Legally Blonde

Just got the official soundtrack to the Legally Blonde stage musical, and I have to say I was a bit disappointed. I'd been listening to a preliminary recording, and somehow, the real soundtrack was anticlimactic. I was puzzled at my reaction as I did enjoy the show, but I felt disconnected from it. Then when I listened to the preliminary CD, I fell in love with the show. I couldn't wait for the "real" CD - even though I knew there had been changes, I figured it would be even better, with a couple of songs from Orfeh who has an awesome voice. But when I got the CD, I found myself let down. Part of it was how some of the songs were recorded - Laura Bell Bundy sang them either in a higher pitch or somehow avoided the edge to her voice, which I find awesome. They just seemed to neuter the Elle character. I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I listened to one of the last songs, where Elle is considering going back home and giving up. In the preliminary CD, she sang, "That's fine with me, just let me be Legally Blonde." The final version was "It's not up to me, just let me be Legally Blonde." Not a big change? No, it was a huge change. In the original version, she had dared to dream that she could be more than what people thought she could be. She knew she could be more, but had never dared to do it. That's why it's heartbreaking when she decides - yes, she makes a decision - that it's not worth the fight anymore, that she'll just be what they expect her to be. Compare that with the second version, where here's poor little Elle, no choice in the matter. What a simpering wimp! The two characters are completely different. And that's why I liked the preliminary version better. That Elle, while a bit superficial, was never stupid or unaware. She was a fighter. She knew what people thought but she wasn't going to let it get to her - to steal a phrase from another cut song, she was a "Beacon of Positivity." They take that all away in the final version. It's almost like they are afraid a strong Elle is an unlikeable Elle. And that's why I'll keep listening to the earlier version.

Xanadu

We took the girls to NY to see Xanadu the musical (seriously) this weekend. What a hoot (yeah, I know, I'm old - we use words like hoot). Anyone who's around 40-ish would love it. It's just such a great bashing of the 80's (in an affection way). From Olivia Newton John's accent and breathy singing to leg warmers to Clash of the Titans, everything was fair game. And the acting, singing, and dancing were superb. It's a small theater with an intimate feel, which adds to the you're-in-on-the-joke attitude of the show. It couldn't have been more fun. And just as important, we managed to park for $14! Hey, don't knock the enthusiasm. You try to park an SUV in a safe location for under $50 for the day.

I'm still working on my story for my daughter - she keeps me at it because she asks for updates almost every day. I'm getting a bit scared because I think this might actually be good.

Enough Already

Not a great weekend. Went on a 3.5 hour drive to my brother's house to celebrate the baptism of his daughters. Gee, let's see how that went. First, we didn't get the details on what was going on until 10pm on the night before the event. And that was because my mom didn't hear from them until about 9pm that night. That's right, he didn't bother to call me at all. What's worse is the fact that he didn't have enough respect for my mom to call her until he did. What a scumbag. Then after driving 3.5 hours to get there, I can count on one hand with a couple fingers left over the number of words he said to me and my family. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm kinda pissed. Right now, my feeling is that I won't be wasting time trying to visit again. I'd cut him off completely, but he has my first two season of Buffy on DVD that I want back.

Then at work, well, editing this because I gave too many details. Suffice to say it has to do with a lack of respect. Again. Some more.

Yes, I'm in a lovely mood today.

In Search of a Pool

When I was a kid, the one thing that I always wanted was a pool. One of the neighbors had one growing up, and we would always hang around in front of their house, trying to look hot in hopes they'd invite us in. As an adult, I always figured they were too much work, but there was always a inner feeling of "But I want it." So we've finally decided to look into getting one, even though we have no flat land anywhere near the house, and even though the high school is less than a mile away and has a pool. Of course, that means we should start to saving a bit. Uh-oh. That one might be tougher. Why is it when you know you should be cutting back that you can find all kinds of things you want? Economizing ain't me, at least when someone says I have to. But I don't wanna.

