Posts Tagged: Ontario

Basic Types Of Music — Comments Off
28
Nov 10

Wicked the musical is not wicked the novel

The Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, was born with a pea-green skin and is considered to be smartest but misunderstood Witch of The Land of Oz. In contrast to her, Glinda the Good Witch is a ravishing and somewhat snooty witch of the region( and not quite what you would expect). Both girls meet in the Land of Oz as the most spectacular musical of the year, “Wicked”, begins. Check out the details of wicked tickets here, and get hold of cheap wicked tickets now.

Wicked is based on one of the best selling novels, “Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witches of the West”, written by Gregory Maguire. Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at the land of the Oz the same way again. In many ways, it’s a contemporised’, satirical commentary on Oz. Ignoring the obvious ones like a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens. Or the short Munchkins who seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man who becomes a victim of domestic violence. We focus on the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. The Wicked witch is a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil. The story grows more interesting and to enhance your interest, we have some hot seats for you in all theaters. Get discount on wicked tickets for all theaters hosting this play. We have tickets for wicked that you are looking for. Whether you are looking for tickets for wicked in Chicago, wicked tickets Pittsburgh, wicked Kennedy center tickets, wicked Boston tickets, wicked tickets Denver or simply looking for broadway tickets for wicked, in that case, you are at the best site that offers wicked discount tickets for all theaters.

An astonishingly rich re-creation of the Land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn’t so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Wicked just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature. Check out the details of wicked tickets Chicago and buy the wicked Broadway tickets now. Also check out: we offer you Houston, TX tickets to any wicked performance. Wicked has enthralled millions of spectators in every theater, if you want to be one of them, than buy tickets to Wicked now, and be a part of the crowd. Moreover, we offer half Price Wicked tickets to our customers. Purchase tickets to wicked to any theater in your area or get hold of a wicked tickets Broadway to watch the engrossing performance.

Maguire’s story begins with a moral about understanding and appreciating differences among people and then becomes a cautionary tale of people in power creating monster villains to distract from their own misdeeds. In the course of the story, he shows that what is a monster to some is a humble, self-sacrificing hero to others. “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog too” is what we all remember from the movie. Wicked twists this tag line, and manages to change our perspective. It is hard not to fall in love with Elphaba, and not start dreading her fate. A fate that we all know well from the movie!

Check out the hottest theaters that are hosting the exotic play. We present wicked’s Chicago tickets, Bushnell wicked tickets, Kennedy center wicked tickets, theater tickets for wicked Florida, Boston Opera house wicked tickets, wicked tickets NY as well as wicked tickets in Philadelphia.

The Wicked fairytale is brought to life by the Academy Award winner, Stephen Schwartz’s music and lyrics and the musical staging by the Tony Award winner Wayne Cilento. The direction of, by 2003 and 2004 Tony Award winner, Joe Mantello, has made the Wicked one of the spectacular plays of the year. Wicked Tickets are in high demand!

With a cast led by Broadway legend Ben Vereen, TV icon Rue McClanahan and breakthrough stars Shoshana Bean and Megan Hilty, there’s never been a better time to visit the Emerald City! The twists and turns in Gregory Maguire’s incredibly imaginative back-story to ‘The Wizard of Oz’ makes the audiences literally gasp with delight. But not only that, Wicked is a truly heartfelt story of friendship and love. As Richard Zoglin of ‘Time Magazine’ put it, “If every musical had a brain, a heart and the courage of Wicked, Broadway really would be a magical place!”

The plot focuses on the witches of Oz prior to Dorthy’s arrival from Kansas. The Wizard (Joel Grey) believes in “The Big Lie” and he practices what he preaches, making everyone believe that the show’s heroine, the Wicked Witch of the West, is evil. Wicked is an ambitious musical intended to satisfy both adults and children, with strong themes in a surprisingly complex book by Winnie Holzman. Throwaway lines that get big laughs are peppered throughout the script.

The scenery and costumes of the Wicked spring forth in fairytale colors, allowing children to enjoy the show also. Parents can enjoy the comical dialogue and masterful lyrics. The fairytale is complete with cameos by the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion, while The Wizard, acts as the catalyst that ultimately turns the former friends into the witches that they become. The process of bringing “Wicked” to stage was no easy engineering feat. Costing 14 million dollar, the play’s production involved over 150 people and took almost two years to become a reality. Built in Calgary, Ontario the show’s complex set took over a year and a half to design and had to travel over 1,500 miles to the Curran Theatre in San Francisco.

