I have a soft spot for Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." My best girlfriends and I sang that song a lot in college, especially during girl-bonding sessions.
The song turns 30 this year, and the Kinky Boots cast surprised Lauper with an awesome music video (Lauper wrote the score for the musical). The video features the Kinky Boots cast as well as some famous guests, such as Kelly Ripa, Whoopi Goldberg, Katie Couric, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Holland Taylor. Cast members of other Broadway shows also participated, such as Laura Osnes from Cinderella and Lilla Crawford from Annie.
Showing posts with label Stage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stage. Show all posts
Monday, June 3, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
The Mother Revealed on How I Met Your Mother
On last night's season finale of How I Met Your Mother, the titular mother is finally revealed in the train station buying a ticket for Farhampton and carrying a yellow umbrella. I love the song introducing her - the Shins' "Simple Song." The actress playing the Mother is Cristin Milioti. She was the star of the Broadway show Once, based on the movie of the same name, and was nominated for a Tony. Here is a clip of her singing Falling Slowly with co-star Steve Kazee. She also guest-starred on the Sopranos, Nurse Jackie, and 30 Rock. She will be seen soon as Leonardo DiCaprio's wife on The Wolf of Wall Street.
I think she's perfect for the role. She looks exactly like the kind of girl that Ted would fall for - cute, quirky, and has the indie-hipster look. She and Josh Radnor also look like they could be the parents of Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, and I can see Cristin fitting in nicely with the gang. I appreciate that the producers didn't go for stunt casting - I think that would have been too distracting and too hard to keep a secret. It's nice in this day and age that they can still keep something back until they want to reveal it.
I can't wait for the ninth and final season of the show.
I think she's perfect for the role. She looks exactly like the kind of girl that Ted would fall for - cute, quirky, and has the indie-hipster look. She and Josh Radnor also look like they could be the parents of Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, and I can see Cristin fitting in nicely with the gang. I appreciate that the producers didn't go for stunt casting - I think that would have been too distracting and too hard to keep a secret. It's nice in this day and age that they can still keep something back until they want to reveal it.
I can't wait for the ninth and final season of the show.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Richard III - Skeleton Possibly Found
The archaeologists who had been excavating a parking lot in Leicester, England thought to be the site of Richard III's grave, found a skeleton that may be the remains of Richard III. The testing will take awhile, and it is unclear whether they can get DNA from the skeleton, but it is still very exciting.
The article mentioned that the archaeologists found two skeletons "a female skeleton that was broken apart at the joints was discovered in what is believed to be the Presbytery of the lost Church; the other skeleton, which appears to be an adult male, was found in the church choir and shows signs of trauma to the skull and back before death, which would be consistent with a battle injury, the researchers said." The male skeleton also showed signs of scoliosis, which would explain why contemporary accounts of Richard described him as having one shoulder higher than the other, and which later led to the mistaken description of him as being a hunchbank.
There is also an updated picture gallery, which showed some of the findings, like a medieval penny and the stone frieze.
The article mentioned that the archaeologists found two skeletons "a female skeleton that was broken apart at the joints was discovered in what is believed to be the Presbytery of the lost Church; the other skeleton, which appears to be an adult male, was found in the church choir and shows signs of trauma to the skull and back before death, which would be consistent with a battle injury, the researchers said." The male skeleton also showed signs of scoliosis, which would explain why contemporary accounts of Richard described him as having one shoulder higher than the other, and which later led to the mistaken description of him as being a hunchbank.
There is also an updated picture gallery, which showed some of the findings, like a medieval penny and the stone frieze.
Jonathan Groff and Zachary Quinto - Confirmed Dating
I've written before about the rumor that Zachary Quinto and Jonathan Groff dating, and now Zachary Quinto himself has confirmed it. Zachary sounds so sweet talking about how happy he is. I hope these two will make it!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Richard III
Archaeologists recently uncovered a medieval church, Greyfriars, under a parking lot in Leicester, England (pictures here), which is said to be the final resting place of Richard III. Richard III is believed to be buried in Greyfriars in 1485, after he died at the Battle of Bosworth Field during the War of the Roses. He is the last King of England to died in battle.
