Bebop To Rock

Up next, I will discuss 30 Rock, the first work by Tina Fey to appear on this site. Even though I still consider Arrested Development to be the greatest comedy ever, 30 Rock is a sort of spiritual sequel, and is pretty much just as good (I still have yet to bring up Scrubs, which may not be as perfect as AD, but makes up the third entry into my Top Three Comedy Shows list).

I can't believe Fey hasn't done more things; the woman is a genius. Her work on Saturday Night Live was great, and despite previews that made it look like a generic tweener comedy, Mean Girls was brilliant (too bad the studio made her tone it down, because apparently, her first draft was R-rated and extremely edgy). But 30 Rock is her masterpiece. Casting herself as a fictionalized version of herself working for an SNL-esque show may not sound good, but it ended up working better than anyone could have possibly imaged.

When I was thinking this post up, I wanted to say something like, "If Joss Whedon is my master now, Tina Fey is my mistress" putting her on an equal plane with Joss (there is no greater compliment I can give), but it sounded really creepy and disrepectful. Sadly, I was unable to think of something that worked, but never mind, because here comes 30 Rock!

Cowboy Bebop: See You, Space Cowboy

The world of Cowboy Bebop is incredible. Taking place in 2071, things are both similar and different at the same time. Like Firefly, space travel is common, other planets and moons have been "terraformed" for human life, and Earth is pretty much gone. But nearly every problem that exists today is still around for the crew of the Bebop; crime and poverty is rampant (the rich-poor divide is even worse than it is today), there are environmental concerns, and the government is almost powerless to help (sounds almost exactly like Firefly).

The solar system is a harsh place to live, and Spike, Jet, Faye, and Ed are on the edge of society. They live off of the bounty heads they turn in (I am convinced that they do a lot of hunting off screen because I can only think of one time in the entire show when they successfully turn in a bounty head). Ed and Jet usually stay on the ship and act as hacker and coordinator, respectively, but Jet did his share of adventuring. However, with Spike and Faye usually out making the capture, things often go wrong and the bounty head ends up dead, causing them to lose the reward. The two of them work separately towards the same goal as often as they work together, but both scenarios tend to cause one of them to "improvise" the situation and cause a situation leading to their prey's death.

But as I said, the show isn't about the individual adventures the crew has trying to capture bounty heads. It is about the little things revealed along the way that are part of the grander storyline. Many details are revealed at times when they seemingly have nothing to do with what's going on. For example, in "Sympathy For The Devil", the episode begins with visions of someone being experimented on by doctors. The person turns out to be Spike, and we get a close up shot of one of his eyes. Once the sequence is over, we never get any explanation about it again throughout the rest of the episode. It ties in with the episode's villain, but its real meaning doesn't become apparent until the final few episodes. The very first thing that happens in the series is a quick montage of events from Spike's life before he met Jet. His cryptic comment later in the first episode about being killed once before, by a woman, further adds to the mystery.

That comment, as well as a few other made by Spike throughout the series, heavily imply that the entire series is nothing more than a dream that Spike is having. Personally, I think that the meaning refers to the idea that Spike lost his purpose after his first "death" and wanders through life in a dream-like trance. I'd be interested to see a full flashback from Spike's life before Jet, to see if he was more tense or angry or anything. In the series, he sleeps a lot, is extremely laid back (which annoys Jet and Faye) and only truly gets angry about two things: the lack of "real food" on the Bebop, and Vicious, a man from his past.

Like Spike, Jet left his old life completely behind. In their old lives, Spike and Jet would have been enemies, but now they are partners. The two of them can work together well as long as their pasts aren't brought up. It's not that there are old wounds between them, but rather, their old lives are too painful to themselves. Spike lost his soul, while Jet lost his faith in humanity. But unlike Spike, Jet is trying to start over. He takes a liking to Ein, a dog they "rescue" in the second episode, and can tolerate the young Ed. Two important things happened to him; one had to do with why he now has a cybernetic arm. The other involves his ability to relate to people, and while he at times thinks only the worst of people, he also wishes that he could relate to them better. Although, I think that isolation wins with him, since he is one of the crew members who usually stays behind, even though he is a force to be reckoned with. Spike is extremely skilled at fighting, but Jet has brute strength on his side as well as rational thought processes (something both Spike and Faye often lack).

Faye also has a mysterious and painful past, but she chooses to cover it up with a brash exterior. Faye Valentine is introduced as a spoiled and selfish woman who will lie, steal, and cheat to make sure that things turn out her way. She is a compulsive gambler, which we are led to believe is the cause of her massive debt (that may not be the case, though). The first two times she is aboard the Bebop, she is there as a prisoner, and even when she is there by choice, she almost never gets along with Spike and Jet. Her partnership with them is through necessity; she can act as bait for them (most of the bounty heads are men, and Faye can lure them in), while they provide living arrangements for her (before them, all she had was her little fighter ship, which was full of garbage).

However, all of this is an act. As for what Faye is covering up, it is a twist that seem to come from out of nowhere, yet makes perfect sense when going back and looking at earlier episodes (rewatch "Honky Tonk Women"). Once her past is revealed, we begin to see a change in her. With her armor gone, we see her for who she is, a scared and lonely woman who longs for things to go back to the way they were.

Edward is kind of the odd duck in the equation; she is a goofy kid who doesn't really have a "hidden" past. Her origin story, as revealed in "Hard Luck Woman", is sad, but hardly mysterious.

Cowboy Bebop: The Best Anime Ever?

If you're anything like me, the only anime you have been exposed to, aside from Bebop, is extremely crappy. Most likely developed by people to sell merchandise (there's a reason that there are 150 pokemon), the production values are low, but the intelligence is lower. If you've ever seen the Strong Bad Email where he describes Japanese cartoons, the satire is dead-on. However, when I finally checked out Cowboy Bebop, I found that this show was (almost) the polar opposite of the anime I'd been exposed to previously. I have not seen any other anime movie or series (however, on the recommendation of a friend, I have the movie Appleseed on my TiVo, though who knows when I'll actually watch it), so I have nothing to compare it to. However, I have read many reports claiming that the show has been voted "Best Anime" numerous times in both Japan and the United States. In fact, one of the reasons I chose to write about this show now is because of the recently released DVD of the complete series, which is the first US release that is not a bootleg, and that claim is prominently displayed across the front cover.

Cowboy Bebop is a deceptively simple show. Most episodes appear to be stand-alone stories, with a few exceptions. However, even in the supposedly episodic tales, subtle hints are dropped about the overall story. In one of many similarities to Firefly, this series is a character study. There are large events going on around the four crew members of the Bebop, an old fishing boat converted into a starship, but what the viewers care about is who the protagonists are. Or more specifically, who they were.

The story is in no hurry, which compliments the music of the show perfectly. Music is an important aspect of the series; many fights are timed to music, and nearly every episode contains a genre of music in its title (which sets the motif of music that is heard in the particular episode). Most of the styles are slow and jazzy, though the fight songs pick up the tempo. But otherwise, things are laid back for the characters.

