Rachel Shukert's Blog, page 2

Brooks the sheep-shaped throw pillow (what I knitted) with...

Brooks the sheep-shaped throw pillow (what I knitted) with Starstruck the book (what I wrote.) On the bed of Jesse Oxfeld, where you would like to be.

Five Broadway Elephants: slow clap

Five Broadway Elephants: slow clap:

poppinpussiesintopies:

maryflynn:

On the show, Take Me Out exists. Take Me Out starred Daniel Sunjata, except in the world of Smash, Daniel Sunjata is a dramaturg named Peter Gilman. Patti is Patti and Liza is Liza, but Bernadette Peters is Leigh Conroy. So in the world of Smash, is there no Bernadette Peters? Is there some sort of caste system of who gets to play themselves, and who has to play an unrelated character? Is Bernadette upset that she doesn’t get to be Bernadette? And as we’re told that “Leigh Conroy” played Reno Sweeney in a major Broadway revival of Anything Goes, does that mean Patti LuPone played the Witch in the simultaneous original production of Into the Woods? Is Patti LuPone Bernadette Peters, and is “Leigh Conroy” Patti LuPone? Is the entire planet Earth a microscopic amoeba living in Anjelica Huston’s fingernail? Is the difference between a cow and a bean truly that a bean can begin an adventure?

http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/smash-recap-season-2-episode-11.html

I don’t even know what you’re talking about and I am laughing so hard

There is something tremendously satisfying about reblogging your own quote for someone else. Thank you for allowing me this!

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:Elizabeth Taylor and James...

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:

Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, 1955

Gorgeous. Is he playing with a leaf or with a cigarette paper? It doesn’t matter.

Michael Cyril Creighton, WGA winning writer/performer and all...

Michael Cyril Creighton, WGA winning writer/performer and all around genius, with Cassandra-Clarissa, the doll I knitted him for his birthday. She has very soft, red, highlighted hair. He made me wait until Two Boots was empty before he would let me present her to him, and then I had to carry her back to Playwright’s Horizons in my purse. But he’s going to be a wonderful Daddy Warbucks to her, of this I am sure.

Behold this picture of Elaine Stritch in 1956, playing Betty...

Behold this picture of Elaine Stritch in 1956, playing Betty Draper’s smarter, more unstable older sister that they don’t want baby Sally to spend too much time with. She comes to visit from McLean one afternoon, and a LOT happens. With her is her friend/minder, Liz Smith. I’ll post the whole story later.

And then, the unthinkable happens. The driver takes her to the wrong place, not to the arts center in Newark but to one in Englewood, N.J., that Mr. Herdlicka says is locked up tight.

Hearing a moment-by-moment account of all this later, the pianist and singer Michael Feinstein, a longtime friend of Ms. Stritch’s, asks: “And was there a moment of Medea-like rage?”

There was. A long moment. “You wouldn’t have wanted to be in that car,” said Mr. Herdlicka, who was” —The New York Times

bookrageous:What We’re Reading This Week!Jenn says: I’m...

bookrageous:

What We’re Reading This Week!

Jenn says: I’m really entertained by the way these two look next to each other. On our left: Starstruck, Rachel Shukert, which follows teenager Margaret Frobisher on her journey into the limelight and the seedy underbelly of olde-time (golden age? silver age? I can never get my ages right. 1930s.) Hollywood! File under: be careful what you wish for. 

And on our left, it’s 19-year-old self-professed genius Mary MacLane’s confessional diary from 1902, I Await the Devil’s Coming, which also sounds like it should be filed under “careful what you wish for.” MacLane is incredibly narcissistic, but also incredibly wry and clever, and I’m enjoying about a thousand times more than I thought I would (generally, I do not love hyper-pretentious characters). Bonus: two of my favorite Emilys in publishing, Emily Gould and Emily Mandel, wrote excellent pieces about this book.

Would Margaret and Mary get along? I think Mary would absolutely terrify Margaret, but then again what gently-bred socialite wouldn’t she terrify. In fact, she would probably go out of her way to accomplish it if they showed any signs of backbone. And Margaret is probably not self-impressed enough to impress Mary. But I’m having a really good time imagining the conversations they might have over coke floats. 

I think Margaret would be terrified, but also inspired. Amanda would think she was pretentious. And within moments of meeting, she and Gabby would lie dead by the others’ hand, of this I am sure.

EMBEDDED. Gabby Preston in five to ten years. My God, Judy was...

EMBEDDED. Gabby Preston in five to ten years. My God, Judy was so amazing, wasn’t she? Just so, so amazing. Via Michael Musto.

JUDY FREAKING GARLAND

JUDY FREAKING GARLAND:

Now this is the kind Tumblr exists to repost. Via Michael Musto, we can all see the genius that was Judy Garland, in and out of rehearsal, and also what Gabby Preston will be like in five to ten years. (Conservatively.)#

I was at Sirius Radio HQ in NYC last week, being interviewed by...

I was at Sirius Radio HQ in NYC last week, being interviewed by the hilarious Frank DeCaro and the wondrous Seth Rudetsky, for their respective shows. There was a strange, extremely tall man in leather pants who appeared to be a rock star. I had no idea who he was, and to hide my shame at being so old I don’t know who anyone is anymore, I ducked into the complimentary on site photo booth, where I attempted to give Margo Sterling face to the camera. As you can see, I was mostly unsuccessful, and appear to be a) very tired, which I am and b) slightly cross eyed, which I am not. MUST. IMPROVE. SELFIES.

"I’m not going to lie to you, kiddo: you’ve got some rough seas ahead. For the most part, I’m not..."

““I’m not going to lie to you, kiddo: you’ve got some rough seas ahead. For the most part, I’m not going to tell you how to steer around them, because sailing through them, storm-tossed as they might be, is what’s going to make you who you are (and give you something to write about) although I will say this—whenever you’re out to dinner with a big group and are tempted to say, oh, I’ll just put this on my credit card and you can just give me cash? Don’t do that.””

- Via Dear Teen Me http://dearteenme.com/?p=5055&fb_source=pubv1