CHRISTMAS PRESENT

Been bouncing about New York looking for some bargains and goodies for Christmas.
Not easy in this CROWDED and AGGRESSIVE town. Some people are soemtimes passive aggressive to a fault. They will not move along and let others pass. The most hateful of all are those who congregate and talk in groups and block sidewalks and will continue talking even when you excuse yourself and pass between them. The worst however are the people who STOP DEAD at the top (or bottom) of an escalator. Blocking everyone from getting off.
Others are the arrogant aisle blockers. They stand in the middle of the very narrow chopping aisles and you can't get around them. Then they are annoyed when you pass them. Go figure. I reserve the right to also be annoyed with women and men who shop with baby trams and carriages. Especailly the doublewide ones. They have to have someone to watch these kids so they can shop without clogging and endangering the kids as well as others.
I managed to take advantage of a 25% discount at Barnes & Noble and got some cards and a 2008 calendar. I then strolled along 23rd Street to HOME DEPOT got my 18 rolls of 2 Ply Charmin for $10.98 and left there for a romp down 6th Ave.
Restoration hardware has lost its edge for me. Wound up at Banana Republic and took advantage of a major sale. A wool hand made sweater that was $300 was $159 and I got it minus 15% discount for signing up for thier advantage card.
That was a treat. I will check it out again after the holidays.
So I managed to get some good quality things for bargain prices. But still it is not easy to shop frugally and mantian style. I think women have mor choices in general than men.
Quality stuff is always difficult to buy at cost. Daffys sometimes has good things but you have to really concentrate. But I always find something worthwhile.
I usually bring my Camera and snap at interesting subjects but forgot it today. SO I will add some shots I took last night when I went in search of a tree. Finally found one for $25. But had to spend $10 on a new stand. This is a very small 4 ft Tree and I had a stand that was too large.
With a tree up and lighted in the living room it is sbeginning to look a lot like Christmas.
I guess that's a good thing with ONE MORE SHOPPING DAY to go and then it hits.
I keep playng the Manhattan Transfer Christmas Album along with some Big Band Christmas CD's that are terrific, but the tree really helped brighten the spirit.
Hope you all have great Bargains and Great Food and Great Friends to Enjoy.
If we EVER see a WHITE CHRISTMAS again I might even find it easier to believe in Santa Once More!

Deck the Halls and Sing A Carol
Drink the Egg Nog by the Barrel
Slice the Ham with Honey Glaze
And Celebrate the Holidays
With Pals and Friends to Join the Fun
God has Blessed us , EVERY ONE!
XXX
Keybored

JOYZZ TO THE WORLD

Merry Merry
We are in the final throes of the Christmas Holiday.
The frantic frenzy of fanatical shopping, visiting and dinning is about to take a well earned breath. The Dollar is declining and the prices are rising.
But New York continues its dynamic dance and balancing act.
I mourn the loss of the New York many living here now don't even know existed. Over 40 years of being a New Yorker and I don't feel the wonderful uniqueness that New York always offered. I see it trying hard to please and appease a monied element that is not the real engine of what drove the creativity and energized this town.
I still think it a tremendous place for cultural pursuit. However I find myself wandering the Holiday streets looking for the SPIRIT that USED to elevate your soul.
No such thing now. Just too many high rise speculation buildings for foreign investors and too few bastions of real NEW YORK being destroyed.
Sometimes I will look up and see a cospe of buildings that evoke what was and how the majesty of their soaring structure gave dignity and artistry to us on the ground and to the landscape. To see these hideous glass structures blaring some sort of LOOK AT ME architecture with little appealor reverence to design and art makes a native New Yorker GAG.
One hopes the pendulum will swing back to some normalcy. There was a sense of adult maturity and sophistication in this town. Now it seems that mindless sophomoric ethics, even in business, is the norm.
I will continue through the streets and try to find the places that inspire me as they used to.
I hope we all have a great 2008 and that the country and this city return to some sense of pride and reason.
Drink Up and Sing the Carols of the season. Enjoy your friends and family as they
are the stuff that enriches our lives.
And though cautious be brave and Know that this is stil a city of Dreams like no other.
HAPPY HOLIDAY
XX
Keyboard

SWEENEY TODD

Just came from a SAG screening of SWEENEY TODD.
it was a terrific adaptation and I doubt anyone who knows the stage piece will be disappointed.
L O V E D the film. Glorious all the way through and B L O O D Y an d funny at the same time.
Depp & Carter are sublime but the Beadle was my favorite. Rickman was terrific as were all in the piece. I was least enamoured of the Anthony he was a pretty fellow which is fine, but his Heroism is not as abundant as I would have liked.
The ensemble numbers are gone and the piece doesn't suffer but it would have been interesting if the ensemble was more than a background /victim scenic device.
There is so little that is off mark that it is silly to dicuss..but the overall film is engrossing and great dark fun!
Be prepared for the blood and the rather hard hitting blundgeoning of graphic violence. All doen with great style and verve.
They held none of that back..NOR should they have.
It will be a solid hit..and what I loved was that it is ALL sung as it was onstage. Just different intents and motivations...and ovf course more conversational where appropriate.
And Burton's use of the camera and the film medium is in evidence all the time and NEVER boring or slow!
Cinematically lush and well Tim Burton!
SO there you have it.
I missed the transition for Pirelli intot eh blackmailer..He just sort of Slips out of the ITALIAN accent into Cockney and there was no moment for the audience to get that. THAT was my favorite thing about playing that character. I had to do it iin Irish dialect because that is what Hal Prince wanted. It is writtne in cockey in the script.
Anyway..it is lush and very entertaining and musically beautiful even without the Ballads and other suff.
It should win many awards for its artistry adn performances.
I was most pleased t see Richard Barr & Charles (Chuck) Woodward's names at the credits as they were the original Producers and good friends of mine. THey are both gone now but between them gave us Edward Albee,,,and many high end classy shows..including SWEENEY, WHOS AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF and BOYS IN THE BAND to name only a few.
I recommedn seeing thsi wonderful piece and hope that the score, although truncated and slashed by Sondheim himself. I know we should all celebrate the new beginning of what I consider Sondheim's PORGY & BESS.
Let me know what you think.
XXXX

