year of the tiger

I love tigers!!!! I wonder who put the little jacket on him?

a little "Sense"

So - I didn't want you all to think that I have amazingly crap taste in movies OR that I only watch films for the merits of hunky Scottish variety eye candy. Not the case at all, tulips. Case in point, I recently found one of my all time favorite films, Sense & Sensibility in the $7.99 bin at Borders. Words do not even come close to describing how much I love this film - Emma Thompson's screenplay, the amazing cast (pretty much all my favorite people in one film! Does it get any better??? To quote Alan Rickman's Col. Brandon, "I think not."), the music, the story, the everything. I saw it many many times in the theaters (I was in high school then. Many many moons ago.) and I was happy to be popping it into my dvd player...The DVD extras are slim pickings, sadly. Two deleted scenes (one of which is called, I hope erroneously "Mrs. Dashwood converts Elinor" Really? To what?) some commentary, and Emma's very very funny "Golden Spheres" acceptance speech.

Check out that cast!!! Future Hogwarts faculty members Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman and Imelda Staunton, the young charming Kate Winslet, Greg Wise as the cad and blackgaurd (I love that word) Willoughby (speaking of Mr. Wise, where has he BEEN lately??) and Hugh Grant at his most charming, romantic, blinky, befuddled and floppy haired - the scene below never fails to melt my heart. (If you've never seen the film, or read the book, the below is a HUGE SPOILER!)

Sigh. Tears. Where was I? Oh, right. The show is nearly stolen by some of the supporting players -HUGO HORTON (AKA James Fleet AKA the spineless John Dashwood), the delicious Harriet Walter as Fanny Dashwood (I can still hear her saying the line "...upon whom penniless women can prey" in those icy tones, colder than Chicago in winter, and I oughta know!). My favorite of her scenes is the part where Lucy Steele decides to confide in Fanny that she's been secretly engaged to her brother Edward. I've looked and looked and I can't find the clip on Youtube, but if you come over, you can watch it with me! And of course, my other Favorite Hugh, Hugh Laurie as Mr. Palmer...

it's that time again!!

Hey guess what??? There's going to be a winter Olympics this year!! With all the bruhaha in Chicago, I for one was not paying any attention to the rest of the world (typical) and when I saw the NBC commercials for the Vancouver Olympics I was like "huh? Vancouver?" but it is apparently true. And I am excited. While I am not at all an athlete (my days of high school gym were PURE HELL - except when we had those teachers that didn't give two shits what you did during class because they were talking to the jocks. I give you Gustafson's tennis classes where Heidi and I lobbed balls consistently over the tennis court fences, went "oh, crap" then ambled off to go get the wayward balls (that sounds wrong), returning only to hit them over the fence again, and so on, until class was over.) - whatever, I love watching OTHER people do amazing athletic feats. So yeah, I will be tuning in (unless, of course, something awesome is happening on American Idol).

I find the Winter Games to be totally hypnotic. I will spend hours in front of the tv watching sports that I never knew even existed and would not otherwise be caught dead watching. One year, I was doing something or other and got totally sucked in to some kind of cross country skiing race. I was watching it for hours, rooting on the Norwegian who was in the lead. I even got teary when he won. Go, man, go.

I also tuned in, rather inadvertantly, to many men's hockey games. I was on the edge of my seat for the gold medal Sweden team game (and it had NOTHING to do with the cuteness of their goalie, officer!) It has already begun, even though the games themselves won't start until February - last night I was bored and cruising channels when I found the World Cup Ski Jumping competition. How crazy is that, by the way? I want to know who it was that ever thought that would be a fun thing to do? And how do you practice for that, without killing yourself? But so yeah, I was watching it, and was literally transfixed by watching these guys (no Americans, by the way - there is no way we are not crazy enough to do stuff like that - what gives?) flying down the hill at top speed and then soaring, their bodies parallel with their skis, then landing on the ground and not falling over. I am amazed.

So I am ready and waiting. Bring it on, NBC. Bring me your curling, and your hockey, and your half pipe.

GAME OVER

Saturday evening, hanging out with Heidi, chillin' like a villain on penicillin, we decide to order in and watch a movie. We'd been surfing around online and happened to see "Gamer" advertised. It features our fave Scottish hunk, Mr. Butler, and I convinced Heidi that we should watch it. If Gerry's in it, how bad could it be? At least we get to look at him, right? Was my reasoning. This proved to be incredibly bad reasoning, as it turned out. Does anybody even remember this film being in theaters? It was there for about a minute and then it was GONE. Do you know why? Because it's crappy, that's why. So very very weird and surreal. A virtual reality whiz creates games involving real human beings who are 'played' by video game nerds. One of the games pits jailbirds against each other in epic battles. If they survive 30 battles they get set free. Oh, but there's other stuff going on, blah blah blah, Gerry escapes the game to rejoin his wife and daughter, he has to fight the bad guy, etc etc etc. Crazy craziness.

