Tag Archives: theater

F’ing hilarious

Posted on April 20, 2011 | 2 Comments

A lot of TV and movie stars are treading the Broadway boards this year.

Daniel Radcliffe.  Chris Noth.  Frances McDormand.  Keifer Sutherland.  Edie Falco.  Chris Rock.

That’s right — Chris Rock.

His name kinda jumps right off of the list….or it did for me.  I never expected to see Chris Rock on Broadway.  But once it was announced, I knew I would attend his show, regardless.  It was a must see.

Last night was the night.  The play?  The Motherf’ker in the Hat.

Yep….that kinda sounds like a play Chris Rock would be in.  And it is as funny as you would expect, too.

The subject matter is dark.  Chris and Bobby Cannavale are addicts in recovery.  Chris has been clean for 15 years and is Bobby’s sponsor.  Both men are in relationships that intertwine in complex, hilarious and often dangerous ways.

Bobby is brilliant on stage, a comic dynamo that drives the play.  Elizabeth Rodriguez, who portrays Bobby’s girlfriend — also an addict — meets him beat for beat.  When the two of them go at it — and, boy, do they go at it — it’s an amazing thing to watch.

Chris, in his stage debut, is a bit wooden.  You can see him thinking really hard about what he is doing.  A fight between he and Bobby is particularly funny because the choreography is so exacting. [Hit him here.  Roll over.   Grab the gun.  Sit up.  Look stage right.]

But Chris is still funny in the show because he is Chris — a strong stage presence that holds his own amongst his more experienced castmates.  He is more successful on Broadway than most first-time TV and movie stars because he is big and sure and boldly himself.

Who is the motherf’ker in the hat?

Oh, I can’t tell you that.  It’s so much fun finding out for yourself.

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Posted in Broadway, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Television, Travel, TV

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Spelunking

Posted on November 15, 2010 | 2 Comments

In November of 1995, my friend Dan and I saw a one-man show on Broadway called “Defending the Caveman.”  It had opened earlier that March and eventually went on to set the record as the longest-running solo play in Broadway history.

Rob Becker, the show’s star and creator, explained the differences between men and women in cavemen terms, with only a recliner and a TV set — both honed out of stone — sharing the stage.

It was flipping hilarious.

I remember my stomach muscles being literally sore when we left the Helen Hayes Theater and raced to our next show.  (We didn’t mess around in those days.  It wasn’t like I lived in New York or anything.)

So I had to laugh when I saw an article in Glamour some 15 years later on the cave woman’s guide to — of all things — good health.

My, my…we’ve gotten a tad bit more serious over the years, haven’t we?

The mag does offer some good tips, based on our cave women forebearers’ daily habits, including things like:

  1. Move your body
  2. Get some natural light
  3. Eat real food
  4. Beware of predators (sexual)
  5. Accept some natural moodiness
  6. Connect with others…in person
  7. Get some ZZZZZs
  8. Create some healthy downtime
  9. Party like a cave woman

Not nearly as funny as Rob Becker’s show.  But maybe seeing “Defending the Caveman” — it’s still on tour all over the world — would fall under tip #9.

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Posted in Broadway, Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Health, Humor, Internet, Life, Magazines

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My reward

Posted on March 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

Some weeks are all about work.

This has been one of ‘em.

I’ve sat at my computer all day, every day, and most of the evenings, too, just trying to get it all done.

But today is my reward.  Today is all about play.

I have the UK-Florida basketball game at noon, which is being broadcast on national TV (thank you, CBS).  I have tickets to see “A Little Night Music” at the matinee at 3pm.  And then tonight, there’s the Oscar red carpet and awards show telecast, which will start even before I get home from the theater.

Entertainment extravaganza to the max!

I feel like I live my life to extremes — either all work or all play.  This week is a perfect example.  But since today is the play day…well, I’m okay with it.

(I’ll go for balance next week.)

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The hardest job

Posted on March 6, 2010 | Leave a comment

With coverage of the upcoming  Oscars seemingly everywhere, it may appear that winning awards is the most difficult job in show biz.

But for anyone who has tried to work on stage, TV or movies, you know that auditioning is the real work.  It is the only thing the actor can control, and they must be performance-level, regardless of the room, audience or questions still rolling around in their head.   Of course, it is at the same time totally outside of their control because of all the unknown factors that go into the final casting decision.

I was reminded of this yesterday while watching the documentary “Every Little Step” on Starz OnDemand.  It tells the story of the casting of the 2006 revival of “A Chorus Line” on Broadway, while giving insights into the original cast, workshop and production some 30 years earlier.

