#workshop: broadway plus

[lopez-richter-fangirl]

The Tin Can Bros have launched a kickstarter to celebrate their 10 year anniversary with SEVEN new projects, and they need our help!

Read on to find out how:

This is Brian Rosenthal, Corey Lubowich and Joey Richter

You may know them from Team Starkid, or you may know them from their own group the Tin Can Brothers (creators of projects such as Spies Are Forever and the Solve it Squad), formed in 2014. To celebrate 10 years, they’re raising a goal of $200k in order to stage seven projects

They’re currently a week into their campaign and have raised almost $50k with 675 backers. But they still have a way to go! And to help, we need to spread the word

TINLIGHTENMENT PROMO SCHEDULE:

Saturday 10th - The Great Debate

What is it?

A live comedy game show featuring Joey, Brian, Corey and special guests pitted against each other to win a debate. It gets silly!

How will I be able to see it?

Live shows in LA (and potentially other places!) throughout the year, digital tickets, and eventually some ‘episodes’ on youtube!

What can I share?

If you’ve been lucky enough to see past great debates on Patreon, talk about favourite topics and moments!

If you haven’t, share moments and clips from the first public great debate livestream happening on Thursday! (I think - if plans are changed then they’re doing a terrible job letting me help them)

Talk about guests! They talked about a Dropout crossover which I know people have been asking for with Starkid. I don’t know what that is but tell the people that do!

Tuesday 13th - Gross Prophets

What is it?

A brand new comedy musical featuring Joey, Brian and Lauren with music by Ali Gordon and Angela Parrish (shitty broadway! https://youtu.be/AZ-bOPiDqo8?si=F6guq3Pk_lOkCB5B)

How will I be able to see it?

Live shows (some workshop-y) in LA leading up to a run at the Adelaide Fringe, with digital tickets and eventual youtube release

What can I share?

We don’t know a whole lot about this project yet, but we do know it’s got a great cast and creative team - talk about those people!

That it’s going to Adelaide!! Australia is frequently in the top backing countries on kickstarters, and those people finally get a chance to see a TCB show live!

Theories on what the show might involve!

Saturday 17th - SIS at the Fringe

What is it?

An Edinburgh Fringe run of the fucked up Scooby Doo parody, with the original cast!

How will I be able to see it?

Live shows throughout the entire Edinburgh Fringe run in August, or a digital ticket!

What can I share?

This is an existing TCB property, so talk about what you love from the original! Share art, gifs, edits, anything!

That it’s going to Edinburgh! As above, UK fans have been desperate for this for ages, now’s our chance! Make sure people know about it!

Tuesday 20th - Spy Another Day LA and London

What is it?

A live concert screening (Hollywood Bowl meets Rocky Horror!) of Spies with most of the original cast for LA and TCB plus Lauren for London!

How will I be able to see it?

A live show in LA in Spring (likely April) with a digital ticket option, and a live show in London in early September following their SIS fringe run

What can I share?

Like with SIS, anything and everything you love about the original show! Angsty fics, art, memes, it’s all good

Joe Walker. To me personally he’s just A Guy, but some people are still shocked to be learning he’s doing a show again! Get those OG fans to support this!

That it’s going to London. I need Joey doing a passable to decent depending on how much he’s practiced English accent in London! And again, an opportunity for one of the highest backing cities to see them LIVE

Saturday 24th - TCBoB at 54 Below

What is it?

The songs from their musical This Could Be on Broadway in concert at 54 Below in New York City, with Joey, Brian, Lauren, Esther, Bryce and Clark, plus more performers to be announced!

How will I be able to see it?

Live in NYC in November, with a digital ticket option

What can I share?

The first workshop only got a digital ticket release but if you caught that, share favourite parts! And the soundtrack is available, so talk about how fucking good the songs are

The fact that it’s an opportunity for people to hear these songs live!

Tuesday 27th - Intelligent Life

What is it?

A reading of TCB’s queer sci-fi comedy TV pilot

How will I be able to see it?

Live in LA in early Summer, or by digital ticket

What can I share?

Like with Gross Prophets, this is a brand new (to us) project so we don’t know a lot! But we do know it’s gays in space! We love space gays

Remember, these are just ideas. Share anything you personally are excited for and think other people might be interested in! The aim is to make sure people are aware of these projects, what they entail and why they need to happen! Any other way you have of getting the word out about the projects and the campaign in general is valuable!!

Join our discord for more ways to help or to ask questions! https://discord.gg/4VNEBzpA

And if you’re hearing about all this for the first time, check out the campaign! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tincanbros/tinlightenment-world-tour

#i’ll probably share a lot of this info again when it comes to the promo days #cause this is a lot to read lmao #just wanted to get it all out there #tinlightenment #tin can bros #tin can brothers #tcb #starkid #team starkid

[alyona11]

Hi! So I am very new to Hadestown and I am watching the bootleg. I really love the dynamic between Hades and Persephone, but there is one thing that kind of rub me in not so good way, is Hey Little Song Bird implied that Hades and Eurydice slept together? I am seeing a lot of interpretation and it genuinely confused the hell out of me asdfghk

Hi! Well, tbf it's a tricky question, but the short answer is that Hadestown suggests that something might have happened behind closed doors. The rest is up to audience and actor's interpretation.

For example, Anaïs Mitchell often mentions in Working On a Song that in early workshops she often went with the idea that Hades cheats and pretty regularly even though these affairs mean nothing to him since the only person he loves is Persephone. It even had a cut song:

In her early drafts/productions of Hadestown you can often get the vibe that from her point of view it doesn't matter as much because they are eternal beings and love each other since the world began so does it even matter for them?

