Understudy Weekend On Broadway

When you spend good money and time on a Broadway show, it can be a bit disappointing to arrive at the theater only to find a little white slip of paper tucked into your playbill that indicates one of the leads is out and replaced by an understudy. But in all my years of going to, working in, and writing for theatre, I've learned a little secret: those performances are often some of the most magical, thrilling experiences you'll ever have.

Two days, two shows, two understudies

Shakespeare SparkNotes With A Twist

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) sounds like the kind of show an overwhelmed high school student might attend to cover their bases for English class without actually doing the reading. Any such students in the audience of Southwest Shakespeare's production (running at the Mesa Arts Center through September 30), however, will find themselves getting much more than they bargained for.

Photo: Southwest Shakespeare Company (Facebook)

Journey to Pyeongchang: Preseason, Part 1 - Ice Dance

In about six months, the world will tune in to the 2018 Winter Olympics to watch the best of the best compete in 102 events in 15 sports. But before any athletes can get to Pyeongchang, they have to get through their regular seasons first! As the 2017-2018 figure skating season gets underway this summer with club competitions before the top internationals in the fall, I'm taking a look at the top prospects for the American Olympic team.

The ice dance medalists at the 2017 national championships (Photo: Jay Adeff for IceNetwork)

Nordstrom Anniversary Sale On A Twentysomething Budget

It's here! The Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, bane and blessing to shoppers everywhere, kicked off yesterday. This time of year, the style blogosphere is chock-full of reviews of the Nordstrom sale. It's easy to get overwhelmed or to feel that it's an elite thing (the sale is open to Nordstrom cardholders a week before the general public) or too expensive, since it's Nordstrom and not Target.

Baking Hacks My Mother Taught Me

Baking from scratch can be intimidating for many. There's a perception that it's all about precise measurements and time-consuming waits. And while that's true of some recipes, there are also a lot of hacks that can make your baking easier, tastier, and even healthier! I've been baking with my mom for as long as I can remember, so here's a compilation of some of the best tips she's taught me.

'S Wonderful: Dance as Perspective in 'An American in Paris'

The very nature of musical theatre makes it challenging to fully show the world from a character's perspective. Unlike prose, there are limits to limited perspectives: theatre tends to show events precisely as they happen (and then characters sing their feelings about those events). On the occasion we are given the chance to dwell inside of a character's mind, it is more often than not a dream ballet, a literal peek inside their imagination or dreams. This is where An American in Paris, currently touring the country after its Broadway run, pulls off a creative and technical feat: allowing the audience to experience objective story events from a subjective perspective.


The story of AAIP is similar to the 1951 Gene Kelly film on which it is based. Jerry, an American GI (McGee Maddox, alternating with Ryan Steele), decides to stay behind and become an artist in post-WWII Paris, where he befriends foppish showman Henri (Nick Spangler) and sardonic composer Adam (Etai Benson), gets entangled with Milo (Emily Ferranti), a wry American heiress, and falls in love with the mysterious, ethereal Lise (Sara Esty, alternating with her twin sister Leigh-Ann). However, bookwriter Craig Lucas made several smart changes to the narrative that elevate the story from a frothy romance to a thoughtful and timely rumination on the place of art in a reeling society. By moving up the setting to the months immediately following the liberation of Paris and the end of the war, Lucas forces us to see a broken city in which even decent people are mistrustful, in which habits of caution and self-preservation are not easily broken.
Photo credit: Matthew Murphy

 But then, Lucas and director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon do something utterly magical: they break free and seamlessly shift into moments in which the events actually "happening" onstage are filtered to the audience to see them as characters do.

 The first instance occurs midway through the opening ballet sequence. As Jerry roams the streets of Paris, he watches flags rise and couples reunite, and sketches them all "as is." But then he stumbles across a woman being turned away from a bread line, and a young woman - Lise - offering her some of her own bread. In that instant, the scene stops as the light and choreography literally frame Lise, letting us see what Jerry sees: nothing but her, nothing but this one act of kindness.

 It is not until Act 2 that we come across another instance of seeing actual events through the eyes of a character. Henri finds himself unexpectedly nervous performing in a jazz club, and stumbles his way (literally) through the first verse of "I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise," awkward and fearful. Then the number opens up and the club fades away, replaced with a stage and chorus worthy of the Ziegfeld Follies, with Henri in a top hat and tails at the center of it all. Henri has a choice to give into his fear, or imagine something that will get him through. He chooses the latter, and we are allowed to see every detail of how his imagination transforms the scene and transforms his ability in the "real" world of the jazz club - the number finishes in "reality" but Henri performs there just as spectacularly. Although his audience there did not see his visualizations, we did, and we can tell just how much that perspective shift altered the course of actual events.
Photo credit: Matthew Murphy

