I'm out of the Diaryland office for the next two weeks as I complete my motherfucking thesis. If the spirit moves you, say my name. Say it loud and there's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying.

BTW, found out that a co-worker of mine is now dating the guy from last year that I broke up with because he left the price tag on the Christmas gift/was really condescending to me.

Let me see if there is anything saved that you guys can read in my absence...

Christine ________
Shakespeare High-Level
Dr. Larry Poohead
Extra Credit
April 25, 2004 (note the date, it is important later on!)

Rent

This rock/opera adaptation of Puccini’s classic La Boheme has been around since 1996, where it earned top awards, including the Tony for Outstanding Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for drama. True to form, I had never seen it until the evening of March 27, 2004—and it blew me away.
The story follows the lives of several New Bohemian artists scrapping together an existence in New York City in the face of AIDS, the fluctuating economy, and of course, rent a year past due. Though the story follows Puccini’s basic plot outline, the characters are far more relevant in today’s world—transsexuals, homosexuals, and terminally ill characters add a breadth that wasn’t there before. The main theme of living today as your last is much more profound when said by a character dying from AIDS.
What really impressed me was the character of Roger, played by Constantine Maroulis. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him—and although I would usually attribute this to his good looks, I think it was because of his fabulous singing voice, it sent shivers down my spine. The chemistry between the character of Mimi and Roger was the most authentic of the lot. The entire cast was very youthful and energetic, but Maroulis definitely had the most stage presence.
The best scenes were usually the ensemble numbers, the strength and exuberance of each actor combined was almost overwhelming. “La Vie Boheme,” an eight-minute number consisting of spouting acknowledgments to Gertrude Stein to huevos rancheros gave everyone in my row goosebumps—trust me, I looked. After the show, I bought the original Broadway cast’s recording of the soundtrack and compared it to the performance. In this, I found the problem of most traveling musicals. It was identical to the soundtrack. Though I understand the importance of keeping the character’s identity, I feel like each actor should leave his or her own mark on the performance. As with most touring companies, the homogenous performance is more important. But I would have preferred a twist on the old material, it has nearly been 10 years.
All in all, this was a good show. Constantine Maroulis really has a future theatrically and musically, but for the rest of the cast, it wouldn’t hurt to add to their already established characters.

(YEP, I chose Constantine as a star a full eight months before he became a finalist on American Idol)