#how I love you chip zien

[yuenity]

this was funnier in my head

[madebyteenagefury]

i cant find it rn (im too lazy to look) but yall know the one post thats just "falsettos" over and over. thats me rn. ohhh falsettos how ill you make me. oh my god,, chip zien you incredible man. been litsening to in trousers more lately. chtristian borle. BETSY WOLFE. i am ill. i love them all, they have. such gorgeous voices.

[biggestwilliamfinnfan]

Favorite in trousers song??

Alright, here we go, strap in everyone,

My favorite musical in the Marvin Trilogy is definitely In Trousers, mainly because of the music. I think it's some of Bill Finn's best work (of course, excluding Falsettos as a whole and Elegies, which I consider to be the peak of his composing career). Now, if you asked me to pick one song of his to say is my favorite, I probably couldn't do it. A lot of his music stretches out across different genres, albeit sounding very similar. All of his music is very special to me and also really fucking good.

So, I have three answers for this question (from the 1979 version), and I have my reasons why:

The Nausea Before The Game

Love Me For What I Am

The Rape Of Miss Goldberg

The Nausea Before The Game and My Chance To Survive The Night often duke it out in which one is my favorite. They're usually tied, but the reason why The Nausea is my top three is because it's just... so good. I never know how to put into words how much I love Finn's music. It has such a particular sound no one can replicate, and this song is just one of those songs that only he could write. Also, THE LYRICS. It's probably the most important song in the whole musical, therefore in my top 3.

Love Me For What I Am is the most devastating song I've ever heard, and definitely one of the most beautiful Finn songs of literally all time. All of Trina's songs in In Trousers are top tier, nothing can beat them. The transition from Nausea to Love me is just... so important to me. I could listen to this song on repeat for days (and I have before). "Love me for what I am, I am someone imperfectly me." The best lyric he's ever written. Not only is it like, so freaking good, I relate to the song heavily. It hits the audience hard and it kinda leaves you frozen in your seat. The vocals, the lyrics, the instruments, it's literally everything to me.

The Rape Of Miss Goldberg; the most insane song William Finn has ever written. Yet, it's so good. Sometimes, Set Those Sails takes this songs place as my top 3, mainly because of the title: The Rape Of Miss Goldberg, and I don't exactly bring that song up in regular conversations. But, either way, I love it. It perfectly encapsulates Finn's writing style. It jumps around from genre to genre, it's fast, the lyrics don't make sense at first, it's insanely catchy and get's stuck in your head, and it's a pretty heavy topic. All of it, I love. Do I understand the song? Not at all, but that doesn't mean I can't love it. And, it's an important song... somehow. I literally have no idea this musical is crazy and insane I love it. Like Chip Zien once said, "It's a abstract fever dream."

Honorable mentions: Marvin's Final Words from How America was Discovered and Marvin Takes a Victory Shower. They're just so fucking good, can't even put into words. So underrated.

If you don't want to read all that nonsense then the short answer is Love Me For What I Am :)

[sesamie]

also could i have a short list of favorite movies of yours too? i don’t have a lot of free time but when i’m done with the good place i will need a new unwinding device and you have a really cool taste in movies i would love to know your suggestions

yes and i'm gonna post this public i hope you don't mind!!!

wargames 1983 starring matthew broderick and ally sheedy... you already know all about this one artie it is SET in the COLD WAR and is RIDICULOUS AND FUNNY and VERY 80S. matthew broderick is silly as ever. there's a random pterodactyl at one point and a nihilist old professor. beloved to me and great silly computer graphics and programming stuff. dial-up internet. the basis for much of checkmate (my oc)'s backstory

the secret of NIMH : MY FAVORITE DON BLUTH MOVIE and also just a childhood favorite. a little too scary for me as a kid honestly but i love it now. i watch it everytime i get sick and am stuck in bed

