Back in the Habit

Aha! We made it in time for the Daily Obsession. Today it's the classic film, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. How amazing is that title? We love it! Argh, this movie is just so good. The final number in the movie, "Joyful, Joyful", is genius. That's one of our dream musical numbers to be in (another on the list: "Turkey Lurkey Time" from Promises, Promises). And how amazing is the cast? Lauryn Hill, Whoopi (who we happened to LIKE as the Tony Awards host, as opposed to everyone else who apparently hated her), and J-Love Hewitt!

Now we leave you with a fine quote from this wonderful movie:

"I got the flow, you all gotta go, so pick up your bags so we can go, ho-ho, ohhh, ohh, oh, oh... NOW."

Daily Obsession

Welcome to another new feature of the blog, Daily Obsession. This could easily turn into Weekly Obsessions... or Monthly. But for now, we think we'll be able to obsess about something every day.

We watched Grease 2 last night. Best and worst movie ever. One of our daily obsessions. First, the fact that Shooter McGavin is one of the T-Birds is pretty amazing. Second, Elyse realized that she has a full-blown crush on Adrian Zmed. Remember when he was Danny on the Grease tour and it came through Richmond? Elyse doesn't- she would have been there. Third, we love the ridiculous amount of voice-overs that happen in this movie. Finally, the movie could have one song- "Reproduction"- and we'd be pleased. Talk about one of the best/weirdest numbers in musical theatre history- oh, you hardcore MT fans are so mad that we're clumping this movie into musical theatre history!

This movie is amazing. See you tonight at Mamma Mia, the SINGALONG!

Friday Night Plans? Done.

In case you haven't seen the sparkly commercials, MAMMA MIA THE MOVIE IS GOING TO BE A SING-ALONG! Were you already singing along, much to the chagrin of the stranger sitting next to you? Well, now you can sing along and it won't be awkward! Well, maybe it still will be, but at least it's expected.

We are totally going to this. Like, no kidding. Friday night, Regal Short Pump 14, 6:55, wearing glittery spandex. Ha, no, but seriously, Annie will be in an Afro wig and Elyse will be in a one-piece bathing suit, sitting Indian style. 

We hope to see all of you there! .... punch and pie. 

NewsFlash!

This just in. We've received word that Annie's friend, Caroline, now works in New York City two floors below the man, the myth, the legend.... the boy of our dreams... the Muppet... Bernie Telsey.

All of our dreams have come true. We will camp out there. And we will see him. And we will be too scared to talk to him. Although we will tousle his hair. 

This has been another special report from the treadmill and elliptical, respectively. Signing out.

Boy Bands, "Children", and a Lotta Scott-a

"Another season of awesome shows, from Broad Street, Ashland, to Lawn of Willow, a chance for (Richmond) stage folks to say 'hello!', another season of some awesome shows!" ...If Cole Porter knew what we just did to his song, he'd be rolling in his grave. As you can see, the Steingold sisters will never have a future in songwriting.

Let's talk about the 2008-2009 season of Richmond theatre! But first, we have to preface this by saying plays are not our forte, so mainly we're going to be talking about musicals. Although Elyse did see The Tale of the Allergist's Wife on Broadway at age ten. Mistake. So, here are our thoughts...

Musicals galore! Oh, how we love the musicals that are being put on this season. Firehouse is doing The Great American Trailer Park Musical- so cool! We're really excited to see it because we don't know much about it. Swift Creek is doing Side Show, which we've also never seen yet love the music. Stage 1 is doing only musicals- very, very cool, and brave. Tick, Tick..., Summer of '42, Children's Letters to God... speaking of Children's Letters to God, which opens February 6, the Barksdale also has a show opening February 6- Children of a Lesser God. Kid you not. Granted the two shows are entirely different, but seriously? Let's just hope that no one shows up at one expecting the other.

Speaking of "seriously?", two different Richmond theatre companies- Swift Creek and Richmond Triangle Players- are doing Altar Boyz, which we saw in New York and LOVED- it's absolutely hilarious. So, two doses of it will be nice. Kind of weird, but nice. What we would love to see is the two casts have a boy band battle. Like, a dance-off or something. Then we got to thinking about a Richmond theatre boy band. And oh, do we have ideas of who would be in it.

