Category Archives: Reviews

Comparison: Les Miserables Complete Song List

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Since we were only given “Highlights Soundtrack“, most of the below is heavily borrowed from the Wikipedia articles of the film as well as the stage versions as a basis… notes are from memory.

Earlier I have posted a comparison article using strictly the Highlights Soundtrack… so the below is the expanded song list and any changes based from memory… which is getting flaky by the day. So do not take this as a total list, but it is close to complete as I am able to recall off-hand… at least until they release a complete film soundtrack (which I sincerely hope they do).

NOTE: Songs marked with an asterisk (*) have already been posted in my Comparison: Les Miserables Soundtrack post.

So below is a table of the breakdown and comparison of the song list between the stage and film versions of the Les Miserables musical… For a quick cheat sheet of the below list, go beyond the break (at the end of the table):

SONG TITLE STAGE SEQUENCE FILM SEQUENCE CHANGES NOTES
* Work Song 1 1 lyric changes Combined with “On Parole” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* On Parole 2 2 lyric changes Combined with “Work Song” and called “Look Down” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Valjean Arrested, Valjean Forgiven 3 3 none Called “The Bishop” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* What Have I Done 4 4 none Called “Valjean’s Soliloquy” in the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* At the End of the Day 5 5 none
* I Dreamed a Dream 6 8 none
Lovely Ladies 7 7 minor lyric changes
Fantine’s Arrest 8 9 none
The Runaway Cart 9 6 none
Who Am I? / The Trial 10 10 minor lyric changes
Come to Me (Fantine’s Death) 11 11 minor lyric changes
* The Confrontation 12 12 missing lyrics Valjean’s final overlapping lyrics with Javert and the lyrics that Valjean is singing to Fantine at the end are cut
* Castle on a Cloud 13 13 none
* Master of the House 14 14 lyric changes Introduction completely revised
The Bargain / The Thénardier Waltz of Treachery 15 15 minor lyric changes
* Suddenly — 16 New Song
Look Down 16 18 added lyrics Gavroche gets an additional verse
The Robbery 17 19 missing lyrics only the opening line, and Thenardier and Eponine’s lines were used
Javert’s Intervention 18 20 minor lyric change
* Stars 19 17 none
Eponine’s Errand 20 21 minor lyric change
* ABC Cafe / Red and Black 21 22 minor lyric change
Do You Hear the People Sing? 22 28 none
* Rue Plumet – In My Life 23 23 none Combined with “A Heart Full of Love” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
A Heart Full of Love 24 24 none Combined with “Rue Plumet – In My Life” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
The Attack on the Rue Plumet 25 25 minor lyric changes
* One Day More 26 27 none
Building the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 27 29 minor lyric changes
* On My Own 28 26 none
At the Barricade (Upon These Stones) 29 30 minor lyric changes
Javert’s Arrival 30 31 minor lyric changes and missing lyrics there were some lines that were cut and others changed
Little People 31 32 none
A Little Fall of Rain 32 34 none
Night of Anguish 33 35 none?
The First Attack 34 33 none?
* Drink with Me 35 36 none
* Bring Him Home 36 37 none
Dawn of Anguish 37 38 none?
The Second Attack (Death of Gavroche) 38 39 none
* The Final Battle 39 40 none
Dog Eats Dog (The Sewers) 40 — Cut Song
* Javert’s Suicide 41 41 none
Turning 42 42 missing lyrics only first verse used in the film
* Empty Chairs at Empty Tables 43 43 none
Every Day 44 44 added vocal part when song ends with the trio between Cosette, Marius and Valjean, in the film there is an added vocal part for Marius’ grandfather who is welcoming Marius home
Valjean’s Confession 45 45 none
Wedding Chorale 46 46 none
Beggars at the Feast 47 47 minor lyric changes
* Valjean’s Death 48 48 minor lyric changes Combined with “Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale]” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”
* Do You Hear the People Sing? (Reprise) [Finale] 49 49 none Combined with “Valjean’s Death” and called “Epilogue” on the “Highlights Soundtrack”

Alright are you as confused as I was? Well how about a quick cheat sheet of the major changes from the above list?
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Comparison: Les Miserables Highlights Soundtrack

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So there was a lot of speculation as to you which songs got cut, added, adjusted, revised, etc… So I figured that I would provide a quick and simple table to help you understand where the changes were made (if any)…

Keep in mind that I using the “Highlights Soundtrack” for comparison purposes that was released on the 21st of December… and all notes in regards to what was in the film is based off of what was from memory… since I saw this film on Christmas Day.

