Pic(s) Of The Day - 09.19.15 - No Day Like TODAY

The Humphreys School of Musical Theatre presented RENT. This was the original version of the show and not the high school version.

I was amazed at the cast. Some of the members really embraced their characters. Part of their character development included hearing people from Legacy Community Health discuss the work they do with HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and education.

. It has been 14 years since I've seen the stage production. If I find an email that I sent to TUTS, I'll update this post. It explains my emotional attachment to show and was written while I was still reeling from the production.

Life Is A Cabaret Old Chum

So last night Running My Mass Off, Alnhouston & Realtor Ben went with me to the Hobby Center to see Cabaret. This production was produced by Theater Under The Stars.

It was different from the 1998 Revival that I saw at Studio 54. That one was VERY dark and when Sally Bowles sang the title song it bordered on a mental breakdown. It was a very cool production.

This TUTS production is much brigther probably because there is a bunch of red costumes. The twist on the band is really funny. The choreography for Tomorrow Belongs To Me is amazing. Not everyone noticed how the dancer shaped his body in a swastika. The Emcee is entertaining and can high kick with the best of the girls but don't ask him to do a split!

I've seen the movie several times and this was the third stage production that I have seen. I get swept up in the debauchery and always forget about the turning point in the story when I am reminded that this is Berlin right before the Nazis took control. It is a chilling moment.

Even though this isn't a feel good musical it is still an entertaining show. There are some cute songs (Don't Tell Momma) and some show stopping songs (Cabaret, Maybe This Time, Tomorrow Belongs To Me).

After the show, Running My Mass Off and I went to Artista to hang with some of the cast members and to have a cocktail. We had never been to Act Out @ TUTS. Maybe next time I'll belt out a tune @ the piano! Just sayin'.

T 'n T (This and That for June 13, 2009)

OK. So let's sort of catch up with what's on my mind. I don't have much of one left so this won't take very long. HA!

1. Today has to have been the hottest day of the year (so far). I went running this morning at Memorial Park and before I left I think I heard the man on the telly say it was 87% humidity and 78 degrees at 7:00a.m. This afternoon it reached 95 degrees. OK peeps. It doesn't get this hot in Houston in June! Maybe in August! What circle of Dante's Hell am I in? Just askin'.

2. Today is the 9 month anniversary of Hurricane Ike making landfall and making my life miserable. However, my misery was nothing compared to many others. Nine months later, some people are still in recovery mode. I did hear that Brennan's of Houston will re-open in a few months. Brennan's burned during the hurricane. If there was one defining moment of the storm when I actually wondered if hunkering down was the correct decision, it was when I heard that Brennan's was on fire. A transformer started the fire. I have a utility pole in the front yard that was exploding with a rainbow of colours that night and it really scared me. We are officially in Hurricane Season right now so let's hope it is a quiet one. Just sayin'.

3. Bryan held a fundraiser last night for Annise Parker. Annise is currently City Controller for Houston. She is a candidate for Mayor. I first met Annise in 1997 at a fundraiser when she was running for City Council (At-Large position). I was so impressed with her I told AttyHou we needed to have a fundraiser for and we did and she won and has continued to serve the citizens of Houston.

So now she is running for Mayor. Currently she is the front runner but the election isn't until November and we all know how things can get all crazy. I'm going to do everything I can to help her maintain her lead.

She gave a really good speech last night and energized the crowd. I didn't realize how many people outside of Houston and outside of Texas are keeping an eye on this election. I forget that I live in the 4th largest city in the United States.

Annise is running on her experience and qualifications. She is the most experienced and qualified candidate who happens to be female. I hope that people will look at her experience and her plans for Houston. Regardless of where you live, I hope that you will check out her website and consider making a donation. She mentioned last night that a $5 contribution really does help and it gives you some buy-in to her candidacy.

4. I am going with some friends to see Cabaret on Thursday evening. I debated about going but then I thought, "What good is sitting alone your room?" So I bought a ticket!

Stay cool everybody!

