…putting the 'fun' back in dysfunction~
Too many changes pissed me off: Ne-Yo is bad enough, but Ne-Yo writing an original song FOR this? Ugh. Removing “I Was Born On The Day Before Yesterday” and replacing it with a song not even good enough to make the cut of the dreadful movie version, called “You Can’t Win”? Feh. (Though, I do … Continue reading Music Box: Nobody Beats “The Wiz”
I'm dazed. Literally. I first saw the off-Broadway production back in February, at the Public, as a birthday present to myself. It was a staggering achievement then, but even more so now. Every so often a work of art descends upon us from the heavens, via the musical theater gods - so breathtaking, … Continue reading Music Box: Hamilton the Musical – History Is Happening In Manhattan
How do you mourn a legend who’s lived more than you and me combined? At the ripe old age of 89, the great Elaine Stritch has taken her final bows. To see her in a show was to expect the expected AND unexpected, and to bear witness Broadway royalty non pareil. I'm thrilled, delighted, and … Continue reading Legacy: Elaine Stritch Everybody Rise!
Idina Menzel lives in a musical kingdom where she rules as the Queen and her uber-fans are of many facets – her disciples, her defenders, her watchdogs, her court jesters, and her steadfastly dedicated army. Dare, if you will, to publicly state that the Emperor has no clothes, and you will be harangued, and scolded, … Continue reading Music Box: Idina Menzel Live At Radio City Music Hall
“A BED AND A CHAIR: A New York Love Affair” was a Stephen Sondheim compilation presented by New York City Center and Jazz At At Lincoln Center, and as longtime Sondheimite, I’m sad to say I missed what promised to be a glorious night at the theater. Another Sondheim revue, you say? Yeah, I know. … Continue reading Music Box: The Ladies Who Lunch Medley
I know - I shouldn't be so highfalutin because they are totally different organisms - but I'm always a little weary about film versions of beloved musicals not living up to expectations (see Les Miz, Hairspray, The Wiz, the Beyonce-ruined Dreamgirls, and so on). So I'm naturally skeptical about the upcoming The Last Five Years, the film … Continue reading Reel Life: The Last 5 Years
When I first experienced RENT the week it opened, it was during a tumultuous period of my life, a life-altering turbulence. While the issues of HIV/AIDS and drugs that predominated this modern rock fable loosely based on Puccini’s “La Boheme” weren't even in the realm of the personal terrain I was sojourning, Jonathan Larson’s score … Continue reading One Million, Five Hundred Seventy Six Thousand Minutes
