PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT:THE MUSICAL...Finally!

Today, as I'm sure everyone knows by now, has been rather crappy! I hope the best for the people of Japan. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Okay, moving on to some happier news... last Friday I went to see the horrible, HORRIBLE, HOR-RI-BLE, musical Spider-Man:Turn Off The Dark! A night I'd like to forget ever happened! Tonight I went to the theater again and "FINALLY" saw a musical that I can honestly say was 1000x better than that musical which I dare not speak its name again! Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical playing at the Palace theater on Broadway was not only a feast for the ears and eyes, but it actually had a plot that one could follow! Now if you are a fan of the Stephen Elliot cult film, "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" - a film that I often find myself quoting lines from ("A cock in a frock on a rock") - then you will be in for a big treat! Even though some of the jokes from the film are in the musical, it's still a riot!

If you have never seen the film, than you will still be in for a treat because it will be all new to you! The only difference is while the film contained tons of ABBA tunes - this show has replaced those songs with tons of songs from the Madonna catalogue and the Donna Summer catalogue. And yes, I did find myself singing along with the cast. But the main character from both the film and Broadway show still remains the bus named "Priscilla." The three leads - Mitzi aka Tick, Bernadette (formally Ralph), and Felicia aka Adam - use Priscilla to transport them across the Australian Outback from Sydney to the center of Australia to fulfill a performance obligation that Mitzi has booked for them. Along the way they get into some adventures and learn a lot about each other.

If you long for the ABBA tunes, then go see "Mamma Mia!" a few blocks uptown at the Winter Garden Theater. But if you are comfortable with men in drag, then this is the show for you! I personally liked this show very much. Not just because some of HOTTEST men on Broadway can be found here. The women and gays (like moi) had a eyeful of go-go boys at times. That aside, I really liked the story. The costumes and sets are FANTASTIC and some are reminiscent of the film! Even though the film introduced American audiences to Guy Pearce (Felicia) and Hugo Weaving (Mitzi) I believe some stars in this show will have big careers also! Will Swenson as Mitzi, Nick Adams as Felicia, C. David Johnson as Bob and Tony Sheldon as Bernadette (in the film played by the iconic Terence Stamp) were all great performers!

Now if you prefer to see more of the fairer sex on stage - then you are also in luck. Three FANTASTIC singers know as "The Divas" (Jacqueline B. Arnold, Anastacia McCleskey, and Ashley Spencer) keep the party HOT! The woman who stole the show was the very beautiful, J. Elaine Marcos as Cynthia, the mail-order bride of Bob. All I can say is I will never look at a ping-pong ball the same ever again! She was HYSTERICALLY FUNNY!

As I write this review I have playing on DVD, you guessed it, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. A film that if you haven't already seen, then you owe it to yourself to give it a look. And if you are in NYC visiting (or if you live here) and you want a fun show to see, then "Shake Your Groove Thing" down to the Palace Theater and you won't be sorry you did! And if you lucky, you may go home with a $750 gift certificate for Manolo Blahnik shoes as one very confused man did tonight!

FYI, I got my balcony ticket at TKTS at the Metrotech Center - I refuse to wait on that line in Times Square. This ticket office NEVER has a line and all the same shows are there that are at the ticket office in Times Square. If you don't feel like waiting at the TKTS booth in TS then take the A or F train to Jay Street/Borough Hall (the last car leads you to the stairway that TKTS is located).

I'm Back! Has it really been a year?

It's been over a year since my last posts! I've been going through a lot of life changes but I'm well now. So much has happened in a year's time. Where to begin? Okay here goes: BP Oil spill in the Gulf! Those poor animals and the people whose lives depend on the tourist! My heart is goes out to you!

True Blood-LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT! Who won American Idol this year? Who cares! Adam Lambert ROCKS that's all I know! LOST went off the air! As well as 24, The Tyra Banks Show, ER, Law & Order (the original one).

Ricky Martin came out! Good for him! But really, was that REALLY that much of a surprise? I love you RICKY! iPhone, iPad, iPod, iCARUMBA! But if Steve Jobs wants to send me a iPad I am totally okay with that! The world has gone iCRAZY! Wendy is still going strong (even though she is on hiatus until the new fall season starts! Still love you WENDY my Bewigged Goddess!

Movies: The Hurt Locker was the best movie last year that so few people saw. I did see it on DVD and I can understand the hoopla! I loved The Princess & the Frog, but found PRECIOUS very disturbing! Great performances though!

Food: Did somebody say SHAKE SHACK!? (Madison Square Park for NYers, Times Square 8th Ave @ 44th for tourist) I had my first Shake Shack burger and nearly came! It was the best burger I've had in a long time! And yes it's even better than my former favorite The Little Burger Joint (inside the Parker Meridian Hotel on 57th Street) I still love my cupcakes! Billy's (9th Ave at 21st street) (of course!).

