bostonman

Off-topic but not really -- a few seasons ago, I did a college production of Urinetown, and we were lucky to be able to have skype sessions with two of the original cast members. And we also had a wonderful visit from the playwright. ALL THREE OF THEM stressed that the actors should not be trying to "play the comedy" - in fact, to play the show as seriously as possible, and treat the story as one of life and death. (That was also the mantra of the show's original director, John Rando.) And of course they're all completely right, in terms of both shows. I also recall the writers of Bat Boy (another spoof/satire musical that played NYC around the same time that Urinetown did) making a similar statement about their show. It's interesting to me that all 3 of these shows, wonderfully funny as they all are, all end up with the same denouement - evil triumphing over good, even if it's done in a humorous way. Food for thought?

I knew the playwright when we were teens. To be honest, he was kind of a schmuck back then. But he'd surely say the same about me. In any case, it seems like Dunaway might not have been the right star for the project. :rolleyes:

MUCH BIGGER!!!

This is hardly the first time the plant voice has been female. It was done expertly in the production I just saw on the Cape. There's no reason why both productions (and more) can't be successful. There will also be a month-long production at the Lyric Stage Company in Boston this September. After all, the "plan" at the end of the show is to have Audrey II's in every city, lol.

Side note: I had an aunt who would always refer to socks as "stockings," which my brother and I always thought was funny because we associated that word only with female clothing. (I think the only other time I'd ever hear the word "stockings" was in association with Christmas - but those were big red and white decoration things, not something you'd wear. Besides, we were Jewish lol.)

"Tape" to mean recording. In my musical work, for instance, my students will often "tape" their lesson or classwork, or need a "tape" of an accompaniment to sing to. But of course it's all digital now. Particularly interesting given that at this point, in 2019, none of my students have probably ever dealt with real "tape" for recording - but they know and use the term. There are also a number of brand names that stand in for all products like it, regardless of actual brand. I tend to think that most people say "kleenex," for instance, even if it's not that brand of tissue. I still occasionally hear "Xerox" as a stand-in for any photocopy. "Band-aid" is another one. "Kool-aid" may also be one of those (though I assume that the term "drinking the Kool-aid," to mean someone following a trend, actually comes from the Jim Jones tragedy?). But of course for many of us who did summer camp, it was "bug juice." But of course it had nothing to do with bugs, and it wasn't really juice.

One of the things I loved about the Cape Playhouse production I just saw is that neither Andrew Keenan-Bolger nor the woman playing Audrey (Lauren Zakren) went too broad in caricature. He wasn't nearly as "nebbish-y" as I've sometimes seen, but just enough so that the role made sense. And she didn't overplay the accent or go with the choice to be "dumb." (In fact, I was starting to tear up as much as laugh during her "Somewhere That's Green," because her reach seemed so genuine, not just silly. Just the way it should be.) So hopefully Groff will find a similar balance. As much as the show is a hysterical spoof, I like when the main characters are also very believable. But Benjamin - I agree - it's a wonderful show, and it has really held up well over time. We can quibble about how the Audrey/Orin relationship plays in our time, but even then, Seymour finds a unique way to put an end to that, lol, and we can still feel that Audrey willingly moves on. But oh, the material is so well-written. And yes, the loss of Howard Ashman is really tragic. Think of all the things he could have written.

LOL. But in terms of the voice cracking, of course he's trained to have the proper breath/body support not to do that. Also, odd as this sounds, he's not singing all that high. We're actually quite used to hearing male rock singers go even higher than this. The highest notes in this song (I think the highest note is a D) have also been known to be belted by regular tenors, though that's a very different kind of sound.

This is wonderful casting - I'm even more excited for Borle as Orin Scrivello, DDS. I just saw a fantastic production of this show on Cape Cod, with Andrew Keenan Bolger as Seymour. Perhaps they could tap him as a replacement if the show runs long enough. (Probably not, but "ya never know" lol.) Another fun fact about the show - when I was just out of college in Boston, in the mid-1980's,there was a sit-down production (based on the off-Broadway production) at the Charles Playhouse, with a then unknown Carolee Carmello as Audrey. She was great - and I wasn't surprised when she started turning up in Broadway productions in the years following. (She's still not a household name, but theatre people will certainly know her.)

Do you even need to ask, lol?

