In Others' Words

Gethsemane

2011-06-24T00:01:00.091-04:00

"Gethsemane (I Only Want To Say)"

by Tim Rice

from Jesus Christ Superstar (1971)

I only want to say ...
If there is a way,
Take this cup away from me
For I don't want to taste its poison.
Feel it burn me,
I have changed.

I'm not as sure
As when we started.

Then I was inspired,
Now I'm sad and tired.
Listen, surely I've exceeded
Expectations,
Tried for three years ...
Seems like thirty.
Could you ask as much
From any other man?

But if I die,
See the saga through
And do the things you ask of me.
Let them hate me, hit me, hurt me,
Nail me to their tree.

I'd want to know, my God.
I'd want to see, my God,
Why I should die.
Would I be more noticed
Than I ever was before?
Would the things I've said and done
Matter any more?

I'd have to know, my Lord.
I'd have to see, my Lord.

If I die what will be my reward?
I'd have to know, my Lord.

Why, why should I die?
Oh, why should I die?
Can you show me now
That I would not be killed in vain?
Show me just a little
Of your omnipresent brain.

Show me there's a reason
For your wanting me to die.

You're far too keen on where and how,
But not so hot on why.

All right, I'll die!
Just watch me die!
See how, see how I die!
Oh, just watch me die!

Then I was inspired,

Now I'm sad and tired.
After all I've tried for three years,
Seems like ninety.
Why then am I

Scared to finish what I started?
What you started,
I didn't start it.

God, thy will is hard,
But you hold every card.
I will drink your cup of poison.
Nail me to your cross and break me.
Bleed me, beat me,
Kill me, take me now,
Before I change my mind.

I was ten years old when I saw my first Broadway show and THAT show was the original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar. It was followed quickly by Godspell and Grease, all in my middle school years from 1971 to 1972. It certainly helped to live in Connecticut, which is only an easy two-hour train ride to the City.

I frankly don't much care for Godspell and Grease, but Jesus Christ Superstar remains one of my favorite musicals (even if it is a "Sir Andrew" show). I credit this "rock opera" with igniting my passion for theatre ... and this song, in particular, still thrills me to this day.

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning for a week in Seattle and Alaska! So, I'll be back with my next post on Friday, July 1 ... Have a great week.

Endless Night

2011-06-23T14:30:00.006-04:00

"Endless Night"

by Tim Rice

from The Lion King (1997)

Where has the starlight gone?
Dark is the day.
How can I find my way home?

Home is an empty dream,
Lost to the night.
Father, I feel so alone ...

You promised you'd be there,
Whenever I needed you,
Whenever I call your name,
You're not anywhere.

I'm trying to hold on ...
Just waiting to hear your voice.
One word, just a word will do
To end this nightmare.

When will the dawning break?
Oh, endless night.
Sleepless, I dream of the day ...

When you were by my side,
Guiding my path.
Father, I can't find the way.

You promised you'd be there,
Whenever I needed you,
Whenever I call your name,
You're not anywhere.

I'm trying to hold on ...
Just waiting to hear your voice.
One word, just a word will do
To end this nightmare.

I know that the night must end,
And that the sun will rise.
I know that the clouds must clear,
And that the sun will shine.

I know that the night must end.
I know that the sun will rise,
And I'll hear your voice deep inside.

I know that the night must end.
And that the clouds must clear ...
The sun,
The sun will rise.

OK ... so I know I'll make some of my fellow Disney fans mad at me (and I may even have to give up my Disney Annual Pass and credit card), but I've never felt that Disney animated features belong on the Broadway stage. A theme park stage, maybe, but not Broadway. I am a DEVOTED fan of the Disney animated feature but, as wonderful as they are, these films typically have paper-thin plots and not much more than two-dimensional characters (pun perhaps unintended). Feel free to call me a theatre snob or elitist ... but they don't, in my humble opinion, translate well as "legitimate" theatre. Of course, I recognize the tourist trade and big box office sales. And that's not to say there aren't PLENTY of other non-Disney musicals that don't belong there as well (... can anyone say Mamma Mia! ?).

Disney's 1994 film version of The Lion King was a delight. Loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet (among other sources), the feature also had original songs by Elton John and Tim Rice and a thrilling score by Hans Zimmer (augmented by traditional African music and choral work by South African composer Lebo M.). It was translated for the stage three years later by director, Julie Taymor, and it has been running ever since (it is currently the seventh longest-running show on Broadway, with Beauty and the Beast right behind and Mary Poppins moving up the list).

I was eager to experience the reported visual feast of puppetry and stage spectacle but I have to admit that, after the first fifteen minutes or so, the novelty wore off and I was a little, well ... bored. There is one song written especially for the musical, however, that I absolutely love - "Endless Night." Enjoy ...

Easy To Be Hard

2011-06-22T13:48:00.027-04:00

"Easy To Be Hard"

by James Rado and Gerome Ragni

from Hair (1967)

How can people be so heartless?
How can people be so cruel?
Easy to be hard ...
Easy to be cold.

How can people have no feelings?
You know I'm hung up on you.
Easy to be proud ...
Easy to say no.

Especially people
Who care about strangers,
Who care about evil
And social injustice.
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend ...

How can people be so heartless?
How can they ignore their friends?
Easy to give in ...
Easy to help out.

Especially people
Who care about strangers,
Who say they care about

Social injustice.
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?

How about a needing friend?
I need a friend ...

How can people have no feelings?
How can they ignore their friends?
Easy to be hard.
Easy to be cold.
Easy to be proud.
Easy to say no.

I was watching the film Taking Woodstock last night, and it got me thinking about the musical Hair (for obvious reasons). I've seen the stage production twice ... the recent, and extraordinarily disappointing, Broadway revival and a strong local production. My first introduction to the musical was Three Dog Night's cover of the song "Easy To Be Hard" - I was only six when the musical first played off-Broadway, after all. It still remains my favorite song in the show.

Though the 1979 Milos Forman film version (with electrifying choreography by Twyla Tharp) has NOTHING to do with the musical, it succeeds in its own right ... I love the film, though most "musical theatre types" despise it. Here is the brilliant film performance of the song by stage and film performer, Cheryl Barnes.

How I Paid for College

2011-06-21T13:28:00.002-04:00

How I Paid for College (2004)

by Michael Ende

The story of how I paid for college begins like life itself - in a pool of water. Not in the primordial ooze from which prehistoric fish first developed arms and crawled onto the shore but in a heavily chlorinated pool of water in the backyard of Gloria D'Angelo's split-level ranch in Camptown, New Jersey.

Aunt Glo.

She's not my aunt, really, she's my friend Paula's aunt, but everybody calls her Aunt Glo and she calls us kids the LBs, short for Little Bastards.

Aunt Glo yells. Always yells. She yells from the basement where she does her son the priest's laundry. She yells from the upstairs bathroom, where she scrubs the tub to calm her nerves. And she yells from her perch behind the kitchen sink, where she stirs her marinara sauce and watches us float in the heavily chlorinated pool of water.

Like life itself, the story of how I paid for college begins with a yell ...

Thus begins one of the single funniest books I've ever read. How I Paid for College is subtitled A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theater. It's a difficult book to describe (as the subtitle probably suggests), but it's HYSTERICAL ... particularly if you're a "theatre person." Here's the description from the back of the book ...

"It's 1983 in Wallingford, New Jersey, a sleepy bedroom community outside Manhattan. Seventeen-year-old Edward Zanni, a feckless Ferris Bueller type, is Peter Panning his way through a carefree summer of magic and mischief. The fun comes to a halt, however, when Edward's father remarries and refuses to pay for Edward to study acting at Juilliard. So Edward turns to his misfit friends to help him steal the tuition money from his father. Disguising themselves as nuns and priests, Edward and his friends merrily scheme their way through embezzlement, money laundering, identity theft, forgery, and blackmail. But along the way, Edward also learns the value of friendship, hard work, and how you're not really a man until you can beat up your father - metaphorically, that is."

It's an adult, EXTREMELY black comic caper with a cast of delightful teen-angsty misfits (these are NOT the "Glee" kids) ... I read it when it first came out and I've been staring at it (and its sequel Attack of the Theater People) on my "favorites bookshelf" for some time now. I need to give them another go!

Disneyland

2011-06-20T00:01:00.044-04:00

"Disneyland"

by Howard Ashman

from Smile (1986)

Hot summer night,

I guess the folks were busy fighting.
Joe'd already left home.

Eleven years old on my own
Feeling nothing but lonely.

There's nothing to do.

There's nothing out there but the traffic
Down on state ninety-three,
So I'd sit through the night

By our old black and white TV.

That's where I saw it.
That's when I heard it.
Calling, calling me ...

Disneyland, Magic Kingdom.
Disneyland ...

I close my eyes real tight.
Wishing hard I might, wishing hard I may.

Find my way to
Disneyland, gotta get to
Disneyland

On a western breeze
Magic carpet please, carry me away.

Oh, I know you're gonna say

The trees are paper mache.
It's done with mirrors, the magic there.
Each little bird's full of springs,

You press a button it sings
Recorded music in the air.

They've had the mountain refaced

It's only plywood and paste -
Go on say it!

I'll turn around and tell you I don't care!
I don't ... care.

I will live in

Disneyland.
Make my home in

Disneyland.
Maybe it's all fake,

That's a chance I'll take,
It's perfectly OK.

Someone give me
Disneyland.
Take me there
To Disneyland.
And when I get to Disneyland ...
I'll stay!

I'm heading to Universal Studios in Orlando early this morning, so I thought a theme-park themed song would be appropriate for today's post. This song comes from the musical flop, Smile. Never heard of it? Not surprising ... it only ran for 48 performances, so not many people have. What is surprising about its lack of success was the writing team - the music by Marvin Hamlisch and the words by Disney animated feature lyricist, Howard Ashman (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and others). What is also surprising about this score (which chronicled the lives of teenage contestants in a California beauty pageant) are the gems, like the title song and this touching ballad, "Disneyland."

Alexander

2011-06-19T01:11:00.003-04:00

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,

No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)

by Judith Viorst

There were lima beans for dinner and I hate limas.

There was kissing on TV and I hate kissing.
My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad-train pajamas.
I hate my railrood train pajamas.
When I went to bed Nick took back the pillow he said I could keep and the Mickey Mouse night light burned out and I bit my tongue.
The cat wants to sleep with Anthony, not with me.
It has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
My mom says some days are like that.
Even in Australia.

Poor Alexander can't win for losing. Everything is going wrong and it's a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. His day starts with waking up to find gum in his hair and it just goes downhill from there. This is ABSOLUTELY one of my favorite children's books - from acclaimed children's author, Judith Viorst. If you've never read it, do yourself a favor and pick it up ... although you'll probably want to move to Australia.

The Gentle Movement

2011-06-18T00:38:00.025-04:00

Click here to read the article.

"Vegan Diet: Why Does it Make People So Angry?" (2011)

by Christina Pirello

After reading the book Skinny Bitch last summer during my week in Ireland, I became a devoted vegetarian ... eschewing all meat (beef, pork, chicken, fish), but still eating dairy products and eggs. I have been a steadfast vegetarian now for almost twelve months. Over the past couple of weeks, while reading Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals, I decided that I need to go "all the way" ... to veganism. NO animal products whatsoever, including dairy and eggs. This is PARTICULARLY difficult for me, since I could simply LIVE on cheese.

It's a VERY difficult lifestyle to follow ... especially when eating out. I have "cheated" here and there, eating some dairy and even some fish tonight at dinner. I have frequently been asked to explain why I've made the decision to become vegetarian and now vegan, and it's hard to give a simple, concise answer to that question. Fortunately, my friend Susan sent me a link to this article in the Huffington Post which states the reasons for the choice VERY succinctly and also explores why some people seem so vehemently opposed, and even angry, with people who have made this personal decision.

I posted this article myself on Facebook, and Ms. Pirello was right ... even I got some fairly "angry responses." Go figure ... is it THAT threatening?

Man in Chair

2011-06-17T00:15:00.038-04:00

The Drowsy Chaperone (1998)

by Bob Martin and Don McKellar

I hate theatre. Well, it's so disappointing, isn't it? You know what I do when I'm sitting in a darkened theatre waiting for the curtain to rise? I pray. Dear God, please let it be a good show. And let it be short, oh Lord in Heaven, please. Two hours is fine, three hours is too much. And keep the actors out of the audience. God. I didn't pay a hundred dollars to have the fourth wall come crashing down around my ears. I just want a story, and a few good songs that will take me away. I just want to be entertained. I mean, isn't that the point? Amen.

You know there was a time when people sat in darkened theatres and thought to themselves, "What have George and Ira got for me tonight?" Or "Can Cole Porter pull it off again?" Can you imagine? Now it's, "Please, Elton John, must we continue this charade?" It used to be, sitting there in the dark, you knew that when the lights came up you would be taken to another world, a world full of color and music and glamour.

Have you heard this joke? Stop me if you have ...

How many actors does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Two ... one to screw it in, and the other to say, "I could've done it better."

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post ("Love Who You Love" back in late April) that all theatre performers (and directors) have personal lists of "dream shows" that they would literally kill to do. The role of "Man in Chair" in the musical Drowsy Chaperone is one of those for me. Tonight I saw a production of the musical and I was a bit worried about how I would react to someone doing "MY" role.

I made an oath to myself that I was taking this "sabbatical" from theatre until the Fall of 2012, so I did NOT audition for the part (much to the astonishment of many of my friends who thought this "sabbatical" thing wasn't serious). I was thrilled, however, to hear that my friend, Geoffrey, would be playing the role and thought he was a TERRIFIC fit for the part. From the moment he started speaking the opening lines above in the darkened theatre, I knew he had it nailed. He was GREAT and I'm sure I'll have another chance at some point ...

Marry Me a Little

2011-06-16T23:50:00.047-04:00

"Marry Me a Little"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Company (1970)

Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Cry, but not too often,
Play, but not too rough.

Keep a tender distance
So we'll both be free.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!

Marry me a little,
Do it with a will.
Make a few demands
I'm able to fulfill.

