Without You written by Anthony Rapp

Five hundred twenty- five thousand six hundred minutes...how do measure, measure a year? … Seasons of love. . . measure your life in love… 

         All right all you Rentheads out there this book is for you if love the Broadway musical Rent, allow me recommend a book to you from the guy who played the original Mark Cohen, the main lead in the musical.  

That’s right Anthony Rapp wrote his memoir titled Without You all about his life, which includes, being the original Mark Cohen in the musical Rent. Having to see his mother battling with bone cancer for several years before she passed away. Besides seeing his mother struggling with cancer, Anthony Rapp mentions intimate stories of times when was battling with his sexuality before coming out as bisexual.

For those who don’t know Anthony Rapp, he was the original Mark Cohen in the musical Rent. He first acted as Mark Cohen while the musical was in the production studio. Next, he continued to act as Mark Cohen through workshop all the way to Broadway and then went on to touring shows. Eventually, Anthony played Mark Cohen in the movie version of Rent. How long did Mr. Anthony Rapp act as Mark Cohen in Rent you ask? The answer: ten years!

         Next, not only does Anthony Rapp talk about his life being on the Broadway and touring shows acting as Mark Cohen, he also mentions about what Rent was like at the very beginning stage of Rent before it was a smash hit musical on Broadway. Therefore Rentheads this could be the only book telling us how the lyrics were originally written before they hit on Broadway! Next question, have you ever wanted to know how the original cast and crewmembers reacted when they heard the news that Jonathan Larson died? For those who do not know Jonathan Larson, he was the creator of Rent. On January 24, 1995 Jonathan Larson passed away from an aortic aneurysm, the night before Rent was open to the public at the New York Theatre Workshop. What really shocked everyone was that Jonathan was only thirty-five years old and the last people who saw him were Anthony Rapp and the rest of the cast and crew when they were doing their final dress rehearsal. 

         Besides describing the loss of Jonathan, Anthony did mention three interesting facts about Rent in his memoir. First, Jonathan Larson wrote Rent based on another musical (opera) called La Bohème. The characters in Rent are also based on the characters in  La Bohèm. Second, the scene Life Support that Johnathan Larson wrote was based on an organization called Friends In Deed. Friends In Deed helps people with life threatening illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, by giving them free counsieling services. Jonathan had friends who were HIV-postivie so he went to some Friends In Deed meetings with them. Anyways, Jonathan wanted to write about his experiences attending Friends In Deed through the Life Support scene. Last Rent fact, you know one of the popular song What You Own, right? The reason why Jonathan Larson wrote that song was because he had Anthony Rapp’s voice in mind. 
        In concluding, if you or know someone who is a Renthead then I would recommend Without You a memior that is written by the original Mark Cohen himself, Anthony Rapp.

Trivia Questions: 
1) What song did Anthony Rapp sing in his first audition for Rent?

2) How did the Rent saying, "Thank you Jonathan Larson!" start?


3) What did the Rent cast do the next day when they heard the news about Jonathan Larson's death? 


Rapp, Anthony. Without You: A Memoir Of Love, Loss, And The Musical Rent. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006. Print.
Rapp, Anthony , Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, and Idina Menzel, perfs. Seasons Of Love . Rent . Jonathan Larson, 1996. CD.

As Old As Time written by Liz Braswell

        Ever wondered what would happen if a classic Disney fairytale had a different story? For instance, what would happen if Belle from the Disney movie Beauty And The Beast had a mother and she was the one who cursed the prince by turning him into Beast?

         In the book As Old As Time written by Liz Braswell tells the story about Belle’s life from the classic tale Beauty And The Beast if her mother was the Enchantress who cursed the Beast. Would the Beast remain a beast forever? Would Belle still be considered as the odd bookworm in her little town? Exactly how far would Gaston go to make Belle marry him? This book does contain similar scenes that happened in both the animated and live action movie along with famous quotes. Along with new scenes that no one has ever heard or read before because the book does contain a plot twist. In my opinion, I love how some of the chapter titles are quotes from the movie along with actual lines and scenes taken from the movie word by word.

    In concluding, if you or know someone who loves Disney’s classic movies, 
I would suggest to read As Old As Time because it is a plot twist to the Disney classic fairytale Beauty And The Beast. I personally do think that Liz Braswell did an incredible job writing a classic tale with a twist that is truly a tale as old as time.

Trivia Questions:

1) How old was the Beast when Belle's mother cursed him? Why did she curse him?

2) Why did Belle's father, Maurice, take Belle when she was a baby and left Belle's mother behind?

3) How did the Beast's parents die? 

Braswell, Liz. As Old As Time. Los Angeles: Disney Press, 2016. Print.