You sweat right along side the dancers as they go through the initial cattle call and months of callbacks after callbacks.  Most nervewrecking is the final callback — where the roles are down to two people — and seeing that final cut made.

Maybe they should give an award for Best Audition.  Goodness knows a lot of good actors — and performances — never get past that claustrophic little room.

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Best of the worst

Posted on February 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Sunday was Valentine’s Day.  Hope yours was loverly.

As you probably know, a movie of the same name was released on Friday.  Did you see it?

I didn’t get a chance.  Too much Olympics coverage to watch.  (I did see a preview performance of “Miracle Worker” on Broadway with Abigail Breslin, which was spectacular).

According to rottentomatoes.com, “Valentine’s Day” the movie is 84 percent rotten.  As one reviewer put it, “This has not a single ounce of the charm that you might find in ‘Love Actually’ or a number of other films revolving around romance. It’s just plain bad.”

Oh well…I still want to witness the carnage.   There are a lot of actors in the film that I like and, even if they suck, well, I’ll enjoy seeing that, too.

So, in honor of the suckiest things that movies have to offer, I thought I would resurrect the Top Ten Worst Movie Quotes of All Time, which were compiled in a survey by Warburtons.

Enjoy!

Top 10 Worst Movie Quotes

1. “I’m the king of the world!”
- JACK DAWSON (Leonardo DiCaprio) with young ROSE DEWITT BUKATER (Kate Winslet) in Titanic (1997)

2. “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
- JOHNNY CASTLE (Patrick Swayze) about FRANCES “BABY” HOUSEMAN (Jennifer Grey) in Dirty Dancing (1987)

3. “Is it still raining? I hadn’t noticed.”
- CARRIE (Andie MacDowell) to CHARLES (Hugh Grant) in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

4. “I love you.”
“Ditto.”
- MOLLY JENSEN (Demi Moore) and SAM WHEAT (Patrick Swayze) in Ghost (1990)

5. “You can be my wingman any time.”
- TOM KASANZKY (Val Kilmer) to LT. PETE MITCHELL (Tom Cruise) in Top Gun (1986)

6. “I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her.”
- ANNA SCOTT (Julia Roberts) to WILLIAM THACKER (Hugh Grant) in Notting Hill (1999)

7. “Today we celebrate our Independence Day.”
- US President THOMAS J. WHITMORE (Bill Pullman) in Independence Day (1996)

8. “They make take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!”
- WILLIAM WALLACE (Mel Gibson) in Braveheart (1995)

9. “You had me at hello.”
- DOROTHY BOYD (Renee Zellweger) to JERRY MAGUIRE (Tom Cruise) in Jerry Maguire (1996)

10. “You’re a godsend, a saviour.”
“No, I’m a postman.”
- A BLIND WOMAN to the POSTMAN (Kevin Costner) in The Postman (1997)

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Common thread

Posted on December 8, 2009 | 1 Comment

On Sunday, I went to see the final matinee of “Oleanna” on Broadway.

“Oleanna” is a David Mamet play about a student who accuses her university professor of sexual exploitation on the eve of his university tenure announcement. Julia Stiles and Bill Pullman played the lead roles, and since I typically like Mamet (and love Bill Pullman), I was there.

This is one of those plays you experience, but don’t necessarily enjoy. It’s hard to watch people push each other to their breaking point…and then actually break.

In the final bows, Julia was weeping. (Part of that may have been the physical altercation she has with Bill in the last scene.) Bill hugged her, apologetically it seemed. I just felt bad for everyone.

Then yesterday happened. I had to take my dog to the hospital. His surgery, originally scheduled for early that morning, got pushed back to very late in the day, which meant he had to sit there at the hospital in a kennel, not allowed to eat or drink, for hours.

Mama Dog was pissed.

Then, when I arrived home from dropping him off at the hospital, my building super announced that there was a water pipe break in my building, and they needed to go through my kitchen wall to make the repair.

Awesome.

In come the workmen, down come my kitchen cabinets, and — BAM! — two big holes appear in my wall.  There was noise a’plenty — do you have to slam the door every time you walk through it? — dust, debris, and it wasn’t like I was getting an incredible rehab or anything.

With the combination of doggie worry and kitchen drama, I was hanging on by a very fine thread.  I could see myself, dangling there, but I couldn’t pull myself up.  The crying jags, the quick temper, the inability to concentrate — thank goodness I have so many incredible friends who let me tell them the same story over and over!

Then…Rory’s surgery was over, and he was fine.  And the workers were gone…and they actually cleaned up their mess.  They didn’t even slam the door when they left.  I could feel my grip slowly returning.

I almost feel like taking a bow.

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