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Showing posts from November, 2020

MR. DEEDS - The Algonquin Round Table

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In the films, MR. DEEDS GOES TO TOWN and MR. DEEDS ,  Longfellow Deeds is taken to New York City to claim his new found inheritance. Being a simple  man at heart, as well as a self proclaimed poet, Deeds wishes to rub elbows with men who share the 'same gift' of writing.  In both versions, Deed's character, was taken to a restaurant where he interacts with men of the literati. In the original film, our hero eats at the restaurant, TULLIO'S.  The remake, MR DEEDS , does not name a specific establishment. Instead, that scene begins inside an unnamed restaurant, that seems to bear a resemblance to NYC location,  The Algonquin Hotel.   Said the waiter to Deeds, "The famous poets are at the round table over there." The movie viewers (of both films) will see the reference that is being made, to the famous Algonquin Round Table situated in the   The Algonquin Hotel    ***I was fascinated by the concept of this reference to a table of writers, critics and 'what-

After ANNIE - Where Are They Now?

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  Aileen Quinn - 1982 Aileen was an understudy in the original Broadway production of Annie , before John Huston cast her in the first film adaptation of the musical in 1982. She remained under contract to Columbia for several years to make other Annie sequels, which sadly, never materialized. Aileen performed lead roles in regional theater and lent her voice to cartoon voice over productions. At the age of 18, Quinn returned to school. She graduated from Drew University as a language major and held a minor in political science.  Quinn returned to the stage in 1994 with three Broadway national tours. Her thirty plus career has kept her acting, singing and dancing on Broadway, Off- Broadway, Regional Theatre, Films, Television, Commercials, Animation and Voice Overs. After moving to Los Angeles in 2011, she was thrilled to meet a group of musicians who would inspire her to fall in love with the sound of music from the past eras, particularly  1920's - 1960's Rockabilly and Swin

FRINGE FESTIVAL Spectacular - Hello, Dolly?! ChatterBox Divas BEHIND THE SCENES

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  The Rochester Fringe Festival, along with most events, was .... different this year.  The COVID 19 Pandemic nearly cancelled our local festival. As an entertainer of musical/theatrical productions, this decision was startling. The Fringe Festival is the perfect environment to try out new/obscure/original material in front of an audience. My past productions have included tributes to female singers and a reenactment of original woman's suffrage speeches.  An official announcement was made that the Fall event would go on as planned... but virtually. My daughter and I had been presenting our ChatterBox Divas REMAKES :  What Were They Thinking?! as a distraction from lost live performances ... since March!  Ok! Hold my beer! We've got this! We had already produced seventeen episodes and five specials!  Why not create a special Fringe-only episode???  The movie choice had to be special. We couldn't just use any movie to review/rant about...  HELLO DOLLY seemed to be the p