Met-Lovin' Big Shots

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Nice article. Thanks for finding and posting it Edgy.

[Guest Edgy DC]

="TheOldMole"]Heartwarming. Good for her in everything in her life, including rooting for Mikey.

That's MikeyBoy. The story, however, says she bailed on the Mets this year, because they didn't keep the guy whose face is on her pajamas.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jonathan Salent, of Bloomberg News and president of the National Press club:

Say hello to Bloomberg's Jonathan Salant (also president of the National Press Club).

How many suits do you own? Six, including the one I was married in. I expanded my collection dramatically when I became press club president and began appearing on C-SPAN.

What word do you routinely misspell? canceled. I always add the second L, like in cancellation.

Did you see Brokeback Mountain? No. As the father of an 9-year-old son, I don't see any movines that aren't rated G. But if you ask me if I've seen Looney Tunes: Back in Action or The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, the answer is yes.

Did you see The Da Vinci Code? See the preceding answer.

What's the name of your cell phone ring? The one that came with the phone at the factory.

What time did you get up this morning? 7:15 a.m.

When did you last cry and why? I remember crying when my father died five years ago. I'm sure I cried since then, but I don't remember the time or the place.

Which of the seven deadly sins are you? They don't teach the seven deadly sins in Hebrew School.

Beach, city or country? City.

Would you say you're cute? Pretty? Hot? Beautiful? I plead the Fifth, but my son, Izzy, is very cute.

What color is your bathroom? White.

How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? At least 100, including, alas, spam.

What's your opinion of New York City? As a native New Yorker, I continue to believe that it's the center of the universe, as in the earth revolves around the sun and the sun revolves around New York.

What's your favorite letter? J, as in Jonathan and my wife Joan. I is a close second because of Izzy.

What single person played the biggest role / had the biggest influence on your journalism career? Bob Shaw, former Miami Herald Tallahassee reporter. In 1980, when I was at the Herald, he did this terrific story about how Bill Gunther, the state insurance commissioner, was funding his U.S. Senate campaign in large part through contributions from the insurance industry. I've been matching campaign donations with the officials and lawmakers who regulate
the givers ever since.

Have you ever downloaded a podcast? If so, which one? No.

Who's your all-time favorite American Idol candidate? I have never watched American Idol. After all. Lisa de Morales says in the Washington Post that she writes about it so you don't have to watch, and I take her advice.

When's the last time you volunteered? Where? April 30. My synagogue, B'nai Israel Congregation in Rockville, has an annual Mitzvah Day. I joined my son's third grade class in making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for residents of a homeless shelter.

Who is your favorite active journalist? Al Hunt. He has helped make my employer, Bloomberg News, a terrific place to work.

What did you have for breakfast? A package of Nature Valley maple sugar granola bars.

What's your favorite item of clothing? My official Mets cap and uniform, with SALANT on the back of the jersey, courtesy of my week at fantasy camp for my 40th birthday.

What one toiletry item could you not live without? toothbrush.

If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? Superhearing, so I could find out and report about what really goes on behind closed doors.

Better role model: GIJoe? Barbie? GI Joe.

[Guest Edgy DC]

No, I don't know who she is. but the Chicago Tribune seems to think that she's a big shot.

Ana Ortiz on 'Ugly Betty': 'I definitely have a Queens connection'

Ana Ortiz plays Betty's sister Hilda on "Ugly Betty." Here's my interview with her.

Can you tell me a little about yourself and your background?

"I was born and raised in New York City, Manhattan, uptown."

Not Queens?

"No, but my grandmother lived in Flushing, Queens, most of my life. So I definitely have a Queens connection. I�m a Mets fan, my grandfather took us to games all the time.

"I came out to LA about six or seven years ago, give or take. I�m a member of a theater company in New York, it�s really fantastic. And it�s great to go home, I miss my family so much. When I�m getting too LA-ed out, I go visit them."

For me the limit is about a week. Then I�m LA-ed out.

