#tommy htdio

[thesquirrelqueer]

it would be impossible to do a show without swings, so much love to the amazing swings of how to dance in ohio!

[ashleywool]

Possible fanfiction prompt:

A reboot of Gilligan's Island, but the seven castaways are the Spectrum Club 7 from How to Dance in Ohio.

Gilligan = Tommy (friendly, means well, tries hard, but kind of chaotic and likely to ruin things, usually seen in red)

Skipper = Drew (charismatic, good leader, but knows how to delegate when necessary, usually seen in blue, also I just like the idea of him clonking Tommy on the head a lot)

Professor = Marideth (more intellectual than emotional, has a vast knowledge of facts about pretty much everything, most likely to figure out how to do anything...except fix the boat)

Thurston Howell III = Remy (highly influential and well-connected, could be morally corrupt but chooses not to be, the most likely to pack an absurd amount of "necessary" possessions to keep with them on a three-hour tour)

Eunice Howell = Mel (stronger than they seem, wiser than you expect, protective maternal energy, also I just like the idea of Mel and Remy being married because probably what happened is Remy got rich and famous from influencer income and married Mel so that they could afford to leave Paws & Claws and have a better life with adequate healthcare and that's the wholesome queer aro/ace love story we deserve)

Ginger Grant = Jessica (is a star, knows she's a star, knows that you know she's a star, acts accordingly)

Mary Ann = Caroline (sweet, wholesome, has a toxic ex, bffs with Jessica, and people totally like her better than Jessica, but don't tell Jessica)

cc: @traderjoesfan2008 @indigogirl420 @wakanda-never

[de-lyc-ful]

And just like that, the Broadway run of How To Dance In Ohio has come to a close.

I don’t particularly know what to say, I’ve never been very good at explaining my emotions. I see parts of myself in parts of almost every show I watch, but Ohio is special in the way that I have seen myself in all of the show. Every character, every beat, every song, felt like looking in a mirror. My Ohio art journey started with a (mostly) full cast drawing, so it’s only fair that I close this chapter with another, better one.

Is it perfect? No. Is it accurate? Also no, I drew the characters as werewolves, in what world is that accurate? (I also didn’t draw the stripes on Caroline’s sweater but you’d have to actually pay me to do that) But this is my send off to a wonderful show.

How To Dance In Ohio has brought me so much, even though I only saw it once. It brought me community, it brought me confidence in my work, and it brought me confidence in myself. Ohio has told me that “yes, I can make it, whatever that means to me.”

As a surprise to absolutely nobody because I’m very open about this, I am autistic. And while I am studying to become a concept artist, acting is a dream of mine as well. I’ve been told by my family that I will never be able to do theatre professionally due to my sensory issues, my stubbornness, everything about myself. The Ohio community welcomed me with open arms, told me to dust myself off, and keep going.

I’d like to specifically thank a few people who I’ve had lovely interactions with.

Ashley Wool- You were the one who encouraged me to keep going, to not doubt myself, and to take pride in my work. You were the first person to actually enjoy my art so much that you wanted a print of it, and I am so incredibly grateful for all you’ve done, intentionally or not, to push me to make more art.

Desmond Luis Edwards- You are incredibly funny and I have so much respect for you. I’ve enjoyed our interactions and watching your livestreams and all the delightful people I’ve gotten to meet through them.

Madison Kopec- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am mildly frightened by you and I will see every show that I possibly can where you’re in it. Like, holy shit, I can’t begin to explain how in awe I am of your performance. Also your tumblr username makes me laugh.

Imani Russell- Pretty much the same as like I’ve said about Madison, I’m amazed by your performance and I will try to see or at least listen to as many shows that you’re in as I can. However you don’t scare me nearly as much because anyone with an orange cat can’t be scary to me. Your username also makes me laugh. (This paragraph has been edited for spell checking)

Nicole D’Angelo- This dude responded to my tiktok comment right after MIDNIGHT to read a random essay I had written THE DAY BEFORE CLOSING and then had a delightful conversation with me about why Marideth is such a good character. Endless respect and love for them.

