Billy Elliot: the Musical @ the Kentucky Center

Onward...

It seems fitting that my first post after the death of my musical-theatre-loving grandmother is about a musical...

Seriously, my grandmother-- Vange-- loved her some musicals. I don't know for how many DECADES she subscribed to Massachusetts' North Shore Music Theatre (side note: last I heard, NSMT was shutting down... I don't have time to investigate, but it looks like they're very much still in operation. Good news!), but it was a lot of decades.  Vange's favorite musical: MAMA MIA because it combined two of things she loved more than anything else in the world-- musicals and ABBA. Seriously, the woman loved ABBA so much that someone put an ABBA CD in her casket at the wake (my boyfriend made the gruesome joke: "I sure hope she finds some way of listening to it... maybe bumps into some avid jogger who was buried with her Walkman." Groan. But funny.).

Anyway, that's neither here nor there... the musical that Broadway Across America is bringing to Louisville this week is BILLY ELLIOT, another of the long tradition of movie musicals. At least this one was a movie about dance.

I've never seen the film, but it was such a pop culture hit, I do know a little bit about it.  Here's the story from the BAA Louisville website:

Based on the Academy Award nominated 2000 film of the same title, Billy Elliot is the story of its namesake star, a young boy in a depressed working-class mining town in the North of England. Set during the history-making 1984 miner’s strike, the show follows Billy, the youngest child of a blue-collar family that has recently lost its Mum, as he discovers his unlikely and extraordinary gift for ballet. While Billy’s father and brother take to the picket lines of the violent and life-changing strike, Billy secretly begins to study the art of dance with the help of a hard-drinking, chain-smoking local dance teacher. But as Billy blossoms and thrives, the world and lives around him continues to wither—and his only escape may be the prestigious Royal Ballet School, a place no working-class boy has ever gone, or been allowed to go to, before.

I don't know who writes the copy for the BAA website, but I kind of love the "Should I See It?" section because it is unfailingly honest.  The short answer for this musical is yes, if you don't mind your musicals on the "dark and complex side," and no for little kids under eight or so.

I'm pretty interested in seeing this. Those of you who know me know that I was a "bunhead" for most of my childhood-- took dance classes from age 3-18 and did a little choreography in high school and college. The show opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday. It's a long one-- 2hr50min with an intermission.

Broadway Across America: BLUE MAN GROUP

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past twenty-odd years (and if you have been living in a cave, good on ya! I hope you at least have wifi!), you've probably heard of The Blue Man Group.  Hopefully, if the world has been kind to you, you've even actually seen the Blue Man Group-- if not live then on television on in one of the documentaries made about the performance group.

I was lucky enough to catch pretty much the original show in 1991 at Astor Place Theatre in NYC. And the first time I attended (after that first time, I took just about every out-of-town visitor who came to town to see them), I was one of the audience "volunteers." They brought me on-stage and made me unwrap and eat a Twinkie-- and then white goo shot out of a spout on a vest they'd put on me. It was HI-LAR-IOUS! (Yeah, you're gonna have to trust me on that one).

I am so super excited to be seeing the Blue Man Group again tonight.  Once again, Broadway Across America brings a little of NYC to Louisville. The show runs through April 15. I promise you, if you go, you will laugh. Hard. And may tinkle yourself a little (but that's okay, there's usually lots of toilet paper involved in the show... I'm serious).

And if my brilliant description of the show isn't quite doing it for you, here's the Q&A from their website:

STORY

Blue Man Group centers on three human(ish) men who have blue heads and no ears. They don’t speak and, in fact, utter not one sound. But look at their faces long enough and you can detect the faintest hint of curiosity and wonder, like when gazing at audience members’ cell phones and Blackberrys as if they were objects from outer space. The ultimate mission of the Blue Men is to share with us their own interesting gadgets, like their sci-fi drum kits and LED-screen thought balloons. Just prepare yourself when they break out the Cap ‘n Crunch and toilet paper.

SHOULD I SEE IT?

What Is Blue Man Group Like?
If the description above didn’t tip you off, Blue Man Group is not plot-driven and has only the slightest thread of a storyline. It is, however, an incredibly entertaining spectacle that incorporates high-tech stage effects, old-fashioned comedy and even a bit of circus-style mime and clowning. As interactive as theater gets, the first few rows come equipped with ponchos and plastic coverings, so audience members can shield themselves from food, paint and whatever other substances fly off the stage. Surely the Blue Men are saying something about life, technology and the failure to communicate. Then again, you might just walk out thinking, “Dude that was way cool!”

Is Blue Man Group Good for Kids?
Yes, by all means. These men don’t speak, hence they don’t even come close to using any bad language, making rude gestures or anything else that might be considered unsuitable subject matter for your children. Fact is, if the Blue Men simply walked onstage and did nothing, kids could busy themselves for hours just looking at their faces. That these guys also roll out many a space-age bell and whistle makes the show an experience kids will never forget. Adults won’t, either.

Tickets available here: Broadway Across America-- Louisville.

Flat Stanley in Louisville

If you follow me on Twitter, you'll know that I've been hosting a Flat Stanley for a couple of weeks. If you aren't in education or don't have a wee one in your family, you may have no idea what I am talking about.

