Here are the things that have taken up my time recently.

Phantom of the Opera!!!!!!!! I went into it expecting it to be brilliant. I didn't expect it to blow my mind. Christine was flawless. She had a beautiful voice and the spirit that was missing from the film. John Mills actually made me like Raoul's character. He was much more of a man than Patrick Wilson's movie interpretation. And the Phantom absolutely stunned me. Definitely the most amazing tenor I've heard in person. During the curtain call, when all the characters took their bows, many people stood up. When the Phantom came out, the entire house stood up. I really cannot think of anything that I didn't like or that I would have changed. I've heard some people say that they preferred the voices of the characters in the movie version, and to tell you the truth, that seriously offends me. It is impossible to compare Greg Mills' smooth tenor voice to Gerard Butler's rough rock-and-roll voice. These people were classically trained for the express purpose of being onstage someday. The film actors thought it would be cool to be in a movie musical, and all they'd have to do is sing from their nose into a machine that would make them sound halfway decent. I guess those people just don't appreciate the art and talent that is musical theatre like I do. :)

My girl Rachel :)

I am officially Psaltina. Oh, what fun we will have.... ;) And if only I wasn't going to be out of town for 1 1/2 weeks this summer: the Woodlawn Theatre is doing The Wizard of Oz! Only the love of my life!


What the world needs most is more male pianists with amazing voices. People like Ben Folds and Harry Connick, Jr. Most definitely.

Several nights ago I introduced several of my friends to the wondrous joy that comes from watching Murder By Death. Have you seen it? You probably haven't. So you should.

Easter was great. All the kids sang the Alleluia Chorus we taught them for Prelude. It was so pretty. And of course, it being Easter, Dad wanted us to take pictures :)


Nathan and I have compiled a list of the greatest performances by an actor ever. While we differ on several, this is our joint list in no particular order (in case you couldn't tell, I love to make lists):
Phillip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs
Tom Cruise - The Last Samurai
Sean Penn - I Am Sam
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Edward Norton - The Illusionist
Adrien Brody - The Pianist
Denzel Washington - Training Day
Forrest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot
Russell Crowe - A Beautiful Mind
Topol - The Fiddler on the Roof
Gary Oldman - Immortal Beloved
Terrence Howard - Crash
Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man
Kevin Spacey - The Usual Suspects
Johnny Depp - Finding Neverland
Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird
Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Velvet Goldmine
Adrien Brody - The Village
Christian Bale - Equilibrium
Chris Cooper - Breach
Steve Zahn - Rescue Dawn
Sean Astin - The Lord of the Rings
Cary Elwes - Kiss the Girls
Adam Sandler - Reign Over Me
Jim Carrey - The Truman Show
Richard Dreyfuss - Mr. Holland's Opus
Michael Caine - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Nicolas Cage - Matchstick Men
Humphrey Bogart - Casablanca

Feel free to give me yours as well. List of actresses coming soon.

I don't care how many people laugh at me, but I saw Titanic (finally) and loved it.

Labels: someone put a brick in your coffee cup

What a day. Mother has still not gone into surgery. 5 hours late. My goodness. Why can't hospitals run like you see them run in Grey's Anatomy, House, ER, etc. etc.?

Recently seen movies:
La Vie en Rose: Oh my goodness. What an amazing movie. It was beautiful, tragic, exhilarating, and dramatic, among other things. I wish there was something even more important than an Oscar for Marion Cotillard. Her performance was outstanding.

Gone Baby Gone: An incredible crime drama. Casey Afflek has serious talent. A very intense story that is devastating in parts, but well worth it to see the redemption.

The Pianist: What I'm wondering is why I didn't see it until two nights ago. This film has definitely become one of my favorites. Adrien Brody was outstanding as Wladislaw Szpilman. I can't even describe how much I loved it. Very hard to watch in parts, which made it all the more real.

My grandparents are here for two days. I may have said this before, but it gets truer every day: there are no greater people in all the world.

New piano pieces: Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, Chopin's Ballad in G Minor, Holst's Jupiter, Pachebel's Canon in D, Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (1st movement excerpt).

Have you ever noticed that the most beautiful songs in musicals usually go to the male characters? Examples:
Music of the Night - Phantom of the Opera (Phantom)
Giants in the Sky - Into the Woods (Jack)
Dancing Through Life - Wicked (Fiyero)
Miracle of Miracles - The Fiddler on the Roof (Motel)
Any Day Now - The Fiddler on the Roof (Perchik)
Santa Fe - Newsies (Jack)
On the Street Where You Live - My Fair Lady (Freddie)
Snoopy - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Snoopy)
Stars - Les Miserables (Javert)
Bring Him Home - Les Miserables (Jean Valjean)
Who Am I? - Les Miserables (Jean Valjean)
Oh, What a Beautiful Morning - Oklahoma! (Curly)
Your Song - Moulin Rouge! (Christian)
My Friends - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Sweeney)
Johanna - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Anthony)
Old Deuteronomy - Cats (Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger)
It Takes Two - Hairspray (Link)
Le Temps de Catedrali - Notre Dame de Paris (Gringiore)
Where Is Love? - Oliver! (Oliver)

"Stars in your multitudes
Scarce to be counted
Filling the darkness
With order and light
You are the sentinels
Silent and Sure
Keeping watch in the night"

New music interests: The Bird and the Bee, Jason Collette, Ingrid Michaelson.

I talked to Nathan on Wednesday for a long time. Ah me, I miss him. He told me to see Definitely, Maybe. I definitely want to. He also saw Vantage Point, but didin't think the plot was very involved. Hm. The Other Boleyn Girl and Penelope are out and I can't wait to see both of them! And I think CJ is right--I do enjoy dark, period dramas. Much more than she does. But it's okay, because she enjoys romantic comedies much more than I do. My next stop at Blockbuster will be to collect any combination of the following: Stage Beauty, Lady Jane, Chocolat, The Pianist, Harsh Times, The Man Who Cried.

Phantom of the Opera in 11 days. Can I really wait that long? I suppose so, seeing as I've been waiting for 3 years to see it live.

I saw the most amazing Audrey Hepburn poster at Blockbuster last night that I neeeed. You can get it for me if you like. While we're on the subject of Blockbuster (again), I'll mention that Beth and I rented La Vie En Rose last night and we plan on watching it today. I'm very excited. This is the movie that won Marion Cotillard the Best Actress award last Sunday. I heard that she was also in A Very Long Engagement, which I did not like at all, but everyone says this movie is very good.

Psalty is going well. We're a bit behind schedule, but then goes the way of the Warren family sometimes. As of now, I am the back-up Psaltina (*cough* Tiffany) so we'll see how that goes. :) While I would rather we do a play where I could be Charity Churchmouse, this will do.

How did I ever live without the movie Finding Neverland? I can't say enough good things about it. Johnny Depp's best, Freddie Highmore's best, Kate Winslet's best.....

My poor dad is so sick. It's very sad. What does the phrase "sick as a dog" really mean?

I am fairly certain that I have run out of romantic closing sentences.

But perhaps that was romantic or poetic, in and of itself.

"I love the way you say good morning
And you take me the way I am"

Labels: pardon me the music is moving