From the Soapbox: Shaving Sucks

Day 304

"I have a sad story to tell you
It may hurt your feelings a bit
Last night when I walked into my bathroom
I stepped in a big pile of ...shhhhh . . . aving cream,
be nice and clean. . . .
Shave ev'ry day and you'll always look keen."

I love that old song.

I remember back in my early twenties when I shaved once a week. Oh, I wish I could relive those days because I hate shaving and I could shave almost everyday now.

That is why most of the time I am sporting some sort of goatee or facial hair because shaving my chin and neck is the absolute worst. I can never get a smooth shave on my chin and I can never get a smooth shave on my neck. No matter what the blade, I always get razor burn on my neck because my beard thinks it would be a good idea to grow out sideways. Maybe my beard is under a magnetic pull of some kind.

But the funny thing is that I do find it therapeutic to shave. Whenever I have a stressful day, I like to shave. You would think that would be the last thing you should do, holding a sharp blade to your throat after a stressful day but for some strange and sick reason, I like it.

Yeah, I still think I would get a shave from Johnny Depp.

If only I could get a good shave. One of these days I am going to get a professional shave at a barber shop, where they use those Sweeney Todd-like blades and they put the hot towel on your face. Perhaps a little splash of Bay Rum too.

I would be tempted to sing some Sweeney Todd if I got a shave like.

When Kristy Met Matt: Sweeney Taco

Day 73

By now you should already know that I love musicals. I can't explain it but for some reason I just love musical theatre. I have seen many musicals but by far one of my favorites to see live was Sweeney Todd.

My sister Jennifer introduced this dark macabre musical. She had seen it live at Utah State and bought the CD. I borrowed the CD and LOVED it. Angela Lansbury (the old lady from Murder She Wrote) was Mrs. Lovett on the CD and she really stole the show. For those that don't know, Sweeney Todd is a man who seeks revenge‚ he kills people in his barber shop and she makes the dead bodies into pies. I had never seen it live until a fantastic production at the Pioneer Theatre at the University of Utah. Jennifer and I were so excited to go. I invited Kristy to come with us (we were dating at the time) and we headed down to Salt Lake to see it.


Poor Kristy, she had to endure both my sister and I singing in the car. We sang much of Sweeney Todd and my other favorite musical Chess. Jennifer drove and I was in the front seat and we banished Kristy to the back seat. We finally arrived at the theatre (much to Kristy's relief) and we took our seats and the show began. It was a fantastic show, the acting and voices were spot on. Even if you have seen the movie, you HAVE to see this live. The ending is much different and a lot more spookier but then it is something that only the stage version could bring. You'll just have to see it. Trust me on this.

Afterwards we were starving so we hit the local Taco Bell and got a ton of tacos. I think we got a 12 pack if I remember correctly. We scarfed the tacos down fast since we were so hungry. Now what happens next is what I remember. It may not be completely factual (I'm sure someone will argue it) but this is how I recall the events.


We had eaten our fill, or at least we thought we had. There was one taco left. I was too full to even think of eating another one. I think Jennifer felt the same. She offered the last taco to the rest of us when suddenly, like a flash of lightning, this hand reached from out of the darkness of the backseat and quickly grasped the last taco. We heard a Gollum-like voice accompany it. "I'll take it!" Then we heard the wrapper of the taco being torn apart ferociously. Jennifer and I just looked at each other, we didn't say a word. We might have been to scared to say anything.

Okay, I admit that this has turned into a real fish story. Some part of it may have been exaggerated. I'll let you, the reader, decide.

Precious tacos...

Sunday Confessional: The Musical Matt

Day 15

I love musicals. I absolutely love them. It combines my love of acting with my love of singing. I don't care if they are cheesy (and some of them are) I just find the whole genre captivating.

I discovered musicals while I was serving my LDS mission in New York. My first one that I started to listen to was Phantom of the Opera and I was lucky enough to see this musical while I was living in New York. I was swept away by the music and the lyrics, it was just magical. There is just something about seeing a musical live. I then purchased the Complete Les Miserables and loved it and I was lucky enough to see that musical in New York as well. And that is where I got addicted.

