Colton Boettcher, a gay young-adult in Wisconsin has produced probably the best “It Gets Better” video I’ve seen yet! Set to Lady GaGa’s hit single “Hair” from her album Born This Way, the video touches on many issues relevant to today’s GLBT youth. Bullying, taking a same-sex date to the prom, forgiveness, and redemption are just some of the qualities present in the video. The “It Gets Better” campaign was started in September 2010 by Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller as a way to promote suicide prevention of gay teens. Research shows that gay teens have the highest suicide rates of any group of people in the United States. The campaign was designed to show gay youth that after the tumultuous and pressure-filled years of adolescence (particularly the high school years where gay teens are often bullied and subjected to teasing and ridicule), life does in fact “get better” for gay men and lesbians. 2010 saw a remarkable number of gay teenage suicides and “It Gets Better” videos have been made by thousands of people, including celebrities, athletes, politicians, and average everyday people who are none of these. Take a look at this AMAZING “It Gets Better” video below. And if you know a gay teen who is suffering from ridicule at school or anywhere else, take a stand for him or her and let the bullies know, THAT is NOT cool!
Last Sunday, the 2012 Golden Globes were held in Hollywood, California. Voted by members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Golden Globes are often thought of as the precursor to the Academy Awards, although recent history has shown that is largely not the case. This year, Madonna won the Golden Globe in the category of Best Original Song from a Motion Picture for her song “Masterpiece” from her upcoming directorial debut W.E., which releases from Weinstein Pictures in February. Madonna shared in the glory with fellow co-writers of “Masterpiece” Julie Frost and Jimmy Harry. Unfortunately, the song will not be eligible for the Academy Award because of a technicality; it is the second song played at the end credits and Academy rules stipulate it must be either within the body of the film or the first to appear during the credits to be considered. Nonetheless, she certainly deserves the accolades for this win! This marks the second Golden Globe win for Madonna (her first came in 1997 for Best Actress for her portrayal of Eva Peron in EVITA). Take a listen to “Masterpiece” below:
Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:45
Last week I was able to experience an absolutely incredible piece of musical theater. One of my all-time favorite shows to ever grace the stages of Broadway, Les Miserables made its way to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center in Orlando. Thankfully, I am a season ticket holder because EVERY show scheduled on its stop in Orlando sold-out! Now, mind you, I’ve seen this show probably close to 6-7 times in my life. I know every song by heart and I can visualize every nuance of every scene play-by-play. But, of all the times I’ve seen the show, I’ve never had the opportunity to see it like this! Les Miz is now 25 years old! And the production that played for years at the Broadway Theater in New York is long closed and its tour came to an end several years ago as well. But in 2006, the show’s producer, Cameron Mackintosh decided it was time to bring Les Miz back and the show was completely revamped for its revival run at the Broadhurst Theater. The show ran for two years in its renewed carnation and began preparation for its touring production shortly after it closed in January of 2008.
And in this production, the staging adds so much to the show! The famed revolving stage is gone. In its place, however, are elaborate and well-detailed sets that add a tremendous amount to the story, characters, and depiction of a France in upheaval and revolution. The sets were absolutely gorgeous and I was astonished at their scale and how wonderfully they were used to transition from scene-to-scene. While no one particular set was better than any other, the quality of the sets really stood out to me in the beginning of the show in the factory scene where Fontine is “outed” as an unwed mother and cast out of her job. The set looks like a real working factory and the workers are arranged to appear as if they truly are at work in such a sweatshop. And the acting and singing from this group of performers are outstanding! Jean Valjean is wonderfully played by Broadway veteran J. Mark McVey, who played Valjean in the Broadway production 2,900 times! His voice and ability to melodically display his dynamic range was breathtaking. He performed the role, one of the most difficult to play, with the utmost talent and beyond. And Andrew Varela’s Javert was menacing yet beautiful at just the right times (eg. “Stars” and “Soliloquy”). Perhaps the actor who really stole the show, however, was Max Quinlan, who played the role of Marius. His voice was powerful yet youthfully aloof at just the right times (“In My Life,” and “A Heart Full of Love” are both great standout moments for the actor). I believe he played this role better than any other I’ve ever seen do so. His coupling with Jenny Latimer’s Cossette was stunningly perfect.
