Tom Smith

At the very end of last year, we had an amusing little scare regarding writer Larry Gelbart, who had supposedly died.

Unfortunately, this time it's the real thing.

Mr. Gelbart, one of the great comedy writers of our time, has passed away at the age of 81.

He wrote for everything from Danny Thomas's radio show and The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine to his many excellent episodes of M*A*S*H, and also wrote or co-wrote, such films and shows as Tootsie, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, City of Angels, Oh God!, and Movie Movie.

(Thanks to shsilver for the heads-up.)

What are some of your favorite episodes of M*A*S*H? I'm hard-pressed not to say just the whole frickin' series, but a number do stand out, such as the one where everyone was dreaming, the one with the timer in the corner of the screen saying how long a patient had to live, the one where Sidney tries to find out who's the camp practical joker, and of course the finale.

Sadness. Actress Farrah Fawcett has passed away at the age of 62. Her bathing-suit pin-up poster adorned millions of walls in the 1970s (including mine), and she sold a ridiculous quantity of hair-care products, and for a long time she was basically thought of as a bimbo. But she turned out to be a pretty darn good actress, and one-half of one of the more enduring love stories in Hollywood (with Ryan O'Neal, starting in 1982). Our condolences to her family and friends.

Got my DVD today.

A couple of years ago, I got the Star Wars Original Trilogy (Special Edition). (Sucker's still in a box somewhere, along with the other Special Editions, e.g., West Side Story, Lord of the Rings, all the season sets of Babylon 5. Good box. I want to frickin' find it.) I decided on that Friday evening to put on Ep 4, A New Hope, i.e., the original movie. Watch a few minutes, a few scenes out of that.

Ended up watching all three, one after the other, like crack-laced popcorn. Fell in love with Star Wars all over again.

I just finished the end of Act I of Chess In Concert, with Josh Groban absolutely nailing "Anthem" and getting a well-deserved standing ovation. The crowd went bugfuck. So did I. I've been laughing and tearing up and falling in love with Chess all over again, and I'm not even to the second act yet.

Idina Menzel is every bit as lovely and every bit the actress that I expected, and, while her voice does not quite fit my image of Florence -- a little too piercing, a touch too brittle -- she does the job nicely. Groban and Adam Pascal, on the other hand, are revelations. And the rest of the cast is pretty damn fine too. And the use of lighting and video and dance and occasional costuming and props (it is "in concert" rather than a full production, after all) is clever and engaging throughout.

Sorry, just had to gush a bit. You can either discuss your favorite musicals, your favorite public-domain games, or a public-domain game you'd like to see turned into a musical.

Yes, I'm fishing.

Next Wednesday on PBS. The day before, a DVD release. Idina Menzel as Florence is enough, man. That right there is enough. Josh Groban as The Russian? Yeah. I'm there.

What's your favorite song from Chess? Any version. The flippant answer is "the whole damn score", and honestly it's a good answer, because the whole damn score is spectacular, and whatever else anyone may ever say about the music of ABBA, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson created some music that I don't think anyone else could have, and Tim Rice's incredible lyrics make it one of the classic concept albums. Love love love Chess.

ETA: Heh. Didn't add the un-flippant answer. "Pity the Child". Damn, what a song. Damn.

Mark Evanier informs us that there's a new musical about The Addams Family. Stars Nathan Lane as Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia, and also has one of my faves, Terrence Mann, as I guess one of the neighbors.

I wonder how they're going to do Thing...?

On this date in 1915.

What works of his do you like best? Quote away. For all of his many cinematic and television triumphs (like that one flick many consider the best ever made [Spider Robinson's Clurichaun notwithstanding]), I enjoy his radio work best. And I do love his bit near the end of The Muppet Movie.

And then there are all those attempts to take over the world with his friend Pinky....

Sadness. Actress Bea Arthur, known best for her Emmy-award-winning roles as Dorothy Zbornak on Golden Girls and as the titular character on Maude, and who also won a Tony on Broadway for her role as Vera Charles in Mame, has passed away at the age of 86.

Of course, we all love her for bringing the tiniest dollop of class to the Star Wars Holiday Special.

Sadness. Actor James Whitmore has passed away at the age of 87.

Sadness. Nobel-winning playwright Harold Pinter, who lived an astonishing life and was so influential that he got his own word, has passed away at the age of 78.

