I did the stage door and got his autograph. Didn't get a photo. He is such a nice guy!

At the show he was the funniest guy they talked to. He even sang "Escape." LOL! And Patti Cohenour (OBC Rosabud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood) sang "Moonfall." Also present were Gregg Edelman (AKA Mr. Maple LaMarsh), Mark Jacoby, Jason Danieley, Kevin Earley, Jenny Powers, Kendra Kassebaum and Johnny Rabe (the kid from The Christmas Story musical).

A musical he is a part of is opening in Seattle (Secondhand Lions) and they are doing a promo night and the writers, including "the Tony Award-winning book writer of The Mystery of Edwin Drood,*" are all going to be there.

I am soooooooo going!

I was really looking forward to the show, now I'm even more excited!

* They forget Remember WENN (*points to LJ icon*) ;-) Although I'm sort of glad they forgot to mention that pineapple song. *g*

I right, I'm really late posting this. litlover12 nudged me about this ages ago (here). But hey, at least I finished ;-D

( C.S. LewisCollapse )

( Remember WENNCollapse )

( ElisabethCollapse )

If you want to do this, just ask and I'll pick 3 of your interests.

I can't believe it. I found a video of Rupert Holmes and Michael Kunze in the same room. It's some theater show put out by the people who do the Tonys. Unfortunately it's from 2002 when ... let's just say the "D-word" was happening on B'way (Dance of the Vampires) and we had no more WENN.

http://americantheatrewing.org/wit/detail/playwright_and_director_09_02

TOTAL: 4 books, 8 audiobooks
All ratings are on how much I enjoyed the book, and don't necessarily factor in artistic merit or lack there of ;-).

Key:
***** = BEST of the best of the best!
**** = Loved it
*** = Liked it a lot
** = Liked it
* = Didn't like it, but didn't hate it
(no stars) = Hated it

AB = Audiobook
NF = Non Fiction
(Date) date finished

Children
Coraline -- Neil Gaiman [AB] (March 4) ***
The Invention of Hugo Cabret -- Brian Selznick [AB] (March 23) *

Young Adult
Lirael -- Garth Nix [AB] (March 14) *****
Abhorsen -- Garth Nix [AB] (March 15) ****
Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case -- Garth Nix (March 30) ***

Adult
My Ántonia -- Willa Cather [AB] (March 3) ***
A Civil Contract -- Georgette Heyer (March 3) ****
Swing -- Rupert Holmes [AB - mostly, I read about a 5th of it] (March 9) ****
Bleachers -- John Grisham [AB] (March 10) **
April Lady -- Georgette Heyer (March 17) ***
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- Betty Smith [AB] (March 22) ***
The Unknown Ajax -- Georgette Heyer (March 27) ****

I'll start by saying that Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen). This is the best Young Adult fantasy series I've read in ages! Sabriel, which I read in February, starts slow but get better. Lirael is the best in the series. I found it quite moving.

Sometimes YA fantasy books can seem forced or not entirely thought through. The magic can seem inconsistent and the worlds contrived -- I'd say this about Harry Potter and Gemma Doyle although I enjoyed both of them. Nothing in Nix's world feels out of places. He had a few points I disagreed with but those were not about believability.

The only truly bad thing about this series is that I just did not want it to end. I was in denial so I read the sequel novella Nix wrote in Across the Wall called "Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case." But I still want more Abhorsen books!

Neither of the children's books I read impressed me that much. But Coraline is MUCH better than The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Hugo was very flat, although the illustrations in the book are amazing.

I loved all the Heyers I read. A Civil Contract is the most complex and beautiful. Ajax is just fun, but April Lady was a little too predictable.

I finally got around to reading Rupert Holmes' Swing. It was great fun. Rupert knows the era so well. Of course I love Rupert's writing: Drood and Remember WENN. Although I have no desire to read, or see, Where the Truth Lies and I've never cared for "The Piña Colada Song."

And then A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and My Ántonia are beautiful accounts of the immigrant experience in America.

It all started when my doctor told me to try eating flax seed flour. Multiple allergic reactions and many doses of Benadryl later I was too tired to stay up for the Tonys. It was the first time I've missed the west coast live broadcast in many years.

I taped it and will watch it throughly at a later date. But here a some thoughts after watching highlights this morning while dressing for work

I was sad Rupert Holmes didn't win, of course I didn't expect he would since I knew in advance "Spring Awakening" would clean up. However I was very glad Jennifer Ehle and David Hyde Pierce did win in their categories.

I didn't really care for the performance from "Curtains" but the show itself looks really cute. And I trust Rupert; he never lets me down.

The "Mary Poppins" performance was too busy. I though Rebecca Luker looked odd as a brunette. And I couldn't get what the kid from "Ugly Betty" had to do with "Mary Poppins" anyway. In comparison the performance from "Company" was refreshingly simple.

I have no desire to see "Spring Awakening." I just don't go for shows that think it is 'artistic' to have every other word be profain. Poor Lea Michele, what would Tateh say?

I've missed the details in only watching highlights and fast-fowarding through the commercials, but even still I have to second what others have said about a *certain* promo CBS ran a million times. Give it a break guys, I had no desire to watch it the first time let alone the 40th time.

And finally, when did Mozart (Tom Hulce) become a producer?

I got this from bwaypella

A string of musical films in the pipeline

Part of that list scare me! The Justin Timberlake in Rent rumor persists **shudders.**

However the Rupert Holmes project sounds interesting =)