Want me more than others,
Not exclusively.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
I'm ready now!

You can be my best friend,
I can be your right arm.
We'll go through a fight or two.
No harm, no harm.

We'll look not too deep,
We'll go not too far.
We won't have to give up a thing,
We'll stay who we are.
Right?
Okay, then.
I'm ready!
I'm ready now!

Someone, marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Warm and sweet and easy,
Just the simple stuff.

Keep a tender distance
So we'll both be free.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!

Marry me a little,
Body, heart, and soul.
Passionate as hell,
But always in control.

Want me first and foremost,
Keep me company.
That's the way it ought to be.
I'm ready!
I'm ready now!

Oh, how gently we'll talk,
Oh, how softly we'll tread.
All the stings, the ugly things
We'll keep unsaid.

We'll build a cocoon of love and respect.
You promise whatever you like,
I'll never collect.
Right?
Okay, then.
I'm ready.
I'm ready now.
Someone ...

I'm ready!

So ... the NY Philharmonic version of Company (playing in movie theatres for only a couple of performances) was quite wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things, including how well the non-musical theatre comics (Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, and others) performed this difficult material, and how much I actually liked Patti LuPone in the role of Joanne (her rendition of "The Ladies Who Lunch" was RIGHT ON).

The "revival version" has been a bit altered from the original 1970 version ... the most notable addition is this song, "Marry Me a Little," which is now sung by the lead character, Bobby, as the Act One Finale. I've ALWAYS had a great deal of difficulty with the inclusion of this song, particularly halfway through the show. "Marry Me a Little" was an earlier, abandoned attempt for the place now held by "Being Alive" in the show. It's an AMAZING song, but I feel it is too self-aware for Bobby at the end of Act One, since he is only halfway through his "journey" to deciding that he can't live his life alone.

Being Alive

2011-06-15T23:32:00.037-04:00

"Being Alive"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Company (1970)

Someone to hold you too close,
Someone to hurt you too deep,
Someone to sit in your chair,
To ruin your sleep.

Someone to need you too much,
Someone to know you too well,
Someone to pull you up short
And put you through hell.

Someone you have to let in,
Someone whose feelings you spare,
Someone who, like it or not,
Will want you to share
A little, a lot.

Someone to crowd you with love,
Someone to force you to care,
Someone to make you come through,
Who'll always be there,
As frightened as you,
Of being alive,
Being alive,
Being alive,
Being alive.

Somebody, hold me too close,
Somebody, hurt me too deep,
Somebody, sit in my chair
And ruin my sleep
And make me aware
Of being alive,
Being alive.

Somebody need me too much,
Somebody know me too well,
Somebody pull me up short
And put me through hell
And give me support
For being alive,
Make me alive.

Make me alive ...

Make me confused,
Mock me with praise,
Let me be used,
Vary my days.
But alone is alone, not alive.

Somebody crowd me with love,
Somebody force me to care,
Somebody make me come through,
I'll always be there,
As frightened as you,
To help us survive
Being alive,
Being alive,
Being alive!

I think you'll probably notice a common thread in some of my favorite songs and this one certainly fits the bill. It probably doesn't need much more explanation than that. I chose this song today because I'm looking forward to heading to the movie theatre tomorrow night to see the New York Philharmonic concert staging of the 1970 musical, Company.

This is a show that is near and dear to my heart, being the only fully-staged musical that I performed in (as David) during my college years. I also played Amos in a concert version of Chicago. This is certainly one of Sondheim's most famous songs and, next to Send in the Clowns, probably the most covered, as well. My favorite version is still the original one above ... Dean Jones from the Original Broadway Cast Recording.

I Believe

2011-06-14T10:09:00.007-04:00

"I Believe"

by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone

from The Book of Mormon (2011)

Ever since I was a child

I tried to be the best ...
So what happened?
My family and friends

All said I was blessed ...
So what happened?

It was supposed to be all so exciting

To be teaching of Christ across the sea,
But I allowed my faith to be shaken -
Oh, what's the matter with me?

I've always longed to help the needy,
To do the things I never dared,
This was the time for me to step up,
So then why was I so scared?

A warlord who shoots people in the face.
What's so scary about that?
I must trust that my Lord is mightier
And always has my back.
Now I must be completely devout
I can't have even one shred of doubt...

I Believe -

that the Lord God created the universe.
I Believe -

That he sent his only Son to die for my sins.
And I Believe -

That ancient Jews built boats and sailed to America.
I am a Mormon,
And a Mormon just believes.

You cannot just believe part way,
You have to believe in it all.
My problem was doubting the Lord's will
Instead of standing tall.

I can't allow myself to have any doubt.
It's time to set my worries free.
Time to show the world

What Elder Price is about,
And share the power inside of me!

I Believe -

That God has a plan for all of us.
I Believe -

That plan involves me getting my own planet.
And I Believe -

That the current President of The Church,

Thomas Monson, speaks directly to God.
I am a Mormon
And dang it,

A Mormon just believes!

I know that I must go and do
The things my God commands.
I realize now why He sent me here!
If you ask the Lord in faith,
He will always answer you.
Just believe in him
And have no fear!

I Believe -

That Satan has a hold of you.
I Believe -

That the Lord God has sent me here.
And I Believe -

That in 1978 God changed his mind about black people!
You can be a Mormon!
A Mormon who just believes!

And now I can feel the excitement.
This is the moment I was born to do.
And I feel so incredible -
To be sharing my faith with you
The scriptures say that if you ask in faith,

If you ask God himself you'll know.
But you must ask him without any doubt,
And let your spirit grow!

I Believe -

That God lives on a planet called Kolob.
I Believe -

That Jesus has his own planet as well.
And I Believe -

That the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri.

If you believe,

The Lord will reveal it.

And you'll know it's all true -

You'll just feel it.

You'll be a Mormon
And by gosh!
A Mormon just...
Believes!

Tasteless? Perhaps. Blasphemous? Probably. Hysterical? Absolutely.

But what do you expect from the creators of South Park and one of the creators of Avenue Q? You certainly don't expect them to pull any punches, and they don't. The Book of Mormon swept the Tony Awards two nights ago, and I have to admit I've listened to the cast recording pretty much non-stop since I got it last week. The video above was the selection that was telecast in the Awards ceremony ... probably the only song that COULD be broadcast on network television (or appropriately posted here on this blog). It also happens to be my favorite song in the score. An unforgiving, satirical take on a contemporary Christian a-la-Amy-Grant anthem, and if you don't listen carefully, you'll miss the occasional gut-busting comic lines that make it distinctly The Book of Mormon. If you're also REALLY paying attention, you'll hear a two-verse homage to The Sound of Music, as well!!

It Only Takes a Moment

2011-06-13T00:01:00.060-04:00

"It Only Takes a Moment"

by Jerry Herman

from Hello, Dolly! (1964)

It only takes a moment
For your eyes to meet, and then ...
Your heart knows in a moment
You will never be alone again.

I held her for an instant
But my arms felt sure and strong.
It only takes a moment
To be loved a whole life long ...

And that is all
That love's about,
And we'll recall when time runs out ...
That it only took a moment
To be loved a whole life long!

"Isn't the world full of wonderful things?" ... My single proudest moment as a performer was playing Cornelius Hackl in a benefit concert performance of Hello, Dolly! a couple of years ago. In the concert, I also had the pleasure and honor of performing alongside Broadway stars Pam Myers and Harvey Evans, as Dolly and Horace.

This is such an incredible ballad (though I've never heard the additional verse in Barrowman's version above) and, as an added bonus, Cornelius has this remarkable monologue smack dab in the middle of the song, taken directly from the source - Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker. The final lines ...

"Today I've lost so many things. My job, my future, everything that people think is important, but I don't care! Even if I have to dig ditches for the rest of my life, I'll be a ditch digger who once had a wonderful day."

Make Our Garden Grow

2011-06-12T00:01:00.041-04:00

"Make Our Garden Grow"

by Richard Wilbur

from Candide (1956)

You've been a fool
And so have I,
But come and be my wife.
And let us try,
Before we die,
To make some sense of life.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good -
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow ...
And make our garden grow.

I thought the world
Was sugar cake,
For so our master said.
But now I'll teach
My hands to bake
Our loaf of daily bread.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good -
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow ...
And make our garden grow.

Let dreamers dream
What worlds they please -
Those Edens can't be found.
The sweetest flowers,
The fairest trees,
Are grown in solid ground.

We're neither pure, nor wise, nor good
We'll do the best we know.
We'll build our house and chop our wood
And make our garden grow.
And make our garden grow!

Simply the greatest Broadway song and most glorious musical theatre finale ever written ... with Leonard Bernstein's music and Wilbur's lyrics. That's all I really need to say ... it's. just. staggering.

Pretty Lies

2011-06-11T00:01:00.078-04:00

Click Here to Listen to "Pretty Lies"

"Pretty Lies"

by Boy George

from Taboo (2003)

I can never get this muck from round my eyes,
Don't know why I bother sometimes ...
Painting my face up for the kill.

A little bit of glitter goes a long, long way,
But if you never see my face ...
How will you know if what you feel is real?

I've been trying to be something I'll never be
But I'm nothing special, there's no mystery ...

I've been hiding from the world, and from myself
Wanting love so desperately,

Oh, so desperately ...

If you see all the hurt in my eyes,
Will you laugh, will you run, will you carry me?
If I tell you that I'm weak and I'm scared,
Will that seem absurd?

I'm the loneliest boy in the world.

I'm the loneliest boy

In the world ...

The 2003 musical flop Taboo told the story of the life and career of Boy George (with significant artistic license). Although Boy George did appear in the musical, the CHARACTER of George was played by a marvelous performer with an extraordinarily beautiful voice, Euan Morton. It's difficult for me to listen to this song without getting a few chills and a few tears ... and, again, I find a strong personal connection with the lyrics.

Darkness and Decay

2011-06-10T07:22:00.001-04:00

The Masque of the Red Death (1842)

by Edgar Allan Poe

It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical ...

Love me some Poe. And The Masque of the Red Death is my favorite Poe short story. Prince Prospero and his friends in the nobility have sought refuge in Prospero's abbey from a deadly plague, The Red Death, that is sweeping the land. They seal the doors and throw a grand masked ball, completely indifferent to the suffering of the common people outside. The seven abbey rooms are decorated in a different color with the final room decorated in black and lit by a blood-red light. Also in this room, that no one at the party dares to enter, is a large ebony clock whose toll each hour stops the revelry.

At midnight, an uninvited masked figure appears. The mask of the stranger is the shocking visage of a Red Death victim and he is cloaked in what appears to be a blood-spattered funeral shroud. Demanding to know the uninvited guest's identity, Prospero chases him through the seven rooms. When he faces the stranger in the final black room, Prospero is struck dead. The guests descend upon the stranger and pull off the mask, only to discover no one beneath it. The Red Death has found them even behind the walls and the guests succumb to the plague ... as the last line proclaims -

And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death

held illimitable dominion over all.

I have often considered the theatrical opportunities in the work of Poe. Not too long ago, my friend Aaron and I began work on a musical based on the puzzling last four days of Poe's life as he lay dying in a hospital. We were going to call the musical Nevermore (from his poem "The Raven") and had some terrific ideas for the show. Unfortunately, we discovered that there was a recent Off-Broadway musical with the same name and with some of the same story components. I'm not sure if we've given up on it completely ... we'll see ...

Moon Child

2011-06-09T00:01:00.074-04:00

The Neverending Story (1983)

by Michael Ende

And so it would go on for ever and ever, for any change in the sequence was unthinkable. Only he, Bastian, could do anything about it. And he would have to do something, or else he too would be included in the circle. It seemed to him that this story had been repeated a thousand times, as though there were no before and after and everything had happened at once. Now he realized why the Old Man's hand trembled. The Circle of Eternal Return was an end without an end.

Bastian was unaware of the tears that were running down his cheeks. Close to fainting, he suddenly cried out, "Moon Child, I'm coming!"

In that moment, several things happened at once ...

My friend, Kyle (http://q-uq.blogspot.com/), reminded me of this novel the other day when he mentioned the film version on Facebook. It saddens me to admit that I had totally forgotten about this epic fantasy adventure even though it sits on my "Favorite Literature" bookshelf and remains one of my most treasured reads. To judge this beautiful novel on the rather cheesy children's film, however, does it a disservice. I must admit I enjoy the movie - charming, delightful, and faithful ... though only to the FIRST HALF of the book and, in my opinion, the LESS important of the two halves.

The story concerns the neglected and bullied Bastian Balthazar Bux, who steals a book called The Neverending Story from a local bookseller and hides in his school attic to read it. As he reads the tale of a young warrior's efforts to save his land, Fantastica, from the spread of the Nothing (caused by the "real" world's denial of fantasy), Bastian finds himself drawn further and further into the novel ... literally. Bastian is shocked to discover that he is the human child prophesized to save Fantastica and that he is, in fact, reading his OWN story. So, when he cures the world and the dying Childlike Empress by giving her the name "Moon Child," he is drawn completely into the story.

Unfortunately this is where the movie ends, but it's only HALFWAY through the novel.

The second half of the novel is Bastian's adventure in Fantastica, a world that has disappeared and a world HE must recreate. As he rebuilds the world through wishing, his new friends discover that Bastian is losing his memories of the real world little by little with each wish. Since this is the part of the novel NOT covered in the film, I'll leave off the spoilers and hope that you will find the time to read this wonderful novel.

Star-Child

2011-06-08T00:01:00.067-04:00

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

by Arthur C. Clarke

There before him, a glittering toy no Star-Child could resist, floated the planet Earth with all its peoples ... Then, he waited, marshaling his thoughts and brooding over his still untested powers. For though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next.

But he would think of something ...

Enigmatic, frustrating, but revolutionary ... Arthur C. Clarke's novel of 2001: A Space Odyssey was developed concurrently with the Stanley Kubrick film version and was published after the movie's release. Though many find the film's deliberate pace with LONG stretches of nearly silent imagery dull, I find it fascinating. I am NEVER bored by the classic film, which many critics now consider to be one of the greatest ever made.

