My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Greetings To all new readers and welcome. Thank you to all my semi constant readers as well. Spring is here almost and the promise of renewal and hope and lots of entertainment ahead.

1) The Fiasco Production's new pared down version of Into The Woods focuses on the witty lyrics and beautiful songs and music. Scaled down to a cast of 10 with each actor playing multiple roles and minimal set design and costume has a 70s vibe and seems to revitalize the musical. For those of you that love lavish stage production and are expecting special effects this is not for you. But for Sondheim lovers and fans of just seeing a stripped down heartfelt production come and see it. Hilarious Darick Pead stole every scene he was in even as Milky White the cow and Florinda , Cinderella's stepsister. Lisa Helmi Johanson as Tough Little Red Riding Hood was a delight. 

2) From Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino comes a new series on 
Amazon for their new pilot season. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. Centered around a 1950s' housewife in New York who decides after a series of events to
become a comic. This has all the fantastic earmarks of a Sherman-Palladino
series with witty dialogue and attention to the smallest details and pop culture references. A great cast featuring Rachel Brosnahan as Midge Maisel and the wonderful Alex Borstein, Tony Shalhoub and Luke Kirby as a young Lenny Bruce. I want to see more of this right away. I almost see a trend here with shows featuring the behind the scenes look at Stand -up comedy ( Crashing, anyone?)

3) Anything with John Lithgow is a must watch for me. Trial and Error the new  sitcom that spoofs the crime documentaries that have flooded the small screens for a few years now is a perfect set up. Lithgow plays a small town poetry
professor accused of murdering his wife and the "Northeastern " lawyer in town to defend him. It is early days yet but the creative forces behind this are some of the best comedy minds and have a great track record so far. The supporting cast is often hilarious with Nicholas D'Agosto, Jayma Mays and Sherri Sheppard as Anne Flatch the receptionist who has a number of bizarre disorders that include an inability to recognize faces. This could be right up there with The Office and 30 Rock. Time will tell.

4) A Netflix original movie I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore is a true original. Starring  Melanie Lynskey as a depressed Nurse Ruth and Elijah Wood as Tony as an oddball loner who team up as vigilante sleuths to find who burglarized Ruth's house. Lots of dark twisty turns and bizarre characters along the way will keep the suspense going and the unlikely relationship that builds from these two characters made this a surprise favorite.

5) Kendra Tanacea is  able to put a voice to the feelings we all carry with us  in our daily lives with her new book of poetry A Filament Burns in Blue Degrees. Eloquent and illuminating , these poems resonate with all of us. The yearning and uncanny ability to hone in on the zeitgeist is like an X-ray into our lives. Check out Thanksgiving and Divorced at Forty.

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Greetings to all of my semi-constant readers. It has been a busy few days. Saw a few shows and a quick trip to The Russian River. The weather is getting nicer and the days longer here on the West Coast but I have a few nuggets to share this week.

1)  It was a weekend at the Oasis with two great shows thanks to Darcy and Heklina . The lovely and extremely talented Miss Coco Peru presented her new show The Taming of the Tension to a sold out crowd. Great stories and quite a few musical numbers wowed the adoring fans and new members of the ever growing fan club. It was great to see her in one of my fave venues here and great to see the community support cabaret.

2)  Oasis again knocked it out of the park and presented the award winning Charles Busch in his terrific cabaret act featuring duets with his favorite pianist Tom Judson. A glamorous evening as Charles slipped from song to song amidst witty anecdotes and had everyone on their feet wanting more. The perfect evening capper was meeting the gracious performer himself who kindly posed for photos and a meet and greet.

3)  A quick trip to Guerneville had me me stopping by my favorite coffee house. Coffee Bazaar home to delish pastry, ice cream and my personal fav the Mexican Mocha. Hot or cold it his the perfect amount of heat. Check out the attached bookstore Mockingbird Books for local favorites.

4) My latest adult beverage is a Moscow Mule with a twist. I use Absolut Lime, Bundaberg Diet Ginger Beer, Liber & Co Fiery Ginger Syrup, fresh squeezed lime juice,  crushed ice and top it off with a splash of Blood Orange Bitters.  A pitcher or by the glass. Nothing better.

5)  Kong of Skull Island although a little short of character development was long on special effects. Featuring a crazy Samuel L. Jackson, a crazy in the best possible way John C. Reilly and handsome Tom Hiddleston and our new strong Fay Wray character the wonderful Brie Larson. Then there is Kong the misunderstood hero of the island. Cool monsters, great 70's era music(1973 to be exact) and a beautiful location made this 3D version really sing. A cross between a 70's war and monster movie. 

Bonus)  Beauty and the Beast is everything!! Stellar casting- Emma Watson  perfectly cast as Belle and fantastic Dan Stevens as The Beast and the supporting cast , Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts ,Amazing Ewan McGregor as Lumiere and Sir Ian McKellen as Cogsworth and Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe. The hilarious villainous Gaston  played by Luke Evans and his lovesick sidekick LeFou played uproariously by Josh Gad. Incredible cinematic scope, set design, choreography and score make this my favorite pick this year. And the plot... well you know....it's a tale as old as time. 2  Paws up!!!

