Happy 40th Birthday Jeri Ryan

This is definitely shaping up as the year of me plugging the birthdays of all my fellow Generation X 1968ers as I creep along to the big four oh.

Jeri is a pretty cool actress and quite a nice person from my brief encounter at GenCon in 1998. You’d think an attractive woman who appears in a Star Trek show would’ve been sick of it all after three years of nerds asking her about bra size (this is no joke). I think she found a bright side to it because her career is doing pretty well post-Voyager; starring roles in dramas, recurring guest spots elsewhere.

Oddly she got stuck in my memory through the failed Fox sitcom Top of the Heap that was a spinoff of Married with Children; it lasted a mere 11 episodes and Christina Applegate’s cameos couldn’t save it. I recall Fox plugging it pretty hard because it starred vets Joseph Bologna and Rita Moreno. It ended up being more famous for having pre-Friends Matt LeBlanc as a lead character. As for Jeri, she was the guest on a wedding episode; she was getting married, her fiance was a creep, Matt’s character caught the creep cheating while Jeri and Matt’s characters still had big crushes on each other from their teenage days at camp. I think Jeri’s distinctive facial features, around the eyes namely, is what my brain latched onto for the “she looks familiar” signals.

Sadly, Jeri has the unfortunate fame of being the ex-wife to failed US Senate candidate Jack Ryan. Barack Obama was already clobbering him in the general election but when the guy’s general sleaziness was revealed from their divorce filings, Jack withdrew. Personally, what couples do is their own business as long as nobody is getting hurt physically, mentally and emotionally. I take issue with the moralizers telling everyone else what’s right or wrong. When the stories surfaced, the Democrat in me laughed since the Family Values platform has another hypocrite in its camp; the geek in me just thought what an idiot he was for throwing away his marriage to one of the best-looking (inside and outside) actresses in the Sci-Fi genre; she has appeared in other things besides Star Trek. Good thing they divorced in 1999, it would’ve been an awkward campaign in 2004 if Jack Ryan tried to corner the Trekkie vote.

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Tim Finn in Austin

Tim didn’t do autographs after the show, but opener Eileen Rose had a proxy solution.

Although I have seen him perform with Neil for their Finn Brothers tour, this was my first time catching his solo act. I discovered that out it was his first (solo) in Austin too. Those in attendance were lucky because this was the last show before he returns to the studio to record his next solo record (eighth is my estimate). I didn’t have any opportunity to get pictures of Tim due to the Cactus Cafe’s policy on photos, yet they didn’t clamp down on Jennifer (an Austin-based concert-goer I see at every other show) so I’ll see if I can bum one or two from her. I did get the set list from a nice Canadian fellow I waited in queue with.

Tim and his lead guitarist Brett kicked off with “Poor Boy,” then followed with “Weather with You,” and “Six Months in a Leaky Boat” on his guitar. He then moved over to the piano for “Unsinkable,” “Saw and the Tree” (something he said will be on the next record), and “How Will You Go?” With the emotionally heavier material done, he returned to his acoustic guitar but sat down to use a special drum kit which allowed him to play a snare and bass with his feet. Tim’s live version of “Dirty Creature” was the highlight of the show for me. There was an anecdote on how Paul Hester assisted him in constructing this drum solution so he dedicated “Salt to the Sea” to the drummer.

Tim then asked the audience for requests. Austin is a bastion of Split Enz fans which led to a string obscure choices, I bit my tongue from blurting out the old fave “Time for a Change.” The crowd chuckled with “I Got You” being suggested. Tim laughed and responded, “It is my night y’know.” The pace picked back up with “So Precious,” “I See Red,” and “Persuasion.” Brett pointed out to Tim how he went out of order with the set list after they completed “Persuasion.” Tim apologized and made everyone chuckle by explaining how hard it is to settle down once the “Red” train leaves the gate. They closed out with “Horizon” and “It’s Only Natural.” He did come back on stage for two encores: “Driving Blind,” (another new one?) and “Shark Attack” on the first and “Winter Light,” and “Still the Song” for the second.

