Postcards from Utah and Nevada

"Natural Bridge" (technically an arch) in Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Zion National Park, UT



above the Emerald Pool in Zion
"hoodoos" of Bryce Canyon
Checkerboard Mesa

Court of the Patriarchs, Zion

Hoover Dam, Nevada side
Cedar Breaks National Monument, UT

Weeping Rock, Zion
Agua Canyon, Bryce
Bellagio and Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV

New York New York
Paris Las Vegas
Excalibur

RENT: The Hot Ticket

Last Thursday (9/25) I saw the RENT film with my friends and co-workers. We arrived at the theatre early and got tickets ahead of time because were expecting that there would be a lot of people. Well.......there were only 20 people total when we saw the movie that night. Sad isn't it?

Anyway, the cast was great! I loved Will Chase (as always since Miss Saigon) who played Roger and Tracy Thoms as Joanne. But that's not to say the rest of the cast wasn't good. In fact I thought they were energetic and fit their individual roles. I think this kind of music matches Eden Espinosa's voice really well. I love seeing the answering machine messages again. The support group and Angel's drumming plus the energy and choreography of La Vie Boheme.

My one problem with the movie was the numerous zooms that the director decided he had to have. Although it was nice to get the actors' facial expression it also cut out the other things that were happening on stage specially in La Vie Boheme where you wanted to see the dancing. Also with the zoom in shots, they were too close that when an actor moves or dances, the camera doesn't pull back on time to get a full shot so there were a lot of times that the actor's heads were cut off. I must say though that Contact was filmed very well.

I heard that a dvd of this would be out in Spring of '09 but I'm still contemplating if it's going to go into my collection.

Live from NY It's Saturday Night!

Here she is, Tina Fey, as Sarah Palin being interviewed by Katie Couric (played by the wonderful Amy Poehler).

Broadway Actor in TV Commercial: Aaron Lazar

Here's Aaron Lazar (Light in the Piazza, Les Mis but currently in A Tale of Two Cities) in his Mainstreet TV commercial. He is also the guy in the Comcast Ad about the change to digital tv signal in the upcoming year.

Natural born world shaker

Cool hand Luke has lost his battle with cancer. May you rest in peace Paul Newman.

Save [Title of Show], Save Broadway

Yes, stolen from Heroes, [Title of Show] has a new mantra! Check out the video above of another Tosser, Bebe Neuwirth (Velma Kelly herself).....awwww and she gets all teary! So hurry and get your tickets!

And don't forget to sign the Ellen petition: Will Ellen Get Folks To Like Us.......

All Aboard For The Highlands!

The 39 Steps........

Well, I first saw this on the 2008 Tonys and was very curious about it. I finally got to see it two Saturdays ago (9/13) with Mike and Katrina. I know, I know my review is a bit late. Anyway, if you're an Anglophile like me, then you'll love this play. It's clever and witty and superbly inventive. With a cast of four (two of which also act as stagecrew), plus a few props, the show takes you through a dizzying sequence of events that leave you in stitches!

These four insanely talented people (Arnie Burton, Jennifer Ferrin, Sam Robards and Cameron Folmar) play almost 150 different characters......how they don't get them mixed up is a wonder to me! I was really impressed with the staging of this play (Bravo to director Maria Aitken)........just watch the clip above and see how a sparse stage plus just a few props and an actor's commitment to the scene ignites the audience's imagination and takes you far, far away......it's pure brilliance! Definitely a jolly good time at the theatre!

Here are some pics from that night......

the marquee:

the playbill:

a sign on one of the doors in the ladies room.......I wonder where the tunnel leads to?

After the show we walked around the theatre district to kill time since we were meeting Lani and her sisters at the Broadhurst theatre where they saw Equus that night. This was Virgin Records at Time Square.....I just found it odd that the Curtains ad was still up but the show is already closed. Maybe it's to sell more CDs?! But look closely....who's missing from the marquee?

