Deesneelann

One (or should I say two?) of the top highlights of my summer back home was Hong Kong Disneyland! I've suddenly gone somewhat Disney crazy (When Curiosity Met Insanity and Bri-chan/Briberry's other stuff have probably contributed a bit...), so I was SO EXCITED! to finally go! HK Diz has been around since 2005, but I never actually went until this summer. But to make up for it - and also to make sure my year pass would be worth it - I went twice C: The first time I went with Mir and Rebecca because they've been plenty of times and thus would make venerable guides. Here is the rundown! Prepare yourselves for an overload of photos. The text goes without saying.

Day of Disney #1:

We met at Mir's place in Mongkok at 8:30 AM. Naturally, I was late for meeting up - but perfectly on time for catching the bus to the Olympic MTR stop! We took the MTR all the way to Sunny Bay station, where we crossed the platform to take the Disney Express!

 
Note the lovely plush seats, Mickey shaped windows and nice little statues! And the Disney-ness of the platform!

After walking through the very big and relatively long pathway to the ticket barrier, we all got year passes because quite frankly, if one gets a year pass and only goes to Disneyland twice, they're already saving money. And for us, there's always next summer and Christmas break! At 10, the park finally opened and we were in! Yay!

Hong Kong Disneyland has four "lands" available - Main Street, USA; Adventureland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland. Main Street is always first in all the parks (except for Tokyo which doesn't have Main St). Walt Disney intended it to be a throwback to the good ol' days so everyone can experience its fun-ness. There aren't any rides in this "land," but instead is an area for souvenirs, eatings, exhibits and other facility-type places. The first thing we wandered into was the Animation building that had a lot of displays about both the traditional cel animation as well as Pixar's stuff - there was a hugenormous Toy Story zoetrope which was rather mesmerizing to watch. But I think our favorite part of it were the little models of the princesses, Alice, Aladdin, Maleficent and other characters of the ilk.

But we didn't spend too much time in Main Street because we wanted to get to everything else! HK Diz isn't very big - in fact, our greatest claim to Disney park fame is "We're the smallest Disneyland in the WORLD!" - but me being a first timer, we wanted to get to everything. First we stopped for a photo opportunity in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. There was also a little "sand" sculpture of Lilo and Stitch in front because the summer's theme was "Stitch's Summer Splash." The cast member taking photos, Felix, was very serious about every picture we took. When he instructed us to hold out our hands together, Mir asked him, "For the magic?" He replied solemnly, "Yes."

Afterwards, we consulted the timetable to see when the shows were. The Lion King had a performance at 12:45, so we made that our goal and headed to Tomorrowland first. So space-y! First we went on the Orbitron, in which I sat with Rebecca and Mir was alone - her pod's little lever didn't work, and she was kind of stuck in one position the entire ride! That was sad. Next was Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, with Mir and Becky together and me alone. I'm kind of really bad at that ride. Finally, we rode one of the best rides in the park - and currently HK Diz's only roller coaster - Space Mountain! The pose we decided on was the Star Trek "Live Long and Prosper" pose, and attempted to look Vulcan. I failed miserably. Becky just had a neutral face. Mir looked most serious.

 
Orbitron!! // Live Long, and Prosper.

We were quite anxious to see The Lion King show, so we started to mosey on over to Adventureland, but cutting through Fantasyland first. The intention was to pass everything and come back later, but we saw Alice posing for photographs by the Mad Hatter's Tea Cups!! Being the freakishly crazy fangirls we are, we kind of dropped everything and ran over. She didn't seem perturbed by our enthusiasm. Afterwards, we decided that we might as well go for a spin on the ride. Personally, I don't find it as dizzying as some people make it to be, but motion sickness generally doesn't affect me.

Then we really did take off to Adventureland for The Lion King show. There was plenty of time as we waited. Getting there early was a pretty good idea however, because we got front row seats! The show itself was very exciting. Basically, it's the Broadway show in a MUCH smaller scale - they only used the songs that were in the film, and it was a theatre in the round seating. The costumes were still the same, and there were still enormous puppets on floats - at one point, there were even fire-acrobats (I don't know if there's a particular term, but I think that adequately describes them)! Since this is in HK, there were two people in baboon costumes who acted as translators. They only translated the narration (done in English by the lady playing Rafiki). I actually think their role looked like one of the most fun ones - they still got to prance around, do somersaults and run up and down into the audience, which Simba and Nala didn't do. Oh, there wasn't a young Simba either - one guy played him the entire time. I do believe that Hong Kong Disneyland is the only Disney park that has The Lion King show C:

 
Posing with Alice! // THE CIIIIRCLE OF LIIIIFE (finale!)

