Reflections about...Pretty Woman at State Theatre New Jersey on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at 6:30 PM, Getting Inspired to Achieve My Dreams, and Meeting a Couple of Kitties! 😉

Why not celebrate one month before my birthday with some musical theater?

Reflections about...My First Time Seeing CATS Live at the Mayo Performing Arts Center on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at 7 PM, and My Many Other Thoughts About the Musical

(I wanted to publish this way before the National Tour of CATS closed but kept needing to work on it more LOL!! Although, it is good that I started early so that it was pretty much ready for publication right when the tour closed and I didn't spend months starting now working on this to the point where it no longer felt current. I didn't know that I was going to have so much to say about this show and I just kept realizing and discovering more things I wanted to talk about. I was originally just going to tweet about it, but then it turned into a full blown blog post. 

I eventually published this and aimed to do so on June 12, exactly three months after my show and before their final week of shows in order to meet my deadline of actually publishing this before the tour ended. But now since I talk more about the end of the tour and all of my emotions about that in this too, I felt that it was more appropriate to publish this right as it was ending and after the fact as kind of a send-off. I'm finding that I'm still updating and perfecting this piece as I think of stuff I want to mention while it is live too, including this disclaimer introduction. lol Hopefully I will finally settle it soon though. I wrote a lot here and I feel like I may be rambling a bit, so feel free to just visit when you can. I kinda wrote this conversationally but it also seems to have turned into an academic essay as well, so please enjoy either way. lol 

I've seen that fans send the cast fan art. I'm not artistically inclined like that lol, so I feel like this is my way of contributing to that too. Sources of mine include Wiki sites, all around Google and YouTube searches, book excerpts, and others that I cite.)

I'm a dog person, so therein lies a reason for the disconnect between me and this Andrew Lloyd Webber Tony Award-winning musical all this time. lol

But I get it now. After 30+ years, I finally understand the CATS hype.

And now I have a LOT of thoughts and feelings about it, as you will soon find out. lol

Writing Plays!

Lately I haven't been blogging (although I am working on some drafts) because I have been focusing on another type of writing. Yes, my freelance writing of course, but also tapping into my creativity...playwriting!

I've been playwriting for most of my life, but this is the first time I really felt so connected to one of my plays and feel like it can go somewhere. I think this might be the one. :D

This month, the night before the 2018 Tony Awards actually, I finished the complete first draft of a play I have been working on! It felt like such an accomplishment for me because I have been brainstorming this story since about 2012, so this has been almost a decade long project. In fact, it is going on that.

Finishing this draft made me more confident to finally improve it for a submission and even write sequels to it, which I have already started. But I need to calm down because I still need to perfect the original, which is proving to be a little difficult for me, but it is coming along.

I love how excited I feel about this play. I don't know how often I talk about this on here, but I'm often in search for something to excite me, something to look forward to working on everyday. This is proving true for my play(s). I've also deactivated my social media in order to not get distracted. This is so beneficial for both my writing and well being. Removing myself from social media helps bring myself up. (My frustrations with social media is another blog post in itself.)

I am so consumed by my plays and developing these characters that they are feeling more and more like real people. Everywhere I go I think, "Hmm. What would my characters do in this situation?"

The piece is loosely somewhat autobiographical, with the main character serving as my alter ego. I feel like the concept is very relevant to today, especially for millennials like myself, and it's also an ensemble piece, something I have always wanted to write! So I have a great feeling about this, especially because the one act I wrote not too long ago isn't really much of a success due to its nature (but there's probably a home for that too!). But I think that this new story is much better.

I am so proud of it that I'm afraid to let more people see it, although I am feeling confident enough that it might be worthy of someone else's read. Right now the only people who have read my work are some of my fellow writer lady friends. I could think something is brilliant but someone else might think it's stupid. I know my plays are going to have their critics (In fact, I welcome them.), but I'm also not prepared to share this with the masses just yet because I fear that all of my work on this will be in vain. But I do want to do something with it. I even have some people in mind for the roles!

I just love the fact that I am being so non-stop productive with my creative writing right now. Sometimes I hit hiatuses that last for too long because I either have no ideas or the ideas I have are hitting roadblocks. That's what happened with this story multiple times, hence why it has taken me a few years.  I didn't know what to do with them next, and so therefore I don't want to lose my adrenaline again now that I am facing some struggles with it again. 

'Tis the life of a writer, I guess. :)

-Stef :) 

P.S. I really like how short and sweet and to the point this blog post is. Hopefully I'll be able to deliver more like these too. I want to bring some changes to Taking it One Stef at a Time, much in part inspired by my dad's blogs (Click the link and then hover over the "BLOGS" tab). :)

Is Nostalgia the Only Effective Marketing Scheme Nowadays?

What do "Spongebob Squarepants" (1999-present), Mean Girls (2004), The Band's Visit (2007), and Frozen (2013) all have in common?

Why, yes! They are all movies and a TV show that came out at least within the last 20 years that have gained quite the followings.

They're also all up for the Tony Award for Best Musical this year! I'm not kidding!

Let's talk about the Tony Awards! Particularly this observation (and my observations of people's reactions to these musicals).

When I first saw these nominations, my first thought was, "That's it? Surely you jest. Is there really no other new musical right now?"

But no. These are the ONLY nominees for Best Musical. Basically, there's nothing new here. They are just staged musical versions of movies. I thought at least The Band's Visit was an original idea, but nope! I was notified that this too is a pre-existed piece.

This is somewhat equivalent to the consistent popularity of books becoming movies. Now movies are becoming staged musicals.

Most specifically, in this case, nostalgic movies.

This isn't an entirely new thing, but looking back, I think this might be the first time EVERY nominee for the Best Musical Award is based on a film, hence why and how I took notice of it. Plus, these are films that I am very familiar with, so therefore at least nostalgic for me and my generation.

Nostalgic connections have been running rampant as of late. On June 15 we are getting the long awaited sequel to The Incredibles and in August we're getting a live action Disney film called Christopher Robin, with Jim Cummings voicing Pooh! And not to mention all of the TV and film remakes, revivals, and the live action adaptations of Disney franchises we are getting in the next few years!!

It seems as though Broadway is now using this same formula...

Okay, so let's check out some of the possible debates regarding this:

1) Broadway has officially run out of ideas.

We see this argument everywhere. Anytime Hollywood produces something seemingly dumb, overdone, or most commonly, unnecessary, or remakes something that was once prevalent, it's "Hollywood has officially run out of ideas." Audiences then voice their opinions about wanting to see new stories and leaving the past in the past.

Is Broadway suffering from the same ailment? It sure as heck seems like it, at least this year.

Remember, these aren't in the Best Musical Revival category. These are brand new shows.