Keyboard

Here is the NY TIMES article :



December 16, 2007
Sondheim Dismembers ‘Sweeney’
By JESSE GREEN
FOR months now, in anticipation of the Dec. 21 release of Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” theater buffs have been worrying themselves sick about what would happen to “their” masterpiece when it was remade as a film. Would it still be alive despite drastic cutting? Would it still sing, despite the casting of stars not known for their voices? (Johnny Depp plays the murderous barber, Helena Bonham Carter his accomplice.) Or would commercial pressures and Hollywood habit leave it just another corpse on the heap of butchered theatrical translations?
Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the score, might almost have been among the worriers. “The only kind of movie I didn’t like as a kid were musicals,” he said. Everyone who has attempted to translate a stage musical to film, he added, “has underestimated the distance between the languages.” The movie musicals he enjoys — ”Love Me Tonight,” “Under the Roofs of Paris,” “The Smiling Lieutenant” and a couple of the MGMs — are those that were originally conceived for the screen. The rest, he said, are “either stodgy or rely on flash.”
He understood, then, that remaking “Sweeney” would be risky and involve major surgery. Still, he eagerly wielded the razor on perhaps his greatest work. “I’m hoping people will just forget what they know,” he said, “and enjoy the movie or not. But if they go in counting the things that are missing, they’re going to be very distracted.”
Below, a look at Mr. Sondheim’s process of elimination.
Back Story
Of Mr. Sondheim’s 17 major musicals, only 4 had been made into films before “Sweeney.” The two for which he wrote both music and lyrics (“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “A Little Night Music”) were heavily rewritten and are much reviled for desecrating excellent material; the two for which he wrote lyrics only (“West Side Story,” right, and “Gypsy”) were mostly faithful but have many critics. Does he find any of the movies satisfying?
“None of them. In ‘West Side Story’ you see a gang dancing down a real New York street in color-coordinated sneakers, and you just don’t believe it. And then there are the songs themselves. The problem is, what do you shoot in something like ‘Tonight’? You get a close-up of him, a close-up of her, a medium shot of the fire escape. It’s the same problem with so many of those other movies. The director has to fill out three or four minutes of what is essentially a static song, which holds your attention on the stage because that’s part of the theatrical convention. Whereas for me, as a movie buff, I want the action to move forward constantly, and it doesn’t. They may have little camera diversions and a trick here or there, but they’re just filming a stage musical, and that’s not for me.”
The Ballad of Johnny Depp
“Sweeney Todd” has been produced by opera companies, and even on Broadway it has generally been cast with accomplished singers. When Mr. Depp was announced for the title role, and especially when Ms. Bonham Carter was announced for Mrs. Lovett, purists groaned.
But Mr. Sondheim, who said he generally leans toward actors who sing rather than the other way around, had no qualms. “I knew Johnny was musical because he’s been in a rock band, but I also knew that he wouldn’t take this part unless he thought he could sing it. And that was good enough for me. I accepted him unheard.” As for Ms. Bonham Carter, the “big shocker” for “Sweeney” fans won’t be her voice, Mr. Sondheim said, as much as her interpretation. Unlike the blowzy musical-hall character created by Angela Lansbury, the movie’s Mrs. Lovett is almost as internal and intense as Sweeney. “Which is right for the movie,” Mr. Sondheim said, “but not how I’d cast it onstage.” (Above, from left, Ms. Lansbury; Patti LuPone, the most recent Mrs. Lovett on Broadway; and Ms. Bonham-Carter.)
Slashing the Score
What Mr. Sondheim called his cynicism about movies made from stage shows only whetted his appetite when the director Tim Burton expressed interest in adapting “Sweeney.” “Obviously one of the most enticing things in the world is to say, ‘That’s impossible to do,’” Mr. Sondheim recalled. “‘So let’s do it.’”
After 20 years of directors and deals falling by the wayside, Mr. Burton and the screenwriter John Logan came along with an idea for retelling the story in more cinematic terms. First, there would be no chorus commenting on the action in song; the singing would be done entirely by the principals. This meant cutting or truncating all ensemble numbers, a major element of the stage production, which had a chorus of 18. Out went “The Letter,” “City on Fire” and two-thirds of “God, That’s Good!” Even the show’s opening number and recurrent theme, “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” which was to be sung by the ghosts of Sweeney’s victims as the movie progressed, was dropped just before filming. (Above, from the 2005 Broadway production; left, the movie’s opening.) Happily, the song’s “Dies Irae” climax and creepy, buzzing string figures — Mr. Sondheim’s tribute to the film composer Bernard Herrmann — remain as underscoring.
The filmmakers also suggested cutting most of the sunnier songs that offered relief onstage but would be hard to film interestingly or would dissipate the desired atmosphere of unrelenting dread. Out went “Ah, Miss,” “Kiss Me” and “Parlor Songs.” To keep the movie under two hours (the stage show lasts about three) most of the songs that did remain were trimmed by about 20 percent, Mr. Sondheim estimated. In all fewer than 10 of the stage show’s 25 major numbers survived substantially intact.
No Remorse
Mr. Sondheim not only approved every change, as his contract required, but also did the musical reworking himself. Though he was at first shocked by the suggested elimination of “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” Mr. Sondheim said that when he put on his “movie-buff hat,” he “completely agreed,” because it would keep holding up the action. The loss of the Judge’s version of “Johanna” — part of a brilliantly conceived triptych of “Johanna” numbers that look at the girl from various perspectives — was more troubling. It is the only time the Judge is characterized in song. (Below left, the Judge and Johanna in the 2002 Kennedy Center production.) But Mr. Logan had written a new scene that covered similar material visually. (The Judge, played by Alan Rickman, above left, fondles albums of exotic pornography.) So out it went. Did Mr. Sondheim not mind so much butchery of his score?
“Come on, you’ve got to be ruthless. I learned that from Oscar Hammerstein. He and Richard Rodgers cut their big hit song out of ‘Oklahoma!’ because it interfered with the storytelling. A song like ‘Kiss Me’ has its delights onstage if it’s played well, because it’s funny and silly, and I’ve always meant it to be suspenseful, because you worry if the Judge is going to discover the lovers. But that’s just not how the sequence in the movie is written, and if you don’t have that, then you’re stuck in the parlor with the lovers singing and singing and singing and singing and — nothing. So there’s no point. Now, if I had my druthers, would I put the Judge’s song back in? Yes, but it might hold the story up. And anybody who wants to know what the whole thing sounds like can still listen to the record of the show.”
Another Stab?
Among Mr. Sondheim’s shows “Sweeney Todd” may be what he calls “a one-off” in lending itself to this sort of translation. Most stage musicals remove huge hunks of plot in order to make room for song, so when they are adapted, there’s too little of the thing that movies do well and too much of what they do poorly. But “Sweeney,” even onstage, is heavily plotted and much of that plot is told in the songs. In remaking it for film, there was less staginess to overcome.
Even so, Mr. Sondheim said he thought some of his other shows could make the leap, especially “Company” and “Follies,” which is already in development with the director Sam Mendes and the writer Aaron Sorkin. When asked if he was willing to tear apart those great scores too, Mr. Sondheim said, “Oh yeah,” and described a gift from the librettist Peter Stone that now sits on his desk. It is in fact a slab of stone; carved into it are the words “Nothing is written in stone.”

