I started off 2012 this morning with a dream in which, amongst many good and bad things, I hosted an Elaine Stritch concert at the end of the frozen food aisle of a suburban grocery store. Her encore of the concert was a serenade to me, “You Took Advantage of Me” natch. A pretty good foot on which to start the year off, no? I’m 99.9% sure the dream happened because yesterday Sean sent me the link to this Stritchy appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman, circa 1996 (the year of A Delicate Balance.). It’s not just an appearance though. It’s a full-fledged—more-than-surreal—skit, in which Stritchy thinks Letterman is her poolboy “Skippy” and even asks him where he put her riding crop. It extends over four segments of the show. The dream-inducing segment:

ES: Where have you been hiding?

DL: I just wasn’t hiding, it’s more…

ES: Now, I said to, um, Eleanor, when you first started to clean the pool—Eleanor’s my closest friend. I said, “Eleanor, would you get of the load of the cut of that man’s gib.” I said, “Eleanor, it looks like I’m gonna have to make a man outta him.” Uh, Skip or [DL: Yeah] Biff [DL: Right] or Zip or whatever your name is… Would you, uh, care to freshen me up?

DL: Well, uh, uh, yeah, yeah, I don’t think, I’m not exactly sure…

ES: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! No, no, don’t be shy. You, uh, you meet me in my cabana in five minutes?! I didn’t hear you?

DL: Uh yeah, five minutes.

ES: Haha, FIVE minutes!

I can only hope 2012 is as kind to me as 1996 was to Stritchy (no Tony and all).

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

tmills:

Antony and the Johnsons - Hitler In My Heart

Who is going to make a kickstarter to get Antony Hegarty to make a musical? I don’t even like musicals but I could.

Did you say musical?

fuckyeahmarksanchez:

“I’m real fortunate to have great family members, to be in a world-class organization where they want to help and make sure that, there is more than just the physical and the mental side, there is the psyche side. There is the emotional side to this game, and as much as you want to shut it off, you have to give yourself a little perspective and understand what’s at stake, but not too much perspective because then you lose your competitive edge, and not zero perspective where you’re just driving yourself into the wall. I’m trying to stay in the middle and just understand that we have a big game ahead, we don’t control our destiny, but we can control the outcome of this game. ”

- Mark Sanchez on how he keeps the criticism in such a healthy perspective.

I think all Jets fans can agree: ONE thing is missing! (That ONE thing is me, FYI.)

(Source: bffscotty)

The best review of Other Desert Cities I’ve seen so far.

The best review of Other Desert Cities I’ve seen so far.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS STATIONARY EVER.

THE BEST CHRISTMAS STATIONARY EVER.

Like this? I’m sooo totally behind this. This sounds divine.

Like this? I’m sooo totally behind this. This sounds divine.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is my favorite! When I used to have dreams of becoming an actor, OSF was my #1 dream job. It’s pretty much the only place in the states where an actor can make a (so-so) living as an actor doing Shakespeare/classical work. For four or five years after I first moved to Oregon in 1995, we would go down every summer to see a play or two. My aunt and uncle were big donors/season ticket holders so we got to sit in the front row for like every production, which was the equivalent of this then-still-in-the-closet boy’s wet dream.  In between junior and senior year of high school, I even went to a two-week theater camp there. (The admission process was nearly as difficult and competitive and onerous as undergrad.) Besides seeing all the productions, we also took classes with the actors and had talking sessions with the artistic staff. It was unreal. That summer I saw their production of Stop/Kiss and not only ended up writing every college essay on it and its effect on me, but also knew: I had to move to New York, and I had to come out as a gay man. I haven’t been back since then, but don’t get me wrong: I LOVE OSF! My mom emailed today that she wants us to go again this summer and particularly pointed out the LBJ play, “All the Way” to entice me. I, however, found this and couldn’t get over its absurdity. Like I said, anyplace else and I would immediately ridicule and dismiss it. But it’s OSF, so…  Any American that’s not been to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival hasn’t truly lived. It’s like being Italian and never having gone to La Scala. Or British and never having gone to the National Theatre.

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is my favorite! When I used to have dreams of becoming an actor, OSF was my #1 dream job. It’s pretty much the only place in the states where an actor can make a (so-so) living as an actor doing Shakespeare/classical work.

For four or five years after I first moved to Oregon in 1995, we would go down every summer to see a play or two. My aunt and uncle were big donors/season ticket holders so we got to sit in the front row for like every production, which was the equivalent of this then-still-in-the-closet boy’s wet dream. 

In between junior and senior year of high school, I even went to a two-week theater camp there. (The admission process was nearly as difficult and competitive and onerous as undergrad.) Besides seeing all the productions, we also took classes with the actors and had talking sessions with the artistic staff. It was unreal. That summer I saw their production of Stop/Kiss and not only ended up writing every college essay on it and its effect on me, but also knew: I had to move to New York, and I had to come out as a gay man. I haven’t been back since then, but don’t get me wrong: I LOVE OSF!

My mom emailed today that she wants us to go again this summer and particularly pointed out the LBJ play, “All the Way” to entice me. I, however, found this and couldn’t get over its absurdity. Like I said, anyplace else and I would immediately ridicule and dismiss it. But it’s OSF, so… 

Any American that’s not been to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival hasn’t truly lived. It’s like being Italian and never having gone to La Scala. Or British and never having gone to the National Theatre.

Haunting, funny and filled with surprises, it’s a one-of-a-kind musical adventure you won’t want to miss If it were anyplace else besides OSF…

Haunting, funny and filled with surprises, it’s a one-of-a-kind musical adventure you won’t want to miss

If it were anyplace else besides OSF…

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

(I may not have started out on the right foot, but I greatly disliked Follies) (One good thing about an over-amplified production is that a recording from mid-mezz sounds like it’s in the orchestra)