another lesson in patti

So, my colleague told me she enjoyed my first post sharing my favorite moments from The Patti, and she didn't appear to think I was completely nuts, so the Friday Diva Lessons blog series will continue.

This one here is one of my favorite Patti moments possibly ever. It took me a really long time to cop on to the fact that she originated the role of Fantine in Les Mis. Growing up, I was much more into the Lloyd Webber oeuvre, and so I could sing along to all of Cats, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor whatsit and some of his others, but Les Mis wasn't completely on my radar screen until much later. I had heard the song "On My Own" and LOVE the Eponine from the London cast and for that reason I purchased the recording (from the now defunct Coconuts record store on Dempster St., which is now a Chase bank). It wasn't until MUCH later when I dug out that recording that I realized that Patti is on it too!! That sort of thing happened to me with Jesse L. Martin and Rent, I was all like, the Law and Order guy is on my Rent cast album?? NO WAY! etc. In high school, Chamber Choir (wooo! 1st Alto Power!) and the overhyped Master Singers (no, I wasn't selected to be in it, and am STILL bitter about it, okay?) sang a lovely medley from Les Mis for our Pasta and Pops concert and that's when I learned more of the music. I saw it when the tour came to the Auditorium Theater when I was in college, I think, and then later when I went to DC like YEARS later, I saw the SAME EXACT production, but from much more awesome seats (thanks, Wanda!)

So that's my Les Mis story, and here's Patti's, along with her "I Dreamed A Dream"
May I say that I can't really ever hear Les Mis music now without her voice in my head, yelling "SHUUUT UUUUPPPP!!!! WORK IT OUT!!!"

christine ebersole at the harris theater

Back to the Harris for the second show in the Broadway Lumniaries series - An Evening with Christine Ebersole. I had seen Christine (twice!) in Grey Gardens on Broadway (this is just turning into a list of things I have to thank Sarah for, isn't it?) and I loved her in it, but aside from that, I had not heard her do anything else. So I went into the evening not knowing what to expect (aside, of course, from the weird neon lights, padded walls and stark institutional looking Harris Theater, and no I'm never going to stop grumbling about how awful that place looks. If they keep doing awesome things there, then I will go, but I don't have to love the place.).

When we walked in to the house last night, two things happened - I noticed that they were playing music - not Christine, but broadway music. I think it was probably the Playbill station. I was clued in to this mainly because we had just sat down and started leafing thru the program when a familiar voice exclaimed "Here she is, boys!! Here she is, world! Here's ROSE!" with an evil sounding cackle. Yes, Patti started belting Rose's Turn over the theater's sound system. Then a friendly guy named Shane came over and told us that he had champagne and wine in his little red cooler bag and we could buy it whenever we wanted. The wine, I am not joking here, was in a little box. Like a little boozy juice box. They even gave patrons a straw with it. I am happy to report that the woman who was next to us for the Sondheim conversation (the one taking noisy pictures, remember her?) was not there. The seat next to our 2 was empty. Although there was a thing in the row behind us, this lady went up to the couple on the end and said something like, "I'm just going to sit in that seat there and hope nobody comes!" the gentleman would not budge and told her to go and talk to the usher if she wanted to change seats. If you're going to try and be sneaky, don't be so obvious about it!!! Whatever.

Then - the band came out and so did Christine. She was all in black (and looked fab!) and started singing away. She told us that hers was a cabaret with songs that could not be sung in polite society. Songs about sex, love, politics, and the most controversial subject of all - at least in Chicago, anyway - the weather.

In between songs, she told little stories that led into the next song, a few times punctuated with quotes from Little Edie. She was charming, hilarious, and ohmygosh, can she ever SING. I don't know all of what she sang, except she sang 42nd Street, Stormy Weather (which blew the roof off of that place!), the Last Rose of Summer (I think that's what it is called), a song about Chicago (cuz she's from here! She is from Winnetka which she told us is a Native American word meaning 'affluent gentile' although she claims to have come from the 'other side of the tracks.' Is there an other side of the tracks in Winnetka, even? And at the end, she channeled Eartha Kitt (I am going to take her word on that one, b/c I am not really well versed in Eartha. Or even if that's how you spell "Eartha").

