In case you NEED a reason to watch Conan O'Brien

One of my absolute FAVORITE bands will be performing on Conan on FRIDAY, August 29!!

Please tune in and enjoy the musical love that is The Spring Standards. I've been following the band (formerly Old Springs Pike) for almost a year now. While former member and Tony Award winner Johnny Gallagher, Jr. left the band back in January (which was a few tumultuous and emotional weeks for all involved) the band re-grouped slightly and has come back stronger than ever, just having released their first EP a month ago.

They are a folk rock 3 part harmony group that plays with the intensity of a punk rock band....if that is at all possible. Their sound is AMAZING and their music/lyrics are even better. You can most definitely search YouTube to start gathering MORE of their music and see them rock out!


Please meet: James Smith, Heather Robb and James Cleare. They make beautiful music. And they've written so much NEW music since the cd came out, that I'm ready for the next one!

A Teacher's Summer Ends

I know, I know. No one wants to hear a teacher complain about going back to work in the fall. After all, here it is August 26 and I haven't "officially" been to work since June 15 (approximately). Well, that's not true. I did get paid to go to work for one day to train my replacement. AND...I did put it another four unnoffical days, meeting with drama officers to put out a mailing for the incoming freshmen, putting up 3 bulletin boards (I haven't put up a bulletin board for about 13 years!), organizing, prepping and only god knows what else. This does not include the time at home I've put in all summer to get ready for this point.

And I STILL don't feel ready for tomorrow. Ok...tomorrow isn't a day to be ready for, really. There won't be any students. In my district, teachers put in what's referred to as two "in-service" days. Which translates to meetings coming out of your wazoo combined with SOME time to get work done. Since this is my first time at the meetings at the HIGH school level...I'm not even sure how much of which time I do get. I do know this:

Wednesday AM....District-wide meeting.
Wednesday AM....Secondary Department Meetings (English for me)
LUNCH
Wednesday PM....Open for working (as far as I know)
Thurdsay AM.....School-wide Meeting
Thursday AM.....Freshman Orientation
Thursday PM.....Computer Software Training

Sound like fun? It's not. Most teachers do not do well with just sitting and listening. It's not what we do. We'd all rather be doing. And there's SO much to do before the students show up.

I say: to heck with me having to deal with adults and reality. Send the kids in and let me have some fun!!!!!

Spring Awakening, AKA My Obsession

2007 Tony Award winner for Best New Musical, Spring Awakening, is one of those shows that you either "get it" and therefore, love it; or you don't get it, and walk out of the theater unsatisfied. There are very few folks in the gray area for this show. I myself am a (not so) proud member of the former group, and much to my embarrassment, have seen the show 16 times in the past year. I will be the first to admit that I can understand some people being offended with some of the subject matter. The rock musical deals with masturbation, sexual and physical abuse, sexuality, abortion, and death.....and does so with characters that are (for the most part) in their mid-teen years. Some scenes are graphic; and some are humorous.

The musical is based on a German play by Frank Wedeken in the 1890's and was viewed as so morally deprived that it was banned for YEARS. While Stephen Sater and Duncan Sheik have definintley but a contemporary slant on things with the rock-style music, much of the spoken dialogue is taken directly form the original source, and is kept as a period piece. Why contemporary music if it's a period piece? To show that things haven't really changed as much as we might like to think. For me, personally, it gave me an invaluable insight to the opposite sex during the time of adolescence. Unlike MOST musicals, the music here acts as inner monologues for the characters.

I've been lucky to seen the original cast (only missing the lovely Krysta Rodriguez) all the way to the current cast (only missing Hunter Parrish). I will simply point out some of my favorite outstanding performers.