I remember picking up the book as a teen and poring over every. little. detail. What were the monoliths? How were they controlling man's evolution? More importantly, WHO was controlling man's evolution? Why did HAL malfunction? What happened to Bowman when he made his final mind-blowing trip to the monolith near Jupiter? Was Bowman's transformation into the "celestial fetus" the final step in man's controlled evolution?

The book answered just enough of the questions to fill in SOME of the blanks, but fortunately not all. This book began a small love affair with the work of Arthur C. Clarke - I followed it with Rendezvous with Rama (which was surprisingly the inspiration for a fascinating video game) and the three Space Odyssey sequels: 2010 (and its faithful film version), 2061, and 3001. But NOTHING will match the majesty, poetry, mystery, and power of the original 2001.

The Party Was Over

2011-06-07T00:01:00.040-04:00

The Shining (1977)

by Stephen King

It shrieked; it shrieked but now it was voiceless and it was screaming only panic and doom and damnation in its own ear, dissolving, losing thought and will, the webbing falling apart, searching, not finding, going out, going out to, fleeing, going out to emptiness, notness, crumbling.

The party was over.

There aren't many novels that have made me cry (the most recent was The Time Traveler's Wife), and even fewer that have truly scared me ... scared me to the point of wanting to put the book down, but not wanting to put the book down at the same time. Wanting to look at the car accident, but not wanting to look at the car accident. The Shining was one of those books.

There was no one quite like the EARLY Stephen King. I think he's lost of lot of his punch in his almost assembly-line release of new novels. Many of the later ones became rather ... well ... silly, and I honestly just stopped reading his work. But a number of his first novels TERRIFIED me. His 1975 vampire novel (WAY back BEFORE it became a fad), 'Salem's Lot, kept me up late at night, curled up in bed, facing away from the window, dreading the scratch of fingernails on the pane.

The Shining was another matter ... a roller coaster of a haunted house novel with unexpected horrors around every corner. I expect many people only know the work from the atmospheric, if not very faithful (not at ALL, in fact), Stanley Kubrick film with Jack Nicholson. There was a MUCH more faithful TV miniseries about 15 years ago, though it didn't quite match the scares in Kubrick's version.

Either way, if you haven't read King's bloodcurdling novel and you don't mind losing some sleep, I couldn't possibly recommend it more strongly.

The Grey Havens

2011-06-06T18:30:00.007-04:00

The Return of the King (1955)

by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Well, here at last, dear friends,

on the shores of the Sea comes the end of

our fellowship in Middle-Earth.

Go in peace!

I will not say: do not weep;

for not all tears are an evil."

I thought I'd take a small vacation from the world of musical theatre this week and stick with some of my favorite prose, starting with The Lord of the Rings.

I nearly INHALED this trilogy for the first time when I was in high school. I've always been more than a bit of a fantasy and sci-fi geek ... to dive into this monumental trilogy and live in this thrilling, complex, breathtaking, living world was nothing less than a dream. And the final scene above at The Grey Havens with the wizard, Gandalf, bidding goodbye to his companions never failed to bring me to tears.

The film adaptations of the past decade brought Tolkien's universe to vivid and faithful life, but they'd never match the scenes and visions I could compose in my head. As a teen and a budding visual artist (I need to get back to that, too), I would draw pictures of the Balrog and Gollum and Shelob and Smaug (from The Hobbit). I think I've read the entire trilogy a few times, but it's been quite some time since my last trip to Middle-Earth. Maybe it's time for a return visit ...

God Is in the Details

2011-06-05T00:01:00.054-04:00

Finishing the Hat (2010)

by Stephen Sondheim

There are only three principles necessary for a lyric writer, all of them familiar truisms. They were not immediately apparent to me when I started writing, but have come into focus via Oscar Hammerstein's tutoring, Strunk and White's huge little book, "The Elements of Style," and my own sixty-some years of practicing the craft. I have not always been skilled or diligent enough to follow them as faithfully as I would like, but they underlie everything I've ever written. In no particular order, and to be written in stone:

CONTENT DICTATES FORM

LESS IS MORE

GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

all in the service of

CLARITY

without which nothing else matters.

It was with an almost orgiastic frenzy that Stephen Sondheim devotees (including myself) devoured his book Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines, and Anecdotes. It is a GLORIOUS volume, replete with pictures and lyrics from the thirteen shows for which Sondheim had written lyrics during those years (from Saturday Night through Merrily We Roll Along). Sondheim shares lyrics from each show (including gems that were cut from each production) and annotates them with personal stories, observations, critiques of his own work, critiques of others' work, gossip, and "inside tidbits" about theatre history and his collaborators.

I can't wait for the publication of his second volume: Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Wafflings, Diversions and Anecdotes due out this November!

The Great Work

2011-06-04T17:18:00.001-04:00

Angels in America (1991)

by Tony Kushner

This is my favorite place in New York City. No, in the whole universe. The parts of it I have seen ...

This angel. She's my favorite angel. I like them best when they're statuary. They commemorate death but they suggest a world without dying. They are made of the heaviest things on earth, stone and iron, and weigh tons but they're winged, they are engines and instruments of flight.

I'm almost done.

The fountain's not flowing now, they turn it off in the winter, ice in the pipes. But in the summer it's a sight to see. I want to be around to see it. I plan to be. I hope to be.

This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all, and the dead will be commemorated and will struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come.

Bye now.

You are fabulous creatures, each and every one.

And I bless you: More Life.

The Great Work begins.

There's nothing quite like the masterwork that is Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. Told in two parts, Millenium Approaches and Perestroika, this seven-hour epic has an astounding poetic sweep and vision that is frankly nothing short of staggering.

It's hard to summarize the plot of this piece ... it is a grand, fantastical journey that spans the years 1985 to 1990 and travels through a multitude of locations including Antartica and Heaven itself as it follows three very different gay men with AIDS. Though breathtakingly theatrical, it was translated to the screen in 2003 for HBO and it is a surprisingly faithful and successful adaptation.

What I wouldn't give to direct a theatre piece like this with the appropriate facility, budget, cast, and creative team. And what I wouldn't give to be able to write like this, as well ...

September Song

2011-06-03T00:01:00.059-04:00

"September Song"

by Maxwell Anderson

from Knickerbocker Holiday (1938)

Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December,
But the days grow short when you reach September.
When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame
One hasn't got time for the waiting game.

And the days dwindle down to a precious few ...
September, November.
And these few precious days I'd spend with you -
These golden days I'll spend with you.

As the school year draws to an end, this song has been running through my head ... I'm not sure why. It doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with school or summer vacation. The days are certainly "dwindling down to a precious few" (my Facebook status yesterday morning) and September calls to mind the beginning of the new school year.

This lovely song with its melancholy melody by Kurt Weill (from the 1938 musical Knickerbocker Holiday) was a pop and jazz hit for MANY artists, most notably Frank Sinatra. I was thrilled to find this Sarah Vaughan rendition on YouTube ... ENJOY!!

If

2011-06-02T06:28:00.000-04:00

If (1895)

by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Yeah, I know ... it's one of those poems that people send everyone in their e-mail address book as an "important thoughts" forward. Or worse yet, with additional instructions to forward it on to 20 more people for good luck (when your phone rings in the next 15 minutes) or perhaps avoid some disaster that's about to befall you.

There's a LOT of truth, and a LOT of great advice, in there ...

Fear Is the Force

2011-06-01T00:01:00.005-04:00

"Subject"

by Marsha Norman

from The Dramatist: Master Class (2009)

What we are doing when we write for the stage is telling stories people need to see. We do it for the same reason we put up stop signs, because it is important, for some reason, for people to stop at this place and look around. Our place at the playwright's table is determined by how many people remember the stories we tell, and people remember the stories they feel they will need someday. Just like life. Urgency is the key to a good story, fear is the force that keeps it moving. The good news is that humans are so hungry for stories that our brains invent them even when we are asleep. So they need us. It is a great privilege to be a storyteller. And it if hurts, it hurts. We can take it.

A few nights ago, I watched the film Rabbit Hole again, this time with the commentary track. The playwright and screenwriter, David Lindsay-Abaire credited his fellow playwright, Marsha Norman, with the subject for the piece through advice she had given him. She told him to write about what he was most afraid of. I remembered that advice from an essay Norman had written for a "Master Class" issue The Dramatist magazine that I had read a year and a half earlier. So, I went back to the journal and re-read her piece on finding a subject for a play.

She describes the advice SHE received from theatre director and playwright Jon Jory - "Go back to a time when you were really scared and write about that. Being afraid makes you remember details, and details convince people a story is real. And chances are, if you were scared by this, other people will be scared of it too, and that will make them pay attention." You need to look no farther than Norman's BRILLIANT Pulitzer Prize-winning play 'night, Mother (or Lindsay-Abaire's Rabbit Hole) to know that this works.

It's had me thinking about what scares me the most ... and I had no trouble whatsoever defining what THAT is. Unmasking it, facing it, and making it real on stage ... that's another story. But, that certainly is what makes it a perfect subject. I need to think about it some more.

Lovesick

2011-05-31T00:01:00.051-04:00

"Lovesick"

by David Yazbek

from Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010)

You think that Cupid’s got a bow?

Well no, Cupid’s got a needle.

It’ll find a vein -

Careful, ‘cause you’ll bleed a little.

But pretty soon romance will marinate your brain.

Then watch the temp’rature go up ...

You hardly sleep, because

Your sheets are wet -

Toss and turn for hours

And your sweat is sweet -

Smells like dying flowers.

You’ve got

Pain in your stomach like a long-neglected tooth,

Dilated pupils that refuse to see the truth

And that’s -

You’re sick, you’re sick.

You might not get through it.

Your aching heart is racing

And your brain can’t catch up to it.

That’s how you diagnose

An overdose of love.

You feel the itching on your skin

Then in — right down to your skeleton.

You seize, you freeze,

Knees turn into gelatin.

Then you’re on them, praying that

You’ll keep some self-respect,

But out of nowhere comes another side-effect.

Like when you see his face

You feel it in your eyes.

They start to water

Like the place between your thighs.

Whenever he gets close—

That’s an overdose of love.

You’re sick of what you’re saying.

You’re sick of what you’re thinking.

You’d have another drink

Except you’re sick of what you’re drinking.

While sitting there alone,

Longing for his touch

A little is elixir,

But too much is much too much.

You’re burning up.

The spark that started it

Became a raging fire.

The cobwebs in your head

Turned into razor wire.

It’s like a puzzle that you’ll never get the trick of —

The trick is you admitting

You’re sick of what you’re sick of.

You feel it on your tongue.

You feel it in your lips.

You feel it from your fingers

To the thing between your hips.

You collapse on the floor,

You shudder, you tingle.

The paramedic comes —

You wonder if he’s single.

You are sick sick sick.

You’re falling to pieces.

And the curse is the cure

Is worse than the disease is.

You’re dead, you’re toast,

You’ve overdosed on love.

Baby, you're sick.

I'm a great fan of the work of David Yazbek, composer and lyricist for The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - two WONDERFUL musicals. This past fall he opened his newest musical, the black comedy Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, based on Pedro Almodovar's 1988 film. He has completely captured the sensuality and passion of Madrid in Almodovar's film, and he's underscored the events with a distinctive and infectious Latin beat. This was another one of my new cast albums and I've listened to it over and over and over ... it STILL has me laughing out loud at the darkly comic songs like this one and sighing at some beautfully tender ballads.

Tell My Father

2011-05-30T00:01:00.058-04:00

"Tell My Father"

by Jack Murphy

from The Civil War (1999)

Tell my father that his son
Didn't run, or surrender.
That I bore his name with pride
As I tried to remember,
You are judged by what you do
While passing through ...

As I rest 'neath fields of green,
Let him lean on your shoulder.
Tell him how I spent my youth
So the truth could grow older.
Tell my father when you can ...
I was a man.

Tell him we will meet again
Where the angels learn to fly.
Tell him we will meet as men
For with honor did I die.

Tell him how I wore the Blue,
Proud and true through the fire.
Tell my father so he'll know ...
I love him so.

Tell him how we wore the Blue,
Proud and true, like he taught us.
Tell my father not to cry ...
Then say goodbye.

Another dual-purpose post for today. First, on this Memorial Day, it is my tribute to those who have fallen in battle. Second, I want to give due credit to lyricist Jack Murphy (and composer Frank Wildhorn) after the skewering I gave them yesterday for the travesty that was Wonderland. Much of The Civil War is quite lovely, and I think that "Tell My Father" is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I hope you'll agree with me.

In the show, it is sung by a young Northern infantryman who is dying on the battlefield and is asking his best friend to deliver a message to his father back home. I have performed this song myself as both an audition and workshop piece - it fits my singing voice and, because of the "father connection," I identify with it.

Through the Looking Glass

2011-05-29T21:09:00.005-04:00

"Through the Looking Glass"

by Jack Murphy

from Wonderland (2011)

Strange but true,

Something's changing deep inside me

Breaking through,

Waking what's asleep inside me ...

OK OK ... so I know the title of my blog is "A Writer's 'Wish-I-Had-Written-That' Journal," but I just can't let this one slide. I need to read no more than these lines (I'm not sure I really want to call them lyrics) penned by Jack Murphy for the musical Wonderland (yet ANOTHER adaptation of Alice in Wonderland which recently closed on Broadway), and simply ask ... "REALLY?" Oh, and if you need more evidence, watch the "trailer" above for more lyric gems.

One of my favorite things to do every few months or so is to order three or four new musical cast albums to add to my collection. There's something tremendously exciting about listening to a musical theatre score you've never heard before for the very first time ... until you're assaulted with something as utterly and unforgivably dreadful as Wonderland. It was sheer torture listening to these songs - the banal, pedestrian lyrics punctuated by Frank Wildhorn's no-better-than-Disney-"High School Musical"-style-pop music.

So, let's turn this into a positive, shall we? It's musicals like this that convince me that I CERTAINLY can write something better than a show that's been on a Broadway stage. I'm not sure, though, whether that's a comment on my ability level or the quality of some of the material on Broadway.

