Tashkent, Uzbekistan: Mosques, Museums, Construction...And Watermelonby Randi / November 26, 2017
It’s Theatre Thursday y’all!!! Today we are talking about an insanely magical new show, the revival of “Once On This Island” at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre, opening on December 3.
I like a lot of the shows I see, and sometimes I love them. Every once in a while (/every few weeks) I love love a show. But rarely am I struck with a realization that I’m getting to witness pure magic. I can remember a few times when I had such a moment, sort of an out-of-body momentary recognition that I am lucky to be in this audience, like I’m stepping back from watching the show itself and thinking oh man, am I here? It has nothing to do with whether I love love the show itself; I could just like the show but have this kind of detached awareness where I recognize that parts of it are flawless or beautiful or magical. In the past decade, I can remember this happening a few times. Once was during the big title number tap break in Sutton Foster’s “Anything Goes”. That’s like a ten-minute tap dance extravaganza and halfway through I was like oh my god this is still going on and it keeps getting better I can’t believe it. (It’s easy to understand why Jonanthan Groff was so equally obsessed that he learned all of Kathleen Marshall’s choreography (and imitated every one of Sutton’s vocal inflections.)) Next was when I saw “Hamilton” and Daveed Diggs rapped his “Guns & Ships”. This was before the album was recorded (OG right here) so no one had heard this before and I was like whaaaaat this is really happening in musical theatre erma erma! There were probably one or two other moments like that in the past few years, and the most recent, and most surprising, was during the new Broadway revival of “Once on this Island”. Surprising, because I had literally zero information about this show, and because the magic feeling lasted for pretty much the entire show. Not one song or one dance, but for the entire damn thing.
The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1990, is written by Ahrens & Flaherty (of “Anastasia” fame and “Ragtime” acclaim) and is based on a slightly older novel called “My Love, My Love” by Rosa Guy. I would have bet money that the source material was hundreds of years older, actually. It’s very folk-tale-handed-down-through-generations, and that’s how the story is presented. It tells the story of a black peasant girl on a segregated island who falls in love with a light-skinned boy from the other, more prosperous side of the island, who is one of the rich descendants of the original French conquerors. She in turn conquers her fears, the elements, and the gods that her fellow islanders pray to so fervently in order to be with him, despite their class differences and despite fate and the gods foretelling that it won’t end well. The power of love and its ability to conquer everything – well not everything, not death, but it does live on after death, we learn, in some form – is the main theme here, and not just romantic love but every incarnation and facet of love you can think of, and I forking loved every second. It’s not a perfect show – the tragic ending and kind of too-Little-Mermaidy plot is problematic if you look directly at it (like the sun) – but it’s a perfect production full of joy and life and MAGIC.
Going in, I didn’t know any of that. A few weeks ago, I went to the very first preview of the new revival on Broadway, which officially opens this Sunday. (I am not waiting to post my review until Sunday because a) I’m not a professional (that’s the hard and fast rule for professionals), b) it’s theatre Thursday y’all, and c) I’ve been made aware of the changes made in the past few weeks so I feel like the fact that I’ll share them when we talk about the relevant parts is enough. Also this is a rave. If I were blasting the thing maybe I’d wait to see a nonpreview. If you still have issues please buy me a ticket to see it again after Sunday and I’ll re-review it. you also need to buy airfare p.s.) All I knew going in was that Lea Salonga was in this production, and that Audra McDonald sang one song from it, “Come Down From The Tree”, on one of her early albums. That’s literally all I knew. I adore “Come Down From The Tree” and listened to it probably fifty billion times. Guess what, it’s not in the show; it was cut from the original production. That’s another thing I didn’t know. So I kept waiting for someone to start singing it, and that was disappointing (I’m still waitingggg), but that was the only disappointing thing about this production so we’re good. Also, the bright, gorgeous motif used in that song appears frequently throughout the show, like a gentle reassuring hug, and that made up for it.
As soon as we took our seats, there was an air of joy and excitement, the kind that doesn’t happen in most other theatre experiences. It’s mostly due to the fact that it was the first preview and a lot of loved ones were there, but it was also because this show, at Circle in the Square Theatre, is performed in the round, so you can see everyone in the small audience (it’s like 6 rows all around, so small). It’s super intimate to share the experience like that and see the faces of the people you are going on this adventure with. Also, the lights were up and the cast was already in the middle, on the ‘stage’ – which was all sand, made over like a beach, with a little lagoon flowing out on one end. I was sitting above that lagoon, where Quentin Earle Darrington, dressed like King Triton, sat next to me during the entire preshow hubbub. On ‘stage’, the rest of the cast cleaned up debris and made comments about how we have to take care of the earth. Lea Salonga was dressed in khakis as a member of a Greenpeace crew or something, and she took a cell phone call and said something like ‘no phones!’ and threw the phone away. It was pretty cute to do before the show starts, as all the annoying latecomers filter in. Finally the cast started to get into place to begin the real show, and from the first few moments I was riveted. This score, how did I not know the score before? This was a huge blind spot in my knowledge of musical theatre, and while that’s shameful, it did let me experience this show in a special way that doesn’t happen often. Everything was new and exciting. Right away, the gorgeous music struck me with its joyfulness. It is lively and exuberant and you can feel the rhythm in your heart and soul. It’s magic.
The show starts with a little girl in the Antilles who is scared of a storm. The villagers tell her a story about another little girl in a storm, one of their stories that gets passed down generations. The storytellers describe how villagers like them on an island like theirs once suffered a terrible storm, in which only a little peasant girl survived. And as they tell the story, that framing device gives way to the story they’re telling, our main story. On this island, the people zealously prayed to the four gods: Agwe, god of water (Quentin Earle Darrington, and why he looked like a hot black King Triton), Asaka, mother of the earth (blindingly good Alex Newell, who played the trans character Unique on ‘Glee’), Erzulie, goddess of love (Lea Salonga in full loving and warm mode), and Papa Ge, demon of death (Merle Dandridge in a role usually played by men but didn’t you hear, men are over and she is incredibly frightening and powerful and amazing). The storm rages – here the lights flashed and the sound of winds filled the room and I fully believed this storm. But apparently now they have actual rain and wind happening – like soaking everything and so you can feel the wind – so it’s even more powerful. Sad to have missed that but I’m glad I didn’t get wet. So this super wet and windy storm kills everyone else in the village, but the little girl is saved by the gods and found in a tree by two villagers, Mama Euralie (lovely Kenita R. Miller) and Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin, one of my faves), who adopt her (hence why their names are mom and dad). They know that if Agwe wanted to kill her too, she would be dead, so they know that the gods saved her for a reason. The new parents name her Ti Moune, which they tell her means someone special saved by the gods for a reason, pretty on the nose. Ti Moune asks what the reason is, and her mother says the best line, “If we knew why the gods did the things they do, we would be gods ourselves.” I loved this because it recognizes how cray gods are if they are doing any of this shit. The music had already started reverberating in my heart but when the little girl started growing up and playing and she ran into the lagoon and Haley Kilgore (the actress playing the teenage Ti Moune) ran out, I was ALL IN. This was such a little bit of perfect simple direction that created this magical effect, kind of like everything in the show.
