#but jon is making me feel like the first time i watched (now off broadway actor) blow me away

[hatchetverse]

Do i find it hot that jon takes the acting exercise so fucking seriously

[writemarcus]

HITTING NEW HEIGHTS

BY MARCUS SCOTT

ORIGINAL RENT STAR DAPHNE RUBIN-VEGA TAKES YOU INSIDE THE IN THE HEIGHTS FILM

Qué quiere decir sueñito?” The disembodied voice of a girlchild ponders. “It means ‘little dream,’” responds an unseen authoritative figure, his feathery tenor with a soft rasp and tender lilt implying there’s more to the story.

Teal waves crash against the white sand coastal lines of the Dominican Republic and a quartet of children plead with the voice to illuminate and tell a story. Usnavi de la Vega (played by Anthony Ramos), sporting his signature newsboy flat cap and full goatee, begins to narrate and weave a tall-tale from the comforts of his beachside food cart: “This is the story of a block that was disappearing. Once upon a time in a faraway land called Nueva York, en barrio called Washington Heights. Say it, so it doesn’t disappear,” he decrees.

And we’re off, this distant magic kingdom ensnared within the winding urban sprawl of farthest-uptown Manhattan, the music of the neighborhood chiming with infinite possibilities: a door-latch fastening on tempo, a ring of keys sprinkling a sweet embellishment, the splish-splash of a garden hose licking the city streets like a drumstick to a snare fill, a manhole cover rotating like vinyl on a get-down turntable, the hiss of paint cans spraying graffiti like venoms from cobras and roll-up steel doors rumbling, not unlike the ultra-fast subway cars zigzagging underground. So begins the opening moments of In the Heights, the Warner Bros. stage-to-screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical by composer-lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton) and librettist Quiara Alegría Hudes (Water by the Spoonful) that is set to premiere in movie theatres and on HBO Max on June 11, 2021.

This stunning patchwork of visuals and reverberations combine to create a defiant and instantly memorable collage of inner-city living not seen since Walter Hill’s 1979 cult classic The Warriors or West Side Story, the iconic romantic musical tragedy directed on film by Robert Wise and original Broadway director Jerome Robbins. With Jon M. Chu at the helm, the musical feature has all the trademarks of the director’s opulent signature style: Striking spectacles full of stark colors, va-va-voom visuals, ooh-la-la hyperkinetic showstopping sequences and out-of-this-world destination locations.

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A Kind of Priestess

Joining the fray of proscenium stage vets in the film is Broadway star Daphne Rubin-Vega, who originated the role of Mimi in the Off-Broadway and Broadway original productions of Rent. She returns to major motion pictures after a decade since her last outing in Nancy Savoca’s Union Square, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011. When we caught up with Rubin-Vega, she was hard at work, in-between rehearsals with her In the Heights co-star Jimmy Smits on Two Sisters and a Piano, the 1999 play by Miami-based playwright Nilo Cruz, a frequent collaborator. Rubin-Vega netted a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as the enraptured Conchita in Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics; that same year Cruz was awarded the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making him the first Latino playwright to receive the honor. Despite significant global, social and economic disruption, especially within the arts community, Rubin-Vega has been working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People around me have [contracted] COVID… My father-in-law just had it. I’m very fortunate,” Rubin-Vega said. “This collective experience, it’s funny because it’s a year now and things seem better. Last year it was, like, ‘Damn, how inconvenient!’ The one comfort was that, you know, it’s happening to every one of us. That clarity that this is a collective experience is much more humbling and tolerable to me.”

The last time Rubin-Vega graced Washington Heights on screen or stage, she acted in the interest of survival and hunger as a probationer released after a 13-year stint in prison and given a new lease on life as an unlicensed amateur masseuse in the basement of an empanada shop in Empanada Loca, The Spalding Gray-style Grand Guignol horror play by Aaron Mark at the LAByrinth Theater Company in 2015. In In the Heights she plays Daniela, an outrageously vivacious belting beautician with a flair for the dramatics, forced to battle a price-gouging real estate bubble in the wake of gentrification.

“She’s like the deputy or the priestess,” Rubin-Vega said. “Owning a salon means that you have a lot of information; you’re in a hub of community, of information, of sharing… it’s also where you go for physical grooming. It’s a place where women were empowered to create their own work and it is a place of closeness, spiritual advice, not-so-spiritual advice. Physical attention.”

She said, “Daniela also being an elder; I think she’s not so much a person that imposes order on other people. She’s there to bring out the best—she leads with love. She tells it like it is. I don’t think she sugar-coats things. What you see is what you get with Daniela. It’s refreshing; she has a candor and sure-footedness that I admire.”

With the film adaptation, Chu and Hudes promised to expand the universe of the Upper Manhattan-based musical, crafting new dimensions and nuances to two characters in particular: Daniela and hairdresser Carla, originally portrayed as business associates and gossip buddies in the stage musical. On the big screen they are reimagined as romantic life partners. Stephanie Beatriz, known to audiences for her hilarious turn as the mysterious and aloof Detective Rosa Diaz in the police procedural sitcom romp “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” co-stars as the fast-talking firecracker, Carla.

It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.

Where Is Home?

“Well, Quiara and Jon really expanded on what Lin and Quiara originally created and now they’re partners—and not just work partners, right? But they’re life partners,” Beatriz said at a March press event celebrating the release of the film’s two promo trailers. “What was so gratifying to me as a person who is queer is to see this relationship in the film be part of the fabric of the community, and to be normal, and be happy and functioning, and part of the quilt they’ve all created.”

She continued, “So much of this film is about where home is and who home is to you. And for Carla, Daniela is home. Wherever Daniela is, that’s where Carla feels at home. I thought that they did such a beautiful job of guiding us to this, really, you know, it’s just a happy functioning relationship that happens to be gay and in the movie. And I love that they did that, because it is such a part of our world.”

Rubin-Vega said she had no interest in playing any trope of what one might think a lesbian Latina might look or act like, noting that the queer experience isn’t monolithic, while expressing that the role offered her a newfound freedom, especially with regard to being present in the role and in her everyday life.

“Spoiler alert! I felt like not wearing a bra was going to free me. Did I get it right? Am I saying that gay women don’t wear bras? No, it was just a way for me to be in my body and feel my breasts. To feel my femaleness and celebrate it in a more unapologetic way,” she said, laughing. “To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing a lesbian Latina. It’s something that I hadn’t really explored before. Latinos [can be] very homophobic as a culture, and I wanted to play someone who didn’t care about homophobia; I was gonna live my best life. That’s a bigger thing. It’s also like, maybe I’m bisexual. Who knows? Who cares? If you see that in the film, that’s cool too, you know?”

Stand-out performances abound, especially with regard to the supporting cast; newcomers Melissa Barrera (in a role originated by Tony Award winner Karen Olivo) and Gregory Diaz IV (replacing three-time Tony Award nominee Robin de Jesús) are noteworthy as the aspiring fashion designer Vanessa and budding activist Sonny. Olga Merediz, who earned a Tony Award nomination for originating her role as Abuela Claudia, returns to the silver screen in a captivating performance that will be a contender come award season. However, Rubin-Vega may just be the one to watch. Her performance is incandescent and full of moxie, designed to raise endorphin levels. She leads an ensemble in the rousing “Carnaval del Barrio,” a highlight in the film.

Musical Bootcamp

“We shot in June [2019]. In April, we started musical bootcamp. In May, we started to do the choreography. My big joke was that I would have to get a knee replacement in December; that was in direct relation to all that choreography. I mean, there were hundreds of A-1 dancers in the posse,” Rubin-Vega said. “The family consisted of hundreds of superlative dancers led by Chris[topher] Scott, with an amazing team of dancers like Ebony Williams, Emilio Dosal, Dana Wilson, Eddie Torres Jr. and Princess Serrano. We rehearsed a fair bit. Monday through Friday for maybe five weeks. The first day of rehearsal I met Melissa [Barrera] and Corey [Hawkins], I pretty much hadn’t known everyone yet. I hadn’t met Leslie [Grace] yet. Chris Scott, the choreographer, just went straight into ‘let’s see what you can do.’ It was the first [dance] routine of ‘In The Heights,’ the opening number. He was like, ‘OK, let’s go. Five, six, seven, eight!’”

Rubin-Vega said that she tried to bring her best game, though it had “been a minute” since she had to execute such intricate choreography, noting that they shot the opening number within a day while praising Chu’s work ethic and leadership.

“There was a balance between focus and fun and that’s rare. Everyone was there because they wanted to be there,” she said. “I think back to the day we shot ‘96,000.’ That day it wouldn’t stop raining; [it was] grey and then the sky would clear and we’d get into places and then it would be grey again and so we’d have to wait and just have to endure. But even the bad parts were kind of good, too. Even the hottest days. There were gunshots, there was a fire while we were shooting and we had to shut down, there was traffic and noise and yet every time I looked around me or went into video village and saw the faces in there, I mean…it felt like the only place to be. You want to feel like that in every place you are: The recognition. I could recognize people who look like me. For now on, you cannot say I’ve never seen a Panamanian on film before or a Columbian or a Mexican, you know?”

Another Notion of Beauty

Rubin-Vega’s professional relationship with the playwright Hudes extends to 2015, when she was tapped to [participate in the] workshop [production of]  Daphne’s Dive. Under the direction of Thomas Kail (Hamilton) and starring alongside Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Orange Is the New Black”), the play premiered Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center the following year. Rubin-Vega also starred in Miss You Like Hell, the cross-country road musical by Hudes and Erin McKeown, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2016 before it transferred to The Public Theater in 2018. With her participation in the production of In the Heights, she is among the few to have collaborated with all of the living Latinx playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize; Hudes won the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Water by the Spoonful, while Miranda took home the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton. Speaking on her multiple collaborations over the years, Rubin-Vega also acknowledged having known Miranda years before they would join voices.

“Lin to me is like a little bro or legacy; he’s a direct descent to me from [Rent author] Jonathan Larson, which is a bigger sort of all-encompassing arch,” she said, though she stressed that she auditioned like everyone else, landing the role after two or three callbacks. “Quiara and I have a wonderful working and personal relationship, I think. Which isn’t to say I had dibs by any means because…it’s a business that wants the best for itself, I suppose. […] So, when I walked in, I was determined to really give it my best.”

Life During and After Rent

Rubin-Vega has built an impressive resume over the course of her career, singing along with the likes of rock stars like David Bowie and starring in a multitude of divergent roles on Broadway and off. From a harrowing Fantine in Les Misérables and a co-dependent Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire to a sinister Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show, her evolution into the atypical character actor and leading lady can be traced back 25 years to January 25, 1996, when Larson’s groundbreaking musical Rent, a retelling of Giacomo Puccini’s 19th-century opera La Bohème, premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop. On the morning of the first preview, Larson suffered an aortic dissection, likely from undiagnosed Marfan’s syndrome and died at the age of 35, just ten days shy of what would have been his 36th birthday.

On April 29, 1996, due to overwhelming popularity, Rent transferred to Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, tackling contemporary topics the Great White Way had rarely seen, such as poverty and class warfare during the AIDS epidemic in New York City’s gritty East Village at the turn of the millennium. Rubin-Vega would go on to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as sex kitten Mimi Márquez, an HIV-positive heroin addict and erotic dancer.

  The show became a cultural phenomenon, receiving several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Rubin-Vega and members of the original Broadway cast were suddenly overnight sensations, recording “Seasons of Love” alongside music icon Stevie Wonder, receiving a photo shoot with Vanity Fair and landing the May 13, 1996 cover of Newsweek. Throughout its 12-year Broadway run, many of the show’s original cast members and subsequent replacements would go on to be stars, including Renée Elise Goldsberry, who followed in Rubin-Vega’s footsteps to play the popular character before originating the role of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

When the screen adaptation of Rent hit cinemas in 2005 under the direction of Chris Columbus, Rubin-Vega’s conspicuous absence came as a blow to longtime fans. The confluence of pregnancy with the casting and filming process of Rent hindered her from participating at the time. The role was subsequently given to movie star Rosario Dawson.

“First of all, if you’re meant to be in a film, you’re meant to be in it,” Rubin-Vega said. “That’s just the way it goes. It took a quarter of a century but this [In the Heights] is a film that I wanted to make, that I felt the elements sat right. I always felt that Rent was a little bit darker than all that. Rent to me is Rated R. In The Heights is not. It’s also a testament. Unless it’s sucking your soul and killing you softly or hardly, just stick with it. This is a business and I keep forgetting it’s a business because actors just want to show art. So, it’s really wonderful when you get a chance to say what you mean and mean what you say with your work. It’s a really wonderful gift.”

Rarely-Explored Themes

Like Larson’s award-winning show and the film adapted from it, In The Heights is jam-packed with hard-hitting subject matter, addressing themes of urban blight, immigration, gentrification, cultural identity, assimilation and U.S. political history. When Rubin-Vega’s character Daniela and her partner were priced out of the rent for her salon, most of her clientele moved to the Grand Concourse Historic District in the Bronx. Her salon, a bastion of the community, is met with a polar response when she announces she’s joining the mass exodus with the other victims of gentrification who were pushed out by rising rents. The news is met with negative response from long-time patrons who refuse to take the short commute to the new location. Daniela counters, “Our people survived slave ships, we survived Taino [indigenous Caribbean people] genocide, we survived conquistadores and dictators…you’re telling me we can’t survive the D train to Grand Concourse?”

The question is humorous, but also insinuates a more nuanced understanding of the AfroLatinidad experience in the Western world. The film also looks at the American Dream with a naturalistic approach. Leslie Grace, who plays Nina Rosario, a first-generation college student returning from her freshman year at Stanford University and grappling with finances and the expectations of her community, noted that while her character “finds [herself] at some point at a fork in the road,” she may not have the luxury to be indecisive because of the pressures put on by family, community and country.  

“The struggle of the first-generation Americans in the Latino community is not talked about a lot because it’s almost like a privilege,” Grace asserted. “You feel like it’s a privilege to talk about it. But there is a lot of identity crisis that comes with it and I think we explore that.” Speaking on the character, she elaborated: “Home for her is where her heart is, but also where her purpose is. So, she finds her purpose in doing something outside of herself, greater than herself and going back to Stanford for the people she loves in her community. I really relate to where she’s at, trying to find herself. And I think a lot of other people will, too.”

Worth Singing About

For Miranda, a first-generation Puerto Rican New Yorker that grew up in Inwood at the northernmost tip of Manhattan before attending Wesleyan University where he would develop the musical, this speaks to a larger issue of what defines a home.

“What does ‘home’ even mean? Every character is sort of answering it in a different way,” he said. “For some people, home is somewhere else. For some people, home is like ‘the block’ they’re on. So, that’s worth singing about. It’s worth celebrating in a movie of this size.”

Given the current zeitgeist, it’s no wonder why Chu, Hudes and Miranda decided to pivot with adapting the stage musical for the big screen, leaning in to tackle the plights and predicaments of DREAMers [children of undocumented immigrants seeking citizenship] stateside. In one scene, glimpses of posters at a protest rally read “Immigrant Rights are Human Rights” and “Refugees Are People Too.” Growing up in a multicultural household as a Latina with a Black Latina mother, a white father and a Jewish American stepfather, Rubin-Vega said she was used to being in spaces that were truly multiracial. Nevertheless, there were times when she often felt alien, especially as a du jour rock musical ingenue who looked as she did in the mid-1990s through the 2000s.

“Undocumented people come in different shapes and colors,” she noted. “To be born in a land that doesn’t recognize you, it’s a thing that holds so much horror… so much disgrace happens on the planet because human beings aren’t recognized as such sometimes.”

The film “definitely sheds light on that, but it also talks about having your dream taken away and its human violation—it’s a physical, spiritual, social, cultural violation,” Rubin-Vega said. “There’s a difference between pursuing dreams and being aware of reality. They’re not mutually exclusive. What this film does, it presents a story that is fairly grounded in reality. It’s a musical, it’s over the top… but it reflects a bigger reality, which is like an emotional reality…that people that are challenged on the daily, have incredible resolve, incredible resoluteness and lifeforce.”

She said: “Growing up, looking like me, I got to ingest the same information as everyone else except when it came time to implement my contributions, they weren’t as welcomed or as seen. The dream is to be seen and to be recognized. Maybe I could be an astronaut or an ingenue on Broadway? You can’t achieve stuff that you haven’t imagined. When it talks about DREAMers, it talks about that and it talks about how to not be passive in a culture that would have you think you are passive but to be that change and to dare to be that change.”

Dreams Come True

Dreams are coming true. Alongside the nationwide release of the much-anticipated film, Random House announced it will publish In the Heights: Finding Home, which will give a behind-the-scenes look at the beginnings of Miranda’s 2008 breakout Broadway debut and journey to the soon-to-be-released film adaptation. The table book will chronicle the show’s 20-year voyage from page to stage—from Miranda’s first drawings at the age of 19 to lyric annotations by Miranda and essays written by Hudes to never-before-seen photos from productions around the world and the 2021 movie set. It will be released to the public on June 22, eleven days after the release of the film; an audiobook will be simultaneously released by Penguin Random House Audio.