2) Why?

I actually have been seeing this argument more than anything. Why do these movies need a staged musical adaptation to begin with? Just leave well enough alone and stop ruining our childhoods, darnit! :P

Though these shows have grown on audiences now, this wasn't always the case from my perspective. The interesting thing is, if banking on nostalgia to sell tickets is what they are going for, it initially wasn't working.

When the conception of these musicals were first announced, people reacted more like "No!" instead of "Yay!" I don't know about you, but I saw more complaints about all three even happening than anything, involving comments asking why these particular films were even chosen. "What's next?? Blah Blah Blah The Musical??"

The funny thing is that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two, which is up for Best Play and is of course associated with the nostalgic Harry Potter series, didn't get the same dread or flack from fans. This play excited them and still does. Maybe it's because it's not a musical but rather a successor, so therefore not necessarily "ruining" anything. Maybe it's simply because it is Harry Potter.

Or maybe people just have something against musicals... Are Broadway musical versions just too corny for our precious nostalgic films?

I clearly don't know a great deal about The Band's Visit, so unfortunately I can't speak on that one as much, but let's talk about the other three.

Well, I guess I understand the issue with Frozen. The most recent of the movies, people were constantly getting tired of this film's hype. It's a musical already, but because it's a Disney movie, it already gets points against it for just following the Disney Broadway musical trend. There were objections urging to "let it go" for awhile so we can miss it and give the spot to another deserving, perhaps less prevailing, Disney film, but nope. The Frozen mania is still alive and well.

People's problems with the Spongebob Squarepants musical are similar, not only against the musical itself, but the television show as well. It is currently one of the longest running animated series of all time, so therefore viewers are starting to consider it stale and lacking the flavor it once had. Like with Frozen, for Spongebob Squarepants it's more like, "Why are they doing THIS now??" and "They're really milking this franchise for all it's worth..."

Sometimes these musicals are somewhat at a disadvantage because they aren't creations being first introduced to us but are instead rather reminiscent (and therefore nostalgic) of their source material. Thus, comparisons are inevitable. This feedback was especially frequent with the Spongebob Squarepants musical. I had some of my own same criticisms as others about that one's portrayals without even seeing it, such as the whole "But they don't look like animals! Spongebob doesn't even look like a SPONGE!" protest. But then my friend Abby, who saw it for her birthday, convinced me otherwise while we were chowing down on Applebee's after suffering through a screening of Downsizing (2017).

Spongebob Squarepants still has the same humor, sound effects, and overall tone of the TV show, with the performers impersonating the characters so well that it raises audiences' suspension of disbelief. This, according to Abby, matters much more. It's just a different take on the show.

If you think about it, this is actually surprisingly an ADVANTAGE to the Spongebob Squarepants musical as well. No one would believe that Ethan Slater is playing a sponge unless we already knew the sponge the character was based on. Otherwise, if Slater was developing this character from scratch without any original source material to fall back on, he's just a giggling guy in a yellow t-shirt and we'd ask, "Why are we supposed to believe that he is an underwater sponge?"

The Mean Girls musical receives the least amount of beef I'd say, because Mean Girls is considered a classic, especially for people my age. It resonates so much with my generation but is still so relevant in today's American society as well (There are always catty women in every generation.) with just enough changes to perhaps make it more current. Also, people just love Tina Fey.

Mean Girls can be considered the most "grown up" of the three too, and we have seen this type of show accomplished before, so why not, I guess? The style resembles Broadway's Legally Blonde the Musical, Bring It On the Musical, and especially even the Off-Broadway Heathers the Musical, all of which were pretty successful and nostalgic in their own right. Taylor Louderman (Regina George) and Barrett Wilbert Weed (Janis Sarkisian) both have experience with these other musicals (Louderman with Legally Blonde and Bring It On as lead character Campbell Davis and Weed with Heathers as lead Veronica Sawyer), so audiences probably trust them more to do a good job with this one. Also, unlike the others, we haven't really been seeing Mean Girls everywhere throughout the years to the point where now seeing a musical version of it would bother us. This is the only one of the four that never had musical numbers before, so this is a new path for the story altogether.

Producing these shows in innovative ways gives them new structure instead of just copying the original movies. Theater is always going to be a different medium from film anyway. The musicals have the same tones to draw us in but they also offer something fresh.

The only musical that doesn't do this for me much is Frozen. Aside from a few new songs and some diverse casting, it doesn't really seem that much different from the movie. But there is also the criticism that the actresses playing Elsa and Anna, Caissie Levy and Patti Murin, don't look age appropriate for their characters. (Then again, I've seen this complaint for Mean Girls as well...) Otherwise, the approach looks pretty exact, down to the color schemes and costume design.

BUT, why SHOULD everything change just because it's onstage instead of onscreen? There are probably audiences that would prefer not many alterations anyway too so that they can connect the musicals to the films that much easier. I don't mind it. However, I will say that I love Janis's hairstyle in the Mean Girls musical much more than in the film.

Like I said, constant comparisons. But that's not really a bad thing.

However, this all being said, with these shows now moving onto performances and music distributions, more people seem to be jumping on board the nostalgic Broadway musical train. The shows are gauging plenty of approval now, and hey, they're now all up for Tony Awards. Maybe nostalgia does have something to do with it in a positive way.

The only thing is that none of them are really groundbreaking like the past couple of Best Musical Award winners Hamilton (2016) and Dear Evan Hanson (2017), which is seemingly a requirement to obtain this particular achievement. Instead, these are all just feel good, fun musicals that reinvent well known characters and stories. But maybe that's okay. My friends are pleased with them, stating that as long as they are good musicals, they deserve this acknowledgment.

Regardless of this blog post, I'm not complaining myself here. I would love to see all of them. This is just a trend that I felt was worth discussing. I'm excited to even write this because I feel so qualified enough to do so, partially because I am indeed very knowledgeable about the initial films.

By the way, isn't it cool how they are all kinda color coded? Mean Girls, Frozen, Spongebob Squarepants, The Band's Visit.

As for my Tony Award predictions, I think Spongebob Squarepants is actually going to be the one to take the trophy home considering how uniquely they reimagine the cartoon and it has been a family favorite of many for years. Mean Girls is my close second choice, Frozen is "meh" to me in regards to winning everything, and unfortunately, The Band's Visit doesn't stand a chance simply because I never really hear about that one as much, which is interesting because I am now seeing that it is up for 11 nominations as opposed to Frozen's three.

What do you think?

The New York Times Reviews:

'Spongebob Squarepants'

'Mean Girls'

'Frozen'

'The Band's Visit'

The 2018 Tony Awards airs on Sunday, June 10 at 8/7c EDT on CBS.

