#to the stars - the autobiography of george takei

[sonoe-13]

I've also been reading a lot of graphic novels by Asian American artists/writers/popular figures. Two that I've really loved are "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang, and "They Called Us Enemy" cowritten by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, and Steven Scott. It was illustrated by Harmony Becker.

"American Born Chinese" follows three separate stories: a contemporary retelling of the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King; the life of 2nd generation Chinese immigrant Jim Wang; and the sitcom-esque story of "all-American" Danny and his cousin Chin-Kee, who's design is based on racist depictions of Chinese people in popular media. At the end of the story, all three stories come together in a hard-hitting examination of internalized racism.

"They Called Us Enemy" is an autobiography about actor and activist George Takei's childhood experience as a young boy in the WWII Japanese Internment Camps. Takei is most widely known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in Star Trek: The Original Series. The graphic novel gives personal insight into the injustice that the Japanese Americans faced as a result of the anti-Japanese sentiment that took hold of America in the wake of Pearl Harbor.

This story was particularly interesting to me, as my grandmother was also interned in these same camps, though in a different location that Takei was. I also had the fortune of visiting both the Manzanar National Historic Site, which was where Takei was interned, as well as the Japanese American National Museum, which Takei founded.

[warningsine]

Former colleagues and stars have paid tribute to Friends actor Matthew Perry, who died on Saturday night at his home in Los Angeles.

The 54-year-old actor, beloved for his performance in the hit sitcom as the sarcastic Chandler Bing, was found dead in an apparent drowning, his representative told NBC News. A Los Angeles fire department spokesperson confirmed first responders were called to Perry’s home in Pacific Palisades about a “water emergency”.

Maggie Wheeler, who played Chandler’s girlfriend Janice in Friends, said the joy Perry brought to “so many” in his “too short lifetime will live on”.

“I feel so very blessed by every creative moment we shared,” she wrote on Instagram.

Morgan Fairchild, who played Chandler’s mother Nora Bing, said: “I’m heartbroken about the untimely death of my ‘son’ … The loss of such a brilliant young actor is a shock.”

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who knew Perry as a boy when Perry’s mother worked as an aide to his father, Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, described his death was “shocking and saddening.”

“I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them. Thanks for all the laughs, Matthew. You were loved – and you will be missed,” he said.

The actor Wendell Pierce, who starred alongside Perry in the remake of The Odd Couple, wrote on X: “Damn. For two years Matthew Perry was my boss, my colleague, and a giving, kind, funny man. I pray and hope he is at peace.”

The actor Selma Blair wrote on Instagram that Perry was “my oldest boy friend”.

“All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially. Every day,” Blair wrote. “I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

Mira Sorvino, who starred with Perry in the 1994 movie Parallel Lives, wrote on X: “Oh no!!! Matthew Perry!! You sweet, troubled soul!! May you find peace and happiness in Heaven, making everyone laugh with your singular wit!!!”

Actor Paget Brewster, who played Chandler’s girlfriend Kathy in season four of Friends, wrote on X: “He was lovely to me on Friends and every time I saw him in the decades after. Please read his book. It was his legacy to help. He won’t rest in peace though. He’s already too busy making everyone laugh up there.”

Meredith Salenger, who starred in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon with Perry when he was 16, shared four photos of them together. “Matthew and I have known each other since [we] were 16 years old. Oh man. No words. Rest in peace sweet @MatthewPerry,” she said.

“What a tragic piece of news to read,” actor George Takei wrote. “My heart goes out to his loved ones and long time cast mates.”

Canadian-American comedian Tom Green wrote: “Shocked and saddened to just hear about the passing of Matthew Perry in a tragic drowning. He is one of the many talented and incredible success stories from my hometown of Ottawa Canada. Rest in peace Matthew.”

Broadcaster Piers Morgan called Perry “a great actor, but by his own admission, a very tormented guy. His recent autobiography about his addiction-ravaged life was one of the most powerful, honest and revealing I’ve ever read. Such sad news.”

Warner Bros Television Group, which produced Friends for its entire run from 1994 to 2004, said in a statement: “We are devastated by the passing of our dear friend Matthew Perry. Matthew was an incredibly gifted actor and an indelible part of the Warner Bros Television Group family. The impact of his comedic genius was felt around the world, and his legacy will live on in the hearts of so many. This is a heartbreaking day, and we send our love to his family, his loved ones, and all of his devoted fans.”

NBC, the network that aired Friends, said: “He brought so much joy to hundreds of millions of people around the world with his pitch perfect comedic timing and wry wit. His legacy will live on through countless generations.”

The official Friends account on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared: “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans.”

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

what are your top 5 autobiographies/memoirs by old hollywood stars? or if that's too narrow then just top 5 autobiographies/memoirs you've read

Oh LOVE this question!

ME: STORIES OF MY LIFE - Katharine Hepburn

The one that started it all! She's a force of nature, very driven and intelligent. A real deep zest for life. I've reread this once or twice because she's got a particular way of inspiring me.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN - Sidney Poitier

Though he has great stories about his career, what sticks in my mind right now is his early childhood on Cat Island in the Bahamas because it's so different than any of the other early childhoods I've read about in celebrity memoirs. Not a built up area, few electric lights or other conveniences. Small and fairly sheltered. I love what he has to say about his upbringing there and what a good foundation it gave him.

TO THE STARS - George Takei

Takei's firsthand account of his and his family's experience in internment camps during WWII, and the lasting impact of it on their lives, is truly sobering. I greatly admire Takei's longstanding activism and involvment in local politics. Wish he'd talked about his queerness, but this book was from 1994 so I'm not surprised.

DEBBIE: MY LIFE and UNSINKABLE - Debbie Reynolds

Witty, bawdy, glamororus, and fiercely determined, I deeply love Debbie Reynolds. I've read some of, her daughter, Carrie Fisher's writing and tho Carrie's also fantastic, I relate more to Debbie and her perkiness.

