Category Archives: Show

It’s not a musical, but it’s theatre. Or it’s a musical concert that’s physically in a theatre that isn’t dramatic. Or it’s just really confusing.

Jersey Boys, Across the Universe, Misbehavin’ Nightly, Pajama Game and Enchanted (i.e. The Past Three Weeks In Entertainment)

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Jersey Boys The show is a lot of fun. The story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, it’s definitely rated R (they’re from f*ckin’ Jersey after all), but a lot of fun. It’s a biopic musical! Well then again, all biopics about music stars are musicals…I just don’t think I’ve seen the jukebox musical format applied as a biopic and I love it! Across the Universe Wow, two jukebox musicals in one week? You’d think I’d be sick of it, but I’m actually having a heck of a time. Across the Universe is the jukebox movie-musical (has that been done before?) starring the Beatles and an incredibly talented cast (definitely triple threats). Directed by Julie Taymor (the “person” responsible for The Lion King musical), the movie is very enjoyable and taught me a lot of Beatles music. The soundtrack is amazing! It’s chock full of musical goodies and I’ve … Continue reading →

Bill Handel 14th Extravaganza & A Salute To John Williams

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Political correctness is a disease that has a stranglehold on this country. That’s why I go to see Bill Handel’s live show…it’s politically incorrect and hilarious. Where else can you watch James Brown sing “I Feel Dead”, Michael Vick sing “Dead Puppies” and Kim Jong Il Yung sing “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?” Just like the manatees who write Family Guy, if one thing isn’t funny, nothing is funny. A Salute to John Williams – featuring tons of movies you never heard of! Featuring the 501st Legion! Notice the incredibly tall Imperial Fighter. I admire these guys…. March from Superman This piece reminded me of how disappointed I was with Sky Captain…that main theme was so reminiscent of Superman and yet the movie let me down so much…. Harry Potter The Sorcerer’s Stone (actually The Face of Voldemort) Harry’s Wondrous World Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a … Continue reading →

Marvin Hamlisch and the Long Beach Symphony Pops!

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AND THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD BAND JAZZ AMBASSADORS!!!! They played swing music and I had to sit their instead of jumping up and dancing it because no one was able to take up the 2nd ticket. Shoot. So I show up for the event ready for a good time just because I love A Chorus Line (currently playing at the Curtis Theatre in Brea…go see it!) and The Sting. I don’t get a program, take my seat and wait for the show to start. Marvin Hamlisch comes out and tinkles the ivory with “As Time Goes By”, commenting on how memorable movie scores are. He continues with the story of how he got started in the business. He went to Juilliard (never mentioned that he was the youngest person ever to be accepted…he’s a friggin’ prodigy!) and from there played rehearsal piano for Barbara Streisand’s Funny Girl (what’s a … Continue reading →

John Cleese Seven Ways To Skin An Ocelot

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John Cleese Seven Ways To Skin An Ocelot He didn’t know the ocelot was an endangered animal…he thought it was a rare artichoke only grown in Jerusalem. So then he renamed the show to My Life, Times and Current Medical Problems, after which he detailed the removal of part of his infected colon…he showed us pictures and raised shirt to show the scar and everything. He detailed his life growing up in Weston Super-Mare which was, in his words the most boring place on earth. He also shared several slides/video clips including: That time after Graham Chapman died were they got together for an interview and brought Chapman’s ashes. Halfway through the interview, one of the Python’s accidentally kicked the urn and it broke, exploding Chapman everywhere. Hilarious. An anti-smokng ad he did where he impersonated his father. His highlights from Flying Circus. His highlights from Faulty Towers. Having never … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving In Vegas

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So what did I do for Thanksgiving Weekend. Got a haircut. Went to Vegas and created art by being hung upside down and slammed into a canvas covered in paint. No I wasn’t drunk, no I didn’t lose a bet (I’m still too young to gamble!)…I was a participant in the Blue Man Group show at the Venetian. So here’s what happened. A Blue Man selected me randomly out of the audience and brought me up on stage. They helped me into a plain white jumpsuit, placed a blue mark on my cheek (think Indian war paint) and put a blacked out motorcycle helmet on my head. Then they led me off stage and covered the jumpsuit with blue paint (rather roughly I might add). Then they attached a rope to my leg, hung me upside down and slammed me into a canvas. And then they pulled me out of … Continue reading →

Sweeney Todd – STAGEStheatre

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Sweeney Todd This was an incredible performance. If you think about it, Sweeny Todd could really be pulled off in a small space: all you really need from a big stage is that “cube” that has the upstairs barbershop and the downstairs shop which rotates to the oven which rotates to the parlor. This can be (and was) re-envisioned into a small space with two floors. It was beautiful to watch. The small space also makes the chorus that much more haunting as they stare at you from less than 10 feet away screaming “SWEENY!” at you. Holy carp was that exciting! The harmonies were incredibly tight and sounded fantastic. Paired with canned music (which is normally horrible to envision), this resulted in a well-paced and beautiful sounding piece. The acting was incredible, especially Sweeny (who also directed AND musical directed the show) and Mrs. Lovett. They had incredible chemisty … Continue reading →

Lend Me A Tenor – GWC

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People I Knew Mark Bedard – from Guys and Dolls at Goldenwest College Christa Mathis – informally as an acquaintance of Mark Bedard Christian Navarro – informally as a techie for Guys and Dolls at Goldenwest College Tony Torrico – from Guys and Dolls at Goldenwest College

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

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Big Bad Voodoo Daddy in Concert at the Anaheim House of Blues (Downtown Disney) Playlist from 4/23/05 (verified) 1. Zig zaggity woop Woop 2. Simple Songs 3. You Know You Wrong 4. Big time operator 5. Mr. pinstripe suit 6. Minnie the moocher 7. oh yeah 8. king of swing 9. you and me and the bottle makes three tonight 10. Mambo Swing 11. Cruel Spell 12. Jumpin’ jack 13. I Wanna be like you 14. go daddy-o False-stop   15. “Don’t you” feel my leg For this song, Scotty will be playing the role of the lady For this purpose he is wearing a g-string Actually he’s not wearing a g-string He’s not wearing anything at all “The kid” is wearing the g-string   16. So Long, farewell, goodbye “Sweet home Alabama” style rock-out before last note