Survivor: Cambodia, Second Chance - November 11 Blog Party

I hope you all brought snacks and tasty beverages! As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- come join in on the fun!

Here's the latest post-merge blog pool update from the Lovable Lifeguard Laurie:

Abi-Maria Gomes - Nobody is stuck with her!
Andrew Savage - Jennasmom, JoyzJenn, Silk
Ciera Eastin - chrob61, Jackie, Russ
Jeremy Collins - Brian, meb, Nickelpeed
Joe Anglim - Delee, Mother Guru, PDX Granny
Keith Nale - Tammy, gaylos, Margo
Kelley Wentworth - monty 924, Grandi, RENOthunder
Kelly Wiglesworth - ML, Sharon N, Indiana Jane
Kimmi Kappenberg - Glenn, Nana in the NW, Rbennie
Spencer Bledsoe - Ellen vdW, Nancerella, Terry is a Texan
Stephen Fishbach - Brenda, Matt, Rochelle
Tasha Fox - Donna in AL, Jennamom, Stephanie in Baltimore

Out
Vytas Baskauskas
Shirin Oskooi - Cheryl in NC, Kelly D, Sharon C
Peih-Gee Law - Becky, David, Joanie,
Jeff Varner - Donna in FL, Linda in MA, SueGee
Monica Padilla - ChicMC, Kelsey, sanra
Terry Deitz - Anonymouse, Merrilee, ORKMommy
Woo Hwang - Ed in Ohio, LafayetteLisanne, Laurie
Kass McQuillen - Donna NY, Marlo, Petals

Survivor fans ready?

Andrew is thrilled to have lasted until jury. He schemes with Jeremy to get out Ciera and Wentworth. Meanwhile, Ciera wants to convince Fishbach that it's time to make a big move -- get Joe out.

It's Rewards Challenge time! Two teams of six, paddle out to retrieve crates, stack them so no repeating colors on any side. Winning team goes to Survivor Cafe for sweet goodies. It's a schoolyard pick.

Tasha, Jeremy, Spencer, Fishbach, Abi, Andrew on one team, the rest on the other.

Keith, Ciera, Wiglesworth, Wentworth, Joe and Kimmi win. At the cafe, Ciera works the crowd. Keith decides to drive one of the tuck-tucks that delivered them around the beach and all have a grand ol' time. Meanwhile, Fishbach is all worried because he fears Joe is bonding with his alliance. He goes to his fellow stuck on the beach mates and convinces them that it's time to blindside Joe. Or, tries to convince them, that is. Andrew is very NOT convinced and this could backfire on Fishbach.

Immunity Challenge time! Balance a ball on a disk attached to a rope. At intervals, they have to move their hands to a different location on the rope. Keith and Jeremy did this in their season -- Jeremy was first out, Keith won.

Wentworth out, Ciera out. Wiglesworth out, Jeremy out. Abi out. Fishbach out, Savage out. Second round starts -- Kimmi out, Tasha out. Spencer out. After thirty minutes, Keith and Joe get a second ball on the disk.

Joe wins Immunity once again!

Joe, knowing that Fishbach was trying to get him out, gets the three bottom tier girls in on a plan to blindside Fishbach. Andrew tells his bunch and Jeremy isn't keen on getting out Fishbach.

If Savage doesn't watch it, he's going to get himself blindsided, I think! Nope, he backs down to Jeremy and it looks like Wentworth and Ciera are once again targets.

Tribal Council. Time for Jeff to instigate! Ciera calls out some for running the show -- Jeremy, Savage, Joe, Fishbach and Tasha.

The tally:
Whoa! Wentworth plays her idol!
Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Wentworth, Savage, Savage.

Savage is SO blindsided!

Misery on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre - A Review

The Broadhurst Theatre

Yes, I know that this blog is about television shows with a weekly photo post thrown in. But, as they say, "The Show Must Go On." I believe that saying has its origins in the theater. Today I'm reviewing Misery on Broadway with Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf in the lead roles as I attended the play on Saturday, November 7.

