Is it 2009 already?

I remember when everyone was freaking out about the year 2000. Where does the time go? Anyway, everyone have an awesome New Years! Please be safe and don't do anything stupid. I will catch y'all on the flip side.

Saddest Christmas ever

Eartha Kitt, Exotic Songstress and Actress, Dies at 81

By Robert Simonson
25 Dec 2008

Eartha Kitt
photo by David Turner/Studio D

Singer and actress Eartha Kitt, whose exotic, sex-kitten persona and sultry, purring vocal delivery was unlike anything that had come before her, though it has been much imitated since, died Dec. 25 of colon cancer, Variety reported. She was 81 and had remained a cabaret attraction until her final days.

Eartha Kitt was many things: a best-selling recording artist; a Tony-nominated stage actress; a sex symbol; a paragon of both high art and high camp; the author of three autobiographies. One thing she was not is unoriginal.

Born of severe poverty and deprivation, as an artist she nonetheless emanated the sophisticated ennui of a jaded jet-setter. Petite, with a truncated hourglass figure and an angular face a Cubist painter would admire, she radiated a brazen sexuality simultaneously dangerous and cartoonish (witness her famous portrayal of Catwoman in the television series "Batman"). Orson Welles, who cast her as Helen of Troy in a production of Dr. Faustus, once called her the "most exciting woman in the world."

The titles of her hit songs, mostly scored in the 1950s, illustrated her singular appeal, a mix of the alien, the arousing and the comic: "Let's Do It," "C'est si bon," "I Want to Be Evil," "Just an Old Fashioned Girl," "Monotonous," "Je cherche un homme," "Love for Sale," "I'd Rather Be Burned as a Witch," "Uska Dara," "Mink, Schmink," "Under the Bridges of Paris." Her most famous tune is the perennial holiday favorite, "Santa Baby," basically a long, manipulative mash note that turns St. Nick into a sugar daddy.

She made her mark on the U.S. stage in New Faces of 1952, a revue in which she stole the show with two songs that became staples for her, "Monotonous" and "Bal, Petit Bal." The lyrics to the former went:

T.S. Eliot writes books for me
King Farouk's on tenterhooks for me
Sherman Billingsley even cooks for me
Monotonous, monotonous.

Though she had occasional roles in important films, her larger-than-life persona was better suited to the Broadway and cabaret stages, where she never ceased to be appreciated. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in 1978's Timbuktu!, an African-American musical based on the earlier show Kismet. Twenty-two years later, when she was in her seventies, she returned to Broadway, playing an aging vamp in Michael John LaChiusa's The Wild Party, winning another Tony nomination. She made her final Broadway performance in the 2003 Broadway revival of Nine. In 2006 she acted in the short-lived Off-Broadway musical Mimi Le Duck.

In recent years, she has been a regular attraction at Café Carlyle, the swank Manhattan cabaret spot. She most recently played there this past June. In 2006 she released the album "Eartha Kitt: Live at the Carlyle."

Eartha Mae Keith was raised in punishing circumstances. Born out of wedlock, she claimed to be the child of a rape; her mother was a part-African-American, part-Cherokee-Native-American sharecropper in South Carolina, her father a white plantation owner of German and Dutch lineage. She was given away by her mother when she was eight, and raised in Harlem. Eartha Kitt believed that Mamie Kitt was her biological mother. Her new family often beat her and she frequently ran away from home. By her teens, she was living on her own.

Ms. Kitt started her career in show business as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company. A tour took her to Europe and Paris, where she sang in nightclubs and was discovered by Welles. Upon returning to New York, she soloed at The Village Vanguard where a producer saw her and cast her in New Faces of 1952.

Her first album, "RCA Victor Presents Eartha Kitt," came out in 1954, featuring such songs as "I Want to Be Evil," "C'est Si Bon" and "Santa Baby.” In 1955 she came out with "That Bad Eartha," which featured "Let's Do It," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "My Heart Belongs to Daddy." Over the years, she learned to perform in nearly a dozen languages, including French, Spanish and Turkish.

Her marriage to William O. McDonald, a real estate developer, from 1960 to 1965, resulted in a divorce and one child, Kitt McDonald Shapiro. She is survived by Ms. Shapiro and four grandchildren.

See? I'm not a grinch after all

My fave Christmas song, "O Holy Night." Enjoy!

Finally!

Shrek's Foster to Release Solo CD Feb. 17; Song List Announced

By Andrew Gans
16 Dec 2008

Cover art for "Wish"

Tony Award winner Sutton Foster, currently starring in Shrek the Musical, will release her debut solo recording Feb. 17, 2009, on the Ghostlight Records label.

Entitled "Wish," the 15-track CD was produced by Joel Moss and co-produced by Michael Rafter. Executive producers are Kurt Deutsch and actress-singer Foster, whose original artwork is featured in the CD package.

The complete track listing for "Wish" follows:

"I'm Beginning to See The Light" -(Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James)
"Warm All Over" (Frank Loesser)
"The Late, Late Show" (Murray Berlin, Roy Alfred)
"Up on the Roof" (Carole King, Gerald Goffin)
"My Romance"/"Danglin'" - (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers/Maury Yeston)
"I Like The Sunrise" (Duke Ellington)
"Air Conditioner" (Christine Lavin)
"Sunshine on My Shoulders" - (John Denver, Richard Kniss, Michael Taylor)
"My Heart Was Set on You" - (Jeff Blumenkrantz)
"Flight" (Craig Carnelia) - Duet with Megan McGinnis
"Once Upon a Time" - (Charles Strouse, Lee Adams)
"Nobody's Cryin'" (Patty Griffin)
"Come the Wild, Wild Weather" - (Noel Coward)
"On My Way" (Music by Jeanine Tesori, Lyrics by Brian Crawley)
"Oklahoma" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) - Bonus Track

In the liner notes for the new CD, Tony winner Dick Scanlan writes, "If the song list is eclectic, so is the singer. You know that magical quality of morning light after a night of torrential downpour? Redemptive. Pure. Joyful, but a joy hard-won by having survived the rain. Listen to Sutton's take on 'Sunshine' (a bold choice, given the knee-jerk dismissal the song often elicits). This is an ode to the sun offered up by someone who has known the clouds — perhaps quite recently — and is that much more grateful for warmth, for energy, for all that is life affirming. Optimistic by choice, because she knows the alternative is the easier option, and nothing good ever comes easy."

Foster will celebrate her new disc with a Feb. 19, 2009, concert in Manhattan as part of the Lincoln Center Songbook series.

Sutton Foster received a Tony nomination for her work in the hit musical The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre. The singing actress starred in the title role of Thoroughly Modern Millie and received the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Astaire awards for that performance. She also received a Tony nomination for her performance in Little Women, and her other Broadway credits include roles in Young Frankenstein, Les Misérables, Annie, The Scarlet Pimpernel and Grease!. Foster's regional and tour credits include What the World Needs Now, Dorian, Three Musketeers, South Pacific and The Will Rogers Follies.

Foster currently plays Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical at the Broadway Theatre.

This made me cry

Bettie Page dies at 85; pinup queen played a key role in the sexual revolution of the 1960s and later became a cult figure

By Louis Sahagun

December 12, 2008

Bettie Page, the brunet pinup queen with a shoulder-length pageboy hairdo and kitschy bangs whose saucy photos helped usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, has died. She was 85.

Page, whose later life was marked by depression, violent mood swings and several years in a state mental institution, died Thursday night at Kindred Hospital in Los Angeles, where she had been on life support since suffering a heart attack Dec. 2, according to her agent, Mark Roesler.

A cult figure, Page was most famous for the estimated 20,000 4-by-5-inch black-and-white glossy photographs taken by amateur shutterbugs from 1949 to 1957. The photos showed her in high heels and bikinis or negligees, bondage apparel -- or nothing at all.

Decades later, those images inspired biographies, comic books, fan clubs, websites, commercial products -- Bettie Page playing cards, dress-up magnet sets, action figures, Zippo lighters, shot glasses -- and, in 2005, a film about her life and times, "The Notorious Bettie Page."