So do yourselves a favor and: 1) don't see it. and also 2.) don't listen to me when I suggest movies. Clearly, I am incapable of making good choices where he is concerned. Damn it, Gerry, why must you make it so hard for me to love you???

my, my, how could i resist you?

Went to Mamma Mia yesterday afternoon in Rosemont - I had to miss my Colts who beat the socks off of those Jets, but que sera sera (They won!). Golly my goodness, I haven't been to the Rosemont Theatre since we opened the place with Barry Manilow all those years ago... It was a fun atmosphere, along with loud "ya-ta-da" carpet. The show was just fun. It's not deep or earth-shattering theater, but who cares? It was so much fun and everyone knows how much I loves me some ABBA. We had a very sedate audience though - at the end, there is supposed to be a singalong with Mamma Mia! Dancing Queen and Waterloo, and while everyone seemed to be on their feet, we were the only ones singing. Wassup with that, Rosemont?? Then we all trundled out of the theater, from the warmth of the Greek Isles into the snow (!) where we sat around for a really long time, waiting to get out of the parking lot. And now, I'll be broken-hearted, blue since the day we parted...

Viva Forever

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2010/01/new-spice-girls-musical-in-the-works.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+chicagotribune%2Fthetheaterloop+%28Chicago+Tribune+-+The+Theater+Loop%29

A Spice Girls musical?? Slam yer body down and ZIGAZIGAHHHH!

here i go again...

Mamma Mia Sunday matinee, here I come!! Honestly, how could I resist ya?

but where are your Skarsgards?

This past weekend was pretty awesome: I got to relieve my stress by ripping sheets of ugly wallpaper off the walls of Jane's new house, I saw some funny plays at North, the Colts won their game over the Ravens, I finished "A Presumption of Death" and am now "learning the ropes" (hahahhaaha) of "The Nine Tailors" AND I went to Places Unknown, namely: Kane County. I have heard tell of mysterious places like "Huntley" and "Elgin" and "West Dundee" in stories, but on Monday, I got to go to there. Fun times abounded. No seriously, they did - there are outlet stores up there, people, and their sales tax is only - wait for it - 7%!!!!!!! That's SEVEN PERCENT, as opposed to over 10% like it is here in good ol' Cook Co.

And then, even more fun times - we went to IKEA. I loves me some IKEA. Beth said she wanted a house - I don't want a house, per se, I just want to decorate a house with all kinds of crazily named Swedish furniture. Anyway. We paused in the act of commiting commerce to have a snack - Swedish meatballs (naturally)and several desserts. I have to say it was the oddest snack I recall having in a while. Meatballs AND chocolate cake, washed down with some milk. Mmmmm. We went back to our browsing. Heidi ended up getting a little loveseat with a pull out bed, and here the fun begins. I am leaving it to your very able imaginations to picture me, Beth and Heidi trying to cram this thing into the back of Heidi's CRV. I'll wait while you picture this. Go on. In the words of Mr. Addams "Esss FON!" And funny. Something out of a three stooges show, really. You see, we'd thought it would come in pieces. To assemble, like. But it DIDN'T. It was the couch frame and one tiny but heavy box of whatnot. So although Heidi had measured the room to make sure the couch would fit, we had not taken into account needing to cram it into the back of the car.

And we're back. I am a weakling and so could not contribute much to the lifting, although I DID manage to contribute BRAINPOWER and ENCOURAGEMENT. We'd almost gotten the thing stuffed into the car - but it wouldn't fit. We could not close the rear door. What to do? Renting a truck seemed to be our only option but then I said something about taking off the cardboard to give us a little more room - and then we were off again, ripping the cardboard off of the couch and renewing the pushing, lifting and cramming. And this time - it fit! You know what didn't fit though? All three of us. There was a little more cramming as Beth got into the back. This doesn't sound as incredibly hilarious as it was at the time, but let me tell you. It was probably the most awesome car ride I've ever had. Seriously.

Heidi needs to order some more furniture, but next time I think she will get it delivered. Also, we looked high and low for their selection of Skarsgards (particularly the "Alexander" model) but didn't find any of them anywhere. What's up with that, IKEA? Although, honestly, we would not have been able to fit him into the car...

