Oreos & Peanut Butter

BTS: ‘PROOF’ Comeback

Promotional image of (from left) Kim Taehyung, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Jeon Jungkook, Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, and Jung Hoseok. Copyright goes to the members of BTS and HYBE.

Hi! It’s Annie!

It feels like everything happened when we were away! I don’t think this blog has ever missed this much news before! But, as my sister covered the hiatus, I will mostly be talking about ‘PROOF’, the various new songs on it, and some of the demos as well. This won’t be a full album review because, well, a lot of the songs already speak for themselves. This album is called ‘PROOF’ for a reason! But I’ll talk about the songs that are newer or we possibly weren’t expecting from this brilliant anthology of their work. Now with their hiatus, this album is beginning to feel more and more like an incredible gift from them to us as a reminder that we’ll see them again. Their best is yet to come.

Born Singer:

I wanted to talk about this one because it’s never been on a BTS album before and it was a very needed addition that none of us were expecting. It’s especially touching that this is the first track on their album. This song is very dear to them and something that they’ve all gotten emotional over before, so it’s a wonder we haven’t seen it for so long. It’s a beautiful piece filled with raw lyrics and I don’t think BTS or ARMY can look back at this song without feeling a blast of emotions from their first concert days.

Yet to Come:

This is their main solo off of the album and it is very clear why they chose that one now. While a lot of groups choose their main solo based on what will sell the best, this one was chosen because it was the message they most wanted to get across. This is the end of chapter one for them. But even with the recent announcement, this is by no means the end. For any of them individually or for them as a group. And I think that was the message that was most important for ARMY to know here. This isn’t the end nor have we even seen the best from them yet. This was a promise of blowing our minds both partly during and after they get some much needed healing and re-centering. This song is packed with comfort. And the MV is packed with just as much nostalgia. There are various references to almost all of their music videos. Finding all of the Easter eggs is still a process for some (including myself), but there’s obvious nods with the bus from ‘No More Dream’, props from ‘Spring Day’, and the train car from ‘Run’, to name a few. It’s a blast of nostalgia to remind all of us where they’ve come from and how much they still have to do.

Run BTS:

Of all of the new songs, I think this one might be my favorite. Just by a small fraction. I think there’s something that shows off all of their honed skills here. The entirety of the rap line gets to show off how their styles have improved since they last did songs like this. This song was created to invoke their debut style and has lyrics that are meant to invoke how they viewed themselves as a group then. Like their determination to move forward, or rather run forward, and their “live fast, die young” theme that showed up in many of their songs and MVs then. A mantra that they don’t really ascribe to that much anymore, but something that they pay homage to here. I think it’s a serious power move to do a song in your old style with your new skills. This single song is incredibly powerful in every element and I was absolutely blown away when I first heard it. Am I expecting them to do more songs in this style in the future? Only if they want to. They’ve changed and we all should understand that! But this song is nothing less than absolute perfection.

Jump (Demo):

This version of ‘Jump’ is really interesting, specifically because it is rap only. This demo track has a far more toned down chorus and even more rap, going back and forth between verses by Namjoon and Yoongi respectively. A lot of the rap featured here does end up in the final product, but it’s interesting to hear this as a rap track. It does give a feeling of one of the Cyphers because of it and it’s a really enjoyable track to listen to!

Young Love:

For those of you who, like many of us, were hoping for an eventual Namjoon and Jungkook collaboration; it’s here! I am in love with this song; I listened to it two more times after I heard it the first time. This is quite possibly the most pure love song ever written. It’s this mix of very pure and innocent love and the nervousness to approach the person and pursue it. Jungkook’s vocals only get more beautiful with every passing year and Namjoon’s smoother style of rap really works with Jungkook’s vocals. I was so delighted to hear this collaboration between the two of them and it has possibly become one of my favorite songs on the album.

Boy in Luv (Demo):

This is very close to the song we know and love, but there are a few differences. The main one that stood out to me was the more grungy musical backing sound. It feels almost like ‘Danger’ in how the musical backing and vocals feel even more raw and edgy. It’s definitely an interesting sound that I very much liked!

Quotation Mark:

This song is a collaboration between Namjoon, Jungkook, and Hobi! This is another love song that focuses more specifically on whether or not the object of the song likes the singer back. Though this song is more upbeat, I think it’s another example of the perfect marrying between Namjoon’s calming and simultaneously hardcore rap style and Jungkook’s clean vocals. But this time the bright and unmistakable Hoseok rhythm is also there to bring an entirely new flavor to the song. The three work well together and give the song it’s own unique character with their three distinct styles.

I NEED U (Demo):

The ‘I NEED U’ demo consists only of the rap line and Jungkook with vocals. This is definitely an early draft of what we know now, to the point that some of the parts for Taehyung, Jin, and Jimin are done by other people for them to fill in later. Though the backing melody is pretty well in tact, the lyrics and the lyrical melody are almost completely different. Raps are in very different spots and the chorus sounds completely different, though still good! There was controversy specifically about this demo in particular because there were people laughing at Namjoon’s vocals. My view on this is pretty in the middle of what appears to be the two sides. It’s clear to me in this demo that it was done only to guide, so Namjoon is attempting to give a feel of how he wants the vocals to go. And that means him attempting to show singers other than Jungkook, such as Jimin, how high he wants the vocals to go. Namjoon’s singing voice is amazing and I love it! But I don’t think Namjoon meant for his vocals here to sound good. He was trying to get his ideas across and that meant singing out of his natural vocal range. I personally find it to be kind of adorable! If you’re laughing at Namjoon because you think that’s what his singing voice is actually like and you’re making fun of that, that’s pretty messed up. But if you’re laughing because Namjoon is singing for Jimin and it’s cute; I personally think he probably also thought it was funny. Either way, I love this demo to pieces.

‘Boyz With Fun’ (Demo):

This is another demo version of a song that made a lot of people laugh. Not only does Namjoon take Hobi’s “eenie miney mo” verse and go completely off from there in a heartwarmingly Namjoon style he uses when he’s messing around, but the song also opens with Taehyung going “woah woah woah” in the funniest voice. We all already knew just by the sound of the song that they had so much fun recording it, but the demo is only further proof of it. BTS even talked about this demo specifically on a Vlive, laughed about it for a while, and jokingly asked Namjoon what he was doing in making that demo. To which he sheepishly laughed and declared that he liked it. I like it too Namjoon! It’s the most hilarious perfection and the album wouldn’t be the same without it. It still gives me instant serotonin when I see videos of ARMY reacting to it for the first time and laughing at Taehyung’s adorable noises.

Tony Montana (With Jimin):

I think I speak for all of ARMY when I say I was dying to get this on an album since I discovered it’s existence. I was never expecting that we would actually get it and now I can’t stop listening to it again. I know that Jimin was a bit self conscious of his rapping on this song, but I personally think he sounds like a complete badass! The fact that he added his own style and flair with the beat and lyrics makes it even more impressive for someone who doesn’t regularly rap. Yoongi definitely had a vision when he chose Jimin as part of this. And, obviously, Yoongi is brilliant. ‘Tony Montana’ has always been a badass bop and I loved having it here.

Young Forever (RM Demo):

In Namjoon’s most recent interview, the interviewer described this demo track as feeling like it came off of his mixtape, ‘Mono’. I can’t help but wholeheartedly agree. Though I do think he goes more raw and angry in his rap style here than with most of ‘Mono’. And that is for a reason. The lyrics are less about the love of performance and the connection between the group and the fans here. These lyrics are angry at the world for treating young people the way it does. For placing young people in an odd state of being between self destruction and self love. The lyrics seek to console the listener by telling them that they will have their young ideals forever and the world won’t be able to break you down. There’s a despair and desperation in the song that’s very touching and so very Namjoon in how poetic it is. This is one of the demo tracks that hit me the hardest because of that.

Spring Day (V Demo):

This demo is only a portion of “Spring Day’ and goes from Namjoon’s rap that is in the original to Taheyung’s chorus idea. It is absolutely beautiful. I have always found Taehyung to have some of the most calming vocals that I’ve ever heard, but this feels like another level even to that. This shows off Taehyung’s full range, from his soft and calming lower register to his soaring higher register. There are so many Taehyung songs that I’ve said I could fall asleep to in a good way because his voice is that relaxing. This would be one to add to that list. I would have been happy with Taehyung’s version of ‘Spring Day’ too!

DNA (j-hope Demo):

This sounds like it came right out of ‘Hope World’. Not only that but I was able to draw so much more of a connection between Hobi and ‘DNA’ after this. That song feels so much more like Hobi to me now! The song has the quirky beat and the high flying melodies that are so prominent in a lot of Hobi’s work. I don’t think there’s a rapper in the music industry who can recreate what any of the rap line does, but Hobi’s sound is almost alien in the way it’s so unlike any other rap style you’ve probably ever heard. And now I know why ‘DNA’ always felt like it suited Hobi almost too well.

Epiphany (Jin Demo):

There is no version of ‘Epiphany’ that I would ever be able to even remotely dislike. The original version in this demo has more testing lyrics than anything finalized though. The lyrics here are a pretty typical, though very adorable, love song. Very cute, but it doesn’t have the hard hitting love yourself message that we eventually got. I love those lyrics so much! But the real stand outs here are the melody and, most importantly, Jin’s gorgeous voice. His voice is so focused on in this demo that you can hear every note so clearly. It’s nothing short of beautiful. His range is so well showcased and I almost cried multiple times because his voice invokes so much emotion. It doesn’t matter what he’s singing about, Jin will always make you feel the lyrics of the song with just his voice.

