Get Your Lines Right People!!!

This post is going to mainly be a rant and me on my soapbox. Two days ago, I went to visit the old friend that I've mentioned several times on this blog. On this particular day, she was unhappy because her production of Macbeth opens on April 12 and the cast is, shall we say, not ready for primetime. They don't know their line. Worse yet, they are substituting modern English. You can't use modern English in Shakespeare. It doesn't make sense! I only hope that this improves by the time I see the production on April 13.

Why am I ranting about this? I'm ranting about this because you need to say the lines as written. The playwright put certain words in a script. Use them. Also, most especially when you are doing Shakespeare, do not rush it and please use proper punctuation. If it is a question, please say it as such. If it is an exclamation, please exclaim. The lines are written that way to convey a certain emotion, and people are going to get very bored if they are staring at a bunch of blank faces for hours on end. It is no fun!

If I sound like I'm ranting, I apologize but this drives me nuts. Also I'm trying to take my mind off the fact that a co-worker of two years had her last day today. Also I may be ranting out of excitement because I just booked tickets to go to Universal Studios Hollywood (and yes to "Wizarding World of Harry Potter" also)!!!!

The Importance of Diction

Through all my years in theatre classes, all my teachers (one in particular) stressed diction and enunciation. It took me a while to understand why. I did finally get it. The other night, I was watching "The Voice" and the subject of diction came up. It dawned on me that those that just starting out in their theatre journey might not grasp the importance of diction and enunciation so let me lay it out. Without proper diction and enunciation, we can't understand what you're saying. If we can't understand what you're saying, we don't know what is going on in the scene. Just a little advice to keep in mind.

Also, just a forewarning, some future posts may be talking about my new obsession, "RuPaul's Drag Race". I watched it for the first time tonight and I'm mildly freaking out. Therefore, you may be hearing a lot about this obsession in the weeks to come.

Beauty and the Beast Part 2

Okay, I loved this movie. From her first entrance, Emma Watson was absolute perfection as Belle. There have been some changes to her character, namely that she has inherited her father's penchant for inventing things. She's very much not a damsel in distress. Also, they've given Belle an expanded background. In the original version, Belle is fascinated by the rose in the West Wing. In this version, we learn that Belle's mother loved roses. We also learn that Belle was born in Paris and her mother died from bubonic plague. In fact it is Beast who enables her to find this out. The enchantress left Beast a book that could take him anywhere he wanted to go. Belle chose to go to the Paris of her childhood where she discovered a mask in her mother's bedroom that was commonly worn by plague doctors.
Now onto Beast. He's a very wealthy aristocrat who has no capacity to love. His mother also died and his father was very cruel to him. He was never shown how to love. Gaston...He is still as narcissistic as ever. In the animated version, he goes after Belle more directly. In this version, he tries to ingratiate himself with Maurice. After Belle arranges for her father's freedom, he goes to Gaston's tavern and begs for help. Gaston goes to the woods and soon begins to make his move. Maurice refuses to give Belle's hand in marriage so Gaston leaves him to die alone. He is rescued by Agatha, a reclusive village person. It turns out that Agatha is the enchantress and has been guiding all the events throughout. Lefou is...flamboyant, I'll say. You've all heard the rumors I'm sure and yes they are true. There is a moment that could be construed as saying that Lefou is of a homosexual orientation. I'm not telling you what it is. Now, onto what any of this has to do with musical theatre. First off, the fabulous Audra McDonald plays the wardrobe and sings two songs, including the title song in the last scene. She could sing the phone book. Emma Thompson was fabulous as Mrs. Potts and sang the title song beautifully. Mrs. Potts is also married in this version. As a result of the curse, the village people have forgotten the castle and its inhabitants, meaning Mrs. Potts's husband has forgotten her and Chip.

It's time to wrap this up although I could go on. Fans of the stage version will be happy to know that two songs make very brief appearances. We hear the opening notes of "Home" when Belle is first imprisoned. Also, someone says the words "a change in me." So happy obviously. On cloud nine right now...

Beauty and the Beast Part One

Went to see Beauty and the Beast today. I'll go into more detail later tonight, but, in a word...YES!!!!!!!!

The Phantom of the Opera

I can't tell you how many times I've watched the 25th anniversary Royal Albert Hall performance of The Phantom of the Opera on DVD. I'm so happy to finally have an outlet to review it in.

First, Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom. This man is one of the most well rated Phantoms in history. He spent 2 years as the Phantom in London as well as originating the Phantom in Love Never Dies. It was said that he brought a youthfulness, vitality, and sexiness to the role that hadn't been there in a long time. I agree with this. He was the perfect choice for the gala performance.

Next up, Sierra Boggess. She has received rave reviews as Christine in Las Vegas, on Broadway and in London. In fact, the cast of the gala performance said they were so impressed with her and her work ethic. Ramin Karimloo said that, in all the years he's been onstage, he's never heard someone be as pitch perfect on the first day of rehearsals as Sierra was. He also was astounded at her ability to sight read music with near perfection. Clearly I love this production.

Stay tuned on Sunday for my review of "Beauty and the Beast"!

What am I Doing Over the Weekend?

I am so excited! I have been waiting for months to see the new "Beauty and the Beast" with Emma Watson and I am so excited to finally see it on Sunday. I know you all are expecting a review so you will get one. I'm getting ready to watch "Phantom of the Opera" on DVD so if I'm feeling up to it, I will give my thoughts on Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess a little bit later. I miss my Lola...

Kinky Boots Part Two

This post is going to be all about Kinky Boots. I arrived at the Civic Theatre 1.5 hours before the show. I had packed lunch so I ate outside the theatre. I went in to the lobby area to get warm. Minutes after I walked in, they updated the cast board. Last night there was an understudy for the role of Don but today was full cast, no understudies. As soon as they started scanning tickets, I made a run for the merchandise counter. I walked away from that counter with a Kinky Boots T-shirt, a souvenir program, a copy of the original Broadway cast recording, a book of the sheet music, a hat, and, best of all, knee high socks that look like the boots. I took my seat in the theatre and was immediately taken up in the world of the set. As the show started I started shaking. Seeing Young Charlie be so unsure of himself and what he wants juxtaposed against young Lola, who is so sure of herself, is so beautiful. These are two people that you would not expect to be friends as adults but they are and the friendship is beautiful. We see the shoe factory going under. I know so many can identify with a downturn.

And now, finally, I am going to talk about...her. Kinky Boots fans know that I'm referring to Lola. We had a brand new Lola (Timothy Ware) fresh from Broadway where he was the Lola standby. He embodied Lola so beautifully. It is not easy to follow in the footsteps of Billy Porter, Wayne Brady, Alan Mingo, Todrick Hall and J. Harrison Ghee as well as all the others but Timothy did that and blazed his own trail as well. All his/her songs were amazing but it was the moments where he wasn't singing or dancing or being generally fierce that, quite frankly, moved me almost to tears. This is the first time that I've almost cried at a show. I had a friend tell me she cried when she saw it because the show was so good but it was more than that for me. I was moved by Lola. I felt her. She gives off this inner strength that so many wish they had. Yes, she spends time educating us on the merits of a good heel but it is her deeper message that really got me.

So many messages in shows are subliminal and subconscious, but not hers. She states her message very clearly in act 2. She and Don both issue challenges to each other regarding what they think it takes to be a real man. Don challenges Lola to a boxing match, which she lets him win, but her challenge to him is also her message. Accept someone for who they are. Easy, right? No. Not at all. You need to accept yourself first.

Another big thread running through the show is a father's relationship with his son. The last time Charlie saw his father was not the best of times. In fact, his father told Charlie that he was breaking his heart. The next time Charlie came home, it was to plan his father's funeral and take over the business. He never got the moment with his father to say things that hadn't been said. Lola, however, did. It's a very poignant moment at the end of the show. The song is called "Hold Me In Your Heart". Lola stands center stage in a Whitney Houston inspired wig and gown and sings right to her father about how he missed out on her becoming the best person she could be, but yet she chose not to be bitter. I'm crying right now just typing this. This next thing is the biggest one for me. The very last scene has Lola standing on the runway in Milan, hands on hips, showing off the boots with an air of confidence like no other. I was so deeply moved by that (here come the tears again) that I did something I rarely ever do. I downloaded a picture of Miss Lola in that pose and uploaded it as my wallpaper on my phone. Why? I'll tell you why. I want to be able to carry her with me wherever I go. Whenever I need that boost of strength or confidence, she's right there with me. Not only can I hold her in my hand whenever I need her, but she has a permanent place in my heart. It's hard for me to end this post because I'm crying yet again so I'll end with this.

I love you Miss Lola, and I always will. I will come back to you in my heart and my hand whenever I need you and I know I can always count on you to be there. I love you...

