#I´VE ALREADY SEEN IT ON BROADWAY BUT I WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN

[caracolcondiarrea]

I JUST FOUND A SLIME TUTORIAL OF THE BOOK OF MORMON.

FINALLY

[michaelgruberfan]

"Broadway song-and-dance man hits PCPA"

Quintin Cushner / Life & Times Writer Jun 15, 2003 (X)

Before Michael Gruber sang on Broadway, he was an NCAA All-American diver at the University of Michigan.

"I was diving during the Greg Louganis era," said Gruber, 38, referring to the prolific American athlete who medaled in three separate Olympics. "There was really only one more space after his on the team. After the 1984 Olympic trials came and went, I needed to make a choice about whether I wanted to train another four years (for the Olympics)."

Gruber, who performed in high-school musicals, opted to leave competitive diving to focus on becoming a song-and-dance man. He transferred to the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, where he honed his performance skills.

He then moved to New York City and earned roles in the musicals "A Chorus Line," "Miss Saigon," "Kiss Me, Kate" and "Swing." His most prominent Broadway role to date was as Munkustrap in "Cats."

Through July 20, Gruber is starring as Bobby Child in PCPA/s revival of the comic musical "Crazy for You." When not belting out a classic Gershwin brother/s tune, Gruber (as Child) spends most of the play trying to win the hand of local beauty Polly Baker (Melinda Ann Parrett). Guess whether he gets her.

Audience and media reactions to Gruber/s performance indicate that competitive diving/s loss has become the Central Coast/s gain.

A Times review of the play raved that Gruber "gives a performance that recalls musical idols of the Silver Screen, who literally swept their ladies off their feet with graceful dancing."

Starting Friday, Gruber and the "Crazy for You" cast will move south to Solvang to perform in that town/s open air Festival Theater.

"Michael is one of the rare breed of triple-threat performers who sing, dance and act 77 all first-rate quality," said Craig Shafer, PCPA spokesman. "His presence strengthens an already strong cast of resident and guest professional artists and interns on and off stage."

Recently the Times caught up with Gruber via telephone to talk about his life in the arts.

Times: So, do you miss New York?

Michael Gruber: We had two weeks off after the Santa Maria shows and before we moved down to Solvang, so I went home to New York. To be honest, it was like major culture shock. I was used to this mellow environment (on the Central Coast), so I was a little fried when I went to Manhattan. I was very happy to get out here again.

Times: Have you seen much of the Central Coast?

MG: I/m living in Santa Maria right now. I/ve also gone to Pismo Beach and the Avila Valley Hot Springs. They/re great. I/ve gone up to San Luis Obispo and down to Santa Barbara. I/ll have Mondays and Tuesdays off soon, so I hope to do more traveling. It/s so beautiful out here.

Times: Do you mind doing shows outside of New York?

MG: I/m happy to fill in the gaps between Broadway shows by going out of town. I like to get a break from the manicness of New York. Regional theater often has more interesting projects.

Times: After performing in melodramatic Andrew Lloyd Webber shows like "Cats," how do you approach something lighter like the Gershwin-inspired "Crazy for You?"

MG: The audience really informs you of what you can get away with in something like "Crazy for You." They sort of construct your performance by their reactions.

You really have to extend yourself when you/re doing farce, and take some chances. There/s a lot of slapstick, tripping and falling. The audience sort of constructs your performance. A show like this is so fun, but you have to be brave. And so far the audiences have been great. Everybody/s really enjoying themselves.

Times: Do you see any parallels between diving and theater?

MG: I guess being in the zone, and having that kind of concentration is very similar. And both are a kind of performing.

Both diving and acting involve judging. There/s a lot of bias and politics to both. If you/re competing against Louganis, and you did a dive comparable to one he did, he would still likely get the higher score. In theater, it/s the same way 77 a lot of it is mystique.

Times: Do you still have to audition for shows?

MG: Sometimes I/m just offered parts; that/s really what I prefer. Sometimes, if they don/t know you, you have to audition, but I never have to go to cattle calls anymore. They do what are called agent-submissions, where you/ll go to a private audition. Each show is something slightly different.

Times: Do you have any interest in doing television or movies?

MG: They/re such different industries. So much of (filmed) work is by who you know and who knows you. I don/t have any kind of network in the industry. And I/m much more broadly skilled in theater craft.

Times: Is it difficult to have relationships when you/re on the road so much?

MG: I/m not a big relationship person. I have my friends, but I/ve never really dated that much. It/s very hard to pursue relationships in this business. I/ve actually sort of been dealing with that right now, because as I get older I/m starting to want a more serious relationship.

Times: What would you do if you didn/t make your living as an actor?

MG: I/ve been working with a partner on composing some (musical theater) pieces. We/ve done three pieces together and we/re writing the fourth one right now. It takes place in 1975 and it/s called "Vegas Organic."

I/m totally addicted to The Beach (a Central Coast radio station), because that/s the era of music we/re writing for. I love Heart, Steve Perry from Journey, Freddie Mercury and Queen, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith … classic hard rock.

Times: So, I read that you were into psychotherapy? Are we talking Freud?

MG: No, classical analysis didn/t really work for me. I found it too one-sided. And from what I/ve read, classical therapy has not been that successful. It/s not necessarily practical.

The therapist I have now uses gestalt therapy. It/s great. He collaborates with me. We have a dialogue. It involves more problem-solving and is more immediate. But when I/m on the road, I take a break. I don/t want to become too obsessive about it.

Times: What kind of foods have you been eating in Santa Maria?

MG: It/s total In-N-Out and Taco Bell. When I/m late for rehearsal it/s McDonald/s drive-through. It/s bad because my metabolism isn/t as fast as it once was.

Times: What have you been doing for fun around here?

MG: I went out last night to a friend/s house. We watched TV and laughed and talked, drank a few beers and ate a pizza. College student-type stuff. It was a lot of fun.

Times: What/s the future of the Broadway musical?

MG: It/s tough to say, because the economy isn/t so great right now, and people are more careful about how they spend their money. In this type of an economy, and when a Broadway ticket is ,90, people are gonna want to see "The Producers" or "Phantom (of the Opera)." Or maybe they/ll see "Chicago" because the movie was so successful. Those shows will always make a killing.

Producers want a market value. Unless you/re Stephen Sondheim, it/s very hard to get a different kind of musical produced. And even his shows don/t have longevity because they/re not going to bring in tourists.

