Date: Wednesday, February 9, 2000
Time: 11:19 p.m.
Listening to: The Stephen Schwartz Album (current song - Gifts of Love/With You, sung by the glorious Marin Mazzie)
Currently obsessing over: Lewis Cleale (and that certain nameless someone :-)
Currently reading: Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt
Currently avoiding: You name it, I'm avoiding it :-) Housework, schoolwork, any kind of work!!!
Out the window: it was actually above zero today! Briefly. :-) But kind of yucky and rainy/snowy
Quote of the day: "Rivers belong where they can ramble, eagles belong where they can fly. I've got to be where my spirit can run free. I've got to find my corner of the sky." - Pippin
Picture of the day:

Petula Clark and Lewis Cleale in Sunset Boulevard

So I had a fun theatre experience this weekend. Stacy and I went to see the tour of Sunset Blvd. at the NAC in Ottawa on Saturday. It had its really good moments and its really painful moments. The good stuff first. Lewis Cleale as Joe. Wow. I wasn't expecting much, which has nothing to do with Mr. Cleale personally, but it's just that I enjoyed Rex Smith's Joe so much in Toronto a few years ago and I wasn't really familiar with anything Lewis had done (although I did discover that he's on the Once Upon a Mattress revival cast recording, which I own, and he's great there too!). So Lewis was a *very* pleasant surprise. He has a much deeper voice than Rex, which threw me a bit in the beginning (along with the fact that more than half of the opening scenes are spoken now, which isn't the cast's fault, but it still sounded strange) but he really nailed the title song, along with every other scene he was in (wait, that's all of the scenes in the show, isn't it?? :-). And I'm not sure how I feel about Joe singing the title song in a bathing suit, but I have to admit I didn't mind seeing Lewis in one. My goodness, he was gorgeous! (slipping into superficial mode for a moment. :-) The supporting cast was also very strong, with special mention having to go to Allan Fitzpatrick as Max - he broke my heart TWICE, with both of his major solos (The Greatest Star of All and New Ways to Dream reprise). And after awhile I didn't even notice his odd Frankenstienesque shuffle. :-) Sarah Uriate Berry as Betty took awhile to grow on me, but she did have a lovely voice. I'm not crazy about the new staging of Too Much in Love to Care (one of my favourite songs in the show), but both Lewis and Sarah performed it beautifully.

And the weaknesses. Briefly, first, the sets were fine, but I was spoiled by seeing the original production in all its glory, and having seen that, this scaled down version really can't compare. They're still impressive, but they were still a bit of a let down. And I have to admit that I wasn't impressed with Petula Clark. She had her moments, but overall her interpretation of Norma was wrong, IMHO. She played her too much for laughs, and Norma is not supposed to be a funny character, she's supposed to be tragic. And Ms. Clark's voice is really not up to the demands of that score. Although, in all fairness, she did nail As If We Never Said Goodbye, but unfortunately, the rest of her performance was such that at the end of that song, Stacy and I turned to each other and said "Where did *that* come from?". However, she made a valiant effort, and it was a bit of a thrill just to see Petula Clark in person, although unfortunately, too much of the audience was there for that reason, and no other. The best line of the day? A few minutes before curtain the man sitting directly behind us came in, sat down, started to glance through his program, then turned to his companion and said, "Oh, it's a musical!" Really sad.

Very briefly, in other news - GO GET THE STEPHEN SCHWARTZ ALBUM!!! I'm seriously addicted - I can't stop listening to it! My favourite tracks include Kristin Chenoweth singing Lion Tamer (what a cute song!), Emily Skinner singing Chanson (I think my overall favourite track) and the real treat of Stephen Schwartz singing Fathers and Sons, which made me cry the first time I heard it. Plus, there's the added benefit of hearing Susan Egan, Alice Ripley, Brian d'Arcy James, Marin Mazzie and others, all on the same recording! It's a definite must have.

And finally - GO TANITH AND BEN!!! My cousin and her partner are competing at the US Nationals in figure skating (Junior Dance) this week in Cleveland. They should definitely be on the podium, and they have a real shot at taking the whole thing! This is so exciting!!!

Anyway, this has rambled on long enough, and I have a class first thing in the morning, so I'd better sign off for tonight! I hope everyone out there has a great week, and hopefully I'll be better about updating in the near future!!! Good night!

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