Crazytown

STEPHEN KING: BOOGEYMAN?

A Reflection on a Master of Horror
by Kate West (Writer)

I've been reading Stephen King since high school. Confession: I spent most summers feverishly reading all the assigned homework (as a bookworm, I was one of the few girls who looked forward to that assignment - who didn't love Mr. Darcy and Mr. Rochester?), but what really kept me up all night reading was, and still is, the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I read The Hunger Games trilogy in three nights (well OK that one was yesterday), The Lord of the Rings series probably in a week and the latest enormous Stephen King in just a few days. Back then I was riveted by the plot, simply anxious to find out what happened next and NOW. But recently, I've gone back and read some of my favorites again and realized that "classic" Stephen King at heart, was, and is, about snapshots of characters.

(Here are some of King's detractors, responding to his tax rant)

A few people tell me they think of King as a "hack", but I think he knows how to sum up a character awfully well. And that’s not a small thing. By that I mean, you have the full picture of someone in a remarkably short time. He even personifies dogs pretty well (dog lovers, check out the dog scenes in Under the Dome, and of course Cujo, and tell me I'm wrong). The way an average Joe thinks is so clearly spelled out in the writing that you care about the character in spite of yourself and might even recognize yourself from time to time.

This Friday, Greg finds the musical theatre references in The Newsroom,

Geoff starts to rehearse,

Shoshana’s got a hot mess on her hands,

Kate considers sports movies,

Rachel is feeling fall,

And Amanda is all things awesome.

"THE NEWSROOM" & MUSICAL THEATRE REFERENCES

Here's The List
By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman 

I’ve made no secret here on Crazytown of the fact that I’m a fan of the new HBO Aaron Sorkin show The Newsroom, but one of my favorite aspects of the show are the rampant Musical Theatre references pepped into each episode. The show concluded its first season last Sunday, and I thought I’d compile a list of references in the first season, complete with dialogue transcripts (these are not in proper screenplay format - I tried, but typepad makes it very hard to make that happen) and some relevant accompanying videos of said musicals. Here goes:

Pilot – “We Just Decided To”

MACKENZIE: Now I’d like you to listen to these words, which were written 500 years ago by Don Miguel de Cervantes:

“Hear me now, o thou bleak and unbearable world
Thou art base and debauched as can be.
And a knight with his banners all bravely unfurled
Now hurls down his gauntlet to thee.”

That was Don Quixote.

WILL: Those words were written 45 years ago by the lyricist for Man of La Mancha.

MACKENZIE: Didn’t think you’d know that, but the point’s still the same: it’s time for Don Quixote!

“News Night 2.0” – these are more musical-related than musical specific

REESE: You ever been at Sardis on the opening night of a Broadway show five minutes after word gets out The Times panned it? They leave. And they never come back. Ever. And it happens in not much more time than it just took me to describe it.

Does anyone actually go to Sardi's for opening night parties anymore? 

JIM: We’ve got less than 90 minutes to find someone to defend SB1070 and get them to a studio, but after the show a bunch of us are going over to the Emerald City to see the Wizard and maybe he could give you some..

MAGGIE: My brain is fine! You give me the SAT’s right now and I’ll take ‘em...

JIM: ...give you some courage is what I was going to say.

“The 112^th Congress”

WILL: Hoffman and Rubin weren’t Democrats and these guys are not Republicans, there needs to be a Republican saying it. Top story every night. ‘Till the plant from Little Shop of Horrors goes back to its planet.

  

ELLIOT: Let me also say: I’m not the one who wants to be a star, Mama Rose.

DON: I don’t know that reference?

ELLIOT: It’s from Gypsy. Ethel Merman’s a stage mother who really pushes her daughter -- I don’t have time to explain the plot of Gypsy...

DON: Yeah, sure, okay. Just pretend I gave a better pep talk, okay?

CHARLIE: Where the hell are we?

WILL: It's my understanding this is a karaoke bar with affordable food and drinks that stays open late and staffers come here after work to socialize.

JIM: When you describe it, it really sounds like Brigadoon.

WILL: Hey, you know what?

JIM: Shut up?

WILL: Yeah.

I tried to find a video of the Family Guy Donny Most Brigadoon clip, but couldn't find one that was satisfactory.

HOLY SHIT!!!!

Alright y'all, today is the first day of Spelling Bee school and I'm scurrrred!
(In a good way.)
By Geoffrey Kidwell (actor)

Here I am! Auburn, New York!

What up, Auburn?!?! How y'all feelin'?!

I'm doing a production of Spelling Bee at the Merry Go Round Playhouse.

Aren't we cute?

