Category Archives: Reviews

Review: Mad Props Productions’ “Art” (in association with Bard in the Burbs)

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So… it has been a while… a long while. And why is that? Because typically I would be working on a stage production and although I may have time to see friends in shows… I wouldn’t necessarily have time to think about the show itself to write a review about it.

But somehow, this time around… I am not involved with or anticipating being involved in a production and ergo have time to think. Not only that but this is one of those productions that just needed to be mentioned and immortalized in print… even if it is on my own blog.

“Art” is produced by Mad Props Productions in association with Bard in the Burbs. Directed by the incredibly talented Ken Kaden and whose cast includes the equally talented trio of Christopher Williams (Marc), Sean Ogren (Serge), and Aaron Hoge (Yvan) with Fletcher Ogren and Maureen Corcoran working tech and stage managing.

“Art” is a moment in a trio of lives of three friends as they converse, debate, argue over art, life, love, friendship, and growth.

What makes this piece difficult to stage is that the actors have to bounce off of one another and work off of one another so effortlessly that it pulls the audience in for the ride and doesn’t let them go until the end… and even then, the audience shouldn’t want the ride to end quite so soon.

With the staging so simply set (a sofa, side table, and a couple of chairs) all that is needed are the actors to fill the space… and that they did and much more:

The trio of Christopher Williams, Sean Ogren, and Aaron Hoge have found that balance and the ebbs and flows of their characters between one another and themselves that is arguably a Masterclass of how to listen and work with your scene partners through the script.

One may infer that the actors may have been tailor-made for their roles, but this blogger would argue that the roles were just quite simply the perfect embodiment of each of the individual actor’s life work to this point… knowing that they still have decades to give.

I could go and provide accolades to each individual actor… and I probably should… but what can I say that would accurately describe the power of each individual’s talent and charisma that they bring to life.

One person said it best: “They made me forget that they were my friends.” and I agree. To transcend the personal connection and to pull the audience into the characters and the piece isn’t easy and yet this trio does it effortlessly.

There is only one weekend remaining for this gem of a show, nestled in the quiet of suburban Lisle. For $15 cash at the door… this is a must-see show.

For information on tickets please go to “Art” on Stacey De’s Website. Shows are at 8pm on Friday and Saturday, 7pm on Sunday.

Fleeting: Eating Words

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So who remembers this post from over three years ago? You know the one… the one where I was “closing the door” and “leaving” community theatre because I felt dead inside and there simply wasn’t any joy in it for me? Where theatre was more of a parasite rather than something that I can truly enjoy and want to be a part of?

You remember that post…

And here I am eating my words in ways I did not expect.
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Fleeting: Bertrice Small’s “The Kadin”

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One weekend recently I randomly went to a favorite second hand store and found myself perusing the historical romance section… Particularly Bertrice Small.

Bertrice Small (whom recently passed away before completing her 57th novel) was the first historical romance (bodice ripping to be perfectly blunt) author that I was introduced to… and has been one of my personal favorites, her novels well worn out on my bookshelf. Not knowing that she had passed rather recently I came across an older novel of her’s “The Kadin”.
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Fleeting: Harry Potter “What Ifs” Part Two

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So in the past two posts I mentioned some fanfiction that I found myself reading in their entirety and the “What If” scenarios that caught my attention despite my love of fanfictions that stick with canon. However, since the “What If” scenario that posits what would happen should Cassius Warrington of Slytherin were to be the Hogwarts champion as opposed to Cedric Diggory is so darn appealing how to adjust the rest of the series so that the Hufflepuffs would come into their own…?

The key here is that Hufflepuffs by nature don’t strive for glory like the other three houses, they aren’t necessarily the underdogs either, instead they tend to stick to the background working diligently and consistently to earn their wares. They tend to be the background players who provide the security, knowledge, forethought, etc for any problem and situation while others present said information to the masses.

BETWEEN BOOK 4 (Goblet of Fire) and BOOK 5 (Order of the Phoenix)
Keeping the above in mind it would not have been far from the realm of possibility if towards the end of the events of Book 4 (keeping in track with the “What If” from the previous post that Cassius Warrington was the Hogwarts Champion) Harry Potter glances around the school and sees small groups of Slytherins interacting with students from other houses, or a lone Slytherin being comforted by other houses.

