ROCK ON!!!

It is suffice to say that all my friends pretty much know that am sooooo into  MUSICALS....   I must have even stated it here, in a few blogs about Theatre and Movie Musicals....   so when the movie, from the 2006 Broadway Musical, ROCK OF AGES came out - pretty much everyone assumes that I will be there opening night...  but I was not... even  with the idea of seeing Tom Cruise doing his take on AXEL ROSE (writhing around stage half naked!)  being  soooo enticing  - not forgetting to mention Academy Award Winner Catherina Zeta Jones back in a Musical movie)...  somehow, I was afraid it would be too ROCK for me...as in Heavy Metal Rock... a GENRE of Music I never really got into....  Boy was I wrong!!!

I actually knew almost all the songs used for the film - and the storyline was nicely held together by the song choices....  it all worked for me - even found myself singing along to a few of the numbers....   sorry moviegoers...  :) - proving a point that a MUSICAL PERSON can actually appreciate all GENRE as long as they are GOOD MUSIC!!!  Stand out songs of course are "More Than Words" by Extreme and "Waiting For a Girl Like You" by Foreigner - but there are other Great contributions too from Joan Jett, Bon Jovi, Journey, REO Speedwagon, etc...

 

 

The movie itself was by the numbers - simple, straightforward - and even the surprise regarding Catherine Zeta Jones' character close to the end was predictable....  still, all is forgiven as all the actors in the movie were just great...  to a point that you can actually feel them enjoying playing their characters - a bit exxagerated but just so that it is not too out of the place....  The young leads, Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta are both capable, and had such a nice chemistry that you root for their love to overcome all the excess of the Rock and Roll world/scene in the 80's Los Angeles....

 

The small town girl and the big city boy's worlds collide.

 

 Catherine, if were given a bit more to do, could easily walk away with another Oscar.....  Paul Giamatti is one wickedly delisciou A**hole of a manager....   the tandem of Alec Baldwin and Russel Brandt were soooo unexpectedly hilarious (the whole movie house was in such roaring laughter with their revelation for each other!)....   and  Tom Cruise...  well, what can one say?  Take away all his private personas - this guy is one hell of an actor....  he can actually do it all - believably!  Special Mention goes out to Miss Mary J Blighe - truly one DIVA of a performer....  all eyes on her when she is onscreen belting out her musical numbers...  what a voice!!!

 

I would actually reccomend this film.... one surprisingly fun and entertaining musical of a movie....  just the right kind of film you want to see on a rainy Friday night...  well, any night for that matter, really... .   :) 

Of course this W Magazine cover was enough to interest anyone into seeing the film - but TRUST me - this is quite TRUE...   plus so much more!!!

 

Soundheim Turns 80: "Light The Lights"

March 22nd marked the 80th birthday of Stephen Sondheim, one of the true legends of Broadway Musicals. One of the most celebrated prolific musical theatre lyricist and musical composer... and definitely a FAVE of mine... He's won countless awards: Tonys, Grammys, Oscars, and even a Pulitzer Prize!!!

"Gypsy', "A Little Night's Music". "Company". "Into The Woods", "Sunday In The Park With George", "Passion", "Sweeney Todd" - and the list goes on and on and on..... Each one just as Great as the other.... I have been LUCKY enough to catch the original stage productions of "Into The Woods" & "Sunday in the Park with George" on Broadway - experiences that will always be UNFORGETTABLE for me.... the rest I caught, here and there: touring company, revivals, PBS, tributes, etc... he's even dabbled into the world of movies, probably most notably, for the Oscar winning song, Sooner or Later, sung by Madonna in film Dick Tracy...

Mr Soundheim will never cease to AMAZE me... and all I can hope for is that he continues to write more brilliant music for the stage, television, movies - any form really, for many more years to come.

Another FAVE, Elaine Page on BBC Radio 2, just had a special 2 hr tribute in honor of his BDAY - playing music from his various musicals... whether you are a Soundheim aficionado or not, it is worth a listen: CATCH IT HERE

It would be so very hard for me to pick out just one Fave song from him, as I have so many. But I will leave you with one of them: Being Alive sung by a few Soundheim staples: George Hearn, Carol Burnett, and another fave of mine, John Barrowman.

Nicole Kidman's "Unusual Way"

anyone else out there looking forward to seeing the movie adaptation of the Broadway Musical, NINE??? how could you NOT with it's stellar cast: Daniel Day Lewis, Penelope Cruz, Dame Judi Dench, Marion Coitlard, Fergie, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, & Nicole Kidman -- some of the finest actresses in the BIZ... singing their hearts out for director, Rob Marshall... same one who helmed the FAB CHICAGO....

am so HAPPY this movie is finally coming out as I have been excited about it since it was announced.... and for the little clips I have been seeing here and there, am sure am going to LOVE it.... and as an added BONUS, Miss Kidman gets to sing my most FAVE song from the movie, the haunting, UNUSUAL WAY (full recording version here), which I think she did well with.... not as dramatic as most of the Broadway stars who have recorded it but I actually liked the simpleness and subtleties of her delivery here.... see Preview below:

NINE Movie Trailer

Broadway Bound - I Wish!

So, I was just thinking - one of the things I really miss about not living in the US are the plays, musical plays, that I used to go see... starting way back in High School - i have enjoyed the obligatory class trips to see Stage Musicals or Plays.... that I soon as I started earning my own bucks (as a working college student) I made it a point to save moolah for the next Musical play to come through San Francisco.

Then during my working stiff years, as a buyer and General Manager of a Gift Company - I was blessed to be sent to New York each year for the Toy Fair - and I made sure I catch whatever is the HOTTEST play at the time...

I was fortunate enough to have seen Jennifer Holliday in Dreamgirls; Mandy Patinkin in FALSETTOS; Bernadette Peters in Into The Woods (still a Personal Fave), Betty Buckley in Sunset Blvd., Lea Salonga in both Miss Saigon & Les Miz; plus a host of others.... I MISS BROADWAY!!! I believe the last Broadway Baby I saw in New York, around mid 2000) was the girl from CSI: New York doing CABARET...

But living in Taiwan, where too few musical plays come (and usually at a HIGHER price) I really do not get to see them as much anymore... The last few years I get my fix usually during my TRAVELS - trying to catch whatever is playing like Mamma Mia in Spain (in all Spanish!) and Into The Woods in a small theatre in Manila...

Thank God for BBC Radio & Elaine Page- I get my Broadway Musical Fix through her weekly, 2hr show covering the best Broadway music from both London and New York; upcoming musicals; music from the Movies - and a weekly Special Musical Guest chatting about Musicals and even singing LIVE. If you love musicals - check it out and let Elaine bring you the Best of Broadway!