Monthly Archives: August 2007

War and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

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Luke Adams (fellow cast member from Torrance’s Joseph (2004) and Camelot (2005)) was cast as the Beast in Starlight Theatre’s outdoor production and did an incredible job. I was lucky enough to head down there for the closing performance. We left Orange County around 3:30 with the hopes of catching a movie before the show. Success on both fronts!

War featuring Jason Statham and Jet Li

This was a very exciting film, portraying the tale of Rogue, a Yakuza (Japanese mob) hitman who pits Yakuza members in San Francisco against the Triad (Chinese mob), and John Crawford, a member of the FBI’s Asian Organized Crime unit out to avenge his partner’s death (to the extent of all else – his marriage, his son, etc.). Aside from Jet Li and Jason Statham being incredible fighters, the story was really solid and really enjoyable. At least that’s what I can claim – I had a huge niggling problem with the “prestige” and I can only assume that I missed something in the first 5 minutes that explains it all (we were late getting into the theatre). As in Rush Hour 3, this film was deeply embedded with Asian cultural concepts – honor being a huge proponent. Just another awesome piece of culture that continues to increase my fascination with Asian culture (the other piece being Newt Gingrich’s Pearl Harbor). A must see!

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast presented by Starlight Theatre in San Diego

I haven’t seen the show but once a long time ago, so for me it was basically another Disney musical adaptation (i.e. I don’t hate it as much as Lion King). Starlight performs in Balboa Park’s Starlight Bowl, which is unfortunately very close to the airport. What’s that? You don’t see how an airport right next to an outdoor ampitheatre might be a problem? Why else would the program list a Plane Spotter? So that was a fairly amusing aspect to the performance. According to the cast, the pit has a traffic light set up to warn actor’s of incoming planes…the evening’s policy was to hold for dialogue, but previous policy was to interrupt musical numbers as well (basically it was up to the conductor). Despite these grandiose interruptions, I enjoyed the show very much.
The director gave Cogsworth a German accent. Nicely done. Interesting having the three minor players (Lumiere, Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth) thus representing France, England and Germany…especially in a French castle…

There was something I wanted to say about Belle…something about a French maiden really enjoying something so anti-French…but the moment has passed…

Lefou was short….really reminiscent of the cartoon – very cool
All in all, a fantastic performance. And what better way to really enjoy theatre then by going to Friday’s with the cast afterwards! It just amuses me so that Friday’s is practically a theatre tradition…at least in Southern California.

Bill Handel 14th Extravaganza & A Salute To John Williams

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Political correctness is a disease that has a stranglehold on this country. That’s why I go to see Bill Handel’s live show…it’s politically incorrect and hilarious. Where else can you watch James Brown sing “I Feel Dead”, Michael Vick sing “Dead Puppies” and Kim Jong Il Yung sing “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?” Just like the manatees who write Family Guy, if one thing isn’t funny, nothing is funny.

A Salute to John Williams – featuring tons of movies you never heard of! Featuring the 501st Legion! Notice the incredibly tall Imperial Fighter. I admire these guys….

March from Superman
This piece reminded me of how disappointed I was with Sky Captain…that main theme was so reminiscent of Superman and yet the movie let me down so much….

Harry Potter
The Sorcerer’s Stone (actually The Face of Voldemort)
Harry’s Wondrous World

Sayuri’s Theme from Memoirs of a Geisha
featuring dancers from Wakahisa-Kai

Jim’s New Life from Empire of the Sun

If We Were in Love from Yes, Giorgio
The film was a bomb featuring Luciano Pavarotti. Williams didn’t write the entire score, just this beautiful piece for the ballooning scene. The conductor regaled us with a tale about how after the film came out, there was a cartoon where a suspicious looking man who was on a pay phone saying unless he gets a lot of money, he was going to release a bomb, and he was holding the film canister with Yes, Giorgio in it.

Far and Away Suite
A Ron Howard movie that I never heard about with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. The music really demonstrated Williams’ ability to adapt cultural identities into his works.

Star Wars [NOT LISTED IN PROGRAM]
Conductor announces that he can’t find the music and it’s REALLY hard to conduct this piece without the music. R2-D2 comes on stage with the music. Conductor asks him if there’s anything he’d like to say while he’s on stage. R2 beeps and the conductor interprets that as “Who are you going to vote for?” Then they play the main theme from Episode 4 – segueing into the rebel blockade runner theme and then segueing back to the end of the credits.

March from 1941

Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Happy Birthday (Variations)
That’s right….John Williams varied the Happy Birthday song. According to the program notes by Peter Laki, Williams “composed a set of dazzling orchestral variations…for three three of his famous musician friends: Yo-Yo Man, Seiji Ozawa and Itzhak Perlman” (the program). The conductor also told us the history of the birthday song (checks out with Wikipedia and I don’t feel like detailing, so click it ;) which was enjoyable.

Hook
The Face of Pan
Flight to Neverland

Jurassic Park
The conductor gave this large introduction to how enjoyable and wonderful Peter Pan is (also that they were playing The Face of Pan direct from John William’s personal library) and then tags on that they’ll also be playing the theme from Jurassic Park. What, there are dinosaurs in Neverland now?

