Acting Fantastically Wicked

I was going to start by saying that I'm probably one of the last people in LA to see the Smash Musical Wicked, but judging by their packed house last night and apparently no end in sight for selling tickets (after recently celebrating their 1 year anniversary in LA), There are tons of people who still haven't seen the magic, or are going multiple times. Yes, I FINALLY got to see Wicked last night and what an amazing, delightful, stunning, (can I think of anymore positive prose to pontificate with?), show!!! As an actor myself, I'm amazed at the amount of work, both on, and off-stage which goes into a production like this. The actors were all superb, Laura Woyasz played Glinda, and Caissie Levy played Elphaba, and both were magical and mesmerizing in their performances! The rest of the cast was incredible as well with a special nod to Jo Anne Worley as Madame Morrible!

On first entering the Pantages Theater you are struck by the intricate stage which only gets more incredible as the show progresses. For those who don't already know, is the story of how the witches of OZ came to be. It's a well though out story which intersects nicely with The Wizard of Oz, which this story spins-off from.

I can't recommend it enough, and now I know why several people I know have gone over, and over, to see this show. It's rekindled my acting bug and got me thinking about doing another stage show. My work on "Notes from the New World" is coming along. The movie is still in preproduction and we're nearing shooting which I believe will start sometime in June. More details to follow in another post - so stay tuned.

In the mean time - go see Wicked - you'll indeed be enthralled!

Living on the Edge of Cell Phone Technology

First, anyone who regularly reads my blog (I think there are two of you) will note that this is my second post of the day, after a long period of inactivity on my blog. Well I have a really good reason. I finally splurged (kind of late Christmas present to self) and upgraded my cell phone. I'd been living pretty happily with my Sony/Ericsson T616 for many years. Once it was hailed as the current great phone. Even featured in several movies. But alas, techo-time marches on and it was king of time to upgrade. A Friend got the cool and funky Sony/Ericsson w580i recently and has been taunting me with it. I guess I finally caved in (OK so my old phone was starting to act up and some of the buttons are finicky), so I decided to get a Christmas present and upgraded.

Well the new phone came today and hence my blog. Actually, this post serves two purposes. First to happily convey my new upgrade, and second, because in order to activate the new phone, I was told to leave it OFF for twenty minutes, after which time it will work. Sooooooooo. I'm typing this blog while I wait those 20 long minutes before turning on my new toy, er, I mean, gadget, er, I mean tool, yeah, that's it my new TOOL. At any rate, this phone as some nifty features, like also being a walk-man (iPod-like music player) a 2, (yeah you heard right 2 mega pixel camera (OK so my Nikon D80 has 10 Megapixels, but then it's a REAL camera), and I think it has some other features thrown in for good measure. Not sure what they are, or if I'll use them, but hey, they're there! Maybe exploring the new features will give me something to do next time I'm sitting around on a set waiting for the director to call ACTION!

At any rate, I'll keep you posted on how I like the new TOOL, once I've had a chance to work with it.

--Rex

Gettin' Down with the Mac Daddy

 
Over the weekend I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Wavefest put on by 94.7 The Wave radio station. Actually it was both Friday and Saturday nights at the Hollywood Bowl. I attended Friday night as the guest of some good friends. The evening started off with Poncho Sanchez and his band. It was very entertaining. I'm not much of a Poncho Sanchez fan, but I must admit he did entertain. Next up was Marc Antoine, who, not being a regular Wave listener, I'm not familiar with. He plays acoustic guitar, and very well. His music was alive and very moving. I may have to be forced to become a fan. Next up was the incomparable Patti Austin. Ms. Austin was really kickin' it! While I am familiar with some of her older music, I was hugely impressed by her vocal ability, song selection and a much admired ability to relate to the audience and involve us in the show - thus making the live experience more intense and wonderful. The Evening ended with the Mac Daddy, Michael McDonald! He was amazing too. His collection of great music was amply represented playing hits from his Doobie Brothers days on up to more recent songs. A special guest of his was Paul Riser, yes, the actor. Paul can lay some pretty amazing piano chops on you and he demonstrated it that night. I was impressed.