The roles of Fantine (Betsy Morgan) and Eponine (Chasten Harmon) were also played quite well; the actors had just the right mix of operatic and non-operatic vocal ability that they shone bright during numbers such as “I Dreamed a Dream” and “On My Own.” And the ensemble, including the children cast in the show (Kylie McVey–Little Cossette and Young Eponine; Anthony Pierini–Garoche), brought an unparalleled dedication to their roles that made you forget they were the background of the story. The only minor complaint I have was with the actors who played the comedic roles of Madame Thenadier and her husband (Shawna Hamic and Richard Vida–both of whom played the roles on Broadway). These characters require voices that are giddy and require comedic inflection and tone. While these two certainly provided the much-needed comedic relief in a show that desperately needs some, I’ve seen others perform these roles much better. But this was a very minor criticism of this production.
The revival of this show did something I have not seen before; it topped its predecessor. Ragtime had a fantastic revival about 2 years ago that was much more minimalistic compared to its behemoth original production at the then Ford Center for the Performing Arts (now the Foxwoods Theater, home to my now all-time favorite show Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark). Both were fantastic in their own unique ways; but the original certainly had much more of an opulent feel of grandiosity that the smaller revival couldn’t compete with. Here, with Les Miz, I think we have the opposite. The minimalistic qualities of the original production and its revolving stage and dark bare sets are augmented tremendously, making this production almost superior to the original. Les Miserables will always be known and respected as one of the most beloved musicals of all-time. That distinction is well-deserved even though newer shows like Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, Titanic, and even (now older) Miss Saigon far surpassed it in-terms of the “Wow!” factor! In this new production, however, that “Wow!” factor has been amplified, making this production one that is surely not-to-be-missed. Check out lesmis.com to see the tour schedule and see a preview for the new revival production of Les Miserables below:
Filed under: Politics — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 01:53
A new documentary film entitled Winning Our Future: The Day Mitt Romney Came to Town paints a not-so-pretty picture of the Republican frontrunner Presidential Nominee. Funded by Republicans who have been backing candidate Newt Gingrich, the documentary interviews key persons and associates of Romney’s past who demonize Romney as a greedy corporate leader who sacrificed small businesses and middle class workers in four companies he headed to line his pockets. The film obviously portrays Romney in a very negative light. Interestingly, Romney just won the New Hampshire Republican Primary; one might think the Republicans should start getting behind their probable candidate rather than releasing damning documentaries about his shady and disappointing past. Take a look at the trailer for Winning Our Future: The Day Mitt Romney Came to Town below:
An upcoming film Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean explores James Dean’s alleged homosexuality further than any other biographical essay has before. Although there are conflicting historical reports of James Dean being gay, bisexual, or even straight, this film takes the perspective that Dean was in fact gay, and portrays critical events in Dean’s life under the lens of a non-heterosexual orientation. The film is produced by Iconoclastic Pictures, Jay-X Entertainment, and MGDB Productions France and stars James Preston as Dean (Queer As Folk‘s Robert Gant also stars in the film as “The Famous Director”). An American release date hasn’t been announced yet. But you can watch the trailer for the film, which looks beautifully dazzling, below:
Filed under: Performing Arts — Dr. Christopher Blackwell @ 02:32
Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark earned its highest per-week gross total ever last week. The rock musical, with music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge, raked in $2.94 million and smashed its competition soundly! Wicked came in second with $2.7 million; but this marks the first time Spidey has earned the top-spot on Broadway beating both the famed show that turns The Wizard of Oz upside down and the Disney behemoth The Lion King! Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark is the most expensive production ever produced for the stage, costing a staggering $75 million! Despite a shaky preview season that saw its director get replaced amid a handful of technical mishaps that injured some of the actors in the show, Spider Man: Turn Off The Dark has become a huge hit! I am excited to be seeing the show again this weekend and had the honor of seeing it back in July at the Foxwoods Theater. It is hands-down the BEST show I have ever seen. If you’re in NYC anytime soon, you’d be sadly mistaken to leave a trip to this show off your itinerary! Congrats to the entire cast of this absolutely incredible show for this incredible accomplishment!