ABYSSFUL

I have the obvious indication that no one is reading one line of all my blather.
So who knows if BUSH is listening or some, perhaps minions of his toxic administraion.
Anyway..IF you are listening then go see AUGUST:OSAGE COUNTY at the Inperial Theatre and ATONEMENT ASAP! These are two terrific offerings and will certainly give you a few hours of intelligence that is not DIDACTED!
AUGUST:OUSACE COUNTY got 17 out of 18 RAVES in the press reviews and is worth more as far as I am concerned.
I sat through a 3PM viewing of THE GOLDEN COMPASS and found it beautiful but too full of that CGI stuf that was thrilling when it was introduced but now overused to a tedium.
Daniel Craig fulfilled his SAG Insurance requirements on this project and unfortunately never shed a garment. Nicole Kidman is so brethtakingly gorgeous and stunningly clothed she MUST do the GRACE KELLY Story soon before her alabaster glory turns to ash..which should be no time soon if this is any indication.
She is subtle and cunningly interesting in this ..far more so than the twitching story. Eva Green is likewise a glory onscreen. This time as a flying witch. She was a stunner in CASINO ROYALE.
I was disgruntled at the beginning of the film as a Jamaican grandfather with a young boy & girl came in and sat right behind me. In an almost empty theatre.
I promptly moved over to the center about 10 seats away and made myself comfortable.
AS the film started the littel girl kept talking at full volume until I and a few others SHHH-ed her to silence.
It was placid for a few minutes until the crackly unwrapping of the candies started. Then the Grandfather started snoring and that was white noise after about 5 minutes. I managed to calm my nerves until the littel girl coughed her way through almsot all the film.
Anyway: I sat through most of the film it was at Loews 34th St top floor theatre..I had to go to the bathroom and held myself in tow until I couldn't stand it. SO I waited till after a major battle scene and ran down the escalators to the floor below and then ran back upstairs...JUST as the credits were rolling. SO I have NO IDEA how the film ended.
AAAH for the days of being able to sit through as many showings as you cared to...and that at about 25 cents on Saturday mornings when Mom drove me to the local movie house...with a lunch bag.
Remember that anyone? A double feature...even a newsreel..and a good many BLARINGLY TECHNICOLORED CARTOONS...I think they began at 11 AM!!
I am not put off by the weather although friends are grumpy about it. I find it invigorating. Especially the very cold days. As long as it is not raining and windy!
I had a stressful afternoon of auditioning and a very accelerated morning caring for my infirm partner who is still recovering form foot surgery.
I thought a couple of hours being sucked into cinema fantasy would calm and comfort. BUT NO!
XX
Keybored

BROADWAY'S BACK

THE NEON LIGHTS ARE BRIGHT ON BROADWAY

Thought this might be of intereswt after 19 days of darkened Broadway stages.
Hope we all go back to the TIGHT SMALL seats taht are ridiculously priced and once again are taken away into theatreland adn magictime.



STRIKE UPDATE: SETTLEMENT REACHED; PERFORMANCES TO RESUME ON NOVEMBER 29
by: Brian Scott Lipton · Nov 29, 2007 · New York


TheaterMania.com hits Times Square to talk to theatergoers about the strike.

The League of American Theatres and Producers and Local One of the I.A.T.S.E. are pleased to announce that a tentative agreement has been reached ending the Broadway strike, and that Broadway performances will resume Thursday evening, November 29. No specific details of the settlement were announced.
In a statement, the League's executive director Charlotte St. Martin said, "The contract is a good compromise that serves our industry. What is most important is that Broadway's lights will once again shine brightly, with a diversity of productions that will delight all theatre-goers during this holiday time. We look forward to celebrating the season and welcoming our talented stagehands, and the theatergoing public, back to Broadway."
Local One President James J. Claffey, Jr. said, "The people of Broadway are looking forward to returning to work, giving the theatre-going public the joy of Broadway, the greatest entertainment in the world."
The strike, which began on November 10, centered on a number of issues, most notably, the number of employees -- including carpenters and electricians -- that need to be hired during a show's load-in process. Under existing rules, certain Union members must be paid for the entire load-in process, whether or not their work is required every day.
The strike has already caused the postponement of the opening of five Broadway shows: Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, Conor McPherson's The Seafarer, Tracy Letts' August: Osage County, Is He Dead? and Disney's The Little Mermaid. In addition, the revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming has postponed its first set of previews, but is still scheduled to open on December 13.
It is possible that some of 26 affected shows will not be back on the boards immediately, or that they will play different schedules than usual. For more information on schedules, as well as how to obtain refunds or exchanges for canceled performances, visit www.ilovenytheatre.com or call 212-575-3824 or 866-654-6362.