The posters at Shubert Alley:

The Xana-doors:

Well, the show (Equus) wasn't out yet but check out the crowd gathering outside the Broadhurst Theatre:

This was the crowd gathering across the street:

Here, again the crowd for Equus (still before the show even ended).......well, I didn't get pics of Daniel Radcliffe because it was a madhouse at the stagedoor! We didn't even get a glimpse of him really, just people's heads. But still, it was a fun night to be out and about!

Attention TOSSERS!

This just in from the [Title of Show] Blog: there is a petition to get the show on Ellen (she should have them on their show since it's in the lyrics of one of the songs!) Let's help them keep this show going! Sign the petition on the link below.

Will Ellen Get Folks to Like Us..........

Broadway Flea Market 2008

Edit (9/23): Let's call this "Look Who's Hawking" (pic is from Broadway.com):

The 2008 Broadway Flea Market was yesterday (9/21). Lots of collectibles for theatre geeks and also a chance to meet up with theatre actors at the autograph table and the photo booth. For the second year in a row, the flea market live auction was broadcast online over BroadwayworldTV. All in all, the flea market raised $496,380 this year!

Check out more photos below:

Edit (9/23): Broadway.com

Broadwayworld.com, page 1

Broadwayworld.com, page 2

Playbill.com

Theatremania.com

** photo above of Julia Murney with a boo-boo courtesy of Wireimage.com HOWEVER, she was mislabeled as Kathleen Chalfant of Angels in America LOL! Get it right people!

Edit (9/22): On a related note, I saw Ghost Town today with Ricky Gervais and Greg Kinnear. I wanted to see it because of the "Sneezy Lady" (pictured above with a boo-boo) in all of her 2.5 seconds of onscreen time LOL! So don't blink! It was entertaining though.......predictable but entertaining and I do love Ricky Gervais' dry Brit humour. Plus you can play the spot the Broadway actor game! Try to find Brian D' Arcy James, Aaron Tveit, Dana Ivey, Brad Oscar and Alan Ruck just to name a few.

Back In The Backyard Dancing

It is a sad day for a theatre geek to find out that a show that spoke to you personally is closing. The producers of [Title of Show] have just announced that the show will soon close on Oct. 12. A few days before, Xanadu, another show that I thoroughly enjoyed also announced it's closing on the same day. What can you say about the state of theatre when two inventive shows that have critical acclaim and have a following among those who love the theatre are closing while mediocre shows (Grease!) are still running?

I first heard about the show when it was Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre and bought the CD when it came out. I've followed their online episodes on youtube - THE [Title of Show] SHOW - but didn't get to see it until this past Sunday (9/14). As I said earlier in this post, the theatre gods blessed me that day.

As Lani posted in her earlier [review of show], it is an irreverent inside look into the making of a musical. It's clever and funny and self-referential but amidst all of these, the show is about having a dream and making it come true. Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell, as they say in their own words......two nobodies in NY.......started writing the show 4 years ago and who knew it would someday be on Broadway. Their story unfolds right before your eyes culminating to their opening night on Broadway. The song above, A Way Back To Then sung by Heidi Blickenstaff (what a voice!) has always been my favorite and has always spoken to me personally. It talks about finding what's important and reconnecting to what you love and finding yourself. What an inspiring piece of writing! So make sure you catch it before it closes. Maybe it will inspire you......however big or small it may be..........to be creative.....go climb a mountain.....run a 5k..... pursue singing or what not........I know for me, it's about taking up dance again. And since then I've found the 5 year old girl that was somehow lost before.

So here are some photos I took of the theatre and at the stagedoor........

the marquee:

the poster outside the theatre:

Hunter Bell (book writer and lead actor):

here he is again:

Larry!!!! The music director:

Heidi Blickenstaff coming out of the stagedoor:

Susan Blackwell signing autographs:

Susan Blackwell:


Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen:

Jeff Bowen (Composer and Lyricist and Lead Actor):

Heidi Blickenstaff taking to TOSSERS (fans of Title of Show):

Heidi Blickenstaff:

and last but not the least my signed playbill:

Broadway Actor in TV Commercial: Michelle Federer

Here's Michelle Federer (the original Nessarose in Wicked) in her Amex commercial with M. Night Shyamalan. She's the waitress.