The show begins with only Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, two seemingly mismatched partners in the bounty hunting game. They are friendly, but each has the ability to drive the other into an annoyed fit. Spike is almost always laid-back, and his ability to improvise in any situation (meaning that he almost never sticks to plans) drives Jet up the wall. Meanwhile, Jet tries to achieve more of a spiritual enlightenment through music, gardening, and cooking. His hobbies sometimes baffle Spike, and often, Spike's disrespect for them causes frustration in Jet. In the first episode, we are led to believe that these two men are much more than they seem. Jet has a cybernetic arm and metal plates on his face, while Spike makes a few cryptic remarks about his past. The point of the series is to slowly reveal that these two have colorful pasts and that their partnership is even more bizarre than it originally seems.

The third crew member, who is introduced in the third episode, is Faye Valentine, a young woman with a gambling problem and a massive debt to pay off. Once again, we are given subtle hints in her first appearance about who she really is, but her appearance probably acts as a distraction. Like many women in anime, her proportions are a little exaggerated, which she uses to her advantage. Although initially opposed to Spike and Jet, she sort of joins them when she has no where else to go (though neither side will admit to the partnership).

Finally, there is Edward, who is probably the least interesting and most annoying character on the show. She (yes, she) isn't introduced until the ninth episode, and while she serves a purpose on the ship (she is an excellent hacker), she is one of the strangest characters I've ever seen. Her limbs seem to be made of rubber, half the things she says don't make any sense, and she doesn't have a hidden past (or at least nothing as Earth-shattering as the other crew members).

Cowboy Bebop features interesting characters and stories, great animation, and smart dialogue. However, it isn't perfect. From what I'm told, the English dub is one of the best around, as most anime fans I know say that it is usually better to watch the shows/movies in Japanese, and using English subtitles to follow the story. However, the English dub here is great. Or at least, it gets great. For the first few episodes, it can be a little rocky, but by the 5th episode, it sounds great.

Up next: the story and the world...

Another Space Western

When I finished writing about the four plays, I wasn't sure what to do next. I still have plenty of things to write about; I doubt I will ever run out, but it was the sheer amount that caused the standstill. Should I finally get back to Joss Whedon and write about the Buffyverse (which includes the shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel), or should I go to the new, "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica? That show will be starting its final season soon, and I could do what I'm doing for LOST, where I write about the existing stuff now and update the new stuff as it airs. I will probably do that once the premiere date gets closer.

For a while, I considered doing a section on some old cartoon shows I watched when I was very young. I came across an episode of TaleSpin on YouTube a little while ago and found that it was still very enjoyable. I still may do a series of posts on that and a few other Disney Afternoon shows (Duck Tales, Darkwing Duck, and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers), but now is not the time.

I eventually realized that the thing to do next is Cowboy Bebop, the only anime show that I have ever willingly sat down and watched. I discovered it the summer between my freshman and sophomore year of college; ever since I had started watching Firefly, I had heard that it was similar to Cowboy Bebop. However, it was anime, and anime was stupid (at least the stuff I'd seen). Finally, I was talking to my boss, who was a really cool guy, about TV shows. We found that we had similar interests, and I brought up Firefly. He hadn't seen it, but he said that it sounded like a show he watched, which was Cowboy Bebop. He explained that the characters weren't cowboys in the traditional sense; they were bounty hunters, but they lived a sort of cowboy lifestyle, on the fringe of society, and by their own rules. I finally decided to TiVo the show and check it out. Amazingly, it was just about to restart its run from the beginning on Cartoon Network.

Up next: Boarding the Bebop...

Sweeney Todd: Attend The Tale

Many musicals have great stories, but are renowned for their dance numbers (it is also possible to have the latter but not the former). Sweeney Todd has a fantastic story and excellent music, but it is not based on grand dance numbers with the full company. Most of the songs are sung by one or two people, and in the film, director Tim Burton emphasizes the internal workings of the characters' minds by using close-up shots of the singers, as opposed to wide shots of an entire cast. I think that the only song that could be reasoned as using the full company would be "God That's Good", which features the patrons of Mrs. Lovett's pie shop demanding more pies through song.

The show is therefore 100% dependent on the singing strength of the main characters, and both the original Broadway cast, with Len Cariou as Todd and Angela Lansbury as Lovett, as well as the film, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, have numerous strengths. The weakest of the four is by far Carter; her singing is fair, but it pales in comparison to Lansbury, who has a much better vocal range. Carter does well in "By The Sea", but everything else is fair. However, Depp and the supporting cast more than make up for this. Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Anthony in the film, is probably the only role that I definitely enjoy more in the film than in the play. The longing in his voice when he sings "Johanna", as well as the innocence seen in "No Place Like London" comes across so well. The play's Anthony (whenever I refer to the play, I am referring to the cast from the Original Broadway soundtrack) is great, but there is something about Bower that I enjoy more.

Aside from Lovett and Anthony, the rest of the cast is either equal across media or the two actors each have a different strength. For example, Depp brings a bit of a punk flair to the character in the singing, while his acting makes us truly believe that we are watching a man who has lost all remnants of humanity. Depp's eyes alone convey so much anger and frustration that if I were to meet Sweeney Todd on the street, I would run the other way. His annoyed delivery and expression in "By The Sea" makes Mrs. Lovett's obliviousness to the situation all the funnier as well. Cariou on the other hand has a much more booming voice. I never saw his performance, so I don't know what he looked like, but his voice alone is enough to strike terror into the hearts of Todd's victims. His cold laugh during "A Little Priest" is absolutely chilling, but he is also able to convey longing very well during his songs about Lucy and Johanna. As for Judge Turpin, I love Alan Rickman, and he did a great job as the villainous judge. His singing was not bad either, much better than I expected. However, the actor from the play is a trained singer, so he did sing a little better than Rickman. Both Tobeys also did really well, and they each bring something different to the table. I don't know if the story was slightly different in the play or if the producers didn't want a child in such a dark show, but Tobey is a teenager on stage and a pre-teen on film. Finally, Johanna has so few lines that it is almost too hard to distinguish between the two roles. However, in her few songs, both actresses do wonderful jobs.

The biggest difference between the play and the film is the length. Most of the songs in the film have been edited down; the film is about two hours long, and if the songs had retained their length, I think it would have reached beyond the 2.5 hour mark. Personally, I wouldn't have minded, but I'm sure that a lot of people can only take so much nihilistic gloom. No major plot is cut out except for Anthony and Johanna's courting. In both shows, it was minimal, since it was a sub-plot, and it revolved around the urgency of getting Johanna away from the controlling Turpin. However, if I remember correctly, it was almost non-existent in the film.

However, while most songs are edited, a few are eliminated all together. There are a few narration songs, which were originally going to be kept in the show. Christopher Lee and Anthony Stewart Head (who played Giles on Buffy!) were going to play two of the six narrators. I was excited for this, since Head is such a good singer (I don't know how well Lee can sing, but he's a good actor), but due to Depp's child getting sick, those songs were cut (I'm pretty sure that was the reason given). These songs don't add to the plot, but I wish that I could see Head singing again (I considered putting the Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling" in as well and making this a quintet, but decided that, since it's never been a live show, it doesn't fit in the group).

Up next: I'm not sure yet...

