Almost a year and a half has gone by since my last post. With everything that has happened in my life, that decision was probably less than wise. Goodness knows, my blog could have inspired people to donate in droves to many causes I find noble such as Relay for Life and New Candlelight Theatre. Sharing your views and stating a case through an impassioned speech is the MOST genuine way to generate funds for causes that need money to stay alive. Over the past two weeks we have witnessed a for-profit business work the system of America's heart strings to brilliantly make money in droves based on a cause they felt was noble, his own company. Here's a quick history lesson on this theory...
1856 - Chick-Fil-A-Slaves' CEO openly supports slavery saying their God believed that all Men were created equal, but by law, black slaves were only worth 1/3 of a vote. The slaves were only 1/3 a person, duh! Since the slaves could not pay for chicken with their 3 acres and a mule. they have no impact with their boycott. However, slave owners had the slaves hitch their horses to their carriages and they rode off to Chick-Fil-A-Slaves to show support making the company hundreds of dollars.
1913 - Chick-Fil-A-Vetos' CEO openly supports women not being able to vote saying their God believes all MEN are created equal. After all, women wouldn't have time to cook the chicken in the restaurant if they were out voting, Duh! Since women weren't paid equal wages, they have no impact with their boycott, because they could never afford Chick-Fil-A-Veto's Chicken to begin with. However, people who thought women were not equal rush by their new Automobiles to Chick-Fil-A-Vetos and make the company thousands of dollars.
1957 - Chick-Fil-A-Illiterates' CEO openly supports nine black children not being able to go into the white school house because God surely had something to say about it, but hadn't returned the call. Many of the black children wanted to get on bus and ride to Chick-Fil-A-Illiterates to protest, but weren't allowed on the bus since the back was full! This CEO is fired for his bad business decision that cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. Why you ask? Well, the black students would have exposed the white students to the joys of Chick-Fil-A-Illiterates to compete with their meatloaf and ham and cabbage.
After the dramatic business loss, Chick-Fil-A dropped the final word of its name until...
2012 - Chick-Not-Fil-A-Gays' CEO openly supports intolerance of gay marriage. Gay people's boycott wasn't truly felt because they were intelligent enough to know the company had previously donated millions of dollars to organizations that continued to preach intolerance, and they didn't eat there to begin with. The decision put the business back on track, while gay people were far too busy trying to ruin marriage and freedom of speech, hundreds of thousands of people were told to rush to a Chick-Not-Fil-A-Gays by America's leaders of tolerance (Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Colter, and more!). This day makes millions of dollars for Chick-Not-Fil-A-Gays, and in the name of America, they will donate millions more to define marriage.
So, the question to folks with "Freedom of Speech" and "Religious Rights" weighing heavy on their hearts, put your self back in time. What if people did not stand of for tolerance of black people and women? My guess: many of you wouldn't be sitting on Facebook to know it was Chick-Fil-A's appreciation day. If you feel this is anything other than a marketing decision, you are naive. A CEO doesn't come out swinging without sitting with his Board of Directors first. None of them would risk their plush life style with out financial impact studies completed and behind-closed-doors support for appreciation days. We are a capitalist country, and no, I don't think a CEO places capital below his personal views.
I spared you my personal opinion in Part 1, but just wanted to some provide some food for thought.
(See what I did there)
Until Part Two...
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Monday, February 28, 2011
Big Jellicle Balls
The gentle thud of the walker against the barn floor, the rustle of Ugly Kitty Sweaters, and the faintly audible ringing of too many hearing aids in one place, one might instantly be transported back in time. Another evening of the dreaded "Dinner Theatre Experience" seems to be lurking to close for comfort, and throws the patron back to the memories of their grandparents dragging them to see another production of Hello, Dolly!
