Questions I hope HEX answers before opening nightby Randi / December 14, 2021There are no excellent boiled potatoes, but the Ferrero Rocher tower will have to do.
It’s Theatre Thursday! (Well it was supposed to be but I forgot to publish so let’s just go with it!) Today’s show is the phenomenally fun Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) playing at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus. As of publication it is one of the West End shows not closed due to Covid cases so go see it and have a laugh!
As a passionate devotee of Pride & Prejudice by way of the Colin Firth miniseries that gave way to the superior (will fight to defend) Keira/Macfadyen movie and all its subsequent instagram meme content, I am undoubtedly the target audience for this hilarious and goofy take on the classic, and yet I still was not prepared for how much fun I would have. I could spend 1000 words just saying “lol x was so funny….lol y was so funny…lol z was so funny” so to do that but in a less annoying way, I’ve made a list, I’m checking it twice*, gonna find out who’s naughty or nice,** Santa Claus he doesn’tttt exiiiiist.
*lolz like I ever edit this blog
**nice people wear masks, naughty people who don’t wear masks should be getting a lump of coal shoved up their bums next week heyooo.
The Best Parts of Pride & Prejudice* (*sort of) (besides everything)
– The pre-show bits
Starting even from the pre-show bits as people were still going to the bar and finding their seats, I was cracking up. The cast desperately tried to get a cleaning glove down from the chandelier in wildly entertaining hijinks, all performed while they kept telling the audience “no we HAVE NOT started yet!” It made me giddy with hysterics. I was all in from the start.
– The use of modern music
At opportune moments throughout the play, the characters grabbed microphones and sang relevant, fun, and/or scathing overviews of the current situations. My favorite was probably Elizabeth grabbing the mic and singing “You’re So Vain” to Darcy at the Bingley Ball, a perfect theatrical moment. Does it count as a jukebox musical? Don’t worry about it.
– Literally everything Hannah Jarrett-Scott did
As Charles Bingley, Caroline Bingley, Charlotte Lucas, and other characters, HJS had me sobbing with laughter. She managed to embody a believable version of Bingley without being actually like him, instead choosing a kind of doltish pomposity by way of merely a jacket. Her Sister Bingley was my favorite, that bitch. And playing poor Charlotte as in love with Lizzie was clever and meaningful without being overly sad. The audience was in stitches whenever Hannah appeared, in whichever character’s hat. She was the gem of the show for me.
– Isobel McArthur’s Mrs. Bennet
Usually portrayed to infuriating you (well, me), Mrs. Bennet here was understandable and more agreeable if only because she was so damn funny. The only reason I didn’t love Isobel’s Darcy as much is merely because it wasn’t Matthew Macfadyen melting the screen. It was still a riot. I didn’t realize until after that this actress was Isobel McArthur as in the writer of this adaptation and co-director. People shouldn’t be so talented it’s just not right.
– Mary’s glasses
Poor fucking Mary.
– The lack of Kitty
Not having anyone even briefly don a cap as Kitty made me continuously cackle. She lifts right out!
– Every time Lydia appeared onstage
Tori Burgess’s portrayal of Lydia as an out of control twit of a party girl was too on the nose. Of course she’s be the one getting drunk first. She was played exactly like so many girls I see out and about in the city on the weekends and it was glorious.
– The props
The Ferrero Rocher tower. The chandelier. The horse (below). Everything was so funny. Darn I said I wouldn’t just keep saying it over and over but really what else can I say; also it’s been a few weeks and I forgot to take notes, so.
– Mr. Bennet
Absolute genius to have him ‘portrayed’ like that, and also a scathing critique of a character that usually gets a pass simply because he isn’t annoying like his loudmouth wife. At least the mother has a purpose to her behaviour, trying to get FIVE DAUGHTERS MARRIED. Can you imagine.
– The de Bourgh family values
Every time Christina Gordon’s Lady Catherine de Bourgh appeared in her insane and elaborate getup, it was a riot, but the best was the stupid/clever joke about the song “Lady in Red” by her relative, you know, Chris de Burgh. I love when I get stupid jokes and this was no exception. Ridiculous.
– Jane on the gd horse.
