Well, RAPUNZEL has opened successfully, and today I am back at Vestavia High School, subbing for an English teacher. The kids are all seniors, and the largest class is 12 students, so it should be a very easy day...
GREASE is making its' way towards a 17 October opening, and we are on schedule. We have no time to waste, but we're completely blocked and choreographed as of last night, so we are ready to start running the show and finding the characters, etc. We have a talented group, so all should be well.
Tuesday night brought a fun event, singing with 5 friends at "The Club," a venerable Birmingham institution that has apparently changed very little since the Rat Pack era (and may it ever stay there! :-) Broadway tunes were offered after a seated dinner in a large ballroom...one could almost see Frank, Dino, and Sammy snapping their fingers along with the little piano/bass/drum combo.
This weekend is the annual Sidewalk Film Festival, which Lovey and I are planning to attend. The films usually range from brilliant to "what the hell," but are almost always entertaining for one reason or another...plus, it's a chance to wander around and drink beer in the daytime without being considered a complete reprobate...
On the political front, John McCain is suspending his campaign to try and straighten out the $700 billion bailout kerfuffle. Whatever. It sounds like he's running scared, in my opinion. Also interesting is the sudden proclamation from King Dubya that the economic sky is falling... (no sh*t, Sherlock.) One wonders how we went from a resilient, strong economy to the pits of despair in just a week or two.
Caribou Barbie continues to alternately amuse and disgust.
In today's News From The Motherland...Busta Rhymes detained at airport...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7635992.stm
OBAMA IN 08!!!
FLT3
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
TGIF
Oh yes, it is once again Friday...and there is joy in the air. The breeze is cool and soothing, and people on the street seem to have a bit more of a spring in the step. Smiles come more easily, and manners and courtesy seem heightened...
Okay, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but people do seem happier on Friday. I would hazard a guess that fewer violent crimes take place on Friday. Let's hope so...
A grand and glorious greeting goes out to my good friend Selina, who found my blog through the increasingly ubiquitous Facebook. Hey, sugar!!!!! Counting Selina, my readers now number in the high single digits... woo hoo!!!!
Must make my way into the theatre for the next-to-final day of dress rehearsal for BCT's RAPUNZEL. The cast has done a great job!
In today's News From The Motherland... asteroid-a-rama!!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7623411.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
Okay, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but people do seem happier on Friday. I would hazard a guess that fewer violent crimes take place on Friday. Let's hope so...
A grand and glorious greeting goes out to my good friend Selina, who found my blog through the increasingly ubiquitous Facebook. Hey, sugar!!!!! Counting Selina, my readers now number in the high single digits... woo hoo!!!!
Must make my way into the theatre for the next-to-final day of dress rehearsal for BCT's RAPUNZEL. The cast has done a great job!
In today's News From The Motherland... asteroid-a-rama!!!!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7623411.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Chez Pancake
Just returned from a Birmingham landmark...The Original Pancake House. Lovey and I indulged in (and I quote) "ridiculously sugary pancakes." For those who are unfamiliar with this pinnacle of skillet-baked breakfast comestibles, the OPH is to the IHOP what London is to Dubuque... the latter may be pleasant and enjoyable, but there is, quite simply, no comparison.
The OPH is snugly nestled in the Five Points area of Birmingham's Southside, so named for the confluence of five streets. The food is amazingly caloric, indulgent, and oh so good...pancakes slathered with butter, fluffy eggs scrambled in butter, toast with (you guessed it) butter, and so forth. This is not a place to visit if you are on a diet.
Okay, this paragraph is being written about eight hours after the preceeding text was saved as a draft, so I can now comment on the rest of the day. We had our final performance of I DO! I DO! today, and it was well received. Now I can turn my full attention towards BCT's production of RAPUNZEL, which I am directing (opening next week) and CenterStage's GREASE (opening 17 October.) I have no doubt that there will be more discussion of each of these in days to come.
Turning towards things political, the inevitable Republican flag-waving and rallying around McCain/Palin has begun. My thought is this... haven't the last eight years demonstrated the inefficacy of an idiot president being led around by a soulless and malevolent second-in-command? To quote my good friend and unsung philosopher Jonathan Goldstein, "I'm just sayin'..."
McCain seems an affable enough moron, but then so did Dubya in 2000. Palin gives me the shivers one would get in the presence of any despotic would-be dictator. Take it from me, friends, this woman is baaaaaaad news. Anyone who inspires hordes of people to revel in backward-assed provincialism is bad enough, but when she looks like an ill-tempered middle school librarian who enjoys kicking puppies? No thank you...
In today's News From The Motherland... the Black Pudding Toss is underway!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7615418.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
The OPH is snugly nestled in the Five Points area of Birmingham's Southside, so named for the confluence of five streets. The food is amazingly caloric, indulgent, and oh so good...pancakes slathered with butter, fluffy eggs scrambled in butter, toast with (you guessed it) butter, and so forth. This is not a place to visit if you are on a diet.
