I didn't watch the Oscars

So I've been busy. And busy-ness ain't great for the blog.

But given that Winter Storm Quinn is currently visiting its icy wrath upon New York City from just beyond my windowpane, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to give ya a short update on where the heck I've been.

First things first: the Oscars.

You heard me right, folks. I didn't watch the Oscars this year. The 90th Annual Academy Awards are something I did not witness.

And honestly? I'm pretty content about it.

Here's the only reason I could happily say all of this: the real reason I couldn't watch the Oscars this year because I was in Disneyland.

Priorities.

It is an incredibly strange feeling, though, to have not seen the Oscars. Like every film kid, I've tuned in to that big, gilded extravaganza religiously every year. The glitz! The glamour! The... disappointments!

It's totally possible that one reason I'm not upset about missing it is because I'm still recovering from last year's unbelievable Best Picture mix-up. How can I ever trust anyone again after that nationally televised disaster?

Given all this busy-ness, it probably won't surprise you that I didn't see many of the nominees this year, either. And who wants to watch people competing when you don't even know whose side you're on? That's not how this works. To really enjoy the Oscars, you've got to know the movies. You've got to know the stakes.

I guess I fall into the camp of people who think that if you're going to miss a live telecast, it better be because you're doing something more important. Or memorable. Or both. And Disneyland is certainly more important than people giving each other gold statues for reasons you may or may not agree with.

Ah, well. Since there's been 90 years of this shiz, we can pretty safely assume there's gonna be a 91st year and a 92nd year and well, maybe even a few more after that.

It's really refreshing to be sitting here and knowing that life goes on. I'm a film person, so it can be really easy to get caught up in the cut throat race for the gold which is awards season.

It was so nice to take a step back from everything this year and ask myself why I watch the Oscars every year. For me, it's a nice reason to look back at a year of film and to pretend that contemporary Hollywood has anything to do with the romanticized and glamorous Old Hollywood of our collective imagination.

Taking a step back and looking at these motives was just the dose of medicine I needed to realize that there's just so much more to look forward to in life than watching an awards show on TV.

You know what? I don't think it's really enough to get to see all of the stars wearing expensive outfits and making teary-eyed speeches and being played off stage by their powerful orchestra music.

I was kind of saddened by the whole idea. Without the knowledge of all the films that were competing to distract me, the whole thing seemed sort of ... empty.

It's nice to know that there's all sorts of glamorous events out there to dream about, but missing the Oscars also made me think about how much time I spend and energy I exert over events that I'm not really a part of. We live in a time where we have to be present on countless different platforms... why can't I just be present where I'm really at?

And to think... it took Disneyland to help me remember to be present.

Well, you know what? I happen to think that Disneyland is an extremely healthy exercise for someone in their mid-20s (actually, for anyone at any age). Never have I had a better exercise in patience, wonder, humility and imagination that I have waiting in line to meet a princess at Disneyland.

And that's what I always hoped to get a glimpse of in the Oscars. To my mind, movies are supposed to remind us of wonder, to remind us to imagine, to know that there's more out there than just our own story. And the Oscars are supposed to be a celebration of all of that.

The competition isn't the important part. It's about what we should be celebrating.

Disneyland revelations for the win.

So am I saying to plan your Disneyland trip during Oscars weekend next year? Well, yes, I am saying that, but if that's too much to ask, then I guess I'd settle with just saying this: I love TV, but there's so much more than the TV screen. This is your life - go live it!

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"Jailhouse Rock" (1957)

I knew I'd seen Jailhouse Rock before. But the only thing I could remember about it was the famous titular musical number of the movie. As for everything else, it was one big whopping nothing in my mind.

Which was weird. Usually, I have a pretty okay memory for films. Scenes stick with me, you know what I mean?

It was even weirder because wasn't like I watched this years and years ago, either. I'm pretty sure I watched this, like, within the last two years.

So I agreed to sit down with my mom and watch it again. I was too curious. Had I been multitasking when I first watched it? Or falling asleep or something?

Upon review, what I discovered is that "Jailhouse Rock" is a very interesting movie for the simple reason that there is exactly one memorable scene in the whole thing.

And it is, of course, the "Jailhouse Rock" song number.

The premise is that Elvis gets sent to jail for accidentally killing a man while defending a woman that man was preying on, but don't worry - when Elvis gets sent to the big house, he's in and out of there.

Given that the title had "Jailhouse" in it, I figured we'd be seeing a lot of metal bars and striped uniforms, maybe even a few riots, but again, I was wrong. The time spent in the jail is just a fraction of the film. Most of it we watch the post-jailhouse Elvis being discovered as a big star for a song he sings. Then he kind of becomes a jerk because fame goes to his head.