From the original cast:
Jonathan Groff (Melchoir, Tony Nominated), not the perfect actor but perfect for this role. A more committed actor you would be hard pressed to find.
John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz, Tony Winner) a true rock star, and a fabulous actor. Johnny also writes and performs his own music and is just the nicest, most sincere guy. (And he's fun in a bar at 3a.m.)
Gideon Glick (Ernst) one of the first to leave, went on to college but ended up running about 6 months with a wonderful off b'way show called Speech and Debate.
Jonathan B Wright (Hanschen) No one has owned this part like JBW. He was born for this role and played it to perfection. He has two movies coming out, both with Michael Cera.
Lilli Cooper (Martha) probably the most underrated actress on the SA stage.
Gerard Canonico (original ensemble, understudy, current Moritz) It took me a while to warm up to Gerard. But the first time I could specifically hear HIM from my stage seats changed everything. And then I got to know him a little and they changed even more. I beleive the first words I spoke to him went something like this: You can sing in my ear ANY day, and he could. Also look for his cd with his Jersey based band Taking Chances.

ANY of the replacement cast members:
BLAKE BASHOFF (Moritz) I can not say enough about this actor, coming into a b'way show when the MOST beloved member was leaving ALL TOO SOON, is not easy. Bashoff never tried to be Gallagher, but from day one made the role his own. Personally, as much as I adore JGJ, Blake's acting choices worked better for me. The day he left 8/2 was a sad day for me: but he left to head up the Nat'l tour of SA...at least for a few months. He's a delightful and sincere guy.
Matt Doyle (ensemble, understudy extradinaire, current Hanschen) Talented and underused guy. I don't actually think Hanschen was his strongest part, but I see great things in his future. I could listen to him sing forever.
Jesse Swenson (understudy) The only part, I've seen Jesse cover has been Melchior. Personally, I really love his interpretation. He has two three scenes where he becomes my favorite Melchior (although Groff officially holds that position) and the one that he steals my heart with is the Graveyard Scene. It works so much better with his interpretation.
Morgan Carr (ensemble, u/s Ernst) I loved Morgan's take on Ernst....I fell in love with him. Another thing that makes him stand out: when you watch him in the ensemble it is so obvious how utterly THRILLED he is to be on that stage. I went out of my way to relay that to him and he was sincerely touched by the compliment. Can you imagine being on B'way at 18??? OY.

August 6th was my last time (forever) seeing Spring Awakening...after all, enough is enough and there is so much amazing theater ON and OFF B'way to see. (Ok...if Gerard and Shingledecker are in the tour in Boston, I GUESS I'll drag myself) Thank you Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater, Michael Mayer (director) and Bill T. Jones (choreographer) for bringing a beautiful piece of art to Broadway.

There's a moment you know....

That is so {Title of Show}

{TOS} comes to the Lyceum theater with a rich and long history, which I won't bother you with in detail but you can check out here: http://www.titleofshow.com/. BASICALLY, it's a show about two guys writing a show about two guys writing a show. Really. It follows their real life escapades on that journey from getting the idea, to it getting picked up for theater festivals, going to OFF'B'way and more. It's full of theater "insider" jokes/references so it's easy to think it's only for "theater people" It's so much more than that: it's about following your dreams.

It's funny, and much of the music is delightful and I listen to the OBC often. The cast consists of only 5 people: Jeff, Hunter; their two gal pals: Susan and Heidi (who left understudying "Ursula" in The Little Mermaid) and their musical director: Larry. The set consists of 4 chairs and a keyboard. (and some walls).

The show is certainly heartfelt, entertaining and (a bit) inspiring. Is it a great piece of theatre? Not really. Will it be a hit on Broadway? No, sadly it's struggling and has barely been filling the theater to half capacity since it opened in July, and I don't expect it to last to Halloween. Making it TO October would be suprising. (BTW, Susan hasn't even quit her "day job" as an office manager...but did cut her hours back to only 30...ON TOP of doing 8 shows a week!) Should you go see it if you have a chance? YEEEESSSSSS!

Grade: A-

This is not your father's HAIR.

