Why Didn't I Know About This?

Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Bendham director) is directing a film adaptation of one of the first book in one of my favorite teen series, Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. The film will be called Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. The trailer doesn't look great. It seems to tone down the wit and craziness of the books, but it's hard to tell from a preview. I couldn't find anything about a U.S. release, but I must find a way to see this film.

Tony Highlights

I have to say, I loved the Tony telecast this year. It was very entertaining, especially the acceptance speeches. My major complaint is the fact that they didn't televise a bunch of the major awards, including best revival of a play and best book of a musical. I really wanted to see Boeing Boeing and Stew win. I got 19/26correct as there were no major surprises this year. Here are some of my thoughts/favorite moments:

-Whoopi Goldberg did a good job as host, but I thought she could have done more with her appearing in scenes from musicals. Instead of just showing up and singing the word "Tony," she could have done spoofs on the shows themselves.

-Performances: I like medley performances the best. They allow for more actors to performs and gives the audience a better sense of the show. I wanted to see South Pacific and In the Heights before, but now I really want to see them. If Paulo Szot sounded that good on television, I can only imagine how he sounds live. I don't think the shows that weren't nominated (The Little Mermaid, A Catered Affair, and Young Frankenstein) should have performed. It only reminded me why those shows weren't nominated. Cry Baby chose a good number ("A Little Upset") to showcase the choreography (Rob Ashford should have won) and the ensemble, the two best things about the show. Sunday in the Park with George chose the wrong song, "Move On," from act two. Act one of the show is far superior. I loved seeing the RENT original cast, especially the ensemble, but where was Jesse L. Martin? I miss him. Daniel Evans from Sunday was totally rocking out.

-Acceptance speeches: There were so many good ones. Of course, the best speech has to go to Lin-Manuel Miranda who rapped his speech for best score. I really hope he didn't write any of that ahead of time. Best line--"Mr. Sondheim, look, I made a hat where there never was a hat. And it's a Latin hat at that." Brilliant. That speech alone would get me to buy tickets to his show. Runner-up goes to Patti LuPone for being such a diva, for being so unapologetic about it, and for telling the orchestra to shut up. I also loved Laura Benanti's heartfelt speech. She seemed genuinely moved that Arthur Laurents stood up for her. And finally, Mark Rylance, who totally deserved his win for one of the best comedic performance EVER, for totally confusing everyone in the audience by reciting prose by Louis Jenkins instead of thanking people. I have to add, yeah Boyd Gaines! I don't remember his speech too well, but I love him in general and as Herbie.

-Did anyone notice how when Mary-Lousie Parker presented the award for leading actor in a play, she rightly called Macbeth "the Scottish play," as it's bad luck to say the name in a theatre. Alec Baldwin, however, actually said the name. I guess that's the difference between theatre actors and movie actors.

-I don't really know where to put this, but I love how awkward Daniel Radcliffe is.

-Surprises: There weren't really any, but I did kind of think they'd give it to Raul Esparza because they felt bad about last year. I'm glad they didn't because it wasn't his best performance and I'm sure he'll have plenty more Tony-worthy performances ahead of him. I did think Sunday in the Park with George would win scenic design of a musical, but I haven't seen South Pacific yet.

Too Soon?

I was walking around Soho on my lunch break, when I noticed a poster for a new VH1 show, I Love the New Millenium. I'll admit, I was amused by I Love the '80s and would occasionally be sucked into the marathons. I thought it was a too early to have the right perspective for I Love the '90s, but now this is getting ridiculous. The decade isn't even over yet.

On a more positive note, in the fall, TopShop will open in Soho. It will be like having a little piece of London where I work.