All in all, a very entertaining evening! A thank you and shout out to my friends for inviting me (you know who you are), and I have to throw my two cents worth in and say that of all the artists, I enjoyed Patti Austin the most!!! She was simply amazing and entertaining, and a friggin' good whistler too. She performed a song she wrote in which she had a vocal jazz solo which she intertwined with a whistling solo - Jazz whistling! Who'd have thought! Awesome! Kudos to you Ms. Austin!

If you get a chance to attend next year's Wavefest, do! The artists are always great!

--By Rex Hoss

Aiken for some Clay

OK, bad puns aside, I had to let everyone know about my Clay Aiken concert experience. Saturday night I got the opportunity to see the crooner in action at the Greek Theatre in Hollywood. While I'm not particularly a 'fan' of the singer, I have to admit he put on an enjoyable show! He's a self-proclaimed slow song singer - that's what he does - sing slow songs. The most enjoyable parts of the show were when he did his tribute to TV theme songs and his attempt at 'being cool', where he tried to sing fast songs from 'somewhat' current artists. Another highlight were the two awesome background singers. Both black women who tore up the stage with their wonderful voices. Clay was smart enough to let each of them have their own moment in the spotlight and sing a song for us - without Clay! It's great to see a 'star' that's not afraid to let other wonderful talent shine as well. Footnote to Clay - Michael Jackson isn't exactly considered 'cool' these days, so singing TWO of his songs just goes to show how actually uncool you are - but then you did warn us you weren't cool. Otherwise an enjoyable evening!
--By Rex Hoss

Beautiful Side of Somewhere

This is the video for the Walllflowers "Beautiful Side of Somewhere" from their Rebel Sweetheart album - released in 2005. I was fortunate enough to be cast in several parts of the video. It was obviously released a couple years ago but due to recent advances in my blog postings, I'm able to put video online (and not just through YouTube) so here it is. See if you can spot me in the various parts of the video. [Video courtesy of MTV.com and of course The Wallflowers - Hi Jacob, and thanks!]

Omazing Grace

First I have to apologize for this post, but I just couldn't help myself - OK, you may say I'm sick, depraved or several other colorful terms, but, this one was so incredibly moving (and by moving I mean "AWAY FROM THE SPEAKERS"!!! Anyway, if you have a strong stomach, an even stronger EAR, give this video a viewing - and remember to have your speakers on! BUT BE WARNED! It'll make you realize that even in your worst attempts to sing, there's always someone worse than you! Praise the Lord! - A special thanks to Tif for sending this my way!

King Kalimari Update

Well, it's that time of the week again - time for another weekend of King Kalimari Shows! For the uninformed (or the forgetful - you know who you are) we perform Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 pm now through June 2nd. This will be week 4 for anyone who's counting. I can't wait! I find myself looking forward to each weekend and each show so much. It's such a thrill to be a part of such a fun show, with such a great cast! Speaking of the cast, last week was unfortunately the last week for Amy Haffner to play Rosenberg. She had to take a job in her profession of costumer so she could pay the rent and eat. Amy, YOU WILL BE MISSED! That's not to say that the show doesn't go on - we all know it does, and the roll of Rosenberg will now be perfomed by the very capable and talented Kim Mackenzie who has already been playing multiple roles including, the mermaid, dancing, squid, dream girl and especially, the show choreographer.

Even Cooler Virtual Keyboard

Well I have a link to an online 'virtual' keyboard, but I found another one which is even cooler! It has various instruments you can choose from, a chord mode and even a limited set of drum beats to keep you accompanied. It's pretty fun and a great way to find your pitch if you're practicing your vocalizaitons or just need a way to spend some down-time in between inportant web surfing.

Click the link below or in the title of this post to get to the virtual keyboard and have fun!

Virtual Keyboard

Online Piano

Found this link to a pretty interesting site. It's a virtual piano! It's Java based and pretty simple but it works if you just need to get your "pitch" on!

Play a Piano