May 19, 2012. The date so many of us seniors are dreading because it means out of our comfortable dorms, comfortable meal plans, comfortable bars, and into the real world.
This may not come as a surprise to anybody who knows me, but I don’t really care about any of that. Real world -- bring it. I’ve been ready to start working full-time since I was in middle school. College was just a four-year program that got in the way.
What I AM dreading, however, is losing my student privileges. So many discounts that are available only to those who are enrolled in a higher-education learning institution. So for those who may think like me:
TDF Membership
Happy Graduation.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Satin Dolls Present: The Bachelor
I've ironically been so busy with Satin Dolls that I didn't get to post anything about our upcoming final concert. Now it's too late, since it was last night, but I can post a few photos!
More to come soon!
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| Alex Sadinsky singing "House of the Rising Sun" |
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| Julia Greenberg singing "Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" |
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| Me singing "To Make You Feel My Love" |
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| A picture of the seniors at our final rehearsal. Our eyes look possessed because we spent the last half hour crying. |
More to come soon!
Saturday, April 28, 2012
i've waited for (ironically) the last five years to write this
Last week I got to go see a production of The Last Five Years at The Crossroads Theater in New Brunswick. Sound familiar? I've mentioned it before. It's one of my favorite musicals and believe it or not, I've NEVER been able to catch a production of it. Until now.
And it was great. Different than I'd envisioned it, but that's one of the wonderful things about the show. It tells the story of the relationship between a man and a woman, but in opposite perspectives: the woman starts at the divorce and the man starts on the first date. It leaves plenty of room for the director and the cast to play around and feel the pacing of the show.
With this particular production, I felt that some scenes weren't as clear as they could be. The director had the man and women interact in some scenes, which confused the audience, since each of the two are technically in different points of their lives. Only in one scene, their wedding, are they ever supposed to be seen together.
Another twist that caught my attention were the casting choices. The role of the woman, Cathy, is described as an Irish Catholic from middle-of-nowhere USA. I'd always known Cathy to be played by fair-skinned, red-headed women. When the show began, however, I was surprised to see a darker-skinned actress on stage. The performance Wendy Fox (who played Cathy) gave, though incredible, was unlike any version of Cathy I had ever seen. As the show unraveled, I realized that there was no reason why Cathy couldn't believably be another race. The actress had so much soul and support to her voice (she sang the score flawlessly), I could immediately see why she was the obvious casting choice.
The male lead, played by Nicholas Belton, also placed a medium-sized question mark over my head. Though it was obvious that Belton had the vocal, singing, and acting chops to play this role forward and backward, his effeminate tendencies often pulled focus from the story. This is a particularly difficult topic for me since I'm so vocal about gay rights. Many of my friends are gay (especially in the theatre community) and I strongly believe there should NEVER be any discrimination against any person, EVER. (See aforementioned casting of Wendy Fox as Cathy.) However, when an actor cannot believably convince the audience of his sexual orientation, especially in a love story, there is a conflict of interest. It happens on stages all the time. Gay men playing straight, straight men playing gay. They go too far, or not far enough, in finding the right sexuality for their character.
We see this in pop culture all the time.
Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family.
Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother.
Matthew Bomer in White Collar.
Christian Borle in Smash.
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote.
Darren Criss in Glee.
Adam Pally in Happy Ending's.
T. R. Knight in Gray's Anatomy.
Zachary Quinto in Startrek.
Tom Hanks in Philadelphia.
Sean Penn and James Franco in Milk.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.
This barely covers a few male actors who have done the crossover perfectly. It's not impossible, but it does require a special talent. It doesn't matter how low your grand plié can go or how high you can belt that F#, if I can't believe all you want to do is grab a beer and watch the game with the bros, your performance is lacking.
The Last Five Year; Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown; Directed by Leah C. Gardiner; Crossroads Theatre Company; 7 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ; (732) 545-8100.
