I've only experienced two kinds of slim seats that are invading coach cabins: The kind that Hawaiian Airline uses on their Boeing 717 jets which are only used to travel between the Hawaiian Islands and on American Airlines narrow body jets, mainly their Airbus A321.
On the short island hopper flights these seats are not bad at all. But I do find that with the arm rests down between seats those that have the middle or aisle seats sometimes find it challenge to slide into and out of their respective seats.
Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 Slimline Seats (image: Hawaiian Airlines)
Hawaiian Airlines does shy away from other real reasons why the seats are designed this way especially when the back of the seat is all metal: “These new, modern design elements rejuvenate the interiors of our Boeing 717s while allowing us to deliver a consistent onboard experience for our guests,” said Peter Ingram, chief commercial officer for Hawaiian Airlines. “The new lightweight seats are engineered to ensure a maximum amount of personal space without compromising legroom or comfort.” (from thedesignair.net)
American Airlines Airbus A321 coach seats (image: American Airlines)
On the American Airlines Airbus A321, the seats aren't as thin as on Hawaiian but that's because the seat backs include a personal in-seat entertainment system. Both on Hawaiian and American the main reason for these seats are so the jets can carry more passengers by adding an extra row. The two airlines claim that seat pitch is not lost because of the thinner seat design. Since I fly American to the U.S. mainland, the flights are at least five hours to the west coast so I always be sure to book early to snag a Main Cabin Extra seat which is located in the front of the coach cabin and has extra legroom or even better find a seat in an exit-row. One thing that these seats on both airlines have in common is the mesh pocket for the in-flight magazine and air sickness bag. They are so tight a fit that you really can't use them for anything else. I guess that's a good thing to keep these pockets cleaner but I do see other passengers forcing items into them. One flyer managed to fit his Starbucks coffee cup only to see it be squeezed out of the basket and the remains of his coffee dripping all over his lap.
One chap recently recounts his horror of being stuck in these seats which he calls a thin piece of form on a Virgin Atlantic but his seat had a catch that the other seats didn't. Click on the article's headline below to read the full story.
'Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812' has not yet officially opened on Broadway (it is currently in previews) but the production is already mired in behind-the-scenes in-fighting between producers.
A couple of weeks ago Michael Riedel wrote in the New York Post: The Broadway community is riveted - and appalled - by what one veteran producer calls (producer Howard) Kagan's "bullyboy tactics" toward Ars Nova, the nonprofit theater that developed "The Great Comet" five years ago, and is now one of the show's many producers. When Ars Nova complained that Kagan, a former Wall Street executive, refused to bill the show "The Ars Nova Production of . . ." as agreed in their contract, he threatened to upend their Dec. 5 benefit by scheduling the recording of the cast album that day. Cast members, including Josh Groban, are the benefit's featured attraction; if they're in the recording studio that day, they'll miss the benefit. Playbill reported this week: After back-and-forth discussions at Arts Nova, founding artistic director Jason Eagan, managing director Renee Blinkwolt and the "Gang at Ars Nova" (as they refer to themselves) have decided to take action. The Ars Nova board of directors voted unanimously the evening of October 27 to file suit for breach of contract - as stated in their letter to patrons - to "compel the commercial producers of The Great Comet to honor their contractural obligation to bill the show as 'The Ars Nova Production Of.'" The suit, a copy of which was obtained by Playbill.com, names Howard Kagan alone as defendant. It was filed in New York State Supreme Court October 28.
The actors on stage, including leading man Josh Groan, has been quiet about the issue. Hope this does not delay the opening of the show and is resolved before then. Still some of the producers can't help think that this might be good advertising to get word out about the show. Visit greatcometbroadway.com for info about and tickets to the production.
Across Broadway websites this week, news has surfaced that more than 1,000 members of Actors' Equity Association have signed an open letter seeking, what Playbill.com calls, a "historic" pay increase.
Actors' Equity is the union that represents actors and stage managers in the U.S. and is negotiating a new contract that expires on November 6. The main grievance is actors cannot make a living by working Off-Broadway. It would be hard to disagree based on the current wages.
Playbill reports that Off-Broadway is defined by the seating size of the theatre (100-499 seats). For theatres with 100-199 seats, pay starts at $593 per week and theatres with 100-499 seats, pay starts $1,057 per week.
Some will argue that acting is for the starving artist. But the pay increase also means help for the survival of theatre that is not defined as Broadway. The productions that play Off-Broadway often cannot be economically staged at or have the large audience needed for a Broadway theatre. Also so many Broadway shows were transfers of Off-Broadway productions including the hit musical 'Hamilton'.
Listen to the plea of actor Nick Westgate in the video below. Click HERE to watch more videos from the Fair Wage Onstage YouTube Channel.
