Stop That Sobbin', Sisters!!!!!!!!!!!! Here Is Something To Cheer Us Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    That is Doris Day, all right, in her breakthrough, Oscar nominated performance as Ruth Etting in "Love Me, Or Leave Me."  I have always wanted to wear this gown, while performing the number she is--"Shaking The Blues Away."

                                      So, let us do the same, as Ruth and Idgie would not want us sobbing all the time.

                                       If only I looked as good as Doris, in that dress. Who knew she had such legs???????  I sure don't!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                       Few films made full use of Doris Day's range of talent. Here is one that did.

                                        So, let's shake those blues away, right now, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"You Know, Miss Ruth Was A Lady. And A Lady Always Knows When To Leave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                  That line is spoken  by the great Cicely Tyson in her role as Sipsey, when Mary Louise Parker, as Ruth, passes on. This scene is just beautiful and heartbreaking the way it is played; Mary Stuart Masterson's sobs are so real I feel Idgie's pain each time I view this. But I had forgotten the line Sispey says to comfort her, and she is right.

                                   Miss Ruth was a lady. So, she knew when it was time.  Of course, a quarter century before, moved as I was, I saw mortality still as something far, far away.  Not that it hovering--I certainly hope NOT--but the older I get the more I appreciate each day, and the lovely moments given.  I think that is what Sipsey, Idgie, and Ruth, want us to take away from this scene, and I think that is why Fannie Flagg wrote it.

                                     I have to say I missed Ruth, especially in the movie, because Mary Louise Parker's portrayal of her was just perfect. As was Mary Stuart Masterson, as Idgie. That they did not get Oscar nominations is one of the Academy's many shames.

                                       But to generations who watch this film they will always be Ruth and Idgie.
Here is that beautiful moment, for you.  Watch, and remember.

                                       Time to wipe our eyes, now, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girls, Can You Believe It Has Been 25 Years?????????????????????

                            There is just no accounting for how my mind works.  No sooner do I get "Birds" off the brain, then I tun to...."Fried Green Tomatoes????????"  That's right.  Maybe it being Mother's Day led me back to it, until I realized it has been 25 years since the film was released, and what a time it has been, and how quickly it seems to have gone.

                              Now, that is Mary Louise Parker, on the right, as Ruth Jamison, a true Southern lady, just like I always wanted to be.   To her left is Nancy Moore Atchison, in the small, but pivotal role of Little Imogene /Idgie Threadgoode, who is called "Lil Bit," by her older brother, Buddy Threadgoode (Chris O'Donnell, in a short, but pivotal role) who dotes on her.  Eventually, she grows up to be Mary Stuart Masterson, where from then on, she and Parker, the two three-named Marys--are the grit and substance of this film.

                               Guess I will never be Ruth, because as most who know me would say, I am more like Idgie!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                I first saw "Fried Green Tomatoes" toward the end of its run.  I had seen it advertised on television--emphasizing the Kathy Bates-Jessica Tandy scenes, so I thought it was some sweet confection, not unlike, say Reese Witherspoon's "Sweet Home Alabama," so I did not think there was any big hurry to see the movie.  And, of course, I had not yet read the Fannie Flagg book.

                                 So, the movie began; it was gorgeously shot, and it was moving along at an enjoyable pace--until trio get to the train tracks.  Even as the train first appeared, I was sure Buddy would escape, but as the look of horror--which I will show--filled Mary Louise Parker's face, and Nancy Moore Atchison began screaming furiously, I realized I was too.  I realized, as they did, Buddy would not escape, there was nothing they could do, and I was so upset at having the movie shift on me emotionally, when I was not at all prepared for it.  If I had read the book, sure, but I hadn't, so my reaction to this scene was as genuine as the characters in the story.  Lord knows what the audience thought; they must have imagined I was having some kind of breakdown.  And maybe I was; this was loss, which I don't face well, and it was 12 years since my mother's death--a life altering situation, so everything came together, for me, in this scene.

                                    As cinema, it is beautifully and heart breakingly rendered.

                                   Just look how young, radiant, and full of promise Mary Louise Parker was. She will always be Ruth Jamison.  And look at her face, the horror mirrored in her expression only.  This is some real acting, here, darlings. This is how I reacted, initially, to the scene.

                                    When I eventually read the Fannie Flagg book, and saw the movie again, it all came together.  What a pity Fannie did not write any more stories about Idgie and Ruth, or Idgie in the years after Ruth.  I wish she would.

                                       But as a tribute to all who made this scene work, I will try and show it to you.

                                        I just discovered I cannot. But go to You Tube and you can see the power of this scene.  Oh, my God, Lois Smith's anguish is so real!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                         And yet, the film, overall, is reaffirming. Idgie and Ruth become examples for us all!  May we follow in their paths!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did I Have Goosebumps, Or What???????????????

                                  Actually, they vanished, as soon as I stepped up to Andrew, because he is as charming offstage as on.  You can sense real star presence in this photo, darlings, and my radiance.  How he gets the energy top do this eight show a week--Liza can't do that, anymore--is amazing, but, ah...youth.  No wonder he is convincing on stage as a perpetual seventeen year old!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Of course, I gave Andrew my blog card, and was honored to hear him say he knows about it!  So, if you are reading this, thanks so much, Andrew.  You and your sisters enrich the theater community with your talent and humaneness.

                                     You damn well deserved a TONY nomination, and one will come you way, soon!

                                      And, by the way, Toad deserved one, too. He gave a moving performance!

                                      Thanks so much, Andrew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An Afternoon On The Rialto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                              You didn't think I was going to see Carolee Carmello, without congratulating her on her work??????????  Here I am, with her, outside the Broadhust Theatre, after seeing her in "Tuck Everlasting."  Doesn't she look fabulous!  I have to find out where she gets her hair done, because it looks spectacular.

                               I want to thank Carole here, for her brilliant work, and her graciousness.  She does great work in 'Tuck,' and may she continue to do so, afterwards!  I see "RAGS" in her future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Musical Of Unexpected Depth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Andrew Keenan-Bolger deserves a star entrance (like Jessie Mueller, in "Waitress!), but he doesn't get one.  "Tuck Everlasting" starts with he and a group of others bounding onto the stage, and we are off and running.  Later, into the show, he gets a Star Moment, when he and Sarah Charles Lewis, as Winnie Foster, rise above the stage, and sing on what looks like a gigantic water tower--a la "Petticoat Junction."  At one point, Andrew advances forward, with his winning smile, and engaging personality, sending that strong golden voice out into the audience, who knows it is in the presence of a star.

                                  I wanted to see this show for two reasons.  The first, I think you know.  The second was Carolee Carmello, who has a gorgeous voice herself.  She was given such short shrift in "Finding Neverland'--you have Carolee, and you do nothing with her?  What's wrong with these people?--but here she has a strong dramatic presence, allowing her strong, glorious voice to sail forth.  At one point, I kept thinking how Ms. Carmello should be used more often, and I would love to hear her tear into "Children Of The Wind, " from "RAGS."  She would make a superb Rebecca.

                                    Sarah Charles Lewis gives an engaging performance as Winnie, and is no slouch in the vocal department.  "Tuck Everlasting" works so well, because it is made up of actors with some of the most gorgeous voices out there.  Robert Lenzi, as Miles Tuck, has a second act number that stopped me in its tracks with its impressive delivery, and naked emotion.

                                       Terrence Mann is superb playing, well, Terrence Mann.  He is to this story what Mr. Dark was to Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes," and the set designers' concept of that environment, conjures up a bit of the sinister among the dazzling array of colors that foreshadows the depth underneath this so-called children's story.

                                          For, through the Tucks' encounter with Winnie, and she them, comes a wistful meditation of lives lived and lost, as well as those that are never-ending, and the price one pays for each.  This is illustrated in Mr. Lenzi's song, and the climactic scene of the Tucks, standing before Winnie's grave.  I cried as much for them, as I did for Winnie.  The story is based on a prize -winning children's book, by Natalie Babbitt, but has an emotional depth I found deeply moving, and which I was afraid might be too intense for children.  But the kids around me were lapping it up.

                                          Casey Nicholaw's choreography makes dancers out of all, and the transition through time is down in a way, as I watched it, that is almost a nod to "Carousel."  I wonder if that similarity was intended.

                                             But see Andrew, Carolee, Sarah and Company in "Tuck Everlasting."  Its theatricality is dazzling, as it touches both the heart and the mind.

                                               Kudos to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                               And how I would LOVE to climb that tree!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darlings, I Would Love This Car, But Not At The Price Of Being Joan Crawford!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                "I don't get it, Marty.  Why do they make monsters like this?
                                                 For Blanche Hudson.
                                                 THAT's our problem."
                                                   --"What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" (1962)

                              Of course, I would have to be driven, because I can't drive.  Oh, well, I can always find someone to do that!  But there is no way I am going to be Joan Crawford!  That bitch!  And that Blanche Hudson--as far as I am concerned, she is the REAL villain of 'Baby Jane,'  and she dies at the end of the movie!  Don't give me any arguments, you know I am right!

                             But that car--I love its elegance.  And the sign behind it--it would say "Reserved For  The Raving Queen."

                                No running into gates, breaking my spine, for me!  I have places to go, people to see!

                                 But the car, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I just GOTTA have it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!