Category: Nonsense

That is all.

So, in lieu of Scot’s review of the FOREVER PLAID cinecast that we saw last night (thanks again, Mr. Caggiano!) I must confess that I developed a little crush on David Engel, the actor who played Smudge in the show. Like Scot says, he’s adorably goofy, but also very handsome, and carries off the nerdy glasses really well. He’s also got a nice voice and is very charismatic on stage.

So this morning, after reading Scot’s post, I was doing a little google searching for pictures of David and what I found put a little smile on my face. David Engel and Larry Raben (Jason Graae’s replacement as Sparky) are more than just partners in entertainment… it turns out they are life partners as well, as stated in this interview in Grigware Talks Theatre. They’re engaged, and have been a couple of around 15 years. Isn’t that sweet? No wonder I found him so attractive.

I know, it’s been months. I’m sorry. I’ve been busy.

What has finally brought me back? Well, it’s a long convoluted path. It started this morning, reading my RSS feeds. David Lee King posted about how he keeps track of all his social networking connections. That inspired me to check out blip.fm (among other things) and that has occupied much of my evening. Through the course of blipping around, I discovered two videos on YouTube that I surely never thought I’d ever find. One I’ve never seen, and the other only partially once over 20 years ago.

Adventure Set was one of my favorite local bands in the early 80’s. Their radio hit, “Blue is for Boys,” had special meaning for me as a young gay man trying to sort out my identity. I still listen to that song quite often, and finding this video of a live performance of the song was super exciting. Check it out.

The other musical find isn’t nearly as cool, in fact, it’s a little cheesy, but no less exciting for me. In the mid-80s I was a huge fan of Sandy Stewart. She wrote with Stevie Nicks on her second album, Wild Heart. In fact, she wrote the music for “If Anyone Falls,” one of Stevie’s hit singles. Sandy also had a solo album called Cat Dancers, which I really loved. I remember seeing the last minute or so of her one video, “Saddest Victory” on MTV, but never saw it again. Now, at last, it has appeared on YouTube. It’s oh-so dramatic, but I just love it. Enjoy.

You know, I’m not a big fan of war films. And I couldn’t even sit straight through The Two Towers without fidgeting. But I find this film strangely moving. Warr — Hell it iz.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my love of the Wilson Sisters and the rock band Heart in this forum. Needless to say, I’ve been a stalwart fan since my brother bought the Little Queen album back in the mid-70s. Sure, they strayed a little during the 80s and 90s, but they managed the unimaginable and came back as strong as ever, both as a nostalgia act, but writing and performing new music in the new millennium. I’ve seen Heart perform live numerous times, most recently a few years ago, and it’s absolute fact that Ann Wilson will be remembered for having one of the best voices in rock & roll history.

Now Heart is getting its own jukebox musical. That’s right, “Allies” (title from a little-known Heart piano ballad from the album Bebe le Strange) is a rock and roll musical featuring the music of Heart. Heart follows the footsteps of such seminal acts as Queen, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and ABBA whose works have all been translated from the arena to the theater. The plot is described as following a brother, his sister and the man who comes between them. I don’t know about you, but it sounds frighteningly similar to the plot of that fabulous early 80’s movie musical THE APPLE to me! According to Variety, a reading of the musical will take place at the Zipper Factory Theater on January 26.