Audio Beaverhausen: Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes

Idina Menzel's Holiday Wishes (Warner Brothers) is a Christmas album of unadulterated and unabashed Yuletide hooey. Here we have an assortment of the standard Christmas numbers ("White Christmas," "The Christmas Song"), for the most part, with some newer, but nonetheless already well-canvased, ones like covers of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and Joni Mitchell's "River."

The first song on the album is the carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Ms Menzel attacks it, as she does every other track on Holiday Wishes, with overly eager intensity. How can we help but hear! Her style, while perfectly suited for Broadway pop musicals, is an awkward fit for a holiday recording. Brought to bear on "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," it's positively unnerving. Idina Menzel's voice is that of a Broadway belter combined with the pop melismatic, tremulous stylings a'la Whitney or Beyonce. Should that be suited to your musical sensibilities, the album will be a smorgasbord for your ears, but others may have reason to beware.

Menzel's duet with Michael Buble on (you guessed it) "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is the lamest version of this venerable tune I've yet to hear. Bereft of any sense of sincerity or, even more simply, playfulness, it's as chilly as the weather described in Frank Loesser's lyrics. "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" contains some awkward phrasing and little else to distinguish itself. (What I'll be doing New Year's Eve will be avoiding hearing this particular cover of the pop classic.) "When You Wish Upon a Star" (from Disney's "Pinocchio") is a nice inclusion for a holiday album but suffers from a horrible arrangement and overly dramatic, hyperbolic production and vocal.

While "December Prayer" is something fresh and not altogether hard on the ears, Ms Menzel's version of "All I Want for Christmas Is You" is both badly arranged and delivered. It brought me all the Yuletide joy of discovering a lump of coal in my Christmas stocking. Oppressive rather than peaceful, the album's rendition of "Silent Night" hurt my ears. At that point, I began to long for a silent night myself but managed to make it through the final three tracks.

Listen, Idina, even Carole King came a cropper when she came a-caroling. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/11/king-of-holidays.html Girl, we loved you in Wicked and in Rent, we loved hearing your voice in Frozen and your version of "Let It Go" that took us to the dancefloors last winter. Maybe not so much love for you in If/Then http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2014/03/broadway-beaverhausen-ifthen-notgood.html, but, be that as it may, we sincerely wish you'll cease and desist recording any future holiday anthems. Let it go indeed.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen Looks at the Tonys 2014

I think the buzz I'm hearing around New York is right on the money: the 2014 Tony Awards, televised Sunday evening, June 8, was the best Tonys ceremony ever. And the gayest, what with Neil Patrick Harris, Allen Cumming and all that tap dancing ~ even gangsters tapping all over the place! Not to mention Patti Labelle, Gladys Knight and Fantasia (all stars of After Midnight) singing together in the opening number. Theater Queens were qvelling everywhere! It's probably no coincidence the Tony Awards are now televised during Gay Pride Month

Hugh Jackman was as handsome, charming and talented a host one could ever hope for. And the stage of Radio City Music Hall was awash in a tsunami of talent. Technical aspects (lighting, choreography, staging, etc.) were first-rate and virtually flawless. It was the best promotional event for Broadway shows ever!

Yes, Broadway is exciting, alive, full of energy and the sound of music! There is nothing like it. There's nothing like the prices either! I'd go more often except I do not get comps to shows on the Great White Way, so frequenting Broadway is simply not within my Beaverhausen budget.

The last Broadway show I saw was If/Then and that certainly cooled my enthusiasm. (Idina Menzel, however, was another performance highlight at this year's event. Thankfully, I say, If/Then garnered no Awards.)  I resented it even received nominations.

The 2014 Tonys certainly reminded us all that there is nothing like live entertainment, and that this is a remarkable Broadway season. That said, it's time for me to buy tickets to Hedwig, After Midnight and Lady Day! Will get back to you on those.

Diva Dish: Inaya, Idina, Zhana, Maya, Mariah & More!

What a week this was for diva birthdays! Stevie Nicks, Cilla Black, Gladys Knight, Kylie Minogue, Melissa Etheridge, La Toya Jackson, Scary Spice (Mel B), Idina Menzel. Idina's rendition of "Let It Go" was # 2 on the last Billboard club chart (with Cher's "I Walk Alone" right behind at # 3).

Of course, the tragic news this week was that of poet/activist/playwright Maya Angelou's passing. What a life this woman led! What brilliant people she befriended, and what an inspirational personality for the world. Of course, Westboro Baptist Church intends to picket her funeral. There's a special place in hell for those people, I am sure.

