Before I talk about The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, I just want to remind people that tonight is the big night for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!
I told myself I'd post more often--ugh, I hate when I do this!
Anyway, welcome to Post Two of the Tony Nominations! Since we're still in the Best Musical Category, let's go onto the next musical: Aladdin.
Based off of the 1992 Disney animated film of the Arab folktale of Aladdin and the magic lamp musically written by Alan Menken, Aladdin was put onstage in 2011 in Seattle but was not officially performing the whole show on Broadway until March 20 of this year. Adam Jacobs, Courtney Reed and James Monroe Iglehart respectively play Aladdin, Jasmine, and the Genie, as well as Andrew Keenan-Bolger making an appearance as Omar in the original Seattle cast (I will post about him one day).
The show is currently nominated in five categories; Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Chad Beguelin), Best Original Score (Alan Menken-music, Howard Ashman- lyrics, Tim Rice-lyrics, Chad Beguelin- lyrics), Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical (James Monroe Iglehart-the Genie), and Best Coreography (Casey Nicholaw).
This show has always been my favorite for two reasons relating to its movie version: one reason is that I've always enjoyed watching the movie version and that Scott Weinger (Steve in Full House) voices Aladdin's speaking voice. Eeep! (That's my happy cheer.)
The clip below is directly from the Broadway show (well, before it was put on Broadway)--it's a new song written fresh for the musical called "A Million Miles Away". When listening to it, it sounds very Disney--just a note. And sorry this clip doesn't show the entire song--since the show is really new on Broadway, there isn't even an official Broadway soundtrack I could find yet!
Yes, for those of you who have watched 1960's Disney musical movies, I'm referring to Mary Poppins—not the original movie, but the musical that came from it 50 years later.
I've always been a fan of Mary Poppins partly because I was a huge VHS collector of various Disney movies and I had an old-fashioned godmother. Anyway, this musical is on my bucket list of must see shows because it's a cute show that would be nice to bring my future children to and I love Burt, he's my favorite character. (Plus, I'm a sucker for musicals that take place in London—you'd be surprised how many shows take place in that city!)
One of my favorite songs of all times is the famous "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" but it has a variation to it; it actually spells the word out, which has some pretty good coreography in the video below. Ashley Brown was also amazing in the original Broadway cast as Mary Poppins herself!
High School Musical is a TV movie about two unlikely high school juniors vying to branch from their previous cliques (basketball team and braniacs) to audition for the school musical. One admiration I've always had about it was how Darbus would have openings for high school students to write their own musicals and conduct them all. Wow. I mean, I've written and performed my own One-Act play and it took me about eight months to start, perfect and polish. I know it's just a movie but that would be really cool if any school ever offers that.
The night before an audition, I always watch the Audition scene because it calms me down and assures me I'm not like any of them (except maybe the first one sometimes). My favorite audition is the last one of the two goth kids and Darbus' reaction is priceless!
Yes, I'm aware this isn't fully about theatre but it can be related to the Broadway shows that came from the Disney movies (well, except for Pochantas.......it's not quite there yet). But I find this video hilarious—plus, the guy sings wonderfully.
So Disney Pixar recently released a box-office and family-friendly success Frozen. Released on Nov. 27, the story is about two sisters left a kingdom after their parents were lost at sea—the elder, Elsa, has this power where everything she touches turns into ice and runs away from civilization after her powers were discovered; the younger, Anna, craves for a relationship with her sister (who shuts herself away from Anna) and longs to be in love and free from that household. (I know the story is more complex, but this is the abbreviated version.)
Meanwhile, thespians around the world are well aware of Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It describes the backstory of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and how she became the witch we all know and love, but by rebellion against the wizard Oz.
I personally believe Frozen and Wicked have extremely similar qualities. Here are 10 I noticed (feel free to comment).
1. Idina Menzel plays (sings, rather) both main female leads (Elphaba and Elsa), who were both misunderstood and ran from the societies they knew and grew up in. (Not to mention their key songs, Defying Gravity and Let It Go, are about going against the crowd and becoming the person they were meant to be.)
2. Both female leads (Elsa and Elphaba) have magical powers the townsfolk fear.
3. Both supporting girls (Glinda and Anna) are constantly loyal to their companion and seem opposite of them.
4. Both supporting girls are played by well known blondes of the same name (Kristen Bell and Kristin Chenowith).
5. Both supporting girls have character songs that show them as caring and wanting to reach out and connect to their buddy (Popular and Do You Want to Build a Snowman?).
6. Both supporting males (Fiyero and Olaf) sing songs about having a carefree life and not realizing what they're singing can really mean. (Dancing Through Life hints that Fiyero will become the Scarecrow and In Summer hints that Olaf doesn't understand he would melt in the sun.)