Every summer the Joe Papp's famed Public Theater produces two show to perform in Central Park at the Delacourt Theater. Tickets to the Delacourt Theater are free. ABSOLUTELY. And yet you need a ticket. How? you may ask does one score a FREE ticket to amazing productions? Well, there are several ways:

1. You "donate" $165 per ticket. (THAT'S NOT FREE you are thinking; but read on...)

2. You attempt a virtual line by logging in ONLY the day that you are hoping to attend from midnight to 1pm. Then you check the site AFTER 1pm to see if you were graciously and randomly selected to receive the coveted free tix. Almost no one is....because a huge percentage of the tickets are for:

3. You go to Central Park (CP) and get in an incredibly LONG line. AND you LIVE at CP for the day.

OK...guess what we did. I dare ya'. That's right ladies and gentlemen....I camped out at Central Park. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. (Maybe even next week!)

My friends and I decided rather than risk over sleeping we would just find ways to stay up all night. Really. We WERE in NYC for crying out loud: the city that never sleeps. I will not divulge trade secrets of our shenanigans (mostly to protect those involved) but it was SO worth it.

We arrived at CP West at 5:30am. Really. And we weren't even first in line. We were about 20th in line. Not too shabby. Did I mention: they don't start handing the tix out until 1pm. You do the math. We put down our mat and covered it with our blanket. And promptly fell asleep. Oh, yes we did. And we slept off and on througout the morning...never getting gads of rest...but enough to keep us from killing each other. We had each other, we had music, we were set. The line behind us just kept growing, which as most of you know is oddly satisfying.

At approximately 8am or so the official Line Watcher Nazis start giving you the official rules. Which basically is: if you are ON line you must STAY in line. (But using the theater potty was fine and not too far from us.) If you are not ON line you may not join the line except at the end. Each person on line was entitled to 2 tix and they would indeed keep our "party" together when giving you tix. (Which we knew...we had more folks meeting us at dinner time.) He also provided us with the number of a local deli that would deliver. (This is NY...I kid you not.) We promptly called up for some egg and cheese type sandwiches and coffee. All you need to do is tell them sort of where you are in line, but that doesn't matter because the delivery guy just rides his bike up and down the line calling out your name. (And he's happy to give out menus too.) 20 minutes later we had breakfast.

Just between you and me: I outsmarted the line police. TWICE. Once I just walked around the Delacourt to see what it was like, at least from the outside, and the other time I went to the concession stand and bought my self a new Public Theater Hoodie! Now WHY would they open the concession window if they didn't want the line waiter to buy stuff??? I love my hoodie. It is so "title of show". (I know most of you don't get that reference....too bad.)

OK, so now it's 9 or 10. We just got slap happy and silly. I believe I started singing show tunes out at the top of my lungs. Well, just ONE show tune: Take Back Your Mink from Guys and Dolls. It got real quiet around us...which meant one of two things: either I was doing a decent job and entertaining folks or I was doing an utterly horrid job and they were gathering stones. We had a terribly incoherent phone call to one of our friends coming in later. We napped some more. There really isn't more to the story except to say that we landed tix and were on our way OUT of the park by 1:20.

Hair is now 41 years old, and, trust me, the only reason I actually know this is because LAST September, The Public Theater produced Hair in the Park for ONE weekend to celebrate the 4oth Anniversary. MOST of the cast from that mounting is indeed a part of the current production. I don't know how much an of you might know about HAIR, but if the late 70's movie version is your only reference PLEASE remove it from your mind. It was horrid. They re-wrote the entire concept, they even misconstrued some of the music. There WERE a few great performances (Treat Williams, Annie Golden -- whom I LOVE!) but it was awful. (Although I VIVIDLY remember the boy that took me to see it: I was SO in love with him. His name was Steve--um...er, but that's another story.) I will not insult you with the details of the plot, "google it" should you need to. The themes 40 years ago were obviously Free Love, pro-drug, anti-war (Vietnam), and wicked hippie. Now the themes that seem to resonate are: LOVE, hippies, search for beliefs and self....and the whole anti-war thing...but to a lesser extent.

