Jaron Barney embraces Jackie Jensen and Dylan MacDonald while Bob Nelson and Sarah Shippobotham look on.
Tonight Brian and I went to see a production of Spring Awakening at the University of Utah's Babcock Theater. If you've never heard of it, shame on you because it's brilliant! It's my favorite musical. I sing the songs in the shower probably every day. Don't judge. If you knew the music, then you would know why I obsess. It's incredibly lyrical and haunting and just plain fantastic.
Based on a banned novel written in 1891, Spring Awakening is about sexual awakening amongst young people in a provincial German town. The book was banned because of its depictions of teenage sexuality, masturbation, rape, sexual abuse, homosexuality... you name it. Anyway, the show is tragic and yet reaffirming all at the same time. I just love it.
My favorite songs are "Touch Me" and "Don't Do Sadness," but really they are all amazing. Brian cries every time he hears "The Song of Purple Summer." Tonight was no exception to that rule. The cast did the show justice, especially leads Jaron Barney, Jackie Jensen and Dylan MacDonald. For those who live in the area, I suggest going!
Sydney came over after all and we had a great time. She shot some footage of Brian and I in the kitchen (Brian gave me the simple task of washing vegetables) and then we sat on the couch and she asked us a few questions. Brian did most of the talking of course. I just nodded a lot and acted uncomfortable. Stupid camera. And when I did speak, I sounded like a rambling fool. Luckily the project she's working on is only a minute and a half, because I'm not quite ready for my Barbara Walters interview.
She ended up staying a little longer than planned, saying goodbye several times before inevitably settling back in again. Good conversation has that effect on people. We talked about movie musicals and politics and religion... but mostly musicals. We're agreed that Russell Crowe disappointed in Les Mis, we're excited for Anna Kendrick to be in The Last Five Years and on some level we all miss the theater. I don't miss it as much as those two do, but I do sometimes miss it.
It's funny how as a child and teenager I was once able to sing and act onstage in front of people. Nowadays, I get panic attacks from being called on to answer a question in class. I shake like a leaf when giving a class presentation. And I was sweating bullets as soon as Sydney set up her tripod and focused that camera on us. Thursday I'll have to give a presentation in front of an estimated 80 or so people including the president of Utah Valley University and I am terrified. Terrified. I wonder whatever happened to the confident boy who used to perform. I wonder if he's gone for good, or if he'll ever come back again.
From our friends in attendance who weren't afraid to shake their money makers:
"I love you guys so much! I'm glad that you two were finally able to get married." -Dyann
"Umm... yeah pretend I said lots of nice, heartwarming stuff. I'm not much for words." -John
"Congrats! I love you two! And wish a happy life for you both!" -Riley
"You guys are so brave for going out on a limb like you did! I'm so happy you went to NYC to show your love for each other. Just remember to love each other over everything else and don't forget that life's about the little things." -Kevin
"Love you! I'll miss you guys but I hope to see you more before I leave." -Brandon
"May your love be everlasting. Too cheesy? No? Okay. I wish you happiness all your days, much laughter, and many smiles." -Katie
"I am happy that in my lifetime I got the pleasure of seeing two lovely human beings fully commit to each other. Thanks for paving the way for gays both here in Utah and the country at large." -Dean (Lamar) and Adam
"Congratulations! Now keep it together and make the rest of us look stable!" - Curt
"I love you! But you guys know that. I would love to write something clever, but I'm not. So let me know when you guys want that baby!" -Mineh
"Congratulations on your marriage! I'm so happy for you and I know you'll have a lot of great years together!" -Dani
Last night Brian and I went to Stadium of Fire held at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo. Stadium of Fire is a huge 4th of July celebration that features musical performers and some amazing pyrotechnics. It's even broadcasted live to the American troops overseas. Cool, huh? Brian's family goes pretty much every year, but this was the first time since I've been dating Brian that we've gone with them. And the best part is we didn't even have to buy our own tickets! Thanks, future father-in-law!
Now, this event is so steeped in Americana that Boy Scouts handled the parking. That's right. Once we were parked and seated in the stadium, the show began in true Utah style with an opening prayer. The host for the evening was Alex Boye, a popular LDS singer and member of The Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The Girl Scouts led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance and the singing of our National Anthem. When the crowd sang "the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air," red fireworks went off accompanied by booming canons. Very epic. The finale of the song brought a flyover of a Hill Air Force Base 388th Fighter Wing. The planes were so loud and I loved it! Then the Stadium of Fire Dancers did a number to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" and the featured musical performances began.
Scotty McCreery, winner of American Idol's 10th season, got the night started with several of his hits including "I Love You This Big." Brian and I aren't huge country fans so we took the opportunity to sneak off to buy some food. There was a stand selling New Orleans cuisine so we got some shrimp Po' Boy sandwiches. Very yummy. We also got some snow cones and headed back to our seats just as the Stadium of Fire Talent Search was going on.
After the winner was decided, the headline performers entered the stage: The Beach Boys! Yep, as part of their 50th anniversary tour they hit up Provo, Utah! Apparently they performed Stadium of Fire once before in 1992 and the crowds went wild. You might think that The Beach Boys are way too old now to put on a good show, but that is far from the truth! As America's oldest and most successful boy band--a true American classic--they kept the energy up with poppy, beachy tunes one right after the other: "Surfin' U.S.A.", "Barbara Ann", "Don't Worry Baby", "California Girls," "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "I Get Around", "Good Vibrations" and "Fun, Fun, Fun".... just to name a few. Their harmonies are still spot on and everyone of all ages knew the words to the songs and couldn't help but sing along. Brian's mom and sister Amy got up and started dancing even!