As Jane traveled on horseback to the Netherfield at her mother’s urging (you know the part, when it rains and she has to stay there for a few days because rain was a death sentence back then), Christina Gordon kicking her heels in time as she sang “At Last” atop that giant fake horse was one of the funniest bits of physical comedy on stage in years. I am cracking up here just thinking about it.
Do yourself a favor and go see this if you haven’t yet. It’s at the Criterion, the one right in the center of Piccadilly Circus. Sit house right (stage left) in the orchestra and you’ll be closest to the bathrooms by the bar. It’s a bit of a cave, this theatre, with all levels underground, and you can sometimes hear the tube, but this show is so much fun you (I) will (did) forget that you’re (I’m) claustrophobic.
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Barber Shop Chronicles at the Roundhouse: Uneven but Enjoyable
It’s Theatre Thursday! Today’s show is Barber Shop Chronicles, at London’s Roundhouse theatre until August 24.
Last weekend, we trekked up to Camden to see the latest production of Barber Shop Chronicles (hard for me to remember that it is three words but one is not ‘the’), Inua Ellams 2017 play about the important role barbershops play in black male communities the world over. It makes sense, giving this location the theatrical treatment, considering that barbershops in certain neighborhoods can play the role of community center, home, church, public square, political stage, and more. The entertainment factor of the wide-ranging conversations is built-in; the challenge is putting these conversations together into a cohesive work, which Barber Shop struggles with. Making quick stops in London’s Peckham neighborhood and locations all over Africa, all on the same day, this cheery ensemble piece gives glimpses of what these community centers share despite their distance.
It sounds like a slam-dunk idea, and for most of the audience it was. The actors are entertaining and energetic, and the set design is wonderful – there’s a wire globe that (patchily) lights up with the action’s current location as it spins, and all the international hair salon ads hanging from the ceiling are also lit depending on which city we’re currently in. And, great for audience members with shorter attention spans, the fast pace from location to location keeps the material from getting bogged down. But, that rapid anecdotes-only pace also keeps it from developing into something more meaningful, a story you can sink into. And it would be one thing if the anecdotal set-up were trusted, but the creators tried that for the first half and then tried to dramatize the non-story for the second half, resulting in an inconsistent outcome.
That first half, where we dropped in on Peckham, Lagos, Accra, and more to briefly listen to what the men were discussing today, showcased brief anecdotes and easy jokes – exclamations, silly voices, the stuff that audiences eat up. Although they did cleverly establish that this was all happening on the same day, by having everyone discuss a big football match, the focus was clearly more on joking around. And the jokes felt cheap, if not offensive. I mean, clearly this show wasn’t written for me and I’m okay with that, but I’m not okay with jokes about every other group of people that felt more mean-spirited than not. One of the longer (still not long, but longer) bits in this first half has a guy tell the others about his friend with an autistic child who tends to make scenes in public, and how they were told to beat the autism out of her – and everyone, onstage and off, erupts into insane laughter. Is…is that funny? There are also lots of macho jokes about gay men and wearing down women who reject you, which felt very troubling. Again, I’m not the target demographic here, but I don’t think that matters when you’re joking about these topics. And if the excuse is that this was just showing how normal men talk in these places – you know, ‘locker-room’ talk – well then that’s definitely a problem.
Soon, the cheap jokes gave way to a sort of late-stage attempt to create dedicated characters and narrative, and by that point it felt unearned. We had a young Peckham man angry at his boss because he thinks he put his dad in jail for no reason, when obviously, you could guess from a mile away the father actually committed the crime and we were going to find out about with the boy, obviously, and then he was going to forgive the boss, obviously, and we were going to all witness the emotional ‘reconciliation’ that honestly would have been emotional if the rest of the show built towards any kind of emotion, but as is, it felt out of left field and the emotion was unwarranted. There’s another cross-continental emotional bridge they try to build between another Peckham youth and a man we met in one of the African shops, but again, with no such foundation established, no emotional groundwork laid with all the time they had, it’s a last-minute bridge to nowhere, an attempt at an emotional punch that doesn’t land.
Despite all my problems with the story, or lack thereof, the show still remains a decent time, an interesting look at this crucial hub of black communities. And even when the action onstage is negative, the show itself still feels imbued with an overall sense of optimism, which is valuable. That’s definitely helped by the pre-show dance party happening with the cast and any audience members wanting to join in the fun, establishing a jovial high that’s hard to bring down, for most of the audience.
