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obstinaterixatrix · 2 years ago

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Changed for sensitivity to ‘dixie’ remedy (lol) which certainly softens it, I think it makes sense as an update for almost 20 years later

Feldzieg needs to take a diction class

The men in general (aside from aldopho and underling) needed help with vocals; you could hear them holding back and sounding somewhat afraid to sing full force

The brass section was really struggling

They didn’t have a black actress for the aviatrix which meant they couldn’t say why drowsy was “surprisingly progressive for its time” (LOL)

Aldolpho threw out a “thank god” at the end of the orientalism interlude which was pretty funny

Okay. Here’s where I get insane. In the metanarrative that only lives in my head, Jane Roberts is a big star but she’s also a very new star performing with people who have very established careers (and a toothpaste commercial guy). What’s striking about foster’s performance in the obc is that her Jane-Roberts-As-Janet-Van-de-Graff is *strikingly* out of genre compared to her costars; while they’re approaching it like the over-the-top farce it’s supposed to be, she’s approaching it with this subtly strange almost shakespearean stoicism and responds with a sincerity that doesn’t entirely fit the show. She doesn’t fall into the Oh You! reactions or the emotions for comedic effect, she plays it as a tragedy. and the metanarrative within the show *could* be read as Jane Roberts, the actress, having something to prove and the execution of that leaves her character, janet van de graff, Out Of Genre. There is a *disconnect*

HERE’S where I bring in man in the chair. Well, first of all, he’s an interesting character to contend with since this show was written before gay marriage was legal and the subtext of him being mega closeted had a different sort of impact (also, they might have to start updating it from “are you surprised I was married” to “my ex-wife—are you surprised I had a wife?”) (lol). I feel like what makes bob martin’s performance of man in the chair fairly striking is 1) he is very specifically a theater *fan* not a theater *kid; 2) his charm lies less in competent charisma and more of a pathetic sincerity, 3) he exists in isolation and actively avoids connection with people in his reality; he engages with the audience and with the characters, but actively avoids the phone and his super (which, understandable, but we’re drawing thematic connections here); 4) and most importantly, *his metanarrative parallels janet van de graff’s*

With several of the other productions, it’s very obvious directors push the gay subtext by playing up gay stereotype; the man in the chair is sassy, he’s melodramatic, and—what’s key here—there’s a confidence to how he delivers his quips. I don’t really like this execution because it kind of de-emphasizes the prickliness and awkwardness of the man in the chair. he’s making quips, of course, but his opening monologue highlights feeling anxious, and it really enhances his character to have that frantic/anxious energy underpin his whole character. and the gay/theater stereotype kind of overlaps, because, y’know, but man in the chair needs to *solidly* be a fan, not a participant in any way. so 1 and 2 go hand in hand; playing him while emphasizing more stereotypically gay mannerisms/delivery has this periphery effect of pushing his ‘fan’ status to ‘participant’ status.

Another impact from emphasizing the man in the chair’s subtextual homosexuality is that some productions will have the man in the chair obviously respond positively to the super when he expresses a love for musical theater, only to shove him out the door when he mentions his wife. Compare this to bob martin’s performance, where the entire interaction—INCLUDING when the super expresses love for musicals—he’s obviously closed off, guarded, and wanting him out of his house. in fact, rather than the “wife” comment pushing man in the chair to kick him out, it’s that the super keeps trying to talk to him.

Here’s the thing: janet van de graff’s dilemma never actually gets solved in a meaningful way. “is it the monkey (robert) or my pedestal I love.” it gets swept to the side in typical musical romp fashion. and I’m going to take a step further back. the *metanarrative* dilemma never actually gets solved; janet van de graff never gets integrated in the genre. janet van de graff is a character that has no development or resolution, but moves forward and adheres to the plot unchanged.

HERE’S THE THING. the ending to the drowsy chaperone musical (like, the musical, not the musical-within-a-musical) is a *comforting* ending but one with no *resolution*. the man in the chair is a static character. everything he says and reveals to us is not a revelation to *him*. man in the chair never gets *integrated* into reality, making connections with people in his life, he stays in his escapism, maintaining status quo

(By the way this isn’t to say the ending is tragic or depressing, although some people may certainly interpret it that way—I like to read the ending in terms of keeping man in the chair at baseline so there remains a possibility for improvement and genuine connection in the future when he’s ready for it)

So while I wouldn’t say man in the chair is ‘out of genre’ in real life, I think there needs to be an emphasized disconnect and an active adherence to that disconnect

