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.

Alcatraz #1259 written by William G. Baker

   

                                                                               

          You know that infamous prison, Alcatraz, right? Where the worst of the worst men were sentenced to jail on an island right across from the San Francisco Bay.  Ever wondered what really happened inside that prison? What if I told you that an actual prisoner wrote about his life living inside of Alcatraz’s jail cells for four years?

         William G. Baker (Bill) wrote a book called Alcatraz #1259 which is about his life as a prisoner entering Alcatraz at the age of twenty-three. Before going to Alcatraz, Bill was sentenced to the Oregon State Penitentiary for auto theft for four years. While Bill was at the Oregon State Penitentiary he tried to escape several times until he was sent to Alcatraz and was given the number 1259-AZ (hence the title of the book).

         In the book Bill writes about his life growing up during the Great Depression. His grandparents raised him because his mother didn’t have enough money to take care of him and his little brother and his father ran off.  Bill’s grandmother passed away so his grandfather sent a letter to his mother demanding that she comes back and gets him. Next, Bill’s mother remarried and life with his new stepfather was anything but paradise. Now living on his stepfather’s farm in Kentucky, Bill didn’t like his new life with his mother and stepfather so he started cutting school and being a disobedient kid. Between the ages of ten or eleven, Bill ran away from home and ended up getting caught by the police. After that his mother and stepdad sent him to a reform school in Kentucky where he learned how fight and smoke cigarettes.  At the age of sixteen, Bill’s stepfather didn’t want anything to do with him so he kicked Bill out of the house.         

         Also in his book, Bill writes about all of his experiences as a prisoner in all of the prisons he spent time in, but the prison he talks about the most is Alcatraz. From 1957-1960 Bill had to eat, work, and sleep behind the bars of the most infamous prison. Bill describes about his time running into trouble with the prison guards, learning how to play the card game, Bridge, from an inmate. He also witnessed several inmates who attempted to escape the Alcatraz but failed, and he learned how to forge checks. Finally, Bill does describe his life after he was freed from Alcatraz in 1960. Sadly, he ended up living in and out of other prisons again for counter fitting. At the end he met his wife and is living happily out of prison.

         In concluding, if you have had a fascination for Alcatraz and want to know how life was like living on an island behind bars I would recommend reading Alcatraz #1259. William G. Baker does a great job writing his own memoir about life living in prison and making people think what the life is actually like living behind bars.

Side note: the picture on the cover of his book is Bill’s mug shot at Alcatraz and yes I did meet him on Easter Sunday when my husband and I went to visit Alcatraz (my first visit and my husband’s second visit).

         Trivia Questions:

1) One of Bill’s inmates, Benny Rayburn, got his sentenced reduced at Alcatraz, how?

2) Why did Bill go back to Alcatraz in 2013 to spend the night in his cell?

 Baker, William G. Alcatraz #1259. N.p.: William G. Baker , 2012. Print.

The Future Of Us written by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

                                                           

         Remember during the years in the 1990s when American Online (AOL) was a popular website provider before Wi-Fi came into the picture? Smart phones were not invented yet so landlines were the only way to call someone. Does anyone remember life before social networks were invented?

         Written by the same author of Thirteen Reasons, Jay Asher collaborated with Carolyn Mackler to create a story about two teenagers living in the year of 1996. Josh and Emma, best friends living next door to each other. One day Josh gave Emma an AOL CD-ROM to download onto her new desktop computer. After Emma downloaded AOL something strange happened, a website called Facebook popped up on her computer.  It’s 1996 and Facebook hasn’t been invented yet, so of course Emma and Josh are confused why Facebook popped up on Emma’s computer screen and not AOL. But it gets stranger, Emma’s Facebook profile claimed that she graduated from high school, college, married to someone who she wants to divorce, and has children. Josh’s profile claimed that he married the high school’s most popular girl, Sydney, and is a rich man and happy man.

Throughout the book, Emma tries to change her future through Facebook since she has been reading her posts and comments about how unhappy she has been after college. Why? Emma just thought that of she changed her way in the present time then she would change her life through her comments and posts on Facebook. Josh on the other hand thinks Facebook is a hoax but he still tries to win Sydney’s heart since he knew that they eventually end up getting married and living a rich and happy life in a huge mansion.  What high school boy doesn’t want to marry the most popular girl?

         In concluding, since I have read Thirteen Reasons written by Jay Asher, I wanted to read the Future Of Us just to compare the two books. I personally thought that Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler did an excellent job writing a story with a setting that happened in my generation before the explosion of today’s technology and social networks. I would recommend this book to the people who grew up in the 90s and the millennial kids for two reasons. First, for those who remember the 1990s would remember having dialup as their Internet with limited websites to search and also would remember installing computer programs through a CD-ROM. Second, to those who were born after the 1990s do not know what the term dialup is or what life was like before technology that we have today. Therefore, I do think The Future Of Us would be great for everyone to read because the setting is a blast from the past with a love story twist.

