At some point during my blogging hiatus I saw the news that Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone were starring in a three night only concert production of one of my favorite Sondheim shows, Company. As you can imagine, I wanted to buy a ticket the minute I read the news, but sadly my recent move didn't take me any closer to the East Coast and I still can't afford to make the trip.
It seems strange to me that just a few years ago, I wouldn't have known a Sondheim show from a Lloyd Webber show, and if you'd showed me a picture of Patti LuPone I would have hazily recalled seeing her on TV in the early 90's, but would best have remembered her as the daughter-in-law in the film Driving Miss Daisy!
Well, what a difference a few years makes. I'm still far from being an expert on the Broadway musical, of course. I've now read all of Ethan Mordden's excellent books on the history of the genre and I've listened to many cast albums. I've even seen three Sondheim shows (the original productions of Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George and the 2006 revival of Company) and two Sondheim concert tributes on DVD, but can you really be an expert in something you've never experienced first hand?
Still, just listening to the original cast albums of Company, Follies, and A Little Night Music convinced me quite quickly that Sondheim was a genius. I'd love to see one of his shows in person and how incredible would it be if it also happened to star one of my favorite men on the planet, Neil Patrick Harris?
Then, of course, you throw Patti LuPone into the mix just to make me want to see it even more! In the past few years I've become a fan of Patti through the cast albums of her revivals of Gypsy and Sweeney Todd (she also worked with NPH on a concert version of the latter show, which is available on DVD), her own albums, and her new autobiography.
Alas, I'll have to live vicariously through those who see the new concert production of Company and share their opinions with the rest of us. I wonder if there's any chance that they'll release a cast recording?
Meanwhile, a bit closer to home but probably still far enough away to be out of my reach at the moment, there's a brand new musical that I'm dying to see. I'm talking about the Tales of the City musical, based on Armistead Maupin's wonderful books. It opens on May 18 in San Francisco and plays there through July. If I can scrape together enough money before then I'd love to not only see the show but also the city itself.
Showing posts with label armistead maupin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label armistead maupin. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2011
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Mary Ann in Autumn
I have a lot to catch up on here, there's so much I want to write about. I suppose I'll have to just take it one post at a time.
Let's start with Mary Ann in Autumn, the new Tales of the City novel by Armistead Maupin. If you've followed my blog at all, you know that I'd been looking forward to this book for quite awhile now.
I picked up my copy the day it came out, of course, and I pretty much devoured it all in one sitting. Maupin definitely still has the touch when it comes to weaving an engaging tale.
Reading this novel (and the earlier update, Michael Tolliver Lives) was very much like running into people you dearly loved in the past but haven't had the chance to see in ages. You may worry at first that too much will have changed in the ensuing years, but you quickly discover how easy it is to fall right back into your old rapport.
Don't think for a second, though, that Maupin is only interested in the characters that he first created over thirty years ago. In his two latest updates to the series he's introduced a new generation of characters to catch our interest and he's been able to seamlessly intertwine their lives with those of the classic characters.
Mary Ann in Autumn focuses, as you'd imagine, on the character of Mary Ann Singleton. In the original series of books, she was the character who arrived in San Francisco from Cleveland, wide eyed and naive. Mary Ann ended up being the character who most personified the times she lived in, going from the open hearted and free spirited 1970's to the ambitious and self obsessed 1980's.
Maupin managed to actually make this change in Mary Ann feel quite natural. Looking back, you saw that the seeds of it were always there. It still hurt, though, to get to the end of the series (as Sure of You was for so many years) and to feel just as abandoned by Mary Ann as her friends and family in the books did when she left them behind to pursue success in New York.
When the series was updated in 2005 with Michael Tolliver Lives Mary Ann was largely absent, with the exception of a telling cameo appearance toward the end. We learned at that point that she'd continued to mirror the changing times by becoming an upper class suburban wife in Connecticut who hadn't seen her San Francisco friends in years.
Mary Ann in Autumn, then, is the first real chance to catch up with this particular character as she returns to San Francisco in the face of both health and marital crises.
The book takes place in December of 2008, when the country is still hopeful over the recent election of Senator Obama to the White House but California itself is reeling from the passage of Proposition 8. One of the younger characters, in fact, is a sexually confused Mormon who'd been in town on a mission to help pass the law.