INFORMATION
Barber Shop Chronicles plays at the Roundhouse Theatre in Camden until August 24.
The show began at 8:05pm and ended at 9:55pm. There is no interval.
The ushers made a big deal pre-show of telling each and every person (hence a suuuper slow entry to the theatre) that there was no readmission during the show, and if you got up from your seat you’d be resat further back, because it’s performed in the round and you’d be a spectacle. Despite this warning, people came in super late and walked up and down the aisles right to the stage level the entire time, so, I guess do what you want. Also be prepared for people doing whatever they want regarding phone use, as in, everyone is on their phones the entire time and you just have to accept it. We knew going in to just breathe and accept all the phones and not say anything to anyone nearby, but we were surprised at the constancy of full-volume conversations. So, if you go you have to let go of any qualms about theatre etiquette.
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” in the West End: It’s Just Pretty
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” is such a freaking easy show. Easy to write, easy to promote, easy to enjoy. Just as on Broadway, the jukebox musical’s West End incarnation is pleasant, pleasing, and so much fun, especially for white, middle-aged, middle-class ladies who think it’s cool to sing along because oh my goddd this was sooo my soooong. “Beautiful” shows what a jukebox musical should be – a story about the songs being performed, rather than using the songs to force an arbitrary and usually shitty story (cough “Mamma Mia” cough).
What’s not easy is singing as Carole King when you aren’t Carole King. The audience doesn’t want an impersonation that reminds them they can just listen to Tapestry later at home, but they want the actress to still sound like Carole. The actress thus needs to evoke her but not imitate, and has to bring something unique to the performance and elevate it above mere copying. Jessie Mueller did this on Broadway perfectly, and (I begrudgingly admit (just because Kelli O’Hara when is it your turn)) deserved her Tony.
What’s not easy is singing as Carole King when you aren’t Carole King. The audience doesn’t want an impersonation that reminds them they can just listen to Tapestry later at home, but they want the actress to still sound like Carole. The actress thus needs to evoke her but not imitate, and has to bring something unique to the performance and elevate it above mere copying. Jessie Mueller did this on Broadway perfectly, and (I begrudgingly admit (just because Kelli O’Hara when is it your turn)) deserved her Tony.
Now in the West End, Katie Brayben won the Olivier (only a few nights ago), but I don’t think she fully did the job. Her voice is great and she had a wonderful energy, but her singing had nothing to do with Carole King. There was no raspiness, no edge, no “I have vocal damage but can still hit all the notes”, as Seth Rudetsky described Mueller’s impeccable work. Brayben was adorable and lovable in all the book scenes, completely believable as young teenage Carole and young mom Carole and super-old-lady-hair-but-still-young Carole and then still-pretty-young-successful Carole. (I think this show only covers her life until like age 30.) But when she sang, in the parts that brought Mueller’s Carole fully to life and made you feel exactly what she was feeling, Brayben’s Carole was just Brayben, a pleasantly voiced young actress. Her joy came through and made the audience equally joyous, but it just had nothing to do with Carole King.
It’s difficult to mar such an easy, prepackaged-to-succeed show, so of course “Beautiful” is virtually unharmed by this. But save for one exception, the cast was uniformly a notch below what it should have been. I really don’t like taking personal shots, but the casting really was the unfortunate aspect of this show (and of so many shows I’ve seen here). (Are the best people just already in NYC? Do they need me to do casting here?) Like I said, Brayben’s acting was wonderful, her Brooklyn accent and youthful mannerisms without fault, but her singing as Carole was lacking. But that wasn’t even the most upsetting to me. In telling the tale of Carole’s early years of songwriting success and persona life hardship, “Beautiful” relies on two of Carole’s best friends to provide comic relief as well as plot forwarding: Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. On Broadway, Anika Larson and Jarrod Spector were freaking off the charts perfect in mining their lines for every possible bit of hilarity and in singing their songs like their lives were on the line. Superb. Here, not so much. Lorna Want (so, yes, people are still named Lorna) treated Cynthia seemingly with kid gloves, being too British and prim instead of ballsy and ball-busting and awesome, as Cynthia should be. One of my favorite parts of the show, of any show maybe, is our introduction to Cynthia: her audition for Donny’s studio to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again”. In this song, we learn that Cynthia is really smart, really daring, brave, audacious, and, yes, a total ball-buster. She also has to command attention, get it, and make you feel grateful for giving her your attention. It’s an important little part that seems like it’s merely funny. Anika Larson got that and it was amazing. Lorna, not so much. Her method of commanding attention and demonstrating that her personality couldn’t be contained to the room was to…lightly tap her toes along to the music. Maybe that’s the choreographer’s or the director’s fault, but still. She didn’t own her big moment, and the rest was downhill from there. That Lorna also won an Olivier is more of a commentary on this year’s weak offerings than of her performance being award-worthy. I hope Anika doesn’t think anything of it.