SLEEPY BROADWAY HOLLOW

Hello out there...
Had some interesting emails from pals today and thought I would start by sharing a LINK that one included:

http://glumbert.com/wii/view.php?name=womenfilm

E N J OY !

Not much happening for me these days. Guess i am in a holding pattern.
Went up to Lenox Hill Hospital for my partner's foot surgery follow up. LORD the Xray was amazing. Two screws holding the reset bone which was BUNION-ATED and a 4 INCH pin..SPIKE...in his second hammer toed toe..It comes out on Friday. YIKE !!
I haven't had foot surgery but Dr.Karen Schneider was recommended and she is terrific and thorough.
I have also had many relatives and Friends email that they are coming to NY after Christmas and are concerned that they can't see a Broadway show what with the Stagehand's Local 1 Strike in effect.
Nonsense I tell them. There are plenty of things to see. Even YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is still playing...don't play into the false deprivation the Producer's League is counting on for Public sympathy.
This is a VERY important time for the creative Unions. The Stagehands fight is one that the Producers prompted by creating tight rules that the Producers knew could only result in a Strike.
They had been planning this for almost 5 years...Because they have been charging the Public an extra dollar per ticket..WHO knows what category.."theatre restoration fund" comes to mind...SO that they have a $20 MILLION DOLLAR STRIKE FUND to float themselves through weeks of dark houses without it hurting them...AND they are SUING the Stagehand's Union for Losses of those dark weeks ..LOSSES THE PRODUCERS INCURRED BECAUSE THEY INDUCED THE STRIKE TO BEGIN WITH. These are very mean and GREEDY people. NOT the real showman Producers of years too far gone and sorely missed.
They are BOTTOM LINE not CHORUS LINE type producers. They could care less about those who work for them.
The Producers set the ultra high ticket prices and NONE of that goes ANYWHERE but into the Producer's DEEPENING pockets. Nothing more goes to the Actor or the Crew people.
This is a PRODUCT that is only alive when the Creative People are doing their Professional Top Notch Best..which is every night and matinee. But now the Producer wants to minimalize the Minimums and thereby corrupt the very product he is selling.
This is not a PEANUT BUTTER or a Packaged Meat. This is a very intangible and extremely immediate product. It only lives within the confines of the theatre house and the time it takes to perform it.
It's shelf life is as long as the performance lasts. Each audience is witness to a miraculous melding of forces and professionals that combine to make a WICKED or a PHANTOM or a LION KING etc...
Each individual audience sees it's own Individual product that performance. THAT is something that is so Unique and that is something that only the Professional creative teams inside the piece can conjure each performance.
When the Producers who by the way never really lose a cent it is the investors that are losing..when the Producers ATTACK their own professional teams and want them to work for less and use less manpower. Well even though all my professional life I have been told "Less Is More"..here LESS is.. well..L E S S !!
I won't even go into what safety problems they are creating...and not only for the actors, but Musicians , dressers, and even the audiences.
Shame on their arrogant Greed.
And Ultra Shame on Gerry Shoenfeld ..a Subert Head whose organization owns 17 Broadway theatres.
He threatened to pull funding for Charitable programs for AT. MALACHY'S Actor's Chapel if they kept allowing the Unions to hold Press Conferences there.
What was the Priest to do??
SO it is not enough to TAKE money and Benefits from these hard working people but also through abject BLACKMAILING deny them a HOUSE OF WORSHIP to congregate in.
WHEW!!
That is amazing and so belittling to someone who has been involved in some of the most wondrous of Broadway productions.
Anyway..That is my vent..
Ther are plenty of other venues like OFF or OFF OFF Broadway.
I also suggest XANADU among those still running as a very wonderful and entertaining evening on all counts.
It is at the Helen Hayes on the same Block as the Shubert Offices which are in the Sardi Building.
The Actor's contract is up for this same holocaust come summer. SO if they don't meet a balanced amicable settlement here we will again see a darkened theatre town.
All this in the most Successful and Profitable Theatre seasons in History!
Those of us in the industry know we are the life and breath of the shows and product onstage. We strive for perfection and high professional standards daily. Let alone the maintenance of classes and instruction just to keep competitive.
I keep faith that the reality of how vile the Producers are behaving will eventually reach such a peak that they have to back off and get into a reality based arbitration.
This is Collective Bargaining after all.
But so far the Union is Bargaining and the Producers are doing ALL the COLLECTING!
AND PLEASE don't buy into the $160,00 a year salary figure the producer hae thrown into public view. It is not true..and Even if it were..whose business is it anyway?
Do the Producers let us know what they are pocketing and taking home? And take this into account..Not too many people in this profession WORK A FULL YEAR.
Not many shows area hits, and those that are running are not always at capacity and will have a shorter run. Eventually ALL SHOWS CLOSE.
And it takes a lot of technical know how in today's theatre to work a show.
A producer looks at cost sheets and cuts this and that not to help make the show better but to MAXIMIZE his Profit.
ENOUGH..
So many actors are out of work and the market is tight and the pay is less and the most honored of professions is tarnished into becoming a marginalized HOBBY because one cannot sustain a living unless one is a Name and can demand a high salary. Even then unless one is a Movie name it is difficult in the theatre.
SO enjoy the Holiday in NY. The Wonderful X-mas windows and the Gorgeous Rockefeller Plaza ...go see the Radio City Spectacular and the Holiday movies. I hear ENCHANTED is terrific...even though I was called back 2 X for it and didn't get it!
Visit the various parks like Gramercy and Union Square
Also hit the Off Broadway fare..you'd be amazed..ALTAR BOYS/ DIE MOMMIE DIE and so many other really terrific offerings.