Wicked: The Grimmerie written by David Cote

Have you heard one of Broadway’s hit musical Wicked? It’s a musical about the two witches, Glinda’s and Elphaba’s life living in The Land Of Oz before Dorothy’s house dropped in and met the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion. If you ever wondered how these three main characters become who they are in The Land Of Oz, I would suggest to go see Wicked. It is truly one of my favorite musicals.

If you have seen this musical either on Broadway or the touring show, have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes before and during the show? For example, have you wondered how the makeup crew puts on Elphaba’s green makeup on the actress or how some of the props worked such as the Wizard’s Head.

Not only does The Grimmerie show the behind the scenes, it also shows some sketches of the drafts and ideas behind the songs and when Wicked was at the beginning stages of being created. Also, this book has pictures and interviews from the original cast staring Idina Menzel (Elphaba) and Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda). Yes America, Idina Menzel originally started her acting career on Broadway in the musical Rent as the original Maureen Johnson. Next, she stared in Wicked as the original Elphaba before you heard her amazing singing voice in the movie Frozen singing Let It Go! After Wicked, her first movie that she acted in was Rent playing her original Broadway role, Maureen Johnson. Finally, Idina Menzel returned to Broadway in 2014 to perform in the original cast in a musical called If/Then.

In concluding, let me just add two Wicked facts just to spark your interest First, incase you are wondering why this book is called The Grimmerie there is a reason why. In Wicked Elphaba’s spell book that she always carries with her is called The Grimmerie. Finally, Wicked is actually based on the book written by Gregory Maguire (he has also written two more books in the Wicked series Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men). My warning to you is this, before you rush out and go see the show thinking that it is just like the book, the book and the musical are totally different.

        (the Wicked book is written by Gregory Maguire, this is the Broadway poster as the book cover) 

*** If you haven’t heard Idina Menzel’s voice on Broadway, here are three original soundtracks that you can buy on iTunes:

1)    Rent (also available in the movie soundtrack)

2)    Wicked

3)    If/Then

Here is a link about Idina Menzel’s career if you want to read it:

http://www.biography.com/people/idina-menzel

Trivia Questions:
1) What kind of makeup brush do the makeup crew use to put the green makeup on the actress playing Elphaba?
2) Why did Idina Menzel cuss during her audition for Wicked?

Coté, David. Wicked: The Grimmerie. New York: Hyperion, 2006. Print.

"Idina Menzel." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 17 May 2017.

Comparing Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets written by J.K. Rowling

                                             United Kingdom                  United States

                                     United Kingdom                                    United States

                 United Kingdom                                                             United States

 ********If you haven't seen my later post of comparing the United Kingdom (UK) version and the United States (US) version of Harry Potter And The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone then I would highly suggest you read that post first since it describes why there is a difference between the Harry Potter books and such.*********

Alrighty let's get on to comparing the UK and the US version of Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets shall we!

Sadly in Harry Potter And The Chamber of Secrets there is not a lot to compare unlike the first Harry Potter book so this will be one quick little blog.

Difference between the UK and US version:

- Book cover is different

- In the UK version the book is smaller because the font is closely together than the US version. Therefore there are 251 pages in the UK version and 341 pages in the US version. Also in the US version, the font does change around when describing a letter or when a character is yelling like a mad person.

- No pictures in the beginning of each chapter unlike the US version

-Still no period after the pre suffixes of the words "Mrs" and "Mr"unlike in the American language we have to put a period after "Mrs." and "Mr."

-No Table of Contents in the UK version but there is in the US version

-At the very end of the UK version, there are copied photos of Harry Potter fans who wrote to J.K. Rowling about how much they loved the first Harry Potter book.

_________________________________________________________

In Chapters 7 and 8 during Halloween time at Hogwarts,  there was only two words throughout the book that was changed.

Chapter 7: Mudbloods and Murmurs

At the beginning of the chapter it describes Harry being annoyed by his stalker, Colin Creevey, tries to talk to him or take his picture. Harry is thinking that Collin memorized his class schedule. The word "schedule" is used differently in the UK.

UK - timetable

UK- schedule

Chapter 8: The Deathday Party 

Scene: When Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party instead of the Halloween feast in the main dining hall. I noticed how the word "Halloween" was spelled differently (and odd)

UK- Hallowe'en
US - Halloween

Now onto the similar parts of both versions of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets:
- the tile is the same unlike the first book
- all of the chapters are titled the same
- the story is the same all the way through both books
- came out the same year unlike the first book which was a year apart (UK first than the US)

That is all for comparing the UK and US version of Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets tune in next time for comparing to Harry Potter And The Prisoner of Azkaban. 

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. London: Bloomsbury, 1999. Print.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Print.