Ice Cream Bills

The Buffalo area has been in recession since Bethlehem Steel closed many years ago. That's a fact I grew up knowing and it hasn't really gotten better. My mom made the comment the other day while we were walking around Williamsville that she wondered if Buffalo wasn't seeing the crunches other areas might be because its residents were already used to recession conditions. I agreed, thinking that made sense. Today, though, I found a place that was feeling it. Sweet Jenny's, a homemade ice cream place on Main Street, recently moved locations from a converted house that had a number of tables and a long bar at which to order in it, to a cramped store front next to a self-dog groomers. The ice cream is just as good, the chocolates just as enticing, but the location leaves much to be desired. It turns out that the building owners raised the rent. My guess would be that the economy hurts people of all walks of life, store owners and those that they rent from, but it would seem a little bit irrational to do so, especially this time of year when an ice cream place right on the main drag of Williamsville will be doing better business and might then be able to survive a rent increase. But who buys a cone to walk with in winter? (OK, I would eat one in my car, but some people are soup people in the winter, not ice cream people.)

I wonder if other local businesses are feeling the economic problems begin to build up. My good friend's father owns a construction company and I started to wonder if fewer people would build. If more people are staying where they are because they just can't go somewhere new. I guess I needed somewhere I'm familiar with to change before I really understood the power of the dollar in a business. That's just not an end of the world I am well-versed in. While I can keep one checking and one savings account pretty much in order, I don't think a book of accounts would be my cup of tea.

Washin' and Wonderin'

I've never been in a laundromat - until today. The past four years, I have had laundry facilities in my apartment buildings and while I admit I was more of a twice a month laundress, I guess I didn't know how inexpensive they were. My last apartment charged $1.50 for wash and $1 for dry. This laundromat, where my mom and I needed to go to wash her freakin' huge comforter,  charged $3.75 per wash and 25 cents for each six minutes of drying. That's pricey, man. Despite that, there was something about the atmosphere that seemed so much less stressful than the laundry areas I have been familiar with. Part of that might have to do my insistence of trying to do laundry at 7 a.m. when I am convinced no one else will be awake and washing, wearing nothing but cut off sweatpants and a huge Sabres T-shirt. Then, I would run into the only football player I was ever friendly with in the elevator and pretend I had already showered and brushed my teeth, though that was not the case.

I don't know how I'm going to be a journalist, seeing as the laundromat musing was supposed to simply lead into my review of the other new coffee joint on Main. Nice tangent. Anyway, it's called Coffee Culture and I believe it's part of a Canadian franchise - though my deduction of this has to do with the Web site on the cup sleeve being .ca, not because I actually asked anyone (my reporting skills are a little rusty, it seems). Atmosphere-wise, the cafe seems a bit slicker than coffee places I choose as daily haunts. There are dark woods and leather couches that matched the suited business men and women seated at the various tables and booths. My estimation of the general clientele would be unfair because I was there around noon and at that time, who else would be there except business people from the Williamsville area getting coffee and mothers with children? Most of the high schools in the area are not out yet and Spot seems to have grabbed the college vote. The prices were reasonable and the coffee quite good. The winning point of the visit - excepting when the waitress recommended something on the Starbucks menu to me - was the blueberry scone. My dad and I are really into scones and this was probably the best I've ever had. So, go to Coffee Culture and get a one! 

Funny coincidence I noticed reading the paper yesterday: In one of my recent entries I wrote about my love of "Chess" and how I thought a modern revival would be nice. Seems that a Josh Groban/Idina Menzel concert of it aired on PBS June 17 and I missed it! Looking up some YouTube videos of Menzel in "Chess: In Concert," I have to say I would have liked to see it, but she is no where near as appropriate for that role as when Julia Murney did it with Groban and (you guessed it!) Sutton Fostor. I'm for Menzel as much as any teenage girl with a "Rent" soundtrack and a "Wicked" T-shirt (things I already own), but her voice came out harsh in a number of places and she gave too much in "I Know Him So Well." Kerry Ellis was a nice touch though. One of the best "Someone Else's Story" renditions I've found, and that's one of my favorite theater songs period. 

