This happens to be from the last ever performance of Wicked! by Kristin Chenoweth, who was the very first, very original Glinda. Its so sad to watch the two actresses, who bonded so well, had so much chemistry together, sing this song for the very last time together. Its so apt.
Why doesn't anyone like Glinda? She's quite pitiful too, stuck in her eternal cycle of being a slave for the system. And honestly, I am probably more like her than Elphaba.
This happens to be one of the best songs (if not the best) in Wicked!. Its so touching, and the lyrics are amazing. Perfect for graduation ceremonies and celebrating friendships.
"Because I knew you, I have been changed for good." Sigh.
OMG, if you are a fan of the musicals Wicked! and Avenue Q, you have to watch this! Trekkie and Kate Monsters singing one of the funnier songs from Wicked! Its so freakin' funny! I love the original West End cast of Avenue Q, they have so much god damn chemistry! It takes so much chemistry to be able to get this act together, the well timed hesitations and the cross fire singing. Amazing.
"Don't be offended by my frank analysis, think of it as personality dialysis!" I love this freakin' line!
"Is there anybody here It doesn't suck to be? It sucks to be me!" - 'It Sucks To Be Me', Avenue Q
Yes. The addiction persists.
Thanks to wonderful Woochiao, I now have the whole soundtrack of Avenue Q on my Ipod. And its hard to concentrate on Robbins when you have the cast telling you how much life sucks. To which I feel like telling them 'Your lives suck? I hearing you correctly?!?'
But then again, if I could choose something to distract me from studying, I'll rather it be the songs from the fantastic Avenue Q. The songs make me happy, and you realise that all your problems, don't matter, because 'Everything in life is only for now!'
"Each time you smile It'll only last awhile Life may be scary But it's only temporary" - "For Now", Avenue Q
And on another note, I find myself having less inspiration to blog. I dunno if its a bad thing actually, it just means that I have been quite satisfied with the way life's been progressing of late, so much so I have nothing much to rant or be emo about. Then again, it means that I have nothing interesting to think and contemplate about, which makes me feel weird and strange because its been the longest time since I had a heart to heart with the other person(s) lying dormant inside me. Its like I've been domesticated or something.
Avenue Q is addictive! Every night, I come home to listen to the tracks online, or watch youtube videos about it, and I laugh like nobody's business. So funny!
My favourite character is Trekkie Monster! He is so funny! I'm suddenly inspired to take up puppeteer lessons! And of course to fly to Broadway or the West End to watch Avenue Q! Woo hoo!
Thanks to Woochiao, I am addicted to songs and videos of the hit Tony Award winning broadway musical, 'Avenue Q'! As you will see later, its like an adult parody of Sesame Street. Its super hilarious, and the puppets are amazingly cute! The puppeteers are so damn talented, the lyrics are so funny and cheeky! The songs are amazing! The musical's so in-your-face, it talks about issues that everyone knows are there, but just won't talk about, stuff like racism, homosexuality and pornography! There's even a sex scene between puppets, and full puppet nudity! To get a feel of just how amazing this musical can be, just look at some of the song titles - stuff like 'It Sucks to Be Me', 'The Internet is For Porn', 'Everybody's A Little Bit Racist', 'If You Were Gay' etc. It is hilarious I tell you, and very very funny and intelligent.
The opening song: "It Sucks To Be Me' - I love the part where Christmas Eve (that's the name of the character played by the slightly punchy Japanese lady) sings 'I say it sukasukasukasuka sukasukasukasuka SUKS!' Hilarious!
Another hilarious song called "If You Were Gay"! Its quite famous actually, and what I love most of this performance is the amazing puppetry! Just look at it! Amazing! I actually feel like learning this song and singing it to some of my friends who are... erm. Yeah. Muahahahahaha!
"You're A Little Bit Racist"! When I first heard this song on Woochiao's car, I was immediately blown away because a musical that dares to talk about this sensitive topic is amazing! AMAZING! It talks about stuff that no one dares to talk about! But yeah, listen to the lyrics, it says everything it needs to.
The last number "For Now"! They only start singing til the 3rd minute or so, so fast forward if you want to! My favourite part - when the cast screams "George Bush! Its only FOR NOW!" Woo Hoo! HOW TRUE MAN! When I first heard it in Woochiao's car, I went berserk too! WAY TO GO AVENUE Q!
I can't stop singing 'It sucks to be meeeee~! It sucks to be meeeeee~!' now!
I just came back from my trip to the Esplanade, where I caught the Royal Shakespeare Company's (RSC) performance of 'The Seagull', a rather famous tragic comedy written by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. With tickets costing 172 dollars each, this was probably the most expensive play that I have ever paid for with my own savings. I usually go for the 80-90 dollar tickets, but unfortunately, they were sold out.