Then there are the idealized portraits of her naughty personas -- Nurse Bettie, Jungle Bettie, Voodoo Bettie, Banned in Boston Bettie, Maid Bettie, Crackers in Bed Bettie -- memorialized by such artists as Olivia de Berardinis.

"I'll always paint Bettie Page," De Berardinis said Thursday night . "But truth be told, it took me years to understand what I was looking at in the old photographs of her. Now I get it. There was a passion play unfolding in her mind. What some see as a bad girl image was in fact a certain sensual freedom and play-acting - it was part of the fun of being a woman."

"The origins of what captures the imagination and creates a particular celebrity are sometimes difficult to define," Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner said Thursday night. "Bettie Page was one of Playboy magazine's early playmates, and she became an iconic figure, influencing notions of beauty and fashion. Then she disappeared. . . . Many years later, Bettie resurfaced and we became friends. Her passing is very sad."

In an interview two years ago, Hefner described Page's appeal as "a combination of wholesome innocence and fetish-oriented poses that is at once retro and very modern."

According to her agents at CMG Worldwide, Page's official website, www.BettiePage.com, has received about 600 million hits over the last five years.

"Bettie Page captured the imagination of a generation of men and women with her free spirit and unabashed sensuality," said Roesler, chairman of the Indianapolis-based CMG Worldwide, who was at Page's side when she died. "She was a dear friend and a special client and one of the most beautiful and influential women of the 20th century."

A religious woman in her later life, Page was mystified by her influence on modern popular culture. "I have no idea why I'm the only model who has had so much fame so long after quitting work," she said in an interview with The Times in 2006.

She had one request for that interview: that her face not be photographed.

"I want to be remembered," she said, "as I was when I was young and in my golden times. . . . I want to be remembered as the woman who changed people's perspectives concerning nudity in its natural form."

Bettie Mae Page was born April 22, 1923, in Nashville. She was the oldest girl among Roy and Edna Page's six children. Her father, an auto mechanic, "molested all three of his daughters," Page said in the interview.

Her parents divorced in 1933, but life didn't get any easier for Bettie.

"All I ever wanted was a mother who paid attention to me," Page recalled. "She didn't want girls. She thought we were troubleWhen I started menstruating at 13, I thought I was dying because she never taught me anything about that."

After high school, Page earned a teaching credential. But her career in the classroom was short-lived. "I couldn't control my students, especially the boys," she said.

She tried secretarial work and marriage. But by 1948 she had divorced a violent husband and fled to New York City, where she enrolled in acting classes.

She was noticed on the beach at Coney Island by New York police officer and amateur photographer Jerry Tibbs, who introduced her to camera clubs.

Page quickly became a sought-after model, attracting the attention of Irving Klaw and his sister, Paula, who operated a mail-order business specializing in cheesecake and bondage poses.

Under contract with the Klaws, Page was photographed prancing around with a whip, spanking other women, even being hog-tied. She also appeared in 8-millimeter "loops" and feature-length peekaboo films with titles including "Betty Page in High Heels."

"I had lost my ambition and desire to succeed and better myself; I was adrift," Page recalled. "But I could make more money in a few hours modeling than I could earn in a week as a secretary."

Her most professional photographs were taken in 1955 by fashion photographer Bunny Yeager. They included shots of Page lounging with leopards, frolicking in the waves and deep-sea fishing, and a January 1955 Playboy centerfold of her winking under a Santa Claus cap while placing a bulb on a Christmas tree.

At 35, Page walked away from it all. She quit modeling and moved to Florida, where she married a much younger man whose passions, she later learned, were watching television and eating hamburgers.

Page fled from her home in tears after a dispute on New Year's Eve 1959. Down the street, she noticed a white neon sign over a little white church with its door open.

After quietly taking a seat in the back, she had a born-again experience. Page immersed herself in Bible studies and served as a counselor for the Billy Graham Crusade.

In 1967, she married for a third time. After that marriage ended in divorce 11 years later, Page plunged into a depression marked by violent mood swings. She got into an argument with her landlady and attacked her with a knife. A judge found her innocent by reason of insanity but sentenced her to 10 years in a California mental institution.

She was released in 1992 from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County to find that she had unwittingly become a pop-culture icon. A movie titled "The Rocketeer" and the comic book that inspired it contained a Bettie-esque character, triggering a revival, among women as well as men, that continues unabated.

With the help of admirers including Hefner, Page finally began receiving a respectable income for her work.

In an interview published in Playboy magazine in 2007, Page expressed mixed feelings about her achievements.

"When I turned my life over to the lord Jesus I was ashamed of having posed in the nude," she said. "But now, most of the money I've got is because I posed in the nude. So I'm not ashamed of it now. But I still don't understand it."

She spent most of her final years in a one-bedroom apartment, reading the Bible, listening to Christian and country tunes, watching westerns on television, catching up on the latest diet and exercise regimens or sometimes perusing secondhand clothing stores.

Occasionally, however, Page was persuaded to visit the Sunset Boulevard penthouse offices of her agents to autograph pinups of herself in the post-World War II years of her prime.

During one such event in early 2006, Page needed about 10 minutes to get through the 10 letters of her name. As she pushed her pen over a portrait of her in a negligee with an ecstatic smile, she laughed and said, "My land! Is that supposed to be me? I was never that pretty."

Sahagun is a Times staff writer.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

Cadillac Records

Is anyone else super stoked to see this?

No day but today

"Live" Rent Film, with Final Broadway Cast, Will Get February 2009 DVD Release

By Kenneth Jones
and Andrew Gans
24 Nov 2008

Rent star Eden Espinosa
photo by Casey Stouffer

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release "Rent Filmed Live on Broadway" on Blu-ray and DVD Feb. 3, 2009.

Extras for this release include special features titled "The Wall," "The Final Curtain," "Home," "The Final Lottery," "Casting," "Rent: The Final Days on Broadway," "Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation PSA" and "National Marfan Foundation PSA." Marfan Syndrome led to the early and tragic death of Rent's young composer-lyricist-librettist, Jonathan Larson.

*

Screenings of this high-def filming of the final Broadway cast of Larson's Rent, the Tony Award-winning musical that ended its acclaimed 12-year-run at the Nederlander Theatre Sept. 7, began Sept. 24 at cinemas around the country.

The Aug. 20 and Sept. 7 performances of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical were filmed live at the Nederlander Theatre. A composite of those two evenings — including the Sept. 7 finale that featured many of the show's original stars — were "cinecast" in movie theatres nationwide.

Audiences around the country had the chance to view the final Broadway cast of Rent Sept. 24 and 25 (evening screenings) and Sept. 27 and 28 (afternoon screenings).

Hundreds of theatres across the country offered the screenings. In Manhattan, fans of the rock-scored musical viewed the cinecast at the AMC Loews 84th Street, Clearview Chelsea Cinemas on West 23rd Street, Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 on West 42nd Street, and the Regal Union Square Stadium 14 at 850 Broadway.

The film, which utilizes high-definition video and digital audio technology, was directed by Michael Warren. Cinematographer Declan Quinn and Grammy-winning music producer Giles Martin were also brought on board to heighten the visual and audio elements of the film.

About the filming of Rent, Renée Elise Goldsberry — the final actress to play the role of Mimi — recently told Playbill.com, "[There is a] difference between a staged performance and a cinematic performance… and [we had to trust] that the people that we didn't know that were producing and directing [the cinecast] would capture it in a way that did it justice and the characters justice and us justice. You worry about things like, 'Will they catch this particular moment? Will my face be huge on a screen while I'm sweating? The one moment that it's recording this, will it be as true as it normally is?' So you think about all of those things, but I felt, on that particular day … it was kind of like getting married. There's all this anxiety before and stress and preparation, and everyone's freaking out on some level. And then the day arrives and, all of a sudden, it's the perfect day. Everything falls into place even if you didn't think it was what it was going to be. It just felt like a blessed day. . . . I know that a camera telling a story is a very specific tool: It basically tells your eye where to go. It's very different from watching a show in the theatre, so it's extremely important that the director who is directing the camera is telling the right story, and I think that [cinecast director Michael Warren] did a brilliant job."