"It�s true [laughs]. Now that I�ve sort of made more of a life here for myself, it�s gotten a lot easier. I fell in love, I met a great guy. And one of my best friends is out here, he�s from Queens. But now that I have a support system everything seems a whole lot brighter here in LA.

So you�ve been auditioning in LA for at least six years now. How many times have you auditioned to be a maid?

"Oh God. I don�t even know if I could count, to be perfectly honest. And can I tell you � a maid named Maria. They haven�t even gotten to the point where they can expand at least on the name. If I�m going to be a maid, can she at least be Blanca or Julia? Something else.

"Of course, in saying that, there have been times when I�ve played a maid when it�s been an amazing role. I did an HBO pilot that Michael Apted directed that, it didn�t go anywhere. I played a maid in that, and it was a really groovy part and a groovy idea. But many times it is, I�m the gross mistress/maid, the maid who�s trying to steal the husband. I�m always trying to steal someone�s husband, when I�m not a maid."

And very spicy, right?

"Yeah [laughs]. Feisty is usually the word I get, being Latina."

I guess, being Irish, I�m always seeing the Irish who are drunk and getting into fights, mostly for no good reason.

"Well, it�s funny you should say that, my father�s Puerto Rican and my mother�s Irish. But nobody ever casts me as anything other than Latin. Wait, that�s not true, I did a play Garry Marshall wrote and directed, and I played an Italian girl and Hector Elizondo, another Puerto Rican from New York, was a German guy. Doing theater with them was one of the best working experiences of my life. It was fun, Hector and I would look at each other and go, �Wow, look at us, two Nuyoricans up here, doing our thing.� It was great."

I can�t speak to its authenticity, not having grown up Latino, but the family we�re seeing on �Ugly Betty� seems pretty different than what we usually see of that community.

"It�s true."

Did you think you�d never see that on network TV?

"I was beginning to think I wouldn�t, but just judging from me and my friends, [it was like], �When are they going to start representing us? How much of a majority do we have to be to get some representation on TV?� So it�s incredible to see America up there, just the heart and soul of the show, and she�s just the most beautiful, confident person ever. Half the time she�s giving me advice on life and love and I�m sitting there, going �I�m supposed to be the older sister!�

"I�m not so much surprised by the success of Ugly Betty as I am feeling so blessed by it. I�ve just known that we�re out there. And women like Salma are finally being [given a chance to produce]. She�s the most powerful person I�ve ever met. She�s just so confident and believes in what she does with such a passion, it rubs off on everyone around here. That�s translated to this show."

Do you think it depicts Hispanic family life with any truth? It seems to me the show doesn�t really condescend to these people, or mock them, except maybe in little ways here and there.

"Yeah. I remember when I first read the script, and I thought, 'Oh my God, this is us. This is my family.' This is us� running around, yelling at each other, hugging each other. We�re effusive people. Everybody�s in each other�s business in my family, all the time [laughs]. They want you to be independent and want you to grow up, but they are so superprotective at the same time."

And Betty and Hilda give each other as good as they get. It�s not really from anger, but they just don�t back down from each other.

"It�s great because we get to put our two cents in. I mean, America has five sisters. And I have a sister who�s 16. We don�t tiptoe around each other and braid each other�s hair, you know [laughs]. We get into it. And the thing is, that those are the people you can be most honest with, emotionally, verbally, and physically too.

"It was funny because at first America and I would be doing a scene and we would sort of like pinch each other or poke each other and the director would be like, �Do you guys really do that?� �Yeah, of course!� It�s part of being a family. You always mess with each other.

"And I think Hilda can learn from Betty, she�s always trying to make sure that Betty doesn�t go out there and get hurt. But she sees her going out there and having this incredible journey and maybe she�ll think that she can do that too."

It seems Hilda�s had her own problems, and is a little afraid of what�s beyond Queens.

"Absolutely. I definitely think there�s an element of that. I have cousins who were born and raised and married within the same four blocks. One thing that I love about that, is that when my little cousin walks down the street, everybody will pop their head out the door and say, �Where are you going? Does your papa know?� I love that insulated community. On the other hand there�s something to be said for having the chutzpah to explore new things. And Betty has the best of both worlds."

