are you ready to wake up?

anna; infj; almost as gay as princess mary; lover of hadestown, great comet, oklahoma!, and all sorts of weird musicals

[cinematicallypainted]

“When theater works, for a moment none of us feel alone. For a moment - we’re all members of the same family.”

— Peter Gallagher, One Night Only: The Best of Broadway (via robmcclure)

[coldasyou]

I feel that he may seize me from behind and kiss me on the neck

[ghostlypawn]

BROADWAY LEADING LADIES + FLOWER SYMBOLISM

insp

[hopecel]

Happy 36th Birthday to Damon Daunno (11.28.84)

[hopecel]

Here is the gist, a practical list of dont’s for you…

[signawyvern]

Damon Daunno’s Single Curl appreciation post

[augustds]

lets see that 2k essay on rnj's rendition of out of my dreams 👀

Thanks for asking and sorry for the late response! So of course my best interpretations come from talking to other people, in this case, the lovely @misspoulain​ (J) who I saw the show with. Ben Brantley and Jesse Green MOVE OVER it’s our time now. This is taken from a conversation we had together, and styled the way those two critics did LMAO

So for context, “Out of My Dreams” is a song that usually plays right before the “Dream Ballet” which will end Act 1. They’re meant to be together hence some recordings calling the ballet, “Out of My Dreams Ballet.” Here, the song stands on it’s own and transforms into an acapella solo, with Laurey being the only one remaining on stage. It’s the Act 1 closer, and the Dream Ballet is moved to the start of Act 2. Laurey, so far, has been confused as to what she really wants to do for the box social. Does she go with Jud or Curly? She buys this sleeping potion called “The Elixir of Egypt” which is supposed to help the Pharaoh’s daughter make decisions.

Me: Out of My Dreams is one of the most revolutionary changes in this revival, and possibly the most beautifully overlooked song in the R&H catalogue. I mean Mary Testa’s reassuring mom voice, the way all the girls come in and harmonize, Rebecca Naomi Jones’s acapella solo ending act 1? GENIUS!

J: Like how bold of a choice is that?!

Me: Exactly! Considering that they’ve debated on doing the same thing to Carousel for YEARS [ending act 1 on Soliloquy] and that one isn’t even as held to an unchanging standard as OK is.

J: Also, typical Act 1 finales are these reaaaally big numbers, and Daniel Fish was just like fuck that! [Let’s end this show on an acapella solo with Laurey completely alone on the stage] It’s a good reminder that this show is first and foremost about Laurey and the choices women make, and Act 1 finales are meant to root you in the thesis of the whole show.

Me: And I honestly think it’s a better transition to have Laurey wake up from the dream and be ushered straight away into the party, instead of leaving the ballet before intermission.

J: Absolutely!!! Like everything about this production is jarring in the best way, and of course it’s intentional that you go through this existential journey with Dream Laurey, and then suddenly you’re thrust back into the reality of life.

Me: EXACTLY! If there’s a break in between the “Dream Ballet” and “Cowman and the Farmer,” we feel like “oh maybe Laurey has time to change her mind, but she didn’t, so that’s on her.” But no. As soon as she realizes what a bad decision going with Jud is, she faces the consequences immediately, and we’re thrown right into the box social. There’s no time for wishy washy, should i or should i not.

J: I truly believe that Rachel deserves a Tony but goddd so did Daniel!

Me: Act 1 breaks are also supposed to end in suspension, to make you want to come back after intermission and see what will happen. And I feel that with the dream ballet ending Act 1, you /know/ that she picks Curly but goes with Jud, so your suspense is all bent on what happens at the party, instead of the main premise of the show, which again is our choices and their consequences. Of course, I know back when this show was created it was revolutionary to have the dream ballet at that place, but now, in our modern era, it’s more revolutionary that they changed the placing. I think our suspense now is more like, what else did they change? Will Laurey finally get more than the choices she’s offered?

J: YES! And doesn’t that represent the plight of women in general when faced with male entitlement? We have to make all these very quick decisions based on our safety, our actual desires and emotions, and our instincts. And with this show, the dream ballet doesn’t feel like it’s just Laurey’s you know? The very set-up of it is so personal, that we’re also left to question our own shit. Which is why when Jud suddenly says, “wake up Laurey,” we ALL wake up. As opposed to the dream ballet just being this spectacle to watch, it’s now instead a space for introspection.

