#corbin bleu my beloved

[tooomuchcoffee]

does anyone else get just one line of a song stuck in your head all the time but then you forget what the song is or where it’s from and you start thinking you made it up

i just realized push it to the limit from Jump In has been stuck in my head so long i forgot where it was from

[d-criss-news]

Evan Rachel Wood, Darren Criss on Stepping Into ‘Little Shop of Horrors’: “We’re Both These Little Theater ’90s Nerds”

The 'Westworld' actress and 'American Crime Story' star open up about deciding to take the stage together, personal connections to their characters, and their love for Howard Ashman and Alan Menken.

It’s early afternoon on a Friday when Darren Criss and Evan Rachel Wood pick up the phone, just five days before the duo is set to debut as the new Seymour and Audrey in off-Broadway‘s Little Shop of Horrors. Both are on their way to the Westside Theatre stage for their first top to bottom run-through, taking over the complicated but beloved characters based on Roger Corman’s 1960 horror comedy and deftly adapted for the stage by theater legends Howard Ashman (book and lyrics) and Alan Menken (music). Now in its fifth year, several notable names have left their mark on this U.S. revival of the dark goings-on of a Skid Row flower shop: Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Conrad Ricamora, Corbin Bleu, Constance Wu, Maude Apatow, Tammy Blanchard, Lena Hall. But none quite like this, as an intentional leap together among friends.

As the interview begins, Wood — who is already at the theater — openly wonders whether she should take the elevator down to where she’ll soon meet co-star and friend Criss, before quickly interjecting that “you might lose me for two seconds.” Meanwhile, Criss declares he opted to skip the subway after realizing he was running behind, as he briefly turns on his Zoom camera to reveal himself in the backseat of a car.

Later, his voice will drop out for a few minutes, before reappearing, sounding winded. “I have my ear pods in, and so I just got out of the car talking to you guys, and you cut out,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Then I looked at the car driving away, so I just sprinted down the block to grab it.” This frantic energy is reminiscent of what you can find within this kind of scrappy, fast-paced, off-Broadway musical environment in the final days before curtains go up. As replacements, Criss and Wood will do so with less time to rehearse and no preview audiences on which to test their performances, but that doesn’t seem to phase either of them. Instead, with their easy and fun rapport, the duo celebrate the challenge of what it means to be passed this mantle for a three-month run, beginning Jan. 30. On Tuesday, Wood will make her New York theater debut, a long-awaited moment for the actress who grew up with a father (Ira David Wood III) as an actor, playwright and theater director in her hometown of Raleigh. With her early stage ambitions sidelined by a burgeoning film career — later including movie musicals like Frozen II and Across the Universe — the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Wood will finally return to her performance roots, a year after news of her attachment to a possible Thelma & Louise musical adaptation for Broadway.

Little Shop of Horrors will also mark Criss’ first return to New York’s musical theater world since a multi-week replacement run in 2015 as Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. On the phone, he’s adamant that, absent traditional musical theater training, he’s fooled the world into thinking he’s more than an “actor trying to act like he knows how to sing.” But with several EPs, a Christmas album, Billboard-charting work with StarKids Productions, and roles in musical-driven screen projects like Glee and Hazbin Hotel, it’s hard not to believe that the Emmy and SAG award-winning performer, like Wood, will be right at home. Ahead of their debut, the duo spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about sharing the stage, the impact of Little Shop of Horrors across the stage and screen, their love of Ashman and Menken, and why these roles are personally resonant and remain culturally timely. Darren, you said in a previous interview that you had been begging Evan to come do theater in New York for years. How did you make that happen now and for you both together? CRISS Let me just start by saying as much as I can before she can hear me. I’m in a regular habit of just exalting Evan for her talent. I’d done this before I even had the great privilege of getting to know and become friends with her. I’m always talking about how wonderfully talented she is and how I’ve always really loved her voice and her breadth of ability. When I meet people who are these wonderful triple threats that have a really strong theatrical background — people who can sing and don’t have as many opportunities as I wish they did — I get off on the idea of people who didn’t know that they could do this thing finally getting to see that they could do this thing.

Evan has done a lot of singing in her life. She’s literally a Disney princess for Frozen II and there’s obviously Across the Universe. But knowing that she has this really strong theatrical background, I’ve always been hell-bent on getting her on a stage. As a friend, she has popped up on many gigs with me in my personal life just for fun and parties I’ve thrown. She showed up for me on the Christmas album. She’s said yes to me far more many times than I frankly deserve. So when this came around, a lot of my colleagues — a lot of my friends — have been Seymour, and who loves theater that doesn’t love Little Shop of Horrors? It would be a really fun time for me, but the thing that would make it really, really special is if I had got the chance to do it with an Audrey that not only I thought really could bring something spectacular to the role, but on a personal level, this is off-Broadway. We’re all doing this scrappy theater thing in a basement together. If we’re going to live on top of each other might as well be someone but I’m also personally very fond of and have a wonderful relationship with. So short story that’s way too long, I went to Evan and said “Hey, I have an idea. Would you be available to do this?” and thank my lucky stars, she said yes. I’m just a pig in shit, getting to do this with her. It’s an absolute joy. Evan, what’s your response to that glowing review, but also, why did you want to make this show your off-Broadway New York theater debut?

