The Sound of Music Live

Me - The Sound of Music Live, wow! Carrie Underwood is a terrible actress. She sings good though, and she is pretty. The captain was really good. I liked all of the children except Brigitta. Gretyl was adorable. She was not as cute as Gretyl in the movie, however. The rest of the people in the cast were fine. Audra McDonald was really good. Compared to Audra McDonald, Carrie Underwood is like a little squeaky mouse to Audra's lion. All of the acting in the show was good except for Carrie. Liesel reminded me of the daughter in the TV show, Mom. I missed Charmian Carr's bright blue eyes from the movie. For me that is a big part of Liesel. The singing was all good. Mostly, I didn't like the set. I didn't like the hill they climbed up at the end. It didn't look enough like a really hill. It wasn't high enough, and it didn't look enough like the one in the movie. I didn't like the house because it wasn't spacy enough. Also, there were too many staircases and too many doors. Also, I didn't like that the party scene took place outside.  I didn't like that they hid in the garden of the abbey near the end of the show and you could see the inside of the abbey from where they were hiding. I liked the lines and the placement of the songs better in the movie too. I also like the kids and Maria better in the movie. The costumes overall were okay. I did like that the drapes that the childen's outfits were made out of were much prettier in this version than in the movie. The whole thing wasn't bad, and I enjoyed it, but overall, I liked the movie much better.

Mom - I have always loved The Sound of Music. It was the first movie I saw and my favorite ever since. I couldn't wait to see the new TV version. Over all, it mostly lived up to my expectations. The acting was good. The singing was wonderful. I was very disappointed in Carrie Underwood though. She is beautiful and so is her singing, but she is no actress. I am not one of those hate tweeters.  I reserved judgment until I actually saw the show, but have to say that that I agree with the real Von Trapp family in their feeling that the part certainly could have been cast better. I mean Carrie Underwood is not the worst actress in the world. I have seen many that are worse. However, she does not have much range. Her emotions go from A to B instead of from A to Z. In a cast of mostly Broadway veterans, Carrie's lack of acting talent really stood out even more. Other than that I enjoyed this version of the The Sound of Music. Stephen Moyer as the Captain may not have been as formidable as Christopher Plummer in the movie, but he was very good in the part. He made the character a bit more likeable right from the start than I ever remember him being before. From my understanding from having read the autobiography of the Von Trapp family's real oldest daughter, I think they would have liked that better than the way their father was portrayed in the movie. The children were cute and sang well and for the most part acted well. I kind of liked Angela Cartwright in the movie a little better as Brigitta though. She seemed a little more knowing and a little less bratty than the young actress who played the part here. The other main actors were good. Christian Borle seemed a little more aloof and less of  a comic relief character than Max in the movie. Laura Benanti seemed a less evil  slightly more likeable countess. Although, she had and Max had two songs here unlike in the movie overall, I did not think her character was developed as well. She didn't leave because the Captain was in love with Maria. She left more of because of a political disagreement. Dramatically, it works better the other way as in the movie. Audra McDonald as the countess was wonderful as always. There is a reason she has won 5 Tony Awards. She made me really care about a song (Climb Every Mountain) and character that I had never really thought about much before. Everything that comes out of her mouth sounds beautiful whether she is singing or just talking. Her scenes with Carrie Underwood made Carrie's lack of talent stand out even more.The sets were well done. The costumes were good. I did not like that for the most part they stuck to the original version of the show because I feel like the placement of the songs and certain things was better in the movie then in that version. A revivial of the show that I saw on Broadway about 15 years ago or so stuck to the revised version of the movie, and I enjoyed that. Ironically, Laura Benanti who played the Baroness here played Maria in that version when I saw it. However, when I have seen the show in community theater once or twice they always stuck to the original stage version as well. Anyway, over all I enjoyed this verison, but it could never even come close to replacing my love for the movie. For me, if they now start to have more live theater on television as a result of this venture having been a success that will be the best thing to come out of this experience, and I will be happy and grateful for it.

And that's our view. Would you like to more televised theater? Why or why not?

Saturday Special - genZ

 

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Funny Fridays - Party Time

Me -

My cat, Callie, was sitting on my parents bed, and I said to her, "Come on Callie, party in my room!", and she immediately jumped off the bed and ran into my room.

Mom -

One night when Aurella was supposed to be sleeping she came into our room and said to my husband and I  "You invited me to the party so I came."

We welcome you to share your funny stories with us.  Tune in Monday for another Talking Topic.

The Liberty Science Center

Me - The Liberty Science Center, wow! The Liberty Science Center was really fun! They had lots of interactive exhibits. They had fun games. They had videos to watch. Even though you were actually learning things, you actually had fun. Me and my sister go to do an experiment together. It was about the Hudson River estuary. We learned about the difference between saltwater and freshwater. It was fun. Now, I am inspired to do more experiments at home. There was a place where you could stand on a picture of a footprint, and it would tell you how tall you were. There was a place where you could time how long you could hang from a bar. I was able to hang for 24 seconds. There was a place where you could make a giant bubble. There was a place you could make a giant graffiti picture.You could even e-mail to yourself or anybody else. I learned to speak Chinese and made a video except we couldn't find it to watch it. I already forgot what I learned anyway. I also made a Spanish video but I didn't really talk Spanish in it. I just said "I love cupcakes." I learn enough Spanish in school. There were living  animals too. There were some really giant fish. There were these cute little animals that looked like chinchillas. There were this strange creepy alligator turtle. There were lots of frogs. There were some cute monkeys. I decided to name one Chuck. He was cute. I wish I could have take him with me. I asked my Dad if I could get one. He wouldn't let me. They had an exhibit that was like a football training camp. You had to jump over hurdles, jump as high as you could, jump as far as you could, throw a football and kick a football. It was fun even though I don't like football. They also had a Bob the Builder room for little kids. Everything about the Liberty Science Center was fun except the Bob the Builder room and one doctor exhibit that didn't work at all. I definitely would go there again.