Thank you, How To Dance In Ohio. Thank you for everything.

[thetisming]

i'm gonna learn to drive specifically so i can get a Chevy Silverado and then listen to all the songs where Tommy sings about driving while i drive

[azrantimes]

I saw htdio Saturday, and Kimberly Akimbo yesterday night and I have thoughts (I'm probably gonna make separate blogs to talk about both shows later) so this is for a small subset of people that love them both.

Tommy is the brother who crashed Seth's family car, and Seth is Tommy's brother whos car he wants to drive.

[jewish-fanboy]

something i really really love about htdio is how the members of spectrum club 7 cope with thoughts/feelings/situations with their special interests cuz hey i do that too! and i feel like it reflects a part of the autistic experience that is ignored a lot

marideth (my favorite!!) deals with the questions from her dad that she doesn’t want to answer about the dance and the uncomfortable situation in the diner by reciting facts about australia (leading into the song unlikely animals). she also thinks about her feelings for drew through the lens of continents and geography (in the song drift) which makes it easier for her to deal with. AND the way that she ends up talking to drew about her feelings for him is also through facts, when she talks about the history behind formal dances

caroline thinks a lot about her relationship with her boyfriend in terms of her interest in royalty and historical figures (like how all the costumes in the song slow dance are very historical)

jessica plans her conversations with tommy to be about dragons, instead of directly having to talk about her feelings, and she spends a lot of time thinking about dragons and fantasy (“don’t get me started on dragons,” and the way she gets a sword as her prize for being the intergalactic superhero of the formal)

drew talks about his feelings about change and marideth and social situations through the lens of engineering (in the song waves and wires) and especially his thoughts about emotions (“light is made of waves, sound is made of waves, feelings come in waves)”

remy talks a lot about their feelings about identity through his cosplays (especially in the song nothing at all) and how they express all the different facets of their identity and feelings as other people (“when i am sherlock the world makes perfect sense”)

tommy talks about independence and what he wants through his focus on driving (in the song chevy silverado)

mel uses their interest in reptiles to get a promotion in their job and their interest in quotes and literature to make friends (during their conversations with ashley)

i just think it’s really cool to see this kind of thing represented!!

[amazingabby300]

Htdio thoughts part 3:

Tommy and Drew are actually good friends their dads will watch football together and have a barbecue in the fall.

Jessica and Caroline will do that high pitch scream whenever they hear gossip or just overall good news.

Mel and Meredith geek overall the reptiles at Mel’s work. Paul isn’t happy.

Rick Jenkins, Hawkins, and Kurt are all put in a room together to think about their own actions. (They are played by the same guy this would be funny. A Jekyll and Hyde moment)

Tommy gets Drew into Pokémon because of the electric Pokémon. Drew falls in love with Pikachu

Remy does Inktober but for cosplay.

[mysweetoddbird]

tommy htdio is aro. to me

[backstage-autorin]

I can't stop thinking about the HTDIO scene where the characters read the blog post

Content note: the quotes from the blog post will have ableism in them, which is called out in the context of the show but may not be what people want to see on their tumblr feeds.

I've seen the show twice, once in early January and again at the closing performance, so I didn't pick up on everything (unfortunately I forgot what Tommy's line was and until my 2nd time seeing it I misremembered which character had a specific line.) The first time I saw it I felt the breath get sucked out of the room at the opening line that Dr. Amigo read; I didn't get quite the same feeling the 2nd time but I saw it but I feel like the closing show was more fans seeing it one last time/who had seen it already and had somewhat braced themselves for the scene. (That being said, the 2nd audience cheered more when Remy's livestream included the phrase "Nothing about us without us, while I heard less of a reaction from the audience my 1st time).

But one thing that stands out to me about that scene is how the lines are perfectly crafted to tie into the characters' storylines and hurt each character individually.