WOOD Funny enough, I have been so close to being on Broadway a handful of times and something has always come in the way of scheduling or something falls apart. It was actually my dream as a kid. I went back and read some old interviews of mine when I was around 12 or 13, and I completely had forgotten that my dream was to go live in New York, go to NYU, and do theater in New York. That was where my sights were set before my life sort of got derailed for a moment. So it’s always been in my sights. It’s gotten increasingly harder over the years to make it work, especially if you have kids, to be away from home for such long periods of time. Usually, the theater commitments are an amount of time that I was just never able to do and so the timing was perfect because I was thinking to myself, “God, I wish I could go to New York and do a play, but maybe not a six-month run. Maybe something around three months. A classic musical that’s going to be really fun.” Darren called me maybe a week later and said, “I’d love for you to come and do it with me,” and it was like an instant yes. To piggyback on what Darren said, I feel very similarly about Darren and that whenever he’s asked me to do something, I just know it’s going to be great. I know it’s going to be fun and I fully believe in everything that he does and his talent. We’re both these little theater ’90s nerds that just hit it off in so many ways, and we collaborate well together. I just felt like we would like this project. It’s made so much sense for both of us that it was a no-brainer.

Little Shop of Horrors is one of those musicals that even people who aren’t big fans of musical theater and attend regularly are aware of, both in terms of story and music. Among the many adaptations of this, whether it was a professional or high school staging or even any of the movie versions, was there one that made you want to do this show? CRISS I’ll say this. As hip of an aura as I’ve tried to give off, make no mistake, I think the biggest gateway to this property for everybody is hands down the movie. I was not seeing off off Broadway theater in the 1980s. I wasn’t there, and that’s why I love movie musicals so much. As much as I love going to the theater, being able to go to a Broadway show is a very specific and privileged situation tied to being in New York City. But whether it’s a liked or celebrated movie, it is still going to be the most accessible thing in perpetuity for everybody. So definitely the movie and those songs. Before you can really understand the complexities of the thematic, Faustian elements and high dramaturgical elements of the story — and before you even get the comedy — you get the music. Especially when you’re really young and your parents are playing you things that you go, “OK, well, kids can get behind music.” It doesn’t take much to understand that the music from that show is beloved. I mean, this music and this show are like proto-Disney Renaissance. It’s like what got [Jeffrey] Katzenberg to ask Alan Menken and Howard Ashman to help them out. It was like, “We want to do some Disney musical fairy tales.” Now, because of the show, we have The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast.

I grew up in the ’90s, as me and Evan tend to relate upon a lot. With The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and these films that I loved so much, as I got older, I really wanted to know more about the people behind them. I became obsessed with, and I talk a lot about, Howard Ashman and how much of an influence he’s had on the musical theater genre ever since the popularity of those films. So I wanted to go back to the start of that, and that’s when I started to dive into Little Shop and discover how this was the sort of nexus — the genesis — of everything. WOOD Yeah, same. I grew up watching the film and being so terrified by it, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of it. I grew up doing theater. My father runs a theater in Raleigh, North Carolina, and so that was my childhood. I was always listening to show tunes, and as Darren said, the classic Disney albums, acting out plays in my living room and Little Mermaid was certainly one of them. Ellen Greene’s performance always stuck with me, and I am also a major Howard Ashman-Alan Menkin nerd for similar reasons as Darren. Those were all things that drew me to it. I was really terrified about and still am terrified about being eaten by the plant because it was like a deep seated childhood fear of mine that I had to conquer to do this show. It’s stuck with me since childhood. It’s not as bad as you would think. But it’s still pretty scary. Also just a fun fact, I was cast as Audrey in the seventh-grade school play, but I couldn’t do it because I was doing movies. (Laughs.) So I got pulled out of school, but I was almost Audrey in seventh grade.

CRISS You aged into it well. This is a much more appropriate time in your life being Audrey than in seventh grade, so worked out just great. (Laughs.) I just have to say, this production, we both have our careers going on and different dragons that we’re chasing in our professional and personal lives that committing to a big Broadway production is a huge investment. What’s so wonderful about this is, the way the show is set up, we can kind of come in for just a little bit. It’s really high output but like low stakes — and I don’t want to say that to be reductive of the production. I mean that the show is beloved. There are people that know this show but have never seen it, and have heard of it and know the songs without ever even having tried to listen and know the songs. So it’s so culturally ubiquitous, that it’s a very, welcome accessible thing for all kinds of folks and that might cross-pollinate between me and Evan’s demographic of people who might be interested in us. Also, it’s been running for long enough that I feel protected. I’ve seen this production several times. Evan and I went just last night. It’s something that you don’t have to figure out. One of the hardest parts about getting a show up on its feet is like, does it work? Do we want this song in? We got to do with an audience and you really have to workshop stuff for a long time. Shows take years before they’ve reached mainstream Broadway, so the fact that all that legwork is taken out is a no-brainer for us. It’s just this really like warm snuggle from something that we really love.

