A few weeks back I wrote about Barbra wanting to remake “Gypsy.” I grabbed at my hair and tried to tug it all out while asking myself WHY?? It’s been done already!! We don’t need another. Let it be, Babs. Let it be.
But hold the phone kids this one is just as bad. Will Smith would like to head a remake of “Annie” starring his daughter, Willow Smith, as the lead role. Worse than that, Sony pictures seems to be on board as a backer for the movie. Even worse, Jay-Z is in talks to join the project to collaborate on the music! Does this mean that the regular Broadway music will be replaced? Will it be a rapping Annie? No one is saying a word.
Whew, that was like a game of “What’s grosser than gross?” Remember those? But back to our story.
I don’t have anything against any of them, but I am wondering if it wouldn’t be better for them to create a new vehicle rather than a rehash of an old dated musical. There aren’t any great original musicals on Broadway or film regarding African American children and they could be a dream team to pull this off.
The sad trend in Hollywood seems to be to remake as many things as possible as quickly as possible. And should a remake not get the green light, then a sequel is the next best option. I mean do we really need another Beverly Hills Chihuahua? I think not. However, with big studios being the greedy entities they are, if there’s a big name attached to something, ANYTHING, then they are willing to put crap on the screen. What gets me is that people GO and WATCH it!
I say leave the movie alone and do something original and powerful. For the love of whatever god you believe in, Smith!
Then again, how many samples did Will Smith use in his music? I guess he needs to sample scripts too.
I have been trying to figure out what the likely-hood of doing two show, nearly simltaneously, would entail, and it JUST dawned on me. DE-nied!!! There isn’t any possible way that it could happen. I would be missing the first three weeks of rehearsals if I were cast in Cabaret with Sunnyvale, and getting from the rehearsal space for Bless Me, Ultima to the rehearsal space for Cabaret on Sundays would be a mess. Super sad that the possibility of doing both is now dead. I won’t say impossible, because I am sure that if they are willing to overlook all those conflicts I am willing to give it a go. I’m just sayin’ that the positivity rate is looking pretty low right about now!
Not related to the above paragraph, did you know that Seattle will be the home for the creation of the new “Aladdin” musical? It will have all the songs from the film and reinsert the missing songs that were cut from the Disney film!! Hooray! It will be awesome for “Proud Of Your Boy” to be heard by the masses. It’s an amazing song that always makes me get a little misty eyed. The company that is the lucky duck is Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. This is the same company that premiered “A Christmas Story: The Musical!” this past holiday season. Yes, it’s based off of the beloved movie that shares it’s name! “You’ll shoot your eye out!” This company attracts such an amazing caliber of talent that one can only expect sheer amazing fantasticalness that will the the staged production of “Aladdin.” Here are some ACS clips that I’ve found on the tube!
This boy, Clarke Hallum, is gonna be a force on Broadway one day!! And these guys are utterly brilliant!!! Check out this song writing team!!! Oh muh gawd!! Benj Pasek and Justin Paul!!!
Wow!! I did it! Ten posts in ten days. I am usually not this diligent but I am super excited that I am done!
One of the things that this exercise has taught me is that it’s really hard to open up about yourself to people who may or may not know you. In a past issue of Backstage, Amy Adams, when asked about aspects of being an actor that she didn’t like said “You’re very subject to people’s opinions. It’s hard to have tough skin and a vulnerable heart. It’s a delicate balance.” Being an actor comes with a lot of disappointment. There are so many times, when one just isn’t what the director has pictured in their heads, and it could be any of several different things. Rejection is always hard to get through, but actors shake it off and move on to the next audition and the next and the next. After a while even though you question why in the world you continue to do this to yourself, you know there’s nothing else that you would enjoy as much as performing.
Day Ten: One confession.
This is the hardest one by far. Here is my confession:
I will never be comfortable in my own skin. I really want to and I am going to work on it, but I know it’s gonna be the hardest thing I’d ever have to work on. Jeez my hands are shaking as I put this out there.
My dad loved James Brown’s music. His music could make my dad dance. Of course, my dad would dance like him. There’s a youtube video below for those of you who don’t know who James Brown is. He wore his hair like him and everything. But my dad was also racist. Sad, huh? A minority being racist against another minority. And he was at his worse when he was coked up and drunk. Except when it came to James Brown. He was the one man that my dad refused to acknowledge as a strong black man despite the lyrics “Say it loud, I’m Black and I’m proud.” So as a kid, I grew up with the idea that being dark was a horrible thing. I have the darkest pigment of my parents and my siblings. On top of that I had to spend summers in the hot-ass town of Bakersfield. Which of course made my skin even darker! I grew to LOATHE that awful place and myself even more. I was called every horrible racial thing and that was okay with my parents. Sometimes it was my parents doing the name calling. Sometimes I am still called things like darkie or spook. They’d tell the littlest nieces or nephews “Who’s that black guy?” But they’d say it fearfully that would make the kids cry. Eventually, the kids get over it, but it teaches them such a bad behavior, and the kids think that it’s okay to say the same things.
In his old age, my dad is still a rickety bitter man, but he’s off the drugs and booze. As for the racism, it’s still there, but it’s toned down immensely. While I am very happy about that, the marks of his abusiveness will always remain a part of me.
When I stop and take the time to think about it, I feel like that could be the root of my big problem with having to look at myself. And this project has been as I said before a great exercise to help me work out some of the mess that is my personality. And by doing this, I hope that this makes me a little more fearless. After all with most of my personal laundry out in the webz, what else do I have to lose!
*Sigh* Okay, so now that I have gotten that out, what are YOU going to share? What’s your confession? I’d like to thank all of you how checked in and kept up with all ten days. You are greatly appreciated! I promise.
