, and it was intense. No the kind of film you want to go see with your grandmother (which almost happened in my case). There is a lot of violence and 2 pretty graphic sex scenes in the beginning of the film. The characters were interesting, and the story almost had a Greek tragedy to it - like the predicament could have been avoided if certain stupid choices weren't made. It's so crazy how many people die over a stinking plant! At least back when we were less civilized we would only kill for survival purposes (as far as we know) - Like " Hey! That's my mastodon meat! I kill you!" I enjoyed the film, it moved at a fast pace, but the ending left me feeling like "What was the point, then?" Blake Lively looked fantastic, and the whole movie I wanted Aaron Johnson to shave off whatever was growing on his face! I give it a B+.  What do you think?

 My BFF Lauren introduced me her world at UCB (the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre) where we saw a comedy show featuring Bob Odenkirk with a guest appearance by David Cross (Principal Gold in SHE'S THE MAN). The show was pretty funny!

So last weekend my good friend Antonia arrived from Orlando to visit me before she has to return to Germany. We wandered the streets of Manhattan together and stumbled upon some amazing places. She arrived Friday afternoon, and we hopped from theatre to theatre trying to find good tickets to see a Broadway show.



After an evening of no luck, we went to the M&M store to play the tourists.








While searching for a place to eat, we found a French restaurant that was celebrating Bastille Day! It was full of french people, which we found to be ironic - French people coming to the US and eating at a French restaurant of all places! But of course you have to on Bastille Day :) We had dinner at Arriba Arriba where they have fantastic large margaritas of any flavor!! On our way to meet my friend Lauren, we stopped at a cafe that served crepes and got nutella crepes. YUM!!!

On Saturday, Antonia, Lauren, and I saw MEMPHIS on Broadway. It was excellent! Most of the original cast from 2009, when I first saw it, were still in the show. The only difference (and improvement, in my opinion) was Adam Pascal (RENT, AIDA, SLC PUNK) played Huey Calhoun. He was amazing, and the show was even better than the first time. The show closes next month, so that was the obvious choice to go see. We waited at the stage door after the show, but, unfortunately, Adam Pascal and the other leads slipped out the front, leaving all the fans high and dry. I was pretty disappointed, and I think I like him a little less because of that. We did, however, get to meet the actor who played Gator in the show!

Pinkberry and the Pony Bar finished off our night in the city!

Our last full day together was pretty wild. Antonia and I headed towards the American Museum of Natural History and came upon a farmer's market outside the museum. It was fun to explore, and apparently they have it every Sunday! We saw some pretty amazing pieces and learned a lot about evolution, the importance of babies becoming attached to their parents at infancy, and discovered that it's too late for me to have perfect pitch lol (if you haven't developed perfect pitch by the age 12, you'll never have it).

We had lunch at Shake Shack- so good! Must get a burger from there if you come to NYC!  And no trip to NYC would be complete without a visit to Central Park! We visited the Shakespeare Garden, the  Delacorte Theatre, the Great Lawn, and the Loeb Boathouse.

Unfortunately, we got caught in the rain and got soaked to the bone.  I don't think I have ever been so drenched before in all my life! There wasn't any place to hide! There's nothing so gross as being wet through and through in the middle city without a bus or subway station in sight. We were a sight for sore eyes , lemme tell ya! We were a pretty big spectacle on the bus!

We decided to finish off our night in the Village (drying off of course). We started out at Jekyll and Hyde where monsters come to life while you drink and dine and a creepy butler hobbles about the place groaning at you. The drinks were pretty pricey, so I doubt if I'll return, but it was a fun one off. 

We couldn't have Antonia leave without trying some New York style pizza! We went to Bleeker Street Pizza which apparently is the best pizza in NYC. It's really small and there are pictures all over the place of celebs who came in for a slice - including Hugh Jackman! I still think Gino's in Long Island is better!

