Carnegie Hall

I had the good fortune to get free tickets to a piano recital at Carnegie Hall. I had never been and I'm glad I went because the hall is quite elegant and I felt honored to be in such a legendary space. The pianist, Thomas Ades, played some brilliant Schubert and Beethoven and even premiered a composition of his own. I left feeling very classy and culturally enriched :)

Sondheim on Sondheim

Roundabout Theater's tribute to the legendary composer and lyricist was, like most musicals, rich with music and emotion and thin on editing and momentum. Nearly 3 hours is way to long to string together different songs from different musicals, even if they are very well performed. The excellent cast did they best they could to glue together this fragmented piece of media. They sang their hearts out and acted out the little vignettes with passion. But for all their best efforts, it just seemed amateur and forced.

Part of this show is pieces of a documentary shown on a giant, scrabble like screen on stage. The screen was made of 10 smaller screens and throughout the production these screens would form different formations. Sondheim's bits of wisdom were great- and it would have made for a good TV opportunity. Stringing together these filmed moments with live performances of various songs just didn't work for me- or at least, it worked for the first 2/3 of the show, but after that I was tired of the conceit. With a big chunk of editing and less screen footage this could be a good show, but it won't save it from the fact that it's not a musical but an anthology.

The West Story live on the West Side

There's always danger when you reinvent a classic. The Broadway show simply has a hard time living up to the classic 1961 film.

One of the main points of contention is the show's use of Spanish. When the Puerto Rican characters are alone on stage they spoke mostly in their native tongue. The lyrics and verses assigned to the Sharks are also in Spanish. I guess this was done in an effort to maintain authenticity and retain a PC distance from the film, which was equally famous for its whitewashed cast playing "ethnic." And in some ways, it works and gives the live show its own identity. But if you come to the show because you loved the film, you will be upset not to here "I feel pretty" in English and sing along in your head. I definitely felt a bit left out at times, distanced from the musical  I know so well.

That said, the show had it's positive points as well. The music from the live orchestra was fantastic. The dancing, the energy from the young cast, the swirl of color and costume- perfectly Broadway. I thought the leads were great- Tony, Maria and Anita especially. And they really captured the emotion of the play. I even shed a few tears at the end.

Whedon strikes again

Happy St.Patrick's day everyone! May your Guinness be potent and your rainbow have a pot of gold.

I finally got around to watching "Dr.Horrible's Sing Along Blog" directed by Joss Whedon. It's a hilarious farce starring Neil Patrick Harris as a wanna be evil villain and his nemesis, Nathan Fillian's Captain Hammer. To any Whedon fan, this little internet sensation is entirely logical. It is strongly reminiscent of the musical episode of Buffy that Whedon also directed. The sing-songy music, the good vs evil plot, and the refreshingly witty Whedon quotes are all there. I laughed out loud for real several times.

The casting of NPH vs Nathan Fillian is perfect, and after seeing Nathan playing such macho protagonists (Firefly, Castle) it's lovely to see his excellent ability to parody himself. The heroine, Felicia Day, was definitely overshadowed by these two powerful actors. She's apparently a Whedon muse because she had roles in both Buffy and Dollhouse.

Now I just cannot wait to Whedon's GLEE EPISODE!!! I even think NPH will be in that as well. Talk about geek heaven!

Kell on Earth

Kell on Earth is a new reality show based on PR diva Kelly Cutrone's cutthroat fashion industry life coordinating runway shoes and marketing designers. Some of you- my fellow reality tv brethren- know Kelly from The Hills where she gave gainful employment not only to Whitney but Lauren and Stephanie as well (and when Lauren was forced to fire Steph, ah the drama!). Kelly's reward for hiring these vapid blondes was her own reality show where we see that despite appearing on The Hills Kelly is actually 1) a New Yorker at heart who likes to wear black and prefers to hire people who die their hair at the other end of the spectrum from LA blondes and 2) is an awesome bitchy feminist who clawed her way to top and is deeply dedicated to pulling up others now that she's made it. The picture below makes the point quite clearly (Kelly is dead center):

and Kelly also likes goth gay guys and buys lube for employees! viva la liberation

Now, the real question is can Kell on Earth make it as reality TV? Well, in its favor it has models and runway shows (ala Project Runway). It has crying employees (ala The Apprentice). What it doesn't have is romance. Kelly is unapologetically unromantic. She is a single mother dedicated to her business and has a "modern" relationship with her euro/metro baby daddy.  Now, that's fine with me. I like the driven, business focused tone of the show and the working relationships provide a good cast of supporting characters. I like the edge of feminism, of alternativeness.