Later this week I will post a more complete list using the song list as shown on the Wikipedia page (once information can be confirmed)
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Review: Ice Cream Happy Hour

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Earlier this month I was talking to a friend of mine about my desire to make ice cream and she offered to loan me her ice cream machine indefinitely since she and her husband were not using it… ever. So naturally I decided “why not?” and borrowed the ice cream machine.

To test out the machine I tried a batch of a simple vanilla ice cream with chunks of chocolate and candy canes mixed in and had great success. So I decided that since I had so much alcohol at my place I needed to find ways to “get rid of” them without having to resort to either drinking, throwing a party, or giving them away. What was I left with was the idea of using them to cook with.

The idea came out like a bolt out of the blue… why not make boozy ice cream? It can’t be all that difficult and I am sure others have tried to figure out ways to make it work. So after some research online a young adult duo of Valerie Lum and Jenise Addison eventually authored a small recipe book called “Ice Cream Happy Hour: 50 Boozy Treats You Spike, Freeze and Serve”. BINGO!

I stumbled upon this duo via a post / article about them on Gizmodo which also featured a movie that gives a quick idea of what they did to create their boozy concoctions and also immediately I was sold. So I bought the book via Amazon.com and waited patiently for the book to arrive to create to give a recipe a try.

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Fleeting: Kickstarter Projects Backed

Personally I have backed twenty projects thus far… of the twenty, one got cancelled, another was unsuccessful and a third is currently in progress and will be until mid-January.

Of the seventeen that are left… I have seen the final products of five of them while others are either delayed or still in development. Below is a list of the final products / projects that I have received and how I have felt about them thus far in chronological order from the first project / product backed to the most recent:

MODEST MEDUSA SEASON 1
Modest Medusa is one of those web comics that I was introduced to by a friend and grew to not only love and enjoy but actively keeping up with to see more of. So when a Kickstarter was created so that Season 1 of the Modest Medusa web comic could be released in book form I just HAD to jump on it.

So what did I ended up going for?

A walk on role in an upcoming Modest Medusa strip. You’ll appear in at least one panel (and likely more) sometime during Modest Medusa Season 2. You may get a speaking role, or you may get killed by the Chainsaw Unicorn! You’ll receive the original black and white art for this strip after it’s published. You’ll also receive the previously mentioned rewards.

Damn right! Featured in a couple of panels was nice… quick, sweet and to the point… not to mention it caters to my semi-evil self. But what were the “previously mentioned rewards? Well they include:

  • A special Modest Medusa Season 1 print, created just for this kickstarter! This full color 11 x 17 print features all the characters and events from Season 1
  • A box of tasty Hostess Chocodiles (the Medusa’s favorite snack)
  • A hand colored Modest Medusa panel. Choose your favorite panel from any Modest Medusa strip and I’ll print it in black and white on high quality 5 x 6 bristol board and color it by hand using copic markers. A one of a kind piece of art
  • A copy of the Modest Medusa Season 1 book, signed by myself and my niece Marah. I’ll also do a little Medusa sketch on the title page!
  • A special Modest Medusa sticker set, featuring brand new art created just for this Kickstarter! Additionally your name will appear on the Thank You page in the book

Anyway… more about Modest Medusa in another post down the road… for now… onward!