We have a lot of Scott Wichmann shows coming our way this season- or at least two that we know of so far. Henley Street Theatre is doing Richard III, with Scott as the title role. Very exciting. We'd go to anything that has Bat Boy in it. Let's just reiterate that we were so obsessed with his Bat Boy portrayal at the Firehouse that this has become our pet name for him. Yeah, we're that close... in our dreams. By the way, Henley Street is doing really smart shows this season, basically all ones that Annie had to read in Drama lit classes. The Barksdale is doing This Wonderful Life, a one-man show featuring Scott as all the characters from the movie It's a Wonderful Life. This should be very impressive to see. We personally have never seen It's a Wonderful Life. No, no, it's not because we're Jewish. It's because we've always had beef with Beulah Bondi. Just us? Ok. We're totally impressed with the Barksdale's promotional ad for this show, with illustrations of Scott.

We want to be drawn into a Barksdale illustration! Robert Meganck's style is so awesome. However, what's up with the Millie illustration? Oh, how we hope the real Millie won't look so awkward when she dances. And oh, how we love Millie! Great music, great dancing numbers... speaking of dancing numbers, how perfect would Amy Farley be as the choreographer? We personally can't think of anyone who could do a better job. Seriously. She should do it.

So many shows to look forward to- let's go out there and support theatre! Even if it is a play. We'll try. And be on the lookout for the new Richmond theatre boy band!

What the Dickens?

Alrighty. So once again we were gone for the weekend and unable to update. This time? Visiting our grandparents in Virginia Beach. It was fun. The apartment was kept at a consistent 78 degrees, the Olympics was watched with the volume at a consistent decibel level of 98, and we played Rummikub (haven't heard of it? Really? Oh, that's because the game hasn't been bought/played since 1978.) 17 times. However, all of that aside, it's always really interesting talking to our grandma because she grew up in New York and has seen the most amazing slew of shows. Like, she saw Ben Vereen in the original production of Pippin, and saw the real Gypsy Rose Lee perform. And we're pretty sure she saw John Adams in the original production of 1776. Impressive.

Okay, so has anyone else been curious about A Tale of Two Cities, the musical? We want everyone to watch this trailer for the show. Is it just us or does it seem soooo derivative of other shows? I mean, they have the creepy harlequin presenters of the guillotine (Pippin, anyone?), kind of creepy-but-comical adult man resting his elbow on a little boy (Oliver, anyone?), dead people dancing (Urinetown, anyone?), and, oh, hi, the fact that it's a musical about a revolution in France that involves stories of love and redemption. Mamma Mia, anyone?

Ha. But seriously. If you're too lazy to follow that link and watch the trailer, the lyrics to the song are literally, "It won't be long, it won't be long, it won't be long, until tomorrow!" Oh, so what you're saying is that you only have ONE DAY MORE before everything changes? Interesting.

However, according to the people commenting on Youtube, it's actually a really good show...like Les Mis but without the boring parts. Their words, not ours. So maybe we'll see it when we go to New York to see Equus. How many people have made jokes about being excited to see Harry's Potter? Eh, add us to that list.

Not Her Strongest Suit

We're taking a big risk with this post. First of all, we're commenting on a video from a show that's not even on Broadway anymore- Aida. Old news, right? Well, thanks to YouTube, everything old is new again (quoting Boy from Oz? That's risky, too). Secondly, this has to do with the Idina Menzel.

Now, we all know that she's known for her rockin' pipes- or whatever you kids call it these days. And we absolutely love her. What's not to like- with her big strong voice, gorgeous husband, chiseled cheekbones, and... uh, gorgeous husband, Idina is pretty wicked ;-)

Please note that we are using this emoticon sarcastically. We don't care for emoticons.

For those of you who saw Wicked, you might have thought her, erm, dancing in the Ozdust Ballroom was just a fluke. However, we stumbled upon this old video the other night, and literally watched all of it like this: :-o .... hmm, apparently emoticons really do help you express what you need to say! But seriously, what is going on in this video? Why do they have her dancing like this? It's just so awkward. Maybe it's just us, but please watch it and see if you think it's as awkward as we do.

Amusing Musings

So, we've noticed that lately our comments have been dwindling. Now, this could be because we still really have no clue how to use good ol' blogspot.com- a very likely hypothesis. It also could be because we're boring you guys to death. Yet you're still here... hmm...

How do we solve this problem? In carefully dissecting Dave T's blog, we noticed that he has regular commentators. We do, too. Our friend Mike. Who was a mechanical engineering major. And really doesn't know much at all about theatre- although he DID play Magaldi in Evita in high school- random. But we're not getting many theatre regulars here. 