This is the time where the Slytherin students are divided internally, be it within themselves or within the house itself. There are Slytherins that are still steadfast in the ways of the regime as promised by The Dark Lord and there are others whose belief was shaken to the core and they are questioning the world and beliefs that were instilled in them from birth.
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Fleeting: Harry Potter “What Ifs”

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Yup… another Harry Potter related post…

So… in the last post I mentioned that I can’t really get into some fanfiction if it changes canon that was already set by the original author. However, there are some “What If” scenarios that have been making the rounds that caught my attention and I decided… well why not add them altogether and see what would have changed?

Let’s start with a fairly recent “what if” that has been gaining momentum recently….

tumblr_no5aqhOIDA1rkv63oo1_1280What if Cassius Warrington (Slytherin) was Hogwarts Champion instead of Cedric Diggory (Hufflepuff)
It all started with a tumblr post by crazybutperfectlysane
So I was rereading Harry Potter, when I came across this and thought- what if instead of Cedric Diggory, Cassius Warrington had been chosen to compete in the Triwizard Tournament?

Imagine…

  • … Dumbledore calling out the name of the Hogwarts champion and it isn’t a Gryffindor, or a Ravenclaw, or even a Hufflepuff, but it’s a Slytherin. A student from a House most people hate.
  • … Cassius Warrington getting up, and three out of four Houses are booing at him and shouting things like “NO!” or, “We can’t have a Slytherin champion!” or demanding a retry. But he’s a Slytherin- he’s been dealing with this shit since he got sorted, so he keeps his head high and joins the other champions.
  • … Harry trying to catch Warrington alone because he doesn’t really want to associate with Slytherins (plus Malfoy seems to be around the guy ALL THE TIME now that he’s the Hogwarts champion), but at the same time he’s also fair enough not to want him to walk into the first task unprepared.
  • … Warrington walking over to Harry a few months later, and Ron and Hermione both jump into a protective stance, wands out, but instead of attacking Harry he just tells him to stick the egg underwater. (Because Slytherins don’t forget those who helped them out).
  • … Warrington and Harry helping each other out in the labyrinth.
  • … Harry being devastated when Peter kills Warrington- because Voldemort doesn’t care what house they’re form, a spare is a spare.
  • … the uproar that causes among the Slytherins, because some of their parents really are Death Eaters and they know what really happened.
  • … Slytherins fighting in the Battle of Hogwarts and shouting “This is for Cassius!”

Now it would be a wonderful thought… except the majority of the above changes Book 4 and then fast forwards to Book 7… so someone took it a step further… that someone would be aplatonicjacuzzi
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Fleeting: Harry Potter Fanfiction

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Recently I found myself going down a Harry Potter rabbit hole… don’t ask me why, it just happened.

The problem with fanfiction and me is that I prefer fanfiction that sticks with what is canon (aka nothing from the original material has changed) and yet it expands from the already established world from the original author.

As thus I have found that I cannot seem to enjoy most Harry Potter related fanfiction because so much that is out there changes the canon plot points that I find are crucial to the over all story and when those changes occur I become quite twitchy. Ah well. There is nothing wrong with the majority of fanfiction out there, that is why it is called “fanfiction”… the above is just a personal preference.

So when I came across the following stories, I found myself drawn to them because they introduce plot elements that makes sense when placed in-line with the original material, and yet diverges so that the author could really find their own footing and create a seamless story of their own.

“Songs of Regret” by RavieSnake
“The Teddy Lupin Series” by FernWithy
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Quossover: Cinderella

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Earlier in the year (back in the spring) my friend wanted to see the live-action film version of Disney’s Cinderella, and so I accompanied her.

When it comes to the online world, Cinderella is not typically considered a prime role model for the “modern female”. Cinderella being the traditional “rags-to-riches” story depicted a young lady forced to be a servant in the home that she grew up in by a step mother and step siblings, her fairy godmother creates the means for Cinderella to go to the ball, she meets the prince, they fall in love, she flees, and the prince finds her.

On the surface it appears that actions happen to and around her in order for her happily ever after to come around. In a way emphasizing the notion that “good things comes to those who wait” which in today’s modernized way of thinking, is not always the case.

Disney’s original animated classic, stays along the lines of that mythos, that someone that was neglected and abused and quieted would one day receive their reward for their kindness. Although this is typically true in the sense of karma in today’s world, what is not necessarily true is the sense that things will happen to the protagonist, versus the protagonist seeking out what they desire.