I was rather disappointed over him not doing any autographs or talking to the audience since I’ve waited over 20 years to meet him. But I was in the front row and really enjoyed the concert which still gives the experience an A+ rating. Besides, I’ve never had the opportunity to attend a meet n’ greet Duran Duran, They Might be Giants, etc.

Eileen and her nephew Nick.

Now to dovetail nicely into the opening performer, Eileen Rose. She was personally invited by Tim to accompany the tour. I feel he chose very wisely. Eileen was a very talented, witty performer. She explained after a couple songs that the young man on stage with her was her nephew Nick. Since she has a large family with over 30 nephews and nieces, she was allowed to recruit at least one to be in her band. They were both a treat to talk to after the show. Nick explained how Tim didn’t do autographs anymore: Tim is nice, cordial but he goes right to his hotel after shows and sound checks; he doesn’t dislike fans though. I think it has to do with his age and experience is my personal guess; he wants to manage his time better. She’s now on a record label owned/operated by Judy Collins. I asked if she actually met the singer. The answer was, yup, her entire family did and her father accidently called Judy “Joni” (thinking she was Joni Mitchell) Pretty funny.

Overall, another great experience at the Cactus Cafe with my friends Mark, his brother Scott, Mary and her daughter Jessica. I’m also excited about a new Tim Finn CD within a year and hunting down more of Eileen Rose’s material. It’s always great to stumble upon more music.

Eileen and Nick after the show. They hope to be back for SXSW.

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Maggi Updates for mid February 2008

Yesterday was hectic from when I got out of bed until I finally returned to sleep, thus I didn’t get any serious writing finished, namely Molly Ringwald’s big 4-0. It was also one of those good-new-bad-news days.

Good News: My first visit to the dentist in two years was a relative success. I don’t have any holes or new cavities and although my gums are still awful, the worst I had were a few sixes and fives on the recession scale: 1-3 is good, 4-6 is bad, 7-10 is awful. How can sixes be good? Two years ago, I had at least a pair of eights and some sevens. When it comes to my teeth, I’ll take any kind of victory I can get. Meanwhile, I’m back to spending some Mondays at Dr. Alice’s going through another run of planing and scaling to salvage things. You will all be relieved that there will not be any new pictures of my rotten, extracted teeth posted here.

Bad News: Somara didn’t fare as well with her doctor’s appointment. Her situation is serious enough to require surgery which is scheduled during the first week of March. I have her covered through my insurance plus I have enough reserves to tackle the deductible. What I’m dreading will be my provider nickeling and diming me on every little thing. I haven’t seriously worked with UHC on something as expensive. After I got screwed in 1996 by PCC’s sleazy insurance, I’m always suspicious. We all should be since the insurance industry’s goal is to make a profit, not to guarantee a person’s physical or financial health. Our Las Vegas vacation is definitely cancelled.

Good News II: The next phase of my future project took its next step.

Good News III: With Jeremy’s assistance, the upgrade surgery on Anje’s iMac G4 1 GHz was a mixed success. I was going to go through all the grief of upgrading the RAM in both sockets but Jeremy found a sweet 1 GB module for $70 to put in the more accessible spot. Then we had the 300 GB hard drive put in to replace the puny 80 GB it was built with.

Bad News II: We couldn’t get the iMac to boot from the 10.5 DVD. After metaphorically tearing our hair out, we called it a night and I’ll be tweaking it some more on my next whole day off. I’m confident the OS will install by hook or by crook, it boots from CDs and other DVDs.

Neutral News: In preparation for the worst-case scenario with Somara’s situation, I have been shuffling the money around: my savings, our vacation fund, extrapolating other sources, etc. Jeremy was generous enough to buy Somara’s old G4 tower because he wanted it for its PCI-card ability. He also let me keep the 802.11b AirPort card from it; they used to go for over $100, they’re averaging $35 on eBay from a quick glance, it’ll still is used on her operation first. Never fear, Somara will not be going without a desktop computer. I am giving her my “better” G4 tower with a 23” LCD display and I’ll do without it my office as I tend to do way more on this superior MacBook. Since it has USB 2.0, I scored a couple Mac Mini-style enclosures for $20 apiece to put an old 160 GB and 80 GB into; they’ll be my expansions when in my office on the MacBook. The other extension of odd logic is this: with the bigger computer setup off my desk in my office, I’ll make more progress on cleaning up the messy space.