However, by NYTW this story line was cut apart from Persephone's line in How Long:

"I don't mind if you look at other girls, now and then"

"The girl means nothing to me"

"I know"

Plus the staging in NYTW Papers and Hades' protective peacock behavior with Eurydice around Orpheus in the scene also gives you a thought that they might have had an affair? Plus some bits like the fact that she has a line in Why We Build a Wall and her words "But don't you see? That's different with me!" - "Different than who? They thought they were different too!" Could also be interpreted as Hades suggesting some special conditions by granting her a role of a romantic interest. Whether the interest is real or not and did he use it or not is again up to your interpretation of NYTW Hades. He is more of a morally dubious guy (as all ht Hades are) so it's more up to you to either believe he would have cheated to put Persephone in her place or would just use showing off Eurydice as a brutal way to get Persephone's interest.

As for Broadway, I think it's still suggested and you can find profs in the lyrics but I think that they are what they are - suggestive and leave you to interprete it whichever way you feel comfortable. I think the biggest suggestion remains in Flowers with the line:

'I trembled when he laid me out

"You won’t feel a thing," he said, "when you go down"'

Which kinda can have a death meaning and sex meaning, tbf someone could have written a good article on how those topics are connected in Hadestown. So here, again chose one of the two or both.

But again, Broadway also changed the lyrics in How Long and the whole staging in Papers so it's less suggestive.

My personal opinion based on Broadway production is that it all depends on how the actor plays it and whether you believe this particular Hades is the type to sleep with Eurydice to get Persephone's attention and prove he is still attractive or he is more of a person who doesn't care about having the affair and his only goal is to get Persephone to react somehow by composing such a messed up hurtful plan. Personally, I prefer the second option maybe because I'm a pussy or maybe because I see Hades (whom I mostly base on Patrick Page ht Broadway previews) like a person who is desperate to get Persephone's attention in such a radical way like a cat pushing objects from your table to see your reaction. He wants to be stopped, he wants any reaction from Persephone. He even touches her by the shoulder before going into the office like "Look!! Look! I'm absolutely totally leaving! To cheat! See! Hey come on! I'll even take off my tie to show that I'm serious! Don't you wanna stop me???". Seems kinda way too extra to me. Like he could have just gotten to the office after parading a pretty girl in front of her and it would be understood that it's for an affair. But he takes so much time to make sure she understands that he can find himself someone when all he wants is for her to come back to him with open arms. I'm not sure he has the guts to actually damage his relationship to an irreversible degree (considering Broadway Hades is never stated as a cheater before the Eurydice sub-plot). Like it's one thing to take a mortal before her time and parade her in front of your wife (because what is a mortal life after all?) as a "replacement" and it's the other way to actually cheat on her and deal with the fact that she might never forgive him again if it is a deal-breaker for her considering they seem to be true to each other for all these years.

One interesting thing to note here as well is how Hades actors play the reaction to Persephone's line in How Long:

"He has the kind if love that you and I once had"

Because his instant reaction is "OH SHIT once had?? Does she think I don't love her still?? OH SHIT I BROUGHT THE GIRL THIS IS WHY SHE MIGHT THINK THAT", so he answers to that:

"The girl means nothing to me!"

Depending on the actor and she show the line sounds either scared, confused, angry, undignified etc. So it's once again up to you to interprete why he reacts this way: is he angry because she suggested he would actually cheated on her? Is he angry because she called him out on that affair? Is he confused and scared because she thinks he doesn't love her anymore because of his foolish decision to tease her in such a cruel way?

That's up to you.

P.S. I think one of the most interesting studies of the subject and Hades' character that I've read in a fic for that matter was the Songbird chapter of Winters Nigh and Summers O're. You can check it out, but I will warn you that it's probably one of the heaviest chapters of that fic in the emotional sense and it has explicit parts (don't worry, nothing bad happens to Eurydice. Well...apart from dying, I guess), so check out the warnings if you decide to read it.

#me being me #hadestown #hades #eurydice #persephone #hadestown analysis #i guess #i honestly wanted to reply shortly but then got interested in thinking about the subject and wrote a huge ass post #sorry anon hope you'll enjoy it tho #i do think Songbird chapter is like the most painful ht fic I've read ngl #traumatic but so so good

[a-bold-departure]

#Repost @/alextimbers

——

After receiving some strongly mixed reviews in Washington, we realized that, while some of the audience was loving @/beetlejuicebway others felt alienated by major elements of it. So we built out an 18-page (single spaced no less!) list of changes we wanted to make to the show before we opened on Broadway in three months time, filled with massive adjustments for every single department: all changes focused on simplifying storytelling, clarifying tone, plus-ing event moments like the end of act one, and, most importantly, building additional emotional on-ramps for the audience to the characters. And what took place over the next ten weeks was one of the most remarkable collaborations I’ve ever been a part of — watching the writers, performers, designers, choreographer, orchestrators, producers, etc. mobilize en masse to incorporate every one of those new ideas and attempt to make the show better on every front. We had a big workshop to try out new scenes, new songs, new puppets, new approaches to performances, new sfx, new choreography, new orchestrations, etc. It was an intense but extraordinarily gratifying period… #beetlejuice #broadway #musical #theater

#beetlejuice the musical #beetlejuice broadway #beetlejuice #beetlejuice musical #lydia deetz #betelgeuse #alex timbers #instagram

[jgroffdaily]

"It feels like a real gift to be bringing Merrily back to Broadway after 42 years, to be bringing it back in this moment, post-pandemic, where everything feels a little sweeter in the air," says Groff. "I cried so hard when we left the New York Theatre Workshop because I love doing Off-Broadway. I love the intimacy of it. And I was really feeling like, 'Oh God, it's never going to be the same.' Then we came into the Hudson Theatre. And I had the revelation that this show was written to be on Broadway. You hear the overture with a full band. And it's like, 'Oh, wow, this is what this show was crafted for.'"