LOST: Getting LOST All Over Again

We take a brief break from the theater to return to the island. This week's episode of LOST introduced us to four of the people on Naomi's boat, three of whom are billed as regulars. Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies), Miles Straume (Ken Leung), Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader), and Frank Lapidus (Jeff Fahey) are probably the first new characters to have their debut episode also be their first flashback episode (Jack is an exception since he got flashbacks in the pilot, and a "new" character HAD to be given flashbacks). This strategy works really well for these four, since we have been wondering about them since Season 3 ended. While keeping viewers in the dark about the history of characters like Mr. Eko added to their appeal. We knew that Eko was a priest now, but we could tell that he had a dark history that made his motivations and intentions intriguing. However, this same strategy doomed Paulo last year. The creators wanted us to think of him as a bad person until we saw his story in the flashbacks and learned that Nikki was the truly unlikable one. Instead, viewers detested him, and by the time his flashbacks were revealed, he got killed off.Each of these four new characters got one flashback in the episode, while Naomi got one at the end (hinting at the fact that she's not dead, since one of the rules of LOST is that only living characters get flashbacks). These briefs glimpses into the past both added to the mystery of the show (how did a DHARMA polar bear get to Tunesia?!) and showed us what the four newcomers are like in their real lives. They probably can't be themselves on the island, since they are on a mission and need to disguise their motives to do so. Daniel seems to be an overly sensitive person, but the survivors meet a guy who gets flustered easily. Miles, though, is an asshole in his life, but is crazy on the island.What the episode does best though, is giving us enough answers to hold us over for another week, while still keeping us in the dark about the deeper implications of the answer we received. One of the other big things we've been thinking about since last year was, if Ben is telling the truth about the true intentions of these people, what possible reason could they have for coming to the island if it is not to rescue the survivors? Turns out they want Ben! Didn't see that one coming. But this tells us why Ben was so afraid of them showing up. We still don't know why they want him, but we can wait another week or two to find that one out.People predicted that with a set end date, the writers would have a much clearer picture of when they could reveal answers, and it appears that this is true. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a trend that will lead to three very satisfying final seasons.

Up next: Back to Sweeney Todd...

Sweeney Todd: A Dark Masterpiece

The odd thing about the final play, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, is that I never saw it as a play (at least not yet; I plan to this Spring). Instead, I saw the film adaptation by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the title character. I still find it incredible that the story of a deranged serial killer could be turned into a successful musical with songs that not only advance the plot, but are pretty awesome. These elements on their own can all work (for further proof that a serial killer can be a compelling protagonist, check out Showtime's Dexter, featuring Michael C. Hall), but for them to come together and work so perfectly is a testament to the creativity of Stephen Sondheim.

This post will be about the story and the themes, while I will compare/contrast the film and stage show in the next one (I have listened to both soundtracks, and find strengths in both of them). The show is about obsession; pretty much every lead is almost single-mindedly driven by one thing. Sweeney Todd wants revenge on Judge Turpin, Mrs. Lovett wants Sweeney Todd, Pirelli wants money, Tobey wants love, Judge Turpin and Anthony Hope want Johanna, and Johanna wants freedom. But I'll expand on these throughout the post.

The show begins with Sweeney Todd and Anthony Hope, a sailor, coming back to London after a sea voyage. Anthony saw Todd floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean and rescued him. Anthony, who appears to be a very optimistic youth, tries to strike up a friendship with the man, who is extremely introverted and angry. Eventually, Todd tells Anthony his story in an effort to explain why he is so pessimistic (though it is ambiguous whether Anthony realizes that he is hearing Todd's own history as opposed to anecdote Todd knows): Todd was once called Benjamin Barker and was a successful barber with a shop on Fleet Street. He was married to a beautiful woman and had a young daughter named Johanna. Like Anthony, Barker was an optimistic man who would never believe that human cruelty could be "as wondrous as Peru". A corrupt judge named Turpin arrested Barker for a crime he didn't commit and had him exiled to Australia so that the judge would be able to have Lucy, Barker's wife, for himself.

It's been fifteen years, and Barker has finally returned to London, under the name of Sweeney Todd, in order to take his revenge. He returns to his old shop, which is above a meat pie shop and pub run by a woman named Mrs. Lovett. Lovett has hit hard times, since she makes the "worst pies in London". Todd asks her about what happened to the man who lived upstairs, and she fills in the story for him. After Barker was arrested, Judge Turpin made his move on Lucy. He raped her at a costume party, and the other guests misunderstood what was happening, so they laughed at her. This left her so distraught that she poisoned herself. With both parents gone, Johanna became a ward of the state and was placed in Turpin's care. This news strengthens Todd's desire for revenge, and Mrs. Lovett, who harbors a not-so-secret crush on the barber, offers her assistance.

Right away, these two characters' respective obsessions guide all their actions. Todd is blinded by his desire for revenge and cannot focus on anything else. Judge Turpin's beadle (a man who is a kind of lackey) also played a part in Lucy's rape, and is also one of Todd's targets. When the Beadle promises to come to Todd's shop for a shave "before the week is out", Todd angrily vents his frustration to Mrs. Lovett when he does not appear within a day. Lovett calmly responds that the week isn't out, as it is only Tuesday. At the same time, Mrs. Lovett is so infatuated with Todd that she not only accepts the fact that he is planning on killing people, she tries to help him with the planning. She is also completely oblivious to the fact that her advances on the barber are either unseen or ignored. I commented to my friends after seeing this movie that Lovett is almost more insane than Todd; she is able to rationalize Todd's first kill before he can, and it is her idea on how to dispose of the body.

When Todd humiliates a street vendor and barber named Pirelli, the man later appears at Todd's shop and reveals that he knows that Todd is really Benjamin Barker. Unless Todd wants to go back to prison, Pirelli tells him that he is entitled to half his earnings. Instead, Todd kills him. Todd is at first distraught that he has taken a human life, but Lovett tells him he had to do it to stay safe and get his revenge. And when it comes time to decide on how to get rid of the body, Lovett comes up with an idea that will help the both of them; if they grind it up and put it into meat pies, it can't be traced, and the overhead money that goes towards meat will disappear, since they will get it for free.

Meanwhile, Anthony notices Johanna, now a teenager, in the window of Judge Turpin's house, and she notices him right back. Unfortunately for both of them, Turpin is almost a warden towards his ward, keeping her locked up and threatening any young boy who tries to get to her. In the film version (I'm not sure if this happens in the play), Turpin also spies on Johanna through a small hole in the wall. After the Judge invites Anthony in, only to threaten him and throw him out, Turpin decides that he will marry Johanna himself to "protect" her from the world. Meanwhile, Anthony decides to steal Johanna away for himself.

Unfortunately for Sweeney Todd, the two people obsessed with Johanna converge in his shop. He is set to exact his revenge upon Turpin, who has come in for a shave, when Anthony bursts in to tell his friend Sweeney the news of his plans. Turpin states that he is never to return, since he will not patronize a barber who keeps company with miscreants. In a fit of rage, Todd has an epiphany wherein he realizes that everyone in London deserves to die; many people are wicked, and they don't deserve life, but everyone else lets the wicked ones walk over them, and death will relieve them of their pain. Todd vows that he will still have his revenge on the Judge, but in the meantime, he will "practice on less honorable throats". It is at this point that Lovett gets her idea for her special meat pies, and the pair sing a hilariously demented song about what different people will taste like.