As with any Tales novel, there is no shortage of intrigue or heartfelt moments, mixed in with a lot of laughs and plenty of wisdom dispensed from Mrs. Madrigal.
I loved the book. I loved getting to know Mary Ann all over again and discovering that the ambitious woman who'd left everything behind for the sake of her career was still very much present, but that the open hearted young girl who'd first arrived in San Francisco was there, too. They were, in fact, very much the same person.
In the first books, I tended to identify with her as the outsider coming into this new world. Maybe that's why it was so hard when she later turned her back on the world I'd come to love, why it seemed so unforgivable to me.
I picked up the new book hoping that Mary Ann would be redeemed in my eyes as a character, but I quickly realized that she didn't need redemption. In the end, Mary Ann is simply a woman who has made her decisions in life, for better or worse, just as we all do. Maybe being a bit older myself than I was when I read the original six books is part of why I can see that so clearly now.
I hope that this won't be the last of the Tales novels. There is still a lot of story to be told, both with the original characters and the newer ones. If it is the final book, though, I will at least be glad that I finally came to a new understanding of Mary Ann.
Let's start with Mary Ann in Autumn, the new Tales of the City novel by Armistead Maupin. If you've followed my blog at all, you know that I'd been looking forward to this book for quite awhile now.
I picked up my copy the day it came out, of course, and I pretty much devoured it all in one sitting. Maupin definitely still has the touch when it comes to weaving an engaging tale.
Reading this novel (and the earlier update, Michael Tolliver Lives) was very much like running into people you dearly loved in the past but haven't had the chance to see in ages. You may worry at first that too much will have changed in the ensuing years, but you quickly discover how easy it is to fall right back into your old rapport.
Don't think for a second, though, that Maupin is only interested in the characters that he first created over thirty years ago. In his two latest updates to the series he's introduced a new generation of characters to catch our interest and he's been able to seamlessly intertwine their lives with those of the classic characters.
Mary Ann in Autumn focuses, as you'd imagine, on the character of Mary Ann Singleton. In the original series of books, she was the character who arrived in San Francisco from Cleveland, wide eyed and naive. Mary Ann ended up being the character who most personified the times she lived in, going from the open hearted and free spirited 1970's to the ambitious and self obsessed 1980's.
Maupin managed to actually make this change in Mary Ann feel quite natural. Looking back, you saw that the seeds of it were always there. It still hurt, though, to get to the end of the series (as Sure of You was for so many years) and to feel just as abandoned by Mary Ann as her friends and family in the books did when she left them behind to pursue success in New York.
When the series was updated in 2005 with Michael Tolliver Lives Mary Ann was largely absent, with the exception of a telling cameo appearance toward the end. We learned at that point that she'd continued to mirror the changing times by becoming an upper class suburban wife in Connecticut who hadn't seen her San Francisco friends in years.
Mary Ann in Autumn, then, is the first real chance to catch up with this particular character as she returns to San Francisco in the face of both health and marital crises.
The book takes place in December of 2008, when the country is still hopeful over the recent election of Senator Obama to the White House but California itself is reeling from the passage of Proposition 8. One of the younger characters, in fact, is a sexually confused Mormon who'd been in town on a mission to help pass the law.
As with any Tales novel, there is no shortage of intrigue or heartfelt moments, mixed in with a lot of laughs and plenty of wisdom dispensed from Mrs. Madrigal.
I loved the book. I loved getting to know Mary Ann all over again and discovering that the ambitious woman who'd left everything behind for the sake of her career was still very much present, but that the open hearted young girl who'd first arrived in San Francisco was there, too. They were, in fact, very much the same person.
In the first books, I tended to identify with her as the outsider coming into this new world. Maybe that's why it was so hard when she later turned her back on the world I'd come to love, why it seemed so unforgivable to me.
I picked up the new book hoping that Mary Ann would be redeemed in my eyes as a character, but I quickly realized that she didn't need redemption. In the end, Mary Ann is simply a woman who has made her decisions in life, for better or worse, just as we all do. Maybe being a bit older myself than I was when I read the original six books is part of why I can see that so clearly now.
