Theater Queens Know How To Behave, Darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       I know, I know, you have been waiting for me to weigh in on the "Mama Mia!" incident, and I will, but I had to wait till I found an incident demonstrating how Theater Queens behave properly.

                                        As a refresher, an unidentified man and his wife brought their teenaged nieces to a matinee performance of  "Mama Mia!" on January 3.  What show could be a more perfect choice?????  A group of obnoxious women sat behind them and let me tell you two things--these women were not from New York, and they were loaded the minute they walked into the Winter Garden Theatre.  They carried on loudly singing, as though at a party of their own, interrupting those in front and around them.  The unidentified man, who I wish would reveal himself because I think he is a hero, waited graciously until Intermission to confront these harridans, and when he did, he let lose, with the end result being the women deciding to leave the theater.  This was great for the audience, but can you imagine how stupid these women are?  To leave a show midway, having paid top prices to sit in the orchestra is senseless.  Because they weren't willing to control themselves?  Or did they think they had the right to act like this?  I bet they did, and Theater Queens, and others, do not want this type of audience member near them.

                                          "Mama Mia!" does have an interactive segment at the end of the show, where the actors sing some of the favorites, and the audience gets to sing along with them.  It is a lovely moment, and had the women waited till then, they could have seen the show and had this experience.

                                               This reminded me of the end of "HAIR," when the cast sings "Let The Sunshine In," and the audience is invited up on the stage.

                                                 Next week we are seeing a revival of "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee," and if it goes like the original, audience members are called upon to be spelling contestants.

                                                     But none of the aforementioned interrupt the flow of the show.  The women at "Mama Mia!" did.

                                                        Here is an incident where audience members knew enough to behave accordingly.

                                                         Last year, David and I went to see "The Baker's Wife" at CSC.  I was curious to see the show, and to see how Ariana DeBose would handle the famous song, "Meadowlark," which had been covered by the likes of Patti LuPone, Lindsay Mendez, Betty Buckley, Liz Callaway, and others.  It is the most important moment in the show, and this audience knew it, because, as the time drew near for the titular character to sing it, the house went silent and was so for the five plus minutes it took for her to sing this song.  She stopped the show with tumultuous applause, and the audience recognized the importance of this moment as almost a tribute to the song and its singer.

                                                               So, people do know how to behave at the theater.

                                                                I have always said people should be screened before entering a t theater.  As well as their bags, check their personal behavior.  If it is off, deny them entry.

                                                                  May those "Mama Mia!" women never show their faces on Broadway again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something Else Celebrates An Anniversary This Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         June 30th of this year will mark the 90th anniversary of the publication of Margaret Mitchell's novel, "Gone With The Wind."  Of course, I am giving it a reread this year.  I think it will be my ninth time.

                                         Now, I don't want to hear any guff about GWTW not being PC.  Listen, the book and the movie are still available, but neither I nor anyone else is pointing a gun at folks insisting they experience it.    Hey, if you don't want to see or read it, DON"T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I wish I had had that sense with "Pulp Fiction."  Well, at least Amanda Plummer in the opening was good.

                                             This novel and film got me through adolescence.  It is a story of survival, and that is what resonates with me.   And I stand by it.  No one is going to deprive me of my enjoyment of "Gone With The Wind."

                                                What a role model Scarlett is for all us girls.  And that high and mighty Miss Suellen was the real bitch in the story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                     However one feels, it cannot be denied this is an anniversary worth celebrating.

                                                      And I don't want to hear any negativity about it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess What Film Turns 40 This Year????????????????????????

                                When I saw those opening shots, and the camera panned through the small town, I said to myself, watching "Blue Velvet," "Oh, my God, it's Highland Park."  The town even had a Lincoln Avenue.  And, near the end when Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) says to Aunt Barbara (Frances Bay), with those cat eyed glasses, "Aunt Barbara, I love you, but you're going to get it," I thought, "Oh, my God, she looks like Nana!"  Nana was my maternal grandmother, who lived with us.

                                   I felt the film was mirroring some of my life, until, with multiple viewings, it became a part of my life.  Girls, can you believe this year will be 40 years since David Lynch released his masterwork?  I certainly hope there will be an anniversary screening in NYC sometime this year.

                                     Poor David Lynch did not make it to the anniversary of this classic.  Neither did Dennis Hopper or Dean Stockwell.  But Kyle MacLachlan and Isabella Rossellini are still here, and hopefully they will be on hand to celebrate the anniversary of this enduring classic.

                                       And "Blue Velvet," like so many films I talk about, is meant to be seen on the screen; It just does not work even on today's heightened TV screens.

                                          So, join me in a toast--with coffee--to this 1986 gem.

                                         And remember, it has nothing to do with "National Velvet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                         Happy 40th, "Blue Velvet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Girls, Join Us Tomorrow Night, As "Svengoolie" Presents Something I Never Heard Of--"The Skull!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                              Note to all my girls: this is usually posted on Saturday, but tomorrow my nephew and his family are coming to visit, so I figure I had better get this one out today.

                                            This film has an A-list cast, starting with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.  It even has Jill Bennett, who the same year (1965) played Aunt Pen in "The Nanny," the one who hysterically screams "Nannnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyy!  Naaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"  Two died mysteriously.  Two lived in terror.

                                              Both this film and "The Nanny" were Hammer productions.  One thing that can be counted on from "The Skull" is blood, and lots of bosoms!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Baby Gojira is SO excited

                                                   And it may be potentially campy, too.  Because the title object is supposedly that of the Marquis de Sade!!!!!!!!!!!  Imagine that!  This should be a riot, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                        Believe me, after this, girls, you will want to view "Marat/Sade."

                                                       See you tomorrow at 8PM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh Light The Heart That Lingers In Merano, Merano, The Spa No Connoisseur Of Spas Should Miss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                          On the original "CHESS" album, those are the first words one hears, darlings, and it sets a tone for the entire story.  "Merano" is in another place in the current Broadway production, but it whisks one off to what I thought was a fictitious world of magic.

                            Imagine my shock, when I discovered Merano is a real place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                            As indicated, it is located in the South Tyrol of Italy.  Italy has been one of my dream places to visit, especially Venice, but imagine visiting Merano!!!!!!!!!   I could sing the "CHESS" score there.  I am sure others have tried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               If only other places were not fictional, like Oz and Wonderland.

                               I would still take that plunge down the rabbit hole, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meet Mr. Squirrel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Honestly, David and I are staring to feel like the two Edie Beales of Grey Gardens.  Since November, Mr. Squirrel has been making periodic visits to our apartment, peering in at it and sitting up on his hind legs, blatantly staring into our place.  He has no sense of shame; he looks right at us, often sticks out his tongue, as if he has every right to move in, which is what I think he wants to do.  Baby Gojira is terrified, and I don't want some flashy tail rodents in this place.

                                         Oh, you think it is cute?  Well, wait till it happens to you.  Now it does not happen all the time, but every so often he creeps back here, scales the brick walls, and looks in on our place, which seems to fascinate him.

                                           Forget Disney's 1957 "Perri."  Perri stayed in his own environment.  Mr. Squirrel wants to live the high life.

                                            And that's not all.

                                             Sometimes two squirrels show up, and then I wonder if they are Mr. and Mrs.  I worry they will have babies near us, and how will we get rid of them, then?  I don't want to hurt the mother and babies or separate them.   Let her have the babies somewhere else.

                                               Can you believe this, girls?  And you should see them scale the brick wall!

                                               Who knew squirrels had exceptional taste?

                                                 Maybe they are gay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

           

Now, Begins The Long Winter Of Reading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                               The Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away, and Krampus is back in Florida.  Now, the long winter sets in, the longest season of them all, when some, like yours truly comes down with SAD--Seasonal Affect Disorder.

                               My cure for this is lots of coffee and to read.  Right now, I am reading a short volume, "An Unusual Attachment," by Barbara Pym, which is rather easy.  I have plans for longer volumes shortly--mammoth ones--to while away the dreary gray of Winter.

                               Then there's the song "California Dreamin'," by The Mamas And The Papas, which always seems to perk me up.  But the opening lyrics are right.  "All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray."

                                  Girls, think of yourselves as characters in a Victorian novel, and your house a prism in which you sit and read.  Spring will be here before you know it.

                                    But don't let it stop you reading, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             When you are feeling blue, just listen to this!  It will perk you up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!