A Movie Scene Quiz

Have a safe trip home ladies.

Hope to see you at Pierce Brosnan from Henry Fonda - Amanda Schull.

I'm taping

Live Wire from Young Mr. Lincoln - Center Stage

because I was afraid I wouldn't be home from my piano lesson by 8 p.m., but if I get home in time, I'll see you there!

OK. And may you have a most pleasant, productive evening with Tom Hulce.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Frankenstein?

Just kidding -- I'm pretty sure you meant Amadeus!

Good Morning all.

Well, just my luck. I programmed "Passions" and watched it this A.M. The first half hour was an interview with the Governor of PA. So, how did it end? And what did you think of the show?

Bummer! The PBS station here is re-running it on Sunday at noon, so maybe there's still a chance you can catch the whole thing. If so, and if you don't want to know what happens at the end, read no further.

Giorgio asks Clara (the Audra McDonald character) to leave her husband and run away with him. She refuses because it would mean she'd lose her child. At this point, we can see Giorgio mentally contrasting her response with Fosca (the Patti Lupone character), who would give up anything for him if he asked her to. Realizing that no one will ever love him the way Fosca loves him (that's for sure), he goes back to the military camp and tells Fosca (who by now is close to death) that he loves her. The next day, he fights a duel with her cousin, who has found the letter Fosca dictated to Giorgio and made him sign, and who accuses Giorgio of "toying with her affections". The cousin is badly wounded in the duel, and Giorgio has a breakdown. In the last scene (some months later), Giorgio is alone, reading a letter from the doctor, who tells him that Fosca died three days after the duel.

That's a pretty bald factual summary. For deeper thoughts on what it all means, see the

New York Times review

I enjoyed it, and thought all the performances were great, but it's so intense I don't think it will become the kind of thing I watch every year (although I intend to keep it on tape for those occasions when I feel some intensity is called for).

Wow! Thank you, Bree. Great run-down. I liked what I saw. I recall having seen Michael Cerveris on some special, but I don't remember where or when - or what he sang. I hadn't realized that Audra has such a powerful voice, as I only know her from Ragtime.

I will program it on Sunday and allow an extra hour before and after.

My PBS station had something else going on - I need to check the upcoming schedule to see if we're going to get Passion...

Aaah. I hope you're able to get the show, Mac.

I didn't know that Sondheim wrote the score for "Reds" or that with Anthony Perkins, cowrote the screenplay for "The Last of Sheilah". Just found that out.

OK. In case you might be bored with what you're doing now and have some free time, here's a timely question:

What do these three actors have in common movie-wise (I just found out that "movie-wise" isn't a word, but I like it and you know what I mean.)?

Ann Harding
Joan Plowright
Jack Lemmon

and how does one each of these actors' movies relate to the subject?

Phyllis Thaxter
Sean Connery
David Niven

I like "movie-wise" too.

Sorry I didn't get back here yesterday with a timely answer to your timely question. The first three were all in movies that had "April" in the title:

Enchanted April (1935 version) - Harding
Enchanted April (1992 version) - Plowright
The April Fools - Lemmon

and the second group of three were all in movies that had "spring" in the title (and I must say, you did a fine job of picking some of the most obscure "spring" movies I've ever heard of!):

Springfield Rifle - Thaxter
Lilacs in the Spring - Connery
Palm Springs - Niven

Oh, that's a great answer. Because - I wasn't thinking of "Spring". I was thinking of things that are associated with April, but inasmuch as you weren't born in April, I feel a little guilty about it and will accept "Spring". I love your Spring answers. (lol)

I've just recorded an old tape of "The Making of Ragtime" from a PBS special onto DVD. Oh, I would have loved to have seen that show. They showed scenes of the construction of the Ford Theatre for the Performing Arts (had to be constructed in a record-breaking 14 months for Ragtime) and showed how they used tiles, etc. taken from the Lyric and Apollo Theatres. It looks magnificent. Have you seen any shows there?

Audra was great, but Brian Stokes Mitchell stole my heart. And he can dance, too. Lots of dancing in the show. Of course, I'm partial to the composer, too ,as he is a local boy.

My tape kept jumping up and down, but after much effort I got it onto DVD with a few glitches. Otherwise I would have sent the tape to you gals. See if the library carries it because I think you would all enjoy it.

