The continual parade of commercials for “Shrek the Musical” across my TV screen have inspired me with the following question: what is with new musicals these days?  I actually like musicals, but I haven’t been to one in ages.  I grew up on all the great movie musicals from the 1950s — Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Lerner and Loewe — and developed a permanent passion for the late Robert Preston after seeing “The Music Man” too many times.

Now, I realize that it is no longer the golden age of musicals and that the audience to fuel the production of a long string of new musicals just isn’t there.  But lately, all the new musicals that seem to come along are remakes of Hollywood films that were, okay, perfectly fine movies, but that I have no desire to see again WITH MUSIC.  I mean, really.  Legally Blonde was a perfectly acceptable low-brain movie, but why would I want to see it as a musical?  Shrek, unless I had a kid, ditto.

I will admit, I haven’t seen any of the musicals that fall into that category with the sole exception of “The Producers”  (gotta love Nathan Lane), but the lack of creativity really disturbs me, and the selection of films disturbs me even more.  I’ve seen “Rent,” “Les Miserables,” “Chicago,” but I can’t bring myself to pay Broadway prices to see a remake of a movie I’ve already seen.  Yeah, yeah, I’m sure “The Lion King” is great.  No.  I did see “Mamma Mia” (I will note that I went for a work function and did not pay for it), but even though that at least has an original plotline, I couldn’t help but compare it to the musical that Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson actually wrote from scratch, “Chess.”  Chess is vastly superior in pretty much every way except recognizability of the music, and hey, the music actually FITS THE PLOT.

I suppose that ultimately most musicals are going to be at least slightly derivative of SOMETHING. Hey, “Rent” was loosely based on “La Boheme,” and there’s a long and respected tradition of adapting existing works into opera (“Lucia di Lammermoor”, “Rigoletto”, “MacBeth”, even, horrifyingly, “Billy Budd”).  But it’d be great if the composers and librettists could give some thought to adapting works that were not throwaway pop pieces to begin with.

In other words, folks, 1300 page classic by Victor Hugo?  Fine.  But I swear, if I see an ad for “Dude, Where’s My Car, The Musical,” I’m moving to Nepal.

My thought for the day on cable television (and yes, I know this means I watch the Style network too much): how in the name of God is it possible for there to be an ENTIRE SERIES about women trying on wedding dresses?  Seriously.

I don’t get it.  But I think it might be a sign that Armageddon is coming.  I’d better have some more chocolate before it gets here.

OK, I admit it: I’m B&T.

The GW bridge. Kind of pretty at night, no?

Just to be clear, I’m not of the invade-Murray-Hill-and-Meatpacking-District-every-Saturday/hair-gel-and-orange-”tan” Bridge & Tunnel variety (but wouldn’t a blog written by someone like that be fun?).  Still, I can’t deny the fact that I have two options on my way home: cross the Hudson via a bridge (the GW) or a tunnel (either the Lincoln or the Holland).

I live in glamorous New Jersey for a number of reasons (budget, desire for space, it seemed like a good idea after too much time inhaling the fumes around exit 13A).  And, truthfully, I’ve grown fond of my adopted state.  In particular, my area: Hudson County.

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Yikes.  Apparently even recessionista-friendly chains are starting to take a hit.  According to Bloomberg.com:

Hennes & Mauritz AB, Europe’s second-largest clothing retailer, reported its first quarterly profit drop in more than five years as the strengthening dollar cut into margins and the economic contraction deterred shoppers.

The shares fell the most since December after H&M said first-quarter net income slid 12 percent to 2.58 billion kronor ($320 million), missing the 2.98 billion-kronor median estimate of nine analysts. Sales at stores open at least a year declined 8 percent in February, the seventh straight drop, H&M also said.

You can read the full article here.

I’ve definitely stopped my nightly habit of popping into H&M to see what’s new on the racks.  Suddenly purchasing a trendy, $20 shirt I will likely wear only two or three times seems as frivolous and unnecessary as more lux purchases.

Have you all cut back your shopping?

Disclaimer: lest you think Lily and I are shilling for Flirt!, let me assure you our back-to-back reviews were written independently and are a happy coincidence.  I just logged on to post my review, and here I see my fellow blogger has beaten me to the punch! Great minds, after all. With that out of the way, on to our regularly scheduled programming…

So in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t watched the news, read a paper, visited a website or talked to another human being during the past year, the economy is stinking right now.  Big shocker, I know!  How is the economy effecting this Femme? While I used to love having the freedom to drop 30 bucks on an impulse Sephora purchase, those days are loooooooong gone.  Like most people in America, I’m cutting back on frivolous spending and tightening my purse strings.