The new pies turn out to be a huge hit, and Todd can't kill fast enough to keep up with demand. The only thing that can mess up this almost-perfect arrangement is Tobey, a young boy who used to be Pirelli's assistant. Pirelli mistreated the boy, and he latched on to Mrs. Lovett because she was the nicest person he had ever met (he talked about how he came from a work house, where he had never before known kindness). Tobey enters into a one-way relationship with Lovett that almost mirrors the one that she has with Todd. Mrs. Lovett's romantic feelings for Sweeney Todd go unrequited, while Tobey sees Lovett as a motherly figure, but she merely uses him for work, and would gladly give him away if the trade secured the love of Sweeney Todd in return.

Unfortunately, nearly every character meets an unfortunate end because of their obsessions. Todd finally gets his revenge when he tricks the Judge into returning to his shop, promising that he knows how to keep Anthony away from Johanna for good. However, his revenge comes with a large price. Let's just say that his desensitization to killing that was required to kill Turpin screws him over in the end. Mrs. Lovett's love for Todd is also her downfall; it is connected to the price that Todd pays, but I won't go into it in detail because it is too good to spoil. Tobey is one of only three characters not to die, the other two being Anthony and Johanna, but his experience with Todd and Lovett drives him insane. Most other children would run away from this devious pair after seeing some of the things that Tobey sees, but his devotion to Mrs. Lovett keeps him around, and his sanity is lost.

The only two characters who have the semblance of a happy ending are Anthony and Johanna, but even they have a rocky path ahead of them. As they are escaping, Anthony promises that now, everything will be fine, and all their dreams will come true. Johanna responds that she never had dreams, only nightmares...

Up next: The meanings, the film, and the play...

Avenue Q: Life Lessons

So is there a plot to back up all of these hilarious songs? Yes, and it is surprisingly deep for a show with puppets singing about internet porn. But the important part of the story is the message, not the details. On the surface, the show follows Princeton and Kate fall in love, fall apart, and then reconcile, while the other couples try to find happiness as well. But it is so much more than that.

Avenue Q and Sesame Street are not afraid to show the harsh realities of life in addition to the uplifting ones. Granted, there are fewer bad experiences on Sesame Street since children's lives USUALLY don't involve the pains of adulthood, while at times, the residents of the Avenue feel like their lives are falling apart, since post-college life can be turbulent, but there are happy times as well. Some of the songs in the show give examples of how to cope with the down times in life, one of which is about how to make your life look better. When Nicky is down and out after Rod kicked him out of the apartment, Gary Coleman explains the concept of schaudenfreude, which is German for taking pleasure from the pain of others. Gary reasons that schaudenfreude makes the world a better place to be, since it allows people to feel better about themselves. While it can be said that the ending of Avenue Q is a happy one, the real message is that the ending is happy ENOUGH for the characters, and life is full of good and bad times. The trick is to be able to weather the bad times and embrace the good times.

One of the final lessons of the show is that things don't always work out and nothing, whether it be good or bad, lasts forever or is certain (except death and taxes). Does Rod finally embrace who he is and find love? It looks that way. But does Brian finally become a comedian? No, and it looks like he never will (he bombed at a comedy club halfway through the show, and was heckled by his own fiancee). However, the show also says that sometimes, miracles can happen; in a bit of a deus ex machina, Trekkie Monster shows that he is a very savvy investor and allows for Kate's dream to come true (the show debuted a few years ago, but just a few weeks ago, when the stock market started going into the toilet, my father said that Trekkie Monster had the right idea, and if he could have invested like Trekkie, he would have).

The final song, "For Now", may not be as funny as the other numbers, but it isn't supposed to be. It is about how, when times are bad, we have to remember that they will soon pass, but it also reminds us that good things don't last as well, and we can't dwell on them when they are gone.

Avenue Q is an incredible show that is juvenile and sophisticated, laugh-out-loud hilarious and very sweet. It is extremely deserving of the Tony Award it received for Best Musical (though I still think Wicked is the better show), and it does a phenomenal job of teaching without preaching to its audience. A lot of people will be off-put by the lewd lyrics and puppet sex, but this is a show that everyone should see.

Up next: A trip to Fleet Street...

Avenue Q: It Sucks To Be Me!

Avenue Q may be the most sex and profanity-filled show to ever win the Tony for Best Musical (the next one I'll talk about, Sweeney Todd, may be the bloodiest). I don't know this for sure, but it must be hard to compete with a show that has a song called, "You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want (When You're Makin' Love)" and features the two puppet leads going at it like horny teenagers. It's almost hard to believe that Avenue Q's main inspiration is the children's show Sesame Street. But behind all the "fucks" and "shits" uttered, behind the internet porn jokes and puppet sex, is a story meant to educate us about the trials and tribulations that we face as 20-somethings. Sort of like how Sesame Street helps teach kids about things they will have to deal with in pre-adolescence.

The titular street is located in an outer borough of New York City, and if you live there, it's very likely that your life sucks in one way or another. The apartments are small, roommates are almost a necessity, and Gary Coleman is the superintendent! Princeton, a recent college graduate, gets his first apartment on his own here because he can't really afford to live anywhere nicer. He still gets occasional financial help from his parents while he tries to find a job and his purpose in life, but for the first time in his life, he is nearly on his own.

Other inhabitants include Kate Monster, an aspiring teacher who is frustrated with her love life, which seems to be going nowhere. Like Sesame Street, some of the puppets are "humans", while others are "monsters", complete with fur, and sometimes horns. Though it appears that human and monster are as different as skin color, since human puppet/monster puppet relationships are not unheard of (though there is a slight stigma associated with them). Brian is a 32-year-old who has just been fired from a dead-end job. He wants to be a comedian, but he is beginning to give up on his dreams, since he is only getting older. He is engaged to Christmas Eve, a Japanese immigrant who recently became a therapist. They are two of the human characters (actual humans, not puppet humans), similar to people like Gordon and Susan on Sesame Street. They are a little older than some of the other residents of Avenue Q, so they have accrued some wisdom, but still are not the best sources of information.

Bert and Ernie are lambasted through Rod and Nicky, two roommates who are so close that they now can't stand each other. Rod, a Republican investment banker (who may be gay) is uptight and anal retentive, while Nicky is a lazy slob who encourages Rod to come out and finally be happy. Gary Coleman (who is played by a woman) is the sarcastic superintendent, and Trekkie Monster is the neighbor from hell. He never leaves his apartment because he is constantly looking at internet porn. He only pops his head out of his window to yell at his neighbors to be quiet or go away.

It's a colorful cast to say the least! Most of the songs serve the same purpose as the songs on Sesame Street: to educate the audience about important issues, which may or may not forward the plot. My favorite example is "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist"; Princeton and Kate are talking and Princeton accidentally says something that Kate construes as racist. When she chews him out, he apologizes, but rationalizes that everyone, including her, has said or done things that are indicative of some shred of racism within the person. They go on to say that racism is wrong, but is part of human nature, and maybe we should relax a little...

Princeton and Kate: Everyone makes judgments based on race!
Princeton: Now not big judgments like who to hire or who to buy a newspaper from.
Kate: No.
Princeton: No, just little judgments, like thinking Mexican busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!!
Kate: Right!

Comedy gold. Avenue Q also has brief animated interludes to reinforce points within the show. On Sesame Street, they may have shown a short cartoon about the Number 6, while on Avenue Q, they had a clip involving nightstands to give a name to what happens with Princeton and Lucy the Slut, a shady lounge singer (let's just say that the clip starts with multiple nightstands and ends with one; figure it out).