I think they�re afraid for her, but at the same time, they see that she�s got something to offer and she would probably be unhappy not trying to broaden her horizons.

"That�s true. And that�s how I think family is, when push comes to shove, they�re going to protect you and warn you of the dangers, but ultimately they�re going to be out there and say, �We got your back, do what you want to do.� � It really allows you to be yourself to the fullest, if you have the support of your family.

"My family couldn�t be more supportive. They�re worried and they�re always in my business, and my mother does send me grad-school applications every now and again [laughs]."

Another interesting thing about the show is, on TV a lot of the characters are upper middle class. They�re doctors, lawyers. They�ve made it.

"Right. They�re architects."

And Betty�s probably more like most Americans � she went to Queens College. And nothing against architects, but she�s not an architect.

^Boobies!

Yeah. I love that the issue of health care is in the show. And the issue of immigration. I think we�re handling it pretty well, because of it�s such a touchy issue right now. And there�s a gay son. This is real. This is what people are dealing with every single day � they can�t afford to get their pills. Or, �He�s gay? Blinders, blinders.� It�s like, not judging, it�s just not existing.

But still, her family is so solid that you really understand where her confidence and perseverance come from.

"Definitely. Some people succeed in spite of [their family], but for me, it�s been a great experience to be so supported by my family and not be second-guessed in my choices. And that�s one of the wonderful things about Betty is that she�s able to go out there and we really believe she can face people like Wilhemina and Amanda and Marc because she�s got people at home who just think she�s the bees knees.

But so many shows depict such awful father-son, mother-daughter, parent-child relationships. Not that that�s a bad thing dramatically, in fact it's often fodder for good drama, but still, that�s not the experience of many people.

"Yeah, I mean, I�ve gotten in fights with my mother when I was 16, where it was bad for a little while. But ultimately it�s never been like that. I don�t relate to that angst-y kid who hates their parents because they were horrible. It�s just not my life and it�s not the life of a lot of my friends."

What has been the mood on the set, as you guys have progressed from underdog to breakout hit?

"It�s just a survival instinct [at first], when you do a TV show, �Well, we�ll see.� When we did the pilot, it was supposed to be airing on Fridays, which is like a no-man�s land for television, on the one hand, but on the other hand, there�s not a lot of competition, so hopefully we�ll be able to get a couple of good seasons out of it, even though nobody will probably watch it. But we�re going to be the best show on Friday night! It was that kind of thing.

"Then people started seeing the show and we started getting this feedback, this is the best show, from critics, I guess. Everybody was walking around like, �Really? Is this happening?� It�s a total shock. Every week, you think, this will be the week where [the audience] is like, �Psych! Just kidding!� But every week we�re getting more and more viewers and more love from people, and more response. And it�s just been incredible.

"When they did a spoof of �Ugly Betty� on �Saturday Night Live,' I knew we made it. I called America immediately and I was like, �Are you watching this?� She�s screaming, �Yes! It�s hysterical!�

What�s cool about the ABC Thursday lineup now is that it�s light � not just in that it�s not dark on all the sets, but it�s just tonally lighter than so many other shows on TV. It makes a lot of sense with �Grey�s Anatomy.�

"I agree. We�re so blessed. I love �Grey�s� so much. Now we get to go to parties every once in a while, and the �Grey�s Anatomy� cast is there and I�m like, �Oh my God! There�s McDreamy! There�s so and so.� Everybody�s like, �Calm down. You�re on a hit show. You do know that, right?�"

One thing that you can tell about both �Grey�s� and �Betty,� is that both shows have a lot of women on the writing staffs. You can really tell.

"We have so many women writers, it�s unbelievable. We go into table reads and we introduce ourselves every time. We have more women writers than men. And we�ve had five women directors, maybe more. And we�ve got three executive producers [who are female]. That is such a truth. Walking around there, you just feel so understood and supported.