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Review: BrightSide Theatre’s Company

Show: COMPANY
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Book: George Furth 		Location: BrightSide Theatre
Director: Jeffrey Cass
Music Director: Justin Potter

Acting: like
Singing: like
Set: meh
Staging: like
Choreography: Could do without

Standouts: Jess Iovinelli as Amy, Michelle McKenzie-Voigt at Joanne, Peter Sipla as Robert

So my friend got me to be her date for “industry night” at BrightSide Theatre for Company. Company was one of those shows that liked a lot of the songs, but the book is either hit or miss depending on what the actors and director bring to the table.

For the most part… the show did well. I would be the first to admit that there were moments that I was scrunching my face up in all sorts of strange contortions because of the choreography or movement that the actors were doing. In fact… to me movement is suppose to either move the story along or enhance it, and in this production Company the movement work detracts from the singing and acting to the point that it probably hinders the singing and acting. But I digress.

The first number to really catch my attention was “The Little Things You Do Together”, particularly the lines that were sung by Joanne as portrayed by Michelle McKenzie-Voigt. Just everything she did during this number was drawing my attention with ease and in a very good way. You knew right off the bad the kind of character she was and I was waiting with anticipation (maybe not that extreme) until her big moment towards the end of the production to decide if she was worth waiting for…

The next number to really catch my attention was “Getting Married Today” particularly one Jess Iovinelli who portrayed Amy the young lady who was about to be married to Paul. The frantic undertones during her moment was not just spot on but hilariously funny. In fact… her performance was so engaging I went to my friend and whispered “she is worth the price of admission”. And I stick to that… in hindsight there were other reasons overall that made the show worthwhile but I am getting ahead of myself.

During the second act the song that did it for me was Michelle McKenzie-Voigt’s moment in the spotlight with “The Ladies Who Lunch”. Granted the Chicago Theatre Review made mention that it appears that Michelle’s rendition of the song was a bit forced… but I thought that in a lot of ways this was more of her character choice and it appeared to be rather seamless to me.

As for the center of the production, Peter Sipla deserves more than a mere commendation for his interpretation of Robert but also for going through the production whilst getting over a sinus infection. Very well done, he hit the highs and lows of his character as he observes the couples around him until finally hitting a moment with Joanne when she presses him that she would “take care of him” to which his soft spoken blink and you would miss reply of “then who would I take care of?”. This epiphany leads him into his heartbreaking rendition of “Being Alive” which… considering that his nose was red and it would appear that he was still under was still pretty darn good.

One of the things that my friend and I noticed right off the bat was that each of the five couples had amazing chemistry with one another from the “karate” fight between Sarah and Harry (Julie Ann Kornak and Matt Gidson respectively) to Jenny and David (Sarah Page and Dan Maxon). From Susan and Peter (Katy Harth and Peter Durkin) to Amy and Paul (Jess Iovinelli and Steven Attanasie)… and finally Joanne and Larry (Michelle McKenzie-Voigt and Jim Heatherly)… the chemistry between each couple was not only realistic, but palpable too. You could actually believe them to truly be couples. Not a weak couple in sight.

As for the three single ladies… none truly stood out for me, which I found to be rather odd because for some reason the “single” characters (outside of Robert) felt weaker overall than the “coupled” characters, not that this was the intent but it did have a feeling of people are stronger when with someone than alone.

Of the three single ladies (Amy Stricker as Marta, Angela Bubash as Kathy, and Allison Sill as April) I actually enjoyed Kathy and her moving dialogue with Robert. April was pleasantly airheaded and “dumb” but I felt she oversang her solo a bit. It was too nice and pretty… which maybe fits, but it seemed off to me. Marta during her moment in “Another Hundred People” did rather well but seemed to fall flat through her dialogue moments after having such an impact in her couple of lines in the opening song.

However, a lot of thing could probably have been rectified and cleaned up if it weren’t for the fact that it felt suspiciously like the actors were focusing more on the choreography (or movement in accordance to some people) than on their vocals. But again, since I already mentioned this before… I’ll stop.

Overall this was a good production and one with enough highlights to make the price of admission worthwhile for me. Heck… I would not mind going back to watch the standouts again because well… they were worth it.

