Dream Casting for The Night Circus

This is The Night Circus:

Erin Morgenstern's highly imaginative debut novel, which began as a NaNoWriMo project. Summit Entertainment bought movie rights to the book not long after its publication with Harry Potter producer David Heyman set to produce. No casting has been announced for the film yet, so in honor of NaNoWriMo I thought it would be fun to present my dream cast for the film:

Emma Watson as Celia Bowen

Iain De Caestecker as Marco Alasdair

Bryan Cranston as Hector Bowen (a.k.a. Prospero the Enchanter)

Alan Rickman as Alexander H.

Lily James as Isobel Martin

Johnny Depp as Chandresh Christophe Lefévre

Rila Fukushima as Tsukiko

Elle Fanning as Penelope "Poppet" Murray

Robbie Kay as Winston "Widget" Murray

Jared S. Gilmore as Bailey Clarke

Christoph Waltz as Herr Friedrick Thiessen

Kiera Knightly and Natalie Portman as Tara and Lainie Burgess

Dan Stevens as Ethan W. Barris

Shohreh Agdhashloo as Mme. Ana Padva

Director: Ang Lee

And there is my dream cast for an awesome film adaptation of The Night Circus.

How Frozen Should Have Begun

I've heard that Anton Chekhov's method of writing plays consisted of writing one act of the play and then throwing out the first three pages. I am currently reading a book on writing mystery novels, and the authors seem to agree that the best way to star a novel is in the middle of the action. The authors also agree that the beginning is the most important part of a novel because a good beginning hooks the reader and compels him/her to read on. Movies, like novels and plays, attempt to capture their audience to create enough interest to want to move forward. Also, it is important to be wary of sharing too much information right at the beginning of a book, play, or movie; it is the withholding of information that makes an audience want to uncover more.

With this in mind, I thought of the movie Frozen and how it could have benefited from throwing out the first few pages. I thought, what if the movie began with "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?" Here we see a conflict between two sisters and another conflict between a young woman and her parents. Then as the story unfolds, the prior events of Anna's accident could be revealed.

Or, better yet, what if the movie actually started with Elsa's coronation? And then, as the story progressed, the back story got worked in as well. For some reason, I made a connection between this method of opening a story to the Harry Potter books. When the first scene in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone opens, how much back story already occurred? A lot. And if J. K. Rowling revealed the whole back story right away, the elements of mystery and suspense that make the books so intriguing would be gone. However, as the story of Harry Potter continues throughout seven books, the back story is slowly revealed. Furthermore, the back story is so crucial that it moves the present events forward. Frozen definitely could benefit from a similar plot device.

Another benefit of Frozen opening in one of the suggested ways is that it would eliminate the "Frozen Heart" number, a song which makes absolutely no sense and does nothing to compliment the story. Beginning with "Do You Wanna Build A Snowman" paves the way for opening with a musical number that actually carries the story along, OR opening with Elsa's coronation makes way for a new musical number about the coronation which establishes setting and character.

Here are some great opening lines (both spoken and sung) from other Disney movies which make great hooks to capture an audience:

"Slave in the magic mirror, come from the farthest space." -Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

"Once upon a time in a far away land, a young prince lived in a shining castle." -Beauty and the Beast

"Oh, I come from a land from a far away place where the caravan camels roam." -Aladdin

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba" ("Here comes a lion, Father") -The Lion King

"This is the story of how I died." -Tangled

Compare these with "Born of cold and winter air and mountain rain combining, this icy force both foul and fair has a frozen heart worth mining." Nope, I don't get it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a Frozen hater. I enjoyed the movie and bought it when it was released on DVD; however, there is room for improvement. Luckily, Frozen will come to Broadway in the near future, so the writers have the opportunity to make the beginning more enticing.

On Bullying

"What kind of world do you want?

Think anything,

Let's start at the start,

Build a masterpiece.

Be careful what you wish for;

History starts now."

-Five For Fighting, "World"

This post is in response to this picture one of my friends posted on Facebook a few weeks ago:

As I thought about it, the more I was able to see the validity in the argument. In the past few years, I've seen a lot of stuff going around the internet about bullying and bullying prevention. My thoughts as I read these articles/blogs were "AMEN!" and "I wish this stuff was around when I was a kid." Being bullied is a terrible experience and it is not something I would wish on anyone. Also, being bullied as a child can lead to harsh, negative effects that can last a lifetime. It can make children feel useless and worthless, and I've heard it said that we can never really escape the things we learn in childhood. For these reasons I am a strong advocate of bullying prevention.