Books: I've read many books since the last time I posted I cant think of anything that sticks out that much besides Michael E. Schiefelbein's VAMPIRE series (Vampire Vow, Vampire Thrall, Vampire Transgression, Vampire Maker). VERY SEXY!!!! Why doesn't somebody make a series about these Vamps? Oh, that's right, it's not for tweens but for adults! Believe it or not the only vampire novel I read prior to these was the Bram Stoker. Another book I recommend is Rodney Lofton's No More Tomorrows: Two Lives, Two Stories, One Love! It hit me like a ton of bricks!

I hate using the computers at the public library. Right now I'm on my laptop. Two weeks ago I was in the library on the computer and this guy next to me was surfing the web watching porn! I don't even want to know what he was doing under the jacket draped over his lap! That's not the place for that kind of nonsense! I complained to security but they said that they could do nothing about it because they can't block websites! Funny, but when I was going to school, the IT dept did just that! What has gotten into people?

Music: did I already talk about that? Loved Soldier of Love (SADE) and BlackSummer's Night (Maxwell), The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga) and The Element of Freedom (Alicia Keys)!

Nuf said!

I Shot Nicole Richie (with a camera, silly!)

Last week my photography professor, Cal Vornberger, took us on a field trip to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Actually it wasn't that much of a trip, per se. All we did was walk out of the door of school and walk across the street to Bryant Park. I was there walking to a photo shoot the week before and saw the paps surrounding Lindsay Lohan as she was going into the back of the tent. So on this particular day, I suggested that we go to the back. The photo on thee left is the one I took of Nicole Richie. Doesn't she look like Once, Twice, Three times a lady? Anyway this was my day as a Paparazzi photographer! I rather do headshots and video!

BTW, if anyone is interested in headshots, HOLLA! I'll give you a really, REALLY good deal! Hey, I'm working on getting my book together too! So I'll work within your budget. Just email me if you are interested and in the subject line just write: HEADSHOTS NEEDED and I will get back to you asap, provided that you put your contact information.

Sex And The City (Across the Bridge)

It's taken me the entire month of May to recuperate from my surgery but slow-but-surely, I'm getting back up on my feet again. I'm just bored to death. I'm still trying to get my thesis film shot, but I haven't been doing too much since the pain from surgery still gets me now and then. The one thing that I can say is that I've been watching a lot of Netflix stuff. Mostly the continuing stories of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" (the hunky vampire with a soul). The few times that I've gotten out of bed, I've found myself at the Brooklyn Pubic Library located right near Grand Army Plaza in my beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood of Prospect Heights. I think I'm really lucky to live within walking distance to this great institution that is located beside the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, The Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park. I feel surrounded in culture whenever I walk out of my apartment and venture near these great landmarks of Brooklyn. The best thing that I've discovered about the library, besides biggest branch in the borough, is that it also loan out DVDs. For a film student as myself (and you never stop being a student even though I've since gotten my A.A.S. in Filmmaking -that's me getting my degree from the President of Gibbs School NY on May 2nd [3 days before my surgery]) having access to a free film library is somewhat of a coup to me.

Besides all the literature that I've been reading lately, I've been watching a lot of films also. Recently I saw the 1967 classic film "Truman Capote's In Cold Blood" starring Robert Blake and Scott Wilson. It was directed by Richard Brooks. I guess you could say I was fascinated by the extraordinary performance of Toby Jones as Truman Capote in the Douglas McGrath indie feature "Infamous." Yes I know that Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Oscar playing the same character in another film of the about the very same subject, and I think Mr. Hoffman is a FANTASTIC actor, but Toby Jones' portrayal is the one that will stick with you long after your return the video to Netflix or your local library. Daniel Craig as the killer Perry Smith was also a phenomenal performance. Although I'm somewhat of a Daniel Craig fan now since having seen him in "The Golden Compass", "Road to Perdition", "Casino Royal", "Layer Cake" and of course "Infamous".

While I'm on the subject of films, I have to give a shout out to to the ladies and gents of the new film "Sex and The City." Of course, I was on line on opening night to watch the film in an East Village theater. First of all I have to say that it really is somewhat of a phenomenon because about 85% of the audience in this NYC crowd that I went to see it with were mostly very fashionable women in the latest designer fashion and accessories. Hermes and Prada bags, the "infamous" Carrie Bradshaw silk flower on the lapel, and Manolo Blahnik's EVERYWHERE!!! Paul and I may have been two of the few men in the audience besides the various guys who were clearly dragged there by their female companions (Steve's, Mr. Big's, Harry's and Smith's). But there were gay men there as well (what would Sex and the City be without any of us?) It seems that the show is somewhat like the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in that the audience seemed to replicate the characters on from the film (I guess Paul and I were "Stanford" and "Anthony" that night).

While we waited for the film to come on everyone was talking about their favorite episode. (My favorite of all time is "The Real Me" episode where Stanford declares Carrie to be "Fashion roadkill" when she falls on the runway at a fashion show and Heidi Klum walks over her.) Had alcohol been allowed to been served, I'm sure someone would have ordered a round of "Cosmos" for all.