7. Both supporting girls (Glinda and Anna) fall in love with men that don't return their affections. (Boq fell in love with Elphaba's sister Nessarose and Hans was only using Anna to gain the throne.)
8. There are animals that are important in the story. (Sven the reindeer accompanies Kristoff and Anna as she goes to find Elsa and Doctor Dillamond was a talking Goat professor at Shiz and partly inspired Elphaba to go against the Wizard.)
9. Both main females had some harm come to their sisters (Anna became frozen in ice and Nessarose was crushed by a house).
10. Marriage was mentioned in both stories. (Kristoff's family insisted that he and Anna should wed and almost set up a marriage, while Glinda was engaged to Fiyero, Elphaba's love.)
This summer has been one that I will not forget– at least, not for a while. That is partly because of how I spent it. For five weeks, I worked for this theatre company in my hometown where the productions they've done recently starred all children, only because the summer camps they run attract a lot of children quickly, and I mean a lot of children.
So, I worked as the costume intern for the summer. Besides the nonexistent pay, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I ever had. I felt as though I made a major contribution to making sure the shows are running smoothly, which they did for the most part. If something went wrong, the audience never noticed but there would be panic backstage. Whenever I was thanked for my work, I would leave the theater with a big smile on my face and I would be in such a good mood for the rest of the day.
I honestly enjoyed working with costumes. It's easy to see what fits on a kid, what doesn't, and labeling which pieces of clothing belonged to which kid— I have to give them credit, they were very good at keeping track what belonged to them. And because of that job, I know how to sew buttons onto a shirt and how to iron. I think one of the tricks to become a good costumer is to be open to some compromise, but not all of it. If a kid doesn't like their costume, the costumer should hear their complaints, but it's the costumer's final decision on what the actor should wear, not the other way around.
I only worked for four shows– that's how many the company offers for the summer– but I saw costumes of all shapes and sizes, textures, designs, as well as the accessories that went with them. The picture below was when we did The Little Mermaid Jr. and this was for the girl playing Sebastian. The four shows we put on: (in this order) Les Misérables: School Edition, The Little Mermaid Jr, Fame Jr, and Guys and Dolls Jr.
Of course, while working– paid or not– you're not bound to like all of your co-staff nor the clients (well, mainly the kids, although you have to love theater moms). Out of the 35 kids I had to help costume per week, there was; at least one kid that I couldn't stand— and I tried to, I really did— one that abosultely hated their costume, one I secretly fangirled over, one that I genuinely respected, and one who kept having costume troubles every show.
And for two weeks (same camper, ergo same mother), there was a stage mom who was always very protective over what her daughter wore onstage and asked Cheryl (the costumer's name) if she could help in any way. During one show, the daughter took off her jacket as she thought it would show time had passed in the show. Out of nowhere, the mother is backstage, demanding for her daughter to put it on because her entire bra was showing. (In all actuality, you could barely see her bra strap and it looked as though she was wearing a camisole underneath.) It was completely ridiculous.
One thing I noticed about these kids was that they were very cliquèy. They liked the people they knew were going to be at the camp and rarely bonded with anyone else outside their little group. Plus, at their auditions (yes I know, they shouldn't have auditions if it was a camp, but they do), they easily sized up their other cast members, already precasting who's going to get what role and it annoys the crap out of me. You're supposed to have fun at theater camp, not feel incredibly insecure.
I have memories– both good and bad– I can share from all four shows. Each show touched me in its own way. I enjoyed Les Misérables because they were the oldest cast (the youngest was 13) and they all had done theatre before, so they knew what to do and how to make sure they got themselves onstage on time. I knew a good portion of them already so I felt sad when they had to leave- however, they were the most cliquèy out of the four. The picture below was the set of Les Mis.
The Little Mermaid Jr. was such a shock to me, when comparing its cheerful costumes to the seriousness and darkness of Les Mis. It was the most colorful - well, there were a lot of children playing fish, but they had a lot of tiny accessories and glitter and it just looked so Disney. There weren't that many problems that happened with the show. But these kids were very hyper, and so it made me nervous how we managed to have three shows with them- some as young as eight!
Fame Jr. was a perfect example of a show having good and bad. Some good things included how I had gotten a cameo appearance- actually two- during every performance. Plus, I wasn't really needed for the kids to change backstage. Either some had very minor ones they could handle or were changing right offstage, in the wings. But some bad things happened too. First off, they had a million questions, complained quite often and never listened when they were given directions. They just liked to swarm and be everywhere, it was aggravating. The costume room became the unofficial staff room between shows and when the door was closed, the kid better be dying if they came in. Plus, this show has a pretty deep message about leaving something behind and working hard in high school, and the majority of the kids didn't even graduate from elementary school yet, and they didn't really capture the emotion of the show! The picture below was what I wore for my cameo (I pretended to be the school's costumer, ha!)