I hope that this won't be the last of the Tales novels. There is still a lot of story to be told, both with the original characters and the newer ones. If it is the final book, though, I will at least be glad that I finally came to a new understanding of Mary Ann.
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Books and Glee
Hello again! I really miss blogging on a regular basis, but every time that I think things are about to slow down a bit for me, it turns out that I'm mistaken. "Maybe this time..." (insert mental/aural flashback to Chenoweth singing that on Glee last season!)
First up, since I just mentioned Glee, I wanted to say that I was thrilled with Jane Lynch's win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at this year's Emmy Awards. It was a much deserved honor for her, and I hope it's the first of many. I was sad that the show didn't win for Best Comedy, but at least it lost to another gay friendly show (I really do need to check out Modern Family).
More than anything, though, I was disappointed that Chris Colfer didn't win for Supporting Actor or Mike O'Malley for Guest Actor. Their scenes together as Kurt and his father, Burt, were the highlight of the television season for me. Maybe the problem is that they were nominated in the comedy category for scenes that were pretty intense and emotional? Still, there's always next year!
The upside to O'Malley's loss, of course, was that Neil Patrick Harris won for his own guest starring role on Glee. It was the first Emmy win ever for one of my very favorite actors (who, if you hadn't heard, is going to become a parent to twins with his longtime partner David Burtka! Luckiest kids ever!!).
There are only two weeks to go until the second season of Glee starts, and I can't wait. One nice thing about having had such a busy summer is that it really still seems like the season finale just aired a few weeks ago. It doesn't feel like I had to wait at all.
Something else that I wanted to discuss tonight was books. About a week ago, Lambda Literary wrote about some of the most anticipated LGBT books coming out this fall.
Leading the pack is the book I've been excited about for quite some time now, Armistead Maupin's Mary Ann In Autumn. It's coming out in November and I've been counting the days. My plan was to re-read the entire Tales of the City series in anticipation of the release, but a few months back I found out that a friend of mine had never read any of the books, so I lent them all to her at once and now I'm not sure when I'll get them back. I doubt I'll be able to restrain myself from devouring Mary Ann in Autumn the minute it's in my hands, so that plan is probably out the window.
What a year it has been, though. A new Tales of the City book and a new Stephen McCauley. I don't think I ever followed up on Insignificant Others here after I'd read it, but I really enjoyed it a lot.
The only thing that's really missing to complete this year for me is a new novel by Alan Hollinghurst! Or, if the fates wanted to really be generous, a new collection of stories in the Buddies cycle from Ethan Mordden.
I have to say, I love working in a bookstore. I geek out over books all the time and it's nice to be surrounded by co-workers and customers who act the same way. I love the way someone's whole face just lights up when they spot a new novel by a favorite writer.
Anyway, another book on Lambda Literary list is Michael Cunningham's new title, By Nightfall. I'm a bit ambivalent about that one. I loved The Hours and A Home at the End of the World, and I've got a copy of Flesh and Blood that I've been meaning to get to since forever, so you'd think I'd be more excited.
The thing is, I was filled with anticipation back in 2005 when his last novel, Specimen Days, came out. I really couldn't wait to get my hands on it, but then once I did I didn't like it at all. To be fair, I didn't get that far before I abandoned the effort, so I may give it a try again someday.
Oh, and there's a brand new literary prize out there for gay men's books. The Green Carnation Prize came into existence in reaction to some of the more mainstream lit prizes, as the Chair, Paul Magrs, explains:
I'm all for another prize that brings attention to LGBT fiction (or non-fiction, as the case may be) and gives me more books to read! They've already announced this year's Longlist:
One last thing tonight. I had an e-mail asking if I was ever going to write about the Noah/Luke/Reid story on As the World Turns again. Yes, I will. The truth is, though, that I haven't watched a single episode of the show since May. I have saved all the Luke episodes on my Tivo and I'll probably marathon them at some point in the (near?) future and write about the end of the story at that point. It's just a matter of finding the time.