Flat Stanley is a character from a book from the 1960's, a little kid who is squished by a falling bulletin board (scary, right?) who then discovers certain advantages to being "flat" including the fact that he can be mailed to far away places for vacation. Somewhere along the line some smart educators decided to use Stanley in their lesson plans as a way to teach their little kids about geography and different cultures.  Students are given a Flat Stanley to send to a friend in another city; that friend is supposed to show Stanley around, take pictures of Stanley visiting city landmarks, and then send Stanley and the pictures back to the originating classroom.

My Stanley came all the way from a kindergarten class in Needham, MA and my favorite cousin's son, James.

Even though early on in Stanley's visit my cousin told me that I shouldn't write a blog for Stanley because the kindergarten has sketchy tech... well, heck, blogging is kind of my thing.  I couldn't help myself.

For the actual project, I turned the blog into a powerpoint and send the printed slides back to Needham with Stanley (along with a box of Modjeskas from Muth's because I want James's Stanley to be everyone's favorite Stanley).

If you want to see all the fun things Stanley and I did during his visit, check out the blog Flat Stanley In Louisville. As with all blogs, posts appear in reverse chronology.

Disclaimer #1: I'm writing for kindergarteners... expect simple language and oversimplification of facts at times.

Disclaimer #2: Yes, James calls me "Missy." No, you may not call me "Missy."

Enjoy!

Improvapalooza 12: Tickets on Sale!

Today, tickets go on sale for Improvapalooza 12, the longest-running improv festival in the Southeast, hosted by the Louisville Improvisors.  The event runs January 6-7 at 8pm at the Mex Theatre in the Kentucky Center. Tickets are $17.

This year's festival will include Colleen Smith of the Groundlings and comedienne Candice Brown (who has been on Torchwood-- Total nerd squee!!). Also featured are the Narcotic Farmers, an improv super group combining some of the best improvisers from the Nashville improv group Music City Improv with the Louisville Improvisors.

I covered the Improvisors for The Paper a couple of months ago, so I'm really excited for this event.

Broadway Across America: RAIN

When I was a kid, Mama Lou always said to me, "Melissa, you never say no. Someone could invite you to a pig-calling contest, and you'd say 'Sure! When?'"

I am still waiting for someone to invite me to a pig-calling contest. I'd love to go.

But it's kind of awesome that my blogging hobby has led to me being invited to go see so many things so often.  I'm still that kid Mama was talking to-- I still almost never say "no" to an invitation. And that has served me so well so often, I hope I don't ever have to stop saying "yes."

So when the folks at Broadway Across America invited me to see RAIN, the Beatles tribute that just left Broadway and is now touring, I didn't think twice.

Confession: I'm one of those rare people who is totally apathetic about the Beatles. I understand the power behind the songwriting and the musicianship and all that, but I just don't dig the Beatles the way that (seemingly) most people do. In fact-- ghastly admission coming-- my "desert island discs" list would include the album "The Monkees" but nothing by the Beatles (seriously people, I know that the Monkees were a manufactured band, but a vast number of their songs are just... stunningly good!).

So I was kind of feeling a little meh about seeing RAIN, but I'm so glad I went.  And holy cow, if you're a bonafide fan of the Beatles, I'm sure you'd love it! Imagine seeing a fabulous cover band, then put the power of Broadway behind the production.... These men replicate the Beatles' sound impeccably and have been doing so (most of them) since the mid-80's (right around when Mama was chiding me about the pig-calling contests).  Four costume and set changes. Multi-media stuff that's both new and historic.  So well done, overall.

And the crowd... I'm still kind of baffled by it.  First of all, Roommate and I were two of the youngest people in the audience.  Secondly, some of these people (mostly women) reacted to RAIN as though the were the actual Beatles.  Hooting, hollering, swooning.  But as Roommate said, any band that can keep a group of people on their feet for more than thirty minutes has something going on.

There are two shows left on Saturday, December 3.  If you're an honest-to-goodness Beatles fan, you're not going to want to miss this.

Best Week Ever

I'm not counting on the fact that my "mean reds" have been banished. But tonight I'm a little giddy; this is "happy" like I haven't felt happy in a while.  And it's all due to the fact that I have embarked on a week-long journey that has the potential to be the Best Week Ever.

It all started with the final Waterfront Wednesday of the season, tonight.  They Might Be Giants put on a joyful, silly show that I'd been looking forward to since their performance was announced in late spring.  I've loved TMBG since I was in high school.  The band opened with "Birdhouse in Your Soul," a song that I quoted on my high school yearbook page (my school was so tiny that each of the 36 seniors got their own full page in the yearbook).  I met up with a bunch of friends; I danced and sang along.  And what a fraking beautiful night, Louisville.  After four days of nearly unrelenting gloom, we had clear skies and sundress weather for Waterfront Wednesday.

If you missed Waterfront Wednesday, you still have time to hop on my "best week ever" ride.  Here's how:

I took two days off from my Meatspace Workplace to attend IdeaFestival.  And the best news is, my workplace considered the request "professional development" so I am not burning personal days. IdeaFestival is in full swing and there's still two and a half days of the event.  As I have always said, IdeaFestival may very well be the most wonderful time of the year here in Louisville.  Read my love letter to IF circa 2009 here.  I have been granted a media pass to the festival, so expect a bunch of blog posts and a flurry of tweets from me about IF over the next couple of days.  But don't just stay tuned to the blog-- GO! experience IdeaFestival for yourself.  Individual tickets are available for each of the events; some events are free. Check out the website for the schedule and for ticketing.

