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Archive for the ‘Theater’ Category

The Mads Are Back! (ArtsQuest Center, Bethlehem PA, October 24, 2017)

Posted in Frank Conniff, Funny (ha ha), MST3K, Mystery Science Theater 3000, The Mads Are Back!, Trace Beaulieu, Walk the Dark Street on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 24, 2017] The Mads Are Back! 

Just a few months after seeing MST3K Live, I found out that two more MST3K alum were also touring.  This time it was TVs Frank (Coniff) and Dr. Clayton Forrester or Crow T. Robot (Trace Beaulieu).  I was so excited that they were coming to Bethlehem. I hoped to see both shows, but could only make one.

I didn’t realize that they had been riffing like this together since 2015.  They were clearly having fun and the show was a real treat–even if the movie was possibly the worst film I have ever seen.

Unlike the massive specatcle that was the MST3K tour, The Mads show was far more low-key.  In fact, Frank Coniff and Trace Beaulieu were sitting at the entrance greeting people (I was running late and basically got there just as they were packing up, rats).

We went into the theater (the theater at ArtsQuest is luxurious!), and after a few minutes of screen grabs like the one above, the two came out and stood before us. (more…)

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: Watch Out for Snakes! Tour [EEGAH! & Argoman: The Fantastic Superman] (Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, July 7, 2017)

Posted in Argoman The Fantastic Superman, Baron Vaughn, Eegah!, Hampton Yount, James Bond, Jonah Ray, Keswick Theatre, MST3K, MST3K Live, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Patton Oswalt, Rebecca Hanson on July 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 7, 2017] MST3K Live

I first discovered MST3K when I lived in Boston (on The Comedy Channel) in 1992 (just before it merged with Ha! and became Comedy Central).

Holy cow, did I love that show.  I eventually watched every episode and had every episode on tape.  I even made and sold (at break even price), audio tapes of all of the “songs” in the episodes.  It was a time-consuming labor of love (I wonder how hard it would be to convert them to CD), but I was a fanatic.

I could never choose between Joel or Mike because I liked them both for different reasons.  I admit that by the last few seasons I didn’t enjoy the scenes with the Mads as much, but the movie jokes never wavered.

And then the show was over in 1999.  And we all wept.

Well, 16 years later in December 2015, we were all blown away when we saw that Joel was going to try to resurrect the show.  Of course I pledged on Kickstarter (but still haven’t been able to watch any episodes for various reasons).  I was happy to be part of the new experience.

But I was even more excited when in May (after all of the new episodes had aired) it was announced that there would be a LIVE TOUR!  And that my location would get not only the announced show  ‘Eegah’ but also a “secret surprise film.”

Eegah! happens to be one of my all time favorite MST3K movies, so I was thrilled to hear that that was the movie they would do.  And I was even more thrilled to hear that they were making all new jokes (no mean feat).  But then to get a “Secret surprise film” never before seen by MST3K?  That was spectacular.

Some of the reason why I hadn’t watched the new episodes is because I didn’t want to ruin my awesome memories of the old episodes.  What if the new stuff wasn’t as good?  And who were all of these new people anyway?  Obviously I knew who Patton Oswalt and Felicia Day were, but I’d not heard of Jonah Ray or Hampton Yount (Crow) or Baron Vaughn (Tom Servo) or Rebecca Hanson (Gypsy).

I was a little nervous when I got to the theater–would it be good?  Would it be fun?  Would I actually enjoy watching this with other people?

Well, it was a blast. (more…)

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GuGu Drums from Shanghai (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, May 12, 2017)

Posted in GuGu Drums from Shanghai, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ on May 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 12, 2017] GuGu Drums from Shanghai

This was supposed to be our last family theater even of the season (and probably our final Chinese Acrobat-type thing for quite some time, as we have seen a bunch lately).  But then something came up and only Clark and I could attend.  So it turned into a fun night for just the two of us to eat sushi at Inspiration Roll and witness the spectacle of many drums.

It’s not easy for us to get to MayoPAC for a 7:30 show, especially if we want to get sushi first.  We wound up missing some of the introductory piece, but that’s okay.