"Long Day/s Journey into Night," by Eugene O/Neill, would never be produced on Broadway now if it didn/t have Brian Dennehy, Vanessa Redgrave, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard, who are all movie actors. It/s all about the economy. Once the economy improves and rich people start spending more money again, there might be more risky productions.

Times: What role do you really want to play?

MG: I/d like to play George in "Sunday in the Park with George." It/s beautifully written and I relate to its themes, which involve the isolation of an artist.

Times: Are you looking forward to moving down to Solvang?

MG: It/ll be cool. We/re doing five shows a week with no matinees. It/s a cool town and it/s always great to work outside.

Times: What/s your favorite part of doing the show?

MG: I enjoy the contrast of doing the romantic side of Bobby Child and the wacky silliness of Bela Zangler 77 that whole level of being in disguise.

(For part of the play, Child disguises himself as the wealthy Bela Zangler)

There/s a song in the show, "Embraceable You," and it/s the first time Bobby realizes that Polly/s falling in love with him and not Bella. It/s the turning point. He doesn/t tell her who he is because he doesn/t want to lose her.

And he/s realizing where the journey is going, and he doesn/t know how to handle it.

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Ninety Two

If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag

September 1st, 2002

Theo was laughing with Emile, talking about his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s boyfriend, and how they were trying to figure out living arrangements for that whole situation. “That’s crazy, Theo,” Emile said, shaking his head. “I never pinned you as bisexual, let alone polyamorous.”

“Hey, some people are full of surprises!” Theo said. “I’m just glad you’re cool with it.”

“I mean, listen. It’s not for me personally, but if other people enjoy it, who am I to stop them?” Emile asked.

Theo nodded. “It just kinda sucks that I can only marry one of my partners, and that’s if she’s a she,” he said. “Only get tax benefits from one person.”

“Also only get to visit one person in the hospital, one person’s bank account, one person’s credit score...” Emile continued.

“I know,” Theo groaned. “Being flippant is my way to cope, Emile, don’t be a dick and bring up the worst-case scenarios.”

“Sorry,” Emile said sheepishly.

“‘S all good,” Theo said, and conversation moved on.

  October 30th, 2003

“I know it’s not Wicked, but it was still a good show, wasn’t it?” Emile asked as the crowd got to its feet in the theatre.

“Huh?” Remy asked.

Emile rolled his eyes affectionately. “The Broadway musical? Its opening night was tonight. I know this isn’t Broadway, but they still put on a good show.”

“Yeah,” Remy agreed. “It was a good date night.”

Emile’s hand reached for Remy’s and Remy smiled at Emile as they walked out to the front of the theatre. “All the actors and actresses killed it up there,” Remy said.

“Agreed,” Emile laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone quite as good on stage as that...uh...Marco? Was that his name?”

Remy flipped open the leaflet with all the actors' names and made an affirmative noise. “Marco, yeah. He was the lead.”

“Yeah, he was good. Could probably do some professional stuff if he really wanted,” Emile said.

The two of them exited the theatre, still holding hands. They laughed at their favorite moments of the play, and continued to talk until they reached a rougher part of the city. They had to park a few blocks away from the theatre, and they weren’t in Fairview, but a town over. Emile got the distinct sense that they were being watched. Remy seemed to be getting the same feeling, looking around. “We should get out of here,” Remy muttered quietly under his breath.

No sooner had he said that then some drunk guys staggered out of an alleyway. “Hey!” the leader of them shouted. “Haven’t you boys heard? Fags aren’t welcome in this city!”

Emile squeezed Remy’s hand slightly as the two of them turned to face the three guys who were clearly drunk and looking for a fight. “Then why are you here?” Remy shot back to the guy.

“Remy? Might not be the best time,” Emile hissed.

The man growled. “Listen to your pal, Remy. My friends and I aren’t fags. We served.”

Emile prayed Remy would keep his mouth shut, but Remy retorted. “You know, gay guys enter the military, too. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ that whole deal? Yeah. Gay men serve. Probably more honorably than you, if there’s a war going on and you’re using ‘serve’ in the past tense.”

The man turned red and his buddies advanced on Emile and Remy. Remy moved in front of Emile. “Come now, boys. You can do more than intimidation, can’t you?”

One of them swung at Remy, hard, and Emile watched in horror as the world slowed down. Remy’s head collided with a fire hydrant, and he crumpled to the ground. “Oh my God, Remy?!” Emile exclaimed.

Remy didn’t respond, not even a groan. The three men looked surprised. “‘E’s not dead, is ‘e?” one of them asked uneasily.

“Better not stay and find out,” the first of them said. “You get off lucky this time, ya filthy queer.”

And with that, the three men ran off as much as one could run with excessive amounts of alcohol in their system. Emile knelt over Remy, scared to touch him. He pulled out his cellphone with shaky hands, calling an ambulance.

As the operator tried to soothe Emile’s nerves while the ambulance drove over, and Emile could hear the piercing wail of sirens. He couldn’t stop staring at Remy, who was bleeding from his head wound. Did head wounds bleed this much? Emile knew they bled a lot, but how much was too much?

The paramedics arrived and Emile fretted over what they were doing. He made to follow them into the ambulance, but one of them stopped him. “Sorry, we only allow family to come in the ambulance.”

Emile was frantic. “I am family! I’m his fiancé!”

“Unfortunately, fiancés don’t qualify as family,” the man said sympathetically. “You’ll have to meet us at the hospital.”

Emile ran his hands through his hair in frustration, but didn’t try to stop the paramedic as he ran to the front to drive the ambulance. Emile dashed the rest of the way to the car, tearing out of the parking lot and following the sound of the siren to get to the hospital.

Thankfully, they let Emile into Remy’s hospital room. Remy was still unconscious, and the nurse informed him that they were just waiting for an open room to do an MRI to see if anything had been damaged. Emile swallowed thickly. Brain damage. Remy could have brain damage. He tried not to laugh hysterically as the nurse left, or when she returned with another nurse to take Remy for a scan.

Emile waited for about twenty minutes, before Remy was rolled back into the room, slurring something unintelligible. “Your fiancé is here, Mister Picani,” the nurse said patiently. “Now please, stay in bed. The doctor saw no sign of permanent brain damage, but you still have a nasty concussion.”

“Emile!” Remy exclaimed, looking over at him and giving him a dopey smile. “You’re here!”

“Of course I’m here, Remy, I want to make sure you’re okay!” Emile laughed.

The nurse turned to Emile. “He woke up shortly before the MRI, and we had to sedate him to keep him calm. He may be a little loopy for the time being.”

