Hooked on Hamilton

Every so often, a show comes along that captures my mind, and I become obsessed. Like many theatre fans right now, that show is Hamilton.

For those of you that don’t know, Hamilton is a rap/hip-hop reimagining of the life of Alexander Hamilton. It may sound strange, but I didn’t think I’d like In the Heights, and I was wrong. Lin-Manuel Miranda, author of In the Heights and Hamilton, has used rap to tell a story in ways I didn’t think was possible, and it works.

I convinced a friend that we had to see this show. She knew nothing about it, the show hasn’t officially opened on Broadway yet, but she agreed to see it (and Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). Tickets were sold out, but luckily StubHub still had some seats. So about a week and a half after the show opened on Broadway we boarded a bus and went to the room where it happens.

The show was mesmerizing. It’s sensory overload, and I struggled to keep up at times. So many songs end on such a powerful note that you assume intermission must be next, but it keeps on going. Intermission comes after the revolutionary war is over, and the young, scrappy, and hungry United States struggles to find its footing.

The second act doesn’t lose any momentum, and introduces us to quite a different picture of Thomas Jefferson. The cabinet meetings/ rap battles are equal parts history and sass. The most skillfully crafted part of the show would probably be the gradual build up if conflict between Hamilton and his frenemy Aaron Burr. Many people will be familiar with the legendary duel between Hamilton and Burr.

After the show I felt excited, educated, and extremely entertained. The nine minute of stage time including King George justify the ticket price. My friend had never been to a stage door of a Broadway show before, so we sped to the side of the Richard Rogers theatre. The cast loves their “Hamilfans” and took time to sign autographs and take pictures. Jonathan Groff and Christopher Jackson both seemed genuinely pleased by my compliments regarding their performance, and Lin-Manuel Miranda took my friend’s camera and took seven pictures with us.

So it was a very memorable, and enjoyable time. But why has the hype lasted, almost a year later? I still love listening to the soundtrack, and wearing my Hamilton shirt (If anyone knows where to find one of those “All About the Hamiltons” shirts please let me know). I’m not sick of it. I still watch clips of their Grammy performance and follow the show (and Lin-Manuel Miranda) on Facebook.

I think that’s the secret. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the musical theatre geek we all want to be friends with. He tries to be accessible to his fans, and he talks about a lot more than Hamilton. And just when you think it can’t get any better, there are the Ham4Ham shows.

The Ham4Ham shows, sometimes digital and sometimes live, are mini-performances before the daily ticket lottery for the show. They usually include songs and celebrities, and are not always Hamilton related. Patti LuPone was featured today, and my personal favorite was the “In the Heights” reunion, which featured original cast members of Miranda’s first show singing “96,000.”

All of these things leave me hooked on Hamilton. When does the movie come out?

Ashley

Either You Love Star Wars, or You’re Wrong

If you feel like it’s been several years…it has. But I’d like to start this back up, because writing consistently is important. And if I can make one reader smile or laugh, then it will be worth it.

For my first post-hiatus post, I want to talk about something a lot of people are talking about right now – Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I’d like to start by suggesting some alternate titles for the film
– Star Wars: This Had Better Make Up For the Prequels
– Star Wars: Who the Heck are Rey’s Parents?
– Star Wars: Where the Heck is Luke?
– Star Wars: You Killed WHO?!?!

My best friend and I decided to see the film on opening day, and we decided to go big or go home. We dressed in our homemade Jedi outfits, our makeup and hair done crazy…because nearly everyone in space has crazy makeup and hair. We hoped we wouldn’t be disappointed, but we didn’t know what to expect.

Long story short, we loved it. We both preordered the DVD, and can’t wait for the next movie. But, like many Star Wars fans, the movie left us with more questions than answers. I’d like to explore two of them.

First question – Is Han really dead?

I have to vote yes on this. You just don’t hear of many people surviving a lightsaber to the chest, and he looked pretty dead to me. There’s also precedent for mentor figures dying in Star Wars, and this served as the catalyst for Kylo to go from conflicted Sith wannabe to a villainous Sith Lord. Hopefully they let Harrison Ford come back in some flashbacks. I already miss that stuck up, half witted, scruffy looking nerf herder.

Second question – Who are Rey’s parents?

I’ve been wrong before when predicting Star Wars plot points (the way I thought Padme would die was so much better), but I really feel like she’s Luke’s kid. I originally wanted her to be Kylo’s twin, but her skills and backstory are just so similar to Luke. And Han and Leia would have mentioned another kid, wouldn’t they?

So who is her mom? I’m voting either someone random we haven’t met yet, or Obi-Wan’s granddaughter. Some might argue that there is no evidence that Obi-Wan ever had a kid. To which I say, there was no evidence that Darth Vader was Luke’s father either. Obi-Wan had a lot of time in exile where he could have met someone and had a kid.

Besides the fact that a Kenobi/Skywalker kid would just be so cool, Rey seems to have the level headed temperament and self sufficiency of a Kenobi. And she’s not as whiny as Anakin or Luke. Hopefully we won’t have to wait two more movies before finding out the answer.