After that incredibly fantastic and cool (it's airconditioned!) show, we decided to go on the Jungle Cruise next. We didn't have to wait very long, again, because HK Diz cleverly has three different lines for English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Obviously, we picked English. The boat was still jam packed full of people, and it was actually really hard to hear the Skipper. I don't even remember his name. I think we were the only ones who were really listening to him and his cheesy jokes (we giggled a bit anyway, because we like cheesy...oh come on, I love musical theatre). Mir and I like to quote the spiel in his semi-monotone voice sometimes: "They'll get it in the end! Ha. Ha. Ha..." "I'll be here every ten minutes. For the rest of my life."

We left Adventureland and were planning to go to Fantasyland for some eats, but as we passed Main Street, we saw the string barriers and slowly-forming crowd. There was a semi-parade just down Main Street, "Stitch's Summer Dance Bash." Of course, we got excited and ran over to watch. It was so cute and fun - with the most obnoxiously catchy theme song ever. The characters who came by on the floats were Goofy (I called out, "Do the perfect cast!" but I don't think he heard me), Mr. Incredible, Stitch himself, Ariel (we freaked out majorly), and Genie. There were dancing cast members too, with flippers or beach balls and some were even on these super fun-looking pogo-stilt shoes. At one point they stop and do a dance, and Mir and I were kind of dancing along, not paying attention to the cast members. Suddenly, one of the pogo-stilt guys came over, grabbed our wrists and pulled us into to street. We were absolutely disarmed by this action ("REBECCAAAA!!") but in a good way ^-^ There was one guy (not the pogo-stilt one) who was highly amused by us and "led" us in dancing. I can do the Disneyland Stitch dance now. If you ask, I will totally do it for you.

  
 
HAAANGIN' LOOSE IN THE SUUUMMER SUUUN!!

When the parade ended, we finally had lunch in Fantasyland. Afterwards, we took on It's a Small World, Cinderella's Carousel, Philharmagic, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Small World is adorable in how they incorporate Disney characters in their "countries" throughout, ie. Cinderella and Charming in France, Mowgli and Baloo in India, Pocahontas in America and Mulan in China, to name a few. Mir and I also obnoxiously sang the theme song in the squeakiest voice we could manage...I spent a lot of time in the park singing :3 Philharmagic is a really cool show using 3D effects, scents and even has water squirting out at you at some points.

After these rides, we were torn between the big parade or The Golden Mickeys. Mir really wanted me to see The Golden Mickeys because she considers it one of the best shows. However, the big parade was about to begin. We decided parade over Golden Mickeys. HK Diz does a "Waterworks Parade" during the stupidly hot and sickeningly humid summer months. Basically, they spit water all over you (but you're in a theme park in a tropical climate, so one can pretty much dry off within 15 mintues). It doesn't sound as gross as I just put it. The floats have sprays of water, and sometimes cast members have other things that squirt water on you, such as Toy Soldiers from Toy Story or the Princesses with their little perfume bottle things. The characters in the parade included: Buzz Lightyear, Goofy, Dopey, Donald, Chip, Dale, Daisy, Minnie, Marie, Alice, White Rabbit, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Mulan, Snow White, Mickey, Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket, Eeyore, Pooh Bear, Woody and Jessie. We ended up pretty sopping wet :3 But it was all good!

The parade ended at around 3:40. We pleasantly realized that there was still time for the Golden Mickeys! What a great idea, watch the parade and then go in to the Golden Mickeys show. Unfortunately, it seemed that everyone else who saw the parade thought so too, so there was an enormous surge towards the entrance. Ah well. It was a show based somewhat on the Oscars, but you give out Golden Mickeys. There were actual performances, such as Quasimodo singing "Out There," Tarzan and his pals doing some spiffy acrobatics, and Belle dancing with Beast. It was really nice to see - I think that if I get to work at HK Diz, this or the Lion King would be what I would most want to do.

Afterwards we went to Fantasy Gardens to take photos with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Pooh Bear. This was the longest line we had to stand in for the entire day, which wasn't bad at all. I did a lot of singing-along-to-the-overhead-speakers while waiting - and recognized "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" from The Little Mermaid Broadway show =D To be honest, we were pretty tired at this point. But it was fun to take photos with the big Dees-nay stahs!

 
You can see the tiredness etched upon my face in the Goofy picture...

