Where I've Been

I quick entry here. I promise I'll resume regular blogging in the near future. Just with SATs, junior year, exams, etc...it's been tough to fit extra writing in my schedule. I'm in my school play. Its "All My Sons". Pure brilliance in literature, I must say. I believe anything written by Arthur Miller is pure perfection on depicting the human condition. Its about an average neighborhood. The lead is 'Joe Keller', your average business man who sells cracked airplane parts to themilitary during World War 2. Many soldiers die because of this. The ironic thing is, he didn't go to prison. Instead, his accomplice goes to prison, and Keller is a free man. Joe has a son Larry, who is assumed dead, but Kate Keller (Mother) is in denial. She wants my character, Frank to make a horoscope for her to give her some hope that he might still be alive. On the side of this story, the daughter of Joe's business partner falls in love with Keller's other son, Chris. Eventually, the audience finds out that Larry killed himself by crashing his plane because he learned what his father did. Then Keller commits suicide himself.Tragic...right?

There is an obvious deviousness to Arthur Miller's writing. There are so many amazing themes to this play. First off, it shows us the theme of honesty. There is a quote in the play when Keller's next door neighbor, Jim Bayliss says: "...every man does have a star. The star of one's honesty. And you spend your whole life groping for it, but once it's out it never lights again" -- symbolic of how a drastic, devastating lie or dishonest act can ruin lives and relationships. An once the "light of honesty" goes out it never lights again. And it destroys the "light" of everyone around you. Another theme of this play is patric

ide, one of the most immoral sins dating back to ancient times. "Your brother's alive, darling, because if he's dead your father killed him...God doe

s not let a man be killed by his father." This play also symbolizes the common neighborhood and a neighborhoodfilled with drama, and how things a based on fate. The three couples in this story are all ill suited for one another, and they probably would have never married unless lovers went off to war.

The point is, this play is outstanding. As Ben Brantley stated in the New York Times, "All My Sons" is "a heartfelt condemnation of capitalist greed and itsconcomitant lack of moral responsibility." Usually Miller's plays are based on a true story. The grimness of that, and the lessons it teaches the audience makes it one of my n

ew favorite plays. I shouldn't say new; It's one of the 'oldest' shows on Broadway, originally performed in 1947. It was the first play ever to win the Tony for best play!

Theater preppy also went up to providence Rhode Island to visit Brown, where my grandfather and granduncle went, and my sister checked out Providence College. The family stayed at the Hope Club, a private club on benevolent street. They have a great assistant general manager Mitchell Frania. We also ate at the best restaurant in Providence, Al Forno.

Arrivadirci for now.

The Crucible

This autumn has been filled with many new experiences for TP. At school, I needed to adjust to being an honors student. This means more reading, writing, and critical thinking...all things that suit my interests. The first long work assigned to my tenth grade honors English class was the The Crucible by the genius playwright Arthur Miller.

The Crucible is a play that was first on Broadway in 1953. Some theater goers might remember the 2002 revival with Laura Linney in the lead role of Elizabeth Proctor. My mom said that everyone has to read it; she was in the play when it was performed at her middle school. The longevity, among many different historical aspects of the work really interested me.

The story is about the Salem Witchcraft Trails, and focuses on the lust of a teenager named, Abigale Williams who had an affair with a farmer named John Proctor in the grim Puritan world of the 1600's. It begins with all of the young girls of the town dancing and fooling around in the forest...which is considered sin for two reasons. First, no one was allowed to celebrate festively. Second, the forest was seen as the devil's home. In my opinion, that was a really foolish view of the world. Nature is supposed to be the place where God infinitely dwells, not the opposite.

Anyway, the story continues with Abigale and the other girls pretending to be witched by other citizens of Salem. This then morphs into people calling each other 'witches' to get their land, fire wood, money...etc. The usual- bring- down- a- citizen- to- get- their- stuff scenario. Abigale's initial plan was to convict John Proctor's wife, Elizabeth of being a witch so the two of them could live together. In the end, so many innocent lives were terminated because of the unjust court system, and the crowd mentality. Miller enlightens the reader about the aspects of the mob. In a mob, people will be tempted to say and agree to things that they don't believe in. This makes a clear comparison between the Salem Witchcraft Trials and the McCarthy Era. It is interesting that the two historical events can have the almost exact same conflict and themes.

