#musicalssorted

[musicalssorted]

Elder Cunningham, The Book of Mormon

With Elder Cunningham’s unwavering support and positive energy, I imagine it’s tempting to put him in Hufflepuff. However, Elder Cunningham is a specific type of Ravenclaw: a Luna Lovegood Ravenclaw. They’re both quirky and eccentric with peculiar ways of looking at the world. As a result, they do not have many friends but when they forge a connection, they’re utterly devoted.

Elder Cunningham might not show a lot of book smarts--for example, he doesn’t know where Uganda is and he couldn’t get through the Book of Mormon because it’s “so boring” (it is; I’ve tried, and I’m also Ravenclaw).  But Elder Cunningham is a good old-fashioned nerd. He knows Star Wars, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings like gospel...even if he doesn’t know the actual Gospel.

Cunningham conceptualizes the world through these interests. Instead of dreading his Mission in Uganda, he compares it to Lord of the Rings: “I can see how this is a lot like The Lord of the Rings. You’re Frodo and I’m Samwise and we’re fighting against impossible odds.” When circumstances change, he shifts his narrative and positions himself as the hero. It’s unconventional, but it works.

Cunningham is also quick-witted and inventive. When the Ugandans resist learning about the Book of Mormon, he doesn’t adhere to rigid Scripture like Elder Price did. He adapts. He uses his vast nerdlore to create a new religion that actually appeals to his new audience.

*This sorting brought to you by godlessondheimite

Tune in tomorrow for a Hufflepuff!

[musicalssorted]

Princess Mary: Hufflepuff

Happy Friday, everyone! We made it through another week! Give yourself a solid pat on the back.

This Friday we have my homegirl, Princess Mary, who is pretty much the poster child for Hufflepuffs anywhere.

In The Private And Intimate Life Of The House, we see that she is almost solely responsible for caring for her father, which we know is not an easy task, not just because of the physical burden, but also the toll of his constant emotional abuse against her. Despite that, however, she remains loyal to him. See the ending of the song:

He is old and feeble, and I dare to judge him. I disgust myself.

Or how upset she is at how badly she got off on the wrong foot with the woman that her brother, who she adores, loves:

Dear Natasha, I am in deep despair at the misunderstanding there is between us. Whatever my father's feelings might be, I beg you to believe that I cannot help loving you. He's a tired old man and must be forgiven. Please, come see us again.

Mary is extremely loyal to her family, even when they vastly mistreat her.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Princess Mary is that she is a Hufflepuff! We’re off for the weekend but come on back on Monday for a Gryffindor!

[musicalssorted]

Abigail Adams: Gryffindor

Abigail is a very minor character, never appearing in person, only in letters with John, but from what little we see of her, it’s clear that she’s a Gryffindor.

She clearly stands up for what she believes, refusing to make the saltpeter for her husband until he agrees to get all of the ladies their straightpins. However, even though they fight and he is so far away, in Yours, Yours, Yours she makes it abundantly clear that she is honoring the commitment she made to him.

In the end, John Adams’ reminder of what he’s fighting for and what reenergizes him is when Abigail sends the saltpeter, coming through for him when he needs her, like a Gryffindor tends to do.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Abigail is that she is a Gryffindor! Tune in tomorrow for a Slytherin!

[musicalssorted]

Henry: Ravenclaw

The sorting for the basis is less of provable evidence and more of just a strong feeling, but that’s 99% of my Ravenclaws (they’re my hardest house and, as per usual, I could really use some help here!) but let’s see what we can do.

Wisdom:

the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment; the quality of being wise.

Even though he is young, Henry has always impressed me with his wisdom. I recall Hey #3/Perfect For You:

Perfect for you I will be perfect for you So you could go crazy Or I could go crazy, it's true Sometimes life is insane But crazy I know I can do Cause crazy is perfect And fucked up is perfect So I will be perfect Perfect for you Is that’s not wisdom, I suppose I just do not know what is!

Wit:

1 mental sharpness and inventiveness; keen intelligence:

2 a natural aptitude for using words and ideas in a quick and inventive way to create humor:

Henry may not seem to be intelligent in the conventional way, because he goes off on mental tangents that can be difficult to follow and probably doesn’t test well but his wit is undeniable. In fact, just the fact that he has the ability to keep up with the Goodmans shows that he has a “natural aptitude for using words and ideas and in a quick and inventive way”.

The last descriptor we receive is learning, which is hard for me to match because we don’t know much about his education and even if we did, as speculated above, he probably doesn’t test well. But from the time he spends with Natalie as she practices we see that he has an open mind and his musical styles, to me, point to Ravenclaw.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Henry is that he is a Ravenclaw! Tune in tomorrow for a Hufflepuff!

[musicalssorted]

Chris Hargensen: Slytherin

This week’s Slytherin is Carrie the musical’s HBIC, Chris Hargensen! I briefly mentioned her on this blog once before, when I sorted the Heathers into Slytherin, stating that she also sorted there, and I still stand by it.

For starters, let’s look at The World According To Chris:

My daddy taught me you get nowhere being nice,

So now I’m sharing his advice:

The world according to Chris is better to strike than get struck

Better to screw then get screwed,

You’d probably think it’s bizarre

But that’s the way things are!

Chris comes out on the offensive before anyone else has even attacked. It’s a decisive way to keep and sustain power, which is a rather Slytherin trait. Another thing that Slytherins are known for is their problem solving, they’re the type to come up with solutions that other people would never think of, which I believe Chris demonstrates and we can see from the way Billy speaks to her. Two examples.

