BenjaminNicholas

To me, being conservative or liberal has little to do with how someone feels about a show. It's subjective, emotional. I know more than a few people who share Miniver's opinion on Midler and that's their right... Even it it's not your shared opinion
 
I'm a liberal kind of guy and I wasn't thrilled with Bette. It happens.

You must have seen a different clip than I saw. That's been on Youtube for years and Streisand couldn't be more arrogant or condescending towards Merman if she tried. It's embarassing. She's a true bitch.
 
As for the current Hello Dolly. It's atrocious. Read Terry Teachout's review. It's spot on. Midler's voice is in tatters, she's awful. Hyde Pierce is horribly miscast.
 
Streisand was too young for the film, and Midler is too old for the stage.

Clearly, I'm in the minority when it comes to this revival. It's not that I disliked Dolly, but I am quicker to semi-agree with this review than many of the others:
 
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2373706

If only Midler would stop with the 'I'm such a tired old lady' schtick. She did it in Vegas. She did it in her last tour. She's doing it now in Dolly when going up on lines and 'ad libbing' to fill space. I hope that as she settles into this run, she can focus on creating a character. I also know I'm in the minority here on not being totally blown away by what I've seen of her so far.
 
Donna Murphy is going to kill in this role. She can belt. She can act. She's not a name outside of the theatre world, but I can't wait to see what she does with the role.

You really went above and beyond. I would have quickly told him/them that I'm your prospective client, not your agent. Are you interested or not?

As I have said before, Betty Grable was the only Dolly that created a character and did not rely on her own persona. In my opinion because of this she was the best Dolly.

If only Midler would stop with the 'I'm such a tired old lady' schtick. She did it in Vegas. She did it in her last tour. She's doing it now in Dolly when going up on lines and 'ad libbing' to fill space. I hope that as she settles into this run, she can focus on creating a character. I also know I'm in the minority here on not being totally blown away by what I've seen of her so far.
 
Donna Murphy is going to kill in this role. She can belt. She can act. She's not a name outside of the theatre world, but I can't wait to see what she does with the role.

One of my favorites is getting a revival at Circle in the Square next season. If you haven't listened through it, it's really a beautifully written musical. Ahrens & Flaherty (Ragtime, My Favorite Year, Suessical) are incredibly talented.
 
And while I'm not insane about stunt-casting, after hearing Alex Newell (GLEE) sing this, I think I'd be okay with a gender-neutral Asaka ('Mother of the Earth').
 
https://www.instagram.com/p/BK4BhbHjRhN/?hl=en

Wherever you decide to go, do make sure to actually see, learn about and enjoy the country you're visiting: I scratch my head at people who travel for 30 hours, only to be fully consumed by getting laid or cruising a gay bar that looks exactly like what you can get most anywhere in the States.
 
Traveling to me is about exiting your bubble and possibly learning something you didn't know before. Call me crazy
 
My vote would be to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. They're both fascinating and beautiful. The visa isn't tough to get. Just some easy paperwork, or if you want to streamline it further, you can have a third-party expeditor do it all for you.

Love guys in flip-flops, but hate that most of them don't do anything to take care of their feet
 
Cardinal rules of wearing Havaianas: Get regular pedicures and a pumice stone is your friend. I spend a lot of time going barefoot when I'm down in Key West, but always make sure that I scrub down daily and keep my feet in shape.

very nice man...love the pose

You are so hot, Ben!

You are so hot, Ben!

Wherever I go I generally see the country. If I can possibly afford it, I hire a professional to show me the sights. I have found that they often have "connections" that can get into museums,etc., much more quickly. Sometimes, as in Brasil, I have been lucky enough to get a gay professional and they have been able to show me the usual sights in the city and any gay sights I might be interested in. And then, they have sometimes "introduced" me to people I might want to meet. Of course, the bottom line was not to get them in trouble.

Wherever you decide to go, do make sure to actually see, learn about and enjoy the country you're visiting: I scratch my head at people who travel for 30 hours, only to be fully consumed by getting laid or cruising a gay bar that looks exactly like what you can get most anywhere in the States.
 
Traveling to me is about exiting your bubble and possibly learning something you didn't know before. Call me crazy
 
My vote would be to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. They're both fascinating and beautiful. The visa isn't tough to get. Just some easy paperwork, or if you want to streamline it further, you can have a third-party expeditor do it all for you.

Wherever you decide to go, do make sure to actually see, learn about and enjoy the country you're visiting: I scratch my head at people who travel for 30 hours, only to be fully consumed by getting laid or cruising a gay bar that looks exactly like what you can get most anywhere in the States.
 
