Tony Awards

So last night was the Tony Awards, AKA the best award show of the year. Hooray! I had a few friends over and we snacked and discussed opinions throughout the evening. And now I shall share a few of my thoughts here:

I think I've already filed Billy Elliot into the slot in the back of my mind where all the slightly older, clearly successful shows that have audiences and aren't closing anytime soon (Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia...) live. As in, it exists, it's a show that "normal people" are going to see and love, it's not running any danger of closing, and I don't feel a major need to see it. So I kept forgetting that it was nominated (and nominated and nominated and nominated...). And, not gonna lie, I'm a little bummed that it won so many awards. Of course, having never seen it, I don't know if it was well deserved, so my POV is merely that of rooting for the underdog. And I must say, the dance they chose to represent the show? Eh. I still have no iea what it's about, I wasn't exteremely impressed, and there was no singing! Me likey singing!! The lighting was interesting, I suppose, but that dance did nothing for me. (Not to mention the actor's little yelps sounded rediculous and strange. Me no likey.) And I was hoping for an Avenue Q moment, with some other unexpected option wins over the frontrunner. Alas... no can do. Though the Billy's acceptance speech was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Stuttering over themselves, all having the same thank you's to their families... So adorable and sweet! I can't imagine what it's like, winning a Tony at that age. Wow!!!

I've never been a huge Hair fan, but I really enjoyed their number, as well as their section in the gigantic opening number. I told my friend, "they're having way too much fun up there," and it was awesome! I wanted to dance around with them. After the Tony Awards last night I went and listened to the Actors' Fund of America Benefit Recording of Hair that I got as a present my last birthday and heard it all the way through. Even after listening to the CD, I still don't know anything about what Hair's about, but they looked like they were having so much fun that they've sold me, and I'll be seeing that show in NY.

Next to Normal's song was fantastic. I know nothing about the show, yet in that song I feel like I learned so much. And I really want to know more. The music was good, the acting was intense, and now I really want to see the show. (Luckily, I'm off to NY in 3 weeks!)

Shrek looked like a Spamalot lite. Rock of Ages looked like a Hair gone wrong. The former made me laugh, so I'm excited to see that. Rock of Ages also made me laugh, but not in a good way. I might be seeing that, but more to laugh at it than with it. Hopefully my negative feelings towards Rock of Ages will be changed if I see it... So we'll see. I'm trying to keep an open mind!

West Side Story was classic West Side Story for me. I'm excited to see that one, but I didn't see much new in their performances at the Tonys. Of course, their section in the opening number was cool. I wanted more of the Spanish shown in their preview number. I thought Maria would be speaking to Tony in Spanish...? Well, I'll be seeing for myself, in NY, it sounds like!

Guys and Dolls... Well, that was interesting. I liked the performances, though the updated ending seemed unnatural. And the screen as a backdrop was strange. Hopefully a good strange, because my family has tickets for that show!

(By the way... what was up with the tech last night?? You'd think that for the TONY AWARDS they'd not have so many screw ups! The techie running onstage and giving Tituss Burgess a microphone in the middle of the number, all the problems in the opening number, and I'm sure more that I can't remember now... It was depressing and definitely took away from the experience.)

I have nothing to say about Pal Joey, except I'm not a big fan of the song Joey. Mostly because someone sang it in a class of mine, and I didn't like it then. But that's unimportant, so that's all I'll say.

It was really cool having some of the touring casts perform. I'm just curious as to if those shows all were dark tonight, or if they had to bring in understudies or what. And why was Legally Blonde's so much shorter than the others?? The others did full songs, but Legally Blonde's was super-short. I think Jersey Boys did a good job, even though my TV had technical difficulties in the middle of the number. Mamma Mia wasn't good. But whatever. And Legally Blonde could have been a lot better, with a different number and/or a longer time segment.

And Neil Patrick Harris was a great host! Definitely better than Whoopi Goldberg. I loved his ending song, and he had a bunch of good jokes in there too. And he's rather adorable. So good job, Neil Patrick Harris.