#jonathan groff #merrily we roll along #merrily promo

[kylejsugarman]

who is kyle sugarman if u don’t mind me asking? i tried googling him and nothing rlly came up

oh Dude. u have no idea the can of worms u just opened. im going to try be normal and concise about this.

SO. there's a play called "spacebar: a broadway play by kyle sugarman" written by michael mitnick. i happened upon this play in the early spring of 2018 because in the workshops and official performance, kyle was played by an actor i really liked, so i read it and it legitimately changed my life. like unironically. to be brief: it made me realize that writing and theater could be an actual way to cope with the death of my best friend, and inspired me to write and put on several plays during my undergrad. im now mutuals with michael on multiple platforms and he's signed multiple copies of the play/posters from the play for me and he even calls me the "sugarman torchbearer".

anyway, summary of the play: kyle sugarman is a sixteen-year-old boy who has written an absurdly long, complicated play called "spacebar" and is trying to get it to broadway as a way to defy his neglectful, abusive dad who left his family and a way to cope with the death of his sister. he is the Most Endearing character in history and he has been an integral part of my heart and the stuff ive made for the last several years. its silly but spacebar changed my life and kyle feels real to me, in that my soul is partially supported by Him :')

here's a carrd i made with some more details, plus links to photos and a way to read the play!!

#lastsona #ask #syd squeaks #u did not ask For All This but im truly incapable of being normal about this like unironically #spacebar #kyle sugarman

[lightleckrereins]

any ideas/theories as to why Ayla and Holli’ don’t seem to be getting interchangeable straps for their boots like the Aragon tour alts? I kinda thought that’s what the North American productions were working towards in terms of standardization at this point (unless maybe they were only testing it out with the Aragon tour alts?)

We do have one theory. They were brought in earlier than expected. So neither their costumes or their custom boots were ready in time so they are wearing temporary ones.

The production has known for a while that they would need replacements for Adrianna and Joy in late July or early August. So there was plenty enough time to prepare for that. That includes the timeline for making costumes which had to consider the six or so weeks that takes to make them and that Boleyn tour costumes (plus the other projects from the workshop) would be in progress at the same time. Boots also take at least six weeks to make. It is also a busy time for both the costume studio and LaDuca so it can be that they prioritized getting broadway principals, boleyn tour and breakaway cast change done before broadway alts. Even if they were always planned to join at the time they did.

In the case of Holli' and Ayla as alternates their costumes would have been a little behind principals, but their base boots should have been finished with Bre's and Brennyn's or a few days later the latest. Holli' is wearing a pair of two straps monochrome heel boots that had only half of the rhinestones on by her first put in. Ayla seems to be wearing six LaDucas with no cutouts and straps that seem to have been added later. Holli's might be her final boots as they were still in progress by her first put in and do match her covers. But Ayla's are likely to be tamporary as they lack the cutouts and the strap seems to be a late, temporary adition.

All this makes us suspect that the six team decided to bring them in before planned shortly before cast change. Not rushed casting, they were likely cast for a while before. There are many reasons for that; it gives them time to learn their roles without the pressure of being the only covers knowing a role, allows them to settle with the show, gives the production extra coverage for cast change and vacation season, etc. So instead of joining on the second part of Broadway cast change (yes, it is likely more queens will leave relatively soon) in a few weeks, they weere brought in early meaning their costumes and boots were not ready yet and they have been temporarily fit with older, not in use costumes. And if these are not their final boots they could be stock from before six switched to interchangeable straps. Also to note Keri wore a pair with two straps for at least one public performance and Andrea is currently wearing a monochrome alt pair. Both are likely from this stock.

I do expect them to get boots with interchangeable straps in a few weeks around the time their costumes are completed. If they were indeed brought in early. Or for Holli' to keep the ones she currently has and Ayla to get new ones.

#ask #six broadway #six alternates #holli' conway #ayla ciccone burton

[openingnightposts]

#EdwardAKliszus #TheaterResourcesUnlimited

[rndyounghowze]

Digital Theatre Doesn’t Need Permission To Exist

By RnD

There is one statement that has us constantly banging our heads against the wall during the Digital Theatre conversation. It is made by well meaning people on social media whenever we start talking about the industry needing to start taking Digital Theatre seriously. The statement is something like “Digital Theatre won’t go anywhere because the regional theatre and Broadway aren’t investing in it.” We end up saying something very diplomatic in response online. What we really want to say is a very Twitter-worthy “who the f@*k cares!” It doesn’t matter if the mainstream institutions aren’t incorporating Digital Theatre into their seasons (which many are by the way). Digital Theatre doesn’t need anyone’s permission to exist.

If we’ve said it once we’ve said it a million times: Digital Theatre is a movement separate from In-Person theatre. While there are several brick and mortar institutions that do create wonderful Digital Theatre (many of which have won Young-Howze Theatre Awards) they are working in two different disciplines. While we hope that all brick and mortar institutions incorporate digital programming and livestreams into their seasons, their participation is an appreciated but not necessary part of the movement. We believe that there is a future for the movement that can include companies of artists that are dispersed across the world and can create great digital works without the need for permanent buildings.

Behind every movement there is counter movement and there have been several movements that have come and gone in theatre history. Our modern regional theaters would look nothing like the melodramas of the 1800’s, George M Cohan’s Broadway of the 1940’s, or even the Musical Theatre revolutions of the 80’s. It is preposterous to think any of them asked for permission from the movement that came before to make their art. They have remounted and absorbed shows and techniques from whatever they thought would be profitable. We hope that they will adopt digital theatre but we should not look to them for permission to create the art that stirs us. Their inability to affirm our work does not make it invalid.