BY MYSELF and NOW - Lauren Bacall

Elegant star of stage and screen. Like with Debbie I relate to this sort of straight-laced upstanding quality about her. Her and Bogie truly are a romance for the ages. I normally don't think big age gaps are a good idea, but for those two it really worked. The deep love they shared, and how tragic his death was is really moving. Also she's an only child, as am I, so there's things about that: how in a way your world is smaller, often you're led to be mature at a young age, and if you have a good relationship with your parent/s (or other caregivers) it's close in a different way than it is for people with siblings.

Thank you Lucie, I enjoyed answering this 😊

[winningthesweepstakes]

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese World War II Story by George Takei, illustrated by Michelle Lee

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese World War II Story by George Takei, illustrated by Michelle Lee. Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024. 9780593566350 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5 Format: Hardcover Genre: Biography (Autobiography) What did you like about the book? George Takei was four years old in December 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. He had a little brother and…

[celluloiddreamzzz]

GEORGE TAKEI: My introduction to Star Trek was my role as Astrophysicist Sulu in the show’s second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”

[agardenandlibrary]

Last book I...

Thanks for the tag @abbeyx and @gatheryepens!

Bought: I Am Not Spock by Leonard Nimoy, Beyond Uhura by Nichelle Nichols, and To the Stars by George Takei. (not me trying to collect the autobiographies of the TOS crew haha)

Borrowed:  The Woman Who Would be King by Kara Cooney and a few graphic novels

Was gifted: The Wheel of Time ebooks, I think

Gave to someone else: The Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski

Started: Library Wars, vol. 1

Finished: Library Wars, vol. 1

Gave 5 stars: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston 

Gave 2 stars:  Arsenic and Adobo by Mia Manansala

Didn’t finish: The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar, I think? it’s been a good while since I DNF’d a book

Tagging: did you read this whole thing? congrats, I’m tagging you

[bevtroi]

I'm new to the fandom, what did Shatner do??

basically he’s just a massive wanker. have a look at his twitter and that’ll tell you everything lmao

he was essentially an egotistical jerk and a nightmare to work with on the set of star trek to his coworkers and even to guest starts. his head was so big that he was angry about the fact fans started to prefer spock to kirk and he was described as being obsessed with being the star of the show. there are numerous quotes from james doohan, george takei and nichelle nichols on the matter, describing how he acted.

he and takei have had a long ass feud. takei said in his autobiography that shatner didn’t acknowledge him on set at all, then ranted about not being invited to his wedding (which takei claims is untrue).

nimoy was able to make up with shatner and they were friends until shatner decided to betray his trust. after nimoy refused to be interviewed for shatner’s documentary, he secretly recorded nimoy to include it without his permission. in his book he says how he didn’t even think anything of it even though it ended their friendship. they didn’t talk again.

he didn’t sign the open letter denouncing trump (the article also mentions that patrick stewart didn’t which is a bit ridiculous because he is british and it was about an american election and he also says he is a socialist and supports labour)

now he tends to use his platform as the famous captain kirk on his twitter, blowing off steam like an angry old man who hates to be forgotten. he attacks left wing politics and gets into endless twitter fights with fans calling them snowflakes. here’s some screenshots, i can link the tweets if anyone wants me to but i forgot to before (they’re easy enough to search for).

if any of the sources don’t work for anyone because of location/etc shoot me a message and i’ll send screenshots :)

[info5420blog1and2]

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, illus. by Harmony Becker

Selection: Autobiography

Justification

I’m a huge Star Trek fan thanks to my mom who watched the original series as a kid herself. Although it wasn’t because of that that I read this book, I actually had to read it last year as part of the comics and graphic novels course. I read it again this year to refresh my memory and absolutely wanted to include this selection because of Takei’s personal stake in the biography. Finding survivors of internment can be quite hard and harder still is finding one who’s famous making Takei’s contribution invaluable. For these reasons I wanted to talk about this book.

Evaluation

1. The first impression of the art might be that it’s too simple and doesn’t have enough detail or color. However, the thing about the clothes that prisoners wore was that it was what they could quickly grab at the moment they were arrested and sometimes, they were camp issue. Another thing is that the only color is in the front cover. The comic itself is somewhat like an American manga in that regard. No color except black and white. Becker instead relies on the depth of facial expressions and how they convey the tone and detail of a panel. As the reader, you can see the anxiety wash over Takei’s parents’ faces when they listen to the radio program about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and you know what that means for them. The emotional gravity is important.

2. Takei could easily be a poor storyteller considering his career as an actor. However, acting goes hand in hand with storytelling as an actor’s emotions are used to tell a story about that character while the story of the show is going on. Takei uses his pedigree well in how he writes and especially in how he talks about the naming of he and his brother. You can feel him beam with pride about his father’s names for them, like he loved that about his father. Even though sometimes the panels go on without him, his narration picks up seamlessly. Pacing is important in how a graphic novel tells its story. For this plot, we already know Takei’s family will be interred in a camp but we don’t know where or when. The pacing builds up this anticipation quite well along with Takei’s storytelling.

3. The story that is being told is one we all ought to be familiar with. Teens especially should know about one of the darkest spots in American history. Only talking about the ��good parts’ of American history is sugarcoating mistakes that we could easily make again and have made with immigrant camps. A key witness testimony can make it all that much easier to warn against these mistakes. We shouldn’t be playing a game of volleyball with horrible historical events, serving them away and saying that we’ll never do them again when they get server right back to us 100 years later or even 70. Teens can act as a generation of future adults who will say ‘Never again’ and mean it. They are the future decision makers and reading this poignant and informative story will arm them with good judgment. 

Conclusion

I will admit I’m quite biased in suggesting this book but for good reason! Takei’s choice of making this biography a graphic novel is a wise one because it makes his story accessible for teens interested in graphic novels. On top of that, it’s important for readers to be able to see the faces of the people who were victims of this atrocity. We in modern times can talk about Japanese interment and conjure up vaguely Japanese people in vaguely 40s clothes but this book puts a face to the people. As a conclusion, I would also recommend season 2 of the horror anthology The Terror to older teens as it also covers Japanese internment with actors who are grandchildren of interred people and George Takei has a role in it as well.

