Grey's Anatomy: The Musical--showstopper or hot mess express?

If you’ve read my blog before or if you know me in person, you’ve probably gathered that I’m a pretty huge musical fan—I can’t get enough of showtunes, Broadway and recently, Glee. Apparently, millions of people share my affection for musicals, as nearly 11 million people watched the Glee season finale.

The musical theme works amazingly well for Glee—the plot line makes the transition from script to song effortless.

But just because it works for Glee doesn’t mean it will work for any television show. This became painfully apparent in Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The hit show, currently in its seventh season, has a dedicated fan base and a compelling story line to begin with. But for some reason, the creators felt the need to piggyback on the musical meme and air a musical episode of Grey’s Anatomy.

I know there are a lot of opinions on this week’s episode, and I welcome any comments on this, but I really think it was a hot mess, or pointless at best.

The song choices for the most part were awkward, not to mention that the majority of the cast cannot sing well. The only reprieve was Sara Ramirez (who plays Callie Torez), who has been on Broadway in “Spamalot” and won a Tony for her appearance. The singing just wasn’t believable, and really just got annoying after 20 minutes into the episode.

The point I’m trying to make is that just because a certain meme works for one show, industry, campaign, etc., doesn’t mean it can be effective elsewhere. In today’s entertainment industry it seems that everyone is trying to “one-up” the competition by taking something that’s already been done and trying to do it better. And the majority of the time, they fail.

What ever happened to the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?”

I’d love to get your thoughts on this. Did you like this week’s episode? Why or why not?

Photo courtesy of abc.com

Broadway meets Twitter

If you follow me on Twitter or know me personally, you know I have an obsession for anything musical. I also have a passion for social media. I was attending a student performance of "The Last Five Years" last week and, as usual, during the director's speech, he asked everyone to turn off their phones. I followed suit, of course, but I know many people probably didn't.

With the advent of Twitter, a trend of live "tweeting" events was born. While I readily partake, especially during American Idol, I can't help but think that there are some times when you should just let your fingers rest and enjoy the art that is in front of you.

As a performer, I know how annoying, distracting, and disrespectful it is when people are texting or taking pictures while you are onstage. People may try to tell you that when you are on stage you can only see the first five rows, but I can tell you from personal experience that you can see way past that. Why come to the theater and potentially pay money when you could just sit at home doing the same thing?

My feeling on this is that it just is not the time or place to be linked to social media while at a play or concert or dance performance. The Arts provide an escape from reality, one much appreciated in such a fast-paced, on-the-go society.