 The final instance is perhaps the most iconic and significant: we see the "An American in Paris" ballet from Lise's perspective. It is worth noting that this is already a big change from the film, in which the ballet was a true dream ballet and told from Jerry's perspective; here, there is an actual ballet performance in the story in which Lise is the principal dancer. In the scene immediately preceding, Lise confides her fear to Milo, who suggests she remember when she felt deep emotion and reconnect with those feelings as she dances. Minutes later, we see exactly what Lise associates with that passionate emotion: her partner for the romantic pas de deux is Jerry. Of course, Jerry is not actually there; in the world of the story, she is dancing with her unnamed partner. But we see the effect imagining Jerry has on her: she dances perfectly and passionately. Instead of presenting the ballet as a pure show-within-a-show, Wheeldon stages it to again layer a character's subjective experience onto an objective reality.
Robert Fairchild & Leanne Cope (original Broadway cast)

 This is a nice technical feat, to be sure, but the question remains: why does this matter? I believe that, in the world we live in, the specifics of these perspectives suggest a template for us all. In each of these scenes, the characters are faced with a reality that is hard. Unpleasant. Challenging. And they get through it with the power of their creativity and joy, bringing their reality into being. Art is healing, art is love, art is connection, and this is what we as creative people can aspire to.

 To clarify, this is not to discredit protest art or creative work that comes from a place of anger and frustration and revolution; indeed, those are incredibly relevant and provocative. But what AAIP reminds us is that the opposite is true too: we must not discard art that tries to be joyful, because joy can heal and unite. Even the cynical Adam comes to this realization after spending much of the story defending his melancholy style of music: "Life is already so dark. If you have got the talent to make it brighter, to give people hope, and joy, why would you withhold that?" 
Photo credit: Matthew Murphy
Some of us may not create work that protests overtly, but creating joy is an act of protest against those who would strip it away. If we take our cues from the characters of AAIP, and present the world through a perspective of possibility, then we build our own stairway to paradise. 

A Truth Timelessly Acknowledged

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there are more Pride and Prejudice adaptations than there need to be. I say this with the utmost affection for the story (and several vintage copies of it sitting on my bookshelf): although it is perhaps the perfect English-language novel, it's also often adapted in ways that don't necessarily capture the "bright, light, sparkling" tone or that simple contribute to culture fatigue. Daniel Elihu Kramer's Pride@Prejudice, running at Southwest Shakespeare Company through Saturday, is not one of those; indeed, it is a warm, witty comedy that is alternately genuine and tongue-in-cheek.
Photo: Southwest Shakespeare

6 Takeaways From Worlds 2017

The World Figure Skating Championships just wrapped up this weekend in Helsinki, Finland, and pretty much everyone is slightly confused and slightly happy. Here are a few lessons to be learned when all is said and done:

The logo for Worlds 2017 (helsinki2017.com)

A Tale As Old As Time Returns

In recent years, Disney has seemingly taken up the project of remaking many of their classic animated hits into live-action films. The latest in this series, Beauty and the Beast, hit theaters last Friday, and I was in the audience on opening day. Admittedly, I have a bit of a biased view, given that this has long been my favorite Disney movie, but even I didn't expect the film to be as wonderful as it was. From filling in plot holes that have bothered fans for decades to rounding out the characters and their world, this remake beautifully balanced a devotion to the original and a desire to bring it into the modern world.

'La La Land' Is More Modern Than You Think

For the first time in decades, an original film musical is the darling of Hollywood critics and awards season. Damien Chazelle's La La Land, with a score by Justin Hurwitz and Broadway duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is a well-crafted musical in the vein of the MGM musicals of old: a showbiz tale mixed with a love story. For a wide array of reasons, however, there has been a fair amount of criticism leveled at the film since its release. While it's certainly worth considering the relative social importance of La La Land when set against groundbreaking, equally well-crafted tales like Moonlight and Hidden Figures, it's also worth looking at La La Land in the context of the genre it joins and that musical language. When viewed through this lens, it becomes apparent that La La Land isn't just an old-school musical: it's a reinterpretation that pays homage to classic style and tropes while simultaneously calling them into question in the modern world.

On Theatre, Creating Art, and a Changing World

The day after the election, a friend of mine - a fellow artist - posted on Facebook a list of adjectives describing the art they would no longer consider acceptable. Among those adjectives were "cool," "cutting-edge," and others, but the one that bothered me was "beautiful." I saw similar sentiments repeated across my social media as much of my extended community cycled through fear, anger, confusion, and even rebellion. "Beauty," it seemed, was no longer something to strive for, no longer something worthy. As 2017 kicks off and the prospect of immense change looms, it's time to have a discussion about the role of art and its creators going forward.