Seesaw (Demo):

There were a lot of people who were disappointed that Jimin didn’t get a demo version of a song. Well, that’s because his never before shared work was shown in ‘Tony Montana’. Which is also the only Yoongi centric piece you’re going to get on this album with his vocals in it. This is a work of art created by Yoongi. He doesn’t sing or rap in it. You don’t hear him at all. What you hear is his work. This is a gorgeous soundtrack piece that showcases how much of an artist Yoongi is with sound and melody. I think he has the talent to create an entire movie soundtrack! He’s just so good at his use of melody and how to use it to evoke certain feelings. This piece has depth while feeling light as air. I loved every moment listening to it.

Still With You (Acapella):

As if we needed another reminder that Jungkook sounds like a literal angel. ‘Still With You’ has to be one of my favorite solo works that any of the boys have released, and it’s all due to the soft, calming, jazzy feel with Jungkook’s impeccable vocals. It’s both gorgeous and calming! This singles out his voice without the backing track to show just how amazing his range is. His voice is so crisp and clear. There are not many people with the control that he has, probably from singing everywhere at any time for so long. His voice is too good to be true. It makes me want to cry.

For Youth:

So this is the song that finally made me break down in tears on this album. It wasn’t ‘Yet To Come’, because I did and still do find that song to mostly be hopeful. But beginning this one with the audio of ARMY surprising BTS at their concert by singing ‘Young Forever’ completely broke me. I still have trouble watching the performances they’ve been doing for this song. It’s so clearly made for us and so touching and emotional that I won’t be able to properly describe it in words. They call us their home in the song and their best friends. And they talk about how we’ve helped them just as much as they helped all of us. I know for a fact they’ve helped me through so much. Even thinking about this song and writing about it is making me want to cry! So let’s move on while I grab for the tissues! Just…thank you so much BTS. For everything. And we’ll all be right here when our boys get back!

Performances:

They decided to do an actual comeback with this, which makes sense now. They’ve seemed to be trying their best to be happy and goofy, but also breaking down a bit at times. I think we’re all on the same page here! But there’s also a freedom I’m feeling from them too, especially with how much they’ve been messing around with their ending fairies. I really think this break will be good for them and it’s so nice to see them having fun! I know there were people who were hoping for choreography, but I’m glad that they didn’t go that route. Namjoon said that their hearts wouldn’t have been in it and this version of performing feels more raw and real to me. It feels like they’re having a conversation with us every time they sing ‘Yet to Come’ and ‘For Youth’. I appreciate this style so much, especially for right now, and I sincerely hope that they’re enjoying finally hearing the cheers from their Korean fans.

Oof! I’m still so emotional over this album! It really is a beautiful slice of perfection and a wonderful summary of chapter one of BTS. I’m glad that they’re more confident now that we’ll be here when they come back. Right where they left us. And I think it goes without saying that if you are attacking any one of them for this hiatus, you aren’t a real ARMY. There have been people weirdly pinning the blame on Namjoon saying that they were only on hiatus because he was struggling. Firstly, that’s an awful reaction to someone struggling. Secondly, it is absolutely nobody’s fault. Jimin even said that they never thought Namjoon’s ideas didn’t reflect the group when he expressed this concern. They all talked about struggling! Let’s give them the room and space they need to heal without pouring unwarranted accusations onto their plate. And we just got a teaser for some of Jungkook’s solo work! Look out for “Left and Right” by Jungkook and Charlie Puth! Let’s start supporting all of their solo work and collabs!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

BTS: Solo Work and Off Period

Professional photo of Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon (RM), Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin, Min Yoongi (Suga), Jung Hoseok (J-Hope), and Jeon Jungkook for ‘Proof’. Copyright goes to the Hybe Corporation and BTS.

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re back! We’ve been on vacation for the last two weeks, which explains the lack of posts recently. And, of course, just when we left we got some major BTS news. My sister will be talking about the ‘Proof’ album soon, so I’m not really going to focus on that. I’m focusing entirely on the FESTA dinner and all of the confusion that followed it. While there were plenty of warning signs for a bit of a BTS break in all of the ‘Proof’ promo, the news that the members would be focusing more on solo content and less on group content blind-sided many fans. And the large amount of opinions being shared on the internet as a result only seemed to get more hectic once Hybe’s preceding statement added to the confusion. There’s a lot to talk about when it comes to this situation, so I’m just going to get right into it!

FESTA Dinner:

These dinners happen as part of the yearly FESTA celebration that surrounds BTS’s debut. It’s usually an occasion for the members of BTS to goof off with one another and speak in depth about their feelings on each other, ARMY, and BTS as a whole. And we definitely got all of that this time. However, a lot of it was really heartbreaking to hear. Amidst the fun jokes and heartwarming thanks to ARMY, the members confessed how much they’ve been struggling with burnout. Namjoon and Yoongi even said that they don’t feel like they have anything to say in their writing anymore as a result of not having the life experience they feel they should have. Even more heartbreaking, all the members spoke at length about how nervous they have been to share these feelings with ARMY. Namjoon cried during the conversation, saying he felt as though he was letting ARMY down. Fortunately, we had members like Taehyung reminding him that true ARMYs would be understanding. In any case, all of it came down to one announcement they wanted to make. They will be focusing mainly on their solo work for an unannounced amount of time. J-Hope put it best, they need to spend time apart before they can become one again. They need to work on themselves individually in order to form a stronger group later down the line. They’ve clearly needed this kind of break for a long while, and I hope they know how much ARMY admires them for taking it. I’m only sad they felt they were disappointing ARMY by taking said break.

The Signs:

During the FESTA dinner we learned that BTS has been considering a break from group work since before the pandemic. Knowing this timeline makes a few things make sense. Starting with the most obvious, ‘Proof’ has always felt like a farewell album. It’s an anthology of their greatest hits, their main music video is a call back to all of their past music videos, and the members have frequently regarded it as an end to “chapter one”. Then there’s their “Permission to Dance” concerts, which were announced very suddenly and never fully developed into a tour before the members said with a finality that the “Permission to Dance” era was over. These concerts also focused on their most popular songs and the songs the members wanted to perform for ARMY the most, which now seems like something equally influenced by their inability to do concerts during quarantine and the incoming period where they wouldn’t be doing concerts as a group. There’s also the breaks BTS took from ‘Run BTS’ and from their crazy schedules in general, which helped their mental health but couldn’t solve everything. There are smaller hints to look at too. Hobi told ARMYs that his next album would likely be out earlier this year, but right when it felt like he was starting to promote it, it was pushed back again. That decision could very easily have been made in order prepare for the announcement that all the members would be releasing solo projects in the near future. There’s also quotes being passed around by ARMYs that hint at BTS trying to subtly console ARMY that their separation wouldn’t be permanent long before the announcement was made. And then there’s various member’s individual comments in interviews about how difficult it’s been to find purpose in their work recently. Which, rightfully, concerned many ARMYs. They really need this break and I’m so glad they’re getting it.

Confusion and Hybe’s Statement:

After the FESTA dinner there were a lot of upset ARMYs, although the reason for their distress varied from person to person. Some were upset that BTS had suffered for so long on behalf of ARMY. Others feared that BTS would break up completely despite the fact that Yoongi stated they wouldn’t be disbanding. Part of the panic was the fault of an English subtitle on the dinner video that changed a Korean word that meant “off time” to the English word “hiatus”. The word hiatus in particular scared US ARMYs, who are used to a music industry where a hiatus is sometimes the same thing as disbandment. And US ARMYs weren’t the only ones. Hybe stock tanked after the announcement as though stock holders didn’t trust BTS to return. While ARMYs were at work trying to remind each other that BTS said they would come back together, Hybe saw their stocks plummeting and made a quick announcement, telling everyone that BTS would not be going on hiatus and that they would still be doing group activities. Which made it sound like they wouldn’t be taking any sort of break at all. At this point you had ARMYs who were convinced that BTS would still be making music together as usual fighting with ARMYs who were angry at Hybe for making a vague announcement that didn’t quite seem to align with what the members themselves said. Honestly, Hybe really should have put more thought into the way they would respond to the reaction to BTS announcing their break, because they did not at all seem to know what to do. So everyone remained confused until the members stepped in.

Jungkook and Namjoon:

These two are the sole reason why I’m now pretty positive I know what’s going on with BTS. Jungkook, seeing the chaos, went live to clear everything up (And also mess around because he’s Jungkook). He clarified that BTS will be focusing on solo work, but they still have some group activities planned including a return to ‘Run BTS’. Essentially, BTS won’t be doing as many group activities together, and they won’t be releasing a lot of music together either, but we will see them get together on occasion while they work on their solo projects. Then Namjoon chimed in with a long and rightfully angry letter on Weverse. Here he mainly criticized the media for taking the fear that BTS would disband and running with it. He felt it undermined a lot of what he was trying to get across during the FESTA dinner and he reiterated that BTS wouldn’t disband. Namjoon deserves to be angry, especially after how vulnerable he was with ARMY. I’m glad he seems to know that ARMYs understand his intentions even though the media doesn’t.

Hopefully I helped clear some things up for ARMYs who are still confused by this situation. A part of me is sad that we won’t have a BTS tour or album in the near future, but the boys are way more important to me than those things. They’ve all been having an incredibly hard time recently, which many of us can relate to, and they really deserve a break. After dedicating so much of their youth to BTS, I hope this time spent separate helps them discover who they truly are. I also hope that they don’t feel pressured by Hybe or the general public to come back together before they’re ready. Everyone experiences burnout, and they need to take a lengthy amount of time to overcome it rather than the short breaks they’ve tried before. I’m so happy that they’re putting their mental health first. They’ve encouraged ARMY to do the same so many times. It’s even more encouraging to seem them take action on their own advice. I wish them the best, and I can’t wait for J-Hope’s album to drop next month!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Comfort Entertainment: Lovably Flawed Anime Characters

Screenshot of Hikaru Hitachiin from ‘Ouran High School Host Club’. Copyright goes to Funimation and Bisco Hatori.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Sorry for the late post! I think one major difference with the way I currently consume fictional content to the way I used to when I was younger, is my newfound appreciation for flawed characters. In this blog I constantly talk about how I love a flawed character, and that didn’t necessarily used to be the case. When a character showed a relatable flaw that involved them being somewhat rude to another character, I used to question their motivations and sometimes even become annoyed. So, re-watching some of my favorite shows that I haven’t watched for years now has given me a whole new perspective on them. And that means seeing a side of certain characters that I hadn’t before. Recently I’ve particularly been into watching K-Dramas and Anime, though K-Dramas is a new thing for me. So the only way I can talk about how my opinions of a character changed is to talk about Anime specifically. So that’s what I’m going to do! Here are some of my favorite characters from some of my favorite Anime, who I’ve been given a new perspective on when re-watching them.