Richard III is a fascinating figure in history, made especially famous by the play of the same name written by William Shakespeare over 100 years after Richard's death. Richard III is most noted as being the alleged killer of the two young princes under his care, sons of Richard's brother, King Edward IV. The princes Edward and Richard were said to have been imprisoned and killed in the Tower of London on Richard III's orders, and led to the legend of the Princes in the Tower. Richard III was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet Dynasty, which ruled England from 1154 until 1485 - a reign of 14 kings lasting 331 years.
In Shakespeare' play, Richard III is most decidedly an amoral and Machiavellian villain. However, there are plenty of novelists and historians who argued that the real Richard is not the evil villain he became known to be. During his short two-year reign, according to Wikipedia, he "instituted what later became known as the Court of Requests, a court which poor people who could not afford legal representation could apply to for their grievances to be heard, introduced bail in to protect suspected felons from imprisonment before trial and protect their property from seizure during that time, founded the College of Arms, banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books, and ordered the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from the traditional French into English."
One of my favorite books ever is Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time," which presents an alternate view of Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. The title of the book, "The Daughter of Time," is from a quote by Sir Francis Bacon: "Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority," which indicated Tey's view that the evil Richard was a constructed myth, not reality.
In that book, Alan Grant, a Scotland Yard inspector and a regular character in Tey's books, was in the hospital with a broken leg. He was really bored and restless, and decided to investigate the case of Richard III after being intrigued by a portrait of Richard III that showed him as being gentle and wise, instead of monstrous and cruel. With the help of an American researcher who was working at the British Museum, Grant investigated the case like a modern detective without leaving his bed, and concluded that the story of Richard III being a callous murderer and a monster was constructed by the Tudor dynasty that came after him, partly to assert the Tudor claim to the throne.
The book pointed out the fact that Richard III was never accused or convicted of any murder against the Princes during his time, and that the most famous source of the evil Richard III story came from Sir Thomas More, who was an advisor to Tudor King Henry VIII, and was only eight years old when Richard III died. This fact led credence to the theory that the evil Richard was simply a creation of the Tudor kings who wanted to establish the legitimacy of their claim to the throne, which they wrested from Richard III during the War of the Roses. Shakespeare used More's Richard III book heavily in writing his play, so it made sense that his Richard III is also a villain.
I did not research Tey's sources or evidence, but I did come away convinced that Richard III is not as evil as More and Shakespeare had made him out to be. It is a very well-written book and has an interesting narrative structure - definitely worth reading for mystery fans.
Richard III is a fascinating figure in history, made especially famous by the play of the same name written by William Shakespeare over 100 years after Richard's death. Richard III is most noted as being the alleged killer of the two young princes under his care, sons of Richard's brother, King Edward IV. The princes Edward and Richard were said to have been imprisoned and killed in the Tower of London on Richard III's orders, and led to the legend of the Princes in the Tower. Richard III was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet Dynasty, which ruled England from 1154 until 1485 - a reign of 14 kings lasting 331 years.
In Shakespeare' play, Richard III is most decidedly an amoral and Machiavellian villain. However, there are plenty of novelists and historians who argued that the real Richard is not the evil villain he became known to be. During his short two-year reign, according to Wikipedia, he "instituted what later became known as the Court of Requests, a court which poor people who could not afford legal representation could apply to for their grievances to be heard, introduced bail in to protect suspected felons from imprisonment before trial and protect their property from seizure during that time, founded the College of Arms, banned restrictions on the printing and sale of books, and ordered the translation of the written Laws and Statutes from the traditional French into English."