“That’s okay,” Emile laughed, standing and walking over to hold Remy’s hand. “As long as he’s mostly okay and in one piece, I’m happy.”

The nurse gave him a curt nod and left them alone.

“Rem, don’t you ever instigate homophobes again,” Emile said sternly.

Remy groaned. “C’mon, Emile. Hardly the first time homophobes ‘ve taken a swing at me.”

“But it will be the last,” Emile said. “Understand? I cannot make you a frequent flyer at the hospital.”

Remy sighed. “Fine.” He did a slow blink, before giggling. “Mio amore, there was a nurse with a cute butt who cleaned the blood off my head. He also sedated me, though. That was kinda mean.”

“Apparently, you were freaking out before the MRI,” Emile said.

“Well...yeah. You weren’t there,” Remy said with a pout.

“They didn’t let me follow you,” Emile said. “The nurse didn’t even ask.”

Remy sighed. “I bet if we were married, they would’ve.”

Emile nodded. “I bet you’re right.”

They let silence envelope them for a minute. Emile felt his heart hurt. He wanted so badly for them to be married. But that still wasn’t a guarantee. The Massachusetts Supreme Court was taking its sweet time.

“Emile,” Remy said, capturing Emile’s attention. “Lie down with me.”

“Remy, I can’t—”

“Sure you can,” Remy said, scooching over on the bed. “Lie down with me.”

Emile sighed and laid down next to Remy.

“I’m okay. I have a concussion, but I’m okay. Understand?” Remy said. “Neither of us are super injured or super dying. It’s gonna be okay.”

“I hope so,” Emile said softly.

“I know so,” Remy said with all the definiteness of someone high as a kite on sedatives and painkillers. “You’re here. That means everything will be okay.”

Oh. That was...oddly sweet. “Thanks, Rem,” Emile said with a smile.

“Anytime, hot stuff,” Remy giggled. He wrapped an arm over Emile’s chest and hummed. “You’re warm,” he purred.

Emile laughed. “And you’re, apparently, a cat,” he chuckled, wrapping an arm around Remy.

Remy yawned. “The doctors aren’t going to let me sleep, are they?”

“I mean, they already know you have a concussion, so they might let you rest,” Emile said. “Truth be told, Rem, I don’t know.”

Remy grumbled. “My head still kinda hurts even with painkillers. I just wanna sleep it off.”

Emile lightly ran his fingers through Remy’s hair, and Remy leaned into the touch. “Try and sleep before they tell you that you can’t, then.”

Remy hummed. “Usually you’re a stickler for the rules, mio amore.”

“Usually you’re not in the hospital with a concussion and bound to whine about it, my love,” Emile said with a little grin.

“You just want me to stop whining?” Remy asked with a pout. “That’s so not romantic.”

“Well, I do also want you to rest up and heal well...” Emile said. “It’s just not my topmost priority.”

Remy stuck his tongue out at Emile and Emile stuck his out right back. “You mind if I call Mom and Dad?” Emile asked.

“No, go ahead,” Remy said, waving a hand. “I know you’re gonna want me to stay out of Sleep Easy and the home office, and you’re gonna wanna ask them about being my orderlies while you go to school.”

Emile sighed. “You are way too good at reading me, my love.”

Remy smiled dopily, “I should hope so, knowing you this long.”

Gently, Emile pushed up in the bed and left the room to make the call. He dialed the number and simultaneously hoped his parents would and wouldn’t pick up. “Hello?” his dad asked.

“Hey, Dad,” Emile managed to choke out.

“Emile? What’s going on that has you calling this late?”

“Well...uh...Remy landed himself in the hospital,” Emile said with a strangled laugh. “Moderate to severe concussion.”

“Oh my God,” his father breathed. “Is he okay?!”

“He’s awake now, thank God,” Emile said. “But I won’t be able to look after him when they release him from the hospital.”

“Your mother and I can come over and make sure he’s all right, Emile, don’t you worry about that,” his dad assured. “You need to make sure you keep passing your classes and that your fiancé is happy. Your mother and I are more than willing to be the bad guys in this situation if that means keeping him out of his damned office for a few days.”

Emile laughed. “Yeah, I don’t wanna be the one facing his wrath when he figures out that he won’t be able to work in the shop for at least two weeks,” he said. He sobered. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything from your lawyer friends in Massachusetts?”

“Not yet,” his dad sighed.

“They wouldn’t let me ride in the ambulance with Remy,” Emile admitted tearfully. “I was scared out of my wits, there was so much blood, he was unconscious and they just...wouldn’t let me ride with him. All because we weren’t married.” He spat the last word. “I swear, Dad, I wanted to strangle them then and there if they weren’t helping Remy.”

His dad blew out a breath. “I can’t imagine, Emile. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like. Nothing I can think of would do it justice.”

“I was terrified,” Emile said.

“You had every right to be,” his dad said. “That’s a terrifying thing. Now, without discounting that, I want to remind you that Remy is alive, and safe. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Emile nodded. “I understand.”

“Good,” his dad said. “Because your future husband needs your support too, I’ll bet.”

“Once the pain meds wear off and he’s no longer high as a kite, yeah,” Emile said wryly. “That’s when I’ll ream him for pissing off the wrong homophobes.”

“What?!” his dad asked, incredulous. “Emile, you need to report that to the police. That’s a hate crime!”

“Lots of good that’ll do, Dad. These guys were homophobes and vets. The cops won’t care,” Emile spat.

“Did they start it?” his dad asked.

“They’ll argue we started it, but we were just holding hands while we walked out of the theatre,” Emile said.

“Then report it, Emile! That is a hate crime! Don’t take that standing down!” his dad snapped.

Emile blinked. “Is this a you being protective thing or is this a I’m a lawyer and no one is above the law thing?”

“Emile, I can get a lawyer for you, pro bono. All I have to do is call in the right favors. They’re the ones responsible for the hospital bills, they’ll have to pay for them. Report this.”

Sometimes, Emile forgot how scary his dad got when he decided to go into lawyer mode. He swallowed. “Okay, Dad. I will.”

“Good,” his dad said. “Give that husband of yours a hug from both me and your mother. We’ll drive over tomorrow.”