Citation

Takei, G., Eisinger, J., Scott, S., & Becker, H. (2019). They Called Us Enemy. Top Shelf Productions.

[maryellencarter]

oh yeah shatner is a dickweasel. he thinks humor is making people look bad. star trek v (the one where they fight god) is widely considered to be one of the worst star trek movies of all time and that is the one shatner directed, and if you have read anything about how he treated his costars it is very obvious that his choices were what made it so shitty.

(for instance according to george takei, sulu was supposed to be promoted to captain in movie 2 "the wrath of khan" and kirk was supposed to give him the news and be like "congratulations!" and shatner just kept delivering the lines so flat and bad that they couldn't get the scene. sulu doesn't make captain until movie 6 "the undiscovered country", in which everyone involved made damn sure that it was not done in a manner an actor could sabotage. uncle george is understandably bitter.)

(i have read most of their autobiographies. i did not read shatner's because he's a dickweasel and also it was ghostwritten like most of the rest of the stuff with his name on it. jimmy doohan / "scotty" was especially bitter that shatner didn't show up to the dedication of the space shuttle enterprise. like it's been years since i read it but i think he like... rsvp'd and then ghosted? something totally classless, like not a case of "something legitimate came up".)

i hadn't heard about recording leonard nimoy without permission but i am not in the least bit surprised. there's a reason that by "star trek: generations" the only tos costars even slightly willing to work with him were koenig and doohan.

edit: also on reading the links above i find that he had a book ghostwritten to capitalize on leonard nimoy's *death* ??? what a turd.

Serious question. Why do you hate William Shatner? I searched through your blog trying to find an explanation but I couldn’t find anything, either bcos tumblr search feature sucks or you’ve never explained. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, I’ve just never heard anything really bad about him so I was curious.

I’ve actually answered this question multiple times, but mostly on other ppl’s posts or in tags so it’s understandable if it wasn’t easy to find. I’ll actually link this answer in my pinned post for future ref.

Reasons I dislike William Shatner: 

He was cruel to the cast and crew of Star Trek on set. This is well documented, and the following people have openly spoken out about it or, at the very least, referenced it in passing: George Takei (Sulu), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and James Doohan (Scotty). He also completely ripped into a teenage Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher in TNG).

He even betrayed Leonard Nimoy, his lifelong friend, by recording him without his permission for a documentary. They never reconciled. 

He supports Autism Speaks, a for-profit organization whose money goes to “cure research” (i.e. torturing neurodivergent kids in order to “fix” them). When autistic advocates spoke up and asked him to support alternative organizations - ones that actually help autistic people and do not pathologize us - he mocked them. 

He posts regularly on twitter about his disdain for the MeToo movement, and how he believes it’s a cry for attention.

Most recently (June 14, 2020), he expressed annoyance with the concept of a bisexual Captain Kirk. This one is going to take a bit of context, so bear with me: There is a new Star Trek series in the works called “Strange New Worlds” - which is a spinoff of “Star Trek: Discovery” and is a prequel to “Star Trek: The Original Series.” It follows Spock and Captain Pike. There is no indication that Kirk will even be in the show, but that hasn’t stopped people from speculating online. A clickbait article was written, claiming that not only would Kirk be in SNW, but that he would be bisexual. Instead of ignoring it, Shatner dug in his heels and insisted that if CBS ever did such a thing, it would be an example of “cancel culture presentism.” Which is a fancy way of saying “I don’t think bisexual people should be on TV.” Needless to say, that baffled a lot of people - including myself - because not only is that statement biphobic, but because James T. Kirk is undoubtedly coded to be a bisexual/pansexual/m-spec man, and this felt like a huge slap in the face. Like people were being unreasonable for recognizing that he isn't straight. It's like... you played him that way, Bill. You made him flirt with men and check them out. You made him look at Spock like water in a desert. You did that. You don't get to retroactively pretend he's straight.

Edit: Today (August 4, 2020) he posted some transphobic tweets, which I have documented here in two parts.

[bootleqs]

BOOTLEQ'S MASTERLIST

Hi! So, as promised, here are the links to every single bootleg I have, as well as my list of requests! My goal is to streamline this blog and make it more of a community effort, so feel free to take what you need but if you have one of my requests please send it my way! Make sure to check this post before asking, but if you are looking for something that isn't here definitely shoot me a message!Also, if one of my links is down, please message me so I can try to fix it or remove it! Thank you for helping me out!

  A

Aida

·       2001 with Mara Days, Matt Bogart, Idina Menzel (x)

·       Broadway full show (x)

Aladdin

·       Pre-Broadway Full Show Toronto (x)

·       Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular final performance HD (x)

Allegiance

·       Broadway with George Takei and Lea Salonga (x)

Amelie

·       OBC (x)

·       Audio w/ Philippa Soo (x)

American Idiot

·       (x) [password: greenday]

American Psycho

·       OBC (x)

An American in Paris

·       Broadway (x)

Anything Goes

·       Sutton Foster & Joel Grey (x)

Annie

·       1982 Film (x)

·       1999 Film (x)

·       2012 Broadway Full Show (x)

Assassins

·       2004 Broadway Revival (x)

Avenue Q

·       Broadway full show (x)

A Bed and a Chair

·       Bernadette Peters and Jeremy Jordan (x)

A Chorus Line

·       excellent high school production (act 1) (act 2)

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

A Very Potter Trilogy

·       A Very Potter Musical (x)

·       A Very Potter Sequel (x)

·       A Very Potter Senior Year (x)

B

Bare

·       2012 Off Broadway (Part One) (Part Two)

Beauty and the Beast

·       Benet Academy 2008 (part one) (part two)

Billy Elliot

·       2008 Broadway (x)

·       Broadway with Trent Kowalik (x)

