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Post by hulmeman on May 7, 2017 1:08:45 GMT
Worst book ever is "Brigafriggindoon". I hate all the celtic schmooze. I wish to god it too was resurrected every hundred years!
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Post by hulmeman on May 7, 2017 0:55:43 GMT
I forever have a dream about performing in a musical! I am currently London's longest running Elphaba in my head. In the same way I am the longest running Norma Desmond. Good luck Elphaba!
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Post by hulmeman on May 7, 2017 0:28:00 GMT
Something took me to You Tube this evening and I ended up listening to this recording of the final act of "Sunset Boulevard". I still think it's ALW's best work, but that is subjective, so I give you the final scene of S.B..,
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Post by hulmeman on May 6, 2017 17:01:38 GMT
And beaten by Andy Burnham. The shame. You must be mortified. If I'd been beaten by Andy Burnham, I'd be bragging all over the place! Those eyes though!!!
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Post by hulmeman on May 6, 2017 6:32:11 GMT
Readers will recall my recent post about being unfairly rejected for the role of Cilla this week, now I have had another rejection. It seems the voters of Greater Manchester did not want me to be their Metro mayor. I invited voters to exercise their franchise over me but no one took up my invite. I am distressed to say the least. To add insult to injury, the counting man said I'd lost my deposit. I told him it had happened before when I couldn't make it to Ibiza with the Salford Ladies Against Gays (S.L.A.G'S) annual retreat in San Antonio.
My appeal to the electorate was simple. I pointed out how gorgeous I would look with that huge necklace round my neck and that tricorn hat at a jaunty angle. I promised to make the metro system in Manchester better by painting the trams a lovely shade of pink and to follow on from "same sex marriage" I would allow "same family marriages" to save the embarrassment of people in Duckenfield. (they don't get out much). There would be free whippet training for people in Bolton and I would make pie eating mandatory in Wigan. Education would be my priority with "Wicked" being a set book for English. (I've seen it three times and still can't make top or tail of it). Musical Theatre would be a core subject with a new 'o' level in Lord Weberism, and a new Mathematics curriculum designed by Dame Diane Abbot. (It seems voters put two and two together on this and eventually got seven).
I even promised strong and stable government, but I was told that people were fed up of hearing that.
Where, or where did I go wrong, perhaps you can advise me.......
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Post by hulmeman on May 4, 2017 8:51:58 GMT
That is the other thing, she is 91 and Philip is 95, if she wants a sit down and a cup of tea on a cruise she really has earned it! My Mum was relieved when a death wasn't announced, she says Philip is her favourite, always smiling, never says anything, doesn't bother anyone, just goes about his day. Your mum is right, except he says things like "slit eyes". The Duke said to Tom Jones after a Royal Variety Performance: "What do you gargle with, pebbles?". The Duke famously proclaimed: "British women can't cook". But his best must be, when talking about Princess Anne "If it doesn't fart or eat hay then she isn't interested". So yes, he just goes about his day!!!!!
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Post by hulmeman on May 4, 2017 8:35:08 GMT
Did you leave thinking "Fool Am I"? Maybe they didn't like your wash 'n wear ginger wig There is nothing wrong with my wash 'n wear ginger wig. The nice lady on Wigan market said it was made from Cilla's own hair, which retained it's vibrant colour throughout her life.
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Post by hulmeman on May 3, 2017 20:54:18 GMT
So, they were supposed to be "open auditions" for the lead in "Cilla the musical". Hurrumph, fiddlesticks, stuff and nonsense. Readers will be dismayed to note that I was ejected from the queue as "unsuitable". I kindly pointed out that I have been singing Cilla songs almost since joining this world. I have a reasonable scouse/Berkshire accent and I can wear a tight skirt half way up me ar*e. The fact that I am a middleaged man should not be a disbarment to my participation in an "open audition". I asked if they had ever heard of blind casting. They said never mind blind casting, even Helen Keller could tell I wasn't right.
I showed them my Alfie as I left in high dudgeon I can tell you.
I hope my fellow boarders can offer me some Cilla words of comfort.......
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 29, 2017 15:39:28 GMT
Yep, Sunset Boulevard for me too, but the Adelphi version which had Petula Clark in it at the end. My then partner and I would just swap tix for birthday and Christmas presents and make trips down inbetween. Loved that show. The sweep, grandeur, exuberance great music and great performances. Oh! I'm almost back there!!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 28, 2017 17:38:21 GMT
We have just been treated to a preview of this on our local news programme, Granada Tonight. The very sight of Russell Watson is enough to put me off, but the subject matter clinched it. If it is a Christian organisation producing this show, how does "the voice of god" Watson's marital history square up?