After The Beach Boys, the fireworks began! First they did a firework show choreographed to James Bond music and then a choir led by Alex Boye sang "America the Beautiful." The Patriotic Pyrotechnic Finale was phenomenal and I almost went deaf from the booming explosions of color in the night sky. Such a fun night!!
Brian and I thought it would be fun to go to the Utah Pride Festival this year. And in my desperation for some kind of vacation, I thought we could make it an overnight trip and stay in a hotel even. Salt Lake City is only an hour away and feasibly we could have driven back and forth, but where's the fun in that? And what could be more fun than getting friends together to go? So we invited our friends Brett and Wes along to join us in the festivities.
All four of us had to work on Saturday, but as soon as we clocked out we threw our bags into the trunk of Brian's car and headed up the freeway to our weekend of gay frivolity. We checked into our hotel room at the Sheraton at about 7:00 PM, freshened up a bit, and then headed to Washington Square where the festival was being held. We got there just in time to see the talent provided by the Utah Pride Center this year: Prince Poppycock of America's Got Talent fame and Frenchie Davis who appeared on both American Idol and The Voice.
Prince Poppycock was a hoot painted all in gold with a fabulously shiny wig. He sang a variety of numbers, beginning with the operatic "Marriage of Figaro" and ending with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." His performance was campy fun and the audience ate it up. Frenchie Davis performed next and she was phenomenal! A large woman with a shaved head and a big voice, she belted her heart out on numbers from Cee Lo Green to Lady Gaga to her own single "Love Has Got A Hold of Me." She was so fantastic the audience cheered her on for an encore.
I wasn't cool enough to record any of the performances, but luckily other people did. Here are some vids that I found on YouTube from the festival:
After the performances, a Latin dance party commenced so we moved to the front of the stage and danced our little hearts out. With the awesome lights, pumping music, and hot dancers shaking their booties on stage it was a pretty exhilarating night out. Exhilarating and hot. And by hot I mean sweaty, and not in a good way. Eventually we had to get away from there and head back to our hotel room. None of the hot Latin dancers wanted to come home with us, so we spent the rest of the night playing cards and... well, what happens in Salt Lake stays in Salt Lake.
When I was a kid, Chuck E. Cheese's was the coolest place ever. It was where a kid could be a kid. I remember a massive stage where Chuck and his pals would sing and dance. It was so awesome! Then Chuck himself would run around and say "hi" to all of us; high-fiving my friends and me as we stuffed our faces with pizza and played arcade games. Finally, with fistfuls of won tickets I would select my prize and go home happy. Chuck E. Cheese was so cool, he made Mickey look like some boring mouse.
That, of course, was years ago. Many, many years ago. All of my memories of Chuck E. Cheese's are from California and my family moved to Colorado when I was seven. So we're talking a long time here. Brian and I went to the Chuck E. Cheese's in Orem, Utah yesterday for a birthday party. My little cousin Stasha turned four years old and I'm sure to her the place still had charm. But for me, it was kind of a letdown. What happened to my totally rad pal named Chuck?
You know those guys who were studs in high school but somehow never seem to amount to anything afterward? They stay and "hang out" with all the high school kids and talk about how awesome they used to be and yadda yadda yadda... constantly living in the past. Well, that's what Chuck E. Cheese reminded me of. That guy. You go in, and it's like you've stepped back into the late 80s/early 90s when Chuck used to be cool. He's got really cheesy-looking photos up of his glory days. There's Chuck posing with two little girls with side pony-tails and scrunchies! There he is kicking a soccer ball!
And he doesn't even look cool anymore. He came to our table to greet the birthday girl and he just looked shabby. He even had a handprint embedded in the fur on the back of his head... poor guy. Somebody should tell him. And it's crazy to me how I was once fooled by his costume. It's so unappealing. And the animatronics show? Wow. Horrible. I'm pretty sure the singing chicken's mouth movements were still set to whatever Madonna song she had originally been singing, they just play Taylor Swift's "Love Story" over it. That's about the extent of the upgrades. There's also a dance performed to LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It" (sans lyrics obviously... a chicken and a mouse can't be sexy).
Although, there was a vaguely sexual animal documentary that played on the TVs for a good ten minutes or so. It was a series of animal photos with captions played to weird porn music. The captions said things like "Check out that goat over there" or "You're smooth, Mr. Moose" or "Oh yeah, eat that grass." When that ended it turned into an 80s pop music video with flashing, strobe-like images of kids in neckties playing the guitar and singing "Everybody Have Fun Tonight" by Wang Chung. That was followed by a skit with puppets teaching kids the importance of proper ventilation while painting indoors.
I couldn't handle the entertainment anymore so I just focused on the pizza... which is probably the worst pizza ever. I've microwaved pizza rolls more delicious than that stuff. And the pizza is freaking expensive! My Uncle Greg spent an arm and a leg buying pizza and drinks for ten people when I know he could have baked a much better one at home with his own ingredients. Oh well. The games were still fun and Stasha and her little sister Sylvia had a good time winning tickets and riding rides. Brian and I did the noble thing and gave our tickets to the girls. We could have cashed them in for a star-shaped eraser or something, but we figured the girls would put them to better use.
Not like Stasha needed more prizes. You should have seen all the presents she got! Brian and I got her a stuffed Ty teddy bear which made her face light up. I was surprised actually. She just squeezed it close to her with this big cheesy grin, even bigger and cheesier than the ever-smiling Chuck E. Cheese who came over and frightened little Sylvia into tears before he scampered away to his aging electronic friends and the pizza that only the Teenage Mutant Turtles could appreciate.