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind: i have yet to show this film to someone else who appreciates it in the same way i do. they keep going "idk it was weird and i didn't really understand it". change this for me please. it's one of my favorites of all time and i love everything about it. a better jim carrey flick than the truman show. i'm serious

master and commander: the far side of the world 2003 dir peter weir starring russell crowe and paul bettany. it's the film adaptation of the aubrey/maturin series. need i say more? i'm fucking obsessed with this film. it's extremely well mad

life is beautiful (in italian with english subtitles. NO OTHER WAY) 1997 dir roberto benigni. you will laugh and then cry. separated into 2 parts. technically a holocaust movie but better than every single other holocaust movie that exists. everytime i think about it i have to take deep breaths for a minute. it'll make you want to go out and buy grocery store flowers

dave made a maze: bizarre. weird. homemade. technically horror but not scary at all. delightful. possibly the best sets i've ever seen in any film i've ever watched in my entire life. you will pause every five seconds and go "HOW DID THEY MAKE THAT?????"

into the woods THE 1991 PROSHOT NOT THE 2014 """""""""FILM""""""""" THAT IS GARBAGE. the normal. the actua. chip zien and bernadette peters and joanna gleason and the most amazing amazing ever. please. my favorite musical. forever. sondheim beloved. you can watch this for free on the internet archive. or i can give you my google drive link. still. please

[chipadequeso]

''How often, in musical theater, do you get a chance to deal with material like this that has so many levels, and how often do you get wonderful music like this?'' Mr. Rupert responded. ''I think it's a show that needs to be seen. And I don't think I ever felt that about a show before. ''Of course, it does give you an incongruous feeling. After all that's happened through the years, here I am, still in the same corduroy coat and same khaki pants. You think, 'What have I really done with my life that I'm doing this again?' But of course, there is an answer to that. I think we all got involved with this because we loved the idea of doing it.'' Mr. Zien added: ''It does sound really corny. But that's what it is: a labor of love.''

—Michael Rupert and Chip Zien about Falsettoland, 1990

[ashe-withane]

Ted Lasso Characters as Random Songs from One of My Playlists

Don’t ask why all of these are on the same playlist ok I don’t have an answer

Ted - Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

Rebecca - I’m Still Standing by Elton John

Beard - Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

Keeley - Cry Me a River by Etta James

Roy - “Heroes” by David Bowie

Jamie - Holding Out for a Hero cover by Adam Lambert

Sam - Under Pressure by Queen & David Bowie

Dani - A Sunday Kind of Love by Etta James

Colin - Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! by Abba

Isaac - It Takes Two by Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien (from Into the Woods 1988)

Nate - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John

Trent - Would it Make Any Difference? by Etta James

Higgins - Tiny Dancer by Elton John

Richard - How Will I Know by Whitney Houston

Jan Maas - Babe I’m Gonna Leave You by Led Zeppelin

Bumbercatch - Money, Money, Money by Abba

Zoreaux - Waterloo by Abba

Will - 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

Bonus:

Barbara - Whiplash by Metallica

[noys-boise]

you should talk about Howard the Duck!!

okay okay okay

so today is the 37th anniversary of the howard the duck movie!! it's like.. a lot-

it's a really weird movie for sure I guess i should list the pros and cons. let's start with the cons so we end on a positive note :

cons

-it's really not a faithful adaptation. like the writers straight up pretty much admitted they don't understand the source material which is veeeeery questionable

-the movie just can't decide what age it's for. like it tries to be a kid's movie but there are too many weird sexual references for it (i guess nothing too blatant just duck boobs for a few seconds, Howard's weird duck condom, that infamous scene that ultimately never went beyond kissing and well okay the worst one is probably that weird bathhouse scene. i legitimately don't understand why that even exists.)

-the weird genre switch. it's SO out of nowhere and it's just.. a really jarring transition. one second you're watching a romcon about a duck and singer and the other second you're in a high stakes sci fi and you get basically no time to adjust you just have to accept it

-phil blumburt tends to be the most annoying man sometimes. and then sometimes he's just a funny guy. they can't decide i guess.