Accompanying me on my trip where Eileen and Xinhui. I think I speak for the 3 of us when I say that neither of us are avid theatre fans. Its true that I have watched my fair share of musicals and concerts and stuff, but I never really got the opportunity to watch much theatre. So I'm glad I made the effort (and shoulder the cost!) to go watch 'The Seagull', though I must admit, the whole draw of the play wasn't that I knew about the play or whatever, but it was more to watch Sir Ian McKellen acting in it.
For those who don't know who Sir Ian McKellen is, he starred as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Magneto in the X-men Trilogy. When he isn't filming movies, Sir Ian's real passion is in theatre, especially Shakespearean theatre. He's here in S'pore from 19th to 22nd July, to star in 'King Lear' and to play a supporting role in 'The Seagull'. We wanted to catch 'King Lear' but tickets were already sold out by the time we made up our minds about going, which was a pity because we met a lady today who happened to watch 'King Lear' last night, and apparently it was darn good, and Sir Ian was on stage 98% of the time, working his magic. But oh well, we had to settle for 2nd best. But at least he did have quite a meaty role in 'Seagull', so we did get a chance to watch quite a lot of his magic.
The play was good. But it was so awfully dark. I think the 3 of us were quite confused initially, because there were so many characters and so many events happening that it was all very disorientating. But after awhile, we managed to sorta keep up with events and followed the proceedings quite carefully. It was a thought provoking plan, very dark and disturbing, very melancholic, but always humorous and funny (quite a feat considering the dark nature of the storyline). The acting was the most captivating thing about the play. The RSC has a great ensemble, everyone was perfect and quite convincing in their roles. But of course, my personal favourite was Sir Ian, who's portrayal of the eccentric old man Sorin was so endearing that I just couldn't help thinking that he was just a Dumbledore in Muggle clothing.
Funny thing happened at the end of the play. Eileen didn't hear the last lines of the play because she was focusing on the wrong thing. Instead of listening to the actors speaking out the last two lines of the play (which sorta revealed the fate of the protagonist), she was too caught up with a candle props being extinguished and one of the actresses laughing, so much so that she didn't realise that the play had ended. As such, she left the theatre totally oblivious to what had just happened, and how the story ended. Xinhui and I were totally amused, and spent the whole journey back to the MRT station trying to explain what she had missed and what the ending was about. It was hilarious - I really don't think you should spend 172 dollars on a play and not understand the ending of it. *Chuckle*
I still think it was a pity that we couldn't catch Sir Ian in his full glory in 'King Lear'. What a waste.
"No more talk of darkness, forget these wide eyed fears, I’m here, nothing can harm you, My words will warm and calm you,
Let me be your freedom, let daylight dry your tears, I’m here, with you, beside you, To guard you and to guide you
All I ask is every waking moment, Turn my head with talk of summertime, Say you need me with you now and always, Promise me, that all you say is true, That’s all I ask of you.
Let me be your shelter, let me be your light, You’re safe, no one will find you, Your fears are far behind you.
All we need is freedom, a world that’s warm and bright And you, always beside me, To hold me and to hide me.
Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime, Let me lead you from your solitude, Say you need me with you here beside you, Anywhere, you go let me go too That’s all I ask of you
Say the word and I will follow you Share each day with me each night each morning Say you feel the way I do That’s all I ask of you
Anywhere you go let me go too Love me, that’s all I ask of you" - 'All I Ask Of You', from The Phantom of the Opera
I went with my mom, godmother and cousin to watch the Phantom of the Opera at the Esplanade today! "Phantom" is one of the most beloved musicals ever produced, and watching it today, its easy to see why. It has to be one of the best musicals I've ever watched, on par with "Miss Saigon" and just a little better than "The Lion King"... and much much better than the rest.
It has AMAZING sets. They were so damn impressive: Huge movable chandelier, amazing underground dungeons, huge airy halls of an opera house, fake stream with hundreds and hundreds of twinkling candle lights. Oh fantastic. The moment it started, you were really transported into 19th century France still obsessed with Opera.
It has really good costumes, and quite a stunning cast. The cast can really sing, unlike some other casts of other musicals... this cast really have the vocal prowess, really impressive singing. Important too because of the fact that 'Phantom' has got to be the musical with the BEST SCORE. It was just such a pleasure to hear the cast belting out tune after tune of the most delightful music pieces ever... songs like 'Angel of Music', 'Phantom of the Opera', my favourite 'Music of The Night', 'Masquerade' and of course the duet above 'All I Ask Of You'.
I decided to post the duet here instead of 'Music of The Night'. Which is kinda weird because I've been obsessed with the later for a long time now; it was and still is, my favourite song from the musical... such a beautiful piece of music, haunting, tragic, seductive. But 'All I Ask Of You' stood out for me today. When I was watching the muscial, this particular piece really struck a cord in me. 'Love me, that's all I ask of you'. So true, so true.
