seven ate ___.

Check out out the new trailer for the movie version of the musical NINE!

This looks amazing!!!!! It's directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago) and has an ALL-STAR CAST including Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, Sophia Loren, and Fergie (YES that Fergie.)  I'm blown away by her vocals in this clip.

Here is the link.  You can download it for your ipod!

The movie open November 25.

I'll be the proudest fella in the Easter Parade...

WONDERFUL MOVIE...

here's the title song...

EASTER PARADE originally paired Judy Garland with Gene Kelly.  However, Gene injured himself before shooting so Fred Astaire came out of retirement to appear in the picture.  (He would go in and out of retirement the next 10 years.)   He and Judy had wonderful chemistry as seen in the following clip....

Here's a very nice comedic moment for Judy.

Overall great movie featuring the wonderful song catalogue of IRVING BERLIN.  The film also features ANN MILLER and PETER LAWFORD. 

Some day, when I'm awfully low...

The next couple posts will follow a little theme...  

"MUSICAL NUMBERS in non-musical films."  

Today I'd like to share a beautiful moment from the movie PETER'S FRIENDS.

In the movie, a bunch of friends who were in a College Comedy Troupe at Cambridge get together for the first time in 10 years.  It's kind of a British "The Big Chill."

It has an all star cast featuring Hugh Laurie, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Imelda Staunton, Richard Briers, Stephen Fry, Rita Rudner, Tony Slattery, Phyllida Law, Alex Lowe, Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh.  If you haven't seen it, it's definitely worth a rental.

My favorite part in the movie is this moving rendition of THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT.  This is really beautiful...  I LOVE these harmonies!!!

I'd like to thank the Academy....

...for putting on a GREAT show last night.

The whole show was classic glamour Hollywood.  This was evident from the beautiful crystal curtain to the charismatic host.  

There was also a very charming opening number (go Anne Hathaway!!!) 

On this video, the musical number starts at 1:45.

Hugh did a wonderful job.  I thought Laurence Marks and Bill Condon (the producers) put together a fantastic show.   

I absolutely loved the way they presented the acting nominees with 5 past winners each paying tribute to the nominees this year.  Very touching.

Also loved the way they presented the categories such as set design or makeup with the flatscreen tv's... very theatrical.  It made the whole night interesting to watch.

I even liked the MUSICALS ARE BACK medley.  It got a little random when they put in bits of HSM and MAMMA MIA at the end.  Although this medley wasn't as smooth as the opening number, it still had some nice moments.

I was very happy with all the winners especially DUSTIN LANCE BLACK for his Original Screenplay MILK.  

His powerful acceptance speech was the best moment of the night.  Much more about him in the next post.

Here is a brief list of upcoming DVD/BLU-RAY releases of last night's winners.  These, of course, are subject to change. 

March 10

MILK

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED

April 7

DOUBT

April 21

FROST/NIXON

Already out

FROZEN RIVER

CHANGELING

THE VISITOR

No release date YET... (will probably be announced soon)

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

THE READER

THE WRESTLER

You can find a full list of last night's winners here.

OBAMA - The Musical!

Here is a great clip from "Don't Quit Your Night Job" an after hours sketch comedy review in New York.  It features four regular stars and a rotating cast of Broadway's Best.

Here is Norm Lewis (currently King Triton in "The Little Mermaid") as Obama singing "Change."

Speaking of "change," here is Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson  singing a stunning rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come."  

Cheyenne can currently be seen in "Xanadu." He also was in "All Shook Up" and this summer's "Damn Yankees" at New York City Center.

Heaven on Wheels

(HIGHWAY TO SWELL - Tony Edition part 2)

It's Tony Eve and I'm very excited for the awards tomorrow night.

One of the shows I'm rooting for is the underdog for Best New Musical.....  the musical masterpiece...  XANADU!

(seriously)

Adapted from one of the worst movies ever made, this wonderful piece of entertainment lovingly pokes fun at the movie and yet has a sweet heart of it's own.