You’re right in that this is not a traditional production experience for you, as you’re coming in after others, and you have less rehearsal time, no previews. What have the challenges or exciting elements of that been for you so far? WOOD I don’t know about you, Darren, but I feel like one of the reasons why I said yes to doing this with you is because this is kind of where you and I thrive — in the fast-paced chaos. I need a challenge sometimes. I need that adrenaline and I need that fast pace, especially if I’m coming in to do theater. That’s where I grew up, and that’s what I’m used to. That’s where home is for me. So coming back into the theater into the organized chaos of it all feels right. My brain loves it and thrives off of it. When somebody says “Oh, this is a really hard number to learn,” I think, “This is going to be my favorite number.” (Laughs.) I love figuring something out, and picking it apart piece by piece and putting it back together, then conquering it. There’s just such satisfaction that comes from doing that there, Darren, and I think it’s similar for you. CRISS It is kind of a party trick some people are quick studies of, for better or for worse. I think this kind of pace suits us. I think it’s something that we wear pretty well, and I think we do that a lot in our own lives. But to do it together is pretty fun. I’ve thrown Evan into all kinds of things where she’ll just show up knowing a whole song last minute. That’s not too dissimilar, and it’s not like we’re learning new music. We know these songs.

In the theater world, you learn a track. It’s literally a track — there are little railroad tracks set around the stage because there’s no follow spots. The lights are where they are. You don’t have to do hours of tech rehearsal, figuring out where the lighting cues are. They’re there. It is our job to jump into a machine that is already very well-oiled and running. So in that regard, you’re kind of free from having to worry about that stuff. But you can just focus on your characterization and nuance within these very, specific directives. I’ve done a few put-ins. I think this is probably your first, Evan, for a show that’s already going. Correct me if I’m wrong. WOOD I did learn, for the record, Baz Luhrmann in one night and performed it the next night. CRISS Case and point. So yeah, doing a put-in — I’ve done it a few times for Broadway — it’s nice because then you can just focus on the little things that you really want to play with and not worry about these big macro things. What’s funny is that people always say, “Oh, I love Broadway music. I love Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.” The word Broadway is often conflated with the music from narrative storytelling, whether it be from films or TV. This show was always an off-Broadway darling. It was only really on Broadway for a little bit in 2003. Beyond that, it’s the movie and this off-off-Broadway show, which started in the ’80s and ran for a pretty long time. Then in just so many regional and school productions. But it’s actually only been on Broadway for a minority of the time.

WOOD And that was intentional, right? It was really important to them to keep it off Broadway because that was the spirit of the show. It was on Skid Row. It wasn’t supposed to be a big huge glitzy production. CRISS When you contextualize it, it’s a famous show now, but if you’re in the ’80s, and you’ve got some big Broadway musicals happening uptown, and you’re trying to tell your friends, “Yeah, I saw this thing downtown. You got to come. It’s kind of this doo-wop that’s based of this Roger Corman B-movie. There’s a plant that’s a puppet but it’s hard to explain. You just got to come down and see it.” (Laughs.) Trying to contextualize that, it makes you realize this really is a weird thing, man. It’s a weird, off-the-beaten-path, outlying renegade show. You’ve both done musicals in different mediums, which is, obviously, a different process. Was there anything you brought in with you about doing it on-screen to your performances now? WOOD It’s kind of the opposite for me. I’ve carried theater into my film work because I started in theater, so I learned how to do things fluidly and without stopping. There’s a lot of stop and start in TV and film and sometimes that’s nice. But sometimes it’s frustrating, especially when you come from a theater background. There’s something so satisfying about telling the story from beginning to end and playing the entire arc of the character in one go. There’s just a certain energy and an aliveness that comes with that that you can’t have when you have the camera in the room and it’s constantly moving and starting and stopping and changing.

CRISS I would say the same thing. I don’t know if this math checks out, but I think I’ve spent in my collective hours working in any kind of performing art more time in a theater than I have on a set. That might not be true, but in my mind, it feels that way. I constantly feel like I’m bringing what I know in the theater to film and television. I’d always prefer to be doing theater, but these days, listen, I’ll work anywhere, anyhow. As long as, hopefully, it’s positive, and additive to the world in some way. The theater, without getting on a total spiritual kick, it is a holy place. It’s an ancient art form. It is catharsis. It is sharing something with people in real-time before your very eyes. It’s why, despite the fact that we have TV and film and every possible AR, VR medium to displace our reality, theater is still around. It’s why we go to church, why we go to temple, why we go to the mosque — so we can experience something that we collectively want to believe in. We’re strangers and we want to elevate ourselves to something that’s bigger than the sum of our parts. I realize I said I didn’t want to get into a whole spiritual thing with it, but there you go. That can only happen after the fact, months if not years after you do it in a film set.