Equally necessary in “Beautiful” is a scene-stealing Barry Mann. Jarrod Spector, famous for being the longest-running Frankie Valley in “Jersey Boys” (so he has that super strong falsetto), was so funny, so lovable, and so freaking strong that it’s almost not fair that anyone would have to follow him in this role. Barry is obviously Jewish, not only in name but in personality, like stereotypically. He’s a hypochondriac to the extreme, and he’s nebbishy and often immature, but adorable. You have to laugh with him and love him. Unfortunately, I don’t really think they know how to do “fun-Jewish” here in Britain. At least not like how they know in NYC! Ian McIntosh is a strong singer, but his Barry was lacking in personality. Like, he had none. He didn’t grip you or reel you in. It was just like, oh he seems nice. Byeeeee. It’s a shame because, for being a real person, Barry Mann is such a freaking fun character. I bet this was also a casting/directing problem because do they even know how to do Jewish here? Considering that Barry and Cynthia are an integral duo in the show, when one of them is weak, it’s a problem for their dynamic. When both are weak, it’s a problem for the show.
More disappointment in the ensemble! The Righteous Brothers, who are supposed to give a show-stopping performance of Mann/Weil’s “You Lost That Loving Feeling”, were…not good. My companion to the show was most disappointed with this performance. It’s a lot to live up to the original, but come on, this is the West End. You’re supposed to be able to find the kind of talent we expect. Equally subpar were the ensemble voices composing The Drifters and The Shirelles. Listen, all of these people are of course super talented. It’s just that they were miscast in playing these roles. The lead Drifters singer, at least in the early numbers (they switched around leads I think), had to change some of the melody, bringing some low parts up and some high parts down, because they weren’t in his range. Um. Excuse me. Cast someone with the proper range maybe?? The lead Shirelle (again, at least for their first number, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”; they switched the parts around) had a really strangely deep, slow voice. It was off-putting when she spoke (as Donny’s secretary) and much nicer when she sang, but it still was not right for The Shirelles, one of the most popular and successful girl groups of all time. There was no energy in these performances, not in the way we needed. Argha bargha.
The exception that I noted above, the one performance of the lot that was actually more than I expected, was Alan Morrissey as Gerry Goffin. On Broadway, Gerry’s portrayer Jake Epstein was the only one of the four mains to not get a Tony nomination. It was unfortunate, because Epstein was very good, but in a packed category Spector clearly outshone him. Unfortunately, Olivier voters seemed to think that those Tony noms were meant to be followed and that Mann was just the more ‘award-worthy’ role, which is definitely not the case, and sadly they followed the same pattern here, nominating the three other mains but not Morrissey, whom I think was the most deserving. His Gerry hit me more emotionally than it did on Broadway, and I really felt for him in his later scenes. His performance was sometimes crushing, often moving, and overall splendid. What he brought to what many consider a thankless role (given how Gerry is the only character sort-of approaching ‘villain’ territory) was special. It’s a shame he didn’t get the recognition that his less deserving comrades did.
On this repeat viewing, I noticed a couple of things I never noticed on Broadway. For one, the strip poker scene is suuuupes awkward. Oh man. It is perfect at showing us that Carole was quite prudish and straight-laced, and that it really bothered her husband, but damn it’s awkward. It will be a fantastic scene in the movie version, I bet, but onstage it’s kind of weird? Like, Carole has old-lady hair throughout most of her twenties. We don’t need extra scenes to tell us that she wasn’t cool.