When is it Appropriate to Cheer During a Live Performance?

A few years ago I went with my friend Lauren and her family to see 'Jersey Boys' on Broadway. I blogged about this before.

One of the plot points was that Frankie Valli had written a song about his wife, but no one liked it to the point where it almost never existed. Finally the guy playing Valli began singing said song, and it turned out to be "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You". As soon as he breathed the initial line, the audience started cheering.

Lauren turned to me and whispered, "Why are they all cheering? They are supposed to be quiet." She was insinuating that because it was theater, us audience members were supposed to be quiet and respect the performance.

I usually agree. I'm against talking a great deal during a performance, of course, but I wanted to explain that people were reacting to one of the Four Seasons' greatest hits, thus it was appropriate.

I remembered that above story after something that came to my attention more recently.

This past summer SYTYCD produced its 14th season. In one of the episodes, four of the dancers (Kiki Nyemchek, Koine Iwasaki, Mark Villaver, and Taylor Sieve) performed a contemporary piece about diversity and standing up against hate, choreographed by Sean Cheesman.

It's a beautiful piece and obviously one that is much needed nowadays. They performed it to Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," as recited by Alexis Henry. So therefore, they performed a dance not to music, but a poem. I was spellbound watching it, and I tried to envision how I would react to such a piece live. I felt that I would be so entranced by it, as if I was consumed by it as an experience, temporarily forgetting that it was a performance I was witnessing.

However, there is one problem I have with it.

People would NOT stop cheering.

I wanted to listen to the poem as it complemented their movements, but all of the audible reactions just reminded me that it was a routine executed by competing dancers with the audience applauding the impressive motions and positions that told the story. I found the cheers distracting and felt that they took away from the experience and the piece itself.

In fact, I felt so strongly about this that I made a comment on YouTube about it:

The screaming ruined this one. This piece is beautiful and is one of those art forms that just needs to be witnessed without interrupting cheering in the background.

And then I even took it upon myself to tweet my feelings:

The audience cheering is not necessary. This deserved to be just experienced for the art that it is. #SYTYCD https://t.co/pm7LGj39sg

— Stef Sears (@MissStefSears) September 17, 2017

However, this is where it gets interesting. A Twitter friend of mine and fellow SYTYCD fan Michelle Waxman, who was actually in the live studio audience for this performance, responded to my tweet with a different opinion. Our conversation is as follows:

Michelle:
I disagree. Especially being there in person. They tell you to cheer if you like something. See something so beautiful like this had the crowd go absolutely nuts. It was life changing.

Me:
I can see your point. :) For me I just find the cheering distracting from the piece. Cheering is appropriate depending on the dance. You do bring up a good point about being so moved and reacting as such. For me, watching it made me speechless, so a different reaction. This one feels like you need to quietly be immersed in it as an experience to get the full effect. I really like your counter though. :)

Lol you're kinda making me reconsider my argument now. Lol

Michelle:
Lol well just being there makes it so different than watching through a tv screen

Me:

See I would think being there would make you feel more entranced, hence not likely to cheer.

Michelle:

It's hard to explain!

I had a difficult time explaining my point as well. Even though I still stand by my own argument, I began to see Michelle's side. I personally believe that there is a time and place for such constant cheering, like a lively hip hop performance. However, people have the right to react to an art form that moves them in any way they like, just like that 'Jersey Boys' audience that one 2011 afternoon. And who knows? Maybe there will be moments when I may respond certain ways to certain things that move me as well. Plus, time and time again I often hear how audience reactions encourages the performing dancers. 

So what side do you take in this argument? Does appropriate cheering depend on what type of live performance it is, or does it not matter?

In fact, you know what? If any of you reading this plan on attending the tour this year and this routine is a part of the lineup, which I see it is based on a tour video I saw, tell me how you reacted to it live and why. :)

Biblical, Shakespearean, and Other Themes in "Heathers"

Let's celebrate my half birthday by sharing my first analytical blog essay in months! :D

For the past few weeks, I have been on a "Heathers" kick. Heathers was a teen movie in 1988 starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater and it was remade as an Off-Broadway musical in 2014. I watched a YouTube video one Sunday morning, heard "Dead Girl Walking", liked it, looked it up along with the rest of the musical, and the rest was history.

I had heard about the musical when it came out, but still didn't really think that much about it. Although, I will give its Twitter account credit for being the one Broadway musical account to follow me. ;)

I never really knew what "Heathers" was about, hence my current interest to now delve more into it. All I knew was that it is about a clique of girls all with the name Heather and that this teenage bad boy tries to kill everybody. I always sensed the dark tone, but now I have more of an understanding of the story in general.

For example, I never knew that Ryder's character wasn't named Heather. I always thought that she was the fourth Heather or something. However, high school senior Veronica Sawyer (Winona Ryder in the movie, Barrett Wilbert Weed in the musical) is a teenage nobody who longs for life in elementary school when all of her classmates got along with each other. She hooks up with the awful popular girls, the Heathers (Heather Chandler, the Queen Bee, Heather Duke, the bitchy second-in-command, and Heather McNamara, the one that tags along and has some deep issues of her own), in order to avoid being targeted by the bullies. She becomes attracted to new kid Jason "J.D." Dean (Christian Slater in the movie, Ryan McCartan in the musical) when he is the only one strong enough to stand up to the bullies and wishes for him to protect her. The two develop a sort of flirtation and end up accidentally-on-purpose murdering the mean kids for revenge and framing the homicides as suicides to alleviate the blame, thus launching a whole teen suicide awareness campaign at their Westerburg High School. From this, Veronica's life starts to spiral out of control as J.D.'s true dark colors are revealed and he gets more and more determined to purge the bullies in order to sanctify society.

There are some themes in this plot that I believe are worth noticing, so let's dive right in! :) Incidentally, although I will be talking about both the film and the musical, I'll be going by the musical more. They made some changes from the film for the stage version and I feel more familiar with the latter.

Beware of spoilers and adult language!!!

Reflections about..."The Bodyguard" at Paper Mill Playhouse Friday December 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM

I've been practically either sick or busy all month, so I haven't been able to devote more of my time to this blog, but I am finally delivering this post!

The Bodyguard was a 1992 movie starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner about a pop singer who has a stalker, so her manager hires a bodyguard to protect her.

Now this story comes to audiences live in a stage production...but not quite. I say not quite because I read the synopsis of the movie on Wikipedia and it doesn't really match up. It has some similarities, but the musical adaptation is a total retelling and liberties are taken.

Written by Alexander Dinelaris, the show has played in London, Australia, Germany, Korea, and Toronto, all with different casts. Now it kicked off its U.S. debut and tour at Paper Mill Playhouse, starring Grammy Award winner Deborah Cox as Houston's character Rachel Marron and Judson Mills as Costner's character Frank Farmer. It premiered on November 25 and played until January 1.