Let's see what happens and see if they can STRIKE a balance.

AND don't forget there are WORLD CLASS MUSEUMS and the Palenetarium is astounding..the Rose Center is something dazzling.
XXXX
Keybored

STUFFED THANKS

By this time we should all be TRYPTOPHANING.
Turkey all gobbled and are we all Pumpkin Pie-Eyed!?!
Let's talk about how WARM it was ALL DAY...For once the Rockettes didn't look like frozen dancedroids. They were actually smiling for real and looked like they were getting a great kick out in front of Macy's.
The parade looked so Commercial to me this year. I guess I am getting older and seeing through what I once thought was such a joyful, more innocent event. We commented on how Mickey Mouse is just NOT THERE anymore..nor Donald, Goofey and a few other old favorites....DUMBO was one I loved. Didn't see Mighty Mouse fly into view either!
I can't remember what the other commentators used to be like but these seemed
so DULL and trying so hard to be with it that it was white noise to the ears and eyes. Even Meredith Viera, who I usually find so personable, was stuck with Al Roker who was more fun when he was FAT!
And what is with the Lip Syncing?? We KNOW it is lip synced so at least can we see an effort on the performers part to try to look like they are trying!? This year it was worse than ever.. Ms. Judd actually throwing verbal hellos to the crowd while the soundtrack is singing what she is suppoed to be emitting.
Not even an attempt to look like Audrey Hepburn in MY FAIR LADY or sweet and achingly talented Natalie Wood in WSS!
Oh well...If they can technically make Britany Spears be on pitch why not ignore the track and, well just be??
Friends came by in the late afternoon and we ate and had some wine and talked till after 8PM.
After bitching about Bush and the state of political corruptions, electioneering, real estate and the declining dollar and the Stagehand's and Writer's strike..we finally gaveup and they decided to try and see ENCHANTED at the Zeigfeld. I thought about seeing it but felt I would likely pass out from all the turkey and snoozzzze.
UGLY BETTY was tuned in after they left so we missed the first half. LOVE THAT SHOW!
I am curently on the last 2 episodes of MARPLE 3 with Gwendolyn McEwam. Wonderful Series. I loved the Joan Hickson version as well..and Margaret Rutherford's zany interpretation was likewise a treat. I love the characters and the plots and am sort of addicted to it.
I recommend it to all!
Managed to get a box of those wonderful ELENI theme box (of expensive) cookies on sale at Chelsea Market. 2 for 1 at $30...a reduction from the $40 per box normal price. But it was yesterday and that was the eve and in store special. Also got 2 small chocolate turkeys..they are too pretty to devour..so far!
Hope you all have a great Black Friday and don't overspend tomorrow.
If it stays this warm they should knock down all the winter coats and accessories!!
Have a great time.
C H A R G E !!!

XX
XKeybored

MONDAY

GENDER HUMOR:


Male or Female?

You might not have known this, but a lot of non-living objects are actually either male or female. Here are some examples:


FREEZER BAGS: They are male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

PHOTOCOPIERS: These are female, because once turned off; it takes a while to warm them up again.

They are an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can also wreak havoc if you push the wrong Buttons.

TIRES: Tires are male, because they go bald easily and are often over inflated.

HOT AIR BALLOONS: Also a male object, because to get them to go any where, you have to light a fire under their butt

SPONGES: These are female, because they are soft, squeezable and retain water.

WEB PAGES:
Female, because they're constantly being looked at and frequently getting hit on.

TRAINS: Definitely male, because they always use the same old lines for picking up people.

EGG TIMERS: Egg timers are female because, over time, all the weight shifts to the bottom.

HAMMERS: Male, because in the last 5000 years, they've hardly changed at all, and are occasionally handy to have around.

THE REMOTE CONTROL: Female. Ha! You probably thought it would be male, but consider this: It easily gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know which buttons to push, he just keeps trying

A HELLUVA TOWNE

So yesterday I was emailed the link ot the STAGEHAND'S STRIKE that was broadcast on NY 1.