No, I wasn't born in April -- were you?

Now you've piqued my curiosity, so tomorrow (it's too late, tonight) I'll go back to the drawing board and see if I can figure out what you were thinking of for the second part of your question.

I saw Ragtime at the Ford Theatre, but unfortunately, Brian Stokes Mitchell had already left the show by the time I saw it. I remember the public areas of the theatre were beautiful, but I couldn't see the stage very well because I got a last-minute ticket at the half-price ticket booth, so I was in the last row of the orchestra (and it's a big orchestra, so I was practically in another zip code from the stage).

Speaking of Mr. Mitchell, I got a mailing from Lincoln Center Theatre today, announcing that he'll be doing a concert, with a four-piece jazz ensemble, on Sunday and Monday evenings in May (when the theatre would otherwise be dark). I immediately got on LCT's website to order a ticket, but the website is still showing only the two plays they're doing this spring. You'd think they could have updated their website in the time it took a letter to arrive by snail mail.

See you tomorrow (actually, it's tomorrow already), after I do all the errands I should have done today but didn't because it rained so hard I never left my apartment.

Ah, I wish you could have seen Brian Stokes Mitchell. Did you see Audra McDonald and Marin Mazzi? I prefer smaller intimate theatres, but was impressed by the grandeur of the Ford Theatre on the TV special.

Oh, I'm excited. I can't wait until you see Mr. Mitchell at the Lincoln Centre. Will it be at the Allen Room?

Yes, I'm an Aries and accordingly prefer expensive jewelry, although my corsage preference is quite modest.

This morning was a winter wonderland here. Hopefully, by this afternoon it will be a winter slushland.

Diamonds and daisies, eh? I see you're a woman of many contradictions!

The Sign of the Ram - Thaxter
Diamonds Are Forever - Connery
Please Don't Eat the Daisies - Niven

I'm embarrassed to admit, I'm not positive who was in Ragtime when I saw it, but I think both Marin Mazzie and Audra McDonald were still in it. (Hey, I just realized -- they've both played Clara in Passion: Marin Mazzie in the original Broadway production, and Audra McDonald in the production that was just on PBS). I really should dig out the Playbill and see who was in Ragtime when I saw it, but my Playbills are in such a disorganized state, that would be a bigger project than I'm prepared to undertake at that moment.

The Allen Room would be a great venue for Brian Stokes Mitchell's concert, but (probably for monetary reasons), it's instead going to be at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, which isn't as attractive a room, but has more seats.

If I'm right about the "April connections" movies, I'll try to post a new question tomorrow, but it probably won't be until the afternoon, because I have back-to-back meetings tomorrow morning: one at 10, and another at 11. (On Monday morning, no less: who schedules these things?)

And this evening, of course, will be devoted to the "opening night" baseball game. Play ball!

You did indeed make the right connection, Bree.

I fully understand your playbill situation. I'm in the same predicament with my VHS tapes. I positively will not let that happen with the DVDs I'm recording.

Hope your team doesn't get blown away. Winds here reached 50mph a half hour ago.

Go Yankees!

Today, I've been hearing music, but there was no one there - or here.
Thought I'd give this thread a boost just in case anyone wants to play.

Roy Rogers

Tyrone Power

Clark Gable

Richard Gere

and

Peter Sellers (two words) + Charlie Chaplin (one word) + Alex Rice (three words) in John Wayne (one Word) + Keanu Reeves (one word)

I'm glad you did! I'm at the office for another hour before leaving for a piano recital at Carnegie Hall, so I'll see if I can crack your question before I leave.

OK, I need some help here. I can't find a way into this question because I'm not sure if it tells a story, or if the actors were all in movies that have title words in common, or just what the format is. I thought I was onto something for a few minutes, but, unless one of the movies (the Richard Gere movie) is a made-for-TV movie, I think I may be on the wrong track.

There are five songs.
There are 5 words in the title for Roy Rogers.
There are 4 words in the title for Tyrone Power.
There is 1 word in the title for Richard Gere.
I guess you'd say 2 words for Clark Gable.

The fifth song is a combination of Peter Sellers (two words) + Charlie Chaplin (one word) + Alex Rice (three words) in John Wayne (one Word) + Keanu Reeves (one word)

Did you enjoy the concert?