	Michael McElroy and Justin Johnston in Rent
	photo by Casey Stouffer

The filming is part of a new business venture launched by Sony Pictures Releasing, which is entitled The Hot Ticket. The Hot Ticket, according to a press release, will "distribute event programming, including popular music concerts, the performing arts, and sporting events in high definition digital projection to select movie theaters nationwide."

The final cast of Rent included Tracie Thoms (who was the movie's Joanne) as Joanne, Will Chase as Roger, Renèe Elise Goldsberry as Mimi, Eden Espinosa as Maureen, Michael McElroy as Collins, Adam Kantor as Mark, Justin Johnston as Angel and (original ensemble member) Rodney Hicks as Benny with Shaun Earl, Andrea Goss, Marcus Paul James, Telly Leung, Tracy McDowell, Jay Wilkison, (original ensemble member) Gwen Stewart and Destan Owens.

Rent, which has book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson, is the seventh longest-running show in Broadway history.

Rent, directed by Michael Greif, opened on Broadway April 29, 1996, following a sold-out, extended limited engagement at Off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop. The musical went on to win every major best musical award, including the Tony Award, New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award.

Rent is one of only seven musicals to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The Rent cinecast should not be confused with the "Rent" film, which was directed by Chris Columbus and featured much of the original Broadway cast.

For information visit www.rent.thehotticket.net.

*

As previously announced, a new tour of Rent — starring original cast members Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal — will kick off in January 2009.

Rent's Will Chase and Renée Elise Goldsberry on stage and in focus.
photo by Casey Stouffer

Twilight

Paramore's new song from the Twilight soundtrack, check it.


Also, buy Topic Thunder on dvd. Robert Downey Jr. as a black man is the funniest thing ever.

My latest guilty pleasure

So I admit that I freakin love Taylor Swift! I can't stop listening to "Love Story."

This just made my day

Lea Salonga is coming to Buffalo!

Lea Salonga Will Perform Concerts in California, New York, Nevada and More in 2009

By Andrew Gans
12 Nov 2008

Lea Salonga

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, who is currently starring in the title role of the international tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, will perform in concert in the U.S. and Canada in 2009.

According to Billboard.com, the acclaimed singing actress is scheduled to offer concerts in Nevada, Washington, California, Indiana, New York, Hawaii and more in 2009.

Salonga's current tour dates follow:
May 1, 2009 at the UNLV Performing Arts Center in Las Vegas, NV
May 3 at the Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia
May 4 at the Snoqualmie Casino Ballroom in Snoqualmie, WA
May 9 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Ontario
May 24 at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno, NV
May 30 at the Asian American Symphony in Los Angeles, CA
Sept. 25 at the Horseshoe Southern Indiana in Elizabeth, IN
Sept. 26 at the The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN
Oct. 9 at the UB Center for the Arts in Buffalo, NY
Oct. 16-17 at the Cache Creek Indian Casino in Brooks, CA
Nov. 13 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Concert Hall in Honolulu, HI
Nov. 14 at the Castle Theater in Kahului, HI

Salonga catapulted to international stage stardom when she was chosen to star as Kim in the 1989 London world premiere of Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Only 17 at the time, Philippines native Salonga received critical acclaim and went on to win the Olivier Award as Best Actress in a Musical. In 1991 she reprised her performance on Broadway, again earning rave reviews and winning the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical, along with Best Actress honors from the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics' Circle. Salonga returned to Broadway in 2002, starring in the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song. She also made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall to a sold-out crowd and was most recently on Broadway as Fantine in the revival of Les Misérables.

Please welcome Liz Lemon!

So I was watching 30 Rock last night and I almost died laughing! It was one of the funniest shows ever. Watching Jane Krakowski dressed up as a black man, singing "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz...hilarious!! And...Oprah!

Crazy weather in the 716

November in Buffalo sounds like it would be really cold, right? Not today. It was sunny, clear blue skies, upper 60's...gorgeous! Yesterday was really nice too and tomorrow is supposed to be in the 60's. Crazy!! But I better hold onto my fuckin hat, because this weekend is supposed to in the 40's and snowy ugh.

Yay for Barack Obama!! We did it!

Happy Birthday Justine Waddell!!

Happy Birthday to one of my fave actresses, Justine Waddell. Have a great one and cheers to another wonderful year!

On another note, everyone go out and vote today. We can change!

Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has an awesome Halloween. Get lots of candy and be safe!

Holy crazy windy Batman!

I went to run some errands today. Bad decision. Before I went out, I had a feeling I should've stayed home. It was really really windy! And also really cold. I almost got blown away! It's such a pain in the ass when you're out doing stuff and the wind is in your face, forcing water from your eyes, messing up your hair. I hate it! Then trying to get into your car is a challenge. The door fuckin flies open and you don't want to hit the car next to you...ugh such a pain in the ass.

I hate Sarah Palin!

BFF

I got a new tat today! It's my best friend, Melissa, and I love it!

This makes me sad

Four Tops Singer Stubbs Dies At 72

17 October 2008 11:07 AM, PDT

Legendary Four Tops singer Levi Stubbs has died after a long illness, aged 72.

Stubbs, a cousin of R+B legend Jackie Wilson, died on Friday at his home in Detroit, Michigan. The exact cause of death had not been released as WENN went to press.

The star sang lead on some of the vocal group's most memorable hits, including Reach Out I'll Be There, I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch), Baby I Need Your Loving, and Standing in the Shadows of Love.

Born Levi Stubbles in Detroit in 1936, the singer formed a doo-wop quartet with his friends Abdul 'Duke' Fakir, Renaldo 'Obie' Benson and Lawrence Payton in 1954.

Initially going under the moniker Four Aims, the band changed its name to Four Tops in 1956 and gained a following as a club act. After signing to Motown Records in 1963, the group notched up a string of hits which have endured as classics for more than 40 years.

The group continued to tour, but Stubbs stepped down from his role in 2000 after he was diagnosed with cancer. He later suffered a stroke, and had been in poor health ever since.

He is survived by his wife of 48 years, Clineice, and their five children.

Here he is, as the voice of Audrey 2 from my fave movie Little Shop of Horrors.

Hmm...

I don't know how I feel about this yet. And my birthday sucked so don't ask.

Oscar-winning 'Once' to become Broadway musical

2:54 PM, October 16, 2008

"Once," the indie film underdog that waltzed away with an Oscar for best original song in 2007, will become a musical with sights set on Broadway.

Tony-winning producers John N. Hart Jr., Jeff Sine and Fred Zollo have acquired the live theater rights to the movie with the intention of bringing it to Broadway during the 2010-2011 season.

No word yet on the creative team for the theatrical adaptation of "Once," though producers are expected to announce that shortly.

Set in Dublin, "Once" tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant who meet and begin writing songs with the hopes of landing a music contract. The movie won an Oscar for the song "Falling Slowly," which was written by the principal actors, Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

— David Ng

Photo credit: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Almost famous

If you didn't already know, I'm a huge fan of Kerry Butler. I have a portrait tattoo of her on my arm. When I met her, I showed it to her and she loved it! Well, about a week ago, a friend of mine was like "I think you're mentioned in 2007-2008 Playbill Yearbook, in the Xanadu section." So of course, I bought it and sure enough my Kerry Butler tat is mentioned =) If you want to buy the book, you can buy it here. I'm not telling you to buy it just because I'm mentioned. It really is a fantastic book. It features all of the Broadway shows that ran between June 2007 and May 2008. 2 days till my birthday! Woohoo!

Birthday Week!

So my birthday is on Thurs, the 16th, and my b-day week is off to an awesome start! Today, the Sabres kicked ass with a 7-1 win over the Islanders. Also, I love Rachel Maddow.

I need a hoochie coochie man

I love some Muddy Waters. That's really good shit.
Hoochie Coochie Man


Long Distance Call

Autumn

Now that Autumn is here, I think every girl should treat themselves to a brand new Dolly bag! A friend of mine started her own business called Dungaree Dolly's. She makes the cutest handbags! Every girl must have one. So go buy one and treat yourself! My birthday is this month so I bought myself a present hehe I can't wait to wear it!