However, just like everything else, there is a flip side. Schools can create all of the anti-bullying rules they want, but if someone really wants to bully another person, rules will not stop him/her. We have laws against murder, theft, and rape, but laws themselves do not prevent people from doing them. We can pass whatever laws we want, enforce them however we want, and punish the perpetrators any way we want. But that will never stop anybody.

As I said before, we (theoretically) cannot escape what we learn in childhood. If children learn how to stand up for themselves and/or cope, then they will carry those lessons with them for life. The thing is that life is hard. (Shocking, I know.) We won't always have school rules to protect us, and we won't always have other people to rely on for support when life (or people) try to bring us down. As we help children stand up for themselves and cope, then we are preparing them for the real world, and they will be stronger and better off for it. 

I fully understand that there are certain personality types that do not easily allow people to stand up for themselves or cope, but that is all the more reason to push for teaching strategies to help children take a stand and/or cope. Personalities are inconstant and malleable. If you think that personalities do not change, I'm willing to bet your personality is different from your 4-year-old, 12-year-old, 17-year-old, etc. selves. Furthermore, bullies target those who appear weak to them, such as kids who feel powerless to stand up for themselves or cope with the situation. And these are the people who most need to learn to take a stand and/or cope, and learning to cope and stand up for yourself are valuable life skills to learn.

I should know; I naturally have one of those personalities. Elementary and middle schools were hell on earth for me because of the bullying I experience. Although my school pushed anti-bullying campaigns, they had no effect. In my fifth grade year, my school incorporated a program called "Peacebuilders" aimed to prevent bullying, and I saw more fights break out that year than in any other school year. For the longest time, I considered myself a victim. I thought my experiences with bullying crippled me and made me less able to succeed. I never learned to cope as a kid and I was too afraid to stand up for myself (which is another thing anti-bullying rules indirectly teach: if you stand up for yourself you will suffer the same consequences as the bullies even though standing up for yourself and bullying are too completely different things). It took me twenty-six years to overcome some of those effects, and I'm not sure if I've fully overcome. As a child, I never learned to take a stand or cope. I learned how to sulk, which is different from coping. It may have taken m a long time to overcome, but overcome I did and I am much better off because of it. Had I learned this at a younger age, I could have been better off at a younger age.

Whether you're a parent or a teacher, let us not teach our children to be victims. Let us teach our children to be strong. Let us teach them the valuable life lessons of taking a stand and dealing with hardships.

Dream Casting for "Into the Woods"

So, last week I revealed my dream casting for Les Miz, and with the upcoming film version of Into the Woods, I can't help but think who I would love to see in the show if Into the Woods were to return to Broadway any time soon. So, here is my ideal cast for an Into the Woods revival:

The Witch: Victoria Clark
As I watched Victoria Clark perform the part of Cinderella's Fairy Godmother during the Cinderella performance at the Tony Awards I thought, "You know she would make a great witch!" And she would. She has the vocal and acting chops for the role as well as great comedic timing.

The Baker's Wife: Kelli O'Hara
I've been a big Kelli O'Hara fan ever since The Light in the Piazza. She has a marvelous voice and great acting ability, both of which would suit the role of The Baker's Wife wonderfully.

The Baker: Matthew Morrison
If I had to choose a Baker that would provide a strong counterpart to Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison would be at the top of the list. The couple worked wonderfully in The Light in the Piazza and South Pacific and working together in Into the Woods would top both of those performances. Furthermore, Morrison has a wonderful voice and a charming sense of humor which would make him a delightful Baker.

Cinderella: Laura Osnes
Laura Osnes is currently playing Cinderella in Rogers + Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway and does a pretty great job of it. If she still wanted to play the character of Cinderella, but with a slight twist, then Into the Woods is the way to go. I would also love to hear her sing the songs for Cinderella in Into the Woods. However, if Osnes is tired of playing Cinderella, I'd love to see Emma Watson tackle the role in Into the Woods.

Little Red Riding Hood: Lea Michele
Do I really need to explain this one? It's Lea Michele!












                         

The Princes: Eddie Redmayne (left) and Steve Kazee (right)
I love Steve Kazee in Once (for which he receive a well-deserved Tony) and I loved Eddie Redmayne in the Les Miz film. I think the pair would complement each other very well, and I would love to hear them sing "Agony" together.

