from the week of December 10 2006
The new musical Spring Awakening opened on Broadway last night to rave reviews.
The New York Post gushed that the show gave "an unexpected jolt of sudden genius to wake up the hidebound Broadway musical" while the Times hailed it as a "brave new musical, haunting and electrifying by turns."
Wow. Who knew? It's a 19th century story of German teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality and it splices in modern day rock music into a catchy, campy score along with Bill T. Jones's choreography.
I found the show enjoyable but disturbing. I was not at all bothered by the brief scenes of nudity, but I was troubled that the only black cast member plays a sort of stereotypical role as a child abuse victim.
Trippin, The Musical
Meanwhile, if you want to see clever black people in a musical, be on the lookout for the new creation of Daniel Beaty and Marcus Gardley, called Trippin, The Musical.
Don't be scared by the title. I saw a reading of the upcoming musical over the weekend and it's a Wizard of Oz-like story of a young man's journey to come to terms with his mother's death. The lead character travels from Harlem to a magical world called The Motherland, inhabited by many of the same characters who lived in the real world but with different identities.
Daniel says he would like to see the show on stage some time next year. Hopefully he will succeed and audiences will get to enjoy it.
Posted on December 11 2006, 10:39AM | Permalink
The new issue of Babyboy is out, and the French magazine has a familiar cover boy. Fresh from issue number 25, we get the same cover model for issue number 29, who is gracing the covers of the magazine's new 2007 calendar.
Also in the magazine, catch an interview with Darryl Stephens and Jensen Atwood of Noah's Arc, and a special story on the show's creator Patrik-Ian Polk.
Check it out. You don't need to speak French to be able to appreciate it.
Posted on December 12 2006, 2:05PM | Permalink
Barack Obama hasn't announced whether he will run for president, but already there's a new television ad (video link) for his campaign set to run in New Hampshire next week.
The ad will air on WMUR and some cable news outlets. But don't think it's a sign of Sen. Obama's intentions. It was sponsored by a group that wants to draft Obama to run for president.
The 60-second spot was created by a group called draftObama.org and was first featured in the Manchester (NH) Union Leader newspaper. It shows Obama in a series of still images timed to match the audio of a speech he delivered where he talks about senior citizens, foreign policy and other topics.
It was produced by Bud Jackson and John Hlinko, who produced an ad for a draft Wesley Clark movement in 2003.
It turns out there's a lot of Draft Obama action out there on the Internet. In addition to draftObama.org, there's RunObama.com, the Barack Obama for President Draft Fund, and Barack Now.
Posted on December 14 2006, 11:04AM | Permalink
First there was Making The Band, and a group called O-Town emerged.
Next there was Making the Band 2, and a group called Da Band emerged and quickly flopped.
And then there was Making the Band 3, from which a group called Danity Kane emerged.
Now from Brazil comes a new TV show called Antônia, about a group of 4 black girls struggling to come out of the streets of São Paulo and to score a recording deal for their hip hop group.
Made In Brazil reports that the final episode of the show airs tonight. "It is not often that a Brazilian television show portrays life in the suburbs as it is, especially from a woman's perspective," says M.I.B.
Posted on December 15 2006, 10:44AM | Permalink