Crazytown

WICKED IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

I recently saw WICKED again, and boy did it hit close to home…
by David Davila

Trick or Treat? I still feel like this whole Trump candidacy is some kind of trick; a joke played on us by Mark Burnett and his team of reality show producers. If they wanted high ratings for the debates, hell for all news channels for three months, they got it! Bravo Mark, and happy Halloween!

Since October is the month of witches and goblins, what better time for me to revisit one of my favorite musicals, WICKED. I recently saw this extravaganza of a show for the seventh time (maybe 8th? I stopped counting) and I must say that in light of recent events, I feel like I saw the show for the first time.

Indeed WICKED is a glaring arraignment of fascism and all the horrors that ensue when a leader uses terror to rule his people. The story hasn’t changed in the last twelve years but the country certainly has and seeing this musical now had quite a different effect on me. I’ve always seen WICKED as the story of a girl who doesn’t fit in yet finds her power and self-worth in fighting for goodness.

However, now I also see WICKED as the story of a con-artist who has gained power through lying about himself, and keeps power by using minorities as a scapegoat. The Wizard of Oz created racism (species-ism?) in Oz where it did not exist before and spreads lies about the animals so that citizens would surrender their rights to him for their own “safety.” The Wizard uses any means necessary, especially blunt force, to round up the animals and imprison them.

What is all the more glaring about WICKED is how the Wizard uses the media to spread his message and make an evil villain of our protagonist. 

When you look at WICKED in 2016, it becomes so relevant that it it’s easy to see why the critics did not accept it in 2003. In 2003 we were still recovering from the 9/11 attacks and we were starting a war under false pretenses. It’s a shame that it has taken this extreme political climate to make me see what was their the entire time. Then again... isn't that what good art is supposed to do?

With a glorious score by master composer Stephen Schwartz and remarkable staging by Joe Mantello, WICKED (how many times have I said WICKED?) hit me in an all new way. See it again, and take a young person with you. WICKED is often dismissed as “catnip” for teens, and to that I say that I hope every young person sees this musical for the sake of future generations.

DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
EMAIL HIM |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

OCTOBER OBSESSION: SOLANGE

It's October y'all...  and I got a new obsession...

by David Davila

I grew up with Solange. Like you, to me Solange was just Beyonce's little sister. She was just an untalented little brat that got to ride the coattails of greatness. Wrong. I was wrong. You were wrong. We were all wrong.

Solange is an artist. 

I actually realized it back in 2012 with the release of her last album TRUE. So I was eagerly awaiting her follow-up A SEAT AT THE TABLE. Now that it's in my possession, it's on heavy rotation. I can't stop listening to it. It's wonderful. It's brilliant. It's smart. It's important. The entire album is an anthem to black pride. 

Check out the two videos she released and join me in my obsession:

ALL-STAR SPOILERS!!!!!!

DON'T READ!!! LOOK AWAY!!!! DON'T DO IT!!! Not if you're not caught up on Drag Race All-Stars Season 2...

by David Davila

I told you to look away! Alyssa Edwards, the beauty, the talent, the high camp, the Texas Queen has been cast away by the evil witches of Rolaskatox. 

I'm not really sure what this post is about except that it's late, and I'm mad about it. I've loved Alaska for years and in my opinion she is sooo much better than all the other queens, so it feels petty and small for her to choose friends over talent. As much as I have always loved Roxxxy Andrews, she should have been sent packing weeks ago, and the real top four should have been Alyssa, Alaska, Detox, and Katya. Thank goodness Alyssa had the good sense to keep Katya around when she was up for elimination. 

The point of this incoherent post is that the über talented queens of Rolaskatox have turned themselves into villains unknowingly and now I'm rooting for the underdog: Katya!