Evan and I are about to do our first put-in rehearsal, which is to say, we’re going to do the whole thing top to bottom, but there will be a key character missing, and that is the audience. The audience is one of the main characters of any show. And as much as you’d not want to break the fourth wall — that they’re not supposed to be there — of course, they’re there. Of course, that’s why we’re there — to have that kind of sacred communion with an audience giving you the privilege of their presence. You have a responsibility and a duty to make sure that you are sharing some kind of worthwhile experience with them. So getting to renew that experience every night, to me, is the most noble vocation that you can have as an artist.

WOOD I learned how to sing before I learned how to act because I wanted to do musical theater. So this is my favorite thing to do. Of all the mediums is being able to marry the singing and the acting together. Always my first love. CRISS I’m still learning how to do those two things, which is why Evan Rachel Wood is in this production — to teach me how to do those things. (Laughs.) Part of why shows like Little Shop go on for so long — why they can get this many revivals or adaptations — is that there’s something timeless about the story and its characters. For you, what is most timeless about Seymour and Audrey? Amid all the other actors who have taken on these roles, what are you most connecting to? WOOD From what I understand, everybody that’s come in to do the show brings their own energy and spin on it. Especially with Audrey — Ellene Greene, her performance is so iconic. The look, the voice, the songs. So stepping into that is figuring out how I pay homage to the parts of this character that people love and expect to see, but also bring my vibe and energy to it. That’s exciting to figure out what my Audrey looks like. For me, it’s also hard not to relate to her and her struggles because, unfortunately, those are very timeless — poverty, abuse, patriarchy. She’s sort of a victim of all of those things. Not to get too real for a second, but I am a domestic violence survivor playing this character who is going through similar struggles, who has these similar feelings and dreams of getting out and going to a better place and getting far, far away from her past. They’re all very real things, but they’re in this setting of campiness and horror. What’s amazing about the show for me is that it is fun. It is campy. There are man-eating plants. But there’s such sincerity to it as well. Especially with Audrey, Seymour, and their relationship. There are so many beautiful real moments between the two of them. Themes of poverty and capitalism are still just so prevalent that that’s why it’s so timeless because these things just are not going away.

CRISS I’m glad Evan mentioned her own experience and what that brings to the show. I think, for my money, pathos is a dish best served sweet. Comedy and fun are a wonderful support system for really heavy themes. WOOD Exactly. CRISS I think I’m that I’m more likely to take something more seriously if it’s not shoved down my throat. This is a comedy and to me, there’s not a lick of fat on this thing from Howard Ashman who was just such an extraordinary dramaturg. He took this really silly B-movie, and managed to hone in on the very ancient themes. You’re asking what makes Seymour so timeless. It’s a Faustian tale. This is the one of the oldest fables asking what is the price of greatness. What is a man willing to do, willing to give up, willing to trade to get what he wants? WOOD He literally sells his soul. CRISS Yeah, he sells his soul. The plant is Mephistopheles in this parable of Little Shop. But, of course, if you’re going go downtown and say, “I’m going to do a show. It’s like a Faust thing, and Mephistopheles shows up,” you can see people’s eyes glaze over. Well, how about it’s this guy, there’s music that is evocative of what was popular in the late ’50s, but the plant sings. It’s sci-fi, but it’s horror, but it’s fun, and it’s comedy. Now you have my attention, now I’m subscribing to the fun and the music. But by the end of it, I’m experiencing a classic, traditional, academic tale in a really fun way. When you said there’s been millions of iterations of this show, my mind went to, there’s been millions of iterations of this story. This is probably just one of the funniest ones I can think of.

There is ancientness to this tale. I’ve realized recently I’ve made a lot of my roles, especially in the Broadway world, about people who would do anything to accomplish greatness. To varying degrees of evil or good or compromise, people are always trying to figure out what it is they have to do, and what they have to give up. What line they would cross to get it. A lot of times people are kind of conflicted [watching Little Shop of Horrors] because you are rooting for this guy doing this thing, but he’s doing something terrible. Does that make you complicit? Are you a bad person for wanting this? All those things are the bread and butter of good old-fashioned drama.

[sunset-bobby]

HSMTMTS S3 Ep8

Finale!!!!

Happy Birthday Ricky!!!

Biggie??

“I’m Ashlyn’s boyfriend” not Ricky’s bestie 😭😭

EJ you good?? Ricky asks

Oooo Where is Gina

Val’s a college student so ofc her and Ash won’t work

“The right person”

Ricky thought she was talking bout him

Sir how have you not read the script….Ricky you mess up and ruin this for my baby i will disown you

Miss Jenn my beloved

awww yay solo for Emmy…she sounds great

What in the Glee is this (not my friend said EJ looks like Finn)

me: Jet better sing this ep my friend: or be kissing ricky

Ahhhh Maddox and Ashlyn

Ugh fuck off Channing

EJ tryna get him to leave and everyone else could not see this

But we’re theatre kids

He’s trying so hard not be too much and she thinks he doesn’t care

It’s not a show if miss jenn doesn’t sing

Nini !!!