"When I�ve worked on other shows, I�ve been afraid to speak up and to voice an opinion � you don�t want to get fired. And I hate being patted on the head � [in a patronizing voice] �Uh huh, that�s great.� It�s my own fault that I haven�t been able to break through that, but this is an opportunity for me to be able to talk about anything and it�s cool. I can talk about getting married and wanting to have a kid and not feel like I�m going to be ostracized and misunderstood and fired. It�s the first time in my career I�ve felt free enough to talk about it with anyone in a position of power and not feel like I�m going to be fired."

What�s coming up for Hilda?

"Justin�s dad stays around for a little while. I don�t really know what else is in store for Hilda. She messes up a bit, she definitely gets everyone in trouble a bit in the next episode. I think she�s turning out maybe to not be the best judge of character. I would hope that maybe she would learn a little bit about that.

"I want to see what happens when Hilda starts dating. She loves her job, she loves her family, that seems to be the one thing that�s missing."

You talked a bit about Justin�s character before. It seems clear to me that he�s gay, but I like how they haven�t really made a big deal about it. It�s just, �That�s Justin.�

"Yeah. I love that about the show, actually. I just think that what the writers are giving us is an opportunity to breathe. Everything doesn�t happen immediately. This family is trying to figure everything out, let alone [that]. As long as Justin�s happy, and healthy, and happy with himself and not getting abused and tortured in school, they�re sort of like, �That�s who he is, he�s happy with who he is, we�re happy with him. So why stir up something that doesn�t necessarily need it?�

[Willets Point]

Edgy, don't you think that's a little immature? A grown-up says "d�colletage".

[Guest Edgy DC]

More than a little.

But I wanted to see who is reading.

Although all that proves is who is looking that pictures.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Joe Crowley, Democratic boss, says: "I�m a Met fan, born and raised in Woodside, in the shadow of Shea. But unlike my brother, who�s a fan of the Mets and the Red Sox�he hates the Yankees at all costs�I root for the Yankees if they�re in the playoffs and the Mets aren�t. I�m a city guy."

Shocking.

[G-Fafif]

"When Mike Piazza was on the Mets in '99 and having a terrible slump, that's what their scout would yell at him to lift his spirits."

Thus spake Meat Loaf in a recent Rolling Stone Q&A to explain why his new album is called The Monster Is Loose.

One is left to wonder, a little, whether Loaf and Piazza share such a special bond as rock guys that Mike let him in on a heretofore unknown anecdote or, as is much more likely, he's twisting the better known story, that of third base coach John Stearns shouting it spontaneously into the Fox wired-for-sound mic after Mike broke out of a slump during the 2000 NLCS.

Close enough for rock 'n' roll.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I remember that vividly. John Stearns was saying, "The monster is out of his cage!"

I loved that. It was nice, while enjoying the Mets in the postseason, to suddenly flash back to two decades earlier and the days of the Bad Dude.

I liked having Stearns and Mookie in uniform for the Mets success. Hopefully I'll get the same kind of kick out of having HoJo around next season.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Meat's a MFY fan, by the way. Completely gay for Mickey Mantle.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I guess that's why Mr. Loaf used Phil Rizzuto instead of Bob Murphy on that song. (Was it Paradise by the Dashboard Lights?)

[G-Fafif]

Loaf insisted to Mets Weekly that he came to Shea more than the other New York stadium during the Seaver years because he was so darn great. I wasn't buying it.

"Paradise By The Dashboard Light" may have been well served by the voice of Murph (what wouldn't be?), but Rizzuto acquitted himself nicely.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Not sure if it would've been within to boundaries of Murph's dignity.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

She's not a celebrity in the traditional sense, but Channel 11 News reports that this young woman is a big Mets fan -