That’s the long, long version of what happened on Monday. Please send words of encouragement to Somara too. I’m doing what I can but she’ll get tired of my voice, everyone loves variety.

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Happy 40th Birthday Molly Ringwald

Yeah, yeah. I whipped something up on my site to make the deadline for her birthday. But I think the only people who got messed with were those who can actually get the RSS feed element to work, figured if anything was amiss from the people who tolerate my pitiful DSL upload, I would’ve received a nasty e-mail.

So rewind your mental watch as if I wrote this on time. (I’ll explain in another story why I was late and exhausted).

Twenty years ago, I used to think Molly was attractive and my type. However, even at 17, I knew I didn’t have a prayer with her, she was more of an archetype to aim for until I got into the swing of life at Marquette; I only dated (I think) one real redhead in my life and she turned out to be a real jerk.

What I used to like about Molly were the string of John Hughes’ films she starred in because it was refreshing to see an actual 16-year old person portraying a 16-year-old character instead of some actress in her early twenties with a size 34B chest. She had the angst, frustration and embarrassment down in Sixteen Candles, the drama and prudishness of a member of the ruling clique in The Breakfast Club and I can’t remember what she had going with Pretty in Pink. The last movie is the one with the best memories. Due my family’s recent move to North Dakota, we were behind the curve on the John Hughes’ run except for the Simple Minds tune being played to death in the Spring of 1985. After I had caught up on her previous work through cable or tape, I was hellbent on seeing Pretty in Pink as soon as it appeared in the Spring of 1986. Dad was generous enough to take me on a day trip into Bismarck to see it while we bought groceries. Looking back, I’m sure he was bored yet he was a good sport; I doubt I could be if my oldest niece dragged me into the theatrical release of Hanna Montana.

After Pink, Molly’s career took a nose dive with some awful choices: The Pick-up Artist, For Keeps?, Fresh Horses and Betsy’s Wedding. Meanwhile, her mother rejected Blue Velvet on her behalf because it was too weird and the part went to Laura Dern. There’s a blunder I’d never let my parents ever forget.

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Happy Birthday Sheila, wherever she is

I won’t divulge my friend’s age, that’s up to her to share because she’s a lady. What Sheila is up to on her birthday is a mystery to me since she hasn’t answered my letter or the card I sent. They haven’t been returned with any invectives, such as the case with my friend Lazz (another mystery I’m trying to solve).

It’s her birthday which should be a celebration so I want to focus on all the positive things she has brought to my life over our 21 years of friendship, even if it’s off and on. I originally only knew her slightly from Mrs. Lacy’s Latin II class at Clear Creek HS in League City, TX. Either Sheila has a steel-trap memory or I must have been memorable; she’s the one who introduced herself at the initial WMUR meeting because I never would’ve figured it out. During most of the Spring 1987 semester, I would drop by the radio station on Friday afternoons to check out the show she shared with Preacher Moss, this upper-classman who was very witty and had pull with the station management to guarantee he only had female interns. I didn’t go by to crowd their show, I think I was there unknowingly getting re-acquainted with Sheila to give myself some kind of mental anchor; all the changes in high school made me feel as if I didn’t have a base or past. I know, it’s a weird thing yet those are the best words I could find to explain it.

Outside of our friendship, she influenced my musical preferences slightly; the biggest one being everything but the girl which I originally found rather wimpy, something in the Barry Manilow camp. However, she was right about them all along, especially when their 1990 release became one of my all-time favorites. We also took in a couple shows together, oddly the one I usually remember was the Circle Jerks at the VFW and Imperial Drag in Houston. She’s very creative as well. I have some envelopes she created from magazine pictures in a box as souvenirs since I use e-mail, iChat and my page more often. But my favorite thing about her is her laugh and pleasant disposition. Unlike me, I’ve never recalled Sheila ever being in a nasty funk, depressed or feeling foul. I hope she hasn’t lost that outlook.