We all know she’s leaving

Kourtney you got this 😭😭

EJ put a lot of effort into this production value

Yess Carlos

It got crazy…it’s you

What are they talking about???

Omg they’re both gay!!

What are y’all thinking

yess representation of black mental health issues

oh clearly they are not thinking the same thing 😭😭

Kourtney I believe you

If Channing ruins Kourtney’s moment I will physically fight

Callback moment to the flashlight

Also will be fighting channing

Fight him Gina!!!!

Yes costume change

The fact he tried to ruin her solo was racially motivated 😒 but she pushed through as she should

Not claps from Corbin

Nini’s here - Ricky okay one girl this summer

Fight him Ricky do it

“Just Friends”

Why everybody look like they’re having a im in love moment during ricky’s solo 😭😭

Oop he looked right at her and the only thing i’m here for is EJ angst

EJ angst like i asked for

The daddy issues

I’m crying he hung up on him

Oh i asked for him to cry i ain’t mean it 😭😭😭

Not he ain’t get one

There was no Jet solo??? what was the point of casting him

Not she was gonna leave w/o saying goodbye to Kourtney at least

Ahhhhh omg not he remembered her

Why did no one punch him

What team?! crying

If Corbin Bleu starts singing to you EJ knows you stop walking

I’m sobbing they’re so good

They’re trending

She remembered

Okay, Hair, okay outfits

What did he do to his hair

oh this is gonna be bad

Oh wtf

Nah cause Jet said that too quickly for that to be edited

Big red rlly came out so easily

Good for him

 continuously I asked for EJ to finally slap him, and he finally admits that he wants to slap him and then they’re brothers and then he almost starts crying

Oh

I’m sorry no we did all see this coming except for you apparently

Yay Rina but also like justice for EJ

dude can you at least kiss her

oh shit oh shit oh shit

This is not disney wtf

EJ casual is a better person than me because I would slap the shit out of Ricky and we all know if roles are reversed Ricky would’ve slapped the shit out of him

[bubmyg]

fully agree with cheetah girls and hsm- i also would like to throw in lemonade mouth for top tier soundtracks!!

YES i also forgot about jump in,,,,,corbin bleu my beloved 🫶

[novumtimes]

Corbin Bleu Double-Dutches His Way Back to Jump In 17 Years Later

Corbin Bleu continues to push himself to the limit! On Sunday, May 26, Bleu, 35, proved that he still has a knack for jumping rope 17 years after the release of the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In! Bleu proudly shared a video of himself playing double-dutch on TikTok as his song “Push It to the Limit” played in the background. He wrote on top of the video, “POV: It’s been 17 years since you Jumped In,” and added in the caption, “Still got it.” While sharing the same clip on Instagram, Bleu revealed that it was filmed between performances of his Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors. “Double Dutch in between shows outside of our theatre! My @littleshopnyc family knows how to bring the community together! Can’t believe it’s been almost 20 years since I’ve done this ,” Bleu captioned the post. In the beloved 2007 film, the actor played Izzy Daniels, a young boxer who ultimately finds a love for the sport after joining a tournament with Mary Thomas (Keke Palmer). Jump In! director Paul Hoen told Business Insider in a 2022 interview that Bleu and Palmer, 30, were some “of the most talented physical actors.” (L-R) Corbin Bleu, Keke Palmer, Laivan Greene, Shanica Knowles in Jump In!. John Medland/Disney Channel/ Everett The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! “What’s just so amazing with that group of actors is that they could do all of that jump roping, It’s amazingly hard, and all the tricks, they were completely into those and learning how to do them,” said Hoen. Bleu recently reflected on another special memory — his 2016 wedding to Sasha Clements. While speaking to PEOPLE earlier this month, the High School Musical  alum recalled having an “epic” ceremony.” Corbin Bleu and Sasha Clements attend the 2024 Chita Rivera Awards on May 20, 2024 in New York City.  Dia Dipasupil/Getty “If I really had to break it down, it’s the moment that I saw her right before she walked down the aisle. That moment is a core memory,” he recalled. Bleu said that watching his wife walk down the aisle in a custom Pnina Tornai gown felt as though “the world shifted.” Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. “We’ve been together for 13 years now. She makes me feel like every day is worth living. I mean, she’s sweet, she’s smart, she’s giving, she’s caring. She loves me for who I am, and everything. I know I can be my complete self around her, and vice versa,” he added, calling her “my person” and “soulmate.” Source link via The Novum Times

[tthankstoyou]

sprite >

!!!

