DANCING THROUGH LIFE

Here is that wonderful song, Dancing Through Life from the show WICKED.

Jiva

MARIN MAZZIE

Originally the song on this episode was "When Did I Fall In Love" which is a fabulous song, and she sang it so well, so passionately. BUT, the owners took it down and didn't want anyone to hear it for free, I guess. So I've replaced it with the ONLY solo I could find of her on YouTube, and that is Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered, from Pal Joey. Not as sexy as the former song, but still her fabulous persona.


Marin Mazzie

Hot Stuff.


Jiva

AND THE WINNERS ARE...........

Patti LuPone in Gypsy




Rondi Reed in August: Osage County




Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines in Gypsy



Deanna Dunagan in August: Osage County




Mark Rylance in Boeing Boeing




Lin Manuel Miranda in In The Heights




NUMBER OF AWARDS:

South Pacific 7
August: Osage County 5
In The Heights 4
Gypsy 3
Boeing-Boeing 2
The 39 Steps 2



June 15, 2008
www.TonyAwards.com

The Winners

Best Play
August: Osage County
Author: Tracy Letts
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Ostar Productions, Jennifer Manocherian, The Weinstein Company, Debra Black/Daryl Roth, Ronald & Marc Frankel/Barbara Freitag, Rick Steiner/Staton Bell Group, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Best Musical
In The Heights
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper

Best Book of a Musical
Passing Strange - Stew

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
In The Heights - Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Best Revival of a Play
Boeing-Boeing
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group

Best Revival of a Musical
South Pacific
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, André Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
Paulo Szot, South Pacific

Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical
Patti LuPone, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
Jim Norton, The Seafarer

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical
Laura Benanti, Gypsy

Best Scenic Design of a Play
Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County

Best Scenic Design of a Musical
Michael Yeargan, South Pacific

Best Costume Design of a Play
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Best Costume Design of a Musical
Catherine Zuber, South Pacific

Best Lighting Design of a Play
Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps

Best Lighting Design of a Musical
Donald Holder, South Pacific

Best Sound Design of a Play
Mic Pool, The 39 Steps

Best Sound Design of a Musical
Scott Lehrer, South Pacific

Best Direction of a Play
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County

Best Direction of a Musical
Bartlett Sher, South Pacific

Best Choreography
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights

Best Orchestrations
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights


Regional Theatre Tony Award
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award
Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by South Pacific.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Stephen Sondheim

WHAT A FABULOUS SHOW! THE ENERGY LEVEL AT THE TONY AWARDS KNOCKED ME OUT.
PATTI LUPONE SINGING "EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES" WAS SO POWERFUL,
THE AUDIENCE IMMEDIATELY CAME TO THEIR FEET IN A STANDING OVATION WHEN SHE SANG HER LAST NOTE.

HER ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHEN SHE WON FOR BEST LEADING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL, WAS SO HEARTFELT AND MOVING. AS THE ORCHESTRA TRIED TO END HER, SHE SHOUTED "IT'S BEEN 29 YEARS!" NOTING BACK TO HER ORIGINAL TONY AWARD FOR "EVITA".

THE MUSICAL NUMBERS HAD ME JUMPING UP AND DANCING. MY HAT GOES OFF TO WHOOPI, WHO DID A FABULOUS JOB OF HOSTING. SOME OF HER COMEDIC IDEAS WERE THEIR USUAL OUTRAGEOUSLY SHOCKING MOMENTS OF BIZARRE FLAMBOYISHNESS. SHE'S A WINNER TOO.

THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT I FELT WAS THE NOTICEABLE ABSENCE OF STEPHEN SONDHEIM, WHO WON A LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, AND HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, WHICH I THOUGHT PERHAPS COULD HAVE BEEN DONE VIA TV SCREEN OR VIDEO OF SOME SORT, WAS READ BY MANDY PATINKIN.
ALL THEY SHOWED WAS A GIANT PHOTO OF HIM. I WONDER WHERE HE WAS?