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

·       Broadway (x)

Bonnie and Clyde

·       Laura Osnes & Jeremy Jordan (x)

Book of Mormon

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

·       US Tour (Act 1) (Act 2)

Bring It On

·       (x)

Bye Bye Birdie

·       1963 Film (x)

·       On Stage with Alan Cumming (x)

C

Cabaret

·       1972 Film (x)

·       Televised performance with Alan Cumming (x)

Camelot

·       1982 (x)

Carrie

·       1988 Stratford Opening Night (x)

·       2012 Off Broadway Revival (x)

·       2013 Seattle Production (x)

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

·       1984 VHS (x)

Cats

·       Stephanie J Block (x)

Catch Me if You Can

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Chess

·       (x)

Chicago

·       US Tour (x)

Children of Eden

·       (x)

·       Chess pine high school (but still excellent for a high school show!) (x)

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

·       1968 Film (x)

Cinderella (R&H)

·       1997 Film with Whitney Houston (x)

·       Broadway with Carly and Fran (x)

·       Broadway with Keke Palmer (act 1) (act 2)

 Company

·       2006 (x)

Crybaby

·       Stage (x)

Curtains

·       (x)

D

Dear Evan Hansen

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Dogfight

·       (x)

·       HD (x)

Dracula

·       German {English Subtitles}(x)

Dreamgirls

·       Original Broadway Cast {low-quality}(x)

·       2006 Film (x)

E

Equus

·       (part one) (part two)

Evita

·       2012 Broadway Revival (x)

F

Falsettos

·       2016 Broadway Revival (x)

Fantasticks

·       Fairfield Community Arts Center (part one) (part two)

Fame

·       1980 Film (x)

·       2009 Film (x)

Fiddler on the Roof

·       1971 Film (x)

Finnian’s Rainbow

·       1968 Film (x)

First Date

·       (x)

Flash Dance

·       1983 Film (x)

Follies

·       2001 revival (x)

Frozen

·       Live Musical First Showing HD (x)

Funny Girl

·       1968 Film (x)

Fun Home

·       Act 1 & 2 (x) [password: funhome]

G

Gentleman Prefer Blondes

·       2012 New York City Center Encores (x)

Grease

·       New Broadway Cast with Laura Osnes and Max Crumm (x)

Grey Gardens

·       Chesterton, Indiana (x)

·       West End (x)

Gypsy

·       1962 Film (x)

·       2008 Revival (x)

H

Hair

·       1979 Film (x)

·       2009 Revival (part one) (part two) (part three) (part four)

Hamilton

·       OBC (x)

Heathers

·       Barrett Weed (part 1) (part 2)

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

·       Neil Patrick Harris (x)

·       2001 Film (x)

·       Off Broadway Full Show (x)

·       Anthony Rapp (x)

High Fidelity

·       2006 Broadway (x)

High Society

·       1956 Film (x)

Holler if Ya Hear Me

·       Broadway 2014 (x)

Holy Musical B@man!

·       (x)

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

·       1967 Film (x)

·       Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe (x)

·       Broadway with Nick Jonas (x)

Hunchback of Notre Dame

·       1999 Berlin (x)

·       Idk what performance this is but its hunchback (x)

·       Idk what performance but this has a really good view for a bootleg (part one) (part two) (part three)

I

If/Then

·       Broadway Preview Performance (x)

·       Pre-Broadway Washington DC (x)

In the Heights

·       OBC (x)

·       I’m not sure what production this is but if you’re looking to watch the show here it is (x)

Into the Woods

·       1991 Film (x)

·       2014 Film (x)

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

·       2002 Revival (x)

J

Jesus Christ Superstar

·       1973 Film (x)

·       2012 Live Arena Tour (x)

Jersey Boys

·       Broadway full show (x)

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat

·       1999 (x)

K

Kinky Boots

·       Original Broadway Cast (part one) (part two) (part three)

Kiss Me Kate

·       1953 Film (x)

L

Legally Blonde

·       With singalong (x)

Les Miserables

·       2014 Broadway Revival (x)

·       25th Anniversary Concert (Part One) (Part Two)

·       2000 with Sutton Foster {missing part one} (x)

·       Broadway full show (x)

Lestat

·       Opening night on broadway (x)

Little Shop of Horrors

·       1986 Film (x)

Little Women

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Love Never Dies

·       London Full Show (x)

M

Mamma Mia!

·       2008 Film (x)

Mary Poppins

·       London {missing the beginning} (x)

Matilda

·       Broadway 2014 (x)

·       Broadway with Sophia Gennusa (x)

·       Broadway with Oona Lawrence (x)

Memphis

·       Broadway (x)

Miss Saigon

·       Final performance on broadway (x)

·       Broadway 1/7/01 (x)

·       National tour (x)

·       2008 (x)

N

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

·       OBC w/ Josh Groban (x)

Never Forget

·       2007 Manchester Premier (x)

Next to Normal

·       Final performance of Alice Ripley, Jennifer Damiano, and Brian d’Arcy James (x)

·       Jessica Philips and Kyle Dean Massey (x)

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Newsies:

·       1992 Film (x)

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

·       Broadway with Jeremy Jordan (x)

·       Broadway with Corey Cott (x)

·       Touring Cast December 2014 (x)

O

Oklahoma!

·       1955 Film (x)

·       1999 Film with Hugh Jackman (x)

Oliver!