So let's do some amusing musings, a new regular hotspot feature of the blog. 

First, on an unrelated theatre note, Burger King features something new on the menu: Apple Fries. Literally it's apples cut like fries and put in a fry container. Now why the heck would we go to BK to have non-fried fries? Please. And onto theatre-related musings...

Stage 1 has announced its big fundraising concert, Ragtime at the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center, boasting a who's who of Richmond theatre performers... and a guy who's in South Pacific at Lincoln Center- very cool. The flyer has been posted (look ma, no typos!) and the cast has been formally announced. Debra Wagoner (not to be confused with Deb Wagner, the famous trumpet artist... kid you not) as Mother, Robyn O'Neill as Emma Goldman, Jan Guarino as Evelyn Nesbit (!), and Michael Hawke as something. Annie literally just said, "Isn't he playing Tevye?" Oh, how easy it is to get Jewish male characters in musical theatre confused. They do all look alike. .... ohhh snap! Don't worry, we're allowed to say that. But seriously, this concert should be pretty amazing. I mean come on, it's Ragtime, with a very talented director and musical director. Definitely worth checkin' out. 

Anyone going on the New York trip with Bruce and Phil? If so, PLEASE be a guest-blogger on our blog. For some reason we're picturing Bruce and Phil wearing Hawaiian shirts and fanny packs, taking a polaroid with the Naked Cowboy. Nice. But seriously, it's pretty impressive that they're going to see 3 of the hottest shows on Broadway. And who's gonna be the special guest in the Rainbow Room? We're curious. We'd especially like to hear "Phil's fun and festive post-show chats."

Be on the lookout about our thoughts on the upcoming theatre season!

....So, how is reading the blog now that you know what we look like? Did you expect 22-year-old Annie to be a brace face? Did you expect Elyse to have the browbone of a Cro-magnon? You did? Really? Okay.

One of Our Idols

Oh, why hello, Seth. He was wearing a lei that Bloody Mary gave him. And we were both wearing safari-themed dresses, apparently. 

Man, a picture's worth a thousand words... we only made it to 23. Yes, we counted. Well, one was a two-word hyphenate. Does that count as two or one? Anybody?

Okay this picture is HUGE. And we know we're going against our "no pictures of us with celebrities in public" tirade. But come on, it's a pretty hilarious picture. We're both giddy in it. And Annie's hair looks surprisingly voluminous. And Elyse looks surprisingly bad.

[title of blog]

So, on our last night in NY, we went to see [title of show] at the Lyceum. We had no preconceived thoughts about this show- knew nothing about the music, the cast, or the story, really. All we knew was that it was a show about writing a show. Oh, and we had watched the little web commercials on the [title of show] website, and they were pretty funny. So we thought that it was probably a comedy. 

Little did we know that we would be embarking upon such a hilarious, witty, and intelligent show. We literally were laughing out loud through the majority of it and connected with the characters right off the bat. The cast was incredibly strong (there are only four of them), and the dialogue was incredible. Just a thought, though. If you're planning on seeing this show, don't listen to the music ahead of time. It's a lot more funny when you know none of the lines. Annie knew every single word of Avenue Q before she saw it (yeah, nerd, let's get past that) and it wasn't as funny for her had she not known absolutely every word with the same inflection and pauses as on the CD. She was literally laughing a half-second before every punch-line occurred. "Everyone's a little bit-" HAHAHA! Lame.

Another thing is, if you don't know much at all about musical theatre or pop culture, you probably won't find this show that funny. Our dad squeezed by, because, fortunately for him, he often gets to hear about the joys of musical theatre. But yeah, we got the majority of the jokes, but there were still many references where we had no idea what they were talking about. And we're pretty big theatre geeks. 

Here's a video from when the cast made little webisodes. In this particular one, you will see a slew of Broadway stars. See if you can guess who all of them are (don't worry, there are credits at the end if you missed some). Make sure you watch the entire video. Trust us, the end is worth it. 

So, what should we know about that's going on in Richmond? Is everything closed? We hope not. Let us know what else we should see!

Bali Heights

Been missing us? Of course you have...nt. Anyway, we've just returned from four days in the Big Apple! It's sad to be home, but at least we now have free internet access. Our days there were jam-packed with celebrity sightings and way too much food. But let's get down to what's important- the shows!

