You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March 2009.
I know…where the heck have I been?! Well, I’m sorry people who actually read my blog 
I’ve been very busy as of late!! As you know, I volunteer for a wonderful no-kill cat rescue in NYC, KittyKind. Well, I’ve been the Volunteer Coordinator there for just about a year now and needless to say, I love it. And it is giving me the experience I need to make my dream come true. What is that dream you ask? To run my own cat shelter of course!!
Well, in the past month or so I have had a couple of additions to my role at KittyKind. First, I’ve been voted on the Board of Directors (woo hoo, yippie, yee-haw!). Secondly, I’ve taken over the position of Treasurer. What better way to learn about running an organization than through its money, right!
I know what you are thinking…I’ll have no time!! Well, untrue. Neither position actually takes up much of my time. And considering I go banana’s when I have nothing to do, this is a very good thing. But the past month or so I have been so busy just learning about everything and catching up on the two months between our previous treasurer’s departure and my beginning. I’m almost 100% up to date…so should be back to posting on my fun and wonderful blog that all you superb people read so stay tuned!!
It seems to be that time of the year again, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baileys Circus is in town. I am hoping that you are all aware of the cruelty that this circus imposes on its animals. But in case you don’t, please continue.
Despite what you may think, animals are not meant to be in a circus. We have the capability of choosing what we do. The animals in these circuses don’t. Some of the animals in their circus are even captured in the wild and forced into a life of torture. Please check out this fact vs. fiction information directly from the source. http://circuses.com/ringling.asp
Ringling Brothers happens to be one of the most highly cited circuses on not following federal standards to their animals. This includes mass cruelty and death. Please check out their fact sheet. http://circuses.com/pdfs/RinglingFactsheet.pdf
There are many cities around our nation and the world that have banned circuses that have animals from coming to their towns. Unfortunately, NYC is not one of them. There are many people whom are trying to make this happen and one day, will. The first step is education. A ghastly number of people are completely unaware of the reality of the lives these animals are forced to lead. It is not a pretty picture. I am hoping, that with this information, you will not go to this circus, and that you will pass this along to others so that they can pass it on to more. Check out the growing list of cites and countries around the world who have decided that the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baileys Circus (or any other circus whom uses animals) will never come to their town again. http://circuses.com/pdfs/AnimalActs_Legislation.pdf
Thanks for your attention.
…is so funny. i was just cleaning out my old emails and I found this…how sweet is my older broski?! he knows how much i miss my kitties when i’m away for whatever reason…what a nice thing to come in to work to!!
From: Bucky_Nevils
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 9:23 AM
To: Janette Nevils
Subject: Good morning..
This morning Apollo asked me “Bucky… meowwww…” I said “yes Apollo” ”Meowwww Meowww.. Where’s Janette….Meowww” I told him that you were house sitting for his friend Sammy. He said “Meowww what a nice thing to do Meooowww. When meowww is she going to come back? Meowww” I said well, she might be coming by tonight for a BBQ with Tara and Liz and Vinny” He got really excited. Said “Meowww I really hope so… cause I miss her Meowww”
And then… all the kitties said “Meowww meoww.. we all miss her!”
And then Apollo said “Meow Thank you for giving me my medicine today bucky Meoww!” I said “I’m glad to do it Mr. Apollo, I hope it makes you feel much better” And then.. I gave them treats.. and then they thanked me.
Hair has come back to Broadway, and what a comeback it is. Bucky, Vinny, and myself got to experience the magic of love on the first night of previews, March 6th. It was beyond words. It was beautiful, interactive, and just all around, phenomenal. I really cannot think of a way to describe it, you must experience it. Here are some pics of us and the theater…and some news from Playbill.
By the way, the talented and amazing James Rado was there. I wanted to squeez him and tell him what a wonderful creation he made…but I didn’t. Bucky did get to speak to him though, as my brother got very sick and had to leave 1/2 way through the show (very unfortunate, he must see it)…but while in the lobby James Rado spoke with him, made the crew get him a bottle of water so needless to say…as Bucky says “but I am Hair”…we will see it again. If you want to see it…let us know, we’ll set a date!!
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They Got Life: Tribe of Hair Prepares to Spread Love and Peace on Broadway
By Adam Hetrick
06 Feb 2009
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| Gavin Creel, Bryce Ryness and Will Swenson | |
| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
A band of hippies is currently readying to take over the Al Hirschfeld Theatre when the new environmental staging of the 1968 rock musical Hair returns to Broadway March 6.
