Of Tonys and Connie & Carla

And the 2004 Tony Award for best musicale goes to AVENUE Q! (applause, cheers, tweet-tweeeeet!)

Personally, when I saw the excerpt, I thought Avenue Q was a bit weird. And that's mainly because of the puppets.I mean, there were some of the cast manipulating puppets to mirror themselves as they acted out their songs and dialogues. I find it kinda redundant and a waste of space. But then I gotta admit, it was a first and so a bit refreshing to watch.

The featured song number was quite catchy -- the main players along Avenue Q were trying to outdo each other in the my-life-sucks-more-than-anybody's game. Apparently, Avenue Q can be likened to one of life's waiting rooms. It's a place for dreamers-- the jaded and optimistic alike-- people who wait (patiently, impatiently, scornfully) till their dreams come true.

When the producer/director accepted the award on behalf of an exuberant cast and crew, she simply said (as I recall it), "I'd like to thank all our investors for believing along with us that a young musicale with a big heart can have a life in Broadway."

Inspiring, I'll give her that.

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Boy, Hugh Jackman was a whopping surprise! As he belted out his sizzling number on stage (flaunting a skin tight costume, let me add), one thought kept running in my head -- is he gay or what?!

It's said that A boy from OZ is his stage debut and -wowowow!-- he really could dance, and sing, and strut, and lambada baybehh! He's thinner than I've ever seen him on film. X-men's Wolverine is just full of surprises-- little did I know that he can also crawl, split, jump, and what-else. And yes, yes, he's still yummy too.

I realize that Hugh Jackman is way beyond just another pretty face in Hollywood. He's a versatile actor too. That's why I agree with Tony wholeheartedly for awarding him as Best Leading Actor in a musical play.

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From the stage, now let's move on to the big screen.

There is a movie in Ayala Cinema that I highly recommend: Connie and Carla.

Do what I did-- pass over those other hyped-up Hollywood films and choose to view something different -- you won't be sorry. It's hilarious, fun, touching, and it even inspired the dreamer in me.

When cousin Louie and I got inside the theater, we saw there were just a handful of us watching. Which, by the way, works for us -- no screaming teenagers, no smelly feet from behind, no accident prone moviegoers to watch out for. We can laugh, cry, and even scream our heart out and nobody would care -- after all, the moviehouse is almost empty. And so we did all that and I couldn't remember when I enjoyed a movie so immensely.

Needless to say, Connie and Carla is not a movie the mainstream crowd would go for. I guess it's an acquired taste. It's a story about two female friends, who are also stage-stars-wannabes, on the run who pose as drag queens as they hide from the bad guys. In the course of doing so, they make a name for themselves and slowly realize their dream --as drag queens. Of course, in the end, they "came out" and told the truth, exposed the bad guys, hooked the guy, and all that stuff.

I like it because i don't find it shallow at all. I admire Connie and Carla for their unwavering faith in making it big, their loyalty to their friends, their easy acceptance of the differences and truth about one's sexuality, and their courage in crossing over the line without losing themselves and turning what is into a great opportunity.

The players' names in the movie are not really that big in Hollywood. In fact, I didn't recognize them at first. Then I realized that Connie played the lead in My Greek Wedding or something. I still don't know her real name. And then, as an added bonus, I was really tickled to find that my all time favorite crush David Duchovny played the male lead. Woweee! There was also one funny Filipino in the cast. And the rest of the drag ("dressed as girls") gang were really great as show girls.

The acting's superb. The movie's not too commercial. It's not a drag (forgive the pun) at all. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me believe.

All in all, I give my thumbs-up to Connie and Carla! Go watch it.