It all seemed to go by too quickly - I could listen to her sing for hours. Come back to us soon, Christine, because it was a lovely evening.

da-da-da-da-DUM

Christine Ebersole at the Harris tonight!!

the electroshock eleven

...As in almost all of them needed a good electroshock up on the big Idol stage last night. Seriously. Out of the million jillion people who auditioned, this lot was the best they could come up with??? It was pretty much a snore fest last night as the top 11 sang Billboard #1 hits. That's a lot of songs, yes? So why did almost no one sing anything current? Katie sang a Fergie song and Aaron sang Aerosmith but everybody else was back in the 60s and 70s. Miley Cyrus was the "mentor" this week, and she was fine. I mean, whatever. She's more relevant than some of the mentors they've had in past seasons - at least she's actually in the music business as opposed to Tarantino where it was like WTF? Can you tell them about a singing competition??

Anyway. Crystal is a star, she's in a league of her own, they should just give it to her now and spare us all 10 more weeks of this crap. The others are nowhere near her, not even Chiffon (sorry Siohban? Or is it Siobhan?) who is getting more and more annoying as weeks go by. I was not in love with her Stones song last week, and I didn't really care for her song this week and is there really a huge need to shriek through every single song? That is not performing. That's just shouting. (The American judge here was cranky last night, can you tell?)

So yes. My picks for the bottom three - Paige (!!), Tim, Andrew and Lee is on the bubble. By the time they rolled the recaps of the evening I was like, oh yeah, I forgot about you. I was right last week in my picks for bottom dwellers. Let's see if it happens again. My choice for leaving would be Paige, obviously, and then Andrew. Straight Up.

++ Update: And we were RIGHT AGAIN! My bottom 3 was a little off, Andrew was mysteriously safe, while Katie ended up on the Stools of Death for maybe 10 seconds before she went off to join the top 10. Paige went home, praise the Lord and pass the mashed potatoes! Next week is RB/soul with the mentoring assistance of Usher. Um. Yeah. I guess we'll see how the Top 10 (which could be the alliterative Terrific Ten or, more likely Terrible Ten. Torrid Ten?) fares with that.

i am lion, hear me roar...

I don't know what's putting me in the spirit of pramfulls of puppies and cuddly wuddly baby lions, but here's some cute for your Friday morning. This cub is 2 days old and is living in SIBERIA - in Krasnoyarsk!! This reminds me of Marian Keyes' wonderful new book - "The Brightest Star in the Sky" where a character uses cities that end in "sk" as sort of new curse words. I really think she is onto something with this. One of the best ones she used was "Irkutsk!" There is a lot of power in yelling that. It just sounds so fiery. Especially when you are in the car. "MINSK!" is also a good one. Very satisfying. No, seriously, try it. She also uses "Gdansk" but that's more of a happy one. Like, "Gdansk, have a nice day!" "Krasnoyarsk!" sounds like another winner to me. When I saw the caption of this photo online and saw the city, it made me smile. And so did the widdle baby lion.

Now please go and read Marian's book. It's really wonderful, charming and funny and sad too. You won't regret it. G'dansk!!

Patti Lu 101

A few weeks ago, I brought a colleague to see Patti & Mandy. She's heard all (and I mean all) of my stories, heard me blather away about how wonderful they both are, and she agreed (bravely) to spend the Friday evening before her 60th birthday with me in Mandypattiville (as Mr. P himself calls it) - I mean, what better present could one get, right??

But then I started getting nervous. It was her first time seeing them, although she knew of them and liked them both by reputation. She was, for all intents and purposes, a PatMan virgin (and that reminds me of the first time I saw Sweeney Todd, when Sarah literally introduced me to Patti. She told her "Patti, I've brought you some virgins" and Patti looked curious and eager and answered "Virgins?? Where??" So, I have loads more to thank you for, Ms. Sarah.).

And it's hard, you know, to bring someone into something you love so much because what if they hate it?? I went on and on forever about how great the show was, but I know that these two are not everyone's cup of tea. I know it and I accept it (even if you are all WRONG. No, just kidding.) So, yeah, I was nervous.

Does anybody remember the Patti who showed up to the first night of Gypsy at Ravinia? Well, she showed up again on Friday night at the Caddy. She seemed a bit subdued, actually, generally all right, but not as "on" as I've seen her. My lovely colleague sort of agreed with me there (I REALLY wish she had been there on Sunday afternoon, because that was the best performance I saw.). As we were leaving, she asked me the best performance I had ever seen Patti do. And you know, I was really stumped. I've seen a lot of great things from her, and they're all tied up in misty water colored memories so it's kind of hard for me to choose.