Movies to see this month

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Now Playing
Quarantine - Oct. 10th
Changeling - Oct. 24th
Saw V - Oct. 24th
Splinter - Oct. 31st

and...

Nights in Rodanthe. ok I'm embarrassed to admit that I really want to see it. Two words...Diane Lane! The chemistry between her and Richard Gere is electric! And...Diane Lane.

I can see Russia from my house!

I hope everyone will be watching the Vice Presidential debate tonight! I really hope Biden just rips Sarah Palin a new one and proves how unqualified she really is.

Chelsea Handler rules

Did anyone catch her on the Leno last night? She is so freakin funny. When talking about the election, she said something like "you have to decide for this election, do you like your coffee black or with expired milk?" Funniest line ever.

Quarantine

I cannot wait to see this.

Broadway stars and the Sabres!

So on Sat night, I saw Bernadette Peters in concert! She's so amazing. I love her. The highlight of the night for me was when she sang "Fever." She began snapping her fingers and then climbed on top of the piano to sing the rest of the song. She gave the sexiest performance ever. It was so much fun to watch. I've always been a huge Bernadette fan, so getting the chance to see her perform was such a treat.

After I saw Drowsy Chaperone at the beginning of the year, I became a huge fan of Andrea Chamberlain. So I decided to write her and a few weeks later, I received a signed program with a letter attached. She said she didn't have any headshots on tour with her so she sent a signed program instead. She's so nice! Anyway, a few months ago I wrote her again and asked if she wouldn't mind sending me a signed headshot, whenever she got the chance. I really wanted one to add to my collection. Well, today I received a signed headshot from her!!! How freakin awesome is that?! She's so cool.

Tonight, the Sabres play their first pre-season game! Go Sabres! I'm so excited, I cannot wait!!

In memory of Heath Ledger

My new Joker tat

I'm really bummed...

Broadway's Xanadu to Close in October

By Andrew Gans
16 Sep 2008

Kerry Butler in Xanadu.
photo by Paul Kolnik

Xanadu, the Tony-nominated musical based on the infamous flop film of the same name, will play its final performance at Broadway's Helen Hayes Theatre Oct. 12.

When it closes the musical will have played a total of 49 previews and 528 regular performances.

In a statement lead producer Robert Ahrens said, "It was a joy to work on Xanadu, a project that I truly believed in. The cast, which became a family, was superbly talented as was the entire creative team. It's a rare treat to have such a special experience. All of my partners, including Tara Smith, B. Swibel, Dan Vickery, Cari Smulyan, Dale Smith, and Sara Murchison made their Broadway [producing] debuts with the show and their enthusiasm and belief in the project was unparallel. I thank them all."

Xanadu currently features 2008 Tony nominee Kerry Butler, Cheyenne Jackson, Tony Roberts, Mary Testa, Jackie Hoffman, Curtis Holbrook, Kenita Miller, Patti Murin, Marty Thomas, André Ward and Jacob Ben Widmar. Christopher Ashley directed with Dan Knechtges providing the choreography.

Xanadu boasts a book by Little Dog Laughed playwright Douglas Carter Beane — a 2007 and 2008 Tony Award nominee — and utilizes songs from John Farrar and Jeff Lynne's film soundtrack. The musical, according to press notes, "tells the story of one of the nine muses of ancient Greece who comes to earth to inspire the greatest of artistic achievements – a roller disco. Along the way she falls in love, bumps into an old acquaintance and for the first time, feels the desire to create herself."

Xanadu received four 2008 Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Musical.

The Xanadu cast recording is available on the PS Classics label.

The national tour of Xanadu will kick off in November at the La Jolla Playhouse, followed by a six-month run at Chicago's Drury Lane Theatre. Additional tour dates will be announced at a later time.

A foreign production recently opened in Seoul, Korea. Plans are underway for productions in London (co-produced with David Ian and John Gore), China, Australia and the Philippines.

The Helen Hayes Theatre is located in Manhattan at 240 West 44th Street. For tickets call (212) 239-6200.

Tina Fey rules

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin is the funniest thing ever!

Another reason to like Matt Damon

I have to admit, I wasn't a huge Matt Damon fan. After watching this video, I love him.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Today is my nephew's 7th birthday! So Happy B-day to him! And 9 to 5 premieres in LA. Woohoo!!

A Cup of Ambition: 9 to 5: The Musical Comes to Life Sept. 9 in Los Angeles

By Andrew Gans
and Kenneth Jones
09 Sep 2008

9 to 5 workers: Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Stephanie J. Block
photo by Justin Stephens

9 to 5: The Musical — boasting a score by the Grammy Award-winning star of the concert stage and screen, Dolly Parton — makes its debut Sept. 9 at the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre. Two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Wicked, Take Me Out, Assassins) directs.

The eagerly awaited show was first expected to bow at the Ahmanson in L.A. Sept. 3 but was delayed to Sept. 6 due to technical problems. A second delay pushed the preview date to Sept. 9.

Michael Ritchie, CTG artistic director, said in a recent statement, "I hate disappointing these early preview audiences, but thankfully we have the ability to add performances later in the run to help re-locate our audiences. And once they see the show, they will understand why we are taking the extra time to meet this musical's large technical demands. 9 to 5: The Musical is one of the biggest shows ever produced at the Ahmanson, and big shows, with this quality of cast and creative team deserve the utmost support in their development. To do any less would be a disservice to all."

Previews now run Sept. 9-19, with the opening date of Sept. 20 remaining unchanged.

9 to 5: The Musical has music and lyrics by seven-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Parton, book by Patricia Resnick and choreography by Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler.

Parton's original score for 9 to 5: The Musical includes over 20 new songs as well as the Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated No. 1 Billboard title song. "Backwoods Barbie," heard on Parton's new album of the same name, is also part of the show's score, Parton previously said.

Multiple Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Allison Janney stars as Violet Newstead, the super efficient office manager who joins her co-workers — the frazzled divorcee Judy Bernly, played by Stephanie J. Block, and the sexy executive secretary Doralee Rhodes, played by Megan Hilty, to turn the tables on their boss, the "sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot" Franklin Hart, Jr., played by two-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch.

The 30-member cast also features Andy Karl, Kathy Fitzgerald, Ioana Alfonso, Timothy Anderson, Jennifer Balagna, Justin Bohon, Paul Castree, Daniel Cooney, Jeremy Davis, Gaelen Gilliland, Autumn Guzzardi, Ann Harada, Lisa Howard, Van Hughes, Kevin Kern, Brendan King, Michael X. Martin, Michael Mindlin, Karen Murphy, Mark Myars, Jessica Lea Patty, Charlie Pollock, Tory Ross, Wayne Schroder, Maia Nkenge Wilson and Brandi Wooten.

The production features scenic design by two-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by eight-time Tony Award winners Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, sound design by John Shivers, with musical supervision by Stephen Oremus (Wicked, All Shook Up).

Audiences for the canceled previews will be moved to other performances, including two specially added performances: a preview on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 1 PM and a 6:30 PM performance on the closing date of Oct. 19.

Following its Los Angeles run, 9 to 5 will begin Broadway previews March 24, 2009, and open April 23, 2009, at the Marquis Theatre.

To purchase tickets for 9 to 5: The Musical, call (213) 628-2772. For more information visit www.9to5themusical.com.

9 to 5 stars: Stephanie J. Block, Allison Janney, Megan Hilty and Marc Kudisch.

Sorry Michael Buble

You're not Nina Simone.

yay for Campbell Brown!

She rules! This video is awesome.

Funniest pic ever

Robert Downey Jr. as a black man...totally hilarious!

Sing the last thing on your mind...

I'm totally obsessed with this song right now. I love it!