Dining on a delicious buffet, any individual aged from 15-50 will find their meal to be rather tasty. However, their minds may drift to a fantasy of Hooters girls, sports, and their local bar. Worry, stress, and indigestion overcome the younger person who fears the dreaded tacky showbiz machine may take them victim with another underwhelming performance at their local theater. As they order a drink from the bartender (Who gives any Hooter's Girl a run for their money), they prep their mind to survive Andrew Lloyd Webber's furry, hissy, and repetitive musical CATS! The lights dim, the overture starts, and within a few minutes the fans of musical theatre are born.
New Candlelight Theatre redefined what is possible for a dinner theatre production. Few professional theatres in Delaware have survived outside of Wilmington's City Limits, let alone any dinner theatres. Many theatres may work only to maintain the business they have left, but NCT, by producing CATS, makes a statement that nothing will deter NCT from creating new audiences, new memories (HA!), and remain culturally relevant in Delaware. It takes an enormous set of Jellicle Balls to flawlessly re-create a multi-million dollar, world-renowned, and challenging spectacle of a musical. (Not to be confused with Full Monty balls) Congrats to Dann Dunn, Chris Alberts, Clint Williams, Jeff Reim, and Jackie Alberts for taking on a challenging piece that has started a new chapter of possibilities for NCT!
Review, after review, after review has praised this production. It is an honor to watch this show night, after night, after night. I am proud to call many of the cast friends. Each of them performs show stopping numbers. Lindsay Mauck, Kaylan Wetzel, Timm Cannon, Colleen McGinnis, and Dave Snyder, give the audiences exactly what they want: Perfection. Every other cast member is exceptionally talented, and diversified. Tim Osgood, Anastasia Bokas, Billy Hart, Mike Angelini, Holly Becker, Justina Ercole, Alexis DeDonato, and many more provide memorable moments on stage. Alas, every show has its crucial and memorable moment. Griz limps onto stage to make one final plea to be awarded a new life. The all too familiar and typically poorly executed song begins, tonight, the performance is not typical or poorly executed. Erica Harr as Grizabella begins to sing the iconic song Memory. As you can tell, I love to hear myself talk, but for a few minutes during every performance I am silent, amazed, and welled up with tears. (Maybe it's the red wine I have during Act 2!)
Sadly, by the end of March the packed houses, standing ovations, enthusiastic applause will become “a memory, too.”All good things must come to an end. However, not everything ends this gloriously. Kudos to everyone working on CATS, I am proud to be a performer/volunteer at NCT because of people like you!
Everyone aged 15-50 needs to come enjoy an evening at NCT. It isn't your grandparents' dinner theatre. It's a quality professional theatrical performance that happens to have dinner served 2 hours before show time! Come enjoy a show at NCT, where the size of your Jellicle Balls matter…and for that matter, the size of your Full Monty ones too!
Dining on a delicious buffet, any individual aged from 15-50 will find their meal to be rather tasty. However, their minds may drift to a fantasy of Hooters girls, sports, and their local bar. Worry, stress, and indigestion overcome the younger person who fears the dreaded tacky showbiz machine may take them victim with another underwhelming performance at their local theater. As they order a drink from the bartender (Who gives any Hooter's Girl a run for their money), they prep their mind to survive Andrew Lloyd Webber's furry, hissy, and repetitive musical CATS! The lights dim, the overture starts, and within a few minutes the fans of musical theatre are born.
New Candlelight Theatre redefined what is possible for a dinner theatre production. Few professional theatres in Delaware have survived outside of Wilmington's City Limits, let alone any dinner theatres. Many theatres may work only to maintain the business they have left, but NCT, by producing CATS, makes a statement that nothing will deter NCT from creating new audiences, new memories (HA!), and remain culturally relevant in Delaware. It takes an enormous set of Jellicle Balls to flawlessly re-create a multi-million dollar, world-renowned, and challenging spectacle of a musical. (Not to be confused with Full Monty balls) Congrats to Dann Dunn, Chris Alberts, Clint Williams, Jeff Reim, and Jackie Alberts for taking on a challenging piece that has started a new chapter of possibilities for NCT!