UPDATES: Changing up the Review process

So I am going to try a new thing when talking about shows that I have seen… since I have a bad habbit of over chatting. At the top of the post I will have a list of points that I either liked, loved, or could do without… then if there were any standouts I would list them.

Once the basic bullet points are over then if you would like to read more in detail then I would do so as I normally would.

Hopefully this would help more in understanding what I was trying to say in the first place.

So the first thing anyone would see when coming onto my blog at the top would be the typical table breakdown of the show, director, musical director, and the creators. Afterwards for musicals I would include my instant thoughts of acting, singing, staging, set, choreography… and finally I would list the standouts and any other quick thoughts that I believe are rather important.

Then after the break I would go into my usual song and dance breaking everything down even more if you want to know the whys behind the whats.

Why am I am changing it up (again) well… after seeing Company out in BrightSide in Naperville with a friend earlier this week I realized that in every show I have gone to I would say something of the following:
– Acting: meh
– Singing: liked
– Set: meh
– Staging: loved
– Choreography: liked

Then I would proceed to go into details of the whys… by doing it this way I think it would give you the readers a chance to do a quick look of my “instant thoughts” as I call it and then if you have time could continue to read.

Would I go back to some of the past reviews and use this system? Probably not, it would take too much time, might as well just start with now.

Review: Live Arena Tour’s Jesus Christ Superstar

This cannot be considered a true review because I haven’t seen the production in its entirety, however… what I have seen (which is more than plenty) is enough for me to warrant putting my thoughts down on a post and continue on my merry way.

I’ll be brutally honest… first… if I were to do the last year all over again, I would participate in this show once and that is it. Once is more than I am able to stomach and there has to be a damn good reason as to why I would want to participate in the production a second time and in all honesty it wasn’t worthwhile. So by extension I have been adverse to actually since any kind of production of JCS on stage… unless it is for a damn good reason.

Well is Melanie Chisholm and Tim Minchin good enough reasons? After the following live performance with Mel C as Mary, Tim Minchin as Judas, and Ben Forster as Jesus… For me hell yeah!

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Review: Lobster Man at the Samuel French OOB Short Play Festival

Many many moons ago a friend of mine kept me abreast on his ten-minute play that he was working on. Over the years his ten-minute play was featured in some incarnation or another in a small handful of cities throughout the continental United States. A couple of these productions were originally posted on his YouTube Channel but have since been set to private or disappeared entirely.

In any case here is the first trailer of the ten-minute (now one-act) play of Lobster Man:

Now why a trailer? Because the playwright’s piece of Lobster Man was one of the Top 40 in the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. But what is this Festival about?

The Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival started in 1975 and is Manhattan’s oldest, continuous short play festival. […] The Festival has given emerging playwrights the opportunity to have their work produced. […]

The Festival has served as a doorway to future success for many aspiring playwrights, and has helped launched the work of notables as Theresa Rebeck, Shirley Lauro, Sheila Callaghan, Bekah Brunstetter, Steve Yockey, Saviana Stanescu, and David Johnston. In many cases, Festival participation has sparked agent contracts for Festival finalists and all of the final forty plays selected to be perform in New York are guaranteed to be seen by an Artistic Director of a major theater, a professional playwright, and a theatrical agent. Many past Festival playwrights have gone on to win major Playwriting awards and honors, as well as to have major theatrical productions of their works staged.

I was already impressed with Lobster Man in the first conception… and now with this most recent incarnation, Jonathan Cook just seems to be getting better and better as playwright in the years that I have known him.
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Review: Sister Act the Musical – Chicago Tour Stop

Last night a friend of mine and I went to see the first performance of the Chicago Stop of Sister Act the Musical… and honestly it was loads of fun to watch.

My friend mentioned that he thought the musical was “fun” and “cute” which is probably the best words to describe the show. It was entertaining, but there were a few gaffes along the way… but that was more on the technical end of the spectrum. So meh.

In any case… the cast recording I have at home is actually the West End Cast, so there was a song or two that I expected to hear that I didn’t… and the replacement songs wasn’t bad, but for some reason I simply wasn’t as thrilled. Guess my heart is just not American enough 😉

ANYWAY.