A Seinfeld moment

A few days ago, my nephew was sitting on the couch watching a movie...and he peed. Of course he had to pee in the spot where I sit the most. Dammit! It's fucking gross! Our couch doesn't have cushions that you can flip over, although flipping it over doesn't do anything! It's still disgusting. I'm not George Costanza. So, after hours of cleaning and a few days later...I still haven't been able to sit in that spot. Ew!

Getting in touch with Sienna Guillory

So last year I got a portrait tattoo of Sienna Guillory in "Resident Evil: Apocalypse." She's one of my fave actresses and she rules. She had a myspace page, but who really knows if it was run by her. After I got my tattoo done, I sent a pic of it to her myspace page and she posted it in her pics and said it was "brilliant." It was probably just a fan page or something, but now I will never know because that page has been deleted. So, I'm asking if anyone knows of any fan mail addresses or contact addresses, please let me know. I would absolutely love to send her a pic and see what she thinks of my kick ass tat.

This is bizarre

I'm still a fan of Nicole Kidman!

Report of Nicole Kidman aiding Studio Arena may not be true

Updated: 08/25/08 3:07 PM

The News has learned that a widely circulated report about Nicole Kidman stepping to the aid of Studio Arena Theatre is likely fabricated.

The News has been unable to corroborate the original report, which was posted on Saturday to the Web site PR-inside.com.

That report claimed that Kidman told reporters in London that big-name New York City actors should contribute money to the struggling theater. It also attributed to Kidman a quotation lifted nearly verbatim from a story about Studio Arena published in The News in July.

Kidman's publicist, Catherine Olim, described the story as "highly suspect," noting that Kidman did not arrive in London until Monday, while the online report claims she spoke to reporters in London on Saturday.

Studio Arena Managing Director Iain Campbell said he could not verify the story about Kidman and said that no one representing her has been in touch with the theater.

"How are we supposed to know? We are also working to corroborate the story," Campbell said. "All I can say is I'm glad something is finally diverting this community's attention to a very just cause."

--Colin Dabkowski

I'll never forget you

Tomorrow I will be putting my cat (Casey) of 18 years to sleep. He has been sick for the past few months and then a couple of nights ago, he stopped eating and drinking. Today, he still didn't eat or drink anything. He's really weak and he's been sleeping all day. So everyone in my family made the decision to put him down. It's really the best thing to do.

I'm listening to my iPod on shuffle and "Photograph" by Nickelback came on (yes I like a few songs, don't be hatin). Anyway, there's one line that really got me, "It's hard to say it, time to say it, Goodbye..." Casey, remember that time? I'll miss you...

Oww

So this is my newest tattoo. It's my dog, Oz. I finally finished the coloring and it looks gorgeous! I love it!

I hate thunderstorms

So I have a 5 year old Doberman named "Oz." I love him to pieces and he's my baby. We both are scared of thunderstorms. Whenever there's a storm he's always by my side and follows me around everywhere. Well, right now there's a storm passing through and guess who is laying on the floor in my room next to me? It's a shame that Dobermans have a bad reputation. Oz is an absolute sweetheart who's scared of pretty much everything lol what a baby =)

Yay for awesome songs in commercials!

Have you guys seen the new GM car commercial? The song used is Brandi Carlile's "The Story." It's definitely one of my fave songs used in a commerical. My other fave is The New Pornographers "Bleeding Heart Show" in the University of Phoenix commericals. Here is Brandi Carlile singing "The Story" live. Fucking awesome song!

No fear no regrets

That is the motto of the USA men's gymnastics team, who are doing exceptionally well without the Athens Gold Medal winners, the Hamm brothers. Those men have that never give up attitude and are focused on that Gold medal. All the odds are against them and they want to prove to everyone that they can win without the Hamm brothers.

All of the American athletes competing have that determination and are an inspiration to everyone. The USA Softball team plays tonight and I cannot wait! I have absolute faith that they will take home the Gold and go out with a bang. If you haven't heard, Softball will not be played in the 2012 Olympics in London. It's such a shame. The sport of Softball is getting more recognition and is more popular than ever. I really hope they reinstate Softball into the 2016 Olympics.

I know that everyone has heard that French swimmer say they were going to "smash" the American relay team. That relay was the most exciting thing I have ever seen. I know it sounds cliche, but I am fuckin proud to be an American.

Good bye Chef

How weird is it that Bernie Mac died on Sat and Isaac Hayes is gone the very next day?

Musician Isaac Hayes Dies

10 August 2008 3:21 PM, PDT

Musician Isaac Hayes has died. He was 65.

Hayes passed away on Sunday morning at a Memphis, Tennessee hospital. The cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

According to reports, the songwriter was rushed to Baptist East Hospital after receiving a call from Hayes' wife who found him lying near a treadmill in their home.

Police at The Shelby County Sheriff's Office are investigating the star's death, but do not believe foul play was a factor.

Born in 1942 in Covington, Tennessee, Hayes was raised by his maternal grandparents, who moved the family to Memphis when he was six.

Hayes' early ambitions of becoming a doctor were redirected when he won a talent contest in ninth grade, singing Nat King Cole's Looking Back.

A self-taught musician, he was hired in 1964 by Tennessee-based Stax Records as a backup pianist, working as a session musician for music greats including Otis Redding. He then paved his way to stardom with the release of his album Hot Buttered Soul in 1969.

The soul singer then broke out with a number one hit with the 1971 Grammy Award-winning Theme From Shaft from the iconic movie, starring actor Richard Roundtree.

Hayes' chart-topping singles also include Hold On, I'm Coming and Soul Man.

In the early 1970s, Hayes continued to forge a path for disco and urban-contemporary music, making way for legendary singers like Barry White.

In a 1999 interview reflecting on his career he said of his influence: "I knew nothing about the business, or trends and things like that. I think it was a matter of timing. I didn't know what was unfolding."

In addition to music, Hayes appeared in several movies, including It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage, Ninth Street with Martin Sheen and Reindeer Games, starring Ben Affleck.

Hayes enjoyed success as a radio show host in New York City from 1996 to 2002, and later in Memphis.

His distinctive voice can also be heard as part of Nickelodeon's "Nick at Nite" programme and in scenes from his role as Chef during a stint on animated TV show South Park.

Don't be so naughty

The word "naughty" spoken in a British accent is the best sound ever.

I'm sad

I really hope he's ok...

Actor Morgan Freeman is injured in car accident

2 hours, 13 minutes ago

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was injured in a car accident late Sunday night and is in a hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Stringer said Freeman, 71, is in serious condition. The hospital is about 90 miles north of the accident scene in rural Tallahatchie County in the Mississippi Delta.

Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Ben Williams confirmed Freeman was in a wreck shortly before midnight Sunday, but said he was still gathering information and had few details Monday.

Clay McFerrin, editor of Sun Sentinel in Charleston, said he arrived at the accident scene on Mississippi Highway 32 soon after it happened about 4 miles west of Charleston, not far from where Freeman owns a home with his wife.

McFerrin said it appeared that Freeman's car was airborne went it left the highway and landed in a ditch.

"They had to use the jaws of life to extract him from the vehicle," McFerrin said. "He was lucid, conscious. He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point."

McFerrin said bystanders converged on the scene trying to get a glimpse of the actor.

When one person tried to snap a photo with a cell phone camera, Freeman joked, "no freebies, no freebies," McFerrin said.

The hospital where Freeman is being treated is commonly known as The Med, and is an acute-care teaching facility that serves patients within 150 miles of Memphis.

Who knew Nikki Blonsky was a badass...

This is kinda funny

His & Hers Arrests for Nikki Blonsky, Dad

Today 2:32 PM PDT by Whitney English and Gina Serpe

AP Photo/ Matt Sayles

Nikki Blonsky's needs no aerosol to make her hair stand on end today.

The 19-year-old Hairspray star and her father were arrested on assault charges after a dustup with the family of former America's Next Top Model contestant Bianca Golden at the Providenciales International Airport in Turks and Caicos.

"They were involved in an altercation at the airport in the departure lounge," Sgt. Chase of the Turks and Caicos Islands Police Department tells E! News. The skirmish apparently involved a dispute over saved seats.

Blonsky's rep, Teal Cannaday, declined comment on the incident.