We ended the night at a BohoKaraoke where Lauren joined us. You have to buy a drink per each song you sing, the drinks are also pricey, but the atmosphere was fun! There was this one woman who sang every song (and there were 4 of them) with the same pitch, speed, and tone regardless of how the song was really supposed to sound! It was so bad but hilarious!! Also there was this group of crazy girls who sang like they were monster demons -that was a little too weird. 

Antonia returned to Orlando yesterday, which made for a heartbreaking goodbye (witnessed by strangers on the 1 train). I can't wait for us to be reunited again, and I look forward to more adventures in the city. Ciao for now! 

Return to the Past

So I'm sitting in the Information Commons at Loyola University Chicago about 2 years and 16 days after graduation, and one major thought dominates my mind: Those were the best 4 years of my life so far, how do I get back to that? I've been here for 5 days and I'm not ready to leave, but tomorrow I have to be on that 6:00 bus back to real life.  It's not so much the easy life that I miss, although I can't argue that that isn't a small factor, but life in Chicago as a student is fantastic. I personally love learning, having intellectual debates, staying up till 3 AM working on projects or just hanging with friends. Can't forget about those student discounts! And then there is the city: endless nightlife, festivals, farmers markets, parks, sports, theatre, people from all walks of life. This city is just full of so much life, and it's possible to experience something entirely new every single day. I barely scraped the surface in my mere 4 years, but there are a lifetime of discoveries to be had. The same can be said for the world of course, but I'm not in the mental state for that broad of a conversation right now.

Walking through my old campus and visiting old college friends has been a pleasant blast from the past. The majority of my central Loyola family has remained in Chicago which makes it quite convenient to visit them all at once. Some are happy to still be here while others are ready to move on, so perhaps I'd be singing a different tune if I had stayed as well (we'll never know). While some things have remained the same, a lot is very different. Of course all of my favorite BORDERS locations have been reduced to abandoned buildings that still contain the old signs and posters like a linger ghost of the once prominent bookstore. A few other stores and cafes that I used to love didn't survive the recession, and my old campus has expanded. So many sections of Loyola are under construction and the theatre that I essentially "grew up" in through my college years has been retired. I managed to sneak inside and visit the old theatre to say my goodbyes and got filled in on the new changes by an old professor. The campus is still as beautiful as ever, and I feel grateful that I got to be a part of such a great university. Thankfully Belmont, Evanston, and Andersonville are pretty much the same, so that was a relief. One of my best friends, Meredith, and I went to Hamburger Mary's (technically Mary's Attic) for Mary-oke and sang "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. It was so much fun! We stumbled upon a music and beer festival in Belmont which was pretty awesome. There was a Wheezer tribute band playing (http://www.weezertribute.com/) called Our Name is Jonas, and they were really good! I don't know if they sensed my desire to hear "Surf Wax America", but that ended up being their closing set song. It was perfect! Mer and I also had some beach fun, excellent brunch at Uncommon Ground (which has the Nations first organic roof top garden for all of it's veggies and fruits!), and a photo extravaganza at Millennium Park! Plus, I was reunited with an old friend I haven't seen in 7 years!

So life is good, but New York is still waiting for me around the corner. I love Chicago and my friends here, but I know I need to continue moving forward. Who knows, perhaps life will bring me back this way for more than just a visit.  I have about 27 hours left in the city, and God alone knows when I will return. So I plan on making the most of it! Currently I'm working on an old film project, and it feels so good to be working on what I love again. We'll see what happens next!

