NOT ANOTHER THEATRE KID

They're everywhere, they clutter up your streets singing broadway hits from before they were even born. They talk in references to things you've never even heard of. They have the weirdest habits and superstitions. They tend to group together and come up with the most outlandish schemes, halloween costumes, and adventures. They have been immersed in glitz and greenroom humour since birth, they have hauled more sets and repaired more costumes than you have thought about going to see a show. When I tell you about my family, the only thought running through your head is "oh no. Not another theatre kid." Also known as Charlotte's semi-professional blog with all her published articles and some new material as well. (You might know me as Cottonkhaleesi or Insouciantchthonian)

[ruffboi-mags]

So apparently, over the summer, Quibi (the shortest-lasting streaming service ever lmao) did a quarantine project called “Home Movie: The Princess Bride” where a bunch of celebrities recreated The Princess Bride in tiny chunks at home.

And like there was no permanent cast, all these celebrities seem to have gotten a scene or part of a scene to do (i’m not sure exactly, I did not ever watch Quibi and thus haven’t seen this yet), and then they just… recreated it as best they could. At home. Under quarantine.

So like, you had Jennifer Garner in a blanket cape playing Princess Buttercup AND the Booing Old Woman with a crowd comprised entirely of stuffed animals:

Or Taika Waititi paying Westley off a badly-drawn Inigo on a piece of cardboard held in front of someone’s face:

And it’s all just delightful.

But my absolute favorite part of this thing that I’ve sadly never seen but assume is probably absolutely hilarious and a treasure and I want to find it some day and watch the whole thing… is that Carey Elwes is in it.

As Prince Fucking Humperdink.

[movebackintime]

https://youtu.be/lR8pA_WV9QI

Here ya go

[laziestgirlintown]

In case you need a comfort watch and because Youtube search nowadays sucks rancid farts, I remind you of the Princess Bride Home Movie from the lockdown, starring everybody

[20thcenturystarlet]

New York City ballet production of Midsummer Nights Dream

[thepeelingrenoir]

The fact this isn't a painting is a testament to one of the greatest feats of set design and production I've ever seen.

[thepeelingrenoir]

My god just look at this! The lighting, set design, photography... I've just never seen anything like it.

[sisaloofafump]

This is from 1966 and you can see over a hundred photos on the NYPL digital collections website. It is absolutely gorgeous. These are just a few of my favourites.

Plus Puck's face here:

[lizardsfromspace]

Out of control Edwardian youths refuse to clap at production of Peter Pan, force distraught J.M Barrie to pull out rarely seen "Tinkerbell Fucking Dies" ending

[julianova44]

You probably know this but shitpost ruining fun fact for anybody who doesn’t:

When the play first was performed, JM Barrie et al were so concerned this might happen that they instructed the orchestra to drop their instruments and clap at this point, just in case

[lizardsfromspace]

I did not know this and I'm grateful for being informed

[sisaloofafump]

Peter Pan edited by Anne Hiebert Alton (2011)

(sorry to interrupt joke post but) this is true!

Children not clapping did happen too, (and some were even expected to have hissed, which was later written into the 1928 playscript and 1911 novel). But my all time favourite anecdote about it is from Pauline Chase (who played Peter)'s intro to Peter Pan's Post Bag 1909:

Children love to clap their hands at the play because then they feel that they are really part of it, and you can see them holding their hands poised ready to seize an opportunity. Their great chance is when I ask them to clap their hands if they believe in fairies, and so save Tink's life. But they are very wrathful if any one claps who has the reputation of being a cynic, and once there was quite an uproar in the front row of the dress circle because of a girl who clapped. Those about her pulled down her arms angrily. "How dare you clap," they cried, "when you know you don't believe in fairies!" There was one dreadfully hard-hearted little boy who came to the theatre not to clap. That was his object for coming, and he came round "behind" to tell me so in the middle of the play. His teeth were firm set. "I won't clap," he said doggedly; "I'm not going to clap." And when the time came he didn't clap; above the clapping of all the others I could hear him shouting from a box, "Peter, I'm not clapping."

(Tink was revived each time anyway)

[shes-a-plum-deactivated20220124]

Two!

Four!

Six!

Eight!

Who do we appreciate?!

Every single person involved in a theater production, not just the main stars becuase without the ensemble, stage/tech crew, orchestra, directors, choreographers, costume designers, and make up artists there would be no show!!!!

[theragamuffininitiative]

And the House staff who are there to make sure your theatre experience is the best it can be.

