OKay. At the risk of invoking ire, lemme say that I agree with Zola (ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!). I think it's a bad idea to be so "out there" when you're just starting out. There!
My two cents, gents.
I've been observing this chatter for a while and thought I'd step into it.
Thank you, sweet Jenny. I appreciate your public announcing what so many have said to me privately.
If you people want to read what a journal should be, go to Mr. Hill's. No ego, no callow pronouncements masquerading as profundities, and no... how shall I say this?.... blatant and nauseating suck-ups to the principals and creative team. I truly enjoyed reading his musings. Very droll. Very clever. And well worth the read.
Namo, did I sound bitter in my post? Au contraire!
Tsk, tsk! You could not BE more wrong about having the last word.
All this silly drama feigning over-concern about a young woman's journal for which she is not being reimbursed...on a small, if incredibly intellectual website (a place NO ONE would ever expect YOU to be visiting...mainly because of this thread and the silliness you've spouted here).
Do you have a name that's less precious...I'm simply not going along with your pseudonym...it's far too pretentious...even for one with obvious shortcomings at pretension.
Do please get out of the 1950s and move into the 21st Century.
Name the folks who are having "trouble" with Juliana's writings or get o-f-f the pot.
Your saying these things does not make them true...in fact, YOUR saying them makes them totaly NON-credible.
Actually, there are folks in the cast of "Hairspray" who say you are an embittered Harvey Fierstein wannabe. But I told them they were wrong. You just want to be another "Divine" and can't pass the grade.
And the chorus of "Nine" tells me the best thing to do with you is to ignore you...that you're an embittered soul who craves having "power" of any sort...and in this case, you hope to shatter a young performer who has a bright future. Sad, sad.
A well-known columnist tells me I should pity you a little and ignore you a lot...that a gnat's penis would make more of an impression in person than do you.
At any rate, whoever you are, "tsk" and "tut" yourself into a queenly frenzy....but know that NOBODY takes you seriously here. If they do...those "invisibles" who have rallied round you in private mail...let me make themselves known. If a chorus of support doesn't overwhelm the thread, the rest of us will be COMPLETELY surprised.
Oh! And know this. You (that's "vous," darling) will NEVER have the final word!
So...YOU be gone, before someone drops a house on you!
Ron, I consider you in my "friend" column since I answered your harsh criticisms of me in as civil a manner as I could muster and you responded in kind. But I have to say, you invest a VERY high word count telling people how unimportant they are, how powerless they are except in their own minds, how meaningless what they have to say is. Before you and I had our little dialogue you declared me bitter, without a life, living in my parents' basement, jobless and smelly.
After we interacted, you decided I was, at least, smart. So that was nice. I will admit, I would rather read what Zola has to say than what Juliana has to say. Does that make me evil and bitter and jealous of Juliana's success? Does that actually invalidate the two themes that seemed to surface in Juliana's column when I was reading it and that I made the mistake of pointing out? Did pointing them out ACTUALLY make me part of an evil and nefarious cabal that brings nothing but misfortune into the life and career of a certain person? No.
But all of this swooping down and defending could, just COULD, be perceived as a whole lot of overcompensation, for whatever reason, and that could lead some to believe that some SERIOUS nerves are being struck. I think the best way to show somebody that what they have to say is unimportant and meaningless would be to not to respond so operatically, if at all.
Having said that, the gnat's penis reference could be called a lot of things, but certainly not pretentious. And the picture you drew in my mind with your description of the Nine chorus talking to you (in unison, I presume) brought back happy memories of that Bugs Bunny cartoon: "Oh, we're the boys of the chorus, we hope you like our show, we know you're rootin' for us, but now we have to go-oh-ohhh!"
Excellent, Ron! I love your post. It is brilliant and bitter and scathing. Well reasoned and eloquent. Ironic, sarcastic and mean. I will bring it with me to my next therapy appointment.
However, rendering me asunder does not mean I am wrong about Juliana's idiotic diary being unhelpful for her future.
