Obligatory reference to how long it’s been since I’ve blogged.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to more important things. Words cannot even
describe how excited I am. After almost twenty years of hope and several months of planning, yesterday I bought tickets to see the stage show of Newsies. I blogged about this two posts ago (which was four months ago :-/), but now it’s actually happening. In October, Emily, my Newsies friend Katie, my sister Maureen, and I will be seeing the Working Boys of New York live on stage.

One of the best parts of all of this — from Disney announcing they were working on a stage version, to Paper Mill announcing their fall season, to me announcing I bought my tickets — is the reaction of my friends. Everyone is so happy for ME. Not for Disney, not for Alan Menken, not even for the actors who were cast in the show. Me. There are so many comments of “It’s finally happening for you!,” and “Enjoy!,” and “You’ve wanted this for so long!” But mostly people are saying, “I hope for their sake it’s good, because I wouldn’t want to see you if it’s bad.” And I can’t say that I blame them.

I recently saw Sister Act the Musical on Broadway. Now I love the movies (yes both of them). But I can’t say I loved the musical. And I had been really excited for it. I ended up seeing it twice (the first time for free), and while I enjoyed it more the second time, it still didn’t hit for me. They made so many changes I felt were unnecessary. Some were just baffling, like moving the story to 1970s Philadelphia. And some made me really angry, like the way the services turned into a cheap stage show, instead of just becoming refreshingly modern. If the changes to Sister Act could get me this upset, I can only imagine what damage could be done to Newsies.

So, here are some things I would like to see in the Newsies stage show:

*Tighten up the ending; it’s weird.

*Either expand or remove the Sarah character. And get an actress who can act.

*Keep as true to the choreography as possible. Or just hire Kenny Ortega.

*I would be fine with getting rid of Medda and her songs.

*For god’s sake, keep the Prologue.

*Amazing new songs.

*Someone singing the shit out of Patrick’s Mother’s solo.

*Magic/Children smoking.

Don’t screw it up, or I’ll soak ya!

It’s a Valentine’s Day miracle! The most amazing thing has happened. No, I didn’t run into Jonathan Taylor Thomas on the street, making him fall in love with me. And no, *NSYNC isn’t reuniting. And we all know I didn’t get a call to come in for a Jeopardy interview. But something about as amazing as all of those things was announced today. In the fall, Paper Mill Playhouse will be starting their season with a production of Newsies!!! And while it’s not Broadway, Paper Mill is a well-respected and amazing theatre in New Jersey. Holy crap.

I can’t really say why this is so amazing, but trust me, it is. Ever since I was little, I’ve loved Newsies. I was nine when it came out, and after that it was on Disney channel nonstop. The songs, the story, and the boys were all a part of my childhood. Newsies planted in my head that New York was cool, even in the days of child labor. Brooklyn was tough, and Spot Conlon was a hottie. That’s where I wanted to be, and that’s where I live now. Speaking of, where’s my Spot Conlon? I guess I don’t hang out at the docks enough. Maybe I should buy a sling shot.

Anyway, as soon as I heard this news (Ha! News.), there was one person I needed to share it with: my friend Katie. Katie and I are friends because of Newsies. To make a long story short, we went to different high schools and got in a fight at a Speech team tournament about whether one of my classmates looked like Spot (he didn’t). Then she invited me to go swing dancing. Because it was 1999, and we had a mutual love of Swing Kids, obvi. We’ve been friends ever since, and while our relationship is more than Christian Bale movies, that was the catalyst.

And so, come fall many worlds will collide. This old idea of New York I’ve had in my head since I was nine will meet my current life in New York. I’ll be able to share Newsies with Emily for our Vlog, and also share it once again with Katie, but in a much different way. So, no pressure Alan Menken and Harvey Fierstein, but this show better not suck. You’ve got my childhood, friendships, and life choices in your hands.

P.S. If you need someone to sing Patrick’s Mom in Carrying the Banner, I’d be more than happy to help!

