The Lion King

The Lion King produced by Disney Theatrica is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film. The music is by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical recreates the animated film by featuring actors in animal costumes as well as giant puppets.

Lion King the musical debuted July 8, 1997, in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Orpheum Theatre, and was hailed as an instant success before premiering on Broadway at the New Amsterdam Theater on October 15, 1997 in previews with the official opening on November 13, 1997.The Broadway production moved on June 13, 2006,to the Minskoff Theatre to make way for the musical version of Mary Poppins, where it is still running after more than 5,350 performances making the Lion King Broadway's seventh longest-running show.

The show debuted in London's West End at the  Lyceum Theatre on October 19, 1999 and is still running. The cast of the West End production were invited to perform at the Royal Variety Performance 2008 at the London Palladium on December 11, in the presence of the British Royal Family.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

Introduced to most of us by the 1964 Walt Disney musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the Mary Poppins series of children's books by P. L. Travers and of course the movie.. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre Choreography.

The musical shares the film's musical score and lyrics written by the Academy Award winning Sherman Brothers, along with additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. The book was written by Julian Fellowes. The musical was directed by Richard Eyre and co-directed by Matthew Bourne, who also acted as co-choreographer with Stephen Mear.The  Broadway production opened with a near-identical creative team in November 2006. The Broadway version received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, winning for Best Scenic Design.

The stage musical is a fusion of various elements from both the film and the book series. Some elements from the Mary Poppins series of children's books that had been omitted from the film were restored, such as the walking statue and the ladders rising to the stars while others were omitted, such as the scene in which Uncle Albert gets caught on the ceiling, chuckling.

Jersey Boys

Jersey Boys is a documentary-style musical, based on the life and times of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons .The music is by Bob Gaudio, and lyrics by Bob Crewe ,the book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice.  Jersey Boys opened on Broadway in 2005, and has since had a North American National Tour, along with productions in London's West End, Las Vegas, Chicago, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney and Philadelphia. Jersey Boys was the winner of four 2006 Tony Awards including Best Musical.

Jersey Boys first premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse at University of California, San Diego, in an out-of-town tryout on October 5, 2004 and ran through January 16, 2005 The Broadway previews began on October 4, 2005 and the show officially opened on November 6, 2005 at the August Wilson Theatre. The original cast starred John Lloyd Young as Frankie Valli, Christian Hoff as Tommy DeVito, Daniel Reichard as Bob Gaudio, and J. Robert Spencer as Nick Massi. The musical is directed by Des McAnuff, with choreography by Sergio Trujillo. The musical uses many of the group's hit songs to tell the turbulent story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons' rise to fame and fortune. The Broadway production has had 38 previews and 2241 performances as of April 10, 2011 and on June 25, 2011 the musical became the 25th longest-running show on Broadway.

Wicked

Wicked is a musical based on a novel by Gregory Maguire : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a parallel novel to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900). Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman.

Wicked is told from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz: Elphaba. There is the misunderstood girl with emerald-green skin, and Galinda, later Glinda, the beautiful, ambitious and popular blonde.  The two clash  and Wicked tells the story in which these two unlikely friends as they grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North. All the time struggling through opposing personalities different viewpoints,  a rivalry over a love-interest, reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and finally, Elphaba's  fall from grace. The plot begins before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas and includes references to locations, events, characters and situations from the original 1939 film and Baum's novel and ends some time after Dorthy departs.

Wicked was originality produced by Universal Pictures in coalition with Marc Platt and David Stone, the Joe Mantello-directed and Wayne Cilento-choreographed original production premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway SHN tryouts at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in May 2003. It originally stared included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. Though the critics were originally luke warm , the musical has proved a favorite among patrons. The success of the Broadway production has spawned openings of five other North American productions, including two national tours, as well as a four-year strong West End production and several international productions in Japan, Germany and Australia.

