I LOVE AWARDS SEASON

So the Grammys were on tonight. I watched most of it but my exhuastion from my hectic weekend with tech work on Annie Jr got the best of me. I don't feel like listing all the winners so I'll just go through the notable ones.
For the complete list of winners go here: http://www.grammy.com/nominees
Best Motion Picture Soundtrack Slumdog Millionaire
Best Motion Picture Score UP
Best Song from a Motion Picture Soundtrack Jai Ho Slumdog Millionaire
Best Musical Album West Side Story (so sad that HAIR did not win)
Best Country Album Fearless Taylor Swift
Best Country Song White Horse Taylor Swift
Best Female Country Vocal Perfomance White Horse Taylor Swift
Best R&B Song Single Ladies Put a Ring On It Beyonce Also won best Female R&B Performance and Song of The Year
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance At Last Beyonce Cadilac Records Soundtrack
Best Rock Album 21st Century Breakdown Green Day
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden Michael Buble
Best Dance Recording Poker Face Lady Gaga
Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals I Gotta A Feeling Black Eyed Peas


Notable Performances
Lady Gaga and Elton John
Michael Jackson Tribute Performance
Andrea Bocelli and Mary J Blige performance for HAITI relief
Black Eyed Peas


Next in my series covering AWARDS season NH Theatre Awards Recap! :)

Backstage photos

Busy week

So this week was tech week for Annie Jr . It has been pretty hectic. I made a seperate blog for my work on that show but I didn't find that to be very useful because I am not sure if a lot of people have even looked at it. Anyway this show has been amazing to work on and I will be really sad when it's over on Sunday afternoon. Last night was the final dress rehearsal and it went really well. I am really impressed with how the show has come together. Opening night should be amazing tonight. Stay tuned for my upcoming Milford Cabinet article which will be a a review of Annie Jr.
After Annie Jr I have a month off from tech work and then I will be working on doing lighting for my high school's production of Bye Bye Birdie which I am really excited about. I am excited about working on this for two reasons. One because I will have the opportunity to work with my high school theatre director,technical director and choir teacher who is the musical director again and Bye Bye Birdie is one of my favorite all time musicals. I am debating about also doing tech work for the PTA Production of Children of Eden which has its production week right after Bye Bye Birdie. I hope to help out with props and publciity for that show but if it gets to be too much of a scheduling conflict I may just end up ushering.

I am still hoping to get a job at Summer Theatre In Meredith Village this summer doing publicity. Hopefully Nancy will get back to me soon about my writing samples.



oh and by the way the linl to my fan fiction website is in the Theatre Related links list on the right hand side of this blog. I would appreciate people's feedback on two Annie Get Your Gun fan fictions I have written whenever you guys get an avaialble moment. They are called Through Dolly's Eyes and The Way Frank Sees It.

Then out of the hat it's that big first night

Tech week sure flew by fast. I can't beleive it's opening night already. Last night was the final dress rehearsal and it went pretty well. The show has come together quite nicely and I am so excited about it. I am so proud of everyone in the cast and the crew. Good luck with opening tonight everyone!

New Layout

Hey Everyone!
I have redone the layout on this blog. Please tell me what you think about it.

Thanks
Janine
Also please become a fan of this blog on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Theatre-is-My-Life/324700151392?ref=ts&v=info#/pages/Theatre-is-My-Life/324700151392?ref=ts

More tech week updates

First of all I would like to apologize for this blog not having much to it. I was hoping to have some video snipits and photos from rehearsals but due to my busy schedule with job searching I haven't really had much time to get around to view any rehearsals up til this week. I should of really kept these posts in my other blog instead of making a seperate blog.

So rehearsal went well tonight and whatever kinks need to be worked out will be fixed tomorrow at the final dress rehearsal. One thing that was frusturating for me was that we kept losing track of props and the actors could not find them when they needed them. It made things a little bit more complicated for me because I had to constantly hunt things down and people did not have the props they needed for their scene. Tommorrow when we give notes out at the beginning of rehearsal I will mention that. Aside from that small glitch the rehearsal went well. I can't wait for opening night on Friday.

A happy broadway secret

Out of all the nasty,bitter and relentlessly malicious posts on Broadwaysecrets the one to the left form August 21st 2009 made me so HAPPY!!

Jay clearly does not get enough love on broadwaysecrets. Not to say that Gavin Creel and Will Swenson are not talented because everyone in that cast is SO AMAZINGLY talented but Jay is amazing! I have seen his videos from when he was at NYU. :) I am not being biased either just because I am friends with him. I swear I am not being biased go to my friend Nic's youtube and watch the video And I Breathe. Then you'll clearly see what I mean. I am really sad I did not get to see him as Claude.