I THINK IT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST TONY AWARDS SHOW I HAVE SEEN. I EVEN SENT A NOTE TO CBS TELLING THEM HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT. THE SHOW COULD HAVE GONE ON FOR ANOTHER HOUR AS FAR AS I WAS CONCERNED.

I HOPE YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THE SHOW YOURSELF, AND THAT YOU ENJOYED IT AS MUCH AS I DID. NOW THAT THE AWARD "SEASON" IS OVER, IT'S BACK TO READING, WATCHING FILMS, AND SWIMMING!

See you next time,

Jiva

IT'S TONIGHT !! .........THE TONY AWARDS CBS 8 PM

Tony Night Schedule
6:00 p.m. ET – Red Carpet

The excitement of Tony night begins at at 6:00 p.m. ET with live coverage of the celebrities’ arrivals on the Red Carpet, in partnership with NY1 News.

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

Or if you check your TV schedules, there may be TV shows of the Red Carpet arrivals also. Check it out.

7:10 p.m. ET – Exclusive Webcast: The First Hour of the Tony Ceremony

Then, at approximately 7:10 p.m., you can log in for a TonyAwards.com exclusive. Their site is the only place to view a live webcast of the Creative Arts Tony Awards, sponsored by Hilton Hotels, along with the other awards handed out before the telecast begins. These include the Regional Theatre Tony Award, presented by Visa. Past winners Michael Cerveris and Julie White will host. You can see the presentations, acceptance speeches, and everything else that happens on stage—as if you were sitting in the Radio City auditorium.

8:00 p.m. ET – The Tony Telecast on CBS

And then comes the main event – the live CBS telecast from the stage at Radio City. The show begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern/7:00 p.m. central. On the West Coast, the show will be shown on tape delay beginning at 8:00 p.m. PT

TonyAwards.com Coverage

TonyAwards.com is your insider’s pass to this year’s awards. Here is some of what you can expect to find here during and after the telecast:

Thank-you Cam - Live video camera in the wings at Radio City will record the winners' immediate responses as they exit the stage after winning their Tony Awards. The backstage camera will capture intimate and exciting moments from the winners as they give thanks to the people that helped them along the way.

Posting Winners - The site will be updated throughout Tony night with the names of winners

Winners Circle Interviews – Valerie Smaldone will chat with the winners in the Press Room.

Press Room Blog – Bloging from the backstage press room, in partnership with MyBroadway.com.

Acceptance Speeches – See who thanked whom!

Photo Galleries – Pictures from the Red Carpet, the awards ceremony, the post-show gala, and more.


For West Coast Viewers
A note for friends on the West Coast: The Tony telecast will be broadcast on tape delay at 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time on CBS. However, for the benefit of those fans across the globe who do not have access to the broadcast, website coverage of the Tony Awards is live. The winners' names will be posted as they are announced, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT. So if you prefer to remain in suspense until you watch the telecast, we suggest that you log on to live Red Carpet and exclusive Creative Arts Awards coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT. Then close your browser and come back after the telecast is over, at which point you can watch video clips of backstage interviews with the winners and presenters.


See you at the Tonys!

Best Wishes, Jiva

THE TONY AWARDS !! SUNDAY JUNE 15

From the minute the Oscars are over, I'm waiting for the Tony's. Broadway's best comes on stage LIVE on CBS Sunday evening at 8 o'clock, EDT (Delayed on the West Coast). Whoopi Goldberg will be hosting. There are pre-show items on both The Tony Awards web site:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/index.html

and also ET television will have the RED CARPET arrivals from 6 PM to 7 PM, and then at 7 PM ET will have a webcast of the FIRST HOUR of the Tony Awards, showing all the awards that are not shown during the main show on CBS.

Here for your pleasure is the list of nominees for Sunday Night's Broadcast:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html

And HERE is the link to all the Tony web site's Memories, Flashbacks, AND actual
CLIPS FROM EACH SHOW which should help you in judging the winners yourself:

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/interactive/video/show.html#a

I hope you enjoy the show as much as I will. No parties at my house, just me, my television, and my list of winners! Cocktails following!

Jiva

GRADUATION 2008

Yard Parties (I think I went to five of them)!