Kurt apologized for being upset over Blaine's audition and promised to support him. Image property of Fox.
Mike Chang finally gets a front-and-center storyline in tonight's episode! His father is concerned when Mike brings home an "Asian F" (which is just an A-) and reminds him that he can't get into Harvard with bad grades. He also feels that Mike would be better off dropping out of the glee club, since it's only a distraction. But Mike's heart lies in dancing, and he just can't let it go. So he decides to audition for the part of Riff in the school's production of West Side Story, leading to a touching moment with his mother who encourages him to pursue his dreams.
Mercedes' boyfriend convinces her that she is much better than Rachel and that she should fight to be on top. And while it's nice to see Mercedes receiving support and gaining some new-found confidence, it's not so great to see her turn into a selfish diva. She starts showing up late, giving excuses and generally snapping at everyone. Finally she goes head to head against Rachel for the lead role of Maria. And in an interesting turn of events, Rachel fears that Mercedes may be better than her and decides to run for student council president... which doesn't go over so well with Kurt. But in the end, Rachel ends up with the role after all and Mercedes joins Shelby's new glee club.
Meanwhile, Will wonders why he hasn't met Emma's parents yet so he takes it upon himself to contact them and invite them to dinner. However, he soon discovers that Emma hasn't introduced them yet because she is embarrassed of them. Her parents are "ginger supremacists" who only like red-headed people. They also have a tendency of mocking Emma for her OCD, something that Will will not stand for. The visit has Emma reverting to some of her obsessive habits, and Will kneels down to pray with her as a sign that together they will overcome it.
The Pros:
Mercedes' rendition of Jennifer Hudson's "Spotlight" was very good, but my favorite would have to be her impersonation of Effie in the song "It's All Over" from the musical Dreamgirls. She and the other members of the club sang all the parts and it was pretty neat in my opinion.
Gotta love when Brittany and Mike sing and dance! Brittany's "Run the World (Girls)" originally by Beyonce was full of great dance moves and girl power, and Mike's performance of "Cool" (from the musical West Side Story) was very very good. I really thought Mike shone brightly tonight and proved that he really is a pretty good singer... and actor.
Kurt quit being a baby and is happy for Blaine like a good boyfriend should be. I loved when Blaine said, "You always zig when I think you're about to zag." Very sweet.
I liked the scene when Mike danced with his mother. Priceless.
Mercedes and Rachel did a great job with "Out Here on My Own" from Fame. Too bad they hate each other...
The Cons:
Finn's character has disappeared lately. I would like to see him do... something. I don't know. Anything really.
Double-casting is lame! I would have liked it if the directors actually chose Mercedes over Rachel if they really thought she was better. Their decision was a cop-out.
Brittany is dressed as a unicorn, and Kurt is concerned it's "too gay." Image property of Fox.
Brittany wants to help Kurt run for student body president, but her campaign ideas involve lots of pink, glitter, unicorns and rainbows. Kurt doesn't want to be seen solely for his homosexuality, so he tells her they aren't going to use the posters she made. However, she's stubborn and goes ahead and puts them up all over the school without his permission. Kurt, of course, is upset about this, and it doesn't help matters that he's seen as too flamboyant to play the male lead in the school musical...
Speaking of the school musical, Coach Beiste and Ms. Pilsbury are co-directing it along with the help of Artie. Mr. Schuester was going to do it, but he decided instead to focus all of his attention on New Directions. He's putting the kids through a "bootie" camp to improve their dancing. Obviously Finn is struggling the most...
And since Mr. Schuester wouldn't let the tone-deaf Sugar join New Directions last episode, Sugar's father has hired Shelby Cochran to start a rival glee club at McKinley that she will star in. Having Shelby around creates some drama for both Rachel and Quinn. Rachel now has to see her estranged mother at school everyday and somehow come to terms with that. Quinn isn't sure she's ready to be a part of her baby's life, which Shelby adopted at the end of Season One. However, with some nudging from Puck, she decides to get her life back in order to try and gain custody of her daughter!
The Pros:
Brittany's definition of a unicorn (someone who knows they are magical) was pretty adorable.
I loved Sue's comment about Quinn's "thin, forgettable alto." Mostly because it's true.
A great duet between Lea Michelle and Idina Menzel!! "Somewhere" (from the musical West Side Story) was moving and I thought they fit it nicely into the plot.
Kurt's rendition of "I Am The Greatest Star" (from the musical Funny Girl) was a lot of fun to watch! No wonder Coach Beiste said, "He owned that song like it was his prison bitch."
I loved when Santana said (of the posters), "This is toned down. In the original the unicorn was riding you." Ha ha ha...
I like that Finn is now working at Burt's garage. Smart move, writers!
Sue's exploitation of Quinn's life to further her anti-arts campaign was pretty funny. And I really loved when Mr. Schuester told Quinn straight up to quit blaming everyone else for her problems! Someone had to do it...
Blaine's audition singing "Something's Coming" (also from the musical West Side Story) was fantastic!! I LOVE BLAINE!
The Cons:
Only three songs?? That's it?
Seriously, I'm loving Season Three so much that it's hard to find things to complain about...
Rachel singing the intro to "You Can't Stop the Beat," image property of Fox.
I started my day with a text from my friend Rebecca saying, "Happy Glee Day!"
Yes, that's how excited we gleeks are about the start of Season Three! Don't judge.
So Mr. Schuester is trying to motivate the glee club after their loss at Nationals last year, so he's come up with a crazy scheme to let their inner musician shine through! Purple pianos are placed sporadically around the school, and every time they pass one they are supposed to break into song! Crazy, right? And Mr. Schuester is naive enough to think that this will recruit people...