If you know her, wish her a happy birthday and tell her to drop me a line. I wanted to give her a more personal salutation. Who knows, maybe Sheila will poke me on Facebook like Cindy did or I’ll bump into her at the upcoming They Might be Giants show.

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A belated Caturday or is it Faturday?

Don’t let the source of this story fool you. Somara and I aren’t into UK celebrity gossip but when it comes to a cat weighing almost 30 pounds, we take notice. It definitely puts Molly’s weight issues into perspective (she runs around 10-11 and could drop one). A cat this obese has a problem with its metabolism or glands because outdoor/indoor animals receive plenty of exercise.

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Birthday cake as per Wyatt’s instructions

Obviously Wyatt picked out this year’s February birthday cake. I guess younger kids are suckered into the story line of Darth Vader being a sympathetic villain despite the millions of lives destroyed or ruined in his career as Emperor Palpatine’s right hand man. 
 
Somara isn’t too keen on this cake. I think it’s pretty nice for a good reason. It looks just like those cheap store-made cakes from the grocery store or sprawl marts, except this one is good tasting. It lacks the stale, freezer-burn quality I always dread when biting into them. As if covering it up with a half inch of frosting will disguise the sensation of eating cold cardboard. 
 
Wyatt ate a tad, once we assured him the toy in the southwest corner of the cake was his all along; he wanted to make sure his piece included it. Then he tried to emulate the Sith lord’s voice until I plugged in his gift, the first season of Ben 10 on DVD. Couldn’t get him to do “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

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Happy belated 60th Birthday Teller

After the show in 2003 at Rio. He can make the face upon command.

Mea Culpa: I know it was yesterday but Valentine’s Day is a hectic day, especially when it’s a work day. However, Teller’s birthday was important enough to write about since he hit an important milestone and he’s a part of American Pop Culture.

For years he has been the silent half of Penn & Teller but if you meet him in person usually after their awesome show in Las Vegas, he speaks. There’s also one magic trick he talks during…the one with the wood chipper. Somara and I had the honor of meeting him and Penn while on our honeymoon. When I learned about his past career as a high school Latin teacher, I greeted him with “Salve,” which was about all the conversational Latin I remembered (shows what a useless choice I made 20 years ago).

Besides being in a magic act, Teller does voice over work and has appeared as a member of the Witches’ Council in Sabrina and is the silent half of Rebo & Zooty on Babylon 5; probably Penn & Teller’s futuristic descendants.

And yes, his name is legally just Teller.

If you’re ever in Las Vegas, try to make the Penn & Teller show at the Rio. It’s worth every penny.

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Valentine treats 2008

Did everyone have a nice Valentine’s Day? That includes all the Single people, not just the Married and Involved couples. Besides Somara’s latest confectionary creations in the above photo, we had a pretty relaxing, memorable time. Definitely a more enjoyable holiday than the ones preceding what used to be Lupercalia; it doesn’t require so much shopping, decorating or “mandatory” parties. 
 
These little cakes [for a lack of a better term, they’re not tarts, no fruit] went over very well with their purchaser. Somara had some left over to give away to my co-workers and friends. I know they were a hit because I received requests for seconds as I hoarded one last cake to give Bryant during our lunch hour.

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Three cheers for Uno! Suck it toy poodles & border collies!

Hard to believe the winner was a “regular” dog instead of those useful, weird or annoying breeds. Then again, I don’t really follow the pet pageant silliness on cable; just means ESPN is desperate to fill time. It’s still cool to see a beagle get crowned because:

  • They’re fun, lovable dogs.
  • Our former neighbors across the street had one that was really friendly.
  • Snoopy is another famous one despite his odd coloring (only black and white).
  • My former roommate Chris had a very overweight beagle named Molly.
  • And finally, the young hero from the movie Cats & Dogs, Lou, is a beagle.

Think about this, no one has ever been mauled by one nor were any found at Michael Vick’s disgusting operation.