Granted if there is anything that the Cinderella does emphasis to their audience and is something that I would emphasize as well is to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” (which if memory serves is a biblical verse, but I am not going to go and do any comparisons at this point in time).

So how does Disney’s live action version of Cinderella compare to that of the original animated classic?
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Fleeting: Preferred Review Sites – Literary Review Websites

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Originally posted under “Odds and Ends”, it made more sense to have this as an individual post for now…

LITERARY REVIEW WEBSITES
Love Vampires: Dedicated to Vampire Fiction

LoveVampires is a website dedicated to vampire genre and urban fantasy fiction. Our primary function is to provide informative books reviews about not just the latest book releases but old vampire fiction favourites too. We have an ever growing selection of book reviews which you can browse by author, title or genre. You can also read exclusive interviews with authors, enter giveaways and win free stuff or watch a selection of videos. Make yourself at home, browse through the site and click about a bit – there’s no telling what you might find! Your thoughts and feedback much appreciated so please contact us with your comments.

The Incurable Bluestocking

On this blog, you’ll find reviews of historical fiction, romance novels, science fiction, fantasy, magical realism, suspense thrillers, and even the occasional non-fiction title. My reviews will be both technical and personal, evaluating the merit of the words along with my own emotional reaction to it — and so you may occasionally get personal reflections or bits of my history thrown into the mix.

Diary of an Eccentric
A blog that reviews books primarily connected with World War II and Jane Austen

Graphic Novel Reporter
Exactly as it says, a website that focuses on various graphic novels.

Book Thingo: Reading (mostly) romance books down under

Book Thingo is one long conversation about books. It’s for readers, browsers and compulsive book hoarders, mostly of romance novels. We read other books—sometimes we even talk about them—but the romance genre is our first love, so that’s where we mostly hang out.

Book Thingo posts are written by readers down under, which may encompass the tropics, depending on where you live. Most of us are Aussies, though, so just remember that we had Hugh Jackman first and you can’t keep him.

OTHER REVIEW WEBSITES
The Movie Spoiler
Pretty self explanatory. This website will give you a thorough synopsis of every movie that has been released since… well who knows when he started the site. I wrote a couple of synopsis for the site. If you find that you don’t have time to read through the thorough and detailed synopsis then you might be lucky to read the “cut to the chase” which is either a very condescend version of the synopsis or just what happens in the end.

Your guide to the latest plot twists and surprise endings, now playing at a theater near you!

Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals
One of the more interesting weblogs out there in regards to musical that I have read. Being Boston based he is not only able to make the trip to New York for the various openings, shows, concerts, etc but he also throws in something local. For someone like me that doesn’t have deep enough pockets to go to The Great White Way all the time, this has be a rather valuable resource for me in finding out where I’d like to go down the road.

Slide to Play
Completely dedicated to app games that have been released for the various Apple productions that can use an app, this has been an extremely wealthy source of information to aid in navigating through the plethora of gaming apps that are out there and finding not only the most cost effective ones but the ones you could find for free and more. Not only detailed but thorough this website doesn’t just look at the apps that are bound to make a splash but games that tend to fly “under the radar”. A must have review site for anyone that owns an iPhone or iPad.

Review: Wheaton Drama’s “The 39 Steps”

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Wow… it has been a while since I have done one of these. Looking back on my history it would appear that the last one that I saw was Brightside Theater’s Moonlight and Magnolias, which was done back in early September of… 2013?!?!? Oh my gosh…

So what has kept me from reviewing all the other shows that I have undoubtedly seen since then? A multitude of reasons really:
1) I’m busy… but then again when am I not?
2) I haven’t seen anything on the community theater circuit that went “you have to write about this”… which I suppose isn’t fair since reviews are suppose to be honest opinions of a show.
3) This was beginning to feel like work than fun… but all things that were hobbies eventually become that, no?

Ah well…

Whatever the reason, I am here and I am writing now… and mainly because this show MUST BE SEEN. Don’t believe me? You don’t have to, go and see the show once, and you’ll find yourself wanting to see more because you are sure you…

Ok… wait… slow down here… let’s get through the formalities first and then beyond the break get to the nitty gritty… and there is a lot of nitty gritty here.