Guys and Dolls Jr. was a mix also, although it wasn't as bad as Fame. This show was the only one that I knew fairly well before the first rehearsal started. A couple of kids I knew from Les Mis were in this show as well. And I really liked some of the costumes. I had to hover over the girl who played Adelaide because she had a lot of quick changes- a bathroom offstage had to become her dressing room because she didn't have enough time to run upstairs. I also had to run everywhere because there were a couple of girls who had a lot of quick changes. They had to be girls for one scene and then in 5 minutes, they were police officers on the other side of the theater. And the girl who played General Cartwright had about 30 to 45 seconds to change from a doll to General Cartwright. It was exhausting, but when I had the chance to watch it, it was good.
The majority of the crew was pretty tolerable to work with. Everyone there had their own jobs to handle and, although we complained of our own jobs, we showed appreciation and admiration for the others. However, everyone had a problem with the Prop master and his intern/assistant- who was his college girlfriend. He rarely conversed with his other interns on what his plans were for props and apparently he blew the majority of the company's summer prop budget at an auction finding things for Les Mis- it was rumored he bought $25 scissors.
I adore Cheryl, she was the greatest boss I could've ever had. She was the kind of person I want to grow up to be! She was so nice to me— and so patient. It was nice to learn from her and to talk to her. If I return back to the company next year, I would definitely want to work with her again!
Did I enjoy this summer? You bet. Would I work there again next year? There's a good chance I will— you never know! And I will try to be up-to-date on my posts!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Day Twenty-Five: The Little Mermaid
Today's post is a musical that is my current favorite, which is The Little Mermaid. (I just realized that I should have put this show for my theatre obsession: I've been listening to it so much, it's scaring me.)
So, I think the majority of you know what's about, or at least know it involves a red-haired mermaid named Ariel. Ariel wants to be like humans, even though being a mermaid is frickin' cool and the majority of the world isn't as great as she hopes it is. She has three 'close' friends; Flounder (a flounder) Sebastian (a crab)., and Scuttle (a seagull).
The mermaid, youngest of seven and a princess to her father, King Triton, disobeys him and goes to her aunt, Ursula: Ursula was kicked out of the kingdom because she was accused of doing 'black magic.' Ariel basically makes 'A Deal with the Devil'. Ariel has had her eye on a certain human prince named Eric, after she saved his life from a terrible storm, tossing him overboard. Ursula, who believes that Ariel is the key to her regaining the kingdom, has a proposal for her: Ariel will turn into a human for three days, and get the true love's kiss from Eric. If it happens, Ariel can stay human forever; if not, then Ariel is to return to a mermaid and be Ursula's slave. As payment, Ariel loses her voice, which is kept in Ursula's shell.
Eric has been searching for the maiden who saved his life, but the only clue he has to find her is her voice. Eric finds Ariel, now a human and mute, and brings her back to the castle. The two spend time together. Near the end of the second day, Eric and Ariel are on a quiet boat ride through a lagoon. The lagoon animals try to create a romantic atmosphere for Eric and Ariel to kiss. They are about to, when Ursula's electric eels and companions, Flotsam and Jetsam give the boat a shock, shocking Eric out of the romantic mood.
Sebastian and Flounder end up informing Ariel's father, Triton, about her deal with Ursula. Eric still dreams about finding the girl with the beautiful voice, but doesn't want to lose Ariel: he doesn't know Ariel is the girl he was looking for. The next day- the third day- there's a singing contest, where foreign princesses sing to the tune that Eric was sung to ("Part of Your World") in order to find his dream girl. Ariel, who still cannot speak, instead dances for him and Eric picks her. Ursula arrives and tells Ariel that her time is up, and Flotsam and Jetsam whisks her back to the sea.
Triton arrives to confront Ursula and rescues Ariel by offering to take her place. Ursula becomes Queen of the Sea and banishes Triton with a wave of the trident she acquired. Eric has come to save Ariel via ship, but Ursula has raised the sea level higher, to stop any "interference." Ariel grabs the shell and regains her voice, causing Flotsam and Jetsam to swim away. Ariel threatens to break the shell and Ursula tries to sweet talk her niece to not break it: Ursula believes she would die without her shell. Ursula comes close to recapturing the shell- however, when she makes a comment about proving her father wrong and having him rot on the ocean floor, Ariel smashes the shell. The fracture destroys Ursula.