We meet our teenage Ti Moune with her big song “Waiting For Life”, and you could feel everyone in that audience wishing Haley well. This was this kid’s Broadway debut, carrying a show, and this was her moment to prove herself. And she did. I’m pretty sure everyone in the audience, including RuPaul (yes RuPaul was there erma), cried tears of happiness for her when she finished the song triumphantly. This is the kind of community that I love in the theatre. Aside from the two people across the aisle from me who wouldn’t stop talking and doing commentary like they were watching a movie in North Philly, we were all in this together and it felt like that good will and energy buoyed the actors even more.
This sense of theatrical joyousness remains throughout, but the upbeat story gets darker as we remember why the gods are watching Ti Moune – as part of a bet to see which is stronger, love or death. To find out whether Erzulie (love) or Papa Ge (death) has the stronger power, Agwe (water) raises the tide so that a young pretty-much-white boy crashes his car so that Ti Moune finds him and nurses him back to health. The fast-driving car and the crash formed another bit of simple direction, using just light and the actors, that had a magical effect, so much so that the audience applauded. There are no expensive special effects used in these amazing moments, just brilliant coordination of the actors. I love it. Daniel is from the rich side of the island, part of the people that keep the black peasants down, so Ti Moune’s family and villagers just want to let him die, as that was clearly the gods’ wish, they argue. (It wasn’t, guys.) But Ti Moune falls in love with him because he so shiny, despite his being unconscious still. Papa Ge, terrifying with a costume literally made of knives, comes to her to take Daniel’s life, and Ti Moune begs the demon to spare him and to take her own life instead. Girl he’s not even AWAKE yet. A life is a life, so Papa Ge agrees to the exchange, leaving the two younguns and promising Ti Moune that she’ll be back later, as Ti Moune’s life now belongs to her. So like, it’s not a happy show really. Shit’s dark. But it’s so much fun to watch. And Merle is so badass I can’t get over it. Like I fully believed she had godlike powers the whole time and still do now. I’m so in awe and so terrified.
While Daniel recovers, Tonton Julian goes to the other side of the island to find Daniel’s family and tell them he’s okay, I mean I imagine, and to find out more about them. Julian comes back and tells his village what he learned about Daniel’s ancestors – in like a shadow puppet performance. It’s so cool; the ensemble stands being a white sheet and tells the story using their changing shadows. More amazing work, and so precise. The French aristocrat who colonized their island during Napoleon’s time had an affair with a black peasant girl, and they had a son named Beauxhomme (again so on the nose). Once grown, Beauxhomme helped the peasants win the war with the French colonizers, so his father cursed him and the island and all Beauxhomme’s descendants, now including the young Daniel, with their hearts yearning to return to France but never being able to, so they despise the peasants for reminding them of this or something racism is stupid. Regardless, Ti Moune won’t be stopped, and she leaves her family to go find Daniel in his hotel, where he lives, like Eloise. Ti Moune’s parents reluctantly let her go and that scene is so g-d moving it’s like Boykin my GOD what CAN’T you do.
On the long, hard journey, Ti Moune’s like, oh crap, how am I gonna eat and stuff while I walk for days or weeks or however long it takes to walk across an island? And Asaka, mother of the earth, appears with his banana and feather headdress and is like ‘girl I gotcha’. And then he blows the g-d roof off the theatre as he sings “Mama Will Provide”, as he like throws bananas and stuff at Ti Moune, I don’t know, I don’t remember the details I was just like WHO IS THIS MOTHER AND WHY IS SHE OTHERWORLDLY AMAZING. So it’s Alex Newell, and he is having a BALL out there with this song and it’s THE BEST. Hot damn he is talented. I can’t wait for the cast recording (please tell me there will be a cast recording) so I can set Alex’s “Mama” to play as my alarm clock so it gives me the strength and power to GREET THE GODDAMN DAY ERRR DAY WITH JOY AND GLEE GET IT BECAUSE HE WAS ON GLEE OH MY GOD HE IS AMAZING. I mean, what a Broadway debut for one thing, but I would for sure vote for him for a Tony for this performance. How cool would that be, to be nominated for this kind of sickmazing debut.
Anyway then the fun ends and Ti Moune finds Daniel in his room at the Plaza or whatever and they have lots of weird teenage sex and that couple across the aisle from me shouted things the entire time like GIRLL UH UHHH DON’T YOU DARE, girl noooo he’s not worth it, and I was like oh my god will you please be quiet, I’m trying to watch, which sounded pedo so I just let them keep talking. Lea Salonga sings her one big song, “Human Heart”, during all this, and Lea is the perfect embodiment of love and warmth and her voice is like a big fuzzy blanket. So so beautiful, you wish it wasn’t about teenagers doing what they’re doing but anyway. Of course, things are not that easy and that joy and love can’t last because CLASS and RACE and SHIT like that stands in the way. And also Daniel has a fiancée! Of course he does; everyone in his culture has arranged marriages based on status and money and they’re set up in order for families to acquire more status and money, didn’t you know that Ti Moune?? His fiancée is the gorgeous Alysha Deslorieux, the original Schuyler sister standby from “Hamilton”, who is kind of an evil mean girl but not really because she’s just trying to get through her life too guys, like everyone, and when she’s not wearing a Belle gown she’s in the ensemble showing everyone else how to wear jean shorts and you’re like damnnn that’s how you wear jean shorts when you have human thighs and it was the most inspiring part of this very inspirational show so much so that I actually bought jean shorts that weekend. Um anyway….Her existence just sucks for Ti Moune, who is heartbroken of course over the idiot Daniel who didn’t even know he was doing anything wrong because white guys, right. Daniel is a supremely unlikable character, as you can tell I’m sure, made somehow understandable and likable by Isaac Powell’s subtle, flawless performance. I mean you hate Daniel, you do, but you also can’t hate him for being born into this situation and being too privileged to realize what it means for others. PS THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO REAL LIFE, WHITE MEN; PRIVILEGE BLINDING YOU TO REALITY DOES NOT EXCUSE YOUR BULLSHIT.