We also went on the Dumbo ride, when Mir's Dumbo-pod's lever failed yet AGAIN to work. Perhaps she's somewhat cursed with those rides. After that, we realized that we pretty much did all the stuff we really wanted to do (didn't care about Autopia and kind of forgot about Tarzan's treehouse...) so we went back to Tomorrowland. Mir suggested Stitch Encounter, but we had to wait for an English session. So, we just went for another whirl on Space Mountain! This time, we decided to look frightened. Rebecca just looked surprised to find the seat next to her empty =D

 
Or, she and Pluto both saw the oncoming meteor! // Hunny!

The rest of the night was relatively uneventful. We had a quick dinner in Main Street and wandered around the shops. I got a Pooh "hunny" mug! We eventually saw Stitch Encounter, and returned to Main Street to watch the fireworks. After taking many pretty photos of the castle against the sunset, my camera battery truly died so the fireworks photos you see here are nabbed from Rebecca (who has a wonderful digital camera). Thus endeth my first day at Hong Kong Disneyland!

 
Make it pink! Make it blue!

Day of Disney #2:

Since I've already explained a good chunk of the rides and shows in HK Disneyland, I'll try to keep the account of my second visit as short as possible. This time, only Mir and I went and our goals were thus: To find as many face characters and Hidden Mickeys as possible! We got there later, at around 10, and already we found one - not even inside the park yet. It's actually really obvious, but I wasn't looking until that day.

As soon as we got inside, we headed straight for Snow White's Grotto where there was a designated Meet'n'Greet spot. The last time we were there, we approached it JUST when the cast members had to start shutting things down for the fireworks (but they told us Cinderella had just left!), so this time we made it a priority. Just our luck, because being the second in line, we got to take a photograph with FOUR PRINCESSES! FOUR! We were spazzing so much. It kind of went like this:
Mir: Ooh! I see Belle!!
Me: ...And Cinderella??
Mir: SNOW WHITE??
Me: AURORA!!
Together: FOUR PRINCESSES?!?!!
The Princesses themselves were very gracious about our late teenage fangirling (Mir told me later that she thought Belle looked rather sleepy). The second most awesome thing about our first photo of the day? Our faaaavorite cast member, Felix, took it for us! Whoo!

 
FOUR PRINCESSES! Count 'em, FOUR!!

Since a blow-by-blow account would be quite boring, I'll just give a summary: this time we remembered Tarzan's Treehouse, so we gave that a visit. We also watched The Lion King again because quite frankly, it's awesome. Philharmagic, Small World and Space Mountain were other repeat offenders - actually, I will confess that we went on Space Mountain three times. :3  Along the way, we also got photos with Chip & Dale and Buzz Lightyear.

There also was an exhibit that was either new or that we were unaware of the first time between Adventureland and Main Street - Mickey Mouse's House! It wasn't an actual house, but a walkthrough very much like it. You started off in his kitchen (where he had an enormous cupcake on the counter and a cabinet full of cheese from around the world), then moved through his living room and bedroom. At the end, you could take a photo with Mickey and Minnie themselves! I was so pleased to see that they were in their "classic" outfits, not the special summery clothes.

We went back to Main Street because another thing I wanted to take pictures of was the super-cool dollhouse on display in one of the stores. It's like a normal dollhouse, but filled with Disney paraphernalia. For example, there was a glass slipper at the bottom of the stair, the kitchen had a Fantasia broomstick holding buckets of water in a corner, the living room had Mrs. Potts on the coffee table as well as little statuettes of Cinderella and Aurora on either side of the rose from Beauty and the Beast, the adult bedroom had the cradle from the Lady and the Tramp and both Belle and Eric's outfits hung up. The children's bedroom was stuffed full of Disney references (most appropriately): the Magic Carpet, a Khan rocking horse, Michael Darling's PJs, a Pooh teddy bear, and even a small model of this very dollhouse, to name a few! If one looked behind it into the nanny's room, they would see many of Mary Poppins' personal artifacts as well. It was awesome. We also found another Hidden Mickey in the kitchen.