Trivia Questions:

How did Josh get Sydney’s number?

According to Emma’s Facebook profile, how many times did she get married?

Three Things I remember growing up in the 1990s

     1) I don’t remember using the Internet much at my house (just playing computer games by using a CD-ROM), but I do remember walking (without my parent’s supervision but of course with their permission) to my next-door neighbor’s house and she would plug the phone cable into the computer. Now I don’t remember what websites that I liked back then but I do remember that the Internet was limited on websites and online shopping didn’t exist. When my next-door neighbor’s mother wanted to use the phone, off the computer we go and figure out what to play next so we don’t bother her mother while she is talking on the phone.

      2)   In the middle of the 1990s, I remember having an AOL screen name (well maybe several of them), I remember the Internet was getting better and I never had dialup (read number one if you don’t know what dialup is). Anyways, whenever I met someone around my age that I want to become friends with, I would give them my home number, screen name, and email address. I didn’t get my first cell phone until 2003 so using an email, home phone, and AOL screen name was all I had for communication, talk about a lot of things to keep up with just to try to get a hold of someone.

 3) My favorite game to play by myself was School. I would grab all of my dolls and stuffed animals and pretended that I’m the teacher and they are my students. I didn’t have iPads or iPhones to play with so I had to improvise what I had, which was toys.

Asher, Jay, and Carolyn Mackler. The Future Of Us. New York: Razorbill, 2012. Print.

Comparing Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone written by J.K. Rowling

Before you scroll through this post thinking I’m doing a review on the Harry Potter series that is written by J.K. Rowling. Have you read the English version of Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone? I am guessing you haven’t since the original publishing company, Bloomsbury, does not exist in the United States (US).  The American version of Harry Potter was published by Scholastic in 1998, a year after it was published in the United Kingdom (UK).         

With that being said, I am sure you are now wondering if there is a difference between the two versions. The answer is...not as terribly different as I thought it would be.  Before I read both versions of Harry Potter I thought the entire story would be different since the UK and the US pronounce and spell their words differently. Besides changing the words around, the fonts were completely different for number of reasons. First, the spacing is bigger in the US version than the UK version, which is why Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone is a smaller book than Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Second, in Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone, there are pictures at the beginning of each chapter unlike Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone where there are none. Third, the font is also different when it comes to the characters receiving letters, the UK font does not stand out clearly unlike the US version that looks like the letter either has been handwritten or a formal letter. An example of this is Harry’s acceptance letter to Hogwarts. Finally, notice in the pictures that I took of the fist chapter, notice how there is not a period after “Mrs.” and “Mr.” Dursley and there isn’t a period after “Mr” in Harry’s acceptence letter to Hogwarts. Weird!

        

         

Here is a list of the differences between Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone:

-There is no Table of Contents in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone but there is one in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived

Scene: Aunt Petunia was talking to Uncle Vernon about her sister, Lilly Potter and her witch/wizard crowd…

UK –  Her lot

US – Her crowd

Scene: Dudley learned a new word that day!

UK- shan’t

US- won’t

Chapter 3: The Letters from No One

Just the font of Harry’s acceptence letter to Hogwarts is different

Chapter 11: Quidditch

Scene: After Professor Snape took away Harry’s library book (along with five points from Gryffindor), Harry was looking for Snape to get his book back when he saw Professor Snape talking to Professor Quill.  Harry suspected that Professor Snape was after the stone so he told Ron and Hermione. Ron says the word Halloween differently.  

UK- Hallowe’en

US-Halloween

Chapter 12: The Mirror of Erised

Scene: Harry and Ron stayed at Hogwarts for Christmas, early Christmas morning they say two different ways for “merry”

UK- Happy Christmas

US- Merry Christmas

 In concluding, the Harry Potter series that was created by J.K. Rowling originally published in the United Kingdom as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and then in the United States a year later as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Over all, both versions basically tell the same story just some grammar and the fonts have changed. If you have read the Harry Potter series until you have memorized it all, then perhaps consider reading another version that is not sold in America.

Side note: If you want to know why the Harry Potter titles are different, here is a link that explains it. Also, it really does bug me that a lot of Americans do mispronounce J.K. Rowling’s last name, so here is a link to a video on how to say her last name correctly. Enjoy and please pronounce her last name right for the love of Pete!

https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-18387,00.html

(reason why this Harry Potter book titles are different)

https://www.theguardian.com/books/video/2012/sep/27/jk-rowling-pronounce-name-video

 (how to pronounce J.K. Rowling's last name correctly) 

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. London: Bloomsbury, 1997. Print.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York : Scholastic , 1998. Print.

The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.

 Theguardian.com. "JK Rowling on how to pronounce her name - video." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 27 Sept. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.