But I have doubts about whether this interesting show can stay on the air because it's lacking two things critical to reality show success: ridiculously good looking people and heterosexual romantic tension. Basically, what has made The Hills, The Bachelor, The Kardashians, The Millionaire Matchmaker, The Girls Next Door and myriad other reality shows successful. And it doesn't have the competition aspect that Project Runway or American Idol or Top Chef have. Or even the family & friends dramatics of the Kardashians and the Hills gang. But maybe it can live for a while in Bravo's niche of similar shows like Million Dollar Listing (truly terrible show) or the fun Housewives series. All I can say is Bravo!

$$$

Just spend a Coach purse's worth of money on a long weekend trip to Montreal and Quebec City. Who knew Canada could be so expensive, eh? Anyways, even though it seems pricey, travel has always been my priority. And why do I have a job if not to fund adventures? It should be a really great girl's trip. :)

Empire State of parody

New York was all ablaze with the new Alicia Keys/Jay Z song "Empire State of mind." I've even danced to it in a club where we all blare out "New York! New York! makes you feel brand new!" But the best part of this song was the parody it inspired- a tribute to the Jewish burb of Forrest Hills. The best lines are "where people are shaped like pears" and "why did everything have a prune in it?" Check it out.

Empire State Of Mind - Forest Hills State of Mind with Billy Eichner and Rachel Dratch

Must See TV this week

Things I will try not to miss, even though I have to stay up past my bedtime :)

1) The Office Baby special. I loved The Office Wedding special. It was hilarious, awkward and touching all at the same time, which is this sitcom's specialty. Jim and Pam are wonderful and cute.

2)Real Housewives of NYC. Second season premiers tonight and the delightfully catty New Yawkers are back. Are Jill and Betheny no longer friends? Are the crazies still insane? I will definitely watch the best iteration of the "Real Housewives" spin

3) Kathy Griffin on Law & Order: SVU. Watch as Kathy breathes some life into this gray and dour show. Plus- she plays a bisexual named Babs!

4) and finally the OSCARS! omg there is so much drama this year. 10 best picture! A woman nominated for director! Dueling exes! And to top it all off, Baldwin and Martin :)

Police Women of Broward County

is my new trashy tv selection. The Police Women on this show are really intriguing. And yes, it's definitely a few steps up from "Cops" in terms of story lines and footage. It follows a few select women over the course of a season so you actually get a feel for their lives and motivations.

I always wondered what would possess a right minded woman to become a cop. You are signing up to deal with angry, aggressive people all day long. In what way does that seem like a good idea? But this show offers some insight. Most of the women seem to be in the career to "give back" to society or, to be very stereotypical, to help.

One of them works in a rape unit and seems very dedicated to her job. It's amazing to watch her first console the victim with such complete sympathy and then turn around and make the accused assailant feel like she's on their side too- and the amount of confessions she wrangles from these guys is amazing. Another woman spends most of her time answering domestic disputes and acting as a family counselor. A third has to come search women for drugs or weapons whenever her fellow male cops find someone suspicious.

As with any pop culture phenomenon, the show has messy politics. It certainly has a claimable feminist aspect as we watch these women enter a decidedly masculine career and do well for themselves. They try to balance home and work, feeling the conflict keenly between mother and cop. There's a lot going on with gender based crimes, like rape or prostitution. It's also reality tv that draws its roots from Cops, which was all about macho spectacle. So...tune in sometime and see what you think.