Acting: LOVE
Directing: LOVE
Set Design: LOVE
Overall: LOVE

Ok… ready? Here we go…

If you are not familiar with the original film of “The 39 Steps”…

“A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent. But when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information.”

So now imagine all the speaking role characters from that film being portrayed by four actors. And ONLY four. From Samuel French:

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony® and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance!

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she’s a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called “The 39 Steps” is hot on the man’s trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale!

Not much different… and yet for someone who has seen the original film… they are differing points in a multitude of things. But to go through that would be dull and boring… so let’s get to the nitty gritty.

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The Floating Around “Theatre Survey”

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So because I prefer this type of thing on a blog post or as a Facebook note as opposed to via a status message… Here ya go!

Last show added to your resume:
As director or actor? “Into the Woods” (actor)

Last show you auditioned for: “Lucky Stiff”

Did You Get It? Nope

Last Song You Sang at an Audition:
For “Lucky Stiff” it was excerpts from the show. So I sang “Rita’s Confession” and “Nice”. However in terms of song that I chose traditionally “Can’t Help Loving That Man of Mine” or more recently “My Strongest Suit”

Favorite Musical:
That I have been in?
– “City of Angels” for the concept.
– “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” for the group.

Greatest musical?
Those that have already been on Broadway / Off-Broadway… I always seem to go back to “Children of Eden” and “Jane Eyre”.

Those that have yet to make their Broadway Premieres include
– “Sense & Sensibility“: Jeffrey Haddow and Neal Hampton
– “Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice“: Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs

Favorite Plays:
That I have been in?
– Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”
– “Piece of My Heart”

Superstition:
For musicals: I do not eat or drink anything outside of water at least five hours prior to curtain up.
For plays: I do not eat or drink anything hot or dairy-related

Your Goal in Show Business: To enjoy every moment of the process either on stage or behind the scenes.

Favorite Director: Uh… none at the moment.

What Was Your First Show? Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”. I kid you not, I don’t recommend Shakespeare as anyone’s first audition let alone first show unless you really like the challenge.

Have you ever taken the last bow? Nope.

Ever Had A Dance Solo? Nope.

Ever Had A Singing Solo? Yes.

Ever Been to New York? Yes.

Ever Been To L.A.? Yes.

What’s the Scariest Part of the Audition? Vocal auditions… I get so nervous that I bomb them rather consistently, really is a bane on my self confidence in that arena.

What’s the Best Part of the Audition? If I ever get myself relaxed enough it is singing well for myself to know that I have legitimately put my best foot forward.

Name A Show You Would Never Do Again: “Piece of My Heart”. Though technically never is an absolute and perhaps with the right group of people I would consider it. However the show was so emotionally draining for me the first time that to be lured into doing it again would have to require a lot of coaxing.

Name A Show You Could Do For Years: I plead the fifth.

What ARE you Auditioning for NEXT?
– Most likely: “The Last Five Years”, “The 39 Steps”
– Maybe: “Secret Garden”, “Spam-a-lot”

Do You Keep In TOUCH with past Cast Members? On occasion.

On A Scale of 1-10, How Important is Getting Paid? -5: I enjoy this realm enough to visit every now and then, but to be a part of it as a full time thing? I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Ever Been Naked on Stage? Does topless for rehearsals count since the show itself was first postponed then cancelled?

Have You Ever Been Killed? Yes.

Been Drunk?
In character? Yes.
Performed under the influence? Nope.

Cried? Yes.

Fired A Gun? Been fired at…

Been Drenched? Nope.

Been in a Dream Sequence? Does one of those “imagine this” sequences a la “City of Angels” count?

Been Kissed? Nope. Something about being cast as the bitch more often than not… tends to be a turn off with the leading man.

Reflection: NBC’s The Sing-Off Season 4

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So I totally mis-understood the televised schedule for this little gem and decided that since it is already a few weeks after the “finale”, I am probably better off just posting my thoughts about NBC’s The Sing-Off on my personal blog as opposed as on the PureTVNet.com blog… at least until I get my life back to relative normal instead of burned-out.

In case you don’t know, NBC’s The Sing-Off:

[…] showcases the country’s top a cappella groups performing popular songs in ways that viewers have never heard before. “The Sing-Off” has no lip-syching, backup bands or safety net.

Granted even though the series has been on hiatus for over a year, it was nice to see this back on the airwaves. However, one cannot help but wonder if this was because of the slowly growing success of Season Three’s winner Pentatonix?