It's one thing to live in a building that has a slight lean. It's another thing when the building is a 58-floor luxury tower in a city known for earthquakes, San Francisco.
Associated Press reports the Millennium Tower was completed seven years ago and has sunk 16 inches into the soft soil and landfill of the city's financial district. To make matters worse the building is not sinking evenly with a 2-inch tilt at the base and a 6-inch lean at the top. An attorney who lives on the 42nd floor paid $2.1 million for his two-bedroom apartment. Penthouses sold for more than $10 million.
Boeing expects to build 47 of their 737 jets each month next year and ramp up to 57 in 2019. Wired reports the plane often referred to as the workhorse of commercial aviation accounts for one of every three commercial flights. Boeing currently builds 42 each month. Since 1967, over 9,000 of the 737 jets have been delivered.
Here in Hawaii, fabled Aloha Airlines (1946-2008) used the 737 for its inter-island flights and also when it began flights to the US mainland.
Single-aisle jets are in such a demand that Boeing faces fierce competition from Airbus. The european maker produces the A320 and has delivered more than 6,700 of them since the plane entered service in 1984.
Many passengers today often do not know if they are flying on a 737 or not. The jet's cabin interior for coach seats three passengers on each side of the single-aisle. Other planes from both airplane makers have a similar design in the coach cabin (from Airbus: A319, A321 / from Boeing: 757). However experienced flyers will definitely know the difference.
Wired produced a video to show how a Boeing 737 jet is built in just nine days:
We've heard of private jets. But a Boeing 787 as a private jet is something new. Esquire reports that Kestrel Aviation Management, an aviation consulting firm, modified the 787 interior for 40 people to fly in luxury on the jet's 2,400 square-foot-interior.
The plane, which reportedly costs over $300 million, was sold to an undisclosed Asian operator but the photos will speak for themselves.
Master suite bathroom ((photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
Main cabin lounge (photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
Main cabin lounge (photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
Main cabin lounge (photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
18 first-class sleeper seats for guests and six rows of premium economy for staff (photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
One of four main cabin bathrooms (photo: Kestrel Aviation Management)
Fox News reports that starting last month, the world's shortest international flight by distance began service between St. Gallen, Switzerland to Friedrichshafen, Germany by Austrian airline People's Viennaline. The flight length: a mere eight minutes on a 12.5 miles route for US$45.
On the other side of the coin, Emirates launched the longest flight by distance in March from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Auckland, New Zealand which is 8,819 miles. Flying time is 17 hours and 15 minutes.
Click HERE for the full article which reveals the shortest domestic flight by distance which is the shortest flight recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.
For the first few years I visited New York City I absolutely saw taxi cabs as an expensive way to travel and treated it as a luxury I could not afford. From the airport to mid-town I would use a shared ride service like Super Shuttle. While in the city I would rely on the subway and walking.
In 2004 upon arriving at JFK airport, I was feeling most ill. Now anyone who has used a shared-ride shuttle van knows someone will be dropped off first and someone will be dropped off last. Based on my experiences with staying at midtown hotels in Times Square, I was normally the last passenger dropped off at my destination. This is after riding in a shuttle that one time took two hours for my drop off. So I did the most practical thing to get me to the hotel to rest. I caught a taxi from JFK to my hotel. If I recall correctly the fare with tip and tolls was about $60 back then. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. I made it to my hotel in what seemed like minutes compared to my experiences with shuttle vans.
Now I mainly use taxi to and from the airport in most cities I visit. But once in the city I'll use the mass transit services available. It's still part of the my positive travel experiences to use the subway in New York City or the tube in London.
This was before Uber and along with Lyft it appears they are gaining a huge market share of trips at the loss of New York City taxi drivers.
Business Insider reports how the value of a NYC medallion, which allows the right to operate a cab in the city, was recently listed at $250,000. In 2014, the article reports the value was about $1.3 million.
A chart in the report shows in April 2015 taxis accounted for 84% of rides in New York. In April 2016, taxis accounted for 65% of rides.
Right now I don't plan to switch to Uber or Lyft when I'm in the New York at least. But there is one place where I really cannot handle the games taxi drivers play which is in Las Vegas. Next time I'm there I'll be calling an Uber.
Click the link below for the Business Insider article:
Here is a wonderful video from Wendover Productions via YouTube about the economics of long-haul flights. It also helps to show why the airlines may use certain planes on certain routes to certain airports and why non-stop flights may or may not be available and how it may affect the cost of your airline ticket.
It's a lot explained in the 10-minute video and worth every minute to watch.
Who knew when Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'The Phantom of the Opera' opened at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on October 9th, 1986 (how old were you back then?), that it will remain in the city at the same theatre 30 years later.