Tech Week

Tech week has commenced!

Yesterday we had rehearsal from 12-4. The show looks great but we still have a few kinks to work out before the show on Friday. I am so excited for the show!!


Speaking of the show tickets at selling fast! If you still want to come call the box office ASAP!

Haven't laughed so hard in awhile

Carry over theatre related New Years Resolutions from last year-
Go see a show at another theatre beside the Barn Playhouse. Try out the Palace,Majectic Andy's Summer Playhouse etc


On Friday Matt and I went to the Majestic Theatre to see a youth production of The Emperor's New Clothes. The cast was comprised of local elemenatary middle and high school students. Overall the show was definitley worth the price of the ticket and very enjoyable. Everyone in the cast was talented but those who particulary stood out to me were Katherine Pavia (Cordelia Gleedevial) Valerie Nigg (Empress Plumptoe) and Abby Milonas (Victoria The Minstrel) The songs were very energetic and fun to listen to. Some of which included Paree, You Are Sick and Something For Everyone. I think this will be the first of many shows I see at the Majestic Theatre. Outstanding job to the cast and crew!




Upcoming Performances (Feb and Mar)
Feb 14th Forbidden Broadway Peacock Players
Mar 11th Junie B Jones National Tour
Mar 28th NEC CTE production The Baby In The Bathwater

Top Rated Showtunes for the month of January

Top Rated Showtunes for the month of January
(next month will be top rated love songs in honor of Valetines Day)
if bolded it means recently downloaded.
1. HAIR Gavin Creel Will Swenson and HAIR revival cast
2. The Telephone Hour Bye Bye Biride
3. Put on A Happy Face Bye Bye Birdie
4. Send In The Clowns A Little Night Music
5. You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile Annie
6. Moonshine Lullaby Annie Get Your Gun
7. Happiness You're A Good Man Charlie Brown
8. Perfectly Marvelous Cabaret
9. Aquarius Sasha Allen and HAIR revival cast
10. It Couldn't Please Me More Cabaret
11. A Lot Of Livin To Do Bye Bye Birdie









Off to Annie JR rehearsal. Will post a review of Emperor's New Clothes when I come home @ 4.

A little bit of info on my broadway likes and dislikes

Will review the show I went to see last night sometime later today or tomoorrow

For now here is a small survey that I found on Brodwayspace. I have trouble with filling in the answers because I like so many shows and actors there are very few shows I dislike to that question is realtively simple.
My two favorite shows are __________ and ___________.
Okay I am going to cheat since I have more than two favorite shows and this answer tends to alternate between the various shows I will like. My top favorite shows are listed below with reasons for my choices
1. Beauty And The Beast. This was the show that turned me on to seeing musical theatre in New York. First show I ever saw breathtakingly amazing. Esspcially the sets and costumes.
2. RENT Do I really need to go into detail about how much I love this show? I don't think so.
3. The Producers Funniest show ever.
4.HAIR JUST AMAZING! If I had enough money right now I would go back to see it before they leave for London in April.
My two least favorite shows are ______CATS_____ and ___Phantom of The Opera________.
I fell asleep during Phantom and it has very few good songs. CATS has lots of good songs but just lacks a lot of plot. I have seen it three times in community theatre and the only production I saw that I liked (not to be biased) was the one at NLBP because the director actually gave the show somewhat of plot that easy to follow..or just a plot in genral since as I said the play lacks plot to begin with.
A song that i can't get out of my head is Day by Day from Godspell (though this constantly changes)
My favorite actor is _________.
Anthony Rapp OR Gavin Creel or Will Swenson or Jay Johnson :)
My favorite actress is __________.
The whole female cast of HAIR or Indina Menzel or Lea Michele (seeing how amazing she is on Glee really makes me wish I had seen Spring Awakening)
If i was down to my last dollar i would go see _____Jersey Boys_____ because my parents saw it in Chicago and said it was amazing. In The Heights because I heard the cherography was really good. I wish I had a lot of money so I could plan a trip to New York in which I could see multiple shows at once. However for the time being I am saving up to see A Little Music and I so excited for that. :)

My favorite song from Chicago and the last installment of Tour The Real Tour (part 2)

My favorite song from the musical Chicago! So excited to see this show at Summer Theatre in Meredith Village.

and part 2 of the last installment of Tour The Real Tour. So sad there will be no more installments to this. I must commend Will Porter on a great job with putting this who series together. I found it to be very informative and insightful on what it's like to be in the touring company of a musical. I also think the well wishing of the people on the Cabaret Tour adds a nice touch! YAY LOUIE!!

