Theatre Weekend

So this weekend's 5 show weekend turned into a 4 show weekend.  However, that wasn't a terrible thing.  I really wanted to see Godspell Friday night, but after a long week, it just wasn't in the cards.  However, the next 2 days totally made up for it in terms of quality.

Yesterday was Off-Center's City Center's Production of Assassins.  I'd never seen this show before and I'm still not sure I understand what I saw, but I admit to loving it.  It was weird, and sarcastic, and a little in poor taste, but the cast was outstanding.  I came for Steven Pasquale, who was brilliant as always.  That man's voice is pretty perfect, and he's great with the annoyance and sarcasm on stage.  So he was a perfect choice for a snarky John Wilkes Booth. But the rest of the company was also amazing.

My favorite part was a line sung by the balladeer "Every now and again the world goes wrong, every now and again a mad man comes along..."  At which point the crowd went wild. It's the perfect description of where the US finds itself right now.  Nice lyrics, Sondheim - who was apparently at the evening performance along with Josh Groban.  I missed them both by going to the matinee - boo!

And the last show of the weekend, was an olf favorite of mine "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  Now, even though it's a favorite, I had no desire to go whatsoever.  It was to be performed outside (it was 89 today) and it was going to be in a sketchy (or so I thought) part of town, and I would be going by myself (everyone else realized it was too hot and too far...)  However, I'm so glad I went.  The show was fantastic!  The Baltimore Shakespeare Company put on a great production.

I know exactly how hot I was, so I can't imagine how hot the performers were, but they never let it show.  They seemed to be having so much fun, which is always a good mark of a great show.  In the end I'm so happy I went, and I can't wait to attend another one of their productions!

Something Rotten! Takes Baltimore

I saw the hilarious Something Rotten! in New York 3 times.  It's one of my all time faves thanks to the fabulous cast they compiled and the ridiculous number of inside theatre jokes they managed to pack in.  It really is a laugh a minute show!  So I was very excited to see it here in Baltimore with 3 of the fabulous actors that appeared in the Broadway version (just not when I saw it) - Adam Pascal, Rob McClure and John Grisetti.  

Now, I did actually see Rob McClure as Nick Bottom, my last time seeing the show.  And I thought he was so great.  He's like a mini Brian d'Arcy James. He's got the singing and the dancing and sounds and even looks a lot like Brian so he was perfect for the part.  I really liked him in this version as well. John Grisetti was a new Nigel to me and while he was no John Cariani, he brought his own neuroses and weirdness to the character that was also perfect.  Nigel wasn't as overly-worried this time around, but he was still very, very funny. 

My main problem with this version was Shakespeare.  Now, before I say anything I want to say that I love Adam Pascal and I loved him in RENT. He's amazing and has an amazing voice.  I just don't think he's so fabulous at comedy.  He's definitely not Christian Borle - who was perfect in that part!  Adam had all the swagger and rock-star-iness but none of the joke-telling.  He was also pretty terrible with his York accent which was a plot point.  In one paragraph, he was from York, then England then Ireland.  It was just a teensy bit distracting.

As for the rest of the cast and the show it was awesome as usual!  All of the fun and eggs were there.  I did notice one song though, changed from the original production which I'm a bit perplexed by.  I've never seen a touring cast just cut a song before.  But it didn't do much to the plot so I suppose it wasn't such a big deal. All in all, Something Rotten!  is the most fabulous way to spend Shakespeare's birthday!

Hamlet - Reprise

Last August, after waiting an entire year to see Benedict Cumberbatch play Hamlet, I wrote a fairly disgruntled review of the show.  It was entirely not what I expected and no where near as good at the Royal Shakespeare production.  Also, Benedict let me down so I was less than thrilled with my 3 hours at the Barbican.

As we learned at the time, we were seeing it in Previews so things weren't quite as they turned out to be by the end of the run.  But nonetheless, not fabulous.  However, through the glory of technology, we managed to score 2 tickets to tonight's National Theatre Live production in a nearby movie theater.  This would allow us to see the non-preview full production.  They had surely changed things around by the end of the run, so it was most definitely going to be better, right?

Wrong!  It's still terrible.  So terrible in fact, we left at the interval (which lasts the full 20 minutes, just like a live production.)

The one thing that absolutely killed me the first time was their move of "To be or not to be..." to the very first scene of the show - in theory, to give the Benedict fan-girls what they came for immediately as the curtain came up.  After this caused an uproar with the critics, they moved it to its rightful place in the show, as we saw it this evening.  However, they still gave Benedict the very first lines - lines that aren't his! Hamlet's not even supposed to be on stage for another scene.  Really people?  You don't think the theater goers could wait 10 minutes to see him?

Other than that change, everything else stayed pretty much the same - too big, and too weird, which is why I just wasn't a fan.  Hamlet is supposed to be about the words and about the feelings.  In this production, Hamlet gets lost amongst the crazy set pieces and strange costuming.  Benedict Cumberbatch is a fabulous actor and he still is in this production.  But he does go a little too manic from time to time.  Hamlet's slow descent is more of a cliff-dive this time around.

