Here's Why I Love Broadway

Since my cable TV went on the fritz last night after the quick (but damaging) wind/thunderstorm yesterday, I really have nothing to comment since I only saw some fuzzy endings to Canadian Idol and a fuzzy clip of Zach's cute film in On The Lot.

So I wasn't going to post this but ah, what the hey, I have nothing else to write about today until So You Think You Can Dance tonight (well, that and I've actually had to work a lot lately...GASP... at work (seriously, it's a miracle I haven't been fired yet. In fact, I was just recently told what a wonderful job I was doing AND that I was doing it so fast (!?! Seriously. How slow do OTHER people work?)).

Anyways. If you want to know why I love Broadway so much, Check here for a clean version. And Here and Here for the NSFW versions. Well. Not THAT bad but still, you may want to check who is behind your screen first. (Here's the link to last years slideshow)

Nudity for a good cause can never be a bad thing.

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Harry Fast

Um, I just noticed a Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix poster on the side of the bus this afternoon and noticed the date said 07 11 07.

When did they change the opening date from Friday the 13th of July to Wednesday the 11th of July?

Who cares! Two less days I have to wait!!! I'm glad too since it makes more sense, since it will equate to opening on the 12th in Asia (which it is).

So let the new countdown begin! Only 21 More Days to go!



Then it's the countdown to the final book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I almost don't want to read it knowing it's the last book!

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iPod Music Playlist - The Boys of Summer

Here some of the songs I've been liking lately, and uh, I noticed they are all boys...

Jon McLaughlin - "Beautiful Disaster"



Michael Bublé - "Lost" - I've been playing this on repeat since I got the album and I finally heard it on the radio last week. YEY! It's the new single!



Faber Drive - "Second Chances" - I've seen this video for, like, ever now (last fall or winter I think at least), and it was always enjoyable though not screaming as a hit, but I'm a little surprised it's only starting to get more airplay now. Anyways, it's still enjoyable enough and seems to grow on me.



The Plain White T's - "Hey There Delilah" - Not that this needs anymore airplay, since the Buffalo station seems to be pumping this up a LOT. Who do THEY know at LiveNation?



Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - "Face Down"



Ten Second Epic - "Old Habits" - I don't know why but I find this video kind of adorable somehow. Okay. Maybe just the band.



I also saw a band the weekend before this past one in Montreal called The Dress White's. While usually I cringe at being brought to see friend's or friend's friend's bands (where then you have to smile and lie through your teeth telling them that they sound great as you try to plug your ears hands free), this one actually stood out because they were just poppy enough to be fun and not all artistic and self-involved and pretentious (I'm talking to you The Arcade Fire) and the songs were well written with just enough hook to maybe get radio airplay but with lyrics that weren't dumbed down.

Here's all I could find so far on youtube.

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Reality Bites - And Summer Trash TV Is Back

I made it through about 5 minutes of Age of Love before I had to switch over to something else. I'm not even sure if the cougars vs. the young'uns offended me, I think I was just sort of turned off my the tennis pro Mark Poupopoulloupopllousplli (or something like that) because he kinda seemed like a dink, especially considering he's supposed to be famous or something (who is this guy? What happened to the Woodies? I would have watched THAT although I'm sure by now, they're married and older or something).

Then I switched over to Hell's Kitchen where the large Asian guy continues to represent... and I'm SOOO ashamed. Seriously. Like there are already SOOO many great Asian Male role models in Hollywood, we get a crying over-emotional baby who kept burning omelettes? OMELETTES? Isn't that like college cooking 101?

Over on Canadian Idol, I'm not sure if the new rule that the singers can play instruments as they perform is turning out to be a good thing yet. Based on last nights Top 100 auditions, there was still a LOT of crap, then again, Canadian Idol has always seemed to venture for more artsy folksy oddballs rather than the pop star counterpart of American Idol, which I guess makes us so Canadian. It does not however always find us a good Canadian Idol, with only last years Eva Avila succeeding (and the new Maybelline girl in New York apparently!). Then again, Kalan Porter had so much potential before he was forced into singing garbage Idol crap and his image was totally mismanaged.