Looking back

It seems that everytime I go to FoWo (an abbreviation concocted by Mark P.) aka Ft. Worth, something will jog my memory. I guess if I still lived there and saw people on a regular basis, things wouldn't get pushed into the windmills of my mind.

My sister and brother-in-law met up with an high school mate of mine. Eugene lives in NYC and was in Ft. Worth to be the Musical Director for Annie...which jogged a memory.

I was first introduced to musical theatre at a very young age. The musical I saw was Hello Dolly! and I was hooked. (Explains quite a bit doesn't it?)

Sometime in the mid-to late 70's I went to see Godspell at Casa Mañana. It was the first time I saw Godspell and it was the only time I saw Scott Jarvis perform. Scott played the role of Jesus and did an excellent job.

I have seen many productions of Godspell over the years but I never saw Scott Jarvis again and until yesterday I knew almost nothing about him. And I still know almost nothing about him.

I Googled Scott Jarvis yesterday and his obituary was in my list of results. Scott was in the original cast of 1776 and was also in Sugar and Here's Where I Belong. He had some television credits.

Scott died in March 1990 from AIDS. He was 48 years old and had no survivors. He does have a panel on the AIDS Quilt.

Sometimes I wish information wasn't so readily available. This is what curiousity will get you...sad news.

Bloggers' Night Out + 1

Awhile back, Running My Mass Off and I'm Not Fit To Run suggested that we do a night at the theatre. Do you know how difficult it is to coordinate something like this? My hat is off to the other two for pulling this off and to I'm Not Fit To Run for getting the tickets. I met up with the two of them plus the spouse of Running My Mass Off. We went to see The Drowsy Chaperone.

I was somewhat familiar with the story but not really and I'm sorta glad I walked in a bit blind. OMG I have never laughed so hard during a musical. Yes, I laughed during The Producers and Hairspray and even a few chuckles during Mamma Mia. This one had me LOL too many times.

What's great about it is that it is only 1 hour and 45 minutes with no intermission and it is full of comedy. Yes, it is on the silly side but one of the things that I like about musical theatre is that you can escape from your life if even for a short time. And laughter is good for the soul. Not sure how many calories you burn when you laugh but I'm sure I walked out a bit thinner than when I walked in.

If you are not familiar with The Drowsy Chaperone, here is some information from Broadway.com:

The Drowsy Chaperone begins when a die-hard musical-theatre fan plays his favorite cast album, and the musical magically bursts to life! We are instantly immersed in the hilarious tale of a glamorous bride and her uproarious wedding day, complete with thrills and surprises that take both the cast (literally) and the audience (metaphorically) soaring into the heavens.

Everyone in the cast did a great job. The standouts in the performance are Jonathan Crombie (Man In Chair), Andrea Chamberlain (Janet Van De Graaff) and Nancy Opel (The Drowsy Chaperone). I can so relate to Man In Chair and The Drowsy Chaperone. I think the best lyric from the evening, as sung by The Drowsy Chaperone is:

But you musn't let it lick you
this planet oh so bland.
Keep your eyeball on the highball
in your hand.





The surprise of the evening was seeing Georgia Engel! I remember Georgia when she was on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Georgia has made a career of being a character actress and she shines through in her role as Mrs. Tottendale.

Here is a clip from the Tony Awards. The song is Show Off and it had me cackling! I'm sure the people around me thought I was going to lay an egg.



And here is The Drowsy Chaperone singing another favorite from the show, As We Stumble Along.



The one song I couldn't find a real clip of is Bride's Lament which I had incorrectly searched for Monkey. You would need to listen to the song to understand my confusion. It was another that had me laughing.

Theater Under The Stars (TUTS) is presenting The Drowsy Chaperone through June 1, 2008 at The Hobby Center. If you want to escape the real world and laugh for an hour and forty-five minutes, go see The Drowsy Chaperone.

BTW...drowsy is a word that was used to describe someone who is tipsy.