Couldn't Have Asked For Better

So, I don't know what you thought of the Oscars last weekend, but I was pleasantly pleased. Hugo and The Artist dominated that night, and rightly so. I didn't see The Artist till tonight, but I already knew it was going to be great! It was a great story that relied on the talent of the actors to tell the story and they did an excellent job. It's these kind of films that inspired me to get into film making in the first place! The kind of films where the actor actually has to be able to act and not just be a pretty face on the screen who appears scantily clad occasionally to distract us from realizing that this person is a crap actor and this is a crap film. Calamity Jane, Singing in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, West Side Story - these movies that I was slowly introduce to around the age of 8 are my inspiration. Now I'm not saying that I want to exclusively produce musical films, but it was the stories and the talent that drew me to the field. Where has it all gone? You used to have to be a triple threat to make it to Hollywood (singer, actor, dancer). Now you aren't even required to be able to act (see Kristen Stewart). The Artist gives audience members a taste of what real cinema used to be while also reflecting on a similar time period in history when the industry made a major change (this time for the better). It also goes to show that you don't need to overload a film with words, explosion, and sexuality to make it interesting. I was more interested in the story Jean Dujardin told as George Valentine simply through his body language than I was watching Channing Tatum cry over Rachel McAdams in The Vow. I've yet to see a film with a more deserving actor for the Oscar for Best Actor (except perhaps Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood). That's not to say that the previous winners didn't deserve it, just that Jean Dujardin performed the hell out of that role so it clearly belonged to him. I've said it before and I'll say it again: The French know how to do it best.

Have you noticed that the majority of Oscars for best performance frequently go to performers portraying a person in a biopic or a book?

Colin Firth in 2011, Jeff Bridges 2010, Sean Penn 2009, Daniel Day-Lewis 2008, Forest Whitaker 2007, Philip Seymour Hoffman 2006...All played historical characters or characters from a book. The last raw, original character developed by an actor who won Best Actor was done in 2001 when Denzel Washington won for Training Day. Since the year 2000, the only actress to win Best Actress for the performance of a character that did not previously exist in literature or history was Natalie Portman for The Black Swan. There's something to be said about that. Do you think it's harder or easier for actors to develop raw, fresh characters or preexisting ones? One could argue that the pressure to be accurate and faithful to the original source would make the preexisting character more challenging. On the other hand, though, a new character doesn't provide the obvious nuances or familiar, researchable history. One has millions of options for how to portray a new character- how does one know what the right character choices are? Both are pretty challenging, I'd say, but a fresh character would be a bit tougher to me. Even with remakes or revivals (film or theatre) you have previous performances that you could research if you need help figuring out a character- unless you want to own the character as your own version.

I wish there'd be more original films /screenplays being produced. Today about 95% (possible over/under exaggeration) of all films coming out today are based on books, remakes, stage shows, sequels, comics, historical figures. I guess as long as they're good it shouldn't matter right? I just can't shake the feeling that I'm missing something in my movie-going experience these days. The film industry plays it safe by producing familiar story lines because they know it will put butts in seats and make bank. Well, I must be the odd man out, cause I could go for a little unfamiliarity in my cinematic life. Give me something I haven't seen before! Isn't that what society used to want in their cinematic experience? The Artist made it seem that way...

Looking Forward to:

And this:

Oh and this!!

And finally, this is wicked awesome!!! I so want to be a part of this crew!

What do a mockingbird, oppressed working ladies, and Harriet Tubman have in common?

The answer is ME!

I've been ultra busy the last two months. So I didn't end up being a zombie, but instead I was cast as Calpurnia in To Kill A Mockingbird, Ensemble in 9 to 5 the Musical, and the mother of Harriet Tubman in a piece for Arts Fest. It has been so exciting meeting new people and getting to work on shows! To Kill a Mockingbird opened last weekend and it went really well - despite the minor hiccup of one of our actresses being sent to the hospital for the weekend. The cast is great, and we've all become so close throughout this process. Not having rehearsal with them everyday this week is going to be tough! Don't even get me started on when the show closes. Luckily a small handful of the girls are in 9 to 5 as well.

