Save Evil Dead The Musical

Go see it! My friend’s Chris, Frank and George wrote it, and it’s great! It’s gonna close on the 17th if you don’t go! Please – tell everyone!

All the Men in My Life (keep getting killed by Candarian Demons)

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Couldn’t be happier!

So it’s over and done, and it was a really great show. Wicked is definately worth seeing. I am so glad that I got a chance to go. In fact, I couldn’t be happier!

The night was just lovely. My friend and I went to dinner and then got coffee before heading over to the theatre. It was packed with excited people, and we were in a good section on the Mezzanine. And then it started, and it was great. The costumes and technical aspects were really good, and the cast did a phenomenal job. My only criticism is that it seemed a tad slow on the pick up, but once it got going, it really went. I was really impressed at how they took Gregory Maguire’s book and made it work onstage. I won’t go into too much detail about what happens, mostly because there are a few plot twists that are just worth waiting for. (It also explains why there is not summary in the CD cover). But yes – got see it!

Thanks again, friend. This was a truly great birthday gift.

More excitement!

I love it when life turns around and starts being good again. Really. This week has been much better. I went from feeling in the dregs to feeling on top of the heap. Woo! So, to add to the excitement of going to see Wicked TOMORROW, I also got an email last night from a good friend who lives in NYC. I emailed him in the desperate attempt to get his number so I can meet up with him next week when I’m going to be in town. He rarely checks his email, but I though I would try. Lo and behold a day later I got a response, and his number! Woo! And I also got a couple of lovely email recently from a friend who’s in Germany and I’m so glad we’ve gotten back in touch! Woo!

Plus, it’s FRIDAY and there are only 9 days to my birthday! Woo!

I can’t sit still.

Musical obsession

I really cannot wait for Saturday. I’ve been listening to clips of the show from the web, and I am so excited. I’ve been wanting to go for ages. This is going to be awesome. Argh…I can barely contain myself today. I want to be at home cranking my CD and singing and dancing in my living room. I want to defy gravity! Woo!

p.s. 10 days to my birthday.

Best present ever!

Last night I got a really amazing early b-day present. I’ve got tickets to see Wicked! I can’t wait. I’ve been wanting to go for ages! It’s going to be wicked awesome cool.

Thanks friend. You rock!

All life’s theme songs should come from musicals

Excerpts from

“You Can Always Count On Me”
in City of Angels
book by Larry Gelbart, music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel

I’m one of a long line of good girls
Who choose the wrong guy to be sweet on
The girl with a face that says welcome
That men can wipe their feet on
I’m there when he calls me
The trusted girl Friday alright
But what good does it do me
Alone on a Saturday night

If you need a gal
To go without sal’ry and work too hard
You can always count on me
The kind of a pal
Who’d sneak you a file past the prison guard
Loyal to the “nth” degree
The boss is quite the ladies man
And that’s my biggest gripe
Till I showed up he’s never hired a girl cause she could type
I’m no femme fatal
But faithful and true as a saint Bernard
Barkin’ up the wrong damn tree
You can always count on me

I go for the riff raff
Who’s treating me so so
When I can play the second fiddle
I’m a virtuoso
I should be playing for a wedding band
But there’re no wedding rings attached
Though you can bet there’re strings attached

A matter of fact, If you want an ill-fated love affair
You can always count on me

Though my kind of dame
No doubt will die out like the dinosaurs
You can always count on me
I’m solely to blame
My head gives advice that my heart ignores
I’m my only enemy
I choose the kind who cannot introduce the girl he’s with
There’re lots of smirking motel clerks who call me, “Mrs. Smith”
But I’ve made a name
With hotel detectives who break down doors
Guess who they expect to see
You can always count on
Bet a large amount on
You can always count on me

Evil Dead goes to Broadway!

Written by Richard Ouzounian of the Toronto Star including correction. Pictures are from the Montreal Mirror.

