Alex Sarling
I have a severe addiction to coffee and my Keurig.
I am an avid music listener, and movie watcher.
I am very opinionated and I will tell you how I feel if I disagree with you.
I don’t dye my hair, the blonde streak is natural so don’t judge or ask me why I dyed it because I didn’t.
I’m always smiling and I giggle like a little school girl. That is all :)
My two favorite men. Sorry Conan, still not a badass.
(Source: monkeyknifefight)
After 12 long years, Kermit the Frog and his fuzzy friends returned to the big screen for a new musical comedy, directed by James Bobin.
In the film, which was co-written by Jason Segel, the Muppet gang has fallen apart and lost touch with each other during some tough times but they reunite to save their world famous Muppet Theater with the help of some new human friends.
James Bobin and Jason Segel both took a risk in bringing the Muppets back to the silver screen. The Muppets began to fade before most of the young audience was born. How do you bring the Muppets back to life and have it live up to the older adults standards? In the Muppets case, you take a risk with Jim Henson’s furry creations, which once were number one on children’s television and movies, and pray they stay irresistible and succeed.
These are the same old Muppets with the addition of Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and the brand new Muppet they created, Walter. It is almost hard not to fall in love with Walter’s charm, and passion for the Muppets. The Muppets are also joined by a bunch of celebrity guests including Jack Black, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris, and much more. In addition to the stellar cast, the score holds more than a dozen songs including “Rainbow Connection,” and an all time classic “Mahna Mahna.”
You’ll find yourself feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside after seeing the Muppets reunite, as they do not disappoint. Make sure you stay tuned during the credits, you don’t want to miss it!
I recently went to Suffolk Community College’s performance of Spring Awakening this past weekend. I also interviewed Michael Luca who graduated from Ward Melville HS this past June! I wrote up a story on it for journalism so here it is! :)
The department of theatre arts performed the explicit, yet fearless, Tony Award winning musical, Spring Awakening, the past three weekends at Suffolk Community College.
The show was held in the Shea Theatre, which is connected to the Islip Arts building. The performances were held the weekends of Nov. 18, Nov. 25, and Dec. 2 at 8:00pm with Sunday matinee performances at 2:00pm.
“When Spring Awakening was announced as the fall musical at Suffolk, our students became excited as I had never seen them before,” said director of the show Marie Danvers. She calls them one of the hardest working, and talented casts she has ever had the privilege of working with. Throughout rehearsals, the cast dealt with some very disturbing subjects. Spring Awakening is fearless and is full of passion and that is exactly what the cast brought to the table.
Spring Awakening is based on the play by Frank Wedekind. The play is based in Germany in 1891, a time where children were seen, not heard. Spring Awakening explores what happens when teens go through changes and become adults. Some of their struggles include sexuality and gender identity, struggles with faith, fear of authority figures, abuse, and suicide. Teens in 2011 still deal with many of these issues, but they have the advantage of being informed of what they are and their consequences.
“Being a mother of a ten year old daughter, I decided that ultimately the piece revealed the importance of the choices we make,” said Danvers.
Attending the final performance, Sunday Dec. 4th, my expectations were high as this is an all time favorite broadway musical for many young and older adults. At precisely 2:00, the lights dimmed and the crowd of about 100 became silent. The stage lights came on as the orchestra began to play their first song.
Suffolk’s theatre program put their own spin on the show, but it wasn’t disappointing in the slightest bit. The mood of the show is constantly changing. One scene everyone is happy and the next they find out their best friend has committed suicide. The issues in this play are not a joking matter.
The show is powerful and that was clear by taking a look around at everyone in the theatre during the show, intermission, and after. The audience burst into laughter when appropriate, and was taken back and quiet during other times. The audience clapped and cheered after every single scene except for one, the suicide scene. It wasn’t silent though. A lot of sniffling could be heard from the audience.
For freshman Michael Luca, 18, this was his very first production here. Luca was hesitant to even audition for the show because he didn’t find it interesting when he first read it and thought it would be boring to be cast. Luca didn’t know who to audition for so he just gave it a shor and was given the role of one of the boys, Ernst.
“Before coming to Suffolk, I had never even heard of Spring Awakening! So you can imagine my shock when I read the script before auditions,” said Luca, “I was like, whoa!” Luca went on to tell me how he was not used to anything like this in a show at all, and he had to keep re-reading some of the particularly profound parts so he could grasp what was going on.
The character Luca plays, Ernst, is one of the two homosexual males in the play. They are both trying to deal with their need for one another and figuring out how to express it. I was very curious to see how Luca felt about his kissing scene with his cast-mate, Robert Gagnon, who plays the role of Hanschen.
“When I first read the scene I was like, wait a second, what?!?” Luca was surprised. “I didn’t really think I’d be the one doing the kissing scene but I was!” He explained he didn’t have any particular emotion toward the scene. He knew as an actor he would have a role at some point in his career where he would have to kiss another man. “I was okay with it even though it was a little weird,” Luca explained.
The scene wasn’t all that intense, but more so comic relief at this time in the play. “We both treated it professionally, so it was fine, and after rehearsing it, it became no problem at all. By the time we were into dress rehearsals and performances, it was very comfortable,” said Luca. Luca enjoyed the character of Ernst. His favorite characteristic of Ernst is that he’s a very caring person, and really feels for his friends.
Luca added, “I was very timid of singing roles before this show, but Danvers and her husband Rob Gallagher, really taught me how to hone my skills, and made me more comfortable.” Ernst is a favorite character of many who see the show so it was exciting to have been able to talk to Luca about his experience.
Spring Awakening was fearless and powerful in the Shea Theatre that Sunday afternoon. As the cast took their final bow, the audience cheered and gave them the standing ovation they had deserved.
Funniest bit Conan has done in a long time. So happy they brought back triumph the insult comic dog. What better place to bring him but Occupy Wall Street?
#teamcoco
(Source: teamcoco.com)
They couldn’t have rehearsed this. It looked too natural and perfect.#cutestcouple
(Source: imwithkanye)
