#b:apo

[songofpurple-summer]

it’s been years since i’ve even thought about bare: a pop opera but i relistened to the soundtrack recently and genuinely all of us that could relate to Role of a Lifetime and See Me deserve financial compensation

[theabyssgazesalsointoyou]

this musical will make me cry no matter how many times i rewatch it (template referenced)

[whereconfusionisarhyme]

my bapo hot takes/unpopular opinions*

*these might not actually be all that hot or unpopular, it’s been a while since i interacted with the fandom

arguing about whether the characters were “good” or “evil” or “morally grey” is useless and completely misses the whole point of the musical

bare is a great musical, but should never go more mainstream than off-broadway. this ain’t broadway material

i understand trying to find a actor who is both plus size and plays cello may be difficult, but smaller theaters that are putting on bare should put priority on nadia’s actor being fat

sister chantelle’s character is sort of flat and definitely a weaker point in the musical, however it’s not actively harmful to the story at large

plain jane fat ass is better than love, dad from a narrative perspective, but i just personally enjoy love dad more despite that

father flynn’s sexuality is irrelevant to the canon story

peter may be the protagonist, but jason is the main character

feel free to ask me to elaborate on any of these opinions. i purposefully didn’t add much explanation cause i wanted to keep if brief, but i’d love to talk about it. i have a lot of love for this musical and i’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it lmao

[blue-wind-gets-so-bare]

hey just wondering does anyone possibly have a google drive of bare with the LA cast since they got taken off youtube??

[rad-rat-with-a-tophat]

anyone else notice how Jason always holds either Peter of Ivy, like they're usually under his arms??? And closer to the end, instead of having Jason having his hands over Peter's, Peter has his over Jason's???

[februarytodeath]

bare: a pop opera ruined me!!!!!

jupiter by flower face is peter/jason coded idk

[comrade-heather]

ik wrong shakespeare but Matt is so Laertes

[saint-starflicker]

5 Dark Academia Movies That I Don't Find Too Many Other People Posting Very Frequently About

Note my definition of Dark Academia: dark because somebody dies (at a stretch, the darkness can be oppression or abuse from which no one necessarily dies but it still gets pretty dark—or if someone attempts suicide or murder then I count it as dark); academia because they go to uniform school or prepster university (the academia part can be an intense study, discussion, or research of a subject even though they are not at a campus.)

1. The Moth Diaries 2011

The book was better, more detailed, but the movie is still pretty good. The campus is peak neoclassical splendor, the uniforms are on-point aesthetic, and the darkness is gruesomely bloody and also it's on fire. The book is set during the school year of 1970 to 1971, but the movie is set in 2010 thereabouts.

2. "O" 2001

A modern retelling of Othello by William Shakespeare set at a prestigious boarding school. Adapting classical literature in a high school was trendy at the time, trying to capture the magic of Clueless 1995, and in my opinion "O" was the most glammed-up production with the most dark academia atmosphere out of all of them.

3. Educating Rita 1983

A working-class British young woman takes a social enrichment outreach education opportunity to study literature, in hopes that a study in the humanities will give her a better sense of self. Her tutor is a "failed" poet who struggles with substance addiction. Unbeknownst to them, both their lives are at the crux of change. In their consistently non-romantic conversations together, they unpack class discrimination in academia and society, as well as argue about the meaningfulness versus empty pretensions of studying humanities.

Nobody dies, well all right somebody almost dies for pretentious academic reasons...but the conversations leave a lot between the lines.

4. Private Romeo 2011

A modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare set at an all-boys military school. Sure, it's not the Oxbridge-Camford or "Hollywood New England" collegiate aesthetic...but it is very gay, a feature that I hope lends the movie some compensatory merit in this context. Juliet's a boy. Romeo is still a boy. Nurse is a boy. Juliet's mom is a man. Paris is an abstract concept. They are studying Romeo and Juliet at the military school English class at the same time that they are living and speaking the lines in Romeo and Juliet, so it gets surreal and I recommend getting more into the emotion of it than get caught up in what the lines they're saying are supposed to mean.

This should be chaotic academia or frenzy academia, but there's homophobic hazing and bullying so I think that's pretty dark.

5. Bare: a Pop Opera ???? There was supposed to be a movie but I deduce that it's stalled in development purgatory. I have not liked a movie adaptation of a stage musical since Chicago 2002, so I guess I don't really like movie adaptations of stage musicals—but I definitely want my current hyperfixation to be more accessible than a Spotify album oh hey while waiting for this adaptation to happen you can listen to the Spotify album. It's an operetta, so it's sung-through and you won't miss out on any story dialogue unlike with other musicals. Here's my argument for B:APO being Dark Academia.

DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE #5 SPOT ON MY LIST DOES NOT EXIST...WHAT DARK ACADEMIA MOVIES DO YOU THINK SHOULD BE IN THIS SPOT IN THE MEANTIME?

I CAPSLOCK IN ANGUISH THAT THE B:APO MOVIE DOES NOT EXIST YET AND PROBABLY NEVER WILL.

YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CONSOLATION.

Honorable Mentions:

The History Boys 2006 had one subplot I was bothered by at first and then grew to despise which is really too bad because this movie had racial diversity, directly addressed misogyny in academia, and had canon gays in a love triangle — but it is dark and it doesn't really seem to know that it's dark.

The Children's Hour 1961 "dark academia is mlm while cottagecore is wlw" WRONG watching this movie to consider evidence of dark academia wlw is part of your yuri duty! remember our history!

Never Let Me Go 2010 I can't describe objectively because I read the book at a time in my life that I was having a time at that time. The movie is a faithful adaptation. I re-read it recently and I think it's more Dark Academia than I gave it credit for, but if you're not into Contemplative Dystopia then I completely understand it not being your thing.

Like Minds 2006 — Huh, so 2006 was a busy year for this genre that did not yet exist at the time. Witness the folie à deux of 21st century teenaged Templar Knight kinnies who are also homoerotic serial killers. (Waves to the people that introduced me to this movie, who—contrary to the header of this post—actually do post about it.)

Rope 1948 does have some activity that I've caught recently enough, but I thought maybe it wouldn't be considered Dark Academia right away because it doesn't take place at a school. It takes place at a dinner party where ex-schoolfriends talk to their philosophy professor who they remain well-acquainted with after graduation, an interrogation of putting this professor's morally heinous philosophy into practice. Also there is a corpse at this dinner party. There's your academics and your darkness, so there's your dark academia.

[lovely-blue-galaxy]

AP tests are OVER. I have the SHORTEST week of school next week. Time to DRAW again!

[theabyssgazesalsointoyou]

imagine how sick it would've been if bmc actually had a midsummer night's dream quotes as lyrics. imagine jeremy actually singing puck's lines during The Play. over that fucking 8-bit tpg instrumental or whatever. it would be so so chaotic and anachronistic post-ironic and that is the very essence of be more chill the musical. i am so normal about shakespearean bmc trust me guys

[lohstandfound]

the you & i scene from the b:apo au lives rent free in my mind

I very much enjoyed writing it I love that fic so much

[rising-above-stars]

hey, i love your art!!! i reblog it all the time with tags along the lines of "this is so pretty" but your art is so lovely and creative and unique and wonderful!!! i love seeing your art on my dash bc it rly is so pretty!!

Oh my god thank you!!!!

I had a mini art renaissance after spending a week interning for a street art festival (b:apo mural me beloved, rest in peace) and it somehow completely changed the course of my art (bringing me back to my roots as a mixed media/printmaking artist minus the printmaking... I desperately need a printing press)

I used to post stuff ages ago on here but decided to share them here (I post them to Instagram and TikTok already but I like tumblr)

I'm glad you like it!! I love doing collages and mixed media and calligraphy and using texts in my art, I still have a couple more scheduled to post- only just started getting into my mythology + plants + hands series

[psychicnightfire]

Just checking in on the B:APO fandom

[spoopykween]

I've been noticing that the quality of the Wonderland performance determines the quality of the whole show for me and it got me thinking

I think it's because it's a song that shows us how the kids interact in regular everyday life, without the presence of adults. It establishes the characters' friendship and dynamics with each other, and that's something so central to the emotional appeal of bapo imo. The stronger their relationships are portrayed, the more heartbreaking it is to watch it all fall apart.

I definitely favor productions that pay attention to all the relationships. Promise hits harder when you've made Peter and Ivy's (canonical!) close friendship clear, just to name an example.

Not sure if I made my point clear but TL;DR: Wonderland can make or break a show for me

Btm did not have Wonderland

[comrade-heather]

I Did Some Super Scientific Data Analysis to Determine Which of these Shows is *Statistically* the Most Niche

why these shows? bc they’re ones that I like that I thought might actually have a chance of being the most niche. want me to analyze a show or include a new metric? Let me know!

Methodology

Spotify Listens (average): How many people are listening?