INSIDE GAY CINEMA: MATT KUGELMAN TALKS "HURRICANE BIANCA"

On this edition of INSIDE GAY CINEMA, Matt Kugelman talks To Wong Fu, Texas Heat, and his crush on Fred Savage...

by David Davila (musical theatre writer)

A fierce storm is making it's way around the globe, and its name is HURRICANE BIANCA, the new film written and directed by Matt Kugelman and staring the now infamous actor/comedian Roy Haylock also known as Bianca del Rio. Of course Bianca del Rio jumped to fame two years ago when she became the biggest winner in RuPaul's Drag Race HERstory. Since then she's been one busy cookie touring the globe with her unique brand of comedy and filming movies and television specials.

Before you continue reading, let me make one thing very clear: this movie is EVERYTHING! Writer/director Matt Kugelman has created a gay masterpiece, a camp classic, the kind of movie we'll be quoting for years. It has a hell of a diva as it's underdog star, a brilliantly funny villain, a bevy of cameos by our favorite drag stars, non-stop one-liner action, and sexy cowboys. I will repeat myself: THIS MOVIE IS EVERYTHING!

                                   (Check out the film's trailer)

Matt Kugelman is a writer/director from outside of Chicago who got his start editing documentaries for Michael Moore before getting hired at CBS to edit and produce shows daily for CBS Evening News and CBS This Morning. I had the pleasure of meeting Matt through a group of writers and performers in New York who produce their own work and when he invited me to a screening of HURRICANE BIANCA last February, I was floored. 

I caught up with Matt amid his busy film premiere schedule and chatted him up about the process from page to screen. Here's what the talented writer/director had to say:

(David Davila) First off, the film is magnificent! It's a new camp classic! Did you go into the writing process knowing you wanted to create a camp classic?

(Matt Kugelman) Thank you!  Not really.  When I started the writing process I really just thought this would be something fun to do that my friends and family would enjoy.  Watching it snowball and gain more and more exposure has been really mind-blowing!  

(DD) How did you get involved with Bianca del Rio and the other queens from Drag Race?

(MK) I met Bianca a little over ten years ago.  We were both fairly new to New York and I'd seen him perform once in a bar and thought he was hysterical. So I emailed him on Myspace and asked him to be in this little roast video I was making for my friends birthday.  He'd never met the guy, but pulled out all these jokes outta thin air and you could hear me cracking up off-camera. 

A SMALL HISTORY OF POST-MODERNISM IN MUSICALS

Let's take a look at some of the musicals that paved the way for HAMILTON...

by David Davila (musical theatre writer)

Most of you out there are sick of HAMILTON at this point? Right? No? Just me?

Okay... not even me... but some of you might be I suppose. Or maybe HAMILTON was the first musical that really made you feel like musicals could be something besides tap shoes and line kicks. Maybe you're looking for a new (old) musical to devour completely. Something you can memorize from beginning to end like HAMILTON... well... you're in luck, because I happened to compile a list of the musicals that have paved the way for HAMILTON by breaking the laws of modernism and creating something truly new; something post-modern.

Check em out and ENJOY!!!!

A SMALL HISTORY OF POST-MODERNISM IN MUSICALS:

HAIR - Many musicologists suggest that Post-Modernism in music can be measured in two stages... before HAIR, and after HAIR. This was pretty much the first rock musical.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - The first rock opera... If you think about it, this basically legitimized rock and roll and ensured it would still be performed centuries from now.

LES MISERABLES - Claude Michel Schonberg wanted to legitimize pop music and bring back big Romantic Operas. I'd say he was pretty successful at it, and created a whole new genre of pop-operas that people called "Mega-Musicals." 

RENT - The greatest rock opera if you ask me, but maybe I'm biased. Jonathan Larson wanted Rock n Roll to have it's place in opera the way that Schonberg had done with Les Mis. Pop-operas were everywhere and all of a sudden this rock opera about HIV and gay love was on the cover of Newsweek. It was everywhere. It was the publicity from this musical that really helped push the gay rights movement into everyone's living rooms. 

SPRING AWAKENING - It was an alt-rock concert, or was it a serious play? Spring Awakening was the first musical to care less about the historical elements of time and place, and more about the mood that the lyrics and music created for the listener. The idea is that the use of contemporary rock n roll helped modern teens immediately connect with the plight of teens from over a hundred years ago... 