Rapunzel: Sierra Boggess
Compared to the other female roles, Rapunzel could be a thankless role - it's smaller than the other roles and she doesn't do much singing except for a few coloratura "Ah's" here and there, although you need a pretty awesome soprano to sing them, which is why we need Sierra Boggess. Furthermore, the role of Rapunzel is a great acting role as she goes from sweet, innocent ingenue to crazy madwoman. Once again, which is why we need Sierra Boggess.

As for the other roles, such as Jack, Jack's mother, the stepmother, stepsisters, etc. I'm not sure on, but if you have any suggestions, feel free to leave a comment!

My Les Miz Dream Cast

Hey Guys!

There is a lot of hype surrounding the return of Les Miz to Broadway in 2014. As cliche as it sounds, Les Miz is my favorite musical. I saw the show at the Pantages Theatre in L.A. back in 2004 and it totally blew my mind. The music, acting, and singing was dynamic and enthralling. It was an experience I shall never, ever forget.

Anyways, with the hype surrounding a 2014 revival of Les Miz, many theatre-savvy folks are discussing their ideal casts for the revival, and I figured I'd throw in my two-cents worth (although when you think about the broad scope of the internet, it's probably worth .000000000000000000000000000001 of a cent, if that).

Without further ado, here is my dream cast for Les Miz:

Jean Valjean: Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin is one of those performers people either love or hate. Personally, I love him (okay, I don't like him in Evita, but he is wonderful in Sunday in the Park with George and The Secret Garden). I have wanted to hear Patinkin sing the role of Valjean since listening to the OBC recording of The Secret Garden back in 2003. His high falsetto notes in "Race You to the Top of the Morning" reminded me of the same high falsetto notes in "Bring Him Home." However, it is highly unlikely that Patinkin will appear in the role, since he was a Broadway All-Star during the initial run of Les Miz and has yet to play the part, and he may be considered "too old" for the role. But, hey, this is my dream cast, and I'm gonna dream!

Javert: Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris is one of the best Broadway baritones out there. He was phenomenal in shows like Tommy, Titanic, Sweeney Todd, and Assassins. I think he would be a Javert powerhouse!

Marius: Josh Groban
Josh Groban's Broadway debut is looooooooooooooong overdue, and I think Marius would be the perfect role for him. I first got into Josh Groban's music my freshman year of college, and I remember listening to his stuff and thinking, "This guy would make a great Marius!" I've stuck to my opinion, and I would walk to New York to hear him sing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables."

Fantine: Christiane Noll
Christiane Noll is one of my favorite Broadway performers. She has a beautiful, clear voice that can sustain a beautiful, soaring soprano as well as a strong belt (listen to her sing "Back to Before" from Ragtime). Similar to the Josh Groban story above, I've been yearning to her her sing the part of Fantine since I first listened to the OBC recording of Jekyll and Hyde, and I haven't given up on that dream yet!

Eponine: Laura Osnes
Years ago I remember watching You're the One that I want, and although I liked Laura, I was never over the moon about her. However, over the years she has sustained a steady and successful career, showing off her versatility as a classic soprano and powerful belter. When I first listened to "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" from Bonnie and Clyde, I thought, "Man, I would LOVE to hear her belt out 'On My Own!'" I really hope it happens!

Cosette: Emma Watson
I've never heard Emma Watson sing, but I know she was considered for the role of Cosette in the movie, and I am confident that she could have done a much better job than Amanda Seyfried (seriously, I've yet to meet anyone who liked her in the film). Emma Watson has stated before that she would love to be on Broadway, and I think she could add more depth to Cosette than what we've seen in the past.

Enjolras: Aaron Tveit
I thought he did great in the movie, and I would love to see what he would do with the role on stage.

Thenardier: ?
Seriously, I have no idea. I'm open to suggestions on this one.

Mme Thenardier: Victoria Clark
I know you're probably thinking WHAT? But hear me out. Before making a splash on Broadway with her classic soprano vocals in The Light in the Piazza, Victoria Clark played some smaller character roles on Broadway such as Smitty in How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying and Alice in Titanic. I think she would be both hilarious and powerful as the vicious Mme. Thenardier, and provide a strong counterpart to whoever plays Thenardier.

Well, that's it folks. As I implied before, it's all highly unlikely that any of this will happen, but I will continue to dream on.