Tina Fey and Steve Martin

Guess who I saw last night?!

Tina Fey is awesome! Seriously, I can't get enough of her. Last night I had the pleasure of seeing her talk about her newly released book, "Bossypants" and how she got into the entertainment industry. It was an interview/conversation between her and notoriously funny actor, Steve Martin. FYI, he hasn't changed a bit! Ok, so maybe he has a full head of gray hair now but I think it's been like that for awhile but he still is warm and hilarious!

While I've known for a long time just how funny he is, I wasn't fully aware of Tina Fey's comic genius. Sure, I've seen her on SNL plenty of times and of course seen some of her movies. Have you seen "Mean Girls"? It's one of my favorite movies ever and she wrote it! But there's really nothing like seeing someone live talking in front of you.

Tina Fey is so witty and charming. I couldn't help but feel like she was just sitting in her living room having a fun chat with all 5,000 of us sitting in the Nokia Theater in downtown LA. She and Steve Martin worked very well together and seemed to honestly get along and often made each other laugh up on stage. I'd also like to add that she is as funny as she is pretty. I love her effortless look and even with a little pregnant belly, she still managed to appear in great shape. She had on the cutest leopard print heels! : )

I hope to read her book very soon. Have you read it? What do you think of these two entertainers?

One Sweet Weekend

This past weekend had it all. I literally did a little bit of everything. Who knew you could cram in so many different activities in three days-I'm including Friday night as well.

My roommate, two friends and I saw a movie and then grabbed some delicious burgers around the corner from the theater at Stout. Nothing better than a yummy veggie burger(I'm eating vegetarian for the month) and a great beer.








On Saturday I met a new friend about 45 minutes east of Los Angeles in Arcadia. We spent several hours at the Arboretum and stayed till long after closing. For those of you that don't know what the heck is arboretum is, it's like a wild animal park but only for plants, a variety of birds and smaller animals. Normally I wouldn't really have been able to enjoy something like this for that long but I suppose it's all about the company. : ) There were peacocks walking around everywhere which was pretty neat too.


On Sunday, I went on a run around my neighborhood which was awesome but incredibly hot. Not sure how I'm going to run outside this summer... After the run, my sister came into town with her husband and they dropped off their son for me to babysit for the afternoon. They went off to lunch and Lucas and I went off to a nearby park. We had a really fun day together but of course, it's always too short. Luckily I'll be seeing them all later this week. Later at night, my roommate and I headed to a book reading in Hollywood. So all in all, a very busy weekend!


Did you do anything fun last weekend?

Biutiful

Last Friday night I saw Biutiful. "Biutiful is a love story between a father and his children. This is the journey of Uxbal, a conflicted man who struggles to reconcile fatherhood, love, spirituality, crime, guilt and mortality amidst the dangerous underworld of modern Barcelona." I found this description online and really couldn't have explained it better myself. This dark and haunting film really shook me to the core and I still haven't been able to get the images from it out of my head.

I don't want to give too much away since I hate when others do that. All I'll say is that several scenes in the movie really hit home with me and I found myself tearing up more than usual during the film. Thank goodness I heard lots of sniffles all around me. Even after getting home from the theater, I still felt an intense sadness and I couldn't even be around people. So I said goodnight to my roomies and went to bed fairly early.

For the record I didn't know what this movie was going to be about. I had a feeling it would be in Spanish meaning that there would be subtitles but that wasn't a big deal to me. Despite how melancholy I felt after seeing the movie, I don't want to be the type of person that refuses to see movies because of how they might make me feel afterward. I don't want to be that sensitive. Plus, I think there was a part of me that needed that kind of release on Friday. I needed it and therefore I don't regret seeing it.

Have you seen "Biutiful" yet? What did you think about it? Javier Bardem truly is an amazing actor-he can do anything! Are there movies that you've seen and just can't get out of your head and quite simply, just won't see again if at all?

Genital Origami!?!

Yes, I do mean exactly what the title of this post says! Last night, my roommate Gina and I ventured into the unknown art of genital origami. She heard about this show through a colleague of hers and I was just as intrigued by it as she was so we got tickets to it last week. The show is called Puppetry of the Penis and the name pretty much says it all.

Puppetry of the Penis is a Tony-Award winning performance show. The show was initially conceived by Australian Simon Morley as the title of an art calendar, showcasing 12 of his favourite penis installations (known as Dick Tricks). On New Years Eve in 1997 he had a garage full of calendars to sell, and with requests for live demonstrations mounting he finally decided to create an act with fellow Aussie David "Friendy" Friend. The show involves two nude men who bend, twist, and fold their penises and scrotum's into various shapes. Crazy, right? This theatrical contortion of the male genitalia (penis, scrotum and testicles) into various positions along with comedic narration has since spread internationally. It is humorously called "Dick Tricks" or "genital origami," referring to the flexibility of the human penis, testicles and scrotum. The show has appeared in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Europe, Canada, the U.S., South Africa and Argentina.

It was absolutely hilarious and shocking all at the same time. Gina and I couldn't stop laughing through the entire show and we kept saying to each other, "I can't believe we are watching this right now!" My eyes have certainly seen a lot of wild things these past few weekends here in LA! : )

Check out this list of their tricks..... Use your imagination..

