I (heart) Netflix and Broadway

More trip report will be coming up in the coming days. But I needed to take a break from that for a bit.

I signed up for Netflix awhile ago, and after the free trial was over I kept it. I have the cheapest plan - one DVD and unlimited streaming. I use the streaming the most. Between the PS3 and our Netflix enabled Bluray, it's really handy to have so many movie and TV shows ready to watch whenever I want. The streaming library grows all the time - just today I discovered they have Into the Woods! Into the Woods!! Really?! That isn't exactly a common movie to have. When it comes to musicals their selection leaves a lot to be desired, but there are a couple of good choices and I'm sure there will be more as time goes on. (Where is Show Boat?! I know it's old as hell and probably never came out on DVD, but come on! Find a way!)

I've been on a bit of a Broadway kick lately, which is evident in what I've watched on Netflix streaming lately:

Stagedoor - A documentary about the musical theater camp in upstate NY. It was interesting, and a quick watch.

Life After Tomorrow - This was an interesting and slightly disturbing documentary about the girls who were in Annie during the 70's and early 80's on Broadway and on tour. (Including Sarah Jessica Parker - totally forgot she was in that.)

Broadway: The American Musical - this was a six part series that originally aired on PBS, I believe. Hosted by Julie Andrews, it chronicles the history of Broadway from the turn of the century until like 2004. Very interesting and entertaining.

Singin' in the Rain - Can you believe I had never seen this before? It was really good - Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor. Man. Stars don't have talent like that these days. And Gene Kelly was like 40 when that movie came out and he's dancing all over the place.

Besides being on a musicals kick, I'm also on a old movie kick. I plan to watch a bunch in the coming weeks... I'm sick of new movies. Most of them suck. Why can't people write a story any more? It seems to be we're just relying more and more on special effects and computers to tell our stories for us...which is impossible.

I have seen two new movies lately - The Hangover and Zombieland. Both were good. The Hangover was amusing and entertaining but not the non stop laugh-a-thon people make it out to be. I only laughed out loud a handful of times. (I do, however, finally get what's so hot about Bradley Cooper. Yum.) So over hyped, but still good. Zombieland was amusing, the perfect length and not very gory for a movie about zombies.

That's about it for now - FYI, if you set up a station on Pandora Radio for Wicked (Original Broadway Cast) you mostly seem to get music from Rent, Disney movies and Glee. (And Wicked, of course!) That's what I've been getting with my latest station, anyway.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

So I got this in my email yesterday:

We're proud to present a 70th anniversary celebration of the classic movie The Wizard of Oz later this month in New York City.

We're hosting a free outdoor screening of the movie in Central Park, preceded by a free, live concert featuring special performances of songs from the movie by: Jennifer Hudson, Julianne Hough and ?uestlove of the Roots.

Date:	Tuesday, September 29th
Concert:	7:30 pm
Screening:	8:30 pm
Address:	Rumsey Playfield
	Central Park, New Yor

For more details please visit: www.netflix.com/wizardofoz

As part of the celebration, Netflix will also be inviting the general public to instantly watch The Wizard of Oz for free online on Saturday, October 3rd, at the website noted above. Be sure to tell your friends not to miss this classic movie and try out the Netflix service.


See you in New York.

–Your friends at Netflix

Doesn't that sound amazing? Too bad I can't go - going to the city on a Tuesday night is not exactly feasible for me. But I would love to see that concert and enjoy watching the movie outside in Central Park. I love, love, love The Wizard of Oz. Not just the movie, but the book, too. I have a gorgeous hardcover edition with full color pictures and I've read it numerous times. I'm not sure where the book came from - I've had it ever since I was a little girl, and it's my most treasured book. 

I think the amazing thing about the film is how it holds up no matter how many years go back. The movie is from 1939 - 70 years ago, and yet children still enjoy it. Goes to show what a great movie it is, not only story wise (Classic. Timeless.) but production and casting wise. Who can't love Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale? She's just darling. And Margaret Hamilton as the witch - she'll be delighting audiences for 70 plus years to come. And the music...the music is iconic. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is quite possibly one of the most recognized and beloved songs ever made for a movie. What little girl doesn't want their own pair of ruby slippers? (I know I did... I still do...) And no matter how many times I watch it, I'm always captivated when Dorothy steps out of her gray fallen farmhouse and into the colorful world of Oz.

So I urge you to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the movie by watching it. And hey, pick up the book if you've never read it before. It's different in many ways from the movie, but I've always been able to enjoy each for what it is. Even though it's missing a lot next to the book, the movie still a great adaptation and captures the heart of the story - after all, there's no place like home.

(And I urge you to check out the movie trivia on IMDB. Fascinating stuff!)