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

This is where I was on Saturday - and it was lots of fun. The kids did an excellent job and the plays were funny and well done. Walking through their Fine Arts hallway and looking at their past productions, I was in awe of what they were allowed to perform - Chekov! Shakespeare! Sondheim! At West, we didn't do no Shakespeare, and we certainly didn't do no Chekov. This March, North is doing Rent (!!!) and needless to say, I will be there with bells on.

Next up: Brett does the Viking Rumble...

I don't even like the Vikings - but this? Is flippin' hilarious. Go, Brett, go.

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

This is where I will be this weekend -

Young directors debut at Niles North weekend play showcase :: News :: PIONEER PRESS :: Lincolnwood Review

don't people butter their muffins?

I was in Einstein's this morning getting breakfast. I was very tempted by their double chocolate chip muffin, but somehow, it seemed too decadent for me (chocolate for breakfast??) so I went with a cranberry orange muffin instead (still mourning the loss of my beloved Starbucks c-o muffin). I asked for butter with it. I don't slather my muffins with butter, but I like a little bit of it. The lady seemed a little shocked that I would ask for butter with my muffin. I didn't think that was such an unusual request, but who knows....

okay, but where's the film "Arizona Statehood Day"?

Has anyone else seen the preview for this film Valentine's Day? I am intrigued/disturbed - how can you possibly have anything decent to say about so many characters? Won't they all seem kind of caricature-ish? AND it has so many - "wait, what?" casting moments - I give you: Ashton Kutcher AND Topher Grace! Julia AND Emma Roberts! The Taylors (Lautner & Swift = in LURVE)! McDreamy AND McSteamy, their collective hotness and wonderful hair. Worlds are colliding here, people, and it seems like a bit of a trainwreck happening. Like a trainwreck though, I may not be able to look away...

one more addams post...

I kept meaning to post this interview from Time Out Chicago...

Surely the decision took all of two seconds: Whom to cast as Morticia in the new musical The Addams Family? Who else but pale, raven-haired, two-time Tony Award–winner Bebe Neuwirth? The musical-theater vet stars opposite Nathan Lane in the musical based on the Charles Addams cartoons, which, after premiering in Chicago, will make its Broadway debut in March. Neuwirth recently called before a day of tech rehearsal.

Time Out Chicago: I was at a drag show last night, and the very first performer was Morticia Addams. You must realize your Morticia will inspire drag queens for years to come.
Bebe Neuwirth: [Laughs] Morticia is archetypal, so I’m not at all surprised somebody’s doing her. She’s—somebody said something about being goth, but I thought, Well, she’s goth before there was goth. People expect me to wear black nail polish, but that’s more what goth has become. That’s a little bit too obvious.

TOC: Well, I’m sure you’ll at least be a much more attractive Morticia than this guy was.
BN: Oh, I don’t know. I’ve seen some very beautiful drag queens.

TOC: It did raise a larger question: What’s it like to create a character who’s already so deeply etched in the popular imagination?
If you’re gonna play an archetype, you have to make her specific for you: What specific qualities are there for you to play?

TOC: So how do you answer that question here?
BN: Well, that’s a question I would prefer not to answer. [Laughs]

TOC: Why’s that?
BN: Because when you’re working on a character, there are aspects that, for me as an actress, I prefer not to talk about with anyone because it dissipates the energy and the focus…. I actually haven’t told my husband anything about the show because—

TOC: Your own husband?
BN: Yeah. That’s really hard.

TOC: You’re that private about it.
BN: Well, it’s not that I’m—it’s not the privacy—well, yeah, I am. But I want it to be a surprise for him; it’s so beautiful, and the directors’ vision is so great.

TOC: So when he asks, “How was your day, honey?” what do you say?
BN: I say, “There’s a moment when something happens, and this person says something, and I was having trouble saying this—something—in response.” [Laughs]

TOC: I read you guys got married just this year—how’d you cross paths?
BN: I was invited by my acting teacher who’s now a friend, a woman I’d known for 30 years, she invited me to her daughter’s art-show opening. So I was chatting with a cute guy there, you know, like you do. We were both very shy, so we just sort of parted ways. As I was leaving, my friend said, “I’d like you to meet my stepson.” And it was the guy.

TOC: Your Morticia gets to show off her gams. After dancing since age five, how’s dancing at age 50?
BN: Dancing at 50 is really great. I have two titanium-steel hips now. If I hadn’t had hip replacements, I probably wouldn’t be able to dance. I can’t kick my face anymore, but…

TOC: What happened to your hips?
BN: Arthritis. And I probably would’ve had it anyway. When I was born, they put casts on my legs ’cause I had some kind of dysplasia or something. My legs were all messed up.