And it was great. Different than I'd envisioned it, but that's one of the wonderful things about the show. It tells the story of the relationship between a man and a woman, but in opposite perspectives: the woman starts at the divorce and the man starts on the first date. It leaves plenty of room for the director and the cast to play around and feel the pacing of the show.
With this particular production, I felt that some scenes weren't as clear as they could be. The director had the man and women interact in some scenes, which confused the audience, since each of the two are technically in different points of their lives. Only in one scene, their wedding, are they ever supposed to be seen together.
Another twist that caught my attention were the casting choices. The role of the woman, Cathy, is described as an Irish Catholic from middle-of-nowhere USA. I'd always known Cathy to be played by fair-skinned, red-headed women. When the show began, however, I was surprised to see a darker-skinned actress on stage. The performance Wendy Fox (who played Cathy) gave, though incredible, was unlike any version of Cathy I had ever seen. As the show unraveled, I realized that there was no reason why Cathy couldn't believably be another race. The actress had so much soul and support to her voice (she sang the score flawlessly), I could immediately see why she was the obvious casting choice.
The male lead, played by Nicholas Belton, also placed a medium-sized question mark over my head. Though it was obvious that Belton had the vocal, singing, and acting chops to play this role forward and backward, his effeminate tendencies often pulled focus from the story. This is a particularly difficult topic for me since I'm so vocal about gay rights. Many of my friends are gay (especially in the theatre community) and I strongly believe there should NEVER be any discrimination against any person, EVER. (See aforementioned casting of Wendy Fox as Cathy.) However, when an actor cannot believably convince the audience of his sexual orientation, especially in a love story, there is a conflict of interest. It happens on stages all the time. Gay men playing straight, straight men playing gay. They go too far, or not far enough, in finding the right sexuality for their character.
We see this in pop culture all the time.
Eric Stonestreet in Modern Family.
Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother.
Matthew Bomer in White Collar.
Christian Borle in Smash.
Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote.
Darren Criss in Glee.
Adam Pally in Happy Ending's.
T. R. Knight in Gray's Anatomy.
Zachary Quinto in Startrek.
Tom Hanks in Philadelphia.
Sean Penn and James Franco in Milk.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.
This barely covers a few male actors who have done the crossover perfectly. It's not impossible, but it does require a special talent. It doesn't matter how low your grand plié can go or how high you can belt that F#, if I can't believe all you want to do is grab a beer and watch the game with the bros, your performance is lacking.
The Last Five Year; Written and Composed by Jason Robert Brown; Directed by Leah C. Gardiner; Crossroads Theatre Company; 7 Livingston Ave, New Brunswick, NJ; (732) 545-8100.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
yet another openin', yet another show
Speaking of NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT...
We opened last night! While everyone was off enjoying the red carpet and the show, I was in the office reporting about all the great things that were happening on our Facebook and Twitter pages. A busy busy night (I was in the office past midnight!) but certainly well-worth the experience.
We opened last night! While everyone was off enjoying the red carpet and the show, I was in the office reporting about all the great things that were happening on our Facebook and Twitter pages. A busy busy night (I was in the office past midnight!) but certainly well-worth the experience.
And speaking of opening nights - we had three of our shows open this week. Talk about stress city. Not to mention finals, projects, the Satin Dolls concert... Spring Weekend? Social life? I really wouldn't know what those things are. But again-- well-worth it. Right?
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
nice work and i DID get it!
'S wonderful! 'S marvelous! 'S my first time in an official Broadway playbill!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
the flipside of stunt casting
I got sick with the flu last weekend. Not only did I have to spend my entire Easter recess in bed, but even worse, I had to give up free tickets I had to see Sister Act, currently starring Raven-Symoné (little Olivia from The Cosby Show!).
I'll admit, Sister Act has been running for a while and I haven't made much of an effort to see it. Now that they put a big name in the show, I'm a little bit more interested. Some people scoff and pity shows that feature celebrities, but here's the fact: it's called stunt casting and it works.
