Earl: “Look at that. He’s whipped. She’s making him carry all those packages. He’s carrying her purse. She’s carrying nothing.
“He needs a bicycle. Or she needs to lend him her broomstick.”
Godspell.
So last night Earl and I went to see “Godspell”. The popular show has found itself back on Broadway, this time at the Circle in the Square Theatre. It started previews on Thursday night, the show officially opens in November.
“Godspell” is my favorite musical, hands down. It is the first musical I was introduced to, way back in junior high. I have seen the show a number of times in various venues including high school auditoriums, the MUNY in St. Louis and on the stage of a few different national touring companies. I have several incarnations of the soundtrack on my iPod and I used “On The Willows” as an audition piece a couple of times in high school and during my first attempt at college. Like a lot of folks, this show is near and dear to my heart. Last night did not disappoint.
“Godspell” is a customizable show in that it can easily be placed in any time period (back in the 80s I saw one high school frame the show in Queen Victoria’s time!) and that’s one of the things I like about the show. One of the national touring companies that passed through Utica a decade or so ago made the show very techno; props included a cross made out of discarded televisions and the music was made very “American Idol”. It wasn’t my favorite take on the show and last night I was worried that this was going to continue the tradition of taking on modern times and lose some of the innocence and sweetness of the story.
They didn’t do that.
I’m not going to get into a lot of detail as far as the production goes because I’m encouraging people to see it when you’re in New York and enjoy the experience of this show, because it is a lot of fun and we found it to be worth every penny. The songs are so familiar to many folks, so I thought I would add my two cents because it’s my blog and I can do what I want here. I’ll try very hard to avoid spoilers.
As the show opens, there’s a lot of “technology” present (think cell phone usage). The folks on stage interact wonderfully during “Tower of Babble” except that I found the arrangement of the song hard to interpret. Granted, “Tower of Babble” is suppose to sound like “babble” and it did, but I think it was sounding like too much babble, because it was a little overwhelming with all the overlapping lyrics going on at the same time. At Circle in the Square, you sit REALLY close to the stage (we were in the front row on one side and the stage was at arm level and only 1/2 an arm’s length away). The actors’ voices were brilliant, this I could tell already during the first song, but the arrangement of the tune was a little distracting.
There was a surprising prop used during “Prepare Ye” that I did not expect to be used on stage. Don’t worry, you’ll make it through the performance unscathed, even in the front row.
Now everyone knows “Day By Day”, that’s probably the most well known song from the show because it spent several weeks on the Top 40 and spiritual folks sing this song all the time. The lyrics are just six lines sung over and over, leaving the emotion to build with the musical construction and arrangement of the song. The first part of the song is written in three-quarters time and this is where it was a little wonky for me. First of all Anna Maria Perez de Tagle sings this beautifully. Her voice has a sweetness to it that compliments the message brilliantly and she is very enjoyable with her performance, but the phrasing is slightly out of whack during the three-quarters time part of the piece. I’m pretty confident it’s part of the arrangement because the band (which is scattered all over the house, by the way) was doing the same thing. It felt like the lyrics were in four-four time when the music was in three-quarter time and as a person very familiar with the track, I found it disconcerting and it was running contrary to my music theory training I’ve had over the years. The vocalizations were brilliant, though and once we moved to the four-four time, everything felt familiar again. I have to admit that I didn’t expect the Electric Slide, though.
I LOVED the interpretation of “Learn Your Lessons Well”. It’s a lot of fun with a lot of oomph in the vocals without going over the top.
Way back in the 90s a London Company recorded a soundtrack CD without actually performing the show on stage, and in the process recorded one of the blandest renditions of “Bless The Lord” I have ever heard. Then that techno National tour came along and “Bless The Lord” went crazy with the techno and melisma (think Christina Aguilera and the National Anthem), so I was terrified that last night’s performance was going to be another yodeling, howling rendition of “Bless The Lord”.