I'm playing Chip - a Boy Scout struggling with his sexual awakening.

Kind of like that dude with the funny hair in Spring Awakening.

This guy:

Except I don't eventually kill myself. Don't worry.

I'm writing this on Thursay, September 30th - our first day of rehearsal.

And y'all...this shit is HAAAAARD!!!

I've got my work cut out for me. Tough harmonies. Lots of screlting. Lots of dancin' and jumpin'.

The good news:

Everyone seems really awesome - from the cast to the director to the production team.

Across the board radical.

The bad news:

I can't be sitting here blogging and picking my nose! I've got music to learn.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

 

AND NOW....THE WEEK IN WHITNEY HOUSTON!!!

So here's Miss Houston singing, Stormy Weather. There's no video to be found, but the singing is stunning. Sexy. Sultry. Stupendous. Enjoy!

 

 

 

GEOFFREY KIDWELL Geoffrey is an actor/manny in NYC. He spends his days just trying to figure it out.
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IS IT FALL YET?

While many are bemoaning the end of the summer, I cannot wait for "light jacket" weather again.
By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer) 

I was going to write this week about my reaction to the Republican National Convention.  But after listening to most of the speeches over the three nights of coverage, all I kept hearing was this:

 

Instead, let’s talk about how summer’s almost over.  Hooray!

Personally, I am not a fan of summer.  Sure, I love the great things the City offers up during the summer, like outdoor yoga, outdoor movies, and outdoor Shakespeare.  And I love the idea of escaping the City to take a hike, go to the beach, or simply sit poolside with a frozen drink in hand.

But here’s the thing: I don’t tend to do that.  For the past few summers I’ve either been very busy with work, or I’ve been unemployed and didn’t have the funds to do anything fun for the summer.  I prefer the much lovelier season of autumn.

So imagine my delight when I looked at my calendar to see that September is slowly creeping upon us!  Here are my top three things I love about autumn.

The weather

I want to go to there.

It’s perfect!  It’s that temperate, breezy, and absolutely comfortable.  Yes, you must bring a light jacket around now.  I have a vast collection of hoodies that are about to come out of hiding! Plus, it beats waiting on subway platform that is roughly a gabillion degrees while you melt into a pool of anger and resentment for the MTA.

Out of town day trips

It's nature... with a car!

Apple picking, pumpkin pies, watching the leaves change color.  These are a few of my favorite things.  I finally got that Zipcar membership I’ve been talking about getting forever, and I definitely plan on using it to do all of these things.  I know most prefer the summer day trip to the beach, but I love getting upstate for the day and coming home with a bounty to bake!

 Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Fact.

CAN. NOT. WAIT.

 

RACHEL JAMES is a native New Yorker and theatre baby. Her plays have been produced by The 52nd Street Project and Starfish Theatreworks. She currently makes a living as a Broadway treasurer.
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BASEBALL VS. FOOTBALL

From a Film Perspective Anyway
Kate West (Writer)

In the world of sports, people can get pretty passionate. And since I have kind of an entertainment background, I can get pretty riled up about sports too, at least from a cinematic point of view. Since the baseball season is almost over, I just remembered an argument I had with my brother over whether baseball or football was the subject of more movies. He said there were just as many football movies as baseball and I insisted it was baseball.

A little background first. I used to be a San Francisco Giants fan.

Well, I still am, just not as passionately. Kind of like feeling nostalgic for an ex without really feeling the same way about him anymore. They broke my heart too many times so after 2002's crushing World Series (yes, they lost, no, I don't want to talk about it) I stopped paying attention. I was happy for them when they finally, finally won in 2010, but from a distance. Don't get me wrong, I will always hate the Los Angeles Dodgers (sorry L.A., I made a promise a long time ago), but I don't think I will ever feel that same strong rush of emotion for my boys.

HOT MESS IN MANHATTAN: THE MUSICAL

An interview with star and writer Cait Doyle.
By Shoshana Greenberg (Lyricist/Bookwriter)

Cait Doyle's new musical, Hot Mess in Manhattan, opens tonight and features songs from a myriad of musical theater writers, including Crazytown's own Ryan Scott Oliver. With a book written by Cait and her sister, Meggie Doyle, Hot Mess... was developed from Cait's cabaret act of the same name. Cait took a break from her busy rehearsal schedule to answer some questions about writing Hot Mess... and working with so many great writers.

 

Where did the idea for Hot Mess in Manhattan come from?  

Hot Mess in Manhattan: The Musical is a more realistic portrayal of the "single gal in the big city" than you're used to on TV or in movies. I meet so many women new to the city in tears, all lamenting that city life is not what Sex and the City, Friends, etc. told them it would be. I realized this was the perfect subject matter for musical theatre--sort of the "musical theater NYC-based Bridget Jones."