]Double-Lung Transplant Recipient Leaves Hospital Jennifer Lanzaro All Smiles And With New Lease On Life Image John Slattery Reporting (CBS) NEW YORK When Jennifer Lanzaro was rolled out of Mt. Sinai Hospital in a wheelchair Wednesday, it was the first time she'd been outdoors since October. "It feels cool but good," she said. The 29-year-old woman received a double-lung transplant on her birthday, Nov. 12. Wearing a protective hospital mask, she said, "It's very good to go home, very good." For Jennifer and her parents, who live in East Meadow, it was a major milestone. Said her father, Charlie Lanzaro: "I can't believe it. I'm very happy." Jennifer's Mother, Kathy, said she has been through the emotional wringer. "I'm worn down in that I'm still so scared, but elated that we're here," she said. Jennifer and her family were scared because last June, Jennifer's recently married younger sister, Marissa Bishop, 27, died of cystic fibrosis. For Marissa a transplant wasn't possible. Jennifer, who suffered from the genetic illness since childhood, found that her condition grew critical in October. Cystic fibrosis, a disease which clogs the lungs with mucous, afflicts some 30,000 Americans. All that would save her was as double-lung transplant. As she waited for a donor, Jennifer slipped into a coma. Doctors at Mt. Sinai believed she was days away from death Then, on Nov. 11, lungs became available from a family whose loved one died in Brooklyn. "Very grateful to them for it," Jennifer said. Jennifer believes her sister was the force behind the life-giving donation. "She always had to get me the best birthday present, and I got my lungs on my birthday, so they're from her," she said. Jennifer is able to walk on her own. She said she's able to go approximately 200 feet before feeling tired. She said before the surgery the cystic fibrosis would cause terrible coughing and shortness of breath, painful ailments that are now gone. As the young woman goes home, facing a regimen of heavy medicine and physical therapy, she will resume a life more fortunate than that of her sister. (� MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, we should have a thread for such folks. They're better than big shots.

The New York Post wrote: "The Mets didn't win the World Series this year because I wasn't at the playoff games cheering them on," Lanzaro, 29, told The Post at Mount Sinai Medical Center in her first bedside interview.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You make the call:

Fashion over team passion

Jets tight end Chris Baker grew up in Queens and is a lifelong Mets fan. But what about those Yankee hats he's always wearing? Well, Baker said he wears them because they match his outfits and he cannot find Mets hats in red, green, yellow and bejeweled black as readily as he can find Yankee caps. Baker is so color-coordinated he once wore a Ronnie Lott throwback Jets jersey ... just because it matched his green sneakers.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

He's an idiot.

If he's a Mets fan who needs to wear a red baseball cap, there are alternatives. He can get a red cap from a Japanese or minor league team.

[G-Fafif]

Noticed the Jets' Eric Barton resplendent in traditional blue Mets cap in the postgame media chat last Sunday. More than makes up for that penalty that nearly screwed the Jets over against San Diego two years ago (also known as the night we got Beltran).

[Guest Edgy DC]

Celebrity chef Tom Colicchio:

Similar looks, different tastes
Baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr. and chef Tom Colicchio face off
By Rebecca Logan
Special to The Sun
Originally published January 7, 2007

He does not!

To some people, the resemblance is uncanny.

Other folks just don't see it.

But whether it is his bald head, his piercing eyes or maybe a combination of both, there's just something about reality TV star Chef Tom Colicchio that reminds many viewers of one of Harford County's favorite sons.

"I've been told over and over again, 'Hey, you look a lot like Cal Ripken,'" said Colicchio, the head judge on Top Chef, the Bravo channel's cooking competition show.

Colicchio said he can sort of see where those people are coming from.

"It's funny, our hairlines kind of disappeared about the same time," he said.

Ripken -- a former Aberdeen High School student and Baltimore Orioles legend -- said he's never seen Top Chef but would like to meet Colicchio someday.

Both men were good enough sports to field a few questions (Colicchio by phone from New York and Ripken via e-mail) designed to seek out other possible similarities. Consider it a whimsical diversion while the baseball world awaits Tuesday's announcement of whether Ripken is voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Tom Colicchio
The head judge on television's "Top Chef" is also an award-winning chef who has opened restaurants such as Gramercy Tavern and Craft in New York City. Born: August 1962 in Elizabeth, N.J.

Describe your coaching style.

"In my kitchen, it is very supportive ... I'm coaching from experience but I don't want to just tell them, 'Listen to me.' You have to gain respect ... You have to have them buy into it and want to improve. Some people don't want to be coached. It's about gaining trust."

What's the No. 1 quality an aspiring chef can possess?

