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Convention Update! Micky Article!
April 3, 2011 by raj
Filed under monkees alert
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++++++++++++++++++
From: Anthony
–The Monkeesrule43 Online Mailing List–
**New Shoe Suede Blues Date**
9/6/04 — Greenbelt, MD — Greenbelt Labor Day Festival
For more of this section of the newsletter, visit Monkeesrule43
Online at http://www.monkeesrule43.com – An officially licensed
Monkees site that is your one stop on the web for Monkees news,
bios, history, rare MP3s & more!
++++++++++++++++++
From: “Monkees 2004 Convention Staff”
Hello Again,
It has come to our attention that many people have said, they are
interested in coming but they believe it’s to late to still find
great seats for the convention as we have sold 350 tickets of the
600 we had available.
While we HAVE sold a little over half our tickets. We would like
everyone to know there are still excellent seats left for this event
and still time to get your money to us before the rates for the
Monkees convention 2004 go up in cost to the at the door rate of $90
instead of the advance rate of $70.
Below we have listed some of the events we are planning for everyone.
If you’re interested in any of the contest events and especially the
Best Of The Best Talent Show.
Please let us know of your interest in participating as we’d like to
have a count of people wanting to perform. Also, we need advance
knowledge of your talent. You may notify us at our e-mail address.
monkeesconvention04@hotmail.com
Thanks for your interest and support of the Monkees and of this
Monkees Convention 2004. Put on for the fans and by the fans.
The Monkees Convention Staff 2004
SPECIAL EVENTS PLANNED FOR THE MONKEES 38TH ANNIVERSARY FINALE
WEEKEND CONVENTION 2004!
THE BEST OF THE BEST-TALENT SHOW…participants will be allowed only
2 mins. each to perform whatever talent they choose. This means it
can be anything from comedy, to music, and from drama, to spinning
plates (you must provide your own plates) The sky’s the
limit….however it must remain “G” rated as there may be a few
little ones running around with celebrity parents as guest speakers.
There will be 3 prizes awarded for this they are as follows: 3rd
place winner receives $50 in cash, 2nd place winner receives $100 in
cash, and 1st place winner receives $200 in cash. So start thinking
of a special talent you have….and work out your 2 min.
routine…you have plenty of time until Oct. 2nd. to come up with
your Special Something! In addition each place winner (1st, 2nd, and
3rd) will perform their Special Something on Oct. 3rd, as an opening
act to:
The Missing Links! Each place winner will have 15 mins. to perform
on Oct. 3rd! We’ll also be expecting our friends from Rhino Records
to help us with Raffle Tickets! We will have a Raffle throughout the
Weekend We’ll make announcements over the PA System at our choosing!
This will NOT be every hour on the hour or half hour. We will just
choose randomly and YOU MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!!! The prizes for
these Raffles will be anything from a key chain to Rhinos MONKEES
DVD box set! So, you will not want to miss out on this!
We are expecting many CELEBRITY GUEST SPEAKERS AND PERFORMERS. Here
are a few we expect may attend as they become confirmed we will type
their name in all capital letters:Ruth Buzzi, HENRY DILTZ, GARY
STROBL, CHIP DOUGLAS, Julie Newmar, Monte Landis, Joanne Worley,
Sally Field, Larry Tucker, Paul Mazursky, Karen Valentine, Toni
Basil, Maureen McCormick, Mike Farrell, Michael London, James Lee
Stanley, Shoe Suede Blues Band, Andrew Sandoval, Bobby Hart, Keith
Allison, Jerry Summers, Rick Turney, Tommy Boyce’s niece Alana Kelly
Luff, Danny Solazzi (The Characters), and many many more…..
With support from ALL OF YOU LOYAL AND DEVOTED MONKEE FANS you’ll
make THIS convention the BEST of them all!!
