Tag Archives: Jason Robert Brown

Entertainment: The Last Five Years as a Film

This isn’t entirely old news… but with a film version of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years floating around there is speculation as to who could star in the adaptation of the stage version that originally starred Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott.

Other than being one less word in her professional name (kidding!) Anna Kendrick has apparently been tapped to play Cathy.

Now she has had some experience in musical theatre in her youth and has proven to be a rising star in Hollywood as well, but I think the one thing that she is known for is her time on David Letterman when she showed off her singing and hand-eye coordination skills that were featured in Pitch Perfect.

And here is the original video, by Lulu and the Lampshades, that Anna came across while bored at home one day:

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Personal Endeavors: Stage Musical “Wish List”

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Ask any actor/actress that enjoys being a part of theatre, chances are they probably have a short list of shows and/or roles they’d love to play. I’m no different despite this being more of a hobby for me than anything. Although I don’t have a stage play short list (I am usually game to most anything) I do have a musical theatre short list… two of those musicals I have either already done or am doing, so what do I have left?

Well let’s start with what I have already done:
– City of Angels
Yes, I was even willing to grow a beard for a show. =) I loved the musical: City of Angels ever since I first heard “The Tennis Song”, so when I read up on the synopsis of the show and started listening to more of the music I knew that this was a production I just HAD to be a part of. Little did I know what the director at Theatre-on-the-Hill had in store for me…

City of Angels is NOT based off the Nicholas Cage movie of the same name. Instead it is about a writer whose is hired to adapt a popular book of his for the big screen. As we follow the writer go through the perils of working in Hollywood we are also watching scenes from his movie unfold concurrently. Changes he has made in the script are seen live on the stage as it happens.

What I love about this particular show is how two seemingly separate storylines are intertwined. There are particular moments in the shows where you see only one story or the other, and sometimes you see them both happening concurrently. Sure it forces you to think more than the average show, but once you get it, it makes the whole thing even funnier and worthwhile.

There was one conversation I had with a friend whose career is in the performing arts and we agreed that if someone is truly serious about acting and performing they better damn well be willing to make a fool of themself on stage. Pride, image, ego, etc goes right out the door, there is simply no room for it. If you’re not willing to “look ugly” on stage, then you’re not really serious about acting.

I swallowed my pride for my art and to this day people still remember that role. That’s making an impression. People don’t always remember the leads or the straight forward roles, they tend to remember the crazy, off beat, quirky characters. Plus you have fun along the way. =)

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