*ahem* in other news, I've started a summer writing program with my older daughter. We're reading through Gail Carson Levine's "Writing Magic" together and doing the assignments at the end of the chapter. So far, I've written two pages of a potentially new children's fantasy. I'll keep going so long as she wants to read it. She's much better than I am at writing short stories. I just don't seem to be able to finish anything in less than 90K words.

News, Updates, Life in General

Just got back from Book Expo America (BEA). I love New York. We stayed at the Hilton right in the middle of the Theater district. Drove in on Tuesday night and made good time until we hit the Lincoln Tunnel - traffic added another hour to our journey at this point. No matter, once we were parked, we weren't moving the car again until Sunday (yeah, we were paying the lovely parking fees for a car we weren't going to use, but trust me, better than driving in the city). Anyways, since it was our kids first time in the city, we decided to walk around town a bit. Nobody had eaten since lunch, so the goal was to find a decent restaurant and chill out. It was fun watching my younger girl acting like a total tourist, stopping to stare at the buildings and people. We meandered down to the Palace Theater where Legally Blonde was playing. I had read in Playbill online that they weren't selling out so I suggested skipping supper and going to the show. Despite some inappropriate moments (try telling an 8-yr old not to do the bend-and-snap in school, or to ask if someone is "Gay or European"? to give you just two), it was just a really fun show. Found out later that the lead actress, the woman who played her best friend and the guy who played the boyfriend are all up for Tony awards, which is way cool (by the time I see most shows, the lead cast is usually long gone). On the way back to the hotel, we walked by the Wintergarten, where Mama Mia was playing (we had tickets for the next night). A red-headed woman was standing behind baracades having her picture taken and signing stuff. My husband commented that he wondered if it was the mother in the show (he's listened to the CD often enough he kind of knows the story by heart). Turns out it was - as we found out the next night. We ate at the Stagedoor Deli (waaaaaay overpriced) and I carried our youngest back to the hotel.

The next day was the first day of BEA. Oh. My. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this show? Basically, you have two choices: 1) you can go to the autographing area for free, autographed books, or 2) you can wander the floor, getting all kinds of goodies. Since hubby was with me, we did both. Boy, did we do both. Gene took the younger girl, who apparently charmed pretty much every booth worker she met, becoming an expert in the art of swag. People were literally seeking her out to give her stuff. I was in the interview lines with my older girl, who was gobsmacked to see so many of her favorite authors. She had missed a birthday party to go with us, so she got a book signed to the friend who's birthday she missed. And the authors really seemed to appreciate seeing an actual kid (most of the writers we went to see were juvenile authors, but pretty much everyone at the show was a middle aged library or bookseller). She's so excited that she's started her own blog to review the books she got.

After walking around from about 9 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, we raced back to the hotel and cleaned up for dinner. As I said, our hotel couldn't have been more perfectly placed, so it was only about a block or two to the theater. We ate at the Applebee's next door. Much less expensive than the Stagedoor Deli (we figured that they didn't have the nerve to charge as much as most places in NYC because people could actually compare the price to their normal location). Got to the theater, and our seats were waaaaay to the one side. Luck was with us again as the people who had the aisle seats never showed so we got to move at intermission. The girls loved it. If you need proof, all you need to know is that my 6 yr old didn't fall asleep. Trust me, midnight is hideously late when you're used to an 8 o'clock bedtime. We waited by the stage door like the people we had seen the previous night, and sure enough, the girls got to meet all of the main cast and get their pictures taken with them. Awesome experience, and the cast could not have been nicer.

Saturday was more of the same at BEA - another awesome day of book gathering. We ended up having to ship my mother-in-law's books back home because we didn't have enough room in the car. Some of many highlights for the day included my older girl meeting her three of her favorite authors and getting to see what Gramar girl really looked like (what can I say, we love the podcasts).

We hung around for the morning on Sunday before heading out of the city, which was thankfully less painful than getting into the city. Next year, BEA is in LA. *sigh* Why did it have to be LA?