http://broadwaycarl.blogspot.com/2007/11/broadway-stagehands-strike.html

It is rather an amazing thing. It is also ultimately refreshing to hear the voice of not only that Union but of the Musicians 802 local and the Actor's Equity Association. All spole respectfully of the opposition but were adamant about not giving away things that were fought for and were a necessity in todays Ultra Technical theatrical environs.
The Stagehands President Caffey was strong and obviously not intimidated by the Producer's very blatant tactic of making the public venues aware of provate negotiating.
And they also were willing ot throw certain points to the public arena that were not true and so did what the Republican party is so good at; Creating a mind set. But the Union refused to take that bait and walked from the table until these terms were not part of the negotiation patois.
So we see a seed of the workers standing up to the tyrannical depotic pin this case Producers.
They want to lower minumums and cut back on crews. Which will disrupt not only the shows but the safety of the houses one works in.
SO we'll see. I was ultimately inplressed with jJohn Connelly the Exec Sec of the Actror's Union who spoke passionately about how this i s a reflection of what is going on in this country. But this is NEW YORK CITY and this is a totally PROFESSIONAL business. Not a bunch of unwashed low lifes doing these intricate and sometimes dangerous jobs.
I am empathetic and sympathetic. I also can't understand the grosses on some shows being over A MILLION A WEEK and the Producers wanting MORE PROFIT...taken from their workers.
REMEMBER : ALL people who work in the theatrical profession do not have a guarantee of a 52 week season. If you are getting decent pay it is always in danger of the show closing.
SO even a Glenn Close may make tens of thousands a week..but if her show closes she needs a job!
The Stagehand's PResident said at one point "I am a representative of my people in the Union. I do what they ask me to do. I do not lead them they lead me."
WOULD I LOVW TO HEAR A US PRESIDENTIAL CNADIDATE SAY THAT?? YOU BETCHA!
Hey..I would just like a decent paying job period with benefits and structured the way the old contracts were. We'll see what happens. I hope for the best. I would find it a joy if the theatre turmoil was able to be a model for other unions and workers as a way to stand up to management. I have to go watch NORMA RAE!
I have to comment on the weather. It is actually hot today!!
New Thought:
When is it going to be Fall again? I was sweting while doing house chores and realized that it si bloody Nov 13th ...a week from THANKSGIVING and we could go kayakking on the Hudson in shorts.
I don't much like this weather change as IU so loved the seasons.
Grouse as you might against the winter but I also LOVE the snowfall and the crisp air. Check out the two photos I took of the Olney Theatre's Main house where the actors stay
Anopther thought:
Only yesterday I found out a friend's dear Mom has very bad cancer and that another friend and colleague has Prostate Cancer. What is happening to us. What the Hell did they put into our food chain?
My heart and hope go out to all who are suffering with these awful maladies.
May the world mind set change and may ctrue humane compassion once again be the guiding force instead of the ever devaluating dollar.
Please get checkups and stay healthy.
XXX
KEYBORED

