You had plenty money 1922

Feeling somewhat dopey since stumbled into work today, and it hasn't really left. Oh well.

Convention was ridiculously awesome. halfway through write-up of it. Dear Brian Austin Green, how are you so hot? No, really... Oh, and the man has the 'one humiliating/bad experience in acting/audition to rule them all' answer. 'Ten years of 90210.' It flattens all pretenders to the crown and stomps on them with prejudice.

Remind me never, ever to get into a high-speed semi hip-hop dance-off. We were exhausted immediately after, and then stupidly did it again an hour later (except I kept tangling his feet). Also most confused that our mates couldn't do the Fresh Prince rap from 'Boom Shake the Room'. Tut. What have you been doing with your teens, people?

VOTD trailer. Dribble. Want nao, plz.

Went to see Daniel Boys do his cabaret again at Wilton's Music Hall on Graces Alley in Tower Hamlets (it's about 8 minutes walk from Tower Hill). Which was pretty much the same as his Pizza in the Park cabaret, except there were many more unintentional naked jokes. Julie Atherton was guesting, and her Taylor the Latte Boy is genius. The sound in there was *amazing* - they didn't really need mics as it's a victorian music theatre purpose-built for amazing acoustics, hasn't been cleaned in forever (original decor still in place, including a bunch of Indian portraits at one end) so has that falling-down shabby stepped back in time feel. And has a rather nice bar. They're trying to get it going as a cabaret venue again. We kept staring around us and going 'No, really, why has this not been scouted as a film/tv location?' It'd be bloody perfect for something Neverwhere-esque.

Trying to figure out if there's any musical score that's perfect. One where *every* song is brilliant.

There are musicals I love and adore, but there's nearly always one song you don't like that much and skip over/delete from your mp3 player. Anything Goes fails for having 'Easy to Love'. I thought La Cage aux Folles, but then remembered I've never been fond of 'The Best of Times is Now'.

Anyone got any that they can deem perfect or just miss it?

(interestingly, there's film scores I deem practically perfect*, but then those rarely involve lyrics and're often written with a full theme.)

In other news, listened to the Barrowman/Prenger version of 'So Close'. Nope. Daniel Boys does it better. Or has better producers. Something. I think it'd be fine if they did it individually - it *really* doesn't work as a duet - but something's definitely missing.

*Off the top of my head, Pride and Prejudice + Master and Commander for recent ones.

stuffed. oww. Had restaurant indian for lunch (convinced because I most likely won't be eating tonight) and so very, very stuffed. I have no idea how people eat lunch as their main meal. How do you work when you've got a ridiculously full stomach and're also sleepy? (yours truly was brought up with evening meal as her main, so do not start preaching to me about how it's better to eat a big lunch than a big supper. It's what my body's used to.)

In other news, trying to decide which Daniel Boys late night cabaret-thingy (11pm, after the shows kick out) to go to.

there's two on consecutive nights with various cast members from other musicals next week, and one in aid of TheatreMad on sat 27th which is him, Julie Atherton and someone else doing American Songbook. decisions. I can only go to 2 max. fairyd123, you doing any?

Anyone here watched Joseph King of Dreams? (dreamworks animation) Asking because Daniel Boys keeps singing one of the songs from it (You Know Better Than I) and I was wondering what the rest of the soundtrack is like, and can't find it on amazon.

Listening to Daniel Boys' album. :happy smile: oh shush. I haven't found one bad track yet*, and it's well produced. Though I now want Daniel to play Cinders against Oliver Tompsett's Martin Prince in Soho Cinders when it finally gets to the stage. I'm being incredibly shallow - I fucking adore the songs they've had so far, and Daniel can *act* and has, y'know, stage presence and doesn't have to be mic'd to the hilt unlike certain people :cough:. also, they'd be ridiculously pretty. Naomi, what's your considered opinion on Daniel's dancing skills?

Feeling antsy because I have this niggling feeling that I should be sewing, but have bugger all projects and no conventions coming up anytime soon. Maybe I should start coming up with ideas for Discworld 2010.

*famous last words. I didn't know I could flinch automatically at Michael Bublé tracks.

pubmeet fun, and of course, was entirely dominated by Trek and how glorious it was. Main reaction being : 'we can has more? nao?'

Alex turned up around 3, I hugged him as greeting, and then got a lot of laughs and some 'ohmigod, you and *alex*?' from certain people who hadn't heard from the congossip. But since pubmeet is *where* we gossip, I suppose this was warranted.

Went Oxford, which is a much smaller station than I'd thought, and good god, it's terribly picturesque. Admittedly I didn't go much further than the high street, doing a quick trawl for food places (giraffe, where i had planned on first thought, said ten minute wait, then I looked at the new menu and couldn't see owt I wanted, so i hi'ed it to GBK. Mmm, chorizo burger.) I must say good evolution of having a bunch of the clubs and pubs on the way to the station. GBK is opposite Jamie's Italian, and I was in the window, occasionally glancing out at the queue. then another queue started forming at 7 at the theatre next door. And kept growing. and growing. Doors were supposed to open at 7, the family next to me also glanced out and we exchanged 'the hell is that for?'. Turned out they were also Barrowman-ing, and we couldn't figure out why the queue. Got into the queue when i finished at 7:15, the queue started moving pretty quickly - turned out there were technical difficulties, hence why they opened late.

