This Can't Be Broccoli

So far, in my entire life, I've never experienced a more surreal moment than hearing my mother talk about how successful Pauly D from "Jersey Shore" is. "He's got a good gig going." Gig?  Did my mother just use the word gig?  Had she somehow turned into a 1930's Hollywood agent without me noticing?  And was she really gush about "Jersey Shore?"  What many would consider to be the televised downfall of culture and civilization as we know it? When I asked her about it, she said-- "Well, he's getting paid, isn't he?" My mother comes from a time when success was all about money.  It wasn't just the time, but the circumstances.  Most of my family grew up poor, so if somehow you managed to become a millionaire, nobody cared how you did it. You were a success. When I was growing up, I remember thinking that success was attention.  Fame.  Usually, if you were famous, it also meant you were rich, so I could have my mo...

My twenty-eighth birthday is in twenty-seven days (but who's counting?) and so I've started to think about all the things I wanted to do by the time I turned twenty-eight that haven't yet been accomplished. In no particular order, here's my list: 1.  Star in "Mighty Ducks 4:  Ducks vs. Predator." 2.  Own and maintain my own pumpkin patch. 3.  Witness the demise of "Phantom of the Opera." 4.  Adopt five pugs and name them after the Partridge children. 5.  Have tea and scones with Angela Lansbury. 6.  Adapt "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" for the stage--and by the stage, I mean, my living room. 7.  Eat part of a tomato without immediately gagging and screaming like a crazy person. 8.  Meet Elle Fanning in the Battledome and settle things once and for all. 9.  Go on tour with my Huey Lewis and the News cover band "Breaking News." 10.  Convince the world that I am, in fact, directly related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. 11.  Le...

This week it was announced that Al Pacino would be returning to Broadway in a new revival of Glengarry Glen Ross.  Pacino played the role of Roma in the movie, and this time around he'll be playing Levene, the older salesman.  A few people pointed out that the show was just revived in 2005, and not only revived, but revived well--that production winning the Tony for Best Revival of a Play.  What nobody pointed out was that we don't need another production of Glengarry Glen Ross less than ten years after the last one --even if the Pacino casting is interesting. Lately, when it comes to seeing theater, I keep asking myself the same question--Haven't I seen this before? I'm about a month shy of turning twenty-eight, and there are certain plays and musicals I've already seen far too many times for someone who hasn't been on the planet for three full decades. Most of the time it's not even shows I dislike, but shows that I like and have just seen far too ma...

For a year, a friend of mine worked at a theater that I often frequented.  Throughout the course of the season, there were shows that I loved and also shows I found lacking.  When I liked a show, my friend and I would talk about it with excitement and joy and relish a friendship where theater is one of the things we have in common. When I didn't like it, however, I would get something like this as a response: "Well, I think it's important to be supportive of theater." Unfortunately, after one season working at a theater, my friend had turned into one of those lovely people who believe that all theater--good, bad, or awful--should be unconditionally praised and encouraged, even if it devalues the meaning of "good theater." I wasn't all that surprised. It seems that lately a qualification for working at a theater is to act as you would working at a public relations firm.  In other words, no matter what sort of product you put out, you're suppo...

Yesterday I read an article on Ocean State Theatre Company's new space in Warwick. Obviously, there's a lot of excitement at the prospect of a new 425-seat space opening that promises to add more opportunities for people to see professional theater. Then I got to this section of the article: "Because the theater will be an Actor’s Equity, or union theater, Turner"--Artistic Director Aimee Turner--"expects to hire out-of-state actors. Housing them will be an issue she’ll tackle in the future, though she said she hopes to bring permanent residents to the state." Admittedly, I was a little taken aback. Now, before I go any further I should say the following things: First, I'm not ignorant to how Equity houses work.  I realize that Equity houses have to use Equity actors, but I'm sure there are some Equity actors living in the state who might not be working at the moment because of the obvious lack of Equity jobs in the area. Secondly, de...