Example one:

“Who are you calling stupid shit? This whole thing was your idea!”

“Damn straight it was. And it’s going to be good.”

Example two:

You always amaze me with the way that you think,

If I was your daddy, I would buy you a shrink.

Chris is also shown as being very determined- throughout the show, multiple people tell her to just let it go, to forget about it, and yet she stays steady and stable throughout the entire show, her eyes set on getting Carrie back for the humiliation she experienced.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Chris Hargensen is that she is a Slytherin! We’re off on Wednesdays, but come back on Thursday for a Ravenclaw!

[musicalssorted]

Evan Hansen: Hufflepuff

Okay, so, this one was requested by @savvy-califragilistic and also extremely difficult. Not just for me, but I also asked the help of fellow people who had seen the show and we all came up empty handed, and this is the best we’ve got.

Hufflepuffs tend to value other people more than any other house, and that’s where the entire catalyst for the story is. When Connor commits suicide, Evan plays along with it and writes all the emails with Jared to try and bring some sort of comfort to the Hansens.

As well, in Words Fail, when he finally breaks down- which he does because the Murphys are fighting and he can’t stand to have them blaming themselves for something that he knows isn’t their fault. He ultimately ends up sacrificing what he had that made him happy, that he spent so much of the show working for, so that the Murphys can find some kind of peace- he reveals that all he wanted was just people to love him.

The other thing that Hufflepuffs are known for is their hard work- and so much ends up being done by Evan, be it writing the letters or getting out of his comfort zone to give the speech or everything The Connor Project does (Though, I will grant, most of the fundraising and whatnot is done by Alana) had to be hard, on top of all the demands that seniors face.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Evan Hansen is that he is a Hufflepuff! We’re off for the weekend but we’ll be back on Monday with a Gryffindor to do it all again!

[musicalssorted]

Kei Kimura: Slyhterin

Kei was a bit of a hatstall for me, I was stuck trying to decide between Gryffindor and Slytherin and when I reached out for help, everyone told me Hufflepuff. Well, I’ve settled on Slytherin and so let’s see if I can’t defend that view. Let’s go.

The people who say that she’s a Hufflepuff say that’s because she’s taking care of Sammy and putting her own dreams on a back burner for her family. I can’t deny that she does that, however I would say that she’s doing that because it’s what expected of her, not because it’s truly what she wants to be doing. Look at Wishes On The Wind:

I wish that I didn’t have to play the mother,

Though it would tear Papa apart,

I’ve got to make a brand new start!

So let’s look at why she might be a Slytherin, instead!

Cunning: having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion

For this we need look no further than the reprise of Resist, when she realizes that in order to save Frankie, they need to tell his story- but how do to do that when there’s sensors checking their mail?

So here is the plan, smuggle out what we can-

Or go out in a blaze of glory!

Does anyone have any friends who can help?

We can bribe a guard or two!

Ambition: a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work

This can be shown in almost everything Kei does, particularly in Higher:

Soaring higher up than anything

Higher, I want something more

I dreamed I’d reach for greater things,

My eyes upon those golden rings, I’ll take what chance the future brings

And soar!

How is that not ambitious?

Determination: firmness of purpose; resoluteness

See, This Is Not Over:

If I had to do it all again, I would.

Or Stronger Than Before:

We are women who move mountains in the middle of a war!

Musicalssorted official stamp on Kei Kimura is that she is a Slytherin! We’re off tomorrow but tune in Thursday for a Ravenclaw!

[musicalssorted]

Sonny: Ravenclaw

Like a lot of Ravenclaws, Sonny is more of a feeling than actual proveable evidence, and you could point him into almost any other house, but when watching In The Heights, I always feel like he’s more of a Ravenclaw.

You can see this in 96,000-

With ninety-six thousand, I’d finally fix housin’

Give the barrio computers with wireless web browsin’

Your kids are livin’ without a good edjumication

Change the station, teach 'em about gentrification

The rent is escalatin’

The rich are penetratin’

We pay our corporations when we should be demonstratin’

What about immigration?

Politicians be hatin’

Racism in this nation’s gone from latent to blatant

I’ll cash my ticket and picket, invest in protest

Never lose my focus 'til the city takes notice

And you know this man! I'll never sleep

Because the ghetto has a million promises for me to keep!

Sonny seems to be the only one in the group that has a clear idea of ways he could actually cause change- though changing the world is a pricey endeavor and 96,000 certainly wouldn’t cover the whole bill, as a Ravenclaw would, Sonny clearly has put a lot of thought into this.

This is also evident in Carnaval del Barrio, when everyone else is celebrating and throwing caution to the wind and Sonny is the only one who’s remaining with sensibility about what all of this actually means:

Listen up, is that what y’all want?

We close this bodega, the neighborhood is gone!

They selling the dispatch and they closing the salon

And they’ll never turn the lights back on, ‘cause we are powerless, we are powerless

And y’all keep dancin’ and singin’ and celebratin’

And it’s gettin’ late and this place disintegratin’

Though for me, one of the most Ravenclaw lines I’ve ever seen is in the Finale, after Usnavi sees the grate.

“He hates it.”

“Shhh. He’s forming an artistic opinion.”

That just seems to fit Ravenclaw so much better than any other house.

Musicalssorted official stamp on Sonny is that he is a Ravenclaw! Tune in tomorrow for a Hufflepuff.