Why I can't listen to Hamilton

Everyone knows that Hamilton is a recent darling of Broadway and cleaned up at the last Tony Awards.  I'll admit I don't know much about it, and I don't think I've actually heard any of the songs or music from it, at least that I'm aware of.  There hasn't been anything about it that has called out to me.  I like musical theatre generally, but there usually has to be a particular reason why a specific show might catch my attention.  Several months ago, this chain of thought went through my head.  And then I had a realization and burst into tears.  Hamilton is the perfect example of the kind of show that my friend Robert would have introduced me to.

The first time that happened was in 1997, when the animated movie "Anastasia" was released.  I had liked the movie and really enjoyed the songs.  Robert and I hadn't been friends for very long, but in that short time, we'd discovered a lot of common interests.  He told me that the two people responsible for the songs in that film, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, had also previously created a Broadway show called "Once on This Island", and if I liked the songs in the movie, I might like the songs in the show.  And the next time I saw him, he gave me a CD of the show soundtrack.  And I loved it.  I have since seen a couple of small productions of the show, including a terrific minimal-set production one by International City Theatre that Robert was actually able to attend with us, and my dream would be to see a full-scale production of the show.

"Wicked" was another popular show that I had zero interest in.  I knew a lot of people who loved the show, and I'd even seen the television ads for when the touring production was in town, but none of the bits and music did anything for me to want to see the show.  My first positive exposure to the show elements was probably when a couple of the songs were sung on different episodes of "Glee", which I was a huge fan of.  That made me vaguely interested in hearing the songs from the show, and I asked friends if anyone had a CD of the show soundtrack that I could listen to.  I had made arrangements with a friend to borrow the CD the next time I saw them.  But before that could happen, the CD showed up from Amazon at my house.  Robert had ordered it and sent it to me.  I did listen to it and ended up liking it and eventually saw the show.

It didn't always work when Robert sent me a CD.  He'd told me about a show he was particularly excited about called "Spring Awakening".  He had mentioned it one night during a phone call when we were obsessing over and dissected a couple of episodes of "Glee", and he brought up the show because some of the actors on "Glee" had been in this production.  Yep, the CD arrived at my house a few days later.  He'd mentioned elements of the story to me, and in this case, I'd wanted to read the play first, so I bought a copy.  Because of stuff going on at the time, I think I only got about 2/3 of the way through the play, and so I've never actually listened to the CD.  It's on the list to do someday.

I had met Robert because of our mutual love of Disneyland, and partly because of him, I was introduced to a musical stage show that was in Disneyland in the late 90's called "Festival of Fools", based on the Disney animated film "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".  I'd not seen the film but the stage show gave me an appreciation of the songs in the movie, which prepped me for seeing the full Broadway show when it debuted at the La Jolla Playhouse at the end of 2014.  The show is going to be at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts in the next few months, and we're planning to see the show there as well.

The last time Robert introduced me to a show was in early July 2014.  I got a couple of emails from Robert that didn't seem to make any sense, but I didn't have a chance to ask him about it immediately.  And then a few days later, I realized the emails didn't make sense because they were regarding a CD that he'd sent me that hadn't arrived yet.  He hadn't said anything previously to me about this show, but he'd apparently been listening to the CD a lot and decided I might like it.  The CD was for Idina Menzel's new Broadway show called "If/Then".  I did get a chance to listen to the CD a couple of times, and I liked it, but the story is a bit complicated and takes a bit of work to follow.  And not everything is evident from just listening to the CD.  Robert and I exchanged a couple of messages after I'd listened to the CD but never had the chance to have in-depth discussions about it.

We lost Robert to lymphoma on August 7, 2014.  As it turns out, the touring production of "If/Then" came to Los Angeles at the end of 2015, with Idina Menzel in the title role, no less, and I was glad I was able to see it and loved the show, but it was difficult to process that Robert wasn't around to see the show and that I couldn't talk to him about the show afterward.

Which brings me back to Hamilton, which is the kind of show that I think Robert would have loved, that he would have been excited about, that he would have talked about a lot, and I wouldn't have been surprised when the CD showed up in a package from Amazon at my house.  I might like the show and I might not.  But I'll never know because since Robert isn't here, that CD is never going to appear and I'm never going to listen to it.  And no, this is not a hint for friends, acquaintances and strangers to send me the CD.  It wouldn't work because it's not from Robert.  Every time I hear anything about Hamilton, I think of Robert.  My non-exposure to Hamilton is just one small indication of everything I've lost out on since Robert has been gone, movies and books and music that I haven't been able to talk to him about, experiences (his and mine) that we haven't been able to share, everything about this crazy election this year that we would have talked about.  And Disneyland.  Oh, so much Disneyland.

Two years seems like a long time and yet has also gone by in an instant.  Hugs to everyone missing someone today.

more "Glee" casting news

Late last night, I happened upon a blurb about someone having been cast in "Glee" next season. And she seemed familiar somehow, but it took me a while to figure it out.

Ohhhhhhhhh, I recognize her because I wrote about her about a year and a half ago!

There was APPARENTLY some kind of snafu regarding a premature announcement, but this is the blurb that I saw officially confirming her hiring.

Here's another article about her joining "Glee", and here's a third article.

It's interesting that she has kind of a different look in each of the pictures used in the different articles. I'm not sure which one is most recent, but I'm looking forward to seeing her work in "Glee".

don't stop believin'

I remember hearing something in passing about some new show. I didn't remember the name of the show. I vaguely had an idea of what it was about. I didn't catch my attention, so I didn't watch it when the pilot was aired.

But then, my friends started talking about it. And they really seemed to like it. And they said the pilot was available online. And they said I'd like it. So I gave it a try.

And that's how I was introduced to "Glee".