Hikaru Hitachiin from ‘Ouran High School Host Club’:

Before: ‘Ouran High School Host Club’ was my very first Anime and has been one of my comfort shows for years. I think you might also be able to tell that this one majorly influenced my aesthetic. An elegant setting, pastel colors (mostly pink), a gorgeous and calming instrumental soundtrack, and the lighthearted goofiness of the show all fit right into my wheelhouse. Watching it again, it is very clear that some characters get more time to shine than others. We honestly don’t get a whole lot focused on either Mori or Kaoru. And this is because they usually share their stories with Hani and Hikaru respectively, both of which are usually the focus of the episodes those duos get. I used to not as much mind this with Mori and Hani, because Mori purposefully didn’t say much. But I couldn’t stand this with Hikaru and Kaoru. And while I wish both twins would have gotten equal time, there’s another explanation that made me realize the purpose of this. They, rightfully, decided that the brothers shouldn’t both have huge crushes on Haruhi, so they focus on the brother who does. Not a great explanation, but not a bad one either. However, the other reason why I used to hate this decision is because I didn’t like Hikaru. Specially for that episode where he insults Haruhi’s childhood friend. He’s pretty irritated for the majority of the episode and doesn’t truly apologize until the very end, though it is heartfelt. But the way he acts aloof and far off for most of the episode left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

After: Hikaru has recently become quite possibly my favorite character from Ouran. Why the massive change? Because I love flawed characters! And because I now find him incredibly relatable. Hikaru obviously has massive trust issues and is nervous of too much change at once. While Hikaru usually seems to be pretty out there and masks very well with humor, it’s his vulnerable moments that really break down what we occasionally see under all that. He’s worried that his friends will leave him at the slightest suggestion, he’s afraid of losing Haruhi who’s the only person who has ever been able to tell him apart from his brother, and he’s very afraid of being inconsequential to someone he considers himself to be close to. Because he’s a twin and he’s used to being thought of as not having much in the way of emotion and mostly just thought of as an act. And the episode I mentioned above is perfect at drawing out all of those insecurities that make him want to shut out everyone else in a desperate attempt to keep his heart safe and in tact. While Kaoru is much more well adjusted, Hikaru is still coping with his issues. Which is understandable. And I think it says a lot that as soon as he realized that Haruhi was not where he assumed she’d be; he went out searching for Haruhi in the rain for hours. No umbrella, no shelter. He only stopped when he could find her, help her with her own coping mechanisms for the thunder storm, and truly apologize for how he acted. Watching it again, it is a perfect example of a well written episode on a character flaw, complete with realization and redemption.

Satori Tendo from ‘Haikyuu!’:

Before: When I first watched ‘Haikyuu! a few years back, I wasn’t at all interested in the characters that weren’t from Karasuno. There were already so many characters to focus on there that I could barely even think about the massive fan base behind many of the other players from the other teams, except for maybe Nekoma. Obviously Nekoma has Kenma and some other gems, but the show purposefully makes them stand out. Especially because they are the closest friends and main enemies to the team at Karasuno. But the other teams and their players? Not so much. It felt like their time on screen was so fleeting and I couldn’t get all that invested in their stories. At least, not nearly as invested as I was with Karasuno winning that game and Nishinoya making those jaw-dropping saves. Upon my recent rewatch of ‘Haikyuu!’ I was absolutely certain that would be the case again. I mean, how could characters from other teams win me over when I’m already so busy trying to figure out my favorite character on the Karasuno team? And while I wasn’t won over by any team more than Karasuno, my appreciation for many characters went up while watching this show this time around.

After: No character caught my eye from another team quite like Satori Tendo. He first caught my attention on my rewatch when I was looking at dubbed scenes from ‘Haikyuu!’. The dub was the first way that I watched it and really got me into the show itself, so I miss some of the crazy hilarious comedy from the dub. It’s really difficult to find the dub now, so I usually have to watch the sub when I go back and watch it. But nothing quite grabs your attention like Satori’s demented and hilarious singing. “SMASH WHAT?” But when it actually came time for me to watch the match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa, I was not expecting the emotional blow I would receive from the slightly creepy and demented appearing character. His tall stature and wide eyes do emphasize the intimidation factor, which he certainly uses on the court, but that doesn’t mean he’s respected for it off of the court. Satori was often made fun of for his looks growing up; continuously declared creepy, called a monster outright, and said to be too much to be friends with classmates and teammates alike. Something that he coped with by allowing himself to be true to himself on the court and showing that maybe looking creepy was good for something. Though he’s usually a fan of the looks of defeat on the faces of the other teams, it doesn’t make him a bad person off the court. He’s been known to comfort teammates when they cry and is overall a pretty fun guy to be around. His sense of loneliness only endears you more to him…and obviously the singing too. The singing is amazing. In the manga he becomes a chocolatier at the end; how cool is that? Though this isn’t like Hikaru where he became my new favorite character, that title still goes to the unbeatable Nishinoya, he actually became one of my favorite characters. Even ranking above a few Karasuno players, which is really saying something for me.

Ryuji Sakamoto from ‘Persona 5’:

Before: I know, I know, this isn’t necessarily an Anime. But they did make an Anime for it that I’ve watched and loved, so I’m going to say that it counts. Ryuji was my least favorite character on my first playthrough watch of this game. I don’t quite remember entirely why because I’m so in love with the character now, but I have some ideas. Ryuji is a bit of a delinquent who has absolutely no filter and will just say anything that comes to mind. That includes saying exactly what he thinks of Ann’s looks and also constantly getting into fights with Morgana that I found to be very irritating at first. Ryuji was a character that I just couldn’t come around to, no matter how long the game spent with him.

After: Ryuji is now my favorite character after Futaba. Part of that is the dub actor Max Mittelman who put so much heart and comedic timing into his performance of Ryuji. Often times I feel Ryuji is a needed foil to Morgana and I always appreciate his input. I am actually now firmly among the crowd of people who are not happy with the scene where he was essentially beaten up after the girls perceived him to be dead! I didn’t remember that from my first time watching my sister play the game. Seriously, that was so misplaced. But Ryuji feels so real to me now revisiting the game or the Anime. He’s this perfect example of a High School kid who was victimized by the schooling system. He doesn’t fight back just to fight; he fights back so that nobody ever has to go through what he did ever again. And he’s one of the most willing to speak out when something messed up happens. Ryuji not having a filter is something he uses to his advantage. It’s something he uses to advocate for a better world. And while not everything that comes out of his mouth is incredibly profound; it would be weird if not having a filter was a character trait only applied to him when it best suited him. I’m glad that he’s consistent and, most of all, I’m so glad that he’s Ryuji. A comfort character for me that I never knew I needed previously.

I would absolutely love to make another list like this and include more female characters, but unfortunately we still do struggle with seeing many female characters with development like this. I hope I’ll eventually find some to talk about in the future! But these three characters that I’ve listed above really have become very dear to me and some of my new favorite fictional characters of all time. When writing or watching media, we all have to remember that nobody is perfect. Nobody copes with things the same way. And showing a character who’s flawed or attempting to figure out coping mechanisms is not only relatable, but very much needed. We need to have examples in media that show people that it’s ok to be working through issues and trying to find the next step. It’s a part of life. And just like these characters, it doesn’t make you any less lovable to struggle sometimes.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Live Entertainment: Little Moments in ‘Hadestown’

Professional photo of Morgan Siobhan Green as Eurydice, Kevyn Morrow as Hades, Levi Kreis as Hermes, Kimberly Marable as Persephone, and Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus in ‘Hadestown’. Photo by T. Charles Erickson and copyright goes to Concord Theatricals.

Hey! Hallie here!

A little over a week ago I made a huge post about my experience seeing the touring cast of ‘Hadestown’. It’s my favorite theatrical show of all time and seeing it live was such an amazing experience! But now that I’ve talked a bit about what I like about the show and how much I adored the cast, I want to get more into specific details. Particularly because before I watched ‘Hadestown’, I was really eager to hear about the little things that happen on stage that I wouldn’t know from listening to the cast recordings. Now that I’ve seen these little moments and acting choices in person, I feel like I know the characters and their motivations even better than I knew them before. So for those of you who want to speculate about the characters with me, or are just as curious as I was about what goes on onstage, I’m going to go character by character through some of the little things that stuck out the most to me! If you don’t want to know anything about the show, there’s MAJOR SPOILERS ahead!

Orpheus: A lot of the things I list for him happen in most productions, but I still loved these moments. The first thing Orpheus did to make me fall in love with him happened just when Hermes introduced him in “Road to Hell”. He walks in and wipes off some tables, managing to completely turn his back to the audience right when he’s being introduced. I heard in the cast recording that Hermes calls Orpheus’ name twice, but I never realized that he was trying to get his attention because he was so distracted. Orpheus does eventually turn around, looking a bit dazed, and then he bashfully waves to the audience. Another moment I loved occurred at the end of “Way Down Hadestown” when Eurydice shows interest in Hadestown. As Hades and Persephone disappear, Orpheus grabs her around the waist and physically holds her back. A couple of things in act two also caught my eye. During “Epic III” he sings part of the song directly to Eurydice, which creates this beautiful mirroring effect where Orpheus is looking at Eurydice on one side of the stage, and Hades is looking at Persephone on the other side. And then there’s when Orpheus turns around. The blocking here is a bit awkward because Orpheus has to face the back of the stage in order to watch Eurydice disappear back into Hadestown, but the way he falls on his knees and stares blankly at where she disappeared for an entire song afterwards, conveys all the emotion it needs to.