Additional Note: It is stated that the Cabaret tour is a non-equity tour. I was wondering what the difference is between a non-equity and equity tour? Does anyone know? I am still trying to figure out if the Cabaret tour is coming to Boston and I can't seem to find a schedule on line. Do equity tours only come to Boston? Thanks for any help anyone can give me :)

Can I Tell You A Secret (reposted)

Okay so I had to delete my old post about Broadwaysecrets because I just went back on lj and I totally read into that picture of the HAIR cast too far.. thus making me feel like a total idiot. I hate when I overanalyze things.


I would join broadwaysecrets myself but I really don't have the time or the energy to post stuff on there.. until I decide if I want to post anythinbg and looking at old posts to get inspirations. Nothing is coming yet so I just comment on old entries where I see fit to comment. Plus most of the conversation consists of immature bickering and basically a raging battle between Wicked, Spring Awakening and RENT fans. It just gets old after awhile.

Shameless plugging and Suessical

A brief entry that will cover two things

First and foremost the show I am doing crew for next weekend

Annie Jr

Performances are Friday and Saturday night @7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday afternoon @2:30pm at the Amato Center for The Performing Arts at the Boys and Girls Club of Souhegan Valley in Milford NH. For ticket information you can go to the website. I do not remember the link off the top of my head but google Boys and Girls of Club of Souhegan Valley. From the main page go the the page for Riverbend School of Performing Arts from there go to current shows and then you get the ticket info.
Backstage photos will be posted at my Annie Jr blog http://anniejr0910.blogspot.com
for those who live far away I know you will be there in spirit

Secondly as all of my blog followers know I am currently writing fan fiction. I will try to post some of the stuff I have been working on here for your feedback. When I posted a thread a few weeks back looking for suggestions an anonymous commenter suggested I write a fanfiction about Sueessical The Musical. I don't know anything about this show or any of the characters in it. If any of your followers have been in this show and could give me an idea of angles I could focus my stories/poems on that would be fabulous and I would really appreciate it.

Golden Globes

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards were on tv last night on NBC. Lots of movies and tv shows took home awards

Notable Winners
Best Tv Movie or Miniseries
Grey Gardens
Best Actress in a Tv Movie or Miniseries
Drew Barrymore Grey Gardens
Best Animated Film
UP
Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy
Meryl Streep Julie and Julia
Best Director Motion Picture
James Cameron Avatar
BEST TELEVISION SERIES COMEDY OR MUSICAL
GLEE
Best Actress Motion Picture- Drama
Sandra Bullock The Blind Side
Best Motion Picture Drama
Avatar

Show Dates

Hey!



Not sure how many people have been following this blog. I haven't really had a lot of time to update recently... mostly because things have been hectic with the holidays and the job search process restarting. Figured I would post an entry with show dates and times for those who read this blog and live locally.

Evening shows are @ 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday 1/29 and 1/30
2pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday 1/30 and 1/31

Tickets can be reserved via the website or by calling the box office.

Fan Fiction Research and my thoughts on recent Broadway closings

So right now I am doing research to get more inspirations for fan fictions. I revisted watching my dvds from the Barn Playhouse to try to get inspiration for more Annie Get Your Gun and Little Shop fan fics and have already drafted an Annie Get Your Gun fan fiction from Frank Butler's pov (not as good as the Dolly Tate one I posted a few entries down. My next LSOH is from Audrey's point of view and mostly focusses on her abusive relationship with Orin.) I rented Funny Girl, Kiss Me Kate and The Mikado from the library. I was actually quite bored with both Kiss Me Kate and Funny Girl but watched both movies long enough to get some inspiration. Someone left an anoynmous comment on my previous entry about fan fiction ideas suggesting I do a fan fic on Suessical The Musical. That may be worth looking into though I have never even heard of that show and am not familiar with any of the music from it. Also felow Glee fans who follow this blog I may also write a Glee fan fiction. Give me suggestions about what episode i should base it off of.

To read the fan fictions I have written so far go to: http://fanfiction.net/~showtunediva



So last year around this time there was a somber day when about 10 or 15 shows closed on Broadway. In the past few days there have been quite a few other closings. Some I am suprised by and others not. Here are my thoughts

Ragtime (revival) I have heard a lot of good things about this from my friends who have seen it and was hoping to add it to my list of shows to see when I go to New York in the spring. Such a bummer I won't get to see it.

Shrek The Musical: The only appeal to seeing this show for me would obviously be Sutton Foster because I heard she was amazing in Drowsy Chaperone. Other than that I can't see what the appeal to this show was. I think there are some musicals that would just be better off just sticking to their movie cointerparts and Shrek is one on those. Legally Blonde is easily another one. Though I have not seen either.. I heard more favorable reviews of Legally Blonde then I did of Shrek.

