Chockablock

A weekend wrap-up.  It might be kind of boring.  And long.  I think a lot happened this weekend.  Oh, don't worry, only trivial things, but that gives me plenty to talk about.

First of all, a short letter:
Dear MTV,
You are no longer allowed to hold VMA's.  Yes, video music awards are kind of irrelevant when you no longer show videos.  As Justin Timberlake kindly pointed out.  Seriously.  I know you're aiming at 12-18 year olds--you must be, with shows like "The Life of Ryan" and those two insipid blonde girls whose names start with the same letter.  I can't believe so many honest to goodness musicians decided to take part in this farce, considering MTV doesn't do jack shit for them anymore.  Certainly, it's not playing their videos.  I'm sure there are a lot of people like me, in the 28-35 age group, who fondly remember a time when you turned on MTV and there was a video on, and that chances are, that video contained actual good music.  Because the other thing is, I'm pretty sure if you did start playing videos again, it'd be a lethal mix of Fall Out Boy (ew), Kanye West (okay, it's music, but yeesh) and Rhianna (that umbrella song IS good, but...).  With a powder coat of Beyonce, rap groups no one's heard of, and lots and lots of bling.  Maybe it's time for me to get over the nostalgia I've got for actual Music Television.  Sigh.  And I didn't even watch Britney.  Thank god.  Love, Mano.

****

I didn't watch Britney because I was watching football.  Look out for Sam's fun Sunday AOL away messages.  I think they might be some form of SOS by the end of the football season.  I think by about 9 last night, he was ready for the football to be off, which is why we switched to the VMAs in the first place.  I would've kept watching SNF, because Romo is my quarterback, and it was too fun to watch.  I was a little depressed about Romo at first, and I'm sure he's going to have bad weeks, but last night was a little bit relieving.  And actually, the early game was kind of boring for me because I didn't have a player in the game, so I had to keep up with my guys via our league.  Fantasy Football does wonders for keeping you into a game.  Though I'll admit that I started rooting for Donovan McNabb by the end of yesterday's GB/Phil game, because he's my mom's QB, and I felt bad for her low point total.  I wanted to kick her ass, but not like that.  I do love me some football, though, and it's good that it's back.  Also, I adore Olbermann, as you know, so the combination of Olbermann and football is orgasmic.  He's got that solid ESPN background, and he brings the fast pace of Sportscenter to the SNF broadcasts, which is okay with me.  Also, I do like Tiki Barber on the show.  He seemed to hold back a little last night, but that may go away as the weeks go by.  I sure hope it does, anyway.  Also, he's not so bad to look at, which is a plus on a show where no one else is all that good looking.  Except for Olbermann, of course.

****

Also, I saw "The Color Purple" (the musical) this weekend.  I'm very familiar with the book, having read it like, 500 times in high school, so it was nice to note that it was pretty faithful to the book.  It certainly wasn't the worst musical I've ever seen, having taken in such stinker's as that all-singing pirate crap, Sweet Charity and Little Women, which was snoozy.  It wasn't the best, either, though.  The singing was pretty good, save for that chick from Destiny's Child who played Shug Avery.  Her voice was too thin and weak.  I just didn't buy her as Shug.  Shug should be sex on a stick and she should be able to SING.  Destiny's Child chick?  Not so much.  But the lead--Celie--was fantastic, and I really, really liked Sofia.  I'm not sure if that's just because I loved Sofia in the books, and I LOVED Oprah Winfrey's portrayal of Sofia in the movie (she is simply just the best possible person in that role; no one can ever own that role the way she did), and the woman who played her did a great job, or if it's that her voice was great, and she's the kind of ballsy chick that I want to be.  But either way, I found her to be one of the best parts of the musical.

Afterwards, my sister and I debated whether there had been actual nudity in the play (anyone know for sure?) during the African dance scene--which was a great way to introduce Nettie in Africa, by the way--and couldn't come to any consensus.  I think no.  I think they were body-colored body suits, but I think my sister felt sure there was actual boobage.  The other thing about the show is that it is really quite full of sexual innuendo.  We saw some little girls come in with their moms, and I sort of cringed during Sofia and Harpo's song, late in the second act, because, dude, they were pretty much humping on stage.  And Shug's nightclub song, called "Push Da Button" isn't very clean either.  I'm no prude, but I was SHOCKED, I tell you.  I've never seen such a sexual musical. 

What else?  I was pleasantly surprised to see that the love between Shug and Celie isn't played down.  Though it's not explicit, I thought it was definitely implicitly implied that Celie loved Shug in a sexual way.  Like Wicked, in some senses, this movie doesn't shy away from love between women, although it definitely takes it a step farther.  If you're familiar at all with "The Color Purple", that shouldn't be surprising.  Still, it's nice to know, again, that musicals are much more friendly to women than film or TV.  It's sort of depressing that this is closing, since I know Oprah wanted it to be the next "Wicked".  But I have to admit that I wouldn't go back for a repeat viewing, and I know I would see "Wicked" again.  Or "Spamalot".  Or "Avenue Q".  Just not in the same league as those, for me, I guess.  And I'm probably pretty close to your average musical watcher.

That's all, I think.  I can't think of anything else that wouldn't bore you to death that happened this weekend, unless you'd like to talk about grocery shopping and laundry.

Comments

[M]

Avenue Q is coming to Chicago in the next "Broadway in Chicago" series and I'm 99% sure you can have our tickets!

[M]

P. S. And I totally agree with your comments on The Color Purple. I really liked it a lot but wouldn't rush back to see it. And I was shocked at how poorly Michelle Williams sang in comparison to the rest of the cast.