The next little spiel that I have is kind of funny. We realized the parade had begun as the sidewalk outside began to crowd. We decided to get outside, and the moment we did, rain started to drizzle. Parents waved their children away from the curb. It started to rain a little harder. Kids giggled and ran to the awnings. And then suddenly, the skies let completely loose and good ol' crazy hard tropical rain thundered down. Everyone was running about and squealing on the already crowded sidewalk. The stores instantly became crowded. Mir and I were aghast at the chaos, as well as our predicament - two people and one little, broken foldup umbrella from 7-11. But we didn't want to stay in the store, so we struck out for Tomorrowland in the pouring rain. Okay, I'm going to clarify two things: that morning, Mir had bought some sunscreen from a drugstore. When we put some on, we discovered that it felt really slimy, but thought nothing of it since at least our skin was protected. But throughout the day, we continued to feel slimy and gross. The second thing is that I was wearing new shoes from Mongkok - thus, really cheap. They got totally SOAKED in the rain. Mir was holding the umbrella, trying to cover us both, and I was somewhat edging away. "Get over here!" she told me. "But you're slimy!" I had to say. "So are you!!"

The really sad thing is that the Parade was quite under way by the time the rain started crashing. I guess "Waterworks" was a fitting theme that day...but oh man, many of the performers wouldn't have any cover - the PRINCESSES! They would just be walking in their pretty dresses! Good lord. I only saw the White Rabbit in the distance, so I can't talk.
Mir, later: "Hey mom, you know the song, Don't Rain On My Parade? Well, it rained. On the parade. And ONLY on the parade!"
Yep. Within five minutes of the parade's end, the rain let up. How's that for Murphy's Law?

Well, we wandered back into Fantasyland to go to the Royal Banquet Hall to take photos of some lovely statues of Princesses dancing with their Princes, as well as portraits of Princesses with their Princes. We found our second Hidden Mickey in a portrait of Belle and Beast. Before entering the restaurant (for that's what it is), we caught Merlin discovering the kid who would finally pull the sword from the stone. By then, the sun was burning hot and people were certainly drying up. I took my sopping shoes off at one point in hopes that they could dry out. But no luck. *shrug*

Ultimately, we left early due to our discomfort in slimy-ness and just plain tiredness. It was pretty alright though. I was happy I made use of my year pass ^-^ Can't wait to go back to the Happiest Place on Earth in December!

Hidden Mickeys - can YOU spot them?:

Bad blogger

Um.

I'm bad at this when I'm at home and busy doing...home things. I will try to keep stuff up, and I promise this with an upcoming post about one of the really fun experiences this summer. :3

Anyway, I'm back in Toronto with a lot of time to spare.

my unintentional live blog for the 63rd Tonys

7:25 - My phone alarm goes off. I lie in bed thinking about how nice it is and how sleepy I am.

7:45 - I finally get out and turn on the computer to go to the live streaming website to watch THE TONYS!

7:50 - Aww, Hunter (Bell) didn't win Best Book nom :C Boo you Tonys for hatin' on [title of show]. Anyway, Billy Elliot has already nabbed 5 wins before the telecast even started, including a nice tie with next to normal for Best Orchestrations.

8:03 - Talking to a friend on MSN who is watching in the US, and becoming increasingly more and more upset and agitated because THE WEBSITE IS NOT WORKING. I rant on Facebook as a status update, and find out my friend Tara is having the same problem, except with her TV in Toronto.

8:03 to 8:52 - I'm too busy being upset to record anything, although by the time I respond to my other friend Adrienne (who is still in school right now) on Facebook, quite a few things have happened. I am obsessively clicking refresh on the Playbill.com and NYTimes live blogs, as well as keeping a careful eye on the Tony Awards backstage Thank You Cam. I start unofficially live blogging by commenting on my own status there as a way to keep her up to date. So from now on, I'm just going to reiterate here and you can see for yourself my exact reactions to...well, whatever I found significant.

9:02 - Okay then, update: Billy has 6, N2N 2, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone: 2! I won't bother with those who only have 1 so far.

9:03 - ....Billy, 7! (Stephen) Daldry for Director of a Musical, and I was expecting that anyway. *waits for backstage camera*

9:33 - Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Gregory Jbara for Billy Elliot! I was actually hoping for David Bologna but Mr. Jbara definitely earned his.

9:36 - Karen Olivo wins Best Featured Actress for West Side Story I SO CALLED THAT!

10:13 - BILLY BILLY BILLY - how I wish I could watch your performance. Which is happening right now.

