Mark Twain: Dirty Old Man

Thursday, January 27: R-Rated Twain @ City Steam Brewery, Hartford

In addition to his pioneering work as a YA novelist and gangsta rapper, famous Hartford resident Mark Twain also dabbled in literary pornography - the filthy written word! The Mark Twain House presents an evening of theater based on Twain's adult-oriented works and promises it's going to be salty good fun. The Sea Tea Improv group (Get it? Sea Tea = CT), whose credentials include the Hartford Stage Company and the Upright Citizens Brigade, will perform. The event will also include the world premier of a short comedy by West Hartford playwright David Ryan Polgar, Mark Twain: Ladies Man, which imagines Twain as a cock-blocking wingman. Sounds jersylicious!

This event is 21+, so we're banking on plenty of nudity and cursing (or maybe just free-flowing beer). Reservations are to be made through the Mark Twain House, not City Steam.

Rocky Horror Live

The Rocky Horror Show @ Warner Theatre, Torrington

Hey, what do you know? The most important town in Connecticut (if CT Scenic posts are any kind of indication), Torrington, has Rocky Horror live at the Warner Theatre Oct. 23 & 30. We enjoyed the film, and generally enjoy dudes in lingerie, so this sounds like fun. But seriously, is there no spontaneity anymore? The theatre will be providing participation bags for $5 and you can't bring your own crap (it will be confiscated). Theatre provided bags will include latex gloves, water pistol, etc. Latex, really? That's a common allergen! We recommend vinyl. Food throwing is also forbidden. However, we anticipate that you won't have even a crumb left over from your delicious pre-show meal from Rocket.

The Oddball: Bigger, Longer, Uncut

Pardon our sloppy writing, but blogging is hard when you're hungover from the best party ever. From the moment we walked through the sketchy back entrance we didn't even know was there, it was love at first sight. Jesse Jonas stood in for Katie Scenic, as she was in NYC covering other scenic things. It being our first Oddball, we didn't know what to expect. The theme was 'surprises' and there was one around every corner. Already disoriented from the weird entrance, we came upon the Outside Bar:

Are we inside? Are we outside? Who knows! And who cares when our favorite bartender Chris Vincent is there pouring XXXpresso Martinis. Also out there in the wild were the personal trainer hotties from New York Sports Clubs of West Hartford:


The obvious highlight of the evening was the What Cheer? Brigade, "a rowdy 19-piece brass band that combines a punk rock ethos and the mobility of marching bands." They entered the main gallery via the Costume Parade, and set the mood for what was to be a fun fun night. The band made several appearances throughout the night, marching through the galleries and interacting with the crowd. I've never seen a group with so much energy and such an odd assortment of instruments. They also have the world's cutest trombonist.



What is usually the bar became "Candy Land", featuring a selection of penny candy and "Magic Berries". The berries alter your taste buds so that sour foods become sweet. This only confirmed that we were indeed in the middle of a Tim Burton film. There were various gross foods to try; onions, lemons, wasabi. After a magic berry, everything pretty much tasted like candy.



There was a pretty hip lookin' Hookah Den out back, although we did not participate, and a buffet of edible oddities. There were also some multimedia activities; photos in the theatre and the 'Peep Lounge', where you could watch the party through various closed circuit televisions. If all that wasn't enough, there was some serious costume amazingness to check out.

J Scenic hanging out with Kurt, Courtney and a Unicorn:

It wouldn't be Real Art Ways without a phallus! And that basket thing was doing some pretty funny stuff under there:

Wayne and Garth were on the scene:

Sexxxy Tom, lookin' extra sexy:

Jesse Jonas, having a fantastic time:


This guy:

(For more photos, check the FB and realartways.org of course)

To call this 'party of the year' would be a severe understatement. This year we went as bloggers, but we're already planning some killer costumes for 2011.

Thanks for a great time LB!

Teatro: In the Heights

In the Heights opened Tuesday at The Bushnell. Opening night was packed with a refreshingly diverse audience, the majority of whom loved the show.

The play was written here in CT by Lin-Manual Miranda while he was a student at Wesleylan University. It worked its way to Broadway, opening in 2008 at The Richard Rogers Theater. In the Heights has received 13 Tony nominations and won 4 awards, including best musical, original score, choreography and orchestration.

The story follows three days in the life of a Dominican-American neighborhood in Washington Heights, New York City. The show features a hot young cast who sing, rap and dance their way through the emotional saga which unfolds; the characters' struggle to fulfill their life ambitions while coming to terms with their place in el barrio. It's not the most unique story, but the characters are charming and the music is engaging. The soundtrack, as well as the dancing, is a blend of hip-hop, salsa, merengue and reggaeton.

This was definitely one of the hipper events I've been to at the Bushnell, the best part being the hot chick selling programs in the aisles of Mortenson Hall. It was obvious that the play's Spanglish dialogue was appreciated, considering Hartford has a large Spanish-speaking poplulation who are not generally the target of the Bushnell's programming. Oh, and their merch is totally hot. You may just want to hang out in the lobby and buy t-shirts.

In the Heights is at the Bushnell through 1/10/09. Tix are $15-$72.

Merry XXXmas

Tonight at The Bushnell, the CT Gay Men's Chorus presents a vegas-style holiday spectacle, Sin City Santas. This promises to lean toward the 'naughty' side, but what happens in Hartford, stays in Hartford. If you can't make it, here is the only video of them I could find:

Bloomfield Royalty

Disney has come a long way since Song of the South. Their newest animated film, The Princess and the Frog, will star their first black princess, Tiana. More importantly, the princess will be voiced by Bloomfield native Anika Noni Rose! After graduating from Bloomfield High in 1990, Anika went on to study Drama and Theater and then began acting professionally. She won a Tony for best actress in 2004 for the Broadway hit Caroline, or Change and is probably best known for her role in Dreamgirls in 2006. Anika auditioned three times for the part of Tiana, finally beating out some of Hollywood's finest, such as Beyonce Knowles, Alicia Keyes and Tyra Banks. Being part of a Disney film has been a lifelong dream of hers:

I know when I saw "Fantasia" that I wanted to be one of those creatures, period. I was 2. It wasn't like I recognized voice at that time. I wasn't thinking, "I want to be a voice-over actor." I just knew I wanted to be in that, without having the desire to be an actor at all. With each movie, they got me, more and more and more. I always did voices when I was a kid. I was terrible. I'd imitate people all the time. My mother was like, OK, we'd be in the mall, and she'd say, "Anika, if that person turns around, there's nothing I can do for you." I was imitating their walk; I was imitating the way somebody chewed gum; I would do people's voices. I've always been attracted to voice and sound.

This is an important, albeit extremely past due, occasion in Disney history. We can only assume the film will be based on the same stereotypes and cliche plotlines they've been recycling since 1937, but we hope those messages of love and equality and whatnot will shine through.

The Princess and the Frog premieres this Friday, December 11th at a scenic theatre near you!

(If you have forgotten some of your favorite racist Disney moments, refresh your memory here.)

Muppets Take Manhattan: Avenue Q

Avenue Q @ Shubert Theater, New Haven

Oct. 9-11

I actually think that Sesame Street is quite hip and adorable just the way it is (just look at what happened when Elmo met Ricky!), but I very much enjoyed the obscene kids' show parody, Wundershowzen, and that great episode of The State where they were eating muppet for dinner, so I suppose re-imagining the residents of the street as struggling hipsters is good fun too.

Here's the show's most famous tune, "The Internet is for Porn." Indeed!