Adventures on Earth from E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark [NOT LISTED IN THE PROGRAM]
Firework show included.

All in all, a very enjoyable evening.

The Civil War, WW2, Simpsons, Bourne Ultimatum, Rush Hour 3

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So I recently finished reading a trilogy of books by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (Gettsyburg, Grant Comes East, Never Call Retreat). He calls them “active history”, although in my opinion it is in the same vein as historical fiction novels like those of Harry Turtledove (Guns of the South). As a passionate lover of the Civil War, the books were phenomenal. Predicated on a single changed decision (instead of continuing to attack the Union forces at Gettysburg on July 2nd, Lee executes a grueling flanking march and decimates them when they attack him on ground of his choosing), the books wove a tale of military strategy and political ideology that is as valid for our time as it was back when it was actually (but not really) happening. I was most struck by President Lincoln (especially since he makes A LOT of sense in his political thoughts and especially since I understand the spirit of melancholy that resided in him), but all the characters were fun to hang out with, as it were. So now that I’ve finished that trilogy, I’ve started reading the next trilogy, which reinvents World War 2*, starting with the attack on Pearl Harbor. I’m already in chapter 6 and enjoying it immensely. If you are a fan of history (especially American history), I highly recommend both trilogies, although they are currently writing the rest of the WWII trilogy, so I have to wait between books… :( oh well.

The Simpsons Movie is very enjoyable…especially since every time I watch the Simpsons, it’s a dirty little secret for me. Mom disapproves of the Simpson family because Homer is a bad role model. Go ahead…try and argue with her. ;)

Bourne Ultimatum – wow….lots of action, lots of fun. My favorite part was in the middle of the Morocco fight (chasing through all the buildings). At one point, Bourne gets his assassin in that hand-breaking grip…you know, the one where you grab the assailant’s hand and bend it backwards? But instead of letting his hand get broken, the assailant does a back flip on the spot! It was freaking awesome. Oh, and you have to watch the first two Bourne films before seeing this one, or you’ll be hopelessly lost (unless you’re a genius story picker-upper like me – ok, I saw the movies the day before…bite me).

Rush Hour 3 – hilarious. Although I did kind of have to wonder why I was watching the movie at times just because…it seems like almost the same movie as the other two…not to say it wasn’t original and enjoyable…it’s just at times I caught myself thinking (“what are you doing thinking in here? this is a comedy!”) that it’s basically the same thing over and over again…but then Chris Tucker does something funny and I laugh. The “Who’s on First” bit near the beginning was absolutely hilarious, even though they gave most of it away in the trailer. A really interesting aspect of the movie was its intense focus on Chinese lore/culture. You’ll see what I mean, but the whole thing with the list and the honor inherent in not killing your brother was fascinating to me because I understand the warrior spirit that has been conquering people for eons….I understand why Troy sucked.

And with that reminder of a sucky movie, I say good night…and good luck.

* When did World War I become World War I and not “The Great War”/”The War To End All Wars”? Why am I so glued to the idea that World War I wasn’t called that until the Second World War started? Because it was the answer to a kiddie mystery story that I read once? AUGH!

West Side Story Injuries (Detail)

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Thursday night (3 performances left) during the opening number, I started a move, went up on my left toe and came down to a crouched position….when I did, something popped in my left knee….the choreography had me jumping back up a half second later (longest half second of my life), but the damage was done. I made it through the rest of the show alright and saw the chiropractor in the morning. Luckily I had just hyper-extended it, so the muscles were a little stiff, but prone to damage, so I did the next show with a knee brace. Then during that show, I bruised my right thumb during “Cool” (I have to support myself/push myself up with my hands during the show and I did it wrong). I saw the chiropractor again the morning after, but there was very little to do except ice it and use it as little as possible. So now here I am, missing a show that went really well until closing weekend. Oh well…it was still a great experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. And now I’ve got my own West Side horror story!

Other Things
I came up with a really great analogy today. It’s political and probably controversial, but I’m going to share it anyways. My dad told me about a CNN reporter who said something really…you have to read this for yourself.

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour says that President Bush is the main cause of Islamic extremism worldwide.

Of course, this is from Rush Limbaugh, so I will be the first (as the poster) to question the bias. If however, she really did say this and this is what she believes, I have a comparable analogy of some merit. If President Bush is the main cause of Islamic extremism worldwide, then William Shatner is the main cause of Star Trek extremism worldwide. Trying to pin a worldwide movement on just one person has very little merit as it is, but this is ridiculous. President Bush and William Shatner were just doing their jobs (I will not accept arguments about Bush…I’m broad-stroking the reality of his job-performance)…they’re not responsible for the extremism movement.

And that’s about all the other news I have…I’ll be posting reviews of my weekend, after it happens, but it promises to be a rollicking good time. Friday night I’m seeing The Bill Handel Extravaganza at The Grove in Anaheim, Saturday night I’m seeing John Williams with some orchestra and the Irvine Ampitheatre and Sunday night I’m going to see my friend Luke Adams as the Beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in San Diego’s Balboa Park! Enjoy your week/weekend and see you around!