-THE FUCKING 7 MINUTE CHASE SCENE I HATE IT SO MUCH

-sometimes the duck puns can be a lot

okay but of course I don't hate this movie at all it's actually a big comfort for me so

pros

-Lea Thompson as Beverly Switzler is such a casting choice she SLAYS it genuinely changed my life her version of Beverly is the most iconic to ever

-also Chip Zien voicing Howard. can't get better than that. he's a damn good voice actor tbh. people say they wish the movie kept Robin Williams but tbh? they're cowards. Chip Zien Howard is best Howard i take no criticism

-the howarly plotline is definitely the heart of the movie and it's set up so well. it's a liiittle cheesy but it also makes me squeal every two seconds. they've got the angst the fluff and everything in between and you KNOW I'm a sucker for them! seriously they made a point to show how much they understand each other and care for each other and Howard basically makes it his life mission to fix all of Beverly's problems while Beverly makes it her life mission to protect Howard from this wirld that tries to hurt him and they're just so soft and i love them they have SO MANY big moments in this movie and it feeds me

-THE. MUSIC. OH MY GOD. between John Barry's score (the howarly leitmotif titled you're the duckiest is genuinely BRAINROTTING to me) and Thomas Dolby cherry bomb songs (ughhh they're all perfect) the music is such a strong point in this movie

-speaking of: cherry bomb!! they don't have a big part in the movie unfortunately but Ronette, K.C. and Cal are just so charming i want a sequel just focusing on the band without any of the alien stuff. i want more spotlight to my girls!! and of course also Howard and Beverly and even Phil but i need my girlies to get something!!

-this is bit of a minor thing but every single outfit Beverly wears is iconic

-there's some very explicit acab messaging and Beverly aims a gun at a cop <3

-just. the vibes. they're fun. i wish people would just accept this movie as a fun time instead of expecting some kind of deep philosophical whatever because then of course it will disappoint them! take it for what it is! because for what it is it's cute and fun and comforting! and i love it.

[wh1zz3rbr0wn]

me ranting on the marvin triolgy i unironically love the marvin trilogy so much?? in trousers makes no sense. esp the end song/ begginning depends on what like version ur listening too. i heard this theory that in trousers is actually marvin being hypnotised by mendle in therapy and it would make sense!! like it'd explain the inaccuracies between it and falsettos. Like Trina having two kids, as mentioned in your lips and me, 'the oldest drink wine the baby's wailing', while in falsettos Jason is the only child known. And in you gotta die sometime when whizzer says i dont smoke but in whizzer going down marvin says 'he takes me in his arms and he lights *another* cigarette.' Then i love how they re used im breaking down from in trousers and using it in the 2016 revival of it. imo it fits better in falsettos because you go more in depth about both trina and whizzer charaters. In trousers musicals actually is so bloody good??? like every song is great, my favourite song is marvin's giddy seizures. It highlights marvin's suicidal attempts and how it doesn't get noticed unless he acts out., then the whole thing just sounds so good. i wish the lesbians got more screen time though because theyre so radicial. every scene they're in they just light the stage up. I love how all the charaters are wrote. I would like to know if in high school ladies at 5 o'clock/ the r--e of mrs goldurg. are we meant to take that literally? im assuming we are because marvin says something along the lines of for my 14th birthday i was hoping you could show me the wonders of the bed. i think we would be, and if we are what the fuck? like i know marvin is an incredibly abusive person before about time but jesus christ. i didnt expect that. now i do adore that marvin's abusive behaviours are acknowledged and reprimanded unlike another musical that attempts to do something alike to falsettos, rent, where all characters have abusive behaviours. i wont dwell on the failures of rent too much because this isn't about rent. I have saw that 2004 college production amd i find it hilarious that in the thrill of first love that marvin drops whizzer, i hope that was scripted because that seems like such a Marvin behaviour. at the same time it would also be funny if it wasnt. either way i like it. anyway in marvin at the physiatrist, in the og off brodway cast, mendle says its queer mr marvin which is so funny to me. on the topic of the og off brodway cast, i find it fun how chip zien played both marvin and mendle in in trousers and march of the falsettos/falsettoland. marvin in in trousers and mendle in MotF/falsettoland respectably. I genuinely adore everything about falsettos. the openeing number is such a good opening song, i dont think ive heard a better one. Then my father's a homo always makes me laugh and i just love how jason doesn't hate his father for being gay, its how his homosexuality tore the family apart. Then this had better come to a stop is such agood number. i love how in the og of brodway run of it the late again sounds like yapping. then the way that trina and whizzer sort of bond over marvin's abusive tendencies is heartbreaking. A tight knit family reprise is a great song again. then the chess game, marvin my guy you know you agreed to let whizzer win cmon now. i never wanted to love you is heartbreaking. and the games i play makes me violently sob. march of the falsettos made no sense to me until i realised that it was a song to remind you that acts of affection are NOT masculine at all. i honestly dont get why act one didnt end with i never wanted to love you, but father to son is heartwarming compared to the previous songs. i love the second act so much. marvin has done everything to change himself yet the love of his life is stripped away from him. it is like a reminder that due to his past actions he can never like fully be a good person. he changed. he did im not putting that down, but his actions can always haunt him.