Mariah Carey received an Icon Award from the World Music Awards, and performed at the ceremony on May 27th. On the 29th, she was reluctantly (it appeared) videotaped by paparazzi (or was it really a p.r. team?) when she left the Fresh Air Fund at Chelsea Piers and headed home via subway. In a sparkly blue gown.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/mariah-carey-subway-new-york_n_5417056.html?utm_hp_ref=mariah-carey

Bette Midler's NY Restoration Project collected over $1 million when the beloved diva threw a benefit at Grant's Tomb. (Ullyses S., honeys, not Cary). Thank you, Bette, for your concern for our environment. Mayor Bill De Blasio showed up to place stong political support for the project.

June 10th is the release date for Chrissie Hyndes' new album. This diva can do no wrong and I so look forward to hearing this.

Most rousing song on the dance floor now is "Let the Music Lift You Up," by Matt Consola and LFP featuring fabulous diva vocals by the amazing Zhana Saunders.

And tonight, May 31, NYC Pride will kick off with the supreme Diva of House, Inaya Day. Will be there at Icon in Queens to report!

Cine Beaverhausen: Frozen

Disney's Frozen is their animated feature version of the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, "The Snow Queen." With music, of course, and plenty of cute, cute, cute. As both titles might imply, get ready for a lot of snow and ice. Just the kind you might have to trudge through to get to theaters where it has returned since winning the Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song Oscars (for "Let It Go"). It is also now available at Amazon Instant Video.

I have to admit that, while the CGI animation is impressive, I miss the hand-drawn, detailed animated work of the classic Disney features like Snow White and Pinocchio. I've also noticed that the cutesy factor of the characters' faces has increased throughout the decades so that now they positively look like Keane paintings from the '60s.

But, hey, what's not to like in the long run? Frozen spins an engrossing yarn, it's about empowered princesses (voiced by Kristen Bell (the good sister) and Idina Menzel (the bad sister)) with a couple of hunky boyfriends and a snugly, anthropomorphic snowman and reindeer thrown in for good measure. Children will love it. So will parents. And, surely, everyone whose slogged through this winter's (and into-the-spring's) Polar Vortex.

Scripted by Jennifer Lee with direction by Chris Buck and Ms Lee), what I glibly refer to as the "bad sister" is actually what I believe is one of the most complex characters in animated films. Menzel's Elsa, born with the magical power to create snow and ice, lives as a recluse after having almost killed her sister, Anna, with her wayward magic. She fears becoming a monster and, boy, do I know how that is. Sometimes, when I unleash my inner diva, it takes on a life all its own! Of course, I think I could get used to living all alone in a fairy-tale palace. The message of this film, in any case, seems to echo my guru, Madonna's wisdom: "You're Frozen/When your heart's not open."

Right-wing extremist pseudo-Christians said this film will turn your kids gay. Because it's a "fairy" tale? Did Disney turn me gay? (Maybe it did!) Was it Snow White? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty? Good thing they didn't actually title the film "The Snow Queen"!

Best enjoyed, even in the summer with the a/c up high for a kind of SenSurround effect, with a cup of hot cocoa ~ or an Irish coffee, depending on who you are ~ this box-office hit is, in the end, I think, a Disney classic. Now, brrr! Hand me my winter-weight terrycloth robe. The palace is cold.

Dj Buddy B's Weekly Diva Report 3/8/14

Sheila McRae, 1960s

Although our President obviously meant nothing but respect for legendary diva Aretha Franklin, he had a spelling malfunction while introducing her at the White House.

"'What a lineup!' Mr. Obama declared at the outset of a concert that featured a generations-spanning array of soul singers stretching from musical legends Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle to 20-year-old Ariana Grande," said CBS News.

"Mr. Obama paid tribute to Franklin for turning her signature song 'Respect' into 'a rallying cry for African-Americans, women and then everyone who felt marginalized.'

"The pumped-up audience gave a hearty laugh but was more than willing to forgive the president for spelling it 'R-S-P-E-C-T.'"

Hey, at least he didn't refer to her as Adele Azeem! Of course, the conservative press and, especially, Fox News, jumped on this immediately. "Aretha Franklin may spell out the word 'Respect' several times throughout her synonymous song, but that doesn’t mean Harvard-educated President Obama knows how to spell it," Fox barked. Come on, give the President some rspect. And by the way, you misused the word "synonymous," Foxies.

