It's the holiday season....

...and I've been feeling more like a musician and less like a theatre artist lately. I'm sure all of that will change as soon as January comes around. I'm actually not sure which is better.

In the past week or two, I've been to two concerts (one at the Kennedy Center to see Paul Goodwin conduct Messiah), A Christmas Carol at Chesapeake Arts Center to see friends MW, CJ & JK, and finally to see Sweeney Todd on Saturday night.



I should start off by saying how glad I am that musical film adaptations are making a comeback. It brings a love of the genre to whole new generation of audience members, which makes me glad... I'll still have a job 30 years from now. I should then disclose that regardless of my zeal for musical film adaptations, I'm awful at going to see them. I saw Chicago in the theatre opening weekend. I didn't see The Producers at all. I saw RENT, but was highly disappointed. It took me 3 months to finally see Dreamgirls in the theatre. I still haven't seen Hairspray. So imagine my surprise when I overlooked my disdain for Sondheim in favor of my blind lust for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp to see Sweeney Todd at the Charles Theatre on Saturday night. I really enjoyed it... which quite surprised me seeing as you couldn't PAY me to see Sweeney Todd on stage (especially not the most recent revival with flip-top Patti LuPone the Avenue Q puppet).

The film was probably my favorite musical film adaptation since Chicago because it was actually a good film and not just a show put on stage. There was a lot of blood, but the cinematography was beautiful. Tim Burton clearly cast actors and not singers since he has to cast that blasted wife or life partner or whatever of his in every movie. She acted the crap out of the role... probably more than Johnny Depp, but she sounded like she was highed up on the crack everytime she opened her mouth to sing. The most memorable moment was probably By The Sea. I almost killed myself during Green Finch and Linnet Bird, and every time that Gerber Daisy playing Anthony Hope started singing Johanna (which is definitely like once every 25 minutes), but the comedic genius that is Sasha Baron Cohen made up for it. And that's my stream-of-consciousness review in a nutshell.

My favorite thing about going to The Charles is that it's attached to Tapas Teatro, one of my favorite affordable restaurants in Baltimore. I go to the restaurant way more often than I do to the theatre, but whenever see a movie there, it's a built-in excuse to eat before or afterwards. It's beautifully decorated for Christmas now, so if you have a chance to go before New Years, I definitely suggest it.

I hope everyone has a safe and celebratory Christmas holiday!