So I decided to do a little blog highlight reel in Maggie's honor, a proper introduction to the Diva - not only stuff I've seen live and in person, but historical Pattiness, because there is a whole lot of awesome on youtube...

Today's choice, is, naturally, Being Alive.... probably my favorite version of this song by anyone, anywhere. Ms. Patti is in full diva sass mode here.

what's cuter than a pram full of puppies???

Nothing, is the answer you're looking for. These guys are on their way to the Crufts Dog Show in Birmingham, England. (Thanks, reuters!)

a love-hate relationship

So, Idol fans, the top 12 sang last night. It was not the top 12 I would have picked (LILLY!!! but since I didn't vote, I suppose I can't grumble too much) and as much as I threaten to stop watching, I keep going back week after week after week. It's soothing, you know, lounging around w/a box of thin mints, watching these guys warble away at - wait for it - Rolling Stones songs. If they are the most "iconic band on the planet" (really??) why don't I know more of their songs??? Most of the time I was like oh, okay. I didn't know that was a Stones song, etc. I recognized a handful of them. But not all of them, and in fact, I had no idea what Tim Urban's song "Under my thumb" gone reggae was actually supposed to sound like. Randy was all like "Yoyoyo, what did you do to that song, dawg?" and Simon even said that Rolling Stones fans would be turning their tvs off at that point (but really? are real Stones fans likely to even be watching American Idol anyway??) and I was like oh, does it not really go like that? I thought it was okay. Kind of boring, but okay.

Actually that about sums up the whole show last night and this season as a whole: kind of boring but okay. Hypnotic, actually. But the show was on for two hours last night and it just dragged on. I don't think any of them have real star power so it will be interesting to see who wins.

And I hope that my faves, Crystal and Siobhan stick around.

My bottom 2 predictions: Paige and Lacey

++Update: Look who was right about the bottom 2! I shoulda had money on that one... although I would have picked Paige to get booted, as I don't get her AT ALL. And I think it was mean to have poor Lacey sing like there was any chance of the judges using the save on her. There's no way they would have used it this week, on either of those two.

the winner takes it all!

You didn't think I'd let this go, did you? No ABBA Tuesday after the awesome foursome was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame?? That's just silly. Just two members of the group were on hand to receive their honor (Benny and Frieda - so "AB", or technically "FB") so no big reunion piece there (boo).



And we WILL be back at Ravinia, come summertime, to pay homage to the group with our jelly rings and glitter lanterns, Swedish Fish (and EELS too!), with Arrival of Sweden in July (the day before the big Sondheim gala concert. Maybe I should just pitch a tent on the lawn??)

Get your disco on, people! Happy Tuesday!

525,600 minutes...

How to measure the Niles North production of Rent? Despite my earlier comments about its possible inappropriateness, it has to be probably the coolest school musical choice possibly ever. If I was a young Viking in Niles North's thespian troupe, I would have been (wait for it...) over the moon.

And the kids did a good job with the show. Some really great voices there, actually. Although the posters proclaimed it to be the "high school version" there weren't a lot of drastic cuts to the material. Language, mostly - so the Tango: Maureen had the following lines:

"This is weird."
"It's weird."
"Very weird."
"Really weird."

And in La Vie Boheme, Joanne informed them:
"Benny called the cops."
To which Maureen replied "That jerk!"

Some other stuff in La Vie was also cut/edited, but not as much as we thought, surprisingly. The Act 2 orgy scene (whatever it's really called, I'm sure y'all know which one I mean) was cut (no surprises there.). It was a teeny tiny bit uncomfortable watching the young Mimi shimmying around to "Out Tonight" (which is a huge, huge song. Those "Ooowwww-Oooooouttt Tonight"s are fairly hard to sing, and range-y as all heck. She was all right.) Plus, the poor girl was traipsing around on this crazy scaffolded set in sky high heeled hot pink boots. I kept watching her and hoping she wasn't going to fall over. I wouldn't even be able to stand still on those boots, let alone prance around the stage and climb around etc. Brava.

So anyway. It must be a challenge to put on a school musical - finding something relevant, and interesting so that the kids want to be in it but also so that people want to come and see it. I would think that you would also want to find something so that a lot of people could be in it (although this Rent did not have a huge ensemble, there were still roles for a good number of kids). It was pretty ambitious, doing Rent, but I think they did a good job with it. And they made me cry at the end. It's too bad, isn't it, that Jonathan Larson never got to see the huge success of this show, and how it is still influencing and inspiring a new generation of theater goers.