[broadway-book-badger]

Recent Reads

 So, it’s been a while since I’ve made a post talking about what I’ve been reading. That’s largely due to my summer in the USA, which was one of the most amazing experiences, and I had the best time. It’s actually more than 2 months now since I left camp, which is crazy to think about. Maybe I’ll get to go back some time! I also got to go to NYC, which has been on my bucket list for a long time. I got to see some Broadway shows too, which was incredible. I saw Waitress, Bandstand and Hello Dolly, and was actually lucky enough to get to go backstage at Waitress, which basically made my whole life! It was an incredible, but incredibly busy summer, so I didn’t get to read quite as much as I usually do in my summer holidays, but at the same time, I got through more books than I expected, and some of them were pretty long.

When I got back I literally had like 3 days before I had to head back to uni, and now we’re over half way through the semester, which is again crazy! Reading week has been and gone, but it was lovely to go home for a couple of days, especially since I wasn’t there all summer. That said, I’m loving being back at uni for my 2nd year. I’m just generally having a much better time living in a house with friends than I did in halls, even if the workload’s increased a bit.

So yeah. I haven’t stopped for months, and I’m not sure when I’ll get a proper break where I don’t have to do anything - I’ve got work to do this week, then the Christmas and Easter holidays will be spent revising for exams... Never mind! I can sleep later. I’ve also just got a new laptop! My old one broke - I’d had it 5 or 6 years, so it was just done. The screen was a bit wobbly and the display went all weird, so I got an early Christmas present! It’s not red like my old one, but I got some stickers from RedBubble to jazz it up a bit.

Anyway, that’s enough rambling about what I’ve been up to lately. I’m not going to talk about every single book I’ve read in the past few months because that would be a stupidly long post, and I either don’t really remember or just don’t have much to say about certain titles. But there are books that I do want to talk about, and I enjoy making these posts, so this is like a highlights list. If anyone can tell me how to format the post so all the embedded pictures are the same size, I’d really appreciate it, because it annoys me a little bit, but I don’t know how to fix it! As always, spoiler warnings apply for all titles in case I decide to talk about specific plot points in detail. Enjoy!

1) Red Rising by Pierce Brown

This has been sitting on my kindle for a while. I heard about it and thought it sounded good, it was just never top of my list. I was also told it was a dystopian book, which I have to be in a particular mood to want to read. I really enjoyed it though, and I’m glad I finally decided to read it! 

At first I was a little bit like, “Oh, here we go again” with the whole oppressed people, everything they know is a lie, sparking a rebellion, teenagers trying to kill each other parts, but it became different enough that I was really interested. I think the world that this is set in is a really cool, interesting one. In some respects its very sci-fi and futuristic - it’s set on Mars, and talks about the empire stretching to other planets, as well as the whole ‘making Darrow Gold’ bit. However, at the same time, this society is heavily based on the Roman Empire, and there’s all these not-at-all-subtle nods to that ancient mythology, as well as the training at the Institute essentially being siege warfare and capturing castles, with swords and horses. It’s a bit of a weird mix, but it works well.

Bits of this were brutal and gory and violent and plain nasty, but it was a good read, and I need to get a hold of the other 2 books, so I can find out what happens. Now that Darrow’s made it through the Institute, I’m really intrigued to see how he’ll actually try to take down the society. I also want to see more of the world, and more of the different coloured classes within it.

2) A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab

This is another book that has been sitting on my kindle for a long time, and I don’t know why. I’ve heard so many good things about it, and it sounded like exactly the kind of thing I’d love - unsurprisingly, once I picked it up I did Iove it! This was just so much fun to read!

I love the whole concept of the 4 parallel versions of London, but only a select few can travel between them. It’s interesting how different all the worlds are, and I can understand Kell’s love of collecting and smuggling things from one to another. I thought Kell was a great character, and I really loved Lila. She just wants to be a pirate! I hope we get to find out more about their origins in later books. Also, calling it now, Lila’s an Antari too - she has a glass eye that I reckon used to be completely black.

The plot is pretty simple - in the words of Mike Wazowski, “Put that thing back where it came from or so help me-” But that doesn’t matter, because its so effective, and the numerous factions chasing them, as well as jumping between realities keep things plenty exciting. Although everything sort of wraps up at the end, and I actually think this works pretty well as a standalone, I really need to get a hold of the rest of the trilogy. I’m excited to see see where it goes.

3) Tower of Dawn by Sarah J Maas

I searched Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport for a copy of this thing. I’ve been excited to read it for a whole year. I’ve been looking forward to Chaol and Nesryn’s excellent adventure since I finished Queen of Shadows 2 years ago, and then they weren’t in Empire of Storms, so I started looking forward to this little novella which wound up as a 600+ page brick. Not that I’m complaining, I just wonder how the hell everything that happened in here was supposed to fit into a novella?! Because there were some serious reveals in here, as well as all the world building and new characters.

I think we can now safely say that every single character from The Assassin’s Blade has been accounted for. Most of them joined Aelin’s army at the end of the last book, and the return of Yrene was a huge part of this one. I love that she kept the note from Celaena/Aelin after all these years, even though she still doesn’t know who the stranger was. I would love to see her reaction when Chaol tells her, although I have a sad feeling it will be left to our imaginations (much like all these bloody secret weddings!). Another returning character, I’m pretty sure at least, was Falkan who, if I’m not mistaken was the merchant who sold Celaena the spidersilk in Assassin and the Desert. Also, he’s a shifter and Lysandra’s uncle, which is a really nice little link.

I thought that in some ways, this book called back to some of the simpler storylines of the earlier books. Most of Chaol’s storyline was set in either the palace or the Torre, instead of all over the continent, and the whole mystery of Tumelun’s death, and working out what was killing the healers and trying to attack them in the palace was quite reminiscent of Book 1, before everything got so much bigger and crazier. My love of Chaol as a character was confirmed in this book. I’ve always been a fan, and never really understood a lot of the hate he seems to get on tumblr - the poor guy’s had his entire worldview turned on its head in the space of a few months and been forced to accept a lot of stuff, so I understand sort of where he was coming from. But it was nice to get inside his head a lot and see what he really thought about everything that had happened. Also, I love how much he loves Dorian and I am so excited for their reunion in the next book!

At the end of Queen of Shadows I was ready to accept Chaol and Nesryn as romantic endgame, but I am so glad that isn’t what happened. There wasn’t anything wrong with them as a couple (although some of the way she was treated in here wasn’t great), but I love Chaol and Yrene, and Nesryn and Sartaq so much better! Speaking of Nesryn, I loved her storyline in the second half of Tower of Dawn. I loved the way she went, “I was promised an adventure, so I’m going to go and have one!” And that’s exactly what she did. I really enjoyed the scenes in the Ruk Riders aerie, Bort was a great character, and fighting the giant spiders was pretty cool. I also loved the scenes with Nesryn’s family, because that’s a side to her that we haven’t seen much of.