10:40 - AND HAIR WINS BEST MUSICAL REVIVAL AS EXPECTED BECAUSE THEY ARE AWESOME (after a spectacular performance, so I am reading)

10:50 - [tos] speaks the truth: ALICE RIPLEY IS FIERCE! 100% DESERVES HER LEADING ACTRESS TONY! (And I realize this in itself is becoming another live blog)

10:54 - Echoing the Oliviers 3 years ago, THE THREE BILLY BOYS WIN BEST LEADING ACTOR!! I am absolutely delighted for them, Trent Kowalik, David Alvarez and Kiril Kulish, even though my prediction of Gavin Creel gets dashed. WHO CARES, BILLY - 9, N2N - 3

10:57 - Please please please someone put the boys' acceptance speech on YouTube BECAUSE I AM BEING TOLD THAT THEY ARE BEING VERY ADORABLE, not like I need another excuse to squeal over their cuteness again. (I still want to clone a mini-Kiril and keep him in my pocket)

10:58 - ....JERSEY BOYS IS PERFORMING?? Wait, this being touring cast or Broadway?? If Broadway, YAY JARROD (Spector) YOU'RE ON TV AGAIN!

11:03 - BILLY HITS THE DOUBLE DIGITS WITH BEST MUSICAL!! Sorry, n2n.....to quote NYTimes' David Itzkoff: "For one year, couldn’t they just have awards for Best Musical and Second Best Musical?"

11:08 - Wait, WHAT? "Don't turn off the TV after the last award. . . there is reportedly a surprise still to come." - Andrew Gans, Playbill.com. I curse Hong Kong's lack of programming once again and the world's general lack of respect for the theatre world (I wouldn't have to do this if this were the Academy Awards or the Grammys, and I bet even the Emmys...)
...But then again, Tonys are kind of exclusively for American theatre, so I'll take that back. Hopefully somewhere will have the entire telecast up later.

11:15 - Oh, it's Neil Patrick Harris' closing number. Anyhoo, it's over, except I'm still keeping the Thank You Cam open for the last awards.

11:57 - OMG OMG OMG THEY HAD A JERSEY BOYS PERFORMANCE WITH 5 FRANKIES INCLUDING JARROD AND JEFF. I would say I'm running around in agitated circles, screaming and jumping about....but I'm not.

The last piece of info came from Virginia who watched most of it, her being lucky in North America, because she was just as excited as me to see our very own Jeff Madden be the first Frankie to sing ^-^ And then she said Jarrod came right after him. I did go into my parents' room to jump up and down, squealing, but I didn't run around in circles.

Here's a recap of the winners and what awards:

Billy Elliot the Musical - 10 (Best Musical, Best Book, Leading Actor - Musical, Featured Actor - Musical, Direction - Musical, Choreography, Orchestration, Scenic Design - Musical, Lighting Design - Musical, Sound Design - Musical)
next to normal - 3 (Best Score, Leading Actress - Musical, Orchestration)
God of Carnage - 3 (Best Play, Direction - Play, Leading Actress - Play)
Joe Turner's Come and Gone - 2 (Featured Actor - Play, Lighting Design - Play)
Hair - 1 (Best Musical Revival)
West Side Story - 1 (Featured Actress - Musical)
Blithe Spirit - 1  (Featured Actress - Play)
Exit the King - 1 (Leading Actor - Musical)
The Norman Conquests - 1 (Best Play Revival)
Shrek the Musical - 1 (Costume - Musical)
Equus - 1 (Sound Design - Play)
Liza's at the Palace - 1 (Theatrical Event)
33 Variations - 1 (Scenic Design - Play)
Mary Stuart - 1 (Costume - Play)

SNUBS:
[title of show] (This saddens me)
Rock of Ages (This I couldn't care less about)
Waiting For Godot (This slightly surprises me)
9 to 5 (I sort of forgot about this one...but I still love you, Allison Janney)
reasons to be pretty (This too.)

12:26 - OKAY TARA JUST SENT ME THE LINK FOR THE HAIR PERFORMANCE SO I'M GOING TO GO WATCH IT, BYE!

//Edit: 8:34 - ASDFJKL;WTF FINALLY WATCHED JERSEY BOYS TONY 09 PERFORMANCE AND THAT WAS NOT JEFF MADDEN THAT WAS ADRIAN MARCHUK. I'm incredibly disappointed. But of course, Jarrod was absolutely phenomenal C:

//Edit: June 10, 12:04 - WTF THAT WASN'T EVEN ADRIAN, IT WAS JOSEPH LEO BWARIE (who, don't get me wrong, I do like but still) WHO'S THE CURRENT TOUR FRANKIE BAH. Just because he was the "first" Frankie to ever perform in Toronto....but he is not in the Toronto cast! Geez! I feel gypped. JB Toronto pride and love.

Currently Next to Normal (Original Broadway Cast) By Alice Ripley, J. Robert Spencer, Jennifer Damiano, Aaron Tveit, Adam Chanler-Berat, Louis Hobson Song of Forgetting see related

Hong Kong and the Tony Awards

This is the first time I'll be posting something while in Hong Kong here. Kind of weird? Yes.