Hinting at the year-long delay due to the pandemic, Rubin-Vega said, “It’s been a year waiting, you know. It’s like the lid’s been on it and so we’re just so ready to explode.”

Bigger Dreams

“Jon [Chu], I think, dreams bigger than any of us dare to dream in terms of the size and scope of this,” Miranda said. “We spent our summer [in 2018] on 175th Street. You know, he was committed to the authenticity of being in that neighborhood we [all] grew up in, that we love, but then also when it comes to production numbers, dreaming so big. I mean, this is a big movie musical!”

Miranda continued, “We’re so used to asking for less, just to ask to occupy space, you know? As Latinos, we’re, like, ‘Please just let us make our little movie.’ And Jon, every step of the way, said, like, ‘No, these guys have big dreams. We’re allowed to go that big!’ So, I’m just thrilled with what he did ’cause I think it’s bigger than any of us ever dreamed.”

Speaking at the online press conference, Miranda said, “I’m talking to you from Washington Heights right now! I love it here. The whole [movie] is a love letter to this neighborhood. I think it’s such an incredible neighborhood. It’s the first chapter in so many stories. It’s a Latinx neighborhood [today]. It was a Dominican neighborhood when I was growing up there in the ’80s. But before that it was an Irish neighborhood and Italian. It’s always the first chapter in so many American stories.”

[cywscross]

From @lightveils on Twitter (free to use wherever!). I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. I definitely have enough fics to fill it lol~

-0-

A Fic You Love Without Knowing The Source Material:

I was born for this by esama (Assassin’s Creed | Altair x Desmond | M)

Juno did her best to lead him to her preferred fate, but the end is coming and Desmond has doubts.

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At the end of a strained relationship, crime novelist Stiles chooses to hide from the world inside a bar with far too many motorcycles outside it for comfort. Here he'll meet the man of his dreams, eat food and propose marriage, all within the first five minutes.

Peter doesn't know who this kid is, but he's cute and looks like he could use a break. So he feeds him. He's not expecting a marriage proposal, but with what comes after, he doesn't really mind.

A Fic You’ve Reread Several Times:

Hooverville by twothumbsandnostakeincanon (Teen Wolf | Peter x Stiles | E)

Town to town, train to train, tent to tent.

By 1932, the dust had begun to blow and the jobs were gone.

Anonymity was a byproduct of looking for work, which made it both necessary and convenient.

Stiles had enough secrets of his own to know to look the other way when he saw something that shouldn’t be possible.

The ghost of a tail giving enough balance to disembark a moving train.

Near silent Latin whispered on the edge of a tent encampment.

A flash of burning eyes.

He had more than enough to worry about without adding the oddities of others, and besides- having unusually sharp teeth certainly didn’t make a man worse than the ones running from the wife and kids they couldn’t feed.

So Stiles kept his observations to himself. He kept his everything to himself.

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Stiles tried to look away, but for the first time he was stopped.

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A Comfort Fic:

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“How long since someone touched you, sweet boy?” Peter asks, his voice barely a breath in Stiles’ ear. “Days? Weeks? Months?” Stiles nods imperceptibly at that last one.

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A Cathartic Fic:

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Stiles wants to fly.

A Fic You’d Print And Put On Your Bookshelf:

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While Harry had been content with his second chance, that didn't keep him from thinking what he could have done different, how many people could have survived if he hadn't been set on the very specific path he'd walked. Third time is the charm, though, right?

A Fic You Associate With A Song (x2):

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The past three years have been a series of shocking, or not so shocking, successes for 2018 Tony award winner and two time Grammy nominee, Stiles Stilinski. You don’t typically find classically trained opera singers singing alternative folk rock to crowds at Coachella. Nor do you find indie singer/songwriters winning best actor awards at the Tony’s for their Broadway debuts. Stilinski has made it his lifetime habit to defy and exceed all expectations.

-or-

A Steter fic loosely based on Phantom of the Opera

~

Full Circle by Nike Femme (FMA | Roy x Ed | T)

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A Fic That Inspires You:

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In which Cloud gets a Virtual Reality Dream Console – ShinRa's latest in virtual reality technology. Aaand everything pretty much goes downhill from there.

A Fic That Brought You On Board A New Ship:

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The last time they'd spoken, Deckard had told Owen that he was tired of cleaning up his messes. But the first thing he did after breaking out of prison was to take Owen to the other end of the world so they could lick their wounds and start planning their revenge.

A Fic You Wish Could Be A Movie:

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It felt wrong for Steve to sound unsure of his place in Danny’s life. His place in Danny’s life was at Danny’s side, driving him slowly insane. Steve should feel secure about that.

A Fic That Led To You Making Friends With The Author:

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This is how it begins: a boy rejected by his family, a boy reunited with his brother by his sister-in-law's intervention. A boy who found a family in an online game. But how will it end?

FREE SPACE:

Reverti Ad Praeteritum by Batsutousai (Fullmetal Alchemist | Roy x Edward | M)

Unwillingly forced to serve as a human trial for a crazy alchemist experimenting with time travel, Edward Elric finds himself standing across from Truth in the moment it takes his leg from him. Armed with the knowledge of what's to come and burdened with guilt for the choices he'd made as an adult, Ed sets out to fix every mistake he ever made and save every life they ever lost, no matter what it takes.

A Fic You’ve Gushed About IRL:

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It's been three years since seven human experiments, called "Miracles," escaped Teiko Industries, alerting the world to the presence of super-powered children. Now they're finally integrating into society-- going to normal high schools, playing basketball, falling in love-- and trying to find out if it's possible to truly escape their past.

A Fic You Associate With A Place (have to self-rec for this one):

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Peter didn't think he'd find a home here. He certainly didn't think he'd find a home with two other men.

Chris and Stiles prove him wrong.

A Fic That Made You Gasp Out Loud (kind of? it was suspenseful):

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The Hale Wolf Sanctuary isn’t just for wolves.

It turns out it’s for Stilinskis as well.

A Fic You Found At The Right Time:

slow increments by Areiton (Teen Wolf | Peter x Stiles)

Peter is enigmatic, egotistical, sometimes barely sane. He's sharp and cutting and takes more time to care for the pack than anyone.And sometimes, John catches him watching Stiles.

A Fic That You Would Read Fic Of:

if you try to break me, you will bleed by Dialux (Game of Thrones | Jon x Sansa | T)

It had been a slash across her chest from a White Walker’s sword that finally ended her life. Sansa’d landed in a puddle of her own blood, and she’d died quickly, quietly.

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A Fic That Made You Laugh Out Loud:

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"I'm not a god!"

A Fic With A Line (Or Two) That You’ve Memorized By Heart:

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Between what was and what will be stands James Tiberius Kirk, in all his fractured patchwork glory. Because saving the Federation was only the beginning.

A Fic That Gave You Butterflies:

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A Fic That Embodies Something You Value In Life:

The Boy Sleuth by Shey (Teen Wolf | Peter x Stiles | T)

Stiles is eight when he discovers a box of his mom’s old Nancy Drew Mysteries in the back of the guest bedroom closet.

A Favourite AU:

Love What is Behind You by KouriArashi (Teen Wolf | Peter x Stiles | M)

Basically what it says on the label. Hunger Games type fusion. Stiles doing way better than anyone anticipates. Peter finds him intriguing. Ruthless, devious assholes working together to ruin bad guys, as the Steter ship is meant to be.

A Fic You Stayed Up Too Late To Finish Reading:

Of Dwobbits, Dragons and Dwarves by ISeeFire (The Hobbit | Fem!Bilbo x Fili | T)

Bilba has been a slave her entire life. All she knows of the outside world is what she sees from time to time outside the gates of Moria and the stories her mother used to tell her. Stories of a place called the Shire where her mother once lived and a placed called Erebor where, as far as she knows, her father still lives. Stories of dragons a thousand times larger, and more intelligent, than the beasts the orcs rode and of a strange concept called freedom where one was allowed to live as they wished with no one to tell them what they could, or could not do.

The stories meant little to Bilba. The only future she had was to live, and die, as a slave as countless number had before her.

And then the orcs dragged an injured female firedrake through the gates, her rider screaming obscenities behind her as he fought to reach her side...and everything changed.

A Fic That Made You Feel Seen (another self-rec lol):

i am addicted to death (so remind me what it’s like to live) by cywscross (Teen Wolf | Peter x Stiles | T)

Stiles is sixteen years old. He has already died seventy-eight times.

[yea-im-smokin-pot]

this is boring but...STARKID SHOW RANKING

12. ani: a parody

ok so lemme explain, i love every starkid show, and i love ani. but i feel like its one of those shows where its like, some things are kinda better than this, yknow? also jar jar binks is one of the best characters in this musical.

11. firebringer

i literally perform this all the time in my room, but i feel like the writing on this isnt the bEeeSt? idk honestly. i love the female representation and im gay for lauren lopez, but this musical is not my absolute favorite.

10. holy musical b@man

i absolutely love the costumes, and i really dont wanna put it this low but iDk this is hard as fuuuuck. the writing is amazing, and by that i mean THE PUNS AND JOKES. they literally made the calendar man call batman and robin “april fools” and he also said “get ready to MARCH into your deaths” like WHAT. also jeff blim’s acting and timing is absolutely perfect.

9. me and my dick

i...fucking love this show? its one of the funniest shows if you’re into sex humor. joey’s heart is one of the best characters and boy am i a lesbian for ms. cooter. i absolutely love the production quality, its worse than a very potter musical somehow. i love how the quality of it has “5th grade sex ed” vibes. yknow?

8. a very potter sequel

oh boy am i gonna get hated for this. a very potter sequel is usually the favorite among the trilogy. ok in the harry potter trilogy, its not my absolute favorite, and it doesnt give the same vibe yknow??? but as a starkid show itself its really funny and the choreography is spectacular. thank james tolbert for that.

7. a very potter senior year

bro this one just HITS DIFFERENT YKNOW? if you ignore the fact that they have scripts on stage and that it seems rushed, then its really beautiful. i was watching it last night and i heard senior year play and i started SOBBING. the fact that it was the end of the trilogy was so sad. also, avpsy was supposed to be the last starkid show which makes it even sadder. the songs in this show are just so much better. for example, tonight this school is mine, sidekick, i was. THEYRE ALL B O P S ! joey richter’s vocals improved soo much and he deserved that solo.

6. twisted

DYLAN FREAKING SAUNDERS, GET THIS MAN ON BROADWAY. i love the character and emotion he put into ja’far. if i believed gets me every time, a tearjerker if i do say so myself. joe walker as prince achmed was the best choice honestly, now he’s one of my dream roles. also, jeff blim’s aladdin???? GOLDEN. thst scene where you find out he murdered his parents and he goes through this whole dialogue between his other identity is hilarious. the comedy is beautiful.

5. black friday

i might get attacked for putting this at number 5. but still, KENDALL NICOLE YAKSHE IS A FUCKING BLESSING. she’s only 13 and shes already top notch at acting. and honestly, i love mariah, i do, but im glad she didnt play lex. i loved angela’s version of her. also, IM SO HAPPY WE FINALLY HAVE AN ALTO. I CAN ACTUALLY SING TO BLACK FRIDAY AND CALIFORM.I.A. also, KIM WHALEN!!!!! HER VOCALS IN TAKE ME BACK ARE FUCKING ASTONISHING. robert manion is a BLESSING and jeff blim looks sosososo happy in this.

4. a very potter musical

i fucking love this musical. draco? a dream role. voldemort? mood. the songs? amazing. hotel? trivago. no but honestly, the reason why i like this musical so much is the nostalgia. whenever i listen to it just tear up a bit yknow? also this musical got me into glee so 😗✌️. also i feel like snape (joe moses) is so under appreciated in all three musicals??? like he’s so fucking funny. the music in this show is so good. also, quirrellmort??? beautiful.

3. the guy who didnt like musicals

and now, the musical that got me into starkid, this mess. ah yes, it was a hot july day. i was performing in a play, but oh shit i had strep!!! so i missed our last dress rehearsal :( but if it wasnt for that, i probably wouldn’t even know what starkid is. i remember trying to watch this musical when it first came out, but for some reason i had a fear of jeff blim so i turned it off. but i watched it and was like “DAYUM” also, robert manion’s hip wiggles are really fucking hot for some reason. i found this musical really funny and im really into comedy. the opening number? golden. the ending is where its at though, INEVITABLE. jon matteson has a really nice voice. and mariah rose faith, A GODDESS!!!! i had been watching mariah’s (@linguinismansion) covers ever since i got into theatre. i loved her dead girl walking cover and her world burn cover. (and now shes in mean girls!! wooo!) im also 90% sure mariah is why im a lesbian so...thanks...i guess?? anyway i love this show and its chaotic cast

2. trail to oregon

you guys are probably very confused as to why this is second. I TOLD YALL I LIKED COMEDY. jeff blim’s writing is fucking amazing. the music? godly. cornwallis? sexy. for some reason when i first watched this i found jeff blim sexy??? dont ask??? but its really hilarious and it honestly is just my family taking a road trip. c h a o t i c. the son is my dream role and if i ever play him then i want my name to be onion. dont ask. but i love the plot and music so much. also joey richter’s constant quick changes in independence are impressive as fuck!!! also he’s so good at every role in this musical. 11/10

1. starship

this might be a shocker since i never talk about it or have never used it in any of my posts. but every time i watch this musical, i cry. i fucking love status quo and joey richter has come so far in singing and theatre. he’s honestly so fucking good. status quo is the best starkid song, there i said it. also, im such a fucking lesbian for taz. her spanish accent, wow im gay. and dont get me started on dylan, the arm structure that you need to hold up pincer’s puppet, damn. he had his arms up for like 12 minutes!!! kick it up a notch is one of the best villain songs in all of starkid. also, brian holden is just fucking...making me question my sexuality, i dont know why but junior is cute as shit. it might be the hair i dont know. starship needs more recognition in the starkid fandom. im not saying it’s underrated like how ani and me and my dick are, but its very rare that you hear that this show is someone’s favorite. this musical is so fucking good and the music is just mWa! s p e c t a c u l a r.

[hockeylvr59]

Proving Your Worth Part 9 || Jonathan Toews

Requested: [ ] yes [ ] no [x] sorta

Authors Note: Well this is another thing that took me forever because I wasn’t quite sure where to take it. It’s kind of another transition chapter but there’s some cute relationship content in it as well. Hopefully, you enjoy it. Gif credit to jokiiharju.