Hair, which was the first indoor production produced by the Public Theater (at the time known as the New York Shakespeare Festival), received a fresh concert staging in 2007 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the landmark musical. The sold-out Joe’s Pub in the Park concerts spawned a critically acclaimed summer encore run at the Delacorte Theater in 2008 that resulted in three extensions.
Under the direction of Diane Paulus, the buzz-generating production is now aiming for a Broadway opening at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on March 31. Playbill.com had the opportunity to catch up with the cast and creative team of Hair during their first day of rehearsal.
Paulus’ acclaimed al-fresco stagings of Hair in Central Park were ultimately an in-town tryout for the rock musical’s Broadway return. “Bringing Hair back in 2007 was sort of the test of ‘Does this material work now?,’ and I think the answer was ‘Yes.’ Also, bringing it back last summer in an election year [showed] how the show [still] resonated,” Paulus explained.
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| Diane Paulus | ||
| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
The New York native added, “To live here and feel the city of New York come out for the show and demand the show and want the show, it was bigger than theatre. It was about some kind of community coming together and taking over and saying, ‘We want to feel alive, we want to make change. Watch out, here we come.’ . . . I really feel like as a director, you look for these moments when something you do in the theatre actually hooks up with the larger culture. That’s what I dream of: When theatre can finally be bigger than theatre. And this is one of those meetings of time and material and audience and subject matter.”
When Hair made its Broadway debut in 1968, songs like “Aquarius,” “Let the Sunshine In,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “I Got Life” became an indelible part of the soundtrack of the baby boomer generation; yet, Hair continues to speak to new generations. Composer Galt MacDermot noted, “The interesting thing about it now is that it has a slightly different effect. In the 1960’s it was designed and had a shock value — there were a lot of four-letter words. But that doesn’t mean anything anymore. But what does mean something is the relationship between the kids, the affection and the dedication to living better. And it’s moving.”
Actress Caissie Levy, who will play Sheila in the Broadway revival, spoke of the momentum behind the musical. “I think on the surface it’s the idea of these young people rebelling against the norm that obviously appeals to young people. But I think when you go a little deeper, especially in today’s climate with what’s going on with Barack [Obama], I feel very connected to what’s happening politically right now. And I think on that level people are responding and will respond when they come and see the show.”
One of the magical things about Hair’s recent engagement was its Central Park backdrop. Paulus spoke of the challenges of bringing that energy and sense of community into a Broadway house. “The idea is really that the hippies have gotten on a bus and they’ve driven up to 45th Street, and now they’re living at the Hirschfeld Theatre,” Paulus said. “Basically, my idea was that they’re taking over the Hirschfeld Theatre. Why I made that choice, what felt so important to me about the Park and that setting, was that the audience and the performers were under the same umbrella, under the same universe. The moon above you was the same moon above an actor on stage. When the wind blew on your hair, it blew on the actor’s hair, too. So you were unified, there was no division.
“The most important thing is that the audience, even though they’re sitting in red velvet Broadway chairs, have to feel like they’re in the same universe as the people on the Broadway stage. The way we are doing the show is that we are in the Hirschfeld, all of us, all 1,400-hundred of us, and the ceiling above our head, which by the way is a constellation in the Hirschfeld Theatre, is our ceiling. It’s not the proscenium arch, it’s the ceiling and the architecture of the theatre,” added Paulus.
“Almost everything is going to be new,” said choreographer Karole Armitage. “It’s going to be so different in the physical space, people are going to be in the balcony, in the house. It’s not going to be on a stage like before — it was an enormous stage. There will be some things, of course, on the proscenium, but it’s going to be a very environmental piece.”
As part of the rehearsal process for Hair, Paulus worked to ensure that the young cast grasped the importance of the time in which it was written, so that the musical didn’t become a hippie fashion show of bell bottoms and peace signs.
“It was really [about] getting to the inside of what those clothes meant, or what the peace sign meant, and encouraging the actors to always be real and truthful. My whole approach for the process with the actors was very strict with how they would approach the work, how they would bring justice to this period and time, and how they would relive it,” she said.
Paulus collaborated with composer Galt McDermot and book writer James Rado to streamline the original script of Hair for the 2009 Broadway production.
“It’s a version that’s been crafted especially for this moment in time. We’ve cut a few songs; we’ve changed some of the scenes. We really crafted it in its tone and presentation to be the most powerful for this time and place,” she said.