Before the show started, my mom kept asking me if 'Phantom' was supposed to be a tragedy. I guess it depends really... on who's point of view you were speaking from. Considering the fact that our supposedly hero and heroine managed to live 'happily ever after' in the end, I guess you can hardly consider it a tragedy. But, if you are someone (like me) who tends to root for the villain/underdog/tragic misfit, which in this case would be the Phantom, then yes, the show is most definitely a tragedy. I heart misfits and villains. I really do. There's a reason why I'm so obsessed over them, people like Lord Voldemort, people like Gollum and Saruman, people like the Joker, Doctor Octopus, Lex Luthor, people like Hannibal Lector, people like the Phantom. I guess its just the whole 'rooting for the underdog, hoping they win and fight the oppression from society thing.' I've always had a desire to fight for those who were not necessary accepted by society. I always had a desire to make a difference to their lives, to try to help them even if they may not want my help, to try and understand them and let them know, they really aren't alone in their solitude, their darkness.
Maybe that's why I'm drawn to psychiatry. Because I want to help people who are associated with the stigma of being mad.
Oh well. That's just me being a tad bit idealistic. But its important to hold that ideal with me as I fight on to make it as a doctor. To believe in the ideals of what medicine can do... to just do more than save lives, but also to change lives. Oh Bailey, I'll have you as my resident anytime. =p
Great day today people. Pity I didn't really get down to the studying I was supposed to do. But I guess, I'll still be able to manage it. Stay sane folks! =)
Physiology was traumatizing. *enter - evilmode* Curse you Mr Tongchai, whoever you are, I hope your lower limbs never get fixed! *exit - evilmode*
I don't understand how I get affected every year, just by going back to watch 黄城 again. I would have thought that 2 years would be enough to make me forget and given me the closure needed to move on. But in march every single year, the same problem arises again. Its always questions. Questions, and no answers. I think if I had done so many things differently, chosen to just seize the moment, and not be so indecisive and ham-haw my way through life, I would have gone down a totally different path and be living a totally different life right now. Which is why I've been absent-mindedly becoming more and more impulsive and reckless these days. I think less before I say stuff and do stuff, which is good. Because I never again want to look back and regret not doing this and that, not taking that chance because you were afraid that everything would be different, everything would change.
Its such a stupid excuse for cowardice. Not doing anything just because you are afraid that everything would be different, everything will change. Maybe we need the stability to keep things going. The expectations to keep us alive. But its the unexpected, that truly changes our lives. For better or for worse.
Its official. Come the end of this year/early next year, I will be homeless. Green Meadows, is history. Its gonna be torn down and we'll be evicted. Nevermind that we get money for that... The place I grew up in for the past 20 darn years of my life, is gonna be reduced to some play-world for the filthy rich. I'll miss this worn down place that I call home.
I think the big fella up there is teaching me a lesson on speaking too fast. He's been making me eat my words over the past week or so. Its been rather frustrating.
First it was me commenting to my mom that I haven't had any ulcers for this particular stressful pre-CA season. Next thing I know, I'm having a massive, painful ulceration on my right lower lip. Argh.
Then it was me telling some of my friends on Sunday that we aren't moving anymore because the deal was not successful. And now what happens? Woke up this morning to my Dad flashing the documents in my face, saying we really have to move out. Argh.
Then there was me telling people that Genetics will never be tested in essays. And lo-and behold! It was tested as question 1 in the rather disastrous biochem paper as well. Argh.
For the remainder of the week, I shall not bet, swear to do something, or make any promises. They'll surely backfire on me.
I dunno what else to say anymore. Except karma's a bitch.
Update: Okay, the big fella up there is SERIOUSLY trying to tell me something here. I just found out from Gerard that Liang FY is in the papers! For discovering some gene that controls myelination in oligodendrocytes, and they just made him an A/P! OMG. SERIOUSLY? They made the man that screwed up the whole of trunk for my anatomy group an ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR?
For 16 dollars, I relived my life as a JC student. For 16 dollars, I revisited the institution that took up one and a half years of my JC life.
And, like always, the best part was always the same old song sung at the end.
For a moment, I managed to escape the drudgery of life. And then the curtains came down, the lights came on, the people filled out, and it was back to reality. And reality sucks.
Name: voldemort33
XY, 01/06/1987, s'porean typical geminian free-thinker moody & eccentric thinks far too much for his own good med student (be afraid. be very afraid!) demon45_6f@hotmail.com
crazy craves
music (jazz, rock and lounge) day-dreaming drawing & photography animals (sheep!) chocolate and tea! seafood, noodles and soup!
pet peeves
noisy crowds over-possessive, insecure, whiny people two-faced hypocrites housework and homework being called 'rich' rushing to do stuff crying, pesky kids
deepest darkest desires! (aka wishlist!)
to be a doctor (with a heart of gold!) a dog my own condo apartment a driving license and my own four wheel drive my own comic line someone to hug
