Ricky Martin will NEVER outrank Bernadette Peters

I have upsetting new, Broadway Fans.

Many of you may know this already, but the revival of Follies, with the extraordinary cast (including Bernadette Freakin' Peters) is closing after less than six months.  One of my friends had the pleasure of seeing this show before it transferred to Broadway and she said it was fantastic.

That is sad enough, but guess who is taking their place?

Ricky Martin.

Well, Ricky Martin and the cast of the Evita revival.

This is extremely upsetting.  What kind of a world do we live in when Ricky Martin can shake his bon bon into Bernadette Freakin' Peters' theatre and make her leave?!?!?

I pose this question to you, citizens of cyberspace.  How could we let this happen?

Season Three Glee News!

Good news and bad news for Glee fans.

The good news?

Darren Criss (Blaine) has officially been promoted to a regular for season 3 of Glee.

The bad news?

Chord Overstreet (Sam) had officially been dropped from the show.

Now don't get me wrong, my love of Darren Criss could border on obsession, so I couldn't be happier that we'll be seeing more of him.  He is a passionate, no-holds-barred actor and he deserves all the success coming his way.

But I'm also sad to see Chord Overstreet leave.  Granted, his character wasn't nearly as dynamic as some of the others, but that was all due to the writing.  The problems they gave his character (being homeless, everyone questioning his sexuality) just didn't read as well as many of the other conflicts on the show.  And now they'll have to do something about his relationship with Mercedes, which was introduced in the season two finale.  Overstreet had a subtle sense of humor and great singing voice.  The episode where he was channeling Justin Bieber was absolutely hysterical in my opinion.

So it's bittersweet news for glee fans, and I can't wait for season 3.

Hugh Jackman + Les Mis = Win

Broadwayworld.com reports that Hugh Jackman will be in the cast of the new Les Miserables movie musical.  I think this is wonderful.  My friends and I often compare Hugh Jackman to a fine wine, he just seems to get better with age.

And to those of you who only know his as Wolverine, Hugh Jackman is, in fact, a song and dance man, and he has a Tony Award to prove it!  He won a few years ago for his work in the musical, "The Boy From Oz."  He has also played many more musical roles on Broadway and the West End, including Curly in Oklahoma and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast.

Which role is he tackling in Les Mis?  No one knows yet, but rumor has it he may be playing the lead, Jean Valjean.  I hope this is the case, it's not a role I would automatically think of Hugh Jackman for, but I am constantly surprised by his talents and think he would do a fine job.

Welcome to my (slightly larger) soap box!

Hello loyal readers,

You're all probably wondering - why has my soap box expanded?  Wasn't it big enough?

Apparently not.

I was consolidating my various e-mail accounts and accidentally deleted my old blog, Ashley's little soap box.  I couldn't get it back, though I did manage to recover a good chunk of my old posts (which I have uploaded here for your reading pleasure).  The only post I REALLY wish I could find was my "In Defense of Fan Fiction" post.  I'll keep searching, but it may be trapped deep in the bowels of cyberspace.

So, rather than let my blog disappear from your lives forever I decided to carry on!  From now on I'll be posting here, and as always, I love reading your comments and suggestions - so go wild!

Maybe I'm Just Slow...

But did you know Julie Andrews has never won a Tony?

Sure, she snagged an Oscar for Mary Poppins, and she's been nominated for three Tony's (but she declined her nomination for Victor/Victoria) but she's never won a Tony.

I think it's about time they put ole' Julie back on Broadway long enough to get her the Tony she's always deserved.