·       London 2010 (x)

Once

·       Broadway (x)

Once Upon a Mattress

·       Movie (x)

P

Paramour

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Passion

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Peter and the Starcatcher

·       Original Broadway Cast (x) [password: starstuff]

Peter Pan

·       2012 Tour (act 1) (act 2)

Phantom of the Opera

·       Sierra Boggess and Norm Lewis (x)

·       1925 Film (x)

·       1989 Film (x)

·       2004 Film (x)

·       Royal Albert Hall 2011 (x)

·       Broadway December 2014 (x)

·       All of the tour links that you could possibly want, I’m not going to list them all but check it out here (x)

Pipe Dream

·       (x) [password: suzy]

Pippin

·       Live in Toronto 1982 (x)

Q

R

Ragtime

·       Poor quality (x)

Rent

·       Hollywood Bowl Performance with Neil Patrick Harris (x) [password: tango maureen]

·       2008 Broadway (x)

S

School of Rock

·       Broadway (act 1) (act 2)

Seussical

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

She Loves Me

·       Livestream (x)

Shrek the Musical

·       Broadway [Netflix] (x)

Side Show

·       (part 1) (part 2)

Sister Act

·       Broadway (x)

Something Rotten

·       Original Broadway Cast Preview (x)

·       (x)

Spring Awakening

·       Original Broadway Cast with Mattt Doyle ad Melchior (x)

·       Original Broadway Cast with Gerard Canonico as Moritz, Matt Doyle as Otto, Jennifer Damiano as Martha (x)

·       2010 with Leah Michelle (x)

Starship

·       (x)

Sunday in the Park with George

·       (x)

Sunset Boulevard

·       (act 1) (act 2)

T

The Addams Family

·       Original Broadway Cast and Chicago Preview Mix (x)

The Apple Tree

·       Broadway (part one) (part two)

The Bridges of Madison County

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

The Drowsy Chaperone

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

The King and I

·       1956 Film (x)

The Little Mermaid

·       Pre-Broadway with Sierra Boggess (x)

The Lion King

·       2000 Broadway (x)

The Music Man

·       1962 Film (x)

·       2003 Film (x)

The Producers

·       1968 Film (x)

The Sound of Music

·       1965 Film (x)

The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown

·       Orange County Performing Arts Center 2009 (x)

The Wedding Singer

·       (x)

Thouroughky Modern Millie

·       Original Broadway Cast (act 1) (act 2)

Three Musketeers

·       With Aaron Tveit (x)

Titanic the Musical

·       Peace Players Production (x)

Title of Show

·       Broadway (x)

Tuck Everlasting

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Twisted

·       (x)

U

Urinetown

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

V

W

Waitress

·       Broadway..i think obc (x)

Wicked

·       Original Broadway Cast Preview (x)

·       Original London Cast (x)

·       Donna Vivino & Alli Mauzey (x)

·       Nicole Parker, Alli Mauzey & Aaron Tveit [password: swankified] (x)

·       Pre-Broadway (x)

X

Xanadu

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

Y

Young Frankenstein

·       (x)

Z

#

13!

·       Broadway (part one) (part two) (part three) (part four) (part five) (part six)

·       Broadway full show (x)

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

·       Original Broadway Cast (x)

  WANTS

These are bootlegs that have been requested or I am looking for! If you have any of these please feel free to drop the link in my messages so I can share! :)

•           Cursed child

•           Priscilla queen of the desert

•           A little night music

•           Giant

•           Finian’s Rainbow

•           The Glass Menagerie (2013 w/ Celia Keenan Bolger & the revival)

•           Finding Neverland

•           The Wild Party with Sutton Foster

•           Picnic

•           Light in the Piazza

•           Fiddler on the roof (especially the 2016 revival)

•           Big Fish

•           Rock of Ages

•           Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

•           Cinderella OBC – laura osnes & santino fontana

•           The Woman in White – west end

•           Heathers chicago

•           Heathers with ryan as JD

•           Godspell

•           The color purple

•           Hairspray with Aaron Tveit – 2006

•           Hairspray in general really

•           Bright Star

•           Violet

•           Spamalot OBC

•           Christian Borle in thouroghly modern millie ??

•           Elegies (off-broadway)

•           Pamela’s first musical

•           West side story with Karen Olivo

•           9 to 5

•           The outsiders

•           Loserville

•           Parade

•           How to Succeed in Buisness without really trying with Darren Criss

•           Wicked with Kara Lindsay as Glinda

•           Born Yesterday 2011 revival

•           Beautiful, the Carole King Musical

•           Footloose

•           Bronx Tale

•           Come From Away

•           Rent 20th anniversary

•           La Cage Aux Folles

•           Hamilton (all casts/shows)

•           Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Christian Borle

[fandom-susceptible]

If anyone ever tries to tell me Star Trek used to be void of “agendas” and “social justiec” I’m gonna bring this up.  And as for the commenter above who pointed out dudebros complaining about "POCs", I'm gonna remind said dudebros of this: only two of the main cast in TOS were American White Dudes, and that was Kirk and McCoy.  Spock was an alien - that made things different.  Sulu was Japanese, and *George Takei literally spent part of his childhood in a WWII era internment camp for his Japanese heritage*.  He sat right next to a Russian.  Scotty was Scottish played by a Canadian who lost a finger in the Battle of Normandy in World War II. 

 And Uhura.  I wrote an essay on Nichelle Nichols because this woman was a fucking icon.  Talk to me about how POCs are new and social justice in Star Trek I call bullshit.  Uhura was the first black woman to play an equal role as her white male costars in the United States in *history*.  DO YOU KNOW HOW ICONIC THAT IS?!  The studio tried to pay her less because she was a black lady and Leonard Nimoy found out.  He told the studio if they didn't give her equal pay then they could say goodbye to Spock.  They almost did but he was too iconic, and so Uhura got to stay and be a heroine to thousands of people.  DON'T TELL ME SOCIAL JUSTICE IS NEW TO STAR TREK.

  Martin Luther King Junior himself talked Nichelle into staying on Star Trek when she contemplated leaving the show, because he said she finally had not just a black role, not just a woman role, but an *equal* role and please don't give up because she's a hero.  When she walked back into Gene Roddenberry's office to take back her near-resignation and told him that, she says in her autobiography that he teared up and said "At least someone understands what I'm trying to do here." STAR TREK'S SO CALLED AGENDA IS EVERYTHING GENE RODDENBERRY STOOD FOR AND ANYONE WHO SAYS OTHERWISE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT.