[mephistopheles]

midsummer: if the feudal strictness of your home kingdom can’t give you what you want, try going on an adventure guided by magical supernatural beings

macbeth: but not like that

hamlet: if you’re in a duplicitous violent world, your king and your peers and your girlfriend may lie to you, so only follow the advice of your steadfast best friend

othello: but not like that

as you like it: if you undergo a misfortune that causes you to hate your life in your city, give yourself a makeover and run away to the woods

timon of athens: but not like that

two gents: if you’re in love in italy, you can quickly and easily communicate important information via the verona postal service

romeo and juliet: but not like that

[littlemousewithclogson]

#doesthismeanhamletisacomedy #ifso #imdown

[paupers-minor-chord]

from what i've seen if you are playing orpheus in hadestown you must either scream 'is this how the world is?' as loud as possible in rage and despair or deliver it in the tiniest most broken voice ever. there's no in-between.

[helpimsotired]

Justin McElroy talking about accessibility in live theatre (June 9, 2019)

[formichi]

[quasi-normalcy]

“Art is happening everywhere all of the time” but an awful lot of it seems to only ever happen in New York and London, doesn’t it?

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Unless your enjoyment of theatre is based in the idea that you get to do it and The Poors don’t and that’s why it’s fun for you, how does other people getting to experience recordings of it make it worse? Like why would anybody be against that. “Oh it’s better in person” yeah and concerts are often more fun than listening to CDs, so what? There’s absolutely no reason why people in other places and circumstances shouldn’t get to experience art.

[biglawbear]

“theater should be experienced live” yeah that’s why I’m still gonna go see the show even after I watch the ProShot that should be available but maybe I can’t travel to NYC pay for a hotel and pay $500 for tickets to see the OBC right now

[podcastwizard]

But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and

[podcastwizard]

this was the funniest tag the rest of you can go home

[currentlycryingaboutlancelot]

still thinking abt your post re: much ado + how the backdrop of war affects the story but one of the thoughts ive had is how it’s almost the opposite for love’s labour’s lost. much ado about nothing feels all the more playful and joyful *because* of the fact that the hardships endured are never far from the minds of both characters and audience. but in love’s labour’s lost the entire play is just whimsy, fun, silliness etc — it feels like an endless summer spent having fun with friends, taking part in pranks and shenanigans, letting loose & falling in love along the way…… until the very end. when the princess gets word that her father’s died. and everything comes crashing to a stop and reality breaks in. all that fun now feels rotten and stupidly frivolous. what were we doing, messing around like this? i should have been more attentive to my duties/been a better daughter/supported my friends more/had the foresight to plan for this etc. it’s so abrupt too, it’s so jarring, in comparison to the way that in much ado, the pain of hardship is always there lingering even if out of sight. but just as it’s true that the lightness of much ado feels all the lighter for its dark backdrop, so is it true that it’s easy to lose yourself in a period of joy then receive a painful reality check, like in love’s labour’s lost.

also your tag about claudio being susceptible to feelings of betrayal is like. v reminiscent of othello to me. ofc othello has the added layer of race playing into it but i don’t think it’s completely out there to say that the events of othello could’ve been the events of much ado if it hadn’t been a comedy. yknow? the only reason hero successfully proved her innocence and the play ends happily is because it’s bound by the constraints of its genre… but *then* it’s really interesting to look at the ending of love’s labour’s lost in the context of it being a comedy because that for sure is a strange one, even if it does speak of true human experience!

anyway does this even make sense. ive been thinking about that post at the back of my mind since i reblogged it and i just keep getting nebulous ideas, most of which ive struggled to properly put into words, but. well. shakespeare drives me insane to the point of losing my ability to articulate (*ﾉωﾉ)

wow thank you so much for writing I love these thoughts. I actually have never read/seen love’s labour’s lost but I am SO intrigued by the way you describe it and that is insane. yes the kind of like ALMOST genre shift even though it doesn’t quite shift all the way but enough for you to be like??? is this supposed to happen??? I am totally going to watch it now though on YouTube or something. super intrigued.

re: Claudio/othello yeah it’s like. would Claudio and hero ever actually have a happy marriage. it is something I think about a lot like he left her for dead basically. literally thought he killed her of grief and was like so it goes! she cheated on me! it’s like okay the comedy has been restored to its rightful order, everyone is married and happy now! but are they really? yeah obviously othello is quite a different play but it’s like he and Claudio both get manipulated on very little grounds at all into thinking that the woman they love is unfaithful and the question has to be asked like did Claudio learn his lesson. and is hero ever going to feel like. safe again ever lol. yeah what’s to say their marriage doesn’t turn out like othello’s and desdemona’s.

I’m obsessed with all of this it’s so interesting. yes super makes sense and I’m always just like so so interested in shakespeare plays that have these crazy parts that kind of challenge the rest of the play that they’re in (like Romeo and Juliet is so comedy coded until it’s not) it’s just endlessly fascinating to me. thank you for the ask!!!

