Shallow snowfalls all week -- Bald Eagles on the lake, and Whitetail Deer trying to make it through the winter. We are going to rig a little gate on the back stairs -- a skunk came up on the deck the other night.

Footbarn's Celebration of Theatre: Theater X-Net

Starring: Ida Rubinstein Belle Epoch Russian/Parisian beauty.
Ida's Places in Paris -- from my first jet-lagged day by the Seine.
Read more about Ida in Sisters of Salome by Toni Bentley

Visit: Michael's Montana Web Archive
Theater, Art, Flash Gordon, Funky Music and MORE!
NEW! Spitfires of the Spaceways
Watch Dale Arden rescue Flash Gordon for a change!

Charity Alert: Make a resolution as Spring approaches to click on The Hunger Site every day.

In The Community: Auction of Miniatures pictures and a bid form on the Hockaday Museum of Art's Website!

Media Watch: We rented the movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera -- it was over two hours long, but still had more good scenes than ridiculous ones. I was amazed at how much they used from Gaston LeRoux's cheesy pre-WWI novel. They went their own way at times, but the original plot was so lame that it didn't matter much. I wonder if anyone would really use LeRoux's convoluted and unhappy conclusion -- Webber's version got close, but he didn't allow the vile Phantom to win in the end.
I may be making too much out of that silly dawg-assed tale, but it expresses a dark resignation to ruthlessness and wealth triumphing over any resistance that youth, love, morality, or justice could muster against exploitation by those who are already powerful. LeRoux's Phantom was a shark-like predator who swam in a sea of rich backstage hustlers – similar to types who troll the dressing rooms of young entertainers today. The "Opera Ghost" is a "Stagedoor Johnny," a particularly ugly and murderous one, but a classic "Sugar Daddy" nevertheless.
I enjoy the songs in Webber's musical, but prefer the singing on the French soundtrack from this DVD. I still think Michael Crawford would have been perfect in the movie version of this role -- the Phantom wasn't supposed to be young. Minnie Driver's clownish portrayal of Carlotta the operatic diva was OK too -- shrill notes included. (I'm glad they didn't offer THIS part to Sarah Brightman!) I’ll never know, but it looked like most of the money for this film went into sets and production. It WAS a creature-feature, despite romantic protests to the contrary!



Jessica Harper played a meek Christine Daae clone in Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Brian De Palma's Rock N' Roll adaptation of LeRoux's gothic novel. Jessica is saving her OWN life as a much more proactive lady-in-distress at the climax of Dario Argento's Suspiria.
Just for fun, check out:
Sarah Brightman's Phantom Medley on YouTube!