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

Rules: Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know better. I was tagged by @missgarbos​ :D

Top 3 ships

I. Gene Kelly + Frank Sinatra in Anchors Aweigh (1945)

II. Katharine Hepburn + Cary Grant in anything

III. Steve Harrington (Joe Keery) + The Bat in Stranger Things (2016-present)

Lipstick or Chapstick: chapstick (a boy I had a crush on once left his grapefruit chapstick in my car and I kinda just kept it and used it myself... :{   )

Last song listened to: "A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins (1964)

Last film watched: Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) - I had a little ‘20s-themed movie-night with my friends the other day

Currently reading: To the Stars: The Autobiography of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu (1994)

i tag @hildy-dont-be-hasty​, @reluctant-martyrs​, @bottomsrightsactivist​, @artdecor​, @nitrateglow​, @thevintagious​, @aliveandfullofjoy​, and whoever else wants to participate! 

[aaron-golden]

George Takei recounts the time America gave into racism, paranoia, and lies to imprison children.

[celluloiddreamzzz]

George Takei as Sulu at the helm  in Star Trek III (1984)

[fic-dreamin]

5.0 out of 5 stars Barely an autobiography, it deals mostly with STAR TREK

5.0 out of 5 stars SPOCK and NIMOY. Old friends remembered Following the death of Leonard Nimoy this year, I felt compelled to again explore "space, the final frontier" once again and especially the character Spock who I thought was so completely brought to life by Nimoy. This book was written after the book by the similar name, I AM NOT SPOCK, and was very interesting and informative regarding Nimoy and his professional career. Both books contain a lot of the same information actually. And, both books give insight into how Nimoy created the character Spock (the Martian according to studio heads) and this explains how the character developed and, indeed, became a "Living being" to so many fans of Star Trek. It was exciting to remember! Having read this book and the other, I felt that not only had Nimoy died, but Spock as well. That was sad; I cried. Two old friends gone, but now probably out there exploring the world beyond this one. Live long and prosper. Go to Amazon

4.0 out of 5 stars Nimoy and Spock This is a pleasant book, mostly for readers interested in Star Trek, about Nimoy's career as Spock, with some information about his other dramatic and directorial roles. I read it right after reading George Takei's "To the Stars", which is better, mostly because Takei had a much more interesting and full life, starting with his experiences as a child in the Japanese-American campus during WWII, and then his activist/political work. Nimoy admits to having a personal life (Takei in 1994 was not in a position to talk about his) but keeps it completely generic (wife and kids).Many things surprised me -- Roddenberry seems to have disappeared from Star Trek after the first two seasons, never reappearing, at least for Nimoy, as an artistic force for Star Trek. Unlike Takei, Nimoy only mentions Shatner's artistic megalomania once or twice, and seems to have managed not only to get along with him but actually to have liked him.I always wondered why, after directing the astonishingly successful "Three Men and a Baby" that set box office records, Nimoy didn't go on to a major career as a Hollywood director. Perhaps it was the problematic "The Good Mother" that killed that.The whole theme of Nimoy and Spock having dialogs didn't do much for me. I'm not sure that I believe that Spock was such a sustained and significant role in his career that Spock would be in his head.Anybody who is interested in Star Trek and Spock should definitely read this -- at the price it's more than worth it. Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read About a Great Television/Film Star and Director I purchased this audiobook upon the passing of Leonard Nimoy on February 27, 2015. Growing up in the 60's, I was a fan of his work on television ("The Lieutenant", "Star Trek", "Mission Impossible", etc.), but this was the first of his books I have ever purchased. As his last book, this is the one to own as he recounts his life up through the mid-90's. I was impressed by his candor, professionalism, and concern for his coworkers over the years. I learned a great deal about his work as an actor and director, the behind-the-scenes of "Star Trek" (the series and the movies), and how he dealt with his overnight fame as "Spock". As expected of a professional actor, Leonard Nimoy gives an enjoyable reading in this audiobook. Highly recommended! Go to Amazon

5.0 out of 5 stars I learned to love Spock....... Unlike most Trekkies (Trekkers), I did not watch Star Trek breathlessly when it first appeared on TV. I was a Mission Impossible fan and learned to appreciate Leonard Nimoy more when he became a member of that show. It was on the reruns in syndication, when I watched all the episodes with my two sons, and the 6 ST movies that I learned the appeal of a cast that stayed together for 25 years, cared about each other, worked for honorable goals, and made you care about them. The background of how much of this came about is what Leonard Nimoy discusses in "I Am Spock." After being criticized for writing "I Am Not Spock" a decade or more earlier for not liking his Vulcan character and nearly losing the directing role for "ST III: The Search for Spock" because of it, he came back to write this one and describe how much of himself he actually put into the character. He also reveals how hard he fought with writers, directors, and producers to maintain elements of the character he felt were vital to the Vulcan's role in ST and shouldn't be messed with by people who didn't understand ST. But most of all, the charming behind-the-scenes stories of the relationships with all of his longtime cast members and the hard work and joy they brought to creating the iconic show is enough to warm the heart of any ST fan. I had never read this book and, after seeing the new JJ Abrams movie with the younger cast playing the wonderful ST characters, I have renewed my love affair with the original cast by rewatching the original shows and movies and reading Leonard Nimoy's book. For any ST fan, it is a must. Go to Amazon

[christianworldf]

New Post has been published on Nehemiah Reset

New Post has been published on https://nehemiahreset.org/christian-worldview-issues/lgbt/george-takeis-extraordinary-trek-the-washington-post/

George Takei's extraordinary trek - The Washington Post

NEW YORK — As a child, he believed the camp to be a magical oasis, where mythical dinosaurs prowled the woods at night. A native of Los Angeles, he marveled at the “flying exotica” of dragonflies, the treasures of rural life and, that first winter, the “pure magic” of snow.

George Takei spent ages 5 to almost 9 imprisoned by the U.S. government in Japanese American internment camps. A relentless optimist, he believed the shameful legacy of incarcerating an estimated 120,000 Americans during World War II would never be forgotten or duplicated.