Review, after review, after review has praised this production. It is an honor to watch this show night, after night, after night. I am proud to call many of the cast friends. Each of them performs show stopping numbers. Lindsay Mauck, Kaylan Wetzel, Timm Cannon, Colleen McGinnis, and Dave Snyder, give the audiences exactly what they want: Perfection. Every other cast member is exceptionally talented, and diversified. Tim Osgood, Anastasia Bokas, Billy Hart, Mike Angelini, Holly Becker, Justina Ercole, Alexis DeDonato, and many more provide memorable moments on stage. Alas, every show has its crucial and memorable moment. Griz limps onto stage to make one final plea to be awarded a new life. The all too familiar and typically poorly executed song begins, tonight, the performance is not typical or poorly executed. Erica Harr as Grizabella begins to sing the iconic song Memory. As you can tell, I love to hear myself talk, but for a few minutes during every performance I am silent, amazed, and welled up with tears. (Maybe it's the red wine I have during Act 2!)
Sadly, by the end of March the packed houses, standing ovations, enthusiastic applause will become “a memory, too.”All good things must come to an end. However, not everything ends this gloriously. Kudos to everyone working on CATS, I am proud to be a performer/volunteer at NCT because of people like you!
Everyone aged 15-50 needs to come enjoy an evening at NCT. It isn't your grandparents' dinner theatre. It's a quality professional theatrical performance that happens to have dinner served 2 hours before show time! Come enjoy a show at NCT, where the size of your Jellicle Balls matter…and for that matter, the size of your Full Monty ones too!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
WilmU's Yellow Hogwarts Express
The moment had come. I anxiously stood in the cold dark wind clutching my backpack praying for the arrival of the dreaded transportation vessel known as the Yellow Limousine. Shivering I looked around, but my mother was nowhere to be found waving me off to a wonderful day of school. My brown bag lunched filled with nutrition was replaced with yet another bag of McDonald's 2,000,000 calorie meal, and a large Shamrock Shake. My Power Ranger Velcro Light Ups were replaced with my favorite pair of dress shoes. Suddenly, as a strong gust of wind blew away my Phillies cap and another 30 pieces of hair, the realization was Earth shattering. This wasn't a typical morning during my formative Kindergarten days, but a dark Tuesday evening in February of 2011. The Yellow Limo, which I had artfully avoided since Kindergarten, would be transporting me to Wilmington University's New Castle Campus.
My fear is quite understandable, I am clearly under developed in Bus Etiquette. Should I still be excited to go over speed bumps while sitting in the back seat? Should I feel like a nerd to sit in the front? Is there a Show Tune Only Section? Instead of bullying for my lunch Money, would the mean kids steal my Merlot? Thanks goodness my shrink is on speed dial, (I have a private line in each of the houses I have built him) because I am convinced that the minds behind WilmU's Evening Class Transportation have genetics that hail from the McDonald's ball pit where I purchased my dinner. Never the less, I wished my apparition skill magically worked to avoid WilmU's Yellow Hogwarts Express. Within 54 minutes, WilmU's Yellow Hogwarts Express would also destroy a principal belief of my father: The shortest point from Point A to Point B is a straight line.
The following Timeline and Map will explain...
4:55: Enter WilmU campus @ Entrance B/Point A. Entrance A was not accessible to traffic coming off of Ramp A. Continue on to Point B (Building where my class is located).
4:57: Arrive at Point B. Man in Uniform stops me. He proceeds to allow Cars from Ramp A to pull into location A.
5:05: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A.
5:13: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Headache begins
5:16: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Politely ask Man in Uniform if I will be able to move any time soon. He informs me "He has got this under control." I wonder if this may be true because this is the same type of man in uniform that is supposed to winning the War on Drugs.
