from the weekend couch:

Tony and Maria, for the nth time, and I still love this film to bits. I remember getting irked when, years ago, I heard someone say how it's so ridiculous that the Jets and the Sharks dance more than fight when they fight. I mean, this is Broadway, duh. Can't we have some culture around here?

My dad would love this:

And so would I.

From Broadway.com:

DESCRIPTION

Come Fly Away combines the seductive vocals of Frank Sinatra with the sizzling sound of a live 19-piece big band and the visceral thrill of Twyla Tharp’s choreography. Fifteen of the world’s best dancers tell the story of four couples falling in and out of love at a swinging nightclub on a sultry summer night, set to a score of beloved Sinatra classics including “The Summer Wind,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” “One for My Baby,” “My Way,” “Theme from New York, New York,” and “I’ve Got the World on a String.”

And then, there's "Glee"

I jumped on the "Glee" bandwagon a long time ago. A couple of things made me do it:

First, the music. "Glee" mixes and mashes show tunes and pop music with unabashed fearlessness, and I think it does today's young people a world of good that this level of musical exposure is made available to them. One moment, we get an REO Speedwagon treat and next, there's a number that educates us on Fanny Brice's warning to anyone who dares rain on her parade, and then we get to share in Elphaba's resolution to defy gravity. The Broadway fanatic will find something to like as much as the next pop music lover will. Plus, the songs span generations, too. From Frank Sinatra to Madonna to Color Me Badd to Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch--how awesome can that be? And "Poker Face", a ballad? Sheer genius. The end of each episode strengthens my wish to walk up to its creator/s and give them a strong, extended handshake. Is it a sin to want to shout "encore! encore!" to such bravado? I guess not. Thank goodness for the internet, I can watch any episode any number of times.

Next, the plot. I mean, don't watch the series with a snub-nosed goal to look for credibility and all that crap because you sure won't find it. The show's strength, I guess, would be in its single-mindedness in pursuing a storyline that makes way for the music to be put in and, along the way, sprinkling bits and pieces of life's real drama and social issues that target individual conflicts in order to portray the whole--in a manner of speaking, if it's happening somewhere, then it must be happening somewhere else, too, and if someone experiences something, then, surely, someone else has experienced it, too. Whatever.

Whew, the air's getting kinda heavy around here.

But, yeah, here we get to peek into the lives of a bunch of musically-inclined teenagers (who become outcasts for pursuing their passion(s)--so much for art and the individual!) and see their comings-of-ages as they deal with issues on sexual preference, teenage pregnancy, thwarted dreams of dancing, delusions of stardom, obsessive compulsive behavior, etc.

Quite a load we got here, one might say, so where does restraint figure in all these? The answer is--nowhere. The in-your-face drama of "Glee" will surely get to a number of us, but then again, didn't a famous bard once say that life is a stage and we are but actors? So, if you're like me, who's more than a bit theatrical, you'd probably find something to like in the series. And by "theatrical" I didn't mean that you have a background in theater, but that you find drama in the small pockets of your everyday life. You know, like, you feel the urge to bawl your eyes out each time someone tells you the sad story of their lost love, or if you walk out of the movie house with a twinkle in your eyes because the film you saw just cemented your belief in magic. Or, and here's the real deal, if you feel the urge to burst into song every time you cross a milestone in your wonderfully colorful painting of a life.

Shit like that.
You know.
=)

Ted Neeley, 27 years after JCS

A friend shared this video on his facebook.



"Gethsemane" is my favorite song from "Jesus Christ, Superstar" (1973).

One word for dear ol' Ted: amazing.

from youtube

Broadway Frenzy via YouTube

Some lasting impressions:

1. Bernadette Peters has this amazing performance of "Being Alive" from Sondheim's Company at the "Hey, Mr. Producer" concert. She is one feisty redhead! Click here to watch.

2. Robert Cuccioli is hysterically wonderful as Dr. Jekyll/Mr Hyde in Jekyll and Hyde. Click here for his moment in "This is the Moment."

3. Lea Salonga awes as Fantine in Les Miserables. Is there anything this girl cannot do? Watch her here.

4. I love this clip of Mandy Patinkin singing "Children Will Listen" from Into The Woods. Here, he sings a medley of "Loving You" from Passion and one of my all-time favorite Broadway songs "If I Loved You" from Carousel.

5. In this clip, Michael Ball sings "I Only Want To Say" from Jesus Christ Superstar with such aplomb that I played it over and over when I bought the Andrew Lloyd Webber 50th Birthday Concert DVD. Il est magnifique!

6. Michele Marsh, as Hodel, sings "Far From the Home I Love," perhaps one of the saddest songs from The Fiddler on the Roof. And, of course, "Matchmaker"!

7. I read somewhere that Vanessa Redgrave, by far, overshadowed Julie Andrews in the Guinevere role (Camelot) and I couldn't agree more. In "The Lusty Month of May" and "Take Me To The Fair," she delights as the slightly bored, inwardly playful, scheming, perpetually singing queen.

8. Here, Lea sings the Gershwins' "Someone To Watch Over Me" from Crazy For You in a beautifully laid-back way. And, without a doubt, here is the most beautiful version of "I've Never Been in Love Before" (from Guys and Dolls) I have ever heard.

I could go on and on.

Some other time, perhaps.
=)