And I think because Benedict is so good, I realized, this time around, that some of the rest of the cast - primarily Claudius - just weren't that fantastic in their roles.  You're either a Shakespearean actor or your not. Some of these actors were definitely not.

In the end, it turns out that shows that aren't great live, will probably still not be great on screen.  Which is a terrible shame, because with an awesome actor like Cumberbatch, it should have been off the charts fabulous.  I think in another smaller production, he could have been amazing!  It just stinks we'll never get to see it.

Friday Five

1. I've been pretty excited to see the Gilmore Girls revival on Black Friday, but not nearly as excited as I was when I saw this trailer! AMAZING!  
           

2. I haven't quite figured out why a Welsh dragon has appeared in London, but it's super cool nonetheless.  He looks just like Smaug!

Watch out - a Welsh dragon has appeared outside St Paul's Cathedral in #London!! 😱 #bestintravel @visitwales pic.twitter.com/PQh2shBnDM

— VisitBritain (@VisitBritain) October 25, 2016

3. I've always believed that Shakespeare was Shakespeare and that he wrote all his beautiful works himself.  I've never really bought the critic's point of view that someone as poor and un-educated as Shakespeare couldn't have written these amazing works.  But with the news of Christopher Marlowe being added as his co-author on the Henry plays, I have to say I'm impressed.  I still don't believe he actually co-wrote with Shakespeare, but I do enjoy that the Oxford University Press made the gutsy move to add his name to the text.  Bold move book nerds at Oxford!  

4. Have you scrappers out there discovered The Lily Pad yet?  It's an online shop full of gorgeous digital scrapbooking elements.  I'm in love mostly with giant set of New York themed journal cards for pocket scrapping.  Why does one need all these cards you ask?  To that I reply, why wouldn't you?

5. A friend learned this week that her company would be shutting down at the end of the year, and while this is completely terrible, it's been heartwarming to see all of our friends and families rally around her and her co-workers. They've offered assistance, and love and encouragement and I'm sure have made this transition just a teeny bit less scary.

Weird & Weirder

Part of the "Try New Things in 2016" plan is saying yes when your friend calls and says, for instance, "Do you want to go see Sense and Sensibility at the Folger Shakespeare Library - they say it's going to be like Downton Abbey on roller skates...?" Ordinarily, No would be my first instance, but Yes was the answer I gave.  I had never seen the Folger Shakespeare Library so that was definitely a plus.  I'm not a Jane Austen fan like most girls are so that was a check in the con column.  However, when presented with something that's like "Downton Abbey on roller skates" you sort of have jump in and see what the night brings.

As it turns out, even with the addition of "roller skates", I should have gone with my first instinct. 

The theatre was gorgeous and reminded me a lot of the Swan in Stratford Upon Avon, and we had fabulous seats.  I only wish my seats were that good when I saw Richard II at the actual Swan.  This time around, it was a negative - we were too close to the stage to risk dozing off.  I may not have loved the show, but no need to offend the actors.  

To put it mildly, the show was bizarre and a half.  As it turns out, there were no roller skates.  All of the tables, chairs, windows, etc. were on wheels.  I'm assuming those were the skates.  The actors were pushed, pulled, catapaulted across the stage on wheelie set decoration. What?  Then at some point, "Uptown Funk" started playing and the cast - who was dressed in full Elizabethan garb - started a dance party on the stage. What?  And if that wasn't enough, the part that confused me more than anything at all, was the mumbling.  During some scenes and in between others, the entire cast would start yelling/speaking/mumbling different things all over each other which made deciphering the point and what exactly they were saying, quite impossible.  

I suppose I could say the cast was quite good, and really sold their parts.  If the creatives that staged the show would have just let them act, it could have been quite good.  But the addition of all sorts of weirdness definitely put this show on my least favorite list.

52 Lists: Week 22

As I was sitting and enjoying "A Midsummer Night's Dream" on Sunday, I started thinking about the Shakespeare productions I've seen live.  For the last year or so, I've had this little thought in the back of my head that I would eventually see productions of all of his plays either live or "live-ish."  What I mean by "live-ish" is a recorded production of a live show. Not a big-budget Hollywood version but anything like what the National Theater does with their productions - record them on stage, and beam them all over the world so those of us not lucky enough to live in Stratford, still get to see some amazing theater.

So that brings me to my list, I calculated the number I've seen already and have determined I still have quite a bit to go because these are all I've seen:

~ Macbeth at CenterStage in Baltimore: It was the very first Shakespeare I saw in high school, and I was definitely not a fan.

~ Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom (Live-ish through NT Live): Good, but (and what I'm about to say is controversial) I'm not a huge fan of Romeo and Juliet.  It's always seemed a bit too over the top for me.  Though, I'm certain the draw for me on this one was Legolas as Romeo.

