Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Cinq

In May, Brett and I attended Sunnyvale Community Player's (one of my second homes) production of "Cabaret".

"I used to pretend I was someone quite mysterious and fascinating. Then I grew up and realized I WAS mysterious and fascinating"

Set during the decadent final days of the Weimar Republic, and based on Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin Stories, Cabaret tells the interlocking stories of a cabaret singer, Sally Bowles; the American writer, Cliff who takes her in; a malevolent Master of Ceremonies; and the other locals who are mostly oblivious to the looming threat of Nazism. This dark, daring, and provocative musical offers a hard look at why life is most definitely not a cabaret.

Leanne Payne, as both director and choreographer brought together a well oiled cast of talent and strength.  The show was clever and impeccably smooth.  The cast as a whole sounded like a professional cast, which made me quite warm and fuzzy inside to know that a community theatre program was working hard at bringing exceptional performances to the audience.  Overall this show was one of my favorite I have seen at SCP.  Each performer was quite talented with unique strenghts and together the actors brought a real backbone and power to the show that has been lacking in past productions I have seen.    

Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Quatre

In April, my sister Taryn and I attended the 30 Seconds to Mars Concert....I came home with nothing but bruised arms, a bloody scalp and complete and utter disappointment.

 "I tried to be someone else, but nothing seemed to change.  I know now, this is who I really am inside.  Finally found myself, fighting for a chance.  I know now, this is who I really am."

I have found that I don't have much to say about this concert other than it was by far the worst concert I have ever been to.  The band's fans are a bunch of aggressive rude people that view the band as a religion.  Jared Leto is an absolute tool.  The band didn't sound great live and couldn't even come close to redeeming the egotistical pig that is their lead singer.  Jared Leto was awkwardly vulgar and the rest of the band members were a complete drag to watch onstage.  I still want my money back.

Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Trois...Part Deux...

Later in March I attended the Broadway tour of "Rock Of Ages" for my sister's birthday.  The show proved to be very different...not your typical Broadway musical.  It was rowdy, cheesy and sleazy...everything 1980's. 

 "back in the day if you had a dream, a fifth of jack, and a decent amount of hair there was nowhere else to be!"

"Rock of Ages"

"Rock of Ages," A Broadway jukebox musical spins the time machine dial back to the 1980s. It's a shamelessly silly and refreshingly self-amused ride for a good deal of the way. But it helps to have your nostalgia ticket punched in advance.  If the power chords of "We Built This City" or "Don't Stop Believin' " don't ring at least some kind of bell, you may feel left out of the "Rock of Ages" party. The music, freely cut, spliced, reorchestrated and repurposed, is by several arena-rock titans of the decade.

Chris D'Arienzo's book, set on L.A.'s Sunset Strip, is intentionally lightweight, occasionally clever and sometimes lame. The charming Constantine Maroulis plays a shy aspiring rocker who falls in love with a fresh-faced girl from Kansas (the vocally vibrant Elicia MacKenzie). True love behaves according to form, by not running smooth. Meanwhile a nasty developer and his son (did they have to be German?) are trying to wipe out the nightclubs and strip joints and replace them with strip malls. The performers, working on high octane in Kelly Devine's blunt, hip-heavy choreography, regularly break the fourth wall and invade the house. A narrator ( Patrick Lewallen) wears out his welcome with commentary about the other characters and the musical they're all in. Peter Deiwick delights as the preening but insecure rock star Stacee Jaxx.   

The show is full of gloriously awful hair and clothing. Teased, kinked, coiffed, brutally straightened or freely flowing, the tresses onstage are a wondrous phenomenon. So are the miniskirts, studded vests, the glam-rock and boy-band get-ups. You may get tired of the characters before you lose interest in how they look...

 

Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Trois

It's been a while, but I have been sticking to my New Years resolution!!  So here we go for March...

In March, Brett and I planned on going to the Good Charlotte/Forever The Sickest Kids tour.  It wasn't until we got to San Francisco that we found out FTSK and dropped out of two weekend shows and our just happened to be one of them.  We figured we would go re-live our jr. high years by attending the GC concert, however found ourselves a tad concerned.  Would GC have a terrible set with new music we didn't know?  Will they take themselves way to seriously?  Have they completely sold out and become major tools?  

...SURPRISE!!  

Out of all the concerts Brett and I have been to together, this still holds the #1 spot for best concert we have attended together.

"And if I make it through today will tomorrow be the same
Am I just running in place?
If I stumble and I fall
Should I get up and carry on or will it all just be the same"

So the GC concert started off rough...three absolutely tragic opening bands.  Painful and redundant. HOWEVER!! Good Charlotte was a most delightful surprise.  The band played their first two albums in entirety minus about 4 songs.  Only one song was played which Brett and I did not know.  Hearing "Emotionless" was a real treat because they almost never play that song live.  We also got another fun surprise when during the middle of their set the broke out into a cover of Blink 182's "Dammit".     From time to time when band members pause to talk to the audience one would pay whatever they had in his/her pocket just to shut the band up.  GC wasn't that way in the slightest.  They were funny, smart and very clean.  All in All it was a super fun show coming from a super fun and down to earth band that loves life, music, and mostly their fans.  We didn't quite realize how great the show was until walking back to my car.  When we realized we had almost lost our voices from singing so loud we felt a little lame, yet realized what a great time we had.  It looks like Good Charlotte was just as fun when we were 12 and 13 as they are now :)

Aaron Gillespie "We Were Made For You" (Official Music Video)

I love this video. I thought it needed to be shared.

"Foxy Teylor"

Forever The Sickest Kids...

NEW ALBUM COMING 3/1/11

So my sister made the highest donation to the Invisible Children organization.  In return I recieved a personalized video from 2 members of one of my favorite bands.  Best Valentines gift ever!!  Love my sister!!

Music and Theatre 101, Entry Numero Deux

Thank you to my wonderful boyfriend Brett for buying me tickets to see this musical.  One of the best birthday presents I have ever received.  This show was absolutely mesmerizing.

"Valium is my favorite color"

"Next To Normal"
This is one show that definitely has the ability to tug at your heart again and again...

Asa Somers, who plays Ripley’s onstage husband, Dan, held his own remarkably against the powerhouse, Tony-winning performance by Alice Ripley. Somers’ vocals were incredible and they blended perfectly with his son’s, Gabe (Curt Hansen), vocals.  Somer’s performance added an intensity to Dan that was just breathtaking.  And then there’s Emma Hunton who plays the jaded, sarcastic daughter, Natalie. Her crystalline vocals never stopped being impressive. Her rendition of “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” was spot-on. Hunton raised the stakes in a way that created a beautiful arc to Natalie’s character.  Henry (Preston Sadleir), Natalie’s boyfriend, also rounded out the fiercely talented cast. Sadleir did a marvelous job with the role and complemented Hunton’s intensity with his calm/easy-going personality.  At points, Ripley struggled vocally to get every note out but you don’t care because her dramatic intentions are so intensely motivated. There’s never a second on stage when you don’t believe that she’s not actually struggling with bi-polarism/schizophrenia.