Anyway then you’re like okay Ti Moune is heartbroken and OH YEAH, she promised her life to Papa Ge, I almost forgot, tell me that that demon doesn’t follow through on that? This theme of a girl’s sacrifice to let a boy be happy, and a black girl doing it for a white boy at that, doesn’t exactly hold up in our society, but it’s not meant to. No one involved in this production is presenting this idea literally as something to reflect outside the theatre, bozos. But it does portray the power of love and how much it can accomplish. Ti Moune’s transformation by the gods and her (its (spoiler)) power to build a path between the two classes of people and maybe to end the separation between them is a pretty good legacy to have. Ariel didn’t do any of that shit, she just turned into sea foam. Yeah that’s right, Disney lied, she didn’t go live in the castle with Eric and legs, she just turned into sea foam. Ti Moune, on the other hand, stood as a symbol of love and helped bridge the divide between peoples. And she didn’t have to wear a shell bra to accomplish that.
Going in, I didn’t know any of that. A few weeks ago, I went to the very first preview of the new revival on Broadway, which officially opens this Sunday. (I am not waiting to post my review until Sunday because a) I’m not a professional (that’s the hard and fast rule for professionals), b) it’s theatre Thursday y’all, and c) I’ve been made aware of the changes made in the past few weeks so I feel like the fact that I’ll share them when we talk about the relevant parts is enough. Also this is a rave. If I were blasting the thing maybe I’d wait to see a nonpreview. If you still have issues please buy me a ticket to see it again after Sunday and I’ll re-review it. you also need to buy airfare p.s.) All I knew going in was that Lea Salonga was in this production, and that Audra McDonald sang one song from it, “Come Down From The Tree”, on one of her early albums. That’s literally all I knew. I adore “Come Down From The Tree” and listened to it probably fifty billion times. Guess what, it’s not in the show; it was cut from the original production. That’s another thing I didn’t know. So I kept waiting for someone to start singing it, and that was disappointing (I’m still waitingggg), but that was the only disappointing thing about this production so we’re good. Also, the bright, gorgeous motif used in that song appears frequently throughout the show, like a gentle reassuring hug, and that made up for it.
As soon as we took our seats, there was an air of joy and excitement, the kind that doesn’t happen in most other theatre experiences. It’s mostly due to the fact that it was the first preview and a lot of loved ones were there, but it was also because this show, at Circle in the Square Theatre, is performed in the round, so you can see everyone in the small audience (it’s like 6 rows all around, so small). It’s super intimate to share the experience like that and see the faces of the people you are going on this adventure with. Also, the lights were up and the cast was already in the middle, on the ‘stage’ – which was all sand, made over like a beach, with a little lagoon flowing out on one end. I was sitting above that lagoon, where Quentin Earle Darrington, dressed like King Triton, sat next to me during the entire preshow hubbub. On ‘stage’, the rest of the cast cleaned up debris and made comments about how we have to take care of the earth. Lea Salonga was dressed in khakis as a member of a Greenpeace crew or something, and she took a cell phone call and said something like ‘no phones!’ and threw the phone away. It was pretty cute to do before the show starts, as all the annoying latecomers filter in. Finally the cast started to get into place to begin the real show, and from the first few moments I was riveted. This score, how did I not know the score before? This was a huge blind spot in my knowledge of musical theatre, and while that’s shameful, it did let me experience this show in a special way that doesn’t happen often. Everything was new and exciting. Right away, the gorgeous music struck me with its joyfulness. It is lively and exuberant and you can feel the rhythm in your heart and soul. It’s magic.
The show starts with a little girl in the Antilles who is scared of a storm. The villagers tell her a story about another little girl in a storm, one of their stories that gets passed down generations. The storytellers describe how villagers like them on an island like theirs once suffered a terrible storm, in which only a little peasant girl survived. And as they tell the story, that framing device gives way to the story they’re telling, our main story. On this island, the people zealously prayed to the four gods: Agwe, god of water (Quentin Earle Darrington, and why he looked like a hot black King Triton), Asaka, mother of the earth (blindingly good Alex Newell, who played the trans character Unique on ‘Glee’), Erzulie, goddess of love (Lea Salonga in full loving and warm mode), and Papa Ge, demon of death (Merle Dandridge in a role usually played by men but didn’t you hear, men are over and she is incredibly frightening and powerful and amazing). The storm rages – here the lights flashed and the sound of winds filled the room and I fully believed this storm. But apparently now they have actual rain and wind happening – like soaking everything and so you can feel the wind – so it’s even more powerful. Sad to have missed that but I’m glad I didn’t get wet. So this super wet and windy storm kills everyone else in the village, but the little girl is saved by the gods and found in a tree by two villagers, Mama Euralie (lovely Kenita R. Miller) and Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin, one of my faves), who adopt her (hence why their names are mom and dad). They know that if Agwe wanted to kill her too, she would be dead, so they know that the gods saved her for a reason. The new parents name her Ti Moune, which they tell her means someone special saved by the gods for a reason, pretty on the nose. Ti Moune asks what the reason is, and her mother says the best line, “If we knew why the gods did the things they do, we would be gods ourselves.” I loved this because it recognizes how cray gods are if they are doing any of this shit. The music had already started reverberating in my heart but when the little girl started growing up and playing and she ran into the lagoon and Haley Kilgore (the actress playing the teenage Ti Moune) ran out, I was ALL IN. This was such a little bit of perfect simple direction that created this magical effect, kind of like everything in the show.
We meet our teenage Ti Moune with her big song “Waiting For Life”, and you could feel everyone in that audience wishing Haley well. This was this kid’s Broadway debut, carrying a show, and this was her moment to prove herself. And she did. I’m pretty sure everyone in the audience, including RuPaul (yes RuPaul was there erma), cried tears of happiness for her when she finished the song triumphantly. This is the kind of community that I love in the theatre. Aside from the two people across the aisle from me who wouldn’t stop talking and doing commentary like they were watching a movie in North Philly, we were all in this together and it felt like that good will and energy buoyed the actors even more.
This sense of theatrical joyousness remains throughout, but the upbeat story gets darker as we remember why the gods are watching Ti Moune – as part of a bet to see which is stronger, love or death. To find out whether Erzulie (love) or Papa Ge (death) has the stronger power, Agwe (water) raises the tide so that a young pretty-much-white boy crashes his car so that Ti Moune finds him and nurses him back to health. The fast-driving car and the crash formed another bit of simple direction, using just light and the actors, that had a magical effect, so much so that the audience applauded. There are no expensive special effects used in these amazing moments, just brilliant coordination of the actors. I love it. Daniel is from the rich side of the island, part of the people that keep the black peasants down, so Ti Moune’s family and villagers just want to let him die, as that was clearly the gods’ wish, they argue. (It wasn’t, guys.) But Ti Moune falls in love with him because he so shiny, despite his being unconscious still. Papa Ge, terrifying with a costume literally made of knives, comes to her to take Daniel’s life, and Ti Moune begs the demon to spare him and to take her own life instead. Girl he’s not even AWAKE yet. A life is a life, so Papa Ge agrees to the exchange, leaving the two younguns and promising Ti Moune that she’ll be back later, as Ti Moune’s life now belongs to her. So like, it’s not a happy show really. Shit’s dark. But it’s so much fun to watch. And Merle is so badass I can’t get over it. Like I fully believed she had godlike powers the whole time and still do now. I’m so in awe and so terrified.