PASSING STRANGE: An epic spoken-word-poetry-rock-n-roll hybrid odyssey where black people played white and the various worlds our hero delved into were imagined and foretold by a meta-narrator that was both the star and the God-like commentator. 

IN THE HEIGHTS: The first hip hop musical? At least that's what people have been crediting it as... One of my faves. 

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON - Post modernism at it's finest. Let's mix country, and comedy, and musical theatre, and heavy metal, and folk and costumes from all kinds of different eras, and political satire, and push the boundaries of what a musical can be. 

NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 - One of the first immersive pieces of theatre to gain such mainstream attention, this musical based on WAR AND PEACE was actually a legit three hour long through-composed opera made up of mostly recitative mixed with electronic dance music, a Russian folk band, a rock band, and a small orchestra all led by a conductor who was also a DJ. Oh... and the action takes place around the audience who play some of the instruments themselves. It's coming to Broadway this year too so you can see it live!

HERE LIES LOVE - The first dance party musical. The audience not only witnessed a techno-opera led by a DJ instead of a conductor, they learned line dances and literally became part of the show interacting with the cast and even having some of the lines. It made for a trippy and fun night at the theatre. 

and of course that leads us to... a whole new genre!!

DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
EMAIL HIM |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

Let's take a look at some of the musicals that paved the way for HAMILTON...

by David Davila (musical theatre writer)

Most of you out there are sick of HAMILTON at this point? Right? No? Just me?

Okay... not even me... but some of you might be I suppose. Or maybe HAMILTON was the first musical that really made you feel like musicals could be something besides tap shoes and line kicks. Maybe you're looking for a new (old) musical to devour completely. Something you can memorize from beginning to end like HAMILTON... well... you're in luck, because I happened to compile a list of the musicals that have paved the way for HAMILTON by breaking the laws of modernism and creating something truly new; something post-modern.

Check em out and ENJOY!!!!

A SMALL HISTORY OF POST-MODERNISM IN MUSICALS:

HAIR - Many musicologists suggest that Post-Modernism in music can be measured in two stages... before HAIR, and after HAIR. This was pretty much the first rock musical.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - The first rock opera... If you think about it, this basically legitimized rock and roll and ensured it would still be performed centuries from now.

LES MISERABLES - Claude Michel Schonberg wanted to legitimize pop music and bring back big Romantic Operas. I'd say he was pretty successful at it, and created a whole new genre of pop-operas that people called "Mega-Musicals." 

RENT - The greatest rock opera if you ask me, but maybe I'm biased. Jonathan Larson wanted Rock n Roll to have it's place in opera the way that Schonberg had done with Les Mis. Pop-operas were everywhere and all of a sudden this rock opera about HIV and gay love was on the cover of Newsweek. It was everywhere. It was the publicity from this musical that really helped push the gay rights movement into everyone's living rooms. 

SPRING AWAKENING - It was an alt-rock concert, or was it a serious play? Spring Awakening was the first musical to care less about the historical elements of time and place, and more about the mood that the lyrics and music created for the listener. The idea is that the use of contemporary rock n roll helped modern teens immediately connect with the plight of teens from over a hundred years ago... 

PASSING STRANGE: An epic spoken-word-poetry-rock-n-roll hybrid odyssey where black people played white and the various worlds our hero delved into were imagined and foretold by a meta-narrator that was both the star and the God-like commentator. 

IN THE HEIGHTS: The first hip hop musical? At least that's what people have been crediting it as... One of my faves. 

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON - Post modernism at it's finest. Let's mix country, and comedy, and musical theatre, and heavy metal, and folk and costumes from all kinds of different eras, and political satire, and push the boundaries of what a musical can be. 

NATASHA, PIERRE, & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 - One of the first immersive pieces of theatre to gain such mainstream attention, this musical based on WAR AND PEACE was actually a legit three hour long through-composed opera made up of mostly recitative mixed with electronic dance music, a Russian folk band, a rock band, and a small orchestra all led by a conductor who was also a DJ. Oh... and the action takes place around the audience who play some of the instruments themselves. It's coming to Broadway this year too so you can see it live!