However, instead of turning kids on to music, it's turned them off. In fact, the purple pianos have motivated Sue Sylvester to run for political office with a personal vendetta against the arts in schools. Mr. Schuester is appalled of course, and it seems like those two will be at odds forever, even despite last year's emotional truce at Sue's mother's funeral. Sue is just evil, I guess. So evil that she's roped Santana back in to the dark side. She and the other Cheerios torched one of the pianos and Mr. Schue had to kick her latina butt out of glee.
Meanwhile Rachel and Kurt go to meet up with some other kids who love musical theater, and lo and behold, there are other talented people in the world! They start feeling like they are simply big fish in small ponds and that perhaps they aren't good enough to ever make it on Broadway. And they aren't the only ones unsure about their futures. Finn has no idea what he wants to do, and Quinn suddenly thinks she's a rebel.
But at least they have Blaine now! Yes, folks, he has left Dalton and joined McKinley High!
The Pros:
"I have pepperoni in my bra." "Those are your nipples." Ha ha ha! Sorry, but that was just funny.
Will's Superman lunchbox. Love it! And it's adorable how Emma packs it for him, while he's making lunch for her.
I'm happy that Kurt and Rachel are friends now. I feel like last season they hated each other then loved each other at random, but their touching scene together this episode makes it seem like their friendship is real! No wonder Ms. Pilsbury handed them a "Me and My Hag" pamphlet...
Great songs! The mash-up of the Broadway classics "Anything Goes" and "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" was phenomenal! Loved that girl's voice (even if her face was kinda creepy). I also really enjoyed "Ding Dong The Witch is Dead" and "You Can't Stop the Beat" featuring lots of Rachel Berry!
I'm happy that Blaine is at McKinley now! That means I can see more of him. And was "Unusual" great or what? Loved it!
Quinn's Ryan Seacrest tattoo. It's so weird that it's awesome.
Mercedes has a boyfriend! Yay!
All in all, I'm feeling positive about Season Three!
The Cons:
Quinn suddenly being a "bad girl" with pink hair, tattoos and a smoking problem just seemed a bit... sudden. And unbelievable.
Santana needs to pick a side already!
I'm getting SO TIRED of the school not recognizing that the glee kids are talented and awesome! Seriously? You're going to throw food at them?
Sugar's singing voice!! AAAH! So awful! I'm also unsure whether or not I'm going to like this character.
In other news, we watched the Emmys tonight. She came over and watched them with Brian and me, so I guess that was actually a pretty decent opening.
Here are some of the pros and cons of the evening, assuming that A, you didn't watch it or B, you give a crap what I have to say about it.
The Pros:
Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester from Glee if you are stupid enough not to know her) hosted and she was phenomenal! I sure do love that lesbian! Her opening musical number featuring lots of stars from popular TV shows was very funny, as was her bit as a Jersey housewife. And I disagree with the characters from The Big Bang Theory because I would LOVE IT if spontaneous musical numbers passed through my apartment!
Apart from Glee, my favorite television show is Modern Family and I was very happy that both Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell won for their roles as Claire and Phil Dunphy! Oh, and Ty's speech was very funny! I'm also happy to say that Modern Family took home an award for Best Direction, Best Writing and for the second year in a row they've won Outstanding Comedy Series!
The Emmytones (a group of actors who sang little doo-wop songs) were pretty cute. But I really loved the performance by The Lonely Island featuring Michael Bolton and Akon! So hilarious, especially when they started grinding on poor William H. Macy!
Matt LeBlanc (of Friends fame) has gray hair now. I didn't know this. He looks really good with gray hair!
The nominees for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, starting with Amy Poehler, all ran up on the stage when their names were called... and it had all of us laughing. Melissa McCarthy (who I love most for her role in the movie Bridesmaids, although she was nominated for her TV show Mike and Molly) won and I was very happy about it! They gave her flowers and a crown just like she won Miss America or something. Even backstage that woman would not take off her crown!
Although I've never seen Boardwalk Empire or Mildred Pierce, I was happy that Martin Scorsese and Kate Winslet won awards... mostly because they are awesome and deserve it. And did Kate Winslet look sexy tonight or what? Loved that red dress!
The Cons:
Some dresses were less than spectacular tonight. Let's not lie. Gwyneth Paltrow, Katie Holmes, Drew Barrymore, Amy Poehler and even Julianna Margulies wore some pretty ridiculous dresses. I thought Amy Poehler was going scuba diving and Gywneth Paltrow was suddenly a belly dancer...
Sofia Vergara's new hair color. What was she thinking?
"Jackmas," as my friend Wes calls it, is getting really close! Only three more days and I will be a quarter-of-a-century and an official failure in life! I still don't have a grown-up job or a home or a family or anything that a man my age should possess!
Gosh, I don't even have a car! While at Disneyland I saw a keychain that looked really fun and I would have bought it had I not realized that I don't own a single key. No work keys...no car keys... not even a house key! One night I had to break in through the garage like some common burglar...
So if you are thinking of birthday gift ideas, do not get me a keychain.
In unrelated news, yesterday's Glee party was a raving success for all involved. My friend Rebecca took a bus down from the Salt Lake City area to hang out with us, which was a ton of fun since I hardly ever see her anymore. When Brian and I had our own place she was a constant visitor on Glee nights, which were always the highlight of my week.