people always ridicule me and Im like god why its delicious buy better opinions 🤧

YES OHMYGOD

You’re the only person I trust in this whole website. Sprite’s so good, there’s no need for any other soda. I will never take 7-UP over sprite either, the carbonation is too different

[dear-ao3]

once again, this is very much not the content that you all signed up to see, but i have no choice but to make this post because i am mad at disney.

now, i’m sure most of us feel at least a little inexplicable rage at that mouse once or twice a week, but today my rage has surpassed both “little” and “inexplicable” and become full fledged anger that the audacity of the stupid little mouse.

thats right. im talking about high school musical the musical the series.

if you happen to be one of the fortunate people who has never heard of this, consider yourself lucky because it has been taking up valuable space in my brain for the last year.

most of us know high school musical, the beloved disney channel movies from the latter half of the 2000s starring zac efron, vanessa hudgens, ashley tisdale, lucas grabeel, corbin bleu and monique coleman. they told the story of basketball star troy bolton falling madly in love with scholastic decathlon champion gabriella montez through their unlikely and accidental love of high school theater. and we all definitely cried when they broke up in the second one (however briefly it was).

these movies became the staple of a generation (mine) and however cheesy they may be, they rank in only the most iconic of television. i, like many others, are very protective of these classics.

so. in 2019. a grand total of 13 years after the first high school musical movie aired on the disney channel, disney released a disney+ series called one other than high school musical the musical the series, starring olivia rodrigo and joshua bassett.

from the beginning, i was infuriated by this. but not because of the content of the show, i did watch the show and the show was actually quite good and i thoroughly enjoyed it. my issue was with the absolute abomination of a title.

titles should roll off the tongue. and whatever the fresh fuck that is certainly doesn’t roll off anything. it’s long. it’s clunky. the acronym looks like a pre schoolers attempt at spelling their name. it infuriates me.

but, i was willing to put this aside because i enjoyed the show.

but now, two whole years later, i am no longer willing to overlook this outrageous and dastardly mistake that the mouse made because the show was renewed for a new season. and guess what. they are not putting on high school musical.

now, in my rage i realize that i forgot to explain the premise of the show. in said show, east high school (the school where high school musical took place), gets a new drama teacher who learns that the school has never put on high school musical before. and the show is about their trials and tribulations of doing so.

so in season 2, which just recently came out, the east high drama department puts on another show, you know, as drama departments tend to do. and guess what show it is?

since this is a rant post, i will tell you.

it is beauty and the beast.

yes. that is correct.

and last i checked, beauty and the beast has nothing to do with high school musical.

so why on earth is the show still called high school musical the musical the series of season two has literally no connection to high school musical except for the fact that it happens to take place at the same high school (and yes apparently they were initially supposed to put on hsm 2 but changed it because of a plot point).

and disney, the cheeky bastards, knew that this show was going to get renewed. because in the very end of the last episode the theater teacher says “wait till you see what i have planned for the spring” or something. so they knew. they knew that this was going to get renewed. and yet. they still named it.

high school musical the musical the series.

if we’re following the trend, it should be called beauty and the beast the musical the musical the series.

they could have named it something so much better. like. east high theater. or east high drama department. or something other than fucking HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THE MUSICAL THE SERIES.

[imperaptorfuriosa]

minimal thought just vibes bill and ted musical dream casting: bill and ted HAVE to be young guys making their broadway debut otherwise what’s the point. if they have to be established people you gotta get the kid who played percy when the lightning thief was actually on broadway. he was so snubbed for that performance and he would make an excellent ted. norm lewis as rufus!!!!!!!!!! holy shit thats the best idea ive had all day!!!!!!!!!! mitchell jarvis as billy the kid. christian borle as captain logan--give that beloved tony-winner a receding hairline. do it. i need corbin bleu to be in it and i want him to tap dance so hes a historical figure like literally make him fred astair thats already his brand. caitlin kinnunen aka emma from the original prom cast is joan of arc. bryce pinkham is lincoln. kevin moon loh is the history teacher. i wish i could think of someone worthy of missy but im drawing a blank im so sorry missy and also the princesses you deserve better than me and my brain full of men

[gossipnetwork-blog]

Dancing With the Stars Sends Home Another Celeb...Just as He Was Making a Possible Love Connection

New Post has been published on http://gossip.network/dancing-with-the-stars-sends-home-another-celeb-just-as-he-was-making-a-possible-love-connection/

Dancing With the Stars Sends Home Another Celeb...Just as He Was Making a Possible Love Connection

The champs are here!

In a fun twist, Dancing With the Stars welcomed back six of its most beloved champions from the last 24 seasons to dance with the six remaining celebrities on Monday night. And they proved to have the magic touch step for many of the stars, with Jordan Fisher even delivering a perfect night, getting a 60 out of 60. Sadly, one couple was sent home just before the season 25 semi-finals. 