[notanothertheatrekid]

Anyone watched Ballad Lines and want to tell me all the plot I can't seem to devise from the (frankly superb) music?

[landrinha]

It will never cease to amuse me

The small "kill me" oh he's SO done

[special-lucky-chosen-one]

ACTUALLY you know what I have something to add to this:

that's Weird Al

"The Order of Our Father of Perpetual Refrain" is incredibly pleasing to say out loud. girl the alliteration

[sleepycatmama]

There's more

[goodticklebrain]

Malvolio’s Revolve

The joy of Shakespeare is that even if you see the same play dozens of times, each production is its own, unique experience.

Having said that… there are certain bits of stage business that often crop up in numerous productions. One of my favorites is Malvolio’s revolve.

Just for fun, here are various examples of Malvolio’s revolve that have been captured on film. (If the gifs don’t work, check out my original post here.)

Alec Guinness in the 1970 ITV Saturday Night Theatre production  does the classic dubious, self-conscious revolve, although Sir Toby and his gang are safely behind a hedge and don’t have to hide.

Nicholas Pennell in this 1986 filmed production at the Stratford Festival of Canada executes a confident and rarely-seen double revolve, forcing his peanut gallery to duck out of sight.

In this filmed version of the Renaissance Theatre Company’s 1988 production, Richard Briers executes a very slow , dubious revolve that is notable for being counter-clockwise. In my experience, most Malvolios revolve in a clockwise direction.

Finally, this Stratford Festival production milks the revolve for all it’s worth, with Tom Rooney’s Malvolio turning at just the right speed to miss Sir Andrew’s desperate dash across the stage.

Some productions choose to have Malvolio turn the letter around, rather than himself. Others either blow past the line without acknowledging its comedic gag potential, or cut it in its entirety. All are valid choices, but honestly… why look a gift gag in the mouth?

[stayoutofitnick]

“In my experience, most Malvolios revolve in a clockwise direction” is my new favorite blind of Shakespeare analysis

[aglet-baby]

I need everyone to know that in The Public Theater’s 2025 Free Shakespeare in the Park production, Peter Dinklage puts the rarely seen double revolve to shame, opting for a traveling multi-spin, WHIRLING himself across the stage as he CONTINUES TO READ THE LETTER

[lesmiserabelles]

i love that the past years of beggars at the feast line changes have created a narrative starting with 'thenardier is homophobic' to 'thenardier has given it some thought, realised some things about himself and is now bicurious' to the current 'thenardier has finally given gay sex a go'. and the thing is that literally nobody asked for this to happen

[lesmiserabelles]

speaking of things that literally nobody asked for... i do think the best way to experience this journey is to hear it for yourself. so, presenting, the evolution of bisexual icon thenardier:

1. the classic

as a reminder, here is the line as it originally stood. this is from the live recording of the all-star staged concert, where it was still in place:

Visit Original Link

transcript: here comes a prince / there goes a jew / this one's a queer / but what can you do?

2. the quiche

enter the staged concert of 2021. there had clearly been a behind-the-scenes conversation that went along the lines of 'this line is problematic, we must update it for a modern audience'. and this was the baffling result:

Visit Original Link

transcript: here comes a prince / he's nouveau riche / this one looks queer / i bet he likes quiche

3. the bicuriosity

quiche made it over to the west end revival and stuck around for a couple of years, but by mid 2023, thenardier had done some personal reflection:

Visit Original Link

transcript: here comes a prince / there goes a jew / this one looks queer / i might try that too

4. the bicuriosity: part 2

by early 2024, thenardier is actively seeking new experiences:

Visit Original Link

transcript: here comes a prince / there goes a lord / i'll keep him in mind / in case i get bored

5. diversity win!

which leads us to the current line in which we have a thenardier who is out and proud

Visit Original Link

transcript: here comes a prince / mais entre nous / this one's a queer / and i've tried that too

anyway, i can't wait to see where this story takes us next! i'm holding out hope for turnchetta finally going canon

[carebeardean]

Guillermo del toro phantom of the opera remake would fuck so severely

[grimalditeuthis]

what they don't tell you about hadestown is that orpheus and eurydice are not the main characters. neither are persephone and hades. or hermes. or the fates. the main character is whoever in the band is playing the trombone because holy fuck

[hope-cladwell]

my favorite hobby is listening to the spring awakening soundtrack and then it ends and then i do it again

[annabelle--cane]

moritz stiefel should have been at the club. ilse neumann desperately needed to spend less time at the club. wendla maybe could have enjoyed the club but she would have needed some kind of clubber's informational manual first. melchior spent all his time thinking "ugh I should be at the club" but Really Really Should Not Have Been At The Club.