protect the children from the children

ridiculous as it is, watching a harry potter marathon on the abc family station (missed the first four though cuz i watched other stuff last night and slept today, but i know them well enough so it doesn't matter and in fact, it is better that way cuz...) is a clear reflection of the fears and delusions most humans accept as right and truth and reality... i refer mostly to the editing for television, not to the stories themselves... as if the movies that millions of children were brought to by their parents numerous times were not edited properly, the tv editors (are they just protecting their jobs as those layered in bureaucracy do or are they puritanical control freaks driven by their own perverse fears - or what?) randomly (though they would claim carefully selectively) chopped out lines and bits of scenes that ultimately change the entire experience so beloved in the movies...

because it is so much safer to stick our heads in the sand, after all...

still, it makes for good background tv as it reminds me of the characters and stories i enjoyed when they were a bit more whole... one more theatrical series of stories i wish someone who was into them would share with me...

what's on broadway?

glancing up at the tv a few moments ago (kind alike as seen on tv ya know), i found the tony awards show and having just reawakened my love for the theatre in the last few days by going to two performances of la cage aux folles i am puzzling over whether this is the 2012 tonys or a rerun cuz i've seen most of these shows a long time ago (or else they were movies... i mean, i love some of these stories and lyrics and songs but is there anything original out there?)...

wait, we interrupt these musical numbers every few minutes with irritating emergency beeps and scrolling messages and maps to let us know, constantly, mind you, that it is raining outside (because nobody has windows anymore) and there are severe thunderstorm warnings somewhere in a two hundred mile radius of the many thousands of tvs trying to enjoy the songs and dance and...

whatever, it's tv... back to the subject at hand, creativity on broadway... or more, original creativity on broadway... but dontcha get me wrong now - it's not that i don't love some of what is playing, in fact, some are absolute favorites, but i seem to remember a time when revivals had their own award catregory so the new stories and words and music could be encouraged)... just look at what is re-playing on broadway right now (and i am leaving some out)...

anything goes... billy elliot... blithe spirit... bring it on... chicago... evita... follies... porgy & bess... ghost... godspell... the best man... hair... hairspray... harvey... the lion king... the little mermaid... jersey boys... jesus christ superstar... newsies... mamma mia!.. mary poppins... nice work if you can get it... on a clear day you can see forever... once... peter and the starcatcher... phantom of the opera... rebecca... rock of ages... sister act... south pacific... spiderman... a steetcar named desire... waiting for godot... west side story... wicked... master class... death of a salesman... venus in fur... wit... and more coming annie... picnic... a few good men... funny girl...

what?... every one of those above have been done before... not that i am against remakes, though a purist tendency in me does shudder at the thought sometimes, but the large majority of the shows on broadway are not original writing or songs or stories or... but it's broadway... and i would trade tv for a seat in the audience of any of these shows at the drop of a top hat... yeah :)