We gathered at my friend Michelle's apartment, along with Wes and Trevor, where we did everything I said we were going to do in yesterday's post, except for decorate Glee t-shirts. Instead we left our red shirts unaltered and wore them to the Glee 3D Concert Movie in honor of the "Don't Stop Believing" outfits they wore in the pilot episode of the show. Don't we look awesome? We are even wearing our special blue 3D glasses that say Glee on the sides!
Trevor, Michelle, me, Wes and Rebecca just before seeing the Glee 3D Concert Movie!
And while we are looking at photos, let's go back in time a couple of years to my 21st birthday. This was my second and final birthday spent in Chile. This photo was taken at Maria Elena's house where my companion Elder Silva and I spent many a day with her two children and parents. I know I have a photo of the family somewhere, but I couldn't find it... Hmm. Anyway, we still talk on Facebook from time to time and they are all very dear to my heart.
So yesterday I was taken from my homeland and forced to be a slave to an Egyptian captain. I really hated it, but he was really attractive so I started hating it less. Against my better judgment I fell in love with him, even though he was engaged to the Egyptian princess. I was sort of friends with the princess, which is kind of strange considering I was a slave... She didn't know that I was snogging her betrothed behind her back, though. I kept a lot of secrets, like the fact that I wasn't just an ordinary slave but actually Nubian royalty and then they captured my father and lots of crazy bad stuff happened and we sang a lot and there were backup dancers and at the end I was buried alive with my true love for the sake of peace and posterity!
Whew!
What a busy day I had. Or did I? Was that me? Couldn't have been me. I've never even heard of Nubia. Is that in Mississippi? Wait! I have heard of Nubia! It's not in Mississippi... it's in Africa or something... near Egypt? It's from the musical Aida! Yes! That's Aida's story! It was being performed locally at the Scera Shell and I went to see it last night with Brian, his sister Jenny, his cousin Patrick, my friend Sydney, an old mission companion named John and his wife LoriAnn. It was the first time John and his wife had ever met Brian, so it was a lot of fun.
Here are my thoughts on the show:
Some really great songs like "The Dance of the Robe", "Elaborate Lives", "The Gods Love Nubia", and "I Know the Truth"... but some of the others could go and die for all I care. Anything Zoser sings really, like "Another Pyramid" or "Like Father Like Son."
This production had way too much dancing. Most of it was unnecessary... and weird. Why did they come up out of the floor like that? Why were so many of the dancers out of shape and out of synch?
Latoya Rhodes who played Aida was fantastic! I loved her voice and she seemed to be the most capable actress of the bunch; they did a great job casting her.
The writing is a bit cheesy and the music by Elton John and Tim Rice is distinctly 90's pop... which seems dated these days but oh well.
Latoya Rhodes was fantastic!
Oh, and Latoya Rhodes was fantastic!
Before the show Brian made a terrific meal for us all at the house. We had chicken, macaroni and cheese and the best part of all was dessert: a cheesecake with chocolate ganache!
Oh, and the only two to write me compliments were Rebecca and Michelle, so if they want more prizes I guess they can have them! There will be no chance to win a prize today because I'm not in the mood! Ha ha!
While I was in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah many moons ago, I met a kid named Jason Langlois who is simply electrifying. He's fun and he's loud and he's wild and he's quirky and he's comical... and he's talented. Just a few days ago I had the opportunity of seeing him perform in a local production of Disney's Camp Rock: The Musical and his talent was made even more apparent.
My fabulous friend Jason played a supporting character named Sander Loya who, along with some other break-dancing boys, was the source of much comic relief. Jason did a fantastic job. When I had asked him previously what part he was playing, he cheekily replied, "The best part!" Upon seeing the show, I would have to agree! He was so full of energy and always spot on with those dance routines. I was impressed to say the least. I never knew the skinny guy had it in him!
The show was put on by the SCERA Center for the Arts here in Orem, Utah. Here are some of my thoughts on this particular production of Camp Rock:
Disney is able to produce some of the cheesiest yet ultra-addicting pop music known to man. You can try not to like it, but you will fail.
Pulling songs from two Disney Channel movies (Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam) and then shoving it into one stage show results in a musical that is heavy on the music and light on the plot. They would say a sentence or two and then sing another song. Sometimes songs were just back to back. Sometimes you didn't even know why they were singing the song at all...
Mitchie's big finale from the first movie, "This is Me", is sung right at the beginning of the stage version. It has no emotional weight here, which is unfortunate.
It was performed on an outdoor stage, meaning lots of mosquitoes to suck you dry.
Being outdoors, you don't appreciate the full beauty of the set until the second act when it's dark enough to notice the lighting. Their backdrop was really cool looking!
Orem, Utah seems to be a bit short on talent these days. When casting Shane Gray and his pop star brothers (originally played by The Jonas Brothers), the casting director here decided on choosing the weirdest looking kids he could find. One of them looked as if he belonged with the vultures from Disney's The Jungle Book. Beetles hair cut, long neck... you get my drift. The lead "heart throb" Shane Gray was played by a balding kid who looked like he was in his mid to late forties. Of course looks aren't everything, but unfortunately his voice proved inadequate in many of his big numbers. When he and the girl who played Mitchie sang "Wouldn't Change a Thing" I literally cringed. It was like nails on a chalkboard. People in Utah need to know that belting is not equivalent to screaming.
Camp Rock can be really fun with a good friend! Thanks for coming with me, Michelle!
It seems I'm not the only one excited for the new Harry Potter movie. I can't log in to Facebook anymore without seeing that so-and-so posted a Harry Potter this... or what's-his-face commented on a Harry Potter that... The obsession seems to have bitten us all!
A lot of the fun videos my friends are sharing are spoofs on popular songs. My friend Trevor and my cousin Tyisa both told me about this music video by Brigham Young University's Divine Comedy. It's called "Firebolt" and it's based on the Katy Perry song, "Firework."