Thursday night we were lucky enough to see Seth Rudetsky's Broadway Chatterbox at Don't Tell Mama, a really cool cabaret and piano bar. Basically, Seth (yes, first-name basis) has a Broadway guest every week who he interviews before they go off to the theater to perform. FYI, this was really easy to get tickets to for anyone who's interested in going- and it's free, you just need to buy two drinks. And I'm sure you wouldn't mind that. The night we went, Seth was interviewing Bloody Mary (who sings "Bali Hai"... get with the program, people) from South Pacific, who told a really inspirational story about how she landed that part. 

After the show, we talked to Seth (eeeeee!!!!) and he told us to go see Andrea McArdle's cabaret show at the Metropolitan Room (he was playing piano for it). We literally sat behind Seth, which was kind of embarrassing considering we ordered an entire cake for the three of us girls. It was amazing hearing her sing, but it was even cooler hearing her banter with Seth and talk about Broadway gossip. Who knew she had beef with Jane Krakowski? Anyway, the show was just great, with a wide range of songs, including "Beauty and the Beast", in which she harmonized with Seth, "NYC", and "Some People".... oh, and "Angry Young Man." Random. 

And, we finally got to see In the Heights, after so much anticipation. Let's just say it exceeded all of our expectations. Another sentence that ends in "ation". Our whole family cried at certain parts of the show, and two of us (names will not be disclosed) cried throughout the entire show. It was just SO good. Every single one of the characters was lovable. Annie had beef with Mr. Rosario, and Mom and Dad didn't like Abuela, but other than that, we just loved it. Our favorite character? Sonny! He was such a great actor and the audience loved him from the start. Speaking of the audience, they were so responsive, which was awesome to see. After the show, we pretended that we were part of a camp and heard the cast give a talk-back. They didn't say anything all that interesting, but we got to see them in their street clothes. Like seeing a dog walk on its hind-legs. But more like 11 dogs. Who are Spanish...chihuahuas? 

Trivia question: If you can tell us what movie both Priscilla Lopez (Mrs. Rosario) and Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia) were in, we'll give you a prize. Maybe. But see if you know the answer!

Be on the lookout for our thoughts on [title of show], also known as one of our FAVORITE new musicals! We thought it deserved its own post. Yes, we play favorites. Who doesn't. 

Guys, Dolls, and Valet Parking

Hello all! Sorry we've been away for a while... the internet in our house broke. Pretty comcastic. But now that we're back in touch with society, we can tell you about last Thursday night- we finally made it down to the Empire to see the Barksdale's production of Guys and Dolls! 

First of all, how exciting is it seeing a big musical at the gorgeous Empire Theatre? And with valet parking? Even more exciting! But let's go on with the show...

One thing we forgot about Guys and Dolls is its length. Let's just say that Guys and Dolls, Jr. at Tuckahoe Middle School felt like the perfect length to us. And even THAT could have been cut down. Obviously this isn't the fault of the performers. It's just a helluva (wahoowa!) long script. 

There was some wonderful talent in the show. Who doesn't love Scott Wichmann? He is absolutely amazing and had us laughing from the moment he walked onstage. And his cohorts were pretty amazing, too. The audience couldn't get enough of Jason Marks, and we couldn't get enough of Heath Ledger. I'm sorry, we mean Landon Nagel. Did anyone else see the resemblance? Speaking of look-alikes, we could have sworn we saw Susan Sanford, fresh from California, sporting a blonde bob and performing at the Hot Box Club. Funny. 

Jody Ashworth blew us all away with his grumbling bass speaking voice and shockingly high belt. Rachel Abrams was adorable opposite Scott - the audience ate her up, and Rita Markova won everyone's hearts with her portrayal of Sarah Brown. And, we fell in love with Joel Grow when he sang what we think is the prettiest song in the show ("More I Cannot Wish You"). Also, who knew Damon Runyon could act? Floating narrator- cool idea.

Upon entering the theater, we were transported to New York City in the 1950's, thanks to the true-to-life projection projected onto the stage. We were really amazed that they researched the exact shows playing on Broadway at the time: Broadway on the corner of 42nd and Broadway, and Tonight on the adjacent corner. Seriously. Those were the show titles on the "marquees" on the projection. Classic.

But other than that, the set was bright and fun and made us wish that all sewers were technicolor. And had dancing crapshooters inside. 