Kinky Boots...Part One

One of the things I will do from time to time is review shows that I have seen. Right now I'm sitting in the audience at "Kinky Boots". It is intermission and I will just say...Miss Lola is fabulous!!! More to come later...

What Do I Do About Those Pesky Onstage Mishaps?

Onstage mishaps happen to everybody. They can range from small little things to huge things that completely throw you off. Let me give you some examples and we can talk about how you deal with them.

The first comes from Wicked on Broadway. Shoshana Bean (one of the most passionate Elphabas ever) actually knocked her hat off her head during the climax of "Defying Gravity". Due to the fact that her mic was in her hat, the audience lost audio for a brief period of time. How does one deal with this? This was where the beauty of multiple mics came in. The soundboard switched to her other mic and audio was regained. You might think that was enough of an onstage mishap. Oh no, she had another during her run in Wicked. She dropped the broom during Defying Gravity. Oh, and there was also the time when (because Wicked is performed on a raked stage in New York at the Gershwin Theatre), Shoshana made her first entrance and something legendary happened. They still talk about it at the Gershwin to this day. Elphaba's first entrance entails her running through a set of doors to all the way downstage. Yeah, one day Shoshana ran all the way downstage and fell into the net that covers the orchestra pit. Legendary.

Wicked in San Francisco had its share of mishaps too. The Elphaba standby broke the broom on her second show in.

I could go in to many other Wicked stage mishaps but I won't. Suffice it to say, lots of broken suitcases and lots of broken shoes. If you all are lucky I might decide to share the story I heard about an Elphaba swearing at a member of the audience during the show (she was offstage of course). That's for another week though. I promised you all Elle Woods and I will give her to you because she had a classic onstage mishap.

It happened during previews of "Legally Blonde" in San Francisco. Laura Bell Bundy, the original (and fabulous) stage Elle Woods has to do a kick towards the end of "So Much Better". On this particular night she did the kick and one of her shoes flew into the audience. What did she do? Without missing a beat, she took off the other shoe and threw it offstage. Luckily an audience member was kind enough to return the other shoe and both shoes made it safely to New York.

So what's the lesson? No matter what happens. Soldier on. Do not let it throw you off. It happens to everyone.

In my first post, I promised you all something about "Kinky Boots" in a future post. I'm happy to say that's coming up next week. I waited because I've not yet seen "Kinky Boots" but that's changing this Sunday. I've been told by a friend who has seen the show to be prepared to ugly cry.

P.S. If you want to get one of the best behind the scenes looks at "Wicked" and a day in the life of an actor in general, you MUST go to YouTube and type in "fly girl Lindsay Mendez". I swear it is the best backstage vlog I've ever seen.

Finally, Miss Lola joins the blog next week...

Oh, and shameless plug. If you want to see a boatload of musical theatre stars and not pay a bunch of money, watch "Madam Secretary" Sunday nights on CBS. You'll thank me later, believe me.

Listening...and also the "small part"

This week I want to talk about listening. Acting is all about listening. However, it is not just the actors that need to listen, the director should be listening to. I have a friend who is a theatre teacher and she will tell you that this is true. Case in point: When "Into The Woods" first went into rehearsals on Broadway in 1987, the director had this grand idea for the choreography for the top of "Last Midnight" which is the witch's big song in act 2. The director envisioned this intricate cape work but Bernadette Peters felt the song was more powerful if she sang the top just standing still. There was a huge disagreement. The director wanted her to at least try the choreography. She finally did. The next day the director scrapped the choreography and went with the idea of standing still and that has become the choreography for most productions. The lesson? Actors need to listen to their directors but directors also need to listen to their actors and be open to receiving their input.

Also, there are no small parts. Only small actors. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, "I have a small part. How do I keep it fresh every night?" My answer? You do not have a small part. You are equally as important as everybody else in telling the story. How do you keep it fresh? Change one thing every night. One line delivery, one look, one something. This is so important because it helps you to not become complacent and "phone it in."

Also, you may ask yourself, how do I give it my all 8 times a week and ensure that audiences have a good time. In the immortal words of Ashley Brown, who originated Mary Poppins on Broadway, you need to remember one thing. There is someone in your audience where it is their first Broadway show. There is someone in your audience where (sadly) it is their last Broadway show and you want to make sure that they have the time of their life. That's how you get excited to tell the story every night.

Next week...how to deal with onstage mishaps...and a little wisdom from Elle Woods.