Nikki Blonsky was charged with assault and actual bodily harm as well as common assault; her father, Carl, was rung up on a count of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Bianca Golden was also charged with actual bodily harm and assault.

Golden's mother, Elaine, was hurt so badly she had to be airlifted to a hospital in Aventura, Fla., according to Chase.

The elder Golden was not charged, but the rest of the battling broods were taken in to custody.

Nikki Blonsky appeared in court this morning sporting a neck brace ("she received some kind of injury," says Chase); a judge allowed her to be released on $6,000 cash bail and ordered to return to court Dec. 1. Her father is being held until Aug. 8.

Golden was also freed on bail.

According to Chase, Golden and Nikki Blonsky's charges carry a maximum penalty of two years, while Carl Blonsky could face up to five years in prison.

—Additional reporting by Matt Donnelly

We miss you Judy

Stephanie J. Block is workin 9 to 5

If you live in LA, you need to go see 9 to 5 the musical. It opens at the Ahmanson and it runs from Sept. 3 - Oct. 19. I would love to see it on my birthday =) I cannot wait to see this show! The cast is absolutely perfect! And Stephanie J. Block is in it! That should be a good enough reason to see it.

Writing to Alli Mauzey

So last month I wrote a letter to Alli Mauzey and I asked her for an autographed headshot. Today, when I check the mail I see a large envelope for me! She sent me a signed headshot woohoo!! I'm so happy =) And everyone needs to go see "The Dark Knight" and "Mamma Mia!"

I heart Stephanie J. Block

Hello, Dolly! 9 to 5 Books Broadway's Marquis; Full Casting Announced

By Kenneth Jones
15 Jul 2008

Stephanie J. Block, Allison Janney and Megan Hilty
photo by Justin Stephens

The Marquis Theatre will be the Broadway home of the feisty office workers who are "just a step on the bossman's ladder" in the Dolly Parton-Patricia Resnick musical comedy 9 to 5, producer Robert Greenblatt announced July 15.

Following a fall run at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles (Sept. 3-Oct. 19, opening Sept. 20), the Joe Mantello-directed production will begin Broadway previews March 24, 2009, and open April 23, 2009.

9 to 5: The Musical, based on the 20th Century Fox motion picture, has book by original screenwriter Resnick (who also came up with the film's original story) and music and lyrics by country music legend and seven-time Grammy Award winner Dolly Parton, who also starred in the smash 1980 movie.

This marks the Broadway debut of the writers. Tony Award winner Andy Blankenbuehler (In the Heights) will choreograph.

As previously announced, 9 to 5: The Musical will star four-time Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee Allison Janney as Violet, Stephanie J. Block as Judy, Megan Hilty as Dorelee, and two-time Tony Award nominee Marc Kudisch as Mr. Hart. (Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Parton and Dabney Coleman played the respective roles in the movie.)

	Promotional art for 9 to 5

Here's the plot: "When pushed to their boiling point by their boss, Franklin Hart Jr. (Marc Kudisch), Violet Newstead (Allison Janney), the super efficient office manager, Judy Bernly (Stephanie J. Block), a frazzled divorcee, and the sexy executive secretary Doralee Rhodes (Megan Hilty) turn the tables on him. The trio hatches a plan to get even with the sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot, and that plan quickly spins wildly and hilariously out of control."

Parton's original score for 9 to 5: The Musical will include over 20 new songs as well as the Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated No. 1 Billboard title song. "Backwoods Barbie," heard on Parton's new album of the same name, is also part of the show's score, Parton previously said.

The 30-member cast of 9 to 5: The Musical features Andy Karl, Kathy Fitzgerald, Ioana Alfonso, Timothy Anderson, Jennifer Balagna, Justin Bohon, Paul Castree, Daniel Cooney, Jeremy Davis, Gaelen Gilliland, Autumn Guzzardi, Ann Harada, Lisa Howard, Van Hughes, Kevin Kern, Brendan King, Michael X. Martin, Michael Mindlin, Karen Murphy, Mark Myars, Jessica Lea Patty, Charlie Pollock, Tory Ross, Wayne Schroder, Maia Nkenge Wilson and Brandi Wooten.

The production will feature scenic design by two-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask, costume design by five-time Tony Award winner William Ivey Long, lighting design by eight-time Tony Award winners Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer, sound design by John Shivers, with musical supervision by Stephen Oremus (Wicked, All Shook Up).

For more information visit www.9to5themusical.com.

*

Actress-singer-songwriter-musician Dolly Parton became a star on Porter Wagoner's syndicated television show in 1967, and they earned two Country Music Association (CMA) Awards for Duo of the Year. She blossomed into a solo artist, joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969 and went on to win CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Honors two years in a row, and eventually Entertainer of the Year. As an actress, her first film was "9 to 5," which brought her an Academy Award nomination for the title song — arguably the most successful hit song of her career.

She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and won countless awards including eight CMA and seven Grammy Awards. She has taken more than 20 songs to No. 1 including the mega hit "I Will Always Love You" which is the only song to have topped the charts three times — twice for Parton (1973 and 1982) and once for Whitney Houston (1992).

Her movie acting credits include "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas," "Rhinestone," "Steel Magnolias" and "Straight Talk." She was also nominated for an Academy Award that year for her hit song "Travelin' Thru" written for the movie "Transamerica." She continues to tour and release albums, flirting with pop, country, bluegrass and blues.

Janney is widely known for playing CJ Cregg on TV's "The West Wing," for which she won four SAG Awards and four Emmys. She also earned Golden Globe nominations four years in a row. On Broadway, she played Beatrice in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge, opposite Anthony LaPaglia, which brought her a Tony nomination and both the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She played Prudy Pingleton in the screen musical "Hairspray," and was the sympathetic parent in the smash film "Juno."

Block's Broadway credits include Elphaba in Wicked (also originating the role of Elphaba in the national touring company - 2006 Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Lead Actress). Other Broadway credits include Grace O'Malley in The Pirate Queen, Liza Minnelli in The Boy From Oz.

Hilty made her Broadway debut as Glinda in Wicked and just concluded a run in that role in the Los Angeles production. She is a recent graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama.

Kudisch recently stared in Lincoln Center Theater's The Glorious Ones. Broadway credits include The Apple Tree, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Tony and Outer Critics nominations), Assassins (Drama Desk nomination), Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), Bells Are Ringing, The Wild Party, The Scarlet Pimpernel, High Society, Beauty and the Beast and Joseph...Dreamcoat. Off-Broadway credits include See What I Wanna See (Drama Desk nomination), No Strings and The Thing About Men. Recent regional appearances include The Witches of Eastwick (2008 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a musical), The Highest Yellow (Helen Hayes nomination, Signature Theatre, DC), Zorba (Ovation, L.A. Drama Critics Circle nominations, Garland Award, Reprise!), Summer and Smoke (Hartford Stage).

Book writer Resnick wrote the original screenplay for the film "9 to 5." Under the guidance of her mentor Robert Altman, she co-authored "A Wedding" (British Academy Award and Writer's Guild nominations) and "Quintet," starring Paul Newman. Other films include "Maxie" (with Glenn Close) and "Straight Talk," which reunited her with Dolly Parton. She has written numerous pilots and films for television, most recently "The Battle of Mary Kay" starring Shirley MacLaine and Parker Posey. She is currently executive producer and head writer of a 26-episode series based on the children's book "Olivia" for the Nick Jr., to air in 2009. Her theatre work includes sketches for Lily Tomlin's first one-woman Broadway show, Appearing Nightly, and a stage musical adaptation of her own PBS movie, Ladies in Waiting, which originated at the Woodstock (Illinois) Summer Playhouse and later moved to the Lyric Opera House in Chicago.