PARALLEL TO janet van de graff’s disconnect and active adherence to that disconnect

WHICH MEANS: 1) man in the chair’s performance shouldn’t focus on emphasizing subtextual homosexuality (specifically because it’s very clear in the text anyway even without stereotypical delivery/mannerisms), his performance should focus on alienation and a lack of charisma (but in a charismatic way)—he’s a nervous guy and that should be what’s emphasized to the audience; 2) janet van de graff should not be engaging with and reacting to the other characters in the musical on the same level as they are interacting with each other, there shouldn’t be exaggerated outrage or eye-rolling at the antics of the other characters—the performance should have some kind of contrast to the other characters, an earnest (re: desperate) new actress trying to hold her own against an entire cast of vaudeville stars and also a toothpaste commercial guy.

it’s intermission at this community theater’s production of drowsy

They got really good folks for Aldolpho and Drowsy, these folks go ALL out on the hammy acting and it’s very enjoyable

The set is very charming, it was fun pointing to certain pieces and going like. I Know What That Is For.

One of the pastry chefs got genderbent, so it got changed to The Simple Siblings which I thought was charming. I wonder if there are alternate scripts based on oh oops the lights flashed I have no time to air my beef with the metanarrative that only existed in my head that they didn’t implement this production bye

#talking abt musicals #and the show did have a more confident man in the chair and a more genre-appropriate reactive janet

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palecolorbouquetmag-blog · 4 years ago

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Cosmo Pyke is a skater from South London who’s become known around the world for his unique singing, songwriting and guitar music. His unique sound made such a big noise it was heard by millions of people and many of them quickly became his fans. But in conversation you discover his passion for his music is as strong as his love for skateboarding and making art. Skating and playing the guitar gripped him from a young age and he picked up both naturally. But it wasn’t just his talent to string together well written songs and lines on his board that helped him to be the artist he is today. It’s also the excitement he gets from expressing his thoughts and ideas through them that stokes him out. Inspired to push for perfection with his pursuits and through taking his skills in a creative direction, he was further motivated to make art and his music career moved forward. Cosmo has been a No Comply Network member since the start and to see his meteoric rise as a musician has been immense. Four years since he released his impactful first EP and a week before the release of his latest offering, we had a chat about how he learned to skate and play guitar, shredding South Norwood, Peckham Rye and Bromley Skateparks, Ben Glasser and Max Critchlow, seeing US pros at demos, BRIT School, WITH Section, Slam City Skates, Southbank, street skating, making graff, recording his breakout EP ‘Just Cosmo’ with Fraser T Smith in the same studio as Stormzy, behind-the-scenes stories of all of his music videos, playing the last ever show at The Montague Arms with King Krule, filming ideal skate clips in Birmingham and Barcelona, playing live gigs, why his latest single Piper for Janet is one of his most meaningful to date, making tunes in Lockdown, the release timeline of his new tracks and his favourite skaters, spots, skate videos, art and photos and much more.

Glad to get a hold of you man, it’s been a while!

Yeah, it’s good because I’m releasing my first tune in a while in six days. It’s really good timing, we’re getting to chat now.

So when did you first see skating and think, I want to do that?

I used to skate when I was younger, maybe when I was about 7 years old.

That’s young, where did you get your first skateboard?

I got my first board from Brixton Cycles, which was next to Stockwell Skatepark at the time. I used to skate Peckham Skatepark. But not too much. I was always going to Stockwell and Kennington Bowl with my mate when I was really small. But then I stopped skating and started rollerblading…

Why on earth did you stop skateboarding to rollerblade?

It was my mate that I mentioned earlier. His older brother used to skate in my area and he was like a bit of a king in the graffiti scene. We always used his skates, everybody learned on his skates. We used to rollerblade at Whites Grounds, the skatepark in London Bridge, when Reuben De Haan’s cousin used to run it.

What year was this, 2005-2006?

Yeah.

So you started skating at age 7, stopped for a few years and started again. What motivated you to get back on board?

Yeah when I was 12, in year 7, Louie Dobbs, my boy he got me on it. We used to skate with Max Critchlow as well.

Yeah the day I started skating again I was at Bay 66 Skatepark, on the mini, on blades, with a party of people and at Bay you had to wear a helmet if you’re on blades but not if you’re on a board, it’s still like that. So at the time I was like fuck this!

I tried to drop in on the mini on a board and I was like look, I put my Vans on and went for the drop in on a skateboard and just did it! Dropped in first try on the mini and I was like fuck this! I’m skating from now on. I could always ride into the bank in Peckham but I’d actually never dropped in on a skateboard up to this point.

