ANNIE: The Long Weekend ReviewI haven't done one of these in yonkers, but I wanted to bring it back for Warlow's final run of Annie in Aus. Before the reminiscing begins, however, I must say a big THANK YOU to a special someone (who shall remain anonymous at request) for helping us on our way to Annie. For the longest time I feared I wouldn't be able to save up enough to get Fred down to Melbourne to see it, which would not only have made me break my promise for her to see it, but also broken her heart, for Annie is the one musical she adores above all others. With your generous contribution we were both able to attend and we had a wonderful time of it; we really can't thank you enough! (We'd make you some fudge but I don't trust it's longevity in the mail. Don't worry, we'll get something organised.) So thank you, dear friend!
P.S.: The post below may sound all doom and gloomy, but if you keep reading you'll find some good stuff.
5 HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE: 3/8/12Disaster!
Poor little Blossom made a sound I did not want to hear at 6 a.m. Quickly plucking her off the bed, I raced to the back door with her but could not stop her from being sick in the hallway. After some time spent outside, I'm happy to report that she's back to her ever-eating, bouncy self again, but it's not exactly the best way to start the morning.
Well, since I can't go back to bed ((unlike a certain fluffy brick I know)), I might as well keep myself occupied until Fred gets up at 7. I guess since I'm writing, I'll keep doing writing stuff ... even though I should be more productive and do something useful like - I don't know - PACKING, but we got to bed so late last night, and since I don't know what I'm wearing for the weekend and can't try anything on until I wash after breakfast, and don't know what Fred's wearing until
she washes after breakfast, there's not a lot I can do at this point.
12:15 P.M.Well ... that was an interesting morning.
I recognise the fact that I am quick to panic. It's a horrible trait of mine that I can't seem to shake off as easily as I'd like.
Although, a warm shower seems to help.
Basically, I couldn't pack because I couldn't wash. I couldn't wash because Fred was washing, and then - since it takes a while for the hot water to return - I had to wait around for the water. During that time I was helping Fred choose her outfits for the weekend, which I don't mind doing, but my early-morning had already put my mind into a frizz, and my constant clock-checking wasn't helping any.
I was also worried about our tasty treats; we'd decided to make a few things for Warlow to nibble on, and had been working on them since the day before, but ... well, things hadn't been working out, even then. Firstly, the Tablet was too soft. In the fear of making it so hard it would need breaking apart by a hammer ((which has happened in the past)), the mixture had been underboiled and had refused to set properly. Our Jaffa Drops had puffed up like cakes and the inner icing had been made too runny ((entirely my fault, that one)) so they had oozed too much upon application. A night in the fridge seems to have calmed it down somewhat, but I haven't been able to wipe off all of the sticky residue. And finally, the 100% non-failing fudge that Fred has made a million times over ... failed. It too hadn't hardened properly and it stuck to the knife like soft toffee.
It's funny that the one time we're making these things for someone special and really set out to impress, everything went wrong. Still, they tasted okay, and we discovered that rolling the fudge into balls and then through cocoa powder improves the taste ... It's just a shame that they don't stay round for long.
Somehow we managed to get everything packed and got a start on the previous night's dishes before Fred's folks picked us up and took us to the station. With a sad goodbye to Blossy ((who wagged her tale despite her sad face as we patted her)), we left our new home, our new dog and Wodonga via the noon V-Line to Melbourne.
8 HOURS LATERIt occurs to me that train rides - long train rides - can be unbearable when you're bored. They can also be unbearable if your left eye suddenly gets irritated. I thought perhaps it was because I was just so tired, but by the time we reached Melbourne and walked all the way to the Backpacker's hotel on Elizabeth Street, my eye wasn't looking so great. The eyelid had gone red and puffy and stung a little with every blink. I hope a good night's sleep will see it pass.
With a quick trip to Breadtop ((why don't they have the awesome cream cheese rolls like the Breadtop in Adelaide? And what's with their chocolate?!)), and another one to Yum Yum Dumpling for a hot meal ((where I made an utter fool of myself, struggling to gnaw the lamb off the bones and accidentally dropping one in my soup [and what a wide mess that made!]; but the food is really, REALLY good, and good for those strapped for cash, so I highly recommend it!)), we're ready to retire for the night.
4 A.M., 4/8/12Did anyone happen to catch my status on FB last night, about the Hindley Street of Melbourne? Well, it certainly isn't doing anything to disprove the claim. Now, the raucous behaviour of club-hoppers and the loud music ((so loud we could feel the vibrations on the elevator going to our room and it damn near shattered our eardrums)) I found were easy enough to ignore, since I was so tired, but ...
WILL YOU PEOPLE STOP SLAMMING ALL THE DOORS IN OUR BUILDING?! And to the bloke singing Day-O, can you please pick ONE key and stick to it, or shut up?
3:30 P.M.We had plans and a schedule for the day. We were to get to the stage door by 10:30, pray that the leading man would immediately arrive so we could pass on our bag of home-made snacks to him, then scuttle off and enjoy the sights.
But life doesn't work like that.