How did you decide to use many different song writers?

There is no better musical landscape of a "Mess" than 12 different music styles! Amazingly, each song is very much written in the style of the composer, yet they all do blend together brilliantly. (Thanks to our out-of-this-world Music Director, James Cunningham!)

Did you ask writers to write songs specifically for your show or were they songs the writers had already written?

Every song in the show except one was written specifically for Hot Mess.... The only exception is "Starbucks," written by Michael Mahler. I had performed "Starbucks" in an evening of his music in New York early in my career. When assembling the show, the song kept popping up in my mind. [It's] very much on par with our lead character's viewpoint.

AWESOMER AND AWESOMER

Some things will always be awesome.
By Amanda Miller, Amateur Awesome Aficionado

(The Book of Awesome.  You can buy it on Amazon.  Also, this chick kind of looks like me, but isn't.)

I saw this Book of Awesome in Barnes and Noble the other day, and I was intrigued.  First of all, I grew up in the 80s when “awesome” was, like, the totally raddest word on the block, the "sick” or “fetch” of its day.  

(click to see animation)

Second of all, how can you not be intrigued by something called “The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple Brilliant Things,” containing 1000 of the little joys in life, listed off one after another as innocently as a grocery list.  

A little internet digging revealed that not only is there a book of awesome, there is also a website of awesome, three sequel/spin-offs (Even More Awesome, The Journal of Awesome, Holiday Awesome), and even an App of Awesome!   

 (The Book of Awesome Trilogy)

In these treasures, you can find all sorts of little happies to make you smile.  Some of my favorites include:

• #917.  The moment at a concert after the lights go out and before the band (or actors or other musicians)  comes on stage.  (I tend to mark these moments by poking the arm of the person I'm with repeatedly and loudly whispering, "It's starting!")
• #814.  Cheesy theme songs from 80s sitcoms.  (Check out the Doogie Howser theme song video in last week's post!)
• #844.  Celebrities on Sesame Street.  You can click the link for 15 awesome examples, but here is one of my personal favorites:

Now, as far as I'm concerned, there can never be enough awesome in the world, so without further ado, here are a few humble additions of my own to the list of awesome:

• The song, "All Summer Long" by Pheobe Kreutz.  (The chorus involves the lyrics "awesomer and awesomer and awesomer and awesomer," which makes it exponentially more awesome than the average song, right?)
• When your couch-to-5K app suddenly jumps your daily workout to “20 minutes of straight running” and you fricking DO IT WITHOUT DYING.
• Chinchillas eating out of your hands and off your fingers.
  
  (meet Fosse, the chinchilla)  
• This "Awesomer than a double rainbow" T-shirt.
• Little Debbies.  All kinds.  Especially Donut Sticks.
• Dog hugs (the kind when a big dog comes over to you and LEANS).  Or this kind.
  
• When you discover a full web series or performance online.  (Some of my faves:  Submissions Only, Dance Academy, or A Very Potter Musical.)
• Handing out a dozen-ish songs out to your OCU classmates and friends for a cabaret and then watching them rock the house with them.  I'm pretty sure that will never stop being awesome.  And because I am shameless (and quite proud!), here they are.  :)

  

AMANDA LOUISE MILLER is a grad student, pursuing an MM in Music Composition at Oklahoma City University
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DEAR TABATHA COFFEY, THIS IS A PLEA FOR HELP

My business lacks structure, direction and discipline so I'm imploring Tabatha Coffey to take over.
By Bernadette Pauley (Comedian) 

Dear Ms. Coffey I am a huge fan of both you and your show. I was elated when 'Tabatha's Salon Takeover' morphed into 'Tabatha Takes Over' and you expanded, salvaging businesses other than salons with your amazing management and business skills. 

 

I adore this woman and am slightly afraid of her. I feel the same way about Suze Orman.

I am writing in hopes that you can salvage my business. I am a self employed comedian married to another comedian.

This means we get up at noon, have a snack and take a nap.

We share a home office and our manager is a 10 pound chihuahua mix. I'm afraid the company lacks direction, structure or discipline of any kind. Our manager currently has us on a '5 leisurely walks a day' regimen and after reviewing our monthly dog toy / treat invoices I'm starting to suspect he is seriously abusing his power. 

This Thursday David tells you how to turn the unfilmable musicals into films...

Leah talks about being a lady...

Ryan is tickled by webcomics from the days of yore...

Kimberly gives writers out there some advice for how to start a writer's group...

Steven runs down his favorite reads for theater people of all professions...