{Spoiler alert} The most fascinating part of the book in my opinion, was when my English teacher explained the meaning of the last scene. This was when John Proctor chose to die with Rebecca Nurse and Martha Corey; two of the most highly thought of women in the town. Hale begged Elizabeth to convince her husband to falsely confess that he was a witch to save his wife. Elizabeth's response was that she couldn't take his goodness away  from him. This was because he could die an honest man, among non-sinners like Martha Corey and Rebecca Nurse. 

Read this book. Like all great works of art, this work is timeless. It is just as relevant today, as it was in the 1950's. Theaterpreppy gives The Crucible a 'collars up.'

I'm in a New York State of Mind

Many times a think to myself that I am the luckiest guy in the world. It could be because I have the best family, or that I go to great prep school, or maybe because I skippered on a Sonar sailboat yesterday on Long Island Sound. But that's not why I feel lucky today. Today I consider myself  the luckiest guy in the world because it took me just an hour and a half to get into Manhattan from Long Island. That's what I love about where I live. My city is just a short car/train ride away. The LIRR does a great job.

Yet here is the truly interesting thing. Many of my friends think that going to New York City is a luxury. While this statement is true for me, it is just as equally untrue because I believe that New York City is my sanctuary. It is one of the only places in the world where a feel completely at ease and at home...besides my own home of course. I believe New York City is magestic...it makes people fall under its spell. I love to explore the different worlds within it. One day we might travel from the Upper East Side to SoHo, or maybe to the Upper West Side to Columbia (hopefully my future school). My grandmother always says she loves that the   city is that it's open to everyone, and that when she travels there, a great vibe of joy comes over her. 

I believe that Billy Joel has my same beliefs. "New York State of Mind" is one of my favorite songs. Here's my favorite verse

It comes down to reality-and its fine with me cause Ive let it slide, Dont care if its chinatown or riverside, I dont have any reasons, Ive left them all behind- Im in a new york state of mind.

What's your favorite verse; or anything about New York?

West Side Story

I recently saw West Side Story; truly a fine work of art. My whole family went to see it at the Palace Theater, and we got box seats on the left-hand side of the theater. The view was amazing; my sister always says that she wants to be so close to the stage that she could see the actors' spit.

Anyway, the show was amazing. It has a special charm that the movie doesn't deliver. You could tell that the show wasn't an expensive production though. I guess what you really pay for is Bernstein's musical genus coming to life with the story line of Romeo and Juliet. Overall, TheaterPreppy gives West Side Story a 'collar's up.' The only thing lacking was Tony's singing voice...so many trills.

TheaterPreppy is Back!

OK guys, this post is long overdue. I took a long break from blogging, partially because I thought the 2009 theater season was a flop. I guess I was wrong. My mind changed when I watched the Tony Awards last month...which was really good (aside from those microphone malfunctions). Anyway, it was said that this year was the highest grossing season in Broadway history. Wow, that was unexpected, especially since America is in a recession. Maybe people flocked to the theaters to see all the revivals, aka West Side Story, Hair, and Guy and Dolls. If not that, it was Billy Elliot and Wicked who payed the bills this year.  

The Best of Broadway: 2008-2009

Don't forget to watch the Tony's. Sunday @ 8/7 c on CBS!

Broadway... Big, Bold, and OLD!

First, a look back: Let's take a look at the last year's Broadway season. It seems to me, that the best of last season that Broadway had to offer was a story about people in Washington Heights and a lo- cal musical about a muse on rollerskates! I'm not saying that the 2007-2008 season was bad, but with the huge amount of adequate and unsuccsessful musicals, a.k.a "Cry Baby" and "Catered Affair," it leaves TP to ask this question. Can Broadway produce a single successful production that wasn't inspired by a movie, TV show, or a Broadway show archive? I guess not.  (You can translate that into retread or revival...and divide revivals into old revivals (post vaudeville), golden age revivals (the Rogers and Hammerstein era),  or the 70's and 80's (MP, mom preppy was at Barnard and remembered these shows totally).)

I noticed that Broadway is not about wholesome entertainment anymore...nope. It's simply based on the poor tast of pre- teens who feel like seeing Legally Blonde and Grease or their parents who like that stuff, too. These are the people who think Disney World is a cultural icon. 