Warnings: none        

Word Count: 2,075

~~~~~~~~~

Thanksgiving at home had been something you’d been looking forward to. Because your mom worked retail, she had to work until 2pm meaning that you would just spend the morning with your sisters watching the parade before heading to a family friend’s house for dinner and board games while football played in the background. This had been your family’s routine for quite a few years and it was one you enjoyed tremendously. 

Having woken up with a severe bout of morning sickness was not how you’d wanted to start your day. You didn’t exactly want to deal with all of the questions of why you were vomiting because you still hadn’t told your family that you had gone through with artificial insemination and were expecting. Thankfully your mom had already left for work and only your dad and sisters were home and all three of them were still asleep upstairs as you knelt over the downstairs toilet. You knew you needed to tell them but it was something that was better done in person and you hadn’t wanted to get into it after arriving home the night before. 

Thankfully, after grabbing some crackers from a cabinet in the kitchen your stomach settled and by the time the rest of the house awoke, you were feeling fine once more. The beginning of the parade with the Broadway performances was always the best part for you and your sisters and the three of you chatted while watching, pausing to make brunch partway through and then fast-forwarding through the commercials. 

It wasn’t until the parade was over that any of you made the effort to get dressed, and since this was never a super formal affair, you slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweater, pulling your hair back and doing a bare minimum makeup job. It wasn’t like you were trying to impress anyone, and now that things between you and Jon were serious and committed...you felt even more confident just being yourself. You had been surprised to find that buttoning your jeans had been harder than usual but since you didn’t have a mirror, you didn’t notice that almost overnight your stomach had started to pudge out just a little, the next physical sign that there really was a baby growing inside of you. 

With the Hawks in Florida for Thanksgiving, you were expecting a call from Jon at some point but it hadn’t arrived by the time you left the house headed 20 minutes north. 

Dinner was delicious and the company had you laughing hysterically within minutes of arriving. Your family friends had lived in Chicago for a number of years so you enjoyed talking about all of the things you got to see while living there including all of the home hawks games, your job making their sons jealous. It was while you were talking about the hawks season that your phone buzzed and pulling it out of your back pocket you immediately couldn’t help but smile seeing that Jon had sent you a text. Opening it you were surprised to find that attached was a video...that was new...and after excusing yourself for a moment, you slipped into the next room to play it. 

Jon’s smiling face filled your screen and you watched as he wished you a happy thanksgiving before suddenly the screen was being jostled and you could see the rest of the team sitting around a long table with mounds of food on it all yelling at you with the same well wishes. It was cute and made you smile to know that since he knew you were busy that instead of calling he just decided to make you feel a little bit included into his own holiday. By the time you had finished watching the clip, another text had come through asking if the two of you could talk later that night because he missed you. Your heart fluttered and you knew that you were in so deep, but for some reason, now you weren’t scared of that feeling. 

When you returned to the living room, you found a room full of people figuring out how to cast photos from their iPhones to the new tv your friends had recently gotten. You debated for a moment about the thought that had popped into your head and after a moment you decided that it certainly couldn’t hurt.

“Let me try. I just got a cute video you guys should see.” You declared, quickly following the directions that had been discussed as you were walking into the room. After a moment the paused text message video popped up on the screen. There wasn’t anything in it that would signal anything more than friends and coworkers so you didn’t think Jon would mind if you shared it. Pressing play you watched the video once more, smiling to yourself at the rambunctious group of men that you were becoming closer and closer to through your relationship with Jon. 

When it finished, half of the room was staring at you and you quirked a brow in confusion. “What....you think I don’t know the guys?” You declared playing it off. “They’re in Florida having a team thanksgiving and decided to share.” Though that video itself wasn’t likely to end up on social media you were sure one like it would since at least some of the younger guys had active social media accounts. 

The youngest of the boys shook his head after a minute. “Wait...you don’t just work for the Hawks, you interact with the players?” He questioned causing you to laugh. 

“Yeah...I mean I deal with their paperwork at the beginning of the season and it’s not like I don’t run into them in the halls. I’ve talked with some of them before, been invited to a night out drinking.” 

“That’s so cool.” He stated amazed. You could tell that he was about to start asking a million questions that you really didn’t want to answer if you didn’t cut him off.

“I’ll just tell you that they’re all pretty funny guys and they have some great stories to share but I’m not about to go breaking their trust by saying anything more than that.” 

Thankfully the subject was quickly changed and before long you were all surrounding the table once more with another silly board game in the middle.

The rest of the evening passed quickly and it wasn’t long before you had headed home. With your mom having to work early the next morning she headed to bed and your dad and sisters decided to hit some of the sales to do some Christmas shopping. They’d invited you to join but you were aching to talk to Jon and so you declined, instead deciding to enjoy the beautiful night, grabbing a blanket and heading outside to make a small fire in the fire pit. 

With that going you curled up on the outdoor loveseat and texted to see if Jon was available to talk. Not even a minute later your phone was ringing and an easy smile slipped onto your face as you answered. 

“Hey, handsome.” You breathed, your smile growing as you heard him hum in response through the telephone. 

“Hey.” He whispered back and you could hear the fatigue in his voice. 

“How’s Florida? You sound tired. If you want to go to bed I won’t be mad, I know it’s late.” You stated, quickly being cut off with the assurance that he wanted to talk to you. 

“Florida is good. Warm.” He declared. “Call me crazy but I can’t wait to get back to Chicago on Saturday night.” 

“You might be a little crazy.” You teased. “But trust me, as much as I love home I can’t wait to get back to Chicago too...I miss you.” 

“Miss you too gorgeous.” He murmured. When he spoke again his voice had dropped in volume. “Miss baby too.” He added. “How’s little one doing?” 

“I mean besides still making me sick they’re great.” You assured him, loving that you had reached a point where the air was finally clear between the two of you considering the slightly odd circumstances of it all. 

For a few minutes, the two of you just talked about random things, Jon telling you stories about the boys and you telling him about the “green dumpster monster” in one of the games you’d played. When the laughter died down, Jon went silent for a minute before speaking hesitantly. 

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked. Ignoring the fact that he just had you assured him that of course, he could. “Do you wanna invite your family to Chicago for Christmas? Maybe these family friends you’re close to  too since they’re from the area.” Before you could even respond he continued. “Just hear me out...I was thinking...we’re on the road before and after Christmas so my parents and David are gonna come to Chicago...I thought maybe if everyone was in Chicago we could do our mornings in individual groups and then have everyone over for dinner.” 

There were so many overwhelming things with that question. First, your apartment was not big enough to hold your entire family. You were already aware you needed to find someplace larger before the baby arrived. Two, he wanted your parents to meet his parents. That was...that was really serious, especially because the two of you would have only been official for a month by Christmas. Hearing your silence, Jon backpedaled. “It’s okay if that’s too much I just. I want to spend Christmas with you. And with the baby, I figured...well I figured that yeah our families should meet sooner rather than later.” Thinking about it still, you bit your lip because it was a lot but he was right. 

“No...Jon...you have a point. You just took me off guard.” You admitted. “I just...my apartment isn’t big enough for my family and while you’re right about the second part, that’s just...it’s a little overwhelming.” 

“I know it is,” Jon assured you. “But if it’s something you want I’d be happy to get your family a hotel room and don’t even try and talk me out of that. I...I just want you to know how serious I am about this...about you and with my career family can be hard and I don’t want to let an opportunity pass by because of fear. Little one deserves all of the good things. So do you.” 

With everything Jonathan was doing for you, it was hard to tell him that you wouldn’t do something that clearly meant so much to him. 

“Okay. I’ll talk to my parents.” You declared. “But are you sure about adding even more people to the mix?” You prodded knowing that while his place was large, that would be a lot of people to entertain when he was only getting back into town the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. His response was immediate though.

“Of course I am. If they’re important to you, they’re important to me and if they’d be interested in being in the area anyway I see no reason not to add a few more to dinner. We’ll have a chef of course.” He elaborated, quickly clearing the air that he had no plans on cooking. 

“Okay.” You simply murmured, a yawn slipping from your throat. 

“Okay.” He echoed, and you could practically hear his smile through the phone. “I’ll let you get some sleep.” He breathed after a moment having heard your yawn. “But hey...come over when you get back to Chicago?” He requested. 

“I’d like nothing more.” You agreed, promising to do just that. After saying goodnight you hung up the phone and after adjusting the dying fire so that it was extinguished, you headed inside and to the couch to sleep, thoughts of how to tell your parents about the baby and ask them about Christmas filling your head. 

Three days later you were snuggled up on the couch in Jon’s arms having told your family about your little one and having inquired about Christmas in Chicago. Your mom agreed to see if she could get off work and so though Christmas plans were pending, they were headed in a positive direction. Things were looking up, and it was all thanks to a certain brown-eyed man. 

[suhmayzooka]

cursed child broadway, feb. 23, 2020

third time seeing cc in three months for one reason: my sister is, in her words, “in love with joey labrasca” (karl).  she thinks he’s absolutely perfect.  this past week i’ve endured her talking about how hot he is.  i mean, i’ve gotten quite a bit of good lily luna material for my fics now, but at what expense? did i need to know that joey’s (very mild) acne made him look handsomer? did i need to know about how deep his eyes are? did I?

i teased her about what she’d do if he wasn’t on, and she said she’d be so upset.  

we get to the theatre, i look at the cast…and james romney was karl.

my sister was shocked.  the love of her life, who most likely has forgotten about her existence, wasn’t there for what looks to be our final time seeing the year 2 cast.  she was devastated.

we also got to see antoinette robinson as hermione and tom patrick stephens as ron!  and sarita amani nash was myrtle!!  and kimberly dodson as polly!!

james!karl was great and i will bombard my sister with as much james romney content as i can in order to piss her off further :)

patrick du laney was the sorting hat and aaron bartz was the station master.  we actually saw aaron walking into the theatre as we waited outside for part 2.  he definitely has the draco swagger.

anyway let’s get to the good stuff!

~james snyder as harry! great as usual. i don’t think he did much differently than last time, or if he did it wasn’t very noticeable.

~diane davis as ginny – same w james.  i think she held on to albus longer when they hug in godric’s hollow this time?

~jonno roberts as draco: okay this guy singlehandedly inspired me to start a fic back in december (that has…….yet to be finished………) with how his draco and bubba’s scorpius behaved and this was no exception.  idk whether his mic got caught on something or if he was really bringing it all out, but when he shoves scorpius’s head against his desk in the dark world, he GROWLED the “you do NOT use her name in vain” line ???? i’ve never heard him say it like that, it’s usually more of a hiss.  idk how to describe how he said it other than “growl.” almost like an animal.

then when he said “do it safely, i can’t lose you too” he’s looking directly at scorpius.  it’s different from how i’m used to seeing him and closer how i picture him saying it; usually he’s looking away, like he’s afraid of showing vulnerability to scorpius.  but here, with him looking directly at him, and said with so much emotion and love, even in such a dark place…oOOF

he refused to let go of scorpius when they met again in godric’s hollow.  my heart…..always one arm around scorpius’s shoulders, or one hand on his chest, as scorpius clings on to him.

~kimberly!polly SMILED and giggled when she stepped in blood? “oh, potter, i’ve got blood on my shoe!” *delighted* and then as the staircase rolled away, she turned on her stomach to gaze down at scorpius, grinning flirtatiously.  this is my second time seeing her as polly, but from what i remember, katherine!polly wasn’t as sadistic in the dark au as she was.  i personally prefer kimberly!polly.

~sarita!myrtle!! like w kimberly!polly this is my second time seeing sarita!myrtle and i don’t really remember much about lauren!myrtle to compare, but sarita!myrtle was hilarious.  she got a round of applause just for appearing.  “girls….*turns around, stares directly @ albus* AND BOYS” *albus turns around, confused, as if she’s talking to someone behind him* UGHHH she’s so good and she’ll absolutely kill it as (main) polly, i can feel it.

~this was my first time seeing jack pravda as young harry! his voice is deeper than zell’s, and he was so adorably confused in the graveyard scene.  “why are there so many flowers?”

~antoinette!hermione was a lot less playful than jenny!hermione.  she does try for comedic effect, but she’s a bit more serious overall.  she was so scary in the first timeline!  when she waves her wand to dismiss the class and she’s standing all alone, she looks out with such a distant, despairing expression, then composes herself immediately. 

~tom!ron was very funny!  again, my issue with ron in cc comes down to how he was written.  he may have been relegated to shitty comic relief (why……is one of the first things he says……a fart joke…..?), but it’s up to the actors do what they can to flesh out some semblance of a likeable character from the bs that the script gave us.  and tom!ron was great!! he’s not as…dopey? dorky? as matt!ron, who’s very funny but a bit—childish? i guess? tom!ron feels more like an adult who still has a childish sense of humor, if that makes sense.

~ROMIONE.  watching a new take on romione was like falling in love w romione all over again.  tom/antoinette was a very loving pair.  jenny/matt tease each other a lot more, but tom/antoinette are more tactile.  their kiss was so sweet

~there’s hardly any love for sara farb’s delphi for some reason. i’m not sure why; her shift from delphi diggory to delphi riddle is so chilling. delphi diggory has a high pitched voice and is really goofy around albus.  scorpius absolutely hates her lmao.  as soon as she switches, her voice drops to a low growl and she’s downright terrifying.  i’m sad to see her go!

~WILL CARLYON.  is it possible to fall in love with the portrayal of a character in a handful of scenes? he’s got like five lines total but oh my god.  one thing a lot of people note about nicholas!albus is the way he’s so obviously a fourteen-year-old child.  will’s james sirius potter is SUCH a thirteen-year-old in the opening scene…it’s somewhat disconcerting watching this very-obviously-twenty-something-year-old man flap his arms going “WATCH OUTTT FOR THE THESTTRRAAAAAAALS” but it works? it’s believable?? he’s so close with lily luna.  this is my third time seeing him and every time he pretends to pounce on her and hug her during the thestral line i fall in love?? ginny scolds him and he is sheepish, but he won’t stop making the troll face at albus.  “SLITHERING SLYTHERIN STOP WITH YOUR DITHERING” *smacks albus*

~yeah i promised jsp content and i’m fucking delivering

~he’s sO excited watching albus get sorted. when the hat goes “SLYTHERIN” he’s absolutely shocked.  he’s confused.  he just stares at albus, confused, until yann (jonathan gordon, who once again gives us a delightfully dislikable yann) says some shit and james just turns to him and swats his hand at him.  he genuinely looked ready to fight yann.  i couldn’t tell but i think he tells him to stop?? it was hard to hear but his mouth definitely moved, i think to tell yann to cut it out.

~the scene with the students eavesdropping on mcgonagall’s meeting with the parents.  oh my god i don’t think he did anything that much differently than last time but i need to talk about this because i didn’t do it justice in my last recap.

~they sit on the stairs (iirc) top to bottom craig, yann, karl, rose, james.  i’m gonna ignore craig, yann, and karl since there are some serious family feels going on w rose and james

~jsp and rose begin the scene smiling, snickering as they hear that albus and scorpius fucked up.  “ahaha they got into deep shit” but then when they learn that they wrote rose and hugo (??whom??) out of time and then killed harry, their faces fall.  james’s eyes become vacant, far-off as he learns what happened to his brother.  his breathing becomes heavier and faster until he’s a few breaths from hyperventilating.  he leans his forehead against the stairwell/banister and shakes his head, mouthing/whispering “no…no…”

~nadia brown’s rose is such a little shit but she’s so good in this scene.  when she learns that she didn’t exist in the new timeline, she grabs james’s shoulder and he grabs her hand.  they don’t let go for the rest of the scene.

~i’m like half convinced that will got the part because of his amazingly expressive eyebrows.  i think my sister calls it “back row acting?” his eyebrows can probably be seen from the back row.  after the mcgonagall scene is over he sits on the stairs, raising one eyebrow at rose and hermione, then goes back to reading the scroll.

~i didn’t mean for this to become a will carlyon fan account but he deserves it.  according to nicholas he’s the biggest potterhead in the cast. he’s a ravenclaw. he can sing.  he’s so fucking valid and i’m so glad he’s staying for year 3.  he’s got two followers on youtube and one of them is me.  please guys like no one talks about him and i’ll fill this niche.  same with the lovely sarita. she’s so kind and so beautiful and so talented she can sing so well and she gives everything during wand dance listen i spent the beginning of this thing making fun of my sister for liking joey so much but sarita……..

~cc nyc said straight girl/lesbian solidarity  

~anyway…

~nicholas podany as albus.  so. Many. Tears.  i didn’t realize this before but his whole body trembles when he cries?? i first noticed this when he and harry were in the slytherin common room.  i was like “are his pajamas vibrating?? is this an optical illusion (they’re striped pajamas)???” no, his whole body was shaking with suppressed crying.  once i noticed i couldn’t un-notice and this continued for the rest of the show.

~bubba weiler’s scorpius didn’t seem much different from usual? i could go on about him but….that’s what my unfinished fic is for……one day……….

~okay so this is where i elaborate on the scorbus moments that made me want to YEET myself off the roof of the theatre (if you had to make sense of my typos on discord: i am Sorry)

~the slytherin dorm scene: scorpius tickles albus to wake him up.  he then makes himself comfortable on albus’s bed and won’t stop rubbing and patting his thigh.

