So on Monday Joanna and I went to see Damn Yankees (currently in previews) at City Center thanks to tickets from Chris. I had this show on my list of things to see this summer because
a) I love Sean Hayes
b) I think Jane Krakowski is hilarious and
c) I can watch Cheyenne Jackson without having to go see Xanadu, which while I understand its supposed to be kitschy and look bad on purpose as a comedic device, the performance I saw on the Today Show was just plain bad. Nothing humorous about it.
I really knew nothing of the show itself aside from the fact that its old school Broadway, which admittedly, I haven’t seen a lot of. The beginning commentary to get the audience to shut off their phones and not take photos played out like one of those cinematic ads (like the one I kept seeing for a good portion of last year with the frogs from that animated movie singing to the tune of I Heard It Through the Grapevine). Right off the bat the orchestra goes through snippets of all the numbers of the first act, which by the way, why were people so infatuated with mambo in the 50s? I feel like its something I need to investigate because its such a strange repetitive device in shows. Anyway, I also wasn’t aware that the song “Whatever Lola Wants” originated from this show, but that’s not something you need to know.
The show is about a fan of the Washington Senators baseball team who sells his soul to the devil in order to become a young strapping man and play for the team in order to lead them to win the pennant and beat those damn Yankees. At the core of the show, is a story about realizing what you have and what’s important. I wont give away what ends up happening, what I will say is that as fun as the show was you could have easily cut out a good twenty minutes because it was unnecessary. There were two particular numbers I had in mind, the first being the extra elongated dance number after “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo.” While I understand they were showing how the team’s morale boosted and resulted in better playing thanks to Joe, it went on way too long and it wasn’t even really all that amazing choreography in the first place so it felt as though it had no point. The second number which was completely ridiculous and had nothing to do with anything was “Who’s Got the Pain?” It was like an excuse to throw in mambo in the show because it was popular at the time. Completely out of left field and didn’t move along any plot points or reveal anything about any of the characters and that’s a real pet peeve of mine. It also reminded me of how utterly awful “It Couldn’t Please Me More” (that damn pineapple song) from Cabaret was.
I really loved the scenes between Cheyenne Jackson and Randy Graff. I think they had great chemistry on stage and you could certainly feel Randy’s loneliness. We’re no going to discuss how completely unrealistic her reaction at the end is because that isn’t Randy’s fault, it’s the fault of the book because really, no woman would… well, when you see the show you’ll know what I mean. Sean Hayes was a lot of fun to see, however I don’t know if I got inherently evil from him. He was like a cartoon version of the devil, where you don’t really fear him but you know he’s the bad guy. Speaking of cartoons though, Jane Krakowski was completely animated and felt like a live version of Betty Boop almost. I adored her and thought she was great in her role. Actually to further the cartoon argument, during the dialogue prior to “A Little Brains, A Little Talent” Sean and Jane seemed very much like Boris and Natasha.
All in all its a fun show I recommend checking out but I wouldn’t label it a “must-see” (that title at the moment is reserved for In The Heights which really everyone must see). Below is video from Joanna and I at stage door.
Last night I went to see Wall-E with my friend Rebecca and her friend Oloff. I’m going to say right away that I’m surprised that this film was made considering Pixar and Disney were behind it. This film was beautiful and I don’t say that very often. Aside from the fact it had such heart, the environmentalist, anti-consumerist, and social commentary behind it was incredible. I could easily see that being a future for our world if our path continues the way it does. The movie plays almost like a silent film for a good portion of it, relying on character movements and noises to tell a story.
The theater was half filled with kids (which really I can’t complain about considering it’s a G-rated animated flick) but there were plenty of people who, like us, were adults going to see the film. It wasn’t one of those you felt the need to find a cousin or a niece or nephew to take just so you wont feel silly. I highly recommend it to everyone and I hope it opens people’s eyes to what we can become and what our world can become if we don’t take care of it.
As a complete side note I LOVED how the credits were done, and if you want to know what I mean go see the movie because I could not do it justice in words.
I always feel when people put a song to these entries they try and find something other than what they’re really listening to so they don’t seem so weird, but rather quirky or scene. So I’m not quoting The Arcade Fire or Zap Mama, but fuck it, I’m listening to Hanson and damn proud of it. I have the oddest taste in music, if you didn’t already know by now.
Anywho, hi, my name is Joliz, and I’m currently procrastinating getting to work in my South Bronx (SOBRO BABY) apartment. I’m a snobby New Yorker who really thinks she’s the shit because she’s from there. Or at least that’s what I’ll let people believe. I hail from the Bronx, I’m a walk away from Yankee Stadium to be exact. A lengthy walk, but a walk nonetheless. By default this means I have pinstripe pride, get over it.
I was born in Bellevue Hospital, so it should be expected for me to be slightly insane right? Actually I was born in the medical center, even though Bellevue is famous for it’s psychiatric ward. My mother’s name is Elizabeth, she hates her middle name because her father gave it to her, so I’ll call her by it just to upset her sometimes. My father’s name is Oscar, he passed away from cancer when I was three years old. My only memory of him was waiting in Tio Guito’s garage for him to come home because he had promised to take me out for pizza. He came home late and brought me a teddy bear that was as big as I was, and instead of accepting it, I mustered up all my strength and threw it at him in a huff because he broke his promise. I always tear up recalling that. Anyway, my mom was 36 and my father was 38 when I was born. Seeing as my sisters were 18 and 17 by then I was definitely an “oops” baby.