What are some of your favorite stage plays? Adaptations to other media count. I'm a sucker for any version of Sweeney Todd or Inherit the Wind; Shakespeare's Coriolanus and King Lear and Romeo and Juliet are always joys (well, not exactly joyful, but you know what I mean); I love my DVDs of stage productions of Pippin and The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. And the earlier film adaptation of Sleuth, with Michael Caine and Sir Lawrence Olivier.

No, no, no. Not what you're thinking at all. A distraction from the freakin' politics.

Just got an e-mail from filker and playwright Renee Alper:

Friends,

You've heard about it, maybe even seen a scene or two, but now, finally, the world premiere of my new play, "Non-Vertical Girl" is here!

"Non-Vertical Girl" is a powerful, quirky, and upbeat musical about "rolling" with the punches and thinking on your "wheels". Come see what having "four on the floor" is really all about! Contains adult themes and language.

Show dates are Saturday, October 11 at 9:00pm, at Ballet Tech Cincinnati, 6543 Montgomery Rd. in Silverton, OH, and Sunday, October 12 at 5:00pm at the Contemporary Arts Center, located at the corner of 6th Street and Walnut Street in downtown Cincinnati. This show is part of the Enjoy the Arts 20/20 Festival.

Donations are appreciated. After the show on Sunday, there will a panel discussion on disability and the arts.

I hope you can join me for this fantastic event!

Renee Alper

P.S. We are holding auditions this Thursday, August 28, at Xavier University's Black Box Studio Theatre in the Gallagher Student Center. If you or anyone you know is interested in more information, please email me at: nonverticalgirl@cinci.rr.com

or call 513-398-4742 or 513-659-6456

Interesting idea for a site -- an idea I've vaguely considered for a long while now, but this fine fellow has gone and done it, and started out with an in-depth look at Little Shop Of Horrors. We've exchanged e-mail, and I'm probably going to write up Metropolis, Moby Dick, Weird Romance, and Flowers For Algernon for him over the next few weeks. When I can. Copious Free Time, y'know. ;)

Any fun or weird musicals you want to make sure we know about? Feel free to provide links.

On this date in 1890.

What/who is your favorite robot? Yes, androids and real-life robots (e.g., the Mars rover) count. First person to name Cherry 2000, Bethlehem Steele, or Girltron gets a thump on the head.

... Wait... that would be m- [thump]

The official Sweeney Todd movie site has song excerpts. (Click on "Enter the Site", then go to "Audio" in the upper right of the window that pops up.) They sound good. Not great, not fantastic... but certainly good. I wish the singing director had told them to put more energy into it... but we'll see how it works on screen.

Please, please don't suck.

Today we sing great praises for Toshiaki Kato, the guy who runs one of the better musical fan sites in the world, The Whole New World of Alan Menken. For today, he has posted MP3s from the insanely-difficult-to-get original cast album of Der Glöckner von Notre Dame, Disney's Broadway-style musical based on their version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It was only produced in Germany, as far as I know, and you just can't find the damn CD for love nor money. (This fan site has lots of information, including the script and English lyrics.)

Any cool soundtrack or cast-album music we need to know about?

Inconceivable... until 1943, anyway.

Of course, you all remember this quote:

Ha ha! You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders! The most famous is, "Never get involved in a land war in Asia", but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line"! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha-

So, what would be your pick for one of the "classic blunders"? In the hopes that this thread will not become a political/religious/operating-system/whatever catfight, please try to keep it succinct.

For my choice, I find myself torn between, "Don't illegally invade the wrong country, especially when everybody tells you it would be a bad idea" and "[Don't] turn into a snake -- it never helps".

Sadness. Singer and actor Robert Goulet has passed away at the age of 73. He did a lot of cool stuff, and was one of those old-school talents who didn't take himself too seriously. I'll always remember him for, of all things, the voice of Jean-Tom in the Chuck Jones-written animated film Gay Purr-ee.

Continuing in the horror theme -- 'cause, hey, it's October -- you can now view the trailer for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, starring Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, and, oh yeah, some guy named Depp.

On a sheer acting level, it looks fantastic. But the music suffers even in this trailer. Depp is doing a Rex Harrison, which can be just fine, but he's also doing a very, very quiet Todd. It may work.

I think the movie will be entertaining; I hope it will be good. But nobody's prying my George Hearn videos or Len Cariou OCRs away.

On this date in 1930.