And if you have been living under a rock for the past year… here is Pentatonix’s Evolution of Beyonce:

The fourth season of “The Sing-Off” showcased ten a cappella groups over seven weeks of singing, competing for a recording contract and $100,000…

So who won?

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Review: BrightSide Theatre’s Moonlight and Magnolias

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Last weekend I had the pleasure of accompanying a friend of mine to see her husband portray Victor Fleming in BrightSide Theatre’s production of Moonlight and Magnolias.

Originally I wasn’t going to write a review for this particular production because I was under the belief that this coming weekend was closing weekend. However, in finding out that mid-Sept was set as the closing weekend… well why not?

So let’s go with the quick:
Acting: LOVE
Directing: LOVE
Set Design: LOVE
Overall: LOVE

Do you really need anymore? Oh very well.
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Reflection: Why Do I Write (Reviews)

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This was a question that has been percolating in my mind for quite some time and caused a lot of soul searching for a vast multitude of reasons. I go and see shows and support people I know, friends, etc… just like most anyone else, but not everyone writes their thoughts down… so why do it?

I think the better question is “why am I questioning myself?” Afterall I already have a bit of a following on the Pure Dancing with the Stars blog with my predictions and not everyone is going to agree and really opinions shouldn’t have to agree. Take it with a grain of salt and move on that is the constant mantra over there. (You think I’m kidding? There are a lot of passionate fans over there and they get offended by everything big and small… it is getting rather ridiculous if you ask me.)

But predicting who is going to get what score is very different from reviewing a production that your friends and acquaintances are in. There are more (familiar) egos at stake and are much more prone to bruising… everything is so subjective. Over in the Pure TV Network it is a series of media sites with several writers with differing opinions, while this is a blog of my own thoughts.

So how did I get started in reviewing in the first place…?

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Review: BrightSide Theatre’s God of Carnage

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So technically this was written a month or so ago, and even though it is probably a moot point to post this, I decided instead to just wrap it up and post it anyway since I enjoyed this production regardless:

Show: GOD OF CARNAGE
By: Yasmina Reza
Translated By: Christopher Hampton 		Location: BrightSide Theatre
Director: Derek Bertelsen

Several days ago I found myself seated and waiting for BrightSide Theatre‘s God of Carnage to begin. Front row… dead center, which for a lot of stage setups would have been perfect, except for this particular set up it wasn’t, not exactly anyway.

But before I go on… the quick and simple:
Acting: Like
Set Design: Like
Staging: Love
Directing: Love
OVERALL: Like

After this particular production there were so many thoughts running through my brain that I truly couldn’t find a way to organize it all. So for the sake of simplicity before going into detail, here are a little bit of what I was thinking when the show ended:
– The men felt more consistent than the women
– Veronica showed a lot more subtlety and layers
– The gag was obvious than I would have liked
– There was a lot of material added that fleshed out the characters, comedy, and story
– It never once felt like this was on stage and I was watching from the audience. It felt like I was there in the living room with the characters and just watching this unfold in front of me.

That last one is probably the most significant of all the pieces. The feeling that you are a part of the conversation without having to utter a word. That feeling of being a part of the conversation, of the chaos between the two families is what sets this production apart from others…
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Reflection: Sense & Sensibility the Musical

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Now that I have had a few days to really let Denver’s production of Sense & Sensibility musical by Jeffrey Haddow and Neal Hampton sink in I could give details of what I liked and didn’t like, etc…

CHARACTER / ACTOR BREAKDOWN
The first thing I noticed was that aside from six characters:
– Elinor Dashwood
– Marianne Dashwood
– Mrs Jennings
– Edward Ferrars
– Colonel Brandon
– John Willoughby
Everyone else in the cast was playing dual (if not triple) roles… most as an ensemble-ish group similar to the Liebeslieders (or the Quintet) of A Little Night Music. Though unlike in A Little Night Music, the ensemble fluctuates from as little as four players to as many as eight/nine (I do not remember which).

However, there are two others within the cast who are not necessarily part of the general ensemble but do play multiple roles on stage.

This ingenious casting piqued my interest because it gives performing arts groups the flexibility of having a medium sized cast of 16 actors (maybe less depending on how things break down) to as large as need be for high school groups… and yes I am thinking very far ahead.

Anyway!!!!!
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