At 82, Takei came to understand that he may be mistaken on both counts.

Stories fell into the sinkhole of history, given the omission of the camps from many textbooks and the shame felt by former internees, many of whom remained silent about their experiences, even to descendants. Takei takes no refuge in silence.

The “Star Trek” actor has lived long enough to see thousands of immigrant children jailed near the border. On Twitter, to his 2.9 million followers, he wrote, “This nation has a long and tragic history of separating children from their parents, ever since the days of slavery.”

Sitting in his Manhattan pied-à-terre near Carnegie Hall, the activist for gay rights and social justice calls his government’s actions “an endless cycle of inhumanity, cruelty and injustice repeated generation after generation” and says “it’s got to stop.”

Takei was fortunate. He and his two younger siblings were never separated from their parents, who bore the brunt of fear and degradation in the swamps of Arkansas and the high desert of Northern California. They shielded their children, creating a “Life Is Beautiful” experience often filled with wonder. His father told him they were going for “a long vacation in the country.” Their first stop, of all places, was the Santa Anita Racetrack, where the family was assigned to sleep in the stalls. “We get to sleep where the horsies slept! Fun!” he thought.

[Book review: George Takei has talked about internment before, but never quite like this]

Takei had little understanding of his family abandoning their belongings, the government questioning their patriotism and their return to Los Angeles with nothing, starting over on Skid Row. As a teenager, he came to understand the toll.

“The resonance of my childhood in prison is so loud,” says the actor, who still lives in L.A.

The only surviving photograph of Takei while he was in the Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Camp in Rohwer, Ark., in 1942 and 1943. (George Takei)

This summer, Takei is accelerating his mission to make Americans remember. Almost three-quarters of a century after his release, he feels the crush of time: “I have to tell this story before there’s no one left to tell it.”

He has a new graphic memoir, “They Called Us Enemy,” intended to reach all generations but especially the young, by the publisher of the best-selling “March” trilogy by Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).

In August, Takei appears in AMC’s 10-episode “The Terror: Infamy,” a horror saga partially set in an internment camp. Four years ago, he starred in the Broadway musical “Allegiance,” inspired by his personal history.

“That experience in the camps gave me my identity,” he says in the apartment he shares with his husband, Brad, which is decorated with Japanese ink drawings and “Star Trek” bric-a-brac: a Starship Enterprise phone, a Sulu action figure in a Bonsai tree.

It’s possible those years in the camps subconsciously nudged Takei toward acting. “To me, the theater was life, its artists, the chroniclers of human history,” he writes in his 1994 autobiography, “To the Stars.” He would star as Hikaru Sulu in a short-lived sci-fi series that would, improbably, spawn more movie and television iterations than furry Tribbles.

In turn, that success created a springboard for social activism. He became “a social media mega-power” — his website’s phrasing, as he has 10 million followers each on two Facebook pages — fueled by a six-member influencer agency, which he calls “Team Takei.” That influence, to a doting and ever-expanding audience, might ensure his experience in the camps matters.

From left, “Star Trek” actors Leonard Nimoy, Takei, DeForest Kelley and James Doohan attend the first showing of the Space Shuttle Enterprise in Palmdale, Calif., on Sept. 17, 1976. (AP)

The eternal frontier

Takei frequently refers to his life as “an American story.” It is also a singular, improbable one.

Who else enjoys continued success through the curious alchemy of “Star Trek,” coming out at age 68 and regular appearances on “The Howard Stern Show”?

“George is a little outrageous, and a little Mr. Rogers. He’s sort of where they meet in the middle,” says filmmaker Jennifer Kroot, who produced the 2014 documentary “To Be Takei.”

After enrolling as an architecture student at the University of California at Berkeley, Takei transferred to UCLA to pursue acting at a time when there was almost no work for Asian Americans except dubbing Japanese monster movies like “Rodan” into English and portraying crass caricatures in the Jerry Lewis vehicles “The Big Mouth” (1967) and “Which Way to the Front?” (1970).

Takei accepted the jobs, the Lewis ones to his everlasting chagrin: “I shouldn’t have done it.” But he learned. Never again.

Fortunately, he landed “Star Trek,” Gene Roddenberry’s utopian vision of space pioneers from varied backgrounds working together in harmony and oddly cropped slacks. Two decades after World War II, it showed an Asian American in a positive role.

Jay Kuo, who co-wrote “Allegiance,” grew up in a household where television was largely forbidden. Not “Star Trek.” Kuo’s Chinese American parents knew “we needed to see ourselves represented. We were invisible. George was the only Asian sex symbol. That shirtless sword scene was groundbreaking,” he says of the scene in which Sulu believes he’s an 18th-century swashbuckler after the crew is infected by a virus.

Mr. Spock (Nimoy), Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Hikaru Sulu (Takei) and Montgomery “Scotty” Scott (Doohan) stand on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise in the 1968 Season 3 “Star Trek” premiere. (CBS/Getty Images)

The Starship Enterprise was tasked with a five-year mission. Five? The original “Star Trek,” the mother ship of Trekiana, didn’t make it past three, running for just 79 episodes. The final show aired a half-century ago this year.

Takei felt blessed to land the role of the master helmsman. When the show was canceled — “I knew it would be. Good shows were always getting canceled” — Takei was despondent that he would never work again.

Hah! Space became the eternal frontier: six movies with the original cast, an animated series.

[Alyssa Milano’s improbable journey from child star to A-list activist]

Those early TV contracts didn’t favor actors. Takei’s residuals stopped after the 10th rerun. Which happened, Takei says, “about 10,000 reruns ago.”

Fortunately, what the network taketh away, the Trekkies giveth.

Takei jumped on the convention train, across the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany and Japan, signing autographs and posing for photo ops for up to eight hours, his lustrous baritone growing hoarse.

“Star Trek has been enormously bountiful to us,” Takei says. “We had no idea that this phenomenon of Star Trek conventions would follow.”