Choreographer Karole Armitage, who also lent movement to Passing Strange at the Public and on Broadway, described setting the expressive physical realm of Hair. “I had a very instantaneous reaction that what Hair needed was an absolute felling of spontaneity and individuality, and what I should do with the actors was give them almost more movement concepts and let them turn them into things that really felt true to who they were as people, as characters, as movers, so that everything would feel literally as if it was being made up. I didn’t want steps, I didn’t want numbers — I wanted it to feel as though it was their own self expression at all times.”
Key to the infectious nature of Hair is the cast of relative unknowns who comprise the tribe. Will Swenson, who leads the tribe as the free-spirited Berger, extols the Public Theatre for “bringing into the cast 15 or maybe 20 relative newcomers to the New York theatre. A lot of kids were still in college, or just out of high school — one of them was in high school. What that brought to the original concert and subsequently to all our productions is this raw energy that these cast members have.
“They’re so not jaded,” he laughed. “Actors tend to be once you’ve worked for a while, but they’re so full of legitimate, real passion and energy and love. They want to perform and are so connected to wanting to tell the story that it’s exactly the energy that Hair needs. So as a result, everyone had the same goal, everyone felt the same energy and connected with the importance of the message of Hair.”
Throughout Hair’s Central Park run, audiences were not only singing along, but calling out to the cast. While many productions are careful to establish a fourth wall between the cast and the audience, tribe member and Hair poster girl Allison Case welcomed the responses.
“We felt like it was such a blessing, like, ‘They really hear us. They really hear us enough to yell out how they feel.’ And the way it’s always felt is not like ‘We’re performing for you guys,’ it’s more that we’re all in this together, and we all become a tribe every night with this new audience. It’s exciting to be able to relate to an audience. It’s an experience every night for all of us, and it changes.
“It keeps growing. It feels like a movement more than a show, and we feel grateful to be a part of it,” Case said of Hair’s journey to Broadway. Tribe newcomer Caissie Levy looked around and concluded, “It’s a lot of beautiful people spreading a lot of beautiful love around, and I think people need that right now.”
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The complete cast of the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair features Tony nominee Gavin Creel (Claude), Will Swenson (Berger), Sasha Allen (Dionne), Caissie Levy (Sheila), Allison Case (Crissy), Kacie Sheik (Jeanie), Steel Burkhardt (Electric Blues Quartet), Andrew Kober (Margaret Mead, Dad) and Darius Nichols (Hud).
Tribe members also include Lauren Elder, Allison Guinn, Anthony Hollock, John Moauro, Ato Blankson-Wood, Brandon Pearson, Paris Remillard, Maya Sharpe, Theo Stockman, Tommar Wilson, Jackie Burns, Kaitlin Kiyan, Nicole Lewis, Megan Reinking and Saycon Sengbloh.
The iconic musical features book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado and music by Galt MacDermot.
Hair’s design team includes set designer Scott Pask, costume designer Michael McDonald, sound designer Acme Sound Partners and choreographer Karole Armitage. Kevin Adams will be the lighting designer.
For tickets phone (212) 239-6200 or visit Telecharge.
For further information visit HairBroadway.
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre is located at 302 West 45th Street.
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| Hair lyricist-librettist James Rado and composer Galt MacDermot | |
| photo by Aubrey Reuben |
well…its been a week since I’ve been back…and man, do i miss it. i dont know what it is about san diego, but i love it there. i always have this overwhelming sense of peace while i’m there. i think its a combination of the beautiful weather, the sweet smell of salt in the air, the amazing flowers that bloom all year, the calmness the ocean provides, and i think most importantly…having my family around. my grandma lives in la jolla and my aunt jan in del mar. and usually coinciding with my trips to california, my mom and my aunt susy come out from colorado. living on the east coast, so far away from everyone…it feels great to have them around. anyway, following are just a speckle of the photos my mom and i took during our trip. enjoy!
the bird hang-out
waves~a~splashin
sun bathing seals
the ladies, me, mama, and auntie susy
the dr. suesse trees
beautiful
gorgeous orchids at balboa park
amazing
statue by artist Niki de Saint Phalle
more from Niki...stay tuned for future blog post featuring Niki's exhibit "Queen Califia's Magical Circle Garden"
the Old Globe theater
eatin ice cream w/the grandma
tryin not to make a mess
its sort of hard to do
balboa park fountain my late uncle jim restored
cloudy day at the beach
pure calm
flyin pelie
thinkin...
pretty pretty
fun in "Queen Califia's Magical Circle Garden"
the last sunset
the end.