~in addition to being austistic, bubba!scorp is bisexual (jon case would be proud) and here is PROOF: to flirt, bubba!scorpius leans against objects, sprawls his body out, plays with his hair, etc all extremely cheesy, greasy, suave moves.  he blows a kiss to polly as he’s sprawled across the stairs.  when he ROLLS down the stairs (looked painful…) to see rose at the end, he plays with his hair, shoots her a finger gun (further proof he’s bi), and lowers his voice.  but the comparison i need to highlight is THIS: when he says rose smells like bread, (1) he leans against the suitcases, trying to look suave, and (2) his face is instant regret. he silently bends back and mouths “WHAT WHY BREAD?? WHAT??? WHY???” and now…when he delivers his “ENGORGIMPRESSED” line to albus, he (1) leans against the sink, (2) grins, lowering his voice, and when the pun doesn’t land, (3) his face immediately falls, instant regret, the literal definition of “oH MY GOD WHAT WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT” the same expression he had when rose wasn’t impressed.  coincidence? i think NOT.  he’s trying so hard to flirt but he has no idea how to interact w people im --

~delphi in the church: when the adults have all surrounded delphi with their magic in the center of the stage, albus, ginny, and scorpius are huddled together. scorpius is behind albus, clutching his shoulder and hand.  albus breaks free for “SHE’S A MURDERER I’VE SEEN HER MURDER” (an underappreciated line imo) and scorpius just watches him, clearly wanting to help but not knowing how

~the final hug.  my initial, endorphin-fueled reaction was, verbatim: “THE FUNAL HUG NSCWR SEEN IR LAST SO LLNG NEVER SAW NICJ HUG HIM BACK NOSES ALMOST TOYCHONF.”  not even this is enough to convey my reaction to the final hug, but i’ll try my best to transcribe it.  

scorpius: runs up the stairs, grabs albus into a hug

albus: stunned for a moment, then wraps his arms around scorpius’s shoulders and hugs him back, burying his face into the crook of scorpius’s neck.  this is the first time i’ve seen him hug back, at least so fiercely.  they stand there for a good 3-5 seconds, then albus says, quietly, “what’s this? i thought we didn’t hug.”

scorpius, pulling back but still close to albus: “i wasn’t sure whether we should…” *looks up at albus, literal inches from his face* “in this new version of us…” *more gazing into each other’s eyes for a few seconds*

albus: “well…you better ask rose if it’s the right thing to do…” he sounded unsure? not as playful as before?

scorpius: *stares at albus for a few seconds* “a..aaha………..yeah right!”

he turns around and runs down the stairs.  albus goes “i’ll see you at dinner!” and scorpius turns around, smiles at him, and walks off, albus grinning and gazing so lovingly as he departs i’m gonna c r y

i can’t think of anything else to say about the show itself?  but my sister has given me a lot of material so i’m gonna talk about what went on with her because it’s relevant to our stage door interactions.

as we ate, she described how she would rewrite cc.  she has valid and absolutely invalid suggestions.  she would keep the father/son issues, make scorbus canon, remove or rewrite rose, and rewrite delphi’s backstory (valid).  she would remove the sorting hat and the dark timeline (not valid).  

during the intermission between acts 3 and 4, we started looking through the playbill and she started gossiping/venting about how much she hates the people in her school’s theatre (valid, since they’re bullying assholes).  i brought up a meme i sent her that i saw on twitter about how no high school theatre guys can sing, act, dance, and not be sexist.  somehow this discussion went back to nicholas podany? she was like, “i’ve been listening to his songs and deep blue is a low-key bop.” i asked if she heard his most recent song, telling myself.  she hadn’t and she immediately went to soundcloud to listen to it.  her reaction was PRICELESS.  she absolutely adored it.  she was dancing in her seat, going “okay this is actually really good??” like ofc it is? i don’t recommend bad songs? she tried to replay it but then her data ran out and the lyric theatre wifi is shit so she got very upset.  then the lights turned off and she reluctantly took out her earbuds.

there was a little girl (around 6-7ish, i’d say) in the very first row dressed as hermione for part one--complete with a doll and a broom.  for part two she was wearing a hedwig costume that looked homemade! she was very adorable, and bubba waved hello to her when he came for the curtain call.

stage door:

~sarita came out first! we told her that this was our third time at the show and second time seeing her.  i congratulated her on being cast as polly and she was so happy! dare i say…..loml

~tom and antoinette were so happy to have been the first cover romione we saw! tom was like “ah, you saw the best ron (himself)!” we were in front of a man from the uk who had seen the london show five times, and he and tom struck up a conversation about where they were from.

~nadia brown was so happy to see us! she didn’t remember us lmao but she’s so friendly

~edward james hyland (amos/dumbledore) was…politically campaigning?? the people in front of us were from vermont and he was like “ah…vermont…do you support bernie??” just like that.  they were caught off guard but i think they gave an affirmative answer, and he was like “and if he doesn’t get the nomination…?” they were still caught off guard and he just went “you’ll vote blue, right…? cause it’s the right thing to do….?” idk i’m firmly liberal but i thought this was a weird place to get political but okay

~EVERYONE was telling nicholas podany about how much they love telling myself.  he was telling the people in front of us about how it was mastered/mixed by solange’s producer(?) and my sister and i exchanged :0 looks.  she was getting shy, but i was like “tell him! he’ll love to talk about it, i guarantee it!” because even though i produce 0 content, i *am* an artist and i *do* know that we artists love validation

~so he came to us and she started talking about his songs! we’re fortunate that it was a more rock-y song so we’re…able to sound like we know what we’re talking about lmao.  growing up our mom would play us classical music (check out beethoven’s wig yo) and our dad would play us the ramones.  one of my earliest memories was arguing with my sister (probably around 4 at the time) about the lyrics to “i wanna be sedated” ahh… (she was correct btw)

~(don’t argue with me the ramones may not be poets but they’re valid)

~i was right! he was SO excited to talk to us!! my sister complimented the song and the production.  she said “i ADORE your new song!! it’s a high key bop!” and he broke into the BIGGEST smile.  she was like “i’m gonna play it until i hate it” and he said something along the lines of “i was in the studio listening to it nonstop for 8(??) hours i can’t stand it.”  he was talking about how he made the song with his “own scorpius” but i forgot who…he said scorpius and my mind blanked lmao.  he’s brought this person up before in interviews so i can probably find it.  she complimented the fact that it was different from his usual stuff and he told us about how he had a rock band in high school.  @nick where tf is your rock content pls deliver

~i actually spoke this time and cut in to tell him about how she was trying to listen to it on repeat but the signal gave out. she was trying to tell me to shut up but it’s my legal duty as the older sister to embarrass her.  

me: “I told her about your song during the intermission—”

her: “don’t!”

me: “no, nO, i told her and she was listening and then she ran out of data—”

him: “aaAa noo!”

her: “I listened to it!”

~then i told him that we loved seeing how he played albus and that we’re going to miss him, that we were going to see the cast change show but we couldn’t get tickets (i kindly left off the reason why), and he was so sweet about it *clenches heart* he told us how much he loves being able to experience this, that we’ll be so lucky to have james romney take over, etc etc i kinda wasn’t listening bc I was too emo, but I remember going “…but I don’t want to say goodbye…” and he just. gave me a sad look like “I know.”  there was so much pity in his expression.  why is he leaving us.

~the uk guy behind us was talking about how he’d seen the london year 3 and 4.  nicholas was like “oh, joe and dom? yeah i’ve spoken to joe and dom—wait, no, i haven’t met dom? i know he has an impressive social media presence” and they started talking about how different actors bring different things to albus and how the show allows them to explore different aspects to their characters and he just…wasn’t making any of this any easier for me lmao i’m mourning the loss of nick!albus and it’s not even march

~i feel bad that we weren’t able to speak with fiona reid (petunia/umbridge) because nicholas was talking to us.  

~jonno roberts.  this was the first time i’ve interacted w him at sd.  his draco has made such an impact on me, he’s my favorite actor in the show, and what do i say? what great words come out of my mouth? “hi you were great.” my sister KICKED me with her heeled boots. good thing i’m a lesbian because my doc martens protected my feet from the force of her anger.

~james snyder was enraptured in conversation with the people in front of us and just took our playbills to sign as he spoke with them. then he went “hi,” passed over us to talk to the guy behind us.  my sister was like “you were great!”

~tbh sd was kinda messy bc we were at the end of the line and the barrier things didn’t allow for the actors to get enough room to interact with the fans at the back. also jonno was standing there and he’s not a small man.

~saw several male actors leaving sd, waving goodbye at us and just walking away.  MOOD.  i was exhausted and i wasn’t the one running around on stage!

[jackie-talks-about-starkid]

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (Rewatch #11, 11/20/2020)

YouTube publish date: December 23, 2018

Number of views on date of rewatch: 4, 394, 741

Original Performance Run: October 11 - November 4, 2018 at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles

Ticket price: General Admission - $37, Priority - $69      Digital Ticket: $15      Rush Ticket via TodayTix: $18

Director: Nick Lang

Music and Lyrics: Jeff Blim

Book: Matt Lang and Nick Lang

Cast album price and availability: $9.99 on iTunes      Release date: December 23, 2018

Parody or original: original content, slightly inspired by Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Funding: $127,792 by 3,419 backers via Kickstarter (x)      Original Goal: $60,000

Main cast and characters

Paul - John Matteson

Emma - Lauren Lopez

Ted - Joey Richter

Charlotte - Jamie Lyn Beatty

Bill - Corey Dorris

Professor Hidgens - Robert Manion

Sam/General McNamara - Jeff Blim

Alice/Greenpeace Girl - Mariah Rose Faith

Musical numbers

     Act I

“The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals” Characters: Ensemble “ La Dee Dah Dah Day” Characters: Ensemble “What Do You Want, Paul?” Characters: Mr. Davidson and Paul “Cup of Roasted Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, and Emma “Cup of Poisoned Coffee” Characters: Nora, Zoey, Hot Chocolate Boy, and Ensemble “Show Me Your Hands” Characters: Sam, Police Woman, Police Man “You Tied Up My Heart” Characters: Sam and Charlotte “Join Us (And Die)” Characters: Charlotte and Sam

     Act II

“Not Your Seed” Characters: Alice and friends “Show Stoppin’ Number” Characters: Professor Hidgens “America Is Great Again” Characters: General McNamara and Ensemble “Let Him Come” Characters: Ensemble “Let It Out” Characters: Paul and Ensemble “Inevitable” Characters: Paul, Ensemble, and Emma

Notable Notes:

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals won 12 2019 BroadwayWorld Los Angeles Awards (x)

Best Musical - Local

Choreography - Local: James Tolbert

Costume Design - Local: June Saito

Director of a Musical - Local: Nick Lang

Featured Actor in a Musical - Local: Robert Manion (Joey Richter and Corey Dorris were the other two nominees in this category)

Featured Actress in a Musical - Local: Jaime Lyn Beatty (Mariah Rose Faith was also nominated)

Leading Actor in a Musical - Local: Jon Matteson

Leading Actress in a Musical - Local: Lauren Lopez

Lighting Design - Local: Sarah Petty

Musical Director - Local: Matt Dahan

Scenic Design - Local: Corey Lubowich

Sound Design - Local: Ilana Elroi and Brian Rosenthal

Cultural Context: 2018

The #MeToo movement originated by Tarana Burke gains international popularity on social media

The revival of Queer Eye premiers on Netflix

Beyoncé headlines Coachella (#Beychella), becoming the first black woman to do so for the music festival

Megan Markle marries Prince Harry

Avengers: Infinity War opens in theaters on April 27th

Content Analysis:

The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals has the most original concept of a musical I can think of for any piece of musical theatre, on Broadway or off. It is a musical that is focused on Paul, a guy who, believe it or not, doesn't like musicals, but due to a mysterious zombie-like infection brought to his town, Hatchetfield, finds himself stuck in an apocalyptic scenario in which anyone can be infected by a hive-mind that forces anyone it infects to behave as if they were in a musical. Because of this, the only people who actually perform musical numbers in the show are those around Paul who are infected with this musical disease, which makes each musical performance all the more dramatic, as well as allows for the acting of the main characters to be much more at the center of attention than they would normally be if the characters were expected to sing out their feelings as if the audience were watching them develop through the lens of a traditional musical.

The strong book and emphasis on the characterization of the small main ensemble highlights the incredibly strong performances by the actors. The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals is an interesting work in StarKid's repertoire in that the characters represented onstage are the most 'normal' characters the audience has seen in a StarKid universe. By now, the Starkid audience is used to seeing either parodies of well-known works, such as Harry Potter or the DC comic universe, inventive imaginings of other universes or periods of time, such as Starship or Firebringer. Yet, this production emphasizes the kind of characters and settings one sees in everyday life rather than the characters one sees in a sci-fi novel or fantasy world. The characters are played to represent a specific type of character often seen in media, and specifically mimic horror movie tropes with a comedic twist. For example, Professor Hidgens represents the off-kilter scholarly type, Paul is the everyday man dragged into the evil schemes of an unknown being's plot, Emma is the relatable final girl, etc. Yet, these character types and what they represent mirror the kind of everyday people we see in reality. Sure, they are written and played with comedic intent but their lives and place in the plot are human enough that the audience does not need to make the make-believe leap of connecting with non-human or glorified human characters-these people ARE human. Emma is an intelligent woman whose adventurous life turned into one full of grief for her sister and finds herself stuck in a terrible job in the hometown she tried so hard to get away from. Paul is a simple man playing the reluctant hero, but whose heart and genuine care for the people he is close to reminds us of the best of humanity when our society is constantly filled with examples of our worst behaviors. Bill just wants a relationship with the daughter he's drifting away from, Charlotte just wants her husband to love her, and Ted is there because, let's be honest here, we all know a Ted.

The characters also happen to be played by actors the audience would not expect to play that specific character type. For example, Joey Richter is known for playing lovable, funny, and relatable characters in StarKid's works, yet in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, he plays the most morally repugnant yet incredibly hilarious characters in the show and he plays that part so well and so convincingly that it's hard to believe he's actually playing against his type. Jaime Lyn Beatty, like other StarKid works, performs a strong, comedic character type as she always does, yet her performance as Charlotte has the most dynamic internal life of any character the StarKid audience has seen her play.

The most notable performance comes from Jon Matteson who plays Paul. His role as the protagonist, who is onstage nearly the entire, time holds the piece and the universe of the story together so perfectly. His dry delivery and incredible comedic timing work so well for the character that it feels as though you can go up to Matteson right after the finale and expect to talk to Paul himself because he embodies the role so well. Matteson’s performance feels so natural and honest that it's heartbreaking, even for the most fanatic musical theatre nerd, to watch him realize that he's fallen victim to the Apotheosis and turns into the thing he hates the most-a musical theatre character.

A horror-comedy musical is a hard thing to pull off, especially on a budget that was almost entirely crowdfunded, and even harder to execute successfully, which is why the only few commercial horror-musical comedy staples I can think of at the moment art Little Shop of Horrors, Sweeney Todd, and to a certain extent, Heathers. Yet the consistent hard work that goes into creating a StarKid musical and the unique environment that process produces makes anything seem possible and destined for success. The level of creativity going into this production company and the work they create as a team is something that just cannot be done with traditional musical theatre as seen on Broadway because of such large overhead and emphasis on creating a profit rather than creating art. There have been and will continue to be many different creative teams making unique musicals for the general public, but taking into account global accessibility for all demographics and concept originally, The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals proves StarKid continues to take the lead and doesn’t need the exclusion of any demographic in order to do so.

P.S. Happy Black Friday! Don’t forget to get in line to buy your Wiggly dolls ;)

[justjibberjabber]

To Phyllis

Phyllis had never been to the zoo.

Her mother had been an alcoholic, and though her father had once been a kind man, he had become bitter with years of Vera’s drinking and handling the busy hardware store on his own. Nobody had time or interest in taking her to the zoo. There was a period of Phyllis’s childhood, from about the ages of seven to ten, that she spent summers with an aunt and uncle at their cabin outside the city.

Every morning, she woke to the smell of bacon and eggs cooking on her aunt’s electric skillet. Her aunt Edna would brown a piece of toast, slather it in butter and jelly, and cut it in half – diagonally, the way Phyllis liked. Then she’d make a smiley face on Phyllis’s plate – the triangles of toast for eyes, an egg for the nose, and a greasy bacon smile.

After breakfast, her uncle Tom would take her out fishing on the lake in the jon boat, or maybe they’d pick up sticks for firewood. Some mornings they’d drive to the filling station in town for fuel and the newspaper, and uncle Tom would give her a nickel for the gumball machine. Phyllis remembered many evenings spent around the fire listening to the crickets and frogs in the woods, counting the stars that peaked through the canopy of trees, and roasting marshmallows. Sometimes Phyllis liked to catch the marshmallows on fire, let the outside burn to a black crisp, and then peel the burnt shell off to enjoy the warm gooey marshmallow within. Other times, she would hold them high above the flames so that they wouldn’t brown but would be hot on the outside while still cool on the inside.

During the final weeks of summer as Labor Day approached heralding the return to school – and to life with her parents – Phyllis’s despair would mount with each passing day. It was March of 4th grade, just as the crocuses were in bloom and the trees were starting to green and the days beginning to warm, that the news came of her aunt and uncle’s death in a tragic accident. The local fire chief suspected that a windy March night had blown embers in through the open kitchen window, setting their home aflame.

As Phyllis grieved that summer for the loss of her aunt and uncle, she did her best to stay out of her father’s way and to avoid her mother’s drunken fits. She tried making bacon and eggs with butter jelly toast the way her aunt Edna had, but the eggs were runny, the bacon burned, and her father never bought any jelly.