Another video I've come across was mentioned by sisters Mikell and Madison. It's based on the song "Friday" by Rebecca Black, and it's really pretty hilarious. It's done by The Hillywood Show.
And just yesterday I saw two of my friends, Wes and Jason, had both posted this fun version of the song "Hello" from the Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon. I watched this one from my phone on break, and it was definitely the highlight of my 14-hour workday!
Ha ha! I love that Harry Potter is wearing a blue bow tie like Daniel Radcliffe wears in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He also lovingly caresses a stuffed horse and then stabs it to death just like Daniel Radcliffe's role in Equus. And Hermione disappears and then reappears with short hair just like the real-life Emma Watson.
Recently one of my favorite Harry Potter fan sites, Mugglenet, shared an interview with Alexandre Desplat who was the composer for Deathly Hallows Part 1 and is continuing to do so for Deathly Hallows Part 2.I’m glad he’s finishing the second half, because I thought his score was fantastic the first time around.When asked what he thought about Part 1’s score, he said, “It was great. I think the essence of what it portrayed—the sense of loneliness and a loss of childhood—were very strong, and I think it was a great first part.”
For this next movie, he says that he will be using snippets of scores from previous Potter films as well, especially the iconic “Hedwig’s Theme” composed by John Williams in Sorcerer’s Stone.“Now we're back in Hogwarts where the battle takes place, and all the friends are there so it made sense to have [“Hedwig’s Theme”] there. Also, at the end of the film when we say goodbye to these three kids who are becoming adults and are looking towards a new life, the John William's theme is present. It's one of the most wonderful themes ever written for films, so it's a delight to work with it.”
Agreed!John Williams is a brilliant composer!His work for the first three films was quite genius in my opinion.But Desplat didn’t just reuse Williams’ music.He composed quite a lot of it on his own.His favorite piece of music for Deathly Hallows Part 2 is entitled “Lily’s Theme”—which is of course, named after Harry’s mother.Desplat said, “Yes, I think Lily's theme, which opens the film, might be the one I like the most because it has the kindness and mysteriousness that we need to feel when the movie starts even though everything isn't explained yet about how Lily influenced Harry and other characters' destinies in the film, so it’s the theme that I think I like the most and cherish a lot.”
So what’s the theme like?“I think the goal was to find something as gentle, as sweet, and as kind as a lullaby with a guilty touch to it. It's a very simple melody that anyone can hum, child or adult, and we found this incredible singer, Mai, who has a very pure voice, almost like liquid gold. So it will haunt the film and Harry all along the last episode.”
He continues, “Death is very present in the Harry Potter story from the beginning because it starts with an orphan who lost his parents, and, actually, the theme of death is very present in this episode, since Lily, Harry's mother, is the lead character of this episode. We start the film with hearing Lily's theme, which will kind of ghost the film all along and be the music thread that will take us from the beginning to the end of the film. So that's one element of death, the people that you miss, the people that you long for, the sorrow, and the question about death and the resurrection stone and how you cope with the death of the people you love. That's very present in the themes that are used and you see it when you see the film and hear the soundtrack that I've tried to be very sensitive and emotional on these matters.”
The soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is now on sale wherever music is sold. Currently, Amazon is selling the MP3 download for just $6.99!
Last month CBS aired the 2011 Tony Awards which I so kindly recapped for you all. Since Daniel Radcliffe is our Harry Potter star, I thought it would be fun to post a clip from YouTube of him singing and dancing to the song "Brotherhood of Man" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He's actually pretty darn good!
So a gay friend of mine said to me "Gosh, you are soooo gay!" when I mentioned that I was going to watch the Tony Awards tonight. My response to him was, "Um... duh."
But as tonight's opening number proudly proclaimed, the Tonys aren't just for gays anymore! Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony and he did a phenomenal job! The entire night was full of show-stopping musical numbers, hilarious comedic bits, and plenty of memorable acceptance speeches. After the abysmally dull Oscars earlier this year, I was very grateful for some entertainment!
Here are some of my favorite moments:
Neil Patrick Harris' opening number was phenomenal. But even better was his number with Hugh Jackman about midway through, where the two spoofed "Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better)" along with several other Broadway tunes arguing over who was the better awards show host.
Nikki M. James' acceptance speech brought me to tears. Her sheer happiness and gratitude were so overwhelming! And the part about the bumblebees?? Priceless.
I was so proud of my boy Daniel Radcliffe!! He performed so well in the number "Brotherhood of Man" from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying!
The numbers that The Scottsboro Boys and Sister Act performed were both very good and featured some fantastic vocalists like Joshua Henry and Patina Miller. Unfortunately neither show was a big winner.
John Leguizamo's standup bit from his show Ghetto Klown was highly amusing!
"I Believe" performed by Andrew Rannells from The Book of Mormon was very very good. I was quite happy that the show walked away with nine awards (out of 14 nominations) including Best Musical. Congrats to Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez!
Neil Patrick Harris riding in on the giant puppet horse from the play War Horse. That thing was so cool!
Whoopi Goldberg's hat. What was that thing?
The acceptance speech by Frances McDormand was so crazy and random! Ha ha! She didn't even dress up! And Mark Rylance's speech was even stranger than hers... he just went on and on about how to walk through walls. It was so odd but so funny!
Neil Patrick Harris closed the night with a rap that mentioned so many specific details from the night that it had to have been written moments before he hit the stage. Impressive!
The glee kids seeing the sights in New York City! Image property of Fox.