~ Coriolanus with Tom Hiddleston (Live-ish through NT Live): Never read this one, so I was not prepared for the violence, blood, guts and gore.  Rough one to watch!

        

~ Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant & Catherine Tate (Live-ish through NT Live): Hilarious!  Those 2 play off each other so well and have the best chemistry.  I would have loved to have been in the theatre to feel the energy.  Also, the only Shakespeare show I know that has it's own soundtrack!

~ Richard II with David Tennant at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford upon Avon: Absolutely my most favorite production of Shakespeare (and pretty much my favorite of any type of production) ever!  David Tennant was phenomenal and I can't say enough good things about the production itself.  It blew me away.  

~ Measure for Measure at The Globe in London: I learned 2 things during this production. 1. I was not made to be a groundling. One can only endure standing straight up on concrete for so long. 2. There are a few of Shakespeare's plays that are truly terrible. 

~ Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch in London: Oh how I wanted to love this show.  It was Benedict Cumberbatch in the flesh!  But I hated it. The director moved around parts in order to get him on the stage faster.  The Set was enormous and just too much for such a personal play.  And he just wasn't as good as I thought he'd be.  After seeing this production, I appreciated David Tennant's performance so much more.  

~ A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Annapolis Shakespeare Company: So great!  The actors were fantastic and the set (all outside) was perfect!

Shakespeare in the City

I'm always up for some Shakespeare, especially when it's my favorite - A Midsummer Night's Dream.  So I was pretty excited to hear that the Annapolis Shakespeare Company would be performing it this summer - under the stars and on the water in the garden of the Charles Carroll House.  Unfortunately our performance was rained out last night, but luckily this evening was the perfect weather for a show.

Other than a few (okay a lot) of rules and regulations for where you could and where you couldn't sit, the night was wonderful.  The actors were fantastic and the costumes were gorgeous.  Because we were outside, there wasn't a sound system or mics which made it a little difficult to hear. But most of the actors were able to get past that by speaking loudly enough.  The show was so good and engaging that even the mosquitoes had to be enjoying it since I didn't get bitten even once : )

With the weather, the view, the talent and the material, it was an absolute perfect summer night in Naptown!

Friday Five: England Edition

Because of the EU referendum, England has been in my mind a lot today. I have no idea how it happened but England will be leaving the EU, and it seems most people are quite unhappy about it.  I feel terrible for those people and have been silently wishing them good thoughts all day.  They're going to need the good vibes over the coming months and years. The vote however doesn't make me love the UK any less. It's still one of my most favorite places in the world. And because of that, here are my favorites from my last few trips...

1. Of course The Globe is on the list!  I mention the Globe specifically because I'm a Shakespeare nerd, however the other theatres I visited were also equally cared for.  The Barbican in London and the Swan in Stratford are 2 of the best theatre experiences I've ever had.  I'm in awe of how the arts are treated in the UK.  It's a major focus which is amazing to see.

2. Next up are the gorgeous homes in the Cotswolds - not forgetting the gorgeous people of the Cotswolds.  I've never felt so welcome and so taken care of than I did in the smaller villages.  People are just genuinely kind. 

3. York Minster Abbey is just as impressive is everyone says it's going to be.  It's quite the feat of architecture.  And the best part is, there are tons of other beautiful, historic and important buildings & churches scattered everywhere you look in the UK.  I'm always in shock of the age of the places I'm looking at.  To see them still standing and still thriving is just a testament to the dedication the monarchy and the government has for honoring the past.

4. Life - most specifically in some of the bigger cities like London and Edinburgh, but everyone is just so full of life.  It's chaotic and crazy and noisy and maddening, but it's also exciting and a jolt to the system.  Everyone is headed somewhere to do something.  You feel like you're a part of something when you're right in the thick of it all.  There are different accents and colors and races, and yet everyone is just sort of living and existing as one.

5. The green space.  Even in a major city like London, there are little parks and spaces to go to catch your breath when city life gets a little too hectic.  And the green spaces are actually green, with flowers and plants and trees everywhere.  In the US, where most cities are pretty much just cities, it's neat to see a dedication to calm and tranquility as well as to the environment. I'm more of a city girl at heart, but wandering around a bustling village like Stratford surrounded by trees, a river and fresh flowers, I started to day-dream about a little cottage in the hills with a back garden of my own.

The Shakespeare Show

I'm a big fan of Shakespeare, especially when it's performed by amazing Shakespearean talent - actors like Ian McKellen, David Tennant, Catherine Tate or Judi Dench to name a few.  The words just come alive.  Reading Shakespeare is sometimes very difficult to understand, but seeing it performed gives the text new meaning and makes the whole performance just thrilling to say the least.  

So when the BBC announced they'd be partnering with the RSC to present a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, I was all in.  They then announced that it would be hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate and would be shown in the US, so by that time it was just a foregone conclusion that I'd be attending.  In England, this celebration took place one month ago on the actual anniversary of the man's death, but we Americans had to wait until this evening to see it.  