5:27: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Body starts to itch. Start to think like Judy Garland and consider scouring around for any booze and/or Advil.
5:28: Man In Uniform informs me that WilmU's"Overflow" lot is now full, I must continue to the "Overflow Overflow Lot" at the Wilmington Manor Elementary School. I grew concerned, I was not armed with tampons or pads, all of which are needed to confront "Overflow Overflow." He informed me that there I will find WilmU's version of the HogWarts Express: Lehane's finest Yellow Limousine.
5:29: Enroute to the Redundantly-Named Lot, I pass by the same McDonald's where the genetic ball pit is located.
5:33: Arrive at Platform 9 and 3/Class-Will-Be-Over-By-The-Time-You-Will-Actually-Get-On-Campus (AKA Wilmington Manor Elementary) and board onto the Yellow Hogwarts Express.
5:35: Begin the journey back to campus. Now, if you look at the map, we took the Red Route (The longer Route) NOT the shorter, less traffic ridden GREEN Route.
5:39: Arrive at Ramp A. Join the traffic on the ramp. As we are crawling past Entrance A, Man in Uniform is dining in his car. Itching and Judy behaviors return.
5:42: Passenger A, perhaps secretly related to Cybill, goes on a tirade about the inadequacy of this process. Laced with profanity, she unleashed pro-verb-ial spit balls out of her mouth at such a fast rate a machine gun would be impressed. While I agreed, I quietly held my Merlot tighter. I know a bus bully when I see one!
5:49: Arrive back at Entrance B and continue to Point B, depleted, exhausted, and extremely late for class. I questioned a basic theory I will teach someday: The shortest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line.According to WilmU's Magical Yellow Hogwarts Express, the shortest way from Point A to Point B is not a straight line. It's actually the Red Route and 54 nonrefundable minutes of my life. How will I explain this to my future classes? They will never understand until they ride the WilmU Yellow Hogwarts Express.
My fear is quite understandable, I am clearly under developed in Bus Etiquette. Should I still be excited to go over speed bumps while sitting in the back seat? Should I feel like a nerd to sit in the front? Is there a Show Tune Only Section? Instead of bullying for my lunch Money, would the mean kids steal my Merlot? Thanks goodness my shrink is on speed dial, (I have a private line in each of the houses I have built him) because I am convinced that the minds behind WilmU's Evening Class Transportation have genetics that hail from the McDonald's ball pit where I purchased my dinner. Never the less, I wished my apparition skill magically worked to avoid WilmU's Yellow Hogwarts Express. Within 54 minutes, WilmU's Yellow Hogwarts Express would also destroy a principal belief of my father: The shortest point from Point A to Point B is a straight line.
The following Timeline and Map will explain...
4:55: Enter WilmU campus @ Entrance B/Point A. Entrance A was not accessible to traffic coming off of Ramp A. Continue on to Point B (Building where my class is located).
4:57: Arrive at Point B. Man in Uniform stops me. He proceeds to allow Cars from Ramp A to pull into location A.
5:05: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A.
5:13: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Headache begins
5:16: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Politely ask Man in Uniform if I will be able to move any time soon. He informs me "He has got this under control." I wonder if this may be true because this is the same type of man in uniform that is supposed to winning the War on Drugs.
5:27: Still at point B, still watching cars pour in from Ramp A. Body starts to itch. Start to think like Judy Garland and consider scouring around for any booze and/or Advil.
5:28: Man In Uniform informs me that WilmU's"Overflow" lot is now full, I must continue to the "Overflow Overflow Lot" at the Wilmington Manor Elementary School. I grew concerned, I was not armed with tampons or pads, all of which are needed to confront "Overflow Overflow." He informed me that there I will find WilmU's version of the HogWarts Express: Lehane's finest Yellow Limousine.
5:29: Enroute to the Redundantly-Named Lot, I pass by the same McDonald's where the genetic ball pit is located.