So last night was the second season finale of Glee on Fox and I had to work! Oh, life can be cruel can it not? But luckily Hulu was there for me this morning, so I was still able to see the spectacular farewell.
The episode opens with the sexy saxophone wail of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue while showing us a glitzy shot of New York City's Time Square, ending on Rachel Berry standing in utter glee in the city of her dreams. That's when the Glee title came up and I knew I was in love with this episode. New York City, Gershwin, and Glee. Oh, I was in heaven!
So the kids are in New York City with Mr. Schuester for Nationals, and although they want to explore the city and have fun, Mr. Schu insists that they stay in the hotel room and write the songs they will compete with. But feeling uninspired indoors, the kids sneak out anyway and explore the city! But they aren't the only ones being sneaky. Mr. Schuester still hasn't told the kids about his possible Broadway debut, and he sneaks off to rehearse onstage. However, his secret doesn't stay a secret for long. Dustin Goolsby, the coach of rival Vocal Adrenaline, finds out and tells the New Directions kids. They approach Mr. Schuester about it, but he decides then and there that he's not going to leave them. His true calling is teaching.
Meanwhile the boys convince Finn that he should ask Rachel out and tell her how he feels. So he texts Rachel and tells her to dress up and meet him in Central Park. She does and he surprises her with a date. They go to dinner at Sardi where they run into Rachel's idol, Patti Lapone. She tells Rachel to never give up on her dreams, also adding that Finn is "cute." Finn and Rachel seem really happy later as they are strolling through the nighttime streets of the city, but when Finn tries to kiss her, Rachel says no.
We discover the reason behind this when Kurt takes Rachel out to stand where Audrey Hepburn stood in Breakfast at Tiffany's. While eating bagels she reveals that she wants to go to New York after she graduates from high school, and she knows Finn won't want to. She loves Finn, but she doesn't want anything to hold her back and keep her from pursuing her dreams. Kurt then convinces her to break into the Wicked stage, where the guard lets them sing a song before kicking them out. After singing on a real Broadway stage, Rachel is even more convinced that she belongs there.
The moment arrives for the big competition, and New Directions performs two original songs just like they did at Regionals. The first song is a duet between Rachel and Finn, and in the heat of the moment, the two kiss. Everything is silent before they move on to their next number and really knock it out of the park! However, that unplanned kiss ruined their scores and the group doesn't place in the top ten. The competition is over.
Although they are crushed by the loss, everything ends happy. Back in Ohio, Rachel talks to Finn about the big kiss and makes it clear that she loves him, but will be moving to New York City in the future. Finn understands, but figures they still have a whole year before that ever happens and he kisses her again. Looks like Finchel is back. Other happy endings include Blaine and Kurt telling each other "I love you" and the realization that Mercedes and Sam are now dating. Brittany and Santana also have a tender moment together where they express their feelings. The episode ends with the group celebrating their 12th place victory with the smallest trophy I've ever seen.
I cannot wait until next school year!
The Pros:
The episode was filmed on site in New York City!!!
The opening with Rhapsody in Blue. I am in love with that piece of music!!
Quite a few original songs tonight! Rachel and Finn's duet "Pretending" followed by the big New Directions number "Light Up the World" were both awesome. The song "As Long as You're There" sung by Sunshine Corazon and Vocal Adrenaline was also an original song written for the episode. And while Mr. Schuester's "Still Got Tonight" wasn't written for Glee, it wasn't a cover either. It comes from Matthew Morrison's debut album. Oh, and gotta love Brittany singing "My Cup"!
The opening mashup of Madonna's "I Love New York" and the song "New York, New York" from the musical On The Town was so colorful and fun! It really made me want to run away and move to New York City!
Rachel looked unbelievably beautiful in this episode. I couldn't get over it. She was simply stunning on the date with Finn, in the blue dress with the adorable updo. Who wouldn't want to kiss her? And that rainbow coat she had on earlier? So pretty!!
"Bella Notte" from Disney's The Lady and the Tramp was adorable. Puck and Artie are fantastic, are they not?
Rachel and Kurt's duet "For Good" from the musical Wicked was also very, very good! And it was filmed on the actual Wicked stage, how cool is that?
I am glad they didn't win Nationals. As mean as that sounds, a win just wouldn't have been very believable. Just making it to Nationals is a success in and of itself, and ranking twelfth in the nation is still pretty dang good. They still beat out 38 other schools! Besides, it gives them something else to aspire towards next season. Maybe they can rank higher.
Finn and Rachel are back together and I love it! Seriously, love it!! The big surprise kiss where the sound disappeared and it was like they were frozen in time...in that moment. Oh, just spectacular!
The Cons:
I would have liked more New York-themed songs in this episode. There was just the one mashup.
I'm also a little annoyed that they flew all the way to New York without even knowing what songs they were going to sing. In fact, their first assignment there was to write them! I love Glee, but sometimes I just roll my eyes at how they never practice for anything. Ever.
Plenty of character closure at the end, but they left out Will and Emma. I would have liked to see her waiting for him at the airport or something romantic like that. Mostly I just love Emma and wish she were in more episodes...
They also wrapped up the season without Sue. I guess she had her big moment last episode... but it seems odd to leave her out of the big finale. Maybe a scene at the end of her saying "Congratulations" to the kids. That would have been nice.
Kurt sings "Some People" from the musical, Gypsy. Image property of Fox.
Jessie is the glee club's new consultant, and he doesn't seem to think that Finn should sing any solos at Nationals. Now Finn's confidence is shattered and his hate for Jessie is intensified. But he's not the only one who can't stand him. When Jessie decides that everyone should have to audition for solos, his harsh critiques get under some people's skin. Thankfully Mr. Schuester kicks Jessie to the curb in the end, and decides that New Directions will perform as a group, and not as individuals.