 So I thought, maybe this year's season would give me (TP is an explorer of the human condition) a bit more inspiration. The answer I found was still a big old no. When I saw the schedule of the new broadway season...let me just tell you there was nothing new about it. MP told me that I could dump my ancient playbill collection that a got from an estate sale, on the floor and pick one at random and chances are, that that play would be coming back to broadway this year. And that propbably is what the producers do in a think tank session. Their are so many ancient revials.  Pal Joey, Godspell, West Side Story, Dancin', Guys and Dolls, even Brigadoon! Some of these plays were on Broadway when my grandparents were in their twenties! Do these sound familiar to you? Fenses by August Wilson, Desire Under Elms, All My Sons, The Seagull, A Man of All Seaons, For Colored Girls Who are Considering Sucide when the Rainbow is Enuf (that's the MP Barnard connection--she thinks Ntozake Shange went to Barnard), and The Wiz are the just some of the oldies coming back to broadway. 

There are a good number of new ones coming this season such as Billy Elliot,  Title of Show, The Big Time, 13.  Then there's  Shrek, 9 to 5, The Addams Family, Catch Me If you Can, The Tale of Two Cities, Guess Whos Coming to Dinner, Houdini, and White Noise, for example . For your information, only four of those shows were not inspired by any other form of entertainment. What are the producers thinking?! Where have all the good writers gone? Can't someone write a good new musical written for broadway? Don't get me wrong I love revials, but why bring them back all at once? I know...  it's all about marketing. If the show can make money, you can guaranty it can be on broadway for years to come. Pretty soon we'll been seeing something like Harry Potter: the musical, or worse, how do you like 'Gossip Girl, the musical'

or 'Family Guy, the musical', or 'Lock-Up the  musical'...hold on to your wallets!!!!!  Sorry, but I forgot one that sure will be a big hit with the current policial climate...The Beverly Hillbillies, the musical or maybe Blue Collar, the musical with a big dance sequence called Red State /Blue State...Dukes of Hazard, the musical anyone? 

History Entry: The Decline of Broadway (1970-1979)

During the 1970's, Broadway went into a deep decline. Theaters were temporarily closed and the area became poor, dangerous, and inappropriate for families. There were also few popular shows during this time, and many theater organizations were in financial trouble. It wasn't until "A Chorus Line" came to Broadway, that the theater district started to clean itself up. A Chorus Line is a musical created by Michael Bennet about the lives of dancers. It was so successful, that it broke the record for the longest running show in Broadway history in 1975. It stayed on Broadway for fifteen years!

Because of the success of "A Chorus Line," the managers of Broadway decided to make a change on how the theater district was run. To clean up the theater district, New York City decided to get rid of the sleaziness and obscenity that existed all over Broadway. New and glitzy advertisements were made, as well as the creation of many theatrical revivals to lure the public back to Broadway.

In The Heights!

"In the Heights" is a fresh new musical about the lives of working clase individuals who live in Washington Heights - the "barrio" of NYC. It focuses on different relationships of Spanish-Americans: one about a girl who can't afford her Stanford college tuition, another about a grandmother who wins 96,000 dollars, and also about the lead actor, Usnavi who wants to date a girl he knows. The show is a heart warming tale about family, friends, happiness through tuff times, and about home in general. In my opinion, the best parts of the show were the dancing, the lighting design, and the Spanish-Hip-Hop score. The story was ok, and the only thing I didn't like about the show was that the music wasn't memorable. The only song a sort of remember was the opening number "En Washington Heights." The acting was great as well, especially that of the actors who played Usnavi (Lin-Manuel Miranda), Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz), and Nina (Mandy Gonzalez). 

The coolest part of the show was that I got to meet the cast after the audience left the theater. I got to talk to the actors and I told them about my blog. Lin-Manuel conceived the entire play, and he also wrote the music and lyrics for the production. I had the opportunity to ask him some questions. I asked what his favorite show was (besides the one he was starring in), and how he found his love for Broadway. He said that his favorite show is the "Phantom of the Opera" (mine too!), and by seeing it he found his love for Broadway. He said he remembered seeing the mist and the boat in the "Phantom of the Opera," and thinking to himself , he said that that was what he wanted to do. He wanted to make a new musical, one that would catch the eye of young theater goers like myself, and introduce the rich hispanic culture to the stage. Over all, I give this show a collar's up. I don't think it deserves to win the Tony for best musical, but it probably will get it.

(Lin-Manuel Miranda)

A Week At the Theater.

   

  

     

    

 

 Last week I devoted myself to seeing as many broadway shows as I could for the for the last days of my spring break. Fortunately, I got tickets to four shows, those being "A Chorus Line," "Gypsy," "Xanadu," and "A Catered Affair." So I something old, something new, something Patti, and something Harvey.

