Results tagged “Museums” from Blogway Baby

As I continue to work on rewriting PLANE CRAZY, I tend to muse about all things PLANE CRAZY not specifically related to the script. (I believe that is also known as "procrastination").

What would be a super cool venue for PLANE CRAZY? Aside from "the Broadway" of course. Well, wouldn't it be a kick to stage it at Boeing Field, perhaps in Seattle's Museum of Flight? Or maybe up in Everett at The Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour...there are huge half-built planes that would be perfect for those airplane scenes! Of course getting to your seat would require a one-third mile walk, 21 steep stairs and an an elevator ride.

And what about PLANE CRAZY merchandise...oh wait, you can buy that here.

Or a PLANE CRAZY board game? Sort of a "Careers " meets "Wide World" meets "Mystery Date"...

Maybe I should get back to work...

New York, New York! It's a helluva walk-on!

After my successful appearance on the 5th Avenue Theatre stage last year in HELLO DOLLY, I was asked back to appear in ON THE TOWN.

Well, okay, I wasn't exactly "asked back"...

Grad and I successfully bid on a dual walk-on role at last year's Gala at the 5th Avenue. We even snagged the closing show! I had a blast last year, but sharing the spotlight with my husband was even more fun. Although, I did have to share my dressing room with him...

We received the usual top notch star treatment - photos at the stage door, photos by the show bricks, big gold stars on our dressing room doors, a goody bag, flowers, chocolate, posing with the stars of the show...you know, my usual treatment.

I wore a fabulous kelly green (emerald green?) forties dress, gloves, hat, and my very own character shoes. Grad looked very cute in his forties suit and fedora. Then it was off to tech talk on stage. Boy ON THE TOWN is tech-intensive! And don't even get me started on the huge dinosaur hanging from the ceiling. We even got our picture taken in front of the cave man statue! Cast member Gabriel Corey gave us the run down on our scene - we were going to be part of the museum tour with Rich Gray as museum curator (in one of his many wigs!). Then as the show started it was off to hair and make up! I got to wear a red wig this time! And Grad got the old Brylcreem treatment. We watched a bit of the show backstage and then it was showtime!

We walked on and followed Rich, looking at all the amazing museum sights! We even laughed at Rich's jokes on cue! As we appeared on stage I could hear the chuckling from the audience in Row M, where my daughters Myrna and Trinity sat with their friends.

Much too soon it was over. Back to reality and the show! We got to watch the rest of the performance and meet up with everyone at intermission.

I hadn't seen the show since opening night and it was a magical performance! What a talented, funny company. I had actually just been reading about World War II that morning before the show (coincidentally), so I was watching it with new eyes! I got chills when they sang "We'll catch up some other time".

Thanks to everyone at the 5th Avenue Theatre for a thrilling afternoon!

ON THE TOWN was another fabulous production by the 5th Avenue Theatre!

Let the Leonard Bernstein festival continue with the final show of the season, CANDIDE!

"I saw it in the window, and I just couldn't resist it"

I was (and still am) a huge fan of The Carol Burnett Show. I loved the comedy, the music, the ensemble, and the Bob Mackie costumes! I loved it when Carol Burnett would come out at the top of the show in a glamorous gown, designed by Bob Mackie of course, and answer audience questions. I still remember watching the “Went With The Wind” episode live and busting a gut when she came down the stairs. I mean, didn’t it seem a little strange in the actual movie when Scarlett comes down the stairs dressed in a perfectly tailored green velvet dress that she just happen to whip up from the curtains? They barely had any food, yet the sewing machine was in perfect working order? This costume was a perfect send up of that scene, and the curtain rod is priceless!

I’m thrilled that Bob Mackie’s “Went With The Wind” dress is becoming a permanent part of television history in the Smithsonian’s Kennedy Center Honors Collection!

From Smithsonian.com “Around The Mall – Scenes and Sightings From The Smithsonisan Museums and Beyond, May 14, 2009”

Movie parodies were always a mainstay of the Carol Burnett Show—and her 1976 Gone With the Wind takeoff is unforgettable. Between the artistry of Burnett and fashion designer Bob Mackie, it’s a comedic tour de force:

Miss Starlett, with her home and finances ravaged by the American Civil War, is visited by her beau and needs to doll up so she can work him for a little cash. Deciding to use her green velvet curtains to make a dress on the fly, Starlett meets her man in one of the grandest, most memorable entrances in television history.

Like Miss Starlett, the Smithsonian saw that Bob Mackie dress in the window and couldn’t resist it. That’s right, folks, the curtain rod dress now honors the hallowed halls of the Smithsonian as a part of the American History Museum’s Kennedy Center Honors collection. And that’s hardly something to fiddle dee dee about. Not only is the dress representative of Mackie’s decadently innovative designs, it’s a monument to the art of parody and the golden age of American comedy. dNo word yet on if and when it will go on public display, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted. Because, frankly, we give a damn.

And for all you Bob Mackie fans, he will be designing the costumes for the new musical CATCH ME IF YOU CAN premiering at The 5th Avenue Theatre this summer in Seattle. Plus, don't miss the June 9 Spotlight Night at The 5th Avenue Theatre -- Bob Mackie will be there!