A Chorus Line has no curtain call either. or, at least, not a traditional one. Essentially, the final reprise of "One" is the curtain call, but it doesn't feel like it. (It's also, of course, a stunning statement, as all the individuals you've gotten to know throughout the show are now "just" the chorus line, all identically dressed and perfectly synchronized, now just an "endless" line of dancers with no individuality.) I once did a production of Sondheim's Assassins where the director tried not having a curtain call - he wanted to make a statement that we shouldn't applaud these characters, even if of course the audience is actually applauding the actors. The audience at the preview was of course confused when no one came out for a bow, and the director realized there needed to be something there. So he had the cast come out and stand in a tableau, but without actually bowing. This worked better because at least the audience could feel like they were interacting with the actors. We didn't play any music, though - there isn't any written in the score, and it did seem appropriate to leave it that way. Most musicals, of course, do have bows music of some sort. West Side Story is another show where none is indicated, even though of course there is a curtain call. When I was a young music director straight out of college, I did a production where the director did want music there. I objected, saying I thought it would take away from the dramatic ending of the show. She insisted, saying she wanted the audience to go out on a happy note and humming a tune. Aaaargh. :mad:

It's funny to me how we easily accept male POP vocalists who sing in this range, but we have a harder time with classical singers doing it. But indeed - very talented, and the looks certainly don't hurt. I wonder if Vivaldi had been listening to Dido's Lament a bit too much when he wrote this??

I haven't had authentic bibimbap in some time, but that's a similar situation, where the rice (in particular) actually cooks/crisps in the heated pot as you eat. LOVE that! (I've also made my own at home, with help from a nearby H-Mart, which sells packs of the prepared veggies and the sauce - but I don't have the authentic pot. I really should get one.) I've also been to Mexican restaurants where they serve fajitas ingredients in a hot pan. But yes, they do warn you, at least in my experience. I think it can be fun - as long as you're aware that you do have a hot plate in front of you.

You know, I understand how this name came about - but does anyone else feel it's really a cruel tongue twister? Is the first part of the training on the job to learn how to say "Ruth's Chris"?

All of this! Physically it may depend on what I'm craving at the moment. Myophile's mention of the "filthy-minded high school jock" type always works lol. A face is very important to me - those escorts that don't show their face in their ads don't tend to get my attention at all. A nice chest also gets me interested. I don't tend to hire a guy because of his cock, though of course if he has a really nice one that's a bonus. But I'm more in RyanDean's camp - I really want to get a sense that this guy is going to be fun to be with, personable, confident without being cocky (unless I'm in the mood for cocky lol), and a friendly communicator. A sense of humor adds a lot too. If I'm looking on RM, I tend to look carefully at how the escort describes himself in his basic ad, and also if he gives helpful answers in the interview section (if he even fills that out). Again, if I sense that he's a genuine PERSON, not just a sex object, he tends to win lots of points.

I'm bowing out of this discussion lol. I tend to think it's been discussed to death and beyond. I think we should all move on, personally...

Yes. You know, if you look on Amazon, you'll see that most products that get reviewed usually have both positive and negative reviews. Sometimes the company in question will reach out to the negative reviewers in a kind way. What they don't do is try to prove at every turn that the customer was wrong, and "look at how many positive reviews we have." But that's exactly what you're doing.

And I would qualify that I have no opinion about any of this one way or the other - but what has always bothered me about Angel's appearances here is that he seems to only want to defensively defend the site and cry "fake news," instead of reaching out to say "I'm sorry you had issues, how can I help?" The latter would be not only friendlier, but would also speak better to the management of the site itself, now wouldn't it?

False statements? Why jump to those conclusions?

No, I think everyone is just expressing their opinions and their personal experiences here. It would be nice if you respected that. You always come out here to defend your site, understood - but you never actually offer any help - you just deny that people's complaints are valid. Not helpful.

I totally understand.

Actually, the acronym I tend to see more than any other concerning black men is BBC, lol. Though of course the first "B" is a potential stereotype (even when "it's twoo, it's twoo..."). I have to admit when I first saw that term I had to figure out what British TV had to do with it all, lol.

Perhaps not on friendboy - I don't check out there all that often. But certainly in the Boston section on RM, there are a lot of Latinos, and occasionally Asians as well.

At least in the way I've experienced the term, "POC" doesn't stand for Black - it's inclusive of Latinos and Asians as well. Essentially, anyone that we wouldn't normally consider "white." I agree that if one is only referring to black escorts, then black (or African-American) would be a better term to use.

I hate "POC" - I think the idea of reducing and pigeonholing so many diverse people into a 3-letter acronym is rather disgusting. But then again, it's hardly new. Most of us on this site are GLBTQ, and of course most people probably forget that WASP is also an acronym. So I guess it's just more of the same.