By the time we get around to the Jailhouse Rock number, it came as a real lifesaver considering I was pretty freaking bored.

I was grumpy that this movie could have as easily been titled "Elvis does a brief stint in prison then gets discovered and becomes a huge star... rock".

I guess I was expecting Jailhouse Rock to be Elvis's version of The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night (although, technically, it would be the other way around. Do you think The Beatles would ever have made a movie if The King hadn't made it the thing to do?).

A Hard Day's Night is simultaneously an important movie, a famous movie, and, best of all, an enjoyable movie. But I found that Jailhouse Rock is only important and famous.

Of course, young Elvis isn't terrible to look at and the "Jailhouse Rock" sequence does make it worth your while, but when it comes to picking a favorite Elvis movie, I'll definitely keep looking.

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Let's Talk About Anniversary Concerts

It has come to my attention that whenever I start talking about the "Anniversary Concerts" of Broadway shows, nobody has a flipping clue what I'm talking about.

This all came about when I was watching (crying over) my DVD of The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary Concert for the hundredth time. As usual, I texted my friends about the intense emotional experience I was having listening to the timeless music and watching the performance. And, as usual, everyone said they hadn't seen whatever the heck it was I was watching this time and, even worse, that they hadn't even heard of it.

And I thought to myself, "Huh. Why am I the only person in the universe who seems to watch Anniversary Concerts? Do people not know that that theater is occasionally recorded and can be consumed in the comfort of your very own home??" Was it weird to watch recorded theater? And what about Anniversary Concerts? Was I stranger than I thought I was? Was this just a longterm side effect of growing up with PBS? These and other questions insisted that I sit down and take a long, hard look at my life.

Ultimately, I decided that it would be doing the world a disservice if I was to keep quiet about something that seems to only bring continual joy and exposure to show tunes.

You've all seen the made-for-tv musicals and movie musicals. That's not the mystery here. So let's start by talking about what an anniversary concert actually is, and then we'll get to why it is going to change your life.

Short answer: An Anniversary Concert is pretty much just a (VHS (lololol) or DVD) recording of an awesome performance of a Broadway musical.

Long answer: Basically, an anniversary concert is when a big, important Broadway show has been on stage for so long that it's celebrating an important anniversary (usually 10th, 15th, 20th or 25th - you know, the marker years). So the idea is to stage a big concert of the show's music and to get some of the most important names in theater to perform it, usually people who have played the roles being sung - or even new people who have the chops to do it justice.

The big man behind the stage production rounds up these people and gets them together to perform the concert, usually with only one or two performances of this elite cast, and then they sell tickets to it to the public. The show is performed for only those select nights, and it varies how it is performed. Sometimes the concert has the actors go through the performance with the show's staging, but they also can be done in a more traditional concert style, with the actors in costume and singing at stationary microphones. All the big wigs of the show usually go to these things - the writers, creators, lyricists, actors who originated the roles - so everyone is in under one roof. Basically, an anniversary concert is planned to be the "ultimate performance" of a show or its music. And then, this performance is usually recorded and then sold on DVD.

And THAT is where we come in.

result: incomparable sounds (as pictured here by the Les Mis 25th anniversary concert)

Because I've always been incurably enchanted by fairytales, it makes sense that my home-video-theater experiences would have started with our VHS recording of Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan. It's been my favorite show ever since. And then there were the Disney-produced made-for-tv musicals, which all have a place in my heart. This includes the Whitney Houston/Brandy-starring Cinderella (1997), The Music Man (2003) and goes right through all the High School Musical (2006) movies. Theater and TV and movies have always sort of been mixed together for me, and I'm glad this introduced me to what later became a love of live theater.

What I'm saying here isn't that these recordings can replace live theater. Obviously, I would urge anyone who has the chance to experience live theater to do it, especially since stage musicals were made to be experienced live. Support live theater! But, if you're strapped for cash, far from where live theater is accessible, or just want to experience the sounds of musical theater in your home, then I want to take the stigma off of DVD theater and make it a thing.

I love that these DVDs of shows make a performance accessible - to all kinds of people! To people who otherwise couldn't see the show, who are learning about theater, or who are total theater junkies.

So, where to start? Go with the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary concert DVD or The Phantom of the Opera 25th Anniversary. That's what I would say. Take two and call me in the morning!

Got recommendations for me? Other questions about the topic? Let me know! Otherwise, don't wait in the wings... time to get watching!

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