I've loved the show since I saw the pilot streaming online. And the weird part about me liking the show is that I normally don't like covers of songs. If it's not the original, I don't want to hear it. But for the most part, they've been very faithful in their covers of their songs, and on the occasions when they haven't been, I've liked the new arrangements. Of course, it helps that they're always so passionate when they sing the songs. It's also introducing me to new songs I didn't know and reintroducing me to songs I haven't heard or thought about in a long time, sometimes, in decades.

I like the various storylines that are going on, but really, the hook for me is the songs themselves.

Tonight was the finale of the first season. And wow, did they do an amazing job. I've liked some of the episodes more than others, but the finale was spectacular. I'd read a news blurb earlier in the day about Jonathan Groff having gotten hurt during a number, so whereas I hadn't gone to look at the CD to see what songs would be sung tonight, I did end up finding out one song they did.

And I'll admit I was a bit shocked. They were really going to take on something as iconic and classic as "Bohemian Rhapsody"? Lots of people attempt that, but trying to do justice to Freddie Mercury is no easy feat. I was curious to see what they did. And wow, it was more spectacular than I had expected. I thought Jonathan was good at singing the song. He didn't try to imitate Freddie, so I liked what he did with the vocals. The choreography was cool. But to intercut the performance with Quinn being taken to the hospital and be in the throes of labor was genius. Her motions and sounds and screaming fit right in with the song, and the cadence and rhythm of the song matched the frenzy of her struggling through labor and then finally giving birth. Much as I hate to use the word, it was the ultimate mash-up.

I loved that the series went full circle by starting with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and ending with a medley of Journey songs, including one of my favorites, "Faithfully". And what was even funnier was that I totally recognized the venue where the regionals were being held - it was the Saban Theatre, the new home of Paley Fest, where "Glee" had a panel this year!

Here's the "Faithfully" segment.




It was sweet that Shelby was the one to adopt Quinn and Puck's baby, appropriately named Beth. (How cute was Puck tearing up when his daughter was born?) And the last song was a truly great ensemble piece, and yes, it made me cry.


Here's a compilation video with some of the cast members about their journey (pun intended) through the first season of the show.




The show has already been picked up for a second and third (yep, you heard that right) seasons, so I'm looking forward to more "Glee"!

more "Glee"

It's been announced that "Glee" has been renewed for a second season, not to be confused with the remainder of the first season that is still to come.

That's good news indeed, as I really like this show, and I'm hoping that the reveal of Quinn's real baby daddy and that Will isn't a baby daddy at all will wrap up those stories and see where it goes next. I was not fond of Terri's deception of Will, and Terri's character is drawn really poorly - she has no rooting value whatsoever, even as a villain. I hope they either flesh out her character or drop her altogether.

And of course, more cool songs to come!


But, I'm particularly interested in the tidbit that they're looking for new people for the show.

So, who's auditioning? :)

"True Colors"

OK, I know, this week has been very Phil Collins heavy. It's just worked out that way.

This week's episode of "Glee" featured the song "True Colors", a song originally sung by Cyndi Lauper. I did like the version they did on the show, but my favorite version of the song was sung by Phil Collins and his backup folk during his First Final Farewell Tour. It wasn't quite as a capella as I recalled, but it's pretty minimal in music so you can really hear and focus on the vocals and the harmonizing. It was absolutely beautiful to listen to live.

"Glee" - pilot episode spoiler review

I hadn't known anything about "Glee" until some friends of mine started talking about it after the pilot episode had been broadcast. I hadn't even known about the pilot and didn't really know what the show was about. After hearing more about the show from a particular friend and learning that the pilot was available on Hulu, I decided to check it out.

The show started a bit slow for me, but I think that's a problem all new shows run into because they have to set up the story and the cast of characters. The quirks of the various characters were a bit much at first, but as they started to gel, I liked the show better. Each of the characters was drawn with basically one particular identifying quality, but that makes remembering them easier, and while many of the characters are currently stereotypes, I'm hoping those get flushed out as the show progresses.

The main character in the show is teacher Will, who has come back to his old high school to teach and who ends up being the new teacher to run the glee club. His efforts are hampered by a lack of funds and a lack of resources but mostly, the perception that glee club is for losers, resulting in there only being 5 kids in the club. Will accidentally discovers that one of the football jocks (Finn) can actually sing and resorts to questionable tactics to convince said jock to join the glee club.

Will has problems at home as well, with an extremely high-maintenance wife, but life gets even more complicated when his wife announces that she's pregnant. Will initially decides to quit his teaching job to apply for the higher-paying accountant job that his wife has been pushing him towards, but when he sees that the glee club kids have put all their effort into putting on a show, he decides to stay and do what he loves instead.

I liked most of the lead characters, even the "bad" characters. The only exception is Will's wife, who comes off simply as a shrill spoiled brat who you basically just want to stuff in a box. I'm hoping that they give her some redeeming quality so that you can at least not root completely against her.

Much of the conflict is going to arise from the division in the school between the popular kids and the losers, with Finn being the tenuous bridge between the two.

The kids are fun to watch as they sing and dance, and there are some really funny bits in the show. But the show-stopper is the finale of the show, when they've arranged a version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'". The lead singers are very good, and the backup kids aren't bad either. And really, it's a terrific song - how could you go wrong?

The songs really got me into the show. The use of Journey songs as well as REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" - ahhh, it's the 80s songs that I love so much!

I liked the show enough to give it a try when the regular season starts. The pilot will be re-aired on Fox on September 2, Wednesday at 9pm, which will be its regular time slot. The first episode of the season will then air on Wednesday, September 9 at 9pm. A friend who went to Comic-Con this year has already seen the first episode and was telling me about it, so I'm really looking forward to seeing it.