In case you didn't know... the internet is for porn!

This is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! (I need to watch viral videos more often!)



So apparently the song is from a musical called Avenue Q, and yes, it's really sung that way! I just learned about this musical tonight and now I am dying to go see it! It's performed with Sesame Street style puppets, although the cool thing is that the actors/puppeteers are in plain view. There's a great (but short) clip of the actual broadway production here.

Music Monday - Movin' Out

Hey, whadda ya know! I actually have something musical to talk about for Music Monday!

This weekend Jen and I finally got to see the Billy Joel/Twyla Tharp "musical" Movin' Out at the National Theatre. It's not really a musical, though... it's dance set to Billy Joel's music. And although it's supposed to tell a story of the main characters over 20-some years, it's pretty tough to tell a coherent story when you're building that storyline by stringing together songs that were written over at least as many years.

That was really my big complaint -- the storyline was there and you could follow it, but it was pretty cheesy, especially the "resolution" near the end. But the performance itself was excellent. The band was amazing, and it was fun to hear how some of Billy's songs were tweaked a bit to fit the storyline. (If you don't know, a live band performs Billy's songs on a catwalk above the stage, while the dancers perform below.) The dancing was also amazing, especially the lead character, Eddie. Jen felt there was too much dance for the sake of dance (as opposed to dance in an attempt to tell a story) and too much ballet-style dancing in general. Still, if you see the show you have to go expecting to see a dance performance, not a musical. And don't expect "Dancing with the Stars" either.

All in all, I was very impressed with all the performers, and it was fun to hear Billy's music performed by someone else, with great arrangements and a killer horn section. Was it worth the $94 per ticket (with service fees)? Probably not. And I certainly wouldn't pay to see it again. But I'm certainly glad I got to see it once.

Music Monday - Spamalot at the National Theatre

Last night Jen and I went to see Spamalot at the National Theatre. After the terrible seats we had for Les Miserables, I made sure we got orchestra level seats this time (row N). The show was hilarious and the cast was top-notch. This was also their last performance in DC, and the cast did seem to enjoy themselves and perhaps put a little extra energy into the performance.

Of course the draw of this "musical" isn't really the music, it's the comedy. (Although I was impressed with the music too.) You don't need to be a Monty Python fan to enjoy the show (although it helps), but I do think you must have at least watched The Holy Grail at least twice to have any idea what's going on, or why some of the scenes are so funny. I was especially impressed with how they managed to translate some of the funnier aspects of the movie into live theater -- the knight that won't die (I'm sure he has an "official" name... someone help me out here!) and the holy hand grenade/killer rabbit scene in particular.

I must say that after seeing the show, I am even more disappointed that I didn't get to see it during its initial run on Broadway. I would have loved to see Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, and David Hyde Pierce in the leading roles. But this cast was great too, and of course you can't help but leave whistling "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life" all the way home!

Music Monday: Les Miserables at the National Theatre

Last night my wife and I saw Les Miserables at the National Theater. While the performers were for the most part very good, I have to say I was a little disappointed. The leads for our performance - Jean Valjean, Javert (understudy), and Eponine - were excellent. Randal Keith was particularly brilliant as Valjean. But some of the other cast members, including most notably Fantine, were quite flat. I was also unimpressed by the overall sound presentation -- the chorus numbers were far too loud (almost painful).

I was also disappointed by the sets and other production aspects of this show. I would attribute this to the fact that it is a touring company, except that the performance of The Producers we saw at The Kennedy Center last year blew this away. Perhaps it is due to the venue, or maybe this is just the way Les Mis has always been performed. I know this is true of some aspects -- for example, the chain gang in the epilogue uses imaginary picks and shovels. I guess I have just come to expect more realistic props and sets from Broadway shows.

I had also forgotten how disjointed the storyline of Les Miserables is. This show certainly requires some pre-reading of the program to understand what is going on, and a thorough listening of the original cast recording of the show would help too. I own the soundtrack and saw the show on Broadway many years ago, and I still found the show confusing at parts.

All in all, it was an enjoyable show and I'm glad we got to see it in it's (supposedly) final DC engagement. However, I have to say I'm surprised that Les Mis has had such a long and successful run and is considered "the world's most popular musical" considering the disjointed storyline, minimalist sets, and generally depressing theme.

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In case you are curious, I have seen the following musicals (listed in roughly chronological order):
Phantom of the Opera (Broadway)
Les Miserables (Broadway)
Grand Hotel (Broadway, feat. Michael Jeter)
Man of La Mancha (Broadway, feat. Raul Julia)
Miss Saigon (Broadway)
City of Angels (National touring company, Penn State)
The Who's Tommy (National touring company, Penn State)
The Producers (National touring company, Kennedy Center)

This does not include amateur theater productions.