Triton reconciles with Ariel and realizes that he has to turn her into a human again. Ariel and Eric are reunited and Eric meets her father. Eric asks Triton for Ariel's hand in marriage. Ariel answers back with agreement, surprising Eric. Triton declares peace between merfolk and human, and Ariel and Eric get married and live happily ever after.
I guess I will put on here one of the most known songs associated with this show, and it's "Part of Your World." (Surprisingly enough, I always forgot the lyrics to the song until yesterday). But, this is sung by Sierra Boggess, who is my second favorite singer of all time, on the Today show! (after Idina Menzel, of course). Just to warn you, the actual song doesn't play until 1:50, unless you want to see her interview.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Day Fourteen: Miss Saigon
Today's post is a musical I haven't listened to or seen in a while, and my musical is Miss Saigon!
So Miss Saigon takes place during the Vietnam War in Vietnam. Kim, a seventeen year old Vietnamese orphan, is at her first day at her new job, the sleazy Vietnamese night club called Dreamland. She is greeted by the Engineer, a French-Vietnamese sleazeball who owns the club. The U.S. Marines, knowing they're departing Vietnam soon, decide to go to the club to party with the Vietnamese prostitutes.
Chris Scott, a Marine who wan't into the club scene and partying at all, is dragged along with his friend John Thomas. The girls are competing for who wins the title "Miss Saigon" and the winner is raffled to a marine. Kim's innocence strikes Chris. The winner of Miss Saigon, Gigi Van Trahn, begs the marine that won the raffle to take her to America, but he refuses.
John pays The Engineer for a room for Chris and Kim. Kim is reluctant and shy but eventually dances with Chris. Chris tries to pay her to leave the nightclub. The Engineer interferes, thinking Chris doesn't like Kim, but he is eventually led to the room John rented for him and Kim.
Chris, while watching Kim sleep, asks God why he had met Kim just as he was about to leave Vietnam. When Kim wakes up, Chris tries to give her money, but she refuses, saying that it was her first time she slept with a man. Chris tells Kim she doesn't need to sell herself at the club, because he wants her to stay with him. The two pledge their love for each other. Chris tells John he's taking leave to spend time with Kim, but John warns him that the Viet Cong (North Vietnamese army) will soon take over Saigon, but eventually covers for Chris. Chris meets with The Engineer to trade for Kim, but The Engineer is trying to include an American visa into the deal. Chris holds The Engineer at gunpoint to honor the original arrangement for Kim.
The club holds a "wedding ceremony" for Chris and Kim, and Gigi toasts Kim as the "real" Miss Saigon. Thuy, Kim's cousin that she was betrothed to at age thirteen, comes to the club to take her home. He's a North Vietnamese officer and is mad that she's with Chris. The two men draw guns at each other. Kim tells Thy the arranged marriage is off because her parents are dead and she has no feelings for him. Thuy leaves angrily. Chris promises to take Kim when he leaves Vietnam. The couple dance to the same song they did on their first night.
Three years pass, and in Saigon (now named Ho Chi Minh City), a street parade is beginning to celebrate the third anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam and the fall of the Americans. Thuy, a commissar in the new government, has ordered soldiers to find the still-sleazy Engineer. Thuy orders the Engineer to find Kim and bring her to him. Kim is still in love with Chris and has been hiding ever since, in hope that he will come back to Vietnam for her. Meanwhile, Chris is asleep in his bed with his new American wife, Ellen, when he awakes from a dream, shouting Kim's name. The two women still swear that they both love Chris.
The Engineer finds Kim and brings her to Thuy. Kim refuses Thuy's marriage proposal again, then introduces him to Tam, Kim's three-year old son fathered by Chris. Thuy calls Kim a traitor and moves to kill Tam with a knife when Kim kills Thuy with Chris' gun. Kim flees with Tam and seeks help from the Engineer to escape to America. He doesn't agree at first, but when she reveals Chris is the father, the Engineer shows compassion as he see this as a ticket to America. The three head to Bangkok and set out on a ship of refugees.
In Atlanta, GA, John now works for an organization who connects Bui-Doi (children conceived during the war) to their American fathers. John tells Chris that Kim is still alive, and that she had Tam and urges him to return to Vietnam. Chris finally comes clean to his wife about Kim and Tam. In Bangkok, the Engineer works a sleazy club where Kim is a dancer. Chris, Ellen, and John arrive, searching for Kim. John finds Kim at the club and tells her that Chris is also in Bangkok. Kim is thrilled that Tam's father has come to take them to America, or so she thinks. John doesn't have the heart to tell her he remarried.