When she was seventeen, a young man named Jack started delivering supplies to her father’s hardware store. At the behest of her father’s constant prodding and persuasion, Phyllis and Jack were married shortly thereafter. She didn’t realize it at the time, but her father had been eager to have someone else “take care of” Phyllis – her mother had passed when she was 15 from cirrhosis of the liver, and the hospital bills and funeral costs had nearly drained the family of any savings. Marrying her off had allowed her father to sell the house and save himself from complete financial ruin; for a few years after, he used the back office of the store as his lodgings and ate one meal a day from the diner down the street.

Phyllis and Jack’s marriage was happy enough – they took the car for rides on Sundays, and would sometimes go see a picture together. Jack would say things that made Phyllis laugh, and somehow, against all odds, Phyllis became quite a good cook for Jack. Phyllis had decided there wasn’t much passion or romantic love in their relationship, but more of a friendship – a partner, someone to work through the hardships of life together, to keep one another’s company and stave off the loneliness, and that was enough for her. They both took it pretty hard when they were unable to conceive after years of trying, hoping, but resolved to live out their days together in the good way that they got along, regardless of the unusual circumstances of their coming together.

When Jack passed unexpectedly of an early morning heart attack at the age of 73, Phyllis struggled at first with living alone. She realized she had never actually been alone in all her life, even if, at times, those that kept her company were disinterested in her and aloof. She eventually fell into a new swing of things, though, and did her best to keep busy. She got a kitten the following spring from a neighbor whose cat had born a litter  – a pretty little calico with fluffy cheeks and a bushy tail. “Kitten” was her name, even as she became a full-grown cat, and Kitten would keep Phyllis company while she tended her garden until her knees and back became too bad to bear the work anymore. The arthritis in her hands eventually made her put down her knitting needles, and when she fell in the bathroom, she finally conceded to herself that maybe it was time to sell the house and move into “an old people’s home.”

Phyllis told me all of this after shuffling over to the bench to sit next to me in front of the lions at the Bronx Zoo. She had quite a stooping posture, but with the help of her walker, she seemed to be fairly steady on her feet. She told me that her assisted living home had planned an outing to the zoo that day, and she was not going to miss it for anything. She had just left the area where they kept the hippos, and was surprised to find out that hippo teeth don’t look like marshmallows after all, like they always did in the cartoons she watched as a kid. That was okay though, she’d told me – she really just wanted to see a great big lion open its great big mouth in a great big yawn, and she’d be happy. They held a yoga class once a week at her home, and she’d learned the “lion’s breath” technique. “How neat it’d be to do a lion’s breath with a real lion,” she had said.

I found out that Phyllis’s home was not far from the pastry shop where I worked, so I’d stop in to visit her once a week and bring her a baked treat. I never said much during our visits – Phyllis did most of the talking – but I was okay with that. I got the feeling that Phyllis hadn’t talked much during her life and maybe needed to get some things out.

Eventually, I started to notice that Phyllis didn’t seem to be doing as well as when I had met her, and I feared she was truly going downhill. I stopped in one day, and Phyllis was lying in bed. She told me she didn’t feel like getting up that day, and she’d never spent a single day of her life relaxing in bed before, so by god she was going to do it today. She lay on her side with the pillow crammed between her arm and her head. She turned her eyes to me, and I swear she looked straight into my soul with those dark brown eyes when she said, “Life is strange. You gotta make the best of it. And that means different things to different people.” I gave her hand a gentle squeeze, smiled, and said, “That’s really nice, Phyllis. Thank you.”

We had been sitting quietly for a while when Phyllis finally spoke. “Get in my desk over there for me. In the top drawer on the right. There’s something in there I want you to have.” I opened the drawer, and there, on top of a stack of old postcards, lay a Christmas ornament. She had bought it from the gift shop at the zoo the day of the zoo outing. It was a ceramic purple hippo wearing a Santa hat, mouth wide open revealing the perfect dentition within – perfectly white, perfectly round, perfectly marshmallow-shaped teeth.

She passed away eight days later. The nurses told me she suffered very little, which I was thankful for. More than all, I was thankful that Phyllis chose to sit at the bench outside the lion den, thankful that I was sitting at that very same bench at that very same moment, thankful to have made her acquaintance and have her friendship. Because of her and the life wisdom she imparted upon me, I took a chance on myself and auditioned for a part in a Broadway play. I got the part. My acting career blossomed from there, and I quit my job at the pastry shop. Phyllis’s purple hippo hangs from the rearview mirror in my car, and I think of her every day when I look in my mirror at the mother behind me screaming at her kids in the backseat, or the construction worker munching on a sandwich on his way back to the job site – all just everyday people making the best of their lives in the whatever way means the most to them.

My nephew Ben visits me for a couple weeks every summer. I make him bacon and eggs and butter jelly toast, except he likes the toast cut horizontally into two rectangles. Every night, we cook a few marshmallows on the stove – some of them we burn to a crisp, and some of them we hold high up over the flames so they’re hot on the outside and cool on the inside. We clink our marshmallows together in a toast to Phyllis. Although Ben was confused at first and didn’t know who Phyllis was, he now joins in wholeheartedly as we pay nightly homage to the woman who helped me become who I am.

“To Phyllis!” he says.

I smile and say, “Yes. To Phyllis.”

[tomhiddleslove]

How can a naked space seem so full? Feelings furnish the stage in the resplendently spare new production of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” which opened on Thursday night at the Bernard Jacobs Theater, and they shimmer, bend and change color like light streaming through a prism.

Directed by Jamie Lloyd — and acted with surgical precision by Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox — this stripped-down revival of Pinter’s 1978 tale of a sexual triangle places its central characters under microscopic scrutiny, with no place to hide. Especially not from one another, as everybody is on everybody else’s mind, all the time. They are also all almost always fully visible to the audience.

This British version is the most merciless and empathic interpretation of this much performed work I’ve seen, and it keeps returning to my thoughts in piercing shards, like the remnants of a too-revealing dream. I had heard good things about this “Betrayal” when it debuted in London earlier this year, but I didn’t expect it to be one of those rare shows I seem destined to think about forever.

“Betrayal” was dismissed as lightweight by Pinter standards when it opened at the National Theater in London four decades ago, and hearing it described baldly, you can sort of understand why. The high concept pitch could be: “Love among the literati in London leads to disaster, when a publisher discovers his wife is having an affair with his best friend!”

True, the play had an unusual structure, with its reverse chronology. (It begins in 1977 and ends in 1968.) Early critics regarded this as an unnecessary and confusing gimmick. As for all that brittle, passion-concealing wit and straight-faced deception, wasn’t that the stuff of old-guard West End masters like Coward and Rattigan?

With subsequent productions and a first-rate film in 1983 — featuring Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Hodge — earlier naysayers began to perceive a creeping depth and delicacy in the work, which for me now ranks among Pinter’s finest. Curiously, despite three starry productions (the most recent led by Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz), “Betrayal” has never been done full justice on Broadway.

Until now.

Mr. Lloyd’s interpretation balances surface elegance with an aching profundity, so that “Betrayal” becomes less about the anguish of love than of life itself. Specifically, I mean life as lived among people whom we can never truly know. That includes those closest to us; it also includes our own, elusive selves.

The three central characters here are Robert (Mr. Hiddleston); Emma (Ms. Ashton), his wife, a gallerist; and Jerry (Mr. Cox), a literary agent who was the best man at their wedding. Though the majority of the scenes are written for two, Mr. Lloyd keeps all his main characters onstage throughout. (He has also taken the liberty of introducing a fifth, silent character, in addition to the Italian waiter, played with gusto by Eddie Arnold, who appears in the original text.)

That means that when Jerry and Emma are in the rented, out-of-the-way flat where they meet in the afternoons, Robert is present as well — silent, unreacting and at some distance from the others, but undeniably there.

The hoary saying about three being a crowd comes to mind. But then sexual betrayal is inevitably crowded, isn’t it? The absent figure in the triangle is always there as an obstructive phantom, so that no interactions are unconditionally between two people. To borrow from Michael Frayn, whose “Passion Play” is my other favorite 20th-century drama about infidelity, adultery adulterates.

Mr. Lloyd’s “Betrayal” makes us feel this premise all the more acutely, by offering no distractions from the wounded and wounding souls at it center. As designed by the ever-ingenious Soutra Gilmour, and lighted with whispering subtlety by Jon Clark, the set remains a sort of modernist blank slate, like an abandoned contemporary showroom — or, perhaps, laboratory. Nor do the cast members ever change their clothes.

This means the focus is unflinchingly on how these friends and lovers behave, and on the distance between them (wonderfully underscored by a slyly, slowly moving stage). What they say is often as trivial as the most basic small talk. In Pinter, the greatest dramatic weight lies in what’s unspoken, in the darkness of unsorted feelings.

The three principal performers here allow us uncommon access to that darkness. They each achieve a state of heightened emotional transparency. And what we see, in their faces and bodies, and feel — in the less easily described energy that reaches across the footlights — is a harsh and beautiful muddle.

Pinter, like Chekhov, understood that reactions never come singly (though the shrilly opinionated discourse on social media today might lead you to think otherwise). The word “ambivalence” doesn’t begin to cover the thoughts in play in the first scene, when Jerry and Emma uneasily meet in a pub, two years after their affair has ended.

Emma has initiated this encounter. But as played with breathtakingly clear confusion by Ms. Ashton, she can’t explain why she did so. She’s looking for something she misplaced once, or let time carry off, but you know she can’t put her finger on what it is.

As played by the excellent Mr. Cox (best known here as television’s “Daredevil”), Jerry is less palpably unmoored; he would seem to have a thicker skin. And this shifts the center of “Betrayal” to its portrait of a marriage and its corrosive secrets.

As slender and sharp as a paring knife in his dark navy clothing, Mr. Hiddleston’s lacerating Robert seems to live in a state of existential mourning. He can be wittily combative, most memorably in a brilliantly staged restaurant scene with Jerry.

But you’re always aware of the regrets, the uneasiness, the sorrow behind the unbending facade. The scene in a Venice hotel room when he ever so gently, confronts Emma with evidence of her infidelity is almost too painful to watch. What you are witnessing is the conclusive collapse of a marriage’s fragile and necessary structure of illusions.

As a marquee name of films and tabloids, Mr. Hiddleston is the obvious draw here. But it’s the relatively little-known Ms. Ashton (who is also a playwright) who is the breakout star. And her deeply sensitive performance elicits a feminist subtext in “Betrayal.”

Power is a governing dynamic in Pinter. And I’ve seen productions in which Emma, as the only female onstage, emerges as a crushable odd-woman out in a boy’s club society. It’s telling that in this production she is the only major character who doesn’t wear a jacket or, more surprisingly, shoes.

She reads as more vulnerable because of this, but also as more humane and more open to figuring out just what has happened. Emma wants so much — professionally, romantically, domestically. And she’s harrowed by the realization that nothing she thought she had has ever been solidly hers.

More than ever in this version, which features a melancholy soundscape by Ben and Max Ringham, “Betrayal” becomes an elegy about time and memory, in which nothing stays fixed or certain. There’s new resonance to the continuing references to a joyful moment when Jerry threw Emma and Robert’s little girl into the air at a family gathering.

It’s mentioned in the very first scene, when Emma and Jerry meet again. The problem is they can’t agree on where the event happened, in his kitchen or hers.

Ms. Ashton’s Emma tries to conceal how much this small discrepancy upsets her, but her eyes are brimming. She thought she’d always at least have this memory intact — a vision of everyone, together, happy for a moment. It turns out she was mistaken.

-

[ Link to the full article in source below. ]

[insanityclause]

How can a naked space seem so full? Feelings furnish the stage in the resplendently spare new production of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal,” which opened on Thursday night at the Bernard Jacobs Theater, and they shimmer, bend and change color like light streaming through a prism.

Directed by Jamie Lloyd — and acted with surgical precision by Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox — this stripped-down revival of Pinter’s 1978 tale of a sexual triangle places its central characters under microscopic scrutiny, with no place to hide. Especially not from one another, as everybody is on everybody else’s mind, all the time. They are also all almost always fully visible to the audience.

This British version is the most merciless and empathic interpretation of this much performed work I’ve seen, and it keeps returning to my thoughts in piercing shards, like the remnants of a too-revealing dream. I had heard good things about this “Betrayal” when it debuted in London earlier this year, but I didn’t expect it to be one of those rare shows I seem destined to think about forever.

“Betrayal” was dismissed as lightweight by Pinter standards when it opened at the National Theater in London four decades ago, and hearing it described baldly, you can sort of understand why. The high concept pitch could be: “Love among the literati in London leads to disaster, when a publisher discovers his wife is having an affair with his best friend!”

True, the play had an unusual structure, with its reverse chronology. (It begins in 1977 and ends in 1968.) Early critics regarded this as an unnecessary and confusing gimmick. As for all that brittle, passion-concealing wit and straight-faced deception, wasn’t that the stuff of old-guard West End masters like Coward and Rattigan?

With subsequent productions and a first-rate film in 1983 — featuring Jeremy Irons, Ben Kingsley and Patricia Hodge — earlier naysayers began to perceive a creeping depth and delicacy in the work, which for me now ranks among Pinter’s finest. Curiously, despite three starry productions (the most recent led by Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz), “Betrayal” has never been done full justice on Broadway.

Until now.

Mr. Lloyd’s interpretation balances surface elegance with an aching profundity, so that “Betrayal” becomes less about the anguish of love than of life itself. Specifically, I mean life as lived among people whom we can never truly know. That includes those closest to us; it also includes our own, elusive selves.

The three central characters here are Robert (Mr. Hiddleston); Emma (Ms. Ashton), his wife, a gallerist; and Jerry (Mr. Cox), a literary agent who was the best man at their wedding. Though the majority of the scenes are written for two, Mr. Lloyd keeps all his main characters onstage throughout. (He has also taken the liberty of introducing a fifth, silent character, in addition to the Italian waiter, played with gusto by Eddie Arnold, who appears in the original text.)

That means that when Jerry and Emma are in the rented, out-of-the-way flat where they meet in the afternoons, Robert is present as well — silent, unreacting and at some distance from the others, but undeniably there.

The hoary saying about three being a crowd comes to mind. But then sexual betrayal is inevitably crowded, isn’t it? The absent figure in the triangle is always there as an obstructive phantom, so that no interactions are unconditionally between two people. To borrow from Michael Frayn, whose “Passion Play” is my other favorite 20th-century drama about infidelity, adultery adulterates.

Mr. Lloyd’s “Betrayal” makes us feel this premise all the more acutely, by offering no distractions from the wounded and wounding souls at it center. As designed by the ever-ingenious Soutra Gilmour, and lighted with whispering subtlety by Jon Clark, the set remains a sort of modernist blank slate, like an abandoned contemporary showroom — or, perhaps, laboratory. Nor do the cast members ever change their clothes.

This means the focus is unflinchingly on how these friends and lovers behave, and on the distance between them (wonderfully underscored by a slyly, slowly moving stage). What they say is often as trivial as the most basic small talk. In Pinter, the greatest dramatic weight lies in what’s unspoken, in the darkness of unsorted feelings.

The three principal performers here allow us uncommon access to that darkness. They each achieve a state of heightened emotional transparency. And what we see, in their faces and bodies, and feel — in the less easily described energy that reaches across the footlights — is a harsh and beautiful muddle.

Pinter, like Chekhov, understood that reactions never come singly (though the shrilly opinionated discourse on social media today might lead you to think otherwise). The word “ambivalence” doesn’t begin to cover the thoughts in play in the first scene, when Jerry and Emma uneasily meet in a pub, two years after their affair has ended.

Emma has initiated this encounter. But as played with breathtakingly clear confusion by Ms. Ashton, she can’t explain why she did so. She’s looking for something she misplaced once, or let time carry off, but you know she can’t put her finger on what it is.

As played by the excellent Mr. Cox (best known here as television’s “Daredevil”), Jerry is less palpably unmoored; he would seem to have a thicker skin. And this shifts the center of “Betrayal” to its portrait of a marriage and its corrosive secrets.

As slender and sharp as a paring knife in his dark navy clothing, Mr. Hiddleston’s lacerating Robert seems to live in a state of existential mourning. He can be wittily combative, most memorably in a brilliantly staged restaurant scene with Jerry.

But you’re always aware of the regrets, the uneasiness, the sorrow behind the unbending facade. The scene in a Venice hotel room when he ever so gently, confronts Emma with evidence of her infidelity is almost too painful to watch. What you are witnessing is the conclusive collapse of a marriage’s fragile and necessary structure of illusions.

As a marquee name of films and tabloids, Mr. Hiddleston is the obvious draw here. But it’s the relatively little-known Ms. Ashton (who is also a playwright) who is the breakout star. And her deeply sensitive performance elicits a feminist subtext in “Betrayal.”

Power is a governing dynamic in Pinter. And I’ve seen productions in which Emma, as the only female onstage, emerges as a crushable odd-woman out in a boy’s club society. It’s telling that in this production she is the only major character who doesn’t wear a jacket or, more surprisingly, shoes.

She reads as more vulnerable because of this, but also as more humane and more open to figuring out just what has happened. Emma wants so much — professionally, romantically, domestically. And she’s harrowed by the realization that nothing she thought she had has ever been solidly hers.

More than ever in this version, which features a melancholy soundscape by Ben and Max Ringham, “Betrayal” becomes an elegy about time and memory, in which nothing stays fixed or certain. There’s new resonance to the continuing references to a joyful moment when Jerry threw Emma and Robert’s little girl into the air at a family gathering.