Up next: More than just "For Now"...

Once On This Island: So I Hope That You Will Tell This Tale Tomorrow

After Daniel's people take him back to his side of the island, despite still being in near-critical condition, Ti Moune vows to make the journey across the island to be reunited with her love. While the song "Some Say" isn't the best number in the show (though there are no bad ones), I find it thematically interesting, since it reinforces the fact that the show is meant to convey emotions, not a narrative. The little girl asks the storytellers about some of the details of Ti Moune's journey across the island, and they respond that it took "as long as [she] suppose[s]". They also tell three versions of her trek, one that was extremely difficult, one in which she got a few lucky breaks, and one in which the gods do all the work for her (I love the imagery of the gods pulling up in a car and giving her a ride). It doesn't matter how she got there, what matters is that she had the determination to do it.

She eventually is reunited with Daniel, and in spite of the protests of Monsieur Beauxhomme and the negative whispers of the other Grand Hommes, the pair fall in love. All seems well; the peasants feared that Ti Moune would be rejected by Daniel because of her social status, but that is part of why he fell for her. He is tired of the phoniness he finds in most of the Grand Homme girls. But there is still a kink in the plan that the peasants warned Ti Moune about. It is not the way of the Grand Hommes to marry below their status. Even though Daniel would, there is the problem of Andrea.

Andrea Deveraux, the role my sister had, is Daniel's arranged wife, who has been "promised" to him for most of their lives. How will true love triumph? It does, but not in the traditional Disney sense. As with Wicked, skip to the next paragraph to avoid the ending. The story of Ti Moune comes full circle when Daniel tells her that he loves her but can't be with her. Papa Ge returns, telling her that her life is still forfeit, unless she chooses to undo the trade. If she kills Daniel, and along with him, "the love she feels", she'll live. However, Ti Moune can't bring herself to do it, proving that love is stronger than death. The gods are amazed, and take pity on the girl. Papa Ge takes her soul and gives it to Asaka, who reincarnates her as a tree (remember where her adoptive parents found her?); it is under her tree that Daniel's son meets the peasant girl he is destined to marry and break the tradition of Grand Hommes despising peasants.

The final song is called "Why We Tell The Story", which explains the power of storytelling. Ti Moune's tale is a good narrative, but an even better device to make us think about our own lives and how we live them. It conjures up feelings of love, pain, and hope. And it stays with us, helping to guide our lives in our own times of trouble.

Up next: What do you do with a B.A. in English?

Once On This Island: How To Tell A Story

The next play, Once On This Island, almost shouldn't be in this list. I have never seen this done professionally; my sister played the role of Andrea Devereaux when she was in 8th grade. The microphones were very old, so there was a lot of static feedback, and one or two of the songs were cut out (most likely because they made a lot of references to how the shades of skin color of the two groups of people on the island is what separated them, and nearly everyone in the show was white). However, for a group of middle school kids, they actually did pretty good, with a special shout-out to the kids playing the gods Agwe and Papa Ge. And the story simply floored me. Not only is the plot excellent, but the way it is told was part of what endeared the play to me; the show is about why stories are important, and the main narrative of the play is being told by narrators, who acknowledge that some of the events they talk about may never have happened, but it is the feelings they convey that matter.

Of the four plays on my list, this is definitely the least known. I think that the only person I know who has heard of it is a friend of mine from college; I was going to reference the show, and said that I was going to bring up a play he'd probably not heard of, but when I mentioned the name, his face lit up, and he exclaimed that he also loved the show. I have yet to come across anyone else outside my community in the suburbs of Chicago who know about it (but then again, I don't bring it up often). The show opened off-Broadway in 1990, and ran for about 400 performances (thanks, Wikipedia), and while I'm sure that there have been some revivals, I've never heard stories of it coming back. The show was nominated for the Tony for Best Musical, but didn't win (like Wicked), and then sort of faded away. I would love to see a professional version, but I think it will be unlikely.

The story is adapted from a book called My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, which is a retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid. About halfway through the show, I thought to myself that it did resemble Mermaid, but since I am only familiar with the Disney version of the story, the ending caught me completely off guard. Let's just say that Once On This Island is much more faithful to Anderson's ending than Disney's, and Anderson had a knack for not ending his stories as happily as today's audiences are used to with "children's" entertainment. However, the unexpected ending is part of what makes the show so great; not only is it unpredictable, from darkness comes light, and despite what is initially sad, goodness sprouts from the ashes (I think I mixed a few metaphors there).

I remember most of the story and have listened to the soundtrack numerous times, and most of the show is sung. There is almost no spoken dialogue (similar to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat), so listening to the soundtrack will give you nearly the entire story. However, there may have been a few spoken lines at the beginning that I don't remember (and for some reason, there are a few lines of dialogue that I DO remember from the production I saw, but now I think that I only imagined them).

The story begins with a storm on a small island in the French Antilles. The loud thunder frightens a young peasant girl, and in order to calm her down a group of storytellers begin to tell the story of Ti Moune. In the story, four gods rule over the island: Agwe, the god of water, Asaka, goddess of the earth, Erzulie, goddess of love, and Papa Ge, god of death. On one side of the island are the peasants, who have very dark skin and must work all day, and are "eternally at the mercy of the wind and the sea". They put their complete faith in the gods, believing that everything that happens is their will. Meanwhile, the other side of the island is home to the Grand Hommes (French for "Big Men"), the wealthy landowners who don't believe in the gods, and can do nearly anything they want (or so we're led to believe). The opening song, "We Dance" explains the meanings of some of the customs on the island in both camps; the peasants dance in rituals to the gods, while the Grand Hommes try to be European. One of my favorite lines in the show is in this song; the Grand Hommes boast that they dance at parties, while the peasants must dance because they believe it keeps them alive (it keeps the gods happy).

One stormy night (similar to the one the little girl is experiencing), Agwe's angry waves were responsible for the deaths of many peasants. But one small girl was spared, and ended up in a tree. She lost her family (I think that one can interpret her as a creation of the gods right then and there; she never mentions her family and the gods have a purpose for her, but she also may not remember them), and is adopted by an elderly couple who find her the next day. The name her Desiree (the name from the book), but give her the pet name of "Ti Moune", meaning "little orphan saved by the gods for something special". The song "One Small Girl" details her life from when her adoptive parents find her until her teenage years. She is a handful, with her head in the clouds and an adventurous spirit, but she loves her parents and despite limited resources and space, they somehow get by.

One day, the teen-aged Ti Moune is hanging around by the road, and sees one of the Grand Hommes driving around in an expensive sports car. His good looks cause her to fall for him without ever actually meeting him, and she prays to the gods to allow them to meet. This amuses them; even though the two groups inhabit the same island, they are of two different worlds. Asaka, Agwe, and Papa Ge mock her, but Erzulie says that maybe they should grant her wish. She defends her choice by saying that love is the most powerful force on Earth, assuming it is true love. According to her, love is strong enough to compel a person to cross the sea, the earth, and even triumph in the face of death. Agwe and Asaka aren't exactly pleased with this declaration, but Papa Ge is the most offended, and challenges Erzulie to a bet. The four of them will work together to put the boy together with Ti Moune, and give her a choice between love and death. Agwe does his part by creating a storm, causing the boy to crash his car. Ti Moune finds him and tries to nurse him back to health.

