Wowee Wednesday

Julia Louis Dreyfus

We came to love her as the quirky often inappropriate Elaine on Seinfeld, and in case you weren't in the know you can see this wowee weekly on the hilarious CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.

The comic timing Julia brings to the screen is just hysterical and never fails to make me laugh. Couple her talent with Christine co-star Wanda Sykes and my Tivo pause and 8-second buttons get worn out!

Julia made a great splash on Ellen's season opener this year and showed us a bit of her famous potty mouth. Cursing never sounded so funny or looked so good!

Broadway Monday

Dreamgirls Based upon the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, Dreamgirls follows the story of a young female singing trio from Chicago called "The Dreams", who become music superstars.

This show was famously made into a movie in 2006 starring Beyonce and yielding an Oscar for Jennifer Hudson who played the role of Effie White. I am of the belief that although Hudson did a spectacular job, she patterned her performance after the stunning, and career defining performance of Jennifer Holiday who brought Effie to life on Broadway for the entire three-year run.

The video is grainy(1982), but it's not hard to see, and hear, the emotion Jennifer Holiday brought to the stage every single night! Every time I watch this I am covered in chill bumps and tears fill my eyes for someone so full of passion and life. No doubt why she won a Tony.


Dreamgirls premiered December 20, 1981 and ran for 1522 performances garnering 6 Tony Awards including Best Book, Best Actress, Actor, Choreography, and Lighting. Even though this is one of the most famous and successful shows in Broadway history, I am hard pressed to find any photos of the original cast so I apologize for the lack of eye candy! I hope the spectacular video made up for it!

warm wishes for the extended holiday weekend

As I sit here in what feels like a heatwave for this time of year--77 degrees--I hope that wherever you are it is cooler and actually feels like winter, and my warm wishes are welcome.

Found this great little compilation CD on Christmas Eve and immediately bought it! It's filled with an excellent smattering of independent female voices that grace our industry at the moment. The song that made me look into the album is by Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson and has been running through my head continually since I heard it. Couple that with the oh so cute and sweet lesbian overtoned video and you've got yourselves an earworm my friends! I'm happy to pass it on! (don't forget to pause the player)

Happy Holidays!

I know it's a bit sacrilegious, but this pic makes me laugh every time. Have a great day!

Wowee Wednesday

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston has been a part of our visual landscape for so long that she feels like a member of the family or at least a good 'friend'...har har...cheesey "Friends" reference..check

Jennifer made a splash last month by gracing the cover of GQ once again and did not disappoint. Red, white, and blue never looked so good or skimpy. Girls really should wear ties more often...

Anyone else feeling particularly parched all of the sudden?

Jen, I can hook you up with a fantastic chiropractor for that low back problem you developed after this photo shoot. I'm just sayin'.

Broadway Monday

Irving Berlin's White Christmas White Christmas is the story of Second World War veterans Bob Wallace and Phil Davis who become partners in a song-and-dance act after the war. Looking for love, the two follow a duo of beautiful singing sisters who have a Christmas gig at a Vermont lodge, which just happens to be owned by their former army commander, General Waverley.

The stage show is based on the 1954 film, directed by Michael Curtiz and starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney. The score includes the Academy Award-winning title song first featured in Berlin's 1942 film, "Holiday Inn," which also starred Crosby as well as Fred Astaire.

Just like the film, the Broadway production is replete with extravagant dance numbers, lavish sets and of course a happy ending for all. If you want to get into the holiday spirit while paying homage to the great musicals of the 1950's, either grab a ticket to this show or hit your nearest rental outlet. You'll be glad you did!

White Christmas is playing at the Marquis Theatre through January 4, 2009.

Happy Birthday to Me...you're welcome

A Groupie Surveys 42

So on my last day as a 41 year old, I'd like to share a shocking revelation from this week.

Long story short, I went to my first big concert when I was 16 (talked a guy into taking me because I didn't have s Sugar Mama yet or for that matter didn't know that I could get said Mama!) and although it was fun and one of the most memorable times in my life (the band, not the boy) I believe I suffered some hearing loss. I walked around with a high pitched 'wheeee' in my ears for days. I never told anyone and figured it would go away, and it did to an extent but of course some of it stayed as hearing damage is prone to do.

Fast forward to this week. I have a slight sinus infection which has clogged up my ears and made the 'wheeee' a bit pronounced and frankly it sounds like someone is sitting outside running a car that needs to visit Midas Muffler. It's a bit maddening. I keep halfway joking that my hearing just may be going already and I need to learn Sign Language ---quick!

So are you all a twitter wondering who is responsible for my hearing loss? Hmmm?

From now on when you hear this band you can think of me and the 'wheeee'. You can also think of how immensely gay I was when you look at these pics and notice that everybody who is not a girl looks looks like a femmy boy or a butch girl.

Now to be fair, these blokes also contributed to my audio reduction:

What? Amy Grant rocks out. Don't you for one second think that "Angels Watching Over Me" at a high decibel can't do some damage! I'm hear to say it can!
Ahhh, right now me and my wheeeeing ear are reveling in the awesome concerts I saw back in the day....I hope I feel the same when I'm 80 holding one of those old antique hearing aids to my ears. Maybe at that point I'll be lucky enough to hear a faint tune of "Rio" in my head.