“Television Sucks” from The 2013 Tony Awards

In honor of the 2013 Antoinette Perry Awards last night, here is what was probably the best number of the night. Andrew Rannells (from The Book of Mormon and on TV in the recently cancelled The New Normal and Girls) joins host Neil Patrick Harris to poke fun at all the actors who dropped Broadway for a television show only to have it cancelled right away. Megan Hilty (Smash) and Laura Benanti (The Playboy Club, Go On) join him in a medley of parodies from West Side Story to Gypsy to Company to A Chorus Line. Enjoy! – A.C.

Tony Tony Tony Tony Tony!

So, the Tony Awards are this Sunday.  The Tony’s are usually quite a fun event, with live performances and your favorite Broadway celebrities.  This year, it seems a little bit like “Something You Already Know“.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’ll probably still watch.  Or at least catch the highlights.  But I’m not really that excited.  Or at least not as excited as I normally am. Here are three reasons why.

1. The Host – At first, I was thrilled to see Neil Patrick Harris back as the host.  After all he’s hysterical, and he’s great on the spot, like that time when Brooke Shields RUINED the opening number and he stepped in like a pro.

 

But I wonder how he’ll be new and spectacular…for a fourth time.  And now he’s hosting the Emmy Awards too.  We’re not there yet, but we’re dangerously close to a NPH overload.

2. Matilda – I’ve heard the show is great.  I plan on going to see it.  Nothing whatsoever against it.  But I worry that it’s going to turn into, “Remember that year when Matilda won everything?”  One award they won’t win is Best Featured Actress, since they deemed the four girls playing Matilda ineligible.  This is annoying to me, especially due to multiple actors being nominated before *COUGH COUGH BILLY ELLIOT COUGH*.  Now if the girls don’t deserve to win, they shouldn’t win.  Adorableness doesn’t win you a Tony.  But they weren’t even eligible to be nominated.  Doesn’t seem fair to me.  So we’ll just leave that award for Cinderella’s Laura Osnes…

3. Snubs – No Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks?  No Jim Parsons in Harvey?  Really?  For shame, Tony committee, for shame.

So what do you think?  Are you watching with me?

– Ashley

“It’s the Final Countdown!”

 

Yes, Buster I agree.

Anybody else feel like you have been waiting forever for this?

It’s really happening. May 26th on Netflix.

 

For those of you who have watched Arrested Development, I don’t really need to sell this to you. I will share that as a promotion for the upcoming Season 4 on Netflix, Bluth’s Original Banana Stands will be touring starting from London and then proceeding to the States!!! Man I wish I could go to one.

But if you have never seen an episode. Just go watch all of them. I’m not kidding. 

 

No, Arrested Development is not a show about home improvement or anything like that, my friend. It’s okay I might have thought that the first time I ever heard of it several years ago. Thankfully I have friends that make me watch shows due to their always quoting them to the point I just can’t take it anymore. So yes, I spent a sick day watching Season 1. And then next sick day, Season 2. And then, the next sick day, Season 3. Laughter is the best medicine after all . It is one of the funniest shows about THE most dysfunctional family in the world complete with so many jokes spanning the entire series. It’s incredibly hilariously and cleverly written. And you really can’t say you don’t like it until you’ve seen at least 3 or 4 episodes. Just promise me you’ll get that far. And you probably won’t be able to stop. (Just a quick warning.) Okay I think you might be picking up on my enthusiasm. So your next rainy or sick day, you know what you are doing, right?

 

Sincerely,

Sarah

 

PS. What’s your favorite Bluth chicken impression?

I Liked That Book AFTER It Was a Movie!

Wait…what?

That’s right.  I said it.  I liked that book after it was a movie.  Does this make me some sort of anti-hipster?

What I mean to say is that if I enjoy a movie, I often want to read the book.  Lately I’ve been reading the Anne of Green Gables series.  (Don’t judge me, it’s a great coming of age story for girls of any age.)  Up until recently, I had only seen the movies.  I hadn’t seen them in a while, but in many ways I grew up with them.  After reading the first book, I decided to watch the first movie again.

It was not as pleasant as I expected.  This movie that I knew I had enjoyed was now wrong.  Why?  Because it didn’t follow the book.

This puzzled me.  I am by no means a book purist.  I can enjoy the Harry Potter books and films.  Of course, they can’t fit everything into the movies, but who could?  Exceptions had to be made.  I thought Hunger Games was a great example of adding and subtracting from a book to appropriately adapt the story to the big screen.

Back to my quandary.  Here I was,feeling betrayed by the film, because they brought Anne and Gilbert together (or well on their way to being together) in the first film, which, as any reader knows, doesn’t happen for several books in the series.

I think I’ve reached the conclusion that for some reason, the movie is always wrong, at least a little.  Or maybe the book needed to hurry up, but I’m not willing to blame the book. I will admit, this doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that’s how it works.  Or maybe I’m just secretly a book purist.

Anyone else ever experienced this?