And, giving Jack Murphy his due ... some of his lyrics for an earlier Frank Wildhorn opus, The Civil War, are quite lovely. To be fair, I'll post THOSE tomorrow.

Play-Doh

2011-05-28T22:10:00.007-04:00

How Do You Know? (2010)

by James L. Brooks

So ... I have kept this for a long time as proof that

we're all just one small adjustment away from

making our lives work.

Tonight, I was devastated by a can of Play-Doh.

Perhaps I should explain a little more ...

I will quietly and cautiously admit that I am easily suckered in by manipulative romantic comedies (you'll keep this between us, won't you?). They don't even have to be particularly good ... this evening's offering was How Do You Know? by the wonderful screenwriter James L. Brooks. Standard rom-com storyline ... Pretty Girl is dating famous but insensitive and neglectful Schmuck, while ignoring the shy, sensitive, bumbling Everyman who is carrying a serious torch. But don't worry, everything works out all right at the end, as it always does, and those that deserve to live "happily ever after" do (even if there's no particular chemistry between the two ;-)

At the end of this particular movie, Paul Rudd (the aforementioned Everyman) visits the shared apartment of Reese Witherspoon (the aforementioned Pretty Girl) and Owen Wilson (the aforementioned Schmuck). Just before his arrival, Schmuck gives Pretty Girl a diamond-studded watch as a sign that they are "engaged to be engaged." Everyman arrives with new-found determination to let Pretty Girl know his true feelings and pulls her out on the balcony so that they can "talk." There he gives her his birthday present. She unwraps it, and it's a ...

Can of Play-Doh. "Huh?" says the look on Pretty Girl's face.

But wait ... Everyman takes the container in his hand and tells the story of how the inventor created the original goo to clean soot from wallpaper. When it looked like the inventor would lose his shirt after the advent of electric and gas heat, a schoolteacher friend suggested he add color to the compound a make a new kind of modeling material that didn't dry like clay. So ... Everyman hands Pretty Girl the plastic can and says ... well, you can read the line above.

I'm not sure how to explain this, and frankly I'm not even sure I want to get this personal, but ... I broke down in tears. And I'm not talking about the smiling, tears-rolling-down-the-face-happy-ending tears. These were painful, sobbing tears. Sure, I get misty in almost all romantic comedies, but I don't remember ever having this kind of a reaction. There was something deeply personal for me in this simple but beautifully-written line.

As some of my friends know, particularly those with whom I've recently shared lunches and dinners, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately about where I am in my life. What things do I value? What things are not giving me the satisfaction they once did? What might I be willing to do to change things? What are those things that I could easily do without? Why do I not find value in those things from which I find the most success? What are the things that I still feel are missing? What, when it comes right down to it, is the "small adjustment" that I can't seem to find to make my life "work"? What am I afraid of? As you might imagine, this simple movie line was profound for me and it frankly took a bit of time for me to even recover.

This wasn't my original plan for today's blog post, but I felt it was important enough to write about since it had such an effect on me. I hope someday that my writing can elicit the kind of emotion that this simple scene and line did for me ... thanks, Mr. Brooks ...

On My Own

2011-05-27T00:01:00.011-04:00

"On My Own"

by Alain Boublil and Herbert Kretzmer

from Les Miserables (1985)

And now I'm all alone again

Nowhere to turn, no one to go to.
Without a home without a friend,

Without a face to say hello to.
And now the night is near -
Now I can make believe he's here ...

Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping.
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping.
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head.

On my own
Pretending he's beside me.
All alone,
I walk with him till morning.
Without him,
I feel his arms around me,
And when I lose my way,

I close my eyes
And he has found me.

In the rain

The pavement shines like silver.
All the lights

Are misty in the river.
In the darkness,

The trees are full of starlight.
And all I see is him and me

Forever and forever.

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him.
And although I know that he is blind -
Still I say, there's a way for us.

I love him -
But when the night is over,
He is gone ...
The river's just a river.
Without him,
The world around me changes.
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers.

I love him,
But every day I'm learning.
All my life
I've only been pretending.
Without me,
His world will go on turning -
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known.

I love him ...
I love him ...
I love him ...
But only ...

On my own.

I'm fairly certain this will be the only Les Miserables post in this blog. Those who know me and my musical theatre tastes know my opinion of this bloated, over-long, self-important three-and-a-half-hour plus MARATHON. I've seen the production twice ... once with the touring company, and once in its Broadway home. Both times I've found myself rolling my eyes, squirming in my seat, and not really caring very much for the fate of any character on stage.

Frankly, just like Wicked, I don't get why people fall all over themselves for this show. Just. Don't. Get. It. And, like Wicked, I thoroughly enjoyed the score when I first listened to it, but after finding the show shallow and uninvolving, my distaste has trickled down to the score as well.

HOWEVER, there is one song in the show that I still enjoy very much. "On My Own" is a rapturously beautiful torch song and "power ballad." And to have it sung by one of my favorite performers, Lea Salonga, in the video clip above, makes it even better.

Unworthiness

2011-05-26T00:01:00.007-04:00

The Oprah Winfrey Show (2011)

by Oprah Winfrey

There is a common thread that runs through all our pain and all of our suffering, and that is unworthiness - not feeling worthy enough to own the life you were created for ... There’s a difference between thinking you deserve to be happy and knowing that you are worthy of happiness ... We often block our own blessings because we don’t feel inherently good enough, or smart enough, or pretty enough - or worthy enough. You’re worthy because you were born and because you are here. Your being here, your being alive, makes worthiness your birthright. You alone are enough.

I caught Oprah's last show yesterday and was struck on many occasions by what she had to say. I may have grown a little tired of Oprah over the years, but this seems right on the money. And it's a lesson that I still have yet to learn ... even at 50 ...

Hump the Hostess

2011-05-25T00:01:00.084-04:00

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)

by Edward Albee

You're all flops. I am the Earth Mother, and you're all flops. I disgust me. I pass my life in crummy, totally pointless infidelities ... would-be infidelities. Hump the Hostess? That's a laugh. A bunch of boozed-up ... impotent lunk-heads. Martha makes goo-goo eyes, and the lunk-heads grin, and roll their beautiful, beautiful eyes back, and grin some more, and Martha licks her chops, and the lunk-heads slap over to the bar to pick up a little courage, and they pick up a little courage, and they bounce back over to old Martha, who does a little dance for them, which heats them all up ... mentally ... and so they slap over to the bar again, and pick up a little more courage, and their wives and sweethearts stick their noses up in the air ... right through the ceiling, sometimes ... which sends the lunk-heads back to the soda fountain again where they fuel up some more, while Martha-poo sits there with her dress up over her head ... suffocating - you don't know how stuffy if is with your dress up over your head - suffocating! Waiting for the lunk-heads; so finally they get their courage up ... but that's all, baby! Oh my, there is sometimes some very nice potential, but, oh my! My, my, my. But that's how it is in civilized society. All the gorgeous lunk-heads. Poor babies. There is only one man in my life who has ever ... made me happy. Do you know that? One!

Uncompromising, brutal, violent, passionate, unforgiving, relentless ... brilliant. If Our Town is my favorite "classic" play of all time, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is certainly my favorite "contemporary classic." This astonishing play, written by the amazing Edward Albee, is a total, full-out frontal assault on an audience ... and for that alone, I love it. Albee redefined "absurdism," framing it in a frightening realism where nothing is ever quite what it seems.

George and Martha, an aging ineffectual college professor and his boozy wife, invite young faculty newcomer Nick and his wife, Honey, for a blistering night of "fun and games." Throughout the evening, the two couples verbally and emotionally abuse and attack one another in "games" such as "Get the Guests," "Hump the Hostess," and the final act of exorcism, "Bringing Up Baby." It's impossible to fully describe the events. The extraordinarily faithful film version starring the smoldering Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and was the only film to be nominated in every major category.

This play falls into the category of "Roles-I'd-Love-to-Play-But-I'm-Not-Quite-Old-Enough-Yet!" I would love to try my hand at George at some point, though I'm not completely sure my acting skills are up to the role ...

On a side note ... the college at which George and Nick teach is believed to be based on my alma mater, Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Albee attended Trinity in the 40's, but was expelled for skipping classes and refusing to attend compulsory chapel. He apparently wrote Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as a response to his expulsion.

It's Only Love

2011-05-24T00:01:00.064-04:00

"It's Only Love/Bring on the Night"

by Dusty Hughes

from Metropolis (1989)

Steven:

Who does she belong to?
Is she on her own?
Someone who's that wonderful
Must belong to someone.
Should I take a chance?
Can she be the one I've waited for so long?
Is this really happening to me?
The feelings are so strong ...

If it's only love,
Shouldn't be enough to break my heart.
If it's only love, it's only love.

Feelings from the heart
Do not come easy for me.
I have not had many lovers in my life,
Mostly that was my own choice.
Out of nowhere now she comes into my life
And I know so fast she has to be part
Of my life.

If it's only love,
Shouldn't be enough to break my heart.
If it's only love, it's only love.

It's only love ...

Maria:

Bring on the night -
I can take the darkness.
I'm not empty inside.
I don't lie awake long.
And I know that in this life
The strong are the winners,
So if I'm alone
I'm not on my own ...

I have the night.

Everyone hurts.

Everyone is lonely.

So I'm like all the rest,
Everybody has pain.
And if once in a while
I catch myself crying,
If I'm a little sad
Perhaps it's not so bad ...
It's part of the game.

In the cold and lonely night,
I can still be strong.
I can make it on my own.
No one really needs to love -
Not everyone needs love.
If you've love inside
You don't have to share it to survive
And I will survive...

Even though it's hurting

Though I'm asking too much

And aiming too high.

If tonight I find

I need someone badly,

I will hide the pain.

Here it comes again ...

Bring on the night.

A small Entertainment news item appeared yesterday ... composer Joseph Brooks took his own life in his Manhattan home on Sunday. Joe Brooks wrote the pop hit and most popular single of the 1970's "You Light Up My Life," made famous by Debby Boone. His music was also the material for a critically-ravaged Broadway musical bomb called In My Life. Unfortunately, his life in general was not award-winning - at the time of his death, he was facing multiple charges of rape and sexual assault and his son was recently charged with the death of an ex-girlfriend.

His most notable work, for me, is the 1989 West End musical, Metropolis. Based on the famous 1927 silent film directed by Fritz Lang, it tells the not-so-far-in-the-future dystopian story of the mega-city of Metropolis built over huge machines that power it. The elite classes live a life of ease in the sun on the surface, dwelling in luxurious skyscrapers, while the lower classes toil endlessly on the machines providing the city its power. A worker, Maria, escapes to the surfae with a group of children in an effort to educate them and, while there, runs into Steven, the son of the city's designer and builder. This song is from the middle of the first act, just after the two meet. It is a beautiful duet, particularly when the two songs merge.

I Believe In You

2011-05-23T00:01:00.054-04:00

"I Believe In You"

by Frank Loesser

from How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (1961)

Now there you are -

Yes, there's that face.
That face that somehow, I trust.
It may embarrass you to hear me say it,
But say it I must ...
Say it I must.

You have the cool clear eyes

Of a seeker of wisdom and truth,
Yet there's that upturned chin

And the grin of impetuous youth.
I believe in you ... I believe in you.

I hear the sound of

Good solid judgment whenever you talk,
Yet there's the bold, brave, spring

Of the tiger that quickens your walk.
I believe in you ... I believe in you.

And when my faith in my fellow man

All but falls apart,
I've but to feel your hand grasping mine

And I take heart ... I take heart.

To see the cool clear eyes

Of a seeker of wisdom and truth,
Yet with the slam, bang, tang,

Reminiscent of gin and Vermouth.

I believe in you ... I believe in you.

In one of the lowest times of my life, I escaped to the world of theatre by involving myself in a local production of Frank Loesser's How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. Although I didn't play the lead role of J. Pierrpont Finch, each night the words to this classic musical theatre song gave me the strength, love, and self-confidence that I sorely lacked and felt had been stolen from me. It taught me how to "believe in me" again ...

PS ... You may have noticed that I've added a video above instead of a photo. I'm going to try to find a video of every song I post so that you can hear it as well as read it. As much as possible, I'll try to stick with the original performer of the song, unless I find another that's particularly outstanding. If you've got some free time, I've added videos to the bottom of most of my previous song (and some TV and movie) blog posts as well!

Little Lamb

2011-05-22T00:01:00.032-04:00

"Little Lamb"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Gypsy (1959)

Little lamb, little lamb -
My birthday is here at last.
Little lamb, little lamb -
A birthday goes by so fast.

Little bear, little bear -

You sit on my right right there.

Little hen, little hen -

What game should we play and when?

Little cat, little cat -

Oh, why do you look so blue?

Did somebody paint you like that,

Or is your birthday too?

Little fish, little fish -

Do you think I'll get my wish?

Little lamb, little lamb -

I wonder how old I am ...

Little lamb ...

Absolutely one of my top ten favorite musicals ... literally a force of nature with hurricane Rose in the center. Halfway through the first act, however, is this lovely, quiet little eye of the storm. Louise, a young adolescent girl all but forgotten by her mother (and everyone else) on her birthday, sits alone in her bedroom and sings this simple plaintive tune. When she asks her stuffed sad-faced cat if it's his birthday too, my heart never fails to break. Notice the childlike innocence of the lyrics - mostly monosyllabic - that belie Louise's real age ... genius ... And what a gentle treatment for a young girl who will eventually grow up to be a burlesque star, the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

I directed this show in the summer of 1995 with a cast of about 50 children ages 10 to 20 ... sounds dreadful, but it was a total joy. And, in my humble opinion, it was a DAMN good show!

The Greatest Thing

2011-05-21T00:01:00.004-04:00

Nature Boy (1947)

by Eden Ahbez

The greatest thing you'll ever learn

is just to love and be loved in return.

I'll admit it ... I LOVE LOVE LOVE Baz Luhrmann's film Moulin Rouge! It opens with the song Nature Boy and this beautiful little couplet that kind of just ... says it all ...