The Engineer tells Kim to find Chris herself because he doubted that Chris would come looking for her. Kim is haunted by the ghost of Thuy, who says that Chris will betray her as he did three years ago. Kim suffers a horrible flashback to that night.
In the flashback, Kim sees the Viet Cong approaching Saigon. The city becomes chaotic and hectic, and Chris is called to the embassy, so he leaves his gun with Kim and tells her to go pack. When Chris enters the embassy, the gates close, and orders from Washington advise the place to evacuate any of the remaining Americans. The Ambassador orders that no Vietnamese are allowed in. Kim reaches the gates of the Embassy only to find a crowd of terrified Vietnamese trying to get in.
Chris tries to leave the Embassy to get her, but his friend John had to punch him to get him to stay inside.Chris is put into the last helicopter, leaving Saigon and Kim, who still pledges her love to him.
Back to the current age, Kim dresses in her wedding clothes and leaves the Engineer to watch Tam while she's gone. Kim goes to Chris' hotel room and finds Ellen. She thinks she's John's wife, but Ellen reveals she's Chris' wife. Kim refuses to believe Ellen and Ellen asks if Chris is the father of Tam, which she confirms. Kim says she doesn't want Tam to live on the streets like a rat, but Ellen assures Kim they will send whatever money to support him. Kim begs Ellen to take Tam to America, but Ellen refuses, saying Tam should be with his mother and that her and Chris will have children of their own.
Kim runs out of the room. Ellen feels bad for Kim, but is still determined to keep Chris. Chris and John return with no luck finding Kim. Ellen tells them that Kim came by the room and Ellen had to be the one to tell her everything. Chris and John blame themselves for being gone from Vietnam too long. Ellen also tells Chris Kim wants him to go to her place, and that she tried to give Tam to them. John realizes Kim wants Tam to be "an American boy."
Ellen then gives Chris an ultimatum to Chris: stay with Ellen or go with Kim. Chris assures Ellen he loves her.
Chris plans to leave Tam in Bangkok but will offer monetary support from America. John warns him that Kim won't like having Tam stay in Thailand. Back at the club, Kim lies to the Engineer that they are going to America.The Engineer imagines the fancy live he'll have there. Chris, John and Ellen find the Engineer, who takes them to Kim and Tam.
In her room, Kim tells Tam he should be happy because he has a father. She tells him she can't go with him but she'll watch over him. Chris, Ellen, John and the Engineer arrive outside of her room. The Engineer comes into the room to take Tam to see his American father. While this happens, Kim steps behind a curtain and shoots herself.
She falls to the floor as everyone runs into the room after hearing the gunshot. Kim is found mortally wounded. Chris holds Kim in his arms as she's dying, and asks why she did this, and she explains that the gods have guided him to his son. Chris begs her not to die as she asks Chris to hold her one last time. After one final kiss, Kim speaks her last words to Chris ("How in one night have we come so far?") and dies in his arms.
The ending of the show always depresses me every time I read it, but it has a good story line, I must say! We're doing this show next year and I really want to be Ellen! (Just hoping)
This song, "Sun And Moon," is one of my favorites of the whole show. And I love Lea Salonga! She has a perfect voice!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Day Five: The Lion King
So I just heard some very depressing news about a death of one of my family's close relatives earlier today, and just now, when I'm posting today's post, I smile because it fits into what I want to feel today, which is happy. Today's post is a musical that makes you happy.
I really hope I don't need to explain The Lion King too much. It's about a cub who "can't wait to be king" and rules with his dad. Meanwhile, his dad's brother has been planning to kill him, which he succeeds by making his death look like an accident (i.e. Simba gets stuck and his dad saves him but his brother refuses to pull him out, resulting in the dad being killed by a stampede.)
Simba feels guilty and runs away. After, the dad's brother (Scar) rules the kingdom and makes it a living hell (this happens over a span of 10? years). Simba's living a great life in the wild, until he runs into a childhood friend, who tells him what happened to the kingdom.
So Simba comes back, turns the hyenasm that ruled under Scar, against Scar and killed him (for the greater good.) Simba regains his crown and marries the said childhood friend and lives happily ever after.
I think there are a couple of reasons why I like this movie. One is that I used to watch the cartoon movie version of it all of the time, and I loved it! Another reason is, there's nothing very gory about the show at all. It's true Simba's father dies in a stampede but it's not like murder is the main theme (cough cough *Sweeney Todd*) Plus, the songs are very catchy and the full musical version is very G rated, which means it's appropriate for all to see!
This clip is one of my favorite songs, the Circle Of .