The cast, led incredibly by director Diane Paulus, is practically perfect as a whole and individually. They were amazingly dedicated and beautiful: visually, vocally and spiritually. It's hard to single people out as this is so much an ensemble piece as you are likely to encounter, but I will anyway. Jonathan Groff (Claude), brought so much energy and love to his character that you simply wanted to embrace him and bring him home. Already a fan of Groff's (and let me tell you the boy is a lovely young man in person.) it was hard not to feel for him. Will Swenson was electrifying as the defiant ring leader Berger. Kacie Shiek (Jeanie, ironically the role that Annie Golden portrayed in the movie) was the real stand out suprise for me. It was hard NOT to watch her on stage, whether singing or not...the girl has got presence!

To top of a theatrically spiritual evening, the grand finale included inviting the audience to dance and sing on the stage of the Delacourt with the amazing cast. Believe it or not, I am not usually one to join in on 'audience participation' type things...but the spirt simply took me to the stage. It was truly exhilarating! (And I danced and sang and chatted with Kacie Sheik and a few other cast members -- another sweetheart)

Hair has been extended THREE times and will now play through 9/14; sadly without Jonathan Groff who is off now filming a movie about Woodstock. Christopher J. Hanke (Cry-Baby) is replacing and most reports have said he does the role justice. It is so worth the wait...you should all experience the Delacourt theater AND HAIR.

There are STRONG rumors that Hair is currently LOOKING for a B'way House for the Spring. While I don't think it will be able to compare to seeing HAIR in the open-air Delacourt...I'd pay a hundred bucks to see it again!

THIS won a Tony Award???

August: Osage County. Oh, yes it did and I'm SURE there isn't a play at any time or anywhere that deserves it more. This was glorious even with some cast replacements. It's not the "feel good play" of any season, but it is an amazing, funny, horrifying, suprising most amazingly acted play EVER. Yes, there is much adult language and situations: not for the under 14 crowd (and some of you might think THAT'S too young.)

Written by Mr. Tracy Letts, this spellbinding new play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm.

As intriguing as the story is, and trust me, NO ONE could be prepared for the story about to unfold before you, the true beauty is in the acting. Estelle Parsons (Violet Weston) and Amy Morton (Barbara Fordham) are at the core of this riveting family drama. It's been a long time that I've left a theater, ANY theater, thinking I WANT to play that part. Well, here are two of them. Barbara is the no nonsense, take no prisoners, eldest daughter suffering her own demons that must take charge of the matriarch of this dysfunctional clan. Morton's power, understanding, and ability to "be" is one of the most amazing things I've ever witnessed. Parsons is almost unbelievable. The journey her character takes is full of twists and turns, ranges from drug dependent to helpless to backstabbing. In another 30 years I'd kill to play her, too.

Let me just praise the amazing writing of Tracy Letts. Its unusual for a man to write amazing and strong female characters. Writers usually write what they know, so all I can say is that Letts knows some really messed up but fascinating women! He is currently penning the screenplay adaptation. There is not a woman in Hollywood (and many in Chicago and NY, I'm sure) that wouldn't give their eye teeth to land ANY of the roles in this epic story. I'm sure that they will end up casting a powerhouse of talent which will, hopefully, be a huge box office draw.

Sadly, it is unusual for 'straight' plays to last a long time on (and off) B'way. August has recently reached it's 300th performance and shows little signs of slowing down. Long may it live.

Grade: A+++

Altar Boyz (off B'way)

Altar Boyz tells the holy inspiring story of 5 small-town boys—Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham—trying to save the world one screaming fan at a time. It is the final night of their whirlwind tour and it's hysterical.