Meanwhile, Terri is helping Sue to alter the glee club's plane route, sending them to Libya instead of New York. Seems like Sue is just as mean and cruel as ever. So mean, in fact, that she's kicked little Becky off of the Cheerios squad. But it turns out that all of this rage is bubbling up due to the fact that her sister Jean has recently passed away. Sue struggles to cope with this death, and reaches out to Mr. Schuester and the glee club kids who help her to plan the funeral. She's so moved by their love and support that she comes clean about her devious schemes and even wishes them good luck as they head to Nationals next week.
Hearing Sue talk about how she always felt "tethered" to her sister in a way, Finn realizes that he doesn't feel that way about Quinn... but rather, with Rachel. After the funeral he breaks up with Quinn, who refuses to accept it. But the timing couldn't be more off. Now that he's free to pursue Rachel, he finds that she and Jessie seem to have gotten back together.
The Pros:
Once again Sue Sylvester has depth! With the death of her sister, her vulnerable side broke through her tough exterior... there were some very powerful scenes with her, especially her funeral speech (with the help of Mr. Schuester). Way to go, Jane Lynch, for delivering a terrific performance.
Rachel's gold star stickers are back! Hee hee. Reminded me of the first episode... aw.
Great auditions from Santana, Kurt, Mercedes and Rachel. These four really are the strongest singers of the bunch, aren't they? I loved Santana's "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse, Kurt's "Some People" from Gypsy, Mercedes' "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding and Rachel's "My Man" from Funny Girl.
I was very happy that the funeral scene and the breakup scene were both done without a sappy score. Silence! Beautiful silence really aided the emotional impact of those scenes. The performances really stood on their own. (And I'm overjoyed that Finn broke up with Quinn!)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory's "Pure Imagination" performed by the entire glee club was beautiful! I loved it!
Terri Schuester is now moving to Miami to manage a Sheets 'N Things store. That means she's out of Will's life for good!! Thank you, Jesus!
Rachel, to Santana, "How do you get that raspiness?" Santana's response? "I smoke cigars." Ha ha! Love it!
There were older songs and show tunes tonight! YES!
The Cons:
Sue Sylvester's sister passed away, and I bawled my eyes out.
I'm sad that Finn saw Jessie kissing Rachel, right after breaking up with Quinn. I just want Rachel and Finn back together!! Please make it happen, people!
Jessie St. James' character is much more annoying than it was last season. Seriously, I just wanted to punch him in the face all night. Grr!
Where was Blaine? Why didn't I hear his beautiful voice tonight? And speaking of characters who are M.I.A., whatever happened to Coach Beiste?
Puck, Artie and Sam performing at McKinley's prom. Image property of Fox.
The kids of New Directions are performing at prom, no matter how hard Sue Sylvester protests. The entertainment for the big night has fallen through, and Principal Figgins figures it's a budget-friendly way of filling the bill. Sue just requests that they not sing any stupid songs... like "Run, Joey, Run."
When Puck finds out that everyone thinks Zises wears the pants in their relationship, he decides he really needs to regain his reputation of being a tough guy. His plan is to spike the prom punch bowl with alcohol, but he needs Artie's help to do it. Without the love of Brittany anymore, Artie figures he has nothing to lose.
Kurt asks Blaine to go to prom with him, and he's a little hesitant to accept. He had tried to go to a school dance with a boy he liked a few years ago at his old school, and it resulted in them both getting a beat-down from some high school guys. Eventually he agrees to go. Although things at school seem fine, at prom Kurt discovers that kids are still hating on him. They've voted him as their Prom Queen just to make fun of him. Kurt is supposed to dance with Karofsky (the Prom King) but Karofsky just couldn't handle it, even though he clearly has feelings for Kurt too.
Mercedes and Rachel asked Sam to take them both, but when Jessie St. James comes back into Rachel's life, the trio becomes a double date. Finn becomes ridiculously jealous of Jessie and Rachel, and he decides to duke it out with Jessie at prom. Quinn in turn slaps Rachel! Such drama! But it looks like perhaps Sam and Mercedes might become an item... but that's just hopeful optimism on my part.
The Pros:
Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" performed by Rachel with the unexpected surprise of Jessie St. James' return was nothing short of spectacular. I really loved turning the song into an a capella duet... awesome harmonies!
Mercedes saying "I thought this song was about a baby..." when Artie serenaded Brittany with Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" was funny. Too bad Brittany is still mad at Artie...
Rebecca Black's popularity just rises and rises doesn't it? Not only has her music video "Friday" gone viral on YouTube, but now Glee is covering the song! (Of course Glee does it better)
Quinn looked so beautiful in her prom dress!
"I'm just showing you my dental kit..." Ha ha ha! I loved when Sue Sylvester was torturing Artie for information after he was caught spiking the punch. "You are the worst POW ever! John McCain is rolling in his grave!"
Blaine's performance of "I'm Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" by the Black Kids was pretty sexy cool. It doesn't help that I already have a little crush on Darren Criss... too bad Finn and Jessie were fighting throughout it!
I love that Blaine and Kurt got to have their dance together... and in front of everyone!
The Cons:
Kurt's fashion choices are very bold and I applaud that... but no man should wear a kilt to prom. Hideous!
When Kurt's name was announced as Prom Queen my heart stopped. It was so quiet and so awkward... Although that part was done very well, everything that followed was a little big over-dramatic.
Quinn slapped Rachel and Rachel didn't even get mad. I would have slapped her back!