It’s mentioned in the very first scene, when Emma and Jerry meet again. The problem is they can’t agree on where the event happened, in his kitchen or hers.

Ms. Ashton’s Emma tries to conceal how much this small discrepancy upsets her, but her eyes are brimming. She thought she’d always at least have this memory intact — a vision of everyone, together, happy for a moment. It turns out she was mistaken.

[thetaylorfiles]

Your friend wrote Bare???? Oh my god I was so obsessed with Bare in college! What a small world

YES!!! I used to be very close with all of the Bare crew. Damon Intrabartolo is the genius behind Bare. He and Jon Hartmere wrote it. Damon did the music and then he and Jon did the lyrics (book) together. Then Kristin Hanggi was the director. And my super close best friend, Eric Anderson, at the time was the exec producer and helped workshop it from the beginning and played several instruments every weekend live with Damon. I also had other close friends who did other various jobs - actor, stage director, etc.

I was working at the studio I worked at (still want to not say the name at an attempt at Privacy) and my best gay guy friend and I had nothing to do one Friday night and a friend of ours recommended it to us. So we went to see it at this little 99 seat theater 2 mins away in Hollywood. Like almost down the street, but just over on Santa Monica Blvd in the theater district. And that was it. I bawled my fucking eyes out, in the front row. And we stayed behind to meet everyone after and all the cast and crew were hanging out and everyone was talking to me and like, thanking me for being moved to tears! And I was blown away and all star struck because I was like, that’s the beat fucking musical ive ever seen including everything on Broadway!

So began a long and fruitful relationship with all the cast and crew of the original Bare. It ran in Hollywood for a year, I think? It got extended several times and my friend Patrick and I became friends with cast and crew alike and we went every weekend and I cried every time and they loved having me there crying because apparently it helped them get into it. And some of them became my best friends and we’d all get together for Sunday TV nights with Alias and Sopranos and we’d all go out to The Abbey and of find them cute boys to kiss and we’d do WeHo Halloween and Pride and actually, even though I had lots of gay friends and lived in W. Hollywood already, that’s when I really really became immersed in a lot of gay culture. So many of my friends were gay then and I hadn’t dated a woman for real yet.

Anyway, after the Hollywood run, MTV bought the eights and wanted to make it a FB show but that fell though so then they took it to workshop it in NYC and Damon wanted me out there because he said I knew Bare better than anyone and even though he was putting it on for financial backers to go to Off Broadway he wanted my opinion on how it was going and I remember being just fucking ELATED and feeling so important. I was absolutely convinced Damon Intrabartolo would be a huge name on Broadway one day. He was such a fucking genius.

So it had its workshop there it was a fun long weekend. And then Eventually it had its short lived off broadway run which ultimately was considered a failure I guess but damn if that wasn’t a fun weekend. Loved every second of it. And the guy who played Jason? Holy shit was he gorgeous. John Something. He ended up becoming a producer for Watch What Happens Live and being Andy Cohens longtime Boyfriend. And I just remember hugging him while being introduced and like, he was so good looking I couldn’t even speak.

And finally, it went on to being licensed. And being produced at colleges and high schools around the country. I’m so glad so many people can see it now. I honestly feel like it’s one of the most special musicals ever. Especially when you consider it came out in what? 2000, I think? Back then even, times were harsher for gay people. Especially when it came to religion and reconciling your faith with being gay and being accepted by your parents.

I will love Bare till my dying day. It brought me some of my best, lasting friendships. And it’s such a special play.

Funny side note. My daughter was very colicky, which means she cried a lot and for seemingly no reason. Also, that first week of her life, she wanted only me to hold her. Not dad. She’s cry and cry unless I held her. And rarely slept unless she was held.

Well, Damon Intrabartolo, sadly doesn’t way, way too soon. And unfortunately for me, his funeral was the week my daughter was home from the hospital. I got to go for maybe 40 mins? An hour tops. My daughter just screamed her lungs out until I had to leave and come home and soothe her. I was so sad I had to leave without staying for the whole service and celebrating his life and seeing all my old friends I hadn’t seen in a while. But you do what you have to do.

Sorry for the novel. Thanks for going down memory lane with me if you read this far. Xoxo

[ohscorbus]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Wednesday 22nd May, 2019 [Pt. 1]

First impressions are important and if this cast means to go on as they’ve started then we’re all in for a treat! There’s honestly so much to write about and changes we need to discuss but I’m on a time limit so... let’s do this!

ACT ONE, SCENE FOUR: TRANSITION SCENE

I knew the rose was coming over from Broadway so I wasn’t surprised when Scorpius pulled it out and tried to give it to Rose on the train. I love how pleased Scorpius is with himself. A rose for Rose! Plus I know how much Jonathan really wanted it last year so I’m glad to see he’s finally succeeded. 

The instant change between the concentration on Albus’s face as he stared down the crumpled letter in his hand to the look of pure shock and overwhelming happiness as he successfully vanished it melted me. I love that he was genuinely pleased with himself, that he was excited to have gotten it right. It also highlighted the difference between him and Joe’s Albus. Joe’s Albus was quite obviously depressed. He struggled and he expected himself to. He barely trusted himself, let alone these pockets of happiness. That line, “in every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again”, sums him up perfectly to me. Whereas Dominic has no problem finding and embracing joy in his life. He has struggles, but he’s too headstrong to deny himself.

So we have a new wand dance! There are elements of the last one in it so it’s not entirely new, but this one is without a doubt visually more pleasing. More fire, more dancing. It definitely looks more ‘magically’ and impressive. Although the line at the end after Albus’s wand fails to produce fire and instead shoots out a red/pink powder really doesn’t work for me. I know the ensemble do add lines here so I’m not sure if that’s from them or whether it’s an actual officially added line, but “even his wand wants to be in Gryffindor” just didn’t seem right. I get that it’s referring to the fact that everyone expected him to be a Gryffindor and that it’s implying even his wand thinks he’s wrong, but Albus has literally just stated very plainly that he belongs in Slytherin. Or maybe that’s the point? But like I said, I don’t know if that line is here to stay so I’ll look back at it next time.

ACT ONE, SCENE SEVEN: THE BLANKET SCENE

My favourite sibling interaction was with Lily. When she came in asking about her potions book, Albus instantly threw his hands up in surrender. He is innocent of this particular crime apparently. I love it though because it implies the Potter siblings are like every other family. Teasing and constantly ‘borrowing’ each other’s things.

If I hadn’t already been completely won over by Dominic already, he would have done it in this scene. Jamie’s Harry is quick to shout and this Albus isn’t afraid to give it right back. The two of them work brilliantly together in that sense. It felt like an argument, not an attack or retaliation. 

I also love the fact that Albus fully opens the blanket and holds it up between him and Harry so it acts like a barrier. Which is exactly what it is in a way. Harry’s history keeps getting in the way their relationship and by holding it between them like that it’s almost like he’s telling him so. Plus it’s interesting because Albus’s message is technically already written on the blanket at this point. It’s still invisible but we know it’s there. Watching him look at this clean blanket and not know yet that his future has already been literally written out and intertwined with Harry’s past was great.

Dominic’s Albus also does this thing a lot where he holds his hands out with his arms open wide in a ‘see?!’ kind of gesture. (If that makes sense? I’m terrible at descriptions.) It’s low key dramatic and I love it because I do it all the time haha. It’s like pointing out your injustice in a point proven to the universe kind of way. One of my favourite times he did that was when the love potion spilled on the blanket. He just stopped and looked at it and then held his arms out and looked pointedly at his dad and didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to, his action said it all. Of course this happened to him.

Also! New hoodie! It’s still the same Slytherin shade of green, but this one doesn’t have the white strings or zip. They’re both green now. I shall be shopping...

ACT ONE, SCENE THIRTEEN: ST. OSWALD’S

You know how the script says St. Oswald’s is chaos? Well now it actually is. They went full Broadway on us. I’m indifferent to it? On one hand I love how wild it is. I didn’t know where to look. It was utter madness everywhere which is cool, and totally what I’d expect from a wizarding retirement home. My only issue with it is the guy who works there. So before it’s him who the older wizards and witches gang up on. Now it’s him who torments the residents. Visually it’s fun and exciting, but there’s an underlining abuse of power and the vulnerable vibe there that makes me feel a little uncomfortable. I mean, they give as good as they can get and ‘win’ in the end but still... This happens enough in real life for this to make me feel a little uneasy. But on a lighter note, the biscuit palace is epic and I demand they start selling them at the bar.

ACT TWO, SCENE ONE: HARRY’S PRIVET DRIVE NIGHTMARE

There was some really small changes to this scene but I love them. Firstly, there was an extra Voldemort hand so at one point during his nightmare, little Harry’s head was surrounded by these skeletal hands and visually it was so fantastic. Harry appears trapped and it’s all focused on his head. Which is exactly where he always was and still is.

Also! A weird observation, but they have finally added an actual wet patch to his PJ bottoms so it looks like he’s literally wet himself. I’m surprised it took them so long.

ACT TWO, SCENE THREE: MCGONAGALL’S OFFICE

The new McGonagall clicked with me straight away. She’s fantastic and has this natural sort of humour to her that seems to underline everything and I love that. Especially because while you may laugh at her tone in some of these lines, she still has this aura about her that demands your utmost respect and she gets it. But then there’s this lot. I mean, she’s dealt with these as kids and now here they are again. Her tone is totally understandable. I love her. Like, you know when Ron runs in with his napkin still tucked into his jumper after accidentally flooing into the kitchens? Well no one said or did anything about it so at the very end of the scene, McGonagall reached over and pulled it off him and while she said nothing, her face said everything. They may be adults but they’re still her kids.

ACT TWO, SCENE FOUR: PRACTISING WITH DELPHI

This Albus is a little ball of determination and it’s never more obvious than it was in this scene. The pause before each Expelliarmus was so long I actually started to get concerned Dom was nervous or struggling with the wand trick. But no. One look at his face and you’ll see nothing but concentration. You just know he’s giving himself the most epic pep talk in his head as you can see the physical change in his stance once he’s mentally ready. I’m here for that.

ACT TWO, SCENE SIX: HOGWARTS THROUGH THE TREES

I just wanted to enjoy this moment so I didn’t make many mental notes. But I will say Albus’s face when Scorpius says he wanted someone like Harry Potter was actually the most tragic thing. While it obviously wasn’t expected, he also wasn’t surprised. Of course he wants a Harry Potter. Everyone does. He’s just Albus. How could he ever live up to that? It made him a little sad, and me, a lot sad. His face when Scorpius clarified he was better though was worth it all.

ACT TWO, SCENE SEVEN: NEW TIMELINE

Bless Dominic for actually collapsing in pain from his arm. I’ve missed an Albus doing this! Plus it really scares the adults (and Scorpius) and as horrible as that is, their reactions are always great to watch.

ACT TWO, SCENE EIGHT: HOSPITAL WING

We finally have an Albus and a Harry who both eat the chocolate again! I love it for many reasons but particularly with this Albus as it almost confirms what I said about him accepting happiness. Will it fix everything? No. But it may help in this moment so he’ll take it. It’s also interesting to see him happily take Harry’s advice just to then reject it later on in the conversation. He’s not deliberately difficult or stubborn or always against his dad just because he can. This one just stands his ground, without hesitation, whenever he disagrees with something. There’s a point to it. A reason. It’s so very Albus-y.

ACT TWO, SCENE NINE: HOGWARTS STAIRCASE

That very last ‘okay’ from Albus after he cuts ties with Scorpius on the staircase under Harry’s watch was most excellent. So instead of saying it to Scorpius, he turned to face Harry and blatantly said it to him in the most bitter and aggressive tone. I loooove when an Albus does this. It’s just so Albus, this one in particular too. Because he’d never say that to Scorpius because this is not okay. But this is Harry’s fault so Harry needs to know. He needs to see the consequences of breaking these two. They’re both hurt and confused and lost. Albus would absolutely throw that in Harry’s face.

ACT TWO, SCENE SIXTEEN: THE LIBRARY SCENE

So, the library scene. This is what got me really excited about the next years worth of Jonathan and Dominic shows because as focused as I was on Albus last night, I honestly couldn’t take my eyes off Scorpius here. Dominic’s Albus is small but powerful, and that seems to have brought out a little more focused anger in Jon. Like I said before, I want him to explode after years of imploding. But his Scorpius’s usual stammer and frustration always seems to stop him from fully letting go. But last night I really felt that pure, unfiltered anger and I could not have been happier. If Albus raised his voice then Scorpius didn’t hesitate to do it back. He will have his voice heard.

Albus making a little vomiting noise and face after he said James used the date he got his first broom as his trunk combination was golden. I love Albus judging his own brother. You have to really, as a sibling. It’s part of our DNA. It also lighten the mood of this scene for a second which I think was Albus’s way of letting Scorpius know they’re still friends. It was really sweet. It was like he just wanted to make him smile which, given that Scorpius was crying, is totally understandable. It was a really touching moment and said so much about Albus.

The hug is exactly what we wanted with this height difference. It’s glorious. So Albus grabbed him and then rested his cheek below Scorpius’s shoulder, all tucked in and quite happily settled into this hug. Sweet, right? Well poor Scorpius was left with both of his arms over the top of Albus’s shoulders. He looked like a puppet the way he sort of just dangled over him. Arms out and awkward. It was everything.

After he’d said he was saving that as a ‘sparkly surprise’, Albus made these firework noises and gestures up in the air with his hands. Scorpius’s ‘mildly confused but excited to find out’ reaction was perfect, as is Albus’s energy and continued enjoyment of making Scorpius smile and knowing exactly how to do it.

ACT TWO, SCENE TWENTY: SWIMMING UNDER THE LAKE

So I guess to give the appearance of these boys being underwater they’ve decided to make their hair all big and messy, like it would be if they were actually under the water. But honestly, it just looks like Scorpius has stuck his finger in a live plug socket. Or he’s been attacked by a thousand balloons. (I wouldn’t be surprised by either scenario if I’m honest.) Albus’s hair isn’t as noticeable given the fact it’s dark but his is just the same. I get what they were going for, but hair doesn’t stand up on end perfectly like that in water. So it just looks like it’s really bad static. Surely a well placed fan would do the trick? Also, I was left feeling bad for poor Dominic having to brush that out afterwards. It was wild.

I can’t give everyone else the praise they truly deserve because otherwise I’ll be writing forever, but just quickly: 

Ryan as James Potter is already A+ for his ‘daaaaad’ alone. Plus on stage he and Dominic look like brothers.

Rayxia is brilliant as I remembered. I’m so glad she’s back.

Michelle makes for a familiar and friendly but very ‘know it all’ kind of Hermione. Oh and I love her friendship with Ginny!

The Slytherin boys in the ensemble in the first task had a lot to live up to and didn’t disappoint. I’m already a fan.

Lucy as Moaning Myrtle was also familiar but fresh and she had the audience laughing.

I love Madeleine as Delphi. She’s friendly and dorky and by the end of her first scene I wanted to be friends with her too. Her reveal is going to be really interesting.

My main note on the new Polly was ‘plastic’. She’s that perfect, posh, pretty, popular blonde girl everyone had to deal with at school. You’ll either instantly dislike her or want to be her. She’s going to be fun.

Aaaaand to summarise Dominic... he’s lovely. He’s the most precious, sparkly eyed, baby faced, awkward, and determined Albus we’ve ever had and none of you are ready for him. He knows what he wants and he’ll go for it because he’s young enough to believe he knows best. He’s the most fourteen year old Albus we’ve had in that sense. He’s sweet and caring and there’s an innocent kind of joy to him but how quick that anger surfaces tells us all is not okay. The only difference is this one refuses to drown in it. What he lacks in maturity he makes up for in spirit and heart. It makes for a good year ahead!

[The part two recap is coming Friday and I’m setting myself that deadline because I’m actually seeing it again on Saturday... *whispers* I just love them all already, okay?]

[laissezferre]

theatre review: phantom of the opera, manila cast: jonathan roxmouth, meghan picerno, matt leisy

jonathan roxmouth as the phantom

jonathan roxmouth's phantom would best be described as "the phantom that you would get if you poured pepper labeled 'joj' and salt labeled 'ramin' in a single shaker, shook it til the control of one and the style of another mixed together, and pulled the cap so it could spew out something truly incredible". jonathan's voice is powerful and overwhelming but always in control. not a note was out of place. there were multiple points in the show when i just thought, "this is ridiculous, this is so good". he handles the role, at least vocally, with such care and control. he goes from booming to soothing and vice versa without much preparation, and he pulls it off. and i haven't even talked about his vibrato. after "music of the night", i just knew--this character, this tour, and the future of this show, is in good hands.

between singing and acting, jonathan is very much a singer. even when he's supposed to be screaming--or at parts when most phantoms have resorted to screaming--he's still singing, he's still holding that note.

jonathan's phantom and meghan's christine have a palpable chemistry. unlike my first viewing with carla and ian as the leads, jonathan's phantom gives raoul a run for his money. it's not exactly lnd-levels, but the phantom this time around had better chances. he really uses his height to loom over christine, and christine's reaction to him is this odd mix of fascination and terror.

if i have to have one gripe about jonathan, it would be his vulnerability, or lack thereof. the phantom acts so powerful in act 1, and i don't think he ever really got off that pedestal for act 2.  i felt like his energy and commitment fizzled out in act 2, and he was kind of going through the motions. while i was watching jonathan, i kept remembering ian jon bourg's phantom, and how he looked so utterly depleted by the end. ian was large but he looked so small when he curled in on himself, he didn't have anything more to give. i didn't feel that way about jonathan. my reaction towards him was more of "i'm sorry you didn't get the girl", instead of "i'm sorry these were the cards you were dealt, i'm sorry you've been alone for so long, i'm sorry you've never felt love".

