Crazytown

A MARVELOUS GAMBLE

Screw the Oscar bait...I can't wait for the big budget comic book movies coming this summer.

By Ryan Bogner (Producer, Wingnut)

This sunday is one of Hollywood's biggest and most important nights...but one of Hollywood's most groundbreaking events isn't happening until May 4th.

I'm talking about Marvel Studio's unprecidented film:

You might ask what is unprecidented about what seems to be on its face a run of the mill high concept studio blockbuster.

It's all in the story leading up to the film.

INEXPLICABLE REDEMPTION FOR A PLAYWRIGHT

Exploring a playwright’s responsibility to her community...
By Kimberly Lew (Playwright/Blogger)

Race has been the talk of the theatre industry lately, from Stephen Adly Guirgis' statements on the ethnicity of his characters to a controversial casting choice of Oklahoma, and since the release of The Broadway League's most recent report (and the responses to it), the prevalence of minorities in the theater-- both on stage and in the audience-- is a hot button topic. As a minority in the theatre myself, these discussions have been very important, enlightening, and at times disheartening for me to follow. And in spite of the varying opinions, I am very glad these threads of conversation are being had at all.

(Poster from Qui Nguyen's
The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G) 

The discussion of Asians and theatre in particular has come to the forefront lately, kicked off by a rousing panel organized by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) where a slew of industry professionals discussed the diminishing roles for Asian actors in the theater. When it comes to casting Asians in non-ethnic-specific parts or even providing roles for specifically for Asian performers, evidence has shown that the number of Asians on stage is dwindling. What the panel sought to explore is what areas of the theatre ecosystem need to change in order to improve the statistics, and as a playwright, I can't help but question my own role in giving opportunities to my community.

This Wednesday Matthew takes you behind the scenes with 35MM...

Pam counts down the top 10 drinking movies...

And Gregory helps you prep for the #CTOWNOSCARS.

MURPHY MADE: 35MM REHEARSAL

By Matthew Murphy (Photographer)

Perhaps you've managed to avoid the obnoxious self-promotion for a certain show I'm working on with CRAZYTOWN creator, composer extraordinaire, and boyfriend-of-the-year Ryan Scott Oliver called 35MM.  If, in fact, you have managed to avoid us, let me explain the nitty gritty details:

•We've created a multimedia musical exhibition feauturing Ryan's songs and my images. 

•We've lined up an amazing cast of performers featuring Alex Brightman (Wicked, The History Boys), Ben Crawford (Shrek, Merrily We Roll Along), Jay Armstrong Johnson (Hair, Catch Me If You Can), Lindsay Mendez (Godspell, Grease) and Betsy Wolfe (Everyday Rapture, Merrily We Roll Along).

•We're doing TWO NIGHTS ONLY at Galapagos Arts Space in Dumbo, Brooklyn.  March 7th and March 12th! 

•You can pick up tickets here! 

Without further adieu, I wanted to take you into the world of 35MM rehearsals, which commenced earlier this week. 

(Jay Armstrong Johnson)

(Director, Jeremy Bloom)

(Ben Crawford)

(Lindsay Mendez, Alex Brightman)

(Betsy Wolfe, Lindsay Mendez)

(Alex Brightman)

(Lindsay Mendez)

(Cast)

MATTHEW MURPHY is a New York City-based arts photographer. His work regularly appears in The New York Times.www.MurphyMade.com
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#CTOWNOSCARS

By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman (Composer-Lyricist)

The Academy Awards are this Sunday! The awards show to end all awards shows (except, of course, for the Tonys)! Are you excited? I sure am! So is Melissa and many of us here at Crazytown. 

Now, I’m not a big cinéaste, but I do love awards shows. The stars, the fashion, the glamour – even as a little kid back in Delaware I’d watch them with unabated excitement (yes, it was pretty obvious I was gay from a very early age).

Wasting time on the internet being my specialty, here are a few memes and videos to get you going in anticipation of this year’s Oscars:

One of my new favorite tumblr blogs is This Had Oscar Buzz. Scroll through this catalogue of cinematic car crashes and remember: some of these films actually did have Oscar buzz, like this little gem on the right. The best part of Oscar season is making fun of Hollywood while simultaneously celebrating it.

Next up, here’s your hump-day bonus video: Silence! The Musical writers Jon & Al Kaplan bring us a hilarious video lampooning the Best Picture Oscar-nominated film The Help. Ladies and gents, I give you The Help: The Musical.

 

Finally, and most importantly, what could be better on the big night than getting all the commentary, insight, and snark of the writers here at Crazytown in real time? Well, you’re in luck! I’m happy to advertise to you, dear readers of Crazytown, that some of our writers, myself included, will be conducting a live tweet session this Sunday night during the awards telecast! You can read our tweets and join in on the conversation using the hashtag: #ctownoscars. It’s gonna be one fun night, and we want you to join us. Don’t just watch the Oscars alone, watch them in Crazy-vision!

Alright. I’ve got to go fill out my Oscar ballot. Follow me at @GJRoseman, use #ctownoscars, and See you on Sunday night!

