Good afternoon. It is I Gigi the parti poodle here to introduce this week’s blog. After Sergio bravely retrieved the blueprints for the layout of the yellow house with the catwalk, we gathered at Artemis’s place. We laid the plans out on a table and studied them carefully. I noted it might be difficult to get into the house from the back, but the front seemed too conspicuous.

“I agree with Gigi,” Charlotte the Chow said. “The back of the house may be more difficult to enter but the front faces a cul-de-sac and a pack of dogs entering a residence would appear peculiar.”

“Entering from the back could be dangerous,” Bruiser the Jack Russell said. “But according to these plans we seem to only have two ways in.”

“What about the garage?” Ruffles the Bulldog asked. “It’s in the front but maybe if we time it just right a couple of us could sneak inside, maybe when he’s backing his sports car or van out. Then we could wait for the guy to come home and follow him into the house.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Charlotte said. “I think it would be difficult to slip inside unnoticed with him opening the door.”

“How do we even get to the back door?” Ruffles asked. “There’s a whole bunch of foliage there.”

Artemis sat up from her curled up position. “I am a cat. I can do it.”

“Are you sure?” Charlotte asked.

“Absolutely. If Gigi will go with me. She’s small and nimble. I think she could accomplish the task.”

“I will go with you,” I replied with great poodle dignity.

She put her paw on my shoulder. “Thank you. I believe it is safer to go in pairs.”

The twin dachshunds Titus and Tyler barked, “Better in pairs, better in pairs!” Then they started chasing each other’s tails again.

“When should we attempt this break in?” Bruiser asked.

“Soon,” Artemis said. “I want to find out what happened to my sister Demeter.”

“Saturday night,” I said. “Bernard D. Bunny has been watching the house, and he found out the brute goes out on Saturday nights. It will give us enough time to relook over the designs and hatch the best plan.”

“Agreed,” Charlotte said. “We will park the van just outside the cul-de-sac where we will have a strait view of the house.”

Then we all put our right forepaws out and set them one on top of the other. “We’re going in,” we all said in unison.

Until next week, I bid you adieu.  

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: BLUE MOON (2025)-NETFLIX

Every so often, though I think perhaps less these days, a movie comes along that is more of a filmed stage play than a movie. These films are less for the average audience and more for the cinephile. They tend to have very few sets and well-crafted monologues. This week’s pick is one of those films. The script is eloquently written by Oscar Nominee Robert Kaplow and directed by Richard Linklater.

The story takes place on the opening night of what would turn out to be the first blockbuster musical, Oklahoma written by Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) and Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney). But before the existence of this powerhouse musical duo, Rodgers’ professional partner was Lorenz Hart (Oscar Nominee Ethan Hawke). The two of them wrote about twenty plays together and many great American standards such as “Isn’t it Romantic?”, “My Funny Valentine”, “Ten Cents a Dance”, “The Lady is a Tramp”, “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World”, and of course “Blue Moon”.

Disenchanted after watching the opening night of the show, Hart goes directly to his favorite bar where the cast will be gathering. Being quite savvy and forward thinking he realizes, somewhat to his dismay, that the show will be a huge hit and have a very long run. He also realizes, on some level, his place in the musical theatre world is waning. He sits down and discusses this with his favorite bartender Eddie (Bobby Cannavale) as well as a soldier/piano player named Morty Rifkin (Jonah Lees). In addition, Lorenz starts to discuss the intense infatuation he has with a college co-ed and actress named Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley). Also privy to the conversation is writer E.B. White (Patrick Kennedy). Eddie is a little surprised by Lorenz’s passion for Weiland as he knows Lorenz discretely lives his life as a homosexual. But Hart’s fixation on the young woman is indeed real.

As the night progresses, Hart, who suffers from alcoholism, tries to stay on the wagon as he watches the accolades roll in for Rodgers and Hammerstein. But each small pitfall he encounters over the course of the night makes him drink a little more and a little more.