In jeopardy at the end of the night were Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke, and Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson. And the latest couple eliminated from the competition was Terrell and Cheryl. “I had a great time, she was a great teacher,” Terrell said. “I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” 

But there was silver lining for Terrell: a possible new romance!

Here’s a recap of the night’s performances: 

Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke: 27/30 Started  from the bottom…and now they’re one of the top performers…just to be eliminated. Hate it when that happens. The NFL star’s ’20-style Charleston (which he didn’t even know was a dance until this week)! drew rave critiques from the judges. “The king of the cotton club,” Bruno Tonioli, weird as ever, said. “I love the way you captured the sense of style, time, and place beautifully.”

For his trio dance, Terrell and Cheryl teamed with the OG DWTS winner Kelly Monaco, and it seems like sparks may have been flying between the single T.O. and Kelly. “That man is sculpted out of heaven,” Kelly gushed, and later promised to go on a date with him if they got a perfect score. Sadly, the judges weren’t down to play wingmen, all wishing for more choreography. They received a 24/30, but some of the troupe dancers did Terrell a solid and awarded him a 30/30! Anyone else rooting for Terrell and Kelly to actually go on that date? Talk about a hot couple. 

ABC

Drew Scott and Emma Slater: 22/30 Coming off of a great week, the pressure was on for the Property Brothers star with his waltz, which he was dedicating to his fiancé, Linda. “She’s that one person in my life that I couldn’t live without her,” Drew said to Emma, adding, “Just like you and Sasha.” Awww! While the judges liked the emotion in the performance, Carrie Ann Inaba said Drew “stiffened” a bit and Len Goodman noticed he loses his frame a lot.

Last season’s winner Rashad Jennings joined the couple for their trio, with the champ turning into Drew’s “swag coach.” The judges felt Rashad definitely upped Drew’s game, but did note he had a hard time keeping up at times. 25/30.

Victoria Arlen and Val Chmerkovskiy: 24/30 As if dealing with being in jeopardy last week wasn’t enough, Victoria suffered a spasm in rehearsal earlier in the day, but was able to push through the pain to perform their tango. For the judges, it was good, not great. “I didn’t feel as strong as I felt before the spasm. But overcoming that, getting out of that scared mindset helps me go out there,” Victoria said. “It wasn’t as good as it could have been, but given the circumstances, I’m very happy with it.”

The Paralympic gold medalist was paired with Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez, with the duo bonding over their love for Star Wars and sharing a fun energy. Again, the judges critiqued the acting portions of Victoria’s performance. “It was not a gold medal performance, but you’re definitely on the podium,” Len said. 24/30.

Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas: 26/30 Speaking of rebounding from an injury, Lindsey was still dealing with her serious rib injury, and was dealt one of the toughest dances, the paso doble, to conquer. “I’m really taking care of my body, I can tell it’s not swelling,” she said. “And I worked on getting my spirit back. Now that I feel like I’m not broken anymore, I feel like I can do it.” However, Len noticed she “didn’t look quite as sure-footed” as she usually does, and Carrie Ann admitted it looked “funky” at moments.

Kristi Yamaguchi is back in the ballroom to dance, which is funny for Mark has he has said all season that Lindsey reminds him of his old partner. And their jazz really jazzed the judges, with Len calling their performance “terrific.” After that, it was weird to see them get a 28/30 and not a perfect score. Something feels fishy…and not just because we learned Mark likes to smell his partners’ shoes to gauge how hard they are working. (Ew. But effective!)

Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson: 26/30 Where do you go after you receive a perfect score? For Frankie and Witney, it was a romantic waltz, and for the Malcolm in the Middle star, he was still battling his own self-doubt.  But he had no reason to doubt himself, really, as Carrie Ann said “that was the closest thing to perfection” of the night. And after their dance, Frankie sort of promised: “If we make it to, like, week eight or nine, which hopefully we do, I’ll take my shirt off.” Get to voting, Frankie fans. (But he did look TERRIFIED.) 

Fan-favorite Alfonso Ribeiro returned to dance with two of his old friends, as he won with Witney and has raced with Frankie in the past. Witney noted how similar her two partners are, with Alfonso saying, “It’s that child actor thing.” Their jive was well-received by the judges, though Carrie Ann did note Frankie’s nerves. 27/30.

Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold: 30/30 Though he received a perfect score, his group score from last week knocked Jordan into fourth place. So Jordan was putting a lot of pressure on himself to deliver a perfect quick-step, noting he wants to help Lindsay win her first mirrorball (she’s the only pro remaining that has yet to do so). And guess what? He delivered, receiving a standing ovation from Len. Looks like we finally found something better than a 10 from Len!

Talk about a perfect pairing: Former Disney star Corbin Bleu showed up to perform with the former Disney star. And Jordan revealed seeing Corbin in High School Musical inspired him to pursue a career in entertainment. “I’ve never seen a mixed kid doing movies and TV. It’s like, that’s what I want to do.” After many bro-hugs, their fast-paced salsa rendered the judges speechless. As for Len, he said, “Normally they say two is company, three is a crowd. On this occasion, three was perfect.” 30/30. DUH.