At 10:30 we arrived, so that much went according to plan. At 12 or 1 or something, a small crowd had gathered near us and our favourite man ran past.
I know, I know. Catching the man before the show doesn't seem very sporting, so it serves us right. I still like to think that if that family hadn't stopped near us to quarrel about the young boy who would not pick up a rolled up ball of twigs or vines or whatever, we might have been able to give him the bag quickly and then go on our way. But, yes, it still would have been unsporting.
Fortunately, during our wait we were accompianied by a nice girl who also wanted to pass on a note to Warlow. ((I'm sorry, but I can't begin to fathom how your name is spelt, and to prevent insult via a misspelling, I won't try to write it out. But if you're here, please let me know?)) We may have been freezing to death for a couple of hours, but at least we made a new friend.
The weekend is looking better already.
6 P.M.Cheap seats! We looked on the off-chance, and there had been a few left. Double Annie, here we come!
WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: 6/8/12Typically, my mind has melded the two viewings together ((thanks to my lack of record keeping)), so instead of individual show reviews, it's going to my trademark puddle of mush. Hopefully you can understand what I'm getting at.
Firstly, these girls have a bright future ahead of them! What a fantastic bunch! I can't deny that I'm a little jealous that I never got to do any performances like this as a kid, but even if I had, I wouldn't have been a tenth as good as this lot. Seeing the two lots of Annies and Mollys ((who stole many hearts, I believe)) and so forth has allowed me to experience so much young talent in such a short time, and if that's only the "raw" beginnings of the future generation of Aussie talent, I think that this country is going to someday give Broadway a run for it's money. In fact, the only negative thing I can say about the young stars stems from personal opinion more than anything. In the scene where Annie is explaining why she can't take off the locket, I would have liked to have seen at least one of the Annies on the brink of teary hysterics. I just think it would have made the run-to-Grace-and-sob bit a bit more convincing. BUT, as I said, this young cast did a wonderful job, and I'm so glad I was able to see them.
Speaking of Grace, I was not expecting that voice out of her. Maybe it was the easiest way for Goodwin to put on an Amercan accent, I don't know, but the nasel tones certainly made me forget that this was the same woman I had first seen as vulnerable Christine Daae; quite a transformation! In her singing moments, good ol' Goodwin returned, clear as a bell and as lovely as ever, though Grace Farrel pushed through a little in such numbers as NYC and A New Deal for Christmas.
There is one thing I can't seem to fully accept about the movements of Grace Farrell. I mean, I can understand that it may have been because Grace felt so ecstatically liberated at the thought of keeping Annie and exposing Rooster and Lily as the frauds they are, but the whole grabbing the cheque and dancing around thing ... ? Granted she looked pretty doing it, and it seemed that the other characters had the same What The ... ? reaction to it, but ... why? Random humour? I guess it worked - I mean, it was random and humerous to a degree - but I guess I need more time to digest it before it stops bugging me. I wish I could have asked Miss Goodwin about it, but the first time I had been close enough to talk to her this weekend had been before I had seen any of the shows, and she had given me a look that ... well, it made me fearful of frightening her if I approached when she emerged on Sunday night.
I did manage to see a fair few people at the stage door after both shows; a few ensemble members, for example, who I would have loved to have talked to if they all hadn't looked like they were in a rush. They had all performed beautifully with each character they portrayed, from street bums to staff members, that I simply cannot isolate every instance. I will say, however, that I loved Jack Webster's tap-dancing, and the elegance of Luke Joslin.
Okay, so I
can isolate, but Joslin is such an interesting man to watch! After having seen him as Nicky and the porn-obsessed Trekkie Monster in
Avenue Q, and the morphine-addicted Liberius in
Doctor Zhivago, it was nice to see him as characters who weren't hooked on something ((not that he was bad as those characters, on the contrary! - it's just that I thought it was good to see another side to his acting)). He was so smooth and suave and I loved his little salsa movements and the way his lips kept adjusting to different positions on the one note and ...
I think we'll be
stalking following his shows a lot more, now.
I'm really glad Fred got to meet him this weekend, as I know how she feels about him. I'm glad I got to chat with him again too, but I just wish my brain hadn't shut off the moment I'd called out to him.
Luke, if you're reading this somehow, I'm sorry I acted like such a gob-smacked loon.
Rooster! I was at first hesitant about Todd McKenny, as I'd grown up listening ((very much so)) to Tim Curry, but I have to confess, he was a very fun Rooster. I liked that he put on a different accent when pretending to be Ralph Mudge - something that I always thought was lacking from Curry's performance. Of course, the rest of his performance was brilliant too, though on the Saturday I thought there was something a bit lacking ... I don't know. He seemed to have more energy on the Sunday.
Chloe was wonderfully insane as Lily. The voice she put on reminded me of Odeale in the Barbie version of
Swan Lake ((all right, I confess, I have Barbie movies, but I'm not a girly-girly Barbie fan, I just like some of the films)). Sexy, tall and with a stunning voice, this girl couldn't go wrong! Though, there was one moment of curiosity on the Sunday night where she started fiddling with the back of the set, but as I had been too shy to approach her and I had only heard snippets of the story, I'll leave that to someone else to share.