I quickly picked up various other musicals and CD compilations. I love to sing and would sing along all the time. I still like to do this even though I do not listen to them as much anymore. I have seen quite a few musicals.

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA: Like I said, I saw this in New York. I was amazed at what was able to be done on stage. The music was absolutely beautiful and the set and costumes were amazing. So glad that I was able to see this live in New York. One day I would like to see this again. The great Tracy Shayne was Christine when I saw this.

LES MISERABLES: I saw this also in New York and was blown away. A very touching musical that really made me appreciate musical theatre. I saw this a second time in Salt Lake when I took Kristy while we were dating. I would see this again for sure. I have the complete recordings on CD and I have the whole thing memorized. I went on a date with a girl named Brenae and saw Gary Morris (he was Valjean on the Cd’s I had) in concert. After the concert was over, we were heading back to the car and Mr. Morris was outside of the building having a smoke. I wasn't about to go and approach him but Brenae made me do it. We went up and spoke to him. He was a very kind man and she even got him to sign my little libretto of Les Mis. Very cool.



You know what makes me feel old? I saw Lea Michele play the young Cosette. For those that don't know (and shame on you if you don't!) she is Rachel on the fun TV show Glee! Cosette's mother Fantine was played by Paige O'Hara who is most know for being the voice of Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Both were in the New York performance.




RENT: I saw this in New York when I went back with Joel. Great musical, what I liked was that the band was on the stage the whole time as part of the background and set. I have not seen the movie but I want to check it out. Rent was still a new musical when I went and saw it so much of the original cast was still performing it. I am a fan of Adam Pascal who would eventually become Freddie in the recent Chess in Concert.

MUSIC OF THE NIGHT: This was a compilation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Greatest Hits. This was fantastic. It was in Ogden and I went with Kristy and my mom and Shirley Whitman. This was the first time that Kristy had met either of them. We ate at Maddox’s and all I remember is laughing and laughing. Very fun company indeed.



SWEENEY TODD: Jennifer saw this dark macabre musical and I borrowed the CD and LOVED it. Angela Lansbury (the old lady from Murder She Wrote) was on the CD. Basically it is about a man who seeks revenge‚ he kills them in his barber shop and she makes them into pies. Kristy, Jennifer and I went and saw a production of this in Ogden and saw it very recently here at Utah State. One of my favorite musicals. Poor Kristy, Jennifer and I sang the whole time down and back the first time we saw it and that will be a column all unto itself. The movie was great but unfortunately it didn't contain the ending ballad of Sweeney Todd, which is pretty creepy the way they all come back to sing in the end.

CHESS: My all-time favorite musical. I didn’t see this musical but I was extremely lucky that I was able to play in it. I played the main Merchandiser. I will cover this extensively in a separate column altogether.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLORED DREAMCOAT/THE SECRET GARDEN/FIDDLER ON THE ROOF: I saw all of these productions with Kristy at the StageStop Theatre. This is when I learned that Chess was in production. All of them were fantastic and very enjoyable. I really like local theatre and I am sad that the StageStop Theatre is no more.



STARLIGHT EXPRESS: This musical was FUN! I saw this in Las Vegas when Joel, Justin and Jonathon did our whirlwind temple trip. The fun thing was that all of the singers were on roller-skates. And we were also told to vote for "Greaseball" and cheer for me. I would have anyway, he was the best character in the whole show. One song we were watching and I had this feeling like I was being watched. I turned around and one of the cars with Electra was dancing and looking right at me. What a fun production, I would see this again in a flash.

MAMMA MIA: This was the last musical that I have seen. Kristy and I, mom, Jennifer and Justin went to Salt Lake to see this musical. If you are a fan of ABBA, I would definitely go see this musical. It was funny, had great music and was very enjoyable. After the show, the actors came back on stage in loud 70's costumes and sung more songs and invited the audience to sing along. Not sure if Justin liked it but the rest of us loved it!

There are a ton of other musicals that I have not seen in person that I listen to all the time. From Evita to Little Shop of Horrors to Grease to We Will Rock You; the list just goes on and on and on.

Now most of these shows have had movies made of them too. Most of them are pretty good but I highly recommend you see these shows as they were intended, on stage.