These are not necessarily my most-watched YouTubes, but my favorite stories in those months (based on when the subject actually caught me for better or worse, rather than when we actually did the video).
Recurring themes (two videos each) are four subjects of adoration – Stephen Sondheim, Kristin Chenoweth, Al Pacino, and Elaine Stritch – and also the Sarah Palin/Tea Party thing. Rounding out the list are Addams Family and D.C.'s Oklahoma phenomenon.
Quick summary (details and links further down)
January – those full-body airline scanners (Come Fly Away tribute)
February – Kristin & those added Promises Promises songs
March – Palin and the tea party and the coffee party
April – Addams Family feat. John & Abigail Adams
May – Stritch, based on a loving parody take on her Night Music negotiations
June – Al Pacino and Merchant of Venice in Central Park
July – Stritch again, coping as she strives to be the very best she can!
August – Kristin again, another affectionate look at Promises Promises
September – Henry Miller Theater becomes the Sondheim!
October – Al Pacino and Merchant again, this time a Broadway phenomenon
November –Oklahoma puts D.C.’s Arena Stage on the map again!
December – Palins, tea party & D.C. power shift to Sondheim's Chrysanthemum Tea
JANUARY 2010 – FLY ME IN THE NUDE – THE FULL-BODY AIRLINE SCANNERS START APPEARING
Parody of “Fly Me to the Moon” in honor of the Tharp-Sinatra COME FLY AWAY
FEBRUARY 2010 – ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ADDITION OF “I SAY A LITTLE PRAYER” TO PROMISES PROMISES SOMEHOW SEEMED MOST IMPORTANT TO US IN TERMS OF THEATER PARODY
Affectionate Kristin parody, of “I Say A Little Prayer”
MARCH 2010 – NOT TECHNICALLY THEATER, JUST TANGENTIALLY, BUT CARLY SIMON IS LUCY SIMON’S SISTER AFTER ALL-
Parody of “You’re So Vain” about Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the Coffee Party
APRIL 2010 – EVERYONE WAS DOING ADDAMS FAMILY THEME SONG PARODIES
So we did the John and Abigail Adams Family Theme, which assumes a working knowledge of the cast album of “1776”
MAY 2010 – THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT ELAINE STRITCH HAD CERTAIN “REQUIREMENTS” TO APPEAR IN A LTTLE NIGHT MUSIC prompted some humorous looks online at what those might be. My favorite was one by a very funny fellow named “Royboy” on All That Chat, so:
With real love for Ms. Stritch, we did a low-tech take on one of those silly hypothetical lists of supposed demands
JUNE 2010 – FREE SHAKESPEARE WITH AL – Al Pacino in Merchant of Venice, at that time for FREE, as people line up in Central Park, a parody of FOR ME AND MY GAL
JULY 2010 – CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THE GREAT ELAINE STRITCH, so we wondered (to a parody of ZIP! called SIT!) how she copes sitting for eight performances a week, three hours at a clip – as she strives to be the very best Mme. Armfeldt ever
AUGUST 2010 – SPECULATION OF WHO MIGHT REPLACE SEAN HAYES & KRISTIN CHENOWETH in “PROMISES PROMISES” was big chat fodder. In the end, they decided to close in January when their contracts ran out
KNOWING WHEN TO CLOSE, another affectionate Kristin parody, this time of KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE
SEPTEMBER 2010 – As the Henry Miller Theatre is re-named for the great Stephen Sondheim, we speculate on Henry Miller’s ghost reconciling himself with the name change
LOSING MY SIGN, parody of LOSING MY MIND from FOLLIES
OCTOBER 2010 – Al Pacino’s transfer to Broadway was big box office, so we imagine the producers trying to get him to extend
SHYLOCK, a parody of SKYLARK and the 2010-11 production of MERCHANT OF VENICE
NOVEMBER 2010 – A regional parody – The most fun news this month was that the Arena Stage’s production of OKLAHOMA! managed to come into the New York spotlight as a rejuvenating production of the show.
EVERYTHING’S UP TO DATE AT THE ARENA, parody of EVERYTHING’S UP TO DATE IN KANSAS CITY from OKLAHOMA!
DECEMBER 2010 – With the political power shifting in Washington in January, here’s our take on Stephen Sondheim’s CHRYSANTHEMUM TEA from PACIFIC OVERTURES
Our “CHRYSANTHEMUM TEA PARTY” (featuring Sarah Palin & Bristol Palin on Dancing with the Stars)
Thanks if you have to watch any of this,
Fred