A two-time Tony Award-winner, Mantello is currently represented on Broadway (and around the world) with Wicked. His first Tony Award was for directing Richard Greenberg's acclaimed Take Me Out and his second was for the revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. His other high-profile shows include Three Days of Rain, The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Laugh Whore (which was also filmed for Showtime), A Man of No Importance, Design for Living, Terrence McNally and Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking for San Francisco Opera, The Vagina Monologues, bash, Another American: Asking and Telling, Love! Valour! Compassion! (stage and film), Proposals, The Mineola Twins, Corpus Christi, Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks, Blue Window, God's Heart, The Santaland Diaries, Lillian, Snakebit, Three Hotels, Imagining Brad and Fat Men in Skirts.

In the 2007-2008 season Mantello directed the revival of Terrence McNally's The Ritz and David Mamet's new play November. He is directing the fall 2008 revival of Pal Joey. Mantello began his career as an actor and starred on Broadway (and at CTG/Mark Taper Forum) in Tony Kushner's Angels in America (Tony nomination) and Off-Broadway in The Baltimore Waltz.

Producer Greenblatt is currently president of entertainment for Showtime Networks Inc. where he is responsible for programming development, acquisitions, and scheduling of all Showtime channels. Current original series hits include "Weeds," "Dexter," "The Tudors," "Californication," "The L Word," "Brotherhood," "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," "This American Life," "Penn & Teller: Bullshit!" and Tracey Ullman's "State of the Union."

9 to 5 gals: Stephanie J. Block, Allison Janney, Dolly Parton and Megan Hilty.
photo by Justin Stephens

Broadway stars and Guitar Hero!

Mauzey, Finley and Tam Battle in NYMF's "Guitar Hero" Tournament July 14

By Adam Hetrick
14 Jul 2008

The New York Musical Theatre Festival's "Guitar Hero" tournament – where fans get to rock out with their favorite Broadway performers – takes place at Stitch Bar and Lounge July 14.

Participating in the virtual evening of rock are Alli Mauzey (Cry-Baby), Felica Finley (The Gershwins' An American in Paris), Jason Tam (A Chorus Line), composer Brian Lowdermilk (Henry & Mudge) and director Paul Stancato (Einstein's Dreams). NYMF director of programming Jess McLeod emcees the event that runs 7-10 PM.

"Guitar Hero" – the popular video game franchise that allows players to rock out to their favorite tunes thanks to a guitar-shaped video controller – has become a cultural phenomenon with tournaments popping up nationwide.

Tickets for the "Guitar Hero" tournament are $15 for general admission, with game plays offered for $5. Additional ticketing includes $30 Apprentice Player (a free drink and two game plays) and $150 Rock God Player (reserved seating in the VIP section, open bar, access to a private VIP game system, and 1 star game with a participating celebrity).

Tickets are available by visiting nymf.org. Stitch Lounge is located in Manhattan at 247 West 37th Street.

*

The fifth annual New York Musical Theatre Festival will run Sept. 15-Oct. 5. Titles include About Face, Bedbugs! The Musical, Bonnie & Clyde, Castronauts, College: The Musical, Cyclone and The Pig Faced Lady, Heaven in Your Pocket, Idaho!, Jason and Ben, The Jerusalem Syndrome, Love Jerry, To Paint the Earth, The Road to Ruin, Twilight In Manchego, Villa Diodati and Wood.

I wish I was in LA right now

If you live in LA, you need to go see The Drowsy Chaperone! It's playing at The Ahmanson now until 7/20. It's the funniest musical you will ever see and Andrea Chamberlain as Janet is freakin brilliant! Also, tonight Lea Salonga is doing a solo concert at the Disney Concert Hall! Seriously, I'm really jealous of anyone living in LA right now...arg

Tony Winner Salonga Plays Disney Concert Hall July 11

By Andrew Gans
11 Jul 2008

Lea Salonga

Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, most recently on Broadway in the revival of Les Misérables, goes it solo at the Walt Disney Concert Hall July 11.

The acclaimed singing actress will play the Los Angeles venue at 8:30 PM. Expect songs from Salonga's musical theatre career, her solo recordings and her Disney outings (Salonga sang "Reflection" in Disney's "Mulan" and "A Whole New World" in Disney's "Aladdin").

The concert marks Salonga's final North American 2008 show prior to her upcoming Asian tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.

Lea Salonga catapulted to international stage stardom when she was chosen to star as Kim in the 1989 London world premiere of Boublil and Schonberg's Miss Saigon, produced by Cameron Mackintosh. Only 17 at the time, Philippines native Salonga received critical acclaim and went on to win the Olivier Award as Best Actress in a Musical. In 1991 she reprised her performance on Broadway, again earning rave reviews and winning the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical, along with Best Actress honors from the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics' Circle. Salonga returned to Broadway in 2002, starring in the revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song. She also made her solo debut at Carnegie Hall to a sold-out crowd.

Tickets, priced $30-$115, are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (213) 365-3500.

For more information visit www.leasalonga.com.

Mamma Mia! vs The Dark Knight

I cannot decide which movie to see first...but this made me smile.

Happy Birthday America?

Americans' unhappy birthday: 'Too much wrong'

By PAULINE ARRILLAGA, AP National Writer2 hours, 9 minutes ago

Even folks in the Optimist Club are having a tough time toeing an upbeat line these days. Eighteen members of the volunteer organization's Gilbert, Ariz., chapter have gathered, a few days before this nation's 232nd birthday, to focus on the positive: Their book drive for schoolchildren and an Independence Day project to place American flags along the streets of one neighborhood.

They beam through the Pledge of Allegiance, applaud each other's good news — a house that recently sold despite Arizona's down market, and one member's valiant battle with cancer. "I didn't die," she says as the others cheer.

But then talk turns to the state of the Union, and the Optimists become decidedly bleak.

They use words such as "terrified," "disgusted" and "scary" to describe what one calls "this mess" we Americans find ourselves in. Then comes the list of problems constituting the mess: a protracted war, $4-a-gallon gas, soaring food prices, uncertainty about jobs, an erratic stock market, a tougher housing market, and so on and so forth.

One member's son is serving his second tour in Iraq. Another speaks of a daughter who's lost her job in the mortgage industry and a son in construction whose salary was slashed. Still another mentions a friend who can barely afford gas.

Joanne Kontak, 60, an elementary school lunch aide inducted just this day as an Optimist, sums things up like this: "There's just entirely too much wrong right now."

Happy birthday, America? This year, we're not so sure.

The nation's psyche is battered and bruised, the sense of pessimism palpable. Young or old, Republican or Democrat, economically stable or struggling, Americans are questioning where they are and where they are going. And they wonder who or what might ride to their rescue.

These are more than mere gripes, but rather an expression of fears — concerns reflected not only in the many recent polls that show consumer confidence plummeting, personal happiness waning and more folks worrying that the country is headed in the wrong direction, but also in conversations happening all across the land.

"There are so many things you have to do to survive now," says Larue Lawson of Forest Park, Ill. "It used to be just clothes on your back, food on the table and a roof over your head. Now, it's everything.

"I wish it was just simpler."

Lawson, mind you, is all of 16 years old.

Then there's this from Sherry White in Orlando, Fla., who has a half-century in years and experience on the teenager:

"There is a sense of helplessness everywhere you look. It's like you're stuck in one spot, and you can't do anything about it."

In 1931, when the historian James Truslow Adams coined the phrase "The American Dream," he wrote of "a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement."

In 2008, using history as a yardstick, life actually is better and richer and fuller, with more opportunities than ever before.

"Objectively things are going real well," says author Gregg Easterbrook, who discusses the disconnect in his book "The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse."

He ticks off supporting statistics: A relatively low unemployment rate, 5.5 percent in June. (Employers did, indeed, cut payrolls last month by 62,000 jobs, but consider the 10.1 rate of June 1983 or the 7.8 rate of June 1992.) Declining rates of violent crimes, property crimes and big-city murders. Declining rates of disease. Higher standards of living for the middle class and the working poor. And incomes that, for many, are rising above the rate of inflation.

So why has the pursuit of happiness — a fundamental right, the Declaration of Independence assures us — become such a challenging undertaking?

Some of the gloom and doom may simply reflect a society that demands more and expects to have it yesterday, but in many cases there's nothing imaginary about the problems.