In a similar vein, I think that "Wicked" is becoming the new "Les Miserables" - everyone, it seems, has played Elphaba or Glinda just as for awhile it seemed like every tour bio you read had Eponine in an actress's credits. I suppose that's what happens when a show runs for a number of years but the more I've been looking into it the more surprised I got. I do have one to point out. Annaleigh Ashford was the lamest Glinda possible. She didn't seem to really succeed vocally, she was good but not great, and her version of "Popular" hadn't any pop at all. Then I clicked around and see she also played Elle in "Legally Blonde." Next, I'll see her as Cathy in "The Last Five Years" and realize that audiences love boring performers and decide to write a musical about working at a grocery store.

Unless you think that customers who ask for a half cheese, half pepperoni pizza, "But could you please put the same amount of pepperoni that you would weigh out for a whole pepperoni pizza on that half?" funny, which I do, then maybe Annaleigh has led to my life's calling. 

"Double Cheese" A Musical Exploration of One Young Woman's Wish for Pizza Perfection.

That could also be an expose. 

This is hilarious:

It's Tony season!

Ah, my favorite night of television :) I love the night of the Tonys because it helps me to decide what musical I want to buy next. It turned me on to "The Light in the Piazza" a few years ago and had me YouTubing "The Little Mermaid" last year. This year wasn't my favorite as far as the show went. There was a lot more dancing than singing, it seemed (granted, I did miss the first hour due to...what else? Wegmans.) and having that who-knows blonde girl sing "Legally Blonde" and not Laura Belle just disappointed me. I loved "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat" but I really would have loved to see Lauren Graham sing something. I thought it was nice to see one of the "Billys" dance but he kept yelling "ah" instead of singing anything. Does he sing? I'll have to find that out. Anyway, it almost seemed a stronger year for plays, though "Next To Normal" looked like it might be interesting. I remember reading the NYTs review of that and it wasn't as spectacular as the Tony audience was making it out to be. Also, I couldn't really see how the lead from that could beat my personal favorite. (see the below entry, haha!)

Right now, I'm catching up on BBC's "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" I've been told so many times that I should play Maria in "The Sound of Music" - maybe because I wore a Maria-like hat in "Nine," maybe not - and so I want to see what my competition is (at least in Britain! :). Watching it made me think of two things.

First, many of these woman are very good, not just at singing, but at selling a song, connecting with their audience and having this innate confidence Simon Cowell and, dare I mention her as an authority, Kara Dioguardi continued to harp on the "Idol" contestants for. And so continues my support of Adam Lambert. Yes, it's wonderful when someone can sing many genres and be unique, but musical theater training gives performers a whole other dimension of stage presence. So, whether or not Kris Allen should have won a competition like "Idol" or not, Adam Lambert showed that showmanship fostered in theater is not something to be shunned, as the judges have done in the past. 

Second, why in the world, with so many out-of-work actors are we having reality TV shows looking for actors? The thought is baffling. I'm sure if they had held auditions for Maria for the West End revival, a Maria equal to or better than Connie Fisher would have been found. It's bothersome that producers and directors, who I'm sure struggled for their art at one time or another, would buy in to such an idea instead of investing in the talent of those willing to go out, day after day, to audition after audition, trying to keep a dream alive. Instead, we got so-and-so from Bristol who's favorite musicals are "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Starlight Express." Really?

Astonishing

I am absolutely, 100% not tired. I hate nights like this, especially ones that are followed by wonderful days of sun. I think tomorrow may be one of those days and I was trying to get a good night's sleep so I could enjoy it. Lies. The lines from "When You're Good To Mama" from "Chicago" keep running through my head; I just rediscovered the CD. Granted, Renee Zellweger is not a very good singer, but the show is much better than I gave it credit for back when I received it (the movie recording if you didn't catch that yet) back in 2003 or thereabouts.

Yeah. Watch that! My cousin Megan turned me on to it a couple months ago. This is a truncated version of the song, but you can see all of the girl's faces and I really like that about it. Sutton Foster is so fabulous.

Speaking of Sutton Foster, I've also been listening to "Chess" a whole bunch. While it has a lot of rather poor '80s bits, songs like "Nobody's Side" and "Heaven Help My Heart" can really take a listener by surprise. One of the strengths of "I Know It's Today" is the really modern arrangment, instrument choice, particularly that acoustic guitar at the end. "Chess" on the other hand seems to really hold on to the electronica in the recordings I've got my hands on. I think it would be great if "Chess" had some sort of revival or revamping that updated the sounds. You know what else should be revived? "Aspects of Love." While Andrew Lloyd's last show didn't smash like many of his have, I think that the world loves drama and love triangles and "Aspects" has always felt like an episode of "The Real World" to me. Perhaps a nice update might give it an audience - but who can replace Michael Ball. Oh right, no one. My biases are so obvious because I was first introduced to Ball in the 10th Anniversary Concert of "Les Miserables" when he played Marius brilliantly. "Les Mis" is my all-time favorite show and the 10th Anniversary is probably the very best recording out there, including the original cast.