Going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew about this story is that it was based on a movie starring Whitney Houston who sings "I Will Always Love You" at the end. I didn't know how well this would translate to a stage musical, so I was interested in seeing how it is done.

If "Glee" Dedicated an Episode to "Hamilton"

Lately, earlier this month, I have been watching a lot of "Glee" clips that have recently surfaced on YouTube and it got me thinking. The final episode of "Glee" aired on March 20, 2015 and "Hamilton: An American Musical" began previews on July 13, 2015 and debuted on Broadway on August 6, 2015. I am 100% confident that if "Glee" lasted just a little bit longer, they would have definitely covered songs from "Hamilton" given how popular that musical is and how "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy's new show "Scream Queens" keeps referencing it in its current second season. Plus, they've covered songs from other musicals before.

Thinking about this, they could probably dedicate a whole season or even the whole series to the music from "Hamilton" because the songs could cover a lot of what happens in the storylines. The only thing that is throwing me is context. Usually "Glee" incorporated songs into episodes that were relevant to the theme of the episode's plot and "Hamilton" discusses a lot of politics and history, which isn't usually involved in the TV show. However, I am going to try to cast as much of the songs from "Hamilton" as I see fit, such as which songs would work well in which "Glee" situation. Also, what's not to say that the "Glee" writers wouldn't have changed up some of the lyrics to make sense in context? We also have to keep in mind that "Glee" tended to shorten songs for timing purposes. I am also going to include the Finn Hudson character.

So here is what would happen if "Glee" had a "Hamilton" music themed episode. We could also say that this is the weekly assignment Will gives them. Let's say that maybe he asks them to look back at their time in glee club and instructs them to chose a song from "Hamilton" that represents their feelings during that period.

Oddly specific, but yeah.

What's funny about this too is that a "Hamilton" episode would require Will to rap a lot, which was a running gag on the show.

So here is a brief rundown of the episode "Glee-milton".

Life Updates and Possible Changes Coming to "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time"

(Written May 15 & 16, 2016. :P)

It seems that my blog posts lately basically consist of me giving you updates about my life and explaining why I haven't been posting new pieces instead of actually delivering fresh material.

Well, this is going to be another one of those posts! :P

I'll start by updating you briefly and then tell you what is next for this blog.

Okay. So what have I been up to?

1) Dance lessons. From January through early April I was taking dance lessons. Dance lessons are something that I have been wanting to do and I'm excited that I took the chance to finally do it and learn something new. It's a nice addition to my cardio and weightlifting workout regime. It got me wanting to take classes in other areas, such as acting, which I hope to do soon. I dabbled in different genres, my favorite being Hip Hop. :) I'm finished with them for now because my 10-Class punch card has received its final punch, but I hope to resume them in the summer or something. I even made a bunch of vlogs during this experience that I hope to put together and put on my YouTube channel.

2) Reading. I'm always trying to read more, but I often get distracted. This year I am attempting the Goodreads 2016 Reading Challenge. Goodreads is a fun way to keep yourself accountable and watch your literacy progress. I completed Immortals by Gillian Shields from January 11 through February 24. Great book! It's the first of a series of four and I want to read the other three, but for my second book this year I wanted to switch it up. I am getting into memoirs lately and am currently reading and more than halfway done with It's Hard Not to Hate You by Valerie Frankel. It is hilarious, fiercely honest, and is inspiring me to write memoirs of my own. In fact, I was just reading it when it motivated me to write this blog post.

3) Working at Mighty Quinn's. I'm still working there part time and enjoying it! May 13 marks 10 months since I started working there! :)

4) Freelancing. Of course, this goes without saying. This is a huge priority.*

5) Started an all-women writers group. This one I am very excited to announce. Back in January I started an all-girl writers group with fellow Montclair State University alum fellow female writers, called Literally!. It was named by my co-member/founder and friend Lindsay Kramer. There is a lot I want to do with this group and am looking forward to the prospects! Check us out at Literally!

6) Songwriting. Starting the writers group has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. Sometimes I find myself in a funk regarding my writing, but these women have gotten me excited about it again! Our meetings eventually got me to try songwriting, and...a part of me thinks I have finally found my calling. My friend and writers group founding member Kacie is a lyricist, singer, and musician, so she has been an influence on me. The music that usually plays in Mighty Quinn's also plays a factor. Sure, I still want to do journalism, playwriting, and screenwriting as well, but lately I have found my knack for telling a story through song. I've written songs before as a youngster, but this is the first time I am taking it more seriously and I have never before considered this as possibly my thing. It's invigorating. I've found that different things I want to write sound better in alternate mediums. For example, when I was trying to write something as a screenplay, I found that it was better as a novel. Recently I wanted to write something as a monologue, but then thought that it would sound better as a song and is perfect song material. I like that I have this as a creative writing activity along with my professional freelancing.

7) See theater. Well, duh. ;) So yes, I saw some theater at both Montclair State and Paper Mill Playhouse. In fact, the most recent musical at PMP, "Pump Boys and Dinettes", inspired a "Reflections about..." blog post, which I hope to write and publish.

8) Missing Women's History Month blog posts. If you remember my last blog post, I said that I got ill and couldn't focus on my "Real Influential Women Role Models (Real and Fictitious)" series so I would just publish them in due time. Well, I might still do that, but since so much time has gone by now, I might just hold off on them until next March anyway or something. We'll see.

*Okay, now for the more serious stuff. When I created "Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time", I was a young college kid looking for a creative writing outlet. However, now that I am a professional freelancer getting more and more writing work as I get further into the field, I may not have as much time and vigor for this blog, especially on the enormous in-depth essays that I normally share on here. As you know I want to produce at least one blog post monthly due to consistency and perfectionism, but my freelancing is a first priority. The reason why I was so late with this blog post is because I was placing more of my energy and effort on freelancing articles. My blog is something that was more constant back when I was unemployed with minimal writing work and it filled a void. I had more time on my hands. I've also been thinking about taking on more hours at Mighty Quinn's, which are slim already because I chose to leave a sizable chunk of space aside for my writing work and other life business.

This all being said, I need us all to prepare for me possibly not coming through every month with a blog post like tradition. I still will be writing on here, of course, but I don't want to stress myself out if I find that I might need to skip a month. I'll try not to, but this is where we stand. I have a bunch of blog posts in mind and in my drafts, so I will do my best to get them to you for your reading pleasure. :) Even if they're not my huge analytical essays, I'll try to at least post something, which is what I have been doing anyway. People make time for their recreational writing along with their professional writing and other work all the time, so I will attempt the same.

