Lin-Manuel Miranda

8 Bye Bye Birdie Dream Castings…

NBC announced last October that they were going to do a live production of one of my all-time favorite musicals, Bye Bye Birdie, with Jennifor Lopez producing and playing Rose Alvarez. Nobody else has been cast yet, so these are some of my dream casting choices for the main singing roles. A few of them may be completely unrealistic, but I am still putting them out into the universe just in case.

1. Zachary Levi as Albert F. Peterson
As soon as I saw him in She Loves Me last summer, I knew that he would be perfect for this role. I grew up watching Dick Van Dyke, and I think that Levi has a lot of that same earnestness and heart.



2. Selena Gomez as Kim McAfee
Not only does Gomez have a great voice, but she has that sweet, innocent quality that embodies Kim. She also has the ability to be a little edgier for Kim’s night out on the town with Conrad.



3. Jeremy Jordan as Conrad Birdie
For Conrad, the hip twitch is very important. I mean, he makes women faint with his hips. For the life of me, I could not find a good clip of Jordan dancing, but he has done plenty of Broadway shows, so I think he can pull it off. If nothing else, he definitely has the sincere bad boy thing down, and an incredible voice. I mean…



4. Grant Gustin as Hugo Peabody
He has that sweet, slightly nerdy quality that Hugo possesses. I am hoping that, for this production, they use the film version of ‘A Lot of Livin’ to Do,’ because Hugo does not sing in the Broadway version of the song.

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8 Things For Which I Am Thankful…

These are the mostly television related things that I am most thankful for this year. It has been another year of ups and downs and this is what helps get me through it all.

1. No Tomorrow
I wrote an entire post about why I think you should be watching this awesome new CW show, but mostly it just makes me laugh a lot. It is genuine and uplifting, and it is the show that I currently look forward to the most each week. I have actually decided that I am most like Kareema, only she says things out loud and I just think them, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, it has been a great escape these last few months, and I appreciate that more than ever.



2. Lin-Manuel Miranda
Not only do I pretty much have the Hamilton Soundtrack, the Hamilton Mixtape, and the Moana Soundtrack all on repeat right now, but following Lin-Manuel on social media is the best decision I have ever made. Every day, he posts a ‘good morning’ and a ‘good night’ message, and they are always hopeful and encouraging. He is genuine, thoughtful, and supportive, and I just appreciate him. This awesome song from Moana was written by Miranda and sung by Dwayne Johnson:



3. Alfred James Band
When I lived in Philadelphia, I became friends with the Alfred James Band, and even though we have lost touch a bit since I moved to Texas, I was ridiculously excited when they released their second album recently. I had missed hearing these songs, and the album was everything I hoped it would be. I was especially surprised and touched after learning that one of the songs was written for me, and it reminded me that no matter where you go in life, a part of everyone you’ve ever met stays with you forever. You can listen to and download ‘Forgotten,’ as well as the rest of the album here:

4. Gilmore Girls
I probably will not have a chance to watch all four parts of the revival this weekend, but I am so excited!! A part of me is actually a little sad about it, only because I know that once I watch them, then it’s really over. The four words will have been spoken, and there will be no more. But I know that it will be amazing to be back in Stars Hollow with these characters and, for that, I am grateful.

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