Me: I like the fact that it’s a conscious choice to have Dream Laurey in the most modern, and maybe even “futuristic look” out of the whole cast. Gabriella Hamilton, who plays Dream Laurey, wears nothing but a glittering white t-shirt with the words “Dream Baby Dream” written in large block letters. The Dream Ballet is not only functioning as a dance representing Laurey’s choice between the two men, but it’s also about creating a space in this world for a woman of color, specifically a Black woman, in a space that’s not necessarily hers because of the overwhelming amount of white people in her community, in this isolated city in the South. With this dance, she’s carving out what could be hers in a world where she’s not just limited to just picking one man or another. And like you said, when Jud says “wake up Laurey,” it’s a wake up call to her and to the audience. As the lights come back on fully and the stage fills up, we wish for the world she dreams about to come true to us too.

—–

Let’s talk about the song itself, because the lyrics are so beautiful and haunting, the orchestrations, and the lack of them, are brilliant, and the way it’s staged is amazing too! It’s funny how the house lights are basically on the whole of Act 1, blaring on us and the stage. Usually, a light is on to call attention to a certain thing happening on stage, and here they did the opposite. The lights are dimmed when Laurey sings to show you that this moment is important, and that she’s really here “as evening comes to woo a waiting sky,” pleading her case out to the universe (and the audience surrounding her) for something more than what she’s given. Because let’s face it, she’s not given a lot.

J: I love the girls [Gertie, Aunt Eller, and Ado Annie] harmonizing! I feel like they’re also singing for themselves??? As we’ve said over and over, the focus of the show is on Laurey’s choices, so when the girls sing with Laurey or sing at her, I feel like they also internalize it themselves. At least, that’s what I think. I also love when everyone else joins in during, “make up your mind, make up your mind, Laurey.”

Me: Yea I was thinking about how Laurey has the most freedom out of all the girls, and they’re seeing what she would do. Kind of like, if you can make up your mind about this, and make your own decision, so can we. And oh, I forgot the whole chorus joins for “make up your mind?!” By doing this it’s kind of solidifying whether or not to make Jud an outsider, if Laurey herself, the one character that sympathizes with him, changes her mind.

—-

I think it’s important to note how important choices are for these women, and how being confused as to what we actually want can affect the choices we make, and that sometimes, what we really want isn’t even an option for us. What Laurey wants is up for interpretation but we know that in this revival they place special attention to how strong and complicated Laurey is. She’s more than just the girl these two guys are fighting over, she has her own dreams and aspirations too, and Rebecca Naomi Jones as Laurey is belting it out for the world to see, without any distraction or sympathy for the other characters and band members who have now left the stage.

The way this song is sung and staged call back to the scene that prompted Laurey to buy the potion:

ALI: All right-all right. Don’t anybody want to buy something? How about you, Miss Laurey? Must be wanting something-a pretty young girl like you.LAUREY: Me? Course I want sump'n. (…) Want things I can’t tell you about-not only things to look at and hold in yer hands. Things to happen to you. Things so nice, if they ever did happen to you, yer heart ud quit beatin’. You’d fall down dead!”

ALI: I’ve got just the thing for you! (Crosses to suitcase, fishes in it and pulls out a bottle) The Elixir of Egypt! (He holds the bottle high)

[augustds]

“Out of my dreams and into your arms I long to fly,” she sings, but in Jones’s serious face and searching voice, the you feels imaginary — arms without a body, desire without form. In the dream ballet, her want is embodied, and crucial, but unacknowledged parts of Laurey’s identity get to come to the fore, explore the stage, and attempt to seek out their place as a Black woman in the world. Here, Hamilton throws herself viscerally all over the stage space, perhaps culturally owning, or insisting on owning a space, that at the turn of the century is not hers, but maybe in the future that her slogan-ed dress suggests. There is no sense that she is anyone’s object, but every sense she is demanding a space for herself in this most unlikely of spaces.” - x / x 

[coldasyou]

2018 Musical Theater Meme:  a show you know so well you can say it line for line

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

[augustds]

damon daunno invented singing when he sang “epic I, II, and III” in hadestown (2016) so jot that down

[hopecel]

The elusive chaotic energy of Little Songbird vlogs

[hopecel]

you’ve been caught sighing and gazing

[evildilf2]

draw smth based on the Pore Jud is Daid scene?