And I'd like to say it was fabulous from start to finish, but I just can't.

Don't get me wrong, it had some lovely parts.  There was a whole sketch on the famous To be or Not to be speech performed by quite famous Hamlets from the last few years. There were 4 "films" hosted by Joseph Fiennes that walked the audience through Shakespeare's Stratford and introduced music that was written for his plays.  There were scenes performed by Rory Kinnear, Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, David Tennant, and more that just showed how beautiful the words can be when spoken in front of a live audience.  But there was also tons of extra stuff that made the show seem to drag on - performances from Operas that were written with "Shakespeare in mind", performances from Kiss Me Kate and West Side Story because they were based on the works of Shakespeare, and ballets inspired by Shakespeare.

The problem was that Shakespeare was all about the words.  His words were more beautiful and more engaging than any in history.  So when you're forced to watch a ballet or hear an opera that aren't using his words, it's not really celebrating the playwright so much.  The other issue is that they had very senior actors - actors that are known for their work in Shakespeare's plays - and yet they let some stand on the sidelines and only participate for a few minutes here and there.  (I wasn't the biggest fan of Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet, but even I know it was dumb to only give him a minute's worth of work in the middle of a Hamlet sketch with 7 other actors.)  So while I still love Shakespeare (and David and Catherine and the RSC), I'll stick to productions from now on and maybe stay away from any and all celebrations that may drone on for just a little longer than they should.

Something Really Rotten at 54 Below

I'm fairly hooked on Something Rotten.  It's a great big, goofy musical comedy and the cast is golden.  So when I heard the cast would be coming to 54 Below, I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone: See them sing and finally see a show at 54 Below.  Lucky for me, it was fate that there was only one ticket left that I managed to snatch up.  

This particular show would mark a few firsts for me.  Like I said, it was my very first show at 54 Below and I now know it won't be my last.  And it would be the first show/concert that I'd be attending solely by myself.  I wouldn't normally advocate going to shows on your own mostly because it's much more fun to share the experience with friends and family. However, in this case I didn't have much choice.  And I have to say, it was so much better than I could have imagined.  

When I bought the tickets, I knew I'd be in one of the 5 banquettes that's combined seating. Basically 4 people that may or may not know each other sit for the show and dinner together.  This made me a little nervous.  I was worried I'd be sitting with some couples who didn't need a 5th wheel or with people that just wanted to chat, which as we've all learned, I'm not so good with.  But it couldn't have worked out any more smoothly.  Three women from New Jersey who were in the city for the evening were my seat mates.  As luck would have it, one was a teacher as well so we chatted about that and musical theatre.  What could be any better?

After the seating arrangement was worked out, I was ready to order dinner.  Even though the Iced Tea was atrocious, the Espresso rubbed Hanger Steak I ordered was to die for!  So delicious!  It didn't help me falling asleep a few hours later but at the time, I completely enjoyed it. Unfortunately, the dessert menu was slightly lacking, so I chose to save my room for the rest of my chocolate cookie from Levain back in my hotel.  

Then it was on to the main event.  I knew that 54 Below was a small speak easy like room with a tiny stage and a large piano.  However, it somehow looked even smaller in person, which made the whole experience even more exciting. Also, it didn't hurt that the "talent" was just wandering around and mingling with the ordinary folk - so much so that when Christian Borle was as the bar drinking, I thought to myself "that guy looks like Christian Borle." Then I had to remind myself that it was indeed Christian Borle that was standing about 20 feet away from me enjoying his scotch. Awesome and slightly intimidating...

The entire cast - minus Brian d'Arcy James (who I was really looking forward to seeing - boo!) - was there to sing the songs that were cut from the musical.  The writers of the show were there to narrate and intro the songs we were hearing, and were hilarious.  You could definitely tell how they wrote such an awesome show - their sense of humor and fun was evident in everything they did.  And the cast!  Like I said, every single member of the cast is SUPER talented.  They were equal parts hilarious and amazing, and mastered every song they sang.  

This one was my favorite even though there were maybe 4 others that were tied for that distinction.  So funny! Warning: This is a total ear worm - it will be stuck in your head for days!

The writers started the evening off mentioning that they wrote a total of 54 songs for the show, which were pared down to 18 in the final cut.  I only wish we could have heard every one of the 36 songs that were cut because the 10 or so we did hear are still stuck in my head and made me laugh harder than I have in a long time.  It was, by far, the perfect way to spend an evening. I can't say enough about just how much I enjoyed myself and I can't wait to return and catch another show - or 10...  

Shakespeare 400

It seems weird for people all over the world to celebrate the day someone died.  But that is just the case today.  William Shakespeare died 400 years ago today.  And yet somehow the scholars not entirely certain when he was born - they assume it was the same day.  So I guess we should be celebrating his birthday today too.  I'm of the theory, we should be celebrating Shakespeare every day, not just April 23, but that's just me. (I may be a bit of a fan girl...)

