Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D

 In exactly two months from this writing, Muppet*Vision 3D closes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando. I first saw it in 1991, about six months after it opened. During the almost eight total years I worked at Disney World, I certainly saw it dozens of times. But I recently dashed back to see it one — okay, four — last times before it closes.

In the video pre-show you watch before entering the theater to see the 3D movie, Fozzie asks Scooter “Where’s Kermit?”, and Scooter answers “Oh, he’s inside getting ready”. But there’s a much sadder answer to that question; Jim Henson died after filming the 3D movie, but before the pre-show was shot. Muppet*Vision 3D is the last and one of the best things Henson ever did, which automatically makes it one of the very best things Disney has ever offered.

The attraction constantly thwarts your expectations, establishing a “reality” and then shattering it. The Muppets are aware they’re in a 3D movie, and Kermit says there won’t be any “cheap 3D tricks”, but of course there immediately are. Animatronic figures of Statler and Waldorf heckle the movie from a balcony box in the theater throughout, and interact with the characters in the film. There’s an orchestra of animatronic penguins below the screen who play and react as well. Sweetums leaves the film to make a live, in-person appearance. The film culminates with Sam the Eagle’s finale, “a salute to all nations, but mostly America”, which ends (spoiler alert) with the Muppets totally demolishing the theater you’re sitting in.

It’s hilarious and magnificent and spectacular, and I’m so sad Disney is closing it. This is a permanent end to an enduring piece of Jim Henson’s legacy that, unlike the many movies and TV shows he left us, can never be experienced again.

After the movie ends, the animatronic Statler and Waldorf have this final exchange:

“Statler: Well, what do you think?
Waldorf: Do we have time to go to the bathroom before the next show?
Statler: We can’t, you old fool. We’re bolted to the seats!”

Not for long, Statler. Not for long. Muppet*Vision 3D closes June 7th. Go see it if you possibly can.

Where Would We Do Without Me?

 Now that Stephen Sondheim is no longer with us, I can write this blog post without possibly incurring his wrath. In my opinion, Sondheim's furious reaction to Austin Tichenor's article in The Sondheim Review — which highlighted similarities between The Fantasticks and two Sondheim musicals (Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods) — was hugely overblown. I'm not 100% onboard with all of Tichenor's thinking, but the similarities between the Act I ending/Act II beginning of Sunday and Fantasticks really can't be denied. In both shows, Act I ends with the characters triumphantly striking a pose. Act II begins with the characters still in position, struggling to hold that pose, and complaining about how hot it is. This similarity struck me way back in 1984 when I saw Sunday on Broadway. Sondheim might at least have acknowledged this much to Tichenor. I mean, it's not as if Tichenor brought up the fact that "No One Is Alone" has the same first six notes as "The Candy Man"!

And while we're on the subject of Sondheim and Leslie Bricusse/Anthony Newley songs, here's what I actually came here to say: I've wondered for a while now about the similarities between Company's What Would We Do Without You? (1970), and The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd's Where Would You Be Without Me? (1965). Is the Company song supposed to be an actual parody of the Roar song? "What Would We Do" erupts from the relatively placid "Side By Side By Side" with a self-consciously "show biz" flair, as if the married couples have to resort to pastiche in order to fully express their affection for Robert. The two songs' very similar, internally-rhymed question-titles are sung in identical rhythms. And just today it struck me that there's an instrumental break that's almost identical in both songs, even down to being in the same key:

Granted, this musical break may be derived from a traditional vaudeville or circus fanfare, and thus not really be written by any of these gentlemen. But even though these songs are about "owing a debt", I've never read any acknowledgement of the similarity, from Sondheim or anybody else.

Monday in "New York" with George

Of course Stephen Sondheim wrote about the painter Georges Seurat in his 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George. But did you know he first wrote about Seurat 16 years earlier?

In Intermediaries, his cryptic crossword for the Monday, October 21, 1968 issue of New York magazine, the clue for 20 Down is as follows:

French painter's works could make us stare (7)

The (7) indicates the number of letters in the answer. A cryptic crossword clue typically contains two different clues to the answer. One is "French painter's". In this case, the other clue is contained in the words "us stare", which is an anagram for the answer: SEURATS. (Apostrophe omitted.)

We don't know that Seurat was an especial favorite of Sondheim's, or if he had ever seen "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" at the Art Institute of Chicago before beginning work on the musical. The idea of a musical based on the painting began when librettist James Lapine brought a postcard of it to a brainstorming session. But Seurat was already at least a distant blip on Sondheim's radar.