Also, did the Broadway audience ever laugh at The Drifters? When they first appear for “Some Kind of Wonderful”, the audience was laughing. Like, everyone. Hard. At first I thought it was just because they were doing cutesy old-fashioned boy band dance moves (rightly so), but that doesn’t seem like enough of an excuse, because the UK did have and does have boy bands that do similar non-hilarious moves (hello, 1D). Was my audience just super racist or something?!
Aside from the lack of Carole King in Carole King’s singing, the failure to make our two comedic characters anything resembling comedic, the lowered quality in our ensemble performances, and oh a lack of overall cohesion, “Beautiful” is still, remarkably, a lovely, pleasant, enjoyable show in the West End. I didn’t realize before how good the book is, especially for a jukebox musical. Despite all this production’s shortcomings, it’s still pretty much a success, which proves the strength of the show, the inability to really tarnish it no matter how hard people try, and of course the appeal and splendor of Carole King’s music. Her music is what it’s really about, and that’s why it’s still worth seeing, even though, well, all of the above.
AUDIENCE: (Oh I’ve decided that, as I judge the water service and bathrooms in my restaurant reviews, my entertainment reviews will from now on judge the audience. Yebop.) There was much less old-lady singing around me than on Broadway (thank the LORD), but more cell phones. PEOPLE. TURN THEM OFF. There was also a lotttttt of (the expected) whispering along the lines of “Oh! Husband/wife! Remember when we first heard this song when we were sharing a cherry phosphate at the soda fountain when I wore my pink poodle skirt and we held hands for the first time? This song and this show it’s all about us and I think it’s important for the entire audience to know that we have a memory of hearing this song before in our lives!” Shut up.
It’s difficult to mar such an easy, prepackaged-to-succeed show, so of course “Beautiful” is virtually unharmed by this. But save for one exception, the cast was uniformly a notch below what it should have been. I really don’t like taking personal shots, but the casting really was the unfortunate aspect of this show (and of so many shows I’ve seen here). (Are the best people just already in NYC? Do they need me to do casting here?) Like I said, Brayben’s acting was wonderful, her Brooklyn accent and youthful mannerisms without fault, but her singing as Carole was lacking. But that wasn’t even the most upsetting to me. In telling the tale of Carole’s early years of songwriting success and persona life hardship, “Beautiful” relies on two of Carole’s best friends to provide comic relief as well as plot forwarding: Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann. On Broadway, Anika Larson and Jarrod Spector were freaking off the charts perfect in mining their lines for every possible bit of hilarity and in singing their songs like their lives were on the line. Superb. Here, not so much. Lorna Want (so, yes, people are still named Lorna) treated Cynthia seemingly with kid gloves, being too British and prim instead of ballsy and ball-busting and awesome, as Cynthia should be. One of my favorite parts of the show, of any show maybe, is our introduction to Cynthia: her audition for Donny’s studio to the tune of “Happy Days Are Here Again”. In this song, we learn that Cynthia is really smart, really daring, brave, audacious, and, yes, a total ball-buster. She also has to command attention, get it, and make you feel grateful for giving her your attention. It’s an important little part that seems like it’s merely funny. Anika Larson got that and it was amazing. Lorna, not so much. Her method of commanding attention and demonstrating that her personality couldn’t be contained to the room was to…lightly tap her toes along to the music. Maybe that’s the choreographer’s or the director’s fault, but still. She didn’t own her big moment, and the rest was downhill from there. That Lorna also won an Olivier is more of a commentary on this year’s weak offerings than of her performance being award-worthy. I hope Anika doesn’t think anything of it.
Equally necessary in “Beautiful” is a scene-stealing Barry Mann. Jarrod Spector, famous for being the longest-running Frankie Valley in “Jersey Boys” (so he has that super strong falsetto), was so funny, so lovable, and so freaking strong that it’s almost not fair that anyone would have to follow him in this role. Barry is obviously Jewish, not only in name but in personality, like stereotypically. He’s a hypochondriac to the extreme, and he’s nebbishy and often immature, but adorable. You have to laugh with him and love him. Unfortunately, I don’t really think they know how to do “fun-Jewish” here in Britain. At least not like how they know in NYC! Ian McIntosh is a strong singer, but his Barry was lacking in personality. Like, he had none. He didn’t grip you or reel you in. It was just like, oh he seems nice. Byeeeee. It’s a shame because, for being a real person, Barry Mann is such a freaking fun character. I bet this was also a casting/directing problem because do they even know how to do Jewish here? Considering that Barry and Cynthia are an integral duo in the show, when one of them is weak, it’s a problem for their dynamic. When both are weak, it’s a problem for the show.