Spoilers be ahead -- you've been warned!

There are several reasons I was compelled to go see this when I really don't go to hardly any Broadway shows:

• I'm Stephen King's true Number 1 fan. Er, well. Okay. I'm just a huge fan of his work. I'm not a stalker. Really. I'm not.
• I like both Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf. I've enjoyed Bruce since his Moonlighting days and Laurie since she played Rosanne's sister, Jackie, on Rosanne.
• I found the book Misery to be one of my favorites -- I prefer The Stand, but that's a whole 'nuther story.
• The movie Misery was mesmerizing. I have it on DVD and now feel the need to re-watch it.

So, I decided I must go see Misery the Musical. Oh, wait. It ain't that. It's Misery on Broadway!

Another thing it isn't is Misery, the Hollywood movie. Nor is it Misery, the Stephen King novel.

I'm not saying that's such a bad thing. However, the play takes a much different approach than either the book or movie. It was a bit unsettling at first to be amused and giggling during the show. But then it seemed like a great adaptation to me -- making the show a dark comedy with moments of terror thrown in.

Before getting into the meat of this review, I should mention the stage set. It was a revolving affair. There were three sets altogether -- a wintry outdoor front porch set, a bedroom (where most of the action took place) set and a kitchen with hints of a staircase and another room set. Music, most often suspenseful, played as the scenes almost seamlessly rotated through the show. The lighting job was also superb with car headlights shining in the windows, thunderstorms and such.

The show is still in previews at the present time as they perfect things. With the exception of one incident when the curtain came down and they announced technical difficulties, it seemed quite perfected to me. That only lasted shut down for just a minute or two. But it was just before the hobbling scene and built the suspense for it as the audience knew what was coming! It wasn't an issue with the revolving stage set(s) as it was in the bedroom set. They picked it back up repeating the last few lines and action, going on from there.

Like Kathy Bates, who won both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes, stole the show from James Caan ... as does Laurie Metcalf steal it from Bruce Willis. Oh, she does it in a much different manner, mind you. She's outright hilarious at times in the role of Annie! I call it a brilliant performance and think she made the show entertaining, often funny and sometimes jump in your seat scary. Kudos to Laurie Metcalf!

Then there's Bruce Willis in the role of Paul Sheldon. Hmm. Well, he looks much different from the Bruce Willis we all know. His shaved bald head is now sporting gray straggly hair around the ears and back of the head and he has a scruffy beard. Of course, the beard fits in with the held captive bit. I've heard some negative things such as he used an earpiece to tell him his lines and he's flubbed lines. I didn't see an earpiece. I do think he may have flubbed a line or two, but recovered decently. The role of Paul Sheldon hasn't the lines to reign supreme like Annie Wilkes. I think he did okay with the role. He was funny at times, screamed well at other times.

A third actor, Leon Addison Brown, played the minor role of the sheriff. He did well, but we didn't see him a heck of a lot. He died quite expertly.

Overall, despite the humor in the show, the terror moments made the audience gasp and squirm. Once, Annie Wilkes smashed a manuscript down on Paul Sheldon's broken legs. I didn't expect that and actually jumped a bit in my seat. I think I felt the pain! The hobbling was done with perfection (after their "technical difficulties" show stop mentioned above). I don't really know how they did it. Yikes! When Annie shot the sheriff (but she didn't kill the deputy), people actually screamed with surprise. And, when Paul fought back against Annie, it was horrifying! Well played, well played.

The performance I saw received a standing ovation. So, I wasn't the only one really enjoying it!