Burn The Floor- Not a big fan of ballroom dancing but two former contestants from So You Think You Can Dance were in this show and I would have loved to see them.

Bye Bye Birdie (revival) This was on my list of top shows to see when I go back to the New York in the spring at one point. I am honestly not surprised that it didn't last. I have been reading less than favorable reviews about it and I'm sure a mix of reviews and poor ticket sales was what did the show in. I saw John Stamos sing Put on A Happy Face on the Macy's Parade and I was actually less then impressed with his singing and dancing.

Finnian's Rainbow (revival) Don't know enough about this show to form an opinion.
The 39 Steps Much disappointment about this play closing. I hope it ends up coming to Boston on tour.
The Toxic Avenger Don't know much about it in order to form an opinion.


Top 5 shows I want to see
1. A Little Night Music
2. Billy Elliot
3. Jersey Boys
4. Next To Normal
5. West Side Story

Tech Work update

So my work on Annie Jr is going to start to pick up relatively soon and I am really excited. I sat in on a bit of a rehearsal of one of the musical numbers It's A Hard Knock Life before the holidays which I enjoyed. I am excited to see how the whole show will come together. For more info on my work on Annie JR please go to my blog devoted to my work on the show.
http://anniejr0910.blogspot.com

After Annie Junior is over my next project is to hopefully help out with my high school's production of Bye Bye Birdie in some capacirty. I will have to contact my former theatre professor to see what kind of help they might need. After that I am hoping to do some backstage work for the PTA Play Children of Eden. Since these productions are right after each other I wonder if there will be a lot schedule conflicts with helping out at the rehearsals. If this ends up being a problem it may not be the best idea to do two shows back to back. We'll see where things will end up. If schedules end up conflicting too much I may up just working on one show instead of both and the perhaps finding out a way to do some back stage work for the Peacock Players production of The Wedding Singer in May.

I am sincerely crossing my fingers that I will get a publcity job working at Summer Theatre in Meredith Village this summer. That would be fabulous. They have a oood season lined up including one of my favorite all-time musicals Chicago! *crosses fingers*

Night of 1000 Stars

First entry of 2010

To ring in the new year Matt Sonya and I went to Peacock Players to go see Night of 1000 Stars. To sum it up it was a musical revue choc full of amazing Broadway Showtunes. The first act featured songs from shows they have done since their innagural season in 2002 and the second act had songs selected by members of the youth company. Quite a diverse amount of songs and quite a good way to reflect on all the various shows I have seen in 2009 at various theatres. There is quite a diversity of talents amont the members of this years Peacock Players Company.
Act 1 Highlights
*- will be downloading to my ipod
Suddenly Seymour Little Shop of Horrrors Michael Morrisey and Emily Pilapas
*Happily Ever After Once Upon A Mattress
*I am A Woman Smokey Joe's Cafe Danielle Lussier
*Run Freedom Run Urinetown The Musical Stephen T Stansfeld
Matchmaker Fiddler on The Roof Jacqui Grilli Emily Pilapas and Elise Lesser
Cookies A Year With Frog and Toad Michael Morrissey and Stephen T Stansfeld
*Lost In The Wilderness Children of Eden Tony Clements
Reflection Mulan Jr Caroline Donoahue
A Whole New World Aladdin Jr Caroline Donohue and Alex Giggey
Happiness You're A Good Man Charlie Brown John-Michael Breen
76 Trombones The Music Man James Scoville
Act 2 Highlights
*The Letter Billy Elliot Thomas Mitsock
Nothing A Chorus Line Jacqui Grilli
You'll Be In My Heart Tarzan Aileen Donahue
Take Me Or Leave Me Rent Shania Schwartz and Jenna Enons
*I Know It's Today Shrek The Musical Christina Higginson, Emma Jonnais and Becca Tarr
For Good Wicked Caroline and Caitlin Donahue

There were a ton of great songs in this shows.. some from shows I absolutley love and have seeen numersous times at other theatres and others I have never heard of. Great job to everyone in the cast. Happy New Year Everyone




2010 Tenative List of Shows To See (will largely depend on budget)
*- definite
Februrary
Peacock Players- Forbidden Broadway
March
*Bye Bye Birdie SHS Spring Musical
Honk Peacock Players
Art Milford Area Players
April
Children of Eden Amherst PTA
May
The Wedding Singer Peacock Players
Movmenet Concert @ NEC

also hoping to go see
Company at PSU
RENT at Palace Theatre
and hoping to go to New York in March to go see A Little Night Music YAY FOR RAMONA!! :)



oh and also please read my Little Shop of Horrors fan fiction and tell me what you think about it, it is still very much a work in progresss http:fanfiction,net/~showtunediva the name of the stroy is The Three Matchmakers