There's a lot of discussion on whether or not Shakespeare was even one person.  And if you read the articles, there's a great deal of evidence why that might be true - reasons that actually make a lot of sense.  However, the biggest reason the scholars have is that not one person could be this influential - multiple people had to have written the sonnets and plays in his name.  I personally hate that excuse.  Why can't one amazing person be as talented as William was? Some people are just gifted and to think that some writer from Stratford couldn't have been born with that gift is just a cop out.

I'd like to think that today's international celebrations prove that theory wrong.  Like I said, there are millions of people in England and all over the world celebrating his life and his work today.  They're reading his plays, and watching productions and performing in his honor.  My favorite tribute is, of course, out of England: The 37 walk.  London's holding a walk where productions of all 37 of his plays are playing at intervals.  What a fantastic idea! Then there is the HUGE celebration taking place at the RSC that's being shown at theatres all over the UK. (We of course have to wait until next month to see it - boo!)  And those are just a few of the ones I know about.  I'm sure there are tons of other celebrations happening over the globe.  

And that's not even mentioning just how beloved his works are.  Many people say that Hamlet is one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written.  (While I think Hamlet is equally brilliant, I'd like to make a case for Richard II and A Midsummer Night's Dream as well...) And in my opinion it's made even more beautiful in performance. I'm fascinated by the idea that Shakespeare was able to write those gorgeous words, while picturing just how much better they'd be with the right actor saying them. His works have influenced actors and writers alike, and I think that's why so many performers are still drawing inspiration from him today.

And I think he deserves to be given the credit he's due.    

Friday Five

1. I've been dying to see "Fully Committed" since they announced it last year.  What's not to love?  A one man show in which Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays 40 different characters, and it's about the foodie world.  It's the makings of perfection.  And seeing as I have to wait until next month to see, I'm loving the chance to sneak a peek at the set design.  So not what I was expecting, but so beautiful!

2. So happy that the Capitals are in the playoffs for obvious reasons, but even happier that these little ones got to share in on the fun.  Seriously, how cute are they?!

3. Seeing as it's April, and it's the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it's time to geek out over him again.  I was in awe of England again, dedicating a whole show with lots of live performances to the man on this momentous occasion then beaming it all over the UK.  But I was even happier when I heard they would also be beaming it to the States too.  Of course I'll have to wait a month, but it's all good.  Yet another fun thing to look forward to this summer, and another reason why England is the best country ever!

4. If anyone would like to purchase me anything in the near future, please let it be this electric tea kettle because it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

5. Up until earlier this week, I was ready to praise the undefeated Orioles, but that streak has since ended.  However, 8-2 is nothing to sneeze at and since tonight they managed to overcome a 4 run deficit to win 11-5, I've decided they're ok with a few losses under their belts.  Since we had quite the ugly season for the Ravens, we need a happy season for the O's and it looks like this one might be it!

Life, Lately...

To be honest, life lately has been a bit full.  I mean, April is always quite busy since there's Easter, and at least a half dozen birthdays and anniversaries sprinkled throughout the month.  But for some reason, this year is even busier than usual.  Because of that and being completely bored at work, I've been a lazy bum in the evenings when there's nothing happening.  

This means, that the usual scrapping, reading and general puttering I usually do isn't getting done.  But that doesn't mean it's gone completely out the window, there's still a little bit happening here and there.  I've finished one book already - all about Meredith Wilson writing the Music Man (a musical I'm not even all that crazy about) - still pretty great stuff! - and I'm working on another I purchased in England almost 3 years ago. See what I mean about a backlog?  

As for scrapbooking, the one big project I'd really like to finish is the album of my England pictures.  It's coming around slowly but surely.  In fact I just spent 3 hours on it this evening, but due to some stupid photo printing on my behalf, and my general flakiness with ideas, it's taking longer than anticipated.  I love it so far, but there's still ALOT of embellishing and journaling to do - you know, that pesky, difficult part of scrapbooking.  And I've got the NYC album in progress as well, which is coming along swimmingly.  Of course, I haven't had a trip there since last month, so that might explain why it's still up to date. 

In the other activities arena, April's been a bit mad.  I usually have no luck with interviews and job offers, but this month, I've had one interview already and another set up next week. There's even been a very bad but very tempting offer that I finally turned down after much hemming and hawing. I realized, that while I don't know what I want to do, that job wasn't it.  Also, I'm not terribly unhappy at my job right now, so I can afford to be picky.  I do admit though, that I'm loving getting the practice.  Maybe the next time I talk to someone out of state about a cool job I won't actually bomb as badly as I did the last time.  One could hope...