There is a real danger to thinking that some kind of permission is required. We keep hearing stories of faculty who are getting criticism for getting funding diverted to digital projects over in-person. We have also heard of masters and PHD candidates who are being discouraged from doing anything digital for their thesis. If we wait for some kind of permission to do the work we will be set back for years. Imagine some of the best new artists in the field plus seasoned practitioners who have found a new niche having their best work delayed for years. Imagine having to slog through so much red tape and extra steps just to get permission to do the work that you might not do it in the first place!

If you have a digital project burning in your soul do NOT be discouraged because it takes forever for brick and mortar institutions to get interested. Do not be discouraged because department heads and artistic directors can’t get on board. Move ahead and have readings and workshops. Get your email lists out and reach out to your networks. Have friends and colleagues read your script. We have seen some of the best digital theatre done in closets! Even if you have to go slowly, KEEP GOING!

[lopez-richter-fangirl]

Look. At. These. Hot. People.

They’re putting on a brand new musical, Gross Prophets (idk about you but I’m sold on the name alone)

It’s a comedy about a cult with music by Ali Gordon (of Starkid and buffer festival opening number fame) and Angela Parrish (played for Shitty Broadway and also in the lobby at VHSCC live!) and a lot of audience interaction

I fucking LOVE the dynamic between Joey Lauren and Brian and I think it’ll be really fun to see in this!!

After workshopping it in LA they’ll be taking it to the Adelaide fringe next year so it’s a huge opportunity for Australian fans to see a show live!

Plus it’ll eventually be going on YouTube, so EVERYONE can see it for free

But it can only happen if they reach their Kickstarter goal! Back at tinlightenment.com and save Lauren from her existential dread!

#tinlightenment #tin can bros #joey richter #lauren lopez #brian rosenthal #ali gordon #gross prophets #share what you’re excited about for the show!

[deadlinecom]

[disneyat34]

Moana at 35

A review by Adam D. Jaspering

On August 6, 2015, Hamilton debuted on Broadway. The musical is a dramatized biography of American founding father, Alexander Hamilton. While the subject matter and presentation was unorthodox, the play was a massive success.

The show is still performing on Broadway, and has an additional performance in New York’s West End. There are also several touring companies performing the show across America, plus multiple international presentations. A filmed performance of the original Broadway cast debuted on Disney+ in 2020.

Hamilton won 11 Tony Awards. Its soundtrack was the 2nd highest selling album of 2015. This album also won a Grammy. Hamilton currently holds the record for the highest single-week gross of a Broadway production ($3.3 million for eight shows). It is inarguably one of the most successful productions in Broadway history. The reason for its success is the star, writer and composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda.

In the spring of 2015, while Hamilton was being workshopped, Disney contacted Miranda. They hired the up-and-coming songwriter to help compose and perform music for their upcoming animated musical, Moana.

When Moana was released in November, 2016, Hamilton was at its peak of cultural dominance. Miranda's involvement was an incredible act of perfect timing and good luck. Nothing would better represent the film than the involvement of Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Moana is a musical adventure steeped in Polynesian myth and folklore. It centers around the titular heroine, Moana, heir to the throne of her island nation. Once a society of nomadic explorers, her people have become settled and content. Their legends and heritage have been reduced to incredulous myths. But when famine and ruination plague Moana’s home, the ancient stories of angered gods and vengeful spirits become fact once again. To save her people, Moana must rediscover her people’s lost history, brave the vast ocean, and make things right.

The music of Miranda is prevalent through the film. Miranda contributed seven songs to the film, adding a thundering musical passion. They range from the whimsical “You’re Welcome” to the delicate “Know Who You Are” to the aspirational “How Far I’ll Go.” The latter of which earned Miranda an Oscar Nomination.

The downside is, Miranda’s experience on Broadway causes a few road bumps as he transitions to film. His theatrical songwriting technique has a very recognizable style. Every song has a specific pacing, building up to thundering crescendos, then stopping. As if there’s supposed to be a moment of pause upon completion for the audience to applaud.

There are also moments where the line between dialogue and vocalization is very thin. In a stage musical, characters are in a constant state of performance, often switching between speaking and singing. Songs can pause, resume, and reprise at any moment. A character can add a tonal inflection to spoken dialogue as a buildup to a musical performance. Likewise, arrhythmic speech mid-song punctuates the significance of the words.

Certain films can copy this style, adopting an operatic approach to its music. But Moana, despite being a musical, focuses its attention on spoken dialogue first. The gentle invocation method in "Song of the Ancestors" and "Know Who You Are" doesn't mesh with the rest of the film or soundtrack. Instead of being an interplay of music and speech, these two feel like musical numbers that have difficulty starting. Like a sputtering engine that needs to be primed.

These are small, subjective detractions. There's only one major fault of Miranda’s involvement: his fame. The film wasn't sold as a Lin-Manuel Miranda film, but he received a dominating amount of attention for his contributions. His involvement overshadows the film’s composer, Mark Mancina, and Tuvaluan musicians, Olivia and Opetaia Foa’i.

When attention is given elsewhere, it goes to Moana's voice actress, Auli'i Cravalho. The 15 year-old actress made her professional debut in Moana. She was lauded for her effortless talent and tremendous vocal ability. Still, Lin-Manuel Miranda was the primary focus through the press cycle. 

The issue is not whether Miranda deserves applause for his work. The issue is whether he organically deserved the full total of his acclaim. Did the soundtrack succeed because he was an excellent songwriter, or was it because he was already a popular celebrity? Either way, it became Miranda’s soundtrack, for better or worse.

As impressive as the music to Moana is, there’s loads more to the film that requires analysis. The most impressive of which, in terms of spectacle and abundance, are the water effects.

Disney has animated water before, even in CGI. The animation staff knew the process. Water has certain characteristics and behaves a certain way when still and when in motion. Animators knew these dynamics, and used imaging software to replicate them.