I loved the whole world of the Southern Continent, and all the new characters that were introduced. Hasar definitely grew on me more than I was expecting, and Sartaq is just so great. I actually think I preferred Tower of Dawn to Empire of Storms, although I think Queen of Shadows is still my favourite in the series. I actually quite enjoyed taking a little break from Aelin and Rowan and all the drama (and sometimes a little bit of frustration), that comes with reading about them. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aelin, I’m incredibly worried about what’s going to happen to her, and that final chapter was not ok, but it was refreshing to have such a big book in the series that she wasn’t such a big part of, even though she was present in lots of little ways.

And now we wait. For the final book in this series that I love. I have no idea where its going to end, especially with all the new characters and revelations introduced in here, but I am excited to find out! Also, to find out how long it’s going to be in order to wrap everything up - its got to be 700+ pages, its just got to be! Also, I’m going to see Sarah J Maas next week - she’s doing an event in my city, and I’m so excited!!! Hopefully I’ll pick up some good spoilers and bits of information!

4) A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

This is another book that I’ve been excited to read for a while, but I was waiting for it to come out in paperback, then I was away. But, I finally picked it up, and I absolutely loved it. I was expecting to of course, because I absolutely adore The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, which is the first book in this series. I described that book as fluffy sci-fi, with a super diverse world and wonderful characters, and all of that was just as present in this book.

I wasn’t sure if I’d love it quite as much as the first book, as it’s not a direct sequel. The crew of the Wayfarer are not present in this one, except for Lovelace (after what happened at the end of Book 1) and Pepper, who was a minor character. The bit where Sidra (Lovey) tried to write a letter to Jenks was so sad! I would have loved a proper cameo from the Wayfarer, and I live in hope that they will appear in later books. So, Closed and Common Orbit has much less of an ensemble cast than Small Angry Planet, and has a much less episodic feel to the story. It’s more like one continuous story, or rather two parallel stories, although it’s still a very character driven book. Nevertheless, I still absolutely loved it.

I really enjoyed Sidra getting to experience so much of humanity for the first time, and I thought she offered quite an interesting perspective. I loved how she tried to find her own place in the world, and I love the solution that they found to her struggles. Pepper’s backstory was a really interesting one too. Again I loved seeing her learn about the world, and I was so impressed by her determination to survive and fix her ship and get out of the scrapyard. It was nice to see how she met Blue, and I thought that Owl was such a wonderful character. What I wasn’t expecting was that after she escaped the factory, she would be stuck for another 10 years before she truly escaped her old life.

I’m not going to lie, tears were shed towards the end of this book, and I read the last 100 or so pages in one sitting. It was mostly happy tears though, as Pepper and Blue finally escaped the scrapyard, and they lost then found Owl after all those years, and Sidra found where she belonged, and it was just lovely and emotional. I absolutely love this world, and I’m excited for the next book, which is apparently another sort of companion novel about the Exodus Fleet, something I look forward to learning more about!

5) Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

This book was completely insane, but I did enjoy it. The premise, a bunch of Beauty Pageant contestants stranded on a desert island sounds pretty fun, if a little ridiculous, but throw in a vaguely dystopian corporation controlling everything, a Bond-style secret lair and reality tv pirates, and you have something truly nuts, but a lot of fun. It also read pretty quickly, which is a good thing for someone with a busy life!

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this, but I thought that some of the satirical elements worked really well. There were some interesting comments made about sexism, racism, LGBT issues, beauty standards, consumerism etc. Some of it may have been a little heavy handed, but there were still some good points made. There were places where I just turned the page and went “WTF?!?!” but the best thing to do is just go with it.

Part of me was expecting a lot more bitchiness between the girls, so that was quite nice to see, and I enjoyed seeing a lot of the characters find themselves, find their real passions and work out what they really wanted. It was also nice to see where all of the girls ended up in the future at the end.

6) Inferno by Dan Brown

This is the 4th Dan Brown book I’ve read, and its pretty close to Da Vinchi Code in terms of which one’s my favourite. Plagues and pandemics and stuff like that really freak me out, but I didn’t find this too bad. It had more of what I’ve loved about all his books, which is the fast pace combined with all the information about art, history and science mixed in. You learn a lot from reading these, and I loved the setting of this, which is Florence, Venice and Istanbul. I’ve been to Istanbul, but Italy is somewhere that I really really want to go!

I actually saw the movie of this one when it came out last year, so this became less of a priority book, because I know most of what happened. But this has a different ending to the movie, something that really pissed off the friend who I saw the movie with. My thoughts on said big change - I think the movie ending works better for a big Hollywood movie and wide audiences, but the book ending is much more interesting and thought-provoking and possibly wouldn’t have translated quite as well to film. Without giving too much away, I think the book gives a really interesting solution to the population problem, which wasn’t quite what anyone was expecting, and I really liked. I also liked that Sienna got a chance at redemption.

 Like I’ve said, I really enjoy these books, and the new one is in my house, so I’ll get to that at some point. But, there’s something else that I would really like to read. I want to read a book that’s just as popular, has the same writing style with all the intellectual detail, but the main character is a woman. Still in her mid-forties, still single, still a highly respected academic in her field, and in every book she teams up with a different younger sexy guy who falls slightly in love with her. Not to go on about double standards or anything, but female characters like that just don’t really exist, while there’s a fair few Robert Langdon’s wandering about the place. This isn’t a massive criticism at all, I just think it’s an interesting point to note.

 7) La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

I’ve been excited to read this since it was announced. The His Dark Materials trilogy is one of my favourite series of all time, so to get a whole new trilogy in that universe is just brilliant. My only hope is that it doesn’t mess with the ending of The Amber Spyglass, because I know that this series is going to end 10 years after that one. It is a heart-breaking bittersweet ending, but it works so well, and I love it, and I don’t want it to be magically fixed because the author changed his mind. We’re a hell of a long way away from that point though, as this is only the first book in the new trilogy, and it essentially serves as a prequel to Northern Lights. 