To break it down by character with the caveat that the quotes are gonna be incomplete paraphrases(in alphabetical order except for Drew because I remember his line being last in the scene):

Caroline: "most will never marry or have children" (a few scenes ago she was singing about hanging family pictures down the hallway with Jay) (when I first saw the show I thought this was Marideth's line, tying into her conversation with her dad about dressing like Santa for her hypothetical future children)

Jessica: "most may never be able to live on their own" (throughout the show she has been working on trying to move out of her mother's house by learning life skills like cooking and the fact that her crush on Tommy is partly due to her search for a boyfriend who can drive so she no longer has to use unreliable government transport)

Marideth: "the nightclub is full of loud noises that can cause meltdowns and tantrums" (Marideth's sensory issues are prominent throughout the show--her opening line is an opinion of the scent of soap, she hates zippers that touch her skin [at least that's my interpretation of hoodie zippers being ok when dress zippers are bad] and the loud sounds in the diner stress her out. However, we also see that she has strategies to deal with unpleasant sensory input, like noise-canceling headphones)

Mel: "kings and queens for one night" (erases their existence as a nonbinary person)

Drew: "when you think you can't do something, think of the young boy with autism asking a girl to dance" (not gonna lie I also saved this one for last because there's so much to unpack. Given the fact that Drew is a high school senior, "young boy" is pure infantilization. At the end of Act 1, we see him want to ask Marideth to the dance but end up asking her if she wants to borrow his book about Pangea instead. In the long run this works because the book helps Marideth process her feelings for Drew, but in the short run the article line looks like it was written to taunt Drew for chickening out at the last second. This line in the article also ties back into the beginning of the song under control, when Drew contemplates his life thus far and the pressure he feels to "be the poster child for if he can then you can")

I just feel like the way the lines are individually crafted to each character's storyline needs to be talked about. Also if anyone can remember what Tommy's line was (with or without a connection to his storyline) that would be appreciated.

[officialrapunzelfitzherbert]

hi everyone while im thinking a lot abt fantasy high and htdio is this the right platform to share my spectrum club 7 as the bad kids agenda im going to do it anyway

(no spoilers for junior year in this post but there is a junior year exclusive character bc there are only 6 bad kids)

drew: gorgug thistlespring. gentle. tinkerer using his talents to show his love for others. non confrontational but learning how to stand up for himself. the greatest wizard of his age.

tommy: fabian aramais seacaster. confident to an icarus degree. the future of dance. like if a jock was also a theater kid. chevy silverado is the hangman.

mel: adaine abernant. forging their own path. always working hard. kind and quick witted. finds comfort in animals. forgiving on their own terms.

caroline: kristen applebees. hopeless romantic. a little bit chaotic and impulsive but follows her heart and always means well. will do anything for her friends.

jessica: riz gukgak. strategic. will make up an entire relationship to keep up with her friends. book smart. afraid of change.

remy: fig faeth. loves being other people, still getting comfortable as themselves. deeply passionate about what they believe in. rebelling against the system.

marideth: mary ann skuttle. on her puter. same hoodie every day. 900 hours of minecraft. small. everyone is both terrified of her and deeply in love with her.

do you see my vision here

[thesquirrelqueer]

What is HTDIO?

How to Dance in Ohio or HTDIO is a musical about 7 autistic young adults in a counseling group getting ready for a spring formal. All 7 of them are played by autistic actors. It is based off of a documentary of the same name. The show focuses on the relationships between characters as they prepare for the formal as well as face some of their biggest social fears.

The show had a short run at Syracuse Stage back in 2022 and started previews on Broadway on November 15th, 2023. It is set to officially open at the Belasco Theatre on December 10th, 2023.

Who are the characters?

Remy (played by Desmond Edwards) - The youngest of the group, a genderqueer cosplayer with a budding TikTok channel and a love of fashion. 16, any pronouns.

Caroline (played by Amelia Fei) - A bubbly college freshman who is just getting into her first real relationship. Best friend of Jessica. 19, she/her.