HERE LIES LOVE - The first dance party musical. The audience not only witnessed a techno-opera led by a DJ instead of a conductor, they learned line dances and literally became part of the show interacting with the cast and even having some of the lines. It made for a trippy and fun night at the theatre. 

and of course that leads us to... a whole new genre!!

DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
EMAIL HIM |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

BOHEMIAN DREAMS: RAQUEL ALMAZAN

Discover NYC's most talented starving artists - before they're rich and famous. This week meet performance artist Raquel Almazan, and hear what she has to say about Butoh dance, pornography, and being a vegan.

 by David Davila (playwright / songwriter)

Performance artist, playwright, and actress, Raquel Almazan, has been making people laugh, cry, and think for several years on the downtown theatre scene with shows like SHE WOLVES: WOMEN IN SEX, DEATH, AND REBIRTH, and DEATH OF THE DOLL which explore modern female sexuality and social power.

Originally from Spain, the Spanish/Costa Rican artist moved to the US at an early age and lived in every Hispanic part of the country from Texas to Florida before setting her roots in NYC. I first met Raquel at the weekly Salon at INTAR THEATRE where artists share new works for a group of non-judgemental peers. Almazan was presenting a comical look at the her mother's travels through a racist, Southern, USA and I was rolling on the floor with laughter. Now she's presenting a new one-woman show at Dixon Place for one night only that explores a porn star's journey from celebrity to outer-space refugee using mixed-media and Butoh dance that has me intrigued to say the least.         

Porning the Planet Trailer- Sizzle Reel from raquel almazan on Vimeo.

I caught up with the avante-garde performance artist, and hilarious stand-up comic, over soy-lattes at our local Brooklyn Bagel in Astoria to talk about her involvement with Butoh dance, its correlations to pornography, and how she wants to be Orson Wells...

Here's what she had to say:

(David Davila) How did PORNING THE PLANET come about?

(Raquel Almazan) The play was inspired by the book “female chauvinist pig movement”, by Ariel Levi. For fifteen years I’ve worked with marginalized women and girls (including sex workers) in schools, prisons and centers. This lead my work to demand a political process. Holding interviews in strip clubs and pornographic environments. The platform for my current piece comes from five years of processing with women, research, and public art presentations. I am now armed for the ultimate challenge of embracing and unearthing pornography in all its forms.

The piece strives to connect ancient women’s mythology with modern media, pornographic images, and how women’s sexuality is used as a weapon against themselves. I’m working to fuse today’s whore as the power symbol in finding ways to honor the virginal whore that refuses to go mainstream porn but instead redefines what it is to be feminine. (Cont.)

THE BUZZIEST SHOWS AT NYC FRINGE (2016)

A guide to which shows you should see this year...

by David Davila (playwright / songwriter)

It's August in NYC, which means two things: gay guys wearing practically nothing, and experimental theatre. Yes sir, it's NYC's turn to host the Fringe, which means downtown NYC will be buzzing with the energy of over 200 shows night and day. Deciding which show to see this year can be a little daunting, so I thought I'd help you out by pointing out a few that everyone is talking about. 

WALKEN ON SUNSHINE

Writer: Dave Droxler, Music by James Rushin
Director: Marcus Stevens
An anxiety-ridden filmmaker accidentally lies to investors about having Christopher Walken in his movie and embarks on a ridiculous quest to get Walken. Neuroses, quirky love, bad guys and cowbells emerge to derail him. Will he ever find Walken??

LET THE DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST

Writer: Maya Contreras
Director: Lorca Peress
Set in 1969 Washington DC, Vera, an African American math teacher and her husband Pablo, a Latino Art Professor, attempt to make sense of a violent decade, their rocky marriage, and what the future holds for their politically active daughter.

ZUCCOTTI PARK

Writer: Catherine Hurd, Composer: Vatrena King
Director: Luis Salgado
Choreographer: Luis Salgado
What does it mean to be an American? After eight years of war, Sergeant Cooper visits childhood sweetheart, Kate, in NYC. They meet at Zuccotti Park, home of Occupy, where she and her friends protest the government he fought for.