Mom - The Liberty Science Center is a really fun place. It is not just for scientists and/or  people interested in science. Nobody in our family ever really liked science all that much, and we all had a great time at the museum . We got to learn a little Chinese. We got to learn some sign language. We got to learn about all the germs lurking in our kitchen. We got to create a graffiti picture and e-mail it to ourselves. We got to make a giant bubble. We got to see cute Tamarin monkeys, a scary Tarantula, and even an odd half alligator half turtle among other creatures.  We got to control a giant Rubik's cube by computer. My girls got to see how far they could jump and how high they could jump. They went through a pitch black maze using only their sense of touch. They climbed a rock wall. They practiced on a simulator used by surgeons-in-training. They even got to do an experiment regarding the Hudson estuary where they learned about the differences between freshwater, saltwater and brackish water. These were just a few of the highlights of our visit. There was so much more that we got to do and see at the Center as well.We had so much fun there that three plus hours there went by in no time at all. I'm sorry it took us so many years of talking about visiting to finally get there. I hope it doesn't take us as long before we have a chance to go back.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Funny Friday.

Where-To-Go Wednesday - Liberty Science Center

What: The Liberty Science Center

Where:222 Jersey City Blvd.
           Jersey City, NJ

Who: All ages

Our view: The Liberty Science Center is a place that makes learning so fun kids won't even realize that they they are learning. Four floors and twelve galleries of hundreds of mostly hands on exhibits provides something to interest just about everyone.The Touch Tunnel, a pitch black maze; a da Vinci surgical robot surgery exhibit and a giant Rubik's cube are just some of the highlights. There are live animals. There  are IMAX and RealD 3D movies which include fiction features, such as, The Polar Express and non-fiction, such as, Great White Shark. Some exhibits are permanent; others are only available for a limited time. Small children will love the  Bob the Builder Project Build It exhibit running now through April 2014. Here they can pretend to drive one of Bob's vehicles or build a machine shelter among other things. Sports fans will love the current exhibit simulating an NFL training camp  which runs through March 2014. There is almost too much to see and do at the Liberty Science Center. There is so much to see and do it can be a bit overwhelming at times. It is also hard to keep track of it all and remember what you've seen and done as you go along. Tickets are available at different prices for adults 13 and over, kids 2-12, and for seniors. Prices also vary depending on whether you want general admission tickets, general admission tickets plus tickets to one movie, general admission tickets plus tickets to two movies, or just movie tickets. There is also occasional special programming available at varying prices. For more information, to buy tickets on-line or to find out what exhibits are currently available go to http://lsc.org/.

And that's our view . For more about The Liberty Science Center see tomorrow's Talking Topic post.


          

Tips for Tuesday - Apps and Web-Sites

Me - Today I am recommending Candy Crush. It is a fun game. It is like Bejeweled. You have to switch the candy around to make three in a row or more. If you get five in a row, you get a donut. It is fun for all ages even my grandfather plays it.

Mom - Today I am recommending American Consumer Opinion. American Consumer opinion offers a variety of surveys on a variety of topics. A nice thing about this company is that you receive points for taking surveys screeners as well as for actually completing surveys. You get 10 to 50 points for completing a screener and 100 to 5,000 points if you qualify for and complete a survey. When you reach a 1000 points in your account, you can cash out either by  requesting a check or a paypal payment or by requesting that a donation  be made to charity. Another nice thing about American Consumer Opinion is that a lot of the surveys are more interesting than some of the surveys offered by some other survey companies. For more information or to sign up go to acop.com/home/.

And that's our view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.

The Kinds of Movies We Like

Me - Movie genres, wow! I don't like horror movies. I don't like action movies. I don't like adventure movies. I like comedies. I like chick flicks. I like romance movies. I sometimes like dramas, and I sometimes like documentaries it depends what they are about. I don't like science fiction. I don't like war movies. I don't like westerns. I like musicals. I like mysteries but not criminal mysteries. I like some animated movies and I don't like some. I don't like foreign films because I don't like subtitles. I don't like silent movies because they are boring. Over all, I don't have a favorite kind of movie.

Mom - I don't like horror movies. I like some science fiction but not all. I like movies like ET and the Harry Potter movies, but I don't like movies about futuristic worlds and stuff like that. I am also not into all those vampire movies. I like comedies but not stupid comedies. My favorite kind of  comedies are romantic comedies. I like dramas even dramas that are sad. I don't like dramas that don't make any sense, but those usually fall under the science fiction category anyway. I like documentaries depending on the topic. I like animated movies if they are well made like Pixar or Disney type animated movies and if they are not really stupid. I like foreign films depending on the topic because who wants to sit there and read subtitles if the movies is not any good anyway. I sometimes like action movies and sometimes don't but they are not my favorite. The same with adventure movies. In general, I don't like war movies or westerns, but there have been a few that I have liked. I don't like war movies that are just about killing, I only like ones that have some deeper meaning than that. I love love love musicals! They are my favorite kind of movie. This does not mean I have loved every musical ever made. There have been some really bad ones. Then, again there have been some really great ones too. I guess you can pretty much say that about every genre of movie though.

And that's our view. What is your favorite kind of movie?

Tune in tomorrow for Tips for Tuesday.