And that's all I have to say about that. Now I think it's time to go watch the film again.

Blow Out Your Candles

2011-05-20T00:01:00.025-04:00

The Glass Menagerie (1944)

by Tennessee Williams

I didn't go to the moon, I went much further - for time is the longest distance between two places. Not long after that I was fired for writing a poem on the lid of a shoe-box. I left Saint Louis. I descended the steps of this fire escape for a last time and followed, from then on, in my father's footsteps, attempting to find in motion what was lost in space. I traveled around a great deal. The cities swept about me like dead leaves, leaves that were brightly colored but torn away from the branches. I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something. It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar piece of music. Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass. Perhaps I am walking along a street at night, in some strange city, before I have found companions. I pass the lighted window of a shop where perfume is sold. The window is filled with pieces of colored glass, tiny transparent bottles in delicate colors, like bits of a shattered rainbow. Then all at once my sister touches my shoulder. I turn around and look into her eyes. Oh, Laura, Laura, I tried to leave you behind me, but I am more faithful than I intended to be! I reach for a cigarette, I cross the street, I run into the movies or a bar, I buy a drink, I speak to the nearest stranger - anything that can blow your candles out! For nowadays the world is lit by lightning! Blow out your candles, Laura - and so goodbye ...

This post could be categorized in "Roles I Wish I Could Play, But I'm Too Old for Them Now." Sigh ... I would've LOVED to have performed the role of Tom in The Glass Menagerie. A beautiful "memory play" - Tom's recollection of his mother and sister - and my personal favorite of the brilliant Tennessee Williams' works. I'm sure you're familiar with the piece. If not, I urge you to see it on stage or watch one of the numerous screen versions - it's an astounding play. It begins and ends with soliloquies delivered by Tom ... the speech above concludes the play, which opens with Tom's famous lines -

Yes, I have tricks in my pocket, I have things up my sleeve. But I am the opposite of a stage magician. He gives you illusion that has the appearance of truth. I give you truth in the pleasant disguise of illusion.

Take Me to the World

2011-05-19T10:55:00.003-04:00

"Take Me to the World"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Evening Primrose (1966)

Let me see the world with clouds -
Take me to the world.
Out where I can push through crowds -
Take me to the world.

A world that smiles,
With streets instead of aisles,
Where I can walk for miles with you.

Take me to the world that’s real -
Show me how it’s done.
Teach me how to laugh, to feel -
Move me to the sun.

Just hold my hand

Whenever we arrive.
Take me to a world where I can be alive.

Let me see the world that smiles -

Take me to the world.

Somewhere I can walk for miles -

Take me to the world.

With all around

Things growing in the ground

Where birds that make a sound are birds.

Let me see the world that’s real -

Show me how it’s done.

Teach me how to laugh, to feel -

Move me to the sun.

Just hold my hand whenever we arrive.

Let it be a world with you,

Any other world with you,
Take me to a world where I can be alive.

We shall see the world come true -
We shall have the world.
I won’t be afraid with you -
We shall have the world.
You’ll hold my hand

And know you’re not alone.

You shall have the world to keep,
Such a lovely world you’ll weep,
We shall have the world

Forever ... for our own.

Evening Primrose Part Two today! See yesterday's post for an explanation. Here is the other "famous" song from the musical ... Ella urging Charles to escape to the "real world."

I Remember

2011-05-18T21:47:00.002-04:00

"I Remember"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Evening Primrose (1966)

I remember sky ...
It was blue as ink.
Or at least I think
I remember sky.

I remember snow ...
Soft as feathers,
Sharp as thumbtacks,
Coming down like lint.
And it made you squint
When the wind would blow.

And ice, like vinyl,
On the streets ...
Cold as silver,
White as sheets.
Rain like strings and
Changing things
Like leaves.

I remember leaves ...
Green as spearmint,
Crisp as paper.
I remember trees,
Bare as coat racks,
Spread like broken umbrellas.

And parks and bridges,
Ponds and zoos.
Ruddy faces,
Muddy shoes.
Light and noise and
Bees and boys and days.

I remember days,
Or at least I try.
But as years go by,
They're a sort of haze.
And the bluest ink
Isn't really sky.
And at times I think
I would gladly die ...
For a day of sky.

In the fall of 1966, ABC's weekly arts program Studio 67 aired an original hour-long musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Goldman called Evening Primrose. The major songs have been recorded a number of times, including a studio cast starring Neil Patrick Harris, Mandy Patinkin's album Dress Casual (where he performs the songs with Bernadette Peters), and the original TV soundtrack (featuring Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr - Liesl from The Sound of Music - seen in the picture above), though most musical theatre listeners have heard numerous "covers" of the two most famous songs - "I Remember" and "Take Me to the World."

The production entered the "vault" of special musical theatre treasures that few have actually seen ... until recently. The DVD of the broadcast has finally been released and, as a Stephen Sondheim fanatic, I've been DYING to see it. Fortunately, my friend Joel tipped me off that it was available as a Netflix instant stream offering ... so I RAN to my television and PS3 last night to watch it. What an experience to FINALLY see the original work ...

It's an odd and VERY dark piece. Charles, a poet, hides out in a department store until it closes, hoping to find a sanctuary from the world outside. He discovers a secret group of older people living in the store who only "come out" at night. Charles is allowed to stay with the group once he convinces their matronly leader that he is indeed a poet. He is warned that anyone who threatens to run away or reveal the secret of their group is reported to the "Dark Men." Those who are caught by the Dark Men are whisked away and returned as one of the lifeless mannequins in the store.

Happy show, right? Well, as is the case in most musicals, Charles falls in love with young Ella, an unhappy "maid" to the matron who wants desperately to leave since she was "abducted" as a young child who fell asleep in the store after being separated from her mother. Charles and Ella plan their escape, but are caught by the "Dark Men," and two new mannequins of a bride and groom appear in the department store's window.

I ADORE the lyrics to "I Remember"... a song Ella sings as she recalls the world outside that she hasn't seen in thirteen years. It's another deceptively simple lyric in which Ella compares her faint memories of the natural world outside with the merchandise in the department store. The imagery is astounding ... the sky, snow, ice, leaves, and trees are all matched in perfect similes to ink, lint, vinyl, paper, and broken umbrellas. What beautiful words - and the haunting melody Sondheim puts to the words only underlines Ella's melancholy and longing.

Someone Else's Story

2011-05-17T00:01:00.060-04:00

"Someone Else's Story"

by Tim Rice

from Chess (1988)

Long ago
In someone else's lifetime,
Someone with my name
Who looked a lot like me
Came to know
A man and made a promise -
He only had to say
And that's where she would be.

Lately,
Although the feelings run just as deep
The promise she made

Has grown impossible to keep,
And yet ... I wish it wasn't so.
Will he miss me if I go?

In a way,
It's someone else's story -
I don't see myself
As taking part at all.
Yesterday,
A girl that I was fond of

Finally could see
The writing on the wall.
Sadly,
She realized she'd left him behind
And sadder than that she knew

He wouldn't even mind.
And though there's nothing left to say,
Would he listen if I stay?

It's all very well to say

"You fool - it's now or never."
I could be choosing
No choices whatsoever.

I could be
In someone else's story,
In someone else's life
And he could be in mine.
I don't see
A reason to be lonely.
I could take my chances
Further down the line.

And if
That girl I knew should ask my advice,
Oh I wouldn't hesitate

She needn't ask me twice -
Go now!
I'd tell her that for free.
Trouble is, the girl is me.
The story is ... the girl is me.

Love ABBA, hate Mamma Mia!, but ADORE the score to Chess. The music for Chess was written by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, with lyrics by Ulvaeus and former Lloyd Webber-partner Tim Rice. It's a veritable treasure trove of FANTASTIC songs. Most of us became familiar with the show through the hit song "One Night in Bangkok" that screamed at us from our radios and the wonderful black-and-white checkered "concept album" in the mid-80's.

Unfortunately, like Merrily We Rolll Along, its troubled book about a love triangle at a US-USSR world chess championship match in the midst of Cold War propaganda and conflict has never really worked. The song above was in the reimagined US version which opened on Broadway a couple of years after the West End production and four years after the concept album.

I Don't Believe in Heroes Anymore

2011-05-16T19:33:00.002-04:00

"I Don't Believe in Heroes Anymore"

by Michael Rupert

from 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down (1985)

When I was a little kid,

Robin Hood patrolled the wood

With feats too brave and daring

To believe.

And in the dark of summer nights,

Sir Galahad was all I had

To show what strength and purity

Should be.

The heroes I read about -

What a man should be.

The heroes I dreamed about -

Were all replaced by me.

I thought the villain saved the maids

And turned the tide of war ...

But now, I'm all grown up -

I don't believe in heroes anymore.

When I was a boy of ten,

JFK had shown the way

To push the Russians back

From firing range.

And, in my teens, a man called Che

Spread word of Marx and Mao to say

The world must change through

Harsh and violent means.

I sat before my TV set

And watched my heroes die.

I read the rags and papers

Showing proof my heroes lied.

WIth early death their only wreath

To pass through Heaven's door ...

I see their contradictions -

I don't believe in heroes anymore.

Oh, it'd just be nice to live in a dream

To have someone to believe.

Oh, why can't life be clean?

To just win one for the team?

It's not as simple as it seems.

When I left the college scene,

We made our peace out in the East

And scratched the countless dead

On polished walls.

And now I hear the country cry

For good old days when flags were raised

On God was on our side

Against them all!

I wonder why the heroes we clamored for

The men from past romance,

The heroes who we gathered for

Perform a puppet's dance.

We're fools if we can't see the fools

Who fooled us all before.

Except when I read books and dream -

I don't believe in heroes ... anymore.

And while we're on the subject of obscure musicals, here's another one of my favorites. Forget the TERRIFIC title - 3 Guys Naked from the Waist Down (no one actually gets naked in the show. It's figurative, folks ...) - what a delightful score in a musical about three stand-up comedians who find fame and fortune as a comedy team. In the midst of the hilarity, there are some extremely poignant and heartbreaking moments, and this amazing political anthem.

Since You Stayed Here

2011-05-15T18:54:00.039-04:00

"Since You Stayed Here"

by Peter Larson and Josh Rubins

from Brownstone (1984)

You'd never recognize the room.
The pictures all have different frames now
And all the chairs are rearranged now.
Somehow ... I've thrown out every souvenir.
Yes, there've been changes made since you stayed here.

You'd never recognize the street.
Our favorite stores have different names now.
The colors in the trees have changed now.
Strange how I've hardly thought of you this year.

Yes, there've been changes made since you stayed here.

The same address ... well, more or less.
More happens, less matters ... I guess.

You'd never recognize my life.
I play a much more careful game now.
And when I cry it's not the same now.
Somehow ... I never waste a single tear.
Yes, there've been changes made since you stayed here.

You'd never recognize the room,

You'd never recognize ... the room.

I'm a big fan of the "obscure musical," and this one is definitely one of the more obscure ones. A small production with a short Off-Broadway run in the mid-80's, but thankfully the score was preserved in a lovely studio cast recording. Brownstone, as the name implies, told the interwoven lives of five people living in a brownstone apartment in New York City - a writer and his wife, an upstart lawyer, a young boy, and a woman getting over a breakup. The musical is nearly "through-sung," that is, with very little dialogue. There are a number of gems in the score, particularly this song ... so much longing and heartbreak in the guise of perhaps self-deluding self-confidence. I have felt many of these things as I'm sure most people have ... the things we wish we had the opportunity to say to someone who has hurt us. The final verse beginning with "You'd never recognize my life ..." never fails to choke me up.

Damn Few

2011-05-14T22:41:00.008-04:00

"Old Friends"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Merrily We Roll Along (1981)

Hey, old friend,
Are you okay, old friend?
What do you say, old friend,
Are we or are we unique?
Time goes by,
Everything else keeps changing.
You and I,
We get continued next week.

Most friends fade
Or they don't make the grade.
New one's are quickly made
And in a pinch, sure, they'll do.
But us, old friend,
What's to discuss, old friend?
Here's to us — who's like us?
Damn few!

So, old friends,
Fill me in slow, old friends —
Start from hello, old friends,
I want the when, where and how.
Old friends do
Tend to become old habit —
Never knew
How much I missed you till now.

Tell you something:
Good friends point out your lies,
Whereas old friends live and let live.
Good friends like and advise,
Whereas old friends love and forgive.

And old friends let you go your own way —

Help you find your own way —
\Let you off when you're wrong —
If you're wrong —
When you're wrong —

Right or wrong, the point is:
Old friends shouldn't care if you're wrong —
Should, but not for too long —
What's too long?
If you're wrong —
When you're wrong —

The thing is:
Old friends do leave their brands on you,
But old friends shouldn't compete.
Old friends don't make demands on you —
Should make demands on you —
Well, don't make demands you can't meet.
Well, what's the
Point of demands you can meet?
Well, there's a
Time for demands,
Whether you meet them or not …

Hey, old friends,
How do we stay old friends?
Who is to say, old friends,
How an old friendship survives?
One day chums
Having a laugh a minute,
One day comes
And they're a part of your lives.

New friends pour
Through the revolving door —
Maybe there's one that's more.
If you find one, that'll do.
But us, old friends,
What's to discuss, old friends?
Here's to us!
Who's like us?

Two old friends,
Fewer won't do, old friends —
Gotta have two old friends
Helping you balance along:
One upbraids you
For your faults and fancies,
One persuades you
That the other one's wrong.

Most friends fade
Or they don't make the grade.
New ones are quickly made,
Perfect as long as they're new.
But us, old friends,
What's to discuss, old friends?
Here's to us!
Who's like us?
Damn few!

There's nothing quite like a good friend whom you trust with your most personal feelings, concerns, desires, and hopes. Last night and tonight I had the pleasure of sitting down to dinner with two of my dearest friends and just ... simply ... sharing. What a great weekend so far ...