Merchandising - large amount of t-shirts, surprisingly tasteful, lots of sports-style 'Team Barrowman', and few with his face on. Programme was large glossy photos from the album photoshoot, bugger all text, which is a relief, since you don't need to tell us what he's been in.

Lots of high-energy numbers with backing dancers of the 'Don't Stop Me Now' persuasion, a few from the album, Life is a Rollercoaster, I Won't Send Roses, I Am What I Am as the encore, a mad mashup of musicals done as a comedy skit with scottish accent and bad scots dancing which was bloody hysterical (If the Glasgow dvd doesn't have it I will pout a *lot*, because the JCS bit alone was brilliant, with the male dancers walking off as a couple with a 'how dare you' look at JB), lots of innuendo and bitchy chat and anecdotes (next time, NO DOGS). Daniel Boys got two numbers per act, which were gorgeous, though I'm unconvinced of his dancing ability. He produced a lot of sighs from the audience (Danny Boys' default setting = adorable). The 'I Know Him So Well' duet was beautiful. Utterly fucking gorgeous and restrained as hell. oh, and it turns out that the Dr Who dance is the Slosh. which his parents were brought out to perform. Basically, terribly silly and highly enjoyable, and JB was having a whale of a time pointing out his observations of people in the audience.

Wyndham, Donmar Production (Michael Grandage directing) Derek Jacobi as Malvolio, Indira Varma as Olivia, Victoria Hamilton as Cesario/Viola (who looks scarily like Victoria Bitter, for anyone who gets *that* fandom reference. Though she hasn't really changed her look since she was a teenager.). And got a text from Dad saying 'very apt'. Which I didn't get re:date of performance. Yeah. I fail. ( All about the cross-gartering )

Daniel singing 'As Long As He Needs Me' at last night's Flaunt It by Theatre Mad.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=WKFW9DFF

Not brilliant, as this was the point my recorder decided to screw up, so had to tweak and amplify just to be able to hear it. You have been warned. Fingers crossed someone else was recording it so we'll get a better version some day.

Well, yesterday was when people were referring to me as 'zombie' and 'falling over' and 'wrecked' in the afternoon due to lack of sleep. Due to lack of anywhere to crash for four hours - Flaunt It wasn't starting til 11:30pm - decided to find a noisy musical to keep me awake. Pondered Elena Roger in PiafJoseph since the prices had finally come down. Slightly trepidatious since they said it was the same choreography/direction etc as the last time, and that had been... okay. Fun, but not great and nothing special. If nothing else I'd get to see Lee perform it.

They lied. It's not the same. At all - choreography, dances, etc. are utterly different. Slight similarity in the basic stage where the kids' choir are sitting on steps up the side, but that's it. They changed the way they sang the songs, which is now fucking hysterical - much more emphasis on the cowboy / french / _insert pastiche here_ style than previous, including the way they costume each one, there's more dancing, (we fully support random tango or ballet or hoe-down), the brothers' songs have been re-arranged so there's more on individuals, it's far sexier, they got rid of the american football and cheerleader thing in Pharaoh's court, Pharoah is even *more* Elvis (yay Dean Collinson!), and they didn't bother with the David Bowie thing for when Joseph gets elevated. Generally more Egyptian style in general. Narrator now more ditzy schoolteacher with more interaction with rest of cast - getting picked on by the brothers, flirted with by Pharoah etc. Considerably boosted the physical comedy/sight gags, which are fucking hysterical. (special mention to the goat, *both* asps, the camel, and random London Eye.) The megamix is far shorter and a lot more involving and fun. Lee Mead fabulous. Entire cast fabulous. need to see it again while he's still in it.

One. Single. Bloody. Problem. There's no cast recording. the cd is Jason Donovan with Lee's 'Any Dream Will Do' and Dean Collinson's new Pharoah track that they wrote for this production as bonuses. and of course I only discover this during the interval. Even though I had my recorder with me. :cracks knuckles: Youtube, fail me and *die*.

concessions stand boy adorable. Very very gay. Quizzed him about sizing of t-shirts, he said he was wearing the small and he takes a size 8 in dresses. Got him to turn round so I could gauge the back size, then got out of him that he's a 27" waist (my response, of course, being 'bitch!') and then got him to lift his t-shirt so I could check. I think this probably worked because I said it so clinically. 'I can't believe you got me to do that!' 'You have no body fat. No. Fair.' Wearing the grey camel in a small, and it's *still* big.

Next time I'm not bothering with stage door unless I'm getting the other actors, since Lee appears, hands out signed photos, tries to get some signed stuff and speak with people. He is adorable, though.