I was terrified for no reason because last night “Bless The Lord” was AMAZING. Absolutely amazing. Lindsay Mendez has a great, strong yet controlled voice and thankfully does NOT engage in ridiculous vocal acrobatics/urban yodeling to share her love for this song. I think this may have been my favorite performance of the night, though the music theory training kicked in and the instrumental arrangement has some weird key change (or wonky chord progressions) going on towards the end of the song. I’d have to hear it again to see if I like it or not (I don’t think I do), but I found it slightly distracting from Lindsay’s wonderful performance. It’s not like Barry Manilow grabbed the song and added six progressive key changes to the score, but it does shift back and forth to a key (or through strange chord progressions that aren’t in the same key) that feels off a little bit. Lindsay is brilliant in it though, and I’m going to be finding more of her work to add to the iPod. Quick aside – coming out of Act 2, a couple members of the cast play around on the piano before Act 2 officially kicks off and Lindsay really camps up some melisma on some of the songs they’re singing, and I appreciated that. Some of her stylings in this bit of fun were identical to that techno touring version… I’m happy it was saved for that and not in the meat of her performances.
“All Good Gifts” is another one of my favorite tunes and Telly Leung does not disappoint at all. I loved the arrangement, I loved the sweetness of his voice and well, it’s Wes from the Warblers on “Glee”, so there were squeals from the young teenaged girls sitting behind us.
“Light of the World” stays pretty true to the familiar and is fun as well. In fact, all of songs in Act 1 felt familiar but still fresh, aside from those few distracting key changes.
During intermission the audience has the opportunity to go up on stage and have some “wine” and interact a little bit with the cast members that have hung around. They did this in DC years ago and I loved it. For some reason I can’t remember it happening at the Muny in St. Louis when we saw it a couple of years ago, but that could just be faulty memory. We had a nice, very brief chat with one of the cast. She seemed to be a genuine person.
Act 2 rolls in with “Turn Back, O Man”, where it was performed by understudy Julia Mattison. She did a Mae West take and was cute with her improvisations. Loved a reference to “Jesus Take The Wheel”. I heard that the original performer was weeping in the lobby after the show the night before so perhaps that’s why Julia was on stage. She was great.
Now lead Hunter Parrish came in with “Alas For You” and something weird just happened with his vocals. The thing is, I can’t decide if it was intentional or if he just lost his way completely, because in a way it sounded like he was intentionally trying to sound “overwrought” with his voice breaking, but on the other hand it came across like Peter Brady singing “When It’s Time To Change”. I’m inclined to blame this on the arrangement because Hunter’s vocals were spot on for all of his other performances, but this was just weird. If they were just a goof, I apologise for bringing them up because heck, I know I’ve lost my way in a song during my little performances back in the day but something tells me it was suppose to be that way. We’ll blame the arrangement. The one thing about Hunter’s “Alas For You” is that it’s not as powerful as previous incarnations I’ve heard. In fact, the performance of “By My Side” has more power in the vocal stylings (which it shouldn’t). “By My Side” is the one song I was somewhat disappointed with in the entire show. The performer seems way too angry for the song. The accompanying vocals from the other performers are beautiful (I loved the harmonisation in this rendition) but the lead’s voice was way too strong for the mood of the song and she looked very angry. She’s one of the cast members I had the opportunity to talk with and she seems very nice in person so I was kind of sad that this song disappointed me.
“We Beseech Thee” brought us back on track and there was more prop use that I didn’t expect but was a lot of fun! Singing while bouncing can be tough but everyone did just fine.
Wow, I’m long winded in this entry. Fast forward to the finale, which is powerful, emotional and well done. One of the best performances of “On The Willows” and the finale I have seen or heard. The arrangement of the finale is cool in that there is harmonisation where I haven’t heard it before and I want to thunk someone upside the head for not doing it before. Brilliant! It compliments the unity of the group during this emotional part of the show wonderfully. I hope high school productions take note.
Overall, the show is a lot of fun and had me laugh out loud a couple of times with the inclusion of modern one-liners and improvisations. The score sounds familiar enough to keep older generations and those familiar with the show happy but fresh enough to sound contemporary. I really hope that we get to see the show once it’s opened officially because this one I would definitely see again. I recommend anyone visiting New York to see this show as it has a wonderful message that is well told through the skills of the performers, both spoken and melodically.
The beauty of last night’s performance was that it felt like the show had opened as opposed to being in previews. There was a standing ovation from the audience and it was well deserved.
Honeymoon.