"Passion. Whether it's sports or cooking or anything else, ability can only get you so far. [Those who succeed] are the ones there after practice shooting free throws or ... taking extra swings."

And the worst characteristic for an aspiring chef?

"A guy who is really good and doesn't practice."

Other than your own, what's your favorite restaurant?

"I don't know that I have one single favorite restaurant. Maybe Michel Bras in Laguiole, France."

What's your favorite sports team?

"I grew up a Washington Redskins fan, but don't watch much football anymore.

And baseball?

All right, I'll put it out there. I was a Mets fan growing up as a kid. And for some reason I became an L.A. Lakers fan -- those have really been my big three."

Can you play baseball?

"Funny story: There was a woman who wrote a book about a bunch of different chefs and somehow she got some of the interviews mixed up. It says in the book that I grew up having dreams of being a great baseball player and that I played in college. But that wasn't me. ... I played [through] freshman year in high school. I was OK, never great."

Cal Ripken Jr.
The former Baltimore Oriole who played a record 2,632 consecutive games is a major force in Aberdeen through the Aberdeen IronBirds and the Cal Ripken World Series. Born: August 1960 in Havre de Grace.

Describe your coaching style.

"In all of our teaching we live by the credo, 'Celebrate the individual.' What this means is that everyone does things a little differently and there isn't just one way to have success, whether that is with hitting or, I would imagine, cooking."

What is the No. 1 characteristic an aspiring ball player can possess?

"A love and passion for the game."

What's the worst characteristic they can have?

"Indifference."

What is your favorite restaurant?

"There are so many all across the country. Near our home is the Oregon Grille that I love, and out in Napa Valley there is a place called The French Laundry that is amazing. [Wife] Kelly and I also really enjoy Rosa Mexicana in Washington, D.C., and New York."

What is your favorite sports team?

"Guess. Seriously, I am a hometown guy. I grew up loving the Orioles and still root for them as hard as ever. I am also a big Ravens fan and go to almost all of their home games."

Can you cook?

"Not really. I make good pancakes. ... At least that is what my kids tell me."

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I don't see it. I guess some people think all bald guys look alike.

[Guest Edgy DC]

All bald whities anyhow. He carries the weight of a linebacker.

[Guest Edgy DC]

David Brody says Mets are Q.

[metirish]

Mr. Brody seems like a funny guy.

[Theoldmole]

Dr. Sharon Ryan, chair of the department of philosophy at West Virginia University,

From SI:

]As a child attending New York Mets games when the team's manager was the philosopher Yogi Berra, Ryan was already interested in man's most mystifying issues, like life, death and the infield fly rule. Now she's asking Big Questions of Mountaineers athletes, coaches and fans (and posting their answers at thequestion.blogs.wvu.edu).

Some ot the questions answered by Mountaineer philosophers:

] I asked the Tuesday Night Philosophers to weigh in on some of sports' most renowned thinkers, among them Satchel Paige, who said, "You win a few, you lose a few. Some get rained out. But you got to dress for all of them." Matthias Callison, a senior, pointed out that Paige had offered a view popular in the philosophy of religion: You can't ap�preciate good without experiencing evil. I asked for an exegesis of Mickey Rivers, who said, "I don't get upset over things I can't control because if I can't control them, there's no use getting upset. And I don't get upset over things I can control, because if I can control them, what's the use in getting upset?" Ryan said, "Rivers's view rings loudly of the Stoic philosophers." (They were masters of their own emotions.) And what to make of this from Shaquille O'Neal: "I'd like to be known as the Big Aristotle. It was Aristotle who said excel�lence is not a singular act but a habit." Hinton, the Aristotle expert, noted that the Greek word arete�which means excellence in performing any function� "is a state rather than a capacity. It re�quires training to ensure that it is sta�ble. It operates more like a habit. This is rather a strange thing for Shaq to say considering that his former coach Phil Jackson contends that Shaq was the only player he has coached who was not a 'worker.' "

[metirish]

Dwight Freeney - Mets fan and Patriots hater.