You've been Barack roll'd!

Here's Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama giving speeches to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"...well, sorta. :D Enjoy!

_{Thanks to Cez for pointing us to the video!}

Broadway Actor in TV Commercial: Heidi Blickenstaff

Here's the amazing Heidi Blickenstaff of Title of Show in her Nationwide Insurance commercial:

Out of the Blue

By some form of Broadway karma I found myself in NYC this weekend! Nope it wasn't planned but a last minute airfare magic! Yes, the universe aligned and made it possible for me to be in the city to visit family and friends and at the same time see some shows and attend Broadway on Broadway 2008.

Broadway on Broadway is a free concert in the middle of Times Square sponsored by the Broadway community for it's fans and NYC residents. Each Broadway show participated and performed a song. This year the event was on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008. I was actually not planning to go to the event but was heading to the theatre district to get tickets for Title of Show which I wanted to see that night. Out of the Blue, Lisa, my niece and I came out of the subway on 43rd street right smack behind the Broadway on Broadway stage! By some luck, we somehow managed to get through and ended up behind the press area! It was my first time to attend and it was so much fun even with the sweltering heat. Yes, the theatre gods were blessing us that day!

So here are my pics (mostly paparazzi-ish shots though) from Broadway on Broadway 2008:

The back of the Broadway on Broadway stage


The cast of Xanadu heading down the stage after their number - Mary Testa, Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson


Xanadu: Mary Testa, Kerry Butler, Tony Roberts (blue jacket), Patti Murin (pink cami)


Xanadu: Patti Murin, Curtis Holbrook (grey shirt), Andre Ward, Tony Roberts, Mary Testa, Kerry Butler


check out my point of view behind the press area!


the ladies from Spamalot


Xanadu: Mary Testa, Kenita Miller (pink blouse) leaving the press area


Xanadu: Curtis Holbrook


Xanadu: Tony Roberts, Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson leaving the press area


Cheyenne Jackson of Xanadu


Spamalot: Drew Lachey who also hosted the event


Xanadu: here's Mary Testa again!


view of the crowd from my spot


White Christmas: Meredith Patterson and Jeffry Denman being interviewed. They play the Vera-Ellen and Danny Kaye roles from the film


current Elphaba on Broadway: Kerry Ellis


Mamma Mia's Carollee Carmelo


Spring Awakening's new Melchior Hunter Parrish


Spring Awakening: Hunter Parrish and Alexandra Socha who plays Wendla


Carollee Carmelo walks into the "greenroom" which is actually ABC studios


The Jersey Boys getting ready to take the stage


John Leguizamo, who participated in the event


the cast of Title of Show (TOS)


TOS: Larry Pressgrove (who is the music director in the black shirt) and Hunter Bell (green shirt)


my view of the stage


TOS: Hunter Bell


TOS director Michael Berresse (in the black shirt; and incidentally was Zack in the revival of A Chorus Line) and Sierra Boggess of The Little Mermaid


TOS: Jeff Bowen


The Ladies of TOS: Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff. Heidi incidentally sounded amazing singing A Way Back to Then with the 30 piece orchestra!


here they area again heading back to the greenroom


Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry


Wicked's Kerry Ellis waiting for her turn to sing


The Jersey Boys' Michael Longoria


Michael with the Jersey Boys

the Billies of Billy Elliot waiting for their turn to sing

Cheyenne Jackson walks back to the Helen Hayes, Xanadu's theatre

the Billies all done performing

The Billies: David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish

here's another pic

confetti!!!!!!!!!!!!

more confetti!!!!!!!

wheeeee!!!!!!!

wow check out the stuff on the ground!

the stage after the concert.......see you next year!!!!!