Eurydice: Act one Eurydice was so much fun to watch. “Wedding Song” felt like Eurydice at her most confident. She seemed to own the stage as Orpheus sung after her, and the way she’d throw a sarcastic comment and then strike a flirty pose earned her lots of laughs. I also liked the brief point of time in “All I’ve Ever Known” where she shies away from Orpheus’ touch, emphasizing that she isn’t used to that type of relationship. Her trip down to Hadestown was a lot more heartbreaking as well. When she arrives in Hadestown toward the end of “Why We Build the Wall”, she very quickly becomes frightened of the mass of workers singing at her and flinches away from them. Afterwards, during “Way Down Hadestown (Reprise)” she actually goes over to Hermes as though to ask for help. Though Hermes looks like he wants to help her, her face falls when she realizes there isn’t anything he can do. Eurydice’s story had me close to tears more than I expected.

Hermes: The first thing that struck me with Hermes is just how much care and concern he directs at Orpheus. From the way he rolls his eyes at Orpheus when he immediately walks up to Eurydice and says “come home with me”, to the concern on his face when he watches over Orpheus as he’s trying to finish his song. I also adored his relationship with Persephone. Persephone spent a lot of time in his corner of the stage where the two would share drinks. The way they both walked on stage for “Our Lady of the Underground” immediately made the audience sit up in interest. Their position, arm-in-arm and laughing with each other, made me feel like we were missing some kind of inside joke between them. She kissed him on the cheek too, although she jokingly made a face beforehand. Hermes’ relationship with Hades grabbed me as well. The first time Hermes catches Hades’ eye in act two, they have a pretty intense stare down that’s only broken when Hades decides to walk away. During “His Kiss, The Riot” Hermes stands on one side of stage as a kind of blockade, representing the unavoidable decision Hades has to make. I didn’t expect him to actually be standing there when Hades makes his decision to let Orpheus and Eurydice go but with the caveat that she must walk behind him. It makes his understanding of the situation, especially knowing the conflict Hades is dealing with, that much deeper.

Persephone: She’s always been my favorite character but her little quirks really solidify that for me. She shines from the first moment she’s on stage at the beginning of the show. I loved watching her and Hades sitting in the balcony. The two seem so close and yet so far apart as they’re sitting there, both doing their own thing but still glancing at one another. When she leaves she goes to kiss him on the cheek but he turns away, and you can see on her face how much that hurts her. She kisses him on the cheek anyway, but she seems pretty disgruntled afterwards until she emerges for “Livin’ it Up on Top”. I thought it was a really sweet choice to have her caress Orpheus’ face and Eurydice’s shoulder after the song, as if she approves of their romance. But back to her relationship with Hades, the switch of her behavior in “Way Down Hadestown” alone is worth discussing. At the beginning of the song she collapses fully to the ground and struggles to get up, which conveyed to me both a serious depression and a serious level of drunkenness that was fitting for her opinions of Hadestown. But when he arrives they smile at each other, and she’s even quick to laugh off the way he gets temporarily thrown off by Eurydice. Which, in “Chant” quickly goes away when she’s taken to Hadestown and gets her first look at it from the balcony. She stares down at the workers in horror and you really see her disgust throughout the entire song. She outright storms off when Hades goes after Eurydice. But then, when Hades offers the flower at the end of act two, she bursts into tears and you see how much she genuinely loves him.

Hades: As I said above, there’s a lot of interesting moments between Hades and Persephone in the show, some of which are reportedly exclusive to the tour. The way Hades turns away from Persephone as she leaves, not to disregard her but as a clear act of hurt because she’s leaving, felt so important to both characters. But when he came back to get Persephone he was all smiles and laughter. When directed at Eurydice these things seemed very sinister, but with Persephone his happiness felt more genuine. I feel like that fact translated to the dance at the end of act two as well. Persephone and Hades laugh their way through the dance as if they’ve never enjoyed themselves more. These two really felt like a couple that had once gotten along very well but had fallen apart in recent years. I also thought that his attitude towards Eurydice in “Hey Little Songbird” was some of the most interesting bits of character work in the show. On the one hand, Hades is being sly and trying to lure Eurydice into a false sense of comfort. But on the other hand, he snaps at her whenever she goes off to consider his words, as though he lacks any patience for her at all. It made me think that Hades didn’t really want to be there even though he was enacting his own plan. And just, the way he leans his head on Persephone’s shoulder right before “His Kiss the Riot” made my heart melt.

That’s it! I wish I had more to write about because there was so much happening on stage that I very likely missed some things. I would love to get to see this touring cast again soon so I can fill in some of those gaps. In any case, I hope those of you that were curious about this are satisfied with these little details. Details bring the show to life in a way that can’t be replicated. This is also why I’m hoping the official footage of the original Broadway cast gets released so I can see the little moments in that production as well. Either way, I hope as many of you as possible catch this amazing show while it’s on tour! Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Theme Parks/Live Entertainment: Bridgerton Experience LA

Photo inside the Biltmore Hotel LA, an experience by ‘Shondaland’, ‘Netflix’, and ‘fever’. Photo belongs to this blog.

Hi! It’s Annie!

Dear readers, last night, as of writing this, I was present at the Queen’s Ball! Ahem, the ‘Bridgerton’ immersive experience in Los Angeles presented by ‘fever’. And I did very much feel like Lady Whistledown, Penelope herself, because I did spend much of the time being a bit of a wallflower and taking it all in so that I could write about it later. Hi, I’m an introvert! I guess that makes my sister Eloise. But don’t worry, we had so much fun and definitely danced! How could you not at what is essentially a ‘Bridgerton’ prom. There was tons to do and see there and so little time to do it, so I’m going to cover all of that. And I’m also going to talk a little bit about my thoughts on ‘Bridgerton’ going in, because I haven’t talked about watching it all on this blog yet! Though rest assured, it was a fairly recent binge in order to prepare myself for this event. So without further ado, I’m going to talk about the resplendent beauty of a very ‘Bridgerton’ night!

‘Bridgerton’ the Show:

If you’ve been on my blog for a little while, you may already know that I am a huge fan of regency era fiction. ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is my favorite book of all time and the accompanying movie starring Keira Knightley is also one of my favorite movies of all time. I was a little off put by ‘Bridgerton’ though, because of a number of things. For one, the modern music in regency England threw me off and for another, I heard it could be pretty vulgar. Which I don’t always mind, it just depends on what I’m watching. But I was interested because of the much needed diversity in the show. So when my Mom wanted to go to an immersive experience that took place in regency era England for her birthday, I was immediately excited and set to work getting to know the material I was going to walk into. To be perfectly frank, I thought ‘Bridgerton’ was fine. I didn’t dislike it! I actually really love some of the characters; Penelope, Eloise, Benedict, and Lady Danbury to be more specific. But any of the characters I didn’t like, I just couldn’t get behind at all. The main purpose of this show is meant to be romance, and I found the romances in both currently released seasons to be really toxic. I just couldn’t get behind either couple or any of the leads as individuals either. But I will give you that the setting was breathtaking and some of the plot lines were at least intriguing. It wasn’t at all a painful watch to prepare for this, but I didn’t find it was everything it had been hyped up to be.

‘Bridgerton’ at the Biltmore:

This experience won’t be in Los Angeles for much longer, so I’ll assume that if you haven’t gone you probably won’t be able to go at the time of posting this. But I have to say, if you are able to go to some version of this experience you are really going to want to dress up. I was warned ahead of time that people take the costuming for all ‘Bridgerton’ immersive experiences very seriously. And as someone who has cosplayed in the past and always goes all out on any occasion I can, I was determined to take this just as seriously. I went in a replica of Hermione Granger’s Yule Ball gown (I told you I’m a geek) and a matching flower crown and I thankfully did not feel underdressed. The Biltmore Hotel is also a very gorgeous hotel, super intricate and very large, you’re really going to want to spend some time walking the lobby because it’s too beautiful of an experience to pass up. I cannot stress this enough though; DO NOT go alone. Really you should never walk the streets of LA alone ever, but the parking structure is very creepy (flickering lights, ominously opening elevator, the whole ordeal), the streets going up to the Biltmore are not super well lit, and they aren’t always very busy either. I should also say that do not expect this to be like the ‘Secret Cinema’ event taking place in the UK. This does not have quests and multiple full sets for you to explore. It’s immersive, but you more just take in the experience than actually get to LARP. Though I would have loved to LARP.

‘Bridgerton’ the Experience:

You walk in through the beautifully lit ‘Bridgerton’ tree to a separate lobby once you’re called in and this is where your journey really begins. As you’re waiting for the show to start, there’s plenty to see. The hallway you enter into is absolutely lined with costumes from the show, including a small boutique you can head into to see even more costumes. I found Daphne’s costumes to be particularly intricate and beautiful. There’s a small terrace outside that’s decorated like a regency garden; it’s a small space but it is complete with a fountain and a few flower archways. Inside there’s a giant flower gazebo for pictures where you can pose with your true love. And an entirely different hall where you can take a picture sitting on a plush red sofa with a beautiful painting above it. Or take pictures with your loved ones that are given an effect to make you look like a painting yourself. This gorgeous hallway is where you greet and bow to the Queen as she passes, and that sofa is where she watches lines of hopefuls bow to her to choose her diamond of the evening. After this, everyone is led into a large dance hall where you see two characters fall in love through dance and are taught quite a few dances yourself. After the diamond has officially been crowned, they start playing an actual DJ playlist so that everyone can just dance as they normally would. Before this they actually had a string quartet, which was extremely impressive. (The violinist was my favorite because she actually got up to dance a few times while playing!) The afterparty is what felt like prom, with everyone dancing. I definitely had fun on the dance floor after all of that! I loved that they just had a moment where you could let your hair down and not worry about how you look dancing anymore! I think my favorite parts were with the Bee performer though; she had some much needed energy and was really trying to get everyone involved. I also laughed hysterically when she came out. And there was another performer in a top hat I very much liked who always cleared the dance floor for the two actors by saying that they needed space for their “heterosexual moment”. I have no idea who he was, but I loved that guy.