I loved returning to Lyra’s world, as it is home to Daemons, aka one of my favourite ideas in the whole of fiction. It was also nice to see more from some minor characters from the original trilogy like Farder Coram and Hannah Relf before they were who they are 10 years later. Baby Lyra and Pan are also adorable, and it was cool to see how they ended up at Jordan College. I really liked Malcolm as a protagonist, he’s just such a good kid and wants to learn more and explore, but do the right thing and yeah. I hope we get to see more of him in the rest of the trilogy, but I have no idea if the books are going to stick with him, or explore other things or what. Also Alice - how is she related to Roger? They have the same last name, so is she his sister, cousin, surprisingly young mother? I hope we find out - the unexplained connection will drive me nuts otherwise.

Much like the original trilogy, this was a really fun adventure which works as a children’s book, but at the same time goes a lot deeper and has some themes that are a bit more adult, but you probably won’t pick up on if you’re too young. That was something I definitely remember from the 2 readings of His Dark Materials, one at 10 and one at 16. You can see all the sinister Magisterium stuff from the other series starting to build in this book, and start to interrupt Malcolm’s perfect world. The adventure came much more in the second half, when they were paddling to London on the flood, although I didn’t like it quite so much when it got a little bit trippy and weird, with the fairy woman and the house where nobody could see them and stuff. I liked the witch though - I’ve always loved Philip Pullman’s take on the witches.

I did think the ending was a little bit abrupt though. They make it to Jordan College, Lord Asriel buggers off and it ends. Did Malcolm and Alice make it home safely? Who knows... I’m excited to read the rest of this trilogy, although I have absolutely no idea when the next book is due to be released - I suspect its not going to be one a year. I also have no idea where the story is going, when it’s going to be set, who it concerns, and that excites me. It’s more from one of my favourite worlds, and if its as good as this was, I’ll love it. My final point in this post - this is a ridiculously pretty book. I took the dust jacket off, and I squealed a little bit because its covered in gold sparkles like Dust, and it has a quote on the spine, and I love it so much!

[cureforbedbugs]

Moana

I need to take a break to tell everyone who doesn't already know how great Moana is.

First, you have to understand that I've listened to the Moana soundtrack in its entirety at least twice a day for the last month or two, because my son is obsessed with it. He's never seen the film.

Second, you have to understand that I had zero expectations for Moana. I've written a little about Frozen, a film whose ideas and cultural relevance I find fascinating but, as a movie, I can take or leave. (I mean, there are fucking trolls in it.) I think the music sounds too much like karaoke versions of better songs and the Broadway "we're singing but we're telling a story!" style leads me to forget a lot of the actual melodies and words, i.e., they don't function well enough as songs. Anyway, Frozen was my high bar for Disney movies not coming through Pixar, and Moana was so much better than Frozen that I almost couldn't believe it even came from Disney.

Third, you have to understand that since I'm having lots of thoughts about Kesha lately, the fact that the very first song in this movie sounds like the intro track to a Kesha album is meaningful. And its lyrics, loosely translated, are:

"Pardon us, Tagaloa [creator of the world, kinda] Look down upon the world The light (I stand before you) It is good and beautiful (My desire) Look down (The journey has begun) At how beautiful our lives are"

Or, in Kesha-speak, "Excuse me, God, sorry to bother you, but look at how fucking beautiful we are down here!"

Anyway, instead of telling you what Moana does really well, since you should see it, let me just give you a quick list of things that this movie does NOT do, to explain how miraculous it is that this movie exists. That means there are some sneak spoilers here, but I try not to talk too much about the plot.

(1) This movie does not make a big deal about how exceptional it is that Moana is a woman hero in this journey. No one remarks that she is a "female" future chieftan of her island. She's just the only daughter of the current leader, hence she is the new leader.

(2) This movie does not give Moana a complicated or fucked up relationship with her parents. They are lovely people who want their daughter to be safe and happy. Full stop. She has great parents. They understand her, and anything they do to prevent her from doing what she wants is genuinely out of concern for her safety. And her mom's still alive! Yay!

(3) No one dies in this movie for unnatural reasons. No one needs to die for the movie to be resolved. No one dies in collateral damage or in the service of plot.

(4) No one is desperate to leave their home. Moana leaves not because she needs "more" or because she's in exile or because she has to prove something to someone else. She feels responsible to go on a fated journey to save her people, because she is a good leader and knows that the most she can do is follow her inner voice into the ocean to SAVE THE WORLD.

(5) No authority figure is "put in their place" because the main character broke away from some kind of stifling authority. Moana's father understands exactly why she wants to journey beyond her island. He's afraid she will die as a result, and when she comes back they were both right. She was in grave danger! But it was also important that she do it! And there's no great hay made of their different perspectives. They're both right in the beginning, and they both stay right at the end. People learn things about themselves without having to have other people "unlearn" things about _them_selves.

(6) There is no romantic relationship, love interest, or even mention of the possibility of romantic partnership in this movie. Not once. Not ever. Not even a whisper of it. No one gives a shit. It's just not mentioned. NO ONE CARES. Like, maybe Moana will marry someone, sure, I guess, but literally never once -- NOT ONCE -- does anyone talk about anybody but Moana doing Moana.

(7) I'm sorry, I just have to say that again. There is not even a HINT of romantic partnership in this movie. Not a single line about it. Not a single word. Not a single thought given to it. None. Zero. Zilch. Just isn't part of the story. It's not even a question of whether it should be part of the story. It's not even a question of whether it COULD be part of the story. It couldn't be. It's not in the story. Anywhere. At all.

(8) There's no "villain." There's an imbalance that needs to be balanced, and there's a weird David Bowie crab that loves food and gold. And the crab lives in a realm of monsters where, like, if you're going to just break into his house and try to take this thing that literally just fell on his back, he has the right to defend himself, right? AND GUESS WHAT HE DOESN'T HAVE TO DIE TO GET OUT OF THAT SCRAPE SEE #3 ABOVE.

(9) There's no obvious show-stopper centerpiece song. This is a minor pleasure. But Lin Manuel-Miranda (and the others', I guess, but he really shines through) songs are cyclical, overlapping, relatively subtle, but still memorable. They become a kind of aural tapestry, which is what makes listening to the soundtrack on repeat less of a chore than other soundtracks. Interestingly, the other soundtrack my son is obsessed with is The Nightmare Before Christmas, which has a very similar kind of flow -- two or three relative peaks that the other songs shift and cycle around.

(10) The final point I'll leave here without really underlining it, re: cultural representation and what this film does not do. I don't have any authority to speak to this. From what I saw, it just feels like the cumulative impact of these other 9 things the movie doesn't do might charitably extend to its cultural depictions of an indigenous culture -- i.e., first do no harm, operate in good faith, keep it simple. That's one for future research; I just know that I didn't leave with any red flags set off or sour aftertaste given the opportunities for some seriosly sketchy representation. Maybe that's on me. But everything else about the movie suggests that it might not just be me.