Meanwhile, I hadn't had time to talk about Creature Comforts (Mon. 8pm CBS/CH) before this week but it's such a wonderful little slice of television that it deserves to be seen, if at least in smaller chunks. The half hour format may just be a tad too long, yet each segment, where we see claymation from the Wallace & Grommit folks overlaid onto interviews of regular Americans (based on the British series interviewing regular Brits) is such a delight, and sometimes so hilarious, that I'll take it however I get. Seriously, the animation, the in-jokes, the background, the facial features are sometimes so detailed that I'm amazed that it's CLAY.

Here's some favorites Creature Comforts clips below (there's tons on youtube and dailymotion). I'm trying to find the owls (with the voices of a mother and teenage son) but haven't yet, but I'll try to add it later. It's so cute and so typical. Reminds me of me and my mom.

This dog one is one of my faves where the interview must bave been 2 guys talking about wine, now played out as two dogs speaking of another dog's bum.

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Yet Another Mini Weekend Broadway Marathon

Monty Python's Spamalot - Shubert Theatre - New York City
Spring Awakening - Eugene O'Neill Theatre - New York City
Company - Barrymore Theatre - New York City

Um, so even though there are still a half a dozen or more Broadway shows I still haven't seen and would want to see, I ended up going back to New York and I saw Spring Awakening and Company AGAIN again. My fourth time at Spring, and third at this particular John Doyle, Raúl Esparza starring version of Company and while I thought I may have been overdoing a bit and overhyping it in my mind, I can say now that the weekend is over, that DAMN... those are two of some of the best shows I've EVER seen and I was right to champion them the whole time.

So try to catch Company which closes in less than 2 weeks now on July 1st (it's only two more weeks until JULY???) if you happen to be on Broadway. And yes. Raúl Esparza WAS ROBBED last week (of a Tony Award for Best Actor).

Oh, and when I got tickets to see Spring Awakening again, I thought "maybe I'm overdoing this. maybe its not that great. I'm not sure if I'm excited about this or forcing myself to be excited about it."

then the show started... and I was like. THIS IS F#$KING AMAZING...

So No. I was originally right. I'm NOT just overhyping this in my mind. This IS the best musical Ive ever seen live.

And on a side note, can we not recognize Stephen Spinella (a two time Tony winner) and Christine Estabrook (Desperate Housewives) who are hilarious and horrifying as the Adult Men and Adult Women characters they play? They've been totally overlooked since the press has concentrated on the amazing kids in this play about sexual youths but we can't forget that these two are fantastic and should have also been Tony nominate as well (made even more prominently when I just watched a bootleg copy of the Off-Broadway version last year with different actors playing the adults and who just weren't as emotionally heartbreaking as the Spinella and Estabrook and who can also milk a joke with far more deft).

My original plan was to check out 110 in the Shade and Curtains but couldn't get cheap tickets to the later and changed plans for the first, so I ended up just checking out Monty Pythons' Spamalot and about all I can say is, meh. It was mildly entertaining but I guess not being a Monty Python fan, the humour wasn't that humouress to me (though the second act was far funnier especially with Prince Herbert and Sir Lancelot in the now requisite "gay" song that would be tired if the two actors weren't so adorable performing the number) and again, most of the songs weren't that great except for the original song from the movie "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" and the Lady of the Lake song "Find Your Grail". This whole ironic funny self referencing musical is starting to get old (and sort of explains the resurgence of the dark musical this year at the Tony's including Company, Spring Awakening, Grey Gardens and even to a point, A Chorus Line) and I thought Urinetown and Avenue Q do it better with better songs and wittier lines. Still, I guess THOSE were originally influenced by the original Monty Python somehow so who am I to say? Still. Spamalot was better than the The Producers IMHO but not as enjoyable as The Drowsy Chaperone.

