Sydney is just under 16,000km from New York City, and if Luisa can’t be on Broadway,  then you must bring Broadway to Luisa! And fortuitously for me, Broadway well and truly came to Australia this week. In the past 7 days, I have seen composer Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked, among many others), actresses Shoshana Bean (Hairspray, and Wicked), and Donna McKechnie (A Chorus Line, Follies, Company, among many, many other shows)!

Last Sunday found me at the City Recital Hall in Angel Place surrounded by a full-house of fellow musical theatre nerds for “An Evening with Stephen Schwartz: Festival of Broadway”. The evening was a showcase of Stephen Schwartz’s music, beginning with Godspell and ending with “the W show,” Wicked, along with a discussion between Stephen Schwartz and Michael A. Kerker, (Director of Musical Theatre for ASCAP - the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). Directed by questions from Kerker, Schwartz discussed the processes behind developing a musical, his journey to the Great White Way, what it was like to have three shows playing simultaneously on Broadway, working with Alan Menken on the Disney projects, traveling to Denmark with a commission to write a new  musical celebrating the life of Hans Christian Anderson, working on a new opera, and the story behind the inspiration for Wicked. 
 
Hearing showtunes played by a full symphony orchestra is always a treat, and watching Liz Callaway, (another Broadway veteran, and also the singing voice of Princess Jasmine in
Aladdin and the title role of Anastasia) was fabulous, but my highlight of the evening was  definitely Stephen himself singing and playing his own compositions. He played  early versions of “The Wizard and I”, and shared how the song, and subsequently  the Wicked
plot, progressed from early drafts to the version we  know (and utterly love) today. The night finished with a beautiful rendition of  “For Good,” with Schwartz playing solo on the piano. “For Good” is a moving  ballad of friendship and reflection, and to be sitting three rows from the composer himself, was nothing short of glorious. His warm spirit and youthful  sense of joy absolutely shone through, and I just  melted. 

Three days later, I jetted up to Brisbane for the evening to see “Broadway to BrisVegas:   Shoshana Bean Live in Concert”. The venue was the Brisbane Powerhouse, a former  power station, that has been converted into a cultural centre in the lovely  suburb of New Farm. The show opened with a jazz version of “Wouldn’t It be  Loverly” from My  Fair Lady  and not a schmaltzy Michael Buble kind of jazz, but a vocally gymnastic riffed tribute-to-Ella kind of jazz. Wow! I had chills up and down my spine all through the song - a reaction I had right throughout the concert. The following numbers, including “Down with Love,” and “My Funny Valentine”, showed off Shoshana’s vocal range and ability to seamlessly transition from swing to sultry to sumptuous. The pianist, James Sampliner, also the MD of the  evening (and later I found out the MD of Legally Blonde The Musical... OHMYGOD!), was an amazingly gifted musician. The audience was as much in love with him as they were with Shoshana Bean, and throughout his dazzling and spirited solos I could not believe that the piano was able to stay in one piece or not fly off the stage from all the energy poured in through each number. 

After honouring the “classics,” Bean moved onto more contemporary Broadway composers, including Jeremy Schoenberg, Jason Robert Brown, and Georgia Stitt. Although she is well  known for her Broadway showtune belting, the stand out numbers from the evening  were from Bean’s own (debut) album, “Superhero”, written by Ms. Bean herself. It was amazing to see her singing her own material. It was almost as if she had stripped off a veneer (warm and beautiful as it is) to reveal her true self (equally as warm and beautiful), and it was breath-taking. Another highlight was Shoshana sharing her horrifying realisation, when she was about 13, that she wasn’t black. And so she sang a medley of all the parts she will never get to play as a white woman - ranging from AIDA, RENT, Porgy and Bess, Once on This Island, Ragtime, Children of Eden and Dream Girls. She jumped from pop to musical theatre to opera and back all within a breath. Hilariously brilliant. 

Her belting, her riffing, her legit voice, her comic timing, her melty jazz voice, her perfectly  not annoying pingy musical theatre twang... oh my! I LOVED IT! Am I gushing? She was gorgeous. I floated back to my hotel room totally and utterly inspired. And what about the effort of flying up to Brisbane to be there for less than 12 hours, and enduring a 6 hour commute to work the next morning, all for one hour(ish) of musical theatre? So worth it - so worth it in fact, I’m seeing her again tonight in Sydney! WOOHOO!*
 
On Thursday night, I headed out to the Factory Theatre in Marrickville to see Broadway royalty Donna McKechnie perform her cabaret show “My Musical Comedy Life”. McKechnie swanned on stage, looking every bit the Broadway performer, with fake eyelashes, theatrical make up, and glitter everywhere. The script felt rehearsed and a little overstaged, and  I worried that McKechnie wouldn’t be able to hit all the notes after her first number left her out of breath, but while she found it difficult to speak between numbers, her singing voice was still clear and strong. And despite arthritis and her age, she can still dance! 