They did the pitch for Seasons of Concern (which I think is part of BC/EFA but don't quote me there) and I really really hate when the actors break your post-show bubble by standing on stage and talking at you, but I am not made of stone, and so I gave them a little $$ on the way out.

I left pretty impressed with Niles North and its theater department - their Spring play will be "The Merry Wives of Windsor" -- Shakespeare. We never did no Shakespeare at Niles West!

this weekend: Rent... at Niles North High School

So tomorrow afternoon I am going to see a high school production of Rent. Does that strike anyone else as being strange and kind of inappropriate for high school kids? Am I just really old? I remember when I was in high school (all the way back in the -gasp! 1990s!) and they did Chicago - there were all kinds of cuts made to the production. As I recall, they could not say "undies" on stage and had to say "panties" instead (or I could be mixing those up). So no on the undies, but totally okay with Rent and its thematic elements? How times have changed. It just surprises me what parents in the district complain about and what they ignore... What's next? Spring Awakening??

I've been told that there is a cleaned up high school version that they will be performing, but then will it be like 15 minutes long or what? I guess we will just have to see. I'm going because I am so insanely curious about it. Plus, I've been to some other North stuff and I know they will do a great job. Even if they just sing "Seasons of Love" and... Done.

Expect a full report here.

March in Chicago...

But April in Fairbanks...*


Everytime I start rolling around in my office chair, I think of this and it makes me smile.

*Note, this is NOT my footage, I am not suicidal!**
** But thank you, intrepid soul who DID film this and put it on YouTube. Tis a wonderful thing, these internets.

i have a thing for coats...

I love coats. This is probably because I hate being cold. But also, they add just the right amount of awesome to an outfit. I get email from London Fog, which is probably pretty dangerous because they deal in my particular passion - trench coats. I bought a coat from them last year, which is very Lady with the Torch:

And now I get email from them all the time, with all kinds of gorgeous coats, like THIS ONE.

What's a girl to do??

it's Friday!!

It's Happy Hour somewhere, right?? Time Out New York has a fun interview with Kristin Chenoweth and Sean Hayes - go and read it
here. I'd love to see them in Promises Promises - I do love New York in springtime...

Ravinia '10 lineup swings from strings to Sting :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Music

Ravinia '10 lineup swings from strings to Sting :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Music

How do I love Ravinia? Let me count the ways... No, okay, I won't, really, but the season announcement made me so incredibly happy. First the weather is getting nicer every day (yesterday people were walking around without coats!!! That's such a Chicago thing though, it gets in the 40s and we're all like WOOHOO! HEAT WAVE, baby! And break out the shorts and bbqs.) Can summer be far behind???

I'm breaking out my jelly rings and glitter lanterns and will get tickets for Renee Fleming's Four Last Songs (because nothing says classy opera recital like jelly rings!), the Sondheim Gala concert, possibly for the return of Arrival from Sweden, Carrie Underwood and naturally, Patti in Annie Get Your Gun.

Can I just say one thing about how wonderfully treated I've been as a first time donor at Ravinia? Seriously. I got a letter telling me that the season announcement would be sent in March and as a donor I could buy advance tickets (!). Then I got another letter telling me, really really, I should expect to see the season announcement on March 8, and could I verify my address, because if I wasn't going to be at that address, they would send the packet wherever I wanted it to go. They'd overnight it to me, even. I received my packet and am poised and ready to commit commerce.

So people get ready: there's a party on the lawn, y'all, and everyone's invited. I'll bring the (delicious) parmesan french fries and the jelly rings.

NYCB and... Patti?

Yes, it's true, according to The New York Times... the 7 Deadlies will be performed with both singer and dancer...I wasn't wild about the 7 Deadly Sins at Ravinia, but I am curious about the dancing element, so I might just be heading back to New York next season...

LuPone to Appear With City Ballet
By JULIE BLOOM
She’s done Broadway, now it’s on to the ballet. On Monday, New York City Ballet announced that Patti LuPone will make her New York City Ballet debut in a new production of “The Seven Deadly Sins” as part of the company’s 2011 spring season. The Tony-nominated director and choreographer Lynne Taylor-Corbett, who has previously choreographed two works for the company, “Mercury” in 1992 and “Chiaroscuro” in 1994, will create the new production. “The Seven Deadly Sins,” a sung ballet in seven scenes, was composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht in 1933 and was first performed in Paris and produced, directed and choreographed by George Balanchine. The ballet features a character portrayed by both a singer and dancer. Ms. LuPone will play the singer; a dancer has yet to be announced. The original production featuring Lotte Lenya as the singer, and Tilly Losch as the dancer. Balanchine revived the work in 1958 with Allegra Kent in the role of the dancer. The schedule of performances and the rest of the 2011 spring season will be announced at a later date.

conductor hair!