Evil Dead has life on Broadway; Fall slot for show born at Tranzac Club T.O team tore idea from ’80s horror film

The dead are going to sing and dance on Broadway.

Expect an announcement from Manhattan today that Evil Dead the Musical will open there on Nov. 1 at New World Stages on W. 50th St.

This Canadian tuner is based on the 1980s cult horror films of Sam Raimi and first reached a stage at the Tranzac Club in the summer of 2003, winding up at the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal the following year.

It was written by George Reinblatt, Christopher Bond and Frank Cipolla (with additional music by Melissa Morris).

Bond, who staged the original, is co-directing it in New York with three-time Tony Award winner Hinton Battle.

Another Tony winner, set designer Paul Gallo, will bring his wacky inventiveness to this show, as he did for that other Canuck musical currently doing well on Broadway, The Drowsy Chaperone.

Well-known Toronto stage producer Jeffrey (Forever Plaid) Latimer was the first to take a serious interest in the show and he will produce it in New York, along with Jenkay LLC and Just for Laughs.

Evil Dead is the classic “horny young people in a deserted cottage” scenario, where clueless kids find themselves being slaughtered by Candarian demons on a weekend they thought was going to be devoted strictly to carnal capers.

With its buzzing chainsaws and dismembered arms, Evil Dead has enough gore to make Sweeney Todd look like Annie, but somehow it winds up being fun instead of gross.

When first reviewing it in 2003, I wrote “With a bit of work, this show could go places.”

And it certainly has.

Adding to the collection…

Yesterday, someone posted on my church website about musicals, and how to get the songs out of your head. Apparently his roomie has been really into watching the new Rent movie. He wanted to know if anyone had another musical to lend to his roomate to get new songs. I, being quite the musical lover, decided to list the musicals I own to help. In doing so, I realized just how ridiculous my musical addiction is…

In fact, I will list my musical collection, at least what I can remember I own, here to give you an idea:

Movies:
Annie
A Chorus Line
The Who’s Tommy
The Sound of Music
My Fair Lady
Newsies
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Grease
Grease 2
Singing in the Rain (borrowed)
Cabaret (borrowed)

Soundtracks/Music on CD:
Wicked
The Last Five Years
Song for A New World
Sunday in the Park with George
Godspell (lastest Broadway version on burned CD and old original cast on LP)
Miss Saigon (Highlights only)
The Pirates of Penzance
John and Jen
Lucky Stiff
Urinetown
Throughly Modern Millie
Hair
Aida (Elton John/Tim Rice version)
Bat Boy: The Musical
Les Miserables (10th Anniversary concert version)
The Phatom of the Opera
Bye, Bye Birdie
Crazy For You
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
Chicago (movie version)
Moulin Rouge (loose definition of musical)

Recordings live at Queen’s:
John and Jen
Lucky Stiff
Five Guys Named Moe
City of Angels
The Rocky Horror Show
Bye Bye Birdie
Bat Boy: The Musical

Various songs from (among others):
Jekyll and Hyde
Chess
Cabaret
Five Guys Named Moe
Blood Brothers
Guys and Dolls
Little Shop of Horrors
Man of La Mancha
Gypsy
Gigi
West Side Story
South Pacific
The Producers
The Music Man
Rent
Funny Girl
Cats
Mamma Mia!
Kiss Me Kate
Carousel
Jesus Christ Superstar
Annie Get Your Gun
Starlight Express

I know, it’s a lot! Then if it was just a little ironic trick of nature, I finally got my Amazon order last night, and what did I order? You got it: musicals! Now I can add Marry Me a Little and Starting Here, Starting Now to the collection of CDs…

And people wonder why I’m always singing. HA!