GREGORY JACOBS-ROSEMAN is a composer/lyricist and theatrical sound designer currently developing Save The Date: A New Musical Comedy. www.gregjr.com
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I’M TOO OLD FOR THIS SH*T

How a night of drinking can get you thinking about choices and your top ten favorite drunk scenes from the movies.
By Pam Quinn (Writer) 

I’d like to talk about Alcohol for a second.

I’ve always prided myself on being someone who doesn’t NEED alcohol. I don’t have a SUBSTANCE abuse problem, I have an addiction to PEOPLE. (Weed free since September 8th) I come from a long line of alcoholics, some more friendlier than others... but I’ve never felt a craving or an itch for the drink and I think that drives several members in my family crazy. My partying days have gone down significantly and unless I’ve made a trip to Costco for a 24 pack that’s gonna last me 2 months, I RARELY drink at home.

This Tuesday,

Melissa gears up for Oscar,

Brett sends his babies into the world,

and Tony mourns a loss in the music business in this week's MONKEY BUSINESS

CRAMMING FOR THE OSCARS

Countdown to the Academy Awards...
By Melissa Presti (Book Publisher)

Many of you have probably been training for the Oscars for the last year, carefully spreading out film viewings, critiquing them with friends, and ultimately preparing your ballot picks months in advance.

Not me!

If someone is going to offer me the opportunity to sit on my ass in pajamas for a 12 hour movie marathon at a reasonable price, I’m going to take it. It allows me to procrastinate for a year and then participate in a cram session a week before the Oscars. I did this a lot in college and someone actually gave me a degree, so it totally works.

The AMC Best Picture Showcase has spent the last six years providing moviegoers the opportunity to see all films up for best picture, in the span of 2 Saturdays, or in some areas, a 24 hour marathon which is NUTS you guys, don’t ever attempt that. This is my fourth year attending the showcase and I have it down to a science:

• Crazy people to the front of the line! Get to the theater super early, stand outside in the freezing cold, snag the best seats in the theater (row with a bar in front of you for optimal reclining)
• Wear pajamas and slippers; absolutely no one will judge you. 
• Bring 2 blankets - 1 to make the bar a comfortable ottoman, 1 to cuddle with and hide under when you're a sobbing mess because of fucking Joey the magical war horse.
• Ignore theater rules and bring in all the food you want, I recommend convenient discounted Valentine's Day candy.

Find a movie buddy, follow my tips, and you too can have a fantastic sedentary Saturday of snacking and sobbing! Unfortunately, I'll have to enter my Oscar ballot in the office pool this week before I have a chance to see the last 5 nominated movies. But I won't leave you without my thoughts on the first four:

LETTING GO

The time has come for letting go.
By Brett Ryback (Actor-Writer)

Parents and children are a recurring theme in my work.  I find this an effective theme because whether or not we have children, we all have parents. 

But one aspect of the parent/child relationship that I have a good deal of experience with is the "letting go" part.  And while there's interesting exploration to be done on the "child" side of letting go, I am currently on the parenting side.  In this case, the children are my pieces of art - The Tavern Keeper's Daughter and Darling, which are playing next week in Milwaukee and Boston, respectively.

All right, all right - maybe I didn't go through a physically painful labor, and raise them for the last 18 years - but I have spent countless, intimate hours with these pieces.  I know them inside and out.  I have fought for them, learned from them, been frustrated and confused by them, and I have protected and loved them the way any good parent would.

And now they go out into the big scary world to be judged.  There can be no mistake - this is the most exciting and frightening part of the process for any creator. 

In Genesis, God made the world, and at each step along the way stood back and said "I did good!"  Fortunately for God, Ben Brantley hadn't been born yet.

But here's the bigger lesson.  You cannot control what others will think.  People will have every opinion under the sun and those opinions will directly conflict with one another.  I don't just mean when it comes to your work - I mean ev-er-y-thing.

So, why worry about what you can't control?  All you can do, is stand up and say, "This is who I am," and let others decide.

What's the lyric? 

Stop worry if your vision is new.
Let others make that decision - they usually do.
You keep moving on.

And so I will.  As these pieces continue to find their feet, I'm off to bigger and better things. 

After all - it's not like they're gone forever.  They're gonna have to come back to do laundry eventually.

BRETT RYBACK wrote the music for Liberty Inn (Ovation Nominee, Best Music/Lyrics), the book music and lyrics for The Tavern Keeper’s Daughter, and the book for Darling. He also acts on stage and TV. www.btryback.wordpress.com
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RINGING (OR SINGING) THE DEATH KNELL

Ask not for whom the bell tolls.  It tolls for good music.
MONKEY BUSINESS by Tony Asaro (composer/lyricist)

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,
Et lux perpetua luceat eis.

Last week, while the rest of the country was watching the Grammys, I was hanging coats at the Eagle, merely listening to them—the coat check does not face the bar’s TV screens.  And while the rest of the country was acutely aware that Whitney Houston had died, listening and not watching the awards show, I started to become aware that Whitney’s death was not the only thing we needed to grieve.

Melody is dead.