Isabella is the one who demanded a new entry and I suppose it's high time I did one. Well, I love being back home, it's lovely. More and more people are trickling in - specifically this coming week more of "our boys" are coming home: Shogo, Sam, Mark (Taylor boys) and E-Dean! There are a bunch already here though. I hang out with Janelle almost every single time we go out, unless she fails to wake up on time (ahem, when we went to see Angels and Demons).

I don't have any real set plans for the summer apart from lots of hanging out and catching up with people, with the odd voice lesson, dance class and summer job sprinkled about. Alright, more like regularly scheduled throughout. Unfortunately the place I used to go for dance lessons isn't doing a musical over the summer.

But I DO have some Broadway-related ramblings to relate: the 2009 Tony nominations are out!! I don't have any specific favorites for most categories, although I am, of course, very proud of Billy Elliot the Musical's record-breaking 15 noms (David Bologna for Best Featured Actor in a Musical quite wins my approval, although I want to know why didn't Aaron Tveit get one for next to normal). At the same time, I'm upset that [title of show]'s sole shoutout was Hunter Bell's nom for Best Book, but oh well. To be totally honest, I understand how a score comprised solely for keyboard wouldn't get a Best Score nod, and I can't say for myself what the acting was like, and choreo of course was not a highlight of the show....however, I will admit that I was gunning for a Best Musical nod. Oh well.

Speaking of Best Musical, that's the award that I probably have the strongest opinion of. Here are the nominees:

Billy Elliot the Musical
next to normal
Shrek the Musical
Rock of Ages

My vote goes to either BETM or N2N. Shrek and RoA can go hide in a hole! Okay, so that may not be the most intelligent of retorts, but honestly? Shrek may be star-studded (Brian D'Arcy James? Sutton Foster? John Tartaglia? And even Jen Cody in the chorus?) and be a glitzy Broadway bash, but I just find it....well, can I just compare it to Spamalot? Funny, good, lots of cool actors in it but ultimately it seems kind of - to pull a term from the world of fanfiction, forgive me - fluffy. I did see Spamalot and enjoyed it very much, but it wasn't what I expected. I went home slightly disappointed. Now I tell people that if they've seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail already, Spamalot isn't all that worth it (unless you're such a big-ass Eric Idle fan that you simply must). And Rock of Ages - oh please, please, please do not tell me that a jukebox musical of 80s hits will win Best Musical.

Anybody who has met me for the past year knows how much I love Billy Elliot. Just look at what it's been nominated for this year: Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik and Kiril Kulish in a combined nom), Best Featured Actor (Gregory Jbara and David Bologna), Best Featured Actress (Haydn Gwynne and Carole Shelley), Best Direction (Stephen Daldry), Best Score (Elton John), Best Book (Lee Hall), Best Choreography (Peter Darling), Best Lighting (I'm doing this by memory so I don't know)....it's A DAMN GOOD SHOW! With depth and connection. I find BETM a lot like A Chorus Line in how it stirs emotions, at least in me. I feel that you don't have to necessarily be a dancer (I'm not comfortable in calling myself a dancer just yet although I do love to dance) to understand and connect with these shows. As long as you love performing - no, scratch that, as long as you have something to be passionate about and you know that it is your calling, your love, your "thing," you can connect to these shows. Both revolve around dancing, but ultimately the characters decide that what's most important is to continue pursuing what they love under all the circumstances. They know they may get hurt, but it will be worth it for them to try.

As for next to normal, I only know a handful of songs - but trust me, I am on a determined hunt to get ahold of a physical recording. It's got a very small cast, but it's very compelling. It's difficult to explain this show without giving away all, so you're all going to be stuck with an extremely vague and condensed summary: it's about these people who seems like "a perfect loving family" but all of them have their own personal struggles that affect the family on a whole. Alice Ripley (as the mother) alone should make one sit up and pay attention anyway. The rest of the family still is great though: J. Robert Spencer (OF JERSEY BOYS FAME YES THAT ONE) as the father, the lovely Jennifer Damiano as their daughter (I just feel something very special and likable about her - she's got a terrific belt by the way), and Aaron Tveit as their son. I don't know Adam Chanler-Berat and Louis Hobson's characters well at all, so I won't say anything about them. The music itself is pretty pop-rock, but in a very RENT-esque way - rock yet very musical theatre. Perhaps it's the awesome belting on, well, everyone's part.
//EDIT: After listening a bit more, I've decided that it's definitely got more of a more rockish the Last Five Years feel instead of RENT. But remember, this is my personal opinion!