And in the fun area, there's been lots happening too.  I'm seeing The Secret Garden this weekend in Annapolis.  I have my very own solo trip to Manhattan coming up quite quickly. There's some sort of German Dinner coming up next weekend that I know next to nothing about, except that I'm going.  And to top it all off, Shakespeare's Birthday celebration is being broadcast here and tickets go on sale tomorrow. Between those tickets and the ones that I got for BroadwayCon, and the money that was spent at Supernatural's DCCon, you could say that along with April being a busy month, it was also an expensive month.  Of course, I'm choosing to live by my new philosophy - you only live once. (Note I'm spelling it out, because I'm definitely not young enough or cool enough to get away with the newfangled YOLO variation : )

52 Lists: Week 5

I read. Alot.  So asking me to choose my favorite books requires quite a bit of thought.  Because, honestly, this stack could have been about 3x the size and it still wouldn't have encompassed all of my favorites.  But I suppose, this list has either the best of the best, or the best of a certain style or author that I'm particularly fond of, so let's just say it's a representative sample (How's that for election year speak?) and call it a day.

~ "Stillwatch" by Mary Higgins Clark: Not her best seller, but my all time favorite - considering I've read every one she's ever written, that's saying something.
~ "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare: His first I actually read and understood.  Since then, I've grown partial to Hamlet as well, but fairies always win out.
~ "Bookends" by Jane Green: My first sample of "Chick-Lit" and it's my absolute favorite of the genre. So good!
~ "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime" by Mark Haddon: I never expected to like this book as much as I did.  I really wanted to read it because I REALLY wanted to see the show.  Both were outstanding!
~ "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien: My favorite of the series, but the rest are equally amazing.
~ "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" by Neil Simon: Technically it's a play but it's in book form so it totally fits the list.  It's much better to see it performed live but the jokes are still hilarious when you read them.
~ "Winnie the Pooh" by AA Milne: Pooh and Eeyore have been my favorite since I was little.  I can't wait to read the stories to my little ones some day!
~ "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by JK Rowling: The book that launched the series is always going to be the best.  What I love most is that I literally happened upon it in the bookstore one summer, and thought it might be fun to read - long before it became the best loved book in the world.  Nothing can compare to the first time diving in to such a fully-drawn out, brand new world.
~ "A Cook's Tour" by Anthony Bourdain: I read a lot of food and travel books, and this one fits both bills perfectly.  This was the first book that ever introduced the idea of "eating dangerously" and I love him for that concept alone.  
~ "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown: Unlike Harry Potter, I didn't pick this one up until the hype was at its peak.  However, it's one of only a few books that I've finished in 24 hours - one very cold snow day.
~ "Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler: From beginning to end, this book is un-put-downable.  It's laugh out loud hilarious and you spend the entire book wanting to be Amy or at least be friends with her.
~ "Amy the Dancing Bear" by Carly Simon: This has been on my list of favorites since I received it as a gift when I was little.  The story itself is adorable, but my favorite part about it is the illustrations.  They're gorgeous!
~ "A Midsummer Night's Fairy Tale" by Brian and Wendy Froud: Like I said, fairies always win out and it's written by the creature creators that designed Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal.  How can I not love it?
~ "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss: I adore everything Dr. Seuss wrote, so I can't pick a favorite.  This is just the first one I grabbed of the many I have. 

In my Head

This first week back from break has been a bit of a crazy one.  It's always hard to go back to work after a lovely almost 2 weeks off.  Especially to an office that's in such upheaval where the only work to do is soul-suckingly boring.  It's just one of those things that I'm sure will get better but for now, it stinks.

Anyway, all of that is to say, that I've been living in my head for the better part of the last 3 days, listening, watching and planning ridiculous things on a loop.  So you know, par for the course in Kristen land.

Listening: On a constant loop (via iTunes and YouTube) I've been binging the "Something Rotten!" soundtrack.  I loved the show when I saw it in December, but since I wrote about it last week, I've been listening to the music non-stop.  It's sad at this point.  My favorite song is now my alarm on my phone and I've gotten the words (with jazz hands and inflections) memorized to at least 4 of the songs.  It makes me super happy and I have no idea why.  Love it!

Watching: While nothing else is on television, I've been in a Leverage spiral.  Starting over Christmas break, I started with season 2 (I've seen season one about a billion times) and made it all the way to season 5.  I only had about 4 episodes left when my wi-fi crapped out the other night.  You'd think that would break the binge spiral but no.  I have the first 3 seasons on DVDs, so I just popped one of those in and listened to the commentary (which in case you care, I can't recommend highly enough. The writers and directors are sometimes funnier than the episodes!)  Oh also, seeing as I'm in a Broadway mood, I realized today that Shrek the musical is on Netflix - that's going to be dangerous...

Planning: My music binge led to a last minute trip to NYC that was thrown together in a hot minute and is set up for this weekend.  Today Tix, a discount site for tickets to show (only catch is you can only buy tickets a week out) is a fantastic site for anyone who loves the theatre.  It's so easy to use I foresee many more last minute trips.  And what show will I be seeing you ask?  That would be "Something Rotten!" again.  Luckily, the bestie was dying to see it after I raved about it.  I don't think a second viewing will help with the binging at all.

