Life Developments and Upcoming Events

First off, the biggest most recent development in my life is that I have a new job!  It's been going fairly well, mostly because I work with good people.  But I have a bad tendency of taking myself at work FAR too seriously.  Fortunately, I work for a place where we are encouraged to have fun and be outgoing.  ;-)

July 10th officially marked the last birthday of my twenties.  I'm not sure how happy I am about that .... but at least my friends made it a birthday that I will never forget.  ;-)  My Daddy & brother also got me a netbook (which I am posting on at the moment), which I have been having lots of fun playing with.

We are also heading full-throttle into Hell Week for "Othello".  I am pretty proud of how well I've been getting my lines down.  I have to hand it to our directors too ... they have had to deal with quite a few complications throughout this whole process, and they have done it with a great deal of professionalism and grace.  My hat is off to you!

Apologies for not updating more frequently.  I update my social networks a lot more often than this blog, it seems, but I am going to try to change that.  I feel a book review coming on!

The Tony Awards

Last night's Tony Awards were described by some of this humble blogger's acquaintances as "a hot mess".  The #tonys hashtag on Twitter was full of people complaining about the audio gaffes, as well as a few of the performances.  (In particular, Catherine Zeta-Jones' rendition of Sondheim's "Send In the Clowns" got a lot of mixed reaction.)  We also saw an ever-increasing number of film and television actors transitioning over to the stage, with Denzel Washington winning his first Tony for his performance in this year's revival of Fences, which also got the win for Best Revival of a Play.

Nonetheless, it had some very touching highlights.  Of course, there was also lots of fangirling out of me to see some of my favorite ladies of Broadway -- Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Bernadette Peters, and Angela Lansbury -- as well as much coveting of Scarlett Johansson's dress.  It also featured a number of plays and musicals that I would be very excited to see.  I'm hoping that some of them will go on national tours soon, so that I might get the chance to see them in Chicago.  Maybe before my birthday in less than a month?  Hint hint?  ;-)  HINT HINT?  Anyway, here's a list of them.

FELA!  The Musical - Produced for Broadway by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, Will Smith, and Jada Pinkett Smith, "Fela!" is a celebration of the life and work of Nigerian musician and political activist Fela Kuti.  Fela Kuti is one of many artists responsible for bringing the Afrobeat genre to a global audience, and this musical features a number of his best-known songs.  From what I saw at the Tonys, it is an explosive, colorful musical featuring fantastic music and spectacular choreography.  In fact, Bill T. Jones took home the Tony for Best Choreography last night for this show.  Visit the official site for ticket info, news, and more!

In The Next Room, or the vibrator play - "In The Next Room" is a comedic look at late Victorian-era methods for treating what they called "female hysteria" -- or what in truth is female sexual arousal/frustration/tension.  Yes, "hysteria" was a commonly given -- and medically treated -- diagnosis at the time, and doctors would actually treat it by using what amounts to an electric vibrator.  (Read more info about all this at Wikipedia.)  But this play is more than just a silly comedy with a scandalous gimmick;  it's about love and relationships as well.  It appears as though the play is not currently open on Broadway, but I do hope to see it performed soon, in both professional and community theatre companies all over!

La Cage Aux Folles - The campy and riotous musical about Georges and Albin, a gay male couple who have been in a relationship for many years, and own a nightclub in Saint-Tropez. Georges works at the club as the emcee, and Albin is the headliner, performing in drag under the name Zaza. Georges also has a son who is engaged to a woman. When Georges' son wants to introduce his fiancée's rigid and conservative parents to Georges and Albin, hilarity ensues. This revival took home the Tony last night for Best Revival of a Musical.  The revival stars Kelsey Grammer as Georges, and Douglas Hodge as Albin/Zaza.  Their performance at the awards last night was one of the highlights of the ceremony, so if you can get a chance to see it, it is not to be missed!  Visit the official site for ticket info, news, and more!

Memphis - And the Tony winner last night for Best Musical!  It's about the early days of rock n' roll, underground clubs, the corruption and segregation of radio stations, and the racial tension in general that punctuated the time period.  It was said by many Tony tweeters last night that the "Memphis" performance at the ceremony did not do the actual show justice.  I would really like to see if the word on the Tweet was right.  Visit the official site for ticket info, news, and more!

LILITH FAIR IS BACK!

Image of Sarah McLachlan, off the cover of her 1997 album Surfacing.

In the late 90s, Canadian performer Sarah McLachlan helped to found a touring music festival that featured and celebrated female artists.  This festival was known as Lilith Fair.  According to its Wikipedia article, in the three years that Lilith Fair ran (from '97 to '99), it raised over USD $10 million for women's charities throughout North America.

After being silent for almost ten years, Lilith Fair is now finally BACK, starting at the end of June 2010!  It features a pretty stellar lineup this year, including a good mix of Lilith veterans (Erykah Badu, the Indigo Girls, and Sarah herself) and newcomers (Colbie Caillat, Jill Scott, Sara Bareilles).  Click here to see when Lilith is coming to an area near you and to buy tickets.  It's coming to the Chi-town area July 17th, so hurry and get your tickets now!

Upcoming Events

The 2010 Chicago Auto Show opens to the public this weekend, and I will most likely be making my annual pilgrimage into the city to check it out. The events of past years have been somewhat sparse, and with all the controversy surrounding the issues with Toyota vehicles lately, I will be curious to see how this year's will be handled. Keep an eye on my Twitpic profile, because there will most likely be a photolog on the day I go. ahaha. ;-)

Running somewhat concurrently with the auto show is the Chicago IKC Dog Show, which I might also attend.  Definitely fun to visit if you are a dog lover;  there are also several local owners and breeders you can get into contact with.