me, i judge myself a lot. too much. certainly for an "artist." even with our opening night coming off really well, i battle.
maybe i'll just blame it on society. this, after all, must be the "opinion decade" - sort of like the "me generation" all started going, yeah it's all about me so let me tell you about everything else. but hey i love my daily show just like everyone else--though i could do without perez.
LIFE has a great collection of "dumb inventions" - old photographs of some inspired creations that didn't really get off the ground. i think they are being awfully hasty calling some of these "dumb."
here the "baby cage." now i say why not? especially in the city, babies should get some time outdoors. some fresh air and stimulation.
like the cat veranda, the cage lets the baby take in all the sights in a safe environment.
i also appreciate this cigarette holder built for two, though it is easy to understand why this just won't work anymore. i mean there just isn't anywhere to sit with your beau and enjoy a smoke, while holding hands and gazing lovingly! no restaurants, no buildings or bars, now in new york they are even banning streets and -gasp- the parks! what's the point in sharing a cig holder at home? just not as fun.
when it comes to art, who can say whats a bad/good idea? there's the Thriller musical--yes MJ's "thriller" expanded for all your dancing zombie pleasures--in development now. and london's Enronis transferring to broadway--that's right "the notorious energy company and the 2001 financial scandal that engulfed it!" then there's the new york times review of daniel craig and hugh jackman's A Steady Rain that suggests "But it’s hard to avoid thinking that had they chosen to recite the alphabet in counterpoint (which might have been more fun), their joint appearance would still generate ticket sales unknown for a straight play..." hey, i bet we could make that arty and serious.
for the record i will say our play, Manhattan Fable, is a very good idea- ghosts, re-envisioned shakespeare, kisses and all.
this was big news yesterday in the city but seems to have hit international feeds today-- so there's a new broadway play called a steady rain with daniel craig and hugh jackman playing chicago cops who are faced with a "harrowing" moment. i'm dying to see it if i can get cheap tickets somehow. well the other night an audience member's cell phone went off in the middle of one of jackman's monologues.
sadly, even on broadway, this really isn't that big of news. people just cannot seem to turn their crap off. now not that i think hollywood actors turned theatre should get more respect than the rest of us, but you'd think when watching two of the hottest, talented, mega stars live you'd want to pay attention.
this really became news every where because someone was, illegally by the way, video taping the performance and caught the whole bit on tape.
as an actor what do you do? it seems to me only the big stars (theatre or film) get to do as jackman did and break character and the 4th wall and reprimand the audience. true, the rest of us wouldn't make news doing so, but i've never seen it. the thing i find funny, is that a lot of us pride ourselves on dealing with unforeseen happenings. i admit i kind of love it when something (minor!) goes a little wrong. something breaks, a sound/light cue is off, a prop disappears... when we pretentious actors are really living in the characters, an "off" moment is a chance to expand, improv life. it can give you a little jolt of awareness, a fresh take.
of course it could also be a total disaster that the night never revives from. but that's part of the thrill, no?
i tell this story all the time- in my first leading roll as, of course, Annie- yes red wig and all- i had to deal with near disaster. in the loving, tender moment that the stray dog Sandy runs across the stage to Annie's arms, well one night our sandy took a running leap off the proscenium and into the dark house. for a long heartbeat, i wondered what to do. but this was the same production during which for the first time, a director made me cry over a mistake. i had blanked in rehearsal and just stopped singing. the director froze the run to yell at me, a speech i'll never forget.
with his "words of wisdom" in mind, i leapt off the stage after the dog, calling out "sandy! sandy!" into the dark. luckily it didn't take me too long to find the giant golden retriever, thank the stranger for getting my dog, and drag him back to the stage.
but this is different from breaking- accent and all-for the audience. shoot, i had one show, in which those of us singing "happy days are here again" on stage, honestly thought a woman had died in the front row when she collapsed out of her chair. hey, a room full of older subscribers, you never know! we just danced our way off the stage...