She believes that she has finally found her raison d'etre, the reason the gods spared her life as a child; she is meant to save the boy and marry him. This is kind of where I think that line of dialogue was that may or may not exist. For some reason, I remember Ti Moune telling her mother that there is a prophecy about a peasant girl and a Grand Homme falling in love and bringing the two worlds together, and she believes that the was spared because she is the
peasant girl in the prophecy (interestingly, this adds a new dimension to the ending and her purpose; she is not the girl, but she is what allows the girl and boy to come together, thus fulfilling the prophecy).

The boy, named Daniel, is on the edge of death, and Papa Ge visits Ti Moune in a dream, telling her that he's come for Daniel. Ti Moune offers herself in Daniel's place, which upsets Papa Ge. He agrees though, but warns that one day, he'll be back for her. In an interlude, we see the history of the Grand Hommes, in the song, "The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes" (this was the song cut from the production I saw). The Grand Hommes are descendants of a French explorer. Even though he was married to a woman who was white (just like him), he had affairs with the various island slave girls who worked at the mansion he built. One of them gave birth to a son of mixed race. Described as being the color of coffee with cream, the boy was named Beauxhomme (which is incorrect grammar; beaux is plural, but homme is singular, but it means beautiful man/men). Despite being lighter skinned and much more privileged than the poor inhabitants of the island, he participated in a coup against the French. When his father was forced to flee, Beauxhomme took over his father's fortunes that were left behind. However, his father left behind a curse; Beauxhomme and all his ancestors would forever stay on the island due to their "black blood", but they would desire to be European. The storytellers say that the Grand Hommes hate the peasants because their dark skin "reminds them where they're from". Powerful stuff.

I wanted to include a video of "We Dance", but everything I found was middle school and high school performances. Oh well.

Up next: Why we tell the story...

Wicked: No One Mourns The Wicked Awesome

Gravity isn't the only thing Elphaba plans on defying when she sings the song at the end of Act I. It is both a literal and figurative declaration (and can now be seen as a bit of a meta-reference); when her spell creates a magic flying broomstick, she defies gravity to escape her captors, but she also intends on taking on a government intent on bringing her down. And looking at the show's success, it can be said that Wicked defied everyone's expectations. Who would think that a show that both cynically and lovingly turns an American classic on its head could be so successful. Who knew that there was so much story to tell about Oz before Dorothy showed up?

After the intermission, we see that the representatives of the Wizard have been so successful in their campaign to smear Elphaba's name that all of Oz lives in fear of her. We never see her interact with the public after being declared as "wicked", and I believe that this is meant to emphasize the fact that Elphaba is not truly wicked. The people of Oz believe something because their government tells them its so, even though there is no evidence. Instead, Elphaba's green skin is seen as a mark of her evil ways, and the belief in her wicked ways causes her actions to be viewed by the Ozians through a skewed lens. Benign actions like flying around on her broomstick are seen as "lurking".

The only person who still actively believes that there is any good in Elphaba is Fiyero, the new Captain of the Guard in the Wizard's army. Glinda is seeing her dreams come true before her eyes, and while she probably deep down believes in Elphaba's innocence, she chooses to go along with the lie to retain her place as "Glinda the Good". She is loved by the populace, is a sorceress in service of the Wizard, and is engaged to Fiyero. She thinks that she couldn't be happier, but silently admits that there was a cost for her happiness.

Meanwhile, Elphaba is struggling to get by. She wants to save Oz from the Wizard, and, in a sense, itself. They are wrapped up in the lie of the Wizard, and she thinks that they need someone to snap them out of their blind allegiance. The play isn't nearly as political as the book, but it is during these scenes where the brilliant satire of the show shines. More than a few veiled references to the Bush Administration are made, and there are a few priceless lines in the song "Wonderful", sung to Elphaba by the Wizard. It starts with him explaining that, in the place he comes from (our world), there is no black and white, only perspective. He tells her that few people are "at ease with moral ambiguities, so we act as though they don't exist". Wonderful.

Unfortunately for Elphaba, the Ozians don't want to be saved. Everything she does with good intentions backfires, and only causes people to resent her even more. Things finally go right for a change when she learns that her unrequited feelings for Fiyero weren't so unrequited after all. However, this drives the wedge between her and Glinda even farther, and the happiness is short-lived. The last straw for Elphaba comes when the Royal Guards torture their captain to get to her, and she decides that there is no hope left for Oz, vowing to truly become Wicked (after seeing Sweeney Todd, in which the title character sings a song about an epiphany he has about losing his faith in humanity, I can imagine this show going a lot darker, with Elphaba using her powers to do some serious damage).

At the same time, the citizens of Oz have become fed up with the Wicked Witch, and decide to get rid of her once and for all. With a little girl from Kansas in tow, a mob makes their way towards Elphaba's hideout. At the last minute, a shocking discovery brings Glinda to her senses, and the two of them reunite for the last time. Their final scene shows the tragic aspect of their relationship. They can never allow anyone to know that they remain friends, and they will probably never see each other again. The pair acknowledge that the other did in fact make the right decision for their journey in life, as well as for the current situation. Glinda's placement in the Wizard's inner circle will allow her to finish Elphaba's work of bringing him down, while Elphaba's active role in getting herself exiled showed Glinda that there are more important things in life than being popular.

Now, I want to talk about the final twist. I implore anyone who has not yet seen the show to skip this paragraph, since I don't want to ruin it, but I do want to discuss the end. Skip ahead to the next picture. Ok, let's go: Now, I thought that the show was going to end in tragedy, since the protagonist was doomed to die. There were even references to the fact that she couldn't get wet earlier in the play. Therefore, I was surprised and delighted when Elphaba revealed that she was alive to none other than Fiyero, who had become the Scarecrow (remember his song about being brainless?). I later realized how brilliant those "references" to Elphaba's hydrophobia were. The first was when Madame Morrible gave her an umbrella, telling her that she doesn't want to get wet. The audience thinks that Morrible is trying to keep her from melting. But how many people have said, "You don't want to get wet" to a friend who is going out into the rain? It is not an uncommon expression, since people don't like walking around in the rain without an umbrella. You get cold. It sucks! Morrible wasn't afraid she'd melt, she was looking out for her health (probably the one good act Morrible does in the whole play). The other reference is made by a random Oz citizen who is repeating a rumor about how Elphaba's soul is so unclean that water will melt her. Fiyero hears this and is disgusted that people could believe such bullshit. But these two comments do their job, and remind us that our hero is doomed. This state of mind makes her survival all the more rewarding to see.