So, life has been pretty good. I like keeping myself busy and productive and building my confidence. I want to take on more in my schedule and I also have other writing projects in mind. Something I have been brainstorming is Taking it One 'Stef' at a Time: The Movie or TV/Web Series. ;)

Anyway, this has been fun! Let's do it again sometimes! :D

Let Me Tell You About THE TIME I MET TEDDY COFFEY! :D

IT HAPPENED, PEOPLE! IT HAPPENED! THIS EVENT ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE!!! :D

I can't believe that this actually finally happened!! :D

Okay so if you follow me on Twitter, you would know that I am a huge fan of the dancer Teddy Coffey. If not, you can kindly read this fun piece. :) 

Teddy and "So You Think You Can Dance" Season 10 alum Nico Greetham, along with other swell dancers, were in a dance performance this past weekend at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater called "Pearl The Show", which celebrates the life of prize-winning writer Pearl S. Buck and how she is a connection between East and West cultures, China and America specifically. It tells her story in correlation to the Chinese poem ”Spring, River, Flower, Moon, Night”.

In an effort to support my favorite dancer while he was back on this east coast and because it is about a female writer, I decided to attend opening night on Thursday, August 27. My parents came along with me, as well as my Aunt Maria "Ea", whom we brought to celebrate her birthday. My aunt actually told me that this was the best birthday of her life. Beforehand we had dinner at P.J. Clarke's, which treated us very well. I recommend the Pickled Cabbage Burger. ;)

I correspond with Teddy and his family every so often so I told them that I was going to be there. His family was attending the same show that I was, so we hoped to meet each other, which we did! I saw his father Bob first and then scanned the rest of his group and recognized the other members, which included Teddy's mom Pam and of course his Aunt Cindy. I was like, "It's them!" so I ran over to them and tapped Bob's shoulder. They recognized me right away and embraced me with thrill and open arms and introduced me to Teddy's Uncle Greg and grandparents. We took some pictures, talked a bit, and resolved to meet up again after the show to hopefully see Teddy.

Reflections about..."The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at Paper Mill Playhouse April 1, 2015 at 7 PM

I got to see the Feast of Fools musical on April Fools. I like how that worked out. It also closed on April 5, Easter Sunday. That was interesting too, considering that this is a Christian musical and it kicked off my Holy Week.

I wanted to make a vlog about this production because I had been anticipating it for a long time, wanting to react to it and discuss various aspects of the show. I then remembered that I have a "Taking a One 'Stef' at a Time" series for this very purpose. :P The last time I wrote a "Reflections about..." piece was in 2012 so it's about time that I wrote another one.

From Paper Mill Playhouse's website

Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), based on the Victor Hugo novel of the same name, has a reputation for being Disney's most controversial, adult heavy animated musical. Now that musical has been brought to the stage at Millburn, New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, brought to us by Disney musical legends composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, directed by Scott Schwartz. This is its U.S. premiere.

Except it's not.

The musical actually premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in California months prior with a lot of the same cast.

The show played at Paper Mill Playhouse from March 4-April 5. The reason why I was so excited about this is because when I first heard about this show when Paper Mill Playhouse's 2014-2015 Season was first announced, I read that apparently this was its premiere before it goes to Broadway. Like, I thought this was the intention. "Newsies" and "The Little Mermaid" were also Disney movies turned stage musicals that premiered at Paper Mill before their Broadway debuts, but I never got to see them, so I wanted to make sure I saw "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". I was looking forward to it for months and when we were actually looking for seats, we kept having to cancel due to circumstances. We finally saw it the final week of its run.

Now I'm hearing that this is questionable. Articles are showing up saying that it will not transfer to Broadway. But one thing is clear...the people want this to happen. They even created a petition to get their voices heard. Even the cast seems to be interested when I ask them.

It was SUCH a popular production! It kept getting sold out and the theater was at its most crowded when I went to see it. The name really drew people to it.

-These are some notes to consider about it just in case in does go on Broadway and you want to see it (I HIGHLY recommend!):

Let's Talk About Some Awesome Broadway Happenings!

Let's talk about some theater shows that opened on Broadway this October that I am particularly excited about.

For this I am going to go by some Tony categories.

The Musical Revival: On the Town
Theater: Lyric Theatre
First Preview: September 20, 2014
Opening Night: October 16, 2014

First of all, let's get the "So You Think You Can Dance" connection to it out of the way.

It always comes back to that, doesn't it?

Ricky Ubeda, SYTYCD Season 11 winner

SYTYCD was how I first heard about the revival. Contemporary dancer Ricky Ubeda won the Season 11 competition, so therefore part of his award is landing a role in the ensemble. I originally thought that he would get a lead role, but oh well.

Part of the reason why I was rooting for hip hop and tap dancer Teddy Coffey is because of his musical theater background and singing talent, making him perfect for this, therefore a reasonable victor. Plus he wouldn't be too far from me lol. After he was eliminated I was rooting for tap dancer Zack Everhart, because who wouldn't want to see that guy in a musical? However, Ricky proves his worth and appreciation so I am glad that he won. I hope to see him in the show!

I'm excited about it because I first saw it at the Paper Mill Playhouse and even wrote about it for this blog! (Well, actually, I originally wrote it for The Montclarion, but because they didn't run it, I posted it here.)

The story follows sailors, mainly Ozzie, Chip, and Gabey, enjoying a 24-hour leave sightseeing and falling in love in New York before they embark on their military duties. It's a heartwarming musical about living in the moment and I am glad it is back.

Bonus: I just found out that SYTYCD Season 8 alum and former "Newsies" cast member Jess LeProtto of Little Falls, New Jersey is also in it.

Here is the Top 20 group number SYTYCD Season 11 did in honor of the musical. This was how I first learned about the revival and the award, as well as social media. Joshua Bergasse, the choreographer for the revival, choreographed this routine as well.:

Honorable Mention for Musical Revival: Side Show
Theater: St. James Theatre
First Preview: October 28, 2014
Opening Night: November 17, 2014

The Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University actually presented this musical about two conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton working at a freak show at the Alexander Kasser Theater a few years ago. It was one of the few shows I didn't see there, but I fell in love with the music when I watched YouTube videos of it. This is another chance for me to see it live. Like "On the Town", I am happy to see its return. :)

In fact, the MSU version of "Side Show" had its own installment in my "Peak Performances and their Awkward Sexual Moments" series, if you remember. Unfortunately, the videos I mentioned have since been taken down, as you can see in the blog post.

The New Play: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Theater: Ethel Barrymore Theatre
First Preview: September 10, 2014
Opening Night: October 5, 2014

This play is based on the novel of the same name. I had to read the book for a summer reading assignment back in high school and when September rolled around we had group discussions about it.