] �I am from New England, so at the end of the day, when I go home, it�s half Patriots and now it�s half Colts,� he said. �You get the wars in the streets. People are talking this, talking that. So for me, it�s a little bit more special. But I have to go out and cancel all that out and not worry about it. �I hated the Patriots,� he said. �I was a big Giants fan, and the fact is the Patriots weren�t that good back then. I was always a Mets fan, a New York Giants fan.�

Freeney wore a MFY cap while saying all this.....



The MFY cap was just the fashion Freeney said.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You big shots gotta make your own fashion statement.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Like Kristin...

Music Review | Kristin Chenoweth
How Daisy Mae�s Charm Finds a Home at the Met
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: January 22, 2007
Kristin Chenoweth made a zany entrance onto the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House on Friday evening, outfitted in a New York Mets baseball shirt and cap, waving a banner and pretending to be a ditsy sports fan arriving late for a game.

After this clever feint Ms. Chenoweth, the tiny, explosively talented blond tornado from Oklahoma, whirled offstage for a few seconds before bouncing back looking like Daisy Mae, in a tight pink dress and grinning ear to ear.

For the rest of the evening, for better and sometimes for worse, Ms. Chenoweth embodied ultimate musical comedy stardom in 2007. That means a performer who polishes the brassy surface of everything to a blinding gleam. She has slabs of raw vocal talent, the drive of a race car that can accelerate from zero to 200 in 10 seconds, and acres of determined cuteness; she is an entertainment JumboTron.

The show�s initial wordplay on the Mets and the Met made deeper metaphorical sense because the concert � directed by Kathleen Marshall with musical direction by Andrew Lippa, who led a small orchestra from the piano � had the feel of an all-American sporting event.

If there were a Broadway version of �American Idol,� Ms. Chenoweth would win hands down, since nobody else can toss off vocal stunts with an agility that suggests a rubber-bodied 13-year-old gymnast with a shelf of gold medals. Her most spectacular trick is to segue from a piercing baby-voiced cry into a light operatic coloratura and back, maintaining perfect intonation as she pirouettes around high C.

Every number was directed to a different audience bloc. �Popular,� from the hit musical �Wicked,� played to the visible claque of upscale teenage girls of the kind who have helped make that show a box-office phenomenon. For male couples (also abundant), a comic dance number found the star romanced by two dancing men who abandon her for each other.

Middle-aged tourists from the heartland were handed a gospel-style version of the old Styx hit �Show Me the Way.� Adam Guettel�s �How Can I Lose You?� and Ricky Ian Gordon�s �Run Away� acknowledged newer musical theater composers while �Gorgeous,� from Ms. Chenoweth�s current Broadway show, �The Apple Tree,� honored an older composing generation (Bock and Harnick).

Looking even further back were a Gilbert and Sullivan medley and Stephen Foster�s �Hard Times,� arranged as the kind of parade march in which you could imagine Ms. Chenoweth as the lead twirler on a small-town Main Street.

I don�t imagine Ms. Chenoweth cares all that much about the quality of her songs, so long as they hit their demographic bull�s-eyes. If she did, she would drop songs like �Taylor, the Latte Boy,� a moony folk-pop trifle about a wistful flirtation with a Starbucks employee. It seems aimed at the same fans who treasure �Popular.�

And what, you may wonder, lies beneath the glare of Ms. Chenoweth�s formidable talent? Is there buried treasure, or is the center hollow? The concert offered no clues.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Here we go...

[MFS62]

]Her most spectacular trick is to segue from a piercing baby-voiced cry into a light operatic coloratura and back, maintaining perfect intonation as she pirouettes around high C.

That brought back painful memories of the old Ed Sullivan TV show. Before he actually booked "pop" singers and saw how successful that was, he used to book opera singers and have them attempt popular songs of the day. They never could break from the operatic mold and ended up both ruining the songs and looking foolish while doing it. Sounds like they shudda' had Kristin back then.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

A mixed message from Branford:

�Play with conviction�
Visiting Branford Marsalis takes time to coach Napa, Vintage musicians
By JAY GOETTING
Register Correspondent
Wednesday, January 24, 2007

When an aspiring young musician of 17 has a chance to get sage advice from one of the great professionals of our day, it often has lasting influence.