Wowee Wednesday

Neve Campbell

Back in the 90's I watched "Party of Five" like a lot of other people, but honestly I was only watching for Neve. Sure, I got a bit caught up in the heart-wrenching story of this family of children with no parents and their day-to-day struggles, but Neve was the reason I tuned in in the first place!

This cute little Canadian is also the reason I can proclaim that I have seen every "Scream" movie in the horror series. Mind you, I watched most of those at home, at high noon on a bright sunny day. I said I liked Neve..not being scared to death about serial slashers. She was worth it.

However, dreams came true and I wore out the pause and rewind buttons when "Wild Things" came out. Holey Moley! Most watch this movie for a young and naughty Denise Richards, but I know a legion of ladies that watch it for a butched out Neve Campbell. Wow--wee. That's all I'm sayin'.

You think my lovely will let me have this on my iPhone?

Take that--you dog!

Bush is on a victory tour of the Middle East this week attempting to rewrite history and shine up his oh so tarnished soon to be legacy.

This may very well be the best video I have seen in a long time. The only thing better would have been if at least one had hit him square in the nose!

I can't wait to be rid of this smug, disrespectful ass. While he makes jokes and laughs, you can hear the reporter yelling in pain as he is restrained. Fucker.

Broadway Monday

The 39 Steps

Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This 2-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of 4), an on-stage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers and some good old-fashioned romance!

In The 39 Steps, a man with a boring life meets a woman with a thick accent who says she's a spy. When he takes her home, she is murdered. Soon, a mysterious organization called "The 39 Steps" is hot on the man's trail in a nationwide manhunt that climaxes in a death-defying finale! A riotous blend of virtuoso performances and wildly inventive stagecraft, The 39 Steps amounts to an unforgettable evening of pure pleasure!

Based on the 1935 Hitchcock film of the same name, The 39 Steps takes you on a hilarious ride full of mystery and slapstick humor. Currently playing at the Cory Theatre, this show is still packing the house as it approaches the one year mark in performances.

Schmuckabee

I didn't know it was possible, but I love Jon Stewart even more... thanks Ang!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Want to thank Jon for speaking his mind? Jump here.

Wowee Wednesday

Michelle Rhee

Michelle Rhee is the Chancellor of the District of Columbia school system. She is also a woman, Korean-American, an amateur in school administration, a Washington outsider, and cleaning up the school district that has produced a 36% math proficiency, and a 39% reading proficiency.

"The children of this city receive an education that every single citizen in this country should be embarrassed by."---Michelle Rhee

Since 2007 Michelle Rhee has dismissed 270 teachers and 36 principals from the DC school system. The dismissals are part of a plan to weed out a bloated tenure system where instructors embed themselves with little evidence of improvement in the classroom and no true measure of achievement.

Schools may be supported by the teachers it employs, but the actual buildings must be maintained and restored, so this fall, after frenzied renovations, all DC schools opened with air conditioning as well as improved food services.

Sweeping changes, confidence in your abilities to tackle the task before you, urgency and an unwavering focus on making the DC area schools and students excel caught my attention and admiration. She may not be the most well-liked person in DC, and to be exact, she is very polarizing, but she is actually doing something to address the education problem we have in this country and that will always get a 'wow' from me.

Broadway Monday

W;t

"It is not my intention to give away the plot," Vivian Bearing, Ph.D., announces near the beginning of Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, "but I think I die at the end. They've given me less than two hours."

What a way to start a show, huh?

In W;t, Vivian Bearing has recently been diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer and is embarking on a fast and furious eight step, full dose experimental chemo treatment. The audience witnesses Vivian's last two hours of life. Just as the title suggests, the show is sprinkled with wit and wisdom designed to ratchet down the tension of what is happening onstage to the dying Bearing, "Once I did the teaching, now I am taught. This is much easier. I just hold still and look cancerous. It requires less acting every time."

W;t was received by the theatre community with open arms which heralded the show as one that truly made you consider the ties between soul and body. The show was not nominated for a Tony because it never played in a Broadway theatre, but instead remained in a small very Off-Broadway venue for the entirety of it's run.

W;t won the1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critic's Circle Award. Industrious theatre goers will find this play running in small theatres all over the country.

Prop 8 The Musical

Leave it to the gays and our supporters to turn a tragedy into a musical! Well done!
This thing is so good, the website that launched it won't let it stay on You Tube! So just make the jump and enjoy it in a good quality edition! Spread it, link it, share it, smack it on the bingbong.

Wowee Wednesday

Rachel Shelley We now resume our regularly scheduled Wowee Wednesday with homage to the beautifully bitchy and this week's pick, the actress who portrays Helena Peabody. Come on, admit it...you used to hate her and now you can't get enough of her!

Rachel Shelley took The L Word by storm a few years ago and turned the lesbian utopia upside-down. The character of Helena Peabody wouldn't have been as effective had she been portrayed by anyone else. Trained in the United Kingdom in English and Drama, Rachel is the ultimate wowee triple threat: beauty, talent, and dialect!

To emphasize Rachel's good sense, some will be happy to know she resides in Notting Hill.