Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Tag, I'm It!

Tag, I'm It!

Thanks to that bubbly effervescent Sarah at Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment, who came up with a fun little meme for me this week in which she tagged all her blogbuddies. Since I consider myself one of them (hope I'm not too presumptuous, Sarah), it's saving me on a full-blown entry on a very hectic day.

Naturally, I'll wonder what friends like Esther at Gratuitous Violins, Chris at Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals and Jan at Broadway & Me have to say.

So here goes:

1. The first musical I ever saw on Broadway was (or if you haven’t seen a musical on Broadway): Cats. And I still came back to Broadway anyway!

2. The musical I would most like to see again is: the quintessential Gypsy and Guys And Dolls (my two all-time favorites)

3. The musical I never want to see again is: Cats and The Phantom Of The Opera (my two least favorite musicals)

4. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a woman I’ve ever seen is: Chita Rivera in Nine (2003) where the legendary actress literally stopped the show with her performance of "Folies Bergeres." I've only seen a standing O delivered mid-performance four other times -- by Jennifer Holliday in both the 2002 and 2007 Atlanta revivals of Dreamgirls at the close of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and twice at the close of Gypsy's "Rose's Turn," first by Bernadette Peters in 2003 (Broadway) and then again by Patti LuPone in 2006 (Ravinia).

5. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a man I’ve ever seen is: Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray, but Nathan Lane in The Producers is not far behind (although it wasn't until my third time seeing the show that I actually saw him...).

6. The person I wish they never cast was: All the stuntcasting that causes shows to jump the shark.

7. The person they should have cast was: Other Broadway babies.

8. My favorite Broadway choreography was in the show: Rob Ashford's impressive work in just about anything he attempts. But if I have to pick one of his shows, then let it be Curtains.

9. The lyric/line that always brings a lump to my throat is: "A bird cage I plan to hang/I'll get to that someday/A bird cage for a bird who flew away/Around the world" -- sung by Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens.

10. The stupidest lyric/line I’ve ever heard is: "I'm not wearing underwear today/No I'm not wearing underwear today," from Avenue Q.

11. The first musical I had to go back and see twice was: The Producers (see my answer in #5)

12. The first musical I ever walked out of was: Are you kidding? It's never happened, even though I may have thought about an early exit.

13. The most under praised and overly deserving show in my opinion is: the 2002 production of Sweet Smell Of Success. At least John Lithgow won.

14. The most overly praised and under deserving show in my opinion is: Cats.

15. The song show tune I’m most likely to sing while I’m dancing around at home is: Lately, for reasons hinted at in my opening, it would have to be "The Bitch Of Living" from Spring Awakening. But there's also plenty of times I've sung "Cabaret" from the eponymous show.

16. If I could recast any role in a current Broadway musical with a performer of the past it would be: Edna Turnblad (Hairspray) with Zero Mostel.

17. If I could recast a current actor in a Broadway musical that was before their time it would be: Michael Cerveris as the King of Siam in The King And I.

18. The show they should never change a word of because it is already perfect is: Gypsy and Guys And Dolls.

19. The show I'd most like to get my hands on and rewrite is: Who am I to rewrite a show?! Good or bad, they are all someone else's pride and joy, full of hard work. If I knew how to rewrite a show, let alone write one, do you think I'd have this blog?!

20. The role I was born to play on Broadway is: Are you kidding? Me on the stage?! If I really had to pick one, it would either be Cabaret's emcee or Guys And Dolls Nathan Detroit. Now there's a range!

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Adventures In The Endless Pursuit Of Entertainment, Blogs, Broadway, Broadway and Me, Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, Gratuitous Violins, Meme, Musical

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, February 04, 2008 8 comments

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form...

Imitation Is The Sincerest Form...

In part because Modern Fabulousity so generously links to my site on a regular basis, but also because I found his post "ABC's Meme" so interesting, I'm providing a link back and playing copycat with my own version.

I give you the SOB ABC's:

A - Age: Older than I look, but younger than I feel.
B - Band listening to right now: Does the cast of Spring Awakening count as a "band"?
C - Career future: I hope to know more in the next few days.
D - Dad’s name: he goes by Dean, but his real name is Donald.
E - Easiest person to talk to: Esther.
F - Favorite type of shoe: Manolo Blahniks, simply because I like saying the name (and it gets bonus points for being a "Sex And The City" staple).
G – Grapes or Grapefruit: Grapes, preferably red and seedless.
H – Hometown: Depends on how hometown is defined. I grew up in Mequon, Wisconsin. It will always be home to me.
I – Instrumental talent: I used to play the piano.
J – Juice of choice: Pineapple.
K – Koala Bear or Panda Bear: Koala Bear, because I've been able to hold one (you can't hold a panda).
L - Longest car ride ever: Milwaukee to Houston to Washington DC. I never take the obvious route.
M – Middle name: Dean.
N - Number of jobs you’ve had: 19. They included: dishwasher, shopping mall Santa (age 16, seriously), discount department store clerk, high-end retail sales associate, computer draftsman, college student body president, encyclopedia sales, Capitol Hill intern, project assistant to U.S. Senator, regional representative to same U.S. Senator, legislative assistant to same U.S. Senator, lobbyist, state legislator, public relations firm account supervisor, trade association director of public relations, director of communications for same trade association, director of public relations for travel company, senior vice president of big public relations firm and senior director of public relations for same travel company as before. Best: current job. Worst: last job.
O - OCD traits: being able to tell you which U.S. President corresponds with each number (for example, 26 = my personal favorite president in history).
P - Phobias: Claustrophobia, but I've really only experienced it once inside these.
Q - Quote: "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me." (Alice Longworth, daughter of my favorite president in history)
R - Reason to smile: Live theatre.
S - Song you sang last: "The Song of Purple Summer" by cast of Spring Awakening.
T - Time you wake up: 7 a.m. whether I want to or not.
U - Unknown fact about me: There's an actual face attached to my eyes.
V - Vegetable you hate: Lima beans.
W - Worst habit: I've been putting off in answering this, but it's procrastinating.
X - X-rays you’ve had: Teeth.
Y - Yummiest food my belly likes: sushi and chocolate, although rarely together.
Z - Zodiac sign: Virgo.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Labels: Blogs, Gratuitous Violins, Meme, Modern Fabulousity, Sex And The City, Special Messages, Spring Awakening

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Sunday, January 27, 2008 6 comments