I wasn’t even entirely sure what to expect from this show–it just sounded cool.  And so it was.  Here’s a blurb that kind of summarizes the event: (more…)

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Shaolin Warriors: The Legend Continues (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, April 5, 2017)

Posted in Acrobats, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Jackie Chan, New Brunswick, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Shaolin Warriors, State Theatre on April 5, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 5, 2017] Shaolin Warriors

When I first saw this listing in the State Theatre calendar, I knew I had to get tickets for the four of us.   I didn’t really know what to expect, but I knew that it would be different from the acrobats, and yet have that same inspiration behind it.  I sort of imagined simple displays of strength, focus and cool Shaolin spirituality.

I did not expect that there would be a “story.”  And indeed there was one.  We follow two children as they make their way into the Shaolin temple and grow and develop into Shaolin adults.

The only compliant I have is that the program notes state this: “Shaolin Warriors, highly acclaimed as “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” live on stage, is definitely a must-see for family audiences and martial arts lovers alike.”  By invoking Crouching Tiger, it suddenly set my expectations way too high. That film is mind-blowing, a visually stunning production.  And this production is nothing like that.  Rather, they could have described it as a Jackie Chan film come to life, and that would be more accurate (and still impressive). (more…)

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Golden Dragon Acrobats (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, April 2, 2017)

Posted in Acrobats, Branchburg, NJ, C., Golden Dragon Acrobats, RVCC Arts, Set in New Jersey!, T. on April 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: April 2, 2017] Golden Dragon Acrobats

Just over four years ago we saw the Golden Dragon Acrobats perform Cirque Ziva.  The founders of Golden Dragon Acrobats created Cirque Ziva as a special touring production in 2011. This show was quiet similar to that performance, (I wasn’t sure if, since it wasn’t called Cirque Ziva, it would be very different) but there were some minor changes that were pretty exciting.

More exciting was that since the kids were much younger four years ago, they didn’t exactly remember things that well, so they were pretty thrilled by everything.

I had mentioned that Cique Ziva had flash in costumes and sets.  For this show the costumes were certainly here, although the sets were pretty simple.

As you can see from the “setlists” below, the acts were pretty similar and in pretty much the same order.  The show opened with the thousand hands.

Since the acts were basically the same, I’m going to copy much of what I wrote then and see if I have any updates: (more…)

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Water on Mars (RVCC Arts, Branchburg NJ, March 25, 2017)

Posted in Branchburg, NJ, Funny (ha ha), Juggling, RVCC Arts, Theater, Water on Mars on March 25, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 25, 2017] Water on Mars

I love finding family-friendly performers who do amazing things.  When I read about Water on Mars (their website is so spare–they need more publicity!), it sounded terrific:

Water on Mars is intense juggling for space stations! One hundred rings thrown, backflips landed, feet twisted, water flying through the air, 21 balls juggled and 15 pins spinning, all set to the pulsing rhythms of an electronic beat.The company is based in Stockholm, Sweden and consists of the three jugglers Wes Peden (USA), Tony Pezzo (USA), and Patrik Elmnert (SWE) who worked intensively for years to combine juggling with music and acrobatics—not to mention snow, chocolate, tap dance, and 400 rolls of tape!

So yes, this is a show of juggling.  But holy cow it is like nothing I have ever seen (I mean, look at the picture on the right). (more…)

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Pippin (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, March 24, 2017)

Posted in Acrobats, Bob Fosse, Fosse, Les 7 doigts de la main, New Brunswick, NJ, Pippin, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on March 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 24, 2017] Pippin

Pippin has been Sarah’s favorite musical for years.  And as a special treat, she is guest co-authoring this post with me.  I have highlighted her part in a Pippin-inspired purple.

She has seen it once before in a decent sized production.  And we saw it together at a community theater version.  Strangely, I don’t remember much about that production (I was more fascinated by the building).  Anyhow, this touring production of Pippin is the newly redesigned version.

As I said I don’t remember all that much about the previous version, but I can tell you it was nothing like this one.  This new version was utterly spectacular, with an emphasis on spectacle!

SD: You know how the books from your childhood or the movies you watched over and over as a teenager are the ones you know by heart? Pippin is like that for me. My mom loved this musical and I grew up listening to the soundtrack (Original Broadway cast recording) over and over again. I know every bit of the album (and when I grew up and got a dog, I named him Pippin.) The thing about knowing a show by the soundtrack and not the performance is that you might make up what some of the plot is. I remember being surprised at the previous performances I’ve been to (one very good, one, as Paul said, not so great community theater) to find out what the songs really meant in context!  Anyway, the songs and the show are special to me and I couldn’t wait to see this. 