[yesthatssadirichardslove]

Barry Manilow prepares upcoming Broadway musical 'Harmony,' at long last

NEW YORK

More than 30 years after the musical “Harmony” was written, it finally prepares to make its Broadway debut. The show was almost lost to history — like its subject.

The historical show written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman tells the true story of the forgotten German performing group The Comedian Harmonists. Many regard the six-man group as one of the first boy bands, as they recorded a string of popular albums and played sold-out venues around the globe.

But at the height of their popularity, the Nazi party took control of Germany, and they were denounced for being degenerates. Three of the group’s members were Jewish, and possessing their music was considered a crime.

Relegated to obscurity and word of mouth, Sussman learned of the group through a German-language documentary. After seeing it, he recalls running to a phone booth in lower Manhattan to call his writing partner about what he just saw.

“I had never heard of them. And I thought, (Manilow) knows every song ever written. He knows every group that ever was,” Sussman told the Associated Press in a recent interview after a rehearsal for the show.

Manilow was also unaware.

“Then we realized that’s the story,” Sussman said.

But that was half the battle, as information on the group was hard to come by. “The Nazis tried to annihilate them, and they did. You couldn’t find any records. You couldn’t look at any of their movies,” Manilow said.

Though they made approximately a dozen films and released numerous recordings, most were confiscated by authorities and destroyed.

“It was illegal to own or play or sell the records, so people hid their 78s under their mattresses. And after the war, they began to emerge,” Sussman said.

While playing concert dates in Germany, Manilow visited a Tower Records store in Berlin to check out a major display.

“There was a whole wall of Comedian Harmonists. It was like the Beatles. They were the Beatles. They were the Backstreet Boys. They were the first boy band. That’s how big they were,” Manilow said.

While the show was written in the 1990s, Manilow states the long road to Broadway — including stops off-Broadway in New York City and La Jolla Playhouse in California — had little to do with finishing the show and more about finding the right person to bring it to the big stage.

“Basically, it was ‘Harmony’ even in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse. Great reviews. Everybody loved it. And it wasn’t about the show, it was about the producers just couldn’t keep going. They couldn’t take it to New York,” Manilow said.

Then Tony-Award winning theatrical producer Ken Davenport stepped in. “He delivered all the way,” Sussman said. Previews begin Oct. 18 at the Barrymore Theatre.

The musical stars Sierra Boggess, Chip Zien and Julie Benko. The six Comedian Harmonists are Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman and Steven Telsey. The director is Warren Carlyle.

Manilow and Sussman are hoping that audiences learn about the legacy of The Comedian Harmonists, and how their brand of entertainment paved the way for the acts that followed.