While Daniel recovers, Tonton Julian goes to the other side of the island to find Daniel’s family and tell them he’s okay, I mean I imagine, and to find out more about them. Julian comes back and tells his village what he learned about Daniel’s ancestors – in like a shadow puppet performance. It’s so cool; the ensemble stands being a white sheet and tells the story using their changing shadows. More amazing work, and so precise. The French aristocrat who colonized their island during Napoleon’s time had an affair with a black peasant girl, and they had a son named Beauxhomme (again so on the nose). Once grown, Beauxhomme helped the peasants win the war with the French colonizers, so his father cursed him and the island and all Beauxhomme’s descendants, now including the young Daniel, with their hearts yearning to return to France but never being able to, so they despise the peasants for reminding them of this or something racism is stupid. Regardless, Ti Moune won’t be stopped, and she leaves her family to go find Daniel in his hotel, where he lives, like Eloise. Ti Moune’s parents reluctantly let her go and that scene is so g-d moving it’s like Boykin my GOD what CAN’T you do.
On the long, hard journey, Ti Moune’s like, oh crap, how am I gonna eat and stuff while I walk for days or weeks or however long it takes to walk across an island? And Asaka, mother of the earth, appears with his banana and feather headdress and is like ‘girl I gotcha’. And then he blows the g-d roof off the theatre as he sings “Mama Will Provide”, as he like throws bananas and stuff at Ti Moune, I don’t know, I don’t remember the details I was just like WHO IS THIS MOTHER AND WHY IS SHE OTHERWORLDLY AMAZING. So it’s Alex Newell, and he is having a BALL out there with this song and it’s THE BEST. Hot damn he is talented. I can’t wait for the cast recording (please tell me there will be a cast recording) so I can set Alex’s “Mama” to play as my alarm clock so it gives me the strength and power to GREET THE GODDAMN DAY ERRR DAY WITH JOY AND GLEE GET IT BECAUSE HE WAS ON GLEE OH MY GOD HE IS AMAZING. I mean, what a Broadway debut for one thing, but I would for sure vote for him for a Tony for this performance. How cool would that be, to be nominated for this kind of sickmazing debut.
Anyway then the fun ends and Ti Moune finds Daniel in his room at the Plaza or whatever and they have lots of weird teenage sex and that couple across the aisle from me shouted things the entire time like GIRLL UH UHHH DON’T YOU DARE, girl noooo he’s not worth it, and I was like oh my god will you please be quiet, I’m trying to watch, which sounded pedo so I just let them keep talking. Lea Salonga sings her one big song, “Human Heart”, during all this, and Lea is the perfect embodiment of love and warmth and her voice is like a big fuzzy blanket. So so beautiful, you wish it wasn’t about teenagers doing what they’re doing but anyway. Of course, things are not that easy and that joy and love can’t last because CLASS and RACE and SHIT like that stands in the way. And also Daniel has a fiancée! Of course he does; everyone in his culture has arranged marriages based on status and money and they’re set up in order for families to acquire more status and money, didn’t you know that Ti Moune?? His fiancée is the gorgeous Alysha Deslorieux, the original Schuyler sister standby from “Hamilton”, who is kind of an evil mean girl but not really because she’s just trying to get through her life too guys, like everyone, and when she’s not wearing a Belle gown she’s in the ensemble showing everyone else how to wear jean shorts and you’re like damnnn that’s how you wear jean shorts when you have human thighs and it was the most inspiring part of this very inspirational show so much so that I actually bought jean shorts that weekend. Um anyway….Her existence just sucks for Ti Moune, who is heartbroken of course over the idiot Daniel who didn’t even know he was doing anything wrong because white guys, right. Daniel is a supremely unlikable character, as you can tell I’m sure, made somehow understandable and likable by Isaac Powell’s subtle, flawless performance. I mean you hate Daniel, you do, but you also can’t hate him for being born into this situation and being too privileged to realize what it means for others. PS THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO REAL LIFE, WHITE MEN; PRIVILEGE BLINDING YOU TO REALITY DOES NOT EXCUSE YOUR BULLSHIT.
Anyway then you’re like okay Ti Moune is heartbroken and OH YEAH, she promised her life to Papa Ge, I almost forgot, tell me that that demon doesn’t follow through on that? This theme of a girl’s sacrifice to let a boy be happy, and a black girl doing it for a white boy at that, doesn’t exactly hold up in our society, but it’s not meant to. No one involved in this production is presenting this idea literally as something to reflect outside the theatre, bozos. But it does portray the power of love and how much it can accomplish. Ti Moune’s transformation by the gods and her (its (spoiler)) power to build a path between the two classes of people and maybe to end the separation between them is a pretty good legacy to have. Ariel didn’t do any of that shit, she just turned into sea foam. Yeah that’s right, Disney lied, she didn’t go live in the castle with Eric and legs, she just turned into sea foam. Ti Moune, on the other hand, stood as a symbol of love and helped bridge the divide between peoples. And she didn’t have to wear a shell bra to accomplish that.
As her story ends, the framing device of the storytellers telling the story (that’s what they do that’s what they do) to the little girl returns, except now it’s in a village’s school and a BILLION little kids in navy school uniforms ran down all the aisles down to the stage as part of the classroom that just learned the story of Ti Moune. This was the one part of the entire show that threw me for a loop, in a not great way. I was too busy thinking ‘ahhh an army of children save yourselves save yourselves’ to really relish how this show came together. The kids were distracting and unnecessary, and having the one original little girl from the beginning learning how the folk tale ends would have accomplished the same goal, of showing how the stories are passed down so that new generations learn the tales and the lessons. Apparently, the creative team thought the same thing, because it turns out that all those kids have been axed now. Sorry poor little unemployed 7 year olds, go get a new job. No so it’s a smart move, but even with them and the confusion they caused I still was a mess at that ending because the storytellers showed the little girl little Ti Moune and Daniel dolls and I was just a basketcase when I noticed that because that’s just like how we all were with toys from our culture’s stories and then I cried even harder as the whole company sang about why they tell the story LOVE IS WHYYYY WE TELL THE STORY and so on ohmygod I need the recording now stat also I need to see this again and so do you the end goodbye.
INFORMATION
The show is one act, about 90 minutes (of pure freaking theatre magic) so pee beforehand. The Circle in the Square has the WORST little tiny lobby so just expect to be rammed in like sardines when you go to the box office at street level. And then get down the escalators to the basement/main area as fast as you can.