I discovered Nancye Hayes on the copy of The No. #1 Musicals Album Of All Time that my Drama teacher had leant to me in high school, to aid me with my monologue assignment. I never would have dreamed that I would end up watching ((and meeting!)) the musical theatre Goddess who blew me away with her number from
Chicago. She was absolutely wonderful, with her Little Girls obviously being her highlight piece, and her expression as she was staring at the President was gold! Good voice and good form all round!
Plus, she seems to have helped me to explain what Belting is to Fred, who's been having trouble with the concept since I can't belt and suck at explanations. Bonus points!
Having seen Bert as
The Wizard in Wicked, I at least had something else to compare his character to. I think he did a good job as Roosevelt, but sadly - at this point in the review - my mind isn't helping me remember enough about his performance to truly comment on it.
And yet I can remember Warlow well enough. How's that for favouritism?
((BTW, also saw Bert at the door on both nights, but he was edging away from the crowd and I hate imposing, so I didn't approach.))
For the benefit of those who have listened to the album but not yet seen the show, I can assure you that during Together At Last, Warlow brings out his range of impersonations. I won't say who, but they are some we've heard him do before.
As always, our man was spectacular! And as always, I found myself revelling in his dance steps and hand movements and - well, everything, really! The tremble of the cup and saucer, the look when the President ordered Warbucks to sing, the "jingle Molly" part, his eyebrow rise on the line "I've been headlined and profiled again and again ... Every little gesture worked so well. His "What a thing to occur" was a bit harsher on the Sunday, but it didn't lose any of the emotion intended. I'm fairly certain I was close to tears on both nights because of it.
Fred just made an interesting observation: Warlow patted Buddy, aka Sandy. Maybe he's able to take something to prevent it, but I was under the impression from one interview or another that he had fur allergies, and kept poodles because they don't shed?
Anyway, moving on. Before the encore of Tomorrow at the end on Saturday night, Todd McKenny hushed the audience and gave a tribute to Rob Guest. He informed the audience about the foundation set up to support young talent, and encouraged us to give a donation to the ushers outside. And before the encore on Sunday, Bert Newton hushed the audience to bid farewell to Warlow. It was lovely, funny ((Todd McKenny helped)), and Warlow gave his own speech about heading off to America, hoping the public will embrace Michael, and hoping he'd make us proud.
He will, of course.
And then there was 2 hours of cold, cold hell.
Well, okay, not hell, but it sure as hell was cold. Fred and I raced to the stage door, getting there before anyone else on both nights. On Saturday we caught up with Josh and his new lady, a very nice girl whose name I've sadly forgotten, and on Sunday we were joined by those of US who attended ((who we had also had lunch with at Ant's Bistro; barring Kylie who hadn't attended, and barring Giz from the lunch thought as she had had other plans)) and our new friend ((who, incidentally, had chatted to us in the theatre while sitting a mere 2 rows behind us. It's a small world after all)). Plus others who we didn't know but had a good chat to. Several times we had people coming out telling us it was a hopeless cause, since everyone was having drinks in the theatre, but stubbornly we waited and it wasn't in vain.
It's nice to know that, despite having a back-up man to help him escape the throng of fans, who on several occasions informed us that Warlow needed to get away ASAP, that the man who brought us all together insisted that he speak with US first before leaving. I'm very grateful that he did. There were some things he said that I really needed to hear, and I'm very surprised that I didn't burst into tears right then and there. I'm also very surprised that I managed to ask him a few questions that I'd been meaning to ask him for a while ((Blue! I was guessing either that or yellow, but blue definitely makes sense)).
And I'm even more surprised that I sang a little in front of him, but it being hugged and sung to back by him was entirely worth it.
Fred told him about my ((currently WIP)) Ant-Friendly Guide ((in those words)) and he joked it could be called The Church of Warlow ... which somehow led to him asking us to confirm if there was a sparkly fairy vampire character in Twilight called Warlow before he left ((the character of
Warlow is in True Blood, BTW ... had to
google it)).
Well, he should be well and truly on his way to NYC by now. I'm so glad I got to go see his final show in Aus until he returns from what will no doubt be a successful run on Broadway in 15 months time. By then, there should be enough in the savings jar to get us to his first show back in the country ((whatever and whenever that may be)). I'm also glad that I got to share the experience with some of the wonderful friends I have made over Unexpected Song since its creation.
I'll be eagerly awaiting reviews from our overseas members, and the Aussie Warlovians who will take to the sky to catch him on Broadway.
Julie Goodwin was saying that they have such a great time with this show that hardly anyone has had any time off - says a lot for a fairly long-running musical. 
Julie Goodwin was saying that they have such a great time with this show that hardly anyone has had any time off - says a lot for a fairly long-running musical. 
Please feel free to introduce yourself in the Introducing thread in the General board, also to contact myself or anyone here if you have any questions. We hope you enjoy your time with US!