Entries Tagged 'Pop Culture' ↓

While I personally prefer screen over stage when it comes to entertainment, I  come from a long line of theater aficionados.

Seeing a show on Broadway isn’t a regular activity, but something I try to do every one or two years.

With that in mind, I was excited to see “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” recently in New York.

With mega-names like Julie Taymor, Bono and The Edge behind the creative direction, and a $65 million production price tag, it had quite a buzz.  And that was before the wrath of rewrites, injuries and delays.

It had been quite a while since a Broadway show dominated headlines.

So…what did I think of it? (Keep in mind, I’m no critic, or stage junkie)

Writing – The plot was familiar to Spider-Man fans, as it covered his origin story.  But it added some new wrinkles so even die-hards would find something new.  Some of the dialogue seemed forced and not all of the characters had a lot to work with.

Acting – For our show, we had the understudy for Peter Parker.  All of the acting was appropriate for a comic-inspired musical.  It ranged from light to over-the-top.  Most everyone was serviceable, except for Patrick Page, who stole the entire show after his Norman Osborne turned into the Green Goblin.

Music – It’s U2.  It’s fantastic.

Production – The best way to describe it is by saying that they used every inch of space in the entire theater to tell the story.  The sets were more 3D than a Pixar feature.  Lighting, sound, set design, costumes – A+ all around.

Conclusion – What an enjoyable show!  It was not the greatest show of all time, but I don’t think it was trying to be.  The plot was a bit rushed, the singing good (not great), but all in all, it was quite a spectacle.  I’m not in the business of giving ratings so let’s just call it a recommendation, but not the HIGHEST recommendation.

I love it when a professional wrestling match perfectly sums up what’s going on in the world.

It’s even more incredible when a match from 1992 tells the story of what’s happening in 2011.

You see, back in 1992, the evil duo of Money, Inc., were the WWF Tag Team Champions.  The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster (IRS, get it?) ran roughshod over the federation.

I never understood why the rich guy was so chummy with the tax guy.  But…BOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!  I hatez rich guys!  I hatez taxes!  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!  There, that works!

Their opponents on this night were the Natural Disasters!  Earthquake and Typhoon were massive and mean – but, oddly, cheered by fans.

Earthquake was previously known for squishing Hulk Hogan, sitting on people, but ultimately, causing no real impact.

Typhoon was a big, scary, young behemoth that was primed for destruction.  What would his career hold? (Wrestling fans know about The Shockmaster!)

So, in 2011 news terms – we have the stock market/global financial crisis pitted against the Virginia Earthquake and Hurricane Irene!

Who would win this 1992 battle for August 2011 supremacy?

We had a massive fricking earthquake up and down the East Coast this week.

Property damage was minimal – one spire fell off the National Cathedral and a potential crack in the Washington Monument is being investigated.

So with no damage or reported injuries, the snark could take center stage.

The @DCQuake Twitter feed popped up shortly after the earth settled.  It wasn’t me – I swear!  (Although there was one particular message they posted that was well-crafted!)

Yes, the day was frightening.  Cell service was down for hours.  It was beyond scary.

But looking back, what a wild experience!

I got an email from my cousin saying, “Well, you can cross ‘survive an earthquake’ off your bucket list now!”  Brilliant.

What were some of your favorite snark-quake notes and Tweets?

Let me leave you with this:

I saw this poster today, and it is a perfect summation of the snark surrounding this quake:

Nice work here, all around.  It’s a Lady Gaga “Born This Way” parody from The Warp Zone featuring, in a stroke of genius, the X-Men!

Enjoy!

Today on the iostudio blog, I discuss the marketing prowess of Lady Gaga and the three top tactics she has perfected. (Click the link, then come back here.  We’ll wait.)

I am completely fascinated by her.  At such a young age, she forced herself into the public consciousness by having good-to-great music and an unforgettable image.  She mastered the art of self-promotion.

(One day, I’ll open a Self Promotion Hall of Fame with Gaga joining Dennis Rodman as the first inductees.)

Previously, I’ve discussed why Lady Gaga is “PR Crazy” (but in a good way) and announced that I want my daughter to consider her a role model.

But, I can also look objectively at her.

Let’s leave the loving negativity to Weird Al:

Very interesting teaser campaign so far with two VERY different takes. Hmmmm…what could it all mean?

And here is the first one!