For anyone not really familiar with the original movie that the musical was based off of starring Whoopi Goldberg:

A lot of the primary characters (ok many of them) are included in the musical, however don’t expect to hear any of songs made popular via the movie to be in the musical. Instead the score as composed by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glenn Slater and with a book written by Cherie Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner (and with additional book material by Douglas Carter Beane) brings a fresh take of the music with catchy tunes and moving pieces.
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Reflection: Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart

In late September, the production of Shirley Lauro’s A Piece of My Heart wrapped at Hale Park nearby Summit, IL. The production that I was a part of, that was so incredibly emotionally and mentally draining for me (but was ultimately worthwhile) had its last show with an avenue opening for a reprise / revival to occur sometime down the road.

However, very early on in the rehearsal process I originally wanted to read the book “A Piece of My Heart: The Stories of Twenty-Six American Women Who Served in Vietnam” Put together by Keith Walker. In the end I decided not to due to the possibility of having twenty-six different voices in my head versus just one voice that is a conglomeration of a few of the stories. Granted there are pros and cons in reading the original stories… But in the end I was glad I made that decision of not reading any of the original stories prior to the run of the production.

However, now that the run is over, I was tempted to go and read the book that inspired the play:
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Review: Looper

A fairly engrossing movie with an interesting plot… I have to say that I did find this particular film intriguing enough for me to enjoy it. Unfortunately being the science fiction geek that I am, this film tends to falter on a few key moments / details.

But first thing’s first… the primary character – Joe Simmons – is played by two actors.

Bruce Willis is well.. what you expect him to be. As the thirty years older version of Joe Simmons he possesses that badass personality of “don’t mess with me unless you want to suffer the consequences” that the younger Joe Simmons has in spades. But what makes him more “human” is the small moment of vulnerability when you realize what it is that he is fighting for. What (or rather who) he is trying to save from his life.

The younger version of Joe Simmons as mentioned has that badass personality but is also brash and crazy and sometimes just flies on the seat of his pants… Which is fine by me… As played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt he finds his way towards what the older Joe is working towards but via a different route.

What I liked about these two actors is that somehow you could see how this younger version could eventually become the older version, and yet see the separation between the two. Somehow they found a middle ground so it is believable that they are one in the same that are leading two separate lives. I mean thirty years can change a person in a million different ways.

But when the older Bruce Willis goes back in time with the intent to killing the younger version of whom he calls the Rainmaker so he could save his wife… Well… The traditional laws of physics and time are completely thrown out the window and a whole new set of rules are in play.

And unfortunately in this department I felt that this movie failed… Miserably.
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Review: Moraine Valley Community College’s Avenue Q

Show: AVENUE Q
Music and Lyrics: Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx
Book: Jeff Whitty 		Location: Moraine Valley Community College

Over the weekend I had the pleasure of seeing a friend of mine perform as Brian in Moraine Valley Community College’s production of Avenue Q. I knew he could sing and I knew he could do comedy, but boy that boy can sing! I knew he was talented and committed to his craft but I never fully appreciated to what extent.

No matter what character he plays Brian Whitlock has managed to do something that you rarely see in community theatre and do it consistently: he has been able to melt into his character to the degree where I as an audience member that knows him forgets that this is my friend on stage and instead just see him as the character he plays. Don’t even get me started with his stage presence… I mean seriously, there were times when I know I should be watching others on stage because it is their moment, but Brian just kept stealing my focus at times, he’s just that strong of an actor.

Somehow he managed to sneak a moment to play with one of the puppets (Princeton) during the song: There is Life Outside Your Apartment… but it was a blink or you miss it moment. So when I realized what was going on, I didn’t get a chance to really analyze it, this would probably be a moment where I would love to see the show again so I could simply focus on that moment.

When in the show did this happen? Well it was during the following lyrics:

And a homeless man
Who only wants to
Buy something to eat!
Sorry, can’t help you.