This was really adorable. High energy and fun. This is a show that, again, garners many repeat audience members which adds to the infectious joy in the theater. The night we went we got several understudies which normally I could care less about, but one of the main reasons we chose to finally see this was to see Neil Haskell, runner up from LAST summer's So You Think You Can Dance. While I am disappointed to NOT have seen him, I doubt I would go back JUST to see him. I suppose I'll have to wait for his next stage role (and as a side note: MTV's American Mall did NOT cut it.)

One thing I really LOVED about this show: it HAS fun with Christianity without making fun of it. A very tricky proposition indeed. Indeed, I feel it really embraces the spirituality that draws so many to whatever religion they feel passionate about. (By the way, one of the characters is even Jewish.)

I reccommend this if you are looking for a fun night out!

Grade: B+

Xanadu, Anyone???

Currently on the Great White Way is 2008 Tony Award Nominee (but still LOSER) XANADU. Yes, Xanadu....like the gawd-awful movie from the 80's with Oliva Newton-John. Well, in the year or so it's been open, it has garnered a HUGE following of repeat audience members that call themselves: Fanadu's. Oy.

I've never had the desire to see this show, but many of my theater friends kept saying how much fun it was and that I should go. Well, it seems as though the on stage seating for this is not that hard to come by and they only cost $40 a seat. A bargain. (Well, by Broadway Terms.) And then fate stepped in: I had tickets to see the critcally acclaimed Passing Strange, but due to poor tix sales, that closed...about 2 weeks before we were to see it....leaving us with an open spot to see a show. THEN, it was announced that Whoopi Goldberg was stepping into one of the roles for 6 weeks. Deal closed.



Now, unlike other shows with onstage seating (Spring Awakening and the soon to open Equus), Xanadu's stage seats are "general admission". It's a first come, first served seating...so you need to get to the theater early if there are certain seats you want. There are "popcorn seats" and "hair playing" seats and seats that sit next to certain actors etc. All I wanted was to be able to see as much of the show as possible. So we got there early and were "adopted" by two aforementioned "fanadu's". Some that had NOTHING good to say about any other show. But they helped us find our way, because the theater opened up "special" doors for entrance instead of the house doors. With that insider info: we were the first ones at the special "stage seat doors". (Not that I knew there were special stage seat doors.) So, we were able to get the front row stage right seats. One of the Fanadu's sat with us. And boy was she a talker.

But the show is about a magical muse named Kira who comes to earth in 1980 (disguised in roller skates, leg warmers and an Australian accent), to inspire what the Gods call truly great work and discover the meaning of the universe's greatest secret: the gift of Xanadu. Kira meets the handsome artist Sonny, who needs her help in achieving his greatest dream. But bringing earthly dreams to life and obeying the many rules of her muse-hood at the same time, is not an easy task! (Especially while roller-skating.) It is only when Sonny teaches her the true meaning of inspiration, that the secret of Xanadu is revealed. Oh and some of her evil muse sisters try to ruin her out of jealousy The score is by Electric Light Orchestra and John Farrar, including such hits as "Xanadu," "Evil Woman," "Magic," and "Have You Never Been Mellow".

Overall, the show is....well....fun. The entire thing is tongue in cheek, making fun of the original movie and itself. You'll laugh, you'll tap your toes and you'll find yourself rooting for the good guys. But that's about it. Cheyenne Jackson (Sonny) is a delight to watch on stage. Considering the last time I saw him on stage (All Shook Up) I walked out of the B'way theater at intermission, I think that's great news. Oh...and as far as "eye candy" goes it doesn't get any better than Cheyenne -- from any view. Kerry Butler (Kira) was sweet, but I found her annoying.

Whoopi and Mary Testa (Calliope and Melpomene, the evil muses) must be treated as a unit. They are fun and caustic. In all honesty, I didn't think Whoopi brought anything special to the show, nor did she detract from it in any way. I loved Tony Roberts (Danny, Zeus)...who knew the old guy still had it in him!! But the two that stole the show, IMHO, were Curtis Holbrook (Thalia) and Andre Ward (Terpsicore). They were simply delightful and I was never more happy than when they were on stage. Humorously, they understudy the parts that Whoopi and Mary Testa play. Curtis is a favorite actor of mine anyway having seen him in Playwrights Horizon of SAVED. It is also rumored that he has been cast in the upcoming B'way revival of West Side Story.