A Chorus Line was the first musical I saw live, and I spent many inspired hours of my childhood listening, and dancing along, to the original Broadway cast recording. The ultimate moment of the evening for me therefore, was of course “Music and the Mirror”. The number was made all the more special by the back story of how the song came to be (it was the last number written for the show), and seeing McKechnie at sixty-nine years of age still belting it out just like that disembodied voice that has floated out of my grandma’s stereo so many countless times bought me to tears. 

*I’m home from Shoshana Bean at The Factory... what can I say?! AMAZING. I am completely and utterly inspired and excited. The past seven days have been thrilling. I want to sing. I want to dance. I want to write music. I want to listen to every musical ever written. I want to see a thousand Broadway shows. I want to live in NYC and be surrounded by all of this day and night. Thank you thank you thank you Stephen Schwartz, Liz Callaway, Donna McKechnie, Shoshana Bean and James Sampliner for traversing 16,000km of continents and ocean and bringing a touch of Broadway to the land of Oz. It has been nothing short of  WONDERFUL! 

I wrote the following in early April, and today stumbled across this amazingly
appropriate Superforest blog... 

I am... active beautiful charismatic determined evolving fortunate gorgeous hopeful iridescent journalling kind loving master novice open paganistic questing real sane tenacious understanding vivacious wicked young zesty...

Musical theatre fans are often lauded as spirit finger, glitter loving, show tune belting freaks. There are “normal” people who experience life. And then there are people, who stand next to normal folk, who experience life and then sing and dance about it. I am in the latter  category. And damn proud of it too. And as it turns out I am far from alone in the universe when it comes to making this statement. For hours of musical listening fun, deconstructions of divas belting out showtunes, and “daily shoutouts,” visit www.sethrudestky.com. For the latest in Broadway news visit www.playbill.com and click on Seth’s hi-larious blog/podcast Onstage and Backstage. And for weekly news/interviews/tidbits on what is happening on the West End, visit MusicalTalk and subscribe to their podcast. 

Despite their fluffly reputation, many musicals tell the stories of serious issues - from racism and the nature of war in “South Pacific”, American politics in “Assassins”, AIDS in “RENT”,  and most recently depression in “Next to Normal”. And in exciting sort-of-recent news, one of my favourite recent Broadway musicals, “Next to Normal”, won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama. “Next to Normal” tells the story of Diana, a suburban mother, and her battle with depression. The music style ranges from rock to country to pastiche, and articulately describes the experience of depression, the medical merry-go-round of “curing” it, and the drama of depression within modern suburban life. It’s a gusty, unafraid musical that is full of energy and emotion. As Ben Brantley states in his positive review of the show, “Nor do musicals have to bubble with cheer to transport an audience as this one does”. Highly recommended listening (and viewing if you’re in NYC!). And then if you really need some good quality spirit finger glitter loving show tune belting fluff, you should like, totally check
out Legally Blonde The Musical.

You may have noticed that the majority of this blog has been about food. That’s because food is awesome. Since reading Barbara Kingsolver’s delicious “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” I have become a little  obsessed with eating local, fresh, and where possible, organic, produce. I don’t  care what the skeptics say about organic food, you CAN taste the difference, and  it is a million times better. The flavours! The colour! The variety! I mean,
when was the last time you saw a round zucchin in the supermarket (pictured above)?

I’ve been visiting the Eveleigh Farmer’s Markets for about two months now with my market buddy Len (hi Lenny!), and I’ve become utterly addicted. Not only is the food fabulous, but the people (who also happen to be the farmers) are  utterly wonderful. Karen and her completely brilliant Willowbrae goat’s curd, David and Kerrie’s Hand ‘n’ Hoe sensational roasted macadamia nut butter (no really, it’s so good I’ve pretty much single-handedly made my way through three bottles of the stuff in less than two months) and the best garlic on the
planet, Champion's Mountain Organics from the Central Coast  with the best herbs, eggs, and veggies in the whole market, Yuri’s Sustainable  Produce with the most wonderful seasonal fruits and farmers who will not take your money until your bag is full to bursting with produce (“It’s still not full enough. Here, have some grapes...”), and the Mancini family with their  deliciously aromatic brilliant-for-cooking-but-so-good-you-could-use-it-as-a-dip
The  Little General olive oil from Griffith are among my favourites. 