Graduation Ceremony

Procession

Convocation

My nephew's daughter Carolyn graduated from Yarmouth High School on Saturday, and it was a rockin' time for us all. Two or three parties every day, tons of food and drinks, and now I'm going to have to quit eating for a week to get back to normal!

I met many wonderful people, had so many laughs, and enjoyed myself completely.
Yarmouth is this neat little town in Maine with only 8500 population, and most of those people are of the well educated group that finds a small, precious town to settle and raise their children to the highest standards. I was impressed with the community support for the graduates, the cheering, the applause, the awards, jokes, and all around smart thinking, knowing that these times are the ones their children will remember some day, and be proud. If I had kids, I would definitely send them to that wonderful school and town.

I think it's going to be a glorious summer!

Jiva

YARMOUTH, MAINE ~ A FINE PLACE TO VISIT

Yarmouth has the largest globe of the earth in America. It is enormous, and you can walk around it and see every place in the world and its location on the globe. Truly an unusual tourist event.

Yarmouth has many many boat harbors. Being so close to the Atlantic Coast allows boating enthusiasts to sail to their heart's content.

No shortage of those old mills!

A truly quaint train station. I don't know if trains run through there or not, although it does look clean and neat, so I expect a train must come through there now and then.

I am on my way to visit Three Nephews, who are all going to be in Yarmouth, Maine, this weekend, as part of graduation ceremonies for a couple of very special Young Ladies.

Yarmouth is a typical Maine town, filled with quaint old houses, winding streets, lots of trees, and access to water for boating. My three nephews, being my sister's sons, whose father was Scandinavian, have that disposition to colder climates, unlike me, an Italian who loves the tropics. So I take out the sweaters!

There is nothing like families being together, when everyone lives thousands of miles apart. One nephew lives in Denver, one in Baltimore, and the one hosting, in Yarmouth. There should be about 15 people in attendance. So it will be fun and cool!

Although, I bet I'll be glad to be back at the swimming pool in Florida on my return.... :)

See you next time...

Jiva

FAMED DIRECTOR SYDNEY POLLACK 73

CLEARLY, AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, HE WAS OUR GREATEST COMTEMPORARY FILM DIRECTOR. HIS FILMS LEFT A MARK ON SOCIETY, AND WILL BE CLASSICS ETERNALLY.

This Property Is Condemned

I CANNOT BELIEVE HE IS GONE. YESTERDAY. A MAN WHO KNEW HOW TO REACH INSIDE YOUR SOUL AND TOUCH THE MOST SENSITIVE NERVES OF YOUR EXISTENCE.

Three Days of The Condor

BACK IN 1971 I SAW A FILM CALLED THE SWIMMER WITH BURT LANCASTER. IT WAS A TRULY FASCINATING FILM, AND I WATCHED IT MANY TIMES. I LEARNED THAT MR. POLLOCK HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT FILM BRIEFLY. UNCREDITED.

The Swimmer

THEN THERE WAS THE LONG LIST OF OSCAR CONTENDERS AND STORIES THAT MADE ME

LAUGH, WEEP, THINK, AND BE CAPTIVATED.

The Way We Were

He was in 77 films as himself; he was a cinematographer in one; he was an actor in
32; he produced 47; and he directed 32.

Here is a list of his most notable films as director:

This Property is Condemned 1966 Natalie Wood, Robert Redford

The Swimmer 1968 Burt Lancaster, Janice Rule, Kim Hunter

They Shoot Horses Don't They? 1969 Jane Fonda, Gig Young

The Way We Were 1973 Barbra Streisand, Robert Redford

Three Days of The Condor 1975 Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway

Absence of Malice 1981 Paul Newman, Sally Field

Tootsie 1982 Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lang

Out of Africa 1985 Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Michael Kitchen

Havana 1990 Robert Redford, Lena Olin

The Firm 1993 Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman

Sabrina 1995 Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond

Random Hearts 1999 Harrison Ford, Kristin Scott Thomas

Sketches of Frank Gehry 2005 Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, Sydney Pollack

Tootsie

and when he died there were four projects in development. Apparently he had been suffering from cancer the last nine months, which I doubt few people knew. If I had known, I would have sent him a note.