Wicked the musical is not wicked the novel. While the novel is its source, the musical presents only pieces of it, in a much simplified form, and often diverging wildly from the novel’s narrative. One might be tempted to think all this destroys the work; but in the end it enhances it. Wicked the musical puts the spot light on the story’s numerous ironies and interlaced levels of social commentary. The fiesta continues for 2 hour 30 minutes of utter magnificence. You can’t bear to blink your eye during the whole gala, for fear of missing some of Wicked’s glory!

Fans of Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked” may criticize the changes made by stage adapter Winnie Holzman. She finds a way to send Elphaba and Fiyero into a bittersweet sunset together, and she establishes several reference points to the familiar ‘Wizard of Oz’ film that are not in the Maguire book. But most theatergoers will find Wicked well worth the big ticket price. It’s an astoundingly good show that puts its politics front-and-center, all wrapped up in a big, entertaining package. A pre-Broadway run was opened in San Francisco at the start of 2003. It was not appreciated very well by the locals. In the original cast, Idiana Menzel acted as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Robert Morse played the role of The Wizard. With extensive significant changes, it was reopened later that year at Gershwin Theatre in New York. Morse was replaced by Joel Gray. There were assorted reviews initially but the general mood became a lot more appreciative. The tide completely turned when “Wicked” got the acclaim it really deserved. Wicked was nominated for ten Tony Awards, including the award for the best Musical. Menzel got the award of the Best Actress in a Musical. The cast also nabbed a Grammy Award for the Best Musical Show Album.

This fantasy-filled musical was the winner of three 2004 Tony Awards including prizes for Best Costume Design and Best Scenic Design. Wicked also had the privilege of being the winner of 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Award! The uphill effort and zealous exertion of Joe Mantello has made Wicked a true spectacle for the eyes and ears! The popularity of this musical result in long lines to buy Wicked show tickets! The only element of the production that isn’t consistently first class is Schwartz’s songs. The tunes are a mixed bag, with several bland and forgettable power ballads included with his more distinctive and finely crafted songs. Most of the music rides on the same middling tempos, and little stands out melodically.

“Wicked” earned back its entire initial investment by December 21, 2004. In its first year it grossed more than 56 million dollar. The show has been playing to capacity crowds for almost every recent performance and grosses more than a million dollars every week. The show had a 14 million dollar capitalization. The show set out for extensive national touring in 2005. Successful tours were made to Toronto, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angles, Fort Lauderdale and Hartford. In late June of 2005 a permanent production of “Wicked” separate from the national tour, opened at Chicago’s Oriental Theatre with an open-ended run. “Wicked” will be the first show in decades to run on a permanent basis simultaneously on Broadway and in Chicago’s North Loop theatre district. The show also has a heart, a brain, and the nerve to have opened on Broadway. Wicked is a must see show.

Wicked co-producer David Stone reported that the show, which plays the 1,800-seat Gershwin Theatre, had a 26 million-dollar advance. “The advance and the weekly grosses are now higher than they have ever been,” said Stone. The musical took in 1,196,658 dollar more than any show on Broadway! No surprise, given it’s popularity among the literati and the glitterati. And the relative difficulty in obtaining tickets. Don’t forget that we are offering cheapest wicked tickets online, providing you with an opportunity to get hold of broadway tickets to wicked in your own city. Also check out wicked Dallas tickets, wicked tickets Houston, wicked tickets Toronto, tickets to wicked in St. Louis, wicked tickets Florida, wicked tickets Atlanta, GA, or even if you are looking for cheap tickets to wicked in Denver, we have got that for you as well.

The fall of this year is fully loaded by “Wicked” shows all over the United States. Atlanta, Saint Louis, Dallas, Hartford, Tampa, Denver and San Francisco are some of the metropolitan areas where people are looking forward to see one of the most popular shows of the year. The Canadian fans too are really anxious to witness such an astonishing fiesta. Most of the fans have already booked their “Wicked the Musical Tickets”. What? You haven’t got a ticket yet? Then what are you waiting for? Order at Ticket Nest for the discounted wicked tickets and have the flavor of the memory that will last a lifetime! Wicked is being played all over American theater. But no matter where you are, we have tickets to wicked for you. Check out the details as we offer Wicked tickets in Chicago, Denver wicked tickets, wicked tickets New York, wicked tickets in Houston, as well as Wicked tickets Boston in our magic box.