First up, since I just mentioned Glee, I wanted to say that I was thrilled with Jane Lynch's win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series at this year's Emmy Awards. It was a much deserved honor for her, and I hope it's the first of many. I was sad that the show didn't win for Best Comedy, but at least it lost to another gay friendly show (I really do need to check out Modern Family).
More than anything, though, I was disappointed that Chris Colfer didn't win for Supporting Actor or Mike O'Malley for Guest Actor. Their scenes together as Kurt and his father, Burt, were the highlight of the television season for me. Maybe the problem is that they were nominated in the comedy category for scenes that were pretty intense and emotional? Still, there's always next year!
The upside to O'Malley's loss, of course, was that Neil Patrick Harris won for his own guest starring role on Glee. It was the first Emmy win ever for one of my very favorite actors (who, if you hadn't heard, is going to become a parent to twins with his longtime partner David Burtka! Luckiest kids ever!!).
There are only two weeks to go until the second season of Glee starts, and I can't wait. One nice thing about having had such a busy summer is that it really still seems like the season finale just aired a few weeks ago. It doesn't feel like I had to wait at all.
Something else that I wanted to discuss tonight was books. About a week ago, Lambda Literary wrote about some of the most anticipated LGBT books coming out this fall.
Leading the pack is the book I've been excited about for quite some time now, Armistead Maupin's Mary Ann In Autumn. It's coming out in November and I've been counting the days. My plan was to re-read the entire Tales of the City series in anticipation of the release, but a few months back I found out that a friend of mine had never read any of the books, so I lent them all to her at once and now I'm not sure when I'll get them back. I doubt I'll be able to restrain myself from devouring Mary Ann in Autumn the minute it's in my hands, so that plan is probably out the window.
What a year it has been, though. A new Tales of the City book and a new Stephen McCauley. I don't think I ever followed up on Insignificant Others here after I'd read it, but I really enjoyed it a lot.
The only thing that's really missing to complete this year for me is a new novel by Alan Hollinghurst! Or, if the fates wanted to really be generous, a new collection of stories in the Buddies cycle from Ethan Mordden.
I have to say, I love working in a bookstore. I geek out over books all the time and it's nice to be surrounded by co-workers and customers who act the same way. I love the way someone's whole face just lights up when they spot a new novel by a favorite writer.
Anyway, another book on Lambda Literary list is Michael Cunningham's new title, By Nightfall. I'm a bit ambivalent about that one. I loved The Hours and A Home at the End of the World, and I've got a copy of Flesh and Blood that I've been meaning to get to since forever, so you'd think I'd be more excited.
The thing is, I was filled with anticipation back in 2005 when his last novel, Specimen Days, came out. I really couldn't wait to get my hands on it, but then once I did I didn't like it at all. To be fair, I didn't get that far before I abandoned the effort, so I may give it a try again someday.
Oh, and there's a brand new literary prize out there for gay men's books. The Green Carnation Prize came into existence in reaction to some of the more mainstream lit prizes, as the Chair, Paul Magrs, explains:
“This all came about because, suddenly it was literary award season again and longlists were getting bandied about like crazy. And it’s annoying because those lists seem a bit ready-made, middlebrow, monotonous and obvious. Anyway, late July 2010 and there’s the usual palaver about the Booker Longlist. It was obviously going to be the same old gubbins and some of the same old names. And the same nonsense about ‘literary’ fiction being a separate, rarefied preserve, quite apart from other genres.
Anyway, we thought – wouldn’t it be fun and great to do something a bit different?
And then we thought – there’s no prize yet for gay men’s books in the UK. That’s a scandalous thought. There ought to be something that celebrates and publicizes the breadth and variety of their work.
Writing by gay men can be funny, exciting, harrowing, uplifting and challenging – and it can range right across the genres. It can also be created by men from all classes and races."