Ok, enough of the gloom and doom. It’s time for the silver lining. Rather than wave goodbye to fun, new products forever, I’m determined to make some limoncello martinis out of lemons, ladies.  This is an opportunity to find fun, affordable options that fit within out budgets.

Enter Flirt!

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Ah, sweet relief.

I have an apology to make. 71 Irving Place, I maligned you a few days ago.  I came hoping for carrot cake, found only carrot cupcakes, and in my despair suggested that you were slavishly following the cupcake trend and had thrown over your lovely carrot cake in favor of the carrot cupcakes that I saw in the refrigerator case.

I was wrong.  Can you ever forgive me?

Apparently the cupcake is an addition or occasional substitution for the carrot cake.  While I don’t quite understand why anyone would want or need a carrot cupcake when the carrot cake is on hand, to each his own.  You have not forsaken me, and I am sorry for implying that you would.  And for everyone else?  This is some great carrot cake.  Grab it while you can!

Wine, as the saying goes, is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

In that spirit, here straight from the NYT, are a dozen cheap and delicious wine recs. These come courtesy of one Kermit Lynch, who apparently owns a wine shop in Berkeley, CA.

Prosecco — Palazzo di Sommariva; $15
I have a weakness for Prosecco, yet it took me years to find this classy, crisp, dry, minerally example.

2007 Graves Blanc — Chateau Graville-Lacoste; $19
An unusually delicious, impeccably vinified dry white Graves, as versatile in its uses as wine can be.

2007 Calvi Blanc “E Prove” — Domaine Maestracci; $17.50
The west coast of Corsica has some great terroirs, as you will see in this stony vermentino. The granitic soil gives it backbone.

2007 Coteaux du Languedoc Blanc — Chateau La Roque; $16.50
From Marsanne and Rolle. The perfume is reminiscent of honeycomb and pit fruits — dry and lively on the palate.

2007 Bouzeron — A. & P. de Villaine; $20
The elegant Monsieur Aubert de Villaine fashioned this dry white jewel from his home village of Bouzeron in southern Burgundy.

2007 Corbieres “Gris de Gris” — Domaine de Fontsainte; $15
A fabulous rosé and my candidate for world’s greatest wine bargain — you take one drink of it, you’re drinking it all the time.

2007 Tavel Rose — Domaine de Trinquevedel; $18
A great Rhone vintage delivers beautiful fruit, spice and stoniness. One bottle fits every cuisine you can possibly imagine.

2006 Cahors — Clos la Coutale; $14
A dark, full-flavored malbec — drink it now, drink it 20 years from now.

2006 Bronzinelle — Saint Martin de la Garrigue; $15
Rhone grape varieties aged in barrels and demi-muids, Bronzinelle has a Provençal character with a slight Bordeaux accent.

2006 Chinon “Cuvee Terroir” — Domaine Charles Joguet; $18
Here is the perfect introduction to the marvelous cabernets of the Loire Valley. Joguet’s Chinon shows intensity, plenitude, stylishness and finesse.

2007 Pigeoulet Rouge — Brunier Freres; $17
An earthy, thyme-infused red Rhone from the makers of Vieux Telegraphe.

2006 Cairanne Rouge — Catherine Le Goeuil; $15
The viticulture is biodynamic — and to think, this chewy, fleshy, manly red Rhone was vinified by Catherine Le Goeuil.

A good glass of wine can be a little celebration all by itself. A votre sante!

I have nothing against a good cupcake.  In point of fact, I really have nothing against any baked good, as my friends will hasten to tell you.  Croissants, cakes, clafoutis tarts, I like it all.  Cupcakes are perfectly nice; they offer a pleasant, handy bit of dessert with a little childlike charm to it.  But really, sometimes I wonder about New Yorkers and the ongoing cupcake trend.

I was saddened to see during my last trip to 71 Irving Place that one of my favorite indulgences, their floppy two-layered carrot cake, had mysteriously transformed itself into A CUPCAKE.  Come on, 71.  I was was with you even back in the days when you were 57 down the street.  I have stuck by you as one of my favorite coffee houses even after the guy with whom I used to visit you and I irrevocably parted ways.  You have some of the best food offerings available from a regular coffee house.  The cupcake more or less tastes the same, and fine, I can probably use the portion control (a piece of the old cake was twice the size of the cupcake), but what’s wrong with a plain old ordinary piece of cake?

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Not Bono, but Close Enough

Attending a U2 concert is one of those things I need to do before I die. Back in 2001, my one chance at seeing them live was thwarted by a friend’s VERY ill-timed engagement party (and no, I’m not over it).

But it hurts a little less now. Why? Because instead of U2, I’ve got 2U. That’s right. Ladies and Gents, I introduce you to 2U – the U2 Tribute Band. As their website proclaims, they’re The World’s 2nd Best U2 Show.

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Ahem.

Let’s negotiate.