Marideth (played by Madison Kopec) - The newest member to the group, very shy but loves geography and Australia. Oh and just like fun facts in general. 18, she/her.

Drew (played by Liam Pearce) - A senior in high school preparing for college. Loves electricity and electrical grids. 18, he/him.

Tommy (played by Conor Tague) - The "class clown" of the group. Uses humor to cope with being self-conscious. Wants to get his drivers license. 22, he/him.

Jessica (played by Ashley Wool) - The confident best friend of Caroline. Loves fantasy stories, especially ones with dragons in them. 20, she/her.

Mel (played by Imani Russell) - The oldest of the group and the one who has been there the longest. Works at a local pet shop and loves reptiles and self-help books. 24, they/them.

Dr. Emilio Amigo (played by Caesar Samayoa) - The therapist in charge of the group, trying his best to get his clients to break out of their shells. he/him

Ashley Amigo (played by Cristina Sastre) - Dr. Amigo's daughter. Used to be a dancer but due to an injury is back in Ohio helping out with the group. she/her

Johanna (played by Darlesia Cearcy) - Caroline's mother. she/her

Terry (played by Haven Burton) - Jessica's mother. she/her

Where can I listen to/watch it?

Currently there are no video recordings of the show available (yet), but they did release an EP with 4 of the songs on it on Spotify which you can check out here

[ashleywool]

Incorrect HTDIO quotes: Homestar Runner Edition

Caroline: Soooo, are you going to Beach-Themed Restaurant tonight? It’s ladies’ night! Music, dancing, they’ve got fake palm treeeeeees! Marideth: Oh, yeah. I’d rather die. Caroline: Cooooool, can I catch a ride? Pick me up at six! Ooh! And bring plenty of cash. I’m gonna need at least five or six appe-TEE-zers!

Drew: Just explain to me what you were trying to do when this happened. Tommy: Well, I was in Barbados, hanging a picture on the wall. Drew: Ok, that tells me everything I need to know.

Mel: [examining the new lizards at Paws & Claws] Those things look straight out of the creature shop from some low-to-no-budget horror film.

[Remy is hugging a tree at Mel's request. Mel is trying to convince Remy that both of them were trees in their past lives.] Mel: Keep on hugging it. Remy: How did you get me to do this in the first place? Mel: Hug it. Hug it. Remy: And why do I continue to do it? Mel: Keep on hugging it. Hug it down. Remy: I don’t even like this tree that much.

Tommy: As for you, Kyle, I don't have a car. You ever see me in a car? No. Bye.

Jessica: We can form a band and become WORLDWIDE STARLETS! Caroline: Worldwide starlets get MUCH boys. Jessica: Or so I have read. Obviously, I'll sing and pretend to play guitar. Mel: Can I not get stuck playing bass? Jessica: No way!

Tommy: Er…why are you dressed like a ship’s captain? Drew: I thought that I heard that it was the latest style.

Tommy: Scott, I’m borrowing this milk for an undisclosed period of time.

Marideth: I love that blue screen. It is also my dawg.

Caroline: I dreamt that I was a French long-jump champion with eight wooden legs.

Remy: [responding to a snarky TikTok comment] Oh, Simone. You seem like a really nice girl, so I’ll answer your question relatively free of charge.

[Mel and Ashley are playing Mario Kart again for the first time in years, with palpable flirtatious undertones] Mel: You better beat this end boss or we’re all gonna die! We’re all gonna die! Ashley: AAAAH! It keeps making me jump when I’m not pressing juuuuump! Mel: OR WE’RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIEEE

[In a flashback, Kurt and Amy recount the moment they first suspected that ABA was not the right choice] ABA therapist: Ok, Drew, then what’s two plus two? Drew (age five): Well, the force between any two charges is equal to the absolute value of the multiple of the charges divided by 4π times the vacuum permittivity times the distance squared between the two charges. ABA therapist: No, no, no, stupid. That’s Coulomb’s Law. Drew: Oh, right, sorry. Two plus two? That’s easy. Twenty-two.