This play is incredible, but what about its source material? I fell in love with the play. It was subversive and political, but was also sweet without being over the top. So I wanted to read the book. Unfortunately, I think that my love of the show hurt appreciation of the book. They started similarly enough, but then branched off dramatically around the time Elphaba and Glinda went to meet the wizard for the first time. After that, I kept thinking to myself, "If [current event] is happening now, how will [future event] later?", which really took me out of the story being told. And the story in print is much darker and more political than the story on the stage. Elphaba is much angrier in Maguire's book, while the Wizard is full-blown evil dictator. In the show, he is not a good person, but he does have the Ozians' best interests at heart (well, except for the Ozian Animals). The book's Wizard is more Hitler or Stalin, while the play's Wizard is George W. Bush. The play can be enjoyed by children and adults, by people looking for a fun story or people looking for a subversive one. The book is NOT for children, and it is extremely dense and slow-paced, especially when Elphaba is hiding out with Fiyero's family (Fiyero is extremely different as well). But what I liked least about the book is that it does not have as much fun with the mythos of Baum's world as the play. The play gives incredible origin stories to Dorothy's three companions on the Yellow Brick Road, Elphaba calls attention to the absuridity of Glinda traveling by bubbles, and the fact that the Wizard is seen as "wonderful" is believable (I don't know how or why a coup has not taken place in the book, since everyone detests the Wizard).

To end, here is the performance by the original Broadway Elphaba and Glinda, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, singing "Defying Gravity" at the Tony Awards. They are introduced by Joel Grey, the original Wizard.



If you've never seen Wicked, you absolutely must. Everything about it is wonderful, from the story to the songs, the effects and the set (I did not mention that I find the steampunk-esque set in Chicago extremely beautiful). It did not win the Tony for Best Show (that honor went to Avenue Q, which is also incredible, and is coming up soon), but I believe it should have.

Up next: Island girl...

Wicked: Defies Gravity

I don't really like the film version of The Wizard of Oz. When I was young, I liked it (but the Wicked Witch of the West scared me a little), but as I grew older, I could not understand why it was such a classic, except for the fact that the colored scenes were so revolutionary. But that is something completely separate from its worth as a film, if the only thing it has going for it is the effects (sounds like a debate that we'd have on films today, doesn't it). I've never read the books by L. Frank Baum, and I don't have too much of a desire. I respect the fact that he wrote them as political satires, with the Yellow Brick Road representing the gold standard, the Cowardly Lion a stand-in for presidential hopeful William Jennings Bryan, and the SILVER slippers holding the meaning of the silver standard. It is for these reasons that I didn't have a huge desire to see Wicked.

By the time the show came to Chicago, it was already a smash hit on Broadway. I still didn't want to see it. My parents and sister went to see the show with a choral group she was a part of and asked me if I wanted to go, and I declined. There seems to be a rule in my family stating that whenever we see a musical play, we are obligated to buy the soundtrack. And that is what got me into the audience a few weeks later. The CD did not get removed from our car for at least 4 days, and the music hooked me. Interestingly enough, I never seemed to hear anything after about the 9th track, "One Short Day", meaning that I was fairly unfamiliar with the song that would go on to become my favorite of the show.

I went in not knowing quite what to expect. From the music that I'd heard and the spoilers that had been told to me by my sister, I thought that it was going to be a light-hearted re-examination of why the Wicked Witch of the West was considered wicked. I thought the witch, named Elphaba in the play (and the book that spawned the play, which is interesting, but, in my opinion, far inferior to the show), had simply run afoul of the Wizard of Oz and was the innocent victim of a nasty smear campaign by the Wizard.

Sort of. It turns out that the show I thought was going to be light and "cute" was exceptionally deep and thought-provoking. The Land of Oz as shown in Wicked is not too different from our world. People go away to college, class warfare exists, and people spontaneously break out into song. Wait, that last one doesn't happen. But the other two are things that we didn't see in Baum's version. However, these two things have their Ozian twists. One of the available majors at Shiz University is sorcery, and the lowest class in Oz is the Animals. Animals are animals who are sentient and possess the ability to speak English (as opposed to animals, which are like the animals of our world). Unfortunately, one of the downsides of the fact that this show must fit in to an allotted run time, there are numerous aspects of the Animals' struggle with the Wizard that are glossed over and forced to be run through in a brief song, called "Something Bad" (one of the less-impressive numbers of the show). However, at the show's heart, this is Elphaba and Glinda's story.

The show starts at the end, with Glinda showing up in her bubble, acting just like we'd expect the Glinda the Good of the film and book to act. She reassures the Ozian citizens that the dreaded Wicked Witch of the West is dead and now life can go back to normal. When she is about to leave, a random man accuses Glinda of once being friends with the witch. Glinda begins to explain, and the story begins. Elphaba and Glinda (then called Galinda) met at Shiz and were instant enemies. Galinda was a spoiled blonde airhead who was adored by her fellow students, while Elphaba was a green introvert whose cynicism developed after years of resentment makes it nearly impossible for her to make any friends. Her peers are off-put by her looks, her father can't stand her, and her sister is often embarrassed by her outspoken nature. Amazingly, it takes an act of cruelty on Galinda's part to bring the two together. One day, a dashing young prince named Fiyero arrives at Shiz. Known for being a troublemaker, he is immediately accepted by his fellow students, especially Galinda. He decides to have a party at "the most swankified place in town", and everyone who's anyone will be attending. A young Munchkin boy named Boq asks out Galinda. The poor boy is so infatuated with her that he agrees to ask Nessarose, Elphaba's sister, to the dance as a favor to Galinda, when Galinda tells him that she would see whoever did so as a "hero". Nessa is in a wheelchair, and Galinda tricks Boq into believing she cares about Nessa's happiness. At the same time, Galinda receives an ugly hat as a gift from her aunt. It is black and pointy (sound familiar), and when Elphaba shows up to thank Galinda for getting Nessa included, Galinda convinces Elphaba to attend as well and wear the hat, claiming it is very fashionable. In return, Elphaba convinces her sorcery professor, Madame Morrible, to include Galinda in the extremely exclusive class. Galinda is stunned by this, and when Elphaba does show up wearing the hat, thinking that Galinda was being sincere, Galinda realizes the error of her ways, and feels sorry for Elphaba when everyone else starts laughing at her. It also causes Fiyero, who sang a song about the benefits of being ignorant and shallow when he was introduced, to display a greater depth than he originally let on when he notices something extraordinary in Elphaba.

Galinda and Elphaba's friendship becomes both epic and tragic. The two of them realize that they have similar ambitions in life; both wish to meet the Wizard and become trusted advisors. Galinda has always dreamed of being a magic advisor, which promises being among the elites of Ozian society, while Elphaba believes being with the Wizard will finallyallow her to be accepted and liked. Elphaba's tragic home life draws sympathy from Galinda, and Elphaba's inquisitive side starts to rub off on Galinda, who begins to understand that she shouldn't judge anyone by their looks or accept things at face value. They do have some unresolved jealousies, though. Elphaba begins to pine for Fiyero. She sees a much better side of him when the two of them rescue a young Animal being tortured by a strange man (these acts are what eventually lead Galinda to change her name to Glinda, which has to do with the disappearance of their one Animal professor at Shiz). Meanwhile, Elphaba is a natural sorceress, while Glinda is struggling to get through. When the Wizard invites Elphaba to the Emerald City to meet him, she invites Glinda to come along. It is here where Elphaba's life, as well as her friendship with Glinda takes an unexpected turn.