A few notes on the Broadhurst Theatre:

• My seat was in the first row center of the mezzanine. I had a great view and was close enough to see details on stage, facial expressions and such. I hear the latter part of the orchestra section has the top of the stage obscured by the low-hanging mezzanine. Sucks to be them, huh?
• The theatre is NOT accessible as far as I could tell. There is no elevator. Going up to the mezzanine, I had to climb a gazillion steps. Bless handrails. Even the orchestra seating seemed to be at such an incline that trying to get a decent view seated in a wheelchair might be impossible.
• The legroom, or lack thereof, actually beat the Astor Place Theatre where I saw the Blue Man Group. I'm talking about the LACK of legroom. It wins the prize! While the seats themselves were comfy and spacious enough, my knees and feet were actually touching the mezzanine wall while I was sitting upright with good posture. Halfway through the show, I ended up shifting a bit sideways. I've had a DVT already. I don't want another.
• There was no intermission during the (over) 90 minute show, but there was a bar set up both upstairs and downstairs. Since they don't want you to take drinks to your seats, I guess people have to chug their wine. I didn't get a beverage.
• When I picked up my tickets at the box office in the morning for the 2pm matinee, I asked the agent/clerk/whatever when it would be best to return for the show. He said ten minutes before two. Hmm.
• I returned a half-hour before the show to find a line stretching almost to the corner of the block, thus confusing Matilda attendees. 
• While I ended up getting in line near the nearby Shubert Theatre (Matilda is there), it was only due to a fluke because a car wanted to cut through the line to get into the parking garage and there was no room for anyone to really move. It almost broke into fisticuffs between a woman theater-goer and the driver while an NYPD cop watched from the street. Nonetheless, I got stuck and ended up talking to the people around me, then just moved forward with them.
• Because they too were told to arrive ten minutes before the show and the line was so long (all ticket holding folks), the theatre filled up late and the show started late.
• One man in line was telling people we were in line for Obama, the Musical. They believed him. He and I discussed various possibilities for the show.
• The theatre staff was pleasant enough.
• Even considering its late start, the show did run overtime. Maybe that's one thing they need to work on while it's in previews. It's supposed to last 90 minutes. It ended up running about ten to fifteen minutes over that. I didn't really care about that.

A final note:
I'm not a Broadway show reviewer, nor do I even play one on television. I personally would go again to see this show if it were in my budget. Laurie Metcalf rulz!

Off Topic: That Was the Week It Was - November 8, 2015

I'm SO late with this week's off television topic reflection of the past week in both words and photos I've taken along the way! But, I did way too much walking around (and standing around) yesterday. I overslept and I'm a bit on the lame side today. Okay, I know some people consider me usually lame ... but I mean physically! Sheesh!

I took so many photos yesterday when I went to see 'Misery on Broadway' with Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf that I'll have to post some Plainfield area photos and some of the NYC ones next week, too.

Here's the week in rough --

• Four day work week as I requested Saturday as a vacation day to go see the show. Yay!
• I also have a four day work week next week as I've requested Saturday as a personal day for the Plainfield Public Library Photo Competition. I have my doubts about winning first place again as the theme wasn't a great one for me.
• I left early yesterday to go into Manhattan. I had to pick up my tickets at the box office before the 2pm matinee show. I got to town around 10am, got my ticket, ate a late breakfast and roamed around Times Square until about 1:30.
• I will post a full review of the show and theatre later tonight.
• It's very weird, but three of the people I talked to during the day were from Los Angeles. One was a 20-something woman who put a cling on a pole I was leaning against in Times Square. I looked to see what it read and she said, "I'm taking it down. I just need to get a photo of it with Times Square in the background." I didn't care if she left it there. It turned out that her fiance had designed the cling, was killed in an automobile accident and they had dreamed of coming to Times Square together. Aww. She and I talked for about fifteen minutes. Sad story, very nice young woman.
• The other two were a lesbian couple outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Fun people! We mocked some of the people passing by and counter-intimidated a surly bum who approached us for money. We talked East Coast vs. West Coast and really had a pleasant conversation as we stayed out of the lane of pedestrians by standing up against the building.
• The show ended late (started late, too) and I ended up taking the 6pm bus home. Oh. The 6pm bus was late, too.
• While I had a seat alone heading into the city, I shared a seat with a young man from the Ukraine here to go to college. He was interesting. He's been in the USA for only two months and didn't know any English before he came here. While he has to hesitate at times, his English is much better than many!