"Xanadu" features the vibrant music of Electric Light Orchestra (some from the movie... others hits added) as well as the Olivia Newton John hit "Have You Ever Been Mellow?"  If that doesn't grab you, it also has a hilarious book, a plethora of disco balls, a knockout cast, and rollerskating!!  This show is 90 minutes of heaven on wheels.

The cast truly is perfect!  Kerry Butler (Batboy, Little Shop of Horrors, and the original Penny in Hairspray) absolutely shines as Kira.  With a nod to Olivia Newton John she gives a delightful starring turn.  Cheyenne Jackson (All Shook Up) as Sonny Malone is golden.   The two have wonderful chemistry, amazing voices, and light up the stage.

Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman are brilliant as Kira's evil sisters and Tony Roberts and the Muses are wonderful as well.  Fabulous cast all around.

We had the pleasure of seeing the show this past spring and were grinning from ear to ear the entire time.

Here's the official commercial...

Here's a clip from The View last fall.

Leading up to the Tony's they have been campaigning via viral videos.  The videos contain "Cubby Bernstein" as their Tony Campaign manager and are hilarious.  Here is one of the more recent ones (minus Cubby) featuring Nathan Lane asking the question on everyone's mind. "Is Xanadu too gay for a Tony?" 

Check out the others as well.

www.cubbybernstein.com

-------

In Xanadu related news... (it's not everyday you get to say that!)...  the fabulous star Kerry Butler just released her first solo album entitled "Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust."  

It is a charming collection of Disney classics and Disney-esque tunes.  She gives us wonderful new arrangements of beloved favorites.  Also there is a song written for an abandoned prequel to "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?",  "Call Me a Princess" cut early from Aladdin,  and the song "Disneyland" from the musical "Smile."

I have loved Ms. Butler since first hearing her on the recording of "Batboy."  This cd is a beautiful collection reminding us of "wonder of Disney."  She writes in her linear notes, "To believe in good, even when you see evil in the world, is something I struggle with.  That's what I love about... so much of the Disney catalog.   It recognizes that it's hard to have faith, it's hard sometimes to 'believe,' and all you can do is make a choice to try."

She gives a wonderful personal touch to all the songs including "It's a Small World" which was very special to her since she and her husband adopted their daughter "Segi" from Africa in 2006.

She writes "We had just returned from an amazing, emotional, wonderful, and exhausting trip to Africa, and my husband and I were listening to music and playing with our new baby...  When 'It's a Small World' started to play, she had an immediate and visceral reaction to it... something drew her in immediately.  I like to think it was because, even though she was an infant, she got the message of the song and realized after her long journey that it indeed was a small world after all."

Check out her cd and enjoy the Tony's.  I'm also loving "A Catered Affair" and the brilliant revival of "Sunday in the Park."  (more on them later)

Annie Get Your Remote

"Broadway meets the Boob-Tube"

Last year was a big year in movie musicals ("Hairspray," "Sweeney Todd," "Across the Universe," and my personal fav… "Once") This summer brings us "Mamma Mia!"

The musical genre also made it’s way to the small screen as well. TV land brought us three wonderful new shows that heavily incorporated musical #’s into their plots. I’m not going to count the dreadful “Viva Laughlin” with the horribly wasted Hugh Jackman. This show had characters lip syncing to pop songs…. If you missed this consider yourself blessed that you never had to see Melanie Griffith sultridise Blondie’s “One Way or Another” (New word I just made up.... SULTRIDISE: verb - to try and make sultry)

...but on to the 3 really good ones... Like Hugh Jackman in "Viva Best-Forgotten," these 3 shows featured characters or cameos by Broadway stars. 

(This blog got a little long in show descriptions so please fill free to skim)

First up is the wonderfully quirky "PUSHING DAISIES."