This production looks just as artistically pleasing as the novel is. From what I remember, the book follows the adventures of and is narrated by an autistic kid named Christopher Boone investigating the murder of a dog and his interactions with people. There are actually illustrations throughout the book to showcase the kid's mind patterns, so that was a pleasant, welcome change to what I normally read for school. I expect the live play to be no less intricate.

It's not a favorite book of mine, but it is different and I like that another book that I have read now has a Broadway play counterpart of its own, considering that I missed out on James Franco's Broadway debut in "Of Mice and Men" this past summer.

The New Musical: The Last Ship
Theater: Neil Simon Theatre
First Preview: September 29, 2014
Opening Night: October 26, 2014

Finally, my favorite one on this list and the inspiration for this blog post.

This one I am particularly excited about because I see this every time I try to watch a YouTube video, and unlike other ads that just annoy me until the five seconds are up, I actually enjoy this one and normally let it play to its full course.

Composed by Sting, it follows the tale of Gideon Fletcher who works at the England town's shipyard but wants more out of life. The plot involves saving the shipyard and lost love.

Normally I wouldn't find sailing that entertaining nor am I a huge Sting fan, but something about this musical is drawing me to it. I'm excited about this one because it has a different vibe that I can't put to words. Perhaps it's that it doesn't incorporate the traditional cuteness most musical love stories often give off. I mean, it's about a shipyard. We never see musicals about that.

Plus, it seems to have strong female characters, and I always appreciate that.

That's Rachel Tucker making her Broadway debut as Meg Dawson, Gideon's jilted love. And she's clearly upset.

This is such a great scene from the unique choreography to the girl power sarcasm. I love Tucker in this because she has a deep, raspy voice in her singing that doesn't really match the high-pitched voices most musical leading ladies have. I think it might be her Irish brogue. When I first watched this, I was shocked to hear how deep and raspy her voice is. I didn't expect it.

Idina Menzel is another Broadway woman that does this I guess, but a lot of people can't really sing and belt like her and may find it difficult to sing the songs that are tailored for her. I myself do try my hand at Menzel's work at times and think I can pull it off okay, but I'm not very vocally trained.

I feel that Tucker and this song opens more opportunities for women who can't hit those certain high notes, like myself. I think that I'd feel pretty confident singing this song as opposed to others. So thanks, Sting!

Apparently a Sting musical has been in rumors for awhile now, but watching YouTube videos lately is the first I am hearing about it. That is some GREAT advertising!

Now if I can only get enough money to see all of these. :P

Does Art Always Have to Have a Meaning? A Theater Journalist's First Green Room Interview Experience

This blog post has been inspired by something Richard Schechner, the director of Alexander Kasser Theater's 10th season's opening production "Imagining O", said to me. I was covering "Imagining O" for Baristanet, which led to my interaction with Mr. Schechner.

"Imagining O" is one of those plays that does not necessarily have a straightforward story line. This particular play more so prides itself with its little bits and pieces of dream imagination sequences. After the play concluded and I chatted with two of the cast members, I asked to meet Mr. Schechner. I was taken backstage to the green room where he was sharing notes of the night's performance with the cast. We were introduced and I asked to get a quote from him. He then told me to ask the cast anything I wanted.

I figured that now that I am a professional freelance writer and a college graduate actually working in my field, I was in a good position to do backstage interviews. I never did these back when I was a Montclarion staff writer. This was my first chance as a professional so I wanted to take advantage of it and do it right.

I turned to the girls. They were women of all different ages, so it being a female run show I was excited to interact with them all. They in turn looked thrilled to see me there, so I wanted to make a good impression. They asked me what I wanted to know, and I told them that they could tell me anything they wanted. I used this as an opportunity to let the performers just say anything they want about their experiences with no limitations. However, Mr. Schechner preferred that I ask them specific questions.

"Oh. Okay," I said, seating myself sideways at the nearest table to face the cast, who was eating their dinner on a leather couch in the middle of the room. Mr Schechner sat to my left facing them. My mind raced searching for the questions that I had been mentally asking throughout the production. So, I turned to my generic question, one that I had also asked the two cast members a few minutes beforehand.

"What message do you hope to convey with this performance?" I asked.

Now that I think about it, I think I often ask this question and ones like it. I like to get some insight from the performers based on their own perspective of the piece.

However, Mr. Schechner wasn't having it.

“There are no messages or morals,” said Mr. Schechner, “It is full of contradictions and about imagination.”

I actually used this for a quote in my article.

The cast asked me what I thought of the play. All eyes were on me and I felt somewhat unprepared, given that the play wasn't fully clear to me and once again I wanted to make a good impression.

I said, "Well, I'll be honest. There were times when I was lost." I felt a little hesitant to say that to their faces, actually turning around to place my pen on my notebook probably to subconsciously avoid eye contact. But that's understandable, right? To feel lost during an art piece?

Mr. Schechner seemed perplexed. "At what part specifically were you lost?" He proceeded to tell me to get the idea of messages out of my mind (I think this was when he said that quote.) and that the play was just a piece of art to watch. He then compared it to looking at a sunset or a thunderstorm.

"Is there a message in the sunset? Is there a message in the thunderstorm?" he asked me, awaiting my response.

A little dumbfounded, I shook my head and uttered a small, "No." I mean, he DID have a point...

But then a few days later I thought that there very well COULD be symbolic messages behind sunsets and thunderstorms!!

Since then my article was written and published, but this debate about artistic messages and lack thereof stayed with me. I always felt that art had its own interpretations based on the viewer. Art is used to directly or indirectly make a point, such as with use of symbolism and satire, two of which "Imagining O" incorporates.

I thought back to my college days (Ha! It's only been a year and a half and I'm already considering them "back to my college days.") during my junior/senior year when I took an Art of Drama course with one of my favorite professors and advisor, Professor Naomi Liebler. She enjoyed discussions and challenging her students, especially me because I often spoke up in class and she knew me from our advising sessions in her office. This same discussion came up when discussing a play and for some reason she brought up juggling. She claimed that juggling is an art form that has no meaning behind it and questioned what meaning it could try to portray. I retaliated by saying that juggling could be symbolic of keeping balance in the world or something like that.

I have always been a deep thinker, obviously.

Professor Liebler gave me a look. It wasn't, "Wow, you're absolutely right!" nor was it "No, you're absolutely wrong." It was an in-between confused, somewhat sarcastic and proud grin that said to me, "Really? You really think that? Come on, now!" She may have actually said those words, but she was mainly happy that I was thinking and willing to argue my point with her.

