Podcast #4 is here! Ceris and Luke sit down with Nic Bishop and Sean Brennan to discuss their show the 39 Steps (currently playing at the Palace Theatre) and their new production company (also making love to clowns… angrily).
Tag: Muppets
Like many Muppet Fans, I have spent this day in reflection.
This day marked the morning where we heard the news of Jerry Nelson’s passing.
We knew this day was coming, as his health had been in decline, but as Muppet Fans, we enjoy a sense of fantasy, whimsy and denial of things “sensible”, so, I think, many of us decided that this day was still a long way off. Or we hoped it was.
Waking up this morning was tough. I mean waking up. I didn’t have foreknowledge of any sort. I hadn’t stayed up late and heard the news, I just have allergies and I’m tired. When I went to my computer and saw the Muppet Central update, well, tears sprang to my eyes. Literally. And yes, teacher friends, I mean literally, the tears sprang there and quietly and consistently ran down my cheeks. This has repeated itself on and off throughout this day.
It’s not the same as when Jim died. Then, I was in denial and anger. (In a way, I still am in denial and anger…but… ). Today was profound grief. Today is the loss of a great, gentle and supportive talent who was suffering and didn’t deserve to do so. Jerry was ill. And now, he’s not. I’m happy about that, but I’m sad for the cure to his illness.
I’m sad for his close friends and family. I’m sad for the Sesame Street Gang and the Muppeteers who will feel this loss so keenly. If I am feeling this loss, I can only imagine their woe at this time.
I’m happy for his fans. His many, many legions of fans, who don’t even know they are his fans. These people still have hours and hours and hours of recordings to enjoy. At least he was able to continue to work to a decent time in his life. I wish he could have continued longer.
I spent most of this day traveling and working, so my connection to the discussions and sharing of memories were via smart phones and wifi, (thank heaven we have these things now, for immediate commiserations). Only now have I had some time to put my thoughts into words. And this is a good thing, as this morning, I had none. Just dumbstruck silence at the loss.
I will revel in the sharing and the celebration. I will remember and rejoice that we were so lucky to share his genius. I will research, repost and reblog to keep his memory alive. This won’t be difficult as he left us so much to enjoy. I will continue to follow and create and share joy, because it seems that’s what Jerry did best.
I am humbled to have been entertained by this wonderful person. I am profoundly sad that he has gone on to another adventure. I am extremely grateful that he left us some of his magic. I am inspired.
As one tweet said today….(@ToasterBoy – Grant Baciocco)…
“Listen, Jerry Nelson’s gone. We all gotta ramp up the nice about 110% to make up for the deficit.”
He’s right. So, … challenge accepted.
You with me?
This is the tale of my second Muppety adventure of this year. My first was to see Jim Henson’s Musical World at Carnegie Hall in the spring where I was thrilled to attend and SO moved by the performances. This second adventure was also a real treat and I’m happy to say that it isn’t the last Muppety adventure I will have this year.
On July 26, 2012 my husband and I were in Montreal. We were staying in the cheapest hotel I could find, and that happened to be a 2 minute walk to the Just for Laughs Festival area! It was a lovely day, overcast, but mild, and we went for a stroll to explore our surroundings. (And to purchase tickets to the Star Wars Exhibit at the Science Centre – but that’s a different adventure).
The Just for Laughs area was a market of booths for interesting food, jewellery and even a spa tent! We sat on a patio and sipped Rose wine and watched the world go by. Later we had some dinner at a fabulous Brasserie across the street from our hotel and walked back down to the theatre.
There were two shows at 7 and 10 pm and I had purchased tickets to both. I didn’t want to miss a thing. The performance was recorded for television and will be broadcast in the fall, so I’m not going to go into detail on the show, except to say that it was perfect. I was worried that there would be too much of the guest comedians and not enough muppets – but those fears were quickly put to rest.
Before the 2nd performance my husband and I sat in the lobby to sip some more Rose wine and met some new friends. Kendal, Jordan and Bosko. I feel it was fate that we met. Jordan is an aspiring puppeteer and Kendal was filming and photographing their entire adventure. Lucky them, they’d seen rehearsal of the performance earlier in the day and Jordan had some Muppeteer signatures already. He graciously allowed me to snap a picture of his treasures.
The second performance was every bit as good as the first with some extra flub ups that made the show even funnier, plus our seats were much closer than the first show, so the angle of the performance was a very cool change.
I did manage to snap a couple of shots – trying not to ruin any performance, but just get their company bow at the end and the stage before the show began.
After the performance we made our way to the stage door where we met other enthusiastic muppet fans. There was a lovely couple there and the young man – Liam – proposed to his girlfriend – Sarit and she accepted. Of course we sang “Somebodies Getting Married” to them and continued to celebrate and trade stories while we waited for Muppeteers. The only one I met (if you could say chatting in a crowd was like meeting) was Bill Barretta.
He’d popped out to have a smoke and make a phone call and I pointed him out to the small group of fans, so we went to speak with him. He was gracious and funny and very kind to this crowd (there were about 9 of us – small crowd really). And when we told him of the engagement he went over to congratulate the groom and flirt with the bride – as Pepe, the King Prawn would do.
The lucky bride and groom also got to go back stage and meet a few muppets – Miss Piggy liked Sarit’s ring and posed for a photo with them. It will be their engagement announcement. I can’t wait to see that!
Around 1:15 am, with my husband starting to show signs of weariness, I decided we’d give up waiting. Clearly, I should not have done so, as my new Muppet friends have photos of themselves on Facebook with Muppeteers. So, IF I’d hung on, I might have met one or two – but ah well.
And my new friends, Kendal, Jordan and Bosko…. they’d already been backstage and met the rest of the Muppeteers! AGH!!!
I hope to meet up with these three at my next puppet adventure this summer – The Puppets Up Festival in Almonte, Ontario. I will try to get as many stories from them as possible.
I am very glad I went. I am super glad of the people I met and the creativity and inspiration I witnessed. I am now looking forward to my next adventures! Stay tuned!
Tomorrow, (or much later today), I travel to Montreal. Now, this is a lovely thing to do at any time of the year and for any reason, but this time I am going to see The Muppets perform live-for the second time this year. If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be doing this now, I’m not sure I’d have believed them. Not the part about me traveling to see them, that is certainly plausible. But more the fact that the opportunity exists for me to see them in person.
I am wondering what they will do. I am wondering who will be there and I’m wondering how I will react. I know I was overwhelmed at the last performance. It was truly profound and I am hoping for something similar this time. It is fairly safe to say that, if Kermit appears and tells a joke or sings, I will be overcome. But I am very interested to see what this Just For Laughs performance will be like. Much different from the celebration of Jim Henson that occurred in Carnegie Hall, I’m sure. For one, they have not recommended the show for anyone younger than 16, I believe. These are comics after all, so it probably won’t be a lot of Sesame Street Skits. Which wouldn’t be right anyway, as they are owned by a different company. Regardless, it is sure to be a special experience. Certainly cost more than Carnegie Hall. But I’ll bet it will be worth it. Besides, a short holiday in Montreal is never a bad thing.
Wish me luck on this new adventure. I’ll tell you all about it as it happens.