Speaking of dancing crapshooters, "The Crapshooters Dance" was one of our favorite numbers in the show thanks to the ridiculous amount of talent the male ensemble had. Triples and toe-touches and aerials, oh my! Other greats included "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," (we know, we know, duh that was good; but, high Jason Marks expectations aside, the choreography was actually really perfect for that number), "Luck Be a Lady," "Sue Me," and "Guys and Dolls," ... mainly because that's when it became clear to us how much Benny Southstreet looked like Heath. 

So, to all of you who haven't seen it yet and have a few hours to spend at the historic Empire Theatre, try to get rush tickets (hey, we're catering to young people here- rush tickets are much less expensive than the norm!) and go enjoy this wonderful classic! But hurry, this musical closes on the 17th!

"The Perfect Cast"- if you watch the movie, you'll get this.

Casting is underway for our new hit, A Goofy Musical. We have a few ideas on casting, but we are up for any new suggestions that you might have. Mom, you're even welcome to join in!

Goofy: We're thinking Bob Saget. Has experience on Broadway. Good at the often melodramatic single dad, yet has that comic edge. Hopefully he can moonwalk.

Max: We have no idea who this should be. Ideas have been thrown around: one of the Jonas brothers (although their cockiness might get in the way of creative sparks flying throughout the rehearsal process), Robin DeJesus, or Corbin Bleu. But serious help is needed on this one.

Roxeanne: Cassie S. from TV's Legally Blonde Search. She's already worn dog-like bows in her hair! It's perfect.

PJ: This one is also up in the air. If we want to splurge for a movie star, we can bring in Jonah Hill, whom we love. But can he sing?

Pete: Our pick? George Wendt. Broadway experience, hilarious, and seems like a pleasure to work with.

Powerline: We're thinking Corey Reynolds. Yeah, Richmond stars!

Lester: Okay, we know that in the movie, this part is played by a robotic possum. But for the B-way show, we're turning this into a real part. A huge, human part. As in, potential Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Our thoughts: Will Forte of SNL. LOVE him.

Robert 'Bobby' Zimmeruski: John Gallagher Jr. No question. He's good at playing the quirky, sort of outcast guy. And can't you hear him going, "CHEDDA"?

Principal Mazur: Um, hello. We are bringing back THE Wallace Shawn to reprise his role as the strict authority figure. He did such a wonderful job in the movie- let's move him to Broadway!

And finally, Lisa Landry will be cast in various roles in the musical. Thank you, Mr. or Mrs. Anonymous for the wonderful suggestion.

Any more suggestions? Let us know! And if you haven't watched this movie yet, why did you read this post? But better yet, WHY haven't you watched this movie? Get on it! If the fabulous Robyn O'Neill is planning on taking time out of HER busy schedule to watch it with us, then what are you waiting for?

And we promise, real theatre (although, come on, A Goofy Musical IS real theatre) will be talked about soon!

May I have the envelope (with our invitation in it) please...

It was recently announced by Mr. T that excellence in Richmond theatre will be awarded on October 19, 2008. Go here for detailed information on this event, as well as to see a list of the nominees- there are 18 categories in total.

First of all, how cool is it that there will be performances from the nominated musicals? Very exciting. Our hope is that one of the award recipients will rap their thank-you speech a la Lin-Manuel. And our main question- how, oh how, do we get invited to this invitation-only event? Can the Steingold sisters please get press passes?

See you on the red carpet- can't wait to ask who you're wearing!

Oh, and just a disclaimer. We actually wrote this two days ago when Mr. T first announced this event. But being the rookie (Dennis Quaid) bloggers that we are, we saved the post. But never published it. Actually, this isn't the first time that this happened. We found in our draft folder a biting editorial about the Bush-Gore election. Oh well.

A Goofy Musical

While Elyse was recovering from surgery a month ago, she was fortunate enough to have A Goofy Movie air on the Disney Channel. This event sparked a long lost interest in this phenomenal movie. We proceeded to buy the album from iTunes and also recover our personal VHS version of the masterpiece itself. 

What we realized is when you watch this movie as a child, you're in it for the goofy laughs (pun absolutely intended) and awesome music; however, now that we are mature adults, we see this classic Disney movie for what it really is: a Broadway gold mine.