More great lessons from musical theatre

John and Jen (just for Tuffy)
book by Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald lyrics by Tom Greenwald music by Andrew Lippa
- sometimes the past will catch up with you, other times it will haunt you, either way don’t spend too much time clinging to old regrets because it will stop you from living life
- don’t expect someone to be exactly the same as someone else you once knew

Cabaret
book by Joe Masteroff lyrics by Fred Ebb music by John Kander
- no matter how much you want to ignore the reality of life outside your personal bubble it will always catch up with you in the end
- there’s no sense in living your life too morbidly because life has got to have some fun despite the bad, in other words “Life is a cabaret, old chum, and I love a cabaret!”

Chicago
book by Bob Fosse and Fred Ebb lyrics by Fred Ebb music by John Kander
- never underestimate the power of a good story and a little bit of sensationalism from the press

Hair
book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado music by Galt MacDermot
- if you were on drugs in the sixties this show might actually make sense
- putting a Shakespearean sonnet to music makes for a pretty great song

The Sound of Music
book by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II music by Richard Rodgers
- the path you initially set out on in life might not be the path that you end up on in the end, either way with a little help (and some singing) you can climb every mountain you come across

Aida
book by Linda Woolverton, Robert Falls and David Henry Hwang lyrics by Tim Rice music by Elton John
- time, place, race and status don’t matter when it comes to love because in the end love is all that matters
- sometimes a dress can be your strongest suit

Little Shop of Horrors
book and lyrics by Howard Ashman Music by Alan Menken based on a film by Roger Corman screenplay by Charles Griffith
- don’t let a man beat on you just because you’re afraid to step out on your own, you don’t know you own strength
- never trust a plant that sucks your blood

The Producers
book, lyrics and music by Mel Brooks
- old ladies might be willing to do just about anything for someone they like
- “Springtime for Hitler” – hahahaha! Enough said.

The Music Man
book, lyrics, and music by Meredith Willson
- don’t’ automatically believe that smooth-talking salesman doesn’t have a conscience, he might just surprise you
- you CAN learn to play an instrument by the think system
- overly repetitive songs can wear on your nerves if they get stuck in your head for too long (Pick-a-little, talk-a-little-cheep-cheep-cheep…)

Funny Girl
book by Isobel Lennart lyrics by Bob Merrill music by Jule Styne
- never ever rain on a girl’s parade, she’s got a lot more going for her than you might think
- never count on a man to be your sole source of happiness
- Barbara Streisand really is “like buttah” in the movie musical

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
book by Hugh Wheeler lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim
- no matter how good a pie is remember that there might be something sketchy about the source of the meat
- revenge can get messy, maybe it’s better to forgive before turning into a demon barber
- Stephen Sondheim is an amazing musical writer

Guys and Dolls
book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows lyrics and music by Frank Loesser
- there’s always trouble when you decide to rock the boat, so “sit down, sit down, sit down!”
- men, don’t leave an engaged woman hanging on for too long, she might just get sick of (or because of) the whole thing

Wicked
book by Winnie Holzman lyrics and music by Stephen Schwartz based on the book by Gregory McGuire
- there is always another side to a story, just ask Elphaba

Gypsy
book by Arthur Laurents lyrics by Stephen Sondheim music by Jule Styne
- you don’t always have to listen to your mother, because sometimes even she might not have your best interests in mind all the time
- never let people tell you what you can and can’t do because we all have hidden talents
- anyone can be “Moo-sical”

Into the Woods
book by James Lapine lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim
- really clever lyrics do exist!!!

The Pirates of Penzance
libretto by Sir William S. Gilbert music by Sir Arthur S. Sullivan
- even old school operettas can be very funny if you get the timing just right
- never underestimate the comedic power of an overextended coloratura moment
- trouble with orphans can happen “orph-ten”

Rent
book, lyrics and music by Jonathan Larson based on Puccini’s opera La Bohème
- no matter how down and out, how sick, or how messed up you think you are, you can always find hope, love, and a good time when you open your eyes to the world

Urinetown
book by Greg Kotis lyrics by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann music by Mark Hollmann
- you CAN write a tongue-in-cheek Brechtian style music all about urine and still win Tony’s
- “What kind of a musical is this anyway?”