What of Shel's works do you like best? For me, it's music. I didn't encounter his books until I was an adult, but "A Boy Named Sue" was very influential for me, as was "The Unicorn" (and if you'd told me they were written by the same guy, I don't know if I would've have believed you). "25 Minutes To Go" is also tremendous.

... Okay, okay. Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book and The Giving Tree rock.

Great sadness. Legendary mime Marcel Marceau has passed away at the age of 84.

Great sadness. Beverly Sills has indeed passed away at the age of 78.

Damn, we're losing performers right and left. Opera singer Beverly Sills was reported earlier today as gravely ill from cancer diagnosed four weeks ago. At least one news organization has reported her death, but I haven't been able to confirm that.

At the age of 87. I saw him in his last role for the Stratford Festival, Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind. He was superb, a classical actor in the Barrymore style. Just amazing. Farewell, sir, and thank you.

Thanks to drzarron for the heads-up.

On this date in 1907.

What are your favorite Hepburn roles? Mine, without question, is Rose in The African Queen (which I finally have on import DVD, yay).

Shame, really. Stage and film actress, opera singer, tireless supporter of the arts, her husband was an award-winning playwright... and she'll always be best known for being a panelist on To Tell The Truth and What's My Line?

Kitty Carlisle has passed away at the age of 96. More info about her life and career can be found at Wikipedia.

Okay, this looks interesting. h/t Atrios.

On this date in 1930.

If you could play any Sondheim role, which would you pick? For me, Sweeney Todd. Or Booth. If I was thin again. And had it transposed to my key. Unlikely, so Guiteau. Maybe Pseudolus.

I really don't know if this is gonna work. But I do know that as soon as the web page hits you with those snippets of "Part Of Your World" and "Under The Sea", you too will start tearing up all over again just like I did.

Thoughts?

Renee Alper and her new play get a nice article in the Cincinnati Community Press.

Mark Evanier has a link to an edited-down version of "It Sucks To Be Me" from Avenue Q, performed at the Tony Awards. Even so, it's a hoot. To sweeten the deal, here are a few more numbers:

1. If You Were Gay
2. Purpose
3. Everyone's A Little Bit Racist
4. The Internet Is For Porn
5. Mix Tape
6. Special
7. You Can Be Loud As The Hell You Want
8. Fantasies Come True
9. My Girlfriend, Who Lives In Canada
10. There's A Fine, Fine Line
11. There Is Life Outside Your Apartment
12. The More You Ruv Someone
13. Schadenfreude
14. I Wish I Could Go Back To College
15. The Money Song
16. School For Monsters / The Money Song (Reprise)
17. Rod Gets A Boyfriend
18. There's A Fine, Fine Line (Reprise)
19. For Now

Tim Burton's making a movie of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.

Who else would you cast in it? The first face that leaps to mind is that of Orlando Bloom as Anthony, although I could make a case for Elijah Wood. Kate Winslet or Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett could be fantastic.

And Rupert Grint as Toby. :)

A little laughter for the morning: By way of Mark Evanier comes a link to about a minute of montage from Spamalot!

Anne loved Tarzan Rocks! at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom, but that show is gone now. Coming soon, in its place, is Finding Nemo: The Musical, with original songs by Robert (Avenue Q) Lopez and Kristen (Along the Way) Anderson-Lopez. I'm very curious as to how it's going to look; it sounds interesting. Although I'm distressed at the news that the Theater in the Wild, a very cool space, will be enclosed rather than open as it has been till now.

Haven't asked this for a bit: If you go to Walt Disney World, what are your favorite parts of the trip? Mine are (in no particular order) the Magic Kingdom (the whole place, really, but special love for The Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, and the Country Bear Jamboree), the World Showcase at Epcot (especially Japan, Morocco, and the U.K.), the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Adventurer's Club on Pleasure Island. I want to spend more time at the Animal Kingdom park as well, and shopping in Downtown Disney is always fun.

(If you don't go to WDW, and especially if -- as many of us do -- you have problems with the way Disney does some of their business, please let's not turn this thread into a forum on corporate greed. We know. Trust me, we know.)

Seventy-six and goin' strong.

If you could play any Sondheim-scored character, who would it be? My very first choice is Sweeney Todd, although I could also manage Judge Turpin, Leon Czolgosz, or Charles Guiteau. And if someone told me I had to play Pseudolus, I think I'd somehow conceal my distress. ;)

Thanks to drzarron for pointing out that you can now see the trailer for The Producers.

Spring 2006.

Limited engagement on Broadway in October of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in The Odd Couple.