Making Your Home Merry and Bright For the Holidays

For many of us, it doesn't really feel like the holidays until we've put up our decorations. As much as we all love the classics - a tree, a wreath or two, and some lights - it can get easy to get stuck in a decor rut. Perhaps you're tired of the same old ideas, or perhaps you live in a small space that doesn't fit a big tree. Whatever the case, here are some ways to add holiday cheer to your space!

'Gilmore Girls' Revival: Life, Love, and Legacy

While the rest of the country was stalking Amazon for lightning deals and braving the crowds at malls, I spent my Black Friday in a place that has brought me joy since I was in middle school: with the Gilmore Girls. After nearly a decade, creator Amy Sherman-Palladino brings us back to Stars Hollow for a highly-anticipated revival miniseries. After marathoning six hours of rapid-fire dialogue, fraught familial relationships, and endless return appearances, I've finally begun to process the new episodes and what they mean for our favorite girls and for a fanbase that came of age alongside them. Spoilers abound ahead, so proceed with caution!

Lights Up: Broadway's New Season Is Bigger Than Ever

Although the 2016/2017 Broadway season has only just begun, it's already shaping up to be one of the most interesting (and crowded) seasons in recent memory. Thirteen new musicals have already been announced, ranging from long-anticipated adaptations to tales ripped from history to wholly original stories. And that's not even counting the revivals. Let's break down some of the most exciting musicals headed to Broadway this season.

Review: NBC's 'Timeless' Is A Timely Take On History

Time travel seems to be all the rage on TV these days. Half of The CW's superhero lineup (The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow) involve leaping around in time as crucial plot points, and the other parts of this extended universe are affected by The Flash's timeline-creating "Flashpoint" shenanigans. 12 Monkeys remakes a classic time-travel TV series, while BBC's Doctor Who continues its 53 years of traveling through space and time. Into this crowded milieu comes NBC's new series Timeless, a surprisingly thoughtful and enjoyable drama with an attention to history that delights as much as its characters intrigue.

People Change People: Part 2 of a Defense of 'Kid' Entertainment

I realized I had more to say on the topic of entertainment ostensibly geared for young audiences, so here's part two of the discussion started here. This time, we're focusing on television geared at younger demographics, although, it must be noted, all the discussed shows do have a strong fanbase above age 20 as well.

The CW, like its predecessor The WB, has made a brand for itself as home to supernatural shows featuring inordinately pretty people who have a) superpowers, b) tragic backstories, c) epic romances, or d) tragic backstories that lead to superpowers and cause massive problems with epic romances. While its hour-long female-centric comedy double-header of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin has received critical acclaim and skews more adult, the cornerstone of the network has become its four- count 'em, four- superhero shows: a genre which traditionally covers a broad demographic that reaches all but the very youngest viewers. Each of these DC shows is a different genre: Arrow is a crime drama in a broken city; The Flash is quippy sci-fi; Legends of Tomorrow is workplace dramedy transplanted to a time-traveling spaceship; and Supergirl skews closer to corporate and romantic comedy than any of its fellows.

What these four shows have in common, however, is an implicit contract with their audience that things will, eventually, be okay. The heroes may doubt and falter, but they will always rise. The best in humanity wars with the worst possibilities of humanity, and guess what? The best win. Not without losses- and this is crucial, because it adds dimension. Death does come for characters we love (and ones we don't- sorry, Hawkman!). In fact, this family of shows had developed such a pattern of killing off a very specific character in each of its first season finales (the handsome young man on the wrong side of a love triangle involving the lead) that it was a shock when Supergirl broke the pattern. But even with death and despair, cities in crisis and relationships made fragile, they never leave us without a glimmer of hope.


These shows function best when read on a metaphorical level, as a means of putting complex concepts into understandable terms. It's important to note that the reasons why they skew youthful have little, if anything, to do with the quality of the show. Young (by which I here mean teen and college-age) audiences often are drawn to shows with epic mythologies that reward loyal viewing and with, let's face it, young, attractive casts. Neither of those qualities make a show innately bad- but they do provide easy targets for critics to attack. But that same epic, sometimes silly supernatural mythology also functions as metaphor for a slew of socio-political concepts. Why should we dismiss a dissection of human and political corruption and decay just because it includes red and green leather masks? Why should we ignore a show that highlights the experiences of women in male-dominated fields just because one of those women is from a different planet?

http://supercanaries.tumblr.com/post/131991490388/if-you-perceive-this-show-as-anything-less-than


All the while, the youthful nature of these shows means it never becomes too angry, too full of negativity. While some might argue that those are restrictions on content that result in watered-down stories, I would argue the opposite. Having to make a nuanced point is a lot harder when working within restrictions; a lack of restrictions may lead to innovative ideas, true, but it also makes it much easier to just go as dark as possible and call it good art. But giving hope? A family dinner, a sunset drive, a gathering of friends... that's something we can all strive for, and it can give us hope, no matter our age.