Thursday night, after all the great sessions at IdeaFestival, is one of my favorite IF events: the Taste of Innovation.  Michelle at Consuming Louisville has a great post about this year's event.  It's $30, but I have been to three Tastes of Innovation, and I swear it is worth every penny.  This year it is being held at Millionaire's Row at Churchill Downs-- how lovely is that?  And my date for the event is none other than Ms. Michelle from Consuming Louisville.  As I said: Best Week Ever.

Friday is another full day of IdeaFestival sessions.  Then Friday night I get to go to dinner with some of the festival presenters and national media thanks to the Louisville Convention and Vistors' Bureau.

Saturday-- again, IdeaFestival stuff-- concludes with the NULU Festival, the IF "after party." Yes, I love the Jug Band Jubilee, but NULU Festival ranks high on my list of favorite annual festivals.  Check out this blog post from the year that a nigh-monsoon squashed the end of the festival.  The headliner for this event is a band that might be my favorite local band: The Pass.  Check out the NULU Fest website for more details.  The event is from 2pm til 11pm.  Unless a monsoon occurs.

Sunday I rest.  Because that's what you're supposed to do. IdeaFestival is over.

Monday I am back to work, and normal life resumes.  But Monday night, the Kentucky Authors' Forum is producing an event at the Kentucky Center where Rosanne Cash will be interviewed by Nick Spitzer. I will be tweeting/blogging about the event, thanks to the delightful folks at the Forum.  Tickets are $20 or $100 for a VIP dinner.  I couldn't be more excited about this event.  Cash is not only an amazing singer-songwriter, she's a transcendently beautiful thinker.  If you're on Twitter and not following @rosannecash, you're missing out.

Tuesday: Again work.  But Tuesday night the Moth comes to Louisville.  Another fantastic night in Louisville.  The Moth Radio Hour has long been one of my favorite NPR programs.  And this particular iteration is being produced by one of my favorite people in the world.  Tickets are $8 in advance.  Visit the Headliners website for more details.

This week might be the Best. Week. Ever.  Maybe it will chase the mean reds away?

Rosanne Cash: Kentucky Author Forum

The only time I've seen Rosanne Cash live was in the mid-90's in NYC at the Bitter End or the Bottom Line (I can never get those two straight). She was playing in support of her album 10 Song Demo, but all I really knew about her was that she was Johnny Cash's daughter and that was good enough for me.

I must have been feeling flush at the time. After all, I was working three jobs just to make rent and ramen noodles at my East Village apartment. There was never extra money for things like concerts at clubs, unless my friends were in the band and my name was on the list.  And as I was living with a musician (sometimes two or three depending on who needed a place to crash), that wasn't all that unusual.

But I was definitely not on the list for Rosanne Cash, and I'm relatively sure I'd never heard her music before that night.  But it was love at first listen.

And from that night for the next couple of years-- a move to Tampa, then a move to Baton Rouge, then a move to New Orleans-- 10 Song Demo was on regular rotation in my cd player. Some song or another from the album made it on every mix tape/mix cd I made for every boy or man I dated. I vaguely remember wallowing over a broken heart listening to "Price of Temptation" on repeat and singing my heart out through sobs.

I can still sing the entire album by heart.

Flash forward a decade and a half. Now @RosanneCash is probably my favorite celebrity I'm following on Twitter.  From her mock feud with @SusanOrlean about who exactly is Mrs. Colin Firth to her Hurricane Irene tweets from "Zone B" in Manhattan, I've fallen even more in love with her. She's smart, funny, and responsive to her fans.

I enter into evidence her tweet from ten minutes ago:

rosannecash Flipping channels: Miss Universe 2011, Tea Party debate, Hoarders. I'm confused. Which ones are the potential world leaders? 9/12/11 9:42 PM

And now she's coming to the Kentucky Author Forum at the Kentucky Center in two weeks in support of her memoir, Composed (which I tried to pick up at Carmichael's this weekend, but it was nowhere to be found).

The last Kentucky Author Forum featured Billy Collins interviewed by Garrison Keillor, and it was utterly delightful.  As I mentioned in that blog post, both Collins and Keillor are polarizing figures, but I adore both of them.  This time, the interviewer is Nick Spitzer, host of American Routes, one of my favorite NPR music programs.  

I'm not on the list again for this Rosanne Cash show.  And instead of working three jobs, I work one and some odd jobs to make mortgage and a more well-balanced meal plan.  But that one job yields only a teacher's salary, so $20 is still a bit steep for an hour-long visit with Ms. Cash.  ($100 gets you a VIP experience including dinner with Cash and Spitzer.)

But I will be there.

On a side note, last night Roommate and I saw Le Petomane's 5 THINGS, finally.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  I desperately wanted the show to be good after spending a couple of hours with the actor-writers for my preview for The Louisville Paper; I liked all three of them so much, it would have been awful if the show had been just so-so.  Trust me, it is not.  It is, as I'd hoped, brilliant.  And you'll be so sorry if you miss it.  There are four more shows-- Sep 14-17.  Go go go.