The Holy Hand Grenade

2011-05-13T16:40:00.001-04:00

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

by Monty Python

Armaments Chapter Two Verses Nine to Twenty-One:

"And St. Attila raised the hand grenade up on high saying 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits, in Thy mercy' and the Lord did grin and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats. And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.'"

In my typically-not-so-humble opinion, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, is the single funniest movie ever filmed. Behind Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the subject of yesterday's post, it is also my second most-quoted screenplay.

Stuff and Nonsense

2011-05-12T00:01:00.056-04:00

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

by Roald Dahl and David Seltzer

Stuff and nonsense!

Wangdoodles, and Hornswogglers, and Snozzwangers, and rotten Vermicious Knids.

Can it, you nit!

It happens every time, they all become blueberries.

Little surprises around every corner, but nothing dangerous.

Snozzberries? Who ever heard of a snozzberry?

We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams.

So shines a good deed in a weary world.

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.

Violet! You're turning violet, Violet!

The suspense is terrible ... I hope it'll last.

If the good Lord had intended us to walk, he wouldn't have invented roller skates.

So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.

I am now telling the computer exactly what it can do with a life time supply of chocolate.

Charlie, don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he he always wanted. He lived happily ever after.

If she's a lady, I'm a Vermicious Knid.

She was a bad egg.

Stop squawking, you twit!

Spitting's a dirty habit. I know a worse one.

This is the film that I quote more than any other ... particularly "So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it." I LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie. It never gets old for me ... I become a 10-year-old child again every time I watch it (which is frequently). I'll save "Pure Imagination" for another day ... one of the most SCRUMDIDILYUMPTIOUS songs ever written!! And maybe "Cheer Up, Charlie" as well.

A House Is Not a Home

2011-05-11T10:59:00.001-04:00

"A House Is Not a Home" (1964)

by Burt Bacharach and Hal David

A chair is still a chair
Even when there's no one sitting there;
But a chair is not a house,
And a house is not a home
When there's no one there to hold you tight,
And no one there you can kiss good night.

A room is still a room,
Even when there's nothing there but gloom;
But a room is not a house,
And a house is not a home
When the two of us are far apart,
And one of us has a broken heart.

Now and then I call your name
And suddenly your face appears,
But it's just a crazy game
When it ends in tears.

Darling, have a heart,
Don't let one mistake keep us apart.
I'm not meant to live alone.

Turn this house into a home.
When I climb the stair and turn the key,
Oh, please be there still in love with me.

This is one of those songs I try to avoid because it tends to put me in one of those "lonely blue funks." It's also one of those beautiful tunes that is IMPOSSIBLE to get out of your head once it's taken up residence ... lovingly referred to as an "earworm." It was written for Dionne Warwick by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and appeared on the B-side (younger readers might not understand that reference) of her recording of "You'll Never Get to Heaven (If You Break My Heart)." Although it wasn't a huge success for Warwick, it has been covered by numerous singers and musicians over the past nearly 50 years.

My favorite version - the one that spawned my current earworm - is from the 2010 revival of the 1968 Bacharach, David, and Neil Simon musical Promises, Promises. The song was not originally part of the musical, but it and "I Say a Little Prayer" (another Bacharach, David, Warwick collaboration) were added to the revival score to showcase the indisputable vocal talent of the show's star, Kristin Chenoweth.

Time Heals Everything

2011-05-10T00:01:00.003-04:00

"Time Heals Everything"

by Jerry Herman

from Mack and Mabel (1974)

Time heals everything ...
Tuesday.
Thursday.
Time heals everything ...
April.
August.

If I'm patient the break will mend,
And one fine morning the hurt will end.

So make the moments fly ...
Autumn.
Winter.
I'll forget you by ...
Next year.
Some year.

Though it's hell that I'm going through,
Some Tuesday,
Thursday,
April,
August,
Autumn,
Winter,
Next year,
Some year ...
Time heals everything.
Time heals everything,
But loving you ...

Next to "Losing My Mind," "Time Heals Everything" is my favorite torch song. Written by the great Jerry Herman (composer and lyricist for Mame, Hello, Dolly!, and La Cage Aux Folles, among others), this song is part of the terrific score from the less-than-terrific Mack and Mabel. In Herman's defense, it's not his score that caused the musical to close in about two months, but the book. The story concerns the bleak and tragic romance (featuring bouts with heroin addiction and alcoholism) between the famous silent film director, Mack Sennett (creator of the Keystone Kops), and his "discovery" from the deli, the comedienne Mabel Normand. The musical starred Robert Preston as Mack and Bernadette Peters as Mabel, and even that much star power couldn't save the show.

Times Like This

2011-05-09T00:01:00.048-04:00

"Times Like This"

by Lynn Ahrens

from Lucky Stiff (1988)

A friendly face, the kind of face
That melts you with a grin.
The kind of eyes that welcome you
The minute you walk in.
A tender glance you simply can't refuse.
At times like this a girl could use ...
A Dog.

He listens when you tell him things,
There's nothing you can't say.
And unlike certain people
You can teach him how to stay.
And if the world is giving you the blues,
He cheers you up by chewing up the news.
It's things like that that make you choose ...
A Dog.

Other people need romance, dancing, playing around.
Other people need constant fun, well I'm not one ...
I have my feet on the ground.

Give me a quiet night, a stack of books,
A tuna melt on rye.
A simple walk together
Underneath the starry sky.
And suddenly the night is something rare,
And all because there's someone special there
Who's gazing at the views ...
His head upon your shoes ...
At times like this, I sure could use ...
A Dog.

For those of you who haven't been introduced ... meet Annabelle, the love of my life, my constant companion, my best girlfriend. I'm an animal lover, in fact I often appreciate animals more than I do most people. I contribute monthly to the Humane Society and the ASPCA. And I just LOVE the sentiment expressed in this charming Flaherty and Ahrens song.

Pooh Just Is

2011-05-08T18:13:00.007-04:00

The Tao of Pooh (1982)

by Benjamin Hoff

Within each of us there is an Owl, a Rabbit, an Eeyore, and a Pooh. For too long, we have chosen the way of the Owl and Rabbit. Now, like Eeyore, we complain about the results. But that accomplishes nothing. If we are smart, we will choose the way of Pooh. As if from far away, it calls to us with the voice of a child's mind. It may be hard to hear at times, but it is important just the same, because without it, we will never find our way through the Forest.

Yesterday, Buddhism. Today, Taoism. Another philosophical and religious tradition of the Far East. One that abandons faith in an all-powerful and knowing "deity" and focuses on our own responsibility for our personal path and enlightenment. One that values compassion, moderation, and HUMILITY (a characteristic, in particular, that I wish more Western religions valued). One that places emphasis on the relationship and harmony of humanity with nature and the cosmos.

And ... what better way to be introduced to the principles of Taoism than using the characters in A.A. Milne's classic stories, which have ALREADY been a post in this blog! I ADORE this book and read it every once in a while to find peace, understanding, and perhaps even a little enlightenment ... to understand and appreciate the calm reflection of a simple bear who. just. is.

By the River

2011-05-07T14:40:00.079-04:00

Siddhartha (1951)

by Hermann Hesse

Siddhartha listened. He was now nothing but a listener, completely concentrated on listening, completely empty, he felt, that he had now finished learning to listen. Often before, he had heard all this, these many voices in the river, today it sounded new. Already, he could no longer tell the many voices apart, not the happy ones from the weeping ones, not the ones of children from those of men, they all belonged together, the lamentation of yearning and the laughter of the knowledgeable one, the scream of rage and the moaning of the dying ones, everything was one, everything was intertwined and connected, entangled a thousand times. And everything together, all voices, all goals, all yearning, all suffering, all pleasure, all that was good and evil, all of this together was the world. All of it together was the flow of events, was the music of life. And when Siddhartha was listening attentively to this river, this song of a thousand voices, when he neither listened to the suffering nor the laughter, when he did not tie his soul to any particular voice and submerged his self into it, but when he heard them all, perceived the whole, the oneness, then the great song of a thousand voices consisted of a single word, which was Om: the perfection.

This has been a particularly troubling week for me ... spiritually, physically, and emotionally. It began with the death of a truly evil man at the "hands" of an awarded Man of Peace and the disturbing celebrations that erupted in the streets. It ended with a frightening morning when chronic bronchitis caused me to wake barely able to breathe and realize that I was utterly alone to deal with it (my mother was in New Mexico for the week).

I am not a man of religion - in fact, I find most organized religions unacceptable. For me, following a set of ancient rules and rites prescribed in ancient texts that have been edited over thousands of years and have little relevance in today's world, rules which apparently condemn who I am and how I choose to live, is, at the very least, unreasonable. I do, however, consider myself quite "spiritual" though I'm often at a loss to define that for myself. It's something I rarely discuss with anyone since I've always felt strongly that one's own spiritual or religious beliefs are one's own business and that it is inappropriate to proclaim them or proselytize.

When I take those online "Belief" tests (my favorite is the Belief-o-Matic Quiz at Beliefnet.com), I typically score 100% Unitarian Universalist followed closely by Secular Humanist. At the very bottom of the list, not surprisingly, are the Christian sects with Roman Catholicism (the faith I was RAISED in) second from the bottom! Reform Judaism falls somewhere in the middle ... I've always felt a strong respect for the Jews, most notably the strength and PRIVACY of their faith. BUT ... right below my top matches, I always find a number of the Far Eastern belief systems, particularly Buddhism and Taoism.

I've always been fascinated with the religions and spirituality of the Far East and I find Herman Hesse's classic novel Siddhartha, about the spiritual journey of an Indian man during the time of Buddha, so INCREDIBLY captivating.

When the Buddha was asked about the path to enlightenment, here was his response:

"Be your own light, your own refuge.

Believe only that which you test for yourself.

Do not accept authority merely because it comes from a great man,

or is written in a sacred book,

for truth is different for each man and woman."

Amen ... THAT's a teacher and philosophy I can believe in and follow. No omniscient or omnipotent deity for me, thank you very much. We are responsible for our own enlightenment, there is no "plan," our part in the universe is to respect our place in it by living a good, moral, and ethical life.

So, it's going to be a spiritual weekend. Tomorrow, Taoism ...

Gossip

2011-05-06T00:01:00.040-04:00

Doubt: A Parable (2004)

by John Patrick Shanley

A woman was gossiping with a friend about a man she hardly knew - I know none of you have ever done this - and that night she had a dream. A great hand appeared over her and pointed down at her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest, Father O'Rourke, and she told him the whole thing. "Is gossiping a sin?" she asked the old man. "Was that the Hand of God Almighty pointing a finger at me? Should I be asking your absolution? Father, tell me, have I done something wrong?" "Yes!" Father O'Rourke answered her. "Yes, you ignorant, badly brought-up female! You have borne false witness against your neighbor, you have played fast and loose with his reputation, and you should be heartily ashamed!!" So the woman said she was sorry and asked forgiveness. "Not so fast!" says O'Rourke. "I want you to go home, take a pillow up on your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me!" So she went home, took the pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to the roof, and stabbed the pillow. Then she went back to the old priest as instructed. "Did you gut the pillow with the knife?" he says. "Yes, Father." "And what was the result?" "Feathers," she said. "Feathers?" he repeated. "Feathers everywhere, Father!" "Now I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind!" "Well," she says, "it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over." "And that," said Father O'Rourke, "is gossip!"

Certainly one of the proudest moments of my acting career was the honor of playing Father Flynn in a local production of John Patrick Shanley's 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning play Doubt. It was one of the first times I had ever had the chance to play a leading role, having played mostly smaller supporting roles (which are usually more fun). I was also at the top of my game physically (I was at my lightest adult weight) and emotionally. It's a terrific play about a Bronx middle school principal, a nun, who accuses the parish priest of improper relations with a male student. The question "did he do it?" is never truly answered - thus the title of the play - and the challenge was to leave the audience questioning even though, in my mind, I knew the answer for my character. My barometer of success was asking audience members after the show for their conclusion and I knew I was successful when there was an even number of guilty vs. innocent verdicts. Fortunately, this was typically the case.

You're a Good Man

2011-05-05T18:18:00.005-04:00

Dog Sees God:
Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead (2004)

by Bert V. Royal

A boy recently came to live down the street from me. He's had a tough life, but things are better for him now. He plays the piano like your friend. I often hear his music wafting from an open window, where a small yellow bird sits. Sometimes I cry when I hear it. But mostly I smile. He found a dog who likes to sing along. He takes good care of the dog. When we talk, he tells me of a person he knew from where he used to live. Someone very special who means more than anything to him. A person that reminds me of you. I apologize for not being there for you before. And I'm not sure that I'll be able to write you again. Just know that there's someone out there thinking about you. Someone who has a vested interest in your success. How I wish I had the opportunity to meet you. Maintain in your heart all that makes you who you are. You are a good man. Your Pen Pal, CS.

I've always identified with good ol' Charlie Brown. I've played him twice on stage in two different musicals - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and its sequel Snoopy!! Just a couple of nights ago, I even got some gentle ribbing from friends who noticed me wearing a bright yellow polo shirt. Charlie Brown and I have much in common - an unfortunate pessimistic streak and a frequent "woe is me" lovable loser frame of mind.

There's a "new" play about the Peanuts gang - it's remarkably offensive, jaw-droppingly obscene, and WONDERFUL. It also tops the short list of plays I would kill to direct. Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God (a palindromic reference to the death of Snoopy at the top of the play) imagines the familiar Charles Schulz characters at high school age - now called CB, CB's Sister, Van, Matt (who has definitely "cleaned up" his act), Beethoven, Marcy, Tricia, and Van's Sister - I think you can figure out who's who.

It was tremendously difficult to find a quote that would be appropriate to post publicly on a blog. It starts with Charlie Brown describing the salivating, rabid death of Snoopy and, by extension ... 'nuff said, Woodstock. It's "in-your-face" theatre at its best and though I gasp reading it, I can't help but admire its craft. Here's the description from the back of the script, just to give you an idea:

"When CB's dog dies from rabies, CB begins to question the existence of an afterlife. His best friend is too burnt out to provide any coherent speculation, his sister has gone goth, his ex-girlfriend has recently been institutionalized, and his other friends are too inebriated to give him any sort of solace. But a chance meeting with an artistic kid, the target of this group's bullying, offers CB a peace of mind and sets in motion a friendship that will push teen angst to the very limits. Drug use, suicide, eating disorders, teen violence, rebellion and sexual identity collide and careen toward an ending that's both haunting and hopeful."