If you have never seen this movie, find it and watch it immediately. If you are unsuccessful in your quest to find this treasure, contact us and we will cautiously lend it to you. Actually, you know, it's pretty important to us so you can just watch it at our house. And we'll be watching you. If you have no clue what we're talking about, here's the opening musical number on Youtube. In it, Max, the juvenile, is on his way to his last day of school before the summer. Note all the different characters. And amazing melody. Broadway potential, hello? 

We have already learned the original cartoon choreography, and have made a primitive cast list. More on that to come later, but for now, make sure you have watched this gem. And if you think there is any hint of sarcasm in our writing, you are so wrong. Just ask our iTunes play count.

Bienvenidos a the Heights!

Sadly, we have not been up to the Big Apple yet to see In the Heights. But, we decided that in order to make up for the fact that we haven't seen it yet, we're just going to listen to the CD over and over and over... and over... again.

We are obsessed with this music. Elyse, as we speak, is singing every single word of the song "In the Heights." Is this song turning into the new "La Vie Boheme," where it's cool to know absolutely every single word? Of course not, you crazy Rentheads. But it is a fun song to sing.

But we digress. Because we can't comment about the show, yet really want to talk about it, here are some random thoughts about our favorite parts of the CD, listed by the song. Oh, and if you

don't even have this CD, 1- buy it, and 2- this post will make absolutely no sense.

1. "Carnaval Del Barrio"- Ah, so many thoughts about this wonderful song. "Everything changes today..." (4:19 in the music... yeah, we're losers)- best harmony EVER! We've tried it many times. You should, too!

Also, Vanessa's line questioning why everyone is so happy is SO funny. Girlfriend could use some Lexapro. Does she always have to be such a downer? And speaking of downers, at 5:42 in the music, Sonny sounds pretty upset when he goes, "What?" Like, close to tears... or already in them. It is laugh-out-loud funny, especially if you say it over and over again like we do.

Finally with this song, how can you not LOVE Andrea Burns? Or should we say Lisa Landry at 2:42. Welcome back, Lisa Landry. We all loved Sister, Sister. Your comedy is unsurpassable.

And you are now on Broadway. Congratulations. And onto more Andrea Burns...

2. "No Me Diga"- At the end of the song, Andrea Burns as Daniela doesn't know what happened to Nina. So she sings "I don't know" 3 times. Please note how she sounds on her third "I don't know", belted out. Someone made sure she'd get a nice, long, held-out belty note in her contract. After all, we must not forget the reputation she earned with "I'm Not Afraid."

3. "Piragua"- Such a cute little song sung by such a cute, adorable little guy, Eliseo Roman. Who HAPPENS to be the same guy who sang "All Good Gifts" in the 2000 Off-Broadway revival of Godspell. Never once would we have thought that that would be the same guy.

4. "Benny's Dispatch"- At 0:18, he tells us to honk our horn if we want it. We do want it. And we HAVE honked our horn at that part, with the same rhythm as in the song. Try it, it's fun. And it scares the people who are driving by you.

5. "96,000"- It is so funny when Sonny goes on his little tirade about computers and such. Does anyone else think that on that part, he sounds exactly like how he sounded as Michael in the movie Camp, when he goes crazy during Romeo and Juliet? If you haven't seen Camp yet, then we definitely have a problem here.

Again with this song, did anyone watch their awesome Tony performance? We can't tell you how many times we watched it on Tivo. But, there is one part that gets to us every time. It is at the very end of the song, right after they've sung "We'll get the dough and once we get going..." Benny and Usnavi have just done this BIG ol' preparation to lift Sonny into the air and swing him across the stage. Unfortunately, though, they had a little too much adrenaline and buildup going, and poor Sonny merely flits across the stage. Now that we're talking about the Tony performance, did anyone else notice Lin-Manuel Miranda YELLING his "Whooa oh oh's"? Someone's microphone should have been turned down...

6. "When You're Home"- such a great song... but only after you've skipped the first minute. Nina, we don't go to Stanford, and even WE know that the world is not just a subway map.

7. "Blackout", "Breathe", and "It Won't Be Long Now" are just awesome songs, our three favorites on the CD. Listen here to Karen Olivo rocking out live on "It Won't be Long Now". She sounds amazing. And check out, again, Mr. Adorable himself, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

As you can see, we are obsessed with this CD and absolutely can't wait to see the show. We have this fear that when we DO see the show, we will go absolutely crazy and might explode. So if you don't hear from us anymore, you'll know why.