Okay, this paragraph is being written about eight hours after the preceeding text was saved as a draft, so I can now comment on the rest of the day. We had our final performance of I DO! I DO! today, and it was well received. Now I can turn my full attention towards BCT's production of RAPUNZEL, which I am directing (opening next week) and CenterStage's GREASE (opening 17 October.) I have no doubt that there will be more discussion of each of these in days to come.
Turning towards things political, the inevitable Republican flag-waving and rallying around McCain/Palin has begun. My thought is this... haven't the last eight years demonstrated the inefficacy of an idiot president being led around by a soulless and malevolent second-in-command? To quote my good friend and unsung philosopher Jonathan Goldstein, "I'm just sayin'..."
McCain seems an affable enough moron, but then so did Dubya in 2000. Palin gives me the shivers one would get in the presence of any despotic would-be dictator. Take it from me, friends, this woman is baaaaaaad news. Anyone who inspires hordes of people to revel in backward-assed provincialism is bad enough, but when she looks like an ill-tempered middle school librarian who enjoys kicking puppies? No thank you...
In today's News From The Motherland... the Black Pudding Toss is underway!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/7615418.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Who knew "Das Boot" was the S.S. Minnow?
The things one can find on YouTube...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYoRt33t8HQ&feature=related
Not much to report today...just a new treasure from the world of the internet.
In today's News From The Motherland... "Rule, Britannia" once again graces the final night of the Proms...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7613188.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYoRt33t8HQ&feature=related
Not much to report today...just a new treasure from the world of the internet.
In today's News From The Motherland... "Rule, Britannia" once again graces the final night of the Proms...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7613188.stm
OBAMA IN '08!!!
FLT3
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Remembering WB
Today's post could easily go sad, but my goal is to keep it bright, funny, and enjoyable...just like the person it honors.
I lost a very good friend this week. Walter Brown McCord was a very special person. We first met 21 years ago when he was costuming Guys And Dolls for Theatre Tuscaloosa. A friendship was struck up immediately, and we were extremely close from that day on. The past 21 years have been richer for my having known him.
It is almost impossible to describe WB. He spoke with an inimitable (well, extremely imitable, actually) cadence and vocal inflection that was somewhere between British aristocracy and low-country Carolinian by way of New York. He was one of the most educated and sophisticated people I ever knew, yet could enjoy a ribald joke or silly humor with enthusiasm. Physically, he was somewhat of a scruffy John Gielgud with longer hair. His laugh was somewhere between a growl and a cough, no doubt a result of the cigarette that was seldom out of his reach. I sincerely thank God for all the laughs we shared.
WB was easily irritated in a comedic manner. He was affectionate and extremely kind, but his compliments were as often followed by "you little shit" or "sumnabitch" as not.
There are thousands of celebrity-filled stories surrounding his years in New York. I have no doubt that many of these stories were...shall we say...embellished a bit, but who cares? Each and every one was a gem, and some of my happiest memories involve sitting up well past midnight listening to his tales as WB slaved and cursed over a sewing machine, far behind schedule on whatever show he was costuming. He always promised that nobody would go onstage naked, however, and to my knowledge nobody ever did.
We had not seen each other as frequently over the past few years, as his health declined and he approached 80. We did, however, talk on the phone at least once every couple of weeks. (God, how I wish I could call him one more time...) I will always be grateful that when we hung up the phone, we always said "love you" and "love you too." Those were literally the last words we ever exchanged, and I can't think of a more appropriate adieu.
I will, no doubt, write more about WB in posts to come. His story is far too rich to be told in a single sitting. I am sad, I mourn his passing, but I also celebrate his life, which is exactly what he would have wanted me to do. Sumnabitch.
No News From The Motherland or YouTube today. This post is all about Walter Brown McCord.
FLT3
I lost a very good friend this week. Walter Brown McCord was a very special person. We first met 21 years ago when he was costuming Guys And Dolls for Theatre Tuscaloosa. A friendship was struck up immediately, and we were extremely close from that day on. The past 21 years have been richer for my having known him.
It is almost impossible to describe WB. He spoke with an inimitable (well, extremely imitable, actually) cadence and vocal inflection that was somewhere between British aristocracy and low-country Carolinian by way of New York. He was one of the most educated and sophisticated people I ever knew, yet could enjoy a ribald joke or silly humor with enthusiasm. Physically, he was somewhat of a scruffy John Gielgud with longer hair. His laugh was somewhere between a growl and a cough, no doubt a result of the cigarette that was seldom out of his reach. I sincerely thank God for all the laughs we shared.
WB was easily irritated in a comedic manner. He was affectionate and extremely kind, but his compliments were as often followed by "you little shit" or "sumnabitch" as not.
