Thursday, January 18, 2007

Thoughts both Idol and envious

I was watching the “American Idol” auditions last night (not on purpose or anything mind you…was folding laundry in the family room and the kids were watching it…what was I supposed to do???) and I swear that I saw Scott Wichmann in a street shot of Seattle. There was a guy shaking out an umbrella and he said something to the camera (can’t remember exactly what…didn’t have the DVR primed…) and between the voice and the look, it was unmistakably him. If it wasn’t, Scottie’s got a twin who lives out in the NorthWest.

If you want to catch up with Scott and his adventures out west (where he caught up with Richmond expats Foster Solomon and Susan Sanford), be sure to check out his blog.

Did anyone see the second edition of “Grease: You’re the one that I want” auditions? I’m afraid that one is probably going to drop right off my radar screen as time goes on. I did see that the ratings for the show dropped from about 23rd on the first night to something in the mid-40s for the second edition. May not bode well…

I’ve enjoyed hearing about people who went to shows in NYC around the holidays. For oneeyedog who came face-to-face with Cynthia Nixon – you lucky dog! I loved her on “Sex and the City” and my esteem for her has only grown as she has continued to do cool shows on Broadway since SATC closed up shop. It was a possibility that I would see “Chorus Line” when I was up there but it turned out to be a girls-only show for our family: my daughters, wife and mom-in-law went and filled me in later. Their opinion (not informed by the critical distain that comes with my job) was that the show was great. My lovely wife was surprised at how much she had forgotten about the show since she first saw it years and years ago.

I really wanted to see “Spring Awakening” but because we were planning on bringing two adolescents with us, I balked on that one. A show about adolescence and sex might have been a little too real both for the kids and us parental types. Now the wife and I are mulling over a possible spring NYC trip that I think will include “Drowsy Chaperone” and “Awakening.”

I saw Kristin Chenowith on David Lettermen last week and she was quite a hoot. It’s remarkable how tiny she is! Next to Dave, she seemed a bit like a dwarf. I appreciate a talk show that recognizes Broadway stars; Dave will always be the post-baby boom generation’s answer to Johnny Carson, if you ask me. Jay who?

“Wicked” was truly amazing. I went in with pretty low expectations for a number of reasons too involved to go into here. But man, I was just blown away. Ana Gasteyer is truly up to the task of Elphaba; she blew the doors off of “Defying Gravity.” The story is genius, fitting together with “The Wizard of Oz” so that the old movie seems like just a small piece of a much more intricate and interesting puzzle. And I don’t know if I can string together an adequate number of adjectives to describe the cleverness and well-craftedness of Stephen Schwartz’s songs. Particularly listening to the cast recording afterwards, it’s clear that he put everything he had into this one. I’m looking forward to showing our little ones “The Wizard of Oz” soon so we’ll have an excuse to go see “Wicked” again! I know that watching the movie will never be the same again!

Did you know that the name Elphaba comes from the initials of "TWofOZ's" author? L. Frank Baum = LFB = El-fa-ba. How's that for a fun fact!

I’ll have to write more about “The Grinch” sometime – not just the production, but some not-so-positive things I think the production says about the unique niche of “opportunistic” theater.

4 comments:

Frank Creasy said...

Scott in Seattle? Gee Dave, I doubt it, you know Scott is a Patriots fan, not a Seahawks fan! Though he HAS been known to enjoy a Starbucks beverage. Hopefully I'll meet you in person one of these days and I can relate a terrific story about Scott, Starbucks, and Mary Sue Carroll. It wouldn't work on a blog posting, though I'll just say the memory of the incident inspires me to this day.

And, God help me, I'm an Idol fan. I've tried to break the habit, but it's no use!

Glad you enjoyed some great shows in "the city". What a great place...seems like the world's largest small town somehow, because you never know who you'll run into. Five years back, Better Half and I were there for a long weekend and ran into Larry Miller TWICE in the same day. (I know, I know, Larry Miller is not Cynthia Nixon, but he's been around Hollywood a bit!) And thanks for the "Elfeba" trivia, I LOVE those nuggets of info! I drive long-suffering wife to distraction with such knowledge, but I enjoy it nonetheless. Guess like Weird Al, I'm just too white and nerdy!

Scott Wichmann said...

Dave, it wasn't me, but I might be tempted to watch or even try out for 'Idol' if they actually allowed ALL americans the opportunity to audition. I think it's ridiculous that there could be an Aretha Franklin or a Tony Bennett sitting at home who can't audition because they don't fit into the advertising demographic the show is supposed to cater to. I'm thirty-three and able to sing, but there's no place for me on the show. I mean, how "American" can the contest be if it's central foundation is Age Bias?? Sure, the younger folks are talented, but I'd be willing to bet that if they widened the talent pool, they'd get even more viewers...

And BTW, Frank, I did actually write about that particular Mary Sue encounter on my blog-- it's called "Another Part of the Journey' and it's one of the first blog entries from when I first started keeping a blog...

Frank Creasy said...

Dang Scott, I believe I actually read that entry but have since forgotten - believe it or not I do check in on your blog from time to time! I suppose we'd tell the story a bit differently from our particular perspectives that day (and didn't it turn out to be an amazing week?) But Dave, bottom line is that this wonderful woman touched many people in different ways, and her legacy is rich and alive.

But back to "Idol"...Scott's on the mark. As a back-end boomer generation member, I find myself yearning for more varied faces and ages on TV, and "Idol" is a prime example. Scott's too "old" for the show at 33? Lacking any singing chops of my own (I know, Andrew, stop saying I can't sing!), I'd like nothing better than to see Scott or Debra Wagoner or any number of other folks blow me away with their talents on the small screen. A wealth of rich, seasoned talent is out there...we all know this is true by attending local theatre, and Richmond is just one such city (even if we DO enjoy a generous helping of such talents.)

Hey, I like to see the PYT's on screen as much as the next fellow. But I also enjoy discovering a beautiful soul displayed through their talent and personality. And "American Idol" excludes a large number of such opportunities by their age discrimination policy. What a shame. A wasted chance to both entertain AND enlighten while making stupid buckets of money. Very sad, Fox, very sad.

Andrew Hamm said...

If Seattle Scotty had a goatee, he might be Scott's evil "Mirror-Mirror" universe twin...