The producers have implemented a ‘best price guarantee’ for this show, which is groundbreaking. It means that they’re guaranteeing that you can get the cheapest tickets from the box office directly. So cool.
STAGEDOOR
The joy of the first performance remained at 110% after the show, as most of the audience waited outside the main doors for the entire cast, every single one, to come out to raucous cheers. It was so beautiful. They seemed to be having a blast too, making fun of each other for taking too long to sign and stuff like that. Everyone signed and most seemed happy to take selfies (not Lea, but she never seems happy to stage door, which is kind of understandable when every single time I’ve seen her there have been like a dozen people at stage door screaming at her for being their idol and how they came from the Philippines to see her and how they are owed a picture for that and she’s like ‘please don’t kill me’ so I get why she seems reluctant). It was so much fun, EXCEPT, except, the show has the MOST ANNOYING social media team. They were taking pictures and videos of us, the crowd waiting at stagedoor, and of course I was right up front so I tried my best to hide my face with a playbill but still that shit is just so annoying and rude come on guys if I wanted people to be taking my picture I’d be the one coming out of that door, know what I’m saying?
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Yo, Adrian: “Rocky” the Musical is Actually Ya Know Great
Yes this is in a Broadway theatre
Yo, Adrian, I dunno why but I had so much fun ya know like so much at “Rocky” on Broadway. It gets shaky reviews from highbrow critics (not like me tee-hee) and people who fancy themselves theatre aficionados (well that is me), but the audiences, and seemingly everyone on Twitter, love it like it’s the city of brotherly love. For shows I don’t like, I’m the first person to discount audience adoration (THOSE IGNORANT PLEBEIANS) but for shows I enjoy, like this one, come on look the audience loves it! That means it’s worth seeing!
But truly it is worth seeing. The music isn’t consistent (I found myself thinking, “Wait this is Flaherty & Aherns? The geniuses who wrote “Anastasia”???), yet even with several weak songs, the show proved that it deserved the musical treatment. It’s the only show now on Broadway that takes actual risks, many of them, and makes it pay off with a tremendously enjoyable experience. With Broadway moving towards complete takeover by jukebox musicals, revues, and over-the-top spectacles, risky and innovative musicals like this should be celebrated.
So about the actual show. Everyone knows the story, right? About the lovable down-on-his-luck boxer living in South Philadelphia (heyooo) who gets a chance at fighting in the biggest fight there is and loves a girl named Adrian? If you don’t you should go watch the movie. There’s a movie. Actually several.
My perception may have been colored because I had the best seat I’ve ever had for a show (thanks lottery! And the gods of fortune that day!). I won the cheap ticket lottery a few months ago (the show has since switched to a general rush policy with worse seats, which I think means it’s doing well) and got the seat right next to the conductor, front row center. Being that close to anything may help (but then again I had front row at “Bullets Over Broadway” and that’s not getting away with anything). The front rows are also part of the ridiculously fun Golden Circle, which we’ll get to later. Regardless, the entire audience at my performance seemed to love it, and I barely stopped smiling.
This is due mostly to Andy Karl, who plays Rocky Balboa and was deservedly nominated for a Tony Award. He is spectacular. He’s understated, super charming, funny and he works his ass off. He also drinks 3 raw eggs every performance, which is disgusting and awful but like that is commitment. Karl has a great singing voice but for this role his speaking voice was even more effective, though his (and everyone’s) accent veers more towards Brooklyn than Philly. It happens. But every time he says “Yo Adrian” – which is basically every time he opens his mouth – somehow it’s perfect and adorable and made me laugh, in the best way. Thankfully, his solo numbers were among the best songs of the show, as it should be. He has some rousing I-believe-in-me-oh-yes-you-just-watch songs, some nice ones about or with Adrian, and one really silly one to open with (“My Nose Ain’t Broken”) that establishes his character and his charm despite some cringeworthy lyrics. Also he has pet turtles. I don’t know if they are real, but he’s adorable with them. As all people are when they treat animals nicely.
Speaking of Adrian, she is a revelation. Margo Seibert’s acting is subtle and natural, and she hides this lovely voice that she expertly wields at the right moments. At several moments I had the urge to give her a hug, which was dangerous because I was close enough to actually do that. She has the most beautiful song in the show, “Raining”, which will likely become a staple performance piece of college girls trying to major in theatre. She also wears the famous red hat and white coat at the end, so nice job all around.
The lackluster songs come when other characters, like Apollo Creed, random scantily clad women, and Headmaster Charleston, were given songs that didn’t do anything to drive the plot forward. This show had enough happening; side characters didn’t need songs just to reinforce that this was a musical. They didn’t further develop the characters, but they bored the audience.
But yes so Headmaster Charleston (Dakin Matthews) is in this, playing Rocky’s coach. When I first saw him onstage I got real scared that he was going to yell at me for breaking into the school at midnight to ring a bell. Thankfully, he didn’t. He’s well cast, but he should not have a song, especially one that is lame and at the top of Act II. The beginning of Act II in any musical needs to be energetic and interesting, because a) you have to bring the audience back into the story and b) second acts are notoriously worse than first acts so why not try to fight that? This ill-planned song about how the coach used to fight or something was like RoadRunner falling off a cliff like beeeyoooahhhhhhhhhbummmmmm (#soundeffects). Filler and dead filler at best. That’s the director’s fault.
After that, the first half of the second act is pretty much training montages set to “Eye of the Tiger”, and damn if they aren’t incredibly fun. That’s how the act should have begun. I’m pretty sure Karl works out like 18 hours a day, but the workout he gets in this show would be enough for a normal person. He jogs back and forth across the stage as digital backgrounds show parts of Philly (that no sane person would run through without a vest), he does push-ups and pull-ups, he drinks the raw eggs (ew), he punches the sides of beef hanging in his friend’s meat locker (ahhhh), and yes he runs up the Art Museum steps (woooo!). I was exhausted just watching it. Hell I’m exhausted just writing about it.
So about the actual show. Everyone knows the story, right? About the lovable down-on-his-luck boxer living in South Philadelphia (heyooo) who gets a chance at fighting in the biggest fight there is and loves a girl named Adrian? If you don’t you should go watch the movie. There’s a movie. Actually several.
My perception may have been colored because I had the best seat I’ve ever had for a show (thanks lottery! And the gods of fortune that day!). I won the cheap ticket lottery a few months ago (the show has since switched to a general rush policy with worse seats, which I think means it’s doing well) and got the seat right next to the conductor, front row center. Being that close to anything may help (but then again I had front row at “Bullets Over Broadway” and that’s not getting away with anything). The front rows are also part of the ridiculously fun Golden Circle, which we’ll get to later. Regardless, the entire audience at my performance seemed to love it, and I barely stopped smiling.