As I write this, Earl and I are on an Amtrak train headed for New York. When making the reservations, I spent the extra bucks for us to be upgraded to business class. This particular business class is in the back half of the food car. I have spotted som DiGiorno pizzas already so I think I know what we are going to have for lunch.
The business class car is set up in a two and one configuration. No one was kind of enough to allow us to sit next to each other, so Earl and I are sitting across the aisle from one another. I’m sharing my iPhone connection with him. I hope he isn’t surfing porn because it’ll blow the blue right out of the hair of the woman sitting next to him.
The train ride is suppose to take five hours. I believe there are eight stops along the way. It still beats driving down into the city, especially for an occasion like this. We don’t need the stress this weekend. I hope the weather cooperates.
So yesterday was our wedding day. It was a beautiful occasion and as soon as I have photos to share, I’m sure I will be sharing them here. The weather made for a typical autumn day, with a mix of everything except snow.
Our guests were dressed to the nines, as were we, and the spirit of the room was lively, supportive and more importantly, full of love. I have been saying that I can’t believe that we were getting married; now I can say that I fully believe we are married and that there were lots of folks there to witness it.
For the only wedding I’ll ever experience in this lifetime, it was a very magical day.
I have a few surprises for us this weekend in New York. I hope to share them along the way. I’ll be updating Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare with check-ins. I don’t know why I do these things but it’s what I do.
Out.
It’s National Coming Out day today. I’ve told my story before and will probably link to it tonight. So to keep it brief, as I’m typing this on my iPhone in a bathroom stall at work…
I’m gay.
I have always been gay.
It used to be hard to tell people but it’s not anymore.
If you’re not out, tell just one person today, even if you tell yourself in the mirror.
You’re okay. And you will be.
Bump.
There are two things that I need to mention in this quick blog entry.
1. Bump. This is an app on the iPad/iPhone/iPod that allows you to share things with other iUsers by simply bumping the two devices together. I tried it a while ago and it didn’t ever work right for me but now I see that the new Facebook app is suggesting it’s use so I’m going to give it another whirl. If you have an iDevice, please bump with me when I see you IRL. (Thanks, Erik, for that abbreviation which means In Real Life).
2. Bump. I bumped my head at work today and I have had a headache since but I have been feeling giddy, which could be due to the bump or to the fact of the aforementioned wedding this week. I don’t feel nauseated and Earl has been keeping a close eye on me so I’m sure that everything is fine aside from the few “Phenomenon” moments I’ve had where I started speaking in French and I tried to levitate the customer sitting in another booth at the restaurant simply by making a whirring sound with my mouth. To be on the safe side Earl has had me touch my nose a couple of times and has asked if I know his name (like I’m going to know that when we aren’t even married yet), but to be on the safe side I filled out an injury report at work. Perhaps I just need a hit of Tylenol with an iced tea chaser or something.
2a. Bump. Did people in the discos of the 1970s (no apostrophe) really dance by doing The Bump? I know about The Hustle, but was there a song called “The Bump”? I’m too giddy to look it up. Please note that the use of “2a” has kept me within the realm of mentioning two things quickly in this blog entry.
Thank you.
Unstifled.
The last 1/4 of my daily commute home usually involves the Thruway. This is by choice and quite honestly, while I prefer to drive the back roads for all of my commute, there is a part of me that wants to get home as quickly as possible, and driving home on the Thruway allows me this luxury. Especially since driving on the Thruway means that I won’t have to deal with the endless construction going on along the newer parts of the Interstate System near our house. Construction crews aren’t working on the bridge that should be condemned; instead they are working on the bridge that was built 15 years ago.
I think I got off my original topic.
As I was driving along the Thruway this evening, I noticed that every vehicle that I encountered, aside from the tractor trailers, had all of the windows closed. Since it was in the mid 70s, I can only assume that the occupants of the vehicles were enjoying an air conditioned ride as they sped along at speeds exceeding the posted limit.
On the other hand, I had taken the top off the Jeep and I was enjoying the wind blowing me all over the place and the sunshine that was filling the Jeep (at least until sunset, which happened right before I got home).