Saturday night - the show was at 8:00 and I did everything I could think of to make myself leave late-ish so as to avoid my usual getting to the theater hugely early and then standing around in the lobby by myself. I left at 6:20, allowing for Saturday night traffic on the expressway.

And I still got downtown before 7:00. I mean, really. So. I found a spot in the parking garage, and hailed the elevator. There was a group of people in there already, on their way to Lyric for the evening's performance (at 7:30). One group included a little boy - I'm so bad at guessing ages, but I'd say maybe 10? Younger? One lady asked him if he was going to the opera and he nodded shyly. She told him it would be wonderful etc (I'm guessing it was Figaro? Four hours worth of wonderful, poor kid.). Then the doors opened and in stepped Sir Andrew Davis, looking cheerful and conductorly (no, I didn't notice the famed "conductor hair"). He greeted the group at large. I don't know if anyone else recognized him - I did, so I am guessing any other subscriber or Lyric fan would recognize his face (which is, after all, on the side of the building and on all of their materials!) but a reverential hush fell over the group and we finished the elevator ride in silence.

everybody says don't..

From "Anyone Can Whistle"

Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't-
It isn't right,
Don't-it isn't nice!
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't walk on the grass,
Don't disturb the peace,
Don't skate on the ice.
Well, I say DO,
I say,walk on the grass, it was meant to feel!
I say sail!
Tilt at the windmill,
And if you fail, you fail.
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says don't get out of line.
When they say that, then
Lady that's a sign:
Nine times out of ten,
Lady, you are doing just fine!

Make just a ripple.
Come on be brave.
This time a ripple,
Next time a wave
Sometimes you have to start small,
Climbing the tiniest wall,
Maybe you're going to fall-
But it is better than not starting at all!
Everybody says no,
Everybody says stop.
Everybody says mustn't rock the boat,
Mustn't touch a thing!
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says wait,
Everybody says can't fight city hall,
Can't upset the cart,
Can't laugh at the king!
Well, I say try!
I Say laugh at the kings or they'll make you cry.
Lose Your Poise!
Fall if you have to,
But lady, make a noise!
Everybody says don't,
Everybody says can't,
Everybody says wait around for miracles,
That's the way the world is made!
I insist on Miracles, if you do them,
Miracles - nothing to them!
I say don't,
Don't be afraid!

some enchanted... weekend

"What's to discuss, old friend?

Here's to us — who's like us?

Damn few!"

-Stephen Sondheim, Merrily We Roll Along

** Note: this show in Chicago has been discussed in thoughtful, pithy ways by the likes of Hedy Weiss and Chris Jones. If you want to read something good and unbiased and reviewerly, please check those out, in the Tribune and Sun Times, as what follows here, while thoughtful, is completely biased and overwhelmed with fan-girl enthusiasm. Cool? Don't say I didn't warn you.

There are damn few people on this planet like Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin. Their joint show, which made a stop in Chicago this past week (Fangirl says "Squee! A whole week!!! Down the street from the office, even??") differed from their individual shows in that there were no jokes or cheerful patter. This show was, rather, the story of two people on a journey - the ups and downs of a relationship - as told through scenes from different musicals. They did not pause to insert narrative, jokes, take our photos, sing in Yiddish (wouldn't you have loved to see Patti do that??) or grumble about unruly microphones. They played the scenes, they sang their faces off. Some of the music was familiar - South Pacific, Carousel, other pieces were not as well-known - Evening Primrose, Merrily We Roll Along, Flora the Red Menace.

I went to the show three times this weekend (Fangirl says: shut yer face, you're just jealous!): Friday night with a colleague, a LuPoTinkin virgin, as it were, Saturday night just for fun, and this afternoon with mom. Let's just talk about today - as it is the freshest in my mind. Patti and Mandy are Performers. Yes, they deserve the capital letter. The two of them are just so plugged into their performance, the music flows right through them, straight from the heart and into the (extremely enthusiastic) audience. You know I first saw them do this show last year in St. Louis. After a reallyreallyreally long & panicked train ride, I bolted dinner and took myself off to the (Fabulous) Fox Theatre. I was in the front row - the two of them appeared on stage, launched into "Another Hundred People" and all was right with the world.