Food and Theatre: Our Two Favorite Things!

Last night, we had the pleasure of seeing "Little Shop" at "the Dell." Isn't it nice when you're cool enough to use abbrev's? We knew the evening would be a fun one as soon as we spotted Michael Hawke nursing a 2-liter grape Big K.

There's something really funny about the Dell. Have you noticed that everyone tries to one-up each other with their picnics? We literally saw a family with a table, a table cloth, and a harp player. We, on the other hand, thought we were so prepared with our deviled eggs, cold cuts, and fruit. However, we sadly realized that we brought crackers and cheese but left the crackers at home. We also forgot the knife to spread the cheese onto the non-existent crackers.

But, onto the main event- the real reason to head out there- a big musical! We had the honor of sitting with The Incredible Amy Farley, master of all things musical theatre. So if one of our comments sounds pretty smart, you can bet we stole it from Amy.

Onto the show. First of all, hello Les Mis turntable stage. Kudos on the amazing set. And the plant was awesome! And freaky...like, I'm pretty sure it was in my dream last night. Eating me. And his voice sounded like Bernie Telsey's? Anyway, we were so impressed with the people who were manning the plant. There were 3 people sitting in there, making it move in the Richmond humidity and heat. Meanwhile, we were sitting at our seat DYING from the heat and fanning ourselves with Brookstone electric fans to no avail...

"Little Shop" really is such a fun show. As soon as you hear those Urchins start singing the title song, you can't help but get REALLY excited. Standout numbers include "Dentist!" (Robbie Furman turned out to be one of the best parts of the show), "Skid Row," which is simply one of the best songs ever, "Feed Me," which could not have been executed by a more PERFECT Audrey 2 (Steven Ralph was born to play this role...and had the coolest bow ever!), and "Now (It's Just the Gas)" which literally had us feeling like we were going to suffocate. In a good way.

Speaking of "It's Just the Gas," we were very fortunate to have seen the show last night when this little incident occurred...

After one of the most dramatic parts of the show- you know, when Audrey tells Seymour to feed her to the plant after she dies and she does the little reprise of "Somewhere That's Green"- it definitely sounded to us like Audrey 2 cut the cheese we forgot the crackers for. And we laughed for the remainder of the show.

But while we were still above the age of 6, we definitely noted how impressive all of the vocal talent was. The cast was so strong, and it was led by an outstanding Seymour who literally did not miss a note. We highly recommend seeing this show! Going to the Dell is so much fun, and the production is highly entertaining. So everyone, pack up your picnics (don't forget the crackers) and head to the Dell- it's free, it's outside, and they let you bring food into the theater!

We're Ba-ack!

Ladies and gents, we've returned. Or maybe lady and gent. Okay, mom and dad. And Dave?

We already have our cold cuts, potato salad, bug spray, and Ukrop's deviled eggs ready for Dogwood Dell's "Little Shop of Horrors" tonight. The fact that we actually have a meal packed and ready- and did not just resort to driving through the KFC line in a panic to get to the show on time-proves that we're really excited and have been preparing for it.

But why are we so eager? Well, honestly, while in Europe, we had been missing the type of theatre we are accustomed to. A few quick examples of European theatre that we thought were pretty funny....

When we were walking down the street in Marais and saw this flyer on the wall of a falafel stand:



Really the only musical comedy adventure we can imagine our rabbi having is when dancing the hora causes him to spin out of control and kaplutz on the ground, after having thrown back too many glasses of Manischweitz wine. L'chaim!

Another pretty crazy experience was seeing this rendition of "Big Spender":




Those are three men in the center. Doesn't the one on the left sort of look like Bernie Telsey?

Eh, that was a stretch, but we had to make sure he was mentioned. On a more serious note, this picture is from the cabaret show, "Bobin'O." If you are ever in Paris, be sure to check it out. It is pretty amazing and absolutely NOTHING like anything we have here.

Finally, have you ever imagined what a black Voldemort wearing a gold, sparkling Saturday Night Fever disco suit would look like? Well, you'll have to go to "Bobin'O" to check it out, for that's who our host was. And let's just say that he-who-shall-not-be-named has some pipes on him. And can speak fluent French. And can walk wearing platform heels. And really freaked us out once we came to the realization that our host for the night was Voldemort.

We had an amazing time, but it feels good to be home. See you at Dogwood Dell! And no, we are not not giving you one of our deviled eggs.