Gotta go...my banana phone is ringing! Oh, silly me!

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE at The 5^th Avenue  Theatre

Putting It Together (and by “it” I mean a fabulous show!)

I was lucky enough to attend opening night of The 5^th Avenue Theatre's production of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (April 21 – May 10). Written by Stephen Sondheim (Music and Lyrics) and James Lapine (Book), directed by Sam Buntrock with musical direction by the 5th Avenue's resident musical genius Ian Eisendrath, this is a not-to-be-missed, only-in-three-cities-ever (London, New York, Seattle), stuffed-to-the-celing-with-talent-cast event!

From the 5^th Avenue Theatre website:

Only three cities in the world will experience this exciting new production of Stephen Sondheim's musical masterpiece Sunday in the Park with George. Developed in London and transferred to Broadway, this Pulitzer Prize-winning love story (inspired by the life and work of impressionist painter Georges Seurat) comes to Seattle April 21-May 10. Featuring revolutionary state-of-the-art scenic design the New York Post hailed "Unmissable! One of the most visually amazing shows ever!" this moving story answers the question: What does it take to create a masterpiece? Everything you have.

In a Parisian park on a Sunday afternoon in 1884, artist Georges Seurat does a study of his model and mistress Dot. He is obsessed with how the eye translates points of individual color into different hues, but his work is decried by critics and other artists as having "no life." For her part, Dot is obsessed with Georges, and frustrated that he's more connected to his studies of people in the park—a nurse, a servant, a fellow artist—than her. The scene shifts to Georges' apartment, where Dot powders her face for a trip to the Follies, and Georges paints her, enraptured by her beauty. But she's shocked when he announces he can't go out: he has to finish his painting. She leaves, and the scene returns to the park, where Georges does other studies: a boatman, a pair of soldiers, some dogs. Dot arrives with her new boyfriend Louie, hoping to make Georges jealous, but he ignores them and continues with his painting. Still later, Dot comes to Georges at his studio, pregnant with his child. She again entreats him to tell her not to go, but he won't, and she announces that she and Louie are emigrating to America. Later in the park, the dramas and conflicts of the people George has been sketching come to a head, with arguments and recriminations flying. Then Georges' mantra is repeated: "Order. Design. Tension. Balance. Harmony." With that, the artist moves each of the figures into position—the masterpiece is complete, and before us is "Sunday in the Park of La Grande Jatte."

As the second act begins, a century has passed, and we see the painting on the wall of a museum, where the figures are caught in a perfect moment forever. Georges' great-grandson, also an artist named George, presents his multimedia sound and light art piece, "Chromalune #7." At the cocktail party afterwards, George engages in the real "art of making art:" high-powered cocktail schmoozing. As the crowd leave, George's grandmother Marie reminds him that the true legacies in life are children and art. Weeks later, George is in Paris in the Park of La Grande Jatte, commissioned to create another art piece. But his heart's not in it; Marie has died, and in the dark lonely park, he feels no inspiration. A woman approaches as he sits reading his great-grandmother's notebook—a woman wearing a distinctive and familiar dress...

The cast includes Hugh Panaro as George and Billie Wildrick as Dot. They were absolutely magnificent! The supporting cast is phenomenal and includes (to name a few) such Seattle luminaries as Carol Swarbrick, Rich Gray, Anne Allgood, Chad Jennings, Allen Fitzpatrick, Patti Cohenour, and Keaton Whittaker.

The set really is stunning. Watching the show unfold with moving animation behind, and around it, is thrilling. You literally have to see it to believe it! And if you are a high school student, that means you can see it for ten dollars!

I also had the pleasure to participate in the “connect the dots” cross promotion with local galleries! The opening night gallery was SAM Gallery, located at the corner of 3rd and University. The reception started at 5:30pm and I had a chance to meet the artists who had been commissioned to create new works based on Seurat's "Sunday in the Park of La Grande Jatte", see other new work, and drink wine and eat cheese catered by Le Pichet. It doesn’t get much better than that. Each night has a different gallery reception, so check the website!

For those of you who have been waiting for hours for the past three days, refreshing the BlogwayBaby home page every 5 minutes in the hopes that a new post would appear, I'm very sorry. My mother and I went to San Jose to see Wishful Drinking (post to come), Carrie Fisher's one-woman show about her life and such. 'Twas excellent.

We stayed at the Fairmont San Jose, which was the best hotel ever. It was across the street from both the San Jose Museum of Art and the Tech Museum of Innovation. It was also walking distance from many restaurants and stores and such. There was a Starbucks 2 minutes (walking) away, and the San Jose Repertory, where the show was, was probably 4 minutes (walking) away. I definitely recommend this hotel if you plan on staying in San Jose, and want to have a good time.

We got room service by the pool (delish chicken and cheese quesadilla) and read historical fiction novels about the Tudors... :D Plus, we definitely saw Carrie Fisher. Like at the pool. No jokes. So we stared at her as she walked into her hotel room which had a patio that opened out onto the 4th floor pool. Mark Hamill/Marie Osmond moment...... for Suzy Conn =O

So, I will be posting again this week. I know you missed me >:-)