So, as long as either BETM or N2N wins, I'm good. And I really think they will, even though there is that unfortunate case of the 2005 Tonys when Spamalot did actually win Best Musical. I would have wanted the 25th Annual Spelling Bee to, although I hear the Light in the Piazza was rather amazing. Guess we'll all have to wait until June 6th for the results! (I have NEVER watched a complete Tony telecast ever. Hong Kong sucks this way. Ugh.)

But anyway! Other nominees I'm pleased about is Karen Olivo in West Side Story because I know some people found her the most awesome thing about it, and personally I've always loved Hair and although I'm not so sure about modern voices fitting in (just compare the 1968 cast recording to the 2005 Actors' Benefit one, you'll understand) I'm glad they've garnered a lot of attention.

It may be kind of pathetic that I have more to say about musicals over my home, but, well, I've been very bored lately. So until I get a good, constant schedule of going out and doing things going, I'll probably sit on my butt watching Ugly Betty and getting chubby. Which means I really have to get out and start DOING STUFF.

ALLCAPS CANNOT FULLY EXPRESS MY FANGIRLY JOY

This has just come out now, but I'm actually writing (the outline of) this on Sunday, May 3. Reason of not posting it then? I had my English exam Monday, so couldn't.

Anyhoo! In this post I shall relay my feelings now that I have finally seen the show of my current obsession: Jersey Boys, and the fangirliest act of my entire musical theatre dork history. I mean, I always thought I was a pretty cool person at the stage door until today. More about this later. First, the show:

The show is terrific. I can't give you a synopsis, and you probably can't find one anywhere else (trust me, I've tried before) because really, it's exactly what it says it is: the true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Basically, it's kind of a flashback being played out and narrated by the band themselves, although it's mainly Tommy at the beginning, Bobby near the end of Act I, and Frankie in Act II. Nick Massi actually narrated like, once, in Act II.  Slightly disappointing for me because I was starting to wonder if he was ever going to narrate.  Totally random note - the guy playing Joey was hilar. HILAR. I have now decided that if gender and race weren't a factor, I'd definitely want to be Joe Pesci in this show. Funny lines and doubling Frankie's vocals offstage. What fun!

Although right now I really like the little medley of other-people's-hits that they have on the CD ("Silhouettes" is damn catchy and Jeremy sounds great with "Earth Angel"), the story kind of snails along until Bobby finally comes up with "Sherry." When they finally get THERE, finally as the Four Seasons ("It's a sign, Tommy.") it's really as if everything exploded. Being the fangirl I am, I was squirming and squeeing as quietly possible in my seat because I just knew they were finally getting to that song. Another instance when my mind was yelping, "Gahh, just sing it already!" was the whole nobody-wants-to-release-this-song fiasco in Act II which was so very obviously a well-played epic buildup to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You."

Other songs I really enjoyed were "Oh, What a Night" because the context is so ridiculously funny, and was really impressed by the rapid pace the entire "Stay/Let's Hang On/Opus 17" medley went through. All those lineup changes too. It was like Frankie would rant at somebody onstage, then whirl around to sing and dance, then suddenly whirl back around to yell at somebody else. Impressive and eyeblink inducing. I found "My Eyes Adored You" to be extremely heart-wrenching, and of course so did "Fallen Angel." Speaking of the ladies, I was a little slightly taken aback with the show's version of "My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels because that was the only song in the show I knew all the words to before Carolyn gave us the chart and sparked this whole madness. I recall ancient days ago of jumping around on the couch with my sister as we sang along to my dad's vast CD collection, and this was one of our favorites, thanks to the opening spoken stuff and overall womanly sassiness. Which is why I was a little O.O at this performance because it felt more like "That's What Girls Do" than "You're So Vain" to me. Uh, does anyone understand what I mean by that?

The set was pretty cool. I found the use of the metal platform quite fascinating. When somebody would "leave" the band or Frankie (who has a lot of people leaving him...) they would usually cross over to the little spiral staircase on down stage right and walk across the platform. It was also used very specifically in a few songs (Virginia said she loved how "Oh What a Night" began with Bobby on the platform, and I want to know why the fanfics always have Tommy/Frankie slash when clearly, you've got a better suited shipping during the horn section break in "Can't Take My Eyes Off You." Not that I condone Jersey Boys slash; it weirds me out big time. Save it for Newsies!) Then of course is the blasting sound system and the lights, especially when it goes nuts (in the most amazing way) during "Dawn (Go Away)." The thing that made us UCDP kids grin was how they used live camera feed on the monitors above the stage during "Sherry" and another song in Act II which I cannot recall exactly which one it is at the moment, possibly "Working My Way Back to You." That was used extensively and in a more weird, abstract way during Attempts On Her Life, this year's big UCDP production.

