shitposting

a musical? yeah, I sure hope it is

[a-genderless-frog]

I've only seen Hadestown once. It was in a high school theater, put on by a relatively new youth theater collective. Nothing terribly special, but there's one thing I'll remember forever.

The Fates, in myth, weave threads of life. This performance gave the fates a red string. In Doubt Comes In, the moment Orpheus turned around, they cut the string and used the two halves to pull Eurydice back to Hades and to hold Orpheus back from going to her. And, more than that, Orpheus didn't sing her name. He screamed it.

That moment, that Orpheus screaming and lunging after Eurydice despite being literally held back by fate, is something I'm never going to forget.

[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

[contextfreepatentart]

[thesecretyouknow]

Apparently Judi Dench got bored one day and they created a Les Mis barricade character for her in  May 2004 for just one performance.

Holy shit that must have  been hilarious to see.

[thefleetstreetvicomte]

Here’s a picture:

[thefleetstreetvicomte]

Dame Judi Dench in Les Mis (May 2004)

[eppiesue]

“As the show started, the announcement was made: ‘At tonight’s performance the role of Javert will be played by Nic Greenshields, the role of Enjolras will be played by Alexis James, and in Act Two in the barricade scene Dame Judi Dench will appear as Madam Lafarge’.

“And, indeed, Dame Judi appeared in a suitably drab costume and mob-cap. She handed some ammunition up the barricade; she helped tie Javert to the chair; she was then hit by a flying bullet and sank dramatically over a table and was then helped offstage by one of the chorus. In total - say just under two minutes onstage!

“Dame Judi is appearing in the theatre next door and apparently has some 45 minutes between scenes. Yesterday she popped next door and said it would be fun if she could walk on at the start of the barricade scene since she had the time available and is a great fan of ‘Les Mis’. They had a quick five minute rehearsal between shows yesterday and tonight - on she went.” (source including more photos)

[choking-on-ellipses]

That is the best thing I’ve ever heard.

[amazing-spiderlad]

Marvin getting absolutely roasted by the stage directions

I know it means serving like how you serve in racquetball but I find it really funny to imagine that they mean Whizzer is serving in the modern sense of the word

[clarablightt]

hear me out: the Great Comet, but Anatole is a butch lesbian

[exeunt-pursued-by-a-bear]

"balaga" is such a funny song. here comes a character we've never heard of before. there's an entire song about how cool he is, and it kicks ass. then he's never mentioned again.

[hardwon]

pierre greatcomet “if I were not myself….if I were free” monologue but it’s me falling to my knees at the barnes and noble in front of a prettier edition of a book I already own

[sashadealltheknives]

the “they should have been at the club” thing doesn’t exactly work for great comet characters. Like maybe they shouldn’t have been at the club

[ghostfacerseffect]

Thinking about film scores & concept albums & auditory storytelling

[grasslandgirl]

something abt Darkness and Trees (Reprise) from come from away just. GETS to me every time. the way he says there are soldiers everywhere. the shivering grave horror in his voice. the visceral nature of that image. a stranger in a foreign country and your plane lands in the middle of nowhere and they bus you out into the woods and you pull up to an encampment and soldiers come out to greet you- and then the bus driver. I’m not religious I wasn’t even raised religious, but there’s something about be anxious for nothing. be anxious for nothing. that. GOD. it makes me want to cry in a way I can’t put into words. and that’s how we start speaking the same language. aaaaaaaa. I could write a thesis about theatre and the power of a group of people speaking or singing in unison and how so much of come from away’s impact comes from the use of phrases and choruses sung in almost complete, overwhelming unison, simple harmonies, so that even through the cast recording on Spotify it HITS you like a wall of sound and steals the breath from your lungs

[bestmusicalworldcup]

Best Musical World Cup Final

Fiddler on the Roof (1965)

Les Misérables (1987)

Voting ended onApr 6, 2023

[date-a-jew-suggestions]

FIDDLER SWEEP

[inamindfarfaraway]

Thinking about how Twisted is so good at setting something up comedically and then using it dramatically. The Sultan’s… ah, infertility problem is the obvious one, but it’s in the characterization too.

Like how the people of the kingdom hate Ja’far and blame him for all their troubles despite him being nothing but polite and affable to them and having devoted his life to helping them. This is presented as funny from the very first moments of the show: “And all the grateful citizens will say to me -” (to a cheerful tune echoing “Belle”) “Fuck you!” “Fuck you!” etc., with the contrast between his unshaken cheerfulness and the sheer intensity and illogicality of their vitriol.

But then we see him prepared to destroy whatever’s left of his reputation beyond repair in order to rise up from his lowest point and save everyone. He asks himself, “Who cares if no one will ever mourn me?” And we have to process that he has no friends; hasn’t for possibly well over a decade if he was already unpopular when the Princess was born; has instead been relentlessly bullied and slandered him for that time; and is completely resigned dying alone, forever condemned for crimes he didn’t commit and not even posthumously receiving any of the thanks, respect or love he deserves. Which really isn’t funny at all. It’s just tragic. (It hits even harder when the flashback sequence reveals he used to be popular because of his compassion and sense of justice, and calling everyone he meets “friend” is a holdover from that happier time.)

Or Aladdin being a serial sexual predator of teenagers. His extreme libido and misogyny are established early on. We learn that he has sexual relationships with much younger women and girls very frequently, manipulating and isolating them, viewing them as disposable objects for his own pleasure and callously abandoning them once he’s satisfied. Yet despite how inherently horrifying that is, he’s so stupidly overconfident, shamelessly sleazy and simply fun to watch that he’s overall a lighthearted villain for what at first seems to be a purely lighthearted show. It’s impossible to take sexual advances like “Hey babe, it’s such a beautiful night - take off your clothes” seriously. From admonishments (“‘Cause you stole my daughter’s hymen”) to warnings (“A song is a dick in sheep’s clothing!”), this subject is a source of far more comedy than drama on the whole, even from other characters.

But then he says coldly, “I’m a thief; I take what I want” and restrains the sixteen-year-old Princess by force holding a knife. That’s a rape threat. This is a serial rapist. Holy shit, I’ve been laughing at a serial rapist seducing a teenager.

You know? I just think it’s cool, and a very good way to balance and progress the tone. There isn’t a clear delineation between funny stuff and serious stuff, just different lenses on the same ideas, characters and themes. Some stories have designated comic relief characters that disappear or take a backseat for dramatic moments, but in Starkid shows everyone can be comic and dramatic when it’s appropriate.

[prettyinaccurate]

shits fucked

[downton-not-downtown-smh]

babygirl I could tell you so many ghost quartet facts neither of us would understand

[mouse-girls-united-deactivated2]

i will find every dave malloy fangirl on tumblr and give them a bowl of soup

[dreadful-windandrain]

rose went to the camera shop and bought a camera from pearl who she just killed at the subway. rose red stole herself from herself. the fool travelled to modern NYC from 1873. edgar usher read a story to his wife that his son is a part of even though it takes place in the future. and i don't think we talk about it enough