I was reading the Merc. Yeah, I know, when did I begin to read the paper? It all began when the Sunday paper began to be left on our step/stoop (I don’t know if one calls a single step that leads up to the front door a stoop or not) I don’t know why, but it’s been there every Sunday for about the last four weeks. So, why not read it if no one is taking it. By the way don’t let the telemarketers fool you when they say that you can get hundreds of dollars in coupon savings. It’s a lie! But back to my original story…
I was reading the Merc, that’s what the cool folks are calling it, and the major article on the front page was about the 10 most powerful women in the Silicon Valley. It’s a pretty impressive list. One of the things they pointed out was that on this particular list there was only one person who was an actual CEO of a company…and she was number 3! The article went on to state that while most of these women were next in line for the title of CEO, their jobs held just as much responsibility and power, albeit most of it was behind the scenes as in streamlining department processes and mergers and the like. It did raise a question though. One that most women in theatre and movies ask all the time. Where are the great leading roles for women?!? So I don’t leave you hanging, there’s an interesting argument that while these women are incredibly powerful, women view the term “success” much differently than men. Men are greedy when it comes to power. They aren’t comfortable with sharing their knowledge and helping fellow associates to do their job better because then it could put that associate in direct competition for the alpha dog position. Women on the other hand are happy to share their knowledge and lend a hand to their colleagues to help them succeed. That was just a theory that one of the interviewees spoke about, but I think its a very valid point and one that sounds more like fact than theory.
What does this have to do with theatre? As I stated before, there has been a question in the theatre and movie industry that’s asking where all the great female lead roles are at. To be frank, I don’t have an answer. But I will say this. Sure there are the iconic roles of Mama Rose, Evita Peron, Sally Bowles, Velma Kelley, Roxy Hart, Elphaba, Glenda, and Eliza Doolittle, and Aunie Mame, but what about all the new stuff that’s come from Broadway recently like Diana Goodman from “Next to Normal”, Elle Woods from “Legally Blonde”, Celie and Sophia from “The Color Purple”, Felicia from “Memphis” and The Lady In The Lake from “Spamalot”. That’s just a TINY number of amazing roles that have a complexity that every actor seeks to find. Or maybe it’s just me being jealous that ladies have a million amazing songs that I would give my pinkie toe to sing. There are a number of shows that have female characters that can easily pull a Judy Dench! And by “Pull a Judy Dench” I mean be on screen/stage for mere minutes and get an award nomination! So let’s get Dench!!
Day Nine: Two smileys that describe your life right now.
Okay well this is akward! I am a total nincompoop when it comes to emoticons. Would it be a total cope out if I just write out the way the smileys should look? Oh, wait!! Duh, that’s what cut and paste is for, ya know?
2.
Because I seem to be constantly on the go with only approximately 5 hours of good sleep a night, I am often more tired than what I would consider normal. Maybe all these years of constant activity are finally starting to catch up in my old age. Hahahaha!! I don’t think so!! I just need to get into some sort of sleep schedule and I will be all hunky dory!
1.Ummm, hello? I had an amazing day at work today, went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner (I had the half and half meal YUMMY!), made it to the gym for a great run, AND had me a glass or three of wine? Life is GRAND, people!!! Life is frackin’ grand.
Miss Emily and me.
My dear Miss Emily was one of the very first girl best friends that I had in a very long time. She could ask me to do anything and I would happily oblige. As you can tell. She is the reason that a lot of these “Hello Dolly” pictures exist. She is a kind wonderful friend who I miss greatly. In yesterday’s post I wrote that there would be people that you just lose touch with and unfortunately this beautiful soul was one of them. I told her about my fears. I complained to her. She listened intently and talked me through those things the way a calm and logical friend usually does. On the rare days when she complained, I would be there for her. She made me a little photo book that I absolutely treasure and have up in my home. In the end of the book, she added quotes like “A friend is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out.” – unknown.
I miss you, Emily. I hope you are well and making the most out of life.
You know, sometimes when you get involved with a production, you never know where it’s gonna lead or even better all the amazing people you will meet. I feel so blessed that I have gotten to know all of these amazing and talented folks who have enriched my life to the nth degree. Honest! For example, today I got a text from Stephen, a cast mate from Sweet Charity and White Christmas, and it made me smile like a clown. Sometimes you unfortunately lose track of some, and other times, like with Stephen, you KNOW you’ll keep in touch. I can’t wait until I get to work with him again.
Day Eight: Three turn ons.
Yay, FINALLY an easy one!! I don’t like the use of “turn on” because that implies a sort of biblical intimacy that just isn’t always the case.
3. Talent – I love performers! I appreciate the fact that they can share an openness about themselves that transcend mere conversation.
2. Intelligence – I love to learn stuff. It doesn’t even really matter what it is! Things that I never thought I would ever need to know, have popped into the most random conversations.
1. Kindness – There is nothing more amazing than a person that helps others and asks for nothing in return. There aren’t enough people in the world who have this capacity. Society has turned most of humanity into a self serving entity. So much so that when someone actually does something randomly kind, people don’t know how to react and begin offering stuff in an effort to not feel like something will be asked for at a later date. It’s a damn shame.
Me and the BFF are goin' dancing
Who goes out in an ascot? *Thumbs pointing to self* This guy! haha! I just wish that we were standing a little closer or that she was feigning the other way. Then it would look like I was snickering at her. Also a little bummed that my knickers weren’t captured in the shot. I worked really hard on them. I can’t wait for the next Club Satori. Its fun when the music is good. The fact that they offer pear cider doesn’t hurt!!! Cheers!
So what “turns you on”? Or better yet, what qualities do you appreciate in others? Is it something that you possess? Lemme know!
The Actorvist 