i heart......

JOHN WILLIAMS

I am no longer a New York Philharmonic virgin. On Friday night, I headed to Lincoln Center and saw them conducted by none-other-than-prolific-film composer-John Williams. It was fantastic. I can't even tell you what its like to see him conduct the music from HOOK, HARRY POTTER, STAR WARS, JAWS, INDIANA JONES and ET. He actually came to Eastman while I was there, and I remember breaking into tears when he did the downbeat at the concert and none other than RETURN OF THE JEDI starting playing. So, after being such a wreck a couple of years ago, I decided to go out there and try to face him like a man. The crazy part is this event turned into something else entirely. Yes, it was breathtaking to hear all of his music...but at the concert, they were honoring a director named Stanley Donen. He directed a couple of small films.....SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, ANCHORS AWEIGH, IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER, and a hand-ful of others. Donen was there, and he came out and told little stories about Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and doing these films. Then, they would take a scene from a movie (SINGIN' IN THE RAIN from SINGIN' IN THE RAIN) and they had a screen where they would project it. After the singing stopped and dance break began, they would fade out the sound from the movie, and the Philharmonic would take over. It was simply magical. When you are as much a movie lover as I am, and a musician to boot, you can't help but be overwhelmed by the music. And in Avery Fisher Hall, sitting there, I couldn't help but be swept away by the magic of it all. It was a fantastic evening, and definitely in my top-10 theatrical(ish) events.

Final thoughts: Did you know that he composed the end of the NBC Nightly News? Usually it sounds like a quick brass chord progression...well, he actually wrote a whole song that has never been used. He played it as his final encore.

MANDY MOORE

I have a major girl crush on Mandy Moore. Okay, let me go back and clear some stuff up for you. A girl crush is defined as having a "crush" on the member of the same sex, although you are not gay. You may think they are beautiful, have an amazing life/career, or you are just drawn to them. I have many girl crushes including my BIG one, Kate Winslet of course, and also Liv Tyler. After buying Mandy's new album WILD HOPE and loving it, I decided to go and check out her concert which was at the Fillmore down on the East Side. So, pop music is not really my scene...considering that I didn't know that you don't even have seats at these sorts of things, but instead just stand in a clump. So, I clumped up, and rocked out to her fantastic show. First, she looks like a movie star...she is beautiful, and very natural on stage. Her band was fabulous, and she even revisited her infamous "Candy" to end the show. Watching her, I felt totally inspired to try to get back to songwriting. In my life, I have written exactly one song. Yeah....I know. Sad, isn't it. The truth is, I first want to get a guitar, then get to songwriting. I know so many fantastic musicians including my Uncle Steve (who plays upstate like every weekend) and my friend, Robert German, with whom I used to work. They have always really inspired me, but last night, maybe because she's a girl (?), I just really wanted to put something out there. We'll see if I can find a hook. At any rate, the show last night was fantastic, and I am totally rocking out in my head.

Final thoughts: Mandy knows how to work a stage...and sell a fabulous show!

terrible blogger

I have once again become a terrible blogger, letting the four of you who read this terribly down. I apologize. I am still fighting a cold, and it has been crazy at work. I know...there is never a good excuse, but I just wanted to try to defend myself.

THE NANNY DIARIES

On Labor Day, I got to see one of my favorite people (and oldest friends) in the world, and we went for breakfast at Bob Evans (I love bland food so much) and then to see THE NANNY DIARIES for $4 at AMC in Ohio. Well, I didn't hate this movie...but I really didn't love it. The truth is, I liked it more than the book. I wanted so much to love the book, and I didn't. I guess the problem is there was no reason for her to stay in this horrible job...yeah, she loves the kid, but not for a while, and if you were treated so horribly, why would you stick with it? But what about THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA you might ask. If she was her assistant for a year, then she could essentially get any job that she wanted....that is why you stick with that. Anyway, I digress, so let's get back to the movie. Laura Linney is fabulous....Chris Evans is cute and likable, and Scarlett Johansson is fine. It is just a blah movie. It's funny, but not that funny. It's rich, entitled people messing up raising their kid, and in an unhappy marriage which is sad, but you don't care that much because they are horrible people. The nanny lies to her friends and family about who she is and gets treated badly, but she stays there which is dumb. I did laugh and feel sad, but at a 20% level, and truthfully, shouldn't movies make you feel more than that?

