Even though Marc Acito claims, below, that no one else has written books about theater geeks
(Ha! and since I know you've already read my Dramarama, go right now and read Maryrose Wood's My Life The Musical),
I love him and his video (below) anyway.
Have you busted into song lately?
Shouldn't you?
This morning, I sang on the street: "I'm quick on the trigger. With targets not much bigger than a pinpoint, I'm number one! But I lose all my luster when I'm with a bronco buster. No, you can't get a man with a gun!"
It was a good way to start the morning, though possibly embarrassing to my companion.
Sing it out, people. No shame.
(Dramarama comes out in paperback this May, by the way. And Acito's Attack of the Theater People is the sequel to How I Paid for College, a truly awesome theater geektastic reading experience, though full of many ADULT situations, for those of you not yet old enough to join the army).
Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy!
I saw Spring Awakening this past weekend!
(Warning: profanity in the video)
Sadly, we saw a cast of almost all understudies and some of the sex appeal was lacking. No Jonathan Groff or Lea Michele. But it was still made of awesome. The choreography was phenomenal. And it was such an emotional story. I also loved how the creators fearlessly mixed two time periods: it was a 19th-century story with contemporary music, and basically as long as they were singing, they spoke as contemporary teenagers would do -- and when it was just dialog, they spoke as if in the 19th century.
When people say Young Adult content is only interesting to people under 18, that's ridiculous. This show couldn't be more YA.
Also, publishers sometimes suggest YA books should avoid overt sex so as to retain a large market by being inoffensive. But Spring Awakening (winner of 8 Tony awards) has underage intercourse performed twice onstage. I admired its bravery.
(Of course, someone DIES as a result of the intercourse, so it's a cautionary tale, but the blame is straight-up on the parents, who refuse to discuss sexuality with their children, leaving them woefully ignorant and desperately curious.)
Anyway, that could be a whole essay and I am supposed to be writing something else. But go see it if you have the chance.
By request from a Dramarama reader -- "Skid Row" from the movie version Little Shop of Horrors.
This is the show Candie stars in.
If you search on YouTube you can also dig up some badly filmed clips from the Broadway revival with Hunter Foster, which I saw. Actually, I saw the original production off-Broadway, too. Shows you how old I am.
More Marc Acito news. Attack of the Theater People is due for release April 15, 2008, which is why I haven't read it yet. Somehow I failed to understand this from his website.
But now I have discovered his blog, in which he has just set himself a task to have a new experience every single day and to blog about it.
Very good reading. With pix! and Sweatin' to the Oldies! and strange fruit!
I have a fantasy in which Acito reads Dramarama and writes me an email saying "you are my kin!" -- but I know it's not gonna happen. Probably he would read it and say, "Not enough sex in there! Also, I am way funnier than you on very much the same topic!" But a girl can dream...
OMG how did I miss Attack of the Theater People! It's the sequel to Marc Acito's amazing How I Paid for College.
Must. Get. Right. Now.
All you Dramarama people, these books are for you! But only if you are ready to read about some adult-type situations involving sex and creative vandalism.
xo
E
It's been a while since I gave you a Dramarama tidbit. Here's "Somewhere That's Green" -- from Little Shop of Horrors, the movie, sung by Ellen Green, who is made of awesome. I saw her off Broadway! Which shows that I am quite old, indeed.
This is the big number Candie sings in her lead role in Little Shop at Wildewood.
Reading Rants top ten of 2007 includes Dramarama :)
For you Dramarama readers,
this is the number Sadye and Demi and all the Wildewood students do their "meat market" dance auditions to:
It's All That Jazz followed by Hot Honey Rag, Bebe Neuwirth (LOVE) and Ann Reinking. From the revival of Chicago. A performance from the 51st annual Tony awards.
