TV: I’m loving Encore! It’s a show where theater kids go back to school after 20 years or so and remount their high school musical production. So far the episodes have featured casts reuniting to stage Oklahoma!, Godspell, and Pippin. These three are my favorite episodes because of the talent of the cast involved, and also because of the music.
I wonder why the students could all sing when they were in high school, but somehow when they become thirty-something adults they’re not in tune anymore. But what do I know, I was never in theater so I’m just an audience member and I still find the show entertaining.
My January has also been very productive (or lazy, if you look at it another way) because I’ve already binge-watched the first two seasons of Narcos (and picked up an accent along the way) and also finished The Mandalorian. So many good shows!
Movies: I saw Jojo Rabbit last night upon the recommendation of a friend, and though I was initially skeptical, I fell in love with it. I did not expect to be affected this much, and my love for Sam Rockwell just doubled. The twist in Knives Out blew my mind, and I loved Christopher Plummer, who as we all know is the OG Chris of Hollywood. I didn’t get The Irishman at first, because it was LONG and I got distracted. But I restarted it and watched it over a couple of days, and it’s really impossible not to be amazed at De Niro and Pacino together on the screen. They’re legends! I don’t even think the CGI was that bad. (Although yes, that scene where a supposedly young De Niro kicks a man for shoving or shouting at his daughter was a bit lame.)
Music: I recently went to three of U2’s shows on their 2019 Joshua Tree Tour. It was a dream come true to go to multiple shows in one tour, and I had such an amazing time so now I’ve been listening to all their albums again, especially those I don’t like that much. I’m talking about No Line on the Horizon in particular, the album that threatened to ruin my love for the band. Now I can say that it’s not really that bad. I’ll listen a few more times to make sure, but things are looking good.
I also just found out about another Irish band, The Stunning! I love their song “Heads Are Gonna Roll”. They have such a bright and happy sound (though maybe that song is not the happiest) and I’m going to have to listen to their back catalog now.
Books: I’ve been racing through James Rollins’ Sigma Force series for the past few weeks. It’s not high literature by any means, but we have to love all kinds of books right? His books are a combination of Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum, with a huge chunk of art/renaissance history and suspense which I love. I’m now reading the seventh book in the series, The Devil Colony. Also for a bit of balance, I just started rereading the Frances Hodgson Burnett classic A Little Princess, and the Tintin comics my brother lent me.
Theater: I compiled a couple of listicles about this year’s upcoming musicals and plays for Theaterfansmanila.com. I’m extremely happy and relieved whenever what I write is deemed ready to publish. Whew.
So that’s what’s been happening – and how have you been?
mister beebop 