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Maestro

 Over the last couple of years, I've had a great time playing "Sherlock" in Symphonica Productions' show Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Maestro. It's written by Enrico Lopez-Yañez, and audiences love it. I performed the show with Enrico conducting earlier this year with the Detroit Symphony, with Conner Gray Covington and the Utah Symphony, and just today with Christopher James Lees and the Charlotte Symphony. Good times!

2017

 2017 was probably the most action-packed year of my life, professionally speaking.

On the animation front, I:

• adapted, directed, and animated three book-to-film adaptations for Scholastic/Weston Woods: “Mother Bruce”, “Leo: A Ghost Story”, and “Du Iz Tak?”. For this latter film, I actually got to meet the book's author/illustrator Carson Ellis, which was a rare treat.

• conceived, designed, and animated the new motion graphics for NPT’s “Arts Break” segments.

• flew to Vegas to help my friend Brian Maffitt give an innovative keynote speech utilizing Adobe’s new Character Animator software.

• created animated scenic projections for the shows at The Little Engine Playhouse in Dollywood, directed by Brian Hull. This also involved creating (and narrating) opening video segments about Dolly’s Imagination Library program.

On the performing front, I:

• played Leontes in “The Winter’s Tale” for Nashville Shakespeare Festival, as well as Lepidus and the Soothsayer in their “Antony and Cleopatra”.

• played nine different roles in “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” at Nashville Children’s Theatre.

• was the standby for all three actors in “The Final Days of Wolfe Tone” at TPAC (and also sang a brief offstage solo).

• learned and recorded two great “Disney Villain” roles for Music Theatre International's official reference recordings: Claude Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and Joseph Pulitzer in “Newsies”.

• participated in readings/workshops for four other shows.

That's 2017!

2016

Theatre continued to play an important part in my life in 2016. I appeared in the Studio Tenn production of Evita which was staged in Jackson Hall at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, enabling me to achieve the trifecta of appearing on all three TPAC stages. I also appeared in Smoke: A Ballad of the Night Riders again this year, this time in the dual roles of the Storyteller and Dr. Amoss. A much better fit for me, really.

Nashville Public Library held the Nashville International Puppet Festival, and I was involved in two presentations there. Utilizing original puppets created by Tom Tichenor, I performed a 10-minute scene from the musical Carnival along with Rosemary Fossee. I also created animated projections for Brian Hull's epic puppet production of Kaytek the Wizard. Both were very well received, as was the entire wonderful festival.

I recorded the "cast album" for Junie B. Jones: The Musical, singing the roles of Lenny and Chenille.

My Weston Woods film Grace for President premiered this year.

We had a 25th anniversary reunion for the Beauty and the Beast stage show at Disney World, so the whole Fott family went down for a November vacation.

And, here's a weird thing: I was randomly mentioned in the "Five Hoda Kotbs" episode of The Last Man on Earth. I'm actually glad I wasn't watching at the time, because I'm sure I would have been convinced I was hallucinating! Of course, Danny Bonaduce has appeared on The Today Show, so the IMDb link from Bonaduce to Katie Couric is actually much shorter....but I'm happy to be a link in that chain!

That's 2016.

2015

 I suppose any sort of record one is making about one's life is inevitably touched more and more by death. Until finally, of course...the record itself just stops. But hey, till then...let's take a look at 2015.

There was a lovely memorial service for Josie Helming in Memphis. At the 2001 MSU Theatre Dept. reunion, which also marked Josie's retirement, Clif Gordon had set up a video camera so people could record their thoughts about the department and Josie. For this memorial service, I took that 14-year-old footage and edited together a tribute that was screened at the service. (It's here, for any interested parties.) 

And a month after this memorial for Josie, my college friend Emily Woodward Macy died. So sad. Such a beautiful person.

Wanda Wilson, proprietress of the legendary P&H Café in Memphis passed away too. And one of our cats, spelled variably "Keypot" or "Kipat", also died.

I had two Weston Woods films released: I'm Brave! and Scaredy Squirrel at Night, both the third installments of what you might call "trilogies" I've made.

And just for kicks, I released my 100 days of hair and beard growth video.

I went to the National Puppetry Festival in Storrs, CT, which was a wonderful experience. Along the way there and back, I visited old friends and colleagues Lester Malizia, Eddie Powers, and I finally got to meet the staff of Weston Woods Studios in person! Brian Hull and I also made side trips to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art and two locations in Pittsburgh where puppets and set pieces from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood were displayed. A lovely, fun trip.

There was more performing for me this year too. I played the leading role of Owen Hartley in Smoke: A Ballad of the Night Riders, a musical written by David Alford that is presented semi-annually in Adams TN. I also got to record the voice of King Triton for Music Theatre International's official reference recording of Disney's The Little Mermaid. Excerpts can be heard here.

That's 2015.