meghan picerno as christine daae

i really love how meghan picerno thinks as she acts. you can almost see the speech bubbles floating above her head as the scene goes. every line has a corresponding expression on her face, and it's not the amateur acting kind, it's more of being always in the moment. right off the bat, you know that she's an intelligent christine. in the hannibal rehearsal when the backdrop falls and everyone's panicking, she stays very still while looking around the stage, thinking, assessing--and you get the feeling that christine daae has a good idea about who's fooling around in the opera house.

meghan puts that same thoughtfulness when it comes to her singing. everything has an intention behind it. her singing improves rapidly in "think of me", but when she gets to the cadenza she becomes uncertain, feels it out, and then goes for the money note. meghan has a solid range--her singing has power, and she's also able to tap that lower register to create solid low notes. i've also never heard "my soul began to soar" so sweetly. both meghan and jonathan are versatile and can sing powerfully when it's called for, and add variation when needed. sometimes though, the experimentation doesn't go very well. "wishing you were somehow here again" was a mix of singing, exclaiming, and gasping. just as you would get into the melody, she sing-speaks, and then breathes at unnatural points in the song.  i guess it would boil down to people's preferences and their tolerance for  "musical expression", but that part didn't work for me.

meghan wasn't kidding when she said in interviews that she wanted to portray christine as strong. she is so aggressive! matt leisy's raoul plays off of her, and because they're both imposing, it sometimes looks like they're well on their way to a domestic. in the rooftop scene, christine dominates the conversation. raoul is trying to comfort her and convince her it's not real, but christine is having none of it. her gestures were screaming "believe me! i'm not crazy!", and i genuinely thought that they were gonna have a row. this forcefulness doesn't just apply to raoul or to the phantom, it also applies to her father. normally in "wishing", christine sings about how she misses her father, but with meghan, i got the impression that she was frustrated and was beating herself up for still missing her father.

also, it may just be me reading into it too much, but i feel like meghan's christine doesn't take well to being comforted. she'll receive comfort, she'll allow herself to be patted and petted, but there will be no visible relief in the set of her shoulders. this kind of makes her seem cold, especially with raoul. in fact, christine doesn't even look at raoul much in the dressing room. instead, she's facing the audience as she reminisces about her childhood--this leads me to think that meghan's christine doesn't start out already smitten with raoul. the falling in love comes later in "all i ask of you" and christine becomes a very eager kisser and audibly sighs into the kiss.

meghan isn't a particularly graceful or playful christine. she's very serious and at times, physically rigid on stage. in il muto, i wanted badly to shake her and tell her, "girl, loosen up, you're supposed to be playing in a comedy". also, meghan didn't join the dancers in hannibal, and the few steps she did looked stiff. i don't know how much of her stiffness is intentional, if it's a manifestation of her fear of the phantom, because she really is terrified of the phantom to the point of paralysis. she's utterly terrified in the rooftop, in the masquerade, in "twisted every way"--in all those scenes there were moments where she bends over and becomes non-responsive to raoul's attempts at comfort.

but despite her fear, she's still able to go head-to-head with the phantom. she snaps and answers him angrily in the final lair. when she sang "it's in your soul that the true distortion lies", i thought she would follow with a growl. when she shields raoul from the phantom, they stare each other down, which is a sight to see because of their height difference, but she gives as good as she's got. she does soften a bit when the phantom allows them to leave. raoul is pulling her to go but she resists repeatedly--not in a “let me spend more time with him" way but in a "we can't leave him here!" way. while there was no chance that she was going to stay with the phantom, she still couldn’t help but be concerned for him.

matt leisy as raoul de chagny

i first saw matt leisy's raoul when he was sharing the stage with ian jon bourg and clara verdier, and i have to say, his portrayal there is startingly different from when he acts with meghan and jonathan. this time, his raoul is less commanding and more floundering. you can see how he's not in control of the situation and how frustrated he is for always being one step behind the phantom. this is not the calm, in-control, dignified raoul that we know. he's absolutely out of his depth and he's pissed. he's not whiny, but you can tell he's rattled. in "notes ii" when christine is already sitting on the chair and he's convincing her to be the bait, he's almost begging her, like it's him who will lose his mind if this doesn't end. and when christine refuses, he angrily goes off at the phantom.

despite that intensity, he never roughhouses christine, but it is sad to see that christine doesn't actively seek his comfort. that's why their "all i ask of you" isn't as dreamy and romantic. while christine does love raoul, it's the phantom who's able to evoke stronger reactions from her (more fear than desire, but still), and it's very much clear that this is christine and the phantom's show. matt, and his voice, disappears in the background. in "wandering child" when all three leads are on stage together, you can really feel that raoul is the third wheel in the scene, and his words are barely heard.

in "final lair" when christine kisses the phantom, matt's raoul looks away and closes his eyes, like he can't bear to see the love of his life kissing another man. i usually check where the phantom puts his hands during the kiss, but matt's turning away was so striking that i just had to look at him.

some other things

overall, i really liked this production and noticed a few things that i wasn't able to because i was sitting nearer this time. the broadway costumes are absolutely gorgeous. i really love the softness of the pink in the star princess costume. this is also the first time i paid attention to carlotta's hannibal skirt--it's as intricately designed as christine's and i prefer it's red-black-gold combination.

i zoned out during notes i and prima donna but don't i always.

there are also some cute blink-and-you-miss it moments. when christine is asked to sing, monsieur reyer is displeased and thinks they’re wasting time. when he says "from the beginning of the aria then", he shows christine the score and when she looks, he snaps it closed in her face. but after the performance, he is seen chatting with christine and he kisses her hand as he exits.

in the don juan rehearsal, christine and piangi also have a moment. when piangi is being scolded for not getting the melody right, christine mouths to him "you can do it". i'm not sure if piangi acknowledges it, but christine goes back to facing meg.

so... yeah, that’s how my evening went. this is the fourth time now that i’ve seen poto, and it’s just as magical as the first time i saw it seven years ago. there are classics, and there is poto, and there’s a reason that it’s managed to run as long as it has on broadway (les mis, i love u, but u have strayed from the path, padawan). it just has a strong sense of identity and no amount of watered down touring shows is going to misplace the brilliant original. the future of poto is bright, and with this cast, it is in good hands.

have a look at my other review: ian jon bourg, clara verdier, matt leisy

[scuba-claire]

Cursed Child Year Four Part 1 Recap

I thought I’d do a mini recap of year fours first part 1. Disclaimer, this is just my opinion, my interpretations could be wrong, these notes are just what I thought when watching it. I know I missed things, as it’s hard to pick up on everything watching them for the first time. I also don’t think you can get a real feel for how things are going to be for the entire year based on their first show.

With that in mind I really enjoyed the show. Cast change can make the show feel fresh and new again, although this wasn’t quite as obvious this year as it was last year, as only a few of the main actors have changed this year.

I only really made notes about any changes I spotted, or my thoughts on the new actors. Although I noticed the existing cast did change things up slightly in some scenes, it wasn’t my main focus, and I didn’t make any notes for them. I’ll probably notice those things more once I’m no longer looking out for the changes generally.

Act 1

There are changes right from the opening scene. Mark stays on stage after putting on the sorting hat and directs the rest of the ensemble as they move the cases. I’d need to watch it a few more times to get the choreography, but it’s more magical, with people moving in slow motion etc as the hat directs them. It’s also a longer scene now, I think.

I liked this, although a friend of mine pointed out that the old version made it feel like muggle Kings Cross, until they go through the barrier, whereas this version has magic happening in the station instantly. I get that, although I like that there’s magic on stage now right from the first scene.

Dominic as Albus in the first scene is like a jittery, excited child, who’s in awe of everything around him. Rayxia as Rose is great. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed watching her Rose. Michelle has a nice chemistry with Ron and Rayxia, her Hermione is really relaxed when she’s with her family and friends.

Lily’s line is different here. She mentions them always being late. Also Tom now reacts like Paul did on Broadway, when Harry says Snape was one of the bravest men he ever knew.

Albus meeting Scorpius was cute, they don’t have Sam and Theo levels of instant chemistry, but I like them together. Dominic singing the sweets line back to him was adorably awkward.

Dominic changes through the montage scenes, slowly getting beaten down by the bullying and how he blames everything that’s gone wrong in his life on Harry. Dominic smiles a lot, except when he’s with Harry. Like he genuinely thinks Harry is the reason he doesn’t fit in and is being bullied. But even then, the excited kid from the first scene still comes through in the odd moment, he’s genuinely happy he manages to cast incendio.

The Karl track is the track from Broadway, so Karl gets his chest signed by Harry, and the Karl actor is the carer in St Oswald’s. Craig as Karl was so star struck getting Harry’s signature on his stomach that he looked like he was going to faint, it was amazing.

The rose from Broadway is here, and it’s as awkward as I thought it would be.

Emma as Polly looks stunning in that wig, her Polly is gorgeous, and she knows it. She’s the pretty popular girl who will obviously pick on the geeky Albus and Scorpius. Luke as Yann gives me rich, pure blood, posh boy vibes, and I’m here for it. I missed watching Craig as I was watching these two, I need to get a feel for him in Part 2. The problem with a first show, when I’m trying to focus on so many new things and new characters, is that I know I missed loads.

I actually really like the new wand dance. I don���t know why people don’t like it. It’s not actually that different, some different choreography, they all gather around him when Albus gets his wand stuck in the floor, (no more Ravenclaw baby, weird the things you miss) and they line up at the front of the stage at the end like they’re all demonstrating the spell at the front of the class. It works as they all manage to do it expect Albus. New line, even his wand wants to be in Gryffindor.

Madeleine as Delphi. I don’t know what to say other than she’s perfect. She has really got the feel for imitating someone Albus would want to be friends with in their first meeting. She’s not super confident, and gives Albus the impression that she is just like him. You can see why Albus would want to help her.

She got her wand out as she said I’m a thief, it’s a clear attempt at a joke, and it worked with her manipulative Delphi convincing Albus she’s like him. She also didn’t do anything when Amos kept calling her, like the other Delphi’s have. It was more like she was showing Albus she also had a relative who didn’t understand her and she was resigned to it. I basically loved every moment she was on stage and am excited/nervous for Act 3 today.

I really enjoyed the blanket scene. I’ve seen Albus actors do the start of this scene in two ways. Albus is either shut off from his entire family, or just has a problem with his dad. Dominic does it the second way, he interacts with his mum, James and Lily in a positive way and doesn’t seem to have major issues with any of them. His Albus issues are all with Harry.

Dominic really doesn’t want the blanket, he doesn’t understand why his dad has given him this gift he can do nothing with and just wants his dad to leave him alone. His body language at the start is really showing how he just wants his dad to go away. When he does take the blanket, he holds it and delivers his lines like he thinks if he can just get through the conversation his dad will go away.

They both get really angry, a lot angrier than Jamie and Joe in this scene. It felt like Albus letting out his frustrations at how Harry is to blame for his life being terrible. He’s goof at trying the get a reaction from Harry. After Harry says he wishes Albus wasn’t his son, Dominic sort of looked like, of course you think that, obviously his dad was just confirming to him what he already knew.

Side thought, Dominic as Albus and Ryan as James. I got the impression from this first show that James isn’t very nice to Albus, but that Albus still looks up to him and wants his approval. Like there’s a rivalry there, but in a different way to how Dylan’s James was such a dick older brother, it’s less intense.

On the train, I liked how it looked like Albus really did just consider his plan in that moment when talking to Rose. I also don’t know if I imagined this, but when Scorpius said Rose smelled like bread on the train, it looked like Dominic sniffed the air and gave Scorpius a look like, wtf are you talking about. I hope I didn’t imagine this.

Dominic didn’t sit down while Scorpius was talking on the train. He stayed standing and looked like he was just waiting for Scorpius to shut up so he could hug him. I’ve always seen that hug as spontaneous, but this was cute. Also, when the train went to move, and they lean over, Jon basically ended up on top of Dominic, I’m always here for these random Scorbus moments.

I need time to learn all the new characters in the EGM, but I could see some anti Draco stuff going on.

So, St Oswald’s. Weirdly, I didn’t hate it. I mean I didn’t like it either, but I was expecting to hate it as much as I did when I saw this version on Broadway. I didn’t, so that’s a bonus. There’s a lot going on now though, looking at one trick means I missed another one. I would need to see it again to get a full picture. Maybe when I’ve seen it a few times I’ll get used to it, or maybe I’ll hate it again.

This is nothing to do with the actors or the tricks btw. It’s the change from the stressed out carer trying to keep order while being harassed by the residents, to this arsehole carer using magic on the residents. I know they get revenge, but still, I don’t like it.

Michelle and Susie giving each other knowing looks during the dinner scene whenever Tom was speaking is something I didn’t know I wanted until now. When Tom was saying he makes an ooof noise, Michelle nodded at Susie, and when he was talking about his Skiving Snackboxes, she reacted. It really made it feel like old friends chatting and it was great.

Polyjuice scene, Madeleine is very good, this is a theme. She’s surprisingly calm at first, until the pain hits. Michelle struggled to get into the cloak, Jon helped. They’ll get it with practice.

Act 2

There are three Voldemort arms at once in the opening scene now for some reason. Kathryn’s Petunia is great, I knew that from Broadway. They’ve given little Harry new trousers that show he’s wet himself and I don’t know how I feel about that.

Madeleine, again I love how she matches Dominic’s awkwardness, but still being more confident and someone he would look up to. She didn’t even look at Scorpius as she threw the robe at him. Although she’s not playing them off against each other as much as I’ve seen with other Delphi’s. Her kiss with Albus really fit with her Delphi, Dominic smiling loads. She then she did air kisses at Scorpius as she left. I never would have thought that would work, but it did and it was brilliant.

The Hogwarts scene, Albus really resents his dad, the moment Scorpius mentioned Harry, his body language changed. Although he liked Scorpius saying he was better than his dad. He also doesn’t agree with Scorpius when he said he still gets a tingle, Dominic’s Albus gets no joy from Hogwarts and it’s sad, this boy hates his life.

It’s weird watching the first task without James, Josh or Rosemary etc, but I can see the new cast already having fun with it. The faint is still there, but it’s now Ravenclaw girl.

Dominic ate the chocolate in the hospital scene. Dominic and Jamie work well together, Albus seems convinced he can refuse his dad at first. Genuine confusion in the scene with Ron

Dominic did something I loved in this scene on the stairs when Scorpius turned up. He kept looking down at Harry during the conversation with Scorpius, like he was waiting for Harry to change his mind or checking he was saying what Harry wanted him to.

Michelle in the DADA scene, I like her stern Hermione in the AU. I haven’t got a complete feel for her Hermione in Act 1 yet, I probably need to see it again, but I enjoyed watching her here.

Longing looks in the staircase ballet.

Delphi and Scorpius, oh Madeleine is so good. Again she really finds that way of connecting to Scorpius, of being the type of person he would obviously open up to. She hadn’t really done as much to antagonise him before this, so it makes sense she’d be able to connect with Scorpius here.

With Eve, when she said she hadn’t been to Hogwarts, it came across that saying this was a slip up on her part, which she then had to cover for. But with Madeleine, Delphi saying that might have still been a mistake, but it came across more like she knew it would get Scorpius’s sympathy and make him trust her. Also, that little look she gave as she was being wheeled off stage, like thank god that worked, this is really frustrating. Not obvious enough to give anything away, but a nice touch for her actual motivations.

A general observation, I really get the Scorpius always following Albus and doing whatever he suggests from these two, more than any other Scorbus pairing. Of course Jon’s Scorpius is jumping off the train after Albus, and breaking into the ministry to get a time turner.

Dominic’s Albus is kind of bossy with Jon’s Scorpius and its clear Scorpius just accepts that. I saw this in a few moments, like when they’re talking to Amos and Jon says “do we?” Dominic was just like, sssh Scorpius, and Scorpius just shuts up. Scorpius is used to following his friend around and doing what he suggests, even if he knows it’s a bad idea.

This makes the library scene argument really work with these two. Dominic’s reactions were great, this is clearly the first time Scorpius has ever shouted at him, or called him out for his BS, and he doesn’t know what to do with that. It’s genuinely like it’s the first time he’s thought about any of it, and it makes him realise he’s been an awful friend.

Dominic’s Albus really gets across that he’s only doing any of this because of Harry, he’s panicked that McGonagall will catch them and his dad really will force Scorpius away from him forever, there’s real desperation in the way he’s trying to convince Scorpius to hide with him.

I loved the way McGonagall leaves the library, she’s assumed they want to spend time together and sort of announces it to them, like - I didn’t see you, I’m leaving, carry on boys. It was perfect. She isn’t putting any more effort into to keeping them apart, and has let them know this.

There’s also an extra psstt moment when they’re hiding from McGonagall, and I would need to see this again to work out if it’s just the same recording being repeated or a new one.

Dominic made the story of stealing James cloak into a bad joke to try and break the tension. The joke doesn’t work, obviously, but I like how he doesn’t know how to approach Scorpius after their fight and tries humour. He also seemed genuinely distressed that his dad had been keeping them apart.