I'll sort these shows from best to worst. In my opinion, "Gypsy," starring Patti Lupone was the best out the four. It's the story of a "Show biz" mother who wants her daughters to be big stars. She was PHENOMENAL!!!! With her singing and acting, the St. James Theater with be sold out for weeks! But I'll note another theater goer's point of view...this man saw the orginal Gypsy with Ethel Merman and she performed without a microphone. I also loved the story. Collar's UP!

A Chorus Line, Let's just say... "God I hope I Get It". I loved the show and the music, but I had trouble understanding what the whole story and moral were supposed to mean. I know it was about the lives of dancers and the stress of auditioning, but is there something more than that? Can Someone give me an answer? I give it a collar's up. "Xanadu" on the other hand, was a piece of candy to me, (nothing special). The story was about a muse who had a crush on a guy who wanted to build a roller disco. It was simple, and I'll probably forget I saw it in month or two. Collar's Down.

Lastly, I saw "A Catered Affair." It was another simple show... about poor people who want to get married. The acting was great, but the music wasn't memorable. The producers still have time to change things around because I saw the show when it was only in it's 5th preview! Harvey Fierstein and Faith Prince were great in it though. I definitely think that Faith and Patti are major contenders for the Tony this year. I'll give it a just a 'collar' until I see what the critics think when it opens April 17th

             

History Entry: The Changing Ways of Broadway. Broadway During the 1950's-1960's

As the 1950's came about, traditions of how Broadway shows were created began to change. Jerome Robins, a choreographer, invented the method of one person directing and choreographing a musical at the same time. "West Side Story" is a Broadway show that he choreographed. The show focused murder and violence, which were new themes to Broadway musicals. Also, a musical called "Cabaret" was one of the first Broadway musical comedies to introduce adult situations to the theater. Steven Sondheim's, "Company" was the first Broadway musical comedy to focus on marital problems as well.
Some of the greatest hits were produced in the late 1950's and early 1960's. Productions included "Hello Dolly," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Gypsy," and "Bye Bye Birdie." The longest running show on Broadway at the time was "Fiddler on the Roof," which came to Broadway in 1964. During the 60's Broadway music was becoming unpopular due to the advent of Rock and Roll and the creation of pop culture. Until this time, Broadway show tunes were the most popular music in the country.
The Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Counterculture Movement had great influences on Broadway. Plays such as, "A Raisin in the Sun," were influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, and musicals such as "Hair," were influenced by the Vietnam War and the Counterculture Movement.

Just a Thought: Article Review

Just a thought:
Broadway for Big Kids, Beyond Spoonfuls of Sugar. By Robin Pogrebin

On March 21, 2008, I read an interesting article by Robin Pogrebin titled "Broadway for Big Kids, Beyond Spoonfuls of Sugar." Her article explained that the joy of experiencing Broadway musicals with the whole family is quite easy, but if you are seeing a show with children, is that show appropriate for them? Then things can get a bit dicey. When children become too old for "kiddy musicals" such as "Beauty and the Beast" or "The Little Mermaid," they might want to experience shows of a more mature fashion. Robin gave most Broadway musicals 'caveats,' and that it's better to see if that musical is appropriate before you make a big investment--common sense. In my opinion, Broadway has always been a bit sassy and risqué. It's nothing new about Broadway, and it's been in effect since the Ancient Greeks. Even Yiddish theater and vaudville had that. That's what live theater is about, pleasing the public...with the human condition in all of it's forms.
As far as my audience is concerned, a casual viewing of most TV 14 television shows explore many of the same themes as Broadway theater. I'll just note Robins 'caveats' or warnings to parents: explicit lyrics or themes and racy dancing, and I can substitute it with "Grey's Anatomy" or "Dancing With The Stars." In fact, "Family Guy," "The Soup," "Gossip Girl,"even "Oprah," address the same issues. And the list goes on and on! And if you're really worried, don't pass a newsstand in Manhattan, Ms. Pogrebin, with last weeks' tabloids shouting about a governor's sexual exploits, a new governors 'affairs' (was it 4, or 5??), and a an old governors '3-some.' TP had to ask MP (mom preppy) what that was!!!! Another day I got an eyeful when I saw Spitzer's escort (what's is that anyway??? TP thought it meant the date to a Debutante ball), 'Kristen,' half nude on the front page of The Post! I got whole sexual education that week, Oprah even had Dr. Oz talking about fondling your testicles to detect cancer... and hey what's ED? What are all those medicines for? Why does Viagra sponsor college sports....It's everywhere. Dr. Oz even talked about passing gas! Who does it more: Men or Women? It's sounded like a take-out of a Mel Brooks musical! So finally, I guess life imitates art!