Traveling to me is about exiting your bubble and possibly learning something you didn't know before. Call me crazy
 
My vote would be to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg. They're both fascinating and beautiful. The visa isn't tough to get. Just some easy paperwork, or if you want to streamline it further, you can have a third-party expeditor do it all for you.

Do not worry about the political climate in Russia. The average Russian does not care much about the political climate in the U.S.
 
I would suggest St. Petersburg rather than Moscow though, just to be sure. Petersburg has one of the world's greatest museums, The Hermitage.
 
Certainly, Prague would be the safest bet.
 
Few Russians speak English, so simple things like eating in restaurants are difficult.
 
I flew from Russian to Munich. It was a culture shock; Russia is a third world country compared to Germany. In many ways, Russia is a third world country compared to the countries that were part of Yugoslavia, even Bosnia.

Love guys in flip-flops, but hate that most of them don't do anything to take care of their feet
 
Cardinal rules of wearing Havaianas: Get regular pedicures and a pumice stone is your friend. I spend a lot of time going barefoot when I'm down in Key West, but always make sure that I scrub down daily and keep my feet in shape.

I suppose I take it a little personally when people trash-talk New Orleans; it’s been my home for over 40 years. I must iterate what others have said: if you come here and never leave the Quarter, then you really have a very narrow view on which to judge the city.
 
I agree that the escort scene is surprisingly bleak here. When I was much younger (back before the internet, in what Bambi Lake called “the golden age of hustlers”) there were plenty of eager guys here to pass some time with; I remember a beautiful kid Donnie with almond-shaped eyes and a dragon tattoo that coiled around his torso and down one leg. But that was a long time ago, and things have definitely changed. AIDS was a factor, and so was the oil bust, and so was Katrina. My own two cents is that nowadays there’s simply not the clientele to support a good escort scene; New Orleans proper is actually quite small, and it’s certainly not wealthy. So now If I’m going to hire, I prefer to do it with well-known, top-notch guys rather than take a chance on something less than stellar, and that means going out-of-town.
 
That said, it has become my personal mission to nag, tempt, cajole, coerce, seduce and otherwise convince Tristan Baldwin to get his fine self down to New Orleans at least once. He’s shown me around both Boston and L.A., and I am determined to return the favor.

I've always felt she misses an essential warmth, and that the humor often seems forced, in that "look how hard I'm working to hit a joke" kind of way. (While Channing was a little more eccentric, she balanced that with lots of warmth. With Channing, you cared enough that you didn't want that metaphorical parade to pass her by. With Streisand, she's just showing off her voice. IMO.) The opening song ("Just Leave Everything To Me") written for the film to replace the opening number in the show ("I Put My Hand In"), is in some respects a better song than the stage song, but I feel Streisand hits it with a sledgehammer in the same way. Instead of it feeling breezy and inviting, it feels like she's trying to show us how HARD it is to get through it.
 
But, as I suggested, some people like it, some don't. That's ok.

Good on you. There is no hostility...well... except one person feeling the need to demean clients/forum members and a particularly well liked escort.
 
My point is, there is somebody for everyone. There is no need to put someone down because they can't afford to or don't want to pay $500 a pop. Don't put someone down because they want to be fair, affordable or whatever you want to call it when dealing with their clients.
 
Ryan is clearly hot as hell. People who like/love him... great!!! We all have our faves for various reasons.
 
Anyway, I won't say any more. Big man sleepy... go night night. Back to the subject at hand... Ryan

... Well, aren't you a charmer

Clearly, you haven't spent much time in Texas.
 
I'm not a native, but I've found the state charming. I try not to stereotype people or places and it's worked in my favor more times than none

If I were a "Gay Buddhist Atheist Vegan", only gay of which I am, who planned on moving to Texas what would concern me the most would be being Vegan. Good god Texas is beef county and thus a meat lover paradise. The hill country of Texas, that area between San Antonio and Austin, is barbeque central. Living there and not being a beef barbeque fanatic would almost be considered sacrilege. People spend hours debating over which is the best barbeque joint and whether it is in Llano or Taylor or some such other place. I have made many a trip from Los Angeles to Austin simply to drive around the hill country sampling various barbeque joints for lunch AND dinner.
Good luck being a vegan in this part of the world.
 
P.S. I do hope you all understand this is all tongue in cheek.

A tall, built, beautiful blond man is going to have people trying to charm him no matter where he is located.
 
Seriously, I love living in Austin, but I do pretty much stick to the Texas trifecta -- Dallas, Houston and Austin. (San Antonio occasionally.) Venture 20 miles outside of the radius of these metropolitan areas and you are quickly reminded that you are in TEXAS. The rednecks are very real, but pretty easy to avoid if you ignore State politics. (That's when you get smacked in the face about where you are really living.)