The library hug was the most adorably awkward thing ever. I don’t know if people have noticed, but there’s a slight height difference between the Scorbus actors this year. This meant that Jon’s arms were sort of hanging awkwardly over Dominic in the hug.

Blythe as McGonagall is good. She’s a lot softer than Sandy, and I’m looking forward to seeing her change in Part 2 when she’s telling them all off. There are little things she does differently, I can’t remember them all. When she put away the map, she made it seem like it was the spell closing the map and not her just folding it up.

Lucy as Myrtle is great. If I’m honest, I was expecting to just miss April in this scene, but I really like Lucy. She’s still flirty and hilarious, but totally doing her own thing. The second time she cries, she sets the water off three times, Scorpius tries to interrupt her after the second time and she stops him so she can cry again. She also makes it seem like she’s intending to keep the boys secret, and that it’s only because it’s Harry asking her that she then tells them what they’re planning.

Kathryn’s Umbridge is also great, again I knew that from Broadway. I like how she’s just sweet on the surface but you can see the evil underneath. Her laugh is spot on.

One note about this cast, they are so noisy backstage. I was in the third row, but I still only usually hear the occasional noise. This was more than usual.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten loads, but I tried to focus mainly on the new actors and the changes. I enjoyed the show and can’t wait for Part 2 tonight.

[letterboxd]

The Circle of Live (Action).

“The effort here was to keep the filmmaking tradition. I think there’s a balance between innovation and tradition.” —The Lion King director Jon Favreau and cast chat with us about the visually stunning new Disney film.

Disney’s recent proclivity for making live-action films based on its animated classics reaches its technical zenith with Jon Favreau’s The Lion King (whose animated predecessor holds an impressive 4.3 out of 5 stars). Building on methods he first explored in the 2016 live-action version of The Jungle Book, Favreau has constructed a digital world comprised of the most photo-realistic animals ever rendered.

The irony is, of course, that although it’s often referred to as such, the new Lion King isn’t live action at all. Save for one individual shot, it was created entirely inside a computer. But you probably wouldn’t know that if the animals didn’t talk.

That talking is provided by a new voice cast that now better reflects the story’s setting by featuring many actors from across the African diaspora.

JD McCrary (Little) and Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino) voice the youthful and adult versions of Simba the lion, respectively, opposite Shahadi Wright Joseph (the daughter from Us) and Beyoncé as Simba’s best friend Nala. Joseph played the same role in the long-running Broadway adaptation of The Lion King, from which the new film takes some musical and aesthetic cues.

Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) replaces Jeremy Irons in the role of Scar, and James Earl Jones (Darth Vader himself) returns to the role of Mufasa.

Ugandan-born, German-raised actor Florence Kasumba (Black Panther)—who also appeared in the stage version of The Lion King—plays head hyena Shenzi, alongside Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator) and Eric André (Rough Night) as bickering hyena minons Kamari and Azizi.

Key and André are pretty great, but the comedic pairing in the film that is getting talked about a lot is Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as warthog Pumba and meerkat Timon. Both are utterly hilarious.

Favreau recently got together with most of the cast (no Beyoncé, sadly) and some select press in Beverly Hills to discuss the making of the film.

On how working on The Jungle Book flowed into The Lion King: Jon Favreau (director/producer): I’ve been working on both these movies back to back for about six years. All the new technology that was available, I had finally learned how to use it by the end of Jungle Book. And at that point, with the team that we had assembled for it, all the artists. Because a lot of attention is paid to the technology, but really, these are handmade films. There are animators working on every shot, every environment that you see in the film—actually, there’s one shot that’s a real photographic shot—but everything else is built from scratch by artists. And we had a great team assembled. And then the idea of using what we learned on that and the new technologies that were available to make a story like Lion King with its great music, great characters, and great story, it seemed like a wonderful, logical conclusion. And so that was something we set out to do.

On how digital production evolved in the new film: JF: In Jungle Book, we were essentially using the same motion-capture technology for performers and cameras as had been developed ten years prior for Avatar. But towards the end of that, there was a whole slew of consumer-facing VR products that were hitting the scene. We started experimenting with it at the end of Jungle Book and realized that we could build this really cool system of filmmaking using game-engine technology. That way I could bring in people who don’t have any background in visual effects. We would design the entire environments. We took all the recordings that we had from the actors. We would animate within the game engine, in this case, it was Unity. And the crew would be able to put on the headsets, go in, scout, and actually set cameras within VR.

The effort here was to keep not just the tradition of the film and stage production that came before us, but the filmmaking tradition. Oftentimes when new technology comes online, it disrupts an industry. But with just a little bit of effort, we were able to build around the way filmmakers and film crews work. So a guy like Caleb Deschanel, a fantastic cinematographer who I’ve always wanted to work with, inviting him to do a very technically advanced film without any prior background in visual effects and just saying: hey, we’ll make it so that you could just make a movie as you would have made The Black Stallion. We would actually have cameras driven in VR space by a film crew with dollies and cranes and assistant directors, script supervisors, set dressers. So we kept the same film culture and planted it using this technology into the VR realm.

Although the film was completely animated as far as performances went, it allowed a live-action film crew to go in and use the tools they were used to. Part of what’s so beautiful about the lighting, the camera work, the shots of the film, was that we were able to inherit a whole career of experience and artistry from our fantastic team. I think that it’s nice to look at technology as an invitation for things to progress and not always something that’s going to change the way everything came before it. I think there’s a balance between innovation and tradition.

The cast of the new ‘The Lion King’.

On what excited him about the story: Donald Glover (adult Simba): Jon was really good about the circle of life having a major hand in it. I really feel that it’s good to make movies that are global and metropolitan in the sense [that we are] the citizens of the world. Like, making sure that we talk about how connected we are right now. Because it’s the first time we’ve really been able to talk to everybody at the same time. It was just, like, a necessary thing.

On getting into Scar’s head: Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar): I felt that it was just really interesting to go into that psychology, to really try and uncover that and to look at it. I’m a huge fan of what was done before, obviously, like everybody else—Jeremy Irons—and just going back in and exploring that character again from a slightly different perspective and seeing what was there.

It’s such an incredible part to play; so complex and all of that. Having empathy—not sympathy—but empathizing with the character and trying to understand them and trying to get underneath that. And such a rich, villainous character to play. In a way as much as I—absolutely with everybody else—loved the original, you kind of make it your own and you create the sort of individuality to it in that way.

On finding a loose comedic rhythm in a digital context: Seth Rogen (Pumba): It was a lot of improvisation with Billy. We were actually together every time we recorded, which is a very rare gift to have as someone who is trying to be funny in an animated film, of which I’ve done a lot, and you’re often just alone in there. I think you can really tell that we’re playing off of each other. It’s an incredibly naturalistic feeling. They really captured Billy. That is what is amazing, I would say. He essentially played himself on a TV show for years, and this character is more Billy than that character somehow. It’s remarkable to me how his character specifically makes me laugh so hard.

Billy Eichner (Timon): I wish I was as cute in real life as I am in the movie. The Timon they designed is so adorable, and I think the juxtaposition of my personality in that little Timon body really works. And yeah. I agree with everything that Seth was saying. I can’t imagine now, looking back, not being in the room together. Being able to riff off each other and really discover our chemistry together in the same moment. You can feel it when you’re watching the movie. I had not seen the finished movie until last night and I was shocked by how much of the riffing actually ended up in the movie. I think it works. I think it feels very unique to other movies in this genre, which can often feel a bit canned.

SR: The fact that it has a looseness applied to probably the most technologically incredible movie ever made is an amazing contrast. It feels like people in a room just talking, and then it’s refined to a degree that is inconceivable in a lot of ways. That mixture is what I think is so incredible and that’s what Jon really captured in an amazing way.

On how Favreau guided their tone: Eric André (Kamari): He’s incredibly talented and really, really easy to work off of. And he is a selfless altruistic talent, which is rare. So I was in great hands with Jon. It was just a very nurturing environment and made it very easy, because I’m very, very sensitive. So the slightest wind of anything will make me tear up.

Keegan-Michael Key (Azizi): I think Jon is a great student, has an encyclopaedic knowledge of all different types of comedy. One of those pieces of knowledge is about comedic duos and the dynamic that exists between them. We had a very similar experience to Billy and Seth where we were allowed to walk around the room. It was as if we were being directed in a scene in the play. And as you said, we were all mic’d, and so everything was captured.

It was the subsequent rounds that I thought [were] interesting. Jon would get a little more technical, when I would be actually by myself. The refinement is also very fun, because we would sit there and I would have the headphones on. I would say to Jon, “We’re looking for Fibber McGee and Molly here or Abbott and Costello. What are you looking for?” He goes, “I’m actually looking for a little bit of Laurel and Hardy with an explosion at the end, but then back it up into little Apatowian for me.”

EA: With a sprinkle of Beavis and Butthead.

On the experience of going from the stage version to the film version: Florence Kasumba (Shenzi): I was lucky that I got to play the part already in Germany for more than a year. We played like eight shows a week. So Shenzi is like muscle memory, because I got to play her every day. But this Shenzi is so different. I remember in the musical, we had sometimes shows where I was embarrassed because the hyenas are so dumb and funny. They are entertaining, but this is so different, this experience, because when I listen to the dialogue, when I read them, I realized that this is way more dangerous and more serious.

I was lucky [on] my first day that I was in a black box and I was working with Eric André, and with JD. We were very physical, because the guys were so strong, it was easy for me to just be big. Because everybody is very confident, we could just really try out things. We could walk around each other. We could scare each other. We could scream, be loud, be big, be small. It’s like working in the theater, which I love. Having that freedom just made me… I was allowed to do whatever I wanted to.

‘The Lion King’ is in theaters now. Comments have been edited for clarity and length.

[oscar-isaacs-number-one-bitch]

“Bad Times at the El Royale” Movie Review

Bad Times at the El Royale is the sophomore effort from writer and director by Drew Goddard (The Cabin in the Woods) and stars Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman, and Chris Hemsworth. In this film, a group of total strangers all stay at the same place: the El Royale hotel, which sits split in half by the state border between California and Nevada. As the film progresses, the characters get to know each other in ways that may seem unusual to others, but are truly only the tip of the iceberg. No one is who they say they are, including the hotel manager, Miles; perhaps even the hotel has secrets of its own. With the walls closing in and everyone getting increasingly antsy, can the guests solve this mystery before it’s too late?

This is the first Drew Goddard film I’ve seen; having not personally been privy to The Cabin in the Woods, I had absolutely no threshold or expectation for exactly the kind of film that I was in for in terms of style or script. I was curious as to how the plot would play out with the marketing and trailers having given basically nothing of it away, even accidentally. I’m very happy to say that not only did I thoroughly enjoy this movie, I enjoyed how much it enjoyed itself (to a point). Drew Goddard is an excellent screenwriter, and it is no small thing that he has an immensely talented ensemble cast to help the writing along to reach its full potential. The actual narrative plays itself out as a Hateful Eight-esque set-up a bit more in line with a “what if Clue, but the 70’s” aesthetic wherein the story opens with a mysterious dialogue-free sequence meant to shock and intrigue the audience, and then follows each character around on increasingly elaborate plot threads that one can discern weave together at various points if you’re paying enough attention and eventually piece together most of what’s going on just-too-late for the third act to really kick things into high gear.

This approach to storytelling, while having been done a few times before, is always pretty fun both as an actual exploration and exercise of mystery filmmaking and as a genuine throwback to the earlier days of films that let themselves take their time and allow the audience to relish in the fun of trying to figure it out themselves. And although the actual script (while clever) does get a bit too convoluted and show-offy for its own good on a cinematic level, it continues to work and impress enough on a theatrical level that I found myself struggling to care whether or not the film was as smart as it thinks it is because I was just having too much damn fun with it. That’s the strength of a great script, and one that I would absolutely lump in with the great “theatre films” currently under the umbrella of my cinematic vocabulary (i.e. The Hateful Eight, Thoroughbreds, etc.). It’s strange that thus far, Tarantino is the only director that I know of who continues to make that genre of film with this kind of scale, but this is a welcome surprise entry in a film category which hopefully only grows as the years go by (seriously we need more films that play out like plays with increasingly more elaborate and creative but noticeably exclusive cinematic tricks to help the story along – the genre really is full of untapped potential). The productions design is also gorgeous, with 70’s period detail just packed into every frame, of which there are many great ones (including a shot that follows Hamm down a long corridor that’s bound to be taught in film classes as a showcase for how to make your shot increasingly more interesting the longer it goes on).

The performances, of course, are all top-notch. Every member of the cast is pulling out all the stops they’ve got. Jeff Bridges has always been a reliable actor for playing a broken man who can barely remember how to talk to other people but seems warm enough, and you can tell Jon Hamm is just having all the fun in the world with the dialogue his character is given. Dakota Johnson is also really quite good here; it’s nice to be reminded that she’s a legitimate actress and not just one half of the two members of 50 Shades that have any discernable talent. In fact, the only real surprises among the cast’s swell of talent are Cynthia Erivo (here making her film debut after transitioning over from Broadway and television) and Lewis Pullman, who plays the hotel manager. Erivo is an excellent screen presence, continuing to surprise and delight with each new plot turn until one has no idea what she’ll end up doing next. Unfortunately it ends up being nothing quite as exciting as what most of the other characters are given to finish with, but that’s more the fault of an overloaded (but still clever) script than her as an actress. She holds her own well enough against titans like Jeff Bridges that one might think she’d been acting with legends like him for a while.

Pullman too has his own pretty great turn as the hotel manager. I can’t precisely remember what it is I’ve seen him in, but his acting ability has noticeably grown since then; what he’s asked to deliver in the way of lines is both hilarious and immensely disturbing, and Pullman rides that line with more natural balance than a tightrope walker in Cirque de Solei. I won’t say much about Chris Hemsworth’s character because I believe that knowing as little about him going in as possible increases the joy of watching him outperform everyone else like the second coming of Brando, but suffice it to say, he steals every scene he’s given right out from under them as if he’d just learned the secret to always winning Texas hold ‘em. It truly is an incredible thing to witness.

Where the films finds its flaws though, are in its monstrously clever script. Now, don’t get me wrong, I mean every word I’ve written on it thus far, but still it must be addressed that in order to have a clever script, it also needs to remain clear in transition from scene to scene, and occasionally Drew Goddard’s mystery boner tends to run away with itself and lose the audience in the process. It still remains fun, but that fun sometimes gives way to a bit of confusion as some decisions either in the editing room or in the script itself take the audience out of the current moment to show them the relevance of that moment to the broader story in terms of timeline or character motivation. It’s only in the third act when this stops happening, and upon reflection, it probably could have stood to happen a little earlier (though exactly where I do not know).

Following this train of thought, the second act itself is pretty long and while I certainly enjoyed watching the actors show off that they can act like nobody’s business, some of those scenes placed in the separate rooms could have stood to be a little bit shorter. I was never bored, per se, but I did start to feel those scenes being stretched out a bit too long. Perhaps this was done as a way to increase the character developments or tease further mystery, but to me, it just felt a little overdrawn. As well, there doesn’t seem to be any legitimate relevance to the idea of the hotel being literally split in half by the California/Nevada state line. There are some general rules that get addressed early on about gambling laws and monetary values, but other than that, the idea of the state line division doesn’t actually factor into the plot at all, and ultimately feels like it just Goddard trying to be clever with something he didn’t want to edit out but found no use for. In that vein, there are also one or two plot threads that never get explored or resolved that ultimately feel odd considering every other thread of their type that do get a fair amount of screen time devoted to them, but to say any more would spoil one of the larger surprises of the film, so I’ll just leave it at that.

Still, despite these noticeable (if ultimately irrelevant) flaws, Bad Times at the El Royale is a good time at the movies and gives us a welcome entry in a genre too-often passed up in both in terms of the sheer level of creativity required to play in its sandbox and the ingenuity it takes to explore that labyrinth of creation once brought to life. The performances are excellent and the characters are vibrant among gorgeous period design. It’s weirdly funny, greatly mysterious, bizarrely intriguing, and one of the better pure fun experiences in this cinematic calendar year; definitely recommended, even if only once or twice.

I’m giving “Bad Times at the El Royale” a 7.9/10