Help get Fandango adopted! He is a special guy that could really use a loving home. Please cross-post! Thanks!!
From KittyKind Adoption Rep Dawn:
I am writing this in hopes of spreading the word about Lindo. Catherine Wong is fostering him, our Sunday night volunteer, thank you so much Catherine. Lindo is desperate for a home as he is Felv positive. Lindo is a large mostly grey and white male cat who is a joy to have around. He loves belly rubs and attention. His previous owners decided they didn’t want him any more so they put him outside where he sat in hopes of being let allowed back in throughout the winter crying for the family that abandoned him. I took a call about him and arranged for the person who saw and knew the cat and was feeding him, to have him neutered, vaccinated and tested but unfortunately the test came up positive. She didn’t have the heart to put him down but had no where to go with him. Luckily Catherine stepped in to help out, God Bless, but it is a temporary situation. If anyone knows of anyone with a Felv positive cat that might take in another, or who has no cats but a BIG heart please spread Lindo’s story to them. Felv positive cats are healthy, need no other vet care than any other cat, there is nothing special you need to do but love and cherish him and care for him like you would any other cat.
Thanks for spreading the word and cross posting.
for those of you have been hiding under a rock the last day or so may not realize that its dumping in the east. yes, it is snowing, a lot. watching new yorkers slip and slide down the street in their so not even waterproof shoes is quite funny…especially when i stomp by them in my big huge sorels. anyway, its 400 and its still snowing. i was just gazing out my window at the snowflakes flying upward (i’m on the 24th floor so they tend to float around up here) and i remembered this piece that was on the Sunday Morning show yesterday about Ken Libbrecht, the snowflake photographer. very interesting man, beautiful pictures. check it out!!
Ken Libbrecht: Yeah, I’m kind of the snowflake guy, the snowflake expert, you might say.
My name is Ken Libbrecht. I’m a professor of physics at Caltech and I study the physics of how ice crystals grow. And I like to photograph snowflakes!
They are somewhat ephemeral. First of all, you have to wait for it to snow. Then I have a piece of cardboard and I let the crystals fall on the cardboard. You can’t look at them on the ground because they sort of undergo changes. And after a very short time, they don’t look very nice when they’re on the ground. They have to be falling out of the sky.
I take a close look and try to find nice looking ones, photogenic snowflakes, if you will. Then I pick up an individual snowflake with a little paintbrush and drop it onto a microscope slide. I have a specially-made microscope for photographing snowflakes. Then I just snap the picture.
Yes, you do break a lot. But they’re falling out of the sky so you just go and get another one.
Snowflakes come in a lot of different varieties. People don’t usually think about it. We’re all used to the kind of snowflakes you see on advertisements around Christmas time in the middle of the winter: the stellar crystals with branching and six-fold symmetry. Those are common, but there are lots of other types too. Like capped columns, where the columns have two plates growing on either end. Arrowhead-type crystals, which look a little like arrowheads. There are simple stars and fernlike stellar dendrites, which have lots of branching and side branching. It’s surprising how much variety of different crystal types you can find!
When I’m photographing, I like to look for beautiful, stellar crystals because they can be very elaborate, very lacy, and really a lot of fun to look at. That’s because they’re interesting and they’re unusual. One of the things I like to do, because I’m involved with understanding the physics of this, is to try to understand how they form. So when I see a funny-looking snow crystal, I can try to puzzle over where it came from and how it got that shape. So I do some of that too.
Every place is good. Well, Miami is very bad and Los Angeles is bad. I like places that are very cold because the best crystals form when it’s five or 10 degrees Fahrenheit. So that’s pretty cold. I’ve been up in Alaska. And Vermont is good. Northern Michigan, where it snows about an inch a day, sometimes produces very nice crystals as well.
I camp out and wait for it to snow. Sometimes, I’ll wait around until two in the morning to get really nice looking snowflakes to photograph. So I never really exactly know what I’m going to find when I go out looking.
I find that it’s really fun. To me, it’s the most fun you can have out in the snow, when it’s snowing anyway. I just want to say, since this is a weekend show, and you’re telling people about what people do and what they might want to think about doing, I’m always encouraging people to get a little magnifying glass the next time it snows and go outside and have a look at what’s falling out of the sky. You really might be surprised by how interesting it is!