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Hello to all my semi-constant readers this podcast is all of my top 5 all rolled into one. Please tune in for this delightful show and relive the best series of the decade!

“THREE’S COMPANY “ CAST MEMBERS JOYCE DEWITT, RICHARD KLINE AND JENILEE HARRISON 

TEAM UP  FOR A WILD, UNCENSORED 40^TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION ON CO-STAR 

PRISCILLA BARNES’ HOT NEW PODCAST “BARNESTORMING”!

For seven seasons and nearly 200 episodes, “Three’s Company” proved to be one of the funniest sitcoms of all time.  Still loved around the world by comedy fans, the reruns continue to air constantly on the Antenna cable TV network – which is showing a tribute marathon this Saturday to celebrate the series’ 40^th anniversary.

As part of that marathon, four of the key members of the “Three’s Company” cast – Priscilla Barnes, who played Terri; Joyce Dewitt, who played Janet; Richard Kline, who played Larry; and Jenilee Harrison, who played Cindy – reunited for a TV special that will air along with the Antenna marathon. But then they headed over to the Radio Titans podcast studio in Los Angeles to tell even wilder stories in a totally uncensored and hilarious episode of Barnes’ new podcast series “BarneStorming with Priscilla Barnes.”

Fans who want to get the real scoop on what went on behind the scenes of the legendary sitcom in uncut glory can tune in to hear their wildest anecdotes, including favorite tales of major bloopers and practical jokes, as well as surprising real stories from their offstage  lives.  Adding to the unique spirit of the show is the fact that the Titans studio is located in the famous Gaylord Apartments,  meaning that the “Three’s “ gang came and knocked on the door of an apartment to share tales about the most famous show ever made about apartment-living shenanigans!

That’s a fact that Barnes makes fun of weekly as she engages in humorously revealing conversations with her friends from across showbiz.  Her first three episodes have included fascinating stories from writer/actor Shawn Schepps (writer of the hit movies “Drumline” and “Encino Man”), cult-fave director Fred Olen Ray, and legendary rock-album designer John Kosh, who’s worked with everyone from the Beatles to U2.

But in this very special new fourth episode (bit.ly/2mMMBim), Priscilla offers a fun-filled ride through stories including:

“Three’s Company”’s craziest bloopers and practical jokes, including the time John Ritter caused an explosively funny reaction when he scared everyone  on set by popping out of a prop coffin.

The cast’s frequent clashes with the producers they wound up dubbing “The Three Stooges.”

How Joyce  believes that her beloved late costar John Ritter still communicates with her from the afterlife at significant life moments through mysteriously appearing pennies.

Jenilee’s fascinating story of going on a couple of dates with controversial actor Robert Blake, then calling it off when she saw some red flags years before he was charged (and ultimately acquitted) with the murder of his eventual wife.

How Jenilee went from being completely unrecognized by the show’s set and studio team on her first day on the job to enjoying the perks of success, as well as her funny first time meeting Joyce DeWitt.

Fast-paced and funny, “BarneStorming” offers great conversations with some of the most interesting people in showbiz. 

My Top 5 Obsessions This Week

Greetings to all of my semi-constant readers. Not a lot going on between The Academy Awards and the early days of Spring. But I have found a few nuggets.

1) The Edge of Seventeen starring the luminous and wildly talented Hailee Steinfeld as a troubled teen dealing with family and navigating high school. It is so good to see Woody Harrelson as a compassionate teacher in a great supporting role as well as Kyra Sedgwick and Split's Haley Lu Richardson. Out on DVD.

2)  When We Rise the new TV mini-series featuring Rachel Griffiths , Mary Louise Parker, Guy Pearce, Carrie Preston , Rosie O'Donnell played out in eight parts is based on San Francisco's own Cleve Jones'bestseller. The sweeping story of the United States' Gay Rights movement from Stonewall and 1970s San Francisco just as the AIDS crisis hit. I was lucky enough to see some of the filming in the Castro and it captures the period perfectly.

3) Feud- Ryan Murphy's newest Must Watch  docudrama is the famous feud  between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford shown in  8 glorious  episodes on FX. Ryan has a  penchant for high camp and Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange tear up the screen in one of the most famous Hollywood rivalries  between actresses. Set in 1962 during the filming of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane . The actresses 54 and 57 who were considered washed up  and unable to make Box Office Draw could have been friends instead of the bitter enemies they were pushed into being. A definitive must see.

4)  Black Stallion Winery has got to be one of the more picturesque wineries in Napa on The Silverado Trail. I was there recently to pick up a few bottles of Chardonnay and the staff is amazing and helpful. Located on the grounds of a historic equestrian center, it is breathtaking.They have delicious reds and tasty Chardonnays and it is the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

5) There is a very unusual podcast available called Missing Richard Simmons created by filmmaker Dan Taberski.On February 15th 2014 Richard Simmons disappeared . He stopped teaching his exercise classes  at Slimmons and rumors of his being held hostage by his housekeeper have flooded the internet. No one knows why he disappeared from the public eye and Dan has through a series of interviews tried to piece together what really happened and the mystery seems to deepen. Check it out now on Stitcher.