One of my favorite books ever is Josephine Tey's "The Daughter of Time," which presents an alternate view of Richard III and the Princes in the Tower. The title of the book, "The Daughter of Time," is from a quote by Sir Francis Bacon: "Truth is the daughter of time, not of authority," which indicated Tey's view that the evil Richard was a constructed myth, not reality.
In that book, Alan Grant, a Scotland Yard inspector and a regular character in Tey's books, was in the hospital with a broken leg. He was really bored and restless, and decided to investigate the case of Richard III after being intrigued by a portrait of Richard III that showed him as being gentle and wise, instead of monstrous and cruel. With the help of an American researcher who was working at the British Museum, Grant investigated the case like a modern detective without leaving his bed, and concluded that the story of Richard III being a callous murderer and a monster was constructed by the Tudor dynasty that came after him, partly to assert the Tudor claim to the throne.
The book pointed out the fact that Richard III was never accused or convicted of any murder against the Princes during his time, and that the most famous source of the evil Richard III story came from Sir Thomas More, who was an advisor to Tudor King Henry VIII, and was only eight years old when Richard III died. This fact led credence to the theory that the evil Richard was simply a creation of the Tudor kings who wanted to establish the legitimacy of their claim to the throne, which they wrested from Richard III during the War of the Roses. Shakespeare used More's Richard III book heavily in writing his play, so it made sense that his Richard III is also a villain.
I did not research Tey's sources or evidence, but I did come away convinced that Richard III is not as evil as More and Shakespeare had made him out to be. It is a very well-written book and has an interesting narrative structure - definitely worth reading for mystery fans.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Jonathan Groff and Zachary Quinto
If this is true, what a hot couple:
Jonathan Groff and Zachary Quinto
I really like both of them. I saw Jonathan on Broadway in Spring Awakening, and he was fantastic. I also like his role on Glee with his BFF Lea Michele. I still maintain that Jesse St. James is going to show up next year in NYC to try to win Rachel back.
I liked Zachary in Heroes - one of the few good things about that show. He was even better as Spock in the Star Trek reboot. He joined the Ryan Murphy family by guest-starring in American Horror Story last season, and he's coming back for season 2.
Jonathan Groff and Zachary Quinto
I really like both of them. I saw Jonathan on Broadway in Spring Awakening, and he was fantastic. I also like his role on Glee with his BFF Lea Michele. I still maintain that Jesse St. James is going to show up next year in NYC to try to win Rachel back.
I liked Zachary in Heroes - one of the few good things about that show. He was even better as Spock in the Star Trek reboot. He joined the Ryan Murphy family by guest-starring in American Horror Story last season, and he's coming back for season 2.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
The 66th Annual Tony Awards
I finally got to watch the 66th Annual Tony Awards, which aired last Sunday. Neil Patrick Harris came back to host, and he was his usual charming, funny self. His opening number about how life would be better if it was like theatre was hilarious, with great lyrics and dancing. His other musical numbers were also excellent - the compilation of the past 60+ years of best score, and his closing number about how he doesn't have enough time to sing about closing the show.
This year's show has quite a few funny sight gags and moments:
- The Book of Mormon missionary interrupting James Earl Jones signing Darth Vader pictures in his dressing room.
- An actor playing Mufasa in full outfit and headdress sitting in the audience, and people behind him were grumbling about not being able to see.
- NPH dangling behind Angela Lansbury and Theodore Chapin, Chairman of the American Theatre Wing in a Spiderman gag. Of course they had to cut to Andrew Garfield, who was in the audience as a Tony nominee for Death of a Salesman. It's unbelievable how good-looking Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are as a couple.
- Hugh Jackman dancing with a cast member from Godspell and singing along.
- Mandy and Patti LuPone singing excerpts before presenting the Best Revival of a Musical.
- A woman body-surfing to get back to her chair while NPH was cutting to commercial.
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker - the "Broadway establishment" - congratulating the "young whippersnappers" who seek to join their ranks while presenting the award for Best Musical.