Ramblings of A Caffeinated Mind 8.1

Roger Clemens

OK. I will say that I sort of followed the guilt by association train of thought about Mr. Clemens. If his good friend Andy Andy Pettitte did the injections, then Roger must have done the same thing. And about Andy Pettitte, that was a lame ass excuse. I did it for the team.

Back to Roger...So. I watched the Mike Wallace 60 Minutes interview on Sunday evening. Mike didn't cut him any slack. I think I believe Roger. (Of course I also believed Marion Jones and Madeline Albright believed Bill Clinton.) You don't get that p!ssed off if you are guilty.

I watched his news conference this afternoon and his credibility factor went up with me. Did he really have to hire Rusty Hardin though? I always thought that if you hire Rusty, you MUST be guilty. :-)

I think Roger is a nice guy and I want to believe him. After hearing his phone conversation with his former trainer and hearing about some information that casts doubt on the trainer, I'm sort of thinking Roger is telling the truth. He is voluntarily going to testify before Congress next week. Stay tuned.



T-E-A-M (You're A Good Man Charlie Brown)
So the whole Roger Clemens thing has me singing a showtune. Go figure. There is a song in You're A Good Man Charlie Brown that has the following lyric:

Dear Pen pal...

You'll never guess what happened today

At the baseball game.

It's hard to believe, what happened today

At the baseball game...

Here is the whole song.

In other news...

• As I compose this post, LSU is kicking Ohio State's butt in the BCS Championship Game. I will say that Ohio State scored in the first minute and a half and was even ahead by 10 points but then...
• I did get out and run this morning. 3 miles
• I did make it to the gym for a weight workout. It was getting full but then it is always that way on Monday and the weather is a bit odd this evening.

From time to time, London Preppy and The Guy Who will list music at the end of their blogs. So based on that inspiration, here are songs that played on the nano today (starting with the most recent):

• Let The Sunshine In by Gerideau
• Above The Clouds by Amber
• Candy Man by Christina Aguilera
• All or Nothing by Cher
• Born To Be Alive (Full Vocal Remix) by Disco Kings
• Born To Be Alive by Weather Girls
• What It's Like by Everlast
• Rappers Delight by The Sugarhill Gang
• I Love You by Donna Summer
• This Time I Know It's For Real by Donna Summer
• Killer by George Michael
• Papa Was A Rolling Stone by George Michael
• Believe by Cher
• Estoy Aquí (Extended Club Mix) by Shakira
• Sexual Revolution by Leah Howard

Did someboday say showtunes?

I found out yesterday that Broadway Across America/Houston is adding two shows this year. They're considered extras.

Mamma Mia! will be in Houston September 25-30. This musical was put together around the songs of ABBA. Str8UpWithATwist first saw this musical in 2002 while on holiday in Sydney. And saw it twice in the same week in 2003. (Can we say addiction?)

The other show that has been added is RENT. Str8UpWithATwist has seen this show 4 times. Twice on Broadway and twice in Houston...as well as the movie. (Can we say addiction?) RENT will be here in the Bayou City Nov. 16-18.

For more information: Broadway Across America

Earlier this week, Towleroad reported that Priscilla, Queen of the Desert may be making its way to Broadway or London's West End.

from Towleroad: "Local critics praised this lavish, $6.5 million spectacle when it opened here last fall. Since then, it's caught on with disco-loving straight women, ages 20-40. They're repeat customers whose enjoyment of the musical increases in direct proportion to the number of 'Priscilla-tails' (cosmopolitans in glow-in-the-dark martini glasses) they consume before, during and after the show. They have one hell of a time. 'Priscilla' is aimed squarely at the 'Mamma Mia!' market, which is about as lucrative as it gets. The ABBA musical has grossed $2 billion around the world. 'Priscilla' ain't in that league yet, but its Australian producers have begun laying the groundwork for London and Broadway. With 23 tons of scenery, 514 costumes and enough glitter to entomb Liberace, a Broadway production could cost as much as $15 million, industry sources estimate."

Riedel notes that the musical, whose Australian production has been troubled by a poor script, would most likely need to be re-written for American audiences.