The relavent tangent is this: 5 THINGS is a play that is a play on the whole "desert island discs" concept.  If I were stranded on a desert island and could only have five albums to keep me company, 10 Song Demo, would be one of them. Even though, as the characters in 5 THINGS realize eventually, all of the songs are already with me... in here. *taps her noggin*

Shrek: The Musical at the Kentucky Center

What has happened to me?

When I was in high school, I was crazy about musical theater.  I couldn't/can't carry a tune, but I was a hardcore dancer so there was always a place for me in every musical production. I either mouthed the words or sang softly as a member of the chorus, but if there was a dancing part... that was mine.

In college I transitioned into straight drama.  Directed OTHELLO my junior year of college.  Stage managed theater a bit.  Did a bit of acting work.  But by the time I graduated college, I thought I had figured it out:  I love plays, but musicals are dumb.

And I've carried that banner ever since: plays = good. musicals = silly.

But this year, the Broadway Across America folks have changed my perspective entirely.  I fell in love with LEGALLY BLONDE, I totally dug JERSEY BOYS... And perhaps most surprising, I thought SHREK: The Musical was adorable and absolutely fun.

SHREK is here in Louisville til Sunday. If you liked the movie, you'll love the musical.  The dragon alone is worth the price of admission.  I was worried that it would be a Disney-on-Ice-style production aimed at kids with tween-level jokes, but it's even more sophisticated and "adult" than the movie at times.

Go. Take the kids. I'd expect that kid ages 10-15 would be totally tweaked by the production.  But you really need to be an adult to get all the best jokes.  As I said, Carrie Compere as the Dragon, is worth the price of your tickets... and her curtain-call dress may be the best ball gown/red carpet dress ever.

Who knew? Right? Maybe I was wrong all along?

Keillor & Collins at the Kentucky Center

Garrison Keillor is a polarizing figure.  There are people I love and respect with every ounce of my being who think Keillor is odious. I, on the other hand, have a huge, massive, fan-girl crush on the man.  Love him, love him, love him. Eat him up with a spoon. Good gravy, when he announced he'll be retiring soon, I fell into a catatonic gloom.

When I first met Roommate (nine years ago this May!), we instantly bonded over our mutual love of the tv show Ed and of Prairie Home Companion. Together we've made two pilgrimages to St. Paul to see PHC live, and we saw PHC when it came to New Orleans.

One of the most memorable nights of my life was on New Year's Eve just after Katrina.  Roommate and I decided to splurge, and we bought tickets to Keillor's New Year's Eve dinner and show up in St. Paul.  Keillor, ever the good host, made his rounds during dinner to all the tables.  And when when he found out we were from New Orleans (and had met him briefly during his New Orleans show), he spent extra time with us.  It just felt so special.  And then the show itself? Brilliant and beautiful and moving and seriously one of the best ways I can think of to ring in the new year.  A new year after such a damned awful year.  And perhaps the best part of that night? Billy Collins.

On Thursday, Garrison Keillor will interview Billy Collins at the Kentucky Center.  Collins was our Poet Laureate from 2001-03 and is seriously the most accessible, enjoyable living American poet, in my most humble and perhaps limited opinion.  You don't like poetry, you say?  You'll like Collins.  He's charming and smart and funny, and while I have a super special place in my heart for 2004-06 Laureate Ted Kooser (what a nice guy... and if you were on his mailing list, you got a love poem every Valentine's Day... swoon),  Collins may be my favorite living Laureate.

I bought my tickets as soon as the event was announced.  Which turned out to be a good thing because the event has been so popular, they're now simulcasting it to other theaters.  So go.  Seriously.  Go.

BTW: Who is our current Laureate? Kay Ryan. Who wrote a poem that was on my fridge for years and which comforted me during the loss of some of the most important people in my life.  Read "Things Shouldn't Be So Hard" here on Keillor's "Writers' Almanac" web page.  

Just Checking in...

So, it's bedtime for all good little Lous, but the world (and national) news has me so filled with sadness (and maybe a little fear) that I thought, "Geez, maybe I should find some tidbit of good news and post it on the blog before I go to bed."  I don't know who I thought I'd be helping.  You, reader?  Me?

And then I opened the Blogger dialogue window and just stared... and stared... and thought, "I've got nothing."

That's not true, of course.  There's lots of good going on in Louisville right now.  If we put on our blinders (lightly, gently, just enough to get us through the day but not enough to block it out) and look only in our backyards, there are good things galore.

The forecast for Thursday through Monday hovers around the 70 degree range.  In March.  That's spectacular news.  I had a fabulous weekend.  Saw Les Mis for the first time at the Kentucky Center's Broadway Across America on Friday.  Hit up the Hooley in the Highlands St. Pat's parade on a 66 degree Saturday.  Saw EDITH CAN SHOOT THINGS AND HIT THEM at the Humana Festival on Sunday afternoon, my third Humana play this year and the third Humana play to hit it out of the park (read Erin Keane's review here).

Lady Gaga came to the YUM! Whale and put on a hell of a show, by all accounts, and then proved that she really is the coolest thing since Netflix Video on Demand by showing up at Connections and joining drag queen Vanessa DeMornay onstage (video here).  Both the men's and the women's UofL basketball teams made it into the Big Dance.  Sarah McLaughlin brought scores of fans to crazy weepy tears, if my twitter feed tells the truth.  And heck, someone out there genuinely enjoyed themselves seeing Michael Bolton on Sunday, right?  Right?