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 28, 2017 11:33:53 GMT
Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but if one were to offer appreciation by clapping, surely those people who are deaf can see it, and those people who are blind can hear it, so no one is excluded.
I should be in the United Nations me.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 27, 2017 9:12:11 GMT
Hate it! I particularly remember from around 22 years ago, in what was a very funny show actually, a few of us cowering in absolute dread in about Row E of the stalls when Dame Edna was on the lookout for serious audience participation. Thank God we weren't chosen! I remember Dame Edna spotting a group of gentlemen sitting together and referred to them all night as "my little Brideshead boys". They loved it! Obviously, when I'm playing panto dame, I need audience participation (otherwise the show is about 20 minutes long!) and I usually pick on an audience member for more "prolonged" attention. I have on occasion got it wrong, but once you have started you have to carry on, I just tone it down a bit. As for participation in more "legit" theatre, I have to change sides and say, no. Leave me alone to enjoy your participation.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 26, 2017 16:21:06 GMT
I just read an article on how more and more white gay men are voting right and are pro-May and pro-Le Pen, followed by reading another article about "no black and no Asian" Grindr profiles (hardly a new phenomenon now). So a musical about white WWII lovers looking like GQ models and bunkering up doesn't sound exciting, or relevant to contemporary queer politics. In fact, it's pretty safe and boring. Gay media and resources are vastly dominated by white bodies and representation, and have some serious shortcomings with the presentation of other queer communities. I would hope for more intersectional and inclusive stories and characters if we were to tackle queer topics in the future. I don't doubt your assertion about current gay male attitudes, but this musical is about a time when ANY gay relationship was forbidden. It serves to give context to how far we have come in the last 70 years. The book directly addresses this and indeed mentions several other ethnic groups of which the naive hero has no knowledge. I too hope for more intersectional and inclusive stories and characters, but "Yank!" tells a story about a particular time in a particular style that needs to be told. I am old enough to have known men who were queer and served during WWII many of them didn't live long enough to see the sexual liberation we have experienced in very recent years and enjoy the freedoms you and I enjoy now. These men and women would have to visit covert pubs and bars and risk rejection for their very being, never mind their ethnic background. They deserve this musical. There must be people in the current generation to write about the current right wing tendencies of many of our more affluent brothers and sisters, bring them on.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 26, 2017 9:42:34 GMT
Excellent news! Well worth a look, for all you Southern based theatre fans.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 25, 2017 22:50:18 GMT
Sort out my auditions for "Bette and Joan" and cast it.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 24, 2017 19:13:19 GMT
It's going into The Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle for Christmas.
Whops sorry, I just noticed this has already been posted!!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 22, 2017 22:23:43 GMT
...is everything. That is all. And don't pretend I'm the only person who made a special trip to Sainsbury's to buy it on release day, I know you gays. Double post soz!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 22, 2017 22:21:50 GMT
I take grave exception to the stereotyping in SamB's post. I will openly admit to being gay, so why does that infer I should make a special trip to Sainsbury's to buy a Steps album? They are sooo yesterday. Now if there was a new album by Judy Garland, Dorothy Squires, Alma Cogan or Dusty Springfield, I would rush to my local record store. But to have the audacity to suggest I would go to Sainsbury's. Well frankly that is a steps to far. If it helps, I didn't really go to Sainsbury's. I sent my boyfriend. You are therefore excused. That is what boyfriends are for. But please be careful next time. I always think it is a shame Waitrose don't sell L.P's don't you?