There are thousands of celebrity-filled stories surrounding his years in New York. I have no doubt that many of these stories were...shall we say...embellished a bit, but who cares? Each and every one was a gem, and some of my happiest memories involve sitting up well past midnight listening to his tales as WB slaved and cursed over a sewing machine, far behind schedule on whatever show he was costuming. He always promised that nobody would go onstage naked, however, and to my knowledge nobody ever did.
We had not seen each other as frequently over the past few years, as his health declined and he approached 80. We did, however, talk on the phone at least once every couple of weeks. (God, how I wish I could call him one more time...) I will always be grateful that when we hung up the phone, we always said "love you" and "love you too." Those were literally the last words we ever exchanged, and I can't think of a more appropriate adieu.
I will, no doubt, write more about WB in posts to come. His story is far too rich to be told in a single sitting. I am sad, I mourn his passing, but I also celebrate his life, which is exactly what he would have wanted me to do. Sumnabitch.
No News From The Motherland or YouTube today. This post is all about Walter Brown McCord.
FLT3
Monday, September 01, 2008
Oh Labor Day...
Apologies for the two-week hiatus. Between I DO! I DO! and a few other projects, I have been absent from the blogosphere. I will embrace the feeling of "back to school" that permeates the air and endeavor to write regularly.
Lovey and I went to a very nice party last night, given by some theatre friends. It was a relaxed, poolside affair with a convivial group. We enjoyed it as a nice ending to a full weekend.
Speaking of weekends, this is, of course, Labor Day Weekend. It was exactly 17 years ago (Sweet Mother of God) that some friends and I went Labor Day Caroling. Yes, you heard (read?) correctly...Labor Day Caroling. After a few festive beverages, we decided to compose our own carols...I can't recall the entire song list, but I do remember a snippet here and there. A particular favorite was "Rufus The Trash Man," sung to the tune of "Frosty The Snow Man."
"Rufus the trash man
Doesn't work on Labor Day.
He barbeques with his best friend Bill,
And a plumber named Jose..."
Also favored was "Oh Labor Day," to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree."
"Oh Labor Day! Oh Labor Day!
With joy we celebrate you!
Oh Labor Day! Oh Labor Day!
Although the bosses hate you!"
Yes...we were creative in those days. We even had a Labor Day tree, made of a wicker broom and cotton balls. Oh, the joys of youth and beer...
Tomorrow I begin rehearsal for RAPUNZEL, which I am directing for Birmingham Children's Theatre. The script is charming, and the cast is talented, so it should be a very successful project. I am looking forward to it. Also on the horizon is GREASE, which I am directing for CenterStage in October, The VST production of THE 1940's RADIO HOUR which opens in December (playing Clifton Feddington) as well as the BCT production of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, which I am also directing. Add to this the monthly performances of ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE at Vulcan Park, and I have a busy fall theatrically speaking.
I believe I hear Lovey stirring about, so I will close for now. In today's News From The Motherland... UK shutterbug arrested for camera theft....okay, it's a slow news day... ;-)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7591526.stm
Obama in '08!!!
FLT3
Lovey and I went to a very nice party last night, given by some theatre friends. It was a relaxed, poolside affair with a convivial group. We enjoyed it as a nice ending to a full weekend.
Speaking of weekends, this is, of course, Labor Day Weekend. It was exactly 17 years ago (Sweet Mother of God) that some friends and I went Labor Day Caroling. Yes, you heard (read?) correctly...Labor Day Caroling. After a few festive beverages, we decided to compose our own carols...I can't recall the entire song list, but I do remember a snippet here and there. A particular favorite was "Rufus The Trash Man," sung to the tune of "Frosty The Snow Man."
"Rufus the trash man
Doesn't work on Labor Day.
He barbeques with his best friend Bill,
And a plumber named Jose..."
Also favored was "Oh Labor Day," to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree."
"Oh Labor Day! Oh Labor Day!
With joy we celebrate you!
Oh Labor Day! Oh Labor Day!
Although the bosses hate you!"
Yes...we were creative in those days. We even had a Labor Day tree, made of a wicker broom and cotton balls. Oh, the joys of youth and beer...
Tomorrow I begin rehearsal for RAPUNZEL, which I am directing for Birmingham Children's Theatre. The script is charming, and the cast is talented, so it should be a very successful project. I am looking forward to it. Also on the horizon is GREASE, which I am directing for CenterStage in October, The VST production of THE 1940's RADIO HOUR which opens in December (playing Clifton Feddington) as well as the BCT production of THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER, which I am also directing. Add to this the monthly performances of ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE at Vulcan Park, and I have a busy fall theatrically speaking.
I believe I hear Lovey stirring about, so I will close for now. In today's News From The Motherland... UK shutterbug arrested for camera theft....okay, it's a slow news day... ;-)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7591526.stm
Obama in '08!!!
FLT3
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