 

I guess I'll stop rambling and just keep YouTubing Sutton until I feel sleepy :)

Adventuring

Since the weather has been so cool and not as summery as I would like - the new zebra-print bathing suit has only gotten use when I try it on and will the sun to come out - I have been watching a ton of movies. But, first thing's first.

Saw "Up" tonight. In a word, precious. More than once I asked myself why I don't see children's movies more often, especially ones with messages about over-development in places where there used to be neighborhoods and honoring the elderly. I smiled the whole way home. Something that really caught me, and usually doesn't, was the animation. I remember seeing "Toy Story" in theaters - I think that was before Disney acquired Pixar but I'm not positive about that - and I know for a fact that detail wasn't as in depth or specific. Heck, the little boy's cub scout-like badges had visible thread around the edges! It reminded me of when my brother was in the Boy Scouts (much more than my brief stint as a Brownie). The colors, especially of the balloons, were so vivid, too, I giggled like a 6 year old, pointing at them, probably to the embarrassment of my viewing companion. Though, I'm sure it embarrassed him more when I started sniffling over the love between two cartoon old people. 

The other thing "Up" offered me was a look into my past through a future film: "The Princess and the Frog." I've read about the movie somewhere because I guess it's a breakthrough as the leading lady will be the first Disney African-American Princess. Nice. What I'm excited about is that they are coming out with another princess movie! I grew up on Belle, Ariel and Cinderella (Malifacent in "Sleeping Beauty" scared me too much to watch it much) so adding another legitimate princess - I never really bought into Mulan - is exciting to girls like me. But it's not just us '90s kids that are going to reap the benefits, or have been. My boss at work has a 2-year-old daughter who loves the Disney princesses; they have reached audiences for over a decade and Disney has for 75 years. Talk about longevity. It's all really interesting though, because it seems natural to ask why people still find these fairy tales so enchanting, shall we say. I asked that very question in my senior thesis. But you'll have to drudge through 10 pages of literary theory, a counterpoint, to get there. However, if you want to know, I'll drag it out for you :)

I also saw "Knowing" at the cheap theaters about a week ago. I thought the whole idea was scary even thought my mom, who saw it when it was $9.50 a ticket, did not. I wondered, after talking to her about it, if i missed something, or mistook something. The idea, to me, that someone knew the day "everyone else" was going to die, is terrifying. First, that a prophet would exist among us, and second, that the day could be arriving.  But I'm not talking religion here, I'm talking Nicholas Cage. He plays a tormented man well and while "Ghost Rider" was a misstep, I'll always love him for "Moonstruck."

My intelligent friend and I rented "Rachel Getting Married" this weekend, too. Well, Anne Hathaway went from "The Princess Diaries" to "The Rehab Diaries" in just a few short years. That's nice. While I felt the movie had a few unnecessary scenes - like the many-minute long dance sequence at the end, yawn - it mimicked life. Though I don't know if driving the plot was the director/writer's intention - and if I want to get picky, I could say the creator's intention doesn't matter anyway - it did capture the complexity of familial hatred and love, the entanglement of resentment with loyalty and the internal chaos that manifests in relationships when it festers over a long period of time. It was very realistic, to say the least, and Hathaway probably deserved that Oscar nod. (But, I saw "The Reader" and, performance-wise, Kate Winslet deserved that one).

Can I also give a shout-out to "Tootsie?" and "Something Wicked This Way Comes?" The first is a favorite. Dustin Hoffman, who's recent sorry-soaked "Last Chance Harvey" was great, when he plays his roles true (See: Meet the Fockers. Unecessary.), is truly excellent. The second, another Disney film, I thought was actually pretty scary for a kids movie. As for "City Slickers," one of my top 10 movies I'd say, it's gets better every time I see it. I particularly enjoyed Daniel Stern this go-round. I'll never really like Bruno Kirby, RIP.

And so, I'll leave with my favorite quote from "Up," spoken by dejected dog Dug:

"I hid under your porch because I love you."

See it. With a little one :)