– Ashley

Hunger Games: Why I hate reading.

Okay, little known fact. I don’t like reading. I really don’t. (Sorry to all my English major friends who eat books for breakfast, lunch, and snacktime.)

I find books frustrating because most of the time, the plot doesn’t go the way I want it to. Or the author has a really amazing build up but then the climax is like a “What the heck, that’s it?” moment. Maybe I read too much Twilight (fact: I’ve never actually read an entire Twilight book… I just skipped around to the good stuff… and then realized it was never going to come around). But my disappointment in books really started with Lord of the Rings and Cold Mountain and The Great Gatsby (my favorite book) and sometimes Harry Potter.

I think the last book I actually read from beginning to end was Hunger Games. But only the first one because I started skipping around the second and third when they got borderline ridiculous and tried to be Harry Potter mixed with A Handmaiden’s Tale. At that point, I decided I wanted less dystopia and more Nicholas Sparks (even though I hate straight up Nicholas Sparks, it is too much cheese for slightly lactose intolerant me to stomach).

The books are like a better written, more plot driven, more disturbingly visual, less self centered version of Twilight. But Peeta vs Gale? Seriously, is this even a real contest? What, the Edward vs Jacob didn’t satisfy your inner teenage girl craving for pointless drama enough that there had to be a version two of Edward vs Jacob? And in what world would someone pick (spoiler alert) Peeta over Gale. I mean, Gale has eye lashes that are longer than the ones you can buy at MAC. And Gale is actually Australian. Maybe if they’d let him keep his accent the results would’ve been different. Oh wait, that was the movie. Sorry.

I understand that Hunger Games has an actual plot, but by the 3rd book that plot became half as complicated as the one in Harry Potter and my brain shut off. If I wanted something like Harry Potter, I would’ve read Harry Potter. I wanted Hunger Games to deliver an epic love story heightened by intense battle scenes. It fell way below Twilight in that respect. And I fell out of favor with the book because of it.

In the end Hunger Games has the exact same problem that Magic Mike has: too much plot, too little dancing.

That being said, I’m so beyond excited to see Catching Fire, I’ve been watching the first Hunger Games non stop on Amazon Prime and watching the trailer endlessly on Youtube.

Who wants to go see it with me?

~C~

 

I’ve Caught Fire

AHHHH!!!

That is all.

Sincerely,
Sarah

Les Miserables Broadway Revival: Beautiful Idea or Beautiful Disaster?

There are rumors floating around that Les Miserables may be headed back to Broadway in a revival.  I have mixed feelings about this which I will share, and I’d love for someone to weigh in with their thoughts.

 

On the one hand, a Les Miserables revival could be a wonderful thing.  Les Miserables is a beautiful, epic show.  When I saw it on the West End, it blew my mind.  I wish I had better words to describe it, but I don’t.  It was utterly impressive in every way, and I’ve seen quite a few professional shows.  So bringing that back to Broadway sounds likes a great idea.

 

However, and I’m not sure how many Les Mis fans know this (that group has drastically increased in number since the recent film), but there has already been a Les Miserables revival.  And from what I’ve heard, it was pretty terrible, which is why it didn’t last long.

 

From a financial standpoint, I get it.  The film makes people want more Les Miserables, so those with enough money would probably pay to see it on Broadway, ensuring at least a moderately successful run.  But this isn’t a good reason to rush into a revival unless it’s done right.  No one need crappy Les Miserables.

 

I’d also argue that the film and the stage show, while incredibly similar in story and song, differ in their interpretations.  In my humble opinion, the film was much grittier and didn’t leave me with the same feeling as the stage show.  With the stage show, you’re still upset over the bloodshed, and the same amount of people die, but your left with the impression of a noble fight.  I didn’t necessarily get that from the film.  So if a revival does happen, don’t expect it to be the film recreated onstage.

 

– Ashley

Newness of Spring

Cheerio! Sorry for the delay. Happy Spring to you!

Two things: Sexy and Babies. They are related you know. And in the spirit of the newness of spring, I give you….

 

The 20/20 Experience

Justin Timberlake’s new cd is out. I’m loving the old romantic sounds and melodies in some of the numbers.  It’s like a mixture of new and old in a sexy way only JT can do. And of course if you watched the Grammy’s, you know what I’m talking about. I highly recommend the songs “Pusher Love Girl” and “That Girl”. So classy and hip. Definitely on repeat right now on my Spotify.

 

Call the Midwife

A BBC show in its second season about midwifery (and yes this is a word) set in the 1950s in East London based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth working as a nurse living in a very poor area. There are lots of babies, plenty of “cuppa”s (cup of tea), harsh conditions, nuns, and beautiful ordinary heroic moments throughout it. I just started it, and let’s just say I’m hooked. Yes, to a show about midwifery. This isn’t a normal topic of entertainment for me, but it’s so good. It’s got drama, romance, serious moments of crazy childbirth, comic relief, and some history to it. Definitely not for the faint at heart. Check it out.

 

Ta ta for now,

Sincerely,

Sarah