Bottom line? I'd take my kids to see it, at the discounted tickets on stage and if my HS kids wanted it to be part of our annual pilgrimmage...I'd even encourage it: they'd have fun. Other than those two examples, I would not see it again nor would I ever care to produce it.

My Grade: B

My Last Middle School Musical

My creative team and I decided to produce Seussical, Jr for my "swan song" show. Not because it was a favorite of mine, or even a burning desire. I'd never seen it, I just know that it existed and hadn't done too well on B'way. I'd been told by other drama teachers/directors that is was just FUN to do. Good enough for me.

So we did it. And we did it freakishly well! Much of the time you know what kind of production you have. A good one. A great one. A show. And thats all I thought we had....was a show. But it was ok...we really were having fun and it would be over one way or another.

People would ask how it was going, and my reply would be: it's going. And then it was our first big "putting it all together" rehearsal -- not really a run through, certainly NOT a dress rehearsal -- just a working on all the little things we hadn't had time for. This rehearsal is usually filled with yelling and anxiety and stress. Not so. We finished early. My nearly 100 7th and 8th graders were cooperative and hard working. Hmmm...maybe we had more than a "show".

Then we had our first dress rehearsal. And, oh my! We had a good show. A really good show. By performance time we had a GREAT show. Probably one of the best I've produced for the middle school. And one of the best things: it was SO incredibly evident how much FUN they were all having. It was really beautiful. And many people remarked on seeing how much fun the kids were having. I was so proud of them and happy for them.

It didn't suck for me either: to have so much of what I "preach" show up live in front of sold out audiences!

It was a nice way to say goodbye to the my middle school home of 15 years.

I've been a bad, bad, blog girl.

I know, I should be ashamed of myself for ignoring this for so long. Of course, I haven't actually TOLD anyone about this blog....so who the heck cares.

So...what has happened since FEB? Well, as a drama teacher, the play I told you about (the one in competetion?) made it all the way to state finals!!! FINALS. Only 14 out of over 120 make it to state finals. I was incredibly proud and happy for my students. They'd worked incredibly hard and taken so many risks...they truly deserved it. Along the way, my cast and crew won many wonderful individual awards and great public kudos. We had students from other rounds of competition come BACK to see us perform at States because they loved the show so much. I'd met other students that HEARD about our show (the one about coming out of the closet) and came to see it.

Sadly, at states, the judges were less postive. But the audience loved it: we were the only school to be entirely "sold out" and to recieve a standing ovation from the ENTIRE 1,500 seat audience. It was a joy. And the other school worthy comment: I was FINALLY moved from my 15 year stint as the middle school drama teacher to the coveted post of HIGH SCHOOL Drama Teacher. Sounds silly perhaps, but I'd been waiting forever for this to happen. Of course the biggest obstacle was the man already IN that job. STOP....that didn't sound right. I ADORED the man that was also an obstacle, and I didn't take anything away from him, he simply and finally RETIRED.

Getting the school to turn over the job to me was not simple at all. Or maybe it was. All I know, is that after working for the school for FIFTEEN FREAKING YEARS, I had to jump through hoops unknown to mortal man. A resume???? Didn't they KNOW what I'd been doing? Still seems RIDICULOUS to me. I had to interview, I was observed, and basically, I felt as though "they" were dangling a carrot in front of me: all year. Could this totally been in my head? Certainly. Am I paranoid? To a certain extent. Was the job mine all along but they needed to follow all of the "proper channels"? Very likely.

But none of that actually matters: because they FINALLY offered me the job! OY. Now the work begins. I'm going from teaching 2 classes I've been teaching for 15 years to teaching SIX classes I've never taught before. And two of them are academic writing classes. Craziness.