The show may outlive the current name of the theatre. When the next male British monarch ascends the throne, the name of the venue will be changed back to His Majesty's Theatre.
From Wikipedia: The name of the theatre changes with the sex of the monarch. It first became the King's Theatre in 1714 on the accession of George I. It was renamed Her Majesty's Theatre in 1837. Most recently, the theatre was known as His Majesty's Theatre from 1901 to 1952, and it became Her Majesty's on the accession of Elizabeth II. The theatre's capacity is 1,216 seats, and the building was Grade II* listed by English Heritagein 1970. Really Useful Theatres has owned the building since 2000. The land beneath it is on a long-term lease from the Crown Estate.
It includes a look back at the thirty years of Phantom, a conversation with Lloyd Webber & producer Cameron Mackintosh, and performances from the show's past and present stars including Sierra Boggess, Michael Ball, Ben Forster and Michael Crawford. The celebration took place on October 10th, 2016.
A few years ago I learned about an Abandoned Fake Disneyland in China, now I learn via The Huffington Post of a similar abandoned park in Japan. The main difference is the park in China was never opened. The park in Japan, called Nara Dreamland, opened in 1961 and closed 45 years later.
Remnants of the park still remains based on some of the photos in the article which are posted below. Many of the photos are from the hardcover book "Ask The Dust" by Romain Veillon.
In a Chicago Tribune illustration, 'Hamilton' creator Lin-Manuel Miranda depicted on the $10 bill. (photo credit:Michel Miner)
With a monster Broadway hit like 'Hamilton' gathering so much publicity, the show also made the news rounds for the behind-the-scenes negotiating of a profit sharing deal between the actors and lead producer Jeffrey Seller.
The outcome was 22 of the show's actors, some who are no longer in the show, who helped to create the show during its Off-Broadway run, will receive 1 percent of net profits from the New York production as well as .33 percent of the net profits from Chicago and all other U.S productions.
Recently an in-depth article in Bloomberg details what is probably intended to be confidential communications of how the deal was reached. It is fascinating reading and the result will likely be a rollover into shows that are expected to be the next big hit. It also adds another layer to the difficult economics of Broadway where only about a quarter of the plays and musicals turn a profit. Click the link below for the full article.
Kevin Costner in the film "The Bodyguard" (photo credit: Warner Bros.)
This post just lists the other actors who have played Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical outside of London. There are other future productions besides that are on the boards but the role originated by Kevin Costner has not been cast in those versions yet.
There is no short of press of the actresses playing the Whitney Houston role of Rachel Marron in all of these productions. At present for the US Tour actress/singer Deborah Cox is already making the talk shows and news and media featuring her easy to find.
UK & Ireland Tour: Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (opened Feb 2015-closed Jun 2016):
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Stuart Reid (photo credit: BWH)
Stuart Reid as Frank Farmer (photo image: Paul Coltas)
Netherlands: Dave Mantel & Mark van Eeuwen shared the role of Frank Farmer (opened Sep 2015)
Follow Dave on Twitter. Follow Mark on Twitter.
Dave Mantel and Mark van Eeuwen (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Dave Mantel as Frank Farmer (photo credit: Roy Beusker)
Germany: Jurgen Fischer portrays Frank Farmer (opened Nov 2015)
'The Bodyguard' productions in Australia (2017) has not announced the actor cast for the role. The Toronto (2017) production has announced that the London revival cast with Ben Richards as Frank Farmer will transfer for the Canadian premiere run.
Tristan Gemmill took over the role of Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' musical which at the time was playing London's Adelphi Theatre. Gemmill is incidentally the actor I saw in the role when I finally saw the musical in April 2014.
Gemmill definitely looked and played the part quite well on stage. When I saw the show I knew very little of what the stage production was like. So when Gemmill appears on stage I was wondering which Whitney Houston song he'll be singing as the song titles were plastered all over the theater in advertising. At intermission I finally looked at the song credits and find that Farmer's character has no songs to sing.
Gemmill was born in 1967 in England and is well known to British television audiences. Looking at his IMDB.com page, the actor has many television and movie credits but none would appear to be titles known to American audiences.
His latest television role is a 2016 run on the long-running UK soap series "Coronation Street." Gemmill's run in 'The Bodyguard' was from September 2013 to August 2014.
Lloyd Owen as Frank Farmer in 'The Bodyguard' (image: Paul Coltas)
After posting about Ben Richards starring in the London return of the 'The Bodyguard' stage musical, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the other actors who have the played the role. There haven't been too many of them despite the various worldwide productions and a run in the West End of almost two years. You'll notice the actors are cut from a similar stone look-wise and that is probably an intention by those involved in casting. Owen stayed with the musical from its previews in November 2012 to September 2013 when Tristan Gemmill took over the role.