It was a good weekend in Louisville.  And I'm not saying that we should only pay attention to what's in our backyard.  Not even close.  The world is big, sad, scary, and a little crazy.  And you should probably cry and get angry and want to throw things.  (But don't throw things because that's not okay; it is okay to want to.)  I keep reading folks on Twitter who despair over the news from Japan and then long to hug their kids.  Well, I don't have kids.  So I'll write a few positive words, be grateful for my students-who-are-our-hope-for-the-future, long for better news tomorrow, and go to bed.  G'night, Louisvillagers.  Sleep peacefully.  Moon off.

R&G Are Dead: Stark raving sane

Rosencrantz: Do you think Death could possibly be a boat?

Guildenstern: No, no, no... death is not. Death isn't. Take my meaning? Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not be on a boat.

Rosencrantz: I've frequently not been on boats.

Guildenstern: No, no... what you've been is not on boats.

I can't say why exactly, but Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead has been my favorite play since... college, maybe?  I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that in prior lifetimes, I've taught multi-month units in English classes on Hamlet and Hamlet-derivatives, including R&G are Dead. Two summers, I taught entire courses on Hamlet and Hamlet-derivatives. Some of my friends can quote Monty Python or Star Wars or Big Lebowski verbatim--   my uber-geekout of choice is R&G are Dead.  

Mostly it's because of lines like the ones above.  "You can't not 'be' on a boat."  Think about it.  I'll give you a minute...

... right?  I don't think I've gotten on a boat since my early 20's without thinking of that exchange.  

It doesn't hurt that the movie version is effing brilliant as well (though not as good as the play, even though Stoppard-- the playwright-- directed the movie).  Gary Oldman?  Tim Roth?  Richard Dreyfuss?  That's a hubba hubba cast of theatrical greatness.

But here's the thing: I've never seen the play performed on stage!  I know the darned thing backwards and forward.  It is hands down, my favorite play of all time.  But I've never seen an actual production.

... and that's why I was THRILLED to see that the Louisville Repertory Company is producing the play from Feb 3-13 at the Mex Theater in the Kentucky Center.   

... and that's why I was shocked when I saw the poster for the show.  Click on the link above.  No really, go do it. *eyes bulge out like in a cartoon*  Is this my favorite play?  "The Original Mash-up"??  "A Pirate, a Unicorn, and Hamlet walk into a bar..."  A jester with a clown nose?  I'm super happy to see that someone revised the text that goes along with the calendar.  I wish I'd saved the old text... the old description of the play made the play out to be a knee-slapping, side-splitting, screw-ball comedy.  What?

Listen, this is just me getting all English teacher nerdy and proprietary about my favorite play.  Yes, R&G are Dead is funny, but it's not a Three Stooges routine.  These guys aren't clowns.  It's an existentialist, absurdist tragicomedy... with really more emphasis on the tragic than the comic.  It's a sad freakin' play.  There's nothing clown-like about lines like:  "Whatever became of the moment when one first knew about death? There must have been one. A moment. In childhood. When it first occurred to you that you don't go on forever. Must have been shattering. Stamped into one's memory. And yet, I can't remember it. It never occurred to me at all. We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the word for it. Before we know that there are words. Out we come, bloodied and squawling, with the knowledge that for all the points of the compass, theres only one direction. And time is its only measure. "

Just rips your heart out, doesn't it?  

All this is just to say... go see this play.  You might brush up on your Hamlet first; it really is much, much more impressive if you've got Hamlet fresh in your mind (Dagnabbit!  I was going to suggest you rent the Mel Gibson version because it's really quite good for what it is. That, of course, was filmed before (we knew) he was a misogynist anti-semite arsehole. Sigh.  Well, then, I recommend the Campbell Scott version.  The movie itself is kind of a shitshow, but Campbell Scott does a stunning Danish Prince.  Stunning. And it's Campbell Scott-- delicious!)

I'm trusting that the Louisville Repertory Company just put their poster design into the hands of someone who didn't "get" the play. I'm trusting that they don't plan to strip the tragic from the tragicomedy. I truly can't wait to see this.  It's February 3-13 at 8pm with a 2pm matinée on the 13th.  Tickets are $10-15.  Cheap indeed for having your mind blown by Stoppard's brilliance.

Wednesday Afternoon Randomness: OMG SNOW! Edition

[Insert hysterical snow talk here.]

This past Monday was "Blue Monday;" supposedly the third monday of January is the most depressing day of the year.  As it happened to coincide with a day off, I didn't feel the full thrust of the cosmic tug toward the dark side.  But I swear, there's something to it. Maybe it's Blue Monday a little late, or maybe it's just the oppressive GRAY that we've been experiencing in Louisville, but I'm more than a little out of sorts these days.  So what better time than a clearinghouse post of all the good things coming up here in town?

• You know one thing I love about Louisville in January? Consuming Louisville's "One Thing I Love About Louisville" series.

• Speaking of Michelle Jones: Next week Let Them Tweet Cake is taking a field trip to LVL1 to build our own mintiboosts.  If you're a nerdy chick, you need to be there.  Read this great article about LVL1 in the LEO.
  
• Got the blues? I do. So it's a good thing Actors Theatre is breaking out Ma Rainey's Black Bottom this week.  It runs through February 13.
  