Until now, animators only had to animate water in moderate quantities. Moana's extensive use of water effects maxed out their hardware capabilities. So much so, Disney was forced to develop their own in-house simulation engine.

"Splash" was designed and developed exclusively to animate water. The effort was well worth it. The waves, wakes, ripples, crests, bubbles, splashes, tides and breakers of Moana look absolutely beautiful. The color looks perfect. The transparency looks perfect. Most importantly, the physics look perfect. After all, when you're animating water, you want it to look fluid.

Moana is a seafaring adventure. It would be very easy to make the film feel monotonous and repetitive. The landscape doesn't change. The ocean stretches for miles in every direction.

For large swaths of the movie, backgrounds simply don't exist. There’s ocean and sky in every direction. We have only our characters, their canoe, and the sea. It's the interplay between the foreground elements that distracts us from the void. The repetitive sameness exists throughout the film, but it never feels like it. It’s there, constantly. It's the greatest curse of animation: If something looks wrong, everyone can tell immediately. If something looks right, the audience won't notice at all.

This does undercut the epicness of our epic. Without any frame of reference, it’s hard to understand the scale of Moana. There are no landmarks to punctuate the journey. There’s no sense of a changing landscape or environment. There’s no change in weather or climate to demonstrate time spent traveling or distance traversed. The ocean from the beginning of the film looks like the ocean from the end of the film. Moana could be fifty miles or five-thousand miles from home.

The magic MacGuffin in this movie is ‘The Heart of Te Fiti.’ Te Fiti was a god of creation whose power is contained within a stone. A thousand years ago, this stone was stolen and swiftly lost by the trickster demigod, Maui. The stone itself has no apparent or demonstrative magical abilities. It simply provides stasis. A thousand years later, its absence has doomed Moana's world.

Moana is a trademarked Disney Princess. Her father is a chief, she’s heir to the throne, and she has monarchical power over the lands and people of Motunui. Her title may not officially be princess, and she may resent the association, but she is a Disney Princess. The movie recognizes this dissonance with a clever metatextual commentary. According to Maui, "if you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you are a princess."

With this offhand joke, the Disney Princess brand has officially reached postmodern status. Things get worst in the next Disney film, but we'll explore that in the following article.

What sets Moana apart from her fellow Disney Princess kin is her call to action. In the film’s prologue, we get the standard fare of Moana dreaming of a life beyond her home. She thirsts for adventure, mostly out of curiosity’s sake.

The typical “I Want” song is there. It alerts the audience that our heroine wants to break from her stasis. She is broadcasting her desires. Moana wants to see what’s beyond her island home. Unlike other heroines, the issue isn’t that she can’t, but Moana won’t. Moana electively decides to remain at home. She's kept behind by accountability.

Moana respects and acknowledges her royal obligations. Her people and her island need a leader. Her father is that leader today, she will be that leader tomorrow. She’s good at decision making and delegation. She’s respected for her capabilities and wisdom. She takes the job with pride.

Her desires to sail across the ocean never disappear entirely. This isn't the point. Her desires stay, she acknowledges them, but she views them as a burdensome fantasy leftover from childhood. Her exact words concerning them are, “What is wrong with me?” Moana suppresses these desires for the good of Motunui. She’s either happy enough on her island home, or she’s convinced herself she’s happy enough.

The first two steps of the classic Hero's Journey are the call to action, and a refusal to the call. The hero must be presented with an opportunity for adventure. That hero must also have a fear, a sense of inadequacy, or an excuse to initially forego the opportunity.

In Moana’s case, the order is reversed. With the exception of some strong foreshadowing, there has been no call to action for Moana to refuse. She’s not given any chance or incentive to leave the island beforehand. She personally rejects her desire to leave the island without given a reason. Once she’s given a reason, she begins pursuing the desire. This inversion doesn’t break the story, but it does make for an interesting baseline.

Compare Moana with The Little Mermaid (and not just because both films coincidentally center around the ocean). The two films' heroines have strong parallels in their journeys.

In The Little Mermaid, Ariel has an obsession with living life on land among the humans. This obsession earns her the scorn of her father. The two descend into an unresolvable, argumentative state. Ariel disobeys her father’s wishes and lives on land anyways.

In Moana, Moana has an obsession with sailing beyond her island’s reef. This obsession earns her the stern disapproval of her father. But with a guiding hand, he explains to Moana why it’s necessary she stays. There’s no force or conflict. Moana arrives at her own conclusion, agreeing with her father.

It’s not a permanent state, however. Otherwise Moana would be a short, boring film. Moana’s call to action is a literal do-or-die situation. Without her heart, Te Fiti’s dark magic is causing a blight on Motunui. With no apparent solution, Moana does exactly what she's been raised to do: lead her people. To to lead them, she must save their lives. To do that, ironically, she has to leave the island.

Through the guidance of her grandmother, Moana learns her people's history. The people of Motunui were once voyagers, capable of sailing large populations great distances. Moana’s suppressed childhood obsession with the ocean was a long-forgotten element of her cultural heritage. Maybe a coincidence. Maybe a latent spiritual connection to her ancestors. Whichever, wayfinding is the only thing that will save her people.

This is where the movie begins tripping over its themes. In The Little Mermaid, the dynamic between father and daughter was a lose/lose situation. Both Ariel and her father had strong and weak points in their respective arguments. Neither was wholly right or wrong. Had they not been so stubborn and proud, they’d have realized this.

But in Moana, we are shown with absolute certainty that Moana is correct. We know for a fact the island is dying. We know for a fact that continued residence on Motunui is impossible. We know for a fact the island possesses the resources to relocate the population elsewhere. Since Moana is on such simpatico terms with her father, sharing this viewpoint should be easy.