My name came from the fact that my sister Liz was engaged to a guy named Joe at the time, hence Joliz. No dash, no capitals, just Joliz. My sister Marilyn played the ultimate middle child card and complained about the fact that the new baby doesn’t have her name. Joliz Marilyn doesn’t sound right by any standards so I was given Marilyn’s middle name, Evette, making my full name Joliz Evette InsertLastNameHere.
Anywho, the first three years of my life were spent in Bronx, New York. From there I promptly moved to Barceloneta, Puerto Rico where I lived in an even smaller sector called Palenque where my Tio David had built his, my moms, my Titi Miriam’s, and my Tio Guito’s house which were all in the same circle. Tio Guito owned a garage but I never remember seeing anyone actually having their car serviced there. Our homes were next to the bar which sold candy at the same counter making it a frequent stop afterschool. I attended Jose Cordero Rosario Elemental until I was 8 years old. All our addresses, including my school, were in P.O. Boxes and I did not realize that until now.
I moved to Orlando, Florida and attended Pinar Elementary in Orange County. I met my best friend Meghan Gabriel and that’s all that’s important from that era. I moved back to the Bronx for 6th grade at Joseph H Wade JHS 117x. Ignore the fact it looks like a prison. One day I will write a novel on how 6th and 7th grade where single handedly the two greatest years of my life. Until then this little blurb will suffice. I mean, how often does a class trip to the Coney Island Aquarium end up on a beach with all 27 of my classmates rolling up our Tommy Hilfiger and FUBU jeans to our knees treading the cold possibly contaminated waters of the Coney Island beach because Genine lost her gellie shoes in the water. That’s another entry for another day. I moved back to Florida for 8th grade at Liberty Middle School. Insert teenage angst to the max and somehow that equated to a teenybopper Hanson fan come freshman year at The Beacon School.
High school is a blur of of New York stories and Kevin Williamson drama that will one day come in the form of a screenplay I will sell to the WB or FOX and maybe people will start PB’ing versions of myself and my old friends. Anywho, despite my pretty damn good SAT scores, and graduating with honors in math, science, history, and french (I was a horrid english student), I ended up going to a state school for financial purposes. Enter SUNY New Paltz, home to vegans, potheads, Long Island preps, and Mayor Jason West who performed same sex marriages shortly after San Francisco causing TV cameras to be in our small town faces for a good week. I couldn’t be prouder though.
I dropped out after sophomore year, taking the year off to.. find myself? I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, thank you Bono. I once thought of becoming a writer, but as some could tell you I don’t exactly have the most confidence in that area. I recently made the decision to return to school as a Media Studies and Puerto Rican Studies major at Hunter. I am seriously considering becoming a high school teacher, though my mind changes daily.
I have two sisters, Liz and Marilyn. My sister Liz has two sons, Joseph who’s turned 20 in April, and Kenny who turned 13 back in December. Marilyn had her first child on January 18th 2005, a little girl named Desmari. I have a sometimes brother named Junior, I say sometimes because it depends on my mood whether I’m related to him or not. If you want to be technical he’s related to my sisters since they share a father, but from time to time I’ll claim knowing him. He’s thirtysomething and is some sort of high rank in the United States Army, I know he was a drill sergeant four years ago, I can only assume he’s gone up from there. He has two sons which I’ve only met once.
Quick facts: I turn 24 this year. I’m currently employed at a non profit organization which empowers youth to become leaders by educating them on social and human rights issues and encouraging them to take action. I own rosario-dawson.net I loathe brand name celebrities with a passion, you know … those who feel the need to have movies/cd’s/tv shows/fashion lines/endorsement deals/etc shoved down my throat. I’d like to point out that J.Lo should stop claiming my neighborhood, it does not want her. I’m an active liberal which I define as someone who not only leans to the left end of the political spectrum but also is actively involved in creating social change. I believe everyone has a healthy level of hypocrisy in them (like hating Britney Spears but finding her songs on your ipod), but it’s learning to keep that level neutral that’s the hard part. I love theater and I admittedly don’t know a lot about it. I youtube and have contemplated creating a private account just for blogs to post here. My username is jolizevette only because I’m too fickle and not creative enough to come up with some word I felt described me. Even though I say I don’t, I really do love romantic comedies. My best friends from childhood are named Meghan and Danielle and I’m still friends with them to this day.
I have an unhealthy obsession with the internet. I have other loves of course, and I probably will continue to add to my list of things that make me happy, like ten cent icees and open fire hydrants, but my fingers are tired (and no not because of that you sick pervert!) so I’ll leave it here.
a term adopted by the author to poke fun at her inconsistencies with her culture. You don't eat beans? Man, you ain't real Puerto Rican, you're the soy version, soyrican!
a twenty-four year old self proclaimed geek who does not apologize for her often questionable taste. (see also: Joliz)
So on Monday Joanna and I went to see Damn Yankees (currently in previews) at City Center thanks to tickets from Chris. I had this show on my list of things to see this summer because
Last night I went to see Wall-E with my friend Rebecca and her friend Oloff. I’m going to say right away that I’m surprised that this film was made considering Pixar and Disney were behind it. This film was beautiful and I don’t say that very often. Aside from the fact it had such heart, the environmentalist, anti-consumerist, and social commentary behind it was incredible. I could easily see that being a future for our world if our path continues the way it does. The movie plays almost like a silent film for a good portion of it, relying on character movements and noises to tell a story.