(photo credit: CBS Television)
The first actor to play Frank Farmer (the Kevin Costner role) on stage was British television actor Lloyd Owen. Now before anyone thinks this musical cannot be taken seriously, it was surprisingly supported by the West End community as 'The Bodyguard' was nominated for four Laurence Oliver Awards (the equivalent of the Tony Awards in the US) including Best Musical, Best Actress (Heather Headley), Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Debbie Kurup) and Best Set Design.
Owen did not receive a nomination but the actor got zero songs to sing in a musical. The two actresses who got nominated really sings all of the songs in the show. I'm guessing since they were oringally done by Whitney Houston all of them had to be sung by a woman.
Now before anyone brings it up, the actor playing Frank Farmer does sing a snippet of one of the songs in the show but it's in fun and lasts only a few seconds. At least the actor is also given a few dance moves too.
Lloyd Owen (born Apr 15, 1966) has had three fairly interesting roles on television that some American audience members may recognize. In the "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles" (1992-1993), Owen played Professor Henry Jones, Sr. to Sean Patrick Flannery's Indiana Jones.
From 2007 is probably a role he'd like to forget on the infamous television musical series "Viva Laughlin" that aired only two episodes before it was cancelled. At least the series had two other higher profile actors which probably mitigated Owen's exposure in the media. Those two actors: Hugh Jackman and Melanie Griffith.
Just last year, Owen had a regular supporting role in "You, Me and the Apocalypse" about an array of characters dealing with the last days of earth. Owen played the president of the United States.
His latest stage role was starring in 'The End of Longing' which also stars Matthew Perry (TV's "Friends") and is Perry's playwriting debut. The limited run ended in May 2016 and is expected to be presented in New York in 2017. It is unknown if the London cast will transfer with the show.
Below is a video with the actor and actress Headley promoting 'The Bodyguard' musical in London.
Lloyd's Credits
Television credits include:
Silent Witness Series 19 (BBC), Death In Paradise Series 5 (Red Planet/BBC), You, Me And The Apocalypse (Working Title/NBC Universal/Sky 1),The Originals Series 2 (The CW), Midsomer Murders Series 17: ‘A Vintage Murder’ (ITV), Fairly Legal Series 2 (USA Network), Taking The Flak (BBC),Inside The Box (ABC Pilot), Inseparable (ABC Pilot), Viva Laughlin (BBC for CBS), Calais Rules (BBC Pilot), The Innocence Project (BBC), Ghost Squad(Company Pictures/C4), The Monarch Of The Glen Series 4, 5, 6 & 7(Ecosse/BBC Scotland), The Vice (Carlton), Coupling (BBC), Dead Gorgeous(Carlton Productions), Wire In The Blood (Coastal Productions), Hearts & Bones(United Broadcasting), Gypsy Girl (Film and General Prods), Get Real(ITV), The Cinder Path (ITV), The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles(LucasFilm/Paramount), The Story Of Frankenstein (YTV), Stay Lucky (YTV), The Chief (Anglia TV), Forever Green(ITV), Boon (Central TV).
Theatre credits include:
Good People(Hampstead Theatre/Noël Coward Theatre), Stuff Happens National Theatre Live: 50 Years On Stage(National Theatre), The BodyguardNominated for the Best Actor In A Musical Award, Whatsonstage.com Awards, 2013 (Adelphi Theatre), Loyalty (Hampstead Theatre), Blood And Gifts(National Theatre), Paul (National Theatre), Clouds (Cambridge Arts Theatre/No 1Tour), Iphigenia (Crucible Theatre), The York Realist (Royal Court/West End/ETT), Edward Ii (Crucible Theatre), Julius Caesar (Young Vic), The Way Of The World(Manchester Royal Exchange), Morphic Resonance (Donmar Warehouse), Closer (Lyric Theatre), Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf(Almeida/Aldwych), East Lynne (Greenwich Theatre), Grab The Dog (NT Studio), Our Boys (Donmar Warehouse), Henry Vi: Part Iii (RSC), Hamlet (Haymarket Theatre, Leicester), Twelfth Night (Cheek by Jowl), Macbeth, The Tempest, Philoctetes, The Parquet Floor (Young Vic), The Passport (Young Vic).
Film credits include:
Free Ride (Aberration Films), Apollo 18 (Dimension Films), Miss Potter (The Weinstein Company), The Republic Of Love(Dan Films), Get The Picture(Picture Farm), Between Dreams (Irish Film Board/RTE).
Radio credits include:
Michael Frayn’s Matchbox Theatre, The School for Scandal, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Goldfinger, The Crooked Hat, The Rivals and Keep Your Pantheon by David Mamet.
Lloyd was a member of the National Youth Theatre and trained at RADA.
" by Romain Veillon.