Moana's father doesn't see things this way. He goes through a radical reset of his already limited character. He suddenly forgets Moana’s capability and dedication to the island. He sees her only as a naïve child. Her point of view no longer matters to him. Disney shoehorns him into the role of stern, forbidding authority figure when he's never had reason or purpose to take such a role.

With no other recourse, Moana disobeys her father’s orders, readies a boat and sets out to explore the ocean solo. She has no plan, other than to return the legendary Heart of Te Fiti.

Both Ariel and Moana wind up on the same path. Both defy their fathers. Both leave home. Both venture into the unknown following their heart’s calling. Moana has built up its heroine as a rational, level-headed girl who shares her father’s values. The movie then thrusts her into a position where she has to impulsively dissent from her father’s values. What was the point if its all undone?

We’re treated to a flashback scene where Moana’s father, in his impetuous youth, tried sailing past the island’s reef with a friend. A great wave swells, capsizing their boat, drowning this unfortunate friend. This has traumatized Moana’s father, making him greatly distrustful of the ocean. He’s never told Moana this, and he doesn’t realize it’s been influencing his decisions. This justifies his actions in the text, but doesn’t contribute to the betterment of the film.

He doesn't decry Moana's ocean-going spirit as too risky or too dangerous. He doesn't view Moana's desperate solution as giving up on the island. He just hates sailing and distrusts his daughter. He is a man shown to be so open with his feelings that he sings and dances about how much he loves coconuts. Why can he not tell his daughter about his one weakness?

It would be the ultimate torch-passing moment. He’s already priming Moana to take over as leader. Why not trust her with the one task he’s fully unequipped to handle himself? The task that just so happens to be the most important task of either’s reign.

If Moana’s father were portrayed sympathetically and not obstinate, it would put Moana more on par with Mulan than Ariel. Mulan left home to join the army because her father couldn’t. Moana would leave home to sail the ocean because her father couldn’t. Both abandoned a comfortable life for the betterment of others. Both adopted a new life, learning new skills, finding an identity. Moana’s journey would be one of loving sacrifice instead of defiance.

By the film’s end, the spiderweb of morals creates confusion. Moana leads the island's inhabitants to a new life, elsewhere. An ancestral tradition, but one they've personally never known. Is the film championing adherence to tradition, or embracing new ideas? Moana has to reject her father’s island-borne values to save her people. But she does that by embracing even older ideals. Are these ancient ideals forgotten enough to be considered new ideals again? Or are the new ideals tried by Moana’s father considered a failure, leaving Moana to reject them for a return to conventional practices? 

If the final moral was that modernity and tradition requires a delicate balance, that would be wonderful. That principles and values of one generation don’t necessarily benefit all generations. Being satisfied where you are is a fine moral if all your needs are being met. In times of trouble and peril, the greatest tools for survival, happiness, and fulfillment are flexibility and adaptability.

But Moana doesn’t want to offer such a complex moral. It wants something short, pithy and marketable to slap on tee shirts and posters. It offers the platitudes "know your purpose" and "follow your destiny."

It's hard for a film to champion fatalism, especially a fantasy film. Moana has a very specific circumstances. Moana has a sentient ocean wave and luminescent manta ray spirits to guide her. It’s easy to know one’s destiny when supernatural forces spell it out. That's great for her, but the movie doesn’t quite cement what anyone else should do. "Listen to your heart" sounds like a nice truism, but it makes a lot of assumptions.

Moana is not alone on her journey. Joining her is the demigod Maui, based on the Polynesian mythological figure. Maui is the one who stole the Heart of Te Fiti, a thousand years ago. During the heist, Maui was separated from his magic fishhook. With no magic except immortality, he’s spent the millennium stranded on a desert island. With nothing to do but wait, Maui has become conceited, retelling his own stories, believing the myth he created for himself.

This makes Maui a comic foil to Moana. Moana is royalty, she’s hardworking, and she’s on a quest to save the world. She sees Maui as impudent, lazy, and the source of all her troubles. Maui, despite being separated from his godlike powers, still considers himself almighty and universally revered. He sees Moana as just another insignificant mortal.

Both see themselves as worthy of power and respect, especially compared to the other. Neither has power nor respect. Both expect the other to be humble. Neither are. They act like siblings sharing the backseat on a car trip.

Also joining Moana is a rooster named Hei-Hei. Unlike most Disney animal sidekicks that are cute, clever, loveable, and friendly, Hei-Hei is not. Hei-Hei is completely braindead. He has no higher functioning abilities and no personified traits. He barely even functions as a chicken. He eats rocks, cannot focus his eyes, and seems blithely unaware of his surroundings at all times. He contributes nothing to Moana’s journey other than his presence.

Hei-Hei is the result of a bait and switch. At home on Motunui, Moana has a pet piglet named Pua. It’s implied Pua will be Moana’s animal sidekick via his presence in the film's first act. He’s seen throughout the introductory scenes, being lovable, quirky, and endearing. But Moana sets off on her journey without him, without even a goodbye. Pua is just abandoned, not seen again until the film’s concluding moments. Instead, it’s Hei-Hei, absentmindedly stowing away on Moana’s raft, who joins her.

There’s actually a funny reason for this switch. Hei-Hei’s original personality was more inline with real-world roosters: assertive, aggressive, and ready to peck. He was intended to be a judgmental observer to Moana’s actions; a stand-in for her disapproving father. But directors Ron Clement and John Musker knew Hei-Hei’s presence was upsetting the film. Something about him had to change.

The crew gave themselves 48 hours to come up with a solution. Doing so, they revisited one of the most visually-engaging and energetic scenes in the movie: The Kakamora invasion.

In the film, the the Kakamora are a floating battalion of monsters shaped like coconuts. Despite their comical appearance, they are a force to be reckoned with. They have great numbers, advanced sailing techniques, masterfully crafted ships, and powerful weaponry. They know Moana has the Heart of Te Fiti, and are taking it by force. The entire scene was deliberately influenced by the 2015 action film Mad Max: Fury Road.