As far as the film goes, whether you are a fan of the show or not, it definitely has it's moments that people will be talking about all summer long. Michael Patrick King has outdone himself bringing this fairytale to the big screen. It really is a homage to everything that is New York City. I was especially surprised to see the scene that I watch being filmed in front of my school on 40th St, Katharine Gibbs School. Not to give away too much of a plot, it involved 2 limos, the girls, Mr. Big, and a whole mess of discarded white roses! If you look close in the back ground, you can see the Gibbs awning next to the Bryant Park Hotel. I only wish I didn't have to sell my complete series of the show (money was tight) because I always like laughing at the things that makes living in this city so great. Oh, I also like the "Easy Come, Easy Go" episode where Bobby Cannavale played Samantha's sex partner, Adam Ball with the "funky spunk." Gee, I miss Sex and the City!

And I mean that both figuratively and LITERALLY!!

Casted, Crashed, and Cupcakes!

Well first of all I want to let ya'll (that's "Southern" for "you all") know that I have completed the principal casting for my thesis film. It's a comedy short called "Poppin' In" (interpret the title any way you may see fit). The three leads are (shown from left to right) Amon McDade-Johnson, Sharon Gee, and Wayne Chang. As most of you know, I wrote the script with Wayne in mind after working with him on my PSA earlier this year. He is very talented and very funny (despite the dramatic look on his face in the photo). Amon and Sharon both came in and gave exceptional readings. Originally, I got literally hundreds of submissions for these roles and saw countless actors before the decision was made to cast them. I know one day, when they are rich and famous and living the "celebrity life" I will remember the casting process and thank my lucky stars that I "knew them when." I'm really excited to be over the casting hurdle for now, however I still am not clearly out of the water yet since I have still have to cast two canine roles. I know people must think I'm crazy because I've been going to almost every pet supply store, pet hospital, and pet beauty parlor in Chelsea (and there are tons of them in that neighborhood) leaving fliers advertising for the two lovable dogs to play in the film. I feel somehow, something good will happen soon. I sort of feel it in my bones. Hopefully cameras will start rolling very, very soon.

Today it finally happened: my portable external hard drive that I have to bring with me to school everyday since I started--crashed, sort of. It's was inevitable to happen since the year warranty expired a few weeks ago. Everyone else in my class has gone through the same thing. But thanks to the helpful resources from the IT department here at school (where I'm writing from at the present time) -- Mike, in particular -- I was able to salvage all the work that I have stored on my 250GB drive. Whew!!!! It had to do with the connection cables and not the drive itself, so instead of having to purchase a new hard drive, Mike suggested that I walk around the block to CompUSA and purchase a fire wire enclosure for a fraction of the cost of a new drive. I brought it back to school and he replaced my hard drive in the new enclosure and violá: it worked! Was I ever relieved!

Anyway I think the reason why I didn't freak out initially when I plugged in the unit into the Mac this morning and it didn't work was that I was completely relaxed. This is due in part to my very good friend Paul Andrew Lucre, who gave me a meditation CD last night. Paul is visiting for a few days and he gave me this CD to help calm my nerves. It's called "1-Minute Meditation" (I think) and but the time I listened to all of the different segments (22 in all) I was so relaxed that I farted! Needless to say, I'm feeling very mellow today.

My new find this week: Crumbs! I'm a big cupcake ho. There is nothing like a delicious cup cake that make you want more. So much so that you dream about eating another one. I was a big fan of Magnolia Bakery down on Bleeker Street in the West Village, until I discovered Billy's Bakery in Chelsea on 9th Ave and 21st Street. Then I bit into a cupcake from Buttercup Bake Shop on 2nd Ave and 51st Street and was floored by the savory taste (thanks Osmond!). Then I tasted what I think is the ULTIMATE in cupcake perfection: CRUMBS. There are several locations in the city, but the one I frequent is the one close to school across from Bryant Park on 42nd Street in the ground floor of the Grace Building. Lately, though, I've noticed that the lines are getting longer and longer (just the way Magnolia became after Carrie and Miranda gorged on the tasty treats on an episode of Sex and the City). But I have to admit, they are slightly pricier, but they are bigger than the average and the variety of choices is unbelievable. But get there early if you want to get a Boston Creme or Red Velvet. Okay, I may not be a fan of the Boston Red Sox, but I do like that cities' creme delicacy. Those Boston Creme cupcakes are so good from Crumbs it would make you slap your mama!

I'm getting hungry just thinking about those cupcakes now. Gotta go, bye!

****************************************

Addendum:

Okay, I just bit into a Boston Creme cupcake from the above mentioned bakery and to quote Riley Freeman from "The Boondocks" (after tasting his granddad's latest hamburger concoction, "The Luther") : "Whoa. This is what crack must feel like"