The Walking Dead...

 Back in high school I was one of the lead make up artists for our theatre dept. I remember the first class in which we learned how to apply bruises and busted lips, cuts, gun shot wounds, etc. It was around Halloween and my partner in class was my youth pastor's daughter. I gave her a black eye, and she gave me a bloody lip. =) It was awesome.

So, I have always been one who will watch the behind the scenes documentaries and how things were made of movies. Anyway, so I've always been a fan of horror films. Especially the zombie ones. I was going to wait until closer to Halloween to post about The Walking Dead, but on Facebook, I keep seeing this:

((hhnorlando.com))

and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to go!!! It would probably scare me to death, but I'd be completely fascinated too!

The behind the scenes of the creation of the zombies/walkers in this show are awesome. They look fantastically gross and the mouth pieces and "flesh" pieces are amazing. What I wouldn't give to work at a haunted hayride or something like that! Working at a Spirit Halloween store would be fun too.

(Robert Kirkman~Creator of The Walking Dead graphic novels)

(ps: image found on internet, I do not own)

Seriously, how awesome would that be?

Phantom of the Opera

"The Phaaaaaaaaantom of the Opera is theeeeeeeeere, Inside your mind!"

  One of the first Broadway shows I've seen live was Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Phantom of the Opera". On August 3rd, of 2007 my mom died in a car accident. Needless to say that was hell for me and my family. Anyway, my husband and I (we were only dating then) had tickets to go see Phantom for Aug 12th (only 9 days later). I really wasn't in the mood to go, but we had tickets and figured it would be a good thing. Get my mind off things for a little while. And that worked fine.... until the song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"... whew that was rough!!!!!! 

("Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again"~ movie version)

 

We actually ended up getting to the theatre late because of traffic. However, we showed up right as they were performing "Phantom of the Opera". Christine and the Phantom were on the boat "floating" through the candles that were raising from the ground.

I loved that scene. I loved the candles rising and lighting as they get higher. And the techie in me was dying to know all the ins and outs of that. I also loved "Masquerade". 

Music wise, I think Phantom of the Opera is amazing. Some of the notes that are sung in this show are incredible! Especially if you listen to the original cast. In "Prima Donna" (which is not one of my favorite songs), the notes Carlotta hits are unbelievable!

("Phantom of the Opera"~ movie version)

Overall I would definitely recommend going to see Phantom of the Opera. It's a great show!

The "Man in Black"

 ~In Loving Memory~

Johnny Cash

February 26, 1932 - September 12, 2003

9/11/01

September 11th, 2001 is a day that will not be forgotten.

I can't believe it has been 11 years. I was in high school, and I remember being on my way to my 3rd period Theatre class. Walking from the trailer of my homeroom, I remember everyone was quiet in the halls, and in shock. The choir and theatre rooms were side by side on the hall, and we all went into the Choir room to watch the news. It was completely heartbreaking.

We watched live coverage, and saw the videos of the planes crashing into the buildings over and over. I still get chills thinking about it. I still feel sick thinking about it. Then hearing about the plane crashes and the pentagon, it was horrible.

I was a varsity football manager through high school, and I remember that Friday night game. The night looked foggy because there was actually ash in the air from the Pentagon. And I remember the weeks and months afterward of news coverage and images.

I take a moment to remember the women and men who lost their lives that day, and to the servicemen who helped save others. and I give thanks to the brave men and women of this country who still fight for our freedom.

10 of my favorite musicals!

10 of My Favorite Musicals!

1) Les Miserables

2) RENT

3) The Lion King

4) The Phantom of the Opera

5)Wicked

6) Children of Eden

7) Jekyll & Hyde

8) Rocky Horror Picture Show

9) Joseph

10) Fiddler on the Roof

     There are definitely many more that I really like, but these are the ones that popped into my head first. I have seen several of these on Broadway or performed onstage before and others I really want to see!

     What are some of your favorite shows?

"I Dreamed a Dream"

Cover song

     I honestly had a difficult time narrowing down which cover song I wanted to use for my English essay. I raked through my itunes multiple times, I wrote down different songs I liked that had been covered. I even asked for thoughts from my friends. However, one of the first thoughts that popped into my mind was the tv show "Glee" which consists of nothing but cover songs. (However, for my essay I wanted to use a song where the artist actually made the song their own, not just sang the song in almost exactly the same way as the original artist.) 

     In the first season of Glee, vocalists Lea Michele and Idina Menzel covered the song "I Dreamed a Dream" from the Broadway show "Les Miserables". Idina Menzel is an incredibly talented actress who has been in many different Broadway musicals. She also originated the role of Maureen in "RENT" and Elphaba in "WICKED". I actually saw her live in concert a couple years ago and have been a big fan of hers for many years. When had I read online that she would be in Glee, I was very excited.

    When I heard this rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream", that was performed as a duet between a long lost mother and daughter, I fell in love with it all over again. Les Miserables is definitely on my list of the top 5 musicals of all time. It is such a powerfully written and incredible show, I'm sure I will be posting about it again later in more detail. So although I didn't choose to use this cover in my essay, I thought it needed to be given proper credit as a beautifully redone version.  Enjoy!

                                 (Idina Menzel and Lea Michele singing "I Dreamed a Dream")