#carol dorry

[officialtokyosan]

Human Chief, RD, and human Carol. 😁 all @saeriibon 's design!

[aliceisaperson]

Heyyyyyy…. Starkid now that VHS is coming back, Corey Dorris Scrooge Please????? I will commit crimes give me Corey Dorris Scrooge I BEG OF YOU

🥺

👉👈

[fictionalheroine]

VHS CHRISTMAS CAROL: LIVE!

[stellarom]

i was listening to starkid songs just in general the other day on a long drive and i think it was christmas electricity from a vhscc followed by our doors are open from black friday that

1. reminded me of how i love corey dorris and i need more from him and to show appreciation more

2. reminded me that james tolbert is amazing, not that i really forgot but… y’know? you get what i mean probably. really can’t wait to see him in cinderella’s castle and i need to show more appreciation for him as well

3. made me think i want a james and corey duet??? and/or a james, corey & bryce… trio? (i’m not a music kid anymore is it a trio in this context??)

[honeyspawn]

I finally watched VHS Christmas Carol Live last night, and I loved it! I wanted to give some initial thoughts:

The music SLAPS! Like, so good! I'm not usually much of an 80's pop person, but honestly it was bop after bop the whole time. Bah Humbug, That Scrooge, Christmas Electricity, and Priceless were all highlights for me. I think what sold it for me was how lyrically tight it was, and how strong the emotions were. Telling a story entirely through song is no easy feat, but they absolutely nailed the structure and pacing.

Speaking of the emotions, Christmas Carol has been adapted so many times, that it's really important to hit all the emotional beats to sell the spirit of the story, and VHS delivers. I feel like many adaptations go all in on the misery, regret, and sorrow of the story, and only really bring the cheer and warmth in at the very end. VHS really embraces not only the somber parts of the tale, but the joyful parts too. Fezziwig's Chistmas party, Fred's party, and the Crachit's family dinner all really portray the joyfullness of the season and how that joyfullness can come from many places. It really strengthens the message of the story in a way that adaptations focused only on the bleak aspects miss.

In terms of actual story decisions, VHS really sticks to the classic story very closely and does it really well. Actual story changes are few and far between, but the ones they included I really liked. I loved the addition of the couple who are thankful that Scrooge died because it relieves their debt. It really highlights that Crachit and his family are not the only people affected by Scrooge's greed. Many adaptations either like to forget he's a landlord, or don't unpack the ethics of landlords, so it was nice to see some sort of acknowledgment of Scrooge's less direct and more systemic impact. I also really liked how Scrooge delivered the turkey to the Crachit's in secret, and didn't give Bob his raise until after Christmas instead of barging in unannounced. I had never really thought about it before, but in most versions he does just kind of barge in on their celebration and make a big production of giving Bob a raise. I like how he let them have their celebration in peace and spent more time with Fred.

The performances were all killer. I know it kinda goes without saying at this point, but everyone in the cast in Starkid shows are always so talented. Special mention to James Tolbert, because I feel like he doesn't get enough recognition for what a talented actor, dancer, and choreographer (and director) he is. This was also my first time seeing Janaya Mahealani Jones in anything, and her Belle really blew me away. Other stand-outs for me were Dylan Saunders' Scrooge, Lauren Lopez and Joey Ritcher's Crachits, and Jaime Lyn Beatty's Ghost of Christmas Past, but really everyone knocked it out of the park.

June Saito's costumes! The 80s themeing was outstandingly executed, and the quick changes were really impressive. I've gotten used to the more realistic and toned down costumes that fit the Hatchetfield shows' setting (which are also fantastic, not trying to minimize those), but between this and the LiB's in NPMD, it's wonderful to see June Saito get to really go over the top. Special mention to Marley's costume (silver chain pants? silver chain pants!), the 3 spirit's silver and blue color themeing, and that sequined suit jacket Scrooge wears at the end of the show.

Overall, really good. Might pay for the VHS Carols digital ticket later today and watch it.