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28
Nov 10

Former UK Prime Minister Loses In Religion Debate With Charismatic Atheist

Lawrence Mijares – AHN News Contributor

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – In a sold-out debate in Canada, former British prime minister Tony Blair lost to charismatic atheist Christopher Hitchens on the proposition that religion was a force for good in the world.

Blair, a Catholic convert, defended the proposition that religion was a force for good but lost to crowd favorite Hitchens who is terminally ill with cancer, before a 2,700 strong audience at the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Canada, Friday night.

Blair mostly relied on the defense that although men have committed acts in the name of religion, many have been inspired by it to commit extraordinary acts of good.

He also said it was important not to condemn all people of religious faith because of the “bigotry or prejudice shown by some.”

When asked if Britain’s joining the Iraq war was inspired by religion, Blair, who advocated the measure, responded that it was inspired more by policy.

Hitchens, one of the leading “new atheists” and author of the bestseller God Is Not Great, disagreed, calling religion nothing more than “supernatural gobbledegook” that caused untold misery throughout human history.

He argued that once men assume a creator and a plan, we immediately downgrade ourselves as mere subjects in a cruel experiment before a kind of “divine North Korea,” a comparison that drew widespread laughter from the audience.

Tickets for the event were sold out weeks in advance, even at jacked-up prices on e-Bay, owing to the high-profile celebrity status of the debaters and the controversial topic. The debate was also trailed on the front pages of some Canadian newspapers and covered by local television.

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Advice — Comments Off
16
Nov 10

A Music Business Plan is Indeed in Need!

So you’ve got the guys or gals together and you’re starting the next best music thing since the The Beatles. You’re guitarist is slamming riffs down like Fat Albert at an all you can eat breakfast buffet, your bass player is shaking your mom’s windows to the core, your drummer is ripping out Neil Peart drumrolls and your vocalist can break glass with her pipes. What’s next? How do you go about getting out of your mom’s basement or garage and into the real world of fame and fortune that’s been waiting for you…

The reality is that for many of you the road to good paying gigs and a handful of fans won’t come easy and it won’t be quick.

You’re going to have to put some work into this music business thing and shed some blood sweat and tears to make it happen. But hey, you’re ready for that aren’t you? I mean that’s why you’ve spent all these years practicing your scales and drum solos for hours on end, right?

Good. I’m glad to see that you’re feet are on the ground and that you’re not sending your band out into the world with some pie in the sky idea that this music business gig is going to be a breeze… That you’re going to play your tracks out in the streets and be discovered overnight. That’s not you right? Because if it is… this is probably not the right article for you.

Where Do You Begin?

You know that to make it in the music business you’ll need to be a business savvy marketing machine and take the time to learn the ins and outs of marketing your product (yes your music is a product). Expose it to the masses!

Of course you’re so ahead of the game that you also know that the masses we speak of are way too big a target for you and your music. In fact… you’re so ahead of the game that you know that you’ve got to start right in your own home town. Right? Excellent!

Now, before you start breaking down walls in your mom’s house to set up the band’s office, you’ve got to sit down with all members of your band and really evaluate what it is you all want to achieve.

Are expectations totally in line with the band as a whole? If they aren’t, it’s best to find this out before you go out and make yourselves known. There’s nothing worse than beginning a marketing and exposure campaign only to find out that your bass player isn’t really into it. Come to an understanding of exactly where it is you all expect to be in this music business within the next 2 to 3 years and get off your trombones and start the process of making it happen.

Remember, all successful endeavours start with a plan. Yeah sure Duss! You say we need a plan but how do I go about making one? Good question.

You Need A Music Business Plan My Friend

Your music business plan can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. In general, the best music business plans are ones that are well researched and have been thought through and through before implementation. So doing your homework is a must. Absolutely necessary.

Once you’ve made it this far and you’ve determined what your bands’ ultimate goals are, it’s time to go through the process of researching what’s needed to begin to make them happen. Take it one step at a time and complete each goal one by one like walking on stepping stones to cross the stream. Perform each task you’ve planned to complete in order and you’ll slowly find that your building blocks (remember how fun Lego was when you were a kid?) will naturally take you to the completion of your ultimate goal. Music business success!