West Side Story
book by Arthur Laurents music by Leonard Bernstein lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
- even though you might come from different backgrounds, you’re more like your neighbour than you thought
- sometimes it’s just nice to feel pretty, oh so pretty.

Songs for a New World

lyrics and music by Jason Robert Brown
- you don’t have to have a story to make a worthwhile musical theatre experience

- “~ God knows it’s easy to hide,

Easy to hide from the things that you feel

And harder to blindly trust

What you can’t understand

~ God knows it’s easy to run,

Easy to run from the people you love

And harder to stand and fight

For the things you believe”

- “~ Listen to the song that I sing

Listen to the words in my heart

Listen to the hope I can bring

And you’ll start to grow

And shine

~ Listen to the song that I sing

And trust me

~ We’ll be fine…”

Some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from musical theatre

Five Guys Named Moe
book by Clarke Peters music and lyrics by Louis Jordan
- you can always have a funkybutt time at the funkybutt club
- drowning your sorrows in musical numbers works out far better than drowning your sorrows in drinking.

Les Miserables
book by Alain Boublil music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
- no matter how unappreciated it might seem, it is always beautiful to give your life to save someone you love
- never underestimate the blessings you’ll get if you surrender yourself to God’s will (and yes, you can come back from being “evil”)

My Fair Lady
book by Alan Jay Lerner music by Frederick Loewe
- if you’re going to change who you are and your position in life do it because you want to and not to please a man

Gigi
book by Alan Jay Lerner music by Frederick Loewe
- it’s never right for an older man to impose his womanizing ways on a young impressionable girl

Lucky Stiff
book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens lyrics by Stephen Flaherty
- even diamonds in the rough can turn out to be courageous, funny and just a little bit charming
- ever nerd deserves a chance to shine

Bye Bye Birdie
book by Micheal Stewart lyrics by Lee Adams music Charles Strouse
- building someone up in your mind to be something they are not isn’t a good thing, in other words gold lammé doesn’t make the man
- never underestimate the power of Ed Sullivan

Newsies
music by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman
- standing up for what you believe in is never a bad thing
- even young people can start a revolution
- “Headlines don’t seel paps, newsies sell paps!”

Bat Boy – The Musical
book and story by Keythe Farley and Brian Fleming music and lyrics by Laurence O’Keefe
- even a social outcast needs somewhere to call home
- never trust a slightly unhinged veterinarian

Crazy For You
book by Ken Ludwig lyrics by Ira Gershwin music by George Gershwin
- there is no use hiding your true self from the person you love, you don’t want them falling in love with a completely different person do you?

A Chorus Line
book by James Kirkwood and Nicholas Dante lyrics by Edward Kleban music by Marvin Hamlisch
- “Tits and ass won’t get you jobs unless they’re yours!”

The Rocky Horror Show
book, lyrics and music by Richard O’Brian
- don’t ever go into a dark lonely house after dark, especially if it’s owned by a a transsexual tranvestite with VERY loose morals
- a well timed “Brad!”, “Janet!”, “Dr.Scott!” routine will always be a great moment to watch

Annie
book by Thomas Meehan lyrics by Martin Charnin music by Charles Strouse
- having a bunch of friends who love you and who are just a little bit tough really makes a difference
- too much bathtub gin can make you go loopy

Blood Brothers
book, lyrics and music by Willy Russell
- regardless of your position in life the actions you choose are your own, take ownership of them and don’t blame all your problems on your status in life

Grease
book, lyrics and music by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
- no matter how in love you are, changing yourself to become more racy with ensure that you secure your man’s affection (HA!)

City of Angels
book by Larry Gelbart lyrics by David Zippel music by Cy Coleman
- somedays it would just be nice to be able to re-write moments in your life
- saying “good day” backwards is always funny – do it “yad doog”! ha!