Out Of Africa

So long for now, sadly...

Jiva

PICTURES THAT CAUGHT MY EYE.....

STARFISH WAVING THEIR ARMS FOR FOOD ~ DISCOVERED BY SCIENTISTS

RED TULIPS IN ASPEN BLOOMING IN THE SPRING THAW.....

LATE SPRINGTIME AND BEAUTIFUL WEATHER HERE IN FLORIDA, SWEET BREEZES, AND WARM SWIMMING POOLS. IT MAKES ME WANT TO LOOK AROUND THE COUNTRY AND SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OTHER PLACES, LIKE ASPEN, OR VIRGINIA, OR WYOMING.

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And here is a wonderful video someone sent me of a most amazing feat, and if anyone can tell me how this fellow does this illusion, I wish they would leave their comment on this page, so we can all know, as it is truly a magic trick beyond all comprehension.

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I'm going up to Maine the first week of June, lots of kids graduating from high school. After that, I'm looking forward to the Tony Awards on June 15. One of my favorite LIVE shows!

See you all next time,

Jiva

A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis

Seeing Bette Davis in Now Voyager was an event involving a full box of tissues for all the tears that came flowing down the cheeks of my mother, my sister and myself. Could there ever be one so courageous as to fight that dominating mother? To step out on the edge with no wings? To fall helplessly, hopelessly into the arms of a married man? To be a savior to his child? Ah, how could anyone play that part to perfection, as did dear Bette, to be so noble, so selfless, so enthralling. And those cigarettes! Well my dear, you never see anything like that anymore. Paul Henried would take two cigarettes, put them both in his mouth, light them, and take out one and hand it to her. They were BIG smokers! (Although I cannot remember ever seeing either one of them inhale). Somehow that scene has stayed with us over these many years.


If you are in Los Angeles, The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in association with the Film Department of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art presents A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis Hosted by Robert Osborne with special guests Joan Leslie, Michael Merrill, Gena Rowlands and James Woods.


A Centennial Tribute to Bette Davis will honor the legendary actress with an evening featuring clips of her indelible screen performances as well as onstage discussions with several of her colleagues and friends.


WHEN: Thursday, May 1, at 8 p.m.

WHERE: At the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

STANDBY TICKET INFORMATION: Additional tickets typically become available at the last minute due to no-shows or cancellations. On Thursday, May 1, a standby line will form at the corner of Almont and Wilshire at 5 p.m.; the number of standby tickets available for sale will be determined shortly before the 8 p.m. showtime.


For additional program information, please call (310) 247-3600.


“Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

The scene from Now Voyager, the ending...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2-KGiwGn1d8&feature=related

Courtesy of You Tube

See you next time!

Jiva

SOUTH PACIFIC AGAIN! ON BROADWAY!

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
photo credit

I saw South Pacific at the Shubert Theater in Chicago circa 1950.

Janet Blair played Nellie Forbush. I was an usherette, and after everyone was seated, I found a seat in the front row! Fabulous. My favorite part was when the sailor sang "Bloody Mary is the Girl I Love" wearing coconuts for a brassiere. The audience howled. I was very young, and it left an impression of the thrill of musical comedy that stays with me even today. (As you can probably see in this blog)!

It opened again Thursday night at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, only four days earlier than the original production which opened on April 7 in 1949 at The Majestic. The Broadway production of South Pacific was nominated for nine Tony Awards and won all of them, including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Libretto, and Best Director. It was the only musical production ever to win all four Tony Awards for acting. The musical was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950.

Thursday's revival won rave reviews, David Finkle from Theater Mania saying this: Full disclosure: South Pacific was the first show I ever saw on Broadway. Its beauty, humor, and power are in no small way responsible for why I write about theater today. So it's not in the cards that I'm going to say a discouraging word about this musical theater classic, which remains every beat and measure as magnificent as it was on its original opening night, April 7, 1949.

