bostonman

My knowledge of French is more academic than practical, but isn't it really the case that there should be NO stresses in French? Except of course for expressive emphasis in a sentence - and particularly at the end of a sentence? So that technically it's neither croissANT nor CROISsant, but croissant? English has very defined stresses, so yes, countering the usual stress (i.e. going more for CROISsant) would be an effective "correction," but wouldn't that really be just as wrong in true French?

Except when used as a variant of "en pointe" in ballet, which is a legit term that would be hard to get around, lol.

lol...it's ok. And welcome to the site.

Interesting post, especially as it comes only mere hours after he got back in touch with me today...??? We did make an attempt to smooth things over, and we are planning a potential meeting again. But still, intriguing that this is your very first post here. Hmm.

Sorry to intrude, lol. Astaire was a light baritone. He didn't have (or at least didn't use) high tenor notes. I would say that yes, he had a very pure, accurate voice - unfortunately that also translates to a voice that I don't always find particularly exciting to listen to - but I do admit his simplicity has a definite appeal nevertheless. And as an all-around performer, his appeal is undeniable.

You know who probably still might do a great "Don't Rain On My Parade" (though she'd be long in the tooth to play Brice at this point)? Debra Messing. She went to my alma mater (Brandeis), starting the fall after I graduated, but I was staying on to work in the theatre department, and I got to work with her a number of times. "Parade" used to be her go-to audition song, and she was fierce with it. It's a shame in some ways that she hasn't done more singing in her career - but I'm not about to complain either - she's done pretty damn well for herself!

Funny, since we were just talking about Brightman - of course, Ms. Eder was sleeping with her composer too lol - but I agree - she's got much more going than that.

People forget that she was one of the driving forces of the ensemble in the original Annie. The original "Star To Be" among other featured roles - but my personal favorite is during "We'd Like To Thank You, Herbert Hoover" when she belts the line "who know I could steal?" The moment at the end of "Close Ev'ry Door" where it goes a capella, and Joseph goes for a high note on "for we know we shall find..." - yup - goosebumps. Grease? Can't say much in favor of any version of that horrid show, lol. (Hey - I have to hate something...lol.) I agree about Harris and Porter - but I'd rather hear them in other music. (I do have a fondness for "There Are Worse Things I Can Do" and a few others - but mostly - yuck. And the worst thing is the message at the end - Sandy learns how to act like a slut just to get her guy. Ick.)

And actually, I would think that would work really well. At least in the sense that the brothers think they're tough guys.

I like Joseph. I should say that I like it the way it used to be, before they started adding endless reprises, repeats, and other padding to make it overlong. (The Broadway production that starred the amazing, late Laurie Beechman as the Narrator is a pretty decent guide to the way I think the show should flow. Though I do like some of the arrangements from later versions - just not all the excessive padding.) Though there are some people that still get a bit rankled by what they think the show represents. I once suggested the show to a producer who was looking for a family-friendly musical that would really sell - aside from The Sound Of Music and Annie, lol. When I mentioned Joseph - which does seem to be one of those shows that people always want to see - she actually gasped and said, "but that's a BIBLE story." The fact is, it's not, really - in the sense that religion is not the theme of the show at all - and I know that religion was the thing that caused her reaction, lol.

Ah yes - but wasn't she "uniquely qualified" to bring the role to Broadway?? (Though we all knew that was really only code for "sleeping with thc composer" lol.)

Ah, yes - the star of that legendary film version of Maimed. (Poor Lucy - who was so damned amazing at what she was truly good at...but boy, did she have some "splainin" to do about that film...)

I don't know, but I tend to think that Streisand is not about to take on a gig like that at this point in her career. I will say that if she did, even I would consider running to see it lol (and I really don't like her in the film at all). But I doubt it would ever happen. (Is the Gypsy film ever going to happen either, lol?)

I saw the original Passion twice. I would recommend the filmed version (the original production filmed on the set with all the original cast, but not with an audience) for anyone who did not get to see it live. But one thing the cameras don't capture well enough on the video is Murphy's first entrance down the staircase, when she first introduces herself to Giorgio. In the theatre, you couldn't take your eyes off this odd creature who was making her way down those stairs. Hard to describe why it was so unique, but it was. LuPone did later get to play the role in one of those over-concepted Lonny Price concert thingies (which was also filmed and televised on PBS). Not bad, but not nearly as nuanced or well-sung as Murphy. Murphy really LIVED that role. I truly wish I had been able to see coloratura soprano Natalie Dessay do the role in Paris last year. (Partly because it would have been amazing to see, and partly because the Clara in that production is a friend and colleague of mine from Boston.) They did do a radio broadcast, and I do have to say I was really pleasantly surprised by Dessay's sound. Not the kind of role you'd ever think to hear her do - but she really made a case for it! But Murphy really sets the extremely high bar for that role, IMO.

You should have seen her in Wonderful Town, in a purely zany comic role. She's really a very versatile actress. I first saw her as Vera in Pal Joey in Boston - a role that needs equal parts comedy and drama, though the comedy part is certainly on the droll/dark side. (This was just before she did Passion.) You also might be surprised to learn that she was also one of the original replacement Audreys in the off-Broadway Little Shop Of Horrors. Hard to imagine, huh? However, Forbidden Broadway did tap into your reservations, doing a marvelous parody of her when she was playing Anna in The King And I just after she did Passion. Called "I Whistle A Sondheim Tune," the idea was that she would be carrying too much of Passion's darkness into the (mostly) "bright and breezy" world of Anna. Very funny.

Any reference, or visual, for that matter, that deals with a "mike drop" (as in microphone) or "drop the mike" etc.

"Speaking truth to power" Not that I don't agree with the definition - just that the phrase has become a very tired cliche. It's also always sounded rather pretentious to me.

A good hypothetical example - "Today, trump admitted that there were no tapes, bless his heart."

I've been seeing it on the net for years, in personal ads and occasionally an escort ad - and it doesn't seem to have anything to do with ethnicity or lecherousness. I've always assumed that it was being done so that the word "ass" wouldn't appear. But why I don't know.

Steely Dan. I still remember the first time I heard "Peg" as a kid. Those jazz-inflected harmonies were so fucking cool - and yet this wasn't really jazz. But the sound of it wasn't built on the "basic" rock chords one would expect. As a young musician, the chord progression underneath "then the shutter falls" etc really caught my ear. It still does. Amazing stuff.

But, much of the time, it's used instead of "figuratively," and that's the problem. The same happens with the word "veritably" when it's somehow used to describe something in a metaphorical way.

...my response to all that is actually one of my favorite internet expressions - Meh.

So, why do they spell it that way, then? I have yet to see a reason for it. Same in British. As in Eliza Doolittle's iconic line "Come on, Dover, move your bloomin' arse!" And I can be sure I've never seen it written as "move your bloomin' azz."

I guess I don't see any problem in typing 2 s's instead of the idiocy of substituting 2 z's. I didn't think, and don't think, in this day and age, that "ass" is that offensive anymore. It certainly wasn't one of the infamous George Carlin "7 words you can't say on television" lol. "Azz" is not a word. To me it rhymes with "jazz" (as opposed to "pass") and is just obnoxious and frankly rather infantile. And even so, I suppose I might say that people that use it are azzholes, or maybe just azzes. (Or is that azzez?)

Some text/computer shortcuts that I despise: Ur (i.e. your) Wat/wats (i.e. what/what's) Tryna/Trynna (i.e. trying to) Azz (i.e. ass)