Fell into pub for a drink or so once I found the Fortune, did more details on opening scenes of nano, and got asked just before I left by the blokes next to me what I'd been writing so frantically. (they'd been discussing finacnial mortgage credit crunch stuff and thought i'd been taking notes. 'er, no, novel challenge starts tomorrow, fleshing out the first chapter details...')

Flaunt It was mostly spent giggling. More boys need to sing 'When you Got it, Flaunt it' (Simon Green this time). Everyone having fun, the list of musicals that didn't turn up, etc, etc. Was sat next to the current christmas Eve, it turns out. Lots of jokes about 'Never Forget'. Got asked what I was in when i went outside and ended up talking to the actors. Me : 'er, no, just fangirling, do you mind if I say how fabulous you were?'. Note to self. you probably gushed over the Les Mis boys way too much. Though Desmond Barrit is hysterical and didn't know you weren't supposed to cross-dress.

Special mentions : Jon Robyns doing 'maybe this Time', him and two others from Les Mis just for being adorable, Daniel Boys doing 'As Long as He needs me', the lad doing 'Old fashioned Lesbian Love Affair', the special middle-aged cross-dressed rendition of 'Barcelona', the two girls from Never Forget doing 'We Can Do it' (yes, they made enough jokes about the irony), and Josefina Gabrielle. can't remember what she was doing, but was brilliant.

of course, my mp3 recorder went on incredibly quiet just before Old Fashioned Lesbian Love Affair which also meant Daniel as he was on a couple of songs after... gah.

BTW, fairyd123, didn't see you there - thought you were going?

Right, trekking over to Shaftesbury to buy ticket for Hairspray for tonight - everywhere I've searched indicates that the only discount you can get on this show is group discount, so it's really not worth trekking to Leicester Square (further away). Buying direct from the theatre means I won't have to pay booking fees. :wails: why does this have to be one of the most expensive bloody shows in the West End?

ETA: Row C Royal circle for £25!

Still to go : La Cage aux Folles (need to book *soon* as it's limited run and starts on the 20th), Piaf, Zorro (again), Avenue Q while Daniel's still in it. Oliver and Priscilla when they come out next year. (you are not allowed to go see Avenue Q again when Julie goes back in. No. Nuh-uh. You're already contemplating 'Last 5 Years' for her. Well, er, not unless Daniel extends because Julie + Daniel would be ♥. I am weak and this show is cheap.) Still wavering on whether to go see Joseph.

ETA: OMG DANIEL extended! Reward for nano, here I come!

Was muttering about 'I need a calendar I can see all the time/easily accessible to-do list' and... no really. Why didn't I think to look at google docs and calendar for this?

Need to get off arse and go to Oxford street to buy pressies. Was supposed to do this at weekend but saturday was ridiculously sunny so spent all day doing laundry and sunbathing*. And sunday was freezing and wet, so could not muster up effort to do anything but hide under poncho, read fic, and do a bit of sweeping and vacuuming.

Wrote up the Edmund/Bacchus. Trimmed it a bit, need to figure out how much more of the Caspian pov is dead weight before sending to beta. After this, unless the bunnies attack again, I really need to go through the torchwood backlog. And then comes nano planning...

My current cover-up has about 2mm left. I don't use foundation as a rule, just stuff to cover up eyebags/spots/slight imperfections, and so I prefer liquid/grease to powder. Suggestions? My current is Benefit's playstick.

Uploaded discworld pics to Flickr - also a couple of stagedoor stalking. So one Daniel Boys if anyone wants it. And rather amused that I've got one of me and Emma Williams where both of us look completely loopy and terrible. Also included : that fucking white dress (which had the lace removed with extreme prejudice on saturday) and the discovery that me + six-foot axe = OTP.

*Part of this was with cramps. Fortunately, extremely warm sun works about the same as a hot water bottle.

They just announced the line-up for the Faenol Festival up in Caernarfon. I'd heard about it before, it's a four-day weekend that Bryn Terfel holds. And on sunday, you know what the line-up is? Bryn Terfel. John Barrowman. And Daniel Boys.

So I check dates. 24th August. Discworld Con is THAT WEEKEND. GNAAAAAAARRRRGH.

John is... well, it's JB. Daniel is the personification of adorable, talented, cute and a great actor with a lovely voice. Bryn Terfel is fucking amazing (even if his diction isn't brilliant, but we'll forgive him for the voice and the acting ability and the mere presence). I saw Daniel and Bryn in Sweeney Todd, and that was great. But ALL THREE? The only way you could make this worse for me is if you added Julie Atherton, and had Brick Shithouse on dancing duties. In a contest to see who could menace better than Bryn and out-sexually harass people from entire rooms away better than JB. :muses: On the other hand, perhaps we should keep Mr. Vincent away from Messrs Barrowman and Terfel when they're on stage (Daniel would be just so much collateral. Cute nice boys just *are* when Mr. Vincent's on stage). Explosions in the space-time continuum might occur.

SO. :smiles sweetly at the JB and Daniel Boys fangirl section of the flist: You have a mission, should you choose to accept it...