Between the farmer’s markets and a new find, Harmony Wholefoods in Glebe, I’ve been able to eat pretty much all organic and mostly local food 7 days a week. I’ve been baking bread with wholegrain biodynamic flour (variations on a plain brown loaf have thus far included poppy seeds, oats, chia seeds, and rosemary), vegetable soups, salads bursting with so much flavour you don’t even need dressing, pizzas from scratch, tortillas, chickpea patties, fruit salads  with apples, peaches, plums, pears, and passionfruit (oh my!) that have my  office all sniffing the air enviously and asking where the delicious smell is  coming from, freshly squeezed orange juice... And all this for less than $100 a week. Mmm hmm! Now let us all open our mouths and enjoy wonderful food, marvellous food, glorious food!

I'm not really one for reality television (or television at all for that matter), but my little sister Phoebe (aged 7) recently discovered the program My Kitchen Rules. Having watched a total of one episode, I think the premise is something to the effect of teams of 2 from around Australia take turns each week to cook for each other and 2 judges. The cooking is timed, and each week’s couple has to “plate up” before the time is up. Once the food is served, everybody eats and makes comments about the presentation, choice of dishes, and taste of the food. There is some sort of elimination involved, along with lots of hugs, crying, and close up shots of the couples talking about each other. Anyway, Phoebe, inspired by the program,  decided that Saturday night’s dinner was going to be an intense, pre-grand final, episode of My Kitchen Rules. Meg (my step-Mum) and Phoebe, and Mr and Mrs Invisible, were this week’s contestants. Dad and I were the evening’s guest  judges. 

The Menu 
Entree -
Deconstruction Salad 
greens, spanish onion, beetroot, and organic fetta served with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar 
 
Main -
Cous Cous and Vegetables
cous cous cooked in orange juice and served with a mixed summer vegetable salad, and corn on the cob
 
Dessert - Chocolate coated strawberries
chocolate coated strawberries served on a bed of crushed meringue and ice cream 

The Verdict
Presenting the salad unmixed, with the ingredients artfully arranged on the plate was an interesting choice. The combination of ingredients was delicious however - light and refreshing and the perfect use of end-of-summer ingredients. The beetroot was cooked to perfection and matched well with the organic Southern Highland’s fetta. 

The cous cous cooked in orange juice and served with cranberries was surprisingly rich, and was a lovely contrast to the light though flavourful mixed summer vegetable salad. The fresh corn on the cob was sensational, however the team lost a point for not promptly serving butter with the corn. Overall, wonderfully fresh and full of flavour. 

Dessert was sweet and rich. The chocolate coated strawberries were indulgent on their own, however the combination with the crushed meringue and strawberry and vanilla ice cream made this a decadent dessert that was indeed a real treat and the perfect finisher for a fabulous meal. 

Phoebe (and Meg), scored a resounding 11 out of 10 from the evening’s judges, however Phoebe insisted that scores had to be out of 10, and she would rather an 8, so an 8 was awarded. Mr and Mrs. Invisible were awarded 2 points. 1 point for trying, and 1 point for having the guts to serve thin air. Phoebe also mentioned that they had burnt their main course, and failed to dish up on time. A disappointing effort from Mr and Mrs. Invisible, but a wonderful (and delicious) effort from Phoebe and Meg. If this is what reality tv inspires, then bring it on. The best part about it? There were no ads, the food tasted sensational, and the television was NOT the centre piece of the evening. Now that's my kind of kitchen rules!  

Back  in the 19th century, before carbon footprints and climate change and “going green” had entered the lexicon, some enlightened beings living in large cities saw that their metropolises were polluted, grimy, dank places in need of fresh air. They campaigned for the preservation, and in many cases, the creation, of green spaces within the city that would act as literal and metaphorical lungs within the industrialised environment. As a result, we have such fabulous places in the world as New York’s Central Park, Sydney’s Hyde Park, and up the road from Hyde Park, Victoria Park. Man made oases in the middle of concrete and tar  landscapes with pretty water features, trees, grass, and wild life.