In the interim, I have seen quite an abundance of films - in theaters and on Netflix. Let's see:

The Adventures of Tintin - Ah-May-Zing! I grew up watching the cartoons on Nickelodeon, so to me this was golden! The casting was perfect, the story had me on the edge of my seat, and the action was awesome, especially for a CGI film. Jamie Bell was perfect for Tintin. I think they made the right decision in keeping the film animated instead of live action because there are a lot of elements to the action and the story that toy with suspension of disbelief that would be really tough to get away with in a live action film. Totally worth the ticket, and I definitely plan on buying the Blu-ray (for the special features) A ++


Underworld Awakening - Not the best, not the worst. I think I only liked it because I've been a fan of the series since the beginning. It's the most graphic of the 4 films, and it's provoked some mildly stimulating controversy on the message boards (Rooting for the bad guy to win: Are the Vampires the villians?) I say the Humans and the Lycans are the worst of the worst in this film, but some people believe otherwise. Ultimately, I say wait till this one hits the rental rack. C -


The Woman in Black - TERRIFYING! I couldn't sleep right for a week. But Daniel Radcliffe did a phenomenal job on his performance. He's the only reason I saw this film, and I still regret it. Nothing like an army of dead children crawling out of the mud to ruin your life temporarily. This film taught me that curiosity can sometimes be a bad thing, and you should never let go of your child's hand. Everyone else says it was full of cliche horror film techniques, but since I'm not an expert on the genre, I think it was effective in it's endeavor even if it did stray rather far from the original novel. B


Chronicle - Unique style, pretty creative, but rather predictable. I thought some of the story line choices were kind of general. Of course the emo, loner, abused, suffering kid is going to do bad things! Give me something I won't expect. I think the reason the film has been so well received is because of the film technique and the fact that it's a general fantasy of many (especially fan boys and girls) to stumble upon super powers. I do like the fact that it isn't your Marvel or DC variety hero story, but I still knew most of what was going to happen before it happened. Not gonnna lie, I was rather upset by the choice they made on who to kill off midway through the film. It all went downhill from there for me. B -


Journey 2 :Mysterious Island - An entertaining adventure that isn't to deep but is full of laughs and action that I think only work in IMAX - otherwise it's not worth it. Dwayne Johnson made this film better than the first one (his humor is less corny than Brendan Fraser's, although isn't it ironic that they both did The Mummy 2 together and now they've both done a Journey film) Just don't go in with low expectations and you won't be disappointed. C 


The Vow - Predictable, sappy, and romantic. The best part of the film was the city of Chicago. Watching the film made me miss it even more! D


My Week With Marilyn - unfortunately a fire alarm went off in the cinema about an hour in to the film so I never got to finish it, but the hour that I did get to watch was quite brilliant. I became enamoured with Eddie Redmayne's performance and quickly watched any film I could get my hands on that he starred in (which is quite a lot). I had no idea Marilyn Monroe was so unbalanced and drugged up. The fact that she couldn't have any private life, that she lived in a fishbowl, was her downfall. I can't wait to see the end of the film. So far I give it an A for cinematic beauty, character portrayal and story telling.


Joyful Noise - Surprisingly good, although not to everyone's taste (especially if you don't like Dolly Parton). I found it to be very funny, sad, sometimes shocking, and thought provoking. The music was great! I was surprised at how far they took certain scenarios, but at the same time it was REALLY long. I almost think some scenes were a bit unnecessary. Luckily I saw it for free because of a mishap with the fire at the theater. WIN! B-

If I went on to list all the films I have absorbed on Netflix, I'd be up all night and no one would want to read that! haha I must say, though, I just watched Glorious 39 (another Eddie Redmayne film), and it shook me to the core. It showed a side of history during the cusp of WWII that I was totally unaware of. It was really well done, the kind of movie that stays with you and keeps you thinking long after it ends. It was unbelievable and unexpected. I definitely give it an A+ and suggest that those who have Netflix instant watch check it out.

I'm looking forward to this one:

I'd love to hear others' opinions on these films or any others that I should perhaps watch.