Dreamgirls

Dreamgirls is a fabulous movie and I should say straight up - this movie does the musical justice, without a doubt. And I do have to join the growing chorus of people acclaiming the extraordinary, Jennifer Hudson. She is amazing in her role! What a voice, what a talented performer all round!

Now (obviously) I've never seen the stage production, and although I have heard some of the songs before, I've not heard the whole soundtrack. (My partner has the live Broadway recording, but I was lazy and never listened to it.) It is a fantastic story - quite predictable of course, but something that resonates through our little drag world. There are some brilliant catchy songs, as well as some awesome power ballads.

Eddie Murphy - OMG! He can sing! Though I do have to admit, I got a flashback to the movie "Coming To America" where he played the singer in the band "Sexual Chocolate".. Those of you who know the reference know kind of what to expect, but he plays the role without the comedy wrapped around it - and pulls it all off very well!

Beyonce Knowles was great too.. A huge step up from her cameo in Austin Powers! Her song, "Listen" (that was added to the movie and of which she was a co-writer) is a fantastic power ballad - and performed exceptionally for the screen.

In one scene where there is a photo shoot set up, it's remarkable how Knowles transforms into the iconic photographed images of Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor - it is almost like she was born to play the role. Her expectational voice is only unleashed at the end, but with such a fantastic singing cast you hardly notice her strong voice down-played.

Jamie Foxx however was the obvious exception to my last comment. Quite clearly he was not in the movie for his singing ability. He hardly sang a word, and for such a central character, was disappointing to say the least. He was great though in his role as the Dreamgirls' manager.

One thing that annoyed me was the backup dancers in some of the sequences. It was filmed in a 2007 commercial music-video styled set of clips and was completely out of context. The choreography for the all male backup dancers was definitely commercial r&b and not styled to the time the show was set in. BAD BAD BAD!

Mind you, I was distracted from the bad choreography by some very annoying people in the theatre..

We, my partner and I, went to Bondi Junction Greater Union. We prefer to go there as we can book our seats online long before the movie session. I'm a fussy b*tch and don't like sitting too close or to the side in a movie theatre, so we go to this theatre to prevent my partner from "death-by-boredom" while we wait through 20 mins of trailors and ads in order to get a good seat..

We have decided to change this policy now since the Dreamgirls session.

I had to endure sitting next to a little Asian girl who had a shopping bag full of lollies, phone, purse etc. She every 5 minutes (and I'm not exaggerating!) searched through her bag.. making the most noise you could make! Her mother, next to her, was chatting away in her native language, pointing at the screen. She then left during the the biggest moment in the movie, "And I Am Telling You", leaving her daughter, who later on, fiddled around with her phone and bags and then left the theatre.. (Thank God)

There was a problem with security staff at the top of the theatre with a patron, and so we had to endure some woman being removed from the theatre, shouting and screaming. That went on for about 10 minutes or so..

Not only that, there was a row of 8 seats behind us that were filled 10 mins into the film by complete utter morons who talked the WHOLE way through the movie, regardless of the glares that got from everyone around them - even 5 rows in front! The idiots even brought in some fish and chips - classy! At the end of the movie, one of the girls exclaimed, "It was a musical!" - I bit my tongue..

Honestly - you would think that if you attend a movie in a public theatre, you would worry about how you act. So watch out, there has been similar instances around the country - see here! Clearly, Greater Union Cinemas at Bondi Junction are not where you want to go to sit with people who have respect for the people around them. (Surprising, I thought for a cinema in the eastern suburbs! I guess it is a Westfield complex..)

The boyfriend and I will now be heading to the Palace or Verona Movie Theatres in future - besides they are closer to home, smaller theatres, and right in the middle of gayville..

Sounds perfect to me!

So I will go back to watch Dreamgirls again.. I would have anyways! Make sure you see it!

Australia Day

Usually Australia Day for me (when I was living in Perth) was all about the massive fireworks display over the Swan River. No events during the day, but an awesome night (making up for the fact there is no fireworks for NYE!) Sydney's Australia Day is so different - so many things to do, and we only saw just a little that was on offer..

I spent Australia Day with my partner, mingling along College St, Hyde Park and down towards the Quay.

There was lots to see.. and a HUGE amount of people!

I've never been to anything on Australia Day in Sydney - except for the fireworks in Darling Harbour in 2000. So needless to say, I was so surprised by all the activities being held during the day!

We decided to look at the vintage (and not-so-vintage) cars along the walk from Cook & Phillip Park, up College St to the Botanical Gardens.


It was a rev-heads delight. I'm not particularly into cars/bikes - only the green ones like here, here and here. (Though I do love this non-green vehicle too!)