‘Bridgerton’ the Scandal:

Ok, so while I absolutely loved the experience; here’s what I didn’t like so much. This experience is only ninety minutes, also unlike the ‘Secret Cinema’ event in the UK, which means there’s not a whole lot of time to do anything. Not everyone was able to present themself to the Queen with that giant of a line. I didn’t even try. There was also limited room on the dance floor for learning some of the dances too, though I did try my hand at one. So just know going in, you probably won’t be able to do everything. Also, the main characters of this experience weren’t actually ‘Bridgerton’ characters. The only canon characters were the Queen and the bee. So the couple you watch falling in love is not Daphne and Simon or Anthony and Kate. You could easily go into this experience not knowing anything at all about the show, which isn’t a good thing or a bad thing in my opinion. Some of the decorations for the show covered some of the natural beauty of the hotel as well. It was disappointing to see the more plain chandelier for the acrobatic performance when you looked above it and saw the gorgeously intricate chandelier built into the ceiling. My last critique isn’t much of a critique because I did thoroughly enjoy myself. But none of the songs for the afterparty were at all recent. My sister described it as feeling like an old prom playlist from 2015 and I couldn’t help but agree. But it was fun hearing those songs again!

I absolutely loved this experience! I am always up for any amount of immersion I can get in anything fictional, and regency era anything is always right up my alley. Also, fun fact about me, I never went to my High School prom. It just wasn’t something I was interested in when it came up and I ended up going to Disneyland with my friends in dresses instead. Going to this made me feel like I had actually been to a prom, but with better dresses, a better venue, and far better decorations than any school prom could ever afford. It was just fun! It wasn’t anything mind-blowing or profound, but there’s something to be said about the let-your-hair-down sort of fun that this ended up being. And the sets only made it that much better! While I would much rather wait around for a ‘Secret Cinema’ event to pop up in LA again rather than going to another event like this; I would go to something like this again in a heartbeat if it revolved around something I or someone that was close to me was interested in. If you can catch it before it leaves or you find an event like this in your area and are interested, by all means go! I guarantee you’ll have fun! Just don’t expect LARP level immersion or any particularly juicy scandals.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Star Wars: ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ So Far

Screenshot of Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in episode 2 of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’. Copyright goes to Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Pictures.

Hey! Hallie here!

The first half of the six-episode ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ series is now out and it’s so much more than I expected it to be. I’m over the moon that Ewan McGregor’s back in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi and he’s making me fall in love with the character all over agin. I’m also so excited to see Star Wars fans putting aside past criticisms to give Hayden Christensen the warm welcome he should have received back in the prequel days. So far, this show is full of very welcome surprises, lovely character dynamics, and amazing writing. I do have a few gripes, though. One of them not being aimed at the show, but instead aimed at the toxic part of the Star Wars fandom that remains just as successful at making new and old fans alike ashamed of the fandom’s reputation. I’m going to talk about all of it below, but as this is a review there will be MAJOR SPOILERS ahead. Seriously, the marketing for this show did its best to keep one specific character a secret, and if you want those secrets to remain hidden from you I wouldn’t go any further.

Controversy:

First up, let’s get another “humans being horrible to one another” story out of the way. Ever since the trailer dropped, fans have been attacking Inquisitor Reva and by extension Moses Ingram, the actress who plays her. Why? Many fanboys would tell you that it’s because Reva’s annoying. But they really didn’t have that excuse back when we only had trailers. No, all the criticism is very clearly because she’s a Black woman. Some have been comparing her to Joffrey from ‘Game of Thrones’ despite the fact that she’s done nothing that can at all be compared to what Joffrey did in that show. Others have been questioning her status as part of the Inquisitors for no discernible reason. All of it is an overreaction that’s clearly targeted at something other than the character. The Star Wars social media accounts themselves had to put out posts telling people to stop attacking Ingram and fully calling out the behavior as racist. Those posts came along with the information that Ingram was warned by Lucasfilm that she would get this kind of reaction because Star Wars fans have been so racist in the past. Ingram herself also shared some of the death threats she’s been receiving. After all of this was revealed, Ewan McGregor recorded a message for Star Wars fans telling them that racists aren’t welcome in the fandom. As he should. But guess what? That isn’t all. Because Vivien Lyra Blair has also been viciously attacked for being too outspoken and annoying to be Leia. As if Leia was never headstrong or stubborn. As if Leia didn’t muscle a blaster away from someone who was trying to rescue her, found her own escape route, and yelled at her rescuers for doing a shoddy job. Attacking a little girl is another level of low, but Star Wars fans always seem to find new depths to sink to. It needs to stop.

What I Liked:

Obi-Wan Kenobi: Now that that’s over with, let’s talk about the star of the show! Obi-Wan is broken man at the start of this series. He works a mundane job where he has to steal in order to get enough food, but he doesn’t help the other workers who are suffering even though he wants to. He can’t draw attention to himself. The Inquisitors are too good at hunting down and killing Jedi, and they’re getting way too close to Luke for Obi-Wan to risk much of anything. So he lives in a cave, refuses to use the force, and doesn’t talk to anyone except for a Jawa and Owen. And Owen doesn’t let Obi-Wan talk to him most of the time. There’s a very real helplessness that surrounds Obi-Wan, paired with the guilt he carries for the way Anakin turned out. It’s devastating to watch. Fortunately for him, Bail Organa shoves him back into action when Leia is kidnapped, refusing to take no for an answer. Once Obi-Wan starts the Leia rescue mission we start to see more of the man we knew. With or without the force, he’s dangerous in close quarters. His fight scenes in episode two are a delight to watch, especially when he uses witty moves like incapacitating his opponents with drugs. Once he finds Leia he’s very strict with her, but he quickly realizes that his behavior comes across as antagonistic to a little girl who doesn’t know him. Seeing him actively attempt to be gentler with her feels like his kindness coming through once more, and the way he’s slowly warming to her quick thinking and independence is a highlight of the entire series. I couldn’t hide my smile when he finally decided to use the force in order to save Leia’s life. And when Darth Vader arrives in episode three, he’s willing to lay his life on the line for her escape. I loved the battle with Vader too, not just because we got to see Obi-Wan use his lightsaber, but also because we got an accurate look at how rusty his skills have become. It was painful to watch, but necessary to establish. I look forward to a full-fledged fight between these two soon.

Leia Organa: Leia is my favorite Star Wars character of all time and I was giddy when I realized that Leia is the secondary main character of this series. From her first moments on screen she’s a complete delight. She’s too adventurous to like senator training, but as Bail tells her, that only makes her a better candidate. She also refuses to take abuse and, as such, dresses down her cousin in one sentence with a burn to rival Anakin’s. SO Leia. But she also refuses to apologize and can be frustrating to her parents because of her disregard for decorum. These flaws make sense not just for Leia, but for a little girl who’s constantly reminded by everyone that her parents aren’t her “real” parents and that she isn’t a “real” Organa. Her struggles make it obvious why she decides to run away from the formal event she’s been roped into, even though it results in her kidnapping. We all already know that kidnapping Leia never ends well for anyone, though. In fact, she ends up ambushing Obi-Wan when he arrives to her cell to rescue her. She initially doesn’t trust Obi-Wan and granted, doesn’t have much reason to. But as he grows closer to her, she begins to see a more genuine man behind the stern mask and puts her faith in him. Once she does, she becomes an asset to her own rescue. Her quick lies are just as entertaining as her refusal to remain passive in high-risk situations. Especially when she randomly threw out something as genius as her mother’s recent passing when Obi-Wan called her by the wrong name. Which also led to a heartbreaking conversation about Padme that only emphasized her confusion about her family. As the episodes go on she seems more and more ready to embrace the Organa name. She even tearfully tells Obi-Wan that she shouldn’t have run away in episode three. But we’ll see if she’s in need of rescue again now that she’s facing a force user.

Reva: We don’t know much about Reva yet, but she’s a badass. We know she has a strange obsession with Obi-Wan, which is a mystery I can’t wait for the show to unravel. We also know that she’s the only Inquisitor to get anything done. Instead of strutting around and handing out vague threats, Reva sets traps and takes action whenever she sees the opportunity. Sometimes she’s reckless and a bit brutal, not that any other Dark Side user can’t say the same. But often, she’s the only one who can come anywhere close to finding the Jedi the Inquisitors are supposed to be hunting. I mean, she had the foresight to hunt down one of Obi-Wan’s old friend’s daughters in order to lure him out, almost successfully captured him twice, and now single-handedly found the tunnels the Rebellion had been using to smuggle Jedi off-world. She also captured Leia on her own. Reva never leaves a stone unturned and never leaves a lead to run cold. She’s not all knowing, but she is intelligent enough to never let her enemy get a step in front of her. Regardless of the way the other Inquisitors look down on her, she deserves to be the leader of the Inquisitors.

What I Dislike:

The Inquisitors: This shouldn’t be surprising after all the praise I gave Reva. I really liked the concept of the Inquisitors in ‘Star Wars: Rebels’. They felt dangerous, unhinged, and abnormally intelligent. The Inquisitors are a special task force that operate outside of any laws or rules, and because of that I never knew what to expect when one showed up in ‘Rebels’ to terrorize the heroes. In this show, they’re useless. All they do is give haughty speeches, glare at people, and get angry at Reva for actually doing something productive. Often times they’ll talk about how superior they are to Reva, but then never do anything to make themselves of any value to the Empire. It was really satisfying to see Reva stab the Grand Inquisitor in episode one even though he obviously can’t be dead.