Manilow and Sussman have worked together for decades with Manilow writing the music and Sussman dealing with lyrics, including the iconic hits “I Made it Through the Rain,” “Copacabana (At the Copa),” and “Hey Mambo.”

[takemebacktowheniwassane]

I've been thinking about this recently 😭

"life is lonley, life is rotten, and thankfully short, thankfully short, thankfully SHORT!"

"...like Marvin!"

and

"Short insomiacssssss and a teeny-tiny band!" how I love you

also I am just constantly thinking about Chip Zien's Marvin, almost every hour of every day. thank you

Chip Zien: *is in a William Finn musical*

William Finn writing the lyrics: 🎶 He is SO fucking SHORT 🎶

[lizzardtown]

Finally got around to listening to the a new brain obc and on my god chip Zien I love you

[unlikelylovers]

[801boy]

Sometimes my cat sits on my lap but only when i have food and once he’s there , he scoots closer and closer until his paw can reach my food, and then he slowly sticks his paw onto my food until i bop him on the paw or the nose

HIIII SHIT DUDE I KNWO THIS WAS FOR THE CHARACTER ASK THING. Tell your cat I love him so dearly. Ok you get mendel weisenbachfeld from the musical falsettos. Notable actors are chip zien (1993) and brandon uranowitz (2016). Zien is about 1000x more neurotic but they are both wonderful. Anyways mendel is the world's worst psychiatrist! He is, however, incredibly funny because of that. He spends a session w his patient asking the guy questions about his ex-wife because he thinks she's hot (ex: "Does she sleep in the nuuuuuuude???"). He sings the opening line for act two which is "HOMOSEXUALS" and waves around lights towards the audience. He got married to aforementioned patient's ex-wife on May 27th at 8. In his marriage proposal he mentions how biblical brothers killed each other in biblical times. His 2016 actor avoided coming out to his parents after they found hardcore r18 gay content on the family computer by saying someone MUST have hacked it (and they believed him). Overall a very fun character especially for a musical that emotionally destroys me every time I watch it. <3

[richie-shitlips]

not putting that in the same reblog chain cause i don't feel like it so i'll tag you @isopodonanescalator

i heard that this song was inspired by a conversation chip zien and alison fraser had in character, improvizing what a breakfast in marvin and trina's house would look like in the middle of the divorce and oh my goddd their imaginations

the repetition of normal mealtime sayings like "pass the sugar please" and "please drink your tea before it's cold" are marvin and trina trying to act like everything's normal

this is what the 1985 script says about the song! which i think explains quite a lot about it before i've really said much. gonna talk about trina first and then marvin cause they sing over each other so. yeah

trina talking about her dreams "i dreamt last night we flew to china" and "i dreamt last night you almost held me" is another thing that you might hear at the breakfast table, the first one seems normal for a dream, and the second one is just plain sad. she probably didn't dream that he almost held her, but she means she wished he did? does that make sense?

"i cry as if on cue" is both a tie-in with i'm breaking down and trina saying like. she seems to cry the second she gets upset, or maybe when she gets angry, as they used to fight a lot

"hold me. hold him too, but stay" is her submission. she's willing to live in denial, willing to act like everything's normal, if he would just stay with her. even if that includes whizzer now

"i can't believe we've worked to end up this way" they were married for ten years! that's a lot of time and effort just thrown out the window as soon as marvin found someone new, whether they loved each other or not. even if they hated each other, they still tried and worked and marvin broke all they'd built and wow i just said a Lot about this one line where did all these feelings come from

to marvin! "jesus christ, you'll come through" is clearly a dismissive statement, but he could also be trying to say like "you can get through this, everything will be alright" comforting but he's annoyed about it

"you can't go on as if you're dying / a martyr just won't play" he's again telling her that she's got to get over it eventually, and it's not healthy to act like her life is over. which is surprisingly mature for mr "how could you ever deny what we had?!"