Maybe the original cast would have helped Spamalot, as I would have LOVED to see then unknown Sara Ramirez (Grey's Anatomy) perform as Lady of the Lake but instead, I got the UNDERSTUDY for the already REPLACEMENT (who was the amazing Marin Mazzie though, part of the reason I wanted to see the show in the first place, so that was disappointing that she wasn't on) who was competent but not great. The rest of the cast seemed like wax replicas of the originals, with a David Hyde Pierce look-a-like, a Tim Curry look-a-like and a Christopher Sieber look-a-like. It was little eerie actually. Talk about your mass production musical. Has this what it has come down too? Seriously. The actors in the roles originated by David Hyde Pierce, Tim Curry and Christopher Sieber looked a LOT like the originals. Has auditioning talent come down to this? Or am I just that naive? Since the best actors on stage were the ones that didn't really look like their replacements (they could actually sing, dance and act). Well, now that's out of the way. Hopefully onto Xanadu next! Ha! As the poster itself says. Seriously! (Wait, didn't I just say I was tired of the ironic musical?)

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The Grass Looks Greener Over There In The Apocalypse...

Big casts excite me! Evening opens soon. Juno is done with. Loved Babel despite its' flaws. I'm a sucker for anything Robert Altman. Now, word is Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover, Julianne Moore are descending upon Toronto to shoot Fernando Meirelles's (the director of the brilliant City of God and great The Constant Gardener) new apocalyptic movie Blindness written by Don McKellar (Broadway's The Drowsy Chaperone) (based on Saramago's Nobel prize winning Portuguese book). The cast will also include a few Canadians returning home, including Greys Anatomy's Sandra Oh, Maury Chaykin, Don McKellar and Martha Burns, plus an international bevy of stars/actors.

DAMN. I knew I wanted to work on that movie when I saw it on the list... damnit.

Photo by Glenn Harris/Photorazzi

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So You Think You Can Dance - Argentine Tango To Go

Top 20 Results - And Now We're Down To 18

Opening Number with Top 20 - choreographed by Wade Robson - "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" - Busta Rhymes


Top 20 - So You Think You Can Dance


I love these opening numbers. LOVE THEM. Last year, they included Technologic, Sexy Back and Imogen Heap's Hide and Seek. LOVE THEM! I mean, I even went to the live tour TWICE. TWICE! LOVE THEM! This year, it starts with another wicked opening number though slightly less fun as Technologic but still, pretty good utilization of the diverse dancers throughout the space and bringing them all together at the end is what we all wait to see in these group numbers.

So, I also like that they get right to the point with the elimination since they need to leave room for the judges to deliberate live during the show.

So bottom 3 pairs based on last nights performances were:
Sabra and Dominic who danced the Disco.
Ashlee and Ricky who danced the Argentine Tango.
Faina and Cedric who danced Hip Hop.

Mary Murphy says America got it wrong, but seriously, who else would you replace into the bottom three? Everyone else was terrific. I think they got it right. Good job America!

Uh, Benji, what's with the sideburns and red gloves?
Benji performs to "Tu Vuo' Fa L'Americano" - The Guy Barker International Quintet, Matt Damon, Vincent Fiorello, Jude Law - The Talented Mr. Ripley soundtrack.



The Elimination Dance Off begins:
Sabra - "Shine" - David Gray - goes first. I think I really like her. I think I still hate that 3-2-1-So-You-Think-You-Can-Dance thing still that ends the solos. It's not cute anymore (though, was it ever?).

Dominic - "Let's Groove" - Earth, Wind & Fire - that head spinning thing was kinda crazy. The shirt off? Shameless but cute.

Ashlee - "Cry Me A River" - Barbra Streisand - I like her. I don't love her, but she deserves to stay.

Ricky - "Virtual Insanity" - Jamiroquai - Okay, solo he's pretty good. He still needs to wash that hair though.

Faina - "Ain't No Other Man" - Christina Aguilera - Okay. I think my friend was right. She might be out tonight. Hmm... their family really has no chance in this competition do they? (Her brother Stanislav was the first male out of the Top 20 last year).

Cedric - "Dream Within Dream" - Wade Robson - I don't love him but he IS good. I'll give him that.

Lloyd performs "Get It Shawty" and he's not very good live. Who is this clown?

Oh, I was wrong. Actually, my friend was wrong. Ashlee is gone and Faina lasts longer than her brother. Oh, there's a new goodbye song. Ryan Cabrera's "I Will Remember You" (also used in the Will & Grace finale). Hmm... more sentimental than last year's kick out song ("Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall).

WOO!!! Dominic is safe and Ricky and his greasy hair is out of here. Sayonara! It was nice not really knowing you! Grease is obviously NOT the word!