This is due mostly to Andy Karl, who plays Rocky Balboa and was deservedly nominated for a Tony Award. He is spectacular. He’s understated, super charming, funny and he works his ass off. He also drinks 3 raw eggs every performance, which is disgusting and awful but like that is commitment. Karl has a great singing voice but for this role his speaking voice was even more effective, though his (and everyone’s) accent veers more towards Brooklyn than Philly. It happens. But every time he says “Yo Adrian” – which is basically every time he opens his mouth – somehow it’s perfect and adorable and made me laugh, in the best way. Thankfully, his solo numbers were among the best songs of the show, as it should be. He has some rousing I-believe-in-me-oh-yes-you-just-watch songs, some nice ones about or with Adrian, and one really silly one to open with (“My Nose Ain’t Broken”) that establishes his character and his charm despite some cringeworthy lyrics. Also he has pet turtles. I don’t know if they are real, but he’s adorable with them. As all people are when they treat animals nicely.
Speaking of Adrian, she is a revelation. Margo Seibert’s acting is subtle and natural, and she hides this lovely voice that she expertly wields at the right moments. At several moments I had the urge to give her a hug, which was dangerous because I was close enough to actually do that. She has the most beautiful song in the show, “Raining”, which will likely become a staple performance piece of college girls trying to major in theatre. She also wears the famous red hat and white coat at the end, so nice job all around.
The lackluster songs come when other characters, like Apollo Creed, random scantily clad women, and Headmaster Charleston, were given songs that didn’t do anything to drive the plot forward. This show had enough happening; side characters didn’t need songs just to reinforce that this was a musical. They didn’t further develop the characters, but they bored the audience.
But yes so Headmaster Charleston (Dakin Matthews) is in this, playing Rocky’s coach. When I first saw him onstage I got real scared that he was going to yell at me for breaking into the school at midnight to ring a bell. Thankfully, he didn’t. He’s well cast, but he should not have a song, especially one that is lame and at the top of Act II. The beginning of Act II in any musical needs to be energetic and interesting, because a) you have to bring the audience back into the story and b) second acts are notoriously worse than first acts so why not try to fight that? This ill-planned song about how the coach used to fight or something was like RoadRunner falling off a cliff like beeeyoooahhhhhhhhhbummmmmm (#soundeffects). Filler and dead filler at best. That’s the director’s fault.
After that, the first half of the second act is pretty much training montages set to “Eye of the Tiger”, and damn if they aren’t incredibly fun. That’s how the act should have begun. I’m pretty sure Karl works out like 18 hours a day, but the workout he gets in this show would be enough for a normal person. He jogs back and forth across the stage as digital backgrounds show parts of Philly (that no sane person would run through without a vest), he does push-ups and pull-ups, he drinks the raw eggs (ew), he punches the sides of beef hanging in his friend’s meat locker (ahhhh), and yes he runs up the Art Museum steps (woooo!). I was exhausted just watching it. Hell I’m exhausted just writing about it.
All of this leads to the crux of the show, and the #1 reason to see it: The Fight. Everyone who assumed that this epic battle between Rocky and Apollo Creed could not be performed well on a stage is proved wrong. So…everyone. This is when it pays to pay more for good seats up front, because the first 8 or so rows of the center orchestra, called the “Golden Circle”, are taken up on stage ON A BROADWAY STAGE OMG to act as the arena’s audience to the fight. The big boxing ring comes front and center on the stage, and the lucky audience members sit behind this on bleachers, looking out onto the rest of the audience (chumps). Then, the entire set – the bleachers holding these audience members and the ring – moves out into the orchestra, where people had just been sitting! So the people sitting in the side orchestra seats are now sitting along the sides of the ring. It’s all pretty awesome, and then the fighting begins and it’s ridiculous. I don’t know how they do it other than assuming that they are actually beating the shit out of each other for like 20 minutes. Punches fly and, as far as I could tell, land. Sweat and blood drip off their faces, and in the light you can see whatever other substance flies off boxers when they get hit. It’s insane, and intense. HOW IS THIS HAPPENING? Seriously? I met Andy Karl after the show and he looked pretty and not dead, so it’s pure stage magic happening up there. It’s one of the coolest sequences to occur on a Broadway stage, and how great that it relies solely on two actors and not on crazy technology. In this way, the show is kind of old-fashioned, yet the show as a whole – in my view the first to handle sports successfully – is modern, risky, and a must-see.
Bye Bye Lil Sebastian: The Perfect “Parks & Rec” Finale
Parks & Recreation, the best comedy series ever, ended this past week, and I’ve only just stopped crying long enough to gather my thoughts. We had seven wonderful (well, six wonderful; the first was decent as it found its footing (remember when Tom was serious and sullen?)) seasons of hilarity and love as we watched the greatest comedy ensemble of all time gel and grow together. Every single player was indispensable and at times the funniest member of the team. Parks gave us an endless supply of amazing quotes, stories, and ideas, as well as a cast of characters both larger than life and so much a part of our lives.
The finale somehow wrapped everything up nicely while still being incredibly funny and giving us extremely exciting glimpses into the characters’ futures, one by one. It achieved this by flashing forward from their present day (2017) to little scenes taking place 6 years later, 15 years later, and nearly 30 years later, making last season’s 3-year jump forward look like child’s play.
We start in the Parks Department office, with everyone gathered in 2017 to say goodbye before Leslie, Ben, Andy, and April move to D.C. Leslie is recapping the gang’s greatest hits, yet she’s still reviewing Parks projects from 2005, hence the crew’s unbridled boredom. Two things before we go to our first flashforward, Donna’s. One: The guy who comes in about the broken swing said it’s been broken for three months. Also, he was in a suit, and looked hella creepy, like he was the understudy for the main killer guy in “The Heat”. Why didn’t anyone ask him why he waited 3 months? Did anyone else think (until the end, when it was obvious she didn’t) that Leslie hired him to give the gang a final project? Of course, even if she didn’t, someone else could have. Two: The muffins in the P&R office are ENORMOUS. Pawnee 4 eva.
Donna
First, Of COURSE Donna wouldn’t get kicked out of En Vogue. She kicked THOSE bitches out. And of course she would have been in the top ten on Italy’s Got Talent. But serving on a Nascar pit crew? I don’t see her getting dirty.
Next, how awesome did Retta make Donna over the years? She went from a cheeky background worker to one of the biggest arbiters of taste on TV and in real life. I’m so glad that she ended up with Joe, who is pretty much the best guy ever except for Ben. Keegan Michael Key should have been on the show more. He’s adorable and I’m such a fan.
Seeing Donna happily married, kicking ass in real estate and making tons of money that she used to treat both her self and her husband’s self, felt so real and so right. Underneath all the shallow interests of material things and pop culture, it’s so true that Donna is the kind of generous and awesome person who would start an educational foundation to combat awful budget cuts in public schools. ‘Teach Yo’ Self’ is so freaking wonderful and I love that we got to see Donna and Joe do something so incredible together. Also, I’m kind of ambivalent about Seattle, but if they actually built a giant haystack around the Space Needle, to try and hide it? COOLEST PROJECT EVER.