Audra McDonald won her fifth Tony for Porgy and Bess. Her rendition of Summertime was just out-of-this-world. I was lucky enough to have seen her in Master Class and Ragtime, and she is not only an amazing singer, but also a fantastic actress. I'm glad she is back on Broadway, where she belongs, as opposed to second-rate TV drama.
We spotted three SYTYCD alums in the cast of Newsies - our absolute favorite Alex Wong, whose dancing stood out even in that talented cast, Evan Kasprzak, and Jess LeProtto.
Peter and the Starcatcher looks intriguing. If Mr. Y and I actually have time, we would love to see that show. Someone I know from college is the fight choreographer for the show, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum. Here's a great interview with him and how he did it. The play is based on a novel co-written by famed humorist and satirist Dave Barry.
Once looks like a great show, and all the actors playing the musical instruments certainly add a great touch. I was disappointed that they didn't sing "Falling Slowly," though, since that is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.
The best moment was when Deborra-Lee Furness surprised her husband, Hugh Jackman, by presenting him with his special Tony. It was clear that these two love each other very much. It was very sweet to see them together. I already adore Hugh Jackman, and his devotion and love for his wife and family make him even hotter.
This year's show has quite a few funny sight gags and moments:
- The Book of Mormon missionary interrupting James Earl Jones signing Darth Vader pictures in his dressing room.
- An actor playing Mufasa in full outfit and headdress sitting in the audience, and people behind him were grumbling about not being able to see.
- NPH dangling behind Angela Lansbury and Theodore Chapin, Chairman of the American Theatre Wing in a Spiderman gag. Of course they had to cut to Andrew Garfield, who was in the audience as a Tony nominee for Death of a Salesman. It's unbelievable how good-looking Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are as a couple.
- Hugh Jackman dancing with a cast member from Godspell and singing along.
- Mandy and Patti LuPone singing excerpts before presenting the Best Revival of a Musical.
- A woman body-surfing to get back to her chair while NPH was cutting to commercial.
- Matt Stone and Trey Parker - the "Broadway establishment" - congratulating the "young whippersnappers" who seek to join their ranks while presenting the award for Best Musical.
Audra McDonald won her fifth Tony for Porgy and Bess. Her rendition of Summertime was just out-of-this-world. I was lucky enough to have seen her in Master Class and Ragtime, and she is not only an amazing singer, but also a fantastic actress. I'm glad she is back on Broadway, where she belongs, as opposed to second-rate TV drama.
We spotted three SYTYCD alums in the cast of Newsies - our absolute favorite Alex Wong, whose dancing stood out even in that talented cast, Evan Kasprzak, and Jess LeProtto.
Peter and the Starcatcher looks intriguing. If Mr. Y and I actually have time, we would love to see that show. Someone I know from college is the fight choreographer for the show, Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum. Here's a great interview with him and how he did it. The play is based on a novel co-written by famed humorist and satirist Dave Barry.
Once looks like a great show, and all the actors playing the musical instruments certainly add a great touch. I was disappointed that they didn't sing "Falling Slowly," though, since that is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time.
The best moment was when Deborra-Lee Furness surprised her husband, Hugh Jackman, by presenting him with his special Tony. It was clear that these two love each other very much. It was very sweet to see them together. I already adore Hugh Jackman, and his devotion and love for his wife and family make him even hotter.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Les Miserables
Mr. Y and I caught the last part of Les Miserables' 25th Anniversary Concert Special at the O2 Arena in London. It featured Alfie Boe as Jean Valjean, Norm Lewis as Javert, Lea Salonga as Fantine, Nick Jonas as Marius, Katie Hall as Cosette, Jenny Galloway as Madame Thénardier, Ramin Karimloo as Enjolras, Samantha Barks as Éponine, Matt Lucas as Thénardier, Mia Jenkins as Young Cosette, Robert Madge as Gavroche and Earl Carpenter as Bishop of Digne.