• Feel like banging your head against a wall?  How about a just a little head-banging?  I can't believe how excited I am to see Broadway Across America's Rock of Ages next week.  It's at the Kentucky Center from January 25-30, and it sounds like it will be good, pure, goofy fun.
  
• There's another IdeaFestival sponsored adult spelling bee at Zanzabar next week on the 27th.
  
• According to the folks at the Visitor and Conventions Bureau, we'll be seeing some additions to the Urban Bourbon Trail in the near future.
  
• Speaking of bourbon: Baxter Station is now open on Mondays and features a special "Bourbon Flights & Bourbon Bites" menu.  Door prizes, visits with Master Distillers, and other special events.  This looks like it's poised to be a regular Monday night thing for yours truly!

What did I miss?  Here's hoping for snow days and blue skies and good friends and warm places for all of us... soon!  Get out there and do something fun. 

STOMP: the name pretty much says it all

Back in 2006, STOMP celebrated its 5,000th show at the Orpheum Theater in the East Village in New York.  There are certain shows that have been around so long, you know they have to be good, no matter how looney the premise (ie. a percussion based dance/comedy troupe that stomps and bangs on stuff for a couple of hours).  SEE ALSO: Blue Man Group.

I was lucky enough to catch STOMP at the Orpheum back when the show was only on its double-digits-- very, very early in its run in 1994.  (Yes, I'm that old.)  Word-of-mouth from some theater-nerd friends... maybe even one of them was on the tech crew? I forget... drove me there on a date.  I don't remember the date's name, but his nickname was "Disney" because he had so much Disney crap in his dorm room.  Was he gay?  Well, if he was, he wasn't out.  It was a real date.  He smooched me.  But that's as far as it went.  I'm rather proud of my storied history full of one-and-done dates with guys who would later (not much later) come out of the closet.  I don't know if Disney did.  Or maybe he was just that rare straight guy who had a Minny Mouse obsession...

... Can you tell I have a fever?

Anyway, I was skeptical.  "People hitting stuff?" I said.  "That's theater?"

Yes.  Yes, it is folks.  And it's been totally inspiring fifteen years' worth of audiences all across the world.

Theater, spectacle, whatever you want to call it.  Dance?  Music?  Sure.  All of that.  But mostly it is just good, loud, high-energy, how-the-hell-did-they-do-that? kind of fun.  At least in 1994.

Disney and I danced around and banged on sh*t all the way to the subway and the entire subway back to Morningside Heights.  Trash cans, subway walls, Zippos, each other... cut me some slack, we were in our early 20's and theater nerds.

That that kind of physical, kinetic, sweaty energy didn't lead up to some kind of Love Connection between me & Disney that night leads me to only three possible conclusions: (a) Disney was gay, (b) the idea of making the beast-with-two-backs under a poster of the mouse-with-four-fingers didn't really light my fire, or (c) we were both just worn out from all the banging.

Go see STOMP at the Kentucky Center this weekend.  Friday at 8pm.  Saturday at 5p & 8pm.  Sunday at 3pm & 7pm.  There's an Arena-based traffic advisory for Saturdays shows.  You can check it out here.

Three Great Things I Did Last Week

Thing One:  It's quickly becoming gospel in Casa Lou that midweek shows at Zanzabar are worth seeing.  The setting is intimate, the music is fantastic, and the folks behind the bar are delightful.  I'm only sorry that pretty soon, I won't be able to hack midweek shows when my Meatspace job returns.  This week, we caught the dreamy duo, Kaiser Cartel from Brooklyn.  Not only was the show wonderful, but the duo were really sweet people.  It's always nice to see musicians in a venue where you can chat them up after the show.  Zanzabar has some interesting-looking shows lined up for August.  I hope I have time to hit at least one more before I cease to be a lady of leisure.

Thing Two:  If you'd told me that I would genuinely enjoy the "Jersey Boys" show at the Kentucky Center  as much as I did, I would have told you that you didn't get my taste.  I'd heard too many times that your average "jukebox musical" was just a flimsy plot holding together crowd-pleasing songs.  Let me tell you, "Jersey Boys" pleased their crowd and then some.  I'd never seen a mid-act standing ovation before.  But the best thing about "Jersey Boys" wasn't the vocal gymnastics of the uber-talented cast, but the sad and sweet plot of the Four Seasons' rise to fame and eventual unravelling.  And who knew that the actor, Joe Pesci, as a boy, played an integral role in the formation of the Four Seasons!? (As they say in the script, "Yeah, that Joe Pesci.")  If you like the Four Seasons' music, you really have to go see this musical.  And if you don't like the Four Seasons, think about going anyway.  I was really blown away.  Another great job by Broadway Across America.

Thing Three:  You're probably tired of hearing me tell you to go to a Bats game... but we went twice this week, including last night when they beat the #1 Columbus Clippers in 11 innings.  Our boys are on a ten-game winning streak, and are trying very hard to make it to the Wild Card game.  Saturday, last year's boy of summer, Homer Bailey, was back on the mound for the Bats after playing most of the season with the Reds.  He's recovering from an inflamed shoulder.  We also happened to be at the July 27th game where the Bats took Charlotte to town, winning 19-6, with at least one RBI hit by every starter.