In addition to: THE BEST OF THE BEST TALENT SHOW….We will be
having a MONKEES TRIVIA CONTEST! AND KARAOKE, perhaps with a live
band! Prizes will be awarded for each contest…the talent contest:
BEST OF THE BEST will allow each contestant a 2 min. time frame of
showing your best Special talent to the entire convention.
Staff members are not allowed to enter nor are they allowed to vote!
However, WE are allowed to watch! After each person has had their
chance to shine for everyone. We will allow YOU, the Audience to
vote for THE BEST OF THE BEST.
We will have 3 winners…1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place. Each of
the 3 winners will receive a cash prize and will be opening on Oct
3rd, Sunday Night for the Missing Links where they will then be
allowed 15 mins. each to perform their Special Talent for you once
again.
The Missing Links The Monkees Tribute
Will be performing a very SPECIAL CONCERT for all of our Friends
joining us for this exciting Monkees 38th Anniversary Weekend!!!!
This band is AWESOME! But you’ll discover that for yourself as this
concert IS INCLUDED in the price of the convention tickets.
Many Thanks For The Support You Have Shown Us While We Have Been
Planning The Entire 38TH Anniversary Finale Weekend Convention 2004!
Very Truly Yours, “Love Ya Forever” The Monkees Convention 2004
Staff!
http://monkeesconvention04.tripod.com
++++++++++++++++++
From: “bluemasque”
Just purchased a dvd collection of “Batman” cartoons that aired on
Fox in the ’90s. This may be old news, but Micky Dolenz provided
the voice (or voices) of Min & Max, the twin henchmen of Batman
villain Two-Face.
++++++++++++++++++
From: Brad Waddell
Micky Dolenz: Former Monkee Tackles Broadway
By Simi Horwitz
Photo By: Joan Marcus
“Hiring me to appear in ‘Aida’ was not simply a stunt!” So asserts
Micky Dolenz, former lead singer and drummer of the Monkees. (Talk
about mid-’60s TV and rock ‘n’ roll nostalgia!) “Of course the
producers hoped I would bring in more audiences, but I auditioned
for this role and then I had a callback before I got it.”
That’s quite an admission from a man pushing 60 who has auditioned
for virtually nothing in close to 40 years. Indeed, “Aida,” which
marks his Broadway debut, represents only the second Main Stem show
he has ever auditioned for.
Dolenz’s first auditioning experience was for “Mamma Mia!” “I knew I
was totally wrong for the part. I viewed the audition as a practice
run. Afterwards, my agent was called and told, ‘He was wonderful,’ “
says Dolenz, impersonating a refined, cautious voice. ” ‘But we have
never cast anyone in it, well, quite so ma-ture.’ ” Dolenz
laughs. “They thought I was too f — n’ old!”
Undoubtedly, Dolenz’s three-year Monkees stint (1966-1968) — two
years on theTV series and one year on the road — has cast a long
shadow, paving the way for a turn in the national touring company
of “Grease” and a six-month gig in a Canadian production of “A Funny
Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (both without auditioning),
among other shows.
Indeed, the Los Angeles native, sporting a jaunty straw hat, is
greeted with enthusiastic shouts of “Micky! Micky!” from legions of
old Monkees fans as he and I stroll through a Midtown restaurant
near the Palace Theatre, where “Aida” is playing. At various points
throughout the interview, he is interrupted by requests for
autographs and picture-taking. Aging and not-so-aging groupies are
eager to pose alongside a Monkee. Dolenz accommodates graciously.
“Being a Monkee was wonderful, but there are problems when you want
to move on. Fame can become a train that eventually leaves the
station without you. I appreciate what the Monkees were, but I don’t
want to rest on my laurels. I want to be acknowledged as an ex-
Monkee.”
Dolenz has a goal: it’s to be taken seriously as a Broadway musical
actor. As an example, he points out how his interpretation of the
harsh Zoser in “Aida” is different from that of his predecessors.
Dolenz came on in January and will be performing through September.
“In the past, Zoser has been played as a debauched rock ‘n’ roller
who sees himself as a pal to his son. I see Zoser as a father who
treats his son like a little toy soldier whom he has groomed for the
throne. He is patronizing and condescending and absolutely convinced
that he is doing the right thing.”