AUTUMN IN NEW YORK

Saturday in November.
A cold day today after a rainy and moody Friday night.
Call me absurd, but I do love the weather. I prefer a comfy clime, but also enjoy the blast of energy each new season brings.
And in truth love the initial cold snaps and the warm sweaters and crisp air.
Went out today for groceries in my neighborhood and had to wear the scarf and gloves and knit hat. BRISK for sure.
We took my partner Jeff to the hospital on Thursday afternoon for a bunion operation. Lenox Hill on 77th and Lex.
He was scheduled for a 2:30 surgery but it was delayed till 4 PM. Poor guy was so streesed with anxiety he just slept in the prep room in one of those recliners and I went to Butterfield's for a sandwich and the MOST delicious rasberry crumble...then hit Starbucks for a coffe to go with it. By the time I got back they were ready to take him to surgery. My girlfriend Annie works in Lenox Hill in the Black Hall building and came by to say hello. The anesthesiologist was full of good humor and Jeff was in good hands with him and the surgeon Dr. Karen Schneider. She was recomended by our good friend Susan who had foot surgery a few months back.
It was a long day and he finally was in recovery by 6:30 or so and was ready to leave by around 9:15.
Susan, and her terrific husband, Stephen picked us up and took us home in thier spacious SUV. We got to our street and 8th Avenue and were stalled for more than 20 minutes behind an on call fire truck. SO we finally got in the house and settled by 10:30 or so. A VERY LONG AND STRESSFUL DAY!
Percoset and Kelfex have kept him steady..but I made homemade Chicken soup with ALL the fixings and that is nourishing him.
Six to 8 weeks of this may drive me to the edge of BABY JANE Hudsondom, but so far it is fine.
I got all the reviews sent to my by my friend Jim who sends them when a show opens. I am so grateful for that.
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN was generally reviewed in the way we thought it would. NOT GOOD ENOUGH...but fun.
Our friend Mark answered my query with his take on why we have no major stars as we once had.
He blamed it on the AIDS epidemic taking who knows how many budding geniuses including Michael Bennett.
I cannot deny that is a major factor in shaping the artistic landscape, but I think it is just one of the elements.
I believe the English invasion had a lot to do with things as they are.
And Ironically our own Hal Prince who I would consider one of thee first and foremost pillars and standards of theatre in New York if not universally, is partly to blame.
In 1979 after his many years of collaborating with great artistic success with Sondheim he brought to these shores his London Hit EVITA.
I had the joy and pride to be part of that production.
It was intersting to see how they, meaning the creative team approached their already successful show in the Broadway atmosphere.
How Hal was said to want the show to be the Star. Rumor had it that he really was not happy when a leading person held sway over a productions hit or miss run.
We had a great production and previewed it in Los Angles and then San Francisco.
We got to NY and opened in September (27th I believe) of 1979 at the Broadway theatre. I was with it for a couple of months and was asked to go to Los Angeles and open the West coast company of EVITA as Magaldi the role I understudied in NY.
I was in LA by Dec 6th and by Dec 10th in rehearsal. Ruth Mitchell, Hal's second in command was doing the initial staging and asked me to help stage the Aristocrats as I had done that number in the NY company. So I did. It was fun and took the boredom out of the initial rehearsal period.
Anyway..All that aside over the years the English took a strong hold of the NY theatre. Andrew Llyod Webber made his mark and PHANTOM is still making Hal and Andrew a hefty coin of the realm.
SO Hal with EVITA's success really was a vanguard for the beachead of the English Invasion.
When Cameron Mackintosh came a courtin and LES MIS took the stage by storm it was clear that the American Producers and Equity were willing to bend over in all directions to let these newcomers change the face of the business and the way in which business was done. Cameron threatened to NOT bring LES MIS in unless he , THE PRODUCER held the Advance..up till then the Theatre owners held it I beleive.SO he was in control before he even had a hit show. Equity and the League could have told him: "OK Don't Bring your show" but they folded.
Then we got the mass amount of Mega Musicals with MISS SAIGON and CATS and all of those type productions. They kept a lot os people employend but they changed the temperament of our American theatre structure.
The MIDDLE MANAGEMENT became a new wall to climb along with the Casting Directors obstacle course..
They became a necessity as these shows were a huge undertaking and had recasting and also sending out of major tours while the Broadway show was running. This practice wasn't in solid stead until Cats I believe. Although even CHORUS LINE had multiple companies during the Broadway run as did EVITA a few yers later.
But it was the CATS & LES MIS that created a middle management powerful enough to block the artist from the producer and sometimes even the casting people and the director.
It created ill will and strange misinterpretations of rules and regulations.
And many were competing for the head honcho position in management while the show was running and the actors became a second thought and the shows wound up being populated sometimes with lesser talents than they should.
Nowadays we have extremely talented performers..IF you notice the performers are seldom taken to task by critics. It is usually the production and direction etc..
But the Actor has his ass out there in front of the people and is a Prime target for sometimes nasty crtical assumptions.
I always wanted the PLAYBILL to have the disclainmer:
"THE CHOICES MADE IN THESE PERFORMANCES ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF THE ACTOR>"
But even with all these really talented people the theratre continues to hire TELEVISION or FILM "names" to "SELL TICKETS!" A practical but sometimes detrimental idea.. The Name will take a huge chunck of profit and not necessarily add anything special and once their limited contract is up...then what and who?
But we have so few Angela Lansbury's, who in her prime was an untouchable STAR of Broadway. They seem to hire talented folk like David Hyde Pierce from TV land and luckily he is a stageworthy star not just a name but that isn't always the case.
And who decides WHO exactly is a real "name" and who will actually attract the audiences?
Marketing concerns..demographics? The producer's mother???WHO?
In todays artistic fields, and I include all areas, the hiring process is screwered. A good friend who has been on a constant Job Search for too many years, gave a very intersting overview. He is about 40 but looks younger and is in great shape and presents a more vital personage that one would expect of someone in that age group.
So what his joourney through the job market in NY has shown is that they will hire inexperienced and unsuited people who will take a very low unlivable wage!
End of story. When he told one Human Resource person that the salary was not good enough they were insulted. No Kidding. THEY were insulted..He said they thought he should be grateful for pittance.
Work cheap and you'll get a job. Even if you are too young and too inexpeienced. SO those are the people making major decisions in all areas of business nowadays. But it is also those kids who are in high end positions in the arts and making an odd playgound even stranger.
Also the FEAR of something NOT working causes shows to be put together in corners in workshops that aren't always available to audition prospects outside the"A" list.
This in practice might keep the show critically safe and in the loop of its own creators, but then it limits the general actor from getting into anything new and working with people that might intrigue or inspire him.
The bottom line is now getting more important than THE CHORUS LINE.
A good show with good performers should be all you need.
Ironically the addage that Hal Price wanted..No Star Bigger than the SHOW itself is being eroded in that there are too many "stars" with a small "S" and very rarely is the audience privileged to DISCOVER a natuaral ball of fire!
It is an odd business and one wants their $100-$200-$300--now $450 dollars worth!
There are still stories amongst the actors of walking into an open call and getting a job..But yerars back that open call was in a Broadway Theatre in front of the likes of Hal Prince or Tommy Tune. Not what most of those calls are now with a secondary office person from a high end casting place being given the "chore" of sitting through hours of hopefuls spewing 8 or 16 bars of music.
We have a lot of talent and thank God a great deal of it is in the canyons of NY. But it is so expensive to live or exist here now that I doubt a budding James Dean or a Brando or Mary Martin can manage without a substantial trust fund.
These practices have also managed to permeate the genral corporate world and has eaten away at the general work ethic.
I don't know what the future might bring, but with the Stagehand strike and the Writer's strike I think the Producers realize their Bottom line is not the only bottom in the playground.
Audiences are the consumers but the actor is the ingredient that makes the Product, a show, live and breathe. All the technical elements are useless without that ONE ingredient.
I wish actors would be bold and strike as well.When and if the time and place call for it. We had a greatr chance in 1994 when LES MIS fired the NY company and manipulated the system by bringing in the road company. There were a lot of elements I cannot disclose here that were also factors in that mess. I watched the whole thing unfold as we played in SUNSET BLVD at the Minskoff theatre.
The Actor's Union should have called a strike and as it was a holiday time we would have had the producers over the proverbial barrel. But they wimped out for dumb reasons and we have gone downhill from there.
Anyway..the theatre will live on as it is part of the culture and a strong thread in the fabric that makes up the multi million dollar business of show here in NY.
I am going on and on..
What else is one to do on a cold Saturday night.
We watched RATATOUILLE last night and loved it.
Jeff is moaning in pain in the living room and I am wearing my fingers to a pulp on this worn out keyboard.
It has actually warmed me up.
Stay Warm..but be Cool!
XXX
Keybored

TWILIGHT

It is just about 4:30 and almost DARK !! Lord the daylight is certainly saving time.
I don't know about you but I want to hybernate and sleep long hours in a snuggy comfoter and watch DVD's and sip SPIKED hot chocolate.
I like to drop a sqaure of Dark 85% Coca into my concoctions with that chocolate liquer we have in thh cabinet, YUM!!
Went to Birthday gathering for friend Patrick last night and it was fun if the joint was, as most places are in this town...L O U D!
Saw friends and colleagues pictured here.
It was fun..walked from 53rd to 42nd & 9th and took a cab home. It was just past midnight and the after theatre and tunnel traffic were gons. Got home in no time..But the trip used to coast about $3.50..with tip it was $6.
These little changes in prices are to me similar to the slow boil you throw frogs into ...all of a sudden you are COOKED without even realizing it. AND what about a 25 cent Transit increase. OH COME ON. Have these greed mongers ridden the subways? OR WAITED FOR THEM? OR stood there on the 23rd St platform and read the CANCELATIONS each weekend.
we have lived in Chelsea for 30 years this coming summer and in the last decade the trains at the 8th Avenue stop either bypass the station or DON'T RUN on the weekends.
We had a memorial gathering in Brooklyn Heights and neither train that went to Clark St area was stopping or ruunning at 8th Ave & 23rd St. Of course we were late.
This area is so congested with people and traffic now it is unconscionable that more attention isn't paid to public transit. AND THEY WANT TO INCREASE THE FARES> W R O N G!!
The subway was 20 cents when I first got to NYC. And that was annoying!
AM going to see GLORIOUS ONES tonight at Lincoln Center tonight. I love Connedia dell' Atre and hope the reviews were wrong. It is such a colorful theatrical experience and I can't imagine Flaherty & Ahrens' music not being memorable. But who knows?
Just bought RATATOUIE and want to get in the mood to watch that as we can always use a good laugh.
The doggie in the pic is Yoshi and he belongs to pal Alan. They are both affable and sweet but Yoshi Licks better!
So I hear!
Hope you have all gotten the sweaters and gloves and scarves out. See you briskly about the Rialto!
XXX
Keybored

