mtv music, where have you been all my life?

MTV has launched new site MTV Music, featuring pretty much every music video you can possibly think of. 26 different Hall & Oates videos... I know what I'm doing tonight.

Wassup 2008

I gotta say I'm surprised that Spring Awakening is closing. I guess my brain is not surprised - a lot of shows are struggling with this shitbowl economy - but my heart just can't believe that it's over. Hype or not, it is a really special show, and I'll be sad to see it go.

Speed-the-Plow

Things I liked about Speed-the-Plow, in preferential order:

1. Raul Esparza's fiery and funny performance. He is far and away the best part of the show. Somebody give this man a Tony for chrissake. This is worth seeing just for him.
2. Elizabeth Moss and Jeremy Piven, who are both also phenomenal, if not as absolutely pitch-perfect as Esparza. Piven is strong as always. Moss completely demonstrates her talent as a first-rate actress, but suffers from a character who is the least compassionately - or skillfully - drawn in the play.
3. The direction, which maximizes the biting energy of the play and creates a thrill ride for the audience.
4. The play itself. The above elements make for fun theater, but ultimately, the play is a little anemic and spends far too long indulging in (and mocking) hippie-dippy philosophy. Also, David Mamet's distaste for women reads a little too loudly in the script. Nevertheless, it's fun theater that's very well acted.

These truthful TV titles are genius.

Wig Out!

I didn't loooove Wig Out!, but I feel like I should have. Chalk it up to a bad night. The wind was howling, the theater was freezing cold, and most New Yorkers were at home watching the Palin/Biden debate, not out at the theater. Those few that were at the Vineyard that night didn't seem to know what they were in for, and when the scantily clad black drag queens sauntered down the on-stage catwalk, the reaction was more "huh?" than "you go girl!" So while I might not have had a fire lit under me as much as I should have by this play, I can still testify that Wig Out! is funny, smart, and completely outrageous, with a lot of style and a lot of attitude. It's smart, complex performances range from total camp pastiche to the real depths of ugly, honest human emotion. Go with your friends and have a few drinks beforehand. It's not often that a play is so outrageously funny and also intellectually challenging.

Wig Out! is playing at The Vineyard through November 16th.

Brokenhearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy coming to Broadway

As rumored, Once is being developed for the stage. Variety reports that the independent film, which won an Oscar last year for Best Original Song, will hit Broadway in the 10-11 season. I loved the film for its easy simplicity, and while the idea of broadway-izing it makes me nervous, this sounds enticing:

Musical will likely include songs from the film’s platinum-selling soundtrack along with others penned by Hansard and Irglova that did not make it into the film.

Zollo said he expected the show be an intimate musical on a scale similar to “Spring Awakening,” probably playing a Broadway house of about 1,000 seats.

Plans by producers John N. Hart Jr., Jeffrey Sine and Frederick Zollo sound pretty interesting, including a revival of THE FRONT PAGE with a man and a woman in the lead roles. They optioned Once a year ago, before the buzz took off, and they've produced great films, so perhaps this is one of those rare film-to-broadway moves we can feel good about.

And if you still haven't seen this film, please, please don't be deterred by the snobby indie buzz. It's one of my favorite films, a sweet, funny, quietly heartbreaking little movie with beautiful songs and characters you can't help falling in love with.

Oooh, this looks like a brilliant idea!!

Hollywood funny man Will Ferrell will make his Broadway debut taking on departing U.S. President George W. Bush in a new Broadway one-man show, according to The New York Times. You’re Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush. will start performances on January 20—Bush’s final day in office—at the Cort Theatre and open on February 1. The limited engagement will play through March 15.

do you love the dance?

I swung by Therapy on Monday for the Jeff Shade Dance Project Fundraiser. If you don't know Jeff Shade, you will, because he is about to be huge in the choreography scene. His work is joyfully inventive, and if you don't believe me, you can go take his class at Steps and see for yourself. I, for one, can't dance worth a damn, but do I love the dance? Oh hell yes. And when Jeff Shade pumps up the Liza Minnelli, I am the greatest star!!! At least I feel that way.

Highlights of the evening included watching Ms. 4thFloorNYC win not one, not two, but THREE raffle prizes without cheating, an auction for free dance classes escalating to a full-fledged dance-off, and an on-fire, down-and-dirty performance by Joe Iconis (surprisingly cute!) & friends. The boys performed a few tunes from Joe's "theatrical rock concert" THINGS TO RUIN, coming up at the Zipper in a few weeks. A little piano pounding and rousing whiskey-soaked choruses, and the whole audience was singing along. T2R is going to be a fun show.

Speaking of Joe Iconis, anybody catch The Black Suits star Krysta Rodriguez on Gossip Girl this week? Girlfriend totally sucked face with Chace Crawford! I bet Krysta does a mean Liza. Just sayin.

Beyonce loves Gwen Verdon

By now, you've probably seen this, but if you haven't, it's genius:



That's right, it's wig-nodding, hip-popping fosse fun! But now, check out Beyonce's video for her new song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)"...



Holy Cow, thems some similar moves, with or without the white pantsuit!

Update: When asked about the video on BET, Beyonce said she was inspired by the original "Mexican Breakfast" video on youtube and wanted to see if she could attempt it herself.

(thanks for the tip, gus23)

The stock market may be crashing and burning, but here's one thing to smile about: During Frantic Trading, Rick Santelli Finds Toupee on Trading Floor.

Adding insult to injury for the owner of the apparently denuded head, Erin Burnett adds, "Wow, it has a bad part-line, too."

Dream Captcha

The Dream Captcha is getting quite a bit of attention on the web from Moxie favorite blogs like BoingBoing, Neatorama, Gizmodo, and Unpluggd - yeah, I'm a nerd. Pictured above, artist Jeffrey Augustine Songco (aka my good friend and twitter buddy Gus23) explains that "Dream Captcha is a play on the idea of a traditional Ojibwa dreamcatcher and the technology of CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart)." Get it? Hang this above your bed, and your dreams will be free from those pesky ads for cheap pharmeceuticals and offers for larger naughty bits! Or hang it over your computer for the gift of spam-free "sleep". Hilarious, and as Heidi would say, "Beautifully Made!"

A hopeful preview of tonight's debate

Katie Couric has a good video of Palin and Biden's different views on Roe V. Wade. Watch to the end for an added bonus scene where Palin can't name a single other supreme court ruling. When I talked to my mom (a NJ schoolteacher) about it, she named a couple cases she remembered off hand. Maybe SHE should run for VP! She'd be a damn fine leader, and her glasses are way cuter than Palin.

Just got a call from someone at intermission of the Billy Elliot invited dress, "RUN and see this," they're telling me...