Final thoughts: Unless you are a die-hard fan of an actor or the book, maybe rent it from the library.

MARGARET GARNER

New York City Opera is doing a new opera called MARGARET GARNER which my roommate got us free tickets to see. With a fabulous cast, this incredibly sad show is not to miss. The music is well-done, and the direction is okay. However, the cast is fabulous (with the African-American performers way outshining the Caucasian) and I found myself incredibly moved by their performances. The story revolves around a slave-woman and her family, and what she does to escape the life of a slave. If you can, you should check this show out. It has a limited run through September.

MOLIERE

On Sunday, I headed down to the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and took in the darling French film, MOLIERE. Starring my current French fave, Romain Duris, MOLIERE is an account of MOLIERE's life and how he developed some of the ideas for Tartuffe. Frothy and charming, the cast is first-rate in this comedy and comedy-of-errors. This film doesn't challenge the world, or demand rebellion, or anything like that...but it is funny and sweet, and a bit sad, but lovely.

Final thoughts: Sweet and lovely. Add it to your netflix list, and enjoy.

something different

In all honesty, my brother and I are very different people on many levels. He is very much a people-person, funny, well-liked....I tend to be disliked by many, skulk around in black clothes, and avoid as many people as possible. Anyway, this weekend, he and I went and took in something really theatrical together....WWE Wrestling. He is a fan, and this was a taping of RAW that would be shown on Monday night on the USA network. To be honest, I was a little hesitant, only because my idea of theatrical entertainment is a gritty Independent film, or SPRING AWAKENING on Broadway. However, I can't think of a better way to spend the night than to spend it with my brother. So, off to Nationwide Arena we went. I had the best time. It was hilarious, but it also so interesting to watch the production process, and to also get a bit lost in the story. We saw Champion John Cena (yum!), Triple H, Jeff Hardy, and the entire McMahon family. We also saw a very cute young wrestler named Cody Rhodes who was just added to my list of celebrity-ish crushes. My brother seemed to be enjoying himself (but like my dad, he can sometimes be very hard to read), and the important thing is that we got to hang out together. One of the plot lines is that Vince McMahon (Chairman of WWE) has a "bastard" son who is a WWE Superstar......the son is meant to be revealed on next week's show. So, I will totally have to watch and see who the son is.

Final thoughts: This might have been the most dramatic and theatrical performance I have ever seen....and I have been to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on Broadway!

photo credit: Cody Rhodes - www.wwe.com

O - H.........I - O!!!!

Greetings from Ohio. Yes, friend, I have journeyed here for the long weekend, and for a plethora (note: that is one of my favorite words) of activities. On Friday, it was my father's birthday. So...we ate cake, gave him presents, and passed the nephew around like a cold in an elementary school. Yesterday, we all headed to my cousin's wedding, and periodically checked the Buckeyes progress on beating Youngstown University in the season opener. (Go Bucks!) This morning, we are off to hear my father preach, and then tonight, my brother and I will head off to a wrestling match. All in all, it will be a busy (and fun!) weekend.

Last weekend was a good one too. On Friday night, the roommate and I went for dinner with a friend of his to a Thai restaurant. I have to say it....I am not a big Thai food fan. It's not that its bad...I just don't love it. Anyway, after we dropped that friend off to go and see A CHORUS LINE, we wandered uptown and took in a showing of HAIRSPRAY. Yes, this is the third time we have seen it...and yes, it was still fabulous. I am particularly on a Zac Efron kick right now, ever since we watched the hilarious HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 2. Anyway, a good time was had by all.

Um....I can't seem to remember what I did last Saturday, so I can only assume it wasn't important.

On Sunday, I got up early-ish and headed out to see NO RESERVATIONS starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart. It was cute. The one thing that was driving me crazy is that when Zeta-Jones went home into her NYC apartment, she didn't immediately lock her doors. Who does that? I just couldn't get past that....at all. (sigh) Of course, Eckhart was darling as always....the movie just couldn't seem to escape the slightly-too-precious romantic comedy trap.

Final thoughts: Cute movie....put it on you net-flix list. The food is gorgeous!