The New York Times has this review:

Optimist Awash in the Tropics
By BEN BRANTLEY
Published: April 4, 2008
Love blossoms fast and early in Bartlett Sher’s rapturous revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” which opened Thursday at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. And while you may think, “But this is so sudden,” you don’t doubt for a second that it’s the real thing.

See the entire review here:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/theater/reviews/04paci.html?ex=1365048000&en=c2608b0e8ff95e5c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

In other news, Gypsy opened in March starring Patti LuPone who also drew raves from the critics. I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but Stephen Joshua Sondheim, lyricist for Gypsy, was close friends as a boy with Jimmy Hammerstein, son of Oscar Hammerstein II, who became a surrogate father to Stephen and basically mentored him, encouraging his love of musical theater. Indeed, it was at the opening of Hammerstein's hit show South Pacific that Sondheim met Harold Prince, who would later direct many of Sondheim's most famous shows.

Hammerstein gave Stephen lessons on creating musical comedy and this liason between the two, along with Sondheim's deep interest, later resulted in six Tony Awards.

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Here is the striptease from Gypsy...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99tftNHE7ok&feature=related

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And here's a clip of a high schooler singing "Out of My Mind" from Follies five years ago.

I wonder where she is today?? I hope she's singing somewhere in New York!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6I-hKQgGCI&feature=related

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Courtesy of YouTube

See you next time,

Jiva

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APRIL 1ST = ALL FOOLS' DAY !

Don't you just want to sing, "What Kind of Fool Am I" today? Did anyone play an April Fool's joke on you?

The best April Fool's joke I ever played was on a Manager where I worked in Naples, FL. We all got together (there were six of us) and made up a new schedule for the day, showing that everyone had the day off except the Manager. This was a home for abused and abandoned children, so the place was packed with twenty little kids.

We all hid in the closet, with the door cracked open, so we could see the look on his face when he saw no one was around, and then looked at the schedule to see who was supposed to be in that morning. He leaned in closely to the schedule, squinted, did a double take, and then jumped back in horror! That was when we all jumped out of the closet and yelled, "April Fool!"

It was great. Hope you were a good fool today.

Here is a wonderful video surprise for some Canadians!

http://video.yahoo.com/network/100284668?v=1434223&l=3815931

Jiva

JERSEY BOYS

I saw Jersey Boys last night at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. I saw a most amazing performance with a touring company where two lead performances were done by understudies.
There aren't enough accolades to toss out to this cast. I'm going to have to name the performers and the parts they played, because even though I never saw the New York production, it is really difficult for me to imagine that it was better than the production I saw last night.

The audience gave a five minute standing ovation, and it would have gone on much longer, except one of the cast members insisted we all sit down and stop applauding. That was because they were promoting a Broadway Cares drive for donations to be collected as we left the theater. Even after that announcement, the audience stood up and started clapping again. The energy level was electric.

Here is the list of main performers:

Frankie Valli played by Christopher Kale Jones
Bob Gaudio played by Andrew Rannells
Tommy DeVito played by Matt Bailey (understudy)
Nick Massi played by Nathan Scherich (understudy)

I point out the understudies, because when I saw there were going to be replacements in the cast the night I saw the show, I was afraid it would possibly not be as good as the performers chosen for those roles. Hard to say, as the performances I saw were outstanding. If the original performers were better, it's almost hard to believe. Whatever! I had all I could do to keep from jumping out of my seat and screaming like a teen aged groupie.

The story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons has many dramatic elements.
It's not just the story of a singing group, it's the story of four boys from New Jersey, two of whom were either criminals or borderline criminals, except for Bob Gaudio, who was the composer of their songs, (he was the creative genius behind the group, and he was a fairly innocent guy compared to the others), and Frankie Valli who was 16 when Tommy first took him into the group. Their rise to fame transcended all the squabbling and fighting among the group. And the death of Frankie's 22 year old daughter in his later years was heartbreaking. Marshall Brickman, who wrote the book along with Rick Elice, has a resume` that would raise your eyebrows with his long lists of credits, among them being head writer on both The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and The Dick Cavett Show. He also wrote the scripts for many Woody Allen films, author or co-author (Sleeper, Annie Hall, Manhattan, Manhattan Murder Mystery).