More than any other show on my radar right now, Girl Meets World is the epitome of why we shouldn't dismiss a show as "shallow" just because it's geared for audiences who can't drive or vote yet. Let's be real, here. GMW has two fanbases of equal passion: the tweens who started watching the saga of the Matthews family and those who love them only a few years ago, and the twenty- and thirty-somethings who met the Matthewses decades ago and can't bear to not watch their story continue. It can't be easy to make a show that appeals to both demographics. But the writers of GMW manage to find a way, and it's so incredibly simple that it makes one wonder why the other tween-marketed shows haven't done the same thing: they don't pander. They don't talk down to their young audience members. Love and loyalty, betrayal and confusion, faith and diagnoses, separation and even death are all dealt with in a way that feels real to the young characters and rings true for adults as well.

Take, for instance, a recent storyline focused on crises of identity- familiar territory for a youth sitcom. Even GMW has tapped this before in classic single-episode "crisis" fashion- although that episode also included a subtle lesson on cultural appropriation. One of the core tenets of the show, repeated over and over again, is "people change people." Like the Harry Potter saga (another youth-oriented tale with much more complex themes), much of this show operates on a system of parallels with the past. Protagonist Riley is Cory: cheerful, stable at home, more than a little dorky, meddlesome with the best intentions. Her best friend Maya is Shawn: troubled, mischievous, from a broken home, cynical and artistic yet oddly hopeful.

Both shows allowed their "people change people" theme to apply to these mismatched friendships, but more in one direction than the other. Though the "bad kids" helped their "goody-goody" friends loosen up a little, the influence was more about how the "bad" kids became "good" because of their friends. GMW has taken the time to explore when this positive influence crosses the line into an erasing of identity. It's even taking the time to tie the story to- you guessed it, a parallel one with the classic characters; in this case, Shawn's pride in the more reckless, edgy aspects of his personality at war with his desire for a family like Cory's. The end result is a thoughtful meditation on the nuances of shifting identity- and it doesn't need to be a dark, gritty, antihero drama to explore the ins and outs of evolving identity.

http://kacie-ville.tumblr.com/post/146834958673/do-you-wanna-get-married-yes


It's unfortunate, then, that a large part of the discourse surrounding the show instead revolves around incessant arguing over who should end up with who- thus missing the entire point of the show, which is that there is a wide array of relationships that matter and shape who we are. And it's not just the younger fans who are guilty of this: although there is a great deal of heated argument about who tween-heartthrob Lucas should have/should "choose" (ignoring the theme that there are as many variations of love and affection as there are people who love), there is just as much uproar from old-school fans upset over (spoiler alert!) Shawn getting married to Maya's mother Katy, rather than reuniting with original love Angela (ignoring the idea that not everyone ends up with their first love, but that those relationships can and do still matter). But I digress.


One of the easiest ways for "legitimate" critics to dismiss a series is to imply it might or does appeal to a younger audience. The wonderful thing about series with younger demographics, however, is that they are more likely to still have a hopeful outlook on the world. It might get dark. We might shed tears. People we love might leave us. But for some reason, we still look for hope, and we are not disappointed. For some reason, we don't want children to think the world is a dark and hopeless place. So why do we want adults to think that it is?

I don't.

4 Summer Hairstyles To Keep You Cool and Chic

Let's be honest for a minute. As much as summer is idealized for fashion and beauty trends, it's actually kind of a pain. Especially if you're like me and have long, thick hair. Over the summer break, it was fine to just throw it back into a messy ponytail, but now I'm back to work, where I need to look put-together and professional in classrooms and offices with temperature controls that are sketchy at best.

'BrainDead' Is The Funniest, Most Cathartic Show You Should Be Watching

If the current political climate in the real world has you frustrated and in search of a tamer reality, look no further than CBS's BrainDead, a political satire/horror comedy featuring extremism run amok, spreading paranoia, and politicians under the sway of some inexplicable entity. And heads exploding. There's a certain catharsis factor, one starts to realize.

Hogwarts Will Always Be Here To Welcome Us Home

I didn't plan on posting anything today. But I just got back from my local Barnes & Noble, running a quick afternoon errand to pick up a CD (yes, I buy CDs, leave this old lady alone) and suddenly I'm feeling unexpectedly emotional. Why? Two words: Midnight Madness.

I See The Light: Why I Proudly Still Watch 'Kid' Movies

I am a woman in my twenties. I have multiple degrees and am working on my master's. I think I'm fairly socially aware and culturally discerning. And I count several animated movies among my favorite films and am an unabashed Disney-phile. Recently, I've encountered people in several settings who have seemed surprised or amused to discover this preference of mine, seeming to think that such tastes are- or should be- outgrown.
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