Those are my thoughts on ‘Obi-Wan’ Kenobi so far! I’m really liking this series. It manages to be very tense even though our two main characters have some serious plot armor. Its main characters and main villain are connected in a way I find extremely satisfying to watch. More than any other Star Wars series so far it feels like a movie. Which makes sense given that it was initially planned as a movie. I can’t wait to see more of Hayden Christensen and I really can’t wait to see Obi-Wan’s confidence grow to the point that it’s at in the original trilogy. And hell yes to more little Leia!

Don’t so anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

BTS: The White House and Updates

Image of (from left) Kim Taehyung, Jeon Jungkook, Park Jimin, Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Jung Hoseok, and Min Yoongi. Copyright goes to BBC and BTS.

Hi! It’s Annie!

We’ve had a few updates on ‘Proof’; by the time this releases I’m sure there will be plenty more that I haven’t talked about. But the major piece I want to cover today is BTS at the White House. I don’t think pride even slightly covers what I felt at their appearance. They continue to be completely good hearted, well spoken, and a fixture of hope for so many of us. On top of that, we have more pictures regarding ‘Proof’ in various amazing styles with a lot of theories behind some of them. And even more than that, we’ve gotten more first hand accounts of how the BTS boys are behind the scenes from someone who worked in wardrobe during the ‘ON’ MV. This only included a few accounts of the members, but I wanted to talk about it because it warmed by heart to read! So, without further ado, I will just get right into it!

The White House:

BTS appeared at the very beginning of the press conference and if any of them were at all nervous, you absolutely couldn’t tell. They walked in at the very start, and all of them looked pretty intimidating standing around the podium. The image itself seemed to still the entire conference room before they spoke. And though they only spoke for a short while, their message came across. They not only spoke on their heartbreak over Asian hate crimes and the incredible importance of addressing them, but also talked about the growing number of all hate crimes. They expanded their speech to advocate for the protection of all minority groups, and their message was felt by watchers and a crowd of people who seemed to be stunned at the seven men standing in front of them. I would be too! At the very end of their speech several reporters yelled out questions, though they were cut off and the boys left not long afterwards. Personally, I felt a good amount of satisfaction seeing that the press wasn’t really allowed to ask questions. I don’t generally trust any form of American interviewers with BTS, especially not political interviewers. But Namjoon very cutely apologizing for not being able to answer questions causing himself and the room to laugh was a highlight for me. Our leader can be dead serious one second and adorably endearing in the next. Each member of BTS spoke so well and I also want to give the translator a shout out for translating in both Korean and English. I can’t even describe how proud I am among so many other strong feelings to see them up there and advocating for a better world. They give us so much hope and I’m sure things like this are nerve-wracking and difficult for them. They did so incredibly well! I seriously almost cried seeing them surround that podium. And I can’t stop thinking about the face Yoongi made when he saw those notes. It was hilarious!

Backlash: I want to talk for a minute about the very privileged backlash that has come out regarding BTS’s speech and overall appearance at the White House. Some American representatives were apparently outraged at their general appearance and talked about how if they were there then they should have had opinions on issues like gas prices and border security (???). To which I would say; why? They were not there to discuss those issues, they were invited to a conference to specifically talk about the issues involving Asians. If you’re going to complain at least read the hundreds of articles that detail why they were there in the first place. Just read. On top of this, several people have said that they can’t talk about racism in the US if they don’t live here. Again I ask; why??? They’ve experienced racism in America to an alarming degree and they’ve spent a good amount of time here. They’ve been called every racist term in the book by radio hosts, interviewers, and even politicians. Can Asians not talk about the racism that they face here if they don’t live here permanently? What about international students? Not only that, but they were talking about the rise of Asian hate crimes everywhere due to the racist blame by mostly white people that has happened as a result of Covid. This is a problem that isn’t just happening in America, it is happening internationally, and it is very Americanly ignorant for all of these people in the US to narrow their vision to only the country they live in. It’s funny how much people would learn if they only did a simple internet search.

‘Proof’ Concept Photos:

We’ve seen a lot of different kinds of concept photos for the upcoming album and the duality of the boys here is nothing short of breathtaking. From the angelic photos with the beautiful see-through fabrics, to the dark costumes that emanate their very first looks. The shields with bullet holes in them have specifically been garnering attention. Each member has a different amount of damage on their particular shield. Namjoon seems to have the most bullet holes of everyone’s, prompting people to say that this may represent the fact that the bullets have to go through the leader first in order to then get to the other members. Many also talked about how Namjoon used to not translate bad comments to the others or, in some interviews, even translated the hateful comments into good things instead. Yoongi also seems to have a fair few bullet holes in his which some have connected to his past struggles that he’s been very open about sharing. Taehyung also has a fair few, though they are more scattered. Jimin’s shield is one of the most startling with not only bullet holes in his, but also massive tears in the shield itself. If these tears do represent struggles, I wouldn’t assume anything as Jimin hasn’t really talked about this. Meaning, it isn’t really for us to talk about. Jungkook, Hobi, and Jin have fewer bullet holes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they haven’t struggled. In fact, it doesn’t mean that at all. While it is fun to theorize about what these concept photos could mean, it is also important to not diminish other members’ struggles because of what you perceive these concept photos to stand for. All of these are fan theories, they haven’t been confirmed. We’ll only know for certain if the boys choose to talk about these photos eventually. But it is fun to see how much interaction and attention these photos have been getting because of fan theories! It’s also nice to see a couple of call backs to their debut. For example, Namjoon has two shaved lines that mirror a part of his hairstyle from their debut. The angelic photos are amazing as well, I especially have to shout out Jungkook who’s styled hair absolutely came for me when these photos were released. And Hobi’s poses only look more and more stunning with each and every photoshoot. They all look so good! It really isn’t fair!

Seeing BTS in Person:

Someone who worked in wardrobe on the ‘ON’ MV has recently come out to talk about some specific members. While the anonymous worker was working on costuming, she seemed to have a few interactions with some of the members. She had seen all of them, and commented that they all were breathtaking in person, but she only (as of writing this post) had something to say about three of the members specifically. She said that she helped specifically on Jimin’s costume, that she thought she had messed up with distressing the costume too much, but that Jimin pulled it off because he was so stunning that he made anything look great on him. Can’t say I’m surprised! The boys are heart-stoppingly handsome! She worked in a vicinity not that far from Hobi and described him as literal sunshine. He seemed to make everyone around him happy and was particularly playful with Jungkook. The only member she actually talked to was Namjoon. She went to get a coffee around the same time he did and he politely conversed with her and asked how she was doing. She said she was too nervous to say much of anything to him, but I guarantee any of us would feel the same in that situation! It’s difficult to imagine Namjoon walking up to me and just politely talking with me! Obviously, a great example of the wonderfully kind behavior we’ve come to expect from the boys. It’s always nice to hear how amazingly nice these boys are to everyone! Some TikTok creators saw them in the US as well when they came for their White House appearance. Specifically Jin, Hobi, Tae, and Jimin. I just want to say that I’m so glad that ARMY continues to give BTS their space no matter what. They deserve it and it shows just how much respect this fandom truly does have for the boys.

By the time this post comes out it will be somewhere around when the MV and the new album releases. I’m sure we’ll have a full review of both coming up very soon! For now we’ll just be enjoying these amazing pieces from BTS over and over again until we post about it. But I can’t describe how proud I am of all of their accomplishments. All of their appearances at the UN, the US, and as the Presidential Envoy in South Korea. As well as the fact that they’ve gotten to the point where we can have an anthology album. I always anticipate everything they do and they always leave us with more hope in out hearts than when we first discovered them. I don’t think many of us could even put into words what they mean to all of us and I’m always amazed with all of the creativity and heart that they put into every project. Now I will stop crying over the keyboard for a second to say a big thank you to BTS!

Update: I forgot to say that my sister and I will be on vacation for the next couple weeks! As usual that means you’ll get one week of preplanned posts and one week off from our blog. But we’ll have plenty to say, probably mostly about BTS, when we get back! Look forward to those posts!

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Sci-Fi: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Episode 3-4 Review

Screenshot of Babs Olusanmokun as Dr. M’Benga and Rebecca Romjin as Una Chin-Riley (Number One). Copyright goes to Paramount Pictures and Roddenberry Entertainment.

Hey! Hallie here!

I promised this review and I love this show too much to pass up talking about any episode, so here it finally is! As for the next review covering episodes five and six, I’m going to forewarn you here that this blog will be silent for a week in June due to vacation so that review might also be delayed slightly. But we’ll be back before you even notice we’re gone! In any case, this series has yet to disappoint. Every episode is full of excellent writing, interesting concepts, and some of the best character work in all of Star Trek. I really can’t get enough of ‘Strange New Worlds’! In the latest episodes we finally got an episode entirely focused on Una Chin-Riley, which I’ve been anticipating since the first episode, as well as a perfectly suspenseful take on the Gorn. I can’t wait to get into these reviews so here’s your SPOILER WARNING. Onto episode three!

“Ghosts of Illyria”:

Una Chin-Riley: Una gets to run the Enterprise on her own in this episode and it’s very clear why she’s second in command. She’s meticulous, probably more so than Pike, and very protective of her crew. These traits are really helpful when she realizes she has to deal with a ship-wide disease that’s leading most of the crew to put themselves in serious danger in search of heat. But she also provides one of the largest mysteries in the entire episode. At the very beginning of the episode we see her develop the same symptoms that other crew members display when they get the disease. But all it does is envelop her and disappear. She then lies about experiencing any symptoms at all when she’s first asked by Dr. M’Benga. All of this leads up to the reveal that she’s an Illyrian, the bioengineered alien species they were attempting to study at the beginning of the episode. I adore this reveal, not just as an explanation for her super strength, but also as a criticism of some of Star Fleet’s views. She struggles with guilt over her identity, especially when La’an Noonien-Singh comes down with the illness and accuses her of lying to everyone while attempting to fight her way to a heat source. This fight is probably my favorite part of the episode. It’s the first time we get to see Una use her super strength to the fullest, catching punches in mid air and picking up La’an like she weighs nothing. As the episode ends her guilt and loyalty to her crew lead her to approach Pike with the goal of resigning but, as we all know, she’s too badass to let go of so Pike refuses her resignation and tells her that her species if wrongfully judged. Una owns this episode with both her physical and emotional strength, and I do love a good second-in-command takes over episode.