For the next nine glorious (hopefully) days, I'll be blogging from Mexico.  Or not blogging, depending on how glorious it is.  Mama hasn't had a "real" sit-by-a-pool-and-decompress vacation in years.  Sure, last summer was the summer of Newfoundland and Labrador, but we didn't stay in the same place two days in a row.  It was a great trip, but it was a lot of work.  And earlier this summer I hit up New England, but that too was a lot of traveling around and-- more taxing (but delightful)-- visiting people.

I have a couple of really fabulous "Awesome Louisvillagers" interviews to post while I'm away.  (Seriously, these are fantastic!)  Feel free to send me nominations for Awesome Louisvillagers, by the way... my list grows longer every day!

Take care of Louisville while I'm away!

Bend and Snap! "Legally Blonde" at the Kentucky Center

People give me a hard time when I say that, in general, I don't like musicals. They'll start by listing off musicals that I "must" like, and if they start with the oldie-but-goodies, I look like a jerk.

"My Fair Lady?" Yeah, that's a good one. "Wouldn't it be Loverly?" is a great song. And the Audrey Hepburn movie was great, even though she didn't really sing.

"The King and I?" I saw it with Yul Brenner in Boston when I was a kid. Every time I see it, I cry. So yeah, I like that one too.

"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?" Hi-larious. I played one of the courtesans when I was in high school. One of the most fun plays I've ever been in.

BUT, if they start by listing RECENT musicals, my musical grouch rears her head. "Rent"? "Les Mis"? "Phantom"? Not a fan.

And lately the kicker is: "Have you seen 'Wicked'? You can't possibly say you disliked 'Wicked.'"

I. Disliked. "Wicked."

There's just something about so many modern musicals that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. The only entertainment I can remember walking out of half way through was a stage revival of "Saturday Night Fever." When it comes to musicals, I look for goofy joy, and so many modern musicals favor mawkish sentimentality or overblown maudlinness to joy.

Which is why I am actually looking forward to seeing "Legally Blonde" next week at the Kentucky Center. This PNC Broadway Across America production cannot possibly fail to bring the joy, right?! I mean it's about a ditzy (but actually smart) pretty blonde in pink and her little dog too!

"Legally Blonde" is one of those movies that's impossible to dislike. It's not a classic, by any means, but it's one of those movies that will instantly put an end to my channel surfing on a Saturday afternoon. My fingers are crossed; it's hard to imagine anyone other than Reese Witherspoon as Elle Woods.

The Broadway Across America series has a lot of interesting stuff in the pipeline. Some of it isn't really up my alley ("Jersey Boys" and "Mama Mia"), but some totally is ("Stomp"-- which I saw when it first opened in a small off-Broadway theater-- and the dance production "Burn the Floor"). And yes, to save myself from further hypocrisy, I should probably SEE "Les Mis" before I keep saying I don't like it (I had a college roommate who had the soundtrack on perma-play in on our dorm room).

"Legally Blonde" runs from June 8-13 at the Whitney Hall in the Kentucky Center. Go and be joyful! Bend and snap, kids. Bend and snap!

The Best Place You Weren't This Weekend

Hearsay told me that I missed something big when I missed the Dashboard Confessional/Louisville Orchestra concert in 2009. Now I can say for certain that each empty seat in the Kentucky Center's Whitney Hall tonight represented someone who truly missed out on an Event. With a capital "E."

I'm not particularly good with organization, so I may rescind this statement at a later date (though I doubt it), but I'm thinking that the Calexico/Airborne Toxic Event concert with the Louisville Orchestra tonight cracked my "Top Ten Concerts Ever" list." It was sublime. It was a joy. It was a frigging brilliant risk on the part of the Louisville Orchestra to invite these two, relatively little-known bands to participate in their "No Strings Attached" concert series. And what a pay-off.

Oh, Thinkin' About Our Younger Years...

I know all y’all are probably pretty psyched for the Ben Sollee concert at the Kentucky Center on May 8.

(Sigh, Lou, why haven’t you bought tickets for that? You know you love Ben. And you know it’s likely they will sell out or are already sold out. You’re all talk-y, talk-y; no do-y, do-y.)

Sorry, I had to have a little chat with myself.

Anyway, Ben Sollee aside, there’s all kinds of good stuff coming up at the Kentucky Center. And that good stuff includes Bryan Adams, my friends. Yes, I said it. Bryan. Fricking. Adams. On May 7. Bryan Adams was one of Lou’s very first concerts. (VERY first concert: Eddie. Fricking. Money). Estranged Cousin dragged Lou to a Hooters/Bryan Adams concert back in the day. The Hooters, by the way, rocked, and so did Bryan Adams, although back then I was way too cool to admit that I liked the concert a lot.

I’m not a Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang sorta chick, but the KC’s got that going on May 5-10; I don’t know if I’ve ‘fessed up to this before, but I don’t really like musicals. That being said, I may have to check out Spring Awakening in June, mostly because I think the guy in the promo photo looks like Lyle Lovett, and I’m dying to see if he can pull off that hair.

Cowboy Junkies & the Orchestra: a cultural intermission in basketball season

I was driving downtown last night to go see a concert at the 21c, and I was reminded once again that Louisville IS a basketball city. Even our municipal street corner trash cans say "Take it to the Basket!"-- something I didn't notice or process until last night.