The story of the musical is fairly simple.

Pippin is the son of King Charlemagne (that much is true, but the rest is totally made up).  Pippin has just come back from college, but he is full of ennui.  He knows that he is an extraordinary person (he even sings about it), and is certain that there has to be something that will fulfill him.   Pippin wants to impress his father so he insists that he join his father and step son in fighting the Visigoths.  Charles reluctantly agrees but Pippin finds it less than satisfying.  From there he runs to his grandmother who tells him to enjoy the physical pleasures in life–which he does!  But that proves empty as well.  Finally seeing how much of  tyrant his father is he decides to fight tyranny and take over as King. But he finds that he has to resort to tyranny as well and asks for a do-over.

What’s left?  Art?  No.  Religion?  No.  No No No.  All that is left is despair.  While lying in the road, Catherine finds him.  She is a widow with a son and she tends to him.  He is reluctant, but eventually comes around to her care.  He spends a year with her, fixing the house, tending the farm, doing very ordinary things.  But he is extraordinary!  He can’t live a life like that.  How can he make his life (or death) special?

Fairly straightforward, right?  Well, this production takes this story and tweaks it in an amazing way. (more…)

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Taj Express: The Bollywood Musical Revue (Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, February 7, 2017)

Posted in A.R. Rahman, Mayo Performing Arts Center, Morristown, NJ, Shruti Merchant, Slumdog Millionaire, Taj Express, Vaibhavi Merchant on February 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENtaj1DED: February 7, 2017] Taj Express

I saw this advertised at MPAC a few months ago.  I was really intrigued by it and thought that it might be fun for all four of us to go.  Going in, I had literally no idea what to expect.  I imagined we see some fun dancing, some extravagant costumes and some exotic music.

I didn’t even know that there would be a story.  I just assumed it would be 2 hours of fun Indian entertainment.  So imagine our surprise to get there and discover that there was not only a story, but a very funny one at that.

And all four of us really enjoyed the show a lot–even Clark!  The music was outstanding–super up-tempo and fun. And the dancing was magnificent–the energy, the costumes, the special effects–what more could you want.

(more…)

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Cirque Éloize: Saloon (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, January 11, 2017)

Posted in Acrobats, Cirque Éloize, New Brunswick, NJ, Old West, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on January 12, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 11, 2017] Cirque Éloize: Saloon

salooonI was pretty excited to see that Cirque Éloize was coming back with an all new show.  Their previous show Cirkopolis was phenomenal–wonderfully constructed and very cool to look at.  This show was very different, both in theme and production, but it was still amazing.

Indeed, I had mistakenly believed that this production was by Cirque Alphonse (another troupe from Montreal), who did a lumberjack-themed show last year.  But no, it was from the folks who did Cirkopolis.  Cirkopolis proved to be so different from Saloon, that it’s even more impressive that the same company created both shows.

This show was designed to be set in an old timey-salooon.  And while most Cirques perform the same basic routines, it was really fun to see how they were able to modify them for this new setting and “story.”  I also loved that they were all dressed like the old west–with chaps, and suspenders and hats–the kind of clothes that you really never see people performing this kind of material in (although I’m sure there must have been leotards underneath, right?). (more…)

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Doktor Kaboom! The Science of Santa [RVCC Arts, Branchburg, NJ, December 10, 2016]

Posted in Albert Einstein, Branchburg, NJ, C., Doktor Kaboom, Electricity, Funny (ha ha), RVCC Arts, Santa Claus, Science, Scientists, T. on December 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 10, 2016] Doktor Kaboom! The Science of Santa

kaboomWe loved Doktor Kaboom! when we saw him last (which I didn’t even realize was less than a year ago).  His last show, Live Wire, mixed comedy, science and a hearty dose of believing in yourself.

And so did this one.  Indeed, this show wasn’t radically different from the previous one except that it was all about the magic of Santa Claus.  For as Doktor Kaboom! states: magic is simply science we can’t explain yet.  And in case you are worried about any Santa spoilers, the tagline reads: No iconic Holiday figures were harmed in the making of this show.

For background, the K in Doktor isn’t a zany spelling (thank goodness), it is because the good Doktor is German!  And when he asks you if you understand, you must shout JA!, not yeah or yuh or okay, but JA!

And he likes things to go Kaboom!  Ja?  JA! (more…)

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