Onto the gazillion photos for this week. Clicking on an image will bring it up in a larger window.

West 44th Street

Although it's technically NOT Broadway, this block is the home of many Broadway shows. The expensive Sardi's restaurant is across the street from the Broadhurst Theatre where I saw 'Misery on Broadway' but that was way out of my budget. I ate a late breakfast at the Evergreen Restaurant over on West 47th Street and a not really lunch at Ben and Jerry's which is past the bowling alley in this photo. I ate dinner at home.

SO cool ghost sign!

They're doing construction on West 47th Street and this is now exposed -- a ghost sign for the Hotel Longacre, Rooms $1.00 a day, Rooms with bath $1.50. Lunch is 40 cents, dinner is 65 cents and, I assume, the "Club Breakfast" comes with the room. I wonder how many years back it dates.

Who wants lunch?

A sign I saw in the window of Pete's Fish Market on East Second Street in Plainfield this week.

**CLICK THE 'READ MORE' LINK TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS**

The Amazing Race 27: November 6 Episode Blog Party

Hi, everybody! As the show airs here tonight, I'll be updating this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area. Come join in on the fun!

Keep in mind that last week was another "to be continued" leg, but here's the latest blog pool update as per The Marvelous Margo:

Cindy and Rick #ChacAttack - Donna in AL, Donna in FL, Jennasmom, Sharon N
Denise and James Earl #TeamAlabama - Becky, Ginniejulie, ORKMommy, Willie J
Justin and Diana #TheGreenTeam - Chauncey, Cherry Pie, Monty924, Nickelpeed
Kelsey and Joey #TheReporters - beachmom, ChicMc, David, Grandi in MD,
Logan and Chris #ThePaparazzi - Delee, PDX Granny, Rbennie, SueGee
Tanner and Josh #TeamTexas - Buzzmaam, chrob61, meb, ML
Tiffany and Krista #TheCheerleaders - Brenda, Brian, Cheryl in NC, Ed in OH, Nana in NW

Philiminated
TMZ girls (not in pool)
Adam and Alex #TheCousins -Anonymouse, DKNYNC, Jackie, Kelsey, Sharon C
Ernest and Jin #TheDancers - Glenn, Marlo, Nancerella, Russ
Jazmine and Danielle #TheTrackStars - Joanie, LafayetteLisanne, Margo, Merrilee

Ready? Let's GO! 

The teams are on the way to Rotterdam (Amsterdam?) and Phil told them to keep their Fitbit tallies handy. James Earl and Denise are still stuck at the rapping detour. Finally, they got through! 

All the teams were booked for the same train, but a few teams snagged earlier trips. Once at their destination, they have a bunching point. Justin and Diana did get there first, not that it mattered. The bunching has them entering in groups fifteen minutes apart. At least Josh and Tanner explored Paris. Uh-oh, ChacAttack found out that Rotterdam is NOT Amsterdam.

The clue they get hints they should walk -- "every step counts." Justin and Diana are arguing about taking a taxi or not. Other teams are taking taxis to the water taxi they're supposed to board.

Roadblock amongst windmills -- "Who wants to pick sunflowers?" They have to find a Van Gogh sunflowers painting and match it up with one in a windmill.

Joey and Kelsey have it first. The Fitbit comes to play. They have to take their highest heartrate from the last leg and pick the difference between what it reads doing this in tulips. 

From the Roadblock, it's on to a distillery via water taxi. Justin and Diana have fallen way back, as have Josh and Tanner. 

Detour -- Ship or Skip -- Ship has them on a simulated mission in a ship, skip has the Double Dutch jump roping. Tiffany and Krista nailed the jump roping and are headed to the Pit Stop. Justin and Diana (redeemed their time) are heading there from Ship.

Pit Stop:
1. Justin and Diana - They tell Phil their amount of steps 31,000+ will be turned into dollars. They also get a massage. 
2. Kelsey and Joey
3. Krista and Tiffany
4. Josh and Tanner
5. Logan and Chris 

ChacAttack took the wrong tram. 