Notes:
We start in the Parks Department office, with everyone gathered in 2017 to say goodbye before Leslie, Ben, Andy, and April move to D.C. Leslie is recapping the gang’s greatest hits, yet she’s still reviewing Parks projects from 2005, hence the crew’s unbridled boredom. Two things before we go to our first flashforward, Donna’s. One: The guy who comes in about the broken swing said it’s been broken for three months. Also, he was in a suit, and looked hella creepy, like he was the understudy for the main killer guy in “The Heat”. Why didn’t anyone ask him why he waited 3 months? Did anyone else think (until the end, when it was obvious she didn’t) that Leslie hired him to give the gang a final project? Of course, even if she didn’t, someone else could have. Two: The muffins in the P&R office are ENORMOUS. Pawnee 4 eva.
Donna
First, Of COURSE Donna wouldn’t get kicked out of En Vogue. She kicked THOSE bitches out. And of course she would have been in the top ten on Italy’s Got Talent. But serving on a Nascar pit crew? I don’t see her getting dirty.
Next, how awesome did Retta make Donna over the years? She went from a cheeky background worker to one of the biggest arbiters of taste on TV and in real life. I’m so glad that she ended up with Joe, who is pretty much the best guy ever except for Ben. Keegan Michael Key should have been on the show more. He’s adorable and I’m such a fan.
Seeing Donna happily married, kicking ass in real estate and making tons of money that she used to treat both her self and her husband’s self, felt so real and so right. Underneath all the shallow interests of material things and pop culture, it’s so true that Donna is the kind of generous and awesome person who would start an educational foundation to combat awful budget cuts in public schools. ‘Teach Yo’ Self’ is so freaking wonderful and I love that we got to see Donna and Joe do something so incredible together. Also, I’m kind of ambivalent about Seattle, but if they actually built a giant haystack around the Space Needle, to try and hide it? COOLEST PROJECT EVER.
Notes:
- Who do you think runs Middle Korea?
- April is pregnant in this very first flash forward.
- “The school cut the math club – and – math.” Prescient.
Craig
Craig singing in Tom’s Bistro two years later is so perfect. I love that he and Typhoon end up together only because Craig reluctantly said, ‘Okay fine ugh.’ Ahhahaha. And Horatio Sanz married them! Ron as Typhoon’s best man was ridiculous but it still made me cry. I’m so glad that after Ron’s barber died he was able to forge this unlikely yet perfect friendship with Typhoon based on their shared hatred of Europeans.
Craig was underused in this past season, not given opportunity to be nearly as hilarious as his first few episodes on the show, when he gave us such gems as “That was so spot on, I need to go lie down for 45 minutes. NO, AN HOUR. A GOOD HOUR”, and of course his rant on behalf on Donna about different kinds of lawn: “Yes, I have a disease, it’s called caring too much??? And it’s INCURABLE!!” At least we are getting more Billy Eichner in real life, where he is exactly the same as Craig but louder.
Did you catch that the champagne Typhoon and Craig were served on that ridiculously sick airplane when they were way way old was Jean-Ralphio label? Looks like he got out of TaJIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIkistan alright!
The Sapersteins
Speaking of, his faked death and insurance scam plot with his sister Mona Lisa (who’s the worrrrrrrrst) was absolutely PERFECT.
They are such awful people and it’s totally believable if not downright obvious that they would do such dumb things after we leave them.
Poor Jean-Ralphio loved Leslie the whole time, as we knew. I almost feel bad for him but not because he’s a terrible person. Whom I love. His final scene with Leslie may have been his best ever. “Will you do me one final solid…of pretending to be my wife for an insurance scam BUT THEN WE FALL IN LOVE FOR REAL?!” Hahaha I died. His face at that last part was too sweet, and then of course he ruined it by continuing: “Also can I have a pair of your gym socks it’s not for anything weird it’s just a fetish I have.” Cutting immediately to his grave after Leslie says “I hope you have a long and happy life” was super dark (and hilarious), so I’m glad that he was watching his ‘funeral’ from behind a tree with Mona Lisa and they were faking the death for, yes, an insurance scam, planning to use the money to build a casino in TaJIIIIIIIIIIIIkistan which would probably be a huge failure. But we know from Craig’s way way future that Jean-Ralphio ends up having a winery so SHA-BOOSH! for him. I hope he’s fluhusshhh with cahashhh.
April & Andy
I love how even when Andy is at his dumbest (“Shotgun!” “We’re taking the elevator.” “I GET TO PUSH THE BUTTONS! I called it!”), she always has his back (“HE CALLED IT.”). Their relationship is, like every relationship on this show, so lovely and feels so real. I am going to miss them. I really liked seeing them in D.C. still hanging out with Leslie and Ben. When we shoot to Halloween in the near future, did you notice that one of the trick-or-treaters that Andy opens the door to was dressed as Chris Pratt’s character from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’?? How adorable is that! I’m glad we got to see Janet Snakehole, Burt Macklin, and little Champion again, even though there wasn’t enough Champion. Poor little guy is old now! “I have to ask, how many legs did the dog have when you found him?” This is still one of my favorite quotes from the entire series because, even though Ben says it, it says so much about Andy. (I also love that Chris Pratt apparently suggested that Andy’s cause of death would be being locked in a hot car. True.)
The only non-perfect thing about the entire episode was the ‘discussion’ about having children between April and Andy. Even though we already saw that April was pregnant in the first flashforward (Donna’s), their decision to have kids felt rushed. Or really nonexistent. It was very April to have her be totally on board with the stretch marks, weird veins, and puking, but not for the child part. However, her mind seemed made up against having kids; she did not seem just “on the fence” as they said. They should have made her seem more undecided, rather than so against kids, so that her eventual pregnancies don’t seem so wrong for her. It felt really strange to hear her say pretty decidedly that she didn’t want them, and then see her having one.
When we do see April in labor, I forgot that Dr. Saperstein was already an established character so for a second I thought having Henry Winkler as the ob/gyn was a reference to Friends, when the guy who delivers Phoebe’s triplets thinks he’s the Fonz. Everything makes me think of Friends! (The Parks finale was 10x better. Than any finale.)
Notes:
- SANDRA DEE O’CONNOR. Unbelievable costume! Doing it next year.
- CONES OF DUNSHIRE 2! “Gameplay magazine called it ‘punishingly intricate’.”
Tom Haverford
Tom’s meeting with his investors was so good. I love that his investors are Ben, Ron, and Donna, and that during business hours he refers to Ben as Accounting Nerd. “I’m a Congressman, man, can you at least call me Ben?” “No can do Accounting Nerd.” And OF COURSE Ben recommended adding calzones to the menu. Perfect touch!