Stunt Cast: to place a well-known celebrity into a [sometimes struggling] Broadway production. According to this article I found on Gawker, "the stunt casting cheapens the medium, reducing it to just an excuse to see your favorite star live and saying things." The sad truth is that there's a lot of amazing theatre out there, but unless you're going to see the show and a big famous star like George Clooney in the lead, chances are people aren't willing to pay much money or attention.
I've noticed this a lot recently, for example in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. It's a fun show, with catchy music and amazing choreography, but I'd be willing to bet at least 3 out of every 5 audience members are more excited about watching Harry Potter, Nick Jonas, and that Glee boy on stage.
Of course there are plenty of young male actors who would be great in that role, but producers know that in order to sell tickets, you need to push a big name. That may sound sad, but I've come to realize that some pieces of theatre are wonderful, and just need a chance to get noticed. Maybe that's why supermodel Christie Brinkley just announced she's joining the cast of Chicago.... again.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) surprising everyone with his high kicks and stage dives.
OH, and as an ironic final touch to my sad anecdote. Raven-Symoné? Who I was so excited to see in Sister Act? She also caught the flu that weekend. So I wouldn't have gotten to see her anyway. Too bad for all those people who spent $$$ to see her.
I'll admit, Sister Act has been running for a while and I haven't made much of an effort to see it. Now that they put a big name in the show, I'm a little bit more interested. Some people scoff and pity shows that feature celebrities, but here's the fact: it's called stunt casting and it works.
Stunt Cast: to place a well-known celebrity into a [sometimes struggling] Broadway production. According to this article I found on Gawker, "the stunt casting cheapens the medium, reducing it to just an excuse to see your favorite star live and saying things." The sad truth is that there's a lot of amazing theatre out there, but unless you're going to see the show and a big famous star like George Clooney in the lead, chances are people aren't willing to pay much money or attention.
I've noticed this a lot recently, for example in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. It's a fun show, with catchy music and amazing choreography, but I'd be willing to bet at least 3 out of every 5 audience members are more excited about watching Harry Potter, Nick Jonas, and that Glee boy on stage.
Of course there are plenty of young male actors who would be great in that role, but producers know that in order to sell tickets, you need to push a big name. That may sound sad, but I've come to realize that some pieces of theatre are wonderful, and just need a chance to get noticed. Maybe that's why supermodel Christie Brinkley just announced she's joining the cast of Chicago.... again.
OH, and as an ironic final touch to my sad anecdote. Raven-Symoné? Who I was so excited to see in Sister Act? She also caught the flu that weekend. So I wouldn't have gotten to see her anyway. Too bad for all those people who spent $$$ to see her.
Sunday, April 8, 2012
ain't it the fine life
On March 29, 2012, I did something that if you would have told me I would be doing 6 months ago, I would have told you you were crazy.
I attended the opening night of Newsies on Broadway.
There are a lot of reasons why this was a shutup-ohmygod-noyoudidnt moment for me. The most obvious being that it was my first opening night and the energy in the theatre was unlike anything I've ever experienced. The people, the performances, the reactions-- spectacular.
The second reason is a bit more personal. In middle school, my best friend and I told ourselves that as soon as we became rich and/or famous enough to produce a musical, we were going to do Newsies on Broadway.
Clearly, somebody beat us to it, but it didn't stop the process from being any less thrilling.
I attended the opening night of Newsies on Broadway.
There are a lot of reasons why this was a shutup-ohmygod-noyoudidnt moment for me. The most obvious being that it was my first opening night and the energy in the theatre was unlike anything I've ever experienced. The people, the performances, the reactions-- spectacular.
The second reason is a bit more personal. In middle school, my best friend and I told ourselves that as soon as we became rich and/or famous enough to produce a musical, we were going to do Newsies on Broadway.
Clearly, somebody beat us to it, but it didn't stop the process from being any less thrilling.
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