Hmm... Ricky and Ashlee, partners, are both out. Harsh. So no new couplings next week. Can't wait!

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So You Think You Can Dance - Dance-Off! Rants-Off!

Top 20 Performance

Okay, this So You Think You Can Dance Season 3 is a pretty good top 20 group, but there's still so many dancers that I'm still having a hard time remembering who is who but it will be fun watching the teams compete over the next few weeks as we figure out who really CAN dance the different styles week after week.

Judges tonight: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy and Dan Karaty

Now we get to the good part. The Top 20. The Pairs dance-off!

Jaimie and Hok - Hip Hop - choreographed by Shane Sparks - "Tambourine" - Eve

Not completely together and she's not perfect at this but considering it's so not her style (she's contemporary), she tried and was pretty impressive knowing that (in what will probably seem a repetitive comment throughout the night). Hok (hip hop) totally lucked out dancing his own style this first week cause he's awesome at it.

Here is the video clip of Jaimie and Hok's Hip Hop routine.


Hok and Jamie


Anya and Danny - Jive - choreographed by Tony Meredith - "Girlfriend" - Avril Lavigne

Danny (contemporary) is my last year fave Travis Wall's adopted brother. Danny is pretty damn good but I think Anya (ballroom) outdanced him even MORE. And to a song that doesn't seem like it would have been easy to dance to. Some cool tricks between the two too! Mary will later claim these two as the safest couple from elimination of the night.

Here is the video clip for Anya and Danny's Jive routine.


Anya and Danny


Lacey and Kameron - Contemporary - choreographed by Mia Michaels - "Dancing" - Elisa

Lacey (swing and latin ballroom) and Kameron (hip hop/ contemporary) are really good dancers, and they knock this out of the park, but I wonder, are they really amazing? or is Mia Michaels just an AMAZING choreographer who knows how to choreograph to the strengths of the dancers? Lacey sure keeps the Schwimmer name in check and proved that she isn't in the finals just for being sister to last years winner. Kameron seems really strong and if he's a prop (as Dan Karaty said), he can prop me up anytime.(Oh and Travis sighting!)

Here's the video clip for Lacey and Kameron's Contemporary performance.


Lacey and Kameron



Sabra and Dominic - Disco - choreographed by Doriana Sanchez - "No More Tears (Enough is Enough) " - Donna Summer and Westlife (when the hell did THIS duet happen? I LOVE Westlife! How did I miss this?)

Sabra (contemporary) has only been dancing for FOUR years? THAT'S IT? That's impressive considering seeing how she moves! Plus I think I'm totally seduced by her 'fro. Cute performance, and again, I think the girl outperformed the guy (Dominic, b-boy/ hip hop) but neither was perfect but it wasn't horrible at all either. (Oh and Donyelle and Ivan sighting!)

Here is the video clip of Sabra and Dominic's Disco routine:


Sabra and Dominic


Ashlee and Ricky - Argentine Tango - Alex de Silva - "Sentimiento Tanguero" - Trio Federico - Berlingieri

Something about Ricky (contemporary) bothers me. Oh well, since it's a boring performance, partly because I don't really care for they style, but not helped by the two dancers (I mean, Ivan was able to make it exciting last year). I feel bad for Ashlee (contemporary/ jazz) cause I felt a bit more from her but still, as they say, it takes two to tango and that wasn't quite it. Dan Karaty will later predict this couple's demise tomorrow night as the worst couple of a strong top 20 group.

Here is the video clip of Ashlee and Ricky's Argentine Tango routine:


Ashlee and Ricky


Sara and Jesús - Pop Jazz - choreographed by Wade Robson - "Cabaret Hoover" - The Triplets of Belleville soundtrack

Again, give good dancers a good choreographer in Wade Robson, add some good choice lighting effects, and WOW, what a fun routine. Oh damn, Dan just repeated what I just typed. (Oh! Dimitri sighting!). Not always together and again, I think the girl Sara (b-girl/ hip hop) outdanced the boy Jesús (contemporary/ jazz) but considering her usual style is closer than his, it's still not a bad first dance from him.

Here is the video clip from Sarah and Jesús' Pop Jazz routine.