THE ILLUSORY ADVENTURES OF A DREAMER

Writer: Michael Bradley
Director: Chris Goodrich
Inspired by Ibsen's "Peer Gynt," a young man goes on a fantastical journey to find himself. Peer must confront a crisis of sexual identity as he encounters gluttonous Trolls, a mischievous guardian, and his one true love. #WhoAmI?

DEBRIEFING

Writer: Maximillian Singh Gill
Director: Joan Kane
A young Pakistani-American activist has been recruited to infiltrate a militant group in the Middle East. When she disappears, her recruiter has to determine whether she has changed sides or been betrayed. He finds out the truth is more complicated.

THE SUTHERBY TRIPLETS

Writer: Kelly Barrett-Gibson
Director: Kelly Barrett-Gibson
Dueling divas, squirrel warfare, and a lifetime of skeletons dragged from the closet. A weekend with the Sutherbys is never dull! With so many egos under one roof, one thing is certain: "Everyone wants to be in the spotlight!"

THE MUSCLE IN QUESTION 

Writer: Samantha Stone
Director: Mariana Rose Benjamin
The Muscle in Question is a magical realism full length play in one act about how the technical structure of a human’s brain has an effect on their day to day well-being, experiences and existence. 

HELD

Writer: Kelly Maxwell, Music by Meghan Rose
Director: S.C. Lucier
Held is a musical set in a fantasy world. Korin, a dreamer. Mera, a warrior. Bardo, a baker. Piano, cello, and bass set a romantic score while the three struggle to escape a place where time stands still.

TARGET GOLDBERG (HELP! ROGUE GOVERNMENT AGENTS ARE TRYING TO FRAME ME!)

Writer: David J Goldberg
Director: Conrad Kluck
A civil war is unfolding today within the intelligence world, and David J Goldberg finds himself caught in the middle. With the help of disgruntled insiders, Goldberg tries to sabotage a rouge entrapment program by going public with his story.

For more info on all of these productions you can obviously google them or visit fringeNYC.org

DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
EMAIL HIM |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

BOHEMIAN DREAMS: JUDITH LEORA

Meet NYC's most promising starving artists before they're rich and famous. This week meet playwright Judith Leora, and find out what she has to say about dating drug dealers, American sitcoms as an art form, and tiny buckets of pennies.

by David Davila (musical theatre writer)

It was four years ago when nine other musical theatre writers and I were set-up with the impossible task of writing a full length musical about the Occupy Wall Street movement in just three weeks. There was a lot of screaming, a lot of coffee, and a lot of big personalities with crazy ideas. Out of the madness emerged Judith Leora, and her idea for a wacky scenario in a Dunkin Donuts that became the basis for OCCUPY: THE MUSICAL. Wacky scenarios in American chain-restaurants are a pretty big theme in the work of this visionary playwright who tackles big issues like racism and misogyny in hysterical and outlandish ways all while satirizing American consumer culture.

Since then, I've become one of Judith's biggest fans and have produced her work at my theatre company at every chance I could possibly get. Last year we produced a reading of her new play SHOWPONY about a group of under-appreciated women working in a male dominated advertising firm. It was brilliant, and it became utterly clear to me that it is only a matter of time before Judith Leora's name is uttered by everyone in the theatre industry.

This summer she has not one but two plays being produced. First came a production of her play GIDEON, her answer to WAITING FOR GODOT set in an Los Angeles apartment where two girls wait for the cable guy. Now her play THE COOKIE FIGHT is receiving a full production at the Bristol Valley Theatre. 

I caught up with this talented writer at Beer Authority in Times Square and chatted with her about "not" breaking fire codes, Christopher Durang, and drinking paint thinner. Here's what the playwright had to say:

(David Davila) Tell me about THE COOKIE FIGHT.

