beans, beans, the musical fruit

I love Broadway and if I thought the potential of eating pork and beans for the next fifty years sounded good, then I might have majored in vocal music in college. [my dad: "you're not majoring in that shit, do you want to eat pork and beans for the rest of your life? No, you are going to get a degree in something you can use to get a respectable job"] Okay so according to my dad, all actors are bean-eating prostitutes - whatever.

So my favorite Broadway *diva* is releasing a new CD this month. She is my favorite actor because I have a great story to go along with it. My freshman year in college I lived down the hall from Shalom Israel Diggs. I know you are saying "sweet ass name" right? Well she also happened to be Taye Digg's SISTER! She was an amazing dancer and ended up leaving UF to pursue dance but anywho. She played this great CD for me called Still I Can't Be Still By Idina Menzel (Taye's wife!). She also gave me the soundtrack for RENT in which Idinda commandeered the role of the lesbotronic mooing mastermind, Maureen, [pretty much my favorite musical ever and I've seen it 6 times] I was so hooked - Shalom also got us tickets to see Idina at the Newport in Columbus. It was so amazing! So 1998 was a pretty rock year for me.

Idina went on to win a Tony award for her role as Elphaba in Wicked [pretty much my second favorite show of all time, mostly because of the soundtrack]. Yesterday on The Today Show Idina was compared to Bette Midler and commended for her versatile artistry. She has the most amazing vocal range I have ever heard in my life. Her new CD is great. Listen. be amazed.

She's successful (and Jewish) so I bet she doesn't eat pork and beans!