FALL IN FEEL IT

AT LAST it truly feels like Fall....AUTUMN IN NEW YORK.
Time to hit Central Park and walk among the falling colors and breathe the crisp air.
There are so many lovely parks in the city and now is the time to take advantage.
Was out all afternoon and New york was active and without the humidity even the crowds were bearable.
Chelsea is so congested now it is like the Upper West Side when it comes to street traffic. They have overbuilt with too many highrise buildings let alone the plethera of small sidewalk Bank places and the ubiquitous Nail Salons!
My God how many Nail salons do you have in your neighborhood? huh? We have about 9 in a 3 block area. Oh I forgot the necessity of Duane Reade, CVS and Rite Aid now standing guard on about every corner or block in this area and along the avenues.
We used to laugh at the cloning of Starbucks but now it is these overly present boring establishments as well.
We are not at a loss for restaurants either..more and more. One day I counted about 19 in a four block walk.
The Noise level in a lot of these places along witht he outrageous prices ofr Wine let alone entrees keeps us going to only certain places. But for High end dining DEL POSTO is a sure fire HIT! Expensive like a Dowager Dame from the past..dripping in elegance and spruce. WOrht saving your pennies for. ON 10th near 15th Street.
I seldom go to Starbucks anymore since they raised the prices. I lived on that coffee as I traveled the length and width of the US and even in Tokyo in 2001. Say what you like about them their product is consistantly good grade and satisfying.
However I make my own and go to Bergamonte on 20th and 9th for a scrumptious Almond Croissant or two now and again.
I have taken to drinking more Tea than coffee nowadays and have a great love of Chai Black Tea but down more Green and White tea for health reasons.
I have to go meet friends for a Birthday gatehring at 10PM. Usually I am if not in Bed then on bed by 9:30 these days. But this is a friend of long standing. I met him when he was 18 years old...adn is now 45!!
LORD!
Tempis Fugit and all that Jazz.
Bye for now
XXX
Keybored

COMMENTS

HAVE I GOT YOUR ATTENTION? INTERESTING OLD ADV, HUH?
ANYWAY::::
YOU CAN NOW LEAVE COMMENTS. JUST CLICK ON 'COMMENT' AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG. THE LINKAGE IS OPEN AND AVAILABLE. PLEASE LEAVE ANY THOUGHTS AS I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL.

NEW WEEK

Happy Monday!!
Hope your weekends were enjoyable.
Went to a Memorial for a friend in Brooklyn Heights yesaterday.
Getting to the outer areas of the city is always much easier than one thinks.
Went to West New York, New Jersey a month or so ago. Visited a freind who lives there. Such an easy trip and only $2.
The views of the city were extraordinary. And instead of taking the Jitney Bus back to NY we took teh Ferry which was about $7 if I recall. that was a treat. Back on the Manhattan shore at 39th Street in 7 minutes with a joyful jaunt across the Hudson. I recommend it!
Am trying to keep these wrtings less masssive than I see on other blogs.
I have set the COMMENTS so that you may Comment ..They were locked and I finally figured how to clear that.
SO SORRY!
Had a long conversation at the dinner following the memorial last evening. It was centered around the theatre as there was a playwright adn an actor (working as a paralegal), and a program person for NBC. Very interesting. Many varied experiences as well as multi points of view.. and some I agreed with. But we all are so hungry for the kind of moving experiences we were so used to in the Arts in many years past. Why are there no true Musical Stars ..Why aren't people rebelling about the absurd ticket prices now jacked higher by YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN? Even in Opera's major voices aren't as Dynamic as they were or as celebrated ...why? All these interesting views were generating huge commentary over wine and pasta.
This made me happy as I see that cultural commodity is a passionate and tangible thing still.
We all agreed that the younger generation is awakening and not as AMERICAN IDOL dull.
We'll see how things go along the Rialto in months and years to come given the parameters of ticket prices and Cartoonish shows ala LITTLE MERMAID permeating the venues.
I suggest a laugh filled evening with Charles Busch at DIE MOMMIE DIE at New World Stages and THE FARNSWORTH CONNECTION at the Music Box for a thought provoking eye opening trip through Television History.
I heard many views of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN battered about.
It will of course have a run but I thougt it not as strong a show as Brook's THE PRODUCERS. Needless to say it has tons of fun and frolic and gorgeous scenery (ROBIN WAGNER a master) and terrific voices and performances. It just, to my eye and ear, didn't hang together as solidly as a whole piece as THE PRODUCERS.
Which we are all in confusion as to why that 11 or 14 TONY AWRD winning show is now CLOSED?
I just got invited to see GLORIOUS ONES at Lincoln Center this Wednesday. That is one show I am very curious to see. it is about the forming of the Commedia del Arte troupe. The Flahetry & Ahren's musical directed by Graziella Daniele.
ALSO for a major treat while it is on display..GO SEE the LUX exhibit at teh FIT Fashion Museum..a small place on about 28th and 7th and FREE..WOnderful clothes anf fashion from great designers..go go !
Hope you all have a great week loaded with CULCHA!
XXX
Keybored