My partner loves Porches - but despite our search we couldn't find them on the day. He was a little disappointed.

We made it into the Sydney Mint (very boring - nothing there!), and went down to the Museum of Sydney.

The exhibition, "Bridging Sydney" is on there and was quite fascinating. There are some amazing alternate Harbour Bridge plans that were considered, and it was quite thorough. I definitely recommend visiting the exhibition during the Diamond Anniversary year (75yrs) of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Next we hopped on a vintage bus once we reached Circular Quay and travelled back to Hyde Park. It was surprisingly fun, for such a simple thing like travelling on a bus. I have a bit of a liking for the old Sydney trams and buses, so maybe I'm just plain old strange...


Anyways, we headed home and decided to go over the bridge to the park lands next to Luna Park. There was some sort of Irish celebration happening there underneath the bridge. I had a vegetarian kebab, my partner a chicken one (which he gave all the chicken to our little dog, Icypole.) Icy had a Aussie scarf around his neck for the day.. I wish I got a picture - he was so cute.

After some walks around the park, we made our way home again, to watch some DVD's for the rest of the evening.

I hope next year to get the chance to watch the Tall Ships Race, and the Ferry-a-thon on the Harbour. I think it would be quite spectacular!

All I can say is Sydney sure puts on great Australia Day.

(PS. I'm sorry about the pictures being on their side - they are the right way on my computer.. dunno how to fix that on blogger!)

Final Night - MASQUERADE: A Dirty Masked Affair

Last night was the final show of "Masquerade: A Dirty Masked Affair".

It was certainly with mixed emotions that the curtain came down on the show.

As the hotel wants to have regular new lineups every 6-8 weeks, with sadness, our season came to an end. It has been so much fun performing the show - certainly the cast I assembled for this production has been a winner. I've been very proud of the performers, for the hard work they put into each night of Masquerade. The show was, particularly in certain sections, a technically difficult show to perform and required their experience and skill to get them through each performance. Well done to my fellow cast members!

I should mention that I'm so very glad I get to work with these talented artists who don't like to sit back and settle the status quo, and instead get out there and try to push their talents even further. In doing so, we push - sometimes a little, sometimes a lot, the idea of what a typical Sydney drag show should be. Really it comes down to "artistic growth", and I'm so glad to see each and every one of the performers I work with achieve that, not only collectively, but also in their own personal way. We also thank the audience for going along on the journey with us, when we perform ideas that sometimes work, and sometimes don't. Thanks again my performance buddies who are also my best advisors!

In any case,back to last night! We certainly ended the show with a bang, celebrating resident DJ, Shane O. Bear's 40th birthday last night also. Shane even said some wonderful things on the microphone about the cast and show, and we thank you for that Shane. We will miss working with you!

Hopefully that won't be too far away though, as Mr Mary's has requested us to come back for another season soon, and details will be posted when they are finalized.

My thanks go out to Mark Lowe, the Mr Mary's licensee, who has been a wonderful support to the crew each night we performed. Also thanks to my partner who helped so much, in so many ways with this show.

I now look forward to seeing you at Stonewall on Saturday nights for our shows..

• 11pm - Solo Spot Show

• 12am - Pink Street: Live & Gay (Production)
  

• 1am - Sing Us Your Pink Bits! (Production)

See you there!

*MWAH!*

Sing Us Your Pink Bits! - Opening Night

Last night I opened my newest show, "Sing Us Your Pink Bits!" - the most recent addition to the Bomshelle cast repertoire.

Following on from "Pink Street: Live & Gay", we decided to do another "pink themed" show, this time a tribute show to the music artist, Pink.

We start of with (of course) "Get The Party Started", then followed by Morgan's rendition of "Stupid Girls". After a medley from Ru Bella and myself of "You Make Me Sick" and "There You Go", we are at the finale, "God Is A DJ".

Once again we take to the microphones, singing the whole show live. The cast talked me out of a mimed show, and I must say I am enjoying the chance at singing again, especially now that my voice is 90% back! (BTW, my thanks to the cast for coping with rehearsals where I couldn't speak and had to put up with me playing "charades" in order to communicate!)

It's a fun show to perform and we look forward to entertaining the crowds on a Saturday night at Stonewall up until, and including, Mardi Gras Night. (That's when my family will see me in drag for the first time... arrgghh!)

Of course, as always there are people to thank: Kirsten Damned - For the fabulous costumes. As always, you did a wonderful job. Cleopatra Coupe - For the time and energy you took to do a recording session for us so that we could have our very own backup vocals! Connor: For putting the songs in the correct keys for us to sing! The Stonewall Staff - Especially Candy, Penny D, Reese & Ken. My partner - For enduring a mute boyfriend who was trying to produce a show. You love and support is always appreciated my sweetheart! Thank you. Ru Bella & Morgan (with the organ!) for being fantastic cast members.