But that was all I was able to decipher… but speaking of puppetry…

Those that were given the task to man the puppets, for the most part I was very impressed with. I don’t know how many of the actors that are required to work with the puppets actually walked in knowing any kind of puppeteering… except for a few moments here and there (which I will explain later), the puppetry in this cast was outstanding for a community theatre production.

Even with the two man puppets (Trekkie Monster and Nicky) the puppeteers did a more than respectable job with their puppets, it was rather impressive. Then again when there is someone on the Production Team (Linda Roberts of Roberts Marionettes) whose job is strictly Puppeteer is it any wonder that she would really put together a strong crash course on puppeteering?

Outside of Brian Whitlock playing Brian… there were other highlights of the production of Avenue Q, including Kendra Sowa who portrays Kate Monster. From the audience some of the comments from around me included how cute and sweet Kendra was and as thus how cute and sweet Kate Monster came out to be. The emotional capacity from pain (in A Fine Fine Line) to passion (You Can Be as Loud as The Hell You Want) to everything else in between she is a talent that just shines onstage.

But what about the remainder of the cast?
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Review: Battleship

Before I get started, I will be the first to admit… I was very adverse to the idea of a movie being created about a board game that really didn’t have any premise except to try to sink the other player.

How do you base a whole movie on that? Well… as it would turn out, you don’t. Instead Battleship the Game was really a small ten to fifteen minute clip out of the entire film, while the rest of the film was a battle between the humans and the aliens who came to planet Earth with the intent of taking it over.

Best quote of the whole film?

Cal Zapata: If there is intelligent life out there and they come here, it’s going to be like Columbus and the Indians, only we’re the Indians.

This is going to be fun!

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Review: Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear’s The War of the Worlds

Show: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS
Book: H G Wells 		Location: Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear
Director: Pam Turlow

Earlier this week, I decided to watch / listen to a group of volunteers recreate the radio program by H.G. Wells: The War of the Worlds. I have always been a fan of old-time radio programs ever since I started to learn how to drive… and as thus would listen to the radio often (particularly late late at night).

So when friends of mine told me about this production that they were all a part of… I figured “why not?” I have been listening to other radio program of a similar notion via 780 WBBM, but to see it live is something else.

But before I go on from the website of Those Thrilling Days of Yesteryear:

[They] are a group of Chicagoland actors and performers who share a common interest—to perform old time radio programs for the community.

[…]

The entire company is made up of volunteers who donate their time to recreate these shows from the Golden Age of Radio for the Chicagoland community. It takes quite some effort to browse through the thousands of old time radio episodes, select a favorite, listen and type out the script—many of these are not available in print and have to be painstakingly transcribed—gather sound effects, then rehearse and mount the production.

Although we are only to give these historical programs a new life a few times a year, we strive to make sure that it’s well worth the wait.

It would appear that most (if not all) of their productions take place at the Oak Park Arms in Oak Park, Illinois… and have been doing so since September of 2002. The majority of their eclectic programming come from the Golden Age of Radio.

What is there to say about it?
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Review: Xanadu at Drury Lane Theatre

Show: XANADU
Music and Lyrics: Jeff Lynne & John Farrar
Book: Douglas Carter Beane 		Location: Drury Lane Theater
Director: Rachel Rockwell
Music Director: Roberta Duchak

A sold out show… Who would have thought? Particularly what was originally considered a total flop when the original film came out turned out be quite a hit on Broadway and various theatre groups throughout the country.

Not to be confused with Zanna Don’t, the off Broadway production about a fairy that helps people in Heartsville fall in love (and how homo sexuality was the norm while heterosexuality was forbidden… But that’s a different story / post)… Xanadu is a call back on 1980s music, dance, and peculiar story telling. Not that I am complaining.

The stage at Drury Lane is relatively small and curiosity piqued my interest in seeing how this particular production would pan out. The first thing I noticed was that the cast was comprised of only ten persons… which seemed rather small to me. At least until I noticed that the original cast was comprised of, at least the original intent was to have most of the cast playing multiple roles… and honestly that is fine by me.
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