I’m fortunate to work just a 5 minute stroll from Victoria Park, and on Friday afternoon I found myself, along with two colleagues, sitting by the water’s edge goose gazing. Yes, this entire blog post is not really about lush green spaces, it’s about a goose. A lovely white goose that captivated my attention throughout my lunch break with his glorious goose-ness. When we arrived at the park, the goose was swimming in the water. Just gliding along, not worrying about the other birds, seagulls and ibis’s and ducks, enjoying the cool of the water. Soon he waddled up onto the bank and proceeded to dine on all the bugs in the grass. He would rip and tear at the grass, gobble the bugs and leaves down, and rip and tear some more. After a hearty lunch, he plonked himself down in the sun, craned his neck so that his head could rest on his own back, and promptly fell asleep. He was a gorgeous bird, and it was all I could do to stop myself from marching down the hill and giving him a hug.

So thank you enlightened beings of the mid-19th century. Your efforts are much appreciated by tired office workers in need of a little inspiration on their Friday afternoon lunch breaks in the middle of a busy city. 

In honour of International Women's Day, which passed by very quietly yesterday (at least in my part of the world), I would like to say thank you to all the amazing, beautiful, talented, inspiring, courageous, forward-thinking, dedicated, loving, strong, independent, generous, spirited women in my life. There are many, but here's a short list (in order of my stream of
consciousness)... 

Mum, Abuela, Meg, Vicky, every single tita and aunty, Anita, Phoebe, Rachel, Flea, Flick, Mrs  Gibbons, Mrs Lukey, Mrs Martinotes, Miss Lorshy, Mrs Stevenson, Mrs Cullen, Mrs McAndrew, Lisa, Ms Paris, Miss Boyle, Ms Davis, Mrs Phelan, Mrs Hand, Mrs Stewart, Mrs Lowe, Miss Simone, Dana-Lee, Kirstin, Catilin, Bridget, Ella,  Elizabeth, Rae, Hannah, Sophie, Trish, Amy, Gina, Laura, Ilse, Megan, Carmel, Kristin, Orange, Joce, Rochelle,  Bernadette Peters, Julie Andrews, Doris Day, Barbara Streisand, Debbie Reynolds, Marni Nixon, Judy Garland, Idina Menzel, Caroline O'Connor, Kristin Chenoweth, Drew  Barrymore, Oprah, Doreen Virtue, Mary Poppins, Maria, Shirley MacLaine,  Rachel Griffiths, Ariel, Judy from Meditation, all the women in meditation, Ali Smith, Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, Louisa May Alcott, Elizabeth Gilbert, Barbara Kingsolver, Alanis Morriset, and Tori  Amos.

To all the women whose  names I have inadvertantly omitted, you're in there too. 

Thank you. 

When you find yourself in times of trouble, Mother Superior tells you to turn around and face those troubles, climb every mountain, and ford every stream until you find your dream. When you’re feeling down and out, nothing lifts your spirits more than sitting in one of Sydney’s most beautiful theatres surrounded by twelve hundred obsessed fans of “The Sound of  Music”. And as luck would have it, this is exactly where I found myself earlier this week, sitting in the third row of the mezz in the State Theatre for the annual “Sing-a-long Sound of Music”. Part of the world famous Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the Sing-a-long Sound of Music is an event for die-hard “Sound of Music” fans. It is an event that makes me feel that I am not alone in this world. There are countless others, of all ages and backgrounds, who like me, have watched “The Sound of Music” so many times that every word, lyric, tune, inflection, and dramatic pause has been committed to memory and stored in the heart, ready to burst open on a night such as this. 

The night commences with a fashion parade. The small children go up first, dressed in party dresses or traditional Austrian costumes, they are the Von Trapp children (or as one poor  child proudly announced, the Van Trapp children... The fabulous female host laughed and said she must have lived next door to the Von Trapp’s). The children are followed by a motley conglomerate of nun’s. Traditional nuns in black and white habits with large crosses around their necks, naughty nun’s with red stockings beneath their habits, nuns with short skirts and a business man who has miraculously transformed his suit jacket into a rather convincing habit. The third group are people are dressed in traditional leiderhosen, girls in white  dresses with blue satin sashes, brown paper bags tied up with string, Maria’s, baronesses, Captain’s, an older gentleman fresh off the Mardi Gras float last Saturday in the most stunning cupcake wedding dress, and even a giant raindrop clutching a bunch of roses. 