I'm all for another prize that brings attention to LGBT fiction (or non-fiction, as the case may be) and gives me more books to read! They've already announced this year's Longlist:
- Generation A by Douglas Coupland
- Bryant and May Off the Rails by Christopher Fowler
- Paperboy by Christopher Fowler
- In A Strange Room by Damon Galgut
- God Says No by James Hannaham
- London Triptych by Jonathan Kemp
- Mary Ann in Autumn by Armistead Maupin
- Children of the Sun by Max Schaefer
- Man’s World by Rupert Smith
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
- City Boy by Edmund White
One last thing tonight. I had an e-mail asking if I was ever going to write about the Noah/Luke/Reid story on As the World Turns again. Yes, I will. The truth is, though, that I haven't watched a single episode of the show since May. I have saved all the Luke episodes on my Tivo and I'll probably marathon them at some point in the (near?) future and write about the end of the story at that point. It's just a matter of finding the time.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Lambda Literary Award Winners
The winners of this year's Lambda Literary Awards have been announced. They make for a great place to start if you're looking for something new in LGBT writing.
Lesbian Fiction: A Field Guide to Deception by Jill Malone
Lesbian Debut Fiction: The Creamsickle by Rhiannon Argo
Gay Fiction: Lake Overturn
Gay Debut Fiction: Blue Boy
LGBT Nonfiction: The Greeks and Greek Love by James Davidson
Lesbian Biography: The Talented Miss Highsmith
Gay Memoir: Ardent Spirits
Transgender: Lynnee Breedlove's One Freak Show
Bisexual Fiction: (tie)
Holy Communion
Love You Two
Bisexual Nonfiction: Leaving India
LGBT Anthology: Portland Queer
LGBT Drama: The Collected Plays of Mart Crowley
LGBT SF/Fantasy/Horror: Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente
LGBT Studies: The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America
LGBT YA: Sprout
Lesbian Mystery: Death of a Dying Man
Gay Mystery: What We Remember
Lesbian Romance: The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin
Gay Romance: Drama Queers!
Lesbian Poetry: Zero at the Bone
Gay Poetry: Sweet Core Orchard
Lesbian Erotica: Lesbian Cowboys
Gay Erotica: Impossible Princess
There are several books on the list that I want to read, though as usual I'm immersed in slightly older works of gay fiction, most recently the wonderful short story collections of Richard Hall and, at the moment, The Young and Evil, a novel about gay/bohemian life in Greenwich Village in the late 1920's by Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler.
The truly astounding thing is that the novel was originally published in 1933 but is incredibly upfront about gay life in that time and place without any attempt at moralizing.
I also recently read two very different books published at the same time and dealing with the same themes and settings: Larry Kramer's Faggots and Andrew Holleran's Dancer From the Dance. I read them back to back and I have to say that I found Holleran's novel to be beautifully written but I really didn't care for Kramer's.
That's not to say that it wasn't well written, but there was such an aura of bitterness surrounding it all, not to mention his sheer delight in reveling in the most seamy aspects of gay life, which left me feeling like I needed to take a shower each time I finished a chapter. Reading such a book would leave anyone feeling like being a gay man was a bleak experience at best.
Lest you think that I'm only reading fiction that's at least twenty five years old, I'm counting down the days until the release of Stephen McCauley's latest novel, Insignificant Others, in June and I was also very excited to notice the other day at work that there is now an October release date for Armistead Maupin's new Tales of the City novel, Mary Ann in Autumn!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Few Reasons Why I Love AfterElton.com
There are a couple of things I want to share from AfterElton. First off, they have their readers vote each year for the Hot 100, a list of the hottest guys in the world, as selected by gay & bisexual men. This is my second year voting in the poll (which closes this Friday, so go vote if you haven't!) and I can't wait to see the results.
The reason I mention this is that today they shared Cheyenne Jackson's personal top 10 list for the poll. Cheyenne is one of my favorite guys (in fact, I do believe he was in my own top ten this year), so it's very interesting to see who he finds to be the hottest guys around.
The best part? Adam Lambert is Cheyenne's number 7 pick! You have to love that. Adam is the only guy that Cheyenne & I had in common on our lists, but I'm hoping that Adam is someone a lot of guys are voting for this year.
As if that wasn't enough of a treat, AfterElton also had some behind the scenes photos of Adam from last night's elimination on American Idol, one of which I'm borrowing, but all of which you should check out if you're a fan of Adam's. I think the best part is their picture of all the contestants mailboxes. Adam, unlike the others, needs two for all the fan mail.
