I loved the movie Once.
So much that I boycotted the musical when it opened off-Broadway . The original stars weren’t in it — how could the musical compare?
My heart was closed.
Then the show moved to Broadway, and the TV commercials began. Yes, ‘guy’ and ‘girl’ were different, but their voices, the harmonies were as beautiful as the movie that inspired them. So I decided to give the show a shot.
Last night I was in the audience for Once on Broadway. I loved the staging, a working Irish bar — they even served drinks during intermission — that was transformed throughout the evening by creative lighting. Every actor also played an instrument, so there was no orchestra pit.
Most importantly, every voice, every note was perfection. There were a lot of tears in the audience. (People were talking about it as they left the theatre, so it wasn’t just me.)
The only thud in the production — which occurred at the start of the play and made me sad — was the playwright’s need to ‘funny up’ the script, making the characters extreme stereotypes of themselves. This was especially true of ‘girl,’ who was a quirky, jokey one-liner, which was counter to her gentle spirit in the movie.
But once she and ‘guy’ began to sing, she softened and the music drove the show, as it did the movie.
And all was forgiven.
Resistance is futile
Today is Star Trek‘s 46th birthday.
Google made them this way cool doodle.
I didn’t get them anything.
But to be fair, they didn’t post their birthday on Facebook…so I’m just now hearing about it.
I do wish them many warm regards. They are younger than I thought. I hope they don’t take offense at that comment. It just seems like they were always on the air when I was a kid.
I started watching Trek at first because my brother did. I thought he was cool. I wanted to be cool. So I watched. Then it was about the series…so much so that when Star Wars came around, I boycotted it on principle.
We’re talking serious Trekker.
When I worked at Hallmark Cards, I developed a line of Star Trek cards. I even did a focus group on Deep Space Nine — got a bunch of guys from IT to help me flesh out the offering.
Good times.
Happy Birthday Star Trek! Live long and prosper.
→ Leave a comment
Posted in Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, Movies, Television, TV
Tagged birthday, boycott, commentary, Facebook, focus group, Google, Google Doodle, Hallmark Cards, Humor, Internet, IT guys, life, live long and prosper, Movies, on the air, resistance is futile, science fiction, Star Trek, Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek greeting cards, Star Wars, Television, Trekker, TV, warm regards