Between all of this, a dead battery, crazy people at work and staying up way past my bedtime, oh and still contemplating what the ending of the Sherlock special all means, it's been one heck of a week.  The worst part is, I have this awesome weekend planned - NYC and a cooking class with Chef Dad - that I'm just dying for Friday to get here.  Seriously, dude, why is the week moving so slowly?  Of course, I have to say, I'm pretty much dying for Friday to get here on Monday morning, so it's really nothing new.

Something Rotten is Something Wonderful!

Last month, I happened to see a show in NYC that made me fall head over heels in love with it.  And I meant to tell you all about it at the time, but Christmas got in the way, and it flew right out of my head. That's going to change right now.

"Something Rotten" is sort of a high concept and sort of hard sell if you're trying to explain it to someone but here goes - Pretend it's the 1590s and Shakespeare is vying with another playwright to stage the very first musical in history.  See?  It just sounds ridiculous, which it is - ridiculously funny!

If you're a Shakespeare geek or a Musical Theatre geek (2 for 2 here), then you'll spend the entire 2.5 hours trying to catch all the hidden references and easter eggs the show throws your way.  That is of course, while you're not laughing your head off because of some amazing song or sarcastic comment.  It's just so very funny.  For a taste of the humor, see the video below from the Tony awards.  Imagine about 12 more songs just this funny, and you sort of get the idea of just how great the show is. 
Then you have the cast - Christian Borle as the Bard himself, Brian D'arcy James, and Brad Oscar are just a the few more well-known names in the show.  To say they earned their pay 10 times over, is an understatement.  It's been a very long time since I left a show and just had to google what else the entire principal cast was in.  They landed every joke even the terrible ones and just looked like they were having the time of their lives - which is of course, the absolute key to a good show.

It may sound like I'm gushing, and I mostly am.  But after seeing it for the first time with someone who was seeing it for the second time, I can say I honestly know why she wanted to pay the money to see the show again.  Had our bus not been leaving at 6, I would have turned around and seen the 8:00 show that night.  So if you're in NYC in the coming months, I would most definitely suggest going to see it, if only to see an entire cast dressed as eggs performing an 11:00 number.  See?  Now you're interested, aren't you?  

Trivial Tuesday

~ It's quite difficult for some people to understand a question when said question isn't also appearing on a giant screen in front of them.  Thankfully the Trivia master got that problem fixed quickly or the night would have felt much longer. 

~ The Bears and The Packers have the oldest rivalry in the NFL - so apparently it's not just the guys at work that like to argue about these 2 teams. 

~ A Baby Echidna - I'm not 100% sure what that even is - is known as a puggle.  Not a wollie as we thought.  To be fair I know Echidnas are Australian and Wollie sounds a bit more Aussie than puggle.

~ Apparently China and India have the world's largest crops of Broccoli and Cauliflower.  We only chose China because we decided you get a lot of broccoli with Chinese food - offensive, yes, but also sound logic it appears.  If it makes you feel better, we were wrong on the second country, so our offensiveness didn't get us anywhere. 

~ My only memory of Snape in Harry Potter is that he teaches Defense against the Dark Arts.  But apparently, he also taught Potions - a small detail that I swear I've never heard before.  Luckily, my team are bigger Potterheads than I am.

~ Sometimes choosing an African nation or a Bond movie completely at random, is the quickest and most direct way to earn some serious points.

~ In the first speech of Macbeth, the witches chant includes the wing of a "howlet," not a crow.  In my defense, doesn't crow seem like it would rhyme with more than a "howlet ?"

Happy Birthday Will!

William Shakespeare, the man, the myth (possibly), the legend would have been 450 years old today.  And might I say, he's holding up pretty well for a dead guy.  I just jumped on the Shakespeare train in the last few years or so.  I had read works of his in high school of course, but I wasn't happy about it and I most certainly wasn't understanding it.  But somewhere along the lines, I drank the kool aid and became an Anglophile and sort of fell in love with the idea of "Shakespeare". 

He's still a rock-star across the pond, which sort of feeds the love I suppose.  Stratford, which does its best to educate and entertain anyone who'll listen about the bard, is still a mecca for all Shakespeare lovers today.  There are Shakespeare tours throughout England, as well as countless productions of his works each year.  Even auditions for actors still call for performances of one modern piece and one Shakespeare piece.  So you can say that, yes they've also drank the kool aid.  We here in the States, have sort of missed the boat on this one - the Kardashians take up too much of our time I suppose - and that's just unfortunate.  We're missing a lot.

There's a great deal that goes into making Shakespeare what he is today.  He was a master wordsmith and genius storyteller but I can't say that's what has made him an icon.  There were handfuls of fantastic storytellers in his day, that never received the recognition or acclaim that Will has achieved.  I have to think the myth that "William Shakespeare" never really existed as a real person and was actually anyone from Sir Francis Bacon to the 6th Earl of Derby had just a bit to do with the appeal. 