It’s always best to be cautious when welcoming in a new season. Those first couple of weeks are dicey — you never know if it’s going to be t-shirt warm or jacket cold. In fact, I’m outside, and it went from one to the other as I sat here. But I’m not afraid to say it: I’m so glad it’s finally fall! In my rankings of the seasons, fall comes in at two, behind winter and ahead of spring, with summer bringing up the rear. Weather-wise, I think fall and spring might tie, but in activities and treats, fall takes the (pumpkin-flavored) cake.

Perhaps my favorite thing about the fall is Halloween. Oh man, do I love Halloween. I love getting dressed up. I’m totally going to be that mom who still wears a full costume to hand out candy. And if you’ve read this blog, you know my stance on Halloween candy — maybe this year, trick-or-treaters! I pride myself on never having repeated a costume (at least once I started choosing them myself), and can tell you what I’ve been every year since kindergarten. Some highlights: 3rd grade: The Statue of Liberty, 5th grade: a Stop Sign, 9th grade: Pippi Longstocking, 11th grade: a Newsie (duh), 12th grade: Daria, Soph year of college: Kelly Osbourne, last year: a Walk of Shame. I also have this (apparently annoying) habit of keeping my costumes a surprise. It’s not because I think they’re super amazing, but just because I think it’s fun for everyone to show up to work or school or wherever and all be surprised. So, I do have an idea of what I’m going to be this year, but I’m certainly not going to tell you!

I’m also a huge fan of all things food that come with fall. Pumpkin flavored everything. Apple cider, hot and cold. Thanksgiving-y and harvest-y foods. You know it’s fall when you walk into a Starbucks and see the Pumpkin Spice latte up on their specials board. I got one the other day! Not from Starbucks, but still… Food related activities are also super fun. When I was little, we always went apple picking every fall, an extremely country thing for our very suburban family to do. It was so much fun. And the pies that would be made! Oh, the pies! Two years ago, my mom, sisters, and little nieces came out in September, and we went apple picking. Well, they (and a zillion other relatives, including my dad and a nephew who hadn’t been born yet) are coming back in a few weeks, and apple picking is penciled in on the itinerary. Plus, there’s always the trip to the pumpkin patch! Now that I have a nephew in the city, Halloween is going to be even more fun!

As for fall entertainment, there’s obviously great TV to look forward to (as previously blogged about), and fall baseball! It’s one of the best times to go see a ball game (depending on how your team is doing). Hopefully my White Sox can “cinch it up, and hunker down” as Hawk Harrleson says, and end this season with a bang! The theatre season is also starting, and while many shows I’m excited for aren’t opening until 2011, there are some great shows opening this fall. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, which I missed at The Public, is thankfully coming to Broadway. I’m also interested to see Elf and can’t wait for Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, obvi (Patti! Sherie! Laura!) And don’t forget movies. The one I’m absolutely salivating over is The Social Network. Oh, man. It. Looks. Epic. Not to mention Part 1 of HP and The Deathly Hallows. All in all, I think this fall is shaping up to be pretty shamzing!

So, Drake’s album came out today.  To be honest, I don’t really know any of his music (I should get on that), and it doesn’t really matter if I like it or not because the first thing I will always think about whenever I see him will be Jimmy Brooks.  Just like my mom still calls some of her friends by their maiden names, I will always be amazed to see Drake walking around onstage because Jimmy was put in a wheelchair after Rick shot him during a Very Special Episode of Degrassi.  Now, that doesn’t mean I won’t like his music or appreciate him as an artist.  I respect Mark Wahlberg as an actor, but I still think of Good Vibrations when I see him.  C’mon, c’mon.  Feel it, feel it.  Feel the vibrations!  Oh, I always will Marky Mark, I always will.  For a long time, Mark Wahlberg was super bitchy about his past life in Calvin Klein briefs, but he eventually got over it and himself, and now enjoys talking to animals.