History Entry: The Begining of Broadway

     The creation of Broadway started to take place in the 1800's when musical revues, vaudeville, and minstrel shows were popular. In 1810, the theater district was developing rapidly, and most actors and composers were immigrants from Europe. Broadway was very popular in these years because it was the leading form of entertainment. Instead of having dreams of being a star in Hollywood, people aspired to be stars on Broadway.

     At the beginning of the twentieth century, Broadway shows didn't have plotlines. Productions consisted of dramas filled with magic and fantasy, whimsical skit performances, and amateur variety shows. In 1913, Ziegfeld's Follies was the first huge production that Broadway has ever seen. Created by Florenz Ziegfeld, the show consisted of glitzy musical revues that were held at the New Amsterdam Theater. It featured beautiful women in lavish costumes called Ziegfeld Girls, huge sets, and visual effects that amazed it's audiences. Because times were hard, this show offered glamour to the public not seen anywhere else.

RENT: genius, empowering, closing, and...what did he say?

It's true. The beloved rock musical, RENT is closing after almost 13 years on Broadway. For those of you who don't know what this musical is about, it's based on the opera La Boheme, and tells the story of eight friends in NYC's the East Village, who struggle with poverty, AIDS, relationships, and life in general. Out of the eight friends there's Angel and Collins...(a gay couple), Maureen and Joanne...(another gay couple), Roger and Mimi...(lovers), and Benny...(their landlord). Almost all of these people are affected by AIDS, but from audience member's point of view, you wouldn't have known it unless you were listening very carefully. Throughout most of the musical, it was just singing and rock and roll music, instead of dialog which I would have preferred. They only mentioned the word 'AIDS' once in the entire show. The music and singing was stupendous. Tamyra Gray, who stared as Mimi, was perfect for the role. Even though Rent is a simple show, I gave it a "collar's up," because it teaches us that we have to live life to the fullest! For more information about Rent visit www.siteforrent.com.

Rent was created into a feature film in 2005, and many people compare it to Across the Universe. Across the Universe is a great movie that also depicts the lives of friends in NYC, accept with Beatles music and a 1960's setting. Many people agree that if you would substitute AIDS with the Vietnam War you would come up with this movie. I give Across the Universe a "collar's up as well.

A Cheaply Made Award Show.

The 80th Academy Award's show has passed, but did it leave it's mark on the entertainment business? My answer is a big NO!

I'm a big movie buff, and a great thing I always look forward to at the end of the film season is the Academy Awards. Because of the recent Hollywood Writers Strike, it seemed to me that this year's award show was cheaply made; stitched together with time fillers, film montage, and boring performances. I did think John Stewart was a funny host, and I loved all of the film nominees. My favorite films of the year were Atonement and Sweeney

Todd. I thought this year's award show couldn't even compare to those of the past. In my opinion, this Oscars show was big or glitzy enough. I gave it a "collar's down"

MY KIND OF MOVIE: Sweeney Todd: the demon barber of Fleet Street

For those of you who don’t know what Sweeney Todd is, it’s the gruesome story of a barber seeking revenge after he is falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit. He then learns that a judge kidnapped his beautiful daughter Joanna. To comfort his anger, he murders innocent men in need of a shave; HE SLITS PEOPLE’S THROATS! Along with his partner in crime, Mrs. Lovet, they create a successful business of making meat pies out of the human flesh!

I give this movie a big “collar's up!”Johnny Depp’s acting was superb, but Helena Bonham Carter’s performance was adequate...she’s not a good singer. The great thing about the movie was the young cast. Compared to the the Broadway cast, the movie’s cast was at least 20 years younger. The score, music, and art direction were great as well.

I loved this movie, and it makes me want to see the theatrical production are put it on at my school the more I think about it. Can you believe I didn’t actually see the real thing on Broadway yet! I would have seen it but I was probably too young or it close before I wanted to see it. I also was hoping to see it on tour in Miami, but it was sold out. I guess I’ll have to wait for another revival.

                                     

                                       

Patti Lupone and Michael Cerveris: 2006 Broadway Cast