So we now have our final lineup for shows at Stonewall on a Saturday night...

11 pm - Solo Spot Show
12 am - Pink Street: Live & Gay
1 am - Sing Us Your Pink Bits!

Come along and see the shows and cheer with your beer!

Until next time.. xxx

A Catchup.. Then Happy New Year!

Welcome to my first blog of 2007!

Firstly, I should say, there has been a number of people who have asked about my blog recently - mainly asking why I have not updated in a while after writing about being sick. Thank you to those people who have cared to ask - it's very sweet to know you are thinking of me.

It has been a while since I've posted (3 Dec 06) and it's not due to a lack of interest blogging. So many things have been happening (and not happening as the case may be!), that posting a blog wasn't on top of my list these last few weeks.

I plan to change that though.

As a New Year's Resolution, I plan to post a blog at least once a week (probably a Sunday) as a commitment to those who read my blog, and to myself.

So much has happened in these last few weeks - will fill you in on some of those things very quickly..

• My tonsillitis developed into a ear/nose/throat infection and I was off work at Ticketmaster for 3-4 weeks as I could not talk. (Some might say a blessing.. but I can tell you my bank balance is hurting!)
• My drag performance work still went ahead, however the singing show at Stonewall Hotel suffered a bit as we had to rework the show by cutting my song and dialogue from it. (Not an easy task - thanks to my cast!) Things are back on track now - voice back at 75% and no technical hitches on stage. In fact the audience went crazy for the show last night which was nice..
  
• The Xmas Show at Stonewall has opened and closed (3 week run). The management and punters loved the show - so if timing works right, we could do it again this year!
• Slipping in some politics, I'm very happy that Julia Gillard is in the deputy position in the Labour party. Even though I would like to see her as leader, it will be wonderful the day when Kevin Rudd leaves for another country and we have our first ever female Prime Minister (albeit an acting one!). I guess I shouldn't get ahead of myself, they haven't won the election... yet!
• Christmas was a quiet occasion, spending it with my partner, my dog Icypole, and my step-cat-children, Shadow and Scooter. We all opened presents on Xmas day, the animals got special food and my partner got 2 seasons of the West Wing and a Cookbook. I got a book "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins - I'm only part the way through, but it's an interesting read.
• NYE was wonderful and again, quiet. As I still had no voice, I avoided large gatherings and loud music by watching the fireworks from my apartment with my partner and dog, in between episodes of The West Wing of course!
• Scooter has been doing well and has put on weight again. He has become a new cat since his near-death experience. I'm serious! He used to be quite grumpy, but now he is born-again cat, and is a very loving and affectionate boy. When cats become diabetic, so many owners put the cat down as they think it's too much trouble. It's very easy to look after him - everything is normal except he gets a small injection everyday (he doesn't notice it!) and just some special food from the vets. Simple! And I think he has changed his tune cos he knows how much we love him..
• Over Christmas I booked some of my family in for flights to Sydney for Mardi Gras. I'm looking forward to having my Dad, my brother Matthew, sister-in-law Jessie and her sister Ana, here in Sydney. We are booked in for Priscilla on Mardi Gras Eve in the third row dead centre! Plus my family will see me perform in person for the first time on MG night at Stonewall. (We have had our season extended until MG night!)
• Speaking of Mardi Gras - I can now mention that I am creating the show for the Pool Party as part of the New Mardi Gras Festival. The working group has been meeting for a few months now, and I'm very excited to be part of the event. Stay tuned for more info!
• Plans are underway for the annual "Hats Off" at the Star City Showroom, and I've been asked to perform there for the HIV/AIDS charity fundraiser. There are some huge names in Aussie showbiz there this year and it's gonna be amazing I promise you! Will give you more details soon..
• Mr Mary's shows have been cancelled over the last 2 weeks due to the Christmas/New Year season. I have been asked to organise a new show for the new year and will keep you posted on what is happening and when..
  
• On the topic of new shows, we will be opening our new production show for Stonewall (which replaces the Xmas show) next week. As always, naming a show is the last thing I do, so no names yet, but it continues along the Pink theme.. hint, hint!

That's about it.. I guess that wasn't so quick after all, but as many of you would know, I could have rambled on a lot more!

My best wishes to all of you for the new year. I hope that it is a better year for all of you.

My goals are to be more accepting and/or loving of others (especially my partner!), to care for the environment just that little bit more (be it animals or the Earth itself), to go to the gym and to update my blog weekly! I don't think that's a hard ask..

Love to you all.. Til next week..

XXX