In 1977, the original Annie opened on Broadway and ran for nearly six years (2,377 performances) at the former Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre). The show was based on the comic strip, Little Orphan Annie (1924-2010) and it won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Musical. The show had its pre-Broadway previews at Connecticut’s Tony Award winning Goodspeed Opera House.
For some weird reason, the Western media pays little attention to the talented young performers from Israel. One reason might be the choice of the most young Israelian singers to perform their songs in their native Hebrew.
Yet, one does not have to be a polyglot in order to enjoy a nice song sung by a talented young performer. Or, as the famous Greek philosopher Plato used to say “… rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul”.
A month ago, tipped by a boy (@grte1) I follow on Twitter, I discovered the music of Avishay Rosen who is a 13-year-old singer from Israel. Avishay Rosen had a head start on his music career thanks to the extensive vocal training he received during the four years he spent singing and performing in the boys’ singing group Kinderlach. October 2011 saw the release of his debut album Give Me a Sign (Ten Li Siman), which features 11 upbeat pop-rock songs, some of them composed by Avishay himself.
A musician of many talents, Avishay plays drums, piano and guitar. The extraordinary vocal capabilities of this young Jewish singer helped him to get noticed by and work with some of the most prolific professionals in the music industry in Israel — such as the producers Uriel Maor and Avi Tal.
The hit singles of Avishay’s debut album Give Me a Sign and Avishai are accompanied by wonderfully filmed music videos shot in Jerusalem. Both clips are quite energetic and radiate with positive vibes. They show to the world an image of Israel that is rarely seen on the newscasts nowadays.
Without any doubt, the future holds great things for this young musician from Israel.
Avishay`s Rosen Youtube , Avishay Rosen on Twitter
Coming-of-Age stories in which music plays a significant role are quite rare. One such story is told in the film A Swarm in May, which is based on the classic novel by William Mayne. The protagonist of the film is ten-year-old John Owen (Oliver Hicks) who, upon his return to the British boys’ Cathedral School he attends, is challenged to accept a traditional role in a religious ceremony that requires him to recite a poem in Latin and perform a solo in front of the Bishop.
When you listen to Inspire, you enter the realm of spiritual influence. You hear classics from the ’70s and ’80s that influenced an entire generation-a generation grown older like myself. These interpretations by Australia‘s Jack Vidgen, whose prowess and vocal skills were evident in his first album, do indeed carry inspirational memories.
I am, however, somewhat disappointed that Vidgen has chosen to sing eleven retro songs. The exception is Beyonce‘s already classic I Was Here, which is a fitting piece for Jack‘s deeper voice — black velvety smooth and mysterious! This song is all about AMBITION with beautifully clear passages by the older teen voice, sounding almost harshly determined in places; traces of sorrow for that which was lost by striving for fame.
Starting with a soulful, confident cover of Michael Jackson‘s Man in the Mirror (from the album Bad 1987), Jack shows off his somewhat deeper voice. But to turn this soul searching, self scrutinizing song into gospel at the end does not appeal to me.
The other Michael Jackson comparison from The Jackson Five (1970) is highly interesting. It supports my theory that Jack is actually capable of singing with three voices, not just one! In the original I’ll Be There, Michael’s older brother sings the deeper parts and young MJ belts out the high lines. In this cover, Jack Vidgen handles both tonal levels gracefully. Jack3Voice is more stylized and versatile. One voice is a boyish sweet falsetto. The second is a creative R+B voice, bending notes, turning almost harsh at times. The third is the new deeper teen voice, below tenor. Michael‘s child voice was a single voice, more rounded, holding notes longer, hardly capable of deep tones.
Jack carries the over sung What a Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong-1970) nicely with some special key jumping patterns, but it’s a poor song choice for him as is You’re the Inspiration (CHICAGO-1984-written by Peter Cetera+David Foster), which is another tune for a mature male voice.
In Lean on Me (Bill Withers 1972-album Still Bill), Jack again presents his deeper voice, useful here in a hymn to sharing and friendship. But, again, the gospel improv at the end is not convincing.
Another song which is brilliantly styled, but not to my taste, is Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon+Garfunkel-1970). In this Gershwin-like jazzed up version, JV‘s sweet, tender falsetto toggles with the grainier, wide open, clear voice which reaches its limit here; a touch strained, but wonderfully rounded at the end. It would have been more rewarding to me to hear Jack sing the original melody without the trills.
What the World Needs Now (Dionne Warwick-1967 from the album Here Where There is Love) has Jack soaring spritely above a background ladies chorus, in piano lounge-style–hardly the kind of thriller we have come to expect from him.
In contrast to this, and suiting Jack well, is the Higher Ground cover (Stevie Wonder-Inner Visions-1978), a funky, difficult to master song, which challenges the inner kangaroo. But JV booms it out with aplomb.
What an interesting comparison to make between True Colors (Cindi Lauper-1986-written by Billy Steinberg+Tom Kelly) by Jack Vidgen and the same by another Aussie singer, Jordan Jansen!. Jack‘s version is more refined, controlled, but somehow less emotional than Jordan‘s. And this song is pure emotion: about seeing someone’s true virtues.
If you don‘t listen carefully to the end of Oh Happy Day (1967 gospel interpretation of an 18th-century hymn), you will miss the highlight of the album: Jack jumping briefly into what I believe is the Whistle Register!! Why the producers have chosen to fade this into oblivion is a mystery to me!! I missed it listening to the first time! Check the 3:24 mark! Turn up your volume! Uncannily, that’s Jack sounding like a dog whistle!