Ok, I've typed enough, and I'm pretty sure that's all my thoughts on the shows. I don't know any of the plays, so I can't comment on those... and you probably wouldn't want to read them anyway. Haha. So that's all folks! Until next year, that is. ;)

Movies, Musicals, and Scripts

I just got back from watching the movie Up with my boyfriend. All I have to say is, GO SEE IT!! I loved it. I'm still smiling from it. It's heartwarming and funny and sad and sweet and wonderful, all at the same time. And the short film at the beginning is probably my favorite Pixar short yet. I'm not quite sure if Up was as good as Wall-E, which I adored beyond words, but it's definitely up there. And hopefully I'll be seeing it again!

In other news, my family got tickets to see some shows in NY the 4th of July weekend. (They're going to visit me while I'm at CAP21--it's pretty much an excuse for them to see some shows! Hehe.) We got great seats for Shrek-row D. I'll actually be able to see their faces! Sutton Foster better be there that night, that's all I gotta say. We're also seeing Guys and Dolls and In the Heights. Those seats aren't as good, but I'm still thrilled. (Though I saw a video of Lauren Graham singing Marry the Man Today on YouTube and I have to say, I wasn't extremely impressed. Hopefully she has a strong character in the show, because I could see her voice working if it's in accord with her interpretation of Adelaid... But right now, I'm a little nervous.) Besides, I have all the rest of my time in NY to get great seats. I'm planning on getting some student rush/lottery tickets! Hooray!

I went to the library today and got a ton of plays to read: My Sister Eileen, I Remember Mama, Noises Off, M. Butterfly, Stop Kiss, and Wendy Wasserstein's collection of plays: Isn't It Romantic, The Heidi Chronicles and Uncommon Women and Others. I'm really excited. The first 2 plays I started reading at the library and they seemed like they might be good. Noises Off is something I've been meaning to read for a long time, and same for Stop Kiss. I always mean to read M. Butterfly in my theatre history class, but never got around to reading it.... Oops. But I'm super intreagued. And I've done a scene from Isn't It Romantic, and some other people in my acting class did part of The Heidi Chronicles... So needless to say, I've got a good reading list. Not to mention all the other books I've purchased/borrowed from the library these last few weeks. My reading list is rediculous! On the plus side, my TV-watching has gone down a lot, though I still have lots of delightful Bones on DVD to watch.

Alright. Off to sleep. Hopefully, since I biked to the library today instead of driving, tonight I'll be able fall asleep sooner. I've gotten on a horrible sleep schedule, and it needs to change! Soon! Good night all.

Summer Goals

1. Learn, grow, and become an even better singer/dancer/actor at CAP21. And, by the end of the 6 weeks, be not only a stronger performer, but have an idea if I'd like to live in New York. And learn the subway system without getting lost 24/7. (Believe it or not, it's the second two parts that I'm worried about! haha.)
   
2. Play more guitar. I want it to be something I enjoy again, instead of merely something that takes up space. I don't want to be fantastic, I just want to be decent!
3. Don't lose all my Chinese. This means reviewing all my flashcards, rewriting my notes (I had the worst notebook this semester, and I'm planning on moving it all to a new one), maybe listening to some Mandarin podcasts...
4. Finally finish that Picaboo album with my pictures and journal entries from my Europe trip. The trip was 3 years ago. I seriously need to finish it!
5. Ride my bike more. (Technically speaking, my mom's bike. Mine's still at USC.) I need the exercise, and it'll be good to get fresh air.
6. Get on an earlier sleep schedule. Right now, that's not looking to promising, considering it's almost 2am and I'm nowhere close to being ready for bed.
7. Get started on being an awesome KP Business Manager. That means getting things organized, schedules collected, and maybe a gig or two ready.
8. Blog more. Obviously I'm working on that now. ;) But I'll probably keep this up for CAP21 too!
9. Get lots of audition material ready. This means monologues (I desperately need new ones) and contemporary, pop-style music (Eden Espinosa style, anyone?) that show off my belt voice.
10. Read lots of books and scripts, listen to lots of Broadway soundtracks, and keep my mind moving. I can't afford another summer where all I do is sit and watch TV. This summer is possibly the busiest summer I've ever had (CAP21, teaching theatre classes and camps and making money, living in NY...), and it's going to be fantastic. I'm so excited, and I'm going to avoid being bored as much as possible!
11. [Bonus Goal] Keep better connected with my friends! I'm not so good at keeping in contact, but I don't like that. I'm going to try to keep in contact with my USC friends better, and not lose touch with high school/PYT friends, as much as possible.