Celebrate Musicals Week Tag! :)

1.  What musical did you pick to "spotlight" this week and why?
Rach and I chose Wicked. We are total musical-lovers and would've found it very hard to pick only one, but we went on a whim and this is what happened! Wicked is a wonderful story and the music holds up the integrity of it so much. Each piece has so much feeling and amazingness in it that we couldn't resist telling you about them! :)

2.  How did you discover the musical you picked (hereinafter referred to as "your musical")?
That would be the infamous Abigail's doing! I believe she showed us "Defying Gravity" first, and Pandora soon got us hooked on "What is This Feeling", "For Good", and others. :) 

3.  If you had to pick three favorite songs from your musical, which ones would they be?
Ergh. This is challenging. Well, we already covered "For Good", so next up would be "I'm Not That Girl", "Popular" and "The Wizard and I". 

4.  What's your least favorite song from your musical?
That'd be "Something Bad". Without a moment's hesitation. A goat professor....yeah. 

5.  Who are your favorite characters (choose up to three)?
Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero. 

6.  Which versions of your musical have you seen/listened to, and which is your favorite?
By far, our favorite is the OBC version of Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel!  We were overjoyed to see the touring Broadway cast when they came this way last winter!! The cast consisted of 

Anne Brumell as Elphie

Tiffany Haas playing Galinda

and 

David Nathan Perlow portrayed Fiyero. 

We really enjoyed the production and it was even more special as our first ever Broadway show (tour or otherwise) !!

7.   Is this your favorite musical of all time?  If not, what is?
No, I wouldn't say its our favorite.....there are so many we grew up on, for instance, The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, and Annie. More recent loves include Newsies, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, etc.  As a Broadway lover, I cannot pick a favorite. 

8.   Which cast album/musical soundtrack in your collection do you listen to the most?
At this moment in time, the OBC Newsies album is played/sung a bunch in our house, but we tend to go through binges for certain shows. ;) 

9.   What is your favorite costume from your musical?
Ok, first off. Emerald City has very many eccentric and quirky costumes in it, like this one:

Ahem. or this:

But I think the top pick (since Elphie's got one outfit the whole time) would be Glinda's bubble dress!

10.  If you could change anything about your musical, what would you change?
Well, as Wicked is supposed to be a sort of prequel story to the Wizard of Oz, there are several loose ends that don't line up with the traditional story. I know it'd be tricky, but it would've been fun it was a seamless connection. Also, there is a little objectionable content ("As Long as Your Mine" has beautiful music, but the lyrics are kinda sketch) in the beginning of the play that was one of the only not-so-great parts of the book that squirmed into the Broadway show. (More of a implication than anything) 

11.  Which role(s) would you most like to play in any musical, if you had the opportunity to do so on stage?
Elphaba, Katherine from the Newsies, and I used to want to be Annie. ;D

12.  If you could choose one performer to play any part in your musical, who would you choose and which part would you have them play?

This guy as Fiyero!! I think Aaron Tveit could do an amazing job. :) 

13.  Do you consider yourself a musical theatre fan in general or do you just like a few musicals?
I'd consider myself a fan. Musical theatre makes up probably about 60% of the music I listen/sing/play on a daily basis, and I'm also an unashamed Fansie. :D 

14.  Are you tired of the word "musical" yet?
Never.

15.  Turn your music playing device on shuffle (or utilize Pandora if you don't have one) and tell us the names of the first three show tunes that come up-- no cheating!  How do these rank on your favorites/most-listened-to list?
"Without You", "Prince Ali" and "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin". Haha! We do listen to *quite* alot of Alan Menken/Disney soundtracks, My Fair Lady is always great (I'm a good girl, I am!) and that Oklahoma one is kind of random. We don't listen to that show very often. :) (and now it's "Chim-Chiminey!")
Til next time,
Sarah

Boy, am I loving....

Double rainbows.

New praise songs.

Freshly squeezed limeade.

Fan-mailing certain people. ;)

Inside jokes. And outside ones too.

2-year-old's chit chat.

Writing lists bottom to top.

Catching up on life.

Homemade whipped cream.

This ditty.

Scheming.

New friendships.

Card-making.

Key Lime Pies.

Hack5's debut performance at iGovern East.

-Sarah

close to falling.

It's nearly fall.

And I'm getting excited about all the fallish things I love so much.

For instance:

Fall fashion. In the cooler seasons you get to don your boots, layers, scarves, and all the pretty accessories that are more for looks than warmth. ;)

Comfortable hoodies...

And the next big one being the food! :D I absolutely love all the comfort foods and treats that you only get when the wind is blowing and then leaves are falling. :)

(my personal favorite, apple cider doughnuts!)

And freshly made apple cider is one thing that cannot be beaten. 

CARAMEL!!!!

Windy days

All the brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows.

