Category Archives: Musical

Musical theatre is in my blood.

Dish The Musical – The Gallery Theatre, Anaheim, CA

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Epically hilarious and very clever, this world premiere of an original work is highly recommended and a great escape for a couple of hours. Hope you got a chance to see it! Favorite numbers: Judge Judy Rules (a nice doo-wop song) and Vampires Are Really, Really Hot (hilarious take on how there’s hundreds of vampire shows). The cast did a fantastic job. Really good impersonations (favorites are Whoopi Goldberg and Arnold Schwarzenegger).

Will Rogers Follies – Candlelight Pavillion

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Yay! My trilogy of Cy Coleman shows is now complete for another decade or so! I saw Barnum in 2006 (never seen it before aside from the Michael Crawford DVD), City of Angels in 2008 (before that 1999 at OCHSA and 2005 at Chromolume) and now Will Rogers Follies in 2010. I first saw this show in Downey in 1997* and it became a very powerful and formative part of my life. Will Rogers touched the hearts of so many people during his life with his affable wit and simple common sense. This show (done in the style of a Florenz Ziegfeld Follies) is a delightful biopic of Will’s life. An absolutely phenomenal production and an absolutely adorable setup out in Claremont. A decent size stage plus dinner theatre makes this an absolutely amazing experience! I only wish I had known that when I had booked tickets and they told … Continue reading →

Young Frankenstein – OCPAC

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Meh. Not as good as The Producers. Not as bad as Spamalot. A very sophomoric effort (ironic, no?). Unfortunately very focused on sex. So focused on sex I was disappointed when the conclusion did not include wayward illegitimate children. They took several very funny jokes from the film and expanded them into full blown set-pieces/songs that were just wrong and un-funny. Oh well…some fun music and moments…including choral tap dancing in platform taps.

In The Heights – OCPAC

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Very fun story with lots of high energy dance and freestyle lyrics. The story of a neighborhood in Washington Heights that has evolved into a large family unit that protects itself as the rest of the world beats down on it. really enjoyed In The Heights @OCPAC but it occurred to me that it’s @ThatKevinSmith ‘s Clerks with color & on the other side of the Hudson 10:25 PM Aug 7th via Twitter for iPhone

Grease – GoldenWest College

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People I know: Whitney Ackerman (Danny Zuko), Amanda Baker (Marty), Brian Sipkovich (Kenickie), David Kinne (Sonny), Jonathan Dean (Vince Fontaine), Josh Alton (Teen Angel), Sarah Harrington (Anita), Megan Berndt (Peggy), and my amazingly talented sister Alyssa Heckman (Sherry). Aside from adding the song “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from the movie (which was a nice moment for Sandy but is then duplicitous/redundant when shortly followed by “Raining On Prom Night” – kind of like they wanted to remind us that Sandy is still depresse after intermission), the musical remains true to it’s source and is a wonderful trip to the raunchy and rebellious 50’s. Laura is not a fan of this musical because it instructs girls that the only way to get through high school is to give in to peer pressure, as Sandy does by dressing “hot” at the end of the show, and I agree with Laura…it is a … Continue reading →

An Open Letter To Hugh Jackman

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Dear Mr. Jackman, I am a passionate fan of your body. Of work! Body of work! Sorry. *sheepish grin* Anyways. Several years ago I was lucky enough to perform in a college production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, which rekindled my love for the original 1954 film with the indomitable Howard Keel. Ever since then, the idea has been slowly gestating in my brain that I’d love to see the film remade, but Howard Keel is just so bloody incredible. Then it hit me: you would be the perfect person to do justice to the role of Adam Pontipee. Not as any sort of replacement or commentary on his performance, but as a modern-day counter-part or complement. Then as I continued to think about it, I started to fill out my “dream cast” and settled on Anne Hathaway as Millie (plenty of spunk and talent). I think Chris Evans … Continue reading →