I am a big Lea Salonga fan and have seen her twice - once in Miss Saigon and once in Flower Drum Song. She had also played Éponine, but in this concert she plays Fantine. It's disconcerting to realize that she is old enough to play Fantine, because I still remember her as the young Kim in Miss Saigon. But she is now 41 years old, so she is clearly more of a mom than the young urchin.
Nick Jonas was a revelation. I never followed the Jonas Brothers, and I didn't realize he can sing like that. Apparently he was in musical theatre when he was younger and played Marius at the West End between Jonas Brothers gigs. I knew he was basically the frontman and musical genius behind the Jonas Brothers, but this is the first time I truly heard his voice.
The one who is about to break out as a star is Samantha Barks. She plays Éponine in the concert, and she has been cast as Éponine in the big screen version of Les Miserables the musical (as opposed to the movie version of the book), beating out Taylor Swift, Lea Michele, and Scarlett Johanssen. The big screen version will star Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers. Samantha is hugely talented, so she should be able to hold her own among these amazing actors.
I am a big Lea Salonga fan and have seen her twice - once in Miss Saigon and once in Flower Drum Song. She had also played Éponine, but in this concert she plays Fantine. It's disconcerting to realize that she is old enough to play Fantine, because I still remember her as the young Kim in Miss Saigon. But she is now 41 years old, so she is clearly more of a mom than the young urchin.
Nick Jonas was a revelation. I never followed the Jonas Brothers, and I didn't realize he can sing like that. Apparently he was in musical theatre when he was younger and played Marius at the West End between Jonas Brothers gigs. I knew he was basically the frontman and musical genius behind the Jonas Brothers, but this is the first time I truly heard his voice.
The one who is about to break out as a star is Samantha Barks. She plays Éponine in the concert, and she has been cast as Éponine in the big screen version of Les Miserables the musical (as opposed to the movie version of the book), beating out Taylor Swift, Lea Michele, and Scarlett Johanssen. The big screen version will star Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, and Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter as the Thénardiers. Samantha is hugely talented, so she should be able to hold her own among these amazing actors.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Evan Kasprzak in Newsies
Mr. Y and I were watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade today, and spotted Evan Kasprzak as part of the cast of Newsies. Newsies is coming to Broadway in March for a limited run. I've always had a soft spot for Evan. He won third place on So You Think You Can Dance season 5. He was such a nice guy, but got totally beaten up by the judges. The judges clearly thought he was not good enough to make it that far, but he was super popular so he never ended up in the bottom two. He always accepted all the negative comments with grace and humility, and he was a great Broadway dancer. So it's great to see him end up on Broadway. Good luck, Evan!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Hugh Jackman on Broadway
I have mentioned before how I love Hugh Jackman. He is currently doing a one-man show on Broadway, but only for 10 weeks. According to news articles, he sings a few songs, especially from his last Broadway show, the Boy from Oz, tells stories, and interacts with the audience. Front row tickets have been re-selling for as high as $1500 a ticket.
I tried checking for tickets, but the only tickets available are over $300 each, which is a bit steep. Sigh. Too bad - it would have been fun to see him. :)
I tried checking for tickets, but the only tickets available are over $300 each, which is a bit steep. Sigh. Too bad - it would have been fun to see him. :)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
So Mr. Y and I decided to take our three-year-old to see the Radio City Christmas Spectacular this year. We're going the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Crossing our fingers that this will work out. We got special deals for the 9 a.m. show, so that's the one we chose. We think the morning will work out better anyway because he'll be more awake. The biggest question is whether he can sit through a 90-minute show.
I've seen the show twice, and both times were cheesy, but definitely fun. It's definitely one of those classic New York Christmas things that everyone should try to do at least once. We really hope the little one will enjoy it, and will be so entranced by all the spectacle that he forgets to misbehave.
I've seen the show twice, and both times were cheesy, but definitely fun. It's definitely one of those classic New York Christmas things that everyone should try to do at least once. We really hope the little one will enjoy it, and will be so entranced by all the spectacle that he forgets to misbehave.
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