In "Pushing Daisies," Ned discovered as a child that he had a gift for bringing people back to life by touching them. If he touches them a second time they are dead (permanently this time!) If they are alive for more than 1 minute someone else in the area drops dead. One day his mom dies from an aneurysm. He, of course, brings her back to life for over a minute.  However, in doing so, the father of his childhood sweetheart “Chuck” drops dead.  She moves away with her aunts and he never sees her again.  Later that night his mom kisses him goodnight and falls dead.

As an adult the charming Ned works as a pie-maker (The restaurant that he owns is called “the PIE HOLE!”)  He is assisted by a waitress named Olive.  She is played to perfection by Broadway cutie Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.)

Ned ends ups joining forces with a private investigator who uses him as an easy way to solve murder crimes.   Ned touches the victim and gets as much info as he can in one minute. One day the victim happens to be… his childhood sweetheart Chuck.  He is heartbroken and decides to keep her alive.  Romance starts to fill the air during the season.  One problem…. they can’t touch.

This show reminded me a lot of "Amelie" or the movie adaptation of "Matilda."   It is visually stunning and is brought to you by the same people who made the tragically short lived “Wonderfalls” (*Check this series out as well!) The show has a wonderful fairytale vibe to it and started to incorporate musical numbers into the plot.  Besides Kristin Chenoweth, the cast also features Ellen Greene (Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors) as one of Chuck’s aunts.  (The other is the fabulous Swoosie Kurtz.)

Chenoweth’s character Olive pines for romance from Ned.  Here is her musical ode to him with the assistance of his dog.



Pushing Daisies never came back after the writer’s strike. It IS scheduled to return in the fall!!! You can watch full episodes on abc.com

Next up is a show that just finished this past week. This was also on abc.

"ELI STONE" is about a lawyer who starts having visions in the form of musical #’s (often to George Michael songs!!) He visits his brother (a neurologist) who tells Eli he has a brain aneurysm which is probably leading to these hallucinations. Eli turns to a Chinese acupuncturist who believes that Eli is a prophet and that these are visions from God.  Eli doesn’t know what to think.  He starts taking court cases that are influenced by these visions, and his life drastically changes.  I absolutely loved this show and fear that it might not return.  The way it ended tied up loose ends… (but did it in a absolutely beautiful musical sequence.)

Musical #’s were performed by Broadway vets Victor Garber (Godspell, Damn Yankees), Loretta Devine (Dreamgirls), and George Michael himself.   The cast also featured Broadway’s Laura Benanti (Into the Woods, Wedding Singer, Gypsy) and Katey Segal ("Peg Bundy" in Married with Children, and a backup singer for Bette Midler.)  Neither of these gals sang this season but might (or might have ) in coming seasons. I don’t want to post the wonderful finale # for plot reasons, but here is a taste of the show.



Finally, there is the amazing duo that brought us “FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS.”

FOTC is comprised of Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement.   They describe themselves as "New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo"

Starting as a comedy act, a series was developed for HBO charting their search for stardom in New York.  This show is absolutely brilliant, and the first season is on DVD right now!

The 2 guys are hilarious. I also love Kristen Schaal.  She plays their obsessively stalkerish singular fan. Here is a clip of Jermaine noticing an attractive woman at a party and trying to woo her through song.



The broadway connection is that Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Drowsy Chaperone, Young Frankenstein) appeared in a couple episodes as Bret’s Girlfriend. He was composing a song for her telling her he would "climb the highest mountains, swim the deepest sea...." Jermaine hears it and asks would you actually do all that? "Write about things you would actually do…" Here is the finished product...



The second season is not set to air until January 2009.  That gives you plenty of time to discover season one and...

(drumroll)

NEW RELEASE ALERT…

Their first full length U.S. album comes out this Tuesday! (which is why I wrote this blog entry to begin with.) The album features songs from the series and many more wonderful "guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk" masterpieces.

Check out any of these three wonderful shows.  You can find episodes of "Pushing Daisies" and "Eli Stone" on abc.com.  Also available is the dvd and cd of "Flight of the Conchords."

Happy Viewing!