Dr. M’Benga: M’Benga is a secondary character in this episode, but he provides yet another major mystery in the show. The disease spread that occurs throughout the episode is immediately established as being nearly impossible because of the transporters. The transporters should have filtered out the disease entirely. While this isn’t the major concern of the crew left behind in this episode, it confuses Una enough that she keeps it in the back of her mind until the end of the episode. When she discovers that the medical bay transporter was responsible for letting the disease through because the biofilters weren’t updated in favor of something M’Benga’s hiding in its code. At first this feels like a betrayal. M’Benga risked everyone’s lives in order to hide something for himself, and after he’s been such a supportive and amazing doctor throughout the entire episode. But then it’s revealed that what he’s hiding is his daughter who he’s managed to trap inside the transporter, effectively holding her in stasis until he can find the cure for her deadly disease. This reveal is heartbreaking, and it’s even more heartbreaking when he admits that he’s endangering everyone and instantly resolves to stop what he’s doing once he’s confronted. Fortunately for him, Una manages to find a way around the problem and he ends the episode reading a book to his daughter. His backstory is just the right amount of emotional and his personality is just the right amount of likable that I’m very much anticipating a solo episode for him.

Spock and Pike:

The secondary storyline in this episode follows Spock and Pike, who don’t manage to get transported to the Enterprise in time to outrun the major storm that’s messing with the Enterprise transporters. They’re forced to wait out the storm in a cave while the ominous figures of light they spotted surrounding the storm bang on the door. This story isn’t given too much time, but it connects well to the main story. Firstly, I really love how Pike irritates Spock in this scenario. Pike’s eagerness to get back to his struggling crew makes him eager to find a way to muscle his way out, but Spock instantly turns to the writings left behind in the cave for knowledge. These separate responses are very in character and simultaneously bewilder each other to very amusing results. I also liked the twist that the frightening creatures banging on the door were actually attempting to save Pike and Spock the entire time. Not just that, but they were once Illyrians, which puts Pike in just the right space to give Una the pep-talk at the end of the episode. This wasn’t a long story, but it was fun to watch.

‘Memento Mori’:

La’an Noonien-Singh: This was the opportunity for her character to win me over and, though she isn’t my new favorite character or anything, I definitely like her more after this episode. This episode is really about her childhood trauma. She lost her family to the horrific acts of the Gorn, and it’s later revealed that her brother, who was attempting to escape with her, willingly sacrificed himself to the Gorn for her. This background makes the entire episode play out like a suspense-thriller with her at the center. The first time the Gorn are described, particularly the clicking sounds they make, gives us a chilling moment where the sound dulls so all we hear is the clicking paired with La’an’s jagged breathing. Everywhere she turns, she sees her dead brother. She first-hand witnesses sudden attacks on the ship that leave innocent civilians dead within the blink of an eye. But this episode doesn’t lean too far into horror. It actually makes a point of focusing on strategy. The Gorn’s strategy comes first and foremost, presenting the terrifying prospect of a ship that is hard to detect, waits until the Enterprise can’t raise their shields at all, and can run down the ship until they’re low on resources. But La’an is an excellent strategist too, and you can’t help but admire her ability to know what the Gorn are going to do before they do it. The friendships she forges with Pike and Spock also help her character out quite a bit. Pike helps her deal with her trauma, offering both encouragement and support, and plays off of her advice well with some really witty moves of his own. Meanwhile, Spock’s recent loss of his sister endears him to La’an’s situation and vice versa, which is a surprisingly effective way to use ‘Discovery’. These friendships mean that she feels like a more solid part of the crew by episode end.

Uhura and Hemmer: There are a few different groups who are trapped together in this episode, but the biggest stand-out is the pairing of Uhura and Hemmer. I haven’t really gotten to talk about Hemmer yet, but I really do love this character. He’s an Aenar, which are a subspecies of Andorians that are canonically blind. Andorians really are some of the best characters in Star Trek, aren’t they? Hemmer is a really gruff guy on the outside, somewhat understandably because people get in his way often. Still, I was really waiting to see the softness behind that hard shell, and it turns out Uhura was the best person to bring it out. But really, who couldn’t like Uhura? The scenario that forces these two to work together comes about when the Enterprise is attacked by the Gorn. At the time Uhura’s in the middle of an engineering test being given by Hemmer, but the entire thing turns more dire when Hemmer breaks his hand during the attack just when the coolant system goes offline in the bay they’re in. Not only are Uhura and Hemmer trapped in position by debris, but Hemmer clearly can’t fix anything by himself. Which leads to Hemmer having to teach Uhura how to fix the issue instead. He winds up being a surprisingly good teacher in a pinch, and is only helped along by Uhura’s infectious positivity. He even shares with her wisdom on both ones natural calling as well as the fear of death. In the end they wind up having to vent the bay entirely, a dangerous venture with the both of them in it, but the two manage to successfully tether themselves down. Seeing these two reassuringly grasp hands as they’re put at the mercy of the vacuum of space wound up being my favorite moment of the episode, though Pike’s relief when he hears they’re alive is a close second.

Obviously I don’t really have any complaints about these episodes, or any episodes so far. All of the concepts they’ve tackled have been done perfectly, and the characters are already some of my favorites in all of Star Trek. Pike might just be my favorite Star Trek Captain. And that’s only after four episodes. This is genuinely one of my favorite projects of any franchise that’s come out recently and I can’t wait for more!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie

Books: The Myth of Eros and Psyche

‘The Abduction of Psyche’ by William Adolphe Bouguereau.

Hi! It’s Annie!

After seeing ‘Hadestown’ a few days ago, I have fully immersed myself once again in Greek mythology. It’s definitely one of my favorite forms of classic literature to dive into! And for years now, no Greek tale has been quite as interesting to me as the tale of Eros (otherwise known as Cupid) and Psyche. It could be because Greek mythology and folklore is well known for its tragedy and this is one of the only stories that actually (surprisingly) ends happily. I’m not a huge fan of depressing endings; I much prefer a happy one. And the story of Eros and Psyche is not only one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever read, it also is the inspiration for many fairytales that we know and love today. The story also includes the most depth we get on the actual character of Eros, who is an often misinterpreted mythological figure. So I’m actually going to go into the tale itself, the figures within it and who they actually are, and how this amazing myth has effected so many other beloved stories we all know! This is a MAJOR SPOILER warning for if you do not know the myth and want to read an official version.

Eros:

Before I go into the story, I want to talk about the characters! And none so much as Eros, one of the most misinterpreted gods in Greek mythology. Modern media portrays Cupid as a baby angel in a diaper carrying a bow and arrow. Always lighthearted and a very pure image of what love is. This is not how Eros has ever been portrayed in any of the original myths; in fact Eros was one of the most feared Greek gods in mythology. This was for several reasons, the first of which being that he was one of the only gods who actually had the power to effect other gods because of the power of his arrows. Yes, they were that powerful. Eros was also actually more of a mischief god than anything else; while he could grant a mortal or god love he could also grant them suffering by forcing them to love an inconvenient person, or worse, a deadly creature. On top of that his mother, Aphrodite herself, often used him as her hound, to enact revenge on mortals or gods that had wronged her. Eros never took the appearance of a baby. He was described to look like a young man, the fairest of the gods even, but with wings. Despite Eros’s great power and freedom among the gods to do what he pleased as none of them wanted to be on his bad side, he was often described as being fairly lonely. Often not finding companionship with men or other gods, partly because of how much he was feared. Is it just me, or is that so much more interesting than a weird baby in a diaper?

Psyche:

A very beautiful mortal whose beauty becomes so renowned that men travel from afar to see it for themselves. Unfortunately, this also leads many mortals to say that she’s more beautiful than Aphrodite. If you know anything about Aphrodite at all, saying something like that is usually a death sentence for the recipient of the compliment in Greek tales. This on top of the fact that people began giving Psyche their gifts originally meant to be offerings for Aphrodite was just the icing on the cake of her fury. But Psyche did not mean for this to happen, nor was she happy about it. Psyche was also unable to ever fall in love with a mortal man and others falling in love with her was just as impossible. Men could only admire, but never truly love her. Making her just as lonely as Eros, but also unknowingly opening her up to falling in love with an immortal man. When her parents fear that she will never have any marriage prospects, they take her to see an oracle who tells her that her future husband will be a monster who even the gods fear. (Still unconvinced that Eros was actually a badass?) She is told to go and wait on a cliff for her husband, which most of the village accepts as her death, but she is instead taken by the winds up to Eros’s palace.

‘Beauty and the Beast’:

The fairytale to take inspiration from this myth the most by far is actually ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Obviously, Eros fell in love with Psyche after Aphrodite sent him to make her fall in love with a horrific and dangerous creature and he could not complete the task. But arranging for Psyche to come stay with him is difficult. Firstly, part of it is to keep her hidden from Aphrodite. But also, Psyche is not allowed to see him at all meaning that he can only visit her when it’s dark outside. Psyche is still under the impression that she’s been taken to a monster, taking the words of the oracle very literally even though they probably weren’t meant that way. Trapped in a palace with a monster. Sound familiar?