When was the first time you made your own music?

Well it was from about the age of about 9-10, maybe 11-10. I went to this thing called School of Rock at the Prendergast School in South London. It was called Felix’s School of Rock – run by this guy called Felix. You get put into a band, it was sick. In the holidays you’d do it for 4 days for a £100.

Like a kind of music boot camp for kids?

Yeah. Max Critchlow used to do it so it was really cool. It was sick. We weren’t allowed to bring skateboards and skate in the hall because they were scared we’d break our necks it was funny man.

How did it work?

You’d’ get put in a band with a Jack Black kind of figure and then on the fourth day there would be a battle of the bands type event and you’d do a gig on the stage. There would be like 90 bands, all just like loads of small kids playing and the winner at the end wins chocolate, whoever screams the loudest wins basically!

Sounds hilarious man

From there, I was put on the stage, those were my first shows and gigs as a kid, just playing guitar, not even singing really, I did that School of Rock like nine times over the course of the next 5 years over the holidays and shit. Then I moved from Prendergast to Thomas Tallis School and then I started working there when I got to the age of like 18.

At the School of Rock?

Yeah, my first gig was there! Playing gigs, I was really scared before I got on stage as well. Because I cared a lot about what I was doing from such a young age. Cared about how I did.

Once you’d finished school and were looking to go to College, were you making music a lot or skating a lot?

I kind of wasn’t even doing anything religiously. Skate one day. Music the next day. Day after that do some graffiti. Never do one thing; I’ve always been juggling three things at a time. Going to school and school was just…school, you know?

For sure. What was it like studying at the Brit School?

It was really cool, I loved it, I was so happy really. I wasn’t at my rubbish school I was at previously. It had a uniform. This had no uniform and liberal teachers.

That’s dope

Yeah BRIT was crazy. It was like Uni as a 15 year old, no school bell, just like be on time.

So it made you be more independent

I didn’t go to Uni. I went to Sixth Form and then just finished school, recorded my tape when I was in year 13, towards the end of my school, so it all patterned up well. When I finished school. I was touring all around London, South, West, East and North. In all the pubs.

I guess you made such a big impact; you were waiting to make something on that level or better

The way that I do Graff is the same way I do music. My friend even told me the other day. My songs are like the same way I do a piece or skate, just perfected and something I’ve been doing for a long time, so they are all really similar for me.So what stopped you from releasing those other songs?

I went up to Leeds and recorded with this guy, stayed with him there and recorded in his house. It just felt like the act of making music felt forced. I felt mad going up to Leeds sleeping in an Air BnB and focusing solely on just making music. Now I could do it a lot more but at the time I didn’t have the concentration.

Now I know a lot more but then I wasn’t ready. I made some good stuff and I really like it now and at the time I kinda like it as well but I kind of didn’t want to release it because it wasn’t the same process as the first record that I made with a big old studio with live musicians. This was just me on my own with no drummer, my mate, my drummer wasn’t there, it didn’t feel natural.

I tried to do some other stuff, that will come out in the future that I will re-record but I did stuff that I wasn’t 100% happy but this record I’m putting out now. This latest record, I recorded the way I’d done the first one with all live instruments.

Sounds like you needed some inspiration on this one. What music inspires you as an artist?

At the time I was coming up with loads of bands that played in the Montague Arms in New Cross and The Windmill in Brixton. There were loads of bands playing there at the time

Like who?

Horsey, my cousin’s band a cover band called The Bodies and King Krule.

You and King Krule played the last ever show at the Montague Arms in New Cross, what do you remember from that gig?

Yeah, there was a queue down the fucking road. The first person I saw in the queue was King Krule. I was like what the fuck!? why are people coming to see me. I never really had confidence in myself but you know! Yeah that was the first time I experienced people acting weird man, from those days at the Montague.

Yeah, when you get fame people treat you differently. But what was it like for you?

I learned my social skills from skating so I was always just completely…When you do my line of work, you meet a lot of fans. So it’s like when you meet someone and you’re a fan of their skating, it’s just about being nice to people and it was nice at the time and I miss playing.

The last gig I played was in Jakarta and I haven’t played since then. I’ve been dormant for 2 years. It’s such a long time but you know due to Lockdown it’s just extended that really.

Do you have a favourite artist?

Matthew Klarwein. He did Miles Davis’ album cover artworks and then I really like Peter Green too; he’s a musician from Fleetwood Mac.