DWTS airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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[d-criss-news]

Video: Little Shop of Horrors' Darren Criss on How Howard Ashman Is His 'Roman Empire'

Following his first week of performances as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway, Darren Criss (sporting perfectly thematic lime green nail polish) took the time to chat with Playbill about his endless enthusiasm about the role—plus, his musings on the brilliance of the academic undertones of the show's story being set to a timelessly catchy score. 

"I'm just pleased as punch to be part of the legacy that is this show, not just this production, but the legacy that everybody [has] known since the 1980s," Criss shared in his interview with Playbill. 

Prior to his breakout role on the musical television series Glee, Criss was known by his fans not only for his part in pioneering the viral theatre company StarKid Productions, but his YouTube covers of Alan Menken-Howard Ashman standards. For nearly two decades, Criss' deep admiration for the Ashman-Menken theatrical canon has been evident. "It's a very special show because of Howard Ashman. His fingerprint is such a huge part of my own relationship to creativity and he's been a north star in my life for as long as I can remember. As the kids say, he's my Roman Empire," Criss says, referring to a viral TikTok trend where users share the historical event they contemplate at least once a day. And now Criss is singing Menken and Ashman's songs eight times a week at the Westside Theatre, opposite longtime friend Evan Rachel Wood as Audrey.

While the Emmy winner, in some ways, admits that this long-awaited opportunity feels surreal, he is also confident in his ability to handle the material. "As a lover and ravenous consumer of the Ashman-Menken legacy, I have put in the hours of absolutely loving and being invigorated by this stuff stuff that it stands to reason that I could be here. It is surreal, but it also makes perfect sense," he shares.

With such a long-established and beloved role, countless performers have had the opportunity to leave their mark on the role of Seymour, and each interpretation offers infinite possibilities within the larger mold of the character. For Criss, his take on the character is rooted in theatre history.

"In the past few years—I don't know if it's a coincidence, and I don't know what it says about me—I seem to have played a lot of guys that are willing to do anything for greatness," muses Criss. "This is an ancient tale. I think people forget that Little Shop, for all its fun and catchiness, is a Faustian tale. All that very academic stuff is baked into this cake and I think that's why Howard Ashman was a genius. He could really toe that line between academia and accessibility...It is very smart, as fun as it is."

To see Criss' full interview with Playbill's Jeffrey Vizcaíno, watch the video above.

Criss joined the hit Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theatre January 30. Wood and Criss succeeds Constance Wu and Corbin Bleu, who played their final performances in the long-running revival January 28.

Criss came to global fame on the Ryan Murphy musical television series Glee, and since appeared on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and most recently, American Buffalo. He is an Emmy winner and Golden Globe winner for portraying murderer Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

[sunset-bobby]

HSMTMTS S3 Ep6

okay gonna be honest…i forgot lol, but my week itself has been a little hectic so here i am back

Ricky is ready to fight sketchy camera man….and you know what thank u, i’ve been asking for this

cute duck

color war

commit to one side 🫢 Gina’s face

Awww i like this Gina and Maddox bonding

Elton…oooo someone’s in trouble

fully expecting EJ to rewind like Ricky

No bc I woulda looked into this white mans eyes and fell so hard if i was Gina

EJ’s adorable

Damn Maddox hit ‘em where it hurts

Spaceship Man

Corbin whispering legal stuff is so funny idk why

I fight dirty and i will cheat…I love Kourtney

Ashlyn’s rlly going through it

Hey Buddy….

Okay Jet outing Maddox is a miscommunication thing

Jet is asking the real questions

Miss Jenn my beloved

“EJ, my tallest child” - a quote i will continue to use

I’d respond to chad too ngl

Oooo love how every sequence w/ a guess is usually in a dream

Love this song already

oh yup def going on my playlist (and Gina rlly is hanging w/ all the hot disney mens like Jordan Fisher and Corbin Bleu)

Lol it’s so funny she’s struggling but like Buffy was the first woman on the b-ball team

Carlos keeps slapping ppl

That was so extra 😭😭😭 but also the Rina hug

EJ 😭😭

this whole sequence is my favorite

EJ no we’re not doing jealousy

Lmaoo Jet and Maddox

Ms. Jen i love you so much and i love how excited they all are

Aw Carlos and Ms Jen

Ash asking for help

Miss Jen is def lowkey judging how much shit they’ve gotten into already

You got this kourt

Jennifer out!

how do they have so much of one color like i just realized this is their own clothes

This is actually really good performance

Yay Jet

Totally understandable Maddox

awwww I know that shirt hurt Ricky….but also like the shot of them both standing there as she’s like there’s room for 1 more

Awww no 😔 my heart hurts that they can’t have dates

There are no fireworks 😭😭

Awww Ricky no don’t cry damn

Oh the Rina’s are gonna eat this up

Ooo okay okay