I've seen a lot of Broadway shows and touring company shows. I used to see shows at The Shubert Theater in Chicago, when I lived there. I saw South Pacific with Janet Blair in the Mary Martin role. She was wonderful, but no Mary Martin. It was a great show, mainly because of the book and the songs. Aside from South Pacific, I'd have to say that my favorite shows as of today are Crazy For You, A Chrous Line, and now this Jersey Boys production. Dynamite productions and dynamite casts.

Here's a clip from the London Cast courtesy of YouTube:



Can't wait for The Tony Awards in June! See you there!

Jiva

IS THE AWARD SEASON OVER??

NOT BY A LONG SHOT! We still have the TONY AWARDS! That's Broadway, baby. I don't know which I love better, Broadway or Hollywood. We do have to wait a bit though, because the Tony Awards won't be on until June 15. The 62nd annual Tony Awards will be broadcast on CBS, live from Radio City Music Hall.

Top Girls is playing in London, and in New York, we have A Catered Affair, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Boeing Boeing, The Country Girl, Cry Baby, Gypsy, In the Heights, Avenue Q, Chicago, Curtains, Passing Strange, South Pacific, Sunday in the Park with George, Come Back Little Sheba, Mama Mia!, Jersey Boys, Top Girls, Thurgood, Xanadu, and more!


I will be seeing Jersey Boys next month right here in Florida. I can't wait! If I could transport myself molecularly, I'd be going to New York every weekend. To me, there is nothing like LIVE theater. I think that's why so many people love to watch The Oscars, not only because of all the stars, but because it's LIVE. And the Tony's are LIVE. It's so exciting, you never know what will happen from one minute to the next.

OK, I saw it! I saw Jersey Boys in Tampa on March 12 at 7:30 PM. Absolutely knocked my socks off!
Here's a clip for all you JB lovers, it's a ten star show... I think the touring company is BRILLIANT !
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P1bI-P-93Is
That's from the Tony Awards... and I'm telling you, this show I saw last night was better. The energy level was 120% non stop. Dynamite show, received a five minute standing ovation. And two of the main parts were played by understudies! I can't say enough about this performance, it was truly truly amazing.


Here is a clip from my absolutely favorite Broadway Show, CRAZY FOR YOU, where we see wonderful Harry Groener dancing so beautifully. Musicals are energizing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO3QGo5om6w

And then, Broadway wouldn't be Broadway without the fabulous A CHORUS LINE, and here is a clip from the 1976 Tony Awards with the ORIGINAL Chorus Line!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk5yIiG3ip4

All courtesy of YouTube

THE OSCARS !

I love the Academy Awards, I think I've been watching them ever since they first came on television! I was watching them when no one was watching them. I'd shut off the phone, fix some snacks and a drink, and settle down for a wonderful evening of red carpet arrivals, and all those excited winners and deflated losers. I loved trying to guess who would win, I'd root for my favorites and cheer them on, and become extremely agitated if they won, yelling YES YES! and even more so if they lost, as I'd be shouting at the screen, asking the academy how they could have voted for someone else. It was my favorite TV viewing night of the year.

And now it appears that the rest of the world has caught up with me, as now it is viewed by billions of people the world over, thanks to satellites and the prosperity of so many families that have TV's in their homes. Yes, the world is catching up to the United States in prosperity, thanks mostly to our exporting of democracy and captialism to other countries, they are enjoying the same benefits we enjoy.

The Oscars represent everything that is part of that great American Dream. It represents the best work of people who dream dreams, people who want to demonstrate what's possible. It's the people who create reality by creating fantasy, because not far behind these films comes the creation of similar ideas in life. Film is a medium so profound, it takes the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words, and translates into a film being worth a million words. Films can wake us up out of our complacent stupors. Films inspire, motivate, and create nostalgic looks back in time. Film is the art of the Twentieth Century, and hopefully, it will continue for another hundred fabulous years. The billions of people who watch The Oscars, they are dreamers too.



Jiva