She gave me the same look another time when she said that drama is a genre and comedy isn't and I claimed that comedy is just as much a genre as drama is. I think she believed that drama has more depth to it with tragic heros and whatnot whereas comedy does not and is just there. However, I believe that comedy could have depth to it as well and if drama is a genre than why shouldn't comedy be? This was when she smirked at me, her head resting on her right hand as she sat before us. She then stated that she was reconsidering her claim.

So am I right in believing that all art has meaning or could certain things in this world exist without it? 

Is it even possible for things to not have meaning? Doesn't everything have a reason?

Moritz Stiefel's Hair: 'Mind-Blowing' Theories about the Bumbling "Spring Awakening" Supporting Character

Ever since I wrote about the Studio Players production of Spring Awakening for Baristanet, I've been on a Spring Awakening kick since its preview show. 

The more I thought about this musical, the more the character design of supporting character Moritz Stiefel came to mind.

Seriously, what is up with his hair?

I've always wondered this. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about, here is the original design of Moritz Stiefel, as played by John Gallagher, Jr. in the Broadway version:

John Gallagher, Jr. as "Moritz Stiefel" performing at the 2007 Tony Awards

Okay, now that you've seen it, let's talk about it. His hair definitely stands out. It stands out so much that when I first saw the Studio Players production and all of the guys first came out during the "Mama Who Bore Me (Reprise)", I immediately was able to pinpoint which cast member was playing Moritz based on his hair alone. He didn't have to do anything, he didn't have to say anything. All he had to do was walk out with his hair sticking up and flipped over and I was all like, "That's Moritz."

Here is the Studio Players version of Moritz Stiefel, as played by Montclair State University musical theater major Chris Newhouse:

Photo Credit: Claudia Budris
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=785384631493916&set=pb.103139329718453.-2207520000.1402362290.&type=3&theater

What's funny is it took me a little while to realize which actor was playing the lead character, resident radical Melchior Gabor. I didn't have this issue with Moritz by any means.

This tells me that the hairstyle for Moritz is so intentional that every actor who plays him has to make his hair look this way. I'm actually sensing that Newhouse grew and styled his hair out purposely for the role. If you look at the original costume sketches for the character from the book I have, you'll notice that his hair is the same there as well:

In fact, it is so iconic that it even HAS ITS OWN GOOGLE SEARCH RESULT.

So the question is: why?

The Parallels and Unnecessary Villainy Between StarKid's "Twisted" and Disney's "Frozen"

I am once again inspired to compare a StarKid production to a Disney one.

Back around Thanksgiving, Team StarKid released their latest musical, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier, on YouTube. It tells the story of Disney's Aladdin from Jafar's point of view with satire and it is brilliantly done.

I actually watched it for the first time last week today around this time, and the more I think about it, the more it bears a resemblance to Disney's Frozen, and that's not just because they were both released Thanksgiving 2013 weekend.

Unlike my Starship versus The Little Mermaid piece, this won't be a compare and contrast to see which is better considering one is an actual Disney film and the other is a parody of an actual Disney film and also of Wicked. These will just be some observations I have made.

Before I proceed, I will warn you that this will be spoiler heavy for both musicals, so read at your own risk. If you would like to watch Twisted before reading, check out the video I provided for you below. Normally they upload their musicals by scenes, but for this one they decided to upload the entire show in one video as well. Also, if you are a diehard Aladdin fan, be wary when you watch this. It made me look at the cartoon in a totally different way and I don't want to ruin the Disney magic for you. So once again, proceed with caution.

Twisted contains strong adult language.

You ready?

The Poor, Misunderstood, Isolated Main Characters: Jafar and Elsa

Jafar, played by Dylan Saunders, and Elsa, voiced by Idina Menzel

Both Jafar and Elsa are misunderstood individuals with tragic pasts. Even though they both have ties to the highest hierarchy of the kingdom, Elsa a queen and Jafar an adviser to the Sultan, they are also isolated by the commoners that they are so eager to protect.

Elsa actually isn't isolated by the kingdom as much as she isolates herself from them per advice from the magic expert Trolls and her parents. It isn't until she reveals her ice powers and runs away herself that the kingdom starts to fear her and her lack of control.

As for Jafar, there is no clear reason why the kingdom hates him so much. He doesn't do anything bad but rather think realistically about the state of the kingdom and wanting reform. Everyone else is too idealistic and believe that wishing and dreaming is the only step you need to take to succeed, whereas Jafar does not. The only thing he is truly guilty of is disagreeing with everyone else.

There are actually articles I have read briefly that try to argue the claim that Frozen is an allegory for Christianity and that Anna, Elsa's younger sister, represents Jesus Christ. Well, I see this more with Twisted. Not that Jafar represents Jesus necessarily, but more so any other biblical figure, like Noah, Jonah, or Moses. Twisted actually reminds me a lot of a Sight and Sound Theatres production. I've seen shows at their Lancaster, Pennsylvania location and Twisted's characters, costumes, and makeup greatly resemble theirs, especially during the "Golden Rule (Reprise)". The whole Middle Eastern setting and time period concept is similar and Jafar is similar to biblical figures in the way that he tries to help others change for good, but there are certain people who just want none of it and brush away his pleas.

The Innocent Disney Princess Eager to Make Change: The Princess and Anna

The Princess, played by Rachael Soglin, and Anna, voiced by Kristen Bell

Ah, the naivety of Disney Princesses. Isn't it cute?

The Princess (who is never referred to as Jasmine for some odd reason but let's be honest she looks exactly like her) and Anna are two innocent yet determined young girls who think that they have it all figured out but in reality they know nothing. They believe they understand the ways of the world and that they have what it takes to make informed decisions and make change, but they are both just too sheltered up until the musical begins to fully comprehend things.

Something else the two have in common is the rocky relationships they have with the main characters that become more heartwarming and close as the musicals draw to a close.

Both princesses break out of their constraints, and after their respected adventures mature them, are eventually taken seriously. Like with Elsa's queenship and Anna's leadership in Frozen, nobody in Twisted objects to being governed by a woman when The Princess takes over. One of her decrees is that everyone is from then on a princess and even when she doesn't refer to Jafar's main henchman as one, he replies with a "Don't you mean, 'princess?'"

However, during the course of their stories, it is because of their innocence and naivety that they end up falling for the manipulations of...

The Hot Guy that Turns Out to be the Villain Through an Elaborate Reveal: Aladdin and Hans

Aladdin, played by Jeff Blim, and Hans, voiced by Santino Fontana

Hear that? Aladdin is a villain now.

I wanted to write a whole post about the unanswered questions Frozen posed, but decided that this was a better place to acknowledge my opinion...

I absolutely HATE what the writers did with the Hans character. Everybody else is all like, "What a great twist!" or "I saw that coming. Cool."