[pinazee]

I haven’t watched all the livestreams and such, so im hoping to find one person who can answer,

Does anyone know how starkid casts their productions? Cause I’ve yet to see Corey Dorris as a lead and he’s been around since AVPM Me and My Dick.

its always perfectly cast too, but that could just be a product of everyone being versatile and talented

[timoothy]

Corey Dorris as Fred in StarKid’s VHS Christmas Carol: Live!

bonus in extra shitty quality:

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

Okay, so we know that Corey Dorris is directing the workshop reading of Corey Lubowich’s play Sissy for SK Labs.

WHAT IF Dylan and Brosenthal (and also maybe Kim?) are in the cast? And the Coreys and them aren’t Christmas Caroling this year because they’ll be busy with that project??

[letterboxd-loggd]

Hester Street (1975) Joan Micklin Silver

July 21st 2024

[compelling-natural-force]

*most of* Status Quo with lyrics changed to be an original Christmas song. Thus titled: Let It Snow

Starkid Jangle Ball at House of Blues Boston - Dec 2nd

[genevieveetguy]

Hester Street, Joan Micklin Silver (1975)

[foreos]

vhs christmas carol really did pick up what the muppet christmas carol started with giving fred the best fucking outfits

[aliceisaperson]

Brb making a deal with the lords in black to get Corey Dorris as Scrooge

[dannyreviews]

Hester Street (1975)

Period pieces, like any film genre, are always hit or miss affairs. Some films emulate the era perfectly, by nailing the art direction, the costumes and the speech of the era. Then there are period pieces that lack one or more of the above. Unfortunately, Joan Micklin Silver’s “Hester Street” falls under the latter. While it honors the era of its plot, the way its cast presents it falls short.

In 1896. on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, recent immigrant Yankel (Steven Keats) has assimilated to American life. He’s changed his name to Jake, works as a machinist, and put all religious traditions to the wayside. At the same time that he’s having an affair with a local woman named Mamie (Dorrie Kavanaugh), his wife Gitil (Carol Kane) and son Yossele (Joey) (Paul Freedman) come over to America. In that time, Gitil fails to assimilated like Yankel, and coupled with his constant infatuation for Mamie, their marriage faces its share of challenges.

“Hester Street” does a great job at portraying late 19th century New York, with its Jewish enclave on the Lower East Side filled with horse carts, fruit stands, beggars and tenements. Director Silver even turns segments of the films into mini silent films where the characters interact with each other without spoken dialogue. Credit cinematographer Kenneth Van Sickle and production designer Stuart Wertzel for their faithful recreation. That’s all well and good, but once the characters speak, is where “Hester Street” starts to lose a lot of its luster. With the exception of from some of the Yiddish language dialogue, the actors seem like they’re playing dress-up instead of living and breathing the era. The actors’ Yinglish accents seem fake and too pronounced to be taken seriously. There’s acting in a matter of fact way, and then there’s over-emphasizing your lines, and “Hester Street” is filled with that in spades.

Steven Keats is miscast as Yankel aka Jake. His performance is more like a theme park characterization all the way down to his fake mustache, and it’s all a distraction from what should have been a competent performance. Keats only excels at acting like a silent film actor with pratfalls and facial mannerisms. Carol Kane, in her film debut, is too maudlin to really make us care about her. While her command of the Yiddish language is impressive, Kane doesn’t stand out in anything else. She’s boring to watch and it isn’t because of the way her character is written. With two actors that are all wrong in their parts, you don’t route for Jake and Gitil’s marriage to work and if you can’t identify with the characters, you don’t have a fulfilling film.

“Hester Street” received an Oscar nomination for Carol Kane’s performance which acted more as a filler than a genuine addition. The most laughable nomination was a Writers Guild Award for Best Screenplay, for a story that crams a generic story into 90 minutes without letting us really get into the characters. “Hester Street” could have been a great insight into the Jewish community beyond art direction, but merely scratches the surface over the differences between religion and secularism like a quick PowerPoint presentation. I wanted to know the full back story between Yankel and Gitil and how they got to this point in their lives, but all I got were two poor schmoes that you can find in any bread line or cramped tenement house.