After the complete combustion of Entertainment 720 and the downward trajectory of the initially promising Rent-A-Swag, it felt kind of strange that Tom was all of a sudden very successful. So having him fail on a larger scale than ever, only to really find success by exploiting/writing about failure, was a genius and super appropriate move.
Tom watching his depressing documentary (that he made himself!) was pathetic but typical, and he looks really cute in glasses. I’m glad that he and Lucy seem happy together despite his failings (“who knew the country would run out of beef?” Um doesn’t everyone realize this?) And it was wonderful to have Tom parlay his business failures into a successful writing and speaking career talking about failing. I loved that his 7 types of successful people were all named and modeled after the main cast members. Tear. I’m happy that he finally (I assume) gets to meet the love of his life, Kendrick Lamar.
Notes:
- The best is later on when the gang reconvenes in Pawnee and Ron says, “Tom. I took the quiz in your book. I am a Ron.” And Ben says, “Last time I took it I was a Tom!” Cue Tom’s super concerned face: “What? No! Take it again! I gotta recalibrate the quiz.”
- “What do we definitely NOT want to be?” Hundreds of audience members: “A GARRY!”
- “I had to sell my pocket square collection! Where are people’s eyes gonna be drawn to?!”
- Jerry: “I’m here with my two best friends, Leslie Knope and Tom Haverford.” Cue Tom busting into hysterical laughter.
Garry Gergich (Jerry, always)
Poor Jerry has been the victim of so much abuse during the entire series, from having his name frequently changed on him and no one ever wanting him around to being the only person Leslie Knope was mean to. All the harm just bounced off of him, but we always felt bad for Jerry even though he never felt bad about any of it. Luckily, the end of the show gave Jerry his Susan B. Anthony, like the end of Ocean’s 13 giving the airport slot wins to the poor tortured hotel reviewer. Jerry, interim mayor of Pawnee, was elected to the office officially, and then continued to be reelected for pretty much the rest of his life.
He lived to be 100, surrounded by his beautiful children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and of course his beautiful wife Gayle (Christie Brinkley), who, in a hilarious move by the show, never aged. He died in his sleep, and his funeral allowed for several amazing things: a) a later-in-life reunion by the gang, b) the 21 stamp salute, c) his tombstone to be spelled wrong, and d) MOST IMPORTANTLY – a chance for us to see Secret Service agents guarding Old Lady Leslie and Old Man Ben!!!!
Notes:
- Brandi Maxx becomes councilwoman! Ahhhh!
- ONE OF THEM WAS PRESIDENT!!!!!! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG BEST. SHOW. EVER.
Ron Swanson
In 2022, Ron spontaneously decides to resign as chairman of Very Good Building & Development Co., telling his many brothers (they’re all brothers!) not to get emotional and to give him whatever severance is fair. On the advice of accountant Ben, Ron diversifies his fortune by selling some gold and becoming, naturally, the majority shareholder of Lagavulin. He comes to Leslie at his personal crossroads, when he’s unsure what to do with the rest of his life, and it’s a lovely moment that he comes to her for help. Leslie of course will know what to do, and she just makes some calls and gets him the job of Captain Park Ranger of the Pawnee National Park, the perfect decision. Ron as big boss park ranger of the park they saved together, just yes. I love that Leslie shot down all of Ron’s doubts quickly and when he finally accepted she said “Oh I already accepted for you. I still know how to forge your signature!” As Ron breathes in his new life and canoes out into the lake, they play what we know is Ron’s favorite song ‘Buddy’. That was just mean. So many tears even on the third viewing. Just perfect.
Leslie & Ben
When their segment opens, the ‘nice house’ they are in is the White House, correct? So Biden is president in 2023? I think that’s when it was. Second term? Amazing. Also I loved Dr. Jill’s hot pink dress. I think Mindy Kaling has worn it. The DNC person approaching Leslie about running for governor of Indiana was immediately topped by the appearance of Jen (Kathryn Hahn), the greatest and most realistic political character on modern TV. She is the best. I really wish she met Jean-Ralphio. Can you imagine how amazing they’d be together?
So, what a perfect problem to give our heroes, having to decide which one of them should run for governor when they were both qualified. I like that Ben pulled the car over when they were having an important conversation so he could devote his attention to it. I adore. Leslie naturally made a pros and cons list on their home white board, and the lists were identical for each of them. They meet the whole gang back in Pawnee and plan to run the question by everyone because OH MY ANN’S HERE! YOU GUYS! ANN’S HERE! Leslie’s unbridled joy as she pushes Ben away Elaine-style to get to Ann is my favorite. But how long has it been? Please tell me they haven’t been separated for almost a decade?!
I don’t even remember what brought everyone back to Pawnee for this reunion, but it was one of the best scenes, mostly because Ann and Chris (my absolute favorite) were back, and because we saw little duos break away to talk. Leslie and Chris went into an office so Leslie could give Chris a new list of amazing things to call Ann, since the best he could come up with on his own was comparing her to a ‘nutrient-rich chia seed’ and beautiful Ann is used to the most unique and jaw-dropping of compliments. The new ones include: “Ann, you rainbow-infused space unicorn.” “Ann, you beautiful sassy mannequin come to life.” “Ann, you opalescent tree shark.” In like a 10 second scene, Chris managed to say ‘literally’ and became afraid of a new health threat: “Aren’t you afraid that thing will give you cancer?” “Well now I am.” And I love that we saw Ben and Ann talking for like 2 seconds about Cones of Dunshire and Ann looked SO bored!
I was rooting for Leslie and Ben to decide that Leslie should run for governor, so when she said let’s flip a coin to decide I got nervous. But of course super perfect Ben thought about how much he freaking loved her because who doesn’t and realized how great she is and so he decided for them that she’d run. Cut to about 12 years later, when Leslie, speaking to a graduating class at Indiana University, refers to her two terms as their governor. TEAR. She won! Twice! And the whole gang is in the audience! Screw students’ 4th relatives! But OMG the Dean announced the creation of the Leslie Knope Library! Ahahhahahahahaha! Leslie mutters under her breath, “a fucking library?” How they managed to fit so many inside jokes in this hour is just astounding.
Notes:
- ANN’S DAUGHTER IS NAMED LESLIE. Did you catch that? That’s the sweetest thing ever.
- “Ben will be running my campaign because he’s a super genius and he’s got a tight compact little body like an Italian sports car.”
So this was the best finale maybe of all time, yes? It was a genius move to just hint at the presidency, and to leave it vague whether it was Leslie or Ben. I love that you can pick who you want, but obviously it was Leslie because come on! Best ever! Leslie killed us with this line: “That’s all I want, all of these people in the same place at the same time.” US TOO.