‘Cinderella’:

As Psyche is only allowed a little time to spend with her new husband, she is still very lonely and misses her family. Cue Eros allowing her to invite her two sisters, who very much remind me of two other fairytale sisters. Immediately jealous upon seeing how their sister is now living, they encourage her to find out the identity of her husband. Ultimately convincing her that he was still a monster who would probably kill her any night he chose. Of course, Psyche does the stupid thing and lights a candle to look at Eros, which drips oil on him, waking him up and causing him to leave, hurt by the betrayal.

‘Rumplestiltskin’:

One of the more interesting points of this myth is that it is one of the only ones that involves a woman going through Greek trials. After Psyche misleadingly goes to Aphrodite for help getting Eros back, she is forced to do four tasks. Though Psyche is taken pity on and helped through all of these tasks. The first one is actually to sort through piles of seeds, which is the exact task that is set for the protagonist of ‘Rumplestiltskin’.

‘The Little Mermaid’:

Though this one is less of the original tale and more of more recent adaptations; this one is also pretty obvious to me. Having a powerful being give a woman a certain amount of time to earn her man or become a slave has been used in many versions of the ‘The Little Mermaid’. Considering that this even ends with the “Prince” coming to help her with the final battle at the end, makes this even more obvious to me. Eros eventually frees himself from where Aphrodite has locked him the entire time Psyche has been completing these tasks, and saves Psyche. Eventually standing up to his mother himself before Zeus intervenes.

‘The Sleeping Beauty’:

The final task that Eros saves Psyche from? She retrieves “beauty” from Persephone on the request of Aphrodite and after a harrowing journey to the underworld, Psyche is nervous about meeting Eros in her severely beaten state. She opens the box of “beauty” which turns out to be more like death or rather a deep sleep. Though Eros uses his powers to wake her up, this is thought to be where the idea of waking someone from deep sleep with true love comes from.

The story ends with Zeus giving Psyche immortal life so she can live out her days with Eros with the ability of actually seeing him this time. Like I said, it ends happily! But I was surprised I hadn’t heard about this story sooner than I had, especially because it is one of the lesser known myths despite how influential it has been. This story is literally all of our favorite fairytales wrapped into one! But considering ‘Beauty and the Beast’ has always been one of my favorites, I find it odd that nobody seems to talk about its origins. Not to mention the idea of a lonely immortal god falling in love with a lonely mortal woman is an absolutely beautiful concept. I wish we’d have more adaptations of this myth in particular, because what we do have is very few and far between. I hope that this myth will eventually get the recognition it deserves so that I can finally read a full book adaptation of it in the future.

See you across the pond!

Sincerely, Annie

Live Entertainment: ‘Hadestown’ Tour Review

Professional photo of Kevyn Morrow as Hades, Nicholas Barasch as Orpheus, and Kimberly Marable as Persephone. Photo by T Charles Erickson and copyright goes to Concord Theatricals.

Hey! Hallie here!

There’s so much to talk about right now. The first two episodes of ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ just dropped, the first part of ‘Stranger Things’ season 4 is now out, and we’ve been given more episodes of ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’. We’ll be talking about at least some of it really soon on this blog, but today my favorite musical of all time takes precedent. I had the great pleasure of seeing ‘Hadestown’ yesterday! The past few weeks have been really rough for many of us and ‘Hadestown’ was a birthday gift that came at just the right time for me. I’ve also been dying to see it for around four years now, ever since I discovered it while pursuing my Theatre undergrad degree and clung to it during the harder parts of the program. Needless to say, I had extremely high expectations. This touring cast met those expectations and then exceeded them. I don’t think I’ve smiled so widely during an entire show in the way I did during ‘Hadestown’. The story, the direction, and the performances were nothing less than perfection. So strap in for a lot of praise because I have very little negative things to say about what I saw last night. WARNING: If you haven’t seen this show yet and want to go in blind, I would avoid this post.

The Story:

I’ve gushed about this story many times before so I’ll keep this relatively simple. ‘Hadestown’ is a retelling of the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice from Greek mythology. For those who don’t know the story, it focuses on newlyweds Orpheus and Eurydice. Orpheus, the main character, is the son of a muse and is known for the beautiful music he makes. Which comes in handy when Eurydice is bitten by a snake and dies. Orpheus goes down to the underworld to retrieve her, and his music is so beautiful and sorrowful that all of the gods decide to protect him on his journey down. Once he arrives in the underworld, his music also wins over Hades and Persephone. Hades agrees to let Eurydice go, but she must walk behind Orpheus on the way out and he can’t turn to look at her or else she’ll return to the underworld forever. But this is a tragedy so, of course, Orpheus begins to doubt Hades and turns around, losing his only chance to rescue Eurydice.

‘Hadestown’ tells this same story. They even alert you in the first song that the ending is no less tragic than what we all expect. But it adds depth to the story and the characters. Orpheus is no longer a classic Greek hero, but is instead a nervous kid whose optimism endears him to all he meets. Eurydice is a world-hardened girl who falls in love with Orpheus in spite of her skepticism, but chooses to go down to Hadestown because she no longer wants to fear going hungry. Hades is no longer amiable, but a frightening tyrant who overworks the souls he rules over in order to bring comforts like light and warmth to Hadestown, a desperate move to appeal to Persephone so she won’t leave him as he fears she will. Persephone also plays a major role as Hades’ biggest skeptic and Orpheus’ biggest cheerleader, having become an alcoholic because of her strained marriage to Hades but striving to make things right for everyone. And of course, there’s the addition of Hermes who narrates the story and emphasizes the importance of keeping hope during hardship. It’s a beautiful retelling that cleverly parallels Orpheus and Eurydice’s new love with Hades and Persephone’s ancient one and encourages the audience to take up Orpheus’ optimism and work towards a better world. And even though the story ends in tragedy it still leaves the audience with hope, not just for Hades and Persephone’s rekindled love, but also for Orpheus and Eurydice’s story to maybe, one day, end happily.

The Cast:

Here we get to more specific things about the tour! There were no major changes to the cast the night I went, so I saw the touring cast I covered a few months ago! As someone who adores all of the original performances by all of the Broadway cast, I was somewhat frightened that I’d judge this cast too harshly or make my expectations too high. But this cast exceeded all of my expectations by quite a bit. First off, Nicholas Barasch was the sweetest Orpheus. He played clueless so well that he got some of the most laughs of the entire night. His sincerity was just as captivating, though. I was particularly floored by his performance of “If It’s True” which also showed off his amazing range, one of the most important parts of Orpheus’ character. Morgan Siobhan Green was an equally amazing Eurydice. She played Eurydice as the perfect mix between sarcastic and unsure, which is a really hard balance to find with such a headstrong but naive character. Her voice soared throughout the theatre during each song, especially “Wedding Song”. She didn’t do one of the riffs I enjoy in “Wait For Me (reprise)”, but her beautiful voice well made up for it.

Next is the biggest surprise for me, Levi Kreis. I was skeptical about Levi Kreis when I heard he’d be playing Hermes. He was much younger than I expected and I worried he wouldn’t capture the flare and comfort Andre De Shields brings to the role. The moment Kreis came out on stage I was proved wrong. His voice was fun and playful, his humor enraptured the audience, and his presence was both comforting and so intimidating that he could stare down Hades and feel just as powerful as him. Kimberly Marable was just as perfect as I thought she would be as Persephone. She particularly shone during “Our Lady of the Underground”, where she took over the entire stage and felt so approachable that I instantly wanted a Persephone in my life. Whenever Persephone and Hermes spent time together in the corner of the stage, I knew where I wanted to be. Kevyn Morrow was Hades and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard amazing things about him, but Patrick Page’s deep range isn’t easily replicable. I can confidently say this wasn’t an issue for Kevyn Morrow. His low notes in “Hey Little Songbird” were so on point that I was fangirling in my seat. He also played a much less stoic Hades, instead portraying more humor, sometimes of the sinister variety, making his more stoic moments very intimidating. Belen Moyano, Bex Odorisio, and Shea Renne were such fun Fates. They bounced off of each other incredibly well and were bone chillingly frightening when need be. “When the Chips Are Down” and “Word to the Wise” were some of my favorite songs of the night thanks to these ladies. And, of course, shout outs are due to both the ensemble and the band. I adored every single person on stage and each one earned my undivided attention at some point of the night. Good luck to Chibueze Ihuoma who is soon to take over Orpheus. I could already tell from just last night that he’ll be perfect for the role!

Staging:

This stage is beautiful in person. It doesn’t change much throughout the show, but it really doesn’t need to. The stage feels like a homey, energetic jazz bar. The stands on each side fit the band perfectly, involving them in the action but never putting them in the way of it. The spiral staircase up to the balcony is gorgeous and invokes New Orleans architecture. The use of the center of the stage, which is at first covered in tables for the cast to sit in but is then cleared to reveal a turn table with a circular center that remain still, works really well. The tables add to the bar feel of act one, but the turn tables add much needed tension to various numbers in act two. In the original production the center piece of the turn table is an elevator that takes characters to and from Hadestown. But, because not all theaters can accommodate this, this production has an elevator at the back of the set that can move up to the large door at the back of the balcony. It’s a clever use of the usual design of the stage, but sometimes feels out of place. Such as when Eurydice leaves Orpheus’ flower for him to find in the middle of the stage, which would have been where she disappeared to Hadestown in New York, but is nowhere near where she disappears in the touring show. But it doesn’t break immersion. I genuinely gasped when the stage split apart to represent Hadestown. The harsh lights changed the stage entirely and were especially effective during “Wait For Me”. And I can’t leave without talking about the hanging lights in “Wait For Me” as well, which are magical in person.

And that’s it! Seeing ‘Hadestown’ made my entire week. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had in the theatre and I hope all of you who are reading this manage to get to see it yourself. It leaves LA after tomorrow, unfortunately, but it will be moving to San Diego for a brief stint and then San Fransisco for a month before leaving the state and continuing around the country. Wherever you live, look out for this show! You will absolutely regret missing it!

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie