Was July "Men Are Trash" Month or is it just me?

I’m having a hard time tolerating (fictional) trash men, right now. And either I'm surrounded by them or I'm a little too intuned to potential trash behavior. I'm willing to recognize that maybe it's at least partially me.

(Local) Broadway to Books: Hunchback of Notre Dame

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a classic, am I right!? Yes. I am right. I recently read the book in anticipation of seeing this musical. Don’t ask me why I’m so ready to include musical theatre in my Approved Interpretation lists but not movies. But. There we are.

Hunchback is about a man of the church (arch bishop?) who adopts a deformed baby who becomes the bell ringer of a great French cathedral… Notre Dame. Duh. Stories vary about from whom and for why he adopts the kiddo but all sources agree that he's verbally abusive and over-controlling. The Arch-bishop becomes upset with a dirty gypsy woman who falls in love with a captain of the guard. As you might expect when a man of power loves someone who doesn't love him, hijinks ensue. As you might expect from Victor Hugo, people die. 

(Local) Broadway to Books: Sweeney Todd

Happy All Hallows Eve! I've got the perfect Broadway to Books post for such an occasion!

Sweeney Todd is one of the first musicals I saw recorded on stage and I loved it. So, it holds a special place in my heart. Plus you know I love a story with a little twist at the end. In Sweeney, Benjamin Barker returns to Fleet Street after being jailed to find that his wife is dead and his daughter has joined the household of his enemy. He is consumed by rage and revenge. Along with a shop- owner who makes the worst pies in London, he hatches a plan to get close enough to the people who wronged him.

September Wrap Up or Why I Sucked at Posting This Month

Well. Look at that. It’s time for a September wrap up post. Also known as the only possibly - book related post of September!

It’s been a bit of a busy month. This post is just to share about what I’ve been doing to justify to myself why I’ve barely posted anything this month. My post scheduled for tomorrow will be what I’ve been reading.

Note: this picture of a cicada shell has nothing to do with anything. I just needed a picture for before the page break and this one is cool. Still figuring out how to use this damn Canon.

July Recap, Part 2: Shows

It might seem a little early for a July wrap up post, it’s only the 26^th. But I figured I would write it while the mood was upon me. And I’m going to split it up a little between books I’ve read (posted yesterday) and shows I’ve seen. So this is part 2 – Shows!

Broadway to Books - Kinky Boots

SO glad to be finally doing this post. It was super hard! But I really wanted to do one of these posts for ... ::drum roll::

What I've Been Reading (Outbox 4/03)

I started this post thinking that I was going to do a full March wrap-up post. But then I remembered that I did a random outbox post a couple of weeks ago. So, I guess this is just another one of those for the last part of March. Basically, my previous plan for what I usually post has gone to shit (and when was the last time I did one of my feature posts!?), but you'll have to just bear with me, folks. 

Once again, we've got a bit of book highlights and a bit of lamenting/ rejoicing about a show I'm in.

Book Tag: Broadway

Lookie what I found! A book tag based on musicals. Yep.  I guess these are like mini- Broadway to Book recommendations! DOUBLE WIN!

Book Tag created by Gabi and BooksABlog

And I Call Myself a Book Blogger!?

Once again, Hobby 2 has interfered with Hobby 1. This is assuming that books are hobby 1 by default and seniority, because theatre is definitely bucking for the spot light based on time.

Sister Act through the Rochester Association of Performing Arts ran for the first two weekends in March, which means that the last two weeks of February were also a bust for anything resembling a normal life or book- reading and blogging. I didn't even do a February wrap up post! What kind of book blogger am I!?

I did finish a couple of audiobooks during commutes. I thoroughly enjoyed Alan Cumming's memoir, Not My Father's Son, about his adult- self remembering and then coming to terms with the abusive relationship he had with his father when he was a child. I always love when authors read their own books. 

The show was amazing, by the way. Here's some pics for your eyeballs' pleasure:

Broadway to Books - Wizard of Oz

Welcome to my first Broadway to Books post of 2017. Wow. That makes me feel like a slacker! It’s already the middle of February. Ah, well. Life. AmIRight?

Today we (The Royal We) are thinking about a little Musical Magic called The Wizard of Oz, which should not be confused with that popular musical based on a Wizard of Oz retelling. See my Broadway to Books post for Wicked (one of my favorites!) here.

Let’s jump right in.

Broadway to Books: Matilda

This post was originally part of a larger post published over at Book Bloggers International on July 25, 2016.

Broadway to Books is a (possibly) unique feature that I do that I originated as a guest post (linked above) that was way too long and involved. I have pared it down and am hoping to make it a regular thing. Without further fondue...

MATILDA

Theme: Girls overcoming hard situations and finding their strength (especially against jerk adults)

What Role... (Is "Theatre Tag" a Thing?)

This is from a Facebook post that a friend of mine posted. I decided to do it as a blog post so I could add pictures… because, duh! It's pretty self- explanatory. Unfortunately, I don't know any other people who have blogs that are theatre people so I can't tag anyone else, so if you want to do this, Jump in!

Role that was the most fun: Mary Poppins was the most fun show, I think, because the cast had so much fun, together. I played a few ensemble characters in it. Hopefully, no pictures will ever be released with me in that damn striped jacket. Urgh.

 

Why I Don't Have Money for Christmas

Shows I’ve seen in 2016 so far.

Not counting the several youth/ kid productions (and RAPA’s production of My Son Pinnochio was definitely a high light). Plus, Broadway Con wasn't a show but a CON! Duh. Also, full discloser: the Rocky Horror and Charlotte’s Web picture represents shows I was actually in… so I guess, technically, I didn’t really see them.

Planned shows for the end of 2016 (Tis the season and all that junk.) 

A Christmas Carol at Geva

Youth production of Elf at RAPA (My kid is the stage manager.)

 

Related Posts:

Broadway to Books: Something Rotten

Broadway to Books is a (possibly) unique feature that I do that I originated as a guest post that was way too involved. I have pared it down so that I could make it a regular thing.

It was just recently announced that Something Rotten is going on tour… 

…oh. I fainted from excitement!! Yes, yall! One of my favorite musicals is going on tour! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!! Thusly and therefore, I changed my mind about doing a Broadway to Books post because I have been obsessively listening to the soundtrack since the announcement. 

I feel like I have to make a confession… I haven’t really seen THAT many musicals. I mean, I’ve probably seen more than the average person because average people don’t seem to understand the magic of musicals, but it’s not like I’m a Broadway critic or anything, who gets into theaters for free. IF you can hook me up with tickets to just about anything, let me know ASAP.

I saw Something Rotten this year on a family trip into the city to see Aladdin, which, TBH, paled in comparison. The musical is about the Bottom brothers, two playwrights who are attempting to come up with The Next Big Thing to compete with that rascally writer, Shakespeare, who has become an overnight playwright sensation. The eldest brother seeks the services of a Seer to predict what the next great play will be and ridiculousness doth ensue. The cast was AMAZING even after there was some technical problem and were super nice after the show. 

 

 

Book Recommendations:

Broadway to Books - Beauty and the Beast

Broadway to Books is a post idea that originally did as a guest post and have had wild and amazing plans to make a regular feature here on my blog. That first post was way too involved, even after I cut it… so I think I'm goign with one musical per post, because it's NaBloPoMo, and I’m an opportunist! 

Beauty and the Beast: I saw this play at the Auditorium Theater in Rochester a couple of years ago. It’s my favorite Disney princess story, though I LOVE all the Disney princesses so the margin is very fine, here. I’ll bet you already know the story but just in case: a very rich young man is an asshole to an old lady and turns him into a Beast until he learns some manners. He has to get someone to love him in order to return to his human form. And what is this!? A maiden desperate for adventure and to save her father falls into his paws and holds her as a prisoner. Guess what happens!

Locally, there are two organizations currently working on production of Beauty and the Beast. There is also a Junior and a Kids version so changes are you can see it staged somewhere near you.

Book Recommendations:

September Recap, ft. my Blooming Boobs!

What the hell did I do all month, you ask!! Don’t even go there!

If you look back at my outbox post on October 12, you will see that I had read 3 books and was working on Rocky Horror all month. Here’s some updated pictures from the show/ rehearsal! That’s me with the #BloomingBoobs. (more pics after the jump)

Oubox Sept 10 - Reading, RAPA and Rocky Horror

This is a sad little Outbox post, reading wise. It’s already the 10^th and I’ve only finished three books! Of course, The Twelve is a massive tome, so it totally counts as two! Anyway this post is all about the books I've managed to read and the stuff that's been getting in the way of all the stuff I wanted to be reading.

[outbox post pic goes here!]

Broadway to Books: Wicked and Heathers the Musical (Guest Post Repost)

Thanks to Book Bloggers International for doing a month of posts focused on pairings. It gave me the chance to think about my two loves together. I love musical theatre. I love books. BOOM! This post was originally posted on their site on July 25, 2016. It's been modified here for length and formatting. 

A lot of musicals were based on books, so if you enjoyed one of these popular shows, reading the original text isn’t a terrible idea. Though tread lightly, because just like when your favorite book becomes a movie (just say no, y’all) there are often many things reinterpreted to appeal to a different format and audience. 

For the sake of brevity, here are two of my favorite musicals (I did three for the guest post)  At least, they were my favorite before I saw The Color Purple two weeks ago, which basically blew me away. You can expect another musical- book pairing post. This might be a great excuse to see more shows!

All right. Let’s start with something easy:

Broadway and the Make Me Read Challenge (Outbox - 7/21/16)

For the first week of July I was out of town. We planned to take a train down to NYC to see a couple of shows and just not be home for a while. 

So. Day one, we took the subway down to the church/ cemetery where Alexander Hamilton is buried. It’s what all the cool kids who can’t afford tickets to Hamilton are doing. The church is beautiful. We spent far too long looking for Angelica Schuyler's grave before looking on Google and finding out that it is not marked with her name. It's in the Livingston plot, in case you're looking and we still didn't find it. [The duck lips in the picture are ironic, y'all.]

 

A Little Light Reading: Mid- October Mini-Reviews

Mid month check in! It's been a slow reading month so far mostly because I'm playing Mrs. Spratt in a children's play. Rehearsals are 4 nights a week for 3 hours. It's an awesome part: I'm melodramatic and ridiculous! I love being involved in theatre. It gives me the chance to hang out with a completely different set of people than I usually get to. 

"Come see my show" is pretty much my new motto.

Theatre Kids do it on stage. 

Me and the Mister. #Spratty 

***I have gotten a bit of reading in, though. 

The Fair Fight was really good. I reviewed it earlier this month.

All Our Pretty Songs: Sarah McCarry is one of the authors that will be at Book Riot Live. I would like to be able to read at least one book by everyone in attendance, but I doubt that's going to happen because of my schedule. This book was a bit of a surprise. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Five stars is not a usual rating for me. So this one is a top pick.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is one of those books that is referenced by bookish smarty pants on a moderately regular basis and I wanted to have it under my belt. It's set in the early 1900's and follows the life of Francie, a poor girl who wants to be a writer when most of the people around her are scraping by to make ends meet. There were moments of true poignancy and excitement and there were many many more moments of dullness and "when is this going to be over." Because I finally read it, I will likely never hear another reference to it in my life.

Ghost Knight was super fun and cute. Cornelia Funke is a favorite author (You may recall my various rants about the Inkheart series. Read that.) and I actually even listened to the notes from her at the end of the audiobook, which may be a first. Jon is an 11 year old boy who, after being shipped to a boarding school finds out he's the descendant of a cursed/ haunted man from long ago. This is written for older kids, young YA and is a little scary but you have the knowledge that everything's going to end ok.

I don't think that's going to be the case in all the books I got from the Book Riot Horror box. I'm looking forward to digging into the books. And, as always, love the swag that Book Riot included.