What's most striking about the play is the ending (the quote above) ... after an hour's worth of raunchy fun and surprising cruelty, there is this quiet and redemptive moment in which CB finally receives a letter back from his long-term Pen Pal - and it turns out to be none other than a familiar friend with the initials CS. I'll leave you to "get" that ... a masterful touch by the playwright (who hails from Jacksonville, Florida, by the way!).

Dasher

2011-05-04T23:16:00.004-04:00

The Eight: Reindeer Monologues (1993)

by Jeff Goode

I can name you fifty flying reindeer right now

who will run on a clear night with temperatures

in the mid 30's.

are supposed to be

The Elite.

"The Eight."

There's a problem? We handle it.

Fog?

I will take the risk

of flying head first

into the side of a skyscraper that wasn't there last year.

I've done it before.

Three times.

And am I accusing someone else

of ... unChristmaslike behavior?
No I am not.

My risk, my problem.

And it doesn't matter anyway

because I survived it.

I'm still here.

Still at the front.

Still runnin'.

This year, next year, and every year.

Every now and then, as a writer, you come across a work that makes you slap your forehead like in that V-8 commercial and say to yourself, "Now, why in the HELL didn't I think of that?" A couple of years ago, I stopped in Applause Books in New York City (which has unfortunately closed up shop since then) and found this script called The Eight: Reindeer Monologues by Jeff Goode. I loved the graphic on the front cover (the picture above) and when I read a few pages, I was HOOKED. I've been dying to direct or perform in this play ever since ... and what a BRILLIANT concept!

Each reindeer has his or her own monologue, written in this somewhat free verse style, ranging from gut-bustingly hysterical to devastatingly moving. Dasher, Dancer, Hollywood (Prancer, the only one who got his own movie), Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen. But, trust me, these aren't your family-friendly reindeer games ... sexual harassment on and off the job, child abuse, alcoholism ... the life of a reindeer is not easy and it's VERY VERY adult. I love it because it's just so ANTI-holidays for a Christmas play. And that's just what everyone needs at the holidays, huh? To be SHAKEN up just a little.

Sigh ... some day ...

Starry Starry Night

2011-05-03T00:01:00.061-04:00

"Vincent"

by Don McLean

from American Pie (1971)

Starry
starry night
paint your palette blue and gray
look out on a summer's day
with eyes that know the
darkness in my soul.

Shadows on the hills
sketch the trees and the daffodils
catch the breeze and the winter chills
in colors on the snowy linen land.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me
and how you suffered for your sanity
and how you tried to set them free
they would not listen
they did not know how
perhaps they'll listen now.

Starry
starry night
flaming flowers that brightly blaze
swirling clouds in violet haze

reflect in Vincent's eyes of China blue.

Colors changing hue
morning fields of amber grain
weathered faces lined in pain
are soothed beneath the artist's loving hand.

Now I understand what you tried to say to me
and how you suffered for your sanity
and how you tried to set them free

they would not listen
they did not know how
perhaps they'll listen now.

For they could not love you
but still your love was true
and when no hope was left inside

on that starry starry night
you took your life
as lovers often do.

But I could have told you
Vincent
this world was never
meant for one
as beautiful as you.

Starry
starry night
portraits hung in empty halls
frameless heads on nameless walls

with eyes that watch the world

and can't forget.

Like the strangers that you've met
the ragged men in ragged clothes
the silver thorn of bloody rose
lie crushed and broken
on the virgin snow.

Now I think I know what you tried to say to me
and how you suffered for your sanity
and how you tried to set them free

they would not listen
they're not listening still
perhaps they never will ...

Arguably one of the most beautiful songs ever written, this portrait of and homage to Vincent van Gogh is my favorite track from the FIRST vinyl LP I ever owned (at the blissfully young age of 10!), Don McLean's American Pie. I LOVED this album and I always will. My brother will deny it, but one of my most vivid memories from childhood was when he SAT on this LP and broke it ... sorry, Chris, the jig's up, time to come clean. I'm over it now and I've forgiven my little brother, but what an album it was (that's back when we actually CALLED them albums, remember that?). "American Pie," "The Grave," the haunting "Babylon," "Winterwood," "Empty Chairs," and the delightful "Everybody Loves Me, Baby (... what's the matter with you?)"

Those were the days ... and thanks for indulging me in this bit of nostalgia.

Hate Multiplies Hate

2011-05-02T17:02:00.000-04:00

Where Do We Go From Here? (1967)

by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. ... Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

It's been a very troubling day ... a day of conflicting thoughts. At the end of the day, this quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., sums it up best for me. Like last night's post, I'm going to leave this one here for you to consider - it needs no additional words from me.

Letter to the Governor

2011-05-01T23:40:00.000-04:00

"Letter to the Governor"

by Jason Robert Brown

from Parade (1998)

I have heard them in the streets, Gov'nor.
"Justice! We have justice!"
Through these old and tired walls.
Calling through the autumn night
That still more blood must flow ...
And I declared it so.

And maybe I was wrong.
Maybe what was "obvious" then
Would not have been for long,
But I would not delay.

And maybe I was right -
Maybe I'm afraid that in a
Higher Judge's sight,
I won't know what to say.
So before I leave this world behind,
I have to speak my mind.

With hatred in the air,
How is any man to know
What is or isn't fair?
I left it up to Fate.
It now may be too late -
They'll be caling out to you, Gov'nor.
You will know what's right to do.

No commentary today ... I'm just going to put it out there, and let it stand on its own.

Our Time

2011-04-30T14:12:00.085-04:00

"Our Time"

by Stephen Sondheim

from Merrily We Roll Along (1981)

Something is stirring,
Shifting ground,
It's just begun.
Edges are blurring
All around
And yesterday is done.

Feel the flow -
Hear what's happening,
We're what's happening.
Don't ya know -
We're the movers and
We're the shapers.
We're the names in tomorrow's papers.
Up to us, man, to show 'em.

It's our time,
Breathe it in,
Worlds to change and worlds to win.
Our turn coming through.
Me and you, man, me and you.

Feel how it quivers
On the brink ...
Everything.
Gives you the shivers,
Makes ya think
There's so much stuff to sing.

And, you and me,
We'll be singing it
Like the birds -
Me with music and you the words.
Tell 'em things they don't know.
Up to us, pal, to show 'em.

It's our time,
Breathe it in,
Worlds to change and worlds to win.
Our turn - we're what's new.
Me and you, pal, me and you.

Feel the flow -
Hear what's happening,
We're what's happening.
Long ago,
All we had was that funny feeling
Saying someday we'd set them reeling.
Now it looks like we can.
Someday just began.

Something is stirring,
Shifting ground,
It's just begun.
Edges are blurring
all around,
and yesterday is done.

Feel the flow -
Hear what's happening,
We're what's happening.
Don't ya know -
We're the movers and
We're the shapers.
We're the names in tomorrow's papers.
Up to us, man, to show 'em.

It's our time,
Breathe it in,
Worlds to change and worlds to win.
Our turn coming through.
Me and you, pal, me and you.

Years from now,
We'll remember and we'll come back.
Buy the rooftop and hang a plaque.
This is where we began ...
Being what we can.

It's our heads on the block,
Give us room and start the clock.
Our dreams coming true.
Me and you, pal, me and you ...

It's that time of year ... graduation. Tonight is "Grad Nite" - an all-night affair for graduating high school seniors at Walt Disney World - and my Facebook news feed has been flooded with announcements from former students who are graduating from college. There's only ONE musical that comes to mind at graduation time - Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along.

The musical is based loosely on the famous Kaufman and Hart play of the same name. Although many praise the score as one of Sondheim's best (with some of his most popular songs - "Not a Day Goes By," "Old Friends," "Good Thing Going"), it and the book have undergone numerous revisions since the musical's first disastrous Broadway run of only 16 performances. The play centers on the lives of three characters, Frank (a composer), Mary, and Charley (a lyricist and Frank's songwriting partner), from high school graduation through the dissolution of their friendship. However, like the play on which it is based, the musical moves BACKWARDS in time. It ends with the beautiful lyrics of "Our Time" above as the three watch in wonder at a fly-over of Sputnik and are filled with hope for the future. It is a bittersweet ending, however, since the backwards chronology has already informed us that their lives will be filled with betrayal, unrequited loves, divorces, and business and artistic failures.

I had the good fortune to direct a high school production of the ORIGINAL version of the show in the late 80's at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. The show reminds me of graduation because, in its original version, it begins and ends with the now famous high school graduation bookend scenes that no longer exist in the current version ... along with a glorious graduation anthem, "The Hills of Tomorrow."

Despite the show's inherent flaws, it will be one that is always near and dear to my heart, thanks to its soaring score and marvelous songs.

Fine Actually

2011-04-29T00:01:00.113-04:00

Rabbit Hole (2005)

by David Lindsay-Abaire

BECCA Mom? Does it go away?

NAT What?

BECCA This feeling. Does it ever go away?

NAT No. I don't think it does. Not for me, it hasn't. And that's goin' on eleven years. It changes though.

BECCA How?

NAT I don't know. The weight of it, I guess. At some point it becomes bearable. It turns into something you can crawl out from under. And carry around - like a brick in your pocket. And you forget it every once in a while, but then you reach in for whatever reason and there it is: "Oh right. That." Which can be awful. But not all the time. Sometimes it's kinda ... Not that you like it exactly, but it's what you have instead of your son, so you don't wanna let go of it either. So you carry it around. And it doesn't go away, which is ...

BECCA What?

NAT Fine ... actually.

A few months ago, I had the honor and privilege of playing the role of Howie in David Lindsay-Abaire's STUNNING play, Rabbit Hole. The beautiful 2007 Pulitzer Prize-winning script tells the story of a married couple dealing with the accidental death of their 4-year-old child. That's me in the picture above with my dear friend, MaryBeth, who played my wife, Becca. It was one of the proudest moments in my community theatre acting "career," along with my portrayal of Father Flynn a few years back in the 2005 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Doubt (more on that another day).

Rabbit Hole is the kind of play I can see myself writing. A taut, single-set, personal family drama sprinkled liberally with doses of comedy. We spent much of the rehearsal period marvelling at the script - its economy of words, its precise and effective use of silence, its ability to say JUST what needs to be said ... and nothing more. Roles like Howie don't come along very often - a role with rich rewards that beats you up at the same time. Howie works at cross-purposes with his wife in dealing with his grief and loss ... he is great at appearing that he has "everything under control," he's dealing with it, doing everything that is "expected" of him, such as going to group sessions. Underneath is an overwhelming rage and depression that is only brought out by his wife's need to NOT think about it and even "erase" evidence of their child's existence from the home.

The night before last, the cast of Rabbit Hole got together to watch the film version for the first time ... together. It amazed me how the stage play was adapted for the screen (both scripts were written by Lindsay-Abaire). It struck me that the method of story-telling in film is so different from the stage. The prolonged scenes in the stage script were diced into small moments, often scattered non-sequentially throughout the film and even more surprising, lines were given to different characters. Add to that the introduction of characters only mentioned, but not seen, in the stage play, and multiple locations outside the family home (a bowling alley, a park, the group sessions, the mother's home). It was really fascinating to compare the two ... even the "arc" of the stories for Howie and, significantly more pronounced, Becca, were altered for the film.

As a writer, I would love to study the two scripts side-by-side ... I'm looking forward to watching it again with the commentary track (featuring the film's Director, Director of Photography, AND Lindsay-Abaire) turned on. Which did I prefer? They were both so different, its hard to compare them, particularly since there were many things about each that I liked. My heart belongs, of course, to the stage version. And as a writer? I think I'll stick to the stage, as well.

Love Who You Love

2011-04-28T00:01:00.068-04:00

"Love Who You Love"

by Lynn Ahrens

from A Man of No Importance (2002)

I'm not one to lecture -
How could I dare?
Someone like me who's been mainly nowhere.
But in my experience, be as it may,
You just have to love who you love.

Your common sense tells you, best not begin.
But your fool heart cannot help plungin' in,
And nothing and no one can stand in your way.
You just have to love who you love.

People can be hard sometimes
And their words can cut so deep.
Choose the one you choose, love,
And don't lose a moment's sleep.
Who can tell you who to want?
Who can tell you what you were destined to be?
Take it from me ...

There's no fault in lovin' -
No call for shame.
Everyone's heart does exactly the same.
And once you believe that, you'll learn how to say,
I love who I love who I love ...
So just go and love ... who you love

All directors and actors have a personal list of "dream shows" ... this one tops my list. I would LOVE to play the leading role of Alfie Byrne in this musical, based on the 1994 Albert Finney film, with music by Stephen Flaherty and book (dialogue) by award-winning American playwright, Terrence McNally. The story takes place in Dublin, Ireland, and concerns a middle-aged bus conductor in the early 1960's who is struggling not only with the church (over his plans to stage a community theatre production of Oscar Wilde's Salome), but his own "coming to terms" with being gay. Throughout the musical, Alfie is advised and prompted by the spirit of Oscar Wilde himself. I have used the musical's song "Love Who You Love" as an audition piece and I've ALWAYS loved singing it.

It's also no surprise that the score and songs of A Man of No Importance were written by one of my favorite tunesmith teams - Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. This talented pair has created the scores to some terrific musicals, including Ragtime, Seussical, Once On This Island, Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, and the animated feature, Anastasia, among others. I guarantee you have not seen the last of Ms. Ahrens on this blog!

The Mind-Killer

2011-04-27T00:01:00.055-04:00

Dune (1965)

by Frank Herbert

I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.

Only I will remain. 