Set in ancient Egypt, “Aida” recounts the doomed love story of a
young Egyptian (Zoser’s son) and a Nubian princess he has captured
in battle and enslaved. Zoser is determined to see his son marry an
Egyptian princess to whom he was promised at birth; he will go to
any lengths to make that happen.
Dolenz underscores that Zoser is a big departure for him as an
actor. “It’s a real dramatic role. The other parts I’ve played, like
Vinnie in ‘Grease,’ have been goofy. Still, the big challenge in
playing Zoser is fighting boredom. I have only two songs and four
scenes that are far apart. That means that I have to warm up twice.
“When I do my solo concerts, I’m used to being on the stage for two
hours solid, singing 16 songs. And when I did ‘Funny Thing,’ I was
on the stage the whole time. This is much more difficult. It’s the
difference between racing and sprinting. This is sprinting. And I
have to learn to pace myself.”
To Be an Actor
The son of performers, Dolenz was in showbiz from the outset. He
took his first screen test at the age of six and was a regular on
the children’s show “Circus Boy” when he was ten. But it was “The
Monkees” that put him on the map. In many ways, he likens the
experience to performing musical theatre on television, starting
with the casting process.
“This was not a talent contest,” he insists. “They were looking for
actors — real actors — who could play instruments. There was a lot
of improvisation and scene work involved in addition to the music.
The auditions went on for a long time.”
Dolenz suggests that the program was unprecedented on several
fronts. He cites John Lennon’s observation that the show was
inspired by the Marx Brothers. But more relevant, “it was a comic
story about a struggling band who wished they were the Beatles. And
then the band takes on a life of its own outside the sitcom. We were
a fictional band that became a real band. At one point Jimi Hendrix
was opening for us. We still have reunion concerts, and we’re all
playing our TV characters. I’m playing me, but it’s a cartoon
version of me.”
Dolenz suggests that it’s much harder to launch a career on TV today
than it was when he was starting out. “It’s true that there used to
be fewer channels, but there were also fewer actors out there. There
was a greater chance of getting noticed. Now, with 150 channels,
some going 24 hours a day, how do you have a hit? How do you break
out?
“It’s even worse for the music industry,” he continues. “Thanks to
the downloading of music from websites, producers are losing
millions of dollars and are hesitant to invest money in any new
band. As Ringo has said, ‘Years ago, all you had to do was show up
with your drums.’ That’s no longer the case.”
Dolenz maintains that he was fortunate to be able to pursue work
behind the scenes. In the early ’70s, he went to London to appear in
a play. Fifteen years later, he was still in London, having spent
most of that time producing and directing (in theatre and on
television), in addition to scripting and staging the musical “Bugsy
Malone.” He believes he had opportunities there that would not have
been forthcoming in the States, where it was almost impossible to
break away from his Monkee persona.
“Of course, my being a Monkee was an entr=E9e in London, too, but I
don’t think they’re as fascinated with celebrity as we are here.
They were more willing to take a chance on my doing something
besides a Monkee stint, although I had to prove myself. The
experience in London opened some doors in the States as well. When I
got back to Los Angeles, people in the business were taking meetings
with me. But mostly, I suspect, they wanted to see if I were still
alive.”
Dolenz is very much alive and contends he has just scratched the
surface of his new career; he is looking forward to appearing in
many more Broadway musicals and even some straight plays. He talks
about his artistic influences — Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, and Red
Skelton — who combine “comedy with pathos,” and he has relocated to
New York City, where he is taking acting lessons for the first time.
“I’ve been acting my whole life,” he quips. “I’m now learning how to
distinguish when I’m acting and when I’m not acting — offstage as
well as onstage.”
http://www.backstage.com/backstage/features/article_display.jsp?
vnu_content_id=3D1000580599
(ed: link contains a great photo of Micky in character for “Aida”)
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