No. Stop it. It's too cliche and you know it. The writers totally messed him up.

Okay, so what happens is that since Elsa accidentally struck her heart with her powers, Anna needs a "true love's kiss" to save her from being completely "frozen." So naturally, she runs to her fiance Hans for help. But then, *GASP* Hans reveals to her that he never loved her and just wanted to marry her to become King of Arendelle. He then goes into this whole cliche speech. You know, the one where the bad guy has the hero (or in this case, heroine) vulnerable in his evil clutches as he details his most evil plan. Mwahahahaha!

See, the whole time we think that The Duke of Weselton is the bad guy, and although this guy isn't altogether good, sending his men to kill Elsa because he thinks she is dangerous, it was really Hans all along! Unless they were trying to play with the idea of how the Prince is always the expected hero and now a prince is the bad guy...

Frozen already has a conflict and it consists of Elsa controlling her lifelong struggles to end the eternal winter she had struck on Arendelle and Anna trying to bring her sister back home and forge a relationship with her. Hans is such a great character at the beginning. He develops this goofy friendship with Anna, trusts her, takes orders from her, and runs Arendelle in her absence. Making him this guy with bad intentions and have him try to put both sisters to death in order to gain the crown doesn't add anything at all. And the intention of him wanting to take over the kingdom is literally the OLDEST been there, done that story!

At least StarKid has the decency to be original. In their version, Aladdin is a psychopath murderer with a split personality that killed his parents. Also, he's 33 years old. Seriously. They dedicated a whole song to this.

Holy crap.

Unlike Hans, Aladdin is pretty much a jerk throughout the whole thing based on his selfishness and how he likes to screw with Jafar. Like the original Aladdin, he's a sweet talking, lying, immature street rat thief, but in Twisted his main goal is to ultimately have sex with Jasmine. 

Oh, sorry. I mean, "The Princess."

So already he is a decent antagonist. During the climax, The Princess puts up a front after a whole musical two hours worth of ignoring his advances and Aladdin's patience reaches a breaking point. He tries to kidnap her as Jafar intervenes, which brings us to the great reveal.

This is pretty much the best scene of the whole thing for me. Everything about it is just so perfect. Jeff Blim's facial expressions and portrayal of two different people having a psychotic conversation, the audience's reactions, the timing, the lighting, the creepy background music, the closeups, Dylan Saunders's perfectly timed Jafar reaction at the end, and what transpires thereafter. The only criticism I have about it is at times Blim bounces out of the frame, but to me it's one of the best scenes StarKid has ever done. Matt and Nick Lang and Eric Kahn Gale perfectly wrote it and Brian Holden excellently directed it.

Too bad it wasn't needed.

Much like how the villainy of Hans wasn't necessary, neither was this. Like in Frozen, Twisted already has its conflicts for Jafar to solve. Aladdin is already a problem without showing this weird side to him. This musical is full of twists as well as references to twists, the title being appropriate, but the greatest twist of all is that it turns out that The Princess is Jafar's daughter. 

So therefore, Aladdin is this 33-year-old promiscuous lowlife trying to bang Jafar's 16-year-old only little girl. For a father, that's enough motivation right there!

But it's just so entertaining and it brings out StarKid's creativity to put their own spin on a classic story that I can't say that it shouldn't be in there at all.

The Need for People to Take Off Their Clothes

In Twisted there are times where Aladdin constantly indirectly says to the The Princess, "Take off your clothes," which to me is an homage to the apparent very subliminal message in Disney's Aladdin. Clever. 

Another thing I wanted to point out in my questioning Frozen post is the scene where Kristoff takes Anna, Olaf, and Sven to see his Troll family. I feel like I'm the only one who noticed this part, because my friend Abby, who saw the film with me, didn't stir. At one point, one of the Trolls tells Kristoff to take off his clothes as she tries to undress him...

Nobody else seems to have noticed this line or the oddness of this request for one family member to command of another! It happens so quickly, so maybe that's why. Kristoff himself even shrugs it off. Why are they so eager for Kristoff to take his clothes off? More importantly, why is DISNEY? Why was this one line included anyway? Is not wearing clothes a normal thing for the Troll family or is it the same as a mother telling her kid to take off his or her coat and shoes upon entering the house? Or, is this a play on Aladdin's supposed subliminal message? Either way, it is something both Disney films have in common and StarKid has its own fun with it.

Anyway, enough of Disney's desire for nudity. Let's get back to the stories...

The Conflicts of Everyday Life

This section is actually what inspired this whole blog post.

Not every tale needs that one singular villain that the heroes need to defeat. Sometimes the villain is life itself, which is something to which everybody can relate.

In my heart Hans and Aladdin aren't bad guys. A part of me wants to ignore the fact that Hans's revelation scene is even in the film. If anything, they could've done something different with him to spice up the story's conclusion. And as for Aladdin, apart from his evil personality, he's just a lazy grown man that just wants to get laid. I mean, I'm willing to bet that there are some men out there like that, meaning that he's kind of normal. In that respect, anyway.

Jafar and Elsa are both a "victim of circumstance," as quoted by The Princess in reference to Aladdin. Their lives and struggles in themselves are what they have to overcome and throwing a villain into that is just adding a random extra annoyance to an already severe problem. They are placed into these situations and sometimes cannot help their circumstances right away because they must deal with the uncooperative people and problems around them. 

But then again a lot of stories involve the protagonist suffering from some kind of everyday troubles and then must deal with a villain antagonist on top of that. It makes the story more complex and interesting I guess, and normally without that villain causing conflict you wouldn't have a story. But just because that kind of plot exists it doesn't mean that every story needs it. Sometimes the archetype is overdone.

I like how Twisted came out right when Aladdin is the most recent Disney production to come to Broadway. Also, Frozen is coming to Broadway as well! It's just another thing they all have in common.

One thing I wish StarKid acknowledged is those scenes in Aladdin where, you know, Jasmine is held prisoner by Jafar as his slave and is dressed in chains and this sexy red outfit and then starts flirting and making out with him to distract him from Aladdin. According to them, she's his daughter, remember? 

We're not going to talk about that? You're not going to explain that one?

Okay.

Great News to Share!!!

I got published in Baristanet!!! And what is it? A review of a Montclair State University Department of Theatre and Dance production!!!!

This is what I've been wanting all summer! I've wanted a job that would let me write about MSU's shows professionally since before I even graduated because I was leaving The Montclarion, and after searching for so long I finally found one! This is my very first post graduation theater review.

Thank you so much to the editor, Liz George, for giving me this awesome opportunity!

Okay. Let me calm down a little bit.

The play is A Streetcar Named Desire, which I expressed in a previous post that I was interested in seeing, and I did.

Here is my review. Enjoy. :D