In the world of sci-fi geekdom - and I consider myself a proud member of that society - Frank Herbert is to science fiction what J.R.R. Tolkien is to fantasy. The universe of Dune and its five sequels is STAGGERINGLY complex, spanning numerous galaxies and literally thousands of years of personal and political history. What separates Dune from other science fiction works is that it is, in many ways, more "literary" than other sci-fi novels ... concentrating significantly more on character and story than the technical aspects. To even attempt a synopsis would be futile, given the complexity of political, religious, philosophical, and even ecological issues that are explored in the novels. Two film versions have been made (with a third one apparently in production) and neither has been terribly successful ... I doubt any visual representation could ever fully capture the world that is Dune.

Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere.

Climb the mountain just a little bit to test that it's a mountain.

From the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain.

When I Heard at the Close of Day

2011-04-26T13:28:00.001-04:00

"When I Heard at the Close of Day"

by Walt Whitman

from Leaves of Grass (1892)

When I heard at the close of the day how my name had been receiv’d with plaudits in the capitol, still it was not a happy night for me that follow’d;
And else, when I carous’d, or when my plans were accomplish’d, still I was not happy.
But the day when I rose at dawn from the bed of perfect health, refresh’d, singing, inhaling the ripe breath of autumn,
When I saw the full moon in the west grow pale and disappear in the morning light,
When I wander’d alone over the beach, and undressing, bathed, laughing with the cool waters, and saw the sun rise,
And when I thought how my dear friend, my lover, was on his way coming, O then I was happy.
O then each breath tasted sweeter, and all that day my food nourish’d me more, and the beautiful day pass’d well,
And the next came with equal joy, and with the next, at evening, came my friend,
And that night, while all was still, I heard the waters roll slowly continually up the shores,
I heard the hissing rustle of the liquid and sands as directed to me, whispering, to congratulate me,
For the one I love most lay sleeping by me under the same cover in the cool night,
In the stillness, in the autumn moonbeams, his face was inclined toward me,
And his arm lay lightly around my breast - and that night I was happy.

About three weeks ago, I dedicated my first Transcendentalist blog post to Thoreau and Walden. Today it's Walt Whitman and his marvelous poetry collection Leaves of Grass. Originally published in 1855 with only twelve unnamed poems, Whitman intended for the book to be small enough to carry in one's pocket. It was expanded by Whitman about eight times during his lifetime until the final "deathbed" edition, published in 1892 two months before his death, which contains nearly 400 poems. Nestled among this hefty volume of poetry is this beautiful expression of love ... I hope one day to feel this again.

An Enchanted Place

2011-04-25T00:01:00.038-04:00

The House at Pooh Corner (1928)

by A.A. Milne

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."

Pooh thought for a little.

"How old shall I be then?"

"Ninety-nine."

Pooh nodded.

"I promise," he said.

Still with his eyes on the world, Christopher Robin put out a hand and felt for Pooh's paw.

"Pooh," said Christopher Robin earnestly, "if I - if I'm not quite -" he stopped and tried again - "Pooh, whatever happens, you will understand, won't you?"

"Understand what?"

"Oh, nothing." He laughed and jumped to his feet. "Come on!"

"Where?" said Pooh.

"Anywhere," said Christopher Robin.

So they went off together. But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest, a little boy and his Bear will always be playing.

Sigh ... there isn't much in this world I love more than the original tales of Winnie-the-Pooh written by A. A. Milne with the non-Disney-fied illustrations of Ernest H. Shepard. I will swallow my pride and tell you that a stuffed Tigger watches me sleep, the first Shepard illustration of Christopher Robin dragging Pooh "bump, bump, bump, on the back of his head" down the stairs is framed on my bedroom wall, a sizable portion of my Disney snowglobe collection (yes ... I have one, thank you very much) is Pooh-related, and a boxed set of the original Pooh books by Milne occupies a treasured place on my Children's Lit shelf. 'Nuff said ...

Two Parties

2011-04-24T00:01:00.058-04:00

The West Wing (2001)

by Aaron Sorkin

I am tired of working for candidates who make me think I should be embarrassed to believe what I believe. I am tired of getting them elected! We all need some therapy, because somebody came along and said "Liberal" means soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on Communism, soft on Defense, and we're gonna tax you back to the Stone Age because people shouldn't have to go to work if they don't want to. And, instead of saying, "Well, EXCUSE me, you right-wing reactionary xenophobic homophobic anti-education anti-choice pro-gun Leave-It-To-Beaver-trip-back-to-the-50's," we cowered in the corner and said "Please ... Don't. Hurt. Me." No more! I really don't care who's right, who's wrong. We're both right, we're both wrong. Let's have two parties, huh? Whaddya say?

In my opinion, there is very little writing to match the pure genius that is Aaron Sorkin. His work both inspires me and scares me at the same time. I hear his dialogue and, after I've picked my jaw up from the floor, I think, "There's NO way I could EVER write like that." The West Wing, A Few Good Men, The Social Network, and the prematurely-axed Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - intelligent people engaged in smart, quippy, fast-paced dialogue that both challenges the listener and stuns with surprises around every corner.

I started watching The West Wing only a few months ago at the urging of some online friends who were astonished that I had never seen the show. After only the first few episodes of the first season, I was HOOKED and immediately spent hundreds of dollars ordering the complete seven-season series on DVD (thanks to an Amazon birthday gift card). I am slowly making my way through the series and heard the above quote just last night as I watched the episode "Gone Quiet" from the beginning of the third season. It is delivered by the character of Bruno Gianelli (played by Ron Silver in the photo above), the somewhat ruthless re-election campaign strategist for the fictional Bartlet Administration. What struck me most about the speech was its relevance today ... I feel his complaints about the apparent spineless-ness of Liberals (a group to which I align myself) is just as on point today as it was in the fall of 2001, when this episode first aired. I do wish that I had caught the series when it was broadcast ... it certainly would have been a wonderful alternate universe to visit once a week - an escape from those utterly dreadful Bush years.

My favorite Aaron Sorkin quote (about a discussion he had with Stockard Channing and characterization), and something I need to remember as a writer ... "Stockard had done an episode of the show as the First Lady. She took me out to lunch and said she really liked doing the show and wanted to do more and started asking me questions like, 'Who do you think this character is?' And those aren’t questions I can answer. As a writer, I can only answer, 'What do they want?'"

How Can I Win?

2011-04-23T00:01:00.002-04:00

"How Can I Win?"

by David Zippel

from The Goodbye Girl (1993)

How can I learn to trust enough
And to stop believing all I hear are lies?
Open my heart, but just enough
To keep an open mind, but never close my eyes
To the dangers I alert myself ...
Making efforts to assert myself
And discovering ways to hurt myself
That no one else has tried.
How can I win if I'm not on my side?

How can I dare to feel again
If I can't let go of past mistakes I've made?
Living through each ordeal again -
The faith that I misplaced, the price I overpaid.
I've been able to endure enough,
But I must not want the cure enough.
I get back on my feet and sure enough ...
My hopes and fears collide.
How can I win if I'm not on my side?

I live each day like emotions are at war,
But I don't remember anymore
Just who or what I'm fighting for ...

When will delight be mine again?
Will it come or can it be that it's too late?
I want the sun to shine again,
But I must walk away from the shadows I create.

And though I tell myself it's safer just to hide ...
How can I win if I keep retreating?
Cheating myself is self-defeating.
How can I win if I'm not on my side?

Have you ever heard a song and you are absolutely certain that the song is ALL ABOUT YOU? This is mine ... it could be my personal anthem. I've heard myself saying EVERY SINGLE ONE of these things, and it's frankly kind of frightening just how on the mark it is. There are even times, depending on my mood or state of mind, that I just can't listen to it.

The song is from the musical The Goodbye Girl, based on the Neil Simon movie of the same name. The music was written by Marvin Hamlisch, and the words by a brilliant lyricist - David Zippel - who also wrote the lyrics for the terrific musical, City of Angels (which I had the pleasure of directing more than a decade ago). And it certainly helps that the song was delivered by the incandescent Bernadette Peters, who can act the hell out of any song and make you believe every word she's singing.

I think the lyrics speak for themselves and those who know me well can probably recognize me in the words. The line "Cheating myself is self-defeating" is just amazing ... the bookend rhyme and the cleverly hidden repeat of the word "self." I want to write just like that ...

My Sentimental Friend

2011-04-22T00:24:00.000-04:00

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

by L. Frank Baum and Noel Langley

"And remember, my sentimental friend,
that a heart is not judged by how much you love,
but by how much you are loved by others."

Recently, while dwelling in one of my infrequent though somewhat troubling "old-fat-unattractive-alone-and-unloved" blue funks, I was reminded of this quote from the film version of The Wizard of Oz. It is advice that the unmasked "Wizard" gives to the Tin Man as he is awarded his "heart." I am always struck by universal truths stated so clearly and simply.

A Quiet Thing

2011-04-21T07:27:00.007-04:00

"A Quiet Thing"

by Fred Ebb

from Flora the Red Menace (1965)

When it all comes true
Just the way you'd planned,
It's funny, but the bells don't ring -
It's a quiet thing ...

When you hold the world
In your trembling hand,
You'd think you'd hear a choir sing -
It's a quiet thing ...

There are no exploding fireworks.
Where's the roaring of the crowds?
Maybe it's the strange new atmosphere
Way up here among the clouds.

But I don't hear the drums
And I don't hear the band -
The sounds I'm told
Such moments bring.

Happiness comes in on tip-toe.
Well, what'd'ya know?
It's a quiet thing.
A very - quiet - thing...

A dual-purpose post today. The first is to share the WONDERFUL lyrics of this song with you (if you're not already familiar with it ...). Certainly one of my top ten favorite songs, it made its first appearance in John Kander and Fred Ebb's (Chicago, Cabaret) Broadway debut, Flora the Red Menace, and it was sung by a young Liza Minnelli, who was also making her first Broadway appearance.

The second, and more significant, meaning behind today's post is the key word of the song ... I was watching the film Hereafter the night before last and it struck me just how QUIET it was. The movie concerns three people who are all facing death and grief in very different ways ... a sensitive, moving, and introspective screenplay. There are large portions of the film that have almost no dialogue as we follow each of the three protagonists in their personal struggles with loss. It's a thoughtful, beautiful exploration of how we face death, and I HIGHLY recommend it if you haven't seen it.

As a director, performer, audience member, and writer, I am always drawn to the POWER of silence on stage, on film, and on the page. I remember when I first read the script to Rabbit Hole (in which I recently performed) and was thrilled at all the "beats" and "pauses" that were written into the piece. As a director, I am NEVER scared of adding those beats and pauses where necessary ... they are vital and, when well-placed, do not slow the pace of the work. They enhance it. To quote a famous English poet and author, Martin Tupper - "Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech." AMEN.

Hmmm ... makes me wonder about writing an entire piece that doesn't have a single line of dialogue. I've written an action-only scene as part of a playwriting exercise, but never a complete piece. Might be worth the experiment ...

When I Look In Your Eyes

2011-04-20T06:21:00.006-04:00

"When I Look In Your Eyes"

by Leslie Bricusse

from Dr. Dolittle (1967)

When I look in your eyes,

I see the wisdom of the world in your eyes.

I see the sadness of a thousand goodbyes

When I look in your eyes.

And it is no surprise,

To see the softness of the moon in your eyes.

The gentle sparkle of the stars in your eyes

When I look in your eyes.

In your eyes, I see the deepness of the sea.

I see the deepness of the love,

The love I feel you feel for me.

Autumn comes, summer dies.

I see the passing of the years in your eyes,

And when we part there will be no tears no goodbyes.

I'll just look into your eyes.

Those eyes, so wise,

So warm, so real ...

How I love the world your eyes reveal.

One of my favorite big-budget musicals as a child (and it still is, even as an adult) was 1967's Dr. Dolittle ... the ORIGINAL one with Rex Harrison. The 60's and early 70's were such a wonderful time for BIG film musicals, courtesy of songwriters like Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse, and the marvelous Sherman brothers. Who can beat Dr. Dolittle, Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, among others?

More to come from the others, but here's my favorite song from Dr. Dolittle. Believe it or not, the Doctor (Rex Harrison) sings this to a seal named Sophie who longs to return to her husband (I'm assuming you all know that the good Doctor "talks to the animals"). It is a suprisingly touching moment on an English cliffside as Dolittle sings a loving goodbye to Sophie before returning her to the sea. The version above is the "popular" one ... in the movie, the final line was actually "Isn't it a pity you're a seal?"

At The Same Time

2011-04-19T12:00:00.001-04:00

"14e Arrondissement"

by Alexander Payne

from Paris, Je T'Aime (2006)

They say a lot of things about Paris. They say it's a place where artists find inspiration. They say it's a place where people come to discover something new about their lives. They say it's a place where you can find love. Of course, at my age, I didn't expect any of that ...

And then something happened, something that is hard to describe. Sitting there in a foreign country, far from my job and all the people I knew, a feeling came over me. As if I recalled something, something that I had never known and for which I had been waiting. But I didn't know what it was. Maybe it was something I had forgotten. Or something I had missed my whole life. I can only tell you that, at the same time, I felt joy and sadness. But not a great sadness.

Because I felt alive. Yes. Alive.

That was the moment I fell in love with Paris and the moment that I felt that Paris had fallen in love with me.

I felt GREAT joy this past weekend watching a delightful film called, Paris, Je T'Aime ("Paris, I Love You"). A brilliant concept ... 20 different directors, each directing a 5-minute segment that shows some aspect of love in the "City of Light." The final segment entitled "14e Arrondissement" ("14th District" - each segment is named for the area in Paris where it occurs) shows an American woman about my age, Carol (played by Margo Martindale), touring Paris on her own. As she tours the city by herself, she narrates in a poorly-pronounced French voiceover. The segment was written and directed by Alexander Payne (who also penned the terrific screenplays for such films as Sideways, Election, and About Schmidt), and it truly had me saying "I wish I had written that."

The final image of the film is Carol, sitting by herself on a park bench, regarding all of the lovers and passersby in the Parisian park. Read her final words above and examine the look in her eyes in a still from the film ... the loneliness, the longing ... and you will know why this has resonated with me for DAYS since I watched the movie. I understand her ... completely.