Todrick Hall & Pentatonix • The Wizard of Ahhhs

Todrick Hall is at it again, creating a mash-up/spectacle that will entrance us all. This time, Todrick is joined by the vocal group Pentatonix to create a new spin on 'The Wizard of Oz' story. They pull it together with a mash-up of songs from today, from Country to Pop. While Pentatonix might start with "Over The Rainbow", it isn't long before they are recreating the storm whisking Dorothy and Toto off with Carrie Underwood's "Blown Away". And, well, they take off from there. Really, you are better off hitting play full screen and sit back and enjoy than have me blathering on much longer. So please enjoy 'The Wizard of Ahhhs'.

You can purchase the mash-up "The Wizard of Ahhhs" on iTunes. To show your appreciation of their work, you can find both Todrick and the group on Twitter, with Todrick here, and Pentatonix here. To see and hear more, you can check out Todick on YouTube, and Pentatonix' official website.

Dance Recital 2012

Clockwise from top: Sweet dancers open the show; Glinda, the Good Witch, dances; Little Scarecrows dancing; Dorothy & a jitterbug; and more adorable dancers.

For the last several years, I have been invited to take pictures at the annual dance recital for Miss Heather's School of Dance. That comes with the territory when you're the uncle of a one-time student and current teacher at the school. This year, they chose the theme to be The Wizard of Oz, using music from the movie, as well as a few other sources. So I thought I would share the pictures and a couple of songs from the movie, only done by different artists. I will lead off with The Divine Miss M, Bette Midler, with a cut off the Bette Midler album of 1973, a medley of "Optimistic Voices" and "Lullaby of Broadway".

Clockwise from top: Precious Tin Woodsmen; Dorothy, Toto & the Scarecrow long for a brain; could the girls be any cuter?; Little lions and lionesses take to the stage; and Dorothy, the Cowardly Lion, Tin Woodsman & others leaping.

Perhaps the only person who might be able to put as much into "Over The Rainbow" as Judy Garland is Philadelphia's own, Miss Patti LaBelle. So when I first heard her version of the song owned by Judy for several decades, I was blown away. Listen while you look at pictures of the dancers, from toddlers to adults, as they have fun on the stage at the Delaware State College.

Clockwise from top: The Wicked Witch is cute and can dance; the henchmen of the Wicked Witch; and The Flying Monkeys.

I just love the version of "If I Only Had A Brain" by Elvis Costello, with some great guitar work from noted musician Bill Frisell. This is from a 2009 broadcast of a special with Pop stars singing the great score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg. Listen, and continue to enjoy the pictures.

Clockwise from top: Hip-Hop dancers join the festivities; the instructors join in, and a group takes on Modern Dance.

GLEE Redux - The Purple Piano Project

Honestly, I missed the Season 3 Premiere as I was at a high school soccer match, but just finished watching it, and thought I'd continue to do my coverage of the show, in my own special way. I use the original artists when possible of the songs from the show, but in relationship to the GLEE storyline. Hope you enjoy.

The show opens with intrepid reporter/blogger Jacob Ben Israel vlogging with a vengeance, hitting the kids one by one to establish who are seniors and who are not, and that while Sam and Mercedes dated, he is gone now. It has Finn questioning himself and his future, until a rainbow slushie-facial brings him back to life as a gleek.

We also see Mr. Shuester waking up with Miss Pillsbury, and the inherent sexual tension/frustration in that relationship. Sue is running for political office, and looking for a sure-fire policy to garner votes. Lauren Zizes has dropped Puck and Glee club, cause both were hurting her 'cool factor.' Kurt tries to convince Blaine to join him at McKinley High, cause he misses his boy-toy. Quinn is MIA, only to be found with pink hair, a nose ring and a cigarette firmly in hand, a member of the Skanks. Quinn rebuffs attempts by Santana, Brittany and Rachel to return to Glee.

Mr. Shue gets a donation of some pianos, which he promptly paints purple and plans to place around the school to get the kids singing, and drumming up auditions for the three spots left vacant by Zizes, Quinn, and Sam. Sue is not impressed, and attacks a piano played by Mike & Tina, and insults the kids as well. This inspires her in her political life, and she takes a stand to eliminate all Arts programs in public schools. Mr. Shue is infuriated by Sue's stance. He plans to fight her, and she wants none of it, if it should interfere with her campaign.

The kids are afraid to play the piano in the lunch room, until Finn and Rachel talk them into getting up to sing The Go-Gos' We Got The Beat.



After the joyous performance, a food fight kicks off, and spaghetti flies. The kids are dejected, realizing that failure at the national championships last year has weakened their fragile positions at the school. While they are cleaning up the mess, Sugar Motta, whose daddy donated the pianos, comes in to audition for Glee, saying she was inspired because she was so much better than the kids. She sings Hey Big Spender from the music Sweet Charity.