I’m not a fan of air conditioning. I never really have been, but then again, I’ve never lived in an area where it was considered mandatory so my opinion could be changed if we ever relocated to a warmer climate. But as a person born and bred right here in Upstate New York, I can tell you that for me, fresh air trumps air conditioned comfort any day of the week. I would rather feel the warm breezes from outside with a tinge of “fresh country air” over the sterile, cool air blowing from your local air conditioning unit. Enjoying the ride like I did today made me think of how things were before everything was air-conditioned, or as I like to think of it, sterilized for your comfort. Perhaps I hearken back to the day before air conditioning was considered a necessity, but I feel much more in touch with everything that’s going on around me when I can feel the breeze, smell the scents and embrace the warmth of the sun.
You can ride all you want in your air conditioned vehicle, I’m certainly not going to stop you, but I invite you to roll down the windows, set down the mobile device and feel the world around you sometime. It might make your smile broader and your heart sing louder.
I know it has the effect on me.
Focus.
I’m typing this blog entry on the virtual iPad keyboard today, so please excuse any gross spelling or grammatical errors and email me if you need further clarification.
Work is a hoot today. Systems are struggling, training classes have commenced and conference calls are happening in all parts of the globe. People are coming into my cube looking for answers or a question (sometimes it’s hard to tell which) and I’m looking at them with a dopey grin and giving them something they want to hear.
You see, we are getting married is week, on Thursday night to be exact, and that’s where my focus is this week. Yes, work is important, but all I can see if that phenomenal moment that I thought would never happen and the long weekend in New York afterwards.
When I get back on Monday I will be a legally married man with all eyes on the ball in the busy game, but for now, my eyes are looking forward to seeing the other eyes I know so well as I say the words, “I do.”.
Therapy.
This blog has been in it’s second decade for a few months and the other night I entertained myself by reading some of the older posts I’ve splattered up here on the intertubes. (What an odd choice of words?!?)
Earl doesn’t really enjoy it when I do this sort of thing (the reading past entries, not the splattering) because I tend to crack myself up with my writing at times and I enjoy engaging in howls of laughter. It’s like a form of therapy for me and in this day and age of political unrest, high prices, unemployment and ending of the free glasses campaign at McDonalds, lord knows we all need howls of laughter in our lives.
Speaking of the therapeutic nature of this, I have to admit that I do find a bit of stress relief by writing in the blog and though it has taken a conscious effort to maintain the blog, especially in this day and age of spurts of wit via Twitter, Facebook and the like (again with the weird word selection). When I take my focus off of the world and into the world that I am writing about as I plod along on my keyboard du jour, I find that the knots in my head unwind a little bit, my left eyebrow cocks up as I concentrate (I just noticed that) and that a smile forms on my face, even when I’m writing about unfortunate topics such as taxes, the dismal selection of presidential candidates and DMV clerks that should be named “Donut Breath”™.
I noticed that my older entries were a little more outpouring as to what was going on in my head. Perhaps I was a little less rough around the edges back then and I didn’t think anyone was really reading my entries, so I would share some things that I’m not sure I would share today. Ironically, these posts seemed to be my better written entries. Maybe I had a little more time to sit down and write instead of sitting in the Jeep 60 miles from home on a daily exercise called “lunch hour”. There was a certain amount of therapy in those writings that I think I miss and I need to find a way to get back to. I sense a little more, well, something, in those earlier entries that I need to seek out again. I’ve always been complaining that I need to slow down a bit, perhaps I need to realize this and actually do it.
A couple of weeks ago I moved my habit of writing down my dreams from a notebook to a new Mac and iOS app called “Day One”. The transition has been good and I’m finding myself writing in it more than I expected to. Apparently there’s stuff inside of me that’s bubbling to get out and writing is an outlet for it.
Perhaps I should stop worrying about what people think about what I write and post (not that I think many read this anyways) and start just writing again.
Chestnut.
I always enjoy finding something in my closet that I haven’t worn in a long time. It must be the remnants of some gay gene I supposedly have.
I was feeling very snazzy in my new found sneakers.
Walking into the kitchen, the look did not appear to be totally of approval.
“Where did you get those sneakers?”
My answer was simple, “Ames”.
“Ames closed like 10 years ago.”
“I know.”
They’ll be in style again soon. Until then, I still feel snazzy. I was even called a DILF.