Finally, John Lennon‘s pacifist single and plea for peace Imagine (1971) is wonderfully done with guitar and orchestra tastefully integrated. The tonal quality of Jack‘s voice is brightly audible and upfront here, clearly amazing to hear.
My final comment about Inspire is double-edged. On the one hand, there are many entrancing vocals on the album that confirm Jack as a brilliant singer. On the other hand, to truly inspire is to risk going forward with original material. That is my hope for Jack Vidgen‘s next album.
Over time, movies have touched our lives in ways that will never allow us to be the same. As bigger blockbuster hits come to the big screen, we have seen many emotionally filled movies. The comedies give us quotes to live by, the cult classics that we never forget, and the romantic movies that define the relationships we all want. However, there is one genre of film that has come a long way over the years.
Coming-of-Age movies have always seemed to concentrate on boys. The more popular movies in this genre seem to believe that boys are the only ones that have growing pains. It seems that Coming-of-Age movies about girls are not all that popular. But there are some great themes to look at in many of these movies.
Have you heard of a Coming-of-Age movie titled 11:11?
Don’t feel bad if you haven’t, as we just found out about it ourselves a few days ago thanks to an email with a copy of David Boyne’s article titled Happy Accidents: The Film About A Film That Never Was. The article appeared to be a publication at the IndieSlate Film & Video Magazine and led us to a press release of the Independent Film Production/Distribution company Hourglass Pictures. From it we have learned that the film telling the story of two boys experiencing reincarnation through the 11:11 phenomenon has been in the making since 2004, but won’t be released (not for the time-being anyway).
“I do not wanna grow up to become gray and then disappear.”
The world, as we know it, is changing. Buried in problems, worried that tomorrow may turn out worse than today, adults warn children and each other that the world is “an evil and horrible place” . One day, the hopelessness and despair overwhelms them. The blood of the adults turns from red to gray and then they leave – just disappear and no one knows where they go. The children are the last survivors – with dreams and hopes of the future – but left on their own, will they manage to fend for themselves? What if the hopelessness gets to them – that fear of the future that has poisoned the lives of their parents and other friends…
Throughout the years, I have reviewed Coming-of-Age movies from across the globe. Yet, Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s film The Silence is the first Iranian film I’ve seen. Interestingly enough, the censors banned the film in its own country. Since I lack knowledge of the social and political environment in Iran, I won’t be discussing the ban and the reasons for it but will let you know that the movie is perfectly suitable for audiences of all ages and even recommendable to anyone who favors art house cinema and innovative storytelling.
Some movies from the 90’s are worth watching again …and again. The children’s horror film The Willies, directed by Brian Peck, is not one of them.
In this film, three kids try to scare each other by sharing horror stories while camping out in the family’s backyard. The stories are awfully clichéd – monster living at the school bathroom, an old man getting scared to death during a ride at a Haunted Castle at the fair…etc. So I found it quite challenging to get through the whole hour and a half of cheesy acting, amateur cinematography and pretend scares.
The film is clearly aimed at young audiences, but anyone over six is likely to be really bored half-way through it. Some of the movie’s actors have grown up to be much better professionals later in their careers – like Sean Astin, who delivered an excellent performance in the films of the The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. In addition, I was rather surprised to find his name in the cast of an acclaimed 1985 Coming-of-Age movie The Goonies (he played Mikey). Then, remembering that Steven Spielberg wrote the story of The Goonies, it all made sense.
A clichéd, flat story has the full potential to ruin the experience of any film, and that is exactly what happened in The Willies. When you see this film (if you are really willing to waste the 92 minutes to do that), you will feel just as one feels when buying a ticket for a country fair haunted house – taking a ride in it – getting out and thinking ” That’s all there is? What a money waster! I should have gone on the ferris wheel instead!”
The Willies (1991) Official Trailer
Sixteen-year-old Casper Feddema from the Netherlands is well on his way to becoming an international singing sensation. Starting with appearances on local talent shows – and sharing covers of singers such as Adele, Bryan Adams, Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, and Michael Jackson on his YouTube channel – he was spotted by the European producer Big Dawg while competing on the Netherlands’s National TV Show Popstars. His talent has won him thousands of fans from every continent and he has recently been signed by a UK management company. On 1-April-2012, TheSkyKid.com radio aired an exclusive interview with Casper – conducted by Jeffrey, host of the Mystery Artist Show.
One of the good things I like about doing an interview for the show is being able to meet young artists from around the world. The first artist I had ever met from Australia was Matt Larsen and he was also the very first artist with whom I had ever done an interview.
The most recent artist I have met from Australia is actually a group of brothers that make up the group Brothers3. What inspired me most to contact them about doing an interview was the fact that every song they sing they write themselves and, in doing so, have won numerous awards over the last three years. So now here is the interview that I was lucky enough to be able to have with the boys: Shardyn (16), Tayzin (15) and Makirum (14).
A few months ago – some of our readers suggested we nominate Kevin Callies’s short film The Man in the Red Suit for the Fourth Annual Coming-of-Age Movie Awards. When the movie won the awards in the Best Short Film category, we contacted Mr. Callies with a request for an exclusive interview for the readers of TheSkyKid.com and we are very happy to report that he consented to spend some time with us.
The action in The Man in the Red Suit takes place the night before Christmas when David (Elijah Nelson ), a young boy who has been waiting for Santa Claus all year, wakes up during the night to find him (the man in the red suit) putting presents under the Christmas tree. The close up of David’s face when he first sets his eyes on the man in their living room is one of the most delightful scenes in the film. His uninhibited expressive face lighted by joy and happiness touches the hearts of the viewers in a unique way. It’s as if his emotion is contagious – making each and every one of us remember the magical days of our childhood.