Scholars have debated the question for centuries and I think the intrigue always helps in today's world.  Their biggest argument against William being William is that he was a minor citizen in his day.  No fancy education.  No traveling around the world.  Just an ordinary man living in Stratford upon Avon writing works that would still be read 450 years later.  But what they don't take into account is the "Why not?" aspect.  Why couldn't an ordinary citizen have the god given talent to write such beautiful stories and narrative?  We tell kids all the time if they can dream it, they can do it.  Well, maybe little Will dreamt it and did it, successfully.  Maybe he was just that good. 

Aside from the intrigue aspect, his works are still relevant today.  I always thought that a Shakespeare play, when performed, would be lots of British actors in period dress, throwing the "thees" and "thous" around any chance they got.  Seeing one live would almost certainly help with my understanding of the material, right?  Wrong.  While seeing it performed makes it a bit easier to understand (oh and the British accents help a LOT - we Americans just don't have the presence to pull it off), it's still next to impossible to get the jest.  That is until you throw out Elizabethan England, corsets and cod-pieces and throw in modern settings and costumes such as a beach house in 1980s Falklands (Much Ado About Nothing) or Romeo riding in on a motorcycle (Romeo and Juliet) or even Hamlet jumping around looking a lot like a certain Timelord in a tee shirt, jeans and bare feet.  The everydayness gives you a chance to concentrate on the words and story rather than focusing on what in the world they're wearing.  Probably just an opinion of mine, but it works in my head.  And even without the beautiful words he painstakingly wrote and created much of the time (Fun Fact: He invented over 1700 words!), the stories themselves can be told in thousands of different iterations.  "Taming of the Shrew" for example,  has been reimagined into "Kiss Me Kate", as well as "10 Things I Hate About You", just to name a few.

Even if Shakespeare isn't really your thing, you have to appreciate the works he amassed in such a short time and the staying power these works have.  I'm sure any author today envies the career "William Shakespeare" or William Shakespeare had and would give anything to have their work still relevant all these centuries later. 

So Happy Birthday Will!  We English nerds owe you so much!  I'm sure you're brilliance and creativity will live on for centuries to come!

NT Live: Take Two

As you can see, I'm kind of loving the whole importing of British theatre.  The first I saw was "The Audience" through National Theatre Live so I kind of assumed all of the performances would kind of follow the same format.  In this case, 3.5 hours including a host, 30 minutes of previews, 15 minutes of countdown to interval, 15 minutes of interval interviews all on top of the actual show. Imagine my surprise when I saw "Richard II" through the Royal Shakespeare Company, and there was no host, no fancy previews and no interval countdown, in other words, parred down and perfect!  

I was sort of hoping for the parred down version this time around for Coriolanus, but not so much.  Aside from the formatting issues and the terrible seats (apparently, Loki as Coriolanus was quite a big draw for the geek girl crowd), the show itself was magnificent!  It was harsh to say the least, with quite a bid of fake blood (whoever thought dowsing their lead with fake blood and making him recite Shakespeare for most of the first act was a good idea, is a particular kind of evil) but the actors were fantastic.  I wasn't a fan of The Avengers so I didn't really get the appeal of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, but after seeing him in this, I have to say he's unbelievably talented and deserves all the raves he's getting.  And of course Mark Gatiss was superb as well, as I expected.  As for the theatre itself, it's set in an old warehouse and only seats 250 so the stage is intimate and sparse.  What they managed to do with some paint, and concrete on this tiny little stage, was pretty impressive.  Apparently, Coriolanus is usually performed in a much bigger arena seeing as most of the action takes place in the Roman Senate, but after seeing it on such a small scale, I can't imagine seeing it any differently.

Bravo National Theatre! Even though, you seem to be a bit long-winded, I can't wait until the next production!  

Romeo, Romeo...

It would seem that Broadway has finally taken a cue from the British theatres and started filming some of their shows.  Ok, maybe not some of their shows, as this is the only one I've noticed so far, but I'm hoping for a trend.  In this case, I'm thinking since Orlando Bloom is such a big name, they decided to appease all the Legolas-lovers.  The show itself was pretty good.  I've never been a big fan of Romeo and Juliet but I've never actually seen it produced live.  Orlando Bloom was quite good but you could tell that the producers knew who the audience was going to be due to the random shirtless scene thrown in for good measure.  

Hopefully, if they continue with this, they'll learn a bit more from their British counterparts.  I'm not sure if they had an interval originally, but you never saw it in the filmed production.  There was most definitely a space that looked like it was going to be the interval (which would have been helpful seeing as I had much too much Hot Tea before the movie started) but the show went on. During the few British filmed shows I've seen, they've always had interviews during the intervals and a host to help the evening along.  But other than that, it was quite well done and I have my fingers crossed that we'll be seeing more.