After a master class with saxophonist Branford Marsalis Monday, Napa High student Tom Gartner summed up his experience: �It�s great to have someone like Mr. Marsalis to give us ideas.�

Marsalis, known to most Americans as a member of a famous New Orleans-based family, was in Napa for three days of rehearsal and performance � and instruction aimed at the jazz bands from Napa and Vintage high schools.

Harry Cadelago�s contingent from Napa High was first up, and after a brief question and answer session and remarks from Marsalis, Gartner, drum major for the Napa High marching band, interjected, �Well, you want to hear us?�

The band played an arrangement of �Down By the Riverside,� which was followed by pointers from Marsalis.

Jorgen Gulliksen/Register</font Branford Marsalis leads the Vintage high school jazz band during a master class at the District Auditorium. �I was lucky to have met and worked with some of the old (jazz) guys. They had large personalities that I had to match or they would�ve swallowed me whole,� Marsalis told the students. Jorgen Gulliksen/Register</font �I don�t listen to (recordings of) myself because it�s counterproductive,� said Marsalis. �I could spend that time listening to someone else.�

�Have any of you listened to Big Band music?� he asked.

Most had, but not the Ellington and Basie standards from the �40s and �50s.

Crescent City roots

And what do they have in common with the music of today?

�Intensity,� Marsalis told them. Intensity in feel but danceable. �Music at its best has nothing to do with technical problems,� he added, encouraging the young players to study and practice, but emphasizing that when it comes to performance, intensity comes from within.

Lacking in the jazz education of most young people today, he said, is a sense of history, an understanding of the roots of the American art form. �At least 90 percent of orchestral musicians have played Baroque music,� said Marsalis, �but young players don�t have all the elements of jazz. It�s all based on the blues, gospel, even a single note.�

Marsalis encourages an intensity in performance and feels that�s an important part of what listeners seek. His latest recording �Bragg-town.� It is a sampling of emotional playing with a variety of tempo and tone color, emphasizing Marsalis� belief in the roots of jazz. �I�m interested in being a fundamentally sound musician,� he said.

He spoke of his own musical roots as a pop player, a traditional jazz musician in his native New Orleans and his early jazz days in contemporary music, which took a detour with stints as music director of the Tonight Show and playing with Sting.

Marsalis, in an interview between rehearsal sets on Saturday, said he hopes tourists keep on coming to his Katrina-ravaged hometown on the Gulf Coast. �It�s going to be broken for a long time,� he said, adding it was broken before Katrina. �Now it�s worse.�

Marsalis is involved in a New Orleans project known as Musicians� Village, an enclave that will provide housing for 70 musicians and their families displaced by the hurricane. Nearly a dozen units in the former junior high school will be earmarked for the elderly.

�We have 34 homes now and financing in place for more,� said Marsalis.

Most of the locations such as the French Quarter and its famous Bourbon Street have been restored to their previous state. �The tourists need to come,� said Marsalis, noting the support is a necessary part of the infrastructure rebuilding process for the entire community.

The jazz world just lost one of his contemporaries on the jazz scene, Michael Brecker. While Marsalis and Brecker did not always see eye to eye on music production and style, they were friends. �I kept in contact with him by e-mail,� Marsalis said of Brecker who passed away Jan. 13 from complications of a rare bone marrow disease. �If you�re personally OK, ideological differences don�t matter. It�s based on humanity.�

Reprise

The students played through their tune again, better the second time after some coaching. Bill Gantt�s Vintage High jazz band followed and went through a similar exercise.

Gartner doesn�t think he�ll move toward music as a profession, but, he said, Marsalis taught him �we can shape our sound. I learned a lot about the philosophy of the music.�

The master told his students he�s had a lot of great experiences and played with some of the greats of the jazz world and can�t waste his time on mediocrity. �I�d rather be at Shea Stadium watching the Mets lose than play a bad gig,� he said.

Marsalis concluded, �Play with conviction.