I also like John Piper, he’s the artist who’s art I’m basing this next record I’m about to release on. It’s called a Piper for Janet because my granny’s friend drew a John Piper style painting for her, he used a lot of watercolour and collage so the front cover of this record is based on him and he’s a British Painter. John Piper, he’s pretty cool

I like Edward Ruscha; he’s a photographer but he did a lot of stuff like taking photos of carparks and gas station in LA and Route 66 from specific perspectives back in the 60s and stuff like that.

Dope. Lastly when are all your new songs going to be released?

Next couple of months; they should all be out in January

Sounds good, look forward to it. Any last words Cosmo?

For anybody who’s out there reading this thanks for supporting me.

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musicalsorwhatever · 4 years ago

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“Show Off” is the third song in the 2006 Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone. This show features music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and book by Bob Martin (The Prom) and Don McKellar. This song is performed by Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie), who was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for her role as Janet van de Graff. The above clip is from the show’s Tony Award performance.

#musical theater #Broadway #tony performance #live performance #the drowsy chaperone #the drowsy chaperone musical #show off #2006 #Lisa Lambert #Greg Morrison #Bob Martin #Don McKellar #Sutton Foster #sotd #video

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haverkampink · 7 years ago

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Commissions!! A cute set of postcard sized character illustrations for an actress who wanted to commemorate her favorite roles: Sally Bowles, Kathy Seldon, Truly Scrumptious, Janet Van De Graff, and Millie Dillmount.

#better pics tomorrow I'm sleep #finished

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john-bracket · 1 year ago

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#clary fairchild #jace herondale #the mortal instruments #marisol garza #jonathan cartwright #the shadowhunter chronicles #jo lupo #zane donovan #eureka #robert martin #janet van de graff #the drowsy chaperone #polls

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wetheaterwia-blog · 7 years ago

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Sutton Lenore

By: Sara Romanoski

Sutton Lenore Foster was born March 18th, 1975 in Statesboro, Georgia, and is the true definition of a triple threat. A successful singer, dancer, and actress, Foster has been working in the industry for over 20 years, both on stage and screen, and has garnered countless awards, for her remarkable work and prolific resume.

At the age of 15, Foster was a contestant on the popular reality TV show, Star Search, where she ultimately lost to another current star on Broadway, Richard H. Blake, from A Bronx Tale. But, it wouldn’t be the last time we see her on the small screen, because in addition to being a wildly popular Broadway star, Foster has also appeared in shows including Bunheads, Younger, Flight of the Concords, Sesame Street, Royal Pains, The Good Wife, Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. She has also done voice acting, providing dialogue for characters in animated television shows like Doc McStuffins.

While Foster has experience in just about every corner of the entertainment industry, she is best known for her stunning performances on Broadway. From Eponine in Les Miserables, to Sandy in Grease, to Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, she has played some of the most well-known roles ever to hit the stage. Although she has played many already established characters, Foster is widely known for her extraordinary original embodiments of characters like Fiona in Shrek: The Musical, Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Janet van de Graff in The Drowsy Chaperone. With her first professional Broadway role at a young age, Foster has spent most of her life on the stage. It is her determination, attitude, and dedication to her work that has made her so successful. In 2012, she delivered the commencement speech at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and said, “When I was a kid I would fearlessly jump into the swimming pool but then almost drown because I didn’t know how to swim. Nevertheless, this attitude towards life has served me well. Say yes to opportunity. Sink or swim, it’ll change your life.” Foster’s down to earth, and caring personality makes her relatable to fans across the world, and also known as one of Broadway’s Sweethearts.

So far in her career, Foster has won over 16 prestigious awards for her work, including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and several Astaire awards, but besides dazzling audiences and earning fame, Foster is active in philanthropic work as well. She supports and partners with many animal rights groups like the ASPCA, The Humane Society, and The Petco Foundation. Other charity work includes Broadway Cares/Equity Fight AIDS.

Although she’s 20+ years into a highly successful career, Foster shows no signs of slowing down. She is currently married, with a 1-year-old daughter.

“It’s my career and my passion. I’ve learned more about myself through this profession than I ever could have imagined.” -Sutton Foster

Works Cited

Foster, Sutton. “Sutton Foster Graduation Speech – Video & Transcript.” Graduation Speeches RSS, 5 May 2012, gradspeeches.com/2012/2012/sutton-foster.

“Official Website.” Sutton Foster, suttonfoster.com/.

“Sutton Foster.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm1900397/.

#sutton foster

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