Now, Takei is one of only four original cast members still alive, along with William Shatner (Capt. James T. Kirk), Nichelle Nichols (communications officer Lt. Uhura) and Walter Koenig (navigator Pavel Chekov).

Takei as Nobuhiro Yamato in AMC’s anthology series “The Terror: Infamy,” set within a World War II-era Japanese American internment camp. (Ed Araquel/AMC)

His professional life flourished, riding the wave of nostalgia and outsize fandom. His personal life, particularly for someone who has always been political and outspoken, was more complicated. Friends and associates long knew Takei was gay. He met Brad Altman, then a journalist, through a gay running club. They started dating in 1987. Brad took George’s last name in 2011.

Takei worried that coming out publicly would deep-six his acting career. So he waited and waited, an eternity, three and a half decades.

“The government imprisoned me for four years for my race. I imprisoned myself about my sexuality for decades,” Kuo recalls Takei telling him. “You can’t imagine what kind of sentry towers you can build around your heart.”

Takei came out in 2005 as a statement, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in California. Quickly, he moved from the closet to the front of the pride parade.

“I was prepared that I wasn’t going to have an acting career,” he says.

Uh, no.

“The opposite happened, and I was more in demand,” Takei says, almost in song. “They love gay George Takei!

It was as though gay was an honorific — and Gay George Takei was a reboot. Gay + “Star Trek” — the latter listing toward camp with its community theater props, too-tight tops and Shatner’s Hamlet-like readings — was a fitting combination.

Takei was hired as much for his droll persona — his catch phrase, “Oh Myyy!” — as his talent. Work was constant: He had appearances on the sitcoms “The Big Bang Theory” and “Will and Grace,” and in Archie Comics (as hero to gay character Kevin Keller), plus that surprising gig on Stern’s show.

Takei and Brad Altman after their wedding on June 17, 2008, in West Hollywood, Calif. The couple started dating in 1987, and Brad took Takei’s last name in 2011. (Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images)

“That was a strategy after I came out,” he says of Stern. “We had reached decent, fair-minded people, the LGBT audience. Howard had a huge national audience.”

On Stern’s show, hired technically as “the official announcer” but also as a routinely pranked foil, Takei surprised listeners by inverting his elegant persona — a man who rarely swears or raises his voice — by being as raunchy as the regular crew.

Takei revealed more about his sex life than perhaps anyone anticipated. Mentions of Brad became a constant. Takei’s once-closeted life was broadcast by the master of all media all over Sirius XM.

In 2017, former model Scott R. Brunton alleged that Takei drugged and sexually assaulted him in 1981. No charges were ever filed. Takei denies the incident, which was never substantiated. The actor says, “It’s a fabrication of somebody who wanted to have a story to regale people with.”

Takei moved past it. “It was a very upsetting experience, but it’s never come up again.”

His optimism buoyed him. And he had important causes to serve.

Takei came out in 2005, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in California. “I was prepared that I wasn’t going to have an acting career,” he says. “The opposite happened, and I was more in demand.” (Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post)

A witness to change

The first time I met George and Brad, at a party in Los Angeles last year, they were bickering.

When we meet in Manhattan, they bicker again over lunch, over the smallest details. Brad worries about almost everything. George does not. It was somewhat refreshing. A cult icon and his spouse being themselves in front of a reporter. Takei’s openness contributes to the continuing embrace by fans five decades after “Star Trek” was canceled and why he’s a natural for Stern. He presents authentically as himself, a man who extols life’s fortunes. Why isn’t he angry with the country that imprisoned his family?

“Because it would be another barbed-wire fence around my heart,” he says.

The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 formally apologized to former Japanese American internees. Takei received a reparation check for $20,000. He donated it to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, which he helped found and for which he serves as a trustee.

Takei, far right, with his sister Nancy Reiko Takei, brother Henry Takei, mother Fumiko Emily Takei and father Takekuma Norman Takei, around 1947 to 1948. (George Takei)

Takei has witnessed his country change, often for the better. “When I was growing up, I couldn’t marry a white woman” he has said, due to anti-miscegenation laws. “And now I’m married to a white dude!”

In 2012, when he was on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” he invited host Donald Trump to lunch at “any of Trump’s properties” — smart move — with the intention of discussing marriage equality. Trump accepted the offer. Takei recalls that Trump told him “he believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman. This from a man who has been married three times!”

Takei was in New York recently for Pride Month, attending the Stonewall anniversary concert and City Hall ceremony. The events are as vital to his identity as acting.

“I was active in almost every other social justice cause as well as political candidates,” he says. “But I was silent about the issue that was most personal to me, most organic to who I am, because I wanted my career.”

Time was generous. He began life in internment camps and came out in his late 60s. At 82, he’s flourishing in a field that had little use for him when he started.

Takei’s graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” recounts his experience as a child in Japanese American internment camps during World War II.

The actor says he wants to ensure all generations know the story of what happened to his family. (Top Shelf Productions)

LEFT: Takei’s graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” recounts his experience as a child in Japanese American internment camps during World War II. RIGHT: The actor says he wants to ensure all generations know the story of what happened to his family. (Top Shelf Productions)

But time can punish memory. Takei wants to ensure we know the story of what happened to his family, in his country.

The worst day of internment was the first one, he recalls. Soldiers marched up the driveway with bayonets on their rifles, pounded on the door and took the family away to who knew where and for how long. Says Takei, “It was a terrifying morning.”

Bayonets and a 5-year-old boy. It is, as Takei says, an American story — a frightening and lamentable one.

All we can do is learn.

At 82, Takei is thriving in an industry that once had little use for him. His graphic novel “They Called Us Enemy” was released this month, and AMC’s “The Terror: Infamy” premieres in August. (Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post)

Story by Karen Heller. Portraits by Jesse Dittmar. Photo editing by Mark Gail. Video by Erin Patrick O’Connor. Copy editing by Whitney Juckno. Design by Eddie Alvarez.

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