5/10

[ulrichgebert]

Hester Street ist ein schöner, ruhiger und beherzt Fiddler-on-the-Roof-klischeefreier Film über das Leben der osteuropäischen Immigranten in der Lower East Side in den 1890ern und ihre unterschiedliche Fähigkeit, sich den neuen Gegebenheiten anzupassen. Diese äußert sich auch unterschiedlich, weshalb die Freude darüber, daß die dem traditionellen Frauen- und Gattinenbild ganz besonders verhaftete frisch angekommene (und ganz außerordentlich hinreißende) Carol Kane schließlich dahinter kommt, daß sie so auch bekommen kann, was sie möchte, ganz besonders groß ist.

[perlukafarinn]

Most notable Starkid cast members?

Starkid has had a lot of different cast members in their shows through the years and I started wondering who has been in the most shows and how many shows someone would have to be in for them to feel like a "proper" Starkid. I could have looked up to see if anyone has compiled this information but instead I decided to do it myself!

I went through the cast lists of all fourteen live stage shows they have uploaded to their channel (so including VHS Christmas Carol but not Nightmare Time or any other digital series) and here's what I found:

(behind a read more because this got looong and also so you have time to guess which actors have been in the most shows!)

1. Jaime Lynn Beatty (12 out of 14 shows). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 1. Lauren Lopez (12). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Nerdy Prudes Must Die. 3. Joey Richter (11). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Nerdy Prudes Must Die. 4. Joe Walker (9). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Firebringer. 5. Dylan Saunders (8). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 5. Brian Holden (8). First appearance: Me & My Dick. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 5. Corey Dorris (8). First appearance: Me & My Dick. Latest appearance: Nerdy Prudes Must Die. 8. Meredith Stepien (7). First appearance: Starship. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 9. Joe Moses (6). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Ani: A Parody. 9. Jim Povolo (6). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Twisted. 9. Denise Donovan (6). First appearance: Starship. Latest appearance: Firebringer. 9. Jeff Blim (6). First appearance: Holy Musical B@tman!. Latest appearance: Black Friday. 13. Julia Albain (5). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: Ani: A Parody. 14. Brian Rosenthal (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 14. Britney Coleman (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 14. Devin Lytle (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 14. Richard Campbell (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 14. Lily Marks (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 14. Nick Lang (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Sequel. Latest appearance: Ani: A Parody. 14. Nicholas Joseph Strauss-Matathia (4). First appearance: A Very Potter Sequel. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 21. Darren Criss (3). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 21. Tyler Brunsman (3). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 21. Sango Tajima (3). First appearance: A Very Potter Musical. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 21. A. J. Holmes (3). First appearance: Me & My Dick. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 21. Arielle Goldman (3). First appearance: Me & My Dick. Latest appearance: A Very Potter Senior Year. 21. Chris Allen (3). First appearance: Holy Musical B@tman! Latest appearance: Ani: A Parody. 21. Rachael Soglin (3). First appearance: Twisted. Latest appearance: Firebringer. 21. Robert Manion (3). First appearance: Twisted. Latest appearance: Black Friday. 21. Clark Baxtresser (3). First appearance: Ani: A Parody. Latest appearance: A VHS Christmas Carol. 21. Jon Matteson (3). First appearance: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals. Latest appearance: Nerdy Prudes Must Die.

Then there are a handful of people who have only appeared in one or two shows, most notably Bonnie Gruesen, who played Hermione in the first two Potter musicals, Will Brenner, who debuted in Nerdy Prudes Must Die, and Mariah Rose Faith, Angela Giarratana, Curt Mega, Kim Whalen, Kendall Nicole Yakshe and Bryce Charles, who have all appeared in two or more Hatchetfield projects.

A couple of observations:

Some of the actors listed have also been involved behind the scenes, with Nick Lang writing almost every show with his brother Matt Lang, and Jeff Blim and Clark Baxtresser writing the music for several shows.

I was shocked that Rachael Soglin has only been in three Starkid shows but I guess it goes to show that the size of the role also plays a part in how much of a "Starkid" every actor feels.