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 22, 2017 21:19:10 GMT
...is everything. That is all. And don't pretend I'm the only person who made a special trip to Sainsbury's to buy it on release day, I know you gays. I take grave exception to the stereotyping in SamB's post. I will openly admit to being gay, so why does that infer I should make a special trip to Sainsbury's to buy a Steps album? They are sooo yesterday. Now if there was a new album by Judy Garland, Dorothy Squires, Alma Cogan or Dusty Springfield, I would rush to my local record store. But to have the audacity to suggest I would go to Sainsbury's. Well frankly that is a steps to far.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 22, 2017 10:53:48 GMT
I work for the boys in blue (no not the smurfs) I see that sexism still rules at the Met in the era of Cressida DIck. The fact that a female has risen to the most senior rank gives a lie to your assertion which, given that this is a light hearted thread is out of place. There, that's off me chest, so lets get back to the fun.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 22, 2017 7:49:24 GMT
I am retired. Early retired. VERY early retired. I fill my time as a hod carrier for Lego and as a stunt man on Songs of Praise.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 21, 2017 20:49:36 GMT
I don't think "wings" come into it as much as "heritage". Liverpool gave us the most left wing socialist in Derek Hatton, but his popularity didn't spread far beyond the boundary of Merseyside. People I talk to see the Labour party as more concerned with international matters rather than the goings on in say Leeds or Salford (more widely,the old industrial heartlands). Tony Blair I am reminded was not so popular up here, because he tried to move Labour to what was supposed to be the aspirations of the new Labour voter. Those aspirations were more real in London than (say) St. Helens where industry was closing down left, right and centre. Whilst the south east prospered, the north got left behind and Labour appeared to concentrate it's activities down there. Just my opinion from talking to people, I ain't no Gallop pollster though!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 21, 2017 16:53:45 GMT
He was in London wasn't he. Preaching to the converted. Let's see whether he turns up in any of Labour's Brexit-voting seats in the North, those are the ones that matter, how London votes is a foregone conclusion and so entirely irrelevant. Seems funny a labour leader in trouble in the North??!! A left wing labour leader at that And that is the problem that Labour as a political party face. Up 'ere in t'north Labour is now seen as Londoncentric far removed from it's roots.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 20, 2017 21:06:56 GMT
Oh well, I might as well add my bit of smut, it is obviously panto season. I saw Barrowman's Dick in Brum earlier this year.
Just that.
No seriously, He was excellent and would be a natural for the Palladium. I'd look forward to see the Battle of the camp between him and Mr. Clary. I wonder if la Barrowman would do his tight white pants routine to open part two? Would that please you danieljohnson14 ?
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 20, 2017 10:44:39 GMT
for those you haven't heard it ( and sadly it's not that well known ) here is the excellent original version of Goldfinger by one of it's composers the great Anthony Newley : Wow! Never heard that before. Thank you for sharing.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 20, 2017 9:50:25 GMT
I guess a lot of us could trot out a list of worthy titles, but I am reminded of a ground breaking 1970's play by Royce Ryton "The other side of the swamp", which had a short run at the Phoenix Theatre. As I recall, it considered the polarisation of monogamy and open relationships. The play was well received by those who did see it at a time when "queer theatre" was pretty much non-existent. It's short run was put down to a heatwave, so clearly the queens were too busy lapping up the sun on Hampstead Heath!!!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 19, 2017 17:36:56 GMT
It's not a theme song but I like Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown which can be heard in On Her Majesty's Secret Service during the alpine village scene. Written by Hal David and John Barry and sung by "Nina". It's very 70's Eurovision. I so agree. That song made me want to be romanced in a Swiss alpine chalet in the snow with a roaring log fire! Nearest I got was a day out in Geneva last year!!
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 19, 2017 13:35:16 GMT
The catalogue of songs that are a big part of 007's cinematic adventures range from Lulu's "he has a powerful weapon" through Rita Coolidge's "sweet distraction" and of course DSB warbling her way through three tunes. From Nancy Sinatra to Sam Smith via Madonna and Adele not forgetting Gladys Knight who seemed to have a "Licence to Kilt"! Let's not forget that Sheena Easton did her turn with "For your eyes only" before going down 42nd Street.
Which is your favourite James Bond theme tune and why?
My nomination is DSB and "Goldfinger" - the sweeping orchestrations, the big punchy finish, tells you what to expect.
Over to you..........
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 18, 2017 13:45:37 GMT
'er apart from the fact that many times recently, Daisy May said she wasn't going for a snap election, didn't she tell that nice lady in Brigadoon she couldn't have an independence vote whilst Brexit was going on?
Double standards, but at least I brought things back to musical theatre.
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Post by hulmeman on Apr 10, 2017 17:41:12 GMT
Well, I've had a surprisingly wonderful day, spent with my sister in law, niece, great niece and great nephews at Manchester airport viewing park. I don't see a lot of my great niece and nephews so it was wonderful to engage with them, sharing family stories, making new ones, laughing and talking. Two of the youngsters told me how much they liked seeing me in pantomime which touched me no end. Sorry if this sounds a bit smug, especially if you haven't had a good day, but for me,a good day!
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