While the original production won three out of its ten Tony Award nominations, garnered six Drama Desk Awards and received one Grammy Award, Wicked has since accrued one Laurence Olivier Award and six Helpmann Awards internationally. Since its 2003 debut, Wicked has broken box office records around the world, holding weekly-gross-takings records in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, and London. It's  original production, having played 3,259 performances, and celebrating its eighth anniversary on October 30, 2011. This milestone  makes Wicked the 14th longest-running Broadway show in history.

Mariano Rivera picks up 602

Mariano Rivera picks up 602


(NEW YORK- NEW YORK) In an all to familiar scene the 41 year old Mariano Rivera steeped to the mound and closed out the side .As soon as the door to the bullpen opened the Yankee Stadium crowd rose to its feet. Growing louder and louder through the scoreless ninth as the ever-dominant reliever converted yet one more save. This one, the big one number 602 , putting Rivera to the top of the list of all time saves.

With this save Rivera passed Trevor Hoffman for the top spot on baseball's all-time saves list. The win, coupled with a Boston afternoon loss, makes  the New York Yankee playoff magic number to four to clinch a playoff spot.

The save also marks the seventh time in Rivera's illustrious career that he has recorded at least 43 saves in a season (1997, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005 and 2009). Only Hoffman, who has done it nine times, has more than Rivera's eight 40-save seasons with 9. The save also marked  the right-hander's 290th save at Yankee Stadium and 32nd save against the Twins.

Bryant Park WiFi Hotspot ,yes it works

Bryant Park WiFi Hotspot ,yes it works 

Bryant Park has always been one of my favorite public spaces in Manhattan . Like many of the old guard hard core New Yorkers I was quite skeptical of the "free WiFi" and wondered if it really worked .Bryant park has been wireless since 2001 ,but I was still a non believer .

Today I arrived a bit early for a midtown meeting and though I would give it a try . I am happy to report that I got on with out a hitch and the bandwidth seemed more than adequate. So I spent the better part of an hour surfing away seamlessly with plenty of bandwidth to spare .

I didn't really see as many laptop as one would expect . The park was mostly filled with a mix of tourists snapping photos and local suits escaping from the corporate grind. Most people seemed just happy to sit back and realxing watching the world go by .

There is No Place like Home for the Labor Day Weekend

There is No Place like Home for the Labor Day Weekend
PJ Blogger and the Staff of the Ridgewood blog

You don't have to hit the road to enjoy an awesome Labor Day Weekend.

Ridgewood , NJ- Whether its the cost of gas , cleaning up after hurricane Irene or the economy just has you down ,or for what ever reason your stuck home for the labor day weekend There are plenty of ways to have fun without leaving the village proving over and over again that  "there's no place like home."

In order to get away from it all simply unplug your phone and staying away from your laptop and turn off the local news . Kick back in your own yard finish some gardening projects or just relax in your won back yard.
 
Maybe its time to host your own , "dream barbecue" ditching the plain old hot dogs and burgers and trying something more interesting. Seafood , steaks or pork are great on the grill, as are veggies like zucchini and eggplant. Make your own potato salad or try out one of favorite recipes.

Make and appointment and Indulge yourself with a massage, take to the hot tub or try a local restaurant you've always been curious about.

Consider spending a night at a hotel or campground close by or you can even camp out with the kids in your own backyard. It will give you a totally different "outsider" perspective and make you feel like you've gone on a secret get away.

Do an Internet search for "unknown" attractions in your area and visit one of them. There is so much to do right here in Ridgewood and even Bergen County It can be easy to overlook the diversions that are right under your nose.

Pick another culture and celebrate it with film, cuisine and activities.

Rent ,down load or buy a bunch of movies with a particular theme and celebrate your own film festival.

Take it easy when it comes all the around the house stuff like cleaning the yard or other household tasks. Labor Day is about taking a break from work, not doing it!

Suggestions:

USS ling in Hackensack :http://www.njnm.com/
The Hermitage : http://www.thehermitage.org/
the James Rose Center : http://www.jamesrosecenter.org/index.html

original post : http://www.theridgewoodblog.net/2011/09/there-is-no-place-like-home-for-labor.html