Just listen to farmer Ricardo Vallot, who is clinging tight to his livelihood.

Vallot expects to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on diesel fuel to plant and harvest his family's sugar cane crop in Vermilion Parish, La. His two combines burn up to 150 gallons a day, and with diesel running an average of $4.68 a gallon in the region, he sees his profits burning away, too.

"My God, it's horrible, it really is," the 33-year-old says, adding: "If diesel goes north of five, it will be really difficult at the price we're getting to stay in farming."

Stay-at-home-mom Heather Hammack grapples with tough decisions daily about how to spend her family's dwindling income in the face of rising food costs. One day, she priced strawberries at $1.75. The next day, they were $2.28.

"I could cry," she responds when asked how things are.

"We used to have more money than we knew what to do with. Now, I have to decide: Do I pay the electric this week? Do I pay for gas? Do I get groceries?" says Hammack, 24, who lives with her boyfriend, a window installer, and their 5-year-old son in a rented home in rural Rowlesburg, W.Va. "You can't get ahead. You can't save money. You can't buy a house. It just stinks."

Those "right direction, wrong direction" polls — the latest of which, in June, had only 14 to 17 percent of Americans saying the country is going the right way — show a general level of pessimism that is the worst in almost 30 years. Those feelings, coupled with government corruption scandals, lingering doubts over whether the Iraq war was justified, even memories of the chaotic response to Hurricane Katrina, have culminated in an erosion of our customary faith that elected leaders can get us out of a jam.

Says Arizona retiree Dian Kinsman: "You have no faith in anybody at the top. I don't trust anybody, and I'm really disgusted about it."

Stoking the furor is that Americans seem to feel helpless. After all, how can the average Joe or Jane control the price of gas or end the war?

"How am I, a little old West Virginia girl, going to go out and change the world?" asks Hammack.

Still, others suggest a lack of perspective and a sense of entitlement among Americans today may make these times feel worse than they are.

At 82, Ruth Townsend has experienced her share of downturns — in her own life and that of the country. She suffered a stroke years ago that left her in a wheelchair, and lives now in an assisted-living center in Orlando, Fla. Townsend recalls World War II and having to ration almost everything: sugar, leather shoes, tires, gas.

"You made do with the little you had because you had to. You shopped in the same stores over and over because you HAD to. We had coupon books and stamps to figure out what we could have," Townsend says. Americans have gotten so used to "things," she says, "that we can't take it when we hit a bad patch."

Allison Alvin condemns an "out of style" values system, in which even kids have cell phones, credit card debt is out of control and families purchase four-bedroom homes they can't afford instead of the two-bedroom ones they could.

"I'm mad at us ... all of my fellow Americans. Maybe a little hardship would be good for us," says Alvin, who at 36 has a job as a freight exporter in Cincinnati, a husband with a factory job, two healthy children, her own home and four cars, all paid off.

At the same time, she acknowledges feeling that "things are getting worse."

"When you're my age, you feel like you should be improving — more financially stable, instead of hand-to-mouth. It doesn't matter that we're better off than (others). It still hurts. It's still painful."

Easterbrook ascribes some of this to the media, noting that talk of "crisis" has become almost trendy — especially in an election year when politicians and pundits alike seem to feed on discontent as a catalyst for change, or ratings.

Round-the-clock saturation, shouting commentators and ceaseless images of "whatever's burning or exploding," he says, "give you the impression that the whole world is falling apart." Media reports noting that the world isn't rallying around U.S. policies also build frustration.

Perhaps that's why one of the Arizona Optimists, Marilyn Pell, couldn't help but raise her voice when referencing something she'd heard on the news: That gas prices might rise to $7 a gallon by 2010.

"What do you mean I've gotta pay $7 a gallon?" she exclaimed, even though it was just a prediction.

Such anxieties have concrete implications — affecting how we spend, how we vote and whether we are willing to take risks. These collective "bad moods" matter because they help steer the country's direction just as the country's direction shapes our mood. Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed this when he said in the depths of the Depression: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Perspective also varies between the haves and have-nots.

In California's Silicon Valley, one of the wealthiest places, the nation's housing crash can be seen as a healthy correction and a buying opportunity, and high gas prices are unpleasant, yes, but not unbearable.

Maybe it's no surprise that at Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley, where $200,000 models are still being snapped up, sales manager Larry Raphael says, "We really haven't been affected by what the media says is a low mood in the country."

Yet in these rarefied ZIP codes, others are affected — even if they feel personally secure. "I worry about my gardeners and how they're dealing with the cost of fuel, for example. Floods, fires, there are so many things going on that are going to cost everyone money," says Suzanne Legallet of Atherton, Calif.

Whether things are going well or not, it is part of human nature to be dissatisfied with the present state of things, says Arthur Brooks, professor of business and government policy at Syracuse University and the author of "Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness Matters for America — And How We Can Get More of It."

"Very few Americans wake up in the morning and say, 'This is an unbelievable country. I'm going to go to the supermarket, and there's going to be food. When I go and vote, nobody's going to beat me up,'" he says. "We're horrible at appreciating the status quo. We're really good at appreciating positive changes."

With that in mind, then, Americans might take heart. Throughout our history, tough times have proved to be learning moments that provoked course corrections. The Civil War brought an end to slavery. Sit-ins and mass demonstrations prompted anti-segregation laws. Sept. 11 led to new anti-terrorism vigilance.

As Bob Dylan once said, "Chaos is a friend of mine."

At least it can be.

Perhaps, out of these trying days, we may see a more comprehensive energy policy, a sooner-than-later resolution of the war and, even, a more profound sense of personal responsibility — the motivation we needed to spend within our means, or make use of car-pool lanes and mass transit.

It's happening already, in big ways and small.

Hammack planted a garden of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots. "If I can save a few bucks," she says, "I'm going to."

In Louisiana, Vallot buys fuel in bulk now and is looking at ways other farmers might pool together to bring the cost of diesel down further. "We have to take matters into our own hands," he says.

Many have, and that certainly erases some of the helplessness that begets despair. But Americans also must recognize that happiness — the stuff that truly fulfills and gratifies — comes not from what we own but who we are, says Dr. David Burns, a psychiatrist at Stanford University's School of Medicine.

"We tend to base our self-esteem on certain things that we think we need to be worthwhile as human beings. A lot of us base it on achievement, intelligence, productivity. Our sense of self-esteem gets tied up with our career, our income. So when things start reversing, you begin to feel like less of a person."

Nevertheless, says Burns, "Where joy comes from is a completely different place."

For Ernestine Leach, it's keeping the faith that this, too, shall pass.

"I think that it's so deeply rooted in us," the 59-year-old substitute teacher says on a recent Sunday as sunlight filters through a stained-glass window at First Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C. "It's all that most Americans ... have ever known: That things did get better."

Her minister, the Rev. Dumas Harshaw Jr., has noticed some new faces in his pews as troubles deepen. He senses that more Americans are "in a wilderness, psychologically and spiritually," and "are trying to find grounding."

As Harshaw tells his congregation, we Americans are in a "season of testing."

Katy Neild, the Arizona Optimist whose son fights on in Iraq, understands that better than most. She worries about her child, and about the many other dilemmas confronting Americans.

"Did I cringe when I filled my car last week? Yes," she says. "But 100 years from now, if I were still alive, would I really care that I paid $4 a gallon for gas? No. I care my grandbaby is safe and she's well and she has a good place to live.

"Your joy can't be about your circumstances."

As she says this, the other Optimists nod in agreement. Then their president, Susan Kruse, begins reciting one of the 10 tenets of the "Optimist Creed," and the others soon join in, their smiles returning.

"Forget the mistakes of the past," they chime in unison, "and press on to the greater achievements of the future."

In the end, that's what the Optimists do. They get their troubles off their chests, debate possible solutions — and then move on to doing what they can to make some positive changes in their communities, and in their own lives.

A birthday lesson for all Americans, perhaps.

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Contributing to this report were AP Writers Allen G. Breed, Martha Irvine, Todd Lewan, Martha Mendoza, Vicki Smith and Becky Bohrer.