Wind Up
Atomic Mushroom
Wristwatch
Snail
Parachute
Eiffel-Tower
Hamburger
Hot dog
Pelican
Windsurfer
G-String
Brain
Weed-Snipper
Loch Ness Monster
The woman
Mollusk
Baby Bird

Night at the Theatre

Well, I'm not too sure where to begin... this was quite the eventful weekend! My visiting friend, Atalaya and I did a little bit of everything and by everything, I mean everything!

To start things off, on Friday night, we saw the Broadway show Dreamgirls. It was absolutely amazing! I had goosebumps from the incredible singing pretty much the entire show. Every performer on that stage had amazing vocal chops and I've never been so impressed by an entire cast before. We saw it at a downtown theatre called Centre Theatre Group and sadly, there were so many empty seats. We even were able to move up several rows which was awesome. I love all theatre and seeing shows so this was a perfect way to spend an evening.

Here is a little info on the show: Dreamgirls is a Broadway musical with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wildson, and others. The musical follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago called "The Dreams", who become music superstars. Dreamgirls opened on December 20, 1981 and was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, including the Tony Award for best musical, and won six.

Moya Angela, who plays the lead, Effie was just remarkable! After two and a half years on the road with The Lion King, Angela settled back into life in Indianapolis, working as a restaurant hostess. and was forced to lean on her family for financial help. “It was just a rough time,” she says. “I was struggling emotionally and financially. My phone was even shut off and my mother said, ‘You need to get this phone back on,’ and I said, ‘I don’t have any money. I’m Skyping!’” Thanks to Mom’s help, Angela’s phone service was reinstated just in time for a call from Binder Casting inviting the down-and-out diva to New York for a private audition for the national tour of Dreamgirls. “I was like, ‘’First of all, how did you guys get this number?!’” Many months of callbacks later, Dreamgirls found its Effie. Thank goodness they did because they show wouldn't have been complete without her!

Check out these fantastic reviews:

Review by Hilton Als

from The New Yorker

November 23, 2009

‘‘Dreamgirls is delectable. Wildly propulsive and brilliant as hell. There's not one misstep in this revival. It throbs with a lovely need to please.’’

Review by Joe Dziemianowicz

from Daily News

November 23, 2009

"It's lively and packed with talent. This production has an exciting vibe that the hit film can't capture."

Review by Elisabeth Vincentelli

from New York Post

November 23, 2009

"And I am telling you: You are going! I cannot emphasize enough how great it is to see Dreamgirls at the Apollo. It's a perfect storm of music and environment. The production has gusto, grit and guts."

Review by Roma Torre

from NY1

November 23, 2009

"I'm happy to report that the revival of Dreamgirls is pretty dreamy in its own right. The show hits enough high notes to make it Broadway caliber. Step over to the West Side of Harlem and see it now. As musical revivals go, this one’s Supreme!"

Theater Etiquette 101

Proper Theater Etiquette:

• Remember that it is not a movie. The people on the stage can hear and see you. Your reactions fuel them. Your negative actions can also affect them. Although you may never see this reaction, because being performers, they are skilled at hiding them, you are affecting them. The performers and all those people behind the scenes have worked very hard to create an evening of entertainment for you. Please show them the respect they deserve.
• This is not a concert either, these characters do not your sympathy-the actors are simply playing these roles.
• Also remember that the people sitting near you did not come to hear your conversation with your buddy, either in the theatre or on the phone. They did not come to hear you rattle paper or your kid fuss. They came to enjoy the performance.
• No cell phones: Don't let them ring or buzz during a performance. Do not speak on them during a performance. If you must take an emergency call, leave the auditorium and only begin speaking to your caller once you are away from the rest of the audience. Even your neat watch that chimes or beeps the hour is a distraction.
• Coming and Going: Please do not enter or leave the auditorium during a performance unless it is an emergency. Please arrive before the performance begins. The time posted is the time the show actually starts... there are no commercials or previews! It is the option of the theatre to prevent audience members from entering the auditorium until intermission or at least a scene change.
• Noises: You may not notice it, but candy or cough drop wrappers, whether unwrapped quickly or slowly, make a lot of noise! Please don't unwrap them during the performance. If you suspect you will need one, have a supply on hand already unwrapped.
• Fidgeting: Please sit still. Ramming elbows into your neighbor or kicking the seat in front of you is highly annoying.
• Sight Lines: Be aware that hats and large hairdos impede sight lines.

Well, I just got home from seeing "The Color Purple"at the beautiful Pantages Theater in Hollywood and I must say that I was very disappointed with the audience-specifically the group of obnoxious ladies sitting right behind Gina and I. They were absolutely ridiculous and felt the need to comment about anything and everything going on up on stage. Geez! How rude! Comments like, "You tell him girl", "Amen sister!", "Hell No!" and even singing along with some of the actors! Ugh! I've never been to a show and experienced this kind of rude behavior. I felt like I was at a concert or something. The people sitting next to us even complained to an usher but there wasn't much that they could do about it. Not only were these ladies being extremely rude to their fellow audience members but also to the performers. Damn, I'm still just so upset by this. It could have been so much more of an enjoyable theater experience if they has just shut up!

"The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster." -Oscar Wilde

Despite all this activity, it was a great show and I was blown away by all the wonderful singing. These people have serious vocal chops! Fantasia played the lead character, Celie, and she has such a unique and amazing voice with lots of power behind it. She certainly found her calling in musical theater. It doesn't even seem like they are working, it seems like too much fun to be considered a job. I would love to be in musical theater. . . maybe in my next life.