Jesus and Sara


Jessi and Pasha - Smooth Waltz- choreographed by Tony Meredith - "Come Away With Me" - Norah Jones

I like these two dancers Jessi ( hip hop) and Pasha (latin ballroom) already but I still find ballroom a little boring. Amazingly, these two are SOOOO SMOOOOOOTH that they glide across the stage and held my attention the entire time. I guess that's a good sign, no? Hey, Dan Karaty just said the SAME THING that I just typed again... for like the 5th time tonight...well at least I know I'm not totally off!

Here is the video clip of Jessi and Pasha's Smooth Waltz routine:


Jessi and Pasha


Faina and Cedric - Hip Hop - choreographed by Shane Sparks - "Get It Shawty" - Lloyd

Faina (latin ballroom) is sister to last years Top 20 dancer Stanislav (who exited as the first guy and was thought to be a mistake but now looking back, thank GOD we kept Ivan around). Cedric (hip hop) again, like Hok earlier in the night, lucks out dancing to his own style. Faina, while not completely together with Cedric, is quite amazing considering she's from the ballroom world. She's not great but decent for her first hip hop and can you blame her for not synching up to Cedric? Didn't he say he'd help?

Here is the video clip of Faina and Cedric's Hip Hop routine.


Faina & Cedric perform Hip-Hop dance


Lauren and Neil - Salsa - choreographed by Alex de Silva - "Friday Night Rhythm" - Mazerati 5

Neil (contemporary) is a little stiff at times but overall a cute enough showing from the two cuties on their first routine. Not one of the better routines of the night but not the worst performance either. Still, the two are such cutie pies that Neil and Lauren (contemporary/ jazz) could be this years Ivan and Allison. Uh... now Nigel just compared Lauren to Allison (in da house!). Didn't I just type that?

Here is the video clip of Laruen and Neil's Salsa routine:


Lauren and Neil


Shauna and Jimmy - Broadway - choreographed by Tyce DiOrio - "Ease On Down The Road" - The Wiz soundtrack

Shauna (contemporary) is great but Jimmy (contemporary) was AWESOME and probably the most unexpected of the night. I didn't think he had it in him. I'm very impressed. Still, the two are really on the beat TOGETHER. Of course it helps that it's such a fun routine (again, by one of the stonger choreographers Tyce) . Shauna and Jimmy may be the most unexpected couple of the competition now. I didn't think these two would work well together but that was sure a lot of fun!

Here is the video clip of Shauna and Jimmy's Broadway routine:


Shauna and Jimmy


Wrap Up
Man, so many good performances to choose from at this point! I loved me some Season 2 last year but really, I was only excited during the Top 10. This year, I'm already excited at the Top 20 point with more good pairings to choose from. It might be quite hard to see some people go this year (where last year, there was a bunch I needed out (ahem... Ben, Joy) right away).

Best Pairing of the Night - Um... one of the following (I can't CHOOSE!?!): Kameron and Lacey, Anya and Danny, Jessi and Pasha, Sara and Jesús, Shauna and Jimmy

Worst of the Night - Ashlee and Ricky

Check Here for the latest on So You Think You Can Dance
For So You Think You Can Dance Season 2:
Favorite Video Clips
Song List
Live Tour - Toronto
Live Tour - Buffalo, Pics, More Pics

All photos from Joe Viles/Fox

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Updated Tony Award Video Clips

In case you don't scroll down and wanted to see more clips from the Tony Awards (so basically, like, the 2 of you), I've added video clips from the performances of Curtains, Grey Gardens, Company, 110 in the Shade, Mary Poppins and Spring Awakening now.

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Do You Really Have To Ask What Shoot 'Em Up Is About?

OMG! When did the Shoot 'Em Up Movie Website go up? And it has a brand new (official) trailer on it (instead of the previous version that was made for Cannes last year)! Whether you like this blog or hate it, you can somehow blame Shoot 'Em Up for the conception of tapeworthy (but I won't explain how).

Well, I have no idea if the movie will be any good or not, because the script was retarded but hey, it has got Clive Owen (hello!), Monica Belucci and Paul Giamatti in it. And a lot of shooting. If you can't tell from the title already.

Shoot 'Em Up is currently scheduled to open September 7, 2007 (which is sort of like the graveyard for summer movies. Not a good sign).

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