ellen_datlow | The Drowsy Chaperone and Avenue Q

After waiting for ages for these two shows to become availabe on TDF (my discount theater membership) they did and I saw them --one last week, one tonight. I had heard about The Drowsy Chaperone from my friend John, who had seen it in previews (his now ex-girlfriend is one of the dressers) and raved about it. By the time, I realized I wanted to see it, it was too late to get cheap tix and I do NOT go to Broadway except at a discount. Prices are ridiculously high: up to $100+ now for the best seats. Anyway, Rick Bowes and I saw it last week and enjoyed it--it's about a lonely guy who is into old Broadway shows and listens to their cast albums on his record player. As he does, the stage is transformed into the scene of the actual play. It's a lovely idea and quite a lot of fun. Not deep, but sweet.

Avenue Q won the Tony Award for best musical in 2004 and beat out Wicked (IIRC)in an upset. Another sweet play, with muppets. Some nice musical numbers, some wonderful emoting by the actors holding the puppets and the actors not playing muppets. Again, not deep but fun. I had my doubts initially but the play and characters grew on me as the show went on and I discovered myself suspending my disbelief regarding the human puppet-handlers being "behind" the scenes. Not sure if this is clear.

Almost finished with the copy edit of The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy. I plan to hand it back to my editor Chris Schluep, Monday.

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I love Avenue Q! Lena and I went to see it back in '04, and it still makes me laugh when I remember it.

From what I've heard about Avenue Q, I wouldn't have thought of it as "sweet." "The Internet is for Porn" just doesn't seem like the title of a sweet song. Shows what I know. ;) One of my coworkers saw Avenue Q and loved it.
I was rooting for Wicked, just because I love the soundtrack.
Two of my goals in life are to see Lion King and Wicked someday.

Another unsweet song title from Avenue Q: "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist".

Wicked is supposed to be great, but Avenue Q is genius.

Despite the "unsweet" nature of the two songs mentioned above--and others, the underlying feeling of the show was sweetness (IMO, of course). Even a bunch of "losers" working together can make good. Even an, ahem, whore can be redeemed by a deus ex machina. Satire, parody, but still an overall sweetness throughout.

I ought to check it out. I'd been thinking it was just out to shock.

Maybe so, but I'm an unshockable New Yorker. The tourists seem to find it a lot more "shocking" than I and my friend did.

Ah. I shock easily.

I'm disappointed. Proctors' Theater in Schenectady did this major remodelling so they could show things like Phantom, Wicked and Lion King...they showed Phantom for their grand reopening, but the new schedule I just got has hardly any musicals in it. I wonder what happened?

I'd very much like to see Lion King because I love Julie Taymor's imaginative puppetry. Unfortunately, I think she sucks using her own scripts. She's only good when she has something (a story?) to work with. If Lion King ever goes discount or on TDF I'll go.

I prefer older musicals. The music is so much better than in most contemporary musicals. I saw West Side Story (small production) in the Berkshires when I was there this summer with my family.

I used to keep on top of the latest musicals, and lately I haven't been finding as many that I enjoy. I'd wondered if it was that the newer ones were too dark/gritty/whatever for me, but maybe the older ones really do have better music.

I'm in show withdrawl. I need to go see Les Miz again. ;)

The WashPost agrees with you on Julie Taymor's Across the Universe (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/13/AR2007091302249.html).

But she was honored last night at the Legacies of Women in the Performing Arts (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/14/AR2007091402663.html) event.

The NY Times gave it a rave yet the trailer made me want to gag. ;-)

Last thing I saw on Broadway was "Spring Awakening" back in December, because I heard it had Teh Sexx in it. And indeed, it did have Teh Sexx but other than that I thought it was pretty damn boring. A low-rent "Rent" knockoff.

I've heard great things about The Drowsy Chaperone. What I really wanted to see was Threepenny Opera with Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming, but that's already gone the way of all flesh, hasn't it? I heard it got horrible reviews.

M

That's too bad as I heard it was very good. I have had no desire to see Rent. Blchhh.

I saw The Threepenny Opera and enjoyed it a lot more than the reviewers. What I didn't care for was Nellie someone who sang Pirate Jenny --poorly. Cyndi should have been the one singing it.

You say sweet, I say idiotic.

Rick Bowes

tsk tsk! ;-)

the Avenue Q section intercut w/ Craig's press conference? HY-sterical! ;-)

I envy you being able to see Broadway shows under ANY circumstances. I SO miss New York.

Did you ever live here?

I had a friend who had a fantastic apartmen in the high 80s, right off of Madison & I visited & stayed there regularly.

When I was in highschool, I spent several summers living in the (I'm convinced) haunted Convent of the Sacred Heart, #1 East 91st St. I cleaned windows & scraped gum off chairs for minimum wage, but I had a free room in a 5th Avenue mansion that had a good library & a balcony overlooking the reservoir in Central Park.

I also attended Mason Gross School of the Arts @ Rutgers, & my (then) boyfriend (now husband) & I used to take the bus to the city every chance we could get.

So, yes & no?

Sounds like you were a city girl for quite awhile...where do you live now? (I'm sure you've mentioned on our all hallows list but I don't recall.

Minneapolis, which I would NEVER have anticipated until shortly before we moved up here, though now I love it.

My hubby is a California boy & often jokes that we've moved to the one place on earth his parents would never live in- again (they're both FROM MN). My family is pretty much all on the East Coast now, from Long Island down to VA. I get out to see them when I can, but it's been many years since I've been to NYC. Bear was just there a few months ago for the Fresh Fruit Festival (glbt art & productions). He was in a play called "Fading to Gray" in a small theatre on, I think Bleeker St? Had I known you then I would have mentioned it.

Bleecker Street--maybe. Rick Bowes would know--he lives right near there.
Fresh Fruit Festival? What on earth is that? A play or an actual festival? (either way, I never heard of it).

FFF is a festival of LGBT plays that got put on in NYC last summer. That particular play got put on at the Cherry Lane Theater over on Commerce Street.

Rick

Ah. I hadn't heard about it, strangely enough.

Here's their website: http://www.freshfruitfestival.com/

The theatre was the Cherry Lane theatre on Commerce (not Bleeker, sorry) St.

I DO know the Cherry Lane Theater--I've been there a couple of times. Once saw Joe Orton's Entertaining Mr. Sloane there with Maxwell Caulfield as Mr. SLoane.

fell in love w/ the neighbourhood. Wish I could have gone w/ him, but it was not to be.

The Drowsy Chaperone and Avenue Q

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in re: Ave Q

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did you see...

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When I was rather young...

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Fresh Fruit Festival

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It's a GLBT arts festival

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my husband...