It would be really funny if I just did a black screen BUT I decided to draw this!!

[cowboysuggest]

big ol butt. cowboy slut. looking at spurs, makes me nut. leather boots, assless chaps. give my big, butt a slap. and now you know, the cowboy rap.

in cowboy town we say this instead of the pledge of allegiance

[natashakirilovich]

Oklahoma! (2019)

[mountaingoatsstanaccount]

Dave Malloy + internal divinity

Tchaikovsky’s Child Song (Preludes) // Dust and Ashes (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812) // No One Else (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 // Beautiful (Octet) // Starchild (Ghost Quartet)

[misslaurey]

some details in the oklahoma! 2019 broadway revival (there may be spoilers):

the little exclamation of amused disgust laurey lets out when curly sings “with isinglass curtains you can roll right down” as he rolls right down right in front of laurey during surrey

will throwing the basting spoon at curly after he has a taste of the chili

cord’s hat falling on/hitting an audience member when will dances with him during kansas city and the look of annoyance on his face when he tries to retrieve it

curly shouting “one foot!” while will dances the two-step

the women’s different reactions in the background, ranging from disgust to annoyance, while the men sing it’s a scandal! it’s an outrage!

curly quickly glancing at aunt eller and aunt eller shaking her head at him when laurey sings “don’t please my folks too much” during people will say we’re in love

laurey throwing one of the wooden folding chairs to the ground as she walks towards curly during people will say we’re in love (prompting a “look out now!” from curly)

the red elixir of egypt (which “helps you decide what to do”) matching the red lighting during the subsequent curly/laurey scenes

the grungy animation of the mural during the dream ballet

curly whispering “shit!” after will throws whiskey at andrew’s face, then drunkenly climbing up the stairs on the left side facing the mural to reach for one of the guns mounted on the wall

andrew subtly reaching for his shotgun after curly wins the tense bidding war against jud

curly spitting on the ground after he shoots jud, and the spit is mixed with blood

cord’s face of disgust while looking at laurey, as he sings the final, angry round of oklahoma!

curly’s feeble, almost dejected, final “ye-ow!”

[lightandharmony]

more details that aren’t as subtle but still fun for those who can’t see the show:

curly singing “the others more like… miiiiiiilk” as laurey pours milk into the cornbread mix

laurey smacking curly on the ass with a mixing spoon and chasing him downstage after he says he made the surrey up - and curly liking it

ado annie looking over at/taunting laurey when she sings “but other girls ain’t having any fuuuun”

dream!laurey doesn’t interact with curly or jud during the dream ballet (other than running away from jud at the end), but she runs up to cord at one point and looks at him as if she needs help not only figuring out what she wants as a woman, but specifically as a black woman

laurey’s dance moves during ‘people will say we’re in love’ coming back in the dream ballet

that look cord and mike (the only two black men) exchange during curly’s trial that finally gets cord to back down

after will kisses gertie and gertie leaves laughing, ado annie grabbing a shotgun and cocking it before following her offstage (at which point gertie abruptly stops laughing)

will using the crockpot & its lid to waft steam over his crotch when he tells ado annie that he’s back, baby

laurey’s blood-covered look of horror and inability to sing along to the title song after jud’s death while looking around at the audience hoping someone somewhere has an answer about what happens next

[misslaurey]

more details:

ado annie staring at will’s ass and following its movements with her head while he slaps his chaps during his little i cain’t say no reprise

ado annie gleefully mouthing “baby!!!!” when ali hakim sings “there’s a baby on your shoulder making bubbles on your neck” during it’s a scandal! it’s an outrage!

the camera zooming in on curly’s eyes when he sings “he’s lookin’ oh so purty and so nice” during pore jud (and since it’s so dark his pupils are dilated)

the lighting during lonely room while jud is alone singing is concentrated on the stage, highlighting his isolation from the community. and then all the lights gradually come back and become brighter when the rest of the cast returns to the stage before jud sings the last verse, highlighting the exposure of his insecurity and vulnerability to the community.