And so it was again. Both of them are such HUGE presences on stage, but blend together effortlessly. For the entire time, they look as though they are having a blast, with each other and with the audience. My mom said of Patti: "She's so cute!" And she is!! Tough and strong and sweet and funny and ohmygod, that voice. My mom again, this time of Mandy "That man can really WAIL!" And he can! He is solid and consistent and powerful in every part of his range. My heart melted when he sang "Some Enchanted Evening" and I laughed a lot during "The God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me-Blues" and of course, at the rolling chair choreography in "April in Fairbanks." Hammy and over the top? Well, yes. Occasionally. But who the hell cares?? I loved it! What these two got, you can't teach. They have that mythical IT factor. It was a pleasure to spend time under the same roof as these two old friends this weekend.

Today's performance was the best of the three for me. The audience was warm and receptive (and LOUD) . One burning question for me though, was why the heck "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" was listed in the playbill but had gone unsung Friday and Saturday nights (I am not sure if it was sung at the other performances, either, but I seem to remember one of the reviewers commenting on its rather conspicuous absence at one of the opening performances.). I mean, whatever. It didn't bother me that it was omitted, for whatever reason, I was just curious. But this afternoon! Oh! The second act started as usual with "Old Folks" and went on as listed, until they reached "The way that it was." Mandy went to the front of the stage and started talking which made me sit up a bit straighter in my seat (had to. Man with HUGE head in front of me!) going Huhhuhhuhhuhuh?? What's this?? He said that in in1979 he and Patti met during a show about "a little lady from Argentina", and how they'd made their first, and lasting, connection with each other.

And THEN he busted out with "Oh What A Circus" - TALK about the nerdgirl in my soul turning cartwheels!!! Patti turned up then, the music played and, well, you must know where this is going. She sang "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," iconic pose and all, and it was awesome. The heretofore quiet looking gentlemen to my left lept from their seats, cheering and bellowing "LuuuuuPoooonnneee!" Damn, I loved those guys. Whoever you are, you rock. The show moved on from there to "Somewhere That's Green" and "In Buddy's Eyes" leaving out "Franklin Shepard Inc" but although I enjoy watching Mandy do that song, I didn't mind (and in fact, didn't even notice until just now) having it shuffled aside for a brief appearance from Eva and Che.

Awesome. Epic. Legends. They made me laugh, they made me cry, (DOHHHH! "You'll Never Walk Alone" gets me Every.Time.) they allowed me to snatch a few moments of rest and happiness.

I could have sat there forever, watching them sing, laugh, and be together. It was a rainy cold Sunday in the Loop with Patti and Mandy, but oh, so worth it. If you have a chance to see this show, do. I'll go with you.

"Stephen Sondheim: A Life in the Theater"

Last night, upon entering the Harris Theater, there were signs asking "Do you have a question for Stephen Sondheim?" and we were handed little blue cards, upon which we could inscribe questions for Mr. Sondheim in the alleged Q&A section (more on this later). Of course there are a million questions that one could ask this man, the Master of the Musical, but I couldn't think of a good one to ask, so the blue card is still in my jacket pocket. But c'est la vie (la vie!) I went there to enjoy, to listen to this man speak of his career and his music, to bask in the warm glow of his presence and that was enough for me.

Anyway. We had seats in Row Z which were actually pretty good. The woman next to me had some kind of old school camera and kept clicking pictures on it (loudly) the entire time he spoke. Annoying! I wanted to like glare at her or tell her to knock it off, but she was SCARY. I was afraid she would beat me with her camera or something, so I stayed quiet.

The stage was bare except for a grand piano, two comfy looking chairs, a table with glasses of water, and microphones. Mr. Sondheim was greeted by a standing ovation. At last, at last, I found a group of people who understood what it meant to be sitting in that theater! For a while, there was hearty applause after every.word.he.said. Especially if he mentioned Chicago - which he did several times, confessing that if he could live anywhere else aside from NYC where he was born, it would be Chicago. He likes our vibe, man. That comment got the usual ecstatic "YAY!! Chicago!! That's us!!! He LIKES US!!! WHEEE!" applause. I was worried that if we went on like that much longer, the man would not be able to get a word in edgewise.