I would never tell you who I am or how I know about the Millie family's feelings. I would never post here what I receive in my private mail box. If I did, I would guilty of the same mistakes being perpetrated by Juliana Ashley Hansen.
Speaking of cults, there's an Ayn Rand fan in the room! Everybody just back out slowly. You just stay here and be all selfish and stuff, Jaynrand! Knock yourself out.
OKay people. I just read her whole diary. I know I'm crazy and need some therapy myself! Ron, be gentle with me. I'm a nice and fragile person.
I see how some people will think it's harmless but she really comes off as a silly child. There definitely is too much talk about her YUMMY food and her BEST TIMES and WONDERFUL FRIENDS in the cast. It does not seem sincere. There is no mention of anyone at all who isn't a "fan", a "best friend", or a powerful person associated with the show. It is Eve Harrington all over.
Worse, there is nothing interesting about the places she's visiting on the tour. Soooooooooo, I would just ask WHAT IS THE POINT OF THIS BLOG? Why do it? I agree completely with Zola that it is a gift all wrapped up to her detractors to criticize her. I haven't been around that long. I've only really had one major job so far but I observe human nature and have seen some of the worst aspects of our business. She is not doing herself any favors.
Is she getting something out of this journal? I wonder what she thinks she's gaining by doing it and who is talking her into it. She should pick her friends and advisors better.
One of the GODS are listening to me! I just saw on the Millie Tour website that there are real blogs from other castmembers writing about places they are visiting. Joe Langworth and Sean Allan Krill both have entries about Green Bay and Graceland respectively. Juliana should take a page out of their books. Literally and figuratively. I LOL'ed when I read Joe Langworth's escapade in the jacuzzi and Sean Krill's description of Elvisland.
I'm probably three weeks behind the rest of you but that's the story of my life.
PS I like Ayn Rand. I was a lit major. Her writing is strong but her philosophy is nuts.
OKay, enough of this. I have to prepare for parts I won't get now. Have a nice day!
Maybe I just couldn't separate the writing from the philosophy after a while. There was one point at which I rolled my eyes and was afraid they would get stuck up in my head and never come back down.
Her philosophy is strong. Knowing where she came from and why she wrote as she did helps a bit. And while it is difficult to separate her philosophy - I think she can tell a very interesting story. I don't think you have to agree with her Objectivist views to enjoy her novels - might be more fun the opposite way.
ATLAS SHRUGGED is the story of a man who said he would stop the motor of the world...and he did. LOL...not many writers today tackle such subjects or have such strong political views and express them in fiction. Unless you count presidential (and first lady's) memoirs of the past decade or so.
I don't practice objectivism, but I like a good story with a point of view. Ayn Rand was certainly politically prescient and had something to say.
Dear Zola, Finding Namo, etc - It's been interesting reading all the back & forth regarding Juliana's journal. Permit me to give you another take.
I had the pleasure of meeting and briefly working with Juliana during the recording sessions for "Jeepers Creepers". No one has come off as more sincere or down to earth as she did - not a prententious bone in her body. Nothing diva-ish or phony about her. Her prose truly reflects the person I met in June. Young, energetic, talented, perhaps a bit naive. And if the Millie crew - whether here in NY or on the road - truly reviles her writings I would think that she would have heard about it by now.
Personally I enjoy Juliana's journal and wish only the best for her. Hopefully she will retain her enthusiasm for the theatre long after our posts dwindle off into cyberspace.
You are welcome to contact me privately if you wish to extend this discussion.
OK...so I was totally wasted and I danced with this guy who was sooooooooooooo cute (his name was Glenn...how I remember this two years after the fact I will NEVER know!). Anywho, we started making out on the dance floor and he told me he hopes his boyfriend doesn't discover us. EEK. Well, you know what I say, you have to break a home to make a home. So we went to the men's room (last stall on the right at the Hammerstein Ballroom) and had ourselves a good ole time (and an audience from the next stall).
Thing was...I was covered in gold glitter (stop judging me) and by the end of our tryst, so was he. I'm sure his boyfriend wondered how that happened.
"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."