"hit me" by itself i have thoughts on. in unlikely lovers he says "hit me if you need to / slap my face" and i think it's interesting how marvin tells his partners they're allowed to hurt him when he feels like everything's falling apart and that he's done something wrong (likely implying that he was beaten as discipline as a child)

"strip me down" i see as like. hard to explain uh. like she can get him naked and see for herself that he doesn't feel anything for her. yeah that works. that's his submission

"but say... this is much better for the both of us / now things are better for the both of us" is him trying to convince himself and trina that this was the right choice. it was the right choice, but he's having doubts and she's mourning the love she thought they had

trina's last "pass the sugar, please" is the final decision, which is that they don't make a decision. they're getting a divorce, but no agreement is reached. like "speak now or forever hold your peace" except for divorce instead of marriage. neither speaks up, so they sweep it under the rug

hope this is suitable!!

also while i have you here abbi do you want to do the thing where at trina's last line sweetheart puts a black hat on her like in i am wearing a hat? it'd be neat :)

you guys should ask me about my in trousers analysis so i have reason to talk about it and also cause i'm the only one who's correct about it trust me i am marvin

[spacing-history-queer]

Anygays

I'm fine I just apparently have never learned how to have normal people crushes like idk what celebrity do normal people have a crush on? I assume not chameleons and 75 year old men

At least I love you, so that's a normal point and ig Andrew Rannells is a normal point too? Idk he's conventionally attractive. And you're very lovable. So that makes me kinda normal

Sorry for this rant I really don't have a way with words today

I mean I have to admit young Chip Zien is kinda----

[iclimbtreestofeelalive]

today i will be rating the musicals that have Nostalgic Value to me despite being problematic/cringey because i watched them on repeat from a very young age!

Peter Pan (Specifically the one starring cathy rigsby): 6/10, powerful nostalgic value but problematic in the usual ways that peter pan tends to be. it gets a 6/10 because the rooster crow was my favorite stim to scream while dangling from the stairway rails as a child, much to my mother’s horror

Phantom of the Opera (unfortunately,, the 2004 movie): 7/10, the opening is so incredibly Loud and Big in a way that fireworks wish they could achieve. while the cinematography is horrifying,, it’s awfully, terribly chaotic,, in a way that makes my little adhd brain buzz. the flooded cellar scene actually gave 3-year-old me nightmares, we had this one on DVD boys

Cats (1998): 9.5/10, i love it so dearly with all of my heart, call me a furry all you want but you know i have the upper ground of pure unironic enjoyment. the rum tum tugger is the source of my crippling gay urge to impress every asshole that comes my way. i know the choreography and lines by heart and can recite it on demand. the only reason it’s not a full 10/10 is because it is Very Dated And British,, which means that for every “magical mister mistoffolees”, there’s a “battle of the pekes and the pollicles”, which is not good. mistoffolees is a magic sparkly twink and i love that for him.

Into The Woods (1987): 10/10 oh my GOD. holy shit. into the woods by stephen sondheim is one of my favorite musicals to date, because sondheim is a master and the Themes,, musically and storytelling-wise-- also it makes me laugh. Every Time. it’s a personal goal of mine to play either jack or one of the princes. this recording especially is fantastic?? because Bernadette Peters?? and Chip Zien?? oh my god i love this musical with all of my heart,, with none of the issues that come with Cats. i’d memorized everyone’s lines by the age of 7. i can still recite it nearly perfectly. also, “children will listen” always makes me want to hug my mom so i DO. we don’t talk about the movie. it’s good,, but No One can be bernadette peters.

Mary Poppins: 8/10, don’t get me wrong, i love julie andrews to death, but again. Very British. also i played mary poppins twice in two separate states, which made me a little bit tired of the songs. i still enjoy it immensely though,, since i watched it at a young enough age that i couldn’t register exactly How Bad dick van dyke’s accent was. (side note: poor dick van dyke?? his name is literally a curse word and a slur,, the dude had it rough). gave me excellent diction from a young age,, so it’s earned its place on this list.