The President's blunder was nothing compared to John Travolta's Oscars gaff, introducing Broadway diva headliner Idina Menzel as "Adele Azeem." I saw Ms Mendel in her new Broadway musical, If/Then, that started in previews Wedneday evening. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2014/03/broadway-beaverhausen-ifthen-notgood.html  Her rendition of the theme song from Frozen, which snagged an Academy Award, was definitely one of the many high points of the Awards ceremony last Sunday evening.

Sheila MacRae (nee Stephens) passed away of natural causes two days ago in Elmwood, NJ at the age of 92. The British-born Ms MacRae was married to tall, dark and handsome singer George MacRae (not to be confused with George McCrae who sang the disco hit, "Rock Your Baby"). Sheila and George performed professionally as a vocal duo. The couple divorced in 1967. She co-starred in feature films like Caged and Sex & the Single Girl. She appeared as herself in an episode of I Love Lucy, and replaced Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden for The Honeymooners episodes on The Jackie Gleason Show. Her daughter, Meredith McRae, played Billie Jo on tv's Petticoat Junction.

One of my dance diva faves, Amber Dirks http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/07/exclusive-q-with-dance-diva-amber-dirks.html, is charging up the Billboard dance chart, currently in the Top 50 at # 47 with Bouvier & Barona's "Dominate My Love." Spice Girl Mel B holds onto the top of the Billboard club/dance chart at # 12 with the ebullient "For Once in My Life." The song has now occupied the chart for three months! http://queens.ourcityradio.com/music-news/dj-pornstar-mel-beautiful-music

Kylie Minogue's gone into the blue with "Into the Blue" at # 11 in a scant 3 weeks. And jet-propelled to # 14 this week, the 2014 remix of "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper. It reached its current position in just 3 weeks, up from #27 on the last chart.

More diva dish next week. Until then, rspect, y'all!

Broadway Beaverhausen: If/Then Not/Good

When you leave a Broadway musical, you should be humming the tunes, not bemoaning your time and money spent. When you leave a musical that makes you feel depressed and angry, something is terribly amiss. We left If/Then, giving up Broadway shows for Lent! The show began previews March 5th and now marches forth to its official opening on March 27th.

If/Then stars Broadway diva Idina Menzel. Or, as John Travolta likes to refer to her, Adele Dazeem. The show is, refreshingly, an original musical rather than a revival or jukebox musical. It reunites Ms Mendel with her Rent co-star Anthony Rapp. At times a rock/tribal musical, at times pop MOR, it's a total mess.

I know the show's in previews but, my God, I've never witnessed so many flubs in a single production! A backstage voice shouting out an actor's forgotten line over a microphone? (Don't they have ear pieces for that these days?) Stagehands still setting up props as a scene begins? Idina, walking into her apartment on-stage with Rapp, broke the fourth wall, exclaiming "Why are these men in my apartment?" The men didn't leave. They fumbled, trying to get a floor lamp prop to stand up. "Go, I'll take care of it," Menzel flippantly ad-libbed in full diva attitude. But, unfortunately, after her awkward dismissal, she was unable to solve the problem. The stagehands returned, removed the offending lamp, and the stars took the scene once again from the top. Finally. Never have I seen this sort of amateurism on Broadway!

The book is a disaster, its conceit poorly executed. Choreography is routine for the most part. Staging is clumsy. Hoping to be the new Rent, the musical is more like tv's Friends in its unrealistic representation of New York City life. The book by Brian Yorkey (who also wrote the lyrics) tragically presents us with one-dimensional and not completely believable characters, sitcom-like dialogue and clumsy expositions.

Michael Griff's direction is clumsy at best. The music by Tom Kitt is largely forgettable with few highlights. The cream of the show tune crop is the stirring tribal-rock number (nicely staged on a subway set), "It's a Sign," sung by LaChanze, who pretty much steals the show. The set design and changes are badly executed. And the storyline is a pointless, painful bore. Otherwise, I guess I loved it.

I knew there was a problem when my eyes left the stage during a production number to admire the theater's chandeliers.

As for Adele Dazeem, she merely needs to step out at the opening of Act I to receive thunderous applause. However, as the show cast its drowsy spell, audience enthusiasm thinned out. This is not Rent, this is not Wicked. This is a disaster despite a preview audience packing the house, largely because of the show's star. If there's no major overhauling before opening night (unlikely), Buddy B predicts there's no then.

To cap off my evening of contemptible all-singing/all-dancing, I shared a cab home with a friend. I saw our taxi going into the Holland Tunnel lane. "You know I'm headed to Brooklyn, not New Jersey," I asserted. Said my cabbie: "Yeah, I know! What are you? A fucking comedian?"

"Wait until you get my tip," I thought. "I get funnier." If/Then.