More disappointment in the ensemble! The Righteous Brothers, who are supposed to give a show-stopping performance of Mann/Weil’s “You Lost That Loving Feeling”, were…not good. My companion to the show was most disappointed with this performance. It’s a lot to live up to the original, but come on, this is the West End. You’re supposed to be able to find the kind of talent we expect. Equally subpar were the ensemble voices composing The Drifters and The Shirelles. Listen, all of these people are of course super talented. It’s just that they were miscast in playing these roles. The lead Drifters singer, at least in the early numbers (they switched around leads I think), had to change some of the melody, bringing some low parts up and some high parts down, because they weren’t in his range. Um. Excuse me. Cast someone with the proper range maybe?? The lead Shirelle (again, at least for their first number, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow”; they switched the parts around) had a really strangely deep, slow voice. It was off-putting when she spoke (as Donny’s secretary) and much nicer when she sang, but it still was not right for The Shirelles, one of the most popular and successful girl groups of all time. There was no energy in these performances, not in the way we needed. Argha bargha.
The exception that I noted above, the one performance of the lot that was actually more than I expected, was Alan Morrissey as Gerry Goffin. On Broadway, Gerry’s portrayer Jake Epstein was the only one of the four mains to not get a Tony nomination. It was unfortunate, because Epstein was very good, but in a packed category Spector clearly outshone him. Unfortunately, Olivier voters seemed to think that those Tony noms were meant to be followed and that Mann was just the more ‘award-worthy’ role, which is definitely not the case, and sadly they followed the same pattern here, nominating the three other mains but not Morrissey, whom I think was the most deserving. His Gerry hit me more emotionally than it did on Broadway, and I really felt for him in his later scenes. His performance was sometimes crushing, often moving, and overall splendid. What he brought to what many consider a thankless role (given how Gerry is the only character sort-of approaching ‘villain’ territory) was special. It’s a shame he didn’t get the recognition that his less deserving comrades did.
On this repeat viewing, I noticed a couple of things I never noticed on Broadway. For one, the strip poker scene is suuuupes awkward. Oh man. It is perfect at showing us that Carole was quite prudish and straight-laced, and that it really bothered her husband, but damn it’s awkward. It will be a fantastic scene in the movie version, I bet, but onstage it’s kind of weird? Like, Carole has old-lady hair throughout most of her twenties. We don’t need extra scenes to tell us that she wasn’t cool.
Also, did the Broadway audience ever laugh at The Drifters? When they first appear for “Some Kind of Wonderful”, the audience was laughing. Like, everyone. Hard. At first I thought it was just because they were doing cutesy old-fashioned boy band dance moves (rightly so), but that doesn’t seem like enough of an excuse, because the UK did have and does have boy bands that do similar non-hilarious moves (hello, 1D). Was my audience just super racist or something?!
Aside from the lack of Carole King in Carole King’s singing, the failure to make our two comedic characters anything resembling comedic, the lowered quality in our ensemble performances, and oh a lack of overall cohesion, “Beautiful” is still, remarkably, a lovely, pleasant, enjoyable show in the West End. I didn’t realize before how good the book is, especially for a jukebox musical. Despite all this production’s shortcomings, it’s still pretty much a success, which proves the strength of the show, the inability to really tarnish it no matter how hard people try, and of course the appeal and splendor of Carole King’s music. Her music is what it’s really about, and that’s why it’s still worth seeing, even though, well, all of the above.
AUDIENCE: (Oh I’ve decided that, as I judge the water service and bathrooms in my restaurant reviews, my entertainment reviews will from now on judge the audience. Yebop.) There was much less old-lady singing around me than on Broadway (thank the LORD), but more cell phones. PEOPLE. TURN THEM OFF. There was also a lotttttt of (the expected) whispering along the lines of “Oh! Husband/wife! Remember when we first heard this song when we were sharing a cherry phosphate at the soda fountain when I wore my pink poodle skirt and we held hands for the first time? This song and this show it’s all about us and I think it’s important for the entire audience to know that we have a memory of hearing this song before in our lives!” Shut up.