Creating a slew of new storyboards, the staff concocted different ways Hei-hei could be incorporated into this scene. The general consensus was to play up a comical counterpart to the action onscreen. Instead of contributing, Hei-Hei would be doing wildly irrational things. He would reinforce Maui and Moana’s competence by further complicating the situation.

This eventually led to Hei-Hei’s perception and intellect being staggeringly reduced. According to Clements, Hei-Hei “might be the stupidest character in the history of Disney Animation.”

With all these complications, we get a real understanding of who Moana is as a character. She’s even-keeled and patient when ruling her tropical island paradise. But how is she when she’s removed from comfort and familiarity?

Moana had a big fight with her father. Her grandmother just passed away. Her home is being threatened. She’s embarking on a journey into a strange, dangerous world. She’s inexperienced and unprepared. She has only the most basic knowledge of sailing, and no knowledge of navigation. Neither matter much, because she doesn’t know where she’s going anyway. Her companions are an unapologetic jerk and an unhelpful, burdensome rooster. Everything is stacked against Moana. And this drives her up the wall.

Moana is a teenage archetype not depicted in a Disney heroine before, that of a squabbling, irritable, moody teenage girl. She’s frustrated when her father rejects her ideas. She’s testy when she learns sailing is more difficult than she assumed. She’s peeved when Maui is confrontational and arrogant. She’s bitter when obstacles block her path. Moana is pushed to the threshold of her patience, and is kept there throughout most of the movie.

It’s actually refreshing seeing a heroine in such a position. So often, Disney's female leads have to make a grand statement. They're not allowed to just be women. They must be ideal, unflawed woman. And this transparent display of feminism comes off as shallow or distracting. They’re so idealized, it ruins the immersion.

Moana isn’t perfect, nor does she have to be. She doesn’t have to be supremely capable or demonstrably strong in all areas. Unlike other princesses, Moana isn't saddled with being smart, kind, benevolent, beautiful, graceful, optimistic, tenacious, and collected. Moana is allowed to be imperfect, unprepared, and flawed.

This isn’t to say Moana is poorly written, oblivious, or static. When there’s reasons to be happy, she’s happy. When there are reasons to be sad, she grieves. But the more her journey goes on, the more she defaults to anger and frustration as her neutral emotion.

Her temperament is justified based on the various issues surrounding her. Maui knows this, and exploits it for his own amusement. When Moana has to put on a silly costume and act as live bait, it’s instantly recognized as funny. We laugh at the poor girl and her ignoble situation.

It's also used to drive the drama of the film. With so many problems piled atop each other, there are dramatic moments where Moana questions her worth, her purpose, and her fate. Can she be a strong leader, or is she a celebratory figurehead? Can she honor the legacy of her ancestors, or is she just an immature child? Can she revive the lost history of her people, or are the secrets lost to time? She tries her best, but her best isn't providing the answers she wants.

Many Disney features display humorous moments alongside the dramatic moments. Each carries the other, making the story multifaceted and memorable. Moana has a strange sensibility where it can’t quite get the balance right. There’s not enough space between the two.

For example, after a long period of ribbing and sniping, Maui decides to finally open up to Moana. For the first time, he’s humble, he’s apologetic, and he’s grateful for Moana’s help. It's a pivotal scene for his character arc. He delivers this impassioned speech after a transformation accident. He's unknowingly taken the form of a shark from the waist up.

After the Kakamora invasion, Maui and Moana seemingly come to an accord. They’re partners in this oceanbound endeavor, and they need to accept that. Maui then immediately chucks Moana off the boat mid-handshake, only for Moana to petulantly crawl back on board. “Worth a shot” he mutters, as though he didn’t just betray his new ally.

Before entering a mystical, deep-sea cavern to retrieve his lost fishhook, Maui sets the scene. They are about to enter a world of frightening peril and intense danger. He then cannonballs into the lair, commenting on the ridiculously comical height mid-freefall.

The spirit of the ocean frequently intervenes on Moana’s journey, creating a arm-like appendage out of water. This creates a running gag whenever someone falls overboard, they’re unceremoniously tossed back onto the boat. Maui is accompanied by a living tattoo avatar on his chest that comments on the events of the film in a sardonic pantomime. The Kakamora, while dangerous, are also supremely silly in appearance. Moana's Grandmother is an emotional core to the film, but delivers her lines with a smirk. There's a running gag where Maui wants to eat Hei-Hei. There are two pee jokes in the film. Maui makes a horrifically groan-worthy joke about using birds to communicate.

Moana is concerned with drama only when it affects Moana as a character. These scenes are treated with respect. Anywhere else in the picture, the idea of genuine emotion and austerity is met with shirking shame. The film feels it has to undo any seriousness with some sort of quip or snark, as though feeling things is stupid.

This happens so much, it's hard to properly classify the movie. Is this a road trip movie that’s dressed as a fantasy adventure? Or is this a nautical epic that, in lieu of traditional heroes, stars an opinionated teenager, a puckish demigod, and a mentally deficient chicken?

This isn’t the fault of Moana exclusively. Through the 2010s, Disney blurred the line between the serious and the silly. Movies don't want to take themselves seriously beyond their climax. Heroes no longer just have comic relief sidekicks, they themselves must also be comical. Disney's slate in this era features comedy on top of comedy. Which is fine if you're making a comedy, but Moana is not supposed to be a comedy.

Comedy is supposed to carry a film. When its done right, its a seamless addition. When done wrong, it weighs down the entire production, burdening the story its supposed to benefit. Moana is trying so hard to be a comedy, especially in places where it doesn’t need to be. The movie would be so much better if it was allowed to simply be itself instead of hiding under a humoresque security blanket.