Finally, they had an update on the upcoming Tales of the City musical, which I really want to see. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the books and given some of the people involved in the musical- Armistead Maupin himself, Jeff Whitty, and Jake Shears & John Garden of the Scissor Sisters- I think it's going to be incredible. It opens in July in New Haven, Connecticut, but will hopefully make it to Broadway. Maybe I'll finally make a trip to NYC and get a chance to see this.
Is it any wonder that AfterElton is usually the first place I go when I get online?
The reason I mention this is that today they shared Cheyenne Jackson's personal top 10 list for the poll. Cheyenne is one of my favorite guys (in fact, I do believe he was in my own top ten this year), so it's very interesting to see who he finds to be the hottest guys around.
The best part? Adam Lambert is Cheyenne's number 7 pick! You have to love that. Adam is the only guy that Cheyenne & I had in common on our lists, but I'm hoping that Adam is someone a lot of guys are voting for this year.
As if that wasn't enough of a treat, AfterElton also had some behind the scenes photos of Adam from last night's elimination on American Idol, one of which I'm borrowing, but all of which you should check out if you're a fan of Adam's. I think the best part is their picture of all the contestants mailboxes. Adam, unlike the others, needs two for all the fan mail.
Finally, they had an update on the upcoming Tales of the City musical, which I really want to see. As you know, I'm a huge fan of the books and given some of the people involved in the musical- Armistead Maupin himself, Jeff Whitty, and Jake Shears & John Garden of the Scissor Sisters- I think it's going to be incredible. It opens in July in New Haven, Connecticut, but will hopefully make it to Broadway. Maybe I'll finally make a trip to NYC and get a chance to see this.
Is it any wonder that AfterElton is usually the first place I go when I get online?
Monday, November 17, 2008
I'm so excited!
I didn't plan on blogging again today, but I just couldn't resist.
If you could have seen me about five minutes ago, dancing happily around my bedroom, you'd probably think I was on some pretty good drugs or something.
The reality, though, is that I'm a total dork when it comes to books and this was just a more demonstrative than usual example of that.
I just read on AfterElton.com that Armistead Maupin is at work on an 8th book in the Tales of the City series! He published the seventh book in the series, Michael Tolliver Lives, last year after nearly twenty years between books. The latest, which will be called Mary Ann in Autumn, is going to be more like the first six books: "It’s the old format of the multi-character tapestry..." which makes me even happier!
I seriously love these books so much. I'm especially excited that the new book is going to include Mary Ann, who showed up briefly at the end of Michael Tolliver Lives but was mostly absent.
By the end of the six original books, the character of Mary Ann had become a pretty selfish person who put her career ambitions before her friends and her family, to the point of leaving her husband and child behind completely. I think in that sense, her character's evolution over the first six books embodies the change from the more free spirited 70's into the self involved, money and status obsessed 80's.
It was interesting to see where she was at during her cameo appearance in the last book, but I'm sure it will be even more so to have her as a lead character in the next.
The only downside is that Maupin just started writing it and doesn't know when it will be finished. Patience is a virtue, though, right?
If you could have seen me about five minutes ago, dancing happily around my bedroom, you'd probably think I was on some pretty good drugs or something.
The reality, though, is that I'm a total dork when it comes to books and this was just a more demonstrative than usual example of that.
I just read on AfterElton.com that Armistead Maupin is at work on an 8th book in the Tales of the City series! He published the seventh book in the series, Michael Tolliver Lives, last year after nearly twenty years between books. The latest, which will be called Mary Ann in Autumn, is going to be more like the first six books: "It’s the old format of the multi-character tapestry..." which makes me even happier!
I seriously love these books so much. I'm especially excited that the new book is going to include Mary Ann, who showed up briefly at the end of Michael Tolliver Lives but was mostly absent.
By the end of the six original books, the character of Mary Ann had become a pretty selfish person who put her career ambitions before her friends and her family, to the point of leaving her husband and child behind completely. I think in that sense, her character's evolution over the first six books embodies the change from the more free spirited 70's into the self involved, money and status obsessed 80's.
It was interesting to see where she was at during her cameo appearance in the last book, but I'm sure it will be even more so to have her as a lead character in the next.
The only downside is that Maupin just started writing it and doesn't know when it will be finished. Patience is a virtue, though, right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)