Now I know I've copped to my lack of love for sports. I love my Bats, my Sox, and my Reds, but other than baseball, the only sport I have any tolerance for is NCAA Basketball. And come March Madness, I'm a huge fan (although BYU's loss has already cracked my brackets).

But as easy as it is to forget that there's more to life than the NCAA Tournament this year, other great cultural opportunities abound over the next few weeks. And now that everybody and her grandma are wired to receive mobile sports alert (okay, well maybe not ME and MY grandma), there's no good excuse not to go out and take advantage of the bball-diminished crowds.

One of the most exciting upcoming events is the final BB&T No Strings Attached concert of the season pairing the Louisville Orchestra with the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies on March 28 at the Kentucky Center.

According to the press release (Lou loves press releases):

The program will open with classical pieces that are well known to most like
Claude Debussy’s Clair de lune (which is featured in the movies Ocean’s Eleven
and Twilight) and Bizet’s “Les Toréadors” from Carmen. The program will also
include a special guest, 14 year-old violinist Stephanie Zyzak who will perform
Henri Wieniawski’s “Allegro moderato” from Violin Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp
Minor, op. 14. Ms. Zyzak is one of three winners of the Association of the
Louisville Orchestra’s Young Artists Competition.

After the first half, the Cowboy Junkies, one of the earliest alt-country bands, will join the orchestra. Formed in the 1980's by the three Timmins siblings, Michael, Margo, and Peter, the Cowboy Junkies have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of their most popular album, The Trinity Sessions (and if that don't make you feel old...).

I have fond, fond memories of listening to the The Trinity Sessions in high school and college. The generation before me had their Barry White; my generation tapped Margo Timmins when we wanted to set the mood (and Leonard Cohen and the soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ by Peter Gabriel, which now strikes me as being kinda dirty).

So have your sports scores forwarded to your cell phone-- but keep that puppy on vibrate! (now, see, everything is sounding vaguely dirty)-- and go check out the Cowboy Junkies and the last No Strings Attached concert of the 2008-09 season.

Whitney Theater, Kentucky Center
3/28 at 8pm
Tickets range from $25 - $55
Call 502.584.7777 or visit www.LouisvilleOrchestra.org.

Tori Murden McClure and Bob Edwards at the Kentucky Center 4/14

In 1999, Tori Murden McClure rowed solo across the Atlantic Ocean, starting in the Canary Islands and ending in Guadeloupe. 81 days. 2,962 miles (so sez the Wikipedians). McClure, who is a vice president at Spalding University, is also the first woman to ski over land to the South Pole. Now this Loueyvillager has published a memoir called: "A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean."

Personally, Lou hates being wet and hates being cold, so I waffle between being very, very impressed and thinking "this chick is nuts." But that's just me.

On April 14, McClure will be discussing her book with Bob Edwards, one of my all time favorite Loueyvillagers (and Facebook friend-- I LOVE his updates. Was so sad when his status went from "In a Relationship" to "It's Complicated"). The event is being held at the Bomhard Theater at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.

6pm Pre-sale of the books (sponsored by Carmichael's)
7pm Interview with Bob
8pm Book signing

$15

I'm so excited to see Bob. Maybe I can help uncomplicate his relationship. Sigh. (Yes, Mama has weird crushes... but that voice... hubba hubba)

Snow My Goodness: It's Worse Out There Then You Thought

Or maybe I'm just speaking for myself...

This morning Honorable Contractor for the Humble Abode called and said "Show me the money." Problem was, my check book (I thought) was at the Humble Abode. So Honorable Contractor picked me up in his 4-wheel drive for what ended up being a three hour tour of our fair city (checkbook= not at Humble Abode). And wow. It was way worse than I thought.

Louisvillagers without power, I salute you. Thankfully the ResInn has remained blissfully powered up and warm. My heart goes out to those of you shivering in the dark. I can't imagine. Truly.

Hotels downtown are doing a booming business. I spent around 2 hours in the lobby of the ResInn reading and listening to the desk clerk answer the phone on average once a minute to say, "No, sorry, we're all booked up." That was around 2pm, and at that point the only place with rooms was the Galt House. Roommate and his woman and I went to the Galt House for drinks a few hours ago, and it was jammed.

I went to go see "Wicked" tonight at the Kentucky Center. It was a sold out crowd, and suprisingly it seemed like just about everyone showed up. I fear I may be losing my teen-chick cred: I hated "Twilight" (you can read my review of the book about "sparkly bear-sucking vampires" here) and I was thuddingly unimpressed by "Wicked." Really. I don't get it. It's precisely the kind of musical I can't stand: the "let's sing about even the totally trivial stuff" kind of musical. No thank you.

Hotel bars and restaurants downtown are packed. Bearnos by the Bridge was open. So was Prime Lounge. Stevie Rays is closed. Bank Shot Billiards is open. I'm pretty sure Connections was open.

My monkey on the ground (ie Roommate) says that between the Back Door (which has no power) and Highland Avenue only our street has power-- I'm so happy for my neighbors. He was taking his woman to the Irish Pubs of Little Dublin and the Outlook. Says everything around the Highland/Baxter split is packed.

The good news is this: If Hurricane Ike hadn't brought that tree down on my house, it probably would have come down last night. When it was freezing. And wet. Instead of sunny and warm and lovely like it was in September. I feel very lucky.

Stay warm, Loueyvillagers. You're in my thoughts.