Fortunately, everyone settled down after that. The conversation was guided by director Gary Griffin who was a capable, if not very insightful, interviewer. He seemed as awestruck as I felt, honestly, which I suppose is natural. Still. Mr. Sondheim was intelligent and funny - what a fascinating man. He spoke of his collaborations with theater legends like Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Robbins (whom he referred to as a genius), Hal Prince, Ethel Merman, Zero Mostel and tons of others. I think the word "wow" just about sums it up.

I could have listened to him telling theater stories all night. The theater geek nerd girl in my soul was turning happy cartwheels. The "Q&A" section, with audience questions was at the end, and only maybe 2 of those blue cards were brought out for Mr. Griffin to ask Mr. Sondheim. I am not sure why that was - if we were running out of time or if the questions were either too lame or had already been answered or what. For the record the questions that got asked were: "Are you working on anything new?" (Mr. Sondheim is finishing his books of his lyrical analysis along with anecdotes and essays about everything he's ever written - aside from that, he said he has been "nibbling" on a few new ideas...) and also something like "Which of your musicals that have not been made in to movies would you like to see made into movies?" (answer - "Follies" and "Into the Woods" and he noted that there had been a concept for "Into the Woods" that included a collaboration with Jim Henson. When Mr. Henson died, unfortunately the idea went with him. Too bad!) There were a few cell phone-style interruptions. Both times, Mr. Sondheim heard the rings and identified the pitch of the tones. "E flat - don't do that!" It was over way too soon. I could have sat there for many hours more.

The Harris Theater is never ever going to be my favorite place. That lobby is so cold and ugly, it was like a bucket of cold water onto the warm glow of my mood. There is a hallway leading to a set of bathrooms with PADDED WALL HANGINGS. Ugh. Just ugh. Moving on... As we returned into the night (dizzy from the height...), we ran into a group of Niles West English teachers who were as happy to be there as I was. "We had wondered," said one of them, "Which of our colleagues would understand what it meant to be here?" echoing my thoughts exactly. I am a newcomer to the works of Mr. Sondheim - the first show of his I ever saw (I am not counting West Side Story, here) was Sweeney Todd in 2006. So thank you, Sarah, for taking me there and introducing me to this man (and creating this monster!) - since then I've seen and heard many many more of his works and they have meant so much.

Thank you, thank you, Mr. Sondheim.

maybe next time...

A few nights ago, I had a very long, strange and detailed dream. I was with some work friends and we were going through some kind of teambuilding ropes course. It involved a lot of running up and down stairs and vaulting over railings etc. At one point, I had to leave my trusty backpack behind. At another point, me and a few of my colleagues ditched the course all together and went shopping. There was a store selling $25 disposable digital cameras (I told you it was vivid!) and suddenly we were on the Las Vegas strip. After a little bit of wandering around in the desert, and going to a water park, we decide to head back. I realized my backpack was missing and went running around to find it. Finally found it - my wallet etc was all still inside, but the two text books that had also been in there were missing. Off to see if someone had turned them in - and while I was walking, I ran into a handsome, charming man of my acquaintance (he used to be my boss, in fact) who gave me a hug in greeting then told me, rather earnestly, that I should really think about highlighting my hair.

And then I woke up.

Fast forward to yesterday, on my evening walk to the train from the office. I decided to skulk by the Cadillac Palace Theater (like you do... what? It was on the way!) and as I walked down Wells Street, a guy veered into my path. I stepped one direction, he mirrored me, not letting me pass. What the -?? Then, he reached out and grabbed my arm - terror! But it was, in fact, the aforementioned handsome charming man of my acquaintance! I totally did not recognize him and he scared the pudding out of me! He did give me a greeting hug, but did not get around to mentioning my hair... this is the second time that he has popped up in a dream one night and then actually appeared - POOF! the very next day. Like magic. I have never been able to do anything else like that from dreams... too much Tylenol PM?

And, I just had a brainwave - maybe I can dream about a big bag of money and then - POOF! Like magic, the money will appear?

sondheim tonight!

Tonight, it is off to the airport hangar - whoops, I mean the Harris Theater - to see Mr. Sondheim. I am looking forward to it! And yes, I realize that the picture above is for a totally different show - but I like it and so here we are. Full report to come!

harmony has been restored

All is well on Randolph Street, and not a moment too soon!

i think somebody is going to be fired...

Misspelling the Diva's name on her own marquee? Heads are gonna roll for this one...