I Was Always the Glee Generation

And so, it's Christmas for Theatre Geeks - Tony Awards day. In its honor, the New York Times tells me that the Youths of the Country are embracing their inner theatre nerds. So much so, that you're no longer a nerd if you love music theatre. It's hip to be geek. Or Gleek. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/fashion/13Cultural.html

The author, who seems to be a decade younger than me(!), reflects on the differences between his teen days and now: "Whereas the high-schoolers of my era wouldn’t admit to liking show tunes for fear of seeming gay, those of today wouldn’t even necessarily conflate the two things, and besides, what’s wrong with being gay?"

Ah, whatever Gen we're on now, bless you. Bless you, kids, for your enlightenment. Although, to tell you the truth, in the Bad Old Days there was almost something cool (that's sick to you) about being so out of it you were almost in again.

Anyway, back to big-time theatre. They're reviving "Funny Girl." No, they haven't cloned La Streisand. They're actually going to get someone else to play the lead. And then they're going to find someone who sings "Respect" better than Aretha. And ... well, fill in your own impossible to beat standard.

Still, just the talk of that 60s classic musical got me in the mood to watch an iconic film musical moment. Funny Girl's "Don't Rain on My Parade" aka The Statue of Liberty scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6E2Mooz_LA

And although there is only one Babs, I guess Lea Michele's version of the song itself ain't bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2FQ40_fVDk

Now, I have my problems with aspects of Glee, in general. (Starting with my first question: Is it hyperbolic satire with broadly drawn caricatures or mushy sitcom - with broadly drawn caricatures?) But I do appreciate that it's introducing some great music - not only Broadway, but classic R & B and rock - to those Youths I mentioned above.

And listening to/ watching that "Funny Girl" scene got me thinking in general about something I don't say often - it is the ARTS of America that make me most proud to be from this country. The U.S., in so many ways one hot mess of a place, has given the world Broadway. And Jazz. And R & B. And on and on. And I'm glad I was born gleek enough to appreciate, to revel in, so much of it:

The Gershwins. Stevie Wonder and Stephen Sondheim. Streisand and Aretha. Holland Dozier Holland. Benny Goodman. Bruce Springsteen. Christina Aguilera. Gene Kelly. Fred Astaire. And that's just the first dozen or so names off the top of my head.

So, yes, I'll be watching the Tonys. Every musical isn't a gem. Every musical isn't my cup of tea. But it's still pretty cool that we've got so much, I can afford to be this picky. That I'm from MusicNerdNation.

In Which I Don't Write But Name Drop Like Crazy

Random thoughts:

1. All my previous posts seem soooo last decade.

2. In the first 20 hours of 2010 I ate two pizzas.

But not to worry, I also walked for nine minutes.

3. If I’m going to live my life like a less successful Liz Lemon it’d be nice to at least look like Tina Fey. (And hell, I've even had a thing for a piano player or two.)

4. It sucks to feel like you have a hangover when you didn’t have any Fun preceding it.

5. The Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, America’s Next Top Model, Top Chef, The Hills, P. Hilton, Kardashian.

Sorry, I don’t follow any of the above, don’t care about any of the above, have no thoughts about any of the above - I’m just trying to up my SEO.

6. I’m going to open a restaurant as near as possible to the TSA checkpoints at the airport and call it Security Dinner Theatre.

7. Why yes, I am tired and silly tonight, why do you ask?

8. At least I got some good creative writing done during my week off.

Come on, my little script babies, make momma some money in the new year.

9. I never got around to posting this before. It's the crazy Christmas house in Royal Oak, MI.

Me like.

2009 & the Aughts were not the greatest, and still there may be hard times ahead ... but let's face the music and dance. (And be thankful that people like Astaire and Rogers and Nat King Cole lived to share their talents with us.)

Happy New Year Everyone.