The screening begins. The host talks us through the gorgeous opening shots of Austria. The field appears, and Maria is a tiny speck in the distance. The audience, with great excitement,  shouts, “She’s coming! She’s coming!” Maria spins into view and the audience goes wild. The lyrics appear at the bottom of the screen (not that this audience needs help with lyrics), and along with Julie Andrews, we sing to the rafters, “The hills are alive!” We each have a showbag, containing 5 “magic moment” items. For magic moment number one we have two picture cards with an image on each side of the card - a question mark, a picture of Maria, the word “flibbertigibbet”, and a will of a wisp which looks like a  “manic sperm.” When the nun’s sing “How do you solve a problem like Maria”, we flash the appropriate cards towards the screen. Magic moment number two is represented by a square piece of floral fabric. After “My Favourite Things,” (throughout which every time the line “girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes” is repeated, the people dressed as such jump up and cheer), Maria and the Captain have an argument regarding new material for play clothes for the children. The Captain leaves and Maria angrily flops into an armchair by the window. We, the audience,  shout “BEHIND YOU!” and wave our curtain strips  to encourage Maria to realise the curtains behind her will make PERFECT play clothes for 7 children, and when she does, oh the ripples of joy throughout the crowd! 

Magic moment number three is an invitation to the Captain’s Ball. When Gretel skips out of the parlour room, following the decision to have a party in honour of the Baroness, announcing “it will be my first party Father!”, we madly flap our invitations shouting “To the  ball! To the ball!” Magic moment number four is a party popper. Maria and the Captain are in the gazebo. The Captain has told Maria there isn’t going to be a baroness, you can’t marry someone when you’re in love with someone else. The light is shadowy and blurry in the way that only classic love stories on the silver screen can be, the Captain and Maria lean ever closer and closer toward each other, and then, just when you can’t handle the suspense any longer, they kiss! And several hundred people pop their party poppers toward the screen.  Fabulous. The final magic moment is when the Von Trapps sing Edelweiss at the Salzburg Music Festival, and with little plastic edelweiss flowers, we all wave the Von Trapps farewell. 

There is honestly no time in my living memory when I haven’t seen “The Sound of Music”.  I have watched it a thousand million times, and still every time I see it, it raises my heart,  and lifts my soul. And on this magical night, with twelve hundred of my closest friends, I cheered for Maria, hissed the Baroness, booed the Nazis, fell in love with the Captain, and sighed for Gretel. I sang every note from Do to Ti, sobbed my eyes out during “Climb Every Mountain”, and swooned at the glorious rich sumptuousness of one of the most definitive all singing, all dancing, all technicolour musicals ever made.  And watching it on the big screen, surrounded by people who love it as much as I do, is truly one of my favourite things.

Breakfast this morning was heavenly. The bread was homemade by yours truly (containing flour, water, salt, a pinch of sugar, yeast, and fresh rosemary), the eggs were of the free-range organic variety from the Eveleigh Farmer’s Markets at Carriageworks, and the juice was freshly squeezed oranges (from the market) and lemons (from my aunt and uncle’s  garden - thank you Vicky and Trevor!). Mmm hmm! The setting, Mum’s balcony overlooking the Lane Cove River and Lane Cove National Park on a gorgeous blue sky Sydney summer day. Cicadas trilling, minor birds and lorikeets whistling to each other from their branches, a lone kookaburra cackling at it all from his perch in, yes, an old gum tree. What more does one need in life? 
 
On a side note, my visit to the Eveleigh Farmer's Market yesterday was also a real treat.  In celebration of the Chinese New Year, celebrated Chinese-Australian chef Kylie Kwong was giving a cooking demonstration. Her challenge for the morning had been to arrive at the markets, select ingredients, and give a live demonstration using only the ingredients found at the markets. Due to the swarm of people surrounding her, I unfortunately couldn't see a lot. Whatever she was cooking, it smelt amazing. The stalls were a sumptuous feast of (mostly) local, and  (mostly) organic or biodynamic fruits, vegetables, and occasional animal, of the  season. Hot off the vine or tree/out of the ground this week were capsicums, corn, carrots, brocolli, zucchini, beetroot, garlic, macadamia butter, olive oil, olives, stone fruits, oranges, apples, tomatoes, berries, avocados, and a plethora of green and fragrant herbs. Once again, what more does one need in life?!