Barcelona from Company (1970)

Sondheim has said that musical theater songs have to be little one-act plays. Barcelona fits the bill. Our lead, Bobby, has recently met, and bedded, April (a flight attendant). Bobby has a fear of commitment and this song is a perfect character note for him. And it’s funny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T062wD825JQ

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Many small towns have a stretch of highway leading into them where they drop the speed limit down to 35 about 2 miles out of town. Folks approaching town generally heed these as welcoming gestures to slow down and safely observe the upcoming town. Folks, like me, who are leaving town might see this stretch of open highway as a clue that it’s time ( Read more... )

After the spectacular ending of Breaking Bad, I started thinking about whether it surpassed The Wire, which I had considered to be the best TV drama ever (or, more honestly, the best TV drama that I’d ever seen). I was on a high coming off of the six season (or five, depending how you count them) run of Breaking Bad, but I didn’t want to make an ( Read more... )

Generally speaking, the novel becomes a novel at the 50,000th word. Up until that point, if it’s over about 15,000 words, it is usually referred to as a novella or novelette. About the only thing the word ‘novella’ has going for it is that it’s not ‘novelette’.

Vonnegut could write at 40,000 words and have it referred to as a novel, but he tends to ( Read more... )

Spring Awakening is one of the few musicals I won't see in the next few months ( Read more... )

With actual NASPA tourneys upcoming, I am again a dues-paying member. They need a paypal option ( Read more... )

Kander and Ebb's Scottsboro Boys had their final Broadway performance yesterday. From opening night to closing night, they had a roughly seven week run.

This was an off-broadway production originally, where it had done well. It moved to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis to prepare for a larger house for its Broadway run. I was fortunate enough to ( Read more... )

Took third place in my division - a 12 person division with an $85 entry fee. Opened the envelope i was handed for third place and found $350! Wow, thought I, these WGPO payoffs rock! Tim Adamson came to let me know that I had been given the 1st place finisher's envelope by mistake. Well, that would be a little much to expect from third place ( Read more... )

This all started with my thinking of a new word: Snarkastic ( Read more... )

Games played - 4
Points scored  - 1889
Average score - 472
Games won    - 1

Had to hang a G in trip lane to take lead only to be STINGERS'ed in return. Still in it with LAZARETS but opponent had just exchanged 6 with 7 in the bag....so not much hope for playable endgame racks.

Trip/tripped against in game four w/ infringed, but I let VARIETIC* stand to ( Read more... )