I consider this to be the most important metric, since it shows interest beyond just hardcore fans interacting with fandom content or hyper-focused broadway metrics (ie BroadwayWorld and show runs). Some outliers were excluded (ie short tracks where Spotify has faulty tracking of listens).

Spotify Listens (most popular): Does this show have at least one song that is known beyond the show itself?

Some shows have a song that’s well-known in the theatre community, outside of the context of the show. I consider this to raise name recognition of the show, thus making it less “niche”

Ao3 Fics: Are fans interacting with the show?

This is the easiest way to measure total fandom output. For shows based on previous media, strictly the musical fandom was counted

Tumblr Posts (last 3 weeks): Is there an active fandom?

I did a basic search to try to estimate the total volume of posts about each show in the month of Feb so far. Tumblr is the main gathering place for most of these fandoms, plus this also captures how relevant the fandom is currently.

BroadwayWorld Articles: How much press has the show gotten?

This turned out to be a less useful metric than I’d hoped, and as such it’s weighted pretty lightly. Shows that ran on Broadway (as opposed to off-broadway) in the last 5-10 years got more press than those that didn’t. Go figure.

Number of Performances of the “Highest” Level Run: Did the show do well with a general audience? Did it stick around?

Again, this is an imperfect metric. Broadway is a wild industry, and general interest doesn’t perfectly correlate with length of run (see: Be More Chill’s Broadway run). And Carrie’s swing-and-miss Broadway run arguably makes it more famous. Weighted lightly.

Least Niche: Bonnie & Clyde (21 points)

I think we have Jeremy Jordan to thank for this one. Bonnie & Clyde far and away has the most Spotify listens, and it’s got mild fandom engagement on Ao3 and Tumblr. 

Bare: A Pop Opera (20 points)

Bare wins the award for most dedicated fandom on this list! Combine Tumblr and Ao3 activity with solid streaming numbers and Bare takes second-to-least niche. 

Bandstand (20 points)

What Bandstand lacks in Spotify listens and a Tumblr fandom it makes up for with plenty of gay fanfic and a decent 2017 Broadway run. It got pretty good press and even won a Tony (although we all know it deserved more). If you know anything from this show, it’s “Love Will Come and Find Me Again.”

Assassins (19 points)

note: I included both cast albums in the Spotify listens stat

A solid Sondheim bop that’s gotten some interest recently for its 2021 Off-Broadway revival. Major points for the existence of “Unworthy of Your Love,” which is by far the most popular song even without counting the Ben Platt cover.

Carrie (16 points)

Wins the award for "notable for sucking ass at the beginning.” There’s very little Carrie content relating to the musical specifically, and it’s dwarfed by online interest in the book and its movie adaptation. Notables from the cast album are “The World According to Chris” and “You Shine.”

Amélie (14 points)

Starring the lovely Phillipa Soo, Amélie has decent Spotify hits, and renewed interest due to the increasing popularity of the West End production. Major points for “Times are Hard for Dreamers” (which tbh is singlehandedly inflating the Spotify stats)

Most Niche: In Transit (6 points)

I can now back up my opinion with evidence that In Transit is very underrated. Written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez of Frozen fame, it’s the first acapella musical to run on Broadway (which it did for quite awhile, by this list’s standards) This could maybe be a reason why the cast recording has very few listens, and as a result there’s basically no fandom. 

TLDR: you should listen to In Transit, the Bare fandom is awesome, and lmk if you have suggestions to expand this data!

[vergilsfavoritebee]

More “bare: A Pop Opera” thoughts:

All of the characters sin a lot in the show (premarital s*x, drug use, etc.) and feel a little guilty, sure. However, most of the characters’ struggles are more about societal norms (fat phobia, academic competition, sl*t-shaming) than about the Church.

The only “sin” that really tortures any of the characters is being gay. From Jason’s hope that his feelings will go away to Peter’s guilt in spite of accepting his sexuality, to how torn Matt is over how he should feel about seeing Peter and Jason together, being gay is the only “sin” that truly wracks the characters with guilt. Even when Ivy gets pregnant, she isn’t upset because she has “sinned.”

I think this really just shows how well the show demonstrates that the sin of homosexuality is overly emphasized in the Catholic church. How doing drugs, having s*x, holding grudges, etc. are all redeemable with a few “Hail Mary’s” but when Jason confesses to the priest, the response is that he is inherently bad. His feelings, his temptations, are inherently evil and he needs to save himself. None of the other sins are treated this harshly.

I just think it makes the show even more powerful.