[blogjuju72]

Been trying to write this blog post all week, but as per usual my life had other ideas and I was crazy busy!  Anyway here is the rest of the post about our trip to London, for the London Marathon 2018.

Friday 20th April 2018

So after getting the train into London St Pancras, we headed straight to Leicester Square to get tickets to a show.  We had already decided on either The Book of Mormon or Aladdin.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t get tickets to The Book of Mormon, so Aladdin it was!

After getting the tickets, we went to check into our home for the next few days – The Premier Inn at Blackfriars.  We stayed in the same hotel last time so we knew it was ok and in a good location.  We managed to check in a little earlier than the usual check-in time which was handy.  Next stop the expo.

The Expo – Excel London

The expo was full of the usual stalls.  Ones giving away flapjacks etc to try for race fuel, energy gels an even beer!  Eddie managed to get his name on his running vest, which was one of the main things we wanted to do on Friday.  He obviously picked up his number and timing chip too!  He also managed to get his legs all taped up. Some for injury prevention and some to try and help fix niggles!

Aladdin

A quick trip back to the hotel and then we were out to Leicester Square again.  We decided to have dinner in Leicester Square at Bella Italia – cheap and actually really good portions and taste, followed by a walk around China Town.

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Aladdin was better than we could have even hoped it would be.  The genie has played the same character on Broadway – he was larger than life and really added to the experience.  The visual effects were amazing as we the sets and costumes – all so colourful and vibrant.  The music was the same as in the Disney film (which I love).  Neither of us pretends to be huge fans of musical theatre.  We have seen West Side story and Chitty Chitty bang bang (which was amazing btw) but this was our first West End show, in a West End Theatre.

I couldn’t take any photo’s once the production had started, it just wasn’t allowed (understandably) so if you want to see more, please book and go – I think it’s on until the end of September here is the link.

Saturday 21st April

Last year when Eddie ran the marathon we seriously overdid the walking on Saturday. This time I vowed that as he was already partially injured, it wasn’t happening this time around.

Camden

We had a lazy start but headed into Camden as I have read on other blogs and websites about the food and market.  After getting off the tube we walked through the high street, where there is some brilliant artwork on the front of the shops.

Cool shop fronts upstairs, not so good graffiti downstairs!

We got there with still time for breakfast and just went to the local Wetherspoons, which was nice.  The Wetherspoons overlooks the lock end of Camden – that’s my favourite bit.  Pretty lock that leads on to some lovely street food stalls. Then there is a maze of markets which includes a mix of food, vintage and new clothing.  I got the kids a Tshirt and myself a new bag, with a promise to go back down with my daughter who I know would love it.

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Natural History Museum and Harrods

From there we headed up to Kensington, where we paid a visit to the National History Museum and Harrods.

We have often spoken about going to the Natural History Museum when the boys were smaller – I wish I had. It was good, but definitely would be better if visited with children.  There are some good exhibitions, but I was just too hot!

Next, we wandered down to Harrods.  I had never been, and I must admit it was a grand building inside and out, but I am not sure that I would buy half of the stuff even if I did have the money!  The food court was amazing, but a lot of the other stuff wasn’t really to my taste.

We headed back to the hotel and had a rest whilst watching the FA Cup semi-final.  We decided to head out to Nando’s for tea. It was the One New Change branch and I must admit it wasn’t the best I have been too, but I have given feedback via email so as far as I am concerned I do not need to say any more on the matter.

Sunday 22nd April – London Marathon 2018 Day

Last year I went straight to St James Park to wait for Eddie to run in and finish.  It was an agonising wait. So this year I decided to get the tube over to Tower Hill and try and get a spot around the corner from Tower Bridge.  I managed to see Mo Farah running, plus my brother in law, a few members of our running club and Eddie running about halfway.  It broke records as being the hottest London Marathon on records, 23 degrees – in April!! and it felt a lot hotter as there was no wind!  My sister and my other brother in law (Teresa and Kevin) were also at the same spot which was nice.

After seeing him run past we got the tube over to St James Park, where we had a bit of a wait to see Eddie finish.  Despite all his injuries he managed to finish and in that heat!!  in a respectable 5 hours 18 mins – not his quickest marathon, but he did it and raised a lot of money for charity too 🙂

We later found out that a runner sadly died after collapsing at mile 22.7 It just goes to show you how hard it is to run a marathon.  I am not sure what the cause of his death was, but he was also raising money for

charity and as I write this post his giving page is at over £300k which is an amazing tribute.  RIP Matt Campbell

After going back to the hotel, Eddie had a bath and a bit of a sleep.  We went to Jamies Italian at Covent Garden with Kath and Michael (my other sister and brother in law) for dinner.  It was delicious.  Even better, Jamie Oliver offered all marathon runners a free main course – such good value for money too.

I am so glad that we booked another night in the hotel and planned to come back on Monday.  It was such a tiring day and it meant we had a nice meal and nice end to it.

The ballot opens again tomorrow (30 April); and despite saying he will not run it again, I am sure Eddie will enter the ballot!  Who knows even I might enter it!

Let me know in the comments if you have run the London Marathon.

  Julie x

      London Marathon 2018 Weekend Part 2 Been trying to write this blog post all week, but as per usual my life had other ideas and I was crazy busy! 

[michaelgruberfan]

Michael with santa maria times in 2003 talking about his life; He talks briefly about wanting a relationship (which I find cute since he hasnt met Tony yet :)), his early time with diving, how he gets casted, thoughts about new york, and his composing! 

Before Michael Gruber sang on Broadway, he was an NCAA All-American diver at the University of Michigan.

"I was diving during the Greg Louganis era," said Gruber, 38, referring to the prolific American athlete who medaled in three separate Olympics. "There was really only one more space after his on the team. After the 1984 Olympic trials came and went, I needed to make a choice about whether I wanted to train another four years (for the Olympics)."

Gruber, who performed in high-school musicals, opted to leave competitive diving to focus on becoming a song-and-dance man. He transferred to the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, where he honed his performance skills.

He then moved to New York City and earned roles in the musicals "A Chorus Line," "Miss Saigon," "Kiss Me, Kate" and "Swing." His most prominent Broadway role to date was as Munkustrap in "Cats."