Now don’t take this the wrong way. I am never going to own a dog. Our cats would despise him/her, especially the cold, wet nose poking them in their butts. Dogs also can’t be left alone for even a day due to their toilet issues which is another problem I have with them; the backyard would automatically become a minefield of dog poop. Unless I became as discourteous as many residents of my neighborhood, let my dog go in everyone else’s yard and public sidewalk since IQ tests aren’t given when it comes to pet ownership.

Anyway, I wanted to plug Uno and cheer him on because he’s also a resident of the Austin area. Can’t you tell by his bark? The slight twang and the “I’ll tell you whut” look in his face. What’s next for the champ? Probably a walk in Zilker Park, dinner at the Shady Grove and a swim at Hippie Hollow; he’s already naked so he doesn’t mind.

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Happy 35th Birthday Tara Strong nee Charendoff

If you have watched as many contemporary cartoons as I have, with or without children, there probably aren’t too many animated shows without this talented lady. According to imdb Tara has been a voice actress since she was a teenager working on The Care Bears; well, one has to start somewhere. Much like her contemporaries Grey DeLisle, Carlos Alazraqui and Tom Kenny, she has been before the camera too with cameos in well-known shows: 3rd Rock from the Sun, Party of Five and Forever Knight. You probably wouldn’t recognize her since she was playing an adult, not a small boy, a teenage princess or a screaming wallaby.

Tara hit my radar through The Powerpuff Girls when she was the voice of Bubbles. Afterwards, the timbre of her voice/characters made her quickly identifiable when she moved on to be Timmy Turner, Dylan Pickles, Ember, Toot Braunstein and Ben Tennyson. Quick, first to answer in the Comments which shows these characters are from, without looking at imdb.com wins a noprize (or maybe a real prize). Deadline is 6 AM, Valentine’s Day, my time zone.

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Spring Cleaning 2008 and Maggi Updates

Ahh Spring! A time of new beginnings…after the ones from New Year’s that have fallen through. But this time, I mean it!

On a more serious note, I’m feeling somewhat better so I apologize if my written tone has been a tad morose or dour. You may recall our end-of-the-year health scare. Although Somara still doesn’t have cancer, she still needs some follow-through with a doctor to tackle the matters related to her well-being. It’s a rather routine matter many women experience, the iffy part will be how to treat it: surgery, medication, a change in lifestyle or some combination of all three. What the doctor determines will guide our finances. Due to the lack of information, I’ve had to cancel the Vegas Trip for this Summer. It remains over 160 days away (the goal of dates) and it could happen if Somara’s treatment is relatively inexpensive (when measured against a mortgage payment).

Don’t panic or worry. Somara is fine! The gears are in motion and I added her to my insurance at the end of 2007. I do want to thank all of you I have discussed this with. Your conversations have been invaluable to me and have raised my spirits, namely my co-worker/friend Bryant.

The happier note is that I’m expanding the Picayune staff by one, Somara will be my editor. It’ll work in the same manner the Onion’s AV Club does. She’ll e-mail (or tell me in person) the errors to the stories after they’re posted. It’s not the best system compared to my experience in print (GDW and The Milwaukee Sentinel) but the key to this site is immediacy. You are all still free to point out mistakes too, or opinions as some have been. How big was the staff? I think it has been me because Tom and Jose haven’t contributed anything in over a year. I did appreciate their writing as I felt it broadened the site’s perspective.

Regarding the Spring Cleaning element. Picayune is creeping up on 1000 entries by me since I started it in this fashion on July 2005. I’m thinking of altering the categories (again) and I know how to tweak the code on it so it will only display 10 stories at a time instead of 15. I plan to take its server offline for very overdue maintenance in the near future because I need to back it up, upgrade the OS to 10.4’s last incarnation and use a copy of its image to see how much 10.5 Server will alter it. I doubt the server will be make the jump, not enough RAM is the primary qualm.

The changes around the house are off to a better start. Somara and I will probably post some before and after pictures, namely the repair we need to do in the laundry room. I would also like to de-clutter my office and make it a productive area. Based upon my current writing habits, I think a restaurant booth will need to be installed. It works for John Swartzwelder, the man who has written the most episodes of The Simpsons. Twenty years ago I scoffed at Dr. Havice’s advice on finding my groove when it came to writing, might be why he has the PhD. I will be unloading beaucoup junk too. I miss how “mobile” I was when I left North Carolina. Ten years later I’ve accumulated a whole bunch of things I must ditch or it will drive me crazy for I am trying bring a Minimalism look to the common areas of the house. Our friend Leslee’s home is the template to follow.

