The Light in the Piazza

I've been meaning to do a post on this for a while now...


Now, while this poster is a bit atrocious, I have to say I truly loved this show. Great musicals typically get me in the gut. The Light in the Piazza did something a little different: it hit me dead on in the heart. I saw the touring version that opened here in LA at the Ahmanson and this cast rocked my world. I think I benefited by not really knowing much about the plot, or the hearing any real reviews of merit. I walked in and simply soaked up my comp ticket in ignorant bliss.

My favorite thing about this experience was the sweeping music. Guettel's score is one full bodied song after another. I was very surprised to find that some of these songs could be the hardest pieces to sing I've heard hit the stage since Sondheim's heyday. Mind you the lyrics of said songs do lack a punch, but some of the best moments simply are resigned to ahhs and oos... they just took my breath away.

Visually, the designers knew exactly what was needed. The sets were great in their simplicity as it allowed for so many scenes to seamlessly change from one locale to another. With the choreographed changes the show never stopped. My old cohort Mikiko was the assitant scenic designer, and my friend Eyan is curently the Head of Wardrobe for the touring company. (Mikiko got the honor of being thanked in the Tony award acceptance speech of Michael Yeargan, scenic designer. Yes, so jealous, but so jazzed for her.)

The story is very simple in this show, but the passion behind some of these finely acted characters, will make you fall in love with love. I felt like a 13 year old girl giddy with excitement over the prospect of love, how often does that happen to cynical ol' me?

Finally!

Goodbye Rick Santorum! Good fuckin' riddance!

Workin' the door #1

So another fabulous Friday night drew to a close with me re-thinking my part-time doorman job at "local gay bar." There are times when people say things to you and you have to wonder if they hear their own delivery and think: "why am I saying this?"

To fill you in: I once had a past that included musical theatre and acting, but haven't touched it in quite some time. Every now and then a friend or stranger will bring up the topic: "Gosh, you should act!" or "You'd be really funny on stage!" These quotes are flattering, and even make me think hmmm maybe they are right, but nothing had prepared me for this past evening's quote...

A co-worker at local gay bar started in with: "You should do commercials!" Wow, thanks... "No seriously, you could rake in the cash, they are really looking for that everyman type. They currently want like pudgy funny guys. I have this one friend who was skinny and handsome and couldn't get work to save his life, then he started balding and got this paunch and the parts kept rolling in. You would be like perfect for some commercial with just an average guy!" wow....um...thanks I guess.... (Time for Drink number two...)

Now I know i'm no Adonis, but it got me thinking about he we percieve ourselves. I know, even in my most self-depricating moments, I am still cuter than that guy with the big goiter that comes in "Local Gay Bar" every now and then. I did however suddenly feel a flush of: Oh my god is this the moment we discover we are totally gross to the rest of the human population? Are we resigned to be just perfect for that spot depicting the sad average guy who needs car insurance?! Perhaps this is the fun part of growing up and getting older? thus begins the downward slide... Gone are the days of being the skinny, cute, early twentysomething year old in the corner of the bar giggling with friends. (Something tells me those days were gone about 6 years ago.) However misguided this compliment was, it did give me a wake-up call. Perhpas it's time to aim for better commercial gigs! I know i'll never necessarily end up in one of those Bowflex commercials, but at least I could aim to be healthy cute guy driving car with family and dog in backseat! (You know, like the hot dads you see in line at disneyland.) Perhaps just by aiming higher, a roll as cute guy in cereal commercial could be in my future. I may not be a cereal eater, but I could play one on tv.

Fun Photo Friday! #1

My friend Carlos bought himself a lifesize Power Ranger. Kudos for the additions you made to it's physique!

The Zacki

When I was four, and attending Montrose Christian Montessori School, there was a nice little core of friends I had built for myself. As the school was inevitably small, as most Montessori schools are, we had become a tightknit unstoppable team. Nothing could stand in the way of our great routines, including such great childhood past-times as playing "Divorce Court," "Earthquake," "Plane Crash," "Horror Movie," and another crowd favorite "Car Crash Smackdown." As children growing up in Los Angeles children tended to play such awful things, perhaps to purge the fear of it all.

One Day in late Fall, I remember when we had our first new student enter the classrom. "Class, I'd like to introduce you to your new classmate, ZACK....." I still remeber the shock and horror that ripped through me! ZACK!!?!?!?! Why is his name ZACK too?! Mind you he spells it with a C..H.... making that harsh CH sound, but this was simply not acceptable. Something had to be done.

That night I went home and began to devise a plan. Perhaps, I could be Zack #1 and he could be #2.... No too simple... Maybe the spelling difference is enough, No way! Maybe I can add a letter to mine to make it unique?! And thus the letter I was discovered to be my savior. Zack-i..... this was brilliant. I was ZACK-I ...... I began to write it on all my papers, eventually ditching the last name completely, and got notice from several teachers. "You realize you don't spell your name that way Zack...don't you?" "I do now....I changed it. I am now called Zack-i!" The teachers eventually stopped noticing and I kept right on with my new name and title. One day Zack left our school, soon to be relocated in the far Eastern US. The importance of Zack-i faded, but cemented as a well worn nickname. Skip, our neighbor, had made a firm pact with me to never utter Zack in my presence again, simply replacing it with my new full namesake. To this day I still hear "Zack-i" ring out from the mouths of family and friends and I kinda like it.

I was a very strange child.

"Ello Brian..."

"Spaced" is one of the funniest shows I've seen, and sadly not very many here in the US have been lucky enough to experience it. They started showing it on BBC America this past Spring, but it has had a much longer life than that. This was one brit-com (if you can call it that) that helped cement Simon Pegg's career in Britain and has helped him cross the pond. His wit is sharp, and you can see the same sensibilities in his movie: Shaun of the Dead. Look for the "Spaced" US DVD release later this year. Plus, there are more episodes appearing on youtube.com all the time.

The more you know... #1

According to a local tweaker at the bar on Halloween, "You can't understand Andy Warhol till you've done crack and meth! You gotta get yo' self some rocks boy, then you'll understand man!" You heard him kids...let's start appreciating art and losin' teef!