Now, stagedoor hijinks:

I have been fangirling over JB for the past four months or so, thanks to Carolyn's freakin' awesome chart. In the Toronto cast, one of the main actors is Jeremy Kushnier, who played Tommy DeVito - which is his role here too - in my favorite cast of Jersey Boys, the 2nd National Tour cast with Jarrod Spector as Frankie, Drew Gehling as Bobby, and Michael Ingersoll as Nick. So, I really wanted to be able to say hello to him and get his autograph. After the show I was hauling Briar and Virginia (who went with me) to the stage door. You have to go through this little park-thingie, and we were talking about the show when a guy wearing a hat came walking by very quickly. This conversation then ensued:

Me: ....Wait, wait, isn't that....
Briar: Yeah, it's the guy who played Tommy.
Me: But - but - but!
Virginia: Wow, that was a really fast costume change.
Me: (weakly) No! Wait, but...gahh....

And I swear to God that I was not being the dramatic freak I am and making a big fuss, but was just standing there with an arm outstretched helplessly, weakly calling out things like "But....wait....please....!!" as I watched his retreating figure all too rapidly (so it seemed) becoming more and more distant (I take the "not being a dramatic freak" thing back). I was ready to forlornly turn around and let it go, until I remembered that I had already watched an actress I greatly admired, Priscilla Lopez, run out of a stage door and disappear before I had a chance to say hello....AND THUS DECIDED I WOULD NOT LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN!

....So, um, I very impulsively dashed across the little park, hearing my friends' cries of bemusement and surprise, and in front of other theatregoers who I'm certain who were staring quizzically at the spastic Asian kid running past them, until I reached him and gasped, "Uhhhhh, are you Jeremy Kushnier?" Yes, he was.

Aaaaand, he was a really nice guy who graciously signed my souvenir program in the midst of my friends' finding it really hilarious (and endearing, they claim) and my own fangirly incoherence and clumsiness. I think my stunned little stammering was due to embarrassment and the fact that he was in my FAVORITE Jersey Boys cast - I did sort of let him know that, because I mentioned the Emmys.

Should this little anecdote surprise you? That was not a rhetorical question. Whatever you said, the answer is no. It really shouldn't.

Yay, my favorite cast :3
Drew Gehling, Jarrod seemingly effortless falsetto Spector, Jeremy Kushnier, Michael Ingersoll

We continued moseying round to the stage door and sort of stood awkwardly with me still burning with embarrassment. The next Season we encountered was Quinn VanAntwerp who plays Bob Gaudio. He is very tall. Somehow my fangirl spasm was mentioned and he assured me that "Sometimes I have to go after Jeremy too." O.O   Somehow, we missed Michael Lomenda, which is sad. The spot on Viriginia's poster located above the back of J. Robert Spencer's head will be a very lonely place as the other three have cheerfully scribbled autographs (Jeff's own name is illegible, but you can read the "- FRANKIE -" beneath it very clearly).

Which comes to: yes, we got to say hello to Jeff Madden too, and a little bit more. He was carrying a baseball bat, which was by no means at all made him seem worthy of apprehension. Sort of. Can I also say that he's got really nice eyelashes? And hazel eyes. He was the last to come out and we had a really nice chat. Turns out he used to go to U of T too, except in science (Jarrod went to Princeton for Econ. Is there a Frankie-university pattern forming? - no wait, John Lloyd Young was at Brown for acting. Scratch that theory.) and was in the big band at Hart House for trumpet! And he does not know Markus which was a little awkward at first, but since it developed into the U of T talk, it slipped by. A super nice guy. Briar was practically starving so he suggested some places. We did end up going to Milestones, getting food and bellinis while talking very passionately about the show, the state of Zac Efron's acting career and Harry Potter shipping. We're girls, deal with it.

So I just read over this entire thing and realize it's just one huge fangirlfest. Look at how much useless and random trivia/personal comments have been sprinkled over this. Well, it's 3 AM and I ought to sneak in some snoozing before my impending awful 20 hour plane trip. The next time I post something, it'll be from home sweet Hong Kong!

OUR very own Four Seasons C:
Quinn VanAntwerp, Jeff Madden, Jeremy Kushnier, Michael Lomenda