[de-lyc-ful]

Get off the road. Get off the road immediately.

Tommy took me a while to draw because truly my ambitions are not in tune with my abilities. Also I hate to say it (I don’t but I’m going to pretend that I do for a second) but I have given Tommy the fluffiest form out of all the htdio werewolf designs because I love Conor Tague’s fluffy curls in the promo images. I am also biased because I have a very similar hairstyle and my hair is fluffy as fuck. I would say that Tommy is definitely the most Dog of the crew.

[thetisming]

this is so fucking sad im so sorry that one of the only fanfics is a zombie apocalypse crossover fanfiction with 3 timelines and so much lore and it only has Jessica and Tommy

[azrantimes]

Haven't posted about HTDIO in a hot minute but hear me out:

Aroace Jessica.

Ive been thinking about it for a while but I'm about to sleep so I might add to it tomorrow but here are my headcanons and "evidence" (reminder that this is a silly headcanon and I'm in no way claiming that this is canon)

Jessica wants to be independent. That's the reason she tries to date Tommy, because he has a car. She's not really attracted to him.

That brings us to the reason why she wants to date someone. Caroline.

Ever since Caroline started dating Jay, Jessica has felt like she lost her best friend. I've had a similar experience, where my friend began dating someone and I was happy for them first but realized I was jealous. I've struggled that entire day because I thought I was in love with them, which I can confidently say I wasn't. I just thought I would lose my friend.

Jessica was very happy for Caroline but they had a fight because of that (and because of Carolines actions too). Jessica felt like the only option was too find someone she could date, thus Tommy.

Jessica also loves swords and dragons. Very AroAce coded tbh. /j

Again, this is my silly headcanon and also me projecting but ye.

[thesquirrelqueer]

one thing I love about the article in htdio is how each character reads the part that specifically hurts them the most

- jessica wants to move out of her parents house and live on her own. she reads “indeed they are unlikely to experience most of life’s many milestones like living independently” throughout the show jessica is shown to be preparing to live alone and the article implies that all her hard work is for nothing because she won’t be able to do it.

- caroline daydreams about getting married some day and having a family. adding on to jessica’s phrase she reads “or getting married and having children” caroline is a romantic, marriage is very much something she looks forward to doing. in saying that autistic people can’t get married or have children, it in a sense views us as kids who are never allowed to grow up, even if we want to.

- tommy is a character who lives in the shadow of his allistic younger brother. even as an older sibling, he still sometimes feels younger due to how autistic people are infantilized. he reads “this generous doctor has given his differently abled patients the next best thing: a spring formal” referring to jessica and caroline’s lines about autistic people not being able to grow up like “normal” people so in lieu of that they get to have a formal instead.

- mel is someone who knows who they are and their non binary identity is very important to them. they read “for one evening they will be transformed into kings and queens. for one evening they will be celebrated” mel has expressed many times in the show their discomfort with cisnormativity and heteronormativity with the formal so the article leaning into these gendered categories hits hard.

- marideth is shown to deal with a lot of sensory issues, especially with sounds. she reads “they will also face their worst fears: a nightclub full of lights and sounds that could trigger tantrums, meltdowns, or worse” it also feeds into the stereotype that all autistic people do are have tantrums and meltdowns. while these things do happen to autistic people, it’s very dehumanizing to imply.

- drew, who doesn’t want to “be the poster child for if he can then you can” reads “so when you’re feeling nervous about that tough conversation at work think of the brave boy with autism asking the girl he likes to the dance” it’s also interesting that drew has been struggling for a lot of the show to ask out marideth, so this line is an even bigger slap in the face to him.

- remy is an interesting case. he reads “these inspiring kids may be terminally human but thanks to dr. amigo they won’t let their special needs stop them. if they can do it, what’s your excuse?” remy actually gets a song in response to the article called “nothing at all” in which they talk about things such as “nothing about us without us” and how he is so much more than his disability. it’s also important to note that remy is the only character under the age of 18, so having them read the section calling the group “kids” is especially poignant.