Ah.....I'm getting myself in the mood for all of the above! 

What are some of your favorite things about autumn? :)

summertime and the living is easy....

'

for blowing bubbles...

and fireworks displays,

for wide-as-your-face watermelon slices,

and kite cakes.

to the sky icecream cones,

and glasses of fresh lemonade,

sun-ripened blackberries,

and pinwheels, too.

lazy fireflies in mason jars,

and high, long, tall swings.

♫ "a little bit of chicken fried, iced tea on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio up..."♪

Disney/Pixar Keep Calm

I saw Kiri Liz was having a Keep Calm contest over at her blog and thought it looked like great fun! Here are my 3 entries:

:) I had a lot of fun with those and actually made a few extra because I was enjoying it so much.
-Sarah

Spreading Oodles of Holiday Cheer :)

I woke up this morning to the ground covered in a thick, white, layer of....

Frost. :)

We are timidly remembering that by this time last year we had had one very large snowstorm and another one coming up right on Christmas....this year? Let's just say it was almost 70 degrees till a week ago. Truly, I can sing with a boy I used to know:

 "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....just like the ones we never have!!!" ;)

So what's a girl to do when the weather outside is positively sweaty, yet Christmas is bloomin' in her heart? Let me name just a few things...

We can bake gingerbread men by the dozen and sigh over how darned cute they are...

We can drink gobs of hot chocolate and fish the last chunks of marshmallows out with our fingers... :)

We can sing "Jingle-Bell Rock" at the top of our lungs and dance around the living room in a manner that would astonish and delight you. ;)

We can wrap Christmas presents and pile them under the tree yelling, "Don't squeeze yours!!!" at the top of our lungs to anyone in hearing.

We can walk in and out of the front door just to smell the greenery...

We can lick our candy-canes into sharp points and have mock duels with them until they break and we have to eat them...

We can all wear Santa-hats and run around the house yelling "Mewwy Cwissmas!" at gale-force volume...

(crazy girl!)

We can wear diminutive wreaths on our head and wander around the house looking angelic and saintly and altogether useless. ;)

 

We can re-read A Christmas Carol and scare ourselves deliciously, knowing there's a smashingly happy ending by the last page...

We can sip egg-nog and try to like it...

We can stand outside on the frostiest of nights when the stars are just pin-pricks and our breath hangs white on the air, and hum "Carol of the Bells" to nobody in particular.

We can mull cider and try not to swallow the cloves as we drink it...

We can fling Christmas Cheer to everyone we meet, even if that everyone is limited to our cat...

We can watch Eloise at Christmastime and half-way wish were 6 years old and living at the Plaza Hotel...

Did I mention that my sister, Gracie *is* Eloise? I mean, a real Eloise. :)

Yes. All these things and lots more are do-able, even if there isn't any snow on the ground. After all, we Virginians are well-versed in combined New England Christmas charm with Floridian temperatures. :P

~Rachel

Disney Favorites

So, I was reading this post by our lovely, Jo March the other day. I really loved her post about the wonderful "magic" we have all experienced as little kids while watching Disney movies! :)

It's funny to say this, but all the old movies make me remember the times as a little girl, when we only had *3* kids (!) holding my breath during the scary parts and sighing when the Prince finally rescues Sleeping Beauty. :)

Anyhow, I thought I'd do a post showing my favorite good guys, and villains, too! What do you think? Well, here I go!

Good Guys:

Rapunzel. Not one of the ones I'm looking back on, yet a very good addition to the whole crew!

Robin Hood! Who couldn't love this self-less and charming guy? ;)

Aww! Both Todd and Copper are so cute and decidedly friendly. :)

Haha! Now, this trio work together so horribly, but you have to admit, they are funny in their oddness. :D

Little Roquefort! :D He's so small but does all he can to help when the need arises!

Flounder has been one of my favorite Disney characters for years--Mom evens says my personality has always matched this guy's. :D And you can't leave Skuttle out!

Now for the not-so-well-loved ones:

Now for Mother Gothel. The most conniving, sneaky, tricksy villain, yet there is something in her that can almost make you believe her motives are not evil. :P

Sir Hiss! :D Several of my friends use his quote all the time! :) Such a bad guy, yet he still gets bullied by Prince John.

We can't leave out Cptn. Jas. Hook! ;) You know, he's one of the villains, I almost *do* like! ;)

Gaston. You already know how large his ego is! ;) (and this guy got up here, due to Rachel ;)

Shere Khan, the tiger, is a charmer.

Cruella De Vil has an amazing theme song and I love her name! Such a fitting one, too. ;)

And last, but not least, "The Siamese Cats". Due to recent studies by our household, this pair almost tops the creepiest of them all. :P And their song is real......disconcerting? Also, the harmony sounds super twangy.

There are *many* more where these came from, but there are a few you can go off of. :)

Well, there you go!

~Sarah