Not surprisingly, she is terrible. Shue wants to honor the policy that all who apply are in Glee, but the kids want none of it. They have winning on their mins, and she won't make that happen. Shue has lunch with the amazing Coach Beiste, who offers to rough up Sue for him. Shue realizes he has to fight this one himself. "If Sue wants to declare war on the Arts, then General Shuester is about to launch a counter-offensive." Miss Pillsbury is turned on!

Rachel and Kurt, with plans to move to New York and pursue careers in musical theater, get together to prepare for a 'mixer' for a respected Musical Theater school that is nearby. They sing a nice jazz version of Ding-Dong, The Witch Is Dead from The Wizard of Oz.



Cheerio Co-captains Santana and Becky assist Sue at auditions for the cheering squad. Shue and Miss Pillbury show up, and he Glitterbombs Sue while Emma videos it before they take off. Blaine stops by to see Kurt, and soon announces he is transferring to McKinley to be with the man he loves. He sings a very special and sexy version of It's Not Unusual by Tom Jones.



While Santana and cheerleaders dance with Blaine, they are spraying lighter fluid on the piano. As the song ends, Quinn tosses a cigarette on the piano, and it bursts into flames. Kurt and Rachel go to the NYADA mixer, and discover a room full of, well, themselves. Divas and Gay boys explode on them, and are soon performing a number, Anything Goes from the Cole Porter musical, complete with dancing.



The duo are devastated, and are crying in the car in the parking lot. Finally, Kurt shakes himself off and brings Rachel out of her misery. She smiles, and makes him smile too. They will help one another get into NYADA.

Shue is dreading telling Sugar Motta she wasn't a good singer, and can't be in Glee. Miss Pillbury offers her thoughts, including how his strength is making her hot! He tells Sugar, and Sue catches up with him, to say the video of the glitter-bombing added 7 points to her campaign. He goes to Glee, and Blaine joins the group. Finn is upset, cause he thinks Blaine set the piano on fire, but Santana points out it was her and the Cheerios who did that. Shue says it is true, and kicks her out of Glee, and tells her not to come back until she can be loyal to the group. She leaves. Mr. Shue tells the kids he needs their loyalty for them to win Nationals. Rachel announces they will mount a production of West Side Story, and Kurt is running for class president. And like the pianos, who are beaten and worn, the kids might be bruised, but they can still make beautiful music. Rachel gets up to sing You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray!: The Musical and is soon joined by all the kids.



Till next week...

Dark Monday - Wizard of Oz

While I am taking my own trip to Oz - seeing Levi Kreis, Eric Himan and Jason Antone with my good friend Tom Goss - I thought I would share this favorite, 'The Wizard of Oz'. While in high school, I appeared in a production of the musical, playing a variety of roles, from one of the Lollipop Guild to Tibia, the dancing skeleton who served the Wicked Witch - the show didn't have flying monkeys, what can I say.


Me as Tibia in 1978

Well, this was based on the movie, within the limits of high school theater, but the basics of the story remained the same. The 1939 film featured Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. It is a tale of a young Dorothy Gale, your typical teenager, unhappy with the life she was living. It was the usual angst of the age, where she had no control over what was going on around her, and wasn't taken very seriously. Before she ran away, she sings the signature song of the musical, "Over The Rainbow".



Dorothy and her dog Toto decide to run away from home, but get caught up in a twister, which blows a window out of the frames and knocks her out. When she stirs, she finds herself no longer in the black and white world of Kansas, but in the amazing technicolor world. She meets the natives, the Munchkins, as well as Glinda the Good Witch, who informs Dorothy her house has killed the Wicked Witch of the East. This, however, is great news for the Munchkins, who sing to her a welcome in "The Munchkin Parade".



Glinda sends her off to see the Wizard of Oz, as Dorothy wants to return to Kansas. She must follow the yellow brick road, and along the way she meets a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, each looking for something and have a song to prove it. Here is the Scarecrow singing "If I Only Had A Brain".



One by one, Dorothy and Toto meet them all, and are soon prepared to venture to Oz. So they sing "We're Off To See The Wizard", dancing down the yellow brick road.



Well, rather than bore you with the rest of the story that I have to think everyone knows, I thought I would add a few other clips that were kind of interesting, like one about the casting of Dorothy. While the role made Judy Garland a superstar, she was not the first choice of the studio.



Margaret Hamilton scared the bejeezus outta me when I was a kid, her stern and terrifying looks, and that cackle! Interestingly enough, she was not the first choice of the director. Here is the background information.



For those who might be interested, here is some background information on Billie Burke, better known as Glinda, the Good Witch.



Such a wonderful movie, I still find myself watching it all these years later. And those flying monkeys, well, they still scare me a bit!