6. Denise and James Earl 
7. Cindy and Rick -- Philiminated

Survivor: Cambodia, Second Chance - Blog Party November 4

I hope you all brought snacks and tasty beverages! As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll update this entry with the major happenings. Refresh the page to get the latest! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- come join in on the fun!

The merge is on tonight! This should be very interesting indeed. Here's the latest blog pool standings from that lovable Lifeguard Laurie:

Bayon
Jeremy Collins - Brian, meb, Nickelpeed
Kelley Wentworth - monty 924, Grandi, RENOthunder
Joe Anglim - Delee, Mother Guru, PDX Granny
Stephen Fishbach - Brenda, Matt, Rochelle
Kimmi Kappenberg - Glenn, Nana in the NW, Rbennie
Keith Nale - Tammy, gaylos, Margo
Tasha Fox - Donna in AL, Jennamom, Stephanie in Baltimore

Takeo
Andrew Savage - Jennasmom, JoyzJenn, Silk
Spencer Bledsoe - Ellen vdW, Nancerella, Terry is a Texan
Kass McQuillen - Donna NY, Marlo, Petals
Abi-Maria Gomes - Nobody is stuck with her!
Ciera Eastin - chrob61, Jackie, Russ
Kelly Wiglesworth - ML, Sharon N, Indiana Jane

Out
Vytas Baskauskas
Shirin Oskooi - Cheryl in NC, Kelly D, Sharon C
Peih-Gee Law - Becky, David, Joanie,
Jeff Varner - Donna in FL, Linda in MA, SueGee
Monica Padilla - ChicMC, Kelsey, sanra
Terry Deitz - Anonymouse, Merrilee, ORKMommy
Woo Hwang - Ed in Ohio, LafayetteLisanne, Laurie

Survivor fans ready?

Savage is feeling betrayed by his tribe's blindside of his boot Spencer plan. He's trying to figure out how to get in with them until the merge. Spencer has come to the realization that he needs to rely on Kass. Oh my.

They get tree mail which tells them they'll meet with visitors. Meanwhile, Takeo's mail has them gathering up their belongings and heading to their new home. Both tribes are thinking merge.

It is indeed the merge even though there's a lot of people -- 13 -- left in the game at this point. They get to feast.

Savage warns Jeremy to watch out for the ones who turned on him. Kass is thinking she now can work with Spencer since saving him. They're all wheeling and dealing trying to build alliances. Savage works on getting Joe onboard. But Joe, though he likes Savage, might have his own plans. More scheming and alliance planning. Tasha tells us she will not allow Kass to ruin her game again. Meanwhile, Kass had been sincere about working with her and now is dead set against her.

Now chaos ensues. Seeds are planted. But, so far this episode is mostly talk. Finally, it's the the Immunity Challenge. Good. Standing on a narrow beam balancing a ball on a little platform. At intervals, to a narrower section of beam and they have to move their hand down farther on the pole with the ball.

Fishbach out in three seconds. Keith out. Ciera out. Kimmi out. Second round -- Abi out after one second. Kass out, Wiglesworth out, Wentworth out.

Third round. Savage out. Tasha out. Jeremy out. Only Joe and Spencer remain. Spencer lost this one to Tasha in his season. Spencer out. Joe wins first individual immunity!

Savage really wants Ciera to go while Kass seems to be the target for most. They decide to split the vote between Kass and Ciera in case Kass has an idol. Since this is so blatant, it's probably not how it's going to go down. Kass wants Tasha. Spencer is caught in the middle. He likes Tasha, but Kass and Ciera saved him last Tribal.

Tribal Council -- Ciera tries to get everyone to play for themselves while the targets are three women (Ciera, Kass and Tasha).

The tally --
Kass, Ciera, Tasha, Kass, Ciera, Tasha, Kass, Ciera, Savage, Kass, Ciera, Kass, Kass.

It's Kass out of there tonight!