Tamatoa is the greatest example of this. Tamatoa is a giant crab with a pension for hoarding things. A thousand years ago, he found Maui’s magic fishhook, and has claimed it as part of his vast treasure. He and Maui have had a falling out, leaving them bitter ever since.

Tamatoa is voiced by comedian Jemaine Clement, doing a variant of his oft-used David Bowie impression. It culminates in a comical villain song, done in a glam rock style. It’s funny, albeit pointless.

Tamatoa’s scene is an episodic outlier in the film. He’s alluded to several times prior to his introduction, but not influentially. After his scene concludes, he’s never mentioned again (except for a post-credits gag that’s just a fourth-wall joke). He lives exclusively in his one scene.

Tonally, he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the film, acting more like a 70s nightclub owner than an otherworldly sea monster. Musically, his song is in stark contrast to the rest of the soundtrack. Logically, he doesn’t make sense in with Moana's human world or in Maui's spiritual world. Storywise, he has no real bearing on the plot other than being a temporary roadblock. He interrupts the heroes’ progress, they overcome him, and they return to their previously established path. His scene could slip right out of the movie with no real effect.

Even if Tamatoa wasn’t inconsistent with the rest of Moana, even if he weren't played so comically camp, I’m not sure his presence would be fully welcome. Break down his entire character and see if anything seems familiar. Tamatoa is a feared monster. He lives in a cavern. He’s extremely territorial. He hoards large amounts of gold, jewels, and treasure. He towers over our heroes with his gargantuan size and claws. He is defeated when the heroes exploit his penchant for flattery. Tamatoa is uncannily similar to Smaug from The Hobbit.

When Moana wants to be a serious, poignant movie it absolutely can. The final showdown between the heroes and the angry lava god, Te Ka, is testament to great animation, great pacing, and great filmmaking. As is the final resolution of Moana returning the Heart of Te Fiti. Although, having Maui experience a crisis of confidence, abandoning Moana partway through the climax, only to change his mind five minutes later to return and save the day feels like a cheap way to raise the stakes.

Moana feels like a film that should be more than what it actually is. We have an epic story, epic characters, and an epic mythology. We have a unique seafaring setting, gorgeous animation, a top-tier cast, and experienced filmmakers.

Instead, Moana plays things very safe. It retreads old ground in storytelling and character arcs without making enough forays into new realms. It begs comparison to other Disney films and characters. What should have easily been a top-tier Disney film is self-conscious, using humor to mask its insecurities.

Moana has four or five key scenes of drama it wants us to focus upon. We can recognize these scenes because they feature the dramatic, non-comedic musical numbers. It’s not hard to see that the music was a significant, if not the primary focus through the filmmaking process. Moana was never supposed to be a Lin-Manuel Miranda film. But it became one.

Moana uses the emotional power of music and lyrics to broadcast the film’s true power and passion; an element absent from other moments. The remainder is filler, meant to occupy the audience between major scenes. Much like Polynesia, we have a series of lush islands in a big empty sea.

Beauty and the Beast Fantasia The Lion King Frozen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cinderella Alice in Wonderland Sleeping Beauty Mulan Zootopia Tangled The Little Mermaid Aladdin Lilo & Stitch The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Pinocchio The Jungle Book Robin Hood The Sword in the Stone Bambi The Emperor’s New Groove The Hunchback of Notre Dame Moana The Princess and the Frog The Great Mouse Detective Big Hero 6 101 Dalmatians Bolt The Three Caballeros Lady and the Tramp The Rescuers Down Under Atlantis: The Lost Empire Wreck-It Ralph The Fox and the Hound Fantasia 2000 Peter Pan Dumbo Hercules Meet the Robinsons Brother Bear The Black Cauldron Melody Time Oliver & Company Treasure Planet Tarzan The Rescuers Pocahontas Saludos Amigos The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad Winnie the Pooh The Aristocats Dinosaur Fun and Fancy Free Make Mine Music Home on the Range Chicken Little

#Moana #Disney #walt disney #Walt Disney Animation Studios #disney studios #Disney Canon #movie review #Film Criticism #film analysis

[kylejsugarman]

hey. what is spacebar

GBGHH going to duplicate my answer to this question because I have to get back to studying but fucking prepare urself dude

SO. there's a play called "spacebar: a broadway play by kyle sugarman" written by michael mitnick. i happened upon this play in the early spring of 2018 because in the workshops and official performance, kyle was played by an actor i really liked, so i read it and it legitimately changed my life. like unironically. to be brief: it made me realize that writing and theater could be an actual way to cope with the death of my best friend, and inspired me to write and put on several plays during my undergrad. im now mutuals with michael on multiple platforms and he's signed multiple copies of the play/posters from the play for me and he even calls me the "sugarman torchbearer".

anyway, summary of the play: kyle sugarman is a sixteen-year-old boy who has written an absurdly long, complicated play called "spacebar" and is trying to get it to broadway as a way to defy his neglectful, abusive dad who left his family and a way to cope with the death of his sister. he is the Most Endearing character in history and he has been an integral part of my heart and the stuff ive made for the last several years. its silly but spacebar changed my life and kyle feels real to me, in that my soul is partially supported by Him :')

here's a carrd i made with some more details, plus links to photos and a way to read the play!!

#anonymous #ask #syd squeaks #spacebar #its my heart and soul btw

[derekklenadaily]

broadwayplus: Babe. You know what to do. 💅

Link in bio // click "Workshops"

#derek klena #broadway #deanne stewart #event: jlp virtual reunion concert #events #broadwayplus #workshop: broadway plus #workshops #video #social media

[isleofsam]

Via Samantha’s instagram story

05.01.21

#samantha barks #instagram stories #broadway plus #workshop