Now I realize that some of the musicians in the world really have no head for the music business and if this is you, you’ve got to get your head out of the ground. There’s no room for ostrich style musicians here in the world of independent music. They really do get left in the dust. You NEED to do everything to you can to market your music to your fans. Believe me they want to be sold to. They already love your shows and your music so why not learn a little bit about how to properly get it in their hands. You just might make a little money to be able to do it again and again and… well you get the point.

If you’re a musician and you’re not doing everything you can to learn more about your business believe me your neighbor is and his band is the one getting the gigs that you can’t or worse yet, don’t even try to get. You don’t want to be left behind so hop to it. No time for excuses…

This Is The Real World

I’ve really got to tell it like it is my music friends. The music industry is a tough business and if you don’t have the drive and the determination to learn, learn and learn some more about how to run your band like a business… you can bet your bottom dollar that the ever elusive mountain of success will keep rising and rising as it moves ever so slowly away from you and your lazy self. Yes. Lazy!

You’re here in Barrie, Ontario. One of the best places north of the big smoke to be involved in music and believe me this is not a take me by the hand and fill my eyes with lights and glam music business talk I’m offering you my friend.

I’m here to provide you with the real. The music business is hard. Really, really hard and only those with backbones of steel and the determination of a bull will find success. Even with all that there’s no real guarantee you’ll achieve all of your goals. The good news is that you CAN find SOME amount of success. You just need to start with a plan.

Author: Duss Rodgers
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

Music Business — Comments Off
14
Oct 10

Ontario Court Rules Muslim Witnesses May To Have Remove Face Cover

AHN News Staff

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Ontario Court of Appeal Justice David Doherty ruled Wednesday that female Muslim witnesses must remove their full-face covering known as a niqab if necessary to assure a fair trial.

The court ruling is the latest in judicial decisions and legislation made by various governments across the world over the face cover traditionally worn by female followers of the Islam religion.

In August, a similar ruling was made by an Australian judge, while the French Constitutional Council endorsed a ban on the clothing’s use in public, except in places of worship. Many schools in different countries are also debating whether to ban female Muslim students from wearing the niqab.

The Toronto case involved a sexual assault complainant by a Muslim woman against her uncle and male cousin.

Doherty cautioned trial judges to respect the religious rights of the complainants and plaintiffs and to require them to remove the niqab only in as few cases as possible.

He urged trial judges to look for sensitive compromises in similar cases that would respect the complainant’s religious need, but at the same time give the defense an opportunity to examine the demeanor of the complainant during testimony. Among such compromises are to limit people inside the courtroom and that most or all of them, if possible, must be female.

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1
Oct 10

Ottawa Initiates Own Oil Sands Probe

AHN News Staff

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced on Thursday the creation of a six-member panel to review Alberta’s controversial oil sands projects. The review was prompted by rising number of complaints against the tar sands due to its negative impact on the environment, particularly water pollution which had led to deformed fish catch from the Athabasca River.

Prentice said the panel will be made up of a chairwoman and five members who are independent and respective academicians. The panel will finish the review in two months. Prentice did not yet name the members of the panel.

With the announcement, Prentice rejected a proposal by Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner to set up a joint investigation. Renner admitted he was surprised by Prentice’s announcement.

While Renner stressed Alberta has lead jurisdiction, Prentice insisted water management is a federal responsibility. Renner acknowledged that Ottawa’s review will lead to future revisions on the province’s way of monitoring water quality. Renner created Alberta’s own investigating team because of differences between the findings by environmental groups and the province’s study on the impact of the tar sands on water quality.

While the oil sands projects have boosted the financial stock of Alberta, pro-environment groups are questioning the long-term effect of the venture on the province. Aborigine groups have lately joined the growing voice against the oil sands by lobbying in Washington to stop a planned expansion of an oil pipeline to transport oil from Alberta to the U.S.

This week, Canadian-born director James Cameron – who megged the Hollywood blockbuster “Avatar” – inspected the oil sands and joined the voices against the venture. However, while Cameron’s high-profile visit was covered extensively by Canadian press, reports said American and British media generally ignored the event.

YouTube postings of the Cameron visit had less than 40 views each, while the remaining U.S. coverage of the event was mainly done through blogs. A green blogger from Los Angeles theorized the cold shoulder given to the Cameron story may have been due to fatigue over celebrity opinion of environmental issues.

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