A lot of actors and singers are totally cool about embracing their questionable career beginnings.  Mark-Paul Gosselaar recently appeared in full on Zack Morris gear on Jimmy Fallon.  I tip my hat to you sir.  You made many twentysomethings very happy that day.  John Stamos is also surprisingly cool about his days as Uncle Jesse on Full House.  In fact, all of the cast, except of course the Olsen twins who profited the most from it, seem to enjoy the love they get from fans of the amazingly sweet and formulaic show.  I follow most of the cast on twitter and they’re adorable with each other.  Now, if only Joey Lawrence had agreed to do that Blossom reunion on that show I don’t watch, I would have actually watched it. Whoa, Joey.  Don’t be such a douche.  Johnny Carson and Nell Carter may have given you your start, but Blossom made you a teen heartthrob.  And now that you and Melissa Joan Hart are going to be on a show together, I better get some self-referential jokes.  Maybe something about torn jeans and talking cats.  I don’t know, I’m just tossing out ideas.

The person who makes me the angriest when it comes to being a jerk about his past, however, is Christian Bale.  For a long time, he was super mean about Newsies.  Now, no one’s going to come out and say Newsies is a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s a pretty awesome movie.  Especially for those of us who loved it as kids.  And even though he now says in interviews that he’s made peace with it and that “time healed those wounds,” I say ‘eff you Christian Bale.  Don’t patronize me.  Do you know the reason I saw Swing Kids?  Newsies.  How about the reason I saw A Midsummer Night’s Dream?  Newsies.  Or the reason when you were announced as the next Batman and everyone said, “Who? Oh, that guy,” but I said, “Of course! He’ll be amazing!”?  It was Newsies.  Newsies is the reason I’ve been a fan of yours since I was nine years old.  Fine, maybe at seventeen you thought you were making an important film that would change history, but you didn’t.  And that’s cool because it did change your history.  It gave you thousands of fans who have stood by you since 1992.  Don’t be embarrassed; suck it up, Christian, and keep carryin’ the banner!

So, I wasn’t sure what to write about, so I thought I’d go to Wikipedia’s main page for some inspiration. Of course, this caused me to get sucked into a Wikipedia link vortex.

My original inspiration comes from this “featured picture” of the Yalta conference:

I click on the link for FDR for two reasons: A. He’s one of my fave prezzies. B. He makes me think of the musical Annie. Instead of reading all about The New Deal or adorable redheaded orphans, I click on the link for “List of coupled cousins.” That’s right, he married his cousin. Many of you may know this already, as I do, but it still grosses me out.

In looking at the list, there’s a very long section on royalty, which is not surprising. For those couples not of blue blood, there are some of the ones we’re aware of or at least not surprised by, such as John Adams and Jerry Lee Lewis. There were many US politicians, famous composers and scientists, and one tortured poet, Edgar Allen Poe. One of the most recent people on the list is not other than Rudy Giuliani, so, of course I click on his page. I don’t want to get too far into the politics though, so I click on the most fun thing I read about on his page: his honorary knighthood!

I’m curious about those others in Rudy Giuliani’s company with an honorary knighthood. Hmmm…we’ve got Bono, Bill Gates, Bob Geldof, Billy Graham, Gér— Hold up. Billy Graham?! WTF? I gotta click on that shit. Oh, man. I said I didn’t want to get too far into politics, but shit just got real. This is what happens when you get sucked into a Wikipedia link vortex. You learn things you don’t want to know. Billy Graham has not only received an honorary knighthood, he also received a Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ugh. I gotta leave this page. Oh, I’ll click on William Randolph Hearst! He makes me think of Newsies. I’m calming down, and my breathing begins to regulate.

Ooo! There’s a bit about Citizen Kane. AFI’s 100 greatest films of all time, here I come! I actually haven’t seen a lot of the films one this list, mostly the older ones; it’s something I’ve been working on. According to this page, they retooled the list in 2007, removing some films, adding some films left off the first go-round, and adding some that were only made since the last list came out. One of those just happens to be Titanic. Sorry, guys. You’ve lost me for the next three hours and fourteen minutes. I have a date with Jack and Rose. Wikipedia is one tricky bitch.