TOC: It’s hard to believe just looking at you. Which reminds me of that Will & Grace episode when Jack says to you, “You’ve got the body of a 14-year-old Korean gymnast.”
BN: And I say, “Yeah, I get that a lot!”

TOC: In that scene, Jack and Karen can’t believe you’re anyone but Lilith Sternin-Crane. Were you concerned playing Morticia would strengthen people’s perception of you as this ice-queen Lilith-like figure?
BN: No, no, no, that’s their problem. They’re different characters. You know, I played Velma in Chicago, and I came off the stage and some woman said, “I didn’t know Lilith could dance.” So, you know, what are you gonna do about that? I’m playing a vaudevillian who kills her sister and her husband with an ice pick, and a woman says, “I didn’t know Lilith could dance”!

TOC: And now someone will say, “I didn’t know Lilith was a goth chick.”
BN: [Laughs] I don’t know. All I can do is make this character the best I can, as truthfully as possible, and hope the audience has a good time. There’s always one person who can’t get past something, but people like that are in the minority. Also, you know, I’m a pretty good actress.

last tango in Chicago

The Addams Family had its final performance in Chicago yesterday afternoon. Seeing it on my birthday had made me so very "hoppy" and I thought I'd go along and bid it a fond farewell. Plus, I am a bit of a nerd - I'd heard they'd been making changes and I wanted to see what had changed. I ended up in the balcony - I wanted better seats than I'd had before but not premium. I spent 87 bucks and I was STILL in nowheresville balcony land. Oy, with your ticket prices.

No matter. I had a great time. The cast was still great, and I noticed a few changes (but I honestly couldn't remember much of the first time I'd seen it. So they could have changed lots and lots of things and I would have no clue.). I don't think there is much that is fundamentally wrong with the show, but a few tweeks (or is it tweaks?) before it hits broadway might make it stronger, funnier, more focused. But I personally have no complaints. Nathan Lane (oh! How much do I love you, Nathan Lane?) made a brief thank you speech at the final curtain call. It was all, thank you for coming to our final performance... and everyone cheered and he was like What? Are you GLAD to see us leaving? No, sir, it makes me very unhoppy.

Heidi had a better seat than I did (next time, dude, you're buying for us both!) and we met back up in the lobby afterwards. I had suggested a foray to the stage door in the alley and she agreed, which was very decent of her considering it was freaking freezing cold. I have not stage door-ed for a LONG time, I do it very rarely in Chicago and never at the Oriental Theater. The stage door is in a nice little paved alley (I think it is called "Couch Alley" - fun factoid for you, yes?) and there was a nice little crowd back there. I was amused/horrified when people were calling the cast members by their character's names - "LUUUURRRCH!!" and "FESTER!" and comic/tragically "GRANDMA!" And yet they wondered why Jackie Hoffman ran quickly away. I'd run, too, if people were calling me "Grandma." I mean, COME ON. Call them by their actual NAMES. Look in the program if you have to. Geez.

Anyway - Bebe Neuwirth came out and was very gracious (even though people were calling her - not "Morticia" which would have been bad enough, but "Lillith!" which I think is worse. Even if you think of her as "Lillith" for god's sake, don't CALL HER THAT. Her actual name is above the damned marquee, okay?? Call her that instead.) She had her hands full, but stopped around to sign things and take pictures (she said she didn't want to say no, since we'd been waiting for so long...). I had my stupid camera, which ran out of batteries JUST as Heidi was starting to take the picture. Bebe looked sort of startled then she told me, "Bummer," in a sympathetic way. TOTAL bummer, Bebe. I'll just have to come and see the show in New York and try to get a picture then (note to self: charge the camera). The nerd in me is dying to know what changes they will make to the show in New York, anyway...

The security guard by the door had given us the lowdown ahead of time - Bebe usually came out and was nice, Nathan rarely exited by that door and so waiting for him would have been in vain. Oh, drat. But my camera had died anyway, so even if he HAD emerged, I would not have been able to document the occasion. Until New York, I guess...

end of year appeals

Since raising money is a big part of my job (says the master of meiosis) I am naturally very interested in how other organizations work their appeals. I got a ton of end of year stuff from everybody under the sun. I have made one big gift already this year, and am not planning any others. But this one, from the Public Theatre, almost had me whipping out my check book. I got this email and laughed out loud. The picture is tiny, but it's from Road Show. I had a front row seat to that show, and was showered by flying money that was flung about by every member of the cast. Happy memories + a funny appeal picture should equal mucho cash, and I appreciate the Public's sense of humor (are y'all looking for any development types? she asked, not entirely kidding...)

Best appeal ever.