Wish us luck across the spectrum and some leftovers when we do finally get to Las Vegas.

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Artistic Cat Toilets?

Somara discovered an awesome looking litter box on the Internet. Pretty inconspicuous but unfortunately, two of our cats like to take a dump on plants whenever they can. Still, this product is a neat attempt to marry function to form.

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Happy 9th Birthday TJ

He’s Paul & Helen Silder’s oldest kid and he seems to be doing well; wait until he’s a teenager, the real litmus test for parent-child relations. Helen says he becomes more and more like his father Paul every day. I don’t agree, I remember Paul having better self-discipline with studying. Who knows. Maybe there was a dark period of Paul’s academic career his DNA can’t hide. Now I know TJ is his son due to his dislike (he’s too young to hate) of the Green Bay Packers and the music Helen likes, or as he calls it, Mommy Music.

What’s up this year for the birthday boy? According to my last conversation with Helen, a slumber party. I don’t think there will be much rest in the Silder house this weekend as the kids will be up late watching TV, playing video games and rough-housing (a favorite word of my grandparents). As to the things he’s into for his age Helen has assured me that Star Wars is still a safe bet along with superheroes, video games and the Chicago teams. Hopefully the Josh & Drake card I sent him was considered cool since Rocket Power became passe a couple years ago.

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Sweeney Todd

Tim Burton is a frustrating director. He has made movies I’ve really liked: Ed Wood, Edward Scissorhands and Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. Then he countered with his horrid Batman flicks, Mars Attacks!; Sleepy Hollow, Beetle Juice plus the Willy Wonka and The Planet of the Apes remakes. After seeing his adaption of Sondheim’s infamous musical, I’ve concluded that if Burton is forced or compelled to follow a strong narrative with a well-thought-out ending, he can make a decent film. This version of Sweeney Todd is a very abbreviated presentation of the original 1979 musical: significant chunks of songs are removed, probably for time, yet it works for most audiences (aka, the masses) aren’t patient.

Fifteen years ago, Judge Turpin (Rickman) wanted a young Mrs. Barker for himself so he had Mr. Barker (Depp) sent to prison on trumped-up charges. Out of grief, Mrs. Barker poisoned herself instead of giving into the judge’s advances and the Barkers’ only child, Johanna, became Turpin’s ward. With his sentence completed, Barker returns to London and plots his revenge. He changes his name to Todd, opens a new barber shop on Fleet Street above Mrs. Lovett’s (Carter) bakery and challenges the best barber in London to attract customers. Eventually Turpin will come in for a shave and Todd will exact his revenge. It’s a harebrained scheme that only could work in a musical. Meanwhile, Lovett and Todd form their ghoulish pact regarding the meat pies which is what this story is most remembered for. Personally, I think Sondheim’s story is about destructive obsessions (Turpin and Todd), hate (Todd) and unrequited love (Lovett) because everyone suffers a horrible fate when it’s over.

As a movie, the big surprise is Sacha Baron Cohen as Pirelli, the “Italian” barber Todd defeats in a contest. Cohen’s part is small but he’s very funny. Depp, Carter and Rickman are pretty competent singers yet I don’t recall any of them doing much in the past other than Depp having a band in Nineties. Burton’s obvious touch is the look for Todd and Lovett. They’re so pale and pasty looking! Depp and Carter look like living versions of The Corpse Bride characters or the managers of a Hot Topic. I would have shortened the gore element though. I know it’s part of the story but after a couple of victims, the murders and their disposals make Sweeney Todd feel more like an Eli Roth film.

Worth Seeing? Not really. I’ve enjoyed musicals and this has piqued greater interest in Sondheim’s other material for me, because all I know adequately is A Funny Thing Happened… and a Bernadette Peters album. For other people, musicals are a dying genre so this will only appeal to Goth kids and fans of gorenography.

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