curly’s always different little guitar riffs after aunt eller sings “and learn these words by heart the way you should” in the farmer and the cowman

the way everyone forcefully stomps when they sing “i don’t say i’m no better than anybody else but i’ll be damned if i ain’t just as good!” in the farmer and the cowman

[lightandharmony]

and still more I noticed today:

ali hakim asks aunt eller if there’s anything she might want instead of the egg beater while he runs his fingers down his chest, opens his shirt, and circles his own nipple

andrew points his shotgun at ali and when ali lowers in his chair, laurey then ducks to avoid having the shotgun pointed at her

curly sings “don’t praise my charm too much” during people will say we’re in love, and laurey mouths ‘your CHARM?’

ali trying (and failing) to balance a beer can on his head during the farmer and the cowman

curly’s hand instinctively going to grab his gun (that he just sold) when jud approaches him after the auction scene

ali’s whole body flinching when curly cocks his gun during the wedding, and then jerking in his seat when it fires

gertie shucking the corn and giving it a pseudo-handjob trying to flirt with curly during many a new day

gertie’s flask is decorated with horses.

[misslaurey]

MORE!

jud very suddenly turning away with disdain when curly glances at him during that bit of dialogue between him and aunt eller after oh, what a beautiful mornin’

laurey catching jud’s eye and the two of them just looking at each other for a very long time during i cain’t say no

laurey looking at both jud and curly right before leaving the stage before the smokehouse scene but neither of them looking back as they are just staring hard at each other (this was impactful for me particularly because jud and curly spend most of their time looking at laurey up to that point, and they are both acutely aware of when laurey pays attention to them. this is where i realized that whatever it is between jud and curly go beyond just rivalry over laurey.)

jud being the only one besides laurey who does not sing “make up your mind, make up your mind, laurey”

the subtle animation of smoke coming out of the chimney of the farmhouse on the mural (i noticed this during laurey’s solo in out of my dreams)

dream laurey affectionately hovering over curly’s guitar during the dream ballet

ali hakim running like a bull towards gertie during the farmer and the cowman

laurey approaching mike and them sharing a secret laugh while gertie shows off her wedding ring to everyone

[misslaurey]

back at it again:

dream!laurey putting her arms into the dream baby dream shirt and gradually slipping them through the sleeves again while running during the out of my dreams instrumental part of the ballet (literally “out of my dreams”, y’all 😭)

dream!laurey’s different reactions to all the other folks when they’re lined up toward the end of the ballet (e.g. casually sliding by ali hakim, giving ado annie a quick nod)

laurey becoming stiff when she dances with curly during the farmer and the cowman then immediately relaxing again when she changes dance partners

the way curly’s face gradually changes from sad desperation to unbridled joy when laurey agrees to marry him

andrew giving ado annie a little push when she pursues gertie with his shotgun after will kissed her

[lightandharmony]

some more!!

laurey looking at jud and then quickly looking away when she tells ado annie “well you can’t just go around kissing every man who asks you”

every time gertie laughs jud rubs his temples like he has a headache

aunt eller doing the little “roll right down” movement in her seat as curly sings the little surrey (reprise) to her

how every man except jud leaps to their feet while they sing “we gotta start a revolution!!” during it’s a scandal and jud looks around like he’s not sure if he’s included in this or not

ali hakim looks horrified during the finale ultimo like he’s not sure what the hell he’s gotten himself dragged into

curly telling laurey “you go stand over there” and she responds by promptly sitting down

the lighting abruptly shifting from all-red to white light brokenly shining through the streamers when laurey tells jud “you’re nothing but a mangy dog, and someone oughta SHOOT YOU”

when jud asks to kiss the bride, curly looks over to laurey and she nods slightly (giving as much consent as she can) before he nods to jud

curly doesn’t shoot jud until laurey gets between them, looks at jud, then joins curly and takes his hand as if to say ‘if you do this i’m doing it with you’

laurey briefly coming out during the dream ballet, then turning and running away when the music shifts to ‘cain’t say no’ and the dance starts to explore her repressed sexuality

laurey nicely tossing corn to aunt eller and ado annie during many a new day and then just throwing it to the ground in front of gertie - then gertie responding by picking them up as seductively as she can

[augustds]

“Cowboys dance with the farmer’s daughters, farmers dance with the ranger’s gals. C’mon Slim!” for @misslaurey​