Through July 20, Gruber is starring as Bobby Child in PCPA/s revival of the comic musical "Crazy for You." When not belting out a classic Gershwin brother/s tune, Gruber (as Child) spends most of the play trying to win the hand of local beauty Polly Baker (Melinda Ann Parrett). Guess whether he gets her.

Audience and media reactions to Gruber/s performance indicate that competitive diving/s loss has become the Central Coast/s gain.

A Times review of the play raved that Gruber "gives a performance that recalls musical idols of the Silver Screen, who literally swept their ladies off their feet with graceful dancing."

Starting Friday, Gruber and the "Crazy for You" cast will move south to Solvang to perform in that town/s open air Festival Theater.

"Michael is one of the rare breed of triple-threat performers who sing, dance and act 77 all first-rate quality," said Craig Shafer, PCPA spokesman. "His presence strengthens an already strong cast of resident and guest professional artists and interns on and off stage."

Recently the Times caught up with Gruber via telephone to talk about his life in the arts.

Times: So, do you miss New York?

Michael Gruber: We had two weeks off after the Santa Maria shows and before we moved down to Solvang, so I went home to New York. To be honest, it was like major culture shock. I was used to this mellow environment (on the Central Coast), so I was a little fried when I went to Manhattan. I was very happy to get out here again.

Times: Have you seen much of the Central Coast?

MG: I/m living in Santa Maria right now. I/ve also gone to Pismo Beach and the Avila Valley Hot Springs. They/re great. I/ve gone up to San Luis Obispo and down to Santa Barbara. I/ll have Mondays and Tuesdays off soon, so I hope to do more traveling. It/s so beautiful out here.

Times: Do you mind doing shows outside of New York?

MG: I/m happy to fill in the gaps between Broadway shows by going out of town. I like to get a break from the manicness of New York. Regional theater often has more interesting projects.

Times: After performing in melodramatic Andrew Lloyd Webber shows like "Cats," how do you approach something lighter like the Gershwin-inspired "Crazy for You?"

MG: The audience really informs you of what you can get away with in something like "Crazy for You." They sort of construct your performance by their reactions.

You really have to extend yourself when you/re doing farce, and take some chances. There/s a lot of slapstick, tripping and falling. The audience sort of constructs your performance. A show like this is so fun, but you have to be brave. And so far the audiences have been great. Everybody/s really enjoying themselves.

Times: Do you see any parallels between diving and theater?

MG: I guess being in the zone, and having that kind of concentration is very similar. And both are a kind of performing.

Both diving and acting involve judging. There/s a lot of bias and politics to both. If you/re competing against Louganis, and you did a dive comparable to one he did, he would still likely get the higher score. In theater, it/s the same way 77 a lot of it is mystique.

Times: Do you still have to audition for shows?

MG: Sometimes I/m just offered parts; that/s really what I prefer. Sometimes, if they don/t know you, you have to audition, but I never have to go to cattle calls anymore. They do what are called agent-submissions, where you/ll go to a private audition. Each show is something slightly different.

Times: Do you have any interest in doing television or movies?

MG: They/re such different industries. So much of (filmed) work is by who you know and who knows you. I don/t have any kind of network in the industry. And I/m much more broadly skilled in theater craft.

Times: Is it difficult to have relationships when you/re on the road so much?

MG: I/m not a big relationship person. I have my friends, but I/ve never really dated that much. It/s very hard to pursue relationships in this business. I/ve actually sort of been dealing with that right now, because as I get older I/m starting to want a more serious relationship.

Times: What would you do if you didn/t make your living as an actor?

MG: I/ve been working with a partner on composing some (musical theater) pieces. We/ve done three pieces together and we/re writing the fourth one right now. It takes place in 1975 and it/s called "Vegas Organic."

I/m totally addicted to The Beach (a Central Coast radio station), because that/s the era of music we/re writing for. I love Heart, Steve Perry from Journey, Freddie Mercury and Queen, Pink Floyd, Aerosmith … classic hard rock.

Times: So, I read that you were into psychotherapy? Are we talking Freud?

MG: No, classical analysis didn/t really work for me. I found it too one-sided. And from what I/ve read, classical therapy has not been that successful. It/s not necessarily practical.

The therapist I have now uses gestalt therapy. It/s great. He collaborates with me. We have a dialogue. It involves more problem-solving and is more immediate. But when I/m on the road, I take a break. I don/t want to become too obsessive about it.

Times: What kind of foods have you been eating in Santa Maria?

MG: It/s total In-N-Out and Taco Bell. When I/m late for rehearsal it/s McDonald/s drive-through. It/s bad because my metabolism isn/t as fast as it once was.

Times: What have you been doing for fun around here?

MG: I went out last night to a friend/s house. We watched TV and laughed and talked, drank a few beers and ate a pizza. College student-type stuff. It was a lot of fun.

Times: What/s the future of the Broadway musical?

MG: It/s tough to say, because the economy isn/t so great right now, and people are more careful about how they spend their money. In this type of an economy, and when a Broadway ticket is ,90, people are gonna want to see "The Producers" or "Phantom (of the Opera)." Or maybe they/ll see "Chicago" because the movie was so successful. Those shows will always make a killing.

Producers want a market value. Unless you/re Stephen Sondheim, it/s very hard to get a different kind of musical produced. And even his shows don/t have longevity because they/re not going to bring in tourists.

"Long Day/s Journey into Night," by Eugene O/Neill, would never be produced on Broadway now if it didn/t have Brian Dennehy, Vanessa Redgrave, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Sean Leonard, who are all movie actors. It/s all about the economy. Once the economy improves and rich people start spending more money again, there might be more risky productions.

Times: What role do you really want to play?

MG: I/d like to play George in "Sunday in the Park with George." It/s beautifully written and I relate to its themes, which involve the isolation of an artist.

Times: Are you looking forward to moving down to Solvang?

MG: It/ll be cool. We/re doing five shows a week with no matinees. It/s a cool town and it/s always great to work outside.

Times: What/s your favorite part of doing the show?

MG: I enjoy the contrast of doing the romantic side of Bobby Child and the wacky silliness of Bela Zangler 77 that whole level of being in disguise.

(For part of the play, Child disguises himself as the wealthy Bela Zangler)

There/s a song in the show, "Embraceable You," and it/s the first time Bobby realizes that Polly/s falling in love with him and not Bella. It/s the turning point. He doesn/t tell her who he is because he doesn/t want to lose her.

And he/s realizing where the journey is going, and he doesn/t know how to handle it.