Elphaba and Glinda learn that the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not so wonderful after all. He is responsible for violence against the Animals, and he has no power at all. He is nothing but a fraud who uses a mechanical head to instill fear in those in his presence (they pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, or, in this case, throne). Glinda is willing to go along with the charade, if it means that she is guaranteed place and power in the world. She rationalizes her actions by believing that she can cause more change by working from the inside. But Elphaba won't have any of it. She is outraged to learn that her hero, the man who could "de-greenify" her, is a fraud, and she runs away. Fearing that she will reveal the truth to the public and destroy the Wizard's regime, the Wizard's representatives tell the crowds of the Emerald City that Elphaba is a Wicked Witch who seeks to undermine the Wizard. All of this goes on during the song "Defying Gravity", which ends the first act. This is the song I referred to above as my favorite of the entire show. Yes, it's a huge number meant to be a "showstopper", but it's so well done. The song moves the story forward by showing how Elphaba finally becomes the Wicked Witch, but is also a very personal look into the relationship between the two heroines. Though they at first cannot understand why the other is making the opposite decision, they come to understand the needs and desires of their friend, and wish each other good luck. They even do everything they can to assist the other, even though now, they are enemies.

I enjoy this musical number so much that I am going to put it in to both this and the next post, which will go over the second half and look more into the virtues of the storytelling this play employs. In this one, I will use a video taken from the Chicago production, using the original cast, including Ana Gasteyer (of Saturday Night Live) as Elphaba and Kate Reinders as Glinda. I feel fortunate to have seen these two in the leading roles; seeing Wicked is the closest I've come to seeing the original cast among the four shows I plan on talking about right now. It wasn't the original Broadway cast, but it was nearly the original Chicago cast (Ben Vereen was in town for a special engagement as the Wizard). Enjoy.



Up next: Unlimited...

Arrested Development: Maeby A Movie?

Sorry for the interlude, I will get back to the plays after this, but I had to report this. One of my friends called me up today to report this to me. I know that this may just be a pipe dream, but it's a pipe dream that made my day. Please go to this link.

As I said, this could be nothing. Or it could be some of the best news I've heard in a long time. Coupled with a story in the Chicago Tribune stating that the Writers' Strike may be nearing an end, the idea of an Arrested Development movie makes me very happy. I will continue to follow this story and give updates as they come.

Up next: Defying gravity...

To The Theater

Since LOST is back on to a weekly schedule, I'm thinking that I should talk about it when new episodes air. Up next, I would like to talk about four plays that, in my opinion, are four of the greatest stories I've encountered. I've seen each of them differently, one on Broadway, one on Broadway In Chicago, one as a children's production, and one as a film (but I plan on seeing the show soon). In the above order, they are Avenue Q, Wicked, Once On This Island, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Each tells a very different story, and I enjoy each one for very different reasons. One is a subversive tale of government and identity, while another is a skewed look at adult life. Two of them are tragic love stories, but one is about the beauty of love while the other is a nihilistic tale of revenge.

Up next: No one mourns the Wicked...

LOST: The Little Things

Before I get started on this post's topic, I want to point out that this is the first post on the site to be written about a television show has aired a new episode. The fourth season of LOST began two days ago and we were treated to another flash forward, this time, involving Hurley (Jorge Garcia). Possibly the most interesting revelation is that, apparently, only six survivors get off the island, and they are known as the "Oceanic 6". We know that Jack and Kate get off, and now we know that Hurley also makes it home. But who else? The other great line from the flash forward scenes came from the end, when Hurley apologized to Jack for siding with Locke on the island. When Charlie used his final breath to warn the other survivors that Penelope was not the person who sent the boat that was going to rescue them, Hurley it very seriously. He knew that his friend wouldn't do that without good reason, and when Locke challenged Jack over whether or not the group should meet the boat, the survivors finally split into two camps, an event the producers have said would happen since the end of Season 1, with some following Jack, and the rest siding with Locke.

The episode also (possibly) gives some credit to the idea that Christian Sheppard is Jacob. John Terry's name was listed in the credits, but the first time I watched it, I didn't see him. However, I did think that it was possible that he was the briefly-seen Jacob. Hopefully we'll learn more soon, but until then, back to your regularly scheduled post.

There are tons of minute details throughout the series that reward the most ardent of viewers as well as the well-read. Let's start with the connections. In the last post, I talked about how Jack's dad had met four of the Flight 815 survivors prior to the crash. Christian wasn't the only person to connect one or more survivors. Kate and Sawyer were connected through Cassidy (Kim Dickens), a woman who fell for Sawyer. Cassidy was one of Sawyer's marks, but she believed that she had figured him out and wanted to join him in his conning. However, she was being conned the whole time. Later, she met Kate, and helped her get close to her mother; after Kate committed her crime, her mother turned her in, and Kate needed to know why. The federal marshals were keeping their eye on Kate's mother, so Cassidy helped Kate get near her. Sayid Jarrah (Naveen Andrews) was an Intelligence Officer for the Iraqi Republican Guard who fell in love with Nadia (Andrea Gabriel), a woman he tortured. Later, both Locke and Charlie encountered her randomly. There are tons of other connections, but the last one I will bring up is between Locke and Hurley. In the first Locke episode, he is working as a middle manager at a box company in Tustin, CA. His supervisor was a creep named Randy (Billy Ray Gallion). In Hurley's first episode, it is revealed that he won the lottery and now owns a box company in California. In subsequent Hurley episodes, we see Hurley working for a chicken restaurant managed by Randy. Even stranger, in the Season 4 premiere, Hurley is (back) in a mental hospital, along with Randy.

Literature appearing on the show appears to have hidden meanings. Many books mentioned are supernatural stories that may give hints as to where the series is going. One short story seen is "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge", takes place during the American Civil War. A Confederate soldier is about to be hanged by the Union Army, and in the space of the few seconds he is dangling from the ropes, he has a fantasy that he escapes and returns home. The reader is led to believe that the fantasy is reality until his neck snaps and he is dragged back to reality. Another book is "The Turn of the Screw", which I have not yet read, but I intend to after hearing a brief synopsis of the story. It is a ghost story in which the protagonist believes that she sees ghosts. However, the ending is ambiguous; we don't know whether there really were ghosts or if she is merely insane (it sounds like a great story, but I hope that it is not a foreshadowing of how the series will end). Sawyer also does a lot of reading to pass the time. He referenced "Of Mice and Men" to Ben. The title comes from the saying that the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. For the past few episodes, Jack, Kate, and Sawyer were prisoners of the Others, and Sawyer was trying to plan an escape. In this particular episode, he learned his plans wouldn't work, since htey were on a smaller island a mile away from the crash site island.

Other small details to look for are almost too small to notice on their own and require repeat viewing. In Season 2, much of the action takes place in the Swan, on of the DHARMA stations constructed in the 70s. It is stocked with record albums from that era, and Charlie and Hurley are looking at the collection one afternoon. They find an album from a band called Geronimo Jackson, which neither of them have heard of, which is strange, since both are self-proclaimed music experts. Later, in one of Locke's flashbacks, a young man he meets is wearing a Geronimo Jackson t-shirt, which he states is his father's. Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse claim that GJ is a real band, but I'm not sure about that. Also, the DHARMA logo pops up in strange locations, like the belly of a shark early in Season 2. Some people even claim that it can be seen on the plane wreckage in the pilot episodes. I have never seen it, but I wouldn't put it past the creators to do it. Other things, like Apollo candy bars, and especially the appearances of the numbers create a world where everything seems to be connected in one large conspiracy...

Up next: Back in production...