5:33: Arrive at Platform 9 and 3/Class-Will-Be-Over-By-The-Time-You-Will-Actually-Get-On-Campus (AKA Wilmington Manor Elementary) and board onto the Yellow Hogwarts Express.
5:35: Begin the journey back to campus. Now, if you look at the map, we took the Red Route (The longer Route) NOT the shorter, less traffic ridden GREEN Route.
5:39: Arrive at Ramp A. Join the traffic on the ramp. As we are crawling past Entrance A, Man in Uniform is dining in his car. Itching and Judy behaviors return.
5:42: Passenger A, perhaps secretly related to Cybill, goes on a tirade about the inadequacy of this process. Laced with profanity, she unleashed pro-verb-ial spit balls out of her mouth at such a fast rate a machine gun would be impressed. While I agreed, I quietly held my Merlot tighter. I know a bus bully when I see one!
5:49: Arrive back at Entrance B and continue to Point B, depleted, exhausted, and extremely late for class. I questioned a basic theory I will teach someday: The shortest way from Point A to Point B is a straight line.According to WilmU's Magical Yellow Hogwarts Express, the shortest way from Point A to Point B is not a straight line. It's actually the Red Route and 54 nonrefundable minutes of my life. How will I explain this to my future classes? They will never understand until they ride the WilmU Yellow Hogwarts Express.
Here goes nothin'
Many of you may feel that my relentless Facebook status updates would satisfy my need for attention. However, some friends have decided to tease me with a dangerous thought for months: CREATE A BLOG. I will never mention the individuals names because many of you may want to kill them, but never the less, the internet has received the worst gift ever: FrozenLimeLight.
My name selection has one foo-foo and metaphorical meaning. It represents the fact that being a figure skater and musical theatre performer, I have spent my entire life as a legend in my livingroom. (Thanks, Mom for not having another child. I would have less wall space!) Actually, not just my livingroom, but the living room of everyone in my family. Not only do I have only child syndrome, I have only cousin, nephew, grandchild, and great grand child syndrome. Shockingly, for a family that carries out divorces so masterfully, child bearing is not one of our redeeming qualities. So, I am frozen in the limelight of my family. No where to hide, run, and no option but to carry on the Briccotto name! While this title comes with unlimited (and appreciated) attention, gifts, and support, it also comes with unrelenting pressure to ensure my family's name doesn't end with my legacy. It would be a legacy difficult to see through the red-wine stains.
If you think this blog will solely be filled with the same information you encounter on my Facebook Statuses, you are correct. Here's to many years of the random ramblings on love, wine, politics, family, food, theatre, skating, education, and more.
Here's to recording the life events of the last Briccotto, FrozenLimeLight. (BTW, I pray this Blog is only a springboard for a reality series. My ass is totally better then Kim K's)
My name selection has one foo-foo and metaphorical meaning. It represents the fact that being a figure skater and musical theatre performer, I have spent my entire life as a legend in my livingroom. (Thanks, Mom for not having another child. I would have less wall space!) Actually, not just my livingroom, but the living room of everyone in my family. Not only do I have only child syndrome, I have only cousin, nephew, grandchild, and great grand child syndrome. Shockingly, for a family that carries out divorces so masterfully, child bearing is not one of our redeeming qualities. So, I am frozen in the limelight of my family. No where to hide, run, and no option but to carry on the Briccotto name! While this title comes with unlimited (and appreciated) attention, gifts, and support, it also comes with unrelenting pressure to ensure my family's name doesn't end with my legacy. It would be a legacy difficult to see through the red-wine stains.
If you think this blog will solely be filled with the same information you encounter on my Facebook Statuses, you are correct. Here's to many years of the random ramblings on love, wine, politics, family, food, theatre, skating, education, and more.
Here's to recording the life events of the last Briccotto, FrozenLimeLight. (BTW, I pray this Blog is only a springboard for a reality series. My ass is totally better then Kim K's)
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