(Judith Leora) THE COOKIE FIGHT is the first play I wrote when I moved back to NYC from LA and started writing plays again. It’s a play about a family of adult siblings coming home for one last Christmas in the family home and must come to grips with their family issues in the middle of a national financial crisis. That doesn’t sound very funny, but it’s a comedy. Which is pretty typical of my writing. I write deeply political plays that sound like a sitcom. Which I mean in a positive way. I think really well-written sitcoms are a very American, very perceptive art form. Yes, I just called sitcoms an art form. I feel no shame!!  

(DD) How did the idea for this play come about?

(JL) It wasn’t inspired by a specific financial crisis, but by the succession of crises we’ve had in the last ten years. Enron. The electricity crisis in California. The collapse in 2008. I’m sure there were some deeply un-empathetic people involved in those situations but I imagine that the majority of them are people who consider themselves “good people”. They were just doing their jobs and trying to make as much money as possible for their company, which our culture tells them is the greatest good. I’m very interested in that dissonance. How you justify doing things, which ultimately hurt large groups of people? I’m also interested in how religion is complicit in excusing that behavior. Which is where the main character Joy comes in… 

(The cast of THE COOKIE FIGHT at VBT, Left to Right: EJ Cantu, Sara Fetgatter and Mark Poppleton)

(DD) And you're having a full production of The Cookie Fight this summer. Can you tell us about that?

HIGHLIGHTS FROM NYMF

Back at the New York Musical Festival and this year there's no pressure...

by David Davila (Musical Theatre Writer)

It's that time of year again, NYMF, and I've had so much fun going to shows this year without having the added pressure of presenting a show myself. NYMF really helped get my musical, MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY to the next level creatively, and I just can't say enough about how wonderful the New York Musical Festival is! Everyone should do it!

I wish I could say I saw everything and predict which shows will become monster hits in the years to come, but I actually only saw a few things and what you see at NYMF is usually not "a hit," but actually potential. Every show at NYMF has potential and it's up to the writers to do the hard work of writing and rewriting that comes after if they want their show to continue to grow. 

Cheers to those who are willing to do the work, and congrats on how far you've come already! Since the book of the musical is the thing most likely to change from it's NYMF version, I thought I'd focus on the scores I heard. So here they are:

MY FAVORITE SCORES OF NYMF 2016 (of the shows I saw)

MOLLY MURPHY & NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON ON OUR LAST DAY ON EARTH, music & lyrics by Loren Berí

A SCYTHE OF TIME, music & lyrics by Mark Swanson

CHILDREN OF SALT music and lyrics by Jaime Lozano & Lauren Epsenhart

THE FIRST CHURCH OF MARY THE REPENTANT PROSTITUTE'S FIFTH ANNUAL BENEFIT, REVIVAL, AND POTLUCK DINNER, music & lyrics by Geoff Davin with additional music & lyrics by Nicole Boggs, KellyAnn Hotter and David Mescon

ILLA! A HIP-HOP MUSICAL by Ronvé O'Daniel and Jevares Myrick

LUDO'S BROKEN BRIDE, music & lyrics by LUDO

I wish I could have seen every show, ever reading, every concert! Oh well, there's always next year!

DAVID DAVILA is the composer of MANUEL VS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, VOX POP, #52SONGS and author of the Tex-Mex plays ADAN Y JULIO, MEN OF GOD, ABUELAS OR THE POVERTY CYCLE, CREDO, REQUERDOS OF MY LIFE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY, and AZTEC PIRATES AND THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF LIFE ON MARS. He is a self proclaimed Voxist, a Diva enthusiast, and founder of Lone Star Theatre Co. Wanna talk about it? www.daviddavila.net
EMAIL HIM |  FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR

RANKING THE SPEECHES AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION

Lots of great speeches coming from Philly this week that are leaving me in tears and utterly inspired...

by David Davila

Okay... so I did a whole version of this post where I took ten of the speeches from the Democratic National Convention and ranked them. There were lots of wonderful and inspiring speeches from Michelle Obama to Cory Booker but here's the thing...

After watching the final speech of the convention, I was floored. Hillary Clinton made me believe in America again. Thank you Hillary! I'm in tears.

You have to watch this if you haven't.

"No one gets through life alone. We are stronger together."

I'M WITH HER!!!